1718. tinople, Smyrna, and the islands.* Numbers A.D. of them returning thence, acquired high litedistinction throughout Greece;† and others, rary Rabbe, P. 65. Rizo, Cours de Litter. Gr. Mod. p. 36. + In 1720, Procopius, a monk of Moskhopoli in Upper Albania, published a list of the distinguished Greeks who had appeared from the close of the sixteenth century to his own times. It is printed in Greek and Latin, in the 11th volume of Fabricius' Biblioth. Græca, ed. Hamburg, 1702-54, under the title of "Demetrii Procopii Macedonis Mochopolit. succincta Eruditorum Græcorum superioris ac presentis sæculi Recensio; conscripta mense Junii A.C. MDCCXX." Ducange, in the second volume of his Glossarium med. et infim. Græcitatis, has likewise inserted a copious list of the authors, manuscript and printed, from whom he compiled his work. In both these lists, the number of writers on general literature bears no proportion whatever to those on ecclesiastical history and theology; and that of Procopius contains the names of numerous individuals who were remarkable only for their superior information, but have left no written memorial of their talents. It commences with Jeremias, the Patriarch of Constantinople, to whom some of the letters of Crusius were addressed about the year 1580, and mentions, amongst other celebrated names, those of Cyril Lucar, to whom I have already referred (No. viii. p. 772), Callinicus, another distinguished prelate of Constantinople (Procop. xi. p. 773; Villemain, Essai, p. 179; Rizo, Cours, &c. 23 p.), Coryadaleus of Athens, and Chrysanthes Notara, Patriarch of Jerusalem, the latter the author of some elementary works, and both distinguished as orators and divines (Procop. xv. p. 777. lxviii. p. 792; Rabbe, p. 65; Rizo, Cours, &c. p. 23, 138, 140). Dositheus, another Patriarch of Jerusalem, was a correspondent of Alex 1718. A.D. preferring a residence in Europe,* united with their self-exiled companions in printing works of instruction, and founding schools for their countrymen at home. So rapid was the sucander Maurocordato, to whom the latter addressed several patriotic letters, since published, containing his sentiments. on the means of regenerating Greece (Rizo, Cours, p. 39). Caryophillus, the Sconophylax, according to M. Villemain (p. 178), and the Logothete, according to Procopius, of the church of Constantinople, is another personage mentioned with high commendations along with Metrophanes, the Archbishop of Arta, and Meletius, or Michael, a native of Joannina, who was promoted to the same see in A.D. 1692, and subsequently translated in 1703 to Athens; he died at Constantinople in 1714. He was author of an Ecclesiastical History, a System of Astronomy, and a Geography, which, though erroneous, is still the best possessed by his countrymen. An interesting account of it, with specimens, will be found in Col. Leake's Researches, p. 172 (Procop. xlii.; Rabbe, 65; Rizo, Cours, &c. 30, 120, 138, 142). Of Procopius's list of about eighty names, a few only have applied themselves to general literature; and down to this period, Greece appears to have produced no one author of extraordinary merit, the fame of those mentioned by the monk of Moskhopoli resting rather on a comparison with their uneducated contemporaries than on their own positive deserts. * Amongst the Greeks of this period, who had settled abroad, may be mentioned Philaras of Athens, with whom Milton held a correspondence. See his Epistolæ Familiares, Nos. 12, 15. He addresses him "Clarissimo viro Leonardo Philare Atheniensi; Ducis Parmensis ad Regem Galliæ legato;" and refers to his Italian education, " Athenis Atticis natus et literarum studiis apud Italos peractis." It is in one 1718. cess, and so unremitting the exertions of these A.D. disinterested patriots, that before the end of the seventeenth century, seminaries were founded not only at Constantinople, but at Mount Athos, Joannina, Smyrna, Patmos, Corfu, Zagora, Larissa, Moskhopoli, Bucharest, and in other spots of minor importance, which were numerously and zealously attended. Up to this period, education had been confined almost exclusively to the initiation of candidates for the priesthood in the study of divinity, ecclesiastical history, and the voluminous liturgy of the Oriental church.* It now assumed a different cha of these epistles, that Milton has expressed his enthusiasm for the regeneration and enlightenment of Greece. "Quid enim vel fortissimi olim viri, vel eloquentissimi gloriosius aut se dignius esse duxerunt, quàm vel suadendo vel fortiter faciendo ἐλευθερους καὶ αὐτονομους ποιείσθαι τοὺς Ἕλληνας ; Verum et aliud quiddam præterea tentandum est, meâ quidem sententiâ longe maximum, ut quis antiquam in animis Græcorum virtutem, industriam, laborum tolerantiam, antiqua illa studia dicendo suscitare atque accendere possit." Milton's Works, v. ii. p. 573. fol. Lond. 1738. The ordinary liturgy of the Greek church is that of St. Chrysostom, somewhat altered and modified in the course of time. On Sundays in Lent, and other high festivals, it is superseded by that of St. Basil, written about A. D. 370, which is exceedingly prolix. "But by the word liturgy," says Mr. Waddington, "the Greeks understand only the communion service, and as to the rest it varies every day in the year, and every part of the day; so that the whole body 1718. A.D. racter; the ancient language was studied not with a reference to its confined use in the service of the church, but for the investigation of its literary treasures; and to it were added the theology of John of Damascus, the rhetoric of Aphthonius, the elements of Euclid, and the logic and physics of Blemmides.* The teachers in their institutions being all of the orthodox communion, the imputation of sinister motives was avoided, a genuine taste for information was universally excited, and the consequent spread of intelligence throughout Greece marks the commencement of a new era in her history. Nor was it without extreme difficulty that these generous designs were carried into execution, since the Turks, vigorously opposed to every thing which bore the tinge of an innovation, restricted the establishment of schools, not only for the children of the Greeks, but even for those of their own religion. It required in consequence a weighty sum to pur of the service is sufficient to fill twenty folio volumes, besides one similar volume containing directions for the use of the rest." Condition and Prospects of the Greek Church, p. 64. * Rizo, Cours, &c. p. 23. +"Ce privilège n'était accordé qu'à demi aux Turcs euxmêmes." Raffenel, Histoire des évènemens de la Grèce, &c. v. i. p. 6. chase permission for their erection by the rayahs: the cells of the monasteries, and the vestibules of the churches, were at first appropriated to the purpose, and sometimes by a bribe to the Turkish authorities, a school was permitted to be built under the title of a house of correction;† nor was it till the reign of Selim III. towards the close of the last century, that their existence was acknowledged and protected by the Porte. Even after surmounting all these obstacles, the triumph achieved amounted to little more than exciting a desire for knowledge; it still fell far short of supplying sufficient food for its gratification. Under the vigilant jealousy of the Ottomans, it was impossible for education to be disseminated on a comprehensive scale, or even in particular instances to be pursued to a satisfactory extent. The munificence which supported their establishments was partial in its distribution, and precarious in its continuance; and not unfrequently its disposal was injudicious, owing to the distance from whence the funds were transmitted, and the imperfect information of the donors as to the real wants of their countrymen. A.D. 1718. |