Part I.

death that his Body might be carried thither •, but from his Parents and the place of his Refi- dence, he was firnamed Athenian.
* Ptkh ^ His Father by Munificence and Liberality
brought his Eftate fo low, as to want even ne- ceflarie^: So/on (afhamed to receive from any being of a Houle which ufed to maintain others) betook himlelf to Merchandize : others lay, he Travelled rather to improve his Knowledge and Experience, for jie was a profefled lover of ::.Wildom, and even.to his laft ufed to lay, I grow old in ’Learning-^ Riches he eftecmed not much, but to grow Rich like
- him who abounds
In heaps of Gold^ as in rank Corn his Grounds Jn Mules and Uorfes^ whilft his numerous wealth Made pleajing by uninterrupted health :
If to comp le at thefe Joys^ he be pojfejl OfJVife and Children^ he is truly blejl.
And elle where,
Riches I wifh^ not Riches that are plac'd '' In unjuji tneans^for Vengeance comes at lajl.
That he was Profufe and Delicate, and more Luxurious in his Verles than befeems a Philofo- pher, is attributed to his praftiling Merchan- dife, liich perfons requiring more than ordinary Delicacies and freedoms in Recompence of their many and great dangers. That he was rather in the number of the Poor than of the Rich, is apparent from thele his Verfes.
Many Unjuji grow Rich^ and Rious Roor^
We would not change ourVirtue for their fiore^ for conjiant Virtue is a folid baje : /
Riches from Man to Alan uncertain pafs.
t Pa/;V. 4. II. ^ Arijiotle niiks Solon the inferiour
* fort of Citizens, which (laith he) is manifeji from his Elegies^ meaning peiRaps, fome of • In Scytha. thefe which Rlutarch cites. 2 Lucian laith, he ¥ nr^t r was extreamly poor : RaUologus^ that he nei- thei had nor valued Wealth.
CHAP. II.
How by his means the Athenians took Salamis, Cyrrha, and the Thracian Gherfonefus.
* OratJe (faith ^ Demojihenes) of obf cure and
legAt. !_ contemptible have become illujirious by
profejjion ofJViJdom. Solon both living and dead flour ijhedin extraordinary Glory ^ to tohomthe ut- mofl honours were not denyed^ for he left a monu¬ ment of his Valour., the Megar his wifdom., the recovery of SAdmis the occafi- ons thele.
f The IflandS'dhtnis revolted from the Athe¬ nians to the Megarenfes •, the Athenians having had a long troublefome War with the Megaren¬ fes for its recovery^, grew at length lb weary,that , .giviqiit over, tlruymade aLaw, forbidding any ■ 'uponpaaiiof death,;|:ofpeak or write any thing' ■, 'to..fiprl^4de the '(^ty;to re-attempt it '.Solon 'bfboHng with much reluHance this ignominy, and feeing ipany yotingimen in the City defirous to f^ew the’ War, (though! not daring to move
f Pnufan, ^ Pint.
A’ tvi •»’
it, by reafon of the Edi£l:) counterfeited himfelf mad, which he caufed to be given out through the City, and having privately compofed fome elegiack Verfes and got them by heart, came skipping into the Forum with his Cap ( or as Laertius laith, a Garland)on 5 the People flock¬ ing about him, he went up into the place of the Cryer, and fung his Elegy, beginning thus ;
«
A Cryer f, from Salamis the fair^
Am come in Verfe this Mejfage to declare :
N
^ The Lines wherewith they were molt exci-f Paufan ted were thele :
Rather than Athens would^ t ow'd my Birth
To Pholegondrian, or Scinian Earth :
For Men where e'er 1 go will fay this is
One of the Athenians that lofl Salamis.
And,
Then let s Salamis, renew our Claitn^
And with th Ifle recover our lofl Fame.
^ This Poem was intituled Salamis • it con- filted of a hundred Verfes, very Elegant : when ^ he had made an end of linging, it was much applauded by his Friends, particularly by Pw?- Jiratus^y who excited the Citizens to follow his advice ; By this means the Law was Repealed, me Warre commenced, wherein was made General ; the common report is that taking Ryfl~ flrat/As dlong with Vimdwhence it is that fome of- ctibe the whole Glory of the Adlion to Pyliftratus, of whom are Ftontmns, ./S’neas, andjuFimo) he Sailed to Colias., where finding all the Women Ce¬ lebrating the Feftival of Ceres., he lent a trufty Mellenger to Salamis., who pretending to be a Renagade, told the Megarenfes., that if they would furprize theprincipal Women of Jey ftould go with him immediately to Colias\ ThQAlegarenfes hQViQwmg what hefaid. Manned a iship and lent it along with him ^ Solon, affoon as he fiw the Ship come from thelflani com- manded the Women to retire, and as many Beardiefs young Men to put on their Gowns Head^vte, and Shoos, hiding Daggers under thv,ir Garments, and fo danced and plaved by the Sea-fide, till the Enemy were Landed, and their Ship at Anchor : by this time xFq Megarenfes deceived ^by their outward appearance. Landed in great hafte, and came upon them, thinking to take theni away by Force, * but theyfudden- * Pdyan. lib. ly drawing their Swords, Jhewed themfehestohe i-
Mejt,not Womens t the. Alegar enfes wereall llain ^ not one efcaping, the Athenians going immedi¬ ately to the Illand took it.
^ Others deny it was taken in this manner,
^t that firft receiving this anfwer from the ""
Delphian Oracle.
Let Saeriflee be to thofe Heroes paid
Who under the Afopian Groimdare laid ■
AJid dead, ate by the fetting Sun furvey'd,
Solon by night Sailed to the Illand, and Sacri¬ ficed BurnfOlFerings to the Heroes Reriphe- mus and Cichris -, then he received five hun¬ dred Men oFthQ Athenians, with condition, that if'they gain’d the Illand, theSupream Govern-
ment
t
Part. I.
SOLON
1
ment thereof fhould be in them ; Shipping his Men in Fifher-boats, attended by one Ship of thirty Oars, they caft Anchor by Sahmis^ near a Point oppofite to Eubcea: TYi^Megarenfes who were in Salamis hearing an uncertain rumor hereof^ betook themfelves confufedly to Arms, fending forth a. Ship to bring them more cer¬ tain intelligence from the Enemy, which Svlon^ as foon as it came near, took, and killing the Megarenfes^ manned with choice Athenians^ whom he commanded to make direffly for the City, with all poflible fecrecy^ in ‘the mean time, he with the reft oixEtAthemans^ affiiulted the Megarenfes by Land, and whilft they were in fight, they who were in the Ship, making haft^ pofleft themfelves of the Town. This relation is confirmed by their Solemnity, an A- thenian Ship comes thither firft in filence, then falling on with cries and ftiouts, an armed Man leaps forth, and runs direffly towards the Scir- ( radian Promontory, againft thofe that come
from the Land ; hard by is the Temple of Mars^ built by Solon',{9t he overcame the Megarenfes^ + VoY rrff ranfotnlefe all thole that efcaped the
7.19! mifery of the War : i AElian he took t&o Ships of the Megarenfes, whereinto he put Athe¬ nian Officers and Soldiers ffidding them put on the Armour of the Enemy, whereby deceiving the Me¬ garenfes, he flew many of them uviartned.
* Flut. > ^ But the Megarenfes perfifting in obftinacy,
to the lofs of many lives on both fides, the bu- finels was referred to the Eacedemonians to be decided ; many affirm Solon alledg’d the Autho¬ rity of Homer, inferring a Verfe into his Cata¬ logue of Ships,which he thus recited at the trial,
Ajax ttoelve Vejfeli brought to Salamis,
And where theklh^manMenhad flood rank’d his.
By which fecondVerfe of his own making and addi¬ tion he' evinc’ d,ihat Salamis of old belonged to the Athenians. ) But the Athenians efteem this re¬ lation fabulous, affirming, Solon demoifftrated to the Judges, that Ehyhtus and Euri faces. Sons of Ajax, being made free Denizons by the Athe¬ nians, delivered this Ifland to them^ and dwelt, one at Branco, in Attica, the other in Mehta, i rf w- whence there is a Tribe named Ehilaidx, from lo!'" EhiUtss, of which was Fifjlratus. f He over¬ came theMegaierAQS in an Oration,getting the bet¬ ter of them, not withfpecious words fut loeight of
* P/Kf. argument : * more clearly to convince them, he
inftanced- in the burial of the dead, and inferi- ption of the names of Towns, ufed by thofe of II Laret. lamis, \\ OS he fhewed,by digging up fome Graves, after the manner of the Athenians, not of the Alegarenfes • for in Alegar a they buried their dead with their Faces to the Eaft, in Athens, to the Weft. But Hereas of Megara denying this, affirms, the Aiegarenfes buried alfo with their Faces toward the Weft •, for further confirma¬ tion; Solon alledg’d, that the Athenians had for each Man a feveral Coffin, the Megarenfes bu¬ ried three or four in the lame. It is faid alfo, that Solon was much helped by certain Oracles of A/)^//3,w herein he cAlsSalamis lonia.This caufe was decided by five Spartans, Critolaidas, Amom- phorctus, Hypfechidas, Anaxilas, and Cleomenes. T Pint. ■ y By this aftion Solon grew into great efteem
and honour, but he became [not long after~\ much
more admired and cried up by the Greeks, for f^^eaking concerning the Temple at Delphi. The Cyrrhaans committed many impieties againjl A- polio, and cut off part of the Land belonging to him. t declared, that it behoved them to || relieve it, and not to fuffer x]XQCyrrh(eans to-pro- phane the Oracle, but that they fhould vindf cate the Gods caufe. The AmphiUions thus in- ftigated by him, undertook the War with much eagernefs, as Ariflotle affirms, aferiffing- to Solon the honour of that Enterprife. ffif chines faith, the motion made by Solon was confirmed by the Oracle. Some affirm he was made General -, oxhtisAlcmaon : But 1 he ysholeArmy of the Greeks was {according to t Paufafiias) Clifthenes,t E Phoc. Tyrant of Myeloma, alffngffiith 'whom they fent Solon from Athens to be his Counfellor. ^ Suidas ^ in voce So- faith, he was chofen Counfellor by thofe who were Jon. pickt out for the fervice of that War. t Whiljly polyan. Ciifthenes befieged Cirrha, H they enquired con- jl Paufan. cerning the ViSory j and from the Pythian Oracle received this Anfwer, . ^ '
This City’s Fort you ffiall not take before
Blew Amphitrites fwelling Billows, roar
Againft ray Wave-wafti'd Grove, and hal¬ low’d Shoar.
Whereupon Solon advis’d to confecratethe Cyr- ihxan field to Apollo, by which means the Sea fliould touch f acred Land. ^ He ufed alfo another r panfan. ibid, ftratagem againft the Cirrha^ans; the River Pliftus which ran through the City, he diverted' another way, the Town holding out againjl the ■ Befiegers, fome drunk Well-water j others Rain, which they faved in Cifierns. He caufed Roots of Hellebore to be thrown into Pliftus, and when he found it was full poif on’ d, tuhned the River again into'iis pro¬ per channel: The Qyixh.xai\s drinking greeduy of that Water, were taken with a continual Elux,and forced thereby to give over the defence of their works : The Amphiftions being pojfefi of the City, punifhed the Cyrrhscans, and avenge the Gods.
Thefe two ftratagems were aferibed to Clifihe- nes, the firft by t Tol'idtnusfm fecond by jj Iron- 1 V tinus -, but the reafon is apparentjhe doing them II *
by the direflion of Solon.
^ Solon perfwaded alfo the Athenians to re- ^ Laen, duce into their power the Thracian Cherfonefus.
C H A P. III.
How he compafed differences andf edit ions at home, and was made Archon.
t H E Cylonian impiety had for a long time f X vexed the City, ever fince the Com¬ plices of Cylon, having taken fanGuary, were perfwaded by Megacles the Archon to pur them¬ felves upon a Trial, they laying hold of a Thread which was tied to the Image of T alias', when they came near the Images ftf the Furies, the Thread broke of it lelf,whereupdn with the other Archons fell upon them, as per- fons difbwn'd by the Goddefs -, thole that were without the Temple they ftoned, thofe who run to the Altars, they were murdered; they only efcaped who fued to their Wives, whence being called impious, they were accounted o-
D dious
Jl 1 1'
Part. I.
SOLON.
i8
dious: clioic that remained of the Cylomans were grown very rich, and had perpetual cnmi^j^ with the Family of Megades ^ at what time this dilTention was highefl , and the People thereby divided into faftions , Solon being of much Authority amongfl them, taking with him thechiefelt of the City, interpofed betwixt them, and with intreaties and advice perfuaded thole who were called impious to lubmit to the judgment of three hundred of the chief Citizens : Miro w^as their Accufer ^ they were condemned, the Living to be banifhed, the Bones of the dead to be digged up, and thrown beyond the confines of the Country.
During thefe Commotions, the Megarenfes took and recovered Sahmiis from the
Athemuns \ the City was full of fuperftitious terrors and apparitions j the Prielfs declared, that the entrails of the facrificed Bealls impor¬ ted great crimes and impieties, which required
t Lncrt, expiation, t Tha'e km alfo a great ? I ague j
* p\ut. * ^ the Oracle advis’d them to lullrate the City •,
to this end they fent (t NiciM., Son of 'Nicer a-
* ^ to fetch Ep 'imemdes out of
Creet.^ who coming to Athens^ was entertained by Solon as a Guell , converfed with him as a Friend, inllruiAed him in many things, and fet him in the way of making Laws. This iujlration cj the Cu)\ Eufebius imder-reckons.^ placing 'it in the Jecondyear of the forty feventh Olympiad.^ whereas Soion’r being Archon., which certainly happened after this^ was in the third of the forty fxih. Suidas feems to over -reckon^ ranking it
t tn Y.pmenid. in the forty forth : the opinion of f Laertius a- greet bef zvith the circumffances of the fiory.^ that it was in the forty fxth.
* Pint. ^ The Commotions of the Cylonei., being thus
appeafed, and the Offenders extirpated, the People. fell into their bid difference about the Government of the Common wealth, where¬ by they were divided into as many faQiohs, as the Province contained dillinftions of Peo¬ ple-, the Citizens were Democratical,the Coun¬ trymen affetted Oligarchy , the Maritimes Hood for a mixt kind of Government, and hindted both the other Parties from having the rule i at the fame time the City was in a dange¬ rous condition , by realbn of a diffenfion be¬ twixt the rich and the poor, arifing from their inequality, the bufinefs feemed impolfible to be compoled, but by a Monarchy -, the Commons were generally opprefled by the Mony which they had borrowed of the rich, and either had tilled their Land, paying to. them the fixth part of the Crop, whence they were called Heblemoru.^ and nietes., or ingaged their Bodies to their Creditors , whereof Ibme lerved at , home, others were fold abroad, many allb ( there being no Law to the contrary ) were ne- celfitated to fell their Children, and leave the City^ through the cruelty of thefe Ufurers, the greateft part (fuch as had moll courage amongll them) affem^ing together, mutually exhor¬ ted one another not to indure thefe things any longer, but chufing Ibme trully Man to be their Leader, to difcharge thofe that paid not their Mony at the fet day, to Ihare.the Land, and quite invert the State of the Common- wealth. The dilcreeteft amongll the Athenians looking upon Solon as a Perlon free from any crime,
( neither ingaged in the oppreflions of the rich, nor involved in the neceffities of the poor ) in- 'treated him to take charge of the Common¬ wealth, and to compofe the differences of the People. ^ Phaniizs the Lesbian affirm eth,that fbr prefervation of the State , he deceived both Parties, promifing under hand to the poor, a divifion of the Land ^ the rich, to make good their contradls ^ but that he firll made fcruples of undertaking the bufinefs, deterred by the avarice of the one, and infolence of the other.; he was chqfen Archon, next after Cleombrotus (\ in the third year of the forty fixth Olympiad) , at what rime he made his Laws allb, being at ' once a P eace-maker, and a Law -giver, accepta¬ ble to the rich, as rich, and to the poor, as good- the People had often in their Mouths this lay¬ ing of his. Equality breeds no flrife which pleafed alike both Parties ; one fide underfland- ing it of Number and Meafure, the other of Worth and Vertue; upon which hope, the moft powerful of both Factions 'courted him much, and defired him to take upon him the Tyranny of that Common-wealth; which he had now in his powder, offering themfelves to his aflillance : Many alfo of the moderate part, feeing how laborious and difficult it would be to reform the State by Realbn and Law, were not unwil¬ ling to have a Prince created, fuch an one as were moft prudent and juft : fome affirm he received this Oracle from Apolloi,
Sit at the Helm of State^ their Pilot be., TheCommon-wealth’s glad to be Steer'd by thee.
But he was moft of all reproved by his fa¬ miliar Friends, fbr being deterred by the name of a Tyranny, as if the virtue of a King were not diffus’d through the Kingdom, inftancing- in Tynondas, long fince Tyrant of Eubata, and Fittacus., at prefent of Mytelene : nothing they alledg’d could move him ; he told them a iy- . ranny was a fair pofleffion, but it had no pallage out : to Fhocus writing thus in Verfe,
That I preferved free my Native foil.,
Nor did with bloody Tyranny defile My honour, I not blufh at by this deed All that was done by others 1 exceed.
Whereby it appears, he was of great Autho¬ rity before he writ his Laws. The Contume¬ lies of fuch as reproved him for declining the Government, he thus expreft in Verle :
Nor wife is Solon, nor good counfel knows.
For he refifis the good that God beftows.
The prey within his power he did behold.
But would not draw the Net ; thoughts mean¬ ly cold:
Had but his Soul with noble aims been fir'd.
The Kingdom for one day he had defid d.
Then fplit, and all his Family expir'd.
SOLON.
P A R. T I
19
» Pint.
t Plut. Laert
fLairL
* Lib. I.
CHAP. JV.
Wkit dherations he made during Im Govern¬ ment^ and firji of the Sifachthia.
^'■^Hough he refuled the Tyranny, yet he X behaved not himfelf remilly in the Go¬ vernment, not complying with the powerful, nor making Laws to plealethofe who had cho- len him ^ where things were tolerable, he_ cor- retLed nor altered nothings fearing, left if he fliould change and confound the Common¬ wealth in every particular, he fliould want ftrength to fettle it again, and to temper it with the belt reafon •, but fuch things unto which he conceived he might perfwade the obfequi- ous, and compel the refractory, thofe he en- aCted ; joyning (as he faid) Force and Juftice, whence, being afterwards demanded if he had given the Athenians the beft Laws, the belt (faith he) they would receive.
t The firtl change he made in the Govern¬ ment was this, he introduced the Sifachthia, zvhich zvas a dif charge oj Bodies and Goods-., or as Helychius defines it.,a Lazvforremijfion of private and puh lick debts Jo called from fhaking off the op- prejfion ofUfury: ifor at that time they engaged their Bodies for payment, and many through zjoant wereconftrained to ferve their Creditors fie there¬ fore ) ordained that for the time paft, all Debts fliould be acquitted, and for the future,no fecuri- ty Ihbuld be taken upon the Body of any ; this by a moderate term he called Sifachthia j there want not (of whom is Androtion) who affirmed he contented the Poor, not by an abfolute dif- charge of the Debt, but by moderating the In- tereft, which he called Sif achthia j whereto he added the increafe of Meafures, and valuation of Money ; for the Mina which was before feventy three Drachms, he made a hundred t by this means the poorer fort paid a greater fumin in lefs Coin, which was a great eafe to the Deb¬ tor, and no wrong to the Creditor : but the greater part hold it was an abfolute difcharge, which agreeth beft with the Verfes of Solon, wherein he boafteth he had removed the hounds throughout the hand freedfuch as zxtere under op- prefjion, called home thofe, zaho being forced to t ra¬ ve I, had joigotten their native hanguage-,and others that were at home under bondage, fet at Liberty. The fame Law,^ 'Diodorus Siculus obfervesto be among the Egyptians,Q.OY\CQmr\^ Soloniffio’ as yet he had not been there) derived it from them.
^ But in this defign a great misfortune befel him, whilft he endeavoured to redrels the op- prefhon of Ufury, and was ftudying how to begin an Oration luitable to the thing, he ac¬ quainted his intimate Friends, in whom he repo¬ led moft confidence, Conori, Clinias, and hip- ponicus, that he meant not to meddle with Landj but to cut off all Debts i they ( preventing the Ffticf) borrowed of the Rich great Summs of Money, wherewith they purchafed much Lapd ^ the Edict being publiflied, they enjoyed their purchale, without fatisfying their Creditors;! Solon was much blamed, as not defrauded with ) thereft,but as being a defrauder with thofe, and a partaker of their cozenage ^ but this imputa¬ tion was immediately wallied away with five
PUL
M.'
L'alents, fb much he had forth at Inrereft, wdiich he firft, according to the Laiv, blotted out , (Laertius faith fix, perfwading others to do the like) others, of whom is Lolyzelm-t'ii^ Rhodian, fifteen i but hisFrisnds were ever alter called
^^aWfnS tu.
^ This pleafed neither parts ^ he difcontented; the Rich by cancelling their Bonds, the poor more, not making good a parity of Eftates, which they expefted, as Lycurgm. had done, he being the eleventh from Hercules, having reigned many yesivs in Lacedzemon, great in Au¬ thority, Friends, and Wealth, whereby he was able to make good what he thought conveni¬ ent for the State, rather by force than perfwa- fion, even to the lofs of his Eye , eft'ecled as a thing moft expedient to the prelervation and peace of the Common-wealth, that, none of the Citizens were either rich or poor ; But Solon at¬ tained not this in the Common-wealth, he was one of the People, and of a mean degree ^ yet he omitted nothing within his power, carried on by his own Judgment, and the Faith which the Citizens had in him ^ that he difpleafed many, who expeCled other things, is thus ac¬ knowledged by himfelf
1
Before they looKd upon me kindly-, now
With Eyes, fevere, and. a contracted Broza ;
Had any elfe my power , he would exaS
TJjeir Riches,and their fattefi Milk extraS. ■
But both Parties foon found how much thi.s conduced to the general good, and laying afiJe their private differences,, Sacrificed together, calling the Sacrifice
CHAP. V.
How he divided the People into Claffes, and ero¬ ded Co(trts of Judicature.
tT T Ereupon they Solon Reformer andf^’/At.
JtJ- Lawgiver of the Common-wealth, not limiting him to any, thing, but fubmitting all to his Power, Magiftracies, Convocations, Judg¬ ments, Courts to take an account of them, to preftfibe what number and times he pleafed j to difannul or ratifie of the prefent Law what he thought good.
^ Firft, then he quite abolifhed all the Laws* Hit, of Draco, except for Murther, becaufe of their rigidnefs and feverity, for he punifhed almoft all offences with Death ; as that they who were furprifed in Idlenefs fhould be put to death j they who ftole Herbs or Apples fhould undergo the fame punifhment with fuch as had commit¬ ted Murther, or Sacriledge ; whence Demades wittily faid, Draco writ his Laws not in Ink^biit Bloody he being asked why he punifhed all of¬ fences with D£ath,anfwered,Z?(f conceived theleali deferved fo much, and he knezo fomore for the great efi. Herodicus alluding to hishame, faid his Laws were not of a Alan, but of a Dragon, they were fo rigid ^ And \ Ariftotle idkh,therezvas "no- ^ thing in them extraordinary and zwrt by of memory, 2. J. but that feverity and greatnefs of penahywhich was fb excefnve,riiat'^/7(3/' by any edi'd or command, ^ A.'Jd/. 1 1. but by a filent unexpreffed confent amongfi the Athe- 13.
D 2 nians
9
20
SOLON.