this case, however, the connexion has proved
a pretty close one; for a noble, accomplished and accurate English
historian, Lord Mahon, in his "Life of Belisarius" has considered it
strong enough to advance a plea of identity between the warrior of
history and the beggar of romance.

Such an authority renders the labour of brushing the dust from a few
volumes of Byzantine Chronicles to us "a not ungrateful task;" and one
that we hope will not prove entirely without interest to our readers.
Our object is to re-establish the truth of history, and to restore to
some Greek Walter Scott of the middle ages the whole merit of
constructing an immortal tale, which for centuries has tinged the stern
annals of the Eastern empire with an unwonted colouring of pathos. Lord
Mahon has so fairly stated his case, that we believe his candour has
laid criticism to sleep, and his readers have generally adopted his
opinions.

The truth is, the Belisarius of history, the bold and splendid general
of Justinian, is a hero of the Roman empire, of the Eastern or Byzantine
empire, if you please, but still historically a Roman hero. Now, on the
other hand, the Belisarius of romance, the vision of a noble victim of
imperial ingratitude, is a creation of Greek genius, of modern Greek
genius, if you prefer adding the depreciating epithet, but still of
Greek genius placed in its undying opposition to Roman power.

We must now introduce to our readers the Belisarius of history as he
really lived, acted, and suffered. It is not necessary for this purpose
to recite his military exploits. They are described in the immortal
pages of Gibbon, and minutely detailed in the accurate biography by Lord
Mahon. It will suffice for our purpose to collect a few authentic
sketches of his personal conduct and character, and some anecdotes of
his style of living, from the works of his secretary Procopius, the last
classic Greek writer, and an historian of no mean merit.

Belisarius was born in the city of Germania, a metropolitan see on the
frontiers of the Thracian and Illyrian nations.[9] Thus, though strictly
speaking he was neither a Roman nor a Greek, he considered himself, and
was considered by his contemporaries, a Roman. The dialect of the
inhabitants of Thrace and Illyria is supposed still to possess a
representative in the modern Albanian; but in the time of Justinian,
the language of the higher classes in the cities was Latin, and there
can be no doubt tha