,transcribed from the #ahhi ,macmillan  
and ,co4 edition by ,david ,price1 email
  ccx#jgdpglaf4org            ,,the     
,,roman ,,and ,,the ,,teuton      ,a    
,,series ,,of ,,lectures    ,,delivered 
,,before    ,,the ,,university ,,of     
,,cambridge    ,,by  ,,charles          
,,kingsley1 ,m4,a4    ,,new ,,edition1  
,,with ,,preface1 ,,by  ,,professor ,f4 
,,max ,,muller    ,london  ,,macmillan  
,,and ,,co4  #ahhi    ,all rights       
reserved    ,,oxford3  ,,horace ,,hart1 
,,printer ,,to ,,the ,,university4      
,,dedicated  ,,to  ,the ,gentlemen of   
the ,university  ,,who ,,did ,,me ,,the 
,,honour  ,,to ,,attend ,,these         
,,lectures4    ,contents    ,preface by 
,professor ,f4  ,max ,muller     ,the   
,forest ,children     ,the ,dying       
,empire     ,preface to ,lecture ,,iii  
,the ,human ,deluge     ,the ,gothic    
,civilizer     ,dietrich's ,end     ,the
 ,nemesis of the ,goths     ,paulus     
,diaconus     ,the ,clergy and the      
,heathen     ,the ,monk a ,civilizer    

,the ,lombard ,laws     ,the ,popes and 
the ,lombards     ,the ,strategy of     
,prividence     ,appendix--,inaugural   
,lecture3 ,the ,limits of ,exact        
,science as ,applied to  ,history       
,,preface      ,never shall ,i forget   
the moment when for the last time ,i    
gazed upon the  manly features of       
,charles ,kingsley1 features which      
,death had rendered  calm1 grand1       
sublime4  ,the constant struggle that in
 life seemed to allow  no rest to his   
expression1 the spirit1 like a caged    
lion1 shaking the  bars of his prison1  
the mind striving for utterance1 the    
soul wearying  for loving response1--all
 that was over4  ,there remained only   
the  satisfied expression of triumph and
 peace1 as of a soldier who had fought  
a good fight1 and who1 while sinking    
into the stillness of the slumber of    
death1 listens to the distant sounds of 
music and to the shouts of  victory4    
,one saw the ideal man1 as ,nature had  
meant him to be1 and one  felt that     

there is no greater sculptor than       
,death4    ,as one looked on that marble
 statue which only some weeks ago had so
  warmly pressed one's hand1 his whole  
life flashed through one's thoughts4    
,one remembered the young curate and the
 ,saint's ,tragedy2 the chartist  parson
 and ,alton ,locke2 the happy poet and  
the ,sands of ,dee2 the  brilliant      
novel-writer and ,hypatia and           
,westward-,ho2 the ,rector of  ,eversley
 and his ,village ,sermons2 the beloved 
professor at ,cambridge1 the  busy canon
 at ,chester1 the powerful preacher in  
,westminster ,abbey4  ,one  thought of  
him by the ,berkshire chalk-streams and 
on the ,devonshire  coast1 watching the 
beauty and wisdom of ,nature1 reading   
her solemn  lessons1 chuckling too over 
her inimitable fun4  ,one saw him in    
town-alleys1 preaching the ,gospel of   
godliness and cleanliness1 while        
smoking his pipe with soldiers and      
navvies4  ,one heard him in drawing-    
rooms1 listened to with patient silence1

 till one of his vigorous or  quaint    
speeches bounded forth1 never to be     
forgotten4  ,how children  delighted in 
him6  ,how young1 wild men believed in  
him1 and obeyed him  too6  ,how women   
were captivated by his chivalry1 older  
men by his genuine  humility and        
sympathy6    ,all that was now passing  
away--was gone4  ,but as one looked on  
him for  the last time on earth1 one    
felt that greater than the curate1 the  
poet1  the professor1 the canon1 had    
been the man himself1 with his warm     
heart1  his honest purposes1 his trust  
in his friends1 his readiness to spend  
himself1 his chivalry and humility1     
worthy of a better age4    ,of all this 
the world knew little2--yet few men     
excited wider and  stronger sympathies4 
,who can forget that funeral on the     
#bhth ,jan41 #ahge1 and the large sad   
throng that gathered round his grave8   
,there was the representative of  the   
,prince of ,wales1 and close by the     
gipsies of the ,eversley common1 who    

used to call him their ,patrico-rai1    
their ,priest-,king4  ,there was the old
  ,squire of his village1 and the       
labourers1 young and old1 to whom he had
  been a friend and a father4  ,there   
were ,governors of distant ,colonies1   
officers1 and sailors1 the ,bishop of   
his diocese1 and the ,dean of his       
abbey2 there were the leading           
,nonconformists of the neighbourhood1   
and  his own devoted curates1 ,peers and
 ,members of the ,house of ,commons1    
authors and publishers2 and outside the 
church-yard1 the horses and the  hounds 
and the huntsman in pink1 for though as 
good a clergyman as any1  ,charles      
,kingsley had been a good sportsman too1
 and had taken in his life  many a fence
 as bravely as he took the last fence of
 all1 without fear or  trembling4  ,all 
that he had loved1 and all that had     
loved him was there1  and few eyes were 
dry when he was laid in his own yellow  
gravel bed1 the  old trees which he had 
planted and cared for waving their      

branches to him  for the last time1 and 
the grey sunny sky looking down with    
calm pity on  the deserted rectory1 and 
on the short joys and the shorter       
sufferings of  mortal men4    ,all went 
home feeling that life was poorer1 and  
every one knew that he  had lost a      
friend who had been1 in some peculiar   
sense1 his own4  ,charles  ,kingsley    
will be missed in ,england1 in the      
,english colonies1 in ,america1  where  
he spent his last happy year2 aye1      
wherever ,saxon speech and ,saxon       
thought is understood4  ,he will be     
mourned for1 yearned for1 in every      
place in which he passed some days of   
his busy life4  ,as to myself1 ,i  feel 
as if another cable had snapped that    
tied me to this hospitable  shore4      
,when an author or a poet dies1 the     
better part of him1 it is often said1   
is left in his works4  ,so it is in many
 cases4  ,but with ,kingsley his  life  
and his works were one4  ,all he wrote  
was meant for the day when he  wrote it4

  ,that was enough for him4  ,he hardly 
gave himself time to think  of fame and 
the future4  ,compared with a good work 
done1 with a good word  spoken1 with a  
silent grasp of the hand from a young   
man he had saved  from mischief1 or with
 a ',thank you1 ,sir1' from a poor woman
 to whom he  had been a comfort1 he     
would have despised what people call    
glory1 like  incense curling away in    
smoke4  ,he was1 in one sense of the    
word1 a  careless writer4  ,he did his  
best at the time and for the time4  ,he 
did  it with a concentrated energy of   
will which broke through all            
difficulties4  ,in his flights of       
imagination1 in the light and fire of   
his language he had few equals1 if any2 
but the perfection and classical  finish
 which can be obtained by a sustained   
effort only1 and by a  patience which   
shrinks from no drudgery1 these are     
wanting in most of his  works4          
,however1 fame1 for which he cared so   
little1 has come to him4  ,his bust     

will stand in ,westminster ,abbey1 in   
the ,chapel of ,st4 ,john the ,baptist1 
by the side of his friend1 ,frederick   
,maurice2 and in the ,temple of ,fame   
which will be consecrated to the period 
of ,victoria and ,albert1 there  will be
 a niche for ,charles ,kingsley1 the    
author of ,alton ,locke and  ,hypatia4  
,sooner or later a complete edition of  
his works will be wanted1 though we  may
 doubt whether he himself would have    
wished all his literary works to  be    
preserved4  ,from what ,i knew of him   
and his marvellous modesty1 ,i  should  
say decidedly not4  ,i doubt more       
especially1 whether he would have       
wished the present book1 ,the ,roman and
 the ,teuton1 to be handed down to      
posterity4  ,none of his books was so   
severely criticised as this volume  of  
,lectures1 delivered before the         
,university of ,cambridge1 and published
  in #ahfd4  ,he himself did not        
republish it1 and it seems impossible to
  speak in more depreciatory terms of   

his own historical studies than he  does
 himself again and again in the course  
of his lectures4  ,yet these  lectures1 
it should be remembered1 were more      
largely attended than almost  any other 
lectures at ,cambridge4  ,they produced 
a permanent impression on  many a young 
mind4  ,they are asked for again and    
again1 and when the  publishers wished  
for my advice as to the expediency of   
bringing out a  new and cheaper edition1
 ,i could not hesitate as to what answer
 to give4    ,i am not so blinded by my 
friendship for ,kingsley as to say that 
these  lectures are throughout what     
academical lectures ought to be4  ,i    
only  wish some one would tell me what  
academical lectures at ,oxford and      
,cambridge can be1 as long as the       
present system of teaching and examining
  is maintained4  ,it is easy to say    
what these lectures are not4  ,they do  
not profess to contain the results of   
long continued original research4  ,they
 are not based on a critical            

appreciation of the authorities which   
had to be consulted4  ,they are not well
 arranged1 systematic or complete4  ,all
 this the suddenly elected professor of 
history at ,cambridge would  have been  
the first to grant4  ',i am not here1'  
he says1 'to teach you  history4  ,i am 
here to teach you how to teach          
yourselves history4'  ,i  must say even 
more4  ,it seems to me that these       
lectures were not always  written in a  
perfectly impartial and judicial spirit1
 and that  occasionally they are unjust 
to the historians who1 from no other    
motive  but a sincere regard for truth1 
thought it their duty to withhold their 
assent from many of the commonly        
received statements of mediaeval        
chroniclers4    ,but for all that1 let  
us see what these ,lectures are1 and    
whether there  is not room for them by  
the side of other works4  ,first of all1
 according  to the unanimous testimony  
of those who heard them delivered at    
,cambridge1 they stirred up the interest

 of young men1 and made them ask  for   
books which ,undergraduates had never   
asked for before at the  ,university    
libraries4  ,they made many people who  
read them afterwards1  take a new       
interest in old and half-forgotten kings
 and battles1 and they  extorted even   
from unfriendly critics the admission   
that certain  chapters1 such as1 for    
instance1 ',the ,monk as a ,civiliser1' 
displayed in  an unexpected way his     
power of appreciating the good points in
  characters1 otherwise most antipathic 
to the apostle of ,manly  ,christianity4
  ,they contain1 in fact1 the thoughts  
of a poet1 a moralist1  a politician1 a 
theologian1 and1 before all1 of a friend
 and counsellor  of young men1 while    
reading for them and with them one of   
the most awful  periods in the history  
of mankind1 the agonies of a dying      
,empire and the  birth of new           
nationalities4  ,history was but his    
text1 his chief aim was  that of the    
teacher and preacher1 and as an eloquent

 interpreter of the  purposes of history
 before an audience of young men to whom
 history is  but too often a mere       
succession of events to be learnt by    
heart1 and to  be ready against         
periodical examinations1 he achieved    
what he wished to  achieve4  ,historians
 by profession would naturally be       
incensed at some  portions of this book1
 but even they would probably admit by  
this time1  that there are in it whole  
chapters full of excellence1 telling    
passages1  happy delineations1 shrewd   
remarks1 powerful outbreaks of real     
eloquence1  which could not possibly be 
consigned to oblivion4    ,nor would it 
have been possible to attempt to        
introduce any alterations1  or to       
correct what may seem to be mistakes4   
,the book is not meant as a  text-book  
or as an authority1 any more than       
,schiller's ,history of the  ,thirty    
,years' ,war2 it should be read in      
future1 as what it was meant to  be from
 the first1 ,kingsley's thoughts on some

 of the moral problems  presented by the
 conflict between the ,roman and the    
,teuton4  ,one cannot  help wishing     
that1 instead of lectures1 ,kingsley had
 given us another  novel1 like ,hypatia1
 or a real historical tragedy1 a        
,dietrich von ,bern1  embodying in      
living characters one of the fiercest   
struggles of humanity1  the death of the
 ,roman1 the birth of the ,german world4
  ,let me quote here  what ,bunsen said 
of ,kingsley's dramatic power many years
 ago3    ',i do not hesitate 7he writes7
 to call these two works1 the ,saint's  
,tragedy and ,hypatia1 by far the most  
important and perfect of this  genial   
writer4  ,in these more particularly ,i 
find the justification of a  hope which 
,i beg to be allowed to express--that   
,kingsley might continue  ,shakspeare's 
historical plays4  ,i have for several  
years made no secret  of it1 that       
,kingsley seems to me the genius of our 
century1 called to  place by the side of
 that sublime dramatic series from ,king

 ,john to  ,henry ,,viii1 another series
 of equal rank1 from ,edward ,,vi to the
  ,landing of ,william of ,orange4      
,this is the only historical development
  of ,europe which unites in itself all 
vital elements1 and which we might  look
 upon without overpowering pain4  ,the  
tragedy of ,st4 ,elizabeth  shows that  
,kingsley can grapple1 not only with the
 novel1 but with the  more severe rules 
of dramatic art4  ,and ,hypatia proves1 
on the largest  scale1 that he can      
discover in the picture of the          
historical past1 the  truly human1 the  
deep1 the permanent1 and that he knows  
how to represent  it4  ,how1 with all   
this1 he can hit the fresh tone of      
popular life1 and  draw humourous       
characters and complications with       
,shakspearian energy1 is  proved by all 
his works4  ,and why should he not      
undertake this great  task8  ,there is a
 time when the true poet1 the prophet of
 the present1  must bid farewell to the 
questions of the day1 which seem so     

great  because they are so near1 but    
are1 in truth1 but small and unpoetical4
  ,he  must say to himself1 ,let the    
dead bury their dead--and the time has  
come that ,kingsley should do so4'    ,a
 great deal has been written on mistakes
 which ,kingsley was supposed to  have  
made in these ,lectures1 but ,i doubt   
whether these criticisms were  always   
perfectly judicial and fair4  ,for      
instance1 ,kingsley's using the  name of
 ,dietrich1 instead of ,theodoric1 was  
represented as the very gem  of a       
blunder1 and some critics went so far as
 to hint that he had taken  ,theodoric  
for a ,greek word1 as an adjective of   
,theodorus4  ,this1 of  course1 was only
 meant as a joke1 for on page #abj      
,kingsley had said1 in a  note1 that the
 name of ,theodoric1 ,theuderic1        
,dietrich1 signifies  'king of nations4'
  ,he therefore knew perfectly well that
 ,theodoric was  simply a ,greek        
adaptation of the ,gothic name          
,theode-reiks1 theod  meaning people1   

reiks1 according to ,grimm1 princeps #a4
  ,but even if  he had called the king  
,theodorus1 the mistake would not have  
been  unpardonable1 for he might have   
appealed to the authority of ,gregory of
  ,tours1 who uses not only             
,theodoricus1 but also ,theodorus1 as   
the same  name4    ,a more serious      
charge1 however1 was brought against him
 for having used  the ,high-,german form
 ,dietrich1 instead of the original form
  ,theodereiks or ,theoderic1 or even   
,theodoric4  ,should ,i have altered    
this8  ,i believe not2 for it is clear  
to me that ,kingsley had his good       
reasons for preferring ,dietrich to     
,theodoric4    ,he introduces him first 
to his hearers as ',theodoric1 known in 
,german  song as ,dietrich of ,bern4'   
,he had spoken before of the            
,visi-,gothic  ,theodoric1 and of him he
 never speaks as ,dietrich4  ,then1 why 
should he  have adopted this            
,high-,german name for the great        
,theodoric1 and why  should he speak of 

,attila too as ,etzel8    ,one of the   
greatest of ,german historians1         
,johannes von ,muller1 does the  same4  
,he always calls ,theodoric1 ,dietrich  
of ,bern2 and though he gives  no       
reasons for it1 his reasons can easily  
be guessed4  ,soon after  ,theodoric's  
death1 the influence of the ,german     
legends on history1 and of  history on  
the ,german legends1 became so great    
that it was impossible for  a time to   
disentangle two characters1 originally  
totally distinct1 viz4  ,thjodrekr of   
the ,edda1 the ,dietrich of the ,german 
poetry on one side1  and the ,king of   
the ,goths1 ,theodoric1 on the other4   
,what had long been  said and sung about
 ,thjodrekr and ,dietrich was believed  
to have happened  to ,king ,theodoric1  
while at the same time historical and   
local elements  in the life of          
,theodoric1 residing at ,verona1 were   
absorbed by the  legends of ,thjodrekr  
and ,dietrich4  ,the names of the       
legendary hero and  the historical king 

were probably identical1 though even    
that is not  quite certain #b2 but at   
all events1 after ,theodoric's death1   
all the  numerous dialectic varieties of
 the name1 whether in ,high or in       
,low-,german1 were understood by the    
people at large1 both of the hero and   
of the king4    ,few names have had a   
larger number of alias'4  ,they have    
been carefully  collected by ,graff1    
,grimm1 ,forstemann1 ,pott1 and others4 
,i here give the  principal varieties of
 this name1 as actually occurring in    
,,mss41 and  arranged according to the  
changes of the principal consonants3--  
7#a7  ,with ,th-d3 ,theudoricus1        
,theudericus1 ,greek text1 ,thiodiricus1
  ,thiodericus1 ,thiodric1 ,thiodricus1 
,thiodrih1 ,theodoricus1 ,theodericus1  
,theoderic1 ,theodrich1 ,thiadric1      
,thiadrich1 ,thiedorik1 ,thiederic1     
,thiederik1 ,thiederich1 ,thiedorich1   
,thiedric1 ,thiedrich1 ,thideric1       
,thiederich1 ,thidrich1 ,thodericus1    
,thiaedric1 ,thieoderich1 ,thederich1   

,thedric4    7#b7  ,with ,t-d3          
,teudericus1 ,teudricus1 ,tiodericus1   
,teodoricus1  ,teodericus1 ,teodric1    
,teodrich1 ,tiadric1 ,tiedrik1          
,tiedrich1 ,tiedric1  ,tidericus1       
,tiderich1 ,tederich4    7#c7  ,with    
,d-d3 ,greek text1 ,diodericus1         
,deoderich1 ,deodrich1  ,diederich1     
,diderich4    7#d7  ,with ,th-t3        
,thiotiricus1 ,thiotirih1 ,thiotiricus1 
,thiotrih1  ,theotoricus1 ,theotericus1 
,theoterih1 ,theotrih1 ,theotrich1      
,thiatric1  ,thieterich1 ,thietrih1     
,thietrich1 ,theatrih4    7#e7  ,with   
,t-t3 ,teutrich1 ,teoterih1 ,teotrich1  
,teotrih1 ,tieterich1  ,teatrih1        
,tiheiterich4    7#f7  ,with ,d-t3      
,dioterih1 ,diotericus1 ,diotricus1     
,deotrich1 ,deotrih1  ,dieterih1        
,dieterich1 ,dietrich1 ,diterih1        
,ditricus4    7#g7  ,with ,th-th3       
,theotherich1 ,theothirich4    7#h7     
,with ,t-th3 deest4    7#i7  ,with      
,d-th3 ,dietherich4    ,it is quite true
 that1 strictly speaking1 the forms with

 ,th-d1 are ,low-  ,german1 and those   
with ,d-t1 ,high-,german1 but before we 
trust ourselves to  this division for   
historical purposes1 we must remember   
three facts3 7#a7  that ,proper ,names  
frequently defy ,grimm's ,law2 7#b7 that
 in ,high-,german  ,,mss4 much depends  
on the locality in which they are       
written2 7#c7 that  ,high-,german is not
 in the strict sense of the word a      
corruption of ,low-  ,german1 and1 at   
all events1 not1 as ,grimm supposed1    
chronologically  posterior to           
,low-,german1 but that the two are      
parallel dialects1 like  ,doric and     
,aeolic1 the ,low-,german being         
represented by the earliest  literary   
documents1 ,gothic and ,saxon1 the      
,high-,german asserting its  literary   
presence later1 not much before the     
eighth century1 but  afterwards         
maintaining its literary and political  
supremacy from the time  of ,charlemagne
 to the present day4    ,when ,theodoric
 married ,odeflede1 the daughter of     

,childebert1 and a sister  of ,chlodwig1
 ,i have little doubt that1 at the court
 of ,chlodwig or  ,clovis1 his royal    
brother-in-law was spoken of in         
conversation as  ,dioterih1 although in 
official documents1 and in the history  
of ,gregory  of ,tours1 he appears under
 his classical name of ,theodoricus1 in 
,jornandes ,theodericus4  ,those who1   
with ,grimm #c1 admit a transition of   
,low into ,high-,german1 and deny that  
the change of ,gothic ,th into ,high-   
,german ,d took place before the sixth  
or seventh century1 will find it        
difficult to account1 in the first      
century1 for the name of ,deudorix1 a   
,german captive1 the nephew of ,melo the
 ,sigambrian1 mentioned by ,strabo  #d4 
,in the oldest ,german poem in which the
 name of ,dietrich occurs1 the  song of 
,hildebrand and ,hadebrand1 written down
 in the beginning of the  ninth century 
#e1 we find both forms1 the ,low-,german
 ,theotrih1 and the  ,high-,german      
,deotrih1 used side by side4    ,very   

soon1 however1 when ,high-,german became
 the more prevalent language  in        
,germany1 ,german historians knew both  
of the old legendary hero and of  the   
,ost-gothic king1 by one and the same   
name1 the ,high-,german  ,dietrich4     
,if therefore ,johannes von ,muller     
spoke of ,theodoric of ,verona as       
,dietrich  von ,bern1 he simply intended
 to carry on the historical tradition4  
,he  meant to remind his readers of the 
popular name which they all knew1 and   
to tell them1--,this ,dietrich with whom
 you are all acquainted from your       
childhood1 this ,dietrich of whom so    
much is said and sung in your  legendary
 stories and poems1 the famous ,dietrich
 of ,bern1 this is really  the          
,theoderic1 the first ,german who ruled 
,italy for thirty-three years1  more    
gloriously than any ,roman ,emperor     
before or after4  ,i see no harm in     
this1 as long as it is done on purpose1 
and as long as the purpose which        
,johannes von ,muller had in his mind1  

was attained4    ,no doubt the best plan
 for an historian to follow is to call  
every man by  the name by which he      
called himself4  ,theodoric1 we know1   
could not  write1 but he had a gold     
plate #f made in which the first four   
letters  of his name were incised1 and  
when it was fixed on the paper1 the     
,king  drew his pen through the         
intervals4  ,those four letters were    
,greek  text1 and though we should      
expect that1 as a ,goth1 he would have  
spelt  his name ,thiudereik1 yet we have
 no right to doubt1 that the vowels     
were eo1 and not iu4  ,but again and    
again historians spell proper  names1   
not as they were written by the people  
themselves1 but as they  appear in the  
historical documents through which they 
became chiefly  known4  ,we speak of    
,plato1 because we have ,roman          
literature between us  and ,greece4     
,american names are accepted in history 
through a ,spanish1  ,indian names      
through an ,english medium4  ,the       

strictly ,old ,high-,german  form of    
,carolus ,magnus would be ,charal1 ,a4  
,s4 ,carl2 yet even in the ,oaths  of   
,strassburg 7#hdb7 the name appears as  
,karlus and as ,karl1 and has  remained 
so ever since #g4  ,in the same document
 we find ,ludher for  ,lothar1 ,ludhuwig
 and ,lodhuvig for ,ludovicus1 the      
oldest form being  ,chlodowich3 and who 
would lay down the law1 which of these  
forms shall be  used for historical     
purposes8    ,i have little doubt that  
,kingsley's object in retaining the name
 ,dietrich  for the ,ost-gothic king was
 much the same as ,johannes von         
,muller's4  ,you  know1 he meant to say1
 of ,dietrich of ,bern1 of all the      
wonderful things  told of him in the    
,nibelunge and other ,german poems4     
,well1 that is the  ,dietrich of the    
,german people1 that is what the        
,germans themselves have  made of him1  
by transferring to their great ,gothic  
king some of the most  incredible       
achievements of one of their oldest     

legendary heroes4  ,they  have changed  
even his name1 and as the children in   
the schools of ,germany  #h still speak 
of him as their ,dietrich von ,bern1 let
 him be to us too  ,dietrich1 not simply
 the ,ost-gothic ,theoderic1 but the    
,german ,dietrich4    ,i confess ,i see 
no harm in that1 though a few words on  
the strange  mixture of legend and      
history might have been useful1 because 
the case of  ,theodoric is one of the   
most luculent testimonies for that      
blending of  fact and fancy in strictly 
historical times which people find it so
  difficult to believe1 but which offers
 the key1 and the only true key1  for   
many of the most perplexing problems1   
both of history and of  mythology4      
,originally nothing could be more       
different than the ,dietrich of the old 
legend and the ,dietrich of history4    
,the former is followed by misfortune   
through the whole of his life4  ,he is  
oppressed in his youth by his  uncle1   
the famous ,ermanrich #i2 he has to     

spend the greater part of his  life     
7thirty years7 in exile1 and only       
returns to his kingdom after the  death 
of his enemy4  ,yet whenever he is      
called ,dietrich of ,bern1 it is        
because the real ,theodoric1 the most   
successful of ,gothic conquerors1  ruled
 at ,verona4  ,when his enemy was called
 ,otacher1 instead of ,sibich1  it is   
because the real ,theodoric conquered   
the real ,odoacer4  ,when the  king1 at 
whose court he passes his years of      
exile1 is called ,etzel1 it is  because 
many ,german heroes had really taken    
refuge in the camp of ,attila4  ,that   
,attila died two years before ,theodoric
 of ,verona was born1 is no  difficulty 
to a popular poet1 nor even the still   
more glaring  contradiction between the 
daring and ferocious character of the   
real  ,attila and the cowardice of his  
namesake ,etzel1 as represented in the  
poem of the ,nibelunge4  ,thus was      
legend quickened by history4    ,on the 
other hand1 if historians1 such as      

,gregory ,i 7,dial4 iv4 #cf7 #aj1  tell 
us that an ,italian hermit had been     
witness in a vision to the  damnation of
 ,theodoric1 whose soul was plunged1 by 
the ministers of  divine vengeance1 into
 the volcano of ,lipari1 one of the     
flaming mouths  of the infernal world1  
we may recognise in the heated          
imagination of the  orthodox monk some  
recollection of the mysterious end of   
the legendary  ,dietrich #aa4  ,later   
on1 the legendary and the real hero were
 so firmly  welded together that1 as    
early as the twelfth century1           
chroniclers are at  their wits' end how 
to reconcile facts and dates4           
,ekkehard1 in his ,chronicon ,universale
 #ab1 which ends #aabf ,a4,d41 points   
out the chronological contradiction     
between ,jornandes1 who places the      
death of ,ermanrich long before ,attila1
 and the popular story which makes  him 
and ,dietrich1 the son of ,dietmar1 his 
contemporaries4    ,otto von ,freising  
#ac1 in the first half of the twelfth   

century1  expresses the same perplexity 
when he finds that ,theodoric is made a 
contemporary of ,hermanricus and        
,attila1 though it is certain that      
,attila  ruled long after ,hermanric1   
and that1 after the death of ,attila1   
,theodoric1 when eight years old1 was   
given by his father as a hostage to  the
 emperor ,leo4    ,gottfried von        
,viterbo #ad1 in the second half of the 
twelfth century1  expresses his         
difficulties in similar words4    ,all  
these chroniclers who handed down the   
historical traditions of  ,germany were 
,high-,germans1 and thus it has happened
 that in ,germany  ,theodoric the ,great
 became ,dietrich1 as ,strataburgum     
became ,strassburg1  or ,turicum1       
,zurich4  ,whether because ,english     
belongs to the ,low ,german  branch1 it 
is less permissible to an ,english      
historian than to a ,german  to adopt   
these ,high-,german names1 ,i cannot    
say3 all ,i wished to point out  was    
that there was a very intelligible      

reason why ,kingsley should have        
preferred the popular and poetical name 
of ,dietrich1 even though it was        
,high-,german1 either to his real       
,gothic name1 ,theodereik1 or to its    
classical metamorphosis1 ,theodoricus or
 ,theodorus4    ,some other mistakes1   
too1 which have been pointed out1 did   
not seem to me  so serious as to justify
 their correction in a posthumous       
edition4  ,it  was said1 for instance1  
that ,kingsley ought not to have called 
,odoacer  and ,theodoric1 ,kings of     
,italy1 as they were only lieutenants of
 the  ,eastern ,caesar4  ,cassiodorus1  
however1 tells us that ,odoacer assumed 
the  name of king 7nomen regis ,odoacer 
assumpsit71 and though ,gibbon points   
out that this may only mean that he     
assumed the abstract title of a king1   
without applying it to any particular   
nation or country1 yet that great       
historian himself calls ,odoacer1 ,king 
of ,italy1 and shows how he was         
determined to abolish the useless and   

expensive office of vicegerent of  the  
emperor4  ,kingsley guesses very        
ingeniously1 that ,odoacer's assumed    
title1 ,king of nations1 may have been  
the ,gothic ,theode-reiks1 the very     
name of ,theodoric4  ,as to ,theodoric  
himself1 ,kingsley surely knew his  real
 status1 for he says3 ',why did he not  
set himself up as ,caesar of  ,rome8    
,why did he always consider himself as  
son-in-arms1 and  quasi-vassal of the   
,caesar of ,constantinople8'    ,lastly1
 in speaking of the extinction of the   
,western ,empire with ,romulus          
,augustulus1 ,kingsley again simply     
followed the lead of ,gibbon and other  
historians2 nor can it be said that the 
expression is not perfectly  legitimate1
 however clearly modern research may    
have shown that the ,roman  ,empire1    
though dead1 lived4    ,so much in      
defence1 or at all events1 in           
explanation1 of expressions and         
statements which have been pointed out  
as most glaring mistakes in  ,kingsley's

 lectures4  ,i think it must be clear   
that in all these cases  alterations    
would have been impossible4  ,there were
 other passages1 where  ,i should gladly
 have altered or struck out whole lines1
 particularly in  the ethnological      
passages1 and in the attempted          
etymologies of ,german  proper names4   
,neither the one nor the other1 ,i      
believe1 are ,kingsley's  own1 though ,i
 have tried in vain to find out whence  
he could possibly  have taken them4     
,these1 however1 are minor matters which
 are mentioned chiefly in order to      
guard against the impression that1      
because ,i left them unchanged1 ,i      
approved of them4  ,the permanent       
interest attaching to these lectures    
does not spring from the facts which    
they give4  ,for these1 students will   
refer to ,gibbon4  ,they will be valued 
chiefly for the thoughts which they     
contain1 for the imagination and        
eloquence which they display1 and last1 
not least1 for the sake of the man1 a   

man1 it is true1 of a warm heart  rather
 than of a cold judgment1 but a man     
whom1 for that very reason1  many       
admired1 many loved1 and many will miss1
 almost every day of their  life4    ,m4
 ,m4          ,,lecture ,i--,,the       
,,forest ,,children4      ,i wish in    
this first lecture to give you some     
general conception of the  causes which 
urged our ,teutonic race to attack and  
destroy ,rome4  ,i shall  take for this 
one lecture no special text-book3 but   
suppose you all to be  acquainted with  
the ,germania of ,tacitus1 and with the 
#ith ,chapter of  ,gibbon4  ,and ,i     
shall begin1 if you will allow me1 by a 
parable1 a myth1 a  saga1 such as the   
men of whom ,i am going to tell you     
loved2 and if it  seem to any of you    
childish1 bear in mind that what is     
childish need not  therefore be shallow4
  ,i know that it is not history4       
,these lectures  will not be1 in the    
popular sense1 history at all4  ,but ,i 
beg you to bear  in mind that ,i am not 

here to teach you history4  ,no man can 
do that4  ,i  am here to teach you how  
to teach yourselves history4  ,i will   
give you  the scaffolding as well as ,i 
can2 you must build the house4    ,fancy
 to yourself a great ,troll-garden1 such
 as our forefathers dreamed  of often   
fifteen hundred years ago2--a fairy     
palace1 with a fairy garden2  and all   
around the primaeval wood4  ,inside the 
,trolls dwell1 cunning and  wicked1     
watching their fairy treasures1 working 
at their magic forges1  making and      
making always things rare and strange2  
and outside1 the forest  is full of     
children2 such children as the world had
 never seen before1  but children still3
 children in frankness1 and purity1 and 
affectionateness1 and tenderness of     
conscience1 and devout awe of the       
unseen2 and children too in fancy1 and  
silliness1 and ignorance1 and  caprice1 
and jealousy1 and quarrelsomeness1 and  
love of excitement and  adventure1 and  
the mere sport of overflowing animal    

health4  ,they play  unharmed among the 
forest beasts1 and conquer them in their
 play2 but the  forest is too dull and  
too poor for them2 and they wander to   
the walls of  the ,troll-garden1 and    
wonder what is inside4  ,one can        
conceive easily for  oneself what from  
that moment would begin to happen4      
,some of the more  adventurous clamber  
in4  ,some1 too1 the ,trolls steal and  
carry off into  their palace4  ,most    
never return3 but here and there one    
escapes out  again1 and tells how the   
,trolls killed all his comrades3 but    
tells too1  of the wonders he has seen  
inside1 of shoes of swiftness1 and      
swords of  sharpness1 and caps of       
darkness2 of charmed harps1 charmed     
jewels1 and  above all of the charmed   
wine3 and after all1 the ,trolls were   
very kind  to him--see what fine clothes
 they have given him--and he struts     
about  awhile among his companions2 and 
then returns1 and not alone4  ,the      
,trolls  have bewitched him1 as they    

will bewitch more4  ,so the fame of the 
,troll-  garden spreads2 and more and   
more steal in1 boys and maidens1 and    
tempt  their comrades over the wall1 and
 tell of the jewels1 and the dresses1   
and the wine1 the joyous maddening wine1
 which equals men with gods2 and  forget
 to tell how the ,trolls have bought    
them1 soul as well as body1 and  taught 
them to be vain1 and lustful1 and       
slavish2 and tempted them1 too  often1  
to sins which have no name4    ,but     
their better nature flashes out at      
times4  ,they will not be the  slaves   
and brutes in human form1 which the evil
 ,trolls would have them2  and they     
rebel1 and escape1 and tell of the      
horrors of that fair foul  place4  ,and 
then arises a noble indignation1 and war
 between the ,trolls  and the           
forest-children4  ,but still the ,trolls
 can tempt and bribe the  greedier or   
the more vain2 and still the wonders    
inside haunt their  minds2 till it      
becomes a fixed idea among them all1 to 

conquer the garden  for themselves and  
bedizen themselves in the fine clothes1 
and drink  their fill of the wine4      
,again and again they break in3 but the 
,trolls  drive them out1 rebuild their  
walls1 keep off those outside by those  
whom  they hold enslaved within2 till   
the boys grow to be youths1 and the     
youths men3 and still the ,troll-garden 
is not conquered1 and still it  shall   
be4  ,and the ,trolls have grown old and
 weak1 and their walls are  crumbling   
away4  ,perhaps they may succeed this   
time--perhaps next4    ,and at last they
 do succeed--the fairy walls are        
breached1 the fairy  palace stormed--and
 the ,trolls are crouching at their     
feet1 and now all  will be theirs1 gold1
 jewels1 dresses1 arms1 all that the    
,troll  possesses--except his cunning4  
,for as each struggles into the charmed 
ground1 the spell of the place  falls on
 him4  ,he drinks the wine1 and it      
maddens him4  ,he fills his arms  with  
precious trumpery1 and another snatches 

it from his grasp4  ,each  envies the   
youth before him1 each cries--,why had  
,i not the luck to enter  first8  ,and  
the ,trolls set them against each other1
 and split them into  parties1 each mad 
with excitement1 and jealousy1 and wine1
 till1 they  scarce know how1 each falls
 upon his fellow1 and all upon those who
 are  crowding in from the forest1 and  
they fight and fight1 up and down the   
palace halls1 till their triumph has    
become a very feast of the ,lapithae1   
and the ,trolls look on1 and laugh a    
wicked laugh1 as they tar them on to    
the unnatural fight1 till the gardens   
are all trampled1 the finery torn1  the 
halls dismantled1 and each pavement     
slippery with brothers' blood4  ,and    
then1 when the wine is gone out of them1
 the survivors come to their  senses1   
and stare shamefully and sadly round4   
,what an ugly1 desolate1  tottering ruin
 the fairy palace has become6  ,have    
they spoilt it  themselves8 or have the 
,trolls bewitched it8  ,and all the     

fairy  treasure--what has become of it8 
no man knows4  ,have they thrown it away
  in their quarrel8 have the cunningest 
hidden it8 have the ,trolls flown  away 
with it1 to the fairy land beyond the   
,eastern mountains8 who can  tell8      
,nothing is left but recrimination and  
remorse4  ,and they wander  back again  
into the forest1 away from the doleful  
ruin1 carrion-strewn1  to sulk each     
apart over some petty spoil which he has
 saved from the  general wreck1 hating  
and dreading each the sound of his      
neighbour's  footstep4    ,what will    
become of the forest children1 unless   
some kind saint or hermit  comes among  
them1 to bind them in the holy bonds of 
brotherhood and law8    ,this is my     
saga1 gentlemen2 and it is a true one   
withal4  ,for it is  neither more nor   
less than the story of the ,teutonic    
tribes1 and how they  overthrew the     
,empire of ,rome4    ,menzel1 who though
 he may not rank very high as a         
historian1 has at least  a true ,german 

heart1 opens his history with a striking
 passage4    ',the sages of the ,east   
were teaching wisdom beneath the palms2 
the  merchants of ,tyre and ,carthage   
were weighing their heavy anchors1 and  
spreading their purple sails for far    
seas2 the ,greek was making the earth   
fair by his art1 and the ,roman founding
 his colossal empire of force1  while   
the ,teuton sat1 yet a child1 unknown   
and naked among the forest  beasts3 and 
yet unharmed and in his sport he lorded 
it over them2 for the  child was of a   
royal race1 and destined to win glory   
for all time to  come4'    ,to the      
strange and complicated education which 
,god appointed for this  race2 and by   
which he has fitted it to become1 at    
least for many  centuries henceforth1   
the ruling race of the world1 ,i wish to
 call your  attention in my future      
lectures4  ,to-day1 ,i wish to impress  
strongly on  your minds this            
childishness of our forefathers4  ,for  
good or for evil  they were great boys2 

very noble boys2 very often very naughty
 boys--as  boys with the strength of men
 might well be4  ,try to conceive such  
to  yourselves1 and you have the old    
,markman1 ,allman1 ,goth1 ,lombard1     
,saxon1  ,frank4  ,and the notion may be
 more than a mere metaphor4  ,races1    
like  individuals1 it has been often    
said1 may have their childhood1 their   
youth1 their manhood1 their old age1 and
 natural death4  ,it is but a           
theory--perhaps nothing more4  ,but at  
least1 our race had its childhood4      
,their virtues1 and their sad failings1 
and failures1 ,i can understand on  no  
other theory4  ,the nearest type which  
we can see now is ,i fancy1 the         
,english sailor1 or the ,english navvy4 
,a great1 simple1 honest1 baby--full  of
 power and fun1 very coarse and plain   
spoken at times3 but if treated  like a 
human being1 most affectionate1         
susceptible1 even sentimental and       
superstitious2 fond of gambling1 brute  
excitement1 childish amusements in  the 

intervals of enormous exertion2         
quarrelsome among themselves1 as boys   
are1 and with a spirit of wild          
independence which seems to be strength2
  but which1 till it be disciplined into
 loyal obedience and  self-sacrifice1 is
 mere weakness2 and beneath all a deep  
practical  shrewdness1 an indomitable   
perseverance1 when once roused by need4 
,such  a spirit as we see to this day in
 the ,english sailor--that is the       
nearest  analogue ,i can find now4  ,one
 gets hints here and there of what      
manner of  men they were1 from the evil 
day1 when1 one hundred and two years    
before  ,christ1 the ,kempers and       
,teutons1 ranging over the ,alps toward 
,italy1  #cjj1jjj armed men and #ae1jjj 
mailed knights with broad sword and     
lances1  and in their helmets the same  
bulls'-horns1 wings1 and feathers1 which
  one sees now in the crests of ,german 
princes1 stumbled upon ,marius and  his 
,romans1 and were destroyed utterly1    
first the men1 then the women1  who like

 true women as they were1 rather than   
give up their honour to the  ,romans1   
hung themselves on the horns of the     
waggon-oxen1 and were  trampled to death
 beneath their feet2 and then the very  
dogs1 who fought  on when men and women 
were all slain--from that fatal day1    
down to the  glorious one1 when1 five   
hundred years after1 ,alaric stood      
beneath the  walls of ,rome1 and to     
their despairing boast of the ,roman    
numbers1  answered1 ',come out to us    
then1 the thicker the hay1 the easier   
mowed1'--for five hundred years1 ,i say1
 the hints of their character are  all  
those of a boy-nature4    ,they were    
cruel at times3 but so are boys--much   
more cruel than grown  men1 ,i hardly   
know why--perhaps because they have not 
felt suffering so  much themselves1 and 
know not how hard it is to bear4  ,there
 were  varieties of character among     
them4  ,the ,franks were always false1  
vain1  capricious1 selfish1 taking part 
with the ,romans whenever their interest

  or vanity was at stake--the worst of  
all ,teutons1 though by no means the    
weakest--and a miserable business they  
made of it in ,france1 for some  five   
hundred years4  ,the ,goths1 ,salvian   
says1 were the most ignavi of all  of   
them2 great lazy lourdans2 apt to be    
cruel1 too1 the ,visigoths at  least1 as
 their ,spanish descendants proved to   
the horror of the world3  but men of    
honour withal1 as those old ,spaniards  
were4  ,the ,saxons were  famed for     
cruelty--,i know not why1 for our branch
 of the ,saxons has been1  from the     
beginning of history1 the least cruel   
people in ,europe2 but they  had the    
reputation--as the ,vandals had also--of
 being the most pure2  ,castitate       
venerandi4  ,and among the uncivilized  
people coldness and  cruelty go often   
together4  ,the less passionate and     
sensitive the nature1  the less open to 
pity4  ,the ,caribs of the ,west ,indies
 were famed for  both1 in contrast to   
the profligate and gentle inhabitants of

 ,cuba and  ,hispaniola2 and in double  
contrast to the ,red ,indian tribes of  
,north  ,america1 who combined1 from our
 first acquaintance with them1 the two  
vices of cruelty and profligacy1 to an  
extent which has done more to  extirpate
 them than all the fire-water of the    
white man4    ,but we must be careful   
how we compare our forefathers with     
these1 or any  other savages4  ,those   
who1 like ,gibbon1 have tried to draw a 
parallel  between the ,red ,indian and  
the ,primaeval ,teuton1 have done so at 
the  expense of facts4  ,first1 they    
have overlooked the broad fact1 that    
while  the ,red ,indians have been1 ever
 since we have known them1 a decreasing 
race1 the ,teutons have been a rapidly  
increasing one2 in spite of war1  and   
famine1 and all the ills of a precarious
 forest life1 proving their  youthful   
strength and vitality by a reproduction 
unparalleled1 as far as  ,i know1 in    
history1 save perhaps by that noble and 
young race1 the  ,russian4  ,these      

writers have not known that the ,teuton 
had his definite  laws1 more simple1    
doubtless1 in the time of ,tacitus than 
in that of  ,justinian1 but still       
founded on abstract principles so deep  
and broad  that they form the groundwork
 of our ,english laws and constitution2 
that  the ,teuton creed concerning the  
unseen world1 and divine beings1 was of 
a  loftiness and purity as far above the
 silly legends of ,hiawatha as the      
,teuton morals were above those of a    
,sioux or a ,comanche4  ,let any one    
read honest accounts of the ,red        
,indians2 let him read ,catlin1 ,james1 
,lewis and ,clarke1 ,shoolbred2 and     
first and best of all1 the old          
',travaile  in ,virginia1' published by 
the ,hakluyt ,society3 and then let him 
read the  ,germania of ,tacitus1 and    
judge for himself4  ,for my part1 ,i    
believe that  if ,gibbon was right1 and 
if our forefathers in the ,german       
forests had  been like ,powhattan's     
people as we found them in the          

,virginian forests1  the ,romans would  
not have been long in civilizing us off 
the face of the  earth4    ,no4  ,all   
the notes which ,tacitus gives us are   
notes of a young and strong  race2      
unconscious of its own capabilities1 but
 possessing such  capabilities that the 
observant ,romans saw at once with dread
 and awe  that they were face to face   
with such a people as they had never met
  before2 that in their hands1 sooner or
 later1 might be the fate of ,rome4     
,mad ,caracalla1 aping the ,teuton dress
 and hair1 listening in dread to the    
songs of the ,allman ,alrunas1 telling  
the ,teutons that they ought to come    
over the ,rhine and destroy the empire1 
and then1 murdering the  interpreters1  
lest they should repeat his words1 was  
but babbling out in  an insane shape the
 thought which was brooding in the most 
far-seeing  ,roman minds4  ,he felt that
 they could have done the deed2 and he  
felt  rightly1 madman as he was4  ,they 
could have done it then1 if physical    

power and courage were all that was     
needed1 in the days of the ,allman  war4
  ,they could have done it a few years  
before1 when the ,markmen fought        
,marcus ,aurelius ,antoninus2 on the day
 when the ,caesar1 at the advice of  his
 augurs1 sent two lions to swim across  
the ,danube as a test of  victory2 and  
the simple ,markmen took them for big   
dogs1 and killed them  with their clubs4
  ,from that day1 indeed1 the ,teutons  
began to conquer  slowly1 but surely4   
,though ,antoninus beat the ,markmen on 
the ,danube1 and  recovered #ajj1jjj    
,roman prisoners1 yet it was only by the
 help of the  ,vandals2 from that day   
the empire was doomed1 and the ,teutons 
only kept  at bay by bribing one tribe  
to fight another1 or by enlisting their 
more  adventurous spirits into the      
,roman legions1 to fight against men of 
their  own blood2--a short-sighted and  
suicidal policy2 for by that very method
  they were teaching the ,teuton all he 
needed1 the discipline and the  military

 science of the ,roman4    ,but the     
,teutons might have done it a hundred   
years before that1 when ,rome  was in a 
death agony1 and ,vitellius and         
,vespasian were struggling for the      
purple1 and ,civilis and the fair       
,velleda1 like ,barak and ,deborah of   
old1  raised the ,teuton tribes4  ,they 
might have done it before that again1   
when ,hermann slew ,varus and his       
legions in the ,teutoburger ,wald2 or   
before that again1 when the ,kempers and
 ,teutons burst over the ,alps1 to      
madden themselves with the fatal wines  
of the rich south4  ,and why did  the   
,teutons not do it8  ,because they were 
boys fighting against cunning  men4     
,boiorich1 the young ,kemper1 riding    
down to ,marius' camp1 to bid him  fix  
the place and time of battle--for the   
,teuton thought it mean to use          
surprises and stratagems1 or to conquer 
save in fair and open fight--is  the    
type of the ,teuton hero2 and one which 
had no chance in a struggle  with the   

cool1 false1 politic ,roman1 grown grey 
in the experience of the  forum and of  
the camp1 and still as physically brave 
as his young enemy4  ,because1 too1     
there was no unity among them2 no       
feeling that they were  brethren of one 
blood4  ,had the ,teuton tribes1 at any 
one of the great  crises ,i have        
mentioned1 and at many a crisis         
afterwards1 united for but  three years1
 under the feeling of a common blood1   
language1 interest1  destiny1 ,rome     
would have perished4  ,but they could   
not learn that lesson4  ,they could not 
put aside their boyish quarrels4        
,they never learnt the lesson till after
 their final victory1 when the  ,gospel 
of ,christ--of a ,being to whom they all
 owed equal allegiance1 in  whose sight 
they were all morally equal--came to    
unite them into a  ,christendom4    ,and
 it was well that they did not learn it 
sooner4  ,well for them and for  the    
world1 that they did not unite on any   
false ground of interest or  ambition1  

but had to wait for the true ground of  
unity1 the knowledge of  the ,god-man1  
,king of all nations upon earth4    ,had
 they destroyed ,rome sooner1 what would
 not they have lost8  ,what  would not  
the world have lost8  ,christianity     
would have been stifled in  its very    
cradle2 and with ,christianity all      
chance--be sure of it--of  their own    
progress4  ,roman law1 order1 and       
discipline1 the very things  which they 
needed to acquire by a contact of five  
hundred years1 would  have been swept   
away4  ,all classic literature and      
classic art1 which they  learnt to      
admire with an almost superstitious awe1
 would have perished  likewise4  ,greek 
philosophy1 the germs of physical       
science1 and all that  we owe to the    
ancients1 would have perished2 and we   
should have truly had  an invasion of   
the barbarians1 followed by truly dark  
ages1 in which  ,europe would have had  
to begin all anew1 without the help of  
the  generations which had gone before4 

,therefore it was well as it was1 and   
,god was just and merciful to them  and 
to the human race4  ,they had a glorious
 destiny1 and glorious powers  wherewith
 to fulfil it3 but they had1 as every   
man and people has1 before  whom there  
is a noble future1 to be educated by    
suffering4  ,there was  before them a   
terrible experience of sorrow and       
disappointment1 sin and  blood1 by which
 they gained the first consciousness of 
what they could do  and what they could 
not4  ,like ,adam of old1 like every man
 unto this day1  they ate of the tree of
 the knowledge of good and evil1 and    
were driven  out of the paradise of     
unconsciousness2 had to begin again     
sadder and  wiser men1 and eat their    
bread in the sweat of their brow2 and so
 to  rise1 after their fall1 into a     
nobler1 wiser1 more artificial1 and     
therefore more truly human and divine   
life1 than that from which they had  at 
first fallen1 when they left their      
,german wilds4    ,one does not1 of     

course1 mean the parallel to fit in all 
details4  ,the  fall of the ,teuton from
 the noble simplicity in which ,tacitus 
beheld and  honoured him1 was a work of 
four centuries2 perhaps it was going on 
in  ,tacitus' own time4  ,but the       
culminating point was the century which 
saw  ,italy conquered1 and ,rome sacked1
 by ,visigoth1 by ,ostrogoth1 by        
,vandal1  till nothing was left save    
fever-haunted ruins4  ,then the ignorant
 and  greedy child1 who had been        
grasping so long after the fair apples  
of  ,sodom1 clutched them once and for  
all1 and found them turn to ashes in    
his hands4    ,yes--it is thus that ,i  
wish you to look at the ,invasion of the
  ,barbarians1 ,immigration of the      
,teutons1 or whatsoever name you may    
call  it4  ,before looking at questions 
of migration1 of ethnology1 of laws1 and
  of classes1 look first at the thing   
itself2 and see with sacred pity--and   
awe1 one of the saddest and grandest    
tragedies ever performed on earth4      

,poor souls6  ,and they were so simple  
withal4  ,one pities them1 as one       
pities a child who steals apples1 and   
makes himself sick with them after  all4
  ,it is not the enormous loss of life  
which is to me the most tragic  part of 
the story2 it is that very simplicity of
 the ,teutons4  ,bloodshed  is a bad    
thing1 certainly2 but after all nature  
is prodigal of human  life--killing her 
twenty thousand and her fifty thousand  
by a single  earthquake2 and as for     
death in battle--,i sometimes am tempted
 to think1  having sat by many death    
beds1 that our old forefathers may have 
been  right1 and that death in battle   
may be a not unenviable method of       
passing  out of this troublesome world4 
,besides1 we have no right to blame     
those  old ,teutons1 while we are       
killing every year more of her          
,majesty's  subjects by preventible     
disease1 than ever they killed in their 
bloodiest  battle4  ,let us think of    
that1 and mend that1 ere we blame the   

old ,german  heroes4  ,no1 there are    
more pitiful tragedies than any         
battlefield can  shew2 and first among  
them1 surely1 is the disappointment of  
young hopes1  the degradation of young  
souls4    ,one pities them1 ,i say4     
,and they pitied themselves4  ,remorse1 
shame1  sadness1 mark the few legends   
and songs of the days which followed the
  fall of ,rome4  ,they had done a great
 work4  ,they had destroyed a mighty    
tyranny2 they had parted between them   
the spoils wrung from all the  nations2 
they had rid the earth of a mighty      
man-devouring ogre1 whose  hands had    
been stretched out for centuries over   
all the earth1 dragging  all virgins to 
his den1 butchering and torturing       
thousands for his sport2  foul1 too1    
with crimes for which their language1   
like our own 7thank ,god7  has scarcely 
found a name4  ,babylon the ,great1     
drunken with the blood of  the saints1  
had fallen at last before the simple    
foresters of the north3  but if it looks

 a triumph to us1 it looked not such to 
them4  ,they could  only think how they 
had stained their hands in their        
brothers' blood4  ,they had got the     
fatal ,nibelungen hoard3 but it had     
vanished between  their hands1 and left 
them to kill each other1 till none was  
left4    ,you know the ,nibelungen      
,lied8  ,that expresses1 ,i believe1 the
 key-note of  the old ,teuton's heart1  
after his work was done4  ,siegfried    
murdered by  his brother-in-law2 fair   
,chriemhild turned into an avenging     
fury2 the  heroes hewing each other     
down1 they scarce know why1 in ,hunnish 
,etzel's  hall1 till ,hagen and ,gunther
 stand alone2 ,dietrich of ,bern going  
in1 to  bind the last surviving heroes2 
,chriemhild shaking ,hagen's gory head  
in  ,gunther's face1 himself hewed down 
by the old ,hildebrand1 till nothing is 
left but stark corpses and vain         
tears3--while all the while the         
,nibelungen hoard1 the cause of all the 
woe1 lies drowned in the deep  ,rhine   

until the judgment day4--,what is all   
this1 but the true tale of the  fall of 
,rome1 of the mad quarrels of the       
conquering ,teutons8  ,the names  are   
confused1 mythic2 the dates and places  
all awry3 but the tale is  true--too    
true4  ,mutato nomine fabula narratur4  
,even so they went on1  killing1 till   
none were left4  ,deeds as strange1     
horrible1 fratricidal1  were done1 again
 and again1 not only between ,frank and 
,goth1 ,lombard and  ,gepid1 but between
 ,lombard and ,lombard1 ,frank and      
,frank4  ,yes1 they were  drunk with    
each other's blood1 those elder brethren
 of ours4  ,let us  thank ,god that we  
did not share their booty1 and perish1  
like them1 from  the touch of the fatal 
,nibelungen hoard4  ,happy for us       
,englishmen1 that  we were forced to    
seek our adventures here1 in this lonely
 isle2 to turn  aside from the great    
stream of ,teutonic immigration2 and    
settle here1  each man on his           
forest-clearing1 to till the ground in  

comparative peace1  keeping unbroken the
 old ,teutonic laws1 unstained the old  
,teutonic faith  and virtue1 cursed     
neither with poverty nor riches1 but fed
 with food  sufficient for us4  ,to us1 
indeed1 after long centuries1 peace     
brought  sloth1 and sloth foreign       
invaders and bitter woes3 but better so1
 than  that we should have cast away    
alike our virtue and our lives1 in that 
mad  quarrel over the fairy gold of     
,rome4          ,,lecture ,,ii--,,the   
,,dying ,,empire4      ,it is not for me
 to trace the rise1 or even the fall of 
the ,roman ,empire4  ,that would be the 
duty rather of a professor of ancient   
history1 than of  modern4  ,all ,i need 
do is to sketch1 as shortly as ,i can1  
the state in  which the young world     
found the old1 when it came in contact  
with it4    ,the ,roman ,empire1 toward 
the latter part of the fourth century1  
was in  much the same condition as the  
,chinese or the ,turkish ,empire in our 
own  days4  ,private morality 7as       

,juvenal and ,persius will tell you71   
had  vanished long before4  ,public     
morality had1 of course1 vanished       
likewise4  ,the only powers really      
recognised were force and cunning4  ,the
 only aim  was personal enjoyment4  ,the
 only ,god was the ,divus ,caesar1 the  
imperial  demigod1 whose illimitable    
brute force gave him illimitable powers 
of  self-enjoyment1 and made him thus   
the paragon and ideal of humanity1 whom 
all envied1 flattered1 hated1 and       
obeyed4  ,the palace was a sink of      
corruption1 where eunuchs1 concubines1  
spies1 informers1 freedmen1             
adventurers1 struggled in the basest    
plots1 each for his share of the  public
 plunder4  ,the senate only existed to  
register the edicts of their  tyrant1   
and if need be1 destroy each other1 or  
any one else1 by judicial  murders1 the 
willing tools of imperial cruelty4  ,the
 government was  administered 7at least 
since the time of ,diocletian7 by an    
official  bureaucracy1 of which         

,professor ,goldwin ,smith well says1   
'the earth  swarmed with the consuming  
hierarchy of extortion1 so that it was  
said  that they who received taxes were 
more than those who paid them4'  ,the   
free middle class had disappeared1 or   
lingered in the cities1 too proud  to   
labour1 fed on government bounty1 and   
amused by government spectacles4  ,with 
them1 arts and science had died         
likewise4  ,such things were left to    
slaves1 and became therefore1 literally1
 servile imitations of the past4  ,what1
 indeed1 was not left to slaves8  ,drawn
 without respect of rank1 as  well as of
 sex and age1 from every nation under   
heaven by an organized  slave-trade1 to 
which our late ,african one was but a   
tiny streamlet  compared with a mighty  
river2 a slave-trade which once bought  
#aj1jjj  human beings in ,delos in a    
single day2 the 'servorum nationes' were
 the  only tillers of the soil1 of those
 'latifundia' or great estates1 'quae   
perdidere ,romam4'  ,denied the rights  

of marriage1 the very name of  humanity2
 protected by no law1 save the interest 
or caprice of their  masters2 subjected1
 for slight offences1 to cruel torments1
 they were  butchered by thousands in   
the amphitheatres to make a ,roman      
holiday1 or  wore out their lives in    
'ergastula' or barracks1 which were dens
 of  darkness and horror4  ,their       
owners1 as 'senatores1' 'clarissimi1' or
 at  least 'curiales1' spent their lives
 in the cities1 luxurious and           
effeminate1 and left their slaves to the
 tender mercy of 'villici1'  stewards   
and gang-drivers1 who were themselves   
slaves likewise4    ,more pampered1 yet 
more degraded1 were the crowds of       
wretched beings1 cut  off from all the  
hopes of humanity1 who ministered to the
 wicked  pleasures of their masters1    
even in the palaces of nominally        
,christian  emperors--but over that side
 of ,roman slavery ,i must draw a veil1 
only  saying1 that the atrocities of the
 ,romans toward their slaves--especially

  of this last and darkest kind--notably
 drew down on them the just wrath  and  
revenge of those ,teutonic nations1 from
 which so many of their slaves  were    
taken4 #ai    ,and yet they called      
themselves ,christians--to whom it had  
been said1 ',be  not deceived1 ,god is  
not mocked4  ,for these things cometh   
the wrath of  ,god on the children of   
disobedience4'  ,and the wrath did come4
    ,if such were the morals of the     
,empire1 what was its political state8  
,one  of complete disorganization4  ,the
 only uniting bond left seems to have   
been that of the bureaucracy1 the       
community of tax-gatherers1 who found   
it on the whole safer and more          
profitable to pay into the imperial     
treasury a portion of their plunder1    
than to keep it all themselves4  ,it    
stood by mere vi inertiae1 just because 
it happened to be there1 and  there was 
nothing else to put in its place4  ,like
 an old tree whose every  root is       
decayed1 it did not fall1 simply because

 the storm had not yet  come4  ,storms1 
indeed1 had come2 but they had been     
partial and local4  ,one  cannot look   
into the pages of ,gibbon1 without      
seeing that the normal  condition of the
 empire was one of revolt1 civil war1   
invasion--,pretenders1 like ,carausius  
and ,allectus in ,britain1 setting      
themselves up as emperors for           
awhile--,bands of brigands1 like the    
,bagaudae  of ,gaul1 and the            
,circumcelliones of ,africa1 wandering  
about1 desperate  with hunger and       
revenge1 to slay and pillage--,teutonic 
tribes making  forays on the frontier1  
enlisted into the ,roman armies1 and    
bought off1  or hired to keep back the  
tribes behind them1 and perish by their 
brethren's swords4    ,what kept the    
empire standing1 paradoxical as it may  
seem1 was its own  innate weakness4     
,from within1 at least1 it could not be 
overthrown4  ,the  masses were too      
crushed to rise4  ,without unity1       
purpose1 courage1 they  submitted to    

inevitable misery as to rain and        
thunder4  ,at most they  destroyed their
 own children from poverty1 or1 as in   
,egypt1 fled by  thousands into the     
caves and quarries1 and turned monks and
 hermits2  while the upper classes1     
equally without unity or purpose1 said  
each to  himself1 ',let us eat and      
drink1 for to-morrow we die4'    ,the   
state of things at ,rome1 and after the 
rise of ,byzantium under  ,constantine  
at ,byzantium likewise1 was one         
altogether fantastic1  abnormal1 utterly
 unlike anything that we have seen1 or  
can imagine to  ourselves without great 
effort4  ,i know no better method of    
illustrating  it1 than quoting1 from    
,mr4 ,sheppard's excellent book1 ,the   
,fall of ,rome  and the ,rise of ,new   
,nationalities1 a passage in which he   
transfers the  whole comi-tragedy from  
,italy of old to ,england in #ahfa4     
',i have not thought it necessary to    
give a separate and distinct reply to   
the theory of ,mr4 ,congreve1 that      

,roman ,imperialism was the type of all 
good government1 and a desirable        
precedent for ourselves4  ,those who    
feel  any penchant for the notion1 ,i   
should strongly recommend to read the   
answer of ,professor ,g4 ,smith1 in the 
,oxford ,essays for #ahef1 which is  as 
complete and crushing as that           
gentleman's performances usually are4   
,but in order to convey to the          
uninitiated some idea of the state of   
society under ,caesarian rule1 and which
 a ,caesarian rule1 so far as mere      
government is concerned1 if it does not 
produce1 has never shewn any  tendency  
to prevent1 let us give reins to        
imagination for a moment1 and  picture  
to ourselves a few social and political 
analogies in our own  ,england of the   
nineteenth century4    ',an entire      
revolution has taken place in our       
principles1 manners1 and  form of       
government4  ,parliaments1 meetings1 and
 all the ordinary  expressions of the   
national will1 are no longer in         

existence4  ,a free  press has shared   
their fate4  ,there is no accredited    
organ of public  opinion2 indeed there  
is no public opinion to record4  ,lords 
and ,commons  have been swept away1     
though a number of the richest old      
gentlemen in  ,london meet daily at     
,westminster to receive orders from     
,buckingham  ,palace4  ,but at the      
palace itself has broken out one of     
those sanguinary  conspiracies which    
have of late become unceasing4  ,the    
last heir of the  house of ,brunswick is
 lying dead with a dagger in his heart1 
and  everything is in frightful         
confusion4  ,the armed force of the     
capital are  of course masters of the   
situation1 and the ,guards1 after a     
tumultuous  meeting at ,windsor or      
,knightsbridge1 have sold the throne to 
,baron  ,rothschild1 for a handsome     
donation of #be pounds a-piece4  ,lord  
,clyde1  however1 we may be sure1 is not
 likely to stand this1 and in a few     
months  will be marching upon ,london at

 the head of the ,indian ,army4  ,in the
 mean  time the ,channel ,fleet has     
declared for its own commander1 has     
seized  upon ,plymouth and ,portsmouth1 
and intends to starve the metropolis by 
stopping the imports of bread-stuffs at 
the mouth of the ,thames4  ,and  this   
has become quite possible2 for half the 
population of ,london1 under  the       
present state of things1 subsist upon   
free distributions of corn  dispensed by
 the occupant of the throne for the time
 being4  ,but a more  fatal change than 
even this has come over the population  
of the capital  and of the whole        
country4  ,the free citizens and        
'prentices of ,london2  the sturdy      
labourers of ,dorsetshire and the       
eastern counties2 and the  skilful      
artizans of ,manchester1 ,sheffield and 
,birmingham2 the mariners  and          
shipwrights of ,liverpool1 have been    
long ago drafted into marching          
regiments1 and have left their bones to 
bleach beneath ,indian suns and  ,polar 

snows4  ,their place has been supplied  
by countless herds of negro  slaves1 who
 till the fields and crowd the workshops
 of our towns1 to the  entire exclusion 
of free labour2 for the free population1
 or rather the  miserable relics of     
them1 disdain all manual employment3    
they divide  their time between         
starvation and a degrading debauchery1  
the means for  which are sedulously     
provided by the government4  ,the       
time-honoured  institutions of the      
bull-bait1 the cockpit1 and the ring1   
are in daily  operation1 under the most 
distinguished patronage4  ,hyde ,park   
has been  converted into a gigantic     
arena1 where criminals from ,newgate    
set-to  with the animals from the       
,zoological ,gardens4  ,every fortnight 
there is a  ,derby ,day1 and the whole  
population pour into the ,downs with    
frantic  excitement1 leaving the city to
 the slaves4  ,and then the moral       
condition  of this immense mass6  ,of   
the doings about the palace we should be

 sorry  to speak4  ,but the lady        
patronesses of ,almack's still more     
assiduously  patronize the prize-fights1
 and one of them has been seen within   
the  ropes1 in battle array1 by the side
 of ,sayers himself4  ,no tongue may    
tell the orgies enacted1 with the aid of
 ,french cooks1 ,italian singers1  and  
foreign artists of all sorts1 in the    
gilded saloons of ,park ,lane and       
,mayfair4  ,suffice to say1 that in them
 the worst passions of human nature     
have full swing1 unmodified by any      
thought of human or divine restraints1  
and only dashed a little now and then by
 the apprehension that the slaves  may  
rise1 and make a clean sweep of the     
metropolis with fire and steel4  ,but   
n'importe--,vive la bagatelle6  ,mario  
has just been appointed  prime minister1
 and has made a chorus singer from the  
,opera ,duke of  ,middlesex and         
,governor-,general of ,india4  ,all wise
 men and all good men  despair of the   
state1 but they are not permitted to say

 anything1 much  less to act4  ,mr4     
,disraeli lost his head a few days ago2 
,lords ,palmerston  and ,derby lie in   
the ,tower under sentence of death2     
,lord ,brougham1 the  ,archbishop of    
,canterbury1 and ,mr4 ,gladstone1 opened
 their veins and died  in a warm bath   
last week4  ,foreign relations will make
 a still greater  demand on the reader's
 imagination4  ,we must conceive of     
,england no  longer as       ,a precious
 stone set in the silver sea1     ,which
 serves it in the office of a wall1     
,or as a moat defensive of a house4     
but rather as open to the inroad of     
every foe whom her aggressive and       
colonizing genius has provoked4  ,the   
red man of the ,west1 the ,caffre1 the  
,sikh1 and the ,sepoy1 ,chinese braves1 
and fierce orientals of all sorts1  are 
hovering on her frontiers in numbers    
numberless1 as the flakes of  snow in   
the northern winter4  ,they are not the 
impotent enemy which we  know1 but      
vigorous races1 supplied from           

inexhaustible founts of  population1 and
 animated by an insatiate appetite for  
the gold and  silver1 purple and fine   
linen1 rich meats and intoxicating      
drinks of our  effete civilization4     
,and we can no longer oppose them with  
those  victorious legions which have    
fought and conquered in all regions of  
the  world4  ,the men of ,waterloo and  
,inkermann are no more4  ,we are        
compelled  to recruit our armies from   
those very tribes before whose swords we
 are  receding6    ',doubtless the      
ordinary reader will believe this       
picture to be  overcharged1 drawn with  
manifest exaggeration1 and somewhat     
questionable  taste4  ,every single     
statement which it contains may be      
paralleled by  the circumstances and    
events of the decadence of the ,roman   
,empire4  ,the  analogous situation was 
with the subjects of this type of all   
good  government1 always a possible1    
often an actual1 state of things4  ,we  
think this disposes of the theory of    

,mr4 ,congreve4  ,with it may           
advantageously be contrasted the opinion
 of a man of more statesman-like  mind4 
,the benefits of despotism are          
short-lived2 it poisons the very        
springs which it lays open2 if it       
display a merit1 it is an exceptional   
one2 if a virtue1 it is created of      
circumstances2 and when once this       
better hour has passed away1 all the    
vices of its nature break forth with    
redoubled violence1 and weigh down      
society in every direction4  ,so  writes
 ,m4 ,guizot4  ,is it the language of   
prophecy as well as of personal         
experience8'    ,mr4 ,sheppard should   
have added1 to make the picture         
complete1 that the  ,irish have just    
established popery across ,st4 ,george's
 ,channel1 by the  aid of re-immigrants 
from ,america2 that ,free ,kirk and     
,national ,kirk are  carrying on a      
sanguinary civil war in ,scotland2 that 
the ,devonshire  ,wesleyans have just   
sacked ,exeter cathedral1 and murdered  

the ,bishop at  the altar1 while the    
,bishop of ,london1 supported by the    
,jews and the rich  churchmen 7who are  
all mixed up in financial operations    
with ,baron  ,rothschild7 has just      
commanded all ,dissenters to leave the  
metropolis  within three days1 under    
pain of death4    ,i must add yet one   
more feature to this fearful1 but       
accurate picture1  and say how1 a few   
generations forward1 an even uglier     
thing would be  seen4  ,the ,english    
aristocracy would have been absorbed by 
foreign  adventurers4  ,the             
grandchildren of these slaves and       
mercenaries would be  holding the       
highest offices in the state and the    
army1 naming themselves  after the      
masters who had freed them1 or          
disguising their barbarian names  by    
,english endings4  ,the ,de             
,fung-,chowvilles would be ,dukes1 the  
,little-  grizzly-bear-,joe-,smiths     
,earls1 and the ,fitz-,stanleysons1     
descended from a  king of the gipsies   

who enlisted to avoid transportation1   
and in due time  became                 
,commander-in-,chief1 would rule at     
,knowsley in place of the ,earl of      
,derby1 having inherited the same by the
 summary process of assassination4      
,beggars on horseback1 only too         
literally2 married1 most of them1 to    
,englishwomen of the highest rank2 but  
looking on ,england merely as a  prey2  
without patriotism1 without principle2  
they would destroy the old  aristocracy 
by legal murders1 grind the people1     
fight against their yet  barbarian      
cousins outside1 as long as they were in
 luck3 but the moment  the luck turned  
against them1 would call in those       
barbarian cousins to  help them1 and    
invade ,england every ten years with    
heathen hordes1 armed  no more with     
tulwar and matchlock1 but with ,enfield 
rifle and ,whitworth  cannon4  ,and     
that1 it must be agreed1 would be about 
the last phase of  the ,british empire4 
,if you will look through the names     

which figure in  the high places of the 
,roman empire1 during the fourth and    
fifth  centuries1 you will see how few  
of them are really ,roman4  ,if you will
  try to investigate1 not their         
genealogies--for they have none--not a  
grandfather among them--but the few     
facts of their lives which have come    
down to us2 you will see how that       
,nemesis had fallen on her which must at
  last fall on every nation which       
attempts to establish itself on slavery 
as a legal basis4  ,rome had become the 
slave of her own slaves4    ,it is at   
this last period1 the point when ,rome  
has become the slave of  her own slaves1
 that ,i take up the story of our       
,teutonic race4    ,i do not think that 
anyone will call either ,mr4 ,sheppard's
 statements1 or  mine1 exaggerated1 who 
knows the bitter complaints of the      
wickedness and  folly of the time1 which
 are to be found in the writings of the 
,emperor  ,julian4  ,pedant and apostate
 as he was1 he devoted his short life to

 one  great idea1 the restoration of the
 ,roman ,empire to what it had been 7as 
he fancied7 in the days of the virtuous 
stoic ,emperors of the second  century4 
,he found his dream a dream1 owing to   
the dead heap of  frivolity1 sensuality1
 brutality1 utter unbelief1 not merely  
in the dead  ,pagan gods whom he vainly 
tried to restore1 but in any god at all1
 as a  living1 ruling1 judging1         
rewarding1 punishing power4    ,no one1 
again1 will call these statements       
exaggerated who knows the ,roman        
history of his faithful servant and     
soldier1 ,ammianus ,marcellinus1 and    
especially the later books of it1 in    
which he sets forth the state of the    
,empire after ,julian's death1 under    
,jovian1 ,procopius1 ,valentinian1 7who 
kept close to his bed-chamber two       
she-bears who used to eat men1 one      
called ,golden ,camel1 and the other    
,innocence--which latter1 when she had  
devoured a sufficiency of his living    
victims1 he set free in the forests  as 

a reward for her services--a brutal     
tyrant1 whose only virtue seems to  have
 been his chastity72 and ,valens1 the   
shameless extortioner who  perished in  
that great battle of ,adrianople1 of    
which more hereafter4  ,the  last five  
remaining books of the honest soldier's 
story are a tissue of  horrors1 from    
reading which one turns away as from a  
slaughter-house or a  witches' sabbath4 
,no one1 again1 will think these        
statements exaggerated who knows        
,salvian's ,de ,gubernatione ,dei4  ,it 
has been always and most justly held  in
 high esteem1 as one great authority of 
the state of ,gaul when  conquered by   
the ,franks and ,goths and ,vandals4    
,salvian was a ,christian gentleman1    
born somewhere near ,treves4  ,he       
married a ,pagan lady of ,cologne1      
converted her1 had by her a daughter1   
and then persuaded her to devote herself
 to celibacy1 while he did the  like4   
,his father-in-law1 ,hypatius1          
quarrelled with him on this account2    

and the letter in which he tries to     
soothe the old man is still extant1 a   
curious specimen of the style of        
cultivated men in that day4  ,salvian   
then went down to the south of ,france  
and became a priest at ,marseilles1  and
 tutor to the sons of ,eucherius1 the   
,bishop of ,lyons4  ,eucherius1  himself
 a good man1 speaks in terms of         
passionate admiration of ,salvian1  his 
goodness1 sanctity1 learning1 talents4  
,gennadius 7who describes him  as still 
living when he wrote1 about #dij7 calls 
him among other  encomiums1 the ,master 
of ,bishops2 and both mention familiarly
 this very  work1 by which he became    
notorious in his own day1 and which he  
wrote  about #dej or #dee1 during the   
invasion of the ,britons4  ,so that we  
may  trust fully that we have hold of an
 authentic contemporaneous work1        
written by a good man and true4    ,let 
me first say a few words on the fact of 
his having--as many good men  did       
then--separated from his wife in order  

to lead what was called a  religious    
life4  ,it has a direct bearing on the  
,history of those days4  ,one must not  
praise him because he 7in common with   
all ,christians of his  day7 held1 no   
doubt1 the belief that marriage was a   
degradation in  itself2 that though the 
,church might mend it somewhat by       
exalting it into  a sacrament1 still1   
the less of a bad thing the better3--a  
doctrine  against which one need not use
 7thank ,god7 in ,england1 the same     
language  which ,michelet has most      
justly used in ,france4  ,we1 being safe
 from the  poison1 can afford to talk of
 it calmly4  ,but ,i boldly assert1 that
 few  more practically immoral doctrines
 than that of the dignity of celibacy   
and the defilement of marriage 7which   
was the doctrine of all ,christian      
devotees for #ajjj years7 have1 as far  
as ,i know1 ever been preached to  man4 
,that is a strong statement4  ,it will  
be answered perhaps1 by the  patent     
fact1 that during those very #ajjj years

 the morality of ,europe  improved more1
 and more rapidly1 than it had ever done
 before4  ,i know  it2 and ,i thank ,god
 for it4  ,but ,i adhere to my          
statement1 and rejoin--,and  how much   
more rapidly have the morals of ,europe 
improved1 since that  doctrine has been 
swept away2 and woman1 and the love of  
woman1 have been  restored to their     
rightful place in the education of man8 
,but if we do not praise ,salvian1 we   
must not blame him1 or any one else  who
 meant to be an honest and good man4    
,such did not see to what their         
celibate notions would lead4  ,if they  
had1 we must believe that they  would   
have acted differently4  ,and what is   
more1 their preference for  celibacy was
 not fancy1 but common sense of a very  
lofty kind4  ,be sure  that when two    
middle-aged ,christian people consider  
it best to part1 they  have very good   
reasons for such a solemn step1 at which
 only boys or  cynics will laugh4  ,and 
the reasons1 in ,salvian's case1 and    

many more in  his day1 are patent to    
common human understanding4  ,do not    
fancy that he  had any private reason1  
such as we should very fairly assign    
now3 public  reasons1 and those1 such as
 ,god grant no living man may see1      
caused wise  men to thank ,god that they
 were not burdened with wife and child4 
,remember the years in which ,salvian   
lived--from #daf perhaps to #dij4  ,it  
was a day of the ,lord such as ,joel    
saw2 'a day of clouds and of thick      
darkness1 as the morning spread upon the
 mountains2 a great people and  strong2 
there had not been ever the like1       
neither should be any more  after it3   
the land was a garden of ,eden before   
them1 and behind them a  desolate       
wilderness3 ,yea1 and nothing should    
escape them4'  ,all things  were going  
to wrack2 the country was overrun by    
foreign invaders2  bankruptcy1          
devastation1 massacre1 and captivity    
were for perhaps #ajj  years the normal 
state of ,gaul1 and of most other       

countries besides4  ,i  have little     
doubt that ,salvian was a prudent man1  
when he thought fit to  bring no more   
human beings into the world4  ,that is  
an ugly thought--,i  trust that you feel
 how ugly1 unnatural1 desperate a       
thought it is4  ,if  you do not1 think  
over it till you do1 till it frightens  
you4  ,you will  gain a great step      
thereby in human sympathy1 and therefore
 in the  understanding of history4  ,for
 many times1 and in many places1 men    
have  said1 rightly or wrongly1 ',it is 
better to leave none behind me like     
myself4  ,the miseries of life 7and of  
what comes after this life7 are  greater
 than its joys4  ,i commit an act of    
cruelty by bringing a fresh  human being
 into the world4'  ,i wish you to look  
at that thought  steadily1 and apply it 
for yourselves4  ,it has many           
applications3 and has  therefore been a 
very common one4    ,but put to         
yourselves--it is too painful for me to 
put to you--the case  of a married      

gentleman who sees his country gradually
 devastated and  brought to utter ruin  
by foreign invaders2 and who feels--as  
poor ,salvian  felt1 that there is no   
hope or escape2 that the misery is      
merited1  deserved1 fairly earned 7for  
that is the true meaning of those       
words71  and therefore must come4       
,conceive him seeing around him estates 
destroyed1 farms burnt1 ladies and      
gentlemen1 his own friends and          
relations1 reduced in an hour to        
beggary1 plundered1 stript1 driven off  
in gangs--,i do not choose to finish the
 picture3 but ask yourselves1  would an 
honourable man wish to bring sons--much 
more daughters--into the  world to      
endure that8    ,put yourselves in      
,salvian's place4  ,forget for a few    
minutes that you are  ,englishmen1 the  
freest and bravest nation upon earth1   
strong in all that  gives real strength1
 and with a volunteer army which is now 
formidable by  numbers and              
courage--which1 did the terrible call   

come1 might be  increased ten times in  
as many months4  ,forget all that       
awhile2 and put  yourselves in          
,salvian's place1 the gentleman of      
,gaul1 while ,franks and  ,goths1       
,burgunds and ,vandals were sweeping1   
wave after wave1 over that  lovely land2
 and judge him rationally1 and talk as  
little as possible of  his superstition1
 and as much as possible of his human   
feeling1 prudence1  self-control1 and   
common sense4  ,believe me1 neither     
celibacy1 nor any  other seemingly      
unnatural superstition would have held  
its ground for a  generation if there   
had not been some practical             
considerations of common  sense to back 
them4  ,we wonder why men in old times  
went into  monasteries4  ,the simplest  
answer is1 common sense sent them       
thither4  ,they were tired of being the 
slaves of their own passions2 they were 
tired of killing1 and of running the    
chance of being killed4  ,they saw      
society1 the whole world1 going to      

wrack1 as they thought1 around them3    
what could they do better1 than see that
 their own characters1 morals1  immortal
 souls did not go to wrack with the     
rest4  ,we wonder why women1  especially
 women of rank1 went into convents2 why1
 as soon as a community  of monks was   
founded1 a community of nuns sprung up  
near them4  ,the  simplest answer is1   
common sense sent them thither4  ,the   
men1 especially  of the upper fighting  
classes1 were killed off rapidly2 the   
women were  not killed off1 and a large 
number always remained1 who1 if they had
  wished to marry1 could not4  ,what    
better for them than to seek in         
convents that peace which this world    
could not give8    ,they may have mixed 
up with that simple wish for peace the  
notion of  being handmaids of ,god1     
brides of ,christ1 and so forth4  ,be it
 so4  ,let  us instead of complaining1  
thank heaven that there was some motive1
  whether quite right or not1 to keep   
alive in them self-respect1 and the     

feeling that they were not altogether   
useless and aimless on earth4  ,look  at
 the question in this light1 and you    
will understand two things2 first1  how 
horrible the times were1 and secondly1  
why there grew up in the early  middle  
age a passion for celibacy4    ,salvian1
 in a word1 had already grown up to     
manhood and reason1 when he  saw a time 
come to his native country1 in which    
were fulfilled1 with  fearful exactness1
 the words of the prophet ,isaiah3--    
',behold1 the ,lord maketh the land     
empty1 and maketh it waste1 and         
turneth it upside down1 and scattereth  
abroad the inhabitants thereof4     ,and
 it shall be1 as with the people1 so    
with the priest2 as with the     slave1 
so with his master2 as with the maid1 so
 with her mistress2 as     with the     
seller1 so with the buyer2 as with the  
lender1 so with the     borrower2 as    
with the taker of usury1 so with the    
giver of usury to     him4  ,the land   
shall be utterly emptied1 and utterly   

spoiled2 for the     ,lord hath spoken  
this word4'    ,and ,salvian desired to 
know the reason why the ,lord had spoken
 that word1  and read his ,bible till he
 found out1 and wrote thereon his book  
,de  ,gubernatione ,dei1 of the         
government of ,god2 and a very noble    
book it is4  ,he takes his stand on the 
ground of ,scripture1 with which he     
shews an  admirable acquaintance4  ,the 
few good were expecting the end of the  
world4  ,christ was coming to put an end
 to all these horrors3 but why did  he  
delay his coming8  ,the many weak were  
crying that ,god had given up the       
world2 that ,christ had deserted his    
,church1 and delivered over ,christians 
to the cruelties of heathen and ,arian  
barbarians4  ,the many bad were  openly 
blaspheming1 throwing off in despair all
 faith1 all bonds of  religion1 all     
common decency1 and crying1 ,let us eat 
and drink1 for to-  morrow we die4      
,salvian answers them like an old       
,hebrew prophet3 ',the  ,lord's arm is  

not shortened4  ,the ,lord's eyes are   
not closed4  ,the ,lord  is still as    
near as ever4  ,he is governing the     
world as ,he has always  governed it3 by
 the everlasting moral laws1 by which   
the wages of sin are  death4  ,your     
iniquities have withheld good things    
from you4  ,you have  earned exactly    
what ,god has paid you4  ,yourselves are
 your own  punishment4  ,you have been  
wicked men1 and therefore weak men2 your
 own  vices1 and not the ,goths1 have   
been your true conquerors4'  ,as ,i said
 in  my inaugural lecture--that is after
 all the true theory of history4  ,men  
may forget it in piping times of peace4 
,god grant that in the dark hour  of    
adversity1 ,god may always raise up to  
them a prophet1 like good old  ,salvian1
 to preach to them once again the       
everlasting judgments of ,god2  and     
teach them that not faulty              
constitutions1 faulty laws1 faulty      
circumstances of any kind1 but the      
faults of their own hearts and lives1   

are the causes of their misery4    ,m4  
,guizot1 in his elaborate work on the   
,history of ,civilization in  ,france1  
has a few curious pages1 on the causes  
of the decline of civil  society in     
,roman ,gaul1 and its consequent        
weakness and ruin4  ,he tells  you how  
the ,senators or ,clarissimi did not    
constitute a true aristocracy1  able to 
lead and protect the people1 being at   
the mercy of the ,emperor1  and         
nominated and removed at his pleasure4  
,how the ,curiales1 or wealthy  middle  
class1 who were bound by law to fulfil  
all the municipal offices1  and were    
responsible for the collection of the   
revenue1 found their  responsibilities  
so great1 that they by every trick in   
their power1  avoided office4  ,how1 as 
,m4 ,guizot well puts it1 the central   
despotism of  ,rome stript the ,curiales
 of all they earned1 to pay its own     
functionaries  and soldiers2 and gave   
them the power of appointing            
magistrates1 who were  only after all   

the imperial agents of that despotism1  
for whose sake they  robbed their       
fellow-citizens4  ,how the plebs1       
comprising the small  tradesmen and free
 artizans1 were utterly unable to assert
 their own  opinions or rights4  ,how   
the slave population1 though their      
condition was  much improved1           
constituted a mere dead weight of       
helpless brutality4    ,and then he     
says1 that the ,roman ,empire was dying4
  ,very true3 but often  as he quotes   
,salvian1 he omits always to tell us    
what ,roman society was  dying of4      
,salvian says1 that it was dying of     
vice4  ,not of bad laws and  class      
arrangements1 but of bad men4  ,m4      
,guizot belongs to a school which  is   
apt to impute human happiness and       
prosperity too exclusively to the       
political constitution under which they 
may happen to live1  irrespectively of  
the morality of the people themselves4  
,from that1 the  constitutionalist      
school1 there has been of late a strong 

reaction1 the  highest exponent1 nay the
 very coryphaeus of which is ,mr4       
,carlyle4  ,he  undervalues1 even       
despises1 the influence of laws and     
constitutions3 with  him private virtue1
 from which springs public virtue1 is   
the first and  sole cause of national   
prosperity4  ,my inaugural lecture has  
told you how  deeply ,i sympathize with 
his view--taking my stand1 as ,mr4      
,carlyle does1  on the ,hebrew prophets4
    ,there is1 nevertheless1 a side of  
truth in the constitutionalist view1    
which ,mr4 ,carlyle1 ,i think1          
overlooks4  ,a bad political            
constitution does  produce poverty and  
weakness3 but only in as far as it tends
 to produce  moral evil2 to make men    
bad4  ,that it can help to do4  ,it can 
put a  premium on vice1 on falsehood1 on
 peculation1 on laziness1 on ignorance2 
and thus tempt the mass to moral        
degradation1 from the premier to the    
slave4  ,russia has been1 for two       
centuries now but too patent a proof of 

the truth of this assertion4  ,but even 
in this case1 the moral element is  the 
most important1 and just the one which  
is overlooked4  ,to have good  laws1 ,m4
 ,guizot is apt to forget1 you must     
first have good men to make  them2 and  
second1 you must have good men to carry 
them out1 after they  are made4  ,bad   
men can abuse the best of laws1 the best
 of constitutions4  ,look at the working
 of our parliaments during the reigns of
 ,william ,,iii  and ,anne1 and see how 
powerless good constitutions are1 when  
the men who  work them are false and    
venal4  ,look1 on the other hand1 at the
 ,roman  ,empire from the time of       
,vespasian to that of the ,antonines1   
and see how  well even a bad            
constitution will succeed1 when good men
 are working it4    ,bad laws1 ,i say1  
will work tolerably under good men1 if  
fitted to the  existing circumstances by
 men of the world1 as all ,roman laws   
were4  ,if  they had not been such1 how 
was the ,roman ,empire1 at least in its 

first  years1 a blessing to the safety1 
prosperity1 and wealth of every country 
it enslaved8  ,but when defective ,roman
 laws began to be worked by bad  men1   
and that for #bjj years1 then indeed    
came times of evil4  ,let us  take1     
then1 ,salvian's own account of the     
cause of ,roman decay4  ,he1 an         
eye-witness1 imputes it all to the      
morals of ,roman citizens4  ,they were1 
according to him1 of the very worst4    
,to the general dissoluteness he        
attributes1 in plain words1 the success 
of the ,frank and ,gothic invaders4     
,and the facts which he gives1 and which
 there is no reason to doubt1 are  quite
 enough to prove him in the right4      
,every great man's house1 he  says1 was 
a sink of profligacy4  ,the women slaves
 were at the mercy of  their master2 and
 the slaves copied his morals among     
themselves4  ,it is  an ugly picture3   
but common sense will tell us1 if we but
 think a little1  that such will1 and   
must1 be the case in slave-holding      

countries1  wherever ,christianity is   
not present in its purest and strongest 
form1 to  control the passions of       
arbitrary power4    ,but there was not  
merely profligacy among these ,gauls4   
,that alone would  not have wrought     
their immediate ruin4  ,morals were bad 
enough in old  ,greece and ,rome2 as    
they were afterwards among the ,turks3  
nevertheless as  long as a race is      
strong2 as long as there is prudence1   
energy1 deep  national feeling1 outraged
 virtue does not avenge itself at once  
by  general ruin4  ,but it avenges      
itself at last1 as ,salvian shews--as   
all  experience shews4  ,as in          
individuals so in nations1 unbridled    
indulgence  of the passions must        
produce1 and does produce1 frivolity1   
effeminacy1  slavery to the appetite of 
the moment1 a brutalized and reckless   
temper1  before which1 prudence1 energy1
 national feeling1 any and every feeling
  which is not centered in self1        
perishes utterly4  ,the old ,french     

noblesse  gave a proof of this law1     
which will last as a warning beacon to  
the end  of time4  ,the ,spanish        
population of ,america1 ,i am told1     
gives now a  fearful proof of this same 
terrible penalty4  ,has not ,italy      
proved it  likewise1 for centuries past8
  ,it must be so1 gentlemen4  ,for      
national  life is grounded on1 is the   
development of1 the life of the family4 
,and  where the root is corrupt1 the    
tree must be corrupt likewise4  ,it must
 be  so4  ,for ,asmodeus does not walk  
alone4  ,in his train follow impatience 
and disappointment1 suspicion and       
jealousy1 rage and cruelty1 and all the 
passions which set man's hand against   
his fellow-man4  ,it must be so4  ,for  
profligacy is selfishness2 and the      
family1 and the society1 the nation1    
exists only by casting away selfishness 
and by obeying law3--not only the       
outward law1 which says in the name of  
,god1 ',thou shalt not1' but the  inward
 law1 the ,law of ,christ1 which says1  

',thou must2' the law of self-          
sacrifice1 which selfish lust tramples  
under foot1 till there is no more       
cohesion left between man and man1 no   
more trust1 no more fellow-help1  than  
between the stags who fight for the     
hinds2 and ,god help the nation  which  
has brought itself to that6    ,no      
wonder1 therefore1 if ,salvian's        
accounts of ,gaulish profligacy be      
true1 that ,gaulish recklessness reached
 at last a pitch all but  incredible4   
,it is credible1 however shocking1 that 
as he says1 he  himself saw1 both at    
,treves1 and another great city         
7probably ,cologne1  ,colonia           
,agrippina1 or ',the ,colony' par       
excellence7 while the destruction  of   
the state was imminent1 'old men of     
rank1 decrepit ,christians1 slaves  to  
gluttony and lust1 rabid with clamour1  
furious with bacchanalian  orgies4'  ,it
 is credible1 however shocking1 that all
 through ,gaul the  captivity was       
'foreseen1 yet never dreaded4'  ,and 'so

 when the barbarians  had encamped      
almost in sight1 there was no terror    
among the people1 no  care of the       
cities4  ,all was possest by            
carelessness and sloth1 gluttony1       
drunkenness1 sleep1 according to that   
which the prophet saith3 ,a sleep  from 
the ,lord had come over them4'  ,it is  
credible1 however shocking1  that though
 ,treves was four times taken by the    
barbarians1 it remained  just as        
reckless as ever2 and that--,i quote    
,salvian still--when the  population was
 half destroyed by fire and sword1 the  
poor dying of  famine1 corpses of men   
and women lying about the streets       
breeding  pestilence1 while the dogs    
devoured them1 the few nobles who were  
left  comforted themselves by sending to
 the ,emperor to beg for ,circensian    
games4    ,those ,circensian games1 and 
indeed all the public spectacles1 are   
fresh  proofs of what ,i said just now2 
that if a bad people earn bad           
government1  still a bad government     

makes a bad people4    ,they were the   
most extraordinary instance which the   
world ever saw1 of a  government setting
 to work at a vast expense to debauch   
its subjects4  ,whether the ,roman      
rulers set that purpose consciously     
before them1 one  dare not affirm4      
,their notion probably was 7for they    
were as worldly  wise as they were      
unprincipled7 that the more frivolous   
and sensual the  people were1 the more  
quietly they would submit to slavery2   
and the best  way to keep them frivolous
 and sensual1 the ,romans knew full     
well2 so  well1 that after the ,empire  
became ,christian1 and many heathen     
matters  were done away with1 they did  
not find it safe to do away with the    
public  spectacles4  ,the temples of the
 ,gods might go3 but not the pantomimes4
    ,in one respect1 indeed1 these      
government spectacles became worse1 not 
better1 under ,christianity4  ,they were
 less cruel1 no doubt3 but also  they   
were less beautiful4  ,the old custom of

 exhibiting representations  of the old 
,greek myths1 which had something of    
grace and poetry about  them1 and would 
carry back the spectators' thoughts to  
the nobler and  purer heroic ages1      
disappeared before ,christianity2 but   
the old vice did  not4  ,that was left2 
and no longer ennobled by the old heroic
 myths round  which it had clustered    
itself1 was simply of the silliest and  
most vulgar  kind4  ,we know in detail  
the abominations1 as shameless and      
ridiculous1  which went on a century    
after ,salvian1 in the theatres of      
,constantinople1  under the eyes of the 
most ,christian ,emperor ,justinian1 and
 which won for  that most infamous      
woman1 ,theodora1 a share in his        
imperial crown1 and  the right to       
dictate doctrine to the ,christian      
,bishops of the ,east1 and  to condemn  
the soul of ,origen to everlasting      
damnation1 for having  exprest hopes of 
the final pardon of sinners4  ,we can   
well believe1  therefore1 ,salvian's    

complaints of the wickedness of those   
pantomimes of  which he says1 that      
'honeste non possunt vel accusari2' he  
cannot even  accuse them without saying 
what he is ashamed to say2 ,i believe   
also his  assertion1 that they would not
 let people be modest1 even if they     
wished2  that they inflamed the         
passions1 and debauched the imaginations
 of young  and old1 man and woman1      
and--but ,i am not here to argue that   
sin is sin1  or that the population of  
,london would be the worse if the most  
shameless  persons among them were put  
by the ,government in possession of     
,drury ,lane  and ,covent ,garden2 and  
that1 and nothing less than that1 did   
the ,roman  pantomimes mean1 from the   
days of ,juvenal till those of the most 
holy and  orthodox ,empress ,theodora4  
',who1 knowing the judgment of ,god1    
that they who do such things are  worthy
 of death1 not only do the same1 but    
have pleasure in them that do  them4'   
,now in contrast to all these           

abominations1 old ,salvian sets1 boldly 
and  honestly1 the superior morality of 
the barbarians4  ,that1 he says1 is the 
cause of their strength and our         
weakness4  ,we1 professing orthodoxy1   
are  profligate hypocrites4  ,they1 half
 heathens1 half ,arians1 are honester   
men1 purer men than we4  ,there is no   
use1 he says1 in despising the ,goths   
as heretics1 while they are better men  
than we4  ,they are better  ,christians 
than the ,romans1 because they are      
better men4  ,they pray to  ,god for    
success1 and trust in him1 and we       
presumptuously trust in  ourselves4  ,we
 swear by ,christ3 but what do we do but
 blaspheme him1 when  we swear ',per    
,christum tollo eum1' ',i will make away
 with him1' ',per  ,christum hunc       
jugulo1' ',i will cut his throat1' and  
then believe  ourselves bound to commit 
the murder which we have vowed8 4 4 4   
',the  ,saxons1' he says1 'are fierce1  
the ,franks faithless1 the ,gepidae     
inhuman1  the ,huns shameless4  ,but is 

the ,frank's perfidy as blameable as    
ours8  ,is  the ,alman's drunkenness1 or
 the ,alan's rapacity1 as damnable as a 
,christian's8  ,if a ,hun or a ,gepid   
deceives you1 what wonder8  ,he is      
utterly ignorant that there is any sin  
in falsehood4  ,but what of the         
,christian who does the same8  ,the     
,barbarians1' he says1 'are better men  
than the ,christians4  ,the ,goths1' he 
says1 'are perfidious1 but chaste4  ,the
 ,alans unchaste1 but less perfidious4  
,the ,franks are liars1 but  hospitable2
 the ,saxons ferociously cruel1 but     
venerable for their  chastity4  ,the    
,visigoths who conquered ,spain1' he    
says1 'were the most  ignavi 7heavy1 ,i 
presume he means1 and loutish7 of all   
the barbarians3  but they were chaste1  
and therefore they conquered4'    ,in   
,africa1 if we are to believe ,salvian1 
things stood even worse1 at the  time of
 the invasion of the ,vandals4  ,in his 
violent invectives against  the         
,africans1 however1 allowance must be   

made4  ,salvian was a great lover  of   
monks2 and the ,africans used1 he says1 
to detest them1 and mob them  wherever  
they appeared2 for which offence1 of    
course1 he can find no  words too       
strong4  ,st4 ,augustine1 however1      
himself a countryman of  theirs1 who    
died1 happily1 just before the storm    
burst on that hapless  land1 speaks     
bitterly of their exceeding             
profligacy--of which he himself  in his 
wild youth1 had had but too sad         
experience4  ,salvian's assertion  is1  
that the ,africans were the most        
profligate of all the ,romans2 and  that
 while each barbarian tribe had 7as we  
have just seen7 some good in  them1 the 
,africans had none4    ,but there were  
noble souls left among them1 lights     
which shone all the  more brightly in   
the surrounding darkness4  ,in the pages
 of ,victor  ,vitensis1 which tell the  
sad story of the persecution of the     
,african  ,catholics by the ,arian      
,vandals1 you will find many a moving   

tale which  shews that ,god had his own1
 even among those degraded              
,carthaginians4    ,the causes of the   
,arian hatred to the ,catholics is very 
obscure4  ,you  will find all that is   
known in ,dean ,milman's ,history of    
,latin  ,christianity4  ,a simple       
explanation may be found in the fact    
that the  ,catholics considered the     
,arians1 and did not conceal their      
opinion1 as  all literally and actually 
doomed to the torments of everlasting   
fire2  and that1 as ,gibbon puts it1    
',the heroes of the north1 who had      
submitted  with some reluctance1 to     
believe that all their ancestors were in
 hell1  were astonished and exasperated 
to learn1 that they themselves had only 
changed the mode of their eternal       
condemnation4'  ,the ,teutons were      
7,salvian himself confesses it7 trying  
to serve ,god devoutly1 in chastity1    
sobriety1 and honesty1 according to     
their light4  ,and they were told by    
the profligates of ,africa1 that this   

and no less1 was their doom4  ,it is    
not to be wondered at1 again1 if they   
mistook the ,catholic creed for the     
cause of ,catholic immorality4  ,that   
may account for the ,vandal custom of   
re-baptizing the ,catholics4  ,it       
certainly accounts for the fact 7if     
after  all it be a fact7 which ,victor  
states1 that they tortured the nuns to  
extort from them shameful confessions   
against the priests4  ,but the  history 
of the ,african persecution is the      
history of all persecutions1 as  confest
 again and again by the old fathers1 as 
proved by the analogies of  later times4
  ,the sins of the ,church draw down    
punishment1 by making her  enemies      
confound her doctrine and her practice4 
,but in return1 the  punishment of the  
,church purifies her1 and brings out her
 nobleness  afresh1 as the snake casts  
his skin in pain1 and comes out young   
and fair  once more2 and in every dark  
hour of the ,church1 there flashes out  
some  bright form of human heroism1 to  

be a beacon and a comfort to all future 
time4  ,victor1 for instance1 tells the 
story of ,dionysia1 the beautiful  widow
 whom the ,vandals tried to torture into
 denying the ,divinity of our           
,lord4--,how when they saw that she was 
bolder and fairer than all the  other   
matrons1 they seized her1 and went to   
strip her3 and she cried to  them1      
',qualiter libet occidite3 verecunda    
tamen membra nolite nudare1'  but in    
vain4  ,they hung her up by the hands1  
and scourged her till  streams of blood 
ran down every limb4  ,her only son1 a  
delicate boy1  stood by trembling1      
knowing that his turn would come next2  
and she saw  it1 and called to him in   
the midst of her shame and agony4  ',he 
had been  baptized into the name of the 
,blessed ,trinity2 let him die in that  
name1  and not lose the wedding-garment4
  ,let him fear the pain that never     
ends1  and cling to the life that       
endures for ever4'  ,the boy took heart1
 and  when his turn came1 died under the

 torture2 and ,dionysia took up the     
little corpse1 and buried it in her own 
house2 and worshipped upon her  boy's   
grave to her dying day4    ,yes4  ,god  
had his own left1 even among those      
fallen ,africans of ,carthage4    ,but  
neither there1 nor in ,spain1 could the 
,vandals cure the evil4  ',now-a-       
days1' says ,salvian1 'there are no     
profligates among the ,goths1 save      
,romans2 none among the ,vandals1 save  
,romans4  ,blush1 ,roman people1        
everywhere1 blush for your morals4      
,there is hardly a city free from dens  
of sin1 and none at all from impurity1  
save those which the barbarians  have   
begun to occupy4  ,and do we wonder if  
we are surpassed in power1 by  an enemy 
who surpasses us in decency8  ,it is not
 the natural strength of  their bodies  
which makes them conquer us4  ,we have  
been conquered only by  the vices of our
 own morals4'    ,yes4  ,salvian was    
right4  ,those last words were no mere  
outburst of  national vanity1 content to

 confess every sin1 save that of being  
cowards4  ,he was right4  ,it was not   
the mere muscle of the ,teuton which    
enabled him to crush the decrepit and   
debauched slave-nations1 ,gaul and      
,briton1 ,iberian and ,african1 as the  
ox crushes the frogs of the marsh4  ,the
 'sera juvenum ,venus1 ideoque          
inexhausta pubertas1' had given him more
  than his lofty stature1 and his mighty
 limbs4  ,had he had nought but  them1  
he might have remained to the end a     
blind ,samson1 grinding among  the      
slaves in ,caesar's mill1 butchered to  
make a ,roman holiday4  ,but it  had    
given him more1 that purity of his2 it  
had given him1 as it may give  you1     
gentlemen1 a calm and steady brain1 and 
a free and loyal heart2 the  energy     
which springs from health2 the          
self-respect which comes from self-     
restraint2 and the spirit which shrinks 
from neither ,god nor man1 and  feels it
 light to die for wife and child1 for   
people1 and for ,queen4                 

,,preface ,,to ,,lecture ,,iii4--,,on   
,,dr4 ,,latham',s ',,germania4'      ,if
 ,i have followed in these lectures the 
better known and more widely  received  
etymology of the name ,goth1 ,i have    
done so out of no disrespect  to ,dr4   
,latham2 but simply because his theory  
seems to me adhuc sub  judice4  ,it is  
this1 as far as ,i understand it4  ,that
 ',goth' was not the  aboriginal name of
 the race4  ,that they were probably not
 so called till  they came into the land
 of the ,getae1 about the mouths of the 
,danube4  ,that the ,teutonic name for  
the ,ostrogoths was ,grutungs1 and that 
of the  ,visigoths 7which he does not   
consider to mean ,west-,goths7          
,thervings1  ,thuringer4  ,that on      
reaching the land of the ,getae they    
took their name2  'just as the ,kentings
 of ,anglo-,saxon ,england took name    
from the ,keltic  country of ,kent2' and
 that the names ,goth1 ,gothones1       
,gothini were  originally given to      
,lithuanians by their ,sclavonic        

neighbours4  ,i merely  state the       
theory1 and leave it for the judgment of
 others4    ,the principal points which 
,dr4 ,latham considers himself to have  
established1 are--    ,that the area and
 population of the ,teutonic tribes have
 been1 on the  authority of ,tacitus1   
much overrated2 many tribes hitherto    
supposed to be  ,teutonic being really  
,sclavonic1 c4    ,this need not shock  
our pride1 if proved--as it seems to me 
to be4  ,the  nations who have          
influenced the world's destiny have not 
been great1 in  the modern ,american    
sense of 'big2' but great in heart1 as  
our  forefathers were4  ,the ,greeks    
were but a handful at ,salamis2 so were 
the  ,romans of the ,republic2 so were  
the ,spaniards of ,america2 so1         
probably1  were the ,aztecs and ,incas  
whom they overthrew2 and surely our own 
conquerors and re-conquerers of         
,hindostan have shewn enough that it is 
not numbers1 but soul1 which gives a    
race the power to rule4    ,neither need

 we object to ,dr4 ,latham's opinion1   
that more than one of the  tribes which 
took part in the destruction of the     
,empire were not  aboriginal ,germans1  
but ,sclavonians ,germanized1 and under 
,german leaders4  ,it may be so4  ,the  
custom of enslaving captives would      
render pure  ,teutonic blood among the  
lower classes of a tribe the exception  
and not  the rule2 while the custom of  
chiefs choosing the 'thegns1' 'gesitha1'
 or  'comites1' who lived and died as   
their companions-in-arms1 from among the
  most valiant of the unfree1 would tend
 to produce a mixed blood in the  upper 
classes also1 and gradually assimilate  
the whole mass to the  manners and laws 
of their ,teutonic lords4  ,only by some
 such actual  superiority of the upper  
classes to the lower can ,i explain the 
deep  respect for rank and blood1 which 
distinguishes1 and will perhaps always  
distinguish1 the ,teutonic peoples4     
,had there even been anything like a    
primaeval equality among our race1 a    

hereditary aristocracy could never  have
 arisen1 or if arising for a while1     
never could have remained as a  fact    
which all believed in1 from the lowest  
to the highest4  ,just1 or  unjust1 the 
institution represented1 ,i verily      
believe1 an ethnological  fact4  ,the   
golden-haired hero said to his          
brown-haired bondsman1 ',i am a         
gentleman1 who have a gens1 a stamm1 a  
pedigree1 and know from whom ,i  am     
sprung4  ,i am a ,garding1 an ,amalung1 
a ,scylding1 an ,osing1 or what  not4   
,i am a son of the gods4  ,the blood of 
the ,asas is in my veins4  ,do  you not 
see it8  ,am ,i not wiser1 stronger1    
more virtuous1 more beautiful  than you8
  ,you must obey me1 and be my man1 and 
follow me to the death4  ,then1 if you  
prove a worthy thane1 ,i will give you  
horse1 weapons1  bracelets1 lands2 and  
marry you1 it may be1 to my daughter or 
my niece4  ,and if not1 you must remain 
a son of the earth1 grubbing in the dust
 of  which you were made4'  ,and the    

bondsman believed him2 and became his   
lord's man1 and followed him to the     
death2 and was thereby not degraded1    
but raised out of selfish savagery and  
brute independence into loyalty1        
usefulness1 and self-respect4  ,as a    
fact1 that is the method by which the   
thing was done3 done2--very ill indeed1 
as most human things are done2  but a   
method inevitable--and possibly right2  
till 7as in ,england now7 the  lower    
classes became ethnologically identical 
with the upper1 and  equality became    
possible in law1 simply because it      
existed in fact4    ,but the part of    
,dr4 ,latham's ',germania' to which ,i  
am bound to call most  attention1       
because ,i have not followed it1 is that
 interesting part of  the ,prolegomena1 
in which he combats the generally       
received theory1 that1  between the time
 of ,tacitus and that of ,charlemagne1  
vast masses of  ,germans had migrated   
southward from between the ,elbe and the
 ,vistula2 and  that they had been      

replaced by the ,sclavonians who        
certainly were there  in ,charlemagne's 
days4    ,dr4 ,latham argues against    
this theory with a great variety of     
facts and  reasons4  ,but has he not    
overstated his case on some points8     
,need the migrations necessary for this 
theory have been of 'unparalleled       
magnitude and rapidity'8    ,as for the 
'unparalleled completeness' on which he 
lays much stress1 from  the fact that no
 remnants of ,teutonic population are   
found in the  countries evacuated3      
,is it the fact that 'history only tells
 us of ,german armies having  advanced  
south'8  ,do we not find four famous    
cases--the irruption of the  ,cimbri and
 ,teutons into ,italy2 the passage of   
the ,danube by the  ,visigoths2 and the 
invasions of ,italy first by the        
,ostrogoths1 then by  the ,lombards--in 
which the nations came with men1 women1 
and children1  horses1 cattle1 and dogs1
 bag and baggage8  ,may not this have   
been the  custom of the race1 with its  

strong feeling for the family tie2 and  
may  not this account for no traces of  
them being left behind8    ,does not    
,dr4 ,latham's theory proceed too much  
on an assumption that the  ,sclavonians 
dispossest the ,teutons by force8  ,and 
is not this assumption  his ground for  
objecting that the movement was effected
 improbably 'by  that division of the   
,european population 7the ,sclavonic and
 ,lithuanian7  which has1 within the    
historic period1 receded before the     
,germanic'8    ,are these migrations1   
though 'unrepresented in any history'   
7i4e4  contemporaneous71 really         
'unrepresented in any tradition'8  ,do  
not the  traditions of ,jornandes and   
,paulus ,diaconus1 that the ,goths and  
the  ,lombards came from ,scandinavia1  
represent this very fact8--and are they 
to be set aside as naught8  ,surely not4
  ,myths of this kind generally  embody 
a nucleus of truth1 and must be regarded
 with respect2 for they  often1 after   
all arguments about them are spent1 are 

found to contain the  very pith of the  
matter4    ,are the 'phenomena of       
replacement and substitution' so very   
strange--,i  will not say upon the      
popular theory1 but at least on one     
half-way  between it and ,dr4 ,latham's8
  ,namely--    ,that the ,teutonic races
 came originally1 as some of them say   
they did1  from ,scandinavia1 ,denmark1 
the ,south ,baltic1 c4    ,that they    
forced their way down1 wave after wave1 
on what would have been  the line of    
least resistance--the ,marches between  
the ,gauls1 ,romanized or  otherwise1   
and the ,sclavonians4  ,and that the    
,alps and the solid front of  the ,roman
 ,empire turned them to the ,east1 till 
their vanguard found  itself on the     
,danube4    ,this would agree with ,dr4 
,latham's most valuable hint1 that      
,markmen1 ',men  of the ,marches1' was  
perhaps the name of many ,german tribes 
successively4    ,that they fought1 as  
they went1 with the ,sclavonian and     
other tribes 7as  their traditions seem 

to report71 and rolled them back to the 
eastward2  and that as each ,teutonic   
tribe past down the line1 the           
,sclavonians  rolled back again1 till   
the last column was past4    ,that the  
,teutons also carried down with them1 as
 slaves or allies1 a  portion of this   
old ,sclavonic population 7to which ,dr4
 ,latham will  perhaps agree72 and that 
this fact caused a hiatus1 which was    
gradually  filled by tribes who after   
all were little better than nomad       
hunters1 and  would occupy 7quite       
nominally7 a very large tract with a    
small  population4    ,would not this   
theory agree at once tolerably with the 
old traditions and  with ,dr4 ,latham's 
new facts8    ,the question still       
remains--which is the question of all4  
,what put these  ,germanic peoples on   
going ,south8  ,were there no causes    
sufficient to  excite so desperate a    
resolve8    7#a7  ,did they all go8  ,is
 not ,paulus ,diaconus' story that      
one-third of  the ,lombards was to      

emigrate by lot1 and two-thirds remain  
at home1 a  rough type of what generally
 happened--what happens now in our      
modern  emigrations8  ,was not the      
surplus population driven off by famine 
toward  warmer and more hopeful climes8 
7#b7  ,are not the ,teutonic populations
 of ,england1 ,north ,germany1 and the  
,baltic1 the descendants1 much          
intermixed1 and with dialects much      
changed1  of the portions which were    
left behind8  ,this is the opinion1 ,i  
believe1  of several great ethnologists4
  ,is it not true8  ,if philological    
objections are raised to this1 ,i ask   
7but in all humility71 ,did not these   
southward migrations commence long      
before the time of ,tacitus8  ,if so1   
may they not have commenced before the  
different ,teutonic dialects were  as   
distinct as they were in the historic   
period8  ,and are we to suppose  that   
the dialects did not alter during the   
long journeyings through many  nations8 
,is it possible that the ,thervings and 

,grutungs could have  retained the same 
tongue on the ,danube1 as their         
forefathers spoke in  their native land8
  ,would not the ,moeso-,gothic of      
,ulfilas have been all  but             
unintelligible to the ,goth who1 upon   
the old theory1 remained in  ,gothland  
of ,sweden8    7#c7  ,but were there not
 more causes than mere want1 which sent 
them  south8  ,had the peculiar         
restlessness of the race nothing to do  
with it8  ,a restlessness not nomadic1  
but migratory3 arising not from         
carelessness  of land and home1 but from
 the longing to found a home in a new   
land1  like the restlessness of us1     
their children8  ,as soon as we meet    
them in  historic times1 they are always
 moving1 migrating1 invading4  ,were    
they  not doing the same in pre-historic
 times1 by fits and starts1 no doubt    
with periods of excitement1 periods of  
collapse and rest8  ,when we  recollect 
the invasion of the ,normans2 the       
wholesale eastward migration  of the    

,crusaders1 men1 women1 and children2   
and the later colonization by  ,teutonic
 peoples1 of every quarter of the globe1
 is there anything  wonderful in the    
belief that similar migratory manias may
 have seized the  old tribes2 that the  
spirit of ,woden1 'the mover1' may have 
moved them1  and forced them to go      
ahead1 as now8  ,doubtless the theory is
 strange4  ,but the ,teutons were and   
are a strange people2 so strange1 that  
they have  conquered--one may almost say
 that they are--all nations which are   
alive  upon the globe2 and we may       
therefore expect them to have done      
strange  things even in their infancy4  
,the ,romans saw them conquer the       
empire2 and said1 the good men among    
them1 that it was on account of their   
superior virtue4  ,but beside the       
virtue which made them succeed1 there   
must have been the adventurousness      
which made them attempt4  ,they were a  
people fond of 'avanturen1' like  their 
descendants2 and they went out to seek  

them2 and found enough and  to spare4   
7#d7  ,but more1 had they never heard of
 ,rome8  ,surely they had1 and at a     
very early period of the empire4  ,we   
are apt to forget1 that for every       
discovery of the ,germans by the        
,romans1 there was a similar discovery  
of  the ,romans by the ,germans1 and one
 which would tell powerfully on their   
childish imagination4  ,did not one     
single ,kemper or ,teuton return from   
,marius' slaughter1 to spread among the 
tribes 7niddering though he may  have   
been called for coming back alive7 the  
fair land which they had  found1 fit for
 the gods of ,valhalla2 the land of     
sunshine1 fruits and  wine1 wherein his 
brothers' and sisters' bones were       
bleaching unavenged8  ,did no gay ,gaul 
of the ,legion of the ,lark1 boast in a 
frontier wine-house  to a ,german       
trapper1 who came in to sell his peltry1
 how he himself was a  gentleman now1   
and a civilized man1 and a ,roman2 and  
how he had followed  ,julius ,caesar1   

the king of men1 over the ,rubicon1 and 
on to a city of the  like of which man  
never dreamed1 wherein was room for all 
the gods of  heaven8  ,did no captive   
tribune of ,varus' legions1 led with    
horrid shouts  round ,thor's altar in   
the ,teutoburger ,wald1 ere his corpse  
was hung among  the horses and goats on 
the primaeval oaks1 turn to bay like a  
,roman1 and  tell his wild captors of   
the ,eternal ,city1 and of the might of 
that ,caesar  who would avenge every    
hair upon his head with a ,german life2 
and receive  for answer a shout of      
laughter1 and the cry--',you have come  
to us3 and  some day we will go to you8'
  ,did no commissary1 bargaining with a 
,german  for cattle to be sent over the 
frontier by such a day of the week1 and 
teaching him to mistranslate into those 
names of ,thor1 ,woden1 ,freya1 and  so 
forth1 which they now carry1 the        
,jewish-,assyrian-,roman days of the    
se'nnight1 amuse the simple forester by 
telling him how the streets of  ,rome   

were paved with gold1 and no one had    
anything to do there but to eat  and    
bathe at the public expense1 and to go  
to the theatre1 and see #bj1jjj         
gladiators fight at once8  ,did no      
,german ',regulus1' alderman1 or king1  
enter ,rome on an embassy1 and come back
 with uplifted eyes and hands1          
declaring that he had seen things       
unspeakable--a 'very fine plunder1' as  
,blucher said of ,london2 and that if it
 were not for the walls1 they might  get
 it all2 for not only the ladies1 but   
the noblemen1 went about in  litters of 
silver and gold1 and wore gauze dresses1
 the shameless  wretches1 through which 
you might see every limb1 so that as for
 killing  them1 there was no more fear  
of them than of a flock of sheep3 but   
that  he did not see as well as he could
 have wished how to enter the great     
city1 for he was more or less the worse 
for liquor the whole time1 with         
wondrous stuff which they called wine8  
,or did no captive1 escaped by  miracle 

from the butcheries of the amphitheatre1
 return to tell his  countrymen how all 
the rest had died like ,german men2 and 
call on them to  rise and avenge their  
brothers' blood8  ,yes1 surely the      
,teutons knew  well1 even in the time of
 ,tacitus1 of the 'micklegard1' the     
great city  and all its glory4  ,every  
fresh tribe who passed along the        
frontier of  ,gaul or of ,noricum would 
hear more and more of it1 see more and  
more men  who had actually been there4  
,if the glory of the city exercised on  
its  own inhabitants an intoxicating    
influence1 as of a place omnipotent1    
superhuman1 divine--it would exercise   
7exaggerated as it would be7 a  still   
stronger influence on the barbarians    
outside3 and what wonder if  they       
pressed southwards at first in the hope 
of taking the mighty city2  and         
afterwards1 as her real strength became 
more known1 of at least  seizing some of
 those colonial cities1 which were as   
superhuman in their  eyes as ,rome      

itself would have been8  ,in the        
crusades1 the children1  whenever they  
came to a great town1 asked their       
parents if that was not  ,jerusalem4    
,and so1 it may be1 many a gallant young
 ,teuton1 on entering  for the first    
time such a city as ,cologne1 ,lyons1 or
 ,vienna1 whispered  half trembling to  
his lord--',surely this must be ,rome4' 
,some such arguments as these might     
surely be brought in favour of a        
greater migration than ,dr4 ,latham is  
inclined to allow3 but ,i must leave    
the question for men of deeper research 
and wider learning1 than ,i  possess4   
,,lecture ,,iii4--,,the ,,human ,,deluge
      ',i have taken in hand1' said ,sir
 ,francis ,drake once to the crew of the
  immortal ,pelican1 'that which ,i know
 not how to accomplish4  ,yea1 it hath  
even bereaved me of my wits to think of 
it4'    ,and so ,i must say on the      
subject of this lecture4  ,i wish to    
give you  some notion of the history of 
,italy for nearly one hundred years2 say

  from #djj to #ejj4  ,but it is very   
difficult4  ,how can a man draw a       
picture  of that which has no shape2 or 
tell the order of absolute disorder8    
,it  is all a horrible 'fourmillement   
des nations1' like the working of an    
ant-  heap2 like the insects devouring  
each other in a drop of water4  ,teuton 
tribes1 ,sclavonic tribes1 ,tartar      
tribes1 ,roman generals1 empresses1     
bishops1 courtiers1 adventurers1 appear 
for a moment out of the crowd1  dim     
phantoms--nothing more1 most of         
them--with a name appended1 and then    
vanish1 proving their humanity only by  
leaving behind them one more stain  of  
blood4    ,and what became of the masses
 all the while8 of the men1 slaves the  
greater part of them1 if not all1 who   
tilled the soil1 and ground the         
corn--for man must have eaten1 then as  
now8  ,we have no hint4  ,one trusts    
that ,god had mercy on them1 if not in  
this world1 still in the world to  come4
  ,man1 at least1 had none4    ,taking  

one's stand at ,rome1 and looking toward
 the north1 what does one  see for      
nearly one hundred years8  ,wave after  
wave rising out of the  north1 the land 
of night1 and wonder1 and the terrible  
unknown2 visible  only as the light of  
,roman civilization strikes their       
crests1 and they  dash against the      
,alps1 and roll over through the        
mountain passes1 into  the fertile      
plains below4  ,then at last they are   
seen but too well2 and  you discover    
that the waves are living men1 women1   
and children1 horses1  dogs1 and cattle1
 all rushing headlong into that great   
whirlpool of  ,italy3 and yet the gulf  
is never full4  ,the earth drinks up the
 blood2  the bones decay into the       
fruitful soil2 the very names and       
memories of  whole tribes are washed    
away4  ,and the result of an immigration
 which may  be counted by hundreds of   
thousands is this--that all the land is 
waste4    ,the best authorities which ,i
 can give you 7though you will find many

 more  in ,gibbon7 are--for the main    
story1 ,jornandes1 ,de ,rebus ,geticis4 
,himself  a ,goth1 he wrote the history 
of his race1 and that of ,attila and his
  ,huns1 in good rugged ,latin1 not     
without force and sense4    ,then       
,claudian1 the poet1 a bombastic        
panegyrist of contemporary ,roman       
scoundrels2 but full of curious facts1  
if one could only depend on them4       
,then the earlier books of ,procopius   
,de ,bello ,gothico1 and the ,chronicle 
of ,zosimus4    ,salvian1 ,ennodius and 
,sidonius ,apollinaris1 as ,christians1 
will give you  curious details1         
especially as to ,south ,france and     
,north ,italy2 while  many particulars  
of the first sack of ,rome1 with        
comments thereon which  express the     
highest intellects of that day1 you will
 find in ,st4 ,jerome's  ,letters1 and  
,st4 ,augustine's ,city of ,god4    ,but
 if you want these dreadful times       
explained to you1 ,i do not think  you  
can do better than to take your ,bibles1

 and to read the ,revelations  of ,st4  
,john the ,apostle4  ,i shall quote     
them1 more than once1 in this  lecture4 
,i cannot help quoting them4  ,the words
 come naturally to my  lips1 as fitter  
to the facts than any words of my own4  
,i do not come here to interpret the    
,book of ,revelations4  ,i do not       
understand that book4  ,but ,i do say   
plainly1 though ,i cannot interpret  the
 book1 that the book has interpreted    
those times to me4  ,its awful          
metaphors give me more living and       
accurate pictures of what went on than  
any that ,gibbon's faithful details can 
give4    ,you may see1 if you have      
spiritual eyes wherewith to see1 the    
,dragon1 the  serpent1 symbol of        
political craft and the devilish wisdom 
of the ,roman1  giving authority to the 
,beast1 the symbol of brute power2 to   
mongrel  ,a,etiuses and ,bonifaces1     
barbarian ,stilichos1 ,ricimers and     
,aspars1 and a  host of similar         
adventurers1 whose only strength was    

force4    ,you may see the world        
wondering after the beast1 and          
worshipping brute  force1 as the only   
thing left to believe in4    ,you may   
see the nations of the world gnawing    
their tongues for pain1 and  blaspheming
 ,god1 but not repenting of their deeds4
    ,you may see the faith and patience 
of the saints--men like ,augustine1     
,salvian1 ,epiphanius1 ,severinus1      
,deogratias of ,carthage1 and a host    
more1  no doubt1 whose names the world  
will never hear--the salt of the earth1 
which kept it all from rotting4    ,you 
may see ,babylon the great fallen1 and  
all the kings and merchants of  the     
earth bewailing her afar off1 and       
watching the smoke of her torment4      
,you may see1 as ,st4 ,john warns you1  
that--after her fall1 mind--if men      
would go on worshipping the beast1 and  
much more his image--the phantom  and   
shadow of brute force1 after the reality
 had passed away--they should  drink of 
the wine of the wrath of ,god1 and be   

tormented for ever4  ,for  you may see  
how those degenerate ,romans did go on  
worshipping the shadow  of brute force1 
and how they were tormented for ever2   
and had no rest day  or night1 because  
they worshipped the ,beast and his      
image4    ,you may see all the fowl of  
the heavens flocking together to the    
feast of  the great ,god1 to eat the    
flesh of kings and captains1 horse and  
rider1  bond and free4--,all            
carrion-birds1 human as well as         
brute--,all greedy  villains and        
adventurers1 the scoundreldom of the    
whole world1 flocking  in to get their  
share of the carcass of the dying       
empire2 as the vulture  and the raven   
flock in to the carrion when the royal  
eagles have gorged  their fill4    ,and 
lastly1 you may see1 if ,god give you   
grace1 ,one who is faithful and  true1  
with a name which no man knew1 save     
,himself1 making war in  righteousness  
against all evil2 bringing order out of 
disorder1 hope out  of despair1 fresh   

health and life out of old disease and  
death2 executing  just judgment among   
all the nations of the earth2 and       
sending down from  heaven the city of   
,god1 in the light of which the nations 
of those who  are saved should walk1 and
 the kings of the earth should bring    
their  power and their glory into it2   
with the tree of life in the midst of   
it1  whose leaves should be for the     
healing of the nations4    ,again1 ,i   
say1 ,i am not here to interpret the    
,book of ,revelations2 but  this ,i say1
 that that book interprets those times  
to me4    ,leaving1 for the present at  
least1 to better historians than myself 
the  general subject of the ,teutonic   
immigrations2 the conquest of ,north    
,gaul  by the ,franks1 of ,britain by   
the ,saxons and ,angles1 of ,burgundy by
 the  ,burgundians1 of ,africa by the   
,vandals1 ,i shall speak rather of those
  ,teutonic tribes which actually       
entered and conquered ,italy2 and first1
 of  course1 of the ,goths4  ,especially

 interesting to us ,english should their
  fortunes be1 for they are said to be  
very near of kin to us2 at least to     
those ,jutes who conquered ,kent4  ,as  
,goths1 ,geats1 ,getae1 ,juts1          
antiquarians find them in early and     
altogether mythic times1 in the         
,scandinavian peninsula1 and the isles  
and mainland of ,denmark4    ,their     
name1 it is said1 is the same as one    
name for the ,supreme ,being4  ,goth1   
,guth1 ,yuth1 signifies war4  ',god' is 
the highest warrior1 the ,lord  of      
hosts1 and the progenitor of the race1  
whether as an ',eponym hero' or  as the 
supreme ,deity4  ,physical force was    
their rude notion of ,divine  power1 and
 ,tiu1 ,tiv1 or ,tyr1 in like manner1   
who was originally the god  of the clear
 sky1 the ,zeus or ,jove of the ,greeks 
and ,romans1 became by  virtue of his   
warlike character1 identical with the   
,roman ,mars1 till the  dies ,martis of 
the ,roman week became the ,german      
,tuesday4    ,working their way down    

from ,gothland and ,jutland1 we know not
 why nor  when1 thrusting aside the     
cognate ,burgunds1 and the ,sclavonic   
tribes whom  they met on the road1 they 
had spread themselves1 in the third     
century1  over the whole ,south of      
,russia1 and westward over the ,danubian
 ,provinces1  and ,hungary4  ,the       
,ostrogoths 7,east-goths7 lay from the  
,volga to the  ,borysthenes1 the        
,visigoths 7,west-goths87 from the      
,borysthenes to the  ,theiss4  ,behind  
them lay the ,gepidae1 a ,german tribe1 
who had come south-  eastward with them1
 and whose name is said to signify the  
men who had  'bided' 7remained7 behind  
the rest4    ,what manner of men they   
were it is hard to say1 so few details  
are left  to us4  ,but we may conceive  
them as a tall1 fair-haired people1     
clothed  in shirts and smocks of        
embroidered linen1 and gaiters          
cross-strapped  with hide2 their arms   
and necks encircled with gold and silver
 rings2 the  warriors1 at least of the  

upper class1 well horsed1 and armed with
 lance  and heavy sword1 with           
chain-mail1 and helmets surmounted with 
plumes1  horns1 towers1 dragons1 boars1 
and the other strange devices which are 
still seen on the crests of ,german     
nobles4  ,this much we can guess2 for   
in this way their ancestors1 or at least
 relations1 the ,war-,geats1 appear     
clothed in the grand old song of        
,beowulf4  ,their land must have been   
tilled principally by slaves1 usually   
captives taken in war3 but the  noble   
mystery of the forge1 where arms and    
ornaments were made1 was an  honourable 
craft for men of rank2 and their ladies1
 as in the middle age1  prided          
themselves on their skill with the      
needle and the loom4  ,their  language  
has been happily preserved to us in     
,ulfilas' ,translation of the           
,scriptures4  ,for these ,goths1 the    
greater number of them at least1 were   
by this time ,christians1 or very nearly
 such4  ,good ,bishop ,ulfilas1  brought

 up a ,christian and consecrated by     
order of ,constantine the ,great1  had  
been labouring for years to convert his 
adopted countrymen from the  worship of 
,thor and ,woden4  ,he had translated   
the ,bible for them1 and had            
constructed a ,gothic alphabet for that 
purpose4  ,he had omitted1 however      
7prudently as he considered7 the books  
of ,kings1 with their histories of  the 
,jewish wars4  ,the ,goths1 he held1    
were only too fond of fighting  already1
 and 'needed in that matter the bit1    
rather than the spur4'  ,he  had now a  
large number of converts1 some of whom  
had even endured  persecution from their
 heathen brethren4  ,athanaric1 'judge1'
 or alderman  of the ,thervings1 had    
sent through the camp--so runs the      
story--the  waggon which bore the idol  
of ,woden1 and had burnt1 with their    
tents and  their families1 those who    
refused to worship4    ,they1 like all  
other ,german tribes1 were ruled over by
 two royal races1  sons of ,woden and   

the ,asas4  ,the ,ostrogoth race was the
 ,amalungs--the  'heavenly1' or         
'spotless' race2 the ,visigoth race was 
the ,balthungs--the  'bold' or 'valiant'
 race2 and from these two families1 and 
from a few  others1 but all believed to 
be lineally descended from ,woden1 and  
now  much intermixed1 are derived all   
the old royal families of ,europe1 that 
of the ,house of ,brunswick among the   
rest4    ,that they were no savages1 is 
shewn sufficiently by their names1 at   
least  those of their chiefs4  ,such    
names as ,alaric1 'all rich' or 'all    
powerful1' ,ataulf1 'the helping        
father1' ,fridigern1 'the willing peace-
  maker1' and so forth--all the names in
 fact1 which can be put back into  their
 native form out of their ,romanized    
distortions1 are tokens of a  people far
 removed from that barbarous state in   
which men are named after  personal     
peculiarities1 natural objects1 or the  
beasts of the field4  ,on  this subject 
you may consult1 as full of interest and

 instruction1 the  list of ,teutonic    
names given in ,muratori4    ,they had  
broken over the ,roman frontier more    
than once1 and taken cities4  ,they had 
compelled the ,emperor ,gratian to buy  
them off4  ,they had built  themselves  
flat-bottomed boats without iron in them
 and sailed from the  ,crimea round the 
shores of the ,black ,sea1 once and     
again1 plundering  ,trebizond1 and at   
last the temple itself of ,diana at     
,ephesus4  ,they had  even penetrated   
into ,greece and ,athens1 plundered the 
,parthenon1 and  threatened the capitol4
  ,they had fought the ,emperor ,decius1
 till he1 and  many of his legionaries1 
were drowned in a bog in the moment of  
victory4  ,they had been driven with    
difficulty back across the ,danube by   
,aurelian1  and walled out of the       
,empire with the ,allemanni by ,probus's
  ',teufels-,mauer1' stretching from the
 ,danube to the ,rhine4  ,their time was
  not yet come by a hundred years4  ,but
 they had seen and tasted the fine      

things of the sunny south1 and did not  
forget them amid the steppes and  snows4
    ,at last a sore need came upon them4
  ,about #cej there was a great king    
among them1 ,ermanaric1 'the powerful   
warrior1' comparable1 says  ,jornandes1 
to ,alexander himself1 who had conquered
 all the conquered  tribes around4      
,when he was past #ajj years old1 a     
chief of the ,roxolani  7,ugrians1      
according to ,dr4 ,latham2 men of ,ros1 
or ,russia71 one of these  tribes1      
plotted against him1 and sent for help  
to the new people1 the  ,huns1 who had  
just appeared on the confines of ,europe
 and ,asia4  ,old  ,ermanaric tore the  
traitor's wife to pieces with wild      
horses3 but the  ,huns came             
nevertheless4  ,a magic hind1 the ,goths
 said1 guided the new  people over the  
steppes to the land of the ,goths1 and  
then vanished4  ,they  fought with the  
,goths1 and defeated them4  ,old        
,ermanaric stabbed himself  for shame1  
and the hearts of the ,goths became as  

water before the tempest  of nations4   
,they were supernatural creatures1 the  
,goths believed1  engendered of witches 
and demons on the steppes2 pig-eyed     
hideous beings1  with cakes instead of  
faces1 'offam magis quam faciem1' under 
ratskin  caps1 armed with arrows tipped 
with bone1 and lassos of cord1 eating1  
marketing1 sleeping on horseback1 so    
grown into the saddle that they  could  
hardly walk in their huge boots4  ,with 
them were ,acatzirs1 painted  blue1 hair
 as well as skin2 ,alans1 wandering with
 their waggons like the  ,huns1 armed   
with heavy cuirasses of plaited horn1   
their horses decked  with human scalps2 
,geloni armed with a scythe1 wrapt in a 
cloak of human  skin2 ,bulgars who      
impaled their prisoners--savages        
innumerable as the  locust swarms4  ,who
 could stand against them8    ,in the   
year #cge1 the ,west ,goths came down to
 the ,danube-bank and  entreated the    
,romans to let them cross4  ,there was a
 ,christian party  among them1          

persecuted by the heathens1 and hoping  
for protection from  ,rome4  ,athanaric 
had vowed never to set foot on ,roman   
soil1 and after  defending himself      
against the ,huns1 retired into the     
forests of  ',caucaland4'  ,good ,bishop
 ,ulfilas and his converts looked       
longingly  toward the ,christian        
,empire4  ,surely the ,christians would 
receive them as  brothers1 welcome them1
 help them4  ,the simple ,german fancied
 a ,roman  even such a one as           
themselves4    ,ulfilas went on embassy 
to ,antioch1 to ,valens the ,emperor4   
,valens1 low-  born1 cruel1 and         
covetous1 was an ,arian1 and could not  
lose the  opportunity of making         
converts4  ,he sent theologians to meet 
,ulfilas1 and  torment him into         
,arianism4  ,when he arrived1 ,valens   
tormented him  himself4  ,while the     
,goths starved he argued1 apostasy was  
the absolute  condition of his help1    
till ,ulfilas1 in a weak moment1 gave   
his word that  the ,goths should become 

,arians1 if ,valens would give them     
lands on the  ,south bank of the        
,danube4  ,then they would be the       
,emperor's men1 and  guard the marches  
against all foes4  ,from that time      
,arianism became the  creed1 not only of
 the ,goths1 but of the ,vandals1 the   
,sueves1 and almost  all the ,teutonic  
tribes4    ,it was 7if the story be     
true7 a sinful and foolish compact1     
forced from a  good man by the sight of 
his countrymen's extreme danger and     
misery4  ,it  avenged itself1 soon      
enough1 upon both ,goths and ,romans4   
,to the ,goths themselves the change    
must have seemed not only unimportant1  
but imperceptible4  ,unaccustomed to    
that accuracy of thought1 which is  too 
often sneered at by ,gibbon as          
'metaphysical subtlety1' all of which   
they would have been aware was the      
change of a few letters in a creed      
written in an unknown tongue4  ,they    
could not know1 7,ulfilas himself  could
 not have known1 only two years after   

the death of ,st4 ,athanasius at        
,alexandria2 while the ,nicaean ,creed  
was as yet received by only half of  the
 ,empire2 and while he meanwhile had    
been toiling for years in the  ,danubian
 wilds1 ignorant perhaps of the         
controversy which had meanwhile         
convulsed the ,church7--neither the     
,goths nor he1 ,i say1 could have known 
that the ,arianism1 which they embraced1
 was really the last1 and as it  were   
apologetic1 refuge of dying ,polytheism2
 that it1 and not the  ,catholic ,faith1
 denied the abysmal unity of the        
,godhead2 that by making  the ,son      
inferior to the ,father1 as touching his
 ,godhead1 it invented two  ,gods1 a    
greater and a lesser1 thus denying the  
absoluteness1 the  infinity1 the        
illimitability1 by any category of      
quantity1 of that ,one  ,eternal1 of    
whom it is written1 that ,god is a      
,spirit4  ,still less could  they have  
guessed that when ,arius1 the handsome  
popular preacher 7whose  very name1     

perhaps1 ,ulfilas never heard7 asked the
 fine ladies of  ,alexandria--',had you 
a son before that son was born8'--',no4'
  ',then ,god  could have no son before 
that son was begotten1 c4'--that he was 
mingling up the idea of ,time with the  
idea of that ,eternal ,god who  created 
,time1 and debasing to the accidents of 
before and after that  ,timeless and    
,eternal ,generation1 of which it is    
written1 ',thou art my  ,son1 this day  
have ,i begotten thee4'  ,still less    
could ,ulfilas1 or his  ,goths1 have    
known1 that the natural human tendency  
to condition ,god by  ,time1 would be1  
in later ages1 even long after ,arianism
 was crushed  utterly1 the parent of    
many a cruel1 gross1 and stupid         
superstition4  ,to  them it would have  
been a mere question whether ,woden1 the
 ,all-father1  was superior to one of   
his sons1 the ,asas3 and the ,catholic  
faith  probably seemed to them an       
impious assumption of equality1 on the  
part of  one of those ,asas1 with ,woden

 himself4    ,of the battle between     
,arianism and ,orthodoxy ,i have said   
enough to shew  you that ,i think it an 
internecine battle between truth and    
falsehood4  ,but it has been long ago   
judged by wager of battle3 by the       
success of  that duel of time1 of which 
we must believe 7as our forefathers     
believed  of all fair duels7 that ,god  
defends the right4    ,so the ,goths    
were to come over the ,danube stream3   
but they must give up  their arms1 and  
deliver their children 7those of rank1  
one supposes71 as  hostages1 to be      
educated by the ,romans1 as ,romans4    
,they crossed the fatal river2 they were
 whole days in crossing2 those set  to  
count them gave it up in despair2       
,ammianus says3 ',he who wishes to  know
 their number1'          ',libyci velit 
aequoris idem     ,discere quam multae  
,zephyro volvuntur arenae4'    ,and when
 they were across1 they gave up the     
children4  ,they had not the  heart to  
give up the beloved weapons4  ,the      

,roman commissioners let them  keep the 
arms1 at the price of many a ,gothic    
woman's honour4  ,ugly and  foul things 
happened1 of which we have only hints4  
,then they had to be  fed for the time  
being1 till they could cultivate their  
land4  ,lupicinus  and ,maximus1 the two
 governors of ,thrace pocketed the funds
 which ,valens  sent1 and starved the   
,goths4  ,the markets were full of      
carrion and dogs'  flesh4  ,anything was
 good enough for a barbarian4  ,their   
fringed carpets1  their beautiful       
linens1 all went4  ,a little wholesome  
meat cost #aj pounds  of silver4  ,when 
all was gone1 they had to sell their    
children4  ,to  establish a slave-trade 
in the beautiful boys and girls was just
 what the  wicked ,romans wanted4    ,at
 last the end came4  ,they began to     
rise4  ,fridigern1 their king1 kept     
them quiet till the time was ripe for   
revenge4  ,the ,romans1 trying to  keep 
the ,west ,goths down1 got so confused1 
it seems1 that they let the  whole      

nation of the ,east ,goths 7of whom we  
shall hear more hereafter7  dash across 
the ,danube1 and establish themselves in
 the north of the  present ,turkey1 to  
the east of the ,west ,goths4    ,then  
at ,marcianopolis1 the capital of ,lower
 ,moesia1 ,lupicinus asked  ,fridigern  
and his chiefs to a feast4  ,the        
starving ,goths outside were  refused   
supplies from the market1 and came to   
blows with the guards4  ,lupicinus1 half
 drunk1 heard of it1 and gave orders for
 a massacre4  ,fridigern escaped from   
the palace1 sword in hand4  ,the        
smouldering embers  burst into flame1   
the war-cry was raised1 and the villain 
,lupicinus fled  for his life4    ,then 
began war south of the ,danube4  ,the   
,roman legions were defeated by  the    
,goths1 who armed themselves with the   
weapons of the dead4  ,moesia was       
overrun with fire and sword4            
,adrianople was attacked1 but in vain4  
,the  slaves in the gold mines were     
freed from their misery1 and shewed the 

,goths the mountain-passes and the      
stores of grain4  ,as they went on1 the 
,goths recovered their children4  ,the  
poor things told horrid tales2 and  the 
,goths1 maddened1 avenged themselves on 
the ,romans of every age and  sex4      
',they left1' says ,st4 ,jerome1        
'nothing alive--not even the beasts  of 
the field2 till nothing was left but    
growing brambles and thick  forests4'   
,valens1 the ,emperor1 was at ,antioch4 
,now he hurried to ,constantinople1  but
 too late4  ,the ,east ,goths had joined
 the ,west ,goths2 and hordes of  ,huns1
 ,alans1 and ,taifalae 7detestable      
savages1 of whom we know nothing  but   
evil7 had joined ,fridigern's           
confederacy4    ,gratian1 ,valens'      
colleague and nephew1 son of            
,valentinian the bear-ward1  had just   
won a great victory over the ,allemanni 
at ,colmar in ,alsace2 and  ,valens was 
jealous of his glory4  ,he is said to   
have been a virtuous  youth1 whose      
monomania was shooting4  ,he fell in    

love with the wild  ,alans1 in spite of 
their horse-trappings of scalps1 simply 
because of  their skill in archery2     
formed a body-guard of them1 and passed 
his time  hunting with them round       
,paris4  ,nevertheless1 he won this     
great victory  by the help1 it seems1 of
 one ,count ,ricimer 7'ever-powerful'71 
,count of  the ,domestics1 whose name   
proclaims him a ,german4    ,valens was 
jealous of ,gratian's fame2 he was stung
 by the reproaches of  the mob of       
,constantinople2 and he undervalued the 
,goths1 on account of  some successes of
 his lieutenants1 who had recovered much
 of the plunder  taken by them1 and had 
utterly overpowered the foul ,taifalae1 
transporting them to lands about ,modena
 and ,parma in ,italy4  ,he rejected    
,count ,ricimer's advice to wait till   
,gratian reinforced him with the        
victorious western legions1 and         
determined to give battle a few miles   
from ,adrianople4  ,had he waited for   
,gratian1 the history of the whole      

world might have been different4    ,for
 on the ninth of ,august1 ,a4,d4 #cgh1  
the fatal day1 the second ,cannae1  from
 which ,rome never recovered as from    
that first1 the young world and  the old
 world met1 and fought it out2 and the  
young world won4  ,the light  ,roman    
cavalry fled before the long lances and 
heavy swords of the ,german  knights4   
,the knights turned on the infantry1    
broke them1 hunted them  down by charge 
after charge1 and left the footmen to   
finish the work4    ,two-thirds of the  
,roman army were destroyed2 four ,counts
 of the ,empire2  generals and officers 
without number4  ,valens fled wounded to
 a cottage4  ,the ,goths set it on fire1
 and burned him and his staff therein1  
ignorant  that they had in their hands  
the ,emperor of ,rome4  ,verily there is
 a ,god  who judgeth the earth4    ,so  
thought the ,catholics of that day1 who 
saw in the fearful death of  ,valens a  
punishment for his having forced the    
,goths to become ,arians4  ',it  was    

just1' says one1 'that he should burn on
 earth1 by whose counsels so  many      
barbarians will burn in hell for ever4' 
,there are 7as ,i have shewn7  still    
darker counts in the conduct of the     
,romans toward the ,goths2 enough  7if  
we believe our ,bibles7 to draw down on 
the guilty the swift and  terrible      
judgments of ,god4    ,at least1 this   
was the second ,cannae1 the death-wound 
of ,rome4  ,from that  day the end was  
certain1 however slow4  ,the ,teuton had
 at last tried his  strength against the
 ,roman4  ,the wild forest-child had    
found himself  suddenly at death-grips  
with the ,enchanter whom he had feared1 
and almost  worshipped1 for so long2 and
 behold1 to his own wonder1 he was no   
more a  child1 but grown into a man1 and
 the stronger1 if not the cunninger of  
the two4  ,there had been a spell upon  
him2 the ',romani nominis umbra4'  ,but 
from that day the spell was broken4  ,he
 had faced a ,roman ,emperor1 a  ,divus 
,caesar1 the man-god by whose head all  

nations swore1 rich with the  magic     
wealth1 wise with the magic cunning1 of 
centuries of superhuman  glory2 and he  
had killed him1 and behold he died1 like
 other men4  ,that  he had done4  ,what 
was there left for him now that he could
 not do8    ,the stronger he was1 but   
not yet the cunninger of the two4  ,the 
,goths  could do no more4  ,they had to 
leave ,adrianople behind them1 with the 
,emperor's treasures safe within its    
walls2 to gaze with childish wonder  at 
the ,bosphorus and its palaces2 to      
recoil in awe from the 'long walls'  of 
,constantinople1 and the great stones   
which the engines thereon hurled  at    
them by 'arsmetricke and nigromancy1' as
 their descendants believed of  the     
,roman mechanicians1 even five hundred  
years after2 to hear 7without  being    
able to avenge7 the horrible news1 that 
the ,gothic lads distributed  throughout
 ,asia1 to be educated as ,romans1 had  
been decoyed into the  cities by        
promises of lands and honours1 and then 

massacred in cold  blood2 and then to   
settle down1 leaving their children     
unavenged1 for  twenty years on the rich
 land which we now call ,turkey in      
,europe1 waiting  till the time was     
come4    ,waiting1 ,i say1 till the time
 was come4  ,the fixed idea that ,rome1 
if not  ,constantinople1 could be taken 
at last1 probably never left the minds  
of  the leading ,goths after the battle 
of ,adrianople4  ,the altered policy of 
the ,caesars was enough of itself to    
keep that idea alive4  ,so far from     
expelling them from the country which   
they had seized1 the new ,emperor  began
 to flatter and to honour them4    ,they
 had been heretofore regarded as        
savages1 either to be driven back by    
main force1 or tempted to enlist in the 
,roman ranks4  ,theodosius regarded     
them as a nation1 and one which it was  
his interest to hire1 to trust1 to      
indulge at the expense of his ,roman    
subjects4    ,theodosius has received   
the surname of ,great--seemingly by     

comparison2  ',inter caecos luscus rex2'
 and it was highly creditable to a      
,roman  ,emperor in those days to be    
neither ruffian nor villain1 but a      
handsome1  highbred1 courteous          
gentleman1 pure in his domestic life1 an
 orthodox  ,christian1 and sufficiently 
obedient to the ,church to forgive the  
monks  who had burnt a ,jewish          
synagogue1 and to do penance in the     
,cathedral of  ,milan for the massacre  
of ,thessalonica4  ,that the morals of  
the ,empire  7if ,zosimus is to be at   
all believed7 grew more and more        
effeminate1  corrupt1 reckless2 that the
 soldiers 7if ,vegetius is to be        
believed7  actually laid aside1 by royal
 permission1 their helmets and          
cuirasses1 as  too heavy for their      
degenerate bodies2 that the ,roman heavy
 infantry1  which had conquered the     
world1 ceased to exist1 while its place 
was taken  by that ,teutonic heavy      
cavalry1 which decided every battle in  
,europe till  the ,english yeoman1 at   

,crecy and ,poictiers1 turned again the 
balance of  arms in favour of the men   
who fought on foot2 that the ,goths     
became the  'foederati' or allies of the
 ,empire1 paid to fight its battles     
against  ,maximus the ,spaniard1 and    
,arbogast the ,frank1 the rebels who1   
after the  murder of young ,gratian1    
attempted to set up a separate empire in
 the  west2 that ,stilicho the ,vandal  
was the ,emperor's trusted friend1 and  
master of the horse2 that ,alaric the   
,balth1 and other noble ,goths1 were    
learning to combine with their native   
courage those ,roman tactics which  they
 only needed to become masters of the   
world2 that in all cities1 even  in the 
,royal ,palace1 the huge ,goth swaggered
 in ,roman costume1 his neck  and arms  
heavy with golden torcs and bracelets2  
or even 7as in the case  of ,fravitta   
and ,priulf7 stabbed his enemy with     
impunity at the imperial  table2 that   
,greek text1 to disturb the ,goths1 was 
a deadly offence  throughout the        

,empire3 all these things did not       
prevent a thousand new  statues from    
rising in honour of the great ,caesar1  
and excited nothing  more than          
grumblings of impotent jealousy from a  
people whose maxim had  become1 ',let us
 eat and drink1 for to-morrow we die4'  
,three anecdotes will illustrate        
sufficiently the policy of ,theodosius  
toward his inconvenient guests4         
,towards the beginning of his reign1    
when  the ,goths1 after the death of the
 great ,fridigern1 were broken up1 and  
quarreling among themselves1 he tempted 
a royal ,amal1 ,modar by name1 by  the  
title of ,master-,general1 to attack and
 slaughter in their sleep a  rival tribe
 of ,goths1 and carry off an immense    
spoil to the imperial  camp4  ,to       
destroy the ,german by the ,german was  
so old a method of the  ,roman policy1  
that it was not considered derogatory to
 the 'greatness' of  ,theodosius4       
,the old ,athanaric1 the ,therving--he  
who had sworn never to set foot on      

,roman soil1 and had burnt them who     
would not fall down and worship before  
,woden's waggon1 came over the ,danube1 
out of the forests of ',caucaland1'  and
 put himself at the head of the ,goths4 
,the great ,caesar trembled  before the 
heathen hero2 and they made peace       
together2 and old ,athanaric  went to   
him at ,constantinople1 and they became 
as friends4  ,and the  ,romani nominis  
umbra1 the glamour of the ,roman name1  
fell on the old man1  too feeble now to 
fight2 and as he looked1 says           
,jornandes1 on the site of  the city1   
and on the fleets of ships1 and the     
world-famous walls1 and the  people from
 all the nations upon earth1 he said1   
',now ,i behold what ,i  have often     
heard tell1 and never believed4  ,the   
,kaiser is a ,god on earth1  and he who 
shall lift his hand against him1 is     
guilty of his own blood4'  ,the old hero
 died in ,constantinople1 and the really
 good-natured ,emperor  gave him a grand
 funeral1 and a statue1 and so delighted

 the simple  ,goths1 that the whole     
nation entered his service bodily1 and  
became the  ,emperor's men4    ,the     
famous massacre of ,thessalonica1 and   
the penance of ,theodosius1             
immortalized by the pencil of ,vandyke1 
is another significant example of  the  
relation between ,goth and ,roman4  ,one
 ,botheric 7a ,vandal or other  ,teuton 
by his name7 was military commandant of 
that important post4  ,he  put in prison
 a popular charioteer of the circus1 for
 a crime for which  the ,teutonic       
language had to borrow a foreign name1  
and which the  ,teutons1 like ourselves1
 punished with death1 though it was     
committed  with impunity in any ,roman  
city4  ,at the public games1 the base   
mob  clamoured1 but in vain1 for the    
release of their favourite2 and not     
getting him1 rose on ,botheric1 murdered
 him and his officers1 and dragged      
their corpses through the streets4      
,this was indeed ,greek text2 and       
,theodosius1 partly in honest           

indignation1 partly perhaps in fear of  
the consequences1 issued orders  from   
,milan which seem to have amounted to a 
permission to the ,goths to  avenge     
themselves4  ,the populace were invited 
as usual to the games of  the circus1   
and crowded in1 forgetful of their      
crime1 heedless of danger1  absorbed in 
the one greed of frivolous1 if not      
sinful pleasure4  ,the  ,gothic troops  
concealed around entered1 and then began
 a 'murder grim and  great4'  ,for three
 hours it lasted4  ,every age and sex1  
innocent or  guilty1 native or          
foreigner1 to the number of at least    
#g1jjj1 perished1  or are said to have  
perished2 and the soul of ,botheric had 
'good company  on its way to ,valhalla4'
    ,the ,goths1 doubtless1 considered  
that they were performing an act of     
public justice upon villains3 but the   
,bishops of the ,church looked at the   
matter in another light4  ,the          
circumstances of treachery1 the         
confusion  of the innocent with the     

guilty1 the want of any judicial        
examination and  sentence1 aroused their
 sense of humanity and justice4  ,the   
offence was  aggravated by the thought  
that the victims were ,roman and        
orthodox1 the  murderers barbarians and 
,arians2 ,st4 ,ambrose1 with a noble    
courage1  stopped the ,emperor at the   
door of the ,basilica of ,milan1 and    
forbad him  to enter1 till he had atoned
 for the fatal order by public penance4 
,the  ,caesar submitted nobly to the    
noble demand2 and the repentance of     
,theodosius is the last scene in the    
downward career of the ,caesars1 which  
can call forth a feeling of admiration  
and respect4    ,in ,january #cie       
,theodosius died2 and after him came the
 deluge4    ,the ,empire was parted     
between his two worthless sons4         
,honorius had the  west1 ,arcadius the  
east2 while the real master of the      
,empire was ,stilicho  the ,vandal1     
whose virtues and valour and mighty     
stature are sung 7and not  undeservedly7

 in the pompous verses of ,claudian4    
,of the confusion which  ensued2 of the 
murder 7well-deserved7 of ,rufinus1 the 
infamous minister  whose devout         
hypocrisy had so long cajoled           
,theodosius2 of the revolt and          
atrocities of ,gildo in ,africa1 you    
must read in the pages of ,gibbon4      
,these lectures confine themselves1 at  
present1 to the history of the  ,goths4 
,in ,january #cie1 ,i said1 ,theodosius 
died4  ,before the end of the winter    
the ,goths were in arms1 with ,alaric   
the ,balth at their head4  ,they had    
been refused1 at least for the time1 the
 payment of their usual subsidy4  ,he   
had been refused the command of the     
,roman armies4  ,any excuse was         
sufficient4  ,the fruit was ripe for    
plucking4  ,the wrongs of centuries     
were to be avenged4  ,other tribes crost
 the ,danube on the ice1 and joined  the
 ,goths2 and the mighty host swept down 
through ,greece1 passing  ,thermopylae  
unopposed1 ransoming ,athens 7where     

,alaric enjoyed a ,greek  bath and a    
public banquet1 and tried to behave for 
a day like a ,roman  gentleman72 sacking
 ,corinth1 ,argos1 ,sparta1 and all the 
cities and  villages far and wide1 and  
carrying off plunder inestimable1 and   
troops  of captive women4    ,stilicho  
threw himself into the ,peloponnese at  
,corinth to cut off the  ,goths1 and    
after heavy fighting1 ,alaric1 who seems
 to have been a really  great general1  
out-manoeuvred him1 crost the ,gulf of  
,corinth at ,rhium1  with all his       
plunder and captives1 and got safe away 
into northern  ,greece4    ,there       
,arcadius1 the terrified ,emperor of the
 ,east1 punished him for  having        
devastated ,greece1 by appointing him   
,master-,general of the very  country   
which he had ravaged4  ,the end was     
coming very near4  ,the ,goths  lifted  
him on the shield1 and proclaimed him   
,king of the ,west ,goths2 and  there he
 staid1 somewhere about the head of the 
,adriatic1 poised like an  eagle in     

mid-air1 watching ,rome on one side1 and
 ,byzant on the other1  uncertain on    
which quarry he should swoop4    ,he    
made up his mind for ,rome4  ,he would  
be the man to do the deed at  last4     
,there was a saga in which he trusted4  
,claudian gives it in an  hexameter1    
',alpibus ,italiae ruptis penetrabis ad 
urbem4'    ,yes1 he would take ,the     
,city1 and avenge the treachery of      
,valens1 and all  the wrongs which      
,teutons had endured from the ,romans   
for now four  centuries4  ,and he did   
it4    ,but not the first time4  ,he    
swept over the ,alps4  ,honorius fled to
 ,asta1  and ,alaric besieged him there4
  ,the faithful ,stilicho came to the   
rescue2  and ,alaric was driven to      
extremities4  ,his warriors counselled  
him to  retreat4  ,no1 he would take    
,rome1 or die4  ,but at ,pollentia1     
,stilicho  surprised him1 while he and  
his ,goths were celebrating ,easter     
,sunday1 and  a fearful battle followed4
  ,the ,romans stormed his camp1        

recovered the  spoils of ,greece1 and   
took his wife1 decked in the jewels in  
which she  meant to enter ,rome4  ,one  
longs to know what became of her4    ,at
 least1 so say the ,romans3 the ,goths  
tell a very different story2 and  one   
suspects that ,pollentia may be one more
 of those splendid paper  victories1 in 
which the ,teutons were utterly         
exterminated1 only to rise  out of the  
ground1 seemingly stronger and more     
numerous than ever4  ,at  least1 instead
 of turning his head to the ,alps1 he   
went on toward ,rome4  ,stilicho dared  
not fight him again1 and bought him off4
  ,he turned  northward toward ,gaul1   
and at ,verona ,stilicho got him at an  
advantage1  and fought him once more1   
and if we are to believe ,rosino and    
,claudian1  beat him again4  ',taceo de 
,alarico1 saepe victo1 saepe concluso1  
semperque dimisso4'  ',it is ill work   
trapping an eagle1' says some one4      
,when you have caught him1 the safest   
thing very often is to let him go       

again4    ,meanwhile poured down into   
,italy1 as far as ,florence 7a merely   
unimportant episode in those fearful    
days71 another wave of ,german  invaders
 under one ,radogast1 #bjj1jjj strong4  
,under the walls of ,florence  they sat 
down1 and perished of wine1 and heat1   
and dysentery4  ,like water  they flowed
 in1 and like water they sank into the  
soil3 and every one of  them a human    
soul4    ,stilicho and ,honorius went to
 ,rome1 and celebrated their triumph    
over the  ,goths1 with 7for the last    
time in history7 gladiatorial sports4   
,three  years past1 and then ,stilicho  
was duly rewarded for having saved      
,rome1 in  the approved method for every
 great barbarian who was fool enough to 
help  the treacherous ,roman2 namely1 by
 being murdered4    ,alaric rose        
instantly1 and with him all the ,gothic 
tribes4  ,down through  ,italy he past1 
almost without striking a blow4         
,ravenna1 infamous1  according to       
,sidonius1 for its profligacy1 where the

 ,emperor's court was1  he past         
disdainfully1 and sat down before the   
walls of ,rome4  ,he did not  try to    
storm it4  ,probably he could not4  ,he 
had no such machines1 as  those with    
which the ,romans battered walls4       
,quietly he sat1 he and his  ,goths1 'as
 wolves wait round the dying buffalo2'  
waiting for the ,romans  within to      
starve and die4  ,they did starve and   
die2 men murdered each  other for food2 
mothers ate their own babes2 but they   
sent out embassies1  boasting of their  
strength and numbers4  ,alaric          
laughed1--',the thicker  the hay1 the   
easier it is mowed4'  ,what terms would 
he take8  ',all your  gold1 all your    
silver1 the best of your precious       
things4  ,all your  barbarian slaves4'  
,that last is significant4  ,he would   
deliver his own  flesh and blood4  ,the 
,teuton man should be free4  ,the trolls
 should drag  no more of the forest     
children into their accursed den4       
',what then will  you leave us8'  ',your

 lives4'    ,they bought him off with a 
quaint ransom3 #ejjj pounds weight of   
gold1  #cj1jjj of silver1 #djjj robes of
 silk1 #cjjj pieces of scarlet cloth1   
and  #cjjj lbs4 of pepper1 possibly     
spices of all kinds4  ,gold1 and finery1
 and  spices--gifts fit for children1   
such as those ,goths were4    ,but he   
got1 too1 #dj1jjj ,teuton slaves safe   
out of the evil place1 and  embodied    
them into his army4  ,he had now        
#ajj1jjj fighting men4  ,why did  he not
 set up as king of ,italy8  ,was it that
 the awe of the place1 the  prestige of 
the ,roman name1 cowed him8  ,it cowed  
each of the ,teutonic  invaders         
successively4  ,to make themselves      
emperors of ,rome was a thing  of which 
they dared not dream4  ,be that as it   
may1 all he asked was1 to  be received  
as some sort of vassal of the ,emperor4 
,the  ,master-,generalship of ,italy1   
subsidies for his army1 an independent  
command in the ,tyrolese country1 whence
 he had come1 were his demand4          

,overblown with self-conceit1 the       
,romans refused him4  ,they would listen
  to no conditions4  ,they were in a    
thoroughly ,chinese temper4  ,you will  
find the ,byzantine empire in the same  
temper centuries after2 blinded to      
present weakness by the traditions of   
their forefathers' strength4  ,they  had
 worshipped the beast4  ,now that only  
his image was left1 they  worshipped    
that4    ,alaric seized ,ostia1 and cut 
off their supplies4  ,they tried to     
appease  him by dethroning ,honorius1   
and setting up some puppet ,attalus4    
,alaric  found him plotting2 or said    
that he had done so2 and degraded him   
publicly at ,rimini before his whole    
army4  ,again he offered peace4  ,the   
insane ,romans proclaimed that his guilt
 precluded him for ever from the        
clemency of the ,empire4    ,then came  
the end4  ,he marched on ,rome4  ,the   
,salarian gate was thrown  open at      
midnight1 probably by ,german slaves    
within2 and then1 for five  dreadful    

days and nights1 the wicked city        
expiated in agony the sins of           
centuries4    ,and so at last the       
,nibelungen hoard was won4    ',and the 
kings of the earth who had lived        
delicately with her1 and the  merchants 
of the earth who were made rich by her1 
bewailed her1 standing  afar off for the
 fear of her torment1 and crying1 ,alas6
 alas1 that great  ,babylon6 for in one 
hour is thy judgment come4'    ,st4     
,john passes in those words from the    
region of symbol to that of  literal    
description4  ,a great horror fell upon 
all nations1 when the news  came4  ,rome
 taken8  ,surely the end of all things  
was at hand4  ,the  wretched fugitives  
poured into ,egypt and                  
,syria--especially to ,jerusalem2       
perhaps with some superstitious hope    
that ,christ's tomb1 or even ,christ    
himself1 might save them4    ,st4       
,jerome1 as he saw day by day patrician 
men and women who had passed  their     
lives in luxury1 begging their bread    

around his hermitage at  ,bethlehem1    
wrote of the fall of ,rome as a man     
astonied4    ,st4 ,augustine1 at ,hippo1
 could only look on it as the end of all
 human  power and glory1 perhaps of the 
earth itself4  ,babylon the great had   
fallen1 and now ,christ was coming in   
the clouds of heaven to set up the  city
 of ,god for ever4  ,in that thought he 
wrote his ,de ,civitate ,dei4  ,read    
it1 gentlemen--especially you who are to
 be priests--not merely for its  details
 of the fall of ,rome1 but as the       
noblest theodicy which has yet          
proceeded from a human pen4    ,followed
 by long trains of captives1 long trains
 of waggons bearing the  spoils of all  
the world1 ,alaric went on ,south1 'with
 the native instinct  of the barbarian1'
 as ,dr4 ,sheppard well says4  ,always  
toward the sun4  ,away from ,muspelheim 
and the dark cold north1 toward the sun1
 and  ,valhalla1 where ,odin and the    
,asas dwell in everlasting light4    ,he
 tried to cross into ,sicily3 but a     

storm wrecked his boats1 and the  ,goths
 were afraid of the sea4  ,and after a  
while he died4  ,and the wild  men made 
a great mourning over him4  ,they had   
now no plan left2 no heart  to go south1
 and look for ,odin over the sea4  ,but 
of one thing they were  resolved1 that  
the base ,romans should not dig up      
,alaric out of his barrow  and scatter  
his bones to the winds4    ,so they put 
no barrow over the great king2 but under
 the walls of ,cosenza  they turned the 
river-bed1 and in that river-bed they   
set ,alaric1 armed  and mailed1 upright 
upon his horse1 with gold1 and jewels1  
and arms1 and  it may be captive youths 
and maids1 that he might enter into     
,valhalla in  royal pomp1 and make a    
worthy show among the heroes in ,odin's 
hall4  ,and  then they turned back the  
river into its bed1 and slew the slaves 
who had  done the work1 that no man     
might know where ,alaric lies3 and no   
man does  know till this day4    ,as ,i 
said1 they had no plan left now4  ,two  

years they stayed in ,campania1  basking
 in the villas and gardens1 drinking    
their fill of the wine2 and  then flowed
 away northward again1 no one knows why4
  ,they had no wish to  settle1 as they 
might have done4  ,they followed some   
,god-given instinct1  undiscoverable now
 by us4  ,ataulf1 ,alaric's kinsman1    
married ,placidia1  the ,emperor's      
beautiful young sister1 and accepted    
from him some sort of  commission to    
fight against his enemies in ,gaul4  ,so
 to the south of ,gaul  they went1 and  
then into ,spain1 crushing before them  
,alans1 ,sueves1 and  ,vandals1 and     
quarrelling among themselves4  ,ataulf  
was murdered1 and all  his children2    
,placidia put to shame4  ,then she had  
her revenge4  ,to me it  is not so much 
horrible as pitiful4  ,they had got the 
,nibelungen hoard2  and with it the     
,nibelungen curse4    ,a hundred years  
afterwards1 when the ,franks pillaged   
the ,gothic palace of  ,narbonne1 they  
found the remnants of it4  ,things      

inestimable1  indescribable2 tables of  
solid emerald2 the ,missorium1 a dish   
#bejj lbs4  weight1 covered with all the
 gems of ,india4  ,they had been in     
,solomon's  ,temple1 fancied the simple 
,franks--as indeed some of them may well
 have  been4  ,the ,arabs got the great 
emerald table at last1 with its three   
rows  of great pearls4  ,where are they 
all now8  ,what is become1 gentlemen1 of
  the treasures of ,rome8  ,jewels1     
recollect1 are all but indestructible2  
recollect1 too1 that vast quantities    
were buried from time to time1 and      
their places forgotten4  ,perhaps future
 generations will discover many  such   
hoards4  ,meanwhile1 many of those same 
jewels must be in actual use  even now4 
,many a gem which hangs now on an       
,english lady's wrist saw  ,alaric sack 
,rome--and saw before and since--,what  
not8  ,the palaces of the  ,pharaohs1 or
 of ,darius2 then the pomp of the       
,ptolemies1 or of the  ,seleucids--came 
into ,europe on the neck of some vulgar 

drunken wife of a  ,roman proconsul1 to 
glitter for a few centuries at every    
gladiator's  butchery in the            
amphitheatre2 then went away with       
,placidia on a ,gothic ox-  waggon1 to  
pass into an ,arab seraglio at ,seville2
 and then1 perhaps1 back  from ,sultan  
to ,sultan again to its native ,india1  
to figure in the peacock-  throne of the
 ,great ,mogul1 and be bought at last by
 some ,armenian for a  few rupees from  
an ,english soldier1 and come           
hither--and whither next8  ,when        
,england shall be what ,alexandria and  
,rome are now1 that little stone  will  
be as bright as ever4--,an awful symbol1
 if you will take it so1 of  the        
permanence of ,god's works and ,god's   
laws1 amid the wild chance and  change  
of sinful man4    ,then followed for    
,rome years of peace1--such peace as the
 wicked make for  themselves--,a        
troubled sea1 casting up mire and dirt4 
,wicked women1  wicked counts 7mayors of
 the palace1 one may call them7 like    

,aetius and  ,boniface1 the real rulers 
of a nominal ,empire4    ,puppet        
,valentinian succeeded his father1      
puppet ,honorius4  ,in his days         
appeared another great portent--another 
comet1 sweeping down out of  infinite   
space1 and back into infinite space     
again4--,attila and his ,huns4  ,they   
lay in innumerable hordes upon the      
,danube1 until ,honoria1  ,valentinian's
 sister1 confined in a convent at       
,constantinople for some  profligacy1   
sent her ring to ,attila4  ,he must be  
her champion1 and  deliver her4  ,he    
paused a while1 like ,alaric before him1
 doubting whether  to dash on           
,constantinople or ,rome1 and at last   
decided for ,rome4  ,but he  would try  
,gaul first2 and into ,gaul he poured1  
with all his ,tartar  hordes1 and with  
them all the ,teuton tribes1 who had    
gathered in his  progress1 as an        
avalanche gathers the snow in its       
course4  ,at the great  battle of       
,chalons1 in the year #dea1 he fought it

 out3 ,hun1 ,sclav1 ,tartar1  and ,finn1
 backed by ,teutonic ,gepid and ,herule1
 ,turkling1 ,east ,goth and  ,lombard1  
against ,roman and ,west ,goth1 ,frank  
and ,burgund1 and the ,bretons  of      
,armorica4  ,wicked ,aetius shewed      
himself that day1 as always1 a general  
and a hero--the ,marlborough of his     
time--and conquered4  ,attila and his   
hordes rolled away eastward1 and into   
,italy for ,rome4    ,that is the       
,hunnenschlacht2 'a battle1' as         
,jornandes calls it1 'atrox1  multiplex1
 immane1 pertinax4'  ,antiquity1 he     
says1 tells of nothing like  it4  ,no   
man who had lost that sight could say   
that he had seen aught  worth           
seeing4--,a fight gigantic1 supernatural
 in vastness and horror1 and  the       
legends which still hang about the      
place4  ,you may see one of them in     
,von ,kaulbach's immortal design--the   
ghosts of the ,huns and the ghosts of   
the ,germans rising from their graves on
 the battle-night in every year1  to    

fight it over again in the clouds1 while
 the country far and wide  trembles at  
their ghostly hurrah4  ,no wonder men   
remember that  ,hunnenschlacht4  ,many  
consider that it saved ,europe2 that it 
was one of  the decisive battles of the 
world4    ,not that ,attila was ruined4 
,within the year he had swept through   
,germany1 crossed the ,alps1 and        
devastated ,italy almost to the walls of
  ,rome4  ,and there the great ,pope    
,leo1 'the ,cicero of preaching1 the    
,homer  of theology1 the ,aristotle of  
true philosophy1' met the wild heathen3 
and  a sacred horror fell upon ,attila1 
and he turned1 and went his way1 to die 
a year or two after no man knows how4   
,over and above his innumerable  wives1 
he took a beautiful ,german girl4  ,when
 his people came in the  morning1 the   
girl sat weeping1 or seeming to weep2   
but ,etzel1 the scourge  of ,god1 lay   
dead in a pool of gore4  ,she said that 
he had burst a blood-  vessel4  ,the    
,teutons whispered among themselves1    

that like a free-born  ,teuton1 she had 
slain her tyrant4  ,one longs to know   
what became of her4    ,and then the    
hordes broke up4  ,ardarich raised the  
,teuton ,gepids and  ,ostrogoths4  ,the 
,teutons who had obeyed ,attila1 turned 
on their ,tartar  conquerors1 the only  
people who had ever subdued ,german men1
 and then  only by brute force of       
overpowering numbers4  ,at ,netad1 upon 
the great  plain between the ,drave and 
the ,danube1 they fought the second     
,hunnenschlacht1 and the ,germans       
conquered4  ,thirty thousand ,huns fell 
on  that dreadful day1 and the rest     
streamed away into the heart of ,asia1  
into the infinite unknown deserts from  
whence the foul miscreants had  streamed
 forth1 and left the ,teutons masters of
 the world4  ,the battle of  ,netad2    
that1 and not ,chalons1 to my mind1 was 
the saving battle of  ,europe4    ,so   
,rome was saved2 but only for a few     
years4  ,puppet ,valentinian rewarded   
,aetius for saving ,rome1 by stabbing   

with his own hand in his own palace1    
the hero of ,chalons2 and then went on  
to fill up the cup of his iniquity4  ,it
 is all more like some horrible romance 
than sober history4  ,neglecting  his   
own wife ,eudoxia1 he took it into his  
wicked head to ravish her  intimate     
friend1 the wife of a senator4  ,maximus
 stabbed him1 retaliated  on the        
beautiful empress1 and made himself     
,emperor4  ,she sent across the  seas to
 ,africa1 to ,genseric the ,vandal1 the 
cruel tyrant and persecutor4  ,he must  
come and be her champion1 as ,attila had
 been ,honoria's4  ,and he  came1 with  
,vandals1 ,moors1 naked ,ausurians from 
the ,atlas4  ,the wretched  ,romans1 in 
their terror1 tore ,maximus in pieces2  
but it was too late4  ,eudoxia met      
,genseric at the gates in royal robes   
and jewels4  ,he stript  her of her     
jewels on the spot1 and sacked ,rome2   
and that was her reward4    ,this is the
 second sack4  ,more dreadful far than  
the first--#dee is its  date4  ,then it 

was that the statues1 whose fragments   
are still found1  were hurled in vain on
 the barbarian assailants4  ,not merely 
gold and  jewels1 but the art-treasures 
of ,rome were carried off to the ,vandal
  fleet1 and with them the golden table 
and the seven-branched candlestick      
which ,titus took from the ,temple of   
,jerusalem4    ,how had these things    
escaped the ,goths forty years before8  
,we cannot  tell4  ,perhaps the ,gothic 
sack1 which only lasted five days1 was  
less  complete than this one1 which went
 on for fourteen days of unutterable    
horrors4  ,the plunderers were not this 
time sturdy honest ,goths2 not even     
,german slaves1 mad to revenge          
themselves on their masters3 they were  
,moors1 ,ausurian black savages1 and all
 the pirates and cut-throats of the     
,mediterranean4    ,sixty thousand      
prisoners were carried off to ,carthage4
  ,all the statues  were wrecked on the 
voyage to ,africa1 and lost for ever4   
,and yet ,rome did not die4  ,she       

lingered on2 her ,emperor still calling 
himself an ,emperor1 her senate a       
senate2 feeding her lazy plebs1 as best 
she could1 with the remnant of those    
revenues which former ,emperors had  set
 aside for their support--their public  
bread1 public pork1 public oil1  public 
wine1 public baths1--and leaving them to
 gamble and quarrel1 and  listen to the 
lawyers in rags and rascality1 and to   
rise and murder ruler  after ruler1     
benefactor after benefactor1 out of base
 jealousy and fear  of any one less base
 than themselves4  ,and so 'the smoke of
 her torment  went up continually4'     
,but if ,rome would not die1 still less 
would she repent2 as it is              
written--',the remnant of the people    
repented not of their deeds1 but  gnawed
 their tongues for pain1 and blasphemed 
the ,god of heaven4'    ,as the century 
runs on1 the confusion becomes more and 
more dreadful4  ,anthemius1 ,olybrius1  
,orestes1 and the other half-caste      
,romans with ,greek  names who become   

quasi-emperors and get murdered2        
,ricimer the ,sueve1 the  king-maker and
 king-murderer2 even good ,majorian1 who
 as puppet ,emperor  set up by ,ricimer1
 tries to pass a few respectable laws1  
and is only  murdered all the sooner4   
,none of these need detain us4  ,they   
mean  nothing1 they represent no idea1  
they are simply kites and crows         
quarrelling over the carcase1 and cannot
 possibly teach us anything1 but  the   
terrible lesson1 that in all revolutions
 the worst men are certain to  rise to  
the top4    ,but only for a while1      
gentlemen1 only for a while4  ,villany  
is by its  very essence                 
self-destructive1 and if rogues have    
their day1 the time  comes when rogues  
fall out1 and honest men come by their  
own4    ,that day1 however1 was not come
 for wretched ,rome4  ,a third time she 
was  sacked by ,ricimer her own general2
 and then more villains ruled her2 and  
more kites and crows plundered her4     
,the last of them only need keep us a   

while4  ,he is ,odoacer1 the giant      
,herule1 ,houd-y-wacker1 as some say his
  name really is1 a soubriquet perhaps  
from his war-cry1 ',hold ye stoutly1'   
',stand you steady4'  ,his father was   
,a,edecon1 ,attila's secretary1 chief of
  the little ,turkling tribe1 who1      
though ,teutonic1 had clung faithfully  
to  ,attila's sons1 and after the battle
 of ,netad1 came to ruin4  ,there are   
strange stories of ,odoacer4  ,one from 
the ,lives of ,st4 ,severinus1 how      
,odoacer and his brothers started over  
the ,alps1 knapsacks at back1 to  seek  
their fortunes in ,italy1 and take      
service with the ,romans2 and how  they 
came to ,st4 ,severinus' cell near      
,vienna1 and went in1 heathens as  they 
probably were1 to get a blessing from   
the holy hermit2 and how  ,odoacer had  
to stoop1 and stand stooping1 so huge he
 was4  ,and how the  saint saw that he  
was no common lad1 and said1 ',go into  
,italy1 clothed in  thy ragged          
sheep-skins3 thou shalt soon give       

greater gifts to thy  friends4'  ,so he 
went1 and his brother with him4  ,one of
 them at least  ought to interest us4   
,he was ,onulf1 ,hunwulf1 ,wulf1        
,guelph1 the ,wolf-cub1  who went away  
to ,constantinople1 and saw strange     
things1 and did strange  things         
likewise1 and at last got back to       
,germany1 and settled in ,bavaria1  and 
became the ancestor of all the ,guelphs1
 and of ,victoria1 queen of  ,england4  
,his son1 ,wulfgang1 fought under       
,belisarius against the ,goths2  his son
 again1 ,ulgang1 under ,belisarius      
against ,persian and ,lombard2 his  son 
or grandson was ,queen ,brunhilda's     
confidant in ,france1 and became  ,duke 
of ,burgundy2 and after that the        
fortunes of his family were mixed up    
with the ,merovingian kings of ,france1 
and then again with the ,lombards in    
,italy1 till one of them emerges as     
,guelf1 count of ,altorf1 the ancestor  
of our ,guelphic line4    ,but to return
 to ,odoacer4  ,he came to ,rome1       

seeking his fortune4  ,there  he found  
in power ,orestes1 his father's old     
colleague at ,attila's court1  the most 
unprincipled turn-coat of his day2 who  
had been the ,emperor's  man1 then      
,attila's man1 and would be anybody's   
man if needed3 but who was  now his own 
man1 being king-maker for the time      
being1 and father of the  puppet        
,emperor1 ,romulus ,augustulus1 a pretty
 little lad1 with an ominous  name4     
,odoacer took service under ,orestes in 
the bodyguards1 became a great  warrior 
and popular2 watched his time2 and when 
,orestes refused the  mercenaries1      
,herules1 ,rugians1 ,scyrings1          
,turklings and ,alans--all the  weak or 
half-caste frontier tribes who had as   
yet little or no share in  the spoils of
 ,italy--their demand of the third of   
the lands of ,italy1 he  betrayed his   
benefactor2 promised the mercenaries to 
do for them what  ,orestes would not1   
and raises his famous band of           
confederates4  ,at last  he called      

himself ,king of ,nations1 burnt ,pavia1
 and murdered ,orestes1 as  a due reward
 for his benefits4  ,stript of his      
purple1 the last ,emperor of  ,rome     
knelt crying at the feet of the ,german 
giant1 and begged not to be  murdered   
like his father4  ,and the great wild   
beast's hard heart smote  him1 and he   
sent the poor little lad away1 to live  
in wealth and peace in  ,lucullus' villa
 at ,misenum1 with plenty of money1 and 
women1 and gewgaws1  to dream away his  
foolish life looking out over the fair  
bay of  ,naples--the last ,emperor of   
,rome4    ,then ,odoacer set to work1   
and not altogether ill4  ,he gave his   
confederates the third of ,italy1 in    
fief under himself as king1 and for     
fourteen years 7not without the help of 
a few more murders7 he kept some  sort  
of rude order and justice in the        
wretched land4  ,remember him1 for1  bad
 man as he is1 he does represent a      
principle4  ,he initiated1 by that  gift
 of the lands to his soldiers1 the      

feudal system in ,italy4  ,i do not     
mean that he invented it4  ,it seems    
rather to be a primaeval ,german form1  
as old as the days of ,tacitus1 who     
describes1 if you will recollect1 the   
,german war-kings as parting the        
conquered lands among their 'comites1'  
thanes1 or companions in arms4    ,so we
 leave ,odoacer king of ,italy1 for     
fourteen years1 little dreaming1        
perhaps1 of the day when as he had done 
unto others so should it be done  to    
him4  ,but for that tale of just and    
terrible retribution you must wait  till
 the next lecture4    ,and now1 to      
refresh us with a gleam of wholesome    
humanity after all these  horrors1 let  
us turn to our worthy ,west ,goth       
cousins for a while4  ,they  have stopt 
cutting each other's throats1 settled   
themselves in ,north  ,spain and ,south 
,france1 and good bishop ,sidonius gets 
to like them4  ,they  are just and      
honest men on the whole1 kindly1 and    
respectable in morals1  living according

 to their strange old ,gothic ,law4     
,but above all ,sidonius  likes their   
king--,theodoric is his name4  ,a man of
 blood he has been in  his youth3 but he
 has settled down1 like his people2 and 
here is a  picture of him4  ,a real     
photograph of a live old ,goth1 nearly  
#adjj years  ago4  ,gibbon gives a good 
translation of it4  ,i will give you    
one1 but  ,sidonius is prolix and       
florid1 and ,i have had to condense4    
,a middle-sized1 stout man1 of great    
breadth of chest1 and thickness of      
limb1 a large hand1 and a small foot1   
curly haired1 bushy eye-browed1  with   
remarkably large eyes and eyelids1      
hook-nosed1 thin-lipped2  brilliant1    
cheerful1 impassioned1 full of health   
and strength in mind and  body4  ,he    
goes to chapel before day-light1 sits   
till eight doing justice1  while the    
crowd1 let into a latticed enclosure1 is
 admitted one by one  behind a curtain  
into the presence4  ,at eight he leaves 
the throne1 and  goes either to count   

his money1 or look at his horses4  ,if  
he hunts1 he  thinks it undignified to  
carry his bow1 and womanish to keep it  
strung1 a  boy carries it behind him2   
and when game gets up1 he asks you 7or  
the  ,bishop1 who seems to have gone    
hunting with him7 what you would wish   
him  to aim at2 strings his bow1 and    
then 7says ,sidonius7 never misses his  
shot4  ,he dines at noon1 quietly in    
general1 magnificently on ,saturdays2   
drinks very little1 and instead of      
sleeping after dinner1 plays at tables  
and dice4  ,he is passionately fond of  
his game1 but never loses his  temper1  
joking and talking to the dice1 and to  
every one round him1  throwing aside    
royal severity1 and bidding all be merry
 7says the  bishop72 for1 to speak my   
mind1 what he is afraid of is1 that     
people  should be afraid of him4  ,if he
 wins he is in immense good humour2 then
  is the time to ask favours of him2    
and1 says the crafty bishop1 many a     
time have ,i lost the game1 and won my  

cause thereby4  ,at three begins  again 
the toil of state4  ,the knockers       
return1 and those who shove them  away  
return too2 everywhere the litigious    
crowd murmurs round2 and  follows him at
 evening1 when he goes to supper1 or    
gets its matters  settled by the        
officers of the court1 who have to stay 
there till bed-  time4  ,at supper1     
though there are but rarely 'mimici     
sales1' which ,i  cannot translate--some
 sort of jesting3 but biting and cruel  
insults  7common at the feasts of the   
,roman ,emperors7 are never allowed4    
,his  taste in music is severe4  ,no    
water-organs1 flute-player1 lyrist1     
cymbal  or harp-playing woman is        
allowed4  ,all he delights in is the old
 ,teutonic  music1 whose virtue 7says   
the bishop7 soothes the soul no less    
than does  its sound the ear4  ,when he 
rises from table the guards for the     
night are  set1 and armed men stand at  
all the doors1 to watch him through the 
first  hours of sleep4                  

,,lecture ,,iv4--,,the ,,gothic         
,,civilizer      ,let us follow the     
fortunes of ,italy and of ,rome4  ,they 
are not only a  type of the fortunes of 
the whole western world1 but the        
fortunes of that  world1 as you will    
see1 depend on ,rome4    ,you must      
recollect1 meanwhile1 that by the middle
 of the fifth century1  the ,western    
,empire had ceased to exist4  ,the      
,angles and ,saxons were  fighting their
 way into ,britain4  ,the ,franks were  
settled in north ,france  and the lower 
,rhineland4  ,south of them1 the centre 
of ,gaul still  remained ,roman1        
governed by ,counts of cities1 who were 
all but  independent sovereigns1 while  
they confessed a nominal allegiance to  
the  ,emperor of ,constantinople4       
,their power was destined soon to be    
annihilated by the conquests of ,clovis 
and his ,franks--as false and cruel     
ruffians as their sainted king1 the     
first-born son of the ,church4  ,the    
history of ,gaul for some centuries     

becomes henceforth a tissue of          
internecine horrors1 which you must read
 for yourselves in the pages of  ,m4    
,sismondi1 or of ,gregory of ,tours4    
,the ,allemanni 7whose name has  become 
among the ,franks the general name for  
,germans7 held the lands from  the      
,maine to the ,rhaetian ,alps4  ,the    
,burgunds1 the lands to the south-  west
 of them1 comprising the greater part of
 south-east ,gaul4  ,the ,west  ,goths  
held the south-west of ,gaul1 and the   
greater part of ,spain1 having  thrust  
the ,sueves1 and with them some ,alans1 
into ,gallicia1 ,asturias1 and          
,portugal2 and thrust1 also1 the        
,vandals across the straits of          
,gibraltar1  to found a prosperous      
kingdom along the northern shore of     
,africa4  ,the  ,east ,goths1 meanwhile1
 after various wanderings to the north  
of the ,alps1  lay in the present       
,austria and in the ,danube lands1      
resting after their  great struggle with
 the ,huns1 and their crowning victory  

of ,netad4    ,to follow the fortunes of
 ,italy1 we must follow those of these  
,east  ,goths1 and especially of one man
 among them1 ,theodoric1 known in       
,german  song as ,dietrich of ,bern or  
,verona4    ,interesting exceedingly to 
us should this great hero be4  ,no man's
  history better shows the strange      
relations between the ,teutons and the  
dying ,empire3 but more2 his life is the
 first instance of a ,teuton  attempting
 to found a civilized and ordered state1
 upon experience drawn  from ,roman     
sources2 of the young world trying to   
build itself up some  sort of dwelling  
out of the ruins of the old4  ,dietrich 
failed1 it is  true4  ,but if the thing 
had been then possible1 he seems to have
 been the  man to have done it4  ,he    
lived and laboured like what he was--a  
royal  ,amal1 a true son of ,woden4     
,unable to write1 he founded a great    
kingdom  by native virtue and common    
sense4  ,called a barbarian1 he restored
  prosperity to ruined ,italy1 and gave 

to it 7and with it to the greater  part 
of the western world71 peace for three  
and thirty years4  ,brought up  among   
hostile sects1 he laid down that golden 
law of religious liberty  which the     
nineteenth century has not yet courage  
and humanity enough to  accept4  ,but if
 his life was heroic1 his death was     
tragic4  ,he failed  after all in his   
vast endeavours1 from causes hidden from
 him1 but  visible1 and most            
instructive1 to us2 and after having    
toiled impartially  for the good of     
conquerors and of conquered alike1 he   
died sadly1 leaving  behind him a people
 who1 most of them1 believed gladly the 
news that a  holy hermit had seen his   
soul hurled down the crater of          
,stromboli1 as a  just punishment for   
the inexpiable crime of being wiser than
 his  generation4    ,some have         
complained of ,gibbon's 'hero-worship'  
of ,dietrich--,i do not4  ,the honest   
and accurate cynic so very seldom       
worshipped a hero1 or  believed in the  

existence of any1 that we may take his  
good opinion as  almost final and       
without appeal4  ,one author1 for whose 
opinion ,i have  already exprest a very 
high respect1 says that he was but a    
wild man of  the woods to the last2     
polished over skin-deep with ,roman     
civilization2  ',scratch him1 and you   
found the barbarian underneath #aja4'   
,it may be  true4  ,if it be true1 it is
 a very high compliment4  ,it was not   
from his  ,roman civilization1 but from 
his 'barbarian' mother and father1 that 
he  drew the 'vive intelligence des     
choses morales1 et ces inspirations     
elevees et heroiques1' which ,m4        
,thierry truly attributes to him4  ,if  
there was1 as ,m4 ,thierry truly says1  
another nature struggling within        
him--is there not such in every man8    
,and are not the struggles the more     
painful1 the temptations more dangerous1
 the inconsistencies too often  the more
 shameful1 the capacities for evil as   
well as for good1 more  huge1 just in   

proportion to the native force and      
massiveness of the soul8  ,the doctrine 
may seem dangerous4  ,it is dangerous1  
like many truths2 and  woe to those who1
 being unlearned and unstable1 wrest it 
to their own  destruction2 and presume  
upon it to indulge their own passions   
under  ,byronic excuses of 'genius1' or 
'muscular ,christianity4'  ,but it is   
true  nevertheless3 so at least the     
,bible tells us1 in its wonderful       
delineations of ,david1 'the man after  
,god's own heart1' and of ,st4 ,peter1  
the chief of the apostles4  ,and there  
are points of likeness between the      
character of ,dietrich1 and that of     
,david1 which will surely suggest       
themselves to any acute student of human
 nature4  ,m4 ,thierry attributes  to   
him1 as his worse self1 'les instincts  
les plus violents2 la cruaute1          
l'astuce1 l'egoisme impitoyable4'  ,the 
two first counts are undeniable--at     
least during his youth3 they were the   
common vices of the age4  ,the two      

latter ,i must hold as not proven by    
facts3 but were they proven1 they  would
 still be excusable1 on the simple      
ground of his ,greek education4         
',cunning and pitiless egotism' were the
 only moral qualities which  ,dietrich  
is likely to have seen exercised at the 
court of ,constantinople3  and what     
wonder1 if he was somewhat demoralized  
by the abominable  atmosphere which he  
breathed from childhood8  ,dietrich is  
an illustration  of the saga with which 
these lectures began4  ,he is the very  
type of the  forest child1 bewitched by 
the fine things of the wicked ,troll    
garden4  ,the key to the man's          
character1 indeed the very glory of it1 
is the long  struggle within him1       
between the ,teutonic and the ,greek    
elements4  ,dazzled  and debauched1 at  
times1 by the sinful glories of the     
,bosphorus1 its  palaces1 its gold1 and 
its women1 he will break the spell      
desperately4  ,he  will become a wild   
,goth and an honest man once more2 he   

will revenge his  own degradation on    
that court and empire which he knows    
well enough to  despise1 distrust and   
hate4  ,again and again the spell comes 
over him4  ,his vanity and his passions 
make him once more a courtier among the 
,greeks2 but the blood of ,odin is      
strong within him still2 again and again
  he rises1 with a noble shame1 to      
virtue and patriotism1 trampling under  
foot selfish luxury and glory1 till the 
victory is complete2 and he turns  away 
in the very moment of the greatest      
temptation1 from the bewitching  city1  
to wander1 fight1 starve1 and at last   
conquer a new land for  himself and for 
his nation2 and shew1 by thirty years of
 justice and  wisdom1 what that true    
,dietrich was1 which had been so long   
overlaid by  the false ,dietrich of his 
sinful youth4    ,look at the facts of  
his history1 as they stand1 and see     
whether they do  not bear out this1 and 
no other1 theory of his character4      
,the year was #dee1 two years after     

,attila's death4  ,near ,vienna a boy   
was  born1 of ,theodemir one of the     
,gothic kings and his favourite ,erleva4
  ,he  was sent when eight years old to 
,constantinople as a hostage4  ,the     
,emperor ,leo had agreed to pay the     
,goths #cjj pounds of gold every year1  
if  they would but leave him in peace2  
and young ,dietrich was the pledge of   
the compact4  ,there he grew up amid all
 the wisdom of the ,romans1  watching it
 all1 and yet never even learning to    
write4  ,it seems to some  that the     
,german did not care to learn2 it seems 
to me rather that they  did not care to 
teach4  ,he came back to his people at  
eighteen1 delighted  them by his        
strength and stature1 and became1 to all
 appearance1 a ,goth  of the ,goths2    
going adventures with six thousand      
volunteers against the  ,sarmatae1 who  
had just defeated the ,greeks1 and taken
 a city--which he  retook1 but instead  
of restoring it to the ,emperor1 kept   
himself4  ,food  becoming scarce in     

,austria1 the ,ostrogoths moved some    
into ,italy1 some  down on ,illyria and 
,thessaly2 and the ,emperor gracefully  
presented them  with the country of     
which they had already taken possession4
    ,in every case1 you see1 this method
 went on4  ,the failing ,emperors bought
  off the ,teutons where they could2    
submitted to them where they could not2 
and readily enough turned on them when  
they had a chance4  ,the relations      
between the two parties can be hardly   
better explained1 than by comparing     
them to those between the ,english      
adventurers in ,hindostan and the       
falling ,rajahs and ,sultans of the last
 century4    ,after a while ,theodoric1 
or ,dietrich1 found himself1 at his     
father's  death1 sole king of the       
,ostrogoths4  ,this period of his life  
is very  obscure3 but one hint at least 
we have1 which may explain his whole    
future career4  ,side by side with him  
and with his father before him1  there  
was another ,dietrich--,dietrich the    

,one-eyed1 son of ,triar1 a low-  born  
adventurer1 who had got together the    
remnants of some low-caste  tribes1 who 
were called the ,goths of ,thrace1 and  
was swaggering about the  court of      
,constantinople1 as1 when the ,east     
,goths first met him1 what we  call     
,warden of the ,marches1 with some      
annual pay for his ,goths4  ,he was     
insolent to ,theodemir and his family1  
and they retaliated by bitter  hatred4  
,it was intolerable for them1 ,amals1   
sons of ,odin1 to be insulted  by this  
upstart4  ,so they went on for years1   
till the miserable religious  squabble  
fell out--you may read it in            
,gibbon--which ended in the ,emperor    
,zeno1 a low-born and cunning man1      
suspected of the murder of his own son  
by the princess ,ariadne1 being driven  
out of ,constantinople by  ,basiliscus4 
,we need not enter into such matters1   
except as far as they  bear on the      
history of ,dietrich the ,amal4         
,dietrich the ,one-eyed helped          

,basiliscus--and then ,zeno seems to    
have sent for ,dietrich the ,amal to    
help him4  ,he came1 but too late4      
,basiliscus' party had already broken   
up2 ,basiliscus and his family had taken
 refuge in a church1 from whence  ,zeno 
enticed him1 on the promise of shedding 
no blood1 which he did not3  but        
instead1 put him1 his wife and children1
 in a dry cistern1 walled it  up and    
left them4    ,dietrich the ,amal rose  
into power and great glory1 and became  
'son-in-  arms' to the ,emperor4  ,but  
the young ,amal longed for adventures4  
,he  offered to take his ,ostrogoths    
into ,italy1 drive out ,odoacer1 and    
seat on  the throne of the ,west1       
,nepos1 one of the many puppets who had 
been  hurled off it a few years before4 
,zeno had need of the young hero nearer 
home1 and persuaded him to stay in      
,constantinople1 eat1 drink1 and be     
merry4    ,whereon ,odoacer made        
,romulus ,agustulus and the ,roman      
,senate write to ,zeno  that they wanted

 no ,emperor save him at                
,constantinople2 that they were  very   
happy under the excellent ,odoacer1 and 
that they therefore sent to  ,zeno1 as  
the rightful owner1 all the ,imperial   
insignia and ornaments2  things which   
may have been worn1 some of them1 by    
,augustus himself4  ,and  so ended1 even
 in name1 the ,empire of ,rome4  ,all   
which the ,amal saw1 and1  as will      
appear1 did not forget4    ,zeno gave   
the ,amal all that the ,one-eyed had had
 before him1 and paid the  ,ostrogoths  
yearly as he had paid the ,one-eye's    
men4  ,the ,one-eyed was  banished to   
his cantonments1 and of course revolted4
  ,zeno wanted to buy  him off1 but the 
,amal would not hear of it2 he would not
 help the ,romans  against his rival1   
unless they swore perpetual enmity      
against him4    ,they did so1 and he    
marched to the assistance of the        
wretched ,empire4  ,he  was to be met by
 ,roman reinforcements at the ,haemus4  
,they never came2  and the ,amal1       

disgusted and disheartened1 found       
himself entangled in the  defiles of the
 ,haemus1 starving and worn out2 with   
the ,one-eyed  entrenched on an         
inaccessible rock1 where he dared not   
attack him4    ,then followed an        
extraordinary scene4  ,the ,one-eyed    
came down again and  again from his     
rock1 and rode round the ,amal's camp1  
shouting to him  words so true1 that one
 must believe them to have been really  
spoken4    ',perjured boy1 madman1      
betrayer of your race--do you not see   
that the  ,roman plan is as always to   
destroy ,goths by ,goths8  ,whichever of
 us  falls1 they1 not we1 will be the   
stronger4  ,they never met you as they  
promised1 at the cities1 nor here4      
,they have sent you out here to perish  
in the desert4'    ,then the ,east      
,goths raised a cry4  ',the ,one-eyed is
 right4  ,the ,amal  cares not that     
these men are ,goths like ourselves4'   
,then the ,one-eyed appeals to the      
,goths themselves1 as he curses the     

,amal4    ',why are you killing your    
kinsmen8  ,why have you made so many    
widows8  ,where is all their wealth     
gone1 they who set out to fight for you8
  ,each  of them had two or three       
horses3 but now they are walking on foot
 behind  you like slaves1--free-men as  
well-born as yourself3--and you promised
 to  measure them out gold by the       
bushel4'    ,was it not true8  ,if young
 ,dietrich had in him 7and he shewed    
that he had  in after years7 a ,teuton's
 heart1 may not that strange interview  
have  opened his eyes to his own folly1 
and taught him that the ,teuton must be 
his own master1 and not the mercenary of
 the ,romans8    ,the men cried out that
 it was true4  ,he must make peace with 
the  ,one-eyed1 or they would do it     
themselves2 and peace was made4  ,they  
both  sent ambassadors to ,zeno2 the    
,amal complaining of treachery2 the     
,one-eyed  demanding indemnity for all  
his losses4  ,the ,emperor was furious4 
,he  tried to buy off the ,amal by      

marrying him to a princess of the blood 
royal1 and making him a ,caesar4        
,dietrich would not consent2 he felt    
that  it was a snare4  ,zeno proclaimed 
the ,one-eyed an enemy to the ,empire2  
and  ended by reinstating him in his old
 honours1 and taking them from the      
,amal4  ,the ,amal became furious1 burnt
 villages1 slaughtered the peasants1    
even 7the ,greeks say7 cut off the hands
 of his captives4  ,he had broken  with 
the ,romans at last4  ,the ,roman was   
astride of him1 and of all  ,teutons1   
like ,sindbad's old man of the sea4     
,the only question1 as with  ,sindbad1  
was whether he should get drunk1 and    
give them a chance of  throwing the     
perfidious tyrant4  ,and now the time   
was come4  ,he was  compelled to ask    
himself1 not--what shall ,i be in       
relation to myself3 but  what shall ,i  
be in relation to the ,kaiser of the    
,romans--a mercenary1 a  slave1 or a    
conqueror--for one of the three ,i must 
be8    ,so it went on1 year after       

year--sometimes with terrible reverses  
for  ,dietrich1 till the year #dhj4     
,then the old ,one-eyed died1 in a      
strange  way4  ,mounting a wild horse at
 the tent-door1 the beast reared before 
he  could get his seat2 afraid of       
pulling it over by the curb1 he let it  
go4  ,a lance1 in ,gothic fashion1 was  
hanging at the tent-door1 and the horse 
plunged the ,one-eyed against it4  ,the 
point went deep into his side1 and  the 
old fighting man was at rest for ever4  
,and then came a strange peripeteia for 
the ,amal4  ,zeno1 we know not why1     
sent instantly for him4  ,he had been   
ravaging1 pursuing1 defeating ,roman    
troops1 or being defeated by them4  ,now
 he must come to ,rome4  ,his ,goths    
should have the ,lower ,danube4  ,he    
should have glory and honour to spare4  
,he came4  ,his ideal1 at this time1    
seems actually to have been to live     
like a ,roman citizen in                
,constantinople1 and help to govern the 
,empire4  ,recollect1 he was still      

little more than five and twenty years  
old4    ,so he went to ,constantinople1 
and ,i suppose with him the faithful    
mother1  and faithful sister1 who had   
been with him in all his wanderings4    
,he had  a triumph decreed him at the   
,emperor's expense1 was made ,consul    
,ordinarius 7'which1' saith ,jornandes1 
'is accounted the highest good and      
chief glory in the world'7 and          
,master-general1 and lodged in the      
palace4    ,what did it all mean8       
,dietrich was dazzled by it1 at least   
for a while4  ,what it meant1 he found  
out too soon4  ,he was to fight the     
,emperor's  battles against all rebels1 
and he fought them1 to return irritated1
  complaining 7justly or unjustly7 of   
plots against his life2 to be  pacified1
 like a child1 with the honour of an    
equestrian statue2 then to  sink down   
into ,byzantine luxury for seven        
inglorious years1 with only one         
flashing out of the ancient spirit1 when
 he demanded to go alone against  the   

,bulgars1 and killed their king with his
 own hand4    ,what woke him from his   
dream8  ,the cry of his starving people4
    ,the ,goths1 settled on the lower   
,danube1 had been living1 as wild men   
and  mercenaries live1 recklessly from  
hand to mouth1 drinking and gambling    
till their families were in want4  ,they
 send to the ,amal4  ',while thou  art  
revelling at ,roman banquets1 we are    
starving--come back ere we are  ruined4'
    ,they were jealous1 too1 of the     
success of ,odoacer and his mercenaries4
  ,he  was growing now to be a great    
power2 styling himself ',king of nations
  #aji1' giving away to the ,visigoths  
the ,narbonnaise1 the last remnant of   
the ,western ,empire2 collecting round  
him learned ,romans like ,symmachus1    
,boethius1 and ,cassiodorus2 respecting 
the ,catholic clergy2 and seemingly     
doing his best to govern well4  ,his    
mercenaries1 however1 would not be      
governed4  ,under their violence and    
oppression agriculture and population   

were both failing2 till ,pope ,gelasius 
speaks of ',a,emilia1 ,tuscia1          
ceteraeque provinciae in quibus nullus  
prope hominum existit4'    ,meanwhile   
there seems to have been a deep hatred  
on the part of the ,goths  to ,odoacer  
and his mercenaries4  ,dr4 ,sheppard    
thinks that they despised  him himself  
as a man of low birth4  ,but his father 
,a,edecon had been chief  of the        
,turklings1 and was most probably of    
royal blood4  ,it is very  unlikely1    
indeed1 that so large a number of       
,teutons would have followed  any man   
who had not ,odin's blood in his veins4 
,was there a stain on  ,odoacer from his
 early connexion with ,attila8  ,or was 
the hatred against  his men more than   
himself1 contempt especially of the     
low-caste  ,herules1--a question of     
race1 springing out of those miserable  
tribe-feuds1 which kept the ,teutons    
always divided and weak8  ,be that as   
it may1 ,odoacer had done a deed which  
raised this hatred to open fury4  ,he   

had gone over the ,alps into ,rugiland  
7then ,noricum1 and the neighbourhood   
of ,vienna7 and utterly destroyed those 
of the ,rugier who had not gone  into   
,italy under his banner4  ,they had     
plundered1 it is said1 the cell of  his 
old friend ,st4 ,severinus1 as soon as  
the saint died1 of the garments  laid up
 for the poor1 and a silver cup1 and the
 sacred vessels of the  mass4  ,be that 
as it may1 ,odoacer utterly exterminated
 them1 and carried  their king          
,feletheus1 or ,fava1 back to ,italy1   
with ,gisa his 'noxious  wife2' and with
 them many ,roman ,christians1 and      
7seemingly7 the body of  ,st4 ,severinus
 himself4  ,but this had been a small   
thing1 if he had not  advised himself to
 have a regular ,roman triumph1 with    
,fava1 the captive  king1 walking beside
 his chariot2 and afterwards1 in the    
approved fashion  of the ancient ,romans
 on such occasions1 to put ,fava to     
death in cold  blood4    ,the records of
 this feat are to be found1 as far as ,i

 know them1 in one  short chapter 7,i4  
xix47 of ,paulus ,diaconus1 and in      
,muratori's notes  thereto2 but however 
small the records1 the deed decided the 
fate of  ,italy4  ,frederic1 son of     
,fava1 took refuge with the ,ostrogoths1
 and  demanded revenge in the name of   
his royal race2 and it is easy to       
conceive that the sympathies of the     
,goths would be with him4  ,an attack   
7seemingly unprovoked7 on an ancient    
,teutonic nation by a mere band of      
adventurers was--or could easily be     
made--a grievous wrong1 and clear  casus
 belli1 over and above the innate       
,teutonic lust for fighting and         
adventures1 simply for the sake of 'the 
sport4'    ,dietrich went back1 and from
 that day1 the dream of eastern luxury  
was  broken1 and young ,dietrich was a  
,goth again1 for good and for evil4     
,he assembled the ,goths1 and marched   
straight on ,constantinople1 burning    
and pillaging as he went4  ,so say1 at  
least1 the ,greek historians1 of  whom1 

all through this strange story1 no one  
need believe more than he  likes4  ,had 
the ,goths had the writing of the life  
of ,dietrich1 we should  have heard     
another tale4  ,as it is1 we have1 as it
 were1 a life of ,lord  ,clive composed 
by the court scribes of ,delhi4    ,to  
no ,roman would he tell what was in his 
mind4  ,five leagues from               
,constantinople he paused4  ,some say   
that he had compassion on the city      
where he had been brought up4  ,who can 
tell8  ,he demanded to speak to  ,zeno  
alone1 and the father in arms and his   
wild son met once more4  ,there  was    
still strong in him the old ,teutonic   
feudal instinct4  ,he was ',zeno's      
man1' in spite of all4  ,he asked 7says 
,jornandes7 ,zeno's leave to march      
against ,odoacer1 and conquer ,italy4   
,procopius and the ,valesian ,fragment  
say that ,zeno sent him1 and that in    
case of success1 he was to reign  there 
till ,zeno came4  ,zeno was1 no doubt1  
glad to get rid of him at any  price4   

,as ,ennodius well says1 ',another's    
honour made him remember his  own       
origin1 and fear the very legions which 
obeyed him--for that  obedience is      
suspected which serves the unworthy4'   
,rome was only  nominally under ,zeno's 
dominion2 and it mattered little to him 
whether  ,herule or ,gothic adventurer  
called himself his representative4      
,then was held a grand function4        
,dietrich1 solemnly appointed           
',patrician1' had ,italy ceded to him by
 a ',pragmatic' sanction1 and ,zeno     
placed on his head the sacrum velamen1 a
 square of purple1 signifying in        
,constantinople things wonderful1       
august1 imperial--if they could only be 
made to come to pass4  ,and he made them
 come to pass4  ,he gathered all        
,teutonic heroes of every tribe1 as well
 as his own2 and through ,roumelia1  and
 through the ,alps1 a long and dangerous
 journey1 went ,dietrich and his        
,goths1 with their wives and children1  
and all they had1 packed on  waggons2   

living on their flocks and herds1       
grinding their corn in hand-  mills1 and
 hunting as they went1 for seven hundred
 miles of march2  fighting as they went 
with ,bulgars and ,sarmatians1 who had  
swarmed into  the waste marches of      
,hungary and ,carniola1 once populous1  
cultivated1 and  full of noble cities2  
fighting a desperate battle with the    
,gepidae1 up to  their knees in a       
morass2 till over the passes of the     
,julian ,alps1 where  icicles hung upon 
their beards1 and their clothes cracked 
with frost1  they poured into the       
,venetian plains4  ,it was a daring     
deed2 and needed a  spirit like         
,dietrich's to carry it through4        
,odoacer awaited him near the ruins of  
,aquileia4  ,on the morning of the      
fight1 as he was arming1 ,dietrich asked
 his noble mother to bring him  some    
specially fine mantle1 which she had    
embroidered for him1 and put it  over   
his armour1 'that all men may see how he
 goes gayer into the fight  than ever he

 did into feast4  ,for this day she     
shall see whether she have  brought a   
man-child into the world1 or no4'       
,and in front of ,verona 7where the     
plain was long white with human bones71 
he beat ,odoacer1 and after a short and 
sharp campaign1 drove him to  ,ravenna4 
,but there1 ,roman fortifications1 and  
,roman artillery1 stopped1  as usual1   
the ,goth2 and ,odoacer fulfilled his   
name so well1 and stood so  stout1 that 
he could only be reduced by famine2 and 
at last surrendered  on terms1 difficult
 now to discover4    ,gibbon says1 that 
there was a regular compact that they   
should enjoy  equal authority1 and      
refers to ,procopius3 but ,procopius    
only says1 that  they should live       
together peaceably 'in that city4'  ,be 
that as it may1  ,odoacer and his party 
were detected1 after awhile1 conspiring 
against  ,dietrich1 and put to death in 
some dark fashion4  ,gibbon1 as         
advocatus  diaboli1 of course gives the 
doubt against ,dietrich1 by his usual   

enthymeme--,all men are likely to be    
rogues1 ergo1 ,dietrich was one4        
,rather hard measure1 when one remembers
 that the very men who tell the  story  
are ,dietrich's own enemies4  ,by far   
the most important of them1 the  author 
of the ,valesian ,fragment1 who         
considers ,dietrich damned as an        
,arian1 and the murderer of ,boethius   
and ,symmachus1 says plainly that       
,odoacer plotted against his life4  ,but
 it was a dark business at best4    ,be 
that as it may1 ,dietrich the ,amal     
found himself in one day king of all    
,italy1 without a peer4  ,and now       
followed a three and thirty years' reign
  of wisdom1 justice1 and prosperity1   
unexampled in the history of those      
centuries4  ,between the days of the    
,antonines and those of ,charlemagne1 ,i
  know no such bright spot in the dark  
history of ,europe4    ,as for his      
transferring the third of the lands of  
,italy1 which had been  held by         
,odoacer's men1 to his own ,goths1--that

 was just or unjust 7even  putting out  
of the question the rights of conquest71
 according to what  manner of men       
,odoacer's mercenaries were1 and what   
right they had to the  lands4  ,at least
 it was done so1 says ,cassiodorus1 that
 it notoriously  gave satisfaction to   
the ,romans themselves4  ,one can well  
conceive it4  ,odoacer's men had been   
lawless adventurers2 and now law was    
installed as  supreme4  ,dietrich1 in   
his long sojourn at the ,emperor's      
court1 had  discovered the true secret  
of ,roman power1 which made the ,empire 
terrible  even in her fallen fortunes2  
and that was ,law4  ,law1 which tells   
every  man what to expect1 and what is  
expected of him2 and so gives1 if not   
content1 still confidence1 energy1      
industry4  ,the ,goths were to live by  
the ,gothic law1 the ,romans by the     
,roman4  ,to amalgamate the two races   
would have been as impossible as to     
amalgamate ,english and ,hindoos4  ,the 
parallel is really tolerably exact4     

,the ,goth was very ,english2 and the   
over-civilized1 learned1 false1         
profligate ,roman was the very          
counterpart  of the modern ,brahmin4    
,but there was to be equal justice      
between man and  man4  ,if the ,goths   
were the masters of much of the ,roman  
soil1 still  spoliation and oppression  
were forbidden2 and the remarkable edict
 or  code of ,theodoric1 shews how      
deeply into his great mind had sunk the 
idea  of the divineness of ,law4  ,it is
 short1 and of ,draconic severity1      
especially against spoliation1 cheating1
 false informers1 abuse by the  clergy  
of the rights of sanctuary1 and all     
offences against the honour of  women4  
,i advise you all to study it1 as an    
example of what an early  ,teutonic king
 thought men ought to do1 and could be  
made to do4    ,the ,romans were left to
 their luxury and laziness2 and their   
country  villas 7long deserted7 were    
filled again by the owners4  ,the ,goths
 were  expected to perform military     

service1 and were drilled from their    
youth  in those military evolutions     
which had so often given the disciplined
  ,roman the victory over the           
undisciplined ,goth1 till every         
pomoerium  7boulevard71 says ,ennodius1 
might be seen full of boys and lads1    
learning  to be soldiers4  ,everything  
meanwhile was done to soothe the wounded
  pride of the conquered4  ,the senate  
of ,rome was still kept up in name 7as  
by ,odoacer71 her nobles flattered by   
sonorous titles1 and the officers of    
the kingdom and the palace bore the same
 names as they would have done  under   
,roman emperors4  ,the whole was an     
attempt to develop ,dietrich's own      
,goths by the only civilization which he
 knew1 that of ,constantinople3 but  to 
engraft on it an order1 a justice1 a    
freedom1 a morality1 which was  the     
'barbarian' element4  ,the treasures of 
,roman art were placed under  the care  
of government officers2 baths1 palaces1 
churches1 aqueducts1  were repaired or  

founded2 to build seems to have been    
,dietrich's great  delight2 and we have 
left us1 on a coin1 some image of his   
own palace at  ,verona1 a strange       
building with domes and minarets1       
something like a  ,turkish mosque2      
standing1 seemingly1 on the arcades of  
some older ,roman  building4  ,dietrich 
the ,goth may1 indeed1 be called the    
founder of  ',byzantine' architecture   
throughout the ,western world4          
,meanwhile1 agriculture prospered once  
more2 the ,pontine ,marshes were        
drained2 the imperial ports restored1   
and new cities sprang up4  ',the new    
ones1' says ,machiavelli1 'were ,venice1
 ,siena1 ,ferrara1 ,aquileia2 and  those
 which became extended were ,florence1  
,genoa1 ,pisa1 ,milan1 ,naples1  and    
,bologna4'  ,of these the great         
sea-ports1 especially ,venice1 were     
founded not by ,goths1 but by ,roman and
 ,greek fugitives3 but it was the       
security and liberality of ,dietrich's  
reign which made their existence        

possible2 and ,venice really owes far   
more to the barbarian hero1 than to  the
 fabled patronage of ,st4 ,mark4        
',from this devastation and new         
population1' continues ,machiavelli1    
'arose  new languages1 which1 partaking 
of the native idiom of the new people1  
and of the old ,roman1 formed a new     
manner of discourse4  ,besides1 not     
only were the names of provinces        
changed1 but also of lakes1 rivers1     
seas1 and men2 for ,france1 ,spain1 and 
,italy are full of fresh names1  wholly 
different from the ancient4'    ,this   
reign of ,dietrich was1 in fact1 the    
birth-hour of modern ,italy2 and1  as   
,machiavelli says1 'brought the country 
to such a state of greatness1  that her 
previous sufferings were                
unrecognizable4'  ,we shall see         
hereafter how the great ,goth's work was
 all undone2 and 7to their  everlasting 
shame7 by whom it was undone4    ,the   
most interesting records of the time    
are1 without doubt1 the letters  of     

,cassiodorus1 the king's secretary and  
chancellor1 which have come down  to us 
in great numbers4  ,there are letters   
among them on all questions of  domestic
 and foreign policy3 to the kings of the
 ,varni1 kings of the  ,herules1 kings  
of the ,thuringer 7who were still       
heathens beyond the ,black  forest71    
calling on them all to join him and the 
,burgundians1 and defend  his son-in-law
 ,alaric ,,ii41 king of the ,visigoths1 
against ,clovis and his  ,franks4       
,there are letters1 too1 bearing on the 
religious feuds of the  ,roman          
population1 and on the morals and social
 state of ,rome itself1 of  which ,i    
shall say nothing in this lecture1      
having cause to refer to them           
hereafter4  ,but if you wish to know the
 times1 you must read ,cassiodorus      
thoroughly4    ,in his letters you will 
remark how most of the so-called ,roman 
names are  ,greek4  ,you will remark1   
too1 as a sign of the decadence of taste
 and  art1 that though full of wisdom   

and practical morality1 the letters are 
couched in the most wonderful bombast to
 be met with1 even in that age of       
infimae ,latinitatis4  ,one can only    
explain their style by supposing that   
,king ,dietrich1 having supplied the    
sense1 left it for ,cassiodorus to      
shape it as he thought best2 and when   
the letter was read over to him1  took  
for granted 7being no scholar7 that that
 was the way in which ,roman  ,caesars  
and other cultivated personages ought to
 talk2 admired his  secretary's         
learning2 and probably laughed in his   
sleeve at the whole  thing1 thinking    
that ten words of honest ,german would  
have said all that  he meant4  ,as for  
understanding these flights of rhetoric1
 it is  impossible that ,dietrich could 
have done so3 perhaps not even          
,cassiodorus  himself4  ,take as one    
example1 such a letter as this4--,after 
a lofty  moral maxim1 which ,i leave for
 you to construe--',in partem pietatis  
recidit mitigata districtio2 et sub     

beneficio praestat1 qui poenam  debitam 
moderatione considerata                 
palpaverit1'--,jovinus the curial is    
informed1 after the most complex method1
 that having first quarrelled  with a   
fellow-curial1 and then proceeded to    
kill him1 he is banished for  life to   
the isle of ,volcano1 among the         
,liparis4  ,as a curial is a  gentleman 
and a government magistrate1 the        
punishment is just enough2 but  why     
should ,cassiodorus 7certainly not ,king
 ,dietrich7 finish a short  letter by a 
long dissertation on volcanoes in       
general1 and ,stromboli in  particular1 
insisting on the wonder that the rocks1 
though continually  burnt1 are          
continually renewed by 'the inextricable
 potency of nature2'  and only returning
 to ,jovinus to inform him that he will 
henceforth  follow the example of a     
salamander1 which always lives in fire1 
'being so  contracted by natural cold1  
that it is tempered by burning flame4   
,it is  a thin and small animal1        

connected with worms1 and clothed with a
 yellow  colour2' 4 4 4 ,cassiodorus    
then returns to the main subject of     
volcanoes1  and ends with a story of    
,stromboli having broken out just as    
,hannibal  poisoned himself at the court
 of ,prusias2--information which may    
have  been interesting1 though not      
consoling1 to poor ,jovinus1 in the     
prospect  of living there2 but of which 
one would like to have had king         
,dietrich's  opinion4  ,did he          
felicitate himself like a simple        
,teuton1 on the  wonderful learning and 
eloquence of his ,greek-,roman          
secretary8  ,or did he  laugh a royal   
laugh at the whole letter1 and crack a  
royal joke at  ,cassiodorus and all     
quill-driving schoolmasters and         
lawyers--the two  classes of men whom   
the ,goths hated especially1 and at the 
end to which  they by their pedantries  
had brought imperial ,rome8  ,one would 
like to  know4  ,for not only was       
,dietrich no scholar himself1 but he had

 a  contempt for the very scholarship   
which he employed1 and forbade the      
,goths to learn it--as the event proved1
 a foolish and fatal prejudice4  ,but it
 was connected in his mind with         
chicanery1 effeminacy1 and with the     
cruel and degrading punishments of      
children4  ,perhaps the ferula had been 
applied to him at ,constantinople in old
 days4  ,if so1 no wonder that he  never
 learnt to write4  ',the boy who        
trembles at a cane1' he used to say1    
'will never face a lance4'  ,his mother 
wit1 meanwhile1 was so shrewd that      
'many of his sayings 7says the unknown  
author of the invaluable ,valesian      
,fragment7 remain among us to this day4'
  ,two only1 as far as ,i know1 have    
been preserved1 quaint enough3          
',he that hath gold1 or a devil1 cannot 
hide it4'    ,and       ',the ,roman1   
when poor1 apes the ,goth3 the ,goth1   
when rich1 apes the ,roman4'    ,there  
is a sort of ,solomon's judgment1 too1  
told of him1 in the case of a  woman who

 refused to acknowledge her own son1    
which was effectual enough2  but        
somewhat too homely to repeat4    ,as   
for his personal appearance1 it was     
given in a saga2 but ,i have not        
consulted it myself1 and am no judge of 
its authenticity4  ,the  traditional    
description of him is that of a man     
almost beardless--a rare  case among the
 ,goths--with masses of golden ringlets1
 and black eyebrows  over 'oculos       
caesios1' the blue grey eyes common to  
so many conquerors4  ,a  complexion so  
peculiar1 that one must believe it to be
 truly reported4    ,his tragic death1  
and the yet more tragic consequences    
thereof1 will be  detailed in the next  
lecture4          ,,lecture             
,v--,,dietrich',s ,,end4      ,i have   
now to speak to you on the latter end of
 ,dietrich's reign--made so  sadly      
famous by the death of ,boethius--the   
last ,roman philosopher1 as he  has been
 called for centuries1 and not unjustly4
  ,his ,de ,consolatione  ,philosophiae 

is a book good for any man1 full of     
wholesome and godly  doctrine4  ,for    
centuries it ranked as high as the      
highest classics2  higher perhaps at    
times than any book save the ,bible1    
among not merely  scholars1 but         
statesmen4  ,it is the last legacy of   
the dying old world to  the young world 
which was trampling it out of life2 and 
therefore it is  full of sadness4  ,but 
beneath the sadness there is faith and  
hope2 for  ,god is just1 and virtue must
 be triumphant and immortal1 and the    
absolute  and only good for man4  ,the  
whole story is very sad4  ,dietrich was 
one of  those great men1 who like ,henry
 ,,viii1 ,elizabeth1 ,napoleon1 or the  
late  ,czar ,nicholas1 have lived too   
long for their own honour4  ,the old    
heathen  would have attributed his      
misadventures to a ,greek text1 an envy 
of the  ,gods1 who will not abide to see
 men as prosperous as they themselves   
are4  ,we may attribute it more simply  
and more piously to the wear and tear of

  frail humanity4  ,for it may be that  
very few human souls can stand for  many
 years the strain of a great rule4  ,i  
do not mean that they break  down from  
overwork1 but that they are pulled out  
of shape by it2 and  that1 especially1  
the will becomes enormously developed at
 the expense of  the other powers of the
 soul1 till the man becomes1 as he grows
 older1  imperious1 careless of1 or     
irritated by counsel1 determined to have
 his  own way because it is his own way4
  ,we see the same tendency in all      
accustomed for a long while to absolute 
rule1 even in petty matters2--in  the   
old ship's captain1 the old head of a   
factory1 the old master of  hounds2 and 
we do not blame them for it4  ,it is a  
disease incident to  their calling1 as  
pedantry is to that of a scholar1 or    
astuteness to that  of an attorney4     
,but it is most dangerous in the        
greatest minds1 and in  the highest     
places2 and only to be kept off by them1
 as by us1 each in  our place1 by honest

 self-examination1 diligent prayer1 and 
the grace of  ,god which comes thereby4 
,once or twice in the world's history a 
great  ruler1 like ,charles the ,fifth1 
cuts the ,gordian knot1 and escapes into
 a  convent3 but how few can or ought to
 do that8  ,there are those who must  go
 on ruling1 or see their country ruined2
 for all depends on them4  ,so  had     
,queen ,elizabeth to do2 so had         
,dietrich of ,bern likewise4  ,after    
them  would come the deluge1 and did    
come2 and they must endure to the last1 
whatever it may cost to their own health
 of character1 or peace of mind4    ,but
 most painful1 and most dangerous to the
 veteran sovereign1 is it to  have      
learnt to suspect1 perhaps to despise1  
those whom he rules2 to have  thrown    
away all his labour upon knaves and     
fools2 to have cast his pearls  before  
swine1 and find them turning again and  
rending him4  ,that feeling1  forced    
from ,queen ,elizabeth1 in her old age1 
that tragic cry1 ',i am a  miserable    

forlorn woman4  ,there is none about me 
whom ,i can trust4'  ,she  was a woman1 
always longing for some one to love2 and
 her heart broke  under it all4  ,but do
 you not see that where the ruler is not
 an  affectionate woman1 but a strong   
proud man1 the effect may be very       
different1 and very terrible8--how1     
roused to indignation1 scorn1           
suspicion1 rage1 he may turn to bay     
against his own subjects1 with          
',scoundrels6 you have seen the fair    
side of my character1 and in vain4  ,now
 you shall see the foul1 and beware for 
yourselves4'    ,even so1 ,i fancy1 did 
old ,dietrich turn to bay1 and did deeds
 which have  blackened his name for     
ever4  ,heaven forgive him6 for surely  
he had  provocation enough and to spare4
    ,i have told you of the simple1     
half-superstitious respect which the    
,teuton had for the prestige of ,rome4  
,dietrich seems to have partaken of  it1
 like the rest4  ,else why did he not   
set himself up as ,caesar of ,rome8     

,why did he always consider himself as  
son-in-arms1 and quasi-vassal1 of  the  
,caesar of ,constantinople8  ,he had    
been in youth overawed by the  cunning  
civilization which he had seen in the   
great city4  ,he felt1 with  a noble    
modesty1 that he could not emulate it4  
,he must copy it afar off4  ,he must    
take to his counsels men like           
,cassiodorus1 ,symmachus1 ,boethius1    
born and bred in it2 trained from       
childhood in the craft by which1 as a   
patent fact1 the ,kaisers of ,rome had  
been for centuries1 even in their  decay
 and degradation1 the rulers of the     
nations4  ,yet beneath that there  must 
have been a perpetual under-current of  
contempt for it and for  ,rome--the     
'colluvies gentium'--the sink of the    
nations1 with its conceit1  its         
pomposity1 its beggary1 its profligacy1 
its superstition1 its  pretence of      
preserving the ,roman law and rights1   
while practically it  cared for no law  
nor right at all4  ,dietrich had had to 

write letter upon  letter1 to prevent   
the green and blue factions cutting each
 other's  throats at the public         
spectacles2 letters to the tribunus     
voluptatum1 who  had to look after the  
pantomimes and loose women1 telling him 
to keep the  poor wretches in some      
decent order1 and to set them and the   
city an  example of a better life1 by   
being a chaste and respectable man      
himself4  ,letter upon letter of        
,cassiodorus'1 written in ,dietrich's   
name1 disclose  a state of things in    
,rome on which a ,goth could look only  
with disgust  and contempt4    ,and what
 if he discovered 7or thought that he   
discovered7 that these  prating         
coxcombs--who were actually living on   
government bounty1 and had  their daily 
bread1 daily bath1 daily oil1 daily     
pork1 daily wine1 found  for them at    
government expense1 while they lounged  
from the theatre to  the church1 and the
 church to the theatre--were plotting   
with ,justin the  scoundrel and upstart 

,emperor at ,constantinople1 to restore 
forsooth the  liberties of ,rome8  ,and 
that that was their answer to his three 
and  thirty years of good government1   
respect1 indulgence1 which had raised   
them up again out of all the miseries of
 domestic anarchy and foreign  invasion8
    ,and what if he discovered 7or      
thought that he discovered7 that the    
,catholic ,clergy1 with ,pope ,john at  
their head1 were in the very same plot  
for bringing in the ,emperor of         
,constantinople1 on the grounds of      
religion2 because he was persecuting the
 ,arian ,goths at ,constantinople1  and 
therefore would help them to persecute  
them in ,italy8  ,and that that  was    
their answer to his three and thirty    
years of unexampled religious  liberty8 
,would not those two facts 7even the    
belief that they were  facts7 have been 
enough to drive many a wise man mad8    
,how far they were facts1 we never shall
 exactly know4  ,almost all our         
information comes from ,catholic        

historians--and he would be a rash man  
who would pin his faith on any statement
 of theirs concerning the actions  of a 
heretic4  ,but ,i think1 even with no   
other help than theirs1 we may  see why 
,dietrich would have looked with horror 
on any intimacy between  the ,church of 
,rome and the ,court of ,constantinople4
    ,we must remember first what the    
,greek ,empire was then1 and who was the
  new ,emperor4  ,anastasius the poor   
old ,emperor1 dying at eighty with his  
heart broken by monks and priests1 had  
an ugly dream2 and told it to  ,amantius
 the eunuch and lord chamberlain4       
,whereon ,amantius said he had  had a   
dream too2--how a great hog flew at him 
as he was in waiting in the  very       
presence1 and threw him down and eat him
 fairly up4  ,which came  true--though  
not in the way ,amantius expected4  ,on 
the death of  ,anastasius he determined 
to set up as ,emperor a creature of his 
own4  ,for  this purpose he must buy the
 guards2 to which noble end he put a    

large  sum of treasure into the hands of
 ,justin1 senator1 and                  
commander-in-chief  of the said guards1 
who takes the money1 and spends it on   
his own  account2 so that the miserable 
eunuch finds1 not his man1 but ,justin  
himself1 ,emperor1 and his hard-earned  
money spent against him4  ,the mere     
rise of this unscrupulous swindler and  
his still more unscrupulous  nephew1    
,justinian1 would have been enough to   
rouse ,dietrich's suspicion1  if not    
fear4    ,deep and unspeakable must have
 been the royal ,amal's contempt for the
  man4  ,for he must have known him well
 at ,constantinople in his youth2  known
 how he was a ,goth or other ,teuton    
after all1 though he was called a       
,dardanian2 how his real name was       
,uprauda 7upright71 the son of          
,stock--which ,uprauda he had latinized 
into ,justinus4  ,the ,amal knew well   
how he had entered the ,emperor's guard2
 how he had intrigued and fought  his   
way up 7for the man did not lack courage

 and conduct7 to his  general's         
commission2 and now1 by a crowning act  
of roguery1 to the  ,empire4  ,he had   
known too1 most probably1 the man's     
vulgar peasant wife1  who1 in her       
efforts to ape royalty1 was making      
herself the laughing-stock  of the      
people1 and who was urging on her       
already willing husband to  persecute4  
,and this man he saw ready to convulse  
his own ,empire by  beginning a violent 
persecution against the ,arians4  ,he   
was dangerous  enough as a villain1     
doubly dangerous as a bigot also4    ,we
 must remember next what the ,greek     
,church was then2 a chaos of  intrigue1 
villainy1 slander1 and wild fury1       
tearing to pieces itself and  the whole 
,empire by religious feuds1 in which the
 doctrine in question  becomes invisible
 amid the passions and crimes of the    
disputants1 while  the ,lords of the    
,church were hordes of wild monks1 who  
swarm out of their  dens to head the    
lowest mobs1 or fight pitched battles   

with each other4  ,the ecclesiastical   
history of the fifth century in the     
,eastern ,empire is  one1 which not even
 the genius of a ,gibbon or a ,milman   
can make  interesting1 or even          
intelligible4    ,recollect that        
,dietrich had seen much of this with his
 own eyes2 had seen  actually1 as ,i    
told you1 the rebellion of ,basiliscus  
and the ,eutychian  ,bishops headed by  
the mad ,daniel the ,stylite against his
 foster father  the ,emperor ,zeno2 had 
seen that ,emperor 7as ,dean ,milman    
forcibly puts it7  'flying before a     
naked hermit1 who had lost the use of   
his legs by  standing sixteen years upon
 a column4'  ,recollect that ,dietrich  
and his  ,goths had helped to restore   
that ,emperor to his throne2 and then   
understand in what a school he had      
learnt his great ideas of religious     
toleration3 how deep must have been the 
determination to have no such  doings in
 his kingdom2 how deep1 too1 the dread  
of any similar outbreak  at ,rome4      

,recollect1 also1 that now in his old   
age he had just witnessed the same      
iniquities again rending the ,eastern   
,empire2 the old ,emperor ,anastasius   
hunted to death by armies of mad monks  
about the ,monophysite ,heresy2 the     
cities1 even the holiest places of the  
,east1 stained with ,christian  blood2  
everywhere mob-law1 murder1 treachery1  
assassination even in the  house of     
,god2 and now the new ,emperor ,justin  
was throwing himself into  the party of 
the ,orthodox with all the blind rage of
 an ignorant peasant2  persecuting1     
expelling1 shutting up the ,arian       
,churches of the ,goths1  refusing to   
hear ,dietrich's noble appeals2 and     
evidently organizing a  great movement  
against those peaceable ,arians1 against
 whom1 during the  life-time of         
,dietrich1 their bitterest enemies do   
not allege a single  case of            
persecution4    ,remember1 too1 that    
,dietrich had had experience of similar 
outbreaks of  fanaticism at ,rome2 that 

the ordination of two rival ,popes had  
once made  the streets run with blood2  
that he had seen priests murdered1      
monasteries fired1 nuns insulted1 and   
had had to interfere with the  strong   
arm of the law1 and himself decide in   
favour of the ,pope who had  the most   
votes1 and was first chosen2 and that in
 the quarrels1  intrigues1 and slanders1
 which followed that election1 he had   
had too  good proof that the            
ecclesiastics and the mob of ,rome1 if  
he but let  them1 could behave as ill as
 that of ,constantinople2 and1 moreover1
 that  this new ,pope ,john1 who seems  
to have been a hot-headed fanatic1 had  
begun his rule by whipping and banishing
 ,manichees--by whose permission1  does 
not appear4    ,recollect too1 that for 
some reason or other1 ,dietrich1 when he
 had  interfered in ,eastern matters1   
had been always on the side of the      
,orthodox and the ,council of           
,chalcedon4  ,he had fought for the     
,orthodox  against ,basiliscus4  ,he had

 backed the ,orthodox and ,vitalianus   
their  champion1 against the late       
,emperor ,anastasius2 and now as soon as
 the  ,orthodox got into power under    
,justin1 this was the reward of his     
impartiality4  ,if he did not distrust  
and despise the ,church and ,emperor  of
 the ,east1 he must have been not a     
hero1 but a saint4    ,recollect1 too1  
that in those very days1 ,catholic      
bigotry had broken out  in a general    
plunder of the ,jews4  ,at ,rome1 at    
,milan1 and ,genoa their  houses had    
been sacked1 and their synagogues burnt2
 and ,dietrich1 having  compelled the   
,catholics to rebuild them at their own 
expense1 had earned  the hatred of a    
large portion of his subjects4  ,and now
 ,pope ,john was  doing all he could to 
thwart him4  ,dietrich bade him go to   
,constantinople1 and plead with ,justin 
for the persecuted ,arians4  ,he        
refused4  ,dietrich shipt him off1      
nolentem volentem4  ,but when he got to 
,constantinople he threw his whole      

weight into the ,emperor's scale4  ,he  
was received by ,justin as if he was    
,st4 ,peter himself1 the ,emperor coming
  out to meet him with processions and  
wax-lights1 imploring his blessing2  he 
did exactly the opposite to what        
,dietrich bade him do2 and published  on
 his return a furious epistle to the    
bishops of ,italy1 calling upon  them to
 oppress and extirpate the ,arian       
perfidy1 so that no root of it is  left3
 to consecrate the ,arian churches      
wheresoever he found them1  pleading the
 advice of the most pious and ,christian
 ,emperor ,justin1  talking of ,dietrich
 as tainted inwardly and wrapt up       
outwardly with the  pest of heresy4  ,on
 which ,cochlaeus 7who religiously      
believes that  ,dietrich was damned for 
his ,arianism1 and that all his virtues 
went for  nothing because he had not    
charity1 which exists1 he says1 alone   
within  the pale of the ,church71 cannot
 help the naive comment1 that if the    
,pontiff did really write that letter1  

he cannot wonder at ,dietrich's  being a
 little angry4  ,kings now1 it is true1 
can afford to smile at such  outbursts2 
they could not afford to do so in       
,dietrich's days4  ,such words  meant   
murder1 pillage1 civil war1             
dethronement1 general anarchy2 and so   
,dietrich threw ,pope ,john into prison4
  ,he had been in bad health before  he 
sailed to ,constantinople1 and in a few 
months he died1 and was  worshipped as a
 saint4    ,as for the political        
conspiracy1 we shall never know the     
truth of it4  ,the  ',anonymus          
,valesii1' meanwhile says1 that when    
,cyprian accused ,albinus1  ,boethius   
answered1 ',it is false3 but if ,albinus
 has done it1 so have ,i1  and the whole
 senate1 with one consent4  ,it is      
false1 my ,lord ,king6'  ,whatever such 
words may prove1 they prove at least    
this1 that ,boethius1  as he says       
himself1 was the victim of his own      
chivalry4  ,to save ,albinus1  and the  
senate1 he thrust himself into the      

fore-front of the battle1 and  fell at  
least like a brave man4  ,whether       
,albinus1 ,boethius1 and ,symmachus  did
 plot to bring in ,justin2 whether the  
senate did send a letter to him1  ,i    
cannot tell4  ,boethius1 in his ,de     
,consolatione1 denies it all2 and       
,boethius was a good man4  ,he says that
 the letters in which he hoped for  the 
liberty of ,rome were forged2 how could 
he hope for the impossible8  but he     
adds1 'would that any liberty could have
 been hoped for6  ,i would  have        
answered the king as ,cassius did1 when 
falsely accused of conspiring  by       
,caligula3 ,if ,i had known of it1 you  
should not4'  ,one knows not  whether   
,dietrich ever saw those words3 but they
 prove at least that all  his           
confidence1 justice1 kindness to the    
patrician philosopher1 had not  won him 
from the pardonable conceit about the   
,romani nominis umbram4    ,boethius'   
story is most probably true4  ,one      
cannot think that that man  would die   

with a lie in his mouth4  ,one cannot   
pass by1 as the utterances  of a        
deliberate hypocrisy1 those touching    
appeals to his guiding  mistress1 that  
heavenly wisdom who has led him so long 
upon the paths of  truth and virtue1 and
 who seems to him1 in his miserable     
cell1 to have  betrayed him in his hour 
of need4  ,heaven forbid4  ,better to   
believe that  ,dietrich committed once  
in his life1 a fearful crime1 than that 
good  ,boethius' famous book is such    
another as the ,eikon ,basilike4        
,boethius1 again1 says that the ,gothic 
courtiers hated him1 and suborned       
branded scoundrels to swear away his    
life and that of the senate1 because  he
 had opposed 'the hounds of the palace1'
 ,amigast1 ,trigulla1 and other  greedy 
barbarians4  ,there was1 of course1 a   
,gothic party and a ,roman  party about 
the court2 and each hated the other     
bitterly4  ,dietrich had  favoured the  
,romans4  ,but the ,goths could not have
 seen such men as  ,symmachus and       

,boethius the confidants and counsellors
 of the ,amal1  without longing for     
their downfall2 and if1 as ,boethius and
 the ,catholic  historians say1 the     
whole tragedy arose out of a ,gothic    
plot to destroy  the ,roman party1 such 
things have happened but too often in   
the world's  history4  ,the only facts  
which make against the story are1 that  
,cyprianus  the accuser was a ,roman1   
and that ,cassiodorus1 who must have    
belonged to  the ,roman party1 not only 
is never mentioned during the whole     
tragedy1  but was high in power under   
,theodatus and ,athalaric afterwards4   
,add to this1 that there were vague but 
wide-spread reports that the ,goths     
were in danger2 that ,dietrich at least 
could not be ignorant of the  ambition  
and the talents of that terrible        
,justinian1 ,justin's nephew1 who  was  
soon to alter1 for a generation1 the    
fortunes of the whole ,empire1  and to  
sweep the ,goths from ,italy2 that men's
 minds must have been  perplexed with   

fear of change1 when they recollected   
that ,dietrich was  seventy years old1  
without a son to succeed him1 and that a
 woman and a  child would soon rule that
 great people in a crisis1 which they   
could not  but foresee4  ,we know that  
the ruin came2 is it unreasonable to    
suppose  that the ,goths foresaw it1 and
 made a desperate1 it may be a          
treacherous1  effort to crush once and  
for all1 the proud and not less         
treacherous  senators of ,rome8    ,so1 
maddened with the fancied discovery that
 the man whom he had  honoured1 trusted1
 loved1 was conspiring against him1     
,dietrich sent  ,boethius to prison4    
,he seems1 however1 not to have been    
eager for his  death2 for ,boethius     
remained there long enough to write his 
noble book4    ,however1 whether fresh  
proofs of his supposed guilt were       
discovered or  not1 the day came when he
 must die4  ,a cord was twisted round   
his head  7probably to extort           
confession71 till his eyes burst from   

their sockets1  and then he was put out 
of his misery by a club2 and so ended   
the last  ,roman philosopher4           
,symmachus1 his father-in-law1 was      
beheaded2 and ,pope  ,john1 as we have  
heard1 was thrown into prison on his    
return1 and died  after a few months4   
,these are the tragedies which have     
stained for ever  the name of           
',theodoric the ,great4'    ,pope ,john 
seems to have fairly earned his         
imprisonment4  ,for the two  others1 we 
can only1 ,i fear1 join in the sacred   
pity in which their  memories have been 
embalmed to all succeeding generations4 
,but we must  recollect1 that after all1
 we know but one side of the question4  
,the  ,romans could write2 the ,goths   
could not3 they may have been able to   
make  out a fair case for themselves2   
they may have believed truly in the     
guilt  of ,boethius2 and if they did1   
nothing less could have happened1 by    
such  rules of public law and justice as
 were then in vogue1 than did happen4   

,be that as it may1 the deed was done2  
and the punishment1 if deserved1  came  
soon enough4  ,sitting at dinner 7so the
 story runs71 the head of a  fish took  
in ,dietrich's fancy the shape of       
,symmachus' head1 the upper  teeth      
biting the lip1 the great eyes staring  
at him4  ,he sprang up in  horror2 took 
to his bed2 and there1 complaining of a 
mortal chill1  wrapping himself up in   
heaps of blankets1 and bewailing to his 
physician  the death of his two victims1
 he died sadly in a few days4  ,and a   
certain  holy hermit1 name not given1   
nor date of the vision1 saw the ghosts  
of  ,boethius and ,symmachus lead the   
,amal's soul up the cone of ,stromboli1 
and  hurl him in1 as the ,english       
sailors saw old ,boots1 the ,wapping    
usurer1  hurled into the same place1 for
 offences far more capable of proof4    
,so runs the story of ,dietrich's death4
  ,it is perfectly natural1 and very    
likely true4  ,his contemporaries1 who  
all believed it1 saw in it proof of  his

 enormous guilt1 and the manifest       
judgment of ,god4  ,we shall rather  see
 in it a proof of the earnest1          
child-like1 honest nature of the man1   
startled into boundless horror and      
self-abasement1 by the sudden           
revelation of his crime4  ,truly bad men
 die easier deaths than that2 and  go   
down to the grave1 for the most part1   
blind and self-contented1 and1  as they 
think1 unpunished2 and perhaps forgiven4
    ,after ,dietrich came the deluge4   
,the royal head was gone4  ,the royal   
heart remained in ,amalasuentha 'the    
heavenly beauty1' a daughter worthy  of 
her father4    ,one of her first acts   
was to restore to the widows and        
children of the  two victims the estates
 which ,dietrich had confiscated4  ,that
 may1 or may  not1 prove that she       
thought the men innocent4  ,she may have
 only felt it  royal not to visit the   
sins of the fathers on the children2 and
 those  fathers1 too1 her own friends   
and preceptors4  ,beautiful1 learned1   

and  wise1 she too was1 like her father1
 before her age4  ,she1 the pupil of    
,boethius1 would needs bring up her son 
,athalaric in ,roman learning1 and      
favour the ,romans in all ways2 never   
putting to death or even fining any  of 
them1 and keeping down the rough ,goths1
 who were ready enough1 now  ,dietrich's
 hand was off them1 to ill-use the      
conquered ,italians4  ,the  ,goths soon 
grew to dislike her1 and her ,roman     
tendencies1 her ,roman  education of the
 lad4  ,one day she boxed his ears for  
some fault4  ,he ran  crying out into   
the ,heldensaal1 and complained to the  
heroes4  ,they sent  a deputation to    
,amalasuentha1 insolent enough4  ',the  
boy should not be  made a scholar of4'  
',she meant to kill the boy and marry   
again4  ,had not  old ,dietrich         
forbidden free ,goths to go to          
schoolmasters1 and said1 that  the boy  
who was taught to tremble at a cane1    
would never face a lance8'  ,so they    
took the lad away from the women1 and   

made a ruffian of him4  ,what  with     
drink1 women1 idleness1 and the company 
of wild young fellows like  himself1 he 
was early ruined1 body and soul4  ,poor 
,amalasuentha1 not  knowing whither to  
turn1 took the desperate resolution of  
offering ,italy  to the ,emperor        
,justinian4  ,she did not know that her 
cousin ,theodatus had  been beforehand  
with her--a bad old man1 greedy and     
unjust1 whose  rapacity she had had to  
control again and again1 and who hated  
her in  return4  ,both send messages to 
,justinian4  ,the wily ,emperor gave no 
direct answer3 but sent his ambassador  
to watch the course of events4  ,the    
young prince died of debauchery1 and the
 ,goths whispered that his mother  had  
poisoned him4  ,meanwhile ,theodatus    
went on from bad to worse2  accusations 
flowed in to ,amalasuentha of his       
lawless rapacity3 but he was  too strong
 for her2 and she1 losing her head more 
and more1 made the  desperate resolve of
 marrying him1 as the only way to keep  

him quiet4  ,he  was the last male heir 
of the royal ,amalungs4  ,the marriage  
would set him  right in the eyes of the 
,goths1 while it would free her from the
  suspicion of having murdered her son1 
in order to reign alone4  ,theodatus    
meanwhile was to have the name of       
royalty2 but she was to keep the power  
and the money--a foolish1 confused plan1
 which could have but one ending4       
,theodatus married her of course1 and   
then cast her into prison1 seized  all  
her treasures1 and threw himself into   
the arms of that party among  the       
,goths1 who hated ,amalasuentha for     
having punished their oppressions4  ,the
 end was swift and sad4  ,by the time   
that ,justinian's ambassador  landed1   
,amalasuentha was strangled in her bath2
 and all that ,peter the  ambassador had
 to do was1 to catch at the cause of    
quarrel1 and declare  'inexpiable war'  
on the part of ,justinian1 as the       
avenger of the ,queen4    ,and then     
began that dreadful ,east ,goth war1    

which you may read for  yourselves in   
the pages of an eye-witness1            
,procopius2--a war which  destroyed     
utterly the civilization of ,dietrich's 
long and prosperous  reign1 left ,italy 
a desert1 and exterminated the ,roman   
people4    ,that was the last woe3 but  
of it ,i must tell you in my next       
,lecture4          ,,lecture ,,vi--,,the
 ,,nemesis ,,of ,,the ,,goths4      ,of 
this truly dreadful ,gothic war ,i can  
give you but a hasty sketch2 of  some of
 the most important figures in it1 not  
even a sketch4  ,i cannot  conceive to  
myself1 and therefore cannot draw for   
you1 the famous  ,belisarius4  ,was he  
really the strange compound of strength 
and weakness  which ,procopius1 and     
after him ,gibbon1 represent him8--a    
caricature1 for  good and evil1 of our  
own famous ,marlborough8  ,you must read
 and judge  for yourselves4  ,i cannot1 
at least as yet1 offer you any solution 
of the  enigma4    ,still less can ,i   
conceive to myself ,narses1 living till 

his grey hairs in  the effeminate       
intrigues of the harem1 and then        
springing forth a  general2 the ,warrior
 ,eunuch2 the misanthrope avenging his  
great wrong  upon all mankind in bloody 
battle-fields2 dark of counsel1 and     
terrible  of execution2 him to whom in  
after years the ,empress ,sophia sent   
word  that he was more fit to spin among
 maids than to command armies1 and he   
answered1 that he would spin her such a 
thread as she could not unravel2  and   
kept his word 7as legends say7 by       
inviting the ,lombards into ,italy4     
,least of all can ,i sketch ,justinian  
the ,great1 the half-,teuton peasant1   
whom his uncle ,justin sent for out of  
the ,dardanian hills1 to make him a     
demigod upon earth4  ,men whispered in  
after years that he was born of a       
demon1 a demon himself1 passing whole   
days without food1 wandering up and     
down his palace corridors all night1    
resolving dark things1 and labouring    
all day with ,herculean force to carry  

them out4  ,no wonder he was thought  to
 be a demon1 wedded to a demon-wife4    
,the man is unfathomable1               
inexplicable2--marrying deliberately the
 wickedest of all women1 plainly  not   
for mere beauty's sake1 but possibly    
because he saw in her a  congenial      
intellect2--faithful and loving to her  
and she to him1 amid all  the crimes of 
their following years2--pious with      
exceeding devotion and  orthodoxy1 and  
yet with a piety utterly divorced from1 
unconscious of1  the commonest          
morality2--discerning and using the     
greatest men1  ,belisarius and ,narses  
for example1 and throwing them away     
again1 surely  not in weak caprice1     
whenever they served him too            
well2--conquering  ,persians1 ,vandals1 
,goths2 all but re-conquering1 in fact1 
the carcase  ,roman ,empire2--and then  
trying 7with a deep discernment of the  
value of  ,roman law7 to put a galvanic 
life into the carcase by codifying that 
law4    ,in whatever work ,i find this  

man1 during his long life1 he is to me  
inexplicable4  ,louis ,,xi of ,france is
 the man most like ,justinian whom ,i   
know1 but he1 too1 is a man not to be   
fathomed by me4  ,all the facts  about  
,justinian you will find in ,gibbon4  ,i
 have no theory by which to  arrange and
 explain them1 and therefore can tell   
you no more than ,gibbon  does4    ,so  
to this ,gothic war2 which1 you must    
remember1 became possible for           
,justinian by ,belisarius' having just  
destroyed the ,vandals out of ,africa4  
,it began by ,belisarius invading the   
south of ,italy4  ,witigis was elected  
war-king of the ,goths1 'the man of     
witty counsels1' who did not fulfil  his
 name2 while ,theodatus 7,theod-aht     
'esteemed by the people' as his name    
meant7 had fallen into utter disesteem1 
after some last villainy about  money2  
had been struck down in the road by the 
man he had injured2 and  there had his  
throat cut1 'resupinus instar victimae  
jugulatus4'    ,he had consulted a ,jew 

diviner just before1 who had given him a
 warning4  ,thirty pigs1 signifying the 
unclean ,gentiles1 the ,jew shut up in  
three  sties2 naming ten ,goths1 ten    
,romans1 and ten ,imperialists of       
,belisarius'  army1 and left them to    
starve4  ,at the end they found dead all
 the ,goths  but two1 hardly any of the 
,imperialists1 and half the ,romans3 but
 the  five ,roman pigs who were left had
 lost their bristles--bare to the skin1 
as the event proved4    ,after that     
,theodatus had no heart to fight1 and   
ended his dog's life by a  dog's death1 
as we have seen4    ,note also this1    
that there was a general feeling of     
coming ruin2 that  there were quaint    
signs and omens4  ,we have heard of the 
pigs which  warned the ,goths4  ,here is
 another4  ,there was a ,mosaic picture 
of  ,theodoric at ,naples2 it had been  
crumbling to pieces at intervals1 and   
every fresh downfall had marked the     
death of an ,amal4  ,now the last       
remains went down1 to the very feet1 and

 the ,romans believed that it  foretold 
the end of the ,amal dynasty4  ,there   
was a ,sibylline oracle too2            
',quintili mense ,roma nihil ,geticum   
metuet4'    ,here1 too1 we find the last
 trace of heathenism1 of that political 
mythology which had so inextricably     
interwoven itself with the life and     
history of the city4  ,the shrine of    
,janus was still standing1 all of       
bronze1 only just large enough1         
,procopius says1 to contain the bronze  
image of ,janus ,bifrons4  ,the gates1  
during ,christian centuries1 had never  
been opened1 even in war time4  ,now    
people went by night1 and tried to      
force them open3 but hardly succeeded4  
,belisarius garrisoned ,rome1 and the   
,goths attacked it1 but in vain4  ,you  
must read the story of that famous siege
 in the really brilliant pages of  old  
,procopius1 the last good historian of  
the old world4    ,moreover1 and this is
 most important1 ,belisarius raised the 
native  population against the ,goths4  

,as he had done in ,africa1 when in one 
short campaign he utterly destroyed the 
now effeminate aristocracy of the       
,vandals1 so he did in ,italy4  ,by real
 justice and kindness2 by  proclaiming  
himself the deliverer of the conquered  
from the yoke of  foreign tyrants1 he   
isolated the slave-holding aristocracy  
of the ,goths  from the mass of the     
inhabitants of ,italy4    ,belisarius   
and the ,goths met1 and the ,goths      
conquered4  ,but to take ,rome  was     
beyond their power2 and after that a    
long miserable war struggled and        
wrangled up and down over the wretched  
land2 city after city was taken  and    
destroyed1 now by ,roman1 now by ,goth4 
,the lands lay waste1 the  people       
disappeared in tens of thousands4  ,all 
great ,dietrich's work of  thirty years 
was trampled into mud4    ,there were   
horrible sieges and destructions by both
 parties2--sack of  ,milan by ,goths1   
sack of ,rimini and the country round by
 ,romans2 horrors  of famine at         

,auximum2 two women who kept an inn1    
killing and eating  seventeen men1 till 
the eighteenth discovered the trap and  
killed them4  ,everywhere1 as ,i say1   
good ,dietrich's work of thirty years   
trampled into  gory mud4    ,then       
,theudebert and his false ,franks came  
down to see what they could  get2 all   
7save a few knights round the king7 on  
foot1 without bow or  lance2 but armed  
with sword1 shield1 and heavy           
short-handled double-edged  francisc1 or
 battle-axe4  ,at the bridge over the   
,ticinus they 7nominal  ,catholics7     
sacrificed ,gothic women and children   
with horrid rites1 fought  alike ,goths 
and ,romans1 lost a third of their army 
by dysentery1 and went  home again4     
,at last1 after more horrors1 ,vitigis  
and his ,goths were driven into         
,ravenna4  ,justinian treated for peace2
 and then followed a strange            
peripeteia1 which we have1 happily1 from
 an eye-witness1 ,procopius  himself4   
,the ,roman generals outside confessed  

their chance of success  hopeless4  ,the
 ,goths inside1 tired of the slow       
,vitigis1 send out to the  great        
,belisarius1 ,will he be their king8    
,king over them there in ,italy8  ,he   
promised1 meaning to break his promise2 
and to the astonishment and  delight of 
the ,romans1 the simple and honest      
barbarians opened the gates  of         
,ravenna1 and let in him and his        
,romans1 to find themselves betrayed    
and enslaved4  ',when ,i saw our troops 
march in1' says ,procopius1 ',i felt  it
 was ,god's doing1 so to turn their     
minds4  ,the ,goths1' he says1 'were    
far superior in numbers and in strength2
 and their women1 who had fancied  these
 ,romans to be mighty men of valour1    
spit in the faces of their huge         
husbands1 and pointing to the little    
,romans1 reproached them with having    
surrendered to such things as that4'    
,but the folly was committed4           
,belisarius carried them away captive to
 ,constantinople1 and so ended the      

first act of the ,gothic war4    ,in the
 moment of victory the envy of the      
,byzantine court undid all that  it had 
done4  ,belisarius returned with his    
captives to ,rome1 not for a  triumph1  
but for a disgrace2 and ,italy was left 
open to the ,goths1 if  they had men and
 heart to rise once more4    ,and they  
did rise4  ,among the remnant of the    
race was left a hero1 ,totila  by       
name2--a ,teuton of the ancient stamp4  
,totilas1 'free from death'--'the       
deathless one1' they say his name means4
  ,under him the nation rose once  more 
as out of the ground4    ,a ,teuton of  
the ancient stamp he was1 just and      
merciful exceedingly4  ,take  but two   
instances of him1 and know the man by   
them4  ,he retook ,naples4  ,the ,romans
 within were starving4  ,he fed them2   
but lest they should die  of the sudden 
repletion1 he kept them in by guards at 
each gate1 and fed  them up more and    
more each day1 till it was safe to let  
them out1 to find  food for themselves  

in the country4  ,a ,roman came to      
complain that a ,goth  had violated his 
daughter4  ,he shall die1 said ,totila4 
,he shall not die1  said the ,goths4    
,he is a valiant hero4  ,they came      
clamouring to the king4  ,he answered   
them quietly and firmly4  ,they may     
choose to-day1 whether to  let this man 
go unpunished1 or to save the ,gothic   
nation and win the  victory4  ,do they  
not recollect how at the beginning of   
the war1 they had  brave soldiers1      
famous generals1 countless treasures1   
horses1 weapons1  and all the forts of  
,italy8  ,and yet under ,theodatus1 a   
man who loved  gold better than justice1
 they had so angered ,god by their      
unrighteous  lives1 that--what had      
happened they knew but too well4  ,now  
,god had  seemed to have avenged himself
 on them enough4  ,he had begun a new   
course  with them4  ,they must begin a  
new course with him2 and justice was the
  only path4  ,as for the man's being a 
valiant hero3 let them know that the    

unjust and the ravisher were never brave
 in fight2 but that according to  a     
man's life1 such was his luck in battle4
    ,his noble words came all but true4 
,the feeble generals who were filling   
,belisarius's place were beaten one by  
one1 and almost all ,italy was          
reconquered4  ,belisarius had to be sent
 back again to ,italy3 but the  envy1   
whether of ,justinian himself1 or of the
 two wicked women who ruled  his court1 
allowed him so small a force that he    
could do nothing4    ,totila and the    
,goths came down once more to ,rome4    
,belisarius in agony  sent for          
reinforcements1 and got them2 but too   
late4  ,he could not  relieve ,rome4    
,the ,goths had massed themselves round 
the city1 and  ,belisarius1 having got  
to ,ostia 7,portus7 at the ,tiber's     
mouth1 could get  no further4  ,this was
 the last woe2 the actual death-agony of
 ancient  ,rome4  ,the famine grew and  
grew4  ,the wretched ,romans cried to   
,bessas and  his garrison1 either to    

feed them or to kill them out of their  
misery4  ,they would do neither4  ,they 
could hardly at last feed themselves4   
,the  ,romans ate nettles off the ruins1
 and worse things still4  ,there was not
  a dog or a rat left4  ,they even      
killed themselves4  ,one father of five 
children could bear no longer their     
cries for food4  ,he wrapped his head   
in his mantle1 and sprang into the      
,tiber1 while the children looked on4   
,the survivors wandered about like      
spectres1 brown with hunger1 and        
dropped dead with half-chewed nettles   
between their lips4  ,to this1 says     
,procopius1 had fortune brought the     
,roman senate and people4  ,nay1 not    
fortune1 but wickedness4  ,they had     
wished to play at being free1 while     
they themselves were the slaves of sin4 
,and still ,belisarius was coming1--and 
still he did not come4  ,he was  forcing
 his way up the ,tiber2 he had broken   
,totila's chain1 burnt a tower  full of 
,goths1 and the city was on the point of

 being relieved1 when one  ,isaac made a
 fool of himself1 and was taken by the  
,goths4  ,belisarius  fancied that      
,portus1 his base of operations1 with   
all his supplies1 and  ,antonia1 the    
worthless wife on whom he doted1 were   
gone4  ,he lost his  head1 was beaten   
terribly1 fell back on ,ostia1 and then 
the end came4  ,isaurians from within   
helped in ,goths by night4  ,the        
,asinarian gate was  opened1 and ,rome  
was in the hands of the ,goths4    ,and 
what was left8  ,what of all the pomp   
and glory1 the spoils of the  world1 the
 millions of inhabitants8    ,five or   
six senators1 who had taken refuge in   
,st4 ,peter's1 and some five  hundred of
 the plebs2 ,pope ,pelagius crouching at
 ,totila's feet1 and  crying for mercy2 
and ,rusticiana1 daughter of ,symmachus1
 ,boethius' widow1  with other noble    
women1 in slaves' rags1 knocking without
 shame at door  after door to beg a bit 
of bread4  ,and that was what was left  
of ,rome4    ,gentlemen1 ,i make no     

comment4  ,i know no more awful page in 
the history  of ,europe4  ,through such 
facts as these ,god speaks4  ,let man be
 silent2  and look on in fear and       
trembling1 knowing that it was written  
of old  time--,the wages of sin are     
death4    ,the ,goths wanted to kill    
,rusticiana4  ,she had sent money to the
 ,roman  generals2 she had thrown down  
,dietrich's statues1 in revenge for the 
death of her father and her husband4    
,totila would not let them touch  her4  
,neither maid1 wife1 nor widow1 says    
,procopius1 was the worse for  any      
,goth4    ,next day he called the heroes
 together4  ,he is going to tell them   
the old  tale1 he says--,how in         
,vitigis' time at ,ravenna1 #gjjj       
,greeks had conquered  and robbed of    
kingdom and liberty #bjj1jjj rich and   
well-armed ,goths4  ,and  now that they 
were raw levies1 few1 naked1 wretched1  
they had conquered  more than #bj1jjj of
 the enemy4  ,and why8  ,because of old 
they had looked  to everything rather   

than to justice2 they had sinned against
 each other  and the ,romans4           
,therefore they must choose1 and be just
 men henceforth1  and have ,god with    
them1 or unjust1 and have ,god against  
them4    ,then he sends for the wretched
 remnant of the senators and tells them 
the  plain truth3--,how the great       
,dietrich and his successors had heaped 
them  with honour and wealth2 and how   
they had returned his benefits by       
bringing in the ,greeks4  ,and what had 
they gained by changing ,dietrich  for  
,justinian8  ,logothetes1 who forced    
them by blows to pay up the money  which
 they had already paid to their ,gothic 
rulers2 and revenue exacted  alike in   
war and in peace4  ,slaves they deserve 
to be2 and slaves they  shall be        
henceforth4    ,then he sends to        
,justinian4  ,he shall withdraw his army
 from ,italy1 and  make peace with him4 
,he will be his ally and his son in     
arms1 as  ,dietrich had been to the     
,emperors before him1 or if not1 he will

 kill the  senate1 destroy ,rome1 and   
march into ,illyricum4    ,justinian    
leaves it to ,belisarius4    ,then      
,totila begins to destroy ,rome4  ,he   
batters down the walls1 he is  ready to 
burn the town4  ,he will turn the evil  
place into a  sheep-pasture4            
,belisarius flatters and cajoles him    
from his purpose1 and  he marches away  
with all his captives1 leaving not a    
living soul in ,rome4    ,but ,totila   
shews himself a general unable to cope  
with that great  tactician4  ,he divides
 his forces1 and allows ,belisarius to  
start out of  ,ostia and fortify himself
 in ,rome4  ,the ,goths are furious at  
his  rashness3 but it is too late1 and  
the war begins again1 up and down the   
wretched land1 till ,belisarius is      
recalled by some fresh court intrigue   
of his wicked wife1 and another and even
 more terrible enemy appears on  the    
field1 ,narses the eunuch1 avenging his 
wrong upon his fellow-men by  cunning   
and courage almost preternatural4  ,he  

comes upon them with a  mighty host3 but
 not of ,romans alone4  ,he has gathered
 the ,teuton  tribes2--,herules1 the    
descendants probably of ,odoacer's      
confederates2  ,gepids1 who have a long 
blood-feud against the ,goths2 and most 
terrible  of all1 ,alboin with his five 
thousand more ,burgundians1 of whom you 
will  hear enough hereafter4  ,we read  
even of multitudes of ,huns1 and even of
  ,persian deserters from the ,chosroo4 
,but ,narses' policy is the old ,roman  
one--,teuton must destroy ,teuton4  ,and
 it succeeds4    ,in spite of some      
trouble with the ,franks1 who are       
holding ,venetia1 he  marches down      
victorious through the wasted land1 and 
,totila marches to  meet him in the     
,apennines4  ,the hero makes his last   
speech4  ,he says1  ',there will be no  
need to talk henceforth4  ,this day will
 end the war4  ,they are not to fear    
these hired ,huns1 ,herules1 ,lombards1 
fighting for  money4  ,let them hold    
together like desperate men4'  ,so they 

fight it  out4  ,the ,goths depending   
entirely on the lance1 the ,romans on a 
due use  of every kind of weapon4  ,the 
tremendous charge of the ,gothic knights
 is  stopped by showers of ,hun and     
,herule arrows1 and they roll back again
 and  again in disorder on the foot3 but
 in spite of the far superior numbers   
of the ,romans1 it is not till nightfall
 that ,narses orders a general  advance 
of his line4  ,the ,goths try one last  
charge2 but appalled by the  numbers of 
the enemy1 break up1 and1 falling back  
on the foot1 throw them  into confusion1
 and all is lost4    ,the foot are cut  
down flying4  ,the knights ride for     
their lives4  ,totila  and five horsemen
 are caught up by ,asbad the ,gepid     
chief4  ,asbad puts his  lance in rest1 
not knowing who was before him4  ',dog1'
 cries ,totila's  page1 'wilt thou      
strike thy lord8'  ,but it is too late4 
,asbad's lance  goes through his back1  
and he drops on his horse's neck4       
,scipwar  7,shipward7 the ,goth wounds  

,asbad1 and falls wounded himself4  ,the
 rest  carry off ,totila4  ,he dies that
 night1 after reigning eleven stormy    
years4    ,the ,goths flee across the   
,po4  ,there is one more struggle for   
life1 and  one more hero left4  ,teia by
 name1 'the slow one1' slow1 but strong4
  ,he  shall be king now4  ,they lift   
him on the shield1 and gather round him 
desperate1 but determined to die hard4  
,he finds the treasure of ,totila1  hid 
in ,pisa4  ,he sends to ,theudebald and 
his ,franks4  ,will they help him       
against the ,roman1 and they shall have 
the treasure2 the last remnant of  the  
,nibelungen hoard4  ,no4  ,the          
,luegenfelden will not come4  ,they will
  stand by and see the butchery1 on the 
chance of getting all ,italy for        
themselves4  ,narses storms ,rome--or   
rather a little part of it round        
,hadrian's ,mole1 which the ,goths had  
fortified2 and the ,goths escape down   
into ,campania1 mad with rage4    ,that 
victory of ,narses1 says ,procopius1    

brought only a more dreadful            
destruction on the ,roman senate and    
people4  ,the ,goths1 as they go down1  
murder every ,roman they meet4  ,the day
 of grace which ,totila had given  them 
is over4  ,the ,teutons in ,narses' army
 do much the same4  ,what matter  to    
,burgunds and ,herules who was who1     
provided they had any thing to be       
plundered of8  ,totila has allowed many 
,roman senators to live in  ,campania4  
,they hear that ,narses has taken ,rome1
 they begin to flock to  the ghastly    
ruin4  ,perhaps there will be once again
 a phantom senate1  phantom consuls1    
under the ,romani nominis umbram4  ,the 
,goths catch them1  and kill them to a  
man4  ,and there is an end of the       
,senatus ,populusque  ,romanus4    ,the 
end is near now4  ,and yet these        
terrible ,goths cannot be killed out  of
 the way4  ,on the slopes of ,vesuvius1 
by ,nuceria1 they fortify a camp2  and  
as long as they are masters of the      
neighbouring sea1 for two months  they  

keep ,narses at bay4  ,at last he brings
 up an innumerable fleet1 cuts  off     
their supplies2 and then the end comes4 
,the ,goths will die like  desperate men
 on foot4  ,they burst out of camp1 turn
 their horses loose1  after the fashion 
of ,german knights--,one hears of the   
fashion again and  again in the middle  
age1--and rush upon the enemy in deep   
solid column4  ,the ,romans have hardly 
time to form some sort of line2 and then
 not the  real ,romans1 ,i presume1 but 
the ,burgunds and ,gepids1 turn their   
horses  loose like the ,goths4  ,there  
is no need for tactics2 the fight is    
hand to  hand2 every man1 says          
,procopius1 rushing at the man nearest  
him4    ,for a third of the day ,teia   
fights in front1 sheltered by his long  
pavisse1 stabbing with a mighty lance at
 the mob which makes at him1 as  dogs at
 a boar at bay4  ,procopius is awed by  
the man4  ,most probably he  saw him    
with his own eyes4  ,second in valour1  
he says1 to none of the  ,heroes4       

,again and again his shield is full of  
darts4  ,without moving a foot1  without
 turning an inch right or left1 says    
,procopius1 he catches another  from his
 shield-bearer1 and fights on4  ,at last
 he has twelve lances in  his shield1   
and cannot move it3 coolly he calls for 
a fresh one1 as if he  were fixed to the
 soil1 thrusts back the enemy with his  
left hand1 and  stabs at them with his  
right4  ,but his time is come4  ,as he  
shifts his  shield for a moment his     
chest is exposed1 and a javelin is      
through him4  ,and so ends the last hero
 of the ,east ,goths4  ,they put his    
head upon a  pole1 and carry it round   
the lines to frighten the ,goths4  ,the 
,goths are  long past frightening4      
,all day long1 and all the next day1 did
 the ,germans fight on1 ,burgund and    
,gepid against ,goth1 neither giving nor
 taking quarter1 each man dying  where  
he stood1 till human strength could bear
 up no longer1 while ,narses  sat by1   
like an ugly ,troll as he was1 smiling  

to see the ,teuton slay the  ,teuton1   
for the sake of their common enemy4     
,then the ,goths sent down to  ,narses4 
,they were fighting against ,god4  ,they
 would give in1 and go  their ways      
peaceably1 and live with some other     
,teuton nations after their  own laws4  
,they had had enough of ,italy1 poor    
fellows1 and of the  ,nibelungen hoard4 
,only ,narses1 that they might buy food 
on the journey  back1 must let them have
 their money1 which he had taken in     
various towns  of ,italy4    ,narses    
agreed4  ,there was no use fighting more
 with desperate men4  ,they  should go  
in peace4  ,and he kept his faith with  
them4  ,perhaps he dared  not break it4 
,he let them go1 like a wounded lion    
crawling away from the  hunter1 up      
through ,italy1 and over the ,po1 to    
vanish4  ,they and their  name became   
absorbed in other nations1 and history  
knows the ,east ,goths  no more4    ,so 
perished1 by their own sins1 a noble    
nation2 and in perishing1  destroyed    

utterly the ,roman people4  ,after war  
and famine followed as  usual dreadful  
pestilence1 and ,italy lay waste for    
years4  ,henceforth the  ,italian       
population was not ,roman1 but a mixture
 of all races1 with a most  powerful1   
but an entirely new type of character4  
,rome was no more  ,senatorial1 but     
,papal4    ,and why did these ,goths    
perish1 in spite of all their valour and
  patriotism1 at the hands of           
mercenaries8    ,they were enervated1 no
 doubt1 as the ,vandals had been in     
,africa1 by the  luxurious southern     
climate1 with its gardens1 palaces1 and 
wines4  ,but ,i  have indicated a       
stronger reason already3--they perished 
because they  were a slave-holding      
aristocracy4    ,we must not blame them4
  ,all men then held slaves3 but the    
original sin  was their ruin1 though    
they knew it not4  ,it helped1          
doubtless1 to  debauch them2 to tempt   
them to the indulgence of those fierce  
and greedy  passions1 which must1 in the

 long run1 lower the morality of        
slaveholders2 and which1 as ,totila told
 them1 had drawn down on them the  anger
 of heaven4  ,but more2 though they     
reformed their morals1 and that  nobly1 
under the stern teaching of affliction1 
that could not save them4  ,they were   
ruined by the inherent weakness of all  
slaveholding states2 the  very weakness 
which had ruined1 in past years1 the    
,roman ,empire4  ,they  had no middle   
class1 who could keep up their supplies1
 by exercising for  them during war the 
arts of peace4  ,they had no lower      
class1 whom they  dare entrust with     
arms1 and from whom they might recruit  
their hosts4  ,they could not call a    
whole population into the field1 and    
when beaten in  that field1 carry on1 as
 ,britain would when invaded1 a guerilla
 warfare  from wood to wood1 and hedge  
to hedge1 as long as a coign of         
vantage-ground was left4  ,they found   
themselves a small army of  gentlemen1  
chivalrous and valiant1 as slaveholders 

of our race have  always been2 but      
lessening day by day from battle and    
disease1 with no  means of recruiting   
their numbers2 while below them and     
apart from them  lay the great mass of  
the population1 helpless1 unarmed1      
degraded1 ready  to side with any or    
every one who would give them bread1 or 
let them earn  it for themselves 7for   
slaves must eat1 even though their      
masters  starve71 and careless of1 if   
not even hostile to1 their masters'     
interests1 the moment those masters were
 gone to the wars4    ,in such a case1  
nothing was before them1 save certain   
defeat at last by  an enemy who could   
pour in ever fresh troops of            
mercenaries1 and who had  the command of
 the seas4    ,i may seem to be         
describing the case of a modern and just
 as valiant and  noble a people4  ,i do 
not mention its name4  ,the parallel1 ,i
 fear1 is too  complete1 not to have    
already suggested itself to you4        
,,lecture ,,vii--,,paulus ,,diaconus    

,and now ,i come to the final settlement
 of ,italy and the ,lombard race2 and   
to do that well1 ,i must introduce you  
to-day to an old chronicler--a very     
valuable1 and as far as we know1        
faithful writer--,paul ,warnefrid1 alias
  ,paul the ,deacon4    ,i shall not    
trouble you with much commentary on him2
 but let him1 as much  as possible1 tell
 his own story4  ,he may not be always  
quite accurate1  but you will get no one
 more accurate4  ,in the long run1 you  
will know  nothing about the matter1    
save what he tells you2 so be content   
with what  you can get4  ,let him shew  
you what sort of an account of his      
nation1 and  the world in general1 a    
,lombard gentleman and clergyman could  
give1 at  the end of the #hth century4  
,you recollect the ,lombards1 of whom   
,tacitus says1 ',longobardos paucitas   
nobilitat4'  ,paulus ,warnefrid was one 
of their descendants1 and his  history  
carries out the exact truth of ,tacitus'
 words4  ,he too speaks of  them as a   

very small tribe4  ,he could not foresee
 how much the  'nobilitat' meant4  ,he  
knew his folk as a brave semi-feudal    
race1 who had  conquered the greater    
part of ,italy1 and tilled and ruled it 
well2 who  were now conquered by        
,charlemagne1 and annexed to the great  
,frank ,empire1  but without losing     
anything of their distinctive national  
character4  ,he  did not foresee that   
they would become the architects1 the   
merchants1 the  goldsmiths1 the bankers1
 the scientific agriculturists of all   
,europe4  ,we  know it4  ,whenever in   
,london or any other great city1 you see
 a ',lombard  ,street1' an old street of
 goldsmiths and bankers--or the three   
golden  balls of ,lombardy over a       
pawnbroker's shop--or in the country a  
field of  rye-grass1 or a patch of      
lucerne--recollect this wise and noble  
people1  and thank the ,lombards for    
what they have done for mankind4        
,paulus is a garrulous historian1 but a 
valuable one1 just because he is        

garrulous4  ,though he turned monk and  
deacon in middle life1 he has not  sunk 
the man in the monk1 and become a       
cosmopolite1 like most ,roman           
ecclesiastics1 who have no love or hate 
for human beings save as they are       
friends or enemies of the pope1 or their
 own abbey4  ,he has retained  enough of
 the ,lombard gentleman to be proud of  
his family1 his country1  and the old   
legends of his race1 which he tells1    
half-ashamed1 but with  evident         
enjoyment4    ,he was born at beautiful 
,friuli1 with the jagged snow-line of   
the ,alps  behind him1 and before him   
the sun and the sea1 and the plains of  
,po2 he  was a courtier as a boy in     
,desiderius' court at ,pavia1 and then1 
when  ,charlemagne destroyed the        
,lombard monarchy1 seems to have been   
much with  the great king at ,aix4  ,he 
certainly ended his life as a           
,benedictine  monk1 at ,monte ,casino1  
about #gii2 having written a ,life of   
,st4 ,gregory2  ,homilies long and many2

 the ,appendix to ,eutropius 7the       
,historia ,miscella1  as it is usually  
called7 up to ,justinian's time2 and    
above all1 this  history of the         
,lombards1 his forefathers1 which ,i    
shall take as my text4    ,to me1 and ,i
 believe to the great ,german           
antiquaries1 his history seems a  model 
history of a nation4  ,you watch the    
people and their story rise  before you 
out of fable into fact2 out of the      
dreary darkness of the  unknown north1  
into the clear light of civilized ,roman
 history4    ,the first chapter is ',of 
,germany1 how it nourishes much people1 
and  therefore many nations go forth of 
it4'  ,the reason which he gives for    
the immense population is significant4  
,the further to the north1 and the      
colder1 the more healthy he considers   
the world to be1 and more fit for       
breeding human beings2 whereas the      
south1 being nearer to the heat of the  
sun1 always abounds with diseases4  ,the
 fact really is1 ,i presume1 that       

,italy 7all the south which he knew71   
and perhaps most of the once ,roman     
empire1 were during the #fth and #gth   
centuries pestilential4  ,ruined        
cities1 stopt watercourses1 cultivated  
land falling back into marsh and        
desert1 a soil too often saturated with 
human corpses--offered all the  elements
 for pestilence4  ,if the once populous 
,campagna of ,rome be now  uninhabitable
 from malaria1 what must it have been in
 ,paul ,warnefrid's  time8    ,be that  
as it may1 this is his theory4    ,then 
he tells us how his people were at first
 called ,winils2 and how they  came out 
of ,scania ,insula4  ,sweden is often1  
naturally1 an island with  the early    
chroniclers2 only the south was known to
 them4  ,the north was  magical1        
unknown1 ,quenland1 the dwelling-place  
of ,yotuns1 ,elves1 ,trolls1            
,scratlings1 and all other uncanny      
inhumanities4  ,the ,winils find that   
they are growing too many for ,scanland1
 and they divide into three  parties4   

,two shall stay behind1 and the third go
 out to seek their  fortunes4  ,which   
shall go is to be decided by lot4  ,the 
third on whom the  lot falls choose as  
war-kings1 two brothers1 ,ayo and ,ibor1
 and with them  their mother1 ,gambara1 
the ,alruna-wife1 prudent and wise      
exceedingly--and  they go forth4    ,but
 before ,paul can go too1 he has a thing
 or two to say1 which he must  not      
forget1 about the wild mysterious north 
from which his forefathers  came4       
,first how1 in those very extreme parts 
of ,germany1 in a cave on  the ocean    
shore1 lie the seven sleepers4  ,how    
they got thither from  ,ephesus1 ,i     
cannot tell1 still less how they should 
be at once there on  the ,baltic shore1 
and at ,ephesus--as ,mohammed himself   
believed1 and  ,edward the ,confessor   
taught--and at ,marmoutier by ,tours1   
and probably  elsewhere beside4  ,be    
that as it may1 there they are1 the     
seven martyrs1  sleeping for ever in    
their ,roman dresses1 which some wild   

fellow tried to  pull off once1 and had 
his arms withered as a punishment4  ,and
 ,paul  trusts that they will awake some
 day1 and by their preaching save the   
souls of the heathen ,wends and ,finns  
who haunt those parts4    ,the ,teutonic
 knights1 however1 and not the seven    
sleepers1 did that good  work4    ,only 
their dog is not with them1 it          
appears2--the sacred dog which  watches 
them till the judgment day1 when it is  
to go up to heaven1 with  ,noah's dove1 
and ,balaam's ass1 and ,alborah the     
camel1 and all the holy  beasts4  ,the  
dog must have been left behind at       
,ephesus4    ,then he must tell us about
 the ,scritofinns of the ,bothnia gulf2 
wild  ,lapps and ,finns1 who have now   
retreated before the ,teutonic race4    
,in  ,paul ,warnefrid's eyes they are   
little wild hopping creatures--whence   
they  derive their name1 he             
says--,scritofinns1 the hopping1 or     
scrambling  ,finns4    ,scrattels1      
,skretles1 often figure in the ,norse   

tales as hopping dwarfs1  half magical  
#aeh4  ,the ,norse discoverers of       
,america recognized the  ,skraellings in
 the ,esquimaux1 and fled from them in  
panic terror2 till  that furious virago 
,freydisa1 ,thorvard's wife1 and ,eirek 
the ,red's  daughter1 caught up a dead  
man's sword1 and put to flight1         
single-handed1  the legion of little    
imps4    ,others1 wiser1 or too wise1   
say that ,paul is wrong2 that ,skrikfins
 is the  right name1 so called from     
their 'screeking'1 screaming1 and       
jabbering1  which doubtless the little  
fellows did1 loudly enough4    ,be that 
as it may1 they appear to ,paul 7or     
rather to his informants1  ,wendish     
merchants probably1 who came down to    
,charlemagne's court at ,aix1  to sell  
their amber and their furs7 as hopping  
about1 he says1 after the  rein-deer1   
shooting them with a little clumsy bow1 
and arrows tipt with  bone1 and dressing
 themselves in their skins4  ,procopius 
knew these  ,scritfins too 7but he has  

got 7as usual7 addled in his geography1 
and  puts them in ultima ,thule or      
,shetland71 and tells us1 over and above
 the  reindeer-skin dresses1 that the   
women never nursed their children1 but  
went out hunting with their husbands1   
hanging the papoose up to a tree1  as   
the ,lapps do now1 with a piece of      
deer's marrow in its mouth to keep  it  
employed2 and moreover1 that they       
sacrificed their captives to a war-  god
 7,mars he calls him7 in cruel ugly     
ways4  ,all which we may fully  believe4
    ,then ,paul has to tell us how in   
the ,scritfin country there is little or
  no night in midsummer1 little or no   
day in winter2 and how the shadows      
there are exceeding long1 and shorten to
 nothing as they reach the              
equator1--where he puts not merely      
,egypt1 but ,jerusalem4  ,and how on    
,christmas days a man's shadow is nine  
feet long in ,italy1 whereas at         
,totonis ,villam 7,thionville71 as he   
himself has measured1 it is nineteen    

feet and a half4  ,because1 he says1    
shrewdly enough1 the further you go     
from the sun1 the nearer the sun seems  
to the horizon4  ,of all which if  you  
answer--,but this is not history3 ,i    
shall reply--,but it is better than     
history4  ,it is the history of history4
  ,it helps you to see how the  world   
got gradually known2 how history got    
gradually to be written2 how  each man1 
in each age1 added his little grain to  
the great heap of facts1  and gave his  
rough explanation thereof2 and how each 
man's outlook upon  this wondrous world 
grew wider1 clearer1 juster1 as the     
years rolled on4    ,and therefore ,i   
have no objection at all to listen to   
,paul in his next  chapter1 concerning  
the two navels of the ocean1 one on each
 side  ,britain--abysses which swallow  
up the water twice a day1 and twice a   
day  spout it up again4  ,paul has seen1
 so he seems to say1 the tide1 the      
,greek text1 that inexplicable wonder of
 the old ,greeks and ,romans1  running  

up far inland at the mouths of the      
,seine and ,loire2 and he has to  get it
 explained somehow1 before he can go    
forward with a clear  conscience4  ,one 
of the navels seems to be the ,mahlstrom
 in ,norway4  ,of  the place of the     
other there is no doubt4  ,it is close  
to ,evodia insula1  seemingly ,alderney4
  ,for a high noble of the ,french told 
him so2 he was  sucked into it1 ships   
and all1 and only escaped by clinging to
 a rock4  ,and after awhile the margins 
of that abyss were all left bare1       
leaving  the ,frenchman high and dry1   
'palpitating so with fear1' says ,paul1 
'that  he could hardly keep his seat4'  
,but when all the water had been sucked 
in1 out and up it came pouring again1 in
 huge mountains1 and upon them  the     
,frenchman's ships1 to his intense      
astonishment1 reappeared out of the     
bottomless pit2 into one of which he    
jumped2 being1 like a true  ,frenchman1 
thoroughly master of the situation2 and 
got safe home to tell  ,paul the deacon4

  ,it is not quite the explanation of   
the tides which one  would have wished  
for3 but if a ,french nobleman of high  
rank will swear  that he saw it with his
 own eyes1 what can ,paul do1 in common 
courtesy1  but believe him8    ,paul has
 observed1 too1 which is a fact1 that   
there is a small tide in  his own       
,adriatic2 and suggests modestly that   
there may be a similar hole  in the     
bottom of that sea1 only a little one1  
the tide being very little4  ,after     
which1 'his praelibatis1' he will       
return1 he says1 to his story4  ,and so 
he goes back to the famous ,langbard    
,saga1 the old story1 which he  has     
turned out of living ,teutonic verse    
into dead ,latin prose1 and calls  ,de  
,woden et ,frea quaedam ridicula fabula2
 but can't help for the life of  him    
telling it1 apologizing all the time4   
,how the ,winils 7his own folk7  went   
out to fight the ,wendels1 many more    
than them in number2 and how  ,gambara1 
the ,alruna-wife1 cried to ,freia the   

goddess1 and ,freia told her  that      
whichsoever of the two armies first     
greeted ,woden at the sunrise  should   
win4  ,but the ,winils are far away on  
the war-road1 and there is no  time to  
send to them4  ,so ,freia bids her take 
the ,winil women1 and dress  them as    
warriors1 and plait their tresses over  
their lips for beards1 and  cry to      
,woden2 and ,woden admires their long   
beards1 and thinks them such  valiant   
'war-beasts1' that he grants them the   
victory4    ,then ,freia tells him how  
he has been taken in1 and the old god   
laughs  till the clouds rattle again1   
and the ,winils are called ,langbardr   
ever  after4    ,but then comes in the  
antiquary1 and says that the etymology  
is  worthless1 and that ,langbardr means
 long axes--7bardan axe7--a word  which 
we keep in halbert1 a hall-axe1 or      
guard's pole-axe2 and perhaps  the      
antiquary is right4    ,but again comes 
in a very learned man1 ,dr4 ,latham     
#afb1 and more than  hints that the name

 is derived from the ,lange ,borde1 the 
long meadows by  the side of the ,elbe3 
and so a good story crumbles to pieces1 
and          ',all charms do fly        
,beneath the touch of cold philosophy4' 
,then follows another story1 possibly   
from another saga4  ,how by reason of  a
 great famine they had to leave         
,scoringia1 the shore-land1 and go into 
,mauringia1 a word which ,mr4 ,latham   
connects with the ,merovingi1 or        
,meerwing conquerors of ,gaul4  ,others 
say that it means the moorland1  others 
something else4  ,all that they will    
ever find out we may see for  ourselves 
already4--,a little tribe of valiant    
fair-haired men1 whether  all ,teutons1 
or1 as ,mr4 ,latham thinks1 ,sclavonians
 with ,teuton leaders1  still intimately
 connected with our own ,english race   
both by their  language and their laws1 
struggling for existence on the bleak   
brown bogs  and moors1 sowing a little  
barley and flax1 feeding a few rough    
cattle1  breeding a few great black     

horses2 generation after generation     
fighting  their way southward1 as they  
exhausted the barren northern soils1 or 
became too numerous for their marches1  
or found land left waste in front  of   
them by the emigration of some ,suevic1 
,vandal1 or ,burgund tribe4  ,we  know  
nothing about them1 and never shall     
know1 save that they wore white  linen  
gaiters1 and carried long halberts1 or  
pole-axes1 and had each an  immortal    
soul in him1 as dear to ,god as yours or
 mine1 with immense  unconscious        
capabilities1 which their children have 
proved right well4    ,then comes       
another saga1 how they met the          
,assipitti1 of whom1 whether  they were 
,tacitus's ,usipetes1 of the ,lower     
,rhine1 or ,asabiden1 the  remnant of   
the ,asen1 who went not to ,scandinavia 
with ,odin1 we know not1  and need not  
know2 and how the ,assipitti would not  
let them pass2 and how  they told the   
,lombards that they had dogheaded men in
 their tribe who  drank men's blood1    

which ,mr4 ,latham well explains by     
pointing out1 in the  ,traveller's      
,song1 a tribe of ,hundings 7,houndings7
 sons of the hound2 and  how the        
,lombards sent out a champion1 who      
fought the champion of the  ,assipitti1 
and so gained leave to go on their way4 
,forward they go1 toward the south-east1
 seemingly along the ,german  marches1  
the debateable land between ,teuton and 
,sclav1 which would1  mechanically      
speaking1 be the line of least          
resistance4  ,we hear of                
,gothland--wherever that happened to be 
just then2 of ,anthaib1 the land  held  
by the ,sclavonian ,anten1 and ,bathaib1
 possibly the land held by the          
,gepidae1 or remnant of the ,goths who  
bided behind 7as ,wessex men still      
say71 while the ,goths moved forward2   
and then of ,burgundhaib1 wherever  the 
,burgunds might be then4  ,i know not2  
and ,i will dare to say1 no man  can    
exactly know4  ,for no dates are given1 
and how can they be8  ,the  ,lombards   

have not yet emerged out of the dismal  
darkness of the north  into the light of
 ,roman civilization2 and all the       
history they have are a  few scraps of  
saga4    ,at last they take a king of   
the family of the ,gungings1 ,agilmund1 
son of  ,ayo1 like the rest of the      
nations1 says ,jornandes2 for they will 
be no  more under duces1 elective       
war-kings4  ,and then follows a fresh   
saga  7which repeats itself in the myths
 of several nations71 how a woman has   
seven children at a birth1 and throws   
them for shame into a pond2 and         
,agilmund the king1 riding by1 stops to 
see1 and turns them over with his       
lance2 and one of the babes lays hold   
thereof2 and the king says1 ',this  will
 be a great man2' and takes him out of  
the pond1 and calls him  ,lamissohn1    
'the son of the fishpond1' 7so it is    
interpreted27 who grows  to be a mighty 
,kemper-man1 and slays an ,amazon4  ,for
 when they come to a  certain river1 the
 ,amazons forbid them to pass1 unless   

they will fight  their she-champion2 and
 ,lamissohn swims over and fights the   
war-maiden1  and slays her2 and they go 
on and come into a large land and quiet1
  somewhere about ,silesia1 it would    
seem1 and abode there a long while4     
,then down on them come the savage      
,bulgars by night1 and slay king        
,agilmund1 and carry off his daughter2  
and ,lamissohn follows them1 and        
defeats them with a great slaughter1 and
 is made king2 and so forth3 till  at   
last they have got--how we shall never  
know--near history and historic  lands4 
,for when ,odoacer and his ,turklings   
and other confederates went up  into    
,rugiland1 the country north of ,vienna1
 and destroyed the ,rugians1  and ,fava 
their king1 then the ,lombards went down
 into the waste land of  the ,rugians1  
because it was fertile1 and abode there 
certain years4    ,then they moved on   
again1 we know not why1 and dwelt in the
 open plains1  which are called feld4   
,one says ',moravia2' but that they had 

surely left  behind4  ,rather it is the 
western plain of ,hungary about ,comorn4
  ,be that  as it may1 they quarrelled  
there with the ,heruli4  ,eutropius says
 that  they paid the ,herules tribute   
for the land1 and offered to pay more1  
if  the ,herules would not attack them4 
,paul tells a wild saga1 or story1 of   
the ,lombard king's daughter insulting a
 ,herule prince1 because he was  short  
of stature3 he answered by some         
counter-insult2 and she1 furious1  had  
him stabbed from behind through a window
 as he sat with his back to  it4  ,then 
war came4  ,the ,herules1 old and       
practised warriors1 trained in  the     
,roman armies1 despised the wild        
,lombards1 and disdained to use armour  
against them1 fighting with no clothes  
save girdles4  ,rodulf their king1  too 
certain of victory1 sat playing at      
tables1 and sent a man up a tree  to see
 how the fight went1 telling him that he
 would cut his head off if  he said that
 the ,herules fled2 and then1 touched by

 some secret anxiety  as to the end1    
spoke the fatal words himself2 and a    
madness from ,god came  on the ,herules2
 and when they came to a field of flax1 
they took the blue  flowers for water1  
and spread out their arms to swim       
through1 and were  all slaughtered      
defencelessly4    ,then they fought with
 the ,suevi2 and their kings' daughters 
married with  the kings of the ,franks2 
and then ruled ,aldwin 7a name which    
,dr4 ,latham  identifies with our       
,english ,eadwin1 or ,edwin1 'the noble 
conqueror1'  though ,grotius translates 
it ,audwin1 'the old or auld            
conqueror'71 who  brought them over the 
,danube into ,pannonia1 between the     
,danube and the  ,drave1 about the year 
#ebf4  ,procopius says1 that they came  
by a grant  from the ,emperor           
,justinian1 who gave as wife to ,aldwin 
a great niece of  ,dietrich the ,good1  
carried captive with ,witigis to        
,byzant4    ,thus at last they too have 
reached the forecourt of the ,roman     

,empire1 and  are waiting for their turn
 at the ,nibelungen hoard4  ,they have  
one more  struggle1 the most terrible of
 all2 and then they will be for a while 
the  most important people of the then  
world4    ,the ,gepidae are in ,hungary 
before them1 now a great people4  ,ever 
since  they helped to beat the ,huns at 
,netad1 they have been holding ,attila's
  old kingdom for themselves and not    
attempting to move southward into the   
,empire2 so fulfilling their name4      
,there is continual desultory war2      
,justinian1 according to ,procopius'    
account1 playing false with each1 in    
order to make them destroy each  other4 
,then1 once 7this is ,procopius' story1 
not ,paul's7 they meet for a  great     
fight2 and both armies run away by a    
panic terror2 and ,aldwin the  ,lombard 
and ,thorisend the ,gepid are left      
alone1 face to face4--,it is the  hand  
of ,god1 say the two wild kings--,god   
does not mean these two peoples  to     
destroy each other4  ,so they make a    

truce for two years4  ,then the         
,gepidae call in ,cutuguri1 a ,hunnic   
tribe1 to help them2 then1 says         
,procopius1 ,aldwin1 helped by ,roman   
mercenaries1 under ,amalfrid the ,goth1 
,theodoric's great nephew1 and          
brother-in-law of ,aldwin1 has a great  
fight  with the ,gepidae4  ,but ,paul   
knows naught of all this3 with him it is
 not  ,aldwin1 but ,alboin his son1 who 
destroys the ,gepidae4  ,alboin1        
,grotius  translates as ,albe-win1 'he  
who wins all3' but ,dr4 ,latham1 true to
 his  opinion that the ,lombards and the
 ,angles were closely connected1        
identifies it with our ,a,elfwine1 'the 
fairy conqueror4'    ,aldwin1 ,paul     
says1 and ,thorisend fought in the      
,asfeld1--wherever that may  be1--and   
,alboin the ,lombard prince slew        
,thorisend the ,gepid prince1 and  the  
,gepidae were defeated with a great     
slaughter4    ,then young ,alboin asked 
his father to let him sit at the table  
with him4  ,no1 he could not do that1 by

 ,lombard custom1 till he has become    
son-at-  arms to some neighbouring king4
    ,young ,alboin takes forty thanes1  
and goes off to ,thorisend's court1 as  
the guest of his enemy4  ,the rites of  
hospitality are sacred4  ,the king      
receives him1 feasts him1 seats him1 the
 slayer of his son1 in his dead  son's  
place4  ,and as he looks on him he      
sighs2 and at last he can contain  no   
longer4  ,the seat1 he says1 ,i like    
right well3 but not the man who  sits in
 it4  ,one of his sons takes fire1 and  
begins to insult the  ,lombards and     
their white gaiters4  ,you ,lombards    
have white legs like so  many brood     
mares4  ,a ,lombard flashes up4  ,go to 
the ,asfeld1 and you will  see how      
,lombard mares can kick4  ,your         
brother's bones are lying about  there  
like any sorry nag's4  ,this is too     
much2 swords are drawn2 but old         
,thorisend leaps up4  ,he will punish   
the first man who strikes4  ,guests  are
 sacred4  ,let them sit down again1 and 

drink their liquor in peace4  ,and after
 they have drunk1 he gives ,alboin his  
dead son's weapons1 and  lets them go in
 peace1 like a noble gentleman4    ,this
 grand old ,king dies in peace4  ,aldwin
 dies likewise1 and to them  succeed    
their sons1 ,alboin and ,cunimund--the  
latter probably the prince  who made the
 jest about the brood-mares--and they   
two will fight the  quarrel out4        
,cunimund1 says ,paul1 began the war--of
 course that is his  story4  ,alboin is 
growing a great man2 he has married a   
daughter of  ,clotaire1 king of the     
,franks3 and now he takes to his        
alliance the ,avars1  who have just     
burst into the ,empire1 wild people who 
afterwards founded a  great kingdom in  
the ,danube lands1 and they ravage      
,cunimund's lands4  ,he  will fight the 
,lombards first1 nevertheless3 he can   
settle the ,avars  after4  ,he and his1 
says ,paul1 are slain to a man4  ,alboin
 makes a  drinking-cup of his skull1    
carries off his daughter ,rosamund      

7',rosy-mouth'71 and a vast multitude of
 captives and immense wealth4  ,the     
,gepidae vanish from history2 to this   
day 7says ,paul7 slaves either of the   
,lombards or the ,huns 7by whom he      
rather means ,avars72 and ,alboin       
becomes  the hero of his time1 praised  
even to ,paul's days in sagas1 ,saxon   
and  ,bavarian as well as ,lombard1 for 
his liberality and his glory4  ,we shall
  see now how he has his chance at the  
,nibelungen hoard4    ,he has heard     
enough 7as all ,teutons have7 of ,italy1
 its beauty1 and its  weakness4  ,he has
 sent five thousand chosen warriors to  
,narses1 to help  him against ,totila   
and the ,ostrogoths2 and they have told 
him of the fair  land and large1 with   
its vineyards1 olive-groves1 and        
orchards1 waste by  war and pestilence1 
and crying out for human beings to come 
and till it  once more4    ,there is no 
force left in ,italy now1 which can     
oppose him4  ,hardly any  left in the   
,roman world4  ,the plague is come2 to  

add its horrors to all  the other       
horrors of the time--the true old       
plague1 as far as ,i can  ascertain2    
bred1 men say1 from the ,serbonian bog2 
the plague which  visited ,athens in the
 time of ,socrates1 and ,england in the 
seventeenth  century3 and after the     
plague a famine2 woe on woe1 through all
 the dark  days of ,justinian the       
demon-emperor4  ,the ,ostrogoths1 as you
 know1 were  extinct as a nation4  ,the 
two deluges of ,franks and ,allmen1     
which1 under  the two brothers ,buccelin
 and ,lothaire1 all on foot 7for the    
,french1 as  now1 were no horsemen71 had
 rolled into ,italy during the ,gothic  
war1 had  been swallowed up1 as all     
things were1 in the fatal gulf of       
,italy4  ,lothaire and his army1        
returning laden with plunder1 had rotted
 away like  sheep by ,lake ,benacus     
7,garda now7 of drink1 and of the       
plague4  ,buccelin1  entrenched among   
his plunder-waggons by the ,volturno    
stream in the far  south1 had waited in 

vain for that dead brother and his dead 
host1 till  ,narses came on him1 with   
his army of trained ,herules and ,goths2
 the  ,francisc axe and barbed pike had 
proved useless before the arrows and the
  cavalry of the ,romans2 and no more   
than five ,allmen1 says one1 remained   
of all that mighty host4  ,awful to     
think of3 #ge1jjj men1 they say1 in one 
column1 #ajj1jjj in the other3 and like 
water they flowed over the land2  and   
like water they sank into the ground1   
and left no trace4    ,and now ,narses1 
established as exarch of ,ravenna1 a    
sort of satrap1 like  those of the      
,persian ,emperors1 and representing the
 ,emperor of  ,constantinople1 was      
rewarded for all his conquests and      
labours by  disgrace4  ,eunuch-like1 he 
loved money1 they said2 and eunuch-like1
 he  was harsh and cruel4  ,the ,empress
 ,sophia1 listening too readily to      
court-  slanders1 bade him 'leave to men
 the use of arms1 and come back to the  
palace1 to spin among the               

maids4'--',tell her1' said the terrible 
old imp1  ',i will spin her such a      
thread as she shall not unravel4'    ,he
 went1 superseded by ,longinus2 but not 
to ,constantinople4  ,from ,naples  he  
sent 7so says ,paul the ,deacon7 to     
,alboin1 and bade him come and try  his 
fortune as king of ,italy4  ,he sent1   
too1 7so says old ,paul7 presents  to   
tempt the simple ,lombard men--such     
presents as children would like--all    
fruits which grew in ,italian orchards4 
,though the gold was gone1 those  were  
still left4  ,great babies they were1   
these ,teutons1 as ,i told you at  the  
first2 and ,narses knew it well1 and had
 used them for his ends for  many a     
year4    ,then were terrible signs seen 
in ,italy by night2 fiery armies        
fighting in  the sky1 and streams of    
blood aloft1 foreshadowing the blood    
which should  be shed4    ,sent for or  
not1 ,king ,alboin came2 and with him   
all his army1 and a  mighty multitude1  
women1 and children1 and slaves2        

,bavarians1 ,gepidae1  ,bulgars1        
,sarmatae1 ,pannonians1 ,sueves1 and    
,noricans2 whose names 7says  ,paul7    
remain unto this day in the names of the
 villages where they  settled4  ,with   
,alboin1 too1 came ,saxons1 twenty      
thousand of them at the  least1 with    
wife and child4  ,and ,sigebert king of 
the ,franks put ,suevic  settlers into  
the lands which the ,saxons had left4   
,alboin gave up his own ,hungarian land 
to his friends the ,avars1 on the       
condition that he should have them back 
if he had to return4  ,but return  he   
never did1 he nor his ,lombard host4    
,this is the end4  ,the last  invasion  
of ,italy4  ,the sowing1 once for all1  
of an ,italian people4  ,fresh  nations 
were still pressing down to the rear of 
the ,alps1 waiting for  their turn to   
enter the ,fairy ,land--not knowing1    
perhaps1 that nothing  was left therein1
 but ashes and blood3--but their chance 
was over now3 a  people were going into 
,italy who could hold what they got4    

,on ,easter ,tuesday1 in the year of    
grace #efh1 they came1 seemingly by the 
old road2 the path of ,alaric and       
,dietrich and the rest2 the pass from   
,carniola1 through which the rail runs  
now from ,laybach to ,trieste4  ,it     
must have been white1 in those days1    
with the bones of nigh #bjj years4  ,and
 they found bisons1 aurochsen1 in the   
mountains1 ,paul says1 and is not       
surprised thereat1 because there are    
plenty of them in ,hungary near by4  ,an
 old man told him he had seen a skin in 
which fifteen men might lie  side by    
side4  ,none1 you must know1 are left   
now1 save a very few in the  ,lithuanian
 forests4  ,paul goes out of his way to 
note this fact1 and so  shall ,i4       
,alboin left a strong guard in ,friuli1 
and ,paul's ancestor among them1  under 
,gisulf his nephew1 and ,marphrais or   
master of the horse1 who now  became    
duke of ,friuli and warden of the       
marches1 bound to prevent the  ,avars   
following them into their new abode4    

,then the human deluge spread  itself   
slowly over the ,lombard plains4  ,none 
fought with them1 and none  gainsaid2   
for all the land was waste4  ,the plague
 of three years before1  and the famine 
which followed it had1 says ,paul1      
reduced the world into  primaeval       
silence4  ,the villages had no          
inhabitants but dogs2 the sheep  were   
pasturing without a shepherd2 the wild  
birds swarmed unhurt about  the fields4 
,the corn was springing self-sown under 
the ,april sun1 the  vines sprouting    
unpruned1 the lucerne fields unmown1    
when the great  ,lombard people flowed  
into that waste land1 and gave to it    
their own  undying name4    ,the scanty 
population1 worn out with misery1 fled  
to rocks and islands in  the lakes1 and 
to the seaport towns2 but they seem to  
have found the  ,lombards merciful      
masters1 and bowed their necks meekly to
 the inevitable  yoke4  ,the towns alone
 seem to have offered resistance4       
,pavia ,alboin  besieged three years1   

and could not take4  ,he swore some wild
 oath of  utter destruction to all      
within1 and would have kept it4  ,at    
last they  capitulated4  ,as ,alboin    
rode in at ,st4 ,john's gate1 his horse 
slipped up2  and could not rise1 though 
the grooms beat him with their          
lance-butts4  ,a  ghostly fear came on  
the ,lombards4  ',remember1 lord king1  
thy cruel oath1  and cancel it2 for     
there are ,christian folk in the city4' 
,alboin  cancelled his oath1 and the    
horse rose at once4  ,so ,alboin spared 
the  people of ,pavia1 and entered the  
palace of old ,dietrich the ,ostrogoth1 
as  king of ,italy1 as far as the gates 
of ,rome and ,ravenna4    ,and what was 
his end8  ,such an end as he deserved2  
earned and worked out  for himself4  ,a 
great warrior1 he had destroyed many    
nations1 and won a  fair land4  ,a just 
and wise governor1 he had settled ,north
 ,italy on some  rough feudal system1   
without bloodshed or cruelty4  ,a       
passionate savage1  he died as savages  

deserve to die4  ,you recollect         
,rosamund his ,gepid  bride8  ,in some  
mad drinking-bout 7perhaps cherishing   
still his old  hatred of her family7 he 
sent her her father's skull full of     
wine1 and  bade her drink before all4   
,she drank1 and had her revenge4    ,the
 story has become world-famous from its 
horror3 but ,i suppose ,i must  tell it 
you in its place4--,how she went to     
,helmichis the shield-bearer1  and he   
bade her get ,peredeo the ,kemper-man to
 do the deed3 and how  ,peredeo         
intrigued with one of her bower-maidens1
 and how ,rosamund did a  deed of       
darkness1 and deceived ,peredeo2 and    
then said to him1 ,i am thy  mistress2  
thou must slay thy master1 or thy master
 thee4  ,and how he1  like ,gyges in old
 ,herodotus's tale1 preferred to        
survive2 and how  ,rosamund bound the   
king's sword to his bedstead as he slept
 his mid-day  sleep1 and ,peredeo did   
the deed2 and how ,alboin leapt up1 and 
fought with  his footstool1 but in vain4

  ,and how1 after he was dead1 ,rosamund
 became  ,helmichis' leman1 as she had  
been ,peredeo's1 and fled with him to   
,ravenna1 with all the treasure and     
,alpswintha1 ,alboin's daughter by the  
,frankish wife2 and how ,longinus the   
exarch persuaded her to poison          
,helmichis1 and marry him2 and how she  
gave ,helmichis the poisoned cup as  he 
came out of the bath1 and he saw by the 
light of her wicked eyes that  it was   
poison1 and made her drink the rest2 and
 so they both fell dead4  ,and then how 
,peredeo and the treasure were sent to  
the ,emperor at  ,constantinople2 and   
how ,peredeo slew a great lion in the   
theatre2 and how  ,tiberius1 when he saw
 that he was so mighty a man of his     
hands1 bade put  his eyes out2 and how  
he hid two knives in his sleeves1 and   
slew with  them two great chamberlains  
of the ,emperor2 and so died1 like      
,samson1  says old ,paul1 having got    
good weregeld for the loss of his       
eyes--a man  for either eye4    ,and old

 ,narses died at ,rome1 at a great age2 
and they wrapt him in lead1  and sent   
him to ,byzant with all his wealth4     
,but some say that while he  was still  
alive1 he hid his wealth in a great     
cistern1 and slew all who  knew of it   
save one old man1 and swore him never to
 reveal the place4  ,but  after ,narses'
 death that old man went to             
,constantinople to ,tiberius the        
,caesar1 and told him how he could not  
die with that secret on his mind2  and  
so ,tiberius got all the money1 so much 
that it took many days to  carry away1  
and gave it all to the poor1 as was his 
wont4    ,a myth--a fable3 but          
significant1 as one more attempt to     
answer the  question of all questions in
 a ,teuton's mind--,what had become of  
the  ,nibelungen hoard8  ,what had      
become of all the wealth of ,rome8      
,,lecture ,,viii--,,the ,,clergy ,,and  
,,the ,,heathen      ,i asked in my     
first lecture1 ',what would become of   
the forest children1  unless some kind  

saint or hermit took pity on them8'     
,i used the words saint and hermit with 
a special purpose4  ,it was by the      
influence1 actual or imaginary1 of such1
 that the ,teutons1 after the           
destruction of the ,roman empire1 were  
saved from becoming hordes of  savages1 
destroying each other by continual      
warfare4    ,what our race owes1 for    
good and for evil1 to the ,roman clergy1
 ,i shall  now try to set before you4   
,to mete out to them their due share of 
praise and blame is1 ,i confess1 a  very
 difficult task4  ,it can only be       
fulfilled by putting oneself1 as far  as
 possible1 in their place1 and making   
human allowance for the  circumstances1 
utterly novel and unexpected1 in which  
they found  themselves during the       
,teutonic invasions4  ,thus1 perhaps1 we
 may find it  true of some of them1 as  
of others1 that ',wisdom is justified of
 all her  children4'    ,that is a hard 
saying for human nature4  ,justified of 
her children she  may be1 after we have 

settled which are to be her children and
 which not3  but of all her children8   
,that is a hard saying4  ,and yet was   
not every  man from the beginning of the
 world1 who tried with his whole soul to
 be  right1 and to do good1 a child of  
wisdom1 of whom she at least will be    
justified1 whether he is justified or   
not8  ,he may have had his  ignorances1 
follies1 weaknesses1 possibly crimes3   
but he served the  purpose of his mighty
 mother4  ,he did1 even by his follies1 
just what she  wanted done2 and she is  
justified of all her children4    ,this 
may sound like optimism3 but it also    
sounds like truth to any one  who has   
fairly studied that fantastic page of   
history1 the contrast  between the old  
monks and our own heathen forefathers4  
,the more one  studies the facts1 the   
less one is inclined to ask1 ',why was  
it not done  better8'--the more inclined
 to ask1 ',could it have been done      
better8'  ,were not the celibate clergy1
 from the fifth to the eighth centuries1

  exceptional agents fitted for an      
exceptional time1 and set to do a work  
which in the then state of the ,european
 races1 none else could have done8  ,at 
least1 so one suspects1 after experience
 of their chronicles and  legends1      
sufficient to make one thoroughly detest
 the evil which was in  their system3   
but sufficient also to make one         
thoroughly love many of the  men        
themselves4    ,a few desultory         
sketches1 some carefully historical1 the
 rest as  carefully compiled from common
 facts1 may serve best to illustrate my 
meaning4    ,the monk and clergyman1    
whether celibate or not1 worked on the  
heathen  generally in one of three      
capacities3 ,as tribune of the people2  
as hermit  or solitary prophet2 as      
colonizer2 and in all three worked as   
well as  frail human beings are wont to 
do1 in this most piecemeal world4       
,let us look first at the ,hermits4     
,all know what an important part they   
play in old romances and ballads4  ,all 

are not aware that they played as       
important a part in actual history4     
,scattered through all wildernesses     
from the cliffs of the ,hebrides to the 
,sclavonian marches1 they put forth  a  
power1 uniformly1 it must be said1 for  
good4    ,every one knows how they      
appear in the old romances4--,how some  
,sir  ,bertrand or other1 wearied with  
the burden of his sins1 stumbles on one 
of these ,einsiedler1 'settlers alone1' 
and talks with him2 and goes on a  wiser
 and a better man4  ,how he crawls1     
perhaps1 out of some wild  scuffle1     
'all-to bebled1' and reeling to his     
saddlebow2 and 'ever he went  through a 
waste land1 and rocks rough and strait1 
so that it him seemed  he must surely   
starve2 and anon he heard a little bell1
 whereat he  marvelled2 and betwixt the 
water and the wood he was aware of a    
chapel1  and an hermitage2 and there a  
holy man said mass1 for he was a priest1
  and a great leech1 and cunning withal4
  ,and ,sir ,bertrand went in to him    

and told him all his case--how he fought
 ,sir ,marculf for love of the fair     
,ellinore1 and how the king bade part   
them1 and how ,marculf did him open     
shame at the wineboard1 and how he went 
about to have slain him privily1  but   
could not2 and then how he went and     
wasted ,marculf's lands1 house  with    
byre1 kine with corn1 till a strong     
woman smote him over the head  with a   
quern-stone1 and all-to broke his       
brain-pan2' and so forth--the  usual    
story of mad passion1 drink1 pride1     
revenge4    ',and there the holy man    
a-read him right godly doctrine1 and    
shrived him1  and gave him an oath upon 
the blessed ,gospels1 that fight he     
should not1  save in his liege lord's   
quarrel1 for a year and a day4  ,and    
there he  abode till he was well healed1
 he and his horse4'    ,must not that   
wild fighting ,bertrand have gone away  
from that place a  wiser and a better   
man8  ,is it a matter to be regretted1  
or otherwise1  that such men as the     

hermit were to be found in that forest1 
to mend  ,bertrand's head and his       
morals1 at the same time8  ,is it a     
matter to be  regretted1 or otherwise1  
that after twenty or thirty years more  
of  fighting and quarrelling and        
drinking1 this same ,sir                
,bertrand--finding  that on the whole   
the lust of the flesh1 the lust of the  
eye1 and the  pride of life1 were poor  
paymasters1 and having very sufficient  
proof1 in  the ends of many a friend and
 foe1 that the wages of sin are         
death--'fell  to religion likewise1 and 
was a hermit in that same place1 after  
the holy  man was dead2 and was made    
priest of that same chapel2 and died in 
honour1 having succoured many good      
knights1 and wayfaring men'8    ,one    
knows very well that it would not be    
right now2 that it is not needed  now4  
,it is childish to repeat that1 when the
 question is1 was it right  then--or1 at
 least1 as right as was possible then8  
,was it needed  then--or1 at least1 the 

nearest thing to that which was needed8 
,if it was1 why should not wisdom be    
justified of all her children8    ,one  
hopes that she was2 for certainly1 if   
any men ever needed to be in  the right1
 lest they should be of all men most    
miserable1 it was these  same old       
hermits4  ,praying and preaching        
continually1 they lived on food  which  
dogs would not eat1 in dens in which    
dogs ought not to live4  ,they  had     
their reasons4  ,possibly they knew     
their own business best4  ,possibly     
also they knew their neighbour's        
business somewhat2 they knew that such  
generations as they lived in could not  
be taught1 save by some  extravagant    
example of this kind1 some caricature1  
as it were1 of the  doctrines which were
 to be enforced4  ,nothing less         
startling1 perhaps1  could have touched 
the dull hearts1 have convinced the dull
 brains1 of  fierce1 ignorant1 and      
unreasoning men4    ,ferocity1          
lawlessness1 rapine1 cruelty1 and--when 

they were glutted and  debauched by the 
spoils of the ,roman empire--sensuality1
 were the evils  which were making      
,europe uninhabitable for decent folk1  
and history--as  ,milton called it--a   
mere battle of kites and crows4  ,what  
less than the  example of the           
hermit--especially when that hermit was 
a delicate and  high-born woman--could  
have taught men the absolute superiority
 of soul  to body1 of spiritual to      
physical force1 of spiritual to physical
  pleasure1 and have said to them1 not  
in vain words1 but solid acts--',all    
that you follow is not the way of life4 
,the very opposite to it is the  way of 
life4  ,the wages of sin are death2 and 
you will find them so1--in  this life   
the victims of your own passions1 and of
 the foes whom your  crimes arouse1 and 
in life to come of hell for ever4  ,but 
,i tell you ,i  have no mind to go to   
hell4  ,i have a mind to go to heaven2  
and ,i know my  mind right well4  ,if   
the world is to be such as this1 and the

 rulers  thereof such as you1 ,i will   
flee from you4  ,i will not enter into  
the  congregation of sinners1 neither   
will ,i cast in my lot with the         
bloodthirsty4  ,i will be alone with    
,god and ,his universe4  ,i will go to  
the mountain cave or to the ocean cliff1
 and there1 while the salt wind         
whistles through my hair1 ,i will be    
stronger than you1 safer than you1      
richer than you1 happier than you4      
,richer than you1 for ,i shall have for 
my companion the beatific vision of     
,god1 and of all things and beings ,god-
  like1 fair1 noble1 just1 and merciful4
  ,stronger than you1 because virtue    
will give me a power over the hearts of 
men such as your force cannot  give you2
 and you will have to come to my lonely 
cell1 and ask me to  advise you1 and    
teach you1 and help you against the     
consequences of your  own sins4  ,safer 
than you1 because ,god in whom ,i trust 
will protect me3  and if not1 ,i have   
still the everlasting life of heaven1   

which this world  cannot give or take   
away4  ,so go your ways1 fight and      
devour one another1  the victims of your
 own lusts4  ,i am minded to be a good  
man2 and to be  that1 ,i will give      
up--as you have made all other methods  
impossible for  me--all which seems to  
make life worth having'8  ,oh6 instead  
of finding  fault with such men2 instead
 of1 with vulturine beak1 picking out   
the  elements of ,manichaeism1 of       
conceit1 of discontent1 of what not     
human  frailty and ignorance1 which may 
have been in them1 let us honour the    
enormous moral force which enabled them 
so to bear witness that not the  mortal 
animal1 but the immortal spirit1 is the 
,man2 and that when all  which outward  
circumstance can give is cast away1 the 
,man still lives for  ever1 by ,god1 and
 in ,god4    ,and they did teach that   
lesson4  ,they were good1 while other   
men were  bad2 and men saw the beauty of
 goodness1 and felt the strength of it1 
and  worshipped it in blind savage      

admiration4  ,read ,roswede's ,vitae    
,patrum  ,eremiticorum2 read the legends
 of the hermits of the ,german forests2 
read  ,colgan's ,lives of the ,irish    
,saints2 and see whether1 amid all      
fantastic1  incredible1 sometimes       
immoral myths1 the goodness of life of  
some one or  other is not the historic  
nucleus1 round which the myths1 and the 
worship  of the saint1 have crystallized
 and developed4    ,take1 for instance1 
the exquisite hymn of ,st4 ,bridget1    
which ,colgan  attributes to the sixth  
century3 though it is probably much     
later2 that  has nothing to do with the 
argument3--       ',bridget1 the        
victorious1 she loved not the world2    
,she sat on it as a gull sits on the    
ocean2     ,she slept the sleep of a    
captive mother1     ,mourning after her 
absent child4       ,she suffered not   
much from evil tongues2     ,she held   
the blessed faith of the ,trinity2      
,bridget1 the mother of my ,lord of     
,heaven1     ,the best among the sons of

 the ,lord4       ,she was not          
querulous1 nor malevolent2     ,she     
loved not the fierce wrangling of women2
     ,she was not a backbiting serpent1 
or a liar2     ,she sold not the ,son of
 ,god for that which passes away4       
,she was not greedy of the goods of this
 life2     ,she gave away without gall1 
without slackness2     ,she was not     
rough to wayfaring men2     ,she handled
 gently the wretched lepers4       ,she 
built her a town in the plains 7of      
,kildare72     ,and dead1 she is the    
patroness of many peoples4'    ,i might 
comment much on this quotation4  ,i     
might point out how ,st4  ,bridget is   
called the mother of the ,lord1 and by  
others1 the ,mary of the  ,irish1 the   
',automata coeli regina1' and seems to  
have been considered at  times as an    
avatar or incarnation of the blessed    
,virgin4  ,i might more  than hint how  
that appellation1 as well as the calling
 of ,christ 'the  best of the sons of   
the ,lord1' in an orthodox ,catholic    

hymn1 seems to  point to the remnants of
 an older creed1 possibly ,buddhist1 the
  transition whence towards ,catholic   
,christianity was slow and imperfect4   
,i  might make merry over the fact that 
there are many ,bridgets1 some say      
eleven2 even as there are three or four 
,st4 ,patricks2 and raise learned       
doubts as to whether such persons ever  
existed1 after that ,straussian  method 
of pseudo-criticism which cometh not    
from above1 from the ,spirit  of ,god1  
nor yet indeed from below1 from the     
sound region of fact1 but  from within1 
out of the naughtiness of the heart1    
defiling a man4  ,i  might weaken1 too1 
the effect of the hymn by going on with 
the rest of  it1 and making you smile at
 its childish miracles and portents2 but
 ,i  should only do a foolish thing1 by 
turning your minds away from the broad  
fact that ,st4 ,bridget1 or various     
persons who got1 in the lapse of time1  
massed together under the name of ,st4  
,bridget1 were eminently good women4    

,it matters little whether these legends
 are historically correct4  ,their      
value lies in the moral of them4  ,and  
as for their real historical            
correctness1 the ,straussian argument   
that no such persons existed1  because  
lies are told of them1 is1 ,i hold1 most
 irrational4  ,the  falsehood would not 
have been invented unless it had started
 in a truth4  ,the high moral character 
ascribed to them would never have been  
dreamed  of by persons who had not seen 
living instances of that character4     
,man's  imagination does not create2 it 
only reproduces and recombines its own  
experience4  ,it does so in dreams4  ,it
 does so1 as far as the moral  character
 of the saint is concerned1 in the      
legend2 and if there had not  been      
persons like ,st4 ,bridget in ,ireland1 
the wild ,irish could never have        
imagined them4    ,therefore it matters 
little to a wise man1 standing on the   
top of ,croagh  ,patrick1 the grandest  
mountain perhaps1 with the grandest     

outlook1 in  these ,british isles1 as he
 looks on the wild ,irish there on      
pattern days1  up among the ,atlantic   
clouds1 crawling on bare and bleeding   
knees round  ,st4 ,patrick's cell1--it  
matters little1 ,i say1 to the wise man1
 whether  ,st4 ,patrick himself owned   
the ancient image which is worshipped on
 that  mountain peak1 or the ancient    
bell which till late years hung in the  
sanctuary1--such a strange oblong bell  
as the ,irish saints carried with  them 
to keep off the demons--the magic bells 
which appear 7as far as ,i am  aware7 in
 the legends of no country till you get 
to ,tartary and the  ,buddhists2--such a
 bell as came 7or did not come7 down    
from heaven to ,st4  ,senan2 such a bell
 as ,st4 ,fursey sent flying through the
 air to greet ,st4  ,cuanady at his     
devotions when he could not come        
himself2 such a bell as  another saint1 
wandering in the woods1 rang till a stag
 came out of the  covert1 and carried   
his burden for him on his horns4  ,it   

matters as  little to the wise man      
whether that bell belonged to ,st4      
,patrick1 as  whether all these child's 
dreams are dreams4  ,it matters little  
to him1  too1 whether ,st4 ,patrick did1
 or did not stand on that mountain peak1
 'in  the spirit and power of ,elias'   
7after whom it was long named71 fasting1
  like ,elias1 forty days and forty     
nights1 wrestling with the demons of the
  storm1 and the snakes of the fen1 and 
the ,peishta-more 7the monstrous        
,python of the lakes71 which assembled  
at the magic ringing of his bell1  till 
he conquered not by the brute force of a
 ,hercules and ,theseus1 and  the       
monster-quellers of old ,greece1 but by 
the spiritual force of which  7so the   
text was then applied7 it is written1   
',this kind cometh not out  but by      
prayer and fasting1' till he smote the  
evil things with 'the  golden rod of    
,jesus1' and they rolled over the cliff1
 in hideous rout1  and perished in the  
,atlantic far below4  ,but it matters   

much to a wise  man that under all these
 symbols 7not childish at all1 but most 
grand1 to  the man who knows the grand  
place of which they are told71 there is 
set  forth the victory of a good and    
beneficent man over evil1 whether of    
matter or of spirit4  ,it matters much  
to him that that cell1 that bell1  that 
image are tokens that if not ,st4       
,patrick1 some one else1 at least1  did 
live and worship on that mountain top1  
in remote primaeval times1 in  a place  
in which we would not1 perhaps could    
not1 endure life a week4  ,it  matters  
much to him that the man who so dwelt   
there1 gained such a power  over the    
minds of the heathen round him1 that    
five millions of their  ,christian      
descendants worship him1 and ,god on    
account of him1 at this  day4    ,st4   
,ita1 again4  ,it matters little that   
she did not--because she could          
not--perform the miracles imputed to    
her4  ,it matters little whether she    
had or not--as ,i do not believe her to 

have had--a regularly organized  convent
 of nuns in ,ireland during the sixth   
century4  ,it matters little  if the    
story which follows is a mere invention 
of the nuns in some after-  century1 in 
order to make a good title for the lands
 which they held--a  trick but too      
common in those days4  ,but it matters  
much that she should  have been such a  
person1 that such a story as this1 when 
told of her1  should have gained        
belief3--,how the tribes of             
,hy-,connell1 hearing of her  great     
holiness1 came to her with their chiefs1
 and offered her all the  land about her
 cell4  ,but she1 not wishing to be     
entangled with earthly  cares1 accepted 
but four acres round her cell1 for a    
garden of herbs for  her and her nuns4  
,and the simple wild ,irish were sad and
 angry1 and  said1 ',if thou wilt not   
take it alive1 thou shalt take it when  
thou art  dead4  ,so they chose her then
 and there for their patroness1 and she 
blessed them with many blessings1 which 

are fulfilled unto this day2 and  when  
she migrated to the ,lord they gave her 
all the land1 and her nuns  hold it to  
this day1 the land of ,hy-,connell on   
the east ,shannon bank1 at  the roots of
 ,luachra mountain4'    ,what a picture6
  ,one hopes that it may be true1 for   
the sake of its  beauty and its pathos4 
,the poor1 savage1 half-naked1 and1 ,i  
fear1 on the  authority of ,st4 ,jerome 
and others1 now and then cannibal       
,celts1 with  their saffron scarfs1 and 
skenes1 and darts1 and glibs of long    
hair  hanging over their                
hypo-gorillaceous visages1 coming to the
 prophet  maiden1 and asking her to take
 their land1 for they could make no     
decent  use of it themselves2 and look  
after them1 body and soul1 for they     
could  not look after themselves2 and   
pray for them to her ,god1 for they did 
not  know how to pray to ,him           
themselves4  ,if any man shall regret   
that such an  event happened to any     
savages on this earth1 ,i am1 ,i        

confess1 sorry for  him4    ,st4        
,severinus1 again1 whom ,i have         
mentioned to you more than once3--none  
of us can believe that he made a dead   
corpse 7,silvinus the priest1 by  name7 
sit up and talk with him on its road to 
burial4  ,none of us need  believe that 
he stopped the plague at ,vienna by his 
prayers4  ,none of us  need attribute to
 anything but his sagacity the ,divine  
revelations  whereby he predicted the   
destruction of a town for its           
wickedness1 and  escaped thence1 like   
,lot1 alone2 or by which he discovered1 
during the  famine of ,vienna1 that a   
certain rich widow had much corn hidden 
in her  cellars3 but there are facts    
enough1 credible and undoubted1         
concerning  ,st4 ,severinus1 the apostle
 of ,austria1 to make us trust that in  
him1 too1  wisdom was justified of all  
her children4    ,you may remark1 among 
the few words which have been as yet    
said of ,st4  ,severinus1 a destruction1
 a plague1 and a famine4  ,those words  

are a fair  sample of ,st4 ,severinus's 
times1 and of the circumstances into    
which he  voluntarily threw himself4    
,about the middle of the fifth century  
there  appears in the dying ,roman      
province of ,noricum 7,austria we now   
call it7 a  strange gentleman1 eloquent 
and learned beyond all1 and with the    
strangest power of melting and ruling   
the hearts of men4  ,who he is he  will 
not tell1 save that his name is         
,severinus1 a right noble name  without 
doubt4  ,gradually it oozes out that he 
has been in the far ,east1  through long
 travels and strange dangers1 through   
many cities and many  lands2 but he will
 tell nothing4  ,he is the servant of   
,god1 come hither  to try to be of use4 
,he certainly could have come for no    
other reason1  unless to buy slaves2 for
 ,austria was at that time the very     
highway of  the nations1 the centre of  
the human ,mahlstrom1 in which ,huns1   
,gepiden1  ,allmannen1 ,rugen1 and a    
dozen wild tribes more1 wrestled up and 

down  round the starving and beleaguered
 ,roman towns of that once fertile and  
happy province4  ,a man who went there  
for his own pleasure1 or even  devotion1
 would have been as wise as one who had 
built himself last  summer a villa on   
the ,rappahannock1 or retired for       
private meditation to  the orchard of   
,hougoumont during the battle of        
,waterloo4    ,nevertheless1 there      
,severinus stayed till men began to     
appreciate him2  and called him1 and not
 unjustly1 ,saint4  ,why not8  ,he      
preached1 he  taught1 he succoured1 he  
advised1 he fed1 he governed2 he turned 
aside  the raids of the wild ,german    
kings2 he gained a divine power over    
their  hearts2 he taught them something 
of ,god and of ,christ1 something of    
justice and mercy2 something of peace   
and unity among themselves2 till  the   
fame ran through all the ,alps1 and far 
away into the ,hungarian  marches1 that 
there was a prophet of ,god arisen in   
the land2 and before  the unarmed man1  

fasting and praying in his solitary cell
 on the mountain  above ,vienna1 ten    
thousand knights and champions trembled1
 who never had  trembled at the sight of
 armed hosts4    ,who would deny that   
man the name of saint8  ,and who1 if by 
that sagacity  which comes from the     
combination of intellect and virtue1 he 
sometimes  seemed miraculously to       
foretell coming events1 would deny him  
the name of  prophet also8    ,if ,st4  
,severinus be the type of the monk as   
prophet1 ,st4 ,columba may  stand as the
 type of the missionary monk2 the good  
man strengthened by  lonely meditation2 
but using that strength not for selfish 
fanaticism1  but for the good of men2   
going forth unwillingly out of his      
beloved  solitude1 that he may save     
souls4  ,round him1 too1 cluster the    
usual  myths4  ,he drives away with the 
sign of the cross a monster which       
attacks  him at a ford4  ,he expels from
 a fountain the devils who smote with   
palsy  and madness all who bathed       

therein4  ,he sees by a prophetic       
spirit1 he  sitting in his cell in      
,ireland1 a great ,italian town         
destroyed by a  volcano4  ,his friends  
behold a column of light rising from his
 head as he  celebrates mass4  ,yes2 but
 they also tell of him1 'that he was    
angelical  in look1 brilliant in speech1
 holy in work1 clear in intellect1 great
 in  council4'  ,that he 'never passed  
an hour without prayer1 or a holy deed1 
or reading of the ,scriptures 7for these
 old monks had ,bibles1 and knew  them  
by heart too1 in spite of all that has  
been written to the  contrary71 that he 
was of so excellent a humility and      
charity1 bathing  his disciples' feet   
when they came home from labour1 and    
carrying corn  from the mill on his own 
back1 that he fulfilled the precept of  
his  ,master1 ',he that will be the     
greatest among you1 let him be as your  
servant4'    ,they also tell of him 7and
 this is fact and history7 how he left  
his  monastery of ,derm ,each1 'the     

field of oaks1' which we call ,derry1   
and  went away at the risk of his life  
to preach to the wild ,picts of         
,galloway1 and founded the great        
monastery of ,iona1 and that succession 
of  abbots from whom ,christianity      
spread over the south of ,scotland and  
north  of ,england1 under his great     
successor ,aidan4    ,aidan has his     
myths likewise4  ,they tell of him how  
he stilled the sea-  waves with holy    
oil2 how he turned back on ,penda and   
his ,saxons the  flames with which the  
heathen king was trying to burn down    
,bamborough  walls4  ,but they tell1 too
 7and ,bede had heard it from those who 
had  known ,aidan in the flesh7 of 'his 
love of peace and charity1 his purity   
and humility1 his mind superior to      
avarice or pride1 his authority1        
becoming a minister of ,christ1 in      
reproving the haughty and powerful1 and 
his tenderness in relieving the         
afflicted1 and defending the poor4'     
,who1  save one who rejoiceth in evil1  

instead of rejoicing in the truth1 will 
care to fix his eyes for a moment upon  
the fairy tales which surround  such a  
story1 as long as there shines out from 
among them clear and pure1  in spite of 
all doctrinal errors1 the grace of ,god1
 the likeness of ,jesus  ,christ our    
,lord8    ,let us look next at the      
priest as ,tribune of the people1       
supported  usually by the invisible1 but
 most potent presence of the saint1     
whose  relics he kept4  ,one may see    
that side of his power in ,raphael's    
immortal  design of ,attila's meeting   
with the ,pope at the gates of ,rome1   
and  recoiling as he sees ,st4 ,peter   
and ,st4 ,paul floating terrible and    
threatening above the ,holy ,city4  ,is 
it a myth1 a falsehood8  ,not           
altogether4  ,such a man as ,attila     
probably would have seen them1 with his 
strong savage imagination1 as incapable 
as that of a child from  distinguishing 
between dreams and facts1 between the   
subjective and the  objective world4    

,and it was on the whole well for him   
and for mankind1  that he should think  
that he saw them1 and tremble before the
 spiritual  and the invisible2          
confessing a higher law than that of his
 own ambition  and self-will2 a higher  
power than that of his brute ,tartar    
hordes4    ,raphael's design is but a   
famous instance of an influence which   
wrought  through the length and breadth 
of the down-trodden and dying ,roman    
,empire1 through the four fearful       
centuries which followed the battle of  
,adrianople4  ,the wild licence1 the    
boyish audacity1 of the invading        
,teutons was never really checked1 save 
by the priest and the monk who          
worshipped over the bones of some old   
saint or martyr1 whose name the         
,teutons had never heard4    ,then1 as  
the wild ,king1 ,earl1 or ,comes1 with  
his wild reiters at his  heels1 galloped
 through the land1 fighting             
indiscriminately his ,roman  enemies1   
and his ,teutonic rivals--harrying1     

slaughtering1 burning by  field and     
wild--he was aware at last of something 
which made him pause4  ,some little     
walled town1 built on the ruins of a    
great ,roman city1 with  its ,byzantine 
minster towering over the thatched      
roofs1 sheltering them  as the oak      
shelters the last night's fungus at its 
base4  ,more than once  in the last     
century or two1 has that same town been 
sacked4  ,more than  once has the       
surviving priest crawled out of his     
hiding-place when the  sound of war was 
past1 called the surviving poor around  
him1 dug the dead  out of the burning   
ruins for ,christian burial1 built up a 
few sheds1 fed  a few widows and        
orphans1 organized some form of orderly 
life out of the  chaos of blood and     
ashes1 in the name of ,god and ,st4     
,quemdeusvult whose  bones he guards2   
and so he has established a temporary   
theocracy1 and  become a sort of tribune
 of the people1 magistrate and          
father--the only  one they have4  ,and  

now he will try the might of ,st4       
,quemdeusvult against  the wild king1   
and see if he can save the town from    
being sacked once  more4  ,so out he    
comes--a bishop perhaps1 with priests1  
monks1  crucifixes1 banners1 litanies4  
,the wild king must come no further4    
,that  land belongs to no mortal man1   
but to ,st4 ,quemdeusvult1 martyred here
 by  the heathen five hundred years ago4
  ,some old ,kaiser of ,rome1 or it may 
be some former ,gothic king1 gave that  
place to the saint for ever1 and  the   
saint will avenge his rights4  ,he is   
very merciful to those who duly  honour 
him3 but very terrible in his wrath if  
he be aroused4  ,has not the  king heard
 how the ,count of such a place1 only   
forty years before1 would  have carried 
off a maiden from ,st4 ,quemdeusvult's  
town2 and when the  bishop withstood    
him1 he answered that he cared no more  
for the relics of  the saint than for   
the relics of a dead ass1 and so took   
the maiden and  went8  ,but within a    

year and a day1 he fell down dead in his
 drink1 and  when they came to lay out  
the corpse1 behold the devils had       
carried it  away1 and put a dead ass in 
its place4    ,all which the bishop     
would fully believe4  ,why not8  ,he had
 no physical  science to tell him that  
it was impossible4  ,morally1 it was in 
his eyes  just1 and therefore probable2 
while as for testimony1 men were content
  with very little in those days1 simply
 because they could get very  little4   
,news progressed slowly in countries    
desolate and roadless1 and  grew as it  
passed from mouth to mouth1 as it did in
 the ,highlands a  century ago1 as it   
did but lately in the ,indian ,mutiny2  
till after a fact  had taken ten years  
in crossing a few mountains and forests1
 it had  assumed proportions utterly    
fantastic and gigantic4    ,so the wild 
king and his wild knights pause4  ,they 
can face flesh and  blood3 but who can  
face the quite infinite terrors of an   
unseen world8  ,they are men of blood   

too1 men of evil lives2 and conscience  
makes them  cowards4  ,they begin to    
think that they have gone too far4      
,could they  see the saint1 and make it 
up with him somewhat8    ,no4  ,the     
saint they cannot see4  ,to open his    
shrine would be to commit  the sin of   
,uzzah4  ,palsy and blindness would be  
the least that would  follow4  ,but the 
dome under which he lies all men may    
see2 and perhaps  the saint may listen1 
if they speak him fair4    ,they feel   
more and more uncomfortable4  ,this     
saint1 in heaven at ,god's  right hand1 
and yet there in the dom-church--is     
clearly a mysterious1  ubiquitous       
person1 who may take them in the rear   
very unexpectedly4  ,and  his priests1  
with their book-learning1 and their     
sciences1 and their  strange dresses and
 chants--who knows what secret powers1  
magical or  other1 they may not possess8
    ,they bluster at first3 being 7as ,i
 have said7 much of the temper and      
habits1 for good and evil1 of ,english  

navvies4  ,but they grow more and  more 
uneasy1 full of childish curiosity1 and 
undefined dread4  ,so into  the town    
they go1 on promise 7which they will    
honourably keep1 being  ,german men7 of 
doing no harm to the plebs1 the half    
,roman artisans and  burghers who are   
keeping themselves alive here--the last 
dying remnants  of the civilization1 and
 luxury1 and cruelty1 and wickedness1 of
 a great  ,roman colonial city2 and they
 stare at arts and handicrafts new to   
them2  and are hospitably fed by bishops
 and priests2 and then they go1         
trembling and awkward1 into the great   
dom-church2 and gaze wondering at  the  
frescoes1 and the carvings of the       
arcades--marbles from ,italy1           
porphyries from ,egypt1 all patched     
together out of the ruins of ,roman     
baths1 and temples1 and theatres2 and at
 last they arrive at the saint's  shrine
 itself--some marble sarcophagus1 most  
probably covered with vine  and ivy     
leaves1 with nymphs and satyrs1 long    

since consecrated with holy  water to a 
new and better use4  ,inside that lies  
the saint1 asleep1 yet  ever awake4  ,so
 they had best consider in whose        
presence they are1 and  fear ,god and   
,st4 ,quemdeusvult1 and cast away the   
seven deadly sins  wherewith they are   
defiled2 for the saint is a righteous   
man1 and died  for righteousness' sake2 
and those who rob the orphan and the    
widow1 and  put the fatherless to death1
 them he cannot abide2 and them he will 
watch  like an eagle of the sky1 and    
track like a wolf of the wood1 fill he  
punishes them with a great destruction4 
,in short1 the bishop preaches to  the  
king and his men a right noble and      
valiant sermon1 calling things by  their
 true names without fear or favour1 and 
assuming1 on the mere  strength of being
 in the right1 a tone of calm           
superiority which makes  the strong     
armed men blush and tremble before the  
weak and helpless one4    ,yes4  ,spirit
 is stronger than flesh4  ',meekly bend 

thy neck1 ,sicamber6'  said ,st4        
,remigius to the great conquering ,king 
,clovis1 when he stept into  the        
baptismal font--7not ',most ,gracious   
,majesty1' or ',illustrious ,caesar1'   
or 'by the grace of ,god ,lord of the   
,franks1' but ,sicamber1 as a           
missionary might now say ,maori1 or     
,caffre1--and yet ,st4 ,remigius's life 
was in ,clovis's hand then and          
always71--',burn what thou hast adored1 
and  adore what thou hast burned6'  ,and
 the terrible ,clovis trembled and      
obeyed4    ,so does the wild king at the
 shrine of ,st4 ,quemdeusvult4  ,he     
takes his  bracelet1 or his jewel1 and  
offers it civilly enough4  ,will the    
bishop be  so good as to inform the     
great ,earl ,st4 ,quemdeusvult1 that he 
was not  aware of his rights1 or even of
 his name2 that perhaps he will deign to
  accept this jewel1 which he took off  
the neck of a ,roman                    
,general--that--that on the whole he is 
willing to make the amende  honorable1  

as far as is consistent with the        
feelings of a nobleman2 and  trusts that
 the saint1 being a nobleman too1 will  
be satisfied therewith4    ,after which1
 probably1 it will appear to the wild   
king that this bishop  is the very man  
that he wants1 the very opposite to     
himself and his wild  riders2 a man     
pure1 peaceable1 just1 and brave2       
possessed1 too1 of  boundless learning2 
who can read1 write1 cipher1 and cast   
nativities2 who  has a whole room full  
of books and parchments1 and a map of   
the whole  world2 who can talk ,latin1  
and perhaps ,greek1 as well as one of   
those  accursed man-eating ,grendels1 a 
,roman lawyer1 or a logothete from      
,ravenna2 possessed1 too1 of boundless  
supernatural power2--,would the  bishop 
be so good as to help him in his dispute
 with the ,count ,boso1  about their    
respective marches in such and such a   
forest8  ,if the bishop  could only     
settle that without more fighting1 of   
course he should have  his reward4  ,he 

would confirm to the saint and his burg 
all the rights  granted by ,constantine 
the ,kaiser2 and give him moreover all  
the meadow  land in such and such a     
place1 with the mills and fisheries1 on 
service  of a dish of trout from the    
bishop and his successors1 whenever he  
came  that way3 for the trout there were
 exceeding good1 that he knew4  ,and so 
a bargain would be struck1 and one of   
those curious compromises between  the  
spiritual and temporal authorities take 
root1 of which one may read  at length  
in the pages of ,m4 ,guizot1 or ,sir    
,james ,stephen4    ,and after a few    
years1 most probably1 the king would    
express a wish to be  baptized1 at the  
instance of his queen who had been won  
over by the  bishop1 and had gone down  
into the font some years before2 and he 
would  bid his riders be baptized also2 
and they would obey1 seeing that it     
could do them no harm1 and might do them
 some good2 and they would agree  to    
live more or less according to the laws 

of ,god and common humanity2  and so one
 more ,christian state would be formed2 
one more living stone  7as it was       
phrased in those days7 built into the   
great temple of ,god  which was called  
,christendom4    ,so the work was done4 
,can we devise any better method of     
doing it8  ,if  not1 let us be content  
that it was done somehow1 and believe   
that wisdom  is justified of all her    
children4    ,we may object to the fact1
 that the dom-church and its            
organization grew  up 7as was the case  
in the vast majority of instances7 round
 the body of  a saint or martyr2 we may 
smile at the notion of an invisible     
owner and  protector of the soil3 but we
 must not overlook the broad fact1 that 
without that prestige the barbarians    
would never have been awed into         
humanity2 without that prestige the     
place would have been swept off the     
face of the earth1 till not one stone   
stood on another3 and he who does  not  
see what a disaster for humanity that   

would have been1 must be  ignorant that 
the civilization of ,europe is the child
 of the towns2 and  also that our       
,teutonic forefathers were by profession
 destroyers of  towns1 and settlers     
apart from each other on country        
freeholds4  ,lonely  barbarism would    
have been the fate of ,europe1 but for  
the monk who  guarded the relics of the 
saint within the walled burg4    ,this  
good work of the ,church1 in the        
preservation and even resuscitation  of 
the municipal institutions of the towns1
 has been discust so well and  fully by 
,m4 ,guizot1 ,m4 ,sismondi1 and ,sir    
,james ,stephen1 that ,i shall say  no  
more about it1 save to recommend you to 
read what they have written4  ,i  go on 
to point out to you some other very     
important facts1 which my ideal  sketch 
exemplifies4    ,the difference between 
the ,clergy and the ,teuton conquerors  
was more than  a difference of creed1 or
 of civilization4  ,it was an actual    
difference  of race4  ,they were        

,romans1 to whom the ,teuton was a      
savage1 speaking a  different tongue1   
obeying different laws1 his whole theory
 of the  universe different from the    
,roman4  ,and he was1 moreover1 an enemy
 and a  destroyer4  ,the ,teuton was to 
them as a ,hindoo is to us1 with the    
terrible exception1 that the positions  
were reversed2 that the ,teuton was  not
 the conquered1 but the conqueror4  ,it 
is easy for us to feel humanity  and    
,christian charity toward races which we
 have mastered4  ,it was not so  easy   
for the ,roman priest to feel them      
toward a race which had mastered  him4  
,his repugnance to the ',barbarian' must
 have been at first intense4  ,he never 
would have conquered it2 he never would 
have become the willing  converter of   
the heathen1 had there not been in him  
the ,spirit of ,god1  and firm belief in
 a ,catholic ,church1 to which all men  
of all races ought  alike to belong4    
,this true and glorious idea1 the only  
one which has  ever been or ever will be

 able to break down the barriers of     
race1 and  the animal antipathy which   
the natural man has to all who are not  
of his  own kin3 this idea was the sole 
possession of the ,roman clergy2 and by 
it  they conquered1 because it was true1
 and came from ,god4    ,but this very  
difference of race exposed the clergy to
 great temptations4  ,they were the only
 civilized men left1 west of            
,constantinople4  ,they  looked on the  
,teuton not as a man1 but as a child2 to
 be ruled2 to be  petted when he did    
right1 punished when he did wrong2 and  
too often  cajoled into doing right1 and
 avoiding wrong4  ,craft became more and
 more  their usual weapon4  ,there were 
great excuses for them4  ,their lives   
and  property were in continual danger4 
,craft is the natural weapon of the     
weak against the strong4  ,it seemed to 
them1 too often1 to be not only         
natural1 but spiritual also1 and        
therefore just and right4    ,again1 the
 clergy were the only organic remnants  

of the ,roman ,empire4  ,they claimed   
their privileges and lands as granted to
 them by past ,roman  ,emperors1 under  
the ,roman law4  ,this fact made it     
their interest1 of  course1 to          
perpetuate that ,roman law1 and to      
introduce it as far as they  could among
 their conquerors1 to the expulsion of  
the old ,teutonic laws2  and they       
succeeded on the whole4  ,of that more  
hereafter4  ,observe now1  that as their
 rights dated from times which to the   
,teutons were  pre-historic1 their      
statements could not be checked by      
conquerors who  could not even read4    
,thence rose the temptation to forge2 to
 forge  legends1 charters1 dotations1   
ecclesiastical history of all kinds--an 
ugly and world-famous instance of which 
you will hear of hereafter4  ,to  that  
temptation they yielded more and more as
 the years rolled on1 till  their       
statements on ecclesiastical history    
became such as no historian  can trust1 
without the most plentiful              

corroboration4    ,there were great     
excuses for them1 in this matter1 as in 
others4  ,they  could not but look on   
the ,teuton as--what in fact and law he 
was--an  unjust and intrusive usurper4  
,they could not but look on their ,roman
  congregations1 and on themselves1 as  
what in fact and law they were1 the     
rightful owners of the soil4  ,they were
 but defending or recovering their      
original rights4  ,would not the end    
justify the means8    ,but more4  ,out  
of this singular position grew a        
doctrine1 which looks to  us irrational 
now1 but was by no means so then4  ,if  
the ,church derived  her rights from the
 extinct ,roman ,caesars1 how could the 
,teuton  conquerors interfere with those
 rights8  ,if she had owed allegiance to
  ,constantine or ,theodosius1 she      
certainly owed none to ,dietrich1       
,alboin1  or ,clovis4  ,she did not hold
 their lands of them2 and would pay     
them1 if  she could avoid it1 neither   
tax nor toll4  ,she did not recognize   

the  sovereignty of these ,teutons as   
'ordained by ,god4'    ,out of this     
simple political fact grew up vast      
consequences4  ,the ,teuton  king was a 
heathen or ,arian usurper4  ,he was not 
a king de jure1 in the  eyes of the     
clergy1 till he was baptized into the   
,church1 and then  lawfully anointed    
king by the clergy4  ,thus the clergy   
gradually became  the makers of kings2  
and the power of making involved a      
corresponding  power of unmaking1 if the
 king rebelled against the ,church1 and 
so cut  himself off from ,christendom4  
,at best1 he was one of 'the ,princes of
  this world1' from whom the ,church was
 free1 absolutely in spiritual  matters1
 and in temporal matters1 also de jure1 
and therefore de facto as  far as she   
could be made free4  ,to keep the       
possessions of the ,church  from being  
touched by profane hands1 even that they
 might contribute to  the common needs  
of the nation1 became a sacred duty1 a  
fixed idea1 for  which the clergy must  

struggle1 anathematize1 forge if need   
be3 but  also--to do them justice--die  
if need be as martyrs4  ,the nations of 
this  world were nothing to them4  ,the 
wars of the nations were nothing4  ,they
  were the people of ,god1 'who dwelt   
alone1 and were not reckoned among the  
nations2' their possessions were the    
inheritance of ,god3 and from this      
idea1 growing 7as ,i have shewn7 out of 
a political fact1 arose the extra-      
national1 and too often anti-national   
position1 which the ,roman clergy  held 
for many ages1 and of which the         
instinct1 at least1 lingers among  them 
in many countries4  ,out of it arose1   
too1 all after struggles  between the   
temporal and ecclesiastical powers4     
,becket1 fighting to the  death against 
,henry ,,ii41 was not1 as ,m4 ,thierry  
thinks1 the ,anglo-,saxon  defying the  
,norman4  ,he was the representative of 
the ,christian ,roman  defying the      
,teuton1 on the ground of rights which  
he believed to have  existed while the  

,teuton was a heathen in the ,german    
forests4  ,gradually1  as the nations of
 ,europe became really nations1 within  
fixed boundaries1  and separate         
,christian organizations1 these demands 
of the ,church became  intolerable in   
reason1 because unnecessary in fact4    
,but had there not  been in them at the 
first an instinct of right and justice1 
they would  never have become the fixed 
idea of the clerical mind2 the violation
 of  them the one inexpiable sin2 and   
the defence of them 7as may be seen by  
looking through the ,romish ,calendar7  
the most potent qualification for       
saintship4    ,yes4  ,the clergy        
believed that idea deeply enough to die 
for it4  ,st4  ,alphege at ,canterbury  
had been1 it is said1 one of the first  
advisers of  the ignominious payment of 
the ,danegeld3 but there was one thing  
which he  would not do4  ,he would      
advise the giving up of the money of the
 nation3  but the money of his church he
 would not give up4  ,the ,danes might  

thrust  him into a filthy dungeon3 he   
would not take the children's bread and 
cast it unto the dogs4  ,they might drag
 him out into their husting1 and        
threaten him with torture3 but to the   
drunken cry of ',gold6  ,bishop6        
,gold6' his only answer would be--,not a
 penny4  ,he could not rob the poor  of 
,christ4  ,and when he fell1 beaten to  
death with the bones and horns of  the  
slaughtered oxen1 he died in faith2 a   
martyr to the great idea of  that day1  
that the gold of the ,church did not    
belong to the conquerors of  this world4
    ,but ,st4 ,alphege was an           
,englishman1 and not a ,roman4  ,true in
 the letter3  but not in the spirit4    
,the priest or monk1 by becoming such1  
more or  less renounced his nationality4
  ,it was the object of the ,church to  
make  him renounce it utterly2 to make  
him regard himself no longer as         
,englishman1 ,frank1 ,lombard1 or ,goth3
 but as the representatives by an       
hereditary descent1 considered all the  

more real because it was spiritual  and 
not carnal1 of the ,roman ,church2 to   
prevent his being entangled1  whether by
 marriage or otherwise1 in the business 
of this life2 out of  which would flow  
nepotism1 ,simony1 and ,erastian        
submission to those  sovereigns who     
ought to be the servants1 not the lords 
of the ,church4  ,for  this end no means
 were too costly4  ,st4 ,dunstan1 in    
order to expel the  married secular     
priests1 and replace them by            
,benedictine monks of the  ,italian     
order of ,monte ,casino1 convulsed      
,england1 drove her into civil  war1    
paralysed her monarchs one after the    
other1 and finally left her  exhausted  
and imbecile1 a prey to the invading    
,northmen3 but he had at  least done his
 best to make the royal ,house of       
,cerdic1 and the nations  which obeyed  
that ,house1 understand that the ,church
 derived its rights  not from them1 but 
from ,rome4    ,this hereditary sense of
 superiority on the part of the clergy  

may  explain and excuse much of their   
seeming flattery4  ,the most vicious    
kings are lauded1 if only they have been
 'erga servos ,dei benevoli2' if  they  
have founded monasteries2 if they have  
respected the rights of the  ,church4   
,the clergy too often looked on the     
secular princes as more or  less wild   
beasts1 of whom neither common decency1 
justice1 or mercy was  to be expected2  
and they had too often reason enough to 
do so4  ,all that  could be expected of 
the kings was1 that if they would not   
regard man1  they should at least fear  
,god2 which if they did1 the proof of   
'divine  grace' on their part was so    
unexpected1 as well as important1 that  
the  monk chroniclers praised them      
heartily and honestly1 judging them by  
what  they had1 not by what they had    
not4    ,thus alone can one explain such
 a case as that of the monastic opinion 
of  ,dagobert the ,second1 king of the  
,franks4  ,we are told in the same      
narrative1 seemingly without any great  

sense of incongruity1 how he  murdered  
his own relations and guests1 and who   
not8--how he massacred  #ijjj ,bulgars  
to whom he had given hospitality2 how he
 kept a harem of  three queens1 and     
other women so numerous that            
,fredegarius cannot mention  them2 and  
also how1 accompanied by his harem1 he  
chanted among the monks  of ,st4 ,denis2
 how he founded many rich convents2 how 
he was the friend1  or rather pupil1 of 
,st4 ,arnulf of ,metz1 ,st4 ,omer1 and  
above all of ,st4  ,eloi--whose story ,i
 recommend you to read1 charmingly told1
 in ,mr4  ,maitland's ',dark ,ages1' pp4
 #ha-abb4  ,the three saints were no    
hypocrites--,god forbid6  ,they were    
good men and true1 to whom had been     
entrusted the keeping of a wild beast1  
to be petted and praised whenever  it   
shewed any signs of humanity or         
obedience4    ,but woe to the prince1   
however useful or virtuous in other     
respects1 who  laid sacrilegious hands  
on the goods of the ,church4  ,he might1

 like  ,charles ,martel1 have delivered 
,france from the ,pagans on the east1   
and  from the ,mussulmen on the south1  
and have saved ,christendom once and for
  all from the dominion of the          
,crescent1 in that great battle on the  
plains  of ,poitiers1 where the ,arab   
cavalry 7says ,isidore of ,beja7 broke  
against  the immoveable line of ,franks1
 like 'waves against a wall of ice4'    
,but if1 like ,charles ,martel1 he had  
dared to demand of the ,church taxes    
and contributions toward the support of 
his troops1 and the salvation  both of  
,church and commonweal1 then all his    
prowess was in vain4  ,some  monk would 
surely see him in a vision1 as ,st4     
,eucherius1 ,bishop of  ,orleans1 saw   
,charles ,martel 7according to the      
,council of ,kiersy71 'with  ,cain1     
,judas1 and ,caiaphas1 thrust into the  
,stygian whirlpools and  ,acherontic    
combustion of the sempiternal           
,tartarus4'    ,those words1 which1 with
 slight variations1 are a common formula

 of  cursing appended to monastic       
charters against all who should infringe
  them1 remind us rather of the sixth   
book of ,virgil's ,a,eneid than of the  
,holy ,scriptures2 and explain why      
,dante naturally chooses that poet as a 
guide through his ,inferno4    ,the     
cosmogony from which such an idea was   
derived was simple enough4  ,i  give1 of
 course1 no theological opinion on its  
correctness3 but as  professor of       
,modern ,history1 ,i am bound to set    
before you opinions which  had the most 
enormous influence on the history of    
early ,europe4  ,unless  you keep them  
in mind1 as the fixed and absolute      
background of all human  thought and    
action for more than #ajjj years1 you   
will never be able to  understand the   
doings of ,european men4    ,this earth1
 then1 or at least the habitable part of
 it1 was considered as  most probably a 
flat plane4  ,below that plane1 or in   
the centre of the  earth1 was the realm 
of endless fire4  ,it could be entered  

7as by the  ,welsh knight who went down 
into ,st4 ,patrick's ,purgatory7 by     
certain  caves4  ,by listening at the   
craters of volcanoes1 which were its    
mouths1  the cries of the tortured might
 be heard in the depths of the earth4   
,in that ',tartarus' every human being  
born into the world was doomed to be    
endlessly burnt alive3 only in the      
,church1 'extra quam nulla salus1' was  
there escape from the common doom4  ,but
 to that doom1 excommunication1  which  
thrust a man from the pale of the       
,church1 condemned the sinner  afresh1  
with curses the most explicit and most  
horrible4    ,the superior clergy1      
therefore1 with whom the anathematizing 
power lay1  believed firmly that they   
could1 proprio motu1 upon due cause     
shewn1  cause any man or woman to be    
burned alive through endless ages4  ,and
 what  was more1 the ,teutonic laity1   
with that intense awe of the unseen     
which  they had brought with them out of
 the wilderness1 believed it likewise1  

and trembled4  ,it paralysed the wisest1
 as well as the fiercest1 that  belief4 
,instead of disgusting the kings of the 
earth1 it gave them over1  bound hand   
and foot by their own guilty            
consciences1 into the dominion of  the  
clergy2 and the belief that ,charles    
,martel was damned1 only knit 7as  ,m4  
,sismondi well remarks7 his descendants 
the ,carlovingians more closely  to the 
,church which possest so terrible a     
weapon4    ,whether they were right or  
wrong in these beliefs is a question not
 to be  discussed in this chair4  ,my   
duty is only to point out to you the    
universal existence of those beliefs1   
and the historic fact that they  gave   
the clergy a character supernatural1    
magical1 divine1 with a reserve  of     
power before which all trembled1 from   
the beggar to the king2 and  also1 that 
all struggles between the temporal and  
spiritual powers1 like  that between    
,henry and ,becket1 can only be seen    
justly in the light of  the practical   

meaning of that excommunication which   
,becket so freely  employed4  ,i must   
also point out to you that so enormous a
 power 7too  great for the shoulders of 
mortal man7 was certain to be1 and      
actually  was1 fearfully abused1 not    
only by its direct exercise1 but also by
  bargaining with men1 through          
indulgences and otherwise1 for the      
remission  of that punishment1 which the
 clergy could1 if they would1 inflict2  
and  worst of all1 that out of the whole
 theory sprang up that system of        
persecution1 in which the worst         
cruelties of heathen ,rome were imitated
  by ,christian priests1 on the         
seemingly irrefragable ground that it   
was  merciful to offenders to save them1
 or1 if not1 at least to save others    
through them1 by making them feel for a 
few hours in this world what they  would
 feel for endless ages in the next4     
,,lecture ,,ix--,,the ,,monk ,a         
,,civilizer      ,historians are often  
blamed for writing as if the ,history of

 ,kings and  ,princes were the whole    
history of the world4  ',why do you tell
 us1' is  said1 'of nothing but the     
marriages1 successions1 wars1           
characters1 of a  few ,royal ,races8    
,we want to know what the people1 and   
not the princes1  were like4  ,history  
ought to be the history of the masses1  
and not of  kings4'    ,the only answer 
to this complaint seems to be1 that the 
defect is  unavoidable4  ,the history of
 the masses cannot be written1 while    
they  have no history2 and none will    
they have1 as long as they remain a     
mass2  ere their history begins1        
individuals1 few at first1 and more and 
more  numerous as they progress1 must   
rise out of the mass1 and become        
persons1  with fixed ideas1             
determination1 conscience1 more or less 
different from  their fellows1 and      
thereby leavening and elevating their   
fellows1 that  they too may become      
persons1 and men indeed4  ,then they    
will begin to  have a common history1   

issuing out of each man's struggle to   
assert his  own personality and his own 
convictions4  ,till that point is       
reached1 the  history of the masses will
 be mere statistic concerning their     
physical  well-being or ill-being1 which
 7for the early ages of our race7 is    
unwritten1 and therefore undiscoverable4
    ,the early history of the ,teutonic 
race1 therefore1 is1 and must always    
remain1 simply the history of a few     
great figures4  ,of the many of the     
masses1 nothing is said2 because there  
was nothing to say4  ,they all ate1     
drank1 married1 tilled1 fought1 and     
died1 not altogether brutally1 we  will 
hope1 but still in a dull monotony1     
unbroken by any struggle of  principles 
or ideas4  ,we know that large masses of
 human beings have so  lived in every   
age1 and are living so now--the ,tartar 
hordes1 for  instance1 or the thriving  
negroes of central ,africa3 comfortable 
folk1  getting a tolerable living1 son  
after father1 for many generations1 but 

certainly not developed enough1 or      
afflicted enough1 to have any history4  
,i believe that the masses1 during the  
early middle age1 were very well  off2  
quite as well off as they deserved2 that
 is1 earned for themselves4  ,they lived
 in a rough way1 certainly3 but         
roughness is not discomfort1  where the 
taste has not been educated4  ,a ,red   
,indian sleeps as well in a  wigwam as  
we in a spring bed2 and the ,irish      
babies thrive as well among  the peat   
ashes as on a ,brussels carpet4  ,man is
 a very well constructed  being1 and can
 live and multiply anywhere1 provided he
 can keep warm1 and  get pure water and 
enough to eat4  ,indeed1 our ,teutonic  
fathers must have  been comfortably off1
 or they could not have multiplied as   
they did4  ,even  though their numbers  
may have been overstated1 the fact is   
patent1 that  howsoever they were       
slaughtered down1 by the ,romans or by  
each other1  they rose again as out of  
the soil1 more numerous than ever4      

,again and  again you read of a tribe   
being all but exterminated by the       
,romans1 and  in a few years find it    
bursting over the ,pfalzgrab or the     
,danube1 more  numerous and terrible    
than before4  ,never believe that a     
people deprest  by cold1 ill-feeding1   
and ill-training1 could have conquered  
,europe in  the face of centuries of    
destructive war4  ,those very wars1     
again1 may  have helped in the long run 
the increase of population1 and for a   
reason  simple enough1 though often     
overlooked4  ,war throws land out of    
cultivation2 and when peace returns1 the
 new settlers find the land  fallow1 and
 more or less restored to its original  
fertility2 and so  begins a period of   
rapid and prosperous increase4  ,in no  
other way can ,i  explain the rate at   
which nations after the most desolating 
wars spring  up1 young and strong again1
 like the phoenix1 from their own       
funeral  pile4  ,they begin afresh as   
the tillers of a virgin soil1 fattened  

too  often with the ashes of burnt      
homesteads1 and the blood of the slain4 
,another element of comfort may have    
been the fact1 that in the rough        
education of the forest1 only the strong
 and healthy children lived1  while the 
weakly died off young1 and so the       
labour-market1 as we should  say now1   
was never overstocked4  ,this is the    
case with our own gipsies1  and with    
many savage tribes--the ,red ,indians1  
for instance--and accounts  for their   
general healthiness3 the unhealthy being
 all dead1 in the first  struggle for   
existence4  ,but then these gipsies1 and
 the ,red ,indians1 do  not increase in 
numbers1 but the contrary2 while our    
forefathers  increased rapidly4  ,on the
 other hand1 we have1 at least          
throughout the  middle ages1 accounts of
 such swarms of cripples1 lepers1       
deformed1 and  other incapable persons1 
as to make some men believe that there  
were more  of them1 in proportion to the
 population1 than there are now4  ,and  

it may  have been so4  ,the strongest   
and healthiest men always going off to  
be  killed in war1 the weakliest only   
would be left at home to breed2 and so  
an unhealthy population might spring up4
  ,and again--and this is a  curious    
fact--as law and order enter a country1 
so will the proportion of  incapables1  
in body and mind1 increase4  ,in times  
of war and anarchy1  when every one is  
shifting for himself1 only the strongest
 and shrewdest  can stand4  ,woe to     
those who cannot take care of           
themselves4  ,the fools  and cowards1   
the weakly and sickly1 are killed1      
starved1 neglected1 or in  other ways   
brought to grief4  ,but when law and    
order come1 they protect  those who     
cannot protect themselves1 and the fools
 and cowards1 the  weakly and sickly1   
are supported at the public expense1 and
 allowed to  increase and multiply as   
public burdens4  ,i do not say that this
 is  wrong1 ,heaven forbid6  ,i only    
state the fact4  ,a government is quite 

right in defending all alike from the   
brute competition of nature1 whose      
motto is--,woe to the weak4  ,to the    
,church of the middle age is due the    
preaching and the practice of the great 
,christian doctrine1 that society  is   
bound to protect the weak4  ,so far the 
middle age saw3 but no further4  ,for   
our own times has been reserved the     
higher and deeper doctrine1 that  it is 
the duty of society to make the weak    
strong2 to reform1 to cure1  and above  
all1 to prevent by education1 by        
sanitary science1 by all and  every     
means1 the necessity of reforming and of
 curing4    ,science could not do that  
in the middle age4  ,but if ,science    
could not do  it1 ,religion would at    
least try to do the next best thing to  
it4  ,the  monasteries were the refuges1
 whither the weak escaped from the      
competition of the strong4  ,thither    
flocked the poor1 the crippled1 the     
orphan1 and the widow1 all1 in fact1 who
 could not fight for themselves4  ,there

 they found something like justice1     
order1 pity1 help4  ,even the  fool and 
the coward1 when they went to the       
convent-door1 were not turned  away4    
,the poor half-witted rascal1 who had   
not sense enough to serve the  king1    
might still serve the abbot4  ,he would 
be set to drive1 plough1 or  hew        
wood--possibly by the side of a         
gentleman1 a nobleman1 or even a        
prince--and live under equal law with   
them2 and under1 too1 a discipline  more
 strict than that of any modern army2   
and if he would not hew the  wood1 or   
drive the bullocks1 as he ought1 then   
the abbot would have him  flogged       
soundly till he did2 which was better   
for him1 after all1 than  wandering     
about to be hooted by the boys1 and     
dying in a ditch at last4    ,the       
coward1 too--the abbot could make him of
 use1 even though the king  could not4  
,there were1 no doubt1 in those days1   
though fewer in number  than now1 men   
who could not face physical danger1 and 

the storm of the  evil world1--delicate1
 nervous1 imaginative1 feminine         
characters2 who1  when sent out to      
battle1 would be very likely to run     
away4  ,our  forefathers1 having no use 
for such persons1 used to put such into 
a bog-  hole1 and lay a hurdle over     
them1 in the belief that they would sink
 to  the lowest pool of ,hela for ever  
more4  ,but the abbot had great use for 
such4  ,they could learn to read1 write1
 sing1 think2 they were often very      
clever2 they might make great scholars2 
at all events they might make  saints4  
,whatever they could not do1 they could 
pray4  ,and the united  prayer of those 
monks1 it was then believed1 could take 
heaven by storm1  alter the course of   
the elements1 overcome ,divine justice1 
avert from  mankind the anger of an     
offended ,god4  ,whether that belief    
were right or  wrong1 people held it2   
and the man who could not fight with    
carnal  weapons1 regained his           
self-respect1 and therefore his virtue1 

when he  found himself fighting1 as he  
held1 with spiritual weapons against all
  the powers of darkness #bad4  ,the    
first light in which ,i wish you to     
look at the old monasteries1 is as      
defences for the weak against the       
strong4    ,but what has this to do with
 what ,i said at first1 as to the masses
  having no history8  ,this3--that      
through these monasteries the masses    
began first to have a history2 because  
through them they ceased to be  masses1 
and became first1 persons and men1 and  
then1 gradually1 a people4  ,that last  
the monasteries could not make them3 but
 they educated them for  becoming a     
people2 and in this way4  ,they brought 
out1 in each man1 the  sense of         
individual responsibility4  ,they taught
 him1 whether warrior or  cripple1      
prince or beggar1 that he had an        
immortal soul1 for which each  must give
 like account to ,god4    ,do you not   
see the effect of that new thought8     
,treated as slaves1 as  things and      

animals1 the many had learnt to consider
 themselves as things  and animals4     
,and so they had become 'a mass1' that  
is1 a mere heap of  inorganic units1    
each of which has no spring of life in  
itself as  distinguished from a whole1 a
 people1 which has one bond1 uniting    
each to  all4  ,the 'masses' of the     
,french had fallen into that state1     
before the  ,revolution of #agic4  ,the 
'masses' of our agricultural            
labourers1--the  'masses' of our        
manufacturing workmen1 were fast falling
 into that state  in the days of our    
grandfathers4  ,whether the ,french     
masses have risen  out of it1 remains to
 be seen4  ,the ,english masses1 thanks 
to ,almighty  ,god1 have risen out of   
it2 and by the very same factor by which
 the  middle-age masses rose--by        
,religion4  ,the great ,methodist       
movement of the  last century did for   
our masses1 what the monks did for our  
forefathers  in the middle age4  ,wesley
 and ,whitfield1 and many another noble 

soul1  said to ,nailsea colliers1       
,cornish miners1 and all manner of      
drunken  brutalized fellows1 living like
 the beasts that perish1--',each of     
you--thou--and thou--and thou--stand    
apart and alone before ,god4  ,each  has
 an immortal soul in him1 which will be 
happy or miserable for ever1  according 
to the deeds done in the body4  ,a whole
 eternity of shame or of  glory lies in 
you--and you are living like a beast4'  
,and in proportion  as each man heard   
that word1 and took it home to himself1 
he became a new  man1 and a true man4   
,the preachers may have mixed up words  
with their  message with which we may   
disagree1 have appealed to low hopes and
 fears  which we should be ashamed to   
bring into our calculations2--so did the
  monks3 but they got their work done   
somehow2 and let us thank them1 and  the
 old ,methodists1 and any man who will  
tell men1 in whatever clumsy and  rough 
fashion1 that they are not things1 and  
pieces of a mass1 but  persons1 with an 

everlasting duty1 an everlasting right  
and wrong1 an  everlasting ,god in whose
 presence they stand1 and who will judge
 them  according to their works4  ,true1
 that is not all that men need to learn4
  ,after they are taught1 each apart1   
that he is a man1 they must be taught1  
how to be an united people3 but the     
individual teaching must come first2    
and before we hastily blame the         
individualizing tendencies of the old   
,evangelical movement1 or that of the   
middle-age monks1 let us remember1  that
 if they had not laid the foundation1   
others could not build thereon4         
,besides1 they built themselves1 as well
 as they could1 on their own            
foundation4  ,as soon as men begin to be
 really men1 the desire of  corporate   
life springs up in them4  ,they must    
unite2 they must organize  themselves4  
,if they possess duties1 they must be   
duties to their fellow-  men2 if they   
possess virtues and graces1 they must   
mix with their fellow-  men in order to 

exercise them4    ,the solitaries of the
 ,thebaid found that they became selfish
 wild beasts1  or went mad1 if they     
remained alone2 and they formed         
themselves into  lauras1 'lanes' of     
huts1 convents1 under a common abbot or 
father4  ,the  evangelical converts of  
the last century formed themselves into 
powerful  and highly organized sects4   
,the middle-age monasteries organized   
themselves into highly artificial       
communities round some sacred spot1     
generally under the supposed protection 
of some saint or martyr1 whose  bones   
lay there4  ,each method was good1      
though not the highest4  ,none of  them 
rises to the idea of a people1 having   
one national life1 under one  monarch1  
the representative to each and all of   
that national life1 and  the dispenser  
and executor of its laws4  ,indeed1 the 
artificial  organization1 whether       
monastic or sectarian1 may become so    
strong as to  interfere with national   
life1 and make men forget their real    

duty to  their king and country1 in     
their self-imposed duty to the sect or  
order  to which they belong4  ,the      
monastic organization indeed had to die1
 in  many countries1 in order that      
national life might develop itself2 and 
the  dissolution of the monasteries     
marks the birth of an united and        
powerful  ,england4  ,they or ,britain  
must have died4  ,an imperium in        
imperio--much  more many separate       
imperia--was an element of national     
weakness1 which  might be allowed in    
times of peace and safety1 but not in   
times of  convulsion and of danger4     
,you may ask1 however1 how these        
monasteries became so powerful1 if they 
were merely refuges for the weak8  ,even
 if they were 7and they were7 the  homes
 of an equal justice and order1 mercy   
and beneficence1 which had few  or no   
standing-places outside their walls1    
still1 how1 if governed by  weak men1   
could they survive in the great battle  
of life8  ,the sheep  would have but a  

poor life of it1 if they set up hurdles 
against the  wolves1 and agreed at all  
events not to eat each other4    ,the   
answer is1 that the monasteries were not
 altogether tenanted by  incapables4    
,the same causes which brought the      
low-born into the  monasteries1 brought 
the high-born1 many of the very highest4
  ,the same  cause which brought the    
weak into the monasteries1 brought the  
strong1  many of the very strongest4    
,the middle-age records give us a long  
list of kings1 princes1 nobles1 who     
having done 7as they held7 their work in
 the world outside1 went into  those    
convents to try their hands at what     
seemed to them 7and often was7  better  
work than the perpetual coil of war1    
intrigue1 and ambition1 which  was not  
the crime1 but the necessary fate1 of a 
ruler in the middle ages4  ,tired of    
work1 and tired of life2 tired too1 of  
vain luxury and vain  wealth1 they fled 
to the convent1 as to the only place    
where a man could  get a little peace1  

and think of ,god1 and his own soul2 and
 recollected1  as they worked with their
 own hands by the side of the           
lowest-born of  their subjects1 that    
they had a human flesh and blood1 a     
human immortal  soul1 like those whom   
they had ruled4  ,thank ,god that the   
great have  other methods now of        
learning that great truth2 that the work
 of life1 if  but well done1 will teach 
it to them3 but those were hard times1  
and wild  times2 and fighting men could 
hardly learn1 save in the convent1 that 
there was a ,god above who watched the  
widows' and the orphans' tears1 and     
when he made inquisition for blood1     
forgot not the cause of the poor4       
,such men and women of rank brought into
 the convent1 meanwhile1 all the        
prestige of their rank1 all their       
superior knowledge of the world2 and    
became the patrons and protectors of the
 society2 while they submitted1         
generally with peculiar humility and    
devotion1 to its most severe and        

degrading rules4  ,their higher         
sensibilities1 instead of making them   
shrink from hardship1 made them strong  
to endure self-sacrifices1 and  often   
self-tortures1 which seem to us all but 
incredible2 and the lives1  or rather   
living deaths1 of the noble and princely
 penitents of the early  middle age1 are
 among the most beautiful tragedies of  
humanity4    ,to these monasteries1 too1
 came the men of the very highest       
intellect1 of  whatsoever class4  ,i    
say1 of the very highest intellect4     
,tolerably  talented men might find it  
worth while to stay in the world1 and   
use  their wits in struggling upward    
there4  ,the most talented of all would 
be  the very men to see a better        
'carriere ouverte aux talens' than the  
world  could give2 to long for deeper   
and loftier meditation than could be    
found  in the court2 for a more divine  
life1 a more blessed death1 than could  
be  found in the camp and the           
battle-field4    ,and so it befals1 that

 in the early middle age the cleverest  
men were  generally inside the convent1 
trying1 by moral influence and superior 
intellect1 to keep those outside from   
tearing each other to pieces4    ,but   
these intellects could not remain locked
 up in the monasteries4  ,the  daily    
routine of devotion1 even of silent     
study and contemplation1 was  not       
sufficient for them1 as it was for the  
average monk4  ,there was still  a      
reserve of force in them1 which must be 
up and doing2 and which1 in a  man      
inspired by that ,spirit which is the   
,spirit of love to man as well as  to   
,god1 must needs expand outwards in all 
directions1 to ,christianize1 to        
civilize1 to colonize4    ,to colonize4 
,when people talk loosely of founding an
 abbey for  superstitious uses1 they    
cannot surely be aware of the state of  
the  countries in which those abbeys    
were founded2 either primaeval forest1  
hardly-tilled common1 or to be described
 by that terrible epithet of            

,domesday-book1 'wasta'--wasted by war4 
,a knowledge of that fact would  lead   
them to guess that there were almost    
certainly uses for the abbey  which had 
nothing to do with superstition2 which  
were as thoroughly  practical as those  
of a company for draining the bog of    
,allen1 or running  a railroad through  
an ,american forest4  ,such1 at least1  
was the case1 at  least for the first   
seven centuries after the fall of ,rome2
 and to these  missionary colonizers    
,europe owes1 ,i verily believe1 among a
 hundred  benefits1 this which all      
,englishmen will appreciate2 that ,roman
  agriculture not only revived in the   
countries which were once the ,empire1  
but spread from thence eastward and     
northward1 into the principal           
wilderness of the ,teuton and ,sclavonic
 races4    ,i cannot1 ,i think1 shew you
 better what manner of men these        
monk-colonizers were1 and what sort of  
work they did1 than by giving you  the  
biography of one of them2 and out of    

many ,i have chosen that of ,st4        
,sturmi1 founder whilome of the great   
abbey of ,fulda1 which lies on the      
central watershed of ,germany1 about    
equidistant1 to speak roughly1 from     
,frankfort1 ,cassel1 ,gotha1 and        
,coburg4    ,his life is matter of      
history1 written by one ,eigils 7sainted
 like  himself71 who was his disciple   
and his friend4  ,naturally told it is1 
and  lovingly2 but if ,i recollect      
right1 without a single miracle or myth2
 the  living contemporaneous picture of 
such a man1 living in such a state of   
society1 as we shall never 7and happily 
need never7 see again1 but which  is for
 that very reason worthy to be          
preserved1 for a token that wisdom  is  
justified of all her children4    ,it   
stands at length in ,pertz's admirable  
',monumenta ,historica1' among  many    
another like biography1 and if ,i tell  
it here somewhat at length1  readers    
must forgive me4    ,every one has heard
 of little king ,pepin1 and many may    

have heard also  how he was a mighty man
 of valour1 and cut off a lion's head at
 one blow2  and how he was a crafty     
statesman1 and first consolidated the   
temporal  power of the ,popes1 and      
helped them in that detestable crime of 
overthrowing the noble ,lombard kingdom1
 which cost ,italy centuries of  slavery
 and shame1 and which has to be expiated
 even yet1 it would seem1  by some      
fearful punishment4    ,but every one   
may not know that ,pepin had great      
excuses--if not for  helping to destroy 
the ,lombards--yet still for supporting 
the power of  the ,popes4  ,it seemed to
 him--and perhaps it was--the only      
practical  method of uniting the ,german
 tribes into one common people1 and     
stopping  the internecine wars by which 
they were tearing themselves to pieces4 
,it  seemed to him--and perhaps it      
was--the only practical method for      
civilizing and ,christianizing the still
 wild tribes1 ,frisians1 ,saxons1  and  
,sclaves1 who pressed upon the ,german  

marches1 from the mouth of the  ,elbe to
 the very ,alps4  ,be that as it may1 he
 began the work2 and his son            
,charlemagne finished it2 somewhat well1
 and again somewhat ill--as most  work1 
alas6 is done on earth4  ,now in the    
days of little king ,pepin there  was a 
nobleman of ,bavaria1 and his wife1 who 
had a son called ,sturmi2 and  they     
brought him to ,st4 ,boniface1 that he  
might make him a priest4  ,and  the     
child loved ,st4 ,boniface's noble      
,english face1 and went with him        
willingly1 and was to him as a son4     
,and who was ,st4 ,boniface8  ,that is a
  long story4  ,suffice it that he was a
 man of ,devon1 brought up in a         
cloister at ,exeter2 and that he had    
crossed over into ,frankenland1 upon    
the lower ,rhine1 and become a          
missionary of the widest and loftiest   
aims2  not merely a preacher and winner 
of souls1 though that1 it is said1 in   
perfection2 but a civilizer1 a          
colonizer1 a statesman4  ,he1 and many  

another noble ,englishman and ,scot     
7whether ,irish or ,caledonian7 were    
working under the ,frank kings to       
convert the heathens of the marches1 and
  carry the ,cross into the far ,east4  
,they led lives of poverty and danger2  
they were martyred1 half of them1 as    
,st4 ,boniface was at last4  ,but they  
did their work2 and doubtless they have 
their reward4  ,they did their  best1   
according to their light4  ,god grant   
that we1 to whom so much more  light has
 been given1 may do our best likewise4  
,under this great genius  was young     
,sturmi trained4  ,trained 7as was      
perhaps needed for those who  had to do 
such work in such a time7 to have       
neither wife1 nor child1 nor  home1 nor 
penny in his purse2 but to do all that  
he was bid1 learn all  that he could1   
and work for his living with his own    
hands2 a life of  bitter self-sacrifice4
  ,such a life is not needed now4       
,possibly1  nevertheless1 it was needed 
then4    ,so ,st4 ,boniface took ,sturmi

 about with him in his travels1 and at  
last  handed him over to ,wigbert1 the  
priest1 to prepare him for the ministry4
  ',under whom1' says his old           
chronicler1 'the boy began to know the  
,psalms  thoroughly by heart2 to        
understand the ,holy ,scriptures of     
,christ with  spiritual sense2 took care
 to learn most studiously the mysteries 
of the  four ,gospels1 and to bury in   
his heart1 by assiduous reading1 the    
treasures of the ,old and ,new          
,testament4  ,for his meditation was in 
the  ,law of the ,lord day and night2   
profound in understanding1 shrewd of    
thought1 prudent of speech1 fair of     
face1 sober of carriage1 honourable  in 
morals1 spotless in life1 by sweetness1 
humility1 and alacrity1 he  drew to him 
the love of all4'    ,he grew to be a   
man2 and in due time he was ordained    
priest1 'by the will  and consent of    
all2' and he 'began to preach the words 
of ,christ  earnestly to the people2'   
and his preaching wrought wonders among 

them4    ,three years he preached in his
 ,rhineland parish1 winning love from   
all4  ,but in the third year 'a heavenly
 thought' came into his mind that he    
would turn hermit and dwell in the wild 
forest4  ,and why8  ,who can tell8  ,he 
may1 likely enough1 have found celibacy 
a fearful temptation for a  young and   
eloquent man1 and longed to flee from   
the sight of that which  must not be    
his4  ,and that1 in his circumstances1  
was not a foolish wish4  ,he may have   
wished to escape1 if but once1 from the 
noise and crowd of  outward things1 and 
be alone with ,god and ,christ1 and his 
own soul4  ,and  that was not a foolish 
wish4  ,john ,bunyan so longed1 and     
found what he  wanted in ,bedford ,jail1
 and set it down and printed it in a    
,pilgrim's  ,progress1 which will live  
as long as man is man4  ,george ,fox    
longed for  it1 and made himself clothes
 of leather which would not wear out1   
and  lived in a hollow tree1 till he1   
too1 set down the fruit of his solitude 

in a diary which will live likewise as  
long as man is man4  ,perhaps1  again1  
young ,sturmi longed to try for once in 
a way what he was worth  upon ,god's    
earth2 how much he could endure2 what   
power he had of helping  himself1 what  
courage to live by his own wits1 and    
,god's mercy1 on roots  and fruits1 as  
wild things live4  ,and surely that was 
not altogether a  foolish wish4  ,at    
least1 he longed to be a hermit2 but he 
kept his  longing to himself1 however1  
till ,st4 ,boniface1 his bishop1        
appeared2 and  then he told him all his 
heart4    ,and ,st4 ,boniface said3     
',go2 in the name of ,god2' and gave him
 two  comrades1 and sent him into 'the  
wilderness which is called ,buchonia1   
the  ,beech ,forest1 to find a place fit
 for the servants of the ,lord to dwell 
in4  ,for the ,lord is able to provide  
his people a home in the desert4'    ,so
 those three went into the wild forest4 
,and 'for three days they saw  nought   
but earth and sky and mighty trees4     

,and they went on1 praying  ,christ that
 ,he would guide their feet into the way
 of peace4  ,and on the  third day they 
came to the place which is called       
,hersfelt 7the hart's  down871 and      
searched it round1 and prayed that      
,christ would bless the  place for them 
to dwell in2 and then they built        
themselves little huts of  beech-bark1  
and abode there many days1 serving ,god 
with holy fastings1  and watchings1 and 
prayers4'    ,is it not a strange story8
 so utterly unlike anything which we see
  now2--so utterly unlike anything which
 we ought to see now8  ,and yet it  may 
have been good in its time4  ,it looks  
out on us from the dim ages1  like the  
fossil bone of some old monster cropping
 out of a quarry4  ,but  the old monster
 was good in his place and time4  ,god  
made him and had  need of him4  ,it may 
be that ,god made those three poor      
monks1 and had  need of them likewise4  
,as for their purposes being            
superstitious1 we shall be better able  

to  judge of that when we have seen what
 they were--what sort of a house they   
meant to build to ,god4  ,as for their  
having self-interest in view1 no  doubt 
they thought that they should benefit   
their own souls in this life1  and in   
the life to come4  ,but one would hardly
 blame them for that1  surely8    ,one  
would not blame them as selfish and     
sordid if they had gone out on a        
commercial speculation8  ,why1 then1 if 
on a religious one8  ,the merchant      
adventurer is often a noble type of man1
 and one to whom the world owes  much1  
though his hands are not always clean1  
nor his eye single4  ,the  monk         
adventurer of the middle age is1        
perhaps1 a still nobler type of  man1   
and one to whom the world owes more1    
though his eye1 too1 was not  always    
single1 nor his hands clean4    ,as for 
selfishness1 one must really bear in    
mind that men who walked away  into that
 doleful 'urwarld' had need to pray very
 literally 'that ,christ  would guide   

their feet into the way of peace2' and  
must have cared as  much for their      
wordly interests as those who march up  
to the cannon's  mouth4  ,their lives in
 that forest were not worth twenty-four 
hours'  purchase1 and they knew it4  ,it
 is an ugly thing for an unarmed man1   
without a compass1 to traverse the bush 
of ,australia or ,new ,zealand1  where  
there are no wild beasts4  ,but it was  
uglier still to start out  under the    
dark roof of that primaeval wood4       
,knights1 when they rode it1  went armed
 cap-a-pie1 like ,sintram through the   
dark valley1 trusting in  ,god and their
 good sword4  ,chapmen and merchants    
stole through it by a  few tracks in    
great companies1 armed with bill and    
bow4  ,peasants  ventured into it a few 
miles1 to cut timber1 and find pannage  
for their  swine1 and whispered wild    
legends of the ugly things therein--and 
sometimes1 too1 never came home4  ,away 
it stretched from the fair  ,rhineland1 
wave after wave of oak and alder1 beech 

and pine1 ,god alone  knew how far1 into
 the land of night and wonder1 and the  
infinite  unknown2 full of elk and      
bison1 bear and wolf1 lynx and glutton1 
and  perhaps of worse beasts still4     
,worse beasts1 certainly1 ,sturmi and   
his  comrades would have met1 if they   
had met them in human form4  ,for there 
were waifs and strays of barbarism      
there1 uglier far than any waif and     
stray of civilization1 border ruffian of
 the far west1 buccaneer of the  ,tropic
 keys1 ,cimaroon of the ,panama forests2
 men verbiesterte1 turned  into the     
likeness of beasts1 wildfanger1 huner1  
ogres1 wehr-wolves1  strong thieves and 
outlaws1 many of them possibly mere     
brutal maniacs2  naked1 living in caves 
and coverts1 knowing no law but their   
own hunger1  rage1 and lust2 feeding    
often on human flesh2 and woe to the    
woman or  child or unarmed man who fell 
into their ruthless clutch4  ,orson1 and
  such like human brutes of the         
wilderness1 serve now to amuse children 

in  fairy tales2 they were then ugly    
facts of flesh and blood4  ,there were  
heathens there1 too1 in small colonies3 
heathen ,saxons1 cruelest of all  the   
tribes2 who worshipped at the ,irmensul1
 and had an old blood-feud  against the 
,franks2 heathen ,thuringer1 who had    
murdered ,st4 ,kilian the  ,irishman at 
,wurzburg2 heathen ,slaves1 of different
 tribes1 who had  introduced into       
,europe the custom of impaling their    
captives3 and woe to  the ,christian    
priest who fell into any of their hands4
  ,to be knocked on  the head before    
some ugly idol was the gentlest death   
which they were  like to have4  ,they   
would have called that martyrdom1 and   
the gate of  eternal bliss2 but they    
were none the less brave men for going  
out to  face it4    ,and beside all     
these1 and worse than all these1 there  
were the terrors of  the unseen world2  
very real in those poor monks' eyes1    
though not in  ours4  ,there were ,nixes
 in the streams1 and ,kobolds in the    

caves1 and  ,tannhauser in the dark     
pine-glades1 who hated the ,christian   
man1 and  would lure him to his death4  
,there were fair swan-maidens and       
elf-maidens2 nay1 dame ,venus herself1  
and ,herodias the dancer1 with all      
their rout of revellers2 who would tempt
 him to sin1 and having made him  sell  
his soul1 destroy both body and soul in 
hell4  ,there was ,satan and  all the   
devils1 too1 plotting to stop the       
,christian man from building the  house 
of the ,lord1 and preaching the gospel  
to the heathen2 ready to call  up       
storms1 and floods1 and forest fires2 to
 hurl the crag down from the  cliffs1 or
 drop the rotting tree on their         
defenceless heads--all real and         
terrible in those poor monks' eyes1 as  
they walked on1 singing their  psalms1  
and reading their ,gospels1 and praying 
to ,god to save them1 for  they could   
not save themselves2 and to guide them1 
for they knew not1  like ,abraham1      
whither they went2 and to show them the 

place where they  should build the house
 of the ,lord1 and preach righteousness1
 peace1 and  joy in the ,holy ,spirit to
 the heathen round4  ,we talk still1    
thank  heaven1 of heroes1 and understand
 what that great word should mean4  ,but
  were not these poor monks heroes8     
,knights-errant of ,god1 doing his work 
as they best knew how4  ,we have a purer
 gospel than they3 we understand  our   
,bibles better4  ,but if they had not   
done what they did1 where would  have   
been now our gospel1 and our ,bible8    
,we cannot tell4  ,it was a wise  old   
saw of our forefathers--',do not speak  
ill of the bridge which carries  you    
over4'    ,if ,sturmi had had a 'holy   
longing' to get into the wild wood1 now 
he had  a 'holy longing' to go back2 and
 to find ,st4 ,boniface1 and tell him   
what  a pleasant place ,hersfelt was1   
and the quality of the soil1 and the    
direction of the watershed1 and the     
meadows1 and springs1 and so forth1  in 
a very practical way4  ,and ,st4        

,boniface answered1 that the place      
seemed good enough2 but that he was     
afraid for them1 on account of the      
savage heathen ,saxons4  ,they must go  
deeper into the forest1 and then  they  
would be safe4  ,so he went back to his 
fellow-hermits1 and they made  to       
themselves a canoe2 and went paddling up
 and down the ,fulda stream1  beneath   
the alder boughs1 'trying the mouths of 
the mountain-streams1 and  landing to   
survey the hills and ridges1'--pioneers 
of civilization none  the less because  
they pioneered in the name of ,him who  
made earth and  heaven3 but they found  
nothing which they thought would suit   
the blessed  ,st4 ,boniface1 save that  
they stayed a little at the place which 
is called  ,ruohen-bah1 'the rough      
brook1' to see if it would suit2 but it 
would not4  ,so they went back to their 
birch huts to fast and pray once more4  
,st4 ,boniface sent for ,sturmi after   
awhile1 probably to ,maintz1 to ask of  
his success2 and ,sturmi threw himself  

on his face before him2 and  ,boniface  
raised him up1 and kissed him1 and made 
him sit by his  side--which was a mighty
 honour2 for ,st4 ,boniface1 the        
penniless monk1  was at that moment one 
of the most powerful men of ,europe2 and
 he gave  ,sturmi a good dinner1 of     
which1 no doubt1 he stood in need2 and  
bade him  keep up heart1 and seek again 
for the place which ,god had surely     
prepared1 and would reveal in ,his good 
time4    ,and this time ,sturmi1        
probably wiser from experience1         
determined to go  alone2 but not on     
foot4  ,so he took to him a trusty ass1 
and as much food  as he could pack on   
it2 and1 axe in hand1 rode away into the
 wild wood1  singing his psalms4  ,and  
every night1 before he lay down to      
sleep1 he cut  boughs1 and stuck them up
 for a ring fence round him and the ass1
 to the  discomfiture of the wolves1    
which had1 and have still1 a great      
hankering  after asses' flesh4  ,it is a
 quaint picture1 no doubt2 but let us   

respect  it1 while we smile at it2 if   
we1 too1 be brave men4    ,then one day 
he fell into a great peril4  ,he came to
 the old road 7a  ,roman one1 ,i        
presume2 for the ,teutons1 whether in   
,england or elsewhere1  never dreamed of
 making roads till three hundred years  
ago1 but used the  old ,roman ones71    
which led out of the ,thuringen land to 
,maintz4  ,and at  the ford over the    
,fulda he met a great multitude bathing1
 of ,sclavonian  heathens1 going to the 
fair at ,maintz4  ,and they smelt so    
strong1 the  foul miscreants1 that      
,sturmi's donkey backed1 and refused to 
face them2  and ,sturmi himself was much
 of the donkey's mind1 for they began to
 mock  him 7possibly he nearly went over
 the donkey's head71 and went about to  
hurt him4    ',but1' says the           
chronicler1 'the power of the ,lord held
 them back4'    ,then he went on1 right 
thankful at having escaped with his     
life1 up and  down1 round and round1    
exploring and surveying--for what       

purpose we shall  see hereafter4  ,and  
at last he lost himself in the place    
which is called  ,aihen-loh1 'the glade 
of oaks2' and at night-fall he heard the
 plash of  water1 and knew not whether  
man or wild beast made it4  ,and not    
daring to  call out1 he tapped a        
tree-trunk with his axe 7some           
backwoodsman's sign  of those days1 we  
may presume71 and he was answered4  ,and
 a forester came  to him1 leading his   
lord's horse2 a man from the ,wetterau1 
who knew the  woods far and wide1 and   
told him all that he wanted to know4    
,and they  slept side by side that      
night2 and in the morning they blest    
each other1  and each went his way4     
,yes1 there were not merely kings and   
wars1 popes and councils1 in those  old 
days2--there were real human beings1    
just such as we might meet by  the      
wayside any hour1 with human hearts and 
histories within them4  ,and  we will be
 thankful if but one of them1 now and   
then1 starts up out of  the darkness of 

twelve hundred years1 like that good    
forester1 and looks  at us with human   
eyes1 and goes his way again1 blessing1 
and not unblest4    ,and now ,sturmi    
knew all that he needed to know2 and    
after awhile1  following the counsel of 
the forester1 he came to 'the blessed   
place1  long ago prepared of the ,lord4 
,and when he saw it1 he was filled with 
immense joy1 and went on exulting2 for  
he felt that by the merits and  prayers 
of the holy ,bishop ,boniface that place
 had been revealed to him4  ,and he went
 about it1 and about it1 half the day2  
and the more he looked  on it the more  
he gave ,god thanks2' and those who know
 ,fulda say1 that  ,sturmi had reason to
 give ,god thanks1 and must have had a  
keen eye1  moreover1 for that which man 
needs for wealth and prosperity1 in soil
 and  water1 meadow and wood4  ,so he   
blessed the place1 and signed it with   
the  sign of the ,cross 7in token that  
it belonged thenceforth neither to      
devils nor fairies1 but to his rightful 

,lord and ,maker71 and went back to  his
 cell1 and thence a weary journey to    
,st4 ,boniface1 to tell him of the  fair
 place which he had found at last4      
,and ,st4 ,boniface went his weary way1 
either to ,paris or to ,aix1 to ,pepin  
and ,carloman1 kings of the ,franks2 and
 begged of them a grant of the          
,aihen-loh1 and all the land for four   
miles round1 and had it4  ,and the      
nobles about gave up to him their rights
 of venison1 and vert1 and  pasture1 and
 pannage of swine2 and ,sturmi and seven
 brethren set out  thither1 'in the year
 of our ,lord #gdd1 in the first month  
7,april1  presumably71 in the twelfth   
day of the month1 unto the place        
prepared of  the ,lord1' that they might
 do what8    ,that they might build an  
abbey4  ,yes2 but the question is1 what 
building  an abbey meant1 not three     
hundred1 nor five hundred1 but eleven   
hundred  years ago--for centuries are   
long matters1 and men and their works   
change  in them4    ,and then it meant  

this3 ,clearing the back woods for a    
,christian  settlement2 an industrial   
colony1 in which every man was expected 
to  spend his life in doing good--all   
and every good which he could for his   
fellow-men4  ,whatever talent he had he 
threw into the common stock2 and        
worked1 as he was found fit to work1 at 
farming1 gardening1 carpentering1       
writing1 doctoring1 teaching in the     
schools1 or preaching to the heathen    
round4  ,in their common church they met
 to worship ,god2 but also to ask  for  
grace and strength to do their work1 as 
,christianizers and civilizers  of      
mankind4  ,what ,christianity and       
civilization they knew 7and they knew   
more than we are apt now to believe7    
they taught it freely2 and therefore    
they were loved1 and looked up to as    
superior beings1 as modern              
missionaries1 wherever they do their    
work even decently well1 are looked  up 
to now4    ,so because the work could be
 done in that way1 and 7as far as men   

then1  or now1 can see7 in no other way1
 ,pepin and ,carloman gave ,boniface the
  glade of oaks1 that they might clear  
the virgin forest1 and extend           
cultivation1 and win fresh souls to     
,christ1 instead of fighting1 like the  
kings of this world1 for the land which 
was already cleared1 and the  people who
 were already ,christian4    ,in two    
months' time they had cut down much of  
the forest2 and then came  ,st4         
,boniface himself to see them1 and with 
him a great company of  workmen1 and    
chose a place for a church4  ,and ,st4  
,boniface went up to the  hill which is 
yet called ,bishop's ,mount1 that he    
might read his ,bible in  peace1 away   
from kings and courts1 and the noise of 
the wicked world2 and  his workmen      
felled trees innumerable1 and dug peat  
to burn lime withal2  and then all went 
back again1 and left the settlers to    
thrive and work4    ,and thrive and work
 they did1 clearing more land1 building 
their church1  ploughing up their farm1 

drawing to them more and more heathen   
converts1  more and more heathen        
school-children2 and ,st4 ,boniface came
 to see them  from time to time1        
whenever he could get a holiday1 and    
spent happy days  in prayer and study1  
with his pupil and friend4  ,and ten    
years after1  when ,st4 ,boniface was   
martyred at last by the ,friesland      
heathens1 and  died1 as he had lived1   
like an apostle of ,god1 then all the   
folk of  ,maintz wanted to bring his    
corpse home to their town1 because he   
had been  ,archbishop there4  ,but he   
'appeared in a dream to a certain       
deacon1 and  said3 ,why delay ye to take
 me home to ,fulda1 to my rest in the   
wilderness which ,god bath prepared for 
me8'    ,so ,st4 ,boniface sleeps at    
,fulda1--unless the ,french ,republican 
armies dug  up his bones1 and scattered 
them1 as they scattered holier things1  
to the  winds of heaven4  ,and all men  
came to worship at his tomb1 after the  
fashion of those days4  ,and ,fulda     

became a noble abbey1 with its          
dom-church1 library1 schools1 workshops1
 farmsteads1 almshouses1 and all  the   
appanages of such a place1 in the days  
when monks were monks indeed4  ,and     
,sturmi became a great man1 and went    
through many troubles and  slanders1 and
 conquered in them all1 because there   
was no fault found in  him1 as in       
,daniel of old2 and died in a good old  
age1 bewept by  thousands1 who1 but for 
him1 would have been heathens still4    
,and the  ,aihen-loh became rich        
corn-land and garden1 and ,fulda an     
abbey borough  and a principality1 where
 men lived in peace under mild rule1    
while the  feudal princes quarrelled and
 fought outside2 and a great literary   
centre1 whose old records are now       
precious to the diggers among the bones 
of bygone times2 and at last ,st4       
,sturmi and the ,aihen-lob had so       
developed themselves1 that the latest   
record of the ,abbots of ,fulda which   
,i have seen is this1 bearing date about

 #agaj3--    ',the arms of the most     
illustrious ,lord and ,prince1 ,abbot of
 ,fulda1  ,archchancellor of the most   
,serene ,empress1 ,primate of all       
,germany and  ,gaul1 and ,prince of the 
,holy ,roman ,empire4'  ,developed1     
certainly3 and  not altogether in the   
right direction4  ,for instead of the   
small beer1  which they had promised    
,st4 ,boniface to drink to the end of   
the world1  the abbots of ,fulda had the
 best wine in ,germany1 and the best    
table too4  ,be that as it may1 to have 
cleared the timber off the ,aihen-lob1  
and  planted a ,christian colony        
instead1 was enough to make ,st4 ,sturmi
 hope  that he had not read his ,bible  
altogether in vain4    ,surely such men 
as ,st4 ,sturmi were children of wisdom1
 put what sense on  the word you will4  
,in a dark1 confused1 lawless1          
cut-throat age1 while  everything was   
decided by the sword1 they found that   
they could do no  good to themselves1 or
 any man1 by throwing their swords into 

either  scale4  ,they would be men of   
peace1 and see what could be done so4   
,was  that not wise8  ,so they set to   
work4  ,they feared ,god exceedingly1   
and  walked with ,god4  ,was not that   
wise8  ,they wrought righteousness1 and 
were merciful and kind1 while kings and 
nobles were murdering around  them2 pure
 and temperate1 while other men were    
lustful and drunken2 just  and equal in 
all their ways1 while other men were    
unjust and capricious2  serving ,god    
faithfully1 according to their light1   
while the people round  them were half  
or wholly heathen2 content to do their  
work well on earth1  and look for their 
reward in heaven1 while the kings and   
nobles1 the  holders of the land1 were  
full of insane ambition1 every man      
trying to  seize a scrap of ground from 
his neighbour1 as if that would make    
them  happier4  ,was that not wise8     
,which was the wiser1 the chief killing 
human beings1 to take from them some few
 square miles which men had  brought    

into cultivation already1 or the monk1  
leaving the cultivated  land1 and going 
out into the backwoods to clear the     
forest1 and till the  virgin soil8      
,which was the child of wisdom1 ,i ask  
again8  ,and do not  tell me that the   
old monk worked only for fanatical and  
superstitious  ends4  ,it is not so4  ,i
 know well his fanaticism and his       
superstition1  and the depths of its    
ignorance and silliness3 but he had more
 in him  than that4  ,had he not1 he    
would have worked no lasting work4  ,he 
was not  only the pioneer of            
civilization1 but he knew that he was   
such4  ,he  believed that all knowledge 
came from ,god1 even that which taught a
 man  to clear the forest1 and plant    
corn instead2 and he determined to      
spread  such knowledge as he had        
wherever he could4  ,he was a wiser man 
than the  heathen ,saxons1 even than the
 ,christian ,franks1 around him2 a      
better  scholar1 a better thinker1      
better handicraftsman1 better farmer2   

and he  did not keep his knowledge to   
himself4  ,he did not1 as some tell you1
  keep the ,bible to himself4  ,it is   
not so2 and those who say so1 in this   
generation1 ought to be ashamed of      
themselves4  ,the monk knew his ,bible  
well himself1 and he taught it4  ,those 
who learnt from him to read1  learnt to 
read their ,bibles4  ,those who did not 
learn 7of course the vast  majority1 in 
days when there was no printing71 he    
taught by sermons1 by  pictures1        
afterward by mystery and miracle plays4 
,the ,bible was not  forbidden to the   
laity till centuries afterwards--and    
forbidden then1  why8  ,because the     
laity throughout ,europe knew too much  
about the ,bible1  and not too little4  
,because the early monks had so         
ingrained the mind of  the masses1      
throughout ,christendom1 with ,bible    
stories1 ,bible personages1  the great  
facts1 and the great doctrines1 of our  
,lord's life1 that the  masses knew too 
much2 that they could contrast too      

easily1 and too  freely1 the fallen and 
profligate monks of the #aeth and #afth 
centuries1  with those ,bible examples1 
which the old monks of centuries before 
had  taught their forefathers4  ,then   
the clergy tried to keep from the laity1
  because it testified against          
themselves1 the very book which         
centuries  before they had taught them  
to love and know too well4  ,in a word1 
the  old monk missionary taught all he  
knew to all who would learn1 just as    
our best modern missionaries do2 and was
 loved1 and obeyed1 and looked on  as a 
superior being1 as they are4    ,of     
course he did not know how far          
civilization would extend4  ,he could   
not foretell railroads and electric     
telegraphs1 any more than he could      
political economy1 or sanitary science4 
,but the best that he knew1 he          
taught--and did also1 working with his  
own hands4  ,he was faithful in a  few  
things1 and ,god made him ruler over    
many things4  ,for out of those         

monasteries sprang--what did not spring8
  ,they restored again and again  sound 
law and just government1 when the good  
old ,teutonic laws1 and the  ,roman law 
also1 was trampled underfoot amid the   
lawless strife of  ambition and fury4   
,under their shadow sprang up the towns 
with their  corporate rights1 their     
middle classes1 their artizan classes4  
,they were  the physicians1 the         
alms-givers1 the relieving officers1 the
  schoolmasters of the middle-age world4
  ,they first taught us the great       
principle of the division of labour1 to 
which we owe1 at this moment1  that     
,england is what she is1 instead of     
being covered with a horde of  peasants1
 each making and producing everything   
for himself1 and starving  each upon his
 rood of ground4  ,they transcribed or  
composed all the books  of the then     
world2 many of them spent their lives in
 doing nothing but  writing2 and the    
number of books1 even of those to be    
found in single  monasteries1           

considering the tedious labour of       
copying1 is altogether  astonishing4    
,they preserved to us the treasures of  
classical antiquity4  ,they discovered  
for us the germs of all our modern      
inventions4  ,they  brought in from     
abroad arts and new knowledge2 and while
 they taught men  to know that they had 
a common humanity1 a common ,father in  
heaven taught  them also to profit by   
each other's wisdom instead of remaining
 in  isolated ignorance4  ,they1 too1   
were the great witnesses against feudal 
caste4  ,with them was neither high-born
 nor low-born1 rich nor poor3  worth was
 their only test2 the meanest serf      
entering there might become  the lord of
 knights and vassals1 the counsellor of 
kings and princes4  ,men  may talk of   
democracy--those old monasteries were   
the most democratic  institutions the   
world had ever till then seen4  ',a     
man's a man for a'  that1' was not only 
talked of in them1 but carried out in   
practice--only  not in anarchy1 and as a

 cloak for licentiousness3 but under    
those  safeguards of strict discipline1 
and almost military order1 without which
  men may call themselves free1 and yet 
be really only slaves to their own      
passions4  ,yes1 paradoxical as it may  
seem1 in those monasteries was          
preserved the sacred fire of modern     
liberty1 through those feudal  centuries
 when all the outside world was doing   
its best to trample it  out4  ,remember1
 as a single instance1 that in the      
,abbot's lodging at ,bury  ,st4         
,edmunds1 the ,magna ,charta was drawn  
out1 before being presented to  ,john at
 ,runymede4  ,i know what they became   
afterwards1 better than most  do here2  
too well to defile my lips1 or your     
ears1 with tales too true4  ,they had   
done their work1 and they went4  ,like  
all things born in time1  they died2 and
 decayed in time2 and the old order     
changed1 giving place  to the new2 and  
,god fulfilled himself in many ways4    
,but in them1 too1 he  fulfilled        

himself4  ,they were the best things the
 world had seen2 the  only method of    
,christianizing and civilizing          
semi-barbarous ,europe4  ,like  all     
human plans and conceptions1 they       
contained in themselves original  sin2  
idolatry1 celibacy1 inhuman fanaticism2 
these were their three roots  of        
bitterness2 and when they bore the      
natural fruit of immorality1 the        
monasteries fell with a great and just  
destruction4  ,but had not those        
monasteries been good at first1 and     
noble at first2 had not the men in  them
 been better and more useful men than   
the men outside1 do you think  they     
would have endured for centuries8  ,they
 would not even have  established       
themselves at all4  ,they would soon1 in
 those stormy times1  have been swept   
off the face of the earth4  ,ill used   
they often were1  plundered and burnt   
down4  ,but men found that they were    
good4  ,their own  plunderers found that
 they could not do without them2 and    

repented1 and  humbled themselves1 and  
built them up again1 to be centres of   
justice and  mercy and peace1 amid the  
wild weltering sea of war and misery4   
,for all  things endure1 even for a     
generation1 only by virtue of the good  
which is  in them4  ,by the ,spirit of  
,god in them they live1 as do all       
created  things2 and when he taketh away
 their breath they die1 and return again
  to their dust4    ,and what was the   
original sin of them8  ,we can hardly   
say that it was  their superstitious and
 partially false creed3 because that    
they held in  common with all ,europe4  
,it was rather that they had identified 
themselves with1 and tried to realize on
 earth1 one of the worst  falsehoods of 
that creed--celibacy4  ,not being       
founded on the true and  only ground of 
all society1 family life1 they were     
merely artificial and  self-willed      
arrangements of man's invention1 which  
could not develop to  any higher form4  
,and when the sanctity of marriage was  

revindicated at  the ,reformation1 the  
monasteries1 having identified          
themselves with  celibacy1 naturally    
fell4  ,they could not partake in the   
,reformation  movement1 and rise with it
 into some higher form of life1 as the  
laity  outside did4  ,i say1 they were  
altogether artificial things4  ,the     
,abbot  might be called the ,abba1      
,father1 of his monks3 but he was not   
their  father--just as when young ladies
 now play at being nuns1 they call their
  superior1 ,mother3 but all the calling
 in the world will not make that  sacred
 name a fact and a reality1 as they too 
often find out4    ,and celibacy brought
 serious evils from the first4  ,it     
induced an  excited1 hysterical tone of 
mind1 which is most remarkable in the   
best  men2 violent1 querulous1          
suspicious1 irritable1 credulous1       
visionary2 at  best more womanly than   
manly2 alternately in tears and in      
raptures4  ,you  never get in their     
writings anything of that manly         

calmness1 which we so  deservedly       
honour1 and at which we all aim for     
ourselves4  ,they are  bombastic2       
excited2 perpetually mistaking virulence
 for strength1 putting  us in mind for  
ever of the allocutions of the ,popes4  
,read the writings  of one of the best  
of monks1 and of men1 who ever lived1   
the great ,st4  ,bernard1 and you will  
be painfully struck by this hysterical  
element4  ,the  fact is1 that their rule
 of life1 from the earliest to the      
latest1--from  that of ,st4 ,benedict of
 ,casino1 'father of all monks1' to that
 of ,loyola  the ,jesuit1 was pitched   
not too low1 but too high4  ,it was an  
ideal  which1 for good or for evil1     
could only be carried out by new        
converts1  by people in a state of high 
religious excitement1 and therefore the 
history of the monastic orders is just  
that of the protestant sects4  ,we  hear
 of continual fallings off from their   
first purity2 of continual  excitements1
 revivals1 and startings of new orders1 

which hoped to  realize the perfection  
which the old orders could not4  ,you   
must bear  this in mind1 as you read    
mediaeval history4  ,you will be puzzled
 to know  why continual new rules and   
new orders sprung up4  ,they were so    
many  revivals1 so many purist attempts 
at new sects4  ,you will see this very  
clearly in the three great revivals     
which exercised such enormous  influence
 on the history of the #acth1 the #afth 
and the #agth centuries1--,i  mean the  
rise first of the ,franciscans and      
,dominicans1 next of the  ,jesuits1 and 
lastly of the ,port ,royalists4  ,they  
each professed to  restore monachism to 
what it had been at first2 to realize   
the unnatural  and impossible ideal4    
,another serious fault of these         
monasteries may be traced to their      
artificial celibate system4  ,i mean    
their avarice4  ,only one generation    
after ,st4 ,sturmi1 ,charlemagne had to 
make indignant laws against ,abbots  who
 tried to get into their hands the      

property of everybody around them3  but 
in vain4  ,the ,abbots became more and  
more the great landholders1 till  their 
power was intolerable4  ,the reasons are
 simple enough4  ,an abbey  had no      
children between whom to divide its     
wealth1 and therefore more  land was    
always flowing in and concentrating1 and
 never breaking up  again2 while almost 
every ,abbot left his personalities1 all
 his private  savings and purchases1 to 
his successor4    ,then again1 in an    
unhappy hour1 they discovered that the  
easiest way of  getting rich was by     
persuading sinners1 and weak persons1 to
 secure the  safety of their souls by   
leaving land to the ,church1 in return  
for the  prayers and masses of monks2   
and that shameful mine of wealth was    
worked  by them for centuries1 in spite 
of statutes of mortmain1 and other      
checks  which the civil power laid on   
them1 very often by most detestable     
means4  ,one is shocked to find good men
 lending themselves to such base tricks3

  but we must recollect1 that there has 
always been among men a public and  a   
private conscience1 and that these two1 
alas6 have generally been very          
different4  ,it is an old saying1 that  
'committees have no consciences2'  and  
it is too true4  ,a body of men acting  
in concert for a public purpose  will do
 things which they would shrink from    
with disgust1 if the same  trick would  
merely put money into their private     
purses2 and this is too  often the case 
when the public object is a good one4   
,then the end seems  to sanctify the    
means1 to almost any amount of          
chicanery4    ,so it was with those old 
monks4  ,an abbey had no conscience4    
,an order of  monks had no conscience4  
,a ,benedictine1 a ,dominican1 a        
,franciscan1 who  had not himself a     
penny in the world1 and never intended  
to have one1  would play tricks1 lie1   
cheat1 slander1 forge1 for the honour   
and the  wealth of his order2 when for  
himself1 and in himself1 he may have    

been  an honest ,god-fearing man enough4
  ,so it was2 one more ugly fruit of an 
unnatural attempt to be not good men1   
but something more than men2 by  trying 
to be more than men1 they ended by being
 less than men4  ,that was  their sin1  
and that sin1 when it had conceived1    
brought forth death4          ,,lecture 
,x--,,the ,,lombard ,,laws      ,i have 
tried to shew you how the ,teutonic     
nations were ,christianized4  ,i  have  
tried to explain to you why the clergy  
who converted them were1  nevertheless1 
more or less permanently antagonistic to
 them4  ,i shall  have1 hereafter1 to   
tell you something of one of the most   
famous  instances of that antagonism3 of
 the destruction of the liberties of the
  ,lombards by that ,latin clergy4  ,but
 at first you ought to know something   
of the manners of these ,lombards2 and  
that you may learn best by studying     
their ,code4    ,they are valuable to   
you1 as giving you a fair specimen of   
the laws of an  old ,teutonic people4   

,you may profitably compare them with   
the old  ,gothic1 ,franco-,salic1       
,burgundian1 ,anglo-,saxon1 and         
,scandinavian laws1 all  formed on the  
same primaeval model1 agreeing often in 
minute details1 and  betokening one     
primaeval origin1 of awful antiquity4   
,by studying them1  moreover1 you may   
gain some notion of that primaeval      
liberty and self-  government1 common at
 first to all the race1 but preserved   
alone by  ,england2--to which the       
descendants of these very ,lombards are 
at this  very moment so manfully working
 their way back4    ,these laws were    
collected and published in writing by   
king ,rothar1 ,a4,d4  #fdc1 #gf years   
after ,alboin came into ,italy4  ,the   
cause1 he says1 was the  continual      
wearying of the poor1 and the           
superfluous exactions1 and even         
violence1 of the strong against those   
who were weak4  ,they are the 'laws  of 
our fathers1 as far as we have learnt   
them from ancient men1 and are          

published with the counsel and consent  
of our princes1 judges1 and all  our    
most prosperous army1' i4e4 the barons1 
or freemen capable of bearing  arms2    
'and are confirmed according to the     
custom of our nation by  garathinx1'    
that is1 as far as ,i can ascertain from
 ,grimm's ,german ,law1  by giving an   
earnest1 garant1 or warrant of the      
bargain4    ,among these ,lombards1 as  
among our ,english forefathers1 when a  
man  thingavit1 i4e4 donavit1 a gift or 
bequest to any one1 it was necessary1   
according to law ,,clxxii41 to do it    
before gisiles1 witnesses1 and to give  
a garathinx1 or earnest1 of his         
bequest--a halm of straw1 a turf1 a cup 
of drink1 a piece of money--as to this  
day a drover seals his bargain  with a  
shilling1 and a commercial traveller    
with a glass of liquor4  ,whether       
,rothar gave the garathinx to his       
barons1 or his barons to him1 ,i  do not
 understand3 but at least it is clear   
from the use of this one word  that the 

publication of these laws was a 'social 
contract'--a distinct  compact between  
king and people4  ,from all which you   
will perceive at  once that these       
,lombards1 like all ,teutons1 were a    
free people1 under a  rough kind of     
constitutional monarchy4  ,they would   
have greeted with  laughter the modern  
fable of the divine right of kings1 if  
by that they  were expected to          
understand that the will of the king was
 law1 or that  the eldest son of a      
certain family had any ,god-given       
ipso-facto right to  succeed his father4
  ,sixteen kings1 says the preface1 had 
reigned from  ,agilmund to ,rothar2 and 
seven times had the royal race been     
changed4  ,that  the king should belong 
to one of the families who derived their
 pedigree  from ,wodin1 and that a son  
should1 as natural1 succeed his father1 
were  old rules3 but the barons would1  
as all history shews1 make little of    
crowning a younger son instead of an    
elder1 if the younger were a hero1  and 

the elder an 'arga'--a lazy loon2 and   
little1 also1 would they make  of       
setting aside the whole royal family1   
and crowning the man who would  do their
 business best4  ,the king was1 as this 
preface and these laws  shew1 the       
commander in chief of the exercitus1 the
 militia1 and therefore  of every free  
man in the state2 7for all were bound to
 fight when  required74  ,he was also   
the supreme judge1 the head of the      
executive1  dispenser and fountain of   
law3 but with no more power of making   
the law1  of breaking the law1 or of    
arbitrarily depriving a man of his      
property1  than an ,english sovereign   
has now2 and his power was quamdiu se   
bene  gesserit1 and no longer1 as       
history proves in every page4    ,the   
doctrine of the divine right of kings as
 understood in ,england in the          
seventeenth century1 and still in some  
continental countries1 was1 as far  as  
,i can ascertain1 invented by the early 
popes1 not for the purpose of  exalting 

the kings1 but of enslaving them1 and   
through them the nations4  ,a king and  
his son's sons had divine 'right to     
govern wrong' not from  ,god1 but from  
the vicar of ,god and the successor of  
,st4 ,peter1 to whom  ,god had given the
 dominion of the whole earth1 and who   
had the right to  anoint1 or to depose1 
whomsoever he would4  ,even in these old
 laws1 we  see that new idea obtruding  
itself4  ',the king's heart1' says one  
of them  'is in the hand of ,god4'      
,that is a text of ,scripture4  ,what it
 was meant  to mean1 one cannot doubt1  
or by whom it was inserted4  ,the       
',chancellor1'  or whoever else         
transcribed those laws in ,latin1 was1  
of course1 a  cleric1 priest or monk4   
,from his hand comes the first hint of  
arbitrary  power2 the first small blot  
of a long dark stain of absolutism1     
which was  to darken and deepen through 
centuries of tyranny and shame4    ,but 
to plead the divine right of kings1 in a
 country which has thrown off  its      

allegiance to the pope1 is to assert the
 conclusion of a syllogism1  the major  
and minor premiss of which are both     
denied by the assertor4  ,the  arguments
 for such a right drawn from the ,old   
,testament1 which were  common among the
 high-church party from ,james ,i4 to   
,james ,,ii4 and the  ,nonjurors1 are   
really too inconsequent to require more 
than a passing  smile4  ,how can you    
prove that a king has the power to make 
laws1 from  the history of the ,jewish  
nation1 when that very history          
represents it  all through as bound by a
 primaeval and divinely revealed law1 to
 which  kings and people were alike     
subject8  ,how can you prove that the   
eldest  son's eldest son has a divine   
right to wear the crown as ',god's      
anointed1' when the very persons to whom
 that title is given are  generally     
either not eldest sons1 or not of royal 
race at all8  ,the rule  that the eldest
 son's eldest son should succeed1 has   
been proved by  experience to be in     

practice a most excellent one3 but it   
rests1 as in  ,england1 so in ,lombardy1
 or ,spain1 or ,frankreich of old time1 
simply upon  the consent of the barons1 
and the will of the thing or parliament4
    ,there is a sentimental admiration  
of ',imperialism' growing up now-a-days1
  under the pretentious titles of       
'hero-worship1' and 'strong government2'
  and the ,british constitution is      
represented as a clumsy and artificial  
arrangement of the year #afhh4  #afhh   
after ,christ8  #afhh before ,christ    
would be nearer the mark4  ,it is as    
old1 in its essentials1 as the time     
when not only all the ,teutons formed   
one tribe1 but when ,teutons and        
,scandinavians were still united--and   
when that was1 who dare say8  ,we at    
least brought the ,british constitution 
with us out of the bogs and moors  of   
,jutland1 along with our smock-frocks   
and leather gaiters1 brown bills  and   
stone axes2 and it has done us good     
service1 and will do1 till we  have     

carried it right round the world4    ,as
 for these ,lombard kings1 they arose on
 this wise4  ,after ,alboin's  death the
 ,lombards were for ten years under     
dukes1 and evil times came1  every man  
doing what was right in his own eyes2   
enlarging their frontier  by killing the
 ,roman landholders1 and making the     
survivors give them up a  portion of    
their lands1 as ,odoacer first1 and the 
,ostrogoths next1 had  done4  ,at last1 
tired of lawlessness1 dissension and    
weakness1 and  seemingly dreading an    
invasion from ,childebert1 king of the  
,franks1 they  chose a king1 ,autharis  
the son of ,cleph1 and called him       
,flavius1 by which  ,roman title the    
,lombard kings were afterwards known4   
,moreover1 they  agreed to give him 7,i 
conclude only once for all7 the half of 
all their  substance1 to support the    
kingdom4  ,there were certain tributes  
afterwards paid into the king's treasury
 every three years2 and certain  fines1 
and also certain portions of the        

property of those who died  without     
direct heirs1 seem to have made up the  
revenue4  ,whereon1 ,paul  says1 perfect
 peace and justice followed4    ,now for
 the laws1 which were reduced into      
writing about sixty years  afterwards4  
,the first thing that you will remark   
about these laws1 is  that duel1 wager  
of battle under shield1 'diremptio      
causae per pugnam sub  uno scuto1' is   
the earliest form of settling a lawsuit4
  ,if you cannot  agree1 fight it out   
fairly1 either by yourself or per       
campionem1 a  champion or kemper man1   
and ,god defend the right4  ,then       
follows 'faida1'  blood-feud1 from      
generation to generation4  ,to stop     
which a man is  allowed to purge himself
 by oath2 his own and that of certain   
neighbours1  twelve in general1 who will
 swear their belief in his innocence4   
,this  was common to the northern       
nations1 and was the origin of our trial
 by  jury4  ,if guilty1 the offender has
 to pay the weregeld1 or legal price1   

set upon the injury he has inflicted4   
,when the composition is paid1  there is
 an end of the feud2 if after taking the
 composition the  plaintiff avenges     
himself1 he has to pay it back4  ,hence 
our system of  fines4    ,this method of
 composition by fines runs through all  
the ,teutonic laws2  and makes the      
punishment of death1 at least among     
freemen1 very rare4    ,punishments by  
stripes1 by imprisonment1 or by cruel or
 degrading  methods1 there are none4    
,the person of a freeman is sacred1     
',vincire et  verberare nefas1' as      
,tacitus said of these ,germans #fjj    
years before4    ,the offences          
absolutely punishable by death seem to  
be1 treason against  the king's life2   
cowardice in battle2 concealment of     
robbers2 mutinies  and attempts to      
escape out of the realm2 and therefore  
7under the then  military organization7 
to escape from the duty of every        
freeman1 to bear  arms in defence of the
 land4    ,more than a hundred of these 

laws define the different fines1 or     
'weregelds1' by which each offence is to
 be compounded for1 from #ijj  solidi   
aurei1 gold pieces1 for a murder1       
downwards to the smallest breach  of the
 peace4  ,each limb has its special     
price4  ,for the loss of an eye1  half  
the price of the whole man is to be     
paid4  ,a front tooth is worth  #afs41  
solidi aurei2 their loss being a        
disfigurement2 but a back tooth is      
worth only #hs4  ,a slave's tooth1 on   
the other hand1 is worth but #ds42 and  
in every case1 the weregeld of a slave  
is much less than that of a  freeman4   
,the sacredness of the household1 and   
the strong sense of the individual      
rights of property1 are to be remarked4 
,one found in a 'court1'  courtledge 7or
 homestead71 by night 7as we say in old 
,english71 may be  killed4  ,you know1  
,i dare say1 that in many ,teutonic and 
,scandinavian  nations the principle    
that a man's house is his castle was so 
strongly  held that men were not allowed

 to enter a condemned man's house to    
carry  him off to execution2 but if he  
would not come out1 could only burn the 
house over his head4  ,shooting1 or     
throwing a lance into any man's         
homestead1 costs #bjs4  ',oberos1' or   
'curtis ruptura1' that is1 making       
violent entry into a man's homestead1   
costs #bjs4 also4  ,nay1 merely to      
fetch your own goods out of another     
man's house secretly1 and without       
asking leave1 was likewise punished as  
oberos4    ,so of personal honour4      
',schelte' or insult1 for instance1 to  
call a man  arga1 i4e4 a lazy loon1 is a
 serious offence4  ,if the defendant    
will  confess that he said it in a      
passion1 and will take oath that he     
never  knew the plaintiff to be arga1 he
 must still pay #abs42 but if he will   
stand to his word1 then he must fight it
 out by duel1 sub uno scuto4    ,the    
person1 for the same reason1 was sacred4
  ,if a man had lain in wait  for a     
freeman1 'cum virtute et solatio1' with 

valour and comfort1 i4e4  with armed men
 to back him1 and had found him standing
 or walking simply1  and had shamefully 
held him1 or 'battiderit1' committed    
assault and  battery on him1 he must pay
 half the man's weregeld2 the 'turpiter 
et  ridiculum' being considered for a   
freeman as half as bad as death4  ,here 
you find in private life1 as well as in 
public1 the vincire et verberare  nefas4
    ,if1 again1 one had a mind to lose  
#hj shillings of gold1 he need but to   
commit the offence of 'meerworphin1' a  
word which will puzzle you  somewhat1   
till you find it to signify 'mare       
warping1' to warp1 or throw  one's      
neighbour off his mare or horse4    ,a  
blow with the closed fist1 again1 costs 
three shillings3 but one with  the open 
hand1 six4  ,the latter is an insult as 
well as an injury4  ,a  freeman is      
struck with the fist1 but a slave with  
the palm of the hand4  ,breaking a man's
 head costs six solidi4  ,but if one had
 broken his skull1  then 7as in the     

,alemannic laws7 one must pay twelve    
shillings1 and twelve  more for each    
fracture up to three--after which they  
are not counted4  ,but  a piece of bone 
must come out which will make a sound   
when thrown into a  shield twelve feet  
off2 which feet are to be measured by   
that of a man of  middle stature4  ,from
 which strange law may be deduced1 not  
only the  toughness of the ,lombard     
brain-pan1 but the extreme necessity of 
defining  each particular1 in order to  
prevent subsequent disputes1 followed up
 by  a blood-feud1 which might be handed
 down from father to son4  ,for by      
accepting the legal fine1 the injured   
man expressly renounced his  primaeval  
right of feud4    ,then follow some     
curious laws in favour of the masters of
 ,como1 ,magistri  ,comacenes1 who seem 
to have been a guild of architects1     
perhaps the  original germ of the great 
society of free-masons--belonging1 no   
doubt1  to the ,roman population--who   
were settled about the lake of ,como1   

and  were hired1 on contract1 7as the   
laws themselves express17 to build for  
the ,lombards1 who of course had no     
skill to make anything beyond a skin-   
tent or a log-hall4    ,then follow laws
 against incendiaries2 a fine for damage
 by accidental  house-fire1 if the      
offender have carried fire more than    
nine feet from  the hearth2 a law       
against leaving a fire alight on a      
journey1 as in the  ,australian colonies
 now4  ,then laws to protect mills2     
important matters  in those days1 being 
unknown to the ,lombards before their   
entrance into  ,italy4    ,then laws of 
inheritance2 on which ,i shall remark1  
that natural sons1 if  free1 are to have
 a portion of their father's            
inheritance2 but less than  the         
legitimate sons3 but that a natural son 
born of a slave remains a  slave1 'nisi 
pater liberum thingaverit4'  ,this cruel
 law was the law of  ,rome and of the   
,church2 our ,anglo-,saxon forefathers1 
to their honour1  held the reverse rule4

  ',semper a patre1 non a matre1        
generationis ordo  texitur4'  ,next1 it 
is to be remarked1 that no free woman   
can live in  ,lombardy1 or1 ,i believe1 
in any ,teutonic state1 save under the  
'mundium'  of some one4  ,you should    
understand this word 'mund4'  ,among    
most of the  ,teutonic races1 women1    
slaves1 and youths1 at least not of age 
to carry  arms1 were under the mund of  
some one4  ,of course1 primarily the    
father1  head of the family1 and if he  
died1 an uncle1 elder brother1 c4  ,the 
married woman was1 of course1 under the 
mund of her husband4  ,he was           
answerable for the good conduct of all  
under his mund2 he had to pay  their    
fines if they offended2 and he was      
bound1 on the other hand1 to  protect   
them by all lawful means4    ,this      
system still lingers in the legal status
 of women in ,england1 for  good and    
evil2 the husband is more or less       
answerable for the wife's  debts2 the   
wife1 till lately1 was unable to gain   

property apart from her  husband's      
control2 the wife is supposed1 in       
certain cases of law1 to act  under the 
husband's compulsion4  ,all these1 and  
many others1 are relics  of the old     
system of mund for women2 and that      
system has1 ,i verily  believe1         
succeeded4  ,it has called out1 as no   
other system could have  done1 chivalry 
in the man4  ,it has made him feel it a 
duty and an honour  to protect the      
physically weaker sex4  ,it has made the
 woman feel that  her influence1 whether
 in the state or in the family1 is to be
 not  physical and legal1 but moral and 
spiritual2 and that it therefore rests  
on a ground really nobler and deeper    
than that of the man4  ,the modern      
experiments for emancipating women from 
all mund1 and placing them on a         
physical and legal equality with the    
man1 may be right1 and may be           
ultimately successful4  ,we must not    
hastily prejudge them4  ,but of this  we
 may be almost certain2 that if they    

succeed1 they will cause a wide-  spread
 revolution in society1 of which the    
patent danger will be1 the  destruction 
of the feeling of chivalry1 and the     
consequent brutalization  of the male   
sex4    ,then follow laws relating to   
marriage and women1 of which ,i may     
remark1  that 7as in ,tacitus' time71   
the woman brings her dowry1 or 'fader   
fee1'  to her husband2 and that the     
morning after the wedding she receives  
from  him1 if he be content with her1   
her morgen gap1 or morning gift2 which  
remains her own private property1 unless
 she misbehaves4    ,the honour of      
women1 whether in fact or merely in     
fame1 is protected by  many severe laws1
 among which ,i shall only notice1 that 
the calling a  free woman 'striga'      
7witch7 is severely punishable4  ,if any
 one does so  who has the mund of her1  
except her father or brother1 he loses  
his mund4    ,on the whole1 woman's     
condition seems inferior to man's on    
some points3  but superior on others4   

e4g4 ,a woman's weregeld--the price of  
her  life--is #abjj solidi2 while the   
man's is only #ijj4  ,for he can defend 
himself1 but she cannot4  ,on the other 
hand1 if a man kill his wife1 he  pays  
only the #abjj solidi1 and loses her    
dowry3 but if she kill him1 she  dies4  
,again4  ,if a free man be caught       
thieving1 up to the amount of #bj       
siliquae1  beans1 i4e4 one gold         
piece--though ,pope ,gregory makes the  
solidus  7aureus7 #bd siliquae--he      
replaces the theft1 and pays #hj solidi1
 or dies2  and a slave one half1 or     
dies4    ,but if a free woman is taken  
in theft1 she only replaces it2 for she 
has  suffered for her wrong-doing1 and  
must lay it to her own shame1 that she  
has tried to do 'operam indecentem1' a  
foul deed4  ,and if an aldia or         
slave-woman steals1 her master replaces 
the theft1 and pays #dj solidi1  minus  
the value of the stolen goods--and beats
 her afterwards1 ,i presume1  if he     
chooses4    ,and now concerning slaves1 

who seem to have been divided into three
  classes4    ,the ,aldius and ,aldia1  
masculine and feminine1 who were of a   
higher rank  than other slaves4    ,the 
,aldius could marry a free woman1 while 
the slave marrying a free  woman is     
punishable by death2 and1 as            
experimentum crucis1 if an ,aldius      
married an ,aldia or a free woman1 the  
children followed the father4  ,if  he  
married a slave1 the children followed  
the mother1 and became slaves  of his   
lord4    ,the ,aldius1 again1 may not   
sell his lord's land or slaves1 which   
indicates that he held land and slaves  
under his lord4    ,what the word means1
 ,grimm does not seem to know4  ,he     
thinks it  synonymous with 'litus1' of  
whom we hear as early as ,tacitus' time1
 as  one of the four classes1 nobles1   
freemen1 liti1 slaves2 and therefore    
libertus1 a freedman4  ,but the word    
does not merely mean1 it appears1 a     
slave half freed by his master2 but one 
rather hereditarily half free1  and     

holding a farm under his lord4    ,dio1 
however1 is said to be an old ,german   
word for a slave2 and it is  possible   
that aldius 7a word only known1         
seemingly1 in ,lombardy7 may have       
signified originally an old slave1 an   
old ,roman colonus1 or peasant of  some 
sort1 found by the conquerors in        
possession of land1 and allowed to      
retain1 and till it1 from father to son4
  ,we1 in ,england1 had the same        
distinction between ',laet1' or         
'villains' settled on the land1 glebae  
adscripti1 and mere thralls or theows1  
slaves pure and simple4  ,no doubt  such
 would have better terms than the mere  
mancipia--slaves taken in war1  or      
bought--for the simple reason1 that they
 would be agriculturists1  practised in 
the ,roman tillage1 understanding the   
mysteries of  irrigation1 artificial    
grasses1 and rotation of crops1 as well 
as the  culture of vines1 fruit1 and    
olives4    ,next to them you have       
different sorts of slaves2 ,servus      

massarius1 who  seems to be also        
rusticanus1 one who takes care of his   
lord's 'massa' or  farm1 and is allowed 
a peculium1 it seems1 some animals of   
his own1 which  he may not sell1 though 
he may give them away4  ,and again1     
servus doctus1  an educated household   
slave1 whose weregeld is higher than    
that of  others4    ,the laws relating  
to fugitive slaves seem as merciful as  
such things can  be2 and the ,lombards  
have always had the credit of being kind
 and easy  masters4    ,connected with  
fugitive slaves are laws about          
portunarii1 ferrymen1 who  appear1 as   
you know1 in the old ballads as very    
important1 and generally  formidable    
men4  ,the fight between ,von ,troneg   
,hagen and the old ferryman  in the     
,nibelungen ,lied1 is a famous instance 
of the ancient ferrymen's  prowess4     
,one can easily understand how necessary
 strict laws were1 to  prevent these    
ferrymen carrying over fugitive slaves1 
outlaws1 and indeed  any one without due

 caution2 for each man was bound to     
remain in his own  province1 that he    
might be ready when called on for       
military service2 and  a traveller to   
foreign parts was looked on as a        
deserter from his liege-  lord and      
country4    ,then follow a great number 
of laws1 to me both amusing and         
instructive1  as giving us some glimpse 
of the country life of those ,lombards  
in the  #hth century4    ,scattered in  
the vast woodlands and marshes lie small
 farms1 enclosed by  ditches and posts  
and rails1 from which if you steal a    
rail1 you are  fined #as41 if you steal 
a post1 #cs4  ,there were stake fences1 
which you  must be careful in making1   
for if a horse stakes himself by leaping
 in1  you pay nothing2 but if he does so
 by leaping out1 you pay the price of   
the horse4  ,moreover1 you must leave no
 sharp stakes standing out of the       
hedge2 for if a man or beast wounds     
himself thereby in passing1 you have  to
 pay full weregeld4    ,walking over    

sown land1 or sending a woman of your   
mundium to do so1 in  accordance with an
 ancient superstition1 is a severe      
offence2 so is  injuring a vineyard1 or 
taking more than tres uvae 7bunches of  
grapes1 ,i  presume7 from the vine4     
,injuring landmarks cut on the trees    
7theclaturas  and signaturas7 or any    
other boundary mark1 is severely        
punishable either  in a slave1 or in a  
freeman4    ,in the vast woods range    
herds of swine1 and in the pastures1    
horses1  cared for by law2 for to take a
 herd of swine or brood mares as pledge1
  without the king's leave1 is          
punishable by death1 or a fine of #ijjs4
  ,oxen or horses used to the yoke can  
be taken as pledge2 but only by leave   
of the king1 or of the schuldhais 7local
 magistrate71 on proof that the  debtor 
has no other property2 for by them he   
gets his living4  ,if1  however1 you    
find pigs routing in your enclosure1 you
 may kill one1 under  certain           
restrictions1 but not the 'sornpair1'   

sounder boar1 who 'battit  et vincit'   
all the other boars in the sounder 7old 
,english for herd74    ,rival           
swineherds1 as is to be supposed1       
'battidunt inter se1' and  'scandalum   
faciunt1' often enough4  ,whereon the   
law advises them to fight  it out1 and  
then settle the damage between them4    
,horses are cared for4  ,to ride another
 man's horse costs #bs42 to dock or     
crop him1 eight-fold the damage2 and so 
on of hurting another man's  horse4     
,moreover1 if your neighbour's dog flies
 at you1 you may hit him  with a stick  
or little sword1 and kill him1 but if   
you throw a stone  after him and kill   
him1 you being then out of danger1 you  
must give the  master a new dog4        
,then there are quaint laws about       
hunting2 and damage caused by wild      
beasts caught in snares or brought to   
bay4  ,a wounded stag belongs to the    
man who has wounded it for twenty-four  
hours3 but after that to anyone4  ,tame 
deer1 it is observable1 are kept2 and to

 kill a doe or fawn costs  #fs41 to kill
 a buck1 #abs4  ,tame hawks1 cranes1 and
 swans1 if taken in  snares1 cost #fs4  
,but any man may take flying hawks out  
of his  neighbour's wood1 but not out of
 the ,gaias ,regis1 the king's gehage1  
haies1 hedges1 or enclosed parks4       
,and now1 ,i have but one more law to   
mention--would ,god that it had been  in
 force in later centuries--    ',let no 
one presume to kill another man's aldia 
or ancilla1 as a striga1  witch1 which  
is called masca2 because it is not to be
 believed by  ,christian minds1 that a  
woman can eat up a live man from within2
 and if  any one does so he shall pay   
#fjs4 as her price1 and for his fault1  
half  to her master1 and half to the    
king4'    ,this last strange law forces 
on us a serious question1 one which may 
have  been suggesting itself to you     
throughout my lecture4  ,if these were  
the  old ,teutonic laws1 this the old   
,teutonic liberty1 the respect for man  
as  man1 for woman as woman1 whence came

 the opposite element8  ,how is it  that
 these liberties have been lost         
throughout almost all ,europe8  ,how is 
it that a system of law prevailed over  
the whole continent1 up to the  ,french 
revolution1 and prevails still in too   
many countries1 the very  opposite of   
all this8    ,i am afraid that ,i must  
answer1 ,mainly through the influence of
 the ,roman  clergy during the middle   
age4    ,the original difference of race
 between the clergy and the ,teutonic   
conquerors1 which ,i have already       
pointed out to you1 had a curious       
effect1 which lingers to this day4  ,it 
placed the ,church in antagonism1  more 
or less open1 to the civil              
administration of justice4  ,the        
criminal  was looked on by the priest   
rather as a sufferer to be delivered1   
than an  offender to be punished4  ,all 
who are conversant with the lives of    
saints  must recollect cases in which   
the saint performs even miracles on     
behalf  of the condemned4  ,mediaeval   

tales are full of instances of the same 
feeling which prompted the ,italian     
brigands1 even in our own times1 to     
carry a leaden saint's image in his hat 
as a safeguard4  ,in an old ,french     
fabliau1 for instance1 we read how a    
certain highway-robber was always       
careful to address his prayers to the   
,blessed ,virgin1 before going out to   
murder and steal2 and found the practice
 pay him well4  ,for when he was  taken 
and hanged1 our ,lady put her 'mains    
blanches' under his feet1 and  supported
 him invisibly for a whole day1 till the
 executioner1 finding it  impossible to 
kill him1 was forced to let him retire  
peaceably into a  monastery1 where he   
lived and died devoutly4  ,we may laugh 
at such  fancies2 or express1 if we     
will1 our abhorrence of their           
immorality3 but  it will be more useful 
to examine into the causes which        
produced them4  ,they seem to have been 
twofold4  ,in the first place1 the      
,church did not  look on the ,teutonic  

laws1 whether ,frank1 ,burgund1 ,goth or
 ,lombard1 as  law at all4  ,her law1   
whether ecclesiastical or civil1 was    
formed on the  ,roman model2 and by it  
alone she wished herself1 and those who 
were under  her protection1 to be       
judged4  ,next--and this count is       
altogether to her  honour--law1 such as 
it was1 was too often administered1     
especially by  the ,franks1 capriciously
 and brutally2 while the servile        
population1  always the great majority1 
can hardly be said to have been under   
the  protection of law at all4  ,no one 
can read the pages of ,fredegarius1 or  
,gregory of ,tours1 without seeing that 
there must have been cases weekly1  even
 daily1 which called on the clergy1 in  
the name of justice and  humanity1 to   
deliver if possible1 the poor from him  
that spoiled him2  which excused fully  
the rise of the right of sanctuary1 and 
of benefit of  clergy1 afterwards so    
much abused2 which made it a pious duty 
in prelates  to work themselves into    

power at court1 and there1 as the       
',chancellors'  of princes1 try to get  
something like regular justice done2 and
 naturally  enough1 to remodel the laws 
of each nation on the time-honoured and 
scientific ,roman form4  ,nevertheless1 
the antagonism of the ,church to the    
national and secular law remained for   
centuries4  ,it died out first  perhaps1
 in ,england1 after the signature of    
,magna ,charta4  ,for then the  ,english
 prelates began to take up that truly   
,protestant and national  attitude which
 issued in the great ,reformation3 but  
it lingers still in  ,ireland and in    
,italy4  ,it lingered in ,france up to  
the ,french revolution1  as may be seen 
notably in the account of the execution 
of the ,marquise de  ,brinvilliers1 by  
the priest who attended her4  ,horror at
 her atrocious  crimes is quite         
swallowed up1 in the mind of the good   
father1 by sympathy  with her suffering2
 and the mob snatch her bones from the  
funeral pile1  and keep them as the     

relics of a saint4    ,but more4  ,while
 the ,roman clergy did real good to     
,europe1 in preserving  the scientific  
elements of ,roman law1 they did harm by
 preserving  therewith other            
elements--,roman chicane1 and ,roman    
cruelty4  ,in that  respect1 as in      
others1 ',rome conquered her            
conquerors2' and the  descendants of    
those ,roman lawyers1 whom the honest   
,teutons called  adders1 and as adders  
killed them down1 destroyed1 in course  
of time1  ,teutonic freedom4    ,but    
those descendants were1 alas6 the       
clergy4  ,weak1 they began early to     
adopt those arms of quibbling and craft1
 which religious men too often  fancy   
are the proper arms of 'the saints'     
against 'the world4'  ,holding  human   
nature in suspicion and contempt1 they  
early gave way to the maxim  of the     
savage1 that every one is likely to be  
guilty till proved  innocent1 and       
therefore licensed the stupid           
brutalities of torture to  extract      

confession4  ,holding self-degradation  
to be a virtue1 and  independence as a  
carnal vice2 glorying in being slaves   
themselves1 till  to become1 under the  
name of holy obedience1 'perinde ac     
cadaver1' was  the ideal of a good monk2
 and accustomed1 themselves1 to         
degrading  corporal punishment2 they did
 not shrink from inflicting1 even on    
boys  and women1 tortures as dastardly  
as indecent4  ,looking on the world1 and
  on the future of the human race1      
through a medium compared with which the
  darkest fancies of a modern fanatic   
are bright and clear1 they did not      
shrink from inflicting penalties1 the   
very mention of which makes the  blood  
run cold4  ,suspecting1 if not          
alternately envying and despising1  all 
women who were not nuns2 writing openly 
of the whole sex 7until  unsexed7 as the
 snare and curse of mankind2 and        
possessed by a ,manichaean  belief in   
the power and presence of innumerable   
demons1 whose especial  victims were    

women2 they erected witch-hunting into a
 science2 they  pandered to1 and        
actually formalized1 and justified on   
scientific  grounds1 the most cruel and 
cowardly superstitions of the mob2 and  
again  and again raised literal crusades
 against women1 torturing1 exposing1    
burning1 young and old1 not merely in   
the witch-mania of the #agth  century1  
but through the whole middle age4  ,it  
is a detestable page of  history4  ,i   
ask those who may think my statement    
exaggerated1 to consult  the original   
authorities4  ,let them contrast        
,rothar's law about the  impossibility  
of witchcraft1 with the pages of the    
,malleus ,maleficarum1  ,nider's        
,fornicarium1 or ,delrio the ,jesuit1   
and see for themselves who  were the    
false teachers4  ,and if they be told1  
that the cruelties of the  ,inquisition 
were only those in vogue according to   
the secular law of the  day1 let them   
recollect that the formulizers of that  
law were none other  than the celibate  

,roman clergy4    ,i do not deny that   
there was in all this a just1 though a  
terrible1  ,nemesis4  ,what was the     
essential fault of these ,lombard       
laws--indeed of  all the ,teutonic      
codes8  ,this--that there was one law   
for the free man1  another for the      
slave4  ,ecclesiastical dominion was    
necessary1 to make  one law for all     
classes1 even though it were a law of   
common slavery4  ,as  the free had done 
to the slave1 even so1 and far worse1   
would the ,roman  clergy do to them4    
,the ,albigense persecutors1 burning    
sixty ladies in  one day2 ,conrad of    
,marpurg scourging his own sovereign1   
,st4 ,elizabeth2  shaving the ,count of 
,saiym's head2 and burning noble ladies 
almost  without trial2 ,sprenger and his
 compeers1 offering up female hecatombs 
of  the highest blood thoughout         
,germany2 ,english bishops burning in   
,smithfield ,anne ,askew1 the hapless   
court-beauty1 and her fellow-courtier   
,mr4 ,lascelles1 just as if they had    

been ,essex or ,berkshire peasants2--all
  these evildoers were welding the      
different classes of the ,european      
nations1 by a community of suffering1   
into nations2 into the belief that  free
 and slave had one blood1 one humanity1 
one conscience1 one capacity  of        
suffering2 and at last1 one capacity of 
rebelling1 and making common  cause1    
high and low alike1 against him who     
reigned in ,italy under the  ',romani   
nominis umbram4'    ,and if our ,english
 law1 our ,english ideas of justice and 
mercy1 have  retained1 more than most   
,european codes1 the freedom1 the       
truthfulness1  the kindliness1 of the   
old ,teutonic laws1 we owe it to the    
fact1 that  ,england escaped1 more than 
any other land1 the taint of effete     
,roman  civilization2 that she therefore
 first of the lands1 in the #abth       
century1  rebelled against1 and first of
 them1 in the #afth century1 threw off1 
the  ,ultramontane yoke4    ,and surely 
it will be so1 in due time1 with the    

descendants of these very  ,lombards4   
,we have seen them in these very years  
arise out of the dust  and shame of     
centuries1 and determine to be ,lombards
 once again4  ,we have  seen a hero     
arise among them of the true old ,teuton
 stamp1 bearing  worthily the name which
 his forefathers brought over the ,alps 
with  ,alboin--,garibald1 the 'bold in  
war4'  ,may they succeed in the same    
noble  struggle as that in which we     
succeeded1 and returning1 not in letter1
 but  in spirit1 to the old laws of     
,rothar and their free forefathers1     
become  the leading race of a free and  
united ,italy6          ,,lecture       
,,xi--,,the ,,popes ,,and ,,the         
,,lombards      ',our ,lady the ,mother 
of ,god1 even ,virgin ,maria1 together  
with us1  protests to you1 adjuring you 
with great obligations1 and admonishes  
and  commands you1 and with her the     
thrones1 dominations1 all the heavenly  
angels1 the martyrs and confessors of   
,christ1 on behalf of the ,roman  city1 

committed to us by the ,lord ,god1 and  
the sheep of the ,lord dwelling  in it4 
,defend and free it speedily from the   
hands of the persecuting  ,lombards1    
lest my body which suffered torments for
 ,christ1 and my home in  which it rests
 by the command of ,god1 be contaminated
 by the people of  the ,lombards1 who   
are guilty of such iniquitous perjury1  
and are proud  transgressors of the     
divine scripture4  ,so will ,i at the   
day of judgment  reward you with my     
patronage1 and prepare for you in the   
kingdom of ,god  most shining and       
glorious tabernacles1 promising you the 
reward of  eternal retribution1 and the 
infinite joys of paradise4    ',run1 by 
the true and living ,god ,i exhort you1 
run1 and help2 before the  living       
fountain1 whence you were consecrated   
and born again1 shall dry  up3 before   
the little spark remaining of that      
brilliant flame1 from which  you knew   
the light1 be extinguished2 before your 
spiritual mother1 the  holy ,church of  

,god1 in which you hope to receive      
eternal life1 shall be  humiliated1     
invaded1 violated1 and defiled by the   
impious4    ',but if not1 may your      
provinces in return1 and your           
possessions1 be  invaded by people whom 
you know not4  ,separate not yourselves 
from my  ,roman people2 so you will not 
be aliens1 and separate from the kingdom
 of  ,god1 and eternal life4  ,for      
whatever you shall ask of me1 ,i will   
surely  give you1 and be your patron4   
,assist my ,roman people1 your brothers2
 and  strive more perfectly2 for it is  
written1 ,no man receiveth the crown1   
unless he strive lawfully4    ',i       
conjure you1 most beloved1 by the living
 ,god1 leave not this my city  of ,rome 
to be any longer torn by the ,lombards1 
lest your bodies and souls  be torn and 
tormented for ever1 in inextinguishable 
and ,tartarian fire  with the devil and 
his pestiferous angels2 and let not the 
sheep of the  ,lord's flock1 which are  
the ,roman people1 be dispersed any     

more1 lest the  ,lord disperse you1 and 
cast you forth as the people of ,israel 
was  dispersed4'    ,you will conclude1 
doubtless1 that this curious document   
can be nothing  but a papal allocution4 
,its peculiar scriptural style 7wrongly 
supposed  to have been invented by the  
,puritans1 who merely learnt it from the
 old  ,roman clergy71 as well as the    
self-conceit1 which fancies the fate of 
the  whole world to depend on the       
prosperity of a small half-ruined city  
in  ,italy1 will be to you sufficient   
marks of the ,roman hand4  ,but you will
  be somewhat mistaken4  ,it is hardly  
an epistle from the successor of ,st4   
,peter4  ,it professes to be an epistle 
from ,st4 ,peter himself1 and sent by   
him through the hands of ,pope ,stephen 
,,iii4 to ,pepin the king of the        
,franks1 in the year #gee4  ,you will   
have concluded also from it1 that       
,catholic ,christianity is in its       
extreme agony2 that the worship and name
  of our ,lord1 and the fountains of    

sacramental grace are about to be       
extinguished for ever1 and that nothing 
but heresy or heathendom can  follow4   
,then you will be quite mistaken4       
,these ,lombards are pious  ,catholics4 
,builders of churches and monasteries1  
they are taking up the  relics of the   
,roman martyrs1 to transfer them to the 
churches of ,milan  and ,pavia4  ,they  
have just given ,pope ,stephen the most 
striking proof of  their awe of his     
person and office4  ,but they are       
quarrelling with him  about the         
boundaries of his estates for the       
patrimony of ,st4 ,peter4  ,they        
consider that he and his predecessors   
have grossly wronged them at  different 
times2 and now last of all1 by calling  
in foreign invaders2 and  they are at   
the gates of ,rome laying waste the     
country1 and demanding a  poll-tax as   
ransom4  ,that is all4    ,the causes   
which led to this quarrel must be sought
 far back in history4  ,the original    
documents in which you will find the    

facts will be ,paulus  ,diaconus1 as far
 as ,king ,luitprand's death2 then the  
,life and ,writings of  ,gregory the    
,great2 and then ,baronius' ,annals1    
especially his quotations  from         
,anastasius' ,life of ,stephen ,,iii41  
bearing in mind that1 as with the       
,ostrogoths1 we have only the ,roman    
,papal story2 that the ,lombards have   
never stated their case1 not even       
through ,paulus ,diaconus1 who1 being a 
clergyman1 prudently holds his tongue   
about the whole matter4  ,but by far    
the best account is to be found in ,dean
 ,milman's ',latin ,christianity1'      
,vols4  ,i4 and ,,ii4  ,rome1 you must  
understand1 has become gradually the    
patrimony of ,st4 ,peter2 the ,popes are
 the practical kings of ,rome1          
possessing1 in the name of the ,church1 
much land round ,rome1 and many  estates
 scattered throughout ,italy1 and even  
in ,sicily1 ,gaul1 ,africa1 and  the    
,east--estates probably bequeathed by   
pious people4  ,they have  succeeded to 

this jurisdiction simply by default4    
,they rule ,rome1  because there is no  
one else to rule it4  ,we find ,st4     
,gregory the ,great  feeding the        
pauper-masses of ,rome1 on the first day
 of every month1 from  the fruitful     
corn-bearing estates in ,sicily2 keeping
 up the ',panem2' but  substituting1    
thank ,heaven1 for the ',circenses' at  
least the services of  the ,church4  ,of
 course1 the man who could keep the     
,roman people alive  must needs become1 
ipso facto1 their monarch4    ,the ,pope
 acknowledges1 of course1 a certain     
allegiance to the ,emperor at           
,constantinople1 and therefore to his   
representative1 the ,exarch of          
,ravenna3 that is to say1 he meets them 
with flattery when they are  working on 
his side2 with wrath when they oppose   
him4  ,he intrigues with  them1 too1    
whenever he can safely do so1 against   
the ,lombards4    ,thus the ,pope has   
become1 during the four centuries which 
followed the  destruction of the        

,western ,empire1 the sole surviving    
representative of  that ,empire4  ,he is
 the head of the 'gens togata2' of the  
',senatus  ,populusque ,romanus4'  ,in  
him ,rome has risen again out of her    
grave1 to  awe the peoples once more by 
the ,romani nominis umbra2 and to found 
a new  ,empire2 not as before1 on       
physical force1 and the awe of visible  
power2  but on the deeper and more      
enduring ground of spiritual force1 and 
the  awe of the invisible world4    ,an 
,empire1 ,i say4  ,the ,popes were      
becoming1 from the #eth to the #hth     
centuries1 not merely the lords of      
,rome1 but the lords of the ,western    
,church4  ,their spiritual ,empire1 to  
do them justice1 was not so much        
deliberately sought by them1 as thrust  
upon them4  ,as the clergy were1  all   
over the ,empire1 the representatives of
 the down-trodden ,romans1 so  they     
naturally gravitated toward the ,eternal
 ,city1 their ancient  mistress4  ,like 
all disciplined and organized bodies    

they felt the need  of unity1 of        
monarchy4  ,where could they find it1   
save at ,rome8  ,rome was  still1       
practically and in fact1 the fountain of
 their doctrine1 of their  superior     
civilization2 and to submit themselves  
to the ,pope of ,rome was  their only   
means of keeping up one faith1 one      
practice1 and the strength  which comes 
from union4    ,to seat the ,pope upon  
the throne of the ,caesars2 to attribute
 to him  powers weightier than all which
 the ,caesars had possest 4 4 4 ,it was 
a  magnificent idea4  ,a politic idea1  
too2 for it would cover the priesthood  
with all the prestige of ancient ,rome1 
and enable them to face the  barbarian  
in the name of that great people whose  
very memory still awed  him2 whose      
baths1 aqueducts1 palaces1 he looked on 
as the work of demons2  whose sages and 
poets were to him enchanters2 whose very
 gems1 dug out of  the ruins by night1  
in fear and trembling1 possest magic    
influence for  healing1 for             

preservation1 for good fortune in peace 
or war4    ,politic2 and in their eyes1 
true4  ,easy enough to be believed      
honestly1  by men who already believed  
honestly in their own divine mission4   
,they  were the representatives of      
,christ on earth4  ,of that fact there  
could be  then1 or can be now1 no doubt 
whatsoever4  ,whatsoever truth1 light1  
righteousness1 there was in the ,west1  
came to it through them4  ,and  ,christ 
was the ,king of kings4  ,but ,he       
delayed his coming3 at moments1 ,he     
seemed to have deserted the earth1 and  
left mankind to tear itself in  pieces1 
with wild war and misrule4  ,but it     
could not be so4  ,if ,christ  were     
absent1 ,he must at least have left an  
authority behind ,him to occupy  till   
,he came2 a head and ruler for his      
opprest and distracted ,church4  ,and   
who could that be1 if not the ,pope of  
,rome8    ,it ought to be so4--,it must 
be so--thought they4  ,and to men in    
that  mood1 proofs that it was so soon  

came to hand1 and accumulated from      
generation to generation2 till the ,pope
 at last found himself  proclaiming1 and
 what was more1 believing1 that ,god had
 given the whole  world to ,st4 ,peter1 
and through ,st4 ,peter to him2 and that
 he was the  only source of power1 law1 
kingship1 who could set up and pull down
 whom  he would1 as the vicegerent of   
,god on earth4    ,such pretensions1 of 
course1 grew but slowly4  ,it was not1  
,i believe1  till the year #hge1 #ahj   
years after the time of which ,i am     
speaking1 that  ,pope ,john ,,viii4     
distinctly asserted his right1 as       
representative of the  ancient ,roman   
,empire1 to create the ,caesar2 and     
informed the ,synod of  ,pavia that he  
had 'elected and approved ,charles the  
,bald1 with the  consent of his brothers
 the bishops1 of the other ministers of 
the ,holy  ,roman ,church1 and'         
7significant1 though empty words7 'of   
the ,roman senate  and people4'    ,at  
the time of which ,i speak1 the power   

was still in embryo1 growing1  through  
many struggles3 but growing surely and  
strongly1 and destined  speedily to     
avenge the fall of ,rome on the simple  
barbarians who were  tearing each other 
to pieces over her spoils4    ,it is not
 easy to explain the lasting and        
hereditary hatred of the ,popes  to the 
,lombards4  ,its origin is simple       
enough3 but not so its  continuance4    
,why they should be nefandissimi in the 
eyes of ,pope ,gregory  the ,great one  
sees3 but why #ajj years afterwards1    
they should be still  nefandissimi1 and 
'non dicenda gens ,langobardorum1' not  
to be called a  nation1 is puzzling4    
,at first1 of course1 the ,pope could   
only look on them as a fresh horde of   
barbarous conquerors2 half heathen1 half
 ,arian4  ,their virtuous and loyal     
life within the boundaries of ,alboin's 
conquests--of which ,paulus  ,diaconus  
says1 that violence and treachery were  
unknown--that no one  oppressed1 no one 
plundered--that the traveller went where

 he would in  perfect safety--all this  
would be hid from the ,pope by the plain
 fact1  that they were continually      
enlarging their frontier toward ,rome2  
that  they had founded two              
half-independent ,dukedoms of           
,beneventum and ,spoleto1  that         
,autharis had swept over ,south ,italy1 
and ridden his horse into the  sea at   
,reggio1 to strike with his lance a     
column in the waves1 and cry1  ',here   
ends the ,lombard kingdom4'    ,the     
,pope 7,gregory the ,great ,i am        
speaking of7 could only recollect1      
again1 that during the lawless          
interregnum before ,autharis'           
coronation1  the independent ,lombard   
dukes had plundered churches and        
monasteries1  slain the clergy1 and     
destroyed the people1 who had 'grown up 
again like  corn4'    ,but as years     
rolled on1 these ,arian ,lombards had   
become good ,catholics2  and that in the
 lifetime of ,gregory the ,great4       
,theodelinda1 the ,bavarian princess1   

she to whom ,autharis had gone in       
disguise to her father's court1 and only
 confessed himself at his  departure1 by
 rising in his stirrups1 and burying his
 battle-axe in a  tree stem with the    
cry1 ',thus smites ,autharis the        
,lombard1'--this  ,theodelinda1 ,i say1 
had married after his death ,agilwulf   
his cousin1 and  made him king of the   
,lombards4    ,she was a ,catholic2 and 
through her ,gregory the ,great         
converted ,autharis1  and the ,lombard  
nation4  ,to her he addressed those     
famous dialogues of  his1 full alike of 
true piety and earnestness1 and of      
childish  superstition4  ,but in judging
 them and him we must bear in mind1 that
  these ,lombards became at least by his
 means ,catholics1 and that ,arians     
would have believed in the superstitions
 just as much as ,catholics4  ,and  it  
is surely better to believe a great     
truth1 plus certain mistakes which  do  
not affect it in the least1 than a great
 lie1 plus the very same  mistakes      

likewise4  ,which is best1 to believe   
that the road to ,london  lies through  
,bishopstortford1 and that there are    
dog-headed men on the  road3 or that it 
lies through ,edinburgh1 but that there 
are dog-headed  men on that road too8   
,theodelinda had built at ,modicaea1    
twelve miles above ,milan1 a fair       
basilica to ,john the ,baptist1 enriched
 by her and the ,lombard kings and      
dukes1 'crowns1 crosses1 golden tables  
adorned with emeralds1 hyacinths1       
amber1 carbuncles and pearls1 gold and  
silver altar-cloths1 and that  admirable
 cup of sapphire1' all which remained   
till the eighteenth  century4  ,there1  
too1 was the famous iron crown of       
,lombardy1 which  ,austria still claims 
as her own2 so called from a thin ring  
of iron  inserted in it1 made from a    
nail of the true cross which ,gregory   
had sent  ,agilwulf2 just as he sent    
,childebert1 the ,frankish king1 some   
filings of  ,st4 ,peter's chains2 which 
however1 he says1 did not always allow  

their  sacred selves to be filed4    ,in
 return1 ,agilwulf had restored the     
church-property which he had  plundered1
 had reinstated the bishops2 and why did
 not all go well8  ,why  are these      
,lombards still the most wicked of men8 
,again1 in the beginning of the eighth  
century came the days of the good       
,luitprand1 'wise and pious1 a lover of 
peace1 and mighty in war2 merciful  to  
offenders1 chaste and modest1 instant in
 prayer1 bountiful in alms1  equal to   
the philosophers1 though he knew no     
letters1 a nourisher of his  people1 an 
augmenter of the laws4'  ,he it was1    
who1 when he had  quarrelled with ,pope 
,gregory ,,ii41 and marched on ,rome1   
was stopped at the  ,gates of the       
,vatican by the ,pontiff's prayers and  
threats4  ,and a sacred  awe fell on    
him2 and humbly entering ,st4 ,peter's1 
he worshipped there1  and laid on the   
,apostle's tomb his royal arms1 his     
silver cross and crown  of gold1 and    
withdrawing his army1 went home again in

 peace4  ,but why  were this great      
king's good deeds towards the ,pope and 
the ,catholic faith  rewarded1 by what  
we can only call detestable intrigue and
 treachery8    ,again2 ,leo the         
,iconoclast ,emperor destroyed the holy 
images in the ,east1  and sent commands 
to the ,exarch of ,ravenna to destroy   
them in western  ,italy4  ,pope ,gregory
 ,,ii4 replied by renouncing allegiance 
to the ,emperor  of ,constantinople2 and
 by two famous letters which are still  
preserved2  in which he tells the       
,iconoclast ,emperor1 that1 'if he went 
round the  grammar-schools at ,rome1 the
 children would throw their horn-books  
at his  head 4 4 4 that he implored     
,christ to send the ,emperor a devil1   
for the  destruction of his body and the
 salvation of his soul 4 4 4 that if he 
attempted to destroy the images in      
,rome1 the pontiff would take refuge    
with the ,lombards1 and then he might as
 well chase the wind that the  ,popes   
were the mediators of peace between     

,east and ,west1 and that the  eyes of  
the nations were fixed on the ,pope's   
humility1 and adored as a  ,god on earth
 the apostle ,st4 ,peter4  ,and that the
 pious ,barbarians1  kindled into rage1 
thirsted to avenge the persecution of   
the ,east4'  ,then  ,luitprand took up  
the cause of the ,pope and his images1  
and of the mob1  who were furious at the
 loss of their idols2 and marched on    
,ravenna1  which opened her gates to    
him1 so that he became master of the    
whole  ,pentapolis2 and image-worship1  
to which some plainspoken people give a 
harsher name1 was saved for ever and a  
day in ,italy4  ,why did ,gregory ,,ii4 
in return1 call in ,orso1 the first     
,venetian ,doge1 to expel from ,ravenna 
the very ,luitprand who had fought his  
battles for him1 and to restore  that   
,exarchate of ,ravenna1 of which it was 
confessed1 that its civil  quarrels1    
misrule1 and extortions1 made it the    
most miserable government  in ,italy8   
,and why did he enter into secret       

negotiations with the ,franks  to come  
and invade ,italy8    ,again1 when      
,luitprand wanted to reduce the duchies 
of ,beneventum and  ,spoleto1 which he  
considered as rebels against him1 their 
feudal  suzerain2 why did the next      
,pope1 ,gregory ,,iii41 again send over 
the ,alps  to ,charles ,martel to come  
and invade ,italy1 and deliver the      
,church and  ,christ's people from ruin8
    ,and who were these ,franks1 the    
ancestors of that magnificent1 but      
profligate aristocracy whose destruction
 our grandfathers beheld in #agic8  ,i  
have purposely abstained from describing
 them1 till they appear upon  the stage 
of ,italy1 and take part in her         
fortunes--which were then the  fortunes 
of the world4    ,they appear first on  
the ,roman frontier in ,a4,d4 #bda1 and 
from that time  are never at rest till  
they have conquered the north of ,gaul4 
,they are  supposed 7with reason7 not to
 have been a race or tribe at all2 but a
  confederation of warriors1 who were   

simply ',franken1' 'free2' 'free        
companions1' or 'free lances1' as they  
would have been called a few  centuries 
later2 who recruited themselves from any
 and every tribe who  would join them in
 war and plunder4  ,if this was the     
case2 if they had  thrown away1 as      
adventurers1 much of the old ,teutonic  
respect for law1  for the royal races1  
for family life1 for the sacred bonds of
 kindred1  many of their peculiarities  
are explained4  ,falsehood1 brutality1  
lawlessness1 ignorance1 and cruelty to  
the conquered ,romans1 were their       
special sins2 while their special1 and  
indeed only virtue1 was that            
indomitable daring which they           
transmitted to their descendants for so 
many hundred years4  ,the buccaneers of 
the young world1 they were  insensible  
to all influences save that of          
superstition4  ,they had become1  under 
,clovis1 orthodox ,christians3 but their
 conversion1 to judge from  the         
notorious facts of history1 worked      

little improvement on their  morals4    
,the pages of ,gregory of ,tours are    
comparable1 for dreary  monotony of     
horrors1 only to those of ,johnson's    
,history of the ,pyrates4    ,but1 as   
,m4 ,sismondi well remarks1 their very  
ignorance and brutality made  them the  
more easily the tools of the ,roman     
clergy3 ',cette haute  veneration pour  
l',eglise1 et leur severe orthodoxie1   
d'autant plus facile  a conserver que1  
ne faisant aucune etude1 et ne disputant
 jamais sur la  foi1 ils ne             
connaissaient pas meme les questions    
controversees1 leur  donnerent dans le  
clerge de puissants auxiliaires4  ,les  
,francs se  montrerent disposes a hair  
les ,ariens1 a les combattres1 et les   
depouiller sans les entendre2 les       
eveques1 en retour1 ne se montrerent    
pas scrupuleux sur le reste des         
enseignements moraux de la religion3 ils
  fermerent les yeux sur les violences1 
le meurtre1 le dereglement des  moeurs2 
ils autoriserent en quelque sorte       

publiquement la poligamie1 et  ils      
precherent le droit divin des rois et le
 devoir le l'obeissance pour  les       
peuples #bgi4'    ,a painful picture of 
the alliance3 but1 ,i fear1 too true4   
,the history of these ,franks you must  
read for yourselves4  ,you will find  it
 well told in the pages of ,sismondi1   
and in ,mr4 ,perry's excellent book1    
',the ,franks4'  ,it suffices now to    
say1 that in the days of ,luitprand     
these ,franks1 after centuries of       
confusion and bloodshed1 have been      
united into one great nation1 stretching
 from the ,rhine to the ,loire and  the 
sea1 and encroaching continually to the 
southward and eastward4  ,the           
government has long passed out of the   
hands of their faineant ,meerwing  kings
 into that of the semi-hereditary       
,majores ,domus1 or ,mayors of the      
,palace2 and ,charles ,martel1 perhaps  
the greatest of that race of great  men1
 has just made himself mayor of         
,austrasia 7the real ,teutonic centre   

of ,frank life and power71 ,neustria and
 ,burgundy4  ,he has crushed ,eudo1  the
 duke of ,romanized ,aquitaine1 and has 
finally delivered ,france and           
,christendom from the invading          
,saracens4  ,on his ,franks1 and on the 
,lombards of ,italy1 rest1 for the      
moment1 the destinies of ,europe4       
,for meanwhile another portent has      
appeared1 this time out of the far      
,east4  ,another swarm of destroyers has
 swept over the earth4  ,the wild       
,arabs of the desert1 awakening into    
sudden life and civilization under  the 
influence of a new creed1 have          
overwhelmed the whole ,east1 the whole  
north of ,africa1 destroying the last   
relics of ,roman and ,greek             
civilization1 and with them the effete  
and semi-idolatrous ,christianity  of   
the ,empire4  ,all the work of ,narses  
and ,belisarius is undone4  ,arab       
,emirs rule in the old kingdom of the   
,vandals4  ,the new human deluge has    
crossed the ,straits into ,europe4  ,the

 ,visigoths1 enervated by the  luxurious
 climate of ,spain1 have recoiled before
 the ,mussulman invaders4  ,roderick1   
the last king of the ,goths1 is         
wandering as an unknown penitent  in    
expiation of his sin against the fair   
,cava1 which brought down 7so  legends  
and ballads tell7 the scourge of ,god   
upon the hapless land2 and  the remnants
 of the old ,visigoths and ,sueves are  
crushed together into  the mountain     
fastnesses of ,asturias and ,gallicia1  
thence to reissue1  after long          
centuries1 as the noble ,spanish nation1
 wrought in the forges  of adversity    
into the likeness of tempered steel2 and
 destined to  reconquer1 foot by foot1  
their native land from the ,moslem      
invader4    ,but at present the         
,crescent was master of the ,cross2 and 
beyond the  ,pyrenees all was slavery   
and 'miscreance4'  ,the ,arabs1 invading
 ,france in  #gcb1 in countless         
thousands1 had been driven back at the  
great fight of  ,tours1 with a slaughter

 so great1 that the excited imagination 
of ,paulus  ,diaconus sees #cge1jjj     
miscreants dead upon the field1 while   
only #aejj  ,franks had perished4  ,but 
home troubles had prevented 'the ,hammer
 of the  ,moors' from following up his  
victory4  ,the ,saracens had returned in
 force  in #gcg1 and again in #gci4     
,they still held ,narbonne4  ,the danger
 was  imminent4  ,there was no reason   
why they should not attempt a third     
invasion4  ,why should they not spread  
along the shores of the  ,mediterranean1
 establishing themselves there1 as they 
were already doing  in ,sicily1 and     
menacing ,rome from north as well as    
south8  ,to unite1  therefore1 the two  
great ,catholic ,teutonic powers1 the   
,frank and the  ,lombard1 for the       
defence of ,christendom1 should have    
been the policy of  him who called      
himself the ,chief ,pontiff in          
,christendom4  ,yet the ,pope           
preferred1 in the face of that great    
danger1 to set the ,teutonic nations  on

 destroying each other1 rather than to  
unite them against the ,moslem4    ,the 
bribe offered to the ,frank was         
significant--the title of ,roman        
,consul2 beside which he was to have    
filings of ,st4 ,peter's chains1 and    
the key of his tomb1 to preserve him    
body and soul from all evil4    ,charles
 would not come4  ,frank though he was1 
he was too honourable to  march at a    
priest's bidding against ,luitprand1 his
 old brother in arms1  to whom he had   
sent the boy ,pepin1 his son1 that      
,luitprand might take him  on his knee1 
and cut his long royal hair1 and become 
his father-in-arms1  after the good old 
,teuton fashion2 ,luitprand1 who with   
his ,lombards had  helped him to save   
,christendom a second time from the     
,mussulman in #gcg4  ,the ,pope1 one    
would think1 should have remembered that
 good deed of the  good ,lombard's      
whereof his epitaph sings1              
',deinceps tremuere feroces     ,usque  
,saraceni1 quos dispulit impiger1 ipsos 

,cum premerent ,gallos1 ,karolo poscente
 juvari4'    ,so ,charles ,martel took  
the title of ,patrician from the ,pope1 
but sent him  no armies2 and the quarrel
 went on2 while ,charles filled up the  
measure  of his iniquity by meddling    
with that church-property in ,gaul which
 his  sword had saved from the hordes of
 the ,saracens2 and is now1 as ,st4     
,eucherius 7or ,bishop ,hincmar7 saw in 
a vision1 writhing therefore in the     
lowest abyss of hell4    ,so one        
generation more passes by2 and then     
,pepin le ,bref1 grown to  manhood1 is  
less scrupulous than his father4  ,he is
 bound to the ,pope by  gratitude4  ,the
 ,pope has confirmed him as king1       
allowing him to depose  the royal house 
of the ,merovingians1 and so assumed the
 right of making  kings4--,a right which
 future popes will not forget4          
,meanwhile the ,pope has persuaded the  
,lombard king ,rachis to go into a      
monastery4  ,astulf seizes the crown1   
and attacks ,ravenna4  ,the ,pope       

succeeding1 ,stephen ,,iii41 opposes    
him2 and he marches on ,rome1           
threatening to assault it1 unless the   
citizens redeem their lives by a        
poll-tax4    ,stephen determines to go  
himself to ,pepin to ask for help3 and  
so awful  has the name and person of a  
,pope become1 that he is allowed to do  
it2  allowed to pass safely and unarmed 
through the very land upon which he is  
going to let loose all the horrors of   
invading warfare4    ,it is a strange1  
and instructive figure1 that4  ,the     
dread of the unseen1  the fear of       
spiritual power1 has fallen on the wild 
,teutons2 on ,frank and  on ,lombard    
alike4  ,the ,pope and his clergy are to
 them magicians1 against  whom neither  
sword nor lance avails2 who can heal the
 sick and blast the  sound2 who can call
 to their aid out of the clouds that    
pantheon of demi-  gods1 with which1    
under the name of saints1 they have     
peopled heaven2 who  can let loose on   
them the legions of fiends who dwell in 

every cave1  every forest1 every ruin1  
every cloud2 who can1 by the sentence of
  excommunication1 destroy both body and
 soul in hell4  ,they were very loth  to
 fear ,god1 these wild ,teutons2        
therefore they had instead1 as all men  
have who will not fear ,god1 to fear the
 devil4    ,so ,pope ,stephen goes to   
,pepin1 the eldest son of the ,church4  
,he promises  to come with all his      
,franks4  ,stephen's conscience seems to
 have been  touched3 he tries to have no
 fighting1 only negotiation3 but it is  
too  late now4  ,astolf will hear of no 
terms2 ,pepin sweeps over the ,alps1 and
  at the gates of ,pavia dictates his   
own terms to the ,lombards4  ,the old   
,lombard spirit seems to have past away4
    ,pepin goes back again1 and ,astolf 
refuses to fulfil his promises4  ,the   
,pope sends ,pepin that letter from ,st4
 ,peter himself with which this  lecture
 commenced4    ,astolf has marched down1
 as we heard1 to the walls of ,rome1    
laying the  land waste2 cutting down the

 vines1 carrying off consecrated        
vessels1  insulting the sacrament of the
 altar4  ,the ,lombards have violated   
nuns2  and tried to kill them1 the ,pope
 says2 though1 if they had really tried1
  one cannot see why they should not    
have succeeded4  ,in fact1 ,pope        
,stephen's hysterical orations to ,pepin
 must be received with extreme  caution4
  ,no ,catholic historian of that age   
cares to examine the truth of  a fact   
which makes for him2 nothing is too bad 
to say of an enemy3 and  really the man 
who would forge a letter from ,st4      
,peter might dare to tell  a few lesser 
falsehoods into the bargain4  ,pepin    
cannot but obey so  august a summons2   
and again he is in ,italy1 and the      
,lombards dare not  resist him4  ,he    
seizes not only all that ,astolf had    
taken from the ,pope1  but the          
,pentapolis and ,exarchate1 the         
property1 if of any one1 of the  ,greek 
,emperors1 and bestows them on ,stephen1
 the ,pope1 and 'the holy  ,roman       

,republic4'    ,the pope's commissioners
 received the keys of the towns1 which  
were  placed upon the altar of ,st4     
,peter2 and this1 the ,dotation of      
,pepin1 the  ,dotation of the           
,exarchate1 was the first legal temporal
 sovereignty of  the ,popes3--born in   
sin1 and conceived in iniquity1 as you  
may see4    ,the ,lombard rule now broke
 up rapidly4  ,the ,lombards of ,spoleto
 yielded  to the double pressure of     
,franks and ,romans1 asked to be 'taken 
into the  service of ,st4 ,peter1' and  
clipt their long ,german locks after the
 ,roman  fashion4    ,charlemagne1 in   
his final invasion1 had little left to  
do4  ,he confirmed  ,pepin's gift1 and  
even1 though he hardly kept his promise1
 enlarged it to  include the whole of   
,italy1 from ,lombardy to the frontier  
of ,naples1  while he himself became    
king of ,lombardy1 and won the iron     
crown4    ,and so by ,french armies--not
 for the last time--was the ,pope propt 
up on  his ill-gotten throne4    ,but   

the mere support of ,french armies was  
not enough to seat the ,pope  securely  
upon the throne of the western ,caesars4
  ,documentary evidence  was required to
 prove that they possessed ,rome1 not as
 the vassals of the  ,frankish ,kaisers1
 or of any barbarian ,teutons           
whatsoever2 but in their  own right1 as 
hereditary sovereigns of ,rome4  ,and   
the documents1 when  needed1 were       
forthcoming4  ,under the name of ,st4   
,isidore1 some ready  scribe produced   
the too-famous ',decretals1' and the    
',donation of  ,constantine1' and ,pope 
,adrian ,i4 saw no reason against       
publishing them to  ,charlemagne and to 
the world4    ,it was discovered        
suddenly1 by means of these remarkable  
documents1 that  ,constantine the ,great
 had been healed of leprosy1 and        
afterwards  baptized1 by ,pope          
,sylvester2 that he had1 in gratitude   
for his cure1  resigned to the ,popes   
his western throne1 and the patrimony of
 ,st4 ,peter1  and the sovereignty of   

,italy and the ,west2 and that this was 
the true  reason of his having founded  
,constantinople1 as a new seat of       
government  for the remnant of his      
empire4    ,this astounding falsehood   
was1 of course1 accepted humbly by the  
unlettered ,teutons2 and did its work   
well1 for centuries to come4  ,it is    
said--,i trust not truly--to be still   
enrolled among the decrees of the       
,canon law1 though reprobated by all    
enlightened ,roman ,catholics4  ,be that
  as it may1 on the strength of this    
document the ,popes began to assume an  
all but despotic sovereignty over the   
western world1 and--the ,teutonic       
peoples1 and ,rome's conquest of her    
conquerors was at last complete4        
,what then were the causes of the ,papal
 hatred of a race who were good and     
devout ,catholics for the last #bjj     
years of their rule8    ,there were deep
 political reasons 7in the strictest1   
and ,i am afraid  lowest sense of the   
word72 but over and above them there    

were evidently  moral reasons1 which lay
 even deeper still4    ,a free1         
plain-spoken1 practical race like these 
,lombards2 living by their  own laws2   
disbelieving in witchcraft2 and         
seemingly doing little for  monasticism1
 were not likely to find favour in the  
eyes of popes4  ,they  were not the     
material which the ,papacy could mould  
into the ,neapolitan  ideal of ',little 
saints1--and little asses4'  ,these     
,lombards were not a  superstitious     
race2 they did not1 like the ,franks and
 ,anglo-,saxons1 crowd  into            
monasteries4  ,i can only find four     
instances of ,lombard sovereigns        
founding monasteries in all ,paulus'    
history4  ,one of them1 strangely       
enough1 is that of the very ,astulf     
against whom the ,pope fulminated so    
loudly the letter from ,st4 ,peter which
 ,i read you4    ,moreover1 it must be  
said in all fairness--the ,lombards     
despised the  ,romans exceedingly4  ,so 
did all the ,teutons4  ',we ,lombards1' 

says ,bishop  ,luitprand1 ',saxons1     
,franks1 ,lorrainers1 ,bavarians1       
,sueves1 ,burgunds1  consider it a      
sufficient insult to call our enemy a   
,roman2 comprehending  in that one name 
of ,roman1 whatever is ignoble1         
cowardly1 avaricious1  luxurious1 false1
 in a word1 every vice4'  ,if this      
was--as it very  probably was--the      
feeling of the whole ,teutonic race2 and
 if it was  repaid--as it certainly     
was--on the part of the ,roman1 by      
contempt for  the 'barbarism' and       
'ignorance' of the ,teuton2 what must   
have been the  feeling between ,roman   
and ,lombard8  ,contact must have       
embittered mutual  contempt into an     
utter and internecine hatred1 in which  
the ,pope1 as  representative of the    
,roman people1 could not but share4     
,as for the political reasons1 they are 
clear enough4  ,it is absurd to say     
that they wished to free ,italy from    
,lombard tyrants4  ,what did they do    
but hand her over to ,frankish tyrants  

instead8  ,no4  ,the true reason was    
this4  ,gradually there had arisen in   
the mind of all ,popes1 from ,gregory   
the ,great onward1 the idea of a        
spiritual supremacy1 independent of all 
kings of the earth4  ,it was a great    
idea1 as the event proved3 it was a     
beneficent one for ,europe2 but a       
ruinous one for ,italy4  ,for the ,popes
  were not content with spiritual power4
  ,they could not conceive of it as     
separated from temporal power1 and      
temporal power meant land4  ,how early  
they set their hearts on the ,exarchate 
of ,ravenna1 we shall never know3  the  
fact is patent1 that it was a ,naboth's 
vineyard to them2 and that to  obtain it
 they called in the ,franks4    ,their  
dread was1 evidently1 lest the ,lombards
 should become masters of  the whole of 
,italy4  ,a united ,italy suited their  
views then1 no more than  it does now4  
,not only did they conceive of ,rome as 
still the centre of  the western world1 
but more1 their stock in trade was at   

,rome4  ,the  chains of ,st4 ,peter1 the
 sepulchres of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4     
,paul1 the  catacombs filled with the   
bones of innumerable martyrs2--these    
were their  stock in trade4  ,by giving 
these1 selling these1 working miracles  
with  these1 calling pilgrims from all  
parts of ,christendom to visit these in 
situ1 they kept up their power and their
 wealth4  ,i do not accuse them of      
misusing that power and that wealth in  
those days4  ,they used them1 on  the   
contrary1 better than power and wealth  
had been ever used in the  world before4
  ,but they were dependent on the       
sanctity attached to a  particular spot2
 and any power1 which1 like the         
,lombard1 tended to give  ,italy another
 centre than ,rome1 they dreaded and    
disliked4  ,that ,lombard  basilica1    
near ,milan1 with all its treasures1    
must have been in their  eyes1 a        
formidable rival4  ,still more frightful
 must it have been to them  to see      
,astulf1 when he encamped before the    

walls of ,rome1 searching for  martyrs' 
relics1 and carrying them off to ,milan4
  ,that1 as a fact1 seems  to have been 
the exciting cause of ,stephen's journey
 to ,pepin4  ,this  ,astulf was a good  
,catholic4  ,he founded a nunnery1 and  
put his own  daughters in it4  ,what    
could a man do more meritorious in the  
eyes of the  ,pope8  ,but he took away  
the lands of the ,church1 and worse1 the
 relics1  the reserved capital by which 
the ,church purchased lands4  ,this was 
indeed a crime only to be expiated by   
the horrors of a ,frank invasion4    ,on
 the same principle the ,popes supported
 the ,exarchs of ,ravenna1 and the      
independent duchies of ,spoleto and     
,beneventum4  ,well or ill ruled1       
,iconoclast or not1 they were necessary 
to keep ,italy divided and weak4  ,and  
having obtained what they wanted from   
,pepin and ,charlemagne1 it was  still  
their interest to pursue the same       
policy2 to compound for their own       
independence1 as they did with          

,charlemagne and his successors1 by     
defending the pretences of foreign kings
 to the sovereignty of the rest  of     
,italy4  ,this has been their policy for
 centuries4  ,it is their policy  still2
 and that policy has been the curse of  
,italy4  ,this fatal gift of  the       
patrimony of ,st4 ,peter--as ,dante     
saw--as ,machiavelli saw1--as all       
clear-sighted ,italians have seen1--as  
we are seeing it now in these very      
days--has kept her divided1 torn by     
civil wars1 conquered and reconquered   
by foreign invaders4  ,unable1 as a     
celibate ecclesiastic1 to form his      
dominions into a strong hereditary      
kingdom2 unable1 as the hierophant of  a
 priestly caste1 to unite his people in 
the bonds of national life2  unable1 as 
,borgia tried to do1 to conquer the rest
 of ,italy for himself2  and form it    
into a kingdom large enough to have     
weight in the balance of  power2 the    
,pope has been forced1 again and again1 
to keep himself on his  throne by       

intriguing with foreign princes1 and    
calling in foreign arms2  and the bane  
of ,italy1 from the time of ,stephen    
,,iii4 to that of ,pius ,,ix41  has been
 the temporal power of the ,pope4       
,but on the popes1 also1 the ,nemesis   
came4  ,in building their power on the  
,roman relics1 on the fable that ,rome  
was the patrimony of ,peter1 they had   
built on a lie2 and that lie avenged    
itself4    ,had they been independent of
 the locality of ,rome2 had they been   
really  spiritual emperors1 by becoming 
cosmopolitan1 journeying1 it may be1    
from  nation to nation in regular       
progresses1 then their power might have 
been  as boundless as they ever desired 
it should be4  ,having committed        
themselves to the false position of     
being petty kings of a petty kingdom1   
they had to endure continual treachery  
and tyranny from their foreign  allies2 
to see not merely ,italy1 but ,rome     
itself insulted1 and even  sacked1 by   
faithful ,catholics2 and to become more 

and more1 as the  centuries rolled on1  
the tools of those very kings whom they 
had wished  to make their tools4        
,true1 they defended themselves long1   
and with astonishing skill and  courage4
  ,their sources of power were two1 the 
moral1 and the  thaumaturgic2 and they  
used them both3 but when the former     
failed1 the  latter became useless4  ,as
 long as their moral power was real2 as 
long as  they and their clergy were on  
the whole1 in spite of enormous faults1 
the  best men in ,europe2 so long the   
people believed in them1 and in their   
thaumaturgic relics likewise4  ,but they
 became by no means the best men  in    
,europe4  ,then they began to think that
 after all it was more easy to  work the
 material than the moral power--easier  
to work the bones than to  work         
righteousness4  ,they were deceived4    
,behold6 when the righteousness  was    
gone1 the bones refused to work4        
,people began to question the  virtues  
of the bones1 and to ask1 ,we can       

believe that the bones may have  worked 
miracles for good men1 but for bad men8 
,we will examine whether  they work any 
miracles at all4  ,and then1 behold1 it 
came out that the  bones did not work   
miracles1 and that possibly they were   
not saints'  bones at all2 and then the 
storm came3 and the lie1 as all lies do1
  punished itself4  ,the salt had lost  
its savour4  ,the ,teutonic intellect   
appealed from its old masters to ,god1  
and to ,god's universe of facts1 and    
emancipated itself once and for all4    
,they who had been the light of         
,europe1 became its darkness2 they who  
had been first1 became last2 a  warning 
to mankind until the end of time1 that  
on ,truth and ,virtue  depends the only 
abiding strength4          ,,lecture    
,,xii--,,the ,,strategy ,,of            
,,providence      ,i no not know whether
 any of you know much of the theory of  
war4  ,i know  very little myself4  ,but
 something of it one is bound to know1  
as  ,professor of ,history4  ,for1      

unfortunately1 a large portion of the   
history  of mankind is the history of   
war2 and the historian1 as a man who    
wants  to know how things were done--as 
distinct from the philosopher1 the man  
who wants to know how things ought to   
have been done--ought to know a  little 
of the first of human arts--the art of  
killing4  ,what little ,i  know thereof 
,i shall employ to-day1 in explaining to
 you the invasion of  the ,teutons1 from
 a so-called mechanical point of view4  
,i wish to shew  you how it was possible
 for so small and uncivilized a people  
to conquer  one so vast and so          
civilized2 and what circumstances 7which
 you may  attribute to what cause you   
will3 but ,i to ,god7 enabled our race  
to  conquer in the most vast and        
important campaign the world has ever   
seen4    ,i call it a campaign rather   
than a war4  ,though it lasted #bjj     
years and  more1 it seems to me 7it     
will1 ,i think1 seem to you7 if you look
 at the  maps1 as but one campaign3 ,i  

had almost said1 one battle4  ,there is 
but  one problem to be solved2 and      
therefore the operations of our race    
take a  sort of unity4  ,the question   
is1 how to take ,rome1 and keep it1 by  
destroying the ,roman ,empire4    ,let  
us consider the two combatants--their   
numbers1 and their position4    ,one    
glance at the map will shew you which   
are the most numerous4  ,when  you cast 
your eye over the vastness of the ,roman
 ,empire from east to  west--,italy1    
,switzerland1 half ,austria1 ,turkey and
 ,greece1 ,asia ,minor1  ,syria1 ,egypt1
 ,north ,africa1 ,spain1 ,france1       
,britain--and then compare it  with the 
narrow ,german strip which reaches from 
the mouth of the ,danube  to the mouth  
of the ,rhine1 the disparity of area is 
enormous2 ten times  as great at least2 
perhaps more1 if you accept1 as ,i am   
inclined to do1  the theory of ,dr4     
,latham1 that we were always ',markmen1'
 men of the  ,marches1 occupying a      
narrow frontier between the ,slavs and  

the ,roman  ,empire2 and that ,tacitus  
has included among ,germans1 from       
hearsay1 many  tribes of the interior of
 ,bohemia1 ,prussia1 and ,poland1 who   
were ,slavs or  others2 and that the    
numbers and area of our race has been1  
on ,tacitus'  authority1 greatly        
overrated4    ,what then were the causes
 of the success of the ,teutons8        
,native courage  and strength8    ,they 
had these3 but you must recollect what  
,i have told you1 that those  very      
qualities were employed against them2   
that they were hired1 in large  numbers1
 into the ,roman armies1 to fight       
against their own brothers4             
,unanimity8  ,of that1 alas6 one can say
 but little4  ,the great ,teutonic  army
 had not only to fight the ,romans1 but 
to fight each brigade the  brigade      
before it1 to make them move on2 and the
 brigade behind it  likewise1 to prevent
 their marching over them2 while too    
often two  brigades quarrelled like     
children1 and destroyed each other on   

the spot4    ,what1 then1 was the cause 
of their success8  ,i think a great deal
 of it  must be attributed to their     
admirable military position4    ,look at
 a map of ,europe2 putting yourself     
first at the point to be  attacked--at  
,rome1 and looking north1 follow the    
,german frontier from the  ,euxine up   
the ,danube and down the ,rhine4  ,it is
 a convex arc3 but not  nearly as long  
as the concave arc of the ,roman        
frontier opposed to it4  ,the ,roman    
frontier overlaps it to the north-west  
by all ,britain1 to the  south-west by  
part of ,turkey and the whole of ,asia  
,minor4    ,that would seem to make it  
weak1 and liable to be outflanked on    
either  wing4  ,in reality it made it   
strong4    ,both the ,german wings      
rested on the sea2 one on the ,euxine1  
one on the  ,north ,sea4  ,that in      
itself would not have given strength2   
for the ,roman  fleets were masters of  
the seas4  ,but the lands in the rear1  
on either  flank1 were deserts1         

incapable of supporting an army4  ,what 
would have  been the fate of a force    
landed at the mouth of the ,weser on the
 north1  or at the mouth of the ,dnieper
 at the west8  ,starvation among wild   
moors1  and bogs1 and steppes1 if they  
attempted to leave their base of        
operations on the coast4  ,the ,romans  
saw this1 and never tried the plan4  ,to
 defend the centre of their position was
 the safest and easiest plan4    ,look  
at this centre4  ,it is complicated4    
,the ,roman position is guarded  by the 
walls of ,italy1 the gigantic earthwork 
of the ,alps4  ,to storm  them1 is      
impossible4  ,but right and left of     
them1 the ,german position has  two     
remarkable points--strategic points1    
which decided the fate of the  world4   
,they are two salient angles1           
promontories of the ,german frontier4   
,the  one is north-east of ,switzerland2
 the ,allman country1 between the head- 
waters of the ,danube and the ,upper    
,rhine1 ,basle is its apex4  ,mentz its 

northern point1 ,ratisbon its southern4 
,that triangle encloses the end of  the 
,schwartzwald2 the ,black ,forest of    
primaeval oak4  ,those oaks have  saved 
,europe4    ,the advantages of a salient
 angle of that kind1 in invading an     
enemy's  country1 are manifest4  ,you   
can break out on either side1 and return
 at  once into your own country on      
'lines of interior operation2' while the
  enemy has to march round the angle1   
three feet for your one1 on 'lines of   
exterior operation4'  ,the early ,german
 invaders saw that1 and burst again  and
 again into ,gaul from that angle4  ,the
 ,romans saw it also 7admirable         
strategists as they were7 and built     
,hadrian's wall right across it1 from   
the ,maine to the ,danube1 to keep them 
back4  ,and why did not ,hadrian's  wall
 keep them back8  ,on account of the    
,black ,forest4  ,the ,roman never      
dared to face it2 to attempt to break   
our centre1 and to save ,italy by       
carrying the war into the heart of      

,germany4  ,they knew 7what the invaders
  of ,england will discover to their    
cost7 that a close woodland is a more   
formidable barrier than the ,alps       
themselves4  ,the ,black ,forest1 ,i    
say1  was the key of our position1 and  
saved our race4    ,from this salient   
angle1 and along the whole ,rhine above 
it1 the ,western  ,teutons could throw  
their masses into ,gaul2 ,franks1       
,vandals1 ,alans1  ,suevi1 following    
each other in echellon4  ,you know what 
an echellon  means8  ,when bodies of    
troops move in lines parallel to each   
other1 but  each somewhat in the rear of
 the other1 so that their whole position
  resembles an echelle--a flight of     
steps4  ,this mode of attack has two    
great advantages4  ,it cannot be        
outflanked by the enemy2 and he dare not
  concentrate his forces on the foremost
 division1 and beat the divisions  in   
detail4  ,if he tries to do so1 he is   
out-flanked himself2 and he is  liable  
to be beaten in detail by continually   

fresh bodies of troops4  ,thus  only a  
part of his line is engaged at a time4  
,now it was en echellon1  from          
necessity1 that the tribes moved down4  
,they could not follow  immediately in  
each other's track1 because two armies  
following each  other would not have    
found subsistence in the same country4  
,they had to  march in parallel lines2  
those nearest to ,italy moving first2   
and thus  forming a vast echellon1 whose
 advanced left rested on1 and was       
protected  by1 the ,alps4    ,but you   
must remember 7and this is important7   
that all these western  attacks along   
the ,rhine and ,rhone were mistakes1 in 
as far as they were  aimed at ,rome4    
,the ,teutons were not aware1 ,i        
suppose1 that the ,alps  turned to the  
,south between ,gaul and ,italy1 and ran
 right down to the  ,mediterranean4     
,there they found themselves still cut  
off from ,rome by  them4  ,hannibal's   
pass over the ,mont ,cenis they seem not
 to have known4  ,they had to range down

 to the ,mediterranean2 turn eastward   
along the  ,genoese coast at ,nice2 and 
then1 far away from their base of       
operations1  were cut off again and     
again1 just as the ,cimbri and ,teutons 
were cut off  by ,marius4  ,all attempts
 to take ,rome from the ,piedmontese    
entrance into  ,italy failed4  ,but     
these western attacks had immense       
effects4  ,they cut  the ,roman position
 in two4    ,and then came out the real 
weakness of that great ill-gotten       
,empire1  conquered for conquering's    
sake4  ,to the north-west1 the ,romans  
had  extended their line far beyond what
 they could defend4  ,the whole of      
,north ,gaul was taken by the ,franks4  
,britain was then isolated1 and had  to 
be given up to its fate4  ,south ,gaul1 
being nearer to ,italy their  base1 they
 could defend1 and did1 like splendid   
soldiers as they were2  but that defence
 only injured them4  ,it thrust the     
foremost columns of  the enemy on into  
,spain4  ,spain was too far from their  

base of operation  to be defended1 and  
was lost likewise1 and seized by        
,vandals and ,suevi4  ,the true point of
 attack was at the other salient angle  
of our position1  on the ,roman right   
centre4    ,you know that the ,danube as
 you ascend it lies east and west from  
the  ,black ,sea to ,belgrade2 but above
 the point where the ,save enters it1 it
  turns north almost at right angles4   
,this is the second salient point2  the 
real key of the whole ,roman ,empire4   
,for from this point the ,germans  could
 menace--equally1 ,constantinople and   
,turkey on the right 7,i speak  always  
as standing at ,rome and looking north71
 and ,italy and ,rome on the  left4     
,the ,danube once crossed1 between them 
and ,constantinople was  nothing but the
 rich rolling land of ,turkey2 between  
them and ,rome  nothing but the easy    
passes of the ,carnic ,alps1 ,laybach to
 ,trieste4  ,trieste was the key of the 
,roman position4  ,it was1 and always   
will be1 a  most important point4  ,it  

might be the centre of a great kingdom4 
,the  nation which has it ought to spend
 its last bullet in defending it4       
,the ,teutons did cross the ,danube1 as 
you know1 in #cgf1 and had a great      
victory1 of which nothing came but moral
 force4  ,they waited long in  ,moesia  
before they found out the important step
 which they had made4  ,the  genius of  
,alaric first discovered the key of the 
,roman position1 and  discovered that it
 was in his own hands4    ,i do not say 
that no ,germans had crossed the        
,laybach pass before him4  ,on  the     
contrary1 ,markmen1 ,quadi1 ,vandals1   
seem to have come over it as early  as  
#ahj1 and appeared under the walls of   
,aquileia4  ,of course1 some one  must  
have gone first1 or ,alaric would not   
have known of it4  ,there were  no maps 
then1 at least among our race4  ,their  
great generals had to feel  their way   
foot by foot1 trusting to hearsays of   
old adventurers1  deserters1 and what   
not1 as to whether a fruitful country or

 an  impassable alp1 a great city or the
 world's end1 was twenty miles a-head   
of them4  ,yes1 they had great generals 
among them1 and ,alaric1 perhaps1  the  
greatest4    ,if you consider ,alaric's 
campaigns1 from ,a4,d4 #djj to ,a4,d4   
#dae1 you will  see that the eye of a   
genius planned them4  ,he wanted ,rome1 
as all  ,teutons did4  ,he was close to 
,italy1 in the angle of which ,i just   
spoke2  but instead of going hither1 he 
resolved to go south1 and destroy       
,greece1  and he did it4  ,thereby1 if  
you will consider1 he cut the ,roman    
,empire in  two4  ,he paralysed and     
destroyed the right wing of its forces1 
which  might1 if he had marched straight
 for ,italy1 have come up from ,greece  
and  ,turkey1 to take him in flank and  
rear4  ,he prevented their doing that2  
he  prevented also their succouring     
,italy by sea by the same destruction4  
,and  then he was free to move on ,rome1
 knowing that he leaves no strong place 
on his left flank1 save ,constantinople 

itself2 and that the ,ostrogoths1  and  
other tribes left behind1 would mask it 
for him4  ,then he moved into  ,italy   
over the ,carnic ,alps1 and was repulsed
 the first time at ,pollentia4  ,he was 
not disheartened2 he retired upon       
,hungary1 waited five years1  tried it  
again1 and succeeded1 after a campaign  
of two years4    ,yes4  ,he was a great 
general4  ,to be able to move vast      
masses of men  safely through a hostile 
country and in face of an enemy's army  
7beside  women and children7 requires an
 amount of talent bestowed on few4      
,alaric  could do it4  ,dietrich the    
,ostrogoth could do it4  ,alboin the    
,lombard  could do it1 though not under 
such fearful disadvantages4  ,there were
  generals before ,marlborough or       
,napoleon4    ,and do not fancy that the
 work was easy2 that the ,romans were   
degenerate  enough to be an easy prey4  
,alaric had been certainly beaten out of
  ,italy1 even though the victory of    
,pollentia was exaggerated4  ,and in    

#dje1  ,radagast with #bjj1jjj men had  
tried to take ,rome by ,alaric's route1 
and  had simply1 from want of           
generalship1 been forced to capitulate  
under the  walls of ,florence1 and the  
remnant of his army sold for slaves4    
,why was ,alaric more fortunate8        
,because he was a great genius4  ,and   
why  when he died1 did the ,goths lose  
all plan1 and wander wildly up ,italy1  
and out into ,spain8  ,because the great
 genius was gone4  ,native ,teuton      
courage could ensure no permanent       
success against ,roman discipline and   
strategy1 unless guided by men like     
,alaric or ,dietrich4    ,you might     
fancy the campaign over now3 but it was 
not4  ,along the country  of the        
,danube1 from the ,euxine to the ,alps1 
the ,teutons had still the  advantage of
 interior lines1 and vast bodies of     
men--,herules1 ,gepids1  ,ostrogoths1   
,lombards--were coming down in an       
enormous echellon similar to  that which
 forced the ,rhine2 to force ,italy at  

the same fatal  point--,venetia4  ,the  
party who could command the last reserve
 would win1  as is the rule4  ,and the  
last reserves were with our race4  ,they
 must  win4  ,but not yet4  ,they had1  
in the mean time1 taken up a concave    
line2  a great arc running round the    
whole west of the ,mediterranean from   
,italy1  ,france1 ,spain1 ,algeria1 as  
far as ,carthage4  ,they could not move 
forces  round that length of coast1 as  
fast as the ,romans could move them by  
sea2  and they had no fleets4  ,although
 they had conquered the ,western        
,empire1  they were in a very dangerous 
position1 and were about to be very     
nearly  ruined4    ,for you see1 the    
,romans in turn had changed front at    
more than a right  angle4  ,they lay at 
first north-west and south-east4  ,they 
lay in  ,justinian's time1 north and    
south4  ,their right was                
,constantinople2 their  left            
,pentapolis2 between those two points   
they held ,greece1 ,asia ,minor1  ,syria

 and ,egypt2 a position of wealth       
incalculable4  ,meanwhile1 as we  must  
remember always1 they were masters of   
the sea1 and therefore of the  interior 
lines of operation4  ,they had been     
forced into this position2  but1 like   
,romans1 they had accepted it4  ,with   
the boundless common sense  of the race 
7however fallen1 debauched1 pedantic71  
they worked it out1  and with terrible  
effect4    ,their right in              
,constantinople was so strong that they 
cared nothing for  it1 though it was the
 only exposed point4  ,they would defend
 it by hiring  the ,barbarians1 and when
 they could not pay them1 setting them  
on to kill  down each other2 while they 
quietly drew into ,constantinople the   
boundless crops of ,asia1 ,syria and    
,egypt4    ,the strength of             
,constantinople was infinite--commanding
 two seas and two  continents4  ,it is1 
as the genius of ,constantinople saw--as
 the genius of  the ,czar ,nicholas     
saw--the strongest spot1 perhaps1 in the

 world4  ,that  fact was what enabled   
,justinian's ,empire to arise again1 and
 enabled  ,belisarius and ,narses to    
reconquer ,africa and ,italy4  ,remember
 that1 and  see how strong the ,romans  
were still4    ,the ,teutons meanwhile  
had changed their front1 by conquering  
the ,western  ,mediterranean1 and were  
becoming weak1 because scattered on     
exterior  lines1 to their extreme       
danger4    ,i cannot exaggerate the     
danger of that position4  ,it enabled   
the ,romans  by rapid movements of their
 fleets1 to reconquer ,africa and       
,italy4  ,it  might have enabled them to
 do much more4    ,belisarius1 with     
great wisdom1 began by attacking the    
,vandals at ,carthage  on the extreme   
right4  ,they had put themselves into an
 isolated position1  and were destroyed 
without help4  ,then he moved on ,italy 
and the  ,ostrogoths4  ,he was going to 
force the positions in detail1 and drive
  them back behind the ,alps4  ,what he 
did not finish1 ,narses did2 and the    

,teutons were actually driven back      
behind the ,alps for some years4    ,but
 ,narses had to stop at ,italy4  ,even  
if not recalled1 he could have  gone no 
further4  ,the next move should have    
been on ,spain1 if he had  really had   
strength in ,italy4  ,but to attack     
,spain from ,constantinople1  would have
 been to go too far from home4  ,the    
,franks would have crost the  ,pyrenees1
 and fallen on his flank4  ,the         
,visigoths1 even if beaten1 would  have 
been only pushed across the ,straits of 
,gibraltar1 to reconquer the  ,vandal   
coast of ,africa2 while to take troops  
from ,italy for any such  purpose1 would
 have been to let in the ,lombards--who 
came1 let in or not4  ,there were       
reserves in ,germany still1 of which    
,narses knew full well2 for  he had seen
 #ejjj ,lombards1 besides ,herules1 and 
,huns1 and ,avars1 fight  for him at    
,nuceria1 and destroy the ,ostrogoths2  
and he knew well that  they could1 if   
they chose1 fight against him4    ,on   

the other hand1 the ,roman ,empire had  
no reserves2 while the campaign  had    
just come to that point at which he who 
can bring up the last reserve  wins4    
,ours were so far from being exhausted1 
that the heaviest of them1  the ,franks1
 came into action1 stronger than ever1  
#bjj years after4    ,but the ,roman    
reserves were gone4  ,if ,greece1 if    
,asia ,minor1 if ,egypt1  had been the  
holds of a hardy people1 the ,romans    
might have done  still--,heaven alone   
knows what4  ,at least1 they might have 
extended their  front once more to the  
line of ,carthage1 ,sicily1 ,italy4     
,but the people of ,syria and ,egypt1   
were--what they were4  ,no recruits1 as 
far as ,i know1 were drawn from them4   
,had they been1 they would have been    
face to face with a ,frank1 or a        
,lombard1 or a ,visigoth1 much what--not
 a  ,sikh1 a ,rohilla1 or a ,ghoorka1   
but a ,bengalee proper--would be face to
  face with an ,englishman4  ,one       
thousand ,varangers might have walked   

from  ,constantinople to ,alexandria    
without fighting a pitched battle1 if   
they  had had only ,greeks and ,syrians 
to face4    ,thus the ,romans were      
growing weak4  ,if we had lost1 so had  
they4  ,every  wild ,teuton who came    
down to perish1 had destroyed a ,roman1 
or more than  one1 before he died4      
,each column which the admirable skill  
and courage  of the ,romans had         
destroyed1 had weakened them as much1   
perhaps more1  than its destruction     
weakened the ,teutons2 and had1 by      
harrying the  country1 destroyed the    
,roman's power of obtaining supplies4   
,italy and  ,turkey at last became too  
poor to be a fighting ground at all4    
,but now comes in one of the strangest  
new elements in this strange            
epic--,mohammed and his ,arabs4         
,suddenly1 these ,arab tribes1 under the
 excitement of the new ,mussulman       
creed1 burst forth of the unknown ,east4
  ,they take the ,eastern ,empire in    
the rear2 by such a rear attack as the  

world never saw before or since2  they  
cut it in two2 devour it up3 and save   
,europe thereby4    ,that may seem a    
strange speech4  ,i must explain it4  ,i
 have told you how  the ,eastern ,empire
 and its military position was immensely
 strong2 that  ,constantinople was a    
great maritime base of operations1      
mistress of the  ,mediterranean4  ,what 
prevented the ,romans from reconquering 
all the  shores of that sea1 and        
establishing themselves in strength in  
the ,morea1  or in ,sicily1 or in       
,carthage1 or in any central base of    
operations8  ,what  forced them to cling
 to ,constantinople1 and fight a losing 
campaign  thenceforth4  ,simply this2   
the ,mussulman had forced their position
 from  the rear1 and deprived them of   
,syria1 ,egypt1 ,africa4    ,but the    
,teutons could not have opposed them4   
,during the #gth century the  ,lombards 
in ,italy were lazy and divided2 the    
,goths in ,spain lazier and  more       
divided still2 the ,franks were tearing 

themselves in pieces by civil  war4     
,the years from ,a4,d4 #eej to ,a4,d4   
#gej and the rise of the  ,carlovingian 
dynasty1 were a period of exhaustion for
 our race1 such as  follows on great    
victories1 and the consequent slaughter 
and collapse4    ,this was the critical 
period of the ,teutonic race2 little    
talked of1  because little known3 but   
very perilous4  ,nevertheless1 whatever 
the  ,eastern ,empire might have done1  
the ,saracens prevented its doing2 and  
if  you hold 7with me7 that the welfare 
of the ,teutonic race is the welfare  of
 the world2 then1 meaning nothing less1 
the ,saracen invasion1 by  crippling the
 ,eastern ,empire1 saved ,europe and our
 race4    ,and now1 gentlemen1 was this 
vast campaign fought without a general8 
,if  ,trafalgar could not be won without
 the mind of a ,nelson1 or ,waterloo    
without the mind of a ,wellington1 was  
there no one mind to lead those         
innumerable armies1 on whose success    
depended the future of the whole  human 

race8  ,did no one marshal them in that 
impregnable convex front1  from the     
,euxine to the ,north ,sea8  ,no one    
guide them to the two great  strategic  
centres1 of the ,black ,forest and      
,trieste8  ,no one cause them1  blind   
barbarians without maps or science1 to  
follow those rules of war1  without     
which victory in a protracted struggle  
is impossible2 and by the  pressure of  
the ,huns behind1 force on their        
flagging myriads to an  enterprise which
 their simplicity fancied at first      
beyond the powers of  mortal men8       
,believe it who will3 but ,i cannot4  ,i
 may be told that they  gravitated into 
their places1 as stones and mud do4  ,be
 it so4  ,they  obeyed natural laws of  
course1 as all things do on earth1 when 
they  obeyed the laws of war3 those too 
are natural laws1 explicable on simple  
mathematical principles4  ,but while ,i 
believe that not a stone or a  handful  
of mud gravitates into its place without
 the will of ,god2 that it  was         

ordained1 ages since1 into what         
particular spot each grain of gold      
should be washed down from an           
,australian quartz reef1 that a certain 
man  might find it at a certain moment  
and crisis of his life2--if ,i be       
superstitious enough 7as thank ,god ,i  
am7 to hold that creed1 shall ,i not    
believe that though this great war had  
no general upon earth1 it may have  had 
a general in ,heaven8 and that in spite 
of all their sins1 the hosts  of our    
forefathers were the hosts of ,god8     
,,appendix3 ,,the ,,limits ,,of ,,exact 
,,science ,,as ,,applied ,,to ,,history4
      ,it is with a feeling of awe1 ,i  
had almost said of fear1 that ,i find   
myself in this place1 upon this errand4 
,the responsibility of a teacher  of    
,history in ,cambridge is in itself very
 heavy3 but doubly heavy in the  case of
 one who sees among his audience many   
men as fit1 it may be some  more fit1 to
 fill this ,chair3 and again1 more heavy
 still1 when one  succeeds to a man     

whose learning1 like his virtues1 one   
can never hope to  equal4    ,but a     
,professor1 ,i trust1 is like other men1
 capable of improvement2 and  the great 
law1 'docendo disces1' may be fulfilled 
in him1 as in other  men4  ,meanwhile1  
,i can only promise that such small     
powers as ,i possess  will be honestly  
devoted to this ,professorate2 and that 
,i shall endeavour  to teach ,modern    
,history after a method which shall give
 satisfaction to  the ,rulers of this   
,university4    ,i shall do that best1  
,i believe1 by keeping in mind the      
lessons which ,i1  in common with       
thousands more1 have learnt from my wise
 and good  predecessor4  ,i do not mean 
merely patience in research1 and        
accuracy in  fact4  ,they are required  
of all men3 and they may be learnt from 
many  men4  ,but what ,sir ,james       
,stephen's life and writings should     
especially  teach us1 is the beauty and 
the value of charity2 of that           
large-hearted  humanity1 which          

sympathizes with all noble1 generous1   
earnest thought and  endeavour1 in      
whatsoever shape they may have appeared2
 a charity which1  without weakly or    
lazily confounding the eternal laws of  
right and wrong1  can make allowances   
for human frailty2 can separate the good
 from the  evil in men and in theories2 
can understand1 and can forgive1 because
 it  loves4  ,who can read ,sir ,james  
,stephen's works without feeling more   
kindly toward many a man1 and many a    
form of thought1 against which he  has  
been more or less prejudiced2 without a 
more genial view of human  nature1 a    
more hopeful view of human destiny1 a   
more full belief in the  great saying1  
that ',wisdom is justified of all her   
children'8  ,who1 too1  can read those  
works without seeing how charity        
enlightens the intellect1  just as      
bigotry darkens it2 how events1 which to
 the theorist and the  pedant are merely
 monstrous and unmeaning1 may explain   
themselves easily  enough to the man who

 will put himself in his                
fellow-creatures' place2  who will give 
them credit for being men of like       
passions with himself2  who will see    
with their eyes1 feel with their hearts1
 and take for his  motto1 ',homo sum1   
nil humani a me alienum puto'8    ,i    
entreat gentlemen who may hereafter     
attend my lectures to bear in mind  this
 last saying4  ,if they wish to         
understand ,history1 they must first    
try to understand men and women4  ,for  
,history is the history of men and      
women1 and of nothing else2 and he who  
knows men and women thoroughly  will    
best understand the past work of the    
world1 and be best able to  carry on its
 work now4  ,the men who1 in the long   
run1 have governed the  world1 have been
 those who understood the human heart2  
and therefore it  is to this day the    
statesman who keeps the reins in his    
hand1 and not the  mere student4  ,he is
 a man of the world2 he knows how to    
manage his  fellow-men2 and therefore he

 can get work done which the mere       
student 7it  may be7 has taught him     
ought to be done2 but which the mere    
student1 much  less the mere trader or  
economist1 could not get done2 simply   
because his  fellow-men would probably  
not listen to him1 and certainly outwit 
him4  ,of  course1 in proportion to the 
depth1 width1 soundness1 of his         
conception  of human nature1 will be the
 greatness and wholesomeness of his     
power4  ,he  may appeal to the meanest1 
or to the loftiest motives4  ,he may be 
a fox  or an eagle2 a ,borgia1 or a     
,hildebrand2 a ,talleyrand1 or a        
,napoleon2 a  ,mary ,stuart1 or an      
,elizabeth3 but however base1 however   
noble1 the power  which he exercises is 
the same in essence4  ,he makes         
,history1 because he  understands men4  
,and you1 if you would understand       
,history1 must  understand men4    ,if1 
therefore1 any of you should ask me how 
to study history1 ,i should             
answer--,take by all means biographies3 

wheresoever possible1  autobiographies2 
and study them4  ,fill your minds with  
live human  figures2 men of like        
passions with yourselves2 see how each  
lived and  worked in the time and place 
in which ,god put him4  ,believe me1    
that when  you have thus made a friend  
of the dead1 and brought him to life    
again1  and let him teach you to see    
with his eyes1 and feel with his heart1 
you  will begin to understand more of   
his generation and his circumstances1   
than all the mere history-books of the  
period would teach you4  ,in  proportion
 as you understand the man1 and only so1
 will you begin to  understand the      
elements in which he worked4  ,and not  
only to understand1  but to remember4   
,names1 dates1 genealogies1 geographical
 details1  costumes1 fashions1 manners1 
crabbed scraps of old law1 which you    
used1  perhaps1 to read up and forget   
again1 because they were not rooted1 but
  stuck into your brain1 as pins are    
into a pincushion1 to fall out at the   

first shake--all these you will         
remember2 because they will arrange and 
organize themselves around the central  
human figure3 just as1 if you have      
studied a portrait by some great artist1
 you cannot think of the face in  it1   
without recollecting also the light and 
shadow1 the tone of  colouring1 the     
dress1 the very details of the          
background1 and all the  accessories    
which the painter's art has grouped     
around2 each with a  purpose1 and       
therefore each fixing itself duly in    
your mind4  ,who1 for  instance1 has not
 found that he can learn more ,french   
history from ,french  memoirs1 than even
 from all the truly learned and         
admirable histories of  ,france which   
have been written of late years8  ,there
 are those1 too1 who  will say of good  
old ,plutarch's lives 7now-a-days1 ,i   
think1 too much  neglected71 what some  
great man used to say of ,shakspeare and
 ,english  history--that all the ancient
 history which they really knew1 they   

had  got from ,plutarch4  ,i am free to 
confess that ,i have learnt what little 
,i  know of the middle-ages1 what they  
were like1 how they came to be what     
they were1 and how they issued in the   
,reformation1 not so much from the      
study of the books about them 7many and 
wise though they are71 as from  the     
thumbing over1 for years1 the           
semi-mythical saints' lives of ,surius  
and the ,bollandists4    ,without doubt 
,history obeys1 and always has obeyed1  
in the long run1  certain laws4  ,but   
those laws assert themselves1 and are to
 be  discovered1 not in things1 but in  
persons2 in the actions of human        
beings2 and just in proportion as we    
understand human beings1 shall we       
understand the laws which they have     
obeyed1 or which have avenged           
themselves on their disobedience4  ,this
 may seem a truism3 if it be such1  it  
is one which we cannot too often repeat 
to ourselves just now1 when  the rapid  
progress of science is tempting us to   

look at human beings  rather as things  
than as persons1 and at abstractions    
7under the name of  laws7 rather as     
persons than as things4  ,discovering1  
to our just  delight1 order and law all 
around us1 in a thousand events which   
seemed  to our fathers fortuitous and   
arbitrary1 we are dazzled just now by   
the  magnificent prospect opening before
 us1 and fall1 too often1 into more     
than one serious mistake4    ,first2    
students try to explain too often all   
the facts which they meet by  the very  
few laws which they know2 and especially
 moral phaenomena by  physical1 or at   
least economic laws4  ,there is an      
excuse for this last  error4  ,much     
which was thought1 a few centuries      
since1 to belong to the  spiritual      
world1 is now found to belong to the    
material2 and the  physician is         
consulted1 where the exorcist used to be
 called in4  ,but it  is a somewhat     
hasty corollary therefrom1 and one not  
likely to find  favour in this          

,university1 that moral laws and        
spiritual agencies have  nothing at all 
to do with the history of the human     
race4  ,we shall not be  inclined here1 
,i trust1 to explain 7as some one tried 
to do lately7 the  ,crusades by a       
hypothesis of over-stocked              
labour-markets on the ,continent4       
,neither1 again1 shall we be inclined to
 class those same ,crusades among       
'popular delusions1' and mere outbursts 
of folly and madness4  ,this is a  very 
easy1 and ,i am sorry to say1 a very    
common method of disposing of  facts    
which will not fit into the theory1 too 
common of late1 that need  and greed    
have been always1 and always ought to   
be1 the chief motives of  mankind4      
,need and greed1 heaven knows1 are      
powerful enough3 but ,i think  that he  
who has something nobler in himself than
 need and greed1 will  have eyes to     
discern something nobler than them1 in  
the most fantastic  superstitions1 in   
the most ferocious outbursts1 of the    

most untutored  masses4  ,thank ,god1   
that those who preach the opposite      
doctrine belie it  so often by a happy  
inconsistency2 that he who declares     
self-interest to  be the mainspring of  
the world1 can live a life of virtuous  
self-sacrifice2 that he who denies1 with
 ,spinoza1 the existence of free-  will1
 can disprove his own theory1 by        
willing1 like ,spinoza1 amid all the    
temptations of the world1 to live a life
 worthy of a ,roman ,stoic2 and  that he
 who represents men as the puppets of   
material circumstance1 and  who         
therefore has no logical right either to
 praise virtue1 or to blame  vice1 can  
shew1 by a healthy admiration of the    
former1 a healthy scorn of  the latter1 
how little his heart has been corrupted 
by the eidola specus1  the phantoms of  
the study1 which have oppressed his     
brain4  ,but though  men are often1     
thank heaven1 better than their         
doctrines1 yet the  goodness of the man 
does not make his doctrine good2 and it 

is immoral as  well as unphilosophical  
to call a thing hard names simply       
because it  cannot be fitted into our   
theory of the universe4  ,immoral1      
because all  harsh and hasty wholesale  
judgments are immoral2 unphilosophical1 
because  the only philosophical method  
of looking at the strangest of          
phaenomena  is to believe that it too is
 the result of law1 perhaps a healthy   
result2  that it is not to be condemned 
as a product of disease before it is    
proven to be such2 and that if it be a  
product of disease1 disease has  its    
laws1 as much as health2 and is a       
subject1 not for cursing1 but for       
induction2 so that 7to return to my     
example7 if every man who ever took     
part in the ,crusades were proved to    
have been simply mad1 our sole  business
 would be to discover why he went mad   
upon that special matter1  and at that  
special time4  ,and to do that1 we must 
begin by recollecting  that in every man
 who went forth to the ,crusades1 or to 

any other strange  adventure of         
humanity1 was a whole human heart and   
brain1 of like  strength and weakness1  
like hopes1 like temptations1 with our  
own2 and  find out what may have driven 
him mad1 by considering what would have 
driven us mad in his place4    ,may ,i  
be permitted to enlarge somewhat on this
 topic8  ,there is1 as you  are aware1 a
 demand just now for philosophies of    
,history4  ,the general  spread of      
,inductive ,science has awakened this   
appetite2 the admirable  contemporary   
,french historians have quickened it by 
feeding it2 till1 the  more order and   
sequence we find in the facts of the    
past1 the more we  wish to find4  ,so it
 should be 7or why was man created a    
rational being87  and so it is2 and the 
requirements of the more educated are   
becoming so  peremptory1 that many      
thinking men would be ready to say 7,i  
should be  sorry to endorse their       
opinion71 that if ,history is not       
studied according  to exact scientific  

method1 it need not be studied at all4  
,a very able anonymous writer has lately
 expressed this general tendency  of    
modern thought in language so clear and 
forcible that ,i must beg leave  to     
quote it3--    ',step by step1' he says1
 'the notion of evolution by law is     
transforming  the whole field of our    
knowledge and opinion4  ,it is not one  
order of  conception which comes under  
its influence3 but it is the whole      
sphere of  our ideas1 and with them the 
whole system of our action and conduct4 
,not  the physical world alone is now   
the domain of inductive science1 but the
  moral1 the intellectual1 and the      
spiritual are being added to its empire4
  ,two co-ordinate ideas pervade the    
vision of every thinker1 physicist or   
moralist1 philosopher or priest4  ,in   
the physical and the moral world1 in    
the natural and the human1 are ever seen
 two forces--invariable rule1 and       
continual advance2 law and action2 order
 and progress2 these two powers  working

 harmoniously together1 and the result1 
inevitable sequence1  orderly movement1 
irresistible growth4  ,in the physical  
world indeed1  order is most prominent  
to our eyes2 in the moral world it is   
progress1  but both exist as truly in   
the one as in the other4  ,in the scale 
of  nature1 as we rise from the         
inorganic to the organic1 the idea of   
change  becomes even more distinct2 just
 as when we rise through the gradations 
of the moral world1 the idea of order   
becomes more difficult to grasp4  ,it   
was the last task of the astronomer to  
show eternal change even in the  grand  
order of our ,solar ,system4  ,it is the
 crown of philosophy to see  immutable  
law even in the complex action of human 
life4  ,in the latter1  indeed1 it is   
but the first germs which are clear4    
,no rational thinker  hopes to discover 
more than some few primary actions of   
law1 and some  approximative theory of  
growth4  ,much is dark and              
contradictory4  ,numerous  theories     

differing in method and degree are      
offered2 nor do we decide  between them4
  ,we insist now only upon this1 that   
the principle of  development in the    
moral1 as in the physical1 has been     
definitely  admitted2 and something like
 a conception of one grand analogy      
through  the whole sphere of knowledge1 
has almost become a part of popular     
opinion4  ,most men shrink from any     
broad statement of the principle1       
though all in some special instances    
adopt it4  ,it surrounds every idea  of 
our life1 and is diffused in every      
branch of study4  ,the press1 the       
platform1 the lecture-room1 and the     
pulpit ring with it in every variety  of
 form4  ,unconscious pedants are proving
 it4  ,it flashes on the  statistician  
through his registers2 it guides the    
hand of simple  philanthropy2 it is     
obeyed by the instinct of the statesman4
  ,there is  not an act of our public   
life which does not acknowledge it4  ,no
 man  denies that there are certain1 and

 even practical laws of political       
economy4  ,they are nothing but laws of 
society4  ,the conferences of  social   
reformers1 the congresses for           
international statistics and for  social
 science bear witness of its force4     
,everywhere we hear of the  development 
of the constitution1 of public law1 of  
public opinion1 of  institutions1 of    
forms of society1 of theories of        
history4  ,in a word1  whatever views of
 history may be inculcated on the       
,universities by  novelists or          
epigrammatists1 it is certain that the  
best intellects and  spirits of our day 
are labouring to see more of that       
invariable order1  and of that principle
 of growth in the life of human         
societies and of the  great society of  
mankind which nearly all men1 more or   
less1 acknowledge1  and partially and   
unconsciously confirm4'    ,this passage
 expresses admirably1 ,i think1 the     
tendencies of modern  thought for good  
and evil4    ,for good4  ,for surely it 

is good1 and a thing to thank ,god for1 
that men  should be more and more       
expecting order1 searching for order1   
welcoming  order4  ,but for evil also4  
,for young sciences1 like young men1    
have  their time of wonder1 hope1       
imagination1 and of passion too1 and    
haste1  and bigotry4  ,dazzled1 and that
 pardonably1 by the beauty of the few   
laws  they may have discovered1 they are
 too apt to erect them into gods1 and   
to explain by them all matters in heaven
 and earth2 and apt1 too1 as ,i  think  
this author does1 to patch them where   
they are weakest1 by that  most         
dangerous succedaneum of vague and grand
 epithets1 which very often  contain1   
each of them1 an assumption far more    
important than the law to  which they   
are tacked4    ,such surely are the     
words which so often occur in this      
passage--',invariable1 continual1       
immutable1 inevitable1 irresistible4'   
,there is an ambiguity in these words1  
which may lead--which ,i believe  does  

lead--to most unphilosophical           
conclusions4  ,they are used very much  
as synonyms2 not merely in this passage1
 but in the mouths of men4  ,are  you   
aware that those who carelessly do so1  
blink the whole of the world-  old      
arguments between necessity and         
free-will8  ,whatever may be the  rights
 of that quarrel1 they are certainly not
 to be assumed in a passing  epithet4   
,but what else does the writer do1 who  
tells us that an  inevitable sequence1  
an irresistible growth1 exists in the   
moral as well  as in the physical world2
 and then says1 as a seemingly identical
  statement1 that it is the crown of    
philosophy to see immutable law1 even   
in the complex action of human life8    
,the crown of philosophy8  ,doubtless it
 is so4  ,but not a crown1 ,i should    
have thought1 which has been reserved as
 the special glory of these  latter     
days4  ,very early1 at least in the     
known history of mankind1 did           
,philosophy 7under the humble names of  

,religion and ,common ,sense7 see most  
immutable1 and even eternal1 laws1 in   
the complex action of human life1  even 
the laws of right and wrong2 and called 
them ,the ,everlasting  ,judgments of   
,god1 to which a confused and           
hard-worked man was to look2  and take  
comfort1 for all would be well at last4 
,by fair induction 7as ,i  believe7 did 
man discover1 more or less clearly1     
those eternal laws3 by  repeated        
verifications of them in every age1 man 
has been rising1 and  will yet rise1 to 
clearer insight into their essence1     
their limits1 their  practical results4 
,and if it be these1 the old laws of    
right and wrong1  which this author and 
his school call invariable and          
immutable1 we shall1  ,i trust1 most    
heartily agree with them2 only wondering
 why a moral  government of the world   
seems to them so very recent a          
discovery4    ,but we shall not agree   
with them1 ,i trust1 when they represent
 these  invariable and immutable laws as

 resulting in any inevitable sequence1  
or  irresistible growth4  ,we shall not 
deny a sequence--,reason forbids that2  
or again1 a growth--,experience forbids 
that3 but we shall be puzzled to  see   
why a law1 because it is immutable      
itself1 should produce inevitable       
results2 and if they quote the facts of 
material nature against us1 we  shall be
 ready to meet them on that very ground1
 and ask3--,you say that  as the laws of
 matter are inevitable1 so probably are 
the laws of human  life8  ,be it so3 but
 in what sense are the laws of matter   
inevitable8  ,potentially1 or actually8 
,even in the seemingly most uniform and 
universal law1 where do we find the     
inevitable or the irresistible8  ,is    
there not in nature a perpetual         
competition of law against law1 force   
against force1 producing the most       
endless and unexpected variety of       
results8  ,cannot each law be interfered
 with at any moment by some other  law1 
so that the first law1 though it may    

struggle for the mastery1 shall  be for 
an indefinite time utterly defeated8    
,the law of gravity is  immutable       
enough3 but do all stones inevitably    
fall to the ground8  ,certainly not1 if 
,i choose to catch one1 and keep it in  
my hand4  ,it  remains there by laws2   
and the law of gravity is there too1    
making it  feel heavy in my hand3 but it
 has not fallen to the ground1 and will 
not1  till ,i let it4  ,so much for the 
inevitable action of the laws of        
gravity1  as of others4  ,potentially1  
it is immutable2 but actually it can be 
conquered by other laws4    ,i really   
beg your pardon for occupying you here  
with such truisms3 but ,i  must put the 
students of this ,university in mind of 
them1 as long as too  many modern       
thinkers shall choose to ignore them4   
,even if then1 as it seems to me1 the   
history of mankind depended merely  on  
physical laws1 analogous to those which 
govern the rest of nature1 it  would be 
a hopeless task for us to discover an   

inevitable sequence in  ,history1 even  
though we might suppose that such       
existed4  ,but as long as  man has the  
mysterious power of breaking the laws of
 his own being1 such  a sequence not    
only cannot be discovered1 but it cannot
 exist4  ,for man  can break the laws of
 his own being1 whether physical1       
intellectual1 or  moral4  ,he breaks    
them every day1 and has always been     
breaking them4    ,the greater number of
 them he cannot obey till he knows them4
  ,and too  many of them he cannot know1
 alas1 till he has broken them2 and paid
 the  penalty of his ignorance4  ,he    
does not1 like the brute or the         
vegetable1  thrive by laws of which he  
is not conscious3 but by laws of which  
he  becomes gradually conscious2 and    
which he can disobey after all4  ,and   
therefore it seems to me very like a    
juggle of words to draw analogies  from 
the physical and irrational world1 and  
apply them to the moral and  rational   
world2 and most unwise to bridge over   

the gulf between the two  by such       
adjectives as 'irresistible' or         
'inevitable1' such nouns as  'order1    
sequence1 law'--which must bear an      
utterly different meaning1  according as
 they are applied to physical beings or 
to moral ones4    ,indeed1 so patent is 
the ambiguity1 that ,i cannot fancy that
 it has  escaped the author and his     
school2 and am driven1 by mere respect  
for  their logical powers1 to suppose   
that they mean no ambiguity at all2 that
  they do not conceive of irrational    
beings as differing from rational       
beings1 or the physical from the moral1 
or the body of man from his  spirit1 in 
kind and property2 and that the         
immutable laws which they  represent as 
governing human life and history have   
nothing at all to do  with those laws of
 right and wrong1 which ,i intend to set
 forth to you1  as the 'everlasting     
judgments of ,god4'    ,in which case1  
,i fear1 they must go their way2 while  
we go ours2  confessing that there is an

 order1 and there is a law1 for man2 and
 that  if he disturb that order1 or     
break that law in anywise1 they will    
prove  themselves too strong for him1   
and reassert themselves1 and go forward1
  grinding him to powder if he          
stubbornly try to stop their way4  ,but 
we  must assert too1 that his           
disobedience to them1 even for a moment1
 has  disturbed the natural course of   
events1 and broken that inevitable      
sequence1 which we may find indeed1 in  
our own imaginations1 as long as  we sit
 with a book in our studies3 but which  
vanishes the moment that we  step       
outside into practical contact with     
life2 and1 instead of talking           
cheerfully of a necessary and orderly   
progress1 find ourselves more  inclined 
to cry with the cynical man of the      
world3       ',all the windy ways of    
men1        ,are but dust that rises up2
     ,and is lightly laid again4'       
,the usual rejoinder to this argument is
 to fall back upon man's weakness  and  

ignorance1 and to take refuge in the    
infinite unknown4  ,man1 it is  said1   
may of course interfere a little with   
some of the less important  laws of his 
being3 but who is he1 to grapple with   
the more vast and  remote ones8         
,because he can prevent a pebble from   
falling1 is he to  suppose that he can  
alter the destiny of nations1 and       
grapple forsooth  with 'the eternities  
and the immensities1' and so forth8     
,the argument is  very powerful3 but    
addrest rather to the imagination than  
the reason4  ,it  is1 after all1 another
 form of the old omne ignotum pro       
magnifico2 and we  may answer1 ,i think 
fairly--,about the eternities and       
immensities we know  nothing1 not having
 been there as yet2 but it is a mere    
assumption to  suppose1 without proof1  
that the more remote and impalpable laws
 are more  vast1 in the sense of being  
more powerful 7the only sense which     
really  bears upon the argument71 than  
the laws which are palpably at work     

around  us all day long2 and if we are  
capable of interfering with almost every
  law of human life which we know of    
already1 it is more philosophical to    
believe 7till disproved by actual       
failure7 that we can interfere with     
those laws of our life which we may know
 hereafter4  ,whether it will pay  us to
 interfere with them1 is a different    
question4  ,it is not prudent to        
interfere with the laws of health1 and  
it may not be with other laws1          
hereafter to be discovered4  ,i am only 
pleading that man can disobey the  laws 
of his being2 that such power has always
 been a disturbing force in  the        
progress of the human race1 which modern
 theories too hastily  overlook2 and    
that the science of history 7unless the 
existence of the  human will be denied7 
must belong rather to the moral         
sciences1 than to  that 'positive       
science' which seems to me inclined to  
reduce all human  phaenomena under      
physical laws1 hastily assumed1 by the  

old fallacy of  ,greek text1 to apply   
where there is no proof whatsoever that 
they do or  even can apply4    ,as for  
the question of the existence of the    
human will--,i am not here1 ,i  hope1 to
 argue that4  ,i shall only beg leave to
 assume its existence1 for  practical   
purposes4  ,i may be told 7though ,i    
trust not in this  ,university71 that it
 is1 like the undulatory theory of      
light1 an  unphilosophical 'hypothesis4'
  ,be that as it may1 it is very        
convenient  7and may be for a few       
centuries to come7 to retain the said   
'hypothesis1'  as one retains the       
undulatory theory2 and for the simple   
reason1 that  with it one can explain   
the phaenomena tolerably2 and without it
 cannot  explain them at all4    ,a     
dread 7half-unconscious1 it may be7 of  
this last practical result1  seems to   
have crossed the mind of the author on  
whom ,i have been  commenting2 for he   
confesses1 honestly enough 7and he      
writes throughout  like an honest man7  

that in human life 'no rational thinker 
hopes to  discover more than some few   
primary actions of law1 and some        
approximative theory of growth4'  ,i    
have higher hopes of a possible  science
 of history2 because ,i fall back on    
those old moral laws1 which ,i  think he
 wishes to ignore3 but ,i can conceive  
that he will not2 because  he cannot1 on
 his own definitions of law and growth4 
,they are 7if ,i  understand him aright7
 to be irresistible and inevitable4  ,i 
say that  they are not so1 even in the  
case of trees and stones2 much more in  
the  world of man4  ,facts1 when he goes
 on to verify his theories1 will leave  
him with a very few primary actions of  
law1 a very faint approximative  theory2
 because his theories1 in plain         
,english1 will not work4  ,at the  first
 step1 at every step1 they are stopped  
short by those disturbing  forces1 or at
 least disturbed phaenomena1 which have 
been as yet1 and  probably will be      
hereafter1 attributed 7as the only      

explanation of them7  to the existence1 
for good and evil1 of a human will4     
,let us look in detail at a few of these
 disturbances of anything like          
inevitable or irresistible movement4    
,shall we not1 at the very first        
glance1 confess--,i am afraid only too  
soon--that there always have been  fools
 therein2 fools of whom no man could    
guess1 or can yet1 what they  were going
 to do next or why they were going to do
 it8  ,and how1 pray1  can we talk of   
the inevitable1 in the face of that one 
miserable fact of  human folly1 whether 
of ignorance or of passion1 folly still8
  ,there may  be laws of folly1 as there
 are laws of disease2 and whether there 
are or  not1 we may learn much wisdom   
from folly2 we may see what the true    
laws  of humanity are1 by seeing the    
penalties which come from breaking them3
  but as for laws which work of         
themselves1 by an irresistible          
movement1--how can we discover such in a
 past in which every law which we  know 

has been outraged again and again8      
,take one of the highest  instances--the
 progress of the human intellect--,i do 
not mean just now  the spread of        
conscious science1 but of that          
unconscious science which we  call      
common sense4  ,what hope have we of    
laying down exact laws for its  growth1 
in a world wherein it has been ignored1 
insulted1 crushed1 a  thousand times1   
sometimes in whole nations and for whole
 generations1 by  the stupidity1        
tyranny1 greed1 caprice of a single     
ruler2 or if not so1  yet by the mere   
superstition1 laziness1 sensuality1     
anarchy of the mob8  ,how1 again1 are we
 to arrive at any exact laws of the     
increase of  population1 in a race which
 has had1 from the beginning1 the       
abnormal and  truly monstrous habit of  
slaughtering each other1 not for        
food--for in a  race of normal          
cannibals1 the ratio of increase or     
decrease might easily  be               
calculated--but uselessly1 from rage1   

hate1 fanaticism1 or even mere          
wantonness8  ,no man is less inclined   
than ,i to undervalue vital  statistics1
 and their already admirable results3   
but how can they help  us1 and how can  
we help them1 in looking at such a past 
as that of three-  fourths of the       
nations of the world8  ,look--as a      
single instance among  too many--at that
 most noble nation of ,germany1 swept   
and stunned1 by  peasant wars1 thirty   
years' wars1 ,french wars1 and after    
each hurricane1  blossoming up again    
into brave industry and brave thought1  
to be in its  turn cut off by a fresh   
storm ere it could bear full fruit3     
doing  nevertheless such work1 against  
such fearful disadvantages1 as nation   
never did before2 and proving thereby   
what she might have done for  humanity1 
had not she1 the mother of all ,european
 life1 been devoured1  generation after 
generation1 by her own unnatural        
children4  ,nevertheless1  she is their 
mother still2 and her history1 as ,i    

believe1 the  root-history of ,europe3  
but it is hard to read--the sibylline   
leaves are  so fantastically torn1 the  
characters so blotted out by tears and  
blood4    ,and if such be the history of
 not one nation only1 but of the        
average1  how1 ,i ask1 are we to make   
calculations about such a species as    
man8  ,many  modern men of science wish 
to draw the normal laws of human life   
from the  average of humanity3 ,i       
question whether they can do so2 because
 ,i do not  believe the average man to  
be the normal man1 exhibiting the normal
 laws3  but a very abnormal man1        
diseased and crippled1 but even if their
 method  were correct1 it could work in 
practice1 only if the destinies of men  
were always decided by majorities3 and  
granting that the majority of men  have 
common sense1 are the minority of fools 
to count for nothing8  ,are  they       
powerless8  ,have they had no influence 
on ,history8  ,have they even  been     
always a minority1 and not at times a   

terrible majority1 doing each  that     
which was right in the sight of his own 
eyes8  ,you can surely answer  that     
question for yourselves4  ,as far as my 
small knowledge of ,history  goes1 ,i   
think it may be proved from facts1 that 
any given people1 down to  the lowest   
savages1 has1 at any period of its life1
 known far more than  it has done2 known
 quite enough to have enabled it to have
 got on  comfortably1 thriven1 and      
developed2 if it had only done1 what no 
man  does1 all that it knew it ought to 
do1 and could do4  ,st4 ,paul's         
experience of himself is true of all    
mankind--',the good which ,i would1 ,i  
do not2 and the evil which ,i would not1
 that ,i do4'  ,the discrepancy  between
 the amount of knowledge and the amount 
of work1 is one of the  most patent and 
most painful facts which strikes us in  
the history of  man2 and one not        
certainly to be explained on any theory 
of man's  progress being the effect of  
inevitable laws1 or one which gives us  

much  hope of ascertaining fixed laws   
for that progress4    ,and bear in mind1
 that fools are not always merely       
imbecile and  obstructive2 they are at  
times ferocious1 dangerous1 mad4  ,there
 is in  human nature what ,goethe used  
to call a demoniac element1 defying all 
law1 and all induction2 and we can1 ,i  
fear1 from that one cause1 as  easily   
calculate the progress of the human     
race1 as we can calculate that  of the  
vines upon the slopes of ,a,etna1 with  
the lava ready to boil up and  overwhelm
 them at any and every moment4  ,let us 
learn1 in ,god's name1 all  we can1 from
 the short intervals of average peace   
and common sense3 let  us1 or rather our
 grandchildren1 get precious lessons    
from them for the  next period of       
sanity4  ,but let us not be surprised1  
much less  disheartened1 if after       
learning a very little1 some unexpected 
and truly  demoniac factor1 ,anabaptist 
war1 ,french revolution1 or other1      
should toss  all our calculations to the

 winds1 and set us to begin afresh1     
sadder and  wiser men4  ,we may learn1  
doubtless1 even more of the real facts  
of human  nature1 the real laws of human
 history1 from these critical periods1  
when  the root-fibres of the human heart
 are laid bare1 for good and evil1 than 
from any smooth and respectable periods 
of peace and plenty3 nevertheless  their
 lessons are not statistical1 but moral4
    ,but if human folly has been a      
disturbing force for evil1 surely human 
reason has been a disturbing force for  
good4  ,man can not only disobey  the   
laws of his being1 he can also choose   
between them1 to an extent  which       
science widens every day1 and so become1
 what he was meant to be1  an artificial
 being2 artificial in his manufactures1 
habits1 society1  polity--what not8     
,all day long he has a free choice      
between even  physical laws1 which mere 
things have not1 and which make the laws
 of  mere things inapplicable to him4   
,take the simplest case4  ,if he falls  

into the water1 he has his choice       
whether he will obey the laws of        
gravity and sink1 or by other laws      
perform the 7to him7 artificial  process
 of swimming1 and get ashore4  ,true1   
both would happen by law3 but  he has   
his choice which law shall conquer1 sink
 or swim4  ,we have yet to  learn why   
whole nations1 why all mankind may not  
use the same prudential  power as to    
which law they shall obey1--which1      
without breaking it1 they  shall conquer
 and repress1 as long as seems good to  
them4    ,it is true1 nature must be    
obeyed in order that she may he         
conquered3 but  then she is to be       
,,conquered4  ,it has been too much the 
fashion of late to  travestie that great
 dictum of ,bacon's into a very         
different one1 and  say1 ,nature must be
 obeyed because she cannot be conquered2
 thus  proclaiming the impotence of     
science to discover anything save her   
own  impotence--a result as contrary to 
fact1 as to ,bacon's own hopes of what  

science would do for the welfare of the 
human race4  ,for what is all  human    
invention1 but the transcending and     
conquering one natural law by  another8 
,what is the practical answer which all 
mankind has been making  to nature and  
her pretensions1 whenever it has        
progressed one step since  the          
foundation of the world3 by which all   
discoverers have discovered1  all       
teachers taught3 by which all polities1 
kingdoms1 civilizations1  arts1         
manufactures1 have established          
themselves2 all who have raised         
themselves above the mob have faced the 
mob1 and conquered the mob1  crucified  
by them first and worshipped by them    
afterwards3 by which the  first savage  
conquered the natural law which put wild
 beasts in the  forest1 by killing them2
 conquered the natural law which makes  
raw meat  wholesome1 by cooking it2     
conquered the natural law which made    
weeds grow  at his hut door1 by rooting 
them up1 and planting corn instead2 and 

won  his first spurs in the great battle
 of man against nature1 proving  thereby
 that he was a man1 and not an ape8     
,what but this8--',nature is  strong1   
but ,i am stronger4  ,i know her worth1 
but ,i know my own4  ,i trust  her and  
her laws1 but my trusty servant she     
shall be1 and not my tyrant2  and if she
 interfere with my ideal1 even with my  
personal comfort1 then  ,nature and ,i  
will fight it out to the last gasp1 and 
,heaven defend the  right6'    ,in      
forgetting this1 in my humble opinion1  
lay the error of the early1 or  laissez 
faire ,school of ,political ,economy4   
,it was too much inclined to  say to    
men3 ',you are the puppets of certain   
natural laws4  ,your own  freewill and  
choice1 if they really exist1 exist     
merely as a dangerous  disease4  ,all   
you can do is to submit to the laws1 and
 drift  whithersoever they may carry    
you1 for good or evil4'  ,but not less  
certainly was the same blame to be      
attached to the ,french ,socialist      

,school4  ,it1 though based on a revolt 
from the ,philosophie du neant1         
philosophie de la misere1 as it used to 
term the laissez faire ,school1  yet    
retained the worst fallacy of its foe1  
namely1 that man was the  creature of   
circumstances2 and denied him just as   
much as its antagonist  the possession  
of freewill1 or at least the right to   
use freewill on any  large scale4       
,the laissez faire ,school was certainly
 the more logical of the two4  ,with    
them1 if man was the creature of        
circumstances1 those circumstances were 
at least defined for him by external    
laws which he had not created3 while    
the ,socialists1 with ,fourier at their 
head 7as it has always seemed to  me71  
fell into the extraordinary paradox of  
supposing that though man was  the      
creature of circumstances1 he was to    
become happy by creating the  very      
circumstances which were afterwards to  
create him4  ,but both of them  erred1  
surely1 in ignoring that                

self-arbitrating power of man1 by which 
he can1 for good or for evil1 rebel     
against and conquer circumstance4    ,i 
am not1 surely1 overstepping my province
 as ,professor of ,history1 in  alluding
 to this subject4  ,just notions of     
,political ,economy are  absolutely     
necessary to just notions of ,history2  
and ,i should wish those  young         
gentlemen who may attend my ,lectures1  
to go first1 were it  possible1 to my   
more learned brother1 the ,professor of 
,political ,economy1  and get from him  
not merely exact habits of thought1 but 
a knowledge  which ,i cannot give1 and  
yet which they ought to possess4  ,for  
to take  the very lowest ground1 the    
first fact of history is1 ,bouche va    
toujours2  whatever men have or have not
 done1 they have always eaten1 or tried 
to  eat2 and the laws which regulate the
 supply of the first necessaries of     
life are1 after all1 the first which    
should be learnt1 and the last which    
should be ignored4    ,the more modern  

school1 however1 of ,political ,economy 
while giving due  weight to             
circumstance1 has refused to acknowledge
 it as the force which  ought to        
determine all human life2 and our       
greatest living political  economist    
has1 in his ,essay on ,liberty1 put in a
 plea unequalled since  the             
,areopagitica of ,milton1 for the       
self-determining power of the           
individual1 and for his right to use    
that power4    ,but my business is not  
with rights1 so much as with facts2 and 
as a fact1  surely1 one may say1 that   
this inventive reason of man has been1  
in all  ages1 interfering with any thing
 like an inevitable sequence or orderly 
progress of humanity4  ,some of those   
writers1 indeed1 who are most  anxious  
to discover an exact order1 are most    
loud in their complaints  that it has   
been interfered with by                 
over-legislation2 and rejoice that      
mankind is returning to a healthier     
frame of mind1 and leaving nature  alone

 to her own work in her own way4  ,i do 
not altogether agree with  their        
complaints2 but of that ,i hope to speak
 in subsequent lectures4  ,meanwhile1 ,i
 must ask1 if 7as is said7 most good    
legislation now-a-days  consists in     
repealing old laws which ought never to 
have been passed2 if  7as is said7 the  
great fault of our forefathers was that 
they were  continually setting things   
wrong1 by intermeddling in matters      
political1  economic1 religious1 which  
should have been let alone1 to develop  
themselves in their own way1 what       
becomes of the inevitable laws1 and the 
continuous progress1 of the human mind8 
,look again at the disturbing power1 not
 merely of the general reason of  the   
many1 but of the genius of the few4  ,i 
am not sure1 but that the one  fact1    
that genius is occasionally present in  
the world1 is not enough to  prevent our
 ever discovering any regular sequence  
in human progress1 past  or future4     
,let me explain myself4  ,in addition to

 the infinite variety of individual     
characters continually born 7in itself a
 cause of perpetual disturbance71  man  
alone of all species has the faculty of 
producing1 from time to time1           
individuals immeasurably superior to the
 average in some point or other1  whom  
we call men of genius4  ,like ,mr4      
,babbage's calculating machine1  human  
nature gives millions of orderly        
respectable common-place results1  which
 any statistician can classify1 and     
enables hasty philosophers to  say--,it 
always has gone on thus2 it must go on  
thus always2 when behold1  after many   
millions of orderly results1 there turns
 up a seemingly  disorderly1 a certainly
 unexpected1 result1 and the law seems  
broken  7being really superseded by some
 deeper law7 for that once1 and perhaps 
never again for centuries4  ,even so it 
is with man1 and the physiological  laws
 which determine the earthly appearance 
of men4  ,laws there are1  doubt it not2
 but they are beyond us3 and let our    

induction be as wide as  it may1 they   
will baffle it2 and great nature1 just  
as we fancy we have  found out her      
secret1 will smile in our faces as she  
brings into the  world a man1 the like  
of whom we have never seen1 and cannot  
explain1  define1 classify--in one word1
 a genius4  ,such do1 as a fact1 become 
leaders of men into quite new and       
unexpected paths1 and1 for good or      
evil1 leave their stamp upon whole      
generations and races4  ,notorious as   
this may be1 it is just1 ,i think1 what 
most modern theories of human  progress 
ignore4  ,they take the actions and the 
tendencies of the average  many1 and    
from them construct their scheme3 a     
method not perhaps quite  safe were they
 dealing with plants or animals2 but    
what if it be the very  peculiarity of  
this fantastic and altogether unique    
creature called man1  not only that he  
develops1 from time to time1 these      
exceptional  individuals1 but that they 
are the most important individuals of   

all8  that his course is decided for him
 not by the average many1 but by the    
extraordinary few2 that one ,mahommed1  
one ,luther1 one ,bacon1 one  ,napoleon1
 shall change the thoughts and habits of
 millions8--,so that  instead of saying 
that the history of mankind is the      
history of the  masses1 it would be much
 more true to say1 that the history of  
mankind is  the history of its great    
men2 and that a true philosophy of      
history ought  to declare the laws--call
 them physical1 spiritual1 biological1  
or what  we choose--by which great minds
 have been produced into the world1 as  
necessary results1 each in his place and
 time4    ,that would be a science      
indeed2 how far we are as yet from any  
such1 you  know as well as ,i4  ,as yet1
 the appearance of great minds is as    
inexplicable to us as if they had       
dropped among us from another planet4   
,who will tell us why they have arisen  
when they did1 and why they did  what   
they did1 and nothing else8  ,i do not  

deny that such a science is             
conceivable2 because each mind1 however 
great or strange1 may be the  result of 
fixed and unerring laws of life3 and it 
is conceivable1 too1  that such a       
science may so perfectly explain the    
past1 as to be able to  predict the     
future2 and tell men when a fresh genius
 is likely to arise  and of what form   
his intellect will be4  ,conceivable3   
but ,i fear only  conceivable2 if for no
 other reason1 at least for this one4   
,we may grant  safely that the mind of  
,luther was the necessary result of a   
combination  of natural laws4  ,we may  
go further1 and grant1 but by no means  
safely1  that ,luther1 was the creature 
of circumstances1 that there was no     
self-  moving originality in him1 but   
that his age made him what he was4  ,to 
some modern minds these concessions     
remove all difficulty and mystery3  but 
not1 ,i trust1 to our minds4  ,for does 
not the very puzzle de quo  agitur      
remain equally real2 namely1 why the    

average of ,augustine monks1  the       
average of ,german men1 did not1 by     
being exposed to the same average       
circumstances as ,luther1 become what   
,luther was8  ,but whether we allow     
,luther to have been a person with an   
originally different character from  all
 others1 or whether we hold him to have 
been the mere puppet of  outside        
influences1 the first step towards      
discovering how he became what  he was1 
will be to find out what he was4  ,it   
will be more easy1 and1 ,i am  sorry to 
say1 more common to settle beforehand   
our theory1 and explain by  it such     
parts of ,luther as will fit it2 and    
call those which will not fit  it hard  
names4  ,history is often so taught1 and
 the method is popular and  lucrative4  
,but we here shall be of opinion1 ,i am 
sure1 that we only can  learn causes    
through their effects2 we can only learn
 the laws which  produced ,luther1 by   
learning ,luther himself2 by analyzing  
his whole  character2 by gauging all his

 powers2 and that--unless the less can  
comprehend the greater--we cannot do    
till we are more than ,luther  himself4 
,i repeat it4  ,none can comprehend a   
man1 unless he be greater  than that    
man4  ,he must be not merely equal to   
him1 because none can see  in another   
elements of character which he has not  
already seen in  himself3 he must be    
greater2 because to comprehend him      
thoroughly1 he  must be able to judge   
the man's failings as well as his       
excellencies2 to  see not only why he   
did what he did1 but why he did not do  
more3 in a  word1 he must be nearer than
 his object is to the ideal man4    ,and
 if it be assumed that ,i am quibbling  
on the words 'comprehend' and           
'greater1' that the observer need be    
greater only potentially1 and not in    
act2 that all the comprehension required
 of him1 is to have in himself  the     
germs of other men's faculties1 without 
having developed those germs  in life2  
,i must still stand to my assertion4    

,for such a rejoinder  ignores the most 
mysterious element of all character1    
which we call  strength3 by virtue of   
which1 of two seemingly similar         
characters1 while  one does nothing1 the
 other shall do great things2 while in  
one the germs  of intellect and virtue  
remain comparatively embryonic1 passive1
 and  weak1 in the other these same     
germs shall develop into manhood1       
action1  success4  ,and in what that    
same strength consists1 not even the    
dramatic  imagination of a ,shakespeare 
could discover4  ,what are those        
heart-rending sonnets of his1 but the   
confession that over and above all  his 
powers he lacked one thing1 and knew not
 what it was1 or where to  find it--and 
that was--to be strong8    ,and yet he  
who will give us a science of great men1
 must begin by having  a larger heart1 a
 keener insight1 a more varying human   
experience1 than  ,shakespeare's own2   
while those who offer us a science of   
little men1 and  attempt to explain     

history and progress by laws drawn from 
the average of  mankind1 are utterly at 
sea the moment they come in contact with
 the very  men whose actions make the   
history1 to whose thought the progress  
is due4  ,and why8  ,because 7so at     
least ,i think7 the new science of      
little men can  be no science at all3   
because the average man is not the      
normal man1 and  never yet has been2    
because the great man is rather the     
normal man1 as  approaching more nearly 
than his fellows to the true 'norma' and
 standard  of a complete human          
character2 and therefore to pass him by 
as a mere  irregular sport of nature1 an
 accidental giant with six fingers and  
six  toes1 and to turn to the mob for   
your theory of humanity1 is 7,i think7  
about as wise as to ignore the ,apollo  
and the ,theseus1 and to determine  the 
proportions of the human figure from a  
crowd of dwarfs and cripples4    ,no1   
let us not weary ourselves with narrow  
theories1 with hasty  inductions1 which 

will1 a century hence1 furnish mere     
matter for a smile4  ,let us confine    
ourselves1 at least in the present      
infantile state of the  anthropologic   
sciences1 to facts2 to ascertaining     
honestly and patiently  the thing which 
has been done2 trusting that if we make 
ourselves masters  of them1 some rays of
 inductive light will be vouchsafed to  
us from ,him  who truly comprehends     
mankind1 and knows what is in man1      
because ,he is  the ,son of ,man2 who   
has ,his own true theory of human       
progress1 ,his own  sound method of     
educating the human race1 perfectly     
good1 and perfectly  wise1 and at last1 
perfectly victorious2 which             
nevertheless1 were it  revealed to us   
to-morrow1 we could not understand2 for 
if he who would  comprehend ,luther must
 be more than ,luther1 what must he be1 
who would  comprehend ,god8    ,look    
again1 as a result of the disturbing    
force of genius1 at the effects  of     
great inventions--how unexpected1       

complex1 subtle1 all but                
miraculous--throwing out alike the path 
of human history1 and the  calculations 
of the student4  ,if physical           
discoveries produced only  physical or  
economic results--if the invention of   
printing had only  produced more books1 
and more knowledge--if the invention of 
gunpowder  had only caused more or less 
men to be killed--if the invention of   
the  spinning-jenny had only produced   
more cotton-stuffs1 more employment1 and
  therefore more human beings1--then    
their effects would have been1 however  
complex1 more or less subjects of exact 
computation4    ,but so strangely       
interwoven is the physical and spiritual
 history of man1  that material         
inventions produce continually the most 
unexpected  spiritual results4          
,printing becomes a religious agent1    
causes not merely  more books1 but a    
,protestant ,reformation2 then again1   
through the ,jesuit  literature1 helps  
to a ,romanist counter-reformation2 and 

by the clashing  of the two1 is one of  
the great causes of the ,thirty ,years' 
,war1 one of  the most disastrous checks
 which ,european progress ever suffered4
  ,gunpowder1 again1 not content with   
killing men1 becomes unexpectedly a     
political agent2 'the villanous         
saltpetre1' as ,ariosto and             
,shakespeare's  fop complain1 'does to  
death many a goodly gentleman1' and     
enables the  masses to cope1 for the    
first time1 with knights in armour2 thus
 forming  a most important agent in the 
rise of the middle classes2 while the   
spinning-jenny1 not content with        
furnishing facts for the political      
economist1 and employment for millions1 
helps to extend slavery in the  ,united 
,states1 and gives rise to moral and    
political questions1 which may  have1   
ere they be solved1 the most painful    
consequences to one of the  greatest    
nations on earth4    ,so far removed is 
the sequence of human history from any  
thing which we  can call irresistible or

 inevitable4  ,did one dare to deal in  
epithets1  crooked1 wayward1 mysterious1
 incalculable1 would be those which     
would  rather suggest themselves to a   
man looking steadily not at a few facts 
here and there1 and not again at some   
hasty bird's-eye sketch1 which he       
chooses to call a whole1 but at the     
actual whole1 fact by fact1 step by     
step1 and alas6 failure by failure1 and 
crime by crime4    ,understand me1 ,i   
beg4  ,i do not wish 7,heaven forbid67  
to discourage  inductive thought2 ,i do 
not wish to undervalue exact science4   
,i only ask  that the moral world1 which
 is just as much the domain of inductive
  science as the physical one1 be not   
ignored2 that the tremendous            
difficulties of analyzing its phenomena 
be fairly faced2 and the hope  given up1
 at least for the present1 of forming   
any exact science of  history2 and ,i   
wish to warn you off from the too common
 mistake of trying  to explain the      
mysteries of the spiritual world by a   

few roughly defined  physical laws 7for 
too much of our modern thought does     
little more than  that72 and of ignoring
 as old fashioned1 or even              
superstitious1 those  great moral laws  
of history1 which are sanctioned by the 
experience of  ages4    ,foremost among 
them stands a law which ,i must insist  
on1 boldly and  perpetually1 if ,i wish 
7as ,i do wish7 to follow in the        
footsteps of ,sir  ,james ,stephen3 a   
law which man has been trying in all    
ages1 as now1 to  deny1 or at least to  
ignore2 though he might have seen it if 
he had  willed1 working steadily in all 
times and nations4  ,and that is--that  
as  the fruit of righteousness is wealth
 and peace1 strength and honour2 the    
fruit of unrighteousness is poverty and 
anarchy1 weakness and shame4  ,it  is an
 ancient doctrine1 and yet one ever     
young4  ,the ,hebrew prophets  preached 
it long ago1 in words which are         
fulfilling themselves around us  every  
day1 and which no new discoveries of    

science will abrogate1 because  they    
express the great root-law1 which       
disobeyed1 science itself cannot  get a 
hearing4    ,for not upon mind1         
gentlemen1 not upon mind1 but upon      
morals1 is human  welfare founded4  ,the
 true subjective history of man is the  
history not  of his thought1 but of his 
conscience2 the true objective history  
of man  is not that of his inventions1  
but of his vices and his virtues4  ,so  
far  from morals depending upon thought1
 thought1 ,i believe1 depends on        
morals4  ,in proportion as a nation is  
righteous1--in proportion as common     
justice is done between man and man1    
will thought grow rapidly1 securely1    
triumphantly2 will its discoveries be   
cheerfully accepted1 and faithfully     
obeyed1 to the welfare of the whole     
commonweal4  ,but where a nation is     
corrupt1 that is1 where the majority of 
individuals in it are bad1 and  justice 
is not done between man and man1 there  
thought will wither1 and  science will  

be either crushed by frivolity and      
sensuality1 or abused to  the ends of   
tyranny1 ambition1 profligacy1 till she 
herself perishes1  amid the general ruin
 of all good things2 as she had done in 
,greece1 in  ,rome1 in ,spain1 in       
,china1 and many other lands4  ,laws of 
economy1 of  polity1 of health1 of all  
which makes human life endurable1 may be
  ignored and trampled under foot1 and  
are too often1 every day1 for the  sake 
of present greed1 of present passion2   
self-interest may become1 and  will     
become1 more and more blinded1 just in  
proportion as it is not  enlightened by 
virtue2 till a nation may arrive1       
though1 thank ,god1 but  seldom1 at that
 state of frantic recklessness which    
,salvian describes  among his ,roman    
countrymen in ,gaul1 when1 while the    
,franks were  thundering at their gates1
 and starved and half-burnt corpses lay 
about  the unguarded streets1 the       
remnant1 like that in doomed ,jerusalem 
of old1  were drinking1 dicing1         

ravishing1 robbing the orphan and the   
widow1  swindling the poor man out of   
his plot of ground1 and sending         
meanwhile  to the tottering ,caesar at  
,rome1 to ask1 not for armies1 but for  
,circensian games4    ,we cannot see how
 science could have bettered those poor 
,gauls4  ,and we  can conceive1 surely1 
a nation falling into the same madness1 
and crying  ',let us eat and drink1 for 
to-morrow we die1' in the midst of      
railroads1  spinning-jennies1 electric  
telegraphs1 and crystal palaces1 with   
infinite  blue-books and scientific     
treatises ready to prove to them1 what  
they  knew perfectly well already1 that 
they were making a very unprofitable    
investment1 both of money and of time4  
,for science indeed is great3 but she is
 not the greatest4  ,she is an          
instrument1 and not a power2 beneficent 
or deadly1 according as she is  wielded 
by the hand of virtue or of vice4  ,but 
her lawful mistress1 the  only one which
 can use her aright1 the only one under 

whom she can truly  grow1 and prosper1  
and prove her divine descent1 is        
,virtue1 the likeness  of ,almighty     
,god4  ,this1 indeed1 the ,hebrew       
,prophets1 who knew no science  in one  
sense of the word1 do not expressly say3
 but it is a corollary  from their      
doctrine1 which we may discover for     
ourselves1 if we will look  at the      
nations round us now1 if we will look at
 all the nations which  have been4      
,even ,voltaire himself acknowledged    
that2 and when he pointed  to the       
,chinese as the most prosperous nation  
upon earth1 ascribed their  prosperity  
uniformly to their virtue4  ,we now know
 that he was wrong in  fact3 for we have
 discovered that ,chinese civilization  
is one not of  peace and plenty1 but of 
anarchy and wretchedness4  ,but that    
fact only  goes to corroborate the      
belief1 which 7strange juxtaposition67  
was common  to ,voltaire and the old    
,hebrew ,prophets at whom he scoffed1   
namely1 that  virtue is wealth1 and vice

 is ruin4  ,for we have found that these
  ,chinese1 the ruling classes of them  
at least1 are an especially  unrighteous
 people2 rotting upon the rotting       
remnants of the wisdom and  virtue of   
their forefathers1 which now live only  
on their lips in flowery  maxims about  
justice and mercy and truth1 as a cloak 
for practical  hypocrisy and villany2   
and we have discovered also1 as a patent
 fact1  just what the ,hebrew ,prophets 
would have foretold us--that the        
miseries  and horrors which are now     
destroying the ,chinese ,empire1 are the
 direct  and organic results of the     
moral profligacy of its inhabitants4    
,i know no modern nation1 moreover1     
which illustrates so forcibly as ,china 
the great historic law which the ,hebrew
 ,prophets proclaim2 and that is        
this3--,that as the prosperity of a     
nation is the correlative of their      
morals1 so are their morals the         
correlative of their theology4  ,as a   
people behaves1 so it thrives2 as it    

believes1 so it behaves4  ,such as  his 
,gods are1 such will the man be2 down to
 that lowest point which too  many of   
the ,chinese seem to have reached1      
where1 having no ,gods1 he  himself     
becomes no man2 but 7as ,i hear you see 
him at the ,australian  diggings7       
abhorred for his foul crimes even by the
 scum of ,europe4    ,i do not say that 
the theology always produces the morals1
 any more than  that the morals always  
produce the theology4  ,each is1 ,i     
think1  alternately cause and effect4   
,men make the ,gods in their own        
likeness2  then they copy the likeness  
they have set up4  ,but whichever be    
cause1  and whichever effect1 the law1  
,i believe1 stands true1 that on the two
  together depends the physical welfare 
of a people4  ,history gives us many    
examples1 in which superstition1 many   
again in which profligacy1 have  been   
the patent cause of a nation's          
deoradation4  ,it does not1 as far as   
,i am aware1 give us a single case of a 

nation's thriving and developing  when  
deeply infected with either of those two
 vices4    ,these1 the broad and simple 
laws of moral retribution1 we may see in
  history2 and 7,i hope7 something more 
than them2 something of a general       
method1 something of an upward progress1
 though any thing but an  irresistible  
or inevitable one4  ,for ,i have not    
argued that there is no  order1 no      
progress--,god forbid4  ,were there no  
order to be found1 what  could the      
student with a man's reason in him do1  
but in due time go  mad8--,were there no
 progress1 what could the student with a
 man's heart  within him do1 but in due 
time break his heart1 over the sight of 
a chaos  of folly and misery            
irredeemable8--,i only argue that the   
order and the  progress of human history
 cannot be similar to those which govern
  irrational beings1 and cannot 7without
 extreme danger7 be described by        
metaphors 7for they are nothing         
stronger7 drawn from physical science4  

,if  there be an order1 a progress1 they
 must be moral2 fit for the guidance  of
 moral beings2 limited by the obedience 
which those moral beings pay to  what   
they know4    ,and such an order1 such a
 progress as that1 ,i have good hope    
that we  shall find in history4    ,we  
shall find1 as ,i believe1 in all the   
ages1 ,god educating man2  protecting   
him till he can go alone1 furnishing him
 with the primary  necessaries1 teaching
 him1 guiding him1 inspiring him1 as we 
should do to  our children2 bearing with
 him1 and forgiving him too1 again and  
again1  as we should do3 but teaching   
him withal 7as we shall do if we be     
wise7  in great part by his own         
experience1 making him test for himself1
 even by  failure and pain1 the truth of
 the laws which have been given him2    
discover for himself1 as much as        
possible1 fresh laws1 or fresh          
applications of laws2 and exercising his
 will and faculties1 by trusting  him to
 himself wherever he can be trusted     

without his final destruction4  ,this is
 my conception of history1 especially of
 ,modern ,history--of  history since the
 ,revelation of our ,lord ,jesus        
,christ4  ,i express myself  feebly     
enough1 ,i know4  ,and even could ,i    
express what ,i mean perfectly1  it     
would still be but a partial analogy1   
not to be pushed into details4  ,as ,i  
said just now1 were the true law of     
human progress revealed to us to-       
morrow1 we could not understand it4     
,for suppose that the theory were true1 
which ,dr4 ,temple of ,rugby has  lately
 put into such noble words3 suppose     
that1 as he says1 ',the power  whereby  
the present ever gathers into itself the
 results of the past1  transforms the   
human race into a colossal man1 whose   
life reaches from  the creation to the  
day of judgment4  ,the successive       
generations of men1  are days in this   
man's life4  ,the discoveries and       
inventions which  characterize the      
different epochs of the world1 are this 

man's works4  ,the  creeds and          
doctrines1 the opinions and principles  
of the successive ages1  are his        
thoughts4  ,the state of society at     
different times1 are his  manners4  ,he 
grows in knowledge1 in self-control1 in 
visible size1 just  as we do4'  ,suppose
 all this2 and suppose too1 that ,god is
 educating this  his colossal child1 as 
we educate our own children2 it will    
hardly follow  from thence that his     
education would be1 as ,dr4 ,temple says
 it is1  precisely similar to ours4     
,analogous it may be1 but not precisely 
similar2 and for this reason3 ,that  the
 collective man1 in the theory1 must be 
infinitely more complex in his          
organization than the individuals of    
which he is composed4  ,while between   
the educator of the one and of the      
other1 there is simply the difference   
between a man and ,god4  ,how much more 
complex then must his education be6  how
 all-inscrutable to human minds much in 
it6--often as inscrutable as  would our 

training of our children seem to the    
bird brooding over her  young ones in   
the nest4  ,the parental relations in   
all three cases may  be--the ,scriptures
 say that they are--expansions of the   
same great law2  the key to all history 
may be contained in those great         
words--',how often  would ,i have       
gathered thy children as a hen gathereth
 her chickens under  her wings4'  ,yet  
even there the analogy stops short--'but
 thou wouldest  not' expresses a new    
element1 which has no place in the      
training of the  nestling by the dam1   
though it has place in our training of  
our children2  even that self-will1 that
 power of disobedience1 which is the    
dark side  of man's prerogative as a    
rational and self-cultivating being4    
,here that  analogy fails1 as we should 
have expected it to do2 and in a hundred
  other points it fails1 or rather      
transcends so utterly its original type1
  that mankind seems1 at moments1 the   
mere puppet of those laws of natural    

selection1 and competition of species1  
of which we have heard so much of  late2
 and1 to give a single instance1 the    
seeming waste1 of human  thought1 of    
human agony1 of human power1 seems but  
another instance of  that inscrutable   
prodigality of nature1 by which1 of a   
thousand acorns  dropping to the ground1
 but one shall become the thing it can  
become1 and  grow into a builder oak1   
the rest be craunched up by the nearest 
swine4    ,yet these dark passages of   
human life may be only necessary        
elements of  the complex education of   
our race2 and as much mercy under a     
fearful  shape1 as ours when we put the 
child we love under the surgeon's knife4
  ,at least we may believe so2 believe  
that they have a moral end1 though  that
 end be unseen by us2 and without any   
rash or narrow prying into  final causes
 7a trick as fatal to historic research 
as ,bacon said it was  to science71 we  
may justify ,god by faith1 where we     
cannot justify ,him by  experience4     

,surely this will be the philosophic    
method4  ,if we seem to ourselves to    
have discovered a law1 we do not throw  
it away the moment we find  phaenomena  
which will not be explained by it4  ,we 
use those phaenomena to  correct and to 
expand our law4  ,and this belief that  
,history is ',god  educating man1' is no
 mere hypothesis2 it results from the   
observation of  thousands of minds1     
throughout thousands of years4  ,it has 
long seemed--,i  trust it will seem     
still--the best explanation of the      
strange deeds of  that strange being1   
man3 and where we find in history facts 
which seem to  contradict it1 we shall  
not cast away rashly or angrily either  
it or  them3 but if we be ,bacon's true 
disciples1 we shall use them patiently  
and reverently to correct and expand our
 notions of the law itself1 and  rise   
thereby to more deep and just           
conceptions of education1 of man1       
and--it may be--of ,god ,himself4    ,in
 proportion as we look at history thus2 

searching for effective1 rather  than   
final causes1 and content to see ,god   
working everywhere1 without             
impertinently demanding of ,him a reason
 for ,his deeds1 we shall study in  a   
frame of mind equally removed from      
superstition on the one hand1 and       
necessitarianism on the other4  ,we     
shall not be afraid to confess natural  
agencies3 but neither shall we be afraid
 to confess those supernatural  causes  
which underlie all existence1 save      
,god's alone4    ,we shall talk of more 
than of an over-ruling ,providence4     
,that such  exists1 will seem to us a   
patent fact4  ,but it will seem to us   
somewhat  ,manichaean to believe that   
the world is ill made1 mankind a        
failure1 and  that all ,god has to do   
with them1 is to set them right here and
 there1  when they go intolerably wrong4
  ,we shall believe not merely in an    
over-  ruling ,providence1 but 7if ,i   
may dare to coin a word7 in an          
under-ruling  one1 which has fixed for  

mankind eternal laws of life1 health1   
growth1  both physical and spiritual2 in
 an around-ruling ,providence1 likewise1
 by  which circumstances1 that which    
stands around a man1 are perpetually    
arranged1 it may be1 are fore-ordained1 
so that each law shall have at  least an
 opportunity of taking effect on the    
right person1 in the right  time and    
place2 and in an in-ruling ,providence4 
too1 from whose  inspiration comes all  
true thought1 all right feeling2 from   
whom1 we must  believe1 man alone of all
 living things known to us inherits that
  mysterious faculty of perceiving the  
law beneath the phaenomena1 by  virtue  
of which he is a man4    ,but we can    
hold all this1 surely1 and equally hold 
all which natural  science may teach us4
  ,hold what natural science teaches8   
,we shall not  dare not to hold it4  ,it
 will be sacred in our eyes4  ,all light
 which  science1 political1 economic1   
physiological1 or other1 can throw upon 
the  past1 will be welcomed by us1 as   

coming from the ,author of all light4   
,to  ignore it1 even to receive it      
suspiciously and grudgingly1 we shall   
feel  to be a sin against ,him4  ,we    
shall dread no 'inroads of materialism2'
  because we shall be standing upon that
 spiritual ground which  underlies--ay1 
causes--the material4  ,all discoveries 
of science1 whether  political or       
economic1 whether laws of health or laws
 of climate1 will be  accepted          
trustfully and cheerfully4  ,and when we
 meet with such startling  speculations 
as those on the influence of climate1   
soil1 scenery on  national character1   
which have lately excited so much       
controversy1 we  shall welcome them at  
first sight1 just because they give us  
hope of  order where we had seen only   
disorder1 law where we fancied chance3  
we  shall verify them patiently2 correct
 them if they need correction2 and if   
proven1 believe that they have worked1  
and still work1 ,greek text1 as  factors
 in the great method of ,him who has    

appointed to all nations their  times1  
and the bounds of their habitation1 if  
haply they might feel after  ,him1 and  
find ,him3 though ,he be not far from   
any one of them2 for in ,him  we live1  
and move1 and have our being1 and are   
the offspring of ,god  ,himself4    ,i  
thus end what it seemed to me proper to 
say in this1 my ,inaugural  ,lecture2   
thanking you much for the patience with 
which you have heard me3  and if ,i have
 in it too often spoken of myself1 and  
my own opinions1 ,i  can only answer    
that it is a fault which has been forced
 on me by my  position1 and which will  
not occur again4  ,it seemed to me that 
some sort  of statement of my belief was
 necessary1 if only from respect to a   
,university from which ,i have been long
 separated1 and to return to which  is  
to me a high honour and a deep pleasure2
 and ,i cannot but be aware 7it  is best
 to be honest7 that there exists a      
prejudice against me in the  minds of   
better men than ,i am1 on account of    

certain early writings of  mine4  ,that 
prejudice1 ,i trust1 with ,god's help1  
,i shall be able to  dissipate4  ,at    
least whatever ,i shall fail in doing1  
this ,university will  find that ,i     
shall do one thing2 and that is1 obey   
the ,apostolic precept1  ',study to be  
quiet1 and to do your own business4'    
,footnotes3      #a  ,grimm1 ,grammatik1
 ii4 p4 #eaf4    #b  ,see ,grimm1       
,grammatik1 7#bnd edit47 vol4 i4 p4     
#ajh2 vol4 ii4 p4 #eha4    #c  ,lectures
 on the ,science of ,language1 vol4 ii4 
p4 #bcb4    #d  ,forstemann mentions a  
,latin inscription of the third century 
found  near ,wiesbaden with the ,dative 
,toutiorigi4    #e  ,german classics1 by
 ,m4 ,m4 p4 #ab4    #f  ,anonym4        
,valesian4 ad calcem ,ann4  ,marcellin4 
p4 #gbb4  ,gibbon1 cap4  xxxix2 now     
known1 through ,mommsen1 as the ,annals 
of ,ravenna4    #g  ,grimm thinks that  
,charle-maigne and ,charlemagne were    
originally  corruptions of ,karlo-man1  
and were interpreted later as ,carolus  

magnus4  ,grimm1 ,grammatik1 ii4 #dfb2  
iii4 #cbj4    #h  ,weber1 ,lehrbuch der 
,weltgeschichte1 section #bde3 ',bei    
,verona von  ,theoderich 7daher         
,dietrich von ,bern7 besiegt1 barg sich 
,odoaker hinter  die ,mauern von        
,ravenna4'  ,it is much more            
objectionable when ,simrock in  his     
translation of the ,edda renders        
,thjodrekr by ,dietrich1 though he      
retains ,theodolf and similar names4    
,but it shows at the same time the  wide
 popularity of that name4    #i  ,grimm1
 ,heldensage1 p4 #cdd4    #aj  ,gibbon1 
chap4 xxxix4 sub fin4    #aa  ,otto von 
,freising1 in the first half of the     
twelfth century  7,chronicon #e1 #c71   
takes the opposite view1 and thinks the 
fable derived  from history3 ',ob ea non
 multis post diebus1 xxx imperii sui    
anno1  subitanea morte rapitur ac juxta 
beati ,gregorii dialogum 7#d1 #cf7 a    
,joanne  et ,symmacho in ,aetnam        
praecipitatus1 a quodam homine ,dei     
cernitur4  ,hinc  puto fabulam illam    

traductam1 qua vulgo dicitur3           
,theodoricus vivus equo  sedens ad      
inferos descendit4    #ab  ,grimm1      
,deutsche ,heldensage1 p4 #cf4          
,chronicon ,urspergense1 #he;a3  ,haec  
,jordanis quidam grammaticus1 ex        
eorundem stirpe ,gothorum progenitus1   
de ,getarum origine et ,amalorum        
nobilitate non omnia1 quae de eis       
scribuntur et referuntur1 ut ipse dicit1
 complexus exaravit1 sed brevius  pro   
rerum notitia huic opusculo inseruimus4 
,his perlectis diligenterque  perspectis
 perpendat1 qui discernere noverit1     
quomodo illud ratum  teneatur1 quod non 
solum vulgarifabulatione et cantilenarum
  modulatione usitatur1 verum etiam in  
quibusdam chronicis annotatur2  scilicet
 quod ,hermenricus tempore ,martiani    
principis super omnes ,gothos           
regnaverit1 et ,theodoricum ,dietmari   
filium1 patruelem suum1 ut  dicunt1     
instimulante ,odoacre1 item1 ut ajunt1  
patruele suo de ,verona  pulsum1 apud   
,attilam ,hunorum regem exulare         

coegerit1 cum  historiographus narret1  
,ermenricum regem ,gothorum multis      
regibus  dominantem tempore             
,valentiniani et ,valentis fratrum      
regnasse et a duobus  fratribus ,saro et
 ,ammio1 quos conjicimus eos fuisse1 qui
 vulgariter  ,sarelo et ,hamidiecus     
dicuntur1 vulneratum in primordio       
egressionis  ,hunorum per ,maeotidem    
paludem1 quibus rex fuit ,valamber1 tam 
vulneris  quam ,hunorum irruptionis     
dolore defunctum fuisse1 ,attilam vero  
postea  ultra ,,lxx annos sub ,martiano 
et ,valentiniano cum ,romanis et        
,wisigothis  ,aetioque duce ,romanorum  
pugnasse et sub eisdem principibus regno
 vitaque  decessisse4 4 4 4 ,hinc rerum 
diligens inspector perpendat1 quomodo   
,ermenricus ,theodoricum ,dietmari      
filium apud ,attilam exulare coegerit1  
cum juxta hunc historiographum          
contemporalis ejus non fuit4  ,igitur   
aut  hic falsa conscripsit1 aut vulgaris
 opinio fallitur et fallit1 aut  alius  
,ermenricus et alms ,theodoricus dandi  

sunt ,attilae contemporanei1 in  quibus 
hujus modi rerum convenientia rata      
possit haberi4  ,hic enim  ,ermenricus  
longe ante ,attilam legitur defunctus4  
#ac  ,chronicon1 #e1 #c3 ,quod autem    
rursum narrant1 eum ,hermanarico        
,attilaeque contemporaneum fuisse1      
omnino stare non potest1 dum ,attilam   
longe post ,hermanaricum constat        
exercuisse tyrannidem istumque post     
mortem ,attilae octennem a patre obsidem
 ,leoni ,augusto traditum4    #ad       
,chronicon1 #af1 #dha3 ,quod autem      
quidam dicunt1 ipsum ,theodoricum       
fuisse ,hermenrico ,veronensi et        
,attilae contemporaneum1 non est verum4 
,constat enim ,attilam longe post       
,hermenricum fuisse ,theodoricum etiam  
longe post mortem ,attilae1 quum esset  
puer octennis1 ,leoni imperatori in     
obsidem datum fuisse4    #ai  ,the early
 romancers1 and especially ,achilles    
,tatius1 give pictures  of ,roman       
praedial slavery too painful to quote4  
,roman domestic slavery  is not to be   

described by the pen of an ,englishman4 
,and ,i must express  my sorrow1 that in
 the face of such notorious facts1 some 
have of late  tried to prove ,american  
slavery to be as bad as1 or even worse  
than1 that  of ,rome4  ,god forbid6     
,whatsoever may have been the sins of   
the ,southern  gentleman1 he is at least
 a ,teuton1 and not a ,roman2 a whole   
moral heaven  above the effeminate      
wretch1 who in the #dth and #eth        
centuries called  himself a senator and 
a clarissimus4    #aja  ,dr4 ,sheppard1 
p4 #big4    #aji  ,had he actually taken
 the name of ,theodoric1 ,theuderic1    
,dietrich1  which signifies much the    
same thing as ',king of nations'8       
#aeh  ,with west-countrymen1 to         
'scrattle' still means to scramble1 or  
shuffle about4    #afb  ,english        
,language1 vol4 i4 p4 #bjj4    #bad     
,cf4 ,montalembert4  ',moines           
d',occident4'    #bgi  ,sismondi ,hist4 
de la ,chute de l',empire ,romain1 p4   
#ahg4