The Deſign of the Author. THE Palate of this Age, it ſeems, grows very exquiſite; for in all things, for the moſt part, we attain a good meaſure of Senſe: We eſteem that which is Real and Solid, and we can hardly now endure any thing that is falſe or frivolous. This is the Sentiment of all reaſonable People, who make the ſoundeſt part of them that pretend to judge, thô it be perhaps the leſſer in number.

But nothing ſhews that ripeneſs of Judgment better than the Diſguſt People have now for Romances, and any other thing that looks like them; ſo that this love of Truth and Reaſon, being a diſpoſition to love Hiſtory, let us make uſe of ſo favourable a Conjuncture, to ſerve the Publick according to their Genius; let us beſtow our pains in thoſe things that can make us perfect in that Art; and comprehending the excellence thereof, let us make our ſelves acquainted with thoſe things that are needful to attain it: For, what Spirit is not requiſite for it? and what can we imagine finer than Pulchrum imprimis videtur, non pati occidere, quibus aeternitas debeatur. Pl. l. 5. Epiſt. Hiſtory, which can do juſtice to Virtue, by perpetuating the Memory of Noble Actions? This is, in my mind, what can contribute to the Perfection, of which this kind of writing is capable, which will carry it above all other (if that love for Senſe which eſtabliſhes it ſelf can but continue) in deſpite of the variety of taſts, which fancy and vanity endeavour from time to time to introduce thrô falſe Idea's of fine wit.

I.How to write Hiſtory.

There is nothing harder than to ſay very preciſely which is the beſt way of writing Hiſtory. Every one ought to follow that which he finds moſt in Uſe in the Age wherein he writes, and that which is moſt conformable to thoſe Peoples taſte to whom he writes. But, is this enough to pleaſe Poſterity? It is a Judge ſtrict, ſevere, incorruptible, who gives its approbation to true Merit only: let us ſee then what we ſhall do to obtain its ſuffrage. When a man writes Nobly, Senſibly, Purely, Naturally; he pleaſes always in what Language ſoever he writes. Thoſe are the univerſal Principles, which alone can fit every People's palate: for there are no other general Rules in the World, than thoſe of Reaſon and good Senſe. That is the reaſon why Thucidides, Xenophon, Saluſt, Caeſar, Livy, Buchanan, Mariana, and others like them, have always pleas'd, though they wrote in Ages, and to Nations of a different genius: a man is ſure to pleaſe, if he writes as they have writ. For, what Grandeur, what Judgment, what Clearneſs, and above all, what Integrity ſhines in thoſe great men's Works!

II. What to write nobly is.

You muſt then reſolve to write nobly, if you deſign to write Hiſtory. For, Genus hoc ſcribendi incitatum atque elatum eſle debere quis ignorat? Cic. ad Famil. Epiſt. 7. l. 6. from the moment you ſpeak to all the world, and to all Ages, you are endued with a Character which gives you authority to raiſe your voice, becauſe then you ſpeak to Kings, Princes, and to the Grandees of all Countries and of all Ages; and you become, in ſome manner, the Maſter and Inſtructer of all mankind: Addidit Hiſtoriae majorem ſonum vocis Antipater, caeteri non exornatores rerum, ſed tantummodo narratores ſuerunt. Cic. l. 2. de Orat. Nothing, then, is more eſſential to Hiſtory, than to adorn your diſcourſe with a lofty ſtrain, to ſpeak as you ought. As an Hiſtorian quits the low and common Language, that ſo by the dignity of his Expreſſion, he may anſwer the merit of thoſe things he has to ſay: let him uſe himſelf to think nobly, in every thing that paſſes through his mind: let him ſtudy to give good weight to his thoughts, and ſtrength to his diſcourſe, by ſeeking with care all that can elevate and ennoble it, to give a mark of greatneſs to all that he ſays. The Patterns of that kind of writing, are, amongſt the Greeks Thucydides, and Livy amongſt the Latins. They are almoſt the only ones that have been able to keep up with an equal force and vigour, that greatneſs of Style, without ſinking in Mediocrity and Lowneſs: and in that they have had but few Imitators. Herodotus has, by imitating Homer too much, tryed to raiſe his Style in places that requir'd elevation, as Longinus has taken notice. Tacitus, who for the moſt part is only great, becauſe he is ſhort, is not a very good model to propoſe, for the greatneſs of his Style is not natural at all. In ſhort, you muſt take great care to diſtinguiſh a falſe greatneſs from the true one. For, it is not in high terms, nor in lofty expreſſions; it is not in the puffing of words, nor haughtineſs of the Diſcourſe, that that nobleneſs of Style which Hiſtory requires, ought to conſiſt; in which Ammianus Marcellinus, Lampridius, and moſt part of the Hiſtorians of the low Empire have been deceived: It is in a high, but modeſt Expreſſion; in a Diſcourſe capable of ſuſtaining the greateſt matters and raiſing the leaſt; It is, in fine, in that temper of greatneſs, which Quintillian attributes to true Eloquence. It is not enough for you to have Wit, Magna, non nimia, ſublimis non abrupta, ſortis non temeraria, ſevera non triſtis, gravis non tarda, lata non luxurioſa, plena non tumida. Fab. l. 12. c. 10. you muſt have a genius to write ſo, and to elevate what you ſay, by the choice of Expreſſions, and by the greatneſs of your thoughts. That gift is ſo rare, that if you ſeparate from the number of Hiſtorians, thoſe that have not writ ſo, there will be but few true ones that will remain.

III. To write ſenſibly.

To write ſenſibly, is to hit directly the thing you aim at, in what kind ſoever you write, without going from your Subject, or loſing time by the way: It is to expreſs things with a kind of Wiſdom and Modeſty, not abandoning your ſelf to the heat of your Imagination, nor to the quickneſs of your Apprehenſion; that is, when you can ſuppreſs that which is ſuperfluous in the Expreſſion, as thoſe Adverbs and Epithets which diminiſh things, as they expreſs them; to let no idle, inſipid, and uſeleſs thing remain in it: to cut off handſomly, what is not fit to be ſaid, how fine ſoever it appears; to allow ever leſs to fineneſs, than to Solidity; not to ſhew Paſſion or Heat, where only cold Blood and Seriouſneſs are requir'd; to examin all your thoughts, Delectus Verborum habendus, & pondera ſingulorum examinanda. Fab. l. 10. c. 3. and meaſure all your words, with that exactneſs of ſenſe, and that exquiſite Judgment, which nothing eſcapes, but what is exact and judicious. It is, in fine, to have Strength enough to reſiſt the temptation Men have naturally to ſhew their Wit; Luc. de conſer. Hiſt. as that Impertinent Hiſtorian, who in the Parthian overthrow by the Emperour Severus, makes Oſroes fly in a Den ſhaded with Lawrels and Myrtle, wherein he makes himſelf ridiculous, thinking to be more agreeable, which is the moſt ſlippery ſtep an Author can fall upon. And that Spirit endued with Senſe, that wiſe Character which Hiſtory requires, is a kind of attendance upon ones ſelf, which allows it ſelf no manner of Exaggeration, and which takes endleſs Precautions againſt thoſe bold Imaginations; which thoſe, whoſe Spirits are too quick or too fertile, are ſubject to; that they may ſay few things in few words, as Saluſt does, who holds Councils, gives Battels, takes Towns, conquers Kingdomes, with a compendiouſneſs of Diſcourſe, and an overflowing Expreſſion, which is underſtood at half Sentences. Tacitus has all the Senſe neceſſary to be ſhort; but he has not enough on't to be underſtood. The Readers grow ſometimes impatient in that Author's Precipitations, which loſes much of his agreeableneſs, and trying to compact in too few words, that which ſhould have been more extended, falls into Obſcurity. The deſire he has of being too ſhort, angers me, becauſe of the ſmall Inſtructions he gives me in things, which he does not unfold enough. Polybius and Appian ſometimes ſay too much; there is a ſort of judicious ſilence, which makes one comprehend often the greatneſs of the things one ſpeaks of, better than any words, when they are too weak. It is a Maſter-piece for one to ſuppreſs thoſe things he cannot well ſay; and the great Diſcretion in an Hiſtorian, is to make a diſtinction of what muſt be extended, or made ſhort, that ſo he may give to every thing the juſt meaſure it ought to have, to make it acceptable. For Livy, thô very large, is not tedious, becauſe he is a Man of Judgment, even in his very Prolixity. But Thucydides, by ſticking too cloſe to Senſe, ſometimes falls in a kind of hardneſs and dryneſs, which one would hardly forgive him, was it not for the pureneſs and nobleneſs of his Style. So difficult it is to write very ſenſibly, without loſing ſomewhat of the agreeableneſs which one might employ, if he had a leſſer Wit. But let an Author imprint well in his Mind, that the greateſt Ornament of his Work, is always good Senſe; all the reſt wearies one, but Senſe never tires. 'Twas the good Senſe of Philip de Comines, made him juſtly deſerve the eſteem and approbation of our Age, in deſpight of the bad and ill-digeſted Language he wrote in. But of all Modern Hiſtorians, none has written more ſenſibly than Mariana in his Hiſtory of Spain. It is the Maſter-piece of the laſt Ages for that quality alone. In all that Work a Genius appears, which keeps him always from neglecting himſelf in choice Points, and from abandoning himſelf in thoſe that are not ſo. And this judicious equality, which that Author always obſerves, thô the matters he treats of be never ſo unequal, is little known to our late Hiſtorians. But the Art of thinking ſenſibly of things, is not ſufficient, unleſs he has alſo that of expreſſing them purely.

IV. To write purely.

An Hiſtorian, who thinks to commend his Book to future Ages, muſt think of Hiſtorico ſermoni decus conciliet, perſpicuitas, proprietaſque verborum. Beni lib. 2. de Hiſtor. writing purely. Without that advantage, an Hiſtorian will be but ſhort liv'd. For want of Quid tam neceſſarium quam recta locutio? Fab. l. 1. purity of Style, ſo many Greek and Latin Hiſtorians, of whom Photius, and the other Library-keepers, have made mention, have periſh'd in the general ſhipwrack of ſo many Books; and that, of a number almoſt infinite, of whom Cura magna ſentiendi & loquendi, ſed diſſimulatio curae praecipua. l. 9. c. 4. Voſſius ſpeaks, none remain, but thoſe that have writ reaſonably enough to deſerve to be read. You muſt not then pretend to write Hiſtory, unleſs you very well know the Language you intend to write in, and, except you write purely. For, as ſoon as your deſign is to inſtruct, you ought to think how to expreſs your ſelf neatly, that you may be underſtood; for when a man ſpeaks well, every one is willing to hear him: beſides, one that ſpeaks ill, never ſpeaks any thing right; Nihil eſt in Hiſtoria, pura & illuſtri brevitate dulcius. Cic. in Brut. and that clearneſs, which is the greateſt charm in Hiſtory, can only be found in a pure Style. That purity conſiſts chiefly in the propriety of words; in the natural ordering of the phraſes, and in the wiſe and moderate uſe of figures. The ſtyle ought not to have any thing In Sententia nihil abſurdum, aut alienum, aut ſubinſulſum; in verbis nihil inquinatum, abjectum, non aptum, durum, longe petitum, Cic. de op. gen. orat. improper, ſtrange, bold, hard, creeping nor obſcure. Herodotus has that purity of ſtyle, and has excelled in it, above all other Grecians, as Caeſar above all the Latins. The Wits of the following Ages grew ruſty, and retain'd little of the purity of the Ancients. But Quintus Curtius, thinking to appear more poliſh'd, has loſt ſomewhat of that great and majeſtick grace, which becomes Saluſt and Livy ſo well. It is true that he flouriſhes ſome places too much; as for example, the Deſcription of the River Marſyas, in the beginning of the third Book; The Adventure of Abdolonymus, who, from a Gardiner, became King, in the fourth Book: Of the ſiege of Tyre, and of a great many others, where it appears an affectation of Eloquence little becomming the Gravity of Hiſtory, which can bear nothing that is affected. Indeed, that purity of Elocution ſo neceſſary to Hiſtory, ought to be ſupported by a great deal of Senſe. For,

Non debet quiſquam ubi maxima rerum momenta verſantur, ſollicitus eſſe de verbis, Fab. l. 8. c. 3.

Ut monilibus & margaritis quae ſunt Ornamenta Foeminarum, deformantur Viri, nec habitus triumphalis quo nihil auguſtius, foeminas decer, Fab. l. 11. c. 1.

Ornatus omnis non tam ſua, quam rei cui adhibetur conditione conſtat. ibid.

nothing is more fulſome than Eloquence, when empty of things, and which ſays nothing. It happens that, ſometimes, purity of Diſcourſe too much ſtudied in great Subjects, diminiſhes its greatneſs; as it appears in the Hiſtory of the Indies by Maffaeus, and in the wars of Flanders by Cardinal Bentivoglio. The one and the other have ſtudied too much how to pleaſe by the Politeneſs of the diſcourſe, not remembring, that Beautys that are ſprucely attir'd ſmite leaſt, and that the fineſt ornaments diſguiſe a thing, whenſoever they are exceſſive and diſproportionate.

V. To write with Simplicity.

You are alſo obliged to write with ſimplicity, to avoid that Pompous and that affected Air, which are both ſo contrary to that Character which is requir'd in Hiſtory: becauſe, whatſoever is great, ceaſes to be ſo as ſoon as it is ſtrip'd of that ſimplicity; and that which is pure and great too, receives an acceſſion of greatneſs, and becomes lofty. Si oratio perderet gratiam ſimplicis & inaffectati coloris, perderet & fidem. Fab. l. 9. c. 4. Nothing alſo inſtructs, and gets the publick applauſe, more than that ſimplicity of Style, ſo beloved of the Ancients, and ſo little known by the Moderns. All that which is exaggerated, ſeems falſe; and Nature, which you ought to have for your object, delights not in impertinent flouriſhes. But that you may exactly underſtand that ſimplicity which is ſo neceſſary to a great Style; you muſt conſider that there are three ſorts of it; A ſimplicity in words, as that of Caeſar; a ſimplicity in the Thoughts, as that of Saluſt, a ſimplicity in the Deſign, as that of Thucydides, ſo much valued by In judicio de Thucydide. Dionyſius Halicarnaſſaeus.

The Moderns, which have come the neareſt to that Character, are, amongſt the French, Phillip de Commines; Guichardin amongſt the Italians, Buchanan in Scotland, Mariana amongſt the Spaniards; the greateſt part of the reſt, ſeek only to maintain themſelves by the Purity, Politeneſs, and other Ornaments of Diſcourſe, when they have not a Spirit great enough to attain that ſimplicity; and they diſguiſe the Truth, when they want ſtrength to ſhew it naked. Happy is the Man that can attain it, when he makes writing his Buſineſs; thoſe that are ignorant may underſtand it, at the ſame time that the intelligent are charm'd with it. But nothing is harder to get, than that plain and natural way, which makes the ſimplicity of the Style. A Genius extraordinary is requir'd to expreſs things clearly, without dropping into a low and cold ſtyle. For at the ſame time that you endeavour after ſimplicity, you ought to dread nothing more than flatneſs: What is then, that admirable ſimplicity, which is the higheſt perfection of a great work, and wherein do's it conſiſt? Homerus brevem quidem cum animi jucunditate, propriam, carentem ſuperfluis eloquentiam Menelao dedit, quae ſunt virtutes generls primi. Fab. l. 12. c. 10. It is to make uſe only of the moſt common and fitteſt words, but they muſt always be full of a great ſenſe, as that Prince do's, to whom Homer gives a brief Eloquence, agreeable, proper, without ſuperfluity. Exponere ſimpliciter •… ne ulla Exornatione Cic. l. 2. de Invent. It is to think and ſpeak juſt what you have to ſay and to think, without giving too much quickneſs to your expreſſion, as Strada do's; and without giving too great a brightneſs to your thoughts, as Grotius did. It is to have your Sentiments ordinary and natural, not making ſo many Arguments and Reflections, as Davila in his Hiſtory of the Troubles: for as ſoon as you argue ſo much, it is no more Nature that ſpeak's, 'tis Art and Study: and thoſe diſcourſes ſo labour'd, ſmell of the Schools. Non dicere ornatius quam ſimplex ratio veritatis ferat. Cic. l. 1. de Orat. It is not to mix more Ornament in your diſcourſe than the modeſty of the truth can bear. It is to expreſs that natural and free air of Xenophontis illam ſucunditatem inaffectatam, quam nulla affectatio conſequi poſſit, upſae ſermonen Gratiae finxiſſe videantur. Fab. l. 10. c. i. Xenophon, which no imaginable affectation can attain. It is, in fine, to poſſeſs that marvellous talent of paring off the ſuperfluous part of the Diſcourſe, of which Phocian was ſo excellent a maſter; of whom, ſimple as he was, Demoſthenes was wont to ſay, when he ſaw him aſcend the Tribunal, as his Antagoniſt, Plutarch. Here's the ſword which is going to cut off all the ſuperfluity of my words. That you may well eſtabliſh that Character, which, beſides a great ſtore of Wiſdom and good Senſe, requires much exerciſe and a great deal of Meditation; you muſt avoid the uſe of thoſe Authors whoſe imagination is too full, that you may not fall in that torrent of falſe thoughts, boundleſs expreſſions, and thoſe confuſions which have but a glance of good ſenſe, into which you will eaſily fall, if you have not an exact Senſe, and an equal Spirit. You muſt propoſe to your ſelf no other rule of that manner of writing, but the Ancients. And, among thoſe, you muſt make choice of them which have moſt of this ſimplicity. 〈…〉 . Hermogenes propounds Theocritus and Anacreon for great Patterns of it: and indeed nothing is opener and freer than what they have writ. Herodotus ſeems to Longinus too bold. Dionyſius Halicarnaſſaeus finds, that Thucydides, thô a great Maſter of that Simplicity, loads ſome of his Relations with too much of the matter of fact. Xenophon and Polybius moralize too much, and often hinder the ſtream of Hiſtory by their Reflections. Diodorus Siculus mixes too much Learning in his Diſcourſes. Plutarch may go for a great original of that ſimplicity we look after: for every thing he ſays reliſhes of it. Livy ſeems not to me more agreeable by all his other great qualities than by that. The ſtream of his Hiſtory is like that of a great River which floweth majeſtically, as that of Tacitus reſembles a deep and ſwelling River, ſubject to overflowings: he never keeps a tenour in his thoughts, but often is immoderate in his expreſſions for want of this ſimplicity. Mariana is one of the moſt accompliſh't among the modern Hiſtorians, becauſe he regards it moſt. For the ſimplicity of Style cannot be found in great Subjects, without being accompanied with greatneſs and nobleneſs. Thoſe are the qualities from whence that firſt ground which Hiſtory requires ariſe, and which we may, in a manner, call the firſt Elements of that beauty which it muſt have, and which ought to reign more in the mind, and in all the Character of the Hiſtorian, than in his Style and in his Diſcourſe. Here are the other qualities which muſt be added to him to make him perfect, which I touch ſuccinctly, without any other order, than that in which they preſent themſelves to my mind. I begin with the Matter and the Form; that is to ſay, with that which is moſt eſſential to Hiſtory.

VI. The Matter in Hiſtory.

The Matter fit to exerciſe the Art of an Hiſtorian is a vaſt field, ſince it extends it ſelf to all the Actions of men, viz. Peace, War, Councils, Negotiations, Ambaſſies, Intrigues, and all the ſeveral Adventures which may happen in this life. In rebus magnis, memoriaque dignis Hiſtoriam verſari. Cic. de Orat. l. 2. Cicero requires two qualities in the matter of an Hiſtory. Hiſtoriam afluetam diſcurrere per negotiorum celſitudines non humilium minutias indagare cauſarum. Ammian. Marcel. l. 26. That they may be great things, and ſuch as may be fit to be made publick. None has explain'd better what choice an Hiſtorian ought to make of his Subject, than Dionyſius Halycarnaſſaeus, in the Preface of his Hiſtory, and in his Judgment upon Thucydides, where he prefers the choice which Herodotus has made of his Subject to that of Thucydides, for the reaſons which he brings. But, as falſehood often reſembles Truth, it requires a great deal of diſcretion and ſagacity, to make an exact diſtinction of it, to unriddle the true motives of important Actions, from their colours and their pretexts, and to chooſe your Argument wiſely, which may become curious and fine by the circumſtances well lay'd together, and by the order wherein you muſt reduce that which is too wide and far diffus'd, by reſtraining it within the natural extent of thoſe limits it ought to have. When it is ſo reduc'd, let the Hiſtorian render himſelf Maſter of it by a deep Meditation upon his Subject, which he ought intirely to underſtand. Equidem non affirmare ſuſtineo de quibus dubito, nec ſubducere quae accepi. Curt. l. 9. But let him alſo be ſo exact and religious, as never to abuſe the Credit of the Publick, by giving his own Conjectures for truth, or certain things for doubtful ones. Let him aſcend, as much as in him lies, to the Spring of the Inſtructions he ſhall have given him, to make a juſt diſtinction of them. Let him never aſſure things upon common Reports, of which the Authors are always uncertain. Let him deliver them upon very ſure Memoirs, and upon very faithful Relations. Let him not abandon himſelf too raſhly to the Hiſtorians which have been before him, leſt he ſhould loſe his way by following ill Guides. Let him make a great difference between thoſe Relations that are intereſted, or ſuſpected of Prejudice, and thoſe that are not ſo. Let him always have a care of the Partialities of thoſe which furniſh him with Memoirs, becauſe preoccupation can never make but falſe Hiſtories. Herodotus, (whoſe Hiſtory Apud Herodotum ſunt innumerabiles fabulae. l. 1. de Leg. Tully condemns as fabulous) wrote only upon ill Memoirs, as Joſephus pretends. Marcellin. in vita Thucyd. Thucydides, who had a mind to mend himſelf by avoiding that fault, confines himſelf to the Hiſtory of his Time, not truſting any body, in writing only what he had ſeen, or what he had learn'd from People worthy to be believ'd, and from Memoirs, which he collected with great expences, not only from the Athenians, but alſo from the Lacedemonians, that he might be inform'd of both Parties. Xenophon, Polybius and Procopius, have done almoſt the ſame thing. Dio Caſſius confeſſes in his Hiſtory, that he had been ten years in preparing the materials. Saluſtius marca tranſgreſſus dicitur, ut oculis ſuis crederet de conditionibus locorum. Petrare. Petrarch aſſures us, that Saluſt went into Africa, that he himſelf might obſerve the Situation of the Places he was to ſpeak of in his Hiſtory of the War of Jugurtha, not being willing to truſt any other than his own eyes. For it is very important to be well aſſur'd of the ground you write upon. Lucian makes the Hiſtorian of his Time paſs for a fool, who wrote the War of Armenia upon common reports, having never ſeen any body who had been in Syria, where the Battel was fought: And Vopiſc. in praefat. Hiſt. Vopiſcus took the reſolution to write the Hiſtory of the Emperour Aurelian, only upon the aſſurance that Junius Tyberianus, Miniſter of State, gave him, to furniſh him with good Records. But it is not enough to have had a ſhare in the Tranſactions of affairs; there is alſo great need of an Excellent Spirit to deliver them well.

Hiſt. lib. • 2. Polibius ſays, that Calliſthenes was eye witneſs of the Action between Darius and Alexander, when he gain'd the ſtraits of Cilicia: yet for all that, there are a great many very groſs errors in the Deſcription of that important Expedition, and all becauſe he was ignorant of the Art of War, and of the order which was obſerv'd in Battels in thoſe Days. You muſt then, above all things, be very ſure of your Matter, which ſhall never be wanting to thoſe that have Wit: but you may want aſſurance, if you do not well diſcern the things you relate. How many falſe Memoirs are found, becauſe they are ſpoil'd by People that were intereſted? though nothing is more common than Materials for Hiſtory, by reaſon that every thing may ſerve to it: We may ſay alſo, that nothing is ſcarcer than a ſufficient aſſurance of them to fit them for it: and it is hardly found, becauſe Prejudice occurs every where. Boccal. in Raggual. di Parnaſſo. Boccaline upon that Subject deſerves your eſteem, when he adviſes you to write nothing but what you have ſeen, and not to make it publick before you dye. That way you'r ſure of what you ſay, and there is no prejudice againſt it. But, take care above all things, to chooſe great Subjects, which can ſubſiſt upon their own ſtock: a great matter gives luſter and weight to your words; and Art muſt play in ſmall Subjects, and ſupply their weakneſs.

VII. The Form.

The Form, which ought to be given to Hiſtory, is that which is moſt eſſential to it. It is that which makes it Great or Little, and it is that from whence you take the Author's genius. You muſt then have an exalted Spirit, capable of great Idea's, if you will write well; that ſo, becoming a Maſter of your Subject, you may give your Matter what Form you pleaſe. It is upon that Model that Livy gives to his Hiſtory a character of greatneſs, which is beyond all other Hiſtorians, by giving to all the Subjects he treats of, the colours their ground is capable to receive. Thus he gives to the laſt Kings of Rome all the Pride that an abſolute Authority inſpir'd them with; He changes the Spirit of the Commonwealth, by the auſtere Virtue of the firſt Conſuls, by the Populary Motions of the Tribunes, by the auſterity of the Government of the Decemvirs; by the lazy Delicacy of the laſt Conſuls; that he diſtinguiſhes each Age by the Genius which has been predominant in it, not confounding the different motions of that genius with the different circumſtances of Times, which don't reſemble one another, and that he ſuſtains himſelf always by the great Images he gives of the things he treats of. Tacitus to the contrary, gives almoſt to all his Matters the ſame form: all is done there by Policy; the People he ſpeaks of, have always a Spirit higher than others. It is not their Spirit which makes them move, 'tis that of the Hiſtorian, who having a ſpirit too compacted, gives always the ſame Air to his expreſſions, and the ſame turn to his thoughts: all things reſemble one another. Policy is ſtill made the cauſe and the reſult of all things. Tyberium aſcitum. quod ejus arrogantiam introſpexerit, & comparatione deterrima ſibi gloriam quaeſiviſſe. Tacit. l. 1. Annal. If Auguſtus on his death-bed choſe one to ſucceed him, he appointed an Emperour worſe than himſelf, on purpoſe that he might be mourn'd for. If Dolabella in abſurdam adulationem progreſſus. l. 3. Ann. Tyberius made Piſo Governour of Syria, 'twas only to make him a Spy to Germanicus, by whom Egypt had been govern'd, and whoſe glory he did envy. Dolabella's flatteries diſpleas'd him, becauſe they were too courſe. Suſpectabat Syllam ſocors ejus ingenium callidumque ſimulatorem interpretando. l. 13. Annal. If he baniſhes Sylla, 'tis becauſe he thinks his ſilence a wiſe diſſimulation. That Emperour's modeſty; is nothing but a hidden Ambition; his favours are only ſnares; his moderation is nothing but pride, and his Religion is nothing but grimace. He reckons it a ſign of the God's diſpleaſure, that Sejanus ſhould become Favorite of the Emperour, and be raiſed to be a Miniſter of State. Arruntius poiſons himſelf out of Policy, that he might not fall into the hands of a maſter more brutiſh than Tyberius. He finds an agreeableneſs even in the Emperour Claudius's folly, and a great deal of Wit in the debauches and brutiſhneſs of Nero. Temporibus Neronis ſapientia pro inertia fuit. ibid. Some of the Blockheads of that Age and Reign, he repreſents as men of refin'd Prudence. In fine, all the characters reſemble one another; Nature has no ſhare in any thing, her Sentiments are always forc'd, and every where it is the ſame genius, which reigns by the impreſſion of the Hiſtorian's Wit, and which has no great variety. Mariana runs on with a fuller career. The Romans, the Carthaginians, the Chriſtians, the Arabians, the Moors, the Mahometans, make every one their Figure. The Wit of the Author mingles it ſelf only with the other Spirits, to diſtinguiſh them according to their characters, opening always ſome new way as different as the Subjects he treats of requires. We may ſay alſo, that among the Moderns, no Hiſtory is greater for its form than that of Mariana.

VIII. The End of Hiſtory.

Romance only pleaſes, Hiſtory inſtructs: This is the eſſential difference between them; this having no other end, than the inſtructing of the Publick. Alias in Hiſtoria leges obſervandas, alias in Poemate; illa ad veritatem quaeque, in hoc ad delectationem referri pleraque. Cic. 1. de legib. For, as it is not compil'd only for the preſent; its aim ought not to be limited to the time, which paſſes away, but to Poſterity, which is Everlaſting. What folly were it in a Man, that ſhould think of nothing but diverting the People of the Age he lives in, when he may become uſeful to all Ages? Thoſe are the Reaſons O pulchra iſta pars, quae actiones vitamque bene format ac dirigit. Tacit. Ann. l. 3. Lucian uſes, to oblige an Hiſtorian to think of nothing but of being uſeful, by ruling the Hearts and Minds of Men by the Inſtruction he gives them. They are deceiv'd, he ſays, who pretend that Hiſtory can be divided into two parts, the Uſeful and Agreeable; for an Hiſtorian ought to have no other proſpect, than the profit People draw from a ſincere and true Narration. If he intermix ſome thing that is agreeable, he ought not to corrupt the Truth, but rather to embelliſh it, and make it the more acceptable. And, to juſtifie his Opinion, he ſhews the extravagant way of the Hiſtorians of his Age, which made themſelves ridiculous by following other Principles. Graecis hiſtoriis plerumque poeticae ſimilis eſt licentia. Fab. l. 2. c. 4. Herodotus ſought how to pleaſe thoſe of the Age he wrote in, but his Sincerity was ſo run down in the following Ages, that it Et quicquid Graecia mendax peccat in Hiſtoria. Juv. Sat. 10. made the Sincerity of the Greek Hiſtorians be ſuſpected in Quintilian's Time. Photius makes mention of an Hiſtorian, which thought that his ſaying incredible things made him the more acceptable. And Quidam incredibilium relatu commendationem parant: & Lectorem aliud acturum, ſi per quotidiana duceretur, miraculo excitant; & opus ſuum fieri populare non putant, niſi mendacio aſperſerint, Sen. l. 7. quaeſt. Nat. Seneca complains, that in his Time there were Hiſtorians who pretended to make themſelves famous by their fabulous Narrations. This was always pleaſant to the People who delight in Fictions; but not to Men of Senſe and Honeſty, who love Truth only. In the following Ages, the Arabians ſtuff'd their Writings with ſo many Fables, that they ſpoil'd the greateſt part of the Greek Hiſtorians of their Age, by the fancy then in faſhion, of mingling ſurpriſing Adventures in all their Relations: they thought the only way to pleaſe the People, was to ſay incredible things. The ſame Spirit infected part of the Modern Graecians, which is the cauſe why the Account we have of thoſe Times by the Byzantine Hiſtory, is not the ſureſt in the World, the Authors of it not ſeeming very exact; and when an Author writes by their Memoirs, he ought to take great Precautions againſt ſo falſe an Idea, to make People believe him, becauſe the leaſt falſhood ſpoils all, and converts Truth into a Fable. Even the trueſt things ought not to be told, when they appear incredible or extraordinary, unleſs you give 'em an appearance, or, at leaſt, a colour of Truth. It is what Thucydides does: and, though he ſaw Herodotus in ſo great an eſteem, that the names of the Muſes were given to his Books, he thought of nothing but of ſpeaking the Truth, without minding to pleaſe the People. Lucian. de conſer. Hiſt. I had rather, ſaid he, pleaſe by telling Truth, than be pleaſant in telling Tales: becauſe, if I be not pleaſant, I may be uſeful; and perhaps, I might do hurt in being agreeable. Utilitatem juvandi praetulerunt gratiae placendi. Plin. praef. Hiſt. Nat. de Thucyd. & al. Hiſt. Be then ſtrongly perſwaded, that nothing is fine in Hiſtory, but that which is real; and that, Truth being its greateſt Ornament, an Hiſtorian that will pleaſe, ought to ſpeak true.

IX. That Truth is the only mean through which Hiſtory comes to its end: and how it is to be found.

Truth being the only mean by which Hiſtory can ſurely inſtruct; Truth ought to make the chiefeſt Rule of Hiſtory, as your Hiſtory ought to be the ground of People's Belief. But where is it to be found? Is there any thing in the World more hidden than Truth? For, beſides the Clouds ſhe is commonly encompaſs'd with, which render her ſometimes unacceſſible, ſhe is wrap'd up with all the Diſguiſes men's imaginations are capable of. And if the ordinary ignorance of ſhort-ſighted Writers is an obſtacle to the knowledge of Truth; their little ſincerity, nay, their fabulous way, is a far greater. For how often do we give wrong Judgment, through falſe Idea's which ariſe from our Paſſion, Intereſt, or Prejudice, which Error or Opinion are wont to inſpire Men's minds? In fine, Truth being of a nature ſo unknown to Men, either through her own obſcurity, or through the weakneſs of their Underſtanding, or for want of application; there is nothing harder than to make her known to the Publick without defacing her. And, as ſhe is continually corrupted, and even prophan'd, through the baſeneſs of her Adorers, the moſt part of the Hiſtorians being commonly Penſioners of Courts: You ought to ſet your ſelf above hope or fear, as ſoon as you meddle with writing, that you may always dare to ſay the Truth. But, it is not enough to have a mind to ſay it, you muſt alſo make your ſelf able, by ſeeking it in its pureſt original, by ſearching the Cloſets of the Learned and curious, and by conſulting the Inſtructions of thoſe who have had a ſhare in buſineſſes, to unravel what has been moſt myſterious in the moſt private intrigues.

You muſt, above all things, ſtudy Men in general; to diſcover their Spirit, to dive into their Secrets, to know the greateſt weakneſs of their hearts, to penetrate their very thoughts, that you may not impoſe falſe ones upon them; and to judge of them by thoſe natural and unforeſeen Motions, which ſlip from them without their notice. That way you may diſcover the true ſentiments of the Soul; the heart having no ſpare time to obſerve it ſelf and to put on a diſguiſe: for as ſoon as it reflects, it forces it ſelf, as Agrippinae pavor & conſternatio mentis emicuit, quamvis vultu premeretur. Octavia, quamvis rudibus annis, dolorem, charitatem, affectus omnes abſcondere didicerat. Ita poſt breve ſilentium repetita convivii laetitia. Tacit. l. 13. Ann. Tacitus obſerves in Agrippa, and in Octavia Siſter to Britannicus. For, in the moment that the poiſon which Nero ſent him at the Banquet at which he died, ſeis'd his Spirits; Octavia, as well as Agrippina ſhew'd Conſternation in their faces: But, as Octavia thought to marry Nero, and Agrippina his Mother; a Woman naturally proud, had a mind to Reign, upon a politick Account they reſum'd their Countenance; and that they might not anger the Emperour, who was making ſure of his Rival to the Empire; they force their Sentiments, hide their Sorrows, and continue their Supper with the ſame mirth, (whilſt the Prince was expiring in the Antichamber) as if nothing had paſs'd of that kind. There is a great Spirit in that Author, whoſe deſign is, to give an exact knowledg of thoſe whoſe Hiſtory he writes. But, our late Authors think but little of that, and that is the reaſon why we have ſo few true Hiſtorians. Rerum geſtarum pronunciator ſincerus Thucydides. Cic. de Clar. Orat. There is a Temper of mind, fit to ſay things as they are, which is not a common one. It is one of the properties of Thucydides, the moſt faithful and ſincere of all Hiſtorians: There is in his Works a Taſt of Truth, and a diſcerning of Truth from Falſhood, join'd to an exact Spirit, which acquir'd him the approbation and eſteem of all people. Dionyſ Halyc. in Judicio de Thucyd. Dionyſius Halycarnaſſaeus praiſes him above all for his ſticking to the Truth, pretending that he never ſaid any thing againſt his Conſcience; in which he has excell'd Herodotus, whoſe whole deſign was to pleaſe People: for Strabo ſays, that he mingles Fables with his Hiſtories on purpoſe to render them agreeable. Scribe ſecurus, dicas quod velis, habiturus mendaciorum comites quos hiſtoriae eloquentiae miramur authores. Vopiſc. praefaet. Hiſt. The Hiſtorians of the Low Empire became ſo great Flaterers, that their want of Sincerity made Vopiſcus change the mind he had of writing the Hiſtory of his Time. But, the Governour of the Town, who was a Favorite of the Emperour, took off that Scruple, in a Diſcourſe he had with him, as they were once walking together, by ſhewing him, that the greateſt Hiſtorians had been deceiv'd in many things. Aſin. Poll. apud Florid. Sab. Pollio tells us, that the ſame thing had happen'd to Caeſar in his Commentarys, for not having review'd his writings. If the greateſt men are ſubject to err, what will ordinary ones do? Neminem Scriptorum, quantum ad Hiſtoriam pertinet, non aliquid eſle mentitum. Vopiſc. ibid. And if Truth does not always ſhew it ſelf in its purity to extraordinary Spirits, how will it make it ſelf known to ſmall ones, who, through the quality of their Genius, can ſay nothing without altering the Circumſtances, by diminiſhing or inlarging the objects? for there is nothing ſcarcer than an exact temper, fit to ſay things as they are: we ſay them as we conceive 'em; and we conceive 'em good or bad, according as our Imagination is: and, of many that have ſeen the ſame thing, there is not often above two that relates it alike, every one ſaying what he has ſeen, according to the Idea he has conceiv'd of it, and as his mind is turn'd. The quality then, I ſay, moſt requiſite for an Hiſtorian, is a Spirit exact and faithful, in ſpeaking the Truth in all its Circumſtances, ſo as to deſerve the People's belief. But it is not enough for an Hiſtorian to ſay what is true, he muſt give it alſo a fine turn: that turn is the Style; let us ſee which is the moſt Convenient for Hiſtory.

X. The Style fit for Hiſtory.

The Style is the Form of the Diſcourſe, and the manner you write in: the fitteſt for every body is that which is moſt comformable to his genius, which ought to be follow'd, without forcing it; ſo that a Style mixt is always vicious. It is a defect of Strada in his Hiſtory of the Low Country's, who by the clearneſs of his Imagination, and by his great Lectures, had fill'd his mind with different characters; and that mixture which is found in his manner of writing, how agreeable ſoever it is, diminiſhes its Perfection. Verum ipſum inſcribentis ſinceritate candoreque elucet. Melch. Can. in loc. Theol. l. 11. c. 6. Mariana, who was of the ſame Society, has more ſtrength, and is ſmoother in his Style. But the fitteſt Style for Hiſtory is that which has moſt of the Character of Truth, and wherein that natural light of Sincerity, which commonly accompanies the Truth, ſhines moſt: for, people eaſily believe things digeſted thus. Luc. de conſer. Hiſt. The Style for Hiſtory, as Lucian ſays, muſt be clean and natural, becauſe that clearneſs is the Rule of what it ought to ſay, as Truth is a Rule of what it ought to think. Its Quanquam vincta ſit, ſoluta videri debet oratio. Fab. l. 9. c. 4. Diſcourſe muſt be free, though well compacted, and that it may have that freedom which makes it natural, it requires leſs number than Turn. Hiſtoria non tam finitos numeros, quam orbem contextumque deſiderat. ibid. But becauſe an Hiſtorian ought to read ancient Authors, to make himſelf a Style according to his capacity, he ſhall find it neceſſary to make his Obſervations in that Study, and ſo form to himſelf a Method fit for his Deſign. In Herodoto omnia leniter fluunt: tum ipſa dialectus habet jucunditatem. Fab. l. 9. c. 4. Herodotus's Style is ſweet, flowing, and agreeable. That of Thucydides praeſractior, nec ita rotundu • . In eo orbem orationis deſidero. Cic. in Bruto. Thucydides is nobler and greater, but not ſo natural; he has a rough way, which makes him obſcure, and he has leſs number and leſs turn than Herodotus. Obſcurus •… t quia preſſus. ibid. Xenophon has a tender and ſweet ſtrain. His Diſcourſe, which is not unlike to pure and clear Water, has no fellow in Antiquity, except Caeſar's; for nothing was ever writ in Latin more clearly. Tribus libris de bello civili Caeſari falſo aſcriptis nihil durius, nec candori Caeſariano minus conveniens Flor. Sabin. in calum. long. lat. A Modern Crtick's obſervation (who remarks ſome difference of Style in his Book of the Civil Wars, which he pretends to have not been written ſo purely as the Wars of the Gaules) goes beyond me: I have not knowledge enough to find that, and I am of Suetonius's Mind, who makes no difference throughout. I confeſs I am delighted with the Eloquence and Simplicity of that Author, no body ever wrote more clearly; Genus oration is fuſum & cum lenitate quadam a quabili profluens, ſine judiciali aſperitate, & Sententiarum forentium aculeis proſequendum. Cic. l. 2. de Orat. but the Nobleneſs of Livy's Diſcourſe charm my Spirits. That Hiſtorian has been read with reſpect in all Nations, for almoſt now two thouſand years, upon the ſcore of that Majeſtick way of ſpeaking, which has been admir'd by all Ages. Nothing alſo fills my Fancy better than that admirable choice of Words always fitted to his Sentiments, and that expreſſing of Sentiments always conformable to the things he Speaks of. In a word, he is the Man of all, that has better attain'd to that Style Cicero adviſes one to follow in Hiſtory, And 'tis by that great Model that Mariana, Buchanan, Paulus Aemilius, Paulus Jovius, and all thoſe who carried any Vogue after their Age, have formed themſelves in the way of Writing Hiſtory. Tacitus is not ſo fit; for that Luſtre of his high flights is like Lightning, whoſe Brightneſs dazels, inſtead of making the Matter plain. Paterculus and Florus have given a ſmall Air, flouriſh'd and delicate, which pleaſes their Readers. The Writers Auguſtae Hiſtoriae, as Ammianus Marcellinus, Lampridius, Spartianus, Julius Capitolius, Vopiſcus, and the others, have degenerated in a cold and impure Style, which has nothing of that Noble Simplicity of former Ages. Saluſtius rerum Romanorum florentiſſimus Author. Tac. l. 3. Hiſt. Saluſt is great and elevate in his way of Writing, which cauſes Quintilian to compare him to Thucydides. Saluſtio vigente amputatae Sententiae, & obſcura brevitas fuere pro cultu. Sen. l. 11. Epiſt. 114. Q. Curtius has a poliſh'd and bright Style. And by thoſe two Methods, which are almoſt the only two fit to be uſed, you may examine which of the two is the fitteſt for Hiſtory; and that Queſtion is the moſt important that can be made upon that Subject.

XI. Which is the propereſt for Hiſtory, the Great or the flouriſh'd Style?

In a Queſtion of ſo great a Conſequence as this, which is not yet determined; 'tis enough for one to give the Reaſons which may ſerve for the deciſion thereof, when a Man has not the Authority of determining it. Verba excerpſit Saluſtius ex originibus Catonis. Suet. in Aug. Saluſt has a Greatneſs in his Style; but ſome of his Expreſſions are harſh, which makes him look dry in ſome Places, becauſe he had form'd himſelf by the rudeneſs Saluſtius Scriptor ſeriae et ſeverae orationis. Aulug. l. 17. c. 18. of the Remains of Cato; which gives to his Diſcourſe a Gravity which looks like Severity. And contrariwiſe, none is more poliſh'd than Q. Curtius; It is an admirable Flower of Expreſſion, which pleaſes Men of Wit, but the buſineſs is, that we muſt examin whether the ſtiff Stile of Saluſt, hard as it is, be not wholſomer and fitter for Hiſtory, giving as it does Weight, Strength, and Greatneſs to the Diſcourſe. Is it not rich? and don't we find ſometimes in that hard and ſevere Stile, that agreeableneſs of which Demetrius the Phalerian ſpeaks; which Homer. Odyſſ. l. 9. Homer has ſo well expreſs'd in his Odyſſaea, about the Adventures of Polyphemus; where Demetrius pretends, in his Book of Elocution, that he is the firſt Author of it; that is to ſay, thoſe Graces which have nothing ſoft nor effeminate, and which are agreeable without being affected. The ſame Author quotes many Examples of it, taken out of Xenophon, who has the Art of making things Pleaſant, which of themſelves are not at all ſo. Herein that ſevere Stile properly conſiſts, which Hermogen. de Ideis, l. 1. c. 5. & l. 2. de invent. Hermogenes prefers to a ſoft Stile, when he ſays, that a meer naked Narration has often more Strength, than a Narration which is adorn'd and flouriſh'd; becauſe a ſevere Style may have ſome Greatneſs, and a ſoft Style can only have a Mediocrity. That is alſo the Reaſon why he reckons good Senſe, (tho' never ſo naked) amongſt the qualities of the Noble and elevated Style. This was, ſays he, the Character of Pericles, upon which Demoſthenes form'd himſelf to that ſtrong and fierce Eloquence, wherein he has excell'd: Hiperides, ſays he, in another place, is great tho' careleſs: his Style is rough and dry, but it is noble and elevate; Auſterus graeca conſuetudine Cornal. Fron. de differvocum. for, that Auſterity of Stile, which was the true Character of the Greeks, is nothing but Artis ſeverae ſi quis amat effectus, mentemque magnis applicat, prius more frugalitatis lege polleat exacta. Pet. a true and exact Senſe, and a juſt and correct Reaſon; which, without ſtopping at a ſhew of Brightneſs, purſues Solidity. Si juvenes verba atroci ſtylo effoderent, jam illa grandis oratio haberet maieſtatis ſuas pondus. Petr. It has nothing falſe in its Sentiments; all its Attention is bent towards a Sobriety of Diſcourſe, which is nothing but Senſe and Simplicity. Plutarch alſo attributes that Style to Demoſthenes, which Dionyſius Halycarnaſſaeus does not diſtinguiſh from the great and elevate. It is, in fine, that ſtrength of Expreſſion, which alone gives to our Diſcourſe, Nobleneſs and Majeſty, by which it becomes great and ſolid. Hence it is that Caeſar, thô unaffected, has ſomething Nobler in the Simplicity of his Diſcourſe, than Tacitus with all the Pomp of his Words: and there appears a kind of Careleſneſs in the Antients, which is worth all the Diligence of the Moderns. Hiſtorica locutio, ubi munditiem retinuerit, majora ornamenta non requirat, ſimplex, pura, naturalis ſit, nec Atticum ſiccitatem referre poſſit. Beni. l. 1. de Hiſt. I don't ſay, but that a flouriſh'd Style may be of uſe in ſmall Hiſtories, which have not ground enough to ſupport themſelves without help. It is a ſmall Hiſtory in French. The Princeſs of Montpenſier ought to be written with all the Eloquence Art can allow; but the Hiſtory of the War of Paris, and of the Late Troubles, ought to be written with a greater Air; Small Subjects require Finery, great Ones Strength and Dignity. Let Paterculus be prettily adorn'd in the Character he took; but Livy ought to be great and ſerious: ſmall Beauties ought to be finely attir'd to ſhew themſelves; but great ones have no need of it, becauſe they bear a good weight of themſelves. Beſides, Truth, which is the Soul of Hiſtory, becomes ſuſpicious, as ſoon as it is too much adorned; and Careleſneſs has more an Air of Sincerity. This is what was to be obſerved upon the Style in particular, after the general Notions I have given thereof: but as it is of uſe only in Narration, we'll examine in what manner it ought to be.

XII. The Narration.

Hiſtory being, properly ſpeaking, nothing but a Hiſtoria eſt narratio rei geſtae, per quam ea quae facta ſunt dignoſcuntur. Iſidor. l. 1. Orig. Rehearſal of things paſt, and in the ſame order as they came to paſs, ought alſo to be a continued Narration. Expoſitio praeteritorum Temporum. Fab. l. 4. c. 2. Therefore, as it hath nothing more eſſential than the knowing how to relate well, ſo, nothing is more difficult. Cuſtodia fidelis rerum geſtarum. Tit. Liv. l. 6. Annal. For it is a great Art to fix an unconſtant and fickle Reader's mind. What wiſdom does it not require to mannage every where thoſe colours that are neceſſary to give the reſemblance to things, and to mix conſtantly with them thoſe features, thoſe light touches, thoſe graces, that warmth, that quickneſs, which hinders a Narration from languiſhing? how dexterous muſt an Hiſtorian be, to uſe both Art and Wit, in what he ſays, yet not to ſeem to do ſo; Dare orationis varios vultus. gaudent enim res varietate. Fab. l. 9. c. 2. And by all the variety of Expreſſions, Figures and Thoughts, to adorn every part of his Hiſtory, without the leaſt ſmatch of Oſtentation? what knowledg ought he to have, to diſcern what muſt be ſaid, and what let alone, to ſpeak and hold his Peace, to dwell no longer than is fit upon the Points he treats of; to explain things at large, or by degrees, as neceſſity or a good Decorum requires; to enlarge or ſhorten them; to retrench, by a felicity of Expreſſion, thoſe Topicks, which otherwiſe would be inſipid, and never to weary the Reader by too great an uniformity? In fine, what a Judgment to ſeparate carefully that which is becomming from that which is not Decent? for upon that chiefly runs all the Beauty of a Narration, and all the Grace of Hiſtory. But a Narration is perfect whenever it has nothing of Superfluity. This is, in a word, the utmoſt perfection it is capable of being brought to. The Rules lay'd down by Cicero and Circumciſa expoſitio rei quae ſupervacuis caret. Fab. l. 4. c. 1. Quintilian ſay no more: after them I have nothing to ſay. For when once the Superfluities are cut off, the Circumlocutions which are not uſeful, the feigned Deſcriptions which are onely fit to make a ſhew, and all the vain Ornaments of the Diſcourſe are ſuppreſs'd, every thing comes cloſe to its point. Denſus, brevis, ſemper inſtans ſibi comitatis affectibus. Thucydides. Fab. l. 10. c. 1. The Vigour, the Strength and the Dignity, all ſupport each other, without any Flatneſs. In that Thucydides verbis aptus & preſſus. Cic. l. 2. de Orat. Thucydides out-did Horedotus, who is too big in ſome places, where he gives himſelf too much to the fineneſs of his Imagination. Immortalem illam Saluſtis velocitatem conſequutus Livius. Fab. l. 10. c. 1. Saluſt is of a Character exact and ſhort. He is properly commendable for the quickneſs and torrent of his Diſcourſe. Illa Saluſtiana brevitas, qua nihil apud aures erudiras perfectius eſſe poteſt, captanda. ibid. That is it which animates him, and makes him ſo lively. Caeſar's Narration is admirable for its Purity and Eloquence, but it is not quick enough; and he wants of that Strength which he found too abounding in Terence. Livius in narrando mira jucunditatis, clariſſimique candoris, ita ducuntur omnia tum rebus, tum perſonis accommodata. Fab. l. 10. c. 1. As for Livy, he has a way of reherſing that is very taking, by that Art he has of mixing in his Narration ſmall things with great ones; becauſe great ones, when too much enlarg'd, tire the Reader by reaſon of the great Attention they require, and ſmall ones refreſh him: it is with that ſame Method that he varies his Adventures; that he interchanges ſad things for delightful ones; that Mannages his Light and his Shade with a wiſe and judicious Temper, that ſo he may keep the Reader in tune by that Variety. For a Narration becomes inſipid, as ſoon as it wants diverſity of Accidents, Adventures, Figures, and Expreſſions. You muſt even allow ſome intervals to things, that your Reader may take breath, and not intermix your matter by too great a confuſion of things. It is a fault that Dionyſius Halycarnaſſaeus judges Thucydides creber rerum frequentia. Cic. l. 2. de Orat. Thucydides guilty of, in the third Book of his Hiſtory, where he ſo mixes the ſeveral Intereſts Dionyſius Halyc. tractat. de judic. Thucyd. of the Athenians, Lacedemonians, and of the other People of Greece, that he confounds, in a manner, the very appearance of things, by a Narration too much loaded with Matter: and this failure is incident to thoſe of a copious and fluent Invention. Tho' the Rerum ratio ordinem temporum deſiderat. Cic. l. 2. de Orat. order of Times be the moſt natural to a Narration, becauſe it unfolds things paſs'd; there is nevertheleſs an order of Reaſon in ranging Events, which ought particularly to be the ſtudy of an Hiſtorian. It is only by that ſecret Order that you may endear your Reader, ſo as to imprint your own Sentiments on his Mind, when you ſhew him Men acting naturally as they ought: and when you ſhew him their Manners, their Thoughts, their Deſigns and their Motives, as they are in a kind of dependency upon each other in the ſame natural order, which joyns them well together, In rebus magnis, memoriaque dignis, confilia primum, deinde act •… , poſtea eventus expectantur, Cic. l. 2. de Orat. An Hiſtorian that can well put thoſe things together, is a great Man; that is the thing which pleaſes, and not thoſe extraordinary Events which People run after for want for Judgment; for nothing is more taking than to ſee men act in that Order; that alone, when all comes to all, fixes the mind. Livy excell'd in that, becauſe he follow'd cloſely that Order, by drawing the Thread of his Hiſtory with a connexion of Diſcourſe, and by weaving together always thoſe Actions that are of an equal ſize. Longin. c. 18. Longinus has well obſerved, that Thucydides breaks the Order of things, to ſurprize the Reader by that diſorder, by bringing in unexpected Occurrences in his Narration: He tells even ſometimes things paſt in the preſent time, ſhewing them as thô they were paſſing actually, which makes the Reader more attentive, and affects him moſt. Tacitus is of a ſoaring Spirit, who does not ſay things in order. His great ſenſe, ſhut up in the compaſs of a few words, has not an extent proportioned to his Reader's minds, who are often overwhelmed with it: and having not a natural ſtrain in what he ſays, he ſcarce ever fits his words to mens Notions; he does not inſtruct well: For Example, when on the occaſion of the Papian Law he explains the ground of the Laws; or in another place, he ſpeaks of Aſylums, he does not return to the origin of things; he ſhews nothing clearly, or he does it ill; as when he explains the Religion of the Jews, l. 5. of his Hiſtory; his very Style is not fir for it, which is a great fault in an Hiſtorian, whoſe chiefeſt Profeſſion is to inſtruct. After all, a Narration is good (which way ſoever it is digeſted) when it pleaſes.

XIII. Tranſitions.

The great Art of a Narration, and one of its chiefeſt Beauties, conſiſts in the Tranſitions. In effect, thoſe fine and natural turns, thoſe happy paſſages from one Subject to another, make the ſtream of a Diſcourſe engaging: thoſe inſinuating ways lead the mind of a Reader from one Object to another, and ſhew him a great deal, without tiring him: In fine, all that admirable Oeconomy of the Tranſition, is that which is moſt delicate and ſpritely in the Narration, which ſeem always conſtrain'd, and never eaſie or natural without that Art. It is not enough to ſpeak well to attain it: you muſt be eloquent; you muſt be Maſter of your Subject, and to know the grounds and conſequences well; for the fitteſt Tranſitions ought to be much more in things than in words. So that thoſe Excurſions from Kingdom to Kingdom, from Nation to Nation, from Age to Age, without Method, and without Management, are no way opportune to a well digeſted Hiſtory, wherein all things ought to be well laid and compacted; as in a great Palace, where nothing ought to be ſcatter'd or irregular; for the compactneſs, and the proportion of its Apartments, make one of its greateſt Beauties: So Hiſtory is like a Body, compos'd of its Members by the Natural Union; in which Saunder's Hiſtory of the Schiſm of England, is very defective, amongſt Moderns, as that of Florus and Paterculus, amongſt the Ancients. Xenophon fluens & fine ſalebris oratio, Cic. Xenophon's Language is very well knit, ſweet and flowing, yet Livy ſtill exceeds him, his Narration being of one even continued thread; his Tranſitions conſiſt leſs in words than in things. Saluſt is not ſo well knit; Tacitus is ſtill leſs; his Connexions are forc'd, and the ſtréam of his Diſcourſe much interrupted, which ſurprizes the Reader, who muſt ſweat, if he will follow that Author. The moſt difficult Tranſitions are thoſe which are found in the commoneſt things; for an Author ought to ſuſtain himſelf with ſtrong Expreſſions, where the matter is but ſmall, and muſt find a way how to couple things that otherwiſe have no Union at all. It is in thoſe places he ought to ſhew all his Skill. The Reader's mind is ſo tender, that an Hiſtorian cannot always turn it as he pleaſes. But he muſt be conducted from adventure to adventure, by Connexions well cover'd for Order's ſake. For, in a word, he often has a fooliſh pride, and flights, which render him untractable. But there is need of a great deal of Art to vary thoſe Tranſitions, which never ought to be like one another, to give always new Ideas to the Reader, by not ſhewing him always the ſame Objects: It is in this an Hiſtorian muſt lay out his Induſtry; for herein the gracefulneſs of a Narration conſiſts, which alone can render it acceptable and delightful.

XIV. The Circumſtances of a Narration.

If a Narration becomes agreeable by the Tranſitions, it becomes credible by the Circumſtances. For nothing engages one more than a Fact cloath'd with good Circumſtances, which thô dark and obſcure of it ſelf, by the particulars becomes palpable, clear, ſenſible and evident; and as the progreſs of great undertakings, and of Affairs of importance, is ſeen only by bringing them into a good order by the ſeveral degrees of their Circumſtances; ſo the Art of explaining the Truth in all its Dependencies, by unravelling what is particular, making one of the great Ornaments of Hiſtory, a Writer ought to ſtudy it with all imaginable care. Here follows the Obſervations one may make of it. The great Secret is, to know how to make a wiſe and judicious choice of the Circumſtances that are capable of giving a great Idea of things, to imprint in them that Colour which can give them credit, and ſo make way for them to poſſeſs the mind. And this will be obtain'd by a concourſe of great and ſmall Circumſtances mixt with Dexterity, when well choſen. Great Circumſtances give ſome admiration, and ſmall ones pleaſure, provided they are well choſen, and not exaggerated. But thô an Action, which is not exactly reported, makes no impreſſion, you muſt nevertheleſs ſhun thoſe Expreſſions of low and frivolous Particulars, which make a Subject worſe; for you become childiſh, and even ridiculous, by ſticking too cloſe to little things; As that impertinent Hiſtorian Luc. in Conſer. Hiſt. Lucian ſpeaks of, who gives a very particular Deſcription of the Parthian's Veſte, and of the Roman Emperour's Shield, when he deſcribes the Fight. Others, adds he, not thinking of Eſſential things, loſe time in things not uſeful; as he, who after having ſpoke by the by, a word or two of the Battel, which made then the Subject of his Diſcourſe, ſtops to relate the Adventures of a Mooriſh Knight, the moſt extravagant in the World. So Procopius, in his ſecret Hiſtory, forgets the Circumſtances neceſſary, and rehearſes what is needleſs. You muſt then, in the recital of any Action of Conſequence, know well how to lay the Circumſtances which are to make the thing plain, and to ſuſtain it in its light, by diſtinguiſhing the Eſſential from that which is not ſo. The moſt accompliſht pattern we have in Hiſtory of a great Action, told in all the Circumſtances capable of giving it weight and ſplendor, is Hannibal's March into Italy, as it is written in the 21ſt Book of the Annals of Livy. It is, in my judgment, the moſt perfect part of his Hiſtory; and there are few things of that ſtrength in Antiquity. A greater deſign never enter'd into a more extraordinary mind; and nothing was ever accompliſh't more cleverly. The Argument was, Hannibal's coming out of Africa, marching through Spain, over the Pyrenean Hills; croſſing the Rhone, at his very mouth, a River vaſt and ſwift, whoſe Banks were cover'd with ſo many Enemies; his opening himſelf a way through the Alpes, where no man had ever paſs'd before; travelling upon Precipices; diſputing at every ſtep with People that lay in Ambuſcadoes, in continual Filings, amidſt the Snow, Ice, Rain, Torrents, defying Storms and Thunder; making War with Heaven, Earth, and all the Elements; drawing after him an Army of a hundred thouſand Men of different Nations, and all jealous of a General, whoſe Courage they were not able to imitate. The Souldiers Minds were poſſeſt with fear, Hannibal alone remains unſhaken, the danger which encompaſſes him, abates the Courage of all the Army, but never diſturbs his Mind. All is drawn in a Relation of horrid Circumſtances; in every word of that Hiſtorian danger is expreſt; never Picture was better finiſh'd in Hiſtory, touch'd with livelier Colours, and with bolder ſtrokes. Nothing alſo is better adorned with Circumſtances in Tacit. l. 2. Annal. Tacitus, than that Feaſt the Empreſs Meſſalina made to ſhew her Love to Silius, her Gallant. All the Ceremonies appear'd as thô it had been Vintage-time, that Seaſon favouring the Feaſt; Mirth, Pleaſure, frolick and laſcivious Debauchery, are all expreſs'd with the fineneſs of an exquiſite Eloquence; and the Relation thereof is particulariz'd ſuccinctly and ſenſibly, and made throughout in ſuch a manner, as ſpeaks Life and Spirit; and nothing is more judiciouſly plac'd, rendring by this lively repreſentation Meſſalina's Death, which follows after more Tragical and full of Horror. In fine, there are happy Circumſtances, which give an agreeableneſs every where, where they are apply'd; but you muſt underſtand them well, to know where they muſt be apply'd. Things become often greater by their Circumſtances, than they do by themſelves. Let us then look into thoſe Circumſtances which can both inſtruct and pleaſe, and keep the Reader from doazing. Let us imitate Davila, who is ſo taking, by the Art he has duly to cloath what he ſays with proper Circumſtances; yet great Relations weary the Spirits; ſo let us make a judicious diſtinction of the Circumſtances Neceſſary, and of Importance, from thoſe that are not ſo. Let us conſult Lucian, and his Diſcourſe upon Hiſtory; he is a great Maſter in that. But to make a compleat Narration, we muſt joyn to the Circumſtances of its things, the Motives of its Actions; for Motives well touch'd make a Narration as curious, as the Circumſtances make it likely.

XV. The Motives.

To tell Men's Actions without ſpeaking of their Motives, cannot properly be called to write Hiſtory. It is juſt like a Gazette, where the Author contents himſelf barely to report the Events of things, without going up to their Spring. As Caeſar, who gives meerly his Marches, and his Encampings, without telling their Motives; every thing in his Narration being too plain and open; thô 'tis true he writes only Memoirs. It is then that curious rehearſing of Motives which cauſe Men to Act, by which alone Hiſtory it ſelf becomes delicate, and ſuſtains it ſelf chiefly in important Affairs. To ſay things as they are paſs'd, without going to their beginning, is properly to ſtop at the outward part of Things. Reaſon will have it, ſays Cicero, Rerum ratio vult, ut quoniam in rebus magnis confilia primum, deinde acta, poſtea eventus expectantur; in rebus geſtis declarari, non ſolum quid actum, aut dictum ſit, ſed quomodo, & cum de eventu dicatur, ut cauſae explicentur omnes, &c. l. 2. de Orat. that as in Affairs, the Deſign precedes the Execution; The Historian gives an Account, not only of Events, but alſo of Cauſes; and that in relating what has been done, he explains how, and for what Reaſon it was done. Tacitus ſays almoſt the ſame thing; that it is important for Hiſtory, not only to tell the Events of things, but to diſcover the Ground and Principles of them, and to touch upon the Motives thereof; Ut non modo caſus eventuſque rerum, ſed ratio etiam, cauſaque noſcantur. 14. Ann. by this an Hiſtorian diſtinguiſhes himſelf, and makes himſelf conſiderable; and nothing is more pleaſing in a Narration, than the Explication of what is ſecret, and of Importance in thoſe Peoples Deſigns and Intentions, whoſe Actions it relates; and Hiſtory having nothing more commendable than this, all the little Hiſtorians, even of the ſmalleſt Credit, have endeavoured to excell in that way. For, nothing ſtrikes more upon the Curioſity of men, than this, by which they are made to diſcern what is more concealed in mens Minds; that is to ſay, the ſecret motions which make them act, even in their ordinary Undertakings. It is only by going up to the Cauſe, that you will ſee the minds of thoſe you ſpeak of; that you'll diſcover the Spirit which makes them act what they are capable of, and that you'll find the Truth by ſearching deeply into their Intentions. But with how many Falſhoods are Hiſtories fill'd upon this fair Pretext? And, into how many Errors do unjuſt, falſe, and interreſted Hiſtorians daily fall, which abandon themſelves to their Conjectures; diſtribute their own Imaginations to the Publick, to expreſs the Deſigns of thoſe whom they ſpeak of? As for Example; That Pericles cauſed the War in Peloponneſus, becauſe he lov'd Aſpaſia: That Xerxes carry'd that dreadful Army, Hiſtory tells us, only to eat Figs: That M. Anthony loſt the Empire, meerly becauſe he would not part with Cleopatra: That Francis the Firſt of France, carry'd his Armies over into Italy, only upon the account of the faire Lady named Claricea. There is nothing more tickliſh and difficult than to ſearch into mens hearts, and thence to gueſs or diſcover what they think; for an Author will tell all he knows, and all that comes into his mind, rather than fail telling the Truth. It is one of the greateſt failings in Davila, whoſe Diſcourſes are otherwiſe juſt enough; but his conjectures in the motives of the Actions he relates, do not prove very true, if we may take the Truth from their Fathers. Not but that, after all, an Action very well clear'd to its very Motives, and a Secret well penetrated, might give a great Idea of the Hiſtorian's Ability, and make us judge, that he ſpeaks like a man well inform'd, and looks very well in Hiſtory.

But that an Author, Haud facile animus rerum provider, ubi officiunt odium, amicitia, ira, atque miſericordia. Caeſar. apud Saluſt. in Catil. who pretends to gueſs, be always upon his Guards againſt prejudice; that he hearkens neither to his Affection nor his Hatred; to avoid Artifice, and thoſe Colours men are prompt to give to things, in favour of that ſide he is prejudic'd for; that he inſerts no falſhoods, to juſtifie his Conjectures, and to make things agree with that Air he is pleas'd to give them; that he neither diminiſh nor exaggerate any thing, as Tacitus, who caſts a Poiſon every where; or as Paterculus, who ſtrows every thing with Flowers. Let him not ſhew men worſe affected than they are, as Herodotus does, when he ſays, that the Perſians were call'd into Greece by the Spartiates, becauſe they could reſiſt the Lacedemonians no longer, nor ſuffer them, as Plutarch. de Herod. Malig. Plutarch reproaches him; let him not alſo cover an unjuſt dealing with a good intention, as Callias of Syracuſe, who juſtifies all the Actions of Agathocles, becauſe he did him ſome good, as Excerp •… Conſt. ex Diodoro. Diodorus takes notice; nor as Paulus Jovius, in reſpect of Coſmus de Medicis, not long ſince. There are in all Hiſtorians miſtakes of that kind, becauſe they are few that have a mind ſteddy enough to reſiſt their Prejudice. But thô the motives in great men ought regularly to be better and greater than their Actions; for the motives depend upon them, but the events do not: yet it is but a ſmall miſtake, as Noble men are, to mix in their Counſels, and in their Deliberations part of the pride and of the weakneſs they are ſubject to: for oftentimes it is only through ſome impertinent and ridiculous motives, that the moſt part of men are determind. There is an infinite number of Examples thereof, which I leave, that I may not exceed bounds upon that matter. You muſt, above all things, know well the Vanity, the Malice, the Ignorance, and the Folly of mens minds, which always conforms to their Principles, to know well the bottom of their Intentions, and ſearch his Weakneſs, which is the great Principle of Malice; and above all things, not to be ignorant, that the Lazineſs of moſt great men, in examining the bottom of Affairs, and the impatience they have to judge of them upon what the Conduct moſt eſſential to their Affairs depends. It is them we muſt neceſſarily know, for being, as they are, the Great Actors upon the Stage of this World, all things, for the moſt part, are rul'd by their Extravagancies: But it does not follow, that if we have done once well in this way, by chance, we ſhould be able to do it always. There are Hiſtorians in this Age, which have ruin'd their Reputation by too great an itch of mingling their Conjectures with all Events, and impoſing their own Conceits upon the Publick inſtead of Hiſtory; as Herrera, who ſays, that the Duke of Parma did not do the beſt he could againſt the Hollanders, to manage them with Policy. There is nothing more contrary to an Hiſtorian's mind, (who ought to be ſincere and faithful) than thoſe conjectures which are built in the Air, without any Foundation, and all Diſcourſes grounded upon many conjectures, are either uncertain or frivolous. This is what muſt be obſerv'd in Tranſitions, in Circumſtances, and in the Motives wherein the chief Art of a Narration conſiſts. This is alſo what muſt be regarded in its other parts, which are the Figures, the Paſſions, the Deſcriptions, the Speeches, the Reflections, or the Sentences; the Characters of Perſons, the Digreſſions, and all that can enter in the Oeconomy of the Diſcourſe which Hiſtory ought to be made of.

XVI. Figures.

Hiſtory makes uſe of Figures only to animate it ſelf: The Speaker, who has a mind to impoſe, ſpeaks always by Figures, that the Springs of his Art may play the better: but the Hiſtorian, whoſe mind is only to inſtruct, ought to uſe them in another way. That very Simplicity which Truth requires in Hiſtory, does not take that way of figurating, which would injure its Candor and Ingenuity. Luc. de conſer. Hiſt. Lucian, who is admirable every where elſe, is not here ſo much as againſt thoſe vain Ornaments of Eloquence, which are not convenient for Hiſtory. If, ſays he, you lay on too many of them, you'll make it like Hercules, dreſt with his Miſtreſs's Cloathes; which is the greateſt of all Extravagancies. It is yet leſs capable, continues he, of thoſe clear marks Poetry uſes, to cauſe thoſe motions in mens hearts, by moving the Paſſions. That Hiſtory which is candid and ſincere, and does not deſign to impoſe upon me, ought to leave my heart free, to judge the better of what it tells me. Eloquence, which by its Character, is an Art that impoſes, may ſteal upon my Liberty, by ſtriving to perſuade me againſt my will. But an Hiſtory which fixes it ſelf purely within the Limits of Inſtruction, cannot handſomely make uſe of Figures, no further than to take from the Diſcourſe its natural coldneſs, and to render it leſs tedious. It is only by theſe means that Herodotus, Thucydides and Xenophon, keep up the Reader's mind: And Saluji, Livy and Mariana, never uſe Figures to impoſe upon the Publick. Tacitus is not ſo ſcrupulous; he looks like a man who thinks of nothing but of dazling your Eyes: The boldneſs of his Metaphors, and of his other Figures, make his Expreſſions troubleſome and too high. Caeſar ſcrip •… Commen •… 〈…〉 . Cic. in B •… t. Caeſar is upon another Extream; It is a Diſcourſe naked, without Figures, unprovided of all Attire. It is not but that a figur'd Expreſſion, made on purpoſe, might pleaſe ſometimes more than proper words, becauſe it makes the Images livelier, and more agreeable to the mind, and gives ſtrength and nobleneſs to the Diſcourſe; and there is a boldneſs of Style, provided it be wiſe and judicious, which is admitted in places that want Life. But for Figures, to be well applied, be ſure they be modeſt and familiar, not taking the flights of Poetry, or high Eloquence; Let them not be, ſays Lucian, too bright, nor too elaborate, unleſs in the Deſcription of a Battel, or in a Speech, where an Hiſtorian may ſpread the Sails of his Eloquence, without ſoaring too high.

XVII. The Paſſions.

The Paſſions alſo make one of the great Ornaments of the Narration, when they are on purpoſe, and that they are touch't judiciouſly. The Truth is, that they do not require that heat which ought to accompany the Stage: one muſt give them another Air; for they are not to be acted, but rehearſed. An Hiſtorian may make his Diſcourſe paſſionate, but he ought not to be paſſionate himſelf. Therefore let him ſtudy men to the bottom, that he may lay open in his own mind the moſt private motions Paſſion is capable of raiſing there, that he may expreſs its trouble and diſorder; and that well applied, is very agreeable in a Narration. Thucydides has treated that part better than Herodotus; for he is more eloquent, and more pathetick, as Dionyſ. Halicar. Epiſt. ad Pompei. & de Virt. Serm. Dionyſius Halycarnaſſaeus ſays, thô Herodotus has ſometimes more life. Hermogenes propounds an admirable Model of a tender, affectionate, and paſſionate Narration in the Death of Panthaea, Queen of Suſiana, which is written in the Seventh Book of Xenophon's Cyropoedia. It is one of the fineſt places in that Author: All is ſaid in a touching Strain. Photius aſſures us, that Joſephus has a great Art in his Diſcourſe, to move the Soul by the Paſſions. Affectus eos praecipue, qui commendavit. Quintillian affirms, that dulciores ſunt, nemo Hiſtoricorum Livio magis Fab. l. 10. c. 1. Livy, of all Hiſtorians, has moſt ſignaliz'd himſelf by thoſe tender and delicate ways, whereby he has entertain'd the ſweeteſt motions of the Soul: Affectus eos praecipue, qui dulciores ſunt, nemo Hiſtoricorum Livio magis commendavit. Fabius, l. 10. c. 1. The Rape of the Sabins, thoſe tender motions they ſhew'd at that time to take the Arms out of the hands of the Romans, their Husbands, and of the Sabins, their Fathers; the Death of Lucretia; Her Body expoſed to Publick View, to move the People to rebell againſt the Tarquins; Vetturia at her Son Cariolanus's Feet, to appeaſe his Fury, when he came to beſiege Rome; Virginia ſtabb'd by her Father; the Conſternation of Rome, after the Battel of Cannae; and a thouſand other ſuch things, touch't in his Hiſtory by the moſt tender Expreſſions imaginable, are fine Examples thereof. And it is in that Hiſtorian you ought to ſtudy the way of treating Paſſions as they ought to be in Hiſtory; for he animates himſelf only in the places where heat is requiſite. Tacitus does not mind how to manage his heat; he is always paſſionate; and even thoſe Colours he uſes, are always too ſtrong: and becauſe he is ſtill too full in ſome things, and that he does not Copy after Nature, he does not move ſo much. I ſay nothing of the other Hiſtorians, the greateſt number of whom have not underſtood the Paſſions, nor the way they ought to be repreſented in. It is a particular kind of Rhetorick, which requires a great Senſe, and a very exact knowledge of Morality. But, if we intend to pleaſe, let us beware of thoſe Dry Narrations, which are void of the moving ſtroaks which Nature requires.

XVIII. The Deſcriptions.

That Affectation which appears in moſt Hiſtorians, in making Deſcriptions, has, in a manner, run down its uſe amongſt judicious people. Nothing indeed is more childiſh, than a Deſcription too much poliſh'd in a ſerious Hiſtory. Young Authors run head-long into it, without diſtinction: You cannot be too circumſpect in the uſe thereof. The Principle which is obſervable in it, is, That you muſt uſe it no more than is neceſſary to illuſtrate thoſe things, the knowledge whereof is eſſential to what you write. Such is the Deſcription of the Iſle of Capraea, lib. 4. Annal. Tacit. For it denotes the Reaſon Tyberius had to retire thither toward the latter end of his life, which renders it neceſſary; and being ſhort, eloquent, and poliſh'd, without any Superfluity, one may ſay, that it is as it ought to be. The Deſcription Sal. in Bello Jugurt. Saluſt made of the place where Jugurtha was defeated by Metellus, ſerves to make one know the Fight better. You may ſee there the Vertue of the Roman, as well as the Experience of the Numidian King, by the advantage he had taken in poſſeſſing himſelf of the Hills: and all the recital of the Battel, is better underſtood, by that draught of the place which the Hiſtorian lays before your Eyes, as well as the Picture of that place, where Hannibal fought Minucius, Book 22. Annal. Livii, which is a place well touch'd. Deſcriptions might again be allow'd in a great Hiſtory, to make the Narration more pleaſing, provided they be fitted well to the purpoſe, and free from that ſuperfluity which commonly accompanies them, when given by young Hiſtorians. The deſire they have to ſhew their Parts that way, makes them fall in a pittiful childiſhneſs. Nay, Luc. de Hiſt. conſer. Lucian finds fault with the too long Deſcription which Thucidides makes of the Plague of Athens, in the Second Book of his Hiſtory; and he is, perhaps, in the right: for that Author, thô wiſe, runs into a Narration of that Diſeaſe too particular: But that Critick has more reaſon, when he complains of that impertinent Hiſtorian of his Time, who took ſo much delight in making great Deſcriptions of Mountains, of Cities, of Battels, which, he ſays, out-do in Coldneſs, all the Snows, and all the Ice of the North. And indeed, nothing is colder than a deſcription which is too much ſtudied. The Machines of War us'd by Caeſar, are deſcrib'd in his Commentaries, with a way of Circumſtances too great for ſo mecanick a matter as that is. That Commander, whoſe Reputation in the knowledge of War, is eſtabliſh'd, ſeems to have a deſire to be thought alſo a good Engineer; it looks too much affected for a man ſo judicious. The Deſcription of Africa, in the War of Jugurtha in Saluſt, is too full of Circumſtances. There was no need of ſo many to mark the Limits of the Kingdoms of Atherbal and Jugurtha, which were then in diſpute: What need was there to deſcribe all that Countrey, and to make a diſtinction of the Manners of the People, with ſo much particularity? Deſcriptions muſt then be uſeful, exact, ſhort, elegant, never ſtudied, having no harſhneſs in them, nor a vain deſire of making your Wit appear more than your Subject, that your Deſcriptions may look well, as thoſe of Livy do: 'twere fit you ſhould make him your Pattern.

XIX. Speeches.

I find the Maſters Opinions very much divided in that Point. Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon, have ſignaliz'd themſelves chiefly by their Speeches: Thucydides did better than any of them; the Speeches of the chiefeſt Actors in his Hiſtory, Pericles, Nicias, Alcibiades, Archidamus, and of all the Nations that ſpeak by Deputies, are excellent Leſſons for Speakers of all Ages; and Demoſthenes formed himſelf chiefly in that School. Polybius uſes more Formalities: he doth not let Scipio ſpeak ſo much, thô he has reaſon to do it, having always been his Companion in War; In Sermonibus effingendis Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, Saluſtius nimii videntur: & cauſa eſt cur Caeſar Commentarios ſcripſit, ut id omitteret, in quo alii laborant. Biſciol. l. 7. hor. ſubceſſ. Caeſar is ſtill more ſparing; for he makes hardly any Speeches at all, pretending they are againſt the Truth of Hiſtory, and taking rather the part of writing bare Memories, that he may ſeem plainer in his Diſcourſe. Dionyſius Halycarnaſſaeus cauſes Brutus to make a long Exhortation upon the Death of Lucretia, that ſo he might excite the People to Revenge; and that Oration which he makes Valerius to ſpeak upon the fitteſt form of Government in a State, Book 7. of his Hiſtory, is very tedious. Joſephus, Appian, Dio Caſſius, and Procopius, are great Diſcourſers, as well as Thucydides and Xenophon, which took that Idea of ſpeaking out of Homer: And in truth, if we examine the grounds of thoſe Diſcourſes, and, above all, of thoſe that are made by Captains, to encourage the Soldiers to fight, we ſhall find but little likelihood in them. Trogus reprehendit in Livio & Saluſtio, quod Conciones & Orationes operi ſuo inſerendo, hiſtoriae modum exceſſerint. Juſt. l. 38. Trogus reproaches Saluſt and Livy, with a great deal of reaſon, for the immoderate exceſs of Speeches in their Hiſtories: And indeed all thoſe Diſcourſes they attribute to great men, have but a falſe look: for out of what Memoires could they have taken them? Beſides, a Warrier don't ſpeak like one that makes it his buſineſs to ſpeak in publick. Livius, Thucydides interſerunt Conciones, quae nunquam abiis, quibus ſunt attributae cognitae fuerunt. Scal. Poet. l. 1. So when Pericles, in Thucydides, made an Oration in praiſe of his Soldiers that had been defeated and kill'd by the Boeotians: His Speech is feigned, as well as that which Catiline, in Saluſt, makes to the Conſpirators, which, in all probability, was ſecret, and not much ſtudied. This is partly what Ben. l. 2. de Hiſt. Beny ſays, to improve that miſtake. Thucydides, who was judicious, took care of that in his laſt Books, where he makes fewer Speeches than in the firſt. But it is a Natural Leſſon; for we never write an Hiſtory, but we bring in thoſe that have a ſhare in it, to make them ſpeak; becauſe nothing gives more vigour to a Narration, which is apt to grow cold by a Diſcourſe too much poliſhed. There is then a medium to be taken: A ſmall Diſcourſe made on purpoſe in an Hiſtory, by one that bears a Character fit to make it, being alſo well ſuited to the Perſon and Subject under hand, may pleaſe, being put in its due place. But thoſe formal Speeches at the Head of an Army ready to engage, and thoſe Deliberations of a tedious prolixity, which are made upon thoſe buſineſſes that are ſpoken of, are almoſt out of faſhion in good Hiſtories: And the wiſeſt chuſe to make their Heroe ſpeak things in few words, without engaging themſelves to ſay ſet Speeches; as Livy, in the beginning of his Hiſtory, has done by the Embaſſadors which Romulus ſent to his Neighbours. The moſt part of Saluſt's Speeches are very fine, but never to the purpoſe; for nothing is finer than Marius's Speech: It is the beſt Moral Lecture in the World upon Nobility; all is reaſonable in it; and Antiquity has few of that Strength, to perſuade People to embrace Vertue; but it is ſet in a wrong place; and the way that he makes Cato and Caeſar give their Opinion in the Senate, how great ſoever it be, is not made proportionable to the reſt of his Hiſtory. Of that number is the long Diſcourſe Dio makes in the 56th Book of his Hiſtory, in praiſe of Marriage, and of a Batchelor's Life. But on the contrary, there is nothing firmer than Tyberius's Speech upon the Reformation of Luxury, Tacit. l. 3. Annal. No Hiſtorian ever made a Prince ſpeak with more Dignity. The Speeches of Agrippa and of Moecenas to Auguſtus, wherein the one adviſes him to quit the Empire, and the other to keep it, are extream fine in Dio Caſſius; but they are ſo long, that they take up all the 52d Book. In fine, to finiſh this Article, I am for De Thucydide Orationes quas interpoſuit laudare ſoleo: ſed imitari neque poſſim ſi velim, neque velim ſi poſſim. Cic. declar. Orat. Cicero's Advice, who ſpeaking of the Diſcourſes of Thucidides, ſays wiſely, I find them very fine, and I could not do ſo well if I would, nor would I do it if I could; which is all that can be well ſaid upon that Subject; For, in fine, Speakers are always ſubject to be tedious: And Boccalinus is very pleaſant, who condemns an Old Man to the Pennance of reading one of Guichardin's Speeches, becauſe he had read a Madrigall, with his Spectacles, upon Mount Parnaſſus.

XX. The Characters of Perſons.

Pictures are a great Embelliſhment in Hiſtory, when well drawn; but Romances have ſpoil'd that way; for we make too many, and thoſe ſuch as do not well reſemble: We loſe time in deſcribing, after our own Fancy, the Air of the Perſon: but this is not the thing Explicentur hominum ipſorum non ſolum res geſtae, ſed vita ac natura. Cic. l. 2. de Orat. : For what does it ſignifie to me to know whether Hannibal had good Teeth, provided that his Hiſtorian ſhew me the greatneſs of his Genius; that he ſhew me a bold and an active Spirit, vaſt Thoughts, a ſtout Heart, and all that animated by an extream Ambition, and ſupported too by a ſtrong Conſtitution, as Libr. 21. Annal. Livy has deſcrib'd it? So Saluſt gives me a great Opinion of Catiline, by the Picture he makes of him at the beginning of his Hiſtory: And when I ſee that deſperate Soldier raiſe Armies in his Cloſet, go up to the Senate with a Silence that ſhews his Reſolution to affront the Conſul; to hear, unconcern'd, his Invectives; to put Rome in Allarm, to make Italy tremble; to dare at laſt what no Particular ever durſt; I am not ſurpriz'd, after the Deſcription the Hiſtorian has made me of him: I ſee a Man of Reſolution, who ſtirs all things, without being ſeen, becauſe he had taken well his meaſure. Pompey is far off with the beſt Troops of the Commonwealth; tied by a troubleſome, thô neceſſary War; Rome full of Factious People, the Provinces full of Malecontents: there's a general Diſorder in the Commonwealth, through a Deluge of Vice which overwhelm'd it; and every thing favours Catiline's Deſign, in the Conjuncture he found of putting it in execution. So one may gueſs what might happen of the War of Atherbal and Jugurtha, after Saluſt's Deſcription of the Genius's of both; that I know to the bottom Sylla and Marius, according to the Idea he has given me of them, and that I take pleaſure to ſee, iſſuing from their Spring which that Hiſtorian has diſcover'd unto me, the Sequel of Jugurtha's great Actions, who gave ſo great diſturbance to the Romans, after the Image he has drawn of that Captain. It is in that manner that the Ancients have mix'd in their Hiſtories thoſe kind of Pictures of the Perſons they deſign'd to repreſent, to diſtinguiſh them from others; which is of great Ornament in a Piece, when done opportunely: For after a Character is well eſtabliſh'd by thoſe Eſſential Features, which make a diſtinction of it, all goes on a great deal better; all things are better underſtood in the Narration: But it is a Maſter-piece, to hit that Reſemblance, which conſiſts only in ſingular and imperceptible Features, which alone expreſſes Nature, and which one hardly meets with, unleſs he ſearches the hearts, and unwraps all their folds, that he may well know what is hidden. But what ſtrength of Spirit, and what acuteneſs is requiſite for that purpoſe? Theſe things that follow are to be obſerv'd in it: Firſt, the Picture ought to be real; and this was Xenophon's miſcarriage in the Picture he made of Cyrus, wherein he gave nothing but the Idea of an Heroe. Secondly, it ought to reſemble: in that Tacitus has not been exact enough, minding to follow rather his Genius, than to imitate Nature; ſeeking more to make a good Picture, than to give the reſemblance, provided that his Pictures pleaſe; as that of Sejanus, lib. 4. Annal. He cares but little whether they reſemble or not; for he makes him a great deal worſe than he is, if we may believe Paterculus, who praiſes him much. Thirdly, an Author ought to make only the Pictures of Perſons of Conſequence: There Saluſt miſtook in the Repreſentation of Sempronia, who makes but an indifferent Figure in Catiline's Conſpiracy. But althô too much time ought not to be ſpent in painting the External Parts of the Perſon, yet he may do it in ſome caſes, when that may ſerve to make the Genius of thoſe you ſpeak of better underſtood. And indeed there are ſeveral ways of painting: Lucretiam nocte ſera non in convivio luxuque ſed deditam lanae inter Ancillas ſedentem inveniunt, l. 1. Annal. Livy, ſpeaking of Lucretia, ſo fair to her Husband's Eyes, without mentioning any thing of her Face, paints only her Virtue, and gives in one word, the greateſt Idea that can be given of an honeſt Woman. Tacitus paints Tyberius only by his Actions; that way he makes him to be known: Oppreſſit in Tricliniis Paraſytos ſuos violis & floribus, ſicut animam aliqui efflaverint, Lampr. in Heliog. Lampridius makes a right Picture of the Emperour Heliogabalus, ſaying, that he ſtifl'd his Paraſites in heaps of Flowers, after he had drown'd them with Wine: Procopius paints the Empreſs Theodora by her Gallantries: A drinking bout is ſufficient to the Hiſtorian that writes Venceſlaus's Life, to draw the Picture of that Emperour; who caus'd, ſays he, his Cook to be put upon the Spit, and roaſted, becauſe he had ill roaſted a Pig which that Prince had a mind to eat. But the beſt way of painting, is to diſcover the ſecret motions of the heart, which makes the Perſon better known. It is from thence only that you ought to take thoſe Features which make a diſtinction, that you may give a Character rais'd from its own ground. All the reſt ought to be little accounted of in a ſerious Hiſtory, which can endure nothing but what is judicious. I ſhould not like alſo thoſe Pictures which are copied, and taken here and there, as in Mariana; thoſe he took out of Tacitus: Nor like that of Walſtein, in A French Author, who wrote part of Walſtein's Conſpiracy. Sarraſin, which is made up, for the moſt part, of the fineſt Pictures in Antiquity. You ought not to loſe time in Copies, when you draw after the Life, and when you think of making an Original. After all is done, Hiſtory is the faithfulleſt Picture of thoſe you ſpeak of; nothing ſhewing their Character better than the continuation of their Actions.

XXI. The Reflections and Sentences.

There is much to be ſaid upon that Article, which makes all the delight of Hiſtory, when delicately done: but there are many miſtakes to be avoided in this Point, where you can never uſe too much Simplicity. Xenophon, Polybius, and Tacitus, are full of Reflections; Thucydides, Saluſt, and Caeſar, are more reſerv'd. What Party muſt an Author chuſe amongſt ſo great Examples of ſo different a Conduct, and in ſo important a matter. And, in truth, the Beauty which Hiſtory hopes for from that kind of Ornament, requires to be manag'd with exact judgment: For, in fine, a man quits the Character of an Hiſtorian, who ought to tell naturally, what he has to ſay, without mingling, mal à propos, his own Conceits with it, when he moralizes upon all ſorts of things, turning, without diſtinction, the Adventures which offer themſelves, great and ſmall, into curious and Political Reflections. Nothing alſo is more capable of adulterating Truth, or, at leaſt, of perplexing it, than thoſe fine thoughts, which ſome Authors ſhuffle in out of their own brains, and which a Reader often has not Wit enough to diſtinguiſh from the ground of Hiſtory. It is then Wiſdom in an Author to have no ſrivolous Fancies of his own, to play the Philoſopher's part indifferently upon every thing that preſents it ſelf before him; as Ammianus Marcellinus, who acts too much like a Philoſopher, by an Affectation of appearing Learned, which is but little underſtood. Livy goes on his way, ſtopping at nothing; he ſays what he knows of the things he ſpeaks of, and leaves the Reader at liberty to make Reflections, without preventing him with his own: and when he does it, it is only with few words, but Noble and Great; Deos eſſe non negligere humana, ſuperbiae & crudelitati, & ſi ſeras, non leves poenas venire, l. 3. Annal. as what he ſays of the Crime and Puniſhment of Appius, who had ſtollen away Virginia. It is a great Gift in an Author, to know how to furniſh his Readers with Matters to apply their Minds to, to draw Conſequences, and to give what Air he pleaſes to the things related. All Readers will have their liberty to think what they pleaſe upon what is preſented to them, without being pre-engag'd; and the uſe of that liberty is one of the greateſt delights he takes in reading. Let us then retrench thoſe deep and abſtracted Reflections, if we mean to pleaſe; not labouring after much Spruceneſs in what we write: Let us be more natural and candid; Let us ſay the Truth, without commenting upon it, if our Wit be ſtrong enough to bear it; Let us, above all things, forbear to moralize upon Fortune, and her Unconſtancies, a thing ſo common in Books; Let us not affect thoſe Sententious Expreſſions, which have too much Gayity and Ornament; Let us renounce thoſe Witticiſms, and falſe Sentiments, which Authors of a ſmall Genius jingle with. If we mix in our Diſcourſe ſome Reflections, let them be as natural as may be, and ſuch as ariſe from the Subject it ſelf; let them never be too fine, nor too elaborate; let them be more ſolid, thô leſs ornamental; let them look more like the Arguments of a wiſe Politician, than the Affectation of an Orator; Curandum ne ſententiaeemineant extra corpus orationis expreſſae, Petr. Let him be neither too frequent, nor too looſe, but woven, as one may ſay, in the Body of your Work: In fine, let them never have that lofty look of Reflections, which give an ill Opinion of him that makes them. It is in that that Tacitus, Machiavel, Paulus Jovius, Davila, and moſt part of the Italians and Spaniards, are exceſſive. But let none adventure to make thoſe curious Reflections of Policy and Morality, unleſs he knows the Man entirely, the Illuſions of his Spirit, and the Weakneſs of his Mind. It is only by that knowledge that good Hiſtorians are diſtinguiſh'd from thoſe of a middle Rank, as Plutarch in his Lives. Saluſt, thô unaffected, preaches too much againſt the Corruptions and Ill Manners of his own Time; he is always angry with his Countrey, and always diſſatisfied with the Government: he gives too bad an Opinion of the Commonwealth, through his Invectives, and his Reflections upon the Luxury of Rome. In truth, thô there is nothing falſe in what he ſays, yet he runs out of his firſt thoughts. So Davila would make fewer Speeches, did he but remember that he is an Hiſtorian. It is neceſſary to underſtand Morality well, to make juſt Reflections; For true Morality is the ground of good Policy. Therefore Tacitus's Policy is often falſe, becauſe his Morality is not true: either he makes Men appear too much corrupted, or he is not candid enough himſelf: There is nothing natural commonly in his Reflections, becauſe nothing is innocent in them; he envenoms, and gives an ill turn to every thing: He has by that means ſpoil'd many People, who imitate him in that Article, not being able to do it in any other. And this muſt be obſerv'd upon the uſe of Reflections in Hiſtory. A Sentence may be put in the Mouth of a Character fit to ſpeak Sentences: Mariana, as well as Strada, do not ſeem to manage that well. People alſo have no great affection for thoſe ſtiff men which never yield to any thing, and who, to make what they ſay ſeem more important, multiply Sentences upon Sentences, Reflections upon Reflections, and by a ridiculous Gravity, will ſeem Cato's in ſmall trifles. The too great ſubtilty in thoſe refinings of Conjecture, is apt to degenerate in a falſe delicacy; and Reflections are good only when they leaſt appear to be ſo.

XXII. Digreſſions.

Digreſſions have alſo their agreeableneſs, when they are made in fit times, and that they have nothing too wide, nor too looſe, becauſe it gives to a Narration a Variety ſo neceſſary to make it agreeable; but they ought to be wiſely mixed. An Author is apt to err when he goes from his Subject; for one whoſe head is not ſtrong enough changes eaſily; and to quit your matter without precaution, to ſeek Adventures, and carry your Reader abroad, does not belong ſo much to an Hiſtorian, as to a Writer of Adventures, who ſticks upon every thing he finds to ſtuff up his Relation. He takes Cities, he fights Battels, he finds Adventures every where; as Herodotus, who continually goes from his Text, by his too frequent, and often forc'd Digreſſions; thô he took Example by Homer, who is indeed a great Maſter; for thô he ſoars often, he goes nevertheleſs ſtrait enough to his Mark, without loſing time in things out of ſeaſon. Thucydides has a better Order than Herodotus; he confines himſelf ſtrictly to his Subject: The Conſpiracy of Harmodius and Ariſtogyton, in the Sixth Book, is one of thoſe Narrations wherein he has excell'd moſt. Xenophon endeavours to imitate him: If he forgets himſelf ſometimes, as he has done, lib. 5. of the Hiſtory of Cyrus, in the Adventure concerning Panthaea, yet that Adventure has a natural Relation to the Body of his Hiſtory; Panthaea having been taken by Cyrus, in the Overthrow of the Aſſyrians, and Abradatus, her Husband, by that means coming to Cyrus's ſide, and becoming one of the chiefeſt of his Army. The plain Truth is, I would not be reſponſible for 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 the other Digreſſions of that Author, which are not quite ſo well coupled to his Subject in his other Works. Polybius & Saluſtius ita peccarunt, ut nullam unquam veniam impetrarint dum digrediuntur, &c. Ex Sebaſt. Macr. Polybius has frequent Digreſſions upon Policy, knowledge of Arms, and upon the Laws of Hiſtory, which do not appear very neceſſary: Saluſt ſometimes commits the ſame Fault, wherein a Modern Critick blames them both. Photius praiſes much the Digreſſion of Dionyſius Halycarnaſſaeus, lib. 7. to deſcribe the Conſequence of Ariſtodemus's Tyranny. The Queſtion about the Phoenix, lib. 6. Annal. Tacit. upon the news which came to Rome, of a Phoenix which had appear'd in Egypt, under the Reign of Tyberius, is according to the Rules of a juſt Digreſſion: The Queſtion is examin'd by the ſeveral Opinions of the Naturaliſts upon that Bird; his Qualities, his Shape, all is deſcrib'd there in few words. A Digreſſion of that kind ſet in a due place, is of great Ornament to a Narration, and that helps to ſpur the Curioſity of a Reader, and to rouze his Spirits. Nothing alſo in Mariana's Hiſtory contributes ſo much to that Air of greatneſs which it has, as the Art which he has of bringing into it, by way of Digreſſion, all that has happen'd conſiderable in the World, of admirable inefabulous Ages, of remarkables in Greece, in Sicily, in the Roman Empire; a pretty particular Account of the Commonwealth of Carthage, which is no where elſe better than it is there; the Sieges of Saguntus and Numancia, the Paſſage of Hannibal into Italy, the Series of Emperours, the Birth of Chriſtianity, the Preaching of the Goſpel, the Conqueſts of the Arabians, and many other things which look great. He has a Genius which is altogether for great matters, which hangs always ſome way or other to the Spaniſh Hiſtory. No Hiſtorian ever honour'd his Countrey ſo much by any Work; for he has given his Countrey the Honour of every great thing that was ever done in the World. But as there are but few Spirits ſtrong enough to follow the Stream of an Hiſtory, without taking breath, and tying themſelves up to their Subject, without going out of it; ſo there are few Hiſtorians but will ſometimes forget themſelves, by doing the contrary in their Digreſſions. I will not take the pains to mark them; they every where occur; nothing being ſcarcer than that exact ſenſe, which knows how to apply it ſelf to its Subject: I ſhall only ſay, that Nihil minus quaeritum à principio hujus operis, quam ut plus juſto abrerum ordine declinarem varietatibuſque diſtinguendo opera, legentibus veluti diverticula quaererem, l. 9. Annal. Livy has ſhunn'd nothing with more care than thoſe by-ways which led him from his matter, as himſelf declares it, nothing being leſs judicious. But in our Hiſtorians, the ſame ridiculous humour may ſtill be found, which Luc. de Conſer. Hiſt. Lucian met with in his time, in them that wrote the Parthian War, who mix'd in their Narrations the fooliſheſt things in the World, to render them more diverting, running from Countrey to Countrey, from Age to Age, from one Adventure to another, without any diſtinction. You muſt then lay it down as a certain and indiſpenſable Rule, That Digreſſions ought to be connected always, by ſomewhat or other, to the Principal Subject in hand, as Statuit non attingere externa, niſi qua Romanis cohaerent rebus, Luc. l. 39. Annal. that Judicious Hiſtorian we ſpoke of juſt now has always done; And you ought to examine well, whether in the bottom they have no natural antipathy; for if they have, they are not fit to be us'd; for nothing is more eſſential to the Digreſſion, than the Affinity it ought to have with the Subject: The great Secret is, to know exactly how far it ought to go; for it has its Natural Limits, which are not to be paſſed. That which renders the Proportion difficult, is, that the Extent of them ought not always to be the ſame; for it muſt be great or ſmall, more or leſs, according to the Relation it has to the chief part of Hiſtory; and the making a right Judgment here, is the Rock upon which all Hiſtorians daſh; for there are few which in their Digreſſions exceed not due bounds, it being the greateſt difficulty to keep them exactly, and to rule themſelves. In that there is a great deal to be ſaid againſt Mariana, who in the beginning of his Hiſtory has taken many ways to arrive at his Point: He has need of an Apology upon that, which I do not pretend to juſtifie him in. The only Model a Writer may propoſe to himſelf in this, is Ut quaerere libeat qui eventus Romanis Rebus, ſi cum Alexandro foret bellatum, futurus fuerit, Annal. l. 9. Livy, who would not have left the Roman Hiſtory to tell his Mind upon the Succeſs of Alexander's Arms, had he come into Italy, without great precautions, and ſatisfying the Reader's mind with ample Excuſes: The Diſcourſe he makes upon it is very curious, and not at all out of ſeaſon.

XXIII. Eloquence fit in Hiſtory.

Hiſtory ought to be Eloquent, and not tedious: In that only its Art conſiſts; that is its common Effect. But there is an extraordinary Effect, known but by few people, to ſay nothing, thô true, but what has the Air of Truth, to gain Credit in the moſt difficult things to be believed. Eloquence, which knows how to give to things the Air which may render them acceptable, ought to be employ'd about it. And the ſetting of things in that admirable Order, which makes them probable, is its chiefeſt work; The Matter is given to the Hiſtorian in Memoires, which People furniſh him with; but it is his buſineſs to lay them together, and to do it well: He muſt not think ſo much what he ſays, as to the manner of ſaying it; for in this, as in all other parts of Eloquence, the Method is all; That is properly the uſe the Hiſtorian ought to make of Eloquence, which alone ſets every thing in its place. It is the great Artifice of Thucydides, ſays Thucydides omnes dicendi artificio vincit, Cic. l. 2. de Orat. Cicero, which has ſurpaſs'd all the other Hiſtorians by his Eloquence. Tito Livio mirae facundiae viro, Fab. l. 8. c. 1. Quintillian ſpeaks of that of Livy with admiration. It is only by that admirable Quality that thoſe Two Great Men have diſtinguiſh'd themſelves ſo much from the Commonalty of other Hiſtorians; for it is Eloquence which gives a man the way of explaining himſelf. He perſuades beſt, who explains himſelf in the eaſieſt manner; it is perſuaſion only which gives to things that colour of Truth, which they have by no other way but by that turn which is given them, and by the light they are ſet in. So nothing is more eloquent than the Picture Saluſt makes of the Condition which Rome was in, when Catiline took up the Deſign of making himſelf Maſter of it: And when that admirable Author repreſents the Commonwealth corrupted through Luxury and Avarice, weakned under the weight of its own greatneſs; they are the fineſt Expreſſions which can be found in Hiſtory: It is in thoſe Images your Art muſt ſhew it ſelf, if you have any; and the Hiſtorians of the firſt Rate are full of them. It is that Eloquence which ought to be mix'd with Hiſtory, to animate it with its flame and Spirit; for without it all is but languiſhing: and thoſe ſeveral turns one ought to embelliſh a Narration with, to make it agreeable; all the Art of Tranſitions, thoſe ſo tender and paſſionate motions which go to the heart, that Connexion of the moſt Memorable Actions; that ordering of Circumſtances, and thoſe Embelliſhments which raiſe the Admiration, are nothing but the Effects of that ſingular Eloquence which is proper to Hiſtory, which ought ſometimes to raiſe it ſelf, and ſoar aloft, when occaſion requires it. But it is the Effect of an Hiſtorian's Judgment, to diſtinguiſh thoſe places. A kind of Eloquence did rule over the Greeks and the Romans too, in the Speeches of thoſe which were to ſpeak, which was only meer Oſtentation, ſhewing the Wit of the Hiſtorian, rather than the Truth of Hiſtory; and in that the Authors thought rather to amuſe the people, than to inſtruct them. That Eloquence is out of faſhion among the wiſe Moderns, becauſe it had an affected way; and thoſe who have any Judgment, love only what is natural. The Prefaces of Saluſtius in bello Jugurthino & Catilinario nihil ad Hiſtoriam pertinentibus principiis uſus eſt, Fab. l. 10. c. 8. Saluſt, which are great Diſcourſes, full of Senſe, and very Eloquent, ſeem to me of that kind; They are common places, without any reference to his Hiſtory. That Author, perhaps, had ſome Reſerve, which he made uſe of in times of need; as Habeo Volumen proemiorum, ex eo eligere ſoleo cum aliquod 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 inſtitui, ad Atticum l. 16. ep 6. Tully did, according to his own Confeſſion. I have always, ſays he, a Volume of Prefaces ready againſt I have need of 'em. I would not have ſuſpected him of ſo much precaution, had not he himſelf bragg'd of it. That may be good for an Orator that ſpeaks always publickly, and has not always leiſure to prepare himſelf; but it is not to be endur'd in Hiſtory, where the Author is Maſter both of himſelf and his Time: For, to conclude, all thoſe Diſcourſes, thô never ſo fine of themſelves, ceaſe to be ſo, as ſoon as they are out of their places, and as ſoon as any Affectation appears: And this is what may be ſaid upon the Eloquence of Hiſtory.

XXIV. The other Ornaments which one may apply in Hiſtory.

There may alſo be other Ornaments fit to be put in Hiſtory, to make it more pleaſant, either when it is dull, and when it is too plain, by over-long Narrations, which are too much like one another: but, of thoſe Ornaments, the moſt apparent are not always the moſt eſſential: All is not Gold that glitters. A Mind that is bridled up does not take delight in too much finery; and that ought to engage a Learned Man to manage thoſe Ornaments without Prodigality, and accommodate himſelf to mens Capacity, which too great a brightneſs dazles; beſides that thoſe Ornaments crowded one upon another, ſurpriſe more than they pleaſe. There are hidden ones, which give greater ſatisfaction to curious people; and thô they eſcape others notice, they do not eſcape theirs; you may every moment diſcover new Charms which uphold them, and which are laſting, more than thoſe which give but a glaunce, and die. Thoſe kind of Ornaments conſiſt ſometimes of eloquent or witty turns, which in a mann • r are ſurpriſing, and caſt an unlook'd for Effect on the places they are put in; whereof here are ſome Examples: Porſenna, King of Cluſium, beſieges Rome: C. Mutius, mov'd with the danger he ſees his Countrey in by ſo cloſe a Siege, goes into Porſenna's Camp, kills his Secretary cloſe by him, thinking to have kill'd him: The Murtherer is ſeis'd; they order a Pan of fire to be brought, to force him to declare his Aſſociates by the Torment of the fire. That Young Man, full of Courage, in cold Blood, puts his hand in the fire, and without any alteration in his Countenance, let it be quite burnt upon the hot Embers; ſpeaking in this manner to the King: Sentias quam vile corpus ſit iis, quā magnam gloriam vident. Tit. Liv. l. 2. Annal. See how thoſe that are poſſeſt with true Glory, deſpiſe their own Carcaſs. That ſpoken with a firm Countenance, alters the face of things; the Murtherer, thô abominable and odious, caſts an admiration on the Spirits of them that were preſent; they look upon him with Reſpect, and they ſend him home with Praiſes, in the ſame moment that they were 〈1 page duplicate〉 〈1 page duplicate〉 preparing to make him end his Life in cruel Tortures. A reſolute word only makes that change; and ſuch a word well placd, is a great Ornament in a Narration, and has a marvellous Effect. So upon Fabius's retaking Tarentum, Hannibal, thô vanquiſh'd, ſpoke this fine Saying, which look'd as thô he had ſtill been victorious, praiſing himſelf, to raiſe his Enemy the more: Et Romani ſuum habent Annibalem, l. 27. Annal. The Romans, ſaid he, have alſo at laſt their Hannibal. That was a proud way of ſubmitting himſelf. Thoſe ſayings are frequent in that Hiſtorian. Nothing alſo gives more the Idea of thoſe who ſpeak ſo, when they ſpeak well, nor of him that makes them ſpeak, as when he does it on purpoſe. Here is one of another kind, taken out of Tacitus, in that famous Feaſt Maſſalina made to her Lover: In the heat of the rejoicing, and of the Debauchery of that Feaſt, they got an Idiot, whoſe Name was Valens, to climb up to the top of a Tree; and they asked him what he ſaw: A Tempeſt, ſaid he, which gathers in the Air, and comes from Oſtium. That word, ſpoken by a Fool, caſt a coldneſs and ſorrow upon the People's Spirits, which diſturb'd all things, thô ſpoken without deſign; for it was a Prognoſtication of the Emperour's return, which happen'd a few days after, and caus'd the Empreſs to be ſtabb'd, tir'd with her infamous Life. Thoſe marvellous ſayings are very acceptable in Hiſtory, being fit to rouze up the Reader's Mind by ſomething which is ſharp. There are Thouſands of others which an Hiſtorian employs to embelliſh his Work, and which have eſcap'd my Memory: and I do not pretend to ſay all that is good in this kind. It is enough to mark thoſe which can give another face to Affairs; to ſearch other Conjectures, to give way to other Idea's, and to other Sentiments: In a word, all thoſe fine ſayings, capable of cauſing ſome kind of revolution in the Reader's Mind, to give him Action, and Motion too, being always truly fine, are never out of uſe. The buſineſs is to place them ſo, that they may appear incorporated in a Narration, to play all their part in it; that is to ſay, to make the matter pleaſant, when, of it ſelf, it is barren and diſagreeable.

XXV. The Sentiments which ought to be allow'd in Hiſtory.

There are Sentiments which are fit for the Theatre, and are not ſo for Hiſtory, becauſe Poetry ſays things as they ſhould be; Hiſtory ſays them as they are. So thoſe Hiſtorians, which give their Heroes ſuch exquiſite Sentiments, are not always the moſt judicious; and whatever is not grounded upon good ſenſe, be it never ſo fine, is not the beſt. So that Quintus Curtius is not always in the right, to repreſent Alexander ſo admirable. He does not make him act by the meaſure of Prudence, but always puts him upon difficult and perillous Adventures: Danger charms him; He is not fond of Conqueſts, but of the Glory of Conquering: He might ſurpriſe Darius, by falling upon him in the Nighttime, and that way hide his Weakneſs, the Enemies Army being twice in number bigger than his own: But that Great Man, who cares leſs to overcome, than to make People admire his Bravery, attacks the King of Perſia in the middle of the Day; reſolved rather to loſe his Life gloriouſly, than to overcome by ſurpriſal. Darius, after his Overthrow, proffers to divide Aſia with him, and offers him his Daughter in Marriage; Alexander chuſes rather to purſue his Honour through Perils, than to become Maſter with ſo much Tranquility: He does not hearken to thoſe Propoſals; he will accept of nothing but what is extraordinary. His Hiſtorian does him a great deal of Honour: ſure, a little likelihood would have done well mixt with ſo much Glory: Does not he make his Heroe more Fool-hardy than wiſe, and more adventurous than ambitious? Without doubt he ſound that way finer; but withall, he has given us reaſon to doubt, whether it is a Romance, or an Hiſtory, which he has left us; for he puſhes things too far. So important it is for an Author in all things to make Reaſon his Standard, and to follow rather the Nature of things, than the fine Imaginations of his own Wit. Let not Hiſtory then authorize the ridiculous Conceits of falſe Glory, which cauſes vain People to commit ſo many Errors, the moſt part of which contributes little to true Honour, becauſe they have no ſenſe of it. Let it not attribute to a Mounte-bank the Sentiments of a ſolid man, nor the Vertues of a Romantick Heroe to a true Knight. Great men are ſubject to form to themſelves Idea's of Glory, after their own fancy, and according to the failing of their Vanity. But the Publick Intereſt ought to be dearer to him who governs, than his own Glory: And the true Honour of a great Prince, is to gain the People's Hearts rather than their Fears. Thoſe are the Sentiments which ought to reign moſt in Hiſtory, that it may become a Leſſon of Clemency to Princes, and a Pattern of Reaſon and good Senſe to all People. Let not an Hiſtorian therefore be miſtaken; let him firſt diſtinguiſh true Honour from falſe, and in the Maxims of this Life praiſe only what is good; Let him clear the Peoples Errors, without becoming himſelf a Slave to Popular Sentiments: Let him never ſuffer himſelf to judge of things by their Events, without running up to their Spring; but let him open their very Principles: Let him be careful of doing Juſtice to the true and pretended Merit, that he may not impoſe on Poſterity, which gives Credit to what is ſaid, without any examination, and ſticks to the Litteral Senſe: Let him never ſhew great Events, without giving notice of Cauſes, and without diſcovering their true Motives. Sometimes it is nothing, or at leaſt, but little; but People lack to ſee great things come from ſmall Principles, as Dionyſius Halicarnaſſaeus teaches in the Fifth Book of his Hiſtory, on the occaſion of the Revolution of Government from the Kings of Rome, which happen'd through the Inſolence of Young T. Liv. l. 1. Ann. Tarquin, and the Pride of his Father. That is the Spirit which ought to reign in Hiſtory, and the Maxim which muſt be obſerv'd therein. Let us ſee its Genius.

XXVI. How the Genius of an Historian muſt be.

Nothing can be writ conſiderable in Hiſtory, without a Genius; that makes all in that Art, as well as in others; and it is only that way that Hiſtorians diſtinguiſh themſelves from one another. A ſmall Genius will make but little of a great Subject; and he that has a great Genius, will make a ſmall Subject appear great. Arduum videturres geſtas ſcribere, quod facta dictis exaequanda ſunt, Saluſt. proem. Bell. Catil. To write Hiſtory well therefore, a man muſt have an univerſal Genius, capable of great Idea's, to form to himſelf a great Model, and great Deſigns. Hiſtory is a thing of importance Magnum quid Hiſtoriam recte ſcribere, & ſummis Oratoris proprium, Cic. l. 2. de Orat., ſays Cicero, and the buſineſs of a Man above the Common Level. And when Lucian, who was one of the fineſt Wits of his Age, which produc'd ſo many great men, confeſſes, that his Genius was too weak for Hiſtory, and to attain to that Perfection which it requires. He frights me, by creating in me a juſt apprehenſion of the difficulty which attends it: For if that Author, which has written nothing but what is admirable, and gives Rules ſo full of good ſenſe for the writing of Hiſtory, acknowledges that he is not capable of ſuſtaining the weight of ſo great a work, what will become of thoſe that in one day ſet up for Hiſtorians, without any knowledge of what is Eſſential in Hiſtory, as he ſays it happen'd in that War in Armenia, which produc'd ſo many Authors, through an Itch of writing, which at that time was a common Diſeaſe? But the Times are chang'd, ſays he; nothing is more difficult than for a man to compile a Work which all future Ages may eſteem, as Thucydides has done. For what ſtrength of Spirit is requiſite to ſpeak the Truth, without making Paraphraſes, as thoſe do, who have not Souls great enough to be clear and candid, and to ſpeak things as they are? What firmneſs to unmask Vice, naturally diſguis'd with Diſſimulation? What Sagacity to diſcover the bottom of the Genius of them we ſpeak of, without ſticking to the exterior part of the Perſon, which ſeldom ſignifies any thing? But when the buſineſs is to diſtinguiſh People and Times by what is eſſential in their Characters, how neceſſary is a clear and diſtinguiſhing head? As for Example, in relating the Civil Wars of Rome, not to confound the Spirit of the Commonwealth with that of Monarchy; the abſoluteneſs of the one with the Dependency of the other; not to write the Reign of Lewis the Fourteenth, which is no way addicted to Superſtition, like that of Lewis the Eleventh, whoſe Character was Superſtition it ſelf; not to repreſent Charles the Great, like Henry the Third, but to mark the Times and the Perſons by the difference there is between them. What integrity, exactly to do Juſtice to Vice and Virtue, to diſtinguiſh the true from the pretended Merit, and to uſe ones ſelf to weigh the Actions, without any regard to the Perſons? What Judgment, to take always the right ſide, to turn things to the right ſenſe, to chuſe always what is moſt ſolid; to interpoſe your Judgement upon the matter in agitation, without forcing the Reader, by any prejudices, to touch tender Points with that niceneſs of Wit which can only be the Effect of an exquiſite ſenſe; not to load your Diſcourſe with too much Matter, which might chance to ſpoil the Spirit of it, without giving way to any Reflection whatſoever, made either by you, or any other Reader; to know how to find the true knot in every buſineſs, without miſtaking your ſelf in its explanation; not to deliver great Actions upon frivolous Motives; not to hide falſe Thoughts under a florid Expreſſion; to avoid any thing which ſeems ſtudied and forc'd, and to follow in all things that beam of light and underſtanding which gives an Idea of the diſcerning Faculty of the Hiſtorian, by giving a good Opinion of his Capacities. So that the moſt neceſſary part in Hiſtory is Judgment. An Orator may forget himſelf in the flights of his Eloquence, and venture bold ſtroaks, which may paſs upon a multitude of People, who are pleas'd with nothing more than boldneſs. A Poet may ramble from his Text, and has no great neceſſity to be always wiſe. The Hiſtorian, who ſpeaks only in cold Blood, ought always to be Maſter of himſelf, and to ſay nothing but what is juſt nothing, in fine, requires ſo much Senſe, ſo much Reaſon, ſo much Wit and Judgment, and ſo many other Qualities, to attain to perfection, as Hiſtory; and after all is done, an happy Underſtanding, endued with all thoſe Perfections, is not ſufficient, without a great knowledge of the World. It was only the Converſation Polybius had with Scipio and Lelius, that made him ſo able an Hiſtorian. We have in Thucydides and Livy accompliſh'd Patterns of that Genius requir'd in Hiſtory. Antiquity has nothing more finiſh'd in that kind. There is hardly any thing wanting in the one, or in the other, but that Thucydides is yet more ſincere than Livy, and the laſt more natural than the firſt. Tacitus is admirable in his way; Lipſius prefers him before all others: Every body is not of his Opinion. One may ſay in general, That he is an Hiſtorian of a particular Rank, who has a great deal of agreeableneſs amongſt great failings; but his defects are ſomewhat hidden under a greatneſs of Genius which ſhines in all he ſays, and under a loftineſs not well to be deſcrib'd, which raiſe him above many Authors more exact, and more natural than himſelf. He has his Party and his Admirers. It is true, that he pleaſes men of Fancy and Imagination, but not thoſe that have moſt Judgment, nor thoſe that love good Senſe rather than Flouriſhes. Among Moderns, I find Mariana, Davila, Fra Paolo, have an admirable Genius for Hiſtory. Mariana has the gift of thinking, and of ſaying nobly what he thinks and ſpeaks, and of giving a Character of greatneſs to what runs in his Mind. Davila brings good Circumſtances of things, diſcourſes juſtly enough upon the Subjects he treats of, and carries on his Diſcourſe in a continued Strain, which gives him that obliging Air which he has above others. Fra Paolo, in his Hiſtory of the Council of Trent, gives what Colours he pleaſes to what he ſays: No body ever had that Art in a more eminent degree. He ſhews alſo a great Capacity, in ſearching to the bottom the Matters of Learning which he has in hand, to give his Readers a perfect knowledge thereof: No body ever writ with more Skill, nor with more Wit, and never with leſs Juſtice and Truth. He is a paſſionate man, who employ'd all his Art in hiding his Paſſion: He made a jeſt in every thing, that he might not be thought to be angry; but he falls into another Defect: He raileth too much, in a Subject ſo ſerious as his is; for his Paſſion is ſeen in every thing he ſpeaks. So that Hiſtorian, with his great Genius, has the moſt Vicious Character that can be in the way of writing Hiſtory, where nothing is leſs pardonable than Enmity. An Hiſtorian is no longer believ'd, when once he is thought too paſſionate; which gives occaſion of examining the Honeſty which is neceſſary for him that pretends to write.

XXVII. The Hiſtorians Morality.

As every one ought to lay down to himſelf a Rule of Morality, according to his Genius, the Hiſtorian's Mind is known by his Principles. You muſt firſt of all take it for granted, that there are but few who have hearts noble enough, neither to fear nor hope for any thing; and who will value Truth above Intereſt, which is the moſt general Spring of all the wrong Judgments men make in things they ſpeak of. This is what you ought to think upon firſt, when you take upon you to inſtruct the Publick; and it is the chiefeſt Maxim an Hiſtorian ought to propoſe to himſelf. That being well eſtabliſh'd, he ought to think only to get Credit in People's good Opinion, and to give a Colour of Truth to all he ſays. It is that chiefly to which all his endeavours ought to tend; which he will never effect, but by eſtabliſhing his Reputation: And it is not by Proteſtations of being ſincere, that he ſhall demonſtrate his Integrity: It is by making appear in all his words, the uprightneſs of his heart, and the honeſty of his mind. Therefore nothing ought to come from him but what has the ſtamp of Equity and Reaſon. The Love he ought to have for Truth, ought to be the Rules of all his Expreſſions, and of all his Idea's. Ne qua ſuſpicio gratiae ſit, ne qua ſimultatis, Cic. de Orat. Let him always ſpeak like an honeſt man; let him never ſpeak any thing that can injure Chaſtity or Integrity; let him keep cloſe to the Sentiments which the ſevereſt Honour can inſpire; and let nothing ever appear in his words that may raiſe a queſtion of his Probity and Truth; let him ſpeak ſo that People may believe him to ſpeak true as often as he ſpeaks, through an aſſurance, that he is not capable of impoſing. No man can ever err with ſo good Principles. It is by ſo pure a Method that Thucydides did ſet up the Reputation of his ſincerity through all following Ages, and that he has deſerv'd the Credit of all People. It is his Zeal for Religion, and Reſpect for the Gods, which appears in all Xenophon's Books, that engages People not to queſtion what he ſays, being perſuaded, that a man, who has the Love of Piety ſo deeply engraven in his heart, cannot lye. Polybius takes more liberty: He relates, as Fables, the Sentiments People had of the Gods, and of Hell; thinking, that way, to deſtroy them. And it is rather by his Honeſty that Livy perſuades, than by his great Capacity: through all the Intrigues, Intereſts, Paſſions, and other Extravagancies of thoſe men he ſpeaks of, there appears a Probity, which ſhews him as well honeſt as a good Hiſtorian, One may perceive in the moſt hidden parts of the Hearts of thoſe he deſcribes, the bottom of his own; and amongſt the falſe lights he diſcovers in their Conduct, he never has any falſe aims; he judges of all things rightly, his Judgment being as true as his Intentions are juſt. Tacitus is not of that Character; he is a great ſhuffler, who hides a very bad Mind under a very great Wit: he miſtakes always true Merit, becauſe he hardly knows any other than that of Ability; and it is Policy more than Truth, makes him ſpeak, beſides his want of Charity towards his Neighbour: When he ſpeaks of the Gods, he ſhews neither Piety nor Religion, as is ſeen in his Diſcourſe upon Fate againſt Providence, lib. 6. Annal. and imputes all things to Fortune, and the Stars, concerning Traſullus, Aſtrologer to Tyberius, who was become his Secretary at Capraea. So difficult it is for an ill man to be a good Hiſtorian; for they are almoſt the ſame Principles of the one and of the other. So when an Author takes his Pen, he takes upon himſelf the Character of a Publick Man; and he ſtrips himſelf of that Honour, whenſoever he takes up the Sentiments of a Private Perſon, to regard himſelf, and to revenge his own quarrels; as Procopius, who being diſſatisfied with the Emperour Juſtinian, and the Empreſs Theodora, gives way to his own Paſſion, and corrupts Truth: Or, to follow private prejudices, as Euſebius and Theodorite, which made uſe of their Hiſtories to eſtabliſh their own Errors: Or, to flatter thoſe whom you mean to pleaſe, as Buchanan, who in his Hiſtory of Scotland, blemiſhes the Honour of Mary, to gratifie Queen Elizabeth; and as Fra Paolo, who makes his Hiſtory of the Council of Trent a Satyr againſt the Church of Rome, and Religion; where he ſhews a Chain of Invectives upon Invectives, to revenge himſelf upon the Pope, becauſe he had not made him a Cardinal, after the hopes he had given him of it. Paulus Jovius was a man that purſued his Intereſts, Penſioner to Charles the Fifth, unjuſt, malicious, a great Flatterer: The Pictures he made of the moſt conſiderable Perſons in his Hiſtory, are Pieces which he pick'd up to compoſe the Lives of Illuſtrious Men, on purpoſe to get Money; they are done according as he was pay'd for them. Guichardin is angry with France; Sandoval makes Charles the Fifth a moſt Catholick Prince, whilſt that Monarch foments Hereſie in Germany: all this becauſe Paulus the Third had vex'd him. Cabrera praiſes Philip the Second for his Piety, who favour'd Elizabeth againſt Mary of Scotland, which he hindred from being Queen, becauſe ſhe favour'd the French; and ſo overthrew the Catholick Religion in England. Herrera is a Fanſaroon, and is partial to his Nation. In fine, there are hardly any Hiſtorians, but have their own Inclinations and A verſions: It goes hard with them to alter their Sentiments, and they make Elogiums by Directions, or Satyrs, as their own Minds are diſpoſed. Marcellin. in ejus Vita. There are but few like Thucydides, who by a Principle of Right and Equity, praiſes Pericles, as he deſerves, thô he had us'd him very ill; and does always Juſtice to the Athenians, who baniſhed him to Thracia, where he died. It is a man without Paſſions, who propoſes to himſelf only the Judgment of Poſterity, for the Mark he aims at, and his Work, and who has no other deſire than that of Truth; wherein he is an honeſter man than all others; for he never renounces his Probity. Livy favours Pompey more than Caeſar, Dio favours Caeſar more than Pompey. Ammianus Marcellinus is an everlaſting Worſhipper of Julian the Apoſtate, but cries out always againſt Valentinian, his Succeſſor, becauſe he was a Chriſtian. Euſebius never ſhews Conſtantine but on the right ſide; Zozimus ſhews him always the other way. Procopius made his Idol of Bellizary, Egynhart of Charles the Great, Sandoval of Charles the Fifth, Strada of Alexander Farneze: In a word, each Hiſtorian makes himſelf an Heroe after his own palate, whom he looks upon as his Creature; and that he might make him appear the better, he ſtudies to make him more admirable. It is this which renders moſt Hiſtoaies ſuſpicious, all Hiſtorians being paſſionate; and there being hardly any ſincere ones, becauſe there are few diſintereſted. Thoſe that are above Intereſt, let themſelves be blinded with the deſire of pleaſing; and the care they have of their Reputation, leads them into other Extreams. Joſephus non tam ſtudebat vera ſcribere, quam credibilia: hac cauſa fuit cur praeterierit miracula, quod apud Infideles fidem non erant habitum, & narravit fabulas, quas putavit iis magis probabiles futuras. Leo Caſſ. diſp. de tranſl. ſacr. leg. c. 36. Joſephus in the Hiſtory of the Jews, ſuppreſſes true Miracles, to manage the Gentiles, who would not have believ'd them; and ſuppoſes things leſs true, becauſe he thought them fitter for the palates, and according to their apprehenſion. An Hiſtorian ruins himſelf, if he thinks to be eſtabliſh'd that way: you muſt ſay things as they are; woe to the unbelievers: For nothing is worſe in a man who profeſſes to give an account of Truth to the Publick, than to profane it thus. In fine, let nothing ſlaviſh appear, nor of Cowardice, in the Sentiments or Inclinations of the Hiſtorian; for nothing gives a worſe Opinion of his Probity. But thô I do not approve the Flatterers of Great men, as Euſebius, who ſhews nothing in Conſtantine but what deſerves praiſes, who nevertheleſs had great failings; my Opinion is, that they ought to be forgiven in ſome things: For thô one ought to ſpeak nothing but what is true, yet he ought not to ſay all the Truth. Quintus Curtius might have let alone the Infamies he related of Alexander. There are ſome priviledg'd Heads which a body ought to reſpect; let us ſpeak of them handſomly, and not irreverently: We may expoſe their Faults, but it muſt be in a way that does not ſcandalize their Dignity, nor hurt the Reſpect due to their Grandeur. Tacitus ſays ſo many dirty things of Tyberius, that Boccalinus cannot ſuffer him. That which Lampridius tells of the Emperours Heliogabalus and Caracalla, makes his Hiſtory contemptible; and Platina ſhews but little judgment in his manner of treating the Popes. All the World will not be of my ſide, but wiſe men will; and I am perſuaded, that what Merit ſoever there is in being ſincere, a man would render himſelf ridiculous to be ſo in all things. But, as an Author never praiſes well, unleſs he does it nicely, ſo he that beſtows his Commendation upon meaner Actions, and not upon thoſe which are eſſential, and which appear praiſeworthy, ſhall always find the Publick out of humour, becauſe it will never endure thoſe praiſes which it does not find juſtly beſtow'd: Therefore good Senſe adviſes never to praiſe, but by a ſincere account of praiſable Actions. Luc. de Conſer. Hiſt. All the World knows the Adventure of Ariſtobulus, one of the Captains of Alexander, who read to him the Hiſtory of the Battel which that Prince fought againſt Porus. Alexander, who was then in his Barge upon Hydaſpus, enrag'd with the Flatteries of that Hiſtorian, ſnatch'd the Book out of his hands, and threw it into the River; adding, that he deſerv'd to be ſerv'd ſo too, for being ſo impudent as to praiſe him ſo ill, by attributing to him falſe Conqueſts, as if there had been want of true ones. This is very near the Morality I could wiſh in an Hiſtorian; or, at leaſt, it would be my Principle, in caſe I had the Fancy to write Hiſtory, and that I were of a Genius good enough for it. I would, in fine, be ſo modeſt, that there might appear Honeſty, and never Vanity in my Sentiments; which makes me to have no patience with the Extravagancy of that Hiſtorian Photius ſpeaks of, who preparing himſelf to write the Hiſtory of Alexander, promiſes, that his Style ſhall not be worſe than the Actions of his Heroe. After all is done, it makes a man loſe almoſt the Fancy of writing, if he has any Senſe, when he ſees the judgment Dionyſius Halicarnaſſaeus made of Thucydides's Hiſtory; for there is no judicious Author, but that Critick will make him tremble. Theſe are the Notions I got to my ſelf in reading Hiſtories. I am not ſo vain as to pretend to give them for Maxims: They are only thoughts, and perhaps but ill digeſted, which may become good by the good uſe that may be made of them. Here follow the Sentiments one may have upon the moſt conſiderable Hiſtorians.

XXVIII. Judgment of Hiſtorians.

Herodotus is the firſt who has given a reaſonable form to Hiſtory; and his merit is, to have led the way to others. His Style is pure and eloquent. Dulcis, candidus, fuſus Herodotus. Fab. l. 10. c. 1. Athen. 1. 3. Athenaeus praiſes him for the Charms of his Diſcourſe. His Subject is great and vaſt; for it compaſſes Nations, Kingdoms, Empires; the Affairs of Europe and Aſia. He is not very exact in what he ſays, becauſe he contains too much matter; but I find in him a ſincerity which is not very common, becauſe he uſes Greeks and Barbarians, his own Countreymen and Strangers, without any ſhew of Partiality. Platarch. de malign. Herod. I find Plutarch deals with him too rigorouſly, when he makes him to have an ill meaning in moſt part of his Conjectures; but it is only Envy and Revenge makes him uſe him ſo, becauſe he uſed ill his Countrey of Boeotia, in his Hiſtory. Laudatur ab omnibus ut rerum explicator ſincerus & gravis; hujus nemo neque verborum, neque ſententiarum gravitatem imitatur. Cic. de opt. Orar. Thucydides is exact in his way of writing, faithful in things he relates, ſincere, and not ſway'd by Intereſt: he has Greatneſs, Nobleneſs, Majeſty in his Style; he is always ſtrict, but his ſtrictneſs has nothing but what is great in it: The Truth is, that his Subject is leſſer, and more limited than that of Herodotus. It is only through a Spirit of Partiality, that Dionyſius Halicarnaſſaeus prefers Herodotus before Thucydides, the firſt being his Countreyman: For my own part, I find him the moſt accompliſh'd Hiſtorian among the Greeks. Xenophon is pure in his Language, Natural, agreeable in his Compoſition; his Mind is eaſie, rich, full of a deep knowledge, a clear imagination, a juſt turn; but he is neither great nor elevated. Good Manners are not always well obſerv'd in his Hiſtory, where he makes ignorant and brutiſh People ſpeak like Philoſophers. Cicero tells us, that Scipio could not part with him, when once he had him in his hands: Longinus gives it as his Character, That he conceiv'd things happily. After all is done, he is a well-accompliſhed Hiſtorian; and it was by the reading of his Hiſtory, that Scipio and Lucullus became ſo great Captains. Polybius diſcourſes well; he is provided with good and fine Materials, but he does not manage them ſo well as the others I ſpoke of but now: He ought, for all that, to be prais'd for the Idea Brutus had of him, who at the height of his Misfortunes, did paſs whole Nights in the reading and ſtudying of them. His Deſign is not ſo much to write an Hiſtory, as an Inſtruction how to govern a Countrey, as he himſelf ſays at the end of his Firſt Book; and he leaves there, in a manner, the Character of an Hiſtorian, which obliges him to make a kind of an Apology in the beginning of the Ninth Book, about his way of writing Hiſtory: his Style is much neglected. Dionyſius Halycarnaſſaeus ſhews, in his Book of Roman Antiquities, a deep Senſe, Learning and Conduct, which is not common; he is exact, diligent and judicious, truer than Livy, and of great weight: But, to conclude, he is very tedious in his Speeches. Diodorus Siculus is a man of great Character; but he contains too many things, pretending to make an Abridgement of Philiſtus, of Timaeus, of Calliſthenes, of Theopompus, and others. Philo and Joſephus are Authors of an extraordinary Eloquence: They were both Jews, who had too great a deſire to pleaſe Pagans, by accommodating themſelves like Slaves to their Humour and Taſte. Arrian does but Copy Xenophon, and is an affected Imitator of his ways: he has made Seven Books of the Conqueſts of Alexander, as Xenophon did of Cyrus's: Appianus dabbl'd in all the Greek Hiſtorians, and with that hodge-podge has made to himſelf a Style which reſembles no bodies. Scaliger calls him the Thief of Hiſtories; he took the beſt of his Book out of Plutarch's: but, after all, there is in him a vaſt deal of matter. Dio Caſſius crack'd his Credit with almoſt every body, becauſe of the extraordinary things which he writes without any diſtinction: for inſtead of cleaving ſtrictly to the Truth, he runs from the very appearance of it, in that place of the 66th Book of his Hiſtory, where he ſays, That Veſpaſian cur'd a blind man by ſpitting upon his Eyes. Procopius is exact in what he ſays, becauſe he accompanied Belliſarius in the Wars, and was an Eye-witneſs of his great Actions: but he is too dry in his Hiſtory of Perſia, which looks more like a Journal than Hiſtory. He ſatisfied his own Fancy by writing that private History; but his Modeſty was great in his ſuppreſſing it: for the thing which he took pains to hide during his Life, was made publick after his Death; wherein he is not altogether inexcuſable. Moſt part of thoſe who have written the Histary of Byzantium, either took Copies one by another, as Agathias, Cedrenus, John Curopalatus; or are not very exact; and they come nothing near the Dignity, the Nobleneſs, the Diſtinguiſhing, and the Faithfulneſs of the Ancient Greeks. Subtiliſſimus brevitatis artifex Saluſtius, proprietatum in verbis retinentiſſimus. Gell. Amongſt the Latins, Salust looks great, exact, of an admirable Judgment. No body ever expreſs'd the ſenſible, exact, ſevere Style of Thucydides, better than he. Saluſtius homo nequam, ſed graviſſimus alienae •… uxuriae objurgator. Lact. l. 2. de falſ. Rel. He is ſtiff ſometimes in his Expreſſions, but not inſipid: his being ſo ſhort, makes him leſs clear: His Method is good, and he gives weight to every thing he ſays: His Thoughts are always fine, thô his Manners be bad; declaring always in Commendation of Virtue, and Deteſtation of Vice. I find him a little too peeviſh with his Countrey, and ill affected to his Neighbour; but, for all that, he is a very great man. Caeſar had the fineſt way of expreſſing himſelf that ever was. Pedants are in the right in admiring him, for the inimitable purity of his Style; but I ſtill admire him the more, for the exactneſs of his Senſe, no body having ever written better. He is almoſt the only Author that is free from Impertinencies. He ſpeaks of himſelf but as an indifferent body, and nothing diſagrees in the wiſe Character he has taken. It is true, that he is not altogether an Hiſtorian, but it is true too, that he is a fine Model to write Hiſtory by. It is a great Honour for that incomparable Author, that Henry the Fourth of France, and Lewis the Fourteenth have buſied themſelves in the tranſlating of his Hiſtory of the Gaules. Livy is the moſt accompliſh'd of all, becauſe he has all the great Parts of an Hiſtorian; the Imagination fine, the Expreſſion noble, an exact Senſe, with an admirable Eloquence. None but great Idea's come in his Mind; he fills the Imagination of his Readers with what he ſays: that way he gains People's Hearts, and moves their Souls; and he has the greateſt Genius for History, and is one of the greateſt Maſters of Eloquence that ever was. In Tito Livio putat ineſſe Pollio quandam Patavinitatem. Fab. l. 8. c. 1. I do not apprehend Aſinius Pollia's meaning, who attributes him a Countrey Air, which ſmells of Lombardy. His great ſtrength is, to make People taſte what he ſays, by drawing his Readers to his own Sentiments, by infuſing into their Minds his Fears and his Hopes, giving them all his Paſſion by the Art he has of moving the moſt hidden Springs of Hearts. Tacitus deſcribes things in a way quite different from others; but he ſticks too cloſe to great things, to avoid falling into ſmall ones, which ought not to be neglected. His thoughts are good, but he is not always happy enough to expreſs himſelf neatly. He is too much a Philoſopher. He ſpeaks highly of every thing: If means Deſtiny was in his hands, he could not ſpeak otherwiſe: and he moralizes always upon other People's fooliſhneſs: and that he may ſpare no body, he detracts from all Mankind. How many Spirits has he ſpoil'd by the deſire of ſtudying Politicks, which he inſpir'd ſo many People with, and which is the vaineſt of all Studies: 'Tis that ruin'd ſo many Spaniards, as Antonio Perez, and ſo many Italians, as Machiavel, Ammirato, and others. It is only by the fineneſs of his Style, that this laſt pleaſes ſo much thoſe of ſtrong minds, and ſo little thoſe that are not ſo; for he gives diſtaſts by the ſubtilty of his Diſcourſes and Reflections. He is ſo obſcure in his Expreſſions, that a man muſt be extreamly vers'd in his Style, to know how to unwrap his Thoughts. Evenit nonnunquam & aliquid granda inveniat, qui ſemper quaerit quod nimium eſt. Fab. l. 2. c. 13. His manner of Criticiſing is fine of it ſelf; but his conſtant cenſuring of all things makes it become courſe. He is elevated, becauſe his thoughts are always high mounted: It is only that way that he impoſes; and it is not ſo much to pleaſe, and to inſtruct, that he writes, as to make himſelf be admir'd: he has ſomething extraordinary, which cauſes People to excuſe moſt part of his failings. But there are ſo many things to be ſaid of that Author, good and bad, that there is no end in ſpeaking of him. It is a kind of Wit, which is of uſe only for a ſhew; that does not fit the ordinary Commerce of men. Quintus Curtius deſerves praiſes for his being ſincere: he ſays what is good and bad in Alexander, and never ſuffers the Merits of his Heroes to prevent him. If there be any thing to be found fault with in his Hiſtory, it is, that it is too nicely finiſh't. But for all that, he did excell in the Deſcriptions of Manners, which he has done with an Air agreeable and natural. That Character of Perfections which is found in thoſe great Men, was loſt in the following Ages. Juſtin, who became a Compiler, thinking to erect himſelf to an Hiſtorian, does only touch things as he paſſes by. He knows a great deal; he ſays things ſenſibly; and he collected many Actions, which otherwiſe might have been loſt. Moſt part of the Authors; Hiſtoriae Auguſtae, fix'd their Minds to write Lives; as Plutarch and Herodian amongſt the Greeks, Suetonius and Cornelius Nepos among the Latins; and ſo loſt the Character of Hiſtorians. There came nothing after that, but ſingle Chroniclers, Copiers, Compilers, and ſuch whoſe Names were known by a courſe knowledge they gave of their Ages, to whom the Planet of Hiſtory was not very favourable, having nothing fine nor reaſonable in them. There was but little Truth found in the Modern Greeks, who became Viſionaries, and related extraordinary Adventures, to pleaſe their own Fancies. The Love of Study, which flouriſh'd again in the late Ages, reviv'd again a number of good and ſenſible Hiſtorians, who by ſtudying Ancient Authors, and ruling themſelves by them, gain'd more Reputation than their Predeceſſors Among thoſe that excell'd then, that which is peculiar to Commines, is, that he wrote with good ſenſe and ſincerity. Paulus Aemilius ſpeaks purely, but is ſuperficial: Paulus Jovius follows only his Paſſion and his Intereſt: Machiavel is exact enough in his Hiſtory of Florence; his Wit carries it above his Judgment in the reſt. He does not do Juſtice entirely to Caſtruccio Caſtrucci, whom he treats as an Enemy of his Countrey. Mariana, in his History of Spain, was out-done by no Modern, neither for the Greatneſs of the Deſign, nor for the Nobleneſs of the Style. Buchanan is a little too much like a Slave in his imitating of Livy. He ſtole from the Ancients what he has that is good. He writes very ſenſibly, yet has not his thoughts elevated. His long Quotations in the Third Book, do not pleaſe every body, no more than the large account he gives in the Second Book of the Notion of the Countrey he ſpeaks of. The Germans have vaſt Projects about their Hiſtories, and nothing reduc'd into the Natural Order, which an exact Deſign requires. One may find in moſt part of the Spaniards a Spirit of Partiality for their Countrey, which renders them much ſuſpected. The Italians are rich in particular Hiſtories of the ſeveral States which compoſe Italy; but they have no compleat Body of History. There begins to appear amongſt us ſome beams of hopes to have ſome accompliſhed Historian, by the approbation the Publick gives to thoſe that write now.