Author Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1852 Excerpt:... frontiers of Albania, and the Mardites in Albania, are by themselves able and independent people, but a curse to their neighbours. Such, or nearly such, was the case with the Aetolians in Greece at that time. Those who do not draw this distinction, judge unfuirly of them, like the excellent Polybius, otherwise a man of clear judgment, and truthful; but even the most truthful is not safe against error in his judgment of those with whom he is in conflict, and who are troublesome and oppressive to him: we are too apt to judge of other nations according to the feelings they call forth in ourselves. The judgment of Polybius is altogether the judgment of a hatred which, it must be owned, is justifiable in an Achaean, and which was altogether deserved by the Aetolians on account of their conduct towards other Greek nations. For they did not scruple at anything, and acted towards those who did not join them, in a manner as if they had been perpetually at war with all nations. They did not in their policy follow any definite plans and principles: the case of the Aetolians was like that of the Roman senate from the time when a political system began to establish itself, that is, from the time of the decemvirs; they went on instinctively, affording assistance to all nations that joined them, and not to their neighbours only. Thus in the sixth century of Rome, Lysimachia in Thrace belonged to the Aetolian sympolity; we know, moreover, from inscriptions that, e.g., the island of Ceos was in the relation of sympolity with the than a well stocked table. The Athenians down to the latest times retained their fondness for intellectual pleasures: during the times of the greatest poverty, every common Athenian would make an effort to hear an ingenious man talk on the promenad...