• Shake off this indolence, perhaps, even yet, perhaps, we may promise • ourselves fome good fortune. But if you only just exert yourselves • in acclamations and applauses, and when any thing is to be done, ◄ fink again into your supineness, I do not see how all the wisdom in the • world can fave the ftate from ruin, when you deny your affiflance.*

The twelve Orations, together with Mr. Leland's introductory remarks, form a very agreeable and regular history of Philip, which is finish'd, by our author, in the following words :

• Having thus far (says he) traced the progress of Philip's at❝tempts on Greece, it may be no improper conclufion to con⚫tinue the account, down to his final triumph over the liber⚫ty of that country.

We have seen the Athenians at laft exerting themselves in ' a manner worthy of that renowned people. And Philip, < now returning from his Scythian expedition, in which he had' engaged, when foiled in his attempts on Perinthus and By◄zantium; found himself confiderably distressed and harrassed by the hoftilities of Athens. To extricate himself from these difficulties, he formed a bold and fubtile project of entering Greece: and fo laid his fcheme, as to make the Athenians themfelves the inftruments of his defigns.

By his intrigues he procured Aefchines to be fent as their deputy to the council of Amphictyons. This was in reality • of the highest consequence: for no fooner had the deputy taken his feat, but a queftion was moved, whether the Locrians of Amphissa had not been guilty of facrilege, in plowing the fields of Cirrha, contiguous to the temple of Delphos? Sentiments were divided. Aefchines propofed a view; this ' was decreed: and when the Amphictyons came to take it, the • Locrians, jealous of their property, and no doubt enflamed "by those who were in the secret of the whole defign, fell on • those venerable persons, and cbliged them to confult their fafety by flight. Such an outrage was judged to demand the feverest punishment: and it was decreed that all Greece fhould join in inflicting it. But when the army came to the place of rendezvous, their appearance gave no eat rofpect of 'fuccefs.

* Our readers will eafily perceive that the paffages diftinguished by Italics, are but too applicable to the prefent times, and might with equal propriety be spoken by a PIT or a DEMOSTHENES.

• fuccefs. Acfchines then arofe, and by a long and eloquent harangue prevailed upon the Amphictyons to declare Philip general of the Grecian forces, and to invite him to execute • their decrees. As the event was expected, his army was ready. He marched into Greece; but instead of attacking the Locrians, he immediately seized Elataea, a city of Phocis, of the utmoft moment, as it awed Boeotia, and opened him. a paffage into Attica.

This ftep ftruck Greece with astonishment. Athens particularly received the news with inexpreffible confufion. The people ran difinayed to an affembly, and called on Demofthenes by name, to give his opinion in this critical juncture. His • ufual eloquence was exerted to animate their drooping courage; and by his advice ambaffadors were fent thro' Greece, and particularly to Thebes, to engage the ftates to rise at once, to oppofe the Macedonian torrent before it bore down all. Demofthenes himself headed the embafly to the Thebans. He found a powerful antagonist in Python, Philip's agent : < yet in fpight of his remonftrances, he fo fired that people; that they at once forgot all the favours Philip had conferred on them; and joined against him with the utmost cordial. zeal. The confederates met at Eleufis. The Pythian priestefs uttered the moft terrible predictions; and threatened them with the fevereft fate; but Demofthenes took care to prevent the effect of this, by treating her oracles with contempt; which he declared were dictated by Philip, and calculated to ferve his interefts.

6

This prince now faw all his arts defcated; and therefore refolved upon an engagement, as his laft refource. He therefore advanced to Cheronaea, in the neighbourhood of which city the confederates were encamped, under the command of Chares and Lyficles, two Athenian generals, by no means ' worthy of commanding fo illuftrious an army. The next day, by fun-rife, both armies were in the field. Alexander then but nineteen years old, furrounded by a number of ex•perienced officers, commanded the left wing of the Macedonians. He began the onfet; and was bravely oppofed by the Sacred Band of the Thebans. On the right Philip himself commanded; where the Athenians made their attack with

'fuch

fuch vigour as obliged his foldiers to give ground. The advantage was pursued with the most imprudent and intempe• rate heat. But while the Athenians were rushing on without any order, Philip bore down upon upon them with his pha• lanx, and obtained an easy tho' a bloody victory. At the fame time, and with a like effufion of blood, Alexander ⚫ triumphed over the Thebans.

Thus were the confederates totally overthrown, and the liberty of Greece loft for ever.'

ART. II, The Philofophical Transactions, for the Year 1755, continued.

IN

N the nineteenth, by Mr. Simpson, that ingenious mathematician, obferves, that the method practised by astronomers, in order to diminish the errors arifing from the imperfections of inftruments and of the organs of sense, by taking the mean of feveral obfervations, has not been fo generally received, but that some persons of considerable note, have been of opinion, and even publickly maintained, that one fingle observation, taken with due care, was as much to be relied on, as the mean of a great number. Mr. Simpson espouses the oppofite opinion, and from the application of mathematical principles, throws new light upon the fubject. He affumes a series of numbers to express the respective chances for the different errors to which any fingle obfervation is subject: and the refult of his calculation greatly favours the method of taking a mean value.

From the difcuffion of two propofitions, he proves, that the proportion, or odds when one fingle obfervation is relied on, is only as 2 to 1: fo that the chance, for an error exceeding two feconds, is not part fo great from the mean of fix, as from one fingle obfervation; and the chance for an error exceeding three feconds, will not be a part fo great from the mean of fix, as from one fingle obfervation. The method therefore, of taking the mean of a number of obfervations, greatly diminishes the chances for all the smaller errors, and prevents almost all poffibility of any great errors: a confider

ation that ought to recommend the method, not only to aftronomers, but, to all others concerned in making experiments of any kind. The more fuch obfervations or experiments are made, the lefs erroneous the conclufion will be, provided they can be repeated under the fame circumstances.

The twentieth article gives an account of the fungus vinofus, which adheres to cafks and walls in wine-vaults. It has been used as a styptic in lieu of the agaric, in closing the arteries after amputation; and fucceeded in several operations performed by Mr. Thornhill and Mr. James Ford, furgeon at Bristol.

The next article contains fome queries relating to Conftantinople, anfwered by James Porter, Efq; the English ambassador at the Porte. Whether there is any sure method of knowing the number of people carried off by the plague; or the number of inhabitants in that capital? Whether there is a greater number of women than men born in the east? Whether plurality of wives is favourable to the increase of mankind? What is the present ftate of inoculation in the eaft? What is become of the printing-house at Conftantinople? Whether there are any original maps of the Turkish dominions, drawn from actual furveys? What fort of learning is cultivated among the Greeks and Turks? Mr. Porter computes that in the plague 1751, those who died or fled on account of that vifitation amounted to 135000. That the number of inhabitants in Conftantinople does not exceed 513000. That the number of males born in the caft, exceeds that of the females: that Mahometans procreate lefs than the Chriftians. That inoculation is practifed, though very feldom, among the Greeks and Geargians, but never among the Turks. That a few books had been printed at Conftantinople by an Hungarian renegado, but after his death the printing materials were never used. That they had not above three or four maps, one of Perfia, one of the Bofphorus, and one of the Euxine. That there is no learning in the east though the Greek clergy have founded a fort of academy at Mount Athos, for the inftruction of their youth; but it is very imperfect and ill founded, and the director extremely illiterate.

The

The twenty-second article is composed of extracts of letters to Thomas Hollis, Efq; concerning the late discoveries at Herculaneum.

Near the royal palace at Portici, has been discovered a • large garden, with a palace belonging to it. In one room of ⚫ this palace was found a mofaic pavement (which I have seen) 'made up of different coloured ftones. It represents a city furrounded with walls, having four towers, one at each <corner; and has fince been taken up, to be placed with • other beautiful antique pavements in the faid gallery.

• For fome time past they have been digging at Santa Maria • di Capua, by the king's order. There they have met with • feveral very fine ftatues of Greek workmanship; and among them a Venus, which is entire, and matchlefs; and all of them have been carried to the king's new palace at Caferta.

66

“Extract of a letter from Camillo Paderni, dated at Naples, "January 1755

October

Ctober 22, 1755, was found a buft in bronze, larger than the life, and of excellent Greek workmanship; which "from fome circumftances may be thought to be a Syrian "king. It has eyes of white marble, like many other bufts, " which have been met with.

" November 27, we discovered the figure of an old fawn, or "rather a Silenus, reprefented as fitting upon a bank; with a ty66 ger lying on his left fide, upon which his hand refted. Both "these figures ferved to adorn a fountain, and from the mouth "of the tyger had flowed water. This Silenus was of bronze, " and of good workmanship. The head was crowned with ivy, the body all over hairy, and the thighs covered with ❝ a drapery.

November 29, three
Two of these were

"From the fame spot were taken out, little boys of bronze, of a good manner. "young fawns, having the horns and ears of a goat. They "have likewife filver eyes, and each of them the goat-skin on "his shoulder, wherein they antiently put wine, and through "which here the water iffued. The third boy is also of "bronze, has filver eyes, is of the fame fize with the two for“mer, and in a standing posture like them, but is not a << fawn.