Epistle VII. To Macrinus.
by
the Same. [Mr. Henley.]
[_]
On the Statue of Spurinna.
YEsterday a triumphal Statue was decreed by the Senate to Vestricius Spurinna,
at the Motion of the Emperor, not so as to many, that never stood in Battle,
never beheld a Camp, never heard, in short, the Sound of a Trumpet, except in the publick Shows;
but as to such, who have acquired that Honour by Toil, Blood, and Feats of Arms.
For Spurinna had brought the King of the Bructeri into his Realm by force of War;
and even subdu'd that rugged Nation, by the Sight and Terror of it, the most honourable kind of Victory.
This was a Reward of his Valour, but it was likewise a Consolation to his Grief,
That the Distinction of a Statue was given to his Son Cottius,
whom he lost in his Absence. This is a Glory very rare in a young Man,
but it was due to the Merit of his Father, whose Wound was so painful,
that it required an uncommon Remedy. Besides, Cottius himself gave so fair a Dawn of Genius,
that his Short and narrow Life, had a Claim to be
prolong'd by this sort of Immortality,
For he was possess'd of that Sanctity of Manners, that Staidness, that Authority,
that he might challenge his Elders in Virtues, whom now he equals in Honour.
It is indeed of that Tendency, as far as I can judge, as not only to be suitable to the Memory of the Deceased,
and the Anguish of a Father, but to the Use of Example. For these Returns assign'd to the Young,
if they be Men of Worth, will incite them to good Pursuits; and Persons of Eminence will be inflam'd to put their Sons in a hopeful Channel of Education,
when they beat in view the Joys they will reap by their Living, and the glorious Supports they will find in the Loss of them.
Upon these Motives, I rejoyce in the Statue of
Cottius on a publick,
nor less, on a private Account. My Love to that consummate Youth was equal to my present Impatience in the Want of him.
This will be a Spring of Satisfaction to me, often to eye and gaze upon his Image,
to make a Stand under it, and to walk beside it. For if the
Figures of the Dead at home cultivate our Sorrow, how much more will those contribute to it, that do not only represent their Form and Visage to us in the most conspicuous Place,
but their Honour and Renown.
