the Roman Empire in the Weft, did not leave a memorable era in the hiftory of mankind."Such was indeed the cafe, for thus the beaft was wounded,-be that letteth was taken out of the way; and few obftacles remained to retard the full developement of the Man of Sin. Theodoric, the fucceffor of Augustulus, by removing the feat of Empire to Ravenna, took from Rome all its dignity-her senate and confuls were abolished, and he was reduced to the level of the other cities of Italy.

During a period of 200 years, Italy was unequally divided between the kingdom of the Lombards and the exarchate of Ravenna. The offices and profeffions, which the jealoufy of Conftantine had feparated, were united by the indulgence of Juftinian; and eighteen fucceffive Exarchs were invefted, in the decline of the Empire, with the full remains of civil, of military, and even of ecclesiastical power. Their immediate jurifdiction, which was afterwards confecrated as the patrimony of St. Peter, extended over the modern Romagna, the marfhes or valleys of terrara and Commachio, five maritime cities, from Rimini to Ancona; and a fecond, inland Pentapolis, between the Adriatic coaft and the hills of the Apennine. Three fubordinate

provinces of Rome, of Venice, and of Naples, which were divided by hoftile lands from the palace of Ravenna, acknowledged, both in peace and war, the fupremacy of the Exarch. The dutchy of Rome appears to have included the Tufcan, Sabine, and Latian conquefts, of the first 400 years of the city; and the limits may be distinctly traced along the coaft, from Civita Vecchia, to Terracina, and with the course of the Tyber from Ameria and Narni to the port of Oftia " *.

"Rome was oppreffed by the iron fceptre of the Exarchs; and a Greek, perhaps an enuch, infulted with impunity the ruins of the Capitol."" On the map of Italy, the measure of the exarchate occupies a very inadequate space; but it included an ample proportion of wealth, industry and population, The most faithful and valuable fubjects efcaped from the Barbarian yoke; and the banners of Pavia and Verona, of Milan and Padua, were displayed in their respective quarters, by the new inhabitants of Ravenna. The remainder of Italy was poffeffed by the Lombards"

* Gibbon, vol. iv. p. 443.

! Gibbon, vol. iv. p. 444, 445.

"The

"The Bishops of Italy and the adjacent islands acknowledged the Roman pontiff (Gregory the Great) as their special metropolitan. Even the existence, the union, or the tranflation of episcopal seats, was decided by his abfolute difcretion; and his successful inroads into the provinces of Greece, of Spain, and of Gaul, might countenance the more lofty pretenfions of fucceeding Popes "."

m

"In 728, Italy revolted from the eastern or Greek Emperor Leo; but the Popes exhorting the Italians not to feparate from the body of the Roman monarchy, the Exarch was permitted to refide within the walls of Ravenna, a captive rather than a master: and till the imperial coronation of Charlemagne, the government of Rome and Italy was exerIcifed in the name of the fucceffors of Conftantine. The liberty of Rome, which had been oppreffed by the arms and arts of Auguftus, was rescued after 750 years of fervitude, from the perfecution of Leo the Ifaurian. By the Cefars, the triumphs of the Confuls had been annihilated: in the decline and fall of the Empire, the God Terminus, the facred boundary, had infenfibly feceded

Gibbon, p. 459.

from

from the Ocean, the Rhine, the Danube, and the Euphrates; and Rome was reduced to her antient territory from Viterbo to Terracina, and from Narni to the mouth of the Tyber ".".

When the fovereignty of the Greek Emperors was extinguifhed, the ruins of Rome prefented the fad image of depopulation and decay: her flavery was an habit, her liberty an accident; the effect of fuperftition, and the object of her own amazement and terror. The laft veftige of the fubftance, or even the forms, of the conftitution, was obliterated from the practice and memory of the Romans; and they were devoid of knowledge, or virtue, again to build the fabrick of a commonwealth. Their scanty remnant, the offspring of flaves and ftrangers, was defpicable in the eyes of the victorious Barbarians, As often as the Franks or Lombards expreffed their most bitter contempt of a foe, they called him a Roman; and in this name,' fays the Bishop Liutprand, we include whatever is base, whatever is cowardly, whatever is perfidious, the extremes of avarice and luxury, and every vice that can prostitute the dignity of human nature.' By the neceffity

Gibbon, vol. 5. p. 111,

of

of their fituation, the inhabitants of Rome were caft into the rough model of a republican government: they were compelled to elect fome judges in peace and fome leaders in war: the nobles affembled to deliberate, and their refolves could not be executed without the union and confent of the multitude. The ftyle of the Roman fenate and people was revived, but the Spirit was fled; and their new independence was disgraced by the tumultuous conflict of licentiousness and oppreffion. The want of laws could only be supplied by the influence of religion, and their foreign and domestic counfels were moderated by the authority of the Bishop. His alms, his fermons, his correfpondence with the kings and prelates of the Weft, his recent fervices, their gratitude, and oath, accustomed the Romans to confider him as the first magiftrate or prince of the city. The Chriftian humility of the popes was not offended by the name of Dominus, or Lord; and their face and infcription are still apparent on the most antient coins. Their temporal dominion is now confirmed by the reverence of a thousand years; and their nobleft title is the free choice of a people whom they had redeemed from flavery "."