butiftheponderousmassofArianandMonophysitecontroversywereindeedconsumedinthepublicbaths，^122aphilosophermayallow，withasmile，thatitwasultimatelydevotedtothebenefitofmankind。IsincerelyregretthemorevaluablelibrarieswhichhavebeeninvolvedintheruinoftheRomanempire；butwhenIseriouslycomputethelapseofages，thewasteofignorance，andthecalamitiesofwar，ourtreasures，ratherthanourlosses，aretheobjectsofmysurprise。Manycuriousandinterestingfactsareburiedinoblivion:thethreegreathistoriansofRomehavebeentransmittedtoourhandsinamutilatedstate，andwearedeprivedofmanypleasingcompositionsofthelyric，iambic，anddramaticpoetryoftheGreeks。Yetweshouldgratefullyremember，thatthemischancesoftimeandaccidenthavesparedtheclassicworkstowhichthesuffrageofantiquity^123hadadjudgedthefirstplaceofgeniusandglory:theteachersofancientknowledge，whoarestillextant，hadperusedandcomparedthewritingsoftheirpredecessors；^124norcanitfairlybepresumedthatanyimportanttruth，anyusefuldiscoveryinartornature，hasbeensnatchedawayfromthecuriosityofmodernages。
[Footnote115:Manytreatisesofthisloveroflaborarestillextant，butforreadersofthepresentage，theprintedandunpublishedarenearlyinthesamepredicament。MosesandAristotlearethechiefobjectsofhisverbosecommentaries，oneofwhichisdatedasearlyasMay10th，A。D。617，Fabric。
Bibliot。Graec。tom。ix。p。458—468。Amodern，JohnLeClerc，whosometimesassumedthesamenamewasequaltooldPhiloponusindiligence，andfarsuperioringoodsenseandrealknowledge。]
[Footnote116:Abulpharag。Dynast。p。114，vers。Pocock。Audiquidfactumsitetmirare。Itwouldbeendlesstoenumeratethemodernswhohavewonderedandbelieved，butImaydistinguishwithhonortherationalscepticismofRenaudot，Hist。Alex。
Patriarch，p。170:historia……habetaliquidutArabibusfamiliareest。]