ardon;
and Attila was considered by his subjects as a just and indulgent
master. He delighted in war; but, after he had ascended the throne in a
mature age, his head, rather than his hand, achieved the conquest of the
North; and the fame of an adventurous soldier was usefully exchanged for
that of a prudent and successful general. The effects of personal valor
are so inconsiderable, except in poetry or romance, that victory, even
among Barbarians, must depend on the degree of skill with which the
passions of the multitude are combined and guided for the service of a
single man. The Scythian conquerors, Attila and Zingis, surpassed their
rude countrymen in art rather than in courage; and it may be observed
that the monarchies, both of the Huns and of the Moguls, were erected
by their founders on the basis of popular superstition The miraculous
conception, which fraud and credulity ascribed to the virgin-mother
of Zingis, raised him above the level of human nature; and the naked
prophet, who in the name of the Deity invested him with the empire of
the earth, pointed the valor of the Moguls with irresistible enthusiasm.
[7] The religious arts of Attila were not less skillfully adapted to
the character of his age and country. It was natural enough that the
Scythians should adore, with peculiar devotion, the god of war; but as
they were incapable of forming either an abstract idea, or a corporeal
representation, they worshipped their tutelar deity under the symbol of
an iron cimeter. [8] One of the shepherds of the Huns perceived, that a
heifer, who was grazing, had wounded herself in the foot, and curiously
followed the track of the blood, till he discovered, among the long
grass, the point of an ancient sword, which he dug out of the ground
and presented to Attila. That magnanimous, or rather that artful,
prince accepted, with pious gratitude, this celestial favor; and, as
the rightful possessor of the sword of Mars, asserted his divine and
indefeasible claim to the dominion of the earth. [9] If the rites of
Scythia were practised on this solemn occasion, a lofty altar, or rather
pile of fagots, three hundred yards in length and in breadth, was raised
in a spacious plain; and the sword of Mars was placed erect on the
summit of this rustic altar, which was annually consecrated by the
blood of sheep, horses, and of the hundredth captive. [10] Whether
human sacrifices formed any part of the worship of Attila, or whether he
pro