the fenate and affemblies of the people, formed the government, not unlike our King, Lords, and Commons. The Romans foon engaged in wars with the other states of Italy, all of which they finally conquered; increafing by thofe means not only their strength but their military knowledge; and as many of the Italian states were Greek colonies, they had all the advantage of the Grecian art of war, improved by their own experience. Being masters of Italy, they turned their arms against Sicily, which engaged them in a war with Carthage, a powerful state on the north of Africa, who had colonies in that island. This war was profecuted with various fuccefs, till the perfeverance and courage of the Romans prevailed, and Carthage was totally fubdued.

To return to the affairs of Greece: Rome made the affifting the Greek republics a pretence for interfering in their difputes, and finally reduced both the oppreffors and the oppreffed to an entire dependence on herself.

The armies of Rome now became invincible. Not only Afia, Egypt, Greece, and the northern parts of Africa, were fubdued, but she extended. her conquefts to Spain, Gaul, and Britain.

Yet, amid these fplendid fcenes of victory abroad, Rome was torn to pieces by factions at home. At first the struggles were between the fenate and the people, till particular persons

obtaining

obtaining power by holding long commands abroad, the names of the popular, or noble party were only used as fkreens to the ambition of individuals. The laft great conteft was between Julius Cæfar and Pompey; the first of whom had commanded in the northern, and the other in the eaftern provinces. The decifive battle of Pharfalia, and the fubfequent death of Pompey, gave the whole Roman empire into the hands of Cæfar. The fpirit of liberty, however, made one dying effort. Cæfar was stabbed in the fenate house, and an army raised in defence of public freedom. But after a short war, the veteran troops of Cæfar, under command of Octavius, his nephew and adopted heir, Marcus Antonius, his friend, and Lepidus, one of his generals, defeated the army of the republic, and the three leaders divided the empire among them.

Lepidus, being a weak man, was foon deposed; and M. Antonius, devoted to his pleafures, fhut himself up in Egypt with Cleopatra, the queen of that country. Octavius Cæfar, taking advantage of his indolence, encroached on his provinces, and a war enfuing, Antonius was totally defeated at the naval battle of Actium, foon after which he killed himself, and Octavius remained fole mafter of the Roman empire, with the title of Emperor, and the name

of

of Auguftus Cæfar; and Rome, with its vaft territories, from this period became fubject to the dominion of an arbitrary monarch.

Our Saviour was born during the reign of Auguftus, and suffered crucifixion under Tiberius, his immediate fucceffor.

From this time the whole civilized world being under one master, history for a long period has little elfe to record than the characters of the Roman Emperors; and mankind were happy or miferable as their governors were mild or cruel. Perhaps the fate of the human race was never more enviable than when fuch characters as Titus, Trajan, or the Antonines, were masters of the world. While under the government of fuch monsters, as Caligula, Nero, and Domitian, who seemed to delight only in cruelty, mankind were in the most miserable fituation, unable either to refist the power of the tyrant, or escape from his dominions, as there was no country out of the limits of the Roman empire that was not inhabited by the most favage barbarians. It may not be amifs here to mention, that, under the reign of Titus, tenth Emperor from Auguftus, the city of Jerufalem, after repeated rebellions, was finally destroyed by the Romans, and the Jews difperfed, as they remain at this day: a fingular inftance of a people, who haying loft their country, ftill maintain, though fcattered

scattered over the face of the earth, their religion, their language, and their laws, the fame as they were at a period far beyond any antiquity to which the annals of any the moft ancient nation extend.

Though the barbarous tribes that bordered on the Roman empire were continually infesting the frontiers with hoftilities, and gradually encroaching on its provinces, yet it fuffered no great diminution of territory till after the time of Conftantine, who was the forty-firft Emperor in fucceffion from Auguftus, and lived upwards of three hundred years after him.

During that period Christianity had been gradually, though privately, extending itself. The profeffors of it had been cruelly perfecuted by fome of the Emperors, and tolerated by others; but Conftantine was the first Emperor who openly profeffed to be a Christian, and from his time Christianity became the established religion of the empire.

Conftantine, from an abfurd vanity, removed the imperial feat from Rome to a city of his own building, between the Mediterranean and Euxine Seas, which he called Conftantinopolis, or the city of Conftantine; and on his death he divided the empire between his fons. From this time the Roman empire confifted of two parts; the one, whose feat continued at Rome, was called

called the Western Empire; the other, whofe capital was Conftantinople, was called the Eaftern, and fometimes the Grecian Empire.

The empire, being thus divided, grew confequently weaker, and the inroads of the barbarous nations more formidable. The Goths and Vandals attacked the Western Empire. The Franks, a brave, though uncivilized people, poffeffed themselves of Gaul, from whom it received the name of France. The Britons, on being abandoned by Rome to the inroads of the favage tribes in the north of the island, called in the Saxons to their affistance, who soon made themfelves mafters of the whole, except the mountains of Wales and Scotland, which afforded an afylum to the ancient inhabitants, And Rome, itself, under Auguftulus, the laft of its Emperors, was taken by Odoacer, King of the Heruli.

The Eastern empire was attacked by the Saracens, a fierce people, who had embraced the religion of Mahomet, an impoftor, and founder of a new fect, whofe doctrine foon spread, and ftill retains its influence, in the Eaft. This warlike race conquered Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and the northern coafts of Africa; but they were, in their turn, expelled by the Turks, a nation of Scythian origin, who adopted the religion and manners of the vanquished. The provinces of

the