own; a hardihood not without superstition, as if
Providence were a party to its success. But there is no independent
spring at the heart of the machine which can be relied upon for a
support of these motions in a change of circumstances. Disaster opens
the eyes of conscience; and, in the minds of men who have been employed
in bad actions, defeat and a feeling of punishment are inseparable.

On the other hand; the power of an unblemished heart and a brave spirit
is shewn, in the events of war, not only among unpractised citizens and
peasants; but among troops in the most perfect discipline. Large bodies
of the British army have been several times broken--that is, technically
vanquished--in Egypt, and elsewhere. Yet they, who were conquered as
formal soldiers, stood their ground and became conquerors as men. This
paramount efficacy of moral causes is not willingly admitted by persons
high in the profession of arms; because it seems to diminish their value
in society--by taking from the importance of their art: but the truth is
indisputable: and those Generals are as blind to their own interests as
to the interests of their country, who, by submitting to inglorious
treaties or by other misconduct, hazard the breaking down of those
personal virtues in the men under their command--to which they
themselves, as leaders, are mainly indebted for the fame which they
acquire.

Combine, with this moral superiority inherent in the cause of Freedom,
the endless resources open to a nation which shews constancy in
defensive war; resources which, after a lapse of time, leave the
strongest invading army comparatively helpless. Before six cities,
resisting as Saragossa hath resisted during her two sieges, the whole of
the military power of the adversary would melt away. Without any
advantages of natural situation; without fortifications; without even a
ditch to protect them; with nothing better than a mud wall; with not
more than two hundred regular troops; with a slender stock of arms and
ammunition; with a leader inexperienced in war;--the Citizens of
Saragossa began the contest. Enough of what was needful--was produced
and created; and--by courage, fortitude, and skill rapidly matured--they
baffled for sixty days, and finally repulsed, a large French army with
all its equipments. In the first siege the natural and moral victory
were both on their side; nor less so virtually (though the termination
was different) in the second. For, af