, pour
out the honeyed wine!

CALLICRATES. It is a singular thing, but when I am hungry I think of
the time when the tragic poets sat at the boards of good tyrants, and my
mouth waters. But when I have tasted the excellent wine that you give
us so abundantly, generous Lucius, I dream of nothing but civil wars and
heroic combats. I blush to live in such inglorious times; I invoke the
goddess of Liberty; and I pour out my blood--in imagination--with the
last Romans on the field of Philippi.

COTTA. In the days of the decline of the Republic my ancestors died with
Brutus--for liberty. But there is reason to suspect that what the
Roman people called liberty was only in reality the right to govern
themselves. I do not deny that liberty is the greatest boon a nation can
have. But the longer I live the more I am persuaded that only a strong
government can bestow it on the citizens. For forty years I have filled
high positions in the State, and my long experience has shown me
that when the ruling power is weak the people are oppressed. Those,
therefore, who--like the great majority of rhetoricians--try to weaken
the government, commit an abominable crime. An autocrat, who governs by
his single will, may sometimes cause most deplorable results; but if
he governs by popular consent there is no remedy possible. Before the
majesty of the Roman arms had bestowed peace upon all the world, the
only nations which were happy were those which were ruled over by
intelligent despots.

HERMODORUS. For my part, Lucius, I believe that there is no such thing
as a good form of government, and that we shall never discover one,
because the Greeks, who had so many excellent ideas, were never able to
find one. In that respect, therefore, all hope of ultimate success is
taken from us. Unmistakable signs show that the world is about to fall
into ignorance and barbarism. It has been our lot, Lucius, to witness
terrible events. Of all the mental satisfactions which intelligence,
learning, and virtue can give, all that remains is the cruel pleasure of
watching ourselves die.

COTTA. It is true that the rapacity of the people, and the boldness of
the barbarians, are threatening evils. But with a good fleet, a good
army, and plenty of money----

HERMODORUS. What is the use of deceiving ourselves? The dying empire
will become an easy prey to the barbarians. Cities which were built
by Hellenic genius, or Latin patience, will soon be sacked by drunken