This stratagem, though it savours of ingenuity, is by no means to be considered,, as dictated by selfish considerations. There never was a man who had a more thorough contempt for the mere possession of riches than Herodes. The leading object of this ce lebrated character was to benefit the public by his princely fortune; and this application of it certainly entitles him to a distinguished rank in the annals of his country. It was a remark of his own, that wealth not applied for the common good, is but dead wealth ; and that the chest of the miser is but a prison for riches. Those men who set so high a value on their money as to confine it to their coffers, lie compared to the fanatics, who worshipped the god Mars, after having bound him. It was a noble maxim of this rich Philosopher, that we ought to give, not only to relieve need, but also to prevent it. Boundless in his liberality to his friends and the necessitous, and in fluenced in his generosity by no paltry prejudice of language or country, it was his professed desire to accumulate treasure only in the affections of those around him, to promote learning and the arts, and to decorate the mighty empire to which he belonged. While other nobles were surrounded by -musicians, players, and buffoons, the retinue of Herodes was composed of men of genius and learning, who found it their interest to court his notice. His public lec tures, which he gave for the advantage of the youth, were numerously attended by people from all the neighbouring-countries, and were well calculated to.
rouse the Athenians from that lethargy of genius in to which they were now fallen. Some orations of his were still extant in the days of Suidas.
The encouragement which Herodes extended to men of literary pretensions exposed him occasionally to the arts of the designing. Aulus Gellius, who was one of his disciples and companions, relates one instance of this kind, which is much to the credit of his humanity. A man dressed in the style of a phi losopher, wearing a cloak and a very long beard,pre seated himself to Herodes, and demanded some pe cuniary assistance. On being asked who he was, the man replied, with indignant surprise, that he was a philosopher. " I see," observed Herodes, " the cloak and the beard ; but I do not see the philoso pher." When informed by one of the company that this was an impudent beggar, who was con stantly teazing people fOr alms ; " 'Well then," said Herodes, " let us give as men, though not as to a man." The fame of Herodes chiefly rests now on his ar chitectural works. His stadium, or race-course, on the banks of the Ilissus, which was four years in building, was the noblest work of the kind ever be held. It was 630 feet long, 120 broad, and was con structed entirely of white marble. Mount Penteli cus was nearly consumed to supply materials for this magnificent pile, which itself, according to Pausa nias, seemed at a distance to be a white mountain. Upon the death of his wife Regilla, to which his ene mies had the cruelty to accuse him of being accessory, he was thrown into the deepest sorrow ; and to per petuate her memory, lie built a noble theatre at Athens, called after her name. This structure, ac
cording to Philostratus, exceeded in magnificence all the theatres in the Roman empire, being roofed with cedar, and adorned with all manner of statuary. He rodes, besides, adorned Corinth with a costly temple,. dedicated to Apollo a grand stadium at Delphi, built an aqueduct at Olympia in honour of Jupiter, repair ed the Odeum of Pericles at Athens, erected baths at Thermopylx for the use of the infirm, and, in short,, decorated many cities in Italy, Greece, and Asia, with the most splendid and useful edifices. But the great est of all his designs he unfortunately did not think it safe' o execute. 'This was no less, than by cutting. through the Isthmus, to unite the Corinthian and Sa mmie gulfs, and thus shorten the navigation on these coasts by 800 miles. He was heard to say, that this would be a monument which would discover to pos terity the existence of a MAN, and that while it re mained unfinished, he had done nothing for his coun try. The magnitude, however, of the undertaking, to which the power of a Nero had not been adequate, deterred him from proposing it to the emperor, whose jealousy of his wealth and popularity might be pro ductive of fatal consequences.
In his person Herodes was of a gigantic stature, being, it is said, eight feet high, and strong and brawny in proportion. He wore but a small quan tity of hair; his nose was aquiline ; his eye brows were thick, and joined into one ; his eye, which was remarkably lively, was at the same time full of sweet ness and complacency. He had a son, who, like the sons of many other great men, was distinguished for nothing but idleness and vice. When a boy, he was exceedingly dull : and to make him learn, Herodes was obliged to keep in the house a living alphabet, consisting of four-and-twenty boys, each of whom went by the name of a particular letter. The philo sopher had too much principle to entrust the whole of his wealth to such a fool.
The'telebrity of Herodes Atticus, it is true, is owing chiefly to the accidental circumstance of being possessed of a great fortune. But if we reflect on the purposes to which he devoted that wealth ; -the libe rality with which he relieved want ; the encourage ment which he gave to learning by example and mu nificence ; the edifices which he reared in various parts of the empire for the important purposes of public splendour and convenience ; he is fully entitled to a station in.the temple of immortality. His example is. an eternal satire on the conduct of all those men of rank and opulence, who, instead of consecrating a part of their superabundant affluence to the same elegant and useful pursuits, lay it out in the purchase of a few selfish sensation's. He died at his family residence in Marathon at the age of 76, and was buried with great' pomp at Athens. His funeral oration was pronoun ced, in a most feeling manner, by the philosopher Adrian, his disciple and friend, who, in the eminent services of the deceased to his country, drew tears from the eyes of all the Athenians. See Philostratus, Sophistarum vita, c. 1. Suid. Lexie. Aulus Gellius, 1. i. c. 2 ; 1. ix. c. 2 ; 1. xix.. c. 12. (E)