I Was Never Less Alone Than When

[but] The Man Who Dares Not Expose His Life In The Defence Of His Children And His Property, Has Lost In Society The First And Most Active Energies Of Nature.

But The Wisdom And Authority Of The Legislator Are Seldom Victorious In A Contest With The Vigilant Dexterity Of Private Interest.

But [the Arabs'] Friendship Was Venal, Their Faith Inconstant, Their Enmity Capricious: It Was An Easier Task To Excite Than To Disarm These Roving Barbarians; And, In The Familiar Intercourse Of War, They Learned To See, And To Despise, The Splendid Weakness Both Of Rome And Of Persia.

The Inactivity Of A Conqueror Betrays The Loss Of Strength And Blood . . .

The Spectator And Historian Of [belisarius's] Exploits Has Observed, That Amidst The Perils Of War, He Was Daring Without Rashness, Prudent Without Fear, Slow Or Rapid According To The Exigencies Of The Moment; That In The Deepest Distress He Was Animated By Real Or Apparent Hope, But That He Was Modest And Humble In The Most Prosperous Fortune.