t of war by the tender care
and severe discipline of his father. [109] Under the standard of such a
leader, young Theodosius sought glory and knowledge, in the most distant
scenes of military action; inured his constitution to the difference
of seasons and climates; distinguished his valor by sea and land; and
observed the various warfare of the Scots, the Saxons, and the Moors.
His own merit, and the recommendation of the conqueror of Africa, soon
raised him to a separate command; and, in the station of Duke of Misaea,
he vanquished an army of Sarmatians; saved the province; deserved the
love of the soldiers; and provoked the envy of the court. [110] His
rising fortunes were soon blasted by the disgrace and execution of his
illustrious father; and Theodosius obtained, as a favor, the permission
of retiring to a private life in his native province of Spain. He
displayed a firm and temperate character in the ease with which he
adapted himself to this new situation. His time was almost equally
divided between the town and country; the spirit, which had animated his
public conduct, was shown in the active and affectionate performance
of every social duty; and the diligence of the soldier was profitably
converted to the improvement of his ample patrimony, [111] which lay
between Valladolid and Segovia, in the midst of a fruitful district,
still famous for a most exquisite breed of sheep. [112] From the
innocent, but humble labors of his farm, Theodosius was transported,
in less than four months, to the throne of the Eastern empire; and
the whole period of the history of the world will not perhaps afford
a similar example, of an elevation at the same time so pure and so
honorable. The princes who peaceably inherit the sceptre of their
fathers, claim and enjoy a legal right, the more secure as it is
absolutely distinct from the merits of their personal characters. The
subjects, who, in a monarchy, or a popular state, acquire the possession
of supreme power, may have raised themselves, by the superiority either
of genius or virtue, above the heads of their equals; but their
virtue is seldom exempt from ambition; and the cause of the successful
candidate is frequently stained by the guilt of conspiracy, or civil
war. Even in those governments which allow the reigning monarch to
declare a colleague or a successor, his partial choice, which may be
influenced by the blindest passions, is often directed to an unworthy
object But the