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Excerpt from Historical Essays, Vol. 3 The present collection is that which was spoken of in the Preface to the second edition of my former series of Essays. The Essays now reprinted chiefly relate to earlier periods of history than those which were dealt with in the former volume - to the times commonly known as 'ancient' or 'classical.' I need hardly say that to me those names simply mark convenient halting-places in the one continuous history of European civilization. They mark the time when political life was confined to the two great Mediterranean peninsulas, and when the Teutonic and Slavonic races had as yet hardly shown themselves on the field of history. I should he well pleased some day to connect the two series by a third, which might deal with the intermediate times, with those times which I look on as the true Middle Ages, the times when the Roman and Teutonic elements of modem Europe stood side by side, and had not yet been worked together into a third thing distinct from either. In reprinting these Essays, I have followed nearly the same course which I followed in the former series. As most of them were written before those which appeared in my former series, they have, on the whole, needed a greater amount ©f revision, and a greater number of notes to point out the times and circumstances under which they were written. In the process of revision I have found myself able to do very much in the way of improving and simplifying the style. In almost every page I have found it easy to put some plain English word, about whose meaning there can he no doubt, instead of those needless French or Latin words which are thought to add dignity to style, but which in truth only add vagueness. I am in no way ashamed to find that I can write purer and clearer English now than I did fourteen or fifteen years back; and I think it well to mention the fact for the encouragement of younger writers. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes