sacked by Alaric; in the same year Britain,
and then Brittany, rose and threw off the Roman yoke. In the
four-fifties came the keen point of the Hunnish terror, putting
the fear of death on even the worst of the barbarians that had
wrecked the Roman world. In 476, the pretense of a Western
Empire was abandoned.--So now to follow the great march of the
cycles eastward; with this warning: that next week we shall
glance at a little backwash in the other direction, and see
the disembodied soul of this now closed phase of human culture
'go west.'

The split with Rome was altogether of value to the Eastern empire
of Constantinople. That empire lasted, from the time of Arcadius
to that of Constantine IX and Mohammed the Conqueror, "one
thousand and fifty-eight years," says Gibbon, "in a state of
premature and perpetual decay."--A statement which, taken as an
example of Gibbonese, is altogether delightful; but for the true
purposes of history it may need a little modification. The
position of this Byzantine Empire was a curious one: European in
origin, mainly West-Asian in location. Its situation permitted
it to last on so long into the West-Asian manvantara; its origin
doomed that long survival to be, for the most part, devoid of the
best characteristics of life. Yet during most of the European
pralaya it was far and away the richest and most civilized power
in Christendom; and, except during the reigns of extraordinary
kings in the west, like Charlemagne, the strongest too. It
specialized in military science; and the well-trained Byzantine
soldiers and highly scientific generals had little to fear, as a
rule, from the rude energies and huge stature of the northern and
western hordes. But culture remained there in the sishta state,
and could do nothing until it was transplanted. There were
cycles: weaknesses and recoveries; on the whole its long
life-period matters very little to history; it only became of
great importance when it died.

The reason why it did not succumb when Rome did was that the
tides of life in the whole empire had long been flowing eastward,
and were now gathered there almost wholly: there was much more
activity in the east; there were much bigger cities, and a much
greater population. So that part was harder to penetrate and
conquer: there was more resistance there. The barbarian deluge
flowed down where it might flow down most easily: following, as
deluges and everything else gifted