As Long As Mankind Shall Continue To

[the] Emperor Of The West, The Feeble And Dissolute Valentinian, [had] Reached His Thirty-fifth Year Without Attaining The Age Of Reason Or Courage.

[the] Events By Which The Fate Of Nations Is Not Materially Changed, Leave A Faint Impression On The Page Of History, And The Patience Of The Reader Would Be Exhausted By The Repetition Of The Same Hostilities [between Rome And Persia], Undertaken Without Cause, Prosecuted Without Glory, And Terminated Without Effect.

The Roman Government Appeared Every Day Less Formidable To Its Enemies, More Odious And Oppressive To Its Subjects.

When A Public Quarrel Is Envenomed By Private Injuries, A Blow That Is Not Mortal Or Decisive Can Be Productive Only Of A Short Truce, Which Allows The Unsuccessful Combatant To Sharpen His Arms For A New Encounter.

The Separation Of The Arabs From The Rest Of Mankind Has Accustomed Them To Confound The Ideas Of Stranger And Enemy.