Note 105
The jealousy of Maracci (Prodromus, part iv.
p. 33) prompts him to enumerate the more liberal alms of the
Catholics of Rome. Fifteen great hospitals are open to many
thousand patients and pilgrims; fifteen hundred maidens are
annually portioned; fifty-six charity schools are founded
for both sexes; one hundred and twenty confraternities
relieve the wants of their brethren, &c. The benevolence of
London is still more extensive; but I am afraid that much
more is to be ascribed to the humanity, than to the
religion, of the people.]
The History Of The Decline And
Fall Of The Roman Empire
—Fall In The East
—Chapter 50