Intheirrepresentationsthegeneralsandstatesmenofantiquityareabsolutelydivestedofallindividuality。Theyarepersonifications;theyarepassions，talents，opinions，virtues，vices，butnotmen。Inconsistencyisathingofwhichthesewritershavenonotion。Thatamanmayhavebeenliberalinhisyouthandavariciousinhisage，crueltooneenemyandmercifultoanother，istothemutterlyinconceivable。Ifthefactsbeundeniable，theysupposesomestrangeanddeepdesign，inordertoexplainwhat，aseveryonewhohasobservedhisownmindknows，needsnoexplanationatall。Thisisamodeofwritingveryacceptabletothemultitudewhohavealwaysbeenaccustomedtomakegodsanddaemonsoutofmenverylittlebetterorworsethanthemselves;butitappearscontemptibletoallwhohavewatchedthechangesofhumancharacter——toallwhohaveobservedtheinfluenceoftime，ofcircumstances，andofassociates，onmankind——toallwhohaveseenaherointhegout，ademocratinthechurch，apedantinlove，oraphilosopherinliquor。Thispracticeofpaintinginnothingbutblackandwhiteisunpardonableeveninthedrama。ItisthegreatfaultofAlfieri;andhowmuchitinjurestheeffectofhiscompositionswillbeobvioustoeveryonewhowillcomparehisRosmundawiththeLadyMacbethofShakspeare。Theoneisawickedwoman;theotherisafiend。Heronlyfeelingishatred;allherwordsarecurses。Weareatonceshockedandfatiguedbythespectacleofsuchravingcruelty，excitedbynoprovocation，repeatedlychangingitsobject，andconstantinnothingbutinitsin—
extinguishablethirstforblood。
Inhistorythiserrorisfarmoredisgraceful。Indeed，thereisnofaultwhichsocompletelyruinsanarrativeintheopinionofajudiciousreader。Weknowthatthelineofdemarcationbetweengoodandbadmenissofaintlymarkedasoftentoeludethemostcarefulinvestigationofthosewhohavethebestopportunitiesforjudging。Publicmen，aboveall，aresurroundedwithsomanytemptationsanddifficultiesthatsomedoubtmustalmostalwayshangovertheirrealdispositionsandintentions。ThelivesofPym，Cromwell，Monk，Clarendon，Marlborough，Burnet，Walpole，arewellknowntous。Weareacquaintedwiththeiractions，theirspeeches，theirwritings;wehaveabundanceoflettersandwell—
authenticatedanecdotesrelatingtothem:yetwhatcandidmanwillventureverypositivelytosaywhichofthemwerehonestandwhichofthemweredishonestmen？Itappearseasiertopronouncedecidedlyuponthegreatcharactersofantiquity，notbecausewehavegreatermeansofdiscoveringtruth，butsimplybecausewehavelessmeansofdetectingerror。ThemodernhistoriansofGreecehaveforgottenthis。Theirheroesandvillainsareasconsistentinalltheirsayingsanddoingsasthecardinalvirtuesandthedeadlysinsinanallegory。WeshouldassoonexpectagoodactionfromgiantSlay—goodinBunyanasfromDionysius;andacrimeofEpaminondaswouldseemasincongruousasafaux—pasofthegraveandcomelydamselcalledDiscretion，whoansweredthebellatthedoorofthehouseBeautiful。
Thiserrorwaspartlythecauseandpartlytheeffectofthehighestimationinwhichthelaterancientwritershavebeenheldbymodernscholars。ThoseFrenchandEnglishauthorswhohavetreatedoftheaffairsofGreecehavegenerallyturnedwithcontemptfromthesimpleandnaturalnarrationsofThucydidesandXenophontotheextravagantrepresentationsofPlutarch，Diodorus，Curtius，andotherromancersofthesameclass，——menwhodescribedmilitaryoperationswithouteverhavinghandledasword，andappliedtotheseditionsoflittlerepublicsspeculationsformedbyobservationonanempirewhichcoveredhalftheknownworld。Oflibertytheyknewnothing。Itwastothemagreatmystery——asuperhumanenjoyment。Theyrantedaboutlibertyandpatriotism，fromthesamecausewhichleadsmonkstotalkmoreardentlythanothermenaboutloveandwomen。Awisemanvaluespoliticalliberty，becauseitsecuresthepersonsandthepossessionsofcitizens;becauseittendstopreventtheextravaganceofrulers，andthecorruptionofjudges;becauseitgivesbirthtousefulsciencesandelegantarts;becauseitexcitestheindustryandincreasesthecomfortsofallclassesofsociety。Thesetheoristsimaginedthatitpossessedsomethingeternallyandintrinsicallygood，distinctfromtheblessingswhichitgenerallyproduced。Theyconsidereditnotasameansbutasanend;anendtobeattainedatanycost。Theirfavouriteheroesarethosewhohavesacrificed，forthemerenameoffreedom，theprosperity——thesecurity——thejustice——fromwhichfreedomderivesitsvalue。