defired to speak with him, he gave him admittance. Tiberius foon made himself known to Belifarius; and fome time afterwards introduced to his acquaintance the emperor Juftinian, under the name of his father. At the fight of the venerable man, the emperor felt a pang of remorse and shame, for the condition to which he had reduced him. An exclamation of grief broke from him, and leaning on Tiberius he covered his eyes with his hands, as if unworthy to behold the light which the hero faw no more. What mean these tones of grief, says Belifarius I have brought my father to fee you, replied Tiberius, and he is fenfibly touched at your misfortunes.-Where is he? faid the general, ftretching forth his hands. Let him come to my embraces: for he has a virtuous fon. Juftinian was obliged to comply with the request, and as soon as he felt the old man preffing to his bofom, his emotions were so strong and tender, that he was unable to fupprefs his tears and groans. Reftrain this violence of pity, faid Belifarius; perhaps I am not altogether fo wretched as you imagine. Let us discourse a little about what concerns yourself, and this young man, who will be a comfort to you in your old age. Yes, replied the emperor, in fhort and interrupted accents, yes-if you will. condescend to let him attend your lectures upon human life. -Alas! what can I offer, faid Belifarius, that a wife and good father has not already anticipated?-You may inftruct him, faid the emperor, in what perhaps I know little of, the ways of courts, where he must pass his days. For a long time I have had so little commerce with men, that the world is as new to me as it is to him. But you, who have seen things in all their various afpects, may render him ineftimable service; and therefore I entreat you to unbosom yourself to him.— In compliance with this requeft, Belifarius proceeds to deliver his fentiments on a variety of political fubjects; in which the true principles of government, and the art of sustaining a public character with integrity and honour, are displayed in a clear and masterly manner. Nothing can be more just and important than the following obfervations on the diftribution of royal favours. • Of sovereign authority the highest act is the distribution of favours and marks of grace: this partakes of the nature of beneficence, and is therefore a pleasing exertion of power; but in the exercise of it, it is requifite that the prince should be guarded against feduction. The whole of his intelligence must arise from those who approach his person; and of that number there is not one who does not for ever inculcate, that the seat of majesty is in the court; that all regal fplendor is derived from the brilliant appearance that enlivens the palace; and that the most valuable prerogative of the crown difplays itself by a profufion of favours, which are ftiled the munificence of the fovereign. Gracious heaven! the munificence! it is the fubftance of the people he bestows; the spoil of the poor and indigent! Thus the prince is deceived by words: adulation and treachery besiege his throne; affiduity for ever pays its court; and the habit of refusing nothing gains upon the credulous fovereign, who little thinks of the tears extorted from the poor by the extravagance of the court: exultation fills the palace, and every room ecchoes with praises of the royal munificence. That munificence affumes the mien of virtue, and wealth is fquandered without confidering from whence it came. would kings reflect how their fplendor grows out of the mifery of others; and for the fake of an ungrateful crew, what a number groan in wretchedness! But, Tiberius, the prince who has one true friend will be fure to know this; and he will know befides, that true beneficence confifts more in œconomy than lavish distribution; that every partial grant is injustice to merit, and that from injustice spring all the worst evils that can diftract a ftate. Alas! • You behold the munificence of fovereigns, faid Tiberius, with an eye of feverity.-I confider it in its true light, replied the hero, as a mere perfonal attachment, which, in the choice of men for public offices, counteracts the natural course of jusrice, of nature, and of reafon. For juftice appropriates honours to virtue, and rewards to merit: for the arduous bufinefs of high employments nature brings forth great abilities and confummate talents; and furely reafon directs that of men the beft poffible use should be made: but partiality confers the recompence due to virtue upon elegant and polished vice; and thus complaifance is preferred to honeft zeal, adulation to truth, and meannefs to elevation of foul. The fuperficial gift of pleasing, as if it were fuperior to every other gift of nature, afpires to all the favours of the crown, and generally engroffes them. From these premises it may be inferred, that partiality in the diftribution of favours is the fure mark of a bad reign; and the prince who refigns into the hands of a favourite the honour of his crown and the welfare of his people, brings matters to this dilemma; he either fets a fmall value upon what he confides to his favourite, or he afcribes to his own choice the power of transforming the fouls of men, as if he were able to mould a statesman or an hero out of a fuperan nuated flave or a youthful profligate. That, faid Tiberius, would be an attempt of the most abford futility; but employments abound in all states, which may be competently filled by men of very ordinary talents." 3 • Not Not a fingle employment, replied Belifarius, which does not demand, if not an able, at least an honeft man; but royal favour is little folicitous about the one or the other on the contrary, both are neglected, or, ftill worse, they are fure to meet all the little indignities of a fcornful repulfe. Hence every talent dies in its bloom, and every virtue withers in the bud. Of talents and of virtues emulation is the vivifying foul; but partiality is immediate death. The ftate in which this vice prevails may be compared to those waste and defolate tracts, where certain ufeful plants fpontaneously shoot. up, but are robbed of their nutriment by the briers and brambles that infeft the land; and yet this image of phyfical evil does not fully exprefs the political mifchief; for under a reigu of favouritifm, the briers and the brambles are cherished, while every falutary plant is eradicated and trampled under foot. You feem to affume, faid Tiberius, that the royal favour invariably wants a due difcernment of spirits, and is never able to make a right choice of men. Rarely, if ever, replied Belifarius, infomuch, that if the fervants of the public were chofen by lot, it would be a more infallible mode of election. Partiality grants its favours, to thofe only who intrigue for them: but merit difdains the little arts of intrigue; and that manly pride is decyphered by court interpreters into neglect of the fovereign, who therefore repays it with calm difdain, while the affiduity of low ambition reaps every advantage. To a prince thus prejudiced, what accefs can there be for the fage or the hero? Can they degrade themfelves to the pliancy of flaves? Can dignity of mind fubmit to be a cringing candidate for court-favour? If nobility of birth gives a title to approach the perfon of the fovereign, what part is to be acted in a circle of favourites, by truth, integrity, and honour? Are they likely to excel in the dexterities of flattery and diffimulation? Will they condefcend to pry into the paflions of their mafter, and explore the fecret propenfities of his heart? The characters of the fycophant, the diffembler, and the false friend, will be better played by others, who know how to touch the ftring that founds gratefully to the royal ear, and to fly over that which will offend. Virtue would appear aukward in the attempt. The favourite will acquit himself with grace in all thefe particulars, but ftill it will ever be a million to one that he is unworthy of the distinction he enjoys. The favourite of a difcerning, juft, and equitable prince, interpofed the emperor, will, moft probably, be a man of integrity. In the court of a difcerning, juft, and equitable prince, replied Belifarius, there will be no fuch perfon as a favourite fuch a prince will be worthy of friends, and he will have them: but favour will do nothing for them. A faithful fervant would blush to be fo enriched. If ever there was a faithful fervant, the emperor Trajan had fuch an one to boat of in his minifter Longinus. That true and worthy friend of his mafter was taken prifoner by the Dacians: the king of that people fignifred to the emperor, that, unless he acceded to the conditions of peace propofed to him, the captive minifter fhould be put to death. And what was Trajan's anfwer? He left it to the honour of Longinus to decide, as Regulus had formerly done in his own cafe. Behold there the model of public characters! Thofe are the men I have in view! How glorious be the friend of fuch a prince! Longinius faw the bright occafion, and with a fublime of virtue dispatched himself, left pity fhould. take poffeffion of the emperor, and incline him to an act of partiality or perfonal regard, I am overpowered by the weight of your reafonings, faid Tiberius: yes, I now perceive, that the public weal, when rightly understood, gives no latitude to the affections of the fovereign: but are there not incidents unconnected with the interefts of the people, in which he may reafonably give a fcope to his private affections? I anfwer in the negative, replied Belifarius: the prince' has no pofitive unconnected intereft; every thing is relative to the whole. The fmalleft matters are of importance, and even the very civilities of a king must be addreffed with caution. Royal favour, it has been faid, is but a partial evil, and difplays itfelf only in little things; but a deviation from the strict rule of right, even in trifles, will foon become habitual, and from fmall irregularities to great excefs the progrefs is rapid. The circle of the fovereign's favour enlarges itself, and to bask in the funfhine of his smiles, grows a general defire; each courtier ftrives to wriggle himself into favour'; and the fence thus thrown down, how fhall a prince refift the ardor of importunity, and the frequency of follicitation? The fence that fhould guard him, my best Tiberius, is a determination of the will to be always juft and good. When a principle of uprightness is known to guide the choice of men, it must then be merit, and merit alone, that can hope for preferment. Talents, exalted qualities, and eminent fervices, form the only admiffible claim: the candidate for honours must render himfelf worthy of them. Intrigue is discountenanced, and emulation is animated. Ambition is obliged to proceed by manly ways, and starting at the thought of being detected, abandons her her little fchemes of perfidy and cunning. How different is the cafe, when the prince is under the influence of personal affection? To gain the afcendant over that affection, becomes the business of all. He who poffeffes the arts of infinuation, and knows how to cabal with the fervants of upper fervants, purfues his drudgery through all its ftages, and creeps up to preferment, meanly rifing to fplendid infamy. In the mean time the man of virtuous pride retires, and with the consent of all, he is refigned to oblivion. If it should happen, that for fome important fervice, he is called from obfcurity, to make one in the glittering crowd; or if it fhould be neceffary to employ him on fome occafion worthy of his abilities; ftanding unconnected with faction, he finds all parties combined against him, till at length it is visible, that he muft either debafe himfelf, by countermining the dark deeds of his enemies, or else furrender to them at difcretion. The court where intrigue prevails, is a wild uproar of paflions, in which the ftill voice of fruth can never be heard. The public good is an unregarded thing, and personal affection is the fountain of all praise and cenfure; partiality paffes its decifions upon all occurrences; and the prince, encompaffed round with falfehoods, distracted with doubt, fufpicion and miftruft, fcarcely ever puts an end to the waverings of his mind, but to terminate in error.'. Every body knows that in the reign of Conftantine the imperial feat was removed from Rome to Conftantinople. The obfervations of Belifarius on this event will lead the British patriot to congratulate himself on the happy fituation of his .country. I was used, faid Tiberius, to think the capital of the world more advantageously fituated upon the Bofphorus, in the middle of two feas, and between Europe and Afia, than in the heart of Italy, upon the banks of a river, which fcarce deferves the name of navigable. • Conftantine thought as you do, replied Belifarius, and he was mistaken. The state which is obliged to carry war into foreign territories, must be governed by a found internal policy, compact within itself, and easy to be defended. Such was the advantage of Italy. The hand of nature feemed to have made it a refidence for the masters of the world. The mountains and the fea, which inclofe it, formed a ftrong barrier against invafion : : guard but the Alps, and Rome was guarded too. If that fence proved too weak to repel the enemy, the Appennines afforded a fafe retreat, and ferved as a rampart to half Italy. It was there that Camillus gave the Gauls a fignal overthrow; and in that fpot Narfes obtained his brilliant victory over Totila. N VOL. XXIII. March, 1767. • At |