ROME. 



tvas deprived of his kingdom by Genferic, king of the 

 Vandals, who was invited by Eudoxia to revenge the mur- 

 der of her lirlt hufband, and deliver her from the power of 

 the tyrant. Maximus fled, but being taken, he was killed, 

 and his body thrown into the Tiber. Genferic carried 

 Eudoxia and her two daughters into Italy, one of whom 

 he married to his fon Hunneric, the other he fent back to 

 Conitantinople, and married the mother himfelf. 



After Maximus, we have a fucceflion of feven or eight 

 princes, but the events of their feveral reigns merit no de- 

 tail. In the reign of Romulus, furnamed Augultulus, the 

 empire of the Well came to a final period. Odoacer, prince 

 of the Heruli, fubdued Italy, but fpared the life of Au- 

 guitulus, on the condition of his refigning the throne. 

 This occurred A.D. 476. Odoacer retained the pofleffion 

 of Italy during 14 years. In this period, the eftates of 

 the Roman fenators were divided among his countrymen 

 and foldiers. At the extinction of the Roman empire in 

 the Welt, Rome and Italy came into the pofleffion of the 

 Oftrogoths. Africa was feized by the Vandals ; Pannonia 

 by the Huns ; Spain by the Goths, Alans, and Suevi ; 

 Gaul by the Franks ; and Great Britain by the Saxons. 

 Hence we fee the origin of thofe nations, many of which 

 have proved fo illullrious in hillory. 



We cannot clofe this portion of the hillory, without 

 fome reflections relating to the rife and fall of Rome. The 

 foundations of the greatnefs of this valt empire have been 

 enumerated as follow. The fidelity of the citizens to each 

 other, and to the (late, was confirmed by the habits of edu- 

 cation, and the prejudices of religion. Honour, as well as 

 virtue, was the principle of the republic. The ambitious 

 citizens laboured to deferve the folemn glories of a tri- 

 umph ; and the ardour of the Roman youth was kindled 

 into active emulation, as often as they beheld the domcltic 

 images of their anceltors. The temperate ftruggles of the 

 patricians and plebeians had finally eltablifiicd the firm and 

 equal balance of the conflitution ; which united the popular 

 aflemblics with the authority and wifdom of the fenate, and 

 the executive powers of a regal magillrate. When the 

 conful difplayed the llandard of the republic, each citizen 

 bound himfelf by the obligation of an oath, to draw his 

 fword in the caufe of his country, till he had difcharged the 

 facred duty by a military fervicc of ten years. This wife 

 inllitution continually poured into the field the riling gene- 

 ration of freemen and foldiers ; and their numbers were re- 

 inforced by the warlike and populous Hates of Italy, who 

 had yielded to the valour, and embraced the alliance of the 

 Romans. From their inftitutions of peace and war, Po- 

 lybius had deduced the fpirit and fuccefs of a people, in- 

 capable of fear, and impatient of repofe. The ambitious 

 delign of conqueft was attempted and achieved, and the 

 perpetual violation of jultice was maintained by the political 

 virtues of prudence and courage. The arms of the re- 

 public, fometimes vanquiflied in battle, always victorious in 

 war, advanced with rapid Heps to the Euphrates, the Da- 

 nube, the Rhine, and the ocean ; " and the images of gold, 

 or filver, or brafs, that might ferve to reprefent the various 

 nations, and their kings, were fucceffively broken by the 

 iron monarchy of Rome." 



The rife ot a city, which fwelled to an empire, may de- 

 ferve, as a lingular prodigy, the reflection ot a philofophic 

 mind ; but the decline of Rome was from the natural and 

 inevitable effedl of immoderate greatnefs. Profperity 

 ripened the principles of decay ; the caufes of deltruftion 

 multiplied with the extent of conqueft ; and as foon as time 

 or accident had removed the artificial iupports, the ftu- 



Vol. XXX. 



pendous fabric yielded to the preflure of its own weight. 

 " The llory of its ruin," fays Gibbon, " is fimple and ob- 

 vious; and inllcad of inquiring why the Roman empire wa3 

 deflroyed, we fhould rather be furprifed that it fubfilled fo 

 long. The victorious legions, who, in diitant wars, ac- 

 quired the vices of llrangei -s and mercenaries, firlt opprefled 

 the freedom of the republic, and afterwards violated the ma. 

 jelty of the purple. The emperors, anxious for their per- 

 fonal fafety, and the public peace, were reduced to the bafe 

 expedient of corrupting the difcipline, which rendered them 

 alike formidable to their fovereign and to the enemy. The 

 rigour of the military government was relaxed, and finally 

 diilolvcd, by the partial inftitutions of Conllantine ; and 

 the Roman world was overwhelmed by a deluge of bar- 

 barians." 



The decay of Rome has often been afcribed to the tranf 

 lation of the feat of empire j but the powers of government 

 were divided, rather than removed. The court of Con- 

 itantinople was erected in the Eait ; while the Well was ftill 

 poflefled by a feries of emperors, who held their refidence 

 in Italy, and claimed an equal inheritance of the legions and 

 provinces. This impaired the llrength, and fomented the 

 vices of a double reign ; the inltruments of an oppreffive and 

 arbitrary fyltem were multiplied ; and a vain emulation of 

 luxury was introduced and fupported between the fucceflors 

 of Theodofius. Extreme diitrefs, which unites the virtue 

 of a free people, embitters the factions of a declining mo- 

 narchy. The holtile favourites of Arcadius and Honorius 

 betrayed the republic to its common enemies ; and the By- 

 zantine court beheld with indifference, or pleafure, the dif- 

 grace of Rome, the misfortunes of Italy, and the lofs of 

 the Weft. Under the fucceeding reigns, the alliance of the 

 two empires was reilored ; but the aid of the Oriental Ro- 

 mans was tardy, doubtful, and ineffeftual ; and the national 

 fchifm of the Greeks and Latins was enlarged by the per- 

 petual difference of language and manners, of intereft, and 

 even of religion. Yet the event juftified and did credit to 

 the decifion of Conllantine. During a long period, as we 

 (hall fee, his impregnable city repelled the victorious arms 

 of barbarians, protected the wealth of Afia, and com. 

 manded, both in peace and war, the important ftrcights 

 which conneft the Euxine and Mediterranean feas. The 

 foundation, therefore, of Constantinople fecms to have more 

 eflentially contributed to the prefervation of the Ealt, than 

 to the ruin of the Weil. 



On the decline or ruin of the Roman empire, great ig- 

 norance and darknefs, as to letters and the ufeful arts of 

 life, began to overfliadow the Weftern world. A bar- 

 barous people, untaught in letters, poured themlelvcs into 

 the Wellern provinces of the Roman empire, and gave the 

 lirlt blow to learning. Academies were ruined, libraries 

 burnt, and the learned compelled to (hut up their fchools and 

 books too. Nor were thole, who in that age were deno- 

 minated Chriltian priells, lei's concerned in the deltruction 

 of letters ; for as they had been loaded with contempt and 

 injuries, when Paganifm prevailed, by the philofophers, 

 they not only armed themlelvcs againlt thofe teachers, but 

 endeavoured to forbid their writings, as containing tenets 

 the moll dangerous and pernicious to young perfons. Both 

 hallencd the deftruftion of letters : neverthelefs the age was 

 not deftitute of learned men, of whom the tollowing have, 

 among others, been enumerated. Thofe profeffing Chril- 

 tianity arc Sulpicius Severus, Cyril of Alexandria, So- 

 crates, Sozomen, Theodoret, Ifidore, Sidonius Apolli- 

 narius ; and among the Pagans, Zofimus and Olvmpiodorui 

 were of the greatclt note. 



3 O F01 



