 chapter 53 part 3 of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire volume 5 this is a LibriVox recording while LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lizzie Driver the history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire volume 5 chapter 53 fate of the Eastern Empire part 3 the most lofty titles in the most humble postures which devotion has applied to the supreme being have been prostituted by flattery and fear to creatures of the same nature with ourselves the mode of adoration of falling prostrate on the ground and kissing the feet of the emperor was borrowed by deocletion from Persian servitude but it was continued and aggravated till the last age of the Greek monarchy accepting only on Sundays which was waved from a motive of religious pride this humiliating reverence was extracted from all who entered the royal presence from the princes invested with the diadem and purple and from the ambassadors who represented their independent sovereigns the caliphs of Asia Egypt or Spain the kings of France and Italy and the Latin emperors of ancient Rome in his transactions of business Ludeprand Bishop of Cremonia asserted the free spirit of a Frank and the dignity of his master Otto yet his sincerity cannot disguise the abasement of his first audience when he approached the throne the birds of the golden tree began to wobble their notes which were accompanied by the roaring of two lines of gold with his two companions Ludeprand was compelled to bow and to fall prostrate and thrice to touch the ground with his forehead he arose but in the short interval the throne had been hoisted from the floor to the ceiling the imperial figure appeared in new and more gorgeous apparel and the interview was concluded in haughty and majestic silence in this honest and curious narrative the Bishop of Cremona represents the ceremonies of the Byzantine court which is still practiced in the sublime port and which were preserved in the last ages by the dukes of Muscovy or Russia after a long journey by sea and land from Venice to Constantinople the ambassador halted at the Golden Gate till he was conducted by the formal officers to the hospitable palace prepared for his reception but this palace was a prison and his jealous keepers prohibited or social intercourse either with strangers or natives at his first audience he offered the gifts of his master slaves and golden vases and costly armor the ostentatious payment of the officers and troops displayed before his eyes the riches of the empire he was entertained at a royal banquet in which the ambassadors of the nations were marshaled by the esteem or contempt of the Greeks from his own table the emperor as the most signal favor sent the plates which he had tasted and his favorites were dismissed with a robe of honor in the morning and evening of each day his civil and military servants attended their duty in the palace their labors were repaid by the site perhaps by the smile of their lord his commands were signified by a nod or a sign but all earthy greatness stood silent and submissive in his presence in his regular or extraordinary processions through the capital he unveiled his person to the public view the rights of policy were connected with those of religion and his visits to the principal churches were regulated by the festivals the Greek calendar on the eve of these processions the gracious or devout intention of the monarch was proclaimed by the heralds the streets were cleared and purified the pavement was strewn with flowers the most precious furniture the gold and silver plate and silken hangings were displayed from the windows and balconies and a severe discipline restrained and silenced the tumult of the populace the march was opened by the military officers at the head of their troops they were followed in long order by the magistrates and ministers of the civil government the person of the emperor was guarded by his eunuchs in domestics and at the church store he was solemnly recede by the patriarch and his clergy the task of applause was not abandoned to the rude and spontaneous voice of the crowd the most convenient stations were occupied by the bands of the blue and green factions of the circus and their furious conflicts which had shaken the capital were insensibly sunk to an emulation of servitude for me the side they echoed in responsive melody the praises of the emperor their poets and musicians directed the choir and long life and victory were the burden of every song the same acclamations were performed at the audience the banquet and the church and as an evidence of boundless sway they were repeated in Latin Gothic Persian French and even English language but the mercenaries who sustained the real or fictitious character of those nations by the pen of Constantine porphogenitus this science of form and flattery had been reduced into a pompous and trifling volume which the vanity of succeeding times might enrich with an ample supplement yet the calmer reflection of a prince would surely suggest that the same acclamations were applied to every character in every rain and if he had risen from a private rank he might remember that his own voice had been the loudest and most eager in applause at the very moment when he envied the fortune or conspired against the life of his predecessor the princes of the north of the nation says Constantine without faith or fame were ambitious of mingling their blood with the blood of the Caesars by their marriage with a royal virgin or by the nuptials of their daughters with a Roman prince the aged monarch in his instructions to his son reveals the secret maxims of policy and pride and suggests the most decent reasons for refusing these insolent and unreasonable demands every animal says the discrete emperor is prompted by the distinction of language religion and manners adjust regard to the purity of descent preserves the harmony of public and private life but the mixture of foreign blood is the fruitful source of disorder and discord such had ever been the opinion and practice of the sage Romans their jurisprudence prescribed the marriage of a citizen and a stranger in the days of freedom and virtue a senator would have scorn to match his daughter with a king the glory of Mark Antony was solid by an Egyptian wife and the emperor Titus was compelled by popular censure to dismiss with reluctance the reluctant Bernice this perpetual interdict was ratified by the fabulous sanction of the great Constantine the ambassadors of the nations more especially the unbelieving nations were solemnly admonished that such strange alliances had been condemned by the founder of the church and city the irrevocable law was inscribed on the altar of censor fear and the empires prince who should stain the majesty of the purple was excluded from the civil and eucalyptical communion of the Romans if the ambassadors were instructed by any false brethren in the Byzantine history they might produce three memorable examples of the violation of this imaginary law the marriage of Leo or rather of his father Constantine the fourth with the daughter of the king of the Shazars the nuptious of the granddaughter of Romanus with a Bulgarian prince and the union of Bertha of France or Italy with young Romanus the son of Constantine Porfogenitus himself to these objections three answers were prepared which solved the difficulty and established the law the deed and guilt of Constantine corporonimus were acknowledged the Isurion heretic who sullied the baptismal font and declared war against the holy images had indeed embraced a barbarian wife by this impious alliance he accomplished the measures of his crime and was devoted to the just cause and was devoted to the just censure of the one the deed and guilt of Constantine corporonimus were acknowledged the Isurion heretic who sullied the baptismal font and declared war against the holy images had indeed embraced a barbarian wife by this impious alliance he accomplished the measure of his crimes and was devoted to the just censure of the church and of posterity to Romanus could not be alleged as a legitimate emperor he was a plebeian usurper ignorant of the laws and regardless of the honor of the monarchy his son Christopher the father of the bride was the third in rank in the College of Princes at once the subject and the accomplice of a rebellious parent the Bulgarians were sincere and devout Christians and the safety of the Empire with the redemption of many thousand captives depended on this preposterous alliance yet to no consideration could dispense from the laws of Constantine the clergy the Senate and the people disapproved the conduct of Romanus and he was reproached both in his life and death as the author of the public disgrace three for the marriage of his own son with the daughter of Hugo King of Italy a more honorable defense is contrived by the wise poor friend genitus Constantine the great and holy esteem the fidelity and valor of the Franks and his prophetic spirit beheld the vision of their future greatness they alone were accepted from the general prohibition Hugo King of France was the lineal descendant of Charlemagne and his daughter Bertha inherited the pre-octaves of her family and nation the voice of truth and malice insensibly betrayed the fraud or error of the Imperial court the patrimonial estate of Hugo was reduced from the monarchy of France to the simple country of ales though it was not denied that in the confusion of the times he had usurped the sovereignty of province and invaded the kingdom of Italy his father was a private noble and if Bertha derived her female descent from the Carlo Vingian line every step was polluted with illegitimacy or vice the grandmother of Hugo was the famous Valdara the concubine rather than the wife of the second Lothar whose adultery divorce and second nuptials had provoked against him the thunders of the Vatican his mother as she was styled the great Bertha was successfully the wife of the count of ales and of the Marques of Tuscany France in Italy were scandalized by her gallantries and till the age of three score her lovers of every degree were the zealous servants of her ambition the example of maternal incontinence was copied by the king of Italy and the three favorite concubines of Hugo were decorated with the classic names of Venus Juno and Semeli the daughter of Venus was granted to the solicitations of the Byzantine court her name of Bertha was changed to that of Udoxa and she was wedded or rather betrothed to young Romanus the future heir of the empire of the east the consummation of this foreign alliance was suspended by the tender age of the two parties and at the end of five years the union was dissolved by the death of the virgin spouse the second wife of the emperor manus was a maiden of plebeian but of Roman birth and their two daughters the Ophano and Anne were given in marriage to the princes of the earth the elders was bestowed as the pledge of peace on the eldest son of the great Otto who had solicited this alliance with arms and embassies it might legally be questioned how far a Saxon was entitled to the privilege of the French nation but every scruper was silenced by the fame and piety of a hero who had restored the empire of the west after the death of her father in Laurent husband the Ophano governed Rome Italy and Germany during the minority of her son the third Otto and the Latins appraised the virtues of an empress who sacrificed to a superior duty the remembrance of her country in the nuptials of her sister Anne every prejudice was lost and every consideration of dignity was superseded but the stronger argument of necessity and fear a pagan of the north while odomir great prince of Russia aspired to a daughter of the Roman purple and his claim was enforced by the threats of war the promise of conversion and the offer for powerful sucker against a domestic rebel a victim of her religion and country the grecian princess was torn from the palace of her father's and condemned to a savage reign and a hopeless exile on the banks of the baristhenes or in the neighborhood of the polis circle yet the marriage of Anne was fortunate and fruitful the daughter of a grandson to Rosaless was recommended by her imperial dissent and the king of France Henry I sought a wife on the last borders of Europe and Christendom in the Byzantine palace the emperor was the first slave of the ceremonies which he imposed of the rigid forms which regulated each word and gesture besieged him in the palace and violated the leisure of his rural solitude but the lives and fortunes of millions hung on his arbitrary will and the firmest minds superior to the elements of pomp and luxury may be seduced by the more active pleasure of commanding their equals the legislative and executive powers were centered in the person of the monarch and the last remains of the authority of the Senate were finally eradicated by Leo the philosopher a lethargy of servitude had been numbed the minds of the Greeks in the wildest termots of rebellion they never aspired to the idea of free constitution and the private character of the prince was the only source and measure of their public happiness superstition riveted their chains in the church of Saint Sophia he was solemnly crowned by the patriarch at the foot of the altar they pledged their passive and unconditional obedience to his government and family on his side he engaged to abstain as much as possible from the capital punishments of death and mutilation his orthodox creed was subscribed with his own hand and he promised to obey the decrees of the seven synods and the cannons of the holy church but the assurance of mercy was loose and indefinite he swore not to his people but to an invisible judge and except the inexperable guilt of heresy the ministers of heaven were always prepared to preach the indefensible right and to absolve the venial transgressions of their sovereign the Greek ecclesiasticals were themselves the subjects of the civil magistrate at the nod of a tyrant the bishops were created or transferred or deposed or punished with an ignominious death whatever might be their willful influence they could never succeed like the Latin clergy in the establishment of an independent republic and the patriarch of Constantinople condemned what he secretly envied the temporal greatness of his Roman brother yet the exercise of boundless despotism is happily checked by the laws of nature and necessity in proportion to his wisdom and virtue the master of an empire is confined to the path of his sacred and abhorious duty in proportion to his vice and folly he drops a sceptre to wait for his hands and the motions of the royal image are ruled by the imperceptible thread of some minister or favorite who undertakes for his private interest to exercise the task of the public oppression in some fatal moment the most absolute monarch may dread the reason or the caprice of a nation of slaves and experience has proved the torteva is gained in the extent it's lost in the safety and solidity of regal power whatever titles a despot may assume whatever claims he may assert it is on the sword that he must ultimately depend to guard him against his foreign and domestic enemies from the age of Charlemagne to that of the Crusades the world for overlook the remote monarchy of China was occupied and disputed by the three great empires or nations of the Greeks the Saracens and the Franks their military strength may be ascertained by a comparison of their courage their arts and riches and their obedience to a supreme head who might call into action all the energies of the state the Greeks far inferior to their rivals in the first was superior to the Franks and at least equal to the Saracens in the second and third of these warlike qualifications the wealth of the Greeks enabled them to purchase the surface of the poorer nations and to maintain a naval power for the protection of their coasts and the annoyance of their enemies a commerce of the mutual benefit exchange the gold of Constantinople for the blood of slovians and Turks the Bulgarians and Russians their valor contributed to the victories of Nicarforis and Zimiski and if a hostile people pressed too closely on the frontier they were recalled to the defense of their country and the desire of peace by the well managed attack of a more distant tribe the command of the Mediterranean from the mouth of the Teneis to the columns of Hercules was always claimed and often possessed by the successes of Constantine their capital was filled with naval stores and dexterous artifices the situation of Greece and Asia the long coasts deep gulls and numerous islands accustomed their subjects to the exercise of navigation and the trade of Venice and Amalfi supplied a nursery of seamen to the Imperial fleet since the time of the Peloponnesian and Punic wars the sphere of action had not been enlarged and the science of naval architecture appears to have declined the art of constructing these stupendous machines which displayed three or six or ten ranges of oars rising above or falling behind each other was unknown to the shipbuilders of Constantinople as well as to the mech as well as to the mecanition of modern days the Tremones or light galleys of the Byzantine Empire were content with two tier of oars each tier was composed of five and twenty benches and two rowers was seated on each bench who plied their oars on either side of the vessel to these you must add the captain or centurion who in time of action stood erect with his armor bearer on the poop two stiersmen at the helm and two officers at the prow the one to manage the anchor the other to point and play against the enemy the tube of liquid fire the whole crew as in the infancy of the art performed the double service of marinas and soldiers they were provided with defensive and offensive arms with bows and arrows which they used from the upper deck with long pikes which they pushed through the portholes of the lower tier sometimes indeed the ships of war were of a larger and more solid construction and the labors of combat and navigation were more regularly divided between 70 soldiers and 230 mariners but for the most part they were of the light and manageable size and as the Cape of Malaya in Peloponnesus was still clothed with its ancient terrors an imperial fleet was transported five miles over land across the isthmus of Corinth the principles of maritime tactics had not undergone any change since the time of Eucidides a squadron of galleys still advanced in a crescent charged to the front and strove to impel their sharp beaks against the feeble sides of their antagonists a machine for casting stones and darts was built of strong timbers in the midst of the deck and the operation of boarding was affected by a crane that hosted baskets of armed men the language of signals so clear and copious in the naval grammar of the moderns was imperfectly expressed by the various positions and colors of a commanding flag in the darkness of the night the same orders to chase to attack to halt to retreat to break to form were conveyed by the lights of the leading galley by land the fire signals repeated from one mountain to another a chain of eight stations commanded a space of 500 miles and Constantinople in a few hours was appraised of the hostile motions of the Saracens of Tarsus some estimate may be formed of the power of the Greek emperors by the curious and minute detail of the armament which was prepared for the reduction of Crete a fleet of 112 galleys and 75 vessels of the Pampholian style were equipped in the capital the islands of the Aegean Sea and the seaports of Asia Macedonia and Greece it carried 34,000 mariners 7,340 soldiers 700 Russians and 5,087 maridates whose fathers had been transplanted from the mountains of Lubanis their pay most probably of a month was computed at 34 centenaries of gold about 136,000 pounds sterling our fancy is bewildered by the endless recapitulation of arms and engines of clothes and linen of bread for the men and of forage for the horses and of stores and utensils of every description inadequate to the conquest of a petty island but amply sufficient for the establishment of a flourishing colony the invention of the Greek fire did not like that of gunpowder produce a total revolution in the art of war to these liquid combustibles the city and empire of Constantine owed their deliverance and they were employed in sieges and sea fights with terrible effect but they were either less improved or less susceptible of improvement the engines of antiquity the catapult ballista and bettering rams was still of most frequent and powerful use in the attack and defense of fortifications nor was the decision of battles reduced to the quick and heavy fire of a line of infantry whom it were fruitless to protect with armor against a similar fire of their enemies steel and iron was still the common instruments of destruction and safety and the helmets curasses and shields of the 10th century did not either in form or substance essentially differ from those which had covered the champions of Alexander or Achilles but instead of a customizing the modern Greeks let the legionnaires of old to the constant and easy use of the sultry weight their armors laid aside in light chariots which followed the march till on the approach of an enemy they resumed with haste and reluctance the unusual incumbrance their offensive weapons consisted of swords battle axes and spears but the Macedonian pike was shortened a fourth of its length and reduced to the more convenient measure of 12 qubits or feet the sharpness of the Sivian and Arabian arrows had been severely felt and the emperors lamented the decay of archery as a cause of the public misfortunes and recommended as an advice and a command that the military youth till the age of 40 should assiduously practice the exercise of the bow the bands or regiments were usually 300 strong and as a medium between the extremes of four and 16 the foot soldiers of Leo and Constantine were formed eight deep but the cavalry charged in four ranks from the reasonable consideration that the weight of the front could not be increased by any pressure the hindermost horses if the ranks of the infantry or cavalry was sometimes doubled this quarters array betrayed a secret distrust of the courage of the troops whose numbers might swell the appearance of the line but a fume only a chosen band would dare to encounter the spears and swords of the barbarians the order of the battle must have varied according to the ground the object and the adversary but their ordinary disposition in two lines and a reserve presented a succession of hopes and resources most agreeable to the temper as well as a judgment of the Greeks in case of a repulse the first line fell back into the intervals of the second and the reserve breaking into two divisions wheeled around the Franks to improve the victory or cover the retreat whatever authority could enact was accomplished at least in theory by the camps and marches the exercises and evolutions the edicts and books of the Byzantine monarch whatever art could produce from the forge the loom or the laboratory was abundantly supplied by the riches of the prince and the industry of his numerous workmen but neither authority nor art could frame the most important machine the soldier himself and if the ceremonies of Constantine always suppose a safe and triumphal return of the emperor his tactics seldom saw above the means of escaping a defeat and procrastinating the war notwithstanding some transient success the Greeks were sunk in their own esteem and that of their neighbors a cold hand and a curious tongue were the vulgar description of a nation the author of the tactics was besieged in his capital and the last of the barbarians who trembled at the name of the Saracens or Franks could proudly exhibit the medals of gold and silver which they had exorted from the feeble sovereign of Constantinople what spirit their government and character denied might have been inspired in some degree by the influence of religion but the religion of the Greeks could only teach them to suffer and to yield the emperor Nick of forests who restored for a moment the discipline and glory of the Roman name was desirous of bestowing the honors of martyrdom on the Christians who lost their lives in a holy war against the infidels but this political law was defeated by the opposition of the patriarch the bishops and the principal senators and they strenuously urged the cannons of st. Basil that all who were polluted by the bloody trade of a soldier should be separated during three years from the communion of the faithful these scruples of the Greeks have been compared with the tears of the primitive Muslims when they were held back from battle and this contrast of base superstition and high-spirited enthusiasm unfolds to a philosophic eye the history of the rival nations the subjects of the last caliphs had endowedly degenerated from the zeal and faith of the companions of the prophet yet their martial creed still represented the deity as the author of war the vital though latent spark of fanaticism the vital though latent spark of fanaticism still glowed in the heart of their religion and among the Saracens who dwelt on the Christian borders it was frequently rekindled to a lively and active flame their regular force was formed of the valiant slaves who had been educated to guard the person and accompany the standard of their Lord but the Muslim and people of Syria and Sicilia of Africa and Spain were awakened by the trumpet which proclaimed a holy war against the infidels the rich were ambitious of death or victory in the cause of God the poor were alluded by the hopes of plunder and the old the infirm and the women assumed their share of meritorious service by sending their substitutes with arms and horses into the field these offensive and defensive arms were similar in strength and temper to those of the Romans whom they far excelled in the management of the horse and the bow the massy silver of their belts their bridles and their swords displayed the magnificence of a prosperous nation and except some black-hearted of the south the Arabs disdained the naked bravery of their ancestors instead of wagons they were attended by a long train of camels mules and asses the multitude of these animals whom they bedecked with flags and streamers appear to swell the pump and magnitude of their host and the horses of the enemy were often disordered by the uncouth figure and odious smell of the camels of the east invincible by their patience of thirst and heat their spirits were frozen by a winter's cold and the consciousness of their propensity to sleep exacted the most rigorous precautions against the surprises of the night their order of battle was a long square of too deep and solid lines the first of arches the second of cavalry in their engagements by sea and land they sustained with patient firmness the fury of the attack and seldom advanced to the charge till they could discern and oppress the lassitude of their foes but if they were repulsed and broken they knew not how to rally or renew the combat and their dismay was heightened by the superstitious prejudice that God had declared himself on the side of their enemies the decline and fall of the caliphs countenance their fearful opinion nor were the wanting among the Mohammedans and Christians some obscure prophecies which prognosticated their alternate defeats the unity of the Arabian Empire was dissolved but the independent fragments were equal to populace and powerful kingdoms and in their navy and military armaments and a mere of Aleppo or Tunis might command no despicable fund of skill and industry and treasure in their transactions of peace and war with the Saracens the princes of Constantinople too often felt that these barbarians had nothing barbarous in their discipline and if they were destitute of original genius they had been endowed with a quick spirit of curiosity and imitation the model was indeed more perfect than the copy their ships and engines and fortifications were of a less skillful construction and they confess without shame that the same God who has given a tongue to the Arabians had more nicely fashioned the hands of the Chinese and the heads of the Greeks end of chapter 53 part 3 chapter 53 part 4 of the history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire volume 5 this is a LibriVox recording or LibriVox recordings are in the public domain more information or volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lizzie driver the history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire volume 5 chapter 53 fate of the Eastern Empire part 4 a name of some German tribes which in the Rhine in the wiser had spread as victorious influence over the greatest part of Gaul Germany in Italy and the common appellation of Franks was applied by the Greeks and Arabians to the Christians of the Latin Church the nations of the West who stretched beyond their knowledge to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean the vast body had been inspired and united by the soul of Charlemagne but the division and degeneracy of his race soon annihilated the imperial power which would have rivaled the Caesars of Byzantium and revenge the indignities of the Christian name the enemies no longer feared knock the subjects any longer trust the application of a public revenue the labors of trade and manufacturers in the military service the mutual aid of provinces and armies and the naval squadrons which were regularly stationed from the mouth of the Elbe to that of the Tiber in the beginning of the 10th century the family of Charlemagne had almost disappeared his monarchy was broken into many hostile and independent states the regal title was assumed by the most ambitious chiefs their revolt was imitated in a long subordination of anarchy and discord and the nobles of every province disobeyed their sovereign oppressed their vassals and exercised perpetual hostilities against their equals and neighbors their private wars which overturned the fabric of government fermented the martial spirit of the nation in the system of modern Europe the power of the sword is possessed at least in fact by five or six mighty potentates their operations are conducted on a distant frontier by an order of men who devote their lives to the study and practice of the military art the rest of the country and community enjoys in the midst of war the tranquillity of peace and is only made sensible of the change by the aggravation or decrease of the public taxes in the disorders of the 10th and 11th centuries every peasant was a soldier and every village of fortification each word or valley was a scene of murder and raping and the Lords of each castle were compelled to assume the character of princes and warriors to their own courage and policy they boldly trusted for the safety of their family the protection of their lands and the revenge of their injuries and like the conquerors of a large size they were too apt to transgress the privilege of defensive war the powers of the mind and body were hardened by the presence of danger and necessity of resolution the same spirit refused to desert a friend and to forgive an enemy and instead of sleeping under the guardian care of a magistrate they proudly disdained the authority of the laws in the days of feudal anarchy the instruments of agriculture and art were converted into the weapons of bloodshed the peaceful occupations of civil and ecclesiastical society were abolished or corrupted and the bishop who exchanged his mighter for a helmet was more forcibly urged by the manners of the times than by the obligation of his tenure the love of freedom and of arms was felt with conscious pride by the Franks themselves and is observed by the Greeks with some degree of amazement and terror the Franks says the Emperor Constantine a bold and valiant to the verge of termity and their dauntless spirit is supported by the contempt of danger and death in the field and in close onset they press to the front and rush headlong against the enemy without dining to compute either his numbers or their own their ranks are formed by the firm connections of consanguinity and friendship and their martial deeds are prompted by the desire of saving or avenging their dearest companions in their eyes a retreat is a shameful flight and flight is indelible infamy a nation endowed with such high an intrepid spirit must have been secure a victory if these advantages had not been counterbalanced by many weighty defects the decay of their naval power left the Greeks and Saracens in possession of the sea for every purpose of annoyance and supply in the age which preceded the institution of knighthood the Franks were rude and unskillful in the service of cavalry and in all perilous emergencies their warriors were so conscious of their ignorance that they chose to dismount from their horses and fight on foot unpracticed in the use of pikes or of missile weapons they were encumbered by the length of their swords the weight of their armor the magnitude of their shields and if I may repeat the satire of the meager Greeks by their unwieldy intemperance their independent spirit is staying the yoke of subordination and abandoned the standard of their chief if he attempted to keep the field beyond the term of their stipulation or service on all sides they were open to the snares of an enemy less brave but more artful than themselves they might be bribed for the barbarians were venial or surprised in the night for they neglected the precautions of a close encampment or vigilant sentinels the fatigue of a summer's campaign exhausted their strength and patience and they sunk in despair if their voracious appetite was disappointed of the plentiful supply of wine and of food this general character of the Franks was marked with some national and local shades which I should describe to accident rather than to climb it but which were visible both to natives and to foreigners an ambassador of the great Otto declared in the palace of Constantinople that the Saxons could dispute with swords better than with pens and that they preferred inevitable death to the dishonor of turning their backs to an enemy it was the glory of the nobles of France that in their humble dwellings war and raping were the only pleasure the sole occupation of their lives they affected to derive the palaces the banquets the polished manner of the Italians who in the estimate of the Greeks themselves had degenerated from the liberty and valor of the ancient Lombards by the well-known idiot of Caracalla his subjects from Britain to Egypt were entitled to the name and privileges of Romans and their national sovereign might fix his occasional or permanent residence in any province of their common country in the division of the east and west an ideal unity was scrupulously observed and in their titles laws and statutes the success of Arcadius and Honorius announced themselves as the inseparable colleagues of the same office as the joint sovereigns of the Roman world and city which were bounded by the same limits after the fall of the western monarchy the majesty of the purple resided solely in the princes of Constantinople and of these Justinian was the first who after a divorce of sixty years became the dominion of ancient Rome and asserted by the right of conquest the Auguste title of emperor of the Romans a motive of vanity or discontent solicited one of his successors Constant the second to abandon the Thracian Bosphorus and to restore the pristine honors of the Tiber an extravagant project exclaims the malicious Byzantine as if he had dispoiled a beautiful and blooming virgin to enrich or rather to expose the deformity of a wrinkled and decrepit matron but the sword of the Lombards opposed his settlement in Italy he entered Rome not as a conqueror but as a fugitive and after a visit of twelve days he pillaged and forever deserted the ancient capital of the world the final revolt and separation of Italy was accomplished about two centuries after the conquest of Justinian and from his reign we may date the gradual oblivion of the latin tongue that legislator had composed his institutes his code and his pandex in a language which he celebrates as the proper and public style of the roman government the consecrated idiom of the palace and senate of Constantinople of the camps and tribunals of the east but this foreign dialect was unknown to the people and soldiers of the asiatic provinces it was imperfectly understood by the greater part of the interpreters of the laws and the ministers of the state after a short conflict nature and habit prevailed over the obsolete institutions of human power for the general benefit of his subjects Justinian promulgated his novels in the two languages the several parts of his voluminous jurisprudence were successively translated the original was forgotten the version was studied and the Greek whose intrinsic merit deserved indeed the preference obtained a legal as well as a popular establishment in the Byzantine monarchy the birth and residence of succeeding princes estranged them from the roman idiom Tiberius by the Arabs and Morris by the Italians are distinguished as the first of the Greek Caesars as the founders of a new dynasty and empire the silent revolution was accomplished before the death of Heraclius and the ruins of the latin speech were darkly preserved in the terms of jurisprudence and the acclimations of the palace after the restoration of the western empire by Charlemagne and the Othos the names of Franks and latins acquired an equal signification and extent and these haughty barbarians asserted with some justice their superior claim to the language and dominion of Rome they insulted the alien of the east who had renounced the dress and idiom of romans and their reasonable practice will justify the frequent appellation of Greeks but this contemptuous appellation was indignantly rejected by the prince and people to whom it was applied whatsoever changes had been introduced by the lapse of ages they alleged delineal and unbroken succession from Augustus and Constantine and in the lowest period of degeneracy and decay the name of Romans adhered to the last fragments of the empire of Constantinople while the government of the east was transacted in latin the greek was the language of literature and philosophy nor could the masters of this rich and perfect idiom be tempted to envy the borrowed learning and imitative taste of their roman disciples after the fall of paganism the loss of syria and Egypt and the extinction of the schools of Alexandria and Athens the studies of the Greeks insensibly retired to some regular monasteries and above all to the royal college of Constantinople which was burnt in the reign of Leo the Asaurian in the pompous style of the age the president of that foundation was named the son of science his twelve associates the professors in the different arts and faculties were the twelve signs of the zodiac a library of 36,500 volumes was open to their inquiries and they could show an ancient manuscript of Homer on a roll of parchment 120 feet in length the intestines as it was fabled of a prodigious serpent but the seventh and eighth centuries were a period of discord and darkness the library was burnt the college was abolished the iconoclasts are represented as the foes of antiquity and a savage ignorance and contempt of letters has disgraced the princes of the Heraclean and Asaurian dynasties in the ninth century we trace the first drawings of the restoration of science after the fanaticism of the Arabs had subsided the caliph aspired to conquer the arts rather than the provinces of the empire their liberal curiosity rekindled the emulation of the Greeks brushed away the dust from the ancient libraries and taught them to know and reward the philosophers whose labors had been hither I repaid by the pleasure of study and the pursuit of truth the Caesar Bardas the uncle of Michael the third was the generous protector of letters a title which alone has preserved his memory and excused his ambition a particle of the treasure of his nephew was sometimes diverted from the indulgence of vice and folly a school was opened in the palace of magnara and the presence of Bardas excited the emulation of the masters and students at their head was the philosopher Leo archbishop of Thessalonchia his profound skill in astronomy and the mathematics was admired by the strangers of the east and this occult science was magnified by vulgar credulity which modestly supposes that all knowledge superior to its own must be the effect of inspiration or magic at the pressing entreaty of the Caesar his friend the celebrated foteus renounced the freedom of a secular and studious life ascended the patriarchal throne and was alternatively excommunicated and absolved by the synoids of the eastern west by the confession even of priestly hatred no art or science except poetry was foreign to this universal scholar who was deep in thought interfatigable in reading and eloquent in diction whilst he exercised the office of proto saptheia or captain of the guards foteus was sent ambassador to the caliph of Baghdad the tedious owls of exile perhaps of confinement were beguiled by the hasty composition of his library a living monument of erudition and criticism two hundred and four school writers historians orators philosophers the logians are reviewed without any regular method he abridges their narrative or doctrine appreciates their style and character and judges even the fathers of the church with a discrete freedom which often breaks through the superstition of the times the emperor basil who lamented the defects of his own education entrusted to the caraphotius his son and successor leo the philosopher and the reign of that prince and of his son constantine porphogenitus forms one of the most prosperous eras of the Byzantine literature by their munificence the treasures of antiquity were deposited in the imperial library by their pens or those of their associates they were imparted in such extracts and abridgments as might amuse the curiosity without oppressing the indolence of the public besides the basilics or codes of law the arts of husbandry and war of feeding or destroying the human species were propagated with equal diligence and the history of Greece and Rome was digested into 53 heads or titles of which two only of embassies and of virtues and vices have escaped the injuries of time in every station the reader might contemplate the image of the past world apply the lesson or warning of each page and learn to admire perhaps to imitate the examples of a brighter period i shall not expatiate on the works of the Byzantine Greeks who by the acidic study of the ancients have deserved in some measure the remembrance and gratitude of the moderns the scholars of the present age may still enjoy the benefit of the philosophical commonplace book of Stobius the grammatical and historical lexicon of Suidas the ciliades of testes which comprise 600 narratives into 12 000 verses and then commentaries on Homer of Eustaceus Archbishop of Thessalonica who from his horn of plenty has poured the names and authorities of 400 writers from these originals and from the numerous tribal scolias and critics some estimate may be formed of the literary wealth of the 12th century. Constantinople was enlightened by the genius of Homer and Demosthenes of Aristotle and Plato and in the enjoyment or neglect of our present riches we must envy the generation that could still peruse the history of Thermopus the oritations of Hyperdeus the comedies of Menander and the Odes of Alsius and Sappho the frequent labour of illustration attests not only existence but the popularity the general knowledge of the age may be deduced from the example of two learned females the Empress Eudosia and the Princess Anna Comnemna who cultivated in the purple the arts of rhetoric and philosophy the vulgar dialect of the city was grosser to barbarous a more correct and elaborate style distinguished the discourse or at least the conversations of the church and palace which sometimes affected to copy the purity of the attic models in our modern education the painful though necessary attainment of two languages which are no longer living may consume the time and damp the ardour of the youthful student the poets and orators were long imprisoned in the barbarous dialects of our westerned ancestors devoid of harmony or grace and their genius without preceptor example was abandoned to the rural and native powers of their judgment and fancy but the Greeks are Constantinople after purging away the impurities of their vulgar speech acquired the free use of their ancient language the most happy composition of human art and a familiar knowledge of the sublime masters who had pleased or instructed the first of nations but these advantages only tend to aggravate their approach and shame of a degenerate people they held in their lifeless hands the riches of their fathers without inheriting the spirit which had created and improved that sacred patrimony they read they praised they complied but the language souls seemed alike incapable of thought and action in the revolution of ten centuries not a single discovery was made to exalt the dignity or promote the happiness of mankind not a single idea has been added to the speculative systems of antiquity and a succession of patient disciples became in their turn the dogmatic teachers of the next servile generation not a single composition of history philosophy or literature has been saved from oblivion by the intrinsic beauties of style or sentiment of origin or fancy or even of successful imitation in prose the least offensive of the Byzantine writers are absolved from censure by their naked and unpresuming simplicity but the orators most eloquent in their own conceit are the furthest removed from the models whom they effect to emulate in every page our taste and reason are wounded by the choice of gigantic and obsolete words a stiff and intricate phraseology the discord of images the childish play of false or unseasonable ornament and the painful attempt to elevate themselves to astonish the reader and to evolve a trivial meaning and the smoke of obscurity and exaggeration their prose is soaring to the vicious affectation of poetry their poetry is sinking below the flatness and incipity of prose the tragic epic and lyric muses were silent and inglorious the bards of Constantinople seldom rose above a riddle or epigram a panengeric or tale they forgot even the rules of prosody and with the melody of Homer yet sounding in their ears they confounded all measure of feet and syllables in the impotent strains which have received the name of political or city verses the minds of the greek were bound in the fetters of a base an imperious superstition which extends her dominion around the circle of profane science their understandings were bewildered in metaphysical controversy in the belief of visions and miracles they had lost all principles of moral evidence and their taste was vitiates by the homilies of the monks an absurd melody of declamation and scripture even these contentable studies were no longer dignified by the abuse of superior talents the leaders of the greek church were humbly content to admire and copy the oracles of antiquity nor did the schools of pulpit produce any rivals of the fame nor did the schools of pulpit produce any rifles of the fame of athenasius and chrysostom in the pursuits of active and speculative life the emulation of states and individuals is the most powerful spring of the efforts and improvements of mankind the cities of ancient Greece were cast in the happy mixture of union and independence which is repeated on a larger scale but in elusive form by the nations of modern europe the union of language religion and manners which renders them spectators and judges of each other's merit the independence of government and interest which asserts their separate freedom and excites them to strive for preeminence in the career of glory the situation of the romans was less favorable yet in the early ages of the republic which fixed the national character a similar emulation was kindled among the states of latinium and litterly and in the arts and science they aspired to equal or surpass the greecean masters the empire of the seizes undoubtedly checked the activity and progress of the human mind its magnitude might indeed allow some scope for domestic competition but when it was gradually receded at first to the east and at last to greece and constantanople the Byzantine subjects were degraded to an abject and languid temper the natural effect of their solitary and insulated state from the north they were oppressed by nameless tribes of barbarians to whom they scarcely imparted the appellation of man the language and religion of the more polished Arabs was an insurmountable bar to all social intercourse the conquerors of europe were their brethren in the christian faith but the speech of the franks or latins was unknown their manners were rude and they were rarely connected in peace or war with the successes of heraclius alone in the universe the self-satisfied pride of the greeks was not disturbed by the comparison of foreign merit and it is no wonder if they fainted in the race since they had neither competitors to urge their speed nor judges to crown their victory the nations of europe and asia were mingled by the expeditions to the holy land and it is under the comnamnian dynasty that a faint emunation of knowledge and military virtue were rekindled in the Byzantine empire end of chapter 53 part 4 chapter 54 part 1 of the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire volume 5 this is a libra vox recording all libra vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libravox.org recording by ed meet the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire volume 5 chapter 54 part 1 chapter 54 origin and doctrine of the politions part 1 origin and doctrine of the politions the persecution by the greek emperors revolt in armenia etc transplantation into Thrace propagation in the west the seeds character and consequences of the reformation in the profession of christianity the variety of national characters may be clearly distinguished the natives of syria and egypt abandoned their lives to lazy and contemplative devotion romegane aspired to the dominion of the world and the wit of the lively and loquacious greeks was consumed in the disputes of metaphysical theology the incomprehensible mysteries of the trinity and incarnation instead of commanding their silent submission were agitated envioment and subtle controversies which enlarge their faith at the expense perhaps of their charity and reason from the council of niece to the end of the seventh century the peace and unity of the church was invaded by these spiritual wars and so deeply did they affect the decline and fall of the empire that the historian has too often been compelled to attend the synods to explore the creeds and to enumerate the sex of this busy period of ecclesiastical annals from the beginning of the eighth century to the last ages of the Byzantine empire the sound of controversy was seldom heard curiosity was exhausted zeal was fatigued and in decrees of six councils the articles of the catholic faith have been irrevocably defined the spirit of dispute however vain and pernicious requires some energy and exercise of the mental faculties and the prostrate greeks were content to fast to pray and to believe in blind obedience to the patriarch in his clergy during a long dream of superstition the virgin and the saints their visions and miracles their relics and images were preached by the monks and worshiped by the people and the appellation of people might be extended without injustice to the first ranks of civil society at an unseasonable moment the isorian emperors attempted somewhat rudely to awaken their subjects under their influence reason might obtain some proselytes a far greater number was swayed by interest or fear but the eastern world embraced or deplored their visible deities and the restoration of images was celebrated as the feast of orthodoxy in this passive and unanimous state the ecclesiastical rulers were relieved from the toil were deprived of the pleasure of persecution the pagans had disappeared the jews were silent and obscure the disputes with the latins were rare and remote hostilities against a national enemy and the sects of egypt and syria enjoyed a free toleration under the shadow of the arabian caliphs about the middle of the seventh century a branch of manekians were selected as the victims of spiritual tyranny their patience was at length exasperated to despair and rebellion and their exile has scattered over the west the seeds of reformation these important events will justify some inquiry into the doctrine and story of the politions and as they cannot plead for themselves our candid criticism will magnify the good and abate or suspect the evil that is reported by their adversaries the nostics who had distracted the infancy were oppressed by the greatness and authority of the church instead of emulating or surpassing the wealth learning and numbers of the catholics their obscure remnant was driven from the capitals of the east and west and confined to the villages and mountains along the borders of the euphrates some vestige of the marcianites may be detected in the fifth century but the numerous sects were finally lost in the odious name of the manekians and these heretics who presumed to reconcile the doctrines of zoroaster and christ were pursued by the two religions with equal and unrelenting hatred under the grandson of heraclius in the neighborhood of semisoda more famous for the birth of lucian and for the title of a syrian kingdom a reformer arose esteemed by the politions as the chosen messenger of truth in his humble dwelling of man and alice Constantine entertained a deacon who returned from syrian captivity and received the inestimable gift of the new testament which was already concealed from the vulgar by the prudence of the greek and perhaps of the gnostic clergy these books became the measure of his studies and the rule of his faith and the catholics who dispute his interpretation acknowledged that his text was genuine and sincere but he attached himself with particular devotion to the writings and character of saint paul the name of the politions is derived by their enemies from some unknown and domestic teacher but i am confident that they gloried in their affinity to the apostle of the gentiles his disciples titus timothy sylvanus tychicus were represented by Constantine and his fellow laborers the names of the apostolic churches were applied to the congregations which they assembled in Armenia in Cappadocia and this innocent allegory revived the example and memory of the first ages in the gospel and the epistles of saint paul his faithful follower investigated the creed of primitive christianity and whatever might be the success and protestant reader will applaud the spirit of the inquiry but if the scriptures of the politions were pure they were not perfect their founders rejected the two epistles of saint peter the apostle of the circumcision who's dispute with their favorite for the observance of the law could not easily be forgiven they agree with their gnostic brethren in the universal contempt for the old testament the book of moses and the prophets which have been consecrated by the decrees of the catholic church with equal boldness and doubtless with more reason Constantine the new sylvanus disclaim the visions which in so many bulky and splendid volumes have been published by the oriental sex the fabulous productions of the Hebrew patriarchs and the sages of the east the spurious gospels epistles and acts which in the first age had overwhelmed the orthodox code the theology of manas and the authors of the kindred heresies and the 30 generations or eons which had been created by the fruitful fancy of valentine the politions since silly condemned the memory and opinions of the manichean sect and complained of the injustice which imprisoned that invidious name on the simple votaries of saint paul and of christ of the ecclesiastical chain many links have been broken by the polition reformers and their liberty was enlarged as they reduced the number of masters at whose voice profane reason must bow to mystery and miracle the early separation of the gnostics had preceded the establishment of the catholic worship and against the gradual innovations of discipline and doctrine they were strongly guarded by habit and aversion as by the silence of saint paul and the evangelists the objects which had been transformed by the magic of superstition appeared to the eyes of the politions in their genuine and naked colors an image made without hands was the common workmanship of a mortal artist to whose skill alone the wood and canvas must be indebted for their merit or value the miraculous relics were heap of bones and ashes destitute of life or virtue or of any relation perhaps with the person to whom they were ascribed the true and vivifying cross was a piece of sound or rotten timber the body and blood of christ a loaf of bread and a cup of wine the gifts of nature and the symbols of grace the mother of god was degraded from her celestial honors and immaculate virginity and the saints and angels were no longer solicited to exercise the laborious office of meditation in heaven and ministry upon earth in the practice or at least in the theory of the sacraments the politions were inclined to abolish all visible objects of worship and the words of the gospel were in their judgment the baptism and communion of the faithful they indulged a convenient latitude for the interpretation of scripture and as often as they were pressed by the literal sense they could escape to the intricate mazes of figure and allegory their utmost diligence must have been employed to dissolve the connection between the old and the new testament since they adored the latter as the oracles of god and aboard the former as the fabulous and absurd invention of men or demons we cannot be surprised that they should have found in the gospel the orthodox mystery of the trinity but instead of confessing the human nature and substantial sufferings of christ they amused their fancy with a celestial body that passed through the virgin like water through a pipe with a fantastic crucifixion that eluded the vain and important malice of the jews a creed thus simple and spiritual was not adapted to the genius of the times and the rational christian who might have been contented with the light yoke and easy burden of jesus and his apostles was justly offended that the politions should dare to violate the unity of god the first article of natural and revealed religion their belief in their trust was in the father of christ of the human soul and of the invisible world but they likewise held the eternity of matter a stubborn and rebellious substance the origin of a second principle of an active being who has created this visible world and exercises his temporal reign till the final consummation of death and sin the appearances of moral and physical evil had established the two principles in the ancient philosophy and religion of the east from whence this doctrine was transfused to the various swarms of the nostics a thousand shades may be devised in the nature and character of ariman from a rival god to a subordinate demon from passion and frailty to pure and perfect malevolence but in spite of our efforts the goodness and the power of ormuz are placed at the opposite extremities of the line and every step that approaches the one must recede in equal proportion from the other the apostolic labors of constantine sylvanus soon multiplied the number of his disciples the secret recompense of spiritual ambition the remnant of the nostic sex and especially the mannequins of armenia were united under his standard many Catholics were converted or seduced by his arguments and he preached with success in the regions of Pontus and Cappadocia which had long since imbibed the religion of Zoroaster the pollution teachers were distinguished only by their scriptural names by the modest title of fellow pilgrims by the austerity of their lives their zeal or knowledge and the credit of some extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit but they were incapable of desiring or at least of obtaining the wealth and honors of the Catholic policy such anti-christian pride they bitterly censured and even the ranks of elders or presbyters was condemned as an institution of the Jewish synagogue the new sect was loosely spread over the provinces of Asia Minor to the westward of the Euphrates six of their principal congregations represented the churches to which Saint Paul had addressed his epistles and their founder chose his residence in the neighborhood of Colonia in the same district of Pontus which had been celebrated by the altars of Bologna and the miracles of Gregory after a mission of 27 years sylvanus who had retired from the tolerating government of the Arabs fell a sacrifice to roman persecution the laws of the pious emperors which seldom touched the lives of less odious heretics proscribed without mercy or disguised the tenants the books and the persons of the montanists and mannequins the books were delivered to the flames and all who should presume to secrete such writings or to profess such opinions were devoted to an ignominious death a greek minister armed with legal and military powers appeared at Colonia to strike the shepherd and to reclaim if possible the lost sheep by a refinement of cruelty simian placed the unfortunate sylvanus before a line of his disciples who were commanded as the price of their pardon and the proof of their repentance to massacre their spiritual father they turned aside from the empires office the stones dropped from their filial hands and of the whole number only one executioner could be found a new david as he is styled by the catholics who boldly overthrew the giant of heresy this apostate justin was his name again deceived and betrayed his unsuspecting brethren and a new conformity to the acts of st paul may be found in the conversion of simian like the apostle he embraced the doctrine which had been sent to persecute renounced his honors and fortunes and required among the politions the fame of a missionary and a martyr they were not ambitious of martyrdom but in a calamitous period of 150 years their patience sustained whatever zeal could inflict and power was insufficient to eradicate the obstinate vegetation of fanaticism and reason from the blood and ashes of the first victims a succession of teachers and congregations repeatedly arose amidst their foreign hostilities they found leisure for domestic quarrels they preached they disputed they suffered and the virtues the apparent virtues of sergius in a pilgrimage of 33 years are reluctantly confessed by the orthodox historians the native cruelty of justinian the second was stimulated by a pious cause and he vainly hoped to extinguish in a single conflagration the name and memory of the politions by the primitive simplicity their abhorrence of popular superstition the iconoclast princes might have been reconciled to some erroneous doctrines but they themselves were exposed to the calamities of the monks and they chose to be the tyrants unless they should be accused as the accomplices of the mannequins such a reproach has sullied the clemency of nicer force who relaxed in their favor the severity of the penal statutes nor will his character sustain the honor of a more liberal motive the feeble michael the first the rigid leo the armenian were foremost in the race of persecution but the prize must doubtless be a judge to the sanguinary devotion of theodora who restored the images to the oriental church her inquisitors explored the cities and mountains of the lesser asia and the flatterers of the empress have affirmed that in a short reign 100 000 politions were extirpated by the sword the gibbet or the flames her guilt or merit has perhaps been stretched beyond the measure of truth but if the account be allowed it must be presumed that many simple iconoclasts were punished under a more odious name and that some who were driven from the church unwillingly took refuge in the bosom of heresy the most furious and desperate of rebels are the sectaries of a religion long persecuted and at length provoked in a holy cause they are no longer susceptible of fear or remorse the justice of their arms hardens them against the feelings of humanity and they revenge their father's wrongs on the children of their tyrants such have been the hasaits of bohemia and the calvinists of france and such in the 9th century were the politions of armenia and the adjacent provinces they were first awakened to the massacre of a governor and bishop who exercised the imperial mandate of converting or destroying the heretics and the deepest recesses of mount argeus protected their independence and revenge a more dangerous and consuming flame was kindled by the persecution of theodora and the revolt of carbeus a valiant polition who commanded the guards of the general of the east his father had been impaled by the catholic inquisitors and religion or at least nature might justify his desertion and revenge five thousand of his brethren reunited by the same motors they renounced the allegiance of anti-christian rome a saracen amir introduced carbeus to the caliph and the commander of the faithful extended his scepter to the implacable enemy of the greeks in the mountains between sea wasps and trebizond he founded or fortified the city of tefrica which is still occupied by fierce or licentious people and the neighboring hills recovered with the polition fugitives who now reconciled the use of the bible and the sword during more than thirty years asia was afflicted by the calamities of foreign and domestic war in their hostile inroads the disciples of st paul were joined with those of muhammad and the peaceful christians the aged parent and tender virgin who were delivered into barbarous servitude might justly accuse the intolerant spirit of their sovereign so urgent was the mischief so intolerable the shame that even the dissolute michael the son of theodora was compelled to march in person against the politions he was defeated under the walls of samasota and the roman emperor fled before the heretics whom his mother had condemned to the flames the saracens fought under the same banner but the victory was ascribed to carbayas and the captive generals with more than a hundred tribunes were either released by his avarice or tortured by his fanaticism the valor and ambition of christic here his successor embraced a wider circle of rapine and revenge an alliance with his faithful muslims he boldly penetrated into the heart of asia the troops of the frontier and the palace were repeatedly overthrown the edicts of persecution were answered by the pillage of niece and nikomedia of ancyra and aphisis nor could the apostle saint john protect from violation his city in sepulcher the cathedral of aphisis was turned into a stable for mules and horses and the politions vied with the saracens in their contempt and abhorrence of images and relics it is not unpleasing to observe the triumph of rebellion over the same despotism which had disdain the prayers of an injured people the emperor basil the mastodonian was reduced to sue for peace to offer ransom for the captives and to request in the language of moderation and charity that christic here would spare his fellow christians and content himself for the royal donative of gold and silver and silk garments if the emperor replied the insolent fanatic be desirous of peace let him abdicate the east and reign without molestation in the west if he refuse the servants of the lord will precipitate him from the throne the reluctant basil suspended the treaty accepted the defiance and led his army into the land of heresy which he wasted with fire and sword the open country of the politions was exposed to the same calamities which they had inflicted but when he had explored the strength of tefrica the multitude of the barbarians and the ample magazine of arms and provisions he desisted with a sigh from the hopeless siege on his return to constantanople he labored by the foundation of convents and churches to secure the aid of his celestial patrons of michael the archangel and the prophet elisha and it was his daily prayer that he might live to trans pierce with three arrows the head of his impious adversary beyond his expectation the wish was accomplished after successful inroad christic here was surprised and slain in his retreat and the rebels head was triumphantly presented at the foot of the throne on the reception of this welcome trophy basil instantly called for his bow discharged three arrows with an airing aim and accepted the applause of the court who hailed the victory of the royal archer with chriso cure the glory of the politions faded and withered on the second expedition of the emperor the impregnable tefrique was deserted by the heretics who sued for mercy or escaped to the borders the city was ruined but the spirit of independence survived in the mountains the politions defended above a century the religion and liberty infested the roman limits and maintain their perpetual alliance with the enemies of the empire and the gospel end of chapter 54 part 1 chapter 54 part 1 of the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire volume 5 this is a liber vox recording a liber vox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit liber vox.org recording by ed mead the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire volume 5 chapter 54 part 2 chapter 54 origin and doctrine of the politions part 2 about the middle of the eighth century constantine sir named capronimus by the worshipers of images had made an expedition into armenia and found in the cities of melatine and theodosia polis a great number of politions his kindred heretics as a favor or punishment he translated them from the banks of the euphrates to constantinople and thrace and by this emigration their doctrine was introduced and diffused in europe if the sectaries of the metropolis were soon mingled with the promiscuous mass those of the country struck a deep root in a foreign soil the politions of thrace resisted the storms of persecution maintained a secret correspondence with their armenian brethren and gave aid and comfort to their preachers who solicited not without success the infant faith of the bulgarians in the 10th century they were restored and multiplied by a more powerful colony which john zamiscus transported from the chilebian hills to the valleys of mount hamis the oriental clergy who would have preferred the destruction impatiently sighed for the absence of the mannequins the warlike emperor had felt and esteemed their valor their attachment to the saracens was pregnant with mischief but on the side of the danube against the barbarians of sythia their service might be useful and their loss would be desirable their exile in a distant land was softened by a free toleration the politions held the city of filipopolis and the keys of thrace the catholics for their subjects the jacobite emigrants their associates they occupied a line of villages and castles in massedonia and apyrus and many native bulgarians were associated to the communion of arms and heresy as long as they were awed by power and treated with moderation their voluntary bands were distinguished in the armies of the empire when the courage of these dogs ever greedy of war ever thirsty of human blood is noticed with astonishment and almost with reproach by the pusillanimous Greeks the same spirit rendered them arrogant and contumatious they were easily provoked by caprice or injury and their privileges were often violated by the faithless bigotry of the government and clergy in the midst of the norman war two thousand five hundred mannequins deserted the standard of alexias comanus and retired to their native homes he dissembled till the moment of revenge invited the chiefs to a friendly conference and punished the innocent and guilty by imprisonment confiscation and baptism in an interval of peace the emperor undertook the pious office of reconciling them to the church and state his winter quarters were fixed at filipopolis and the thirteenth apostle as he is styled by his pious daughter consumed whole days and nights in theological controversy his arguments were fortified their obscenity was melted by the honors and rewards which he bestowed on the most eminent proselytes and a new city surrounded with gardens enriched with immunities and dignified with his own name was founded by alexias for the residents of his vulgar converts the important station of filipopolis was rested from their hands the contumatious leaders were secured in a dungeon or banished from their country and their lives were spared by the prudence rather than the mercy of an emperor at whose command a poor and solitary heretic was burnt alive before the church of sentisofia but the proud hope of eradicating the prejudices of a nation was speedily overturned by the invincible zeal of the politions who cease to dissemble or refuse to obey after the departure and death of alexias they soon resumed their civil and religious laws in the beginning of the thirteenth century their pope or primate a manifest corruption resided on the confines of Bulgaria Croatia and Dalmatia and governed by his vickers the filial congregations of italy and France from that era a minute scrutiny might prolong and perpetuate the chain of tradition at the end of the last age the sect or colony still inhabited the valleys of Mount Hamas where their ignorance and poverty were more frequently tormented by the Greek clergy than by the Turkish government the modern politions have lost all memory of their origin and their religion is disgraced by the worship of the cross and the practice of bloody sacrifice which some captives have imported from the wilds of tartary in the west the first teachers of the Manichean theology had been repulsed by the people were suppressed by the prince the favor and success of the politions in the 11th and 12th centuries must be imputed to the strong those secret discontent which armed the most pious Christians against the church of Rome her avarice was oppressive her despotism odious lest degenerate perhaps in the Greeks in the worship of saints and images her innovations were more rapid and scandalous she had rigorously defined and imposed the doctrine of transubstantiation the lives of the latin clergy were more corrupt and the eastern bishops might pass for the successors of the apostles if they were compared with the lordly prelates who wielded by turns the crozier the scepter and the sword three different roads might introduce the politions into the heart of europe after the conversion of hungry the pilgrims who visited Jerusalem might safely follow the course of the danu in their journey in return they passed through philipopolis and the sectaries disguising their name and heresy might accompany the french or german caravans to their respective countries the trade and dominion of venice pervaded the coast of the adriatic and the hospitable republic opened her bosom to foreigners of every climate and religion under the Byzantine standard the politions were often transported to the greek provinces of italy and sicily in peace and war they freely converse with strangers and natives and their opinions were silently propagated in rome melanne and the kingdoms beyond the alps it was soon discovered that many thousand catholics of every rank and of either sex had embraced the maniche and heresy and the flames which consumed 12 cannons of or leon was the first act and the signal of persecution the bulgarians a name so innocent in its origin so odious in its application spread their branches over the face of europe united in common hatred of idolatry and rome they were connected by a form of episcopal and presbyterian government the various sex were discriminated by some fainter or darker shades of theology but they generally agreed in the two principles the contempt of the old testament and the denial of the body of christ either on the cross or in the eucharist a confession of simple worship and blameless manners is extorted from their enemies and so high was their standard of perfection that the increasing congregations were divided into two classes of disciples of those who practiced and of those who aspired it was in the country of the albijua in the southern provinces of france that the politions were most deeply implanted and the same vicissitudes of martyrdom and revenge which had been displayed in the neighborhood of the euphrates were repeated in the 13th century on the banks of the rome the laws of the eastern emperors were revived by frederick the second the insurgents of tafrique were represented by the barons and cities of languidak pope innocent the third surpassed the sanguinary fame of theodora it was in cruelty alone that her soldiers could equal the heroes of the crusades and the cruelty of her priest was far excelled by the founders of the inquisition an office more adapted to confirm than to refute the belief of an evil principal the visible assemblies of the politions or albijua were extirpated by fire and sword and the bleeding remnant escaped by flight concealment or catholic conformity but the invincible spirit which they had kindled still lived and breathed in the western world in the state in the church and even in the cloister a latent succession was preserved of the disciples of saint paul who protested against the tyranny of rome embraced the bible as the rule of faith and purified their creed from all divisions of the gnostic theology the struggles of wickliffe in england of husan bohemia were premature and ineffectual but the names of swing leis luther and calvin are pronounced with gratitude as the deliverers of nations a philosopher who calculates the degree of their merit and the value of their reformation will prudently ask from what articles of faith above or against our reason they haven't franchised the christians for such enfranchisement is doubtless of benefit so far as it may be compatible with truth and piety after a fair discussion we shall rather be surprised by the timidity than scandalized by the freedom of our first reformers with the jews they adopted the belief and defense of all the hebrew scriptures with all the prodigies from the garden of edin to the visions of the prophet daniel and they were bound like the catholics to justify against the jews the abolition of a divine law in the great mysteries of the trinity and incarnation the reformers were severely orthodox they freely adopted the theology of the four or the six first councils and with the athenasian creed they pronounced the eternal damnation of all who did not believe the catholic faith transubstantiation the invisible change of the bread and wine into the body and blood of christ this attendant that may defy the power of argument and pleasantry but instead of consulting the evidence of their senses of their sight their feeling and their taste the first Protestants were entangled in their own scruples and awed by the words of jesus in the institution of the sacrament luther maintained her corporeal and calvin a real presence of christ in the eucharist and the opinion of zwinglius that it is no more than a spiritual communion a simple memorial has slowly prevailed in the reformed churches but the loss of one mystery was amply compensated by the stupendous doctrines of original sin redemption faith grace and predestination which have been strained from the epistles of saint paul these subtle questions had most assuredly been prepared by the fathers and schoolmen but the final improvement in popular use may be attributed to the first reformers who enforce them as the absolute and essential terms of salvation hitherto the weight of supernatural belief inclines against the Protestants and many a sober christian would rather admit that a wafer is god and that god is a cruel and capricious tyrant yet the services of luther and his rivals are solid and important and the philosopher must own his obligations to these fearless enthusiasts one by their hands the lofty fabric of superstition from the abuse of indulgences to the intercession of the virgin has been leveled with the ground myriads of both sexes of the monastic profession were restored to the liberty and labors of social life a hierarchy of saints and angels of imperfect and subordinate deities were stripped of their temporal power and reduced to the enjoyment of celestial happiness their images and relics were banished from the church and the credulity of the people was no longer nourished with the daily repetition of miracles and visions the imitation of paganism was supplied by pure and spiritual worship of prayer and thanksgiving the most worthy of man the least unworthy of the deity it only remains to observe whether such sublime simplicity be consistent with popular devotion whether the vulgar and the absence of all visible objects will not be inflamed by enthusiasm or insensibly subside in languor and indifference two the chain of authority was broken which restrains the bigot from thinking as he pleases and the slave from speaking as he thinks the popes fathers and councils were no longer the supreme and infallible judges of the world and each christian was taught to acknowledge no law but the scriptures no interpreter but his own conscience this freedom however was the consequence rather than the design of the reformation the patriot reformers were ambitious of succeeding the tyrants whom they had dethroned they imposed with equal rigor their creeds and confessions they asserted the right of the magistrate to punish heretics with death the pious or personal animosity of calvin prescribed in servetus the guilt of his own rebellion and the flames of smithfield in which he was afterwards consumed had been kindled for the anabaptist by the zeal of kranmer the nature of the tiger was the same but he was gradually deprived of his teeth and fangs a spiritual and temporal kingdom was possessed by the roman pontiff the Protestant doctors were subjects of an humble rank without revenue or jurisdiction his degrees were consecrated by the antiquity of the catholic church their arguments and disputes were submitted to the people and their appeal through private judgment was accepted beyond their wishes by curiosity and enthusiasm since the days of luther and calvin a secret reformation has been silently working in the bosom of the reformed churches many weeds of prejudice were eradicated and the disciples of erasmus to fuse the spirit of freedom and moderation the liberty of conscience has been claimed as a common benefit an inalienable right the free governments of holland in england introduced the practice of toleration and the narrow allowance of the laws has been enlarged by the prudence and humanity of the times in the exercise the mind has understood the limits of its powers and the words and shadows that might amuse the child can no longer satisfy his manly reason the volumes of controversy are overspread with cobwebs the doctrine of a Protestant church is far removed from the knowledge or belief of its private members and the forms of orthodoxy the articles of faith are subscribed with a sigh or a smile by the modern clergy yet the friends of christianity are alarmed at the boundless impulse of inquiry and skepticism the predictions of the catholics are accomplished the web of mystery is unraveled by the arminians arians and sassinians whose number must not be computed from their separate congregations and the pillars of revelation are shaken by those men who preserve the name without the substance of religion who indulge the license without the temper of philosophy end of chapter 54 part 2 chapter 55 part 1 of the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire volume 5 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the history of the decline and fall of the roman empire volume 5 chapter 55 part 1 the Bulgarians origin migrations and settlement of the Hungarians their inroads in the east and west the monarchy of Russia geography and trade wars of the russians against the greek empire conversion of the barbarians under the reign of Constantine the grandson of Heraclius the ancient barrier of the danube so often violated and so often restored was irretrievably swept away by the new deluge of barbarians their progress was favored by the caliphs their unknown and accidental auxiliaries their own legions were occupied in asia and after the loss of syria egypt and africa diseases were twice reduced to the danger and disgrace or defending their capital against the citizens if in the account of this interesting people i have deviated from the strict and original line of my undertaking the merit of the subject will hide my transgression or solicit my excuse in the east in the west in war and religion and science in their prosperity and in their decay the arabians press themselves on our curiosity the first overthrow of the church and empire the greeks may be imputed to their arms and the disciples of mahomet still hold the civil and religious scepter of the oriental world but the same labor would be unworthily bestowed on the swarms of savages who between the seventh and the 12th century descended from the plains of skitia in transient inroad or perpetual emigration their names are uncouth their origins doubtful their actions obscure their superstition was blind the valour brutal and the uniformity of their public and private lives was neither softened by innocence nor refined by policy the majesty of the bison then thrown repelled and survived their disorderly attacks the greater part of these barbarians has disappeared without leaving any memorial of their existence and the despicable remnant continues and may long continue to groan under the dominion of a foreign tyrant from the antiquities of one bulgarians two hungarians and three russians i shall content myself with selecting such facts as yet deserved to be remembered the conquest of the four normans and the monarchy of the five turks will naturally terminate in the memorable crusades to the holy land and the double fall of the city and empire of constantan one in his march to italy theedoric the astragot had trampled on the arms of the bulgarians after this defeat the name and the nation are lost during a century and a half and it may be suspected that the same or a similar appellation was revived by strange colonies from the boristanis the tanais or the volga a king of the ancient bulgaria bequeathed to his five sons a last lesson of moderation and concord it was received as youth has ever received the councils of age and experience the five princes buried their father divided his subjects and cattle forgot his advice separated from each other and wandered in quest of fortune that we find the most adventurous in the heart of italy under the protection of the ex hoc of ravenna but the stream of emigration was directed or impelled towards the capital the modern bulgaria along the southern banks of the danu was stamped with the name and image which it has retained to the present hour the new conqueror successively acquired by war or treaty the roman provinces of dardania tessaly and the two epirus the ecclesiastical superiority was translated from the native city of justinian and in their prosperous age the obscure town of lucnidus or acrida was honored with the throne of a king and a patriarch young questionable evidence of language attests the descent of the bulgarians from the original stock of the slavonian or more properly slavonian race and the kindred bands of serbians mosnians raskians Croatians valakians etc followed either the standard or the example of the leading tribe from the yukesine to the adrietic in the state of captives or subjects or allies or enemies of the greek empire they overspread the land and the national appellation of the slaves has been degraded by chance or malice from the signification of glory to that of servitude among these colonies the crowbations or croates who now attend the motions of an austrian army are the descendants of a mighty people the conquerors and sovereigns of dalmatia the maritime cities and of these the infant republic of ragusa implore the aid and instruction reviscent in court they were advised by the magnanimous basal to reserve a small acknowledgement of their fidelity to the roman empire and to appease by an annual tribute the wrath of these irresistible barbarians the kingdom of Croatia was shared by 11 supans of unitary lords and their united forces were numbered at 60 000 horse and 100 000 foot along sea coast indented with capacious harbors covered with the string of islands and almost in the site of the italian shores disposed both the natives and strangers to the practice of navigation the boats or bringantines of the croates were constructed after the fashion of the old libernians 180 vessels may excite the idea of a respectable navy but our seamen will smile at the allowance of 10 or 20 or 40 men for each of these ships of war they were gradually converted to the more honorable service of commerce yet the sclavinian pirates were still frequent and dangerous and it was not before the close of the 10th century that the freedom and sovereignty of the gulf were affectionately vindicated by the venetian republic the ancestors of these dalmatian kings were equally removed from the use and abuse of navigation they dwelt in the white Croatian in the inland regions of cilicia and little poland 30 days journey according to the greek computation from the sea of darkness the glory of the bulgarians was confined to a narrow scope both of time and place in the 9th and 10th centuries they reigned to the south of the danube but the more powerful nations that had followed their emigration repelled all return to the north and all progressed to the west yet in the obscur catalog of their exploits they might boast an honor which had hitherto been appropriated to the gods that of slaying in battle one of the successors of augustus and constantin the emperor nikeforus had lost his fame in the arabian he lost his life in the sclavinian war in his first operations he advanced with boldness and success into the center of bulgaria and burnt the royal court which is probably no more than an edifice and the village of timbo but while he searched the spoil and refused all official treaty his enemies collected their spirits and their forces the passes of retreat were insuperably barred and the trembling nikeforus was heard to exclaim alas alas unless we could assume the wings of birds we cannot hope to escape two days he waited his fate in the activity of despair but on the morning of the third the bulgarians surprised the camp and the roman prince with the great officers of the empire were slaughtered in their tents the body of valence had been saved from insult but the head of nikeforus was exposed on a spear and his skull and chased with gold was often replenished in the feasts of victory the greeks bewailed the dishonor of the throne but they acknowledged the just punishment of avarice and cruelty this savage cup was deeply tinctured with the manners of the skeetian wilderness but they were softened before the end of the same century by a peaceful intercourse with the greeks the possession of a cultivated region and the introduction of a christian worship the nobles of bulgaria were educated in the schools and palaces of constantinople and simian a youth of the royal line was instructed in the rhetoric of demostinus and the logic of aristotal he relinquished the profession of a monk for that of a king and warrior and in his reign of more than 40 years bulgaria assumed the rank among the civilized powers of the earth the greeks whom he repeatedly attacked derived a faint consolation from indulging themselves in the reproaches of perfidy and sacrilege they purchased the aid of the pagan turks but simian in a second battle redeemed the loss of the first at the time when it was esteemed a victory to elude the arms of that formidable nation the serbians were overthrown made captive and dispersed and those who visited the country before the restoration could discover no more than 50 vagrants without women or children who exhorted a precarious subsistence of the chase on classic ground on the banks of a kelo's the greeks were defeated the horn was broken by the strength of the barbaric hercules he formed the siege of constantinople and in a personal conference with the emperor simian imposed the conditions of peace they met with the most jealous precautions the royal gallery was drawn close to an artificial and well fortified platform and the majesty of the purple was emulated by the pomp of the bulgarian are you a christian said the humble romanus it is your duty to abstain from the blood of your fellow christians as the thirst of riches seduced you from the blessings of peace sheed your sword open your hand and i will satiate the utmost measure of your desires the reconciliation was sealed by a domestic alliance the freedom of trade was granted or restored the first honors of the court were secured to the friends of bulgaria above the ambassadors of enemies or strangers and her princes were dignified with the high and invidious title of basileus or emperor but this friendship was soon disturbed after the death of simian the nations were again in arms his feeble successors were divided and distinguished and in the beginning of the 11th century the second basal who was born in the purple deserved the appellation of conqueror of the bulgarians his avarice was in some measure gratified by a treasure of 400 000 pounds sterling that is 10 000 pounds weight of gold which he found in the palace of lucnidos his cruelty inflicted a cool and exquisite vengeance on 15 000 captives who had been guilty in the defense of their country they were deprived of sight but to one of each hundred a single eyes left that he may conduct his blind century to the presence of their king their king is said to have expired of grief and of horror the nation was ordered by this terrible example the bulgarians were swept away from their settlements and circumscribed within a narrow province the surviving chiefs bequeathed their children the advice of patience and the duty of revenge two when the black swarm of hungarians first hung over europe above 900 years after the christian era they were mistaken by fear and superstition for the gog and magog of the scriptures the signs and forerunners of the end of the world since the introduction of letters they have explored their own antiquities with a strong and lauable impulse of patriotic curiosity the rational criticism can no longer be amused with a vain pedigree of attila and the huns but they complain that their primitive records have perished in the tata war that the truth or fiction of the rustic songs is long since forgotten and that the fragments of a crude chronicle must be painfully reconciled with the contemporary though foreign intelligence of the imperialy geographer magyar is the national and oriental denomination of the hungarians but among the tribes of skytia they are distinguished by the greeks under the proper and peculiar name of turks as the descendants of the mighty people were conquered and reigned from china to the volga the panonian colony preserved the correspondence of trade and amity with the eastern turks on their confines of persia and after a separation of 350 years the missionaries of the king of hungary discovered and visited their ancient country near the banks of the volga they were hospitably entertained by people of pagans and savages who still bore the name of hungarians conversed in their native tongue recollected the tradition of long lost brethren and listened with amazement to the marvelous tale of their new kingdom and religion the seal of conversion was animated by the interest of consanguinity and one of the greatest of their princes had formed the generous though fruitless the sign of replenishing the solitude of panonia by this domestic colony from the heart of tartary from this primitive country they were driven to the west by the tide of war and emigration by the weight of the more distant tribes at the same time were fugitives and conquerors a reason of fortune directed their course towards the frontiers of the roman empire they halted unusual stations along the banks of the great rivers and in the territories of mosco keov and moldavia some vestiges have been discovered of their temporary residence in this long and various peregrination they could not always escape the dominion of the stronger and the purity of their blood was improved or solid by the mixture of a foreign race from the motive of compulsion or choice several tribes of the casars were associated to the standard of their ancient vassals introduced the use of the second language and obtained by their superior renown the most honorable place in the front of battle the military force of the turks and their allies marched in seven equal and artificial divisions each division was formed of 30,857 warriors and the proportions of women children and servants supposes and requires at least a million of emigrants their public councils were directed by seven vive woods or hereditary chiefs but the experience of discordant weakness recommended the more simple and vigorous administration of a single person the scepter which had been declined by the modest libidias was granted to the birth or merit of almos and his son arpad and the authority of the supreme khan of the casars confirmed the engagement of the prince and people or the people to obey his commands or the prince to consult their happiness and glory with this narrative we might be reasonable content if the penetration of modern learning had not opened a new and larger prospect of the antiquities of nations the hungarian language stands alone and as it were insulated among the sclavonian dialects but it bears a close and clear affinity to the idioms of the phoenix race of an obsolete and savage race which formerly occupied the northern regions of asia and europe the genuine applications of ugri or igurs is found on the western confines of china their migrations to the banks of the iltish is attested by tartar evidence a similar name and language are detected in the southern parts of sabiria and the remains of the phoenix tribes are widely though thinly scattered from the sources of the obi to the shores of lapland the consanguinity of the hungarians and laplanders would display the powerful energy of climate on the children of a common parent the lively contrast between the bold adventurers who are intoxicated with the wines of the danube and the wretched fugitives who are immersed beneath the snows of the polar circle arms and freedom have ever been the ruling though too often the unsuccessful passions of the hungarians who are endowed by nature with the vigorous constitution of soul and body extreme cold has diminished the stature and congealed the faculties of the laplanders and the arctic tribes alone among the sons of men are ignorant of war and unconscious of human blood a happy ignorance if reason and virtue were the guardians of their peace end of chapter 55 part one recording by mones brew helsing force finland