PREFACE

IT is now twenty-five years since I rescued from oblivion Michael Psellus Michael Psellus (1018–1078) was a Byzantine monk, philosopher, and politician. His "Chronographia" is a primary source for 11th-century history., the most "Attic" The term "Attic" refers to a refined, classical style of Greek associated with ancient Athens, which Psellus sought to emulate. of the Byzantine historians. As a large number of the historical works of this prolific writer are still unpublished, I can add nothing to what I said then on the immensely important role played in the oriental world by this extraordinary man, who, declaring himself the disciple of the Platonic school—though Platonism was officially persecuted and cursed—traces with a master’s hand the decadence of the empire and predicts that its fall is near¹.

It is, in truth, a curious thing—unique even in the Byzantine empire—to see a high dignitary, president of the senate, and dominant minister of four successive emperors, writing by order of the emperor and senate. He ventured to read before an audience which prided itself on the name of “Roman,” historical memoirs in which he castigated monastic life as an institution of fainéants From the French, meaning "do-nothings" or "idlers." and foes of humanity; repeatedly asserting that the money of the treasury is not intended to found convents or be squandered at the caprice of the emperors, but is a sacred deposit to reward the soldiers who shed their blood for the empire; proclaiming in so many words the superiority of the Athenian republic to that of Rome—an institution of slaves, not of freemen; and hurling in the face of the senators

¹ See my Greek Library of the Middle Ages original: "Bibliotheca Graeca medii aevi", vols. iv., v.; A. Rambaud, Historical Review original: "Revue historique", iii (1877), pp. 241—284; and the Index of Names original: "Index Nominum" in this volume. [But others take a very different view of Psellus. Professor Gelzer calls him “the loathsome, babbling philosopher and rhetorical artist” original: "der widerliche Schwatzphilosoph und Redekünstler" (Outline of Byzantine History original: "Abriss of Byzantine History", in Krumbacher’s History of Byzantine Literature original: "Gesch. der byz. Litt."² p. 1008). There is a good and fair characteristic in C. Neumann’s The World-Position of the Byzantine Empire original: "Weltstellung des byzantinischen Reiches" pp. 81 and following—J. B. Bury.]