The five days debate at Cicero's house in Tusculum between master and sophister.

SECT. XXXVII. Since it hath not appear'd dreadful, even to com∣mon Soldiers.

HOW often have, not only our Commanders, but whole Armies also charg'd the Enemy, without any probability of coming back alive? Had death been to be fear'd, (r) L. Brutus would never have hindered the return of that Tyrant, which himself had expell'd, by losing his Life in the Engagement. Nor would Decius the Father in Battle with the Latins, the Son of the Hetrurians, and Grandson with Pyrrhus, have run upon the Point of the Enemies Sword. Spain had not seen the two Scipio's in one War, fall for their Country; Cannae, Paulus Aemilius; Venusia, Marcellus; the La∣tins, Albinus; the Lucanians, Gracchus; is any one of these at this day miserable? No, nor immedi∣ately after they had expir'd; for none can be mi∣serable, who is insensible. But that very thing is grievous, to be without Sense; grievous indeed, if one were to miss it. But it being notorious, that he can be nothing, who hath himself no Being; what can be grivous to him, who is without any thing; and hath no Sense that he is so? Although we have inculcated this Argument too often al∣ready; but for this purpose, because all that distress of mind which ariseth from the apprehension of death, is grounded on this. For whosoever shall sufficiently perceive what is clearer than the light, that upon perishing of Body and Soul together, and the

whole living Creature being destroy'd, and an utter Abolition made of the entire compound; that Animal which was before, is annihilated; he will clearly discern, that there is no difference be∣tween a flying Horse, which never was, and King Agamemnon: And that M. Camillus doth now no more regard this Civil War, than I did the taking of Rome when he was alive. Why then would both Camillus have griev'd, had he thought these things would have come to pass about three hun∣dred and fifty years after; and should I grieve, if I thought any Foreign Nation would be Masters of our City ten thousand years hence? Because the dearness of our Country is so great, that we measure it, not by our Sense, but its own safety.

(r) L. Brutus.] L. Junius Brutus, the first Roman Consul, after the expulsion of Tarquin, in a Battle for the reducing him, charg'd Aruns the Son of Tarquin so furiously, that they gave each the other his deaths wound. Decius Mus, the Father in the War with the Latins, made a solemn Vow, to take no Quarter, that he might purchase the Ro∣mans Victory; the like did Decius Mus, the Son, being a fourth time Consul in the Tuscan War; and Decius Mus the Grandson, at that time Consul, in the Engagement with Pyrrhus King of Epirus, fell in the desperate Encounter, a third Sacrifice for the deliverance of his Country, out of the same Line successively. In the second Punick War, P. Scipio (Father of the elder Africanus) commanding in Spain, was run thorough with a Lance; and nine and twenty days after, Cn. Scipio his Brother was killed, and all his Sol∣diers with him, the Tower being set on fire, into which they had fled. At Cannae Fight Paulus Aemilius the Consul, with 45000 Romans, were slain. Marcellus, sirnam'd the Sword of Rome, having first beaten Hannibal at Nola, where he slew the Captain in chief, hand to hand, was intercepted in a March between Venusia and Bautia, where he was cut off with his Party. Sempronius Gracchus having routed the Carthaginians at Beneventum, through the Treachery of

Flavius a Lucanian, with whom he quarter'd, was kill'd by Mago in Lucania. Aulus Albinus encountred the Latins so vigorously, as that he fell in the Charge.