It Is The First Care

The First And Indispensable Requisite Of Happiness Is A Clear Conscience.

History Has Scarcely Deigned To Notice [libius Severus's] Birth, His Elevation, His Character, Or His Death.

But [the Arabs'] Friendship Was Venal, Their Faith Inconstant, Their Enmity Capricious: It Was An Easier Task To Excite Than To Disarm These Roving Barbarians; And, In The Familiar Intercourse Of War, They Learned To See, And To Despise, The Splendid Weakness Both Of Rome And Of Persia.

Corruption, The Most Infallible Symptom Of Constitutional Liberty, Was Successfully Practised; Honours, Gifts, And Immunities Were Offered And Accepted As The Price Of An Episcopal Vote; And The Condemnation Of The Alexandrian Primate Was Artfully Represented As The Only Measure Which Could Restore The Peace And Union Of The Catholic Church.

The Policy Of The Emperors And The Senate, As Far As It Concerned Religion, Was Happily Seconded By The Reflections Of The Enlightened, And By The Habits Of The Superstitious, Part Of Their Subjects. The Various Modes Of Worship, Which Prevailed In The Roman World, Were All Considered By The People, As Equally True; By The Philosopher, As Equally False; And By The Magistrate, As Equally Useful. And Thus Toleration Produced Not Only Mutual Indulgence, But Even Religious Concord.