in the water, where of necessity they drank more than enough. Ambitious mon daily act the same play, but they personate it tragically; and therefore it was well advised by one of the Kings of France, when his Chancellor shewed him his own lively effigies upon a piece of arras, standing upon the uppermost part of Fortune's wheel: "You would do well," said he, to pin it fast lest it should turn again." Yet all considerations of this kind are too little to rebate the keenness of some men's soaring minds, who are in continual fevers to be great, though for never so little a time, and at what rate soever*.

1. When Stephen, that good and great King of Poland was dead, and the usual assembly was called for the election of a new King: the Great Cham of Tar. tary was also there by his Ambassadors, who in his name told them, That he was a potent Prince, able of his own subjects to lead many myriads of horse into the field, for either the defence or enlargement of Poland; that he was also frugal and temperate; and setting aside all delicate dishes, his manner was to eat horses flesh. In the next place, as to matters of religion (concerning which he had heard they were in dispute) their Pope should be his Pope, and their Luther his Luther." No marvel if this embassy was received with laughter, when they beheld a man ready to part at once with religion and all things sacred, for the very desire he had after rule.

2. After the noble exploits of Sertorius, in Spain, had put those on his part almost in equal hopes with their enemies, Perpenna, too much relying upon the nobility of his descent, ambitiously aspired to the power of Sertorius: to that purpose he sowed the seeds of dissension in the army and amongst the captains; and the conspiracy being ripe, he invited Sertorius, with his officers (confederate with him) to supper, and there caused him to be murdered. Immediately the Spaniards revolted from Perpenna, and by their ambassadors yielded themselves to Pompey and Metellus. Perpenna soon

shewed he was a man that knew neither how to command nor to obey: he was speedily broken and taken by Pompey; nor did he bear his last misfortune in such manner as became a general, for having the papers of Sertorius in his hands, he promised to Pompey to shew him letters from Consular persons, and under the hands of the chiefest men in the city, whereby Sertorius was invited into Italy. Pompey burnt the letters, and all Sertorius's papers, not looking upon any of them himself, nor suffering any other, and then caused Perpenna to be dispatched, that he might free the city of a mighty fear; and this was the end of the foolish ambition of Perpenna.

3. Alexander was at the siege of Tyrus when a second time there came to him Ambassadors from Darius, declaring that their master would give him ten thou sand talents if he would set at liberty his mother, wife, and children, that were taken by him: moreover if he would marry the daughter of Darius, he would give with her in dowry all the land that lay betwixt Euphrates and the Hellespont. The contents of this embassy were discussed in Alexander's Council, when Parmenio said, "That for his part, were he in Alexander's stead, he would accept of those conditions and put an end to the war." Alexander, on the other side answered, "That were he Parmenio he would do so too; but whereas he was Alexander, he would return such answer as should be worthy of himself:" which was this, "That they should tell their master that he stood in no need of his money, neither would he accept of a part for the whole; that all his money and country was his own: that he could marry the daughter of Darius if he pleased, and could do it without his consent; that if he would experience the humanity of Alexander, he should speedily come to him." After this, he sent other Ambassadors with these offers: "Thanks for his civilities to his captive relations; the greater part of his kingdom; his daughter for his wife; and thirty thousand talents for the rest of the cap

YOL. IL

tives.

tives. To which he replied, that "he would do what he desired, if he would content himself with the second place, and not pretend to equality with him; but as the world would not endure two suns, neither could the earth endure two Sovereign Emperors, without permutation of the state of all things; that therefore he should either yield up himself to-day, or prepare for war to

morrow.

4. Solon, the Athenian Lawgiver, said of one of his prime citizens, called Pisistratus, "That if he could but pluck out of his head the worm of ambition, and heal him of his greedy desire to rule, that then there could not be a man of more virtue than he.

5. Richard, Duke of Gloucester, afterwards King of England, by the name of Richard the Third, stopped at nothing, how impious or villanous soever, to remove all obstructions between him and the crown. He is said to have murdered King Henry the Sixth in the Tower, and his son Prince Edward at Tewkesbury: he caused his own brother, George Duke of Clarence, to be drowned in a but of malmsey; he was suspected to have made away with Edward the Fourth, his brother and King, by poison: he beheaded Rivers, Vaughan, Grey, and the Lord Hastings, as the known impediments of his usurpation: and the Duke of Buckingham his old friend, when he saw he declined his service in the murder of his nephews, which yet he got performed upon the bodies of those two innocent Princes. But the just judgment of God overtook him for the spilling of all this innocent blood. His only son was taken away by death: his own conscience was so disquieted, that he was in continual fears in the day, and his sleeps disturbed and broken with frightful visions and dreams. At last he was slain in Bosworth Field, his body was found naked amongst the slain, filthily polluted with blood and dirt, and was trussed upon a horse behind a pursuivant at arms, his head and arms hanging down on the one side of the horse, and his legs on the

other, like a calf; and was interred at Leicester, with as base a funeral as he formerly bestowed upon his nephews in the Tower.

6. Cæsar Borgia, the son of Pope Alexander, was a most ambitious man; he caused his brother Candianus, then General over the Pope's forces, to be murdered in the streets, and his dead body to be cast into the river Tyber; and then casting off his priestly robes, and the Cardinal's habit, he took upon him the leading of his father's army: and with exceeding prodigality he bound fast to him many desperate ruffians for the execution of his horrible devices. Having thus strengthened himself, he becaine a terror to all the nobility of Rome: he first drove out the honourable family of the Columnii; and then by execrable treachery poisoned or killed the chief personages of the great houses of the Ursini and Cajetani, seizing upon their lands and estates. He strangled at once four noblemen of the Camertes: drove Guido Feltrius out of Urbin: took the city of Faventia from Astor Manfredus, whom he first beastly abused and then strangled. In his thoughts he had now made himself master of all Latium, but he was cast down when he least feared. Being at supper with his father, prepared on purpose for the death of certain rich cardinals, by the mistake of a servant, he and his father were poisoned by wine prepared for the guests.

CHAP. XXXVII.

Of the great Desire of Glory in some Persons.

PLINY considering with himself the nature of the element of fire, how rapacious and devouring a thing it is, and quickly consumes whatsoever it lays hold on; what store of it is in the world d; how 'tis in every house, under every foot in pebbles and flints: above us in fiery meteors, and beneath us in subterraneous passages, began to marvel that all

the world was not consumed with fire. When I consider that almost every soul is wrapt about with this ardent desire of glory, how far a man is liable to be transported thereby, and that, as Tacitus has well observed, it is the last garment that a man parts with and strips himself of: I cannot sufficiently wonder that it hath done no more mischief in the world; and that it hath burnt, though destructively in some, yet quite harmlessly in others, as some of the following examples will declare.

1. The Tower of Pharos had the reputationof the world's seventh wonder : it was built by King Ptolemy Philadelphus; but Sostratus, who was employed therein as the chief architect, engraved upon it this inscription: "Sostratus of Gnydos, the son of Dexiphanes, to the Gods protectors for the safety of sailors." This writing he covered with plaister, and upon the plaister he inscribed the name and title of the King: he knew that would soon waste away, and then his own name, written in marble, he hoped would (as he had desired) be celebrated to eternity.

2. Cicero accounted it so great a matter to speak eloquently, and laboured therein with that anxiety, that being to plead a cause before the Centumviri: when the day was come before he was prepared so fully as he desired, and his servant Eros brought him word that the trial was put off to the next day, he was so overjoyed that he gave him his freedom who had brought him so acceptable tidings. So far also was he from dissembling his thirst after glory, that in a long epistle he openly and earnestly entreated Luceius, a Roman citizen, that he would gratify him in these three things. First, that he would write the conspiracy of Catiline, distinctly from all foreign and external wars, and thereby procure to him an immortal name. Secondly, that he would more studiously adorn that than any other part of his works; and that in some things he would rather consult his

love than what the truth itself would bear. And lastly, that he would do this with the greatest expedition, that he himself, while yet living, might enjoy some part of his glory.

3. When Alexander the Great had demolished the walls of Thebes, Phrine, that beautiful and rich courtezan, went to the Thebans, and proffered to rebuild them at her own charges, provided, that to the eternal memory of her name she might be permited to engrave upon them these words: "Alexander overthrew Thebes, and Phrine did in this manner restore it."

4. Thales, the Milesian, was a man of great genius, he found out many admirable things, as in other arts, so also in that of astronomy. When he had found out what proportion the sun's greatness did bear to the greatness of that circle which he finishes in his annual course, and how by the rules of geometry this might be clearly demonstrated, he communicated this experiment of his to a rich man of Priene, that was a curious enquirer into such matters: who admiring the comprehensive wit of Thales, together with the excellency of the invention, bade him ask what reward he would. "I," said Thales, "ask no other reward than the glory of this invention."

5. Erostratus, a young man, seeing he could not make himself famous by any virtuous or praise-worthy action, resolved to perpetuate the memory of himself by performing something of the highest infamy. Having settled his mind upon such a design, he set the Temple of Diana, at Ephesus, on fire; which, for the stately fabric of it, was worthily reputed amongst the wonders of the world. He confessed it was for this only end, that be might he discoursed of in after-times: which occasioned the Ephesians, by a severe decree, to prohibit so much as the mention of his name, that the memorial of him might be utterly abolished: which had accordingly been, but that, Theopompus, an historian of