as the healthful man is not he who eats most, but he who eats what nature requires. Young people should be taught whatever may be useful to them when they become men." Horace alludes to a tale concerning Aristippus, that, on his journey through Libya, he ordered his servants to throw away his money in order to lighten their burden (Hor. Sat. lib. ii. 3. 99.): but this story can hardly be credited of a man who appears to have been always fond of wealth and splendor.

Aristippus was the man of pleasure in practice, and the preceptor of pleasure in profession. Like Socrates he dismissed from his doctrine those speculations which have no concern with the conduct of life; but he by no means adhered to the pure system of morals which he had learned in the school of that preceptor of virtue. The fundamental principle of his doctrine, as far as it can be learned from the imperfect accounts of it which remain, was, that pleasure is the ultimate object of human pursuit; and that it is only in subserviency to this that wealth, fame, friendship, or even virtue, is to be desired. The business of philosophy he understood to be, to regulate the senses in such manner as will render them most productive of pleasure. Happiness he defined to be the aggregate of all the pleasures enjoyed through life. He held the pleasures of the body to be superior to those of the mind; yet he did not exclude the latter, nor derive all enjoyment from the selfish gratification of the senses. He admitted that pleasure might be derived from the happiness of others, and that we ought to rejoice in the prosperity of our country. (Diog. Laert. Cic.de Fin. lib. ii. c. 71. lib. v. c. 128. Tusc. Quæst. lib. ii. c. 6. iii. 13. De Off. iii. 33. Ælian, lib. xiv. § 6.) Though his doctrine corrupted the Socratic stream, it retained some tincture of the pure fountain from which it flowed; and it is probable that Aristippus himself always retained a high respect for the character of his master; for it is related, that, when the death of Socrates was the subject of conversation, he said, "My only wish is, that I may die as he did.”

The school of Aristippus, at Cyrene, was continued in succession by his daughter Arete, Hegesias, Anicerris, Theodorus, and Bion, and about an hundred years after its birth expired; partly owing perhaps to the freedom with which its professors lived as well as taught; but chiefly to the rise of the Epicurean sect, which gave a more philosophical and less exceptionable form to the doctrine of pleasure. Diog. Laërt. Vit. Arist. Stanley. Brucker.-E.

ARISTO OF CHIOS, a Greek philosopher of the Stoic sect, flourished about 260 years before Christ. He was an intimate associate of Perseus the son of Demetrius, and with him attended upon the lectures of Zeno. From his persuasive powers of eloquence he was called the Siren. Offending his master by his voluptuous manner of life, he went over to the school of Polemo, and afterwards attempted to institute a sect of his own. He dismissed from his plan of instruction both logic and physics; the former as useless, the latter as above our comprehension. Syllogisms, he said, were like cobwebs, artificially constructed, but too fine to be useful. In opposition to Arcesilaus, who taught the doctrine of uncertainty, he strenuously maintained, that the wise man does not opine but know. In order to refute this tenet, Perseus engaged one of twin brothers, who strongly resembled each other, to lodge a deposit in his hands, which the other afterwards demanded, and, after some hesitation on the part of Aristo, received; whence Aristo was taught, that he might form an opinion without possessing knowledge. In morals, this philosopher, according to the representation of Cicero, carried the Stoic doctrine beyond the line of his master; not only asserting, that virtue alone constitutes the supreme good, but that in other things there is no difference (Cic. de Fin. lib. iv. c. 27.), which can make one more to be desired than another. According to Diogenes Laertius, he went still farther, and applied the doctrine of indifference even to moral actions; teaching, that all actions are alike, and that to a wise man it is the same thing, whether he perform the part of an Agamemnon or a Thersites, provided only that he perform it well. Seneca charges him with rejecting the preceptive part of philosophy respecting the particular duties of life, and contemning it, as belonging rather to the pædagogue than the philosopher; as if (says that moralist) the philosopher were any thing else than a pædagogue of human kind." (Ep. 89. 94.) If Aristo discouraged the use of moral aphorisms and maxims, he slighted one of the most powerful instruments of moral discipline. "Precepts," observes Seneca (Ep. 94.), "come by themselves with great weight upon the mind, whether they be woven into a verse, or reduced to a concise sentence in prose." Concerning the Divine Nature, Aristo taught that it is incomprehensible. He despaired of being able to understand the greatness of God (Minuc. Felix, p. 154.); and not only thought that the nature of God cannot be comprehended, but doubted whether the Gods have perception or animal life

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(Cic. de Nat. Deor. lib. i. c. 14.)-a doctrine which, evidently, in effect, denies the existence of Deity. An important observation is ascribed to this philosopher, which might have taught others to avoid that obscure and ambiguous language which has occasioned so much confusion and dissention: "Philosophers" (says he) injure instead of benefiting their disciples, if what is well meant be ill interpreted; thus it is, that the pupils of Aristippus became dissolute, and those of Zeno morose.' Aristo inveighed against Arcesilaus, yet was himself addicted to pleasure even in his old age. His death is said to have been occasioned by the scorching of his bald head by the sun. Diog. Laërt. Stanley. Brucker.-E.

ARISTO, a Peripatetic philosopher, a native of the island of Ceos, filled the Aristotelian chair about 230 years before Christ, the fourth in succession from the celebrated founder of the school. Cicero describes him as a neat and elegant orator, but as deficient in that dignity and authority which are expected in a philosopher. He was the author of a work entitled, Amatory Similes," cited by Athenæus. Cic. de Fin. lib. v. c. 5. Athen. lib. x. p. 419. lib. xii. p. 546. Stanley.-E.

ARISTO, TITUS, a Roman lawyer of great talents and merit, lived in the time of Trajan, about the year 110. We know nothing of this excellent man except from two epistles of the younger Pliny, who speaks of him as the object of his peculiar esteem and affection, who was excelled by none in learning, or in purity and dignity of character. "How consummate (says Pliny) is his knowledge of every branch of the law! How intimately is he acquainted with history, biography, and antiquities! There is nothing you can desire to learn which he is not able to teach. For my own part, whenever I am desirous to examine any point of recondite learning, I have recourse to his stores of knowledge as my treasury. What sincerity, what dignity is there in his conversation! What graceful modesty in his deliberation! Notwithstanding the quickness of his apprehension, he frequently pauses and hesitates, examining, distinguishing and weighing with great acuteness of discernment and strength of judgment the various arguments on any topic, and tracing them back to their first principles. Added to this, how temperate is his diet! how plain his dress! how simple his manner of living! When I enter his apartment, and see him upon his couch, I have before me an image of ancient frugality. All this is adorned by a noble greatness of mind, which refers nothing to show,

but every thing to virtue, and which seeks its reward, not in popular applause, but in the consciousness of having acted well. In short you will not easily find among our professed philosophers, who assume the outward garb of wisdom, any one who deserves to be brought into comparison with this worthy man. He does not, it is true, frequent the schools or the porticos; nor does he entertain the leisure of others and his own with long disputations: but his talents are more usefully employed at the bar, and in public business; assisting many in the capacity of an advocate, and still more in that of a friendly adviser: nor ought he to yield to any one the first place in chastity, piety, probity and fortitude." In the sequel, Pliny proceeds to describe to his friend the patience with which Aristo was, at that time, enduring a painful disease, which threatened his life. We must, however, contrary to the opinion of his panegyrist, pronounce it a material deduction from the merit of this valuable man, and certainly no proof of his heroism, that in this illness he called his friends to his bed-side, and entreated them to ask his physicians what turn they apprehended his distemper would take; that, if they pronounced it incurable, he might voluntarily put an end to his life. He added, indeed, that if there were hopes of his recovery he would wait the event with patience, because he thought it due to the tears and entreaties of his wife and daughter, and to the importunity of his friends, not voluntarily to destroy their hopes, if the case was not entirely desperate. It would surely have been more heroic and meritorious to have resolved, at all events, to wait the course of nature with fortitude. In another letter, which is addressed to Aristo himself, Pliny highly commends his skill in the law, and requests his opinion on a case of difficulty. Aristo probably recovered from his dangerous illness; but the time and manner of his death are unknown. Aulus Gellius speaks of him as the author of many books, and mentions one of his works, in which he had read, that all manner of theft was allowed among the ancient Egyptians. Plin. Epist. lib. i. ep. 22. lib. viii. ep. 14. Aul. Gell. lib. xi. c. 18. Bayle.-E.

ARISTOBULUS I. a king of the Jews, the son of Hyrcanus, succeeded his father in the priesthood, and was the first Jewish highpriest who wore a crown. His conduct disgraced both his regal and sacerdotal character. He associated Antigonus, his elder brother, with him in the government; but kept his two younger brothers in prison, together with his mother, whom he starved to death. To com

plete his crimes, he afterwards, through the false accusations of his queen Salome, put Antigonus to death. He added to his dominions a part of Ituria, and compelled the inhabitants to receive the Jewish religion. He died, with great remorse, in the year 104 before Christ, after having reigned only one year. Joseph. Ant. lib. iii. c. 1S, 19. Sulp. Sev. lib. i.-E. ARISTOBULUS II. a king of the Jews, was the son of Alexander Jannæus. After the death of his mother Alexandra, in the year 69 before Christ, he dispossessed his brother Hyrcanus of the kingdom, and permitted him only to retain the office of high-priest. Aretas, king of the Arabians, taking the part of Hyrcanus, besieged Aristobulus in the temple of Jerusalem. On the part of Aristobulus appeared Scaurus, lieutenant of Pompey, who defeated his enemies. Both Hyrcanus and Aristobulus applied to Pompey, who was then at Damascns, entreating his assistance. Pompey espoused the cause of Hyrcanus, and laid siege to Jerusalem, which he took in the 63d year before Christ. He sent the king, and his sons Alexander and Antigonus, prisoners to Rome. Aristobulus, however, with his younger son, escaped; and, returning to Judæa, he collected an army to support him upon the throne; but this attempt proved unsuccessful, and he was again carried prisoner to Rome. Julius Cæsar, soon after, in expectation of his services in Asia, gave him his liberty; but the partisans of Pompey poisoned him. He was a wise and courageous prince, but the hatred of Pompey proved destructive to him. Joseph. Ant. lib. xiv.

C. 1, 2.-E.

ARISTOBULUS, an Alexandrian Jew, who flourished about 120 years before Christ, was preceptor of Ptolemy Euergetes, eldest son of Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt. He bore the character of a peripatetic philosopher, and united the study of the Aristotelian system with that of the Mosaic law. Eusebius speaks of him as a favourite of Ptolemy, and cites a "Commentary on the Books of Moses," which was inscribed to that prince. In this work the author asserts, that one part of the law had been translated into Greek in the time of Alexander, and that the whole was translated under the care of Demetrius Phaleræus in the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus. But this commentary was not written till 120 years after the reign of that king. Demetrius Phaleræus could not have the care of the Septuagint translation according to this account for, during all the reign of Ptolemy Philadelphus, he was in a state of exile; that prince entertaining a settled enmity against him

for having advised his father to choose another successor. It is therefore probable, that Aristobulus either himself invented the story of the seventy interpreters, or borrowed it from Aristeas (See the article ARISTEAS), in order to give the Septuagint translation greater credit with his brethren in Palestine. This suspicion is confirmed by another citation in Eusebius from this work, of sundry verses of Orpheus, in which mention is made of Moses and Abraham. These verses are also found in the works of Justin Martyr, but with such variations as render their authenticity doubtful. From Clement of Alexandria (Stromat. lib. i.) we learn, that Aristobulus was desirous of deriving the Greek philosophy from a Hebrew origin, and establishing an opinion, that Pythagoras, Plato, and other Greek philosophers, were acquainted with the Jewish Law. We may therefore reasonably suspect that Aristobulus, to gratify his own vanity and that of his brethren, and to give the Scriptures of his nation credit with his prince, forged these verses. On the whole we must leave Aristobulus under the suspicion of having practised pious frauds. Euseb. Præp. Ev. lib. vii. c. 13. lib. viii. c. 8, 9. Dupin, Prelim. Brucker.-E.

ARISTOGITON was a citizen of Athens, whose name is rendered celebrated by the deed of tyrannicide. The story is related by authors with considerable variety; but the following narration seems nearest the truth. Harmodius, a very beautiful youth, was beloved, according to the Greek custom, by Aristogiton, a young man of an obscure condition. Hipparchus, the son of Pisistratus, who, with his brother Hippias, then ruled the Athenian state with an unconstitutional authority, was a rival in the love of Harmodius; and, meeting with a repulse, treated him with public insult. The two friends, thereupon (B. C. 516,) plotted the death of both the tyrants, with the restoration of liberty to the people of Athens. They engaged several of their acquaintance in the conspiracy; but upon some suspicion of its discovery, they began to act before they were prepared. They fell upon Hipparchus, and dispatched him; but the people not seconding them, Harmodius was killed by the guards, and Aristogiton secured. Hippías made a severe inquisition into the plot, and put Aristogiton to the torture in order to force him to declare his accomplices. He named the most intimate friends of Hippias one after another, who were immediately put to death; after which, on being asked by the tyrant if there were no more, "There now remains (said Aristogiton with a smile) only yourself worthy of death." Leana, a common courtezan, said by

some to have been the mistress of Harmodius, behaved with equal intrepidity; for, fearing lest the force of torments might extort a confession from her, she bit off her tongue and spit it out. Hippias was expelled three years after this event, and the former constitution of Athens was restored. The Athenians, ever extreme in their attachments, paid the most unbounded honours to the memory of Harmodius and Aristogiton; causing their statues, by Praxiteles, to be placed in the forum, singing hyinns to their praise at the Panathenæa, and decreeing that no slave should ever bear their names. It might be politic thus to work upon the patriotic spirit; but neither the characters nor motives of these conspirators appear to have deserved such testimonies of respect. Herodotus. Thucydides.

Plutarch. Univers. Hist.-A.

ARISTOMENES, one of those heroic characters, in a small state, which liberty alone can produce, was the son of Nicomedes, descended from the royal family of Messene. Indignant at the grievous servitude under which the Messenians were held by the Spartans, he excited them to take up arms, in conjunction with the Argives and Arcadians; and thus commenced the second Messenian war, B. C. 685. In the first battle the Spartans were defeated; and Aristomenes gained so much reputation, that his countrymen unanimously saluted him king. He declined, however, this title, and was contented with that of general. Soon after, he performed a daring exploit, the object of which seems to have been to rouse the superstitious fears of the Spartans. He entered their city by night in disguise, and hung up a shield in the temple of Minerva, with an inscription, importing that Aristomenes dedicated this offering to the goddess out of the spoils of the Spartans. Again taking the field with a more numerous confederate army, he gave the Lacedæmonians a second and bloody defeat; and afterwards took and pillaged one of their towns, and repulsed with great slaughter a body of troops sent to recover it. In this action he had a spear thrust through his thigh; but, when cured of his wound, he marched to invest Sparta itself, whence, however, he retreated without In the third year of the war the Spartans entered the Messenian territory with a great force; and another engagement ensued, in which, through the treachery of Aristocrates king of Arcadia, the Messenians were overthrown with the loss of the greatest part of their army. Aristomenes was now reduced to fortify a few places, and give up the rest of the country to the enemy. Yet, still resolved not to submit,

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he collected a small band of chosen men, with which he continually harrassed the Spartans, and even made inroads into Laconia. He was at length surrounded and made prisoner, to the great joy of the Spartans, who threw him into a deep cavern in the midst of the wounded and dying. Three days he continued in this situation, almost famished, and poisoned by the stench of putrid carcases; when, hearing near him a fox preying upon a dead body, he seized it by a hind leg, and, suffering it to struggle away, followed till it led to a small hole through which light was discerned. This aperture he, with great labour, enlarged by his hands and nails, till it afforded him a passage through; and, before he was missed, he had got to his countrymen at their post on mount Era. soon renewed his ravages among the enemy, and compelled them to a truce; but, during continuance, he was perfidiously seized by some Cretans in the service of Sparta, and hurried away captive. The Cretans, seven in number, stopping with him at the house of a widow with one daughter, suffered themselves to be overcome by wine. When they were in this state, the women, cutting the thongs with which Aristomenes was fastened, set him at liberty. He then slew all his guards, and returned to Era with the mother and daughter, the latter of whom he married to his son. Era was soon after betrayed into the hands of the Spartans; but Aristomenes, forming his men into a column, marched directly to the enemy's line, which opened to the right and left, and let him pass without molestation. The Arcadians received him and his small band with great kindness; when he proposed to the assembled people a bolder exploit than any he had yet undertaken. "I have still left (said he) five hundred brave soldiers who will follow me any whither. Now the Spartans are employed in the pillage of Era, if you assist me, I will march straight to Lacedæmon and surprise it." This proposal was received with great applause, and would have been executed, had not the Arcadian king found pretences to delay it till he sent to Sparta to put them on their guard. His treachery, however, was discovered, and the enraged people stoned him to death. The Messenians, under the conduct of the son of Aristomenes and another leader, passed over to Sicily, where they founded the city of Messina. Aristomenes, however, remained in Greece, still planning great designs against the power of the Spartans; when death freed them from the most inveterate enemy they had ever experienced. The independence of his country expired with him. The 3 с

high character he maintained in Greece appeared in the great matches he procured for his daughters; in relation to which it is said, that a person at the head of affairs in Rhodes, having consulted the oracle at Delphos whom he should marry, and, being directed to pay his court to the daughter of the most worthy of the Greeks, the answer was understood to allude to the daughter of Aristomenes, whom, in consequence, he espoused. It was on a visit to this son-in-law that Aristomenes died, and a magnificent tomb was erected for him in Rhodes. Diodorus Sicul. Pausanias. Univers. Hist.-A. ARISTOPHANES, one of the most famous of the Grecian comic poets, flourished about the middle of the fifth century B. C. contemporary with Sophocles, Socrates, Euripides, and some of the greatest men in Greece. It is not well known what was his native country; but he settled at Athens, where he was admitted a denizen, and held in high estimation. He displayed great talents for poetry at an early age; and, when he grew up, addicted himself to the Old Comedy, the characteristic of which was, introducing real personages by name on the stage, in order to make them the objects of invective or ridicule. Aristophanes seems at first to have employed this dangerous power for the correction of abuses in the state. He was equally an enemy to corruption and usurpation in the great, and to the follies and vices of the people, whom he lashed without scruple, regardless of their sovereign authority. Nor does it seem improbable that he was an useful instrument in reforming many things wrong in the administration. But party and personal enmity operated upon him as they have done upon almost all public satirists; and the lovers of virtue will never forgive him for his malignant attack upon the reputation and life of Socrates. His comedy of "The Clouds" was written expressly against that excellent man, whom he endeavours to turn into ridicule by buffoonery, while at the same time he loads him with the most serious accusations. This piece, though at first it displeased the people, yet is imagined in the end to have contributed a large share towards preparing the Athenians for that unjust decrce which deprived the age of its best ornament. His calumnious attacks upon eminent persons gave rise to a law, procured by Alci biades, against marking out any character by name in comic representations; and this was the origin of the Middle Comedy, wherein the satire was concealed under the mask of fiction.

Whatever might be thought of the morality of Aristophanes, no man could be more the

object of popular admiration. In ages much better qualified to judge of his general merits than any modern times can be, he was thought to unite all the peculiar elegancies of the Attic Muse with an inimitable talent for wit and humour. The sweetness and purity of his style so ingratiated him with Plato, though so intimate a disciple of Socrates, that in an epigram he represents the Graces searching for a durable mansion, and at length fixing it in the mind of Aristophanes; and the most eloquent of the Greek fathers of the church, St. Chrysostom, is said always to have laid him under his pillow. Yet it is certain that his wit often degenerates into mere scurrility, that his humour is often extravagance and buffoonery, and that he frequently violates decency in the grossest manner. In these points, it is true, one age and nation cannot perfectly enter into the feelings of another: yet there are principles of decorum which belong to all; and many of the ancients felt and censured the faults of Aristophanes. Little is known concerning the incidents of his life, but he is supposed to have lived to a great age. He is said to have written fifty-four comedies, of which only eleven remain, "The Clouds" being one. "Plutus" is one of the most esteemed. The best editions of Aristophanes are those of Kuster, Bergler, and Brunck. Vossius, Poet. Græc. Lil. Gyrald. Moreri. Nouv. Dict. Hist.-A.

ARISTOTLE, one of the most celebrated philosophers of ancient Greece, the founder of the Peripatetic sect, the son of Nicomachus and Phæstias, was born at Stagyra, a town of Thrace, upon the river Strymon, in the first year of the 99th Olympiad, or 384 years before Christ. (Diog. Laert. Dionys. Hal. Epist. ad Ammæum.) From the place of his birth he is called the Stagyrite. Both his parents dying in his childhood, Proxenus of Atarna in Mysia took the charge of his education. The respect which Aristotle afterwards showed to the memory of his master, by educating and adopting his son, is a sufficient proof that this charge was faithfully executed. It is related by Ælian (Var. Hist. lib. v. c. 9.), and by Athenæus, on the authority of an epistle of Epicurus (Deipnosoph. lib. viii. p. 354.), that Aristotle in his youth addicted himself to pleasure, and wasted his whole patrimony; that he afterwards went into the army; and that, not finding this mode of life suited to his inclinations, he professed medicine, and practised pharmacy at Athens, till accident directed his attention to philosophy. But the credit of this story is ill-supported; and it contradicts the accounts