commonwealth, and the moft frequent cause of fedition but at the time we now fpeak of it was carried to an excefs not eafy to com. prehend. The interest of money amongst the Romans was paid every month, and was one per cent : hence it was called afura centefima, or unciarum fanus; because in reckoning the twelve months, twelve per cent. was paid: uncia is the twelfth part of an whole. * This nal. 1. 6. The law of the twelve tables prohibited the Tacit.Anraifing intereft to above twelve per cent. law was revived by the two tribunes of the ple, in the 396th year of Rome. c. 16. peo- Liv. 1. 7. n. 16. Ten years after, intereft was reduced to half Ibid. n.27. that fum, in the 406th year of Rome; femunciarum fænus. At length, in the 411th year of Rome, all Ibid.n.42. intereft was prohibited by decree: ne fænerari liceret. All these decrees were ineffectual. + Avarice was always too ftrong for the laws and whatever regulations were made to fupprefs it, either in the time of the republick, or under the emperors, it always found means to elude them. Nor has it paid more regard to the laws of the church, which has never entered into any compofition in this point, and feverely condemns all ufury, even the moft moderate; because, God having forbade any, fhe never believed she had a right to permit it in the leaft. It is remarkable, that ufury has always occafioned the ruin of the states where it has been tolerated; and it was this disorder, which contributed Nequis unciario fænore amplius exerceto. + Multis plebifcitis obviam itam fraudibus: quæ toties very much to fubvert the conftitution of the Roman republick, and gave birth to the greateft calamities in all the provinces of that empire. Lucullus, at this time, applied himself in giving the province of Afia fome redress, which he could only effect, by putting a stop to the injuftice and cruelty of the ufurers and taxfarmers. The latter, finding themselves deprived by Lucullus of the immense gain they made, as if they had been exceffively injured, raised a great cry, and by the force of money, ftirred up many orators against him particularly confiding in having most of those who governed the republick in their debt, which gave them a very extenfive, and almost unbounded, influence. But Lucullus defpifed their clamours, with a conftancy the more admirable, from its being very extraordinary and uncommon. ; A. M. Plut. in Memn. SECT. III. Lucullus caufes war to be declared with Tigranes, and marches against him. Vanity and ridiculous Self-fufficiency of that prince. He lofes a great battle. Lucullus takes Tigranocerta, capital of Armenia. He gains a fecond victory over the joint-forces of Tigranes and Mithridates. Mutiny and revolt in the army of Lucullus. TI IGRANES, to whom Lucullus had fent an ambassador, though of no great powLueul. p. er in the beginning of his reign, had enlarged 504-512 it fo much by a feries of fucceffes; of which c. 48-57 there are few examples, that he was commonly Appian. in firnamed the king of kings. After having overp. 228 thrown, and almost ruined the family of the Mithrid. P. 232. - kings, kings, fucceffors of Seleucus the Great; after having very often humbled the pride of the Parthians, tranfported whole cities of Greeks into Media, conquered all Syria and Palestine, and given laws to the Arabians, called Scani tes; he reigned with an authority refpected by all the princes of Afia. The people paid him honours, after the manner of the Eaft, even to adoration. His pride was inflamed and fup. ported by the immenfe riches he poffeffed, by the exceffive and continual praises of his flatterers, and by a profperity, that had never known any interruption. Appius Clodius was introduced to an audience of this prince, who appeared with all the fplendor he could display, in order to give the ambassador an higher idea of the royal dignity; on his fide, uniting the haughtiness of his difpofition, with that which particularly characterised his republick, perfectly supported the dignity of an ambaffador from the Romans. After having explained, in a few words, the fubjects of complaints, which the Romans had against Mithridates, and that prince's breach of faith in breaking the peace, without so much as attempting to give any reafon or colour for it; he told Tigranes, that he came to demand his being delivered up to him, as due by every fort of title to Lucullus's triumph; that he did not believe, as a friend to the Romans, which he had been till then, that he would make any difficulty in giving up Mithridates, and that in cafe of his refufal, he was inftructed to declare war against him. That prince, who had never been contradicted, and who knew no other law nor rule but his will and pleasure, was extremely offended at this Roman freedom. But he was much more fo with Lucullus's letter, when it was delivered to him. The title of king only, which it gave him, did not fatisfy him. He had taken that of king of kings, of which he was very fond, and had carried his pride in that refpect fo far, as to caufe himself to be ferved by crowned heads. He never appeared in publick without having four kings attending him; two on foot, on each fide of his horfe, when he went abroad: at table, in his chamber, in fhort, every where, he had always fome of them to do the lowest offices for him; but efpecially when he gave audience to ambaffadors. For at that time, in order to give strangers a greater idea of his glory and power, he made them all ftand in two ranks, one on each fide of his throne, where they appeared in the habit and pofture of common flaves. A pride fo full of abfurdity offends all the world. One more refined hurts lefs, though much the same at bottom. It is not furprizing, that a prince of this character, fhould bear the manner in which Clodius fpoke to him with impatience. It is the first free and fincere fpeech he had heard, during the five and twenty years he had governed his fubjects, or rather tyrannized over them with exceffive infolence. He answered; that Mithridates was the father of Cleopatra his wife; that the union between them was of too ftrict a nature, to admit his delivering him up for the triumph of Lucullus; and that if the Romans were unjust enough to make war upon him, he knew how to defend himself, and to make them repent it. To exprefs his refentment by his anfwer, he directed it only to Lucullus, without adding the usual title of Imperator, 3 rator, or any others commonly given to the Roman generals. Lucullus, when Clodius reported his commiffion, and that war had been declared againft Tigranes, returned with the utmost diligence into Pontus to begin it. The enterprize feemed rafh, and the terrible power of the king aftonished all thofe, who relied lefs upon the valour of the troops, and the conduct of the general, than upon a multitude of foldiers. After having made himself master of Sinope, he gave that city its liberty, as he did alfo to Amifus, and made them both free and independant cities. Cotta did not treat Heraclea, which he took Memn. after a long fiege by treachery, in the fame c. 51-61 manner. He enriched himself out of its fpoils, treated the inhabitants with exceffive cruelty, and burnt almoft the whole city. On his return to Rome, he was at firft well received by the fenate, and honoured with the firname of Ponticus, upon account of the taking that city. But foon after, when the Heracleans had laid their complaints before the fenate, and reprefented, in a manner capable of moving the hardest hearts, the miferies Cotta's avarice and cruelty had made them fuffer, the fenate contented themselves with depriving him of the Latufclavus, which was the robe worn by the fenators, a punishment in no wife proportioned to the crying exceffes proved upon him. Lucullus left Sornatius, one of his generals, in Pontus, with fix thousand men, and marched with the reft, which amounted only to twelve thousand foot, and three thousand horse, through Cappadocia to the Euphrates. He paffed that river in the midst of the winter, and afterwards the Tigris, and came before Tigranocerta, which was at fome fmall distance, to attack Tigranes |