Inmarchingtothelatter，theycouldfeelnoothersentimentthanthatofthedulnessofordinaryduty:inmarchingtotheformer，theyfeelthattheyaremakingthenoblestexertionwhichitispossibleformantomake。Theyknowthattheirgeneralwouldnothaveorderedthemuponthisstation，haditnotbeennecessaryforthesafetyofthearmy，forthesuccessofthewar。
Theycheerfullysacrificetheirownlittlesystemstotheprosperityofagreatersystem。Theytakeanaffectionateleaveoftheircomrades，towhomtheywishallhappinessandsuccess；
andmarchout，notonlywithsubmissiveobedience，butoftenwithshoutsofthemostjoyfulexultation，tothatfatal，butsplendidandhonourablestationtowhichtheyareappointed。Noconductorofanarmycandeservemoreunlimitedtrust，moreardentandzealousaffection，thanthegreatConductoroftheuniverse。Inthegreatestpublicaswellasprivatedisasters，awisemanoughttoconsiderthathehimself，hisfriendsandcountrymen，haveonlybeenorderedupontheforlornstationoftheuniverse；
thathaditnotbeennecessaryforthegoodofthewhole，theywouldnothavebeensoordered；andthatitistheirduty，notonlywithhumbleresignationtosubmittothisallotment，buttoendeavourtoembraceitwithalacrityandjoy。Awisemanshouldsurelybecapableofdoingwhatagoodsoldierholdshimselfatalltimesinreadinesstodo。
TheideaofthatdivineBeing，whosebenevolenceandwisdomhave，fromalleternity，contrivedandconductedtheimmensemachineoftheuniverse，soasatalltimestoproducethegreatestpossiblequantityofhappiness，iscertainlyofalltheobjectsofhumancontemplationbyfarthemostsublime。Everyotherthoughtnecessarilyappearsmeaninthecomparison。Themanwhomwebelievetobeprincipallyoccupiedinthissublimecontemplation，seldomfailstobetheobjectofourhighestveneration；andthoughhislifeshouldbealtogethercontemplative，weoftenregardhimwithasortofreligiousrespectmuchsuperiortothatwithwhichwelookuponthemostactiveandusefulservantofthecommonwealth。TheMeditationsofMarcusAntoninus，whichturnprincipallyuponthissubject，havecontributedmore，perhaps，tothegeneraladmirationofhischaracter，thanallthedifferenttransactionsofhisjust，merciful，andbeneficentreign。