History of Famous Orators | Page 3

to me,
when we lately happened to mention them in the course of
conversation.
For, not long ago, when I was walking for my amusement, in a private
avenue at home, I was agreeably interrupted by my friend Brutus, and
T. Pomponius, who came, as indeed they frequently did, to visit
me;--two worthy citizens who were united to each other in the closest
friendship, and were so dear and so agreeable to me, that, on the first
sight of them, all my anxiety for the Commonwealth subsided. After
the usual salutations,--"Well, gentlemen," said I, "how go the times?
What news have you brought?" "None," replied Brutus, "that you
would wish to hear, or that I can venture to tell you for truth."--"No,"
said Atticus; "we are come with an intention that all matters of state
should be dropped; and rather to hear something from you, than to say
any thing which might serve to distress you." "Indeed," said I, "your
company is a present remedy for my sorrow; and your letters, when
absent, were so encouraging, that they first revived my attention to my
studies."--"I remember," replied Atticus, "that Brutus sent you a letter
from Asia, which I read with infinite pleasure: for he advised you in it
like a man of sense, and gave you every consolation which the warmest
friendship could suggest."-- "True," said I, "for it was the receipt of that
letter which recovered me from a growing indisposition, to behold once
more the cheerful face of day; and as the Roman State, after the
dreadful defeat near Cannae, first raised its drooping head by the
victory of Marcellus at Nola, which was succeeded by many other
victories; so, after the dismal wreck of our affairs, both public and
private, nothing occurred to me before the letter of my friend Brutus,
which I thought to be worth my attention, or which contributed, in any
degree, to the anxiety of my heart."--"That was certainly my intention,"

answered Brutus; "and if I had the happiness to succeed, I was
sufficiently rewarded for my trouble. But I could wish to be informed,
what you received from Atticus which gave you such uncommon
pleasure."--"That," said I, "which not only entertained me; but, I hope,
has restored me entirely to myself."--"Indeed!" replied he; "and what
miraculous composition could that be?"--"Nothing," answered I; "could
have been a more acceptable, or a more seasonable present, than that
excellent Treatise of his which roused me from a state of languor and
despondency." --"You mean," said he, "his short, and, I think, very
accurate abridgment of Universal History."--"The very same," said I;
"for that little Treatise has absolutely saved me."--"I am heartily glad of
it," said Atticus; "but what could you discover in it which was either
new to you, or so wonderfully beneficial as you pretend?"--"It certainly
furnished many hints," said I, "which were entirely new to me: and the
exact order of time which you observed through the whole, gave me the
opportunity I had long wished for, of beholding the history of all
nations in one regular and comprehensive view. The attentive perusal
of it proved an excellent remedy for my sorrows, and led me to think of
attempting something on your own plan, partly to amuse myself, and
partly to return your favour, by a grateful, though not an equal
acknowledgment. We are commanded, it is true, in that precept of
Hesiod, so much admired by the learned, to return with the same
measure we have received; or, if possible, with a larger. As to a
friendly inclination, I shall certainly return you a full proportion of it;
but as to a recompence in kind, I confess it to be out of my power, and
therefore hope you will excuse me: for I have no first-fruits (like a
prosperous husbandman) to acknowledge the obligation I have received;
my whole harvest having sickened and died, for want of the usual
manure: and as little am I able to present you with any thing from those
hidden stores which are now consigned to perpetual darkness, and to
which I am denied all access; though, formerly, I was almost the only
person who was able to command them at pleasure. I must therefore,
try my skill in a long- neglected and uncultivated soil; which I will
endeavour to improve with so much care, that I may be able to repay
your liberality with interest; provided my genius should be so happy as
to resemble a fertile field, which, after being suffered to lie fallow a
considerable time, produces a heavier crop than usual."--"Very well,"

replied Atticus, "I shall expect the fulfilment of your promise; but I
shall not insist upon it till it suits your convenience; though, after all, I
shall certainly be better pleased if you