311 
The Greeks, not having any establishments in which 
to study the sciences, are extremely deficient in scienti- 
fic knowledge; yet, I perceived among them the an- 
cient wit of their fathers; and I met frequently men of 
good sense, who announced excellent dispositions; but 
the general mass of the nation, debased by slavery, are 
fearful, ignorant, and cowardly. 
The Greeks make use of the ancient calendar with- 
out the Gregorian correction; their calculation is be- 
hind that of Europe, and differs from it at present by 
twelve days; it is equally behind in regard to the sun; 
so that if they do not correct it, a time will arrive when 
their calendar will mark the month of July in the win- 
ter solstice, or hoar frost in the dog-days. 
Lent is observed very rigorously by them; it lasts a 
week longer than the Catholic's; during this period of 
penitence they eat no meat, fish, or milk; and they 
even scruple to use oil; so that their food consists gene- 
rally of bread and a few olives. They believe their 
religion to be the sole orthodox, because they think 
they have preserved the primitive Greek rites, and give 
the name of schismatics to the catholics, and to all the 
Latins. I am told they have all the sacraments acknow- 
ledged by the Romish church, and that they celebrate 
the eucharist with leavened bread. The end of the 
Greek churches, or the presbytery, is separated from 
the body of the church by a sort of skreen of wood, 
covered with pictures painted in the bad style which 
reigned in the lower empire. These skreens have a 
large door in the middle, and two narrower ones at the 
two sides; they serve as an entry to the presbytery or 
sancta sanctorum; in the middle whereof stands a 
