or ourselves, in
attempting to give a representative view of his philosophy. General
abstractions he had no opportunity for presenting; consequently we have
no opportunity for valuing; and, on the other hand, single cases
selected from a succession of hundreds would not justify any
_representative_ criticism, more than the single brick, in the anecdote
of Hierocles, would serve representatively to describe or to appraise
the house.

Under this difficulty as to the possible for ourselves, and the just for
Mr Finlay, we shall adopt the following course. So far as the Greek
people connected themselves in any splendid manner with the Roman
empire, they did so with the eastern horn of that empire, and in point
of time from the foundation of Constantinople as an eastern Rome in the
fourth century, to a period not fully agreed on; but for the moment we
will say with Mr Finlay, up to the early part of the eighth century. A
reason given by Mr Finlay for this latter state is--that about that time
the Grecian blood, so widely diffused in Asia, and even in Africa,
became finally detached by the progress of Mahometanism and Mahometan
systems of power from all further concurrence or coalition with the
views of the Byzantine Caesar. Constantinople was from that date thrown
back more upon its own peculiar heritage and jurisdiction, of which the
main resources for war and peace lay in Europe and (speaking by the
narrowest terms) in Thrace. Henceforth, therefore, for the city and
throne of Constantine, resuming its old Grecian name of Byzantium, there
succeeded a theatre less diffusive, a population more concentrated, a
character of action more determinate and jealous, a style of courtly
ceremonial more elaborate as well as more haughtily repulsive, and
universally a system of interests, as much more definite and selfish, as
might naturally be looked for in a nation now every where surrounded by
new thrones gloomy with malice, and swelling with the consciousness of
youthful power. This new and final state of the eastern Rome Mr Finlay
denominates the Byzantine empire. Possibly this use of the term may be
capable of justification; but more questions would arise in the
discussion than Mr Finlay has thought it of importance to notice. And
for the present we shall take the word _Byzantine_ in its most ordinary
acceptation, as denoting the local empire founded by Constantine in
Byzantium early in the fourth century, under the idea of a transl