itself especially with peoples of the West, of Spain, Italy, France,
Germany, Russia, and America.

=The Middle Age.=--Between Antiquity and Modern Times about ten
centuries elapse which belong neither to ancient times (for the
civilization of Antiquity has perished) nor to modern (since modern
civilization does not yet exist). This period we call the Middle Age.


SOURCES OF INFORMATION FOR THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT PEOPLES

=The Sources.=--The Assyrians, Greeks, and Romans are no longer with
us; all the peoples of antiquity have passed away. To know their
religion, their customs, and arts we have to seek for instruction in
the remains they have left us. These are books, monuments,
inscriptions, and languages, and these are our means for the study of
ancient civilizations. We term these _sources_ because we draw our
knowledge from them. Ancient History flows from these sources.

=Books.=--Ancient peoples have left written records behind them. Some
of these peoples had sacred books--for example, the Hindoos, the
Persians, and the Jews; the Greeks and Romans have handed down to us
histories, poems, speeches, philosophical treatises. But books are
very far from furnishing all the information that we require. We do
not possess a single Assyrian or Phœnician book. Other peoples have
transmitted very few books to us. The ancients wrote less than we, and
so they had a smaller literature to leave behind them; and as it was
necessary to transcribe all of this by hand, there was but a small
number of copies of books. Further, most of these manuscripts have
been destroyed or have been lost, and those which remain to us are