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 178 THE DECLINE AND FALL [Chap, xxxviii seemed to attain the age of manhood, they abandoned the church to the bishops, the state to the eunuchs, and the pro- vinces to the Barbarians. Europe is now divided into twelve powerful, though unequal, kingdoms, three respectable common- wealths, and a variety of smaller, though independent, states ; the chances of royal and ministerial talents are multiplied, at least with the number of its rulers ; and a Julian, or Semiramis, may reign in the North, while Arcadius and Honorius again slumber on the thrones of the South. 7 * The abuses of tyranny are restrained by the mutual influence of fear and shame ; republics have acquired order and stability ; monarchies have imbibed the principles of freedom, or, at least, of moderation ; and some sense of honour and justice is introduced into the most defective constitutions by the general manners of the times. In peace, the progress of knowledge and industry is accelerated by the emulation of so many active rivals : in war, the European forces are exercised by temperate and undecisive contests. If a savage conqueror should issue from the deserts of Tartary, he must repeatedly vanquish the robust peasants of Russia, the numerous armies of German)^, the gallant nobles of France, and the intrepid freemen of Britain ; who, perhaps, might confeder- ate for their common defence. Should the victorious Barbarians carry slavery and desolation as far as the Atlantic Ocean, ten thousand vessels would transport beyond their pursuit the re- mains of civilized society ; and Europe would revive and flourish in the American world which is already filled with her colonies and institutions. 8 III. Cold, poverty, and a life of danger and fatigue, fortify the strength and courage of Barbarians. In every age they have oppressed the polite and peaceful nations of China, India, and Persia, who neglected, and still neglect, to counterbalance these natural powers by the resources of military art. The war- like states of antiquity, Greece, Macedonia, and Rome, educated a race of soldiers ; exercised their bodies, disciplined their courage, multiplied their forces by regular evolutions, and converted the 7a [For the text of the 1st edit, see Appendix 5.] 8 America now contains about six millions of European blood and descent ; and their numbers, at least in the North, are continually increasing. Whatever may be the changes of their political situation, they must preserve the manners of Europe ; and we may reflect with some pleasure that the English language will prob- ably be diffused over an immense and populous continent.