CHAPTER IV. PART THE SECOND. FURTHER ILLUSTRATION OF THE ADVANTAGES OF NOBILITY, OR THE PATRICIAN ORDER, IN THE INSTITUTION OF FREE GOVERNMENTS, AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE HISTORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. HAVING elucidated, in the form of an epitome, the rise of the Grecian independence, and the various contests and dissensions between the Nobles and the People, in the famed republic of Athens, and the consequences which occasionally and eventually resulted therefrom to that people,— the ostensible object in view, will be further strengthened by a brief reference to those particular events, which arose in the career of that illustrious empire; which, eclipsing the greatest glory of Greece, not only aspired to, but obtained, by the prowess of her arms, the wisdom of her domestic policy, and the devoted courage of her people, the sovereignty of the then known world. And this subject will ever afford a magnificent memorial of the utter imperfection of all human institutions, and the uncertain tenure of all earthly possessions, however great and powerful, whilst history retains a page, or morality a lesson of state policy, on the surface, of the terrestrious globe. Rome, the great and powerful, the arbitress of the earth, -in the days of her moral courage and virtuous deportment, comprised within herself advantages obtained by no one heathen nation or people, from the establishment of the Assyrian empire, to the final dissolution of the Grecian independence, under her authority. She possessed, as the seat of her power, the important twofold benefits, of a prolific soil and temperate clime :-placed between the torrid and frigid zones, in her geographical position, and with lively capacity to comprehend, and ability to use to advantage the impulses resulting from example, she had before her eyes all that remained of the preceding history of the rise and fall of empire, with children reared in her own bosom, whose genius, learning, and research, presented to her aspiring view, at one glance, whatever was worthy of acceptance or rejection, in the economy of human nature, for the social rule of mankind. The Assyrian, the Median, the Egyptian, the Persian, the Grecian, and, finally, as foretold by the Prophet, (Deuteronomy, chap. xxviii.) the Jewish empires, had successively risen, flourished, and passed away; and the wreck of their glory, and the record of their prowess, glided calmly into her lap, in the mournful progression of events, and under the calm direction of the finger of Time! "Mortalia facta peribunt : Nedum sermonum stat honos et gratia vivax ; The Horatian view, so beautifully depicted, must not only have been founded on an accurate and rational knowledge of human nature, but incited by a feeling of painful reflection, on what the poet foresaw must be the inevitable doom of even Roman grandeur-All human works must perish! Too proud in her own learning, and too strong in her prowess to submit to the direction or superior independence of any one power on the surface of the earth, Rome, nevertheless, presented more than once, in her state policy, the full desire and the wisdom of taking advantage of whatever was valuable or worthy of adoption for her laws, from the whole. Her sons possessed both the physical constitution and the martial fire, necessary for the perfection and retention of conquest,—the conception and the execution of great enterprises; and, the soldiers of her armies, under the inequality of their military organization, disdained not the honourable occupation of citizenship, nor the pursuits of agriculture and general civilization, when they laid down their arms. But alas! Rome, replete with worldly glory, and the possession of all those concurrent means necessary for the use and retention of power, fell short, very short, of the essential principle, which is alone capable of controlling the destinies and wielding the energies of mankind, to purposes of comfort or real advantage. Her government, however splendid in design, and powerful in execution, was primarily founded in Paganism;veiled in dark superstition, and based on the relics of that system, she vainly sought to improve by the rigid exercise of morality and virtue, that which, for ages, had been denounced by the decree of God;-neither did she profit by the scene nor the admonitory circumstances of her having been the last appointed instrument in the hands of the Most High, for perfecting his work of punishment, on his own disobedient people! Her eagles surrounded the holy city, whose temple had once contained the ark of the covenant, her chosen generals found within those venerable walls that ominous Scripture, which so plainly foretold the awful doom, the end of Jerusalem, in the day when the measure of her unbelief should be filled to the brim, in sorrow and affliction ; -they trod the sacred ground whereon the Saviour of the world expired; and beheld the spot, where, with glory, he ascended before their astonished guards from the Tomb! They conquered, and returned triumphant, enriched with the spoil; but, vain-glorious with success, let slip from within their grasp the finest opportunity ever presented to any people in the history of the universe, for founding, with their full strength, a government in moral rule, accordant with the direction of the Supreme Governor of all things! Thus the Roman people and government afford, at one view, the best moral lesson extant, of the inefficiency and presumption of all worldly undertakings, however supported by learning, moulded by experience, or consolidated by success! True it is, that about the third century of the Christian era Constantinus made a memorable attempt to perpetuate the establishment of civil government, and, in conformity with Christian obligations, to destroy the very dregs of idolatry; but, as Christ himself said, “hereafter the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me,”—so Roma nova, admired in all suc ceeding time for the beauty of its situation, as it well displayed the judgment of the founder, by its selection for the capital of the Christian world, became the prey of the Infidel, through the indulgence of a false security. Human society can alone be preserved by the agency of human means, which the Almighty has furnished in every age for the protection of his people, having given them reason to apply those means properly. The removal of the valorous Roman legions from the different garrisons which flanked Constantinopolis rendered the people unwarlike, and ultimately paved the way for the inundation of the barbarian conquerors. Men who know no rule of moral or religious obligation, in every age and under every circumstance, can alone be successfully opposed by the strong arm of power. It was thus that the Almighty justified the wars of the Jews for the preservation of their religion, against their pagan enemies. The transfer of the Roman soldiers from the lower empire left her without the means of adequate protection; for after the fulfilment of the Messiah's advent, and the descent of the Holy Spirit, supernatural agency was not reasonably to be looked for, nor has it ever taken place. Had the successors of Constantinus preserved a well-regulated military connexion with their Western Empire, on the side of which they then had no formidable enemies to fear, the jealousies which arose between the two divisions might have been avoided, and, not improbably, the sad fate of their Eastern Empire averted. The fall of Constantinopolis was one amongst the proximate causes which led to the rapid and final dissolution of Roman power. It was here that one of the grandest displays of the moral courage of her people, despite of the limited means and disadvantages under which they laboured, took place. The memorials of that memorable siege having been preserved by the Mussulmans themselves, as tokens of their success against the first Christian city, amongst which stands most conspicuously the great mound of Maltepe, where Mahomet the Second displayed the standard of the false prophet. When we contemplate the vast extent and power of the Roman empire, which had this city, fortified alike by nature and by art, for its latter capital, and its advancement in all the arts and sciences needful both for its improvement and preservation, we cannot but feel astonishment that it should have fallen so early a conquest to the obscure and barbarous tribes which only a short time previously had issued from the mountains of Asia, and were distinguished for nothing but their ignorance, cruelty, and gross fanaticism. The cause must be principally attributed to the weakness of the rulers, who had neglected the necessary means of early provision for the defence; or ascribed to their having miscalculated the strength of the enemy, to their separation from a great many of their nobles |