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INTRODUCTION.

success, has suffered the laurels of victory to be planted in the midstof heaps of rubbish, the sad remains of fallen edifices ! Alas ! thefaded state of those laurels must quickly convince him of his error,and serve as a severe lesson on future occasions. The ruins ofPersepolis are to this day an indelible stain on the memory of himwho vainly hoped to make amends for the destruction of that cityby laying the foundation of Alexandria, where the invaders of thepresent day have fruitlessly sought the monuments of ancient times,and carried their ambition so far as to attempt re-building itswalls. Arts once lost cannot be restored; since those whichflourished in one century can never equally suit the taste ofanother.

I can never sufficiently regret, that I should be compelled, inthe course of this history, to place, in the same page with the mostillustrious personages who have honoured the Order, names(though happily but few in number) which ought for ever to beproscribed. The history of their crimes will serve as a strikinginstance of the frailty of human nature, which yields to temptationeven in presence of the most sublime virtue.

And you, illustrious, religious dames * who, after the exampleof the original hospitallers of St. John, have devoted yourselves to