Examine for yourself, and you will find in
Alexander a model of honour, generosity, and disinterestedness,--a man
who, for the cultivated liberality of his mind, and the unparalleled
grandeur of his projects, must stand alone the spectacle and admiration
of all ages of the world."
"Ah, sir! it is a fine thing for us to sit here and compose his
panegyric. But shall I forget what a vast expense was bestowed in
erecting the monument of his fame? Was not he the common disturber of
mankind? Did not he over-run nations that would never have heard of him
but for his devastations? How many hundred thousands of lives did he
sacrifice in his career? What must I think of his cruelties; a whole
tribe massacred for a crime committed by their ancestors one hundred and
fifty years before; fifty thousand sold into slavery; two thousand
crucified for their gallant defence of their country? Man is surely a
strange sort of creature, who never praises any one more heartily than
him who has spread destruction and ruin over the face of nations!"
"The way of thinking you express, Williams, is natural enough, and I
cannot blame you for it.
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