great empire to our modern Christendom, under which idea we comprehend
Europe and the whole continent of America: 3dly, on the false
pretensions of Mahometanism, whether advanced by itself or by
inconsiderate Christian speculators on its behalf. We shall thus obtain
this advantage, that some sort of unity will be given to our own glances
at Mr Finlay's theme; and, at the same time, by gathering under these
general heads any dispersed comments of Mr Finlay, whether for
confirmation of our own views, or for any purpose of objection to his,
we shall give to those comments also that kind of unity, by means of a
reference to a common purpose, which we could not have given them by
citing each independently for itself.

I. First, then, as to that memorable act by which Constantinople (_i.e._
the Eastern empire) connected herself for ever with Christianity; viz.
the recognition of pauperism as an element in the state entitled to the
maternal guardianship of the state. In this new principle, introduced by
Christianity, we behold a far-seeing or proleptic wisdom, making
provision for evils before they had arisen; for it is certain that great
expansions of pauperism did not exist in the ancient world. A pauper
population is a disease peculiar to the modern or Christian world.
Various causes latent in the social systems of the ancients prevented
such developments of surplus people. But does not this argue a
superiority in the social arrangements of these ancients? Not at all;
they were atrociously worse. They evaded this one morbid affection by
means of others far more injurious to the moral advance of man. The case
was then every where as at this day it is in Persia. A Persian
ambassador to London or Paris might boast that, in his native Iran no
such spectacles existed of hunger-bitten myriads as may be seen every
where during seasons of distress in the crowded cities of Christian
Europe. "No," would be the answer, "most certainly not; but why? The
reason is, that your accursed form of society and government
_intercepts_ such surplus people, does not suffer them to be born. What
is the result? You ought, in Persia, to have three hundred millions of
people; your vast territory is easily capacious of that number. You
_have_--how many have you? Something less than eight millions." Think of
this, startled reader. But, if _that_ be a good state of things, then
any barbarous soldier who makes a wilderness, is entitled to call
himself a