Wonders of Biography. E propose to give our readers a series | Cappadocia, in Asia Minor, the place of sketches respecting the lives of where he was born is one of the most very remarkable persons, who have remarkable characters in all antiquity. lived in different ages and different By some writers, he has been regarded as parts of the world. We shall begin with a philosopher and sage, by some as a fanatic, and by others as a crafty impostor. During his lifetime, he was reverenced as a divine person, and after his death, he was even worshipped as a god. No. I. APOLLONIUS TYANEUS. APOLLONIUS Whose surname of Tyanæus is derived from Tyana, a city of In the story of his life, it is difficult to and inventions which have been added by his biographers. We shall relate what is said of him by ancient authors, and what was firmly believed by his followers and admirers. separate the facts from the exaggerations | entirely upon fruits and herbs. He wore linen garments, walked barefooted, and suffered his hair to grow to its full length. In the town of Ege was a temple consecrated to the god Esculapius, which was famous through all the country for its miraculous cures performed upon sick persons by the god of health. The priests of this temple found means to persuade their credulous votaries that the god himself sometimes condescended to become visible to mortals. He was born, as above stated, at Tyana, four years before Christ. Wonders are said to have marked the hour of his birth. A marvellous flash of lightning fell from the sky, and darted back again; the swans in a meadow flocked round him, clapping their wings with an unearthly sound, &c. But similar tales are told of Mohammed, and numerous other persons, who from obscure birth have raised themselves to celebrity. The father of Apollonius was a rich citizen of Tyana, and he sent his son to be educated at Tarsus, in Cilicia. But the young man, disliking the luxury and indolence of the people of this place, obtained leave to remove to Egæ, a town not far distant, where he pursued the study of philosophy, undisturbed by the dissipations of the greater city. He embraced the doctrines of Pythagoras, who, in imitation of the Egyptian priests, subjected his pupils to a strict course of discipline. They were compelled to begin their studies by a silence of five years, during which time, they had the privilege of listening, but were not allowed to speak a single word. Even afterwards, they were expected always to discourse with moder. ation. They were obliged to throw all their property into a common stock, and to abstain from eating beans, and certain other articles of food. In conformity to the institutions of Pythagoras, the young philosopher Apollonius refrained from animal food, and lived Apollonius took up his residence in this temple, and is supposed to have been initiated by the priests into their arts of imposture. He went through a probationary discipline of five years' silence, during which time he travelled and visited various cities of Pamphylia and Cilicia, without speaking a word; yet, by his looks and gestures, conveying to the people instruction and admonition. At the city of Aspenda, the corn specu. lators had made an artificial famine, by buying up all the grain. A riot was the consequence, and the whole city was thrown into confusion. Apollonius was walking in the market-place during the tumult. The men, women, and children, were running up and down, crying out that they were starving; and the more furious of them armed themselves with firebrands, lighted fagots, and torches, to burn the governor of the city alive. Apollonius made signs to the people to be quiet; he then took a style and tablet, and wrote as follows to the corn specu. lators: "The earth, the common mother of all, is just. But ye, being unjust, would make her a bountiful mother to yourselves alone. Leave off your dishonest, traffic, This was read in the presence of the whole multitude, and produced so instantaneous an effect, that the speculators immediately opened their stores, and relieved the people. This transaction was exaggerated into a miracle; but we see nothing in it more than the operation of natural causes. or you shall no longer be suffered to live." | on the north of Hindostan; and here, we are told, on a moonlight night, the travellers met one of those ghosts, or hobgoblins, called by the Greeks an empusa. His companions were very much frightened; but Apollonius cried out lustily, and called the hobgoblin all the hard names he could invent, on which it immediately gave a loud shriek and disappeared. Such is the Greek ghost-story, and it is probably as true as most others of this After the termination of his novitiate of silence, Apollonius visited Antioch, Ephesus, and other cities, where he col-character. lected a train of disciples, whom he instructed by his lectures and conversation. He also delivered harangues in public, inculcating good morals and orderly habits. He then resolved to travel, by the way of Babylon, to India, in order to visit the Brahmins, whose wisdom was famous all over the East. His disciples had not the courage to accompany him on so long a journey, and he travelled with only three companions. One of these, named Damis, wrote an account of this journey, and informs us that Apollonius understood all languages, even those of animals; and that he could even read the thoughts of men. On his way to Babylon, Apollonius, seeing a lioness with eight whelps, killed by some huntsmen, predicted to Damis that the time of their stay with the king of Babylon would be a year and eight months, which of course came to pass. He was received by the monarch with great favor, and so delighted him with the wisdom of his discourse, that the king gave him the privilege of asking twelve gifts. But the philosopher demanded nothing except food for his journey. The king gave him camels to ride upon and to carry his provisions. He crossed the lofty mountains Having crossed the mountains, they arrived at a city called Taxila, which was the residence of the Indian king. This monarch, Phraortes, a descendant of Porus, paid great attention to Apollonius, and recommended him to the chief Brahmins. These men, we are told, revealed to him all their secrets, and compelled him to recognize their superiority in working miracles. It is supposed that the art of jugglery, which the Hindoos of the present day practise with such astonishing effect, was also well known at that time, and that, by the acquisition of this knowledge, Apollonius was enabled to perform the feats which afterwards gained him the character of a magician. Having travelled over India, he returned to Europe by the way of the Red Sea. So great was the fame which he had now acquired, that, when he entered Ephesus, the whole population of the city crowded to see him. Even the artisans and laborers left their work to follow him through the streets. The Ephesians were notorious for their profligate manners; Apollonius threatened them with a pestilence unless they reformed. After he had left their city, the plague made its appearance there. The inhabitants sent who practised magical arts. Apollonius knew that he should be comprehended in this description; but he was not to be deterred from his purpose. He boldly ventured into the city, and, being arrested and dated his judges by restoring to life the dead body of a noble lady, and predicting an eclipse of the sun. Apollonius next went to Spain, where he raised a sedition against Nero. He then visited Africa, the south of Italy, and Sicily, where he heard of the death of Nero. He afterwards travelled in Egypt and Ethiopia, and sought to discover the sources of the Nile. In Egypt, Vespasian was then endeavoring to establish his power. That prince knew the value of such an auxiliary as Apollonius, who appears to have been well practised in the arts of gaining popularity; and he attached him to his interest by consulting him as a sort of divine oracle. In return, the philosopher employed his influence among the people in favor of Vespasian. messengers to Apollonius, who was then at Smyrna, requesting him to drive away the plague. In the twinkling of an eye, we are told, he transported himself to Ephesus, and appeared in the midst of a crowd at the theatre. He pointed to a beg-carried before the magistrates, he intimigar, and ordered the people to stone him. They immediately showered stones upon him, till he was covered under an enormous heap. The next day, Apollonius ordered them to remove the stones; when lo! the beggar had disappeared, and a dog was found in his place, into which the demon of the plague had entered, and the ravages of the pestilence instantly ceased. Apollonius then visited Pergamus, and the seat of ancient Troy. He passed a night alone at the tomb of Achilles, where, as we are told, he raised that hero from the dead by the power of an incantation which he had learned in India, and held a conversation with him. He then made a tour through the cities of Greece, visiting Athens, Sparta, Olympia, and other famous places. He addressed the people with great eloquence in the character of a reformer, exhorting them to amend their vicious manners. At Athens, he is said to have cured a demoniac, on which occasion, the demon, who was cast out, made his escape with such fury as to throw down a marble statue which stood near him. While he was in the Island of Crete, an earthquake took place; and Apollonius, in the midst of the shock, cried out, "The sea is bringing forth land! At this instant, we are assured, an island rose out of the sea between Crete and Theræ. From Crete he went to Rome, where the Emperor Nero had just issued an edict, banishing from the city all persons He was also consulted on matters of government by Titus, the successor of Vespasian. When this prince refused a crown of victory for capturing Jerusalem, Apollonius wrote him this laconic epistle: 66 Apollonius to Titus, emperor of the Romans, sendeth greeting. Since you refuse to be applauded for bloodshed and victory in war, I send you the crown of moderation. You know to what kind of merit crowns are due." When Domitian became emperor, Apollonius declared against him, and took the part of his rival Nerva. For this, he was arrested and carried to Rome. There, he was arraigned before the emperor; and, instead of being intimidated by his presence, he launched out into | Concerning the time, place, or manner of praises of Nerva. Domitian ordered him to be thrown into prison, and loaded with chains; and some days afterward he was carried into court, and put upon a formal trial. In the midst of the pleadings, as the story is related, he suddenly vanished from sight, and transported himself to Puteoli, 150 miles distant. the death of Apollonius, we have no certain information, unless we are disposed to credit a miraculous account, to the following purport: He was condemned to death by the Cretans; and, after being loaded with chains, was shut up in the temple of Dictynna, to be devoured by dogs. When the temple was reopened, Apollonius was not to be found; the chains were discov. ered shattered to pieces, and voices of invisible virgins were heard proclaiming his elevation to the skies. So much for the Cretan story; but all accounts agree that he lived to the age of ninety-seven. From Italy he made his escape into Greece, and thence into Asia Minor, where, after many rambles, he settled at Ephesus. Here he established a school or college for teaching the Pythagorean philosophy, and collected many disciples and students. In this place, one of the most marvellous events of his life took place, as it is related by the historian Dion Cassius. Apollonius was in the midst of a public lecture, when suddenly he stopped short, and, changing his tone, exclaimed, "Well done, Stephen! take courage, kill the tyrant! kill him!" Then, after a short pause, he exclaimed, "The tyrant is dead!" At that very moment Domitian was assassinated in Rome by a person named Stephen. Some writers ex-lebrity appears from numerous attestaplain this extraordinary occurrence by supposing Apollonius to have been previously acquainted with the plot which led to the tyrant's death. Such is the outline of the history of this extraordinary man, as transmitted to us by the writers of antiquity. It is not easy to conjecture what part of these marvels are pure impostures, and what part are exaggerations of real events. Apol lonius was certainly a man of uncommon talent, and was perhaps one of those pretenders to miraculous power, who were not uncommon in his age. His great ce tions to be found in ancient history. In his lifetime he was called a god, and accepted that appellation, saying that every good man ought to be honored with it. After this we hear nothing of Apollo- After his death, he long continued to be nius, except that Nerva wrote to him on ranked among the divinities. The inhabhis accession to the empire, soliciting the itants of Tyana dedicated a temple to his aid of his counsels, and that he returned name. The Ephesians erected a statue the following answer: "O emperor, we to him, in commemoration of his delivershall live together during a very long pe- ing them from the plague. The Emperiod, in which we shall have no authority ror Aurelian refrained from sacking Tyover others, nor shall others have any ana out of reverence to his memory. authority over us." This is considered Divine honors were paid to him by many as intimating his expectation that they of the emperors, and magical virtue was would soon live together in another world. | attributed to his name. |