300 THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER OF [book hi.

at this very date is it recorded, how under theirwise government mendicancy had entirely dis-appeared, there being plenty of labour for everyindividual in health, and for the sick and invalid amagnificent hospital to retire to, where they foundabundant comforts of all kinds spiritual and tem-poral ; 1 confronting which, and the contented medio-crity of commerce and of social luxuries at that timein Rhodes, with the exuberance of wealth, men-dicity, discontent and worse, and of colonies andmanufactures at present in the most advancednation in Europe, suggest an intricate question forwiser heads than mine. Yet was this their excel-lent example of real charity and true statesman-ship, turned into an accusation of not giving alms,or rarely and but little. No wonder then, if theirmost inoffensive recreations were made sins of theblackest hue. Exiles, ascetics, cut off from theenjoyment of society, a sluggard called it criminalin them to have fine dogs and horses—as if it werea holier thing to indulge in curs and bone-setters,forgetting they were not mendicant friars, butsoldiers of the noblest houses of Christendom,young barons and heirs to large fortunes, if theypleased . 2

1 Vertot: v. 192.

2 Cod. Dipl. Geros., Num. lxix.—Appendix, cxxxiii.