SECT. II. HIERO's pacifick reign. He particularly favours agriculture. He applies the abilities of ARCHIMEDES his relation to the fervice of the publick, and caufes him to make an infinite number of machines for the defence of a befieged place. He dies very old, and much regretted by the people.

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HEN Hiero attained the fovereign authority, his great application was to convince his fubjects, lefs by his words than his actions, that he was infinitely remote from intending any thing to the prejudice of their fortunes or li berty. He was not intent upon being feared, but upon being loved. He looked upon himself lefs as their mafter, than as their protector and father. Before his reign the state had been divided by two factions, that of the citizens, and that of the foldiers; whofe differences, fupported on both fides with great animofity, had occafioned infinite misfortunes. He used his utmost endeavours to extinguish all remains of this divifion, and to eradicate from their minds all feeds of discord and mifunderstanding. He feems to have fucceeded wonderfully in that refpect, as during a reign of more than fifty years, no fedition or revolt difturbed the tranquillity of Syracufe.

What contributed moft, without doubt, to this happy calm, was the particular care taken by Hiero to keep his fubjećts employed; to banish luxury and idleness, the parents of all vices, the fource of all feditions, from his dominions; to fupport and improve the natural fertility of his country; and to place agriculture in honour, which he looked upon as the certain means to render his people happy, and to diffufe abundance throughout his kingdom. The cultivation of lands indeed, befides employing an infinity of hands, which would otherwise remain idle and unprofitable, draws into a country, by the exportation of grain, the riches of the neighbouring nations, and turns their current into the houses of the people, by a commerce renewing every year the deserved fruit of their labour and industry. This is, and we cannot repeat it too often, what ought to be the peculiar attention of a wife government, as one of the most effential parts of wife and falutary policy, though unhappily too much neglected.

Hiero applied himself entirely to this end. He did not think it unworthy of the fovereignty to ftudy and be skilful in all the rules of agriculture. (i) He even gave himself the trouble to compofe books upon that fubject, of which we ought much to regret the lofs. But he confidered that object of his enquiries in a manner ftill more worthy of a king. The principal riches of the state, and the most certain fund of B 4

(i) Polyb. 1. xviii. c. 3.

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the prince's revenue confifted in corn. He therefore believed it of the higheft confequence, and what demanded his utmost care and application, to eftablish good order in that traffick, to render the condition of the hufbandman, of whom the greatest part of the people were compofed, fafe and happy; to afcertain the prince's dues, whofe principal revenue arofe from them; to obviate fuch diforders as might get ground, to the prejudice of his inftitutions; and to prevent the unjult vexations, which endeavours might poffibly be ufed to obtrude in the fequel. To anfwer all thefe purposes, Hiero made regulations fo wife, reafonable, equitable, and at the fame time conformable to the people's and prince's interefts, that they became in a manner the fundamental laws of the country, and were always obferved as facred and inviolable, not only in his reign, but in all fucceeding times. When the Romans had fubjeéted the city and dominions of Syracufe, they impofed no new tributes, and decreed, that all things fhould be difpofed according to the laws of Hiero; in order that the Syracufans, in changing their masters, might have the confolation not to change their laws; and fee themfelves in fome measure ftill governed by a prince, whose name alone was always dear to them, and rendered thofe laws exceedingly venerable.

I have obferved, that in Sicily the prince's principal revenue confifted in corn; the tenth being paid him." It was therefore his interest that the country fhould be well cultivated, that estimates fhould be made of the value of the lands, and that they thould produce abundantly, as his revenue augmented in proportion to their fertility. The colleétors of this tenth for the prince, which was paid in kind and not in money, were called Decumani, that is to fay, farmers of the tenthi. Hiero, in the regulations he made upon this head, did not neglect his own interefts, which argues him a wife prince, and good acconomist. He knew very well there was reafon to apprehend that the country-people, who confider the most legal and moderate impofts as intolerable burdens, might be tempted to defraud the prince of his dues. To fpare them this temptation, he took fuch † juft and exact precautions,

* Decumas lege Hieronica fem- + Hieronica lex omnibus cufloper vendendas cenfuerunt, ut iis diis fubjeétum aratorem decumano jucundior effet muneris illius fune-tradit, ut neque in fegetibus, neque tio, fi ejus regis, qui Siculis carif-in areis, neque in horreis, neque in fimus fuit, non folum inflituta, com- amovendo, neque in afportando frumutato imperio, verum etiam no-mento, grano uno poffet arator, fine Inen remaneret, Cic. Orat, in Ver. maxima pena, fraudare decurasum. de frum, n. 15. Cic. Orat, in Ver. de frum. n. 20.

9 precautions, that whether the corn were in the ear, on the floor to be threshed, laid up in barns, or laden for carriage, it was not poffible for the hufbandman to fecrete any part of it, or to defraud the collector of a fingle grain, without expofing himself to a fevere penalty. But he adds also, that Hiero had taken the fame precautions against the avidity of the collectors, to whom it was equally impoffible to extort any thing from the husbandmen beyond the tenth. Hiero seems to have been very much against the husbandman's quitting his home upon any pretext whatfoever, Ci cero fays accordingly, inveighing against Verres, who gave them great trouble, by frequent and painful journies; it is very hard and afflicting to the poor hufbandmen, to be brought from their country to the city, from their plough to the bar, and the care of tilling their lands to that of profecuting lawfuits. (k) Miferum atque iniquum ex agro homines traduci in forum, ab aratro ad fubfellia, ab ufu rerum rufticarum ad infolitam litem atque judicium. And befides, can they flatter themselves, let their caufe be ever fo juft, that they shall carry it to the prejudice of the collectors? Judicio ut arator decumanum profequatur !

Can there be any thing more to a king's praise than what we have now faid? Hiero might undertake wars, for he did not want valour, gain battles, make conquefts, and extend the bounds of his dominions, and upon thefe accounts might pafs for a hero, in the fense of the generality of men. But with how many taxes must he have charged his people! How many husbandmen must he have torn from their lands! How much blood would the gaining those victories have coft him! And of what emolument would they have been to the ftate! Hiero, who knew wherein true glory confifts, placed his in governing his people with wifdom, and in making them happy. Inftead of conquering new countries by the force of arms, he endeavoured to multiply his own in a manner by the cultivation of lands, by rendering them more fertile than they were, and in actually multiplying his people, wherein the true force and riches of a ftate confifts; and which can never fail to happen, when the people of a country reap a feafonable advantage from their labour.

(1) It was in the fecond Punick war, that Hiero gave dif tinguifhed proofs of his attachment to the Romans. As foon as he received advice of Hannibal's arrival in Italy, he went B 5

(k) Cic. Orat. in Ver. de frum. r. 14.

(1) A. M. 3786. Ant. J. C, 218, Liv. 1, xxi,n, 50% 55*

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with his fleet well equipped to meet Tiberius Sempronius, who was arrived at Meflina, to offer that conful his fervices, and to affure him, that advanced in age as he was, he would fhew the fame zeal for the Roman people, as he had formerly done in his youth, in the first war against the Carthaginians. He took upon him to fupply the conful's legions, and the troops of the allies, with corn and clothes at his own expence. Upon the news received the fame inftant, of the advantage gained by the Roman over the Carthaginian fleet, the conful thanked the king for his advantageous offers, and made no ufe of them at that time.

(m) Hiero's inviolable fidelity for the Romans, which is very remarkable in his character, appears ftill more confpicuoufly after their defeat near the lake of Thrafymene. They had already loft three battles against Hannibal, each more unfortunate and more bloody than the other. Hiero, in that mournful conjun&ture, fent a fleet laden with provifions to the port of Oftio. The Syracufan ambaffadors, upon their being introduced to the fenate, told them, "That Hiero, their "master, had been as fenfibly afflicted on their last difgrace, "as if he had fuffered it in his own perfon: That though he "well knew, that the grandeur of the Roman people was "almoft more admirable in times of adverfity, than after the

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moft fignal fucceffes; he had fent them all the aid that "could be expected from a good and faithful ally, and earneftly defired the fenate would not refufe to accept it. "That they had particularly brought a Victory of gold, that weighed 300 pounds, which the king hoped they would "vouchfafe to receive as a favourable augury, and a pledge of "the vows which he made for their profperity. That they had "alfo 300,000 bushels of wheat, and 200,000 of barley; and that if the Roman people defired a greater quantity, Hiero "would cause as much as they pleafed to be tranfported to whatever places they fhould appoint. That he knew the "Roman people.çmployed none in their armies but citizens "and allies; but that he had feen light-armed strangers in their camp That he had therefore fent them archers and fingers, who might be oppofed fuccefsfully to the Baleares and Moors of Hannibal's army." They added to this aid a very falutary piece of counfel, which was, that the prætor, who fhould be fent to command in Sicily, might difpatch a fleet to Africa, in order to find the Carthaginians fuch employment in their own country, as might

(m) Ibid. 1. xxii, n. 37, 38,

1000

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put it out of their power by that diverfion to fend any fuccours to Hannibal.

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The fenate anfwered the king's ambaffadors in very obliging and honourable terms, That Hiero acted like a very generous prince, and a most faithful ally: That from the "time he had contracted an alliance with the Romans, his "attachment for them had been conftant and unalterable; “in fine, that in all times and places he had powerfully and "magnificently fupported them: That the people had a "due fenfe of fuch generofity; That fome cities of Italy had "already presented the Roman people with gold, who, after having expreffed their gratitude, had not thought fit to accept it: That the Victory was too favourable an augury not to be received: That they would place her in the Capitol, that is to fay, in the temple of the most high Jupiter, "in order that the might eftablish there her fixed and lafting " abode." All the corn and barley on board the ships, with the archers and flingers, were fent to the confuls.

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Valerius Maximus obferves here, upon the noble and prudent liberality of Hiero; first in the generous defign he forms, of prefenting the Romans 320 pounds weight of gold; then in the induftrious precaution he ufes, to prevent their refusal to accept it. He does not offer them that gold in fpecie; he knew the exceeding delicacy of the Roman people too well for that; but under the form of a Victory, which they dared not refufe, upon account of the good omen it seemed to bring along with it.

It is extraordinary to fee a prince, whofe dominions were fituate as Syracufe was in regard to Carthage, from which it had every thing to fear, at a time when Rome feemed near her ruin, continue unalterably faithful, and declare openly for her interests, notwithstanding all the dangers to which fo daring a conduct expofed him. A more prudent politician, to fpeak the ufual language, would perhaps have waited the event of a new action, and not have been so hafty to declare himself without neceffity, and at his extreme peril. Such examples are the more estimable for being rare and almost unparalleled.

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I da

Trecenta millia modiûm tri- | habitum id Victoria formavit, ut tici, & ducenta millia hordei, au- eos religione motos, munificentia rique ducenta & quadraginta pondo fuâ uti cogeret: voluntate mittenurbi noftræ muneri mifit. Neque di priùs, ite um providentia cavendẦ ignarus verecundiæ majorum nof- ne remitteretur, liberalis. Val. Max. trorum, quòd nollet accipere, in | 1, iv, c. 8,