Darius each other; to remove their jealousies, to prevent Nothus. injustice and oppression; and if, feared and honoured by them all, they had made themselves the mediators of their differences, the security of their peace, and the guarantee of their treaties? Can any conquest, however great, be compared with such glory? Tissaphernes acted upon other principles, and had no thought but of preventing the Greeks from being in a condition to attack the Persians, their common enemy. He entered freely therefore into the views of Alcibiades, and at the same time that he declared himself openly for the Lacedæmonians, did not fail to assist the Athenians underhand, and by a thousand secret methods; deferring the payment of the Lacedæmonian fleet, and retarding the arrival of the Phoenician ships, of which he had long kept them in hopes. He omitted no occasion of giving Alcibiades new marks of his friendship and esteem, which rendered that general equally considerable to both parties. The Athenians, who had sadly experienced the effects of having drawn his anger upon them, were not now to repent their passing sentence of condemnation upon him. Alcibiades also on his side, who was extremely sorry to see the Athenians in so mournful a situation, began to fear that the city of Athens being entirely ruined, he might fall into the hands of the Spartans, who mortally hated him. SECT. II. The return of Alcibiades to Athens negociated upon condition of establishing the aristrocratical, in the room of the democratical, government. Tissaphernes concludes a new treaty with the Lacedæmo nians. THE Thucyd. 1. viii. p. 579-587. cities that had abandoned them under their obe- Darius dience, kept the rest in their duty 5, and found Nothus. themselves still in a condition to make head against their enemies, over whom they had obtained several advantages. But they were afraid of Tissaphernes, and the hundred and fifty Phoenician ships which he hourly expected; and rightly perceived, that if so powerful a fleet should join the enemy, there was no longer any safety for their city. Alcibiades, who was well informed of all that passed among the Athenians, sent secretly to the principal of them at Samos, to sound their sentiments, and to let them know, that he was not averse to returning to Athens, provided the administration of the republick were put into the hands of the great and powerful, and not left to the populace, who had expelled him. Some of the principal officers went from Samos, with design to concert with him the proper measures for the success of that undertaking. He promised to procure the Athenians not only the favour of Tissaphernes, but of the king himself, upon condition they would abolish the democracy or popular government; because the king would place more confidence in the engagements of the nobility, than upon those of the inconstant and capricious multitude. The deputies lent a willing ear to these proposals, and conceived great hopes of discharging themselves from part of the publick impositions, because being the richest of the people, the burden lay heaviest upon them, and of making their country triumph after having possessed themselves of the government. At their return, they began by bringing over such as were most proper to share in their design; after which they caused a report to be spread amongst the troops, that the king was inclined to declare in favour of the Athenians, upon condition that Alci biades were re-instated, and the popular govern. ment abolished. That proposal surprised the sol Darius diers, and was generally rejected at first; but the Nothus. charm of gain, and the hope of a change to their advantage, soon softened what was harsh and shocking in it, and even made them ardently desire the recall of Alcibiades. Phrynicus, one of their generals, rightly judging that Alcibiades affected an oligarchy no more than he did the democracy, and that in decrying the people's conduct, he had no other view than to acquire the favour and confidence of the nobility for his own re-establishment, had the boldness to oppose their resolutions, which were about to take place. He represented, that the change they meditated might very probably excite a civil war to the ruin of the state; that it was very unlikely that the king of Persia would prefer the alliance of the Athenians to that of the Spartans, so much more advantageous to him; that this change would not retain the allies in their duty, nor bring over those who had renounced it, who would persist in preferring their liberty; that the government of a small number of rich and powerful persons would not be more favourable to either the citizens or allies, than that of the people, because ambition was the great cause of all misfortunes in a republick, and the rich were the sole promoters of all troubles for the aggrandizing of themselves; that a state suffered more oppressions and violences under the rule of the nobility, than that of the people, whose authority kept the former within due bounds, and was the asylum of such as they desired to oppress; that the allies were too well acquainted with these truths from their own experience, to want any lessons upon the subject. These remonstrances, as wise as they were, had no effect. Pisander was sent to Athens with some of the same faction, to propose the return of Alcibia des, the alliance of Tissaphernes, and the abolition of the democracy. They represented, that by changing the government, and recalling Alcibiades, Athens might obtain a powerful aid from the king of Per Nothus. sia, which would be a certain means to triumph Darius over Sparta. Upon this proposal great numbers ex, claimed against it, and especially the enemies of Alcibiades. They alledged, amongst other reasons, the imprecations pronounced by the priests, and all the orders of religion, against him, and even against such as should propose to recall him. But Pisander, advancing into the midst of the assembly, demanded, whether they knew any other means to save the republick in the deplorable condition to which it was reduced: And as it was admitted there were none, he added, that the preservation of the state was the question, and not the authority of the laws, which might be provided for in the sequel; but at present there was no other method for the attainment of the king's friendship and that of Tissaphernes. Though this change was very offensive to the people, they gave their consent to it at length, with the hope of re-establishing the democracy in time, as Pisander had promised; and they decreed that he should go with ten more deputies to treat with Al cibiades and Tissaphernes, and that in the mean time Phrynicus should be recalled, and another ge neral appointed to command the fleet in his stead. The deputies did not find Tissaphernes in so good a disposition as they had been made to hope. He was afraid of the Lacedæmonians, but did not care to render the Athenians too powerful. It was his policy, by the advice of Alcibiades, to leave the two parties always at war, in order to weaken and con sume them by each other. He therefore made great difficulties. He demanded at first, that the Athe nians should abandon all Ionia to him, and afterwards insisted upon their adding the neighbouring islands. Those demands being complied with, he further required, in a third interview, permission to fit out a fleet, and to cruise in the Grecian seas; which had been expressly provided against in the celebrated treaty concluded with Artaxerxes. The deputies thereupon broke up the conferences with Darius indignation, and perceived that Alcibiades had im. Nothus. posed upon them. Tissaphernes without loss of time concluded a new treaty with the Lacedæmonians; in which, what had displeased in the two preceding treaties was retrenched. The article, which yielded to Persia the countries in general, that had been in the actual possession of the reigning king Darius, or his predecessors, was limited to the provinces of Asia. The king engaged to defray all expences of the Lacedæmonian fleet, upon the foot, and in the condition it then was, till the arrival of that of Persia; after which they were to support it themselves; unless' they should chuse that the king should pay it, to be re-imbursed after the conclusion of the war. It was further agreed, that they should unite their forces, and continue the war, or make peace, by common consent. Tissaphernes, to keep his promise, sent for the fleet of Phoenicia. This treaty was made in the eleventh year of Darius, and the twentieth of the Peloponnesian war. SECT. III. The whole authority of the Athenian govern ment having been vested in four hundred persons, they abuse it tyrannically, and are deposed. Alcibiades.is recalled. After various accidents, and several considerable victories, he returns in triumph to Athens, and is appointed gencralissimo. He causes the great mysteries to be celebrated, and departs with the fleet. PISANDER, at his return to Athens, found the change he had proposed at his setting out much forwarded, to which he put the last hand soon after. To give a form to this new government, he caused ten commissaries with absolute power to be appointed, who were however at a certain fixed time to give the people an account of what they had done. At the expiration of that term, the general assembly h Thucyd. 1. viii. p. 590, 594. Plut. in Alcib. p. 105. |