It Was Among The Ruins Of The

The Retirement Of Athanasius, Which Ended Only With The Life Of Constantius, Was Spent, For The Most Part, In The Society Of The Monks, Who Faithfully Served Him As Guards, As Secretaries, And As Messengers; But The Importance Of Maintaining A More Intimate Connection With The Catholic Party Tempted Him, Whenever The Diligence Of The Pursuit Was Abated, To Emerge From The Desert, To Introduce Himself Into Alexandria, And To Trust His Person To The Discretion Of His Friends And Adherents.

As Long As The Same Passions And Interests Subsist Among Mankind, The Questions Of War And Peace, Of Justice And Policy, Which Were Debated In The Councils Of Antiquity, Will Frequently Present Themselves As The Subject Of Modern Deliberation.

The Orator, Who May Be Silent Without Danger, May Praise Without Difficulty And Without Reluctance; And Posterity Will Confess That The Character Of Theodosius Might Furnish The Subject Of A Sincere And Ample Panegyric. The Wisdom Of His Laws And The Success Of His Arms Rendered His Administration Respectable In The Eyes Both Of His Subjects And Of His Enemies. He Loved And Practised The Virtues Of Domestic Life, Which Seldom Hold Their Residence In The Palaces Of Kings.

Whenever The Spirit Of Fanaticism, At Once So Credulous And So Crafty, Has Insinuated Itself Into A Noble Mind, It Insensibly Corrodes The Vital Principles Of Virtue And Veracity.

If We Are More Affected By The Ruin Of A Palace Than By The Conflagration Of A Cottage, Our Humanity Must Have Formed A Very Erroneous Estimate Of The Miseries Of Human Life.