And you will find, if you read well, a pair of
extremely remarkable nations shining in the records left by themselves
as a kind of pillar to light up life in the darkness of the past
ages; and it will be well worth your while if you can get into the
understanding of what these people were and what they did. You will
find a great deal of hearsay, as I have found, that does not touch on
the matter; but perhaps some of you will get to see a Roman face to
face; you will know in some measure how they contrived to exist, and
to perform these feats in the world; I believe, also, you will find
a thing not much noted, that there was a very great deal of deep
religion in its form in both nations. That is noted by the wisest of
historians, and particularly by Ferguson, who is particularly well
worth reading on Roman history; and I believe he was an alumnus in our
own University. His book is a very creditable book. He points out the
profoundly religious nature of the Roman people, notwithstanding the
wildness and ferociousness of their nature.
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