OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE 419 nervous strength, though of a disproportioned form. The haughty step and demeanour of the king of the Huns expressed the consciousness of his superiority above the rest of mankind ; and he had a custom of fiercely rolling his eyes, as if he wished to enjoy the terror which he inspired. Yet this savage hero was not inaccessible to pity : his suppliant enemies might con- fide in the assurance of peace or pardon ; and Attila was con- sidered by his subjects as a just and indulgent master. He delighted in war ; but, after he had ascended the throne in a mature age, his head, rather than his hand, achieved the con- quest of the North ; and the fame of an adventurous soldier was usefully exchanged for that of a prudent and successful general. The effects of personal valour are so inconsiderable, except in poetry or romance, that victory, even among Bai'barians, must depend on the degree of skill with which the passions of the multitude are combined and guided for the service of a single man. The Scythian conquerors, Attila and Zingis, surpassed their rude countrymen in ai*t rather than in courage ; and it may be observed that the monarchies, both of the Huns and of the Moguls, were erected by their founders on the basis of popular superstition. The miraculous conception, which fraud and credulity ascribed to the virgin-mother of Zingis, raised him above the level of human nature ; and the naked prophet, who, in the name of the Deity, invested him with the empire of the earth, pointed the valour of the Moguls with irresistible en- thusiasm." The religious arts of Attila were not less skilfully adapted to the character of his age and country. It was natural enough that the Scythians should adore, with peculiar devotion, the god of war ; but, as they were incapable of forming either an abstract idea or a corporeal representation, they worshipped He discovers their tutelar deity under the symbol of an iron cimeter.^ One Mars"""^ of the shepherds of the Huns perceived that a heifer, who was grazing, had wounded herself in the foot, and curiously followed the track of the blood, till he discovered, among the long grass, " Abulpharag. Dynast, vers. Pocock, p. 281. Genealogical History of the Tartars, by Abulghazi Bahadar Khan, part iii. c. 15, part iv. c. 3. Vie de Gengiscan, par Petit de la Croix, 1. i. c. i, 6. The relations of the missionaries who visited Tartary in the thirteenth century (see the seventh volume of the Histoire des Voyages) express the popular language and opinions ; Zingis is styled the Son of God, &c., &c. 8 Nee templum apud eos visitur aut delubrum, ne tugurium quidem culmo tectum cerni usquam potest; sed o/adius Barbarico ritu humi figiiur nudus, eumque ut Martem regionum quas circumcircant praesulum verecundius colunt. Ammian. Marcellin. xxxi. 2, and the learned Notes of Lindenbrogius and Valesi us.
