In Discussing Barbarism And Christianity I Have

But In Almost Every Province Of The Roman World, An Army Of Fanatics, Without Authority And Without Discipline, Invaded The Peaceful Inhabitants; And The Ruin Of The Fairest Structures Of Antiquity Still Displays The Ravages Of Those Barbarians Who Alone Had Time And Inclination To Execute Such Laborious Destruction.

The Laws Of War, That Restrain The Exercise Of National Rapine And Murder, Are Founded On Two Principles Of Substantial Interest: The Knowledge Of The Permanent Benefits Which May Be Obtained By A Moderate Use Of Conquest, And A Just Apprehension Lest The Desolation Which We Inflict On The Enemy's Country May Be Retaliated On Our Own. But These Considerations Of Hope And Fear Are Almost Unknown In The Pastoral State Of Nations.

In Their Censures Of Luxury The Fathers Are Extremely Minute And Circumstantial; And Among The Various Articles Which Excite Their Pious Indignation, We May Enumerate False Hair, Garments Of Any Colour Except White, Instruments Of Music, Vases Of Gold Or Silver, Downy Pillows, White Bread, Foreign Wines, Public Salutations, The Use Of Warm Baths, And The Practice Of Shaving The Beard, Which, According To Tertullian, Is A Lie Against Our Own Faces, And Am Impious Attempt To Improve The Works Of The Creator.

The Active Cavalry Of Scythia Is Always Followed, In Their Most Distant And Rapid Incursions, By An Adequate Number Of Spare Horses, Who May Be Occasionally Used, Either To Redouble The Speed, Or To Satisfy The Hunger, Of The Barbarians. Many Are The Resources Of Courage And Poverty.

These Idle Disputants Overlooked The Invariable Laws Of Nature, Which Have Connected Peace With Innocence, Plenty With Industry, And Safety With Valour.