Didymus, the grammarian, in his answer to Asclepiades concerningSolon's Tables of Law, mentions a passage of one Philocles, who statesthat Solon's father's name was Euphorion, contrary to the opinionof all others who have written concerning him； for they generallyagree that he was the son of Execestides, a man of moderate wealthand power in the city, but of a most noble stock, being descendedfrom Codrus； his mother, as Heraclides Ponticus affirms, was cousinto Pisistratus's mother, and the two at first were great friends,partly because they were akin, and partly because of Pisistratus'snoble qualities and beauty. And they say Solon loved him； and thatis the reason, I suppose, that when afterwards they differed aboutthe government, their enmity never produced any hot and violent passion,they remembered their old kindnesses, and retained-

    "Still in its embers living the strong fire" of their love and dearaffection. For that Solon was not proof against beauty, nor of courageto stand up to passion and meet it-

    "Hand to hand as in the ring," we may conjecture by his poems, andone of his laws, in which there are practices forbidden to slaves,which he would appear, therefore, to recommend to freemen. Pisistratus,it is stated, was similarly attached to one Charmus； he it was whodedicated the future of Love in the Academy, where the runners inthe sacred torch race light their torches. Solon, as Hermippus writes,when his father had ruined his estate in doing benefits and kindnessesto other men, though he had friends enough that were willing to contributeto his relief, yet was ashamed to be beholden to others, since hewas descended from a family who were accustomed to do kindnesses ratherthan receive them； and therefore applied himself to merchandise inhis youth； though others assure us that he travelled rather to getlearning and experience than to make money. It is certain that hewas a lover of knowledge, for when he was old he would say, that he-

    "Each day grew older, and learnt something new；" and yet no admirerof riches, esteeming as equally wealthy the man-

    "Who hath both gold and silver in his hand, Horses and mules, and acres of wheat-land, And him whose all is decent food to eat, Clothes to his back and shoes upon his feet, And a young wife and child, since so 'twill be, And no more years than will with that agree；" and in another place-

    "Wealth I would have, but wealth by wrong procure I would not； justice, e'en if slow, is sure." And it is perfectlypossible for a good man and a statesman, without being solicitousfor superfluities, to show some concern for competent necessaries.In his time, as Hesiod says,- "Work was a shame to none," nor wasdistinction made with respect to trade, but merchandise was a noblecalling, which brought home the good things which the barbarous nationsenjoyed, was the occasion of friendship with their kings, and a greatsource of experience. Some merchants have built great cities, as Protis,the founder of Massilia, to whom the Gauls, near the Rhone, were muchattached. Some report also, that Thales and Hippocrates the mathematiciantraded； and that Plato defrayed the charges of his travels by sellingoil in Egypt. Solon's softness and profuseness, his popular ratherthan philosophical tone about pleasure in his poems, have been ascribedto his trading life； for, having suffered a thousand dangers, it wasnatural they should be recompensed with some gratifications and enjoyments；but that he accounted himself rather poor than rich is evident fromthe lines-

    "Some wicked men are rich, some good are poor, We will not change our virtue for their store： Virtue's a thing that none can take away； But money changes owners all the day."

    At first he used his poetry only in trifles, not for any serious purpose,but simply to pass away his idle hours； but afterwards he introducedmoral sentences and state matters, which he did, not to record themmerely as an historian, but to justify his own actions, and sometimesto correct, chastise, and stir up the Athenians to noble performances.Some report that he designed to put his laws into heroic verse, andthat they began thus：-

    "We humbly beg a blessing on our laws From mighty jove, and honour, and applause."

    In philosophy, as most of the wise men then, he chiefly esteemed thepolitical part of morals； in physics, he was very plain and antiquated,as appears by this：-

    "It is the clouds that make the snow and hail, And thunder comes from lightning without fail； The sea is stormy when the winds have blown, But it deals fairly when 'tis left alone." And, indeed, it is probablethat at that time Thales alone had raised philosophy above mere practiceinto speculation； and the rest of the wise men were so called fromprudence in political concerns. It is said, that they had an interviewat Delphi, and another at Corinth, by the procurement of Periander,who made a meeting for them, and a supper. But their reputation waschiefly raised by sending the tripod to them all, by their modestrefusal, and complaisant yielding to one another. For, as the storygoes, some of the Coans fishing with a net, some strangers, Milesians,bought the draught at a venture； the net brought up a golden tripod,which, they say, Helen, at her return from Troy, upon the remembranceof an old prophecy, threw in there. Now, the strangers at first contestingwith the fishers about the tripod, and the cities espousing the quarrelso far as to engage themselves in a war, Apollo decided the controversyby commanding to present it to the wisest man； and first it was sentto Miletus to Thales, the Coans freely presenting him with that forwhich they fought against the whole body of the Milesians； but Thalesdeclaring Bias the wiser person, it was sent to him； from him to another；and so, going round them all, it came to Thales a second time； and,at last, being carried from Miletus to Thebes, was there dedicatedto Apollo Ismenius. Theophrastus writes that it was first presentedto Bias at Priene； and next to Thales at Miletus, and so through allit returned to Bias, and was afterwards sent to Delphi. This is thegeneral report, only some, instead of a tripod, say this present wasa cup sent by Croesus； others, a piece of plate that one Bathycleshad left. It is stated, that Anacharsis and Solon, and Solon and Thales,were familiarly acquainted and some have delivered parts of theirdiscourse； for, they say, Anacharsis, coming to Athens, knocked atSolon's door, and told him, that he, being a stranger, was come tobe his guest, and contract a friendship with him； and Solon replying,"It is better to make friends at home," Anacharsis replied, "Thenyou that are at home make friendship with me." Solon, somewhat surprisedat the readiness of the repartee, received him kindly, and kept himsome time with him, being already engaged in public business and thecompilation of his laws； which, when Anacharsis understood, he laughedat him for imagining the dishonesty and covetousness of his countrymencould be restrained by written laws, which were like spiders' webs,and would catch, it is true, the weak and poor, but easily be brokenby the mighty and rich. To this Solon rejoined that men keep theirpromises when neither side can get anything by the breaking of them；and he would so fit his laws to the citizens, that all should understandit was more eligible to be just than to break the laws. But the eventrather agreed with the conjecture of Anacharsis than Solon's hope.Anacharsis, being once at the Assembly, expressed his wonder at thefact that in Greece wise men spoke and fools decided.

    Solon went, they say, to Thales, at Miletus, and wondered that Thalestook no care to get him a wife and children. To this, Thales madeno answer for the present； but a few days after procured a strangerto pretend that he had left Athens ten days ago； and Solon inquiringwhat news there, the man, according to his instructions, replied,"None but a young man's funeral, which the whole city attended； forhe was the son, they said, of an honourable man, the most virtuousof the citizens, who was not then at home, but had been travellinga long time." Solon replied, "What a miserable man is he！ But whatwas his name？" "I have heard it," says the man, "but have now forgottenit, only there was a great talk of his wisdom and his justice." ThusSolon was drawn on by every answer, and his fears heightened, tillat last, being extremely concerned, he mentioned his own name, andasked the stranger if that young man was called Solon's son； and thestranger assenting, he began to beat his head, and to do and say allthat is usual with men in transports of grief. But Thales took hishand, and, with a smile, said, "These things, Solon, keep me frommarriage and rearing children, which are too great for even your constancyto support； however, be not concerned at the report, for it is a fiction."This Hermippus relates, from Pataecus, who boasted that he had Aesop'ssoul.

    However, it is irrational and poor-spirited not to seek conveniencesfor fear of losing them, for upon the same account we should not allowourselves to like wealth, glory, or wisdom, since we may fear to bedeprived of all these； nay, even virtue itself, than which there isno greater nor more desirable possession, is often suspended by sicknessor drugs. Now Thales, though unmarried, could not be free from solicitudeunless he likewise felt no care for his friends, his kinsman, or hiscountry； yet we are told be adopted Cybisthus, his sister's son. Forthe soul, having a principle of kindness in itself, and being bornto love, as well as perceive, think, or remember, inclines and fixesupon some stranger, when a man has none of his own to embrace. Andalien or illegitimate objects insinuate themselves into his affections,as into some estate that lacks lawful heirs； and with affection comeanxiety and care； insomuch that you may see men that use the strongestlanguage against the marriage-bed and the fruit of it, when some servant'sor concubine's child is sick or dies, almost killed with grief, andabjectly lamenting. Some have given way to shameful and desperatesorrow at the loss of a dog or horse； others have borne the deathof virtuous children without any extravagant or unbecoming grief,have passed the rest of their lives like men, and according to theprinciples of reason. It is not affection, it is weakness that bringsmen, unarmed against fortune by reason, into these endless pains andterrors； and they indeed have not even the present enjoyment of whatthey dote upon, the possibility of the future loss causing them continualpangs, tremors, and distresses. We must not provide against the lossof wealth by poverty, or of friends by refusing all acquaintance,or of children by having none, but by morality and reason. But ofthis too much.

    Now, when the Athenians were tired with a tedious and difficult warthat they conducted against the Megarians for the island Salamis andmade a law that it should be death for any man, by writing or speaking,to assert that the city ought to endeavour to recover it, Solon, vexedat the disgrace, and perceiving thousands of the youth wished forsomebody to begin, but did not dare to stir first for fear of thelaw, counterfeited a distraction, and by his own family it was spreadabout the city that he was mad. He then secretly composed some elegiacverses, and getting them by heart, that it might seem extempore, ranout into the market-place with a cap upon his head, and, the peoplegathering about him, got upon the herald's stand, and sang that elegywhich begins thus-

    "I am a herald come from Salamis the fair, My news from thence my verses shall declare." The poem is called Salamis；it contains an hundred verses very elegantly written； when it hadbeen sung, his friends commended it, and especially Pisistratus exhortedthe citizens to obey his directions； insomuch that they recalled thelaw, and renewed the war under Solon's conduct. The popular tale is,that with Pisistratus he sailed to Colias, and, finding the women,according to the custom of the country there, sacrificing to Ceres,he sent a trusty friend to Salamis, who should pretend himself a renegade,and advise them, if they desired to seize the chief Athenian women,to come with him at once to Colias； the Megarians presently sent offmen in the vessel with him； and Solon, seeing it put off from theisland, commanded the women to be gone, and some beardless youths,dressed in their clothes, their shoes and caps, and privately armedwith daggers, to dance and play near the shore till the enemies hadlanded and the vessel was in their power. Things being thus ordered,the Megarians were lured with the appearance, and, coming to the shore,jumped out, eager who should first seize a prize, so that not oneof them escaped； and the Athenians set sail for the island and tookit.

    Others say that it was not taken this way, but that he first receivedthis oracle from Delphi：-

    "Those heroes that in fair Asopia rest, All buried with their faces to the west, Go and appease with offerings of the best； and that Solon, sailingby night to the island, sacrificed to the heroes Periphemus and Cychreus,and then taking five hundred Athenian volunteers （a law having passedthat those that took the island should be highest in the government）,with a number of fisher-boats and one thirty-oared ship, anchoredin a bay of Salamis that looks towards Nisaea； and the Megarians thatwere then in the island, hearing only an uncertain report, hurriedto their arms, and sent a ship to reconnoiter the enemies. This shipSolon took, and, securing the Megarians, manned it with Athenians,and gave them orders to sail to the island with as much privacy aspossible； meantime he, with the other soldiers, marched against theMegarians by land, and whilst they were fighting, those from the shiptook the city. And this narrative is confirmed by the following solemnity,that was afterwards observed： An Athenian ship used to sail silentlyat first to the island, then, with noise and a great shout, one leaptout armed, and with a loud cry ran to the promontory Sciradium tomeet those that approached upon the land. And just by there standsa temple which Solon dedicated to Mars. For he beat the Megarians,and as many as were not killed in the battle he sent away upon conditions.

    The Megarians, however, still contending, and both sides having receivedconsiderable losses, they chose the Spartans for arbitrators. Now,many affirm that Homer's authority did Solon a considerable kindness,and that, introducing a line into the Catalogue of Ships, when thematter was to be determined, he read the passage as follows：-

    "Twelve ships from Salamis stout Ajax brought, And ranked his men where the Athenians fought." The Athenians, however,call this but an idle story, and report that Solon made it appearto the judges, that Philaeus and Eurysaces, the sons of Ajax, beingmade citizens of Athens, gave them the island, and that one of themdwelt at Brauron in Attica, the other at Melite； and they have a townshipof Philaidae, to which Pisistratus belonged, deriving its name fromthis Philaeus. Solon took a farther argument against the Megariansfrom the dead bodies, which, he said, were not buried after theirfashion, but according to the Athenian； for the Megarians turn thecorpse to the east, the Athenians to the west. But Hereas the Megariandenies this, and affirms that they likewise turn the body to the west,and also that the Athenians have a separate tomb for everybody, butthe Megarians put two or three into one. However, some of Apollo'soracles, where he calls Salamis Ionian, made much for Solon. Thismatter was determined by five Spartans, Critolaidas, Amompharetus,Hypsechidas, Anaxilas, and Cleomenes.

    For this, Solon grew famed and powerful； but his advice in favourof defending the oracle at Delphi, to give aid, and not to sufferthe Cirrhaeans to profane it, but to maintain the honour of the god,got him most repute among the Greeks； for upon his persuasion theAmphictyons undertook the war, as amongst others, Aristotle affirms,in his enumeration of the victors at the Pythian games, where he makesSolon the author of this counsel. Solon, however, was not generalin that expedition, as Hermippus states, out of Evanthes the Samian；for Aeschines the orator says no such thing, and, in the Delphianregister, Alcmaeon, not Solon, is named as commander of the Athenians.

    Now the Cylonian pollution had a long while disturbed the commonwealth,ever since the time when Megacles the archon persuaded the conspiratorswith Cylon that took sanctuary in Minerva's temple to come down andstand to a fair trial. And they, tying a thread to the image, andholding one end of it, went down to the tribunal； but when they cameto the temple of the Furies, the thread broke of its own accord, uponwhich, as if the goddess had refused them protection, they were seizedby Megacles and the other magistrates as many as were without thetemples were stoned, these that fled for sanctuary were butcheredat the altar, and only those escaped who made supplication to thewives of the magistrates. But they from that time were consideredunder pollution, and regarded with hatred. The remainder of the factionof Cylon grew strong again, and had continual quarrels with the familyof Megacles； and now the quarrel being at its height, and the peopledivided, Solon, being in reputation, interposed with the chiefestof the Athenians, and by entreaty and admonition persuaded the pollutedto submit to a trial and the decision of three hundred noble citizens.And Myron of Phlya being their accuser, they were found guilty, andas many as were then alive were banished, and the bodies of the deadwere dug up, and scattered beyond the confines of the country. Inthe midst of these distractions, the Megarians falling upon them,they lost Nisaea and Salamis again； besides, the city was disturbedwith superstitious fears and strange appearances, and the priestsdeclared that the sacrifices intimated some villainies and pollutionsthat were to be expiated. Upon this, they sent for Epimenides thePhaestian from Crete, who is counted the seventh wise man by thosethat will not admit Periander into the number. He seems to have beenthought a favourite of heaven, possessed of knowledge in all the supernaturaland ritual parts of religion； and, therefore, the men of his age calledhim a new Curies, and son of a nymph named Balte. When he came toAthens, and grew acquainted with Solon, he served him in many instances,and prepared the way for his legislation. He made them moderate intheir forms of worship, and abated their mourning by ordering somesacrifices presently after the funeral, and taking off those severeand barbarous ceremonies which the women usually practised； but thegreatest benefit was his purifying and sanctifying the city, by certainpropitiatory and expiatory lustrations, and foundations of sacredbuildings, by that means making them more submissive to justice, andmore inclined to harmony. It is reported that, looking upon Munychia,and considering a long while. he said to those that stood by, "Howblind is man in future things！ for did the Athenians foresee whatmischief this would do their city, they would even eat it with theirown teeth to be rid of it." A similar anticipation is ascribed toThales； they say he commanded his friends to bury him in an obscureand contemned quarter of the territory of Mileteus, saying that itshould some day be the market-place of the Milesians. Epimenides,being much honoured, and receiving from the city rich offers of largegifts and privileges, requested but one branch of the sacred olive,and, on that being granted, returned.

    The Athenians, now the Cylonian sedition was over and the pollutedgone into banishment fell into their old quarrels about the government,there being as many different parties as there were diversities inthe country. The Hill quarter favoured democracy, the Plain, oligarchy,and those that lived by the Seaside stood for a mixed sort of government,and so hindered either of the other parties from prevailing. And thedisparity of fortune between the rich and the poor, at that time,also reached its height； so that the city seemed to be in a trulydangerous condition, and no other means for freeing it from disturbancesand settling it to be possible but a despotic power. All the peoplewere indebted to the rich； and either they tilled their land for theircreditors, paying them a sixth part of the increase, and were, therefore,called Hectemorii and Thetes, or else they engaged their body forthe debt, and might be seized, and either sent into slavery at home,or sold to strangers； some （for no law forbade it） were forced tosell their children, or fly their country to avoid the cruelty oftheir creditors； but the most part and the bravest of them began tocombine together and encourage one another to stand to it, to choosea leader, to liberate the condemned debtors, divide the land, andchange the government.

    Then the wisest of the Athenians, perceiving Solon was of all menthe only one not implicated in the troubles, that he had not joinedin the exactions of the rich and was not involved in the necessitiesof the poor, pressed him to succour the commonwealth and compose thedifferences. Though Phanias the Lesbian affirms, that Solon, to savehis country' put a trick upon both parties, and privately promisedthe poor a division of the lands, and the rich security for theirdebts. Solon, however, himself says, that it was reluctantly at firstthat he engaged in state affairs, being afraid of the pride of oneparty and the greediness of the other； he was chosen archon, however,after Philombrotus, and empowered to be an arbitrator and lawgiver；the rich consenting because he was wealthy, the poor because he washonest. There was a saying of his current before the election, thatwhen things are even there never can be war, and this pleased bothparties, the wealthy and the poor； the one conceiving him to mean,when all have their fair proportion； the others, when all are absolutelyequal. Thus, there being great hopes on both sides, the chief menpressed Solon to take the government into his own hands, and, whenhe was once settled, manage the business freely and according to hispleasure； and many of the commons, perceiving it would be a difficultchange to be effected by law and reason, were willing to have onewise and just man set over the affairs； and some say that Solon hadthis oracle from Apollo-

    "Take the mid-seat, and be the vessel's guide； Many in Athens are upon your side." But chiefly his familiar friendschid him for disaffecting monarchy only because of the name, as ifthe virtue of the ruler could not make it a lawful form； Euboea hadmade this experiment when it chose Tynnondas, and Mitylene, whichhad made Pittacus its prince； yet this could not shake Solon's resolution；but, as they say, he replied to his friends, that it was true a tyrannywas a very fair spot, but it had no way down from it； and in a copyof verses to Phocus he writes"-

    that I spared my land, And withheld from usurpation and from violence my hand, And forbore to fix a stain and a disgrace on my good name,

    I regret not； I believe that it will be my chiefest fame." From whichit is manifest that he was a man of great reputation before he gavehis laws. The several mocks that were put upon him for refusing thepower, he records in these words：-

    "Solon surely was a dreamer, and a man of simple mind； When the gods would give him fortune, he of his own will declined；

    When the net was full of fishes, over-heavy thinking it,

    He declined to haul it up, through want of heart and want of wit.

    Had but I that chance of riches and of kingship, for one day,

    I would give my skin for flaying, and my house to die away."

    Thus he makes the many and the low people speak of him. Yet, thoughhe refused the government, he was not too mild in the affair； he didnot show himself mean and submissive to the powerful, nor make hislaws to pleasure those that chose him. For where it was well before,he applied no remedy, nor altered anything, for fear lest-

    "Overthrowing altogether and disordering the state," he should betoo weak to new-model and recompose it to a tolerable condition； butwhat he thought he could effect by persuasion upon the pliable, andby force upon the stubborn, this he did, as he himself says-

    "With force and justice working both in one." And, therefore, whenhe was afterwards asked if he had left the Athenians the best lawsthat could be given, he replied, "The best they could receive." Theway which, the moderns say, the Athenians have of softening the badnessof a thing, by ingeniously giving it some pretty and innocent appellation,calling harlots, for example, mistresses, tributes customs, a garrisona guard, and the jail the chamber, seem originally to have been Solon'scontrivance, who called cancelling debts Seisacthea, a relief, ordisencumbrance. For the first thing which he settled was, that whatdebts remained should be forgiven, and no man, for the future, shouldengage the body of his debtor for security. Though some, as Androtion,affirm that the debts were not cancelled, but the interest only lessened,which sufficiently pleased the people； so that they named this benefitthe Seisacthea, together with the enlarging their measures and raisingthe value of their money； for he made a pound, which before passedfor seventy-three drachmas, go for a hundred； so that, though thenumber of pieces in the payment was equal, the value was less； whichproved a considerable benefit to those that were to discharge greatdebts, and no loss to the creditors. But most agree that it was thetaking off the debts that was called Seisacthea, which is confirmedby some places in his poem, where he takes honour to himself, that-

    "The mortgage-stones that covered her, by me Removed,- the land that was a slave is free： that some who had beenseized for their debts he had brought back from other countries, where-

    "-so far their lot to roam, They had forgot the language of their home； and some he had set atliberty-

    "Who here in shameful servitude were held."

    While he was designing this, a most vexatious thing happened； forwhen he had resolved to take off the debts, and was considering theproper form and fit beginning for it, he told some of his friends,Conon, Clinias, and Hipponicus, in whom he had a great deal of confidence,that he would not meddle with the lands, but only free the peoplefrom their debts； upon which they, using their advantage, made hasteand borrowed some considerable sums of money, and purchased some largefarms； and when the law was enacted, they kept the possessions, andwould not return the money； which brought Solon into great suspicionand dislike, as if he himself had not been abused, but was concernedin the contrivance. But he presently stopped this suspicion, by releasinghis debtors of five talents （for he had lent so much）, according tothe law； others, as Polyzelus the Rhodian, say fifteen； his friends,however, were ever afterward called Chreocopidae, repudiators.

    In this he pleased neither party, for the rich were angry for theirmoney, and the poor that the land was not divided, and, as Lycurgusordered in his commonwealth, all men reduced to equality. He, it istrue, being the eleventh from Hercules, and having reigned many yearsin Lacedaemon, had got a great reputation and friends and power, whichhe could use in modelling his state； and applying force more thanpersuasion, insomuch that he lost his eye in the scuffle, was ableto employ the most effectual means for the safety and harmony of astate, by not permitting any to be poor or rich in his commonwealth.Solon could not rise to that in his polity, being but a citizen ofthe middle classes； yet he acted fully up to the height of his power,having nothing but the good-will and good opinion of his citizensto rely on； and that he offended the most part, who looked for anotherresult, he declares in the words-

    "Formerly they boasted of me vainly； with averted eyes Now they look askance upon me； friends no more, but enemies." Andyet had any other man, he says, received the same power-

    "He would not have forborne, nor let alone, But made the fattest of the milk his own." Soon, however, becomingsensible of the good that was done, they laid by their grudges, madea public sacrifice, calling it Seisacthea, and chose Solon to new-modeland make laws for the commonwealth, giving him the entire power overeverything, their magistracies, their assemblies, courts, and councils；that he should appoint the number, times of meeting, and what estatethey must have that could be capable of these, and dissolve or continueany of the present constitutions, according to his pleasure.

    First, then, he repealed all Draco's laws, except those concerninghomicide, because they were too severe, and the punishment too great；for death was appointed for almost all offences, insomuch that thosethat were convicted of idleness were to die, and those that stolea cabbage or an apple to suffer even as villains that committed sacrilegeor murder. So that Demades, in after time, was thought to have saidvery happily, that Draco's laws were written not with ink but blood；and he himself, being once asked why be made death the punishmentof most offences, replied, "Small ones deserve that, and I have nohigher for the greater crimes."

    Next, Solon, being willing to continue the magistracies in the handsof the rich men, and yet receive the people into the other part ofthe government, took an account of the citizens' estates, and thosethat were worth five hundred measures of fruit, dry and liquid, heplaced in the first rank, calling them Pentacosiomedimni； those thatcould keep an horse, or were worth three hundred measures, were namedHippada Teluntes, and made the second class； the Zeugitae, that hadtwo hundred measures, were in the third； and all the others were calledThetes, who were not admitted to any office, but could come to theassembly, and act as jurors； which at first seemed nothing, but afterwardswas found an enormous privilege, as almost every matter of disputecame before them in this latter capacity. Even in the cases whichhe assigned to the archon's cognisance, he allowed an appeal to thecourts. Besides, it is said that he was obscure and ambiguous in thewording of his laws, on purpose to increase the honour of his courts；for since their differences could not be adjusted by the letter, theywould have to bring all their causes to the judges, who thus werein a manner masters of the laws. Of this equalisation he himself makesmention in this manner：-

    "Such power I gave the people as might do, Abridged not what they had, now lavished new, Those that were great in wealth and high in place My counsel likewise kept from all disgrace. Before them both I held my shield of might, And let not either touch the other's right." And for the greater securityof the weak commons, he gave general liberty of indicting for an actof injury； if any one was beaten, maimed, or suffered any violence,any man that would and was able might prosecute the wrong-doer； intendingby this to accustom the citizens, like members of the same body, toresent and be sensible of one another's injuries. And there is a sayingof his agreeable to his law, for, being asked what city was best modelled,"That," said he, "where those that are not injured try and punishthe unjust as much as those that are."

    When he had constituted the Areopagus of those who had been yearlyarchons, of which he himself was a member therefore, observing thatthe people, now free from their debts, were unsettled and imperious,he formed another council of four hundred, a hundred out of each ofthe four tribes, which was to inspect all matters before they werepropounded to the people, and to take care that nothing but what hadbeen first examined should be brought before the general assembly.The upper council, or Areopagus, he made inspectors and keepers ofthe laws, conceiving that the commonwealth, held by these two councils,like anchors, would be less liable to be tossed by tumults, and thepeople be more quiet. Such is the general statement, that Solon institutedthe Areopagus； which seems to be confirmed, because Draco makes nomention of the Areopagites, but in all causes of blood refers to theEphetae； yet Solon's thirteenth table contains the eighth law setdown in these very words： "Whoever before Solon's archonship weredisfranchised, let them be restored, except those that, being condemnedby the Areopagus, Ephetae, or in the Prytaneum by the kings, for homicide,murder, or designs against the government, were in banishment whenthis law was made； and these words seem to show that the Areopagusexisted before Solon's laws, for who could be condemned by that councilbefore his time, if he was the first that instituted the court？ unless,which is probable, there is some ellipsis, or want of precision inthe language, and it should run thus：- "Those that are convicted ofsuch offences as belong to the cognisance of the Areopagites, Ephetae,or the Prytanes, when this law was made," shall remain still in disgrace,whilst others are restored； of this the reader must judge.

    Amongst his other laws, one is very peculiar and surprising, whichdisfranchises all who stand neuter in a sedition； for it seems hewould not have any one remain insensible and regardless of the publicgood, and securing his private affairs, glory that he has no feelingof the distempers of his country； but at once join with the good partyand those that have the right upon their side, assist and venturewith them, rather than keep out of harm's way and watch who wouldget the better. It seems an absurd and foolish law which permits anheiress, if her lawful husband fail her, to take his nearest kinsman；yet some say this law was well contrived against those who, consciousof their own unfitness, yet, for the sake of the portion, would matchwith heiresses, and make use of law to put a violence upon nature；for now, since she can quit him for whom she pleases, they would eitherabstain from such marriages, or continue them with disgrace, and sufferfor their covetousness and designed affront； it is well done, moreover,to confine her to her husband's nearest kinsman, that the childrenmay be of the same family. Agreeable to this is the law that the brideand bridegroom shall be shut into a chamber, and eat a quince together；and that the husband of an heiress shall consort with her thrice amonth； for though there be no children, yet it is an honour and dueaffection which an husband ought to pay to a virtuous, chaste wife；it takes off all petty differences, and will not permit their littlequarrels to proceed to a rupture.

    In all other marriages he forbade dowries to be given； the wife wasto have three suits of clothes, a little inconsiderable householdstuff, and that was all； for he would not have marriages contractedfor gain or an estate, but for pure love, kind affection, and birthof children. When the mother of Dionysius desired him to marry herto one of his citizens, "Indeed," said he, "by my tyranny I have brokenmy country's laws, but cannot put a violence upon those of natureby an unseasonable marriage." Such disorder is never to be sufferedin a commonwealth, nor such unseasonable and unloving and unperformingmarriages, which attain no due end or fruit； any provident governoror lawgiver might say to an old man that takes a young wife what issaid to Philoctetes in the tragedy-

    "Truly, in a fit state thou to marry！ and if he find a young man,with a rich and elderly wife, growing fat in his place, like the partridges,remove him to a young woman of proper age. And of this enough.

    Another commendable law of Solon's is that which forbids men to speakevil of the dead； for it is pious to think the deceased sacred, andjust, not to meddle with those that are gone, and politic, to preventthe perpetuity of discord. He likewise forbade them to speak evilof the living in the temples, the courts of justice, the public offices,or at the games, or else to pay three drachmas to the person, andtwo to the public. For never to be able to control passion shows aweak nature and ill-breeding； and always to moderate it is very hard,and to some impossible. And laws must look to possibilities, if themaker designs to punish few in order to their amendment, and not manyto no purpose.

    He is likewise much commended for his law concerning wills； beforehim none could be made, but all the wealth and estate of the deceasedbelonged to his family； but he by permitting them, if they had nochildren to bestow it on whom they pleased, showed that he esteemedfriendship a stronger tie than kindred, affection than necessity；and made every man's estate truly his own. Yet he allowed not allsorts of legacies, but those only which were not extorted by the frenzyof a disease, charms, imprisonment, force, or the persuasions of awife； with good reason thinking that being seduced into wrong wasas bad as being forced, and that between deceit and necessity, flatteryand compulsion, there was little difference, since both may equallysuspend the exercise of reason.

    He regulated the walks, feasts, and mourning of the women and tookaway everything that was either unbecoming or immodest； when theywalked abroad, no more than three articles of dress were allowed them；an obol's worth of meat and drink； and no basket above a cubit high；and at night they were not to go about unless in a chariot with atorch before them. Mourners tearing themselves to raise pity, andset wailings, and at one man's funeral to lament for another, he forbade.To offer an ox at the grave was not permitted, nor to bury above threepieces of dress with the body, or visit the tombs of any besides theirown family, unless at the very funeral； most of which are likewiseforbidden by our laws, but this is further added in ours, that thosethat are convicted of extravagance in their mournings are to be punishedas soft and effeminate by the censors of women.

    Observing the city to be filled with persons that flocked from allparts into Attica for security of living, and that most of the countrywas barren and unfruitful, and that traders at sea import nothingto those that could give them nothing in exchange, he turned his citizensto trade, and made a law that no son be obliged to relieve a fatherwho had not bred him up to any calling. It is true, Lycurgus, havinga city free from all strangers, and land, according to Euripides-

    "Large for large hosts, for twice their number much," and, above all,an abundance of labourers about Sparta, who should not be left idle,but be kept down with continual toil and work, did well to take offhis citizens from laborious and mechanical occupations, and keep themto their arms, and teach them only the art of war. But Solon, fittinghis laws to the state of things, and not making things to suit hislaws, and finding the ground scarce rich enough to maintain the husbandmen,and altogether incapable of feeding an unoccupied and leisured multitude,brought trades into credit, and ordered the Areopagites to examinehow every man got his living, and chastise the idle. But that lawwas yet more rigid which, as Heraclides Ponticus delivers, declaredthe sons of unmarried mothers not obliged to relieve their fathers；for he that avoids the honourable form of union shows that he doesnot take a woman for children, but for pleasure, and thus gets hisjust reward, and has taken away from himself every title to upbraidhis children, to whom he has made their very birth a scandal and reproach.

    Solon's laws in general about women are his strangest； for he permittedany one to kill an adulterer that found him in the act- but if anyone forced a free woman, a hundred drachmas was the fine； if he enticedher, twenty； except those that sell themselves openly, that is, harlots,who go openly to those that hire them. He made it unlawful to sella daughter or a sister, unless, being yet unmarried, she was foundwanton. Now it is irrational to punish the same crime sometimes veryseverely and without remorse, and sometimes very lightly, and as itwere in sport, with a trivial fine； unless there being little moneythen in Athens, scarcity made those mulcts the more grievous punishment.In the valuation for sacrifices, a sheep and a bushel were both estimatedat a drachma； the victor in the Isthmian games was to have for rewardan hundred drachmas； the conqueror in the Olympian, five hundred；he that brought a wolf, five drachmas； for a whelp, one； the formersum, as Demetrius the Phalerian asserts, was the value of an ox, thelatter, of a sheep. The prices which Solon, in his sixteenth table,sets on choice victims, were naturally far greater； yet they, too,are very low in comparison of the present. The Athenians were, fromthe beginning, great enemies to wolves, their fields being betterfor pasture than corn. Some affirm their tribes did not take theirnames from the sons of Ion, but from the different sorts of occupationthat they followed； the soldiers were called Hoplitae, the craftsmenErgades, and, of the remaining two, the farmers Gedeontes, and theshepherds and graziers Aegicores.

    Since the country has but few rivers, lakes, or large springs, andmany used wells which they had dug, there was a law made, that, wherethere was a public well within a hippicon, that is, four furlongs,all should draw at that； but when it was farther off, they shouldtry and procure a well of their own； and if they had dug ten fathomsdeep and could find no water, they had liberty to fetch a pitcherfulof four gallons and a half in a day from their neighbours'； for hethought it prudent to make provision against want, but not to supplylaziness. He showed skill in his orders about planting, for any onethat would plant another tree was not to set it within five feet ofhis neighbour's field； but if a fig or an olive not within nine； fortheir roots spread farther, nor can they be planted near all sortsof trees without damage, for they draw away the nourishment, and insome cases are noxious by their effluvia. He that would dig a pitor a ditch was to dig it at the distance of its own depth from hisneighbour's ground； and he that would raise stocks of bees was notto place them within three hundred feet of those which another hadalready raised.

    He permitted only oil to be exported, and those that exported anyother fruit, the archon was solemnly to curse, or else pay an hundreddrachmas himself； and this law was written in his first table, and,therefore, let none think it incredible, as some affirm, that theexportation of figs was once unlawful, and the informer against thedelinquents called a sycophant. He made a law, also, concerning hurtsand injuries from beasts, in which he commands the master of any dogthat bit a man to deliver him up with a log about his neck, four anda half feet long； a happy device for men's security. The law concerningnaturalizing strangers is of doubtful character； he permitted onlythose to be made free of Athens who were in perpetual exile from theirown country, or came with their whole family to trade there； thishe did, not to discourage strangers, but rather to invite them toa permanent participation in the privileges of the government； and,besides, he thought those would prove the more faithful citizens whohad been forced from their own country, or voluntarily forsook it.The law of public entertainment （parasitein is his name for it） isalso peculiarly Solon's； for if any man came often, or if he thatwas invited refused, they were punished, for he concluded that onewas greedy, the other a contemner of the state.

    All his laws he established for an hundred years, and wrote them onwooden tables or rollers, named axones, which might be turned roundin oblong cases； some of their relics were in my time still to beseen in the Prytaneum, or common hall at Athens. These, as Aristotlestates, were called cyrbes, and there is a passage of Cratinus thecomedian-

    "By Solon, and by Draco, if you please, Whose Cyrbes make the fires that parch our peas." But some say thoseare properly cyrbes, which contain laws concerning sacrifices andthe rites of religion, and all the others axones. The council alljointly swore to confirm the laws, and every one of the Thesmothetaevowed for himself at the stone in the market-place, that if he brokeany of the statutes, he would dedicate a golden statue, as big ashimself, at Delphi.

    Observing the irregularity of the months, and that the moon does notalways rise and set with the sun, but often in the same day overtakesand gets before him, he ordered the day should be named the Old andNew, attributing that part of it which was before the conjunctionto the old moon, and the rest to the new, he being the first, it seems,that understood that verse of Homer-

    "The end and the beginning of the month," and the following day hecalled the new moon. After the twentieth he did not count by addition,but, like the moon itself in its wane, by subtraction； thus up tothe thirtieth.

    Now when these laws were enacted, and some came to Solon every day,to commend or dispraise them, and to advise, if possible, to leaveout or put in something, and many criticized and desired him to explain,and tell the meaning of such and such a passage, he, knowing thatto do it was useless, and not to do it would get him ill-will, anddesirous to bring himself out of all straits, and to escape all displeasureand exceptions, it being a hard thing, as he himself says-

    "In great affairs to satisfy all sides," as an excuse for travelling,bought a trading vessel, and, having leave for ten years' absence,departed, hoping that by that time his laws would have become familiar.

    His first voyage was for Egypt, and he lived, as he himself says-

    "Near Nilus' mouth, by fair Canopus' shore," and spent some time instudy with Psenophis of Heliopolis, and Sonchis the Saite, the mostlearned of all the priests； from whom, as Plato says, getting knowledgeof the Atlantic story, he put it into a poem, and proposed to bringit to the knowledge of the Greeks. From thence he sailed to Cyprus,where he was made much of by Philocyprus, one of the kings there,who had a small city built by Demophon, Theseus's son, near the riverClarius, in a strong situation, but incommodious and uneasy of access.Solon persuaded him, since there lay a fair plain below, to remove,and build there a pleasanter and more spacious city. And he stayedhimself, and assisted in gathering inhabitants, and in fitting itboth for defence and convenience of living； insomuch that many flockedto Philocyprus, and the other kings imitated the design； and, therefore,to honour Solon, he called the city Soli, which was formerly namedAepea. And Solon himself, in his Elegies, addressing Philocyprus,mentions this foundation in these words：-

    "Long may you live, and fill the Solian throne, Succeeded still by children of your own； And from your happy island while I sail, Let Cyprus send for me a favouring gale； May she advance, and bless your new command, Prosper your town, and send me safe to land."

    That Solon should discourse with Croesus, some think not agreeablewith chronology； but I cannot reject so famous and well-attested anarrative, and, what is more, so agreeable to Solon's temper, andso worthy his wisdom and greatness of mind, because, forsooth, itdoes not agree with some chronological canons, which thousands haveendeavoured to regulate, and yet, to this day, could never bring theirdiffering opinions to any agreement. They say, therefore, that Solon,coming to Croesus at his request, was in the same condition as aninland man when first he goes to see the sea； for as he fancies everyriver he meets with to be the ocean, so Solon, as he passed throughthe court, and saw a great many nobles richly dressed, and proudlyattended with a multitude of guards and footboys, thought every onehad been the king, till he was brought to Croesus, who was deckedwith every possible rarity and curiosity, in ornaments of jewels,purple, and gold, that could make a gr