Hope, The Best Comfort Of Our Imperfect

There Exists In Human Nature A Strong Propensity To Depreciate The Advantages, And To Magnify The Evils, Of The Present Times.

Such Events May Be Disbelieved Or Disregarded; But The Charity Of A Bishop, Acacius Of Amida, Whose Name Might Have Dignified The Saintly Calendar, Shall Not Be Lost In Oblivion.

The Most Sublime Efforts Of Philosophy Can Extend No Farther Than Feebly To Point Out The Desire, The Hope, Or, At Most, The Probability, Of A Future State, There Is Nothing, Except A Divine Revelation, That Can Ascertain The Existence, And Describe The Condition Of The Invisible Country Which Is Destined To Receive The Souls Of Men After Their Separation From The Body.

I Have Somewhere Heard Or Read The Frank Confession Of A Benedictine Abbot: "my Vow Of Poverty Has Given Me A Hundred Thousand Crowns A Year; My Vow Of Obedience Has Raised Me To The Rank Of A Sovereign Prince." - I Forget The Consequences Of His Vow Of Chastity.

Revenge Is Profitable, Gratitude Is Expensive.