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State, and chofe Draco, a Perfon of known Wisdom and Probity among them, for their King; who no fooner was fettled at the Helm of Affairs, than he published a Syftem of very fevere and rigorous Laws; which, because of their extreme Rigour, (punishing with Death the fmalleft as well as the greatest Crimes) were faid to be written with Blood. But these had the fame fate, which most things that are too violent have; for the ill-judged Severity of them made their Execution to be very much neglected, and at length entirely laid afide.

Solon, who was afterwards chofen their Le gillator, being a Perfon of extraordinary Merit, and Sweetnefs of Temper, went on with more Caution in correcting and amending the Difeafes of the Common-Wealth; he chang'd their Laws, and new fafhion'd their Government, but feldom attempted any thing till he had perfuaded the Citizens of the Reasonablenefs and Advantage of his Laws, and the Changes that he brought about in their Conftitution: Sometimes indeed he made ufe of the Authority and Power he was invested with, but never except when it was vifibly join'd with Reafon and Juftice. Being once ask'd, if the Body of Laws, which he gave the Athenians were the best and most perfect, Yes, fays he, they are the beft that the Athenians are capable of receiving. The first thing he did, was to fet at liberty from their Slavery, all fuch as had fold themfelves for Debt, and at the fame time, publifh'd an Edict, whereby he cancelled and annull'd the Debts themfelves; but fome of his Friends, who knew of this Refolution before the Edict was published, taking advantage of No. XVIII 1732. VOL. II.

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it, had borrowed, great Sums of Money, where with they purchafed Land, which, amongst the Athenians, no Debt could affect; This Deed of his Friends, tho utterly unknown to him, rais'd the Indignation of the Generality of the People, which fell upon Solon, as if he had been in concert with them. He repealed or moderated all the Laws of Draco, except thofe against Murder; he divided the People into four Claffes, according to the Eftimate of their yearly Revenue. To the Rich, he committed all the publick Offices; and in fome fort to make reparation to the Poor, for their Exclufion from publick Employments, he gave them the Privilege of voting in all the Affemblies and Deliberations of the People; which, at first, appeared to be but of little moment, came, however, in the end to be of very great Importance, as it made them entirely Mafters of all publick Affairs, and gave them a strong Influence in all Proceffes and Judgments of Magiftrates; most of them being brought in the laft Refort by Appeal before the People: Which made Anacharfis, the Scythian Philofopher, fay to Solon, I wonder you have left to the Wife the Right of deliberating only, and that you have put the Right of deciding in the hands of Fools.

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He re-established and added to the Number of the Areopagus, which was, the Sovereign Court of Juftice amongst the Athenians, and perhaps one of the most auguft that ever was in the World; whofe Reputation was fo great, that even the Romans themfelyes appeal'd to it, in Cafes that appear'd too difficult for themfelves to decide,

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Moreover, to give a check to the Abuse, that was made of the too great Power which he had left the People, he created another Senate, confifting of four hundred, viz. one hundred out of each of the four Tribes, to whose Judg ment the People commonly paid a very great. deference.

Tho' Solon well perceived the Inconveniencies of a popular Government; yet knowing the Genius of the Athenians, he judged it in vain to wreft the Sovereign Power out of the hands of the People; well knowing, that if they allow'd themselves to be divefted of it at one time, they would, on fome other Occafion, re-affume i: by force.

It was permitted by Solon's Laws to any who faw another opprefs'd or infulted, to espouse his Quarrel, and profecute the Offender.

By another Law he declared infamous, and condemn'd to perpetual Banifhment, all fuch as in the civil Commotions of the State did not fide with one or other of the Parties.

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He abolished the Cuftom of giving Portions in Marriage with their Daughters, and made many ufeful Laws for the Encouragement of Industry, and the Improvement of the Arts and Sciences..

Pifftrates, by his Cunning and Address, found means to poffefs himself of the Government of Athens, two Years before Solon's Death; his Son and Succeffor, Hippias, being expelled Athens by the Party of the Alcmeonides, and being disappointed of means of reftoring himself any other Way, he retir'd to Artaphernes, the King of Perfia's Governor, at Sardis, and en-t deavour'd to engage him to turn his Arms a gainst the Athenians....

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Artaphernes commanded the Athenians to reestablish him upon the Throne, which they abfolutely refused and this gave occafion to the firft beginning of the War, which the Perfians made against the Greeks; the Detail whereof makes the Subject of the next Volume.

The ninth and laft ARTICLE is wholly taken up in giving an Account of all the Men famous for Learning and Wifdom, that lived in thofe first Ages of Greece.

He begins with the Poets, as being the most ancient, and places Homer as the most celebrated, at the head of them. Our Author feems to give Smyrna, preferable to all the other Cities that contended for it, the Honour of his Birth.

What is moft furprizing in this great Poet is, that he being the first who (of all that are known to us) apply'd himself to a kind of Poetry, the most fublime and difficult of any, fhould have carried it all of a fudden to fo high a Degree of Perfection, that none of those who came after him, have ever been able to come up to it. Velleius Paterculus, Lib. 1. Cap. 5. fpeaking of Homer, paffes the fame Judgment upon him.

The next in order is Hefiod; of whom it is faid, that, of the three Poems afcribed to him, the firft, which is called the WORKS and the DAYS, ferved as a Model to Virgil, in compofing his Georgicks; and the laft called the BUCKLER of HER CULES, is fufpected not to be Hefiod's.

The reft in this Catalogne are, Archilochus, Inventor of Iambick Verfes; Hipponax, of Epbefus, Stefichorus, of Himera, famous in the Lyrick kind, Alcman, of Lacedemon 3 Alceus

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and Sapho, both of Mitylene, a City of Lesbos. Our Author fays of Sapho, that it were to be wifhed, the Purity and Chastity of this Lady's Manners had been anfwerable to the Beauty of her Genius, and that he had not difhonour'd her Sex, by her Vices and Lafcivioufnefs.

Mr. Rollin treats next of the Philofophers, and Men famous for their Wifdom; where he takes notice of the most remarkable things in their Lives, as he had done before in treating of the Poets.

The first of thefe is Thales the Milefian, who laid the firft Foundation of Philofophy in Greece, and was Author of the Ionick Sect; he it was who firft mark'd the precife Time of that famous Solar Eclipfe, which happened in the Reign of Afyages, King of Media. This Philofopher ufed to thank God for three things, viz. That he had made him a reasonable Creature, and not a Brute: A Man, and not a Woman: A Greek, and not a. Barbarian.

Next to him, are, Solon, who hath been already spoke of; Chilon, the Lacedemonian; Pittacus, King of Mitylene, Bias, of Prien ; Cleobulus, of Lindos, in the Isle of Rhodes; Periander, King of Corinth; Anacharfis, the Scythian, who, in his Conference with Solon, compares the Laws to fo many Cobwebs, which reftrain and intangle fmall Infects, but the great ones break through them. Efop, the Phrygian, as famous for the Deformity of his Body, as the Beauty of his Genius.

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This is the Subftance of what Mr. Rollin hath faid on this Period of Greek History.

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