be confessed, to see our way so plainly. We may perceive, however,
in it the spread of Greek influence over Western Asia. That influence
had already been at work. Greek colonies had been planted far to the
east; the Oriental nations had been much affected by Greek thought and
manners. Alexander's brief career--it lasted but eleven years--did much
to promote this Hellenizing process. The empire of the great conqueror
fell to pieces at his death, but two Greek kingdoms, to speak only of
his Eastern dominion, were built out of the ruins. It was in these
kingdoms that some of the earliest victories of Christianity were won.
Given to the world by a Semitic tribe, our faith used largely for
its spread Greek means, of which a common Greek language is the most
obvious.
We need not prove that it was for the lasting good of the world that
Rome was not crushed by the Celtic invaders of 390 B.C. or the Teutonic
swarm of 112 B.C. It is equally plain that the development of the human
race was largely helped by the subsequent spread of the Empire, till
it embraced all Europe west of the Rhine and south of the Danube, all
Northern Africa, and Asia west of the Euphrates. It is enough to say
that Roman law is a dominating power in most of the codes of modern
Europe, and an important element in all.
Finally, we have the overthrow of the Roman Empire by barbarians from
the north and east. This overthrow may seem at first to be "chaos come
again." So doubtless many thought at the time. Yet out of the turmoil
of the fourth and the fifth centuries there came a new order, the order
which we see in the Europe of to-day. The subject lies outside my
province. I can only indicate the fact.
UNWIN BROTHERS, THE GRESHAM PRESS, WOKING AND LONDON
Transcribers note: "Text enclosed by underscores is in italics
(_italics_)."