discoveries of historical "cylinders,"--the clay books whereon the
Chaldaean priests and scribes recorded the main facts of the reigns of
their monarchs,--and especially one called the "Proclamation Cylinder,"
prepared for Cyrus after the fall of Babylon, it would seem that
dissension and treachery within had much to do with facilitating the
entrance of the invader. Narbonadius, the second successor of
Nebuchadnezzar, had quarrelled with the priesthood of Babylon, and
neglected the worship of Bel-Marduk and Nebo, the special patron gods of
that city. The captive Jews also, who had been now nearly fifty years in
the land, had grown more zealous for their own God and religion, more
influential and wealthy, and even had become in some sort a power in the
State. The invasion of Cyrus--a monotheist like themselves--must have
seemed to them a special providence from Jehovah; indeed, we know that
it did, from the records in II. Chronicles xxxvi. 22, 23: "The Lord
stirred up the spirit of Koresh, King of Persia, that he made a
proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing."
The same words occur in the beginning of the Book of Ezra, both
referring to the sending home of the Jews after the fall of Babylon; the
forty-sixth chapter of Isaiah also: "The Lord saith of Koresh, He is my
shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure."
Babylon was not at that time levelled with the ground, but became one of
the capitals of the Persian Empire, where the Persian monarch resided
for more than half the year. Although the Babylonian Empire began with
Nabopolassar, B.C. 625, on the destruction of Nineveh, yet Babylon was a
very ancient city and the capital of the ancient Chaldaean monarchy,
which lasted under various dynasties from about 2400 B.C. to 1300 B.C.,
when it was taken by the Assyrians under Tig Vathi-Nin. The great
Assyrian Empire, which thus absorbed ancient Babylonia, lasted between
six and seven hundred years, according to Herodotus, although recent
discoveries and inscriptions make its continuance much longer, and was
the dominant power of Asia during the most interesting period of Jewish
history, until taken by Cyaxares the Median. The limits of the empire
varied at different times, for the conquered States which composed it
were held together by a precarious tenure. But even in its greatest
strength it was inferior in size and power to the Empire of Cyrus. To
check rebellion,--a source of constant trouble and weakness,--the
warlike monarchs were obliged to reconquer, imposing not only tribute
and fealty, but overrunning the rebellious countries with fire and
sword, and carrying away captive to distant cities a large part of the
population as slaves. Thus at one time two hundred thousand Jews were
transported to Assyria, and the "Ten Tribes" were scattered over the
Eastern world, never more to return to Palestine.
On the rebellion of Nabopolassar, in 625 B.C., Babylon recovered not
only its ancient independence, but more than its ancient prestige; yet
the empire of which it was the capital lasted only about the same length
of time as Media and Lydia,--the most powerful monarchies existing when
Cyrus was born. Babylon, however, during its brief dominion, after
having been subject to Assyria for seven hundred years, reappeared in
unparalleled splendor, and was probably the most magnificent capital the
ancient world ever saw until Rome arose. Even after its occupancy by the
Persian monarchs for two hundred years, it called out the admiration of
Herodotus and Alexander alike. Its arts, its sciences, its manufactures,
to say nothing of its palaces and temples, were the admiration of
travellers. When the proud conqueror of Palestine beheld the
magnificence he had created, little did he dream that "this great
Babylon which he had built" would become such a desolation that its very
site would be uncertain,--a habitation for dragons, a dreary waste for
owls and goats and wild beasts to occupy.
We should naturally suppose that Cyrus, with the kings of Asia prostrate
before his satraps, would have been contented to enjoy the fruits of his
labors; but there is no limit to man's ambition. Like Alexander, he
sought for new worlds to conquer, and perished, as some historians
maintain, in an unsuccessful war with some unknown barbarians on the
northeastern boundaries of his empire,--even as Caesar meditated a war
with the Parthians, where he might have perished, as Crassus did.
Unbounded as is human ambition, there is a limit to human
aggrandizement. Great conquerors are raised up by Providence to
accomplish certain results for civilization, and when these are
attained, when their mission is ended, they often pass away
ingloriously,--assassinated or defeated or destroyed by self-indulgence,
as the case may be. It seems to have been the mission of Cyrus to
destroy the ascendency of the Semitic and Hamitic despotisms in western
Asia, that a new empire might be erected by nobler races, who should
establish a reign of law. For the first time in Asia there was, on the
accession of Cyrus to unlimited power, a recognition of justice, and the
adoration of one supreme deity ruling in goodness and truth.
This may be the reason why Cyrus treated the captive Jews with so great
generosity, since he recognized in their Jehovah the Ahura-Mazda,--the
Supreme God that Zoroaster taught. No political reason will account for
sending back to Palestine thousands of captives with imperial presents,
to erect once more their sacred Temple and rebuild their sacred city. He
and all the Persian monarchs were zealous adherents of the religion of
Zoroaster, the central doctrine of which was the unity of God and
Divine Providence in the world, which doctrine neither Egyptian nor
Babylonian nor Lydian monarchs recognized. What a boon to humanity was
the restoration of the Jews to their capital and country! We read of no
oppression of the Jews by the Persian monarchs. Mordecai the Jew became
the prime minister of such an effeminate monarch as Xerxes, while Daniel
before him had been the honored minister of Darius.
Of all the Persian monarchs Cyrus was the best beloved. Xenophon made
him the hero of his philosophical romance. He is represented as the
incarnation of "sweetness and light." When a mere boy he delights all
with whom he is brought into contact, by his wit and valor. The king of
Media accepts his reproofs and admires his wisdom; the nobles of Media
are won by his urbanity and magnanimity. All historians praise his
simple habits and unbounded generosity. In an age when polygamy was the
vice of kings, he was contented with one wife, whom he loved and
honored. He rejected great presents, and thought it was better to give
than to receive. He treated women with delicacy and captives with
magnanimity. He conducted war with unknown mildness, and converted the
conquered into friends. He exalted the dignity of labor, and scorned all
baseness and lies. His piety and manly virtues may have been exaggerated
by his admirers, but what we do know of him fills us with admiration.
Brilliant in intellect, lofty in character, he was an ideal man, fitted
to be the guide of a noble nation whom he led to glory and honor. Other
warriors of world-wide fame have had, like him, great excellencies,
marred by glaring defects; but no vices or crimes are ascribed to Cyrus,
such as stained the characters of David and Constantine. The worst we
can say of him is that he was ambitious, and delighted in conquest; but
he was a conqueror raised up to elevate a religious race to a higher
plane, and to find a field for the development of their energies,
whatever may be said of their subsequent degeneracy. "The grandeur of
his character is well rendered in that brief and unassuming inscription
of his, more eloquent in its lofty simplicity than anything recorded by
Assyrian and Babylonian kings: 'I am Kurush [Cyrus] the king, the
Achaemenian.'" Whether he fell in battle, or died a natural death in one
of his palaces, he was buried in the ancient but modest capital of the
ancient Persians, Pasargadae; and his tomb was intact in the time of
Alexander, who visited it,--a sort of marble chapel raised on a marble
platform thirty-six feet high, in which was deposited a gilt
sarcophagus, together with Babylonian tapestries, Persian weapons, and
rare jewels of great value. This was the inscription on his tomb: "O
man, I am Kurush, the son of Kambujiya, who founded the greatness of
Persia and ruled Asia; grudge me not this monument."
Cyrus was succeeded by his son Cambyses, who though not devoid of fine
qualities was jealous and tyrannical. He caused his own brother Smerdis
to be put to death. He completed the conquests of his father by adding
Egypt to his empire. In a fit of remorse for the murder of his brother
he committed suicide, and the empire was usurped by a Magian impostor,
called Gaumata, who claimed to be the second son of Cyrus. His reign,
however, was short, he being slain by Darius the son of Hystaspes,
belonging to another branch of the royal family. Darius was a great
general and statesman, who reorganized the empire and raised it to the
zenith of its power and glory. It extended from the Greek islands on the
west to India on the east. This monarch even penetrated to the Danube
with his armies, but made no permanent conquest in Europe. He made Susa
his chief capital, and also built Persepolis, the ruins of which attest
its ancient magnificence. It seems that he was a devout follower of
Zoroaster, and ascribed his successes to the favor of Ahura-Mazda, the
Supreme Deity.
It was during the reign of Darius that Persia came in contact with
Greece, in consequence of the revolt of the Ionian cities of Asia Minor,
which, however, was easily suppressed by the Persian satrap. Then
followed two invasions of Greece itself by the Persians under the
generals of Darius, and their defeat at Marathon by Miltiades.
Darius was succeeded by Xerxes, the Ahasuerus of the Hebrew Scriptures,
whose invasion of Greece with the largest army the world ever saw
properly belongs to Grecian history. It was reserved for the heroes of
Plataea to teach the world the lesson that the strength of armies is not
in multitudes but in discipline,--a lesson confirmed by the conquests of
Alexander and Caesar.
On the fall of the Persian Empire three hundred years after the fall of
Babylon, and the establishment of the Greek rule in Asia under the
generals of Alexander, Persia proper did not cease to be formidable.
Under the Sassanian princes the ambition of the Achaemenians was
revived. Sapor defied Rome herself, and dragged the Emperor Valerian in
disgraceful captivity to Ctesiphon, his capital. Sapor II. was the
conqueror of the Emperor Julian, and Chrosroes was an equally formidable
adversary. In the year 617 A.D. Persian warriors advanced to the walls
of Constantinople, and drove the Emperor Heraclius to despair.
Thus Persia never lost wholly its ancient prestige, and still remains,
after the rise and fall of so many dynasties, and such great
vicissitudes from Greek and Arab conquests, a powerful country twice the
size of Germany, under the rule of an independent prince. There seems
no likelihood of her ever again playing so grand a part in the world's
history as when, under the great Cyrus, she prepared the transfer of
empire from the Orient to the Occident. But "what has been, has been,
and she has had her hour."
AUTHORITIES.
Herodotus and Xenophon are our main authorities, though not to be fully
relied upon. Of modern works Rawlinson's Ancient Monarchies and
Rawlinson's Herodotus are the most valuable. Ragozin has written
interesting books on Media, Persia, Assyria, and Chaldaea, making
special note of the researches of European travellers in the East.
Fergusson, Layard, Sayce, and George Smith have shed light on all this
ancient region. Johnson's work is learned but indefinite. Benjamin is
the latest writer on the history of Persia; but a satisfactory life of
Cyrus has yet to be written.
JULIUS CAESAR.
* * * * *
100-44 B.C.
IMPERIALISM.
The most august name in the history of the old Roman world, and perhaps
of all antiquity, is that of Julius Caesar; and a new interest has of
late been created in this extraordinary man by the brilliant sketch of
his life and character by Mr. Froude, who has whitewashed him, as is the
fashion with hero-worshippers, like Carlyle in his history of Frederick
II. But it is not an easy thing to reverse the verdict of the civilized
world for two thousand years, although a man of genius can say many
interesting things and offer valuable suggestions.
In his Life of Caesar Mr. Froude seems to vindicate Imperialism, not
merely as a great necessity in the corrupt times which succeeded the
civil wars of Marius and Sulla, but as a good thing in itself. It seems
to me that while there was a general tendency to Imperialism in the
Roman world for one or two hundred years before Christ, the whole
tendency of modern governments is against it, and has been since the
second English Revolution. It still exists in Russia and Turkey,
possibly in Germany and Austria; yet constitutional forms of government
seem to be gradually taking its place. What a change in England, France,
Italy, and Spain during the last hundred years!--what a breaking up of
the old absolutism of the Bourbons! Even the imperialism of Napoleon is
held in detestation by a large class of the French nation.
It may have been necessary for such a man as Caesar to arise when the
Romans had already conquered a great part of the civilized world, and
when the various provinces which composed the Empire needed a firm,
stable, and uniform government in the hands of a single man, in order to
promote peace and law,--the first conditions of human society. But it is
one thing to recognize the majesty of divine Providence in furnishing a
remedy for the peculiar evils of an age or people, and quite another
thing to make this remedy a panacea for all the future conditions of
nations. If we believe in the moral government of this world by a divine
and supreme Intelligence whom we call God, then it is not difficult to
see in Julius Caesar, after nearly two thousand years, an instrument of
Providence like Constantine, Charlemagne, Richelieu, and Napoleon
himself. It matters nothing whether Caesar was good or bad, whether he
was a patriot or a usurper, so far as his ultimate influence is
concerned, if he was the instrument of an overruling Power; for God
chooses such instruments as he pleases. Even in human governments it is
sometimes expedient to employ rogues in order to catch rogues, or to
head off some peculiar evil that honest people do not know how to
manage. But because a bad man is selected by a higher power to do some
peculiar work, it does not follow that this bad man should be praised
for doing it, especially if the work is good only so far as it is
overruled. Both human consciousness and Christianity declare that it is
a crime to shed needless and innocent blood. If ambition prompts a man
to destroy his rivals and fill the world with miseries in order to climb
to supreme power, then it is an insult to the human understanding to
make this ambition synonymous with patriotism. A successful conqueror
may be far-sighted and enlightened, whatever his motives for conquest;
but because he is enlightened, it does not follow that he fights battles
with the supreme view of benefiting his country, like William III. and
George Washington. He may have taken the sword chiefly to elevate
himself; or, after having taken the sword with a view of rendering
important services, and having rendered these services, he may have been
diverted from his original intentions, and have fought for the
gratification of personal ambition, losing sight utterly of the cause
in which he embarked.
Now this is the popular view which the world has taken of Caesar.
Shakspeare may have been unjust in his verdict; but it is a verdict
which has been sustained by most writers and by popular sentiment during
the last three hundred years. It was also the verdict of Cicero, of the
Roman Senate, and of ancient historians. It is one of my objects to show
in this lecture how far this verdict is just. It is another object to
point out the services of Caesar to the State, which, however great and
honestly to be praised, do not offset crime.
Caius Julius Caesar belonged to one of the proudest and most ancient of
the patrician families of Rome,--a branch of the _gens Julia_, which
claimed a descent from Iules, the son of Aeneas. His father, Caius
Julius, married Aurelia, a noble matron of the Cotta family, and his
aunt Julia married the great Marius; so that, though he was a patrician
of the purest blood, his family alliances were either plebeian or on the
liberal side in politics. He was born one hundred years before Christ,
and received a good education, but was not precocious, like Cicero.
There was nothing remarkable about his childhood. "He was a tall and
handsome man, with dark, piercing eyes, sallow complexion, large nose,
full lips, refined and intellectual features, and thick neck." He was
particular about his appearance, and showed a studied negligence of
dress. His uncle Marius, in the height of his power, marked him out for
promotion, and made him a priest of Jupiter when he was fourteen years
old. On the death of his father, a man of praetorian rank, and therefore
a senator, at the age of seventeen Caesar married Cornelia, the daughter
of Cinna, which connected him still more closely with the popular party.
He was only a few years younger than Cicero and Pompey. When he was
eighteen he attracted the notice of Sulla, then dictator, who wished him
to divorce his wife and take such a one as he should propose,--which the
young man, at the risk of his life, refused to do. This boldness and
independence of course displeased the Dictator, who predicted his
future. "In this young Caesar," said he, "there are many Mariuses;" but
he did not kill him, owing to the intercession of powerful friends.
The career of Caesar may be divided into three periods, during each of
which he appeared in a different light: the first, until he began the
conquest of Gaul, at the age of forty-three; the second, the time of his
military exploits in Gaul, by which he rendered great services and
gained popularity and fame; and the third, that of his civil wars,
dictatorship, and imperial reign.
In the first period of his life, for about twenty-five years, he made a
mark indeed, but rendered no memorable services to the State and won no
especial fame. Had he died at the age of forty-three, his name would
probably not have descended to our times, except as a leading citizen, a
good lawyer, and powerful debater. He saw military service, almost as a
matter of course; but he was not particularly distinguished as a
general, nor did he select the military profession. He was eloquent,
aspiring, and able, as a young patrician; but, like Cicero, it would
seem that he sought the civil service, and made choice of the law, by
which to rise in wealth and power. He was a politician from the first;
and his ambition was to get a seat in the Senate, like all other able
and ambitious men. Senators were not hereditary, however nobly born, but
gained their seats by election to certain high offices in the gift of
the people, called curule offices, which entitled them to senatorial
position and dignity. A seat in the Senate was the great object of Roman
ambition; because the Senate was the leading power of the State, and
controlled the army, the treasury, religious worship, and the provinces.
The governors and ambassadors, as well as the dictators, were selected
by this body of aristocrats. In fact, to the Senate was intrusted the
supreme administration of the Empire, although the source of power was
technically and theoretically in the people, or those who had the right
of suffrage; and as the people elected those magistrates whose offices
entitled them to a seat in the Senate, the Senate was virtually elected
by the people. Senators held their places for life, but could be weeded
out by the censors. And as the Senate in its best days contained between
three and four hundred men, not all the curule magistrates could enter
it, unless there were vacancies; but a selection from them was made by
the censors. So the Senate, in all periods of the Roman Republic, was
composed of experienced men,--of those who had previously held the great
offices of State.
To gain a seat in the Senate, therefore, it was necessary to be elected
by the people to one of the great magistracies. In the early ages of the
Republic the people were incorruptible; but when foreign conquest,
slavery, and other influences demoralized them, they became venal and
sold their votes. Hence only rich men, ordinarily, were elected to high
office; and the rich men, as a rule, belonged to the old families. So
the Senate was made up not only of experienced men, but of the
aristocracy. There were rich men outside the Senate,--successful
plebeians, men who had made fortunes by trade, bankers, monopolists, and
others; but these, if ambitious of social position or political
influence, became gradually absorbed among the senatorial families.
Those who could afford to buy the votes of the people, and those only,
became magistrates and senators. Hence the demagogues were rich men and
belonged to the highest ranks, like Clodius and Catiline.
It thus happened that, when Julius Caesar came upon the stage, the
aristocracy controlled the elections. The people were indeed sovereign;
but they abdicated their power to those who would pay the most for it.
The constitution was popular in name; in reality it was aristocratic,
since only rich men (generally noble) could be elected to office. Rome
was ruled by aristocrats, who became rich as the people became poor. The
great source of senatorial wealth was in the control of the provinces.
The governors were chosen by the Senate and from the Senate; and it
required only one or two years to make a fortune as a governor, like
Verres. The ultimate cause which threw power into the hands of the rich
and noble was the venality of the people. The aristocratic demagogues
bought them, in the same way that rich monopolists in our day control
legislatures. The people are too numerous in this country to be directly
bought up, even if it were possible, and the prizes they confer are not
high enough to tempt rich men, as they did in Rome.
A man, therefore, who would rise to power at Rome must necessarily bribe
the people, must purchase their votes, unless he was a man of
extraordinary popularity,--some great orator like Cicero, or successful
general like Marius or Sulla; and it was difficult to get popularity
except as a lawyer and orator, or as a general.