Part XI.

D t MOC K ITV a,.
a Lih. 4. For thefc things ( faith ( c. 10. comments himy becaufe by bis Travels he coUetl-
ed better things than either Menelaus or Achilles 5 for they went up and down no otherwife than like Phenaecian Merchants ; they gathered money, and that was the occafmt of their Fraveli by Sea and Land. Not without reafon therefore was it, b cUm. that he faid of himfelf, {b) Of any Man in my
Strom. time, I have been the greated Traveller, and made
the furthefi Enajuiries, and Jeen mofl variety of Air and Earth, and heard the mofl Learned Perfons j and in making Demonfirations by Lines , none yet have gone beyond me, no not Egyptians, who are called Arpedonaptx.
CHAP. IV.
Hew he lived at Abder, after his return from Travel, and governed there.
LAertius faith, that at his return from Travel he was in a very mean condition, having ffent all his Eftate 5 whereupon his Brother Damafus ( in regard of his indigence ) received him kindly , and maintain d him. But after that he had foretold fame things, which fell out accordingly, people from thenceforward , honour d him as a God: moreover, there being a Law, that inhofoever had conjumed his patrimony, (heuldnot be allow'd burial in bis own Country: Antifthenes that to prevent being
liable to fome envious Perfons and Sycophants, he read to the feople his Book entituled the great Diacoffflus, which was the mofl excellent of all his Writings, and for it was rewarded with Joo. Talents^ and not only fo, but with braz^en Statues alfo. Hitherto Laertius.
a Lih. 18. Of thefe Predictions, (a) Pliny gives two Cap. 27. inftances. It is reported, faith he, that Democri¬ tus, who frjl underflood and demon/lrated the cor- rejpondence betwixt Heaven and Earth, the mofl weak thy of the Citizens defpifng this his pains, forefeeing a future dearth of Olives, from the future rifing of Pleiades, ( after the fame manner as we have men¬ tioned, and flsall declare more fully hereafter ) With extraordinany profit, by reafon of the expeSlation of Olives, bought up all the Olives in that Country, to the admiration of aU thoje, who knew he chiefly affAted Poverty, and the quiet 'of Learning, But afjoon as the reafon appeared, together with the great
• gain of money, he refior'd the Bargain to the anxi¬
ous and greedy repentance of the Owners, contenting himfelf to have thus proved, that he could eafily be , Rich, wkenfoever be pleajed.
b Plw.iS. The other is this: (b) His Brother D&wafhs 3J* * being employed about Reaping in an extraordinary
hot day, he defired him fo let the red of the Corn alone, and to Cock that which was already Reaped % as fafl as he could: within jew hours, a terrible c stram.6. Tempejl ratified his Predtblion. (cj Clemens adds, pag.6it.d. foretold it by fome Stars, and that they,
giving credit to him, cock'd their Crop, for, it being Reading Summer, (d) it was not yet Inned in the Barn j but ¥ ceKa- the refl lofl theirs by the great and unexpsSled E.ain. m hjai (e J By thefe (and the like) PrediBions , he H7!». gamed fo great efleem amongfl the People, that from e Laert. thenceforward they honoured him as a God j Cle- faith, they called him sro?!*, Wifdow, ALli- RU, Vhilofopby j as Protagoras was termed Logos, f Suid. Difeourfe. (f) So much indeed was he reverene d
for his extraordinary Wifdom , that they conferred the Supream Government of Abdera upon him.
CHAP. V,
His Retirement.
BUt being naturally more inclined to contem¬ plation, than delighted with publick ho¬ nours anS employments , he withdrew himfelf from them, andC^?) “endeavoured, as Antifihenes a Laert. “relates, to make feveral Tryals ofPhantafies (meaning the impreffions of things appearing to the Phantafy, not the Phantafy it felf ) “ often “ living alone, and in Sepulchres. ( b) Lucian h adds, “ that (hutting himfelf up in a Tomb with- “ out the Gates of the City, he continued there “ writing and compohng Night and Day : And “ that fome young Men intending to deride and “ fright him, attired themfeives like Ghofts, in “ black Garments, with Vizards like Deaths- “ heads, and came about him dancing and skip- “ping, whereat he was nothing moved, nor “ would fo much as look on them, but continu- “ ed to write; Leave fooling, faith he ; Sofirm- “ ly, did he believe, that Souls are nothing after “ they are out of the Bodies.
Such places he made choice of, as were mod conducing to contemplation, by reafon of their Solitude and Darkneis. Kridfc) AgeUius tenons, c L\h,
“ out of the Monuments of the Greek Hiflory “ now not extant, that for the fame reafon fi “ put out his own Eyes, becaufe he conceived “the cogitations and meditations of his Mind, in contemplating the reafons of Nature, would “ be mpre vigorous and exad, if free from the “ allurements of Sight, and impediments of the “ Eyes: which a.Lk, together with the manner “ whereby he eafily procured Blindnefs,by a mod “fubtleingenioufnefs, Laberius AtPcnhtd feign- “ ing another caule of his voluntary Blindnels,
“ converting it to his own purpofe.
Democrittfs, the Abderite, well skill’d
In natural Philofophy, a Shield
Plac’d to Hyperions rifing oppofite, (fight;
And with the Sun’s beams thus put out bis That bad and impious Men he might not fee. Triumphant in' their full prbfperity.
The former Reafon given by AgelUas ( that he might ftudy Philofophy the better ) is alledg- ed alfo hy ( d ) Cicero, Plutarch , and others, d Tufe.
“ For though, faith Cicero, having loft his Eyes “ he could not difcernBIack and White, yet could “ he Good and III, Juft and Unjuft, Honeftand “ Difiioneft, Profitable and Unproficable, Gr'eat “and Little; he might live happy without the “ variety of Colours, but he could not without “ the knowledge of things. Thus he concei-.
“ ved, that the acutenels of the mind was cb- “ ftrutfted by the fight of the Eyes, (ej Ter- e yipekg. tullian alledgeth another Reafon, becaufe he could adv.gcat. not lock on Women wttheut inordinate defires. But Cicero (f) elfewhere fpeaks doubtfully concern- p pjefmd. ing the truth of the thing it felf ; and not with- 5, our reafon, fince the contrary appears manifeft by this following Narration.
1
C H A P,
456 DEMOCRirVS. Part XL'
CHAP. VI.
His Communicatim ‘ivitb Hippocrates.
a £;*;?. 'T~\Ewocritus (a) thus negleifting all outward
Gras. 1 J things, living Day and Night privately in Caves and folitary places, the Abderites ima' gined that he was melancholy even to Madnefs ; which fufpicion was confirmed, by his continual Laughing upon all occafions whatfoever. Here¬ upon they fent Amekfagoras, one of the chief Perfons of their City to Hippocrates, that moft eminent Phyfitian who lived at Cos , with this Epiftle.
The Senate and People of Abdera to Hippocrates,
Health.
Our City, Hippocrates, is in very great danger , together with thatPerfon,who,we hoped, would ever have been a great Ornament to it. But now, O the Gods.' it is much to be feared> that we (hall only be capable of envying others, fince he, through extraordinany Learning and Study, by which he gained it, is fallen fick, fo as it is much to be feared, that if Democritus become mad, our City will become defolate j for, wholly forgetting himfelf, watching Day and Night, laughing at all things Little and Great, and efteeming them as nothing,he after this man¬ ner leadeth his whole Life. One marries a Wife ; another Trades ; another Pleads ; another per¬ forms the Office of Magiftrate ; goeth on Em- bafiTy, is chofen Officer by the People, is put down, falls fick, is wounded, dies ; he laughs at all thefe, beholding fome to look difeontented, others pleas’d. Moreover , he enquireth what is done in the Infernal places, and writes of them, and affirms the Air to be full of Images, and that he underftands the Language of Birds, and often rifing in the Night fingeth to himfelf, and faith. That he fometimes travels into the In¬ finity of Things, and that there are innumerable Democritus's like him ; thus, together with his Mind, he deftroyeth his Body. Thefe are the Things which we fear , Hippocrates ; Thefe are thofe which trouble us. Come therefore quick-' iy,and preferve us by your Advice ; And defpife us not, for we are not inconfiderable j And if you reftore him, you fhall not fail either of Money or Fame ; and though you prefer Learn¬ ing before Wealth , yet accept of the latter, which fhall be offered to you in great abundance.
To reftore Democritus to health, if our City were all of Gold, we would give it ; We think our Laws, Hippocrates, are fick; Come then, Beft of Men, and cure a moft excellent Perfon; Thou wilt not come as a Phyfitian, but as a Founder of all Ionia, to encompafs us with a fa- cred Wall. Thou wilt cure not a Man, but a City, a languiftiing Senate, and prevent its Dif- folution , thus becoming our Lawgiver, Judge, Magiftrate, and Preferver. To this purpofe we expedt thee, Hippocrate* ; all thefe if you come ) you will be to us. It is not a fingle ob- feure City, but all Greece , whicii befceche'th thee to preferve the Body of V/ifdom. Ima¬ gine that Learning Her felf tomes on thisEm- balTy to Thee, begging, that Thou wilt free Her
from this danger. Wifdom certainly is nearly allied to every one, but efpecialiy to us who dwell fo near Her. Know for certain, that the next Age will own it felf much obliged toThec, if thou defert not Democritus, for the Tiuth which he is capaple of communicating to all. Thou art allied to nAE/culapius by thy Family, and by thy Art ; he is defeended from the Bro* ther of Hercules, from whom came Abderus, whofe name, as you have heard, our City bears ; wherefore even to him will the envtoi Democritus be acceptable. Since therefore, Hippocrates, you fee a whole People, and a moft excellent Perfon falling into Madnefs, haften we befeech you to us. Itisftrange, that the exuberance of Good ftiould become a Difeafe ; Democritus , by how much he excelled others in acutenefs of Wifdom, is now in fo much the more danger of falling mad, whilft the ordinary unlearned People of Abdera enjoy their Wits as formerly ; and even they, who before were eftcemed foolilK , are now moft capable to difeern the indifpofition of the wifeft Perfon. Come therefore, and bring along with you ^Aijculapius, and Epione , the Daughter of Hercules , and her Children, who went in the Expedidoti againft Troyj bring with you the Receipts and Remedies againft Sicknefs; the Earth plentifully affords Fruits, Roots, Herbs, and Flowers to cure Madnefs, and never more happily than now, for the reco¬ very of Democritus. Farewel,
•
Hippocrates returned this Anfwer.
/
Hippocrates to the Senate of Abdera, Health.
Your Countryman, Amekfagoras arrived at Cos the fame day on which with us was Cele¬ brated the Sufeeption of the Rod, which, as you know, is an annual Convention, and great Solemnity araongft us, held at a Cyprefs Tree, which are born by thofe who are particularly confecrated to the God.
But finding both by the Words and Coun¬ tenance of Amekfagoras, that your Bufinefs re¬ quired much hafte, I read your Letter, and much wondred to find your City no lefs frouWed for one Man, than if the whole City were but one Man. Happy indeed are the People who know, that wife Men are their Defence*, not Walls or Bulwarks, but the found Judgments of wife Perfons. I conceive, that Arts are the difpen- fations of the Godsj Men the works of Nature: and be not angry, ye Men of Abdera, if I con¬ ceive, that it is not you, but Nature her felf which calls me to preferve her work, which is in danger of failing.
Wherefore|, obeying that which is the invi¬ tation of Nature and of the Gods, rather than yours, I ftull make hafte to cure the Sicknefs of Dernocritm, if it be a Sicknefs, and not, as I hope, an Error in you. And it would be yet a greater Teltimony of your Good- will, ft you were troubled only upon fufpicion. Neither Nature nor the Gods have promifed me any thing for rny coming , and therefore ( Men of Ab kra ) do DOC you force any thing upon me, butfufter the works of a free Arc to be free. They who cake Rewards compel Sciences to fer- vitude, and make them Slaves, bereaving them