methods of defending places against those that besieged them, were known in the art of fortification as it was practised among the ancients; and they are the very same as are now in use among the moderns, allowing for such alteration as the difference of arms has occasioned.

I thought it necessary to enter into this detail, in order to give the reader an idea of the ancient manner of defending fortified towns; as also to remove a prejudice which prevails among many of the moderns, who imagine, that because new names are now given to the same things, the things themselves are therefore differ ent in nature and principle, Since the invention of gunpowder, cannon indeed have been substituted in the place of the batteringram; and musket-shot in the room of balista, catapulta, scorpions, javelins, slings, and arrows. But does it therefore follow, that any of the fundamental rules of fortification are changed? By no means. The ancients made as much of the solidity of bodies, and the mechanic powers of motion, as art and ingenuity would admit.

VII. The Condition of the Persian forces after Cyrus's time.

I have already observed, more than once, that we must not judge of the merit and courage of the Persian troops at all times, by what we see of them in Cyrus's reign. I shall conclude this article of war with a judicious reflection made by Monsieur Bossuet, bishop of Meaux, on that subject. He observes that, after the death of that prince, the Persians, generally speaking, were ignorant of the great advantages that result from severity, discipline, skill in drawing up an army, order in marching and encamping; and, in short, that happiness of conduct, which puts those great bodies in motion without disorder or confusion. Full of vain ostentation of their power and greatness, and relying more upon strength than prudence, upon the number rather than the choice of their troops, they thought they had done all that was necessary, when they had drawn together immense numbers of people, who fought indeed with resolution enough, but without order, and who found themselves encumbered with the vast multitudes of useless persons, who formed the retinue of the king and his chief officers. For to such a height was their luxury grown, that they would needs have the same magnificence, and enjoy the same pleasures and delights in the army, as in the king's court; so that in their wars the kings marched accompanied with their wives, their concubines, and all their eunuchs. Their silver and gold plate, and all their rich furniture, were carried after them in prodigious quantities; and, in short, all the equipage and utensils so voluptuous a life requires. An army composed in this manner, and already clogged with the excessive number of troops, was overburthened with the additional load of vast multitudes of such as did not fight. In this confusion, the troops could not act in concert; their orders never reached

them in time; and in action every thing went on at random, as it were, without the possibility of any commander's being able to remedy this disorder. Add to this, the necessity they were under of finishing an expedition quickly, and of passing into an enemy's country with great rapidity; because such a vast body of people greedy not only of the necessaries of life, but of such things also as were requisite for luxury and pleasure, consumed every thing that could be met with in a very short time; nor indeed is it easy to comprehend from whence they could procure subsistence.

However, with all this vast train, the Persians astonished the nations that were not better acquainted with military affairs than themselves; and many of those that were more expert, were yet overcome by them, being either weakened by their own dissensions, or overpowered by the numbers of the enemy. And by this means Egypt, proud as she was of her antiquity, her wise institutions, and the conquests of Sesostris, became subject to the Persians. Nor was it difficult for them to conquer the lesser Asia, and even such Greek colonies as the luxury of Asia had corrupted. But when they came to engage with Greece itself, they found what they had never met with before, regular and well-disciplined troops, skilful and experienced commanders, soldiers accustomed to temperance, whose bodies were inured to toil and labour, and rendered both robust and active, by wrestling and other exercises practised in that country. The Grecian armies indeed were but small; but they were like strong, vigorous bodies, that seem to be all nerves and sinews, and full of spirits in every part; at the same time they were so well commanded, and so prompt in obeying the orders of their generals, that one would have thought all the soldiers had been ac tuated by one soul; so perfect a harmony was there in all their

motions.

ARTICLE III.

Arts and sciences,

I do not pretend to give an account of the Eastern poetry, of which we know little more than what we find in the books of the Old Testament. Those precious fragments are sufficient to let us know the origin of poesy; its true design; the use that was made of it by those inspired writers, namely, to celebrate the perfections and sing the wonderful works of God, as also the dignity and sublimity of style which ought to accompany it, adapted to the majesty of the subjects on which it treats. The discourses of Job's friends, who lived in the East, as he himself did, and who were distinguished among the Gentiles as much by their learning as their birth, may likewise give us some notion of the eloquence that prevailed in those early ages.

What the Egyptian priests said of the Greeks in general and of VOL. II

S

the Athenians in particular, according to Plato,* that they were but children in antiquity, is very true with respect to arts and sciences, the invention of which they have falsely ascribed to chimerical persons, much posterior to the deluge. The Holy Scripture informs us, that before that epocha, God had discovered to mankind the art of tilling and cultivating the ground; of feeding their flocks and cattle, when their habitation was in tents; of spinning wool and flax, and weaving it into stuffs and linen; of forging and polishing iron and brass, and rendering them subservient to numberless uses that are necessary and convenient for life and society.

We learn from the same Scriptures, that very soon after the deluge, human industry had made several discoveries very worthy of admiration; as, 1. The art of spinning gold thread, and of interweaving it with stuffs. 2. That of beating gold, and with light thin leaves of it gilding wood and other materials. 3. The secret of cast ing metals; as brass, silver, or gold; and of making all sorts of figures with them, in imitation of nature; of representing any kind of different objects; and of making an infinite variety of vessels of those metals, for use and ornament. 4. The art of painting, or carving upon wood, stone, or marble: and, 5. to name no more, that of dying their silks and stuffs, and giving them the most exquisite and beautiful colours.

As it was in Asia that men first settled after the deluge, it is easy to conceive that Asia must have been the cradle, as it were, of arts and sciences, the remembrance of which had been preserved by tradition; and which were afterwards revived again, and restored by means of men's wants and necessities.

SECTION I. Architecture.

The building of the tower of Babel, and shortly after, of those famous cities Babylon and Nineveh, which have been looked upon as prodigies; the grandeur and magnificence of the palaces of the kings and noblemen, divided into sundry halls and apartments, and adorned with every thing that either decency or conveniency could require; the regularity and symmetry of the pillars and vaulted roofs, raised and multiplied one upon another; the noble gates of their cities; the breadth and thickness of their ramparts; the height and strength of their towers; the convenience of their quays on the banks of the great rivers; and the boldness of the bridges thrown over them all these things, I say, with many other works of the like nature, show to what a pitch of perfection architecture was carried in those ancient times.

I know not, however, whether in those ages this art rose to that degree of perfection, which it afterwards attained in Greece and

Italy; or whether those vast structures in Asia and Egypt, so much boasted of by the ancients, were as remarkable for their beauty and regularity, as they were for their magnitude and extent.

We hear of five orders in architecture, the Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite; but we never hear of an Asiatic or Egyptian order; which gives us reason to doubt whether the symmetry, measures, and proportions of pillars, pilasters, and other ornaments in architecture, were exactly observed in those ancient structures.

SECTION II. Music.

It is no wonder, if, in a country like Asia, addicted to pleasure, to luxury, and to voluptuousness, music, which gives the chief zest to such enjoyments, was in high esteem, and cultivated with great application. The very names of the principal styles of ancient music, which the modern has still preserved, namely, the Doric, Phrrygian, Lydian, Ionian, and Æolian, sufficiently indicate the place where it had its origin; or at least, where it was improved and brought to perfection. We learn from Holy Scripture,* that in Laban's time instrumental music was much in use in the country where he dwelt, that is, in Mesopotamia; since, among the other reproaches he makes to his son-in-law Jacob, he complains, that, by his precipitate flight, he had put it out of his power to conduc him and his family with mirth and with songs, with tabret and with harp. Amongst the booty that Cyrus ordered to be set apart for his uncle Cyaxares, mention is made of two female musicians,† very skilful in their profession, who accompanied a lady of Susa, and were taken prisoners with her.

To determine to what degree of perfection music was carried by the ancients, is a question which very much puzzles the learned. It is the harder to be decided, because, to determine justly upon it, it seems necessary we should have several pieces of music composed by the ancients, with their notes, that we might examine it both with our eyes and our ears. But, unhappily, it is not with music in this respect as with ancient sculpture and poetry, of which we have so many noble monuments remaining; whereas, on the contrary, we have not any one piece of their composition in the other science, by which we can form a certain judgment, and determine whether the music of the ancients was as perfect as ours.

It is generally allowed, that the ancients were acquainted with the triple symphony, that is, the harmony of voices, that of instru ments, and that of voices and instruments in concert.

It is also agreed, that they excelled in what relates to the rhythmus. What is meant by rhythinus, is the assemblage or union of various times in music, which are joined together with a certain order, and in certain proportions. To understand this definition, it

is to be observed, that the music we are here speaking of was always set and sung to the words of certain verses, in which the syllables were distinguished into long and short; that the short syllable was pronounced as quick again as the long; that therefore the former was reckoned to make up but one time, whilst the latter made up two; and consequently the sound which answered to this, was to continue twice as long as the sound which answered to the other; or, which is the same thing, it was to consist of two times, or measures, whilst the other comprehended but one; that the verses which were sung consisted of a certain number of feet formed by the different combination of these long and short syllables; and that the rhythmus of the song regularly followed the march of these feet. As these feet, of what nature or extent soever, were always divided into equal or unequal parts, of which the former was called gos, elevation or raising; and the latter bios, depression or falling: so the rhythmus of the song, which answered to every one of those feet, was divided into two parts equally or unequally, by what we now call a beat, and a rest or intermission. The scrupulous regard the ancients had to the quantity of their syllables in their vocal music, made their rhythmus much more perfect than ours: for our poetry is not formed upon the measure of long and short syllables; but nevertheless a skilful musician amongst us, may in some sort express. by the length, of their sounds, the quantity of every syllable. This account of the rhythmus of the ancients I have copied from one of the dissertations of Monsieur Burette; which I have done for the benent of young students, to whom this little explanation may be of great use for the understanding of several passages in ancient authors. I now return to my subject.

The principal point in dispute among the learned, concerning the music of the ancients, is to know whether they understood music in several parts, that is, a composition consisting of several parts, and in which all those different parts form each by itself a complete piece, and at the same time have an harmonious connexion, as in our counter-point whether simple or compounded.

If the reader be curious to know more concerning this matter, and whatever else relates to the music of the ancients, I refer him to the learned dissertations of the above-mentioned M. Burette, inserted in the 3d, 4th, and 5th volumes of the Memoirs of the Royal Academy des Belles Lettres; which show the profound erudition and exquisite taste of that writer.

We likewise discover in those early times the origin of physic, the beginnings of which, as of all other arts and sciences, were very rude and imperfect. Herodotus,* and after him Strabo, observe, that it was a general custom among the Babylonians to expose their

* Herod. l. 1. c. 197. Strabo, l. xvi. p. 746.