"that might displease them, and especially rejected "the character of dictator, which was detested in "Sylla, and odious in Cæsar himself. 66 The generality of persons, who raise themselves, assume new titles to authorise their new power. He "chose to conceal a new power under familiar names "and common titles of honour. He caused himself to be called [a] emperor from time to time, to pre"serve his authority over the legions; he was created "tribune, to dispose of the people, and was called prince of the senate to govern it. But by uniting 66 so many different powers in his person, he charged "himself also with different employments, and be"came the general, the magistrate, and the senator, "when he had attained the sovereignty. Thus he "made no other use of his power but to remove the "confusion which universally prevailed. He restor "ed the people to their rights, and retrenched only "the canvassing that was usual in the election of "magistrates. He restored the senate to their an "cient splendor, after he had first banished corruption "from it. For he contented himself with a moderate power, which did not leave him the liberty of do ing ill; but he exercised an absolute one, when he "was to impose upon others the necessity of doing "well. Thus the people were as free as before in "every other respect, but that of being seditious "and the senate was full as powerful, except that i "could not be equally unjust. Liberty lost nothing "but the ills which it might occasion, nor any thing "of the happiness it could produce." [y] Upon his first entrance on his sovereign autho rity, he had the pleasure of seeing the temple of Janu shut, which was never donc, but when war had ceased throughout the empire. M. de Tillemont observes after Eusebius, that the son of God being upon the point of making himself man, to bring us from hea [x] He transmitted the title of emperor to his successors, as also that of Augustus, which he re ceived after the famons battle o Actium. [y] M. de Tillem. Vied Aug. vei me monarchy, was agreeable to the designs of od, by the facility it gave the preachers of the ospel to pass from province to province, and uniersally diffuse the light of the faith; and the peole not being engaged by the troubles and tumult wars, gave a willing ear to what they preached, nd embraced the faith with joy, when God had pened their hearts by his grace. It is thus, that God, the sole arbiter of all human ents, determines, as lord of all, the fate of empires, escribes the form of them, regulates their limits, arks out their duration, and makes the very passions d crimes of men subservient to the execution of s gracious and just designs in favour of mankind d by the secret springs of his admirable wisdom, sposes at a distance, and without man being senle of it, the preparations for the great work to ich all the rest relates, which is the establishment his church, and salvation of his elect. PART IV. OF FABLE AND ANTIQUITIES. T remains that I speak in this fourth part of le and Antiquities, and this I shall do in a very words. CHAP I. 1 OF FABLE. HERE is no subject in literature, either of ter use than what I now speak of, or more susible of profound erudition, or more perplexed doubts and difficulties. My design is not to pe netrate into these obscurities, or to resolve them, but only to exhort youth not to neglect a study which may be of great advantage to them. I shall there fore. confine myself to two reflections, which yet shall but lightly touch upon. One relates to the origi of Fable, and the other to its utility. ARTICLE I. OF THE ORIGIN OF FABLE. FABLE, which is a medley composed of re facts and ornamental falshoods, took its rise fro truth, that is, from history, as well sacred as profan the several events of which have been altered in di ferent manners, and at different times, either by p pular opinions, or poetical fictions. I say, that Fable took its rise in part from sacr history, and that its first and principal origin is to found there. The family of Noah, perfectly structed in religion by that holy patriarch, preserv for some time the worship of the true God in all purity. But when, after their fruitless endeavours build the tower of Babel, they were divided and d persed into different countries; the diversity of la guage and habitation was soon followed by an alte tion of worship. Truth, which till then had b conveyed by the sole channel of tradition, subject a thousand variations, and was not yet fixed by sc ture, the secure guardian of facts, truth, I say, obscured by an infinite number of Fables, and th of the latest invention increased the darkness of s as were more ancient. The tradition of great principles and great ev was preserved amongst all people, not without s mixture of fiction, but with evident and very disc ible traces of truth; a certain proof that these ple were all sprung from the same original. Hence arose the universal notion of one supr God, almighty, the Lord and Creator of the wo y the golden age, when the earth without being atered by the sweat of his brows, or cultivated by ainful labour, supplied him with every thing in bundance; the fall of the same man, from whence rose all his misfortunes, and followed by a deluge of imes which brought on an inundation of waters; e saving of the human race by an ark, which stopt on a mountain, and lastly, the propagation of ankind by a single man and his three sons. But the detail of particular actions being less imrtant, and for this reason less known, was presently ered by Fables and fictions, as we clearly see even the family of Noah. As he was the father of three ildren, and the people that were descended of em, dispersed themselves after the deluge into ee different parts of the world, this history gave casion to the fable of Saturn, whose three children, cording to the poets, divided the empire of the rld amongst them. Cham or Ham is the same with Ammon or Jupiter; phet, known under the name by the poets, was o worshipped under that of Neptune, because maritime countries fell to his share. The posterity of Shem, several of whose descenits had a better sense of religion, left his name in ivion. For which reason he was taken for the god che déad and of oblivion. t is easy to see upon what the scandalous history Saturn was founded, who was injuriously treated one of his sons. t is as easy to comprehend that the licentiousness he Saturnalia arose from an irreverent remeinnce of the drunkneness of Saturn or Noah. The severe punishment of the son, who saw the na mory of Saturn's indignation, who, according to [*] Callimachus, made an irrevocable law, that whoever should behave with the like temerity towards, the gods, should presently be deprived of sight. How many particulars do we observe, wherein Moses and Bacchus agree? and so of a great many others Here then we have certainly one of the sources of Fable, which is the alteration of facts and events in history. The ministry of angels with reference to men, has been another. God, who had associated the angels to his spiritual nature, to his intelligence and immorta lity, was pleased farther to associate them to his providence in the government of the world, as well in relation to nature and the elements, as to the govern ment of nations. [a] The scripture speaks to us o angels, who preside over the waters, the winds, th lightning, thunder and earthquakes. It points ou to us others, who, armed with a sword of thunder ravage all Egypt, destroy a vast body of people i Jerusalem by the plague, and exterminate the arm of an impious prince. [b] There is mention also mad of an angel who was prince and protector of the en pire of the Persians; of another, prince of the en pire of the Greeks; of the arch-angel Michael, prin of the people of God. The external ministry of a gels is as ancient as the world, as we see from the e ample of the cherubim placed at the gate of the to restrial paradise, to guard the entrance into it. Noah and the patriarchs were thoroughly instruct in this truth, which very nearly concerned them, a they were doubtless very careful to teach it to th families, who by little and little losing the purer a spiritual ideas of an invisible Deity, fixed their atte tion only upon the ministers of his benefits and ve geance. And thence it possibly might happen, t men took their notion of the gods, which presid [*] Callim. Hym. eis λourga rõs Παλλάδος. [a] Apoc. c. vii. v. 1. c. viii. v. 1. 5, 7. c. xvi. v. 5. SO |