Anacharsis

, a famous philosopher, was born in Scythia. He was brother to Cadovides king of Scythia, and the son of Gnurus by a Greek woman, which gave him the opportunity of learning both languages to perfection. Sosicrates, according to Laertius, affirmed, that he came to Athens in the forty-seventh olympiad, or 592 B.C. under Eucrates the Archon, And Hermippus tells us, that as soon as he arrived there, he went to Solon’s house, and knocked at his door, and bid the servant, who opened it, go and tell his master, that Anacharsis was there, and was come on purpose to see him, and continue with him for $ome time. Solon returned him an answer, that it was better to contract friendship at home. Anacharsis went in upon this, and said to Solon, that since he was then in his | own country and in his own house, it was his duty to entertain him as his guest, and therefore he desired him to enter into an intimate friendship with hi;n. Solon, surprized at the vivacity of his repartee, immediately engaged in a friendship with him, which lasted as long as they lived. Solon instructed him in the best discipline, recommended him to the favour of the noblest per ons, and sought all means of giving him respect and honour. Anacharsis was kindly received by every one for his sake, and, as Theoxenus attests, was the only stranger whom they incorporated into their city. He was a man of a very quick and lively genius, and of a strong and masterly eloquence, and was resolute in whatever he undertook. He constantly wore a coarse double garment. He was very temperate, and his diet was nothing but milk and cheese. His speeches were delivered in a concise and pathetic style, and as he was inflexible in the pursuit of his point, he never failed to gain it, and his resolute and eloquent manner of speaking passed into a proverb; and those who imitated him were said to speak in the Scythian phrase. He was extremely fond of poetry, and wrote the laws of the Scythians, and of those things-which he had observed among the Greeks, and a poem of 900 verses upon war. Crœsus, having heard of his reputation, sent to offer him money, and to desire him to come to see him at Sardis; but the philosopher answered, that he was come to Greece in order to learn the language, manners, and laws of that country, that he had no occasion for gold or silver, and that it would be sufficient for him to return to Scythia a better man and more intelligent than when he came from thence. He told the king, however, that he would take an opportunity of seeing him, since he had a strong desire of being ranked in the number of his friends. After he had continued a long while in Greece, he prepared to return home, and passing through Cyricum, he found the people of that city celebrating in a very solemn manner the feast of Cybele. This excited him to make a vow to that goddess, that he would perform the same sacrifices, and establish the same feast in honour of her in his own country, if he should return thither in safety. Upon his arrival in Scythia he attempted to change the ancient customs of that country, and to establish those of Greece, but this proved extremely displeasing to the Scythians, and fatal to himself. As he had one day entered into a thick wood called Hylaea, in | order to accomplish his vow to Cybele in the most secret manner possible, and was performing the whole ceremony before an image of that goddess, he was discovered by a Scytman, who went and informed king Saulius of it. The king came immediately, and surprised Anaenarsis in the midst of the solemnity, and shot him dead with an arrow. Laertius tells us, that he was killed by his brother with an arrow as he was hunting, and that he expired with these words: “I lived in peace and safety in Greece, whither I went to inform myself of its language and manners, and envy has destroyed me in my native country.” Great respect, however, was paid to him after his death by the erection of statues. He is said to have invented the potter’s wheel, but this is mentioned by Homer long before he lived, yet he probably introduced it into his country.

The apophthegms related of Anacharsis are numerous, and in general shrewd and apposite, but some are of a strong satirical cast. He used to say, that the vine produced three sorts of grapes, the first of pleasure, the second of drunkenness, and the third of repentance. He expressed his surprize, that in all the public assemblies at Athens, wise men should propose business, and fools determine it. He could not comprehend the reason why those were punished, who abused others with their tongue, and yet great rewards were given to the wrestlers, who treated one another with the utmost fury and barbarity. He was no less astonished that the Greeks at the beginning of their banquets should make use of glasses, which were of a moderate size, and yet should call for very large ones at the close of the feast, when they had drunk sufficiently. He could by no means approve of the liberties which every person thought were allowable in banquets. Being asked one day what method was to be taken in order to prevent one from ever drinking wine, he replied, There is no better means than to view a drunken man with all his extravagance of behaviour. As he was one day considering the thickness of the planks of a ship, he cried out, Alas! those who go to sea, are but four inches distant from death. Being asked what was the most secure ship, he replied, That which is arrived in the port. He very often repeated it, that every man should take a particular care to make himself master of his tongue and his belly. He had always when he slept his right hand upon his mouth, to shew that there is nothing which we ought to be so cautious of as the | tongue. An Athenian reproaching him one day with being 9. beytiuun, he replied, My country is a disgrace to me; but you are a disgrace to your country. Being asked what was the best and what the worst part of a man, he answered, The tongue. It is much better, said he, to have but one friend, if he be but faithful to us, than a great number, who are always ready to follow the change of fortune. When he was asked, whether there were more persons living than dead, he answered, In which number do ye rank those who are at sea? He used to say, that the forum was a place which men had established in order to impose upon each other. It remains to be noticed, that the letters published under his name, Paris, 1552, Greek and Latin, 4to, are unquestionably spurious. ¹