[Footnote 64: Prior, in his Carmen Seculare, says of William III.,

How o'er himself as o'er the world he reigns.]

[Footnote 65: A concise and masterly stroke, which at once sets before
us the mixture of character, which appears in that extraordinary man,
Julius Caesar.--BOWLES.]

[Footnote 66: "In other illustrious men you will observe that each
possessed some one shining quality, which was the foundation of his
fame: in Epaminondas all the virtues are found united; force of body,
eloquence of expression, vigour of mind, contempt of riches, gentleness
of disposition, and, what is chiefly to be regarded, courage and conduct
in war."--Diodorus Siculus, lib. xv.--WARTON.]

[Footnote 67: Timoleon had saved the life of his brother Timophanes in
the battle between the Argives and Corinthians; but afterwards killed
him when he affected the tyranny, preferring his duty to his country to
all the obligations of blood.--POPE.

Pope followed the narrative of Diodorus. Plutarch says that Timoleon did
not strike the blow, but stood by weeping, and giving his passive
countenance to the assassins. Some of the Corinthians applauded, and
some execrated his conduct. He was soon overtaken with remorse, and
shunning the haunts of men he passed years in anguish of mind.]

[Footnote 68: This triplet was not in the first edition.]

[Footnote 69: In the first edition,

Here too the wise and good their honours claim,
Much-suff'ring heroes of less noisy fame.

Pope did not perceive that in the attempt to improve the poetry he had
introduced an inconsistency. He winds up the preceding group of patriots
with the "wise Aurelius," whom he celebrates as an example of "unbounded
virtue," and the "much-suffering heroes" could not be instances of "less
guilty fame" than a man whose virtue was unbounded. The classification
was probably suggested by Addison's Vision in the Tatler of the Three
Roads of Life, and having his original in his mind when he composed his
poem, Pope avoided the inconsistency which he subsequently imported into
the passage. "The persons," says Addison, "who travelled up this great
path, were such whose thoughts were bent upon doing eminent services to
mankind, or promoting the good of their country. On each side of this
great road were several paths. These were most of them covered walks,
and received into them men of retired virtue, who proposed to themselves
the same end of their journey, though they chos