Psellus of Byzantium. Edited, with Critical Notes and Indices, by
Constantine Sathas. (Methuen and Co. 15s.)—This is a volume of the "Byzantine Texts," appearing under the general editorship of Professor Bury. Psellus wrote the history of the Byzantine Empire for the period 976-1077. This began with the long, and, on the whole, prosperous, reign of Basil II. (976-1025), and ended with a time in which Emperors mounted the throne and disappeared in rapid succession. There were seven rulers between 1025 and 1057, when the Macedonian dynasty gave way to the Comneni. Michael Psellus was a writer of considerable power, and wrote in a style which was superior to his time. He was a politician as well as a literary man. He held high office under both the Macedonian and the Comnenian dynasty, and, official though he was, expressed him- self with considerable freedom, though it is true that he is most severe on the fallen race. "Men whom we have bought from the barbarians often rule us " is his reflection on the dynasty of Basil II. The editor has given us a full index of matters and another of language. He describes his author as the most Attic of Byzantine historians."
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