Disaster opens the eyes of conscience; and, in the minds of men who have been employed in bad actions, defeat and a feeling of punishment are inseparable.
On the other hand; the power of an unblemished heart and a brave spirit is shewn, in the events of war, not only among unpractised citizens and peasants; but among troops in the most perfect discipline.

Large bodies of the British army have been several times broken--that is, technically vanquished--in Egypt, and elsewhere.

Yet they, who were conquered as formal soldiers, stood their ground and became conquerors as men.

This paramount efficacy of moral causes is not willingly admitted by persons high in the profession of arms; because it seems to diminish their value in society--by taking from the importance of their art: but the truth is indisputable: and those Generals are as blind to their own interests as to the interests of their country, who, by submitting to inglorious treaties or by other misconduct, hazard the breaking down of those personal virtues in the men under their command--to which they themselves, as leaders, are mainly indebted for the fame which they acquire.
Combine, with this moral superiority inherent in the cause of Freedom, the endless resources open to a nation which shews constancy in defensive war; resources which, after a lapse of time, leave the strongest invading army comparatively helpless.

Before six cities, resisting as Saragossa hath resisted during her two sieges, the whole of the military power of the adversary would melt away.