[the Monks'] Minds Were Inaccessible To Reason

Yet The Civilians Have Always Respected The Natural Right Of A Citizen To Dispose Of His Life . . .

Philosophy Had Instructed Julian To Compare The Advantages Of Action And Retirement; But The Elevation Of His Birth And The Accidents Of His Life Never Allowed Him The Freedom Of Choice. He Might Perhaps Sincerely Have Preferred The Groves Of The Academy And The Society Of Athens; But He Was Constrained, At First By The Will, And Afterwards By The Injustice Of Constantius, To Expose His Person And Fame To The Dangers Of Imperial Greatness; And To Make Himself Accountable To The World And To Posterity For The Happiness Of Millions.

Extreme Distress, Which Unites The Virtue Of A Free People, Imbitters The Factions Of A Declining Monarchy.

To An Active Mind, Indolence Is More Painful Than Labor.

Instructed By History And Reflection, Julian Was Persuaded That, If The Diseases Of The Body May Sometimes Be Cured By Salutary Violence, Neither Steel Nor Fire Can Eradicate The Erroneous Opinions Of The Mind.