History Has Scarcely Deigned To Notice [libius

So Long As Mankind Shall Continue To Lavish More Praise Upon Its Destroyers Than Upon Its Benefactors War Shall Remain The Chief Pursuit Of Ambitious Minds.

Both Moscow And [kiev], The Modern And The Ancient Capitals, Were Reduced To Ashes [by The Tartars]; A Temporary Ruin, Less Fatal Than The Deep, And Perhaps Indelible, Mark, Which A Servitude Of Two Hundred Years Has Imprinted On The Character Of The Russians.

At The Hour Of Midnight The Salerian Gate Was Silently Opened, And The Inhabitants Were Awakened By The Tremendous Sound Of The Gothic Trumpet. Eleven Hundred And Sixty-three Years After The Foundation Of Rome, The Imperial City, Which Had Subdued And Civilised So Considerable A Part Of Mankind, Was Delivered To The Licentious Fury Of The Tribes Of Germany And Scythia.

Fashion Was The Only Law, Pleasure The Only Pursuit, And The Splendour Of Dress And Furniture Was The Only Distinction Of The Citizens Of Antioch. The Arts Of Luxury Were Honoured; The Serious And Manly Virtues Were The Subject Of Ridicule; And The Contempt For Female Modesty And Reverent Age Announced The Universal Corruption Of The Capital Of The East.

The Comparative View Of The Powers Of The Magistrates, In Two Remarkable Instances, Is Alone Sufficient To Represent The Whole System Of German Manners. The Disposal Of The Landed Property Within Their District Was Absolutely Vested In Their Hands, And They Distributed It Every Year According To A New Division. At The Same Time, They Were Not Authorised To Punish With Death, To Imprison, Or Even To Strike, A Private Citizen.