Full text of "Retrospection; or, A review of the most striking and important events, characters, situations, and their consequences, which the last eighteen hundred years have presented to the view of mankind"

HANDUOUND
AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF
TORONTO PRESS

>7/ <(3

ty /..l'f,.,

A REVIEW

OP THE

MOST STRIKING AND IMPORTANT

EVENTS, CHARACTERS, SITUATIONS,

AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES,

WHICH
THE LAST EIGHTEEN HUNDRED YEARS HAVE PRESENTED

TO THI

VIEW OF MANKIND.

_ t tl , , m tm t | 1 1 i

-*^^^^^^^^^^^ ' -^-- - ^^^^^^^^^

A la verite ce n'est ici qu'im fragment, inais dans les travaux les plus achieves ilc<; hommes
il n'y a que des fragments. L'histoire d'un roi n'cst qu'un fragment de celle de sa dynastic,
ccllc dc sa dynastic de celle de fon royaume, celle de fon royaumc de celle du genre humain ;
qui n'est elle-memc qu'un fragment de celle des etres qui habitent le "lobe, dont 1'hiftoire uni-
verlelle ne serait apres tout qu'un bien petit chapitre de 1'histoire des astrcs innombrablc* qui
roulent sur nos tetes a des di--tanccs qu'on ne peut assigncr.

-- - T. ~ - -

BY HESTER LYNCH PIOZZL | (p3f J?

- ac^-eji . 2J ' k ' o? | '

WITH A PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.

.PRIKTED FOK JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILl^ -

1801.

B
|.6

T. Giilet, Printer, Salifoury- Square.

PREFACE

TF tlie Rambler is right when he fays, " That no man
" ever obtains more from his moft zealous endea-
' vours, than a painful conviction of his own defects/'
how ftrongly muft that conviction prefs upon her mind,
who having collected all thefe facts together, prcfents
them as an object of Retrofpe&ion to the Publick. Of
thofe who turn them over, how different, how numerous
will be the cenfuresl while each expects his favourite
hero, his beft-remembered incident to be dilated and
brought forward ; inftead of which others perhaps ap-
pear, and take the lead.

Different obfervers attach to every object, different
degrees of importance. Taking a country-walk one day
in a remote province, the fteward advifed fpeedy remo-
val of an ugly ftag-horned tree. " Oh!" cried out a gen-
tleman in company who was taking views " pray fpare

" the

VI PREFACE.

" the favourite feature in my landfcape." " You have
" been, fir, a friend to the diftreflcd," faid another of
our party, who profeffed natural philofophy " in fav-
" ing from the axe thofe old dry boughs, for there are
" birds which will not perch among thick foliage, mak-
" ing rather a ftag-horned tree like this, their feat of
" delight all fummer."

This converfation has come often to my mind, but the
die is now caft, and complaints are vain. If however,
I mould have made improper choice of facts, and if I
mail be found at length mofl to refemble Maifter Fabyan
of old, who writing the Life of Henry the Fifth, lays
heavieft ftrefs on a new weather-cock fet up on St. Paul's
fteeple during that eventful reign ; my book muft mare
the fate of his, and be like that forgotten : reminding
before its death perhaps, a friend or two, of a poor man
living in later times, that Doctor Johnfon ufed to tell us
of: who being advifed to take fubfcriptions for a new
Geographical Dictionary, haftened to Bolt-court and
begged advice. There, having liflened carefully for half
an hour " Ah, but, dear fir!" exclaimed the admiring
purafite, " if I am to make all this eloquent ado about
" Athens and Rome, where mail we find place do you
" think for Richmond or Aix la Chapelle?" The per-
plexity

PREFACE. vii

plcxity wa.s laughable enough yet fuch are the perplex-
ities of a compiler; and for a mere compilation ftrctchcd
to two quarto volumes, the apology muft be a ferious
one. It will be found however ; but among things and
fituations fo far from laughable and ludicrous, that they
appear even awfully impreflive.

To an age of profound peace and literary quiet I fhould
have considered fuch an abridgment as infulting : to our
difturbcd and bufy days abridgments only can be ufcful.
No one has leifure to read better books. Young people
are called out to act before they know, before they could
have learned how thofe have acted who have lived before
them. Hiftory is voluminous, and fafhionablc extracts
are fo perpetually feparated from each other by vcrfes or
by cilays, that they leave little trace of information on
the mind : a natural confequence, and manifcft diiadvan-
tage attendant upon all felections, where no one thing
having any reference to another thing, each lofes much
of its effect by Handing completely inliilated from all the
reft. Our Work, though but a frontifpieee and ruin,

stains between the two fome {haded drawings, fuch as
we find in rudiments of painting, and will, like them, be
good for young beginners. Perhaps too, thofe who long
ago have read, and long ago dciifted from re:i(li:
.lories well-known, may like to pleafc their

the

PREFACE.

the RelrofpeEl of what they feel connected in their minds
with youthful ftudv, and that fwect remembrance of

early-dawning knowledge on the foul.

Their criticifm I not only deprecate, but hope, by dint
of petty amufement, in fome meafure to difarm : a plea-
fant ftory will divert, a teftder tale affecl: them. No in-
folently obtrufive opinions through thefe pages, no air of
arrogance will offend, or provoke fuch readers to fay,
however they may think, that the neceffity of dilating,
as it advances, like an inverted cone or fugar-loaf, robs
rny whole building of that folid bafis which many fa-
bricks boaft, on which, after all, little fometimes is reared.
A moment's thought indeed will mew fuch criticks, that
any other way would have been worfe : and half a mo-
ment will fuffice to prove, that whilft the deep current
of grave hiftory rolls her full tide majefUck, to that ocean
where Time and all its wrecks at length are loft ; our
flamy RctrofpcB, a mere jet cTccm, may ferve to foothe
the heats of an autumnal day with its light-dripping fall,
and form a rainbow round. Did no fuch book catch the
occurrences, and hold them up, however maimed and
broken, before the eyes of our contemporaries, we really
mould very foon forget all that our anceftors had done or
fuffered. The fever of thefe laft ten or twelve years has
formed a heat fufficient to calcine the images upon our

minds

PREFACE. JX

minds to duft and afhes, which once feemed ftrong as if
engraved on marble ; and if fome fadls or characters have
been called back, 'twas for the ufe of confutation they
were fetched, then thrown again into the general heap,
like papers we have done with, doomed to burn. In fuch
a furnace, fuch an all-devouring crucible, events can
fcarcc retain their proper value, and the mufhroom of a
night has equal chance to come forth unhurt, as has the
oak of a century. Beiides that our motto fpeaks fairly
for the chapter it precedes, and fays,

" This work, I grant you, is at beft a fragment ; but what elfe (hall
we find in the moft finished labours of man ? The biography of one
particular fbvereign is a mere fragment, broken off from his own dy-
nafty. The revolutions of a peculiar {late form but a larger fragment ;
one piece, one page, torn from the great book, the general account of
all mankind ; which is itfelf at lalt no other than one fpecics, one
genus rather, among thofe uncounted millions that animate and people
the earth, air, and water, of our terraqueous globe. That globe a frag-
ment too, a trifling fpot, of which the moil exacl and faithful nar-
ration would be found but a fhort chapter in the grand hiftory, the
univerfal volume of our Creator's works, containing the changes and
chances of fyftems without number, rolling in illimitable fpace, at dif-
tanccs not to be judged of by humanity."

VOL. I. B But

X PREFACE,

But 'tis by darkening the glafTes that we look at
brighteft objects ; and fpots in the fun could never be dif-
cerned unlefs we firft abridged him of his fplendour. Old
Bradfhaw, who wrote upon the origin of Chefter, muft
in fome fort ferve as my model, who live near him,
when he fays in his prologue to a work rather hiftorical
than legendary, and more valuable (as Warton tells us)
for virtuous fentiments than fplendid diction ; how

To defcrybe hyc hiftorycs I dare not be to boldc,
Sithe fuche is a mater for clerkes conveynient;
As of the fevcnc ages and our parentes oldc,
Or of the foure empyrcs whiJom moft cxcelentc,
Knowinge my Icrnying thereto infufficyent.
And for wicket balades ye fhall have none from me,
Excyting lyght hertes to plefure and vanitye,

For though I borrow not the Doctor's chair, whence at my
eafe to dictate creeds and ethicks, 'tis my intent, that
from this book be drawn nothing that can prove detri-
mental to readers whofe attention I am defirous to lure
away from fiction to known truths, no lefs extraordinary,
and at this moment far more interefting. To this end I
have endeavoured not to prefs on them with my own re-
flections, rather fuggefling thoughts in their minds, than
forcing forward thofe entertained by the author : yet if

the

PREFACE. XI

the chain of events here untwifted mould lend them rea-
fon to be leis furpriied at what is paffing now, there's no
harm done ; the warnings have been given.

Here then begin we a fummary account of what has
happened in thefe eighteen centuries. I thought to have
given fome importance to the work, by prefixing on its
firfl page the name of one of my earlieft and moft refpecl:-
ed friends than whom no wit, no fcholar, nor no man
of general knowledge, ever had more reafon to delight in
Retrofpeftion : but Pennant is gone, and I will fearch no
further for a patron. The lame kind and encouraging
Publick which has ever looked upon my labours with a
tendernefs, and a good-natured defire of being pleafed,
more flattering far than hard-earned approbation, mail
take as it is; and if they feel themfelves pleafed with the
colours prefented in the varying changeful mafs, will try
to hinder fome critick's heavy hand from breaking it ; re-
membering that an opal lofes all power of playing be-
fore the eye, foon as a crack is made in its thin fur-
face.

But I will run down my own book no more. The
duty of an author is difcharged, when what the title pro-
mifes has been performed. Yet let it not be faid of Re-

B a trofpe&ioii,

xii PREFACE;

trofpe&ivn, as once by a French wit, when Ferrand's Ero-
tica, a dull dhTertation upon the paflion of love, came
out,

Ut tit alum vidi fum libri captus amore,
Ut librum legi, liber amore fui.

The title infpir'd me a ftrong inclination,

But reading the book, I was cur'd of my paffion.

CONTENTS.

VOL. I.

CHAP. I. Page

Containing the Fir/I Century; from Tiberius to Trajan. 17

CHAP. II.

Containing the Second Century, from Trajan to Caracafla. - 37

CHAP. III.

Front CaracaHa to tfie Death of Alexander Sever us. Ftrft Portion of
the Third Century. 5$

CHAP. IV.

From the Death of Alexander Severus to A. D. 300, the Retreat of

Diode/fan. - 71

CHAP. V.

Front the Death ofDhclefan to the Death of Conftantine the Great*
Part of the Fourth Century. 88

CONTENTS.

CHAP. VI. Page

From Conftantine to Theodofus, A. D. 400. - 101

CHAP. VII.

From Theodofius the Elder to the Death of Attila, about ffty Years 114

CHAP. VIII.
From the Death of Attila to A. D. 500. 134

CHAP. IX.

To the Expulfion of the Gothick Kings. Fir/I Portion of the Sixth

Century. 148

CHAP. X.

From the Expulfion of the Gothick Kings by Be/ifarius, to A. D. 600. 1 63

CHAP. XI.

From Good St. Gregory to the Death of Charles Martel, A. D. 700 1 80

CHAP. XII.

From the Birth of Charles Martel, A. D. 700, to Charlemagne,
A. D. 800. - - 198

CONTENTS.

CHAP. XIII.

Page
From the Crowning of Charlemagne 800, to th& Death of Alfred

A. D. 900. . - 21G-

CHAP. XIV.

From the Death of Alfred, A. D. 900, to the Foundation of the-
Ttirki/h Empire under Tangrolipix, A. D, 1000. 233

CHAP. XV.

From the jirjl Founding of the Turki/h Empire under Tangrolipix,
1000, to the Time of the Firjl Crufade, A. D. 1100. 24S

CHAP. XVI.

From the Year 1097, Firft Crufade, to the Middle of the Twelfth
Century i A. D. 1150. 2" I

CHAP. XVII.

To the Year of our Lord \200. - 289

CHAP. XVIII.

From the Year 1200 to 1230. - 31 D

CHAP. XIX.

Second Portion of the Thirteenth Century*

XVI CONTENTS.

CHAP. XX.

Page.

To the Year of our Lord 1300. - 359

CHAP. XXI.

From A. D. 1300, to the Year 1350, or nearly Jo. - 384

CHAP. XXII.

Ending with A. D. 1400. - -106

CHAP. XXIII.
From A. D. 1400, to the Year 1425. - 426

CHAP. XXIV.

To the Sacking of Conftantinople, A. D. 1455, and if s immediate
Con/equences. - - - 442

JIETRO-

RETROSPECTION.

CHAP. I.
CONTAINING THE FIRST CENTURY ;

FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN.

BEING arrived at a fixed period, whence a new century rifes to
purfue its courfe, my contemporaries will not, perhaps, feel dif-
pofed'to look with particular unkindnefs upon a writer who recom-
mends, and endeavours to facilitate, Retrofyeflion. When Rcgnard*
and his companions had made many voyages, had feen three conti-
nents, and wintered in three different zones, they came at laft to a
point in Lapland, beyond the Arclic Circle. There with no fmall
labour ereding a ruftic column, they engraved on it their names, and
the names of fome places they had vifited, ending the infcription with
this impreffive line

Hie tandem ftetimus, ubi nobis toto dcfuit orbis.

So.it appears to us : the vulgar aera (and I will not tei/e my readers
with any ftale arguments againft its authenticity) calls this the 1 80 ill
year fmce our redemption -was accomplished. That portion of our
time which is to come, rolls in a rapid defcent before Imagination's

lierc is a life of Regnard, with the ftory of Zulima in it, fomcwlicrc nnd tlicfe
lines; but I quote from memory alone, and Dr. Johnfon's repetition of them.
' Ciallia nos genuit, vidit ct indica tcllus," is another, or like it ; but the reft have llipt
my recollcftion, and I know not where to find them.

VOL. I, C

18 THE FIRST CENTURY; [CH. i.

eye, like earth viewed from its polar region by the travellers, and
whilft Hope and Fear, bent forward with anticipating hafte, are feen
explaining to their eager votaries the fhadows as they follow one ano-
ther faft into the impervious mifts of futurity ; Heic tandem Jiflimus
and caft a retrofpefJhe glance behind. That glance will, at our
Saviour's refurreclion, find the furface of our habitable globe deli-
neated by Strabo with deficiencies enough, but yet with care well
worthy admiration from its prefent race of inhabitants who will
obferve the great geographer's own country, Greece, with all her vir-
tues, arts, and arms, and excellence of every kind, loft, not quenched,
but like a fixed ftar by moonlight, fcarce difcernible through the fu-
perior blaze of Roman glory. Egypt and Babylon meanwhile ex-
tinguiflied, and Tyre even literally tumbled in the duft, exhibit proofs
that thofe fcriptures were indeed of divine infpiration, which promifed
Meffiah to a finful world a world become fo finful, that lefs than
the blood of Chrift could not have cleanfed it.

The characters of the fix firft Caefars, given by Tacitus, too clearly
fliew, that good parts act not as natural protectors to virtue, unlefs reli-
gion regulates their powers ; whilft in Julius the moft eminent orators
(fays he) found an illuftrious rival, and the dignity of Augustus's mind
was reverenced in his diction. Precife Tiberius too, though terfe in
his expreflion, never was undefignedly obfcure ; nor did the fiery tem-
per of turbulent and reftlefs Caligula difcover itfelf, in compofitions
previoutly written down and delivered before the Senate, where even
Claudius's difcourfes made no mean figure ; nor could hisy?y/ be
charged, even by thofe who laughed at his behaviour, with wanting
elegance, intereft or learning. That Nero's firft fpeech was dictated
by his tutors, the praifes beftowed on them in it, fufficiently evince ;
but Nero was then a boy : the tenor of his future life betrayed a
paflion for,the fine arts, which cruelty could not ftifle, nor vice diflblve.
But contradictions in thefe early days fo mingle, or at leaft fo crofs each
other, as greatly to difturb our general Retrofpetf, where the firft fact

that

C H. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. ]g

that offers may be called the conduct of the unbelieving Jews, who,
without fcruple, could condemn the Lord of Life and Glory, out of an
unmeaning zeal for Crcfar ; to whofe imperial ftandard they roughly
refufed admittance in their temple, and being prcffcd by Pilate for
compliance, offered him 'twas all they had their throats to cut.
Tiberius, indulgent of their antipathy, commanded his Governor to fee
the colours carried fafely to Ca-farea, and moved the Senate to deify
our Saviour, while he refufed divine honours to his own perfon, pol-
luted by a long courfe of far beyond brutal depravity. In this one
inftance the Patricians manifefted their ill-deferved independence ; in
this one inftance their diflembling mafter fliewed himfelf fmcere. He
never would be w orfliipped. It is from one of this Emperor's fpeechcs
that the allufion, now fo trite, was originally taken ; how the body
politic refembles the body natural ; and the ftate was by him firft
called the Conjiltution. To his good fenfc we owe the admirable
adage, fmce by imperial ufc well known That honefty's the beft
policy nor can more perfect teftimonial to its truth be found, than
that fuch was the fixed opinion of a prince, confummate mafter of
diflimulation. Machiavelli borrowed one of his earlier maxims ; Chi
non sa Jingcre, non st regnare ; and keeps, I think, poflcffion of the
fentence.

It is, perhaps, not lefs important what Pliny tells us, that the
difeafe, now called a bilious cholic, in his reign was new ; and he the
firft who fuffered by its rigour :* fome old phyflcians fpcak of the
chordapfas. Tiberius had bad health when he retired from bufmefs,
and probably his mode of life increafed it if half what is related of
him can be true. Voltaire, indeed, does doubt the poffibility of many
accufations, but Voltaire never was at Naples o: Caprasa. The general
Retrofpcft of evil however ; the ftrong mixture of madnefs with mif-

* Pliny fays it flole in upon us, irrcpjtt'n the word lie ufes ; and I have heard that
a famous paflage in Celfus tends to corroborate the opinion.

G 2 chief;

20 THE FIRST CENTURY; [CH. r.

chief: and of grofs folly with thofe falfe refinements upon fenfuat
pica fares praclifed in Rome ; head-quarters of human refidence, ex-
cite at prefent no fenfations but difguft, mingled with fome little
cfteem of modern manners, which thus could prompt a wit of our
own days to deny what ancient learning ib fteadily confirms. But
whilft he fought in groves and grottoes, a fhelter for his own depravity,
new cities rofe around the extended empire, and Ratifbon was named
Tiberii after him. Aventine avers, indeed, that it was originally the
work of Ingram, a Scythian chief, who, when Rhamefes ruled in
Upper Egypt, and Jofliua led the Ifraelites to war, laid the firft ftone,
and called it his Harminia, from Hermione, the wife of Cadmus,
names familiarized to us by Ovid, but who are considered by Fourmont,
and other antiquarians, as leaders of a troop of Hivites ferpent-wof-
ihippers, driven from the Promifed Land by Mofes' fucceflbr. Mr.
Bryant fays that Cadmus means oriental, the man who comes from
the eaft. The city called after his fair companion was afterwards better
known by the name of Rluztabona, from its inhabitants the Rhaetians,
and this appellation has been fcarcely changed. But we muft hold
our eye firm to the firft century, which has produced fuch deathlefs
writers, heirs of immortal praife

Whofe honours with increafe of ages grow,
As ftreams roll down enlarging as they flow.

Among thefe may be counted Pomponius Mela, though to that
great geographer the limits of the Cafpian Sea were all unknown,
and much of what we now call India was to him terra incognita.

The poliftied Romans feemed to care but little what thofe vaft
regions of the world contained, except wild bcafts to combat in their
amphitheatres ; yet had the fuprcme ftate commendable attention to
make a topographical furvey of the places they fubdued. Ciefar had
given an elegant account of his own conquefts long before, and Vel-
leius Patcrculus, with nice penetration, found the true caufe of Quin-

en. r.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TKAJAX. 21

tilius Virus's, fo ill fucccfs in the martial character of thofe Germans,
who, like their fucccfTors in later ages, dreamed not oi" judiciary de-
terminations, but ended private as public quarrels by the fvvord.
Feigning, however, to admire the newer mode of fettling between
plaintiff and deicndant, they contrived to occupy the Roman General's
mind with caufes of difputc ; then, fuddenly fetting on his legions in
a furious onfet, cut them all to pieces.

Hiftoric powers indeed were frequent in the age prefented to our
Refro/peff, that age which had fcen Livy and produced Tacitus, and
may be juftly confidered as fruitful beyond all others in genius, elo-
quence, and majefty. Although the account given of their own ori-
ginal, by the nrft named of thefe great men, is nothing lefs than accu-
rate, we own, while Strabo hirafelf fcruplcd not to tell mankind how
Pater ^Eneas ftirred not beyond the walls of Troy, as Bochart beft
confirms. That Livy gloried in his partialities ; that he adopted one
ftill nearer to felf-love, by clinging to his own provincial Jialcct, def-
pifmg, as do modern Venetians, the charge of patavinity, may Hand
as his excufe : but who (hall make apology for Tacitus, when he re-
lates peculiarities of the Jews which, we all know, could never have
had exiftence. Yet, in accounts of every other nation, we muft con-
tent ourfelves with fuch a portion of veracity as they, in their omni-
potence, ihall think proper to beftow ; for who can contradict Roman
hiftorians ? The world was then all Roman, born fo, or fo adopted,
fo become ; for conqueft led but to incorporation. In that enormous,
that amazing city, centered all knowledge, all pleafure, all wealth,
all power. What wonder then if, midft a heterogeneous mafs of in-
habitants, raked out from every country under heaven, plurality of
gods and variety of vvorlhips, licentious mafters and permitted Haves,
republican ideas and elective empire, all contrarieties of cuftom and
of climate, miraculoufly accumulated in one vaft fuelling town , which
Voflius fays, though I believe him not, contained at one time fourteen

millions

22 THE FIRST CENTURY; [CH. i.

millions of refidentiary dwellers ? What wonder then, fhould fermen-
tation aft upon the foul congeries ? What wonder then,

Should Nature breed

Perverfe ! all monftrous, all prodigious things,
Abominable ! unutterable ! and worfe, &c.

That fo me did breed, we are unable to doubt or to deny. Imperial
Rome having confented to his death who lived alone to blefs and
purify mankind, became herfelf accurfed, like fentenced Babylon, in
fcripture language, a cage for every unclean and hateful bird. A rapid
fucceffion of rulers now feemed ftriving for the palm of wickednefs.
Frantic Caligula, inverted on his grandfire's death with the long
fighed for purple, feemed chiefly diligent to dip it in human blood ;
and while he meditated its laft difgrace, by giving his country a fa-
vourite horfe for Conful, he robed himfelf in the drefs facred to divi-
nity, and pufhed to an unheard-of excefs his ftudied profanations. To
this mad mafter of an abjecl: world fucceeded heavy, fluggifh-minded
Claudius ; whofe foul, a fullen prifoner, feen but feldom, peeped out
unwilling from its cage of clay, and viewed, unmoved, the vices of his
Emprefs. When the laft agonies had firft broke in upon this preter-
natural tranquillity, the care of humankind, in evil hour, devolved
upon nefarious Nero, whofe name, firft on the rolls of guilt and in-
famy, was pufhed up by deliberate parricide to that abhorred pre-
eminence. The murder of a mother was, in thofe days, a crime
particularly detefted, even by thofe who, in Macbeth's phrafc, had
fupt full with horrors ; and when at laft this wretch difparched him-
iclf to avoid punifhment a more majorum, it was chiefly for Agrip-
phia's death he dreaded to meet his own. Rome looked on tamely,
while for his divcrfion he ftuck the Chriftian martyrs up alive, in
drcfTes daubed with tar, and fet on fire to illuminate the town, when
day hid his head indignant ; or when he hunted them about his Co-

lifleo,

CH. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. 2 3

lifleo, wrapt in the {kins of fome wild animal, thus to deceive the
dogs into a cruelty their gentler nature would have (hrunk from :
but hearts appeared abroad, as if permitted to reproach our fpecies
with their fuperior virtue. Aulus Gellius relates the ftory of the lion
whofe grateful recollection fpared the (lave, obferving, he had often
met them in the flreets together, during the reigns of Caligula and
Claudius, collecting money from children and paflers-by.

Mankind, meanwhile, was funk in fad degeneracy, and feemcd as
if deferving of thefe dreadful leaders, who, although tyrants in wick-
ednefs, could not boaft privileges exclufive of their fubjects. Caius
Cheraea, when he killed Caligula, maflacred, with unfeeling rage, his
infant daughter in her mother's arms. Tacitus relates of many nobles
a conduct little behind that of the Emperors themfelves ; and Pliny,
like a good naturalift, calls Aquileius Regulus omnium bipedum nequtf-
Jinius. Penurious Galba, and his gay fucccflbr, who had prefided long
in Nero's court as minifter of pleafure, fliewed, indeed, as fome odd
plants, molt beautiful in death ; for Otho, though immerfcd in fcn-
fuality, retained fome trace, fome latent fpark of Virtue's unqucnched
flame, when the furrounding gloom (hewed it to all advantage. He
alone, for the firft feventy years of Retrofpettton, he alone, till the tre-
mendous day when a licentious foldiery lorded it in the metropolis,
and tofled the bloated body of pampered Vitellius into Tybcr, had
proved himfelf not totally negligent of that overgrown ftate, which
their beft care could fcarce have rendered happy ; while ardent only
to chace affrighted Vice into the arms of impoffibility. In that ftrange
caufe they ruflied on fuicide, and braved aflaflmations, which few
efcaped, till Flav ius Vefpafian, rough, honed, artle(s ; born near the
Sabine farm, (b famed for the (implicity and temperance of its poffef-
fors, tried to recover the credit of humanity, and prove that a hot foil,
however ftrangled with its v.afte redundance, will yet, among the
weeds, produce fome flowers. Thus we (ee Titus, brother to Domi-
tian, and reflect that the wife of Paetus was cotemporary with Mefla-

24 THE FIRST CENTURY ; [CH. K

lina. Nor was depravity confined to fouthern climates. Our Britifh
Cartifmandua, juftly for other crimes buried alive by Corbred, exhi-
bited a fteady, cold perfidioufnefs, fcarce to be matched in any nation's
annals, when flic betrayed her gallant fon-in-law, Cara&acus, then
greateft when turning from the mows of Rome with fcorn, he
difplayed foul of fuperior mould, not to be awed by mere appearances,
after having contefted with and conquered rough realities. Let Retro-
fpeStion too furvey with pride the daring Boadicea's bold appeal for in-
jured innocence, when aided by the Scottilh hero, who puniflicd per-
fidy in Cartifmandua. She forced the Romans to confefs our ifland,
Ravage as it was, could not be fubjugated by lefs than their befl troops
and wifeft General, Agricola. That excellent commander, object of
Tacitus's perfonal regard, an Emperor's envy and a nation's gratitude,
after penetrating through the Caledonian forefts, paffing over what was
called the Dolorous Mountain, and building the bridge and caftle there
near Stirling ; after making way for the facred truths of Chriftianity,
by driving from druidic Mona its frantic fuperftitions, and foftening
the rugged Cambrian's fullen virtue by his urbanity ; this great Agri-
cola felected for himfelf the moft delightful fpot our variegated coun-
try boafts, and fixed his fettled refidence in Glo'fterfhire, leaving to
Mr. Lyfons' diligence the praife of having difcovered traces of his
grandeur, and giving to the retrofpeclivc eye an opportunity of ob-
ierving how much the prefent times exceed the paft, in powers of
bending divers latitudes to the conveniences of human life, and forcing
accommodation from rebellious climates, and feafons adverfe to our vain
defires. Voluptuous, rather than luxurious, an old Roman made fmall
provifion for his change of country, but fet his feet on federated marbles
alike at York or Baia. Accuftomed to feck pleafure from his icnles
rncrdy, he fa\v no Method but to fpur them forward: our Englifh,
A ho now \ifit every continent, learn to approximate their comforts by
-contrivance ; wifhing to gladden nature, not fatigue her. Pliny, indeed,
,'peaks of a J'nbtlc method that Nero took to cool his water, by finking

a glafs

CH. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN 25

a glafs veflcl lull in fnow : but Nero did undcrftand j)hilofopliy.
and in the ceiling of his golden houfc difplaycd the planetary f\i"-
tcm. How little did he dream that not one ftone of it would now
be Handing, while the fine temple dedicated by brave Vefpanan to
peace fliould yet remain, like its great patron's virtuous character,
model of modcft excellence ! How little, too, did Columella think
his book on agriculture would be read in Britain, when that deep
fcience mould be grown a toy, fubfervient to elegance, almoft even to
caprice ! The fciences and arts, however, were not neglected, while
Seneca taught wifdom, and Pliny ftudied nature ; Lucan's bright
flyle gliftened in the beams of general illumination, and Perfius added
point to his fharp fatire. Medicine, though innocent of many late
difcoveries gained by direction, and waiting yet for Galen's fangui-
nary improvements, was well attended to ; Hippocrates's aphorifms
contained enough ; and though Macrobius fays too much of their per-
fection, that fecms to have been no bad fet of rules which could keep
men alive, who fapped and battered their conftitution by habits of
intemperate groflhefs. Let fomething however be allowed to different
cuftoms, and let the Refro/peffors of paft ages own, that thofe nightly
prowlers through our London ftreets, who dig up the peaceful man-
fions of the dead, and thofe unfeeling furgeons that difTcct them,
would, by their conduct, have awakened Claudius to command fomc
punilhment for fuch offence, and roufed Tiberius to refume his poft,
that impiety like theirs might not be paflcd over in filence. Thus,
though Celfus and Epictetus graced thefe times ; though Juvenal cen-
fured, and Jofcphus wrote ; though polifhed Martial feems particularly
to delight in difplaying a keennefs of remark and acutencfs of obferva-
tion, to which, by future ages, fo little can be added ; we fee the
fpirit of enquiry in fome things reprefled, from delicacy little to be
expected, and Ignorance laying her fuccefsful traps for Study to drop
into unawares. Suetonius, for example, whom Mr. Gibbon calls the
diligent and accurate, tells how a mule foaled on the inverting old
VOL. I. D Galba

26 THE FIRST CENTURY ; [CH. i.

Galba with the purple, a facl by which philofophy and common expe-
rience are alike infulted. But that biographer introduces no fove-
reign though but for weeks, not years, without a itring of prodigies
unworthy even of a woman's ftory over a winter's fire. Witnefs the
afs, whofe lucky name of Nicon * is brought in as omen of Augustus's
profperity. Tacitus's amazement at the lengthened nights in the
north, fa fweetly, fo poetically expreflcd, betrays his fcanty knowledge
of aftronomy ; f and Pliny verily believes the exiftcnce of a phoenix,
which was but going backward in difcovery: Herodotus defpifed
that fable long before. The jack-daw, well inftrucled by fome fhoe-
maker to compliment the Caefars with Good-day, Tiberius, Good-day,
Drufus, &c. was the true phoenix among birds in thofe times. A rival
ihoemaker, however, wrung his neck off, becaufc he had obtained the
Emperor's notice ; which the more liberal populace refenting, pulled
down the fpiteful fellow's houfe, burying the crow with great folem-
nity. That the Britifh channel ever flowed with blood, wiijl have
been falfe ; although related about the Goth year after our Lord's af-
cenfion, by hiftorians ; and at the very clofe of the firft century, it is
faid Decebalus deceived the warlike Romans, by caufing a foreft to be
felled in the night, and armour ftuck upon the ftocks of trees. Xipht
linus, patriarch of Conftantinople, is our authority for this facl, ap-
parently incredible, although fome flratagem of the kind feems to
have obtained belief in the world ever fince Abimelcch ; who made

* Nicon means victorious, I have heard. Do we call an afs Nicky, from this fortu-
nate one feen by O&avius ? The ftatue, recording both beaft and driver, was one
of the antiquities deftroyed at Conftantinople by the Latins, and lamented by Nici-
tas, in a fragment preferved in the Bodleian Library. It proves the accident known
to be no fable.

t Juvenal feems to have known the peculiarities of our iflands well enough.

Armo quid ultra

Lktora juverne promovimus et modo captas
Orcades, et minima contentos nodle Britannos.

his

en. ..] FROM TIBKKIUS TO TR UAX.

his foldicrs each of them cut a bough, and carry before them to
ccal their numbers; thus unpcrccivcd advancing to the tower lie
meant to deftroy, then throwing the wood at its feet, loon let the
place on fire. Shakefpcar makes this familiar to us on the fta^e ;
but Casfar's veterans could not furely ha\e been fo impofed upon.
Of the Chrillian perfecutions during all thefe reigns, more has not
been allertcd by hiftory, however, than daily examination amply con-
firms. Gibbon, with triumph, pretends to find out what Jortin, with
candour, had before allowed ; that the neglecl (hewn by bad princes
towards all religion was lefs unfavourable to the progrefs of ours, than
that active zeal for Paganifm which dittinguimed the pious ones.
Jortin is indeed generous to the fcorlers, and they have repaid him ;;
he fays the Romanifts did Grotius, with fuch gratitude as might be
well expected. He who delights in ftroking a tygcr with intention
to hear him pur, will probably lofe a finger in courfe of the experi-
ment. The ears and eyes of Englifh travellers to Rome, turn away
difgufted with the proofs of cruelty authorized by the mifchicvous
wantonnefs of wild Caligula upon a race of harmlefs mortals, who,
had they not been Chrillians, would have engaged the tender pity of
every modern infidel, for the difmtercfled bravery with which they
were well known to have (heltered one another, while they cxpofcd
themfelves ; contrafting the courage and virtue of St. Paul againft the
profligacy and cowardice of Nero, a diflimilitude not to be matched
for rcmotenefs within the limits of humanity. When that dctefted
wretch, however, deftroycd the houfe and lineage of Cacfar, by ftriking
with his heel his own half-formed image in the womb of his once-
loved Poppaa, who owed the dreadful death, it is faid, to her (oft
pleadings for a Chriilian martyr.* Offended heaven fent a fudden

* Thofe who attribute Nero's fudden fury to his wife's teizing him, hccaufe he
ibid too long at the chariot race, feem to think ihe took ftrangc liberties indeed with
fo tremendous a tyrant. I rather fancy, with our early church writers, that the poor
F.mprefs leaned towards Chriftianity. Be that as it will, the family cf Julius was

J) 2 extinguished

28 THE FIRST CENTURY; [cir. r.

thunderbolt, and daflied the gold cup from the tyrant's hand. Thun-
derbolts at Rome are certainly no prodigies, though that perhaps had
its peculiar commiffion. Unnatural fins cry out for vengeance out of
Nature's bounds ; and that portents do mark important incidents fome-
times, though many pafs without being fo noticed, it would be very
difficult and very ufelcfs to deny. All Titus's 'army faw the meteor
which, refembling u flaming fword, hung over Jcrufalem's devoted
walls ; the gates of whofe temple burft open feven years before at
Pentecoft, when voices were heard in the air, and evident miracles
proclaimed their definition who helped to crucify the Holy One of
Ifrael. The great prophetic WORD had faid exprefsly, that mortals
then alive {hould fee that temple's final end whence he, its SHEKI-
NAH, was chaced with ignominy; and before fourfcore years were yet
expired, one ftone was literally not ftanding on another ; whilft the
heroic youth appointed to deftroy it, refembling in character and
manners Cyrus, who overthrew the Babylon they hated ; was called,
in admiration of his fuperior excellence, Delight of human kind.
Now too, as if the world would fain repofe after the bloody contefts
between Otho and Vitellius, and after this ftill more ftriking ven-
geance on the Jews, 110,000 of whofe lives were loft during the
fiege, and 97,000 prifoners carried to Rome; Vefpafian fhut the temple
of Janus, and dedicated his heaven-permitted fpoils to peace. Much
of the fabrick where they were depofited is ftanding while I write ;
and the fine arch, perpetuating the triumph of Titus, feems to have
acquired beauties, not loft them, by time. Affifting Retrofpefliori 's
fight it ftands, and waits His fecond coming whofe former miffion it
confirms. Holinfhed and Buchanan fay, that Chriftianity was in
thefe days carried to Britain by St. Jofeph of Arimathea a tincture

i ~

extinguifhed by the blow which killed the unborn infant. Suetonius wrote the lives
cf twelve men, who have for ages fmce been called the twelve Cxfars ; but 'tis in com-
pliment to the wriier.

CH. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. 29

of whole love for riches pervades us ftill. That opulence overwhelmed
not his faith, but rather confirmed him in practice of beneficence,
fcems hitherto not wholly forgotten by thole who are defccnded from
his converts ; and if the religion he planted is really taking flight from
other countries of Europe, here may it leave its laft remains! and
angels roll the ftone to keep it in, till the great day of general refur-
reclion. Vefuvius meanwhile inflamed his neighbouring plains, Ib
juftly called Phlegrasan ; the mountain raged with unexampled fury ;
hot afhes, toft in air, darkened the fun at Rome, 1 1 3 miles from the
explofion, cauiing a temporary, and for fome time, an incomprchen-
iible eclipfc.

On the fame hour a dreadful pcftilence begun that wafte which
laftcd many weeks ; and, ranging through the contaminated town,
thinned in fome meafure the immenie numbers, and lightened the
mafs of mankind which tumefied it even to burfting. Such was the
ftate of the metropolis. Around warm Naples and her polluted envi-
rons, indignant earth is feen by Relrofpettiori s eye (much like the
deity they worshipped, Saturn) fwallowing her fons alive. The ihaggy
cavern which conceals a murderer, opens by power unfeen ; the
rocks divide ; fudden deftrucYion drops on the inhabitants. The peace-
ful villa, retreat perhaps of ftudy, finks below the ground : the
gaudy amphitheatre becomes a part of it ; nor lets one fruitful fcalbn
pafs away, before, new-clothed with ufeful vegetation, it learns to
fupply poilerity with food Comus and Momus fly difgraced away,
and laughing Ceres reafiumes the land. Eoundlefs curiolity too,
daughter of affluent wealth, and parent of general knowledge ; im-
patient of delay, and ardent for immediate gratification, now robbed
the world of Pliny's future labours : and while hot Parthenope panted
amid volcanic fires, and flames of accident or ftrange caprice devoured
the ftrcets of Rome, burning for three nights and days with unremitting
violence up from the cooler ocean in the north rofe the low rudiments
of Rotterdam, dcitmcd to be the birth-place of Erafmus. Nearly with

her

30 THE FIRST CENTURY ; [ui. i.

her coeval fprang in Spain the places now known by names of Bilbao
and St. Jago di Compoftella, firft fabricated however by Titus, who,
in honour of his father, called itFlavio Briga, and Flavio Brigantum.
Yet then, and before then, was London cop'ia negotiatorum, et com-
mcaiu mqx'ime cekbre.* Chefter and Leiccfter were in being, I believe,
and York a favourite refidence of Romans. Lanquet would make us
think that town cotemporary with Scfak, king of Egypt, and Jeroboam,
king in Ifrael ; he fays 'twas built by Ebranck, probably f Evanck,
a Britim leader, of whofe works yet remain part of the caftle of May-
den, in Edinburgh, and fome ftones at the caflle at Dunbar. Pliny
calls the firir. Caftrum alatum ; but 'tis beft worth Rctrojfieflions
glance to obfcrve, that this old chieftain's name isjyet prefcrved, in fig-
natures of our archbifhop.J Strabo places gold and filver among the
produces of Britain, and Polydore Virgil fays, that cherry-trees were
planted here in the days of Marius and Sylla. The building of Bil-
ling/gate by Belinus, brother to Brennus, who facked Rome, is not fo
Well authenticated ; but as the word Brennos means a king yet in the
old Britifh language, one may conclude that word was rather his
appellation than his name, among the Cimbri whom he led to Italy.
But our immediate eye is fixed on the Vefpafians, and on the joint
triumph ot father and fon, united in glory, in excellence, and in affec-
tion A light heart, and a fort of unimperial chearfulnefs feems to dif-
criminate the character of Flavius, among whofe odd replies, full of
foldicr-like humour, I cannot help relating, that when his courtiers
told him of the comet, and expreifed fears for him as a bad omen, I
rather think, fays he, it muft relate to the king of Parthia, for my own

* So fays Tacitus himfclf. A [place particularly celebrated for the number of its mer-
chants and for trade. This was in Nero's time, towards fifty years after our Lord's
afcenfion.

t Evancke, in Welch, means the young now.
% He figns his name John or Thomas Eboracenfis.

part :

CH. i.] FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN.

part : you ice it has long red hair, juft like his and I am laid. A
freedman of Nero's too, Phoebus by name, had fccn the old General
faft aflcep while his mafter was afting a lady's part upon the ftage ;
and leave the city, faid the infolent fpy, or you'll repent this nap.
Where muft I go ? replied Vefpafian, waking. To the gallows, returned
the pandar, and faid no more. When Flavius was made Emperor
this fellow came cringing, and offered him his head. Leave the town,
faid Flavius, mimicking the voice he had fpoken in. Where would
C*far command me to retire ? To the gallows, anfwered the Emperor
in good humour, and forebore further to punim a creature, who, per-
haps, added he, faved my life from his tyrant's rage, by his negleft.*
So much for peculiarity of manners. His heart mewed refemblance to
that of his favourite fon, when, though Vitellius was his grcatcft
enemy, he fought out the daughter of his foe, and fortuned her, mar-
rying her fplendidly to a patrician houfe. Forgivenefs is a virtue too
good for Pagans fomchow I feel as if I grudged it them. Titus mean-
while ever ftudious to afcend the heights of moral perfe&ioh, lived in
the practice of felt-denying virtue from the firft day of his aflbciation
to power : he had, when prince, protected a favourite dancer, but
the figurante expecting marks of favour from paft fondnefs, was in-
ftantly difmhTcd ; that admirable youth thought only how to live and
how to reign, and drove feduclion from him with diligence, whether
it bore the form of Bathyllus or Berenice. f Having been faluted
imperator fifteen times, he died, exprefling regret for only one ac-
tion of his life. Hiftorians think that he repented pardoning his moft
degenerate brother, young Domitian, whofe impatience for the purple

* Vefpafian had little care for La petite Morale wifnefs the well-known tale of
his bidding Titus finell to the coin which was paid on his tax upon urine. And
when he was jEdile, in Caligula's time, he kept the ftreets of Rome fo dirty, that the
Emperor calling him up to his horfe's fide, purpofely fplafhed the mud into his face.

t Bathyllus 18 years old, Berenice 43 Gibbon fays 50. 10th vol. 8vo. edit. p. 129.

had

32 THE FIRST CENTURY; [cir. i.

had led him into plots againft the ftatc. On his acccffion, Rome with
furprife, beheld Agricola recalled from Britain, and heard her timorous
tyrant confefs his worth ; but fending him into retirement, poifoned
him (lily. This odious fovereign over haplefs humanity, hated all ex-
cellence, and feared all power. Lucullus, fent lieutenant into Albion,
inftead of feeking pearls, which were, I know not why, expected from
the coaft of NorthWales began a manufacture of fpears near Sheffield,
and thofe who ufed, called them LuculUans. This was enough ;
Domitian heard of it, and the poor deputy was ftrangled in his tent.
'Twas to the fame pufillanimity that fenatorial Glabrio owed his death
the lion he was thrown to yielded up the contefl, and the un-
worthy fon of brave Vefpafian had him immediately difpatched, for
fearhimfelf might fuffer by fuch giddy valour. St. John riling unhurt
out of the boiling cauldron might well amaze a mind fo meanly con-
ftrucied. An anecdote of that Apoftle, told by fome early ecclefiafti-
cal author,* will fhew that painting muft have been at a low ebb in
thofe days, although Domitian loved the arts, and was a literary cha-
radler. When the irrevocable fentence was gone forth, and our Lord's
favourite difciple was preparing for his banimment to Patmos, at one
of the chriftian houfes where he had vifited familiarly, and went of
courfe on the laft night to take leave of his friends he law a large
head hanging up. You will then never be weary of thefe frightful
figures, Jupiter or Pluto, or whatever you call them, cried he ; it
breaks my heart to fee this hideous face fet up fo, juft upon my going
away. Dear father ! exclaimed the miftrefs of the manfion, 'tis you
that break our hearts. This head is neither Jupiter nor Pluto, but
your own portrait in your own drefs ; drawn by my coufm Caius,
who is famed for never miffing a likenefs, and he did this by me-
mory knowing you would not fit. The Apoftle laughed, and begged
them to take it down. A ftory Hegefippus tells is better known ;
how reports having been long current, that from David a quondum

* Leucius.

king

CM. i.] FROM HBliRUIS TO TRAJAN'. 33

king of the Hebrews, fhould tyring in future times a fovcrcign of tin:
world and jiuka- of all mankind. Domitian felt himiclf tormented
by fulpicious fears, and caufed a clofe enquiry to be made, if any. of
that race yet remained alive : two grandfons or nephews of St. Judo
were found ; well plcafod to own the fon of JctTc for their ancertor, and
claiming kindred with Median's human nature. The Emperor called
them to his prcfence and was confolcd ; they poflcflcd thirty-nine acres
only of earth between them, their hands were hard with labour, their
backs bent with toil ; curiofity, however, prompted him to aik, of what
nature was the kingdom he had heard and read about. They replied that
it was neither terrcftrial nor tranfitory, but celellial and evcrlafting ; that
Chrifr., with whom their uncle had c -;,verfed on earth, fhould come
to it again at the confumrnation of all things, and judge mankind ac-
cording to their works.

Domitian thought little concerning heavenly kingdoms, and fent the
two men quietly away. Vices are often punifhed by their contraries, the
miler hoards againft a day of want, which he accelerates by felf-
denial : whilft wilfully pcrverfe, unbelief is frequently- the dupe to cre-
dulous fuperilition. Thus the notion of fecond fight was fondly re-
ceived by an anxious-minded fovereign, who rejected with fcorn the
truths of Chriftianity. A battle, for example, was fought upon the
Rhine, and on fome day, when all were expecting the event, a mad
fellow run naked through the principal flreets, crying viftoria as he
danced along. Domitian commanded rejoicings to be made, as if a
courier had come from Germany with the news ; which, on arrival,
did indeed confirm the crazy vagabond's early impreflion. Second
fight was now gaining ground among all ranks ; but the beft inftance
of it, for benefit of all his fubjecls, was that of their unworthy
Emperor's own death, prefented pretcrnaturally as many thought, be-
fore the eyes of Appollonius Tyana?us, then teaching philofophy in his
own fchool at Ephcfus ; where, flopping in the middle of the ledurc,
he fuddenly cried out, Now, courage SlcplKwns, and Jln\e the lyrant.
Stephanus, one of the chamberlains, had indeed, at that very moment,
VOL, I. E contrived

THE FIRST CENTURY ; [CH. r.

contrived admiffion to his prince's prcfence, wearing his arm in a fcarf
the better to prevent fufpicion, and conceal a dagger, which, while
Domitian was employed in reading over a lift of names, the bold af-
faflin {truck to his heart/and ended a life which had long kept man-
kind in perpetual alarm. The drolling conjurer, who faw in Afia
what was at the fame inftant acling in Rome, is the perfon to whom
we are obliged for the hack phrafe He has the black dog upon Jits lack,
when people are oppreiTed by melancholy and ill-humour. Dr. Henry
More fays, that this Appollonius told the Greeks he had a fpirit fol-
lowing him about in form of a black dog, which leaping on his
back, would make him atrabilious. The learned Hugo Grotius gives
credit to this fecond fight with regard to Domitian. I know not whe-
ther he believes in the black dbg. A better proof that the world was
grown weary of luch a ruler, was the frequent repetitions of the word
(j^li written on the Emperor's ftatues, triumphal arches, &c. it means
enough ; much like the modern Italian word Iwjla : and the trick was in
the fpirit of modern pafquinades.

And now the firft hundred years after our Saviour's appearance upon
earth drawing faft towards a conclufion, the retrofpeflhe eye views
with delight fome feeds of his newly founded worfhip, dropt almoft
into every country here in Europe ; fevcn churches of Afia too openly
profefling the faith, beudes Antioch, where Chriftians firft were called
fuch. That thefe feven churches, which were written to by Saint
John by name; and which ranked neither with thofe of Antioch or
of Rome, did actually at that time reprefent the feven Proteftant
churches, which have in later days diifented both from Greek and
Roman rituals ; profefling purer manners, and a lefs embarrafled
creed it is not my intention either to affert oY to deny. Certain it is,
that of thefe laft feven one has apoftatized, who once gloried in her
riches like that of Laodicea.* Our attention meantime being di-

* 'Tis odd enough that Laodicea, like Holland, was a maritime fituation its name
neans ad mare, as fcholars tell me.

reded

CH. i.J FROM TIBERIUS TO TRAJAN. 35

reded to the firft century after our Lord's afcenfion, 'will obfcrvc that,
although perfccuted by repeated tyrannies without, and clouded by
acknowledged hcrefies within, the filent growth of that wide fprcatl-
ing tree beneath whofe (hade the world finds all repofe, worked im-
obferved its way. Trodden down by tyrants, warmed by the blood of
martyrs, the grain of muftard-feed caft into an unheeded fpotof that
vaft iron empire, which the firft Czefar and his fucceiTors fo lon

maintaioed over oppreffed mankind in Nerva's gentler day ventured
to unfold its beauties. The pall and crofs, now inftituted by Clemens,
adorned the infant church, where he firft fet the bifhop's ruftic throne
confpicuous from the reft ; and having preferred to himfelf that Linus,
mentioned by St. Paul in one of his epiftles, modeftly accepted the
dignity of prefident, and poft of peculiar care, juft time enough to
fufFer for his elevation, when Trajan exiled him into Iberia for not
having facrificed to the immortal memory of fbmc dead emperor,
raifed to the rank of gods by Pagan folly. Nerva was the firft we
read of who would have no ftatue at all creeled to commemorate his
foft fercnity. Rome had made great advances in her adulation fmce
Auguftus's time. When a player called him Dominus, we are told the
people all ftared and the fovereign chid ; but Martial fpeaks in another
ftrain to Domitian, and Pliny tires one with My Lording Trajan. Vi-
tellius had puflicd flattery as far as it would go, to ftupid Claudius and
crazy Caligula, whofe madnefs, when he made love to the moon, that
courtier contrived to encreafc, by fwearing he faw encouragement in
Phoebe's eyes ; to Nerva none could gain accefs by fuch tricks. Tran-
quillity of mind and unoffending meeknefs of fpirit marked his peace-
ful reign, yet he encouraged harmlefs fports, and called theatrical pro-
feflbrs home, who had fled affrighted from his predeceflbr. Character
is always uniform if well underftood. Nerva was a grave man, yet he
liked a pantomine ; Domitian was a proud man, he hated dancers and
actors, and ftage exhibitors of all kinds ; Nero was a vain man, he
would be a public performer himfelf.

E2 But

36 THE FIRST CENTURY. [CH.

But now St. John returned from banifhment in Patmos, published
thofe prophetic wonders which were there revealed to him ; leaving the
myftic veil that covers them from common fight, to be gently removed
or lifted up refpeclfully by Time's flow, certain hand, which gradually
difclofing fome feature yet unfeen; inclines mankind from obfervation of
what's already undcrftood, to venerate and expecl: confirmation of what
remains. Now too, a certain Jew, converted to our faith, feems to
have written, as it were, a commentary on the Apocalypfe, which
lofes credit among Chriftians chiefly becaufe compofed under the fic-
titious name of Efdras, and extant only in Arabic and Latin ; although
. many beautiful and evangelical fentences may certainly be found there,
and fome ftrange predictions, we muft not call them prophecies ; which
are in our own days as ftrangcly come to pafs. The large mixture of fables,
however, like thofe afterwards collected into the Thalmud, deftroying
all poffibility of the book's being authentic, and our church having
agreed with that of Rome to vote it as it furely is, apocryphal ; hinders
many from reading, what would at leaft, contribute to render the Re-
velations better underftood, as the eloquent author was coetaneous with
St. John. Here then may RetrofpeSiion reft awhile ; and if the next
chapter fhould prefent few things to the reader's eye, except fome
characters, and thofe comprejfed, of future emperors ; let us confefs they
are the leading features the luminous fpots: fmce upon them the
world, and all which it contained, depended. When the chain breaks
and the parts falling, fcparatc ; Rome will have fmallcr fliare of our
attention,

CHAP.

en. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 37

CHAP. II.
CONTAINING THE SECOND CENTURY;

FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA.

WHAT was once faid of the flyle of fome writer by his contem-
poraries, is true of the imperial throne of Rome, Ubi bette,
nemo me/his ; ubi male, nemo pcjus. We now are to enjoy the plealing
Retrofpctt of five princes in immediate fucceflion, who ran the race of
excellence with ardour, no way furpafled by that which their prede-
celTors (all but the two Vefpaiians) (hewed n the caufe of vice : nor
can the lofty powers of high-graced humanity be further carried to-
wards philofophical perfection, than thefe five admirable mortals pufhed
them. Had the laft public deed of Nerva been \i\sfole act of royal au-
thority, the world would have united to applaud and thank him ; when
he united with himfelf in all the honours and the cares of ftate, immortal
Trajan a Spaniard, like himfelf; but with more energy of mind and
character, to put his virtues into active motion. The pupil of Plutarch
then, the familiar correfpondent of the younger Pliny, the chearful
comrade of his gallant ibldiers, entered the world's metropolis on foot,
furrounded by his hardy veterans, vrho in a few years more attended
his triumph when Rome rejoiced 1 20 days together ; having feen her
fovereign, and that of the whole earth; to hb endowments in the
arts of peace, add a reputation for military glory, undiminilhed by the
fame of any who preceded, unrivalled by all who followed him. The
veneration confequent on fuch decided fuperlority was not a transient
or a temporary paffion. When Theodofius was inverted with the
purple, 30O years after the times we are reviewing, Sisfelicior Augiiflo,
mdlor TRAJANO, was the cry. His firm and fteady courage kept both

the

38 THE SECOND CENTURY ; [CH. n.

the capital and provinces in awe. No plots darkened his brilliant reign,
no cruelties (except againfl our Chriftian faith) were fuffered to ftain
it ; nor w r as the royal ear deaf to Applications, even for what his
flrong attachment to the religion of his anceftors forbade him to en-
courage. At fuit of Tyberianus, governor of Paleftine, he ftopt that
perfecution which Pliny had before then perfuaded him to relax ; al-
though too late to fave from the fury of wild beafts the good Bifhop
of Antioch, who was fent bound thence all the way to Rome, and
there thrown, with unrelenting feverity, to lions. Scaliger can fcarce
believe this poffible ; yet why not? In the year 1796, probably later
ftill, we know that Spaniards made it their fport to fee noble and in-
nocuous animals mangle each other ; when the generous horfe, return-
ing at command to face the horns of a juftly enraged bull, trailed his
long entrails after him round the arena, in confequence of the firft
wound, yet giving not the cruel conteft up till death. Lifbon too,
fcarce half a century ago, exhibited an Auto da Fe, where human cri-
minals were burned alive for entertainment of the firft nobility; when
Chriftian ladies exprefled their delight in fuch amufement, no lefs fen-
fibly than Roman matrons and virgins felt in Trajan's time, when
naked gladiators, groaning, died, and panthers tore each other's fpotted
ikins, to pleafe a multitude made more ferocious by the frequenting
of fuch exhibitions.

Rome qui prodiguait par un mepris bizarre

A tout peuple etranger le titre de barbare,

Ne repaissait fes yeux que des pleurs de mortels,

Et de fang inondait fes theatres cruels.

La, fous les dents d'un ours, 1'esclave meprisable,

Ne 59311 que faire entendre une voix lamentable ;

Mais le gladiateur mieux instruit a mourir,

Semble perce des coups expirer fans fouffrir :

Si la nature en lui plus long-temps vigoureuse

En retardant la mort la rend plus douloureuse ;

Hatez-vous d'applaudir avec une joie egale,

Vous graves fenateurs, et toi jeuae veftale. RACINE.

CK. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 39

And Lipfuis docs fay ferioufly, that no \var ever took as many lives off
in one year, as did the fhows of Rome under their favourite fovcrcian,
who was however, juftly denominated optimns bononnn.

It was he who threw the beautiful bridge over that branch of Da-
nube called lantra, of which fome fine remains are yet exifting ; it
once confided of no fewer than twenty arches, and, by Mr. Du Terns'
menfuration, exceeded ours at Weftminfter 2140 feet. He like wife
built the city Marcianopolis, called fo in honour of his fitter Marcia.
It is now known to the Bulgarians by name of Prebiflaw, but the Ve-
netians ftill fay Marzcnopoli. The town creded on purpofe to com-
memorate his truly warlike exploits retains its merited appellation Ni-
copolis, or, as we fhould fay, Victoria. The pillar fet up at Home for
him, adorned with all his feats of arms in Dacki, death never fuffcred
him to fee ; but before it had robbed the world of fuch a hero, he had
adopted, with judicious care, a fucccflbr from his own nation, which
may not only boaft the bed and bravefl of foldiers in him, whofe high,
renown will long outlaft the column erecled to his memory ; but alfo
may in Adrian, who fucceeded, admire, with equal juftice, the moft
eloquent and all-accomplifhed prince that ever adorned the imperial
purple. He, not content with common marks of efteem and grati-
tude (hewn to his predeceflbr, placed his beft ftatue in the curule
chair ; and, as the fad proceflion rolled along, Rome faw her favourite
warrior triumph after death. This duty once difchargcd, the prefent
Emperor being, as he faid, pcrfuaded that a fovereign was only made
fuch for the people's good, began his reign by inftantly forgiviug the
forty millions debt to "government. His next acl was to punifh the re-
bellious Jews, who really had ravaged the fine iflc of Cyprus with a
fury worthy beafts or birds of prey ; having not only wafted the whole
country, and maflacred 24O,OOO inhabitants, fparing neither age nor
fex ; but forcing thofe few wretches whom their rage had rolled over,
to eat their own dead friends ; and purchafe, by conceffions no Chrif-
tian can defcribe, a hated though fhort exiftence. Such conduct excited

Adrian's

40 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH, n.

Adrian's deteftation ; and he refolved not only to chaftife, but mortify
a people, whofe ill underftood religion he confounded with our own ; and
fet a fwine's effigies over the gate at Bethlehem, confecrating a grove
to Venus not far off, whilft he prophaned the fpot their temple ftood
on with every thing he heard the Hebrews mod abhorred ; rebuilding
fomc of the decayed fuburbs too, as an excufe for changing of its name
to (Ella* There he failed ; the name was never altered, nor the people
ever deftroyed. The bufli of Mofes ftill burns on from age to age, ftill
unconfumed, a beacon to the world. Let us a moment turn afide, like
Mofes, and take a Retrofiett of that great fight. When King Agrippa
went to Alexandria, about the year of our Lord 30 or -10, with a great
train and pomp, fomcwhat exceeding that of a tributary prince, the
people caught a fancy that his face refembled that of a tame ideot who
ran about the ftreets, his name Carabbas. The populace, fenfible that
fuch a joke would not difpleafe Caligula, drcffed up the wretch in a
long purple gown, and putting on his head a paper diadem, hunted
him up and down under Agrippa's windows, crying, Hail, King of the
Jews ! Hail, King of the Jews ! Ufher and Tillemont have not left
this circumftance without the remarks natural to a ChrifHan ; but a
worfe fate w r ould have befallen him, had not that Emperors's aflafiina-
tion prevented the punifliments deftined to Petronius for delaying, at re-
queft of Agrippa, to fet the tyrant's ftatue in the temple ; all Ifracl had
refolved on general migration, meaning to leave their province, fo pro-
phaned, for famine to defolate, or beafts poflefs. Titinius Rufus, next
after Vefpafian, trode down that diftricl in a dreadful manner; and
Adrian's governor, Julius Severus, fo wafted the whole territory, burning

* Jerufalem was known by the name of Cadytis to Herodotus. The word means
holy, or holy refidence, as I have been told ; perhaps they confidered it as facred,
from its being the dwelling place of Melchifedek. D'Anville tells us, that the Arabs
now call it Beitcl, Makdcs, and Kads She it, }

or Uethel, or (Jadytis. lhe Holy, in their language.

or God's Heufe, )

their

CH. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 41

their caftlcs, and ploughing up their ftrong places, after difpatching
5 8,000 of the inhabitants that Fuller fays it never did recover ; and in
his book upon the Holy Warobfcrves, that " 'tis no marvel if fo thin a
meadow were quickly mown by him who had plenty of hands to work."
But -sve return and follow Adrian to Britain, which, to fay true, fuffered
fome little from his difpleafure ; though Selden fays his general, Coilus,
built Colchefter in Effex, if it was not even then known by name of
Caer Colin among the old inhabitants. Some traces too of his turf-
wall, or mound, may be feen in Cumberland (till : and perhaps he,
whofe fpirit of travelling prompted him to vifit fuch remote parts of
the Roman empire, might have been induced to pafs more time
amidft our northern provinces, had not his dainty minion, fair Anti-
nous, been haftily knocked down by fome rough Britifli hand ; an in-
fult his great matter could not be pleafed with, yet had more magna-
nimity than to refent, except by leaving the ifland. That tafte for
feeing various life, however, which fuggelled his journey hither,
prompted him to continue it through his own native country Spain,
to Afric, where he rebuilt Carthage, and vifited the Nile. But al p
though he creeled a monument for his horfe Boryfthenes, and fet up a
pillar to his memory near Barcelona, we muft remember that the an-
cients often paid funeral honours to their favourite animals. The epi-
taph on Craffus's mule is prefcrved by Porcacchi, aTufcan writer, who
found the llone between Rome and Tivoli. Her name was Cincia, if I
remember right : and although Adrian filled half Europe with fine fta-
tues of his lefs valuable favourite, the beautiful youth who fell into the
Nile, and there was drowned ; yet fuffered this philofophic fovereign
no idle whims, no vicious propenfitics, to mingle with his ftudies or
his ftate affairs ; but apparently triumphed in the almoft boundleft
capacity of a mind which could folve the hardeft problems of Euclid,
and pln with elegance of architecture a temple to Love : who encou-
raged all artifts, and was excelled by none : whofe powers of rhetoric
kept pace with the firmncfs of his logical deputations : and whofe
VOL. I. F progreft

42 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. a.

progrefs through his widely extended empire was marked in every part
of it by fome benefit conferred.

Adrianople, the old Oreftia, he repaired, and called it after himfelf ;
becaufe, having been built by parricide, he deemed it of ill omen.
But though he delighted in the baths of Aix la Chapelle, as Granus, a
general of fome former reign, had originally difcovercd the waters'
efficacy, he confirmed the appellation Aquis Gramim, and by that
name the town is ftill called by Italians, with very little alteration.
A defcendant of that General's (called Nero's half brother in Ifaacfon's
Chronology) Serenus Granus, wrote about the year 127 fo excellent
an apology for the poor Chriftians, that Adrian had thoughts of
building them a church, but fuffered other occupations to intervene.
Meanwhile Anacletus had prohibited, in Trajan's time, that any
bifhop mould wear long curling hair, as did the gay young Ro-
mans, upon which the clergy were foon diftinguifhed by a lonfure ;
and Alexander I., ftyled by his own decretary ^rc/zbifliop of Rome,
inftituted holy water for purification of thofe who mould come un-
prepared to church ; fome fait was added in a natural fpirit of imita-
tion ; the luftral water had fait mixed with it. By his command,
likewife, water was mixed with wine in the facrament, moft probably
becaufe from our Redeemer's fide flowed blood and water. This haplefs
primate was martyr'd, contrary to Government's intent, during fome
accidental abfence of the Emperor; who now caufed Pompey's tomb to
be repaired, fet up an honorary remembrance of Epaminondas in the
plains of Mantinaea, and erected for his own the Moles Adriani, now
Caftle St. Angelo ; whilft Sixtus I. in thankfulnefs to heaven for
that remiflion of mifery which our church enjoyed, fung the Trifagion,
or hymn, of Holy! Holy! Holy Lord God of Sabaoth ! in open day ;
and fent public miffionaries into Gaul for converfion of profelytcs, at
which the court connived. Ill health now ftopt the fovcreign's further
travels, yet would he not yield to its enfeebling power: he ftill, as
ufual, bathed in a crowd of people, where he one day perceived a poor

old

CH. a.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 43

old foldier (whom he had formerly obfervcd in his own legion) now fo
friendlefs, as to have no one to perform for him the common office of
a bathing guide, to fcrape or curry his back, as it was then the mode,
fo that he was obliged to rub himfelf againft the wall, as beads do.
Adrian, who recollected both his perfon and good fervices, afked him
the reafon why ? Tis, faid the foldier, Sir, becaufe I have no fervant.
The Emperor immediately fent him three flaves, and a fmall penlion
to maintain them. Such an aclion foon drew its natural confe-
quences ; for fafhions alter, but human nature is the fame. Num-
bcrlefs old men took the fame method of obtaining notice from fo
charitable a Prince. Our Spaniard, not duped however, nor as it ap-
pears much difgufted by fuch conduct, quietly provided thofe fellows
each 2ijlngil, and laughingly advifed them to curry one another* It was
time though to be ferious. Many diforders gathering round his con-
ftitution, he had, fome months before the time we treat of, adopted
Lucius Verus Commodus, who died before his friend, leaving an infant
ion. Of this man nothing is I think recorded, but that he lay on mat-
trefles of rofes, rendered elaftic by their quantity and number ; and that
he firft brought up the cuflom of making footmen run before a car-
riage. Thofe deftined for his ufe were boys, eminent in perfonal
beauty, drefled like the four winds, and their Lord called them Vo-
lanti they were lo drefled at Rome when I was there, and called fo
then. Adrian next fought an heir among the Stoics, though he him-
felf and his immediate favourites were of the Epicurean fchool. His
laft feleclion lighted on the man, whofe pure morality carts that of
every other monarch into fliadc ; and fearful left death fhould rob the
Romans foon of fuch a parent, he wiflied him to entail the fucceflion
on ftill further ; then, having provided pofterity with the protection of
the Antonines, retired to Baire, confulting his hearth only. In that

* The operation of champooing, in the eaft, feems another ma.iner of producing .1
like erica.

F 2 delightful

,11 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. 11.

delightful retreat it was, that he competed the \vell-known lines ad-
dreffed to his departing foul ; and as he had lived a philofopher, dc-
fired to die a poet.* His laft act of authority almoft, was fhipping off
incredible numbers of Jewifh captives into Spain, where they fubfifted
by working in the gold and filver mines, both in the character of la-
bourer and trader, till fome time about the year 1500 they were ex-
pelled either by Ferdinand or Emanuel. A ReirofpeSl of that peculiar
circumftance is ufeful, to elucidate the caufe of jealoufy which Spa-
niards have been always apt to difplay, concerning the antiquity of
their own families ; of which the true fource is, fear left they fhould
be fufpecled of fharing this old Jewifh, or elfe Moorifh blood. When
Sancho is afked about his matter's genealogy, De los Chriftianos mas
viejos, is his reply. That country, which was to Italy in Adrian's time
what Mexico has fmce been to all Europe, afforded no ill-devifed re-
treat to Hebrew avarice and genius for mean traffic ; but one wonders
why thofc mines fhould now reft quiet, whence Pliny fays 2O,ooo
pounds weight of gold were annually received at Rome. There is in-
deed a tradition, that the fhepherds who kept goats in Gallicia or
Afturia, having made a fire to burn fome flubbed rofemary, never
could quench it ; and having often tried, left it at length to end as
chance directed ; the fire then catching volcanic matter, fufed all the
metal by its violence, and carried away to fea. Some rivulets there,
is in Peru, are now called Lavaderos, from having warned ores and
minerals in their ftream : fome grains of gold are yet to be found too ;
but they confider the mines as ruined by fome accident, and can relate
none but this. Titus Antoninus meanwhile, fo juftly furnamed Pius,

* Animula vagula blandula, Gentle Soul ! a moment ftay,

Hofpes comefquc corporis, Whither wouldft thou wing thy way ?

Qua nunc abibis in local Cheer once more thy houfe of clay,

Pallidula rigida nudula, Once more prattle and be gay :

Nee ut foles dabis joca. See thy fluttering pinions play

Gentle Soul, a moment ftay !

the

CH. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 45

the fucceflbr of Adrian, and the fixtccnth emperor of Rome, fought for
no treafures, except in hi.< own heart ; dcfired no conqueits, unlcls over
himfelf ; no wars, but with thofe appetites and pallions, which how-
ever he wifhcd not to annihilate but to reftrain; inafmuch as they
lead men to heroic adions, while under the dominion and guidance of
that reafon which, as heaven's laft, bcft gift, this wife and virtuous
Prince mifufed not in fubtle difputations or rhetorical flowers, but
exercifed in a perpetual attention to his duty, in an active and paternal
care of that ftate he was called to command preferring, on all occa-
fions, modefty to wit ; well-judged beneficence, to oftcntatious difplay
of fcntiment. In proof of his liberality, he gave up, on his acccflion,
the immenfe civil lift appointed for the maintenance of imperial fplcn-
dour ; defiring to live frugally, after the old Roman fafliion, with one
woman only, his wife, the firft Fauftina ; depending on his own fu-
perior merit to awe that world which he difdained to dazzle. But,
though he encouraged learned men, particularly Appollonius Chalcidi-
cus, his tutor, though he rewarded Juftin, and received, well plcafed,
the dedication of his epitome ; he confidered goodnefs as much nearer in
claim for favours, than either perfonal prowefs or mental endowment.
He would rather hear, he {aid, of one citizen favcd, than of a thoufand
enemies deftroyed. In his uncommon character was verified the faying
of that fagc, who pronounced her the beft woman of whom leaft could
be faid out of her own houfe while it is the reign of Titus that we
are told, affords of all others the fewcft materials for hiftory. In his
day Lent was firft inftituted, as an obfervation of our church ; Telcf-
phorus chanted the Gloria in Excei/ts ; and Hyginus, a Greek by birth,
called himfelf Pope, His fucceflbr, a native of Aquileia, confecrated
Chriflian virgins, in imitation of the veftals revered by Pagan fuper-
ftition : their having been priefts to fome heathen deity themfelves,
before convcrfion, might lead their thoughts perhaps in the fame track.
I take the commonly accepted chronology, and will not lofe my time
to prove or difavow it. Many miftakcs have been made by the wifcft,

concerning

4d THE SECOND CENTURY ; [CH. n.

concerning the years when fuch events befell ; and we are now at fuch
enormous diftance, that Retrofpettion may eafily be deceived. Remote-
nefs has the fame effecl: upon the mind as on the eye ; and as the
traveller to Italy looks back from the firft heights of Savoy he has
climbed, and fees the fertile provinces of France approximated by the
eminence from which he views them ; the Rhone contracted, till he
cries with Dyer,

A ftep, methinks, might pafs the ftream ;
So little diftant dangers feem.

So feels the reader of this trifling fummary. But let him, like the tra-
veller, feel good-humoured too, and fo amufed by the variety of ob-
jecls, as not to quarrel with the glafs he fees them through. Much
has been faid by authors about Quintilian, and whether he lived now
or long before ; but there were three of the fame name and family,
and all fupremely eminent for talents. He who faid, Natura nos ad
mentem optimum genuit, muft, one would think, have lived under the
Antonines. But if the baptifmal font was in their day, though not by
their defire, ereded to purify mankind from that original and native
iin, of which even they, tranfcendent creatures as they were, had fure
a taint ; we muft remember that Crefcens and Cerdon * flourifhed in
that century, and Apuleius wrote his Golden Afs. He wrote, befide,
a pretty allegorical fable of Cupid and Pfyche, in which the theory of
man's fall and reftoration are elegantly alluded to, with embellifhments
both from the true and falfe religions ; but Apuleius had been mucli
among the Platonifts, who myfticized every thing. Marino hands
down the fame tale to modern times ; Moliere took it from Marino,
and I have myfelf feen it reprefented in a pantomime ballet. Dio-
genes Laertius gave to mankind the lives of the philofophers during;
that century ; whence Menage's notes grew up in France, and Stanley's

* Two notorious heretics.

folio

CH.'II.] FROM TRAJAN 7 TO CARACALLA. 47

folio in Great Britain. Ptolemy too attracted notice from the world
in thofc days ; and if his new invented fyftem was not better than
that in ufe before, it had at leaft the merit of more deep rcfearch.
The old hypothecs however, gained more lafting praife, protracted
through Pythagoras, Copernicus, and Newton ; but Almagefl, fo the
Arabians afterwards called the Ptolomajan labours when digcfted,
continued the conteft many years. This writer drew from Egypt
his fkill in the fcience of aftrology. The rainbow and dove, fym-
bols of peace fince Noah left the ark, were known by familiar
names at Alexandria : Cleopatra's maids were called Charmion * and
Iras, even in Mark Antony's time ; and the favourite hieroglyphics
which thofe names denote, the dove and rainbow, may this day be
feen on the great obeliik brought by Caligula (chiefly for that reafon,
I believe) to Rome. Egyptian fupcrftitions obtained exceedingly
among the emperors. Adrian had one room filled with their deities ;
and Caligula had once a mind to maflacre the Roman fenate, quit
his country, and make himfelf a god in Alexandria, where, as they
worfhipt crocodiles, fays Crevier, they might perhaps have worfhipt
him. But we proceed to the progrefs of fcience ; for Jamblicus, in
the fecond century, wrote his Babylonica fo much praifcd, fo fa-
moufly abridged, and now fo completely forgotten : and Galen, called
to Rome upon an illnefs of the young Fauftina, daughter to Titus, and
lately married with his adopted heir, left it no more, till every effort had
been vainly tried to detain the invaluable life of Antoninus Pius, whofe
purity of morals, integrity of heart, and fpontaneous liberality, gave his
fubjed world a conftant and almoft a perfect example of confummatc
virtue for twenty years together : the greateft flrctch of it was, per-
haps, the adoption of Aurelius, in compliance to the will of the
deceafed Adrian, and the defired benefit of all mankind; in oppofition
to parental feeling, and the warm wifh, which he forbore to gratify,
of making the purple hereditary, by leaving it his own two fons.
It was by their hands, however, that the dying Emperor fent the
* Charmion means dove, and Iras is Iris dill.

46 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. it.

Jittlc golden image of good fortune to his beloved Fauflina and her
luifband ; commending it to their bed's head, as it had always flood up
at his own. The new Caefar haflened to receive his fovereign's lafl
command, and took upon himfelf to foothe thofe juftly afflicted multi-
tudes who lamented the death of their common parent and benefac-
tor, with piercing fhrieks along the flreets of Rome.

Hiflorians have observed how the different characters or modifications
of excellence prevailed in the firfl kings of that amazing nation, and
how the oppofition vifible in the manners of Romulus and Numa, of
Tullus Hoflilius, and Ancus Martius, promoted fenfibly the general
good, and matured the flatc's profperity. A like variety, for fpring and
autumn have aflrong refemblance ; may be faid to prefent itfelf to rea-
ders who contemplate the difpofitions of gentle Nerva, and of warlike
Trajan ; the fleady and domeflic habits of frugality practifed by grave
and pious Antonine, who never flept but two nights from his palace ;
and the high-polifhed elegance of travelled Adrian, whole voyages and
remarks would of themfelves create a ufeful volume ; but it is lefs
difficult to difcriminate the virtues of the good emperors, than it is
to feparate the vices of the bad ones. Thefe lafl are really fb much
alike, I never know which reign I have been reading, except by
fome trait more of the author than the man defcribed. A modern
writer fays the reafbn is this, " Virtue has proportions, but vice has
none." When in his Paul et Virginie, the old man teaches a young
fblitary what pafles in focial life ; the boy is at no lofs while they
are fpeaking of good people, but foon as he begins upon the wicked
ones, what could they mean by acting fb ? fays Paul ; I do not under-
ftand you. Our retrofpeSthc eye may now repofe on the great fiic-
cefTor of thefe great princes, who uniting every quality that can adorn
a throne, with every virtue that exalts humanity, has left the reign of
Aurclius a finifhed model for all future monarchs. Such were the
barriers lent by heaven awhile, to flop the progrefs of decay ; yet all
they did, and all they fuffered to fupport an empire, already grown

unwieldy

CH. n. j FROM TKAJAX TO CARACALLA. 4i)

unwieldy with age, and tottering under the weight of ills brought on
by a too rapid influx or" wealth, and a too wide dilatation ot" power,
evinces that they lived in ancient Rome's, autumnal day, when full
repletion finks into faticty, and the broad fun, tttough rich and radiant,
fcts at an early hour, leaving the fad horizon black with thick gather-
ing clouds, that fecm to prcfage a rough and llormy night. How, in-
deed, could it be otherwife, when pleafure was fo completely confi-
dcrcd as the fole buiinefs ot" the Senate's care ; that when Anrcliu.s
went out to war, he faid to them, I go to relieve Rome from all folici-
tude ; attend to your amufements, frequent your circus, let all an-
xiety be mine alone ; think you of felf gratification only. His colleague,
Lucius Verus, was indeed willing to pufli fuch pcrmiflion as far as it
would go ; for having thought it indifpcnfiblc to afTociatc him becauic
Adrian had chpien his father for a fucceilbr, and had recommended the
boy to Pius and himfelf ; the prefent Emperor found much embarrafT-
ment from a companion, whofe manners were in every way a contraft
to his own. Many fchemes of public benefit being fruftrated by one,
who, with equal power, ufed it fo pcrvcrfely, poifoning by his pernicious
example the conduct of thofe whom his virtuous partner was fludious to
reform ; among the reft Lucilla, daughter to our philofophic Marcus, but
difpofed to rcfemblc her hufband, not her father, \\ ho had vainly hoped
that marriage might perhaps reclaim them both, and tame a filly fpirit
of frolic gaiety, which overlcaptall bounds of duty and decorum. Thus
was renowned Aurclius, an example of his aiTertion, who fo feldom erred
in knowledge of life, or precepts of moralitv,* \\hcn he tells us that '" a-;
it is always lefs difficult to do evil than good ; although the \\ ifdom or
virtue of an individual can very rarely make many happy, yet may the
folly or wickedncfs of a fingle mind fer\e cafily to make all around him
wretched." Whilft, therefore, one imcreign mcritorioufly fought
to exhibit in his own conduct a pattern for pofterity to

* Dr. Johhfon.
VOL. 1. < though

50 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. n.

though ever at an immeafurablc diftance ; and the other as incef-
fantly difplayed mifchievous pranks, of eafier imitation and ftronger
allurement ; the wifer pait of the world faw its approaching change.
Cities fprung up in regions remote from common obfervation, and
Frankfort upon the Oder, was the work of Gauls; who wifhed to perpe-
tuate in that town's appellation, the memory of their favourite ge-
neral, Francus, fo called becaufe he freed them from Auguftus Caefar's
yoke, who permitted the family to take on them a name, by which they
are now but too well known, over the four continents ; and Turks
feem even -yet to fancy all Chriftians originally fprung from France.
'Till the time of Oclavius, part of what we now call fo, feems to have
been denominated Sicambria, from Cambria, wife of Antenor, fon to
the firft Marcomir. Her name was probably Gomaria, Gomrah,
Camrah, Cambria, from the great fountain of Teutonic families. Some
of the French yet retain words from the Welch, or Cambrian language.
The inhabitants of Bas Bretagne underftand a native of Anglefea or
Caernarvonshire, at the hour I am writing, and comprehend us when
we fay ycymrodorion, in Englifh, counlrymen ; or rather gomerodorion,
meaning brothers, defcended from one ftock Gomer. Brandenburg
likewife before this time had reared his gloomy front, and Brando,
their chief, fet up that flrange thing in the ftrect which flood there
fafe towards fifteen years ago ; of black bafalt it feemed, its fize colof-
fal ; I could get no one to tell me what it meant. The Germans had
no cities in Tacitus's time, but Marpurg now called itf elf capital of the
Cattians ; and CaJieUum has yet fcarce funk in the word CafTel, its an-
cient appellation. Horrid concuffions too (hook the wide empire on
its eaftern fide, and a portentous inundation of old Tyber frighting the
metropolis, left behind it a dangerous contagion. But Lucius Verus
at length failing a facrifice to his own mad exccfles, left his colleague
unfettered and aclive to provide for all. Defcended from Numa, he
like him delighted in all the tranquil and domeftic virtues ; fon by
adoption to Antoninus Pius, he defircd like him the civic crown ra-
ther

CH. n.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 51

ther than the laurel ; but the late Emperor's pacific temper produced
fbme confequent vexations to Aurelius. Nor fqueezed for tribute by
the hand of power, nor crulhed and trodden by the foot of defpotifm ;
the barbarous nations grew more infolcnt : while a revolt in Britain, and
a ftill more formidable rebellion againft the Emperor in Parthia, forced
out thofe talents for military glory which had till then, by his own wifli,
remained unknown. They fuccceded however, and he returned in
triumph to his capital : where the fine ftatue of him ftill remained in the
year 1 786, fublime in princely beauty ; difplaying ftill that dignity of
character which language labours vainly to exprefs, and fetting before
us the majeftic warrior, of whom thofe who have only read his acls
in ftory, form a too faint idea. And now believing that one of his
moil fignal victories had been won by the vaft efforts of his Chriftian
regiment, called on that great occafion Lcgio Fulminatrix, he liftened
the more willingly to Melito's apology, and feemed difpofed rather to
encourage than opprefs a faith he could not prevail uponhimfelf to cm-
brace. The cruelties exfercifed on Polycarp, however, were truly dread-
ful, and his endurance of them preternaturally, perhaps, heroic. When
urged to renounce our Saviour, thefe 86 years (faid he) do I ferve him ;
and I pray you bind me not to the ftake, for what you have power to
inflict, that will he give me ftrength to bear. Away with the impious !
exclaimed the proud Proconml ; away with the impious ! replied the
half-confumcd Chriftian from his flames; and if great Aurelius, when
he heard the talc, was moved to pity fuch behaviour, and to fay that
no more ot that fc-ct fhould be punifhcd for their opinions Jortin
need not have wondered fo, or tried to teach the Emperor four word>.
in which he might have comprifed with neatncfs the intent of hi--
decree.* Marcus Aurelius mult have undcrftood Latin as well as Dr.

* Nolumus Chriftianos ampl'ms rexari, are the words of our Doflor's prefaiptive Latin.
M.ircus Aurelius feems fated to occafion offence to modern pedantry. It was the
fport of the French wits to plague Monficur and Madame Dacier, by faying, Ay, ay,
your Marcus Aurelius was a fine man ; but by whole order was it that the laints were
martyred at Lyons ? to fee the comical rage into which they both would fly, particu-
larly the lady. Vide all the French // .

52 THE SECOND CENTURY ; [CH. n.

Jortin, we'll fuppofe, but retaliation joas the way in thofe days ;
and when the prince permitted rcfiftance, he knew his own people
would torment them no more. He therefore wrote, to afTure his too
zealous governours, that if they pcrfifted in difturbing innocent men
concerning crimes themfclves fcarcely pretended to underftand,
their bodies (hould be condemned to bear the pains that their feve-
rity fhould Jnfift on. New wars and new commotions meantime
calling him out once more to defend the limits of an empire, expofed
to hourly encroachments, and grieving his good fpirit with the
thoughts of obligation to lay on frefli taxes, he difpofed of the imperial
jewels for the payment of his troops, having reduced his own efta-
blifhment even to a primitive fnnplicity 'fpite of the Emprefs's ex-
travagant defires, which, though f uppofcd by all to have brought falle
heirs to his crown and dignity, he fuffcred not to difturb the public
welfare. As daughter to Titus he deified her when fhe died ; nor
would furFer any one's information to caufe a word between them
during the life of her, through whom he became the fon of Antoninus
Pius. Her genius for expence required his tightcft curb, and ibmc-
thing from the civil lift was ftill referved too for the reward of ufeful
talents ; witnefs Polyenus, the Macedonian, who for eight books, con-
taining an account of nine thousand ftratagems employed in the art of
war, received a royal prcfent. Cafaubon bought the Greek copies
many ages after, and I myfelf faw them advertifed in Englim notfevcn
years ago.

Such was the uniform excellence of this fovcrcign, that the com-
monwealth feemed revived under hisadminiftration; which always left
the fenate (as of old) to determine without appeal, and certain of their
preference in all matters of moment, he chofe rather to guide their
councils by influence of his fuperior intellect, than to rule their deter-
minations by dint of acknowledged authority. In return for fuch ad-
mirable, fiich exemplary conduct, the Fathers decreed him an enemy
to the ftate, whofe houie mould be found without a picture or ftatue

CH. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 53

of their divine Marcus Aurelius; and it was then firft fettled to a com-
mon proverb

Libertas nunquam clariorextat quam fub regc pio.*

Speed fays that a Chriftian king at this time ruled in Britain; but Speed
is liafty in his firm aflertion, for Lucius, whom he fpeaks of, the Em-
peror's colleague, had long been dead, and never was baptized. Yet
that there was a king Lucius many old ballads atteft, and he, perhaps,
hearing of the miracle ihewn before two armies in favour of our faith,
might poffibly defire and receive baptifm. Pope Eleuthcrius is faid,
at his requeft, to have fent over miffionaries here, who, fbme think,
founded our firft bifhop's fees, where the Arch-Flamcns before them
refided ; at London, metropolis of Britannia prima ; at York, the
capital of Maxima Ccefarienfis, and at Caerleon-upon-Ufke, in Wales,
chief city of Britannia fccunda. Papal command near the fame time
prohibited the fuperftitious refufal of any thing that was man's meat,
and a church was built in Cornhill dedicated to St. Peter. Meanwhile
Rome's braveft General, yet unfatigued, purfued his conquefts over the
barbarians, which, like hydra's heads, rofe in ftill greater numbers to
his fword ; and having left a fet of political lectures behind him with
the fenate, for whofe ufe they were compofed, and who, when liftcn-
ing to his lail directions, interrupted them only by tears of anxiety or
acclamations of rapture he quitted Italy and returned to it no more ;
catching a fcarlet fever from fome prifoners in Pannonia, where the
phyficians, fee'd by Commodus, took care he never Ihould recover.
Suffering, however, no dangers to controul his truly intrepid fpirit, no
forrows to awaken his ftoical tranquillity, internal peace contemning
outward ills, beamed on his fercne majeftic countenance, till this frefh
proof of his young fucccflor's depravity ; then the fon's crime forced

An adage Claudian configncd to poetical remembrance, by adaptation, many ages

after. Xunquam llbc itas gratlor (xjlat quam fub rege fie.

from

54 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. n.

from the dying patriot a groan of anguifh To what a guide, faid he,
I leave the world ! and died. When Phoebus could but with difficulty
poife the feat indeed, well might light Phaeton fall headlong from the
car. The Roman power fliewed evident fymptoms of incipient decay :
corruption could no longer be reftrained, whilft opulence flowed in
with every tide, and vice as certainly fapped the now-foftened founda-
tions of a ftrudure, battered by invaders from undifcovered regions,
and barbarous multitudes who fought but to devour and deftroy.
Commodus cared little for their adls or their intentions. Herodian
defcribes, with great fpirit, the boyifh hafte he made to get to Rome,
where his uncommon beauty fecured him admiration. Effeminate and
gay, he foon difmiffed his father's mufty counfellors ; furnifhed his im-
perial houfe with fix hundred human creatures devoted to his pleafure ;
powdered his own fine auburn hair with gold duft, to encreafe its
brilliancy ; fpent on his toilet, in ten weeks, more than his predecef-
for's whole eftablifhment had coft the public in the laft ten years ; and
took arms in his white hand only to kill wild beafts withal a diver-
fion that difplayed his elegance of mien and accuracy of eye, and in
which he was eminently fkilful, cutting off the necks of oftriches as
they ran fwiftly round the arena, with arrows cunoufly conftrucled
and headed with a half-moon. It feems as if tyranny and archery had
fome unaccountable connection: not only this Emperor but Domitian
was furprizingly certain of his aim ; and it had been his fport to make a
child ftand with his little fingers ftretched open againfl a wall, and then
flick a dart between every two of them, fhot from prodigious diftance.
The ftory of William Tell preferves the memory of our laft renowned
Toxopholite and tyrant of modern times : there was an intermediate
tale of the fame kind told fomewhere about the tenth century ; and
our ballads celebrate their William of Cloudefelie for the fame acl: of
heroic flcill. Truth is, hiftorians ferve the dim up again and again,
and one facl: gains belief in very feparate ages. Philip of Macedon
puflied away a woman who was troublefome to him with fome peti-
tion,

CH. ii.] FROM TRAJAN TO CARACALLA. 53

tion, as he journeyed along: Be not our king then, if you will not
hear us, replied the woman : the monarch then granted her requcft.

Auguftan Hiftory relates this of Adrian, and it was told me for a
truth, at Vienna, of Jofeph II. Query, Was it ever true at all ? One
thing is Cure, however, that the church of Chrift gained firmnefs un-
der the reign of this light-hearted profligate, whofe beft praife is, that
he firft inftituted a company of corn merchants for the prevention of
famine at Rome, where a medal, ftill extant, was ftruck on the occa-
fion ; Africa prefenting the Emperor with ears of wheat, and a Greek
infcription, that all were happy under the reign of Commodus ; who,
among his numerous new titles, took the name of F<elix, and fays he
would renew the golden age. This fovereign erred lefs through ma-
lice than mere wantonnefs ; and when he flit an old fenator's ear, un-
der pretence of having his hair cut fafhionably, we muft needs know
that half Eton fchool would play the fame trick, were they, like this
boy, inverted with illimitable power. Making Aurclius's worthy old
prasfecl: dance naked among his young concubines, and letting them
hoot and ridicule, and at length throw him in the mote to feed tame
lampreys, was a little worfe. That poor fellow found his no golden
age. Oppian the poet, in thefe times, projected his well-known poem
on the Chacc, as likely to recommend him to Commodus's favour,
who was fo fuccefsful in the deftrudion of wild beads ; he afterwards
dedicated it to Caracalla, the dreadful hunter, whofc chief game wa-
man; while Julius Pollux compofed his Onomafticon, of which Pi-
nelli pofTeffed a fine edition, A. D. 1/80; and fomc Sclavonian tribes
laid the firft ftones of Utrecht. Nor were the fchools of religion or
learning difcouragcd, though whim, and gaiety, and filly pranks were
all the Emperor thought of. In order to fupport fuch profufe-
nefs, all places of truft were fet to fale, and trcafnrcs quite incon-
ceivable were lavimed upon the Prince's dhTolute companions ; among
whom all his lifters were comprized, except Lucilla, widow of Lucius
Verus : her hufband, a Roman fenator of ancient mould, and friend

to
*

56 THE SECOND CENTURY; [CH. n.

to philofophic Marcus, refufed her company to Commodus's com-
mand ; the next day, of courfe,, faw him and his wife expire upon a
fcaffold.

Lightning now ftruck, the capitol at Rome, and the great library
collected by Adrian, of immenfe value, was burned to the ground.
Two thoufand people died in one circle of twenty-four hours, from a
new peftilence, caufed by the heat and crowd in this thick -thronged
metropolis. Plagues raged at home, and famines wafted the limits of
the empire ; whilft the young fovereign, intent on a new frolic, pur-
pofed to fence naked in the amphitheatre, and there exhibit his fym-
metric form to forty thoufand admirers at once. This fhamelefs pro-
ject, this unheard-of folly, revolted the delicacy of his moft favoured
female, Marcia ; and prompted her to reprefent the meannefs of fuch
conduct, in terms her uncontradifted paramour was little likely to for-
give. He wrote her name on the dead lift immediately : but a fondled
baby picking up the paper as he played about the apartments, and
bringing it the lady by mere chance ; flie refolved to prevent her own
death by her mafter's ; and eafily engaging his chamberlains' affiftance,
who faw themfelves marked down with her for execution threw her
zone round his undefended neck while bathing, and, helped by two
aflaffins, foon deftroyed a prince who, had he met with any other
death, had fcarce deferved companion. Commodus feems to have ap-
proached modern exuberance more than any other fovereign we have
mentioned yet ; he had a genius for mechanic arts. Unlike Fhnius
Vefpafian, to whom, when fome one prefented a machine for ufeful
purpofes, the Emperor faw him rewarded, and the mcchanifm burnt ;
for how, faid he, muft my fubjecls live by labour, if all their work is
to be done by engines ? On the contrary, this youth, elaborately volup-
tuous, gave immenfe fums to the inventors of umbrella chariots, which,
I believe, had fprings to them betides. When Pertinax afterwards made
a falc of his effecis, the people, loft as they were to virtue (fay toilo-
rians), were alhamed to buy. Thus in this hccdlefs, though flagitious

reign,

en. ii.] FROM TRAJAX TO CARACALLA. 57

reign, more evil of every fort luid been diflcminatcd, that the paft five-
fcorc years of excellence could counteract : nor were his fucccflbrs.
rphemcron monarchs, likely to fupport the dignity of that dominion
which dropt from the hands of five or fix pretenders in courfc of only
eight months. Though this much muft be faid for Pertinax, that he
had been a fenator, a prefect, and a commiffary ; had taught language
in the fchools, and carried colours in the field; had fuffered hardfhips
without complaint, and acquired rank without meanncfs of folicita-
tion ; yet, though a man of incomparable underftandinc, ftyled by his
intimates the tennis-ball of fortune, and earned to Jhew me had at
length bccnjuft; his name would never have defcended to pofterity,
had he not worn the purple eighty-fix days, and feen it torn from him
on the eighty-fcventh, with life, which he valued lefs for no fault he
had committed, or was even fufpecled of. Mean Didius, who had
bought the feat of rule with money, parted from it, as might be ex-
peeled, with more reluctance, like a mifcr from his hoard ; which
Niger arrived not at pofTcffing, till after the Britifh and caftern gene-
rals had for a while difputed the dangerous pre-eminence. Accident,
concurring with the fpirit of riot and impetuofity that now determined
every great event, placed Septimus Severus on the throne. The reins
of government were held with difficulty even by this active and vigi-
lant commander, Vert Pertinax, Ver2 Severus, as he was called ; who
law aftonifhed, new tokens of rebellion mark various parts of the tu-
multuous world ; and had the afHi&ion to ufe, in his own camp,
coins with effigies of Donald, king in Scotland. Harafled on every
fide by a variety of opponents, who, though often conquered to out-
ward appearance, were never never again completely fubdued in re-
ality ; and, more attentive to retain the fovereignty for hirrrfelf and
his two fons, than to fupport the authority of the parent country over
nations rifing in refiftance every hour ; the gout feized and confined
him to a painful bed at York, when fome flatterer exprefling furprifc
that he could rule fo vaft an extent of dominion, being fo lame, fick^
VO-L. I. H and

5ft THE SECOND CENTURY; [en. n.

and unwieldy I manage the empire, faid Severus, with my head,
and, tender as they be, I will yet ftrive to keep it down with my feet.
The gout however laying hold upon a vital part, he died here in the
north of England, where he had long kept a fort of court, in order to
be near at hand in cafe of any difturbance from the Gauls : and though
an indefatigable general, eminent for the neceffary virtues of foldier-
like courage and manly fortitude, he felt in death the imperial power
crumbling from his throne, a feat more highly raifed than deeply fixed
in. his day; not as it flood in time of Auguftus Caefar, to all appear-
ance rooted in a firm and feemingly immoveable ftability. Two hun-
dred years about this time elapfmg fince our religion firft was founded,
the refro/peffive eye refts for a moment upon St. Irenaeus's martyrdom,
and will obferve Origen, furnamed Adamantius, adding new luftre to
his great profeffion, while the warm eloquence of bold Tertullian *
enforced thofe truths which neither herefy could choke, nor perfecution
kill ; though controverfy raged between the eaflern and the weftern
church with a degree of violence incredible. One may obferve, in-
deed, that early difcuffions in faith or politics add energy and ftrength
both to the church and ftate. When both are founded fafely howfo-
ever, he is the greateft blockhead who difturbs them, and tries to raife
a dangerous fermentation ; but when decay begins to taint, or atrophy
to numb their conftitution, talking their merits and their faults again
over, revives a latent fpark once more perhaps, and animates them to a
longer continuance.

* Of Tertullian's eloquence, fuffice the fine allufion to Chrift's miracle, when
fleeping in the little fhip betofled with ftorms he waked, rrtwked the winds, and
there was a great calm. So, fays the orator, 'tis with our Chriftian Church, beaten
by perfection's roughed waves. Let but our Redeemer arife and fpeak the word, all
lhall atonce be ftill. The affinity this has to Horace's ode, "Oh navis ret'ert in
mare, &c." is furely no difcredit to the paflage ; yet fays Balzac, " On appelle ob-
fcur ce genie enorme ; if faut pourtant avouer que 1'obfcuritc de Tertullien comme le
noirceur de 1'cbene jette un grand eclat." It is natural for Balzac to like Tertullian.

CHAP.

cir. ixi.j FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS.

CHAP. III.
FROM CARACALLA TO THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER SEVERUS.

FIRST PORTION OF THE THIRD CENTURY.

TT 7E ftill are chained to biographic anecdotes, few general facts oc-
curring in thefe tirrfts on which to fix our retrofycff'rue glafs,
through which .indeed the Goths are feen dividing on each fide the
Wefer, then Vifurgis ; and called <7/?phalians and ^/?phalians for that
caufe while the Jews clofed the book they called the Talmud, and
Chriflians openly and without fear celebrated the day the Saviour of
our world was born. Of politics, as of an art, little can be predicated,
while to the care of one mind only the great and general whole was
feen committed. Mankind had hitherto been influenced to good or
ill chiefly by the example fet them by their rulers,* on whofe imme-
diate fiat all depended ; nor did the befl among them fpend much time
in making laws which the next fbvereign's lips could on the infant
abrogate or confirm. The lex talionts was their beft fandard of moral
rectitude ; and when Auguftus, fupping with a fenator, had feen him
enraged againft a flave for breaking one of the glades that they drank
out of, he watched how far paflion would lead the man, refolvcd to
make him fuffer the next day, and fee how he mould like retaliation.
But when the poor flave was flung out of the window by his mailer's
order, the Emperor cbuofe not to go fo far, but fent an officer early the

* Caffiodorus, two hundred and fifty years after this period, fays,

Facilius crrare naturam eft, quam principem formare
RempubJicam diffimilem fibi.

H.2 next

60 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. in.

next morning to break every glafs in this fcnatorial houfe ; a punifli-
ment that makes a modem reader laugh. Nor could Aurelius ma-
nage any better, although his muft have really been a faultlefs charac-
ter, could he have prevailed upon himfelf to have fet worthlefs Corn-
modus afide. But if he fell in the fnare of fondnefs for his fon, how
muft mankind agree in condemnation of mean, felf-intereiled Sevcrus'
cares, when dying, he advifed his boys to love each other, to revere
his memory, to pay their foldiers well, and laugh at all the world be-
fides. Such counfels fure almoft deferved what followed ; when the
monfter Caracalla, foon as his father died, purfued into the weeping
widow's arms his brother Geta, whom he murdered there, forcing the
affrighted parent not long after into an impious marriage with him-
felf; and erafing every alto relievo in Rome, erected to perpetuate re-
membrance of him who had fliared the pleafures of his childhood. The
area degl orifici remains even now a monument of this unnatural
hatred, which the inhabitants of Alexandria, with more indignation
than it was prudent to exprefe, ventured to ridicule, and when the
Emperor came there in progrefs, OEdipus and Jocafta was acted for
his entertainment a jefl, faid he, for which I will foon make their
boafted river run red to the fea with blood. Nor was he backward to
execute the apparently exaggerated menace : when the next night the
theatre was opened, a band of fbldiers watched the audience out, and
murdered, without fparing age or fex, all who had feen the lucklefs re-
prefentation. When it is reflected on, that thefe old theatres held
from four to five thoufand fouls at once, we wonder not that fuch
tyrannic meafures foon taught the terrified fubjects a new leflbn ; they
hafted to take out the name of Geta from medals, coins, &c. nay even
from the comedies of Terence, fubftituting quickly fome other in its
room ; nor dared a private man, making his will, bequeath a legacy
to one who bore it. Yet could not Caracalla, though temperate in his
diet, and delighting in rough exercife, drive from his anxious mind the
horrors of a wild diftempered fancy : the figure of his father flill pur-
fued

CH. in.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 61

fued him, and ftill the figure cried, Omniafui, nihil expcdit. Now, of
his brother's partizans and friends fell twenty thoufand in one night at
Rome : all who had ever ferved him as domeftics, all houfcs where he
ever vifited, were marked; yet, fpite of all that murder, all that maf-
iacre, fome courage and fome virtue yet remained. The ftoic advo-
cate Papinian, commanded to plead in public, and aflert the necefiity
of Geta's death, refufed to do fo offering his head to the executioner,
who cut it inftantly away, after having heard him obfervc only, that it
was eafier for an emperor to commit fratricide than for profeflbrs of the
law tojuftifyit. Helvetius Pertinax too, fon of the momentary mo-
narch, hearing how the name of Parthicus had been decreed to Cara-
calla, for fome advantages gained by grofs treachery over Artabanes,
faid, that he thought the appellation Geticus might not be much amils
(there were a barbarous people called the Getae), and for that witti-
cifm he was content to lofe his life. And now his favourite female was
no more, who partly had reftrained this rage for blood ; the lumber-
ing dead-cart, as in days of peftilence, knocked nightly at fome fena-
torial gate, demanding victims to his fell revenge ; who, after burning
Ariftotle's books, and putting down all fchools throughout the em-
pire ; after having long deferved and fecretly received the title oppofite
to that of Titus, accurfed of all mankind ; was at laft aflaflinated by
command of Macrinus the provoft, who fuccceded him, and reigned a
year and half. He was lamented by his foldiers however, who loved
a hard hand and a generous purfe, and dcfpifed effeminacy more than
they feared inexorable ftridnefs. The phyficians no doubt thought
his death their releafe : when teazed by ficknefs upon fome occafion he
had ordered three of them for execution, bccaufe, he faid, they did not
cure him fooner, who never retarded the fuccefs of medicine by habits
of intemperance; his paffion for the memory of Alexander was fup-
pofed to have infpired him with fome of thefe freaks. A man at
Home pleaded a caufc of property before him : Who are you ? faid
the Emperor. A Macedonian, Ccefar. And your father's name ?

Philip.

(52 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. in.

Philip. He railed that fellow to the rank of praetor, and gave hi>
corripetitor's fortunes into his hand. The fon, lays he, of Philip ot
Macedon, lhall never acknowledge a conqueror. In thclc dais the
village of Ernmaus, celebrated in facred writ from our Saviour's ap-
pearing there after his refurreclion, was made into a city by the Em-
peror's command, and called Nicopolis, in honour of a victory over
the barbarians : that name remains to it ftill. Of this unrelenting
Prince it is obferved, that all his bufts and ftatues have a mean cha-
racter. Though not deformed, he was particularly ugly ; and when
Italians employed to fhew foreigners the curiofities of Rome, clap a
round Englifh hat upon his head, as they delight exceedingly to do,
he looks like Tom Nero in Hogarth's prints, called the Four Stages of
Cruelty. Meanwhile it fignified every day lefs and lefs who was created
emperor. Severus was an African, Macrinus was a Moor ; and fincc
the nobleft Roman had taken on himfelf the character of gladiator, the
gladiators might, with not much lefs propriety, afpire to the firft offices
of the ftate. When high-born Commodus publicly took his title of Se-
cutor, and fighed to engage the Retiarius on a common ftage, remind-
ing men of his mother's paffion for a prize-fighter, perpetuated by ftill
exifting ftatues of Fauftina and her lover, with the infignia of Mars and
Venus ; difgracing the purple was no more a term, and it was of
fmaller consequence who wore it. Sciences too feemed to have paft
their acme ; and as the people grew flaviih. they grew dull. Critics
accufe their beft hiftorians of growing prolix and languid ; and though
Dion does certainly defcribc the dreadful eruption of Mount Vefuvius
with much fpirit, having himfelf heard, even to Capua, the hollow
prefaging roar, by which was followed an almoft unexampled burft
from the mountain ; we find convulfions of the ftate told tamely,
cither fpun out in tedious cold narration, or broken into points equally
ill-placed, by a puerile defire of becoming brilliant, which are as often
blunted too by native infipidity. The fifth edition of the Bible, com-
trjonly called the Vulgate, I believe, was about this time found near to

Jericho,

en. in.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 63

Jericho, hid in an empty wine cafk : church-yards were confccrated
for Chriftian burying-places ; Zcphirinus, a Roman Pope, made the
communion chalice glafs, which had till then been wood, and his
fucceflbr, Calixtus, ordered ember days to prepare clergy before their
ordination. He forbade marriage to the fourth degree. Thefe anec-
dotes we have from Platina and others, but that Caracalla was the
man mentioned in Offian's poems, as Caracul, fon to the King of the
world, merits, as the phrafe is, confirmation.

It is certain that the old records of our modern nations arc enve-
loped in mift, like the grey dawn when it rifes flow and fad from be-
hind the mountains of Morna ; when, feeble and blind, the bard liftens
to the wind as it drives on a low-hung cloud, and voices are heard
above. Dark among wintery ftorms, and difficult to underftand are
the tales of other times, while the echoing ftream of Duvranno feeks
the black-rolling fea, leaving no trace of the poet's pride. Macpherfon
is gone, and Johnfon went before him ; and to afcertain the authen-
ticity of Fingal, men of lefs genius than they were, muft be left. If
Scotland did then produce heroes and bards, it is ftrange that we fhould
read of them as cannibals in Campden or Ammianus Marccllinus, two
hundred years after Caracul is mentioned : but different diftrids might
have different manners, and barbarifm might return again whence it
had once been driven. It is ftrange too, that the Caledonians mould
call this Emperor by a foufbriquet, when Baffianus was his real name,
and Antonine his afTumed one. That appellation now went forward
as the name Auguftus had done before, exprefling the greateft ho-
nour a fubjecT: world could confer upon its prince. The filky Syrian
of Emefa, indeed, who, when Macrinus darned himfelf headlong from
his car in dcfperation, for the death of his only fon, mounted the
font of power at thirteen years of age, defpifed all nominal diftinc-
tions, except that of his own god Elagubalus Thammuz I believe ;
or Adonis, whofe abfence was wept by women, with a thoufand
ftralige polluted myfterics fliewn in vifion to E/ckicl. The icholiaft
upon Pindar fays, that the fun was of old called a ftone, and Anaxa-

goras

64 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. in.

goras of Clazomenas had prophefied, that a ftonc (liould fall from the fun ;
betros or pctros was fhown as the very ftonc ; perhaps by analogy or by
corruption, petra at length was name for any ftonc : there was a pro-
hibition given the early profelytes to Chriftianity no more ad petras
vota reddere : be this as it may, Rome faw aftonifhed her new fove-
reign bring his new deity, a great unformed ftone, with triumph to
their ancient capitol -backing the fix milk white fteeds that drew it
in, for purpofe of (hewing the idol more rcfpecl. The people gazed,
yet could not chufe but grieve to fee the tutelar divinities of Rome
neglected, while hecatombs were weekly offered to this eaftern in-
truder, by a weak, vicious boy, diflblved in vice, who praclifed de-
baucheries of every fenfc, in every pofiible, every wwpoffible mode, till
folly failed, and flavery could fupply no more. They would have
fooner fliewn their averfion to Elagabalus the pricft, had they not
feared to offend the god he brought with him : they recollected how
the famous Cybele was fetched from Peffmus, during the fecond punic
war, and fuppofed to bring happincfs in her train ; though, on arrival,
fhe, like this new comer, was found to be only a large conical ftone, called
of the place fhe came from, Peffinuntia. Such was the image that fell
down from Jupiter, the great Diana of the Ephefians effect of a vol-
canic explofion probably, ill underftood, and carried in the atmofphere
to fome fpot where ignorance regarded it as an objecl of fuperftition.
Shapelefs ftones had been fet up for worfhip in feveral places, and called
Betylia, probably from thofe the patriarch Jacob flept upon when on
his journey to Syria. The event happening at. Bethel confirms the idea
by its etymology, and it was in all times a Syrian object of adoration.
The Syrians of Emcfa were Surians, Surus was the Sun, Dea Suria
was Dca Solaris. This divinity ripened their gums, fruits, and fpices ;
and its abfence was mourned of courfe, though not of long continu-
ance ;* it was fometimes god, fometimes goddefs, but Adonis was<

* / thought it ftrange the Syrians Jfiould lament a lofs fo foon repaired : and
Monfieuv Bailly (as Sir William Jones tells us) faid the fame thing. Jones laughs at.

Bailly

CH. in.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 65

the perfon chiefly alluded to, favourite of Venus, and Hcliogabalus
we muft acknowledge a proper prieft for him, who inftitutcd a fenate-
houfe for female debates, and entertained troops of bacchante girls
and empty parafites, with feafts which coft fixty thoufand guineas of
our money each, for many nights together, making a hair-drr/Tor
head of the privy council, a dancing-boy praefcd of the city, and at
length, forming a proceffion through the degraded (erects, drawn by
four women, the mod beautiful that could be found, in honour of an
idol to which he facrificed rarities of quite inordinate expence, while
he himfelf and his immediate favourites were diverted by weighing the
cobwebs of the capital, in order to judge the better of its population :
Many of his tricks and whimfies are recorded the dinner fet for eight
blind men, eight deaf, and eight fo fat they could not fit at table, was
given in the true fpirit of licentious childhood, laughing at human
infirmity ; and poffibly it might have been from his caprice of fufrb-
cating people with perfumes for fport, that modern ladies in Italy
have fuch a dread of fcented powder, and every kind of vegetable
fragrance. Till his time fweets were fafhionable in Rome ; Otho had
fo flung perfumes about the chamber, when Nero dined with him, as
to endanger his own fafety from the tyrant who had efleemed him-
felf happy in procuring a fmall phial of this incftimable odour, per-
haps the now well-known otto of rofes, extracted from thofe flowers
in the eaft even then. The eating rooms, we know, were ftrewed
with lilies, a very powerful and overbearing fmell, and they fate with
garlands of flowers on their heads at fupper, throwing them into the
bowl of wine for frolic and convivial merriment.

Thofe luxuries were driven down into fatuity by the weak head of

Bailly for fancying they worfhipped fire moft fervently in cold countries ; he fays,
Calcutta is cold enough in fome r""v.ths ; and that the tradition of a warrior bard,
named Antarah, expiring upon a high mountain in Arabia, for want of warmth to
drive the blood along, proves they had caufe enough for lamentation, when Tham-
muz, or the fun, kept out ef fight.
VOL. I. I childifh

6 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. nr;

chi'.difh Heliogabalu:;, who, whilft his cooks invented a new fauce,
more to the tafte of" the mad girls, his gay companions, forced them
to live on that they fent up laft, and faw that the command was
obeyed even to rigour. Till tired, at length, with repeating tales
true and falfe, concerning the marriage of this painted minion, who
certainly did at the altar wed in a female drefs his own he-Have, one
Hieroclcs, who was called publicly the Emprefs's hufband, by whom
they faid he was contented to be beaten too, that the wife's character
might be completely acled ; they maffacred the effeminate voluptuary
one day, under whofe horfe's feet they had ftrewn filver duft fomc
weeks before, that he might tread more fbftly. With him his mother
Soemis was killed, who held her darling clafped in her faithful arms,
when the indignant foldiery, enraged at hearing he designed to take
his coufm's life, young Alexander; fet him upon the throne, and
finiflicd the fanatic revels of defpicable fuperftition, by tying the filly
prieft and deity together, and throwing them into Tyber, where the
black ftone funk the fair youth at once ; leaving their common name
to fwim along the ftream of time, with that of Sardanapalus their
countryman, who died nine hundred or a thoufand years before.
Helvicus, the great theological profeffor, fays, that the Targum of Je-
rufalem was compiled about this time; but Scaliger fets it earlier,
and 1 fuppofe his is the leaft controvertible authority ; he tells us,
the Targumifts might have fcen Jefus Chrift if fo, we are a century
too forward here. The Targum was a collection of Chaldee para-
phrafes on the Old Teftament, of which Fourmont has given a very
curious extract ; but Retrofo&ion cannot turn afide, where learning
rails, though loudly; our little book muft gather common occur-
rences as it rufhes on, and ftraws will ftick fometimes inftead of pearls.
Meanwhile Baden was built in Germany, either by Septimius Severus,
lather to Caracalla, who had received benefit from the warm bathing
there ; or elfe by Alexander, kinfman, countryman, and fucceflbr to
Elagabalus. Thefe Syrian princes attraded the notice of a Roman

CH. IK.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SKVRRUS. 67

camp fixed at Emcfu ; and as they were nephews to Julia Domini,
-mother of murdered Gcta, were deemed worthy of the imperial
purple, which feldom defccndcd on in the fame family for any
length of lime. The emperors had fcldom fons to live, or if tru-y
.hud, fome accident almoft perpetually intervened, that caufed fuc-
^ceflion ftill to change its courfe, and this votary of foft Adonis was how
,no more. Thofe then who are Ikilled in the ftrangc mcchanifm of the
Jhuman mind, and tell us that every man, popularly fpeaking, would
-rather be called rogue than fool, may, from the horrible portraits
prefervcd in this laft chapter, deduce an obfcrvation not unlike it.
'Tis that the world feems to have felt more offence at having been,
.though but awhile, made miferably fubfcrvicnt to the grofs appetites
of brutal Vitelli us, the wild caprice of mad Caligula, or the depraved
wantonncfs of a wicked boy, their laft contemptible ruler, than they
appeared to feel under the iron fceptrc of timid and inhuman Domi-
tian ; or when the ftouteft heart palpitated with apprchcnfion under
the fanguinary reign of Caracalla, who, after his death, was quietly
enrolled among the gods, whilft his young fucceflbr was toft into the
river, as loathfome Vitellius had been long before. Like him too
was he followed by an exemplary prince, whofe purity of manners
needed no contraft to fet off its whitenefs ; on this luminous fpot the
ye of Retrofatfion refts delighed, and fees at length a worthy charac-
ter gracing the feat where fate the half celeftial Antonines ; but Alex-
ander Severus modcftly declined a name no mortal fliould he faid prc-
.fume to accept, but who had firft deferved it. The earlieft ftep taken
by him for that good purpofe, was to fcparate the male and female
bathers a meafure fet on foot by Domitian, and perfected, in fpitc
.of refiftance from the fcoffers, by Adrian's defirc of polifhing his
people. Till time of Elagabalus they had been kept apart; and his time
was but fhort. All his extravagance, and all his folly, was comprcfled
within the fpace of three years and ten months at moft, from his ri-
diculous entry into the city with his idol, to the bleft day, when the

I 2 Pnetorian

68 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. in.

Praetorian bands refcued his virtuous coufm from fears of execution,
and inverted him with the fupreme command. His next care was to
throw down the indecent ftatues fet up by his lafcivkms predeceflbr,
particularly one of exquifite workmanfhip and colofTal fize, reprefent-
ing Volupia trampling Virtue under feet. An old Greek Jupiter and
Leda was preferved, becaufe of its uncommon excellence and fmaller
fize ; 'twas taken care of once again when Attila facked Rome, and
carried to Venice, where the tale was told me. An hofpital was now
fet up, the firft upon record, like our Afylum, meant to preferve the
children of poor people from any neceffity of their proftitution. Mam-
masa the queen mother, was made prefident happy if her fon's pious
gentlenefs had carried filial consideration no further, than to have fur-
nifhed her with means of doing good : but to her avarice he yielded
fomewhat, and to her ambition facrificed himfelf, repudiating at her
command the lady he propofed to marry, and never taking to himfelf
another wife, for fear of giving her a moment of uneafinefs. Women
bore immoderate fway in Syria, where to refufe the fex regard, was
confidered as an offence to heaven. Masfa and Soemis had been ad-
mitted to councils of flate in the preceding reign, and that Mammaea
might be ftopt from requiring public honours, the Emperor loaded
her with private emoluments ; while ferious fludy or elegant arts di-
vided the days and nights of this praifeworthy Prince, who fought, as it
fhould feem, to refcue human nature from the difgraces brought upon
it by his coufm. His talents feconded his application, and he was
eminently fkilful in painting, fculpture and architecture ; yet, ever
ready at the call of war, he faced revolting provinces with active va-
lour, and by dint of a difcipline worthy Fabius or Fabricms, his camp
refembled a well-regulated city, till b^y, reduction of Ctefiphon and other
diftricts in the eaft, the Roman empire certainly refumed, with a falfc
fhow of priftine virtue, a fliort but fallacious hope of fpreading to its
ancient limits. Imitating, though diftantly, his admirable conduct, we
fee his general, like himfelf, victorious : Celfus drove back the Mauri-

tanians

CH. in.] FROM CARACALLA TO ALEX. SEVERUS. 69

tanians in Afric, and Palmatus returned with conqucfl from Armenia ;
but all except himfelf were weary of praclifing fclf- denial. The Ro-
mans had been temperate in old times, becaufe they could not be luxu-
rious ; but opulence like theirs is antidote to virtue, and it was to make
their court alone, that individuals had, under the Antonines, preferved a
fhow of it. Their ruler's fteady redlitude fprung from a nobler fburce ;
brave, chafte, and merciful, he fet the befl example to his fubjcds ; he
ftopt all perfecution of the unoffending Chriftians, and though a poly-
theift by proftffion, kept a picture of our Saviour always in his clofet,
a crucifix at his bed's head ; but better far than all exterior reverence,
he kept the divine precept, which he delighted to repeat, Do ye to others
as ye would have others do to you, not only in his lips but in his heart ;
not only in his heart, but in his aclions. Upon this great, this govern-
ing principle, the youthful monarch was firfl to refufe the flavifh
homage pradifed to his predeceflbrs, of kiffing the imperial toe or flip-
per ; a cuftom, as he faid, unworthy men, and Romans. He loved his
people, and lamented only that the time was paffc in which he could
have ferved them ; refblving however, that if they did wrong, he
would at leaft do right : this amiable, this incomparable character,
fet his doors open both in camp and town, nor feared the cenfurc of
obferving eyes upon a life fo blamclcfs. To him virtue proved, not-
withftanding, no invulnerable fhicld. From the rough violence of in-
fulting foldiers, Ulpian, the upright counfellor of his youth, vainly
fought fheltcr for his venerable age under his matter's robe, whither,
purfucd by cruelty inveterate, he at the laft retired to die, pierced by
a thoufand wounds ; in vain wrapt round by the now, no longer facred
purple. When rank feditionncxt appeared abroad, encouraged by this
ill-deferved fucccfs againft an honcft, rough, but ufeful minifter, it was
to attack the Emperor himfelf. He received the tumultuous, not unex-
pected roar, fitting on a temporary throne within his tent ; and for a
moment the effecT. appeared to juftify his confcious intrepidity. Citi-
zens ! cried he, unworthy the name of foldiers: Gitizens, I fay, defift,

and

70 THE THIRD CENTURY ; CH m.

and go back peaceably this moment. The Praetorian legion fliouted :
rcferve your fhouts, faid Alexander undifmayed, for victory over our
common enemies ; me you may deflroy, but never fhall intimidate.
Retire, I tell you : the impulfe of a cuftomary obedience conquered ;
they did retire ; but, in that fame night, under their favourite Maxi-
min's command, returned to kill, by black aflaflmation, the hero
whom they dared not face, though undefended, when in the fight of
open generous day. Thus, by the hand of a A'lle Goth, whom he had
jaifcd for perfonal courage fhewn in that German war, fell before the
town of Mentz, which they were then befieging, the all-accomplifhed
Syrian of Emefa. Like the palmetto, where his graceful fhade, well
fung by Thomfbn, hangs a high canopy betwixt the teeming earth
and burning fun, this gallant leader fhowed his fuperiority only in acls
>f beneficence to Rome unknown before. Like that fine tree too,
-round his roots, and under the protection of his Spreading boughs,
grew up all poifonous, all baneful weeds, thwarting the ends of his fo
fair creation, and leaving him an ornament for futurity to admire, but
Sundering immediate ufe from his example,

CHAP,

CH, iv.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 71

CHAP. IV.

FROM THE DEATH OF ALEXANDER SEVERUS TO A. D. 300,
THE RETREAT OF DIOCLESIAN.

THE man who fell'd this cedar of Mount Lebanon; the fpoiler
before whofe grafp faded this bright rofe of Damafcus ; the
gigantic Thracian who fucceeded him, is called by all his hiftorians an
ufurpcr, Lguefs not why. Where no hereditary fucceffion is eftab-
liflied, a man may feize the fovereignty by force, or procure it by arti-
fice, or as Didius Julian did, purchafe it with' money; but it is not
eafy to fee how he can ufurp it. Maximin was made emperor by thofc
licentious foldiers, who were become fo radically corrupt, that tyranny
alone could reftrain them; for young Severus's exemplary virtue had
only fkinncd and filmed the ulcerous place, which on his death broke
out again directly. Not only members of the army were become vi-
tiated by thofe immenfe donations which, fince Aurelius, had been
lavifhed on them by each new candidate for public favour ; but every
rank in Rome partook the infection. Females fought guilty methods
to avoid being mothers, and men difgraced their own fex by effemi-
nacy, till they became objects of juft abhorrence to the other. Whilft
the mornings of rich people, no longer fpent in ftudy or improvement,
were confumed in riding up and down the ftreets, at rifk of breaking
their empty heads upon the pavement ; not in the fame manner as our
London youths gallop along Bond-ftrcet or Piccadilly, drciTed like
their grooms, but with a long train of domeftics after them, that fcarce
was the cook left at home to get dinner, fays the fatirical hiftoriaii,
or the buffoon to prepare new jokes for gracing of the feaft. This

bright

72 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

bright example was foon followed by ladies, who hurried from houfe
to houfe in open litters, with a deformed groupe of antique eunuchs
round them, returning late to drefs for the evening fliow, where public
dancing was fo prized by them, that when, for fear of famine, fo-
reigners were Ordered fuddenly to quit the city, three thoufand
were detained by the nobility, as having parts to perform in a new
ballet. The foldiers were no lefs difpofed to grofs voluptuoufnefs.
From a new fovereign they were in expectation of new largefTes, and
when handfuls of gold were to be thrown amongft them, he whofe
vaft palm was moft capacious beft fuited their idea of merit ; but the
perfections that are placed in bones and nerves, amaze the vulgar only,
and amaze them, only for a moment. Two years and a half ended
the reign of Maximin the wreftler, who fearful of nothing himfelf,
fported a while with the terrors of mankind ; and as he, waking, could
have overthrown any feven men at once, and broken a horfe's thigh by
one ftroke of his foot, the fly aflaffins Hole upon him fleeping, and
gave his body up to dogs and beads of prey : while the Senate, juftly
afliamed of fuch a ruler, caufed the two Gordians to be elected in his
Head. Defcended from the Gracchi by their father's fide, the people
willingly fupported their pretenfions, whilft every regiment in Roman
pay, took pleafure to relate how the mother of old Gordian was grand-
daughter to immortal Trajan, a name ftill dear to all. Faction and
fury, however, deprived the world of thefe commanders in lefs than
forty days. The fon fell in the field, covered with countlefs wounds ;
the father, feventy-fix years old, I think, unwilling to fee more forrow,
killed himfelf, leaving two others, equally impotent patricians, to dif-
pute the prize of momentary power. Yet perilous, as we fhould at this
diflance, feeing but with Relrofpetttori 's eye, deem the fad ftate of thofe
who flood, as it were, on tiptoe, with wild hafle to watch into whofe
hands the imperial fway fhould fall : Pupienus and Balbinus were fb
earneft, each to retain the whole without participation, that both
were maflacred, in three weeks time, by the Praetorian bands, who,

viewing

CH. iv.] FROM^ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 3OO. r;;

viewing their mean quarrels with almoft merited contempt, took up
another Gordian upon their moulders from college, where he was
placed by the dead uncles to finilh his education. About this time
Buda began, but not under that name, to difplay her growing graces ;
they now adorn the fine hill which overlooks the Danube, in that moft
beautiful part of its courfe between Hungary and Turkey ; while the
inhabitants pcrfift in faying Buda jugo, Vcnetas pelago, Florentia cara-
po ; and travellers fay they are right. 'Tis now called OfFen, I be-
lieve, a fort of fuburb 'tis to the great town, as Southwark to London,
or Pera to Conftantinople ; and in thefe warm pools which there receive
wafte water from the warm baths, I'm informed that many forts of fifli
live and grow fat, confirming Mr. Bruce's aflertion which, when he
publifhed it firft, revolted ib many readers. Herodian here concludes his
hiltory, and Dion Caflius ends with his own confulfhip, after which he
confidered all as of flight importance : like Cicero, who eager to be-
gin his own exploits, propofed writing his narration backward from the
time in which they were performed. The Roman commonwealth in-
deed, and thole of Greece, which I will call contemporary ftates ; as
Pericles and Coriolanus flourimed the fame year : like clumps ftrewed
over an immenfe large park, break in fbme meafure the tedious uni-
formity, and ferve to attract our mental telefcope to thofe particular
though tiny fpots, dropt as by accident upon the long flat profpecl: of
fingle and out-ftretched dominion, which formed one vaft, one widely
fpreading plain round the fble monarch's palace, to whofe care, whocu-r
he might be, the whole of our terraqueous globe leems to have been
configned for the firft four thoufand five hundred years of its exigence.
Of thcfc fo thinly fcattered clumps the boundaries were ncceflarily con-
traded, and the duration fliort : each from his fellow flirub draining that
general moifture given to fupport one fingle timber tree, fo that fuch
groupes could neither much afpire, nor fpread far.* A proof of their

* Lucumon was a Greek, he was fon to Demavatus, king of Corinth, with whom
having quarrelled, he left his own court indifguft, wandering away to Italy, where he
was well received, and called Lucius Tarquinius ; this was about the time when Jofiah

VOL. I. K

74 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

contraction lives in our laft fentence, that Coriolanus returned in
triumph from his exile, threatening the gates of Rome, while Pericles,
victorious in war, and promoting at polifhed Athens the arts of peace,
never fcems to have heard that fuch a man had being. Though grave
philofophy had then attained perfection, tragedy trod the ftage fup-
ported by her great mafter Sophocles ; and theatres for mufick, exhi-
bitions for painting were erected in Greece, the patronefs of fcience,
and model for fucceeding ages : foon ! how fbon ! to become fubfer-
\ient to a nation then fo barbarous, that although clofe to them
they thought not of; while the fine ftatues Flora, Venus, and Apollo,
were doomed to deck Italian palaces in future times, and witnefs
'the wondrous revolutions that took place in the next fhort, but
eventful period weft of the Adriatick. Among thefe cindering plan-
tations then it was the Roman rcpublick lafted longeft ; but conquefts
daily extending their pofleffions, all was again concentrated under one
fceptre's fway, of dignity inferior to thofe which had gone before it ;
but heavier far and harder of command. Thus Babyloniih Nebuchad-
nezzar was the true head of gold; rich, brilliant, powerful beyond all
the reft ; but having offended Heaven with his pride, Cyrus the Great
was called, and called by name, five hundred and forty years before
his birth ; when the almighty Spirit that fpake by the prophets, pre-
dicted that Jiher empire which Alexander clad in brazen arms de-
ftroyed.* A rougher metal reprefents the Roman power, which hung
her iron fetters on mankind ; and towards the year 25O after Chrift, the
eye of Retrojpetfion will be guided fo as to difccrn a new authority clofing
like potter's clay, in manner moft miraculous around the railing fteel.
Stability had lately been beftowed upon our church by partial ten-

was king of Jerufalem living very long, this Lurumon was flu-named Prifciis, which
n.eaos the old. He fcnt the fons of Ancus Marlins out o' hunting, and procured him-
felf to be elefled king in their abfcnce. He was hufband of Tanaquil, and grand-
father to Tarquin the Proud. Dionyfius of Halicaruafius, and all the old hiflorians,
tell the fame talc.

* See Daniel, chap. ii. vcrfe 31, to the end.

dcrnefs

m. iv.] FROM ALKX. SKVERUS TO A, D. 300.

dernefs from young Scvcrus, who, with his mother, favoured Chrittian
doclrine, and granted immunities to fomc of its profdVors. Urban the
Pope then fixed the dignitaries, and wifely appointed that no man
fhould be bifhop who had not firft been deacon. Some veflels be-
longing to our altars now were gilt, minifters were maintained, and
registers of martyrdoms kept, out of the money fpent on the ge-
neral (lock. That rapid fucccflion of fovereigns inverted with the
purple, llaincd by the blood of gentle Alexander, afforded in-
deed ample fcope for records of intolerable torture, praciifcd on
martyrs that prefled for the appellation ; and it was on this fixth
pcrfecution, if I am right, that the beautiful virgin Cnecilia was
ilaughtered. Whilft in more northern climes the Anglo-Italian Ca-
raufius called himfelf emperor, and killed Aleclus, though fomc defer
the exploits he did to Dioclefian's day. The medallifts are bed to
fettle thefe difputcs : they have prefcrved his effigies who, finding that
maritime ftrenth was the true vis Britannica, built fhips, and beficgcd
Boulogne-fur-Mer, the new-born daughter of our natural enemy : dif-
gracing his heroifm with cruelty however, the Britons fet up Afcle-
piodotus againft him. He fet his forces down encamped near Lon-
don, which was defended then by Livius Gallus, a Roman general,
whom the new-made Duke of Cornwall killed, and threw into the
running ftream, from him called Gallus' Brook or TVallbrook. Speed
places this event in A. D. 228, but Ifaacfon, from Cooper, fets it ear-
lier. Scotland, befide, was filled with ftrange occurrences. Athirco,
the prince, violated all laws of hofpitality, by forcibly carrying off with
him, next day, the two daughters of Natholocus, a dependent noble,
who had entertained one night the chieftain at his caftle : but who,
feeling no difpofition to forgive the infult offered to his houfc, rebelled
immediately ; and having driven his antagonift to fuicide, leized on
the power himfelf; and killed fo many of thofe Thanes that adhered
to Athirco, that a furious war was kindled againft htm. When eager
to know what chance he had for fuccefs, he difpatchcd a trufty, and.

K 2 as

7 <5 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. iv.

as he thought no doubt, a faithful mefTenger, into the Hebrides, for
the purpofe of learning his future deftiny from a witch or angekok
refiding there, who fold favourable winds and told fortunes. Her an-
fwer to the man who came for confutation, was fimply this 'Tis^yow
will kill Natholocus. The melTenger, who had not fuch a thought
before, now entertained it ; and fearing to relate the dangerous pre-
diction, refolved rather to accomplifli it, preventing his matter's anger
by his death whilft Oftrogotha, another tributary of the Romans,
drove all the Gepidze before him on the continent, chafed many Vandals
from their ancient feats, and fo increafed his wide and wild domain,
foon to be called after his name their founder ; that all the northern
diftricls of the empire felt juftly fearful of thefe gathering ftorms.
Nor was the eaft more quiet : Agathias, whofe Perfian hiftory ferves as
a fupplement to the works of Procopius, tells us the acl:s of Sapor, and
his battles oft repeated with young Gordian, a virtuous, literary, and
martial character, who folemnly opened the temple of Janus, and
wedding the daughter of his preceptor Mifitheus, conducted himfelf
with wifdom and propriety, till an Arabian chief, fkilled in the poifon-
ing arts, drugged the unhappy tutor's poflet ; little doubting but that
a boy of thofe years, let alone, would foon commit fome juvenile ex-
cefles, that might be urged to countenance rebellion. Gordian how-
ever did not difgrace his family, all three who bore the name were
fcholars and foldiers, magnificent in peace, and eminently fearlefs in
war. So that Philip the Arab was conftrained to excite the guards
by donatives, to murder a young man who defervcd better fate ; and
coming to the throne on his deceafc, kept it a while againft various
pretenders fet in oppofition by the fenate, who faw with no de-
light a Chriftian prince inverted with royal robes, and placed in the
firfl fituation of the ftate. Eufebius fays, the infant church even then
difplayed her power, denying entrance to their profelyte, though they
exifted but by his protection, till he had made a public penance for
his fms. As Scaliger however doubts this facl, we muft wait other

evidence.

en. iv.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 77

evidence. Truth is, the captain of a band of robbers, vvhofe name de-
notes merely t/ic krcr of a horje, did Imall credit to any faith, and
might poflibly have been miilaken for a profellbr of ours, if, liaving
been born an Ifhmaelitc, he had retained fomc traditionary belief in
the .Old Teftament for Pagans were perpetually confounding our
Chriltian creed with the Mofaic difpenfation. 1 gueis not indeed,
what could have deceived Eufebius. His celebration of the fecu-
lar plays, when in the general gaiety and riot Pompey's fine theatre
was burned to ground, prove him no very fcrupulous believer ;
fincc at thofe games (when the grave herald's voice called the whole
town together, crying, Come fee the fports which no man now alive
ever did or cvzxJJurU fee more) the Emperor himfelf acled as pontiff',
fprinkling the victim's head with fait and wine a ceremony no Chrif-
tian convert would have fubmittcd to, as for the non-performance of
fimihr rites numberlefs men were martyr'd every day. At thefc par-
ticular plays, exhibited once every hundred years, fapt facias ! an-
fwering to the oriental compliment of O King, Jive for ever ! was
loudly repeated to the prefiding prince, from the day when Vitellius,
then an adulator in his court, flattered lethargic Claudius with the
cxpreflion-i fince when it patted into a common form.* But Philip's
reign lailed five years only ; in which time, having taken from poets
fome old privileges, on account of their obfcenity, and built a town con-
fining upon his native country, which ftill retains the name Phillipo-
polis or Filliba ; revolting Decius called him to difpute the empire near
Verona, as the Turks call it, where the Arab, by forced marches, brought
Lis army, which on arrival fled trcacheroufly to the newer favourite,
bearing with them their general's head upon a pike, the better to fccure
pardon from the conqueror, who lived not indeed to enter his capital,
though by his order the hotteft perfecution ever feen was begun there,
infomuch that Nicephorus fays the crowd of martyrs grew fo truly im-
menfe, that fand on the fea-lhore might as eafily have been numbered.

* Ssepe facias means do it often : prefidc many times over this amufement.

St.

7 8 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

St. Lawrence's fuperior torments and conftancy give him peculiar claim
for diftinclion ; the gridiron's form on which he fuffered, is at this
day perpetuated in the Efcurial palace at Madrid.

Meanwhile the Roman empire paffed fwiftly through the hands of
the two Decii, Prifcus, Valens, Gallus and Volufian who feemed
vying with each other in cruelty towards our brethren, on whole ob-
ftinate denial of their gods and goddcfles, was now charged all the
mifery of Rome war, famine, peftilence, and dread of utter ruin
from the barbarous nations, vainly bought off by Gallus with difgrace-
ful gifts ; and ftill returning frefh to the attack, armed with new
powers, and eager for new plunder. Civil commotions too fhook the
metropolis, which, in the bofom of voluptuous folly, was enduring all
the horrors of a conteft caufed by ^Emilianus's revolt. It was not
then that the cxhaufted ftate required copious bleeding : Montefquieu
fays how fuch internal broils ftrengthen the nerves of government,
and tells how people accuftomed to difpute at home, become forfooth
invincible abroad. This doctrine men are preaching while I write ;
but the precept is dangerous and fallacious : Montefquieu meant a
young ftate, not an old one.

Our firft King James (I have read) was feized with an ague in the
clofe of life ; and feeling low-fpirited at death's approach, fome cour-
tiers reminded him of a proverb ufed in England ; and, Oh ! faid tliev,
your Majefty muft recollect, that mi ague injuring is phyficfor a king.
Aye, but the adage meant a young king, replied the expiring mo-
narch. The event in both thefe cafes is the fame.

Whilft one half of the Roman fubjecls, in all parts of the empire,
were diligently cutting the throats of the other half many falling
upon religious accounts and thofe who cared not about piety were
contending for power ; their hclplefs emperor, the once tyrannic Va-
lerian, ferved the Perfian prince Sapores for a footftool, whence every
day he mounted his horfe : till, tired with afferting this uncontefted
privilege, he flayed the wretched prifoner yet alive, and ftrewing
with fait, revenged unconfcioufly on his pampered body, the agonies

en. iv.] FROM ALFX. SF.VERUSTO A. D. 300. 79

he had delighted to inflict on Chriftians. The Roman empire next faw
itfelf fplit and ruled by thirty tyrants, who could not however protect
the limits of dominion, while each feparate general fought for himfelf,
not for his undone country and the bold Oftrogoths fpoilcd all Bi-
thy'nia, loading themfclvcs with treafures of which they could not
comprehend the value nor fcemed to know, while they were wafting
Macedonia, that in that country had been born the fovcrcign of the
world.

Gallienus meantime, a fenfual prince, held the flight reins of go-
vernment at home, and feemed (whilft flavery from mere habit mi-
niftered to his pleafures) fo little difturbed by what had chanced
abroad, that he gave himfelf wholly up to gay voluptuoufnefs, making,
as Shakefpear fays, his lofs his fport ; and fenfelefsly delighting to hear
his name recorded with that ofCommodus, his model. Let him not
lofe his well-acquired fame; 'tis to the fkill of Gallienus that we owe
the firft good plan of a fine hot-houfc, icc-houfe, and confervatory*-
but the rough Goths hindered its execution. And now, difgufted with
the fight and hearing of fuch ill-timed, flich furfciting abfurdity ;
which, not confined to courts or palaces, fpread among all the ranks
of men at Rome Paul, the firft hermit on record, retired ; fled from
fociety of human kind, and living in a defcrt upon herbs and fruits,
gave rife to the idea of obtaining favour from God, by voluntary exile
from the company of thofc who debafed their nature, and contradicted
their reafon ; rcfufmg the offered mercies of a Redeemer too, and de-
llroying the effects, fo far as in them lay, of his fo great falvation. On
this example afterwards were founded monadic orders within our
oVMi remembrance nearly innumerable ; and fubject, for that caufeand
many others, to inconceivable abufes. Meanwhile the hierarchy held

* I have read forncwherc, that Alexander had ihc frcrct of cooling his liquors by
ice, while he was in India, though Pliny fpeaks of it as new in Nero's time, and fays
that emperor boiled water firft, that it might freeze the eafier. If Alexander was
acquainted with ice, what couKi the (lory mean of the fpring Nicotris, whofc waters
were fo cold they buift all veflels but a mule's hoof???

firm

THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

firm within the church, and copes and holy veftmcnts now adorned it;
though various herefies difgraced thefe early times of Christianity,
when tares were fown which yet perplex the field. An enemy, our
Saviour told us, was the planter ; he faid they ihould grow up along
with the good corn, and who knows but that the harveft may be hard
at hand. But we're engaged not to anticipate, our bufmefs is with
RetrofpeSiion ; nor muft lofe fight of the vail Gothic irruptions which
at the hour we treat of, more frequent and in fuller tides, rolled o'er
the habitable globe, amazing all, but chiefly overwhelming Peloponas-
fus and its contiguous claffic countries. Athens and Argo ; Sparta,
Thebes, Dodona ; theatre of glory, virtue, valour, elegance : confe-
crated fcenes ! where Plato taught, where Sappho fung ; where Phidias
gave to their refemblances in marble fo warm an animation, fo difcri-
minating a character, they hoped from him a fecond immortality. But
from this flood of barbarifm, far worfe than that which their Deucalion
and Pyrrha were fabled to furvive not even jlones efcaped. The
temple of Ephefus, one of the feven wonders of the world, was burned
in this confufion ; and by a pillar which may be feen at Pifa yet, its
general merit may in fome meafure be estimated. But when the un-
feeling north poured forth her wafte inhabitants, and bid them roam
for prey, regardlefs of the ruin left behind : onward they prefs'd in
countlefs multitudes, unconfcious fhoals ; as when old Ocean half
acquires fblidity from life that ftirs within ; bringing, at ftated times,
innumerable fiih down from the fertile Baltic, to be loft in that capa-
cious aggregate of waters that clafp around the fouthern continent
fo burft thefe Goths and Vandals on mankind, fparing no place, no
fex, no age, and no opinion. The dragon then indeed difgorged a flood
out of his mouth to deftroy the woman, well reprefenting our Chrif-
tian church, but the earth helped the woman, as St. John faw in his
Apocalypfe ; and that religion meant to be fwept away, efcaped the
violence ; ftrengthening in fpite of oft repeated blows, profpering in
fpite of oft repeated plunder.

Councils had long been held, and fome few years before, under the

papacy

en. i*.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. si

papacy of Anterus, a Grecian martyr, had been made the rule of tranf-
lating from one bifhoprick to another, after the example' of St. Peter,
who (faid he) we know rofidcd firft at Antioch. Yet modern Ro-
manifts affert their church to be the very earliefl on record Strange,
wilful ignorance, or inconfiftcncy. Claudius meantime, a bold Dalma-
tian, who fucceedcd to the difTolute Gallienus, found bufinefs enough
to employ all his thoughts, without difturbing others in their worfhip.
Trebellius Pollio tells us how his general, ib juftly furnamcd Vitfar,
flew in one day by ftratagem and war three hundred thoufand Goths,
near Lacus Bcnacus, now Lago di Garda, in Italy. That the man
himfelf died of the plague there, is much lefs incredible ; fuch (laugh-
ter muft have infecled the air. Renowned Aurelian next inverted
with the purple, foon proved how well plebeians might defcrvc it : his
mercantile extraction, and inordinate love of wealth, prompted him to
gild the firft, and diiplay the power of the fecond. Orleans yet {lands
a monument of his munificence a golden city ftill, and ftill preferr-
ing his name who built it y/rleian 4nre\ian. It has perhaps in
thefe later ages given title to the beft and worft of all the princes pro-
felling Chriftianity. But Rome was not forgotten ; he compafs'd her
round with a wall fifty miles in circuit ; he numbered the people, re-
formed grofs abufes, pardoned with unexampled greatnefs of mind his
rival Tetricus, and fubdued the rebel Zenobia by his generofity, after
having triumphed over her armies by his fuccefs. 'Tis /aid her having
figned her own namejfrj/? in letters that pail between them, was the
original and deep-fcated caufe of Aurelian's rancour, though it appears
to our eyes on Retrofyeftion, that there was no need of aggravation
after me had erected an independent throne, and called hcrfelf folemnly
Queen of the Eaft. In times of refinement however, as there are
more vain men than intereftcd ones in the world, incivility produces
ftronger averfion than docs injury : among favages there is no offence
but a blow, and among mere monicd people, no offence but a rob-
bery.

VOL. I. I-

82 THE THIRD CENTURY; [CH. iv.

'Tis told by fome hiflorians how, when he would have figned an
edicl for persecuting the Chriftians, his uplifted hand was preterna-
turally arrefted : happy had fuch been the fate of that traitor's arm
who bafely aflaffinated this gallant fovereign, able to govern with dig-
nity and wifdom, although with rigour and roughnefs a world fo
turbulent, and fubje&s fo corrupt : a general who had driven the
invading Franks from before the gates of old Ravenna, and in the
courfe of many victories, had killed by his own perfonal prowefs nine
hundred enemies of Rome. Longinus, now infpired by the mufes,
wrote criticifm with poetic fire ; and Porphyry collected with fuch
fpider-like diligence every argument againft our faith, that no enemy
fmce his time has been able to find a new one

Deftroy their fib and fophiftry, in vain,
The creature's at his dirty work again.

Nor has the old cobweb, firft well fattened by this adhefive tormentor,
been ever (we muft avow) completely fwept away. But Tacitus and
Probus next for awhile detain the retrofpeflive eye ; as by their indefa-
tigable efforts they checked the progrefs of approaching ruin. Carus,
Carinus, Dioclefian too, delay our advance from thefe far diftant pe-
riods, by their fplendour ; while Gibbon, whofe fcruples of incredulity
never perplex him, when dilating upon the favourite theme of Pagan
virtue or of Pagan greatnefs, believes implicitly that the whole furni-
ture of that prodigious coloffeo, which he himfelf has feen, and known
to be 584 feet long, and 487 broad, was of folid gold, filver, and am-
ber; that a belt ftudded with precious ftones, divided there one rank
from another, reaching all round it, as do the boxes in our Englifh
theatres ; that nets to keep off the wild beafts were of gold wire, and.
that a filken canopy was drawn over the top to fhade performers and
fpeclators from the fun. This may be true, but nothing in Scripture
is fo hard to believe ; becaufe filk fold for its own weight in gold, when
Aurelian, who denied his Emprefs a robe of it as too coftly, led queen

Zenobia

CH. iv.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 8 3

Zenobia through the ftreets in triumph.* Tacitus, the hiftorian, in-
deed, does mention veftuferica, and Mr. Murphy tranflates it into filk
apparel ; but I fancy that muft have meant thin muflin, veflis bomby-
citia rather ; unlefs 'twas gauze ; for Mr. Murphy fays in a note, that
Seneca cenfured the Roman ladies for wearing tranfparent drefles, and
he knows perfectly that filk is not tranfparent ; he knows too, that
Engliihwomen, in his own time, rejcded filk clothes, becaufe they
were not fufficiently voluptuous or tranfparent, fubftituting muflins of
cotton fubftance in their (lead. As to the belt (Kidded with precious
ftones, I doubt whether the diamond mines of South America, then un-
difcovcred, could have furnilhed it. Baltheus in gemmis, et In litaport'tciif
auro, is to me no proof ; the poet would have faid with Prior Odtfs
my life, muft onejwear to the truth of afoug? Befides that, modern Ita-
lians have a way of calling many ftones gems, to which our Englifh.
annex no fuch idea. Jafper, granite, pavonazzo, and carnelion ;
nor are the writers of Auguftan hiftory fcrupulous, as it appears, when
relating the follies or gaieties of the moment. Who can believe their
tale, that Elagabalus built a lofty tower, whence to throw himfelf in
cafe of an attack : when we all know the creature reigned not four
years in all ; and of them furely was not in fear from rival power
four months, during which time no fuch high fabric could have been
conftrudled ; and they cover the fteps with gold and pearls too ; they
coft us authors nothing. If any fuch tower ever did exift, it was a
toy, I fancy, fit for an emperor of fourteen years old to play with.
The very extraordinary donative and fliow prefented to the Roman
people by Probus, appears lefs improbable, when he tranfplanted two
hundred foreft trees into the vaft arena ; then turning loofe to frolick
in their ihade one thoufand fallow deer, one thoufand boars, and half
as many oftriches, with many tropical birds from Africa, threw. the

* Vopifcus fays fo.

L 2 doors

64 THE THIRD CENTURY. [CH. iv.

doors open to permitted plunder, and diverted himfelf by feeing all
fuddenly devoured, and fwcpt away by an impetuous populace. Some-
thing of the fame fpirit of amufement fubfifted fince my time in Italy,
and called Coccagna. A light fcaffold is not feldom, even now, creeled
on a hpliday at Florence or Bologna ; and lambs, calves, kids, cakes,
loaves, fruits, &c. placed on its {helves, adorned with ribbons, flowers,
&c. on a fignal given, in burft the mob ; and 'tis the fport of more
elegant fpeclators to fee the havock that they make, all in a moment.
When Heliogabalus made a Coccagna, he fet up for pillage, fat oxen,
camels, horfes, afTes, flags : The Auguftan hiftory fays,fervos, fervants ;
but Salmafm3 wifely thinks they were notjlaiies, but rather cervos, deer.
I have feen a print of this diverfion in a houfe fbmewhere in the weft
of England. We have no entertainment of that kind, unlefs the fud-
den carrying off what was provided for our King's dinner at Weft-
minfter-hall, after the coronation, may be called fuch : or the taking
of Pocklington Ifland, upon Derwent-water-Lake, which every 28th
of Auguft may be feen covered with boats and barges for a mock at-
tack upon the little fort, raifed by its generous proprietor on the
morning when he puts his ramparts in a (late of defence, with barrels
of ftrong beer, hams, and pieces of beef for a while, then fuffers all
to be ftormed and plundered for the amufing of his rich neighbours,
and for benefiting his poor ones ; furrendering the caftle, after fix
o'clock, at difcretion of the ladies, for whom a ball and fupper is
prepared. But Dioclefian's ads recall us back to Rome, where, hav-
ing defeated all his competitors, extirpated the Quingcntiani legion,
and made a horrible (laughter of the Goths in Pannonia, found leifure
to fet on foot the fierceft perfecution againft Chriftianity which its
profeflbrs had till then endured. 'Twas he too inftituted or approved
the method of outlawing his fubjecls accufed of this perfuaiion, fo
thatjuftice could always be had againft them never for them: a
Chriftian's evidence was not to be accepted ; nor had they any protec-
tion

CH. IT.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 30O.

tion from fociety ; whence, hunted now in every lhape from every
place, throughout the empire, he deftroycd hundreds at once ; whole
clutters and communities, fired like to nefts of vermin or of infects,
and tortured individually bolide ; by governors willing to delight the
Emperor's fancy, encouraging in him falfe hope of their poflible ex-
tinction. Chriftians were now fcarce to be feen by day, during which
hour the catacombs and manfions of the dead concealed their pious
fervour : while Caius, a pope nearly related to Dioclcilan himfelf, re-
doubled his attention to keep within bounds of neceflary prudence,
that fpirit which prompted many to provoke the hand of power, and
feck the crown of martyrdom.

Perpetual pondering upon one fubject will produce fomething not
unlike infanity : our haplefs predeceflbrs meditating in folitude upon
thofe mj/fteries, for truth of which they fuffcred fo much fbrrow ended
their round of thought oft times in error ; and wandering in wilder-
neffes of conjecture, the Manicha^an herefy made itfclf known amongft
us. Manes, a Periian empiric, mingled the Zoroaftrian mythology
with our religion, and fet up a new origin of evil in contradiction to
Mofes's account, making two co-eternal principles in imitation of Or-
mufd and Ahrimanius. Had not this fellow, from want of fkill in
medicine, miftook the cafe of Prince Varanes, ion to the king of Perfia,
for which his father had him flayed alive, and his fkin fluffed with
chaff, more mifchief had been done : his errors have however lafted
long enough ; and Voltaire, perhaps in fport, appears by his romance
of Candide to have believed them. I mention of the many wild opi-
nions which prefled upon, and would have ftrangled our religion in its
cradle, had it not been truly of divine original, only thofe few which
have remained till now ; counting dead ferpents would be lois of time,

Tho' fwarming then

With complicated monfters head and tail,
Scorpion and afp, and amplufbxna dire.

The

8 6 THE THIRD CENTURY ; [CH. iv.

The Python's felf however, paganifm, now fwelled even to burfting
with the divine honours lately afTumed by Dioclefian, made dangerous
attempts almoft untried before ; and fervile Rome faw that bright dia-
dem which fhe had reftifed to her frjl emperor's merits, tried on by
the irrefiftible defpotifm of her thirty-ninth, a plebeian by family, by
original profeffion a fcrivener, yet by the coincidence of military
prowefs, with uncommon turns of fortune in his favour, we fee the
artt actlatica in this reign put an end to ; and mankind counting all
events from his birth, who had no name but what the place fupplied
that he was born in Dioclea. This is ftrange ; but far more curious
ftill the tale told by Vopifcus, how Dioclefian, when in Mona once,
meeting a druidefs, gave her a fmall donation ; but the woman faid
he need not to be fo fparing of his money, for after he had killed a boar
he fhould be emperor. The young foldier delighting in field fports
killed many boars ; and laughing, ufed to fay, the fybil was miftaken ;
for his fortune mended flowly : I kill the boars, faid he, but others eat the
brawn. Time rolled away however, till at length Arrius Aper,* father-
in-law of Numerianus, treacherously grafping at the purple, murdered his
daughter's hufband. This traitor was configned to Dioclefian to difpatch,
who afking his name, and hearing it, foon fheathed his bright fword
in the aflaffin's bowels, crying, et hutic aprum cum caferis ;-j~ which
done, the foldiers without deliberation, praifing his decifive ftroke of
juftice, took him fuddenly upon their moulders, and faluted him 1m-
perator. The life of this man then was marked by wonders, among
which the ftrangeft far was the rare project he conceived of building
a new palace at Salona, whence to retire, like Sylla, from the adulation
of fubjecls whom he fufpefted, and from the vengeance that he dreaded
for his crimes. 'Tis faid the tafte in which his houfe was built, proves
that the arts as well as fciences decayed ; and when hiftorians relate
the wonderful occurrence, language itfelf, like other branches of lite-

* Aper means boar. f And this boar among the reft.

rature

CH. iv.] FROM ALEX. SEVERUS TO A. D. 300. 87

raturc, feems finking under a rufliing torrent of barbarity, very difficult
to be accounted for even by the wifeft authors who have written upon
the decline and fall of the Roman empire : a theme of cavil now, a
fubjecl: of contention, for modern petty wits and demi fcholars ; an ob-
je<5t to be peeped at through my fmoaky glafs of wretched Retro/pec-
tion. Enormous land-flips thus confound the naturalift, and crufh
the farmer ; whilft vile attorneys only find account, by urging on di-
putes for deluged or for diilocated property.

CHAP.

THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. v.

CHAP. V.

FROM THE DEATH OF D1OCLESIAN TO THE DEATH OF
CONSTANTINE THE GREAT.

PART OF THE FOURTH CENTURY.

HAVING now climbed up the firft three hundred years after our
Chriftian sera, fpeculation begins to ftagger at the height ; and
Retrofreftion ftands herfelf at gaze. Lighter than Phaeton my whirl-
ing car feems making under me at every flep ;

Nor will my fteeds for obfervation flay,
But hurry on too faft to mark our way.

A moment however muft be beftowed on the retreat of Dioclefian ;
who, after reigning twenty years or more, whether fatiated with un-
availing triumphs over yet unfubdued barbarians, or difgufted by per-
ceiving that all his fubje&s blood fpilt in that fanguinary period availed
nothing towards preventing perpetual converfions from paganifm ; or
whether he was afraid of being aflaffinated like his predeccflbrs, an
apprehenfion by no means ill founded, quitted his crown, his purple,
and his pomp, and fettled at Salona as he had long intended. Let
the effect on us be what it will, the example ftruck his colleague Maxi-
mian with fuch force, that he, from imitation or caprice, adopted it,
having firft built the beautiful amphitheatre at Verona, which I faw
in admirable prefervation about the year 1786, and fome thermze at
Milan made with immenfe expence : thofe fabricated at Rome by
Dioclefian yet remain fo as to afford a very good idea of their gran-
deur. Caefars however had been long created by both Emperors, in

order

en. v.] TO CONST ANTINE THE GREAT. 99

order to divide the cares of government, fome time before their retiring
from its fatigues, and thofe two youths naturally and quietly afccndcd
the throne together. Galerius Armentarius, fo named of the flocks h<-
fed in early life, was choice of a prince fprung from plebeian {lock.
Conftaiitius Chlorus, a collateral dcfccndant of the active and fpirited
'emperor, Claudius, was the man chofen by Muximian a low-born fbl-
dier, and fo completely illiterate, that when his panegyrift compared
him and his colleague to Scipio and Hannibal : Thofe men, faid he,
I never heard about //'// now ; they fliould have likened Dioclcfian and
me to Jupiter and Hercules. Wit will fometimcs ftoop to fcrvility ;
the orators took the hint, and did actually, the next opportunity, fo
Compare them. The appellations remained in ufe ten years ago ; we
faw fome pillars in the ftreet at Milan belonging to a temple fet up in
honour of the Hercules Maximian. They were about removing them,
I remember, for purpofe of widening the way, {hewing no attention to
poor Aufonius's verfes

Et Regio Herculei Celebris, fub honore lavacii.

But that the battle of Adlium, fo long perpetuated by a calendar, fliould
now be expunged, and the aera of Dioclefian fubftituted in its place,
was a greater wonder, and a greater labour too, than any recorded of
Hercules or Jupiter. The Abyflinian Chriftians are faid to reckon b^
it ftill ; and Mr. Gibbon fays, that whole nations refiding in the in-
terior parts of Africa, do even yet retain many laws and ufagcs of a
much earlier date ; thole of the Mo&ic difpenfation. Should the ten
tribes at length burft from thofe regions yet unfearched by avarice,
yet unexplored by curiofity, more credit would be given to fictitious Ef-
dras, who plainly fays that they retired to Arfarcth ; and when the
flavc trade fliall be finally abolimcd, their fears of advancing to the
coaft may fade away, and the fea be in that fcnfe dried up for their re-
turn ; but we muft not forget our work of Refrojpeflion. Whether
our half countryman, the half emperor Caraufius, lived in thcfe days
VOL. I. M or

50 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; FROM DIOCI ESIAN [CH. r,

or before them, Doctor Stukely and his antiquarians may determine,
Amphibalus, long fuppofed the friend and fellow martyr of St. Aiban
here in Britain, where he was put to death, about the year 3OO, or ibon
after, was A. D. 1 742, fuddenly found out by Conyers Middleton to
have been nothing more than an ecclefiaftick's cloak, from which cir-
cumftance the Doctor derives much fource of empty triumph : yet
now that the joke is over, fbme one will perhaps find out in their
turn, that he caught up this cloak of bifhop Uiher's fomewhat too
haftily ; for Frizius and Bale both fpeak of Amphibalus as of an au-
thor who left feveral tracls behind him ; and lure the laft named of
thefe writers, though not perhaps an acrimonious Calvinift, as French
biographers would wifh us to believe, was yet unlikely to lofe fb good
a ftory againft popery, by which he had himfelf been perfecuted under
the reign of Queen Mary. One may obferve indeed that all the argu-
ments urged by Doclor Middleton, have much left in them of learn-
ing than of fatire ; more of plagiarifm (I have heard) than of origina-
lity ; and much more gay afperity than folid good fenfe. A town made
famous in 1 529, when Lutherans entered their neceflary proteft againft
the tyrannous innovations of the Romiflr church, firft raifed its head
by command of Conftantius Chlorus ; 'twas called Nernetum thenj
the Germans name it Speyer Spires : and while this Emperor repaired
or fabricated new cities in Europe, Galerius his- colleague revenged
upon revolted Pcrfia fome of the indignities offered there to unhappy
Valerian. This Re Pajhre however feemed to poiTefs few of the fhep-
herd's qualities : implacable and fierce, the rigour of Aurelian's well-
judged punifhments became lharp cruelties when dictated by ferocious
Armentarius, who having fucceeded to a fceptre more glittering to
light than exttnfive in the ftretch, held it no long time ; and feemed
himfelf aware, that like an ifland of ice, though fun-beams played on
its top, and created colours of immenfc variety ; though the ftrufturc
ftill appeared rocky, and danger waited on its every ftroke againft thofc
whom accident flaould drive acrofs the courfe of its current ; his em-
pire

CH. v.] TO CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. O i

prre wafted imperceptibly below, and the world, waiting but a little
while, might fee it topple by its own weight, and pcrifh 1'rom internal
thaw, (jalvrius had however one amufcmcnt ; the groans of tortured
martyrs to Chriftianity diverted his cares of ftate, and coarfe feverities
difpenfcd among his own immediate fervants, fupplied fome momentary
gratifications to a temper made fourer by a loathfbme and incurable
ilik-afc. The ntorbus pedicnlofits, of which Sylla and Herod died, and
for which Galerius, finding no relief, killed himfclf in dcfpair, does
really fecm by all one hears or reads of it, a fingular judgment rcfervco*
for fingular offences againft Heaven. One hundred and fcvcnty-four
thoufand mortals were in this lafl reign fentenccd to die for religions
opinions merely ; but the world was either more thickly peopled then
than now, or population, like wealth, was more concentrated : indeed,
the great deftrudion of two hundred thoufand fouls by an earthquake
at Antioch ibmc time after thefe events, contributes to perfuadc me
that one town did, in thofe days, encircle a larger number of the hu-
man race than prefent modes admit of. Perhaps the country too was
more defertcd ; they are hot latitudes of which we fpcak, and readers
who have never left this ifland will fcarce conceive how vermin, in
feds, and other petty vexations of warm climates, drive men to feek
Ihelter in large cities from that fervid fun which glows in a wide ho-
rizon. Like that hot fun, fo blazing, fo intolerable, (hone the laft
years of this fuccefsful Emperor, whofe terrors drove our panting prc-
deceflbrs to feek, in caves and fubtcrrancau rcccflcs, fomc repofe for
their weary feet, fome quiet moments in which to model their then
plaftic church ; of whofe ftubility Caius, firft coufm to Diocletian, had
already been careful, and regular dignitaries had been by him appointed :
deans, and fub-deans, and prefbytcrs, as if fome fecret affurance had
been granted him that fuch would foon be wanted ; for little rcafon,
founded on fad, had they to hope deliverance was fo near. In thofe
black days when after Caius' death, forrow pervaded the damp vaults
where fad Marccllus fate, and mourned his murder'd friends : yet out
of thofe that Hill remained alive, cledcd fifteen mortified and melan-

M 2 choly,

92 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; FROM DIOCLESIAN [CH. v.

choly, yet refolute and aclive fcrvants of their Saviour : thefe he called
cardinals, and put them on fcarlet {lockings for diftincHon's fake, and
likewife for propriety ; their office being not only to bury martyrs, but
of courfe to bathe their feet and legs in. blood of their companions,
among whom the inftitutor of their appropriated employment foort
was numbered, being by Galerius' command clofed up alive in human
excrement ; a new torture, chiefly inflided upon fuch offenders who
had refufed when called upon to incenfe or perfume the heathen
temples. How little did the Chriftians then forefee the changes to
be made in their temptation ! How little hope the happinefs at hand !
How little too did Dioclefian dream of finding at Salona the death he
had fo mercilefsly difpcnfed at Rome ! He died however, and the great
Conftantine, fearing fome treachery from Armentarius, efcaped to York,
where tidings were foon brought of that fuicide by which he reigned
fole emperor, Maxentius only at firft trying with any profpecl of fuc-
cefs to impede his pafiage to the purple. On his exploits, haw wil-
lingly will Retrofpeffiou s eye repofe ! On him who in the midft of vic-
tory thought on the God who gave it ; till the warm heart kindling in
religion's caufe, followed the viuonary banner through the world. In
hocjtgno vinces was verified whitherfoever he turned his arms. Maxi-
min, Maxentius, Licinius, funk before him. The moft renowned in
war were found unable to fupport the conteft : and Conftantine ac-
knowledged matter of mankind, now fought to civilize, convert, re-
form them. Proclaiming himfelf a Chriftian, all perfecution ended in
an inftant, and the forrows of our fuffcring fathers were turned into
encouragement. Servile Rome followed implicitly her leader's ex-
ample, nor could Jupiter and Juno afTert their caufe at all, when un-
protected by imperial power :

Nor all the gods befide,
Longer dar'd abide,

Not Typhon ending huge in fnaky train :
Our babe to fhuw his godhead true,
Could even in Twaddling bands controul the damned crew. MJUN.

CH. v.] TO CONSTANTINE THE GREAT. &3

No martyr, unlcfs Sopatcr the hillorian may be called fuch, offered
to feal his faith in pagan deities by blood, and all their worftiippers
dropt off apace. The fovereign called from banifhmcnt and drew forth
from obfcurity fuch as beft could teach and moft adorn the new re-
ligion, and his firft proof of being well confirmed in it was his refufal
of a Roman triumph ; loudly afcribing his apparently preternatural fuc-
ceilcs to a fuperior agency and power. The race of gladiators next
{lowly and fullenly withdrew Marcus Aurelius had endeavoured to
fupprcfs them, or make them fight at leaft with foils, not fwords
but his too feeling proportions were rejected. The Emprefs Helena,
of Cambrian origin and gentle blood, detefted thefe diverfions ; flic
had been long before baptifed in Britain, where the high road yet
remains called by her name Rhwydd yr Helena ending with the
place now called Pont Aberglaflyn ; then known by her having
crofs'd the water there, whence it was long denominated Fordgham
Helen yr Luedhog the ford of Helen the puiffant, near Kadcr Idris.
How peculiarly pleafing to us muft be the thought, that foftcning
the heroic bofom of her fon, 'twas^<? prepared it to receive with
eagernefs, the rnyftic truths he was now ardent to defend and propa-
gate. But ftill deftrudive inroads from the Goths difturbcd his

peaceful projects ; they invaded Thrace, they even approached Nyfla,
birth-place of our heaven-protected hero ; whofe rapid, well-concerted
march to meet them is celebrated, even by thofe who leaft delight
in doing juftice to his merit. One hundred thoufand barbarians how-
ever, hemmed round by ftratagcm, died nearly all at once, through
famine, in the plains of Theflaly, whilft Clodomir of France made
himfelf duke of all thofe diftricls now called Brabant, Holland, and
Weftphalia, and reigned there thirty years. The Allemanni or Ger-
mans refilling thefe incurfions, won fometimes, fometimcs loft ; but
the times we are reviewing confidered acquifition as the only right of
tenure ; and I have read that the name Geta, perhaps Got fit too,
formed itfelf from the verb jeran to get, got, gotten. Tis certain the
Brigantes of South Britain, Ireland, Spain, and the Alpine regions,

derived

94 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; FROM DIOCLESIAN [CH. v.

derived their common name from Brigand, a robber, in Celtic lan-
guages ; and the Franks or French retain it as fuch rtill. Germans
or Jf-l'r Mans means a man of war, and Mr. Pinkcrton quotes Herodo-
tus to fav, that there was in his day a people fo called among the Per-
fians. There certainly were Teutons in Pcloponcefus but Teuton and
Titan mean fp readers over, or coverers of the earth.

Rebellions on the Rhine next called Rome's conquering general to
Cologne, where he obtained a fignal victory, and dcferr'd deftruction to
a future day. And now the church and ftate indhTolubly united, had
reafon to expect true happinefs from the alliance, had not fuch vifcous
and thorny hcrefies perplexed our Chriftian councils, each ftruggling
to gain over the Emperor to their opinions oft times, and indeed
chiefly dividing upon points which human reafon cannot fettle, becaufc
human compreheniion cannot reach : the Nicene Creed grew neccffary
for this caufe. Till Arius and Donatus arrogantly, with their frivo-
lous though daring difputations, difturbed the fweet comforts admi-
nifter'd by Conftantine, that comprehenfive fymbol of belief called
the Apoftle's Creed, contented all. St. Peter and St. John had re-
quired no more from their followers, who by fubfcription to the
articles of which it confifts, obtained originally at Antioch the honour-
able appellation of Chriftians ; and thofe who refufe that title to fuch
as willingly receive that creed, wrong them, and fhould be told fo.

Meanwhile great Conftantine's innumerable virtues, his high heroic
deeds, his glowing zeal, would furely have eifaccd ftill greater faults
than was his leaning towards the heterodox fide of a iharp controverfy
little underftood, concerning the grand myflery of hypoftatic union,
meant for man's veneration, not difpute. Lactantius now grown
old, publiflied his Inftitutions, confirming to himfclf the title of our
Chriftian Cicero Tullius Chriftianus ; he was preceptor to the youno-
prince Crifpus, whofe morals did the tutor little credit ; but manners
Jagg'd behind, while dodrine earneftly employed itfelf on points fo little
practical. Roftoch now raifed its head upon the Var, Jerufalem was re-

pair'd

cir. v.] TO eONSANTINE TIIK (JKF..YT. 95

pair'd,^. :ut in principle was gratefully added to our gloria patri, and the
liands of hangmen felt a long repofe. St. Anthony then fearing temp-
tation from a new quarter, profpcrity's \varm beam accelerated his depar-
ture ; and having collected other individuals feizcd with the fame pre-
fcntiment of danger, and the fame notion of cfcaping it as 'twere by-
force flew to the defert, where they erected the firft convent upon ro-
cord, calling its inhabitants Monks of St. Bafil, but binding them with
HO vows. Our Saviour's precept, Swear not at all, was as yet frclh in every
Chrillian's memory; the more fo, as he condefcended to give a rcafou
br his command becaufe you cannot, lays he, make even a hair of your
head white or black. The fudden and violent overthrow of convents in
our time proves our Lord's pofition ; men fhould not fwcar unlcfs they
knew that they could keep their oaths : for yourfelf you may promise,
but not for another; his power may compel the breach of them. A
literal obedience then is belt and fafeft, S'vear not at all. Merc mor-
tals indeed, without this injunction, might have been cafily juftificd in
thinking, that when they fwore to remain poor they would not have
been hindered, and hindered too by them who never wifhcd they ihou'd
be rich : experience, while I am writing, (hews the contrary ; but
we have here to do with Retro/peflion. The church meantime, foon
to be ftyl'd the Church of Rome ; refbunding with mufic and choral
fingers, illuminated by day as well as night with gaudy tapers cf-a
thoufand colours, and crouded by flatucs, emblems, pictures and de-
vices of various holy men and martyrs, departed this life in true faith
and fear, acquired foon not only ftrcngth but fplendour, not only
fplendour but a folid opulence, not only opulence but that which fol-
lows it influence ; hardening the potter's clay into a firm and fixt
authority. Living zealots poured their profufe donations on the altar,
and dying mifers bequeathed to a community the wealth they could'
not bear to part with during life, or leave to enrich any individual.

The general taftc too of times fo propitious to foftncis and luxurj,
infected even the good and wife among us, and gave a tincture of po~

hthcifm's

gC THE FOURTH CENTURY; FROM DIOCLESIAN [CIT. v.

lytheifm's ambitious gaiety to fabrics dcflincd for the vvorfliip of an
humble Saviour, who had not while on earth, though all his own, a
place where he might lay his facred head. While from fuch fcenes
St. Anthony, in pure averfion to their pomp, retired ; under imperial
protection now rofe up on every fide majeftic edifices, that vied in all ex-
terior ornament with pagan temples dedicated to tutelary faints be-
fidc, as they were to fubordinate divinities. Saints who had fung their
hymns in hollow catacombs, or wandering houfelefs among barbarous
nations, had difleminated with diligence that faith they were prepared
to die for ; propagating the moft dangerous of all truths from the moir
difintcrefted of all motives. Among thefe Kebius, fon to a duke of
Cornwall, and pupil to Hilary bifhop of Poidtiers, is thought to have
given the name of Hilary Point to a protuberance of rock, near Holy-
head in Anglefea, {till called Cacrgybi by the Welfli inhabitants, mean-
ing the camp, or caftle, or refidence of Keb'tus. Thefe taught a ftre-
nuous rejection of Arianifm in the north, 'fpite of all courtly terrors
but other fnares from that hour compafs'd Chriftianity around, and
the feducer took another method ;

For Satan now is wifer than of yore,
. And tempts by making rich, not making poor.

Having, as the famous fable well exprefTes, blown vehemently againft
our then erratic worfhip with the rough winds of cruelty and rage ;
and having found the cloak of righteoufnefs clapt clofer to meet every
blaft and brave it, the warm fun of feduclion now foothed the weary
votarift of virtue, and wooed him to throw off what fcem'd fuperfluous,
unneceflary defence. Set free by fupreme command, confoled by ma-
ternal fondnefs and perfonal indulgence, the Chriilians next (and furely
without impropriety) availed themfelves of Conftantine's pcrmiffion
and his mother's wifh ; and fet about removing the polluted flirine of
Venus, which Adrian had ere&cd on our Saviour's fcpulchre, purpofely
to prophane it. So far was well but when the venerated foot was

feen,

CH. v.] TO CONSTANT1XE THE GRKAT. 97

fcen, was vifited, a ftrong devotion, more fervent far than delicate,
kindled at the view. Refpect was loft in the wild burfts of paflion ;
nor could decorum's felf fubfift an inftant under the preflure of fuch
crowds that crumed it ; when hundreds being attracted by zeal, and
thoufands by curiofity, many unjuftifiable whims took place : till the
more prudent Emperor covered the ground, building upon its conic-
crated furface a beautiful church, exprefling at once his piety and his
munificence. St. Helena befide, by her unlucky, although natural
and even praife-worthy propenfity for collecting rcliques of the tor-
tured martyrs, while me furveyed their tombs with veneration ; en-
couraged various, vexatious, and to fay truth, numberlejs impoftures,
that have done more injury to our common caufe than her warm feel-
ings fuffercd her to fear, or the cold fcoffers of our later days could
wifh.

Among the countlels tricks and fraudulent devices of the time, I
will juft mention the idea of Jefus's fwaddling bands being found, be-
caufe the examiners fhe fet to work lighted on cloths which fire had
no effecl on. Thcfe were made of the afbeftos or linum vhum* fala-
mander's wool, as 'tis not improperly termed : this curious mineral
has, it mould fcem, in all ages feized ftrongly upon female attention ;
the lady of the manor of Auchindoir, near Strathbogie, had a petti-
coat made of it in 1 /Oo when firft difcovered among the Scottifh
rocks, and Ciampini gained a penfion from Chriftina queen of Sweden
by fliewing her its wondrous powers in 1678. Pliny defcribes it as
of intrinfic value, equal to pearls (Nat. Hift. lib. xix. chap. i.). Giam-
battifta Porta tells us, that an hundred and fifty years before his time
it was fb common in the ifle of Cyprus, that ignorant old women there
could fpin and manage it with great dexterity; and the oriental
Chriftians mewed rags of it in 32.5 from their dolorum archives, as re-
liqucs of ineftimable value ; but 'tis to be found in mines of old Mona,

* There is a way now of mak'ingfaflitious aftjeflos.
VOL. I. N as

QS THE FOURTH CENTURY; FROM DIOCXESIAN [en. v.

as eafily as in fublimcr or more claffic latitudes. The ancient Britons
underftood its ufe too, calling it maen yjl'mos, andwrae/; which laft
word gives me paufe, and makes one for a moment think that urael
might poffibly have fome reference or fome concealed analogy to Uriel,
the angel of the fun, who lives in fire ; but 'tis better- be deceived by
pious eafmefs of belief, than drawn out of our way by love of derivation.
While the good Emprefs then fought feduloufJy upon Mount Calvary
for fome remains of the true crofs, or any fuel to keep up the facred
flame fo kindled ; Conftantinc her fon made a decree to fuperfede the
ancient Jewifh Sabbath, and eftablim Sunday as our weekly feftival ;
preferring that day on which our Lord arofe to the original reft from
creation. He ordered Saturday to be a faft, bccaufe Chrift's body then
was in the grave ; and this drew a flrong line between onr new pro-
feflbrs of what was then called emphatically the New Religion, and
thofe who ftill obferved the law of Mofes. With them the heathen
for three whole centuries perfifted to confound us ; yet notwithftand-
ing all their efforts, nor foft credulity nor callous unbelief, neither the
biting frofts of iharp feverity, nor any idle channels cut by mild en-
couragement, have been permitted yet to check the progrefs of that
hallowed ftream, whereof who drinks, quaffs immortality and joy.
The fpring, like that of Nile, rofe filently and unperceived ; like that,
it has diffufed health, happinefs, and cultivation ; the mouths too
towards the end, are divided ; but acknowledge the fame head, and roll
to the fame ocean of everlafting blifs.

Among the numerous pilgrims which came flocking to the lately-
opened fepulchre, St. Jerome mentions Britons ; though partiality
muft own our iiland produced few inhabitants worth noticing in thefe
fo early ages. Moft of the Englifh youths had been drawn into Gaul
as recruits for Roman armies, ever fighting to retain provinces and
pofleffions that crumbled hourly from their grafp. Humanity could
do no more than Conftantine was doing, towards holding up a finking
fovereignty, which plunged a little deeper in its quaggy bottom every

day :

m. v.] TO CONSTANTIXE TI1F, GRK A

: and feeing that Rome was become no central poft where to ftan i
bell at bay, whilft kirbarifm burit in upon the limits of the empire on
every fide, and oftentimes on all; he turned his tliotidii's UJKHI re-
moval of the royal rcfidence to fomc place nearer the middle point of
his dominions, widely, but weakly extended towards the cart. It wtta
now little lefs than fcven hundred and forty years fincc the great Ge-
neral Camillus, by perfuafion, had hindered the people and fenatc of
Rome from tranfmitting to Veia the feat of that government, dcftincd
to bear rule over the whole earth : the charm was broken, fo were the
fpirits of the ancient inhabitants, whofe gay defccndants, far more
flexible, had learned to treat us vulgar prejudices all opinion of a local
influence ; their capitoline Jove too was quietly carried away ; and
where the court was, there would be the courtiers ; who willingly
abandoned the city of their anceftors under the conduct of Conftan-
tine their king. He, not a native, viewed rather with abhorrence than
delight, a land drenched in the blood of murdered innocents, and rank
with every noxious poifonous weed that could by him have been fup-
pofed to fpring from a warm foil fo watered : bcfides that, Mr. Gib-
bon obferves wifely, how the original profeflbrs of our faith lived and
expired in a firm perfuafion of Jefus's intent foon to deftroy the myf-
tic Babylon, they had fuch ample caufc to hate and fear. Add to
all this, Byzantium was acknowledged the nioft excellent and lovely
fituation in the world it is confcfled fo ftill, although another hcmi-
iphere has been difcovered, and that Chriftianity difpcrfed around it,
which coft the tyrants of mankind fuch vain, fuch endlefs labour to
deftroy. The new chofcn refidcricc, like Rome, was built upon leven
hills, and extended far beyond the ancient town that Byzas called
after his own name, when he led forth a colony out of Megara, in the
Peloponcefus what time Manafleh reigned over Judea, and Pfamme-
tichus drank out of his brazen helmet, by command of the oracle,
which foretold he mould be king of Egypt. Conftantinople, though
.now called by the Turks, Stampoul, has not quite loft the original dc-

X 2 fignation.

loo THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. v.

fignatlun. Poul comes from Polls, the generic term, as who mould
fay the city by way of eminence thus Nicopolis, Phillipo/w/w, and a
hundred more. To this great city then, was fbmewherc about the year
34O transferred, and carried clear away the imperial throne ; and from
that moment may we fafely date the impoffibility of Rome's recover-
ing the mode or fubftance of her priftinc fway. Near this Conftaa-
tinople too died, full of days and honours, her great founder, leaving
his name for ages to a town which, at the end of eleven centuries, we
fhall fee renouncing the religion Ihe received with it. From his death
likewife we muft add with forrow, that though future princes faintly
oppofed the infults and incroachments which profperous barbarifm
continued to repeat, their oppofition was too faint and feeble, whilft
from the abandoned weft fhrunk the once fwelling furge, the pleni-
tude of power.

Thus, when the fea ebbs on a fandy fhore, the watchful fimer fets
his mark of RetrofpeSlion ; and if fome bolder billow than the reft is
ibmetimes feen to warn up againft the pole, as if indignant at the
thought of leaving that place dry, which his preceding waves had co-
vered ; yet will the experienced mariner inform you, The tide is going

CHAP.

CH. vi.] FROM CONSTANTINE TO TIIEODOSIUS. 101

CHAP. VI.

FROM CONSTANTINE TO THEODOSIUS, A. D. 40O.

THE fuccefles of Conftantine fcduced Mr. Gibbon to an epifode;
his death irrefiftibly draws me into a digrcflion. Like Balaam,
bleffing where he meant to curfe, that great hiftorian's book is found
of ufe to thofe who defire and are earned to deduce the truth of pro-
phecy from ancient ftory, as an adverfary's teftimonial can never be
fufpe&ed. He has, indeed, given us many land-marks, or fet up ter-
mini, a phrafe he would like better, whence our rctrofyeft'rvc eye may
fee more clearly how religion and politicks have advanced, proceeding
flowly on from ftation to ftation, till they arrive at the place we now
find them. He fixes the time when oracles expired he points the
period when heathen Sacrifices ended he names the very day when
papal power begun ; and he aflerts with equal fenfe and truth, that
when contempt of the religion long eftablifhcd by law pervades a
whole community, revolution cannot long be kept away. He tells
from old times, what is completely verified by modern ones, that
when the majority fecretly lofes ftrength, however clear the numbers
may remain, without even poffibility of conteft; that flatc has fuf-
fered a moft fatal fymptom, and her dcftruclion cannot be far off.
His doclrine of the out-fpread labarum, or facred ftandard, faid to be
difplayed before the following eyes of highly favoured Conftantine,
and deeply venerated by all primitive Chriftians, evince the antiquity
of that form of words yet ufed by our Anglican church in baptifm,
when we promifc manfully tojight under his banner who redeemed
us ; on which I truft was fec-n thcjign of the Son vf Mar which \\ ill

appear

102 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vi.

appear again before his fccond coming. Vide St. Matthew, chap. xxiv.
yerle 30. The red crofs, the crofs of Chrift, dipt in his facrcd blood,
iilows on our Britifh. ftandards frill. Atheifts and infidels ftrike to it
as yet ; Oh, may we never defert it ! The words TSTU HX*, hac vhice
however appeared on the myftic colours, Ihewn in a dream to Con-
fbntinc : he told Eufebius the tale himfelf ; Eufebius faw the banner
that was made from his defcription of it, but fays not in what lan-
guage the encouraging fentence was written. Fabricius tells us, 'twas
in Greek as that was the Emperor's native tongue, it feems mofl
likely that it fhould be fo : Philoftorgius fays, the words were hi hoc
Jig/io "unices in this Jign tliou Jhalt conquer ; but he faw it not, and
perhaps only means himfelf to traiijlate the fentence, not to copy it.
Whether the fign was an illuminated crofs, as one would think by
Conftantine's placing one near every ftatue creeled to him in his life-
time, or whether the Chriftian's monogram,* with which the Em-
peror was well acquainted, having doubtlefs worne one about his per-
fon in his youth, much as the royalifts of France, in ] 794, carried in
their pockets feals or tobacco-ftoppers, wherein were concealed effi-
gies of their murdered prince, is not decided XPISTO2 being Chrift
in Greek, the firft followers of our Saviour took the two firft letters
of the name, and ftriking the fecond through the firft, made out this
little cypher V incomprehenfiblc to heathen examination ; for Jortin
fays, that many martyrs, who never, in days of perfccution, thrufl
ihemfelvcs forward to offend the civil power on purpofe, fuffcred
.death, when called upon, better than thofe, who to obtain fome no-
tice from the government, rufhed againft torments, which in the hour
.of agony they fhrunk from. This is natural, and Jefus feems on all
occafions to prefer a fearing to a prefumptuous difciple. Peter, who
promifed Joudeft, was firft of all the eleven to deny his Mafter.

But we return to our fummary. Lake Conftance, and the pretty

Tranfversa liter x fumixio qapite circumflexo Chriflo in fcutis notat.

town

CH. vr. ] FROM CONSTANTINE TO TIJEOUOStUS. ioa

town upon its borders, built in Switzerland, perpetuates the name of
our greaf fovereign's eldejl fon the word Pagan, yet in common ufe,
records a practice of Coivftantius the younger fon, who, when he firft
cafhicrcd his heathen foldiers, quartered them upon the villages, Pagi,
and thus the appellation fpread from them to all who di {Tented from
the legal and authorized church, preferring the old mode of polvthcifm.
Oa^firs were in the days we treat of, and long before, created gcne-
raly. and considered as presumptive heirs ; and now the regular divi-
ium had taken place, and the two brothers fhared the world's troubles,
rather than its dominion between them. A proof that real power was
no longer concentrated, as once under one head, may be produced in
the numberlcfs Imperators, Casfars, Dottthii as they were ftyled fincc
DicK-leiian's reign. Monarchy, properly fo called, was fading off, and
a way } .iving faft for the new method by which mankind, weary of
early and rimple inilitutions, wilhed to be governed. Meanwhile a
ftrong concuffion of the earth, at Nicomedia, added to an eclipfc of
the fun, which quickly followed, with ftorms of unequalled hail, made
nvinv think that the laft day was coming, although St. Paul's Epiftles
had allured us, that Anti-Chrift muft firil appear on earth ; that Man
of Sin, who as God, fitteth in the temple of God, fhewing himfelf
that he is God ; and although good Laclantius bid them wait with
patience the expiration of the next two thousand years, from Chrift's
appearance in the flcfh until his coming again in glory. This laft
opinion, held by the earl} church, originated probably from St. Peter's
quotation of king David's words ; how to our Lord one day was as a
thoufand years, and a thoufand years as one day ; inferring thence,
that as creation ended with the fixth, fo would thefe periods of dura-
tion alfo, and the fabbatical, or fcventh millenary, be that of our Savi-
our's vilible reign on earth. Two thoufand years were certainly allot-
ted for obedience to the moral fenfe, and for conviction to fuch as fhould
come after, that this fame moral fcnfe or law of reafbn was infutficient.
Thele iccble fences againft fin and forrow being all fwept a\vay at once

104 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vi.

by the Deluge, mankind had Mofes and the Prophets for a guide about
two thoxifand more ; at which time Chrifl appeared, and the gofpel
difpcnfation has now, whilft I am writing, been ib long in force, that one
man and his fon both living to the utmoft ftretch of permitted exiftence
in this fublunary world, may fee that portion of eternity expire, which
reafon and prophecy, apoftlc and evangelift, feem leading us to confider
as the lajl allotted to the ufe of humanity. All this on fuppofition that
no miftakes are made in that chronology which well we know is mofi
exceedingly defective ; many years have been devoured and funk dur-
ing the dark night of thofe Gothick ages at which our Retrofpeffion
peeps, at beft through cloudy telcfcopes : when we reflect, beiide, on
the grofs errors entertained by ancients of the very firft rate abilities in
other fcienccs, fcicnces of far eafier attainment, 'twere difficult to be
quite fatisfied with their accounts of time. Wild opinions, ftrange
anecdotes, and almoft inconceivable facts ftrewed up and down the
Auguftan and Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, might ftagger many a reader.
We moderns are however, moft difpofed to fneer at what is related of
the Chriftlan martyrs, and think it witty to ridicule the idea of throw-
ing princeffes of that pcrfuafion virgins, to be deprived of that name
l>y the hangman, if they refufed burning incenfe upon a heathen altar,
Venus' s for the moft part : although Diana's proccffions at new and full
moon were often as great a fnare. Yet why controvert fo probable an
occurrence ! The great Sejanus's daughter, upon her father's fall from
imperial favour, was fo ferved, only becaufl^/7/<? icas his daughter ; nor
could the cradle's felf prove a lure fheltcr to the unhappy infant of Ca-
ligula. The common punifhments where no religious prejudices were
concerned, exceeded far our limited ideas of times in which vice and
virtue, feverity and fweetncfs, knowledge and ignorance, wxre alike
gigantic. A gentleman complained in Germany to Aurelian that one
of his officers had violated hofpitality by perfonal infults on the honour
of his wife, who entertained the General at her houfe no more was
ncceffary; this rough commander calling the wretched culprit before

him,

cit. vi.] FROM CONSTANTIXE TO THEODOSIUS. ios

him, had his two feet fattened to the top of two trees forcibly hcnt to-
gether, which being then fudclenly let loofc, tore the criminal afundcr
at the moment of recoil. Nor was young Alexander Ids fcvere, when
he caufcd the (mews of a judge's fingers to be all cut through for taking.
bribes, and as he had after all given the cauie againft the plaintiff
lady who had bribed him, the final punifhment was fuffocation ; for
fmoke he fold, obferved the Emperor, and with fmoke fhould he be
paid. A ftake being prepared tlicrefore, furrounded by wet wood,
Taurinus, though of confular dignity, was fattened to it, and fmothercd
in her's and her protector's fight. Conftantine threw fbme French-
men he had taken near the town of Bonne, in Germany, to be de-
voured alive by dogs, for theft and treachery : they deferred not, he.
{aid, to die the death of foldiers. But the time was faft approaching
when thcfe black clouds were doomed to roll away. The leucr light
of human rcafon, fays an admirable preacher, had been long appointed
to rule the night of darknefs, doubt, and gloom ; the greater light of
revelation's fun was fent at laft to illuminate our clearer day ; and He
who fent it, made the ftars alfo. Confucius, Epidctus, Plato, fhonc
but by his permiffion, whilft with acknowledged difficulty, and cau-
tious ftep, their followers ftumbling, trod a narrow path. But Julian
the apoftate preferred, upon mature deliberation, the pcrifhablc taper
of philofophical perplexity to the broad light of our rcvcal'd religion ;
his character arrefts our retrofyeftive eye, now for the firft time con-
templating the imperial purple clothing a difputant in deep theology.
A perfon of whom more contrarieties may be recounted than ever lodged
in any mind except his own ; a prince, who although personally va-
liant, fhrunk meanly, in his coufm's life-time, from avowal of that re-
ligion which he was afterwards ardent to clhiblifh, merely becaufc dan-
ger then attended its confeflion ; a man, who although bigottcd to his
own opinions, wilhcd not to pun if h thofc who differed from them ; and
who, though all muft own him a ftoic, a foldicr, a fcholar, and a wit,
had the ftrcmge \\eaknefs to endeavour at finding out future events, by
VOL. I. O marking

10') THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vr.

marking grains of barley with Greek characters, and throwing therrr 1
before a fowl to Ice which he v^ould pick up, and what \vords thole
letters left or taken would compofc. A kind of divmaticji had,
'tis true, been practifcd, by confidering, from time immemorial, fome-
times the corns of barley, fometimes the dough or matter of the cakes
offered in facrifice : it was called crithomancy. Virgil reprefents Dido
as offering up a barley cake in her laft rite, when Chaos, Erebus and
Hecate were invoked. This mode of forcery to which Julian was ad-
dicled, had for its object the infernal gods ; for Ceres ftill had influence
over Prefer pine; tiny were to tell who fought the Emperor's life, and
he was to fend fuch traitors, when hecaxight them, fwift to the fhadcs
below. Thence the fallacious as magical encouragement he thus re-
ceived, determined him notwithilanding, to rebuild the temple at Je-
rufalem, and by fo doing make our faith to its foundation, which had
fo completely in many parts of the empire diflodged his own. That
this temple mould have been twice deftroyed upon the fame day of the
year ; that day the very one upon which Mofes had broken the tables
of the law fo many ages pad ; that it was ilill venerated in its anniver-
fary as giving birth to that ever bleffed Virgin who, daughter to David,
was made mother to Jefus Chrift, efcaped not the notice of apoftate
Julian, well hvftructed in the religion he forfook. Inftead then of re-
newing perfecutions againft the profeflbrs of Chriftianity, he contented
himfelf with fhunning their fociety, laughing at their manners, and
pointing them out as objects of general and deferved contempt ; to in-
crcafe which, he employed all his imperial power to prove the fcatter-
ing and deftruction of the Jews merely accidental. Builders and archi-
tects in confequcnce began the work of fabrication ; but that itrange
hindrances rofe againfh it (even in the eyes of Pagan fpectators), nei-
ther ancient nor modern infidels deny. Julian, not eafily repulfed,
lent other men to Paleftine, whence they returned baffled in every at-
tempt by volcanic eruptions, -that like mafked batteries protected the
nan, prohibiting all approach, and rendering it incapable of repair ; a

circumftance

tai. vi.] FROM CONbT'vN 1'IM, I O TIlIiODOSli

rircumilanrc \\hich became (lull) more aftonilliing to the philolbphi-
cal apoitatc, from consideration of the neighbouring loll, that a lie
wcll-knew contained no fiery particles, nor \vas ever known to exhibit
appearance of being comuultible, except on that occasion. The la,
ran now againft the Emperor, and his project; polytlu-ifm had lolt her
charms, and Julian's efforts to reftorc it were in vain : his own ex-
ample, although fcconded by virtuous conduct, excited no contagion*
piety in the multitude, who looked upon his Slaughtered hecatomb>
with coldncfs, and only laid horned cattle Would be dear, when court
devotion grew fo liuiguinary. A man who knew the worM as Julian
did, mull have perceived this fatal fvmptom of his faith's decay ; be-
fore the iarcallic facer of derifion beauty fades, wit is filenccd, and
even wifdom's felt' k/l-s difcountenanced, and like folly Jhows. Our-
felves have in our own time fccn hifs'd forth fame, honour, excel-
lence of every kind from Paris ; when too foft Lutetia, known by that
name in the third century, corrupted funk into her deftined quagmire
of melting diflblution unlike the town preferred by Julian above
every other for its rough manners and bold honeily. Its then coarfe
but courageous inhabitants, formed a ftrong contrail to the voluptuous
Syrians, a race the Emperor delighted to fliovv his fcorn of ; purpofely
Shocking the dainty rcfidcnts of Antioch with his philofophic negli-
gence of their long robes and curls, and paint and perfumes ; adopt-
ing, in direcl: oppolkion to fuch manners, the uncouth cuftoms of thofe
rugged Gauls, which had the territorial appellation of Piirlfti, receiving
viiitants, petitioners, &c. with uncombed beard, tann'd ikin, and inky
fingers ; but forgetting the good precept ncquid n'tinis. 'Tis curious
meantime to fee France fet the falhionscvcn in this early age : Ihe fcts
the fafliion ftill. With levity unexampled having in thcie lait fifteen
years been confidered by all Europe as a model: firll of gay fplcndour and
oftentatious elegance ; next of brutality and ferocious rage; once eminent
for loyalty little ihort of partial foolimnefs ; then giving the aftoniflied
world a fudden exhibition of murder, rreaibn, regicide. May this laic

O 2 horrible

108 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [en. vr,

horrible fafhion find no followers ! Could her admirer Julian fee Parin
now again, he would again perhaps find out one quality worthy his
admiration, namely, her philofophical apoftacy from that religion
which he, with as little reafon as herfetf, was prompted to defert. But
the character of this Emperor has carried us too far ; the clofing fcene
is nigh. Sapores, king in Perfia, who called himfeW brother to the
fun and moon, had put the Romans to intolerable {traits, fince death
removed his great opponent Conftantine : and warlike Julian now, af-
ter menacing our predecciTors with the fevcrities they fhould fuller on
his return, fet forward to meet the llorm which gathered eaftward.
Eutropius the hiftorian, who followed him a foldicr, and fought by his
fide, law him fall before the fiege of Ctefiphon, and bears undoubted
teftimony to his martial conducl in the field, and to his courageous
death in the tent, many hours after the fatal wound was given. But
Julian confidered himfelf as going to unite his foul for ever with thofe
deities from whom he held it to have been an emanation, and hoped
reward for having promoted their fervice. As a philofopher he could
not be an atherft. For our age of reafon, as 'tis falfely called, was
finally referved renunciation of all future hope ; the confederation of
death as an eternal fleep was far from his opinion or belief.

Ah ! que fauffement, fauficment courageufe,
L'amc doit te trouver affreufe,

Quand Ic neant eft fon efpoir,
Quel efpoir de ne rlen pretendre !
Quel bonheur de n'en point attendre !

Quel fecours de n'en plus avoir !

'Tis mofl remarkable perhaps that Julian Ihould leave his life upon tho/e
plains of Dura where Nebuchadnezzar, juft a thoufand years before, had
fet up the famous golden image to Bel or Baal, but reprefenting, I fup-
pofe, the fun ; for not adoring which coloflus, the three Ifraelitifh cap-
tives were thrown into a burning fiery furnace, and came out thence
xmhurt, under the vifible protection of the Son of God, whofe eternal

filiation

en. vr.] FROM CONSTANTINO TO TI1EODOSIU5. w (J

filiation was become, -three hundred and iixty-fivc years after his appear-
ance upon earth, a caufe of fuch perpetual {tumbling to his followers,
that the heroic Bifliop Athanafms newly rcftored, after incredible
ftruggles and vexations, was at length half compelled to lend his name
to a new creed, a frefh compilation of articles, a fymbol of belief ftill upon
ftated days repeated in our church, though he himfelf aflurcd the Empe-
ror Jovian who fucceeded, that there were creeds enough already. This
truly Chriftian Prince, obliged to make fomewhat disgraceful terms with
haughty Sapor, reigned but afhort time, during which period hailftones
of enormous fize fell at Conftantinople, while ten cities in Crete were
overturned by an earthquake. Upon his death, dcfigned or acci-
dental, there is a curious letter from St. Chryfoftome, to the im-
perial widow Chariclo, a Grecian lady, faying, that of nine iuccef-
fors whom he had known inverted with the purple, two only could '
have been fuppofed to pay the debt of nature by a common courfc of
events. Jovian's demife however, might certainly have happened by
neglect or ignorance of thofe about him, who left a chafing di(h or
brazier filled with charcoal in the apartment where he flept : thus
making way for Valens and Valentinian, two brothers of oppofitc cha-
racters and manners, held together, as it fhould feem, by mere con-
venience of governing the empire by divifion. Its caftern poifeflions
fell to Valens' fhare ; while Valentinian refidcd at Milan, where his
excefs of veneration for good St. Ambrofe is ftill remembered by its rich
effects. The church, the library, filled with ineftimablc rarities, were
in high prefervation A. D. 1786 ; and 'twas remembered then among
them, how when the fiery fpirit of an emperor more zealous for the
honour of our meek religion, than ftudious to obey its gentle precepts,
was difturbed : it was St. Ambrofc only, the mellifluous doctor who
could footh it to a temporary calm, and mitigate its wrathful violence.
When that imperial anger was exerted againft the ftrange propensity
to witchcraft, which helped in thofc days to obfcure men's reafon und
obftrucl their virtue, one hardly can condemn it Icfs ftill when we

reflect

110 THE FOURTH CENTURY ; [en. vr.

rerkcl that Theoclofms the warlike, the pious and the wife, efcaped as
'twere by miracle from iharcs that were laid to difpatch him, only
bccaufo that fatal cock before whom the letters of the alphabet were
placed, had felected thofe with which his name begun. The town of
/"i/Av/cicnncs however, rofe to light about the time we fpeak of; and
Britain had well nigh been called Valentia. Should one be led to ob-
fcrve that there was a fate in it, for that Britannia could not change
her name, 'twere well we lived there in the prcfent day, not then ; this
zealous ruler of mankind would have accufcd and punifhed us perhaps
for onomantical propenlities. Truth is, Raff Allan, collector of the
tales of the Talmud, is anfwerablc for many of thefe filly fancies of
conjuring by names, which originated from that fource. Cabbala or
cabalillic myfterioufnefs has left the world- but a ftiort time. There is
a way of telling fortunes noiv in many parts of Italy called la cabala ;
and there was an odd lucky reference to the word in lotli fenfes of it,
when Clifford, Amburnham, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale,
in 'Charles the fccond's time, with the initial letters of their names,
formed the word CABAL. Addifon refers to it as familiarly known in
our Spectator's time, and the Abbe Villars alludes to it in the name of
]e Compte de Gabalis. What wonder then, if the fourth century found
it a ferious matter ? The Emperor Valcns was himfelf infecled, and put
many innocent mortals to death for no worfc crime than a truly luck-
lefs initial. The times were full of terror and of danger. Difputcs between
Urficinus and Damafus for the papal chair ran fo cxceffively high, that
an hundred and thirty-feven men were killed fighting in a Chriftian
church at Rome, with fury ill becoming either party, till the fove-
reign himfelf interfered, and confirmed Damafus in the fee. In gra-
titude for this event thcjiatt in pnncip'io was added to gloria pain after
every pfalm, which he commanded them to chant in alternate verfe,
as is the ufage ftill in all cathedrals. Damafus was a Portuguese by
birth, a poet and hiftorian, who wrote the ads and fufferings of his
prcdcceflbrs, and though accufed of fome moral faults, he cleared him-
felf;

CH. vi ] FROM CONSTANTINE TO TIIF.ODOSrUS. 1 1 1

fclf; and St. Jerome, to whom he dedicates his book, records him as
of pious memory. The great Bafilica of St. Syricius where they
fought, is now Santa Maria mnggkre. But herefy and luxury did then
too fure combine to (hake the faith of fuch new profclytes as were
in oft eafily offended, and felt themfelves difpofed (as many fince) to
charge upon Religion's fclf the excefles committed by her profcHor--.
That Damafus fought not the good fight, Jortin confiders as fo good
a joke, he has it both in the preface and the work yet is there little
need to fuggeft fubjects of derifion to thofe who are ever willing to
deride us ; and if great Theodofius did afterwards approve the purity
of this Pope's faith, he certainly no more approved of battles in the
church than Dr. Jortin does. Irregularities of conduct, and haughti-
nefs of demeanour wholly incxcufublc, do doubtlefs mark the moments
we are writing of, when gilded cars, prancing fteeds, and numerous
retinue attendant upon Chriftian bifhops, began to fright St. Gregory
Nazianzen ; and ill-inftrudled votaries to the ever-blefled Virgin pro-
pagated collyridianifm in Brabant, where fhe was directly and po-
fitively adored not with dulia merely, but pure latria, and incenfe
offered to her as queen of heaven. The fource of that rnad mifchief"
rifes in polytheifm, whofe Mater Dcorum was eafilv confounded by
young converts with our Mater Dei, and there is now a bronze figure
of the Madonna in the Vatican or was in 1/86, with a high tower
on her head, and all the infignia of Cybele, to whofe honours (lie iuc-
cecded; and this explains the reafbn why mutilated pricfts officiate'
before her fhrine at Loretto, as eunuchs or femi-cunuchs were of old
appointed to ferve the mother of the gods. Thefe people had indeed,
during the times under our Retrofpettion, an almoft boundlcfs in-
fluence upon the world, which influence incrcafed fince Afia became-
feat of univcrfal empire : for no longer contented with fvvay obtained
as formerly through the vices of rronarchs addicled to criminal plea-
fures, they refolved to fecurc it now by means of ill-underftood devo-
tion, ruling the hearts and confciences of the religious princes, who

put

112 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vt.

put themfelves and families under tlieir common guidance. But whilff,
enervate foftnefs mark'd the eaft, a rougher fcenery displayed itfelf in
Scotland, whence Eugenius and Euthodius were cruelly thruft out,
and exiled to perifli with hunger in the Ifle of Man ; till Romachus,
the petty tyrant of Caledonia, having offended his barons by this adl
of treafon againft youths of a royal blood, they cut his head off, carry-
ing it in triumph upon a pike's end, according to the true fpirit of fuch
irregular and turbulent times. The fons meanwhile of Cynetha We-
ledig, whofe mother Gwawl* was fifter to St. Helena, ruled on the
lhaggy top of Mona high, where the L-oegrian Britons had retired
from fury and encroachment of the Saxon chiefs; having firft cleared
the ifland from piratic rovers from the Irim coaft, they fettled, and
Cafwallon then obtained (fome fay) the appellation of Draco Infula-
rum. I thought the dragon crejl and perhaps rouge dragon had been
derived from him ; but Pennant, who beft knows fuch matters, brings
them from Uther Pendragon : he has himfelf a right to bear it, as I
have read or heard, deriving his long-traced lineage from Vortigern;
and it mould feem that dragons were not new to the world after cru-
fading times, by this : though Warton thinks they were. Yet 'tis
hard to believe, becaufe Krcjc'ia Brixia gave it for an enfign in early
days, if we believe the tcftimony of Rubseus. Be this as it may,
Science had certainly begun to dawn among the barbarous nations ;
and a faint diilant light, as Rome began rolling back towards opacity,
might be difccrncd to promife day among the Goths, when Atha-
naricus, the Cecrops of modern ages, fixing in Thrace, encouraged
CJlphilus, an Ar'iau bifliop, to invent runic characters, and had the fa-
tisfaclion of feeing thofe arts of civilization fown, which were deftined
to revive after the grand deluge of darkncfs, urged onwards by the
Huns and Vandals, mould be dried off. But before then the timid
Vajens was confumed in a fmall houfc he had retired to from rage of

* Gwawl means Giulja, Julia, Juliana : the Gillian of our Englifh ballads.

war,

CH. vi.] FROM CONSTANTIXE TO TIIEODOSIUS. 113

vvar, which foon purfucd him there and burned with fire. His rugged
colleague Valentinian died in an agony of paffion, burfting a blood-vdlcl
with his own violence at feeing himfelf forced to receive ambafTador>
from favage leaders of armies he at once defpifed and feared ; but
having aflbciated Gratian his fon and fucccflbr, the lofs was felt the
lefs ; while furious Maximin, a name that ever calls to mind ideas of
tyranny, ruled but a little while. One of thefe fe mi -barbarous em-
perors, I forget which, had for his favourites two fhapclcfs bears, pro-
bably lefs ferocious than himfelf; and excellent at ridding their mafter
of friends or of petitioners he liked not. That nothing may appear
impoffible, I can myfelf recollect hearing of a country gentleman re-
fiding in Lancafhire or Cheshire fome threefcore years ago, who had
the fame tafle of domcftic amufement ; and when more wine wa*
called for than he wifhcd to give, Call Dolly in, faid he, to fwecrp the
room. Immediately a high huge female bear, walking on two hind-
feet, with a long broomftick between her fore-paws, entered the door,
and quickly fent away the terrified fpeclators. But v.-c return to feeble
Gratian, who, as might be expected, foon fell before fuch force as
Maximin's, but like Ncrva, he had been careful to provide the world
a mafter rich in every endowment, ftrong in every ingredient that
conftitutes true courage ; wife to conducl thcfc gifts to the bell pur-
pofc, and learned to obtain new lights from reading, fhould his own
prove infufficient. In Thcodofius, a Spaniard like himfelf, even the
remembrance of Trajan might be funk ; he was the laft emperor that
went out with the Roman armies, and he lived till four hundred years
were pad fince our redemption. Various in talents, though {ingle in
excellence ; he encouraged piety, he praclifed morality, he rewarded
valour, and fupported for a while expiring knowledge. He called the
Church of Chrilt the catholic, or general, or comprehenfive Church
Un'rverfaL Happy and pleafing and fortunate appellative ! which fhe
will wear yet to the end of time, and againft which the force of men
or of daemons never fhall prevail.

VOL. I. P CHAP.

THE FOURTH CENTURY ; [CH..VIU

CHAP. VII.
FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO THE DEATH OF ATTIL&,

ABOUT FIFTY YEARS.

THE new Emperor's earlieft cares were exerted to maintain unity
in the church, folidity, if poflible, in the ftate. He appointed
the Nieene Creed to be read after the Gofpel, as we have it now ; he
procured condemnation of the Macedonian herefy, and reconciled tha
bifhops Paulinus and Meletius, at Antioch. The Goths till his time
inflexible, humanized apace : Athanaricus felt the impulfe of tafte ;
refiding by the Emperor's particular invitation at Conftantinople, his
manners foftened, and having once been made fenfible of the charms
of civilization, he defired never to return, but died there, a convert to
Chriflian cuiloms ; and after the Arian mode of receiving it, to our
faith likewife. But no efforts of imperial power, no writing of St.
Gregory Nazianzen,- no eloquence of good St. Ambrofe, could root
out that firmly-fixed heretical opinion, which at firft feemed to have ,
originated from defipe of oppofing errors promulgated by Sabellius,
rather than with any intent of forming, a feparation in the church,
whence nothing has ever been able to diflodge it like the Jerufalem
artichoke, which once planted, keeps perpetual pofTeffion of the. ground.
The north now filled apace with bifhops and paftors, expelled from
the capital by orthodoxy, which we fliall foon fee ihrinking and ridi-
culed by triumphant Arianifm, that viewed with fcorn- thole who
ftrove to enter at the ftrait gate, while St. Auguftine lent his inimi-
table talents for a mort time to the Manichasans, and Syricius, the
Pope, paved the way for future pontiffs to require celibacy from their

clergy,

oi. vii.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 1 1 5

clergy, whom he firft rcftraincd from marrying widows, or taking a
fecond wife. Claudian, meantime, adorned thefe days with poetry,
which fcarce by us feems to have been praifcd enough he makes the
made between clafficks and moderns fomehow, and naturalifts fcom
the animal qni forme la nuance, as Buffon calls it, between one genus
and another. A Tufcan friend told me, that though his works were
firft printed at Florence, he was by birt'h a Spaniard. Viccnza dif-
putes the firft of thcfc claims however, and boafh the carlieil edition
1482, in folio : The younger Heinfius published an Elzevir, in 12mo.
lf)50 ; and having, in fome favourite verfes, called the Nile fuum,
critics believe that he was born in Egypt.

Theon, the fophift, flourifhed about this time ; he was a famous
mathematician, and Marcellinus, Ammianus Marccllimis wrote his
intcrefting ftory ; but controverfy began to fwallow up literature, and
a new fort of barbarifm deluged all works of fancy. The Emperor
tranflated from the Hebrew into Latin, a tract, called PfenJo Ei-att-
gellum, or the Fabulous Gofpel ; fuppofed to have been a compofition
of Nicodemus, the Jewifh Doctor, who came to Jefus by night :
Bifhop Turpin, in Charlemagne's time, tranflated this imperial work
into French, and from that verfion fprung llic mvftcries, acted in every
Cbriftian country, till about three hundred years back, from the mo-
ment in which I recommend Relro/peflion. Meanwhile, fuch was
Theodofius's attention to learning in all its branches, and fuch his
care for the dignity of its profeflbr?, that having obferved Arfcnius,
tutor to his fon, who was aflbciated at eight years old, teaching his
royal pupil bareheaded and {landing, while the young Caefar fate co-
vered at his cafe upon a chair ; the Emperor made them change
places inflantly, obliging the inftructor to fit, the learner to (land in
future.

Coeval with thcfe occurrences, King Snio ruled in Denmark, where
dreadful famines had prevailed fo long, a law was made to IclTcn the
number of inhabitants, by putting children and old women to death :

P 2 but

11(5 THE FQURTH CENTURY: [en. vir.

but by advice of Gambara, a lady much liltcncd to on account of lici
wifdom and virtue, milder mcafures were adopted, lots were drawn
and thofe on whom they fell, were driven from the country to feck
for themfelves other habitations. From families thus migrating fouth-
ward, fprung the Lombards, firft known by the term Winili, or
Wanderers ; but after, from their long beards, not trimmed upon
their march, ftyled Longobardi : The name of Gambara was not only
extant among them, but highly venerated as late as A. D. 1786.
Bafil, or Bafle, in Switzerland, was built about the time we are re-
viewing, and drew, from a Bafilifk killed by their new wall, the ap-
pellation it has never loft : but Cologne, where Marcomir defeated
haplcfs Gratian, whom Theodofius afterwards fo well revenged, was
even then a place of wonderful antiquity, having been only repaired
by Agrippa, who found the rains of an old town there fabricated, as
they told him, by Colonus, a Trojan chief, in almoft fabulous times,
for which the noble Spaniard felt fo much refpecl, he could not be in-
duced to change it ; and it is faid, that the yet common word to co-
lonize, in every language, comes from that ancient fource; 'Twas
Claudius added thofe few ftrudtures, of which fome veftiges even yet
remain ; hs called it Colonia Agrippina : That Mary de Mcdicis died*
and that the immortal Rubens was born there, are boafts of its later
cxiftence. It was a cuftom to nominate the conquered places anew,
in fign of fubjugation, and reverence fills our retrofpeftlve eye, when
it can fix on an original defignation given them by leaders long ago
laid in "earth, or by accidents as long ago buried under fiction. Such
is the word allemands, at this very moment the name by which an im-
menfe number of our braveft Europeans arc well known ; and Aven-
tine perfifts, and fo does Helvicus, their hiftorians, that the diilin-
guiming appellative came from Allemannus,* the Hercules of the

* Allemannus conquered a lion in fingle combat, tam'd him, and led him about
in a chain ; when amis were given in the holy wars, (for diftinftion's fake) the Ba-
varian Duke, or leader, chofe a chained lion for his device.

north,

CH. vii.] FROM TI1EODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATilLA. 117

north, from whofe chained lion the Bavarian nobles of this day cl;iiin
fome heraldic privileges, though he was contemporary with Mofcs,
and of courfe with Erichthonius. A more fafhionablc etymologiil
fays, they were firft called fo in the days when to oppofc the progrefs
of Caracalla, the Germans^ or 'war men, rofe in a mafs from all fur-
rounding diftridls, and gathered all men, alUniantii, together for their
own defence. This would do, but that Hunnus, Noricus, Boius, and
Helvetius, the four fons of the half- fabulous hero, ftill live in the
names of Hungary, Bohemia, and Helvetia. Noricum lailed a pretty
long while too, but 'tis now Stiria, or Carinthia, Mr. D'Anville fays,
or both. The true Sclavonians indeed, refident in what is now Bo-
hemia, claimed that their irruptions into Italy were founded upon an-
cient juft pretenflons ; nothing lefs than an old charter, faid to have
been extant in 1044, and running thus : " We, Alexander, founder
of the Grecian empire, conqueror of the Perfians, Medts, &c. and
of the whole world from eaft to weft, from north to fouth, Son of
great Jupiter, by fair Olympias, or fo called to you the noble ftock
of brave Sclavonians, and to all of your language ; becaufc you have
been a help to us in war, and valiant in faith and honour : we con-
firm all that tracl of earth from the north to the fouth of Italy, from
us and our fucceflbrs, to you and your pofterity for ever ; and if any
other nation be found there, let them be your Haves. Dated at Alex-
andria, the 1 2th of the Goddefs Minerva. Witnefs jKthra, with the
Eleven Princes, whom we appoint our fucceflbrs."

/Ethra, who is called to witnefs the deed, was mother to the Hy-
adcs, and daughter to Ocean and Tethys : it means, I fuppofe, that
all was figned in the rainy fealbn Pluviafque Hyadas, Virgil calls
them ; but they are more familiarly known by name of Pleiades, or
feven flara, in the neck of the conftellation Taurus, of which fix only
are ever vifible to the naked eye.

But an eftablifliment far different from any made by war or politics
claims, in the fifth century, a glance of Retro/pe&ion. St. Auguftinc

being

j 18 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vn.

being converted and baptized, obtained a garden plot without the
walls of Hrppo, in Africa, where he and eleven friends formed the firft
order of mendicant friars, from which innumerable ramifications
branched abroad, and made the world of monks a large and fcparate
cla-fs of humanity. So differently, and fo widely from the original in-
ilitution ranged this new current of imaginative piety, that ceafing to
murmur near the folitary paths of fcrious individuals, it came at laft to
roll in torrents of liccnfed beggary, and ftagnate in pools of offenfive
ignorance. How little did the great founder of this idle fancy dream
that iitch could ever have been the cafe ! when with his virtue, his
learning, and his leather girdle, he fought only to fhun the temptations
of riches, and obtain more time to converfe with heaven. But thefe
ftrange fads muft teach us to beware of human inftitutions, fpecious
though they be, when fuch genius, directed by fuch intentions, failed
of their purpofed effect:. St. Auguftin's conversion to orthodoxy by
St. Ambrofe, was however the moil deiirable of all triumphs to the
ehurch, which now difplaycd that influence and elderlhip over the ftate
which its great ruler willingly fubmittcd to. Some new but necef-
fary tax had been impofed ; the populace enraged, threw down the
Emperor's ftatues, infultcd his officers, and manifefted a difpofition
towards refittance, totally new to the world, which may be obferved
then^r// to have put forth the more than half invilible germ, encou-
raged by mildnefs in the fovereign power. Theodofius fent forces to
punifh the infurgents ; but Flavian, their gentle bifhop, interposed,
and laved them from the threatened refcntment. Frefli offence of the
fame nature was, in feven years after this indulgence, given by the
people of ThelTalonica, who finding refinance permitted at Antioch,
rcfolved to pufh the fame principles up to rebellion in their city, where
in a popular tumult they killed their governor, and, if I remember
right, fired his houfe, with other acts of unexampled infolence. Im-
perial dignity would brook no more, and Thcodofms, in the fpirit of his
predeccffors, permitted a malTacrc of the guilty town-folk by his foldiery.

St.

CK. vii.] FROM TIIEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATT1L A. 119

St. Ambrofe juftly alarmed at fo much bloodflicd, cenfurc'd the indig-
nant Emperor frum his pulpit, whence he admomlhed him of the wide
difference between a Chriftian and a Pagan fpirit ; and fcarlefs in the
caufe of true religion, inculcated the doctrine, of forgivcnefs, declaring
the cruelties lately performed criminal, without palliation or Ibftcniiv/.
Such truths affected the generous bofom of the fovercign, fuch con-
duel infpired refpect towards the prelate, inclining the prince to con-
demnation of his own behaviour. That his repentance might be
public he wore mourning eight months ; and when the double qua-
rantine was over, he was admitted as a penitent to the communion.
That compenfation might be made for that rafli llorm of anger in
which no fewer than ieven thoufand people pcrifhed, a law was made,
irrevocable from that day, that no execution mould again take place,
till four weeks after fentencc was pronounced. Thus had the world
long caufe to blefs the church, which for the nobleft of all human
purpofcs controH'd the kingly power. That monarch too, who being
fet by heaven high above all apprehcnfion of fublunary punifhmcnt,
fubmitted his imperial ftate to cenfure of a fubject, and humbled his
greatness before the throne of God. That Theodofius mould perform'
a moral act equal to this religious one is lefs furprifing : he fet Valen-
tinian (fecond of the name) upon the throne of the Weft, from mo-
tives of mere moderation ; and to revenge his death, faced with heroic"
coiirage the rebel captains Eugenius and Arbograftcs, whom he de-
feated by fupcrior knowledge in the arts of war ; for rebels were no
new phenomena; but they were individual chiefs who (lood in oppo--
iition each toother, and led th' imbattled multitudes along to pcrifli
in their caufe. Till Theodofius's reign, an infurrcction without a*
leader is not heard of; 'twas a non-dcfcript in hiftory or politicks ; but
experience has fmce made us acquainted with the beaft. And now*
Alaric and Rhadagiilus, who had been tearing each other to pieces-
during the life-time of this lull fovereign, watched the moment of
his death to fall otv,thc dcicrtcd world, and fright his dclpicabb'

fucccflbrs.

120 THE FOURTH CENTURY; [CH. vn.

fucccffors. Of thefc poor creatures, the eldeft Arcadius, found a trai-
tor in the man \vho mould have ferved him, one lluffinus, vsho
leagued with Alaric, but loft the reward of treachery ; he died, and
weak Honorius endeavoured to fecure his weftcrn divifion of imperial
power by wedding the daughter of victorious Stilicho, who had
killed 10,000 Goths under Fiefole, and was a character of energy
enough, but could not refift the temptation of endeavouring to obtain
the empire for himfelf, which he defended with fo much activity.
Meanwhile, Cedrenus fays, the olympiads ceafed in Greece ; new cuf-
toms, new terrors overwhelmed mankind ; new nations over-ran it,
and nothing proceeded forwards with any appearance of regularity, ex-
cept church eftablifhments. St. Jerome tranflated the Bible into
what is called the Vulgate vcrfion, about the time we fpeak of ; Pope
Anaftafms commanded the gofpel to be heard Handing, and the third
council of Carthage decreed, that the eucharift fhould be received
failing two good ufages, and as yet complied with both by Romanifts
and Lutherans. Stilicho burned the Sybil's books, on which, fays
Mr. Murphy, in a note on Tacitus, paganifm groaned and expired.
One wifhcs however, that the myftical acroftic of Erythraea had been
fpared, which began every line with the next letter of our Saviour's
name, and while fhe propheficd his birth, formed the words JESUS
CHRIST.

Aufonius lived in thefc days or near them ; he was a Frenchman,
born at Bourdcaux, then Burdigala, but of Roman parents ; his nati-
vity caft by Arborius early in life, determined pofiibly his future ftudics.
The grandfather was pcrfuaded he mitjl be a poet, and a poet he
became.

Judicial aftrology was believed in by all ranks through the fifth
century, men feem as if they would always take unlicenfed peeps be-
hind the curtain of futurity ; the Delphic oracle and Dodonrean grove
\vcre filcnced and as the eaft was the true feat of empire, oriental
magic arts fucceedcd to Pythian impofture and ambiguity. But Re-

trofpettlon

CH. vii.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA.

1roft>ettion muft be turned unwillingly towards the uxorious prince and
trifling boy that fwayed the world's great fceptre ; tor whilft Rome's
danger from .the Goths drew near, and Stilicho with all his adivc
genius could but procure a momentary armiftice, Honorius having
fought inglorious flielter among the deep morafles of Ravenna, built
him a terrace there and aviary; and equally incapable of virtue or
of vice, fed his favourite birds, dogs and poultry, in quiet, an uncon-
cerned hearer of all that paft. Arcadius, yet more con fcious than the
brother of his own fmall powers to fill up his rtation, committed his
infant fun to care of Ifdigerdes, the Perfian prince, for education ;
and put himfclf under tuition of Eutropius, the firft eunuch on record,
who arrived at the patrician and confular dignity, and who headed the
armies of now degenerate Rome. For though the hero that oppofed
the rum of Gothick fury feemed to revive fome hope from martial ar-
dour; while his panegyrift fhewed the fire of wit in epigram and my-
thologick verfe, not yet extinguifhcd, it was a paper flame, and plainly
by its Ihort and fudden blaze betrayed th'cxpiring taper's end, fait
following to utter abolition. Stilicho fed his ready-kindling heat
with the coarfe nutriment of perfonal intereft, and defire of empire
for his own worthlefs fon, inftead of his old matter's Theodofius : he
too was difappointcd in his aim by death but the bold Eunuch now
came forward, and in his confulfhip enaclcd a law againft protection of
civil offences by fandtuary. St. Chryfoftome, for this infult againft
church power, refufed him the communion ; and with a zeal lefs re-
gular than rapid, reproached the daring favourite from the altar. In
two years time his own cxcefles having armed fbmc injured hand
againft him, this Eutropius flew to the fhelter he had himfelf denied,
and from the church was dragged away to fuffer ; but Socrates, a
Greek writer of the fifth century, fays that St. Chryfoftome's true
charity rcfcucd the wretched life, forfeit to his own law, and fcnt
him fafe into perpetual baniftimcnt. The word majje was now firft
introduced into ecclcfiaftical ordinances ; we know not if it meant
VOL. I. Q oblation

THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. virv

oblation from the Hebrew mhTach, or from mifia and demiila mere
fmfh or dtfrmjfion. The Pelagian herefy meanwhile never difmiffed,
now raged with exceeding violence. It was firft founded by Pclagius,
a monk, born in Armorica, or Little Britain the province of Bre-
tagne, in France, and confifted chiefly in the denial of original fin,
and of there being any neceffity for the grace of God, fuppofing man
wholly fufficient to his own falvation.

This Pelagius was a Welchman, Howell fays, and his name Morgan ;
he was called Pelagius, a Pe/ago ; he was born by the fea-fide. There
were four kings of that province named Howell, and one of them was
called Howell the Great. They all derived from Adrian, whole family
name was vElia, fay the letters Hoaliana. But we return to Arcadius
and Honorius, who were compared by Gibbon at the end of his third
volume, fourth edition, to the kings of France and Spain, who, he faid
truly enough, flumbered upon their thrones. Louis XVI. lamented
the infult ; and our hiftorian good-naturedly declared in his memoirs,
that the offcnfive paffage was penned before he came to the crown
fo it might, and yet be intended for him ne'er the lefs. He was dau-
phin, he was uxorious, and apparently confcious of his own fmall
ftrength to hold in a headflrong people, irritated, although pampered
by his predeceflbrs. The fons of Theodofius, degenerate as they were,
had nothing to fear from their own fubjecls' averfion ; but Sueves,
Goths, Huns, and Vandals, kept pouring forward in repeated torrents
from the fame populous regions, whence had rufhed the Cimbri and
Teutons, repelled by Marius five hundred years before. What is moft
obfer\ able in this frefti fwarm of them, is the term Chagan or Khan,,
given to their leader. The word is yet familiar to us in Tartar annals,
if fuch they may be called.

Teutons have not forgotten their early defignation : I bought a map
at Lintz in Germany-^the corner calls it Teutcht land, and the people
exhorted me in vain to ftudy TeutJ'ch, now by corrupt and clofe pro-
nunciation become Dutch of courle divided into high Dutch and

low ;

CH. vn.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 123

!ow ; the languages of Holland and of Germany. Teuton however,
though an early appellative, was not the original one. Titans they
were, Dreading oer many a rood, and thought for that rcafon in early
days gigantic. Tud earth, and tail fprcading, are words yet under-
ftood on Mona, where they refided as I may fay metropolitarily. They
are ftill Cimbri, Cambrians there ; Cymri, (pronounce Coom y Gomeri)
perhaps from the fon of Japhet, the Japetus of hiftory and fable. Coom
means a valley in the Saxon language. Our anceftor chofe the vales pof-
fibly for refidencc ; he was a lowlander likely enough. But my readers
would rather get forwards with the ftory, and fee tremendous Alaric
return and blockade the city of Rome, then filled, as Gibbon and
Nardini think, with about 1,200,000 fouls, not more than London at
the prefent day, nor very, very much richer, I fliould fuppofe ; only
that their wealth, as ftill obtains in Italy, was concentrated in churches,
palaces, and fenatorial refidences ; unlike to ours, which from the na-
ture of our government is all diffufed, {battering its comforts upon
common life. The favage prince who facked it afterwards, once
raifed the fiege for 5,OOO pounds weight of gold, and 30,OOO pounds
weight of filver, to which other articles of luxury were added, that
bear in different times a different price ; and famine had fo wafted
the inhabitants, their deaths by hunger caufed a dreadful plague on
hearing which the fierce barbarian retired a while, obferving he was
forry for that peftilence, as thick grafs was eajter cut than thin. During
the dreadful fcarcity preceding it, muft be remembered the charity of
Laeta, widow of Gratian, who beftowed three parts of her princely re-
venue to feed the poor, and deferved better fate than death at laft by
hunger. Serena too was ftrangled by the populace, who hoped to
appeafe the treacherous Alaric by murdering the favourite wife of his
ally, brave Stilicho, who had before this been aflaflinatcd for his in-
tention to ufurp the diadem. Serena was a fecond confbrt to the Ge-
neral, not mother to the Emprefs Mary firft we read o(J}ie, as her
name implies, ftretched out her neck with fortitude to meet the blow,

Q 2 and

124 THE FIFTH CENTURY ; [CH rir.

and follow, as flic faid, her warlike hufband. But women now prefs
forward on our notice : little is faid of them during the profperity of
ancient Rome, where they were confidered merely as appendages to
greatnefs, or neceflaries of domeftic life, or at mod as toys of pleafure
for the men : but confhant nature will prefcrve her level ; and as one
half the human race grew weaker, the other half appeared to ftrengthen
in proportion. Eudocia, Proba, Falconia, now wrote verfes, or at leaft
compiled verfes already written, and tacking them into centos, ob-
tained admiration for their wit whilft Hippacia taught the mathe-
maticks publickly in the fchools of Alexandria, after the death of her
father Theon ; for improvements in mechanifm flourifh as philofophy
decays, and tottering fcience clings clofe to demonflration. Hydraulic
organs had been long in ufe, fupplying the place of manual exertions
in mufick, whence tafte and feeling were of courfe precluded ; and poly-
graphic pictures helped to extinguifh the painter's art. Lazinefs is a
certain fymptom of ill health to any and to every ftate : and Ammia-
nus Marcellinus had, though himfelf a Syrian, reproached the Romans
before this period for being contented with having their game driven
into toils for them to catch more eafily, chace being become too great
a fatigue. The kings of Spain and Naples hunted juft fo in the year
1. 780 ; for though there has been much fluctuation In our globe, there
has been but little change. Italian ideas of juflice fifteen years ago,
were exactly like thofe the fatirical hiftorian defcribes in his own
time, when, fays he, Should a flave bring the warm water fomewhat
too cold to table, three hundred laihes on the back admoniih him to
Ihew more care for his fine mailer's nerves : mould the fame man
commit a wilful murder, provided always it was on his equal My
Lord will fay perhaps, He's a good fellow ; but we will punifh him if
he is catch' d repeating fuch offences. That fimilar opinions prevailed
at Milan A. D. 1786, I had myfelf opportunity to obferve. Two per-
fons there were committed for examination ; one had killed his fellow-
iervant in cold blood, the other was feen breaking fome new lamps

lately

an. vn.j FROM THEODOSIU3 THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 125

lately fct up to illuminate the ftreets and fquare. I hope, faid I, the
aiTalfin will be hanged. I had rather fee the other hanged, replied a
friend in company, for the firft only {tabbed his companion out of re-
venge, poor fellow ! whereas the wicked creature who broke our pretty
lamps, did it, I'm perfuaded, only to 'fpite the Archduke. To rectify
the Roman notions a merited and dreadful chaflifcmcnt was at hand.
Let the Milanefe determine if one much lefs fevere was hurled upon
their haughty nobles by Bonaparte, than when {tern Alaric, bought
off to temporary removal of his forces, returned again before their gates
for plunder; and as he had on his laft vifit demanded all their property,
they now, in a debate for peace, inquired not how much he would
take, but what he'd leave them. Their lives perhaps, replied the
rough barbarian, and prefs'd more clofely round Aurelian's wall ;
which, far too wide for their Ihrunk forces to defend, gave way ; and
faw the city it had once fcarcely furrounded, given up a helplcfs prey
to ignorance and groflhefs ; to Gothick grecdinefs of immediate gain,
and wanton delight in unneceflary deftrudHon. Amidft this mock of
contending paffions grief and rage, Chriftianity, and Chriftianity alone,
furvived. The foldiers who rcfpe&ed neither rank nor age, looked on
the church with reverence, and forbore to touch whatever had been
there depofited. The facking of the town laftcd three days, and in
that time innumerable were the precious monuments of fcicncc that
funk beneath the victor's fury : much was yet left for future pillagers,
who learned the road to riches from Alaric, while he contrived various
though unfuccefsful methods of carrying his fpoils away to Africa,
where, like a true favage, he had purpofed to retire, and growl over
his prey in folitude. The veflel they embarked in was however ftill
driven back by {forms, till over-laded with extortion, down flic funk ;
and the now difappointed conqueror, who had refufed granting ought
but life to thofe who had once employed him in then defence (when
Stilicho paid him as a fubfidized ally), left his own mipvvrcckt corpfe
at laft upon the fea-beat fliore of Calabria.

Thus

126 THE FIFTH CENTURY : [CH. VH.

Tligs unlamented pafs the proud away,

The gaze of fools, and pageant of a clay :

So pcrifh all whole breaft ne'er learn' d to glow

At other's good, or feel for other's woe. POPE.

So perifhcd arts and elegancies and knowledge ! Crevier fays haftily
there was no Roman orator after Pliny, no hiilorian after Tacitus, and
no poet after Juvenal , he might as well have faid there was no em-
peror after Marcus Aurclius. Crevier fays well however, that to po-
lite literature fuccceded empty and difputatious theology; and that for
Jove of fuch fubtleties barbarifm was contented to drive tafte and con-
venience, and common fcnfe quite away

A fecond deluge learning next o'er-run,

While the Monks finifh'd what the Goths begun.

.Athaulphus now (Adolphus in our clofer pronunciation) ruled over the
Vifigoths, and wifely fixed his feat at warm Thouloufe; while Britain,
now denied affiftance from the Romans, fuffered incredibly from bar-
barous invaders, and kept the Chriftian faith alive in the land, almoft
as we may fay, by miracle. Caerleon was even then an archbilhoprick,
with fuffragans : thefe, when they went to council at Avranches
(Araufmm then 'twas called) and Aries and Nice ; had honour paid
them there, and took precedence. For 'fpite of force, and fraud and
folly, the church of Chrrft flourifhed in every clime : that Hone not
made with human hands, could never be dillodged by human power.
Ignatius Auda with his hafty y.cal would have undone ail, had it been
poffible, when at the Perfian city Ecbatana he threw the old pyrceum
down and trampled on it, an infult that Warranes was not likely to
forgive ; and 'twas no time to force the empire upon wars, when every
battle tended to difmember it. But ecclefiafHcal affairs alone attract
our retrofpedi'rve eye, which turns difguftcd from the names of Maxi-
mus, Jovinus, Afpcr and John, of whom fome forgot the world, and
.others were forgotten by it; while Valentinian III. isbeft remembered

en. vn. j FROM TIIEODOSIITS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. j 27

by lib- worthldThefs and ill-timed triumph over the violated virtue of
his brave general's wife. Is is indeed much more remarkable, for ty-
rants were no phasnomena at Rome, that at the moment when Phara-
mond at <SWeheim made the /<//ique law to exclude females from the
Sovereignty of France, the aStonifhcd eaSt fawthe great fceptre of what
had formerly been called ihe whole world, fwayed by a virgin queen,
SiStcr to the fon of weak Arcadius, Thcodofius the younger ; who, bred
at Ifdigerdes' court, and of a flexible and tender nature, willingly funk
his own renown in hcr's, received correction at her hands, and even fub-
mittcd to accept a wife, the lovely Athcnais, by her choice ; while he,
fequeStcr'd from all cares of State, fought only to improve his talents for
theological fpeculations. The young Emprefs too after conversion, hav-
ing received the name Eudocia, turned all her thoughts to pilgrimage
and piety, and leaving Pulcheria in complete poSTcilion of all power,
died in a voluntary exile from her fine palace at Constantinople, to a
poor hut at Old Jerufalem, nearcSt the place where once was laid her
Saviour.

Events clapt clofe together thus in an abridgment or Short fum-
mary of historical occurrences, although the execution itfelf were good,
wear by neceffity on the firSt glimpfe, a fomewhat distorted appear-
ance. The picture of truth rising up to meet the morning fun, as
painted in the deling of the CoStaguti palace at Rome, is apt to revolt
curfory obfervers, who I have feen turn away difpleafed with the tbie-
fhortencd figure, till called back by the connoiSleur who better knows
t > value ufeful labour. 'Tis thus my work begins to Show already,
and almoSr. to repel me from performance. In a fmall field the figures
fcarcclv can appear proportionate, and a moment's consideration muSt
be allowed, that writer a*hd reader both may be convinced, how all is
in the inevitable State required by an epitome like this ; and how the
abrupt tranfition muSt be pardoned which brings us fuddenly from
fcenes of culpable and frantick violence, to characters of voluntary fecble-
nefs and half unaccountable fubmiSlion ; from manners, looSened b% a

groSs

128 THE FIFTH CENTURY ; [CH. vn.

grofs indulgence, till nature daggering fought relief in phrcnzy ; to
modes of meagre melancholy exiftence, where we contemplate cold
humanity parched by repeated penances to dumb forgetfulnefs and
oblivious folitude; while caenobites and anchorites difputed the palm of
willing mifery with fo much eagernefs, that emperors and princes chiefly
fought renown by praclifmg feverities on their own filly perfons, and
paid regard to others chiefly as they excelled in arts of felf-tormenting.
Syrus and Silentiarius, which laft was fo abforbed in divine contempla-
tions, that Baronius tells us he never had been heard to fpeak at all. Si-
mon Sty lit es, fo called from his pillar, carried away the palm of wretch-
ednefs however, living on the top of fome tall column fixty feet high,
Evagrius fays, and drawing up his bread, his fruit, and his frefli water,
like a tame goldfinch on a perch, for thirty years fucceffively. The
weftern climate, lefs favourable to fuch folly, tried at other. Our Welfh
folks tell how one Siriolis, a Roman monk, lived upon Purlin Ifland,
or Prieftholmc, oppofite Penmaenmaur, twenty years ; Leland fays
'twas in 378, but moil authors make him of later exiftence : it was a
dreadful one all winter long. The tiny fpot, almoft of a circular form,
confifb of rock alone, yet bears the hermit's name ftill, Slriol ; fome
fcreaming fea-gulls haunt it for three months ; then leave the dafliing
waves to tofs around and celebrate his fell- created mifery. The head-
long Donatifts meantime more troublcfome, but not more lunatick than
thefe, with their unnatural defire of dying, frighted and plagued the
peaceful paffengers ; when meeting them they begged a blow or beat-
ing, with fuch inordinate and insupportable pertinacity, that they did
now and then obtain their wifh in dcfperate earneft from people who
could not efcape their importunities, nor keep their own paffions under
juft controul ; and had not St. Auguftine, with every argument of
reafon, fupported by learning, oppofed the wild fanaticks, their frantick
zeal would longer have difgraced Chriftianity. That great author hav-
ng tried all he could to confute by his books, de civitate Dei, the nu-
merous feels of polythcifb, who all united in fuppofing Rome's cala-
mities

MI.] FROM TIIEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. \i <}

mitics to have been caufcd by the ncglcft of heathen worfhip, and the
offences given to heathen gods : next turned his ftrength and fkiil to
weed the errors from our own religion, and pluck away the thorns or'
feparation which, hourly ilarting up under frcfh names, difbcu*ed
but never wearied this champion of our church. The monfter-tamers
of fabulous antiquity were but the types of thefe no Ids hcroical and
ufeful civilizers of the newly redeemed, as they were of the new cre-
ated world. Cadmus and Hercules who fow'd the warrior feed, liived
long-devoted fouls from hell ; and hapiefs in his likenefs Orpheus, who
fell a vidim to female refentment, as did St. Chryfoftome, dying in
exile by the bitternefs of Eudoxia's implacable and unforgiving fpirit.
About that time too, an sera pregnant with fanatieifm, the Jews, mif-
led to think the end of all was come, and that old Ocean would be
dried before them, made an enumeration of their trrbes collected from
a variety of countries into the We of Candia, and there, under com-
mand of a falfe Mofes, rufhed, like the herd of f wine poflefled by dae-
mons, into the fea, where funk the impoitor and his ftupid followers.
Meanwhile the Emprcfs Pulcheria fought an aflbciatc in thofe cares of
ftate from which her pious brother was abftradled, and pitched on
Marcian, a young Roman foldier, whom Genfcric the Goth found
fleeping under a tree, an eagle perched above him : he was a gallant
warrior, worthy of being born when hiflory was faithful to defert, and
of an appearance fo ftrikingly advantageous, that the rough chieftain
who furprifcd him in the hour of repofe, refolvcd to extort from fo
fymmctrical a creature, an oath that he would never be his enemy, re-
maining perfuadcd by his form alone, that beauteous Marcian was the
care ot heaven. Such too w r cre apparently the lady's fcntirncnts ; in
defiance of which, flic bound herfelf by vows of chaftity ; and though
(he wedded her ailbciate, nerccr broke them ; but the imperial votrefs

puffed on

In maiden meditalion fancy free.

Of Roman characters however, and Roman names, as of old Roman

manners, take we leave, and bid a long adieu to the paft founds <>f

VOL. I. R Caius

130 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. vn.

Caius and Lucius, Titus and Sempronius ; now ill exchanged for
Alaric and Attalus, Hunncric and Genferic, who laid commercial Car-
thage in a ruin, deftroyed the triple geryon of the ifles Majorca, Mi-
norca, and Yvica, and fixed his Vandals in their favourite fpot, calling
the province after them V Andalufia : the word we lee has loft only
one letter yet. The Alans and Catti feized upon that diftricl: called
from their feizure of it, Catalonia ; and thefe enjoyed the beautiful
rich vineyards planted by the Emperor Probus long before ; when in
fome interval ofGaulifh conquefts, he fet his foldiers to adorn the
place fubdued. Unlike to him rude Genferic rufhed forward, and ra-
vaged helplefs Rome of all that Alaric had fpared. Implacable and
fierce, his foldiers mercilefsly deftroyed all public and all private pro-
perty ; nor fex nor age, nor rank, nor even religion protected ought
from his rapacious hand : for fourteen days thcfe horrid fcencs con-
tinued, while Gunderic profaned the church at Seville, birth-place of
immortal Trajan ; a town whofe firft foundations were coeval with
Lacedasmon, the Sparta of hiftorians, the Sarepta of the fcriptures.
Sevtlla la vieja ftill 'tis called by thofe who fay, and juftly,

Qui no ha vifta a Sevilla,
No ha vifta meravilla.

Juan Vafasus, in his Hifpania Illuftrata, tells us that the facrilege was
in the very fpot vifibly punifhed by vifitation of God on hoftile Gun-
deric. But all thefe names give place to Attila, fon of Mundizuchus,
grandfon to Nimrod the Great, King of Huns, Medes, Goths, Danes,
the terror of the world, and fcourge of God. He, like another Romu-
lus, at firft Ihared government and pofleffions with a brother, whom
like him he murder'd, changing the city's name he built, that fo poor
Bledt might be no more remember'd A neat-herd too, we're told,
found a rich fword under the earth when ploughing, and prefented it
to Attila, who in the fpirit of the times exclaimed, that 'twas the
very fword worn by Mars, and with it he would conquer all the world.
From this ferocious founder of new empires, the oldeft of the Roman

families.

CH. vii.] FROM TIIEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 131

families fled for refuge to the Adriatick Sea, and as the conqueror's boart
was, that no grafs grew where he turned his fteed, expiring freedom
fought another element, and like a fylvan flag hunted from earth,

Takes the deep foil, and plunges in the wave

Precipitant ; where on fome fandy ifle

Sure anchorage he finds, and fkulks immcrs'd.

The flatterer of Theodoric, Cafliodorus, calls the retreat of thcfe
{elf-exiled nobles a flight of water fowl ; be it fo : they fpread their
halcyon wings over the billows, and proved a prefage of fome happy
hours, when fcience fceking flicker in retirement, true liberty might
breathe in peace and fafety, carrying with them their old country's
favourite form of government, and juftly fick of emperors and kings,
they in a few years fixed a lading ariftocracy, and were, as Shakcfpcar
calls them,

The toged counfellors of Venice.

There are who fay the word Venetia derives from Heneti, an Afiatick
people led up to thefe lagoons by old Antenor after the fiege of Troy ;
but that ground finks under the antiquary's fpade ; and Mr. Bryant has
fhaken the foundation cruelly by faying, (for ought I know) by pr<n>-
ing that there was never any iiege of Troy at all : there was a port
called Venetus however, from time quite immemorial. While this
new town, rifing in beauty from her cluftcring ifles, feemed to inlay
the bofbm of the deep, haplcfs Britannia devoured by Picls and Scots,
and flioals of Saxons too, which never again quitted the country they
fet foot in, fent out their well-known melancholy mefTage to ^Etius
thrice conful, the groans of the Britons : nor was the difmal anfwcr
lefs impreflive ; that diftant colonies could have no help, while the
metropolis hcrfelf fubfifted but by pcrmiffion of thofe northern nations
who were expecled hourly at her gates. It muft be mentioned likewife
how in Africa the Vandals were renewing all that Paganifm could have
infliclcd on Chriftianity : Numidia had been beftowcd on thefc wild

R 2 creatures,

132 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. vii.

creatures, fierce as its aborigines, wolves, leopards, panthers ;* and 'twas
at that time that they tore in pieces that once well civilized Roman
province. It was the age of general invafion, and Attila, proud of his
ftyle -and title, did terrify the world which fhook before him ; and was
in very deed the fcourge of God. Epidaurum in Illyria, fuppofed by
Scaliger to have been built two thoufand years before, was now ipoil'd
by the' Goths ; when 'twas repaired the name was called Ragufa.
But above all the fiege of Aquileia affords a theme for bitter exclama-
tion. While that unhappy city fuffer'd forrows incredible, and a dif-
trefs unequall'd but by that of Jerufalem, Theodofms fent the viclor
GOOO Ib. weight of gold, a promife too from worthlcfs and tyrannick
Valentinian, of annual tribute Value 1000 Ib. weight of the fame pre-
cious metal, would he but fpare the capital. Attila laughed, but took
the fpoils of empire, whofe ftrange fall having produced a temporary
chaos, fhews to the retrofpettrue eye how the church flrengthencd as
the ftate decayed, and grave authority flipt almoft unperceived from
the ftretched diadem, to the clofe-clafping, high-afpiring mitre.

Whilfr. Attila then, ftriding o'er ravaged provinces, advanced to
Rome, upon his way the guardian of the holy fee oppofed him, great
Saint Leo ; not with fuch armour as the fierce barbarian was well ac-
quainted with, and of which he beft could know the force, and all the
force : but with a peaceful air of firm affurance, and truft in celeftial
aid ; with pious, and men may call them enthufiaftick threatenings,
which fo imprefled the headftrong conqueror, that he turned fud-
denly about we're told, with a face fuller of alarm and agitation, at
the ftrange thought of feeing the apoftles Peter and Paul come flying

* This Numidia was then the granary of the world ; but fo was it wafted by Vandal
fury, tearing vines and fruit trees, and devouring the green corn, &c. leaving cities
without one inhabitant, and fuffcring no country to efcape their hoflile rage, that 30,000
invaders completely finifhed the whole province, [t is now, and has been ever fince,
nearly a dcfm ; or only inhabited near the Ihores by pirates and banditti.

CH. vir.] FROM THEODOSIUS THE ELDER TO ATTILA. 133

in the air to Rome's relief,* than all her troops could ever have pro-
duced, had they been general'd by Caefar's felf. Raphael has fo de-
figned this picture in the Vatican, that none can mifs an accidental
ftrong refemblance between the prefent pope Pius the fixth, and Leo
primus, fo truly termed the Great. Milan and Florence then endured
the Ihock of Gothick fury, but Attila went back, however fullenly
back to his native Scythia ; where, at his marriage with fair Ildico, he
drank fo freely of the nuptial bowl, that in the night he was found
fuffocatcd.* The wretched woman's dangerous fituation, reminds one
of the monk w ho was found locked in the ftudy, when our Charles
the fecond, during their talk together, fell in an apoplecfack fit : to his
innocence the monarch lived to bear a melancholy, but honourable
teftimony. Poor Ildico was torn to pieces between four wild horfes.

As Attila was frighted from Rome by the idea of St. Peter and St. Paul defend-
ing it, fo Zofimus fays, was Alaric long befoie driven from Athens, by thinking he faw
Achilles fhaking his fpear at him from the walls.

t Altila's nuptial howl was hydromel ; wine was a liquor not known in the north,
nor eafily obtained. From the Ghaelic cuftom of drinking a beverage made with
honey for thirty days feait after* a grand wedding, comes the exprcflion of the honey-
moon ; 'tis a. Teutonic phrafe, you have it not in the warm wine latitudes. Talieflin tells
of this infpiring cup ; csufefior mul/i, the confectioner of the cmulfion, was I believe,
a great officer of ftate in Wales, ranking with matter of the horfe, and the king's
bard. From Howel Ddha's laws, and our Saxon annals, much of this knowledge
may be drawn ; I quote only from quotation or memory. Mead however is dill drank
in our country, and I never taftcd it in any other, except one evening fomc in Polifh
Pruffia.

CHAP.

J34 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. vm.

CHAP. VIII.

FROM THE DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 500.

"TT 7"HILE Goths and Vandals wafted a willing world, that fcarcely
made refiftance to their power, pleafed Retrofpettion refts a
little moment upon the virtues of the prieftly character. Sixtus the
third, immediate predeceflbr to St. Leo, had been accufed by Baffius
or Baflianus, and accufed falfely, of a mortal fin ; from which the
fynod cleared their worthy primate, condemning his accufer, and
fentencing him to perpetual exile for the calumny. The gentle Pon-
tiff begged remittance of fo harm a punifhment, and when his enemy
died of a broken heart, buried him with his own hands. This man
had learned the hardeft precept of our meek religion ; he knew how
to love, and to forgive a foe. The inftitution of St. Peter ad vincula
is given to him. The Emprefs Eudocia fent from Jerufalem to
Rome, fomething which fhe was willing to believe were the true bonds
dropt from St. Peter's arm, when the releafing angel drew him from
prifon. 'Twas natural that fomething fhould be done to keep alive the
memory both of the faint and of the lady, and in thole days 'twould
have been difficult not to have done too much. This feems to be
the firft ftriking a& of devotion towards St. Peter, at leaft it is the
firft that ftrikes me : fcholars muft correct fuch miftakes when they
meet them : the correction of a fcholar is an honour, not difgrace.
Meanwhile a ftrange impofture took up that attention which had been
better paid to truth and virtue, yet 'twas not to be called impofture
cither, for there feemed no intention to deceive. The Emperor of
the Eaft, about the year 450, when Attila was employed in befieging

Aquileia,

CH. via.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 50O. 13*

Aquileia, and Rome was running haftily to beg retreat in Venice,
heard with more intereft a curious ftory, how feven men had been
feen wandering about the ftrcets of Ephcfus, drefled in ftrange dreiles,
and lueaking an obfolete, almoft an unintelligible language. On more
enquiry, coins of the Emperor Dccius were produced, faid to have
been prefented by thcfe men for food, which had no good effect on
them however, for they returned into a cave near to the town and
died, and there were buried. Thcodofius, delighting in a talc like
this, foon went to fee the bodies, and perfuaded himfelf that thefe
leven people had flept there for two hundred years ; in that lone hol-
low place, whither he thought they muft have run to hide themfelves
from the hot perfecution in Decius's reign ; and Leo the Great, juftly
fo called too, complying with the Emperor's fancy, canonized them
as faints,* becaufe of their apparently miraculous prcfervation ; al-
though we muft confefs that never mortal could attain that honour
by a lefs hazardous or painful conduct than that of flecping for fo
many years ; but to the deification of paganifm now fuccceded the
canonizations of popery, for men would have an apotheofis. Betides,
that in every ftrange thing there is fome odd appropriation of cha-
racter to make it the more eafily endured. Thefe lleepers would not
have been cared about, by Hanno and Hacko, Vortigern and Rowena,
had they been ever fo much difpofed to fuperftition : there has always
cxifted an obfcure credit, or rather a degree of voluntary fubmiflion to
the poffibility of thefe fufpenfions in ttie eajl. Addifon and Steele
have noticed one or two, of which the moft elegant advantage has

* The dog who followed thefe men was deemed holy all over the eaft, and in
Sir Paul Rycaut's time, who mentions him, was held facied by Turks, and confi-
dered as forming a venerable triumvirate with the afs ridden by Jcfus Chrift, and the
camel who carried Mahomet in the Hegira. Note, That whatever camel carries the
Alcoran in procefTion, is made happy here on earth, difinifled from all employment,
with this fpeech, Live long and merry under protection of the celeftial camel thy
brother, who carried the prophet Mahomet.

bee a

136 THE FIFTH CENTURY ; [en. vm.

been taken; and Mrs. Sheridan's Nourjahad improves upon them all.
Poor England now (while thefe faints flept and waked) was become
quite a prey to her auxiliaries, the Saxon chiefs, whom fhe had called
to help her againft the fierce barbarians who drove her people to the
fca, while that rough element ftill drove them back again on the barba-
rians. Thofe who came laft however were moft welcome ; they refolvcd
never to leave a land they liked fo well, and fbon incorporated them-
felves with the fubdvied inhabitants, who quietly fubnaitted to their
tyranny, and learned their language. Englifh is ftill called Saxon
by the fmall remnant of the old inhabitants, the Welch, as we muft
now begin to call them. Dim fafneg, we fpeak no Saxon tongue, is
ftill the language of our Ordevices in the year 1 796 ; thefe, chufing
freedom on their barren foil rather than fervitude on the green banks
of the Thames, flew to their yet half inacceffible mountains, where,
building upon every rock a caftle, and almoft upon every hill a fort,
they made at laft their utmoft ftand, and found their final refuge in old
Mona ; where fettling the prince's feat at Aberfraw, they wept the
hafty and too fierce revenge taken by his indignant countrymen on
haplefs Vortigern, who, foothed by filly hopes of fair Rowena, made
friendmip with the faithlefs Saxons, and loft his honour and his life
at Nant yr Gwerthyn, in Caernarvonfbire, a . place named Gwerthyn
from a Britifh leader in Englifh, Ironfides. In Anglefey thefe re-
fuged few retained the Chriftian faith, as they ftill boaft, pure from all
innovation many years. Tertullian had faid long before that they
were among the firft to receive .Chriftianity. Britannornm /oca Ro-
manis maccejja Chrlflo, vero fubdita. That among us the Chriftian
doctrines anticipated the Roman fword, a cloud of witneffes do cer-
tainly atteft ; fo much fwifter were the dove's wings, carrying joyful
tidings of peace on earth, good will towards men ; than were thofe of
the eagle, who brought both war and defolation in his train. St.
Patrick, when the dreadful fiege of Aquileia frighted the Romans
from their capital, and fent the moft part of the fugitives to beg afylum

with

CH. vin.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 50O. 137

with the wife Venetians, fcorned all idea of flickering himfeif in
the fait court of Amphitrite, and fought a place where he might do
fome good as well asjind it. He came to Ireland where Gwillamorc
reigned king, and there converted the inhabitants to Chriftianity rhe
was a noble man as we believe, a holy patrician, who, in confequence
of a religious vow, wandered from home when the Goths plundered
Italy, having fworn to make profclytes wherever he fhould be received
with hofpitality. lerne's humid coaft is ftill fuper-emincnt for that
old fafliioned but rcfpeclable virtue. She entertained, and ftill reveres
his merit, and the Sanflus Patritianus became Saint Patrick by an cafy
corruption. He built a church on Anglcfcy, oppojtle Ireland, on the
fca more ; the town and parifh is called Llan Badrick now : but when
poflefled of the confiding hearts of his new converts in our fifter king-
dom, her beft hiftorians fay he burned three hundred volumes of heroic
fongs, written by their bards ; I fear he thought them poifonous as the
ferpents. They had been held in high and juft eftimation, wearing a
robe of royal colour it was not purple though, but green I think ;
our Welch protected their's for ages after. Trer Beird, the habitation
of the Bards, may yet be feen at Llanidan, and Bardfey liland is even
now covered with itinerant fingers. Tale-telling, however, kept its
ground in Ireland in fpite of St. Patrick, and that he could not
chafe all poetry away witnefs, my old familiar friends, Murphy
and Goldfmith ; but we are engaged in works of Retrojpefliott.

When thus the church of Rome had, by the interference of St. Leo,
deferred for a fliort time the ruin of the ftate, and freed its wretched
Emperor from fears of prefent deftrudion, he might perhaps have held
the fceptrc ftill, but vice, ftill more thanGenfcric or Attila, contributed
to fhake the feeble nerves of wicked Valentinian, who yet ruled the
weft, (if we may call him ruler who never unmeathed fword except
to ftab his own heroick General at a fcaft) ; and although Marcian
dreamed that the great Gothick bow was broken, on that fame night
excels had in reality ruptured the heart-firings of the chief who drew

VOL. I. S it ;

138 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. rirr.

it ; he had no power to lend his affiftance, for death fulfilled the oath
he took to Genfcric ; Marcian, the laft of Roman warriors died ; a
fhort but nominal fucceffion of princes, moft of them unworthy ofr
their fituation, though that was bad enough, difgraced even this laft
fhading off of the now faded purple, which Majoranus only wore
with dignity, and wore but a fhort time. Valentinian was not aflaf-
finated till in the thirtieth year of his reign ; but Majoranus ruled but
three, and after many a ufelefs victory won with hard toll, and cele-
brated with much elaboration, few traces yet remain of his renown, or
that of his panegyrift, Sidonius Apollinaris. The adls of many Roman
emperors, collected by Zofimus, are chiefly loft too, the French tranf-
lated what was left of it ; Poffidius Afer, better known perhaps by
name of Poffidonius, gave the world a life of St. Auguftine twenty
years before ; and Philoftorgius fulminated his thunders at the reputa-
tion of St. Athanafius : we muft recollect however that he wrote
againft Porphyry. Orion of Thebes compofed collections of wife fen-
tcnces, and dedicated them to Eudocia, Valentinian's emprefs ; but
little can be gleaned from thefe dull days to gratify a claffick reader
either in wit or hiftory. What ftrikes one moft in this fifth acT: of
Rome's amazing drama, is the growing afcendancy of her priefthood,
confpicuous on the inauguration of Anthemius crowned by Pope Leo,
and accepting the weftern empire as his gift, ftyling him Domimis el
Pater. When that unhappy prince was killed by Ricimer, the fame
Pontiff anointed, with more ceremony than hope of good fuccefs, the
young Olybrius, who held his feat about three months, I think, having
been tempted by Genferic into a fatal -war. He married Placidia
daughter to Valentinian, by Genferic's confent ; for the Goths now
endured a Roman on the throne while they were fettling their own
concerns, and trying to drive Leo I. a Thracian monarch, from Con-
ftantinople. But now Severus, the affaffin of that laft pleafing cha-
racter we read of, Majoranus, being himfelf poifoned, our attention
is arrefted chiefly, by the great fire at Conftantinople which burned

200,000

CH. via.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 50O. 139

200,000 volumes, among which was a Homer, which Cedrcnus favs
was written in letters in gold ; but BafihYcus, Zeno, and another Leo,
fon to the firft, difputed for the purple with fuch fury upon the hanks
of the Propontis, that Remifmund and Hildcroc had but to look on
while the Greek emperors injured their own dominions. Theodoric
now king of the Vifigoths compleated the expulfion of the Roman
arms from Spain, which they had held a tributary province for above
feven hundred years, till Torrifmond drove out the laft of them, and
then they even reqnefted Theodoric to take and keep that kingdom for
himfclf. He extended his kindncfs by perpetual extenfion of his do-
minions fb acquired in old Celtiberia, whence Euric had driven die
Catholics with violence, raifmg high quickfets round each place of
worfhip, as I can with difficulty undcrftand from Mariana, who fays
he kept them fafe with thorns. Julius Nepos, made Ca;far by Oly-
brius, or Glicerius whom the Goths permitted to rule at Ravenna, de-
pofed the laft of thefe, and fet up for himfclf: but Orcftes, king of the
Heruli, approved not his independent fpirit ; oppofing his prctcnfions
with a formidable army, Julius fled to Placcntia, and there loft his
life. The exploits of Odoacer, late 'fquire to Orcftes, now claim our
retro/peffive glance. He, though a tranfient, was a fhining light,
doomed to abfbrb and fvvallow up the weftcrn empire in his blaze.
That immenfe power then, founded in Romulus, and after feven hun-
dred and fixty-fix years receiving as it were new birth and a fixed feat
under the great Angiiftus, ended in a voluntary abdication of the man
who, by a curious combination of circumftances, pofTcfTed both //;</
mines : and we obferve Augitfluhis Romulus, laft of the Roman empe-
rors, quietly yielding up his no longer tenable dignity to the Scythian
hero, four hundred and eighty years after the birth of Chrift, five hun-
dred and twenty-four years after the battle of Pharfalia, and very near
one hundred and fifty years after the removal of the imperial refidencc
to Byzantium.

The very name of Rome was now loft to its conqueror, who flicked

S 2 and

140 THE FIFTH CENTURY ; [CH. vnr.

and left it to fight the laft decifivc battle with Genferic, whom he de-
feated and killed ; and like a wife man, defpifing all ftyle and empty
title but the true ones, he flung afide the unimpreffive ornaments of
the no longer revered emperors and imperators, calling himfeli King
of Italy, the country he fubdued : out of which traci of land he chofe
Ravenna for his court and refidence, as beft provided with natural de-
fences, the ftrong fortification of a marfhy ground ; whilft Augujlulus
Romulus,* wretched proprietor of the two firft names on earth, ended
his tranquil exiftence in a half- forced half- voluntary confinement to
the demefne of Lucullus's villa, not far from Naples an interesting
fpot, ftill fhewn to travellers as the dwelling of rough Marius once,
and once of gay Lucullus. Yet fo were the Roman emperors faded to
a phantom before the Gothick chieftains fixed in Italy, that fcarce any-
one ever recollects its laft illuftrious inhabitant, or even beftows a paff-
ing figh upon its inoffenfiveprifoner, feldom prefented either by hifto-
rians or even by walking guides, to the eye of general or particular
Retrofyeffion. If we would follow this fun till it fets completely, it
will be neceflary to watch the gradual and gentle decay of light and
heat difpenfed from Conftantinople, where Zeno, at the time under
reviewal, ruled the eaft ; and received with juft indignation the offer
of the once confcript fathers to chufe a mafter for them himielf, or to
confirm the the patrician Odoacer in his dignity. The order had in-
deed been debafed by the admiffion of Moors, Goths, every fuc-
cefsful barbarian in his turn ; yet did the name of fenate languifh on,
nor pafs the limits of our camera obfcura till after Leo IV. in 75Q
I think, who put a final end to it. But it had then fcarce one true
fymptom of exiftence left, a mere half body and half corpfc, of which
the laft weak figh is fcarce difcernible to the tired and unfeeling at-
tendants. One thoufand two hundred and fixty years, or thereabouts,

* In the fame manner Philip, fon to Antiochus, in times long paft, eftablilhed the
Macedonian monarchy, and Philip Antigoni loft it irrecoverably.

CH. vin.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A 1). 5CK). H i

we may confidcr as the life of the Roman fcnatc ; who rcfigncd to
Zeno their laft privilege, that of appearing to approve their own tyrants.
But Zcno himfelf dcferved nor rule nor power. Cruel and riotous,
his wild exccfles ended at length in epileptic or apoplcclic fits; one of
which held him fo long that Ariadne, his unfaithful wife, dcfiring foon
to wed his favourite Chamberlain, buried him haflily ; nor regarded
the cries which, when he waked, iflucd from the coffin ; but heaped
earth on him to drown his fhricks. That earth being removed fome
years after, it was difcovered that the haplcfs prince had gnawed his
own arms under ground from hunger, grief and rage. But the con-
verfion of Clovis the Great, firll Chriftian king of France, allures our
retro frctttve eye : 'twas near the end of the fifth century when, in com-
pliance to his Queen's rcquefr., this barbarous ruler of a pagan hod re-
nounced the fupcrftition of his fathers, profeffing our purer faith. The
bifhop who baptized him had, we mult own, but little care for treating
him with delicacy, if it is certain that he ufed thefe words, " Come,
now kneel down Sicambrian, and learn to worfhip what you are ufcd
to defpife, and to defpife what you are ufcd to worfhip ;" the phrafe
accompanied by a contemptuous calling away fome images he wore
about his pcrfon, late objects of his aukward adoration. Such anec-
dotes evince at once the necdlefs roughnefs of the prelate, and the
drange flexibility of mind joined to untutored manners in the cate-
chumen.

'Twas now that bells were, among other ornaments and convc-
nicncies, introduced into the church by Paulinus bifhop of Nola in
Campania ; 'tis from the laft word they are fuppofed to take their name.
There were none known before his time at Rome, except the little
tintinnabula. Thefe were baptized formally, and bleft, in Italy and
Brabant, down to our own days ; and I have half a notion, that fincc
the Reformation, bells have been folcmnly and ferioufly chriftcncd here
in England. Two yet remain at Lincoln and at Oxford : their names
are Thomas ; I know not their age. Their ufes are not ill fummcd up

142 THE FIFTH CENTUPxY; [en. vm.

in the old Latin diftich written on fomc bell of great eminence, on
many perhaps,

Laudo Deum verum, plebem voco, congrego clerum,
Defunflos ploro, peftem fugo, fefta decoro.

The baptifm of inanimate things Teems ftrange to us, yet 'tis certain
fwords* underwent the ceremony. King Arthur's exca/ibar is famed in
ballad ftory, though he lived not till the Jixth century. Uther Pen-
dragon was his father, and wore the dragon as a creft upon his head :
pen fignifics head in old Britifh, now Wcllli -language. He was
contemporary with Hengift and Horfa both which words mean a
"horfe, as I have been told, in different dialects of the Sclavonian
tongue : it may be fo. The houfe of Hanover has that old imprefe
on their coins and coat-armour {till ; and there are thofe who have
-fuggefted a poffibility that the great pile of Stonehenge, in Wiltshire,
was fet up as a monument of commemoration of the victory won upon
Salifbury plain over Aurelius Ambrofe. Polydore Virgil lays the firft
ftonc of this explanation, and I believe there is a place yet called
Ami res\)M.ry in the neighbourhood, which corroborates the notion.
Neckham and Camden tell however, that many natives fancy thofe
ftones fctup by Uther Pendragon himfclf, aided by his brother Merlin
the conjuror and famous mathematician. Bufy conjecture thus in our
cold latitude fills up with fable and wonder thofe blank years, of which
neat and connected accounts cannot be obtained : in like manner as
the geographical maps and globes of about threcfcore or fourfcorc years
back from the prefent day, were wont to have lions or elephants
painted upon thofe fpaces where little was known of cities, towns, and
fivers. The effect was certain the baby Undents nx'd attention there

Thif is aukwavdly expreffed ; fwords were baptized before bells were : thefe laft
came in ule about the year 468, but were not chriilened and folemnly confecraled till
97O, when John XIV. (not the wicked John) baptized the fine new bell in the Late-
ran, and called it after kh awn name, which it flill wears, with the above infcription.

c.i. mi.] FROM DEAT1 1 (;!' ATTILLA TO A. D. 5OO. I.J.T

Be this as it will, Hengift and Horfa laid the firft tfone of Ley den,
celebrated for her learning ; but whofe belt praifc is h.iving, in thefe
latter times, been Boerhaave's refidence, whence he difpenfcd health,
\vifdom, and an example of patient chcarfulnefs under bodily diftrefs,
which can be followed only by a few. Ella too laid foundation of a
kingdom called in our ifland that of the South Saxons, now the beau-
tiful counties of Surry and SiuTex. Sac an fjca were words expref-
fivc of that fpirit of wandering which in thofe days pofleflcd the
northern nations, and, as I have heard, were Synonymous to ivin'ili ;
whoever travels Saxony at prefent will think upon a nearer derivation.
The precious {tones abounding in that diftricl feem as if the Romans
had denominated the place from them, Saxa. Carnclions, opals, onyxes
are common, and fome extremely fine jafpers and agates. That the
phlogifton is liberally diftributed, although the region be a cold one,
is proved by that fine earth which forms the well-baked porcelain.

But the five hundredth year of our great Chriftian a^ra now ap-
proaches, fo does the term of Odoacer's power. Theodoric, long a
hoftage at Conltantinople, fent there in infancy as pledge of peace, by.
bold Theodomir his father, had been a thoufand times excited by Leo,
then emperor of the eaft, and afterwards by Zeno, to withftand in-
croachments from Oieftes' fquire. He, now returned to his own
court, came forward with rapid Itrides ; and while the laft named fo-
vercign was buried living by his queen's haite to get another hufband,
Odoacer who refufed not the challenge, went to meet him, was de-
feated terribly near Verona, and from thence, fled to his marfhy re-
fuge. Ravenna long refuted the conqueror's fword, which gained him
Italy's wide furface and long extent from Piedmont to Calabria, yet
could not make him happy or contented whilft his rival remained
alive. The bifliop of Ravenna offered his mediation, and drew up ar-
ticles of peace which, although neither party could read, both were
well pleafed to fign ; fo implicit was their confidence in ecclefiaftical
virtue, fo deep their ignorance in all but the art of war. A gold plate

u .u

M4 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. VIM.

was prepared to ftrike the papers, and theft chiefs who difputed the
feat of Julius Ccefar and Marcus Aurelius, drew the ftyle or pen, or im-
plement whatever it was, through the word fo marked, andfxore to if.
Their reconciliation was fealed by a banquet, they eat and drank to-
gether to cxcefs ; and the third day of this half favage half folemn feaft,
a fudden dagger ftabbcd the heart of brave and unfufpccting Odoacer.
His Heruli, driven back to the flat countries between Milan and Turin,
under the guidance of his only fon, found thofe plains occupied by
Lombard families, with whom they mixed, and loft their Scythian
appellation : that of their chieftain, foften'd into the name Udazio, was
fixed at Brefcia in 1 794 ; but our wand points to thofe days when
Gildas was born, abbot of Banchor Ifacoed : that place muft not be
confounded with the bifhop's fee, which lies in a different county ; he
was furnamed the Wife, and was confidcred by his countrymen as an
.oracle. Leonard Aretine too began his hiftory, Coluthus, and Can-
,didus Ifaurus by their writings evinced the ftrangc decay of ftyle and
fpirit in authors, which unaccountably kept pace with the decline of
empire ; and the flrange ficknefs that in a manner held down litera-
ture, and funk her almoft to deliquium, dates its commencement from
thefe Gothick kings. Thcodoric was often heard to fay he hated learn-
ing, and condemned all fchools : the boy who trembles at a rod, faid
he, will never make a man to make a fpear. The women then and
priefts, who only needed not to fight in battle, prefer ved alive the veftal
fire of fcience, which often finking to the fockct's edge, threatened its
total lofs ; yet glimmering on, in the fad fepulchre of general know-
ledge, waited a purer air, when its weak languid rays might try to ex-
pand, and chear benighted man with its revival. But Retrojpcciiou
now muft fix her glafs, for fight will hardly penetrate the gloom ;
upon the popes, not emperors of Rome : which city fince, under
another form, attracts and well deferves our notice of her conduct.
Like the galette or filk-worm, that ftrange town appeared at firft upon
the world's wide range, a fmall black fpcck, fcarcely difcerniblc ; a

creature

CH. viii.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 500. 145

creature next peculiar in its hunger, voracious and devouring every
tree, foon ftript by its predaceous habits, caufingan artificial winter
round. Laborious then, and ftudious to adorn its injured neighbours ;
but foon weary with that employ, we fee her next, torpid and dark,
and dull and fpiritlefs ; a fly at laft, feeking alone to propagate itfelf,
and to obtain pofleffion for its progeny, in every foil which can afford
them food.

Leo the Great, by whom two helplefs princes were inaugurated,
and one invading warrior driven back, was, if I am right, fucceedcd by
Pope Hilary, born in Sardinia, who filled with warm ideas of that high
independent fpirit which finds an ifland its propitious foil, made the
decree, and rendered it irrevocable, by which all future pontiffs fhould
be hindered from naming their own fucccfTors ; he left the fee elec-
tive. Till his time, ecclefiaftical like civil power, feemed by content
of all mankind, tranfmiflible by the command or dying breath of its
pofleffor ; and care of fouls, or empire of a univerfe, was given and ac-
cepted as a legacy. Breaking this link mewed men their chains were
fragile, and the fame liberal heart fuggcfted that they might not be
hindcr'd from knowing their fituation.

He was by no means of Theodoric's mind, he encouraged cultiva-
tion of literature in his clergy, and even infifted on their producing
fome proofs that they knew Jbniet king, before he permitted them to take
holy orders. Simplicius next fucceedcd to the papal chair, and wrote
to Zeno, endeavouring to procure the banimmcnt of hereticks, known
by the name of Eutyches* their founder, who troubled greatly by their
fubtle reafonings the uniformity of that church which he was chofen
to protect. Felix, from being cardinal, was next raifed to the firft ec-
clefiaftical dignity. I recoiled: no pope before him who went through

* Of thefe Chriftians fome yet remain in the world ; and it was to (hew their rejec-
tion of Kutychian hercfy that the very, very old painters reprefent our Saviour with two
fingers elevated in aft of benedi&ion, cxprefling his two natures; which they contro-
verted. The three depreffed fingers reprefent the Trinity.

VOL. I. T that

146 THE FIFTH CENTURY; [CH. viu.

that new appointed ftage of preferment ; but veneration for martyrs
naturally ended in profound reverence towards thofe whofe bufmefs it
had been once to bury them, and fcarlet (lockings, linings, &c. for-
merly badges of mifery, and mere appendages to diftrefs, were now
become diftinclions of honour, and gradations towards magnificence.
The church had not as yet required celibacy from her members, and
Felix, juftly fo called, was immediate and lineal, not collateral anceftor
in the third degree to Gregory the Great. Gelafms upon his demife
enjoyed fupremacy over all his own clergy, and claimed it from the
patriarch at Conftantinople, but was refufed. He made a decree to
exclude lame and blind, &c. from the priefthood, he burned the Mar-
nichaean books, and banifhed thole who had been hopelefsly mifled by
them : but although he claimed, and perfuaded many to think him pof-
ferTed of infallibility, he tried, but was unable to abolilh the lupercal, a
grofs inftitution of pagan origin, which Chriftian emperors had vainly
endeavoured to annul, and 'twas Gelafms who diftinguimed canonical
books of fcripture from apocrypha. Meanwhile the retrofpeffive eye
will, in the days when Symmachus adorned the papal chair and
chanted aloud the gloria in exceljis, obferve the ftill blinded Jews col-
lecting their civil and canon laws into a thalmud or repofttory,* re-
gardful of the letter, but mindlefs of the fpirit in which they were at
firft compofed. Unobfervant alfo, or ftrangely prepoffefs'd againft the
true fenfe of thofe prophecies which long before had fo minutely de-
fcribed their miferable ftate ; and promifed future, -though diftant re 1 -
leafe from it ; a fure if late recall to their inheritance, from amongft all
the nations they are fcattered over ; a congregating of their tribes by a
greater than Rabbi Afler. Since his appearance upon earth incarnate,
and condemnation by thefe his infatuated, and every way peculiar
people, five hundred years have now been in this ' little fuperficial work

* Thalmud means (as Sir William Jones tells us) people exifting in fecret excava-
tions of rocks ; whence perhaps thalmud, a fecret repofitory for their law : thus thai-
mud of Babylon.

flightly

c. vin.] FROM DEATH OF ATTILA TO A. D. 50O. 117

flightly reviewed ; and the twelve vultures fccn by Romulus on his
Capitoline Hill, have winged their deftined flight twelve centuries with
the addition of about half another, pail fince his firft foundation of
the city, to that melancholy but fcarccly noticed day, when the laft
prince who ever bore his name, yielded that city tamely up to Odo-
acer ; but if I remember well the augury, thofe vultures* wheeling
round pafsd him again.

Rome while I write, has for twelve centuries more, and half another,
ruled o'er her fubjecl: world afecond time, and clothed in papal, as once
ki imperial purple, has again held in ievcrc fubje&ion princes, poten-
tates, warriors.
But we return to Rctro/peff.

* And I do fancy the'fe fwans were the old vultures whitened by Virgil, as a com-
pliment to Auguftus.

Ni fallor.

Nifrujlra augurium vani docuerc parentei,

Afpice bis ftnos lastantis agrnine cycnos

jEtheria quos labfa plaga Jovis ales aperto

Turbarat caelo ; nuiic terras ordine longo

Aut capere, aut captas jam defpe&are videntur.

Ut reduces ill! ludunt (Iridentibus alis,

Et cxtu cinxere polum, cantufque dedere :

Haud aliter, &c. &c. < \ ;

T2 CHAP.

MS FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY; [en. ix.

CHAP. IX. '
TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS.

FIRST PORTION OE THE SIXTH CENTURY.

WHILE Goths and Vandals, with devouring rage wafted the
once well-cultivated Roman empire, fo that fcarce a trace of
civilization remained either in Spain or Africa, our retrofpeffive eye
will be accounted happy in not having time to dwell upon fuch fcenes-
as Procopius (no fcrupulous hiftorian) forbears to relate ; left from my
book, fays he, mould in fome future day be learned, leflbns of yet un-
heard-of inhumanity : but 'tis agreed upon by all our writers, that no-
period of this globe's exiftence ever equalled, or even approached near
to the fifth and fixth centuries, for complicated afflictions, and diftrefs
flopping little fhort of defpair. Famine and peftilence followed the
Gothick wars, of which indeed they were confidered as inftruments ;
when, if a garrifon held out too long, the befiegers made no fcruplc
to kill all their prifoners in cold blood, and piling them up in heaps
poifon the wretched creatures of the town, and force them to de-
fert it.

Authors perfift in faying, and with truth, that every province un-
der Roman protection was grown effeminate, and in fome meafure,
we may fay enervated, by the free commerce entertained with the
capital, and thus fell unrefiftingly before the Barbarian troops : but
before fuch troops Caefar muft have fallen. There was no art of war,
no energy of mind, that could poffibly withftand enemies who pro-
fefled rapacity and murder, not conteft ; and who laughed at the
feeble ties of honour and humanity. When Stilicho had taken fome

Goths

en. ix ] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 149

Goths into his pay, hoping their affiftance againft invaders from other
countries, not their own, \\hat was the confequcnce ? Only this ; that
adding treachcroufncfs to ferocity, the brutal mercenaries turned all
that Ikill and difcipline they had learned, againil the people who cm-
ployed them : nor did their rage of dcvaftation ccafc, till all their
northern hive was drained of fwarms, that migrated like myriads of
ants in India, when the whole earth for miles appears to move ; and
while the lordly elephant is covered, incumbercd, and even his bones
picked by the black army, as 'tis emphatically called there, the ga-
zelle or the kangaroo alone efcape, by fwiftnefs and light bounds.

Thrace, Hungary, France, Spain, Italy now, and Greece were
gone, divided among thcfe nations of new names, new manners, new
ideas. A revolution was about to take place in men's minds, as well
as in their government. Oriental cuftoms had, fmce removal of the
royal refidence to Conftantinople, infected the fbuthern parts of Eu-
rope, but now the Septentrionilts came forward, and brought with
them other notions. A foldier and a freeman with them were fynoni-
mous ; and none were counted bafc but fuch as were inadive. Wo-
men too had privileges not dreamed on in the caft, where lome princes,
paffionatdy addicted to the fcx, began to take up thcfe opinions, and
releafe their female Haves from confinement. Cabadcs, who ruled in
Perfia, was of this mind : pleafed with the rcfpcd: paid to their domef-
tick companions by the Germans, he gave more open licence to the
ladies, and by that innovation, irritated fuch of his fubjects as were
attached to the old way ; till rebellion became the natural errect, and
Cabadcs was dethroned. Imprifbnment of courie followed degrada-
tion, but one of his women, who had early profited by thefe new re-
gulations, made herfelf an object intercfting to the gaoler, who could
refufe nothing to fuch a folicitrefs, and by her arts gained freedom for
her indulgent fovereign. Dreadful was the revenge he took on all
concerned, nor was his fury likely to fpare Anallafius, ill furnamed
Decor us, then emperor of the eaft, late chamberlain, now con fort to

hafty

l 50 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY ; [en. ix.

huftv and unfeeling Ariadne, who having buried one hufband alive,
expoicd his fucccflbr to Cabades' refentment, by perfuading him to
rcfuie money rcquefled by that prince, for purpofc of reducing his
tumultuous fubjecls to obedience. This he effected foon, without
help from Conflantinople, towards -which he advanced, attacking the
ftrong fortrefs of T/undadaer, where much treafure was depofited ;
and 'tis, for ought I have learned, on this occafion that we are firft in-
troduced to the acquaintance of daemons and fpirits -poetical ma-
chinery ! which has Succeeded in a certain manner to the heathen

deities, in modern epick and dramatick tales : and which now with va-
rious devices,' and under innumerable forms, dragons efpecially, guarded
the rnagick caftle againlt Cabades. That king vmable to find out, he
faid, or Perfian foothfayer, or Jewifh rabbi, capable of breaking thefe
charms, and binding thefe aerial combatants ; had at length recourfe
to fome Chriftian bifhop, who by prayer put his army into immediate
pofTeffion of the fort ; on which, converted fuddenly of courfe, he
turned away his thoughts from hurting the profeflbrs of that religion
he had now adopted. Thus in thefe gloomy days did mifty fuperfti-
tion magnify each object, and caft a halo round each trifling or com-
mon occurrence, till our once pure and fimple worfhip dimmed,
though enlarged to eyes of common obfervers, feemed as if aiTuming
tantaitick fhapes, which frighted many, and confounded more.

The ftandard and criterion ot our faith, God's lioly word, was funk
or loll : difre-garded quite, and more than half abforbed in dull though
wild traditionary talcs, while fierce opinions battled in the dark. In
vain the virtuous -Pope employed his powers, relieved the bifhops
banifhcd to Sardinia, and fet up alms-houfes the firft upon record.
The Emperor himfelf was a fanatick, and accufed him of leaning to-
ward the Manichcean hcrefy. The Manichajans all were driven away,
no matter : Anaftafius's warm head could not be quiet. He wanted
Tribulation, a characljer in Ben Jonfon's comedy, to cry out, I do
command thee, fpirit of zeal but trouble, to peace within him. Like

Ananias

CH. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTIIICK KINGS. 15 1 "

Ananias in the lame play ho would not 'peace. The people looked
on images with too much veneration ; the Emperor tore them down,
but not content, he caufed a painter to make representation of mon-
fters, which he cxpofcd for adoration. Will the fools worfhip theft?'
cried he : the people were offended, not unjuftljr ; (editions were ex-
cited, which he could with difficulty quell. He had not yet enough.
To the fublime Trilagion Holy ! holy ! holy Lord God of Sabaoth,
ihcJantfnsDeus IJanQwfprtis ! fantfiiset immortaits miftrere nojlris, was
added, upon feeling (bmc (hocks of an earthquake under the reign of
the younger Thcodoiius, and had been annexed to the litany ever
fince ; but while 'twas tinging, AuallaSius in his fervour againft
Arianifm exclaimed aloud, Qui proptcr nos crucifxus eft words which
drew on him the appellation of patripaffian. The uproar was diS-
graceful, the inSurreclion dangerous, and feeing the Emperor not long
after this ftruck dead by lightning in a public place, many were con-
firmed in their ill opinion, although when firft inverted with the
purple, reign as you have lived was all the cry. So exemplary had been
for years the character of this too bufy and relllefs prince.

But nothing then was cared for fcarcely, except what it was ftridly
impofUbic for man to comprehend. HomoouStans and Scmi-Arians,
Sabelliaas and TritheiSts filled the mouths of all, though the minds of
few if any were capable of fplitting fuch differences, and explaining
fuch uurevealed niceties. Language, when at its beft perfection, Sink;,
under the difficulty of discriminating fubtlctics that efcape its greatelt
vigilance : and language now was Superannuated, and unable to follow -
metaphyfical arguments through all their labyrinths of perplexed en-
quiry ; yet nothing elfe employed men's minds, or was thought worthy
of their notice, while

Faith, gofpel, all fcem'd made to bedifputed,
And none were wife enough to he confuted.

'Twas in this reign, I think, we read that St. Matthew's Gofpel was
found hid in the Sepulchre of good St. Barnabus, held in his hand, (ays

one

152 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY. [CH. ix.

one writer ; lying on his bofom, fays another. Ill underftood devotion
went fo far, that many people prevailed upon furviving friends to bury
in their tombs with them the blcflcd facrament and all that was not
war was piety. But while compaffion of fuch error fills a modern
reader's breaft, difguft rankled in that of Proclus, who faw in living
truth the follies we only view in Retrofpeflions glafs. Proclus feems
to have been an ejfirit fort of the fixth century, w 7 ho collected the fun's
rays into a focus, and appeared, by his promife of fecuring the Empe-
ror's perfon from thunderbolts, to have fome notion of a conducting
rod. His project failed however ; Anaftaiius, who had always ex-
prcffcd his apprehcnfion that fuch would be his end, fell down lifelefs
during a great ftorm. The populace looked on Proclus with avcrfion,
and he on their credulity with contempt. Meanwhile Severus the
Eutychian bifliop of Antioch, fending fome miffionaries to gain over
Alamandurus to their newly-broached tenet of a quaternity, he told them
there was news which claimed their more immediate attention, for
that St. Michael the archangel was dead. Being replied to, that fuch
news was nonfcnfe, bccaufe angelic nature cannot die; nor can God
Almighty, rejoined the ready controvertift ; and if Chrift was pure
deity, as you fay he was, and not made man, he could not have been
erucificd tor us. Severus was condemned to lofe his tongue by a grand
council held at Illergetum, foon from its firft name corrupted to II-
Icrcla, and thence to Lcri.ui, by which appellation 'tis at this day fa-
miliar to us all. Chichcfcer and Abingdon were built about this time
by Cilia king of the South .Saxons, and Cambridge founded long after,
and enlarged by Sigebert ; but Camden rr Caio I believe, fays it may
boaft an earlier origin, even from Cantxbcr a Spaniard, born three
hundred and feventy-five years before Chrift. It is obfcrvable his name
is yet unwittingly tranfmitted down from generation to generation ;
young {Indents of that univerfity arc in colloquial chat ftill called Can-
tabs. Shoreluim is fcarce Ids ancient, the work of a Britith chieftain
Khrynncn Shore, perhaps Brcnuin Shore,, meaning King George. I

recollect

CH. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTIHCK KINGS. 153

recoiled; George II. prayed for in Welch churches by name of Bren-
rim Shore perfectly well, though now they leave it off, the Englifli
name being underftood in moft congregations. But Cherdicke con-
iblidated many counties under his wide domain, Wilts, Hants, Berks,
Devonfliirc, Dorfetmirc and Cornwall, befide Somcrfetfliire, all which
together formed the kingdom of Weft Saxons; whilll the half-fabu-
lous records of our half-known hiftory delight in ftorics of the fair
Igrene, and Merlin the magician, who flicwcd her in a ihadow that he
railed, the figure of her future hufband. This might perhaps give the
original rife to the trick of ladies looking in a darkened room to fee
the deftined lover in a glafs. I know not whether yet the Britifli or
Pidifh poem was compofed called Gododen, which celebrates the day
when the merry men, whole drink was mead, hurried to Cattraeth.
The adventure recorded was at beginning of the fixth century : they
had three hundred and fixty-five horn cups, one for ever}- day of the
year, and every cup had a chain of gold to the cover. " Fetch the
" drinking horns," they cry, " which are glofly like a wave of the fea :
" our Llewellyn is like a dragon in fight." Thele dragons, Warton
thinks, came from Armorica, propagated there by Arabs ; he fays that
ive had no allufion to dragons till after we were connected with the
eaft. Fairies came in at the fame time, but they profpercd beft in
Ireland : there is a tracl there called CfFcrri Land, or Fairy Land, at
this day. The Arabians faying how fairies built the city of Efthckar
is curious : that the famed Perfepolis, burned by Alexander at mitiga-
tion of Thais, fhould be rebuilt by fairies, ftrikes one as fingular
enough. The Elfin queen Morgain le Fay, who held her chief court
at Meffina, exhibiting from time to time the favourite vifion called
after her Fata Morgana ftill, and fo fwectly dcfcribed by Father An-
gelucci 10-13, prcferved Prince Arthur too on fomc occafion. Sec
learned notes on Upton's Fairy Queen. Meantime the death of honeft
favage Clovis divided once united France again, among four fons and
a daughter named Clotilde, She being wife to Amalaricus, leader of
VOL. I. LT the

J54 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY; [cir. ix.

the Vifigoths, had the rich province of Laugnedoc, poffibly Laitgue d<;
Got, affigned her as her portion ; and fixing her reiidence " at famed
Thouloufe, proved a fufpcnfion of the hi faliqne. But this fhcws
France to have enjoyed even then a form of eftablifhed government,
under their Merovingian race of kings ; and 'tis obfervable the jftr/2 has
been the favourite name of Gallic fovereigns through thirteen cen-
turies, Louis being different in nothing but mere pronunciation. Llovis
is the word, whether the U or V be upright or not ; and the original
manner of pronouncing double LI being difficult to Englifhmen, they
write Clovis as they write Child : the vale of Llwyd is the way we
natives fpell, and it occurs eafily to a Welfh reader that the French
monarchy began and ended jufl as the Roman empire did, with the
fame name. Clovis I. during his extreme long reign, on many occa-
fions interefts one's heart : his odd fcorn of St. Martin's miracle, who
for a furn of money moved the enchanted fteed, which he faw plainly
was a trick to plunder him, with his docility toward thofe very priefts
who were apparently parties in the impofture, fuggefted by what he
deemed indifpenfable reverence for the religion they profeffed, engages
one's tendernefs : and 'tis with grief we read of thofe excefles per-
mitted and pracYifed during a life of fourfcore years and more, which
ended at Paris, firft by him fettled into the metropolitan city of that
great empire. His bones remain there ftill, under the never-finiflied
church dedicated to la Saint e Genevieve, and lately profaned by infi-
dels unworthy fuch a king as Clovis ; falfe reafoners, who in cold
blood reject that bleft Redeemer, whofe bitter agonies endured for us,
roufed on firft hearing of them his lion fpirit to cry out, " Had I been
" near Mount Calvary that day, with but five hundred of my trufty
'" Franks, I would have foon revenged fuch fufferings, and taught thofe
' ; rafcals to repent their cruelty." Barbarian virtues are however of fmall
value, like wooden cuts, prized for their rarenefs and antiquity alone ;
they fail in ail the finer ftrokes of courfe, and leave the work imperfect.
Tirabofchi obicrves well, that barbarous eloquence is never clear, plain,

en. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 155

or perfpicuous ; 'tis the moft poliflicd nation that excels in pure in-
artificial brilliancy of language. The excellency of glafs, on this fame
principle, is to be tranfparent ; thofe who flourifh it, and wrinkle it,
and draw rofes on it, are doing fomcthing very pretty certainly, but
they are fpoiling the glafs. Rude Theodoric knew not how to write,
yet was he brave, honeft, and provident by nature ; honourable too,
and magnificent by ftarts. He fupplied Rome with corn, he conveyed
water to Ravenna ; and when a catholick courtier, in hopes of prefer-
ment, fuddenly profeflcd himfelf willing to renounce his belief in
Chriil's divinity and to turn Arian, becaufe that was the pcrfuafion of
the Prince, the generous though brutal Goth fpit in his face, faying,
that a man who was falfe to his God would never be true to his king.
Yet Clovis we know deluged his land with blood ; Theodoric fuffercd
Odoaccr to be ftabbed treacherously at a banquet ; and afterwards took
deliberately away that precious life which animated the pureft heart,
the wifeft head, perhaps the compleateft character that can be found,
if we except St. Gregory the Great, between the firft Theodofms and
Alfred. By death of Boethius was dimmed the bright flame of ge-
nuine patriotifm, of orthodox belief, of claffic elegance, and true phi-
lofophy. Learning, her laft clear light obfcured by interpofmg clouds
of black fufpicion, hung round the vaults of Symmachus and his great
fon-in-law, conglobed and red a meteor, not a ftar, lowering and

raylefs.

But Juftin's reign attracts our Retrofyeffion to the eaft, detaining it a
moment by his cunning in ufe of money given him by Amantius for pur-
pofes of chufmg another perfon,who, together with his ill-advifed friend,
were foon fecurcd and filenced, and Juftin fixed in the imperial feat.
Under this Emperor the General Belifarius began his great career, and
manifefted his future claim to laurels, which at length by too luxuriant
growth mailed his merits from favour of Juftinian, nephew and fuccciTor
tothe laft-mentioned ignorant though artful creature, bcft remembered
by his falfchood and fondncfs for the purple, which he grafped clofcly

U 2 even

156 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY ; [en. m

even -in artkulo mortis. The Circus to which the new fovereign wa
carried- in triumph at his firit acceffion, proved, though he reigned
near forty years, I think, a perpetual plague to him and to his fucceflbrs,
with their blue and green factions fupporting one fet of chariot-drivers
againft another fet, who quarrek-d> fought, mutinied even in prefence
of a defpotic king that might, for all that has appeared to us, have
cruflied them in a moment. Thefe chariot-drivers fucceeded to the
gladiators, and I believe had fbmeWhat of a deeper meaning than one
is now aware of : contention poffibly between the land and fea, or
perhaps ftudents in alchemy might find out the allufion; common
fenfe can but revolt againft their factious folly. But grave Juftinian,
pious and orthodox (for many years at leaft , was eafily overpowered
by pantomime and fhow : he married a fille cC opera, as we mould calf
her now, the fafcinating Theodora ; raifed her to the rank and to
more than ufual privileges of emprefs, which fhe ufed as many a bella
Iniffa would have ufed them, protecting her own worthlefs friends
from juftice, her favourites from detection. Witnefs her partiality
ihewn to the unworthy wife of gallant Belifarius, who drove the Sy-
rians before him, brought Perfia once more under controul of Con-
stantinople, and performed prodigies of valour with his {ingle arm..
The Goths began to fear, the Vandals to feel his fury ; every baUl&
now produced a victory, and every victory paved the way to ufefui
conqueft, and hope of re-eftablifhing a folid lafting empire. While
the fovereign, attentive to propriety at home, thought proper to crufb
what was left of Paganifm by abolifhing the publick fchools for fo-
phifts, and what was called heathen philofophy ; he punifhed the vo-
luptuous clergy, whofe vile conduct brought a difgrace upon our own
religion, with unrelentlefs fternnefs; converted the publick ftcws into an
hofpital for penitents, a Magdalen like ours, and fubfcribed 1 8o,oool,
prefent currency out of his own privy purfe for the rebuilding of An-
tioch, nearly overthrown by an earthquake ; befides erecting pious
fabricks without end, and with a degree of magnificence furpaffing

afl

en. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTIIICK KINGS. J5;

all example. One million fterling was funk in the raft edifice dcdi -
cated to Santa Sophia, the facred wifdom of God. Nor was com-
mercial intereft "neglected ; Juftinian cftablifhcd trade with the caft
for filk, till then a rarity, even in the feat of univcrfal empire. He
did too what is not lefs worth recording, as it has more reference to
prcfcnt times lie inftitutcd the method of fwearing which we now
ufe in England on folemn occafions, by taking the four Gofpels, qnx
in manibus teneo, into both our hands, and making on them a fteady
affeveration before fbmc lawful magiftratc. 'Tis find too, that when
this ordonnance was effectuated, the Emperor obfervcd it never would
be abolifhed in the Chriftian world, for, added he, if this regulation
is once broken in upon, confufion will ncceffarily enfue. As this great
Icgiilator was furnamed Franciciis, it is particularly to be prcfumed
that he introduced the cuftom there whence we have feen it publicity
driven away in the year 1 793, and we have feen confufion follow after.
Mundus meantime, another fuccefsful general in the eventful period
we review, conquer'd the coafts of Tunis and Tripoli, left ill defended
by thofe loathfome Vandals, who had ravaged the northern provinces
of Africa with harpy-footed fury : and penetrating further into the de-
folutcd diftrid, once more fubdued it to the gentle dominion of Con-
ftantinople, and its fapicnt fovereign. Dalmatia next flew for protec-
tion to the fame ftrong fteady hand, who after extirpating the remains
of vandalifm, triumphed in that country whither Dioclefian had re-
tired two hundred and thirty years before, but which had been long
loft to the Roman empire, till this new leader of their adive armies
> with the celerity of thought itfclf traverfed the globe) reftorcd it
to fuch peace as poverty can give ; and having defeated the Bulgarian*
in Thrace, and having drawn his troops fbuthward once again; dial
bravely under the walls of Salona, His death relieved the anxiety of
multitudes, who witneffing fuch new and interefting changes in thi
torn fvftem of mundane affairs, failed not to recoiled the Sybil's words,

who faid, that when Afr-ic fhoukl recover Mundus fliould end ; a fcn-

tcnce

158 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY ; [CH. vi

tence they explained by fuppofing that this whole fublunary world,
Mundus's fudden conflagration muft neccffarily follow the expulfion
of fuch invading powers in Africa, and its recovery from their galling
yoke, with a confolatory reiteration of thofe once fruitful territories to
their dominion, who were confidered as rightful poiTeflbrs and lords of
the whole earth the emperors of Rome. A narrow notion ! Could
\ve confide in oracles, 'twere wifer to think the word recovery implied
a making off of that hereditary oppreffion by which the black inhabi-
tants of one continent have fo long been held as flaves to their lighter-
coloured brethren in the three other quarters of our earth. In that
fenfc Africa may be recovering whilft I write, and Mundus daily does
give flgns of his approaching diflblution to all fuch as have not their
perceptions fwallowed up in appropriate diflrefs, or general aftonifh-
ment. But the grammarians Feftus and Prifcian, claim a retrofpefthe
glance ; Cappadox too, with his infidel aflociate Trebonianus, who af-
fifted in forming the celebrated code of Juflinian, fuffice to prove that
learning, as me fet weftward behind the mountains, dropt not down
all at once, below our fad horizon, but left a twilight mild at its com-
mencement, ufeful certainly, when Dionyfius made this reign remark-
able for wife difmiffion of all former chronology, and for the fixing a
true Chriftian asra, dating in future all events from his appearance in
the flefh, by whom, according to divine appointment all things 'were
made. Is it in this place worth our while to obferve, that the word
D'ion\Jius means, Dios, God Nufos, Rcftorer of Mankind in Noah. The
man who perfuaded Juftinian to adopt a new mpde of counting time,
was known by name of Diojivfiiis the Lcfs ; he was a Roman abate.
One might indeed wonder why Pagans called any man Dionyfius,
but we fee Chriftians daily calling men Emanuel and Salvador ;
though one means God with us, and the other Sav'mir ; and perhaps
it may be more to our purpofe to obferve that this sera, now kept facred
for 1200 years, a period marked by Pagans and by Chriftians, was only
.broken in upon by modern arrogance in l/y4. Theodoric, a far more
tender-hearted barbarian than Ilobefpierre, received it willingly ; and

lefs

en. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 159

kfs attached than formerly to Arianifm, felt fuch compunction for the
death of Symmachus, by him unjuftly doomed to fufFer torture, only
for having bewailed the ill fate of his accomplifhed fon-in-law Boe-
thius, that his ftrong northern nerves never recovered their due tone
again ; but ftrange thick-coming fancies robbed him of food and reft.
After fome weeks of dreadful perturbation, the Gothick fovereign
ftarting fuddenly from table, protefted that he faw and recognized, in
a large fifh ferved up at fupper-time, the features of unhappy Sym-
machus ; whofe innocent, and even praife-worthy conduct, feemed in
the pale bones of that dead animal to ftare on him with looks of fad-
nefs and reproach for the unfeeling hafte he was condemned with.
From that hour remorfeful Theodoric eat no more ; his death, pre-
ceded by imaginative terrors, grew even to himfelf dcfirable, and
Amalefontha fwayed the fceptre during the childhood of her fon ; for
whom flie, as fole parent, fought a literary education, providing tutors
and inftructors from all nations, language mafters in particular, adding
her own example, which ihe enforced by a ftyle of command that flic
expected not to fee or hear difputed. Gifted with a variety of en-
dowments, this lady's awful carriage claimed refpect from her young
pupil, as pofleflmg in her own perfon thofe talents fhe wifhed his heart
to figh for ; and fifter to Theodoric, her Scythian blood beftowed on
her but little flexibility of mind, or difpofition to procure by influence,
what her ftation gave her right to enforce by authority. Pulling her
knot too'tight however, the cord broke ; for Athalaricus at eleven years
old ftept forward, and complained to his Gothick nobles at a feaft, -
that his mother had that day dishonoured him, their lawful fo-
vereign, by a blow : a blow to me ! exclaimed the- fturdy prince, and
from the hand of a woman ! His chieftains praifed the premature ;
boldncfs, and the boy obtained inftant emancipation. Tutors mean-
time fetched in from Ibfter climates and of more fupple tempers than
the regent, fbon faw the way to hinder their diimrffion. - They then
began to teach their royal pupil leflbns lefs difficult, and more attratf

exciti

I Co ' FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY; [or. ix.

exciting and fupplying his precocity with pleafures fatal to virtue, and
ruinous to health.

Amalefontha firft indignantly withdrew, and wedding her firft cou-
fin Thcodatus, was with. him crowned queen to the king of Italy. In
two years fhe returned, and being once arrived at Ravenna, put her
fon's vile preceptors all to death : revenge was gratified, but nothing
rnore; young Athalaricus, debilitated by early debauchery, knew little
of what was going forward.; his powers ot mind and body all were
weakened, and a confumption, 'fpitc of his mother's care, deftroyed
him in fix months after flic came back. The lady tore her hair with
grief and rage, but Theodatus liking not an ailbciate of fuch fpirit,
tricked her into an ifland of the Lago Bolfena, ftrangled her there with
his own hands, and threw her into the water ; not without difficulty,
, and ill-applied violence ; fo rough and vigorous was her refiftance. Juf-
tinian took his time ; invincible Belifarius, after conquering in every
other corner of the world by his own valour, was made mafter of Ra-
venna by the Gothick dnTentions. Spain, Sicily, and Sardinia owned
his power ; and Gilimer, the Vandal, who had deluged whole provinces
.with blood, being dragged in chains to Conftantinople, declared be-
fore the throne there, that all was vanity.* The victorious warrior
uext attacked Thcodatus, whofe feeble and ill-managed oppofition
haftened his own end : he fell at laft in flight, not battle, and his un-
manly cries rendered his death defpicablc, whofe life had been mean
and treacherous : but Vitiges, who forcibly married Amalefontha's
daughter, kept up in her right for fome years longer the fhow of Go-
thick kings in Italy. This year, or about that time, was Paulinus con-
lul at Rome, and he was the laft. The eaftern empire chofe confuls
for ten or fifteen years afterwards, and then that dignity and the name
of it, Inirncd qu'iteaut. Vandalifm, completely driven from Numidia,
:hcrc they had forced the people even to eat each other, and where

* Vpnitas vanitatum ! exclaimed the captive et omnia vnitas*

the

CH. ix.] TO THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS. 161

the conqueft of Belifarius over that fvvarm of locufts left only a fort of
defolate tranquillity, removed back to Europe, where they caft lots for
diftricls not only in Spain, as Idatius tells, who was eyc-witnefs of their
cruelties in that country, but in the north too. They cluttered in
large bodies along the banks of the White River, Alb'ts, the Elbe, and
beyond there among the Pruzzi or Borrufli : there is a province called
Vandal Pruflia yet ; while many Lombards fixed at Mecklcnburgh,
and many were fprcad over the Venetian terra firma. The laft ir-
ruption of a new Ihoal was under Totila, and Mr. Gibbon does not
wait for his arrival and failure, to pronounce Rome freed from her
runick tyrants, and rcpofing all confidence in the popes alone. This,
now more than ever, interesting epocha, he calculates to have happened
upon the 10th day of December, 536, when a ftrange mixture of
Christian and Pagan rejoicings fccm to have taken place, if we believe
that the old lupercal was not even then abolifhcd, and that the Savage
gaieties of fuch a feftival were going forwards even upon Chriftmas day
itfelf ; all this under the reign of a moSt pious emperor, and under the
aufpices of a general famous for Scrupulous orthodoxy. That it was
really in the year 536 the change was made, appears, fays our historian,
not only from Procopius, whoSe authority, the text having been cor-
rupted, is of fmall value ; but from the ferics of events. The month
December is afcertained, it feems by Evagrius ; and that Belifarius en-
tered the town upon t\icj}iorlcjl day is admitted upon the evidence of
Nicephorus Calixtus, 1 believe, a Greek hiStbrian of the fourteenth cen-
tury. I have myfclf Seen a remark fbmewherc how St. Peter s do-
minion began when the fun was in the fign pi/'ces, alluding to his em-
ployment as zfjlicrmzn ; but that fets it very little later. Jefus is re-
prefented with a fjli in the cathedral church of Ravenna ; with an
anchor on fome gems at Capodi Monte ; and the madonna del pefce is
a favourite picture of Raphael. A fubterranean temple difcovcred lately
in England led people to recoiled thefe occurrences ; all its ornaments
air fi/Ji, but the Christian monogram proves it to have been no Pagan
VOL. I. X place

162 FIRST PORTION OF SIXTH CENTURY; [CH. ix.

place of worfhip. They never admitted our infignia into their temples,
but the Bafilides held that it was not evil to fuffer heathen fymbols in
a Chriftian church. We are of their minds ftill as it appears, or fculp-
tors would not be encouraged to fet up Hercules and Minerva in W^cft-
minfter Abbey. Meanwhile St. Peter's profeffiori as ajj/her, and his
command from our Saviour to Jijh for men, naturally ftruck his at-
tentive followers ; and that the laft words of the feventeenth chapter
in the Greek Teftament mould be analogous both to the Apoftle's em-
ployment, and to his Mailer's name, produced this pretty epigram
printed in Walton's Angler.

Unicus eft medicus reliquorum PFfcis et ift'is

Fas quibus eft medicum tungere certa falus.

Hie typus eft Salvatoris mirandusjefu

Litera myfterium qiuelibet hujus habet,

Munc cupio, hunc capias bon frater arundinis ij^fliK

Solveret hie pro me debita teque Deo.
Pifcis is eft, et pifcator mihi credite qualem

Vel pifcatorem pifcis amare velit. ,

IX0T2,
I. Ino-aj .................. Jefus

X. Xpiro? . . . . ............ Cliriftus

. .................. Dei

T. 'T.o; ................. .Filius

. Salflf .................. Salvator.

But we are engaged in a reviewal of the fixth century; and if the
papal power really did commence when Echard and when Gibbon fay
it did, fmall calculation will fuffice to mew when it muft end. 12 Go
years fpecified by the prophet Daniel, and appropriated again by St.
John, may be eafily added to 536

126o they will make up the year

m which I am endeavouring, 1796, to form a fummary of events
for purpofe of Retrofpe&ion.

CHAP.

-CH. x.] EXPULSION OF THE GOTIIICK KINGS.

CHAP. X.

FROM THE EXPULSION OF THE GOTHICK KINGS BY
BELISARUS TO A. D. 600.

muft now, fixing our glafs on the old metropolis, obfcrve rough
Boniface, a Roman pope, ftruggling, in fpite of new regulations,
to appoint as his fucceflbr in the chair Vigilius, who was however obliged
to wait the death of three predeceffors ; the laft of whom, Silverius,
was banifhed and even ftarved to death, in confequcnce of having dif-
obliged Theodora, by refuting to revoke the fentcnce of herefy pro-
nounced againft Anthimus her favourite bifhop. When he, Silverius,
was thus difpofed of, Vigilius bought the fee, paying for it two hun-
dred pounds weight of gold to the fair Emprcfs, whofe parafites and
pandars fpent it among them, while the new Primate ufed his ill-got-
ten power with zeal and diligence, denying however to reftore Anthi-
mus, though he had bought the fee on that condition. He was the
firft pope who commanded prayer to be made, and altars erected to-
wards the eaft ; but morals were run down fo very low, that it was
neceflary for a council, held at Maqon in thofe days, to decree that
bifhops fhould not keep great dogs to worry beggars, nor fee their fer-
vants kick the poor about for Chriftmas fports and gambols. Yet fuch
at the fame time was the fpirit of pious enthufiafm, that many bifhops
held a confultation, whether they might or might not, without offence
to God and fociety, pull a madman forcibly down, who would (land
upon a pillar night and day, near Treves in Germany, to imitate Si-
meon Stylites ; although fuch was the fcvcrity of that winter, that
fuch a refolution mufl fopn end in death. They got him away how-

X 2 ever,

j.64 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH. x.

ever, and put him in a monaftery, much to his own difquiet and that
of the people who delighted in fuch exhibitions of fandtity, and ccafed
not to lament our inclement feafbns, which hindered people from per-
forming penances fuch as oriental zeal inflicled on its votaries, and
eaftern climes more eafily permitted. Fakirs and Bonzees are at this
day trying to obtain future happinefs by voluntary and felf-impofed
wretchcdnefs in India ; and I think 'tis Anfon's Voyages which tell us
how pious women at Peru, in his day, dragged heavy crofles up and
down the ftreet, and wore a waiftcoat quilted with thorns within, to
keep their anguifh always alive ; fo favourable are hot climates to a
fpirit of deviation concerning fenual pleafures and fenfual punimments.
The women, in order to mortify themfelves, fought for deformities
which heaven had denied them, and to become loathfome, by never
having warned or combed, was confidered as a claim on Paradife. See
the ftory of St. Mary the Egyptian, and many more. Such things are
now nearly gone out of Europe, although I have myfelf feen ladies
perform odd penances enough at Naples and at Mantua ; and Jane
Rogers, of Cumberland, was well known in the eighteenth century, for
wandering about the north, in confequence of a religious vow ; (he
knitted every part of her own ftrange clothing upon two wooden pins :
the wool fhe gathered, carded herfelf, and fpun. She accepted no alms
except of food and tobacco, never touched money for fourteen years,
nor ever flept in a place fhe paid for ; but carried her whole poiTef-
fions at her back, in a large bag, which was fo neceflary to her exift-
ence, and to her comfort as it ihould feem, that when fhe had nothing
elfe to carry, Ihe filled the bag with fand. But private memoirs are
valuable, chiefly as they evince the flate of publick manners ; and what
has been mentioned of the popes in this chapter, militates againft the
notion which clofed our laft ; becaufe we find that although Rome,
now no longer the metropolis of a vaft empire, was dwindled down
into a mere bifhop's fee, Juftinian's fupremacy was no lefs acknow-
ledged ; on the contrary, it was fubmitted to with blind acquicfcence,

both

CH. x.] BY BELISARIUS TO A. D. <k)0. 165

both by the pontiff who protected Rome, and by the patriarch who
had the care of ecclcfiuftical matters at Conftantinoplc, and who, by
the Emperor's command, accepted the fecond place after St. Peter'*
fuccefibr. The fovercign however growing old, and his head weakened
by perpetual pondering upon incomprehenfible fpeculations, began to
think Chrift's human nature a mere phantom, and that he never had
eat and drank in reality. This herefy was called that of the Docetcs,
to which were likcwifc. joined the Monothclites, who faid that Jefus
had but one will as God, and no ideas as man. To thcfe fancies the
Metropolitan refufing his afTent, Juftinian dcpofed and banifhcd him
without confulting pope or patriarch, and worfe than all, growing
jealous of thofe acclamations that refounded wherever Belifarius turned
his fteps, and wholly governed by Theodora, who loved the general's
vc'ifc, not him ; he, after all his ferviccs, exiled that loyal unrefifting
chief, content to end his days in fuch obfcurity, that numbcrlefs fables
were fabricated concerning the manner in which he fpent his time.
The flrangc notion however of his begging at the gates of Rome, is
now confidered by fcholars as a mere fiction, ennobled by the rough
fublimity of Salvator Ilofa's pencil ; enriched by the glowing colours
of Vandyke ; and rendered with an exa<Snefs worthy truth alone, by
the minute nicety of Vanderwcrff. But Clothairc, in thcfc da^s ible
king of France, after fubduing Cranmufe, his haughty rival, burned
him to death in the poor peaiant's houfe, whither he run for refuge,
with his protecting friends; and having committed many other c.\-
ceffcs, .particularly the forcible fei/ure of a beautiful lady, wife to Gau-
ticr des Ivcteaux, was fuddenly ftruck with remorfe, and of his own,,
accord, made the lands of that nobleman, who died of grief, an inde-
pendent flate beftowed upon his fon, whofe family have enjoyed it
ever fmce. There were princes de Bellamy, the name of that territory
in the fcventeenth century ; and a Monficur des Yvetcaux flourifhcd
as a French wit in time of Louis XIV. A general famine that
affrighted all our continent however, lays clofer claim upon our/v//-o-

160 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH x.

fpeftive eye : it was foon followed by a univerfal plague, a new volcano
opened near the Rhone, and terrified the confcience of Clothaire, while
Totilas the Oftrogoth, fought to fubdue Rome by dint of ftarving out
the few inhabitants, and would have fuccceded, had not her active bifhop
Vigilius, gone himfelf to feek for corn to Conftantinople. He died on his
way home, if I remember, not without ftrong fufpicions of being poi-
foncd. A comet too marked thefe tremendous times, and that was fol-
lowed by an unufual palenefs of the fun. But a ftill ftranger meteor
than the comet, calls for our admiration. Not the wild northern con-
queror, who fcemed an ignis-fatuus alone, compared to his great prede-
ceffor Attila, whom he profefled to make the model of his conduct, in
attacking that venerable city, which now nearly defcrted, was like to
fall an eafy prey to every furious foe ; but a new character in life and
hiftory. Narfes, the far-famed eunuch of the eaft, by birth a Periian,
"by profeffion a courtier, bred literally to the loom and diftaff, when
in the female apartments of the palace, he had during his early youth
'held fuch of the fervile and fubaltern offices, as had been appointed
him by bed-chamber women and pages, little cognizant of the latent
warrior they were commanding. He meantime, at leifure moments
from his work, ftudied the art of war with fuch fuccefs, that he at
length obtained, from influence of ladies in the train of Theodora,
permrffion to attend in the new regiments levied forpurpofe of driving
the Oftrogoths from Italy. Once fettled in the army, Belifarius, who
faw and owned his merit, gave him command and power : which
poflcfled, Toti'a?, and Teias who fuccecded him when killed, foon funk
before the rcfiftlefs courage of Narfes, whofe high prowefs and vic-
torious deeds amazed mankind ; and tried at lead to teach them, that
foul, not body, conftitutes the hero. Some Franks oppofed, pretend-
ing to <lefpife him ; but all oppofition to fuch gallantry was vain, and
all contempt ill-founded. About that time or fooner 'twas, that an
internal cancer confcquent on her ill life, confumed the vitals of once
beautiful and lively Theodora ; who mingled virtue with her fharne-

lefs

en. x.J BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. 600. 107.

lefs vices, had fliown fortitude on fome occafions, fidelity on others,
while grave Juftinian, having outlived friends and enemies, and cni-
prefs, expired with no difturbances at all, except thofe which the un-
fathomable and fruitlefs refearchcs of the times afforded, and which
thefe lines of Cowley feem made on purpofe to controul, when he
foys

In this wild maze let vain endeavours end,

How can the lefs the greater comprehend ?

Or finite rcafon reach infinity ?

Since who could fathom God were more than He.

Narfes meantime made proud Pelagius pope, who was fuppofcd to
have given poifon to his predeceflbr ; while Britain cultivated com-
merce under Ida and ^Ella, and Guthrie thinks London was even
then a place of much note for its riches. Carlifle's gaieties, led
by Queen Guinever, were, as w.e know, the theme of future fong.
That, literature ran low among us* may be proved by the lalt-
mentioned author's ending his lift of clafficks with Procopius, and
leaving a juft blank to venerable Bede. The monaftery and bifhop-
rick of St. Afaph in Flintshire, were however founded by Kenti-
gern bilhop of Glafgow, who having placed it on the river E/wy
was called Epifcopas Elweiifis for a time ; but being recalled to Scot-
land whence he came, refigned the fee to his difciple Afaph, from
whom it took its name. The tiny fpot called Icombkill this while,
difpcnfed from midft our ftormy Hebrides the northern lights of truth ;
irradiating Scots, Pi&s, and dwellers in thofe diftant regions, with
corufcations emanating from true religion, and confecrating the
feat of fcience; where, in her hairy gown and mofly cell, flic taught

* It fhould perhaps be mentioned here, that the great emperor Juftinian hirn-
felf never learned to write. His fecretary cut the letters for him to fign, in foft
wood ; then holding his matter's hand, drew the inftrument where the place was cut,
thus A V Thcfe, Jacques Augufte dc Chevancs thinks, were the toitftt tt raff

llttrtt. He takes all this -from Procopius.

and

168 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH. x.

and practifed virtue late rewarded by the pathetick praife of Samuel
Johnfon, when in the year 1772 he vifited thofe remote iflands, and
gave the beft account of them now extant. St. Columb was perhaps fb
called from his devotion to the holy dove, perhaps from his fpirit of ex-
ploration : C0/wftkill was Columb' s all, or cell very poffibly, and fome-
thing tells me I have heard as much. But Dr. Wallace, probably
from Heclor Boethius, has informed us, that the Orkney and Shetland
iflands were then occupied by two old nations, Papl and Pelt. The
firft of thefe poflefled the more northern iflands, in the appellations
of which the names are yet preferved : the lail inhabited the fouthem
-clufter, thence called Terra Petorutn; and the narrow fea dividing them
from Scotland Frcfum Pctlandicum, the Pitt Land, or rather Petland
Frith. Hence we believe that the young prince whom St. Columb
converted, when he met him at the wild court of King Budasus, was
chief of thefc Peti; and there are thofe who think (See Sibbald's In-
troduction to the Hiftory of ancient Scotland) that thefe are the fame
Peti named by Herodotus, when he enumerates the Thracian tribes
that went with Xerxes into Greece. Bif.ones and Saine are certainly
mentioned by him. The Biftons and Saters are among the oldcft
families in Shetland now, fays Campbell in his Survey, written about
the year 1 760, as I remember. But if few learned men graced theft:
dark days, Cedrenus contrives to amufe himfelf and his readers with
ilories of a learned dog, obiervable chiefly for this, that he played over
in the fixth century the fame identical tricks that we ourfelves have
feen performed fbme forty years ago by the chien fcuvanf, and fome
time after by an Englifli fpanicl. This is odder than the continued
exiftence of the Biftons and Satcrs : but perhaps a dog can be taught
only fuch tricks,- or perhaps the fame ideas occur to the preceptors of
dogs in every age ; fome narrownefs it certainly docs prove, either in
pupil or tutor. Giklas, furnamcd the Wife, however, fliould not be
forgotten ; nor mould it pafs unnoticed, that about that time the
fledded Polack, as our Shakefpeare calls him, began to feel the ani-

mating

OH. x.] BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. 600.

mating principle ; and whilft one halt" of" the city Pompciopolis in
Myfia was fwallowed up by earthquakes, Gnefna in Polonia flatted up
dating its firft foundation from a neft of eagles found there as he was
hunting, by Lechus the legislator of the north : who took that bird
for his imprefe in future, and Poniatowfky painted it upon his coach
fo late as the year 1/Gl. The town deftroyed had formerly been
dedicated to the fun, and was called Soli, till Pompey changed its
name. 'Twas from an old infcription upon the cenotaph of Sarda-
napalus found there, that his name has been configned to infamy ever
fmce. But Juftin II. claims a momentary attention, as both the blue
and green fadiions united in their preference of him, the moft deferv-
ing nephew of Juftinian : and in the days we tell of, it was chiefly the
riotous partisans of different chariot-drivers in the arena, that difpofcd
of empires and difmembered ftates. Rome feemed herfelf annihilated,
but as the Pope Pelagius fupported in fomc meafure his facerdotal dig-
nity, he was the firft biihop elevated to the papal chair fincc great St.
Leo, without requiring the Emperor's confcnt ; and the neglect was now
more accidental than deflgncd, for the church had not yet as formally
ihaken off the flate's fupremacy. Pelagius owed his feat and dignity to
Narfes, and was the firft Pope, as Gibbon tells, who required celibacy ol
his clergy : he bid the deacons and fub-deacons leave either their wives
or their offices, and what deacon or fub-deacon was likely to hcfitate
in the choice ? His patron abhorred a married prieft, he faid, and thole
who were abhorred by Narfes lived not long. The new Emperor
however, wholly fvvaycd by his young confbrt Sophia the Proud, had
the imprudence, at her fuggcftions, to fend the gallant leader an in-
fulting letter; which the ill-advifed lady wrote herfelf, thinking it a
high ftrain of loftinefs perhaps to bid him return and fpin with her
maids in the palace, and not think of fetting himfelf up to rule tin-
weft. In effedl he was immediately fuperfeded, and his place rilled
up by a vicegerent, with the ftyle and title of Exarch, the Ji-jcnth form
of government in Rome. This officer held his court at Ravenna, and
VOL. J. Y ruled

170 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH. x.

ruled the ftatc after a new mode, which lafted on (nominally at Icaft)
till time of Charlemagne. But we muft follow the fortune of old
Narfes, who fent his thoughtlefs correfpondent word, that he would
fpin her fuch a thread anon as me and all her maids never mould un-
twift. To keep his word, he made immediate application to Alboin,
a fern i -barbarous prince, refiding in Hungary, where the rough natives
had with horror viewed him to their polluted altar drag by force his
promifed bride, the beauteous Rofmunda, whofe father Conimundus
having denied her to his arms after betrothment, he murdered even be-
fore the fhrieking daughter's eyes ; and forming his fcalped cranium
into a cup, obliged the wretched Princefs to drink out of her parent's
fkull the feflive, but to him, in future, the fatal marriage draught.
Encouraged by revolting Narfes, this pitilefs leader of Pannonian mul-
titudes prefled forward into Italy ; but the offended lady who followed
in his train, and loved his chamberlain Count Helmichis, watched an
unguarded hour, and betrayed her too-confiding fpoufe into the hands
of that lord and another, Peridseus, who {tabbed their mafter Alboin
when afleep. The afTaffins were obliged to run however ; and taking
flicker at Ravenna, a town inimical to Narfes, were received, and
Peridaeus propofed the celebration of his nuptials with the widow, who
.had promifed him her hand in order to obtain the benefit of his. Rof-
munda was no rigid obferver of her promifes; the Exarch, to whom me
applied for releafe of them, was himfelf fenfible to her charms, Longinus,
and fent his rival chained to Conftantinople, where Juftin and Sophia
caufmg him to be thrown to a lion, the brave Croatian killed the fa-
vage beaft, threatened the men who turned it out upon him, and
having ftabbed two noblemen at a time, ufing both hands at once, the
Emperor commanded his eyes to be put out, and caged him for the
remainder of his life. Count Helmichis meantime, her real favourite,
being too much in love to acl with prudence, faw the officious man-
ners of the Exarch, and viewed them with a jealous eye : but teazing
the lady too much with his fufpicions concerning Longinus's zeal in

her

CM. x.] BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. (joo. i r i

JUT fervicc, made him felt" inconvenient to Rofmunda's fchcmcs, and
fhc rcfuhcd upon Ins death immediately. Adding deceit to rrueltv,
ihe herielf prepared the poifon, and with an air of gaiety adminilhircd
it to him in ihcrbct. The llurdy officer however, familiar with
a Ulifii nation, on the firft talle doubted not the intent ; and feizing
his perfidious princcfs with a firm grafp. forced her to divide the fatal
potion with him, and then expired in her lifclcfs arms. Etmuller lav-
that foldiers have an idea whoever drinks out of a human fkull fliall
thereby grow invulnerable. They muft have been true defcendants of
the old Scandinavian deities who thought fo : but Etmuller* died onlv
in 1732. Perhaps at Lcipfick, his native place, they think fo Ji'ill. Then
are there, I believe, ftrong remains of runic and ccltic ideas. The
iublime ode compofcd by King Regner Lodbrog in the ninth century,
has a ftanza faying, " We fought with fvvords; I am (till full of joy
" when I think what a banquet is preparing for me in the palace or'
" the gods. Soon, foon in the fplendid abode of Odin mall we drink
" beer outofthejkulls of our enemies; this will fecure us immortality.
' A brave man ihrinks not from death, no coward enters the hall of
" Odin. Let no man utter cxpreffions of fear ; he mall perifli by the
" bites of ferpents; his abode fliall. be in Naftrandc, w r here drops of
" venom diftill through the lattices, &c. &c." But Retro/fieflioti calls
us off to Juftin, who now firfl perfuaded he had done a folly, began to
fear the confequences of his wife's imprudence, when th'trty tyrants of
the Lombard race divided Italy among them, leaving his Exarch far
lefs power than pomp, and only that midland territory in obedience,
which has been fmcc known by name of the Romagna. Old Narfes
too, returning next from Naples, which he had ftirred up to rebellion,
helped to perplex the Emperor, too How to take alarm : but age at

* Etmuller was no infidel phyfician : he thinks with all his heart, that if you gather
a root of cyanus upon Carpus Chrlfli day, you may, by holding it tight in your hancf,
flop a haemorrhage of the nofc.

Y 2 length

171 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTIIICK KINGS [en. x.

length checked, and death fruftratcd the projects of this indignant and
revengeful eunuch. Avarice is the folc paffion which can keep its
ground at ninety. Stimulated by that, he ftained his warrior fword ;
and having accumulated immenfe treafures, from plunder of the Ita-
lian ftates, he threw them altogether into a well, murdering the
wretched men who brought it thither, that they might tell no tales.
While Juftinopolis, now Capo Iftria, was built by the Emperor as a
fortrefs againft thefe barbarians, who under Clepho, fon to Alboin, but
not by fair Rofmunda, befieged Rome once again; but the imperial
troops foon routed them, and killed the chief of that invading army.
The thirty dukes now felt fo forcibly the effects confequent upon
divided power, they foon took up a new and ftrangc refolve, making
fubfcription for a king to whom they all fhould pay a voluntary ho-
mage. To this high ftation Anthans, a Lombard of venerable extrac-
tion, was elected, nor gave caufe of repentance or even regret to his
fubfcribers ; while Chilperic and Sigebert, Fredeguiid and Brunehault,
made France re-echo with wild tales of wickednefs, and vice yet un-
exampled. A dreadful fliock of earthquake in the eaft, announced
the birth of Mahomet the impoftor ; and Juftin fomewhere about this
period, I believe, fell into a ftate of mental incapacity. He had no
fon : his daughter named Arabia married a doge of Venice ; her de-
fcendants inhabited that gay town as late as 1785. Another daughter
married to Genoa : the houfefae fixed in, not being as noble or illuf-
trious as the Venetian, funk willingly its own original designation in
that of Juftmiani. I faw a lady of that family myfelf, and fancied me
derived from Juftinian I. till 1 w<as told what I ought to have known
before, that he had no child at all by Theodora. Cafa Badoera is the
name of Arabia's defcendants. Gibbon fays that is the greateft private
family in Europe ; but it is very difficult to be accurate in fuch affer-
tions, which Memmo, drawing his pedigree from the Roman consul
Mcmmius, difavowed in my hearing. Upon a peftilence happening
at Genoa long after this, the only furviving Juftiniani. was a prieft ;

and

CH. x.] BY BELTS ARIUS, TO A. D. 600. 173

and was, in confideration of his noble blood, permitted to marry and
continue the Emperor's race. He begged a female from Cafa Ba-
doera as alone worthy his addrefles : they wedded, after five ccnturio
had feparated their confanguinity ; and the old lady I faw at Genoa
(See Pioz/.i's Obfervations and Reflections) was lineally defccndcd from
that pair, connected A. D. 11 74.

Tiberius was now created Caefar Auguftus, fecond of the name for
near fix hundred years. He was a Thracian, as I think, by birth. His
firm behaviour, and above all his zeal for abihufc fpcculations, the
virtue of thofe times, dazzling the mole-eyed hiftorians, they tell no-
thing of him but what is good, and dwell with pleafurc on his fubmif-
fion to the priefthood then for the moft part deeply engaged in keen
difputes, and ever earneft in their endeavours to afcertain the prccife
moment when Meffiah was in heaven firjl cajledfo ; forgetful of his
precepts here on earth, while Chriftian love and charity were loft in
railing accufations of herefy, with which each combatant was hafty to
brand his warm competitor. It were however good to recollect, that
although council after council were fummoned to decide in what man-
ner Jefus was Chrift, i. e. both God and man ; and to make clear the
hidden myftery of hypoftatick union, by which a trinity of pcrfons
comprehends itfelfin unity of godhead ; the good bifliops who dili-
gently aflifted at and compofed thcfe councils, could not write, not even
their names ; as Clarkfon, Warton, Jortin, hundreds more inform us :
they very gravely fet their mark to their opinions ; while fbme at-
tendant clerk, paid for the purpofc, figned and fubfcribcd their an-
fwers to enquiries which Newton and which Pafchal chofe to leave un-
difcufled. So much more bold is ignorance than fcicnce. It likcwiu-
is obiervable enough, that as thefe biihops * moftly made a crnfs ft- rve

* Unlike to tbcfc our Hafaph Venedota, grandfon.as Mr. Pennant fays, to Pate p
Prydain or Prytan, Britain, a cultivated character, wrote and ftudied ; and left not only
his name to our Flintfhire bifhoprick St. Afaph, but has been celebrated by Voflius
among the Serif tret Britannicee,

for

IM FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [CH. x,

for the figuature on fuch occafions, poor folks who cannot write maka
a crofs Jllll.

The proper time for keeping Eafter fcrvcd as a new fubjecl of of-
fence, concerning which the French and Spaniards made a dreadful
conteft worthy a barharous age. Battles between Abares and Bulgarcr-,
ferocious tribes ! remind one of Voltaire's Candida, and RctrofpeSlion
in the ogres and ogrefles, recognizes the entertaining fables, called
Cotites de ma Merc fOve* which frighted and delighted our babyhood.
The Chagan too, no lefs detectable, who entering on the Venetian ter-
ritories with a troop of Huns, beiieged the beautiful Tomilda in Friuli ;
and promifmg her marriage, prevailed with her by meflages, expref-
iive of tendereft affection, to betray the town into his hands. Then
feizing on the citadel, performed the ceremony, and thruft the weak
deluded lady out to periih literally in the half-forfaken ftreets, of in-
fults committed by licentious foldiers on her perfon. Left we fhould
be led however to fuppofe, that the eaftern empire was in a ftate of
higher civilization than the weft, it will be neceflary to relate how ill-
advifed Hormifdas, monarch and tyrant of Perfia, enraged about the
lofs of a battle againft Germany, fent a woman's drefs, cap and gown,
to his general, Baza, by way of reproach for his having fliewn fo little
courage in the engagement. Baza rebelled in confequence of this
affront ; and aflifted by Ccfroe, the hereditary prince, to whom this
officer was a bofom friend ; they foon arrived at home, inverted the
palace with their foldiers, and fuddenly depofed the father and the
king. Making a mow of equity however, a council was called toge-
ther in the great fquare, and a propofal made there aloud by Baza, to
elec"l one of their mailer's fons. " Any of them but Cofroe /" exclaimed
the captive Sovereign from his balcony ; whence, though in irons, he
had the ftrange fearleflhefs to recommend his own particular favourite,
a youth, fbn to his bcft loved female. No more was necefTary, Cofroe
and Baza forced out the unfortunate fultana and her boy, who little

' confcious
* Mother Goofe's Tales,

CH. x.] BY BELISARIUS TO A. D. goo. 175

confcious of the given offence, vmrcfawed afundcr in each other's pre-
fencc ; and all before the face of agonized Hormifdas, who chained to
his fad ftation at the rails of his own balcony, curfcd and reviled their
horrid practices, with rage equally impoflible to curb, to cxprefs, or to
endure. His paffion fuffocating him at length, the rebel's club dafhcd
at his fwclling head, was by Cofroe confidered as a coup de grace.

Et la courroux du ciel pour en venger la terre
Nous donne un parricide en defaut du tonnerrc.

Thunder no more affrights the guilty lands,
Giv'n by avenging heav'n to parricidal hands.

A ftory of a gentler nature here makes a pleafmg break, or change
at leaft, amidft the annals of Gothick barbarity. Fair Theudelinda.
was the only child of Garibaldi, Duke and Prince of Bavaria, and the
fubfcription monarch we have read of, meant to make her queen of
Italy. He fent an embafly therefore to demand his bride, declaring
his purpofe to live the while himfelf in fbmc devout retirement. Bent
upon other thoughts however, he followed, clofely difguifed, the train
of his own envoy, ac"ling the part of fubaltern to him who had com-
miffion to fee, and to report the lady's charms. But when Theude-
linda came down to fuppcr with the nobles, and at her father's com-
mand, fubmitted thofe charms to view ; Antharis fcarce able to con-
troul his rapture, prefcnted the cup to his pretended lord, and when
his miftrefs pledged it, took it from her : filently at the fame moment,
but paffionately preffing her hand : and drawing the happy finger
crofs his lips, (hewed evident figns of paffion yet unobferved by all
except the Princefs, who when retired, told to her nurfe the dangerous
adventure ; lamenting in pathetic terms the officer's audacity, and her
own beauties, which had infpired fb inadmiffible, though not to her an
undelightful flame. The nurfc however, better ikilled in heroick
amours, confoled her patronefs with a conjecture, that it might be
the King of Italy himfelf. His port and peribnal accomplishments

made

176 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS] [CH. x.

made this conjecture probable the event next day proved her experi-
ence in affairs of gallantry, whilft the loves of Antharis and Theude-
linda were celebrated by the bards, and fanftified at the altar.

About this period 'twas that Livigild, a leader of great note in Cel-
tiberia, no longer to be called fo foon, but Spain ; feized with religious
phrenzy, put his own fon to death for being an Athanafian, not an
Arian ; to which opinion he was ftrongly biafled, as having been
newly converted to our faith from paganifm, he had received it in
that mode, examining no other ; but hating, as he faid, a confubflan-

tiolift.

Suffering himfelf afterwards however, to be inftrucled in thofe te-
nets, for which his matchlefs fon had fuffered martyrdom, repentance
foon returned in tides of pious grief ; and Livigild, made king and pro-
felyte, embraced our purer principles with warmth, and for the zeal
he mowed in propagating them, obtained the title of Catholicns ftyle
of the Spanifh monarchs to this day, in honour of a man who forgave
many taxes to the ftate, reduced his civil lift to bare fimplicity, and
by immenfe donations to the church, joined with an unremitting care
towards the poor, endeavoured through a long life of fevere penitence,
to perform that difficult talk of quieting his confcience for the mad
murder of an innocent, and praife- worthy child.

There are who fay, that having killed Hermenichis, the father ab-
dicated his 'command immediately, and Reccaredus, brother to the
martyred prince, performed thefe meritorious actions, and was the firft
catholic King of Spain, while Livigild buried his affliction in a mo-
naftery ; but thefe were days of darknefs, and Retrofpeffion muft for-
give the gloom.

Latin ceafed almofl to be underftood at Rome, once feat and even
throne of claffick elegance ; but quick returning to its former character
of an afylum rather than metropolis, all who were perfecuted in other
realms for their adherence to the true faith, according to the orthodox
opinions concerning the controverted myfteries of trinity and incar-
nation,

CH. x.] BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. Coo. 177

nation, refortcd thither ; and from the Prince's ncglecl of this once
fovcreign city, joined with its nearnefs to the Exarch's court, and im-
mcnfc diftance from imperial prefence, all care on't dropt infenfibly
upon the popes, who muft at length be cleared from any appearance
of fettled or original intention, to leize on or exert their temporal
power for any other purpofe than that truly blamelcfs and pious one,
of comforting fo fad a rcfidence of wretchednefs, and in fomc mcafurc
of maintaining a neceflary police for the fccurity of its few inhabitants.
John of Caftile, who finifhed two half-built churches be^un by hi*
predeceflbr, reigned thirteen years, I think, if reign it may be called ;
and Benedict, contemporary to the thirty Dukes, who fubfcribcd to
finifli their own tyranny, died of a broken heart from feeing the mifc-
ries of his native land

Qui mifcranda videt vcteris vcftigia Roma.
Ilia potcft merito dicere Roma fuit.

Among the various herefies infcfting the five or fix firft ages of our
church, one feel: I think retained the doctrine of Pythagoras, and
fancied they believed in a metempfychofis : fuch furcly muft have
thought the foul of the firft Antoninc tranfmigrated into the facrcd
perfon of Gregory the Great, for confolation of the Chriftian world,
and for the honour too of human nature. His unaffecled refufal of
earthly honours, his ferious refiftance againft fitting in the papal chair,
manifcfted a pure and humble heart ; his homilies, his fermons of
moral and religious inftruclion, to a befotted people ; the fwcct fami-
liar letters that are ftill extant, betray his inward feelings, and evince a
fmcerity of unfeigned virtue, almoft without an equal. While his ex-
tenfive liberality and redemption of captives, continually made by the
Lombard princes, particularly Agilulphus, merit the acknowledgment
ef all mankind.

His kind remembrance too of our poor ifland, remote in every fcnfc
from happinefs in this world ; and filled by pagan follies, barbarou?

VOL. I. Z pra<ftices

178 FROM EXPULSION OF GOTHICK KINGS [en. x,

practices that obftruclcd the foundation of true faith, and pcrfecutcd,
its profdTors who vainly promifed us felicity to come ; ought furely to
engage all Engli/fimcn to look on Jus life vvith peculiar pleafure : nor
did he limit his cares to the procuring necclTary comforts for a fuller-
ing world. He watched over the fine arts> paid money he could ill
fpare for drawings, to keep that fickening fcicnce from complete extinc-
tion ; and previoufly compofing airs well fiiited to. devotion, is faid to,
have pricked down with his own hand the antiphonar-ium centone.ni,,
by which the fmging in the Roman church is,. I believe, regulated to
this very hour. Whether he invented the lengthened notation or not.
may be difputed ; his uncommon talents, and verfatility of genius have
been proved. When he had once fixed in his mind that titles heaped-
on popes were antichriftian, we wonder not that 'twas by his com-
mand that he was called Servus Servorum Dei -fuch he was, without
hyperbole or exaggeration. His temperate life, marked by the love of.
God, and love of man, was fpent in fervice of all Chriftian creatures.
Yet did he take and tranfmit to his fucceflbrs the triple crown as bifhop
of Rome, primate of Italy, and apoftle of the Weft, called from that
day the three legations f and unabolifhed till A. D. 1800, and haughtily
condemned the patriarch of Conftantinople for reviving the diipute
about precedence, and for calling himfelf (impertinently enough we,
own] the univerfal bifhop : fb like Saint Peter in whofe chair he fate

He rather than not go before
Would forfeit heaven at the door..

We muft however recollect, that his opponent who occupied the refi-
dentiary and oriental fee, difputed for thepoft (as did Saint Gregory),
not for the individual. He was a mortified and almoft an emaciated
ikeleton, calkd Jean le Jeuneur par eminence, having never touched
meat or wine fmce his ordination ; fcarcc ever milk and eggs : fo vir-
tuous and fmcere were thefe good pontiff's. That in their day prayers
for the dead fliould be firft introduced is ftrange, and contradictory ;

becaufe

en. x.] . BY BELISARIUS, TO A. D. 600.

becaufe at the fame time other dead were now implored to bcftow
their prayers upon the living, who little reflcdcd that " it had coir
" more to redeem their fouls, fo that they muft let that alone for ever."
Thefe inftitutions afterwards degenerated into a commerce gainful to
the church, although avarice tainted not the mind of this great Pope,
who honeft in his folicitude for departed excellence, was praying for
the future happinefs of Trajan, at an altar fhcwn to this day at Rome,
whence people tell how a flrange voice proceeded, and in a preterna-
tural tone warned him to ceafe his unavailing fuit, afluring him the
object of his care was fafe, and in the hands of his Creator. What he
decreed, that images fhould neither be torn down, nor worshipped, but
held in decent veneration, fliould have been written down in letters of
gold : our commentators fay that was a command which could not
have been obeyed ; for fet up images once in your churches, they will
be worfhipped whether popes and councils will or not. In remote
times perhaps it might be fo ; but I law Notre Dame, at Drcfdcn,
loaded with devotional figures, paintings, and other ornaments, and
no one dreamed of paying them adoration. The Lutherans know
better ; had Gregory's fucceflbrs however, refemblcd ////;/, Luther's re-
formation would have been fuperfluous, and Calvin never would have
been heard <^f. With his pontificate we clofe this chapter, which
has brought out to Retrofyeclion s eye the firft Goo years after our
Lord's afcenfion ; and fliown how thofe wild rufhing inundations
from the north, ran as they fubfided into a vaft variety of fiflures great
and fmall ; formed by the fury of their firft onfct, and broke the uni-
formity of chi! life, as did the deluge 250O years before, crack the
fmooth furface of our natural world, and loofen the feparating parts
from each other. Manners followed the general alteration, and -dates
grew independent of their common lord.

CHAP.

180 FKOM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [en. xr.

CHAP. II.

FROM GOOD ST. GREGORY TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES

MARTEL, A. D. 700.

FROM that great character whofe Chriftian virtues relieve at length
our retro/pef/ive eye, fatigued by following the fierce barbarians
through indifcriminated fcenes of blood and flaughtcr : our Englifh
anceftors derived their hopes of happinefs in the next world, and of prof-
perity in this. The Saxons admitted no juries in criminal cafes; ftill
lefs in matters of property ; nor was there any aciion. fo horrible that it
could not be maintained by the fword, or compenfated by the purfe.
Gifts were omnipotent, and made commutation eafy to the rich for every
offence. Gwilt fatisfied all demands ; whence the word^^V/y, as I have
heard, in our Old Bailey pleadings. But Pope Gregory, who had before
his elevation pitied the poor children fet up for falc at Rome, of whom,
enquiring whence they came, he faid, non Angli fed angeti ; not Angles,
but angels would thefe boys and girls be called had they but baptifm
and educatioa; remembcr'd the pretty flaves he had obfcrved at mar-
ket, and fent over Augufline, a monk, with forne afllftant mimonaries
to England. To difpute whether or not we had at that time a church
independent of papal authority, is a mere jcft ; the bifliop of Caerlou
upon Ufke was, under God, our fpiritual overfeer, fays Spelman ; but
he was fo, I truft, bccaufe the ifland being forgotten and neglected, no
other perfon thought of feeing over them. Gregory the Great never
defircd rule fave for the purpofe of exercifing beneficence. A fhepherd
founded Rome at firft ; a fhepherd and paftor now faved it from
final ruin ; and Gibbon, owns what Howell had aflcrted, that in the

fifth,

CR. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. ]i

fifth, fixth, and fcvcnth centuries, the miftrefs of the world would have
been a heap of ftones, had not the popes prcfcrved it. How happy
had they kept the original characler'of their ftation according to this
excellent example let them ; then as kings have been compared to the
lion, they might in like manner have relcmbled the elephant ; m<v-
jcftic, grave, and wife, and whilft unoffended, innocuous. Meanwhile
his millionaries landed on our coafr., where Providence had prepared
for their reception the heart of a prince who had juft married a beau-
tiful defcendant of Clovis, and had agreed, with that fpirit of toleration
which ever marks an Englifliman, that me mould be allowed free ex-
ercifc of her religion, though differing eflcntially from his own. The
charms of Bertha added their influence to the preaching of Paulinus,
domellick chaplain to the young queen's houfehold, who felt himfcif
happy in affiftance from thcfc newly arrived rcligieux ; and as Can-
terbury was the place where Ethelbert kept his court, 'twas fbon be-
come the fcenc of his converfion, and then exalted into a bilhop's fee,
where Auftin was confccratcd primate. London quickly embraced
the faith, and St. Paul's cathedral was dedicated with due formality.
A church had been built to St. Peter long before, but the laft inun-
dation of barbarifm then flopt religion's progrcfs : things were maturcr
now : Northumberland caught the flame of profclytifm, and York was
made the fecond. refidence to Canterbury. The high pricft of the pa-
gan fupcrftition next, being from internal and external evidence pcr-
fuaded of our redemption by Jefus Chrift, facilitated the happy cre-
dence of an ifland, deftined for the defence of truth in 'future ages.
The Britons- fixed in Wales had long been converted, it w as the Angll
whofe ftate of ignorance and flavcry afre&ed the pope as he patted
through the ftreets at home. His miffionaries however, would not
confine their cares to England ; but not content to find our Welflimsn <
Chriftians, infilled on their being Romaniib, and juft as eager to fettle
the right day of keeping Eafter, as to overturn the worfhip of Woden,
their violence produced refiftance- ou the part of a people already well

inllrudcd

162 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

inftru&ed in the principles neceflary to Salvation, and fleady to their
primitive Simplicity. The verfes of Talicffin, then bard or poet laureat
to Maelgwyn, evince their fixed attention to preferve their Spiritual
pretenfions purchafed by long paft conteft with, and flight from fo-
reign invaders.

Gwae offeririad byd, nys anghreifFtia gwydd

An nys Prcgetha.
Gwae ny cheidw el Gail ac ef yn fugail

Ac nys areilia.
Gwae ny cheidw ei adefaid rhag Bleiddie Rhyfeniaid

Ay ffon guwppa.

Woe be to the prieft thal's born
Who will not duly weed his corn,

And root away the tares ;
Woe to the Ihepherd that's remifs
In watching of his flock and is

Unfaithful to his cares ;
Woe be to him who doth not keep
With's crooked ftaffhis harmlefs (heep

From Romim wolves and fnares.

Rowland's Mona Antlqua.

Their .refuSal of the tonSure however, their abhorrence of the new doc-
trine of unmarried priefthood, and their rejection of the tenets by which
the Sacerdotal drefles were conlidered as of ferious importance ; created
an antipathy towards them in the monks, who eafily incited their Saxon
converts to maflacre every ancient Briton who yet remained Scattered
up and down the richer provinces of an ifland once all their own, and
long protected in pofleflion of it by thofe Romans who now encouraged
the invading Saxons to extirpate them. From the ftate of hopelefs Servi-
tude thofe Welfh were placed in, who by infirmity or fubmiflion efcaped
this nearly general deftrjiction, derives the ancient villenage we read of:
the rightful lords of the country thus becoming its foil villains or

ilaves,

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. 1S8

flaves, a term in our happier days of mere reproach, both through the
kingdom and the principality. But thus we fee the feamlefs coat of
Chriir., faid to have been found about that time in the city Zaphat,
afterwards a Turkifh. relidence, and called Sapet ; but overthrown in
the Sixteenth century by an earthquake, infpiring the papifts with ad-
ditional zeal to preferve uniformity by any and by every method, wil-
lingly forgetting the adage often repeated by the old fathers of our pri-
mitive church, invejle'uarietasjjtfc'ijjhra nonjit ;* but I fuppofc the
colours all were faded. Be this as it may, that fovercignty which will
ever be obtained by fuperiority of knowledge amongft unenlightened
nations ilruggling for information, was here loon fettled into monkifh
influence ; and as power will be commonly abufed, the pofleflors of
that influence turned it to gainful purpofes ; what fhould they clfe ?
As religieux they could not reign thcmfelvcs, and when precluded
from the nobler paffions, avarice, which ever feeds on drofs and dregs,
devoured well-pleafed the leavings of ambition. Obedient Angles paid
chearfully a penny each houfe to their inftruclors ; a tax known by
the name of Peterpence : nor can we cftccm that a hard one, if it be
true that Withred, king of Kent, was able, not long after thcfe occur-
rences, to pay the king of Weflcx a fum in their filver equal to 90,000!.
Nor does ought in the Saxon chronicles give reafon we fhould doubt
it ; for though their coins are very mean and paltry, we read of a
Northumbrian prelate ferved in plate not long after the year /OO. Of
what \\\sferuice confifted, indeed I am at a lofs ; for filver hatted knives
i\ ere new at Edward the fecond's coronation: perhaps he had one
filver waiter or a cup. His feet were in the dirt we know, for fplcn-
dour will come in before convenience ; fo much more hafte mart"
jnakes to be diftinguifhed than to be happy. The famous church of
St. Peter's, Weremouth, built by Benedict Bifcopius, was never floored
or paved, though people were far fetched from Rome to build it ; and

* Let the vefturc of our Redeemer exhibit variety of tints, but let no fdrtars clivide-
the parts.

Eddius

184 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [en. xi

Eddius fays that bifliop Wilfrid glazed one fine window of a church in
Yorkshire as early as 669. The ftate of mufick in thefe days may be
gathered from aftory how Putta bifliop of Rochefter, being driven from
his fee by Ethelred king of Mercia, in 680, went about the country an
itinerant pfalm-fmger, teaching children, and people difpofed to learn,
the choral praifes of their Maker and his faints, according to the rough
melody then in ufe ; acquired probably from France, where Theodoric
had, at Clovis's requeft, long before, fent fomc of his beft performers
from Italy. In thefe days St. Dunftan too was fo exquifite a perfor-
mer, that his harp was accounted ccleftial, and capable of producing
founds without help of any hand at all : witncfs the old verfes mack-
ages after :

St. Dunftan's harp faft by the wall

Upon a pin did hang a;
The harp itfelf with lyre and all,
Untouch'd by hand did twang a.

And this fuperftition fetting fome fly fellow to tune two firings in uni-
fon, &c. putting the inftrumcnt in a place where the wind blew hard,
fuggefted the idea of vEolus's harp, defcribed by Kirchcr in Mufurgia.
It was no new dilcovery in our days. But our own ifland muft not
engrofs all powers of RelrofpeEtion : the plague which raged at Rome
may well detain it, perhaps to admire the courage of the pontiff, per-
haps in our prefent humour, to condemn as fuperftition what fcarcc
could even then have been enough praifcd as piety. When the meek
bifliop walked himfelf in proceffion, fcarlcfs for his fafcty, along the in-
fected ftrcets, fmging devout litanies to heaven, and rcquefting from
God, not requiring from man, ceflation of the dire calamity. " While
tlioufands literally fell bcfidc him, and ten thoufand at his right hand,
yet was he not afraid either for the pcfHlencc that walked in darkncfs,
nor for the fickncfs that dcftroycd at the noon day." So did true Chrif-
tian faith tramplti indeed upon the adder, and crufli the poifonous ba-
filifk under foot. The pathognomic fymptom of this difeafe was
fheezing, and 'tis not in. Europe totally forgotten. Some (till fay, God

blefs

CH. xr.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. 1 85

blefs you, upon fuch occafions ; others fignifying the fame intent,
commute their prayer with a bow. But fccncs of horror were not
confined to Rome. Cofroe the Pcrfian fpoiled Jerufalem, and maf-
facrcd, I think Cedrenus fays, 90,000 Chrillians ; as many Jews had
been, in confequence of Sifibetus's edift, forcibly baptized the year be-
fore. Famines too, confequent perhaps on fuch a lofs of men to till
the earth, drove feveral of the laft named race to feck a watery grave,
and leap from the high cliffs of Calabria into the fea, rather than (larve
upon its barren mores ; while fomething of a fimilar defperation is re-
corded of Anglo Saxons on the coaft of Suflex. When I read this to
an Italian friend however, and when he afked me why they did not
rather go o' fiming ? I had no anfwer ready. Hillory herfclf is often
ill prepared enough when fudden queftions interrupt her eloquence ;
and my poor fummary is willing to confcfs as controvertible the truth
of many a facl recorded here : but with the fads, except as a compiler,
myfelf have nought to do. 'Twas in this century at lead that Ifidore
Hifpalenfis wrote his books of Retrofyetfion, beginning with the earlieft
dawn of light, but leaving us in days of fad opacity. And how has
that vaporous effe<ft of diftance increafed fmce his time ! How is the
difficulty grown almoft infuperable, of finding through the gloom de-
cided objc&s on which to fix our mental telefcope. My terror is left
readers mould agree to throw it down at once, and think upon this
huddled work no more. The ages now under reviewal feem the No-
vember of our dcftined year ; in which we travel through dark ages,
and in the abyfs of chaos and old night meet often, as did Satan once,
a vaft vacuity;

Or clfe a univerfal hubbub wild

Of {tunning founds and voices all confus'd.

Monfieur dc Longucrue, fpeaking on this fubjcdl, fays truly, that
die firft kings of his native France were ftrangc creatures. Us ctaient
d'et ranges gciis, is the expreffion. Clovis and Clothaire (fays he),

VOL. I. A a Childcbcrt

185 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xr.

Childebert and Dagobert ; Cardan mould, for our fakes, have made
their pancgyrick inftead of Nero's. *Tis from him we learn however,
that St. Cloud was ib named after Clodoalde, who, to compenfate
the groiTefl poflible immoralities, made immenfe donations to the
church, and at fome future time was canonized. Ciothaire, made
king of France at four months old, under the regency of Gontr.tm
due d'Orleans and the old finner Brunhault, felt when the fhort mi-
nority was ended (for princes then were at fifteen emancipated) his
juftice and his power mature. He called his wicked grandmother to
trial ; and at an age almofl advanced to dotage and decrepitude, me
was found guilty of the death often kings, or at leaft heirs to royalty ;
and many accufations of inceft and cruelty being added, me was tied
by her remaining grey hairs to a wild horfe's tail, and gradually kicked
in pieces. Her charitable inftitutions however, when enumerated,
tempt fome historians to mollify her crimes, and fome readers to com-
paffionate fuch fufferings inflicled by that favourite child, for whofe
fake many of the fins had been committed.

Ciothaire was of a truly favage character : Dagobert his fon alone
could foften his furious temper ; and he forced or perfuaded him to
give up half his power, getting himfelf created independent fovereign
of Metz, with the title of king. The word duke had been difgraced
by a nobleman of that rank, having fubmitted to acl as preceptor to
young Dagobert, who cut off his beard as a punimment for having fate
down in his pretence So changed were the manners of princes fince
the reign of Theodofms !

This Dagobert, when feated \ipon an uncontrollable throne, over-
leaped all bounds of decency and honour, and at length tore Natildis,
a. beautiful young nun, out of her convent and married her, his own
wife being yet alive. The bifhop Amandus ventured to reprove him r
and Dagobert drove him into exile ; but on his fon's birth called him
back to chriften the boy Sigebert, thinking fuch virtue in the perfon
who adminiflered baptifm would be of fome advantage to the child.

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. 187

So fmall were the benefits accruing to mankind fince the difruption of
the once firm-fet world conglobed under one univerfal monarch ! But
'tis thus we obferve each paffion of humanity made fubfervient to the
new difpenfation, the great end of Providence, in breaking, dividing,
and parcelling out the earth, fo long under dominion of a fmglc mind.
The huge afpiring tree which once had ferved as ihudow for the
whole, although fallen down, ftill put forth boughs that yet retained
fome verdure, and in the form of a Greek empire leemcd " majeftick
*' tho' in ruin." A quick fuccemon of thofe rulers at Conftantinoplc,
Prifcus and Phillipicus, Mauritius and Commentiolus, with Phocas the
centurion, chofen in lieu of Mauritius, a pcrfon of fearful afpeft as 'tis
faid ; have fcarcely been refcued by their contemporary writers from
oblivion, though each was feverally inverted with the purple. The
vices of the times were black and fullen ; accufations of forcery and
magick arts, with unjuftifiable feverities pradlifed on fuch as gave ful-
picion of their future conduct by lucklefs names perhaps, dreams,* or
initials fuppofed to be inaufpicious. The principal virtue was re-
deeming captives catched up by the Huns, &c. Prifcus paid three
hundred pounds weight of gold to Chaganus for prifbncrs he had
taken; and Commentiolus refuting to give five millings each, of our
prefent money, for a large lot of them, a rebellion was the confc-
qucnce. The Pope faid, if he had not had three thoufand monks to
feed daily out of his own privy purfe, he could have bought more fouls
to orthodoxy ; for his exalted ftation would not permit him to imi-
tate the famous bimop of Nola, who, having nothing left to purcha/c
captives, at laft pawned linnfelf; and by that ftretch of heroifm, to a
poor widowed mother of mean rank reftored her only/on. The Croats,
ftruck with fuch unequivocal ilgns of a truly charitable fpirit, gave good
Paulinus almoft all he afkcd, and fent him home at the head of a fmall
army of unpaid-for countrymen. But ecclefiaftical, like Auguftan

* Phillipicus was exiled for dnatning that he was an emperor.

A a 2 hiftory,

188 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. x-.

hiftory, teems with ftrange tales, incredible almoft to us, who live in
days of more regularity than adventure ; while wonder glows up to
admiration one moment, and difgufl evaporates into contempt an-
other. Yet now and then

Bright angel forms athwart the fblemn dufk,
And voices more than human thro' the void
Deep founding, feize th'enthufiaftick ear.

Sabinian now fucceeded to the popedom, and dying, left the fee
vacant eleven months. Of Boniface III. 'tis beft worth noting, that
he obtained an imperial grant confirming his fupremacy, likewife a
claim to exclude other bifhops from the title of pope : till then the
word was not confined to one.* Guthrie dates all their power from
that day, but Gibbon fets it earlier. In Diodati's time a marriage
with godfon or mother w r as made criminal ; and although guilt in
every poflible modification infefted the Chriftian world, this pontiff
thought the dreadful earthquake which fhook all its Italy to it foun-
dation, was fent in punimment of fome fuch nuptials. Such were the
ideas, fuch the ftate of Rome. England, more rational, records a de-
cree made about that time, that no bifhop fhould keep glee-maids,
clthartedes ne quecumque Jymphoniaca, to fing him to fleep, or play to
him on the harp after he was in bed. Such was the flate of morals,
when looking back we may obferve, that as political life feemed never
tired of multiplying its petty objecls of divided attention, religion on
the contrary fimplified apace, and hafted to a fixed pofition, finifhing
all worfhip in a fingle point. Mankind apparently grew weary of
kneeling to works of their own hands, wood and ftone. Whilft they
could be perfuaded that thefe idols did actually reprefent fome celeftial
agent, aon, divinity or emanation of invifible power, veneration was
eafily fuppofed their due ; but when the mere creature was expected

* 'Tis fo in Ruflia ftill.

ctt. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700.

to occupy the whole of the adorer's mind, the mcaneft of thofe minds
felt half repelled, and was without difficulty attracted to a more in-
telligent mode of preferring petitions to Providence. Thus difpofed,
the world divided quickly into three opinions ; the Athanalian doc-
trine, the Arian fyftcm, and the Mahometan impofturc : nor could
Paganifm ftand its ground at all, which once had filled the earth with
fancied deities innumerable. Of the others fomcthing has already
been told, the third claims more than a glance of Ret rofpef lion. Of
this fec^ then, of this religion rather, the very extraordinary founder
was born of idolatrous parents at Mecca in Arabia Felix, an old town,
half confecrate to unity of godhead ; where the retreat of Hagar is ftill
(hewn, and Iflimael's fountain watering the fquare is dedicated to
truth. There the numerous fcrvants of a rich merchant's widow,
Cadiga, commanded Mahomet as flavc to the houfe : and her eye
alone difccrned his fupcrior genius through all the disadvantages of
fituation. Yet though to his marriage all future advancement was
originally owing, his laws, when promulgated, funk the female lex fo
low in the fcale of creation, that their ftate in the call juft forms a-
fhade between mankind and brutes. Cadiga's choice jufliiied no fucli
degradation : me was perfuadcd he had fome peculiar communication
with the world of fpirits, and when apprized of his immcnfe deligns,
ftie faw him fall in real or pretended trances, her heart would not
permit her to doubt or to deny that they were caufcd by oppreflion of
angelic prefence. Chriftians have called thefe perturbations upon
commencement of his celebrity mere epileptic fits; but as we hear no
more of them at all, either when he fled before his new-railed ene-
mies,* or when he drove before his conquering army all who oppofed
his new-formed legislature ; I rather think they were a true and for-
cible imprelfion on the brain, heated to agony by hopes and fears, of
what he wifhed and what he dared to do, operating upon an ima-

* Whence Turks date all events from Hegira or the Flight.

gination

100 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

gi nation naturally combufHblc. The Turks have to this hour an un-
common and peculiar veneration for madmen, among whom Mahomet,
had he only projected his future elevation, mult have been ranked : but
a 61 ion, bufmefs, buftle, foon kept every moment employed, and to
liich energy of character fuch plans were alone proportionate ; till not
Cadiga alone, but Mecca herfelf, received the flave born under her
protection as lord and lawgiver ; fole fovereign in this world and in
the next, mediator between God and man. The Jews call his religion
IfJimad/Jlii, with no great impropriety. He was a Koraite himielf,
descended from Korai or Koraifh, a fon of Ifhmael ; the nobleft of
their tribes, but fallen into decay. His avowed purpofe was to re-
eftablifh the wormip of their patriarch, and abolifh plurality of gods.
His earlieft followers puflied the new principles into what has been
fince called Spinozifm, but they were known by name of Zendikites,
believing God to be the four elements, and denying Providence and
tlie refurrcciion, having mingled fome Zoroaftrian tenets with thofe
of Mahomet. He then found it necelTary to publifli his Koran, and
proclaim his code of laws, which he maintained by his fword ib well,
that thoufands fell before his conquering arm. That he was affifted
in compiling the Alcoran, &c. by a Neftorian. monk, may or may not
be true; it takes but little from that amazing power of invention dif-
played in the ftory of Mifra, or his journey to the fevcn heavens, per-
formed in the tenth part of one night, borne on the beaft Alborak to
Jerufiilem, and thence conducted by the angel Gabriel through fix in-
ferior heavens to God's throne. Aftronomy was at a low ebb then we
find ; for from the fail heaven of pure filvcr, he law the ftars hang
down in golden chains, as they do in Homer, and each ftar was lar^e
as Mount l\obo ; but Adam there, on feeing him, gave God thanks for
fo great a fon, and fhewcd him the rarities of the place, among which
the radiant chanticleer mines brighten^, when ftrctching liis white neck
up to the fecond heaven, he claps his rubied wings and crows aloud :
heard by his fellow birds on earth they anfwer him, and fing the matin

fong,

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. j r, i

fonjr, plcafmg to God. Next in the golden fhgc Noah prefidcs. An
angel of death, there defcribed with wonderful fublimity, fpins, draws,
and cuts our thread of life, like the three fitters in pagan mythology. A
heaven of adamant ferves as the refidencc of Mofes. Jcfus dwells all
in divine light, and to his prayers Mahomet commends hinifelf; the
others all prefs him to pray for them. Once arrived however at the
throne of Omnipotence, he heard thefe words, which to imprcfs upon
his followers' minds was indeed the whole bent of his mifiion There,
is but one God (faid the voice), and Mahomet is his prophet. The fen-
tence was befidcs delivered to him written, upon the fkin of that
fame ram which Abraham offered in exchange for his fon. So docs
the fubtle Ifhmaelite againft his will acknowledge the progeny of his
preferred brother Ifaac, and the merit of his typical facrifice ; although
the fiift tenet of Mahometan ifm teaches that Jefus was a prophet, not
a Chrift ; nor in any wife to be called or confidered as Son of God.

Concerning other parts of this extraordinary Mifra, Hali and Omar
iplit into two feels, the firft who married Fatima the Impoftor's
daughter, fcems to have been the lawful fucccflbr ; his motto was,
I adore. God with a Jinccre heart. Omar however caufed him to be
ailaffinated ; and that great Caliph 'twas who took Jcrufalcm, which
then was given up to infidels for four hundred years ; he conquered
Ifdigerdcs, and put an -end to that dynafty, finishing likewifc the old
Perlic, or Perczic fuperftition. They had worfhipped the fun fince
Zoroailer's time, fourteen centuries at lead. Perez means the fun ;
they were Perezians, or Pcriians, now no more: 'twas time they were
deftroycd. The monfler Cofroe had fackcd Jerufalem not twenty
years before, killing innumerable Jews, Chriftians, all he found ; and
carried Zachary, the primate, and the crofsof Chrift away. He flayed
his own general, Sain, alive, and ftrcwed him over with fait ; he pro-
faned the temple of the fun, and tried to make his foldicrs worfhip
him in it. The emperor, Heraclius, defeated him however, and he,
too old to make more head, appointed his youngcft fon as fucccflbr.

Si roe

FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

Siroc enraged at that, as being eldeft, killed all his brothers in his father's
li jht, who died of parental pain ninety-eight years old, remembering
how himfclf had ferved Hormifdas. Siroe, the fon, reigned but a fhort
time, and 'twas his fucceflbr Ifdigerdes that loft that country to the
Saracens. Meanwhile the Exarch of Ravenna, concluding that his
ibvereign would find employment in thefe eaftern wars, fet himfelf
up for king of Italy, without fuccefs indeed ; he loft his head, and it
w r as fcnt off to Constantinople, whither young Theodore, the Em-
peror's brother, was juft returned from recovering the crofs, carried for
ihow of more refpect by Heraclius himfelf, and placed with no fmall
pomp at poor Jcrufalem, which in eight years afterwards was loft irre-
trievably to all-fubduing Omar. 'Twas ftrange however, that a Chrif-
tian Prince who had himfelf on that occafion borne home the crofs of
Chrift in a proccffion, mould in a little time fo heat his fancy as to
think he who fuffered on it a mere phantom, raifed by Omnipotence for
purpofes of our falvation. This herefy of the Docetes owed its endur-
ance (nor went it without punifhment and heavy cenfure) chiefly, if
not wholly to the juft abhorrence in which true Catholicks muft ever
hold the contrary extreme ; maintained at firft by Ebionites, who early
learned a bold denial of their Saviour's godhead, and limitation of
his powers ; and which opinion, modified by Anus, drew after it in-
numerable fecedcrs from our church.

Among the Lombard dilTenters, the ftory of Anowaldus here de-
ferves a glimpfe of Retrofpetiion. He had a chamberlain, his name
Adolphus, whom the young queen, fair Gundibert, commending for
his uncommon beauty ; this bold youth fuppofed her paffionatclv in
love with him, and offered careffes, which Ihe repulfcd with fuch dif-
dain as to provoke his malice and refentment. Ariowaldus was foon
informed his wife was falfc, and thofe who had accufcd her of adul-
tery, added a feigned confpiracy agreed upon with Taflb, governor of
Tufcany, to poifon her huiband. The lady was imprisoned, but at
requeft of Clothaire, king of France, the Lombard leader granted her

a cham-

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES MAKTEL, A. D. 700. 193

a champion, the firfl 1 read of; and her near kinfman, Aribert, ac-
cepting the office, difarmed the groom, who now confeft his guilt,
and faid, her fpitting in his face incenfcd him. Aribert was a catho-
lick the Arian Prince feeing him victorious in the duel was converted,
and Gundibert rcftored to favour, after four years imprifomcnt, for
having beenfiifycfled, though unjuftly. To Ariowaldus Rotharis fuc-
cecded ; he took Oderzo, then called Opitergium, and was the firft of
thcfe who ruled by written laws ; till his reign they repeated by me-
mory what was called edids of the Lombard juftice, difcountenancing
all but active virtue, and fcorning all but oral knowledge. Meanwhile
the names of Marcello and Grimaldi grace the Venetian records,
though Fortunatus, an Arian bimop of Aquileia, took fome towns from
them, and forced the young republick to requeft fuccours from Con-
ftantinople. The Emperor, to repair their loflcs, fent them a prefcnt
of St. Mark's chair from Alexandria, where, to fay truth, few rarities
remained ; and Omar now had burned the famous library, containing
trcafures of fcience, relicks of ancient learning, all that efcaped from Go-
thick fury, while the great work of feparation ftill went forward ; Spain
afTumed in fome refpeds the form ive fee it in ; our own kingdom was
a fettled heptarchy, and Lent was rigidly obferved in England, where
Cambridge boafts enlargement by king Sigibcrt. Warton fays too, that
we poffefled a Homer the pope Vitalian, fent us here a prelate, rich
in found literature and valuable books : he had the homilies of good
St. Chryfoftome, he had Jofephus too, and Warton does fay his Homer
was written on paper. Adrian, who came over with him, brought us
two filken palls, and an arch chanter from Naples, and Bale very feri-
oufly cenfures our voluptuoufnefs. But thcfe events, although confi-
derable in their effects on civil and on focial life, are far too faint to
hold the eye of Retrojpeflion fixed on them, while giant forms come
forward on our canvas, and names all new to fame fill her wide trum-
pet's mouth, which will refound with Othman and Abdallah, Hali and
Saladin, down to the fullen echoes of latcft pofterity. Mcfopotamia
VOL. I. B b conquered,

1 9 4 FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

conquered, ./Egypt fubdued, Arabia all aftonilhed, Antioch reduced,
and a new mofque built at Jerufalem for the Mahometan worfliip,
might have made men juftly regret their long-loft Bibles, where would
have been foon found the prophecy of locufts by Joel, who lived near
800 years before and revelations of ftrange vifions mown St. John gO
years after our Saviour's sera. Such pens alone could poffibly defcribe
this cloud of warriors as they rolled along, blackening the fun with
their numbers, and afflicting the earth with their oppreffion, fcorpions
from the fandy defarts, flinging mankind to madnefs. " A fire devour-
cth before them, and behind them a flame burneth ; the land is as the
garden of Eden before them, and behind them a defolatc wildernefs ;
the earth fliall quake, the heavens mall tremble, and before their face
the people fliall be much pained." So are they defcribed by the prophet.
St. John's vifionary view of thefe invaders colours, has fixed interpre-
tation upon them ; for I faw, fays he, the horfes and thofe who fate there-
bn ; having bfeaft-plates of fire, of jacincl:, and of brimftonc ; the heads
of their horfes are as the heads of lions, and they have a leader over
them whofe name is the dejlroyer. Scholars aflure us, that fuch were
in fact the decorations of thefe Saracens in war ; and that flame co-
lour and pale yellow were their diftinguiflung colours in the battle.
A ftridl inveftigation of their leader's name might poflibly throw light
on that enquiry. I never heard the etymology of Mohammed. His
followers' appellations were nearly Jewifh. JuflufTand Ibrahim are
fcarcely changed from Abraham and Jofeph ; Solyman and Zara have
Buffered ftill lefs alteration from the fcripture names Sarah and Solo-
mon ; Turkifli Abdalla means fervant of God we know ; and Abdiel
has the lame fenfe appropriated to it in Hebrew. Milton, ever atten-
tive to learning, makes the reception of his faithful angel, fo called,
echo his name ; when a Voice from the throne pronounces the hoped-
for fentence Servant of God, well done, &c.

Pope Severinus was faid to have died of grief at hearing the pro-
grcfs made by thefe Saracens, though others fay his health was
mofl impaired by the Emperor's refufal to confirm him in the fee,

becaufe

CH. xi.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700. 195

becaufc he fct his face againft Monothelites. His prcdeccflbr, Ho-
norius, had before this covered St. Peter's church with brafs tiles,
torn from the temple of Romulus ; and Vitalian, who fent u-
the arch chanter, had in his zeal for mufick fct up organs in
feveral places of worfhip at Rome. Yet were things ftill in a
rugged ftate. Eugenius IV. who acted as vicar for unhappy Martin,
did build indeed fomc facerdotal prifons, that? pricfts, if guilty of a
mifdcmeanour, might not be confounded with common felons : yet
Martin, a Tufcan pontiff, was, in dcfpite of decency, fcized by the
Exarch, upon an order from Pyrrhus, baniflied, and llarvcd to death for
having oppofcd him arid his emperor, Conftans, when they perfifted
in the heretical opinion of the Docctcs. A patriarch of Conftanti-
noplc thus infulting St. Peter's fucceflbr, was certainly not foon, if
ever quite forgotten : and Theodore, in his fhort papacy, wrote the
anathema of the bold Pyrrhus, with a pen dipt in the cuchariilick cup,
the cup of general blefling ; by this we learn at leaft, that the wine
was red then ; the Romanifts ufe white now, and I think mix that
with water. Meanwhile the emperors, enfeebled by domeftick quar-
rels, for Conftans reigned but by fevcrities praclifed upon his guilty
aunt Martina, who ioft her nofe and tongue for plots and poifbnings,
grew daily weaker ; while the fierce Saracens incrcafed in ftrcngth.
Among their various exploits, our retrojpcfiive eye now fees the old
Coloflus of Rhodes fall before thefe invaders, who fold the bright
Apollo to a Jew ; and he, loaded, 'tis faid, nine hundred .camels with
its no longer wafte folidity. Thus ended .the fmh wonder of the
world thus dropt at once from its prepofterous elevation, the now
more than ever inanimate mafs of paganifm, and funk before the
unity of godhead. Chriftians believed the end of all was near ; and
Gregory meditated dcfertion from his imperial feat, inverted by thcfc
warriors apparently irrefiftible : his plan was to have retired to Syra-
cufe, foon to be called Mctfina, but all the .people rofe up and detained
him. Callinicus, a Greek pricft^ on this occafion found or revived
the dreadful plague of wild -.11 re, and with it burned their fleet in tlie

B b 2 Propontis.

jgfi* FROM GOOD SAINT GREGORY [CH. xi.

Propontis. Africa, next invaded, gave itfclf up again a conquered
province : Spain, Sicily, and Aiia's beft pofleffions followed ; but no
diftrefles cured the Greek emperors of exercifing fenfelefs cruelties on
their own family : Gregory killed his brother Theodofius, only becaufe
he thought the people loved him ; and they juftly confidered this fra-
tricide more black, as Theodofius was a prieft and deacon, and the
Emperor had only a week before received the blefled facrament at his
hand. Seeing their fixed diflike, he flew to Sicily, having made mo-
mentary peace with the Saracens ; and there his chamberlain or page
afTaffinated him. A fucceflbr, Mezentius, chofen by the army, was
quickly killed by a new Conftantine, called Pogonatus ; becaufe, hav-
ing no beard when he went to Sicily he brought one home with him
to Conftantinople ; having firft cut off his two brothers' nofes, that
they might not not be called to fliare that power he was unable to de-
fend, although the ignis gracus flood him in good ftead, having de-
ftroyed thirty thoufand Saracens at once in fome great fea engagement.
Broke down by foreign lofles, he however refolved to think no more
about the popedom, and fignified to Benedict II. fuccefTor to Adeo-
datus, Donus, Agatho and Leo, all exemplary characters ; that the
election of fupreme bifhop at Rome mould flill fland good, whether
or not confirmed by mandate from Conjiantinople. This decree con-
tributed to caufe, not cure, confufion : the Exarch of Ravenna now
chofe one pope, the people another : difgraceful fcenes and fharp de-
bates, called the ninth fchifm, followed ; till Conon was inaugurated,
and on his death Sergius was forced, with J oo Ibs. weight of gold, to
buy zjujl election, and appeafe Pafchal the petty tyrant of Romagna.
This Sergius was the firfl who ordered the Blefled Virgin's nativity to
be kept holy, and added thefe words to the communion fervice " Oh
" Lamb of God, who takeft away the fins of the world ;" keeping by
this means Monothelites and Docetes out of the church, and obliging
Chriftian people to reflect, that their Redeemer, though perfect God,
was perfect man too, of the fubftance of his mother born in the world,
when thus her birth-day was commanded to be held holy.

Juftiniaii;

CH. XT.] TO THE BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. 197

Juftinian, fucceflbr to Pogonatus, difgraced the purple, not only by-
cutting off the nofcs, and thrufting out the eyes of his opponents,
but finally, by having his own face disfigured by Lcontius, who
afterwards ended his life in a halter, while Juftinian III. not dif-
pofed to hide, as it was hoped, his uglinefs in a monaftery, after death
of Tiberius Abfimarus reigned again ; till now the birth of Charles Mar-
tel at Paris, gives us a glimpfe of nafcent civilization and recovering de-
corum, towards the year 700. Yet even then was Europe threatened
with frcfli calamity, the Normans, or Norwegians, buriling in full
tides on France, retarded their felicity, and fuggefted to them a new
deprecatory fentence, which they added to their litanies, and faid
' From plague, peftilence, and fury of the Normans, good Lord de-
" liver us." With this fad and neceflary petition we will dole this
long chapter ; for now Pomponius Laetus leaves us, all is dark and
cheerlcfs, and like the embarrafs'd knight in fome old cattle, when his
fole lamp is blown out with a fudden wind, we w ander over mofs-
grown fragments, watching deceitful lights through ivy'd crevices,
yet ftepping cautioufly ; for though our laft faint glimmering guide is
gone, readers will laugh, not pity when we ftumblc.

CHAP.

'FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. [CH. xn.

CHAP. XII.

FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. TO
CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800.

AN incomplete hiftory is a poor thing, fays the Jefuit Le Moine,
and a complete hiftory, adds he, mall not appear but in that year
which fhall difcover the perpetual motion and the philofopher's {tone.
We fay with equal truth, a perfect fummary of events and circum-
ftances fmcc the Chriftian a;ra would be, although a ufeful, no very
fplendid or refpcctable performance, while an imperfect one is good for
little indeed. We promifed only Retrofpettion, and even that grows
difficult of performance. Yet a word muft be faid concerning lan-
guage, that firft gift of God, created fmgle, but afterwards, to punifh
our mifufe, broken into an endlefs variety. The early fcheme of po-
liticks however, while the fupreme command lodged in a fmgle breaft,
tended in fome meauire to fynthetize what had been fuddenly and
preternaturally decompofed ; and when the fpirit of Omnipotence again
defcended 225O years after, 'tis thought the variety was much di-
minimed, by numbers crouding round one vaft metropolis, as Niniveh
or Rome. The laft of thefe having fubdued Greece, grew eafily ena-
moured of the lovely captive, admired the arts and elegant fpeech of
their newly incorporated citizens, and polifhed their old language by
thefe models, till the tongue fpoken 150 years before Cicero's time
could hardly, in the days of Antonine, be underftood without a com-
ment ; witnefs the columna roftrata fet up to commemorate the deeds
of Duilius in the fecond Punic war, with an infcription puzzling com-
mon obfervers, of which bifhop Walton gave a copy and explanation
not very long ago ; but as the Romans took a tincture of the Greek
cxpreffion into theirs, fo they bellowed in return, corruption to that

tongue

CM. xn.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 80O. log

tongue which Ariftotle taught, and Xenophon adorned ; till at kft,
mixing with various nations, and fuffering barbarians to break in upon
them from unknown, unintelligible regions, the Latin language funk
into decay ; le and lo came in as abbreviations of tile and tllo, giving
the modern caft to fpeech that daily grew more and more crouded
with articles, whilft us being cut away from the ends of proper names
by Apocope, Theodor/V flood for Thcodoricxw, &c. giving them a
Ghaelic termination. Abbreviating words is ftill a mark of illiterate
groffnefs in Italy, where Tufcans tell how a foreigner obfcnrcd that
bread was called pane at Florence, at Milan pan, at Turin pa, at Brefcia
p only : I fliall, fays he, lofe my bread entirely if I go further north-
ward, we drop a letter almoft every ftage. But we return to the
eighth century, when Greek, by the translation as we term it of Rome
to Conftantinoplc for fo many years, began to lofc her fupcriority, and
fink into vulgar ufe ; "while the bad Latin lately introduced, became the
court language, and the law language, and kept the command where
it did not dcfervc the dominion. Thus like a pure frrcam turned
through a reedy pool ftagnant and mantling, a portion of the polluted
mafs remained, vulgarizing that currency of flowing fpccch that had
charmed Tully's ear, and excited Virgil's emulation : till Crufms, in
the true fpirit of a fcholar, faid that it would even pity a man's heart
to fee poor Athens, once fo renowned for eloquence and learning, be-
come the very head quarters of barbarous and corrupt philology.
Crufms indeed, lived not till the fixteenth century, and we have now
the eighth under reviewal, when Greek was ilill a living language to
the Arabs. The accounts of their caliph's treafury and houfehold
were kept in Greek then ; the library of Saxc Gotha Ihows many ra-
rities of this kind, and proves, from Rcinefms's collection of valuable
MSS. tlmt in the year 758, Homer and Pindar were tranflated by
the ftudious Immaclitcs, while Frankis Jfreche is calt Romance, fo fit
ckrcs et mm of Trance. Till knowledge, like a well-pieced ftatue of an-
tiquity was once more broken again, not in the old places merely, but
in many other parts till then uninjured. Fragments were however here

and

200 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700. [CH. xir.

and there picked up ; Morienus, a hermit near Jerufalem, wrote oa
the tranfmutation of metals ; Boerhaave fays it was tranllated into Latin
about the year 1 182. Some few devotional trads poorly written, per-
petuate the name of an old Saxon monk or two ; and fome romances,
to the reading of which Damafcius, who lived under the laft Juftinian,
had given mankind a tafte by his four books of Incredibilities ; for fo
i'uch things were called, till towards the period we are treating of,
they acquired the name romant, perhaps from having been compofed
,in the court dialed of the original metropolis, ruined as 'twas ; in con-
tradiftindion to the Walloon or Gaulifh dialecl. We are told of a fy-
nod fuppreffing fome of theie romances very early, as being too loofely
written : they were the compofition of fome bilhop of Tricca, w ho
was informed that he muft either burn his book publickly, or renounce
his church dignities ; like a true author, he preferred the laft.* That
fome derive the word from romanfero, I invent orjind, in old Spanilh ;
(whence troubadours or finders) few are ignorant ; but fcholars muft in-
form us whether that word was early enough incorporated into Caftilian
didion for fuch an etymology to be poffible. On my epitome indeed,
fcholars will fcarcely be induced to look : 'tis from their labours that I
light my little twift of fwift-confuming candle to guide fuch only as have
juft: curiofity enough to wifh, and juft time enough to try for aglimpfe
of Retrofpeflion. That glimpfe difcovers Cracow in Poland ftarting up
early in this 8th century, and named after Cracus, a noble Pole, chofen
king by the people, becaufe he alone was found able to deftroy a wild
beaft which, living in a cave (ftill mown to travellers) burft out at call
of hunger from time to time, and did incredible mifchief ; till this bold
leader conquered him by ftratagem, ftuffing the fkin of a dead calf
with fome poifoned force meat, which the monfter greedily devour-
ing, died. This feems a relapfe into the old ftate of fabulous anti-

* This fear poffefling the mind of Caftaiieda, who lived in 1547, he made him a
book of albeftos for fear of the inquifition : it contained an account of his travels to
eaft India. Grouchy tranflated it from Portugeze to French, but it was little worth
that trouble.

quity ;

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. .

quity ; but I fuppofe Poland now was hardly as near civilization as
Crete was at the time when Thefcus killed the minotaur. Spain,
Scarcely lefs barbarous, faw about that period Roderick the Vifigoth, put
out his father's eyes ; and Julian, fo juftly called the traitor, fetch in
the Saracens who over-run the country, pcrfccuted the Chriftian re-
ligion, and fo completely fettled in their kingdom, that it took fix cen-
turies at lead to drive them out: all were not gone till 11'.) 2. The Pope
and the Venetians were amufed meantime by reciprocating prcfents of
reliqucs and of palls, and trying to keep peace between the contending
bi/hops of Grada and Aquileia. While the young Duke of Frifia, a
new convert, requcfted baptifm, which was preparing, but as he put
his firft leg into the. font, having unluckily afked where they fuppofed
his late good father was an exemplary prince ; and the unfeeling
priefts bluntly replying Why in hell to be Jure ! Iladbold was fliocked,
and not proceeding further with the ceremony, enquired again con-
cerning fbme old anceftor of eminence for virtue, although ignorant of
Chriftian obligation receiving the fame unqualified anfwer then, that
all were damned', he drew his leg quickly out of the water, protefting
he preferred, in the next world, their company to that of men fo harfli
and fo intolerant. The ftory fays he died in three days after. While
Venda, princefs of Polonia refufed all converfation on religious fub-
jeds ; and when hard prefled, to avoid further controvcrfy devoting
lierfclf to her own pagan deities, flew to the river's brink, and head-
long dafhed into the Vittula. She was daughter to the monfter Tamer,
whofe two fons killing each other, left the realm to Venda their filler,
who by this raflmefs ended the (hort dynafty.* A Syrian importer now

* Venda flew from difputes to death ; but flic fled from tongue difputantsonly : in
contorts the better underftood, Rittogarus, a German Prince, acknowledged her fuperi-
ovity : He had invaded her dominions under pretence of her having broken a contraft
of marriage with him ; but the Amazonian dame defended herfelf fo well, and de-
feated his troops fo fliamefully, that unable to endure the difgi ace of flying from a wo-
man in battle, he ftabbed himfclf in the field.

VOL. I. C c prevailed

202 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [CH. xn.

prevailed on many to think him the Meffiah ; he pcrfuaded Ifgird the
Saracen to pull down images, promifmg that prince a reign of forty years.
Ifgird fet bravely to work, but dying the tenth day by hand of an af-
iaffin, his fon in revenge flabbed the impoftor on the fpot. This was
not the wretch called Eon or D'Eon, a very proper appellation for
dubious and myfterious characters. Jortin mentions one fo called,
but fubfequent to this, four centuries at leafr, who fet himfelf up for
the Son of the Moft High ; but thefe were days of darkndi, and me-
teors, kindled by putrefying credulity, were eafily mistaken for ftars.
Such was the melancholy ftate of general knowledge, that a prieft of
no final! dignity did, in Bavaria, chriften a profelyte in nomine patria ei
JH'ia et fpirita fanSia. Some one who had more fcholarfhip told the
Pope on't, requefting that the perfon fhould be rebaptized ; but Za-
chary faid it was no matter, the clergyman was orthodox and meant
well. Meanwhile Gervilius, who had committed murder with im-
punity, was deprived and imprifoned for keeping a tame hawk. Eng-
land feemed to enjoy more illumination than Mentz in this century
however ; while venerable Bede gave us a bright example of blame-
lefs conduct, and of calm refearch into the deep- hidden ftores of learn-
ing. Ceolfrid his tutor walked to Rome to get books for him, yet his
chief care was about the proper day for keeping Eafter. The pupil's
fancy was not fo rcftrained : his beautiful defcription of hell has been
fuppofed to have been read with care by Milton and by Dante ; where
he tells how a Northumberland monk died, and came back to life ;
but in the interval a young man in fhinmg apparel appeared to him,
and filently led him to a deep valley, one fide formed of an entire iheet of
flames, the other, enormous glacieres of piled up fnow and ice. The
reftlefs fouls with which the valley fwarmed, were everlaftingly fhift-
ing fides. This valley ended in a plain of folid fire we read : a large
well in the midft, fpouting flames up to the high vaulted roof; this
fountain furrounded too by daemons who drew delinquents in, with
fiery forks, whilft the refluent and fierce volcano forc'd them up again.

I have

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. sop. o o .i

I have fccn a pifture of Old Frank reprefcnting Hchis drear abode
much in this manner ; the name too is Runic : Italians, and the na-
tions near, all fay Inferno; but painters are obliged to Bcdc for
another common fubjeft, as Marvilliana tells. He nrft, diflerting on
the three kings offering, obfervcd that Melchior being old and having
d long beard, prefented gold to Chrift as King ; Gafpar being young,
brought frankinccnfe to him as God ; and Balthazar, of dark com-
plexion, made his tender of myrrh as to a man of \voes.* They are
thus reprefented almoft in every picture through the world even now ;
but after a laborious life well fpent, exciting and communicating thofe
ideas which, fpringing up in fuch a mind, fertilized all around him ;
our venerable Bede expired in /35, 1 think, and a poor pnpil of his be-
ing defirous to compofe an epitaph worthy fo valuable a pcrfbnagc,
and finding after long fludy, that

Hzc funt in foflu
Beda- prefbytcri ofla,

was no good verfe, he rcfolved (as a likely method) to faft till he had
found one ; when having been much troubled in his deep, the word
uenerabilis came luckily into his head ; whereupon he waking, fmilhcd
the nicely accompliflied work with

Msec funt in fofla
Bedoe venerabilis ofla.

It was then but fair that he fhould go to brcakfaft ; yet was it to that
filly accident, Calvifius thinks, that the honourable appellation was
beftowcd which our fage had fo ferioufly defervcd.

Such were the times with us and with the Germans, while the
gay Franks enlarged their wide domain, improved their language, re-
fined their manners, and were governed in much happinefs and daily

There is a manufciipt in the Harician colleflion refolving the fiery of the three
Kings into alchunv. They oiFer'd Chrift, 'tis faid, the animal, vegetable, and mi-
iv. al kingdoms. The i:iccu!c muft have been mujk by that explanation.

C c 2 encreaiing

204 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [cir. xn.

cncreafmg fplendour by the famed Mairc du Palais, Charles Mur'cl,
furnamed fo from his martial qualities, which infpired him, after ad-
ing the part of an illuftrious general, by conquering Saxons, Bavarians,
and a long et cetera, to ieize upon Provence and Burgundy, and de-
fying Rainfroi to fingle combat, put all upon the ifTue and after his
victory to rule the conquered nations with prudence ; for Charles
Martel, although never king, bore fway more abfolutc than ever king
did, while Pepin's fame was loft in his fupcrior blaze, and no man's
fvvord furpafs'd his long-rcmember'd hammer.* Mayor of Paris was
his only title ; but mayor, or major, or greatcji in every fenfc, was the
fit title for fo adlive and ardent a character. He inftituted the Order
of Genette in honour of his wife, whole name Janette he took de-
light in perpetuating ; and when Pope Gregory III. and he corre-
fponded, the pontiff put his own name Lift. A new dynafty however
begins in Pepin I. of the Carlovingians, who loft his fifter to Odilo
duke of Bavaria, but retook her, and fubdued her hafty lover ; while
the emperors of the weft, if fuch they might now be called, amufed
thcmfelves with knocking down images inftead of enemies, obtaining
the foufbriquet of Iconoclaftes rather than heroes or legislators. They
had to lament befides a great deftruclion among their fubjecls, who
dropt down ftruck by peftilencc, as their images fell before ftruck by
the axe, and the priefts cried A judgment ! but in vain. Luit-
prand, now wearied with the fight of exarchical tyranny, drove Eu-
tychius the eunuch from his ufurpation at Ravenna, and fo the ieventh
form of government ceafed, after remaining in force one hundred and
eighty-two years. The popedom is the laft. Sec chap. xvii. of St.
John's Apocalypfe, l oth and 1 1 th vcrfes. " For there arcjhwt rulers ;

' five are lallen, and one is, and the other is not come ; and when he
" cometh he will continue but a fhort fpace. And the beail which
" was and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the feven, and goeth

" into perdition." St. John wrote under the emperors. The firft five

; Some fay he was fo named of his battle-axe, which refembled that inflrument ;
but martel was not the French word for a hammer in T50.

forms

err. xn.'J TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. SOO. 205

forms of government were paft: the exarchate did, as he prophcficd,
continue but a fhort fpace : the papacy came laft. That all referred
to Rome we have the angel's word ; for fays he, " The woman that
" tliou fecit is that great city which reigns over the kings of the
" earth." Kings, confuls, dictators, decemvirs, triumvirs, emperors,
exarchs, popes, were the eight rulers that he faw in vifion, I fuppofe.
Eight has been always a marked number.* Eight fouls were favcd from
univerfal definition at the Flood, and eight more (of which thofe
were perhaps a type) we fee appointed to preach falvation to the
ne\\ly regenerated world after our Saviour's death. Matthew, Mark,
Luke, John, James, Judc, Peter and Paul, are the men whole writings
have within them the key of our falvation. Their works were how-
ever ftrangely neg'ecled, and I might almoft fay forgotten, in the fa-
vagc century now under Reirofpttion, when a council held fomcwhcre
in Germany prohibited the eating of horfc-flclh among Chriftians,
and cutting off the ears and tail of cattle yet alive for men's meat.
Slitting nofcs was a common practice. Anfprand, the Lombard prince,
had a (on whofc eyes were thruft out by Aripert his rival; almoft in
mercy that he Ihould not fee his mother and his fitters' nolcs flit, fo as
completely to divide the feature into two equal parts. The Greek
emperor Juftinian's prcdccellor, Lcontius, had his face thus disfigured
by Abfimarus, who reigned feven years ; and while the Saracens were
wafting llomaacliola and preparing to bcfiegc Conftantinople, thcic
infatuated rulers of what they called the world, introduced a new cul-
tom of killing the Pope's toe. A Syrian pontiff, Conftantine by name,
firft fuffered the ceremony to be performed at Nice, A. D. /JO, by
Jultinian III. His fucccffors of courfe continued it. And Stephanu-
III. a Roman pope, was borne upon mcns' fhouldcrs with new and ex-
traordinary pomp. Nor did he reft contented \\ith mere Ihow, having

* We find the caliph Motaflcm long afterwards. A. i: .-'0, afiumingthc name of

,:ian-> upon this not quite expire J principle of eight being a lucky number. That

its ^ood fortune referred to fcripture re.ifons originally, Mr. Gibbon will not inform

us of courfe.

obtained

200 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES M ARTEL, A. D. 700, [cii. xn.

obtained no fewer than twenty-two cities from Pcpin king of France,
by threatening him with damnation on refufal. Fleury himfclf blames
this proceeding, and fays 'twas aclual robbery, no better. But every
thin/ continued to fwell the now returning tide of Roman grcatr.efs,
which foon drove Aftolpho forcibly from the Piomagna, and poflef-
fnig itfelf of Corfica, Parma, Rhegio, Mantua, with the duchies of
Spoleto arid Bcnevento, grew up into a folid and formidable power ;
whilil on the other hand Mahometanifm inundated all Perfia and Ar-
menia, threatening the empire's capital, where Leo Ifaurus reigned
twenty-four years, father to Conitantine Copronymus,* whom he-
married to the beautiful and wife daughter of Chaganus the Hunne.
She was converted and baptized by name of Irene ; but Leo, thougii
an orthodox believer, .was warm in the belief of forcery, and fcourged
an officer of Hate altnoft to death for not condemning to die three
haplefs wretches accufed of making a child, whom they never faw,
deaf and dumb; and if fuch follies prevailed near to the feat of em-
pire, well might our northern climates be infected.

Franckfort upon the Main was built about this time, and Cimbric
Cherfoncfus grew better known as Denmark, divided into two duke-
doms Blaking and Ilallant, while Scotland exhibited fcenes of tragical
diftrefs from Fergus their king's loofe conduct, and the bitter revenge
of his too jealous queen, who ftrangled him in his fleep, nor would con-
fefs her favagc cruelty till many innocent fubjccb had been tortured.
When her own favourite was brought forward to examination, flie
however owned her guilt, took all upon herfelf, and ended the dreadful
drama by uicide. Their nearcft neighbours followed the fell example,
and Brithric, a king of Weflcx, as I remember, was poifoned by his
wiie Edburga.f This horrible event had indeed no confequcnces ; for

1 So called from an accident which happened to the font whilfl the infant prince
was baptising.

t Kdburga meant the poilbn for her rival, and the king took it by tr.ifiake; ytt
inch was the Saxons' horror of this crime, (hey made a law immediately that no
female ihould reign in //<;, country.

Egbert

CM. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. sot). 207

Egbert, fole furviving defccndant of the old race, who boafted their
defcent from Woden, now was culled from France, and conlldcred as
chief of the Saxon heptarchy. Stern in the field, and fubtle in the clo-
fet, that prince vanquifhed them that oppofed, and baffled thofc that
confpired againft him. The Britons in Cornwall and the ever hardy
Northumbrians fcem to have held out longeft, but at length all fub-
initted, and Egbert reigned fole monarch, being folemnly crowned
king of Angle Land or England, by which name our nation has ever
fiace been known. But Wales, protected by its mountains, remained
unfubducd : and Egbert, though a wife and valiant, was I conceive a
truly illiterate fovcreign, over a people yet fo generally unlearned, that
an cclipfc was reckoned ominous among 'em, and an idea of witch-
craft poifoned that peace of mind which privation of luxury ought to
have beftowed.

Incapable of intellectual pleafurcs, our unwatchcd nobles however
rioted in fenfual indulgence ; and focial forrows being then unknown,
they wept misfortunes caufed by inevitable neceffity as the work of fame
fecret enemy, and punifhcd an innocent neighbour for magick, if the
heir of a great houfe became deformed or fickly : the bad Being was
thought to have, and to exert prodigious power in oppofltion to the
good one ; who now and then rcftorcd a man to life by miracle, the
grand proof of his fuperiority. All this was oriental fupcrftition ; but
every thine; mews that refurrecYioii of a human body is accounted the
.teft, as moil defircd, ftretch of power. Medea's kettle, (a Chal-
dean incantation, as I've read) and Odin's fong, all labour to effect
that purpofe. Abdalh the Saracen, indeed, fct his face refblutcly
againft thefe whimfies, and prohibited the fludy of demonology ; nor
can we deny that, after the calamities faitained by literature in confc-
uuence of thofe incurfions which overwhelmed learning and almoft
common fenfe ; the Arabs led the way to light again, and the liar
once more flione from the ealtcrn world. The caliphs now procured
Greek writers, \\hidi \\crc translated into Arabick ; not poets, except

Homer,

20S FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [CH. xn.

Homer, which Eddlenus, a Maronitc allronomcr, rendered into Sy-
riack in 7/0 ; nor orators, for what had a Bafia to do with Athenian
exclamations in praifc of liberty ! Political reading intcrefted them
ftill Ids, and c thicks were fupcrfeded by the Koran. Mathematical,
metaphyiical, and phyfical knowledge, was however not unwelcome,
and Bocrhaavc has borne tcftimony to the exaclnefs of Jeber's experi-
ments ; but we return to our fummary. Alphonfo of Spain refumcd
the long dormant title of Catholicus ; he drove out Arianifm from his
dominions, to which he added newly recovered Navarre, and many
val uable towns in Portugal. His fon Froila was the firft who, abbre-
viating the title Dominus, changed it to Dom or Don ; but Poland
yet remained far, far behind. When Lefcus Primiflaus died, who had
Succeeded upon the felf-dcftrucT:ion of Venda, a controverfy arofe con-
cerning the fucceffion ; nor could the diet, for there was a diet then,
contrive a more equitable mode of dccifion than that of creeling a
pillar on a high plain, and fixing likewife the ftarting poft, they next
ifTucd a proclamation for all candidates to repair thither, and whoever
ihould gallop firft to the column on a given morning, was to recehe
the crown as his reward. Many nobles prepared to run for fuch a
plate, and one of them named Lefcus, coufin to the laft king, having,
lays the ftorv, mod his horfe ivilh iron, a new invention, and throw-
ing little fpikcd balls like hedge-hogs out of his pocket to embarrafs and
retard his competitors, won the nice ; but a young man keeping dole
to his fide, difcerned the fraud, and Lefcus was condemned to be torn
to pieces by four wild horfcs ; and did not, like Darius Hyftafpes ten
centuries before, obtain a kinsdom by his mean deceits. 'Tis ftraniie

^_- J *. . '

that fuch a method of election mould have been twice adopted by
mankind ; nor can we fufpccl; the Poles of imitation. They had, I
think, never heard of the occurrence as 'tis related in the Pcrfian hif-
tory, fo that the fancy muft have been original the fecond time as well
as the firft. Let its repetition reconcile thofe who read on't to quiet
iicquicfccncc in hereditary right ; fince people who try to hinder God

Almighty

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. 209

Almighty from appointing them a ruler, only put their choice as it ap-
pears into the power "of their horfe. About that period was built or
r. paired; for it was Seleucia* before, the well-known city of Bagdat, and
diftant far, and far lefs famous, was founded our beautiful cathedral of
Wells, in Somerfetfhire, dedicated to St. Andrew. Valois fccms to
think that 'twas about this time Ifnard, a monk, wrote his martyro-
logy, a book eftecmed in that day, and defpifed in this beyond its real
ftandard of dcfert. An odd thing too was related and believed near
this period how a ftone coffin was dug up in Thrace, containing a
man's body quite entire this infcription lying on his bofom, in cha-
racters completely legible, C/iri/ins nafcetur ex Virgine Maria, ct ego
credo in eum. Sub Conftantino et Irene impp. Ofol! iterttm mevidebis.
" Chrift was born of the Virgin Mary, and I believe in him. Oh
" fun ! thou fhalt fee me again under the reign of Conftantinc and
" Irene." That hour was arrived, and Leo their fon, ~was born two
years after the dreadful peftilence ; when the difputes concerning
images ran high, and Waliph, a Saracen leader, cut out the tongue of
Peter, bifhop of Damafcus, for preaching againft Mahomctanifm.
Conftantine had more fuccefs againft the images than againft the in-
fidels however ; the Bulgarians beat him fhameiully by land, and his
fleet againft the Saracens was loft in a tempeft ; he aflbciatcd his foil
Leo, commanded the monks at Ephefus to marry or lofe their eyes,
and died univerfally detefted and defpifed. His fon reigned only a few
years after : he too wedded a princeis named Irene, eminent for love-
linefs and wifdom, a native of Athens, and known to hiftory by
name of Irene the Cruel : by her he had a fun called Conftantinc, whofc
fucceflion was accelerated by his father's avarice; for Leo the fourth ice-
ing a rich jewel given as a votive offering in the church, feizcd it

* Perhaps it was not actually Seleucia neither ; Scleucus Nicator built his city a little
lower ; but I fuppofe that does not fignify. Bagdat was called Medinet, or Satatn, the
city of peace, by the Caliphs afterwards. Salai, the oiicntal falutation, means ftate be
to you. Ircnopolis is another of its names, for the lame reafon. Irene means peace
too. Pato y Ganfoy Anferon, tres cofas fuencn mas unafun, fays the Spanilh proverb.

VOL. I. Dd himfelf,

210 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [CH. xn.

himfelf, and putting it on his head within the cap of ftate, fell down
apopleclick : the priefts conlldered this death as a judgment from God,
and his phyficians attributed it to the fudden cold. By that accident
the power dropt into Irene's hands, who, during her foil's long mino-
rity, rendered herfelf juftly famous for having fitted out a powerful fleet
to check the Saracens' progrefs by fea. She likewife recovered the
old Peloponnefus (now to be called Morea) from the Sclavonians, who
then were wafting Theflaly and Thrace : in that province fhe repaired
the city Berb'e or Beraea, mentioned in the Afts of the Apoftles as one of
the towns converted by St. Paul, A. D. 53, and called it after herfelf,
Irenopolis : 'tis EJktzadra at the time I am writing, and in pofleffion
of the Grand Signor. Her imprifonment of Helpidius, governor of
Sicily, in a deep dungeon, where he, his wife and children, pcrimcd
altogether, was but a flight fpecimen of this Princefs's cruelty. She
caufed her hufband's half brothers, fons of Copronymus by Eudocia, to
be all killed or banimed, or incapacitated, by which that race was ren-
dered extinct which had fo long ruled the eaft. Attempts were made
at fetting up the progeny of fome remoter fovereign, long deceafed ;
Irene blinded them and flit their nofes. That me might, in Mac-
beth's phrafe, " fup full with horrors," fhe next thruft out the eyes of
Conftantine her only fon, and that in a manner fo needlefsly painful,
that he furvived the lofs of them a few weeks only, and died, obferving
'twas on that day five years he had himfelf, with her confent, fo ferved
his two afpiring uncles. 'Tis told us how the fun darken'd fourteen
days together at that period ; and if he did indeed withdraw his head
not to behold fuch crimes, who can wonder ? When the command
to maflacrc a thoufand men in one night, was by the fame female
fiend added to the mutilation and confequent death of her only child.

Fugit aurea Ccelo

Luna ; tcgunt nigrce latilantia fidera nubes,

fays Ovid, on the idea of guilt purfuing its nocturnal gratifications ;
and though hiftory may term that mere poetick exclamation, yet furely

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. SOO. -211

to relate of Chriltian potentates, actions which would pollute even ;i
pagan page, muft tend to fill the mind with ilrong conviction, that
no hopes even of heaven itfelf, can allure fallen humanity to virtue, no
terrors of eternal punifliment itfelf fright us from vice, without that
fpccial grace preventing us, which good difpofitions only can receive,
and humble fouls alone will pray for. Succefsful fovercigns arc ukwr. s
favourites with their people. The fair Irene was eminently lo ; and
had me forborne interfering with her Ion's love-affairs, flic miu:ht have
reigned long fole Emprefs of the Eaft notwithstanding her known cha-
racter for crueltv. But Conftantinc, in the true fpirit of vouthful in-

dependence, refufed to accept his mother's choice, and wed at her
command a bafe-born, though beautiful Armenian. He Ici/ed the
reins of government himfelf, provoked by that encroachment on his
free-will, and hearing that her forces had been defeated in Italy, catch'd
the kind moment when minds were discontented ; then gaining caly
accefs to the Queen, dragged her away, dcpofed, confined, and would
have banifhcd her, but that the nobles rofe up in a mafs, and threat-
ened the young Emperor with inftant defection, if Irene the lovely and
beloved was not immediately aflbriutciL Their prince complied ; the
lady once releafed, let loofe her ftrong revenge ; and Gmltantinc's
agoni/.ing death follow'd fwift on her reiteration. But whilft morality
appeared in this ftatc of more than difmal decay, religious feuds dif-
tracted all mankind, and numberlefs lives were loit in the contcft,
whether the holy Spirit of God mould be laid to proceed from or by
the operation of the fccor.d pcrfon in the trinity. Severities, autho-
rized by a council at Friuli, alienated many, and caufed the death of
more : people were killed, they fcarccly knew for why ; till the Greek
and Roman churches at length Separated with a rancour unworthy
Chriftians, upon a difference of opinion fcarcc dilcermblc, and molt dif-
ficult to be defined even by dcepeft reafoncrs ; yet daily then difcufled
by ignorance, and pronounced upon by rafh and precipitate piety, un-
knowing where 'twould lead to. If however, the Greeks could not

D d 2 exact! v

212 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [CH. xir.

exactly comprehend their brethren's, nor nicely explain their own ideas
of" hypoftatick union, all could now fee and feel the vaft encroachments
of the papal power. The head of your church faid the Patriarch of
Constantinople mall never be fupreme over ours; he is not now a bi-
fhop, but an emperor. The Turk's turban is as welcome to us as is
is the pope's tiara. This fpeech was grofs, and infolent, and criminal,
and has been feverely punifhed by Providence; but the provocation was
too great to bear. Pope Adrian however, difplaycd even in thefe days
much of uieful and undeniable merit ; his nominal diftinclion was
yet dear to Rome or what was left of it : and to convince them
he deferved his name, when Tyber made a furious inundation, this
Pontiff fpent his own wealth to repair the walls, as far as loolbs. weight
of gold would go ; whilft in the Lateran, he daily fed one hundred
poor folks from his own privy purfe. He protected the arts too, mu-
fick efpecially ; and promoted literature, fuch as it was : his letters* are
flill extant I'm informed, and prove his elegance fcarce inferior to his
virtue. Organs were now heard in feveral churches both of France
and Italy ; a bifhoprick was fixed at Ofnaburgh ; the univerfity of
Pavia was founded, and Magdeburgb, fpoiled by the Vandals, was re-
paired by Charles, foon to be called Charlemagne. This city ftands
upon the Elbe, and was called Parthenopolis in heathen days, from
Venus, who had there a Ihrine of peculiar notoriety. She left none of
her beauty in the place, I think, when her fine ftatue was taken away.
'Tis obfervable that Flanders began to break and divide now into
Teutonic, Gallic, and Imperial ; but England was a prey to Danifh
ravagers, who wafted the little Ifland of Shepey, returning quickly to
their fhips indeed, but heavy laden with fpoil. They came again of
courfe, making their landing good in Cornwall, where traces yet re-
main of their oppreffive cruelty. I know not why invafion was fo

In Adrian's letters to Charlemagne it is obfervable that he figns his own name lair ;
this was no trifling etiquette : Zenobia put her name firft in her correfpondcnce with
Atirclian He faid fhe fhould repent it and Jo fie did,

eafy;

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. 213

cafy ; England had been envied long before Egbert's time for naval
Superiority, yet thefc idolatrous and favage Danes made perpetual and
fuccefsful incurfions on our ifland, as it" the fea had then been no fecu-
rity. Though King Offa, who died, as fay fomc of the little books,
at dear Offlcy, in Hertfordfhire, \vhere we ufed to try at tracing me-
morials of him in my early youth, had entered into a commercial
treaty with France, -whence Pepin font him two lilkcn vefts, I think,
and a Hungarian fvvord ; all infufficient to keep out the Danes, \\lio
teazed a prince more powerful than he was, and retarded by incciTant
hoftilities, the confolidation of our realm under Egbert himfelf ; but
Don Froila of Spain, here claims attention, as he not only took that ap-
propriate appellative himfelf, but beftowed it on all his nobles, partly to
diftinguiih them from Moors and Jews, who occupied large part of his
dominions. The Spaniards ftill calling our blefled Saviour Don Chrifto,
feems to us, at firft fight, ridiculous ; they mean however neither more
nor lefs than we do by Lord Jefus. In old editions of Molicre we fee
it printed Dom Juan, (hewing that the word is a mere abbreviation
ofDomhins. This Froila had the epithet chaftc bellowed on him for
living (although married) in a flate of celibacy, after the birth of his
only child Alphonfo, during whofe reign the Moors, who defervcd no
fuch epithet, made war againft his fubje<fts for the demanded tribute
of Celtiberian virgins, ftipulated by fome old treaty to be given up to
them every year. Alphonfo took up arms againft thefe barbarians
deftroyed /OOO of them, raifed the fiege of Lifbon, and made a league
with Charles. To this young hero, fon of Pcpin the Short, and Ber-
thalde the Fair, who won viftory after vidory from Saracens, Saxons,
Lombards all who oppofed him, the feme of Charles Martel fecmed a
prsecurfor, not a rival ; like the aurora of Guido,when flie fcatters flowers
before the glowing car of day, fwift following where Ihe leads and points
his path. Barcelona and Huefca owned his power, the Huns and Abarcs
trembled at his arm ; Sweden and Norway blefled his miffionarics, Pope
Adrian begged to be godfather to his fon, whofe mother lived not to fee

half

2 1 4 FROM BIRTH OF CHARLES MARTEL, A. D. 700, [cu. x n ,

half his glories; and Charlemagne, juftly fo called, took folemnly the
names of Casfar Auguftus. Thefc heroick exploits, with his repairing
the Roman eagle, firft Splitting it in two, that the heads might look
both ways, in compliment to the exifting powers at Constantinople,
with his Severities to fome unhappy Lombards, of which 'tis faid, he
decollated 400O* in one day, might eafily recommend his perfbn to
Irene, who offered him marriage, on which he, though the lady was
much older than himfelf, took time to deliberate ; when her Steward,
or chamberlain, by a fudden and fuccefsful conspiracy, fei/,ed on that
cruel princefs, and forced her into an ifland of the archipelago, Mity-
lene, I believe, the Lefbos of antiquity ; where fhe expired of grief,
and with her death, however well-deferved, died much of glory to
the eaftern empire. Some fay that Charlemagne was the firft Charles
who ever wrote his name with a C. 'twas Karrulus before : but Meze-
ray thinks his name muft have been engraved, for that he could not
write or read at all, and faid on fome occafion " There, I have iigned
" the treaty with the pommel of my fword, and promife to maintain
" it with the point." This might, however, be mere fafoii de parler ;
I can fcarce think that man fo ignorant, who caufed to be written the
famous MS. of Terence's Comedies, ftill to be feen, or lately, in the
Vatican. Mailros, a Scotfman, who had in his youth been pupil to
venerable Bede, became in his age a fort of preceptor, affiftant at leaft
to Charlemagne : and when he founded the univerfity of Pavia, this
diftinguimed North Briton aded as his agent.

The year 80O then faw England united under one monarch ; the
cities of Drefden and Nuremberg, built by the King of France, and
that Prince folemnly crowned by Pope Leo III. at Rome, as Emperor
of the Weft, upon Chriftmas-day. The old Spanilh hiftorians mcn-

* Say it who will, it muft neceflarily be a lie : the fwift fpeeding guillotine alone
could make difpatch like this. There are but 1440 minutes in a day, aud 'tis eaficr
to utter a falfehood every fixty feconds, than it is to take away the life of a man.

tioning

CH. xii.] TO CHARLEMAGNE, A. D. 800. 213

tioning thefc events, clofe them with an intended climax, that on the
fame great day of the fame memorable year, St. Jago was acknow-
ledged tutelar faint and patron of all Spain. Italians recoiled how the
Doge of Venice threw the Bifhop of Grada from a high tower, bc-
caufe he rcfufed confederation to that prince's favourite ; and Frcniji-
mcn tell of the inftitution of their twelve peers.

3 1 6 FROM THE CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xnr.

CHAP. XIII.

FROM THE CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE 800, TO THE
DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900.

LIFE takes a new appearance under the reign of Charlemagne.
Knights, joufts, tournaments, minftrels, ladies ; characters which
have yet fcarcely crofled over our little camera obfcura, now ad their
parts, and croud forward to the view of Retrofpeflion. Yet this new
colour, if we call it fuch, that gives a future tint to manners and to
life, is but the lhading off to gentler orange of that blood red, which
marked fo long the now merely nominal Roman empire. When the
inhabitants of Germany's black forefts firft left their native woods for
the rich vales of Italy, they carried to the fcene of action, with their
refiftlefs genius for conqueft, a fettled intent to beftow modes of living,
not accept them. Their purpofe did fucceed furprizingly, old cufloms
were broken up and died away, and a new fyflem was eftablifhing it-
felf apace in all the nations of Europe. The earth was parcelled out to
various individuals, who maintained their portions independent of fupe-
rior power, and Charlemagne fwayed a fceptre fupported by barons
he fliook not his truncheon over trembling flaves the form of things
was changed

The ceafe of Majefty

Dies not alone, but like a gulf doth draw

What's near it, with it. 'Tis a mafiy wheel

Fix'd on the fummit of the higheft mount,

To whofe huge fpokes ten thoufand lefler things

Are mortic'd and adjoin'd. SHAKESPEAR.

The

c:i. xin.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 217

The fcudatorial fyftem of high-fpiritcd nobles, who each com-
manded a large troop of vaflals, and bound themfelvcs to bring them
forth at a great leader's call, for defence of their own territories, or for
the acquifition of new ones, had a ferocious appearance upon the
whole ; but the general inclination for war was foftcncd by the refpecl
paid to beauty, which they conudcred as their juft and bright reward.
Each generous bofom beat at the call of valour, but could not by his
own authority fei/e on the fighcd for privilege, or bear arms without
permiflion. Birth, age, and qualifications were to be examined, and
while difficulty irritated defire, the lady languished for a gallant lover,
diftinguifhed by his martial talents, and the youth panted for the
happy moment when once adorned by the bright lance and fliicld, he
fhould throw at her feet a hero, acknowledged fuch by his comrades,
a knight refpeded even by his fovereign. Chriftianity was likewife
young in the world, openly and with violence attacked by Saracens,
tacitly fneered at by unbelieving Jews, deteftcd as a fucccfsful enemy
by Pagans. The votaries of religion thought it was man's firft duty
to protect her ; Turpin, Archbifliop of Ilheims, fought valiantly in the
field, by fide of Charlemagne, and 'tis on that principle that we even
yet fee the fword drawn in Poland at the moment of pronouncing the
creed.

Theology thus mingling itfelf with perfonal courage, and cnthu-
fiaftick piety cnflamed by romantick love, not only fent innumerable
warriors to contend in the field of battle, for palms of valour and pri/.cs
of beauty ; but dilpofed mankind to think bcfidc that conqueft denoted
the approbation, as well as the care of heaven. Private quarrels were
adjufted, not by cold equity, but martial prowefs ; a champion was
granted to females, who could not defend themfelvcs from injury,
and the next kinfman commonly prevTed forward to take on him the
commendable office. Single combats whetted the general keenncfs
for renown, and all concluded, that he who fell had merited his fate.
When fword and fliield were thus eflential to cxiftence, when they

Vox,. I. EC v>crc

218 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [OH. xm.

were confidered as fole arbitrators of honour, ible instruments of hap-
pinefs ; what wonder if we find them cherifhed to abfurdity. Marks
of diftin&ion, devices, and imprefes, were affixed upon the fecond, by
which to know each other in the battle ; and baptifm was, I fear,
very folemnly beftowed upon the firft. Thus Roland called his fa-
vourite fword Durandal, we know Joyeufe was the name of that
worne by Charlemagne. Hamburgh was built by this extraordinary
character, and Halberftadt famed for its pied Piper in 1376. Charle-
magne's twelve peers are, by romance, given to our Arthur ; they are
indeed fo neceflary to the old writers of thefe times, that I queftion
whether Sir Thefeus and Sir Alefaundre had not twelve peers each.
Thefeus indeed, thofe authors made a faint of; but faints and knights
were all that polTefled mens minds

With ftore of ladles, whofe bright eyes
Rain influence and judge the prize,
In wit or arms, whilft all contend
To win her grace whom all commend.

The peers were twelve, becaufe the apoftles had been twelve, ap-
pointed by our Saviour to fit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Ifrael. Chriftening fwords* was fcarcely left of? till towards
the time of our Queen Elizabeth ; our tutelary faint made his full
famous in all ballad flory,

When George, he fhaved the dragon's beard,
And AJkelon was his razor.

But it was not peculiar to Chriftianity. Mahomet had nine fwords,
the name of one was death, of another piercing nun ; and Odegir, the

* Odin's horfe, and Odin's fword, had names ; Slcipner (Jleep n'ecr} and Tirfing ; I
don't know what tirfmg meant. The daughter of Hialmar comes in the night for
Tirfing ; it was made by the dwarfs, and had peculiar properties, difpofing her to dif-
turb the dead that flie might obtain it.

Dane ;

CH. xni.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900.

Dane, a Pagan I believe, called his keen weapon fyatha : whence
fpada, and efpada, andjpath buckler, corrupted in our old plays to
fwajh ~buckler. Charlemagne meanwhile, though a mere foldier,
fcorned not thofe arts which he forbore to cultivate ; but brought to
France maftcrs of arithmetick, and fome fay grammar. He was like-
wife, although a warlike prince, eminently gentle tempered * and in-
dulgent to his children. A pretty ftory ofprincefs Imma and her
lover is related in the Spectator from Marquahand Freher. The gal-
lant was Eginhart, who fays of his fovereign when he writes his life,
that he could fpeak Latin as eafily as his own native Frankifh, but that
in Greek he had a bad pronunciation. When at the death of this
great man the empire was again divided among his children, he
charged them to live well with one another; and having fpilt deluges
of blood in order to unite the weft under one head, he willingly by
teftament parted it among his fons, giving to Pepin Italy alone, to
Louis le Debonnaire, France, with the exception of Normandy, which
went with Auftria, Saxony, and Bavaria, to Charles. That there
might be no murderous difputes among them after his deccafc, he left
a ftricl: command behind, that if they differed about any thing, the
youth who fhould be able and willing longeft to fupport the pofture
in which our Saviour fuffered crucifixion, was to obtain without fur-
ther enquiry the purpofe they contended for. This mode of dccifion
afterwards grew common, and was called jugement de la croix. The
French language now began to fupplant the Latin, on whofc wreck
'twas railed ; verfes were written and fongs were fung in praifc of lo\c
and valour ; while bards, troubadours, tale-tellers and minltrels, Ibftcn-
ing the ferocious temper of the times, foon taught each warrior-lpirit
how to bend before a diftant and difficultly-acquired fair one ; mufick
lent her aid befide to animate and to inlpirc devotion. The French

* Charlemagne was himfclf of an amorous difpofition, had many miftrcfles, and
two or three wives. L,\imtur tic Dleu et da dames went together in iholc days.

E e 2 finger?

220 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xnr.

fingers however, even then, had the chara&eriftick roughnefs peculiar
to their nation, and made the tojje di capra, as Italians ftill call a coarfe
bad (hake. Trilletaccio ! fay they : at Paris Gluck in my own time
faid to his fcholars, ne chevrotez pas* Our Englifli have a joke on
Wales and Welfhmen that expreffes this fault with much accuracy.
Waaaales, replies the goat, when his Anglo Saxon neighbours travelling
over Snowdon, afk him " How d'ye call this country ?" and at the
fame time fhake him by the beard. While thus the weft began, at
leaft in fome refpecls, to emerge out of that fad Cimmerian dark-
nefs in which me had long dropt inert and lifelefs, Irene's death hung
heavy on her fucceflbr, who, born her vaffal, was never by the Queen's
fubjeclis willingly obeyed. Bardanes was proclaimed emperor, but foon,
after a fruitlefs conteft for the purple, funk his pretenfions iu a monaf-
tery. The rebel chamberlain however fared no better, and Michael,
Leo, and Theophilus, were only other names for wickednefs and im-
pious folly. This laft being born of mean parents, fired a rich fliip
loaded with merchandize, that no one might fufpecl: his natural inclina-
tion for commerce, and made his fubjecls cut the hair from their heads,
becaufe his own was thin. Notwithstanding thefe mad caprices, he
made war not unfuccefsfully againft the Saracens, although in thefe
days they built Candy, and gave new name to ancient Crete, head-
quarters of pagan mythology. The labyrinth however yet remained
upon their coins and arms : Rubasus fays 'twas their device in his time,
and he lived lOyo. The popes meanwhile increafed their influence
daily ; nor was it influence now, but firm authority. Charlemagne's
fons could not agree, and Gregory IV. like Chaos umpire fate, and
by decifion more imbroil'd the fray.

Louis le Debonnaire, of gentle manners but refolute temper, who
never had been feen to laugh at any ftory his tale-teller could recite, had
nothing of his native country's levity This wife Judith of Bavaria,
though a German, had too much. Their fon was Charles the Bald ;
but in confequence of this meeknefs, not agreeable to the fpirit of fuch

times,
* Don't ling like a goat.

CH. xiii.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 221

times, Louis iflucd a decree that no ecclcfiaftick fliould wear fpurs.
Gregory was difpleafed, and to evince his difplcafure publickly wore
JJjnrs himfelf. This Pope certainly cxcrcifcd papal or parental power
with little prudence and with Icfs controul. But to every other force,
force might be oppofcd ; the church was unrcfiftcd, becaufe it was
confidered as infallible. Scrgius II. availed himfelf of mankind's dif-
pofition to revere the vifible head of it, rcfiding at Rome : he built caftle
Stf. Angelo, altering it from the moles Adriani to a ufeful fortrefs : nor
was the ftep unneceflary, when Moorifli plunderers fpoiled the fuburbs
of the once-rcnown'd metropolis, and robbed the churches dedicated
to St. Peter and St. Paul. Sergius's name was Porci : his family ftill
fubfiils at Rome now, and a fubjccl of Great Britain married into it
about twenty years ago. In the ninth century however he did well to
change it, and accept a fort of ccclefiaftical appellative, a practice fu-
ture popes adopted willingly. His fucceflbr Leopold IV. joined the
Neapolitans, and beat the Saracens by fca. He built Leopolis, now
Civita Vecchia, and even forces himfelf to be a favourite \vith Voltaire
and Gibbon, During that time a monftcr of impiety, Michael by
name, ruled with his mother Theodora at Conftantinople. This wretch
profaned the Eucharift, ridiculed the facrcd office of carrying it to-
fick and dying perfons ; killed his innocent old tutor, and thruft his
mother into a monaftery, all before he was eighteen years old. Venice
joined the general league againft the Arabian locufts, and Alphonfo of
Spain married Chimene a French princefs ; he called her Ximena of
courfe. And having heard that a human body was dug up near Com-
poftella, the king and queen aflured themfelves it was St. James; he
was therefore St. Jago di Compoitella : and ftory tells that a church
of Jlone, not earth, was immediately dedicated to his peculiar fer-
vice. This was the feafon for unchecked imagination. Cromcrius
and other Polifli writers tell of their leader Piaftus Rufticus, who was
promoted to fovereignty, and lived an hundred and twenty years, in
confequence of his having, when a Pagan, entertained two Chriitian

pilgrims

FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [en. xni.

pilgrims with fhare of a fat hog killed in honour of his fon's birth.
The faints, in return for fuch good cheer, hindered the hog from Icl-
fening. This was a ufeful miracle, in Poland ; and flufticus was con-
verted, and in due time chofen chief. That fuch tales fhould be cre-
dited is ftrange ; 'tis ftranger far that invention mould be fo confined,
and when men are not retrained by even a de/ire of telling truth,
that no new fables ever can be found. Another duke of Poland, Po-
pielus by name, ufed to wifh himfelf and his children devoured by
mice, when he meant to enforce belief by ftrong afleveration. And
the good bimop of Varna, who wrote in the fifteenth century, tells
gravely how the wife of this king's fon, a German princefs, advifed her
hufband when he came to the throne to feign illnefs, and fend for all
his uncles to a council : me there took care to poifon them in drink,
nor would permit their being even buried, having accufed them of in-
tent to murder the reigning prince. Out of their bodies however, adds
the bimop, grew mice innumerable, which followed the young Popielus
wherever he went ; and notwithstanding all that could be done, at
length devoured him and his wicked confort.

Denmark went on no better : Olaus there encouraged civil wars to
'fpite his mother, whom he fufpedled of having hired an aflaffin to
murder his good father in the garden as he flept, and of rewarding him
afterwards with her hand. 'Tis poffible this tale, better known then
than now, gave Shakefpear his idea of Hamlet. Thefe {lories, with our
Englifh law that whofocver killed a cat mould lofe his right hand, whi-le
to purchafe fo valuable an animal as much wheat was required as
would cover the cat when held by the tip of her tail, prove the mul-
titudes of mice in the ninth century to have been a ferious and in-
tolerable plague. Deftruclion of predatory beafts great and fmall \\ as
once more, as in the fabulous ages, become a duty : and fo was the
world thinned of human inhabitants fmce the clays of Conttantinc
Copronymus, that inftead of puni (hing prelates for keeping a tame
hawk, Charlemagne, towards the end of his reign, granted .a right of

.hunting

CH. xiii.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. <5oo. 223

hunting to the abbots and monks of Sithiu, partly for the fake of
clearing the country, and partly that the ikins of wild animals might
ferve, he faid, as covers to their books. They had been rolled before ;
whence the word volume ftill ; and literature now excited care from
royalty. The race of Abbas too, being caliphs of the Saracens, en-
couraged literature in Arabia ; and while commerce was carrying on
at Bagdat chiefly by Jews, attempts were made by thcfc orientals at re-
new ing fome tafte of poetick imagery. Under this warm fkv grew up
the new machinery, phantom forms of giants, dwarfs, genii, and en-
chanters, which followed and fucceeded to the old heathen gods in every
work of fancy. Spain got them firft of European nations, becaufe of its
connection with the Moors. France chanted the praifes of hcrpick Ro-
land, and told the truly romantick tale of Charles the Bald. His daugh-
ter Judith, in her fifteenth year, was deftincd to have married an Eng-
lifli prince ; but he dying, the lady on her way back to Paris being too
flightly guarded, wifhed to walk among the fhady trees fomcw here in
Picardy, and was indulged. A young forefter ftruck with her beauty,
unknowing who fhe was, feized and carried her off. This was Bald-
win of Flanders, who took her to his caftle near St. Omer's. Charles
having found it out by ftratagem fome years after, and finding they
had children, fubdued his refentmcnt and made her hufband Erie.
But his defcendants were not efteemcd of the true kingly blood : and
we {hall fee the Emprefs Maude, mother to our Henry the firft, defpif-
ing one of this man's progeny for want of noble birth-. The famous
quatrain,

Cloth of gold do not defpife
Tho' thou be join'd to cloth of frize ;
Cloth of frize be not too bold,
Tho' thou be join'd to cloth of gold :

was made many centuries after, when Charles Brandon, wedded to
royalty, took thofc lines for his legencLi, and tne ballad- makers adapted
them to this much older ftory. (See Percy's llcliqucs). Whilft manly

vices,

2 1 1 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xm,

vices, manly virtues, thus cbaracterifed the dwellers in the north, fuch
was the effeminacy of Pope John VIII. that he was called in derifion
Pdpe Joan by his contemporaries ; and when the encroachments of that
holy fee grew hateful, and its tyranny oppreffive, under the harfli reign
of many of his fuccefibrs, a {lory was circulated that a woman had
certainly fate in the papal chair. When they were got fo far, 'twas
moft eafy to add how Ihe was detected by labour-pains, as fhe was car-
ried in proceflion to the Vatican. This tale though Spanheim be-
lieves, Scaliger thinks incredible, becaufe he fays her voice would have
betrayed her ; and Baronius denies it of courfe. Our beft writers re-
jccl fuch fluff with indignation : yet was it flrange, and ten times
ilrange to think, that fo late as in the year 1-034 there did moil furely
cxift a ftatue of her in the cathedral church of Sienna, among the
popes, {landing in her place : for Colomefms challenged Monfieur
de Launoi about it at Menage's apartments, where llacan the poet
and the Abate Marucelli the Tnfcan rejident^ were prefent, and heard
M. dc Launoi confefs that with his own eyes he had feen the ftatue
in Sienna cathedral in 163-1, notwithftanding Baronius's folcmn letter
of thanks to Florimond for taking it down twenty-eight years before;
and notwithftanding Pere Alexander, in his Ecclefiaftical Hiflory, af-
firms it was then no longer in exiftence. It might indeed have been
taken down before his death, which was not till 1.7 1 0. No .modern
travellers remarking it, I fuppofe it is gone now. My own empty
head forgot to examine ; but I remember obferving that John VIII.
had a particularly effeminate caft of countenance in St. Paolo fuordelle
Mure at Rome, where their pictures in oil hang round the wall ;
and Porcacchi's edition of Gamucci's Antiquities mentions his tomb?
Senza alcuno artificio o archittetura ed in fomma molto diverfo delle fe-
pohure degli altri pontifici without any device or architectural diftinc-
tion, and, in a word, extremely unlike the other papal fepulchres.
Enough of this nonfenfe. Be Pope John what elfe he will, he
ordered the Holy Scriptures to be promulgated in the Sclavonian
tongue A. D. 880. But .Lothaire (whence derive our Lowther

family)

CH. xm.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 600. 225

family) duke or king of Lorraine, arrefts our Retrofpcfiion for a mo-
ment. He being of the conftitution of our Henry VIII. perfuaded
Guntharis bifhop of Cologne to divorce him, on frivolous pretences,
from his confort, promifing in return to marry the bilhop's filler ; and
Pope Nicholas, an exemplary pontiff, confented, though with diffi-
culty ; and then Lothaire married his favourite miitrefs la belle Val-
drade. Excommunication juftly followed fuch conducl ; but the king,
hardened in wickednefs, derided all fuch puniflnncnts, and profcflcd
obedience to the Pope in fpiritual matters only. The Valefiana fays
however, that this Pope, in his correfpondeiicc with the King of
France, put his own name firft, a cuftom never after hnd afide. The
patriarch at Constantinople tried the fame trick with Louis VII. Va-
lefius tells us, but the experiment did not anfwer, Le rot sat offcnfa
et le patriarchc corrigea fa fautc. The king was difplcafed, and the
prelate mended his manners'.

Photius the patriarch, to whom John VIII. had meanly fubmitted,
was now depofed by the new Casfar whom wretched Michael had ap-
pointed to govern the cad, while he himfelf was funk in debauchery ;
and the Pope, once firmly fixed in his feat, anathematized Photius,
making thereby a lading and incurable breach between the Greek
and Latin churches ; forced wild Lothaire to take his wife again, and
when he went to Rome for reconcilement, gave him in pledge of peace
the euchariftick cup, not then denied to the laity. The young Doge of
Venice now, John Badoera, wedded the niece of the Greek emperor,
and fent his brother to the reigning Pope, Martin, I think, a French-
man, to rcqueft that Comachia might be added to the territories of
the republick. The ambaflador's being treachcroufly murdered on his
way home, whither he returned only to die, did but accelerate the
feizure of Comachia, which Badoera took by force. Anaftafius wrote
the lives of the popes about this time, and Heinfius prints a letter from
Sarrau, faying that there was a copy of that work in the Ambrofian
library at Milan then, mentioning the female fex of Giovatini ottavo.
Thofe' in the Vatican were all torn, he fays, in that place where the

VOL. I. F f difputed

226 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH xnr.

disputed lite occurs. Salmafms had a copy, but it was got from the
French king's collection of books, and fuppofed to have been interpo-
lated by Martinus Polonus, who, though a learned Dominican, be-
lieved the tale, and told it clearly in his chronicle.

Wonders were eafily credited in thofe days. That it rained blood
at Brefcia was nothing doubted : the writers of the ninth century
faithfully record that event, and 'twas as likely that Pope John fhould
be a woman. Among the marvels of the moment Motauem the
oftonary now flione a glittering caliph amidft the admiring beauties of
Circaffia. He was the eighth of the Abaffides, had eight fons and
eight daughters by eight wives not concubines, princefTes. He pof-
fefTed eight thoufand Haves body-guard, and eight millions of gold.
When he had reigned eight years, eight months, and eight days, he
faid it is enough, my race is run, and died. His Saracens meantime
burned the fine monaftery at Monte Caffino, and exercifed fad cruel-
ties upon the catholicks. But Bafil, emperor of the eaft, kept them a
little in check, till feized with a fudden fury on feeing his fon Leo
wear a dagger, he felt perfuaded that he meant to murder him ; and
without giving any notice of his intentions, put the innocent heir of
his crown in prifon, whence he would never have come out alive, but
for one of thofe combinations which all men now agree to call acci-
dental. The young prince lately marrie4, had diverted himfelf with
teaching a favourite parrot to fay Leo loves yon, whenever his fair bride
entered the apartments, whither , the king hafted in great wrath, and
called the terrified lady to examination. On her appearance the bird
with an impreffive voice cried from his perch Leo laves you. Such a
fentence fb pronounced {truck forcibly upon the Emperor's feelings.
He doubted not the words being miraculoufly addrerTed to himfelf,
when the parrot once more gravely repeating Leo loves you, Bafil em-
braced his daughter-in-law with a tranfport of fondnefs, called out her
hufband from confinement, reftoring him to even more than priftine
favour. A hunting match was made to celebrate their reconciliation,
when the flag fuddenly turning upon Bafil gored him to death, and

delivered

CH. xin.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 600.

delivered the eaftern world from his caprices ; while the travelling of
Danielis, a Greek matron, from Peloponcfus on men's Ihoulders (as in
a modern palanquin) ftrikes one with rcfemblance of manners be-
tween thefe days and thofe, when this lady waited upon prince Leo
with prefents out of the Morea, fit only for oriental luxury to accept,
and complcatly diftant from the fpirit of ancient times, the times of
Solon or Lycurgus, to beftow ; but even the name of Pcloponefus
was forgotten.

In Mefbpotamia, about this period, Al Batcgnius obfcrvcd, 'tis faid,
the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, A. D. 882 ; Dr. Halley calls him
uir admirandi acuminis. He wrote a neglected treat! fe De Sctentlu
Stellamtn, which Plato Tiburtinus tranflatcd into barbarous Latin ; it
was printed at Nuremberg 1537- I have read fbmewhere that it was
this miferable performance which infpired Tycho Brahe with a defire
of ftudying aftronomy. The fcience of the ftars was, to fay truth, not
ftudied at all in thefe early ages, except as in the eaft there had been
always a difpofition to confult them about men's fortunes, and find
out who was to be {tabbed, or who poifoned, by the pofition of the
planetary worlds. The tyrant Bafil was deep in thefe conjurations,
while runic forcery ftill kept pofleffion of the unfeeling north, where
Gothick bards and fcalds had taken faft hold upon people's imagina-
tion, who willingly wifh'd to drink beer from the fkulls of their ene-
mies, and hoped a future fcaft of cerevtfiam, the barley drink, from
Ceres, in Odin's hall. His fearful engagement with the wolf Fenris
was eafily credited by his defcendants, who even after converfion to
Chriftianity ftill appropriated a peculiar hell to cowards, and thought
with horror of the hideous Naftrand, where filthy fcrpents vomit fb
much venom that it forms a river of blue poifbn prepared for perjured
fouls and liars, and black aflaffins, who feek a fafe refuge, declining
open battle.

Warton fays wifely, that this train of ideas flicws lefs affinity to
oriental enchantments, caftles, dragonsy &c. than to the magick of Ca-

F f 2 nidia

228 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xin.

uidia in Horace ; and 'tis poffible that the barren black heifer facri-
ficed to Proferpine in the old Greek mythology, and that mufick by
which Orpheus forced her to give baok Eurydice from the difmal do-
main, might be originally of the fame dark complexion as Odin's
wondrous fong, that made all chains to fall from him that heard it,
whether on earth- or Hellas drear abode,

Where the fell Prophetefs abides,
And Lok his horrid lhadovv hides.

Bartholin tells of a fong called Vardloker which Godreda fung to Earl
Thorchill by command of a witch, youngeft of nine weird fitters, as full
of prophecy, fomewhat like the Sybilh'ne oracles. Befides that Mount
Ida is named in the Icelandick poetry as refidence of gods and heroes.
Ida and Edda might poffibly be fynonimous, and that name given to the
ttrange collection, becaufe it treated of celeftial and infernal deities, as
we might fay the olympiad of fuch a work, had it been written in Greek.
Bartholine cites an ode that fays exprefsly, how when the twilight of the
gods mall be ended, and the new world appear, the agas lliall meet in the
fields of Ida, and fell of the deftroyed inhabitants. In the proem, or pre-
lude to Refelius's Edda it is related too that Odin appointed twelve
peers or judges at Sigtune in Scandinavia, as erft at Troy. Thus then
the Romans, Britons, Franks, all loved to deduce from Troy, and now
Mr. Bryant pulls down ,our original feat. Such is the certainty of
deep refearch. Let the thought reconcile readers to fuperficial infor-
mation, and make them lefs faftidious, lefs offended at the thoufand
inaccuracies their eyes will foon difcover in this imperfect Retrojfieffion.
One fure proof of a connection between the old Saxon and Greek my-
thologies in our little ifland yet remains in the names of every day
throughout the week ; Woden, Tlwr, and Frey holding poffeffion of
three, the Sun, the Moon, and Saturn keep three more. But England
was the feat of mixture always, and in the century we are reviewing
yas crouded with flrange nations, ftrange opinions Danes, Saxons,

Romans,

CH. xni.] TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 229

Romans, Britons: and from the vigorous fermentation of fouthern
foftnefs with old runic barbarifm, levigated and fublimed by a warm
portion of true Chriftian zeal, the generous foil teemed with that rare
and glorious product,- a patriot king. Alfred the foldier, the fcholar,
the legislator and the poet, whofe character unites the fcparate merits
of all other princes, as does the country he adorned the feparatc ex-
cellencies of every other nation. He formed alliance with the Scottish
kings his neighbours, the better to make head againft our new invaders.
He fought feven battles with thole pertinacious enemies, and when
defeated found rcfources that {hewed him no lefs formidable than be-
fore. When prcfs'd by numbers and betrayed by treachery, he was
compelled to bow before the ndcetfity of the times, he with a band of
faithful followers lived in the forcfts of Somerfet and Wiltfhire, fting
to his pipe the praifes of his anceftors, and animating himfelf by their
example, refolved to vifit in the <!refs of a minftrel the Dnnilh camp.
There he tried all his arts of pleafmg, there he acquainted himfclf with
all their fehemes, witnefled their fupinc fecurity in the thoughts of his
own death, and after fix months fpent among his adverfaries returned .
and called his friends to the attack. Sarprizc and terror went before
Alfred's army, valour and virtue followed it. He remained victor
over all his foes, made their converfion to Christianity his fole con-
dition of peace with Some, and drove the reft to Flanders. Then, to
prevent further depredations, we fee him next equip a powerful rlccl.
and vanquifh by fea fuch of them as tried to return. Prosperity and
pe;'.re were the reward of glory, and Alfred ufed them to each patri-_>t
purpofe ; it was his only aim, he (aid, fo to fccure his fubjects' profpcrity,
that a fair maid might walk unmolcftcd with a bag of uncounted gold
in her hand from one extreme of his dominions to the other. To thrs
end he revived the ufe of juries, dropt into defuetude ; with the divi-
fion of England into hundreds and ty things ; he encouraged bulinefs,
and fuch extenfive commerce, that merchants of London traded in his
reign for Eaft India jewels, whilft his difcoverer Octhcr explored at his

command

230 FROM CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE [CH. xni.

command the coafts of Lapland and Norway, and eftablifhed a whale-
fifhery in the icy feas. At home he founded the Univerlity of Oxford,
built the towns of Shaftelbury and Godmanchefter ; and whereas on
his acccffion to the throne he had fcarce one lay fubjeci that could
read Englifh, and fcarce ten ecelefiafticks who underiiood Latin, fo
much was literature cultivated under his aufpices, that before his death
one of his lecturers translated from the Greek original fome treatifes of
Dionyfms the Areopagite, into Latin, and dedicated his work to Charles
the Bald, whilft Alfred himfelf gave an elegant verfion of Orofms's
hiftory of the Pagans and of Boethius's Confolations of Philofophy,
befide other ufeful labours. He patronized the art of mufick which
he pradlifed, and called profeflbrs from the continent to perfecl his at-
tempts at compofition ; while AfTer afTerts with rapture his abilities as
a fportfman, and proves that though he led a ftudious, it was in no
fenfe a fedentary life ; for, fays he, our king caught more game than
any of his contemporaries ; a circumftance the more to be credited, as
the brightnefs of his eyes and adbive powers of his perfon are well
known. To mew however in what a piteous ftate flood the me-
chanick arts at this period, we are conftrained to obferve, that Alfred
had no nearer method of counting time, than by caufing fix waxen
tapers to be made twelve inches long, and of as many ounces weight.
On thefe he marked the inches, and finding one of thefe to burn two
hundred and forty minutes, he had horn lanterns made to keep the wind
away ; and committed the care of all to his clerk of the chapel, whofe
place it was to tell him how the hours went. Abdalla king of Perfia
had indeed prefented Charlemagne with the firft Unking * clock upon
record, a fort of clepfydra, fuch as the ancients ufed. The machine
worked with water ; which upon this occafion being, by oriental in-

* Eginhart fays he faw this clock himfelf, adorned with twelve figures of horfemen
rufliing out at twelve openings like windows, when the twelve hours were completed,
then returning in again, as if alive.

genuity,

CH. xin.J TO DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900. 23 1

gcnuity, furnifhed with twelve little brafs balls, dropt one of them
upon a hollow plate below, and gave due notice when the hour was
ended.

We take no note of time but by its lofs ;
To give it then a tongue was wife in man.

Charlemagne was one of the few who could hear its folemn voice
without a confcioufnefs of felf-reproach. To Alfred fuch an inftru-
ment would have founded, even in this world, the fcntence he per-
haps of all men is fureft to hear in the other : " Well done thou good
" and faithful fervant: thou haft been faithful over few things, I will
" make thee ruler over many things." But although Alfred died not
till the year 900, he never faw fo complicated a machine.

CHAP.

232 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, f CH. xiv.

CHAP. XIV.

FROM THE DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. goo,

TO THE FOUNDATION OF THE TURKISH EMPIRE UNDER

TANGROLIPIX, A. D. 1000.

Retrofpettion will have little pleafure hereabout in contem-
plating the affairs of the weftern empire and kingdom of France,
where the progeny of hcroick Charlemagne, Caroloman, and Charles,
poifoned and thruft out one another's eyes, while Louis le Begue fuc-
ceeded to that throne which Charles the Simple fate on at the time o;
Alfred's death. That Arnulph, a little time before that event, fixed his
rcfidence, and that of future emperors in Germany, is beft worth not-
ing. 'Twas he befieged fair Algitrude, widow of his competitor
Guido, in Spoleto ; but the revengeful lady, gaining accefs to his pcr-
lon, admimfter'd him fuch a cup as kept him waking in delirious hor-
ror, I forget how many dreadful nights and days. Meanwhile the Em-
prefs Zoe ruled the eaft, alTociating her -young fon Conftantine, fcarce
fevcn years of age, who growing older put her in a nunnery, whence
flic was taken out no more. He was advifed to blind her, but refufed
to commit fuch brutal folly ; mowing the world that all decorum had
not wholly left it, although the examples now fet by Rome were ter-
rifying to virtue, and even to mere decency. Towards the end of the
laft century, Formofus, a young bifhop of confummate beauty, had
been elected pope, and crowned the afpiring leader Guido in Italy : but
Sergius difputing the papacy w ith him, a dreadful fchifm enfucd ; and
Boniface VI. enjoyed the dignity twenty-fix days only : during which
time his own befl friends, frighted at his criminal excelTes, lent their

affiftancs

CH. xiv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. 233

affiftance to turn him out, and fet Stephanus VI. in the chair. He,
with unexampled barbarity, dug up the body of Formofus, drcffcd it
in pontificalibus, produced it in fynod, ftript, cut its fingers off, and
toiled it into Tybcr, \\hcrc he himfclf deferred to have been thrown;
but Aldebert, marquis of Tufcany, had him ftrangled in prifon. A
quick fucceffion of perverfe rulers followed, till the infolent mittrefs of
Aluebert, a haughty though infmuating Florentine, governed the fee
and city in face of all mankind, giving her daughter, Marozia to Ser-
gius III. by whom me had John XII. Anaftafius would have re-
deemed the honour of the priefthood, but his death made room for
John XI. a martial pontiff, who crowned Bercngarius for his good fer-
vices againfl the Saracens, but quarrelled with his brother Alberic,
and made a difgraceful league with the Hungarians. He firft confe-
crated as bifhop a baby five years old, the fon of Herbert Comte dc
Vermandois : this offended all the world in thofe days, and John loft
his life as his predeceflbr had done. Yet though its profcflbrs feemed
as if confpiring to take away all reverence for the facerdotal office, no
virtue was eflcemed truly meritorious, except bounty towards the
church, where outward refpcct paid to reliques of departed faints made
eafy compenfation for prefent finncrs, among whom John XII. Hands
foremoft, pejjimns malorwn, like Nero among the Roman emperors.
What wonder ! vetted with unlimited power* at fevcnteen or eighteen
years of age, his fport was to exceed in wickcdnefs and folly whatever
went before him. Among other frolicks he was accufed, I think, of
drinking the devil's good health ; but he cut the accufers' tongues out,
flit their nofes, and committed fo many acls of libertinifm and riot,
that an injured hufband, or his hired ruffian, killed him before he ar-
rived at twenty-three years old. Indulgcncies for every crime had now
their fettled price from fuch a priefthood, and Rome became a cuftom-
houfe as it had long been a fink for fin.

* Qucre, Was it not from him the charafler of Don Juan, or the Libertine, was taken ?
VOL. I. G g Henry,

234 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, [CH. xiv.

Henry, meantime, a German prince, nephew, I think, to Arnulph,
dreamed of an admonition given him while fleeping, that fhould he
walk to an old wail hard by, he would find fomething there to touch
him nearly. Impatient for morning-light he haftened to the fpot,
with which he was well acquainted, and examining found on a bat-
tered ftone thefe words po/i fe. His firft conclufion being that in
the courfe of a week he mufl die, Henry fet his mind in a new train,
making good refolutions as to morals, and ftudying to perform fuch
acls of piety as might beft enfure his falvation. The time however,,
pafled by, and nothing happened ; fo did fix weeks, fix months : good
habits grew agreeable, and though he now difmifled the dream from
preffing on his memory, the love of virtue yet remained, and inftead
of voluptuous pleafures he recreated himfelf with the innocent and
healthful fports of the field. Poft fex however, when fix years after
the admonition were completed, Henry was, while hawking on his
own grounds, fuddenly prefented with the imperial robes, and hiftory
knows him by name of Henry the Fowler. He firft inilituted grand
and regular tournaments, which, though afterwards a matter of mere
ihow, ferved at beginning fo to difcipiine and train the warriors, that
by this method the Emperor was fuppofed to gain thofe advantages
which in due tim,e cleared his country of invading Huns. Whilft thcfe
events pafled in our neighbourhood, England was ruled by Edward,
e.ldeft of immortal Alfred's fons, and Baldwin, Earl of Flanders, mar-
ried his daughter, Adelfrid : from her, fifth in immediate defccnt, was
long after born, Maud or Matilda, wife to William the Norman ; fo
that Rufus had Englifh blood of its greatcft native running in his
veins, and that blood has been tranfmitted forwards through male or
female even to the moment of this fummary's being written, through
all the families who have fince his time fate on the Britilh throne,
each having power to boaft defcent from him, vvhofe benefits to our
ifland could not perhaps in this world have been more vifibly, or more
fmgularly rewarded, than by providing it with fovereign princes for

niae

CH. xiv.J TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. Mi

mne centuries out of his own illuftrious progeny. It is perhaps no Ids
odd or remarkable, that none of them ever thought to call a child after
the name of Alfred, till George the third did about twenty years ago,
and that royal infant died. But -we return to Athclftan, the natural
ion and fucceflbr of Edward, who left in him fuch an encouragcr of
commerce, that conferring to knight any merchant who fliould make
three voyages to the Mediterranean, Several attempts were made, but
troubles from the pertinacious Danes diiturbed and frustrated every
great undertaking. A treacherous nobleman being accufcd of intent
to blind this prince, and deliver him up to the enemy, he appealed to
Rome, and there fblemnly attefting his innocence before the altar,
dropped down dead, confirming all Europe in fufpicion of his guilt,
and giving the firft example of what grew common afterwards, and
was called compurgation.

Edmund, Edred, and Edwy, fucceflbrs to Athelftan, were, if not
weak, at bed inglorious monarchs : every day fixed more firmly the
power of the pricfts, every year faw frefli encroachments made by the
Danes, till Edgar in fome meafurc revived the naval glory of England :
his adventures with fair Elfrida, concealed wife of Athclwold, and
daughter to vindictive Orgar, an old Earl of Mercia, have given occa-
fion to an elegant modern drama, where the conclufion is made more
to the lady's honour than hiftory admits : no matter. His fon by a
former marriage, Edward furnamcd the Martyr, owed his death to
that ambitious lady's cruelty. She, a true ftcp-dame, defirous that
her own fon fliould fuccecd, inftrucled one of her domcfticks to ftab
the gentle prince while he .was drinking ; and Etheldrcd the unready
fprung from Edgar and Elfrida, having thus bafely obtained a crown ;
as bafely ufcd it : buying off the hungry Danes with lO,oool. to in-
fcft his realms no more. A vain and idle purchafe, to which, though
Clave and though Sweyn feigned to accede, the compofition gave but
a fliort and reftlefs interval to England's forrovvs and increafing cares.
The Danes returned in flioala more dreadful and more numerous, and

G g 2 now

236 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, [CH. xrv .

now demanded 25,oool. which our prince, unable to pay down, com-
menced a treaty, and I fear countenanced a mafTacre. This meafure, too
perfidious to relate, though executed with the utmoft rigour, failed of
fuccefs, and but prepared the ifland and its prince for new, and from
that moment, well deferred calamities. St. Omer's now was built by
Baldwin, and Brunfwick by Bruno, kinfman to Henry the Fowler ;
Maldon, in EfTex, has nearly the fame date, and arts of civilixed life
did certainly creep on, though flowly. An old mifTal in the church
of Modena mows how mufick now called in diftinclion from colours,
and the univerfity of Louvain, founded by John of Brabant, offered
premiums for thofe \vho mould excel in mathematicks. Knights of
St. Andrew and Knights of the Thiftle were inftituted early in this
century, while Helena, queen of the Scythians, was folemnly baptized
at Conftantinople, and requefted of Otho I. furnamed the Great, who
then ruled the weflern empire, that he would fend mimonaries to con-
vert her fubjeds, foon to be known by name of Ruffians. This fo-
vereign made Old Cologne an Imperial city, and marrying Adelaide,
became King of Italy. Harold, of Denmark, furnamed Blaatant, or
Blue Tooth, oppofed him, but in vain : after a furious battle 'twas
agreed that Harold mould receive the faith ; he did fo, and Otho few
his boy chriftened and flood - godfather. In a fportive humour too,
and trial of fkill, the Emperor {landing with the King on the fea-
fhore, launched his javelin from a ftrong arm into the gulph of Jut-
land ; it {tuck upon a place called Otho's Ifland from that day to this.
Otho reigned more than forty years, and died at Magdebourg, where
he was fucceeded by the fon he had afTociated fome years before, fo-
lemnly crowning him at Aix la Chapelle. After intolerable vexations
in the fouth, he faw John XIII. fettled in the papal chair, and had the
fatisfaftion to hear of bifhopricks eftablifhed in Denmark, where his
friend Harold Blaatant, or Blue Tooth (whence envy with her blue
tooth churning venom is by our Spenfer called the blatant beaftj
founded the fociety of Jomfberg in Pomerania, and fuch was the re-

fpecl

CM. xiv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, looo. 237

fpccl paid to their founder's memory, who had haniflied the -word fear
from his martial univerfity, that fometime about the year 998, having
made an unfucoe&ful irruption upon the territories of Haquin, another
femi-barbarous leader, his general, Thorchill, took two or three of them
prifoners, notwithflanding their vigorous refinance, and putting them
to death in cold blood, ten days after the battle, the firft and fecond
died fmiling, and faying to each other, " Let's be mindful, brother,
" of the laws of Jomfberg:" but the third, adding curiofity to forti-
tude, obferved to. Thorchill, that they often disputed among them-
felves at home, whether reflection could or could not, even for a mo-
ment, furvive decapitation ; " And now," fays he, " you may com-
" modioufly make the experiment upon my neck : I will therefore
" grafp this knife firmly in my hand, and if, after my head is fevered
" from my body, I make a movement direciing it towards you, that
" motion of my hand will fliow that all remembrance is not wholly
" loft. If I let it fall, oh then affaire yourfelf that Suatho is no more."
Thorchill, fays Bartholin, who tells the ftory, hafted to decide ; but
the knife, as might be ezpeded, dropped from the hero's hand. Mu-
nich, in Bavaria, was built in thcfe days, and called Monaco, from a
monk's head being dug up when the foundations were making. Ipres
in Flanders, bears nearly the fame date, fb named from the river Ipra.
Its manufactures, elegant as they are, have been well known for many
ages. Diaper, of which our table-cloths are even yet made, had the
appellation from the town d'Iper : but a coetaneous city of higher note
claims our attention, drawing it an inftant tow'rd the Saracen em-
pire, which, by the time we are reviewing, had been divided into fc\cn
kingdoms, ruled by feven ufurpers, as they are called, I know not why,
for all were alike ufurpers. The only place they did no lulling injury
to is England. They brought to us the Arabick and more commo-
dious characters to count by 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 0, 7, 8, 9. Letters of the al-
phabet were in ufe before, according to the Roman fafliion ; and that
mode went on upon clocks and watches till quite the other day.

Mean

238 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. QOO, [CH. xiv.

Meanwhile one of thefe ufurpcrs, Alcahir, about the year 9/0, laid
the firft ftone of what is now fojuftly called Grand Cairo, calling it
after his own name ; it bears the appellation ftill, cutting but off the
firft fyllable, by aphoercfis, and adding an o to the end by paragoge,
Cahiro. Bohemia exhibited fcencs of horror in this period, or imme-
diately before Otho the Great fubdued it: when wretched Wen-
ceflaus was invited by his mother and brother to a banquet held in
the church, where they treacheroufly murdered him, in order that
Boleflaus, afterwards furnamcd the Cruel, might fucceed. Some con-
folation however, is afforded by hearing Dubravius Scala tell how the
lady was ftruck by lightning, and funk into a fiffure made in the earth
as fhe was hunting, fuppofed to have been a fudden effect from thun-
derbolts, or concealed volcano. The fratricide fucceeded better, had

a beautiful daughter named Dumbraca, wedded to Miefko, a Polifh
ruler, who instituted the cuftom of crying out, Glory be to thee, oh
Lord ! on hearing the evangelifts read in church. Hatto meantime,
prince and bifliop of Mentz, hard prefTed by famine, ihut up fix hun-
dred haplefs wretches in a barn, and fet the place on fire, that fo there
might be more meat left for thofe that remained : when their fhrieks
reached the palace, " 'Tis only my flarving mice" he cried. This
was not worfe than Sylla, who butchered as many thoufands in cold
blood, and laid they were his pigs or lambs o'fticking. The pagan
dictator was eaten alive by worms. Trithemius tells how our Chrif-
tian bifliop was purfued by mice, which following him even to a cattle
he had built upon a fmall ifland in the Rhine, there fvvam after and
devoured him. A fecond Otho now made Italy refound with his ex-
ploits againft the Sclavonians, Saracens, &c. but dying of a poifoned
arrow, Ihot by fbmc treacherous enemy, was buried at Rome, leaving
a fon, Otho III. for his confummate wifdom called Mirabilc Mundi.
He fubdued all opponents, he inftitutcd the Palatinate of the Rhine,
and from Henry the Lion, third of the new ellablifhcd princes, fprung
the Dukes of Bavaria, who count no higher than the year y8o. A

memorable

CH. xiv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. 239

memorable aera for royal genealogies; yet they take the lion of Allc-
mannus as coat armour, and confider him as the remote founder of
their houfe. About this time Lothairc's difturbances fplit France in
many parts, and at length by death of Lewis V. (called Louis lc
Faineant) poifoned by his wife Blanche, ended the Carlovingian race
in that country. Charles, Duke of Lorraine, and ion to Louis outrc-
mer, having rendered himfelf odious and contemptible to the nobles
by doing homage to Otho for his dukedom, the barons fct up Hugh
Capet, fon of Hugucs le Blanc, or Hughes le Grand : he was chofcn for
merit more than birth, although his being great grandfon to a butcher or
blackfmith was impoflible ; and Princefs Anna Commena defcribes his
progeny as proud of their high delccnt. Witichind, Duke of Saxony,
had a daughter who married fomewhat beneath herfelf, and offended
Odo the regent, and Robert her proud brothers : her fon by that mar-
riage was father to Hugh Capet, fo called from being head and leader
of his faction : though others fay 'twas from a hood he wore, whence
cape to this day ; but although Caligula and other princes were fomc-
times denominated from their drcfles, 'tis more likely that the hood
was called cape from Hugh, I think, than Hugh from his cape. His
family has given kings to France ever fince: Q87 faw him crowned at
Paris ; 1 7Q2 faw the laft fpark of his illuftrious line expire in a pri/bn,
with the glory and honour of their once loyal and gallant nation ; and
'tis obfervable that Louis XVII. united the old Capetian and Carlo-
vingian families in himfelf, Mnrie Antoinette being lineally defcended
from Charlemagne. Hugh Capet had his twelve peers: they are
ipoken of by Flodoard, of Rheims ; but as his chronicle comes down
only to yOC), one cannot be fure. Fuller fays prettily, that every hilto-
rian keeps a clock of his own, and lets events to it ; though Baker is
very ferious about chronological miftakcs. My own poor dial, ill lit
up at firft, for want o'' Wronger funfhir.c, and difficult to adjuft for luck
of a better quadrant, and fkill in mechanifm fuperior to what I pofllfe,
may fhew feme few things perverfely, but the reader was promifed
only a flight RetroJ'pettion ; and otthat Otho III. claims a proportionate

fill

-240 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, A. D. 900, [CH. xiv.

fhare. He fet up Gregory V. a Saxon, in the papal chair, Cref-
centius rebelling, fet up John XVII. againft him ; but the Emperor
cut Crefcentius into quarters ; and took his handfome widow for a mif-
trefs. He gave the Venetians a fort of independency no other Euro-
pean nation enjoyed, that of keeping their own churches under their
own jurifdiclion, appointing a patriarch, as at Conftantinople. That
office in the eaft was not however, of the pope's appointing at any
time, and Venice foon learned to chufe the head of her own church.
The Morofini and Caloprini meantime, difturbed the happinefs of that
republick with their factious contefts, of which Rome, to fay truth,
fet the example ; and Otho, having burned his wife alive for making
love to a nobleman of the court, and then accufing him of ill intent
towards her, found himfelf no happier in his illicit connection : for
Crefcentius's widow, ever refenting though fecretly her hufband's
death, and her own degradation, poifbncd the Emperor in a pair of
perfumed gloves, and Henry, the limping duke of Bavaria, fuccceded.

The Sweno, baptized in Denmark by the preceding Otho, not the
wife one, did his royal fponfor but little credit ; he foon apoftatized
from Chriftianity, and fought a famous battle with the Vandals, who
took him prifoner, and as ranfom, demanded his own weight in gold,
Crantz fays, and twice his weight in filver. Such was the fondnefs
fhownjpr his return, that all the Danifh ladies fold their finery, and
in a proceffion went to pay for and fetch him home.

Saxe Gotha was built fome time in this century, while Mahomet,
a Moorifh prince, reigned in Corduba ; but other provinces of Spain
exhibited no fewer inftances of vile depravity than Saracens or Pagans
could have fhown.* Ramirez however, took pofleffion of Madrid, 955 ;

* A ftrange cheat is recorded by Vafcus, how Ferdinand of Caftile bought a hawk
and a horfe for a maravidi, of Sancho, king in Leon ; the fmall coin, a fixteenrh of
our farthing, I believe, was to be doubled by arithmetical progreffion (which Ferdi-
nand underftood, but the buyer could not be made to comprehend) as often as the
feller could tic knots on the jefibs. The firing held thirty knots ; and the king was
forced to pawn all his crown jewels for the payment of this filly purchafe.

and

CH. xiv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. 241

and whereas his predeceflbrs had been kings of Leon, or Caftilc, or
Arragon, he fixed the metropolis where it is ftill acknowledged. Ma-
drid was one of thofe early aggregates of dwelling feleded in the fa-
bulous ages for its fine air and wholefome foil ; Jo wholefome, that 'tis
ud there never \vas a plague there; which privilege can, I think,
fcarcely be fuppofed to have been granted to its refidents for their pe-
culiar cleanlinefs or virtue. Sancho the Fat now poifoncd his mother
with an envenomed cup flic had prepared for him ; and Avicenna the
oriental phyfician, or his recipes (for the man himfclf muft have been
dead furc) could not fave her. He came originally from Sinai, Evi
Sinai, cafily changed to Avicenna, and I have read that it was he
brought the Arabick characters among us firft. They were very long
rn travelling, for Montfaucon fays they were in common ufe when
Egypt was made firft a province of the Roman empire ; yet England
had not wholly adopted them in the twelfth century. Dr. Wallis in
his algebra, chap. -1th, tells of a chimney hefaw at Hclmclon in North-
amptonfliire with the mixt characters thus, M 133 for 1133. The
adventure of Sancho and his mother Elvira is yet remembered in
Spain, where I believe it is the cuftom ftill for women to drink frjl.
when the cool cup goes round.

But the Greek emperors have been too long forgotten. We have
indeed feen poor Zoe, fo called from tendernefs of her hufband Leo
VI. perhaps, for Zoe means my life, fent off" to a convent by Conftan-
tine VIII. and with her the old parrot who had favcd his father's life.
He, wedding a daughter of ambitious Romanus, aflbciatcd him in the
government, who foon made his own two eldeft fons Casfars, and fc-
cured the patriarchate for his youngeft Theophilad, only fifteen years
old. He lived a gay life, we are told, and kept two thoufand horfcsfor
his plcafure ; and having had the news brought him to church that a
favourite mare had foaled,, he fet down the facramental cup, threw off
his robes, and ran away to the ftable, where giving proper orders for
the new-delivered animal's mafh of wine and piftachio nuts, he rc-
. I. H h turned

242 FROM DEATH OP ALFRED, A. D. 900. [OH. xiv.

turned to the aftonifhed congregation and finifhed the fervice for '. i
Thurfday, that being the day of this extraordinary occurrence. 1VL
while his brother Stephen thruft unpiticd Romanus into a mo: i-
tery for life ; Conftantine banifhed the infolent Ccefars, and reigned
alone, alluring learned men to his capital, till another Romanus,
Conftantine's own fon, thinking his father had lived long enough,
gave him poifon ; but the cup fpilling he recovered, and lived two
years longer : after which the parricide fucceeded to the purple. His
widow Theophania marriedPhocas Nicephorus, hated for grovelling ava-
rice by all, moft by his wife, who leagued with John Zimifces and dc-
ftroyed him. This Emperor complained that foldiers were ill pro-
vided at Conftantinoplc, and eunuchs alone regarded ; he fet his face
againft that intriguing fet of people, and was in fix years murdered by
one of the very famous ones, Balilius by name. Here might ine fill,
or rather dazzle the retrofpeftive eye, with the gold and glitter of thofe
Saracen caliphs who were deftroyed by Theophania's hufbands. The
accounts however both of their riches and their population, ftagger
much more than they inform fuch readers as will turn over thefe in-
accurate pages, ill able to fettle controverfies concerning the old word
Ecbatana, or decide if that could or could not be the capital of the
Abaflides ; more willing to believe that dreadful earthquake which
fignalized the reign of Bardes, if reign it might be called, for he was
emperor only over his own army which befieged Conftantinople, but
never took it from Bafil, whofe daughter married to the Doge of Ve-
nice, and was fo proud, fays Damian, that ihe warned herfelf in deiv.
It muft have been her fon, I think, to whom Otho as fponfor gave
fuch rich prefents of robes all cloth of gold. But Pietro Urfiolo's gifts
to the church were greater : he beftowed on it one altar of pure gold,
befide innumerable jewels to San Marco. The treafures of that build-
ing were unknown except to few : while I am writing we hear of its
being plundered by Bonaparte.

The cold north now teemed with unattractive vices. One of the

Norwegian

CH. xtv.] TO FOUNDATION OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000.

Norwegian leaders denied tribute to the Danes : they fent a fleet
againft him ; and in order to obtain from the angekoks a temped to
dcftroy thefe invaders, they made him facrificc his ion to devils.
Crantz tells another ftory hereabouts, late in the tenth century, how
a bold archer there, boafting his fkill in fome rude chieftain's prefence
(Harold or Olaus), the prince fet an apple on his little boy's head and
bid the fellow Ihoot : he did fo, and cleft the apple -with its point.
Our favage ruler obferving two more arrows in his hand, afkeci their
purpofe. " With one of them," replied the bowman, " had my
" child's life been loft, yourfelf mould have been fliot, and with the
" next fliould have been killed he who firft ftirred to defend fuch a
" tyrant." Thefe ftories came to England, we may fee, with little
alteration. Fortunatus's cap is Prince Eric's cap, who had the winds
he w i(hed for : he was fortunate in not. being facrificed when his bro-
ther went to't : but Eric was a favourite with the wizards of the
ftorm ; they gave him a cap which, by turning, procured for him the
winds he had occafion to ule. The other talc we adapt to William of
Cloudefelyc (See Percy's Reliques) ; but 'tis an older edition only of
William Tell, anticipated by four centuries, and with a lefs fatal end-
ing ; for the Norwegian king heard himfelf called a tyrant patiently,
and filled the archer's bag with filver too.

And now, as Dr. Young lays, What is the hiftory of humankind ?
A haceldama fure, a field of blood ; darkened with clouds denoting
its uncertainty, through which, if any fliining character beams forth
from time to time, it fliincs but as the lightning docs, leaving like
that not feldom dreadful efFeds. If fuch be hiftory, and fuch it h;i<
appeared on Retrofpettion, flic fliould be painted as the Wanderer de-
fcribcs his allegorical figure, where he fays,

A robe fhe wore,

\Vkh life's calamities cmbroider'd o'er ;
A mirror in her hand collective fliows,
Varied and multiplied, that group of \v

H h 2 Such

244 FROM DEATH OF ALFRED, &c. [CH. xiv.

Such is our fmall epitome, a convex glafs ; and what, excepting for-
rows, have we reviewed in thefe few pages which prefent a miniature
and fummary of ten centuries, one thoufand years on earth, with their
moft flriking names, events, occurrences ! Some admirable mortals
have indeed appeared upon the tiny ftage, too clofe confined for fuch
exalted characters, ten characters perhaps, not more in the ten ages ;
fent however to fliow what men by ftrenuous exertion might be ; lent
us to fee how lovejy human nature looks when animated by virtue, fet
but a little lower than the angels, and crowned with glory and honour.

CHAP,

CH, xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A, D. 1 loo. 245

CHAP. XV.

FROM THE FIRST FOUNDING OF THE TURKISH EMPIRE

UNDER TANGROLIPDC, 10OO,
TO THE TIME OF THE FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1100.

ANEW defcription of men begins a new chapter; while the
Turks, fince then fo famed in ftory, claim here a glance from
Retrofyetfion s eye. In the year 1060 after our Lord's appearance
upon earth, that formidable though dubious tribe of warriors, deduced
from Hebrew origin by fome, from Trojan {lock by others ; fhewcd
themfelves of infinite confequence to all. They had two centuries
back quitted the Riphaean mountains and heights of Imaiis, which I
am told means Snowdon in fbme oriental dialect, and left the cold
abodes of Scythia for warmer climates. They too were wanderers*
which the word Turk implies. But whilft the Vandals fettled weft-
ward of their native regions, thefe wifely faftencd upon fair Armenia;
where once eftablifhed, feeing the caliphs or fucccfTors of Mahomet
dividing their imperial power, and by divifion falling into decay, feizcd
their opportunity, and being called in as auxiliary troops to affift the
Sultan of Perfia, Togra Mucalet made himfelf too ufeful ; and having
by his archers driven out the Arabs, became a dangerous friend, if
friend, to the prince who had entreated his aid, but could not now
obtain what he more wifhed-r-his abfence. The great hcroick leader
Tangrolipix placed his Scdluccian or Selduzzian family in Perfia, keep-
ing the ftrongeft caftlcs for their fecurity. The Sultan, weary of this

unrequeftcd

FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. [CH. XT.

unrequefted refidence, attempted next to drive him out by force. The
Turkim bowmen made a feigned retreat ; but lurking in the woods,
burft fuddenly upon the Saracen camp ; deftroyed in that one battle
the flower of their army, their poffibility of efcape, and their hopes of
conqueft upon a future day. The invaders however made themfelves
lefs unwelcome in the domain which they thus wrefted from its late
poflevTors, by profeffing themfelves defcendants of Zadock or Sydyck,
fuppofed Noah, from whom we are all defcended, and by profeffing
the faith of Iflimael as modified by Mahomet. Mount Ararat, they
faid, was one of the heights of Cathay, the northern diflricl, and now
fcarce a diftricl of China, which boafts Fohe or Noe likevvife for anceftor,
and fince his facrifice they feemed in that country to have been fire*
worfhippers ; yet with peculiar veneration to the ferpent, of whofc
adorers Bryant gives fo fuccincl and yet fo clear account in his mytho-
logy ; the contemplation of the fun's path probably ferved for both.
The zodiack being in a *^-/~\_^ ferpentine form, one god moved in
the other god's track, and confirmed them in their reverence for each.
Diaci means path, as I have been told ; twelve divifions of which
with twelve figns annexed portioned out the year, and twelve years
formed their cycle, jehach, giack, or (Rack, each year bearing an ani-
mal's form and name, thus, Moiife,. Bull, Lynx, Hare, Crocodile, Ser-
pent, Horfe, Sheep, Monkey, Dog, Bear, Hen ;* the favourite in the

* Mr. Samuel Turner, whom Nambar Deo, the moft high and mighty lion in the
world, ftyles prote&or of the humble, from whofe boundlefs knowledge nothing is
concealed, publifhes a lift of names for the years compofing this cycle, fomewhat dif-
ferent as to the manner of placing them ; but the Snake keeps its poft of pre-emi-
nence. And by the cauldron of fire produced for recovery of Mr. Saunders, and the
never-dying flame of their lamps in Rootan or Thibet, I gather, that the religion of
which Grand Lama is the perpetual prieft, has for its objeft the renovating power
which, having once furvived the defhuftion by water in the perfon of Zadyck, Noah -,
will again preferve us from the expefted deftruftion by fr.e under the perfon of Dalai
Lama,, whofe firft minifter is even now in. the year 1800 fly led Sadyck or Sadeek, as
Mr. Turner lays.

middle

en. xv.] TO FIRST CRUSADE, A. D. 1 100. 1-17

middle for pre-eminence, or nearly To. AI Suphi, the Sophy I
pofc, who died juft as thcfe Turks came in ; was faid to have com-
pofcd a catalogue of fixed ftars too,, but as he had no inftrumcnts that
\vc know of wherewith to obfcrvc them, it was probably a fchcmc for
cafting nativities, rather than any attempt towards aftronomy ; though
Coftard thinks he fitted the old Ptolomiean catalogue to his own time,
allowing for the preccflion of the equinox.

While the world's notice was ftrongly attracted towards this new
tribe of wanderers, a wild enthufiaft ftartcd up among them, predict-
ing the felicity of Tnrct/m, and extent of their domains, which fhall not
(fays the man) be taken from them, until they fcoop away the blood-
red apple, and wrap their heads round in its fcarlct fkin. A modern
reader coming to this paflagc exclaims, " Oh, let them then beware the
bonnet rouge /" But we arc engaged in Retrofpeft. Conftantine IX.
now ruled the eaftcrn empire, and although worthlefs enough while he
was alive and well, fuch was the (late of matters on his fickncfs, that
the fucceflbr, Romanus Argirus, found himfclf compelled either at
once to give up his pretenfions, or elfc to lofe his eyes, or to repudiate
his W 7 cll-deferving wife, and wed young Zoe, daughter of the emperor.
Few men would, I luppofe have hefitated, and this prince had in his
confbrt a convenient friend ; flic faved her own difgracc by voluntary
retirement, ending her ftill life in a nunnery, and fliutting out all
troublcfbme intelligence concerning the nuptials of Zoc and Argirus ;
who, though he in compliance with court etiquette was married to
one princefs of royal race, banifhed her filter Theodora, and paiTcd his
time uncafily with Zoe, who fell in love with Michael Paphlago ; and
the firft hufband liv'd not long in thofc days when ladies fixed their
fancy on another. This Emperor was very fuccelsful againft the Sa-
racens, but having ill health, dropfy, and cpilcptick fits, the monks
got round him, and prompted his repentance of Romanus's murder ;
to penitence for fuch a fin was eafily added averfion for his aflbciate ;
and Zoe felt the punilhment of feeing herfelf hated by him for whom

alone

248 FROM FOUNDING OF TURKISH EMPIRE, 1000. [CH. xv.

alone me became guilty. Death broke her fecond chain, but a new
Michael, furnamed Calaphatcs, fet up for emperor, ihaved the once
lovely daughter of Conftantine IX. and banifhed her by a decree for
ever. The people ftrongly attached to the old houfe, took up her
quarrel, and rebelled immediately; feized the ufurping prince, put
out his eyes, and called their favourite Zoe home again. She was next
married to Conftantine Monomachus, who ruled the eaft in her name ;
but keeping a miftrefs with more pomp than prudence, the nobles,
ever true to their firft choice, refented this infult to the dignity of a
family they revered, and fetting people on to (lone the emperor, re-
fblved to vindicate thofe old authorities which they conceived to be
ignobly trampled on, when the confort of a fovereign princefs coha-
bited openly with a lady belonging to the court. The lady however,
prevailed on Zoe, now old and blind, infirm, and almoft in a ftate of
fatuity, to mew herfelf in publick ; protefting to the citizens that
all was by her own confent, her own defire. This pacified the
tumult, and Conftantine reigned quietly twelve years, his favourite
enjoying her poft in peace ; and both contributing to keep alive
the emprefs, upon whofe breath their dignity depended. When
{he died her hufband was himfelf in articulo mortis, and the fubjccls
fetched home Theodora from banifhment, and although at this time
the flagellants were fo efteemed that rods were wanting to the fcve-
ri