y and literary ability stood John Chrysostom
(the Golden-mouth), patriarch of Constantinople under Arcadius. With the
fifth century came a decline in theological prose; men resorted to
excerpts and collections. But at this time began the development of the
popular monastic narratives and lives of the saints which served as the
novels and romances of the time.

*Religious poetry.* It was subsequent to the fourth century also that
Christian religious poetry attained its bloom. Here a break was made with
classical tradition in the adoption of accentual in place of quantitative
verse. This was in harmony with the disappearance of distinctions of
syllabic quantity from popular speech. The use of rhythm in verse was
introduced by Gregory of Nazianzus, but the chief and most productive
representative of the new poetry was Romanus, a converted Syrian Jew whose
activity falls in the reign of Justinian.

*Greek profane literature.* Contemporary profane Greek literature exhibits
less originality and interest. Historical writing was continued in strict
imitation of classical models by both Christian and pagan writers. Of
exceptional historical value are the works of Procopius, the historian of
the wars of Justinian, who like Ammianus Marcellinus shared in an official
capacity in the events which he described. A more popular form of
historical writing was the compilation of chronicles of world history,
collections of excerpts put together for the most part by men who failed
to understand their sources. The profane verse of the time is represented
by narrative poems, such as the _Dionysiaca_ and the metrical version of
the Gospel of St. John composed by Nonnus in Egypt (c. 400 A. D.), and by
a rich epigrammatic literature.

In the eastern empire literary productivity continued, although on the
decline, slightly longer than in the West, but by the middle of the sixth
century there also it had come to an end.

*Art.* The art of the late empire exhibits the same general
characteristics as the literature. Not only was there a general lack of
originality and creative capacity, but even the power of imitating the
masterpieces of earlier times was conspicuously lacking. The Arch of
Constantine erected in 312 A. D. affords a good illustration of the
situation. Its decoration mainly consists of sculptures appropriated from
monuments of the first and second century, beside which the new work is
crude and unskilful. A comparison of the imper