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influence, was the separation of the ethic and intellectual education of the higher and lower classes, which ensued as soon as the systems of the philosophers and priests were brought into direct opposition. In so far as the civilization of the Greek race was concerned, it was doubtless more effectually advanced by the formation of a national philosophy, than it could ever have been by the authority of a religion, so utterly destitute of intellectual power, and so compliant in its form, as that of Greece. The attention, which the Greeks always paid to philosophy and metaphysical speculation, is a curious feature in their mental character, and owes its origin in part, to the happy logical analogies of their native language; but in the days of Grecian independence, this was only a distinctive characteristic of a small portion of the cultivated minds in the nation. From that peculiar condition of society, which resulted from the existence of a number of small independent states, a larger portion of the nation was occupied with the higher branches of political business, than has ever been the case, in any other equally numerous body of mankind. Every city in Greece held the rank of a capital, and possessed its own statesmen and lawyers. The sense of this importance, and the weight of this responsibility, stimulated the Greeks to the extraordinary exertions of intellect with which their history is filled; for the strongest spur to exertion among men, is the existence of a duty imposed as a voluntary obligation.

The habits of social intercourse, and the simple manner of life, which prevailed in the Greek

republics, rendered the private conduct of every distinguished citizen as well known, and as constantly a subject of scrutiny, to his fellow-citizens, as his public career. This powerful agency of public opinion, served to enforce a conventional morality, which, though lax in its ethics, was at least imperative in its demands. But, when the international system of the Hellenic states was destroyed, when an altered condition of society had introduced greater privacy into the habits of social life, and put a stop to public intercourse among the citizens of the same region, by giving a marked prominence to the distinctions of rank and wealth, the private conduct of those, who were engaged in public life, was, in a great degree, withdrawn from the examination of the people; and the effect of public opinion was gradually weakened, as the grounds, on which it was formed, became less personal and characteristic.

Political circumstances began, about the same time, to weaken the efficacy of public opinion, in affairs of government and administration. The want of some substitute, to replace its powerful influence on the every-day conduct of man, was so imperiously felt, that one was eagerly sought for. Religion had long ceased to be a guide in morality; and men strove to find some feeling which would replace the forgotten fear of the gods, and that public opinion which could once inspire self respect. It was hoped, that philosophy could supply the want; and it was cultivated not only by the studious

TACITUS Owns the confusion in his own feelings. — Ann. vi. 22. Sed mihi, hæc ac talia audienti, in incerto judicium est, fato-ue res mortalium et necessitate immutabili, an forte volvantur.

and the learned, but by the world at large, in the belief that the self-respect of the philosopher would prove a sure ground to pure morality, and inspire a deep sense of justice. The necessity of obtaining some permanent power over the moral conduct of mankind, was naturally suggested to the Greeks, by the political injustice under which they suffered; and the hope, that philosophical studies would temper the minds of their masters to equity, and awaken feelings of humanity in their hearts, could not fail to exert considerable influence. When the Romans themselves had fallen into a state of moral and political degradation, lower even than that of the Greeks, it is not surprising, that the educated classes should have cultivated philosophy with great eagerness, and with nearly similar views. The universal craving after justice and truth, affords a key to the profound respect, with which teachers of philosophy were regarded. Their authority and their character were so high, that they mixed with all ranks, and preserved their power, in spite of all the ridicule of the satirists. The general purity of their lives, and the justice of their conduct, were acknowledged, though a few may have been corrupted by court favour; and pretenders often assumed a long beard, and dirty garments, to act the monk and the jester, with greater effect, at the table of the wealthy Romans. The inadequacy of any philosophical opinions to produce the results required of them, was, at last, apparent in the changes and modifications which the various sects were constantly making in the tenets of their founders, and the vain attempts that were undertaken, to graft the paganism of the

past, on the modern systems of philosophy. The great principle of truth, which all were eagerly searching after, seemed to elude their grasp; yet these investigations were not without great use in improving the intellectual and moral condition of the higher orders, and rendering life tolerable, when the tyranny and anarchy of the imperial government threatened the destruction of society. They prepared the minds of men for listening candidly to a new religion, and rendered many of the votaries of philosophy the ready converts to the doctrines of Christianity.

Philosophy lent a splendour to the Greek name; yet, with the exception of Athens, learning and philosophy were but little cultivated in European Greece. The poverty of the inhabitants, and the secluded position of the country, induced few to dedicate their time to literary pursuits; and after the time of the Antonines, the wealthy cities of Asia, Syria, and Egypt, contained the real representatives of the intellectual supremacy of the Hellenic race. The Greeks of Europe, unnoticed by history, were carefully cherishing their national institutions; while, in the eyes of foreigners, the Greek character and fame depended on the civilization of an expatriated population, already declining in number, and hastening to extinction. The social institutions of the Greeks have, therefore, been more useful to them in a national point of view, than even their literature.

SECTION XIII.—THE SOCIAL CONDITION OF THE GREEKS AFFECTED BY THE WANT OF COLONIES OF EMIGRATION.

THE want of foreign colonies, created by emigration, and which admitted of a constant influx of new emigrants, must have exercised a powerful influence in arresting the progress of society in the Roman world. Rome never, like Phoenicia and Greece, permitted numerous bands of her citizens to depart from poverty in their own country, in order to better their fortunes in other lands. Her oligarchical constitution regarded the people as the property of the state. The civilization of the Romans followed only in the train of their armies, and stopped when the emperors ceased to pursue the system of conquest, which had previously engaged the energies, and increased the population of the state. Even before the policy of Augustus had established universal peace, and reduced the Roman army into a corps of gendarmerie, or armed police, for guarding the internal tranquillity of the provinces, or watching the peaceful frontiers, a combination of inherent defects, in the constitution of the Roman state, had begun to destroy the lower order of Roman citizens.* The people required a new field of action, when the old was closed for ever, in order to engage their ener

* See the able examination of this subject in the Economie Politique des Romains, par DUREAU DE LA MALLE; and an excellent Mémoire sur les secours publics chez les Romains, par NAUDET. Académie des Inscriptions, nouv. coll. tom. xiii.

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