The mind is never so sensibly disposed to pity the sufferings of others, as when it is itself subdued and softened by calamity. Adversity diffuses a kind of sacred calm over the breast, that is the parent of thoughtfulness and meditation.
There are occasions on which it is noble to dare to stand alone, to be pious among infidels, to be disinterred in a time of general venality, to lead a life of virtue and reason in the midst of sensualities, is a proof of a mind intent on nobler things than the praise or blame of men, of a soul fixed in the contemplation of the highest good, and superior to the tyranny of custom, or [and] example.