be could neither give , nor take away. Near the odd Companion o f Antifte-
nes , the Immortal Archimedes bending towards the earth , feeks in
the figures which be has traced , the Quadrature o f the Parabola , or
the Relations o f the fuperficies o f a fpbere , with that o f a Cylinder
, in which it was to be infcribed . Abforhed in the depth o f his Meditations
, he neither fees , hears , or gives any attention to what is paf-
fing arrouhd him . Such he appear’d within the Walls o f Captive Sy-
racufe , when the Roman Soldier enraged at his indifference for life ,
robb’d Marcellus o f the pleafure o f fiv in g that o f so great a Man . By
the contentednefs, which shone upon his face , by a fort o f voluptuous
and affable air , which fpread over his whole Countenance , by bis bead
crown’d with leaves , as i f juft come from a fea ft , I knew the Mafter
o f the celebrated Leontium, the delicate Epicurus : be was furrounded by
his friends , among whom Metrodorus held the firfi place : you would
fay , that he had deduced the laws o f his Pbilofophy, from his happy
temper ; at this infant .be was occupied , with the care o f explaining
the formation o f this Univerfe , by the concourfe o f Atoms , which he beli-
vcd to be fcatterd in the Fold : Lucretius his difciple , who looks upon
him, as a God wbofe intelligence extends itfelf beyond the limits o f the
World, refolved to follow bis jleps , adds to his reafoning , the beauties o f
the mojl fublime Poetry .
But , what pleafure did I feel in meeting Socrates , whom ,
Apollo himfelf declared the wifeft o f Mortals ! He was engaged in
difcourfmg with Alcibiades ; I had no dijfculty in dijlinguishing him
by his Countenance , which refemblcd that o f Silenus , by the colour
o f his complexion very like what is generally given to Satyr’s ; insbort
, by' the irony perceptible in his difcourfes . He was without a
Cloak , and his garment , almojl without a fold , feem’d to coincide
with the ftmplicity o f his CbaraBer ; with his thumb and fore finger
of the right hand, he held the middle finger o f the le ft; as i f he meant
to fix that point o f the quejlion , to which he was arrived . The
two next fingers clofe together , marked evidently the propofitions , to
which he had gained the affent o f his illuftrious hearer ; he was looking
jleadfaftly at him , as one endeavouring to find out another’s thoughts , what
effeB
leurs RichelTes; on reconnoilToit en lu i , le feul homme à q u i , tout
puiffant qu’il é to it , A lexandre se p la ignoit de ne p o u v o ir ni rien donn
e r , ni rien en le v e r . Près du bizarre Compagnon d’Antiftenes , l ’immortel
Archim ede courbé vers la te r re , cherche dans les figures qu’il
v ien t de tracer , la Quadrature de la Parabole , ou les rapports de
la fuperficie d’ une Sphere , avec celle d’un C y lin d re , dans le quel
elle feroit infcrite . A b fo rb é dans la profondeur de sa m éd ita tio n ,
il ne v o it , n’écoute , ne fait attention à rien de ce qui se palfe
autour de lu i: tel il fû t dans les murs di Syracufe C a p t iv e , quand
ir r ité de fon indifférence pour la v ie , le foldat Romain p r iv a M a r cellus
, du plaifir de la conferver à un fi grand h om m e . A u contentement
qui b r illoit fur fon v iia g e , à je ne fais quel air de v o lupté,
, & d’affabilité répandu fur toute sa phyfionomie , à sa tête
couronnée de v erdure comme au fo r tir d’un feilin , je reconnus le
maître de la célébré L é o n tium , le délicat Epicure ; il é toit environné
de fes amis , parmi lesquels M étrodo re tenoit le premier rang ; vous
dir ie z qu’il a pris dans fon heureux tempérament les lo ix de sa Ph ilofophie
: En ce moment , il chercho it à expliquer la formation de
ce V a fte U niv e rs , par le concours fo r tu it des A tom e s , qu’il c ro yo it
répandus dans le V u id e . Lucrèce fon d ifc ip le , qui le regarde comme
un D ie u , dont l’Intelligence s’étend pardelà les limites du M o n d e , réfo
lu de fu iv re fes tra c e s , prête à fes railbnemens, les agrémens de la
plus fublime Poéfie .
M ais quel plaifir je reffentis , à rencontrer Socrate , qu’A p o llo n
lu i même déclara le plus fage des hommes! I l s’o c cupolt à difcourir
avec A lc ib ia d e ; je n’eus pas de peine à le recon n o itre , à sa phyfionomie
qui reffembloit à celle de S ilè n e , aux couleurs de fon t e in , qui
approchoient affés de c e lle s , q u ’on a coutume de donner aux fatyres ;
enfin à l’ ironie qu’on v o y o it inceffament fur fes le v re s , 6c que fouvent
il m ê lo it , dans fes d ifco u r s . A lo r s il é to it ians manteau, comme quelqu
’un qui feroit dans sa m a ifo n , 8c sa robbe qui n’a v o it prefqu’aucun
plis , répondoit admirablement bien a la limplicité de fon caraftere:
du P o u c e , 8c de l’Index de sa main d ro ite , il ferroit le doigt du milieu
de la gauche , comme pour établir le point de la queftion où il
é to it