the Empire had been divided, by order of Justinian, Emperor of the East, in 529 A.D. The Justinian Code was a digest of all the laws and statutes of Justinian's predecessors, and received the name of Corpus Juris Civilis-the body of the civil lawand has maintained its ascendency down even to our own times.

Three different forms of government succeeded each other in Roman history: the first Monarchical, the second Consular, the last Imperial.

Rome was founded 753 B.C., and began with a Monarchical regime, which lasted 244 years.

Then arose what is called the Republic, if such a term can be applied to a Government wholly Aristocratic. Two magistrates, called Consuls, were charged with the Executive power; and these were elected by the citizens assembled in Centuries-electoral bodies consisting of 100 citizens each. There were originally 193 Centuries, of which 188 were composed of those who possessed more or less income. Consequently the election of the Consuls was in the hands of those only who had property. Besides, none but a Senator could be elected Consul. Furthermore, in Rome, as in Athens, the citizens. who had the franchise were but a Minority of the population; as the Majority consisted of those who were free but not citizens, and of the slaves. The citizens were divided into Patricians and Plebeians, or those who were noble and those who were not; but De Tocqueville, a great authority, remarks that "all the citizens belonged, in fact, to the aristocracy, and partook of its character.” Speaking of the struggles between the Patricians and the Plebeians, he adds, "they were simply intestine feuds

between the elder and the younger branches of the same family." During the whole period of the Consulate, the Sovereign Power was really in the hands of the Senate, a purely aristocratic body.

The Consular Government lasted 480 years, when the Monarchy was restored under Augustus Cæsar, the first Emperor, 29 B.C. At this time the Roman power was at its height. The frontiers extended to Britain, the Elbe, the Rhine, the Danube, the Black Sea, the Euphrates, the Desert of Africa, and the Atlantic.

The Roman Empire was divided in 364 A.D. into East and West. The Empire of the West was overthrown by the barbarians under Odoacer, 476 a.d., after an existence of 505 years. Odoacer took the title of King of Italy.

FOURTH CIVILIZATION.

CHRISTIANITY.

THAT the rise of Christianity gave a new direction to the history of the world is incontestable; and I am, therefore, fully justified in dating from this period the fourth civilization. It was the ideas which were born of Christianity that eventually prostrated the Roman Empire-the most powerful of all pagan civilizations. Surrounded by ruins, and resisted by savage hordes, the fourth civilization struggled on successfully through the wild anarchy of the Dark Ages, the chivalric splendour and lawless society of the Middle Ages, until, in modern times, it is acquiring a strength and preponderance quite irresistible. Even by the unbeliever, Christianity cannot be regarded otherwise than as a "divine revelation;" for, whilst proclaiming the immortality of the soul, and the hope of future happiness, it leads inevitably to the moral and physical regeneration of man on earth. In a word, it is the conflict between Pagan principles and Christian doctrine that has agitated the world for so many centuries; and though we may raise the cry of "Peace! peace!" as did the false prophets in the days of Jeremiah, there will be no peace till all nations are organized on the basis of the fourth civilization. What that basis is, its character and solidity, will become clearer as this book advances.

In the 29th year of the reign of Augustus Cæsar, Christ the Saviour appeared on earth. The doctrines He propagated were wholly different from those of any religion then existing or previously known. My object is not to enter on any spiritual discussion of the new faith; but simply to notice some of its important effects on the condition of mankind, and the history of the world. Whatever sceptics may say of its saving power hereafter, they cannot deny that Christianity brought into the world a principle till then not only never heard of, but utterly repugnant to the policy and interests of the Governments and Upper Classes of that period-I mean the principle of Equality. Christ was the first to preach that all men were equal in the sight of God.

"The most profound and capacious minds of Greece and Rome," says De Tocqueville, "were never able to reach the idea, at once so general and so simple, of the common likeness of men, and of the common birthright of each to freedom: they strove to prove that slavery was in the order of nature, and that it would always exist. Nay more, everything shows that those of the ancients who had passed from the servile to the free condition, many of whom have left excellent writings,* did themselves regard servitude in no other light. All the great writers of antiquity belonged to the aristocracy of masters, or at least they saw that aristocracy established and uncontested before their eyes. Their mind, after it had expanded itself in every direction, was barred from further progress in this one; and the advent of Jesus

Esop, the Grecian fabulist, and Terence, the Roman dramatist, were both slaves who had been given their freedom.

Christ upon earth was required to teach that all the members of the human race are by nature equal and alike."

It was evidently the mission of the Messiah, not only to prepare the Souls of men for Redemption, but to bring about their Material Regeneration in this world. In every line and precept He rebuked the powerful and rich, and manifested profound sympathy for the poor and the lowly. He constantly promised the reward of eternal bliss hereafter to the weary and afflicted. "The last shall be first, and the first shall be last," He said; and albeit this had reference to a future state, still the effect on the popular mind of His time was none the less infectious and stirring. Christianity has been called the religion of Democracy; and, assuredly, no Creed had ever before appeared that displayed such deep solicitude for the poor and oppressed. Justice and Benevolence were its cornerstones. Whilst it enjoined on all to do unto others as they would have others do unto them, it also inculcated forbearance and submission; for the followers. of Christ were told to love their enemies, and to do good to them that did them evil: if a man smote them on one cheek, they were to turn to him the other. The new Gospel ensured to believers the Beatitude of Paradise, but it also sought to promote Peace on Earth and Good-will amongst men.

A Religion so full of consolation, charity, and love, was indeed a Revelation; and was destined to inspire Humanity with new and more exalted aspirations both as to Earth and Heaven. It is no wonder the new Church spread rapidly amongst the masses, nor that it was resisted and persecuted by the defenders of the old beliefs. Up to this period all the religious