4. The broken ranks of the cuirassiers, Are gathering in at the martial call, Mrs. Bartlett. LESSON CI. ZENOBIA'S DEFENSE. 1. I am charged with pride and ambition. The charge is true, and I glory in its truth. Who ever achieved anything great in letters, arts, or arms, who was not ambitious? Cæsar * was not more ambitious than Cicero. It was but in another way. All greatness is born of ambition. Let the ambition be a noble one, and who shall blame it? I confess I did once aspire to be queen, not only of Palmyra, but of the East. That I am. I now aspire to remain so. Is it not an honorable ambition? Does it not become a descendant of the Ptolemies and of Cleopatra? I am applauded by you all *Ca'sar, Caius Julius, the Roman Dictator, was born B. C. 100. He was famous not only as a general, but as a statesman and an orator. He perished by the hands of assassins, in the Senate House, B. C. 44. + Cicero, Marcus Tullius, the great Roman orator, was born at Arpinum, in Italy, B. C. 106. He was assassinated B. C. 43, by order of the Triumvirate, who then ruled at Rome. Cleopatra, the celebrated queen of Egypt, succeeded to the throne B. C. 48, being assisted in obtaining it by Julius Cæsar. She committed suicide B. C. 30, to avoid falling into the hands of Octavius, after the battle of Actium, B. C. 30. for what I have already done. You would not it should have been less. 2. But why pause here? Is so much ambition praiseworthy, and more criminal? Is it fixed in nature that the limits of this Empire should be Egypt on the one hand, the Hellespont and the Euxine on the other? Were not Suez and Armenia more natural limits? Or hath empire no natural limit, but is broad as the genius that can devise, and the power that can win? Rome has the West. Let Palmyra possess the East. Not that nature prescribes this and no more. The gods prospering, I mean that the Mediterranean shall not hem me in upon the west, or Persia on the east. Longinus is right, I would that the world were mine. feel, within, the will and the power to bless it, were it so. I 3. Are not my people happy? I look upon the past and the present, upon my nearer and remoter subjects, and ask, nor fear the answer, Whom have I wronged? What province have I oppressed, what city pillaged, what region drained with taxes? Whose life have I unjustly taken, or whose estates have I coveted or robbed? Whose honor have I wantonly assailed? Whose rights, though of the weakest and poorest, have I violated? I dwell, where I would ever dwell, in the hearts of my people. It is written in your faces, that I reign not more over you than within you. The foundation of my throne is not more power than love. 4. Suppose, now, my ambition should add another province to our realm. Would that be an evil? The kingdoms already bound to us by the joint acts of ourself and the late royal *Palmyra, anciently called Tadmor (meaning "City of Palms"), was founded by Solomon, in one of the oases of the Syrian Desert. It was situated about 140 miles east of Damascus, and, being on the route to Persia and India, became the resting-place of the caravans. Under Zenobia, it became a great and splendid city, and was enriched with the various treasures of the East. It was destroyed by the Saracens, A. D. 744. Its ruins still mark the spot where this renowned city stood. Odenatus,* we found discordant and at war. They are now united and at peace. One harmonious whole has grown out of hostile and sundered parts. At my hands they receive a common justice and equal benefits. The channels of their commerce have I opened, and dug them deep and sure. Prosperity and plenty are in all their borders. The streets of our capital bear testimony to the distant and various industry which here seeks its market. 5. This is no vain boasting; receive it not so, good friends. It is but the truth. He who traduces himself sins in the same way as he who traduces another. He who is unjust to himself, or less than just, breaks a law, as well as he who hurts. his neighbor. I tell you what I am, and what I have done, that your trust for the future may not rest upon ignorant grounds. If I am more than just to myself, rebuke me. If I have overstepped the modesty that became me, I am open to your censure, and I will bear it. 6. But I have spoken that you may know your queen, not only by her acts, but by her admitted principles. I tell you, then, that I am ambitious, that I crave dominion, and while I live will reign. Sprung from a line of kings, a throne is my natural seat. I love it. But I strive, too, you can bear me witness that I do, that it shall be, while I sit upon it, an honored, unpolluted seat. If I can, I will hang a yet brighter glory around it.† William Ware. * Odena'tus, Septimius, was the son of an Arabian Sheik. He allied himself with the Romans against Sa'por, King of Persia, and after the defeat of the latter, was associated with Gallie'nus, as Roman Emperor. He was married to Zenobia, who remained queen of Palmyra after his death. + Zenobia, Septimia, a princess of Arabian descent, who became queen of Palmyra after the murder of her husband, Odenatus, B. C. 267. She was noted for her beauty and literary attainments, as well as for her energy and address as a queen. Lon gi'nus, the celebrated critic, was her secretary. She was defeated by the Roman emperor Aurelian in several battles, and, having been made captive, was made to grace his triumph in Rome, 273 A. D. The remainder of her life was passed in Italy. LESSON CII. ROME AND CARTHAGE. 1. Rome and Carthage!- behold them drawing near for the struggle that is to shake the world! Carthage, the metropolis of Africa, is the mistress of oceans, of kingdoms, and of nations; a magnificent city, burdened with opulence, radiant with the strange arts and trophies of the East. She is at the acme of her civilization. She can mount no higher. Any change now must be a decline. Rome is comparatively poor. She has seized all within her grasp, but rather from the lust of conquest than to fill her own coffers. 2. She is semi-barbarous, and has her education and her fortune both to make. All is before her,—nothing behind. For a time, these two nations exist in view of each other. The one reposes in the noontide of her splendor; the other waxes strong in the shade. But, little by little, air and space are wanting to each for her development. Rome begins to perplex Carthage, and Carthage is an eye-sore to Rome. Seated on opposite banks of the Mediterranean, the two cities look each other in the face. The sea no longer keeps them apart. Europe and Africa weigh upon each other. Like two clouds surcharged with electricity they impend. With their contact must come the thunder-shock. 3. The final event of this stupendous drama is at hand. What actors are met! Two races,- that of merchants and mariners, that of laborers and soldiers; two nations, the one dominant by gold, the other by steel; two republics, the one theocratic, the other aristocratic, - Rome and Carthage! Rome with her army, Carthage with her fleet, -Carthage, old, rich, and crafty, -Rome, young, poor, and robust. The past and the future; the spirit of discovery and the spirit of conquest; the genius of commerce, the demon of war; the East and the South on one side, the West and the North on the other; in short, two worlds, the civilization of Africa and the civilization of Europe. They measure each other from head to foot. They gather all their forces. Gradually the war kindles. The world takes fire. 4. These colossal powers are locked in deadly strife. Carthage has crossed the Alps; Rome, the seas. The two nations, personified in two men, Hannibal* and Scipio,† close with each other, wrestle, and grow infuriate. The duel is desperate. It is a struggle for life. Rome wavers. She utters that cry of anguish, — Hannibal at the gates! But she rallies, — collects all her strength for one last, appalling effort, -throws herself upon Carthage, and sweeps her from the face of the earth ‡ ! Victor Hugo. He * Hannibal was the most illustrious of the Carthaginian generals. gained a series of great victories over the Romans; but was, at last, defeated by Scipio at the famous battle of Zama, fought B. C. 202. He was afterwards compelled to take refuge in Syria, when, to avoid falling into the hands of his enemies, he committed suicide 183 B. C. + Scipio, called, from his victories over the Carthaginians, Scipio Africa'nus, was one of the most celebrated of the Roman generals. He died 183 B. C., in exile, having been unjustly accused by his ungrateful countrymen of embezzling some of the spoils of the vanquished Syrians. Three great wars were waged between the two rival republics, Rome and Carthage, called the Punic Wars. In the second of these wars, Rome was, for a time, by the daring and brilliant military genius of Hannibal, brought to the greatest extremity of peril; but she was saved by the victories of Scipio. The third Punic war was brought on by the continued jealousy of Rome toward her rival, and her determination to destroy her. Cato, one of the Roman senators, ended every one of his speeches with the words, "Carthage must be destroyed." Carthage knew her weakness, and complied with every demand of her enemy, till the people were told they must abandon their city, so that it might be destroyed. Then, with the energy of despair, they made a brave but unavailing resistance. The city was taken and set on fire, and continued to burn for seventeen days. The fortifications were razed, and the site on which it stood was cleared of every habitation. This memorable event occurred 146 B. C. |