dependent plebeians. The rear is closed by the favorite band of eunuchs,
distributed from age to youth, according to the order of seniority.
Their numbers and their deformity excite the horror of the indignant
spectators, who are ready to execrate the memory of Semiramis, for the
cruel art which she invented, of frustrating the purposes of nature, and
of blasting in the bud the hopes of future generations. In the exercise
of domestic jurisdiction, the nobles of Rome express an exquisite
sensibility for any personal injury, and a contemptuous indifference for
the rest of the human species. When they have called for warm water, if
a slave has been tardy in his obedience, he is instantly chastised with
three hundred lashes: but should the same slave commit a wilful murder,
the master will mildly observe, that he is a worthless fellow; but that,
if he repeats the offence, he shall not escape punishment. Hospitality
was formerly the virtue of the Romans; and every stranger, who could
plead either merit or misfortune, was relieved, or rewarded by their
generosity. At present, if a foreigner, perhaps of no contemptible rank,
is introduced to one of the proud and wealthy senators, he is welcomed
indeed in the first audience, with such warm professions, and such
kind inquiries, that he retires, enchanted with the affability of his
illustrious friend, and full of regret that he had so long delayed
his journey to Rome, the active seat of manners, as well as of empire.
Secure of a favorable reception, he repeats his visit the ensuing day,
and is mortified by the discovery, that his person, his name, and his
country, are already forgotten. If he still has resolution to persevere,
he is gradually numbered in the train of dependants, and obtains the
permission to pay his assiduous and unprofitable court to a haughty
patron, incapable of gratitude or friendship; who scarcely deigns to
remark his presence, his departure, or his return. Whenever the rich
prepare a solemn and popular entertainment; whenever they celebrate,
with profuse and pernicious luxury, their private banquets; the choice
of the guests is the subject of anxious deliberation. The modest, the
sober, and the learned, are seldom preferred; and the nomenclators, who
are commonly swayed by interested motives, have the address to insert,
in the list of invitations, the obscure names of the most worthless
of mankind. But the frequent and familiar companions of the great, are
t