p6S 
G R E E. C E. 
tants of the Fenal flrongly content!, that however their 
language lias been debafed by the alloy of others, 
the pronunciation of the remoteli times is continued to 
them, pure and without variation. This queftion, fo 
nuich agitated at the revival of literature, is llill left 
doubtful. Certain it is, that the modern Greek, pro¬ 
nounced as the ancient in England, would be as unin¬ 
telligible to them as the Italitin at Rome or tlie French 
at Paris, if we fpoke or read them exactly as tliey are 
fpelled, giving to the letters and fj'llables the fame power 
as to thole in our own language. The Romei'ka refem- 
bles in its confirubfion the Italian and French, and re- 
jetbs the tranfpofition of the ancient Greek or Latin. It 
retains the articles and inflexion of cafes, but has neither 
duals nor aorifls. 'I'he tenfes are formed by the verbs 
fubllantiye. In this language all their tranfatfions are 
conduCied. 
The criminal and civil law amongfl: the modern 
Greeks, are directed by the prefeription-s of the JulH- 
nian code, under the fuperior authority of •that of lllam- 
ifin. This exception only can occur, that thofe who 
choole to alTent loleiy to tlie jurifdibtion of the eccle- 
liallical law, refer their matters of difpute to their own 
parocliial priells, and in cafes of higher importance to 
the patriarch of Conftantinople. If they (hould be 
dillatisfied with thefe awards, they refort finally to fome 
competent court of Turkifli judicature, the decree of 
which is deemed final. In fuch a cafe, if an appeal 
lias been made by perfons witiiout interefl, or on occa- 
fions without importance, the patriarch has influence 
fufficient with the porte to induce tl-iem to reverfe in 
his favour the adts even of their own tribunal. He can 
then proceed againfl: tlie parties, inflidl eccleflaftical 
penalties, or corporal punifliments, conducting the af¬ 
fair with delicacy as to the matter and perfon, fo as not 
to drive any one of his I'libjedts in defpair to become a 
profelyte to the Mohammedan faith. The majority of 
queftions agitated refpedting property arc fettled by ar¬ 
bitration, or by the fiat of the patriarcli. Thofe which 
arife between the intemperate or difreputable part of 
the Greek nation, are ufiially concluded in the Turkifli 
courts of judicature. Every decifion turns upon the 
authority of the Juftinian code, the only legal book 
with which the beft informed are converfant; and tradi¬ 
tion or ufage determines the reff. 
Amongfl the modern Greeks, as there is neither here¬ 
ditary dignity nor feodal fucceflion recognifed by their 
conquerors, the right of primogeniture has a partial 
prevalence. In the ifland of Tinos, one of the moft 
conliderable in the Archipelago, in which no Turk re- 
fides, the following local cuftoms refpecting property 
are religioufly obferved. A man may bequeath his 
lands by will, in default of which the reliil: and chil¬ 
dren make an equal'partitioji. An opulent perfon pof- 
fefling an eflate, and wifliing to buy the n^xt to him, 
muff have the confent of the other neighbour, who is 
entitled to purchafe half of it; which right, if the 
neighbour be poor, is ceded for a certain pecuniary 
compenl'ation. 
The right of female inheritance in Mitylene, as well 
as the fmgular citflom at a village in that ifland, of fur- 
nifhing voluntarily every ftranger with a temporary 
■wife, chofen from the youngefl; and moft beautiful wo¬ 
men, both afl'erted by M. Guys, have fcarcely a foun¬ 
dation in fait, and certainly not in modern praftice. 
But adoption, fo common with the ancients, is not un¬ 
frequent in many of the iflands. It is even fanclioned 
by a preferibed ceremony of tjie Greek cliurth. The 
perfon to be adopted is prel'ented at the altar by his 
own parents and the adopter, and, after the fervice ap¬ 
pointed fpr that purpofe is read, the adopted throws 
himfelf at the feet of his new father, who, placing his 
right foot on his neck, declares him to be his Ton in fu- 
fure. Until he has attained to fifteen years, tlie adopted 
is obliged to bear the name of the adopter, when, 
fliould he prefer it, he is at liberty.to refume lus own,' 
If the cliild be verv young, the whole ceremony con- 
fifls in the adopter’s wife throwing her mantle qvm' it, 
wlio then makes her avowal. In moft of the iflands 
are fraternities and adoptions of both foxes, called, 
“the brotherhood of the holy zone,” which, adminif- 
tering occafions of familiar intcrcourfe, have frequently 
led to circumftances which the clergy have found ne- 
celFary to prevent. 
'I'he veneration with which we fnrvey Greece as the 
nurfe of fcience and of every liberal art, increafes the 
regret tliat the fame region fhould now be overfpread 
by barbarilm and fuperflition, and that, ignorance fliould 
have ufurped the favoured abode of philofophy and 
elegance. Such a contrail has been the.gradual effe6t 
of many revolving ages; and perhaps it would not be 
diflant from truth if we placed the firit flriking era of 
degeneracy at the period of the Roman conqueft. The 
.eflablifliment of the Chriftian religion under Conflantine 
was inaufpicious to the fine arts, few of which were at 
firft employed in tlve decoration of churches, and fome 
of them were feverely interdi6ied. Nor was philofophy 
advanced, whillt the reafoning faculties of the ableft 
minds were engrolfed by abftrufe and myftical queftions, 
and the pride of fcholaflic learning fpurned at the Ample 
pretenfions of moral and mild do6triues, the firft obje6l 
of which is to meliorate the heart. 
The decline and fall of the arts of Greece may be 
attributed to various caufes. When removed to Rome, 
had the dogmas of the catholic religion been as adverfe 
to them as the Greek, the fame negleft or fubverfion 
would have confequently happened ; and it is from a 
comparifon of their prefent (late, u'hder the infiue.nce 
of religious opinion, that the true caufe will be found 
to refult. The iconoclafts in the eighth century de- 
flroyed vi'ith indiferiminating rage not only the remain¬ 
ing llatues of chiflic antiquity, but thofe of ruder work, 
manftiip, which were then found in eccleflaftical ftruc- 
tures. Excluded and confidered as unholy, when the 
work was thus defpifed, no encouragement was given 
to the artift. In the weflern divifion of the Chriftian 
church, the crowded niches fufficiently evince in what 
veneration ftatiiary was held. Even in the rude centu¬ 
ries of Chriftianity the art of intaglio and fculpture 
were partially known and applied, whllft the coins of 
the eaflern emperors are fcarcely equal la merit to thofe 
of our Saxon or Norman kings. 
If any exception can be made, it is in favour of the 
art of mofaic, which was invented and fervilely imitated 
by the Greeks in ages diftant from each other, ajid 
which in its fecond ftate gained an eventual perfetfibn 
at Rome. The foie merit of thefe laft performances 
confifted in the compolition of the materials and their 
extreme durability. 'Eo the defigns, confined chiefly 
to portraits with difproportioned outline and diftorted 
features, no praife can be given ; and it is fcarcely cre- 
‘ dible, that artifts who were the fucceflors of thofe who 
invented all that is exquiflte in elegance and correbN 
nefs, fliould have fo grofsly deviated from the firft prin- 
ciples of tafte. In architecture, fince the eflablifliment 
of tlie Turks, the modern Greeks have had few oppor¬ 
tunities of fliewing either their perfection or inability. 
Prohibited from erecting ftruCtures for the celebration 
of their worfliip, or palaces for the difplay of their 
wealth, they have been employed only in building 
niofques by fiicceflive fiiltans, in a ftyle, if not peculiar, 
retaining nuKh more of the Saracenic and grotefque, 
than any analogy to the rules of the antique. 
When the arts of Greece in their progrefs had formed 
a mutual dependante on each other, and fculpture lent 
grace to utility and added fpirit to ornament, external 
embelliflvment, f^mmetry of component members, and 
the general efteef of an elevation^ refultiiig as much 
from an elementary knowledge of the mechanical as 
the tafteful ctifpofition of the fighter parts, gave certain 
proof 
