^12Theyweredictatedbytherigidandjealousspiritofanaristocracy，whichhadyieldedwithreluctancetothejustdemandsofthepeople。ButthesubstanceoftheTwelveTableswasadaptedtothestateofthecity；andtheRomanshademergedfromBarbarism，sincetheywerecapableofstudyingandembracingtheinstitutionsoftheirmoreenlightenedneighbors。AwiseEphesianwasdrivenbyenvyfromhisnativecountry:beforehecouldreachtheshoresofLatium，hehadobservedthevariousformsofhumannatureandcivilsociety:heimpartedhisknowledgetothelegislatorsofRome，andastatuewaserectedintheforumtotheperpetualmemoryofHermodorus。^13Thenamesanddivisionsofthecoppermoney，thesolecoinoftheinfantstate，wereofDorianorigin:^14theharvestsofCampaniaandSicilyrelievedthewantsofapeoplewhoseagriculturewasofteninterruptedbywarandfaction；andsincethetradewasestablished，^15thedeputieswhosailedfromtheTybermightreturnfromthesameharborswithamorepreciouscargoofpoliticalwisdom。ThecoloniesofGreatGreecehadtransportedandimprovedtheartsoftheirmothercountry。CumaeandRhegium，CrotonaandTarentum，AgrigentumandSyracuse，wereintherankofthemostflourishingcities。ThedisciplesofPythagorasappliedphilosophytotheuseofgovernment；theunwrittenlawsofCharondasacceptedtheaidofpoetryandmusic，^16andZaleucusframedtherepublicoftheLocrians，whichstoodwithoutalterationabovetwohundredyears。^17Fromasimilarmotiveofnationalpride，bothLivyandDionysiusarewillingtobelieve，thatthedeputiesofRomevisitedAthensunderthewiseandsplendidadministrationofPericles；andthelawsofSolonweretransfusedintothetwelvetables。IfsuchanembassyhadindeedbeenreceivedfromtheBarbariansofHesperia，theRomannamewouldhavebeenfamiliartotheGreeksbeforethereignofAlexander；^18andthefaintestevidencewouldhavebeenexploredandcelebratedbythecuriosityofsucceedingtimes。ButtheAthenianmonumentsaresilent；norwillitseemcrediblethatthepatriciansshouldundertakealongandperilousnavigationtocopythepurestmodelofdemocracy。InthecomparisonofthetablesofSolonwiththoseoftheDecemvirs，somecasualresemblancemaybefound；someruleswhichnatureandreasonhaverevealedtoeverysociety；someproofsofacommondescentfromEgyptorPhoenicia。^19Butinallthegreatlinesofpublicandprivatejurisprudence，thelegislatorsofRomeandAthensappeartobestrangersoradverseateachother。
[Footnote11:CompareLivyl。iii。c。31—59withDionysiusHalicarnassensis，l。x。p。644—xi。p。691。HowconciseandanimatedistheRoman—howprolixandlifelesstheGreek!Yethehasadmirablyjudgedthemasters，anddefinedtherules，ofhistoricalcomposition。]
[Footnote12:Fromthehistorians，HeinecciusHist。J。R。l。i。
No。26maintainsthatthetwelvetableswereofbrass—aereas；
inthetextofPomponiuswereadeboreas；forwhichScaligerhassubstitutedroboreas，Bynkershoek，p。286。Wood，brass，andivory，mightbesuccessivelyemployed。