Ilh I
Army: like unto the grains o f Sand, which Providence has placed upon the
shores, and againft which the waves o f a tempeftous Sea, were juft breaking.
The fmall number o f thofe who furrounded Leo { fo r , in thefe unhappy times,
it was he that governed the Church , and Comforted his Country j were, like
him , mounted on M u le s , all o f which feemed to yield to his , m point
o f dignity , Strengbt , and even goodnefs o f temper : In the Men who
feemed to be o f the moft diftinguisbed rank , you could perceive a calm contempt
for their enemy , and a confidence in the power o f their chief , which
kept them almoft in a ftate o f inaBion : An Aftonishment, ftrongly impreffed
with a fort o f fea r , mixed with refpeB for so great a power, was vifible
in the countenance o f thofe , who inferior in Rank to the firft , were
neverthelefs neareft the Pontif: as to the people o f the loweft order , who
iwre his attendants, you could perceive in the midft o f their curiofty , that
fort o f pride , which a man flatters himfelf with, in belonging to one, on
whom many others depend, and who appears on this occafion to have the
command o f Events . A bo v e, in the air , you faw the Princes o f the
Apoftles going before the facred troop ; The firft left diftinguishable by
the Keys , which were entrufted to him , than by the mildnefs o f bis charaBer
, and the defire he bad, not to punish, but correB, brandishing his
fword with its points upwards , and inclining his head , as one , who had a
compaffwn at the fame time for the perfon , whom he threaten’d , exhorts the
King o f the Huns, to defift from an enterprife difapproved o f by Heaven.
The fécond o f the Apoftles , P a u l, o f a more violent temper , as i f be re-
colleBed bis former profeffion , warns with an air o f one , rather difpofed to
punish, than to exhort ; His aBion, which is more lively , his left arm
ftretched ou t, his fore finger pointing with an air o f Authority and precee-
ding the point o f his fword, commands the Colours o f the Enemy to retire
quickly : innanimate as they are , and althd the wind carries them forward,
as i f they heard the words o f the Apojile o f the Gentils, as i f they were
fenfihle o f their force , they do not fa il obeying his commands ; agitated by
two contrary powers , they double back , juft as i f an impetuous whirlwind
obliged them to take a direBion contrary to that prefcribed by the common
order o f Nature : their motion shews , that, in all this , there is fomething
fupernatural , Miraculous , Divine ; it is providence herfelf, that fufpends
D I S C O U R S P R E L I M I N A I R E
ble au grain de fable que la Providence a mis fur le r iv a g e , & contre
lequel viennent se rompre les vagues d 'un e mer agitée par la
T em p ê te . Comme L é o n , ( c a r c’ étoit lu i , q u i, dans ces temps malheureux
confolo it 1’ Eglife , & foutenoit sa patrie ) ; Le petit nombre
de ceux qui l’ environnoient , é to it monté fur des mules , qui
toutes le cédoient à la fienne en dignité , en force , & même en
bonté : dans ceux qui paroilToient les plus élevés par leurs rangs,
on v o y o it un tranquille mépris de 1’ ennemi , & une confiance dans
la puiffance de leur C h e f , qui les tenoit prefque fans aêtion. L ’éton-
nement le mieux m a rq u é , avec une forte de c ra in te , mêlée de refpeêl
p ou r un fi grand p o u v o i r , paroilToient fur les vifages & dans la contenance
de ceux , qui dans un état inférieur à celui des premiers,
étoient néammoins les plus voifins du Pontife : quant aux gens du
plus bas o rd re , qui marchoient à fa fu ite , à travers leur cu r io lité , on
en tre vo yo it cette forte d’ o rg u e il, qui fa it que l’on se p la it à dépendre
d’un homme , de qui feul dépendent tous les autres, & qui dans
cette o c ca fion , femble commander aux événemens . On vo io it dans les
airs les Princes des A p ô t r e s , qui devançoient la troupe Sacrée ; moms
reconnoilfable aux clefs qui lui ont été confiées , qu'à fon caraêfere
de d o u c eu r , & à l’envie qu’il a v o i t , non de punir , mais de corr ig
e r , le Premier a g ito it fon épée dont il tenoit la pointe élevée , &
panchant la t ê t e , comme quelqu’un qui prendroit en p itié la perfonne
même qu’il menace , il exhorte le R o y des Huns , à se défifter
d’une entreprife que le C ie l d é iap p ro u v e . L e fécond des A p ô t r e s , Paul,
d’un caraftere plus em p o r té , comme se reffentant du m é t ie r , qu’ il a
fait autrefois, a v e r t it , avec l’air de quelqu’u n , qui peut employer la
punition au lieu des avertilfemens; fon a flio n qui eft plus v iv e , fon
bras gauche qu’il porte en a v a n t , avec le d o ig t index q u ’ il allonge
d'un air d’a u to r ité , & qui précédé la pointe de fon ép é e , ordonnent
aux Enfeignes ennemies, de se retirer promptement : toutes inanimées
q u ’elles fo n t , & quoique le v ent les tourne vers la tête de l’a rm é e ,
comme fi elles entendoient le difcours de F en vo y é de Dieu , comme
fi elles y étoient fenfibles, elles ne manquent pas d’obéir à fes cora-
mandemcns . Ag ité e s par deux forces contraires , elles fc retournent
Vol. II. e vous
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