68 



hamadryads, and every fountain and river had its appro- 

 priate nymph or deity ; a rosy-fingered goddess unbarred 

 every morning the gates of the east, and they vrere closed in 

 the evening by another more sombre, but not less interesting 

 deity ; in short, no spot could be visited, that was incapable 

 of presenting to the view the most attractive and exquisite 

 imagery, * 



But the Greeks, as is always the case, with their indepen- 

 dance, lost also their mental superiority among the nations, 

 and their genius and energies were left buried among the 

 ruins of their country. 



If we again turn our eyes toward Italy, we shall find that 

 the subjugation of the Greeks changed as well the manners, 

 as the nlorals, of their conquerors. The rough and brutal 

 iiianners of the old Roman were, by degrees, lost in the re- 

 finement and elegance of the Greek. The Grecian writers 

 exclusively occupied the attention of the Roman student, 

 and their greatest geniuses aspired only to the glory of imi- 

 tating them. For several ages, the Latin language had been 

 adopted by the learned in every nation of Europe; but it 

 was destined to undergo the fate of the Greek. About the 

 beginning of the eighth century, the Arabians entering 

 Spain, and establishing the seat of their empire at Cordova, 

 changed the language of the country. 



• See L'Introduction au Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis. 



