In Old Age The Consolation Of Hope

The Archiepiscopal Throne Of Macedonius, Which Had Been Polluted With So Much Christian Blood, Was Successively Filled By Eudoxus And Damophilus. Their Diocese Enjoyed A Free Importation Of Vice And Error From Every Province Of The Empire; The Eager Pursuit Of Religious Controversy Afforded A New Occupation To The Busy Idleness Of The Metropolis: And We May Credit The Assertion Of An Intelligent Observer, Who Describes, With Some Pleasantry, The Effects Of Their Loquacious Zeal.

But The Severe Rules Of Discipline Which The Prudence Of The Bishops Had Instituted Were Relaxed By The Same Prudence In Favour Of An Imperial Proselyte, Whom It Was So Important To Allure, By Every Gentle Condescension, Into The Pale Of The Church; And Constantine Was Permitted, At Least By A Tacit Dispensation, To Enjoy Most Of The Privileges, Before He Had Contracted Any Of The Obligations, Of A Christian.

Rational Confidence [is] The Just Result Of Knowledge And Experience.

Active Valour May Often Be The Present Of Nature; But Such Patient Diligence Can Be The Fruit Only Of Habit And Discipline.

I Have Somewhere Heard Or Read The Frank Confession Of A Benedictine Abbot: "my Vow Of Poverty Has Given Me A Hundred Thousand Crowns A Year; My Vow Of Obedience Has Raised Me To The Rank Of A Sovereign Prince." - I Forget The Consequences Of His Vow Of Chastity.