e; neither peace
nor war, nor summer nor winter, were a season of repose; and our fancy
cannot easily reconcile the annals of his reign with the geography
of his expeditions. But this activity was a national, rather than a
personal, virtue; the vagrant life of a Frank was spent in the chase, in
pilgrimage, in military adventures; and the journeys of Charlemagne
were distinguished only by a more numerous train and a more important
purpose. His military renown must be tried by the scrutiny of his
troops, his enemies, and his actions. Alexander conquered with the arms
of Philip, but the _two_ heroes who preceded Charlemagne bequeathed him
their name, their examples, and the companions of their victories. At
the head of his veteran and superior armies, he oppressed the savage or
degenerate nations, who were incapable of confederating for their common
safety: nor did he ever encounter an equal antagonist in numbers, in
discipline, or in arms The science of war has been lost and revived with
the arts of peace; but his campaigns are not illustrated by any siege
or battle of singular difficulty and success; and he might behold,
with envy, the Saracen trophies of his grandfather. After the Spanish
expedition, his rear-guard was defeated in the Pyrenaean mountains; and
the soldiers, whose situation was irretrievable, and whose valor was
useless, might accuse, with their last breath, the want of skill
or caution of their general. I touch with reverence the laws of
Charlemagne, so highly applauded by a respectable judge. They compose
not a system, but a series, of occasional and minute edicts, for the
correction of abuses, the reformation of manners, the economy of his
farms, the care of his poultry, and even the sale of his eggs. He wished
to improve the laws and the character of the Franks; and his attempts,
however feeble and imperfect, are deserving of praise: the inveterate
evils of the times were suspended or mollified by his government; but
in his institutions I can seldom discover the general views and the
immortal spirit of a legislator, who survives himself for the benefit of
posterity. The union and stability of his empire depended on the life
of a single man: he imitated the dangerous practice of dividing his
kingdoms among his sons; and after his numerous diets, the whole
constitution was left to fluctuate between the disorders of anarchy and
despotism. His esteem for the piety and knowledge of the clergy tempted
him to