Like Alexander, he was liberal to profusion; and while all
he possessed seemed the property of his friends, the monarch
himself often wanted that, which with unstinted hand he had
heaped upon his favourites and dependents. His sentiments were
elevated, his manners polite and insinuating, and the affability
of his temper was never subdued.
"But the parallel is exceedingly far from entire. He possessed
not the romantic gallantry of the conqueror of Darius; he had
none of those ardent and ungovernable passions, through whose
medium the victories of Arbela and Issus had transformed the
generous hero into the lawless tyrant. It was a maxim to which
he uniformly adhered, to accomplish his lofty designs by policy
and intrigue, and to leave as little as possible to the unknown
caprice of fortune. In his mature age he was temperate, gentle,
patient. The passions of his soul, and the necessities of nature
were subordinate to the equanimity of his character[A]. His
deportment was grave and thoughtful; his religion sincere and
enthusiastic. He was ignorant of letters, and despised all
learning, that was not theological. The cultivation, that had
obtained under the khalifs, had not entirely civilized the
genius of Saladin.
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