100
Attkntioj?.
how he detected the foul conspiracy of
Oataline, for no man or antiquity is
belter known than lie Is. But in speaking
of Hainan eloquences It Is Impossible not
to devote considerable time to Ins study.
His virtues are embalmed in the heart of
the whole woihl. He was muster "f all
lire wisdom of antiquity, and so great
was liis power over Ins hearers that it i
snid that even civil law became interest"
ing in his hands. His greatnesses purely
intellectual: It was by pure genius that
ho rose to occupy the exalted position he
did occupy- Rut it was in forensic clo
quenee thai he was most prominent. Ho
man eloquence centered in him, and in
him it cnlminatod. His manner of pro-l
senting n swhjoct is thus described: "'Ho
goes round and round hU object, surveys
it in every light, examines 1t in nil ItTs
pnrts, retires and then advances, compares
and contrasts it, Illustrates, confines and
enforces it till the hearer feels ashamed of
doubling a proposition which seems built
on a foundation so slrieily argumentative,
"And having established his case he
opens upon his1 opponent a dischaigc of
railery so delicate and good natured that
it is impossible for lihn to maintuin his
tiround against it Or when the subject
is lo grave he colors his cvageralions
with all the bitterness and vehemence of
passion. Rirt the Jippoal to the gentler
motions is reserved for the last,11
But Roman eloquence declined. What
was the cause of this? Why did not
Homo ooniinuo to produce men of equal
ahllity to 11113 of those wu have niontioiied?
Where was her liberty at this liino? It
hud perished, and eloquences tiled with it
an aristocracy of wealth had risen, and
gathered to itself all Iho honor and emol
uments of oilice, and monopolised all that
was valuahle, giving rise 10 strife and con
tests for power, and the formation of sop
crate political factions, to intriguing and
falsifying, to political and social coirup
timi, and leading, eventually, to the estab
lishment of the empire on the ruins of the
were making great conquests, and the im
mense wealth that thus flowed into the
country, the disbursement ami collection
of it gave rise to a vast amount of corrup
tion. Cicero is that it was more de
vastating in its" fleets than the march of
a conquering enemy. There arose n class
of factions, demagogues who corrupted
all in their power, only to enslave them as
soon as they were conquci-ed, liberty
gave way lo slavery, free discussion to vi
olence. In this stato of corruption and de
bauchery, while her enemies were ev
erywhere victorious, and extending the
limits of hor dominions, Home her
self "became n proy to intrigue, and
the foulest of political corruption, she
wns loosing her power. The republic tot,
tered and wis ready to mil, and liberty
was a tiling of the past. The moral was
as depraved as the political condition.
Hut one of the rcat causes of the de
cline and fall of liberty remains. The
numerous small, but thrifty farmers had
given way to lauded proprietors, and
thrown out of a home, with out a place
to lay their heads that might be called
their own, they lost that independence
which is sure to accompany the holder of a
heringe, be it ever so small.
Liberty thus perished from the Hainan
vrld And when the fuium w oiluut,
eloquence vanished and appeared no
more, B. C.
ATTENTION,
Some one has remarked that a person
was umdo with two oars and one tongue, as
a secret intimation that ho should hoar
moro than he spoke. A wise provision of
natnrc, as tho hearing is one of the impor
tant senses and the more thai is heard the
wiser the man and with more wisdom can
he speak. Yet a person can hear too much,
unless the worthless part is rejected and
thfrj let not the flowery word and poor
acntiinvnis of an oration blind Ihe sound
old if public. At this time the Romans 1 Ideas. Some benefit can always, be derived,
A