ABSTRACT
THE work, a portion of which is now presented to the reader, has occupied me many years-though often interrupted in its progress, either by more active employment, or by literary undertakings of a character more seductive. These volumes were not only written, but actually in the hands of the publisher before the appearance, and even, I believe, before the announcement of the first volume of Mr Thirlwall’s History of Greece, or I might have declined going over any portion of the ground cultivated by that distinguished scholar.1 As it is, however, the plan I have pursued differs materially from Mr Thirlwall, and I trust that the soil is sufficiently fertile to yield a harvest to either labourer.
