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. ^99 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; ^100 but in his institutions I can seldom discover
the general views and the immortal spirit of a legislator, who