S 32 On the Moral Injiuence of History. 



soul. Now as history exhibits man on what 

 we may call a grand scale ; for it is appropri- 

 ately the history of the great, the powerful, 

 the splendid, of man by the combination of 

 many circumstances moving in the face of his 

 fellows, as with the energy and majesty of a 

 God ; I am persuaded that to this strong at- 

 traction we principally owe that unsated in- 

 terest and gratification which history admi- 

 nisters. We all feel the power of this prin- 

 ciple, and know how little it is controuled by 

 consideration either of the useful or the moral. 

 The awful and the terrible attract, because 

 they are grand ; and the awful and the terrible 

 are abundantly found in history. 



Philosophers and abstract moralists will not 

 allow the character of greatness to any quality 

 of man, separate from probity and virtue. 

 But history knows no such theory, and the 

 common sense of mankind accords with the 

 judgment of history. High sounding titles, 

 splendid decorations, and a power that ac- 

 cumulates the force of millions, will, in despite 

 of the philosophy of Horace, Juvenal, or even 

 the New Testament, bow the free spirit of 

 man, and command a general homage. Even 

 the substance of power, without the dress of 

 power, would sink into familiarity and con- 

 tempt. Take away the diadem the sceptrOj 



