er 23, 1872._

I.

LECTURES ON THE HISTORY OF THE TURKS,

IN THEIR RELATION TO EUROPE.

PREFATORY NOTICE.

The following sketch of Turkish history was the substance of Lectures
delivered in the Catholic Institute of Liverpool during October, 1853.
It may be necessary for its author to state at once, in order to prevent
disappointment, that he only professes in the course of it to have
brought together in one materials which are to be found in any
ordinarily furnished library. Not intending it in the first instance for
publication, but to answer a temporary purpose, he has, in drawing it
up, sometimes borrowed words and phrases, to save himself trouble, from
the authorities whom he has consulted; and this must be taken as his
excuse, if any want of keeping is discernible in the composition. He has
attempted nothing more than to group old facts in his own way; and he
trusts that his defective acquaintance with historical works and
travels, and the unreality of book-knowledge altogether in questions of
fact, have not exposed him to superficial generalizations.

One other remark may be necessary. Such a work at the present moment,
when we are on the point of undertaking a great war in behalf of the
Turks, may seem without meaning, unless it conducts the reader to some
definite conclusions, as to what is to be wished, what to be done, in
the present state of the East; but a minister of religion may fairly
protest against being made a politician. Political questions are mainly
decided by political expediency, and only indirectly and under
circumstances fall into the province of theology. Much less can such a
question be asked of the priests of that Church, whose voice in this
matter has been for five centuries unheeded by the Powers of Europe. As
they have sown, so must they reap: had the advice of the Holy See been
followed, there would have been no Turks in Europe for the Russians to
turn out of it. All that need be said here in behalf of the Sultan is,
that the Christian Powers are bound to keep such lawful promises as they
have made to him. All that need be said in favour of the Czar is, that
he is attacking an infamous Power, the enemy of God and man. And all
that need be said by way of warning to the Catholic is, that he should
beware of strengthening the Czar's cause by denying or ignoring its
strong point. It is difficult to understand how a reader of history can
side with the Spanish people in pa