"From the perils which he had escaped, Arvandus imbibed confidence rather
than wisdom; and such was the various, though uniform, imprudence of
his behavior, that his prosperity must appear much more surprising than
his downfall."
"The lives of the primitive monks were consumed in penance and solitude;
undisturbed by the various occupations which fill the time, and exercise
the faculties, of reasonable, active, and social beings. Whenever
they were permitted to step beyond the precincts of the monastery, two
jealous companions were the mutual guards and spies of each other's
actions; and, after their return, they were condemned to forget, or,
at least, to suppress, whatever they had seen or heard in the world.
Strangers, who professed the orthodox faith, were hospitably entertained
in a separate apartment; but their dangerous conversation was restricted
to some chosen elders of approved discretion and fidelity. Except in
their presence, the monastic slave might not receive the visits of
his friends or kindred; and it was deemed highly meritorious, if he
afflicted a tender sister, or an aged parent, by the obstinate refusal
of a word or look.
The monks themselves passed their lives, without
personal attachments, among a crowd which had been formed by accident,
and was detained, in the same prison, by force or prejudice. Recluse
fanatics have few ideas or sentiments to communicate: a special license
of the abbot regulated the time and duration of their familiar visits;
and, at their silent meals, they were enveloped in their cowls,
inaccessible, and almost invisible, to each other.
Study is the
resource of solitude: but education had not prepared and qualified for
any liberal studies the mechanics and peasants who filled the monastic
communities. They might work: but the vanity of spiritual perfection was
tempted to disdain the exercise of manual labor; and the industry must
be faint and languid, which is not excited by the sense of personal
interest."
"The Gothic
kings and bishops at length discovered, that injuries will produce hatred, and that hatred will find the opportunity of revenge."
"His memory was capacious and retentive; his wit easy and social; his imagination
sublime; his judgment clear, rapid, and decisive. He possessed the courage both of thought and action; and, although his designs might gradually expand with his success, the first idea which he entertained of his divine mission bears the stamp of an original and superior genius. The son of Abdallah was educated in the
bosom of the noblest race, in the use of the purest dialect of Arabia; and the fluency of his speech was corrected and enhanced by the practice of discreet and seasonable silence. "
"Conversation enriches the understanding, but solitude is the school of genius; and the uniformity of a work denotes the hand of a single artist."
"It is not surprising that superstition should act most powerfully on
the fears of her votaries, since the human fancy can paint with more
energy the misery than the bliss of a future life. With the two simple
elements of darkness and fire, we create a sensation of pain, which may
be aggravated to an infinite degree by the idea of endless duration. But
the same idea operates with an opposite effect on the continuity of
pleasure; and too much of our present enjoyments is obtained from the
relief, or the comparison, of evil. "
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