Les femmes illustres or The heroick harangues of the illustrious women written n French by the exquisite pen of Monsieur de Scuddery governour of Nostre Dam. Translated by James Innes.

ARTEMISA TO SOCRATES. THE FIRST HARRANGUE.

ARGUMENT.

AFter that Artemisa had employed the most knowing Architectures of her time, to build a glorious Monument, which was since one of the seven wonders of the World: the love she had for her dear Mausole, was not fully sa∣••isfied; she caused Socrates and Theopompus, the two most famous Orators of antiquity come from Greece, and by truely Royal Liberalitie, she oblidged these great men to set their Eloquence at work in favours of the King her Husband, that they might eternise his memorie; it was in asking this Favour, that this fair comfortless spoke to them in this manner, when the excess of her love made her forget that she was speaking before the famous Socrates.

ARTEMISA to SOCRATES.

IT is from you, O Famous Orator, that expect the immortality of Mausole; It is you must give a Soul to all the Sta∣tues I set up; It is you must make-〈◊〉〈◊〉 a Tomb, which the revolutions of Ag•••• cannot destroy, and which will eter∣nise Mausole, Socrates, and Artemisa together. Do not think that I believe Time or Fortune will respect, the Gold, the Marble, the Jaspire, the Porphire, and the Orientall Alabaster, which I employ to build Him a sumptuous Monument? No, I know that these three hundred Pillars, in which all order is care∣fully observed, whose foundations are so sollidli•• fixed, whose Chapiters, are so magnifick, and where Art sur∣passes the Matter, shall one day be but pittifull Ruines, and after a little Time shall be nothing at all; those lowe Sculptures, which are at the four Faces of the Sepul∣chre, shall Successively be defaced by injurious Seasons, and but with pain shall some imperfect figures be there perceived, of all those things which we admire to day. Those Obelisques which seem to defie Tempests, may be one day beat down with Thunder, and turned 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Dust, these smoaking Vessals, those extinguished Ter∣ches, these trophies of Armes, and all the Ornaments that Architecture is capable of, shall not hinder the dis∣truction of this Work: In fine Socrates. When I have wasted all my Treasures for this Tomb, and that by the skilfull hands of Scopas, of Briaxes, of Timothie and of Leochares. I have put it in condition to pass for one of the wonders of the World, if after all this none take care to preserve his Memorie by writtings: The statues which I have set up, the Gold, the Marble, the Jaspire, the Porphire, the Alabaster, the Pillars, the low Sculpte•••• the Obelisques the smoaking Vessals, the extinguished Torches, & all the Ornaments of Building 〈…〉〈…〉 in the work, shall not (I say) hinder 〈…〉〈…〉 his Architectures, his Sculptors, and Artemisa her selfe from being buried in Oblivion, and from be 〈…〉〈…〉 known to the Ages which come 〈…〉〈…〉 never been: It belongs then to you 〈…〉〈…〉

〈◊〉〈◊〉 to give more sollid foundations to this stru∣cture: It is you must animat these Marbles by magnifi∣cent Inscriptions; It is you must revive Mausole, it is you must make me live Eternally, although I feel my Death verie near approaching: I desire not Socrates, that you make Elogies of Busire, or that you give praises to Helen, as you have done at other times, I give you a more easie and more Illustrious Subject, the vertues of Mausole, and the lawfull love of Artemisa, are a more Noble subject, then the inhumanity of Busire, or the slightness of Helen your Eloquence shall have no crime to disguise: All the craft that Rhotorick teaches for Im∣posing of Fables, & rendering them seemingly true, will but serve you to perswade to truth: and without Printing any thing of Sophistes, it shal suffice that you writ as an Orator, as a Philosopher and as a Historian together, Elo∣quence that rare priviledge, which the gods have besto∣wed on men as a raie of their divinity, should never be employed but for protecting innocencie; or eternising vertue. They who have made a godess of perswasion, have not designed to render it a slave to the Capricioes of men: and doubtless they know as well as I that Elo∣quence is a gift of Heaven which none ought to pro∣phane, the power it has of excit••ing or appeasing, the 〈◊〉〈◊〉 violent passions; of softening the hardest hearts; of perswading the most incredulous; of forcing the most obstinate, of constraining even to our will, and of 〈◊〉〈◊〉 us in opposition to our selves, by quitting our 〈◊〉〈◊〉 opinions to follow these of others; all these ad∣vantages, I say, have not been given him to serve him∣self with injustice: On the contrary, it is that which the gods have chosen to make the World see vertue as lovely as it is, and to cause it every day make new con∣quests. It is by possessing of it, that men acquire Immor∣tality by making others immortall: It is it which in ••ight of Time and change of Things preserves the me∣••••o••ie of brave actions; It is it which maugre the destru∣ction of Kingdoms and Empires, does perpetuate the 〈…〉〈…〉 of Kings and Emperours, and when their ••••tie 〈◊〉〈◊〉 are no more in their Tombs, when their Pa∣••ces are destroyed, their most famous Towns desolated, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 their verie Kingdoms have changed their Names, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 the whole Earth see an image of their vertu••••

Yea many ages after their death they have lived among men, they have still Friends and Subjects, they are con∣sulted for the Government of their lives, their good qua∣lities are imitated, they have new Elogies made them, envie finishes not their Glory, they get all the Praises the merit, there if so great veneration had for them, that People go not to the places where they dwelt, with∣out some kind of fear; and if there yet remain any old Ruines of their Buildings, some do's respect that in them which time did not regaird, they look upon them with pleasure, and prefers them to all the Magnificence of the Modernes, and the Limners also adorn their Tab∣lets, with their Illustrous Ruines, and with eternising their memories. After all this wonder not Socrates, that I so passionately desire, your Eloquence to make a Panegirick, for my dear lord: I know in what esteem it was through all Greece, and I certainly foresee that Ages to come will render it Justice. All the writtings that bear the Name of Socrates, or of Theopompus, shall be reverenced, by time, by fortune and by all men. They shall pass among all Nations, and in all Ages without having anie wrong done to them, and shall carrie win•• them the reputation of them whom they speak of: Also there may be Famous Persons found, who by the esteem they have of your work, will make you speak of Langua∣ges, which have not yet been invented, who by the brightness of your Glory, will believe they add sorn thing to their own by publishing of them Speak then 〈◊〉〈◊〉, speak then Socrates to the end, that all men may speak after you. But do not think, that there are any thoughts of vaniti••, mingled with the Prayer that I make to you; No Socrates, I will not have you search in my Person not Life, whereof to me a Magnificent Elogie, I will not have you speak of my Noble Birth; I will not that you tell I was Born with the Crown of Hallicarnassus; I will not have you tell that though a Woman, I did know the the Act of Soveraigne Reigning; I will not that you acquant Posterity, with the Extraordinarie Esteem the great Xerxes had of me, I will not have you tell that •• made a Voayage into Greece with him. I will not have you make known that I had the first Place in his Co•••• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 and that mine was ever followed; I will not 〈◊〉〈◊〉 you speak of the Exploits I did in that War, nor 〈◊〉〈◊〉

exceeding Price which the Athenians promised to any that would deliver me into their hands: Only I Will have you tell that Artemisa was Queen of Caria. Be∣cause she Married Mausole who was King of it: That Artemisa above all Vertues, did ever love that which is most Necessarie to her Sex: That Artemisa never had any other Passion, But that of perfectly loving Her Husband; that Artemisa after losing him, lost all de∣sire of Life; and in fine, that Artemisa after that Mis∣fortune, had no other care but the Celebrating of his Memory. But after you have said all those things, and praised Mausole as much as he Merited, after I say, you have painted out my Grief, or to speak better my de∣spair as great as it is, forget not to declaire to Posterity, that after I hade Builded the most Sumptuous Monu∣ment that never was seen; I could not find one Urne that I belived worthie to enclose his Ashes. Cristall, Alabaster, and all the Precious Stones which Nature produces, cannot me thinks abundantly testifie my af∣fection: It must needs be Noble and Liberall, to give him an Urne of Gold covered with Diamonds, but to give him the Heart for an Urne, it must be Artemisa. There it is Socrates, where I shut up the Ashes of my dear lord; there it is Theopompus, where I lay to rest his dear Reliques, waiting impatiently, till his Tomb be in condition to receive the Urne a live which I have given him. It is truely my Heart should serve for an Urne to the Ashes of my dear Mausole; Me thinks I give them a new life by putting them there, and again me thinks they Communicat that mortall coldness to me which I feel in them. Moreover it is very just that since Mausole was alwayes in my heart while he lived, he should also be there after his death: May be if I had put his Ashes in this Urue of Gold all coverd with Jewels, may be (I say) some unjust Conquerour should come to open his Tomb, and with a Prophane and Sacralegious hand take away the Urne, and cast his Ashes with the Wind, and separate mine from those of Mausole. But as I use them, we shall be inseparable. There is no Tyrrant can trouble my rest, because none ••an divide me from my dear lord. Behold, Socrates, what I will have you say of me. But for my dear lord, forget nothing that may be Glorious to him, nor any

thing that was Effectually in him. Tell that he was feared of his Enemies, beloved of his Subjects, and in Veneration among the Princes his Neighbours. Speak of the great qualities of his Soul, as well as of the fa∣vours he received from Nature; Praise his Valior in War, his Sweetness in peace, and his Equity and Meek∣to all the World, In fine from the Idea of an accom∣plished Prince, and you shall make the true Picture of Mausole; Yet after you have said all things of this Noble Husband; Speak zealously of the love he had for me, and of that which I had alwayes for him. ••aint this passion as strong as pure and as faithfull as it is; undeceive these who believe that Crym is the nourisher of Love, and who thinks that a Lawfull passion can be neither fervent, long or agreeable; Let them see that Mausole and I give an exemple which destroyes their Experience and all their Reasons: Because as our Love had alwayes much Innocency, it did not forbear to have great Zeal, in lasting even to death, and being infinitly agreeable to us; Speak then with the Elogie, of that holie Tie, which forces two Vertuous Persons to Love each Other Eternally. And if possible make haste to satisfie me Employ also your Eloquence toperswade them who work at the Tomb of Mausole, to make as great dispatch as they possiblie can, in advancing their work, for mine begins to be finished. The few ashes that remain of my dear Mausole, will be quickly consumed, and that once done I have no more to do in the World, all that is on the Earth can no more touch my Spirit: I am insensible of all things but grief, and the only desires of my Soul are to be Re-united to my dear Mausole, and to know certainly that you take care of his Glorie; your own should oblidge you to this, compassion should carrie you forward in it, and if it be permitted to propose other recompences to Philosophers then the sole desire of well doing, consider what the expences are that I am at, for Building of this Magnificent Tomb, and judge from thence that she who spends so much of her Treasures u∣pon dumb Marbles, will not be ingrate when you speak to the Glory of her dear Mausole; But whatsoever di∣ligence you make to satisfie me, nor the Architectures nor you shall so soon make an end of your work as I shall finish mine: and if I be not mistaken I shall dy•• soon enough, to permit you to Illustrat the Panegor•••• of Mausole, with the death of his Arte••••isa.

THE EFFECT OF THIS HARRANGUE.

THis Vertuous QUEEN obtained her wish, Socrates and Theopompus did speak of her dear Mausole, but in so advant ageous terms, that some-have acoused them of flatterie for her Money: As for her, it was not without reason that she pressed the Builders, for this Sumptuous Monument was scarce finished, before she had her Place in it. They who did begin this Mervellous work left it not unfinished: It was of a long time one of the wonders of the World, and Her Glory which had more sollid foun∣dations then it, continuous yet in the Memory of Men, with that of Mausole, and the Illustruous Artemisa.