thorities of the Empire had been able to keep these barbarian populations in check; but towards the end of the fourth century, the growing decrepitude of the Empire tempted invasion, and hordes of barbarians from Scandinavia, Russia, and Tartary, rolled themselves toward the Danube. At first, it seemed as if the eastern empire would be the first to fall before them; but the tide of invasion was at length decisively diverted towards the west. Province after province was torn away by Goths, Alans, Huns, Vandals, and others: Italy itself was ravaged several times; and at length, A. D. 476, Romulus Augustus, the last sovereign, was dethroned, and Italy became a prey to the Germans. The various steps in this gradual disintegration of the Empire, the heroic deeds of the two chief agents in the dismemberment—Alaric, king of the Goths, and Attila, king of the Huns—and the gradual formation of Romano-Germanic kingdoms out of fragments of the shattered Roman society, cannot here be detailed.
HISTORY OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
Under the title of the Middle Ages is comprehended that period of
history which succeeded the destruction of the Roman western empire and
extended to the end of the fifteenth or beginning of the sixteenth century,
when learning was revived in Europe. This period of about eight hundred
years may be said to divide ancient from modern times. The early portion
of the middle ages is sometimes styled the Dark Ages; for during this
time the ancient civilization of Rome, a bequest from Egypt and Greece,
disappeared, and ancient institutions perished, without anything better being
substituted. The middle ages altogether differ from any other period in
history. They may be generally described as an era of universal disorder, in
which was maintained a struggle between force and reason. Old governments
were broken up, and new ones took their place, only to be dismembered
in turn. Literature sunk into obscurity, and was confined to the
cells of monks. Slavery was universal, and was modified alone by the benign
influence of Christianity. Gradually, as it will be seen, nations assumed
a settled character, arts were discovered, and for military turbulence
were substituted peaceful institutions. Much, therefore, as there is to
deplore in the history of the middle ages, there is not a little to commend
and be grateful for. We must view these ages as being the cradle of modern
civilization, the era whence sprung much that we venerate in our institutions,
much that distinguishes modern from ancient manners.
THE EASTERN EMPIRE TO THE TWELFTH CENTURY.
It is necessary to begin a history of the middle ages with reference to the decline of the Roman Empire. This decline was caused by various circumstances, but chiefly by the weakened condition of society. Instead of rearing a respectable lower and middle class, the Roman aristocracy kept the mass of the people in slavery, so that at length society consisted of but a comparatively small number of privileged persons, including the mili-
