"Well, Williams, and could you find no reasons there?"

"Why, I do not know, sir. I could find reasons why he should be so
famous; but every man that is talked of is not admired. Judges differ
about the merits of Alexander. Doctor Prideaux says in his Connection,
that he deserves only to be called the Great Cut-throat; and the author
of Tom Jones has written a volume, to prove that he and all other
conquerors ought to be classed with Jonathan Wild."

Mr. Falkland reddened at these citations.

"Accursed blasphemy! Did these authors think that, by the coarseness of
their ribaldry, they could destroy his well-earned fame? Are learning,
sensibility, and taste, no securities to exempt their possessor from
this vulgar abuse? Did you ever read, Williams, of a man more gallant,
generous, and free? Was ever mortal so completely the reverse of every
thing engrossing and selfish? He formed to himself a sublime image of
excellence, and his only ambition was to realise it in his own story.
Remember his giving away every thing when he set out upon his grand
expedition, professedly reserving for himself nothing but hope.
Recollect his heroic confidence in Philip the physician, and his entire
and unalterable friendship for Ephestion. He treated the captive family
of Darius with the most cordial urbanity, and the venerable Sysigambis
with all the tenderness and attention of a son to his mother. Never take
the judgment, Williams, upon such a subject, of a clerical pedant or a
Westminster justice. Examine for yourself, and you will find in
Alexander a model of honour, generosity, and disinterestedness,--a man
who, for the cultivated liberality of his mind, and the unparalleled
grandeur of his projects, must stand alone the spectacle and admiration