hich 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; [44] 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 those parasites, who practise the most useful of all
arts, the art of flattery; who eagerly applaud each word, and every
action, of their immortal patron; gaze with rapture on his marble
columns and variegated pavements; and strenuously praise the pomp and
elegance which he is taught to