490 STRENGTH AND WEAKNESS OF HUMAN REASON. shameless manner of exposing his own vanity, and buildinghis honour on the ruins of truth, that I could scarce imagine that great andwise man would have suffered such a letter to go out from his hand. I fear, my friend, you have cited this in gross merely by your memory, and exaggerated some expressions to disgrace his character, and blaze abroadhis frailty. PITH. I own, Sir, it is many years since I read his epistle, and I have cited only the general sense of it, according to the impression it made on my mind when I read it : But since you have hisworks here, let us turn to this famous letter. I think it is in the fifth book, among hisletters to Metellus and others. See how he begins : " When I have been in your company, Lucceius, I have felt a sort of rustic bashfulness to say those things which in your absence I will new declare with freedom ; for 'a let- ter never blushes. I burn with incredible desire ofhaying ,My name adorned and celebrated by your writings Think whether if bé not better to divide the history of the civil conspiracy, "'that is, the conspiracy of Catiline, which was suppressed in Cicero's consulship," and relate it apart from the foreign wars : For when your whole soul is engaged in oneargument, and fixed On one person, I plainly see how much more copious and orna- Mental all your writing will be.' I am not ignorant what an impudent thing I am doing, when I urge you to adorn my actions But he that. bath once passed the limits of modesty, must become thoroughly and completely impudent." Then a little affer follow the words I chiefly refer to, which are these : "Itaque to plane etiamatque etiam rogo, ut & ornés ea vehementius etiam quam fortasse sentis, & in eo lees historise negligas, amorique nostro plusculum etiam quam concedit veritas largiare. I ask you plainly again and again, that you would beautify this transaction of mine with more ornament than, perhaps, you think it deserves, and therein neg- lect the laws óf history, and bestow a little more of this your fa- vour on me than truthwill allow." You see, gentlemen, Cice- ro's own pen makes him as vain and shameless as my represen- tatien of him : And he spends above a page in folio on the same subject, and frequently urges his friend to write this immediately, " Ut & cinteri viventibus nobis ex libris tuis nos cognoscant, & nosmetipsi vivi'gloriola nostra perfruamur : 'That the world may knowme by your writings, and I may enjoy in my lifetime the glory that belongs to me." What glaring pride and impudent falsehood sully the character of this heathen saint of yours, Logisto? Again ; let us see what his religion and piety were : He cannot findwhether therewas opeGodor many : He talksoften ofthe gods in the language ofthe stoics : as for the true parent or maker ofthe universe, as Sophroniushas cited him, Cicero acknowledges, " It
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