According To The Law Of

The Most Distinguished Merit Of Those Two Officers Was Their Respective Prowess, Of The One In The Combats Of Bacchus, Of The Other In Those Of Venus.

The Author Himself Is The Best Judge Of His Own Performance; None Has So Deeply Meditated On The Subject; None Is So Sincerely Interested In The Event.

From The Paths Of Blood (and Such Is The History Of Nations) I Cannot Refuse To Turn Aside To Gather Some Flowers Of Science Or Virtue.

It Is Scarcely Possible That The Eyes Of Contemporaries Should Discover In The Public Felicity The Latent Causes Of Decay And Corruption. This Long Peace, And The Uniform Government Of The Romans, Introduced A Slow And Secret Poison Into The Vitals Of The Empire. The Minds Of Men Were Gradually Reduced To The Same Level, The Fire Of Genius Was Extinguished, And Even The Military Spirit Evaporated.

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