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  Item Reference: KCLCAL-1927-1928-483

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XIV SOME DEBTS TO BYZANTINISM who by the pen or the sword took prominent part in that conflict It is more than an act of piety which makes me mention first my eponymous hero Adamantios Koraes In him we have the union of the scholar and patriot Apart from his earliest medical publications all his editions of classical authors had one aim-to rouse the Greek people to knowledge of what was best in classical Greek literature and to inspire them with the spirit of freedom which was the most notable characteristic of the ancient Greeks His valuable editions of classical authors have shared the fate which necessarily awaits the best efforts of scholars what is useful in them has been incorporated into the great body of scholarship but the spirit which breathes in them has had an undying influence on the Greek people and as ages pass on will prob- ably once again prove the truth of the saying that the pen is mightier than the sword Here again the life story of Koraes is one which might be more widely known amongst English scholars and Thereianos' biography supplies the material for students As regards the actual history of the war it may be news to many that the British Museum possesses two sets of documents of very great interest for two of its phases and they should appeal to Englishmen especially since they are closely connected with the names of two Englishmen who took prominent part in the War of Independence The first is con- temporary account of Ypsilanti's unfortunate campaign in 1821 in the Danubian Principalities campaign which despite its miserable ending was the spark which set the flames of liberation into blaze This document which gives detailed account of tl campaign and is unsparing in its condemnation of Ypsilanti's errors was acquired by Major-General Thomas Gordon who saw much active service in the war and has left an excellent history of it in two volumes first published in 1832 If one Englishman has thus enabled us to study the only complete contemporary Greek account of the opening of the war another Sir Richard Church has bequeathed to us most voluminous contemporary material for the study of its closing campaigns in which he himself played so important part Sir Richard Church was Commander-in-Chief of the Greek armies from 1827 to 1829 and his twenty-nine great folio volumes of manuscript in the British Museum are available for all who care to study the conditions under which that struggle were fought They include complete and lively' narrative of the campaign from the moment when in April 1827 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief till August 1829 when he resigned the command owing to differences with Capodistrias but not until he had seen the liberation of Greece practically an accomplished fact The narrative is far more than record of military events it gives vivid picture of the political conditions prevailing immediately before and after the arrival of Capodistrias as President There are volumes containing original letters from all the principal actors in the drama from politicians like Capodistrias and Al Mavrogordato and from military chiefs like Karaiskaki and Kolokotroni It is highly valuable for the light it sheds on the conditions under which the Greek armies fought and reveals the
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