esteem, to the rank of a second parent:
Theodosius embraced, as his own, the children of his brother and sister;
and the expressions of his regard were extended to the most distant
and obscure branches of his numerous kindred. His familiar friends
were judiciously selected from among those persons, who, in the equal
intercourse of private life, had appeared before his eyes without a
mask; the consciousness of personal and superior merit enabled him to
despise the accidental distinction of the purple; and he proved by
his conduct, that he had forgotten all the injuries, while he most
gratefully remembered all the favors and services, which he had received
before he ascended the throne of the Roman empire. The serious or
lively tone of his conversation was adapted to the age, the rank, or the
character of his subjects, whom he admitted into his society; and the
affability of his manners displayed the image of his mind. Theodosius
respected the simplicity of the good and virtuous: every art, every
talent, of a useful, or even of an innocent nature, was rewarded by his
judicious liberality; and, except the heretics, whom he persecuted
with implacable hatred, the diffusive circle of his benevolence was
circumscribed only by the limits of the human race. The government of
a mighty empire may assuredly suffice to occupy the time, and the
abilities, of a mortal: yet the diligent prince, without aspiring to the
unsuitable reputation of profound learning, always reserved some moments
of his leisure for the instructive amusement of reading. History, which
enlarged his experience, was his favorite study. The annals of Rome, in
the long period of eleven hundred years, presented him with a various
and splendid picture of human life: and it has been particularly
observed, that whenever he perused the cruel acts of Cinna, of Marius,
or of Sylla, he warmly expressed his generous detestation of those
enemies of humanity and freedom. His disinterested opinion of past
events was usefully applied as the rule of his own actions; and
Theodosius has deserved the singular commendation, that his virtues
always seemed to expand with his fortune: the season of his prosperity
was that of his moderation; and his clemency appeared the most
conspicuous after the danger and success of a civil war. The Moorish
guards of the tyrant had been massacred in the first heat of the
victory, and a small number of the most obnoxious criminals suffered
the punishme