he fhould be thought credulous: But there is no fuch thing: And it should be confidered, that one fact of this kind, recorded of the early ftate of any nation, and constantly related, with refpect, by fucceeding hiftorians, as is the cafe of the fact of M. Curtius, amounts to the fame proof of a national opinion, as a great variety of those kinds of facts happening at different ages of the state, if such could happen, and were related. It fhould also be confidered, that fome hiftorians fay, the earth did not close immediately upon Curtius's leaping into the gulph; if this was the cafe, which is not unlikely, it fhews how ftrong and steady the opinion was, in refpect to the value of the victim, when they could perfift in the belief of its influence upon the Deity, even against fact: For their. reporting that the earth did clofe inftantly, though in truth they filled it up by human labour, fhews, that they would have pofterity believe that influence, which they were ftrongly inclined to believe, and which the noble patrician did believe, before he devoted himself. Some may imagine, that to these historical facts might be added, two more heroical actions of the Decii. For of one of them, an hiftorian fays; that Decius, as it were, by the advice of the "gods, with his head covered, devoted himself "at the head of his army, to the infernal gods, f L. Florus fpeaking of Decius Mus, a conful, in the time of the Latin war; fays of his fon. Quafi monitu Deorum, capite velato primam ante aciem Diis manibus fe devoverit: ut in confertiffima fe hoftium tela jaculatus, novam ad victoriam iter, fanguinis fui femita aperiret. Livy relates the fact without vouching for the truth of it, finding it only fupported by popular tradition; whereby he confeffes clearly enough, that he confiders it as fabulous: And in his first book he has related a lefs marvellous, but more probable origin of the name of the Curtian lake.` Rollin. Datur hæc venia antiquitati, ut mifcendo humana divinis, primordia urbium auguftiora faciat. Liv. Præfatio. " that that throwing himself amongst the thickest of "the enemies weapons, he opened a new way to "victory, by the path of his own blood." Of the other he fays, " that one of the confuls being furprized in the hollow of a valley, offer. "ed his life, devoted to the infernal gods, after the manner of his father, and reduced the confe"cration, the folemn practice of the family", to a ' price of victory.' σε And 8 And afterwards in the Etrufcan and Samnitic War, he speaks of the fon of the former devotee. Alter confulum Decius, more patrio devotum diis manibus obtulit caput; folennemque familiæ fuæ confecrationem in victoriæ pretium redegit.. Si non mors timeretur--Non cum Latinis decertans Pater Decius, cum Etrufcis filius, etiam cum Pyrrho Nepos fe hoftium telis objeciffent. Tufc. Quæs. lib. 1. p. 2. The Romans fuperftitious to excefs, attributed the fuccefs with which these devotings were always attended, to a visible miraculous protection of the gods. Cotta in Cicero, who is not fo cre dulous, finds nothing more than is natural in it. Rollin. 1 Confilium illud imperatorum fuit, quod Græci sparaynμa appellant, fed eorum imperatorum, qui patriæ confulerent, vitæ non parcerent. Rebantur enim fore, ut exercitus imperatorem, equo incitato fe in hoftes immittentem, perfequeretur: Id quod evenit. De Nat. Deor. 3. 15. What follows concerning the folemnity of the manner of devoting, is not unworthy of notice. Romani confules priufquam educerent in aciem, immolaverunt. Decio caput jecinoris à familiari parte cæfum arufpex dicitur oftendiffe: alioqui acceptam Diis hoftiam effe: Manlium egregiè litaffe. Atqui bene habet, inquit Decius, fi ab Collega profpere litatum eft. Inftructis, ficut ante dictum eft, ordinibus, proceffere in aciem : Manlius dextro, Decius lævo cornu præerat primo utrinque æquis viribus, eodem ardore animorum, gerebatur res : deinde ab lævo cornu haftati Romani non ferentes impreffionem Latinorum, fe ad principes recepere. In hac trepiditione Decius conful M. Valerium magna voce inclamat: Deorum, inquit, ope Valeri opus eft: agedum pontifex publicus populi Romani præi verba quibus me pro legionibus devoveam. Pontifex eum togam prætextam fumere juffit, et velato capité manu fubter togam ad mentum exerta, fuper telum fubjectum pedibus ftantem fic dicere. Janes And in refpect to the grecian hiftory, we are informed by poets and other writers, that Menæceus the fon of Creon, in obedience to the oracle, flew himself to fave his country. For when the Thebans were befieged by the Argives, the oracle declared that the city of Thebes fhould be preserved, if Fane, Jupiter, Mars, pater, Quirine, Bellona, Lares, divi novenfiles, Dii indigetes, divi quorum eft poteftas noftrorum, hoftiumque, Diique manes, vos precor, veneror, veniam peto, feroque, uti populo Romano Quiritium vim victoriamque profperetis: hoftefque populi Romani Quiritium terrore, formidine morteque afficiatis. Sicut verbis nuncupavi, ita pro Republica Quiritium exercitu legionibus, auxiliis populi Romani Quiritium, legiones auxiliaque hoftium mecum Diis manibus, tellurique devoveo. Hæc ita precatus, lictores ire ad T. Manlium jubet: matureque College fe devotum pro exercitu nunciare: ipfe fuccinctus cinctu Gabinio, armatus in equum infiluit, ac fe in medios hoftes immifit, &c. Decii corpus ne eo die inveniretur, nox quærentes oppreffit; poftero die inventum inter maximam hoftium ftragem coopertum telis: funufque par morti, celebrante collega factum. Illud adjiciendum videtur, licere confuli, dictatorique et prætori, quum legiones hoftium devoveant, non utique fe, fed quem velit ex legione Romana fcripta civem devovere, fi is homo qui devotus eft, moritur, probe factum videri: ni moritur, tum fignum feptem pedes altum, aut majus in terram defodi, et piaculum hoftia cadi: Ubi illud fignum defoffum erit, eo magiftratum Romanum defcendere fas non effe, ficuti Decius devovit: Ni moritur, neque fuum, neque publicum divinum pure faciet, qui fefe devoverit. Vulcano arma, five cui alii divo devovere volet: five hoftia, five quo alio volet : jus eft. Telo, fuper quod ftans Conful precatus eft, hoftem potiri, fas non eft: Si potiatur, Marti fuovetaurilibus piaculum fieri. Hæc etfi omnis divini humanique moris memoria abolevit : Nova preregrinaque omnia prifcis ac patriis præferendo; haud ab re duxi, verbis quoque ipfis, ut tradita nuncupataque funt referre. Liv. lib. 8. Infecuta, fimul territos hoftes vidit, gallica acies nullum fpatium refpirandi recipiendique fe dedit. Vociferari Decius, quo fugerent? quamve in fuga fpem haberent? obfiftere cedentibus, et revocare fufos: deinde ut nulla vi perculfos fuftinere poterat, patrem P. Decium nomine compellans. Quid ultra moror, inquit, familiare fatum? datum hoc noftro generi eft, ut luendis periculis publicis piacula fimus: jam ego mecum legiones hoftium mactandas TelJuri ac Dais manibus dabo. Hæc locutus: M. Livium pontificem, 1 if the last of the race of Cadmus, would by a spon taneous death devote himself to the manes of his ancestor. If there are, who think thefe heroic paffages to the purpose, they are at liberty to apply them. Our defign is not to ftrain any thing beyond the degrees of probability, which it may reasonably bear, and fince the two former actions of Codrus and Curtius, fufficiently answer the purpose, we are content to conclude upon them; That it has been many ages before the preaching of Christianity, the opinion of mankind, that the voluntary death, of an innocent and noble perfon, might be an atonement to the Supreme Being, for national fins, and might prevent national calamities. The ufe of this analogical obfervation in respect to Chriftianity is plain. For it should be imagined, quem defcendens in aciem digredi vetuerat ab fe, præire juffit verba, quibus fe legionefque hoftium pro exercitu populi Romani Quiritium devoveret: devotus inde eadem precatione, eodemque habitu, quo pater P. Decius ad Veferim bello Latino fe jufferat devoveri. Quum fecundum folemnes precationes adjeciffet, præ fe agere fefe, formidinem ac fugam, cædemque ac cruorem; caleftium inferorumque iras: contacturum funebribus diris figna, tela, arma hoftium: locumque eundem fuæ peftis, et Gallorum ac Sumnitium fore: hæc execratus in fe, hoftefque, confertiffimam cernebat Gallorum aciem, concitat equum: inferenfque fe ipfe infeftis telis interfectus eft. Liv. lib. 10. c. 28. Menæceus juvenis Thebanus, Creontis filius qui pro patria falute fanguinem fuum, atque adeo vitam ipfam fponte profudit. Nam cum Thebanis eo tempore quo ab Argivis abfidebantur, redditum effet oraculum, urbem falvam fore, fi ultimus ex Cadmi pofteris fpontanea fe morte manibus ejus devoveret, intelligens Menæceus oraculum illud ad fe pertinere, nihil cunctatus, fuo fibi gladio necem confcivit. Stat.Theb. 10. Cic. 1.Tufc. Qu. Apollodorus lib. 3. Εγένετο καὶ πολυχρόνιΘ ὁ Τειρεσίας. Οὗτα εν Θηβαίοις μαντευόμενο ἔιπε νικήσειν, ἐὰν Μενοικεὺς ὁ Κρεόντα ἄρει σφαγιὸν αυτον ἐπιδῶ, τῦτο ἀκέσας Μενοικευς ἐαυτόν πρὸς των πυλῶν Εύφαξε Amor in te eft Juv Sat. 4. Dict. hift. Stephani Lloyd. that they who already believed one, would without hesitation give their affent to the other. All mankind confidered as one community being as capable of falvation by the merits of the death of one, who was fo innocent as never to have finned, and so noble as to be the son of God, and for the truth of which we have the teftimony of God himfelf; as any fmall community, by the imperfect merits of the death of any perfon noble and innocent in a much inferior degree, and for the truth of which, we have only human teftimony. If any one therefore is capable of believing as true the paffages of hiftory here related, or the opinion founded upon them, which is the principal thing, (whether the facts be true or falfe,) and yet denies the redemption of mankind by Chrift, it is plain, he does not attend to the evidence of analogy To deny both kinds of falvation, or to have equal doubts concerning both, would be more confiftent. But the ftrongeft cafe is, when a man is fuppofed to be bred up in the opinion mentioned, as was the cafe of the Grecians and Romans, that is of the world, and may be perhaps the opinion of fome nations now upon the earth, who have not yet heard of Chrift: How can fuch a man fuffer any fcruple to arise in his mind, concerning the redemption of mankind, by the death of Chrift, when it is fairly laid before him? If there be fuch a person of infidelity, he should cenfure himself for the fond credulity he all along entertained of that, which was analogous to it. The courfe of education is now for the most part to inftruct young perfons in the authors, which relate thefe ftories, very early in life: By which means feveral are accustomed to read with pleasure, the ftories of Codrus, Curtius, the Decii, &c. and to believe them, before they are taught the manner of the redemption of mankind. Whether this be a proper method of education or not, is not our bu finefs |