rents. fovereign thought fit to ordain. Having thus replied, with a furprifing temper, he collected the mangled parts of his innocent fon, and went home, as our author conjectures, to inter them '. Cyrus fent ASTYAGES, having thus vented his rage upon the unfortuback to his nate Harpagus, began to confider with himself what he should real pa do with Cyrus; and, having again confulted the mages, their anfwer was, that, if the boy lived, he muft of neceffity be king. Aftyages then acquainted them, that he was still alive; adding, as a very material circumstance, that he had been chofen king by the boys of the neighbourhood where he lived, and performed all the parts of a real king with the utmost rigour and feverity. Hereupon the mages replied, that the prediction of his reign was already accomplished, in the choice which the boys had made of him for their king, and that he would never reign a second time; for dreams, faid they, often end in things of small importance, and are fulfilled by trifling events. They advised him therefore to diveft himself of all fear, and fend the boy to his parents in Perfias. ASTYAGES, well pleafed with this anfwer, called Cyrus ; and, owning how much he had been wanting in the affection which he ought naturally to have had for him, by reafon of an infignificant dream, defired him to get ready for a journey into Perfia, where he would find his real father and mother, in circumftances very different from thofe of the poor herdsman Mithridates, and his wife Spaco". THUS Afyages, after many kind expreffions, difinissed his • HEROD. lib. i. c. 119. WHEN WHEN Cyrus attained to the age of manhood, and was be- Harpagus come very popular in his own country, and famous in Media, Airs up a on account of his extraordinary parts, Harpagus, who had revolt never forgot the inhuman murder of his fon, began to court against his friendship, with a defign to join with him, who had been Aftyages. equally injured, in revenging fo barbarous a treatment. the fame time, he folicited the leading men among the Medes, who were highly diffatisfied with the tyrannical government of Aftyages, to take up arms, and redeem themselves, and their unhappy country, from the calamities they groaned under, by depofing Aftyages, and advancing his grandfon Cyrus to the throne. They all to a man fhewed themselves difpofed to fecond his defigns: whereupon he thought it high time to difcover his intentions to Cyrus, who was to act the chief part in this revolution; and accordingly he acquainted him with them by a letter, which, as all the roads leading to Perfia were guarded by the king's troops, he conveyed to him in the belly of an hare; the hare he delivered to one of his moft trufty domeftics, dreffed in the habit of an hunter, injoining him to defire Cyrus not to open the letter in the presence of any person whatsoever. THE meffenger executed his orders; and Cyrus, opening Cyrus's the hare with his own hands, found a letter, reminding him ftratagem of the care which the gods had had of his preservation against to cause the the wicked defigns, and barbarous attempts, of his grandfa- Perfians to ther, and encouraging him to ftir up the Perfians to a revolt, revolt and, at the head of their forces, to invade Media, where all the chief commanders were ready to join him, and determined, at all events, to advance him to the throne, instead of his unnatural grandfather. He took care to put him in mind of what he had fuffered on his account, and how barbaroufly he had been punished for not executing the king's bloody orders. Cyrus, having read the letter, began to confider what measures he fhould take, to induce the Perfians to revolt; and, after various schemes, fixed upon the following as the moft proper: he feigned a letter from Aftyages, appointing him commander in chief of all the Perfian forces. This he read in a general affembly of the nation, and, in virtue of his new commiffion, commanded them all to attend him, every man with an hatchet. He was obeyed; and, being all met, in pursuance to his orders, he injoined them to clear, in one day, a fpot of ground, containing eighteen or twenty furlongs, overgrown with thorns and briars. This laborious piece of work being performed, not without some reluctancy, he difmiffed them, with orders to attend him again the next day. In the mean time, he caufed all his father's flocks and herds to be killed and dressed, provided wine, and bought all the dainties Perfia could fupply him with. They all affembled the next day, expecting to be employed as they had been the day before; but, contrary to their expectations, Cyrus ordered them to fit down on the green turf, and entertained them with a great feast. When they had folaced themselves with dainties, which to that time they had been strangers to, the young prince asked them, whether they would chufe to live always in that manner, or as they had done the day before. They all anfwered readily, that, as mirth and pleasure were greatly preferable to toil and labour, they would gladly chufe the condition of the present day before that of the preceding. Upon this anfwer, Cyrus acquainted them, that, if they hearkened to his advice, they fhould enjoy thefe, and far greater pleasures, without any kind of fervile labour: but, if they refused to follow him, they must undergo innumerable hardships, like those they had complained of the day before. He then difclofed to them his true defign of delivering his country from the Median bondage, and encouraged his countrymen to join him in fo great and glorious an enterprize, by telling them, that fome divine power had brought him into the world, and miraculously faved his life, that he might be one day the author of their happiness. The Perfians, who had lived for many years, with the utmost reluctancy, in fubjection to the Medes, declared him, with one accord, their leader, and protefted, that they would stand by him in fo good a caufe, even at the expence of their lives". In the mean time Aftyages, being informed of what was doing in Perfia, dispatched a meffenger to Cyrus, injoining Aftyages him to repair forthwith into Media; but Cyrus, by the fame defeated by meffenger, returned this refolute answer, that he would come Cyrus. fooner than Aftyages defired. Whereupon the king drew together all his forces, and, forgetful of his cruelty towards Harpagus, appointed him general of the army. The two nations came to a general engagement; but the chief officers among the Medes paffing over to Cyrus, with the bodies under their command, the reft of the army was routed with great flaughter. When Aftyages heard of this defeat, he flew into a violent paffion; and, vowing that Cyrus fhould not long enjoy His cruelty the pleasure of his victory, he firft caufed the mages, who to the ma- had interpreted his dream, to be impaled; and then, arming ges. all the Medes, marched out himself at the head of them. Both armies came to a fecond engagement, in which the Medes were again defeated, and the king himself taken prifoner. Aftyages, in this ftate, was reproached and infulted by the revengeful Harpagus, who, among other things, asked him, what he now thought of his tragical feaft, when he compelled w HERODOT. 1. i. c. 123-127. him to devour the flesh of his own fon, for which inhuman and barbarous action he had now fallen from the throne to a prifon. Afyages, in return, fixing his eyes on Harpagus, asked him, whether he had been inftrumental in bringing about this revolution. He answered, that it was chiefly owing to him, fince he had the first encouraged Cyrus to this undertaking. Then, replied Aftyages, you are the weakest and most unjuft Brave an of all men; the weakeft, in giving the kingdom to another, fewer to the when you might have feized on it yourself, fince you have infulting been able to effect this change; the most unjuft, in enflaving Harpayour country, to revenge a private injury; for, if you were gus. determined to depose me, and confer the kingdom on another, without taking the power into your own hands, you might, with more juftice, have advanced a Mede to that dignity, than a Perfian: whereas the Medes, who were before lords of Per fia, and no-way concerned in the injury, are now, by your means, reduced to the condition of flaves; and the Perfians, who were fervants to the Medes, are now become their lords. In this manner, concludes our author, Aftyages was deprived of the kingdom, after he had reigned thirty-five years; and, through his cruelty, the Medes became fubject to the Perfians, after they had ruled over all those provinces of Afia, that lie on the other fide the Halys, for the space of an hundred and twenty-eight years, including the time of the Scythian dominion over that part of Afia. As for Aftyages, Cyrus kept him prifoner in his palace till he died, without practifing any fur- His death. ther feverity upon him *. THIS is the account Herodotus gives us; which every impartial and judicious reader muft conclude to be an arrant romance, compofed perhaps by some admirer of Cyrus, and adopted by our author, as more agreeable to the depraved tafte of his countrymen, who took greater delight in surprising, though. fabulous, events, than in the relation of plain hiftorical truths. WHAT the fame author relates of the death of this great hero, deferves, in our opinion, no more credit than what he has told of his birth, education, and advancement to the crown. This prince, according to him, invaded the Massagetes; and having, in the first battle, feigned a flight, left a great quantity of provifions, efpecially of wine, in the field. The barbarians did not fail to feize on the booty, and indulged themfelves in drinking to fuch an excess, that they all fell asleep on the fpot. In this condition Cyrus returned upon them, obtained an eafy victory, and took a great many prifoners, among whom was Spargapifes the fon of queen Tomyris. This heroine, being informed of the defeat of her troops, and captiy Idem ibid. c. 211-2136) vity × HERODOT. 1. i. c. 127–130. VOL. V. N vity of her fon, fent an herald to Cyrus, intreating him to releafe the young prince; which he refufing to do, Spargapifes preferring death to flavery, laid violent hands on himfelf: whereupon his mother Tomyris, animated with an eager defire of revenge, gave the Perfians battle a second time; which, fays our author, was the most obftinate and bloody that ever was fought by the barbarians. Many fell on both fides; but, Cyrus's at laft, the Maffagetes carrying the day, the greatest part of the Perfian army was cut in pieces, and Cyrus himfelf killed in the field, after having reigned twenty-nine years. Tomyris, having found his body among the flain, caufed his head to be cut off, and thrown into a veflel filled with human blood, infulting the memory of the dead prince with thefe words, Glut thyfelf with the blood which thou haft so insatiably thirsted after 2. defeat and death, according to the fame author. Cyrus's Xeno phon, more con WE HAT the fame hiftorian relates of his childifh revenge upon the river Gyndes (C), while he was on his march to befiege Babylon, is utterly repugnant to the idea we have of that wife and experienced commander: for he tells us, that one of the facred horfes of Cyrus being drowned in that river, that prince, highly refenting fuch an affront, immediately caused the Gyndes to be cut by his army into three hundred and fixty chanels; a work which employed his army the whole fummer, and obliged him to poftpone the fiege of Babylon to the fpring enfuing. Who can imagine, that a commander of fo great experience, and fuch an extraordinary moderation, as Cyrus is, even by Herodotus himself, represented to have been, while he was marching to the conqueft of Babylon, fhould fo idly wafte his time, and spend the ardour of his troops in fuch an unprofit able piece of work? WE fhall now give what we look upon as the true hiftory history, ac- of Cyrus, being extracted out of Xenophon, whom we choofe cording to to follow in what concerns that great conqueror, and excellent prince, feeing his accounts are far more agreeable to holy writ, the ftandard of truth, than thofe of Herodotus. We are told, for inftance, in Scripture, that the Babylonians were reduced by the united forces of the Medes and Perfians; and this is what we read in Xenophon: whereas Herodotus raifes the Perfian empire on the ruins of that of the Medes; which is repugnant to Scripture. It is true, that moft of the antients have chofen to follow Herodotus rather than Xenophon: but that we can easily account for. The relations of the former are interwoven with events far more ftrange and furprifing, Sonant with the Sacred writings. Z HEROD. 1. i. c. 14. (C) The river Gyndes rifes on through Dardania, falls into the the hills of Matiene, and, paffing Tigrisa |