and he affirms, with strong exaggeration, that
in AEmilia, Tuscany, and the adjacent provinces, the human species was
almost extirpated. The plebeians of Rome, who were fed by the hand of
their master, perished or disappeared, as soon as his liberality was
suppressed; the decline of the arts reduced the industrious mechanic to
idleness and want; and the senators, who might support with patience the
ruin of their country, bewailed their private loss of wealth and luxury.
One third of those ample estates, to which the ruin of Italy is
originally imputed, was extorted for the use of the conquerors.
Injuries were aggravated by insults; the sense of actual sufferings was
imbittered by the fear of more dreadful evils; and as new lands were
allotted to the new swarms of Barbarians, each senator was apprehensive
lest the arbitrary surveyors should approach his favorite villa, or his
most profitable farm. The least unfortunate were those who submitted
without a murmur to the power which it was impossible to resist. Since
they desired to live, they owed some gratitude to the tyrant who had
spared their lives; and since he was the absolute master of their
fortunes, the portion which he left must be accepted as his pure and
voluntary gift. The distress of Italy was mitigated by the prudence
and humanity of Odoacer, who had bound himself, as the price of
his elevation, to satisfy the demands of a licentious and turbulent
multitude. The kings of the Barbarians were frequently resisted,
deposed, or murdered, by their _native_ subjects, and the various bands
of Italian mercenaries, who associated under the standard of an elective
general, claimed a larger privilege of freedom and rapine. A monarchy
destitute of national union, and hereditary right, hastened to its
dissolution. After a reign of fourteen years, Odoacer was oppressed by
the superior genius of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths; a hero alike
excellent in the arts of war and of government, who restored an age
of peace and prosperity, and whose name still excites and deserves the
attention of mankind.

Chapter XXXVII: Conversion Of The Barbarians To Christianity.--Part I.

Origin Progress, And Effects Of The Monastic Life.--
Conversion Of The Barbarians To Christianity And Arianism.--
Persecution Of The Vandals In Africa.--Extinction Of
Arianism Among The Barbarians.

The indissoluble connection of civil and ecclesiastical affairs has
compelled,