How can
a man be called _great in religion_, when he openly holds opinions
entirely opposed to the True Faith, such as, that _all men are
predestined_, that _Hell will not last for ever_, and the like?"
_The Orator._ "His very look inspired esteem and confidence,--
_The Critic._ "Then one must have taken him at exactly the right
moment, and not when he was foaming at the mouth with rage."
_The Orator._ "A mingled air of nobility and gentleness; a countenance
that bespoke the probity that appeared in all his acts, and a
sincerity that could not dissimulate,--
_The Critic._ "The eulogist did not know the old fox."
_The Orator._ "An inviolable fidelity to friends,--
_The Critic._ "What friends? Was it persons of the other sex? Of these
he was always fond, and too much for the honor of some of them."
_The Orator._ "Disinterested for himself, ardent for others, he used
his credit at court only to recommend their services, excuse their
faults, and obtain favors for them,--
_The Critic_. "True; but it was for his creatures and for nobody
else."
_The Orator_. "I pass in silence that reading of spiritual books which
he practised as an indispensable duty more than forty years; that holy
avidity with which he listened to the word of God,--
_The Critic_.
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