into the Revival of Greek Literature in Italy. 399 



ing his armies of Huns, overran and desolated the Roman pro- 

 vinces of Dacia, Thrace, Mysia, and Syria. It would be tedious 

 and unnecessary to enumerate all the triumphs of the north, and 

 all the defeats of the once illustrious Romans. Rome herself, 

 the mistress of the world, was successively taken by GENSERIC 

 king of the Vandals, ODOACER chief of the Heruli, and THEODO- 

 RIC prince of the Ostro-Goths, who, from this period acknow- 

 ledged by the eastern Emperor ZENO as king of the country 

 which he had subdued, commenced an able and glorious reign. 

 The brave and unfortunate BELISARIUS retrieved, for a while, by 

 his victories, the ebbing honours of the Western Empire, and 

 TOTILA the Goth, who, in the middle of the sixth century, had 

 again ravaged Italy, and twice become master of Rome, was de- 

 feated and put to death by the eunuch NARSES. But these tem- 

 porary triumphs only paved the way for the final and conclusive 

 victories of the Lombards, another swarm from the northern 

 hive, who, towards the conclusion of the sixth century, invited 

 into Italy by NARSES, to revenge his individual injuries, succeed- 

 ed in reducing to subjection the greatest part of the country. 

 Their empire continued to flourish from the end of the sixth till 

 the middle of the eighth century, when it was finally overturned 

 by CHARLEMAGNE, who, in the city of Pavia, was crowned King 

 of the Lombards, in the year 744. Let us pause for a few mo- 

 ments, to consider the effects of these barbarian inundations 

 upon the literature of that great country in which they took 

 place. 



The conquests of ALARIC, in the fifth century, did not ma- 

 terially affect Italy. It was evacuated by the barbarians, and, 

 although governed by ADOLPHUS, a relation of ALARIC, it was 

 governed by Roman laws, and the institutions and manners of 

 the Roman people remained unchanged till the second conquest 

 of the country by ODOACER, the first barbarian king of the West. 

 Yet although the Roman laws and language remained, the race 



VOL. x. P. n. 3 E 



