ATHEIS M. Atheism. powers of human reason to such a degree as to shake all the foundations of natural religion, which are so intimately conjoined with the evidences of revelation, that the subversion of the one must inevitably prove fatal to the other. Our limits do not permit us here to enumerate and ourselves with remarking, 1. That no atheistical One or two questions connected with this subject, This remark leads us to examine another point VOL. III. PART I. which has often been discussed. Whether is atheism Atheism. tice. Here we may remark, that Lord Bacon, in treating of atheism, utters a sentiment which has often been applauded. "I had rather believe all the fables in the Legend, the Talmud, and the Koran, than that this universal frame is without a mind." This declaration, we believe, will generally be understood to imply, that a superstitious belief is preferable to atheism. Yet in the next page he says, with greater correctness, that it were better to have no idea of God at all, than one that is unworthy of him ; "Atheism," a sentiment borrowed from Plutarch. his lordship adds, "leaves a man to sense, to philosophy, to natural piety, to laws, to reputation, all which might be guides to outward moral virtue; but superstition dismounts all these.-Atheism did never perturb states; for it makes men wary of themselves, as looking no farther, &c." This is reasoning to very little purpose, especially if it be true that only two or three atheists have lived since the world began. But how could his lordship say, that atheism leaves men to sense, to piety, to philosophy, and that superstition robs them of these advantages, and almost in the same breath exclaim, that he would rather swallow all the superstitious stories which have arisen out of the corruptions of religion, than be an atheist; that is, rather be deprived of sense, of philosophy, piety, regard to law and character, than allowed to retain them. We would suggest farther, that the true reason why atheism has not convulsed states, is because this particular heresy is not very contagious, and has never become so epidemical as to Hordes of stupid and muster its armies in the field. B Atheism. irrational savages, have existed, it is said, who had never heard the name of a Deity, or even formed the idea in their minds; and the creeds of many ancient nations present few traces of an enlightened belief. But this deplorable ignorance in which they were immersed, this negative atheism, could never be expected to operate as a principle of action, till it grew up into that monstrous complication of errors which obtains the name of superstition, and which is related in the same degree to atheism as mania is to melancholy. Bayle has been censured for saying, that there have been atheists and Epicureans, who excelled most of their idolatrous contemporaries in good morals. He vindicates his assertion not only by appealing to the testimony of credible writers, but by accounting for the fact. He shews that other principles, besides regard to the will of God, may restrain men from gross vices, the love of praise, the fear of infamy, gentleness of natural disposition, and the restraint of human laws. The first which he mentions is unquestionably the strongest. The love of reputation is so powerful, as often to preponderate over every other impulse; and it is generally associated, in minds of a particular construction, with a romantic sense of honour, and a pride of appearing superior to the fear of punishment, or the hope of reward. The love of virtue, for its own sake, is much insisted on by a certain class of writers, as a principle of the highest efficacy; but we cannot ascribe to it any very powerful influence over those who have so far overcome the native feelings of their minds, as to refuse to recognise the signatures of wise and benevolent design, imprinted on every department of nature. We shall conclude by observing, that atheism has often been punished by the civil power as a crime of the most atrocious malignity. Justice and expediency equally demand, that penal laws relating to religion should be very sparingly enacted. It is certain, that no crime can be more malignant than the attempt to propagate a belief which is so unfavourable to the well-being of human society, the happiness of life, and the hopes of futurity. Yet we cannot subscribe to the opinion, that none write so well against atheists as those who sign the warrant for their execution. It is always dangerous to punish men for sentiments which may be construed by others into a tendency to atheism. Whoever reflects on the condemnation of Anaxagoras, and the martyrdom of Socrates, will tremble at the prospect of having such a power lodged in the hands either of magistrates or churchmen, except when the impiety has been so audacious and unreserved, that there can be no room for hesitating concerning its reality. In such a case as this, when the denial of a God is openly avowed, we believe the most suitable punishment would be to devote the offender, as a dangerous maniac, to solitary confinement. Nothing but insanity of understanding, or still greater insanity of heart, can prompt any man to the atrocity of saying deliberately, there is no God; thus endeavouring to dissolve the firmest ties of morality, to abolish the strongest bonds of social order, and to rob the pious mind of its sweetest solace under the vexations of life, and of the animating prospect into the world to come. We have purposely omitted taking notice of the Atheling objections which have been urged by some late scep# Athenæus. tical writers against the argument for a Deity. They will come under our review with greater propriety, when we give an account of the lives and opinions of these authors. We have also passed over a number of particulars which we intended to adduce in support of the opinion we have advanced with regard to the doctrines of the persons whom we have named as atheists. We have even shortened the list considerably, that the article might not swell beyond the bounds we had prescribed to it. We subjoin a short list of authors, whose writings are calculated to act as an antidote to the poison of atheism. Galen de Usu Partium. Derham Physico-Theology. Ray, Wisdom of God. Clarke's Demonstration. Boyle of Final Causes. Bentley and others Sermons at Boyle's Lectures. Foster on Nat. Reli gion. Abernethy on the Attributes. Paley's Natural Theology. (^) ATHELING, from the Saxon athel, noble, was the title given by the Saxons to the presumptive heir of the crown. (j) ATHEL or ÆTHELINGAY ISLE, or the ISLE OF NOBLES, a piece of rising ground in Somersetshire, formed into an island by the junction of the Thone with the Parrot, a little below Staunton. It is celebrated as the asylum of King Alfred for nearly twelve months, when the kingdom was overrun by the Danes. From this place, defended by marshes and inaccessible roads, Alfred made frequent sallies upon the Danes, and subsisted himself and his followers by plunder, till better prospects called him from this impregnable retreat. In this island Alfred afterwards founded a monastery of Benedictine monks, and conferred upon it very extensive privileges. Many antiquities were dug up here in 1674. See Hume's History, chap. ii. p. 83.; Collinson's History of Somersetshire; and ALFRED. (T) ATHELSTAN, one of the kings of England, and natural son of Edward the Elder, succeeded his father in 925. See Hume's History, chap. ii. p. 106.; Henry's History, vol. iii. p. 94. vol. iv. P. 225.; and ENGLAND. (w) ATHENÆA, the name of festivals celebrated at Athens in honour of Minerva. See PANATHENEA. (j) ATHENÆA, a genus of plants of the class Octandria, and order Monogynia. See BOTANY. (w) ATHENÆUM, a place of public resort at Athens dedicated to Minerva, and frequented by the poets, philosophers, and orators, who recited their compositions. The Athenea were built in the form of an amphitheatre. The most celebrated buildings of this kind were at Athens, Rome, and Lyons. (j) ATHENÆUS, a celebrated Greek grammarian. He was born at Naucratis in Egypt, and flourished, according to the most probable computation, in the beginning of the third century. Very little further s known concerning him. It has been erroneously inferred, from some passages in his writings, that he must have lived to an extreme old age, having been acquainted with the poet Pancrates, and lived after the time of Oppian. Now, though the former received some present from the Emperor Hadrian, who Athenæus, died A. D. 138, and the other dedicated a poem to Caracalla in the year 204, we see no reason for the inference of great age; since Pancrates might have lived 40 or 50 years after Hadrian, and since Oppian, who died of the plague at the age of 30, could not have long survived the date of his Halieutics. We can infer no more from these data, than that Athenæus was born towards the end of the second century, and flourished, not under Marcus Aurelius, as Suidas asserts, but in the interval between the reigns of Caracalla and Gordian. The works of Athenæus have suffered severely in the general wreck of ancient literature. He is supposed to have written, "An Account of the Kings of Syria." Vossius thinks that he also wrote a treatise" concerning the great commanders of armies." The only work of his which has come down to us, is that entitled, "The Deipnosophists," or " The Convivial Men of Learning.' This work consisted originally of 15 books; but the two first, the beginning of the third, and several pages of the 11th and 15th, are wanting. These deficiencies, which occur in all the copies of Athenæus, are traced to one common source, the ancient Venetian manuscript, on which alone is supposed to have once depended the existence of the Deipnosophists. Fortunately for the cause of Fortunately for the cause of literature, a very old, though inaccurate, abridgment of Athenæus has been preserved, out of which the lacunæ are tolerably well supplied, and even some false readings in the original corrected. This author has been most cruelly mangled by the transcribers and first editors: on his first appearance scarcely a sentence occurred which did not require emendation; and the labour of correcting the poetical quotations, which were long written without regard to the division into lines, appeared absolutely hopeless. Casaubon, and other critical pioneers, have wonderfully succeeded in clearing this thorny field; though, it must be confessed, it is still far from being an agreeable walk for an ordinary Greek scholar. The plan of this work is somewhat whimsical. Athenæus feigns one Larensius, a learned Roman of opulence and taste, to have entertained at a splendid feast a company of the most distinguished literati, consisting of poets, physicians, lawyers, naturalists, and grammarians; and to these the different dishes and accompaniments serve, in their order, as topics of discussion. In this manner the author contrives to present, ab ovo usque ad mala, the opinions of the ancients in almost all their arts and sciences. Thus, the various kinds of fishes, pot-herbs, and poultry, are discussed in the course of this hodgepodge conversation, historians, poets, and philosophers, are introduced instruments of music, drinking-glasses and jokes, some of them not the most seemly, pass next in review; not to mention the disquisitions on regal magnificence, naval arts, and an infinity of other subjects. The whole of this strange production is thrown into a dramatic form; by which contrivance Athenæus, who was himself one of the Deipnosophists, is enabled to pass with facility from one dish to another, and to digress with seeming propriety, while replying to the remarks and queries of Timocrates, the other speaker in the dialogue. Athenæus, considered as a man of talent and taste, ras. occupies but a low station among the ancients. A Athenæus, mere collector of lines and sentences, and a plagiarist Athenagowho borrowed whole passages from others to express his own meaning, he can be regarded only as a laborious unenlightened compiler: and in this view, there is no doubt, his cotemporaries considered him. But time and accident have conferred on this mechanical writer a degree of importance, which has raised him to a level with the classics. The crude mass of compilation which at one time would scarcely have been noticed, is now, from the destruction of better works, become a precious mine of information. On examining the catalogue of authors and works consulted by Athenæus in his multifarious researches, as it is drawn up by Fabricius, we find some hundred writers quoted, who no longer exist, and near 2000 pieces referred to, of which 800 are dramatic. This wonderful collection of literature was accordingly greedily attacked by the succeeding bookmakers. Elian frequently copies it in silence: Macrobius, in his Saturnalia, adopts at once its plan and its materials; and Suidas Eustathius, Stephanus Niger, and many more, have pillaged and appropriated, with shameless audacity, the rich treasures of Athenæus. Of this author there have not been many editions. The first was that of Aldus, in folio, printed at Venice, in 1514. Another edition appeared in 1535 at Basle, which, like the former, was accompanied with neither translation nor notes, and was besides exceedingly incorrect. The first edition of any value was that of Casaubon of 1597, which went through several impressions. This edition had the Latin translation of Dalechampius, and the admirable annotations of Casaubon; and still further corrected and enlarged, it again appeared in 1657, 2 tom. 1 vol. Lugd. which is the edition now before us. The Strasburg edition of 1801, by Schweighauser, we have not yet seen. There have been several other writers of less note who bore the same name. Athenæus the mathematician, who flourished about A. C. 200, wrote a treatise on machines, which he dedicated to Marcellus the Conqueror of Syracuse, and which still remains. Athenæus Attalensis was a physician, who ascribed the huntan pulse to the agency of a spirit, or principle of vitality, which he supposed to be a fifth element in nature. He was the chief of the Pneumatic sect, and flourished about the beginning of our æra. See Athenæus, Ed. Lugd. 1657, p. 1. Suid. Lexic. Tan. Fab. ch. 43. Diction. de Bayle. Fabricii Bib. Græc. 1. iii. c. 24. l. iv. c. 20. Edin. Review, vol. iii. (E) ORAS ATHENAGORAS, an Athenian philosopher, · who was converted from paganism to Christianity. He flourished after the middle of the second century, and was held by his cotemporaries in high estimation for his learning, acuteness, and zeal. Having spent his youth at Athens in the company of the sages and rhetoricians of that period, he removed to Alexandria, then a great theatre of learning. Here our philosopher keenly entered into the disputes of the time, and directed the whole torrent of his eloquence and erudition against Christianity. Deeming it necessary to acquire a thorough knowledge of the system which he intended to overthrow, he applied himself with eagerness to the reading of the scriptures. His can ras. Athenago- dour, if we may judge from appearances, was equal to his zeal, and infinitely superior to that of most controversialists either ancient or modern. For on carefully perusing the sacred volume, reflecting on the important and long-desired discoveries which it contains, and weighing impartially the arguments of the primitive fathers against the absurdities of polytheism; this true philosopher became a convert to the reason of his antagonists, and thenceforward became a powerful champion of the cross. He is said to have been the founder of the Alexandrian school, and to have had Clemens Alexandrinus among his disciples. rus. tion, and viewed second marriages with the utmost Athenodo The two remaining treatises of Athenagoras have undergone many impressions, of which the reader will find a long list in Fabricius. The best is that published at Oxford in 1706. The romance, entitled, "True and Perfect Love," has, we know not why, been ascribed to the same Athenagoras. It is for the most part but a compilation of passages from Herodotus, Plutarch, Q. Curtius, Jamblichus, and Heliodorus, and has all the appearance of being the production of some modern Greek. There are ten or twelve more of the same name mentioned by authors; but few of them are of any note. See Athenag. Philos. Atheniensis Opera, passim. Cave, H. L. v. i. Fabricii Bibl. Græc. vol. v. 1. 5. Baronii Annal. Eccles. v. ii. Dict. de Bayle. Lardner's Works, v. ii. Brucker's Hist. Philos. by Enfield, v. ii. (E) The church being about this time greatly oppressed in the East, Athenagoras wrote a remonstrance on the subject, addressed to the Emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, and Lucius Aurelius Commodus. This remonstrance, containing the principles of Christianity, and a justification of secession from paganism, was presented, according to the opinion of some writers, by Athenagoras in person, who, it is asserted, had for that purpose been sent at the head of an embassy to the imperial court, about A. D. 168. Others however reject this opinion, on the grounds that such an embassy is not once alluded to in history; that the common title of the piece (g) is in some manu- ATHENODORUS, an eminent Stoic philosoUS, scripts aλy, or "defence;" and that even gß, pher, and the intimate friend of Augustus. He was which may signify "request" as well as " embassy," is born at a village near Tarsus, in Cilicia, whence he never applied to the instructions of an ambassador, but obtained the surname of Cananita. When young, he to his mission. Be this however as it will, the apology displayed a remarkable instance of generosity. His or embassy still exists, and is couched in language of con- brother being convicted of a crime for which his siderable elegance. The frequent inversions and paren- property was confiscated, Athenodorus gave him the theses betray, a little too sensibly, the art of the rheto- half of his; and overlooking the ingratitude with rician: the epithets, too, bestowed on the emperors, are which he received it, continued to treat him with unwarrantably strained, and bordering even on blasphe- unabated kindness. On going to Rome, the excelmy; but with all these defects, which indeed belong lence of his character procured for him the friendship to the period rather than to the man, the style has of Augustus, that discerning patron of merit; who undoubted pretensions to the character of Attic; and loaded him with honours, and made him preceptor to the train of reasoning, particularly in exposing the Tiberius. pagan superstition, is remarkably forcible and happy. Athenagoras wrote also a book on "The Resurrection of the Dead." In this treatise, which is also preserved, the author properly confines himself chiefly to mere reason, since in a controversy with infidels, an appeal to scripture were evidently fruitless. The Platonic philosophy influenced, in no small degree, the theological tenets of Athenagoras. He endeavoured to explain, on the principles of that school, the nature of the Deity, the particular energy of the Logos in the divine mind, and the eternal and necessary coexistence of the Father and the Son. He maintained, in opposition to the Peripatetics and others, the entire and absolute distinction between God and matter; and he supposed that these two principles, one spiritual and intelligent, the other imperfect and untractable, were connected by intermediate existences, partaking of the nature of both. These beings he considered as good or evil according as spirit or matter predominated. The evil kind he further subdivided into two classes, of which one consisted of those angels who originally transgressed the divine command; and the other, of the souls of those giants who were produced by the intercourse of the angels with the daughters of men. This phiThis philosopher was one of those who recommended and practised celibacy as a piece of meritorious mortifica Being indulged by the emperor with an unlimited freedom of expressing his sentiments, he availed himself of this liberty, on one occasion, in rather an extraordinary manner. It happened one day that Athenodorus met a senator of his acquaintance, who was thrown into the greatest alarm, because the emperor had sent for his wife, who was remarkable for her beauty. Nobody, it seems, ever thought of resisting such a mandate; so formidable was the tyrant's resentment. But the philosopher resolved to give him a strong hint; for arming himself with a naked sword, and slipping into the chair instead of the lady, he was thus carried into the presence of Augustus. Athenodorus rushed out of the chair, and furiously brandishing the sword, seemed to be on the point of dispatching him. The emperor was at first greatly terrified; but on learning the intention, he received the admonition with much deference, and behaved, it is said, more prudently for the future. Having continued at court till he was far advanced in years, Athenodorus obtained permission to return to his native country. Before he went away, he advised Augustus to be on his guard against anger; recommending to him, whenever he felt the commencement of that passion, to repeat the four-and-twenty letters of the alphabet: upon which, the emperor, taking him by the hand, said to him in the kindest Athenodo- manner, “I have need of your assistance still longer:" and he kept him for another year. rus. Early his tory. Reign of Ogyges. On his departure he seems to have been invested with some authority over his native country; for, on his arrival, he took an active part in the government of Tarsus: he reformed abuses, expelled one Boetus and his partizans, introduced a new code of laws, and obtained from Augustus an exemption from certain taxes which oppressed the inhabitants; for which service he was honoured by his countrymen with an annual festival. He is said to have died at the age of 82. He wrote concerning the ocean and its tides; and is thought to have written a history of his own country: but all his works have perished. There were several other writers of the same name, particularly a famous Stoic philosopher, surnamed rus. Cordylio. He kept the great library at Pergamus, Athenodewhere he continued till he arrived at a considerable age. Cato the Younger, being in Asia at the head of his army, wished above all things to have the countenance of this great man; but fearing that a letter would not answer the purpose, he went to Pergamus in person, and prevailed, with some difficulty, on the old philosopher to quit his retirement. Cato returned to his camp with an air of triumph on the acquisition of Athenodorus to his party, which he deemed of more consequence than a victory. See Strab. 1. xiv. Plut. de fraterno amore; de Apothegm. et in vita Caton. Minoris. Cedrenus, Histor. Comp. p. 172. Dict. de Bayle. Fabr. Bibl. Græc. 1. iii. c. 15. Brucker's Hist. Philos. by Enfield, v. ii. (E) ATHENS, ONE of the most celebrated cities of Greece, and of the ancient world. This distinction is derived, not merely from political greatness and military power, but from the arts and sciences, which were indebted to her, either for their origin, or their perfection. Athens, properly, is only the capital of ATTICA, a description of which will be found under its proper head. But as the name of the city has greatly eclipsed that of the territory to which it is attached, and as the inhabitants have always borne the appellation of Athenians, we shall give, under the present head, a sketch of the various fortunes of that renowned people. Concerning the early inhabitants of this country, we are almost wholly destitute of information. Devoid of arts and letters, they left no memorials of their existence, or of those rude incidents by which their history may have been diversified. Their condition probably resembled that which we now see in the savages of North and South America. it Even after Athenian history begins to emerge from this profound obscurity, the events which distinguish are, for a long time, exceedingly scanty and doubtful. It may not be uninteresting, however, to take a rapid survey, even of these imperfect traditions; since they throw some light on the origin and progress of the political constitution of Athens, and some also on the invention of the useful arts, the most important of which are, by the uniform voice of history, referred to this period. The first king of Athens, of whom we have any mention, is Ogyges, from whom Attica received the name of Ogygia. He himself, or another of the same name, is supposed also to have reigned over Bœotia. His reign seems to have been distinguished by a variety of religious institutions, by the aid of which he probably sought, like most other early legislators, to strengthen the ties of civil authority. He founded Eleusis, so famous for the mystic rites which were celebrated there; and it was in his reign that Minerva first became the tutelar deity of Athens. A. C. 1856. It is also marked by an inundation, which was productive of great calamities to Attica. During the 300 years which elapsed from this period to the reign of Cecrops, the history of Attica Athens. is buried in complete obscurity. It is even doubtful whether it was then governed by kings, or was not involved in a state of anarchy. According to the Of Cemost prevailing opinion, Cecrops came about the crops. year 1556 A.Č. from Egypt, a country then far surpassing Greece in opulence and civilization. Either by marrying the daughter of the preceding monarch, or by the favour of the people, he became the sovereign and legislator of Athens. He enlarged it greatly, converting the former town into a citadel, which ever after retained from him the name of Cecropia. He instituted marriage, which had not before been regulated by any fixed laws, and prohibited polygamy. Like other early legislators, he established a variety of religious ceremonies; introduced the worship of Ops and Saturn, and augmented that of Jupiter and Minerva. He was succeeded by Cranaus, a wealthy citizen, who is supposed to have married his daughter. Cranaus, however, after a short reign, was driven from the throne by his son-in-law, Amphictyon. He had a son Rharus, by whom Ceres, in her wandering search of her daughter Proserpine, is said to have been received, and, in gratitude, to have taught his nephew Triptolemus the art of raising grain. Without stopping to enquire into the degree of truth which this relation may possess, we may probably hence infer, that agriculture was, about this period, introduced into Attica. Either Amphictyon, or a near relation of his, is understood to have taken the lead in forming that general assembly of Greece, so celebrated under the name of Amphictyonic. Amphictyon first dedicated the city to Minerva, and from her gave it the name of Athens. He is said to have introduced and inculcated the practice of diluting wine with water. The invention of wine is referred nearly to this period; and we may suppose its first introduction to have been attended with disorders, which it was the object of this regulation to check. Amphictyon, after a reign of ten years, was deposed by Erichthonius, the reputed son of Vulcan. He is said to have been the inventor of horse and chariot races. His successor was Pandion I., celebrated in fable for the misfortunes of his |