Still preserving the prejudices, after they had lost the virtues, of their ancestors, they affected to despise the unpolished manners of the Roman conquerors, whilst they were compelled to respect their superior wisdom and power.
[41] Nor was the influence of the Grecian language and sentiments confined to the narrow limits of that once celebrated country.

Their empire, by the progress of colonies and conquest, had been diffused from the Adriatic to the Euphrates and the Nile.

Asia was covered with Greek cities, and the long reign of the Macedonian kings had introduced a silent revolution into Syria and Egypt.

In their pompous courts, those princes united the elegance of Athens with the luxury of the East, and the example of the court was imitated, at an humble distance, by the higher ranks of their subjects.

Such was the general division of the Roman empire into the Latin and Greek languages.