The Vain, Inconstant, Rebellious Disposition Of The

It Has Been Sagaciously Conjectured, That The Artful Legislator Indulged The Stubborn Prejudices Of His Countrymen.

Whenever The Offence Inspires Less Horror Than The Punishment, The Rigour Of Penal Law Is Obliged To Give Way To The Common Feelings Of Mankind.

To A Philosophic Eye, The Vices Of The Clergy Are Far Less Dangerous Than Their Virtues.

History Is Indeed Little More Than The Register Of The Crimes, Follies, And Misfortunes Of Mankind.

Yet The People, And Even The Clergy, Incapable Of Forming Any Rational Judgment Of The Business Of Peace And War, Presumed To Arraign The Policy Of Stilicho, Who So Often Vanquished, So Often Surrounded, And So Often Dismissed The Implacable Enemy Of The Republic. The First Moment Of The Public Safety Is Devoted To Gratitude And Joy; But The Second Is Diligently Occupied By Envy And Calumny.