Epistle.

these ordinary circuits of their Dioceses The district under a Bishop's care, than
to bring health to the Sick, and to offer some? re-
lief to the Wretched? It is not from my
own private opinion that I compare Bishops to that
Prophet; the connection is so fitting that there? is no
mind so dull as to not perceive the
parallel. Is it not they who enter into the
sentiments, as well as the powers, of Him
whose lovely voice invites the afflicted to seek
His presence? Is it not they who become
sick with Saint Paul, sharing in all the infirmities
that they encounter? Are they not those Stars of
favor, and those flying clouds of the Scripture, which
appear over us only to dispel our boredom
and our miseries? Upon this consideration, MY
LORD, even if God had made an excep-
tion of your Person, and you were all
alone exempt from the common sufferings of life,
I would still have reason to present you this
Consolation likely referring to the title of the book or the specific text being dedicated, as a rare epithem epitheme: a topical liquid medicine or compress applied externally to the body whose
aid you will share with as much skill as
zeal. It is true that I have many specific
motives which settle the choice of my support
in your person: but I prefer to leave them to
your judgment, rather than to produce them with the danger of
flattery. I? will allow those who do not know
my secret considerations to instead
attribute this offering to the general inclination that all the