ATTACK. Every combat consists of attack and defence: the first, with few exceptions, will always be more advantageous: hence an experienced general chooses it, if possible, even in a defensive war. Nothing is more ruinous than to lose its advantage; and it is one of the most important objects to deprive an adversary of it, and to confine him to the defensive. The attack is directed according to the condition and position of the enemy, according to the purpose of the war, according to place, time and circumstances. Many modes and combinations are allowable. The simplest and most unexpected form will be the best. On the dexterity and courage of the troops, the correct and quick execution of the attack will depend. Those attacks are the best, where all the forces can be directed in concert towards that point of the enemy on which his position depends. If he be beaten at this point, the resistance at others will be without concert or energy. Sometimes it may be of advantage to attack the weakest side of the enemy, if in this way a fatal blow can be given to him; otherwise, an attack at this point is not advisable, because it leads to no decisive results, leaves the stronger points to be overcome afterwards, and divides the force of the assailant. In most cases, the enemy may be defeated, if his forces can be divided, and the several parts attacked in detail. The worst form of attack is that which extends the assailing troops in long, weak lines, or scatters them in diverging directions. It is always unfortunate to adopt half measures, and not aim to attain the object at any price. Instead of saving power, these consume it in fruitless efforts, and sacrifices are made in vain. Feeble assaults and protracted sieges are of this ruinous character. The forms of attack in a battle, which have been used from the earliest times, are divided by the tacticians into, 1, the parallel. This is the most natural form, and even the troops attacked strive as much as possible to preserve it; for as long as they can do so, they retain their connexion, and the power of applying their force as occasion may require; but, for this very reason, it is not the best form of attack, because it leaves the defensive party too long in possession of his advantages. 2. The form in which both the wings attack, and the centre is kept back. Where the front of the enemy is weak (the only case in which it is practicable), it appears, indeed, overpowering. 3. The form in which the centre

is pushed forward, and the wings kept back, will hardly ever be chosen, on account of several evident disadvantages. 4. The famous oblique mode, where one wing advances to engage, whilst the other is kept back, and occupies the attention of the enemy by pretending an attack. Epaminondas, if not the inventor of this form, knew, at least, how to employ it to the greatest advantage. Whilst the wing which remained behind engaged the attention of the enemy, he increased, continually, the strength of the one advancing, which he led against the flank of the enemy, with a view of overpowering it by numerical superiority. The success of this mode is almost certain, provided the enemy takes no measures against it. In our times, this form of attack is executed in another way:-whilst engaging the enemy, his flank is surrounded by detached corps, which fall, at the same time, on his rear. If he suffers this quietly, he is vanquished. The enemy's attention is kept occupied, during such operations, mostly by feigned attacks or movements, which are called, in general, demonstrations, and are intended to keep him in error concerning the real object. (On the attack of fortresses, see the article Siege.) Field fortifications are attacked with columns, if possible, from several sides at the same time, and with impetuosity. Commonly, the artillery breaks a way beforehand, destroys the works, and disturbs the garrison.

ATTAINDER is, by the common law, the corruption of blood, or stain consequent upon a person's being adjudged guilty of a capital offence, in which case the law set a note of infamy upon him, and put him out of its protection, taking no further concern about him, except that he should be executed. But this attainder does not take place until judgment is pronounced against him. It might be by confession, as when the party pleaded guilty, or by verdict, when he pleaded not guilty, and was found guilty by the jury. There were, formerly, by the English law, various forfeitures incident to attainder, such as incapacity to inherit or transmit property; but attainder is scarcely known at present in the laws of the U. States; at least, the term is of very rare occurrence in their laws, though there are some disabilities consequent upon conviction of perjury, or any other crime which makes a man infamous, such as incompetency to be a witness.

ATTAINT is a writ at the common law against a jury for a false verdict. It might

454

be brought by a party aggrieved, and lay where the jury found a verdict against the evidence, or found a fact foreign to the evidence, or where their verdict was against well-known and acknowledged law. It was a process for trying the jurymen for misconduct in trying a cause. The writ seems to be now obsolete in England, and it has never been adopted in practice in the U. States.

ATTERBOM, Daniel Amadeus, born, Jan. 19, 1790, at Asbo, East Gothland, in Sweden, son of a country clergyman, grew up in a retired and romantic part of the country. He early became acquainted with German literature. In 1805, he went to the university of Upsal, where, some time afterwards, he established, in connexion with several young friends, a poetical-critical society, which contributed not a little to influence the taste of Sweden. In 1817-19, A. visited Germany and Italy, and was, on his return, appointed teacher of the German language to the royal prince Ottocar. Afterwards, he lived partly in Stockholm, partly in Upsal, as magister docens of universal history. In 1812, he began his Poetisk Kalender (Poetical Almanac), which is still continued annually. He has published many poems and prose writings in his native tongue, also some German poems. His greatest merit is, that he strove with success against the constrained French style which had prevailed in the literature of Sweden since the time of Gustavus III. His chief antagonist is the librarian Wallmark in Stockholm.

ATTERBURY, Francis, a celebrated English prelate, was born in 1662, and received his education at Westminster, where he was elected a student of Christ'schurch college, Oxon. He distinguished himself at the university as a classical scholar, and gave proofs of an elegant taste for poetry. In 1687, he took his degree of M. A., and for the first time appeared as a controversialist in a defence of the character of Luther, entitled, Considerations on the Spirit of Martin Luther, &c. He was also thought to have assisted his pupil, the Hon. Mr. Boyle, in his famous controversy with Bentley on the epistles of Phalaris. He continued some time longer at college, exceedingly discontented, feeling, with truth, that he was adapted to act on a wider theatre, and possessing all the ambition and restlessness, by which his subsequent career was so much distinguished. His father advised him to marry into some family of interest, 66 bishop's, or archbishop's, or

some courtier's;" to which parental counsel the future bishop duly attended.Having taken orders in 1691, he settled in London, where he became chaplain to William and Mary, preacher of Bridewell, and lecturer of St. Bride's, and soon became distinguished by the spirit and elegance of his pulpit compositions, but not without incurring opposition, on the score of their tendency and doctrine, from Hoadly and others. Controversy, however, was altogether congenial to the disposition of A., who, in 1706, commenced one with doctor Wake, which lasted four years, on the rights, privileges and powers of convocations. For this service, he received the thanks of the lower house of convocation, and the degree of doctor of divinity from Oxford.-Soon after the accession of queen Anne, he was made dean of Carlisle, and, besides his dispute with Hoadly on the subject of passive obedience, he aided in the defence of the famous Sacheverell, and wrote " A Representation of the present State of Religion," which was deemed too violent to be presented to the queen, although privately circulated. In 1712, he was made dean of Christ-church, and, in 1713, bishop of Rochester and dean of Westminster. The death of the queen, in 1714, put an end to his hopes of further advancement; for the new king treated him with great coolness, doubtless aware of either the report or the fact of his offer, on the death of Anne, to proclaim the pretender in full canonicals, if allowed a sufficient guard. A. not only refused to sign the loyal declaration of the bishops in the rebellion of 1715, but suspended a clergyman for lending his church, for the performance of divine service, to the Dutch troops brought over to act against the rebels. Not content with a constitutional opposition, he entered into a correspondence with the pretender's party, was apprehended in August, 1722, and committed to the Tower; and, in the March following, a bill was brought into the house of commons for the infliction of pains and penalties. This measure met with considerable opposition in the house of lords, and was resisted with great firmness and eloquence by the bishop, who maintained his innocence with his usual acuteness and dexterity. His guilt, however, has been tolerably well proved by documents since published. He was deprived of his dignities, and outlawed, and went to Paris, where he chiefly occupied himself in study, and in correspondence with men of letters. But, even here, in 1725, he was

actively engaged in fermenting discontent in the Highlands of Scotland. He died in 1731, and his body was privately interred in Westminster abbey. As a composer of sermons, he still retains a great portion of his original reputation. His letters, also, are extremely easy and elegant; but, as a critic and a controversialist, he is deemed rather dexterous and popular than accurate and profound. If an anecdote told by Pope to Chesterfield be correct, he was a sceptic early in life; but the same authority also states, that he ceased to be so after his mind had be

come mature.

ATTIC BASE; a peculiar kind of base, used by the ancient architects in the Ionic order, and by Palladio and some others in the Doric.-Attic Order, or Attics, in architecture; a kind of order raised upon another larger order by way of crowning, or to finish the building. Attic Salt; a delicate, poignant kind of wit, for which many Athenians were distinguished, and which, in fact, was peculiar to them. The moderns have adopted this expression from the Latin writers.-Attic Story, in architecture; a story in the upper part of a house, where the windows are usually square.

ATTICA, a province of ancient Greece, the capital of which, Athens, was once, by reason of its intellectual culture and refinement, the first city in the world, is a peninsula, united, towards the north, with Boeotia, towards the west, in some degree, with Megaris, and extends far into the Ægean sea at cape Sunium (now cape Colonna), where the Athenians had a fortress and a splendid temple of Minerva. The unfruitfulness of its soil protected it against foreign invaders, and the Athenians boasted of their ancient and unmingled race. They called themselves sons of the soil on which they dwelt, and pretended that they originated at the same time with the sun. The earliest inhabitants of A. lived in a savage manner, without bread, without marriage, and in scattered huts, until the time of Cecrops, who came, B. C. 1550, with a colony from Sais, at the mouth of the Nile, to A., and is acknowledged as their first real king. He softened their manners, and taught them a better mode of living; he planted the olive-tree, and instructed them in the culture of different kinds of grain; he instituted the worship of the gods, and commanded to offer them sacrifices of the fruits of the earth; he established laws of marriage, and directed the burial of the dead.

The inhabitants, who amounted to about 20,000, he divided into four classes, compelled them to bring their habitations near to each other, and protect them with a wall against the attacks of robbers. This was the origin of Athens, which, at that time, bore the name of Cecropia. One of Cecrops' descendants, as like him in spirit as in name, founded 11 other cities, which, in after times, made war upon each other. Theseus compelled these cities to unite, and to give to Cecropia, now called Athens, as the capital city of the whole country, the supreme power over the confederacy. He founded the great feast called the panathenæa. He himself, as the head of the state, watched over the administration of the laws, and commanded the army. He divided the whole people into three classes -noblemen, husbandmen and mechanics. From the first class the magistrates were selected, who performed the duties of priests, and interpreted the laws. He embellished and enlarged Athens, and invited foreigners to people the country. After the death of Codrus, B. C. 1068, the monarchical form of government, which had continued 487 years from the time of Cecrops, was abolished. An archon, chosen for life, possessed the regal power. After 316 years, the term of office of the archons was limited to 10 years, and, 70 years later, to 1 year, and their number was increased to 9. A regular code of laws was now needed. The archon Draco was commissioned to draw one up; but his severity disgusted the minds of the people, and, B. Č. 594, Solon introduced a milder code and a better constitution. He provided that the form of government should continue democratic, and that a senate of 400 members, chosen from the people, should administer the government. He divided the people into four classes, according to their wealth. The offices of government were to be filled from the three first, but the fourth were to be admitted to the assemblies of the people, and to have an equal share, by their vote, in legislation. But this constitution was too artificial to be permanent. Pisistratus, a man of talents, boldness and ambition, put himself at the head of the poorer classes, and made himself master of the supreme power in Athens. His government was splendi and beneficent, but his two sons could not maintain it. Hipparchus was murdered, and Hippias banished. Clisthenes, a friend of the people, exerted himself to prevent future abuses, by some

changes in the laws of Solon. He divided the people into 10 classes, and made the senate consist of 500 persons. A. was already highly cultivated; the vintage and harvest, like all the labors of this gay people, were celebrated with dance and song, with feasts and sacrifices. The wool of A. was famous, on account of the care bestowed upon the sheep, and the skill with which it was dyed of the most beautiful colors. Mount Hymettus (q. v.) yielded the finest honey, and mount Laurium contained rich silver mines, the products of which were appropriated to the support of the fleet. Then came the splendid era of the Persian war, which elevated Athens to the summit of fame. Miltiades at Marathon, and Themistocles at Salamis, conquered the Persians by land and by sea. The freedom of Greece escaped the dangers which had threatened it; the rights of the people were enlarged; the archons and other magistrates were chosen from all classes without distinction. The period from the Persian war to the time of Alexander (B. C. 500 to 336) was most remarkable for the developement of the Athenian constitution. According to Bockh's excellent work, Die Staatshaushaltung der Athener (2 vols., Berlin, 1817), A. contained, together with the islands of Salamis and Helena, a territory of 847 square miles, with 500,000 inhabitants, 365,000 of whom were slaves. Böckh estimates the inhabitants of the city and harbors at 180,000; those of the mines at 20,000. Cimon and Pericles (B. C. 444) introduced the highest elegance into Athens, but the latter laid the foundation for the future corruption of manners, and for the gradual overthrow of the state. Under him began the Peloponnesian war, which ended with the conquest of Athens by the Lacedemonians. The vanquished were obliged to receive the most mortifying conditions from the victors. Thirty supreme magistrates were placed over the city, who, under the protection of the Lacedemonian garrison, were arbitrary and cruel. After eight dreadful months, Thrasybulus overthrew this tyranny, and restored freedom and the old constitution, with some improvements.-Athens began to elevate herself again among the states of Greece, and was fortunate in her alliance with Thebes against Sparta. But this new period of power did not long continue. A more dangerous enemy rose in the North-Philip of Macedon. The Athenians had opposed him in the Phocian war, and Philip, therefore, took pos

session of some of their colonies. The Greeks took up arms, but the battle of Cheronæa (B. C. 338) was the grave of their liberty. Athens, together with the other states of Greece, was now dependent on the Macedonians. In vain, after the death of Alexander, did the Athenians attempt to regain their freedom: they were obliged to receive a Macedonian garrison in the harbor of Munychia. Antipater ordered that only those citizens who possessed an estate of more than 2000 drachmæ should take part in the administration of the government. Soon after, Athens was taken by Cassander, because it had joined his enemies, contrary to the advice of Phocion. Cassander restored the oligarchy, and named Demetrius Phalereus governor of the state, who quietly enjoyed the office for 10 years. But the Athenians, who hated him because he was not chosen by them, called Demetrius Poliorcetes to their assistance, who took the city, restored the ancient constitution, and was loaded with the most extravagant marks of honor by the Athenians; yet, when he went to war, he lost the affection of the unstable multitude, who, on his return, excluded him from the city. But he conquered Athens, forgave the citizens, and permitted them to enjoy their liberty, merely placing a garrison in the havens of Munychia and the Piræus. This garrison was afterwards driven out by the Athenians, who, for a long time, maintained their freedom. Antigonus Gonatas again conquered them, and in this situation they remained until they separated themselves from the Macedonians, and joined the Achæan league. They afterwards united with the Romans against Philip, and their new allies confirmed their freedom. When they suffered themselves to be misled to support Mithridates against the Romans, they drew upon themselves the vengeance of Rome. Sylla captured the city, and left it only an appearance of liberty, which it retained until the time of Vespasian. This emperor formally changed it into a Roman province. After the division of the Roman empire, A. belonged to the empire of the East. A. D. 396, it was conquered by Alaric the Goth, and the country devastated.-The latest and most beautiful engravings of the antiquities of this country are, "The Unedited Antiquities of Attica, comprising the Architectural Remains of Eleusis, Rhamnus, Sunium and Thoricus, by the Society of Dilettanti ;" London, pub. by Longman and Murray, 1817, folio. (See Athens.)

ATTICUS, Herodes. (See Herodes Atticus.)

ATTICUS, Titus Pomponius; a Roman, belonging to the rank of equites, who, in the most agitated times, preserved the esteem of all parties. The Pomponian family, from which he originated, was one of the most distinguished of the equites, and derived its origin from Numa Pompilius. He lived in the latter period of the republic, and acquired great celebrity from the splendor of his private character. He inherited from his father and from his uncle, Q. Cæcilius, great wealth. When he attained maturity, the republic was disturbed by the factions of Cinna and Sylla. His brother Sulpicius, the tribune of the people, being killed, he thought himself not safe in Rome, for which reason he removed, with his fortune, to Athens, where he devoted himself to science. His benefits to the city were so great, that he gained the affections of the people in the highest degree. He acquired so thorough a knowledge of Greek, that he could not be distinguished from a native Athenian. When Rome had recovered some degree of quiet, he returned, and inherited from his uncle 10 millions of sesterces. His sister married the brother of Cicero. With this orator, as well as with Hortensius, he lived on terms of intimate friendship. It was his principle never to mix in politics, and he lived undisturbed amid all the successive factions which reigned in Rome. Cæsar treated him with the greatest regard, though he was known as a friend of Pompey. After the death of Cæsar, he lived in friendship with Brutus, without, however, offending Antony. When Brutus was obliged to flee from Italy, he sent him a million of sesterces, and likewise supported Fulvia, the wife of Antony, after the disastrous battles of Mutina, and therefore was spared when fortune again smiled on Antony, and the friends of Brutus generally were the victims of his vengeance. The daughter of A. was married to M. Vespasianus Agrippa, and Augustus became his friend. He often received letters both from Augustus and from Antony, when he was absent from Rome. He reached the age of 77 years without sickness. At this time, he became afflicted with a disorder which he felt to be incurable. He therefore ended his life by voluntary starvation, and was buried near the Appian way, in the grave of his uncle.

ATTILA (in German, Etzel); the son of Mandras, a Hun of royal descent, who followed his uncle Roas in 434, and 39

VOL. I.

shared the supreme authority with his brother Bleda. These two leaders of the barbarians, who had settled in Scythia and Hungary, threatened the Eastern empire, and twice compelled the weak Theodosius II to purchase an inglorious peace. Their power was feared by all the nations of Europe and Asia. The Huns themselves esteemed A. their bravest warrior and most skilful general. Their regard for his person soon amounted to superstitious reverence. He gave out that he had found the sword of their tutelar god, and, proud of this weapon, which added dignity to his power, he designed to extend his rule over the whole earth. He caused his brother Bleda to be murdered (444), and, when he announced that it was done by the command of God, this murder was celebrated like a victory. Being now sole master of a warlike people, his unbounded ambition made him the terror of all nations; and he became, as he called himself, the scourge which God had chosen to chastise the human race. In a short time, he extended his dominion over all the people of Germany and Scythia, and the Eastern and Western emperors paid him tribute. The Vandals, the Ostrogoths, the Gepidæ, and a part of the Franks, united under his banners. Some historians assure us, that his army amounted to 700,000 men.When he had heard a rumor of the riches and power of Persia, he directed his march thither. He was defeated on the plains of Armenia, and drew back to satisfy his desire of plunder in the dominions of the emperor of the East. He easily found a pretext for war, for all states which promised him a rich booty were his natural enemies, and all princes whom he hoped to conquer had broken alliances. He therefore went over to Illyria, and laid waste all the countries from the Black to the Adriatic sea. The emperor Theodosius collected an army to oppose his progress; but, in three bloody battles, fortune declared herself for the barbarians. Constantinople was indebted to the strength of its walls, and to the ignorance of the enemy in the art of besieging, for its preservation. Thrace, Macedonia and Greece, all submitted to the savage robber, who destroyed 70 flourishing cities. Theodosius was at the mercy of the victor, and was obliged to purchase a peace. One of the servants of Attila, Edekon, was tempted by a eunuch, Chrysaphius, to undertake the assassination of his master on his return to the Danube; but, at the moment of execution, his cour