Church. "Many of the corruptions of the Church of Rome ce arose before the final separation took place between it, and "the Greek Church; and as many of these had their origin "in the East, they continued in both churches, after the di"vision; so that in the Greek Church, may be found many, "of what are considered as errors in the Latin Church: but, "though the former departed widely from the faith which it "once professed, and is now sunk in deplorable ignorance "and superstition, it can scarcely be admitted, that it is so very corrupt as the latter."*

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The Greeks deny the supremacy and infallibility of the Pope of Rome; but substitute for him, their Patriarch, whose seat is Constantinople; and who, they contend, is the head of the true Catholic Church.

The Greek Church condemns as idolatrous, the use of images, as practised in the Romish Church. But for images, it substitutes pictures. It does not condemn its priests to celibacy, though no priest can marry a second time; nor can any married priest rise to the rank of Bishop.

tures.

It rejects the Romish doctrine of purgatory; but it directs masses for the souls of the dead. Unlike the Romish Church, it does not condemn the people to an ignorance of the ScripBut the invocation of the Saints, and the adoration of the Virgin Mary, is carried by the people to a much greater extent, even than allowed by the canons of the Church. The Panagea or All holy Virgin, is to the Greeks, the Alpha and Omega of their religion; more prayers are addressed to her, and more confidence is placed in her intercession with the Father, than in that of the Son. The walls of every house are covered with her pictures, and the meanest hut or the poorest fishing boat, is never found day or night without a lamp trimmed and burning before the picture of the Virgin.

The Scriptures are professedly the rule of faith to the Greek Church, but explained and modified by the decrees of the first Seven Councils.

It would be ill-timed to enter now into an explanation of these; suffice it to say, that except in the above-named points, the Greeks do not differ materially in their creed from the Roman Catholics or the Latin Church. Like the latter they are bigotedly attached to their religion; which however, exists so much in outward ceremony, and has so little of spirituality, that it must be an abomination in the sight of Him, who to be worshipped acceptably, must be worshipped in spirit and truth.

From the fifth to the thirteenth century, the history of Greece is little known, and probably of but little importance; it was merely a Province of the Eastern Empire, which was feebly governed by a race of monarchs, at last known by the name of the Greek Emperors.

The first crusaders did not appear in Greece Proper; but towards the middle of the twelfth century, the Venetians, Sicilians, and some other adventurers, overrun the Peloponessus and Attica. Greece was then governed, or rather distracted, by different petty tyrants; and the people were plunged in the grossest ignorance and superstition.

There were never wanting however, pious and learned prelates, whose writing serve as stars, to throw a feeble light upon these dark and obscure ages;—in fact, from the days of Cadmus, to those of Coray, the Greeks never have been wanting for any considerable length of time, in industrious and faithful writers on some subject or other.

In the year 1204, the French under the Marquis of Montfer rat, with the Venetians, and Baldwin of Flanders, took Constantinople from the Greek Emperor; and soon Baldwin was placed on the throne of Constantine. The French, under the Marquis of Montferrat, pushed their conquests through Greece Proper, took Athens and Thebes, and penetrated into the Peloponessus. The Marquis bestowed the Government of Athens on Othon de la Roche; hence the singular title of Duke of Athens, which we hear mentioned in the thirteenth century.

Some French Crusaders returning from the Holy Land,

were accidently* driven upon the shores of the Peloponessus; joined the Marquis of Montferrat, who was then besieging Napoli di Romania; and the whole, accompanied by some Venetians, subjugated all the Peloponessus, except Laeedemon, which was held by a petty native Prince.

The Peloponessus, then called the Morea, was afterwards delivered by treaty to the Venetians; though the possession was disputed by the Genoese. In all these different conquests, the Greeks were regarded in a light scarcely different from cattle belonging to the soil; and of course, the property of its possessor.

But the Europeans did not long hold Constantinople; it was wrested from the family of Baldwin, about the middle of the thirteenth century, by the Greek Emperors of Nice.

From this time, till the middle of the fifteenth century, the possession of Greece was the subject of dispute between the Emperors of Constantinople, the Venetians, Florentines, and other European powers; who in those fluctuating times, were continually gaining, and losing possessions, in the Eastern part of Europe.

By all these different lords of the soil, the Greeks were harshly treated; since they were too ignorant and too dege. nerate to defend their rights. The sufferings of the country had been such, that the population had materially decreased, and no spirit of improvement was visible. But still the Greeks preserved in a strange degree many of their national characteristics; they mingled not with their masters, but kept distinct in manners, language, and feelings; cruel treatment they often suffered, but not direct persecution; and in the fluctuations which were yearly taking place, there was some chance the spirit of the people might revive, and take advantage of any circumstance favourable to their independence. But there were very few Greeks who then cared, or thought about the liberty of their country; the scholar indeed wept over the present degeneracy of his native land, as he contem. plated its past grandeur in the writings of its sages; and the freebooter, who lived a life of rude independence in the moun

Itinéraire de Chateaubriand. Introduction,

tains, paid the tribute of a passing sigh to the memory of his great ancestors, as he gazed on some decaying temple; but of which he knew only that they had been the builders.

There was indeed a hope, that the light and knowledge which was then dawning in the West of Europe might extend its influence even to Greece; but this hope was extinguished in the middle of the fifteenth century, by the torrent of Turkish invasion which poured forth from Asia, and spread itself not only over Greece, but over all the East of Europe.

About the year 1200, the Turks began to appear advancing from the interior of Asia; every day spreading their conquests, and increasing in power.

Othman was the first of that enterprising and warlike race of Princes, who made such good use of the blind fanatacism, and headlong courage of their subjects; that in a few years they rendered the name of Turks terrible to the rest of the world, and increased the Ottoman power, with a rapidity almost unparalleled in history.

Amurat I. led the Turks into Europe, and established the seat of their empire at Adrianople; Constantinople still resisted; but the mighty Bajazet, son and successor to Amurat, stood ready with five hundred thousand men, to crush that great city, and then rush upon Europe; when he was checked by Tartar, Tamerlane; to whom perhaps, Christendom owes her redemption from the scourge of a second Atilla.

But Solyman rose superior to the misfortunes, which the fall of his father had heaped upon him, and upon rising power of Turkey. His successor, Mahomet I, pushed still farther the Turkish arms. Amurat II. overran all Greece Proper, and captured Athens; which, however, was soon again in the power of the Franks.

It was reserved for Mahomet II. to put the finishing stroke to the destruction of Roman and Grecian power; he took Constantinople at the head of his Janizaries in 1453, and in a few years, Greece Proper yielded ingloriously to him. It is said, that like Julius Cesar, Mahomet respected Athens; but his successors were unlike him; and though it seemed that Greece had been for ages drinking the bitterest portion of the

cup of adversity, she now found, that the still more bitter dregs remained, and she was obliged to drain them to the very bottom, at the dictation of barbarian fanatics of another religion.

From the time of the Turkish conquest in the middle of the fifteenth century, Greece was considered of no other consequence than the frequent seat of war between the Turks and Venetians, who had alternate possession of the country; and who were the alternate tyrants and oppressors of the people, whom they treated like slaves.

It was not until 1715 that the Turks got complete and undisturbed possession of the country; and from that time, we lose sight of the Greeks, or only hear them spoken of, as degenerated slaves, by those travellers, who were led by an admiration of the genius of the Ancients, to take a pilgrimage to Athens, to contemplate the most sublime remnants of antiquity.

In 1770 Catharine II. planned and effected a revolt in Greece, in order to favour Russia in her war with Turkey. She had poyously sent emissaries into every part of the country, to prepare the Greeks for an insurrection; and the people were excited by hopes of being freed by Russia, if they would rise. It wanted but little to effect this; for the Greeks had then become somewhat enlightened, and thousands were flattering themselves, that any attempt of theirs at independence, would be encouraged and supported by the European Powers.

A Russian leet was sent round to the Mediterranean ;twelve hundred soldiers were landed in the Morea, and the Greeks were summoned to arms. They rose,—but not to arms,—for arms had not been allowed them by the Turks; but they rushed upon their oppressors with fury; killed great numbers; took the fortress of Navarino; and drove the Turks from every part of the Morea, forcing them to shut themselves up in the fortresses.

But they were miserably seconded by the Russians ;no means was given them to continue the war; and the Turks calling in the Albanians, the Greeks were driven in