301:242;00@@@@@| 301:242;00[' ]| 301:242;00[' ]| <1737-1794> 301:242;00[' ]| 301:242;01[' ]| ELATED with these praises, which$6#1$ gradually extinguished 301:242;02[' ]| the innate sense of shame, Commodus resolved 301:242;03[' ]| to$9$ exhibit, before the eyes of the Roman people, those 301:242;04[' ]| exercises which$6#1$ till then he had decently confined 301:242;05[' ]| within the walls of his palace and to$4$ the presence of a 301:242;06[' ]| few favourites. On$4$ the appointed day the various 301:242;07[' ]| motives of flattery, fear, and curiosity, attracted to$4$ the 301:243;01[' ]| amphitheatre an innumerable multitude of spectators: 301:243;02[' ]| and some degree of applause was deservedly bestowed 301:243;03[' ]| on$4$ the uncommon skill of the Imperial performer. 301:243;04[' ]| Whether he aimed at the head or heart of the animal, 301:243;05[' ]| the wound was alike certain and mortal. With arrows, 301:243;06[' ]| whose point was shaped into the form of a crescent, 301:243;07[' ]| Commodus often intercepted the rapid career and cut 301:243;08[' ]| asunder the long bony neck of the ostrich. A panther 301:243;09[' ]| was let loose; and the archer waited till he had leaped 301:243;10[' ]| upon$4$ a trembling malefactor. In$4$ the same instant the 301:243;11[' ]| shaft flew, the beast dropped dead, and the man remained 301:243;12[' ]| unhurt. The dens of the amphitheatre disgorged at 301:243;13[' ]| once a hundred lions; a hundred darts from the unerring 301:243;14[' ]| hand of Commodus laid them dead as they ran 301:243;15[' ]| raging round the \Arena\. Neither the huge bulk of 301:243;16[' ]| the elephant nor the scaly hide of the rhinoceros could 301:243;17[' ]| defend them from his stroke. A*Ethiopia and India 301:243;18[' ]| yielded their most extraordinary productions; and 301:243;19[' ]| several animals were slain in$4$ the amphitheatre which$6#1$ 301:243;20[' ]| had been seen only in$4$ the representations of art, or 301:243;21[' ]| perhaps of fancy. In$4$ all the exhibitions the surest 301:243;22[' ]| precautions were used to$9$ protect the person of the 301:243;23[' ]| Roman*Hercules from the desperate spring of any 301:243;24[' ]| savage who$6#1$ might possibly disregard the dignity of the 301:243;25[' ]| emperor and the sanctity of the god. 301:243;26[' ]| But the meanest of the populace were affected with 301:243;27[' ]| shame and indignation, when they beheld their sovereign 301:243;28[' ]| enter the lists as a gladiator, and glory in$4$ a 301:243;29[' ]| profession which$6#1$ the laws and manners of the Romans 301:243;30[' ]| had branded with the justest note of infamy. He chose 301:243;31[' ]| the habit and arms of the \Secutor\, whose combat with 301:243;32[' ]| the \Retiarius\ formed one of the most lively scenes 301:243;33[' ]| in$4$ the bloody sports of the amphitheatre. The \Secutor\ 301:243;34[' ]| was armed with an helmet, sword and buckler; his 301:243;35[' ]| naked antagonist had only a large net and a trident; 301:243;36[' ]| with the one he endeavoured to$9$ entangle, with the 301:243;37[' ]| other to$9$ dispatch, his enemy. If he missed the first 301:243;38[' ]| throw he was obliged to$9$ fly from the pursuit of the 301:243;39[' ]| \Secutor\ till he had prepared his net for$4$ a second cast. 301:243;40[' ]| The emperor fought in$4$ this character seven hundred 301:244;01[' ]| and thirty-five several times. These glorious achievements 301:244;02[' ]| were carefully recorded in$4$ the public acts of the 301:244;03[' ]| empire; and, that$3$ he might omit no$2$ circumstance of 301:244;04[' ]| infamy, he received from the common fund of gladiators 301:244;05[' ]| a stipend so$5#1$ exorbitant that$3$ it became a new and most 301:244;06[' ]| ignominious tax upon$4$ the Roman people. It may be 301:244;07[' ]| easily supposed that$3$ in$4$ these engagements the master 301:244;08[' ]| of the world was always successful; in$4$ the amphitheatre 301:244;09[' ]| his victories were not often sanguinary; but 301:244;10[' ]| when he exercised his skill in$4$ the school of gladiators, 301:244;11[' ]| or his own palace, his wretched antagonists were frequently 301:244;12[' ]| honoured with a mortal wound from the hand 301:244;13[' ]| of Commodus, and obliged to$9$ seal their flattery with 301:244;14[' ]| their blood. He now disdained the appellation of 301:244;15[' ]| Hercules. The name of Paulus, a celebrated Secutor, 301:244;16[' ]| was the only one which$6#1$ delighted his ear. It was inscribed 301:244;17[' ]| on$4$ his colossal statues, and repeated in$4$ the 301:244;18[' ]| redoubled acclamations of the mournful and applauding 301:244;19[' ]| senate. ~~ <\Decline*and Fall*of*the*Roman*Empire\.> 302:244;00[' ]| 302:244;20[' ]| Since Romulus, with a small band of shepherds and 302:244;21[' ]| outlaws, fortified himself on$4$ the hills near the Tiber, 302:244;22[' ]| ten centuries had already elapsed. During the four 302:244;23[' ]| first ages, the Romans, in$4$ the laborious school of 302:244;24[' ]| poverty, had acquired the virtues of war and government: 302:244;25[' ]| by$4$ the vigorous exertion of those virtues, and 302:244;26[' ]| by$4$ the assistance of fortune, they had obtained, in$4$ the 302:244;27[' ]| course of the three succeeding centuries, an absolute 302:244;28[' ]| empire over many countries of Europe, Asia, and 302:244;29[' ]| Africa. The last three hundred years had been consumed 302:244;30[' ]| in$4$ apparent prosperity and internal decline. 302:244;31[' ]| The nation of soldiers, magistrates, and legislators, 302:244;32[' ]| who$6#1$ composed the thirty=five tribes of the Roman 302:244;33[' ]| people, was dissolved into the common mass of mankind, 302:244;34[' ]| and confounded with the millions of servile provincials, 302:244;35[' ]| who$6#1$ had received the name, without adopting 302:245;01[' ]| the spirit, of Romans. A mercenary army, levied 302:245;02[' ]| among the subjects and barbarians of the frontier, was 302:245;03[' ]| the only order of men who$6#1$ preserved and abused their 302:245;04[' ]| independence. By$4$ their tumultuary election, a Syrian, 302:245;05[' ]| a Goth, or an Arab, was exalted to$4$ the throne of 302:245;06[' ]| Rome, and invested with despotic power over the 302:245;07[' ]| conquests and over the country of the Scipios. 302:245;08[' ]| The limits of the Roman empire still extended from 302:245;09[' ]| the Western*Ocean to$4$ the Tigris, and from Mount*Atlas 302:245;10[' ]| to$4$ the Rhine and the Danube. To$4$ the undiscerning 302:245;11[' ]| eye of the vulgar, Philip appeared a monarch 302:245;12[' ]| no$2$ less powerful than Hadrian or Augustus had formerly 302:245;13[' ]| been. The form was still the same, but the animating 302:245;14[' ]| health and vigour were fled. The industry of the 302:245;15[' ]| people was discouraged and exhausted by$4$ a long series 302:245;16[' ]| of oppression. The discipline of the legions, which$6#1$ 302:245;17[' ]| alone, after the extinction of every other virtue, had 302:245;18[' ]| propped the greatness of the state, was corrupted by$4$ 302:245;19[' ]| the ambition, or relaxed by$4$ the weakness of the emperors. 302:245;20[' ]| The strength of the frontiers, which$6#1$ had 302:245;21[' ]| always consisted in$4$ arms rather than in$4$ fortifications, 302:245;22[' ]| was insensibly undermined; and the fairest provinces 302:245;23[' ]| were left exposed to$4$ the rapaciousness or ambtion of 302:245;24[' ]| the barbarians, who$6#1$ soon discovered the decline of the 302:245;25[' ]| Roman empire. ~~< \Decline*and*Fall\.> 303:003,01[' ]| The code of laws which$6#1$ Zingis dictated to$4$ his subjects was 303:003,02[' ]| adapted to$4$ the preservation of domestic peace and the exercise 303:003,03[' ]| of foreign hostility. The punishment of death was inflicted on$4$ 303:004,01[' ]| the crimes of adultery, murder, perjury, and the capital thefts 303:004,02[' ]| of an horse or ox; and the fiercest of men were mild and just 303:004,03[' ]| in$4$ their intercourse with each other. The future election of 303:004,04[' ]| the great khan was vested in$4$ the princes of his family and the 303:004,05[' ]| heads of the tribes; and the regulations of the chase were 303:004,06[' ]| essential to$4$ the pleasures and plenty of a Tartar camp. The 303:004,07[' ]| victorious nation was held sacred from all servile labours, which$6#1$ 303:004,08[' ]| were abandoned to$4$ slaves and strangers; and every labour was 303:004,09[' ]| servile except the profession of arms. The service and discipline 303:004,10[' ]| of the troops, who$6#1$ were armed with bows, scymetars 303:004,11[' ]| and iron maces, and divided by$4$ hundreds, thousands, and ten 303:004,12[' ]| thousands, were the institutions of a veteran commander. Each 303:004,13[' ]| officer and soldier was made responsible, under pain of death, 303:004,14[' ]| for$4$ the safety and honour of his companions; and the spirit of 303:004,15[' ]| conquest breathed in$4$ the law that$3$ peace should never be granted 303:004,16[' ]| unless to$4$ a vanquished and suppliant enemy. But it is the 303:004,17[' ]| religion of Zingis that$6#1$ best deserves our wonder and applause. 303:004,18[' ]| The Catholic inquisitors of Europe, who$6#1$ defended nonsense by$4$ 303:004,19[' ]| cruelty, might have been confounded by$4$ the example of a 303:004,20[' ]| barbarian, who$6#1$ anticipated the lessons of philosophy and 303:004,21[' ]| established by$4$ his laws a system of pure theism and perfect 303:004,22[' ]| toleration. His first and only article of faith was the existence 303:004,23[' ]| of one God, the author of all good, who$6#1$ fills, by$4$ his presence, 303:004,24[' ]| the heavens and earth, which$6#1$ he has created by$4$ his power. 303:004,25[' ]| The Tartars and Moguls were addicted to$4$ the idols of their 303:004,26[' ]| peculiar tribes; and many of them had been converted by$4$ the 303:004,27[' ]| foreign missionaries to$4$ the religions of Moses, of Mahomet, and 303:004,28[' ]| of Christ. These various systems in$4$ freedom and concord were 303:004,29[' ]| taught and practised within the precints of the same camp; 303:004,30[' ]| and the Bonze, the Imam, the Rabbi, the Nestorian, and the 303:004,31[' ]| Latin priest enjoyed the same honourable exemption from 303:004,32[' ]| service and tribute. In$4$ the mosque of Bochara, the insolent 303:004,33[' ]| victor might trample the Koran under his horse's feet, but the 303:004,34[' ]| calm legislator respected the prophets and pontiffs of the most 303:004,35[' ]| hostile sects. The reason of Zingis was not informed by$4$ book; 303:005,01[' ]| the khan could neither read nor write; and, except the tribe 303:005,02[' ]| of the Igours, the greatest part of the Moguls and Tartars were 303:005,03[' ]| as illiterate as their sovereign. The memory of their exploits 303:005,04[' ]| was preserved by$4$ tradition; sixty-eight years after the death 303:005,05[' ]| of Zingis, these traditions were collected and transcribed; the 303:005,06[' ]| brevity of their domestic annals may be supplied by$4$ the Chinese, 303:005,07[' ]| Persians, Armenians, Syrians, Arabians, Greeks, 303:006,01[' ]| Russians, Poles, Hungarians and Latins; and each nation 303:007,01[' ]| will$1$ deserve credit in$4$ the relation of their own disasters and 303:007,02[' ]| defeats. 303:007,03[' ]| The arms of Zingis and his lieutenants successively reduced 303:007,04[' ]| the hordes of the desert, who$6#1$ pitched their tents between the 303:007,05[' ]| wall of China and the Volga; and the Mogul emperor became 303:007,06[' ]| the monarch of the pastoral world, the lord of many millions 303:007,07[' ]| of shepherds and soldiers, who$6#1$ felt their united strength, and 303:007,08[' ]| were impatient to$9$ rush on$4$ the mild and wealthy climates 303:007,09[' ]| of the south. His ancestors had been the tributaries of the 303:007,10[' ]| Chinese emperors; and Temugin himself had been disgraced 303:007,11[' ]| by$4$ a title of honour and servitude. The court of Pekin was 303:007,12[' ]| astonished by$4$ an embassy from its former vassal, who$6#1$ in$4$ the 303:007,13[' ]| tone of the king of nations exacted the tribute and obedience 303:007,14[' ]| which$6#1$ he had paid, and who$6#1$ affected to$9$ treat the \Son of Heaven\ 303:007,15[' ]| as the most contemptible of mankind. An haughty answer 303:007,16[' ]| disguised their secret apprehensions; and their fears were soon 303:007,17[' ]| justified by$4$ the march of innumerable squadrons, who$6#1$ pierced 303:007,18[' ]| on$4$ all sides the feeble rampart of the great wall. Ninety cities 303:007,19[' ]| were stormed, or starved, by$4$ the Moguls; ten only escaped; and 303:007,20[' ]| Zingis, from a knowledge of the filial piety of the Chinese, covered 303:007,21[' ]| his vanguard with their captive parents; an unworthy and, 303:007,22[' ]| by$4$ degrees, a fruitless abuse of the virtues of his enemies. His 303:008,01[' ]| invasion was supported by$4$ the revolt of an hundred thousand 303:008,02[' ]| Khitans, who$6#1$ guarded the frontier; yet he listened to$4$ a treaty; 303:008,03[' ]| and a princess of China, three thousand horses, five hundred 303:008,04[' ]| youths, and as many virgins, and a tribute of gold and silk, 303:008,05[' ]| were the price of his retreat. In$4$ his second expedition, he compelled 303:008,06[' ]| the Chinese emperor to$9$ retire beyond the yellow river 303:008,07[' ]| to$4$ a more southern residence. The siege of Pekin was long 303:008,08[' ]| and laborious: the inhabitants were reduced by$4$ famine to$9$ decimate 303:008,09[' ]| and devour their fellow-citizens; when their ammunition 303:008,10[' ]| was spent, they discharged ingots of gold and silver from 303:008,11[' ]| their engines; but the Moguls introduced a mine to$4$ the centre 303:008,12[' ]| of the capital; and the conflagration of the palace burnt above 303:008,13[' ]| thirty days. China was desolated by$4$ Tartar war and domestic 303:008,14[' ]| faction; and the five northern provinces were added to$4$ the 303:008,15[' ]| empire of Zingis. 303:008,16[' ]| In$4$ the West, he touched the dominions of Mohammed, sultan 303:008,17[' ]| of Carizme, who$6#1$ reigned from the Persian*Gulf to$4$ the borders 303:008,18[' ]| of India and Turkestan; and who$6#1$, in$4$ the proud imitation of 303:008,19[' ]| Alexander*the*Great, forgot the servitude and ingratitude of his 303:008,20[' ]| fathers to$4$ the house of Seljuk. It was the wish of Zingis to$9$ 303:008,21[' ]| establish a friendly and commercial intercourse with the most 303:008,22[' ]| powerful of the Moslem princes; nor could he be tempted by$4$ 303:008,23[' ]| the secret solicitations of the caliph of Bagdad, who$6#1$ sacrificed 303:008,24[' ]| to$4$ his personal wrongs the safety of the church and state. A 303:008,25[' ]| rash and inhuman deed provoked and justified the Tartar arms 303:008,26[' ]| in$4$ the invasion of the southern Asia. A caravan of three ambassadors 303:008,27[' ]| and one hundred and fifty merchants was arrested 303:009,01[' ]| and murdered at Otrar, by$4$ the command of Mohammed; nor 303:009,02[' ]| was it till after a demand and denial of justice, till he had prayed 303:009,03[' ]| and fasted three nights on$4$ a mountain, that$3$ the Mogul emperor 303:009,04[' ]| appealed to$4$ the judgment of God and his sword. Our European 303:009,05[' ]| battles, says a philosophic writer, are petty skirmishes, if compared 303:009,06[' ]| to$4$ the numbers that$6#1$ have fought and fallen in$4$ the fields of 303:009,07[' ]| Asia. Seven hundred thousand moguls and Tartars are said to$9$ 303:009,08[' ]| have marched under the standard of Zingis and his four sons. In$4$ 303:009,09[' ]| the vast plains that$6#1$ extend to$4$ the north of the Sihon or Jaxartes, 303:009,10[' ]| they were encountered by$4$ four hundred thousand soldiers of 303:009,11[' ]| the Sultan; and in$4$ the first battle, which$6#1$ was suspended by$4$ the 303:009,12[' ]| night, one hundred and sixty thousand Carizmians were slain. 303:009,13[' ]| Mohammed was astonished by$4$ the multitude and valour of his 303:009,14[' ]| enemies; he withdrew from the scene of danger, and distributed 303:009,15[' ]| his troops in$4$ the frontier towns, trusting that$3$ the barbarians, 303:009,16[' ]| invincible in$4$ the field, would be repulsed by$4$ the length and 303:009,17[' ]| difficulty of so$5#1$ many regular sieges. But the prudence of Zingis 303:009,18[' ]| had formed a body of Chinese engineers, skilled in$4$ the mechanic 303:009,19[' ]| arts, informed, perhaps, of the secret of gunpowder, and capable, 303:009,20[' ]| under his discipline, of attacking a foreign country with more 303:009,21[' ]| vigour and success than they had defended their own. The 303:009,22[' ]| Persian historians will$1$ relate the sieges and reduction of Otrar, 303:009,23[' ]| Congende, Bochara, Samarcand, Carizme, Herat, Merou, Nisabour, 303:009,24[' ]| Balch, and Candahar; and the conquest of the rich and populous 303:010,01[' ]| countries of Transoxiana, Carizme, and Chorasan. The destructive 303:010,02[' ]| hostilities of Attila and the Huns have long since been elucidated 303:010,03[' ]| by$4$ the example of Zingis and the Moguls; and in$4$ this more 303:010,04[' ]| proper place I shall be content to$9$ observe that$3$, from the Caspian 303:010,05[' ]| to$4$ the Indus, they ruined a tract of many hundred miles, which$6#1$ 303:010,06[' ]| was adorned with the habitations and labours of mankind, and 303:010,07[' ]| that$3$ five centuries have not been sufficient to$9$ repair the ravages 303:010,08[' ]| of four years. The Mogul empeor encouraged or indulged the 303:010,09[' ]| fury of his troops; the hope of future possession was lost in$4$ the 303:010,10[' ]| ardour of rapine and slaughter; and the cause of the war exasperated 303:010,11[' ]| their native fierceness by$4$ the pretence of justice and 303:010,12[' ]| revenge. The downfall and death of the sultan Mohammed, 303:010,13[' ]| who$6#1$ expired unpitied and alone in$4$ a desert island of the Caspian*Sea, 303:010,14[' ]| is a poor atonement for$4$ the calamities of which$6#1$ he was 303:010,15[' ]| the author. Could the Carizmian empire have been saved by$4$ a 303:010,16[' ]| single hero, it would have been saved by$4$ his son Gelaleddin, 303:010,17[' ]| whose active valour repeatedly checked the Moguls in$4$ the 303:010,18[' ]| career of victory. Retreating, as he fought, to$4$ the banks of the 303:010,19[' ]| Indus, he was oppressed by$4$ their innumerable host, till, in$4$ the 303:010,20[' ]| last moment of despair, Gelaleddin spurred his horse into the 303:010,21[' ]| waves, swam one of the broadest and most rapid rivers of Asia, 303:010,22[' ]| and extorted the admiration and applause of Zingis himself. It 303:010,23[' ]| was in$4$ this camp that$3$ the Mogul emperor yielded with reluctance 303:010,24[' ]| to$4$ the murmurs of his weary and wealthy troops, who$6#1$ sighed for$4$ 303:010,25[' ]| the enjoyment of their native land. Incumbered with the spoils 303:010,26[' ]| of Asia, he slowly measured back his footsteps, betrayed some 303:010,27[' ]| pity for$4$ the misery of the vanquished, and declared his intention 303:010,28[' ]| of rebuilding the cities which$6#1$ had been swept away by$4$ the 303:010,29[' ]| tempest of his arms. After he had repassed the Oxus and 303:010,30[' ]| Jaxartes, he was joined by$4$ two generals, whom he had detached 303:010,31[' ]| with thirty thousand horse, to$9$ subdue the western provinces of 303:010,32[' ]| Persia. They had trampled on$4$ the nations which$6#1$ opposed their 303:010,33[' ]| passage, penetrated through the gates of Derbend, traversed the 303:010,34[' ]| Volga, and the desert, and accomplished the circuit of the Caspian*Sea, 303:010,35[' ]| by$4$ an expedition which$6#1$ had never been attempted and has 303:010,36[' ]| never been repeated. The return of Zingis was signalised by$4$ 303:010,37[' ]| the overthrow of the rebellious or independent kingdoms of 303:010,38[' ]| Tartary; and he died in$4$ the fulness of years and glory, with 303:010,39[' ]| his last breath exhorting and instructing his sons to$9$ achieve the 303:010,40[' ]| conquest of the Chinese empire. 303:011,01[' ]| The harem of Zingis was composed of five hundred wives 303:011,02[' ]| and concubines; and of his numerous progeny, four sons, illustrious 303:011,03[' ]| by$4$ their birth and merit, exercised under their father 303:011,04[' ]| the principal offices of peace and war. Toushi was his great 303:011,05[' ]| huntsman, Zagatai his judge, Octai his minister, and Tuli his 303:011,06[' ]| general; and their names and actions are often conspicuous in$4$ 303:011,07[' ]| the history of his conquests. Firmly united for$4$ their own and 303:011,08[' ]| the public interest, the three brothers and their families were content 303:011,09[' ]| with dependent sceptres; and Octai, by$4$ general consent, 303:011,10[' ]| was proclaimed Great*Khan, or emperor of the Moguls and 303:011,11[' ]| Tartars. He was succeeded by$4$ his son Gayuk, after whose 303:011,12[' ]| death the empire devolved to$4$ his cousins, Mangou and Cublai, 303:011,13[' ]| the sons of Tuli, and the grandsons of Zingis. In$4$ the sixty-eight 303:011,14[' ]| years of his four first successors, the Moguls subdued almost 303:011,15[' ]| all Asia and a large portion of Europe. Without confining 303:011,16[' ]| myself to$4$ the order of time, without expatiating on$4$ the detail of 303:011,17[' ]| events, I shall present a general picture of the progress of their 303:011,18[' ]| arms: I. In$4$ the East; II. in$4$ the South; III. in$4$ the West; 303:011,19[' ]| and, IV. in$4$ the North.