Abyssinian empire; and,
although the correspondence has been sometimes interrupted above seventy
or a hundred years, the mother-church of Alexandria retains her colony
in a state of perpetual pupilage. Seven bishops once composed the
Aethiopic synod: had their number amounted to ten, they might have
elected an independent primate; and one of their kings was ambitious of
promoting his brother to the ecclesiastical throne. But the event
was foreseen, the increase was denied: the episcopal office has been
gradually confined to the abuna, [155] the head and author of the
Abyssinian priesthood; the patriarch supplies each vacancy with an
Egyptian monk; and the character of a stranger appears more venerable in
the eyes of the people, less dangerous in those of the monarch. In the
sixth century, when the schism of Egypt was confirmed, the rival chiefs,
with their patrons, Justinian and Theodora, strove to outstrip each
other in the conquest of a remote and independent province. The
industry of the empress was again victorious, and the pious Theodora has
established in that sequestered church the faith and discipline of
the Jacobites. [156] Encompassed on all sides by the enemies of their
religion, the Aethiopians slept near a thousand years, forgetful of
the world, by whom they were forgotten. They were awakened by the
Portuguese, who, turning the southern promontory of Africa, appeared in
India and the Red Sea, as if they had descended through the air from a
distant planet. In the first moments of their interview, the subjects
of Rome and Alexandria observed the resemblance, rather than the
difference, of their faith; and each nation expected the most important
benefits from an alliance with their Christian brethren. In their lonely
situation, the Aethiopians had almost relapsed into the savage life.
Their vessels, which had traded to Ceylon, scarcely presumed to navigate
the rivers of Africa; the ruins of Axume were deserted, the nation was
scattered in villages, and the emperor, a pompous name, was content,
both in peace and war, with the immovable residence of a camp. Conscious
of their own indigence, the Abyssinians had formed the rational
project of importing the arts and ingenuity of Europe; [157] and their
ambassadors at Rome and Lisbon were instructed to solicit a colony of
smiths, carpenters, tilers, masons, printers, surgeons, and physicians,
for the use of their country. But the public danger soon called for the
in