in literature, science, and art. But after the reign of Marcus Aurelius, Greece seems to have been almost forgotten, amidst the wars in which the Roman government was perpetually engaged. Sunk in obscurity, and taking an insignificant part in the affairs of the empire, she still retained the shadow of her ancient political institutions and the reminiscences of her ancient renown. The Amphictyonic Council held its assemblies; the four great games were still celebrated; the court of the Areopagus was still the last resort of justice in Athens; and the Spartan Gerontia retained at least the form of its ancient power, several centuries after the Roman conquest. Under these circumstances, and with the original and striking differences of character between the Greek and the Roman, the two races always repelled each other. No intimate union, no blending into one people, ever did or could take place.

Constantine made great and important changes in the constitution of the empire. He rendered the military element less prominent as a characteristic of the administration, remodelled the executive and the army, transferred the seat of government to a new capital, and established a new religion. He made the emperor the centre of the civil government, and devised what in modern times has been called a "bureaucracy," that the business of the administration might be carried on with a mechanical precision. But he failed to establish a well regulated system of responsibility among the servants of the state. In fact, he moulded his government into a caste, with interests directly opposed to those of the great mass of the people. "In his desire to save the world from anarchy," says our author, "he created that struggle between the administration and the governed, which has ever since existed, either actively or passively, in every country which has inherited the monarchical principle of imperial Rome; and the problem of combining efficient administration with constant responsibility seems, in these states, still unsolved."

The legal reforms introduced by Constantine were extensive, and gave the most striking evidence of his greatness; while the fiscal measures which he adopted, aiming "to transfer the whole circulating medium annually into the coffers of the state," were so erroneous in principle and so fatal in their consequences, that they prevented his salutary VOL. LXII. - No. 130.

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legislation from doing more than to prolong the agony of the body politic, which was now advancing by a slow consumption to its dissolution. The interests of the Greeks were unfavorably affected by the reforms of Constantine. The empire was so divided, that the Greeks, constituting but a part of the population in each of the five governments into which the prefecture of the Orient was divided, lost the influence which their common language and manners and their national unity would otherwise have given them; and thus the fortunes of Greece and the Greeks were more intimately blended with those of the declining empire. The gradual operation of these and other causes of national disorders is traced out by Mr. Finlay in a masterly style; but there is no space to dwell upon them here.

One of the most interesting sections in the book is that in which is discussed the influence of Christianity upon the social condition of the Greeks. We copy a part of it, both for the intrinsic importance of the subject, and to show the manner in which it is handled by Mr. Finlay.

"The steady progress which Christianity made against paganism, and the deep impression it produced on the middling classes of society, and on the votaries of philosophy, are certainly wonderful, when the weight of prejudice, the wealth of the temples, the pride of the schoolmen, and the influence of college endowments are taken into consideration. Throughout the East, the educated Greeks, from a peculiar disposition of mind, were easily led to grant an attentive hearing to the promulgators of new doctrines and systems. Even at Athens, Paul was listened to with great respect by many of the philosophers; and after his public oration to the Athenians at the Areopagus, some said, We will hear thee again of this matter.' A belief, that the principle of unity, both in politics and religion, must, from its simplicity and truth, lead to perfection, was an error of the human mind extremely prevalent at the time that Christianity was first preached. That one according spirit might be traced in the universe, and that there was one God, the Father of all, was a very prevalent doctrine. This tendency towards despotism in politics, and deism in religion, is a feature of the human mind which continually reappears in certain conditions of society and corruptions of civilization. At the same time, a very general

dissatisfaction was felt at these conclusions; and the desire of establishing the principle of man's responsibility, and his connection with another state of existence, seemed hardly compatible with the unity of the divine essence adored by the philosophers.

"Under these circumstances, Christianity could not fail of making numerous converts. It boldly announced the full bearing of truths, of which the Greek philosophers had only afforded a dim glimpse; and it distinctly contradicted many of the favorite dreams of the national, but falling, faith of Greece. It required either to be rejected or adopted. Among the Greeks, therefore, Christianity met everywhere with a curious and attentive audience. The feelings of the public mind were dormant; Christianity opened the sources of eloquence, and revived the influence of popular opinion. From the moment a people, in the state of intellectual civilization in which the Greeks were, could listen to the preachers, it was certain they would adopt the religion. They might alter, modify, or corrupt it, but it was impossible that they should reject it. The existence of an assembly, in which the dearest interests of all human beings were expounded and discussed in the language of truth, and with the most earnest expressions of persuasion, must have lent an irresistible charm to the investigation of the new doctrine, among a people possessing the institutions and feelings of the Greeks. Sincerity, truth, and a desire to persuade others, will soon create eloquence where numbers are gathered together. Christianity revived oratory, and with oratory it awakened many of the national characteristics which had slept for ages. The discussions of Christianity gave also new vigor to the communal and municipal institutions, as it improved the intellectual qualities of the people.

"The demoralization of society prevalent throughout the world has been noticed, and its injurious effect on the position of the Greek females must have long been seriously felt by every Grecian mother. The educated females in Greece, therefore, naturally welcomed the pure morality of the Gospel without hesitation, and to their exertions the rapid conversion of the middling orders must in some degree be attributed. Female influence must not be overlooked, if we would form a just estimate of the change produced in society by the conversion of the Greeks to Christianity." - pp. 142 – 144.

Mr. Finlay proceeds to describe in detail the early organization of the church, and the gradual formation of the Greek hierarchy; and in a separate section exhibits the steps by which the orthodox church became identified with the Greek nation.

When the Roman empire was divided into two independent states, the Eastern and the Western, under Arcadius and Honorius, that great political revolution necessarily gave a new impulse to the nationality of the Greeks, by connect

ing them more closely with the Eastern sovereigns, and by extending the use of the Greek language, even to the imperial court. The organization of the Christian church and the Greek municipal institutions now began to exercise a strong and direct influence upon the imperial administration itself. The learning of the nation was turned to the discussion of theological subjects; and a body of Greek theological literature was created, important for its bearings upon the early history of the church, and interesting as an exhibition of the elasticity of the Hellenic genius and language.

"The power of the clergy," says our author, "originally resting on a more popular and purer basis than that of the law, became at last so great, that it suffered the inevitable corruption of all irresponsible authority intrusted to humanity. The power of the bishops equalled that of the provincial governors in weight, and was not under the constant control of the imperial adminis. tration. To gain such a position, intrigue, simony, and popular sedition were often employed. Supported by the people, a bishop ventured to resist the emperor himself; supported by the emperor and the people, he ventured even to neglect the principles of Christianity. Theophilus, the patriarch of Alexandria, even dared to ordain the Platonic philosopher, Synesius, bishop of Ptolemaïs, in Cyrenaïca, before he believed in the resurrec tion. * " . pp. 179, 180.

This great power of the clergy is explained in part by the fact, that the Greek was the language of the Eastern church from the moment of its connection with the government, while all legal business was transacted in the Latin until after the reign of Justinian. Among the Greek population of the East, this important fact could not fail to place the priesthood at a commanding height above the civilians; as language is the one great means of swaying the popular mind.

Between the death of Arcadius and the accession of Justinian, six emperors occupied the throne, their united reigns covering a period of one hundred and twenty years, from A. D. 408 to A. D. 527. It was a period of almost unlimited despotism, held in check only by the danger of invasion and by the influence of the clergy over the body of the people. The senate of Constantinople gave some degree of stability to the imperial policy, but was so dependent up

* SHARPE'S Egypt under the Romans, 192.

on the emperor, and usually so servile, that, except by the force of the general maxims of administration which its existence through a series of years established, it had but little power to curb the arbitrary will of the sovereign. The fact, that these emperors ascended the throne from private stations, and had reached a mature age before they arrived at the imperial purple, brought their administrations, it is true, more under the control of the public opinion than could naturally have been expected from the prevalent tyrannical maxims, which were formally received for the greater part of the period we are now considering; and while the regular action of the government and the strengthening influence of popular opinion were conspiring to prolong the Byzantine empire, the Western fell in pieces.

The state of civilization and the influence of national manners among the Greek population suggest very interesting topics of inquiry. The following remarks upon literature and the fine arts are as just as they are well expressed; and the facts accompanying them possess much interest.

"The same genius which inspires poetry is necessary to excellence in the fine arts; yet, as these are more mechanical in their execution, good taste may be long retained, after inspiration has entirely ceased, by the mere effect of imitating good models. The very constitution of society seemed to forbid the existence of genius. In order to produce the highest degree of excellence in works of literature and art, it seems absolutely necessary that the author and the public'should participate in some common feelings of admiration for simplicity, beauty, and sublimity. When the condition of society places the patron of works of genius in a totally different rank of life from their authors, and renders the criticisms of a small and exclusive circle of individuals the law in literature and art, then an artificial taste must be studied, in order to secure the applause of those who alone possess the means of rewarding the merit of which they approve. The very fact, that this taste, which the author or the artist is called upon to gratify, is to him more a task of artificial study than a creation of natural feeling, must, of itself, produce a tendency to exaggeration or mannerism. There is nothing in the range of human affairs so completely democratic as taste. Demosthenes spoke to the crowd; Phidias worked for the people.

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Christianity engaged in direct war with the arts. The Greeks had united painting, sculpture, and architecture, in such a way, that their temples formed a harmonious illustration of the