The historie of the world. In five bookes. Intreating of the beginning and first ages of the same, from the creation unto Abraham. 2 Of the times from the birth of Abraham to the destruction of the Temple of Salomon. 3 From the destruction of Jerusalem, to the time of Philip of Macedon. 4 From the Raigne of Philip of Macedon, to the establishing of that Kingdome in the Race of Antigonus. 5 From the settled rule of Alexanders Sucessors in the East, untill the Romans (prevailing over all) made conquest of Asia and Macedon / By Sir Walter Ralegh, Knight.

  • Raleigh, Walter, Sir, 1552?-1618.
Date:
[1652]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The historie of the world. In five bookes. Intreating of the beginning and first ages of the same, from the creation unto Abraham. 2 Of the times from the birth of Abraham to the destruction of the Temple of Salomon. 3 From the destruction of Jerusalem, to the time of Philip of Macedon. 4 From the Raigne of Philip of Macedon, to the establishing of that Kingdome in the Race of Antigonus. 5 From the settled rule of Alexanders Sucessors in the East, untill the Romans (prevailing over all) made conquest of Asia and Macedon / By Sir Walter Ralegh, Knight. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    1171/1394 (page 501)
    obnoxious unto humane power; and hnce they are the lame affections, by which the wils of fundry men are over-ruled, in managing the affairs of our daily life. It may be obferved in the change of Empiies, before thofe times whereof we now write, how the Adrians or Chaldeans invaded the kmgdome ofthc Medes, with two hundred thou¬ sand Foot, and threcfcore thou land Horfe .• but failing in their intended conqueft, they became fobjeft within a while themfelves unto the Medes and Perfians. In like manner Darius, and after him Xerxes- fell upon the Greeks with fuch number of men, as might have feemed refiftlcfle. But after that the P rfians we e beaten home again, their Em* pile was never fecure of the Greeks: who at all times of leifure from inteftine War re, 10 devifed upon that conqucft thereof,which finally they made under the great Alexander. If Nabuchedomfor with his rough old Souldiers, had unde taken the Medes: or Cyrus ^ with his wel-trained Army, had made attempt upon Greece • the iiliie might, in hu mane reafon, have been farre different. Yet would it then have been expedient for them to employ the travell and vertue of their men, rather than the greatneffe of their names a°ainft thole people 5 that were no leffe valiant,though leffe renowned,than their own. For the menacing words ufed by Cyrw, and fome fmall difpleafurcs done to the Greeks ( in which kinde it may be, that Nabuchodomfor likewile offended the Medes and Per funs) were not fo available to victory , as to draw on revenge in the future. Great Kingdomesawhen they decay in {l ength, differ as did the old Lion , for the op- 20 preffion done in his youth * being pinched by the Wolfe, gored by the Bull, yea and kickt by the Affe. But Princes are oltencarried away from reafon, by mii-underftan- dina the language of Fame: and defpifing the vertue that makes little noife, adventure to provoke it againft themfelves -, as if it were not poffiblethat their own glory Ihould be foiled by any of leffe-noied excellence. Againft the lame ftone, whereat Xerxes, and before him fas I take it) Evilmerodach,had '(tumbled, Pyrrhus the Epirot hath dalht his foot. He was not indeed the King of all Greece • though mod of mark, and abetter Souldier than any other Greehjh King, when he entred into war againft the Rowans. This war he undertook as it were for his minds lake: having received no injury but hoping by the ffory of his name, and ofthe Greeks that ferved under him, to prevail 30 foeafily againft the barbarous Romans, that they Ihould only ferve as aiftep to his further intended conquefts,ofS/V/7 and Africk. But when the Romans by their viftory againft Pyrrhus, had found their own vertue to be of richer metall, than was the more fhininCT valour of the Greeks: then did all the bravery of the Epirot (his Elephants and whatloever elfe had ferved to make him terrible) ferve only to make the Romans,in time following, to think more highly of themfelves. * For fince they had overcome the belt * xhc Klng 0* Wa rriour in Greece, even Him, that, being thus beaten by them could in a year after make himfelf Lord of-Greece and Macedon: what fliould hinder them from the con- Naviejbeing aueft of all thofe unwarlike Provinces, which incompaffeof 12. years a Macedonian b^cnomoi King of late memory had won i Certainly there was hereunto requ.fire no more,than ^ 40 to bang to their own devotion by fome good means, the whole Country of Greece: a 1 thofe 0f the reflet his done,would follow if it felt. How to deal with the Greeks^ <indr had lbewed away:which,or perhaps a be ter* they might leain,by getting mo - - the grWn 1 • 1 1 \i,r:An Fleet that ever ^Whendaei-efore the firftPunick war was ended, which followed foon after the wars of Pyrrhus and of the Tarenmes: then were the Romans at good let lure to hearken ther, we never after newes in Greece •, and to entertain any good occafion, that ihould be on that • prefented/T hey had alfo then a ftrong Fleet: and were become though not othei wife preparations 1 very skilfull Mariners, yet good fighters at Sea So it fell our as happily as coddMae filed that the Illyrian Queen Teuta made at the fame time cruell ^ war upon the Greeks . wafting their Countrey, and hacking their Towns, only becauie they were unabL to 5 refill though they had done her none ofence.Into this quarrell if the Romans were deft- rous to enter ♦ the Queen was not flow to give them caule. And their happy accompli- I*.**.*.* fhirw of that war which they made With Her, was, in their own opinion, a matter not unworthy to make their Patronage to bedefired by the Greeks. But no fuch thing hanoened:though they fentEmbaffadours, asitwere tooftcr themfelves-, byfigmfy- ingfthat for love of Greece they had undertaken this flyrian vvar- Tbus be8a tbcJ firft acquaintance betwixt the Greeks and Romans: which afterwards enciealed ve¬ ry haftlly, through the indiferetion of KingPhd^sht Wetdonm