There are diſeaſes of animal nature which nothing but amputation can remove; ſo there may, by the depravation of human paſſions, be ſometimes a gangrene in collective life for which fire and the ſword are the neceſſary remedies; but in what can ſkill or caution be better ſhewn than preventing ſuch dreadful operations, while there is yet room for gentler methods?
It is wonderful with what coolneſs and indifference the greater part of mankind ſee war commenced. Thoſe that hear of it at a diſtance, or read of it in books, but have never preſented its evils to their minds, confider it as little more than a ſplendid game, a proclamation, an army, a battle, and a triumph. Some indeed muſt periſh in the moſt ſucceſsful field, but they die upon the bed of honour, reſign their lives amidſt the joys of conqueſt, and, filled with England’s glory, ſmile in death.
