Romæ antiquæ descriptio a view of the religion, laws, customs, manners, and dispositions of the ancient Romans, and others : comprehended in their most illustrious acts and sayings agreeable to history / written in Latine by ... Quintus Valerius Maximus ; and now carefully rendred into English ; together with the life of the author.

FORREIGN Examples.

1. But I will touch upon some few Forreign Ex∣amples to the same purpose. The King of the Athe∣nians, Codrus, when he saw his Territories wasted and invaded by vast numbers of his Enemies, despairing of humane assistance, sent to the Oracle of Apollo, and by his Embassadors desired to know, which way he might avoid that terrible War. The God returned for answer, that it would be ended when he fell by his Enemies hand. Which was not only spread about among his own People, but in the Camp of the Ene∣my: who thereupon commanded that not a man should touch the body of Codrus. Which when the King understood, he threw off his Royal Robes, and in a servile Habit threw himself into the midst of a Squadron of the Enemy, that were out a forraging, and wounding one of them with a scythe, provoked the souldier to kill him; by whose Death Athens escaped ruine.

2. From the same Fountain of Piety flowed the soul of Thrasybulus. For he being desirous to free his Countrey from the oppression of the Thirty Tyrants, and was going about the enterprize with a small number of Men, one of his Company said to him; How much will Athens be indebted to thee, if they regain their Liberty by thy means? The Gods grant, answered he, that I may have then paid them what I owe them. With which Wish he heap'd a greater ho∣nour upon his renowned work of destroying the Ty∣ranny.

3. But Themistocles, whose Vertue made him Con∣querour, his Countries injury the General of the Per∣sians, that he might not be forced to invade it, ha∣ving instituted a sacrifice, he drank up a full Beaker

of Bulls Blood, and fell before the Altar a renowned Victime of Piety.

4. There follows an Example of the same nature. When Carthage and Cyrene contended most obstinately for a spot of ground, at length it was agreed to send certain Young-men from such a distance, and where ever they met, that place to be the bound of both their Territories. But in this Agreement two Car∣thaginian Brothers, call'd Philaeni, were too hard for the other, setting out sooner and making more haste: which when the Young-men of Cyrene understood, they for a long time complain'd of their fallacy; but at length they resolv'd to recompence the injury by proposing a severe condition. For they proposed to the Carthaginians, that that place should be the bounds agreed upon, provided the Philaeni would suffer them∣selves to be buried there. But the event disappointed their expectation; for they without any delay deli∣vered their bodies to be buried. Who, because they rather desired large bounds to their Countrey, than large limits of Life, lye en••ombed in honour, the Punic Empire being extended by the resignation of their bones. Where are now the proud Walls of Car∣thage? Where is the Maritime Glory of that Port? Where is t••eir Navy, so terrible upon every shore? Where are all their Armies? Where their numerous Squadrons of Horse? Where those Souls that were not satisfied with the vast tract of Africa? All these things Fortune divided between two Scipio's. But the destruction of their Countrey did not abolish the me∣mory of that noble Act perform'd by the Philaeni. So that mortal courage or strength can purchase nothing immortal, but Vertue alone.

5. This Piety was inflamed with youthful Z••al. But Aristotle, hardly able to maintain the reliques of old Age in his wrinkled Members, so strong••y labou∣red

sor the safety of his Countrey, that he snatch'd it out of the hands of the Macedonians, almost levell'd with the ground and in their poss••ssion, as he lay in his little Bed in Athens. So tha•• Stagira was no less famous for being subverted by Alexander, as for being restor'd by Aristotle. Hence it is apparent, how kinde, nay how profuse in their piety to their Countrey, all ages, all degrees of men have been: And how the truth os wonder••ul Examples, evident to the world, hath subscribed to the Laws of Nature.