tending to make that the seat of the war. In the mean time, the Lacedæmonians, justly alarmed at his success, made choice of a general, supposed to be capable of making head against him for this reason, they fixed upon Lysander, who, though born of the highest family, had been bred up to hardships, and paid an entire respect to the discipline and manners of his country.

He was brave and aspiring, and, like his countrymen, sacri ficed all sorts of pleasures to his ambition. He had an evenness and sedateness of temper, which made all conditions of life sit easy upon him, but withal was extremely insinuating, crafty, and designing, and made his interest the only measure of truth and falsehood. This deceitful temper was observed to run through the whole course of his life; upon which occasion, it was said, that he cheated children with foul play, and men with perjury: and it was a maxim of his own, that, wher the lion fails, we must make use of the fox.

Lysander, having brought his army to Ephesus, gave or ders for assembling ships of burthen, from all parts, and erected an arsenal for building galleys: he made the ports free for merchants; gave public places to artificers; put all arts in motion; and, by these means, filled the city with riches, and laid the foundation of that magnificence which it afterwards obtained.

Whilst he was making these dispositions, he received advice, that Cyrus, the Persian prince, had arrived at Sardis : he therefore set out from Ephesus, to make him a visit, and to complain of Tissaphernes, whose duplicity and treachery had been fatal to their common cause. Cyrus, who had a personal enmity to that general, came into the views of Ly. sander, agreed to increase the seamen's pay, and to give him all the assistance in his power.

The largess filled the whole fleet with ardour and alacrity and almost unmanned the enemies' galleys: the greater part of the mariners deserting to that party where the pay was best. The Athenians, in despair, upon receiving this news, endeavoured to conciliate Cyrus, by the interposition of Tissaphernes; but he would not hearken to them, notwithstanding the satrap represented that it was not for the king's interest to aggrandise the Lacedæmonians, but to balance the power of one side with that of the other, in order to perpetuate the war, and to ruin both, by their own divisions.

Alcibiades, on the other hand, having occasion to leave the feet, in order to raise the supplies, gave the command of to Antiochus, with express command not to engage or attack the enemy, in his absence. Antiochus, however, was willing

o do some action that might procure him favour, without a partner in the glory: he was so far, therefore, from observing hose orders, that he presently sailed away for Ephesus; and, it the very mouth of the harbour, used every art to provoke The enemy to engage.

Lysander at first manned out a few ships, to repel his in sults; but, as the Athenian ships advanced to support Anti chus, other galleys, belonging to the Lacedæmonians, also came on, till both fleets arrived, by little and little, and the engagement became general. Lysander at length was victorious: Antiochus was slain, and fifteen galleys were taken. It was in vain, that Alcibiades soon afterwards came up to the relief cf his friends; it was in vain, that he offered to renew the combat; Lysander, content with the victory he had gained, was unwilling again to trust to fortune.

The fickle multitude of Athens, again, therefore, began to accuse Alcibiades of insufficiency. He who was, just before, respected even to adoration, was now discarded, upon a groundless suspicion that he had not done his duty. But it was the glory he had obtained by his past services, that now ruined him; for his continual success had begot in the people such an opinion of him, that they thought it impossible for him to fail in any thing he undertook; and, from thence his enemies took occasion to question his integrity, and to impute to him both his own, and the miscarriages of others.

Callicratides was appointed to succeed Lysander, whose year had expired. Alike severe to himself and others, inac cessible to flattery and sloth, the declared enemy of luxury, he retained the modesty, temperance, and austerity, of the ancient Spartans; virtues that began to distinguish him particularly, as they were not too common in his time. His prob ity and justice were proofs against all things; his simplicity and integrity abhorred all falsehood and fraud; to which, were joined a truly Spartan nobleness and grandeur of soul.

The first attempt of the admiral, was against Methyma, in Lesbos, which he took by storm. He then threatened Conon, who was appointed general of the Athenians, that he would make him leave debauching the sea; and accordingly soon afLerwards pursued him into the port of Mytilene, with a hundred and seventy sail, took thirty of his ships, and besieged him in the town, from which he cut off all provisions.

He soon afterwards took ten ships more, out of twelve, which were coming to his relief. Then, hearing that the Athenians had fitted out their whole strength, consisting of a hundred and fifty sail, he left fifty of his ships, under Etoni. cus, to carry on the siege of Mytilene; and, with a hundred

and twenty more, met the Athenians at Arginusæ, over against Lesbos.

His pilot advised him to retreat as the enemy was superior in number. He told him, that Sparta would not be the worse inhabited, though he were slain. The fight was long and obstinate, until at last the ship of Callicratides, charging through the enemy, was sunk, and the rest fled. The Pelo ponnesians lost about seventy sail, and the Athenians twentyfive, with most of their men.

The Athenian admirals, who had the joint command of the fleet, instead of being rewarded for so signal a victory, were made a barbarous instance of the power and ingratitude of their fellow-citizens. Upon a relation of the fight before the senate, it was alleged, they had suffered their men who were shipwrecked to be lost, when they might have saved them! Upon which, they were clapped in irons, in order to answer it to the people.

They urged, in their defence, that they were pursuing the enemy, and, at the same time, gave orders about taking up the men, to those whose business it more peculiarly was; particularly to Theramenes, who was now their accuser: but yet that their orders could not be executed, by reason of a vio lent storm. This seemed so reasonable and satisfactory, that several stood up, and offered to bail them; but, in another assembly, the popular incendiaries demanded justice, and so awed the judges, that Socrates was the only man who had courage enough to declare he would do nothing contrary to law; and accordingly refused to act.

After a long debate, eight of the ten were condemned. and six of them were put to death; among whom, was Pericles, son of the great Pericles. He declared, that they had failed in no part of their duty, as they had given orders that the dead bodies should be taken up: that if any one were guilty, it was he, who, being charged with these orders, had neglected to put them in execution; but that he accused nobody, and that the tempest which came on unexpectedly, at the very instant, was an unanswerable apology, and entirely discharged the accused from all guilt.

He demanded, that a whole day should be allowed them, to make their defence, a favour not denied to the most criminal, and that they should be tried separately. He represented, that they were not in the least obliged to precipitate a sentence, wherein the lives of the most illustrious of the citizens were concerned that it was, in some measure, attacking the gods, to make men responsible for the winds and weather: that they could not, without the most flagrant ingratitude and injustice,

put the conquerors to death, to whom they ought to decree crowns and honours, or give up the defenders of their country to the rage of those who envied them: that if they did so, their unjust judgment would be followed by a sudden, but vain repentance, which would leave behind it the sharpest remorse, and cover them with eternal shame and infamy.

Among the number, was also Diomedon, a person equally eminent for his valour and his probity. As he was carried to execution, he demanded to be heard. "Athenians," said he, "I wish the sentence you have passed upon us, may not prove the misfortune of the republic: but I have one favour to ask of you, in behalf of my colleagues and myself, which is, to acquit us, before the gods, of the vows we made to them for you and ourselves, as we are not in a condition to discharge them for it is to their protection, invoked before the battle, we acknowledge that we are indebted for the victory gained by us over the enemy."

There was not a good citizen, that did not melt into tears at this discourse, so full of goodness and religion; and admire, with surprise, the moderation of a person, who, seeing himself unjustly condemned, did not, however, vent the least resentment, or even complaint against his judges, but was solely intent (in favour of an ungrateful country which had doomed them to perish) upon what he owed to the gods, in common with them, for the victory they had lately obtained.

This complication of injustice and ingratitude, seemed to give the finishing blow to the affairs of the Athenians. They struggled, for a while, after their defeat at Syracuse; but from hence they were entirely sunk, though seemingly in the arms of victory.

The enemy, after their last defeat, had once more recourse to Lysander, who had so often led them to conquest: on him they placed their chief confidence, and ardently solicited his return. The Lacedæmonians, to gratify their allies, and yet to observe their laws, which forbade that honour being conferred twice on the same person, sent him, with an inferior title, but with the power of admiral.

Thus appointed, Lysander sailed towards the Hellespont, laid siege to Lampsacus, carried the place by storm, and abandoned it to the mercy of the soldiers. The Athenians,

who followed him close, upon the news of his success, steered forward towards Olestus; and, from thence sailing along the coast, halted, over against the enemy, at Egos Potamos, a place fatal to the Athenians.

The Hellespont, in that place, is not above two thousand paces broad. The two armies seeing themselves so near eac

other, expected to rest only that day, and were in hopes of coming to a battle, on the next. But Lysander had another design in view: he commanded the seamen and pilots to go on voard their galleys, as if they were, in reality, to fight the next morning at break of day; to hold themselves in readiness, and to wait his orders, in profound silence; and the land army, to draw up in order of battle upon the coast, and to wait the day without any noise. In the morning, as soon as the sun had risen, the Athenians began to row towards them, with their whole fleet, in one line, and to bid them defiance. Lysander, though his ships were ranged in order of battle, with their heads towards the enemy, lay still, without making any movement.

In the evening, when the Athenians withdrew, he did not suffer his soldiers to go ashore, till two or three galleys, which he had sent out to observe them, had returned, with advice that they had seen the enemy land. The next day passed in the same manner; as did the third and fourth. Such a conduct, which argued reserve and apprehension, extremely aug mented the security and boldness of the Athenians, and inspired them with a high contempt for an army, which fear prevented from showing themselves, or attempting any thing. Whilst this passed, Alcibiades, who was near the fleet, rode up to the Athenian generals; to whom, he represented, that they kept upon a very disadvantageous coast, where there were neither ports nor cities in the neighbourhood; that they were obliged to bring their provisions from Sestos, with great danger and difficulty; and that they were very much in the wrong, to suffer the soldiers and mariners of the fleet, as soon as they were ashore, to straggle and disperse themselves at their pleasure, whilst the enemy's fleet faced them in view, accustomed to execute the orders of their general with instant obedience, and upon the slightest signal.

He offered, also, to attack the enemy, by land, with a strong body of Thracian troops, and to force them to a battle. The generals, especially Tydeus and Menander, jealous of their command, did not content themselves with refusing his offers, from the opinion, that, if the event proved unfortunate, the whole blame would fall upon them, and if favourable, that Alcibiades would engross the honour of it; but rejected also, with insult, his wise and salutary counsel; as if a man in disgrace lost his sense and abilities with the favour of the commonwealth. Alcibiades withdrew.

The fifth day, the Athenians presented themselves again, and offered him battle; retiring, in the evening, according to custom, with more insulting airs than before. Lysander, as