The slightest force, when it is applied to assist and guide the natural descent of its object, operates with irresistible weight; and Jovian had the good fortune to embrace the religious opinions which were supported by the spirit of the times and the zeal and numbers of the most powerful sect. Under his reign, Christianity obtained an easy and lasting victory; and, as soon as the smile of royal patronage was withdrawn, the genius of Paganism, which had been fondly raised and cherished by the arts of Julian, sunk irrecoverably in the dust.

I sighed as a lover, I obeyed as a son.

In a distant age and climate, the tragic scene of the death of Hosein will awaken the sympathy of the coldest reader.

Yet the civilians have always respected the natural right of a citizen to dispose of his life . . .

Ignorant of the arts of luxury, the primitive Romans had improved the science of government and war.

The land was then covered with morasses and forests, which spread to a boundless extent, whenever man has ceased to exercise his dominion over the earth.

There is nothing perhaps more adverse to nature and reason than to hold in obedience remote countries and foreign nations, in opposition to their inclination and interest.