The History of Civilization Volume 1; From the Fall of the Roman Empire to the French Revolution (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THIRD LECTURE. Object of the lecture?All the various systems pretend to be legitimate?. What is political legitimacy Co-existence of all systems of govern ment in the fifth century?Instability in the condition of persons properties, and institutions?There were two causes of this, one material, the continuation of the invasion; the other moral, the selfiYl! sentiment of individuality peculiar to the barbarians ? The germs of civilization have been the necessity for order, the recollections of the Roman empire, the Christian church, and the barbarians?Attempts at organization by the barbarians, by the towns, by the church of Spain, by Charlemagne, and Alfred?The German and Arabian invasions cease?The feudal system begins. I Have placed before you the fundamental elements of European civilization, tracing them to its very cradle, at the moment of the fall of the Roman empire. I have endeavoured to give you a glimpse beforehand of their diversity, and their constant struggle, and to show you that no one of them succeeded in reigning over our society, or at least in reigning over it so completely as to enslave or expel the others. We have seen that this was the distinguishing character of European civilization. We now come to its history at its commencement, in the ages which it is customary to call the barbarous. At the first glance we cast upon this epoch, it is impossible not to be struck with a fact which seems to contradict what we have lately said. When you examine certain notions which are accredited concerning the antiquities of modern Europe, you will perceive that the various elements of our civilization, the monarchical, theocratical, aristocratical, and democratical principles, all pretend that European society originally belonged to them, and that they have only ...