Page:Christian Greece and Living Greek.djvu/179

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THE GREEKS UNDER TURKISH BONDAGE. 1 5/ who witnessed the system of outrage under which the Greeks were suffering declared it shameful that civilized nations allowed the Turks contin- ually to oppress this people. The American Revolution had established principles of human rights and spread democratic views. The Greeks were found in misery, but even among the peasants who lived in out-of-the-way places there existed the feeling of shame at their ignorance. They were surprised that strangers interested themselves in their condition, ap- proaching as it did that of animals. This spark of self-knowledge kindled hope in those who had pitied them. For there was none even among the most malevolent travellers who was not full of admiration of the activity, the desire for knowl- edge, the intelligence, the individual self-posses- sion, the soundness of judgment, the practical sense, the talent of rhetoric in this people. For political reasons, perhaps in order to ac- custom the Greeks to bear their yoke the better, to facilitate the control over them, the Patriarch, the ecclesiastical head, was empowered to exer- cise civil jurisdiction over the Christians. The Greeks were allowed the public celebration of their religious worship, the clergy were exempt