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diff --git a/734-h/734-h.htm b/734-h/734-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c15f281 --- /dev/null +++ b/734-h/734-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,35591 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" +"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> +<head> +<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> +<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> +<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of History Of The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, Volume 4 by Edward Gibbon</title> +<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> +<style type="text/css"> + + body { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + p { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + +p.letter {text-indent: 0%; + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; } + +a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:hover {color:red} + +</style> +</head> +<body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, by Edward Gibbon</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire<br /> + Volume 4</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Edward Gibbon</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Commentator: H. H. Milman</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: November, 1996 [eBook #734]<br /> +[Most recently updated: February 1, 2022]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: David Reed and David Widger</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE ***</div> + +<h1>HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE</h1> + +<h2>Edward Gibbon, Esq.</h2> + +<h2>With notes by the Rev. H. H. Milman</h2> + +<h3>Vol. 4</h3> + +<h4>1782 (Written), 1845 (Revised)</h4> + +<hr /> + +<h2>Contents</h2> + +<p> +<a href="#chap39.1">Chapter XXXIX: Gothic +Kingdom Of Italy.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +Zeno And Anastasius, Emperors Of The East.—Birth, Education, And First +Exploits Of Theodoric The Ostrogoth.—His Invasion And Conquest Of +Italy.—The Gothic Kingdom Of Italy.—State Of The +West.—Military And Civil Government.—The Senator +Boethius.—Last Acts And Death Of Theodoric. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap39.2">Chapter XXXIX: Gothic +Kingdom Of Italy.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap39.3">Chapter XXXIX: Gothic +Kingdom Of Italy.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap40.1">Chapter XL: Reign Of +Justinian.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +Elevation Of Justin The Elder.—Reign Of Justinian.—I. The Empress +Theodora.—II. Factions Of The Circus, And Sedition Of +Constantinople.—III. Trade And Manufacture Of Silk.—IV. Finances +And Taxes.—V. Edifices Of Justinian.—Church Of St. +Sophia.—Fortifications And Frontiers Of The Eastern +Empire.—Abolition Of The Schools Of Athens, And The Consulship Of Rome. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap40.2">Chapter XL: Reign Of +Justinian.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap40.3">Chapter XL: Reign Of +Justinian.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap40.4">Chapter XL: Reign Of +Justinian.—Part IV. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap40.5">Chapter XL: Reign Of +Justinian.—Part V. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap41.1">Chapter XLI: Conquests +Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +Conquests Of Justinian In The West.—Character And First Campaigns Of +Belisarius—He Invades And Subdues The Vandal Kingdom Of Africa—His +Triumph.—The Gothic War.—He Recovers Sicily, Naples, And +Rome.—Siege Of Rome By The Goths.—Their Retreat And +Losses.—Surrender Of Ravenna.—Glory Of Belisarius.—His +Domestic Shame And Misfortunes. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap41.2">Chapter XLI: Conquests +Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap41.3">Chapter XLI: Conquests +Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap41.4">Chapter XLI: Conquests +Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part IV. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap41.5">Chapter XLI: Conquests +Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part V. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap42.1">Chapter XLII: State Of +The Barbaric World.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +State Of The Barbaric World.—Establishment Of The Lombards On the +Danube.—Tribes And Inroads Of The Sclavonians.—Origin, Empire, And +Embassies Of The Turks.—The Flight Of The Avars.—Chosroes I, Or +Nushirvan, King Of Persia.—His Prosperous Reign And Wars With The +Romans.—The Colchian Or Lazic War.—The Æthiopians. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap42.2">Chapter XLII: State Of +The Barbaric World.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap42.3">Chapter XLII: State Of +The Barbaric World.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap42.4">Chapter XLII: State Of +The Barbaric World.—Part IV. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap43.1">Chapter XLIII: Last +Victory And Death Of Belisarius, Death Of Justinian.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +Rebellions Of Africa.—Restoration Of The Gothic Kingdom By +Totila.—Loss And Recovery Of Rome.—Final Conquest Of Italy By +Narses.—Extinction Of The Ostrogoths.—Defeat Of The Franks And +Alemanni.—Last Victory, Disgrace, And Death Of Belisarius.—Death +And Character Of Justinian.—Comet, Earthquakes, And Plague. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap43.2">Chapter XLIII: Last +Victory And Death Of Belisarius, Death OF Justinian.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap43.3">Chapter XLIII: Last +Victory And Death Of Belisarius, Death Of Justinian.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap43.4">Chapter XLIII: Last +Victory And Death Of Belisarius, Death Of Justinian.—Part IV. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap44.1">Chapter XLIV: Idea Of +The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—The Laws Of The Kings—The Twelve +Of The Decemvirs.—The Laws Of The People.—The Decrees Of The +Senate.—The Edicts Of The Magistrates And Emperors—Authority Of The +Civilians.—Code, Pandects, Novels, And Institutes Of Justinian:—I. +Rights Of Persons.—II. Rights Of Things.—III. Private Injuries And +Actions.—IV. Crimes And Punishments. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap44.2">Chapter XLIV: Idea Of +The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap44.3">Chapter XLIV: Idea Of +The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap44.4">Chapter XLIV: Idea Of +The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part IV. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap44.5">Chapter XLIV: Idea Of +The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part V. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap44.6">Chapter XLIV: Idea Of +The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part VI. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap44.7">Chapter XLIV: Idea Of +The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part VII. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap44.8">Chapter XLIV: Idea Of +The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part VIII. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap45.1">Chapter XLV: State Of +Italy Under The Lombards.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +Reign Of The Younger Justin.—Embassy Of The Avars.—Their Settlement +On The Danube.—Conquest Of Italy By The Lombards.—Adoption And +Reign Of Tiberius.—Of Maurice.—State Of Italy Under The Lombards +And The Exarchs.—Of Ravenna.—Distress Of Rome.—Character And +Pontificate Of Gregory The First. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap45.2">Chapter XLV: State Of +Italy Under The Lombards.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap45.3">Chapter XLV: State Of +Italy Under The Lombards.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap46.1">Chapter XLVI: Troubles +In Persia.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +Revolutions On Persia After The Death Of Chosroes On Nushirvan.—His Son +Hormouz, A Tyrant, Is Deposed.—Usurpation Of Baharam.—Flight And +Restoration Of Chosroes II.—His Gratitude To The Romans.—The Chagan +Of The Avars.—Revolt Of The Army Against Maurice.—His +Death.—Tyranny Of Phocas.—Elevation Of Heraclius.—The Persian +War.—Chosroes Subdues Syria, Egypt, And Asia Minor.—Siege Of +Constantinople By The Persians And Avars.—Persian +Expeditions.—Victories And Triumph Of Heraclius. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap46.2">Chapter XLVI: Troubles +In Persia.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap46.3">Chapter XLVI: Troubles +In Persia.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap46.4">Chapter XLVI: Troubles +In Persia.—Part IV. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap47.1">Chapter XLVII: +Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +Theological History Of The Doctrine Of The Incarnation.—The Human And +Divine Nature Of Christ.—Enmity Of The Patriarchs Of Alexandria And +Constantinople.—St. Cyril And Nestorius. —Third General Council Of +Ephesus.—Heresy Of Eutyches.—Fourth General Council Of +Chalcedon.—Civil And Ecclesiastical Discord.—Intolerance Of +Justinian.—The Three Chapters.—The Monothelite +Controversy.—State Of The Oriental Sects:—I. The +Nestorians.—II. The Jacobites.—III. The Maronites.—IV. The +Armenians.—V. The Copts And Abyssinians. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap47.2">Chapter XLVII: +Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap47.3">Chapter XLVII: +Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap47.4">Chapter XLVII: +Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part IV. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap47.5">Chapter XLVII: +Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part V. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap47.6">Chapter XLVII: +Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part VI. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap48.1">Chapter XLVIII: +Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part I. </a> +</p> + +<p class="letter"> +Plan Of The Two Last Volumes.—Succession And Characters Of The Greek +Emperors Of Constantinople, From The Time Of Heraclius To The Latin Conquest. +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap48.2">Chapter XLVIII: +Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part II. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap48.3">Chapter XLVIII: +Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part III. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap48.4">Chapter XLVIII: +Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part IV. </a> +</p> + +<p> +<a href="#chap48.5">Chapter XLVIII: +Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part V. </a> +</p> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap39.1"></a> +Chapter XXXIX: Gothic Kingdom Of Italy.—Part I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Zeno And Anastasius, Emperors Of The East.—Birth, Education, And First +Exploits Of Theodoric The Ostrogoth.—His Invasion And Conquest Of +Italy.—The Gothic Kingdom Of Italy.—State Of The +West.—Military And Civil Government.—The Senator +Boethius.—Last Acts And Death Of Theodoric. +</p> + <p> + After the fall of the Roman empire in the West, an interval of fifty + years, till the memorable reign of Justinian, is faintly marked by the + obscure names and imperfect annals of Zeno, Anastasius, and Justin, who + successively ascended to the throne of Constantinople. During the same + period, Italy revived and flourished under the government of a Gothic + king, who might have deserved a statue among the best and bravest of the + ancient Romans. + </p> + <p> + Theodoric the Ostrogoth, the fourteenth in lineal descent of the royal + line of the Amali, <a href="#linknote-39.1" name="linknoteref-39.1" + id="linknoteref-39.1">1</a> was born in the neighborhood of Vienna <a + href="#linknote-39.2" name="linknoteref-39.2" id="linknoteref-39.2">2</a> two years + after the death of Attila. <a href="#linknote-39.2111" name="linknoteref-39.2111" + id="linknoteref-39.2111">2111</a> A recent victory had restored the + independence of the Ostrogoths; and the three brothers, Walamir, + Theodemir, and Widimir, who ruled that warlike nation with united + counsels, had separately pitched their habitations in the fertile though + desolate province of Pannonia. The Huns still threatened their revolted + subjects, but their hasty attack was repelled by the single forces of + Walamir, and the news of his victory reached the distant camp of his + brother in the same auspicious moment that the favorite concubine of + Theodemir was delivered of a son and heir. In the eighth year of his age, + Theodoric was reluctantly yielded by his father to the public interest, as + the pledge of an alliance which Leo, emperor of the East, had consented to + purchase by an annual subsidy of three hundred pounds of gold. The royal + hostage was educated at Constantinople with care and tenderness. His body + was formed to all the exercises of war, his mind was expanded by the + habits of liberal conversation; he frequented the schools of the most + skilful masters; but he disdained or neglected the arts of Greece, and so + ignorant did he always remain of the first elements of science, that a + rude mark was contrived to represent the signature of the illiterate king + of Italy. <a href="#linknote-39.3" name="linknoteref-39.3" id="linknoteref-39.3">3</a> + As soon as he had attained the age of eighteen, he was restored to the + wishes of the Ostrogoths, whom the emperor aspired to gain by liberality + and confidence. Walamir had fallen in battle; the youngest of the + brothers, Widimir, had led away into Italy and Gaul an army of Barbarians, + and the whole nation acknowledged for their king the father of Theodoric. + His ferocious subjects admired the strength and stature of their young + prince; <a href="#linknote-39.4" name="linknoteref-39.4" id="linknoteref-39.4">4</a> + and he soon convinced them that he had not degenerated from the valor of + his ancestors. At the head of six thousand volunteers, he secretly left + the camp in quest of adventures, descended the Danube as far as + Singidunum, or Belgrade, and soon returned to his father with the spoils + of a Sarmatian king whom he had vanquished and slain. Such triumphs, + however, were productive only of fame, and the invincible Ostrogoths were + reduced to extreme distress by the want of clothing and food. They + unanimously resolved to desert their Pannonian encampments, and boldly to + advance into the warm and wealthy neighborhood of the Byzantine court, + which already maintained in pride and luxury so many bands of confederate + Goths. After proving, by some acts of hostility, that they could be + dangerous, or at least troublesome, enemies, the Ostrogoths sold at a high + price their reconciliation and fidelity, accepted a donative of lands and + money, and were intrusted with the defence of the Lower Danube, under the + command of Theodoric, who succeeded after his father’s death to the + hereditary throne of the Amali. <a href="#linknote-39.5" name="linknoteref-39.5" + id="linknoteref-39.5">5</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.1" id="linknote-39.1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.1">return</a>)<br /> [ Jornandes (de Rebus + Geticis, c. 13, 14, p. 629, 630, edit. Grot.) has drawn the pedigree of + Theodoric from Gapt, one of the Anses or Demigods, who lived about the + time of Domitian. Cassiodorus, the first who celebrates the royal race of + the Amali, (Viriar. viii. 5, ix. 25, x. 2, xi. 1,) reckons the grandson of + Theodoric as the xviith in descent. Peringsciold (the Swedish commentator + of Cochloeus, Vit. Theodoric. p. 271, &c., Stockholm, 1699) labors to + connect this genealogy with the legends or traditions of his native + country. * Note: Amala was a name of hereditary sanctity and honor among + the Visigoths. It enters into the names of Amalaberga, Amala suintha, + (swinther means strength,) Amalafred, Amalarich. In the poem of the + Nibelungen written three hundred years later, the Ostrogoths are called + the Amilungen. According to Wachter it means, unstained, from the + privative a, and malo a stain. It is pure Sanscrit, Amala, immaculatus. + Schlegel. Indische Bibliothek, 1. p. 233.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.2" id="linknote-39.2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.2">return</a>)<br /> [ More correctly on the banks + of the Lake Pelso, (Nieusiedler-see,) near Carnuntum, almost on the same + spot where Marcus Antoninus composed his meditations, Jornandes, c. 52, p. + 659. Severin. Pannonia Illustrata, p. 22. Cellarius, Geograph. Antiq. + (tom. i. p. 350.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.2111" id="linknote-39.2111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2111 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.2111">return</a>)<br /> [ The date of + Theodoric’s birth is not accurately determined. We can hardly err, + observes Manso, in placing it between the years 453 and 455, Manso, + Geschichte des Ost Gothischen Reichs, p. 14.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.3" id="linknote-39.3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.3">return</a>)<br /> [ The four first letters of + his name were inscribed on a gold plate, and when it was fixed on the + paper, the king drew his pen through the intervals (Anonym. Valesian. ad + calcem Amm. Marcellin p. 722.) This authentic fact, with the testimony of + Procopius, or at least of the contemporary Goths, (Gothic. 1. i. c. 2, p. + 311,) far outweighs the vague praises of Ennodius (Sirmond Opera, tom. i. + p. 1596) and Theophanes, (Chronograph. p. 112.) * Note: Le Beau and his + Commentator, M. St. Martin, support, though with no very satisfactory + evidence, the opposite opinion. But Lord Mahon (Life of Belisarius, p. 19) + urges the much stronger argument, the Byzantine education of Theodroic.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.4" id="linknote-39.4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.4">return</a>)<br /> [ Statura est quae resignet + proceritate regnantem, (Ennodius, p. 1614.) The bishop of Pavia (I mean + the ecclesiastic who wished to be a bishop) then proceeds to celebrate the + complexion, eyes, hands, &c, of his sovereign.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.5" id="linknote-39.5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.5">return</a>)<br /> [ The state of the + Ostrogoths, and the first years of Theodoric, are found in Jornandes, (c. + 52—56, p. 689—696) and Malchus, (Excerpt. Legat. p. 78—80,) + who erroneously styles him the son of Walamir.] + </p> + <p> + A hero, descended from a race of kings, must have despised the base + Isaurian who was invested with the Roman purple, without any endowment of + mind or body, without any advantages of royal birth, or superior + qualifications. After the failure of the Theodosian line, the choice of + Pulcheria and of the senate might be justified in some measure by the + characters of Martin and Leo, but the latter of these princes confirmed + and dishonored his reign by the perfidious murder of Aspar and his sons, + who too rigorously exacted the debt of gratitude and obedience. The + inheritance of Leo and of the East was peaceably devolved on his infant + grandson, the son of his daughter Ariadne; and her Isaurian husband, the + fortunate Trascalisseus, exchanged that barbarous sound for the Grecian + appellation of Zeno. After the decease of the elder Leo, he approached + with unnatural respect the throne of his son, humbly received, as a gift, + the second rank in the empire, and soon excited the public suspicion on + the sudden and premature death of his young colleague, whose life could no + longer promote the success of his ambition. But the palace of + Constantinople was ruled by female influence, and agitated by female + passions: and Verina, the widow of Leo, claiming his empire as her own, + pronounced a sentence of deposition against the worthless and ungrateful + servant on whom she alone had bestowed the sceptre of the East. <a + href="#linknote-39.6" name="linknoteref-39.6" id="linknoteref-39.6">6</a> As soon + as she sounded a revolt in the ears of Zeno, he fled with precipitation + into the mountains of Isauria, and her brother Basiliscus, already + infamous by his African expedition, <a href="#linknote-39.7" + name="linknoteref-39.7" id="linknoteref-39.7">7</a> was unanimously proclaimed + by the servile senate. But the reign of the usurper was short and + turbulent. Basiliscus presumed to assassinate the lover of his sister; he + dared to offend the lover of his wife, the vain and insolent Harmatius, + who, in the midst of Asiatic luxury, affected the dress, the demeanor, and + the surname of Achilles. <a href="#linknote-39.8" name="linknoteref-39.8" + id="linknoteref-39.8">8</a> By the conspiracy of the malcontents, Zeno was + recalled from exile; the armies, the capital, the person, of Basiliscus, + were betrayed; and his whole family was condemned to the long agony of + cold and hunger by the inhuman conqueror, who wanted courage to encounter + or to forgive his enemies. <a href="#linknote-39.811" name="linknoteref-39.811" + id="linknoteref-39.811">811</a> The haughty spirit of Verina was still + incapable of submission or repose. She provoked the enmity of a favorite + general, embraced his cause as soon as he was disgraced, created a new + emperor in Syria and Egypt, <a href="#linknote-39.812" name="linknoteref-39.812" + id="linknoteref-39.812">812</a> raised an army of seventy thousand men, and + persisted to the last moment of her life in a fruitless rebellion, which, + according to the fashion of the age, had been predicted by Christian + hermits and Pagan magicians. While the East was afflicted by the passions + of Verina, her daughter Ariadne was distinguished by the female virtues of + mildness and fidelity; she followed her husband in his exile, and after + his restoration, she implored his clemency in favor of her mother. On the + decease of Zeno, Ariadne, the daughter, the mother, and the widow of an + emperor, gave her hand and the Imperial title to Anastasius, an aged + domestic of the palace, who survived his elevation above twenty-seven + years, and whose character is attested by the acclamation of the people, + “Reign as you have lived!” <a href="#linknote-39.9" name="linknoteref-39.9" + id="linknoteref-39.9">9</a> <a href="#linknote-39.912" name="linknoteref-39.912" + id="linknoteref-39.912">912</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.6" id="linknote-39.6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.6">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophanes (p. 111) inserts + a copy of her sacred letters to the provinces. Such female pretensions + would have astonished the slaves of the first Caesars.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.7" id="linknote-39.7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.7">return</a>)<br /> [ Vol. iii. p. 504—508.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.8" id="linknote-39.8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.8">return</a>)<br /> [ Suidas, tom. i. p. 332, + 333, edit. Kuster.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.811" id="linknote-39.811"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 811 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.811">return</a>)<br /> [ Joannes Lydus accuses + Zeno of timidity, or, rather, of cowardice; he purchased an ignominious + peace from the enemies of the empire, whom he dared not meet in battle; + and employed his whole time at home in confiscations and executions. + Lydus, de Magist. iii. 45, p. 230.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.812" id="linknote-39.812"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 812 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.812">return</a>)<br /> [ Named Illus.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.9" id="linknote-39.9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.9">return</a>)<br /> [ The contemporary histories + of Malchus and Candidus are lost; but some extracts or fragments have been + saved by Photius, (lxxviii. lxxix. p. 100—102,) Constantine + Porphyrogenitus, (Excerpt. Leg. p. 78—97,) and in various articles + of the Lexicon of Suidas. The Chronicles of Marcellinus (Imago Historiae) + are originals for the reigns of Zeno and Anastasius; and I must + acknowledge, almost for the last time, my obligations to the large and + accurate collections of Tillemont, (Hist. des Emp. tom. vi. p. 472—652).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.912" id="linknote-39.912"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 912 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.912">return</a>)<br /> [ The Panegyric of + Procopius of Gaza, (edited by Villoison in his Anecdota Graeca, and + reprinted in the new edition of the Byzantine historians by Niebuhr, in + the same vol. with Dexippus and Eunapius, viii. p. 488 516,) was unknown + to Gibbon. It is vague and pedantic, and contains few facts. The same + criticism will apply to the poetical panegyric of Priscian edited from the + Ms. of Bobbio by Ang. Mai. Priscian, the gram marian, Niebuhr argues from + this work, must have been born in the African, not in either of the + Asiatic Caesareas. Pref. p. xi.—M.] + </p> + <p> + Whatever fear or affection could bestow, was profusely lavished by Zeno on + the king of the Ostrogoths; the rank of patrician and consul, the command + of the Palatine troops, an equestrian statue, a treasure in gold and + silver of many thousand pounds, the name of son, and the promise of a rich + and honorable wife. As long as Theodoric condescended to serve, he + supported with courage and fidelity the cause of his benefactor; his rapid + march contributed to the restoration of Zeno; and in the second revolt, + the Walamirs, as they were called, pursued and pressed the Asiatic rebels, + till they left an easy victory to the Imperial troops. <a + href="#linknote-39.10" name="linknoteref-39.10" id="linknoteref-39.10">10</a> But + the faithful servant was suddenly converted into a formidable enemy, who + spread the flames of war from Constantinople to the Adriatic; many + flourishing cities were reduced to ashes, and the agriculture of Thrace + was almost extirpated by the wanton cruelty of the Goths, who deprived + their captive peasants of the right hand that guided the plough. <a + href="#linknote-39.11" name="linknoteref-39.11" id="linknoteref-39.11">11</a> On + such occasions, Theodoric sustained the loud and specious reproach of + disloyalty, of ingratitude, and of insatiate avarice, which could be only + excused by the hard necessity of his situation. He reigned, not as the + monarch, but as the minister of a ferocious people, whose spirit was + unbroken by slavery, and impatient of real or imaginary insults. Their + poverty was incurable; since the most liberal donatives were soon + dissipated in wasteful luxury, and the most fertile estates became barren + in their hands; they despised, but they envied, the laborious provincials; + and when their subsistence had failed, the Ostrogoths embraced the + familiar resources of war and rapine. It had been the wish of Theodoric + (such at least was his declaration) to lead a peaceful, obscure, obedient + life on the confines of Scythia, till the Byzantine court, by splendid and + fallacious promises, seduced him to attack a confederate tribe of Goths, + who had been engaged in the party of Basiliscus. He marched from his + station in Maesia, on the solemn assurance that before he reached + Adrianople, he should meet a plentiful convoy of provisions, and a + reenforcement of eight thousand horse and thirty thousand foot, while the + legions of Asia were encamped at Heraclea to second his operations. These + measures were disappointed by mutual jealousy. As he advanced into Thrace, + the son of Theodemir found an inhospitable solitude, and his Gothic + followers, with a heavy train of horses, of mules, and of wagons, were + betrayed by their guides among the rocks and precipices of Mount Sondis, + where he was assaulted by the arms and invectives of Theodoric the son of + Triarius. From a neighboring height, his artful rival harangued the camp + of the Walamirs, and branded their leader with the opprobrious names of + child, of madman, of perjured traitor, the enemy of his blood and nation. + “Are you ignorant,” exclaimed the son of Triarius, “that it is the + constant policy of the Romans to destroy the Goths by each other’s swords? + Are you insensible that the victor in this unnatural contest will be + exposed, and justly exposed, to their implacable revenge? Where are those + warriors, my kinsmen and thy own, whose widows now lament that their lives + were sacrificed to thy rash ambition? Where is the wealth which thy + soldiers possessed when they were first allured from their native homes to + enlist under thy standard? Each of them was then master of three or four + horses; they now follow thee on foot, like slaves, through the deserts of + Thrace; those men who were tempted by the hope of measuring gold with a + bushel, those brave men who are as free and as noble as thyself.” A + language so well suited to the temper of the Goths excited clamor and + discontent; and the son of Theodemir, apprehensive of being left alone, + was compelled to embrace his brethren, and to imitate the example of Roman + perfidy. <a href="#linknote-39.12" name="linknoteref-39.12" id="linknoteref-39.12">12</a> + <a href="#linknote-39.1211" name="linknoteref-39.1211" id="linknoteref-39.1211">1211</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.10" id="linknote-39.10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.10">return</a>)<br /> [ In ipsis congressionis + tuae foribus cessit invasor, cum profugo per te sceptra redderentur de + salute dubitanti. Ennodius then proceeds (p. 1596, 1597, tom. i. Sirmond.) + to transport his hero (on a flying dragon?) into Aethiopia, beyond the + tropic of Cancer. The evidence of the Valesian Fragment, (p. 717,) + Liberatus, (Brev. Eutych. c. 25 p. 118,) and Theophanes, (p. 112,) is more + sober and rational.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.11" id="linknote-39.11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.11">return</a>)<br /> [ This cruel practice is + specially imputed to the Triarian Goths, less barbarous, as it should + seem, than the Walamirs; but the son of Theodemir is charged with the ruin + of many Roman cities, (Malchus, Excerpt. Leg. p. 95.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.12" id="linknote-39.12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.12">return</a>)<br /> [ Jornandes (c. 56, 57, p. + 696) displays the services of Theodoric, confesses his rewards, but + dissembles his revolt, of which such curious details have been preserved + by Malchus, (Excerpt. Legat. p. 78—97.) Marcellinus, a domestic of + Justinian, under whose ivth consulship (A.D. 534) he composed his + Chronicle, (Scaliger, Thesaurus Temporum, P. ii, p. 34—57,) betrays + his prejudice and passion: in Graeciam debacchantem ...Zenonis + munificentia pene pacatus...beneficiis nunquam satiatus, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.1211" id="linknote-39.1211"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1211 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.1211">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon has omitted + much of the complicated intrigues of the Byzantine court with the two + Theodorics. The weak emperor attempted to play them one against the other, + and was himself in turn insulted, and the empire ravaged, by both. The + details of the successive alliance and revolt, of hostility and of union, + between the two Gothic chieftains, to dictate terms to the emperor, may be + found in Malchus.—M.] + </p> + <p> + In every state of his fortune, the prudence and firmness of Theodoric were + equally conspicuous; whether he threatened Constantinople at the head of + the confederate Goths, or retreated with a faithful band to the mountains + and sea-coast of Epirus. At length the accidental death of the son of + Triarius <a href="#linknote-39.13" name="linknoteref-39.13" id="linknoteref-39.13">13</a> + destroyed the balance which the Romans had been so anxious to preserve, + the whole nation acknowledged the supremacy of the Amali, and the + Byzantine court subscribed an ignominious and oppressive treaty. <a + href="#linknote-39.14" name="linknoteref-39.14" id="linknoteref-39.14">14</a> The + senate had already declared, that it was necessary to choose a party among + the Goths, since the public was unequal to the support of their united + forces; a subsidy of two thousand pounds of gold, with the ample pay of + thirteen thousand men, were required for the least considerable of their + armies; <a href="#linknote-39.15" name="linknoteref-39.15" id="linknoteref-39.15">15</a> + and the Isaurians, who guarded not the empire but the emperor, enjoyed, + besides the privilege of rapine, an annual pension of five thousand + pounds. The sagacious mind of Theodoric soon perceived that he was odious + to the Romans, and suspected by the Barbarians: he understood the popular + murmur, that his subjects were exposed in their frozen huts to intolerable + hardships, while their king was dissolved in the luxury of Greece, and he + prevented the painful alternative of encountering the Goths, as the + champion, or of leading them to the field, as the enemy, of Zeno. + Embracing an enterprise worthy of his courage and ambition, Theodoric + addressed the emperor in the following words: “Although your servant is + maintained in affluence by your liberality, graciously listen to the + wishes of my heart! Italy, the inheritance of your predecessors, and Rome + itself, the head and mistress of the world, now fluctuate under the + violence and oppression of Odoacer the mercenary. Direct me, with my + national troops, to march against the tyrant. If I fall, you will be + relieved from an expensive and troublesome friend: if, with the divine + permission, I succeed, I shall govern in your name, and to your glory, the + Roman senate, and the part of the republic delivered from slavery by my + victorious arms.” The proposal of Theodoric was accepted, and perhaps had + been suggested, by the Byzantine court. But the forms of the commission, + or grant, appear to have been expressed with a prudent ambiguity, which + might be explained by the event; and it was left doubtful, whether the + conqueror of Italy should reign as the lieutenant, the vassal, or the + ally, of the emperor of the East.<a href="#linknote-39.16" name="linknoteref-39.16" id="linknoteref-39.16">16</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.13" id="linknote-39.13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.13">return</a>)<br /> [ As he was riding in his + own camp, an unruly horse threw him against the point of a spear which + hung before a tent, or was fixed on a wagon, (Marcellin. in Chron. + Evagrius, l. iii. c. 25.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.14" id="linknote-39.14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.14">return</a>)<br /> [ See Malchus (p. 91) and + Evagrius, (l. iii. c. 35.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.15" id="linknote-39.15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.15">return</a>)<br /> [ Malchus, p. 85. In a + single action, which was decided by the skill and discipline of Sabinian, + Theodoric could lose 5000 men.] [Footnote 16: Jornandes (c. 57, p. 696, + 697) has abridged the great history of Cassiodorus. See, compare, and + reconcile Procopius, (Gothic. l. i. c. i.,) the Valesian Fragment, (p. + 718,) Theophanes, (p. 113,) and Marcellinus, (in Chron.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.16" id="linknote-39.16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.16">return</a>)<br /> [ Jordanes (c. 57, p. + 696, 697) has abridged the great history of Cassiodorus. See, compare, + and reconcile, Procopius (Gothic. 1. i. c. i.), the Valesian Fragment + (p.718), Theophanes (p. 113), and Marcellinus (in Chron.).] + </p> + + <p> + The reputation both of the leader and of the war diffused a universal + ardor; the Walamirs were multiplied by the Gothic swarms already engaged + in the service, or seated in the provinces, of the empire; and each bold + Barbarian, who had heard of the wealth and beauty of Italy, was impatient + to seek, through the most perilous adventures, the possession of such + enchanting objects. The march of Theodoric must be considered as the + emigration of an entire people; the wives and children of the Goths, their + aged parents, and most precious effects, were carefully transported; and + some idea may be formed of the heavy baggage that now followed the camp, + by the loss of two thousand wagons, which had been sustained in a single + action in the war of Epirus. For their subsistence, the Goths depended on + the magazines of corn which was ground in portable mills by the hands of + their women; on the milk and flesh of their flocks and herds; on the + casual produce of the chase, and upon the contributions which they might + impose on all who should presume to dispute the passage, or to refuse + their friendly assistance. Notwithstanding these precautions, they were + exposed to the danger, and almost to the distress, of famine, in a march + of seven hundred miles, which had been undertaken in the depth of a + rigorous winter. Since the fall of the Roman power, Dacia and Pannonia no + longer exhibited the rich prospect of populous cities, well-cultivated + fields, and convenient highways: the reign of barbarism and desolation was + restored, and the tribes of Bulgarians, Gepidae, and Sarmatians, who had + occupied the vacant province, were prompted by their native fierceness, or + the solicitations of Odoacer, to resist the progress of his enemy. In many + obscure though bloody battles, Theodoric fought and vanquished; till at + length, surmounting every obstacle by skilful conduct and persevering + courage, he descended from the Julian Alps, and displayed his invincible + banners on the confines of Italy. <a href="#linknote-39.17" + name="linknoteref-39.17" id="linknoteref-39.17">17</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.17" id="linknote-39.17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.17">return</a>)<br /> [ Theodoric’s march is + supplied and illustrated by Ennodius, (p. 1598—1602,) when the + bombast of the oration is translated into the language of common sense.] + </p> + <p> + Odoacer, a rival not unworthy of his arms, had already occupied the + advantageous and well-known post of the River Sontius, near the ruins of + Aquileia, at the head of a powerful host, whose independent kings <a + href="#linknote-39.18" name="linknoteref-39.18" id="linknoteref-39.18">18</a> or + leaders disdained the duties of subordination and the prudence of delays. + No sooner had Theodoric gained a short repose and refreshment to his + wearied cavalry, than he boldly attacked the fortifications of the enemy; + the Ostrogoths showed more ardor to acquire, than the mercenaries to + defend, the lands of Italy; and the reward of the first victory was the + possession of the Venetian province as far as the walls of Verona. In the + neighborhood of that city, on the steep banks of the rapid Adige, he was + opposed by a new army, reenforced in its numbers, and not impaired in its + courage: the contest was more obstinate, but the event was still more + decisive; Odoacer fled to Ravenna, Theodoric advanced to Milan, and the + vanquished troops saluted their conqueror with loud acclamations of + respect and fidelity. But their want either of constancy or of faith soon + exposed him to the most imminent danger; his vanguard, with several Gothic + counts, which had been rashly intrusted to a deserter, was betrayed and + destroyed near Faenza by his double treachery; Odoacer again appeared + master of the field, and the invader, strongly intrenched in his camp of + Pavia, was reduced to solicit the aid of a kindred nation, the Visigoths + of Gaul. In the course of this History, the most voracious appetite for + war will be abundantly satiated; nor can I much lament that our dark and + imperfect materials do not afford a more ample narrative of the distress + of Italy, and of the fierce conflict, which was finally decided by the + abilities, experience, and valor of the Gothic king. Immediately before + the battle of Verona, he visited the tent of his mother <a + href="#linknote-39.19" name="linknoteref-39.19" id="linknoteref-39.19">19</a> and + sister, and requested, that on a day, the most illustrious festival of his + life, they would adorn him with the rich garments which they had worked + with their own hands. “Our glory,” said he, “is mutual and inseparable. + You are known to the world as the mother of Theodoric; and it becomes me + to prove, that I am the genuine offspring of those heroes from whom I + claim my descent.” The wife or concubine of Theodemir was inspired with + the spirit of the German matrons, who esteemed their sons’ honor far above + their safety; and it is reported, that in a desperate action, when + Theodoric himself was hurried along by the torrent of a flying crowd, she + boldly met them at the entrance of the camp, and, by her generous + reproaches, drove them back on the swords of the enemy. <a + href="#linknote-39.20" name="linknoteref-39.20" id="linknoteref-39.20">20</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.18" id="linknote-39.18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.18">return</a>)<br /> [ Tot reges, &c., + (Ennodius, p. 1602.) We must recollect how much the royal title was + multiplied and degraded, and that the mercenaries of Italy were the + fragments of many tribes and nations.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.19" id="linknote-39.19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.19">return</a>)<br /> [ See Ennodius, p. 1603, + 1604. Since the orator, in the king’s presence, could mention and praise + his mother, we may conclude that the magnanimity of Theodoric was not hurt + by the vulgar reproaches of concubine and bastard. * Note: Gibbon here + assumes that the mother of Theodoric was the concubine of Theodemir, which + he leaves doubtful in the text.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.20" id="linknote-39.20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.20">return</a>)<br /> [ This anecdote is related + on the modern but respectable authority of Sigonius, (Op. tom. i. p. 580. + De Occident. Impl. l. xv.:) his words are curious: “Would you return?” + &c. She presented and almost displayed the original recess. * Note: + The authority of Sigonius would scarcely have weighed with Gibbon except + for an indecent anecdote. I have a recollection of a similar story in some + of the Italian wars.—M.] + </p> + <p> + From the Alps to the extremity of Calabria, Theodoric reigned by the right + of conquest; the Vandal ambassadors surrendered the Island of Sicily, as a + lawful appendage of his kingdom; and he was accepted as the deliverer of + Rome by the senate and people, who had shut their gates against the flying + usurper. <a href="#linknote-39.21" name="linknoteref-39.21" id="linknoteref-39.21">21</a> + Ravenna alone, secure in the fortifications of art and nature, still + sustained a siege of almost three years; and the daring sallies of Odoacer + carried slaughter and dismay into the Gothic camp. At length, destitute of + provisions and hopeless of relief, that unfortunate monarch yielded to the + groans of his subjects and the clamors of his soldiers. A treaty of peace + was negotiated by the bishop of Ravenna; the Ostrogoths were admitted into + the city, and the hostile kings consented, under the sanction of an oath, + to rule with equal and undivided authority the provinces of Italy. The + event of such an agreement may be easily foreseen. After some days had + been devoted to the semblance of joy and friendship, Odoacer, in the midst + of a solemn banquet, was stabbed by the hand, or at least by the command, + of his rival. Secret and effectual orders had been previously despatched; + the faithless and rapacious mercenaries, at the same moment, and without + resistance, were universally massacred; and the royalty of Theodoric was + proclaimed by the Goths, with the tardy, reluctant, ambiguous consent of + the emperor of the East. The design of a conspiracy was imputed, according + to the usual forms, to the prostrate tyrant; but his innocence, and the + guilt of his conqueror, <a href="#linknote-39.22" name="linknoteref-39.22" + id="linknoteref-39.22">22</a> are sufficiently proved by the advantageous + treaty which force would not sincerely have granted, nor weakness have + rashly infringed. The jealousy of power, and the mischiefs of discord, may + suggest a more decent apology, and a sentence less rigorous may be + pronounced against a crime which was necessary to introduce into Italy a + generation of public felicity. The living author of this felicity was + audaciously praised in his own presence by sacred and profane orators; <a + href="#linknote-39.23" name="linknoteref-39.23" id="linknoteref-39.23">23</a> but + history (in his time she was mute and inglorious) has not left any just + representation of the events which displayed, or of the defects which + clouded, the virtues of Theodoric. <a href="#linknote-39.24" + name="linknoteref-39.24" id="linknoteref-39.24">24</a> One record of his fame, + the volume of public epistles composed by Cassiodorus in the royal name, + is still extant, and has obtained more implicit credit than it seems to + deserve. <a href="#linknote-39.25" name="linknoteref-39.25" id="linknoteref-39.25">25</a> + They exhibit the forms, rather than the substance, of his government; and + we should vainly search for the pure and spontaneous sentiments of the + Barbarian amidst the declamation and learning of a sophist, the wishes of + a Roman senator, the precedents of office, and the vague professions, + which, in every court, and on every occasion, compose the language of + discreet ministers. The reputation of Theodoric may repose with more + confidence on the visible peace and prosperity of a reign of thirty-three + years; the unanimous esteem of his own times, and the memory of his wisdom + and courage, his justice and humanity, which was deeply impressed on the + minds of the Goths and Italians. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.21" id="linknote-39.21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.21">return</a>)<br /> [ Hist. Miscell. l. xv., a + Roman history from Janus to the ixth century, an Epitome of Eutropius, + Paulus Diaconus, and Theophanes which Muratori has published from a Ms. in + the Ambrosian library, (Script. Rerum Italicarum, tom. i. p. 100.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.22" id="linknote-39.22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.22">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius (Gothic. l. i. + c. i.) approves himself an impartial sceptic. Cassiodorus (in Chron.) and + Ennodius (p. 1604) are loyal and credulous, and the testimony of the + Valesian Fragment (p. 718) may justify their belief. Marcellinus spits the + venom of a Greek subject—perjuriis illectus, interfectusque est, (in + Chron.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.23" id="linknote-39.23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.23">return</a>)<br /> [ The sonorous and servile + oration of Ennodius was pronounced at Milan or Ravenna in the years 507 or + 508, (Sirmond, tom. i. p. 615.) Two or three years afterwards, the orator + was rewarded with the bishopric of Pavia, which he held till his death in + the year 521. (Dupin, Bibliot. Eccles. tom. v. p. 11-14. See Saxii + Onomasticon, tom. ii. p. 12.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.24" id="linknote-39.24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.24">return</a>)<br /> [ Our best materials are + occasional hints from Procopius and the Valesian Fragment, which was + discovered by Sirmond, and is published at the end of Ammianus + Marcellinus. The author’s name is unknown, and his style is barbarous; but + in his various facts he exhibits the knowledge, without the passions, of a + contemporary. The president Montesquieu had formed the plan of a history + of Theodoric, which at a distance might appear a rich and interesting + subject.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.25" id="linknote-39.25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.25">return</a>)<br /> [ The best edition of the + Variarum Libri xii. is that of Joh. Garretius, (Rotomagi, 1679, in Opp. + Cassiodor. 2 vols. in fol.;) but they deserved and required such an editor + as the Marquis Scipio Maffei, who thought of publishing them at Verona. + The Barbara Eleganza (as it is ingeniously named by Tiraboschi) is never + simple, and seldom perspicuous] + </p> + <p> + The partition of the lands of Italy, of which Theodoric assigned the third + part to his soldiers, is honorably arraigned as the sole injustice of his + life. <a href="#linknote-39.2511" name="linknoteref-39.2511" + id="linknoteref-39.2511">2511</a> And even this act may be fairly justified + by the example of Odoacer, the rights of conquest, the true interest of + the Italians, and the sacred duty of subsisting a whole people, who, on + the faith of his promises, had transported themselves into a distant land. + <a href="#linknote-39.26" name="linknoteref-39.26" id="linknoteref-39.26">26</a> + Under the reign of Theodoric, and in the happy climate of Italy, the Goths + soon multiplied to a formidable host of two hundred thousand men, <a + href="#linknote-39.27" name="linknoteref-39.27" id="linknoteref-39.27">27</a> and + the whole amount of their families may be computed by the ordinary + addition of women and children. Their invasion of property, a part of + which must have been already vacant, was disguised by the generous but + improper name of hospitality; these unwelcome guests were irregularly + dispersed over the face of Italy, and the lot of each Barbarian was + adequate to his birth and office, the number of his followers, and the + rustic wealth which he possessed in slaves and cattle. The distinction of + noble and plebeian were acknowledged; <a href="#linknote-39.28" + name="linknoteref-39.28" id="linknoteref-39.28">28</a> but the lands of every + freeman were exempt from taxes, <a href="#linknote-39.2811" + name="linknoteref-39.2811" id="linknoteref-39.2811">2811</a> and he enjoyed the + inestimable privilege of being subject only to the laws of his country. <a + href="#linknote-39.29" name="linknoteref-39.29" id="linknoteref-39.29">29</a> + Fashion, and even convenience, soon persuaded the conquerors to assume the + more elegant dress of the natives, but they still persisted in the use of + their mother-tongue; and their contempt for the Latin schools was + applauded by Theodoric himself, who gratified their prejudices, or his + own, by declaring, that the child who had trembled at a rod, would never + dare to look upon a sword. <a href="#linknote-39.30" name="linknoteref-39.30" + id="linknoteref-39.30">30</a> Distress might sometimes provoke the indigent + Roman to assume the ferocious manners which were insensibly relinquished + by the rich and luxurious Barbarian; <a href="#linknote-39.31" + name="linknoteref-39.31" id="linknoteref-39.31">31</a> but these mutual + conversions were not encouraged by the policy of a monarch who perpetuated + the separation of the Italians and Goths; reserving the former for the + arts of peace, and the latter for the service of war. To accomplish this + design, he studied to protect his industrious subjects, and to moderate + the violence, without enervating the valor, of his soldiers, who were + maintained for the public defence. They held their lands and benefices as + a military stipend: at the sound of the trumpet, they were prepared to + march under the conduct of their provincial officers; and the whole extent + of Italy was distributed into the several quarters of a well-regulated + camp. The service of the palace and of the frontiers was performed by + choice or by rotation; and each extraordinary fatigue was recompensed by + an increase of pay and occasional donatives. Theodoric had convinced his + brave companions, that empire must be acquired and defended by the same + arts. After his example, they strove to excel in the use, not only of the + lance and sword, the instruments of their victories, but of the missile + weapons, which they were too much inclined to neglect; and the lively + image of war was displayed in the daily exercise and annual reviews of the + Gothic cavalry. A firm though gentle discipline imposed the habits of + modesty, obedience, and temperance; and the Goths were instructed to spare + the people, to reverence the laws, to understand the duties of civil + society, and to disclaim the barbarous license of judicial combat and + private revenge. <a href="#linknote-39.32" name="linknoteref-39.32" + id="linknoteref-39.32">32</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.2511" id="linknote-39.2511"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2511 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.2511">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare Gibbon, ch. + xxxvi. vol. iii. p. 459, &c.—Manso observes that this division + was conducted not in a violent and irregular, but in a legal and orderly, + manner. The Barbarian, who could not show a title of grant from the + officers of Theodoric appointed for the purpose, or a prescriptive right + of thirty years, in case he had obtained the property before the + Ostrogothic conquest, was ejected from the estate. He conceives that + estates too small to bear division paid a third of their produce.—Geschichte + des Os Gothischen Reiches, p. 82.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.26" id="linknote-39.26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.26">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Gothic, l. i. + c. i. Variarum, ii. Maffei (Verona Illustrata, P. i. p. 228) exaggerates + the injustice of the Goths, whom he hated as an Italian noble. The + plebeian Muratori crouches under their oppression.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.27" id="linknote-39.27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.27">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Goth. l. iii. + c. 421. Ennodius describes (p. 1612, 1613) the military arts and + increasing numbers of the Goths.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.28" id="linknote-39.28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.28">return</a>)<br /> [ When Theodoric gave his + sister to the king of the Vandals she sailed for Africa with a guard of + 1000 noble Goths, each of whom was attended by five armed followers, + (Procop. Vandal. l. i. c. 8.) The Gothic nobility must have been as + numerous as brave.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.2811" id="linknote-39.2811"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2811 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.2811">return</a>)<br /> [ Manso (p. 100) quotes + two passages from Cassiodorus to show that the Goths were not exempt from + the fiscal claims.—Cassiodor, i. 19, iv. 14—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.29" id="linknote-39.29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.29">return</a>)<br /> [ See the acknowledgment of + Gothic liberty, (Var. v. 30.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.30" id="linknote-39.30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.30">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Goth. l. i. c. + 2. The Roman boys learnt the language (Var. viii. 21) of the Goths. Their + general ignorance is not destroyed by the exceptions of Amalasuntha, a + female, who might study without shame, or of Theodatus, whose learning + provoked the indignation and contempt of his countrymen.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.31" id="linknote-39.31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.31">return</a>)<br /> [ A saying of Theodoric was + founded on experience: “Romanus miser imitatur Gothum; ut utilis (dives) + Gothus imitatur Romanum.” (See the Fragment and Notes of Valesius, p. + 719.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.32" id="linknote-39.32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.32">return</a>)<br /> [ The view of the military + establishment of the Goths in Italy is collected from the Epistles of + Cassiodorus (Var. i. 24, 40; iii. 3, 24, 48; iv. 13, 14; v. 26, 27; viii. + 3, 4, 25.) They are illustrated by the learned Mascou, (Hist. of the + Germans, l. xi. 40—44, Annotation xiv.) Note: Compare Manso, + Geschichte des Ost Gothischen Reiches, p. 114.—M.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap39.2"></a> +Chapter XXXIX: Gothic Kingdom Of Italy.—Part II.</h2> + <p> + Among the Barbarians of the West, the victory of Theodoric had spread a + general alarm. But as soon as it appeared that he was satisfied with + conquest and desirous of peace, terror was changed into respect, and they + submitted to a powerful mediation, which was uniformly employed for the + best purposes of reconciling their quarrels and civilizing their manners. + <a href="#linknote-39.33" name="linknoteref-39.33" id="linknoteref-39.33">33</a> + The ambassadors who resorted to Ravenna from the most distant countries of + Europe, admired his wisdom, magnificence, <a href="#linknote-39.34" + name="linknoteref-39.34" id="linknoteref-39.34">34</a> and courtesy; and if he + sometimes accepted either slaves or arms, white horses or strange animals, + the gift of a sun-dial, a water-clock, or a musician, admonished even the + princes of Gaul of the superior art and industry of his Italian subjects. + His domestic alliances, <a href="#linknote-39.35" name="linknoteref-39.35" + id="linknoteref-39.35">35</a> a wife, two daughters, a sister, and a niece, + united the family of Theodoric with the kings of the Franks, the + Burgundians, the Visigoths, the Vandals, and the Thuringians, and + contributed to maintain the harmony, or at least the balance, of the great + republic of the West. <a href="#linknote-39.36" name="linknoteref-39.36" + id="linknoteref-39.36">36</a> It is difficult in the dark forests of Germany + and Poland to pursue the emigrations of the Heruli, a fierce people who + disdained the use of armor, and who condemned their widows and aged + parents not to survive the loss of their husbands, or the decay of their + strength. <a href="#linknote-39.37" name="linknoteref-39.37" id="linknoteref-39.37">37</a> + The king of these savage warriors solicited the friendship of Theodoric, + and was elevated to the rank of his son, according to the barbaric rites + of a military adoption. <a href="#linknote-39.38" name="linknoteref-39.38" + id="linknoteref-39.38">38</a> From the shores of the Baltic, the Aestians or + Livonians laid their offerings of native amber <a href="#linknote-39.39" + name="linknoteref-39.39" id="linknoteref-39.39">39</a> at the feet of a prince, + whose fame had excited them to undertake an unknown and dangerous journey + of fifteen hundred miles. With the country <a href="#linknote-39.40" + name="linknoteref-39.40" id="linknoteref-39.40">40</a> from whence the Gothic + nation derived their origin, he maintained a frequent and friendly + correspondence: the Italians were clothed in the rich sables <a + href="#linknote-39.41" name="linknoteref-39.41" id="linknoteref-39.41">41</a> of + Sweden; and one of its sovereigns, after a voluntary or reluctant + abdication, found a hospitable retreat in the palace of Ravenna. He had + reigned over one of the thirteen populous tribes who cultivated a small + portion of the great island or peninsula of Scandinavia, to which the + vague appellation of Thule has been sometimes applied. That northern + region was peopled, or had been explored, as high as the sixty-eighth + degree of latitude, where the natives of the polar circle enjoy and lose + the presence of the sun at each summer and winter solstice during an equal + period of forty days. <a href="#linknote-39.42" name="linknoteref-39.42" + id="linknoteref-39.42">42</a> The long night of his absence or death was the + mournful season of distress and anxiety, till the messengers, who had been + sent to the mountain tops, descried the first rays of returning light, and + proclaimed to the plain below the festival of his resurrection. <a + href="#linknote-39.43" name="linknoteref-39.43" id="linknoteref-39.43">43</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.33" id="linknote-39.33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.33">return</a>)<br /> [ See the clearness and + vigor of his negotiations in Ennodius, (p. 1607,) and Cassiodorus, (Var. + iii. 1, 2, 3, 4; iv. 13; v. 43, 44,) who gives the different styles of + friendship, counsel expostulation, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.34" id="linknote-39.34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.34">return</a>)<br /> [ Even of his table (Var. + vi. 9) and palace, (vii. 5.) The admiration of strangers is represented as + the most rational motive to justify these vain expenses, and to stimulate + the diligence of the officers to whom these provinces were intrusted.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.35" id="linknote-39.35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.35">return</a>)<br /> [ See the public and + private alliances of the Gothic monarch, with the Burgundians, (Var. i. + 45, 46,) with the Franks, (ii. 40,) with the Thuringians, (iv. 1,) and + with the Vandals, (v. 1;) each of these epistles affords some curious + knowledge of the policy and manners of the Barbarians.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.36" id="linknote-39.36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.36">return</a>)<br /> [ His political system may + be observed in Cassiodorus, (Var. iv. l ix. l,) Jornandes, (c. 58, p. 698, + 699,) and the Valesian Fragment, (p. 720, 721.) Peace, honorable peace, + was the constant aim of Theodoric.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.37" id="linknote-39.37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.37">return</a>)<br /> [ The curious reader may + contemplate the Heruli of Procopius, (Goth. l. ii. c. 14,) and the patient + reader may plunge into the dark and minute researches of M. de Buat, + (Hist. des Peuples Anciens, tom. ix. p. 348—396. * Note: Compare + Manso, Ost Gothische Reich. Beylage, vi. Malte-Brun brings them from + Scandinavia: their names, the only remains of their language, are Gothic. + “They fought almost naked, like the Icelandic Berserkirs their bravery was + like madness: few in number, they were mostly of royal blood. What + ferocity, what unrestrained license, sullied their victories! The Goth + respects the church, the priests, the senate; the Heruli mangle all in a + general massacre: there is no pity for age, no refuge for chastity. Among + themselves there is the same ferocity: the sick and the aged are put to + death. at their own request, during a solemn festival; the widow ends her + days by hanging herself upon the tree which shadows her husband’s tomb. + All these circumstances, so striking to a mind familiar with Scandinavian + history, lead us to discover among the Heruli not so much a nation as a + confederacy of princes and nobles, bound by an oath to live and die + together with their arms in their hands. Their name, sometimes written + Heruli or Eruli. sometimes Aeruli, signified, according to an ancient + author, (Isid. Hispal. in gloss. p. 24, ad calc. Lex. Philolog. Martini, + ll,) nobles, and appears to correspond better with the Scandinavian word + iarl or earl, than with any of those numerous derivations proposed by + etymologists.” Malte-Brun, vol. i. p. 400, (edit. 1831.) Of all the + Barbarians who threw themselves on the ruins of the Roman empire, it is + most difficult to trace the origin of the Heruli. They seem never to have + been very powerful as a nation, and branches of them are found in + countries very remote from each other. In my opinion they belong to the + Gothic race, and have a close affinity with the Scyrri or Hirri. They + were, possibly, a division of that nation. They are often mingled and + confounded with the Alani. Though brave and formidable. they were never + numerous. nor did they found any state.—St. Martin, vol. vi. p. 375.—M. + Schafarck considers them descendants of the Hirri. of which Heruli is a + diminutive,—Slawische Alter thinner—M. 1845.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.38" id="linknote-39.38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.38">return</a>)<br /> [ Variarum, iv. 2. The + spirit and forms of this martial institution are noticed by Cassiodorus; + but he seems to have only translated the sentiments of the Gothic king + into the language of Roman eloquence.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.39" id="linknote-39.39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.39">return</a>)<br /> [ Cassiodorus, who quotes + Tacitus to the Aestians, the unlettered savages of the Baltic, (Var. v. + 2,) describes the amber for which their shores have ever been famous, as + the gum of a tree, hardened by the sun, and purified and wafted by the + waves. When that singular substance is analyzed by the chemists, it yields + a vegetable oil and a mineral acid.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.40" id="linknote-39.40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.40">return</a>)<br /> [ Scanzia, or Thule, is + described by Jornandes (c. 3, p. 610—613) and Procopius, (Goth. l. + ii. c. 15.) Neither the Goth nor the Greek had visited the country: both + had conversed with the natives in their exile at Ravenna or + Constantinople.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.41" id="linknote-39.41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.41">return</a>)<br /> [ Sapherinas pelles. In the + time of Jornandes they inhabited Suethans, the proper Sweden; but that + beautiful race of animals has gradually been driven into the eastern parts + of Siberia. See Buffon, (Hist. Nat. tom. xiii. p. 309—313, quarto + edition;) Pennant, (System of Quadrupeds, vol. i. p. 322—328;) + Gmelin, (Hist. Gen des. Voyages, tom. xviii. p. 257, 258;) and Levesque, + (Hist. de Russie, tom. v. p. 165, 166, 514, 515.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.42" id="linknote-39.42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.42">return</a>)<br /> [ In the system or romance + of Mr. Bailly, (Lettres sur les Sciences et sur l’Atlantide, tom. i. p. + 249—256, tom. ii. p. 114—139,) the phoenix of the Edda, and + the annual death and revival of Adonis and Osiris, are the allegorical + symbols of the absence and return of the sun in the Arctic regions. This + ingenious writer is a worthy disciple of the great Buffon; nor is it easy + for the coldest reason to withstand the magic of their philosophy.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.43" id="linknote-39.43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.43">return</a>)<br /> [ Says Procopius. At + present a rude Manicheism (generous enough) prevails among the Samoyedes + in Greenland and in Lapland, (Hist. des Voyages, tom. xviii. p. 508, 509, + tom. xix. p. 105, 106, 527, 528;) yet, according to Orotius Samojutae + coelum atque astra adorant, numina haud aliis iniquiora, (de Rebus + Belgicis, l. iv. p. 338, folio edition) a sentence which Tacitus would not + have disowned.] + </p> + <p> + The life of Theodoric represents the rare and meritorious example of a + Barbarian, who sheathed his sword in the pride of victory and the vigor of + his age. A reign of three and thirty years was consecrated to the duties + of civil government, and the hostilities, in which he was sometimes + involved, were speedily terminated by the conduct of his lieutenants, the + discipline of his troops, the arms of his allies, and even by the terror + of his name. He reduced, under a strong and regular government, the + unprofitable countries of Rhaetia, Noricum, Dalmatia, and Pannonia, from + the source of the Danube and the territory of the Bavarians, <a + href="#linknote-39.44" name="linknoteref-39.44" id="linknoteref-39.44">44</a> to + the petty kingdom erected by the Gepidae on the ruins of Sirmium. His + prudence could not safely intrust the bulwark of Italy to such feeble and + turbulent neighbors; and his justice might claim the lands which they + oppressed, either as a part of his kingdom, or as the inheritance of his + father. The greatness of a servant, who was named perfidious because he + was successful, awakened the jealousy of the emperor Anastasius; and a war + was kindled on the Dacian frontier, by the protection which the Gothic + king, in the vicissitude of human affairs, had granted to one of the + descendants of Attila. Sabinian, a general illustrious by his own and + father’s merit, advanced at the head of ten thousand Romans; and the + provisions and arms, which filled a long train of wagons, were distributed + to the fiercest of the Bulgarian tribes. But in the fields of Margus, the + eastern powers were defeated by the inferior forces of the Goths and Huns; + the flower and even the hope of the Roman armies was irretrievably + destroyed; and such was the temperance with which Theodoric had inspired + his victorious troops, that, as their leader had not given the signal of + pillage, the rich spoils of the enemy lay untouched at their feet. <a + href="#linknote-39.45" name="linknoteref-39.45" id="linknoteref-39.45">45</a> + Exasperated by this disgrace, the Byzantine court despatched two hundred + ships and eight thousand men to plunder the sea-coast of Calabria and + Apulia: they assaulted the ancient city of Tarentum, interrupted the trade + and agriculture of a happy country, and sailed back to the Hellespont, + proud of their piratical victory over a people whom they still presumed to + consider as their Roman brethren. <a href="#linknote-39.46" + name="linknoteref-39.46" id="linknoteref-39.46">46</a> Their retreat was + possibly hastened by the activity of Theodoric; Italy was covered by a + fleet of a thousand light vessels, <a href="#linknote-39.47" + name="linknoteref-39.47" id="linknoteref-39.47">47</a> which he constructed with + incredible despatch; and his firm moderation was soon rewarded by a solid + and honorable peace. He maintained, with a powerful hand, the balance of + the West, till it was at length overthrown by the ambition of Clovis; and + although unable to assist his rash and unfortunate kinsman, the king of + the Visigoths, he saved the remains of his family and people, and checked + the Franks in the midst of their victorious career. I am not desirous to + prolong or repeat <a href="#linknote-39.48" name="linknoteref-39.48" + id="linknoteref-39.48">48</a> this narrative of military events, the least + interesting of the reign of Theodoric; and shall be content to add, that + the Alemanni were protected, <a href="#linknote-39.49" name="linknoteref-39.49" + id="linknoteref-39.49">49</a> that an inroad of the Burgundians was severely + chastised, and that the conquest of Arles and Marseilles opened a free + communication with the Visigoths, who revered him as their national + protector, and as the guardian of his grandchild, the infant son of + Alaric. Under this respectable character, the king of Italy restored the + praetorian præfecture of the Gauls, reformed some abuses in the civil + government of Spain, and accepted the annual tribute and apparent + submission of its military governor, who wisely refused to trust his + person in the palace of Ravenna. <a href="#linknote-39.50" + name="linknoteref-39.50" id="linknoteref-39.50">50</a> The Gothic sovereignty + was established from Sicily to the Danube, from Sirmium or Belgrade to the + Atlantic Ocean; and the Greeks themselves have acknowledged that Theodoric + reigned over the fairest portion of the Western empire. <a + href="#linknote-39.51" name="linknoteref-39.51" id="linknoteref-39.51">51</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.44" id="linknote-39.44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.44">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Hist. des Peuples + Anciens, &c., tom. ix. p. 255—273, 396—501. The count de + Buat was French minister at the court of Bavaria: a liberal curiosity + prompted his inquiries into the antiquities of the country, and that + curiosity was the germ of twelve respectable volumes.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.45" id="linknote-39.45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.45">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Gothic + transactions on the Danube and the Illyricum, in Jornandes, (c. 58, p. + 699;) Ennodius, (p. 1607-1610;) Marcellmus (in Chron. p. 44, 47, 48;) and + Cassiodorus, in (in Chron and Var. iii. 29 50, iv. 13, vii. 4 24, viii. 9, + 10, 11, 21, ix. 8, 9.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.46" id="linknote-39.46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.46">return</a>)<br /> [ I cannot forbear + transcribing the liberal and classic style of Count Marcellinus: Romanus + comes domesticorum, et Rusticus comes scholariorum cum centum armatis + navibus, totidemque dromonibus, octo millia militum armatorum secum + ferentibus, ad devastanda Italiae littora processerunt, ut usque ad + Tarentum antiquissimam civitatem aggressi sunt; remensoque mari in + honestam victoriam quam piratico ausu Romani ex Romanis rapuerunt, + Anastasio Caesari reportarunt, (in Chron. p. 48.) See Variar. i. 16, ii. + 38.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.47" id="linknote-39.47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.47">return</a>)<br /> [ See the royal orders and + instructions, (Var. iv. 15, v. 16—20.) These armed boats should be + still smaller than the thousand vessels of Agamemnon at the siege of Troy. + (Manso, p. 121.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.48" id="linknote-39.48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.48">return</a>)<br /> [ Vol. iii. p. 581—585.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.49" id="linknote-39.49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.49">return</a>)<br /> [ Ennodius (p. 1610) and + Cassiodorus, in the royal name, (Var. ii 41,) record his salutary + protection of the Alemanni.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.50" id="linknote-39.50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.50">return</a>)<br /> [ The Gothic transactions + in Gaul and Spain are represented with some perplexity in Cassiodorus, + (Var. iii. 32, 38, 41, 43, 44, v. 39.) Jornandes, (c. 58, p. 698, 699,) + and Procopius, (Goth. l. i. c. 12.) I will neither hear nor reconcile the + long and contradictory arguments of the Abbe Dubos and the Count de Buat, + about the wars of Burgundy.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.51" id="linknote-39.51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.51">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophanes, p. 113.] + </p> + <p> + The union of the Goths and Romans might have fixed for ages the transient + happiness of Italy; and the first of nations, a new people of free + subjects and enlightened soldiers, might have gradually arisen from the + mutual emulation of their respective virtues. But the sublime merit of + guiding or seconding such a revolution was not reserved for the reign of + Theodoric: he wanted either the genius or the opportunities of a + legislator; <a href="#linknote-39.52" name="linknoteref-39.52" + id="linknoteref-39.52">52</a> and while he indulged the Goths in the + enjoyment of rude liberty, he servilely copied the institutions, and even + the abuses, of the political system which had been framed by Constantine + and his successors. From a tender regard to the expiring prejudices of + Rome, the Barbarian declined the name, the purple, and the diadem, of the + emperors; but he assumed, under the hereditary title of king, the whole + substance and plenitude of Imperial prerogative. <a href="#linknote-39.53" + name="linknoteref-39.53" id="linknoteref-39.53">53</a> His addresses to the + eastern throne were respectful and ambiguous: he celebrated, in pompous + style, the harmony of the two republics, applauded his own government as + the perfect similitude of a sole and undivided empire, and claimed above + the kings of the earth the same preeminence which he modestly allowed to + the person or rank of Anastasius. The alliance of the East and West was + annually declared by the unanimous choice of two consuls; but it should + seem that the Italian candidate who was named by Theodoric accepted a + formal confirmation from the sovereign of Constantinople. <a + href="#linknote-39.54" name="linknoteref-39.54" id="linknoteref-39.54">54</a> The + Gothic palace of Ravenna reflected the image of the court of Theodosius or + Valentinian. The Praetorian præfect, the præfect of Rome, the quaestor, + the master of the offices, with the public and patrimonial treasurers, <a + href="#linknote-39.5411" name="linknoteref-39.5411" id="linknoteref-39.5411">5411</a> + whose functions are painted in gaudy colors by the rhetoric of + Cassiodorus, still continued to act as the ministers of state. And the + subordinate care of justice and the revenue was delegated to seven + consulars, three correctors, and five presidents, who governed the fifteen + regions of Italy according to the principles, and even the forms, of Roman + jurisprudence. <a href="#linknote-39.55" name="linknoteref-39.55" + id="linknoteref-39.55">55</a> The violence of the conquerors was abated or + eluded by the slow artifice of judicial proceedings; the civil + administration, with its honors and emoluments, was confined to the + Italians; and the people still preserved their dress and language, their + laws and customs, their personal freedom, and two thirds of their landed + property. <a href="#linknote-39.5511" name="linknoteref-39.5511" + id="linknoteref-39.5511">5511</a> It had been the object of Augustus to + conceal the introduction of monarchy; it was the policy of Theodoric to + disguise the reign of a Barbarian. <a href="#linknote-39.56" + name="linknoteref-39.56" id="linknoteref-39.56">56</a> If his subjects were + sometimes awakened from this pleasing vision of a Roman government, they + derived more substantial comfort from the character of a Gothic prince, + who had penetration to discern, and firmness to pursue, his own and the + public interest. Theodoric loved the virtues which he possessed, and the + talents of which he was destitute. Liberius was promoted to the office of + Praetorian præfect for his unshaken fidelity to the unfortunate cause of + Odoacer. The ministers of Theodoric, Cassiodorus, <a href="#linknote-39.57" + name="linknoteref-39.57" id="linknoteref-39.57">57</a> and Boethius, have + reflected on his reign the lustre of their genius and learning. More + prudent or more fortunate than his colleague, Cassiodorus preserved his + own esteem without forfeiting the royal favor; and after passing thirty + years in the honors of the world, he was blessed with an equal term of + repose in the devout and studious solitude of Squillace. <a + href="#linknote-39.5711" name="linknoteref-39.5711" id="linknoteref-39.5711">5711</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.52" id="linknote-39.52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.52">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius affirms that no + laws whatsoever were promulgated by Theodoric and the succeeding kings of + Italy, (Goth. l. ii. c. 6.) He must mean in the Gothic language. A Latin + edict of Theodoric is still extant, in one hundred and fifty-four + articles. * Note: See Manso, 92. Savigny, vol. ii. p. 164, et seq.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.53" id="linknote-39.53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.53">return</a>)<br /> [ The image of Theodoric is + engraved on his coins: his modest successors were satisfied with adding + their own name to the head of the reigning emperor, (Muratori, Antiquitat. + Italiae Medii Aevi, tom. ii. dissert. xxvii. p. 577—579. Giannone, + Istoria Civile di Napoli tom. i. p. 166.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.54" id="linknote-39.54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.54">return</a>)<br /> [ The alliance of the + emperor and the king of Italy are represented by Cassiodorus (Var. i. l, + ii. 1, 2, 3, vi. l) and Procopius, (Goth. l. ii. c. 6, l. iii. c. 21,) who + celebrate the friendship of Anastasius and Theodoric; but the figurative + style of compliment was interpreted in a very different sense at + Constantinople and Ravenna.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.5411" id="linknote-39.5411"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5411 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.5411">return</a>)<br /> [ All causes between + Roman and Roman were judged by the old Roman courts. The comes Gothorum + judged between Goth and Goth; between Goths and Romans, (without + considering which was the plaintiff.) the comes Gothorum, with a Roman + jurist as his assessor, making a kind of mixed jurisdiction, but with a + natural predominance to the side of the Goth Savigny, vol. i. p. 290.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.55" id="linknote-39.55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.55">return</a>)<br /> [ To the xvii. provinces of + the Notitia, Paul Warnefrid the deacon (De Reb. Longobard. l. ii. c. 14—22) + has subjoined an xviiith, the Apennine, (Muratori, Script. Rerum + Italicarum, tom. i. p. 431—443.) But of these Sardinia and Corsica + were possessed by the Vandals, and the two Rhaetias, as well as the + Cottian Alps, seem to have been abandoned to a military government. The + state of the four provinces that now form the kingdom of Naples is labored + by Giannone (tom. i. p. 172, 178) with patriotic diligence.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.5511" id="linknote-39.5511"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5511 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.5511">return</a>)<br /> [ Manso enumerates and + develops at some length the following sources of the royal revenue of + Theodoric: 1. A domain, either by succession to that of Odoacer, or a part + of the third of the lands was reserved for the royal patrimony. 1. + Regalia, including mines, unclaimed estates, treasure-trove, and + confiscations. 3. Land tax. 4. Aurarium, like the Chrysargyrum, a tax on + certain branches of trade. 5. Grant of Monopolies. 6. Siliquaticum, a + small tax on the sale of all kinds of commodities. 7. Portoria, customs + Manso, 96, 111. Savigny (i. 285) supposes that in many cases the property + remained in the original owner, who paid his tertia, a third of the + produce to the crown, vol. i. p. 285.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.56" id="linknote-39.56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.56">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Gothic history of + Procopius, (l. i. c. 1, l. ii. c. 6,) the Epistles of Cassiodorus, passim, + but especially the vth and vith books, which contain the formulae, or + patents of offices,) and the Civil History of Giannone, (tom. i. l. ii. + iii.) The Gothic counts, which he places in every Italian city, are + annihilated, however, by Maffei, (Verona Illustrata, P. i. l. viii. p. + 227; for those of Syracuse and Naples (Var vi. 22, 23) were special and + temporary commissions.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.57" id="linknote-39.57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.57">return</a>)<br /> [ Two Italians of the name + of Cassiodorus, the father (Var. i. 24, 40) and the son, (ix. 24, 25,) + were successively employed in the administration of Theodoric. The son was + born in the year 479: his various epistles as quaestor, master of the + offices, and Praetorian præfect, extend from 509 to 539, and he lived as + a monk about thirty years, (Tiraboschi Storia della Letteratura Italiana, + tom. iii. p. 7—24. Fabricius, Bibliot. Lat. Med. Aevi, tom. i. p. + 357, 358, edit. Mansi.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.5711" id="linknote-39.5711"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5711 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.5711">return</a>)<br /> [ Cassiodorus was of an + ancient and honorable family; his grandfather had distinguished himself in + the defence of Sicily against the ravages of Genseric; his father held a + high rank at the court of Valentinian III., enjoyed the friendship of + Aetius, and was one of the ambassadors sent to arrest the progress of + Attila. Cassiodorus himself was first the treasurer of the private + expenditure to Odoacer, afterwards “count of the sacred largesses.” + Yielding with the rest of the Romans to the dominion of Theodoric, he was + instrumental in the peaceable submission of Sicily; was successively + governor of his native provinces of Bruttium and Lucania, quaestor, + magister, palatii, Praetorian præfect, patrician, consul, and private + secretary, and, in fact, first minister of the king. He was five times + Praetorian præfect under different sovereigns, the last time in the reign + of Vitiges. This is the theory of Manso, which is not unencumbered with + difficulties. M. Buat had supposed that it was the father of Cassiodorus + who held the office first named. Compare Manso, p. 85, &c., and + Beylage, vii. It certainly appears improbable that Cassiodorus should have + been count of the sacred largesses at twenty years old.—M.] + </p> + <p> + As the patron of the republic, it was the interest and duty of the Gothic + king to cultivate the affections of the senate <a href="#linknote-39.58" + name="linknoteref-39.58" id="linknoteref-39.58">58</a> and people. The nobles of + Rome were flattered by sonorous epithets and formal professions of + respect, which had been more justly applied to the merit and authority of + their ancestors. The people enjoyed, without fear or danger, the three + blessings of a capital, order, plenty, and public amusements. A visible + diminution of their numbers may be found even in the measure of + liberality; <a href="#linknote-39.59" name="linknoteref-39.59" + id="linknoteref-39.59">59</a> yet Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily, poured their + tribute of corn into the granaries of Rome; an allowance of bread and meat + was distributed to the indigent citizens; and every office was deemed + honorable which was consecrated to the care of their health and happiness. + The public games, such as the Greek ambassador might politely applaud, + exhibited a faint and feeble copy of the magnificence of the Caesars: yet + the musical, the gymnastic, and the pantomime arts, had not totally sunk + in oblivion; the wild beasts of Africa still exercised in the amphitheatre + the courage and dexterity of the hunters; and the indulgent Goth either + patiently tolerated or gently restrained the blue and green factions, + whose contests so often filled the circus with clamor and even with blood. + <a href="#linknote-39.60" name="linknoteref-39.60" id="linknoteref-39.60">60</a> In + the seventh year of his peaceful reign, Theodoric visited the old capital + of the world; the senate and people advanced in solemn procession to + salute a second Trajan, a new Valentinian; and he nobly supported that + character by the assurance of a just and legal government, <a + href="#linknote-39.61" name="linknoteref-39.61" id="linknoteref-39.61">61</a> in a + discourse which he was not afraid to pronounce in public, and to inscribe + on a tablet of brass. Rome, in this august ceremony, shot a last ray of + declining glory; and a saint, the spectator of this pompous scene, could + only hope, in his pious fancy, that it was excelled by the celestial + splendor of the new Jerusalem. <a href="#linknote-39.62" name="linknoteref-39.62" + id="linknoteref-39.62">62</a> During a residence of six months, the fame, the + person, and the courteous demeanor of the Gothic king, excited the + admiration of the Romans, and he contemplated, with equal curiosity and + surprise, the monuments that remained of their ancient greatness. He + imprinted the footsteps of a conqueror on the Capitoline hill, and frankly + confessed that each day he viewed with fresh wonder the forum of Trajan + and his lofty column. The theatre of Pompey appeared, even in its decay, + as a huge mountain artificially hollowed, and polished, and adorned by + human industry; and he vaguely computed, that a river of gold must have + been drained to erect the colossal amphitheatre of Titus. <a + href="#linknote-39.63" name="linknoteref-39.63" id="linknoteref-39.63">63</a> From + the mouths of fourteen aqueducts, a pure and copious stream was diffused + into every part of the city; among these the Claudian water, which arose + at the distance of thirty-eight miles in the Sabine mountains, was + conveyed along a gentle though constant declivity of solid arches, till it + descended on the summit of the Aventine hill. The long and spacious vaults + which had been constructed for the purpose of common sewers, subsisted, + after twelve centuries, in their pristine strength; and these + subterraneous channels have been preferred to all the visible wonders of + Rome. <a href="#linknote-39.64" name="linknoteref-39.64" id="linknoteref-39.64">64</a> + The Gothic kings, so injuriously accused of the ruin of antiquity, were + anxious to preserve the monuments of the nation whom they had subdued. <a + href="#linknote-39.65" name="linknoteref-39.65" id="linknoteref-39.65">65</a> The + royal edicts were framed to prevent the abuses, the neglect, or the + depredations of the citizens themselves; and a professed architect, the + annual sum of two hundred pounds of gold, twenty-five thousand tiles, and + the receipt of customs from the Lucrine port, were assigned for the + ordinary repairs of the walls and public edifices. A similar care was + extended to the statues of metal or marble of men or animals. The spirit + of the horses, which have given a modern name to the Quirinal, was + applauded by the Barbarians; <a href="#linknote-39.66" name="linknoteref-39.66" + id="linknoteref-39.66">66</a> the brazen elephants of the Via sacra were + diligently restored; <a href="#linknote-39.67" name="linknoteref-39.67" + id="linknoteref-39.67">67</a> the famous heifer of Myron deceived the cattle, + as they were driven through the forum of peace; <a href="#linknote-39.68" + name="linknoteref-39.68" id="linknoteref-39.68">68</a> and an officer was + created to protect those works of art, which Theodoric considered as the + noblest ornament of his kingdom. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.58" id="linknote-39.58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.58">return</a>)<br /> [ See his regard for the + senate in Cochlaeus, (Vit. Theod. viii. p. 72—80.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.59" id="linknote-39.59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.59">return</a>)<br /> [ No more than 120,000 + modii, or four thousand quarters, (Anonym. Valesian. p. 721, and Var. i. + 35, vi. 18, xi. 5, 39.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.60" id="linknote-39.60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.60">return</a>)<br /> [ See his regard and + indulgence for the spectacles of the circus, the amphitheatre, and the + theatre, in the Chronicle and Epistles of Cassiodorus, (Var. i. 20, 27, + 30, 31, 32, iii. 51, iv. 51, illustrated by the xivth Annotation of + Mascou’s History), who has contrived to sprinkle the subject with + ostentatious, though agreeable, learning.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.61" id="linknote-39.61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.61">return</a>)<br /> [ Anonym. Vales. p. 721. + Marius Aventicensis in Chron. In the scale of public and personal merit, + the Gothic conqueror is at least as much above Valentinian, as he may seem + inferior to Trajan.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.62" id="linknote-39.62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.62">return</a>)<br /> [ Vit. Fulgentii in Baron. + Annal. Eccles. A.D. 500, No. 10.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.63" id="linknote-39.63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.63">return</a>)<br /> [ Cassiodorus describes in + his pompous style the Forum of Trajan (Var. vii. 6,) the theatre of + Marcellus, (iv. 51,) and the amphitheatre of Titus, (v. 42;) and his + descriptions are not unworthy of the reader’s perusal. According to the + modern prices, the Abbe Barthelemy computes that the brick work and + masonry of the Coliseum would now cost twenty millions of French livres, + (Mem. de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxviii. p. 585, 586.) How small + a part of that stupendous fabric!] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.64" id="linknote-39.64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.64">return</a>)<br /> [ For the aqueducts and + cloacae, see Strabo, (l. v. p. 360;) Pliny, (Hist. Natur. xxxvi. 24; + Cassiodorus, Var. iii. 30, 31, vi. 6;) Procopius, (Goth. l. i. c. 19;) and + Nardini, (Roma Antica, p. 514—522.) How such works could be executed + by a king of Rome, is yet a problem. Note: See Niebuhr, vol. i. p. 402. + These stupendous works are among the most striking confirmations of + Niebuhr’s views of the early Roman history; at least they appear to + justify his strong sentence—“These works and the building of the + Capitol attest with unquestionable evidence that this Rome of the later + kings was the chief city of a great state.”—Page 110—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.65" id="linknote-39.65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.65">return</a>)<br /> [ For the Gothic care of + the buildings and statues, see Cassiodorus (Var. i. 21, 25, ii. 34, iv. + 30, vii. 6, 13, 15) and the Valesian Fragment, (p. 721.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.66" id="linknote-39.66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.66">return</a>)<br /> [ Var. vii. 15. These + horses of Monte Cavallo had been transported from Alexandria to the baths + of Constantine, (Nardini, p. 188.) Their sculpture is disdained by the + Abbe Dubos, (Reflexions sur la Poesie et sur la Peinture, tom. i. section + 39,) and admired by Winkelman, (Hist. de l’Art, tom. ii. p. 159.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.67" id="linknote-39.67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.67">return</a>)<br /> [ Var. x. 10. They were + probably a fragment of some triumphal car, (Cuper de Elephantis, ii. 10.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.68" id="linknote-39.68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.68">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius (Goth. l. iv. + c. 21) relates a foolish story of Myron’s cow, which is celebrated by the + false wit of thirty-six Greek epigrams, (Antholog. l. iv. p. 302—306, + edit. Hen. Steph.; Auson. Epigram. xiii.—lxviii.)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap39.3"></a> +Chapter XXXIX: Gothic Kingdom Of Italy.—Part III.</h2> + + <p> + After the example of the last emperors, Theodoric preferred the residence + of Ravenna, where he cultivated an orchard with his own hands. <a + href="#linknote-39.69" name="linknoteref-39.69" id="linknoteref-39.69">69</a> As + often as the peace of his kingdom was threatened (for it was never + invaded) by the Barbarians, he removed his court to Verona <a + href="#linknote-39.70" name="linknoteref-39.70" id="linknoteref-39.70">70</a> on + the northern frontier, and the image of his palace, still extant on a + coin, represents the oldest and most authentic model of Gothic + architecture. These two capitals, as well as Pavia, Spoleto, Naples, and + the rest of the Italian cities, acquired under his reign the useful or + splendid decorations of churches, aqueducts, baths, porticos, and palaces. + <a href="#linknote-39.71" name="linknoteref-39.71" id="linknoteref-39.71">71</a> + But the happiness of the subject was more truly conspicuous in the busy + scene of labor and luxury, in the rapid increase and bold enjoyment of + national wealth. From the shades of Tibur and Praeneste, the Roman + senators still retired in the winter season to the warm sun, and + salubrious springs of Baiae; and their villas, which advanced on solid + moles into the Bay of Naples, commanded the various prospect of the sky, + the earth, and the water. On the eastern side of the Adriatic, a new + Campania was formed in the fair and fruitful province of Istria, which + communicated with the palace of Ravenna by an easy navigation of one + hundred miles. The rich productions of Lucania and the adjacent provinces + were exchanged at the Marcilian fountain, in a populous fair annually + dedicated to trade, intemperance, and superstition. In the solitude of + Comum, which had once been animated by the mild genius of Pliny, a + transparent basin above sixty miles in length still reflected the rural + seats which encompassed the margin of the Larian lake; and the gradual + ascent of the hills was covered by a triple plantation of olives, of + vines, and of chestnut trees. <a href="#linknote-39.72" name="linknoteref-39.72" + id="linknoteref-39.72">72</a> Agriculture revived under the shadow of peace, + and the number of husbandmen was multiplied by the redemption of captives. + <a href="#linknote-39.73" name="linknoteref-39.73" id="linknoteref-39.73">73</a> + The iron mines of Dalmatia, a gold mine in Bruttium, were carefully + explored, and the Pomptine marshes, as well as those of Spoleto, were + drained and cultivated by private undertakers, whose distant reward must + depend on the continuance of the public prosperity. <a href="#linknote-39.74" + name="linknoteref-39.74" id="linknoteref-39.74">74</a> Whenever the seasons were + less propitious, the doubtful precautions of forming magazines of corn, + fixing the price, and prohibiting the exportation, attested at least the + benevolence of the state; but such was the extraordinary plenty which an + industrious people produced from a grateful soil, that a gallon of wine + was sometimes sold in Italy for less than three farthings, and a quarter + of wheat at about five shillings and sixpence. <a href="#linknote-39.75" + name="linknoteref-39.75" id="linknoteref-39.75">75</a> A country possessed of so + many valuable objects of exchange soon attracted the merchants of the + world, whose beneficial traffic was encouraged and protected by the + liberal spirit of Theodoric. The free intercourse of the provinces by land + and water was restored and extended; the city gates were never shut either + by day or by night; and the common saying, that a purse of gold might be + safely left in the fields, was expressive of the conscious security of the + inhabitants. <a name="linknote-39.69" id="linknote-39.69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.69">return</a>)<br /> [See an epigram of Ennodius + (ii. 3, p. 1893, 1894) on this garden and the royal gardener.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.70" id="linknote-39.70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.70">return</a>)<br /> [ His affection for that + city is proved by the epithet of “Verona tua,” and the legend of the hero; + under the barbarous name of Dietrich of Bern, (Peringsciold and Cochloeum, + p. 240,) Maffei traces him with knowledge and pleasure in his native + country, (l. ix. p. 230—236.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.71" id="linknote-39.71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.71">return</a>)<br /> [ See Maffei, (Verona + Illustrata, Part i. p. 231, 232, 308, &c.) His amputes Gothic + architecture, like the corruption of language, writing &c., not to the + Barbarians, but to the Italians themselves. Compare his sentiments with + those of Tiraboschi, (tom. iii. p. 61.) * Note: Mr. Hallam (vol. iii. p. + 432) observes that “the image of Theodoric’s palace” is represented in + Maffei, not from a coin, but from a seal. Compare D’Agincourt (Storia + dell’arte, Italian Transl., Arcitecttura, Plate xvii. No. 2, and Pittura, + Plate xvi. No. 15,) where there is likewise an engraving from a mosaic in + the church of St. Apollinaris in Ravenna, representing a building ascribed + to Theodoric in that city. Neither of these, as Mr. Hallam justly + observes, in the least approximates to what is called the Gothic style. + They are evidently the degenerate Roman architecture, and more resemble + the early attempts of our architects to get back from our national Gothic + into a classical Greek style. One of them calls to mind Inigo Jones inner + quadrangle in St. John’s College Oxford. Compare Hallam and D’Agincon vol. + i. p. 140—145.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.72" id="linknote-39.72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.72">return</a>)<br /> [ The villas, climate, and + landscape of Baiae, (Var. ix. 6; see Cluver Italia Antiq. l. iv. c. 2, p. + 1119, &c.,) Istria, (Var. xii. 22, 26,) and Comum, (Var. xi. 14; + compare with Pliny’s two villas, ix. 7,) are agreeably painted in the + Epistles of Cassiodorus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.73" id="linknote-39.73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.73">return</a>)<br /> [ In Liguria numerosa + agricolarum progenies, (Ennodius, p. 1678, 1679, 1680.) St. Epiphanius of + Pavia redeemed by prayer or ransom 6000 captives from the Burgundians of + Lyons and Savoy. Such deeds are the best of miracles.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.74" id="linknote-39.74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.74">return</a>)<br /> [ The political economy of + Theodoric (see Anonym. Vales. p. 721, and Cassiodorus, in Chron.) may be + distinctly traced under the following heads: iron mine, (Var. iii. 23;) + gold mine, (ix. 3;) Pomptine marshes, (ii. 32, 33;) Spoleto, (ii. 21;) + corn, (i. 34, x. 27, 28, xi. 11, 12;) trade, (vi. 7, vii. 9, 23;) fair of + Leucothoe or St. Cyprian in Lucania, (viii. 33;) plenty, (xii. 4;) the + cursus, or public post, (i. 29, ii. 31, iv. 47, v. 5, vi 6, vii. 33;) the + Flaminian way, (xii. 18.) * Note: The inscription commemorative of the + draining of the Pomptine marshes may be found in many works; in Gruter, + Inscript. Ant. Heidelberg, p. 152, No. 8. With variations, in Nicolai De’ + bonificamenti delle terre Pontine, p. 103. In Sartorius, in his prize + essay on the reign of Theodoric, and Manse Beylage, xi.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.75" id="linknote-39.75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.75">return</a>)<br /> [ LX modii tritici in + solidum ipsius tempore fuerunt, et vinum xxx amphoras in solidum, + (Fragment. Vales.) Corn was distributed from the granaries at xv or xxv + modii for a piece of gold, and the price was still moderate.] + </p> + <p> + A difference of religion is always pernicious, and often fatal, to the + harmony of the prince and people: the Gothic conqueror had been educated + in the profession of Arianism, and Italy was devoutly attached to the + Nicene faith. But the persuasion of Theodoric was not infected by zeal; + and he piously adhered to the heresy of his fathers, without condescending + to balance the subtile arguments of theological metaphysics. Satisfied + with the private toleration of his Arian sectaries, he justly conceived + himself to be the guardian of the public worship, and his external + reverence for a superstition which he despised, may have nourished in his + mind the salutary indifference of a statesman or philosopher. The + Catholics of his dominions acknowledged, perhaps with reluctance, the + peace of the church; their clergy, according to the degrees of rank or + merit, were honorably entertained in the palace of Theodoric; he esteemed + the living sanctity of Caesarius <a href="#linknote-39.76" + name="linknoteref-39.76" id="linknoteref-39.76">76</a> and Epiphanius, <a + href="#linknote-39.77" name="linknoteref-39.77" id="linknoteref-39.77">77</a> the + orthodox bishops of Arles and Pavia; and presented a decent offering on + the tomb of St. Peter, without any scrupulous inquiry into the creed of + the apostle. <a href="#linknote-39.78" name="linknoteref-39.78" + id="linknoteref-39.78">78</a> His favorite Goths, and even his mother, were + permitted to retain or embrace the Athanasian faith, and his long reign + could not afford the example of an Italian Catholic, who, either from + choice or compulsion, had deviated into the religion of the conqueror. <a + href="#linknote-39.79" name="linknoteref-39.79" id="linknoteref-39.79">79</a> The + people, and the Barbarians themselves, were edified by the pomp and order + of religious worship; the magistrates were instructed to defend the just + immunities of ecclesiastical persons and possessions; the bishops held + their synods, the metropolitans exercised their jurisdiction, and the + privileges of sanctuary were maintained or moderated according to the + spirit of the Roman jurisprudence. <a href="#linknote-39.80" + name="linknoteref-39.80" id="linknoteref-39.80">80</a> With the protection, + Theodoric assumed the legal supremacy, of the church; and his firm + administration restored or extended some useful prerogatives which had + been neglected by the feeble emperors of the West. He was not ignorant of + the dignity and importance of the Roman pontiff, to whom the venerable + name of Pope was now appropriated. The peace or the revolt of Italy might + depend on the character of a wealthy and popular bishop, who claimed such + ample dominion both in heaven and earth; who had been declared in a + numerous synod to be pure from all sin, and exempt from all judgment. <a + href="#linknote-39.81" name="linknoteref-39.81" id="linknoteref-39.81">81</a> When + the chair of St. Peter was disputed by Symmachus and Laurence, they + appeared at his summons before the tribunal of an Arian monarch, and he + confirmed the election of the most worthy or the most obsequious + candidate. At the end of his life, in a moment of jealousy and resentment, + he prevented the choice of the Romans, by nominating a pope in the palace + of Ravenna. The danger and furious contests of a schism were mildly + restrained, and the last decree of the senate was enacted to extinguish, + if it were possible, the scandalous venality of the papal elections. <a + href="#linknote-39.82" name="linknoteref-39.82" id="linknoteref-39.82">82</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.76" id="linknote-39.76"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 76 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.76">return</a>)<br /> [ See the life of St. + Caesarius in Baronius, (A.D. 508, No. 12, 13, 14.) The king presented him + with 300 gold solidi, and a discus of silver of the weight of sixty + pounds.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.77" id="linknote-39.77"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 77 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.77">return</a>)<br /> [ Ennodius in Vit. St. + Epiphanii, in Sirmond, Op. tom. i. p. 1672—1690. Theodoric bestowed + some important favors on this bishop, whom he used as a counsellor in + peace and war.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.78" id="linknote-39.78"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 78 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.78">return</a>)<br /> [ Devotissimus ac si + Catholicus, (Anonym. Vales. p. 720;) yet his offering was no more than two + silver candlesticks (cerostrata) of the weight of seventy pounds, far + inferior to the gold and gems of Constantinople and France, (Anastasius in + Vit. Pont. in Hormisda, p. 34, edit. Paris.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.79" id="linknote-39.79"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 79 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.79">return</a>)<br /> [ The tolerating system of + his reign (Ennodius, p. 1612. Anonym. Vales. p. 719. Procop. Goth. l. i. + c. 1, l. ii. c. 6) may be studied in the Epistles of Cassiodorous, under + the following heads: bishops, (Var. i. 9, vii. 15, 24, xi. 23;) + immunities, (i. 26, ii. 29, 30;) church lands (iv. 17, 20;) sanctuaries, + (ii. 11, iii. 47;) church plate, (xii. 20;) discipline, (iv. 44;) which + prove, at the same time, that he was the head of the church as well as of + the state. * Note: He recommended the same toleration to the emperor + Justin.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.80" id="linknote-39.80"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 80 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.80">return</a>)<br /> [ We may reject a foolish + tale of his beheading a Catholic deacon who turned Arian, (Theodor. + Lector. No. 17.) Why is Theodoric surnamed After? From Vafer? (Vales. ad + loc.) A light conjecture.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.81" id="linknote-39.81"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 81 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.81">return</a>)<br /> [ Ennodius, p. 1621, 1622, + 1636, 1638. His libel was approved and registered (synodaliter) by a Roman + council, (Baronius, A.D. 503, No. 6, Franciscus Pagi in Breviar. Pont. + Rom. tom. i. p. 242.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.82" id="linknote-39.82"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 82 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.82">return</a>)<br /> [ See Cassiodorus, (Var. + viii. 15, ix. 15, 16,) Anastasius, (in Symmacho, p. 31,) and the xviith + Annotation of Mascou. Baronius, Pagi, and most of the Catholic doctors, + confess, with an angry growl, this Gothic usurpation.] + </p> + <p> + I have descanted with pleasure on the fortunate condition of Italy; but + our fancy must not hastily conceive that the golden age of the poets, a + race of men without vice or misery, was realized under the Gothic + conquest. The fair prospect was sometimes overcast with clouds; the wisdom + of Theodoric might be deceived, his power might be resisted and the + declining age of the monarch was sullied with popular hatred and patrician + blood. In the first insolence of victory, he had been tempted to deprive + the whole party of Odoacer of the civil and even the natural rights of + society; <a href="#linknote-39.83" name="linknoteref-39.83" id="linknoteref-39.83">83</a> + a tax unseasonably imposed after the calamities of war, would have crushed + the rising agriculture of Liguria; a rigid preemption of corn, which was + intended for the public relief, must have aggravated the distress of + Campania. These dangerous projects were defeated by the virtue and + eloquence of Epiphanius and Boethius, who, in the presence of Theodoric + himself, successfully pleaded the cause of the people: <a + href="#linknote-39.84" name="linknoteref-39.84" id="linknoteref-39.84">84</a> but + if the royal ear was open to the voice of truth, a saint and a philosopher + are not always to be found at the ear of kings. + </p> + <p> + The privileges of rank, or office, or favor, were too frequently abused by + Italian fraud and Gothic violence, and the avarice of the king’s nephew + was publicly exposed, at first by the usurpation, and afterwards by the + restitution of the estates which he had unjustly extorted from his Tuscan + neighbors. Two hundred thousand Barbarians, formidable even to their + master, were seated in the heart of Italy; they indignantly supported the + restraints of peace and discipline; the disorders of their march were + always felt and sometimes compensated; and where it was dangerous to + punish, it might be prudent to dissemble, the sallies of their native + fierceness. When the indulgence of Theodoric had remitted two thirds of + the Ligurian tribute, he condescended to explain the difficulties of his + situation, and to lament the heavy though inevitable burdens which he + imposed on his subjects for their own defence. <a href="#linknote-39.85" + name="linknoteref-39.85" id="linknoteref-39.85">85</a> These ungrateful subjects + could never be cordially reconciled to the origin, the religion, or even + the virtues of the Gothic conqueror; past calamities were forgotten, and + the sense or suspicion of injuries was rendered still more exquisite by + the present felicity of the times. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.83" id="linknote-39.83"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 83 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.83">return</a>)<br /> [ He disabled them—alicentia + testandi; and all Italy mourned—lamentabili justitio. I wish to + believe, that these penalties were enacted against the rebels who had + violated their oath of allegiance; but the testimony of Ennodius (p. + 1675-1678) is the more weighty, as he lived and died under the reign of + Theodoric.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.84" id="linknote-39.84"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 84 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.84">return</a>)<br /> [ Ennodius, in Vit. + Epiphan. p. 1589, 1690. Boethius de Consolatione Philosphiae, l. i. pros. + iv. p. 45, 46, 47. Respect, but weigh the passions of the saint and the + senator; and fortify and alleviate their complaints by the various hints + of Cassiodorus, (ii. 8, iv. 36, viii. 5.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.85" id="linknote-39.85"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 85 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.85">return</a>)<br /> [ Immanium expensarum + pondus...pro ipsorum salute, &c.; yet these are no more than words.] + </p> + <p> + Even the religious toleration which Theodoric had the glory of introducing + into the Christian world, was painful and offensive to the orthodox zeal + of the Italians. They respected the armed heresy of the Goths; but their + pious rage was safely pointed against the rich and defenceless Jews, who + had formed their establishments at Naples, Rome, Ravenna, Milan, and + Genoa, for the benefit of trade, and under the sanction of the laws. <a + href="#linknote-39.86" name="linknoteref-39.86" id="linknoteref-39.86">86</a> Their + persons were insulted, their effects were pillaged, and their synagogues + were burned by the mad populace of Ravenna and Rome, inflamed, as it + should seem, by the most frivolous or extravagant pretences. The + government which could neglect, would have deserved such an outrage. A + legal inquiry was instantly directed; and as the authors of the tumult had + escaped in the crowd, the whole community was condemned to repair the + damage; and the obstinate bigots, who refused their contributions, were + whipped through the streets by the hand of the executioner. <a + href="#linknote-39.8611" name="linknoteref-39.8611" id="linknoteref-39.8611">8611</a> + This simple act of justice exasperated the discontent of the Catholics, + who applauded the merit and patience of these holy confessors. Three + hundred pulpits deplored the persecution of the church; and if the chapel + of St. Stephen at Verona was demolished by the command of Theodoric, it is + probable that some miracle hostile to his name and dignity had been + performed on that sacred theatre. At the close of a glorious life, the + king of Italy discovered that he had excited the hatred of a people whose + happiness he had so assiduously labored to promote; and his mind was + soured by indignation, jealousy, and the bitterness of unrequited love. + The Gothic conqueror condescended to disarm the unwarlike natives of + Italy, interdicting all weapons of offence, and excepting only a small + knife for domestic use. The deliverer of Rome was accused of conspiring + with the vilest informers against the lives of senators whom he suspected + of a secret and treasonable correspondence with the Byzantine court. <a + href="#linknote-39.87" name="linknoteref-39.87" id="linknoteref-39.87">87</a> After + the death of Anastasius, the diadem had been placed on the head of a + feeble old man; but the powers of government were assumed by his nephew + Justinian, who already meditated the extirpation of heresy, and the + conquest of Italy and Africa. A rigorous law, which was published at + Constantinople, to reduce the Arians by the dread of punishment within the + pale of the church, awakened the just resentment of Theodoric, who claimed + for his distressed brethren of the East the same indulgence which he had + so long granted to the Catholics of his dominions. <a href="#linknote-39.8711" + name="linknoteref-39.8711" id="linknoteref-39.8711">8711</a> At his stern + command, the Roman pontiff, with four illustrious senators, embarked on an + embassy, of which he must have alike dreaded the failure or the success. + The singular veneration shown to the first pope who had visited + Constantinople was punished as a crime by his jealous monarch; the artful + or peremptory refusal of the Byzantine court might excuse an equal, and + would provoke a larger, measure of retaliation; and a mandate was prepared + in Italy, to prohibit, after a stated day, the exercise of the Catholic + worship. By the bigotry of his subjects and enemies, the most tolerant of + princes was driven to the brink of persecution; and the life of Theodoric + was too long, since he lived to condemn the virtue of Boethius and + Symmachus. <a href="#linknote-39.88" name="linknoteref-39.88" id="linknoteref-39.88">88</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.86" id="linknote-39.86"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 86 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.86">return</a>)<br /> [ The Jews were settled at + Naples, (Procopius, Goth. l. i. c. 8,) at Genoa, (Var. ii. 28, iv. 33,) + Milan, (v. 37,) Rome, (iv. 43.) See likewise Basnage, Hist. des Juifs, + tom. viii. c. 7, p. 254.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.8611" id="linknote-39.8611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8611 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.8611">return</a>)<br /> [ See History of the + Jews vol. iii. p. 217.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.87" id="linknote-39.87"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 87 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.87">return</a>)<br /> [ Rex avidus communis + exitii, &c., (Boethius, l. i. p. 59:) rex colum Romanis tendebat, + (Anonym. Vales. p. 723.) These are hard words: they speak the passions of + the Italians and those (I fear) of Theodoric himself.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.8711" id="linknote-39.8711"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8711 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.8711">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon should not + have omitted the golden words of Theodoric in a letter which he addressed + to Justin: That to pretend to a dominion over the conscience is to usurp + the prerogative of God; that by the nature of things the power of + sovereigns is confined to external government; that they have no right of + punishment but over those who disturb the public peace, of which they are + the guardians; that the most dangerous heresy is that of a sovereign who + separates from himself a part of his subjects because they believe not + according to his belief. Compare Le Beau, vol viii. p. 68.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.88" id="linknote-39.88"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 88 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.88">return</a>)<br /> [ I have labored to extract + a rational narrative from the dark, concise, and various hints of the + Valesian Fragment, (p. 722, 723, 724,) Theophanes, (p. 145,) Anastasius, + (in Johanne, p. 35,) and the Hist Miscella, (p. 103, edit. Muratori.) A + gentle pressure and paraphrase of their words is no violence. Consult + likewise Muratori (Annali d’ Italia, tom. iv. p. 471-478,) with the Annals + and Breviary (tom. i. p. 259—263) of the two Pagis, the uncle and + the nephew.] + </p> + <p> + The senator Boethius <a href="#linknote-39.89" name="linknoteref-39.89" + id="linknoteref-39.89">89</a> is the last of the Romans whom Cato or Tully + could have acknowledged for their countryman. As a wealthy orphan, he + inherited the patrimony and honors of the Anician family, a name + ambitiously assumed by the kings and emperors of the age; and the + appellation of Manlius asserted his genuine or fabulous descent from a + race of consuls and dictators, who had repulsed the Gauls from the + Capitol, and sacrificed their sons to the discipline of the republic. In + the youth of Boethius the studies of Rome were not totally abandoned; a + Virgil <a href="#linknote-39.90" name="linknoteref-39.90" id="linknoteref-39.90">90</a> + is now extant, corrected by the hand of a consul; and the professors of + grammar, rhetoric, and jurisprudence, were maintained in their privileges + and pensions by the liberality of the Goths. But the erudition of the + Latin language was insufficient to satiate his ardent curiosity: and + Boethius is said to have employed eighteen laborious years in the schools + of Athens, <a href="#linknote-39.91" name="linknoteref-39.91" id="linknoteref-39.91">91</a> + which were supported by the zeal, the learning, and the diligence of + Proclus and his disciples. The reason and piety of their Roman pupil were + fortunately saved from the contagion of mystery and magic, which polluted + the groves of the academy; but he imbibed the spirit, and imitated the + method, of his dead and living masters, who attempted to reconcile the + strong and subtile sense of Aristotle with the devout contemplation and + sublime fancy of Plato. After his return to Rome, and his marriage with + the daughter of his friend, the patrician Symmachus, Boethius still + continued, in a palace of ivory and marble, to prosecute the same studies. + <a href="#linknote-39.92" name="linknoteref-39.92" id="linknoteref-39.92">92</a> + The church was edified by his profound defence of the orthodox creed + against the Arian, the Eutychian, and the Nestorian heresies; and the + Catholic unity was explained or exposed in a formal treatise by the + indifference of three distinct though consubstantial persons. For the + benefit of his Latin readers, his genius submitted to teach the first + elements of the arts and sciences of Greece. The geometry of Euclid, the + music of Pythagoras, the arithmetic of Nicomachus, the mechanics of + Archimedes, the astronomy of Ptolemy, the theology of Plato, and the logic + of Aristotle, with the commentary of Porphyry, were translated and + illustrated by the indefatigable pen of the Roman senator. And he alone + was esteemed capable of describing the wonders of art, a sun-dial, a + water-clock, or a sphere which represented the motions of the planets. + From these abstruse speculations, Boethius stooped, or, to speak more + truly, he rose to the social duties of public and private life: the + indigent were relieved by his liberality; and his eloquence, which + flattery might compare to the voice of Demosthenes or Cicero, was + uniformly exerted in the cause of innocence and humanity. Such conspicuous + merit was felt and rewarded by a discerning prince: the dignity of + Boethius was adorned with the titles of consul and patrician, and his + talents were usefully employed in the important station of master of the + offices. Notwithstanding the equal claims of the East and West, his two + sons were created, in their tender youth, the consuls of the same year. <a + href="#linknote-39.93" name="linknoteref-39.93" id="linknoteref-39.93">93</a> On + the memorable day of their inauguration, they proceeded in solemn pomp + from their palace to the forum amidst the applause of the senate and + people; and their joyful father, the true consul of Rome, after + pronouncing an oration in the praise of his royal benefactor, distributed + a triumphal largess in the games of the circus. Prosperous in his fame and + fortunes, in his public honors and private alliances, in the cultivation + of science and the consciousness of virtue, Boethius might have been + styled happy, if that precarious epithet could be safely applied before + the last term of the life of man. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.89" id="linknote-39.89"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 89 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.89">return</a>)<br /> [ Le Clerc has composed a + critical and philosophical life of Anicius Manlius Severinus Boetius, + (Bibliot. Choisie, tom. xvi. p. 168—275;) and both Tiraboschi (tom. + iii.) and Fabricius (Bibliot Latin.) may be usefully consulted. The date + of his birth may be placed about the year 470, and his death in 524, in a + premature old age, (Consol. Phil. Metrica. i. p. 5.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.90" id="linknote-39.90"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 90 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.90">return</a>)<br /> [ For the age and value of + this Ms., now in the Medicean library at Florence, see the Cenotaphia + Pisana (p. 430-447) of Cardinal Noris.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.91" id="linknote-39.91"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 91 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.91">return</a>)<br /> [ The Athenian studies of + Boethius are doubtful, (Baronius, A.D. 510, No. 3, from a spurious tract, + De Disciplina Scholarum,) and the term of eighteen years is doubtless too + long: but the simple fact of a visit to Athens is justified by much + internal evidence, (Brucker, Hist. Crit. Philosoph. tom. iii. p. 524—527,) + and by an expression (though vague and ambiguous) of his friend + Cassiodorus, (Var. i. 45,) “longe positas Athenas intrioisti.”] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.92" id="linknote-39.92"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 92 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.92">return</a>)<br /> [ Bibliothecae comptos + ebore ac vitro * parietes, &c., (Consol. Phil. l. i. pros. v. p. 74.) + The Epistles of Ennodius (vi. 6, vii. 13, viii. 1 31, 37, 40) and + Cassiodorus (Var. i. 39, iv. 6, ix. 21) afford many proofs of the high + reputation which he enjoyed in his own times. It is true, that the bishop + of Pavia wanted to purchase of him an old house at Milan, and praise might + be tendered and accepted in part of payment. * Note: Gibbon translated + vitro, marble; under the impression, no doubt that glass was unknown.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.93" id="linknote-39.93"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 93 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.93">return</a>)<br /> [ Pagi, Muratori, &c., + are agreed that Boethius himself was consul in the year 510, his two sons + in 522, and in 487, perhaps, his father. A desire of ascribing the last of + these consulships to the philosopher had perplexed the chronology of his + life. In his honors, alliances, children, he celebrates his own felicity—his + past felicity, (p. 109 110)] + </p> + <p> + A philosopher, liberal of his wealth and parsimonious of his time, might + be insensible to the common allurements of ambition, the thirst of gold + and employment. And some credit may be due to the asseveration of + Boethius, that he had reluctantly obeyed the divine Plato, who enjoins + every virtuous citizen to rescue the state from the usurpation of vice and + ignorance. For the integrity of his public conduct he appeals to the + memory of his country. His authority had restrained the pride and + oppression of the royal officers, and his eloquence had delivered + Paulianus from the dogs of the palace. He had always pitied, and often + relieved, the distress of the provincials, whose fortunes were exhausted + by public and private rapine; and Boethius alone had courage to oppose the + tyranny of the Barbarians, elated by conquest, excited by avarice, and, as + he complains, encouraged by impunity. In these honorable contests his + spirit soared above the consideration of danger, and perhaps of prudence; + and we may learn from the example of Cato, that a character of pure and + inflexible virtue is the most apt to be misled by prejudice, to be heated + by enthusiasm, and to confound private enmities with public justice. The + disciple of Plato might exaggerate the infirmities of nature, and the + imperfections of society; and the mildest form of a Gothic kingdom, even + the weight of allegiance and gratitude, must be insupportable to the free + spirit of a Roman patriot. But the favor and fidelity of Boethius declined + in just proportion with the public happiness; and an unworthy colleague + was imposed to divide and control the power of the master of the offices. + In the last gloomy season of Theodoric, he indignantly felt that he was a + slave; but as his master had only power over his life, he stood without + arms and without fear against the face of an angry Barbarian, who had been + provoked to believe that the safety of the senate was incompatible with + his own. The senator Albinus was accused and already convicted on the + presumption of hoping, as it was said, the liberty of Rome. “If Albinus be + criminal,” exclaimed the orator, “the senate and myself are all guilty of + the same crime. If we are innocent, Albinus is equally entitled to the + protection of the laws.” These laws might not have punished the simple and + barren wish of an unattainable blessing; but they would have shown less + indulgence to the rash confession of Boethius, that, had he known of a + conspiracy, the tyrant never should. <a href="#linknote-39.94" + name="linknoteref-39.94" id="linknoteref-39.94">94</a> The advocate of Albinus + was soon involved in the danger and perhaps the guilt of his client; their + signature (which they denied as a forgery) was affixed to the original + address, inviting the emperor to deliver Italy from the Goths; and three + witnesses of honorable rank, perhaps of infamous reputation, attested the + treasonable designs of the Roman patrician. <a href="#linknote-39.95" + name="linknoteref-39.95" id="linknoteref-39.95">95</a> Yet his innocence must be + presumed, since he was deprived by Theodoric of the means of + justification, and rigorously confined in the tower of Pavia, while the + senate, at the distance of five hundred miles, pronounced a sentence of + confiscation and death against the most illustrious of its members. At the + command of the Barbarians, the occult science of a philosopher was + stigmatized with the names of sacrilege and magic. <a href="#linknote-39.96" + name="linknoteref-39.96" id="linknoteref-39.96">96</a> A devout and dutiful + attachment to the senate was condemned as criminal by the trembling voices + of the senators themselves; and their ingratitude deserved the wish or + prediction of Boethius, that, after him, none should be found guilty of + the same offence. <a href="#linknote-39.97" name="linknoteref-39.97" + id="linknoteref-39.97">97</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.94" id="linknote-39.94"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 94 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.94">return</a>)<br /> [ Si ego scissem tu + nescisses. Beothius adopts this answer (l. i. pros. 4, p. 53) of Julius + Canus, whose philosophic death is described by Seneca, (De Tranquillitate + Animi, c. 14.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.95" id="linknote-39.95"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 95 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.95">return</a>)<br /> [ The characters of his two + delators, Basilius (Var. ii. 10, 11, iv. 22) and Opilio, (v. 41, viii. + 16,) are illustrated, not much to their honor, in the Epistles of + Cassiodorus, which likewise mention Decoratus, (v. 31,) the worthless + colleague of Beothius, (l. iii. pros. 4, p. 193.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.96" id="linknote-39.96"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 96 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.96">return</a>)<br /> [ A severe inquiry was + instituted into the crime of magic, (Var. iv 22, 23, ix. 18;) and it was + believed that many necromancers had escaped by making their jailers mad: + for mad I should read drunk.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.97" id="linknote-39.97"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 97 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.97">return</a>)<br /> [ Boethius had composed his + own Apology, (p. 53,) perhaps more interesting than his Consolation. We + must be content with the general view of his honors, principles, + persecution, &c., (l. i. pros. 4, p. 42—62,) which may be + compared with the short and weighty words of the Valesian Fragment, (p. + 723.) An anonymous writer (Sinner, Catalog. Mss. Bibliot. Bern. tom. i. p. + 287) charges him home with honorable and patriotic treason.] + </p> + <p> + While Boethius, oppressed with fetters, expected each moment the sentence + or the stroke of death, he composed, in the tower of Pavia, the + Consolation of Philosophy; a golden volume not unworthy of the leisure of + Plato or Tully, but which claims incomparable merit from the barbarism of + the times and the situation of the author. The celestial guide, whom he + had so long invoked at Rome and Athens, now condescended to illumine his + dungeon, to revive his courage, and to pour into his wounds her salutary + balm. She taught him to compare his long prosperity and his recent + distress, and to conceive new hopes from the inconstancy of fortune. + Reason had informed him of the precarious condition of her gifts; + experience had satisfied him of their real value; he had enjoyed them + without guilt; he might resign them without a sigh, and calmly disdain the + impotent malice of his enemies, who had left him happiness, since they had + left him virtue. From the earth, Boethius ascended to heaven in search of + the Supreme Good; explored the metaphysical labyrinth of chance and + destiny, of prescience and free will, of time and eternity; and generously + attempted to reconcile the perfect attributes of the Deity with the + apparent disorders of his moral and physical government. Such topics of + consolation so obvious, so vague, or so abstruse, are ineffectual to + subdue the feelings of human nature. Yet the sense of misfortune may be + diverted by the labor of thought; and the sage who could artfully combine + in the same work the various riches of philosophy, poetry, and eloquence, + must already have possessed the intrepid calmness which he affected to + seek. Suspense, the worst of evils, was at length determined by the + ministers of death, who executed, and perhaps exceeded, the inhuman + mandate of Theodoric. A strong cord was fastened round the head of + Boethius, and forcibly tightened, till his eyes almost started from their + sockets; and some mercy may be discovered in the milder torture of beating + him with clubs till he expired. <a href="#linknote-39.98" + name="linknoteref-39.98" id="linknoteref-39.98">98</a> But his genius survived + to diffuse a ray of knowledge over the darkest ages of the Latin world; + the writings of the philosopher were translated by the most glorious of + the English kings, <a href="#linknote-39.99" name="linknoteref-39.99" + id="linknoteref-39.99">99</a> and the third emperor of the name of Otho + removed to a more honorable tomb the bones of a Catholic saint, who, from + his Arian persecutors, had acquired the honors of martyrdom, and the fame + of miracles. <a href="#linknote-39.100" name="linknoteref-39.100" + id="linknoteref-39.100">100</a> In the last hours of Boethius, he derived + some comfort from the safety of his two sons, of his wife, and of his + father-in-law, the venerable Symmachus. But the grief of Symmachus was + indiscreet, and perhaps disrespectful: he had presumed to lament, he might + dare to revenge, the death of an injured friend. He was dragged in chains + from Rome to the palace of Ravenna; and the suspicions of Theodoric could + only be appeased by the blood of an innocent and aged senator. <a + href="#linknote-39.101" name="linknoteref-39.101" id="linknoteref-39.101">101</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.98" id="linknote-39.98"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 98 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.98">return</a>)<br /> [ He was executed in Agro + Calventiano, (Calvenzano, between Marignano and Pavia,) Anonym. Vales. p. + 723, by order of Eusebius, count of Ticinum or Pavia. This place of + confinement is styled the baptistery, an edifice and name peculiar to + cathedrals. It is claimed by the perpetual tradition of the church of + Pavia. The tower of Boethius subsisted till the year 1584, and the draught + is yet preserved, (Tiraboschi, tom. iii. p. 47, 48.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.99" id="linknote-39.99"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 99 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.99">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Biographia + Britannica, Alfred, tom. i. p. 80, 2d edition. The work is still more + honorable if performed under the learned eye of Alfred by his foreign and + domestic doctors. For the reputation of Boethius in the middle ages, + consult Brucker, (Hist. Crit. Philosoph. tom. iii. p. 565, 566.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.100" id="linknote-39.100"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 100 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.100">return</a>)<br /> [ The inscription on his + new tomb was composed by the preceptor of Otho III., the learned Pope + Silvester II., who, like Boethius himself, was styled a magician by the + ignorance of the times. The Catholic martyr had carried his head in his + hands a considerable way, (Baronius, A.D. 526, No. 17, 18;) and yet on a + similar tale, a lady of my acquaintance once observed, “La distance n’y + fait rien; il n’y a que lo remier pas qui coute.” Note: Madame du Deffand. + This witticism referred to the miracle of St. Denis.—G.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.101" id="linknote-39.101"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 101 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.101">return</a>)<br /> [ Boethius applauds the + virtues of his father-in-law, (l. i. pros. 4, p. 59, l. ii. pros. 4, p. + 118.) Procopius, (Goth. l. i. c. i.,) the Valesian Fragment, (p. 724,) and + the Historia Miscella, (l. xv. p. 105,) agree in praising the superior + innocence or sanctity of Symmachus; and in the estimation of the legend, + the guilt of his murder is equal to the imprisonment of a pope.] + </p> + <p> + Humanity will be disposed to encourage any report which testifies the + jurisdiction of conscience and the remorse of kings; and philosophy is not + ignorant that the most horrid spectres are sometimes created by the powers + of a disordered fancy, and the weakness of a distempered body. After a + life of virtue and glory, Theodoric was now descending with shame and + guilt into the grave; his mind was humbled by the contrast of the past, + and justly alarmed by the invisible terrors of futurity. One evening, as + it is related, when the head of a large fish was served on the royal + table, <a href="#linknote-39.102" name="linknoteref-39.102" id="linknoteref-39.102">102</a> + he suddenly exclaimed, that he beheld the angry countenance of Symmachus, + his eyes glaring fury and revenge, and his mouth armed with long sharp + teeth, which threatened to devour him. The monarch instantly retired to + his chamber, and, as he lay, trembling with aguish cold, under a weight of + bed-clothes, he expressed, in broken murmurs to his physician Elpidius, + his deep repentance for the murders of Boethius and Symmachus. <a + href="#linknote-39.103" name="linknoteref-39.103" id="linknoteref-39.103">103</a> + His malady increased, and after a dysentery which continued three days, he + expired in the palace of Ravenna, in the thirty-third, or, if we compute + from the invasion of Italy, in the thirty-seventh year of his reign. + Conscious of his approaching end, he divided his treasures and provinces + between his two grandsons, and fixed the Rhone as their common boundary. + <a href="#linknote-39.104" name="linknoteref-39.104" id="linknoteref-39.104">104</a> + Amalaric was restored to the throne of Spain. Italy, with all the + conquests of the Ostrogoths, was bequeathed to Athalaric; whose age did + not exceed ten years, but who was cherished as the last male offspring of + the line of Amali, by the short-lived marriage of his mother Amalasuntha + with a royal fugitive of the same blood. <a href="#linknote-39.105" + name="linknoteref-39.105" id="linknoteref-39.105">105</a> In the presence of the + dying monarch, the Gothic chiefs and Italian magistrates mutually engaged + their faith and loyalty to the young prince, and to his guardian mother; + and received, in the same awful moment, his last salutary advice, to + maintain the laws, to love the senate and people of Rome, and to cultivate + with decent reverence the friendship of the emperor. <a + href="#linknote-39.106" name="linknoteref-39.106" id="linknoteref-39.106">106</a> + The monument of Theodoric was erected by his daughter Amalasuntha, in a + conspicuous situation, which commanded the city of Ravenna, the harbor, + and the adjacent coast. A chapel of a circular form, thirty feet in + diameter, is crowned by a dome of one entire piece of granite: from the + centre of the dome four columns arose, which supported, in a vase of + porphyry, the remains of the Gothic king, surrounded by the brazen statues + of the twelve apostles. <a href="#linknote-39.107" name="linknoteref-39.107" + id="linknoteref-39.107">107</a> His spirit, after some previous expiation, + might have been permitted to mingle with the benefactors of mankind, if an + Italian hermit had not been witness, in a vision, to the damnation of + Theodoric, <a href="#linknote-39.108" name="linknoteref-39.108" + id="linknoteref-39.108">108</a> whose soul was plunged, by the ministers of + divine vengeance, into the volcano of Lipari, one of the flaming mouths of + the infernal world. <a href="#linknote-39.109" name="linknoteref-39.109" + id="linknoteref-39.109">109</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.102" id="linknote-39.102"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 102 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.102">return</a>)<br /> [ In the fanciful + eloquence of Cassiodorus, the variety of sea and river fish are an + evidence of extensive dominion; and those of the Rhine, of Sicily, and of + the Danube, were served on the table of Theodoric, (Var. xii. 14.) The + monstrous turbot of Domitian (Juvenal Satir. iii. 39) had been caught on + the shores of the Adriatic.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.103" id="linknote-39.103"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 103 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.103">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Goth. l. i. + c. 1. But he might have informed us, whether he had received this curious + anecdote from common report or from the mouth of the royal physician.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.104" id="linknote-39.104"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 104 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.104">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Goth. l. i. + c. 1, 2, 12, 13. This partition had been directed by Theodoric, though it + was not executed till after his death, Regni hereditatem superstes + reliquit, (Isidor. Chron. p. 721, edit. Grot.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.105" id="linknote-39.105"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 105 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.105">return</a>)<br /> [ Berimund, the third in + descent from Hermanric, king of the Ostrogoths, had retired into Spain, + where he lived and died in obscurity, (Jornandes, c. 33, p. 202, edit. + Muratori.) See the discovery, nuptials, and death of his grandson + Eutharic, (c. 58, p. 220.) His Roman games might render him popular, + (Cassiodor. in Chron.,) but Eutharic was asper in religione, (Anonym. + Vales. p. 723.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.106" id="linknote-39.106"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 106 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.106">return</a>)<br /> [ See the counsels of + Theodoric, and the professions of his successor, in Procopius, (Goth. l. + i. c. 1, 2,) Jornandes, (c. 59, p. 220, 221,) and Cassiodorus, (Var. viii. + 1—7.) These epistles are the triumph of his ministerial eloquence.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.107" id="linknote-39.107"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 107 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.107">return</a>)<br /> [ Anonym. Vales. p. 724. + Agnellus de Vitis. Pont. Raven. in Muratori Script. Rerum Ital. tom. ii. + P. i. p. 67. Alberti Descrittione d’ Italia, p. 311. * Note: The Mausoleum + of Theodoric, now Sante Maria della Rotonda, is engraved in D’Agincourt, + Histoire de l’Art, p xviii. of the Architectural Prints.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.108" id="linknote-39.108"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 108 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.108">return</a>)<br /> [ This legend is related + by Gregory I., (Dialog. iv. 36,) and approved by Baronius, (A.D. 526, No. + 28;) and both the pope and cardinal are grave doctors, sufficient to + establish a probable opinion.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-39.109" id="linknote-39.109"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 109 (<a href="#linknoteref-39.109">return</a>)<br /> [ Theodoric himself, or + rather Cassiodorus, had described in tragic strains the volcanos of Lipari + (Cluver. Sicilia, p. 406—410) and Vesuvius, (v 50.)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap40.1"></a> +Chapter XL: Reign Of Justinian.—Part I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Elevation Of Justin The Elder.—Reign Of Justinian.—I. The Empress +Theodora.—II. Factions Of The Circus, And Sedition Of +Constantinople.—III. Trade And Manufacture Of Silk.—IV. Finances +And Taxes.—V. Edifices Of Justinian.—Church Of St. +Sophia.—Fortifications And Frontiers Of The Eastern +Empire.—Abolition Of The Schools Of Athens, And The Consulship Of Rome. +</p> + <p> + The emperor Justinian was born <a href="#linknote-40.1" + name="linknoteref-40.1" id="linknoteref-40.1">1</a> near the ruins of + Sardica, (the modern Sophia,) of an obscure race <a href="#linknote-40.2" + name="linknoteref-40.2" id="linknoteref-40.2">2</a> of Barbarians, <a + href="#linknote-40.3" name="linknoteref-40.3" id="linknoteref-40.3">3</a> the + inhabitants of a wild and desolate country, to which the names of + Dardania, of Dacia, and of Bulgaria, have been successively applied. His + elevation was prepared by the adventurous spirit of his uncle Justin, who, + with two other peasants of the same village, deserted, for the profession + of arms, the more useful employment of husbandmen or shepherds. <a + href="#linknote-40.4" name="linknoteref-40.4" id="linknoteref-40.4">4</a> On + foot, with a scanty provision of biscuit in their knapsacks, the three + youths followed the high road of Constantinople, and were soon enrolled, + for their strength and stature, among the guards of the emperor Leo. Under + the two succeeding reigns, the fortunate peasant emerged to wealth and + honors; and his escape from some dangers which threatened his life was + afterwards ascribed to the guardian angel who watches over the fate of + kings. His long and laudable service in the Isaurian and Persian wars + would not have preserved from oblivion the name of Justin; yet they might + warrant the military promotion, which in the course of fifty years he + gradually obtained; the rank of tribune, of count, and of general; the + dignity of senator, and the command of the guards, who obeyed him as their + chief, at the important crisis when the emperor Anastasius was removed + from the world. The powerful kinsmen whom he had raised and enriched were + excluded from the throne; and the eunuch Amantius, who reigned in the + palace, had secretly resolved to fix the diadem on the head of the most + obsequious of his creatures. A liberal donative, to conciliate the + suffrage of the guards, was intrusted for that purpose in the hands of + their commander. But these weighty arguments were treacherously employed + by Justin in his own favor; and as no competitor presumed to appear, the + Dacian peasant was invested with the purple by the unanimous consent of + the soldiers, who knew him to be brave and gentle, of the clergy and + people, who believed him to be orthodox, and of the provincials, who + yielded a blind and implicit submission to the will of the capital. The + elder Justin, as he is distinguished from another emperor of the same + family and name, ascended the Byzantine throne at the age of sixty-eight + years; and, had he been left to his own guidance, every moment of a nine + years’ reign must have exposed to his subjects the impropriety of their + choice. His ignorance was similar to that of Theodoric; and it is + remarkable that in an age not destitute of learning, two contemporary + monarchs had never been instructed in the knowledge of the alphabet. <a + href="#linknote-40.411" name="linknoteref-40.411" id="linknoteref-40.411">411</a> + But the genius of Justin was far inferior to that of the Gothic king: the + experience of a soldier had not qualified him for the government of an + empire; and though personally brave, the consciousness of his own weakness + was naturally attended with doubt, distrust, and political apprehension. + But the official business of the state was diligently and faithfully + transacted by the quaestor Proclus; <a href="#linknote-40.5" + name="linknoteref-40.5" id="linknoteref-40.5">5</a> and the aged emperor + adopted the talents and ambition of his nephew Justinian, an aspiring + youth, whom his uncle had drawn from the rustic solitude of Dacia, and + educated at Constantinople, as the heir of his private fortune, and at + length of the Eastern empire. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1" id="linknote-40.1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1">return</a>)<br /> [ There is some difficulty + in the date of his birth (Ludewig in Vit. Justiniani, p. 125;) none in the + place—the district Bederiana—the village Tauresium, which he + afterwards decorated with his name and splendor, (D’Anville, Hist. de + l’Acad. &c., tom. xxxi. p. 287—292.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.2" id="linknote-40.2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.2">return</a>)<br /> [ The names of these + Dardanian peasants are Gothic, and almost English: Justinian is a + translation of uprauda, (upright;) his father Sabatius (in + Graeco-barbarous language stipes) was styled in his village Istock, + (Stock;) his mother Bigleniza was softened into Vigilantia.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.3" id="linknote-40.3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.3">return</a>)<br /> [ Ludewig (p. 127—135) + attempts to justify the Anician name of Justinian and Theodora, and to + connect them with a family from which the house of Austria has been + derived.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.4" id="linknote-40.4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.4">return</a>)<br /> [ See the anecdotes of + Procopius, (c. 6,) with the notes of N. Alemannus. The satirist would not + have sunk, in the vague and decent appellation of Zonaras. Yet why are + those names disgraceful?—and what German baron would not be proud to + descend from the Eumaeus of the Odyssey! Note: It is whimsical enough + that, in our own days, we should have, even in jest, a claimant to lineal + descent from the godlike swineherd not in the person of a German baron, + but in that of a professor of the Ionian University. Constantine Koliades, + or some malicious wit under this name, has written a tall folio to prove + Ulysses to be Homer, and himself the descendant, the heir (?), of the + Eumaeus of the Odyssey.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.411" id="linknote-40.411"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 411 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.411">return</a>)<br /> [ St. Martin questions + the fact in both cases. The ignorance of Justin rests on the secret + history of Procopius, vol. viii. p. 8. St. Martin’s notes on Le Beau.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.5" id="linknote-40.5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.5">return</a>)<br /> [ His virtues are praised + by Procopius, (Persic. l. i. c. 11.) The quaestor Proclus was the friend + of Justinian, and the enemy of every other adoption.] + </p> + <p> + Since the eunuch Amantius had been defrauded of his money, it became + necessary to deprive him of his life. The task was easily accomplished by + the charge of a real or fictitious conspiracy; and the judges were + informed, as an accumulation of guilt, that he was secretly addicted to + the Manichaean heresy. <a href="#linknote-40.6" name="linknoteref-40.6" + id="linknoteref-40.6">6</a> Amantius lost his head; three of his + companions, the first domestics of the palace, were punished either with + death or exile; and their unfortunate candidate for the purple was cast + into a deep dungeon, overwhelmed with stones, and ignominiously thrown, + without burial, into the sea. The ruin of Vitalian was a work of more + difficulty and danger. That Gothic chief had rendered himself popular by + the civil war which he boldly waged against Anastasius for the defence of + the orthodox faith, and after the conclusion of an advantageous treaty, he + still remained in the neighborhood of Constantinople at the head of a + formidable and victorious army of Barbarians. By the frail security of + oaths, he was tempted to relinquish this advantageous situation, and to + trust his person within the walls of a city, whose inhabitants, + particularly the blue faction, were artfully incensed against him by the + remembrance even of his pious hostilities. The emperor and his nephew + embraced him as the faithful and worthy champion of the church and state; + and gratefully adorned their favorite with the titles of consul and + general; but in the seventh month of his consulship, Vitalian was stabbed + with seventeen wounds at the royal banquet; <a href="#linknote-40.7" + name="linknoteref-40.7" id="linknoteref-40.7">7</a> and Justinian, who + inherited the spoil, was accused as the assassin of a spiritual brother, + to whom he had recently pledged his faith in the participation of the + Christian mysteries. <a href="#linknote-40.8" name="linknoteref-40.8" + id="linknoteref-40.8">8</a> After the fall of his rival, he was promoted, + without any claim of military service, to the office of master-general of + the Eastern armies, whom it was his duty to lead into the field against + the public enemy. But, in the pursuit of fame, Justinian might have lost + his present dominion over the age and weakness of his uncle; and instead + of acquiring by Scythian or Persian trophies the applause of his + countrymen, <a href="#linknote-40.9" name="linknoteref-40.9" + id="linknoteref-40.9">9</a> the prudent warrior solicited their favor in + the churches, the circus, and the senate, of Constantinople. The Catholics + were attached to the nephew of Justin, who, between the Nestorian and + Eutychian heresies, trod the narrow path of inflexible and intolerant + orthodoxy. <a href="#linknote-40.10" name="linknoteref-40.10" + id="linknoteref-40.10">10</a> In the first days of the new reign, he + prompted and gratified the popular enthusiasm against the memory of the + deceased emperor. After a schism of thirty-four years, he reconciled the + proud and angry spirit of the Roman pontiff, and spread among the Latins a + favorable report of his pious respect for the apostolic see. The thrones + of the East were filled with Catholic bishops, devoted to his interest, + the clergy and the monks were gained by his liberality, and the people + were taught to pray for their future sovereign, the hope and pillar of the + true religion. The magnificence of Justinian was displayed in the superior + pomp of his public spectacles, an object not less sacred and important in + the eyes of the multitude than the creed of Nice or Chalcedon: the expense + of his consulship was esteemed at two hundred and twenty-eight thousand + pieces of gold; twenty lions, and thirty leopards, were produced at the + same time in the amphitheatre, and a numerous train of horses, with their + rich trappings, was bestowed as an extraordinary gift on the victorious + charioteers of the circus. While he indulged the people of Constantinople, + and received the addresses of foreign kings, the nephew of Justin + assiduously cultivated the friendship of the senate. That venerable name + seemed to qualify its members to declare the sense of the nation, and to + regulate the succession of the Imperial throne: the feeble Anastasius had + permitted the vigor of government to degenerate into the form or substance + of an aristocracy; and the military officers who had obtained the + senatorial rank were followed by their domestic guards, a band of + veterans, whose arms or acclamations might fix in a tumultuous moment the + diadem of the East. The treasures of the state were lavished to procure + the voices of the senators, and their unanimous wish, that he would be + pleased to adopt Justinian for his colleague, was communicated to the + emperor. But this request, which too clearly admonished him of his + approaching end, was unwelcome to the jealous temper of an aged monarch, + desirous to retain the power which he was incapable of exercising; and + Justin, holding his purple with both his hands, advised them to prefer, + since an election was so profitable, some older candidate. Not + withstanding this reproach, the senate proceeded to decorate Justinian + with the royal epithet of nobilissimus; and their decree was ratified by + the affection or the fears of his uncle. After some time the languor of + mind and body, to which he was reduced by an incurable wound in his thigh, + indispensably required the aid of a guardian. He summoned the patriarch + and senators; and in their presence solemnly placed the diadem on the head + of his nephew, who was conducted from the palace to the circus, and + saluted by the loud and joyful applause of the people. The life of Justin + was prolonged about four months; but from the instant of this ceremony, he + was considered as dead to the empire, which acknowledged Justinian, in the + forty-fifth year of his age, for the lawful sovereign of the East. <a + href="#linknote-40.11" name="linknoteref-40.11" id="linknoteref-40.11">11</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.6" id="linknote-40.6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.6">return</a>)<br /> [ Manichaean signifies + Eutychian. Hear the furious acclamations of Constantinople and Tyre, the + former no more than six days after the decease of Anastasius. They + produced, the latter applauded, the eunuch’s death, (Baronius, A.D. 518, + P. ii. No. 15. Fleury, Hist Eccles. tom. vii. p. 200, 205, from the + Councils, tom. v. p. 182, 207.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.7" id="linknote-40.7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.7">return</a>)<br /> [ His power, character, and + intentions, are perfectly explained by the court de Buat, (tom. ix. p. 54—81.) + He was great-grandson of Aspar, hereditary prince in the Lesser Scythia, + and count of the Gothic foederati of Thrace. The Bessi, whom he could + influence, are the minor Goths of Jornandes, (c. 51.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.8" id="linknote-40.8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.8">return</a>)<br /> [ Justiniani patricii + factione dicitur interfectus fuisse, (Victor Tu nunensis, Chron. in + Thesaur. Temp. Scaliger, P. ii. p. 7.) Procopius (Anecdot. c. 7) styles + him a tyrant, but acknowledges something which is well explained by + Alemannus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.9" id="linknote-40.9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.9">return</a>)<br /> [ In his earliest youth + (plane adolescens) he had passed some time as a hostage with Theodoric. + For this curious fact, Alemannus (ad Procop. Anecdot. c. 9, p. 34, of the + first edition) quotes a Ms. history of Justinian, by his preceptor + Theophilus. Ludewig (p. 143) wishes to make him a soldier.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.10" id="linknote-40.10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.10">return</a>)<br /> [ The ecclesiastical + history of Justinian will be shown hereafter. See Baronius, A.D. 518—521, + and the copious article Justinianas in the index to the viith volume of + his Annals.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.11" id="linknote-40.11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.11">return</a>)<br /> [ The reign of the elder + Justin may be found in the three Chronicles of Marcellinus, Victor, and + John Malala, (tom. ii. p. 130—150,) the last of whom (in spite of + Hody, Prolegom. No. 14, 39, edit. Oxon.) lived soon after Justinian, + (Jortin’s Remarks, &c., vol. iv p. 383:) in the Ecclesiastical History + of Evagrius, (l. iv. c. 1, 2, 3, 9,) and the Excerpta of Theodorus Lector, + (No. 37,) and in Cedrenus, (p. 362—366,) and Zonaras, (l. xiv. p. 58—61,) + who may pass for an original. * Note: Dindorf, in his preface to the new + edition of Malala, p. vi., concurs with this opinion of Gibbon, which was + also that of Reiske, as to the age of the chronicler.—M.] + </p> + <p> + From his elevation to his death, Justinian governed the Roman empire + thirty-eight years, seven months, and thirteen days. + </p> + <p> + The events of his reign, which excite our curious attention by their + number, variety, and importance, are diligently related by the secretary + of Belisarius, a rhetorician, whom eloquence had promoted to the rank of + senator and præfect of Constantinople. According to the vicissitudes of + courage or servitude, of favor or disgrace, Procopius <a + href="#linknote-40.12" name="linknoteref-40.12" id="linknoteref-40.12">12</a> + successively composed the history, the panegyric, and the satire of his + own times. The eight books of the Persian, Vandalic, and Gothic wars, <a + href="#linknote-40.13" name="linknoteref-40.13" id="linknoteref-40.13">13</a> + which are continued in the five books of Agathias, deserve our esteem as a + laborious and successful imitation of the Attic, or at least of the + Asiatic, writers of ancient Greece. His facts are collected from the + personal experience and free conversation of a soldier, a statesman, and a + traveller; his style continually aspires, and often attains, to the merit + of strength and elegance; his reflections, more especially in the + speeches, which he too frequently inserts, contain a rich fund of + political knowledge; and the historian, excited by the generous ambition + of pleasing and instructing posterity, appears to disdain the prejudices + of the people, and the flattery of courts. The writings of Procopius <a + href="#linknote-40.14" name="linknoteref-40.14" id="linknoteref-40.14">14</a> + were read and applauded by his contemporaries: <a href="#linknote-40.15" + name="linknoteref-40.15" id="linknoteref-40.15">15</a> but, although he + respectfully laid them at the foot of the throne, the pride of Justinian + must have been wounded by the praise of a hero, who perpetually eclipses + the glory of his inactive sovereign. The conscious dignity of independence + was subdued by the hopes and fears of a slave; and the secretary of + Belisarius labored for pardon and reward in the six books of the Imperial + edifices. He had dexterously chosen a subject of apparent splendor, in + which he could loudly celebrate the genius, the magnificence, and the + piety of a prince, who, both as a conqueror and legislator, had surpassed + the puerile virtues of Themistocles and Cyrus. <a href="#linknote-40.16" + name="linknoteref-40.16" id="linknoteref-40.16">16</a> Disappointment might + urge the flatterer to secret revenge; and the first glance of favor might + again tempt him to suspend and suppress a libel, <a href="#linknote-40.17" + name="linknoteref-40.17" id="linknoteref-40.17">17</a> in which the Roman + Cyrus is degraded into an odious and contemptible tyrant, in which both + the emperor and his consort Theodora are seriously represented as two + daemons, who had assumed a human form for the destruction of mankind. <a + href="#linknote-40.18" name="linknoteref-40.18" id="linknoteref-40.18">18</a> + Such base inconsistency must doubtless sully the reputation, and detract + from the credit, of Procopius: yet, after the venom of his malignity has + been suffered to exhale, the residue of the anecdotes, even the most + disgraceful facts, some of which had been tenderly hinted in his public + history, are established by their internal evidence, or the authentic + monuments of the times. <a href="#linknote-40.19" name="linknoteref-40.19" + id="linknoteref-40.19">19</a> <a href="#linknote-40.1911" + name="linknoteref-40.1911" id="linknoteref-40.1911">1911</a> From these + various materials, I shall now proceed to describe the reign of Justinian, + which will deserve and occupy an ample space. The present chapter will + explain the elevation and character of Theodora, the factions of the + circus, and the peaceful administration of the sovereign of the East. In + the three succeeding chapters, I shall relate the wars of Justinian, which + achieved the conquest of Africa and Italy; and I shall follow the + victories of Belisarius and Narses, without disguising the vanity of their + triumphs, or the hostile virtue of the Persian and Gothic heroes. The + series of this and the following volume will embrace the jurisprudence and + theology of the emperor; the controversies and sects which still divide + the Oriental church; the reformation of the Roman law which is obeyed or + respected by the nations of modern Europe. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.12" id="linknote-40.12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.12">return</a>)<br /> [ See the characters of + Procopius and Agathias in La Mothe le Vayer, (tom. viii. p. 144—174,) + Vossius, (de Historicis Graecis, l. ii. c. 22,) and Fabricius, (Bibliot. + Graec. l. v. c. 5, tom. vi. p. 248—278.) Their religion, an + honorable problem, betrays occasional conformity, with a secret attachment + to Paganism and Philosophy.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.13" id="linknote-40.13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.13">return</a>)<br /> [ In the seven first + books, two Persic, two Vandalic, and three Gothic, Procopius has borrowed + from Appian the division of provinces and wars: the viiith book, though it + bears the name of Gothic, is a miscellaneous and general supplement down + to the spring of the year 553, from whence it is continued by Agathias + till 559, (Pagi, Critica, A.D. 579, No. 5.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.14" id="linknote-40.14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.14">return</a>)<br /> [ The literary fate of + Procopius has been somewhat unlucky. + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1. His book de Bello Gothico were stolen by Leonard Aretin, and published + (Fulginii, 1470, Venet. 1471, apud Janson. Mattaire, Annal Typograph. tom. + i. edit. posterior, p. 290, 304, 279, 299,) in his own name, (see Vossius + de Hist. Lat. l. iii. c. 5, and the feeble defence of the Venice Giornale + de Letterati, tom. xix. p. 207.) + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2. His works were mutilated by the first Latin translators, Christopher + Persona, (Giornale, tom. xix. p. 340—348,) and Raphael de Volaterra, + (Huet, de Claris Interpretibus, p. 166,) who did not even consult the Ms. + of the Vatican library, of which they were præfects, (Aleman. in Praefat + Anecdot.) 3. The Greek text was not printed till 1607, by Hoeschelius of + Augsburg, (Dictionnaire de Bayle, tom. ii. p. 782.) + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4. The Paris edition was imperfectly executed by Claude Maltret, a Jesuit + of Toulouse, (in 1663,) far distant from the Louvre press and the Vatican + Ms., from which, however, he obtained some supplements. His promised + commentaries, &c., have never appeared. The Agathias of Leyden (1594) + has been wisely reprinted by the Paris editor, with the Latin version of + Bonaventura Vulcanius, a learned interpreter, (Huet, p. 176.) + </p> + <p class="foot"> + * Note: Procopius forms a part of the new Byzantine collection under the + superintendence of Dindorf.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.15" id="linknote-40.15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.15">return</a>)<br /> [ Agathias in Praefat. p. + 7, 8, l. iv. p. 137. Evagrius, l. iv. c. 12. See likewise Photius, cod. + lxiii. p. 65.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.16" id="linknote-40.16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.16">return</a>)<br /> [ Says, he, Praefat. ad + l. de Edificiis is no more than a pun! In these five books, Procopius + affects a Christian as well as a courtly style.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.17" id="linknote-40.17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.17">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius discloses + himself, (Praefat. ad Anecdot. c. 1, 2, 5,) and the anecdotes are reckoned + as the ninth book by Suidas, (tom. iii. p. 186, edit. Kuster.) The silence + of Evagrius is a poor objection. Baronius (A.D. 548, No. 24) regrets the + loss of this secret history: it was then in the Vatican library, in his + own custody, and was first published sixteen years after his death, with + the learned, but partial notes of Nicholas Alemannus, (Lugd. 1623.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.18" id="linknote-40.18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.18">return</a>)<br /> [ Justinian an ass—the + perfect likeness of Domitian—Anecdot. c. 8.—Theodora’s lovers + driven from her bed by rival daemons—her marriage foretold with a + great daemon—a monk saw the prince of the daemons, instead of + Justinian, on the throne—the servants who watched beheld a face + without features, a body walking without a head, &c., &c. + Procopius declares his own and his friends’ belief in these diabolical + stories, (c. 12.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.19" id="linknote-40.19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.19">return</a>)<br /> [ Montesquieu + (Considerations sur la Grandeur et la Decadence des Romains, c. xx.) gives + credit to these anecdotes, as connected, 1. with the weakness of the + empire, and, 2. with the instability of Justinian’s laws.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1911" id="linknote-40.1911"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1911 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1911">return</a>)<br /> [ The Anecdota of + Procopius, compared with the former works of the same author, appear to me + the basest and most disgraceful work in literature. The wars, which he has + described in the former volumes as glorious or necessary, are become + unprofitable and wanton massacres; the buildings which he celebrated, as + raised to the immortal honor of the great emperor, and his admirable + queen, either as magnificent embellishments of the city, or useful + fortifications for the defence of the frontier, are become works of vain + prodigality and useless ostentation. I doubt whether Gibbon has made + sufficient allowance for the “malignity” of the Anecdota; at all events, + the extreme and disgusting profligacy of Theodora’s early life rests + entirely on this viratent libel—M.] + </p> + <p> + I. In the exercise of supreme power, the first act of Justinian was to + divide it with the woman whom he loved, the famous Theodora, <a + href="#linknote-40.20" name="linknoteref-40.20" id="linknoteref-40.20">20</a> + whose strange elevation cannot be applauded as the triumph of female + virtue. Under the reign of Anastasius, the care of the wild beasts + maintained by the green faction at Constantinople was intrusted to + Acacius, a native of the Isle of Cyprus, who, from his employment, was + surnamed the master of the bears. This honorable office was given after + his death to another candidate, notwithstanding the diligence of his + widow, who had already provided a husband and a successor. Acacius had + left three daughters, Comito, <a href="#linknote-40.21" + name="linknoteref-40.21" id="linknoteref-40.21">21</a> Theodora, and + Anastasia, the eldest of whom did not then exceed the age of seven years. + On a solemn festival, these helpless orphans were sent by their distressed + and indignant mother, in the garb of suppliants, into the midst of the + theatre: the green faction received them with contempt, the blues with + compassion; and this difference, which sunk deep into the mind of + Theodora, was felt long afterwards in the administration of the empire. As + they improved in age and beauty, the three sisters were successively + devoted to the public and private pleasures of the Byzantine people: and + Theodora, after following Comito on the stage, in the dress of a slave, + with a stool on her head, was at length permitted to exercise her + independent talents. She neither danced, nor sung, nor played on the + flute; her skill was confined to the pantomime arts; she excelled in + buffoon characters, and as often as the comedian swelled her cheeks, and + complained with a ridiculous tone and gesture of the blows that were + inflicted, the whole theatre of Constantinople resounded with laughter and + applause. The beauty of Theodora <a href="#linknote-40.22" + name="linknoteref-40.22" id="linknoteref-40.22">22</a> was the subject of + more flattering praise, and the source of more exquisite delight. Her + features were delicate and regular; her complexion, though somewhat pale, + was tinged with a natural color; every sensation was instantly expressed + by the vivacity of her eyes; her easy motions displayed the graces of a + small but elegant figure; and either love or adulation might proclaim, + that painting and poetry were incapable of delineating the matchless + excellence of her form. But this form was degraded by the facility with + which it was exposed to the public eye, and prostituted to licentious + desire. Her venal charms were abandoned to a promiscuous crowd of citizens + and strangers of every rank, and of every profession: the fortunate lover + who had been promised a night of enjoyment, was often driven from her bed + by a stronger or more wealthy favorite; and when she passed through the + streets, her presence was avoided by all who wished to escape either the + scandal or the temptation. The satirical historian has not blushed <a + href="#linknote-40.23" name="linknoteref-40.23" id="linknoteref-40.23">23</a> + to describe the naked scenes which Theodora was not ashamed to exhibit in + the theatre. <a href="#linknote-40.24" name="linknoteref-40.24" + id="linknoteref-40.24">24</a> After exhausting the arts of sensual + pleasure, <a href="#linknote-40.25" name="linknoteref-40.25" + id="linknoteref-40.25">25</a> she most ungratefully murmured against the + parsimony of Nature; <a href="#linknote-40.26" name="linknoteref-40.26" + id="linknoteref-40.26">26</a> but her murmurs, her pleasures, and her arts, + must be veiled in the obscurity of a learned language. After reigning for + some time, the delight and contempt of the capital, she condescended to + accompany Ecebolus, a native of Tyre, who had obtained the government of + the African Pentapolis. But this union was frail and transient; Ecebolus + soon rejected an expensive or faithless concubine; she was reduced at + Alexandria to extreme distress; and in her laborious return to + Constantinople, every city of the East admired and enjoyed the fair + Cyprian, whose merit appeared to justify her descent from the peculiar + island of Venus. The vague commerce of Theodora, and the most detestable + precautions, preserved her from the danger which she feared; yet once, and + once only, she became a mother. The infant was saved and educated in + Arabia, by his father, who imparted to him on his death-bed, that he was + the son of an empress. Filled with ambitious hopes, the unsuspecting youth + immediately hastened to the palace of Constantinople, and was admitted to + the presence of his mother. As he was never more seen, even after the + decease of Theodora, she deserves the foul imputation of extinguishing + with his life a secret so offensive to her Imperial virtue. <a + href="#linknote-40.2611" name="linknoteref-40.2611" id="linknoteref-40.2611">2611</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.20" id="linknote-40.20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.20">return</a>)<br /> [ For the life and + manners of the empress Theodora see the Anecdotes; more especially c. 1—5, + 9, 10—15, 16, 17, with the learned notes of Alemannus—a + reference which is always implied.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.21" id="linknote-40.21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.21">return</a>)<br /> [ Comito was afterwards + married to Sittas, duke of Armenia, the father, perhaps, at least she + might be the mother, of the empress Sophia. Two nephews of Theodora may be + the sons of Anastasia, (Aleman. p. 30, 31.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.22" id="linknote-40.22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.22">return</a>)<br /> [ Her statute was raised + at Constantinople, on a porphyry column. See Procopius, (de Edif. l. i. c. + 11,) who gives her portrait in the Anecdotes, (c. 10.) Aleman. (p. 47) + produces one from a Mosaic at Ravenna, loaded with pearls and jewels, and + yet handsome.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.23" id="linknote-40.23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.23">return</a>)<br /> [ A fragment of the + Anecdotes, (c. 9,) somewhat too naked, was suppressed by Alemannus, though + extant in the Vatican Ms.; nor has the defect been supplied in the Paris + or Venice editions. La Mothe le Vayer (tom. viii. p. 155) gave the first + hint of this curious and genuine passage, (Jortin’s Remarks, vol. iv. p. + 366,) which he had received from Rome, and it has been since published in + the Menagiana (tom. iii. p. 254—259) with a Latin version.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.24" id="linknote-40.24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.24">return</a>)<br /> [ After the mention of a + narrow girdle, (as none could appear stark naked in the theatre,) + Procopius thus proceeds. I have heard that a learned prelate, now + deceased, was fond of quoting this passage in conversation.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.25" id="linknote-40.25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.25">return</a>)<br /> [ Theodora surpassed the + Crispa of Ausonius, (Epigram lxxi.,) who imitated the capitalis luxus of + the females of Nola. See Quintilian Institut. viii. 6, and Torrentius ad + Horat. Sermon. l. i. sat. 2, v. 101. At a memorable supper, thirty slaves + waited round the table ten young men feasted with Theodora. Her charity + was universal. Et lassata viris, necdum satiata, recessit.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.26" id="linknote-40.26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.26">return</a>)<br /> [ She wished for a fourth + altar, on which she might pour libations to the god of love.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.2611" id="linknote-40.2611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2611 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.2611">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon should have + remembered the axiom which he quotes in another piece, scelera ostendi + oportet dum puniantur abscondi flagitia.—M.] + </p> + <p> + In the most abject state of her fortune, and reputation, some vision, + either of sleep or of fancy, had whispered to Theodora the pleasing + assurance that she was destined to become the spouse of a potent monarch. + Conscious of her approaching greatness, she returned from Paphlagonia to + Constantinople; assumed, like a skilful actress, a more decent character; + relieved her poverty by the laudable industry of spinning wool; and + affected a life of chastity and solitude in a small house, which she + afterwards changed into a magnificent temple. <a href="#linknote-40.27" + name="linknoteref-40.27" id="linknoteref-40.27">27</a> Her beauty, assisted + by art or accident, soon attracted, captivated, and fixed, the patrician + Justinian, who already reigned with absolute sway under the name of his + uncle. Perhaps she contrived to enhance the value of a gift which she had + so often lavished on the meanest of mankind; perhaps she inflamed, at + first by modest delays, and at last by sensual allurements, the desires of + a lover, who, from nature or devotion, was addicted to long vigils and + abstemious diet. When his first transports had subsided, she still + maintained the same ascendant over his mind, by the more solid merit of + temper and understanding. Justinian delighted to ennoble and enrich the + object of his affection; the treasures of the East were poured at her + feet, and the nephew of Justin was determined, perhaps by religious + scruples, to bestow on his concubine the sacred and legal character of a + wife. But the laws of Rome expressly prohibited the marriage of a senator + with any female who had been dishonored by a servile origin or theatrical + profession: the empress Lupicina, or Euphemia, a Barbarian of rustic + manners, but of irreproachable virtue, refused to accept a prostitute for + her niece; and even Vigilantia, the superstitious mother of Justinian, + though she acknowledged the wit and beauty of Theodora, was seriously + apprehensive, lest the levity and arrogance of that artful paramour might + corrupt the piety and happiness of her son. These obstacles were removed + by the inflexible constancy of Justinian. He patiently expected the death + of the empress; he despised the tears of his mother, who soon sunk under + the weight of her affliction; and a law was promulgated in the name of the + emperor Justin, which abolished the rigid jurisprudence of antiquity. A + glorious repentance (the words of the edict) was left open for the unhappy + females who had prostituted their persons on the theatre, and they were + permitted to contract a legal union with the most illustrious of the + Romans. <a href="#linknote-40.28" name="linknoteref-40.28" + id="linknoteref-40.28">28</a> This indulgence was speedily followed by the + solemn nuptials of Justinian and Theodora; her dignity was gradually + exalted with that of her lover, and, as soon as Justin had invested his + nephew with the purple, the patriarch of Constantinople placed the diadem + on the heads of the emperor and empress of the East. But the usual honors + which the severity of Roman manners had allowed to the wives of princes, + could not satisfy either the ambition of Theodora or the fondness of + Justinian. He seated her on the throne as an equal and independent + colleague in the sovereignty of the empire, and an oath of allegiance was + imposed on the governors of the provinces in the joint names of Justinian + and Theodora. <a href="#linknote-40.29" name="linknoteref-40.29" + id="linknoteref-40.29">29</a> The Eastern world fell prostrate before the + genius and fortune of the daughter of Acacius. The prostitute who, in the + presence of innumerable spectators, had polluted the theatre of + Constantinople, was adored as a queen in the same city, by grave + magistrates, orthodox bishops, victorious generals, and captive monarchs. + <a href="#linknote-40.30" name="linknoteref-40.30" id="linknoteref-40.30">30</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.27" id="linknote-40.27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.27">return</a>)<br /> [ Anonym. de Antiquitat. + C. P. l. iii. 132, in Banduri Imperium Orient. tom. i. p. 48. Ludewig (p. + 154) argues sensibly that Theodora would not have immortalized a brothel: + but I apply this fact to her second and chaster residence at + Constantinople.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.28" id="linknote-40.28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.28">return</a>)<br /> [ See the old law in + Justinian’s Code, (l. v. tit. v. leg. 7, tit. xxvii. leg. 1,) under the + years 336 and 454. The new edict (about the year 521 or 522, Aleman. p. + 38, 96) very awkwardly repeals no more than the clause of mulieres + scenicoe, libertinae, tabernariae. See the novels 89 and 117, and a Greek + rescript from Justinian to the bishops, (Aleman. p. 41.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.29" id="linknote-40.29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.29">return</a>)<br /> [ I swear by the Father, + &c., by the Virgin Mary, by the four Gospels, quae in manibus teneo, + and by the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, puram conscientiam + germanumque servitium me servaturum, sacratissimis DDNN. Justiniano et + Theodorae conjugi ejus, (Novell. viii. tit. 3.) Would the oath have been + binding in favor of the widow? Communes tituli et triumphi, &c., + (Aleman. p. 47, 48.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.30" id="linknote-40.30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.30">return</a>)<br /> [ “Let greatness own her, + and she’s mean no more,” &c. Without Warburton’s critical telescope, I + should never have seen, in this general picture of triumphant vice, any + personal allusion to Theodora.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap40.2"></a> +Chapter XL: Reign Of Justinian.—Part II.</h2> + + <p> + Those who believe that the female mind is totally depraved by the loss of + chastity, will eagerly listen to all the invectives of private envy, or + popular resentment which have dissembled the virtues of Theodora, + exaggerated her vices, and condemned with rigor the venal or voluntary + sins of the youthful harlot. From a motive of shame, or contempt, she + often declined the servile homage of the multitude, escaped from the + odious light of the capital, and passed the greatest part of the year in + the palaces and gardens which were pleasantly seated on the sea-coast of + the Propontis and the Bosphorus. Her private hours were devoted to the + prudent as well as grateful care of her beauty, the luxury of the bath and + table, and the long slumber of the evening and the morning. Her secret + apartments were occupied by the favorite women and eunuchs, whose + interests and passions she indulged at the expense of justice; the most + illustrious personages of the state were crowded into a dark and sultry + antechamber, and when at last, after tedious attendance, they were + admitted to kiss the feet of Theodora, they experienced, as her humor + might suggest, the silent arrogance of an empress, or the capricious + levity of a comedian. Her rapacious avarice to accumulate an immense + treasure, may be excused by the apprehension of her husband’s death, which + could leave no alternative between ruin and the throne; and fear as well + as ambition might exasperate Theodora against two generals, who, during + the malady of the emperor, had rashly declared that they were not disposed + to acquiesce in the choice of the capital. But the reproach of cruelty, so + repugnant even to her softer vices, has left an indelible stain on the + memory of Theodora. Her numerous spies observed, and zealously reported, + every action, or word, or look, injurious to their royal mistress. + Whomsoever they accused were cast into her peculiar prisons, <a + href="#linknote-40.31" name="linknoteref-40.31" id="linknoteref-40.31">31</a> + inaccessible to the inquiries of justice; and it was rumored, that the + torture of the rack, or scourge, had been inflicted in the presence of the + female tyrant, insensible to the voice of prayer or of pity. <a + href="#linknote-40.32" name="linknoteref-40.32" id="linknoteref-40.32">32</a> + Some of these unhappy victims perished in deep, unwholesome dungeons, + while others were permitted, after the loss of their limbs, their reason, + or their fortunes, to appear in the world, the living monuments of her + vengeance, which was commonly extended to the children of those whom she + had suspected or injured. The senator or bishop, whose death or exile + Theodora had pronounced, was delivered to a trusty messenger, and his + diligence was quickened by a menace from her own mouth. “If you fail in + the execution of my commands, I swear by Him who liveth forever, that your + skin shall be flayed from your body.” <a href="#linknote-40.33" + name="linknoteref-40.33" id="linknoteref-40.33">33</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.31" id="linknote-40.31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.31">return</a>)<br /> [ Her prisons, a + labyrinth, a Tartarus, (Anecdot. c. 4,) were under the palace. Darkness is + propitious to cruelty, but it is likewise favorable to calumny and + fiction.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.32" id="linknote-40.32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.32">return</a>)<br /> [ A more jocular whipping + was inflicted on Saturninus, for presuming to say that his wife, a + favorite of the empress, had not been found. (Anecdot. c. 17.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.33" id="linknote-40.33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.33">return</a>)<br /> [ Per viventem in saecula + excoriari te faciam. Anastasius de Vitis Pont. Roman. in Vigilio, p. 40.] + </p> + <p> + If the creed of Theodora had not been tainted with heresy, her exemplary + devotion might have atoned, in the opinion of her contemporaries, for + pride, avarice, and cruelty. But, if she employed her influence to assuage + the intolerant fury of the emperor, the present age will allow some merit + to her religion, and much indulgence to her speculative errors. <a + href="#linknote-40.34" name="linknoteref-40.34" id="linknoteref-40.34">34</a> + The name of Theodora was introduced, with equal honor, in all the pious + and charitable foundations of Justinian; and the most benevolent + institution of his reign may be ascribed to the sympathy of the empress + for her less fortunate sisters, who had been seduced or compelled to + embrace the trade of prostitution. A palace, on the Asiatic side of the + Bosphorus, was converted into a stately and spacious monastery, and a + liberal maintenance was assigned to five hundred women, who had been + collected from the streets and brothels of Constantinople. In this safe + and holy retreat, they were devoted to perpetual confinement; and the + despair of some, who threw themselves headlong into the sea, was lost in + the gratitude of the penitents, who had been delivered from sin and misery + by their generous benefactress. <a href="#linknote-40.35" + name="linknoteref-40.35" id="linknoteref-40.35">35</a> The prudence of + Theodora is celebrated by Justinian himself; and his laws are attributed + to the sage counsels of his most reverend wife whom he had received as the + gift of the Deity. <a href="#linknote-40.36" name="linknoteref-40.36" + id="linknoteref-40.36">36</a> Her courage was displayed amidst the tumult + of the people and the terrors of the court. Her chastity, from the moment + of her union with Justinian, is founded on the silence of her implacable + enemies; and although the daughter of Acacius might be satiated with love, + yet some applause is due to the firmness of a mind which could sacrifice + pleasure and habit to the stronger sense either of duty or interest. The + wishes and prayers of Theodora could never obtain the blessing of a lawful + son, and she buried an infant daughter, the sole offspring of her + marriage. <a href="#linknote-40.37" name="linknoteref-40.37" + id="linknoteref-40.37">37</a> Notwithstanding this disappointment, her + dominion was permanent and absolute; she preserved, by art or merit, the + affections of Justinian; and their seeming dissensions were always fatal + to the courtiers who believed them to be sincere. Perhaps her health had + been impaired by the licentiousness of her youth; but it was always + delicate, and she was directed by her physicians to use the Pythian warm + baths. In this journey, the empress was followed by the Praetorian + præfect, the great treasurer, several counts and patricians, and a + splendid train of four thousand attendants: the highways were repaired at + her approach; a palace was erected for her reception; and as she passed + through Bithynia, she distributed liberal alms to the churches, the + monasteries, and the hospitals, that they might implore Heaven for the + restoration of her health. <a href="#linknote-40.38" name="linknoteref-40.38" + id="linknoteref-40.38">38</a> At length, in the twenty-fourth year of her + marriage, and the twenty-second of her reign, she was consumed by a + cancer; <a href="#linknote-40.39" name="linknoteref-40.39" + id="linknoteref-40.39">39</a> and the irreparable loss was deplored by her + husband, who, in the room of a theatrical prostitute, might have selected + the purest and most noble virgin of the East. <a href="#linknote-40.40" + name="linknoteref-40.40" id="linknoteref-40.40">40</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.34" id="linknote-40.34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.34">return</a>)<br /> [ Ludewig, p. 161—166. + I give him credit for the charitable attempt, although he hath not much + charity in his temper.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.35" id="linknote-40.35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.35">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare the anecdotes + (c. 17) with the Edifices (l. i. c. 9)—how differently may the same + fact be stated! John Malala (tom. ii. p. 174, 175) observes, that on this, + or a similar occasion, she released and clothed the girls whom she had + purchased from the stews at five aurei apiece.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.36" id="linknote-40.36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.36">return</a>)<br /> [ Novel. viii. 1. An + allusion to Theodora. Her enemies read the name Daemonodora, (Aleman. p. + 66.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.37" id="linknote-40.37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.37">return</a>)<br /> [ St. Sabas refused to + pray for a son of Theodora, lest he should prove a heretic worse than + Anastasius himself, (Cyril in Vit. St. Sabae, apud Aleman. p. 70, 109.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.38" id="linknote-40.38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.38">return</a>)<br /> [ See John Malala, tom. + ii. p. 174. Theophanes, p. 158. Procopius de Edific. l. v. c. 3.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.39" id="linknote-40.39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.39">return</a>)<br /> [ Theodora Chalcedonensis + synodi inimica canceris plaga toto corpore perfusa vitam prodigiose + finivit, (Victor Tununensis in Chron.) On such occasions, an orthodox mind + is steeled against pity. Alemannus (p. 12, 13) understands of Theophanes + as civil language, which does not imply either piety or repentance; yet + two years after her death, St. Theodora is celebrated by Paul + Silentiarius, (in proem. v. 58—62.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.40" id="linknote-40.40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.40">return</a>)<br /> [ As she persecuted the + popes, and rejected a council, Baronius exhausts the names of Eve, Dalila, + Herodias, &c.; after which he has recourse to his infernal dictionary: + civis inferni—alumna daemonum—satanico agitata spiritu-oestro + percita diabolico, &c., &c., (A.D. 548, No. 24.)] + </p> + <p> + II. A material difference may be observed in the games of antiquity: the + most eminent of the Greeks were actors, the Romans were merely spectators. + The Olympic stadium was open to wealth, merit, and ambition; and if the + candidates could depend on their personal skill and activity, they might + pursue the footsteps of Diomede and Menelaus, and conduct their own horses + in the rapid career. <a href="#linknote-40.41" name="linknoteref-40.41" + id="linknoteref-40.41">41</a> Ten, twenty, forty chariots were allowed to + start at the same instant; a crown of leaves was the reward of the victor; + and his fame, with that of his family and country, was chanted in lyric + strains more durable than monuments of brass and marble. But a senator, or + even a citizen, conscious of his dignity, would have blushed to expose his + person, or his horses, in the circus of Rome. The games were exhibited at + the expense of the republic, the magistrates, or the emperors: but the + reins were abandoned to servile hands; and if the profits of a favorite + charioteer sometimes exceeded those of an advocate, they must be + considered as the effects of popular extravagance, and the high wages of a + disgraceful profession. The race, in its first institution, was a simple + contest of two chariots, whose drivers were distinguished by white and red + liveries: two additional colors, a light green, and a caerulean blue, were + afterwards introduced; and as the races were repeated twenty-five times, + one hundred chariots contributed in the same day to the pomp of the + circus. The four factions soon acquired a legal establishment, and a + mysterious origin, and their fanciful colors were derived from the various + appearances of nature in the four seasons of the year; the red dogstar of + summer, the snows of winter, the deep shades of autumn, and the cheerful + verdure of the spring. <a href="#linknote-40.42" name="linknoteref-40.42" + id="linknoteref-40.42">42</a> Another interpretation preferred the elements + to the seasons, and the struggle of the green and blue was supposed to + represent the conflict of the earth and sea. Their respective victories + announced either a plentiful harvest or a prosperous navigation, and the + hostility of the husbandmen and mariners was somewhat less absurd than the + blind ardor of the Roman people, who devoted their lives and fortunes to + the color which they had espoused. Such folly was disdained and indulged + by the wisest princes; but the names of Caligula, Nero, Vitellius, Verus, + Commodus, Caracalla, and Elagabalus, were enrolled in the blue or green + factions of the circus; they frequented their stables, applauded their + favorites, chastised their antagonists, and deserved the esteem of the + populace, by the natural or affected imitation of their manners. The + bloody and tumultuous contest continued to disturb the public festivity, + till the last age of the spectacles of Rome; and Theodoric, from a motive + of justice or affection, interposed his authority to protect the greens + against the violence of a consul and a patrician, who were passionately + addicted to the blue faction of the circus. <a href="#linknote-40.43" + name="linknoteref-40.43" id="linknoteref-40.43">43</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.41" id="linknote-40.41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.41">return</a>)<br /> [ Read and feel the xxiid + book of the Iliad, a living picture of manners, passions, and the whole + form and spirit of the chariot race West’s Dissertation on the Olympic + Games (sect. xii.—xvii.) affords much curious and authentic + information.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.42" id="linknote-40.42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.42">return</a>)<br /> [ The four colors, + albati, russati, prasini, veneti, represent the four seasons, according to + Cassiodorus, (Var. iii. 51,) who lavishes much wit and eloquence on this + theatrical mystery. Of these colors, the three first may be fairly + translated white, red, and green. Venetus is explained by coeruleus, a + word various and vague: it is properly the sky reflected in the sea; but + custom and convenience may allow blue as an equivalent, (Robert. Stephan. + sub voce. Spence’s Polymetis, p. 228.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.43" id="linknote-40.43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.43">return</a>)<br /> [ See Onuphrius Panvinius + de Ludis Circensibus, l. i. c. 10, 11; the xviith Annotation on Mascou’s + History of the Germans; and Aleman ad c. vii.] + </p> + <p> + Constantinople adopted the follies, though not the virtues, of ancient + Rome; and the same factions which had agitated the circus, raged with + redoubled fury in the hippodrome. Under the reign of Anastasius, this + popular frenzy was inflamed by religious zeal; and the greens, who had + treacherously concealed stones and daggers under baskets of fruit, + massacred, at a solemn festival, three thousand of their blue adversaries. + <a href="#linknote-40.44" name="linknoteref-40.44" id="linknoteref-40.44">44</a> + From this capital, the pestilence was diffused into the provinces and + cities of the East, and the sportive distinction of two colors produced + two strong and irreconcilable factions, which shook the foundations of a + feeble government. <a href="#linknote-40.45" name="linknoteref-40.45" + id="linknoteref-40.45">45</a> The popular dissensions, founded on the most + serious interest, or holy pretence, have scarcely equalled the obstinacy + of this wanton discord, which invaded the peace of families, divided + friends and brothers, and tempted the female sex, though seldom seen in + the circus, to espouse the inclinations of their lovers, or to contradict + the wishes of their husbands. Every law, either human or divine, was + trampled under foot, and as long as the party was successful, its deluded + followers appeared careless of private distress or public calamity. The + license, without the freedom, of democracy, was revived at Antioch and + Constantinople, and the support of a faction became necessary to every + candidate for civil or ecclesiastical honors. A secret attachment to the + family or sect of Anastasius was imputed to the greens; the blues were + zealously devoted to the cause of orthodoxy and Justinian, <a + href="#linknote-40.46" name="linknoteref-40.46" id="linknoteref-40.46">46</a> + and their grateful patron protected, above five years, the disorders of a + faction, whose seasonable tumults overawed the palace, the senate, and the + capitals of the East. Insolent with royal favor, the blues affected to + strike terror by a peculiar and Barbaric dress, the long hair of the Huns, + their close sleeves and ample garments, a lofty step, and a sonorous + voice. In the day they concealed their two-edged poniards, but in the + night they boldly assembled in arms, and in numerous bands, prepared for + every act of violence and rapine. Their adversaries of the green faction, + or even inoffensive citizens, were stripped and often murdered by these + nocturnal robbers, and it became dangerous to wear any gold buttons or + girdles, or to appear at a late hour in the streets of a peaceful capital. + A daring spirit, rising with impunity, proceeded to violate the safeguard + of private houses; and fire was employed to facilitate the attack, or to + conceal the crimes of these factious rioters. No place was safe or sacred + from their depredations; to gratify either avarice or revenge, they + profusely spilt the blood of the innocent; churches and altars were + polluted by atrocious murders; and it was the boast of the assassins, that + their dexterity could always inflict a mortal wound with a single stroke + of their dagger. The dissolute youth of Constantinople adopted the blue + livery of disorder; the laws were silent, and the bonds of society were + relaxed: creditors were compelled to resign their obligations; judges to + reverse their sentence; masters to enfranchise their slaves; fathers to + supply the extravagance of their children; noble matrons were prostituted + to the lust of their servants; beautiful boys were torn from the arms of + their parents; and wives, unless they preferred a voluntary death, were + ravished in the presence of their husbands. <a href="#linknote-40.47" + name="linknoteref-40.47" id="linknoteref-40.47">47</a> The despair of the + greens, who were persecuted by their enemies, and deserted by the + magistrates, assumed the privilege of defence, perhaps of retaliation; but + those who survived the combat were dragged to execution, and the unhappy + fugitives, escaping to woods and caverns, preyed without mercy on the + society from whence they were expelled. Those ministers of justice who had + courage to punish the crimes, and to brave the resentment, of the blues, + became the victims of their indiscreet zeal; a præfect of Constantinople + fled for refuge to the holy sepulchre, a count of the East was + ignominiously whipped, and a governor of Cilicia was hanged, by the order + of Theodora, on the tomb of two assassins whom he had condemned for the + murder of his groom, and a daring attack upon his own life. <a + href="#linknote-40.48" name="linknoteref-40.48" id="linknoteref-40.48">48</a> + An aspiring candidate may be tempted to build his greatness on the public + confusion, but it is the interest as well as duty of a sovereign to + maintain the authority of the laws. The first edict of Justinian, which + was often repeated, and sometimes executed, announced his firm resolution + to support the innocent, and to chastise the guilty, of every denomination + and color. Yet the balance of justice was still inclined in favor of the + blue faction, by the secret affection, the habits, and the fears of the + emperor; his equity, after an apparent struggle, submitted, without + reluctance, to the implacable passions of Theodora, and the empress never + forgot, or forgave, the injuries of the comedian. At the accession of the + younger Justin, the proclamation of equal and rigorous justice indirectly + condemned the partiality of the former reign. “Ye blues, Justinian is no + more! ye greens, he is still alive!” <a href="#linknote-40.49" + name="linknoteref-40.49" id="linknoteref-40.49">49</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.44" id="linknote-40.44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.44">return</a>)<br /> [ Marcellin. in Chron. p. + 47. Instead of the vulgar word venata he uses the more exquisite terms of + coerulea and coerealis. Baronius (A.D. 501, No. 4, 5, 6) is satisfied that + the blues were orthodox; but Tillemont is angry at the supposition, and + will not allow any martyrs in a playhouse, (Hist. des Emp. tom. vi. p. + 554.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.45" id="linknote-40.45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.45">return</a>)<br /> [ See Procopius, (Persic. + l. i. c. 24.) In describing the vices of the factions and of the + government, the public, is not more favorable than the secret, historian. + Aleman. (p. 26) has quoted a fine passage from Gregory Nazianzen, which + proves the inveteracy of the evil.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.46" id="linknote-40.46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.46">return</a>)<br /> [ The partiality of + Justinian for the blues (Anecdot. c. 7) is attested by Evagrius, (Hist. + Eccles. l. iv. c. 32,) John Malala, (tom ii p. 138, 139,) especially for + Antioch; and Theophanes, (p. 142.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.47" id="linknote-40.47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.47">return</a>)<br /> [ A wife, (says + Procopius,) who was seized and almost ravished by a blue-coat, threw + herself into the Bosphorus. The bishops of the second Syria (Aleman. p. + 26) deplore a similar suicide, the guilt or glory of female chastity, and + name the heroine.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.48" id="linknote-40.48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.48">return</a>)<br /> [ The doubtful credit of + Procopius (Anecdot. c. 17) is supported by the less partial Evagrius, who + confirms the fact, and specifies the names. The tragic fate of the + præfect of Constantinople is related by John Malala, (tom. ii. p. 139.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.49" id="linknote-40.49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.49">return</a>)<br /> [ See John Malala, (tom. + ii. p. 147;) yet he owns that Justinian was attached to the blues. The + seeming discord of the emperor and Theodora is, perhaps, viewed with too + much jealousy and refinement by Procopius, (Anecdot. c. 10.) See Aleman. + Praefat. p. 6.] + </p> + <p> + A sedition, which almost laid Constantinople in ashes, was excited by the + mutual hatred and momentary reconciliation of the two factions. In the + fifth year of his reign, Justinian celebrated the festival of the ides of + January; the games were incessantly disturbed by the clamorous discontent + of the greens: till the twenty-second race, the emperor maintained his + silent gravity; at length, yielding to his impatience, he condescended to + hold, in abrupt sentences, and by the voice of a crier, the most singular + dialogue <a href="#linknote-40.50" name="linknoteref-40.50" + id="linknoteref-40.50">50</a> that ever passed between a prince and his + subjects. Their first complaints were respectful and modest; they accused + the subordinate ministers of oppression, and proclaimed their wishes for + the long life and victory of the emperor. “Be patient and attentive, ye + insolent railers!” exclaimed Justinian; “be mute, ye Jews, Samaritans, and + Manichaeans!” The greens still attempted to awaken his compassion. “We are + poor, we are innocent, we are injured, we dare not pass through the + streets: a general persecution is exercised against our name and color. + Let us die, O emperor! but let us die by your command, and for your + service!” But the repetition of partial and passionate invectives + degraded, in their eyes, the majesty of the purple; they renounced + allegiance to the prince who refused justice to his people; lamented that + the father of Justinian had been born; and branded his son with the + opprobrious names of a homicide, an ass, and a perjured tyrant. “Do you + despise your lives?” cried the indignant monarch: the blues rose with fury + from their seats; their hostile clamors thundered in the hippodrome; and + their adversaries, deserting the unequal contest spread terror and despair + through the streets of Constantinople. At this dangerous moment, seven + notorious assassins of both factions, who had been condemned by the + præfect, were carried round the city, and afterwards transported to the + place of execution in the suburb of Pera. Four were immediately beheaded; + a fifth was hanged: but when the same punishment was inflicted on the + remaining two, the rope broke, they fell alive to the ground, the populace + applauded their escape, and the monks of St. Conon, issuing from the + neighboring convent, conveyed them in a boat to the sanctuary of the + church. <a href="#linknote-40.51" name="linknoteref-40.51" + id="linknoteref-40.51">51</a> As one of these criminals was of the blue, + and the other of the green livery, the two factions were equally provoked + by the cruelty of their oppressor, or the ingratitude of their patron; and + a short truce was concluded till they had delivered their prisoners and + satisfied their revenge. The palace of the præfect, who withstood the + seditious torrent, was instantly burnt, his officers and guards were + massacred, the prisons were forced open, and freedom was restored to those + who could only use it for the public destruction. A military force, which + had been despatched to the aid of the civil magistrate, was fiercely + encountered by an armed multitude, whose numbers and boldness continually + increased; and the Heruli, the wildest Barbarians in the service of the + empire, overturned the priests and their relics, which, from a pious + motive, had been rashly interposed to separate the bloody conflict. The + tumult was exasperated by this sacrilege, the people fought with + enthusiasm in the cause of God; the women, from the roofs and windows, + showered stones on the heads of the soldiers, who darted fire brands + against the houses; and the various flames, which had been kindled by the + hands of citizens and strangers, spread without control over the face of + the city. The conflagration involved the cathedral of St. Sophia, the + baths of Zeuxippus, a part of the palace, from the first entrance to the + altar of Mars, and the long portico from the palace to the forum of + Constantine: a large hospital, with the sick patients, was consumed; many + churches and stately edifices were destroyed and an immense treasure of + gold and silver was either melted or lost. From such scenes of horror and + distress, the wise and wealthy citizens escaped over the Bosphorus to the + Asiatic side; and during five days Constantinople was abandoned to the + factions, whose watchword, Nika, vanquish! has given a name to this + memorable sedition. <a href="#linknote-40.52" name="linknoteref-40.52" + id="linknoteref-40.52">52</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.50" id="linknote-40.50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.50">return</a>)<br /> [ This dialogue, which + Theophanes has preserved, exhibits the popular language, as well as the + manners, of Constantinople, in the vith century. Their Greek is mingled + with many strange and barbarous words, for which Ducange cannot always + find a meaning or etymology.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.51" id="linknote-40.51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.51">return</a>)<br /> [ See this church and + monastery in Ducange, C. P. Christiana, l. iv p 182.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.52" id="linknote-40.52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.52">return</a>)<br /> [ The history of the Nika + sedition is extracted from Marcellinus, (in Chron.,) Procopius, (Persic. + l. i. c. 26,) John Malala, (tom. ii. p. 213—218,) Chron. Paschal., + (p. 336—340,) Theophanes, (Chronograph. p. 154—158) and + Zonaras, (l. xiv. p. 61—63.)] + </p> + <p> + As long as the factions were divided, the triumphant blues, and desponding + greens, appeared to behold with the same indifference the disorders of the + state. They agreed to censure the corrupt management of justice and the + finance; and the two responsible ministers, the artful Tribonian, and the + rapacious John of Cappadocia, were loudly arraigned as the authors of the + public misery. The peaceful murmurs of the people would have been + disregarded: they were heard with respect when the city was in flames; the + quaestor, and the præfect, were instantly removed, and their offices were + filled by two senators of blameless integrity. After this popular + concession, Justinian proceeded to the hippodrome to confess his own + errors, and to accept the repentance of his grateful subjects; but they + distrusted his assurances, though solemnly pronounced in the presence of + the holy Gospels; and the emperor, alarmed by their distrust, retreated + with precipitation to the strong fortress of the palace. The obstinacy of + the tumult was now imputed to a secret and ambitious conspiracy, and a + suspicion was entertained, that the insurgents, more especially the green + faction, had been supplied with arms and money by Hypatius and Pompey, two + patricians, who could neither forget with honor, nor remember with safety, + that they were the nephews of the emperor Anastasius. Capriciously + trusted, disgraced, and pardoned, by the jealous levity of the monarch, + they had appeared as loyal servants before the throne; and, during five + days of the tumult, they were detained as important hostages; till at + length, the fears of Justinian prevailing over his prudence, he viewed the + two brothers in the light of spies, perhaps of assassins, and sternly + commanded them to depart from the palace. After a fruitless + representation, that obedience might lead to involuntary treason, they + retired to their houses, and in the morning of the sixth day, Hypatius was + surrounded and seized by the people, who, regardless of his virtuous + resistance, and the tears of his wife, transported their favorite to the + forum of Constantine, and instead of a diadem, placed a rich collar on his + head. If the usurper, who afterwards pleaded the merit of his delay, had + complied with the advice of his senate, and urged the fury of the + multitude, their first irresistible effort might have oppressed or + expelled his trembling competitor. The Byzantine palace enjoyed a free + communication with the sea; vessels lay ready at the garden stairs; and a + secret resolution was already formed, to convey the emperor with his + family and treasures to a safe retreat, at some distance from the capital. + </p> + <p> + Justinian was lost, if the prostitute whom he raised from the theatre had + not renounced the timidity, as well as the virtues, of her sex. In the + midst of a council, where Belisarius was present, Theodora alone displayed + the spirit of a hero; and she alone, without apprehending his future + hatred, could save the emperor from the imminent danger, and his unworthy + fears. “If flight,” said the consort of Justinian, “were the only means of + safety, yet I should disdain to fly. Death is the condition of our birth; + but they who have reigned should never survive the loss of dignity and + dominion. I implore Heaven, that I may never be seen, not a day, without + my diadem and purple; that I may no longer behold the light, when I cease + to be saluted with the name of queen. If you resolve, O Caesar! to fly, + you have treasures; behold the sea, you have ships; but tremble lest the + desire of life should expose you to wretched exile and ignominious death. + For my own part, I adhere to the maxim of antiquity, that the throne is a + glorious sepulchre.” The firmness of a woman restored the courage to + deliberate and act, and courage soon discovers the resources of the most + desperate situation. It was an easy and a decisive measure to revive the + animosity of the factions; the blues were astonished at their own guilt + and folly, that a trifling injury should provoke them to conspire with + their implacable enemies against a gracious and liberal benefactor; they + again proclaimed the majesty of Justinian; and the greens, with their + upstart emperor, were left alone in the hippodrome. The fidelity of the + guards was doubtful; but the military force of Justinian consisted in + three thousand veterans, who had been trained to valor and discipline in + the Persian and Illyrian wars. + </p> + <p> + Under the command of Belisarius and Mundus, they silently marched in two + divisions from the palace, forced their obscure way through narrow + passages, expiring flames, and falling edifices, and burst open at the + same moment the two opposite gates of the hippodrome. In this narrow + space, the disorderly and affrighted crowd was incapable of resisting on + either side a firm and regular attack; the blues signalized the fury of + their repentance; and it is computed, that above thirty thousand persons + were slain in the merciless and promiscuous carnage of the day. Hypatius + was dragged from his throne, and conducted, with his brother Pompey, to + the feet of the emperor: they implored his clemency; but their crime was + manifest, their innocence uncertain, and Justinian had been too much + terrified to forgive. The next morning the two nephews of Anastasius, with + eighteen illustrious accomplices, of patrician or consular rank, were + privately executed by the soldiers; their bodies were thrown into the sea, + their palaces razed, and their fortunes confiscated. The hippodrome itself + was condemned, during several years, to a mournful silence: with the + restoration of the games, the same disorders revived; and the blue and + green factions continued to afflict the reign of Justinian, and to disturb + the tranquility of the Eastern empire. <a href="#linknote-40.53" + name="linknoteref-40.53" id="linknoteref-40.53">53</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.53" id="linknote-40.53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.53">return</a>)<br /> [ Marcellinus says in + general terms, innumeris populis in circotrucidatis. Procopius numbers + 30,000 victims: and the 35,000 of Theophanes are swelled to 40,000 by the + more recent Zonaras. Such is the usual progress of exaggeration.] + </p> + <p> + III. That empire, after Rome was barbarous, still embraced the nations + whom she had conquered beyond the Adriatic, and as far as the frontiers of + Aethiopia and Persia. Justinian reigned over sixty-four provinces, and + nine hundred and thirty-five cities; <a href="#linknote-40.54" + name="linknoteref-40.54" id="linknoteref-40.54">54</a> his dominions were + blessed by nature with the advantages of soil, situation, and climate: and + the improvements of human art had been perpetually diffused along the + coast of the Mediterranean and the banks of the Nile from ancient Troy to + the Egyptian Thebes. Abraham <a href="#linknote-40.55" + name="linknoteref-40.55" id="linknoteref-40.55">55</a> had been relieved by + the well-known plenty of Egypt; the same country, a small and populous + tract, was still capable of exporting, each year, two hundred and sixty + thousand quarters of wheat for the use of Constantinople; <a + href="#linknote-40.56" name="linknoteref-40.56" id="linknoteref-40.56">56</a> + and the capital of Justinian was supplied with the manufactures of Sidon, + fifteen centuries after they had been celebrated in the poems of Homer. <a + href="#linknote-40.57" name="linknoteref-40.57" id="linknoteref-40.57">57</a> + The annual powers of vegetation, instead of being exhausted by two + thousand harvests, were renewed and invigorated by skilful husbandry, rich + manure, and seasonable repose. The breed of domestic animals was + infinitely multiplied. Plantations, buildings, and the instruments of + labor and luxury, which are more durable than the term of human life, were + accumulated by the care of successive generations. Tradition preserved, + and experience simplified, the humble practice of the arts: society was + enriched by the division of labor and the facility of exchange; and every + Roman was lodged, clothed, and subsisted, by the industry of a thousand + hands. The invention of the loom and distaff has been piously ascribed to + the gods. In every age, a variety of animal and vegetable productions, + hair, skins, wool, flax, cotton, and at length silk, have been skilfully + manufactured to hide or adorn the human body; they were stained with an + infusion of permanent colors; and the pencil was successfully employed to + improve the labors of the loom. In the choice of those colors <a + href="#linknote-40.58" name="linknoteref-40.58" id="linknoteref-40.58">58</a> + which imitate the beauties of nature, the freedom of taste and fashion was + indulged; but the deep purple <a href="#linknote-40.59" + name="linknoteref-40.59" id="linknoteref-40.59">59</a> which the Phœnicians + extracted from a shell-fish, was restrained to the sacred person and + palace of the emperor; and the penalties of treason were denounced against + the ambitious subjects who dared to usurp the prerogative of the throne. + <a href="#linknote-40.60" name="linknoteref-40.60" id="linknoteref-40.60">60</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.54" id="linknote-40.54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.54">return</a>)<br /> [ Hierocles, a + contemporary of Justinian, composed his (Itineraria, p. 631,) review of + the eastern provinces and cities, before the year 535, (Wesseling, in + Praefat. and Not. ad p. 623, &c.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.55" id="linknote-40.55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.55">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Book of Genesis + (xii. 10) and the administration of Joseph. The annals of the Greeks and + Hebrews agree in the early arts and plenty of Egypt: but this antiquity + supposes a long series of improvement; and Warburton, who is almost + stifled by the Hebrew calls aloud for the Samaritan, Chronology, (Divine + Legation, vol. iii. p. 29, &c.) * Note: The recent extraordinary + discoveries in Egyptian antiquities strongly confirm the high notion of + the early Egyptian civilization, and imperatively demand a longer period + for their development. As to the common Hebrew chronology, as far as such + a subject is capable of demonstration, it appears to me to have been + framed, with a particular view, by the Jews of Tiberias. It was not the + chronology of the Samaritans, not that of the LXX., not that of Josephus, + not that of St. Paul.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.56" id="linknote-40.56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.56">return</a>)<br /> [ Eight millions of Roman + modii, besides a contribution of 80,000 aurei for the expenses of + water-carriage, from which the subject was graciously excused. See the + 13th Edict of Justinian: the numbers are checked and verified by the + agreement of the Greek and Latin texts.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.57" id="linknote-40.57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.57">return</a>)<br /> [ Homer’s Iliad, vi. 289. + These veils, were the work of the Sidonian women. But this passage is more + honorable to the manufactures than to the navigation of Phoenicia, from + whence they had been imported to Troy in Phrygian bottoms.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.58" id="linknote-40.58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.58">return</a>)<br /> [ See in Ovid (de Arte + Amandi, iii. 269, &c.) a poetical list of twelve colors borrowed from + flowers, the elements, &c. But it is almost impossible to discriminate + by words all the nice and various shades both of art and nature.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.59" id="linknote-40.59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.59">return</a>)<br /> [ By the discovery of + cochineal, &c., we far surpass the colors of antiquity. Their royal + purple had a strong smell, and a dark cast as deep as bull’s blood—obscuritas + rubens, (says Cassiodorus, Var. 1, 2,) nigredo saguinea. The president + Goguet (Origine des Loix et des Arts, part ii. l. ii. c. 2, p. 184—215) + will amuse and satisfy the reader. I doubt whether his book, especially in + England, is as well known as it deserves to be.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.60" id="linknote-40.60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.60">return</a>)<br /> [ Historical proofs of + this jealousy have been occasionally introduced, and many more might have + been added; but the arbitrary acts of despotism were justified by the + sober and general declarations of law, (Codex Theodosian. l. x. tit. 21, + leg. 3. Codex Justinian. l. xi. tit. 8, leg. 5.) An inglorious permission, + and necessary restriction, was applied to the mince, the female dancers, + (Cod. Theodos. l. xv. tit. 7, leg. 11.)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap40.3"></a> +Chapter XL: Reign Of Justinian.—Part III.</h2> + + <p> + I need not explain that silk <a href="#linknote-40.61" + name="linknoteref-40.61" id="linknoteref-40.61">61</a> is originally spun + from the bowels of a caterpillar, and that it composes the golden tomb, + from whence a worm emerges in the form of a butterfly. Till the reign of + Justinian, the silk-worm who feed on the leaves of the white mulberry-tree + were confined to China; those of the pine, the oak, and the ash, were + common in the forests both of Asia and Europe; but as their education is + more difficult, and their produce more uncertain, they were generally + neglected, except in the little island of Ceos, near the coast of Attica. + A thin gauze was procured from their webs, and this Cean manufacture, the + invention of a woman, for female use, was long admired both in the East + and at Rome. Whatever suspicions may be raised by the garments of the + Medes and Assyrians, Virgil is the most ancient writer, who expressly + mentions the soft wool which was combed from the trees of the Seres or + Chinese; <a href="#linknote-40.62" name="linknoteref-40.62" + id="linknoteref-40.62">62</a> and this natural error, less marvellous than + the truth, was slowly corrected by the knowledge of a valuable insect, the + first artificer of the luxury of nations. That rare and elegant luxury was + censured, in the reign of Tiberius, by the gravest of the Romans; and + Pliny, in affected though forcible language, has condemned the thirst of + gain, which explores the last confines of the earth, for the pernicious + purpose of exposing to the public eye naked draperies and transparent + matrons. <a href="#linknote-40.63" name="linknoteref-40.63" + id="linknoteref-40.63">63</a> <a href="#linknote-40.6311" + name="linknoteref-40.6311" id="linknoteref-40.6311">6311</a> A dress which + showed the turn of the limbs, and color of the skin, might gratify vanity, + or provoke desire; the silks which had been closely woven in China were + sometimes unravelled by the Phœnician women, and the precious materials + were multiplied by a looser texture, and the intermixture of linen + threads. <a href="#linknote-40.64" name="linknoteref-40.64" + id="linknoteref-40.64">64</a> Two hundred years after the age of Pliny, the + use of pure, or even of mixed silks, was confined to the female sex, till + the opulent citizens of Rome and the provinces were insensibly + familiarized with the example of Elagabalus, the first who, by this + effeminate habit, had sullied the dignity of an emperor and a man. + Aurelian complained, that a pound of silk was sold at Rome for twelve + ounces of gold; but the supply increased with the demand, and the price + diminished with the supply. If accident or monopoly sometimes raised the + value even above the standard of Aurelian, the manufacturers of Tyre and + Berytus were sometimes compelled, by the operation of the same causes, to + content themselves with a ninth part of that extravagant rate. <a + href="#linknote-40.65" name="linknoteref-40.65" id="linknoteref-40.65">65</a> + A law was thought necessary to discriminate the dress of comedians from + that of senators; and of the silk exported from its native country the far + greater part was consumed by the subjects of Justinian. They were still + more intimately acquainted with a shell-fish of the Mediterranean, + surnamed the silk-worm of the sea: the fine wool or hair by which the + mother-of-pearl affixes itself to the rock is now manufactured for + curiosity rather than use; and a robe obtained from the same singular + materials was the gift of the Roman emperor to the satraps of Armenia. <a + href="#linknote-40.66" name="linknoteref-40.66" id="linknoteref-40.66">66</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.61" id="linknote-40.61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.61">return</a>)<br /> [ In the history of + insects (far more wonderful than Ovid’s Metamorphoses) the silk-worm holds + a conspicuous place. The bombyx of the Isle of Ceos, as described by + Pliny, (Hist. Natur. xi. 26, 27, with the notes of the two learned + Jesuits, Hardouin and Brotier,) may be illustrated by a similar species in + China, (Memoires sur les Chinois, tom. ii. p. 575—598;) but our + silk-worm, as well as the white mulberry-tree, were unknown to + Theophrastus and Pliny.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.62" id="linknote-40.62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.62">return</a>)<br /> [ Georgic. ii. 121. + Serica quando venerint in usum planissime non acio: suspicor tamen in + Julii Caesaris aevo, nam ante non invenio, says Justus Lipsius, (Excursus + i. ad Tacit. Annal. ii. 32.) See Dion Cassius, (l. xliii. p. 358, edit. + Reimar,) and Pausanius, (l. vi. p. 519,) the first who describes, however + strangely, the Seric insect.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.63" id="linknote-40.63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.63">return</a>)<br /> [ Tam longinquo orbe + petitur, ut in publico matrona transluceat...ut denudet foeminas vestis, + (Plin. vi. 20, xi. 21.) Varro and Publius Syrus had already played on the + Toga vitrea, ventus texilis, and nebula linen, (Horat. Sermon. i. 2, 101, + with the notes of Torrentius and Dacier.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.6311" id="linknote-40.6311"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6311 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.6311">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon must have + written transparent draperies and naked matrons. Through sometimes + affected, he is never inaccurate.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.64" id="linknote-40.64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.64">return</a>)<br /> [ On the texture, colors, + names, and use of the silk, half silk, and liuen garments of antiquity, + see the profound, diffuse, and obscure researches of the great Salmasius, + (in Hist. August. p. 127, 309, 310, 339, 341, 342, 344, 388—391, + 395, 513,) who was ignorant of the most common trades of Dijon or Leyden.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.65" id="linknote-40.65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.65">return</a>)<br /> [ Flavius Vopiscus in + Aurelian. c. 45, in Hist. August. p. 224. See Salmasius ad Hist. Aug. p. + 392, and Plinian. Exercitat. in Solinum, p. 694, 695. The Anecdotes of + Procopius (c. 25) state a partial and imperfect rate of the price of silk + in the time of Justinian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.66" id="linknote-40.66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.66">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius de Edit. l. + iii. c. 1. These pinnes de mer are found near Smyrna, Sicily, Corsica, and + Minorca; and a pair of gloves of their silk was presented to Pope Benedict + XIV.] + </p> + <p> + A valuable merchandise of small bulk is capable of defraying the expense + of land-carriage; and the caravans traversed the whole latitude of Asia in + two hundred and forty-three days from the Chinese Ocean to the sea-coast + of Syria. Silk was immediately delivered to the Romans by the Persian + merchants, <a href="#linknote-40.67" name="linknoteref-40.67" + id="linknoteref-40.67">67</a> who frequented the fairs of Armenia and + Nisibis; but this trade, which in the intervals of truce was oppressed by + avarice and jealousy, was totally interrupted by the long wars of the + rival monarchies. The great king might proudly number Sogdiana, and even + Serica, among the provinces of his empire; but his real dominion was + bounded by the Oxus and his useful intercourse with the Sogdoites, beyond + the river, depended on the pleasure of their conquerors, the white Huns, + and the Turks, who successively reigned over that industrious people. Yet + the most savage dominion has not extirpated the seeds of agriculture and + commerce, in a region which is celebrated as one of the four gardens of + Asia; the cities of Samarcand and Bochara are advantageously seated for + the exchange of its various productions; and their merchants purchased + from the Chinese, <a href="#linknote-40.68" name="linknoteref-40.68" + id="linknoteref-40.68">68</a> the raw or manufactured silk which they + transported into Persia for the use of the Roman empire. In the vain + capital of China, the Sogdian caravans were entertained as the suppliant + embassies of tributary kingdoms, and if they returned in safety, the bold + adventure was rewarded with exorbitant gain. But the difficult and + perilous march from Samarcand to the first town of Shensi, could not be + performed in less than sixty, eighty, or one hundred days: as soon as they + had passed the Jaxartes they entered the desert; and the wandering hordes, + unless they are restrained by armies and garrisons, have always considered + the citizen and the traveller as the objects of lawful rapine. To escape + the Tartar robbers, and the tyrants of Persia, the silk caravans explored + a more southern road; they traversed the mountains of Thibet, descended + the streams of the Ganges or the Indus, and patiently expected, in the + ports of Guzerat and Malabar, the annual fleets of the West. <a + href="#linknote-40.69" name="linknoteref-40.69" id="linknoteref-40.69">69</a> + But the dangers of the desert were found less intolerable than toil, + hunger, and the loss of time; the attempt was seldom renewed, and the only + European who has passed that unfrequented way, applauds his own diligence, + that, in nine months after his departure from Pekin, he reached the mouth + of the Indus. The ocean, however, was open to the free communication of + mankind. From the great river to the tropic of Cancer, the provinces of + China were subdued and civilized by the emperors of the North; they were + filled about the time of the Christian aera with cities and men, + mulberry-trees and their precious inhabitants; and if the Chinese, with + the knowledge of the compass, had possessed the genius of the Greeks or + Phœnicians, they might have spread their discoveries over the southern + hemisphere. I am not qualified to examine, and I am not disposed to + believe, their distant voyages to the Persian Gulf, or the Cape of Good + Hope; but their ancestors might equal the labors and success of the + present race, and the sphere of their navigation might extend from the + Isles of Japan to the Straits of Malacca, the pillars, if we may apply + that name, of an Oriental Hercules. <a href="#linknote-40.70" + name="linknoteref-40.70" id="linknoteref-40.70">70</a> Without losing sight + of land, they might sail along the coast to the extreme promontory of + Achin, which is annually visited by ten or twelve ships laden with the + productions, the manufactures, and even the artificers of China; the + Island of Sumatra and the opposite peninsula are faintly delineated <a + href="#linknote-40.71" name="linknoteref-40.71" id="linknoteref-40.71">71</a> + as the regions of gold and silver; and the trading cities named in the + geography of Ptolemy may indicate, that this wealth was not solely derived + from the mines. The direct interval between Sumatra and Ceylon is about + three hundred leagues: the Chinese and Indian navigators were conducted by + the flight of birds and periodical winds; and the ocean might be securely + traversed in square-built ships, which, instead of iron, were sewed + together with the strong thread of the cocoanut. Ceylon, Serendib, or + Taprobana, was divided between two hostile princes; one of whom possessed + the mountains, the elephants, and the luminous carbuncle, and the other + enjoyed the more solid riches of domestic industry, foreign trade, and the + capacious harbor of Trinquemale, which received and dismissed the fleets + of the East and West. In this hospitable isle, at an equal distance (as it + was computed) from their respective countries, the silk merchants of + China, who had collected in their voyages aloes, cloves, nutmeg, and + sandal wood, maintained a free and beneficial commerce with the + inhabitants of the Persian Gulf. The subjects of the great king exalted, + without a rival, his power and magnificence: and the Roman, who confounded + their vanity by comparing his paltry coin with a gold medal of the emperor + Anastasius, had sailed to Ceylon, in an Aethiopian ship, as a simple + passenger. <a href="#linknote-40.72" name="linknoteref-40.72" + id="linknoteref-40.72">72</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.67" id="linknote-40.67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.67">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Persic. l. + i. c. 20, l. ii. c. 25; Gothic. l. iv. c. 17. Menander in Excerpt. Legat. + p. 107. Of the Parthian or Persian empire, Isidore of Charax (in Stathmis + Parthicis, p. 7, 8, in Hudson, Geograph. Minor. tom. ii.) has marked the + roads, and Ammianus Marcellinus (l. xxiii. c. 6, p. 400) has enumerated + the provinces. * Note: See St. Martin, Mem. sur l’Armenie, vol. ii. p. 41.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.68" id="linknote-40.68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.68">return</a>)<br /> [ The blind admiration of + the Jesuits confounds the different periods of the Chinese history. They + are more critically distinguished by M. de Guignes, (Hist. des Huns, tom. + i. part i. in the Tables, part ii. in the Geography. Memoires de + l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxxii. xxxvi. xlii. xliii.,) who + discovers the gradual progress of the truth of the annals and the extent + of the monarchy, till the Christian aera. He has searched, with a curious + eye, the connections of the Chinese with the nations of the West; but + these connections are slight, casual, and obscure; nor did the Romans + entertain a suspicion that the Seres or Sinae possessed an empire not + inferior to their own. * Note: An abstract of the various opinions of the + learned modern writers, Gosselin, Mannert, Lelewel, Malte-Brun, Heeren, + and La Treille, on the Serica and the Thinae of the ancients, may be found + in the new edition of Malte-Brun, vol. vi. p. 368, 382.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.69" id="linknote-40.69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.69">return</a>)<br /> [ The roads from China to + Persia and Hindostan may be investigated in the relations of Hackluyt and + Thevenot, the ambassadors of Sharokh, Anthony Jenkinson, the Pere Greuber, + &c. See likewise Hanway’s Travels, vol. i. p. 345—357. A + communication through Thibet has been lately explored by the English + sovereigns of Bengal.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.70" id="linknote-40.70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.70">return</a>)<br /> [ For the Chinese + navigation to Malacca and Achin, perhaps to Ceylon, see Renaudot, (on the + two Mahometan Travellers, p. 8—11, 13—17, 141—157;) + Dampier, (vol. ii. p. 136;) the Hist. Philosophique des deux Indes, (tom. + i. p. 98,) and Hist. Generale des Voyages, (tom. vi. p. 201.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.71" id="linknote-40.71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.71">return</a>)<br /> [ The knowledge, or + rather ignorance, of Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, Arrian, Marcian, &c., of + the countries eastward of Cape Comorin, is finely illustrated by + D’Anville, (Antiquite Geographique de l’Inde, especially p. 161—198.) + Our geography of India is improved by commerce and conquest; and has been + illustrated by the excellent maps and memoirs of Major Rennel. If he + extends the sphere of his inquiries with the same critical knowledge and + sagacity, he will succeed, and may surpass, the first of modern + geographers.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.72" id="linknote-40.72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.72">return</a>)<br /> [ The Taprobane of Pliny, + (vi. 24,) Solinus, (c. 53,) and Salmas. Plinianae Exercitat., (p. 781, + 782,) and most of the ancients, who often confound the islands of Ceylon + and Sumatra, is more clearly described by Cosmas Indicopleustes; yet even + the Christian topographer has exaggerated its dimensions. His information + on the Indian and Chinese trade is rare and curious, (l. ii. p. 138, l. + xi. p. 337, 338, edit. Montfaucon.)] + </p> + <p> + As silk became of indispensable use, the emperor Justinian saw with + concern that the Persians had occupied by land and sea the monopoly of + this important supply, and that the wealth of his subjects was continually + drained by a nation of enemies and idolaters. An active government would + have restored the trade of Egypt and the navigation of the Red Sea, which + had decayed with the prosperity of the empire; and the Roman vessels might + have sailed, for the purchase of silk, to the ports of Ceylon, of Malacca, + or even of China. Justinian embraced a more humble expedient, and + solicited the aid of his Christian allies, the Aethiopians of Abyssinia, + who had recently acquired the arts of navigation, the spirit of trade, and + the seaport of Adulis, <a href="#linknote-40.73" name="linknoteref-40.73" + id="linknoteref-40.73">73</a> <a href="#linknote-40.7311" + name="linknoteref-40.7311" id="linknoteref-40.7311">7311</a> still decorated + with the trophies of a Grecian conqueror. Along the African coast, they + penetrated to the equator in search of gold, emeralds, and aromatics; but + they wisely declined an unequal competition, in which they must be always + prevented by the vicinity of the Persians to the markets of India; and the + emperor submitted to the disappointment, till his wishes were gratified by + an unexpected event. The gospel had been preached to the Indians: a bishop + already governed the Christians of St. Thomas on the pepper-coast of + Malabar; a church was planted in Ceylon, and the missionaries pursued the + footsteps of commerce to the extremities of Asia. <a href="#linknote-40.74" + name="linknoteref-40.74" id="linknoteref-40.74">74</a> Two Persian monks had + long resided in China, perhaps in the royal city of Nankin, the seat of a + monarch addicted to foreign superstitions, and who actually received an + embassy from the Isle of Ceylon. Amidst their pious occupations, they + viewed with a curious eye the common dress of the Chinese, the + manufactures of silk, and the myriads of silk-worms, whose education + (either on trees or in houses) had once been considered as the labor of + queens. <a href="#linknote-40.75" name="linknoteref-40.75" + id="linknoteref-40.75">75</a> They soon discovered that it was + impracticable to transport the short-lived insect, but that in the eggs a + numerous progeny might be preserved and multiplied in a distant climate. + Religion or interest had more power over the Persian monks than the love + of their country: after a long journey, they arrived at Constantinople, + imparted their project to the emperor, and were liberally encouraged by + the gifts and promises of Justinian. To the historians of that prince, a + campaign at the foot of Mount Caucasus has seemed more deserving of a + minute relation than the labors of these missionaries of commerce, who + again entered China, deceived a jealous people by concealing the eggs of + the silk-worm in a hollow cane, and returned in triumph with the spoils of + the East. Under their direction, the eggs were hatched at the proper + season by the artificial heat of dung; the worms were fed with mulberry + leaves; they lived and labored in a foreign climate; a sufficient number + of butterflies was saved to propagate the race, and trees were planted to + supply the nourishment of the rising generations. Experience and + reflection corrected the errors of a new attempt, and the Sogdoite + ambassadors acknowledged, in the succeeding reign, that the Romans were + not inferior to the natives of China in the education of the insects, and + the manufactures of silk, <a href="#linknote-40.76" name="linknoteref-40.76" + id="linknoteref-40.76">76</a> in which both China and Constantinople have + been surpassed by the industry of modern Europe. I am not insensible of + the benefits of elegant luxury; yet I reflect with some pain, that if the + importers of silk had introduced the art of printing, already practised by + the Chinese, the comedies of Menander and the entire decads of Livy would + have been perpetuated in the editions of the sixth century. + </p> + <p> + A larger view of the globe might at least have promoted the improvement of + speculative science, but the Christian geography was forcibly extracted + from texts of Scripture, and the study of nature was the surest symptom of + an unbelieving mind. The orthodox faith confined the habitable world to + one temperate zone, and represented the earth as an oblong surface, four + hundred days’ journey in length, two hundred in breadth, encompassed by + the ocean, and covered by the solid crystal of the firmament. <a + href="#linknote-40.77" name="linknoteref-40.77" id="linknoteref-40.77">77</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.73" id="linknote-40.73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.73">return</a>)<br /> [ See Procopius, Persic. + (l. ii. c. 20.) Cosmas affords some interesting knowledge of the port and + inscription of Adulis, (Topograph. Christ. l. ii. p. 138, 140—143,) + and of the trade of the Axumites along the African coast of Barbaria or + Zingi, (p. 138, 139,) and as far as Taprobane, (l. xi. p. 339.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.7311" id="linknote-40.7311"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7311 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.7311">return</a>)<br /> [ Mr. Salt obtained + information of considerable ruins of an ancient town near Zulla, called + Azoole, which answers to the position of Adulis. Mr. Salt was prevented by + illness, Mr. Stuart, whom he sent, by the jealousy of the natives, from + investigating these ruins: of their existence there seems no doubt. Salt’s + 2d Journey, p. 452.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.74" id="linknote-40.74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.74">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Christian + missions in India, in Cosmas, (l. iii. p. 178, 179, l. xi. p. 337,) and + consult Asseman. Bibliot. Orient. (tom. iv. p. 413—548.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.75" id="linknote-40.75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.75">return</a>)<br /> [ The invention, + manufacture, and general use of silk in China, may be seen in Duhalde, + (Description Generale de la Chine, tom. ii. p. 165, 205—223.) The + province of Chekian is the most renowned both for quantity and quality.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.76" id="linknote-40.76"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 76 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.76">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, (l. viii. + Gothic. iv. c. 17. Theophanes Byzant. apud Phot. Cod. lxxxiv. p. 38. + Zonaras, tom. ii. l. xiv. p. 69. Pagi tom. ii. p. 602) assigns to the year + 552 this memorable importation. Menander (in Excerpt. Legat. p. 107) + mentions the admiration of the Sogdoites; and Theophylact Simocatta (l. + vii. c. 9) darkly represents the two rival kingdoms in (China) the country + of silk.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.77" id="linknote-40.77"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 77 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.77">return</a>)<br /> [ Cosmas, surnamed + Indicopleustes, or the Indian navigator, performed his voyage about the + year 522, and composed at Alexandria, between 535, and 547, Christian + Topography, (Montfaucon, Praefat. c. i.,) in which he refutes the impious + opinion, that the earth is a globe; and Photius had read this work, (Cod. + xxxvi. p. 9, 10,) which displays the prejudices of a monk, with the + knowledge of a merchant; the most valuable part has been given in French + and in Greek by Melchisedec Thevenot, (Relations Curieuses, part i.,) and + the whole is since published in a splendid edition by Pere Montfaucon, + (Nova Collectio Patrum, Paris, 1707, 2 vols. in fol., tom. ii. p. 113—346.) + But the editor, a theologian, might blush at not discovering the Nestorian + heresy of Cosmas, which has been detected by La Croz (Christianisme des + Indes, tom. i. p. 40—56.)] + </p> + <p> + IV. The subjects of Justinian were dissatisfied with the times, and with + the government. Europe was overrun by the Barbarians, and Asia by the + monks: the poverty of the West discouraged the trade and manufactures of + the East: the produce of labor was consumed by the unprofitable servants + of the church, the state, and the army; and a rapid decrease was felt in + the fixed and circulating capitals which constitute the national wealth. + The public distress had been alleviated by the economy of Anastasius, and + that prudent emperor accumulated an immense treasure, while he delivered + his people from the most odious or oppressive taxes. <a + href="#linknote-40.7711" name="linknoteref-40.7711" id="linknoteref-40.7711">7711</a> + Their gratitude universally applauded the abolition of the gold of + affliction, a personal tribute on the industry of the poor, <a + href="#linknote-40.78" name="linknoteref-40.78" id="linknoteref-40.78">78</a> + but more intolerable, as it should seem, in the form than in the + substance, since the flourishing city of Edessa paid only one hundred and + forty pounds of gold, which was collected in four years from ten thousand + artificers. <a href="#linknote-40.79" name="linknoteref-40.79" + id="linknoteref-40.79">79</a> Yet such was the parsimony which supported + this liberal disposition, that, in a reign of twenty-seven years, + Anastasius saved, from his annual revenue, the enormous sum of thirteen + millions sterling, or three hundred and twenty thousand pounds of gold. <a + href="#linknote-40.80" name="linknoteref-40.80" id="linknoteref-40.80">80</a> + His example was neglected, and his treasure was abused, by the nephew of + Justin. The riches of Justinian were speedily exhausted by alms and + buildings, by ambitious wars, and ignominious treaties. His revenues were + found inadequate to his expenses. Every art was tried to extort from the + people the gold and silver which he scattered with a lavish hand from + Persia to France: <a href="#linknote-40.81" name="linknoteref-40.81" + id="linknoteref-40.81">81</a> his reign was marked by the vicissitudes or + rather by the combat, of rapaciousness and avarice, of splendor and + poverty; he lived with the reputation of hidden treasures, <a + href="#linknote-40.82" name="linknoteref-40.82" id="linknoteref-40.82">82</a> + and bequeathed to his successor the payment of his debts. <a + href="#linknote-40.83" name="linknoteref-40.83" id="linknoteref-40.83">83</a> + Such a character has been justly accused by the voice of the people and of + posterity: but public discontent is credulous; private malice is bold; and + a lover of truth will peruse with a suspicious eye the instructive + anecdotes of Procopius. The secret historian represents only the vices of + Justinian, and those vices are darkened by his malevolent pencil. + Ambiguous actions are imputed to the worst motives; error is confounded + with guilt, accident with design, and laws with abuses; the partial + injustice of a moment is dexterously applied as the general maxim of a + reign of thirty-two years; the emperor alone is made responsible for the + faults of his officers, the disorders of the times, and the corruption of + his subjects; and even the calamities of nature, plagues, earthquakes, and + inundations, are imputed to the prince of the daemons, who had + mischievously assumed the form of Justinian. <a href="#linknote-40.84" + name="linknoteref-40.84" id="linknoteref-40.84">84</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.7711" id="linknote-40.7711"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7711 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.7711">return</a>)<br /> [ See the character + of Anastasius in Joannes Lydus de Magistratibus, iii. c. 45, 46, p. 230—232. + His economy is there said to have degenerated into parsimony. He is + accused of having taken away the levying of taxes and payment of the + troops from the municipal authorities, (the decurionate) in the Eastern + cities, and intrusted it to an extortionate officer named Mannus. But he + admits that the imperial revenue was enormously increased by this measure. + A statue of iron had been erected to Anastasius in the Hippodrome, on + which appeared one morning this pasquinade. This epigram is also found in + the Anthology. Jacobs, vol. iv. p. 114 with some better readings. This + iron statue meetly do we place To thee, world-wasting king, than brass + more base; For all the death, the penury, famine, woe, That from thy + wide-destroying avarice flow, This fell Charybdis, Scylla, near to thee, + This fierce devouring Anastasius, see; And tremble, Scylla! on thee, too, + his greed, Coining thy brazen deity, may feed. But Lydus, with no uncommon + inconsistency in such writers, proceeds to paint the character of + Anastasius as endowed with almost every virtue, not excepting the utmost + liberality. He was only prevented by death from relieving his subjects + altogether from the capitation tax, which he greatly diminished.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.78" id="linknote-40.78"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 78 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.78">return</a>)<br /> [ Evagrius (l. ii. c. 39, + 40) is minute and grateful, but angry with Zosimus for calumniating the + great Constantine. In collecting all the bonds and records of the tax, the + humanity of Anastasius was diligent and artful: fathers were sometimes + compelled to prostitute their daughters, (Zosim. Hist. l. ii. c. 38, p. + 165, 166, Lipsiae, 1784.) Timotheus of Gaza chose such an event for the + subject of a tragedy, (Suidas, tom. iii. p. 475,) which contributed to the + abolition of the tax, (Cedrenus, p. 35,)—a happy instance (if it be + true) of the use of the theatre.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.79" id="linknote-40.79"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 79 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.79">return</a>)<br /> [ See Josua Stylites, in + the Bibliotheca Orientalis of Asseman, (tom. p. 268.) This capitation tax + is slightly mentioned in the Chronicle of Edessa.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.80" id="linknote-40.80"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 80 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.80">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius (Anecdot. c. + 19) fixes this sum from the report of the treasurers themselves. Tiberias + had vicies ter millies; but far different was his empire from that of + Anastasius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.81" id="linknote-40.81"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 81 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.81">return</a>)<br /> [ Evagrius, (l. iv. c. + 30,) in the next generation, was moderate and well informed; and Zonaras, + (l. xiv. c. 61,) in the xiith century, had read with care, and thought + without prejudice; yet their colors are almost as black as those of the + anecdotes.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.82" id="linknote-40.82"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 82 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.82">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius (Anecdot. c. + 30) relates the idle conjectures of the times. The death of Justinian, + says the secret historian, will expose his wealth or poverty.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.83" id="linknote-40.83"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 83 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.83">return</a>)<br /> [ See Corippus de + Laudibus Justini Aug. l. ii. 260, &c., 384, &c “Plurima sunt vivo + nimium neglecta parenti, Unde tot exhaustus contraxit debita fiscus.” + Centenaries of gold were brought by strong men into the Hippodrome, + “Debita persolvit, genitoris cauta recepit.”] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.84" id="linknote-40.84"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 84 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.84">return</a>)<br /> [ The Anecdotes (c. 11—14, + 18, 20—30) supply many facts and more complaints. * Note: The work + of Lydus de Magistratibus (published by Hase at Paris, 1812, and reprinted + in the new edition of the Byzantine Historians,) was written during the + reign of Justinian. This work of Lydus throws no great light on the + earlier history of the Roman magistracy, but gives some curious details of + the changes and retrenchments in the offices of state, which took place at + this time. The personal history of the author, with the account of his + early and rapid advancement, and the emoluments of the posts which he + successively held, with the bitter disappointment which he expresses, at + finding himself, at the height of his ambition, in an unpaid place, is an + excellent illustration of this statement. Gibbon has before, c. iv. n. 45, + and c. xvii. n. 112, traced the progress of a Roman citizen to the highest + honors of the state under the empire; the steps by which Lydus reached his + humbler eminence may likewise throw light on the civil service at this + period. He was first received into the office of the Praetorian præfect; + became a notary in that office, and made in one year 1000 golden solidi, + and that without extortion. His place and the influence of his relatives + obtained him a wife with 400 pounds of gold for her dowry. He became chief + chartularius, with an annual stipend of twenty-four solidi, and + considerable emoluments for all the various services which he performed. + He rose to an Augustalis, and finally to the dignity of Corniculus, the + highest, and at one time the most lucrative office in the department. But + the Praetorian præfect had gradually been deprived of his powers and his + honors. He lost the superintendence of the supply and manufacture of arms; + the uncontrolled charge of the public posts; the levying of the troops; + the command of the army in war when the emperors ceased nominally to + command in person, but really through the Praetorian præfect; that of the + household troops, which fell to the magister aulae. At length the office + was so completely stripped of its power, as to be virtually abolished, + (see de Magist. l. iii. c. 40, p. 220, &c.) This diminution of the + office of the præfect destroyed the emoluments of his subordinate + officers, and Lydus not only drew no revenue from his dignity, but + expended upon it all the gains of his former services. Lydus gravely + refers this calamitous, and, as he considers it, fatal degradation of the + Praetorian office to the alteration in the style of the official documents + from Latin to Greek; and refers to a prophecy of a certain Fonteius, which + connected the ruin of the Roman empire with its abandonment of its + language. Lydus chiefly owed his promotion to his knowledge of Latin!—M.] + </p> + <p> + After this precaution, I shall briefly relate the anecdotes of avarice and + rapine under the following heads: I. Justinian was so profuse that he + could not be liberal. The civil and military officers, when they were + admitted into the service of the palace, obtained an humble rank and a + moderate stipend; they ascended by seniority to a station of affluence and + repose; the annual pensions, of which the most honorable class was + abolished by Justinian, amounted to four hundred thousand pounds; and this + domestic economy was deplored by the venal or indigent courtiers as the + last outrage on the majesty of the empire. The posts, the salaries of + physicians, and the nocturnal illuminations, were objects of more general + concern; and the cities might justly complain, that he usurped the + municipal revenues which had been appropriated to these useful + institutions. Even the soldiers were injured; and such was the decay of + military spirit, that they were injured with impunity. The emperor + refused, at the return of each fifth year, the customary donative of five + pieces of gold, reduced his veterans to beg their bread, and suffered + unpaid armies to melt away in the wars of Italy and Persia. II. The + humanity of his predecessors had always remitted, in some auspicious + circumstance of their reign, the arrears of the public tribute, and they + dexterously assumed the merit of resigning those claims which it was + impracticable to enforce. “Justinian, in the space of thirty-two years, + has never granted a similar indulgence; and many of his subjects have + renounced the possession of those lands whose value is insufficient to + satisfy the demands of the treasury. To the cities which had suffered by + hostile inroads Anastasius promised a general exemption of seven years: + the provinces of Justinian have been ravaged by the Persians and Arabs, + the Huns and Sclavonians; but his vain and ridiculous dispensation of a + single year has been confined to those places which were actually taken by + the enemy.” Such is the language of the secret historian, who expressly + denies that any indulgence was granted to Palestine after the revolt of + the Samaritans; a false and odious charge, confuted by the authentic + record which attests a relief of thirteen centenaries of gold (fifty-two + thousand pounds) obtained for that desolate province by the intercession + of St. Sabas. <a href="#linknote-40.85" name="linknoteref-40.85" + id="linknoteref-40.85">85</a> III. Procopius has not condescended to + explain the system of taxation, which fell like a hail-storm upon the + land, like a devouring pestilence on its inhabitants: but we should become + the accomplices of his malignity, if we imputed to Justinian alone the + ancient though rigorous principle, that a whole district should be + condemned to sustain the partial loss of the persons or property of + individuals. The Annona, or supply of corn for the use of the army and + capital, was a grievous and arbitrary exaction, which exceeded, perhaps in + a tenfold proportion, the ability of the farmer; and his distress was + aggravated by the partial injustice of weights and measures, and the + expense and labor of distant carriage. In a time of scarcity, an + extraordinary requisition was made to the adjacent provinces of Thrace, + Bithynia, and Phrygia: but the proprietors, after a wearisome journey and + perilous navigation, received so inadequate a compensation, that they + would have chosen the alternative of delivering both the corn and price at + the doors of their granaries. These precautions might indicate a tender + solicitude for the welfare of the capital; yet Constantinople did not + escape the rapacious despotism of Justinian. Till his reign, the Straits + of the Bosphorus and Hellespont were open to the freedom of trade, and + nothing was prohibited except the exportation of arms for the service of + the Barbarians. At each of these gates of the city, a praetor was + stationed, the minister of Imperial avarice; heavy customs were imposed on + the vessels and their merchandise; the oppression was retaliated on the + helpless consumer; the poor were afflicted by the artificial scarcity, and + exorbitant price of the market; and a people, accustomed to depend on the + liberality of their prince, might sometimes complain of the deficiency of + water and bread. <a href="#linknote-40.86" name="linknoteref-40.86" + id="linknoteref-40.86">86</a> The aerial tribute, without a name, a law, or + a definite object, was an annual gift of one hundred and twenty thousand + pounds, which the emperor accepted from his Praetorian præfect; and the + means of payment were abandoned to the discretion of that powerful + magistrate. + </p> + <p> + IV. Even such a tax was less intolerable than the privilege of monopolies, + <a href="#linknote-40.8611" name="linknoteref-40.8611" + id="linknoteref-40.8611">8611</a> which checked the fair competition of + industry, and, for the sake of a small and dishonest gain, imposed an + arbitrary burden on the wants and luxury of the subject. “As soon” (I + transcribe the Anecdotes) “as the exclusive sale of silk was usurped by + the Imperial treasurer, a whole people, the manufacturers of Tyre and + Berytus, was reduced to extreme misery, and either perished with hunger, + or fled to the hostile dominions of Persia.” A province might suffer by + the decay of its manufactures, but in this example of silk, Procopius has + partially overlooked the inestimable and lasting benefit which the empire + received from the curiosity of Justinian. His addition of one seventh to + the ordinary price of copper money may be interpreted with the same + candor; and the alteration, which might be wise, appears to have been + innocent; since he neither alloyed the purity, nor enhanced the value, of + the gold coin, <a href="#linknote-40.87" name="linknoteref-40.87" + id="linknoteref-40.87">87</a> the legal measure of public and private + payments. V. The ample jurisdiction required by the farmers of the revenue + to accomplish their engagements might be placed in an odious light, as if + they had purchased from the emperor the lives and fortunes of their + fellow-citizens. And a more direct sale of honors and offices was + transacted in the palace, with the permission, or at least with the + connivance, of Justinian and Theodora. The claims of merit, even those of + favor, were disregarded, and it was almost reasonable to expect, that the + bold adventurer, who had undertaken the trade of a magistrate, should find + a rich compensation for infamy, labor, danger, the debts which he had + contracted, and the heavy interest which he paid. A sense of the disgrace + and mischief of this venal practice, at length awakened the slumbering + virtue of Justinian; and he attempted, by the sanction of oaths <a + href="#linknote-40.88" name="linknoteref-40.88" id="linknoteref-40.88">88</a> + and penalties, to guard the integrity of his government: but at the end of + a year of perjury, his rigorous edict was suspended, and corruption + licentiously abused her triumph over the impotence of the laws. VI. The + testament of Eulalius, count of the domestics, declared the emperor his + sole heir, on condition, however, that he should discharge his debts and + legacies, allow to his three daughters a decent maintenance, and bestow + each of them in marriage, with a portion of ten pounds of gold. But the + splendid fortune of Eulalius had been consumed by fire, and the inventory + of his goods did not exceed the trifling sum of five hundred and + sixty-four pieces of gold. A similar instance, in Grecian history, + admonished the emperor of the honorable part prescribed for his imitation. + He checked the selfish murmurs of the treasury, applauded the confidence + of his friend, discharged the legacies and debts, educated the three + virgins under the eye of the empress Theodora, and doubled the marriage + portion which had satisfied the tenderness of their father. <a + href="#linknote-40.89" name="linknoteref-40.89" id="linknoteref-40.89">89</a> + The humanity of a prince (for princes cannot be generous) is entitled to + some praise; yet even in this act of virtue we may discover the inveterate + custom of supplanting the legal or natural heirs, which Procopius imputes + to the reign of Justinian. His charge is supported by eminent names and + scandalous examples; neither widows nor orphans were spared; and the art + of soliciting, or extorting, or supposing testaments, was beneficially + practised by the agents of the palace. This base and mischievous tyranny + invades the security of private life; and the monarch who has indulged an + appetite for gain, will soon be tempted to anticipate the moment of + succession, to interpret wealth as an evidence of guilt, and to proceed, + from the claim of inheritance, to the power of confiscation. VII. Among + the forms of rapine, a philosopher may be permitted to name the conversion + of Pagan or heretical riches to the use of the faithful; but in the time + of Justinian this holy plunder was condemned by the sectaries alone, who + became the victims of his orthodox avarice. <a href="#linknote-40.90" + name="linknoteref-40.90" id="linknoteref-40.90">90</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.85" id="linknote-40.85"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 85 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.85">return</a>)<br /> [ One to Scythopolis, + capital of the second Palestine, and twelve for the rest of the province. + Aleman. (p. 59) honestly produces this fact from a Ms. life of St. Sabas, + by his disciple Cyril, in the Vatican Library, and since published by + Cotelerius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.86" id="linknote-40.86"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 86 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.86">return</a>)<br /> [ John Malala (tom. ii. + p. 232) mentions the want of bread, and Zonaras (l. xiv. p. 63) the leaden + pipes, which Justinian, or his servants, stole from the aqueducts.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.8611" id="linknote-40.8611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8611 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.8611">return</a>)<br /> [ Hullman (Geschichte + des Byzantinischen Handels. p. 15) shows that the despotism of the + government was aggravated by the unchecked rapenity of the officers. This + state monopoly, even of corn, wine, and oil, was to force at the time of + the first crusade.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.87" id="linknote-40.87"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 87 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.87">return</a>)<br /> [ For an aureus, one + sixth of an ounce of gold, instead of 210, he gave no more than 180 + folles, or ounces of copper. A disproportion of the mint, below the market + price, must have soon produced a scarcity of small money. In England + twelve pence in copper would sell for no more than seven pence, (Smith’s + Inquiry into the Wealth of Nations, vol. i. p. 49.) For Justinian’s gold + coin, see Evagrius, (l. iv. c. 30.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.88" id="linknote-40.88"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 88 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.88">return</a>)<br /> [ The oath is conceived + in the most formidable words, (Novell. viii. tit. 3.) The defaulters + imprecate on themselves, quicquid haben: telorum armamentaria coeli: the + part of Judas, the leprosy of Gieza, the tremor of Cain, &c., besides + all temporal pains.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.89" id="linknote-40.89"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 89 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.89">return</a>)<br /> [ A similar or more + generous act of friendship is related by Lucian of Eudamidas of Corinth, + (in Toxare, c. 22, 23, tom. ii. p. 530,) and the story has produced an + ingenious, though feeble, comedy of Fontenelle.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.90" id="linknote-40.90"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 90 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.90">return</a>)<br /> [ John Malala, tom. ii. + p. 101, 102, 103.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap40.4"></a> +Chapter XL: Reign Of Justinian.—Part IV.</h2> + + <p> + Dishonor might be ultimately reflected on the character of Justinian; but + much of the guilt, and still more of the profit, was intercepted by the + ministers, who were seldom promoted for their virtues, and not always + selected for their talents. <a href="#linknote-40.91" + name="linknoteref-40.91" id="linknoteref-40.91">91</a> The merits of + Tribonian the quaestor will hereafter be weighed in the reformation of the + Roman law; but the economy of the East was subordinate to the Praetorian + præfect, and Procopius has justified his anecdotes by the portrait which + he exposes in his public history, of the notorious vices of John of + Cappadocia. <a href="#linknote-40.92" name="linknoteref-40.92" + id="linknoteref-40.92">92</a> + </p> + <p> + <a href="#linknote-40.921" name="linknoteref-40.921" id="linknoteref-40.921">921</a> + His knowledge was not borrowed from the schools, <a href="#linknote-40.93" + name="linknoteref-40.93" id="linknoteref-40.93">93</a> and his style was + scarcely legible; but he excelled in the powers of native genius, to + suggest the wisest counsels, and to find expedients in the most desperate + situations. The corruption of his heart was equal to the vigor of his + understanding. Although he was suspected of magic and Pagan superstition, + he appeared insensible to the fear of God or the reproaches of man; and + his aspiring fortune was raised on the death of thousands, the poverty of + millions, the ruins of cities, and the desolation of provinces. From the + dawn of light to the moment of dinner, he assiduously labored to enrich + his master and himself at the expense of the Roman world; the remainder of + the day was spent in sensual and obscene pleasures, <a + href="#linknote-40.931" name="linknoteref-40.931" id="linknoteref-40.931">931</a> + and the silent hours of the night were interrupted by the perpetual dread + of the justice of an assassin. His abilities, perhaps his vices, + recommended him to the lasting friendship of Justinian: the emperor + yielded with reluctance to the fury of the people; his victory was + displayed by the immediate restoration of their enemy; and they felt + above ten years, under his oppressive administration, that he was + stimulated by revenge, rather than instructed by misfortune. Their + murmurs served only to fortify the resolution of Justinian; but the + præfect, in the insolence of favor, provoked the resentment of Theodora, + disdained a power before which every knee was bent, and attempted to sow + the seeds of discord between the emperor and his beloved consort. Even + Theodora herself was constrained to dissemble, to wait a favorable + moment, and, by an artful conspiracy, to render John of Coppadocia the + accomplice of his own destruction. <a href="#linknote-40.932" name="linknoteref-40.932" + id="linknoteref-40.932">932</a> At a time when Belisarius, unless he had + been a hero, must have shown himself a rebel, his wife Antonina, who + enjoyed the secret confidence of the empress, communicated his feigned + discontent to Euphemia, the daughter of the præfect; the credulous virgin + imparted to her father the dangerous project, and John, who might have + known the value of oaths and promises, was tempted to accept a nocturnal, + and almost treasonable, interview with the wife of Belisarius. An + ambuscade of guards and eunuchs had been posted by the command of + Theodora; they rushed with drawn swords to seize or to punish the guilty + minister: he was saved by the fidelity of his attendants; but instead of + appealing to a gracious sovereign, who had privately warned him of his + danger, he pusillanimously fled to the sanctuary of the church. The + favorite of Justinian was sacrificed to conjugal tenderness or domestic + tranquility; the conversion of a præfect into a priest extinguished his + ambitious hopes: but the friendship of the emperor alleviated his + disgrace, and he retained in the mild exile of Cyzicus an ample portion of + his riches. Such imperfect revenge could not satisfy the unrelenting + hatred of Theodora; the murder of his old enemy, the bishop of Cyzicus, + afforded a decent pretence; and John of Cappadocia, whose actions had + deserved a thousand deaths, was at last condemned for a crime of which he + was innocent. A great minister, who had been invested with the honors of + consul and patrician, was ignominiously scourged like the vilest of + malefactors; a tattered cloak was the sole remnant of his fortunes; he was + transported in a bark to the place of his banishment at Antinopolis in + Upper Egypt, and the præfect of the East begged his bread through the + cities which had trembled at his name. During an exile of seven years, his + life was protracted and threatened by the ingenious cruelty of Theodora; + and when her death permitted the emperor to recall a servant whom he had + abandoned with regret, the ambition of John of Cappadocia was reduced to + the humble duties of the sacerdotal profession. His successors convinced + the subjects of Justinian, that the arts of oppression might still be + improved by experience and industry; the frauds of a Syrian banker were + introduced into the administration of the finances; and the example of the + præfect was diligently copied by the quaestor, the public and private + treasurer, the governors of provinces, and the principal magistrates of + the Eastern empire. <a href="#linknote-40.94" name="linknoteref-40.94" + id="linknoteref-40.94">94</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.91" id="linknote-40.91"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 91 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.91">return</a>)<br /> [ One of these, + Anatolius, perished in an earthquake—doubtless a judgment! The + complaints and clamors of the people in Agathias (l. v. p. 146, 147) are + almost an echo of the anecdote. The aliena pecunia reddenda of Corippus + (l. ii. 381, &c.,) is not very honorable to Justinian’s memory.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.92" id="linknote-40.92"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 92 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.92">return</a>)<br /> [ See the history and + character of John of Cappadocia in Procopius. (Persic, l. i. c. 35, 25, l. + ii. c. 30. Vandal. l. i. c. 13. Anecdot. c. 2, 17, 22.) The agreement of + the history and anecdotes is a mortal wound to the reputation of the + praefct.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.921" id="linknote-40.921"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 921 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.921">return</a>)<br /> [ This view, + particularly of the cruelty of John of Cappadocia, is confirmed by the + testimony of Joannes Lydus, who was in the office of the præfect, and + eye-witness of the tortures inflicted by his command on the miserable + debtors, or supposed debtors, of the state. He mentions one horrible + instance of a respectable old man, with whom he was personally acquainted, + who, being suspected of possessing money, was hung up by the hands till he + was dead. Lydus de Magist. lib. iii. c. 57, p. 254.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.93" id="linknote-40.93"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 93 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.93">return</a>)<br /> [ A forcible expression.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.931" id="linknote-40.931"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 931 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.931">return</a>)<br /> [ Joannes Lydus is + diffuse on this subject, lib. iii. c. 65, p. 268. But the indignant virtue + of Lydus seems greatly stimulated by the loss of his official fees, which + he ascribes to the innovations of the minister.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.932" id="linknote-40.932"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 932 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.932">return</a>)<br /> [ According to Lydus, + Theodora disclosed the crimes and unpopularity of the minister to + Justinian, but the emperor had not the courage to remove, and was unable + to replace, a servant, under whom his finances seemed to prosper. He + attributes the sedition and conflagration to the popular resentment + against the tyranny of John, lib. iii. c 70, p. 278. Unfortunately there + is a large gap in his work just at this period.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.94" id="linknote-40.94"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 94 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.94">return</a>)<br /> [ The chronology of + Procopius is loose and obscure; but with the aid of Pagi I can discern + that John was appointed Praetorian præfect of the East in the year 530—that + he was removed in January, 532—restored before June, 533—banished + in 541—and recalled between June, 548, and April 1, 549. Aleman. (p. + 96, 97) gives the list of his ten successors—a rapid series in a + part of a single reign. * Note: Lydus gives a high character of Phocas, + his successor tom. iii. c. 78 p. 288.—M.] + </p> + <p> + V. The edifices of Justinian were cemented with the blood and treasure of + his people; but those stately structures appeared to announce the + prosperity of the empire, and actually displayed the skill of their + architects. Both the theory and practice of the arts which depend on + mathematical science and mechanical power, were cultivated under the + patronage of the emperors; the fame of Archimedes was rivalled by Proclus + and Anthemius; and if their miracles had been related by intelligent + spectators, they might now enlarge the speculations, instead of exciting + the distrust, of philosophers. A tradition has prevailed, that the Roman + fleet was reduced to ashes in the port of Syracuse, by the burning-glasses + of Archimedes; <a href="#linknote-40.95" name="linknoteref-40.95" + id="linknoteref-40.95">95</a> and it is asserted, that a similar expedient + was employed by Proclus to destroy the Gothic vessels in the harbor of + Constantinople, and to protect his benefactor Anastasius against the bold + enterprise of Vitalian. <a href="#linknote-40.96" name="linknoteref-40.96" + id="linknoteref-40.96">96</a> A machine was fixed on the walls of the city, + consisting of a hexagon mirror of polished brass, with many smaller and + movable polygons to receive and reflect the rays of the meridian sun; and + a consuming flame was darted, to the distance, perhaps of two hundred + feet. <a href="#linknote-40.97" name="linknoteref-40.97" + id="linknoteref-40.97">97</a> The truth of these two extraordinary facts is + invalidated by the silence of the most authentic historians; and the use + of burning-glasses was never adopted in the attack or defence of places. + <a href="#linknote-40.98" name="linknoteref-40.98" id="linknoteref-40.98">98</a> + Yet the admirable experiments of a French philosopher <a + href="#linknote-40.99" name="linknoteref-40.99" id="linknoteref-40.99">99</a> + have demonstrated the possibility of such a mirror; and, since it is + possible, I am more disposed to attribute the art to the greatest + mathematicians of antiquity, than to give the merit of the fiction to the + idle fancy of a monk or a sophist. According to another story, Proclus + applied sulphur to the destruction of the Gothic fleet; <a + href="#linknote-40.100" name="linknoteref-40.100" id="linknoteref-40.100">100</a> + in a modern imagination, the name of sulphur is instantly connected with + the suspicion of gunpowder, and that suspicion is propagated by the secret + arts of his disciple Anthemius. <a href="#linknote-40.101" + name="linknoteref-40.101" id="linknoteref-40.101">101</a> A citizen of + Tralles in Asia had five sons, who were all distinguished in their + respective professions by merit and success. Olympius excelled in the + knowledge and practice of the Roman jurisprudence. Dioscorus and Alexander + became learned physicians; but the skill of the former was exercised for + the benefit of his fellow-citizens, while his more ambitious brother + acquired wealth and reputation at Rome. The fame of Metrodorus the + grammarian, and of Anthemius the mathematician and architect, reached the + ears of the emperor Justinian, who invited them to Constantinople; and + while the one instructed the rising generation in the schools of + eloquence, the other filled the capital and provinces with more lasting + monuments of his art. In a trifling dispute relative to the walls or + windows of their contiguous houses, he had been vanquished by the + eloquence of his neighbor Zeno; but the orator was defeated in his turn by + the master of mechanics, whose malicious, though harmless, stratagems are + darkly represented by the ignorance of Agathias. In a lower room, + Anthemius arranged several vessels or caldrons of water, each of them + covered by the wide bottom of a leathern tube, which rose to a narrow top, + and was artificially conveyed among the joists and rafters of the adjacent + building. A fire was kindled beneath the caldron; the steam of the boiling + water ascended through the tubes; the house was shaken by the efforts of + imprisoned air, and its trembling inhabitants might wonder that the city + was unconscious of the earthquake which they had felt. At another time, + the friends of Zeno, as they sat at table, were dazzled by the intolerable + light which flashed in their eyes from the reflecting mirrors of + Anthemius; they were astonished by the noise which he produced from the + collision of certain minute and sonorous particles; and the orator + declared in tragic style to the senate, that a mere mortal must yield to + the power of an antagonist, who shook the earth with the trident of + Neptune, and imitated the thunder and lightning of Jove himself. The + genius of Anthemius, and his colleague Isidore the Milesian, was excited + and employed by a prince, whose taste for architecture had degenerated + into a mischievous and costly passion. His favorite architects submitted + their designs and difficulties to Justinian, and discreetly confessed how + much their laborious meditations were surpassed by the intuitive knowledge + of celestial inspiration of an emperor, whose views were always directed + to the benefit of his people, the glory of his reign, and the salvation of + his soul. <a href="#linknote-40.102" name="linknoteref-40.102" + id="linknoteref-40.102">102</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.95" id="linknote-40.95"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 95 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.95">return</a>)<br /> [ This conflagration is + hinted by Lucian (in Hippia, c. 2) and Galen, (l. iii. de Temperamentis, + tom. i. p. 81, edit. Basil.) in the second century. A thousand years + afterwards, it is positively affirmed by Zonaras, (l. ix. p. 424,) on the + faith of Dion Cassius, Tzetzes, (Chiliad ii. 119, &c.,) Eustathius, + (ad Iliad. E. p. 338,) and the scholiast of Lucian. See Fabricius, + (Bibliot. Graec. l. iii. c. 22, tom. ii. p. 551, 552,) to whom I am more + or less indebted for several of these quotations.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.96" id="linknote-40.96"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 96 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.96">return</a>)<br /> [ Zonaras (l. xi. c. p. + 55) affirms the fact, without quoting any evidence.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.97" id="linknote-40.97"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 97 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.97">return</a>)<br /> [ Tzetzes describes the + artifice of these burning-glasses, which he had read, perhaps, with no + learned eyes, in a mathematical treatise of Anthemius. That treatise has + been lately published, translated, and illustrated, by M. Dupuys, a + scholar and a mathematician, (Memoires de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom + xlii p. 392—451.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.98" id="linknote-40.98"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 98 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.98">return</a>)<br /> [ In the siege of + Syracuse, by the silence of Polybius, Plutarch, Livy; in the siege of + Constantinople, by that of Marcellinus and all the contemporaries of the + vith century.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.99" id="linknote-40.99"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 99 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.99">return</a>)<br /> [ Without any previous + knowledge of Tzetzes or Anthemius, the immortal Buffon imagined and + executed a set of burning-glasses, with which he could inflame planks at + the distance of 200 feet, (Supplement a l’Hist. Naturelle, tom. i. 399—483, + quarto edition.) What miracles would not his genius have performed for the + public service, with royal expense, and in the strong sun of + Constantinople or Syracuse?] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.100" id="linknote-40.100"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 100 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.100">return</a>)<br /> [ John Malala (tom. ii. + p. 120—124) relates the fact; but he seems to confound the names or + persons of Proclus and Marinus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.101" id="linknote-40.101"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 101 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.101">return</a>)<br /> [ Agathias, l. v. p. + 149—152. The merit of Anthemius as an architect is loudly praised by + Procopius (de Edif. l. i. c. 1) and Paulus Silentiarius, (part i. 134, + &c.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.102" id="linknote-40.102"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 102 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.102">return</a>)<br /> [ See Procopius, (de + Edificiis, l. i. c. 1, 2, l. ii. c. 3.) He relates a coincidence of + dreams, which supposes some fraud in Justinian or his architect. They both + saw, in a vision, the same plan for stopping an inundation at Dara. A + stone quarry near Jerusalem was revealed to the emperor, (l. v. c. 6:) an + angel was tricked into the perpetual custody of St. Sophia, (Anonym. de + Antiq. C. P. l. iv. p. 70.)] + </p> + <p> + The principal church, which was dedicated by the founder of Constantinople + to St. Sophia, or the eternal wisdom, had been twice destroyed by fire; + after the exile of John Chrysostom, and during the Nika of the blue and + green factions. No sooner did the tumult subside, than the Christian + populace deplored their sacrilegious rashness; but they might have + rejoiced in the calamity, had they foreseen the glory of the new temple, + which at the end of forty days was strenuously undertaken by the piety of + Justinian. <a href="#linknote-40.103" name="linknoteref-40.103" + id="linknoteref-40.103">103</a> The ruins were cleared away, a more + spacious plan was described, and as it required the consent of some + proprietors of ground, they obtained the most exorbitant terms from the + eager desires and timorous conscience of the monarch. Anthemius formed the + design, and his genius directed the hands of ten thousand workmen, whose + payment in pieces of fine silver was never delayed beyond the evening. The + emperor himself, clad in a linen tunic, surveyed each day their rapid + progress, and encouraged their diligence by his familiarity, his zeal, and + his rewards. The new Cathedral of St. Sophia was consecrated by the + patriarch, five years, eleven months, and ten days from the first + foundation; and in the midst of the solemn festival Justinian exclaimed + with devout vanity, “Glory be to God, who hath thought me worthy to + accomplish so great a work; I have vanquished thee, O Solomon!” <a + href="#linknote-40.104" name="linknoteref-40.104" id="linknoteref-40.104">104</a> + But the pride of the Roman Solomon, before twenty years had elapsed, was + humbled by an earthquake, which overthrew the eastern part of the dome. + Its splendor was again restored by the perseverance of the same prince; + and in the thirty-sixth year of his reign, Justinian celebrated the second + dedication of a temple which remains, after twelve centuries, a stately + monument of his fame. The architecture of St. Sophia, which is now + converted into the principal mosque, has been imitated by the Turkish + sultans, and that venerable pile continues to excite the fond admiration + of the Greeks, and the more rational curiosity of European travellers. The + eye of the spectator is disappointed by an irregular prospect of + half-domes and shelving roofs: the western front, the principal approach, + is destitute of simplicity and magnificence; and the scale of dimensions + has been much surpassed by several of the Latin cathedrals. But the + architect who first erected an <i>aerial</i> cupola, is entitled to the praise + of bold design and skilful execution. The dome of St. Sophia, illuminated + by four-and-twenty windows, is formed with so small a curve, that the + depth is equal only to one sixth of its diameter; the measure of that + diameter is one hundred and fifteen feet, and the lofty centre, where a + crescent has supplanted the cross, rises to the perpendicular height of + one hundred and eighty feet above the pavement. The circle which + encompasses the dome, lightly reposes on four strong arches, and their + weight is firmly supported by four massy piles, whose strength is + assisted, on the northern and southern sides, by four columns of Egyptian + granite. + </p> + <p> + A Greek cross, inscribed in a quadrangle, represents the form of the + edifice; the exact breadth is two hundred and forty-three feet, and two + hundred and sixty-nine may be assigned for the extreme length from the + sanctuary in the east, to the nine western doors, which open into the + vestibule, and from thence into the narthex or exterior portico. That + portico was the humble station of the penitents. The nave or body of the + church was filled by the congregation of the faithful; but the two sexes + were prudently distinguished, and the upper and lower galleries were + allotted for the more private devotion of the women. Beyond the northern + and southern piles, a balustrade, terminated on either side by the thrones + of the emperor and the patriarch, divided the nave from the choir; and the + space, as far as the steps of the altar, was occupied by the clergy and + singers. The altar itself, a name which insensibly became familiar to + Christian ears, was placed in the eastern recess, artificially built in + the form of a demi-cylinder; and this sanctuary communicated by several + doors with the sacristy, the vestry, the baptistery, and the contiguous + buildings, subservient either to the pomp of worship, or the private use + of the ecclesiastical ministers. The memory of past calamities inspired + Justinian with a wise resolution, that no wood, except for the doors, + should be admitted into the new edifice; and the choice of the materials + was applied to the strength, the lightness, or the splendor of the + respective parts. The solid piles which contained the cupola were composed + of huge blocks of freestone, hewn into squares and triangles, fortified by + circles of iron, and firmly cemented by the infusion of lead and + quicklime: but the weight of the cupola was diminished by the levity of + its substance, which consists either of pumice-stone that floats in the + water, or of bricks from the Isle of Rhodes, five times less ponderous + than the ordinary sort. The whole frame of the edifice was constructed of + brick; but those base materials were concealed by a crust of marble; and + the inside of St. Sophia, the cupola, the two larger, and the six smaller, + semi-domes, the walls, the hundred columns, and the pavement, delight even + the eyes of Barbarians, with a rich and variegated picture. A poet, <a + href="#linknote-40.105" name="linknoteref-40.105" id="linknoteref-40.105">105</a> + who beheld the primitive lustre of St. Sophia, enumerates the colors, the + shades, and the spots of ten or twelve marbles, jaspers, and porphyries, + which nature had profusely diversified, and which were blended and + contrasted as it were by a skilful painter. The triumph of Christ was + adorned with the last spoils of Paganism, but the greater part of these + costly stones was extracted from the quarries of Asia Minor, the isles and + continent of Greece, Egypt, Africa, and Gaul. Eight columns of porphyry, + which Aurelian had placed in the temple of the sun, were offered by the + piety of a Roman matron; eight others of green marble were presented by + the ambitious zeal of the magistrates of Ephesus: both are admirable by + their size and beauty, but every order of architecture disclaims their + fantastic capital. A variety of ornaments and figures was curiously + expressed in mosaic; and the images of Christ, of the Virgin, of saints, + and of angels, which have been defaced by Turkish fanaticism, were + dangerously exposed to the superstition of the Greeks. According to the + sanctity of each object, the precious metals were distributed in thin + leaves or in solid masses. The balustrade of the choir, the capitals of + the pillars, the ornaments of the doors and galleries, were of gilt + bronze; the spectator was dazzled by the glittering aspect of the cupola; + the sanctuary contained forty thousand pounds weight of silver; and the + holy vases and vestments of the altar were of the purest gold, enriched + with inestimable gems. Before the structure of the church had arisen two + cubits above the ground, forty-five thousand two hundred pounds were + already consumed; and the whole expense amounted to three hundred and + twenty thousand: each reader, according to the measure of his belief, may + estimate their value either in gold or silver; but the sum of one million + sterling is the result of the lowest computation. A magnificent temple is + a laudable monument of national taste and religion; and the enthusiast who + entered the dome of St. Sophia might be tempted to suppose that it was the + residence, or even the workmanship, of the Deity. Yet how dull is the + artifice, how insignificant is the labor, if it be compared with the + formation of the vilest insect that crawls upon the surface of the temple! + <a name="linknote-40.103" id="linknote-40.103"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 103 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.103">return</a>)<br /> [Among the crowd of + ancients and moderns who have celebrated the edifice of St. Sophia, I + shall distinguish and follow, 1. Four original spectators and historians: + Procopius, (de Edific. l. i. c. 1,) Agathias, (l. v. p. 152, 153,) Paul + Silentiarius, (in a poem of 1026 hexameters, and calcem Annae Commen. + Alexiad.,) and Evagrius, (l. iv. c. 31.) 2. Two legendary Greeks of a + later period: George Codinus, (de Origin. C. P. p. 64-74,) and the + anonymous writer of Banduri, (Imp. Orient. tom. i. l. iv. p. 65—80.)3. + The great Byzantine antiquarian. Ducange, (Comment. ad Paul Silentiar. p. + 525—598, and C. P. Christ. l. iii. p. 5—78.) 4. Two French + travellers—the one, Peter Gyllius, (de Topograph. C. P. l. ii. c. 3, + 4,) in the xvith; the other, Grelot, (Voyage de C. P. p. 95—164, + Paris, 1680, in 4to:) he has given plans, prospects, and inside views of + St. Sophia; and his plans, though on a smaller scale, appear more correct + than those of Ducange. I have adopted and reduced the measures of Grelot: + but as no Christian can now ascend the dome, the height is borrowed from + Evagrius, compared with Gyllius, Greaves, and the Oriental Geographer.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.104" id="linknote-40.104"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 104 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.104">return</a>)<br /> [ Solomon’s temple was + surrounded with courts, porticos, &c.; but the proper structure of the + house of God was no more (if we take the Egyptian or Hebrew cubic at 22 + inches) than 55 feet in height, 36 2/3 in breadth, and 110 in length—a + small parish church, says Prideaux, (Connection, vol. i. p. 144, folio;) + but few sanctuaries could be valued at four or five millions sterling! * + Note *: Hist of Jews, vol i p 257.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.105" id="linknote-40.105"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 105 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.105">return</a>)<br /> [ Paul Silentiarius, in + dark and poetic language, describes the various stones and marbles that + were employed in the edifice of St. Sophia, (P. ii. p. 129, 133, &c., + &c.:) + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1. The Carystian—pale, with iron veins. + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2. The Phrygian—of two sorts, both of a rosy hue; the one with a + white shade, the other purple, with silver flowers. + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3. The Porphyry of Egypt—with small stars. + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4. The green marble of Laconia. + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5. The Carian—from Mount Iassis, with oblique veins, white and red. + 6. The Lydian—pale, with a red flower. + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7. The African, or Mauritanian—of a gold or saffron hue. 8. The + Celtic—black, with white veins. + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9. The Bosphoric—white, with black edges. Besides the Proconnesian + which formed the pavement; the Thessalian, Molossian, &c., which are + less distinctly painted.] + </p> + <p> + So minute a description of an edifice which time has respected, may attest + the truth, and excuse the relation, of the innumerable works, both in the + capital and provinces, which Justinian constructed on a smaller scale and + less durable foundations. <a href="#linknote-40.106" + name="linknoteref-40.106" id="linknoteref-40.106">106</a> In Constantinople + alone and the adjacent suburbs, he dedicated twenty-five churches to the + honor of Christ, the Virgin, and the saints: most of these churches were + decorated with marble and gold; and their various situation was skilfully + chosen in a populous square, or a pleasant grove; on the margin of the + sea-shore, or on some lofty eminence which overlooked the continents of + Europe and Asia. The church of the Holy Apostles at Constantinople, and + that of St. John at Ephesus, appear to have been framed on the same model: + their domes aspired to imitate the cupolas of St. Sophia; but the altar + was more judiciously placed under the centre of the dome, at the junction + of four stately porticos, which more accurately expressed the figure of + the Greek cross. The Virgin of Jerusalem might exult in the temple erected + by her Imperial votary on a most ungrateful spot, which afforded neither + ground nor materials to the architect. A level was formed by raising part + of a deep valley to the height of the mountain. The stones of a + neighboring quarry were hewn into regular forms; each block was fixed on a + peculiar carriage, drawn by forty of the strongest oxen, and the roads + were widened for the passage of such enormous weights. Lebanon furnished + her loftiest cedars for the timbers of the church; and the seasonable + discovery of a vein of red marble supplied its beautiful columns, two of + which, the supporters of the exterior portico, were esteemed the largest + in the world. The pious munificence of the emperor was diffused over the + Holy Land; and if reason should condemn the monasteries of both sexes + which were built or restored by Justinian, yet charity must applaud the + wells which he sunk, and the hospitals which he founded, for the relief of + the weary pilgrims. The schismatical temper of Egypt was ill entitled to + the royal bounty; but in Syria and Africa, some remedies were applied to + the disasters of wars and earthquakes, and both Carthage and Antioch, + emerging from their ruins, might revere the name of their gracious + benefactor. <a href="#linknote-40.107" name="linknoteref-40.107" + id="linknoteref-40.107">107</a> Almost every saint in the calendar acquired + the honors of a temple; almost every city of the empire obtained the solid + advantages of bridges, hospitals, and aqueducts; but the severe liberality + of the monarch disdained to indulge his subjects in the popular luxury of + baths and theatres. While Justinian labored for the public service, he was + not unmindful of his own dignity and ease. The Byzantine palace, which had + been damaged by the conflagration, was restored with new magnificence; and + some notion may be conceived of the whole edifice, by the vestibule or + hall, which, from the doors perhaps, or the roof, was surnamed chalce, or + the brazen. The dome of a spacious quadrangle was supported by massy + pillars; the pavement and walls were incrusted with many-colored marbles—the + emerald green of Laconia, the fiery red, and the white Phrygian stone, + intersected with veins of a sea-green hue: the mosaic paintings of the + dome and sides represented the glories of the African and Italian + triumphs. On the Asiatic shore of the Propontis, at a small distance to + the east of Chalcedon, the costly palace and gardens of Heraeum <a + href="#linknote-40.108" name="linknoteref-40.108" id="linknoteref-40.108">108</a> + were prepared for the summer residence of Justinian, and more especially + of Theodora. The poets of the age have celebrated the rare alliance of + nature and art, the harmony of the nymphs of the groves, the fountains, + and the waves: yet the crowd of attendants who followed the court + complained of their inconvenient lodgings, <a href="#linknote-40.109" + name="linknoteref-40.109" id="linknoteref-40.109">109</a> and the nymphs + were too often alarmed by the famous Porphyrio, a whale of ten cubits in + breadth, and thirty in length, who was stranded at the mouth of the River + Sangaris, after he had infested more than half a century the seas of + Constantinople. <a href="#linknote-40.110" name="linknoteref-40.110" + id="linknoteref-40.110">110</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.106" id="linknote-40.106"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 106 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.106">return</a>)<br /> [ The six books of the + Edifices of Procopius are thus distributed the first is confined to + Constantinople: the second includes Mesopotamia and Syria the third, + Armenia and the Euxine; the fourth, Europe; the fifth, Asia Minor and + Palestine; the sixth, Egypt and Africa. Italy is forgot by the emperor or + the historian, who published this work of adulation before the date (A.D. + 555) of its final conquest.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.107" id="linknote-40.107"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 107 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.107">return</a>)<br /> [ Justinian once gave + forty-five centenaries of gold (180,000 L.) for the repairs of Antioch + after the earthquake, (John Malala, tom. ii p 146—149.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.108" id="linknote-40.108"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 108 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.108">return</a>)<br /> [ For the Heraeum, the + palace of Theodora, see Gyllius, (de Bosphoro Thracio, l. iii. c. xi.,) + Aleman. (Not. ad. Anec. p. 80, 81, who quotes several epigrams of the + Anthology,) and Ducange, (C. P. Christ. l. iv. c. 13, p. 175, 176.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.109" id="linknote-40.109"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 109 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.109">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare, in the + Edifices, (l. i. c. 11,) and in the Anecdotes, (c. 8, 15.) the different + styles of adulation and malevolence: stripped of the paint, or cleansed + from the dirt, the object appears to be the same.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.110" id="linknote-40.110"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 110 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.110">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, l. viii. + 29; most probably a stranger and wanderer, as the Mediterranean does not + breed whales. Balaenae quoque in nostra maria penetrant, (Plin. Hist. + Natur. ix. 2.) Between the polar circle and the tropic, the cetaceous + animals of the ocean grow to the length of 50, 80, or 100 feet, (Hist. des + Voyages, tom. xv. p. 289. Pennant’s British Zoology, vol. iii. p. 35.)] + </p> + <p> + The fortifications of Europe and Asia were multiplied by Justinian; but + the repetition of those timid and fruitless precautions exposes, to a + philosophic eye, the debility of the empire. <a href="#linknote-40.111" + name="linknoteref-40.111" id="linknoteref-40.111">111</a> From Belgrade to + the Euxine, from the conflux of the Save to the mouth of the Danube, a + chain of above fourscore fortified places was extended along the banks of + the great river. Single watch-towers were changed into spacious citadels; + vacant walls, which the engineers contracted or enlarged according to the + nature of the ground, were filled with colonies or garrisons; a strong + fortress defended the ruins of Trajan’s bridge, <a href="#linknote-40.112" + name="linknoteref-40.112" id="linknoteref-40.112">112</a> and several + military stations affected to spread beyond the Danube the pride of the + Roman name. But that name was divested of its terrors; the Barbarians, in + their annual inroads, passed, and contemptuously repassed, before these + useless bulwarks; and the inhabitants of the frontier, instead of reposing + under the shadow of the general defence, were compelled to guard, with + incessant vigilance, their separate habitations. The solitude of ancient + cities, was replenished; the new foundations of Justinian acquired, + perhaps too hastily, the epithets of impregnable and populous; and the + auspicious place of his own nativity attracted the grateful reverence of + the vainest of princes. Under the name of Justiniana prima, the obscure + village of Tauresium became the seat of an archbishop and a præfect, + whose jurisdiction extended over seven warlike provinces of Illyricum; <a + href="#linknote-40.113" name="linknoteref-40.113" id="linknoteref-40.113">113</a> + and the corrupt appellation of Giustendil still indicates, about twenty + miles to the south of Sophia, the residence of a Turkish sanjak. <a + href="#linknote-40.114" name="linknoteref-40.114" id="linknoteref-40.114">114</a> + For the use of the emperor’s countryman, a cathedral, a place, and an + aqueduct, were speedily constructed; the public and private edifices were + adapted to the greatness of a royal city; and the strength of the walls + resisted, during the lifetime of Justinian, the unskilful assaults of the + Huns and Sclavonians. Their progress was sometimes retarded, and their + hopes of rapine were disappointed, by the innumerable castles which, in + the provinces of Dacia, Epirus, Thessaly, Macedonia, and Thrace, appeared + to cover the whole face of the country. Six hundred of these forts were + built or repaired by the emperor; but it seems reasonable to believe, that + the far greater part consisted only of a stone or brick tower, in the + midst of a square or circular area, which was surrounded by a wall and + ditch, and afforded in a moment of danger some protection to the peasants + and cattle of the neighboring villages. <a href="#linknote-40.115" + name="linknoteref-40.115" id="linknoteref-40.115">115</a> Yet these military + works, which exhausted the public treasure, could not remove the just + apprehensions of Justinian and his European subjects. The warm baths of + Anchialus in Thrace were rendered as safe as they were salutary; but the + rich pastures of Thessalonica were foraged by the Scythian cavalry; the + delicious vale of Tempe, three hundred miles from the Danube, was + continually alarmed by the sound of war; <a href="#linknote-40.116" + name="linknoteref-40.116" id="linknoteref-40.116">116</a> and no unfortified + spot, however distant or solitary, could securely enjoy the blessings of + peace. The Straits of Thermopylae, which seemed to protect, but which had + so often betrayed, the safety of Greece, were diligently strengthened by + the labors of Justinian. From the edge of the sea-shore, through the + forests and valleys, and as far as the summit of the Thessalian mountains, + a strong wall was continued, which occupied every practicable entrance. + Instead of a hasty crowd of peasants, a garrison of two thousand soldiers + was stationed along the rampart; granaries of corn and reservoirs of water + were provided for their use; and by a precaution that inspired the + cowardice which it foresaw, convenient fortresses were erected for their + retreat. The walls of Corinth, overthrown by an earthquake, and the + mouldering bulwarks of Athens and Plataea, were carefully restored; the + Barbarians were discouraged by the prospect of successive and painful + sieges: and the naked cities of Peloponnesus were covered by the + fortifications of the Isthmus of Corinth. At the extremity of Europe, + another peninsula, the Thracian Chersonesus, runs three days’ journey into + the sea, to form, with the adjacent shores of Asia, the Straits of the + Hellespont. The intervals between eleven populous towns were filled by + lofty woods, fair pastures, and arable lands; and the isthmus, of thirty + seven stadia or furlongs, had been fortified by a Spartan general nine + hundred years before the reign of Justinian. <a href="#linknote-40.117" + name="linknoteref-40.117" id="linknoteref-40.117">117</a> In an age of + freedom and valor, the slightest rampart may prevent a surprise; and + Procopius appears insensible of the superiority of ancient times, while he + praises the solid construction and double parapet of a wall, whose long + arms stretched on either side into the sea; but whose strength was deemed + insufficient to guard the Chersonesus, if each city, and particularly + Gallipoli and Sestus, had not been secured by their peculiar + fortifications. The long wall, as it was emphatically styled, was a work + as disgraceful in the object, as it was respectable in the execution. The + riches of a capital diffuse themselves over the neighboring country, and + the territory of Constantinople a paradise of nature, was adorned with the + luxurious gardens and villas of the senators and opulent citizens. But + their wealth served only to attract the bold and rapacious Barbarians; the + noblest of the Romans, in the bosom of peaceful indolence, were led away + into Scythian captivity, and their sovereign might view from his palace + the hostile flames which were insolently spread to the gates of the + Imperial city. At the distance only of forty miles, Anastasius was + constrained to establish a last frontier; his long wall, of sixty miles + from the Propontis to the Euxine, proclaimed the impotence of his arms; + and as the danger became more imminent, new fortifications were added by + the indefatigable prudence of Justinian. <a href="#linknote-40.118" + name="linknoteref-40.118" id="linknoteref-40.118">118</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.111" id="linknote-40.111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 111 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.111">return</a>)<br /> [ Montesquieu observes, + (tom. iii. p. 503, Considerations sur la Grandeur et la Decadence des + Romains, c. xx.,) that Justinian’s empire was like France in the time of + the Norman inroads—never so weak as when every village was + fortified.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.112" id="linknote-40.112"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 112 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.112">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius affirms (l. + iv. c. 6) that the Danube was stopped by the ruins of the bridge. Had + Apollodorus, the architect, left a description of his own work, the + fabulous wonders of Dion Cassius (l lxviii. p. 1129) would have been + corrected by the genuine picture Trajan’s bridge consisted of twenty or + twenty-two stone piles with wooden arches; the river is shallow, the + current gentle, and the whole interval no more than 443 (Reimer ad Dion. + from Marsigli) or 5l7 toises, (D’Anville, Geographie Ancienne, tom. i. p. + 305.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.113" id="linknote-40.113"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 113 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.113">return</a>)<br /> [ Of the two Dacias, + Mediterranea and Ripensis, Dardania, Pravalitana, the second Maesia, and + the second Macedonia. See Justinian (Novell. xi.,) who speaks of his + castles beyond the Danube, and on omines semper bellicis sudoribus + inhaerentes.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.114" id="linknote-40.114"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 114 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.114">return</a>)<br /> [ See D’Anville, + (Memoires de l’Academie, &c., tom. xxxi p. 280, 299,) Rycaut, (Present + State of the Turkish Empire, p. 97, 316,) Max sigli, (Stato Militare del + Imperio Ottomano, p. 130.) The sanjak of Giustendil is one of the twenty + under the beglerbeg of Rurselis, and his district maintains 48 zaims and + 588 timariots.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.115" id="linknote-40.115"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 115 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.115">return</a>)<br /> [ These fortifications + may be compared to the castles in Mingrelia (Chardin, Voyages en Perse, + tom. i. p. 60, 131)—a natural picture.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.116" id="linknote-40.116"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 116 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.116">return</a>)<br /> [ The valley of Tempe + is situate along the River Peneus, between the hills of Ossa and Olympus: + it is only five miles long, and in some places no more than 120 feet in + breadth. Its verdant beauties are elegantly described by Pliny, (Hist. + Natur. l. iv. 15,) and more diffusely by Aelian, (Hist. Var. l. iii. c. + i.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.117" id="linknote-40.117"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 117 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.117">return</a>)<br /> [ Xenophon Hellenic. l. + iii. c. 2. After a long and tedious conversation with the Byzantine + declaimers, how refreshing is the truth, the simplicity, the elegance of + an Attic writer!] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.118" id="linknote-40.118"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 118 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.118">return</a>)<br /> [ See the long wall in + Evagarius, (l. iv. c. 38.) This whole article is drawn from the fourth + book of the Edifices, except Anchialus, (l. iii. c. 7.)] + </p> + <p> + Asia Minor, after the submission of the Isaurians, <a + href="#linknote-40.119" name="linknoteref-40.119" id="linknoteref-40.119">119</a> + remained without enemies and without fortifications. Those bold savages, + who had disdained to be the subjects of Gallienus, persisted two hundred + and thirty years in a life of independence and rapine. The most successful + princes respected the strength of the mountains and the despair of the + natives; their fierce spirit was sometimes soothed with gifts, and + sometimes restrained by terror; and a military count, with three legions, + fixed his permanent and ignominious station in the heart of the Roman + provinces. <a href="#linknote-40.120" name="linknoteref-40.120" + id="linknoteref-40.120">120</a> But no sooner was the vigilance of power + relaxed or diverted, than the light-armed squadrons descended from the + hills, and invaded the peaceful plenty of Asia. Although the Isaurians + were not remarkable for stature or bravery, want rendered them bold, and + experience made them skilful in the exercise of predatory war. They + advanced with secrecy and speed to the attack of villages and defenceless + towns; their flying parties have sometimes touched the Hellespont, the + Euxine, and the gates of Tarsus, Antioch, or Damascus; <a + href="#linknote-40.121" name="linknoteref-40.121" id="linknoteref-40.121">121</a> + and the spoil was lodged in their inaccessible mountains, before the Roman + troops had received their orders, or the distant province had computed its + loss. The guilt of rebellion and robbery excluded them from the rights of + national enemies; and the magistrates were instructed, by an edict, that + the trial or punishment of an Isaurian, even on the festival of Easter, + was a meritorious act of justice and piety. <a href="#linknote-40.122" + name="linknoteref-40.122" id="linknoteref-40.122">122</a> If the captives + were condemned to domestic slavery, they maintained, with their sword or + dagger, the private quarrel of their masters; and it was found expedient + for the public tranquillity to prohibit the service of such dangerous + retainers. When their countryman Tarcalissaeus or Zeno ascended the + throne, he invited a faithful and formidable band of Isaurians, who + insulted the court and city, and were rewarded by an annual tribute of + five thousand pounds of gold. But the hopes of fortune depopulated the + mountains, luxury enervated the hardiness of their minds and bodies, and + in proportion as they mixed with mankind, they became less qualified for + the enjoyment of poor and solitary freedom. After the death of Zeno, his + successor Anastasius suppressed their pensions, exposed their persons to + the revenge of the people, banished them from Constantinople, and prepared + to sustain a war, which left only the alternative of victory or servitude. + A brother of the last emperor usurped the title of Augustus; his cause was + powerfully supported by the arms, the treasures, and the magazines, + collected by Zeno; and the native Isaurians must have formed the smallest + portion of the hundred and fifty thousand Barbarians under his standard, + which was sanctified, for the first time, by the presence of a fighting + bishop. Their disorderly numbers were vanquished in the plains of Phrygia + by the valor and discipline of the Goths; but a war of six years almost + exhausted the courage of the emperor. <a href="#linknote-40.123" + name="linknoteref-40.123" id="linknoteref-40.123">123</a> The Isaurians + retired to their mountains; their fortresses were successively besieged + and ruined; their communication with the sea was intercepted; the bravest + of their leaders died in arms; the surviving chiefs, before their + execution, were dragged in chains through the hippodrome; a colony of + their youth was transplanted into Thrace, and the remnant of the people + submitted to the Roman government. Yet some generations elapsed before + their minds were reduced to the level of slavery. The populous villages of + Mount Taurus were filled with horsemen and archers: they resisted the + imposition of tributes, but they recruited the armies of Justinian; and + his civil magistrates, the proconsul of Cappadocia, the count of Isauria, + and the praetors of Lycaonia and Pisidia, were invested with military + power to restrain the licentious practice of rapes and assassinations. <a + href="#linknote-40.124" name="linknoteref-40.124" id="linknoteref-40.124">124</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.119" id="linknote-40.119"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 119 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.119">return</a>)<br /> [ Turn back to vol. i. + p. 328. In the course of this History, I have sometimes mentioned, and + much oftener slighted, the hasty inroads of the Isaurians, which were not + attended with any consequences.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.120" id="linknote-40.120"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 120 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.120">return</a>)<br /> [ Trebellius Pollio in + Hist. August. p. 107, who lived under Diocletian, or Constantine. See + likewise Pancirolus ad Notit. Imp. Orient c. 115, 141. See Cod. Theodos. + l. ix. tit. 35, leg. 37, with a copious collective Annotation of Godefroy, + tom. iii. p. 256, 257.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.121" id="linknote-40.121"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 121 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.121">return</a>)<br /> [ See the full and wide + extent of their inroads in Philostorgius (Hist. Eccles. l. xi. c. 8,) with + Godefroy’s learned Dissertations.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.122" id="linknote-40.122"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 122 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.122">return</a>)<br /> [ Cod. Justinian. l. + ix. tit. 12, leg. 10. The punishments are severs—a fine of a hundred + pounds of gold, degradation, and even death. The public peace might afford + a pretence, but Zeno was desirous of monopolizing the valor and service of + the Isaurians.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.123" id="linknote-40.123"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 123 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.123">return</a>)<br /> [ The Isaurian war and + the triumph of Anastasius are briefly and darkly represented by John + Malala, (tom. ii. p. 106, 107,) Evagrius, (l. iii. c. 35,) Theophanes, (p. + 118—120,) and the Chronicle of Marcellinus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.124" id="linknote-40.124"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 124 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.124">return</a>)<br /> [ Fortes ea regio (says + Justinian) viros habet, nec in ullo differt ab Isauria, though Procopius + (Persic. l. i. c. 18) marks an essential difference between their military + character; yet in former times the Lycaonians and Pisidians had defended + their liberty against the great king, Xenophon. (Anabasis, l. iii. c. 2.) + Justinian introduces some false and ridiculous erudition of the ancient + empire of the Pisidians, and of Lycaon, who, after visiting Rome, (long + before Aeenas,) gave a name and people to Lycaoni, (Novell. 24, 25, 27, + 30.)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap40.5"></a> +Chapter XL: Reign Of Justinian.—Part V.</h2> + + <p> + If we extend our view from the tropic to the mouth of the Tanais, we may + observe, on one hand, the precautions of Justinian to curb the savages of + Aethiopia, <a href="#linknote-40.125" name="linknoteref-40.125" + id="linknoteref-40.125">125</a> and on the other, the long walls which he + constructed in Crimaea for the protection of his friendly Goths, a colony + of three thousand shepherds and warriors. <a href="#linknote-40.126" + name="linknoteref-40.126" id="linknoteref-40.126">126</a> From that + peninsula to Trebizond, the eastern curve of the Euxine was secured by + forts, by alliance, or by religion; and the possession of Lazica, the + Colchos of ancient, the Mingrelia of modern, geography, soon became the + object of an important war. Trebizond, in after-times the seat of a + romantic empire, was indebted to the liberality of Justinian for a church, + an aqueduct, and a castle, whose ditches are hewn in the solid rock. From + that maritime city, frontier line of five hundred miles may be drawn to + the fortress of Circesium, the last Roman station on the Euphrates. <a + href="#linknote-40.127" name="linknoteref-40.127" id="linknoteref-40.127">127</a> + Above Trebizond immediately, and five days’ journey to the south, the + country rises into dark forests and craggy mountains, as savage though not + so lofty as the Alps and the Pyrenees. In this rigorous climate, <a + href="#linknote-40.128" name="linknoteref-40.128" id="linknoteref-40.128">128</a> + where the snows seldom melt, the fruits are tardy and tasteless, even + honey is poisonous: the most industrious tillage would be confined to some + pleasant valleys; and the pastoral tribes obtained a scanty sustenance + from the flesh and milk of their cattle. The Chalybians <a + href="#linknote-40.129" name="linknoteref-40.129" id="linknoteref-40.129">129</a> + derived their name and temper from the iron quality of the soil; and, + since the days of Cyrus, they might produce, under the various + appellations of Chaldæans and Zanians, an uninterrupted prescription of + war and rapine. Under the reign of Justinian, they acknowledged the god + and the emperor of the Romans, and seven fortresses were built in the most + accessible passages, to exclude the ambition of the Persian monarch. <a + href="#linknote-40.130" name="linknoteref-40.130" id="linknoteref-40.130">130</a> + The principal source of the Euphrates descends from the Chalybian + mountains, and seems to flow towards the west and the Euxine: bending to + the south-west, the river passes under the walls of Satala and Melitene + (which were restored by Justinian as the bulwarks of the Lesser Armenia,) + and gradually approaches the Mediterranean Sea; till at length, repelled + by Mount Taurus, <a href="#linknote-40.131" name="linknoteref-40.131" + id="linknoteref-40.131">131</a> the Euphrates inclines its long and + flexible course to the south-east and the Gulf of Persia. Among the Roman + cities beyond the Euphrates, we distinguish two recent foundations, which + were named from Theodosius, and the relics of the martyrs; and two + capitals, Amida and Edessa, which are celebrated in the history of every + age. Their strength was proportioned by Justinian to the danger of their + situation. A ditch and palisade might be sufficient to resist the artless + force of the cavalry of Scythia; but more elaborate works were required to + sustain a regular siege against the arms and treasures of the great king. + His skilful engineers understood the methods of conducting deep mines, and + of raising platforms to the level of the rampart: he shook the strongest + battlements with his military engines, and sometimes advanced to the + assault with a line of movable turrets on the backs of elephants. In the + great cities of the East, the disadvantage of space, perhaps of position, + was compensated by the zeal of the people, who seconded the garrison in + the defence of their country and religion; and the fabulous promise of the + Son of God, that Edessa should never be taken, filled the citizens with + valiant confidence, and chilled the besiegers with doubt and dismay. <a + href="#linknote-40.132" name="linknoteref-40.132" id="linknoteref-40.132">132</a> + The subordinate towns of Armenia and Mesopotamia were diligently + strengthened, and the posts which appeared to have any command of ground + or water were occupied by numerous forts, substantially built of stone, or + more hastily erected with the obvious materials of earth and brick. The + eye of Justinian investigated every spot; and his cruel precautions might + attract the war into some lonely vale, whose peaceful natives, connected + by trade and marriage, were ignorant of national discord and the quarrels + of princes. Westward of the Euphrates, a sandy desert extends above six + hundred miles to the Red Sea. Nature had interposed a vacant solitude + between the ambition of two rival empires; the Arabians, till Mahomet + arose, were formidable only as robbers; and in the proud security of peace + the fortifications of Syria were neglected on the most vulnerable side. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.125" id="linknote-40.125"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 125 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.125">return</a>)<br /> [ See Procopius, + Persic. l. i. c. 19. The altar of national concern, of annual sacrifice + and oaths, which Diocletian had created in the Isla of Elephantine, was + demolished by Justinian with less policy than] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.126" id="linknote-40.126"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 126 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.126">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius de + Edificiis, l. iii. c. 7. Hist. l. viii. c. 3, 4. These unambitious Goths + had refused to follow the standard of Theodoric. As late as the xvth and + xvith century, the name and nation might be discovered between Caffa and + the Straits of Azoph, (D’Anville, Memoires de l’academie, tom. xxx. p. + 240.) They well deserved the curiosity of Busbequius, (p. 321-326;) but + seem to have vanished in the more recent account of the Missions du + Levant, (tom. i.,) Tott, Peysonnnel, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.127" id="linknote-40.127"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 127 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.127">return</a>)<br /> [ For the geography and + architecture of this Armenian border, see the Persian Wars and Edifices + (l. ii. c. 4-7, l. iii. c. 2—7) of Procopius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.128" id="linknote-40.128"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 128 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.128">return</a>)<br /> [ The country is + described by Tournefort, (Voyage au Levant, tom. iii. lettre xvii. xviii.) + That skilful botanist soon discovered the plant that infects the honey, + (Plin. xxi. 44, 45:) he observes, that the soldiers of Lucullus might + indeed be astonished at the cold, since, even in the plain of Erzerum, + snow sometimes falls in June, and the harvest is seldom finished before + September. The hills of Armenia are below the fortieth degree of latitude; + but in the mountainous country which I inhabit, it is well known that an + ascent of some hours carries the traveller from the climate of Languedoc + to that of Norway; and a general theory has been introduced, that, under + the line, an elevation of 2400 toises is equivalent to the cold of the + polar circle, (Remond, Observations sur les Voyages de Coxe dans la + Suisse, tom. ii. p. 104.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.129" id="linknote-40.129"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 129 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.129">return</a>)<br /> [ The identity or + proximity of the Chalybians, or Chaldaeana may be investigated in Strabo, + (l. xii. p. 825, 826,) Cellarius, (Geograph. Antiq. tom. ii. p. 202—204,) + and Freret, (Mem. de Academie, tom. iv. p. 594) Xenophon supposes, in his + romance, (Cyropaed l. iii.,) the same Barbarians, against whom he had + fought in his retreat, (Anabasis, l. iv.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.130" id="linknote-40.130"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 130 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.130">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Persic. l. + i. c. 15. De Edific. l. iii. c. 6.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.131" id="linknote-40.131"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 131 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.131">return</a>)<br /> [ Ni Taurus obstet in + nostra maria venturus, (Pomponius Mela, iii. 8.) Pliny, a poet as well as + a naturalist, (v. 20,) personifies the river and mountain, and describes + their combat. See the course of the Tigris and Euphrates in the excellent + treatise of D’Anville.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.132" id="linknote-40.132"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 132 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.132">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius (Persic. l. + ii. c. 12) tells the story with the tone, half sceptical, half + superstitious, of Herodotus. The promise was not in the primitive lie of + Eusebius, but dates at least from the year 400; and a third lie, the + Veronica, was soon raised on the two former, (Evagrius, l. iv. c. 27.) As + Edessa has been taken, Tillemont must disclaim the promise, (Mem. Eccles. + tom. i. p. 362, 383, 617.)] + </p> + <p> + But the national enmity, at least the effects of that enmity, had been + suspended by a truce, which continued above fourscore years. An ambassador + from the emperor Zeno accompanied the rash and unfortunate Perozes, <a + href="#linknote-40.1321" name="linknoteref-40.1321" id="linknoteref-40.1321">1321</a> + in his expedition against the Nepthalites, <a href="#linknote-40.1322" + name="linknoteref-40.1322" id="linknoteref-40.1322">1322</a> or white Huns, + whose conquests had been stretched from the Caspian to the heart of India, + whose throne was enriched with emeralds, <a href="#linknote-40.133" + name="linknoteref-40.133" id="linknoteref-40.133">133</a> and whose cavalry + was supported by a line of two thousand elephants. <a + href="#linknote-40.134" name="linknoteref-40.134" id="linknoteref-40.134">134</a> + The Persians <a href="#linknote-40.1341" name="linknoteref-40.1341" + id="linknoteref-40.1341">1341</a> were twice circumvented, in a situation + which made valor useless and flight impossible; and the double victory of + the Huns was achieved by military stratagem. They dismissed their royal + captive after he had submitted to adore the majesty of a Barbarian; and + the humiliation was poorly evaded by the casuistical subtlety of the Magi, + who instructed Perozes to direct his attention to the rising sun. <a + href="#linknote-40.1342" name="linknoteref-40.1342" id="linknoteref-40.1342">1342</a> + The indignant successor of Cyrus forgot his danger and his gratitude; he + renewed the attack with headstrong fury, and lost both his army and his + life. <a href="#linknote-40.135" name="linknoteref-40.135" + id="linknoteref-40.135">135</a> The death of Perozes abandoned Persia to + her foreign and domestic enemies; <a href="#linknote-40.1351" + name="linknoteref-40.1351" id="linknoteref-40.1351">1351</a> and twelve + years of confusion elapsed before his son Cabades, or Kobad, could embrace + any designs of ambition or revenge. The unkind parsimony of Anastasius was + the motive or pretence of a Roman war; <a href="#linknote-40.136" + name="linknoteref-40.136" id="linknoteref-40.136">136</a> the Huns and Arabs + marched under the Persian standard, and the fortifications of Armenia and + Mesopotamia were, at that time, in a ruinous or imperfect condition. The + emperor returned his thanks to the governor and people of Martyropolis for + the prompt surrender of a city which could not be successfully defended, + and the conflagration of Theodosiopolis might justify the conduct of their + prudent neighbors. Amida sustained a long and destructive siege: at the + end of three months the loss of fifty thousand of the soldiers of Cabades + was not balanced by any prospect of success, and it was in vain that the + Magi deduced a flattering prediction from the indecency of the women <a + href="#linknote-40.1361" name="linknoteref-40.1361" id="linknoteref-40.1361">1361</a> + on the ramparts, who had revealed their most secret charms to the eyes of + the assailants. At length, in a silent night, they ascended the most + accessible tower, which was guarded only by some monks, oppressed, after + the duties of a festival, with sleep and wine. Scaling-ladders were + applied at the dawn of day; the presence of Cabades, his stern command, + and his drawn sword, compelled the Persians to vanquish; and before it was + sheathed, fourscore thousand of the inhabitants had expiated the blood of + their companions. After the siege of Amida, the war continued three years, + and the unhappy frontier tasted the full measure of its calamities. The + gold of Anastasius was offered too late, the number of his troops was + defeated by the number of their generals; the country was stripped of its + inhabitants, and both the living and the dead were abandoned to the wild + beasts of the desert. The resistance of Edessa, and the deficiency of + spoil, inclined the mind of Cabades to peace: he sold his conquests for an + exorbitant price; and the same line, though marked with slaughter and + devastation, still separated the two empires. To avert the repetition of + the same evils, Anastasius resolved to found a new colony, so strong, that + it should defy the power of the Persian, so far advanced towards Assyria, + that its stationary troops might defend the province by the menace or + operation of offensive war. For this purpose, the town of Dara, <a + href="#linknote-40.137" name="linknoteref-40.137" id="linknoteref-40.137">137</a> + fourteen miles from Nisibis, and four days’ journey from the Tigris, was + peopled and adorned; the hasty works of Anastasius were improved by the + perseverance of Justinian; and, without insisting on places less + important, the fortifications of Dara may represent the military + architecture of the age. The city was surrounded with two walls, and the + interval between them, of fifty paces, afforded a retreat to the cattle of + the besieged. The inner wall was a monument of strength and beauty: it + measured sixty feet from the ground, and the height of the towers was one + hundred feet; the loopholes, from whence an enemy might be annoyed with + missile weapons, were small, but numerous; the soldiers were planted along + the rampart, under the shelter of double galleries, and a third platform, + spacious and secure, was raised on the summit of the towers. The exterior + wall appears to have been less lofty, but more solid; and each tower was + protected by a quadrangular bulwark. A hard, rocky soil resisted the tools + of the miners, and on the south-east, where the ground was more tractable, + their approach was retarded by a new work, which advanced in the shape of + a half-moon. The double and treble ditches were filled with a stream of + water; and in the management of the river, the most skilful labor was + employed to supply the inhabitants, to distress the besiegers, and to + prevent the mischiefs of a natural or artificial inundation. Dara + continued more than sixty years to fulfil the wishes of its founders, and + to provoke the jealousy of the Persians, who incessantly complained, that + this impregnable fortress had been constructed in manifest violation of + the treaty of peace between the two empires. <a href="#linknote-40.1371" + name="linknoteref-40.1371" id="linknoteref-40.1371">1371</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1321" id="linknote-40.1321"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1321 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1321">return</a>)<br /> [ Firouz the + Conqueror—unfortunately so named. See St. Martin, vol. vi. p. 439.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1322" id="linknote-40.1322"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1322 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1322">return</a>)<br /> [ Rather Hepthalites.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.133" id="linknote-40.133"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 133 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.133">return</a>)<br /> [ They were purchased + from the merchants of Adulis who traded to India, (Cosmas, Topograph. + Christ. l. xi. p. 339;) yet, in the estimate of precious stones, the + Scythian emerald was the first, the Bactrian the second, the Aethiopian + only the third, (Hill’s Theophrastus, p. 61, &c., 92.) The production, + mines, &c., of emeralds, are involved in darkness; and it is doubtful + whether we possess any of the twelve sorts known to the ancients, (Goguet, + Origine des Loix, &c., part ii. l. ii. c. 2, art. 3.) In this war the + Huns got, or at least Perozes lost, the finest pearl in the world, of + which Procopius relates a ridiculous fable.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.134" id="linknote-40.134"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 134 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.134">return</a>)<br /> [ The Indo-Scythae + continued to reign from the time of Augustus (Dionys. Perieget. 1088, with + the Commentary of Eustathius, in Hudson, Geograph. Minor. tom. iv.) to + that of the elder Justin, (Cosmas, Topograph. Christ. l. xi. p. 338, 339.) + On their origin and conquests, see D’Anville, (sur l’Inde, p. 18, 45, + &c., 69, 85, 89.) In the second century they were masters of Larice or + Guzerat.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1341" id="linknote-40.1341"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1341 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1341">return</a>)<br /> [ According to the + Persian historians, he was misled by guides who used he old stratagem of + Zopyrus. Malcolm, vol. i. p. 101.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1342" id="linknote-40.1342"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1342 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1342">return</a>)<br /> [ In the Ms. + Chronicle of Tabary, it is said that the Moubedan Mobed, or Grand Pontiff, + opposed with all his influence the violation of the treaty. St. Martin, + vol. vii. p. 254.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.135" id="linknote-40.135"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 135 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.135">return</a>)<br /> [ See the fate of + Phirouz, or Perozes, and its consequences, in Procopius, (Persic. l. i. c. + 3—6,) who may be compared with the fragments of Oriental history, + (D’Herbelot, Bibliot. Orient. p. 351, and Texeira, History of Persia, + translated or abridged by Stephens, l. i. c. 32, p. 132—138.) The + chronology is ably ascertained by Asseman. (Bibliot. Orient. tom. iii. p. + 396—427.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1351" id="linknote-40.1351"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1351 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1351">return</a>)<br /> [ When Firoze + advanced, Khoosh-Nuaz (the king of the Huns) presented on the point of a + lance the treaty to which he had sworn, and exhorted him yet to desist + before he destroyed his fame forever. Malcolm, vol. i. p. 103.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.136" id="linknote-40.136"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 136 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.136">return</a>)<br /> [ The Persian war, + under the reigns of Anastasius and Justin, may be collected from + Procopius, (Persic. l. i. c. 7, 8, 9,) Theophanes, (in Chronograph. p. 124—127,) + Evagrius, (l. iii. c. 37,) Marcellinus, (in Chron. p. 47,) and Josue + Stylites, (apud Asseman. tom. i. p. 272—281.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1361" id="linknote-40.1361"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1361 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1361">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon should have + written “some prostitutes.” Proc Pers. vol. 1 p. 7.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.137" id="linknote-40.137"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 137 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.137">return</a>)<br /> [ The description of + Dara is amply and correctly given by Procopius, (Persic. l. i. c. 10, l. + ii. c. 13. De Edific. l. ii. c. 1, 2, 3, l. iii. c. 5.) See the situation + in D’Anville, (l’Euphrate et le Tigre, p. 53, 54, 55,) though he seems to + double the interval between Dara and Nisibis.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1371" id="linknote-40.1371"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1371 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1371">return</a>)<br /> [ The situation (of + Dara) does not appear to give it strength, as it must have been commanded + on three sides by the mountains, but opening on the south towards the + plains of Mesopotamia. The foundation of the walls and towers, built of + large hewn stone, may be traced across the valley, and over a number of + low rocky hills which branch out from the foot of Mount Masius. The + circumference I conceive to be nearly two miles and a half; and a small + stream, which flows through the middle of the place, has induced several + Koordish and Armenian families to fix their residence within the ruins. + Besides the walls and towers, the remains of many other buildings attest + the former grandeur of Dara; a considerable part of the space within the + walls is arched and vaulted underneath, and in one place we perceived a + large cavern, supported by four ponderous columns, somewhat resembling the + great cistern of Constantinople. In the centre of the village are the + ruins of a palace (probably that mentioned by Procopius) or church, one + hundred paces in length, and sixty in breadth. The foundations, which are + quite entire, consist of a prodigious number of subterraneous vaulted + chambers, entered by a narrow passage forty paces in length. The gate is + still standing; a considerable part of the wall has bid defiance to time, + &c. M Donald Kinneir’s Journey, p. 438.—M] + </p> + <p> + Between the Euxine and the Caspian, the countries of Colchos, Iberia, and + Albania, are intersected in every direction by the branches of Mount + Caucasus; and the two principal gates, or passes, from north to south, + have been frequently confounded in the geography both of the ancients and + moderns. The name of Caspian or Albanian gates is properly applied to + Derbend, <a href="#linknote-40.138" name="linknoteref-40.138" + id="linknoteref-40.138">138</a> which occupies a short declivity between + the mountains and the sea: the city, if we give credit to local tradition, + had been founded by the Greeks; and this dangerous entrance was fortified + by the kings of Persia with a mole, double walls, and doors of iron. The + Iberian gates <a href="#linknote-40.139" name="linknoteref-40.139" + id="linknoteref-40.139">139</a> <a href="#linknote-40.1391" + name="linknoteref-40.1391" id="linknoteref-40.1391">1391</a> are formed by a + narrow passage of six miles in Mount Caucasus, which opens from the + northern side of Iberia, or Georgia, into the plain that reaches to the + Tanais and the Volga. A fortress, designed by Alexander perhaps, or one of + his successors, to command that important pass, had descended by right of + conquest or inheritance to a prince of the Huns, who offered it for a + moderate price to the emperor; but while Anastasius paused, while he + timorously computed the cost and the distance, a more vigilant rival + interposed, and Cabades forcibly occupied the Straits of Caucasus. The + Albanian and Iberian gates excluded the horsemen of Scythia from the + shortest and most practicable roads, and the whole front of the mountains + was covered by the rampart of Gog and Magog, the long wall which has + excited the curiosity of an Arabian caliph <a href="#linknote-40.140" + name="linknoteref-40.140" id="linknoteref-40.140">140</a> and a Russian + conqueror. <a href="#linknote-40.141" name="linknoteref-40.141" + id="linknoteref-40.141">141</a> According to a recent description, huge + stones, seven feet thick, and twenty-one feet in length or height, are + artificially joined without iron or cement, to compose a wall, which runs + above three hundred miles from the shores of Derbend, over the hills, and + through the valleys of Daghestan and Georgia. + </p> + <p> + Without a vision, such a work might be undertaken by the policy of + Cabades; without a miracle, it might be accomplished by his son, so + formidable to the Romans, under the name of Chosroes; so dear to the + Orientals, under the appellation of Nushirwan. The Persian monarch held in + his hand the keys both of peace and war; but he stipulated, in every + treaty, that Justinian should contribute to the expense of a common + barrier, which equally protected the two empires from the inroads of the + Scythians. <a href="#linknote-40.142" name="linknoteref-40.142" + id="linknoteref-40.142">142</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.138" id="linknote-40.138"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 138 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.138">return</a>)<br /> [ For the city and pass + of Derbend, see D’Herbelot, (Bibliot. Orient. p. 157, 291, 807,) Petit de + la Croix. (Hist. de Gengiscan, l. iv. c. 9,) Histoire Genealogique des + Tatars, (tom. i. p. 120,) Olearius, (Voyage en Perse, p. 1039—1041,) + and Corneille le Bruyn, (Voyages, tom. i. p. 146, 147:) his view may be + compared with the plan of Olearius, who judges the wall to be of shells + and gravel hardened by time.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.139" id="linknote-40.139"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 139 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.139">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, though + with some confusion, always denominates them Caspian, (Persic. l. i. c. + 10.) The pass is now styled Tatar-topa, the Tartar-gates, (D’Anville, + Geographie Ancienne, tom. ii. p. 119, 120.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.1391" id="linknote-40.1391"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1391 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.1391">return</a>)<br /> [ Malte-Brun. tom. + viii. p. 12, makes three passes: 1. The central, which leads from Mosdok + to Teflis. 2. The Albanian, more inland than the Derbend Pass. 3. The + Derbend—the Caspian Gates. But the narrative of Col. Monteith, in + the Journal of the Geographical Society of London. vol. iii. p. i. p. 39, + clearly shows that there are but two passes between the Black Sea and the + Caspian; the central, the Caucasian, or, as Col. Monteith calls it, the + Caspian Gates, and the pass of Derbend, though it is practicable to turn + this position (of Derbend) by a road a few miles distant through the + mountains, p. 40.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.140" id="linknote-40.140"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 140 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.140">return</a>)<br /> [ The imaginary rampart + of Gog and Magog, which was seriously explored and believed by a caliph of + the ninth century, appears to be derived from the gates of Mount Caucasus, + and a vague report of the wall of China, (Geograph. Nubiensis, p. 267-270. + Memoires de l’Academie, tom. xxxi. p. 210—219.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.141" id="linknote-40.141"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 141 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.141">return</a>)<br /> [ See a learned + dissertation of Baier, de muro Caucaseo, in Comment. Acad. Petropol. ann. + 1726, tom. i. p. 425-463; but it is destitute of a map or plan. When the + czar Peter I. became master of Derbend in the year 1722, the measure of + the wall was found to be 3285 Russian orgyioe, or fathom, each of seven + feet English; in the whole somewhat more than four miles in length.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.142" id="linknote-40.142"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 142 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.142">return</a>)<br /> [ See the + fortifications and treaties of Chosroes, or Nushirwan, in Procopius + (Persic. l. i. c. 16, 22, l. ii.) and D’Herbelot, (p. 682.)] VII. + Justinian suppressed the schools of Athens and the consulship of Rome, + which had given so many sages and heroes to mankind. Both these + institutions had long since degenerated from their primitive glory; yet + some reproach may be justly inflicted on the avarice and jealousy of a + prince, by whose hand such venerable ruins were destroyed. + </p> + <p> + Athens, after her Persian triumphs, adopted the philosophy of Ionia and + the rhetoric of Sicily; and these studies became the patrimony of a city, + whose inhabitants, about thirty thousand males, condensed, within the + period of a single life, the genius of ages and millions. Our sense of the + dignity of human nature is exalted by the simple recollection, that + Isocrates <a href="#linknote-40.143" name="linknoteref-40.143" + id="linknoteref-40.143">143</a> was the companion of Plato and Xenophon; + that he assisted, perhaps with the historian Thucydides, at the first + representation of the Oedipus of Sophocles and the Iphigenia of Euripides; + and that his pupils Aeschines and Demosthenes contended for the crown of + patriotism in the presence of Aristotle, the master of Theophrastus, who + taught at Athens with the founders of the Stoic and Epicurean sects. <a + href="#linknote-40.144" name="linknoteref-40.144" id="linknoteref-40.144">144</a> + The ingenuous youth of Attica enjoyed the benefits of their domestic + education, which was communicated without envy to the rival cities. Two + thousand disciples heard the lessons of Theophrastus; <a + href="#linknote-40.145" name="linknoteref-40.145" id="linknoteref-40.145">145</a> + the schools of rhetoric must have been still more populous than those of + philosophy; and a rapid succession of students diffused the fame of their + teachers as far as the utmost limits of the Grecian language and name. + Those limits were enlarged by the victories of Alexander; the arts of + Athens survived her freedom and dominion; and the Greek colonies which the + Macedonians planted in Egypt, and scattered over Asia, undertook long and + frequent pilgrimages to worship the Muses in their favorite temple on the + banks of the Ilissus. The Latin conquerors respectfully listened to the + instructions of their subjects and captives; the names of Cicero and + Horace were enrolled in the schools of Athens; and after the perfect + settlement of the Roman empire, the natives of Italy, of Africa, and of + Britain, conversed in the groves of the academy with their fellow-students + of the East. The studies of philosophy and eloquence are congenial to a + popular state, which encourages the freedom of inquiry, and submits only + to the force of persuasion. In the republics of Greece and Rome, the art + of speaking was the powerful engine of patriotism or ambition; and the + schools of rhetoric poured forth a colony of statesmen and legislators. + When the liberty of public debate was suppressed, the orator, in the + honorable profession of an advocate, might plead the cause of innocence + and justice; he might abuse his talents in the more profitable trade of + panegyric; and the same precepts continued to dictate the fanciful + declamations of the sophist, and the chaster beauties of historical + composition. The systems which professed to unfold the nature of God, of + man, and of the universe, entertained the curiosity of the philosophic + student; and according to the temper of his mind, he might doubt with the + Sceptics, or decide with the Stoics, sublimely speculate with Plato, or + severely argue with Aristotle. The pride of the adverse sects had fixed an + unattainable term of moral happiness and perfection; but the race was + glorious and salutary; the disciples of Zeno, and even those of Epicurus, + were taught both to act and to suffer; and the death of Petronius was not + less effectual than that of Seneca, to humble a tyrant by the discovery of + his impotence. The light of science could not indeed be confined within + the walls of Athens. Her incomparable writers address themselves to the + human race; the living masters emigrated to Italy and Asia; Berytus, in + later times, was devoted to the study of the law; astronomy and physic + were cultivated in the musaeum of Alexandria; but the Attic schools of + rhetoric and philosophy maintained their superior reputation from the + Peloponnesian war to the reign of Justinian. Athens, though situate in a + barren soil, possessed a pure air, a free navigation, and the monuments of + ancient art. That sacred retirement was seldom disturbed by the business + of trade or government; and the last of the Athenians were distinguished + by their lively wit, the purity of their taste and language, their social + manners, and some traces, at least in discourse, of the magnanimity of + their fathers. In the suburbs of the city, the academy of the Platonists, + the lycaeum of the Peripatetics, the portico of the Stoics, and the garden + of the Epicureans, were planted with trees and decorated with statues; and + the philosophers, instead of being immured in a cloister, delivered their + instructions in spacious and pleasant walks, which, at different hours, + were consecrated to the exercises of the mind and body. The genius of the + founders still lived in those venerable seats; the ambition of succeeding + to the masters of human reason excited a generous emulation; and the merit + of the candidates was determined, on each vacancy, by the free voices of + an enlightened people. The Athenian professors were paid by their + disciples: according to their mutual wants and abilities, the price + appears to have varied; and Isocrates himself, who derides the avarice of + the sophists, required, in his school of rhetoric, about thirty pounds + from each of his hundred pupils. The wages of industry are just and + honorable, yet the same Isocrates shed tears at the first receipt of a + stipend: the Stoic might blush when he was hired to preach the contempt of + money; and I should be sorry to discover that Aristotle or Plato so far + degenerated from the example of Socrates, as to exchange knowledge for + gold. But some property of lands and houses was settled by the permission + of the laws, and the legacies of deceased friends, on the philosophic + chairs of Athens. Epicurus bequeathed to his disciples the gardens which + he had purchased for eighty minae or two hundred and fifty pounds, with a + fund sufficient for their frugal subsistence and monthly festivals; <a + href="#linknote-40.146" name="linknoteref-40.146" id="linknoteref-40.146">146</a> + and the patrimony of Plato afforded an annual rent, which, in eight + centuries, was gradually increased from three to one thousand pieces of + gold. <a href="#linknote-40.147" name="linknoteref-40.147" + id="linknoteref-40.147">147</a> The schools of Athens were protected by the + wisest and most virtuous of the Roman princes. The library, which Hadrian + founded, was placed in a portico adorned with pictures, statues, and a + roof of alabaster, and supported by one hundred columns of Phrygian + marble. The public salaries were assigned by the generous spirit of the + Antonines; and each professor of politics, of rhetoric, of the Platonic, + the Peripatetic, the Stoic, and the Epicurean philosophy, received an + annual stipend of ten thousand drachmae, or more than three hundred pounds + sterling. <a href="#linknote-40.148" name="linknoteref-40.148" + id="linknoteref-40.148">148</a> After the death of Marcus, these liberal + donations, and the privileges attached to the thrones of science, were + abolished and revived, diminished and enlarged; but some vestige of royal + bounty may be found under the successors of Constantine; and their + arbitrary choice of an unworthy candidate might tempt the philosophers of + Athens to regret the days of independence and poverty. <a + href="#linknote-40.149" name="linknoteref-40.149" id="linknoteref-40.149">149</a> + It is remarkable, that the impartial favor of the Antonines was bestowed + on the four adverse sects of philosophy, which they considered as equally + useful, or at least, as equally innocent. Socrates had formerly been the + glory and the reproach of his country; and the first lessons of Epicurus + so strangely scandalized the pious ears of the Athenians, that by his + exile, and that of his antagonists, they silenced all vain disputes + concerning the nature of the gods. But in the ensuing year they recalled + the hasty decree, restored the liberty of the schools, and were convinced + by the experience of ages, that the moral character of philosophers is not + affected by the diversity of their theological speculations. <a + href="#linknote-40.150" name="linknoteref-40.150" id="linknoteref-40.150">150</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.143" id="linknote-40.143"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 143 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.143">return</a>)<br /> [ The life of Isocrates + extends from Olymp. lxxxvi. 1. to cx. 3, (ante Christ. 436—438.) See + Dionys. Halicarn. tom. ii. p. 149, 150, edit. Hudson. Plutarch (sive + anonymus) in Vit. X. Oratorum, p. 1538—1543, edit. H. Steph. Phot. + cod. cclix. p. 1453.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.144" id="linknote-40.144"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 144 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.144">return</a>)<br /> [ The schools of Athens + are copiously though concisely represented in the Fortuna Attica of + Meursius, (c. viii. p. 59—73, in tom. i. Opp.) For the state and + arts of the city, see the first book of Pausanias, and a small tract of + Dicaearchus, in the second volume of Hudson’s Geographers, who wrote about + Olymp. cxvii. (Dodwell’s Dissertia sect. 4.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.145" id="linknote-40.145"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 145 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.145">return</a>)<br /> [ Diogen Laert. de Vit. + Philosoph. l. v. segm. 37, p. 289.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.146" id="linknote-40.146"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 146 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.146">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Testament of + Epicurus in Diogen. Laert. l. x. segm. 16—20, p. 611, 612. A single + epistle (ad Familiares, xiii. l.) displays the injustice of the Areopagus, + the fidelity of the Epicureans, the dexterous politeness of Cicero, and + the mixture of contempt and esteem with which the Roman senators + considered the philosophy and philosophers of Greece.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.147" id="linknote-40.147"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 147 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.147">return</a>)<br /> [ Damascius, in Vit. + Isidor. apud Photium, cod. ccxlii. p. 1054.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.148" id="linknote-40.148"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 148 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.148">return</a>)<br /> [ See Lucian (in + Eunuch. tom. ii. p. 350—359, edit. Reitz,) Philostratus (in Vit. + Sophist. l. ii. c. 2,) and Dion Cassius, or Xiphilin, (lxxi. p. 1195,) + with their editors Du Soul, Olearius, and Reimar, and, above all, + Salmasius, (ad Hist. August. p. 72.) A judicious philosopher (Smith’s + Wealth of Nations, vol. ii. p. 340—374) prefers the free + contributions of the students to a fixed stipend for the professor.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.149" id="linknote-40.149"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 149 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.149">return</a>)<br /> [ Brucker, Hist. Crit. + Philosoph. tom. ii. p. 310, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.150" id="linknote-40.150"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 150 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.150">return</a>)<br /> [ The birth of Epicurus + is fixed to the year 342 before Christ, (Bayle,) Olympiad cix. 3; and he + opened his school at Athens, Olmp. cxviii. 3, 306 years before the same + aera. This intolerant law (Athenaeus, l. xiii. p. 610. Diogen. Laertius, + l. v. s. 38. p. 290. Julius Pollux, ix. 5) was enacted in the same or the + succeeding year, (Sigonius, Opp. tom. v. p. 62. Menagius ad Diogen. Laert. + p. 204. Corsini, Fasti Attici, tom. iv. p. 67, 68.) Theophrastus chief of + the Peripatetics, and disciple of Aristotle, was involved in the same + exile.] + </p> + <p> + The Gothic arms were less fatal to the schools of Athens than the + establishment of a new religion, whose ministers superseded the exercise + of reason, resolved every question by an article of faith, and condemned + the infidel or sceptic to eternal flames. In many a volume of laborious + controversy, they exposed the weakness of the understanding and the + corruption of the heart, insulted human nature in the sages of antiquity, + and proscribed the spirit of philosophical inquiry, so repugnant to the + doctrine, or at least to the temper, of an humble believer. The surviving + sects of the Platonists, whom Plato would have blushed to acknowledge, + extravagantly mingled a sublime theory with the practice of superstition + and magic; and as they remained alone in the midst of a Christian world, + they indulged a secret rancor against the government of the church and + state, whose severity was still suspended over their heads. About a + century after the reign of Julian, <a href="#linknote-40.151" + name="linknoteref-40.151" id="linknoteref-40.151">151</a> Proclus <a + href="#linknote-40.152" name="linknoteref-40.152" id="linknoteref-40.152">152</a> + was permitted to teach in the philosophic chair of the academy; and such + was his industry, that he frequently, in the same day, pronounced five + lessons, and composed seven hundred lines. His sagacious mind explored the + deepest questions of morals and metaphysics, and he ventured to urge + eighteen arguments against the Christian doctrine of the creation of the + world. But in the intervals of study, he personally conversed with Pan, + Aesculapius, and Minerva, in whose mysteries he was secretly initiated, + and whose prostrate statues he adored; in the devout persuasion that the + philosopher, who is a citizen of the universe, should be the priest of its + various deities. An eclipse of the sun announced his approaching end; and + his life, with that of his scholar Isidore, <a href="#linknote-40.153" + name="linknoteref-40.153" id="linknoteref-40.153">153</a> compiled by two of + their most learned disciples, exhibits a deplorable picture of the second + childhood of human reason. Yet the golden chain, as it was fondly styled, + of the Platonic succession, continued forty-four years from the death of + Proclus to the edict of Justinian, <a href="#linknote-40.154" + name="linknoteref-40.154" id="linknoteref-40.154">154</a> which imposed a + perpetual silence on the schools of Athens, and excited the grief and + indignation of the few remaining votaries of Grecian science and + superstition. Seven friends and philosophers, Diogenes and Hermias, + Eulalius and Priscian, Damascius, Isidore, and Simplicius, who dissented + from the religion of their sovereign, embraced the resolution of seeking + in a foreign land the freedom which was denied in their native country. + They had heard, and they credulously believed, that the republic of Plato + was realized in the despotic government of Persia, and that a patriot king + reigned ever the happiest and most virtuous of nations. They were soon + astonished by the natural discovery, that Persia resembled the other + countries of the globe; that Chosroes, who affected the name of a + philosopher, was vain, cruel, and ambitious; that bigotry, and a spirit of + intolerance, prevailed among the Magi; that the nobles were haughty, the + courtiers servile, and the magistrates unjust; that the guilty sometimes + escaped, and that the innocent were often oppressed. The disappointment of + the philosophers provoked them to overlook the real virtues of the + Persians; and they were scandalized, more deeply perhaps than became their + profession, with the plurality of wives and concubines, the incestuous + marriages, and the custom of exposing dead bodies to the dogs and + vultures, instead of hiding them in the earth, or consuming them with + fire. Their repentance was expressed by a precipitate return, and they + loudly declared that they had rather die on the borders of the empire, + than enjoy the wealth and favor of the Barbarian. From this journey, + however, they derived a benefit which reflects the purest lustre on the + character of Chosroes. He required, that the seven sages who had visited + the court of Persia should be exempted from the penal laws which Justinian + enacted against his Pagan subjects; and this privilege, expressly + stipulated in a treaty of peace, was guarded by the vigilance of a + powerful mediator. <a href="#linknote-40.155" name="linknoteref-40.155" + id="linknoteref-40.155">155</a> Simplicius and his companions ended their + lives in peace and obscurity; and as they left no disciples, they + terminate the long list of Grecian philosophers, who may be justly + praised, notwithstanding their defects, as the wisest and most virtuous of + their contemporaries. The writings of Simplicius are now extant. His + physical and metaphysical commentaries on Aristotle have passed away with + the fashion of the times; but his moral interpretation of Epictetus is + preserved in the library of nations, as a classic book, most excellently + adapted to direct the will, to purify the heart, and to confirm the + understanding, by a just confidence in the nature both of God and man. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.151" id="linknote-40.151"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 151 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.151">return</a>)<br /> [ This is no fanciful + aera: the Pagans reckoned their calamities from the reign of their hero. + Proclus, whose nativity is marked by his horoscope, (A.D. 412, February 8, + at C. P.,) died 124 years, A.D. 485, (Marin. in Vita Procli, c. 36.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.152" id="linknote-40.152"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 152 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.152">return</a>)<br /> [ The life of Proclus, + by Marinus, was published by Fabricius (Hamburg, 1700, et ad calcem + Bibliot. Latin. Lond. 1703.) See Saidas, (tom. iii. p. 185, 186,) + Fabricius, (Bibliot. Graec. l. v. c. 26 p. 449—552,) and Brucker, + (Hist. Crit. Philosoph. tom. ii. p. 319—326)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.153" id="linknote-40.153"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 153 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.153">return</a>)<br /> [ The life of Isidore + was composed by Damascius, (apud Photium, sod. ccxlii. p. 1028—1076.) + See the last age of the Pagan philosophers, in Brucker, (tom. ii. p. 341—351.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.154" id="linknote-40.154"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 154 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.154">return</a>)<br /> [ The suppression of + the schools of Athens is recorded by John Malala, (tom. ii. p. 187, sub + Decio Cos. Sol.,) and an anonymous Chronicle in the Vatican library, (apud + Aleman. p. 106.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.155" id="linknote-40.155"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 155 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.155">return</a>)<br /> [ Agathias (l. ii. p. + 69, 70, 71) relates this curious story Chosroes ascended the throne in the + year 531, and made his first peace with the Romans in the beginning of 533—a + date most compatible with his young fame and the old age of Isidore, + (Asseman. Bibliot. Orient. tom. iii. p. 404. Pagi, tom. ii. p. 543, 550.)] + </p> + <p> + About the same time that Pythagoras first invented the appellation of + philosopher, liberty and the consulship were founded at Rome by the elder + Brutus. The revolutions of the consular office, which may be viewed in the + successive lights of a substance, a shadow, and a name, have been + occasionally mentioned in the present History. The first magistrates of + the republic had been chosen by the people, to exercise, in the senate and + in the camp, the powers of peace and war, which were afterwards translated + to the emperors. But the tradition of ancient dignity was long revered by + the Romans and Barbarians. A Gothic historian applauds the consulship of + Theodoric as the height of all temporal glory and greatness; <a + href="#linknote-40.156" name="linknoteref-40.156" id="linknoteref-40.156">156</a> + the king of Italy himself congratulated those annual favorites of fortune + who, without the cares, enjoyed the splendor of the throne; and at the end + of a thousand years, two consuls were created by the sovereigns of Rome + and Constantinople, for the sole purpose of giving a date to the year, and + a festival to the people. But the expenses of this festival, in which the + wealthy and the vain aspired to surpass their predecessors, insensibly + arose to the enormous sum of fourscore thousand pounds; the wisest + senators declined a useless honor, which involved the certain ruin of + their families, and to this reluctance I should impute the frequent chasms + in the last age of the consular Fasti. The predecessors of Justinian had + assisted from the public treasures the dignity of the less opulent + candidates; the avarice of that prince preferred the cheaper and more + convenient method of advice and regulation. <a href="#linknote-40.157" + name="linknoteref-40.157" id="linknoteref-40.157">157</a> Seven processions + or spectacles were the number to which his edict confined the horse and + chariot races, the athletic sports, the music, and pantomimes of the + theatre, and the hunting of wild beasts; and small pieces of silver were + discreetly substituted to the gold medals, which had always excited tumult + and drunkenness, when they were scattered with a profuse hand among the + populace. Notwithstanding these precautions, and his own example, the + succession of consuls finally ceased in the thirteenth year of Justinian, + whose despotic temper might be gratified by the silent extinction of a + title which admonished the Romans of their ancient freedom. <a + href="#linknote-40.158" name="linknoteref-40.158" id="linknoteref-40.158">158</a> + Yet the annual consulship still lived in the minds of the people; they + fondly expected its speedy restoration; they applauded the gracious + condescension of successive princes, by whom it was assumed in the first + year of their reign; and three centuries elapsed, after the death of + Justinian, before that obsolete dignity, which had been suppressed by + custom, could be abolished by law. <a href="#linknote-40.159" + name="linknoteref-40.159" id="linknoteref-40.159">159</a> The imperfect mode + of distinguishing each year by the name of a magistrate, was usefully + supplied by the date of a permanent aera: the creation of the world, + according to the Septuagint version, was adopted by the Greeks; <a + href="#linknote-40.160" name="linknoteref-40.160" id="linknoteref-40.160">160</a> + and the Latins, since the age of Charlemagne, have computed their time + from the birth of Christ. <a href="#linknote-40.161" + name="linknoteref-40.161" id="linknoteref-40.161">161</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.156" id="linknote-40.156"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 156 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.156">return</a>)<br /> [ Cassiodor. Variarum + Epist. vi. 1. Jornandes, c. 57, p. 696, dit. Grot. Quod summum bonum + primumque in mundo decus dicitur.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.157" id="linknote-40.157"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 157 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.157">return</a>)<br /> [ See the regulations + of Justinian, (Novell. cv.,) dated at Constantinople, July 5, and + addressed to Strategius, treasurer of the empire.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.158" id="linknote-40.158"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 158 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.158">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, in + Anecdot. c. 26. Aleman. p. 106. In the xviiith year after the consulship + of Basilius, according to the reckoning of Marcellinus, Victor, Marius, + &c., the secret history was composed, and, in the eyes of Procopius, + the consulship was finally abolished.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.159" id="linknote-40.159"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 159 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.159">return</a>)<br /> [ By Leo, the + philosopher, (Novell. xciv. A.D. 886-911.) See Pagi (Dissertat. Hypatica, + p. 325—362) and Ducange, (Gloss, Graec p. 1635, 1636.) Even the + title was vilified: consulatus codicilli.. vilescunt, says the emperor + himself.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.160" id="linknote-40.160"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 160 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.160">return</a>)<br /> [ According to Julius + Africanus, &c., the world was created the first of September, 5508 + years, three months, and twenty-five days before the birth of Christ. (See + Pezron, Antiquite des Tems defendue, p. 20—28.) And this aera has + been used by the Greeks, the Oriental Christians, and even by the + Russians, till the reign of Peter I The period, however arbitrary, is + clear and convenient. Of the 7296 years which are supposed to elapse since + the creation, we shall find 3000 of ignorance and darkness; 2000 either + fabulous or doubtful; 1000 of ancient history, commencing with the Persian + empire, and the Republics of Rome and Athens; 1000 from the fall of the + Roman empire in the West to the discovery of America; and the remaining + 296 will almost complete three centuries of the modern state of Europe and + mankind. I regret this chronology, so far preferable to our double and + perplexed method of counting backwards and forwards the years before and + after the Christian era.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-40.161" id="linknote-40.161"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 161 (<a href="#linknoteref-40.161">return</a>)<br /> [ The aera of the world + has prevailed in the East since the vith general council, (A.D. 681.) In + the West, the Christian aera was first invented in the vith century: it + was propagated in the viiith by the authority and writings of venerable + Bede; but it was not till the xth that the use became legal and popular. + See l’Art de Veriner les Dates, Dissert. Preliminaire, p. iii. xii. + Dictionnaire Diplomatique, tom. i. p. 329—337; the works of a + laborious society of Benedictine monks.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap41.1"></a> +Chapter XLI: Conquests Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Conquests Of Justinian In The West.—Character And First Campaigns Of +Belisarius—He Invades And Subdues The Vandal Kingdom Of Africa—His +Triumph.—The Gothic War.—He Recovers Sicily, Naples, And +Rome.—Siege Of Rome By The Goths.—Their Retreat And +Losses.—Surrender Of Ravenna.—Glory Of Belisarius.—His +Domestic Shame And Misfortunes. +</p> + <p> + When Justinian ascended the throne, about fifty years after the fall of + the Western empire, the kingdoms of the Goths and Vandals had obtained a + solid, and, as it might seem, a legal establishment both in Europe and + Africa. The titles, which Roman victory had inscribed, were erased with + equal justice by the sword of the Barbarians; and their successful rapine + derived a more venerable sanction from time, from treaties, and from the + oaths of fidelity, already repeated by a second or third generation of + obedient subjects. Experience and Christianity had refuted the + superstitious hope, that Rome was founded by the gods to reign forever + over the nations of the earth. But the proud claim of perpetual and + indefeasible dominion, which her soldiers could no longer maintain, was + firmly asserted by her statesmen and lawyers, whose opinions have been + sometimes revived and propagated in the modern schools of jurisprudence. + After Rome herself had been stripped of the Imperial purple, the princes + of Constantinople assumed the sole and sacred sceptre of the monarchy; + demanded, as their rightful inheritance, the provinces which had been + subdued by the consuls, or possessed by the Caesars; and feebly aspired to + deliver their faithful subjects of the West from the usurpation of + heretics and Barbarians. The execution of this splendid design was in some + degree reserved for Justinian. During the five first years of his reign, + he reluctantly waged a costly and unprofitable war against the Persians; + till his pride submitted to his ambition, and he purchased at the price of + four hundred and forty thousand pounds sterling, the benefit of a + precarious truce, which, in the language of both nations, was dignified + with the appellation of the endless peace. The safety of the East enabled + the emperor to employ his forces against the Vandals; and the internal + state of Africa afforded an honorable motive, and promised a powerful + support, to the Roman arms. <a href="#linknote-41.1" name="linknoteref-41.1" + id="linknoteref-41.1">1</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.1" id="linknote-41.1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.1">return</a>)<br /> [ The complete series of + the Vandal war is related by Procopius in a regular and elegant narrative, + (l. i. c. 9—25, l. ii. c. 1—13,) and happy would be my lot, + could I always tread in the footsteps of such a guide. From the entire and + diligent perusal of the Greek text, I have a right to pronounce that the + Latin and French versions of Grotius and Cousin may not be implicitly + trusted; yet the president Cousin has been often praised, and Hugo Grotius + was the first scholar of a learned age.] + </p> + <p> + According to the testament of the founder, the African kingdom had + lineally descended to Hilderic, the eldest of the Vandal princes. A mild + disposition inclined the son of a tyrant, the grandson of a conqueror, to + prefer the counsels of clemency and peace; and his accession was marked by + the salutary edict, which restored two hundred bishops to their churches, + and allowed the free profession of the Athanasian creed. <a + href="#linknote-41.2" name="linknoteref-41.2" id="linknoteref-41.2">2</a> But + the Catholics accepted, with cold and transient gratitude, a favor so + inadequate to their pretensions, and the virtues of Hilderic offended the + prejudices of his countrymen. The Arian clergy presumed to insinuate that + he had renounced the faith, and the soldiers more loudly complained that + he had degenerated from the courage, of his ancestors. His ambassadors + were suspected of a secret and disgraceful negotiation in the Byzantine + court; and his general, the Achilles, <a href="#linknote-41.3" + name="linknoteref-41.3" id="linknoteref-41.3">3</a> as he was named, of the + Vandals, lost a battle against the naked and disorderly Moors. The public + discontent was exasperated by Gelimer, whose age, descent, and military + fame, gave him an apparent title to the succession: he assumed, with the + consent of the nation, the reins of government; and his unfortunate + sovereign sunk without a struggle from the throne to a dungeon, where he + was strictly guarded with a faithful counsellor, and his unpopular nephew + the Achilles of the Vandals. But the indulgence which Hilderic had shown + to his Catholic subjects had powerfully recommended him to the favor of + Justinian, who, for the benefit of his own sect, could acknowledge the use + and justice of religious toleration: their alliance, while the nephew of + Justin remained in a private station, was cemented by the mutual exchange + of gifts and letters; and the emperor Justinian asserted the cause of + royalty and friendship. In two successive embassies, he admonished the + usurper to repent of his treason, or to abstain, at least, from any + further violence which might provoke the displeasure of God and of the + Romans; to reverence the laws of kindred and succession, and to suffer an + infirm old man peaceably to end his days, either on the throne of Carthage + or in the palace of Constantinople. The passions, or even the prudence, of + Gelimer compelled him to reject these requests, which were urged in the + haughty tone of menace and command; and he justified his ambition in a + language rarely spoken in the Byzantine court, by alleging the right of a + free people to remove or punish their chief magistrate, who had failed in + the execution of the kingly office. + </p> + <p> + After this fruitless expostulation, the captive monarch was more + rigorously treated, his nephew was deprived of his eyes, and the cruel + Vandal, confident in his strength and distance, derided the vain threats + and slow preparations of the emperor of the East. Justinian resolved to + deliver or revenge his friend, Gelimer to maintain his usurpation; and the + war was preceded, according to the practice of civilized nations, by the + most solemn protestations, that each party was sincerely desirous of + peace. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.2" id="linknote-41.2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.2">return</a>)<br /> [ See Ruinart, Hist. + Persecut. Vandal. c. xii. p. 589. His best evidence is drawn from the life + of St. Fulgentius, composed by one of his disciples, transcribed in a + great measure in the annals of Baronius, and printed in several great + collections, (Catalog. Bibliot. Bunavianae, tom. i. vol. ii. p. 1258.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.3" id="linknote-41.3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.3">return</a>)<br /> [ For what quality of the + mind or body? For speed, or beauty, or valor?—In what language did + the Vandals read Homer?—Did he speak German?—The Latins had + four versions, (Fabric. tom. i. l. ii. c. 8, p. 297:) yet, in spite of the + praises of Seneca, (Consol. c. 26,) they appear to have been more + successful in imitating than in translating the Greek poets. But the name + of Achilles might be famous and popular even among the illiterate + Barbarians.] + </p> + <p> + The report of an African war was grateful only to the vain and idle + populace of Constantinople, whose poverty exempted them from tribute, and + whose cowardice was seldom exposed to military service. But the wiser + citizens, who judged of the future by the past, revolved in their memory + the immense loss, both of men and money, which the empire had sustained in + the expedition of Basiliscus. The troops, which, after five laborious + campaigns, had been recalled from the Persian frontier, dreaded the sea, + the climate, and the arms of an unknown enemy. The ministers of the + finances computed, as far as they might compute, the demands of an African + war; the taxes which must be found and levied to supply those insatiate + demands; and the danger, lest their own lives, or at least their lucrative + employments, should be made responsible for the deficiency of the supply. + Inspired by such selfish motives, (for we may not suspect him of any zeal + for the public good,) John of Cappadocia ventured to oppose in full + council the inclinations of his master. He confessed, that a victory of + such importance could not be too dearly purchased; but he represented in a + grave discourse the certain difficulties and the uncertain event. “You + undertake,” said the præfect, “to besiege Carthage: by land, the distance + is not less than one hundred and forty days’ journey; on the sea, a whole + year <a href="#linknote-41.4" name="linknoteref-41.4" id="linknoteref-41.4">4</a> + must elapse before you can receive any intelligence from your fleet. If + Africa should be reduced, it cannot be preserved without the additional + conquest of Sicily and Italy. Success will impose the obligations of new + labors; a single misfortune will attract the Barbarians into the heart of + your exhausted empire.” Justinian felt the weight of this salutary advice; + he was confounded by the unwonted freedom of an obsequious servant; and + the design of the war would perhaps have been relinquished, if his courage + had not been revived by a voice which silenced the doubts of profane + reason. “I have seen a vision,” cried an artful or fanatic bishop of the + East. “It is the will of Heaven, O emperor! that you should not abandon + your holy enterprise for the deliverance of the African church. The God of + battles will march before your standard, and disperse your enemies, who + are the enemies of his Son.” The emperor, might be tempted, and his + counsellors were constrained, to give credit to this seasonable + revelation: but they derived more rational hope from the revolt, which the + adherents of Hilderic or Athanasius had already excited on the borders of + the Vandal monarchy. Pudentius, an African subject, had privately + signified his loyal intentions, and a small military aid restored the + province of Tripoli to the obedience of the Romans. The government of + Sardinia had been intrusted to Godas, a valiant Barbarian: he suspended the + payment of tribute, disclaimed his allegiance to the usurper, and gave + audience to the emissaries of Justinian, who found him master of that + fruitful island, at the head of his guards, and proudly invested with the + ensigns of royalty. The forces of the Vandals were diminished by discord + and suspicion; the Roman armies were animated by the spirit of Belisarius; + one of those heroic names which are familiar to every age and to every + nation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.4" id="linknote-41.4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.4">return</a>)<br /> [ A year—absurd + exaggeration! The conquest of Africa may be dated A. D 533, September 14. + It is celebrated by Justinian in the preface to his Institutes, which were + published November 21 of the same year. Including the voyage and return, + such a computation might be truly applied to our Indian empire.] + </p> + <p> + The Africanus of new Rome was born, and perhaps educated, among the + Thracian peasants, <a href="#linknote-41.5" name="linknoteref-41.5" + id="linknoteref-41.5">5</a> without any of those advantages which had + formed the virtues of the elder and younger Scipio; a noble origin, + liberal studies, and the emulation of a free state. + </p> + <p> + The silence of a loquacious secretary may be admitted, to prove that the + youth of Belisarius could not afford any subject of praise: he served, + most assuredly with valor and reputation, among the private guards of + Justinian; and when his patron became emperor, the domestic was promoted + to military command. After a bold inroad into Persarmenia, in which his + glory was shared by a colleague, and his progress was checked by an enemy, + Belisarius repaired to the important station of Dara, where he first + accepted the service of Procopius, the faithful companion, and diligent + historian, of his exploits. <a href="#linknote-41.6" name="linknoteref-41.6" + id="linknoteref-41.6">6</a> The Mirranes of Persia advanced, with forty + thousand of her best troops, to raze the fortifications of Dara; and + signified the day and the hour on which the citizens should prepare a bath + for his refreshment, after the toils of victory. He encountered an + adversary equal to himself, by the new title of General of the East; his + superior in the science of war, but much inferior in the number and + quality of his troops, which amounted only to twenty-five thousand Romans + and strangers, relaxed in their discipline, and humbled by recent + disasters. As the level plain of Dara refused all shelter to stratagem and + ambush, Belisarius protected his front with a deep trench, which was + prolonged at first in perpendicular, and afterwards in parallel, lines, to + cover the wings of cavalry advantageously posted to command the flanks and + rear of the enemy. When the Roman centre was shaken, their well-timed and + rapid charge decided the conflict: the standard of Persia fell; the + immortals fled; the infantry threw away their bucklers, and eight thousand + of the vanquished were left on the field of battle. In the next campaign, + Syria was invaded on the side of the desert; and Belisarius, with twenty + thousand men, hastened from Dara to the relief of the province. During the + whole summer, the designs of the enemy were baffled by his skilful + dispositions: he pressed their retreat, occupied each night their camp of + the preceding day, and would have secured a bloodless victory, if he could + have resisted the impatience of his own troops. Their valiant promise was + faintly supported in the hour of battle; the right wing was exposed by the + treacherous or cowardly desertion of the Christian Arabs; the Huns, a + veteran band of eight hundred warriors, were oppressed by superior + numbers; the flight of the Isaurians was intercepted; but the Roman + infantry stood firm on the left; for Belisarius himself, dismounting from + his horse, showed them that intrepid despair was their only safety. <a + href="#linknote-41.611" name="linknoteref-41.611" id="linknoteref-41.611">611</a> + They turned their backs to the Euphrates, and their faces to the enemy: + innumerable arrows glanced without effect from the compact and shelving + order of their bucklers; an impenetrable line of pikes was opposed to the + repeated assaults of the Persian cavalry; and after a resistance of many + hours, the remaining troops were skilfully embarked under the shadow of + the night. The Persian commander retired with disorder and disgrace, to + answer a strict account of the lives of so many soldiers, which he had + consumed in a barren victory. But the fame of Belisarius was not sullied + by a defeat, in which he alone had saved his army from the consequences of + their own rashness: the approach of peace relieved him from the guard of + the eastern frontier, and his conduct in the sedition of Constantinople + amply discharged his obligations to the emperor. When the African war + became the topic of popular discourse and secret deliberation, each of the + Roman generals was apprehensive, rather than ambitious, of the dangerous + honor; but as soon as Justinian had declared his preference of superior + merit, their envy was rekindled by the unanimous applause which was given + to the choice of Belisarius. The temper of the Byzantine court may + encourage a suspicion, that the hero was darkly assisted by the intrigues + of his wife, the fair and subtle Antonina, who alternately enjoyed the + confidence, and incurred the hatred, of the empress Theodora. + </p> + <p> + The birth of Antonina was ignoble; she descended from a family of + charioteers; and her chastity has been stained with the foulest reproach. + Yet she reigned with long and absolute power over the mind of her + illustrious husband; and if Antonina disdained the merit of conjugal + fidelity, she expressed a manly friendship to Belisarius, whom she + accompanied with undaunted resolution in all the hardships and dangers of + a military life. <a href="#linknote-41.7" name="linknoteref-41.7" + id="linknoteref-41.7">7</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.5" id="linknote-41.5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.5">return</a>)<br /> [ (Procop. Vandal. l. i. c. + 11.) Aleman, (Not. ad Anecdot. p. 5,) an Italian, could easily reject the + German vanity of Giphanius and Velserus, who wished to claim the hero; but + his Germania, a metropolis of Thrace, I cannot find in any civil or + ecclesiastical lists of the provinces and cities. Note *: M. von Hammer + (in a review of Lord Mahon’s Life of Belisarius in the Vienna Jahrbucher) + shows that the name of Belisarius is a Sclavonic word, Beli-tzar, the + White Prince, and that the place of his birth was a village of Illvria, + which still bears the name of Germany.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.6" id="linknote-41.6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.6">return</a>)<br /> [ The two first Persian + campaigns of Belisarius are fairly and copiously related by his secretary, + (Persic. l. i. c. 12—18.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.611" id="linknote-41.611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 611 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.611">return</a>)<br /> [ The battle was fought + on Easter Sunday, April 19, not at the end of the summer. The date is + supplied from John Malala by Lord Mabon p. 47.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.7" id="linknote-41.7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.7">return</a>)<br /> [ See the birth and + character of Antonina, in the Anecdotes, c. l. and the notes of Alemannus, + p. 3.] + </p> + <p> + The preparations for the African war were not unworthy of the last contest + between Rome and Carthage. The pride and flower of the army consisted of + the guards of Belisarius, who, according to the pernicious indulgence of + the times, devoted themselves, by a particular oath of fidelity, to the + service of their patrons. Their strength and stature, for which they had + been curiously selected, the goodness of their horses and armor, and the + assiduous practice of all the exercises of war, enabled them to act + whatever their courage might prompt; and their courage was exalted by the + social honor of their rank, and the personal ambition of favor and + fortune. Four hundred of the bravest of the Heruli marched under the + banner of the faithful and active Pharas; their untractable valor was more + highly prized than the tame submission of the Greeks and Syrians; and of + such importance was it deemed to procure a reenforcement of six hundred + Massagetae, or Huns, that they were allured by fraud and deceit to engage + in a naval expedition. Five thousand horse and ten thousand foot were + embarked at Constantinople, for the conquest of Africa; but the infantry, + for the most part levied in Thrace and Isauria, yielded to the more + prevailing use and reputation of the cavalry; and the Scythian bow was the + weapon on which the armies of Rome were now reduced to place their + principal dependence. From a laudable desire to assert the dignity of his + theme, Procopius defends the soldiers of his own time against the morose + critics, who confined that respectable name to the heavy-armed warriors of + antiquity, and maliciously observed, that the word archer is introduced by + Homer<a href="#linknote-41.8" name="linknoteref-41.8" id="linknoteref-41.8">8</a> + as a term of contempt. “Such contempt might perhaps be due to the + naked youths who appeared on foot in the fields of Troy, and lurking + behind a tombstone, or the shield of a friend, drew the bow-string to + their breast, <a href="#linknote-41.9" name="linknoteref-41.9" + id="linknoteref-41.9">9</a> and dismissed a feeble and lifeless arrow. But + our archers (pursues the historian) are mounted on horses, which they + manage with admirable skill; their head and shoulders are protected by a + casque or buckler; they wear greaves of iron on their legs, and their + bodies are guarded by a coat of mail. On their right side hangs a quiver, + a sword on their left, and their hand is accustomed to wield a lance or + javelin in closer combat. Their bows are strong and weighty; they shoot in + every possible direction, advancing, retreating, to the front, to the + rear, or to either flank; and as they are taught to draw the bow-string + not to the breast, but to the right ear, firm indeed must be the armor + that can resist the rapid violence of their shaft.” Five hundred + transports, navigated by twenty thousand mariners of Egypt, Cilicia, and + Ionia, were collected in the harbor of Constantinople. The smallest of + these vessels may be computed at thirty, the largest at five hundred, + tons; and the fair average will supply an allowance, liberal, but not + profuse, of about one hundred thousand tons, <a href="#linknote-41.10" + name="linknoteref-41.10" id="linknoteref-41.10">10</a> for the reception of + thirty-five thousand soldiers and sailors, of five thousand horses, of + arms, engines, and military stores, and of a sufficient stock of water and + provisions for a voyage, perhaps, of three months. The proud galleys, + which in former ages swept the Mediterranean with so many hundred oars, + had long since disappeared; and the fleet of Justinian was escorted only + by ninety-two light brigantines, covered from the missile weapons of the + enemy, and rowed by two thousand of the brave and robust youth of + Constantinople. Twenty-two generals are named, most of whom were + afterwards distinguished in the wars of Africa and Italy: but the supreme + command, both by land and sea, was delegated to Belisarius alone, with a + boundless power of acting according to his discretion, as if the emperor + himself were present. The separation of the naval and military professions + is at once the effect and the cause of the modern improvements in the + science of navigation and maritime war. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.8" id="linknote-41.8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.8">return</a>)<br /> [ See the preface of + Procopius. The enemies of archery might quote the reproaches of Diomede + (Iliad. Delta. 385, &c.) and the permittere vulnera ventis of Lucan, + (viii. 384:) yet the Romans could not despise the arrows of the + Parthians; and in the siege of Troy, Pandarus, Paris, and Teucer, pierced + those haughty warriors who insulted them as women or children.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.9" id="linknote-41.9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.9">return</a>)<br /> [ (Iliad. Delta. 123.) How + concise—how just—how beautiful is the whole picture! I see the + attitudes of the archer—I hear the twanging of the bow.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.10" id="linknote-41.10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.10">return</a>)<br /> [ The text appears to + allow for the largest vessels 50,000 medimni, or 3000 tons, (since the + medimnus weighed 160 Roman, or 120 avoirdupois, pounds.) I have given a + more rational interpretation, by supposing that the Attic style of + Procopius conceals the legal and popular modius, a sixth part of the + medimnus, (Hooper’s Ancient Measures, p. 152, &c.) A contrary and + indeed a stranger mistake has crept into an oration of Dinarchus, (contra + Demosthenem, in Reiske Orator. Graec tom iv. P. ii. p. 34.) By reducing + the number of ships from 500 to 50, and translating by mines, or pounds, + Cousin has generously allowed 500 tons for the whole of the Imperial + fleet! Did he never think?] + </p> + <p> + In the seventh year of the reign of Justinian, and about the time of the + summer solstice, the whole fleet of six hundred ships was ranged in + martial pomp before the gardens of the palace. The patriarch pronounced + his benediction, the emperor signified his last commands, the general’s + trumpet gave the signal of departure, and every heart, according to its + fears or wishes, explored, with anxious curiosity, the omens of misfortune + and success. The first halt was made at Perinthus or Heraclea, where + Belisarius waited five days to receive some Thracian horses, a military + gift of his sovereign. From thence the fleet pursued their course through + the midst of the Propontis; but as they struggled to pass the Straits of + the Hellespont, an unfavorable wind detained them four days at Abydus, + where the general exhibited a memorable lesson of firmness and severity. + Two of the Huns, who in a drunken quarrel had slain one of their + fellow-soldiers, were instantly shown to the army suspended on a lofty + gibbet. The national indignity was resented by their countrymen, who + disclaimed the servile laws of the empire, and asserted the free privilege + of Scythia, where a small fine was allowed to expiate the hasty sallies of + intemperance and anger. Their complaints were specious, their clamors were + loud, and the Romans were not averse to the example of disorder and + impunity. But the rising sedition was appeased by the authority and + eloquence of the general: and he represented to the assembled troops the + obligation of justice, the importance of discipline, the rewards of piety + and virtue, and the unpardonable guilt of murder, which, in his + apprehension, was aggravated rather than excused by the vice of + intoxication. <a href="#linknote-41.11" name="linknoteref-41.11" + id="linknoteref-41.11">11</a> In the navigation from the Hellespont to + Peloponnesus, which the Greeks, after the siege of Troy, had performed in + four days, <a href="#linknote-41.12" name="linknoteref-41.12" + id="linknoteref-41.12">12</a> the fleet of Belisarius was guided in their + course by his master-galley, conspicuous in the day by the redness of the + sails, and in the night by the torches blazing from the mast head. It was + the duty of the pilots, as they steered between the islands, and turned + the Capes of Malea and Taenarium, to preserve the just order and regular + intervals of such a multitude of ships: as the wind was fair and moderate, + their labors were not unsuccessful, and the troops were safely disembarked + at Methone on the Messenian coast, to repose themselves for a while after + the fatigues of the sea. In this place they experienced how avarice, + invested with authority, may sport with the lives of thousands which are + bravely exposed for the public service. According to military practice, + the bread or biscuit of the Romans was twice prepared in the oven, and the + diminution of one fourth was cheerfully allowed for the loss of weight. To + gain this miserable profit, and to save the expense of wood, the præfect + John of Cappadocia had given orders that the flour should be slightly + baked by the same fire which warmed the baths of Constantinople; and when + the sacks were opened, a soft and mouldy paste was distributed to the + army. Such unwholesome food, assisted by the heat of the climate and + season, soon produced an epidemical disease, which swept away five hundred + soldiers. Their health was restored by the diligence of Belisarius, who + provided fresh bread at Methone, and boldly expressed his just and humane + indignation; the emperor heard his complaint; the general was praised but + the minister was not punished. From the port of Methone, the pilots + steered along the western coast of Peloponnesus, as far as the Isle of + Zacynthus, or Zante, before they undertook the voyage (in their eyes a + most arduous voyage) of one hundred leagues over the Ionian Sea. As the + fleet was surprised by a calm, sixteen days were consumed in the slow + navigation; and even the general would have suffered the intolerable + hardship of thirst, if the ingenuity of Antonina had not preserved the + water in glass bottles, which she buried deep in the sand in a part of the + ship impervious to the rays of the sun. At length the harbor of Caucana, + <a href="#linknote-41.13" name="linknoteref-41.13" id="linknoteref-41.13">13</a> + on the southern side of Sicily, afforded a secure and hospitable shelter. + The Gothic officers who governed the island in the name of the daughter + and grandson of Theodoric, obeyed their imprudent orders, to receive the + troops of Justinian like friends and allies: provisions were liberally + supplied, the cavalry was remounted, <a href="#linknote-41.14" + name="linknoteref-41.14" id="linknoteref-41.14">14</a> and Procopius soon + returned from Syracuse with correct information of the state and designs + of the Vandals. His intelligence determined Belisarius to hasten his + operations, and his wise impatience was seconded by the winds. The fleet + lost sight of Sicily, passed before the Isle of Malta, discovered the + capes of Africa, ran along the coast with a strong gale from the + north-east, and finally cast anchor at the promontory of Caput Vada, about + five days’ journey to the south of Carthage. <a href="#linknote-41.15" + name="linknoteref-41.15" id="linknoteref-41.15">15</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.11" id="linknote-41.11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.11">return</a>)<br /> [ I have read of a Greek + legislator, who inflicted a double penalty on the crimes committed in a + state of intoxication; but it seems agreed that this was rather a + political than a moral law.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.12" id="linknote-41.12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.12">return</a>)<br /> [ Or even in three days, + since they anchored the first evening in the neighboring isle of Tenedos: + the second day they sailed to Lesbon the third to the promontory of + Euboea, and on the fourth they reached Argos, (Homer, Odyss. P. 130—183. + Wood’s Essay on Homer, p. 40—46.) A pirate sailed from the + Hellespont to the seaport of Sparta in three days, (Xenophon. Hellen. l. + ii. c. l.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.13" id="linknote-41.13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.13">return</a>)<br /> [ Caucana, near Camarina, + is at least 50 miles (350 or 400 stadia) from Syracuse, (Cluver. Sicilia + Antiqua, p. 191.) * Note *: Lord Mahon. (Life of Belisarius, p.88) + suggests some valid reasons for reading Catana, the ancient name of + Catania.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.14" id="linknote-41.14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.14">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Gothic. l. + i. c. 3. Tibi tollit hinnitum apta quadrigis equa, in the Sicilian + pastures of Grosphus, (Horat. Carm. ii. 16.) Acragas.... magnanimum + quondam generator equorum, (Virg. Aeneid. iii. 704.) Thero’s horses, whose + victories are immortalized by Pindar, were bred in this country.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.15" id="linknote-41.15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.15">return</a>)<br /> [ The Caput Vada of + Procopius (where Justinian afterwards founded a city—De Edific.l. + vi. c. 6) is the promontory of Ammon in Strabo, the Brachodes of Ptolemy, + the Capaudia of the moderns, a long narrow slip that runs into the sea, + (Shaw’s Travels, p. 111.)] + </p> + <p> + If Gelimer had been informed of the approach of the enemy, he must have + delayed the conquest of Sardinia for the immediate defence of his person + and kingdom. A detachment of five thousand soldiers, and one hundred and + twenty galleys, would have joined the remaining forces of the Vandals; and + the descendant of Genseric might have surprised and oppressed a fleet of + deep laden transports, incapable of action, and of light brigantines that + seemed only qualified for flight. Belisarius had secretly trembled when he + overheard his soldiers, in the passage, emboldening each other to confess + their apprehensions: if they were once on shore, they hoped to maintain + the honor of their arms; but if they should be attacked at sea, they did + not blush to acknowledge that they wanted courage to contend at the same + time with the winds, the waves, and the Barbarians. <a + href="#linknote-41.16" name="linknoteref-41.16" id="linknoteref-41.16">16</a> + The knowledge of their sentiments decided Belisarius to seize the first + opportunity of landing them on the coast of Africa; and he prudently + rejected, in a council of war, the proposal of sailing with the fleet and + army into the port of Carthage. <a href="#linknote-41.1611" + name="linknoteref-41.1611" id="linknoteref-41.1611">1611</a> Three months + after their departure from Constantinople, the men and horses, the arms + and military stores, were safely disembarked, and five soldiers were left + as a guard on board each of the ships, which were disposed in the form of + a semicircle. The remainder of the troops occupied a camp on the + sea-shore, which they fortified, according to ancient discipline, with a + ditch and rampart; and the discovery of a source of fresh water, while it + allayed the thirst, excited the superstitious confidence, of the Romans. + The next morning, some of the neighboring gardens were pillaged; and + Belisarius, after chastising the offenders, embraced the slight occasion, + but the decisive moment, of inculcating the maxims of justice, moderation, + and genuine policy. “When I first accepted the commission of subduing + Africa, I depended much less,” said the general, “on the numbers, or even + the bravery of my troops, than on the friendly disposition of the natives, + and their immortal hatred to the Vandals. You alone can deprive me of this + hope; if you continue to extort by rapine what might be purchased for a + little money, such acts of violence will reconcile these implacable + enemies, and unite them in a just and holy league against the invaders of + their country.” These exhortations were enforced by a rigid discipline, of + which the soldiers themselves soon felt and praised the salutary effects. + The inhabitants, instead of deserting their houses, or hiding their corn, + supplied the Romans with a fair and liberal market: the civil officers of + the province continued to exercise their functions in the name of + Justinian: and the clergy, from motives of conscience and interest, + assiduously labored to promote the cause of a Catholic emperor. The small + town of Sullecte, <a href="#linknote-41.17" name="linknoteref-41.17" + id="linknoteref-41.17">17</a> one day’s journey from the camp, had the + honor of being foremost to open her gates, and to resume her ancient + allegiance: the larger cities of Leptis and Adrumetum imitated the example + of loyalty as soon as Belisarius appeared; and he advanced without + opposition as far as Grasse, a palace of the Vandal kings, at the distance + of fifty miles from Carthage. The weary Romans indulged themselves in the + refreshment of shady groves, cool fountains, and delicious fruits; and the + preference which Procopius allows to these gardens over any that he had + seen, either in the East or West, may be ascribed either to the taste, or + the fatigue, of the historian. In three generations, prosperity and a warm + climate had dissolved the hardy virtue of the Vandals, who insensibly + became the most luxurious of mankind. In their villas and gardens, which + might deserve the Persian name of Paradise, <a href="#linknote-41.18" + name="linknoteref-41.18" id="linknoteref-41.18">18</a> they enjoyed a cool + and elegant repose; and, after the daily use of the bath, the Barbarians + were seated at a table profusely spread with the delicacies of the land + and sea. Their silken robes loosely flowing, after the fashion of the + Medes, were embroidered with gold; love and hunting were the labors of + their life, and their vacant hours were amused by pantomimes, + chariot-races, and the music and dances of the theatre. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.16" id="linknote-41.16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.16">return</a>)<br /> [ A centurion of Mark + Antony expressed, though in a more manly train, the same dislike to the + sea and to naval combats, (Plutarch in Antonio, p. 1730, edit. Hen. + Steph.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.1611" id="linknote-41.1611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1611 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.1611">return</a>)<br /> [ Rather into the + present Lake of Tunis. Lord Mahon, p. 92.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.17" id="linknote-41.17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.17">return</a>)<br /> [ Sullecte is perhaps the + Turris Hannibalis, an old building, now as large as the Tower of London. + The march of Belisarius to Leptis. Adrumetum, &c., is illustrated by + the campaign of Caesar, (Hirtius, de Bello Africano, with the Analyse of + Guichardt,) and Shaw’s Travels (p. 105—113) in the same country.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.18" id="linknote-41.18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.18">return</a>)<br /> [ The paradises, a name + and fashion adopted from Persia, may be represented by the royal garden of + Ispahan, (Voyage d’Olearius, p. 774.) See, in the Greek romances, their + most perfect model, (Longus. Pastoral. l. iv. p. 99—101 Achilles + Tatius. l. i. p. 22, 23.)] + </p> + <p> + In a march of ten or twelve days, the vigilance of Belisarius was + constantly awake and active against his unseen enemies, by whom, in every + place, and at every hour, he might be suddenly attacked. An officer of + confidence and merit, John the Armenian, led the vanguard of three hundred + horse; six hundred Massagetae covered at a certain distance the left + flank; and the whole fleet, steering along the coast, seldom lost sight of + the army, which moved each day about twelve miles, and lodged in the + evening in strong camps, or in friendly towns. The near approach of the + Romans to Carthage filled the mind of Gelimer with anxiety and terror. He + prudently wished to protract the war till his brother, with his veteran + troops, should return from the conquest of Sardinia; and he now lamented + the rash policy of his ancestors, who, by destroying the fortifications of + Africa, had left him only the dangerous resource of risking a battle in + the neighborhood of his capital. The Vandal conquerors, from their + original number of fifty thousand, were multiplied, without including + their women and children, to one hundred and sixty thousand fighting men: + <a href="#linknote-41.1811" name="linknoteref-41.1811" + id="linknoteref-41.1811">1811</a> and such forces, animated with valor and + union, might have crushed, at their first landing, the feeble and + exhausted bands of the Roman general. But the friends of the captive king + were more inclined to accept the invitations, than to resist the progress, + of Belisarius; and many a proud Barbarian disguised his aversion to war + under the more specious name of his hatred to the usurper. Yet the + authority and promises of Gelimer collected a formidable army, and his + plans were concerted with some degree of military skill. An order was + despatched to his brother Ammatas, to collect all the forces of Carthage, + and to encounter the van of the Roman army at the distance of ten miles + from the city: his nephew Gibamund, with two thousand horse, was destined + to attack their left, when the monarch himself, who silently followed, + should charge their rear, in a situation which excluded them from the aid + or even the view of their fleet. But the rashness of Ammatas was fatal to + himself and his country. He anticipated the hour of the attack, + outstripped his tardy followers, and was pierced with a mortal wound, + after he had slain with his own hand twelve of his boldest antagonists. + His Vandals fled to Carthage; the highway, almost ten miles, was strewed + with dead bodies; and it seemed incredible that such multitudes could be + slaughtered by the swords of three hundred Romans. The nephew of Gelimer + was defeated, after a slight combat, by the six hundred Massagetae: they + did not equal the third part of his numbers; but each Scythian was fired + by the example of his chief, who gloriously exercised the privilege of his + family, by riding, foremost and alone, to shoot the first arrow against + the enemy. In the mean while, Gelimer himself, ignorant of the event, and + misguided by the windings of the hills, inadvertently passed the Roman + army, and reached the scene of action where Ammatas had fallen. He wept + the fate of his brother and of Carthage, charged with irresistible fury + the advancing squadrons, and might have pursued, and perhaps decided, the + victory, if he had not wasted those inestimable moments in the discharge + of a vain, though pious, duty to the dead. While his spirit was broken by + this mournful office, he heard the trumpet of Belisarius, who, leaving + Antonina and his infantry in the camp, pressed forwards with his guards + and the remainder of the cavalry to rally his flying troops, and to + restore the fortune of the day. Much room could not be found, in this + disorderly battle, for the talents of a general; but the king fled before + the hero; and the Vandals, accustomed only to a Moorish enemy, were + incapable of withstanding the arms and discipline of the Romans. Gelimer + retired with hasty steps towards the desert of Numidia: but he had soon + the consolation of learning that his private orders for the execution of + Hilderic and his captive friends had been faithfully obeyed. The tyrant’s + revenge was useful only to his enemies. The death of a lawful prince + excited the compassion of his people; his life might have perplexed the + victorious Romans; and the lieutenant of Justinian, by a crime of which he + was innocent, was relieved from the painful alternative of forfeiting his + honor or relinquishing his conquests. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.1811" id="linknote-41.1811"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1811 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.1811">return</a>)<br /> [ 80,000. Hist. Arc. + c. 18. Gibbon has been misled by the translation. See Lord ov. p. 99.—M.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap41.2"></a> +Chapter XLI: Conquests Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part II.</h2> + + <p> + As soon as the tumult had subsided, the several parts of the army informed + each other of the accidents of the day; and Belisarius pitched his camp on + the field of victory, to which the tenth mile-stone from Carthage had + applied the Latin appellation of Decimus. From a wise suspicion of the + stratagems and resources of the Vandals, he marched the next day in order + of battle, halted in the evening before the gates of Carthage, and allowed + a night of repose, that he might not, in darkness and disorder, expose the + city to the license of the soldiers, or the soldiers themselves to the + secret ambush of the city. But as the fears of Belisarius were the result + of calm and intrepid reason, he was soon satisfied that he might confide, + without danger, in the peaceful and friendly aspect of the capital. + Carthage blazed with innumerable torches, the signals of the public joy; + the chain was removed that guarded the entrance of the port; the gates + were thrown open, and the people, with acclamations of gratitude, hailed + and invited their Roman deliverers. The defeat of the Vandals, and the + freedom of Africa, were announced to the city on the eve of St. Cyprian, + when the churches were already adorned and illuminated for the festival of + the martyr whom three centuries of superstition had almost raised to a + local deity. The Arians, conscious that their reign had expired, resigned + the temple to the Catholics, who rescued their saint from profane hands, + performed the holy rites, and loudly proclaimed the creed of Athanasius + and Justinian. One awful hour reversed the fortunes of the contending + parties. The suppliant Vandals, who had so lately indulged the vices of + conquerors, sought an humble refuge in the sanctuary of the church; while + the merchants of the East were delivered from the deepest dungeon of the + palace by their affrighted keeper, who implored the protection of his + captives, and showed them, through an aperture in the wall, the sails of + the Roman fleet. After their separation from the army, the naval + commanders had proceeded with slow caution along the coast till they + reached the Hermaean promontory, and obtained the first intelligence of + the victory of Belisarius. Faithful to his instructions, they would have + cast anchor about twenty miles from Carthage, if the more skilful seamen + had not represented the perils of the shore, and the signs of an impending + tempest. Still ignorant of the revolution, they declined, however, the + rash attempt of forcing the chain of the port; and the adjacent harbor and + suburb of Mandracium were insulted only by the rapine of a private + officer, who disobeyed and deserted his leaders. But the Imperial fleet, + advancing with a fair wind, steered through the narrow entrance of the + Goletta, and occupied, in the deep and capacious lake of Tunis, a secure + station about five miles from the capital. <a href="#linknote-41.19" + name="linknoteref-41.19" id="linknoteref-41.19">19</a> No sooner was + Belisarius informed of their arrival, than he despatched orders that the + greatest part of the mariners should be immediately landed to join the + triumph, and to swell the apparent numbers, of the Romans. Before he + allowed them to enter the gates of Carthage, he exhorted them, in a + discourse worthy of himself and the occasion, not to disgrace the glory of + their arms; and to remember that the Vandals had been the tyrants, but + that they were the deliverers, of the Africans, who must now be respected + as the voluntary and affectionate subjects of their common sovereign. The + Romans marched through the streets in close ranks prepared for battle if + an enemy had appeared: the strict order maintained by the general + imprinted on their minds the duty of obedience; and in an age in which + custom and impunity almost sanctified the abuse of conquest, the genius of + one man repressed the passions of a victorious army. The voice of menace + and complaint was silent; the trade of Carthage was not interrupted; while + Africa changed her master and her government, the shops continued open and + busy; and the soldiers, after sufficient guards had been posted, modestly + departed to the houses which were allotted for their reception. Belisarius + fixed his residence in the palace; seated himself on the throne of + Genseric; accepted and distributed the Barbaric spoil; granted their lives + to the suppliant Vandals; and labored to repair the damage which the + suburb of Mandracium had sustained in the preceding night. At supper he + entertained his principal officers with the form and magnificence of a + royal banquet. <a href="#linknote-41.20" name="linknoteref-41.20" + id="linknoteref-41.20">20</a> The victor was respectfully served by the + captive officers of the household; and in the moments of festivity, when + the impartial spectators applauded the fortune and merit of Belisarius, + his envious flatterers secretly shed their venom on every word and gesture + which might alarm the suspicions of a jealous monarch. One day was given + to these pompous scenes, which may not be despised as useless, if they + attracted the popular veneration; but the active mind of Belisarius, which + in the pride of victory could suppose a defeat, had already resolved that + the Roman empire in Africa should not depend on the chance of arms, or the + favor of the people. The fortifications of Carthage <a + href="#linknote-41.2011" name="linknoteref-41.2011" id="linknoteref-41.2011">2011</a> + had alone been exempted from the general proscription; but in the reign of + ninety-five years they were suffered to decay by the thoughtless and + indolent Vandals. A wiser conqueror restored, with incredible despatch, + the walls and ditches of the city. His liberality encouraged the workmen; + the soldiers, the mariners, and the citizens, vied with each other in the + salutary labor; and Gelimer, who had feared to trust his person in an open + town, beheld with astonishment and despair, the rising strength of an + impregnable fortress. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.19" id="linknote-41.19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.19">return</a>)<br /> [ The neighborhood of + Carthage, the sea, the land, and the rivers, are changed almost as much as + the works of man. The isthmus, or neck of the city, is now confounded with + the continent; the harbor is a dry plain; and the lake, or stagnum, no + more than a morass, with six or seven feet water in the mid-channel. See + D’Anville, (Geographie Ancienne, tom. iii. p. 82,) Shaw, (Travels, p. 77—84,) + Marmol, (Description de l’Afrique, tom. ii. p. 465,) and Thuanus, (lviii. + 12, tom. iii. p. 334.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.20" id="linknote-41.20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.20">return</a>)<br /> [ From Delphi, the name + of Delphicum was given, both in Greek and Latin, to a tripod; and by an + easy analogy, the same appellation was extended at Rome, Constantinople, + and Carthage, to the royal banquetting room, (Procopius, Vandal. l. i. c. + 21. Ducange, Gloss, Graec. p. 277., ad Alexiad. p. 412.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.2011" id="linknote-41.2011"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2011 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.2011">return</a>)<br /> [ And a few others. + Procopius states in his work De Edi Sciis. l. vi. vol i. p. 5.—M] + </p> + <p> + That unfortunate monarch, after the loss of his capital, applied himself + to collect the remains of an army scattered, rather than destroyed, by the + preceding battle; and the hopes of pillage attracted some Moorish bands to + the standard of Gelimer. He encamped in the fields of Bulla, four days’ + journey from Carthage; insulted the capital, which he deprived of the use + of an aqueduct; proposed a high reward for the head of every Roman; + affected to spare the persons and property of his African subjects, and + secretly negotiated with the Arian sectaries and the confederate Huns. + Under these circumstances, the conquest of Sardinia served only to + aggravate his distress: he reflected, with the deepest anguish, that he + had wasted, in that useless enterprise, five thousand of his bravest + troops; and he read, with grief and shame, the victorious letters of his + brother Zano, <a href="#linknote-41.2012" name="linknoteref-41.2012" + id="linknoteref-41.2012">2012</a> who expressed a sanguine confidence that + the king, after the example of their ancestors, had already chastised the + rashness of the Roman invader. “Alas! my brother,” replied Gelimer, + “Heaven has declared against our unhappy nation. While you have subdued + Sardinia, we have lost Africa. No sooner did Belisarius appear with a + handful of soldiers, than courage and prosperity deserted the cause of the + Vandals. Your nephew Gibamund, your brother Ammatas, have been betrayed to + death by the cowardice of their followers. Our horses, our ships, Carthage + itself, and all Africa, are in the power of the enemy. Yet the Vandals + still prefer an ignominious repose, at the expense of their wives and + children, their wealth and liberty. Nothing now remains, except the fields + of Bulla, and the hope of your valor. Abandon Sardinia; fly to our relief; + restore our empire, or perish by our side.” On the receipt of this + epistle, Zano imparted his grief to the principal Vandals; but the + intelligence was prudently concealed from the natives of the island. The + troops embarked in one hundred and twenty galleys at the port of Caghari, + cast anchor the third day on the confines of Mauritania, and hastily + pursued their march to join the royal standard in the camp of Bulla. + Mournful was the interview: the two brothers embraced; they wept in + silence; no questions were asked of the Sardinian victory; no inquiries + were made of the African misfortunes: they saw before their eyes the whole + extent of their calamities; and the absence of their wives and children + afforded a melancholy proof that either death or captivity had been their + lot. The languid spirit of the Vandals was at length awakened and united + by the entreaties of their king, the example of Zano, and the instant + danger which threatened their monarchy and religion. The military strength + of the nation advanced to battle; and such was the rapid increase, that + before their army reached Tricameron, about twenty miles from Carthage, + they might boast, perhaps with some exaggeration, that they surpassed, in + a tenfold proportion, the diminutive powers of the Romans. But these + powers were under the command of Belisarius; and, as he was conscious of + their superior merit, he permitted the Barbarians to surprise him at an + unseasonable hour. The Romans were instantly under arms; a rivulet covered + their front; the cavalry formed the first line, which Belisarius supported + in the centre, at the head of five hundred guards; the infantry, at some + distance, was posted in the second line; and the vigilance of the general + watched the separate station and ambiguous faith of the Massagetae, who + secretly reserved their aid for the conquerors. The historian has + inserted, and the reader may easily supply, the speeches <a + href="#linknote-41.21" name="linknoteref-41.21" id="linknoteref-41.21">21</a> + of the commanders, who, by arguments the most apposite to their situation, + inculcated the importance of victory, and the contempt of life. Zano, with + the troops which had followed him to the conquest of Sardinia, was placed + in the centre; and the throne of Genseric might have stood, if the + multitude of Vandals had imitated their intrepid resolution. Casting away + their lances and missile weapons, they drew their swords, and expected the + charge: the Roman cavalry thrice passed the rivulet; they were thrice + repulsed; and the conflict was firmly maintained, till Zano fell, and the + standard of Belisarius was displayed. Gelimer retreated to his camp; the + Huns joined the pursuit; and the victors despoiled the bodies of the + slain. Yet no more than fifty Romans, and eight hundred Vandals were found + on the field of battle; so inconsiderable was the carnage of a day, which + extinguished a nation, and transferred the empire of Africa. In the + evening Belisarius led his infantry to the attack of the camp; and the + pusillanimous flight of Gelimer exposed the vanity of his recent + declarations, that to the vanquished, death was a relief, life a burden, + and infamy the only object of terror. His departure was secret; but as + soon as the Vandals discovered that their king had deserted them, they + hastily dispersed, anxious only for their personal safety, and careless of + every object that is dear or valuable to mankind. The Romans entered the + camp without resistance; and the wildest scenes of disorder were veiled in + the darkness and confusion of the night. Every Barbarian who met their + swords was inhumanly massacred; their widows and daughters, as rich heirs, + or beautiful concubines, were embraced by the licentious soldiers; and + avarice itself was almost satiated with the treasures of gold and silver, + the accumulated fruits of conquest or economy in a long period of + prosperity and peace. In this frantic search, the troops, even of + Belisarius, forgot their caution and respect. Intoxicated with lust and + rapine, they explored, in small parties, or alone, the adjacent fields, + the woods, the rocks, and the caverns, that might possibly conceal any + desirable prize: laden with booty, they deserted their ranks, and wandered + without a guide, on the high road to Carthage; and if the flying enemies + had dared to return, very few of the conquerors would have escaped. Deeply + sensible of the disgrace and danger, Belisarius passed an apprehensive + night on the field of victory: at the dawn of day, he planted his standard + on a hill, recalled his guardians and veterans, and gradually restored the + modesty and obedience of the camp. It was equally the concern of the Roman + general to subdue the hostile, and to save the prostrate, Barbarian; and + the suppliant Vandals, who could be found only in churches, were protected + by his authority, disarmed, and separately confined, that they might + neither disturb the public peace, nor become the victims of popular + revenge. After despatching a light detachment to tread the footsteps of + Gelimer, he advanced, with his whole army, about ten days’ march, as far + as Hippo Regius, which no longer possessed the relics of St. Augustin. <a + href="#linknote-41.22" name="linknoteref-41.22" id="linknoteref-41.22">22</a> + The season, and the certain intelligence that the Vandal had fled to an + inaccessible country of the Moors, determined Belisarius to relinquish the + vain pursuit, and to fix his winter quarters at Carthage. From thence he + despatched his principal lieutenant, to inform the emperor, that in the + space of three months he had achieved the conquest of Africa. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.2012" id="linknote-41.2012"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2012 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.2012">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon had + forgotten that the bearer of the “victorious letters of his brother” had + sailed into the port of Carthage; and that the letters had fallen into the + hands of the Romans. Proc. Vandal. l. i. c. 23.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.21" id="linknote-41.21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.21">return</a>)<br /> [ These orations always + express the sense of the times, and sometimes of the actors. I have + condensed that sense, and thrown away declamation.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.22" id="linknote-41.22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.22">return</a>)<br /> [ The relics of St. + Augustin were carried by the African bishops to their Sardinian exile, + (A.D. 500;) and it was believed, in the viiith century, that Liutprand, + king of the Lombards, transported them (A.D. 721) from Sardinia to Pavia. + In the year 1695, the Augustan friars of that city found a brick arch, + marble coffin, silver case, silk wrapper, bones, blood, &c., and + perhaps an inscription of Agostino in Gothic letters. But this useful + discovery has been disputed by reason and jealousy, (Baronius, Annal. A.D. + 725, No. 2-9. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xiii. p. 944. Montfaucon, + Diarium Ital. p. 26-30. Muratori, Antiq. Ital. Medii Aevi, tom. v. + dissert. lviii. p. 9, who had composed a separate treatise before the + decree of the bishop of Pavia, and Pope Benedict XIII.)] + </p> + <p> + Belisarius spoke the language of truth. The surviving Vandals yielded, + without resistance, their arms and their freedom; the neighborhood of + Carthage submitted to his presence; and the more distant provinces were + successively subdued by the report of his victory. Tripoli was confirmed + in her voluntary allegiance; Sardinia and Corsica surrendered to an + officer, who carried, instead of a sword, the head of the valiant Zano; + and the Isles of Majorca, Minorca, and Yvica consented to remain an humble + appendage of the African kingdom. Caesarea, a royal city, which in looser + geography may be confounded with the modern Algiers, was situate thirty + days’ march to the westward of Carthage: by land, the road was infested by + the Moors; but the sea was open, and the Romans were now masters of the + sea. An active and discreet tribune sailed as far as the Straits, where he + occupied Septem or Ceuta, <a href="#linknote-41.23" name="linknoteref-41.23" + id="linknoteref-41.23">23</a> which rises opposite to Gibraltar on the + African coast; that remote place was afterwards adorned and fortified by + Justinian; and he seems to have indulged the vain ambition of extending + his empire to the columns of Hercules. He received the messengers of + victory at the time when he was preparing to publish the Pandects of the + Roman laws; and the devout or jealous emperor celebrated the divine + goodness, and confessed, in silence, the merit of his successful general. + <a href="#linknote-41.24" name="linknoteref-41.24" id="linknoteref-41.24">24</a> + Impatient to abolish the temporal and spiritual tyranny of the Vandals, he + proceeded, without delay, to the full establishment of the Catholic + church. Her jurisdiction, wealth, and immunites, perhaps the most + essential part of episcopal religion, were restored and amplified with a + liberal hand; the Arian worship was suppressed; the Donatist meetings were + proscribed; <a href="#linknote-41.25" name="linknoteref-41.25" + id="linknoteref-41.25">25</a> and the synod of Carthage, by the voice of + two hundred and seventeen bishops, <a href="#linknote-41.26" + name="linknoteref-41.26" id="linknoteref-41.26">26</a> applauded the just + measure of pious retaliation. On such an occasion, it may not be presumed, + that many orthodox prelates were absent; but the comparative smallness of + their number, which in ancient councils had been twice or even thrice + multiplied, most clearly indicates the decay both of the church and state. + While Justinian approved himself the defender of the faith, he entertained + an ambitious hope, that his victorious lieutenant would speedily enlarge + the narrow limits of his dominion to the space which they occupied before + the invasion of the Moors and Vandals; and Belisarius was instructed to + establish five dukes or commanders in the convenient stations of Tripoli, + Leptis, Cirta, Caesarea, and Sardinia, and to compute the military force + of palatines or borderers that might be sufficient for the defence of + Africa. The kingdom of the Vandals was not unworthy of the presence of a + Praetorian præfect; and four consulars, three presidents, were appointed + to administer the seven provinces under his civil jurisdiction. The number + of their subordinate officers, clerks, messengers, or assistants, was + minutely expressed; three hundred and ninety-six for the præfect himself, + fifty for each of his vicegerents; and the rigid definition of their fees + and salaries was more effectual to confirm the right than to prevent the + abuse. These magistrates might be oppressive, but they were not idle; and + the subtile questions of justice and revenue were infinitely propagated + under the new government, which professed to revive the freedom and equity + of the Roman republic. The conqueror was solicitous to extract a prompt + and plentiful supply from his African subjects; and he allowed them to + claim, even in the third degree, and from the collateral line, the houses + and lands of which their families had been unjustly despoiled by the + Vandals. After the departure of Belisarius, who acted by a high and + special commission, no ordinary provision was made for a master-general of + the forces; but the office of Praetorian præfect was intrusted to a + soldier; the civil and military powers were united, according to the + practice of Justinian, in the chief governor; and the representative of + the emperor in Africa, as well as in Italy, was soon distinguished by the + appellation of Exarch. <a href="#linknote-41.27" name="linknoteref-41.27" + id="linknoteref-41.27">27</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.23" id="linknote-41.23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.23">return</a>)<br /> [ The expression of + Procopius (de Edific. l. vi. c. 7.) Ceuta, which has been defaced by the + Portuguese, flourished in nobles and palaces, in agriculture and + manufactures, under the more prosperous reign of the Arabs, (l’Afrique de + Marmai, tom. ii. p. 236.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.24" id="linknote-41.24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.24">return</a>)<br /> [ See the second and + third preambles to the Digest, or Pandects, promulgated A.D. 533, December + 16. To the titles of Vandalicus and Africanus, Justinian, or rather + Belisarius, had acquired a just claim; Gothicus was premature, and + Francicus false, and offensive to a great nation.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.25" id="linknote-41.25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.25">return</a>)<br /> [ See the original acts + in Baronius, (A.D. 535, No. 21—54.) The emperor applauds his own + clemency to the heretics, cum sufficiat eis vivere.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.26" id="linknote-41.26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.26">return</a>)<br /> [ Dupin (Geograph. Sacra + Africana, p. lix. ad Optat. Milav.) observes and bewails this episcopal + decay. In the more prosperous age of the church, he had noticed 690 + bishoprics; but however minute were the dioceses, it is not probable that + they all existed at the same time.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.27" id="linknote-41.27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.27">return</a>)<br /> [ The African laws of + Justinian are illustrated by his German biographer, (Cod. l. i. tit. 27. + Novell. 36, 37, 131. Vit. Justinian, p. 349—377.)] + </p> + <p> + Yet the conquest of Africa was imperfect till her former sovereign was + delivered, either alive or dead, into the hands of the Romans. Doubtful of + the event, Gelimer had given secret orders that a part of his treasure + should be transported to Spain, where he hoped to find a secure refuge at + the court of the king of the Visigoths. But these intentions were + disappointed by accident, treachery, and the indefatigable pursuit of his + enemies, who intercepted his flight from the sea-shore, and chased the + unfortunate monarch, with some faithful followers, to the inaccessible + mountain of Papua, <a href="#linknote-41.28" name="linknoteref-41.28" + id="linknoteref-41.28">28</a> in the inland country of Numidia. He was + immediately besieged by Pharas, an officer whose truth and sobriety were + the more applauded, as such qualities could seldom be found among the + Heruli, the most corrupt of the Barbarian tribes. To his vigilance + Belisarius had intrusted this important charge and, after a bold attempt + to scale the mountain, in which he lost a hundred and ten soldiers, Pharas + expected, during a winter siege, the operation of distress and famine on + the mind of the Vandal king. From the softest habits of pleasure, from the + unbounded command of industry and wealth, he was reduced to share the + poverty of the Moors, <a href="#linknote-41.29" name="linknoteref-41.29" + id="linknoteref-41.29">29</a> supportable only to themselves by their + ignorance of a happier condition. In their rude hovels, of mud and + hurdles, which confined the smoke and excluded the light, they + promiscuously slept on the ground, perhaps on a sheep-skin, with their + wives, their children, and their cattle. Sordid and scanty were their + garments; the use of bread and wine was unknown; and their oaten or barley + cakes, imperfectly baked in the ashes, were devoured almost in a crude + state, by the hungry savages. The health of Gelimer must have sunk under + these strange and unwonted hardships, from whatsoever cause they had been + endured; but his actual misery was imbittered by the recollection of past + greatness, the daily insolence of his protectors, and the just + apprehension, that the light and venal Moors might be tempted to betray + the rights of hospitality. The knowledge of his situation dictated the + humane and friendly epistle of Pharas. “Like yourself,” said the chief of + the Heruli, “I am an illiterate Barbarian, but I speak the language of + plain sense and an honest heart. Why will you persist in hopeless + obstinacy? Why will you ruin yourself, your family, and nation? The love + of freedom and abhorrence of slavery? Alas! my dearest Gelimer, are you + not already the worst of slaves, the slave of the vile nation of the + Moors? Would it not be preferable to sustain at Constantinople a life of + poverty and servitude, rather than to reign the undoubted monarch of the + mountain of Papua? Do you think it a disgrace to be the subject of + Justinian? Belisarius is his subject; and we ourselves, whose birth is not + inferior to your own, are not ashamed of our obedience to the Roman + emperor. That generous prince will grant you a rich inheritance of lands, + a place in the senate, and the dignity of patrician: such are his gracious + intentions, and you may depend with full assurance on the word of + Belisarius. So long as Heaven has condemned us to suffer, patience is a + virtue; but if we reject the proffered deliverance, it degenerates into + blind and stupid despair.” “I am not insensible” replied the king of the + Vandals, “how kind and rational is your advice. But I cannot persuade + myself to become the slave of an unjust enemy, who has deserved my + implacable hatred. Him I had never injured either by word or deed: yet he + has sent against me, I know not from whence, a certain Belisarius, who has + cast me headlong from the throne into his abyss of misery. Justinian is a + man; he is a prince; does he not dread for himself a similar reverse of + fortune? I can write no more: my grief oppresses me. Send me, I beseech + you, my dear Pharas, send me, a lyre, <a href="#linknote-41.30" + name="linknoteref-41.30" id="linknoteref-41.30">30</a> a sponge, and a loaf + of bread.” From the Vandal messenger, Pharas was informed of the motives + of this singular request. It was long since the king of Africa had tasted + bread; a defluxion had fallen on his eyes, the effect of fatigue or + incessant weeping; and he wished to solace the melancholy hours, by + singing to the lyre the sad story of his own misfortunes. The humanity of + Pharas was moved; he sent the three extraordinary gifts; but even his + humanity prompted him to redouble the vigilance of his guard, that he + might sooner compel his prisoner to embrace a resolution advantageous to + the Romans, but salutary to himself. The obstinacy of Gelimer at length + yielded to reason and necessity; the solemn assurances of safety and + honorable treatment were ratified in the emperor’s name, by the ambassador + of Belisarius; and the king of the Vandals descended from the mountain. + The first public interview was in one of the suburbs of Carthage; and when + the royal captive accosted his conqueror, he burst into a fit of laughter. + The crowd might naturally believe, that extreme grief had deprived Gelimer + of his senses: but in this mournful state, unseasonable mirth insinuated + to more intelligent observers, that the vain and transitory scenes of + human greatness are unworthy of a serious thought. <a href="#linknote-41.31" + name="linknoteref-41.31" id="linknoteref-41.31">31</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.28" id="linknote-41.28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.28">return</a>)<br /> [ Mount Papua is placed + by D’Anville (tom. iii. p. 92, and Tabul. Imp. Rom. Occident.) near Hippo + Regius and the sea; yet this situation ill agrees with the long pursuit + beyond Hippo, and the words of Procopius, (l. ii.c.4,). * Note: Compare + Lord Mahon, 120. conceive Gibbon to be right—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.29" id="linknote-41.29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.29">return</a>)<br /> [ Shaw (Travels, p. 220) + most accurately represents the manners of the Bedoweens and Kabyles, the + last of whom, by their language, are the remnant of the Moors; yet how + changed—how civilized are these modern savages!—provisions are + plenty among them and bread is common.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.30" id="linknote-41.30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.30">return</a>)<br /> [ By Procopius it is + styled a lyre; perhaps harp would have been more national. The instruments + of music are thus distinguished by Venantius Fortunatus:— Romanusque + lyra tibi plaudat, Barbarus harpa.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.31" id="linknote-41.31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.31">return</a>)<br /> [ Herodotus elegantly + describes the strange effects of grief in another royal captive, + Psammetichus of Egypt, who wept at the lesser and was silent at the + greatest of his calamities, (l. iii. c. 14.) In the interview of Paulus + Aemilius and Perses, Belisarius might study his part; but it is probable + that he never read either Livy or Plutarch; and it is certain that his + generosity did not need a tutor.] + </p> + <p> + Their contempt was soon justified by a new example of a vulgar truth; that + flattery adheres to power, and envy to superior merit. The chiefs of the + Roman army presumed to think themselves the rivals of a hero. Their + private despatches maliciously affirmed, that the conqueror of Africa, + strong in his reputation and the public love, conspired to seat himself on + the throne of the Vandals. Justinian listened with too patient an ear; and + his silence was the result of jealousy rather than of confidence. An + honorable alternative, of remaining in the province, or of returning to + the capital, was indeed submitted to the discretion of Belisarius; but he + wisely concluded, from intercepted letters and the knowledge of his + sovereign’s temper, that he must either resign his head, erect his + standard, or confound his enemies by his presence and submission. + Innocence and courage decided his choice; his guards, captives, and + treasures, were diligently embarked; and so prosperous was the navigation, + that his arrival at Constantinople preceded any certain account of his + departure from the port of Carthage. Such unsuspecting loyalty removed the + apprehensions of Justinian; envy was silenced and inflamed by the public + gratitude; and the third Africanus obtained the honors of a triumph, a + ceremony which the city of Constantine had never seen, and which ancient + Rome, since the reign of Tiberius, had reserved for the auspicious arms of + the Caesars.<a href="#linknote-41.32" name="linknoteref-41.32" id="linknoteref-41.32">32</a> + From the palace of Belisarius, the procession was conducted + through the principal streets to the hippodrome; and this memorable day + seemed to avenge the injuries of Genseric, and to expiate the shame of the + Romans. The wealth of nations was displayed, the trophies of martial or + effeminate luxury; rich armor, golden thrones, and the chariots of state + which had been used by the Vandal queen; the massy furniture of the royal + banquet, the splendor of precious stones, the elegant forms of statues and + vases, the more substantial treasure of gold, and the holy vessels of the + Jewish temple, which after their long peregrination were respectfully + deposited in the Christian church of Jerusalem. A long train of the + noblest Vandals reluctantly exposed their lofty stature and manly + countenance. Gelimer slowly advanced: he was clad in a purple robe, and + still maintained the majesty of a king. Not a tear escaped from his eyes, + not a sigh was heard; but his pride or piety derived some secret + consolation from the words of Solomon, <a href="#linknote-41.33" + name="linknoteref-41.33" id="linknoteref-41.33">33</a> which he repeatedly + pronounced, Vanity! vanity! all is vanity! Instead of ascending a + triumphal car drawn by four horses or elephants, the modest conqueror + marched on foot at the head of his brave companions; his prudence might + decline an honor too conspicuous for a subject; and his magnanimity might + justly disdain what had been so often sullied by the vilest of tyrants. + The glorious procession entered the gate of the hippodrome; was saluted by + the acclamations of the senate and people; and halted before the throne + where Justinian and Theodora were seated to receive homage of the captive + monarch and the victorious hero. They both performed the customary + adoration; and falling prostrate on the ground, respectfully touched the + footstool of a prince who had not unsheathed his sword, and of a + prostitute who had danced on the theatre; some gentle violence was used to + bend the stubborn spirit of the grandson of Genseric; and however trained + to servitude, the genius of Belisarius must have secretly rebelled. He was + immediately declared consul for the ensuing year, and the day of his + inauguration resembled the pomp of a second triumph: his curule chair was + borne aloft on the shoulders of captive Vandals; and the spoils of war, + gold cups, and rich girdles, were profusely scattered among the populace. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.32" id="linknote-41.32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.32">return</a>)<br /> [ After the title of + imperator had lost the old military sense, and the Roman auspices were + abolished by Christianity, (see La Bleterie, Mem. de l’Academie, + tom. xxi. p. 302—332,) a triumph might be given with less + inconsistency to a private general.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.33" id="linknote-41.33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.33">return</a>)<br /> [ If the Ecclesiastes be + truly a work of Solomon, and not, like Prior’s poem, a pious and moral + composition of more recent times, in his name, and on the subject of his + repentance. The latter is the opinion of the learned and free-spirited + Grotius, (Opp. Theolog. tom. i. p. 258;) and indeed the Ecclesiastes and + Proverbs display a larger compass of thought and experience than seem to + belong either to a Jew or a king. * Note: Rosenmüller, arguing from the + difference of style from that of the greater part of the book of Proverbs, + and from its nearer approximation to the Aramaic dialect than any book of + the Old Testament, assigns the Ecclesiastes to some period between + Nehemiah and Alexander the Great. Schol. in Vet. Test. ix. Proemium ad + Eccles. p. 19.—M.] + </p> + <p> + But the purest reward of Belisarius was in the faithful execution of a + treaty for which his honor had been pledged to the king of the Vandals. + The religious scruples of Gelimer, who adhered to the Arian heresy, were + incompatible with the dignity of senator or patrician: but he received + from the emperor an ample estate in the province of Galatia, where the + abdicated monarch retired, with his family and friends, to a life of + peace, of affluence, and perhaps of content.<a href="#linknote-41.34" name="linknoteref-41.34" id="linknoteref-41.34">34</a> + The daughters of Hilderic + were entertained with the respectful tenderness due to their age and + misfortune; and Justinian and Theodora accepted the honor of educating and + enriching the female descendants of the great Theodosius. The bravest of + the Vandal youth were distributed into five squadrons of cavalry, which + adopted the name of their benefactor, and supported in the Persian wars + the glory of their ancestors. But these rare exceptions, the reward of + birth or valor, are insufficient to explain the fate of a nation, whose + numbers before a short and bloodless war, amounted to more than six + hundred thousand persons. After the exile of their king and nobles, the + servile crowd might purchase their safety by abjuring their character, + religion, and language; and their degenerate posterity would be insensibly + mingled with the common herd of African subjects. Yet even in the present + age, and in the heart of the Moorish tribes, a curious traveller has + discovered the white complexion and long flaxen hair of a northern race;<a href="#linknote-41.35" name="linknoteref-41.35" id="linknoteref-41.35">35</a> + and it was formerly believed, that the boldest of the Vandals fled beyond + the power, or even the knowledge, of the Romans, to enjoy their solitary + freedom on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.<a href="#linknote-41.36" name="linknoteref-41.36" id="linknoteref-41.36">36</a> + Africa had been their empire, it became their prison; nor could they + entertain a hope, or even a wish, of returning to the banks of the Elbe, + where their brethren, of a spirit less adventurous, still wandered in + their native forests. It was impossible for cowards to surmount the + barriers of unknown seas and hostile Barbarians; it was impossible for + brave men to expose their nakedness and defeat before the eyes of their + countrymen, to describe the kingdoms which they had lost, and to claim a + share of the humble inheritance, which, in a happier hour, they had + almost unanimously renounced.<a href="#linknote-41.37" name="linknoteref-41.37" id="linknoteref-41.37">37</a> + In the country between the Elbe and the Oder, several populous villages + of Lusatia are inhabited by the Vandals: they still preserve their + language, their customs, and the purity of their blood; support, with + some impatience, the Saxon or Prussian yoke; and serve, with secret and + voluntary allegiance, the descendant of their ancient kings, who in his + garb and present fortune is confounded with the meanest of his + vassals.<a href="#linknote-41.38" name="linknoteref-41.38" id="linknoteref-41.38">38</a> + The name and situation of this unhappy people might indicate + their descent from one common stock with the conquerors of Africa. But the + use of a Sclavonian dialect more clearly represent them as the last + remnant of the new colonies, who succeeded to the genuine Vandals, already + scattered or destroyed in the age of Procopius.<a href="#linknote-41.39" name="linknoteref-41.39" id="linknoteref-41.39">39</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.34" id="linknote-41.34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.34">return</a>)<br /> [ In the Bélisaire of + Marmontel, the king and the conqueror of Africa meet, sup, and converse, + without recollecting each other. It is surely a fault of that romance, + that not only the hero, but all to whom he had been so conspicuously + known, appear to have lost their eyes or their memory.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.35" id="linknote-41.35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.35">return</a>)<br /> [ Shaw, p. 59. Yet + since Procopius (l. ii. c. 13) speaks of a people of Mount Atlas, as + already distinguished by white bodies and yellow hair, the phenomenon + (which is likewise visible in the Andes of Peru, Buffon, tom. iii p. + 504), may naturally be ascribed to the elevation of the ground and the + temperature of the air.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.36" id="linknote-41.36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.36">return</a>)<br /> [ The geographer of + Ravenna (l. iii. c. xi. pp. 129, 130, 131, Paris, 1688) describes the + Mauritania <i>Gaditana</i> (opposite to Cadiz) ubi gens Vandalorum, a + Belisario devicta in Africâ, fugit, et nunquam comparuit.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.37" id="linknote-41.37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.37">return</a>)<br /> [ A single voice had + protested, and Genseric dismissed, without a formal answer, the Vandals + of Germany: but those of Africa derided his prudence, and affected to + despise the poverty of their forests (Procopius, Vandal. l. i. c. 22)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.38" id="linknote-41.38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.38">return</a>)<br /> [ From the mouth of + the great elector (in 1687) Tollius describes the secret royalty and + rebellious spirit of the Vandals of Brandenburgh. who could muster five + or six thousand soldiers who had procured some cannon, &c. (Itinerar. + Hungar. p. 42, apud Dubos. Hist, de la Monarchie Françoise, tom. i. pp. + 182, 183.) The veracity, not of the elector, but of Tollius himself, may + justly be suspected. * Note: The Wendish population of Brandenburgh are + now better known, but the Wends are clearly of the Sclavonian race; the + Vandals most probably Teutonic, and nearly allied to the Goths.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.39" id="linknote-41.39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.39">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius (l i. c. + 22) was in total darkness— οὒτε + μνήμη τις + οὒτε ὂνομα ἐς + ἐμε σωζέται. Under + the reign of Dagobert (A.D. 630) the Sclavonian tribes of the Sorbi and + Venedi already bordered on Thuringia (Mascou Hist. of the Germans, xv. 3, + 4, 5).] + </p> + <p> + If Belisarius had been tempted to hesitate in his allegiance, he might + have urged, even against the emperor himself, the indispensable duty of + saving Africa from an enemy more barbarous than the Vandals. The origin of + the Moors is involved in darkness; they were ignorant of the use of + letters.<a href="#linknote-41.40" name="linknoteref-41.40" id="linknoteref-41.40">40</a> + Their limits cannot be precisely defined; a boundless continent was open + to the Libyan shepherds; the change of seasons and pastures regulated + their motions; and their rude huts and slender furniture were transported + with the same case as their arms, their families, and their cattle, which + consisted of sheep, oxen, and camels.<a href="#linknote-41.41" name="linknoteref-41.41" id="linknoteref-41.41">41</a> + During the vigor of the Roman power, they observed a respectful distance + from Carthage and the sea-shore: under the feeble reign of the Vandals, + they invaded the cities of Numidia, occupied the sea-coast from Tangier + to Cæsarea, and pitched their camps, with impunity, in the fertile + province of Byzacium. The formidable strength and artful conduct of + Belisarius secured the neutrality of the Moorish princes, whose vanity + aspired to receive, in the emperor's name, the ensigns of their regal + dignity.<a href="#linknote-41.42" name="linknoteref-41.42" id="linknoteref-41.42">42</a> + They were astonished by the rapid event, and trembled in the presence of + their conqueror. But his approaching departure soon relieved the + apprehensions of a savage and superstitious people; the number of their + wives allowed them to disregard the safety of their infant hostages; and + when the Roman general hoisted sail in the port of Carthage, he heard the + cries, and almost beheld the flames, of the desolated province. Yet he + persisted in his resolution, and leaving only a part of his guards to + reënforce the feeble garrisons, he intrusted the command of Africa to the + eunuch Solomon,<a href="#linknote-41.43" name="linknoteref-41.43" id="linknoteref-41.43">43</a> + who proved himself not unworthy to be the successor of Belisarius. In the + first invasion, some detachments, with two officers of merit, were + surprised and intercepted; but Solomon speedily assembled his troops, + marched from Carthage into the heart of the country, and in two great + battles destroyed sixty thousand of the Barbarians. The Moors depended on + their multitude, their swiftness, and their inaccessible mountains; and + the aspect and smell of their camels are said to have produced some + confusion in the Roman cavalry.<a href="#linknote-41.44" name="linknoteref-41.44" id="linknoteref-41.44">44</a> + But as soon as they were commanded to dismount, they derided this + contemptible obstacle: as soon as the columns ascended the hills, the + naked and disorderly crowd was dazzled by glittering arms and regular + evolutions; and the menace of their female prophets was repeatedly + fulfilled, that the Moors should be discomfited by a <i>beardless</i> + antagonist. The victorious eunuch advanced thirteen days journey from + Carthage, to besiege Mount Aurasius,<a href="#linknote-41.45" name="linknoteref-41.45" id="linknoteref-41.45">45</a> + the citadel, and at the same time the garden, of Numidia. That range of + hills, a branch of the great Atlas, contains, within a circumference of + one hundred and twenty miles, a rare variety of soil and climate; the + intermediate valleys and elevated plains abound with rich pastures, + perpetual streams, and fruits of a delicious taste and uncommon + magnitude. This fair solitude is decorated with the ruins of Lambesa, a + Roman city, once the seat of a legion, and the residence of forty + thousand inhabitants. The Ionic temple of Æsculapius is encompassed with + Moorish huts; and the cattle now graze in the midst of an amphitheatre, + under the shade of Corinthian columns. A sharp perpendicular rock rises + above the level of the mountain, where the African princes deposited + their wives and treasure; and a proverb is familiar to the Arabs, that + the man may eat fire who dares to attack the craggy cliffs and + inhospitable natives of Mount Aurasius. This hardy enterprise was twice + attempted by the eunuch Solomon: from the first, he retreated with some + disgrace; and in the second, his patience and provisions were almost + exhausted; and he must again have retired, if he had not yielded to the + impetuous courage of his troops, who audaciously scaled, to the + astonishment of the Moors, the mountain, the hostile camp, and the summit + of the Geminian rock. A citadel was erected to secure this important + conquest, and to remind the Barbarians of their defeat; and as Solomon + pursued his march to the west, the long-lost province of Mauritanian + Sitifi was again annexed to the Roman empire. The Moorish war continued + several years after the departure of Belisarius; but the laurels which he + resigned to a faithful lieutenant may be justly ascribed to his own + triumph. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.40" id="linknote-41.40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.40">return</a>)<br /> [ Sallust represents + the Moors as a remnant of the army of Heracles (de Bell. Jugurth. c. 21), + and Procopius (Vandal. l. ii. c. 10), as the posterity of the Cananæans + who fled from the robber Joshua, (ληστὴς) + He quotes two columns, with a Phœnician inscription. I believe in the + columns—I doubt the inscription—and I reject the pedigree. * + Note: It has been supposed that Procopius is the only, or at least the + most ancient author who has spoken of this strange inscription, of which + one may be tempted to attribute the invention to Procopius himself. Yet + it is mentioned in the Armenian history of Moses of Chorene, (l. i. c. + 18,) who lived and wrote more than a century before Procopius. This is + sufficient to show that an earlier date must be assigned to this + tradition. The same inscription is mentioned by Suidas, (sub voc. + Χανάαν), no doubt from Procopius. + According to most of the Arabian writers, who adopted a nearly similar + tradition, the indigenes of Northern Africa were the people of Palestine + expelled by David, who passed into Africa, under the guidance of Goliath, + whom they call Djalout. It is impossible to admit traditions which bear a + character so fabulous. St. Martin, t. xi. p. 324.—Unless my memory + greatly deceives me, I have read in the works of Lightfoot a similar + Jewish tradition; but I have mislaid the reference, and cannot recover + the passage.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.41" id="linknote-41.41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.41">return</a>)<br /> [ Virgil (Georgic. + iii. 339) and Pomponius Mela (i. 8) describe the wandering life of the + African shepherds, similar to that of the Arabs and Tartars; and Shaw (p. + 222) is the best commentator on the poet and the geographer.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.42" id="linknote-41.42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.42">return</a>)<br /> [ The customary gifts + were a sceptre, a crown or cap, a white cloak, a figured tunic and shoes, + all adorned with gold and silver; nor were these precious metals less + acceptable in the shape of coin, (Procop. Vandal. l. i. c. 25).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.43" id="linknote-41.43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.43">return</a>)<br /> [ See the African + government and warfare of Solomon, in Procopius (Vandal. l. ii. c. 10, + 11, 12, 13, 19, 20). He was recalled, and again restored; and his last + victory dates in the xiiith year of Justinian (A.D. 539). An accident in + his childhood had rendered him a eunuch (l. l. c. 11): the other Roman + generals were amply furnished with beards + πώγωνος + ἐμπιπλάμενοι + (l. ii. c. 8).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.44" id="linknote-41.44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.44">return</a>)<br /> [ This natural + antipathy of the horse for the camel is affirmed by the ancients + (Xenophon. Cyropæd. l. vi. p. 488, l. vii. pp. 483, 492, edit. + Hutchinson. Polyæn. Stratagem, vii. 6, Plin. Hist. Nat. viii. 26, Ælian, + de Natur. Annal. l. iii. c. 7); but it is disproved by daily experience, + and derided by the best judges, the Orientals (Voyage d’Olearius, p. + 553).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.45" id="linknote-41.45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.45">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius is the + first who describes Mount Aurasius (Vandal. l. ii. c. 13. De Edific. l. + vi. c. 7). He may be compared with Leo Africanus (dell’ Africa, + parte v., in Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 77, recto). Marmol (tom. ii. p. 430), + and Shaw (pp. 56-59).] + </p> + <p> + The experience of past faults, which may sometimes correct the mature age + of an individual, is seldom profitable to the successive generations of + mankind. The nations of antiquity, careless of each other's safety, were + separately vanquished and enslaved by the Romans. This awful lesson might + have instructed the Barbarians of the West to oppose, with timely counsels + and confederate arms, the unbounded ambition of Justinian. Yet the same + error was repeated, the same consequences were felt, and the Goths, both + of Italy and Spain, insensible of their approaching danger, beheld with + indifference, and even with joy, the rapid downfall of the Vandals. After + the failure of the royal line, Theudes, a valiant and powerful chief, + ascended the throne of Spain, which he had formerly administered in the + name of Theodoric and his infant grandson. Under his command, the + Visigoths besieged the fortress of Ceuta on the African coast: but, while + they spent the Sabbath day in peace and devotion, the pious security of + their camp was invaded by a sally from the town; and the king himself, + with some difficulty and danger, escaped from the hands of a sacrilegious + enemy.<a href="#linknote-41.46" name="linknoteref-41.46" id="linknoteref-41.46">46</a> + It was not long before his pride and resentment were gratified by a + suppliant embassy from the unfortunate Gelimer, who implored, in his + distress, the aid of the Spanish monarch. But instead of sacrificing these + unworthy passions to the dictates of generosity and prudence, Theudes + amused the ambassadors till he was secretly informed of the loss of + Carthage, and then dismissed them with obscure and contemptuous advice, to + seek in their native country a true knowledge of the state of the + Vandals.<a href="#linknote-41.47" name="linknoteref-41.47" id="linknoteref-41.47">47</a> + The long continuance of the Italian war delayed the punishment of the + Visigoths; and the eyes of Theudes were closed before they tasted the + fruits of his mistaken policy. After his death, the sceptre of Spain was + disputed by a civil war. The weaker candidate solicited the protection of + Justinian, and ambitiously subscribed a treaty of alliance, which deeply + wounded the independence and happiness of his country. Several cities, + both on the ocean and the Mediterranean, were ceded to the Roman troops, + who afterwards refused to evacuate those pledges, as it should seem, + either of safety or payment; and as they were fortified by perpetual + supplies from Africa, they maintained their impregnable stations, for the + mischievous purpose of inflaming the civil and religious factions of the + Barbarians. Seventy years elapsed before this painful thorn could be + extirpated from the bosom of the monarchy; and as long as the emperors + retained any share of these remote and useless possessions, their vanity + might number Spain in the list of their provinces, and the successors of + Alaric in the rank of their vassals.<a href="#linknote-41.48" name="linknoteref-41.48" id="linknoteref-41.48">48</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.46" id="linknote-41.46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.46">return</a>)<br /> [ Isidor. Chron. p. + 722, edit. Grot. Mariana, Hist. Hispan. l. v. c. 8, p. 173. Yet, + according to Isidore, the siege of Ceuta, and the death of Theudes, + happened, A. Æ. H. 586—A.D. 548; and the place was defended, not by + the Vandals, but by the Romans.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.47" id="linknote-41.47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.47">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius. Vandal. + l. i, c. 24.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.48" id="linknote-41.48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.48">return</a>)<br /> [ See the original + Chronicle of Isidore, and the vth and vith books of the History of Spain + by Mariana. The Romans were finally expelled by Suintila, king of the + Visigoths (A.D. 621–620), after their reunion to the Catholic church.] + </p> + <p> + The error of the Goths who reigned in Italy was less excusable than that + of their Spanish brethren, and their punishment was still more immediate + and terrible. From a motive of private revenge, they enabled their most + dangerous enemy to destroy their most valuable ally. A sister of the great + Theodoric had been given in marriage to Thrasimond, the African king:<a href="#linknote-41.49" name="linknoteref-41.49" id="linknoteref-41.49">49</a> + on this occasion, the fortress of Lilybæum<a href="#linknote-41.50" name="linknoteref-41.50" id="linknoteref-41.50">50</a> + in Sicily was resigned to the Vandals; and the princess Amalafrida was + attended by a martial train of one thousand nobles, and five thousand + Gothic soldiers, who signalized their valor in the Moorish wars. Their + merit was overrated by themselves, and perhaps neglected by the Vandals; + they viewed the country with envy, and the conquerors with disdain; but + their real or fictitious conspiracy was prevented by a massacre; the + Goths were oppressed, and the captivity of Amalafrida was soon followed + by her secret and suspicious death. The eloquent pen of Cassiodorus was + employed to reproach the Vandal court with the cruel violation of every + social and public duty; but the vengeance which he threatened in the name + of his sovereign might be derided with impunity, as long as Africa was + protected by the sea, and the Goths were destitute of a navy. In the + blind impotence of grief and indignation, they joyfully saluted the + approach of the Romans, entertained the fleet of Belisarius in the ports + of Sicily, and were speedily delighted or alarmed by the surprising + intelligence, that their revenge was executed beyond the measure of their + hopes, or perhaps of their wishes. To their friendship the emperor was + indebted for the kingdom of Africa, and the Goths might reasonably think, + that they were entitled to resume the possession of a barren rock, so + recently separated as a nuptial gift from the island of Sicily. They were + soon undeceived by the haughty mandate of Belisarius, which excited their + tardy and unavailing repentance. “The city and promontory of + Lilybæum,” said the Roman general, “belonged to the Vandals, + and I claim them by the right of conquest. Your submission may deserve + the favor of the emperor; your obstinacy will provoke his displeasure, + and must kindle a war, that can terminate only in your utter ruin. If you + compel us to take up arms, we shall contend, not to regain the possession + of a single city, but to deprive you of all the provinces which you + unjustly withhold from their lawful sovereign.” A nation of two + hundred thousand soldiers might have smiled at the vain menace of + Justinian and his lieutenant: but a spirit of discord and disaffection + prevailed in Italy, and the Goths supported, with reluctance, the + indignity of a female reign.<a href="#linknote-41.51" name="linknoteref-41.51" id="linknoteref-41.51">51</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.49" id="linknote-41.49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.49">return</a>)<br /> [ See the marriage and + fate of Amalafrida in Procopius (Vandal. l. i. c. 8, 9), and in + Cassiodorus (Var. ix. 1) the expostulation of her royal brother. Compare + likewise the Chronicle of Victor Tunnunensis.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.50" id="linknote-41.50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.50">return</a>)<br /> [ Lilybæum was built + by the Carthaginians, Olymp. xcv. 4; and in the first Punic war, a strong + situation, and excellent harbor, rendered that place an important object + to both nations.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.51" id="linknote-41.51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.51">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare the + different passages of Procopius (Vandal. l. ii. c. 5, Gothic, l. i c. + 3).] + </p> + <p> + The birth of Amalasontha, the regent and queen of Italy,<a href="#linknote-41.52" name="linknoteref-41.52" id="linknoteref-41.52">52</a> + united the two most illustrious families of the Barbarians. Her mother, + the sister of Clovis, was descended from the long-haired kings of the + <i>Merovingian</i> race;<a href="#linknote-41.53" name="linknoteref-41.53" id="linknoteref-41.53">53</a> and the regal succession of the <i>Amali</i> was illustrated in the + eleventh generation, by her father, the great Theodoric, whose merit + might have ennobled a plebeian origin. The sex of his daughter excluded + her from the Gothic throne; but his vigilant tenderness for his family + and his people discovered the last heir of the royal line, whose + ancestors had taken refuge in Spain; and the fortunate Eutharic was + suddenly exalted to the rank of a consul and a prince. He enjoyed only a + short time the charms of Amalasontha, and the hopes of the succession; + and his widow, after the death of her husband and father, was left the + guardian of her son Athalaric, and the kingdom of Italy. At the age of + about twenty-eight years, the endowments of her mind and person had + attained their perfect maturity. Her beauty, which, in the apprehension + of Theodora herself, might have disputed the conquest of an emperor, was + animated by manly sense, activity, and resolution. Education and + experience had cultivated her talents; her philosophic studies were + exempt from vanity; and, though she expressed herself with equal elegance + and ease in the Greek, the Latin, and the Gothic tongue, the daughter of + Theodoric maintained in her counsels a discreet and impenetrable silence. + By a faithful imitation of the virtues, she revived the prosperity, of + his reign; while she strove, with pious care, to expiate the faults, and + to obliterate the darker memory of his declining age. The children of + Boethius and Symmachus were restored to their paternal inheritance; her + extreme lenity never consented to inflict any corporal or pecuniary + penalties on her Roman subjects; and she generously despised the clamors + of the Goths, who, at the end of forty years, still considered the people + of Italy as their slaves or their enemies. Her salutary measures were + directed by the wisdom, and celebrated by the eloquence, of Cassiodorus; + she solicited and deserved the friendship of the emperor; and the + kingdoms of Europe respected, both in peace and war, the majesty of the + Gothic throne. But the future happiness of the queen and of Italy + depended on the education of her son; who was destined, by his birth, to + support the different and almost incompatible characters of the chief of + a Barbarian camp, and the first magistrate of a civilized nation. From + the age of ten years,<a href="#linknote-41.54" name="linknoteref-41.54" id="linknoteref-41.54">54</a> + Athalaric was diligently instructed in the arts and sciences, either + useful or ornamental for a Roman prince; and three venerable Goths were + chosen to instil the principles of honor and virtue into the mind of + their young king. But the pupil who is insensible of the benefits, must + abhor the restraints, of education; and the solicitude of the queen, + which affection rendered anxious and severe, offended the untractable + nature of her son and his subjects. On a solemn festival, when the Goths + were assembled in the palace of Ravenna, the royal youth escaped from his + mother's apartment, and, with tears of pride and anger, complained of a + blow which his stubborn disobedience had provoked her to inflict. The + Barbarians resented the indignity which had been offered to their king; + accused the regent of conspiring against his life and crown; and + imperiously demanded, that the grandson of Theodoric should be rescued + from the dastardly discipline of women and pedants, and educated, like a + valiant Goth, in the society of his equals and the glorious ignorance of + his ancestors. To this rude clamor, importunately urged as the voice of + the nation, Amalasontha was compelled to yield her reason, and the + dearest wishes of her heart. The king of Italy was abandoned to wine, to + women, and to rustic sports; and the indiscreet contempt of the + ungrateful youth betrayed the mischievous designs of his favorites and + her enemies. Encompassed with domestic foes, she entered into a secret + negotiation with the emperor Justinian; obtained the assurance of a + friendly reception, and had actually deposited at Dyrachium, in Epirus, a + treasure of forty thousand pounds of gold. Happy would it have been for + her fame and safety, if she had calmly retired from barbarous faction to + the peace and splendor of Constantinople. But the mind of Amalasontha was + inflamed by ambition and revenge; and while her ships lay at anchor in + the port, she waited for the success of a crime which her passions + excused or applauded as an act of justice. Three of the most dangerous + malcontents had been separately removed under the pretence of trust and + command, to the frontiers of Italy: they were assassinated by her private + emissaries; and the blood of these noble Goths rendered the queen-mother + absolute in the court of Ravenna, and justly odious to a free people. But + if she had lamented the disorders of her son she soon wept his + irreparable loss; and the death of Athalaric, who, at the age of sixteen, + was consumed by premature intemperance, left her destitute of any firm + support or legal authority. Instead of submitting to the laws of her + country which held as a fundamental maxim, that the succession could + never pass from the lance to the distaff, the daughter of Theodoric + conceived the impracticable design of sharing, with one of her cousins, + the regal title, and of reserving in her own hands the substance of + supreme power. He received the proposal with profound respect and + affected gratitude; and the eloquent Cassiodorus announced to the senate + and the emperor, that Amalasontha and Theodatus had ascended the throne + of Italy. His birth (for his mother was the sister of Theodoric) might be + considered as an imperfect title; and the choice of Amalasontha was more + strongly directed by her contempt of his avarice and pusillanimity which + had deprived him of the love of the Italians, and the esteem of the + Barbarians. But Theodatus was exasperated by the contempt which he + deserved: her justice had repressed and reproached the oppression which + he exercised against his Tuscan neighbors; and the principal Goths, + united by common guilt and resentment, conspired to instigate his slow + and timid disposition. The letters of congratulation were scarcely + despatched before the queen of Italy was imprisoned in a small island of + the Lake of Bolsena,<a href="#linknote-41.55" name="linknoteref-41.55" id="linknoteref-41.55">55</a> + where, after a short confinement, she was strangled in the bath, by the + order, or with the connivance of the new king, who instructed his + turbulent subjects to shed the blood of their sovereigns. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.52" id="linknote-41.52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.52">return</a>)<br /> [ For the reign and + character of Amalasontha, see Procopius (Gothic, l. i. c. 2, 3, 4, and + Anecdot. c. 16, with the Notes of Alemannus), Cassiodorus (Var. viii. ix. + x. and xi, 1), and Jornandes (De Rebus Geticis, c. 59, and De Successione + Regnorum. in Muratori, tom. i, p. 24).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.53" id="linknote-41.53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.53">return</a>)<br /> [ The marriage of + Theodoric with Audefleda, the sister of Clovis, may be placed in the year + 495, soon after the conquest of Italy (De Buat, Hist, des Peuples, tom. + ix. p. 213). The nuptials of Eutharic and Amalasontha were celebrated in + 515 (Cassiodor. in Chron. p. 453).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.54" id="linknote-41.54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.54">return</a>)<br /> [ At the death of + Theodoric, his grandson Athalaric is described by Procopius as a boy + about eight years old—ὀκτὼ + γεγονὼς ἔτη. + Cassiodorus, with authority and reason, adds two years to his + age—infantulum adhuc vix decennem.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.55" id="linknote-41.55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.55">return</a>)<br /> [ The lake, from the + neighboring towns of Etruria, was styled either Vulsiniensis (now of + Bolsena) or Tarquiniensis. It is surrounded with white rocks, and + stored with fish and wild-fowl. The younger Pliny (Epist. ii. 96) + celebrates two woody islands that floated on its waters: if a fable, how + credulous the ancients! if a fact, how careless the moderns! Yet, since + Pliny, the island may have been fixed by new and gradual accessions.] + </p> + <p> + Justinian beheld with joy the dissensions of the Goths; and the mediation + of an ally concealed and promoted the ambitious views of the conqueror. + His ambassadors, in their public audience, demanded the fortress of + Lilybæum, ten Barbarian fugitives, and a just compensation for the pillage + of a small town on the Illyrian borders; but they secretly negotiated with + Theodatus to betray the province of Tuscany, and tempted Amalasontha to + extricate herself from danger and perplexity, by a free surrender of the + kingdom of Italy. A false and servile epistle was subscribed, by the + reluctant hand of the captive queen: but the confession of the Roman + senators, who were sent to Constantinople, revealed the truth of her + deplorable situation; and Justinian, by the voice of a new ambassador, + most powerfully interceded for her life and liberty.<a href="#linknote-41.55a" name="linknoteref-41.55a" id="linknoteref-41.55a">55a</a> + Yet the secret instructions of the same minister were adapted to serve + the cruel jealousy of Theodora, who dreaded the presence and superior + charms of a rival: he prompted, with artful and ambiguous hints, the + execution of a crime so useful to the Romans;<a href="#linknote-41.56" name="linknoteref-41.56" id="linknoteref-41.56">56</a> + received the intelligence of her death with grief and indignation, and + denounced, in his master's name, immortal war against the perfidious + assassin. In Italy, as well as in Africa, the guilt of a usurper appeared + to justify the arms of Justinian; but the forces which he prepared, were + insufficient for the subversion of a mighty kingdom, if their feeble + numbers had not been multiplied by the name, the spirit, and the conduct, + of a hero. A chosen troop of guards, who served on horseback, and were + armed with lances and bucklers, attended the person of Belisarius; his + cavalry was composed of two hundred Huns, three hundred Moors, and four + thousand <i>confederates</i>, and the infantry consisted of only three + thousand Isaurians. Steering the same course as in his former expedition, + the Roman consul cast anchor before Catana in Sicily, to survey the + strength of the island, and to decide whether he should attempt the + conquest, or peaceably pursue his voyage for the African coast. He found + a fruitful land and a friendly people. Notwithstanding the decay of + agriculture, Sicily still supplied the granaries of Rome: the farmers + were graciously exempted from the oppression of military quarters; and + the Goths, who trusted the defence of the island to the inhabitants, had + some reason to complain, that their confidence was ungratefully betrayed. + Instead of soliciting and expecting the aid of the king of Italy, they + yielded to the first summons a cheerful obedience; and this province, the + first fruits of the Punic war, was again, after a long separation, united + to the Roman empire.<a href="#linknote-41.57" name="linknoteref-41.57" id="linknoteref-41.57">57</a> + The Gothic garrison of Palermo, which alone attempted to resist, was + reduced, after a short siege, by a singular stratagem. Belisarius + introduced his ships into the deepest recess of the harbor; their boats + were laboriously hoisted with ropes and pulleys to the top-mast head, and + he filled them with archers, who, from that superior station, commanded + the ramparts of the city. After this easy, though successful campaign, + the conqueror entered Syracuse in triumph, at the head of his victorious + bands, distributing gold medals to the people, on the day which so + gloriously terminated the year of the consulship. He passed the winter + season in the palace of ancient kings, amidst the ruins of a Grecian + colony, which once extended to a circumference of two-and-twenty + miles:<a href="#linknote-41.58" name="linknoteref-41.58" id="linknoteref-41.58">58</a> + but in the spring, about the festival of Easter, the prosecution of his + designs was interrupted by a dangerous revolt of the African forces. + Carthage was saved by the presence of Belisarius, who suddenly landed + with a thousand guards.<a href="#linknote-41.58a" name="linknoteref-41.58a" id="linknoteref-41.58a">58a</a> + Two thousand soldiers of doubtful faith returned to the standard of their + old commander: and he marched, without hesitation, above fifty miles, to + seek an enemy whom he affected to pity and despise. Eight thousand rebels + trembled at his approach; they were routed at the first onset, by the + dexterity of their master: and this ignoble victory would have restored + the peace of Africa, if the conqueror had not been hastily recalled to + Sicily, to appease a sedition which was kindled during his absence in his + own camp.<a href="#linknote-41.59" name="linknoteref-41.59" id="linknoteref-41.59">59</a> + Disorder and disobedience were the common malady of the times; + the genius to command, and the virtue to obey, resided only in the mind + of Belisarius. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.55a" id="linknote-41.55a"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55a (<a href="#linknoteref-41.55a">return</a>)<br /> [ Amalasontha was + not alive when this new ambassador, Peter of Thessalonica, arrived in + Italy: he could not then secretly contribute to her death. “But + (says M. de Sainte Croix) it is not beyond probability that Theodora had + entered into some criminal intrigue with Gundelina: for that wife of + Theodatus wrote to implore her protection, reminding her of the + confidence which she and her husband had always placed in her former + promises.” See on Amalasontha and the authors of her death an + excellent dissertation of M. de Sainte Croix in the Archives Littéraires + published by M. Vaudenbourg, No. 50, t. xvii. p. 216.—G.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.56" id="linknote-41.56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.56">return</a>)<br /> [ Yet Procopius + discredits his own evidence (Anecdot. c. 16) by confessing that in his + public history he had not spoken the truth. See the epistles from Queen + Gundelina to the Empress Theodora (Var. x. 20, 21, 23, and observe a + suspicious word, de illâ personà, &c.), with the elaborate Commentary + of Buat (tom. x. pp. 177–185).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.57" id="linknote-41.57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.57">return</a>)<br /> [ For the conquest of + Sicily, compare the narrative of Procopius with the complaints of Totila + (Gothic. l. i. c. 5. l. iii. c. 16). The Gothic queen had lately relieved + that thankless island (Var. ix. 10, 11).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.58" id="linknote-41.58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.58">return</a>)<br /> [ The ancient + magnitude and splendor of the five quarters of Syracuse are delineated by + Cicero (in Verrem. actio ii. l. iv. c. 52, 53), Strabo (l. vi. p. 415), + and D’Orville Sicula (tom. ii. pp. 174–202). The new city, restored + by Augustus, shrunk towards the island.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.58a" id="linknote-41.58a"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58a (<a href="#linknoteref-41.58a">return</a>)<br /> [ A hundred (there + was no room on board for more). Gibbon has again been misled by Cousin’s + translation. Lord Mahon, p. 157—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.59" id="linknote-41.59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.59">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius (Vandal. + l. ii. c. 14, 15) so clearly relates the return of Belirarius into Sicily + (p. 146, edit. Hoeschelii), that I am astonished at the strange + misapprehension and reproaches of a learned critic (Œuvres de la Mothe le + Vayer, tom, viii. pp. 162, 163).] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap41.3"></a> +Chapter XLI: Conquests Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part +III.</h2> + + <p> + Although Theodatus descended from a race of heroes, he was ignorant of the + art, and averse to the dangers, of war. Although he had studied the + writings of Plato and Tully, philosophy was incapable of purifying his + mind from the basest passions, avarice and fear. He had purchased a + sceptre by ingratitude and murder: at the first menace of an enemy, he + degraded his own majesty and that of a nation, which already disdained + their unworthy sovereign. Astonished by the recent example of Gelimer, he + saw himself dragged in chains through the streets of Constantinople: the + terrors which Belisarius inspired were heightened by the eloquence of + Peter, the Byzantine ambassador; and that bold and subtle advocate + persuaded him to sign a treaty, too ignominious to become the foundation + of a lasting peace. It was stipulated, that in the acclamations of the + Roman people, the name of the emperor should be always proclaimed before + that of the Gothic king; and that as often as the statue of Theodatus was + erected in brass on marble, the divine image of Justinian should be placed + on its right hand. Instead of conferring, the king of Italy was reduced to + solicit, the honors of the senate; and the consent of the emperor was made + indispensable before he could execute, against a priest or senator, the + sentence either of death or confiscation. The feeble monarch resigned the + possession of Sicily; offered, as the annual mark of his dependence, a + crown of gold of the weight of three hundred pounds; and promised to + supply, at the requisition of his sovereign, three thousand Gothic + auxiliaries, for the service of the empire. Satisfied with these + extraordinary concessions, the successful agent of Justinian hastened his + journey to Constantinople; but no sooner had he reached the Alban villa, + <a href="#linknote-41.60" name="linknoteref-41.60" id="linknoteref-41.60">60</a> + than he was recalled by the anxiety of Theodatus; and the dialogue which + passed between the king and the ambassador deserves to be represented in + its original simplicity. “Are you of opinion that the emperor will ratify + this treaty? Perhaps. If he refuses, what consequence will ensue? War. + Will such a war, be just or reasonable? Most assuredly: every to his + character. What is your meaning? You are a philosopher—Justinian is + emperor of the Romans: it would all become the disciple of Plato to shed + the blood of thousands in his private quarrel: the successor of Augustus + should vindicate his rights, and recover by arms the ancient provinces of + his empire.” This reasoning might not convince, but it was sufficient to + alarm and subdue the weakness of Theodatus; and he soon descended to his + last offer, that for the poor equivalent of a pension of forty-eight + thousand pounds sterling, he would resign the kingdom of the Goths and + Italians, and spend the remainder of his days in the innocent pleasures of + philosophy and agriculture. + </p> + <p> + Both treaties were intrusted to the hands of the ambassador, on the frail + security of an oath not to produce the second till the first had been + positively rejected. The event may be easily foreseen: Justinian required + and accepted the abdication of the Gothic king. His indefatigable agent + returned from Constantinople to Ravenna, with ample instructions; and a + fair epistle, which praised the wisdom and generosity of the royal + philosopher, granted his pension, with the assurance of such honors as a + subject and a Catholic might enjoy; and wisely referred the final + execution of the treaty to the presence and authority of Belisarius. But + in the interval of suspense, two Roman generals, who had entered the + province of Dalmatia, were defeated and slain by the Gothic troops. From + blind and abject despair, Theodatus capriciously rose to groundless and + fatal presumption, <a href="#linknote-41.61" name="linknoteref-41.61" + id="linknoteref-41.61">61</a> and dared to receive, with menace and + contempt, the ambassador of Justinian; who claimed his promise, solicited + the allegiance of his subjects, and boldly asserted the inviolable + privilege of his own character. The march of Belisarius dispelled this + visionary pride; and as the first campaign <a href="#linknote-41.62" + name="linknoteref-41.62" id="linknoteref-41.62">62</a> was employed in the + reduction of Sicily, the invasion of Italy is applied by Procopius to the + second year of the Gothic war. <a href="#linknote-41.63" + name="linknoteref-41.63" id="linknoteref-41.63">63</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.60" id="linknote-41.60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.60">return</a>)<br /> [ The ancient Alba was + ruined in the first age of Rome. On the same spot, or at least in the + neighborhood, successively arose. 1. The villa of Pompey, &c.; 2. A + camp of the Praetorian cohorts; 3. The modern episcopal city of Albanum or + Albano. (Procop. Goth. l. ii. c. 4 Oluver. Ital. Antiq tom. ii. p. 914.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.61" id="linknote-41.61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.61">return</a>)<br /> [ A Sibylline oracle was + ready to pronounce—Africa capta munitus cum nato peribit; a sentence + of portentous ambiguity, (Gothic. l. i. c. 7,) which has been published in + unknown characters by Opsopaeus, an editor of the oracles. The Pere + Maltret has promised a commentary; but all his promises have been vain and + fruitless.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.62" id="linknote-41.62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.62">return</a>)<br /> [ In his chronology, + imitated, in some degree, from Thucydides, Procopius begins each spring + the years of Justinian and of the Gothic war; and his first aera coincides + with the first of April, 535, and not 536, according to the Annals of + Baronius, (Pagi, Crit. tom. ii. p. 555, who is followed by Muratori and + the editors of Sigonius.) Yet, in some passages, we are at a loss to + reconcile the dates of Procopius with himself, and with the Chronicle of + Marcellinus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.63" id="linknote-41.63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.63">return</a>)<br /> [ The series of the first + Gothic war is represented by Procopius (l. i. c. 5—29, l. ii. c. l—30, + l. iii. c. l) till the captivity of Vitigas. With the aid of Sigonius + (Opp. tom. i. de Imp. Occident. l. xvii. xviii.) and Muratori, (Annali + d’Itaia, tom. v.,) I have gleaned some few additional facts.] + </p> + <p> + After Belisarius had left sufficient garrisons in Palermo and Syracuse, he + embarked his troops at Messina, and landed them, without resistance, on + the opposite shores of Rhegium. A Gothic prince, who had married the + daughter of Theodatus, was stationed with an army to guard the entrance of + Italy; but he imitated, without scruple, the example of a sovereign + faithless to his public and private duties. The perfidious Ebermor + deserted with his followers to the Roman camp, and was dismissed to enjoy + the servile honors of the Byzantine court. <a href="#linknote-41.64" + name="linknoteref-41.64" id="linknoteref-41.64">64</a> From Rhegium to + Naples, the fleet and army of Belisarius, almost always in view of each + other, advanced near three hundred miles along the sea-coast. The people + of Bruttium, Lucania, and Campania, who abhorred the name and religion of + the Goths, embraced the specious excuse, that their ruined walls were + incapable of defence: the soldiers paid a just equivalent for a plentiful + market; and curiosity alone interrupted the peaceful occupations of the + husbandman or artificer. Naples, which has swelled to a great and populous + capital, long cherished the language and manners of a Grecian colony; <a + href="#linknote-41.65" name="linknoteref-41.65" id="linknoteref-41.65">65</a> + and the choice of Virgil had ennobled this elegant retreat, which + attracted the lovers of repose and study, from the noise, the smoke, and the + laborious opulence of Rome.<a href="#linknote-41.66" + name="linknoteref-41.66" id="linknoteref-41.66">66</a> As soon as the place + was invested by sea and land, Belisarius gave audience to the deputies of + the people, who exhorted him to disregard a conquest unworthy of his arms, + to seek the Gothic king in a field of battle, and, after his victory, to + claim, as the sovereign of Rome, the allegiance of the dependent cities. + “When I treat with my enemies,” replied the Roman chief, with a haughty + smile, “I am more accustomed to give than to receive counsel; but I hold + in one hand inevitable ruin, and in the other peace and freedom, such as + Sicily now enjoys.” The impatience of delay urged him to grant the most + liberal terms; his honor secured their performance: but Naples was divided + into two factions; and the Greek democracy was inflamed by their orators, + who, with much spirit and some truth, represented to the multitude that + the Goths would punish their defection, and that Belisarius himself must + esteem their loyalty and valor. Their deliberations, however, were not + perfectly free: the city was commanded by eight hundred Barbarians, whose + wives and children were detained at Ravenna as the pledge of their + fidelity; and even the Jews, who were rich and numerous, resisted, with + desperate enthusiasm, the intolerant laws of Justinian. In a much later + period, the circumference of Naples <a href="#linknote-41.67" + name="linknoteref-41.67" id="linknoteref-41.67">67</a> measured only two + thousand three hundred and sixty three paces: <a href="#linknote-41.68" + name="linknoteref-41.68" id="linknoteref-41.68">68</a> the fortifications + were defended by precipices or the sea; when the aqueducts were + intercepted, a supply of water might be drawn from wells and fountains; + and the stock of provisions was sufficient to consume the patience of the + besiegers. At the end of twenty days, that of Belisarius was almost + exhausted, and he had reconciled himself to the disgrace of abandoning the + siege, that he might march, before the winter season, against Rome and the + Gothic king. But his anxiety was relieved by the bold curiosity of an + Isaurian, who explored the dry channel of an aqueduct, and secretly + reported, that a passage might be perforated to introduce a file of armed + soldiers into the heart of the city. When the work had been silently + executed, the humane general risked the discovery of his secret by a last + and fruitless admonition of the impending danger. In the darkness of the + night, four hundred Romans entered the aqueduct, raised themselves by a + rope, which they fastened to an olive-tree, into the house or garden of a + solitary matron, sounded their trumpets, surprised the sentinels, and gave + admittance to their companions, who on all sides scaled the walls, and + burst open the gates of the city. Every crime which is punished by social + justice was practised as the rights of war; the Huns were distinguished by + cruelty and sacrilege, and Belisarius alone appeared in the streets and + churches of Naples to moderate the calamities which he predicted. “The + gold and silver,” he repeatedly exclaimed, “are the just rewards of your + valor. But spare the inhabitants; they are Christians, they are + suppliants, they are now your fellow-subjects. Restore the children to + their parents, the wives to their husbands; and show them by your + generosity of what friends they have obstinately deprived themselves.” The + city was saved by the virtue and authority of its conqueror; <a + href="#linknote-41.69" name="linknoteref-41.69" id="linknoteref-41.69">69</a> + and when the Neapolitans returned to their houses, they found some + consolation in the secret enjoyment of their hidden treasures. The + Barbarian garrison enlisted in the service of the emperor; Apulia and + Calabria, delivered from the odious presence of the Goths, acknowledged + his dominion; and the tusks of the Calydonian boar, which were still shown + at Beneventum, are curiously described by the historian of Belisarius. <a + href="#linknote-41.70" name="linknoteref-41.70" id="linknoteref-41.70">70</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.64" id="linknote-41.64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.64">return</a>)<br /> [ Jornandes, de Rebus + Geticis, c. 60, p. 702, edit. Grot., and tom. i. p. 221. Muratori, de + Success, Regn. p. 241.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.65" id="linknote-41.65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.65">return</a>)<br /> [ Nero (says Tacitus, + Annal. xv. 35) Neapolim quasi Graecam urbem delegit. One hundred and fifty + years afterwards, in the time of Septimius Severus, the Hellenism of the + Neapolitans is praised by Philostratus. (Icon. l. i. p. 763, edit. + Olear.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.66" id="linknote-41.66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.66">return</a>)<br /> [ The otium of Naples is + praised by the Roman poets, by Virgil, Horace, Silius Italicus, and + Statius, (Cluver. Ital. Ant. l. iv. p. 1149, 1150.) In an elegant + epistles, (Sylv. l. iii. 5, p. 94—98, edit. Markland,) Statius + undertakes the difficult task of drawing his wife from the pleasures of + Rome to that calm retreat.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.67" id="linknote-41.67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.67">return</a>)<br /> [ This measure was taken + by Roger l., after the conquest of Naples, (A.D. 1139,) which he made the + capital of his new kingdom, (Giannone, Istoria Civile, tom. ii. p. 169.) + That city, the third in Christian Europe, is now at least twelve miles in + circumference, (Jul. Caesar. Capaccii Hist. Neapol. l. i. p. 47,) and + contains more inhabitants (350,000) in a given space, than any other spot + in the known world.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.68" id="linknote-41.68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.68">return</a>)<br /> [ Not geometrical, but + common, paces or steps, of 22 French inches, (D’ Anville, Mesures + Itineraires, p. 7, 8.) The 2363 do not take an English mile.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.69" id="linknote-41.69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.69">return</a>)<br /> [ Belisarius was reproved + by Pope Silverius for the massacre. He repeopled Naples, and imported + colonies of African captives into Sicily, Calabria, and Apulia, (Hist. + Miscell. l. xvi. in Muratori, tom. i. p. 106, 107.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.70" id="linknote-41.70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.70">return</a>)<br /> [ Beneventum was built by + Diomede, the nephew of Meleager (Cluver. tom. ii. p. 1195, 1196.) The + Calydonian hunt is a picture of savage life, (Ovid, Metamorph. l. viii.) + Thirty or forty heroes were leagued against a hog: the brutes (not the + hog) quarrelled with lady for the head.] + </p> + <p> + The faithful soldiers and citizens of Naples had expected their + deliverance from a prince, who remained the inactive and almost + indifferent spectator of their ruin. Theodatus secured his person within + the walls of Rome, whilst his cavalry advanced forty miles on the Appian + way, and encamped in the Pomptine marshes; which, by a canal of nineteen + miles in length, had been recently drained and converted into excellent + pastures. <a href="#linknote-41.71" name="linknoteref-41.71" + id="linknoteref-41.71">71</a> But the principal forces of the Goths were + dispersed in Dalmatia, Venetia, and Gaul; and the feeble mind of their + king was confounded by the unsuccessful event of a divination, which + seemed to presage the downfall of his empire. <a href="#linknote-41.72" + name="linknoteref-41.72" id="linknoteref-41.72">72</a> The most abject + slaves have arraigned the guilt or weakness of an unfortunate master. The + character of Theodatus was rigorously scrutinized by a free and idle camp + of Barbarians, conscious of their privilege and power: he was declared + unworthy of his race, his nation, and his throne; and their general + Vitiges, whose valor had been signalized in the Illyrian war, was raised + with unanimous applause on the bucklers of his companions. On the first + rumor, the abdicated monarch fled from the justice of his country; but he + was pursued by private revenge. A Goth, whom he had injured in his love, + overtook Theodatus on the Flaminian way, and, regardless of his unmanly + cries, slaughtered him, as he lay, prostrate on the ground, like a victim + (says the historian) at the foot of the altar. The choice of the people is + the best and purest title to reign over them; yet such is the prejudice of + every age, that Vitiges impatiently wished to return to Ravenna, where he + might seize, with the reluctant hand of the daughter of Amalasontha, some + faint shadow of hereditary right. A national council was immediately held, + and the new monarch reconciled the impatient spirit of the Barbarians to a + measure of disgrace, which the misconduct of his predecessor rendered wise + and indispensable. The Goths consented to retreat in the presence of a + victorious enemy; to delay till the next spring the operations of + offensive war; to summon their scattered forces; to relinquish their + distant possessions, and to trust even Rome itself to the faith of its + inhabitants. Leuderis, an ancient warrior, was left in the capital with + four thousand soldiers; a feeble garrison, which might have seconded the + zeal, though it was incapable of opposing the wishes, of the Romans. But a + momentary enthusiasm of religion and patriotism was kindled in their + minds. They furiously exclaimed, that the apostolic throne should no + longer be profaned by the triumph or toleration of Arianism; that the + tombs of the Caesars should no longer be trampled by the savages of the + North; and, without reflecting, that Italy must sink into a province of + Constantinople, they fondly hailed the restoration of a Roman emperor as a + new aera of freedom and prosperity. The deputies of the pope and clergy, + of the senate and people, invited the lieutenant of Justinian to accept + their voluntary allegiance, and to enter the city, whose gates would be + thrown open for his reception. As soon as Belisarius had fortified his new + conquests, Naples and Cumae, he advanced about twenty miles to the banks + of the Vulturnus, contemplated the decayed grandeur of Capua, and halted + at the separation of the Latin and Appian ways. The work of the censor, + after the incessant use of nine centuries, still preserved its primaeval + beauty, and not a flaw could be discovered in the large polished stones, + of which that solid, though narrow road, was so firmly compacted. <a + href="#linknote-41.73" name="linknoteref-41.73" id="linknoteref-41.73">73</a> + Belisarius, however, preferred the Latin way, which, at a distance from + the sea and the marshes, skirted in a space of one hundred and twenty + miles along the foot of the mountains. His enemies had disappeared: when + he made his entrance through the Asinarian gate, the garrison departed + without molestation along the Flaminian way; and the city, after sixty + years’ servitude, was delivered from the yoke of the Barbarians. Leuderis + alone, from a motive of pride or discontent, refused to accompany the + fugitives; and the Gothic chief, himself a trophy of the victory, was sent + with the keys of Rome to the throne of the emperor Justinian. <a + href="#linknote-41.74" name="linknoteref-41.74" id="linknoteref-41.74">74</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.71" id="linknote-41.71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.71">return</a>)<br /> [ The Decennovium is + strangely confounded by Cluverius (tom. ii. p. 1007) with the River Ufens. + It was in truth a canal of nineteen miles, from Forum Appii to Terracina, + on which Horace embarked in the night. The Decennovium, which is mentioned + by Lucan, Dion Cassius, and Cassiodorus, has been sufficiently ruined, + restored, and obliterated, (D’Anville, Anayse de l’Italie, p. 185, &c.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.72" id="linknote-41.72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.72">return</a>)<br /> [ A Jew, gratified his + contempt and hatred for all the Christians, by enclosing three bands, each + of ten hogs, and discriminated by the names of Goths, Greeks, and Romans. + Of the first, almost all were found dead; almost all the second were + alive: of the third, half died, and the rest lost their bristles. No + unsuitable emblem of the event] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.73" id="linknote-41.73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.73">return</a>)<br /> [ Bergier (Hist. des + Grands Chemins des Romains, tom. i. p. 221-228, 440-444) examines the + structure and materials, while D’Anville (Analyse d’Italie, p. 200—123) + defines the geographical line.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.74" id="linknote-41.74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.74">return</a>)<br /> [ Of the first recovery + of Rome, the year (536) is certain, from the series of events, rather than + from the corrupt, or interpolated, text of Procopius. The month (December) + is ascertained by Evagrius, (l. iv. v. 19;) and the day (the tenth) may be + admitted on the slight evidence of Nicephorus Callistus, (l. xvii. c. 13.) + For this accurate chronology, we are indebted to the diligence and + judgment of Pagi, (tom, ii. p. 659, 560.) Note: Compare Maltret’s note, in + the edition of Dindorf the ninth is the day, according to his reading,—M.] + </p> + <p> + The first days, which coincided with the old Saturnalia, were devoted to + mutual congratulation and the public joy; and the Catholics prepared to + celebrate, without a rival, the approaching festival of the nativity of + Christ. In the familiar conversation of a hero, the Romans acquired some + notion of the virtues which history ascribed to their ancestors; they were + edified by the apparent respect of Belisarius for the successor of St. + Peter, and his rigid discipline secured in the midst of war the blessings + of tranquillity and justice. They applauded the rapid success of his arms, + which overran the adjacent country, as far as Narni, Perusia, and Spoleto; + but they trembled, the senate, the clergy, and the unwarlike people, as + soon as they understood that he had resolved, and would speedily be + reduced, to sustain a siege against the powers of the Gothic monarchy. The + designs of Vitiges were executed, during the winter season, with diligence + and effect. From their rustic habitations, from their distant garrisons, + the Goths assembled at Ravenna for the defence of their country; and such + were their numbers, that, after an army had been detached for the relief + of Dalmatia, one hundred and fifty thousand fighting men marched under the + royal standard. According to the degrees of rank or merit, the Gothic king + distributed arms and horses, rich gifts, and liberal promises; he moved + along the Flaminian way, declined the useless sieges of Perusia and + Spoleto, respected he impregnable rock of Narni, and arrived within two + miles of Rome at the foot of the Milvian bridge. The narrow passage was + fortified with a tower, and Belisarius had computed the value of the + twenty days which must be lost in the construction of another bridge. But + the consternation of the soldiers of the tower, who either fled or + deserted, disappointed his hopes, and betrayed his person into the most + imminent danger. At the head of one thousand horse, the Roman general + sallied from the Flaminian gate to mark the ground of an advantageous + position, and to survey the camp of the Barbarians; but while he still + believed them on the other side of the Tyber, he was suddenly encompassed + and assaulted by their numerous squadrons. The fate of Italy depended on + his life; and the deserters pointed to the conspicuous horse a bay, <a + href="#linknote-41.75" name="linknoteref-41.75" id="linknoteref-41.75">75</a> + with a white face, which he rode on that memorable day. “Aim at the bay + horse,” was the universal cry. Every bow was bent, every javelin was + directed, against that fatal object, and the command was repeated and + obeyed by thousands who were ignorant of its real motive. The bolder + Barbarians advanced to the more honorable combat of swords and spears; and + the praise of an enemy has graced the fall of Visandus, the + standard-bearer, <a href="#linknote-41.76" name="linknoteref-41.76" + id="linknoteref-41.76">76</a> who maintained his foremost station, till he + was pierced with thirteen wounds, perhaps by the hand of Belisarius + himself. The Roman general was strong, active, and dexterous; on every + side he discharged his weighty and mortal strokes: his faithful guards + imitated his valor, and defended his person; and the Goths, after the loss + of a thousand men, fled before the arms of a hero. They were rashly + pursued to their camp; and the Romans, oppressed by multitudes, made a + gradual, and at length a precipitate retreat to the gates of the city: the + gates were shut against the fugitives; and the public terror was + increased, by the report that Belisarius was slain. His countenance was + indeed disfigured by sweat, dust, and blood; his voice was hoarse, his + strength was almost exhausted; but his unconquerable spirit still + remained; he imparted that spirit to his desponding companions; and their + last desperate charge was felt by the flying Barbarians, as if a new army, + vigorous and entire, had been poured from the city. The Flaminian gate was + thrown open to a real triumph; but it was not before Belisarius had + visited every post, and provided for the public safety, that he could be + persuaded, by his wife and friends, to taste the needful refreshments of + food and sleep. In the more improved state of the art of war, a general is + seldom required, or even permitted to display the personal prowess of a + soldier; and the example of Belisarius may be added to the rare examples + of Henry IV., of Pyrrhus, and of Alexander. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.75" id="linknote-41.75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.75">return</a>)<br /> [ A horse of a bay or red + color was styled by the Greeks, balan by the Barbarians, and spadix by the + Romans. Honesti spadices, says Virgil, (Georgic. l. iii. 72, with the + Observations of Martin and Heyne.) It signifies a branch of the palm-tree, + whose name is synonymous to red, (Aulus Gellius, ii. 26.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.76" id="linknote-41.76"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 76 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.76">return</a>)<br /> [ I interpret it, not as + a proper, name, but an office, standard-bearer, from bandum, (vexillum,) a + Barbaric word adopted by the Greeks and Romans, (Paul Diacon. l. i. c. 20, + p. 760. Grot. Nomina Hethica, p. 575. Ducange, Gloss. Latin. tom. i. p. + 539, 540.)] + </p> + <p> + After this first and unsuccessful trial of their enemies, the whole army + of the Goths passed the Tyber, and formed the siege of the city, which + continued above a year, till their final departure. Whatever fancy may + conceive, the severe compass of the geographer defines the circumference + of Rome within a line of twelve miles and three hundred and forty-five + paces; and that circumference, except in the Vatican, has invariably been + the same from the triumph of Aurelian to the peaceful but obscure reign of + the modern popes. <a href="#linknote-41.77" name="linknoteref-41.77" + id="linknoteref-41.77">77</a> But in the day of her greatness, the space + within her walls was crowded with habitations and inhabitants; and the + populous suburbs, that stretched along the public roads, were darted like + so many rays from one common centre. Adversity swept away these extraneous + ornaments, and left naked and desolate a considerable part even of the + seven hills. Yet Rome in its present state could send into the field about + thirty thousand males of a military age; <a href="#linknote-41.78" + name="linknoteref-41.78" id="linknoteref-41.78">78</a> and, notwithstanding + the want of discipline and exercise, the far greater part, inured to the + hardships of poverty, might be capable of bearing arms for the defence of + their country and religion. The prudence of Belisarius did not neglect + this important resource. His soldiers were relieved by the zeal and + diligence of the people, who watched while they slept, and labored while + they reposed: he accepted the voluntary service of the bravest and most + indigent of the Roman youth; and the companies of townsmen sometimes + represented, in a vacant post, the presence of the troops which had been + drawn away to more essential duties. But his just confidence was placed in + the veterans who had fought under his banner in the Persian and African + wars; and although that gallant band was reduced to five thousand men, he + undertook, with such contemptible numbers, to defend a circle of twelve + miles, against an army of one hundred and fifty thousand Barbarians. In + the walls of Rome, which Belisarius constructed or restored, the materials + of ancient architecture may be discerned; <a href="#linknote-41.79" + name="linknoteref-41.79" id="linknoteref-41.79">79</a> and the whole + fortification was completed, except in a chasm still extant between the + Pincian and Flaminian gates, which the prejudices of the Goths and Romans + left under the effectual guard of St. Peter the apostle. <a + href="#linknote-41.80" name="linknoteref-41.80" id="linknoteref-41.80">80</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.77" id="linknote-41.77"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 77 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.77">return</a>)<br /> [ M. D’Anville has given, + in the Memoirs of the Academy for the year 1756, (tom. xxx. p. 198—236,) + a plan of Rome on a smaller scale, but far more accurate than that which + he had delineated in 1738 for Rollin’s history. Experience had improved + his knowledge and instead of Rossi’s topography, he used the new and + excellent map of Nolli. Pliny’s old measure of thirteen must be reduced to + eight miles. It is easier to alter a text, than to remove hills or + buildings. * Note: Compare Gibbon, ch. xi. note 43, and xxxi. 67, and ch. + lxxi. “It is quite clear,” observes Sir J. Hobhouse, “that all these + measurements differ, (in the first and second it is 21, in the text 12 and + 345 paces, in the last 10,) yet it is equally clear that the historian + avers that they are all the same.” The present extent, 12 3/4 nearly + agrees with the second statement of Gibbon. Sir. J. Hobhouse also observes + that the walls were enlarged by Constantine; but there can be no doubt + that the circuit has been much changed. Illust. of Ch. Harold, p. 180.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.78" id="linknote-41.78"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 78 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.78">return</a>)<br /> [ In the year 1709, Labat + (Voyages en Italie, tom. iii. p. 218) reckoned 138,568 Christian souls, + besides 8000 or 10,000 Jews—without souls? In the year 1763, the + numbers exceeded 160,000.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.79" id="linknote-41.79"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 79 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.79">return</a>)<br /> [ The accurate eye of + Nardini (Roma Antica, l. i. c. viii. p. 31) could distinguish the + tumultuarie opere di Belisario.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.80" id="linknote-41.80"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 80 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.80">return</a>)<br /> [ The fissure and leaning + in the upper part of the wall, which Procopius observed, (Goth. l. i. c. + 13,) is visible to the present hour, (Douat. Roma Vetus, l. i. c. 17, p. + 53, 54.)] + </p> + <p> + The battlements or bastions were shaped in sharp angles; a ditch, broad and + deep, protected the foot of the rampart; and the archers on the rampart + were assisted by military engines; the balistri, a powerful cross-bow, + which darted short but massy arrows; the onagri, or wild asses, which, on + the principle of a sling, threw stones and bullets of an enormous size. <a + href="#linknote-41.81" name="linknoteref-41.81" id="linknoteref-41.81">81</a> + A chain was drawn across the Tyber; the arches of the aqueducts were made + impervious, and the mole or sepulchre of Hadrian <a href="#linknote-41.82" + name="linknoteref-41.82" id="linknoteref-41.82">82</a> was converted, for + the first time, to the uses of a citadel. That venerable structure, which + contained the ashes of the Antonines, was a circular turret rising from a + quadrangular basis; it was covered with the white marble of Paros, and + decorated by the statues of gods and heroes; and the lover of the arts + must read with a sigh, that the works of Praxiteles or Lysippus were torn + from their lofty pedestals, and hurled into the ditch on the heads of the + besiegers. <a href="#linknote-41.83" name="linknoteref-41.83" + id="linknoteref-41.83">83</a> To each of his lieutenants Belisarius + assigned the defence of a gate, with the wise and peremptory instruction, + that, whatever might be the alarm, they should steadily adhere to their + respective posts, and trust their general for the safety of Rome. The + formidable host of the Goths was insufficient to embrace the ample measure + of the city, of the fourteen gates, seven only were invested from the + Proenestine to the Flaminian way; and Vitiges divided his troops into six + camps, each of which was fortified with a ditch and rampart. On the Tuscan + side of the river, a seventh encampment was formed in the field or circus + of the Vatican, for the important purpose of commanding the Milvian bridge + and the course of the Tyber; but they approached with devotion the + adjacent church of St. Peter; and the threshold of the holy apostles was + respected during the siege by a Christian enemy. In the ages of victory, + as often as the senate decreed some distant conquest, the consul denounced + hostilities, by unbarring, in solemn pomp, the gates of the temple of + Janus. <a href="#linknote-41.84" name="linknoteref-41.84" + id="linknoteref-41.84">84</a> Domestic war now rendered the admonition + superfluous, and the ceremony was superseded by the establishment of a new + religion. But the brazen temple of Janus was left standing in the forum; + of a size sufficient only to contain the statue of the god, five cubits in + height, of a human form, but with two faces directed to the east and west. + The double gates were likewise of brass; and a fruitless effort to turn + them on their rusty hinges revealed the scandalous secret that some Romans + were still attached to the superstition of their ancestors. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.81" id="linknote-41.81"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 81 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.81">return</a>)<br /> [ Lipsius (Opp. tom. iii. + Poliorcet, l. iii.) was ignorant of this clear and conspicuous passage of + Procopius, (Goth. l. i. c. 21.) The engine was named the wild ass, a + calcitrando, (Hen. Steph. Thesaur. Linguae Graec. tom. ii. p. 1340, 1341, + tom. iii. p. 877.) I have seen an ingenious model, contrived and executed + by General Melville, which imitates or surpasses the art of antiquity.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.82" id="linknote-41.82"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 82 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.82">return</a>)<br /> [ The description of this + mausoleum, or mole, in Procopius, (l. i. c. 25.) is the first and best. + The height above the walls. On Nolli’s great plan, the sides measure 260 + English feet. * Note: Donatus and Nardini suppose that Hadrian’s tomb was + fortified by Honorius; it was united to the wall by men of old, (Procop in + loc.) Gibbon has mistaken the breadth for the height above the walls + Hobhouse, Illust. of Childe Harold, p. 302.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.83" id="linknote-41.83"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 83 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.83">return</a>)<br /> [ Praxiteles excelled in + Fauns, and that of Athens was his own masterpiece. Rome now contains about + thirty of the same character. When the ditch of St. Angelo was cleansed + under Urban VIII., the workmen found the sleeping Faun of the Barberini + palace; but a leg, a thigh, and the right arm, had been broken from that + beautiful statue, (Winkelman, Hist. de l’Art, tom. ii. p. 52, 53, tom iii. + p. 265.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.84" id="linknote-41.84"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 84 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.84">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius has given the + best description of the temple of Janus a national deity of Latium, + (Heyne, Excurs. v. ad l. vii. Aeneid.) It was once a gate in the primitive + city of Romulus and Numa, (Nardini, p. 13, 256, 329.) Virgil has described + the ancient rite like a poet and an antiquarian.] + </p> + <p> + Eighteen days were employed by the besiegers, to provide all the + instruments of attack which antiquity had invented. Fascines were + prepared to fill the ditches, scaling-ladders to ascend the walls. The + largest trees of the forest supplied the timbers of four battering-rams: + their heads were armed with iron; they were suspended by ropes, and each + of them was worked by the labor of fifty men. The lofty wooden turrets + moved on wheels or rollers, and formed a spacious platform of the level + of the rampart. On the morning of the nineteenth day, a general attack + was made from the Praenestine gate to the Vatican: seven Gothic columns, + with their military engines, advanced to the assault; and the Romans, who + lined the ramparts, listened with doubt and anxiety to the cheerful + assurances of their commander. As soon as the enemy approached the ditch, + Belisarius himself drew the first arrow; and such was his strength and + dexterity, that he transfixed the foremost of the Barbarian leaders. + </p> + <p> + A shout of applause and victory was reechoed along the wall. He drew a + second arrow, and the stroke was followed with the same success and the + same acclamation. The Roman general then gave the word, that the archers + should aim at the teams of oxen; they were instantly covered with mortal + wounds; the towers which they drew remained useless and immovable, and a + single moment disconcerted the laborious projects of the king of the + Goths. After this disappointment, Vitiges still continued, or feigned to + continue, the assault of the Salarian gate, that he might divert the + attention of his adversary, while his principal forces more strenuously + attacked the Praenestine gate and the sepulchre of Hadrian, at the + distance of three miles from each other. Near the former, the double walls + of the Vivarium <a href="#linknote-41.85" name="linknoteref-41.85" + id="linknoteref-41.85">85</a> were low or broken; the fortifications of the + latter were feebly guarded: the vigor of the Goths was excited by the hope + of victory and spoil; and if a single post had given way, the Romans, and + Rome itself, were irrecoverably lost. This perilous day was the most + glorious in the life of Belisarius. Amidst tumult and dismay, the whole + plan of the attack and defence was distinctly present to his mind; he + observed the changes of each instant, weighed every possible advantage, + transported his person to the scenes of danger, and communicated his + spirit in calm and decisive orders. The contest was fiercely maintained + from the morning to the evening; the Goths were repulsed on all sides; and + each Roman might boast that he had vanquished thirty Barbarians, if the + strange disproportion of numbers were not counterbalanced by the merit of + one man. Thirty thousand Goths, according to the confession of their own + chiefs, perished in this bloody action; and the multitude of the wounded + was equal to that of the slain. When they advanced to the assault, their + close disorder suffered not a javelin to fall without effect; and as they + retired, the populace of the city joined the pursuit, and slaughtered, + with impunity, the backs of their flying enemies. Belisarius instantly + sallied from the gates; and while the soldiers chanted his name and + victory, the hostile engines of war were reduced to ashes. Such was the + loss and consternation of the Goths, that, from this day, the siege of + Rome degenerated into a tedious and indolent blockade; and they were + incessantly harassed by the Roman general, who, in frequent skirmishes, + destroyed above five thousand of their bravest troops. Their cavalry was + unpractised in the use of the bow; their archers served on foot; and this + divided force was incapable of contending with their adversaries, whose + lances and arrows, at a distance, or at hand, were alike formidable. The + consummate skill of Belisarius embraced the favorable opportunities; and + as he chose the ground and the moment, as he pressed the charge or sounded + the retreat, <a href="#linknote-41.86" name="linknoteref-41.86" + id="linknoteref-41.86">86</a> the squadrons which he detached were seldom + unsuccessful. These partial advantages diffused an impatient ardor among + the soldiers and people, who began to feel the hardships of a siege, and + to disregard the dangers of a general engagement. Each plebeian conceived + himself to be a hero, and the infantry, who, since the decay of + discipline, were rejected from the line of battle, aspired to the ancient + honors of the Roman legion. Belisarius praised the spirit of his troops, + condemned their presumption, yielded to their clamors, and prepared the + remedies of a defeat, the possibility of which he alone had courage to + suspect. In the quarter of the Vatican, the Romans prevailed; and if the + irreparable moments had not been wasted in the pillage of the camp, they + might have occupied the Milvian bridge, and charged in the rear of the + Gothic host. On the other side of the Tyber, Belisarius advanced from the + Pincian and Salarian gates. But his army, four thousand soldiers perhaps, + was lost in a spacious plain; they were encompassed and oppressed by fresh + multitudes, who continually relieved the broken ranks of the Barbarians. + The valiant leaders of the infantry were unskilled to conquer; they died: + the retreat (a hasty retreat) was covered by the prudence of the general, + and the victors started back with affright from the formidable aspect of + an armed rampart. The reputation of Belisarius was unsullied by a defeat; + and the vain confidence of the Goths was not less serviceable to his + designs than the repentance and modesty of the Roman troops. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.85" id="linknote-41.85"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 85 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.85">return</a>)<br /> [ Vivarium was an angle + in the new wall enclosed for wild beasts, (Procopius, Goth. l. i. c. 23.) + The spot is still visible in Nardini (l iv. c. 2, p. 159, 160,) and + Nolli’s great plan of Rome.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.86" id="linknote-41.86"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 86 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.86">return</a>)<br /> [ For the Roman trumpet, + and its various notes, consult Lipsius de Militia Romana, (Opp. tom. iii. + l. iv. Dialog. x. p. 125-129.) A mode of distinguishing the charge by the + horse-trumpet of solid brass, and the retreat by the foot-trumpet of + leather and light wood, was recommended by Procopius, and adopted by + Belisarius.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap41.4"></a> +Chapter XLI: Conquests Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part IV.</h2> + + <p> + From the moment that Belisarius had determined to sustain a siege, his + assiduous care provided Rome against the danger of famine, more dreadful + than the Gothic arms. An extraordinary supply of corn was imported from + Sicily: the harvests of Campania and Tuscany were forcibly swept for the + use of the city; and the rights of private property were infringed by the + strong plea of the public safety. It might easily be foreseen that the + enemy would intercept the aqueducts; and the cessation of the water-mills + was the first inconvenience, which was speedily removed by mooring large + vessels, and fixing mill-stones in the current of the river. The stream + was soon embarrassed by the trunks of trees, and polluted with dead + bodies; yet so effectual were the precautions of the Roman general, that + the waters of the Tyber still continued to give motion to the mills and + drink to the inhabitants: the more distant quarters were supplied from + domestic wells; and a besieged city might support, without impatience, the + privation of her public baths. A large portion of Rome, from the + Praenestine gate to the church of St. Paul, was never invested by the + Goths; their excursions were restrained by the activity of the Moorish + troops: the navigation of the Tyber, and the Latin, Appian, and Ostian + ways, were left free and unmolested for the introduction of corn and + cattle, or the retreat of the inhabitants, who sought refuge in Campania + or Sicily. Anxious to relieve himself from a useless and devouring + multitude, Belisarius issued his peremptory orders for the instant + departure of the women, the children, and slaves; required his soldiers to + dismiss their male and female attendants, and regulated their allowance + that one moiety should be given in provisions, and the other in money. His + foresight was justified by the increase of the public distress, as soon as + the Goths had occupied two important posts in the neighborhood of Rome. By + the loss of the port, or, as it is now called, the city of Porto, he was + deprived of the country on the right of the Tyber, and the best + communication with the sea; and he reflected, with grief and anger, that + three hundred men, could he have spared such a feeble band, might have + defended its impregnable works. Seven miles from the capital, between the + Appian and the Latin ways, two principal aqueducts crossing, and again + crossing each other: enclosed within their solid and lofty arches a + fortified space, <a href="#linknote-41.87" name="linknoteref-41.87" + id="linknoteref-41.87">87</a> where Vitiges established a camp of seven + thousand Goths to intercept the convoy of Sicily and Campania. The + granaries of Rome were insensibly exhausted, the adjacent country had been + wasted with fire and sword; such scanty supplies as might yet be obtained + by hasty excursions were the reward of valor, and the purchase of wealth: + the forage of the horses, and the bread of the soldiers, never failed: but + in the last months of the siege, the people were exposed to the miseries + of scarcity, unwholesome food, <a href="#linknote-41.88" + name="linknoteref-41.88" id="linknoteref-41.88">88</a> and contagious + disorders. Belisarius saw and pitied their sufferings; but he had + foreseen, and he watched the decay of their loyalty, and the progress of + their discontent. Adversity had awakened the Romans from the dreams of + grandeur and freedom, and taught them the humiliating lesson, that it was + of small moment to their real happiness, whether the name of their master + was derived from the Gothic or the Latin language. The lieutenant of + Justinian listened to their just complaints, but he rejected with disdain + the idea of flight or capitulation; repressed their clamorous impatience + for battle; amused them with the prospect of a sure and speedy relief; and + secured himself and the city from the effects of their despair or + treachery. Twice in each month he changed the station of the officers to + whom the custody of the gates was committed: the various precautions of + patroles, watch words, lights, and music, were repeatedly employed to + discover whatever passed on the ramparts; out-guards were posted beyond + the ditch, and the trusty vigilance of dogs supplied the more doubtful + fidelity of mankind. A letter was intercepted, which assured the king of + the Goths that the Asinarian gate, adjoining to the Lateran church, should + be secretly opened to his troops. On the proof or suspicion of treason, + several senators were banished, and the pope Sylverius was summoned to + attend the representative of his sovereign, at his head-quarters in the + Pincian palace. <a href="#linknote-41.89" name="linknoteref-41.89" + id="linknoteref-41.89">89</a> The ecclesiastics, who followed their bishop, + were detained in the first or second apartment, <a href="#linknote-41.90" + name="linknoteref-41.90" id="linknoteref-41.90">90</a> and he alone was + admitted to the presence of Belisarius. The conqueror of Rome and Carthage + was modestly seated at the feet of Antonina, who reclined on a stately + couch: the general was silent, but the voice of reproach and menace issued + from the mouth of his imperious wife. Accused by credible witnesses, and + the evidence of his own subscription, the successor of St. Peter was + despoiled of his pontifical ornaments, clad in the mean habit of a monk, + and embarked, without delay, for a distant exile in the East. <a + href="#linknote-41.9011" name="linknoteref-41.9011" id="linknoteref-41.9011">9011</a> + At the emperor’s command, the clergy of Rome proceeded to the choice of a + new bishop; and after a solemn invocation of the Holy Ghost, elected the + deacon Vigilius, who had purchased the papal throne by a bribe of two + hundred pounds of gold. The profit, and consequently the guilt, of this + simony, was imputed to Belisarius: but the hero obeyed the orders of his + wife; Antonina served the passions of the empress; and Theodora lavished + her treasures, in the vain hope of obtaining a pontiff hostile or + indifferent to the council of Chalcedon. <a href="#linknote-41.91" + name="linknoteref-41.91" id="linknoteref-41.91">91</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.87" id="linknote-41.87"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 87 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.87">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius (Goth. l. ii. + c. 3) has forgot to name these aqueducts nor can such a double + intersection, at such a distance from Rome, be clearly ascertained from + the writings of Frontinus, Fabretti, and Eschinard, de Aquis and de Agro + Romano, or from the local maps of Lameti and Cingolani. Seven or eight + miles from the city, (50 stadia,) on the road to Albano, between the Latin + and Appian ways, I discern the remains of an aqueduct, (probably the + Septimian,) a series (630 paces) of arches twenty-five feet high.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.88" id="linknote-41.88"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 88 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.88">return</a>)<br /> [ They made sausages of + mule’s flesh; unwholesome, if the animals had died of the plague. + Otherwise, the famous Bologna sausages are said to be made of ass flesh, + (Voyages de Labat, tom. ii. p. 218.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.89" id="linknote-41.89"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 89 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.89">return</a>)<br /> [ The name of the palace, + the hill, and the adjoining gate, were all derived from the senator + Pincius. Some recent vestiges of temples and churches are now smoothed in + the garden of the Minims of the Trinita del Monte, (Nardini, l. iv. c. 7, + p. 196. Eschinard, p. 209, 210, the old plan of Buffalino, and the great + plan of Nolli.) Belisarius had fixed his station between the Pincian and + Salarian gates, (Procop. Goth. l. i. c. 15.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.90" id="linknote-41.90"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 90 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.90">return</a>)<br /> [ From the mention of the + primum et secundum velum, it should seem that Belisarius, even in a siege, + represented the emperor, and maintained the proud ceremonial of the + Byzantine palace.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.9011" id="linknote-41.9011"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9011 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.9011">return</a>)<br /> [ De Beau, as a good + Catholic, makes the Pope the victim of a dark intrigue. Lord Mahon, (p. + 225.) with whom I concur, summed up against him.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.91" id="linknote-41.91"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 91 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.91">return</a>)<br /> [ Of this act of + sacrilege, Procopius (Goth. l. i. c. 25) is a dry and reluctant witness. + The narratives of Liberatus (Breviarium, c. 22) and Anastasius (de Vit. + Pont. p. 39) are characteristic, but passionate. Hear the execrations of + Cardinal Baronius, (A.D. 536, No. 123 A.D. 538, No. 4—20:) + portentum, facinus omni execratione dignum.] + </p> + <p> + The epistle of Belisarius to the emperor announced his victory, his + danger, and his resolution. “According to your commands, we have entered + the dominions of the Goths, and reduced to your obedience Sicily, + Campania, and the city of Rome; but the loss of these conquests will be + more disgraceful than their acquisition was glorious. Hitherto we have + successfully fought against the multitudes of the Barbarians, but their + multitudes may finally prevail. Victory is the gift of Providence, but the + reputation of kings and generals depends on the success or the failure of + their designs. Permit me to speak with freedom: if you wish that we should + live, send us subsistence; if you desire that we should conquer, send us + arms, horses, and men. The Romans have received us as friends and + deliverers: but in our present distress, they will be either betrayed by + their confidence, or we shall be oppressed by their treachery and hatred. + For myself, my life is consecrated to your service: it is yours to + reflect, whether my death in this situation will contribute to the glory + and prosperity of your reign.” Perhaps that reign would have been equally + prosperous if the peaceful master of the East had abstained from the + conquest of Africa and Italy: but as Justinian was ambitious of fame, he + made some efforts (they were feeble and languid) to support and rescue his + victorious general. A reenforcement of sixteen hundred Sclavonians and + Huns was led by Martin and Valerian; and as they reposed during the winter + season in the harbors of Greece, the strength of the men and horses was + not impaired by the fatigues of a sea-voyage; and they distinguished their + valor in the first sally against the besiegers. About the time of the + summer solstice, Euthalius landed at Terracina with large sums of money + for the payment of the troops: he cautiously proceeded along the Appian + way, and this convoy entered Rome through the gate Capena, <a + href="#linknote-41.92" name="linknoteref-41.92" id="linknoteref-41.92">92</a> + while Belisarius, on the other side, diverted the attention of the Goths + by a vigorous and successful skirmish. These seasonable aids, the use and + reputation of which were dexterously managed by the Roman general, revived + the courage, or at least the hopes, of the soldiers and people. The + historian Procopius was despatched with an important commission to collect + the troops and provisions which Campania could furnish, or Constantinople + had sent; and the secretary of Belisarius was soon followed by Antonina + herself, <a href="#linknote-41.93" name="linknoteref-41.93" + id="linknoteref-41.93">93</a> who boldly traversed the posts of the enemy, + and returned with the Oriental succors to the relief of her husband and + the besieged city. A fleet of three thousand Isaurians cast anchor in the + Bay of Naples and afterwards at Ostia. Above two thousand horse, of whom a + part were Thracians, landed at Tarentum; and, after the junction of five + hundred soldiers of Campania, and a train of wagons laden with wine and + flour, they directed their march on the Appian way, from Capua to the + neighborhood of Rome. The forces that arrived by land and sea were united + at the mouth of the Tyber. Antonina convened a council of war: it was + resolved to surmount, with sails and oars, the adverse stream of the + river; and the Goths were apprehensive of disturbing, by any rash + hostilities, the negotiation to which Belisarius had craftily listened. + They credulously believed that they saw no more than the vanguard of a + fleet and army, which already covered the Ionian Sea and the plains of + Campania; and the illusion was supported by the haughty language of the + Roman general, when he gave audience to the ambassadors of Vitiges. After + a specious discourse to vindicate the justice of his cause, they declared, + that, for the sake of peace, they were disposed to renounce the possession + of Sicily. “The emperor is not less generous,” replied his lieutenant, + with a disdainful smile, “in return for a gift which you no longer + possess: he presents you with an ancient province of the empire; he + resigns to the Goths the sovereignty of the British island.” Belisarius + rejected with equal firmness and contempt the offer of a tribute; but he + allowed the Gothic ambassadors to seek their fate from the mouth of + Justinian himself; and consented, with seeming reluctance, to a truce of + three months, from the winter solstice to the equinox of spring. Prudence + might not safely trust either the oaths or hostages of the Barbarians, and + the conscious superiority of the Roman chief was expressed in the + distribution of his troops. As soon as fear or hunger compelled the Goths + to evacuate Alba, Porto, and Centumcellae, their place was instantly + supplied; the garrisons of Narni, Spoleto, and Perusia, were reenforced, + and the seven camps of the besiegers were gradually encompassed with the + calamities of a siege. The prayers and pilgrimage of Datius, bishop of + Milan, were not without effect; and he obtained one thousand Thracians and + Isaurians, to assist the revolt of Liguria against her Arian tyrant. At + the same time, John the Sanguinary, <a href="#linknote-41.94" + name="linknoteref-41.94" id="linknoteref-41.94">94</a> the nephew of + Vitalian, was detached with two thousand chosen horse, first to Alba, on + the Fucine Lake, and afterwards to the frontiers of Picenum, on the + Hadriatic Sea. “In the province,” said Belisarius, “the Goths have + deposited their families and treasures, without a guard or the suspicion + of danger. Doubtless they will violate the truce: let them feel your + presence, before they hear of your motions. Spare the Italians; suffer not + any fortified places to remain hostile in your rear; and faithfully + reserve the spoil for an equal and common partition. It would not be + reasonable,” he added with a laugh, “that whilst we are toiling to the + destruction of the drones, our more fortunate brethren should rifle and + enjoy the honey.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.92" id="linknote-41.92"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 92 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.92">return</a>)<br /> [ The old Capena was + removed by Aurelian to, or near, the modern gate of St. Sebastian, (see + Nolli’s plan.) That memorable spot has been consecrated by the Egerian + grove, the memory of Numa two umphal arches, the sepulchres of the + Scipios, Metelli, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.93" id="linknote-41.93"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 93 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.93">return</a>)<br /> [ The expression of + Procopius has an invidious cast, (Goth. l. ii. c. 4.) Yet he is speaking + of a woman.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.94" id="linknote-41.94"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 94 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.94">return</a>)<br /> [ Anastasius (p. 40) has + preserved this epithet of Sanguinarius which might do honor to a tiger.] + </p> + <p> + The whole nation of the Ostrogoths had been assembled for the attack, and + was almost entirely consumed in the siege of Rome. If any credit be due to + an intelligent spectator, one third at least of their enormous host was + destroyed, in frequent and bloody combats under the walls of the city. The + bad fame and pernicious qualities of the summer air might already be + imputed to the decay of agriculture and population; and the evils of + famine and pestilence were aggravated by their own licentiousness, and the + unfriendly disposition of the country. While Vitiges struggled with his + fortune, while he hesitated between shame and ruin, his retreat was + hastened by domestic alarms. The king of the Goths was informed by + trembling messengers, that John the Sanguinary spread the devastations of + war from the Apennine to the Hadriatic; that the rich spoils and + innumerable captives of Picenum were lodged in the fortifications of + Rimini; and that this formidable chief had defeated his uncle, insulted + his capital, and seduced, by secret correspondence, the fidelity of his + wife, the imperious daughter of Amalasontha. Yet, before he retired, + Vitiges made a last effort, either to storm or to surprise the city. A + secret passage was discovered in one of the aqueducts; two citizens of the + Vatican were tempted by bribes to intoxicate the guards of the Aurelian + gate; an attack was meditated on the walls beyond the Tyber, in a place + which was not fortified with towers; and the Barbarians advanced, with + torches and scaling-ladders, to the assault of the Pincian gate. But every + attempt was defeated by the intrepid vigilance of Belisarius and his band + of veterans, who, in the most perilous moments, did not regret the absence + of their companions; and the Goths, alike destitute of hope and + subsistence, clamorously urged their departure before the truce should + expire, and the Roman cavalry should again be united. One year and nine + days after the commencement of the siege, an army, so lately strong and + triumphant, burnt their tents, and tumultuously repassed the Milvian + bridge. They repassed not with impunity: their thronging multitudes, + oppressed in a narrow passage, were driven headlong into the Tyber, by + their own fears and the pursuit of the enemy; and the Roman general, + sallying from the Pincian gate, inflicted a severe and disgraceful wound + on their retreat. The slow length of a sickly and desponding host was + heavily dragged along the Flaminian way; from whence the Barbarians were + sometimes compelled to deviate, lest they should encounter the hostile + garrisons that guarded the high road to Rimini and Ravenna. Yet so + powerful was this flying army, that Vitiges spared ten thousand men for + the defence of the cities which he was most solicitous to preserve, and + detached his nephew Uraias, with an adequate force, for the chastisement + of rebellious Milan. At the head of his principal army, he besieged + Rimini, only thirty-three miles distant from the Gothic capital. A feeble + rampart, and a shallow ditch, were maintained by the skill and valor of + John the Sanguinary, who shared the danger and fatigue of the meanest + soldier, and emulated, on a theatre less illustrious, the military virtues + of his great commander. The towers and battering-engines of the Barbarians + were rendered useless; their attacks were repulsed; and the tedious + blockade, which reduced the garrison to the last extremity of hunger, + afforded time for the union and march of the Roman forces. A fleet, which + had surprised Ancona, sailed along the coast of the Hadriatic, to the + relief of the besieged city. The eunuch Narses landed in Picenum with two + thousand Heruli and five thousand of the bravest troops of the East. The + rock of the Apennine was forced; ten thousand veterans moved round the + foot of the mountains, under the command of Belisarius himself; and a new + army, whose encampment blazed with innumerable lights, appeared to advance + along the Flaminian way. Overwhelmed with astonishment and despair, the + Goths abandoned the siege of Rimini, their tents, their standards, and + their leaders; and Vitiges, who gave or followed the example of flight, + never halted till he found a shelter within the walls and morasses of + Ravenna. To these walls, and to some fortresses destitute of any mutual + support, the Gothic monarchy was now reduced. The provinces of Italy had + embraced the party of the emperor and his army, gradually recruited to the + number of twenty thousand men, must have achieved an easy and rapid + conquest, if their invincible powers had not been weakened by the discord + of the Roman chiefs. Before the end of the siege, an act of blood, + ambiguous and indiscreet, sullied the fair fame of Belisarius. Presidius, + a loyal Italian, as he fled from Ravenna to Rome, was rudely stopped by + Constantine, the military governor of Spoleto, and despoiled, even in a + church, of two daggers richly inlaid with gold and precious stones. As + soon as the public danger had subsided, Presidius complained of the loss + and injury: his complaint was heard, but the order of restitution was + disobeyed by the pride and avarice of the offender. Exasperated by the + delay, Presidius boldly arrested the general’s horse as he passed through + the forum; and, with the spirit of a citizen, demanded the common benefit + of the Roman laws. The honor of Belisarius was engaged; he summoned a + council; claimed the obedience of his subordinate officer; and was + provoked, by an insolent reply, to call hastily for the presence of his + guards. Constantine, viewing their entrance as the signal of death, drew + his sword, and rushed on the general, who nimbly eluded the stroke, and + was protected by his friends; while the desperate assassin was disarmed, + dragged into a neighboring chamber, and executed, or rather murdered, by + the guards, at the arbitrary command of Belisarius. <a + href="#linknote-41.95" name="linknoteref-41.95" id="linknoteref-41.95">95</a> + In this hasty act of violence, the guilt of Constantine was no longer + remembered; the despair and death of that valiant officer were secretly + imputed to the revenge of Antonina; and each of his colleagues, conscious + of the same rapine, was apprehensive of the same fate. The fear of a + common enemy suspended the effects of their envy and discontent; but in + the confidence of approaching victory, they instigated a powerful rival to + oppose the conqueror of Rome and Africa. From the domestic service of the + palace, and the administration of the private revenue, Narses the eunuch + was suddenly exalted to the head of an army; and the spirit of a hero, who + afterwards equalled the merit and glory of Belisarius, served only to + perplex the operations of the Gothic war. To his prudent counsels, the + relief of Rimini was ascribed by the leaders of the discontented faction, + who exhorted Narses to assume an independent and separate command. The + epistle of Justinian had indeed enjoined his obedience to the general; but + the dangerous exception, “as far as may be advantageous to the public + service,” reserved some freedom of judgment to the discreet favorite, who + had so lately departed from the sacred and familiar conversation of his + sovereign. In the exercise of this doubtful right, the eunuch perpetually + dissented from the opinions of Belisarius; and, after yielding with + reluctance to the siege of Urbino, he deserted his colleague in the night, + and marched away to the conquest of the Aemilian province. The fierce and + formidable bands of the Heruli were attached to the person of Narses; <a + href="#linknote-41.96" name="linknoteref-41.96" id="linknoteref-41.96">96</a> + ten thousand Romans and confederates were persuaded to march under his + banners; every malcontent embraced the fair opportunity of revenging his + private or imaginary wrongs; and the remaining troops of Belisarius were + divided and dispersed from the garrisons of Sicily to the shores of the + Hadriatic. His skill and perseverance overcame every obstacle: Urbino was + taken, the sieges of Faesulae Orvieto, and Auximum, were undertaken and + vigorously prosecuted; and the eunuch Narses was at length recalled to the + domestic cares of the palace. All dissensions were healed, and all + opposition was subdued, by the temperate authority of the Roman general, + to whom his enemies could not refuse their esteem; and Belisarius + inculcated the salutary lesson that the forces of the state should compose + one body, and be animated by one soul. But in the interval of discord, the + Goths were permitted to breathe; an important season was lost, Milan was + destroyed, and the northern provinces of Italy were afflicted by an + inundation of the Franks. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.95" id="linknote-41.95"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 95 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.95">return</a>)<br /> [ This transaction is + related in the public history (Goth. l. ii. c. 8) with candor or caution; + in the Anecdotes (c. 7) with malevolence or freedom; but Marcellinus, or + rather his continuator, (in Chron.,) casts a shade of premeditated + assassination over the death of Constantine. He had performed good service + at Rome and Spoleto, (Procop. Goth l. i. c. 7, 14;) but Alemannus + confounds him with a Constantianus comes stabuli.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.96" id="linknote-41.96"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 96 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.96">return</a>)<br /> [ They refused to serve + after his departure; sold their captives and cattle to the Goths; and + swore never to fight against them. Procopius introduces a curious + digression on the manners and adventures of this wandering nation, a part + of whom finally emigrated to Thule or Scandinavia. (Goth. l. ii. c. 14, + 15.)] + </p> + <p> + When Justinian first meditated the conquest of Italy, he sent ambassadors + to the kings of the Franks, and adjured them, by the common ties of + alliance and religion, to join in the holy enterprise against the Arians. + The Goths, as their wants were more urgent, employed a more effectual mode + of persuasion, and vainly strove, by the gift of lands and money, to + purchase the friendship, or at least the neutrality, of a light and + perfidious nation.<a href="#linknote-41.97" name="linknoteref-41.97" id="linknoteref-41.97">97</a> + But the arms of Belisarius, and the revolt of the Italians, had no sooner + shaken the Gothic monarchy, than Theodebert of Austrasia, the most + powerful and warlike of the Merovingian kings, was persuaded to succor + their distress by an indirect and seasonable aid. Without expecting the + consent of their sovereign, ten thousand Burgundians, his recent + subjects, descended from the Alps, and joined the troops which Vitiges + had sent to chastise the revolt of Milan. After an obstinate siege, the + capital of Liguria was reduced by famine; but no capitulation could be + obtained, except for the safe retreat of the Roman garrison. Datius, the + orthodox bishop, who had seduced his countrymen to rebellion <a href="#linknote-41.98" name="linknoteref-41.98" + id="linknoteref-41.98">98</a> and ruin, escaped to the luxury and honors of + the Byzantine court; <a href="#linknote-41.99" name="linknoteref-41.99" + id="linknoteref-41.99">99</a> but the clergy, perhaps the Arian clergy, + were slaughtered at the foot of their own altars by the defenders of the + Catholic faith. Three hundred thousand males were reported to be slain; <a + href="#linknote-41.100" name="linknoteref-41.100" id="linknoteref-41.100">100</a> + the female sex, and the more precious spoil, was resigned to the + Burgundians; and the houses, or at least the walls, of Milan, were + levelled with the ground. The Goths, in their last moments, were revenged + by the destruction of a city, second only to Rome in size and opulence, in + the splendor of its buildings, or the number of its inhabitants; and + Belisarius sympathized alone in the fate of his deserted and devoted + friends. Encouraged by this successful inroad, Theodebert himself, in the + ensuing spring, invaded the plains of Italy with an army of one hundred + thousand Barbarians. <a href="#linknote-41.101" name="linknoteref-41.101" + id="linknoteref-41.101">101</a> The king, and some chosen followers, were + mounted on horseback, and armed with lances; the infantry, without bows or + spears, were satisfied with a shield, a sword, and a double-edged + battle-axe, which, in their hands, became a deadly and unerring weapon. + Italy trembled at the march of the Franks; and both the Gothic prince and + the Roman general, alike ignorant of their designs, solicited, with hope + and terror, the friendship of these dangerous allies. Till he had secured + the passage of the Po on the bridge of Pavia, the grandson of Clovis + dissembled his intentions, which he at length declared, by assaulting, + almost at the same instant, the hostile camps of the Romans and Goths. + Instead of uniting their arms, they fled with equal precipitation; and the + fertile, though desolate provinces of Liguria and Aemilia, were abandoned + to a licentious host of Barbarians, whose rage was not mitigated by any + thoughts of settlement or conquest. Among the cities which they ruined, + Genoa, not yet constructed of marble, is particularly enumerated; and the + deaths of thousands, according to the regular practice of war, appear to + have excited less horror than some idolatrous sacrifices of women and + children, which were performed with impunity in the camp of the most + Christian king. If it were not a melancholy truth, that the first and most + cruel sufferings must be the lot of the innocent and helpless, history + might exult in the misery of the conquerors, who, in the midst of riches, + were left destitute of bread or wine, reduced to drink the waters of the + Po, and to feed on the flesh of distempered cattle. The dysentery swept + away one third of their army; and the clamors of his subjects, who were + impatient to pass the Alps, disposed Theodebert to listen with respect to + the mild exhortations of Belisarius. The memory of this inglorious and + destructive warfare was perpetuated on the medals of Gaul; and Justinian, + without unsheathing his sword, assumed the title of conqueror of the + Franks. The Merovingian prince was offended by the vanity of the emperor; + he affected to pity the fallen fortunes of the Goths; and his insidious + offer of a federal union was fortified by the promise or menace of + descending from the Alps at the head of five hundred thousand men. His + plans of conquest were boundless, and perhaps chimerical. The king of + Austrasia threatened to chastise Justinian, and to march to the gates of + Constantinople: <a href="#linknote-41.102" name="linknoteref-41.102" + id="linknoteref-41.102">102</a> he was overthrown and slain <a + href="#linknote-41.103" name="linknoteref-41.103" id="linknoteref-41.103">103</a> + by a wild bull, <a href="#linknote-41.104" name="linknoteref-41.104" + id="linknoteref-41.104">104</a> as he hunted in the Belgic or German + forests. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.97" id="linknote-41.97"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 97 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.97">return</a>)<br /> [ This national + reproach of perfidy (Procop. Goth. l. ii. c. 25) offends the ear of La + Mothe le Vayer, (tom. viii. p. 163—165,) who criticizes, as if he + had not read, the Greek historian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.98" id="linknote-41.98"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 98 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.98">return</a>)<br /> [ Baronius applauds his + treason, and justifies the Catholic bishops—qui ne sub heretico + principe degant omnem lapidem movent—a useful caution. The more + rational Muratori (Annali d’Italia, tom. v. p. 54) hints at the guilt of + perjury, and blames at least the imprudence of Datius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.99" id="linknote-41.99"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 99 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.99">return</a>)<br /> [ St. Datius was more + successful against devils than against Barbarians. He travelled with a + numerons retinue, and occupied at Corinth a large house. (Baronius, A.D. + 538, No. 89, A.D. 539, No. 20.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.100" id="linknote-41.100"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 100 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.100">return</a>)<br /> [ (Compare Procopius, + Goth. l. ii. c. 7, 21.) Yet such population is incredible; and the second + or third city of Italy need not repine if we only decimate the numbers of + the present text Both Milan and Genoa revived in less than thirty years, + (Paul Diacon de Gestis Langobard. l. ii. c. 38.) Note: Procopius says + distinctly that Milan was the second city of the West. Which did Gibbon + suppose could compete with it, Ravenna or Naples; the next page he calls + it the second.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.101" id="linknote-41.101"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 101 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.101">return</a>)<br /> [ Besides Procopius, + perhaps too Roman, see the Chronicles of Marius and Marcellinus, + Jornandes, (in Success. Regn. in Muratori, tom. i. p. 241,) and Gregory of + Tours, (l. iii. c. 32, in tom. ii. of the Historians of France.) Gregory + supposes a defeat of Belisarius, who, in Aimoin, (de Gestis Franc. l. ii. + c. 23, in tom. iii. p. 59,) is slain by the Franks.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.102" id="linknote-41.102"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 102 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.102">return</a>)<br /> [ Agathias, l. i. p. + 14, 15. Could he have seduced or subdued the Gepidae or Lombards of + Pannonia, the Greek historian is confident that he must have been + destroyed in Thrace.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.103" id="linknote-41.103"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 103 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.103">return</a>)<br /> [ The king pointed his + spear—the bull overturned a tree on his head—he expired the + same day. Such is the story of Agathias; but the original historians of + France (tom. ii. p. 202, 403, 558, 667) impute his death to a fever.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.104" id="linknote-41.104"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 104 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.104">return</a>)<br /> [ Without losing myself + in a labyrinth of species and names—the aurochs, urus, bisons, + bubalus, bonasus, buffalo, &c., (Buffon. Hist. Nat. tom. xi., and + Supplement, tom. iii. vi.,) it is certain, that in the sixth century a + large wild species of horned cattle was hunted in the great forests of the + Vosges in Lorraine, and the Ardennes, (Greg. Turon. tom. ii. l. x. c. 10, + p. 369.)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap41.5"></a> +Chapter XLI: Conquests Of Justinian, Character Of Balisarius.—Part V.</h2> + + <p> + As soon as Belisarius was delivered from his foreign and domestic enemies, + he seriously applied his forces to the final reduction of Italy. In the + siege of Osimo, the general was nearly transpierced with an arrow, if the + mortal stroke had not been intercepted by one of his guards, who lost, in + that pious office, the use of his hand. The Goths of Osimo, <a + href="#linknote-41.1041" name="linknoteref-41.1041" id="linknoteref-41.1041">1041</a> + four thousand warriors, with those of Faesulae and the Cottian Alps, were + among the last who maintained their independence; and their gallant + resistance, which almost tired the patience, deserved the esteem, of the + conqueror. His prudence refused to subscribe the safe conduct which they + asked, to join their brethren of Ravenna; but they saved, by an honorable + capitulation, one moiety at least of their wealth, with the free + alternative of retiring peaceably to their estates, or enlisting to serve + the emperor in his Persian wars. The multitudes which yet adhered to the + standard of Vitiges far surpassed the number of the Roman troops; but + neither prayers nor defiance, nor the extreme danger of his most faithful + subjects, could tempt the Gothic king beyond the fortifications of + Ravenna. These fortifications were, indeed, impregnable to the assaults of + art or violence; and when Belisarius invested the capital, he was soon + convinced that famine only could tame the stubborn spirit of the + Barbarians. The sea, the land, and the channels of the Po, were guarded by + the vigilance of the Roman general; and his morality extended the rights + of war to the practice of poisoning the waters, <a href="#linknote-41.105" + name="linknoteref-41.105" id="linknoteref-41.105">105</a> and secretly + firing the granaries <a href="#linknote-41.106" name="linknoteref-41.106" + id="linknoteref-41.106">106</a> of a besieged city. <a + href="#linknote-41.107" name="linknoteref-41.107" id="linknoteref-41.107">107</a> + While he pressed the blockade of Ravenna, he was surprised by the arrival + of two ambassadors from Constantinople, with a treaty of peace, which + Justinian had imprudently signed, without deigning to consult the author + of his victory. By this disgraceful and precarious agreement, Italy and + the Gothic treasure were divided, and the provinces beyond the Po were + left with the regal title to the successor of Theodoric. The ambassadors + were eager to accomplish their salutary commission; the captive Vitiges + accepted, with transport, the unexpected offer of a crown; honor was less + prevalent among the Goths, than the want and appetite of food; and the + Roman chiefs, who murmured at the continuance of the war, professed + implicit submission to the commands of the emperor. If Belisarius had + possessed only the courage of a soldier, the laurel would have been + snatched from his hand by timid and envious counsels; but in this decisive + moment, he resolved, with the magnanimity of a statesman, to sustain alone + the danger and merit of generous disobedience. Each of his officers gave a + written opinion that the siege of Ravenna was impracticable and hopeless: + the general then rejected the treaty of partition, and declared his own + resolution of leading Vitiges in chains to the feet of Justinian. The + Goths retired with doubt and dismay: this peremptory refusal deprived them + of the only signature which they could trust, and filled their minds with + a just apprehension, that a sagacious enemy had discovered the full extent + of their deplorable state. They compared the fame and fortune of + Belisarius with the weakness of their ill-fated king; and the comparison + suggested an extraordinary project, to which Vitiges, with apparent + resignation, was compelled to acquiesce. Partition would ruin the + strength, exile would disgrace the honor, of the nation; but they offered + their arms, their treasures, and the fortifications of Ravenna, if + Belisarius would disclaim the authority of a master, accept the choice of + the Goths, and assume, as he had deserved, the kingdom of Italy. If the + false lustre of a diadem could have tempted the loyalty of a faithful + subject, his prudence must have foreseen the inconstancy of the + Barbarians, and his rational ambition would prefer the safe and honorable + station of a Roman general. Even the patience and seeming satisfaction + with which he entertained a proposal of treason, might be susceptible of a + malignant interpretation. But the lieutenant of Justinian was conscious of + his own rectitude; he entered into a dark and crooked path, as it might + lead to the voluntary submission of the Goths; and his dexterous policy + persuaded them that he was disposed to comply with their wishes, without + engaging an oath or a promise for the performance of a treaty which he + secretly abhorred. The day of the surrender of Ravenna was stipulated by + the Gothic ambassadors: a fleet, laden with provisions, sailed as a + welcome guest into the deepest recess of the harbor: the gates were opened + to the fancied king of Italy; and Belisarius, without meeting an enemy, + triumphantly marched through the streets of an impregnable city. <a + href="#linknote-41.108" name="linknoteref-41.108" id="linknoteref-41.108">108</a> + The Romans were astonished by their success; the multitudes of tall and + robust Barbarians were confounded by the image of their own patience and + the masculine females, spitting in the faces of their sons and husbands, + most bitterly reproached them for betraying their dominion and freedom to + these pygmies of the south, contemptible in their numbers, diminutive in + their stature. Before the Goths could recover from the first surprise, and + claim the accomplishment of their doubtful hopes, the victor established + his power in Ravenna, beyond the danger of repentance and revolt. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.1041" id="linknote-41.1041"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1041 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.1041">return</a>)<br /> [ Auximum, p. 175.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.105" id="linknote-41.105"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 105 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.105">return</a>)<br /> [ In the siege of + Auximum, he first labored to demolish an old aqueduct, and then cast into + the stream, 1. dead bodies; 2. mischievous herbs; and 3. quicklime. (says + Procopius, l. ii. c. 27) Yet both words are used as synonymous in Galen, + Dioscorides, and Lucian, (Hen. Steph. Thesaur. Ling. Graec. tom. iii. p. + 748.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.106" id="linknote-41.106"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 106 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.106">return</a>)<br /> [ The Goths suspected + Mathasuintha as an accomplice in the mischief, which perhaps was + occasioned by accidental lightning.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.107" id="linknote-41.107"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 107 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.107">return</a>)<br /> [ In strict philosophy, + a limitation of the rights of war seems to imply nonsense and + contradiction. Grotius himself is lost in an idle distinction between the + jus naturae and the jus gentium, between poison and infection. He balances + in one scale the passages of Homer (Odyss. A 259, &c.) and Florus, (l. + ii. c. 20, No. 7, ult.;) and in the other, the examples of Solon + (Pausanias, l. x. c. 37) and Belisarius. See his great work De Jure Belli + et Pacis, (l. iii. c. 4, s. 15, 16, 17, and in Barbeyrac’s version, tom. + ii. p. 257, &c.) Yet I can understand the benefit and validity of an + agreement, tacit or express, mutually to abstain from certain modes of + hostility. See the Amphictyonic oath in Aeschines, de falsa Legatione.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.108" id="linknote-41.108"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 108 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.108">return</a>)<br /> [ Ravenna was taken, + not in the year 540, but in the latter end of 539; and Pagi (tom. ii. p. + 569) is rectified by Muratori. (Annali d’Italia, tom. v. p. 62,) who + proves from an original act on papyrus, (Antiquit. Italiae Medii Aevi, + tom. ii. dissert. xxxii. p. 999—1007,) Maffei, (Istoria Diplomat. p. + 155-160,) that before the third of January, 540, peace and free + correspondence were restored between Ravenna and Faenza.] Vitiges, who + perhaps had attempted to escape, was honorably guarded in his palace; <a + href="#linknote-41.109" name="linknoteref-41.109" id="linknoteref-41.109">109</a> + the flower of the Gothic youth was selected for the service of the + emperor; the remainder of the people was dismissed to their peaceful + habitations in the southern provinces; and a colony of Italians was + invited to replenish the depopulated city. The submission of the capital + was imitated in the towns and villages of Italy, which had not been + subdued, or even visited, by the Romans; and the independent Goths, who + remained in arms at Pavia and Verona, were ambitious only to become the + subjects of Belisarius. But his inflexible loyalty rejected, except as the + substitute of Justinian, their oaths of allegiance; and he was not + offended by the reproach of their deputies, that he rather chose to be a + slave than a king. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.109" id="linknote-41.109"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 109 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.109">return</a>)<br /> [ He was seized by John + the Sanguinary, but an oath or sacrament was pledged for his safety in the + Basilica Julii, (Hist. Miscell. l. xvii. in Muratori, tom. i. p. 107.) + Anastasius (in Vit. Pont. p. 40) gives a dark but probable account. + Montfaucon is quoted by Mascou (Hist. of the Germans, xii. 21) for a + votive shield representing the captivity of Vitiges and now in the + collection of Signor Landi at Rome.] + </p> + <p> + After the second victory of Belisarius, envy again whispered, Justinian + listened, and the hero was recalled. “The remnant of the Gothic war was no + longer worthy of his presence: a gracious sovereign was impatient to + reward his services, and to consult his wisdom; and he alone was capable + of defending the East against the innumerable armies of Persia.” + Belisarius understood the suspicion, accepted the excuse, embarked at + Ravenna his spoils and trophies; and proved, by his ready obedience, that + such an abrupt removal from the government of Italy was not less unjust + than it might have been indiscreet. The emperor received with honorable + courtesy both Vitiges and his more noble consort; and as the king of the + Goths conformed to the Athanasian faith, he obtained, with a rich + inheritance of land in Asia, the rank of senator and patrician.<a href="#linknote-41.110" name="linknoteref-41.110" id="linknoteref-41.110">110</a> + Every spectator admired, without peril, the strength and stature of the + young Barbarians: they adored the majesty of the throne, and promised to + shed their blood in the service of their benefactor. Justinian deposited + in the Byzantine palace the treasures of the Gothic monarchy. A + flattering senate was sometime admitted to gaze on the magnificent + spectacle; but it was enviously secluded from the public view: and the + conqueror of Italy renounced, without a murmur, perhaps without a sigh, + the well-earned honors of a second triumph. His glory was indeed exalted + above all external pomp; and the faint and hollow praises of the court + were supplied, even in a servile age, by the respect and admiration of + his country. Whenever he appeared in the streets and public places of + Constantinople, Belisarius attracted and satisfied the eyes of the + people. His lofty stature and majestic countenance fulfilled their + expectations of a hero; the meanest of his fellow-citizens were + emboldened by his gentle and gracious demeanor; and the martial train + which attended his footsteps left his person more accessible than in a + day of battle. Seven thousand horsemen, matchless for beauty and valor, + were maintained in the service, and at the private expense, of the + general. <a href="#linknote-41.111" + name="linknoteref-41.111" id="linknoteref-41.111">111</a> Their prowess was + always conspicuous in single combats, or in the foremost ranks; and both + parties confessed that in the siege of Rome, the guards of Belisarius had + alone vanquished the Barbarian host. Their numbers were continually + augmented by the bravest and most faithful of the enemy; and his fortunate + captives, the Vandals, the Moors, and the Goths, emulated the attachment + of his domestic followers. By the union of liberality and justice, he + acquired the love of the soldiers, without alienating the affections of + the people. The sick and wounded were relieved with medicines and money; + and still more efficaciously, by the healing visits and smiles of their + commander. The loss of a weapon or a horse was instantly repaired, and + each deed of valor was rewarded by the rich and honorable gifts of a + bracelet or a collar, which were rendered more precious by the judgment of + Belisarius. He was endeared to the husbandmen by the peace and plenty + which they enjoyed under the shadow of his standard. Instead of being + injured, the country was enriched by the march of the Roman armies; and + such was the rigid discipline of their camp, that not an apple was + gathered from the tree, not a path could be traced in the fields of corn. + Belisarius was chaste and sober. In the license of a military life, none + could boast that they had seen him intoxicated with wine: the most + beautiful captives of Gothic or Vandal race were offered to his embraces; + but he turned aside from their charms, and the husband of Antonina was + never suspected of violating the laws of conjugal fidelity. The spectator + and historian of his exploits has observed, that amidst the perils of war, + he was daring without rashness, prudent without fear, slow or rapid + according to the exigencies of the moment; that in the deepest distress he + was animated by real or apparent hope, but that he was modest and humble + in the most prosperous fortune. By these virtues, he equalled or excelled + the ancient masters of the military art. Victory, by sea and land, + attended his arms. He subdued Africa, Italy, and the adjacent islands; led + away captives the successors of Genseric and Theodoric; filled + Constantinople with the spoils of their palaces; and in the space of six + years recovered half the provinces of the Western empire. In his fame and + merit, in wealth and power, he remained without a rival, the first of the + Roman subjects; the voice of envy could only magnify his dangerous + importance; and the emperor might applaud his own discerning spirit, which + had discovered and raised the genius of Belisarius. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.110" id="linknote-41.110"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 110 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.110">return</a>)<br /> [ Vitiges lived two + years at Constantinople, and imperatoris in affectû <i>convictus</i> (or + conjunctus) rebus excessit humanis. His widow <i>Mathasuenta</i>, the + wife and mother of the patricians, the elder and younger Germanus, united + the streams of Anician and Amali blood, (Jornandes, c. 60, p. 221, in + Muratori, tom. i.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.111" id="linknote-41.111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 111 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.111">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Goth. + l. iii. c. 1. Aimoin, a French monk of the xith century, who had + obtained, and has disfigured, some authentic information of Belisarius, + mentions, in his name, 12,000, <i>pueri</i> or slaves—quos propriis + alimus stipendiis—besides 18,000 soldiers, (Historians of France, + tom. iii. De Gestis Franc. l. ii. c. 6, p. 48.)] + </p> + <p> + It was the custom of the Roman triumphs, that a slave should be placed + behind the chariot to remind the conqueror of the instability of fortune, + and the infirmities of human nature. Procopius, in his Anecdotes, has + assumed that servile and ungrateful office. The generous reader may cast + away the libel, but the evidence of facts will adhere to his memory; and + he will reluctantly confess, that the fame, and even the virtue, of + Belisarius, were polluted by the lust and cruelty of his wife; and that + hero deserved an appellation which may not drop from the pen of the decent + historian. The mother of Antonina <a href="#linknote-41.112" + name="linknoteref-41.112" id="linknoteref-41.112">112</a> was a theatrical + prostitute, and both her father and grandfather exercised, at Thessalonica + and Constantinople, the vile, though lucrative, profession of charioteers. + In the various situations of their fortune she became the companion, the + enemy, the servant, and the favorite of the empress Theodora: these loose + and ambitious females had been connected by similar pleasures; they were + separated by the jealousy of vice, and at length reconciled by the + partnership of guilt. Before her marriage with Belisarius, Antonina had + one husband and many lovers: Photius, the son of her former nuptials, was + of an age to distinguish himself at the siege of Naples; and it was not + till the autumn of her age and beauty <a href="#linknote-41.113" + name="linknoteref-41.113" id="linknoteref-41.113">113</a> that she indulged + a scandalous attachment to a Thracian youth. Theodosius had been educated + in the Eunomian heresy; the African voyage was consecrated by the baptism + and auspicious name of the first soldier who embarked; and the proselyte + was adopted into the family of his spiritual parents, <a + href="#linknote-41.114" name="linknoteref-41.114" id="linknoteref-41.114">114</a> + Belisarius and Antonina. Before they touched the shores of Africa, this + holy kindred degenerated into sensual love: and as Antonina soon + overleaped the bounds of modesty and caution, the Roman general was alone + ignorant of his own dishonor. During their residence at Carthage, he + surprised the two lovers in a subterraneous chamber, solitary, warm, and + almost naked. Anger flashed from his eyes. “With the help of this young + man,” said the unblushing Antonina, “I was secreting our most precious + effects from the knowledge of Justinian.” The youth resumed his garments, + and the pious husband consented to disbelieve the evidence of his own + senses. From this pleasing and perhaps voluntary delusion, Belisarius was + awakened at Syracuse, by the officious information of Macedonia; and that + female attendant, after requiring an oath for her security, produced two + chamberlains, who, like herself, had often beheld the adulteries of + Antonina. A hasty flight into Asia saved Theodosius from the justice of an + injured husband, who had signified to one of his guards the order of his + death; but the tears of Antonina, and her artful seductions, assured the + credulous hero of her innocence: and he stooped, against his faith and + judgment, to abandon those imprudent friends, who had presumed to accuse + or doubt the chastity of his wife. The revenge of a guilty woman is + implacable and bloody: the unfortunate Macedonia, with the two witnesses, + were secretly arrested by the minister of her cruelty; their tongues were + cut out, their bodies were hacked into small pieces, and their remains + were cast into the Sea of Syracuse. A rash though judicious saying of + Constantine, “I would sooner have punished the adulteress than the boy,” + was deeply remembered by Antonina; and two years afterwards, when despair + had armed that officer against his general, her sanguinary advice decided + and hastened his execution. Even the indignation of Photius was not + forgiven by his mother; the exile of her son prepared the recall of her + lover; and Theodosius condescended to accept the pressing and humble + invitation of the conqueror of Italy. In the absolute direction of his + household, and in the important commissions of peace and war, <a + href="#linknote-41.115" name="linknoteref-41.115" id="linknoteref-41.115">115</a> + the favorite youth most rapidly acquired a fortune of four hundred + thousand pounds sterling; and after their return to Constantinople, the + passion of Antonina, at least, continued ardent and unabated. But fear, + devotion, and lassitude perhaps, inspired Theodosius with more serious + thoughts. He dreaded the busy scandal of the capital, and the indiscreet + fondness of the wife of Belisarius; escaped from her embraces, and + retiring to Ephesus, shaved his head, and took refuge in the sanctuary of + a monastic life. The despair of the new Ariadne could scarcely have been + excused by the death of her husband. She wept, she tore her hair, she + filled the palace with her cries; “she had lost the dearest of friends, a + tender, a faithful, a laborious friend!” But her warm entreaties, + fortified by the prayers of Belisarius, were insufficient to draw the holy + monk from the solitude of Ephesus. It was not till the general moved + forward for the Persian war, that Theodosius could be tempted to return to + Constantinople; and the short interval before the departure of Antonina + herself was boldly devoted to love and pleasure. <a name="linknote-41.112" + id="linknote-41.112"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 112 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.112">return</a>)<br /> [The diligence of + Alemannus could add but little to the four first and most curious chapters + of the Anecdotes. Of these strange Anecdotes, a part may be true, because + probable—and a part true, because improbable. Procopius must have + known the former, and the latter he could scarcely invent. Note: The + malice of court scandal is proverbially inventive; and of such scandal the + “Anecdota” may be an embellished record.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.113" id="linknote-41.113"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 113 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.113">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius intimates + (Anecdot. c. 4) that when Belisarius returned to Italy, (A.D. 543,) + Antonina was sixty years of age. A forced, but more polite construction, + which refers that date to the moment when he was writing, (A.D. 559,) + would be compatible with the manhood of Photius, (Gothic. l. i. c. 10) in + 536.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.114" id="linknote-41.114"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 114 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.114">return</a>)<br /> [ Gompare the Vandalic + War (l. i. c. 12) with the Anecdotes (c. i.) and Alemannus, (p. 2, 3.) + This mode of baptismal adoption was revived by Leo the philosopher.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.115" id="linknote-41.115"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 115 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.115">return</a>)<br /> [ In November, 537, + Photius arrested the pope, (Liberat. Brev. c. 22. Pagi, tom. ii. p. 562) + About the end of 539, Belisarius sent Theodosius on an important and + lucrative commission to Ravenna, (Goth. l. ii. c. 18.)] + </p> + <p> + A philosopher may pity and forgive the infirmities of female nature, from + which he receives no real injury: but contemptible is the husband who + feels, and yet endures, his own infamy in that of his wife. Antonina + pursued her son with implacable hatred; and the gallant Photius <a + href="#linknote-41.116" name="linknoteref-41.116" id="linknoteref-41.116">116</a> + was exposed to her secret persecutions in the camp beyond the Tigris. + Enraged by his own wrongs, and by the dishonor of his blood, he cast away + in his turn the sentiments of nature, and revealed to Belisarius the + turpitude of a woman who had violated all the duties of a mother and a + wife. From the surprise and indignation of the Roman general, his former + credulity appears to have been sincere: he embraced the knees of the son + of Antonina, adjured him to remember his obligations rather than his + birth, and confirmed at the altar their holy vows of revenge and mutual + defence. The dominion of Antonina was impaired by absence; and when she + met her husband, on his return from the Persian confines, Belisarius, in + his first and transient emotions, confined her person, and threatened her + life. Photius was more resolved to punish, and less prompt to pardon: he + flew to Ephesus; extorted from a trusty eunuch of his mother the full + confession of her guilt; arrested Theodosius and his treasures in the + church of St. John the Apostle, and concealed his captives, whose + execution was only delayed, in a secure and sequestered fortress of + Cilicia. Such a daring outrage against public justice could not pass with + impunity; and the cause of Antonina was espoused by the empress, whose + favor she had deserved by the recent services of the disgrace of a + præfect, and the exile and murder of a pope. At the end of the campaign, + Belisarius was recalled; he complied, as usual, with the Imperial mandate. + His mind was not prepared for rebellion: his obedience, however adverse to + the dictates of honor, was consonant to the wishes of his heart; and when + he embraced his wife, at the command, and perhaps in the presence, of the + empress, the tender husband was disposed to forgive or to be forgiven. The + bounty of Theodora reserved for her companion a more precious favor. “I + have found,” she said, “my dearest patrician, a pearl of inestimable + value; it has not yet been viewed by any mortal eye; but the sight and the + possession of this jewel are destined for my friend.” <a + href="#linknote-41.1161" name="linknoteref-41.1161" id="linknoteref-41.1161">1161</a> + As soon as the curiosity and impatience of Antonina were kindled, the door + of a bed-chamber was thrown open, and she beheld her lover, whom the + diligence of the eunuchs had discovered in his secret prison. Her silent + wonder burst into passionate exclamations of gratitude and joy, and she + named Theodora her queen, her benefactress, and her savior. The monk of + Ephesus was nourished in the palace with luxury and ambition; but instead + of assuming, as he was promised, the command of the Roman armies, + Theodosius expired in the first fatigues of an amorous interview. <a + href="#linknote-41.1162" name="linknoteref-41.1162" id="linknoteref-41.1162">1162</a> + The grief of Antonina could only be assuaged by the sufferings of her son. + A youth of consular rank, and a sickly constitution, was punished, without + a trial, like a malefactor and a slave: yet such was the constancy of his + mind, that Photius sustained the tortures of the scourge and the rack, <a + href="#linknote-41.1163" name="linknoteref-41.1163" id="linknoteref-41.1163">1163</a> + without violating the faith which he had sworn to Belisarius. After this + fruitless cruelty, the son of Antonina, while his mother feasted with the + empress, was buried in her subterraneous prisons, which admitted not the + distinction of night and day. He twice escaped to the most venerable + sanctuaries of Constantinople, the churches of St. Sophia, and of the + Virgin: but his tyrants were insensible of religion as of pity; and the + helpless youth, amidst the clamors of the clergy and people, was twice + dragged from the altar to the dungeon. His third attempt was more + successful. At the end of three years, the prophet Zachariah, or some + mortal friend, indicated the means of an escape: he eluded the spies and + guards of the empress, reached the holy sepulchre of Jerusalem, embraced + the profession of a monk; and the abbot Photius was employed, after the + death of Justinian, to reconcile and regulate the churches of Egypt. The + son of Antonina suffered all that an enemy can inflict: her patient + husband imposed on himself the more exquisite misery of violating his + promise and deserting his friend. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.116" id="linknote-41.116"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 116 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.116">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophanes + (Chronograph. p. 204) styles him Photinus, the son-in-law of Belisarius; + and he is copied by the Historia Miscella and Anastasius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.1161" id="linknote-41.1161"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1161 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.1161">return</a>)<br /> [ This and much of + the private scandal in the “Anecdota” is liable to serious doubt. Who + reported all these private conversations, and how did they reach the ears + of Procopius?—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.1162" id="linknote-41.1162"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1162 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.1162">return</a>)<br /> [ This is a strange + misrepresentation—he died of a dysentery; nor does it appear that it + was immediately after this scene. Antonina proposed to raise him to the + generalship of the army. Procop. Anecd. p. 14. The sudden change from the + abstemious diet of a monk to the luxury of the court is a much more + probable cause of his death.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.1163" id="linknote-41.1163"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1163 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.1163">return</a>)<br /> [ The expression of + Procopius does not appear to me to mean this kind of torture. Ibid.—M.] + </p> + <p> + In the succeeding campaign, Belisarius was again sent against the + Persians: he saved the East, but he offended Theodora, and perhaps the + emperor himself. The malady of Justinian had countenanced the rumor of his + death; and the Roman general, on the supposition of that probable event + spoke the free language of a citizen and a soldier. His colleague Buzes, + who concurred in the same sentiments, lost his rank, his liberty, and his + health, by the persecution of the empress: but the disgrace of Belisarius + was alleviated by the dignity of his own character, and the influence of + his wife, who might wish to humble, but could not desire to ruin, the + partner of her fortunes. Even his removal was colored by the assurance, + that the sinking state of Italy would be retrieved by the single presence + of its conqueror. + </p> + <p> + But no sooner had he returned, alone and defenceless, than a hostile + commission was sent to the East, to seize his treasures and criminate his + actions; the guards and veterans, who followed his private banner, were + distributed among the chiefs of the army, and even the eunuchs presumed to + cast lots for the partition of his martial domestics. When he passed with + a small and sordid retinue through the streets of Constantinople, his + forlorn appearance excited the amazement and compassion of the people. + Justinian and Theodora received him with cold ingratitude; the servile + crowd, with insolence and contempt; and in the evening he retired with + trembling steps to his deserted palace. An indisposition, feigned or real, + had confined Antonina to her apartment; and she walked disdainfully silent + in the adjacent portico, while Belisarius threw himself on his bed, and + expected, in an agony of grief and terror, the death which he had so often + braved under the walls of Rome. Long after sunset a messenger was + announced from the empress: he opened, with anxious curiosity, the letter + which contained the sentence of his fate. “You cannot be ignorant how much + you have deserved my displeasure. I am not insensible of the services of + Antonina. To her merits and intercession I have granted your life, and + permit you to retain a part of your treasures, which might be justly + forfeited to the state. Let your gratitude, where it is due, be displayed, + not in words, but in your future behavior.” I know not how to believe or + to relate the transports with which the hero is said to have received this + ignominious pardon. He fell prostrate before his wife, he kissed the feet + of his savior, and he devoutly promised to live the grateful and + submissive slave of Antonina. A fine of one hundred and twenty thousand + pounds sterling was levied on the fortunes of Belisarius; and with the + office of count, or master of the royal stables, he accepted the conduct + of the Italian war. At his departure from Constantinople, his friends, and + even the public, were persuaded that as soon as he regained his freedom, + he would renounce his dissimulation, and that his wife, Theodora, and + perhaps the emperor himself, would be sacrificed to the just revenge of a + virtuous rebel. Their hopes were deceived; and the unconquerable patience + and loyalty of Belisarius appear either below or above the character of a + man. <a href="#linknote-41.117" name="linknoteref-41.117" + id="linknoteref-41.117">117</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-41.117" id="linknote-41.117"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 117 (<a href="#linknoteref-41.117">return</a>)<br /> [ The continuator of + the Chronicle of Marcellinus gives, in a few decent words, the substance + of the Anecdotes: Belisarius de Oriente evocatus, in offensam periculumque + incurrens grave, et invidiae subeacens rursus remittitur in Italiam, (p. + 54.)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap42.1"></a> +Chapter XLII: State Of The Barbaric World.—Part I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +State Of The Barbaric World.—Establishment Of The Lombards On the +Danube.—Tribes And Inroads Of The Sclavonians.—Origin, Empire, And +Embassies Of The Turks.—The Flight Of The Avars.—Chosroes I, Or +Nushirvan, King Of Persia.—His Prosperous Reign And Wars With The +Romans.—The Colchian Or Lazic War.—The Æthiopians. +</p> + <p> + Our estimate of personal merit, is relative to the common faculties of + mankind. The aspiring efforts of genius, or virtue, either in active or + speculative life, are measured, not so much by their real elevation, as by + the height to which they ascend above the level of their age and country; + and the same stature, which in a people of giants would pass unnoticed, + must appear conspicuous in a race of pygmies. Leonidas, and his three + hundred companions, devoted their lives at Thermopylae; but the education + of the infant, the boy, and the man, had prepared, and almost insured, + this memorable sacrifice; and each Spartan would approve, rather than + admire, an act of duty, of which himself and eight thousand of his + fellow-citizens were equally capable. <a href="#linknote-42.1" + name="linknoteref-42.1" id="linknoteref-42.1">1</a> The great Pompey might + inscribe on his trophies, that he had defeated in battle two millions of + enemies, and reduced fifteen hundred cities from the Lake Maeotis to the + Red Sea: <a href="#linknote-42.2" name="linknoteref-42.2" + id="linknoteref-42.2">2</a> but the fortune of Rome flew before his eagles; + the nations were oppressed by their own fears, and the invincible legions + which he commanded, had been formed by the habits of conquest and the + discipline of ages. In this view, the character of Belisarius may be + deservedly placed above the heroes of the ancient republics. His + imperfections flowed from the contagion of the times; his virtues were his + own, the free gift of nature or reflection; he raised himself without a + master or a rival; and so inadequate were the arms committed to his hand, + that his sole advantage was derived from the pride and presumption of his + adversaries. Under his command, the subjects of Justinian often deserved + to be called Romans: but the unwarlike appellation of Greeks was imposed + as a term of reproach by the haughty Goths; who affected to blush, that + they must dispute the kingdom of Italy with a nation of tragedians, + pantomimes, and pirates. <a href="#linknote-42.3" name="linknoteref-42.3" + id="linknoteref-42.3">3</a> The climate of Asia has indeed been found less + congenial than that of Europe to military spirit: those populous countries + were enervated by luxury, despotism, and superstition; and the monks were + more expensive and more numerous than the soldiers of the East. The + regular force of the empire had once amounted to six hundred and + forty-five thousand men: it was reduced, in the time of Justinian, to one + hundred and fifty thousand; and this number, large as it may seem, was + thinly scattered over the sea and land; in Spain and Italy, in Africa and + Egypt, on the banks of the Danube, the coast of the Euxine, and the + frontiers of Persia. The citizen was exhausted, yet the soldier was + unpaid; his poverty was mischievously soothed by the privilege of rapine + and indolence; and the tardy payments were detained and intercepted by the + fraud of those agents who usurp, without courage or danger, the emoluments + of war. Public and private distress recruited the armies of the state; but + in the field, and still more in the presence of the enemy, their numbers + were always defective. The want of national spirit was supplied by the + precarious faith and disorderly service of Barbarian mercenaries. + </p> + <p> + Even military honor, which has often survived the loss of virtue and + freedom, was almost totally extinct. The generals, who were multiplied + beyond the example of former times, labored only to prevent the success, + or to sully the reputation of their colleagues; and they had been taught + by experience, that if merit sometimes provoked the jealousy, error, or + even guilt, would obtain the indulgence, of a gracious emperor. <a + href="#linknote-42.4" name="linknoteref-42.4" id="linknoteref-42.4">4</a> In + such an age, the triumphs of Belisarius, and afterwards of Narses, shine + with incomparable lustre; but they are encompassed with the darkest shades + of disgrace and calamity. While the lieutenant of Justinian subdued the + kingdoms of the Goths and Vandals, the emperor, <a href="#linknote-42.5" + name="linknoteref-42.5" id="linknoteref-42.5">5</a> timid, though ambitious, + balanced the forces of the Barbarians, fomented their divisions by + flattery and falsehood, and invited by his patience and liberality the + repetition of injuries. <a href="#linknote-42.6" name="linknoteref-42.6" + id="linknoteref-42.6">6</a> The keys of Carthage, Rome, and Ravenna, were + presented to their conqueror, while Antioch was destroyed by the Persians, + and Justinian trembled for the safety of Constantinople. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.1" id="linknote-42.1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.1">return</a>)<br /> [ It will be a pleasure, + not a task, to read Herodotus, (l. vii. c. 104, 134, p. 550, 615.) The + conversation of Xerxes and Demaratus at Thermopylae is one of the most + interesting and moral scenes in history. It was the torture of the royal + Spartan to behold, with anguish and remorse, the virtue of his country.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.2" id="linknote-42.2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.2">return</a>)<br /> [ See this proud + inscription in Pliny, (Hist. Natur. vii. 27.) Few men have more + exquisitely tasted of glory and disgrace; nor could Juvenal (Satir. x.) + produce a more striking example of the vicissitudes of fortune, and the + vanity of human wishes.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.3" id="linknote-42.3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.3">return</a>)<br /> [ This last epithet of + Procopius is too nobly translated by pirates; naval thieves is the proper + word; strippers of garments, either for injury or insult, (Demosthenes + contra Conon Reiske, Orator, Graec. tom. ii. p. 1264.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.4" id="linknote-42.4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.4">return</a>)<br /> [ See the third and fourth + books of the Gothic War: the writer of the Anecdotes cannot aggravate + these abuses.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.5" id="linknote-42.5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.5">return</a>)<br /> [ Agathias, l. v. p. 157, + 158. He confines this weakness of the emperor and the empire to the old + age of Justinian; but alas! he was never young.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.6" id="linknote-42.6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.6">return</a>)<br /> [ This mischievous policy, + which Procopius (Anecdot. c. 19) imputes to the emperor, is revealed in + his epistle to a Scythian prince, who was capable of understanding it.] + </p> + <p> + Even the Gothic victories of Belisarius were prejudicial to the state, + since they abolished the important barrier of the Upper Danube, which had + been so faithfully guarded by Theodoric and his daughter. For the defence + of Italy, the Goths evacuated Pannonia and Noricum, which they left in a + peaceful and flourishing condition: the sovereignty was claimed by the + emperor of the Romans; the actual possession was abandoned to the boldness + of the first invader. On the opposite banks of the Danube, the plains of + Upper Hungary and the Transylvanian hills were possessed, since the death + of Attila, by the tribes of the Gepidae, who respected the Gothic arms, + and despised, not indeed the gold of the Romans, but the secret motive of + their annual subsidies. The vacant fortifications of the river were + instantly occupied by these Barbarians; their standards were planted on + the walls of Sirmium and Belgrade; and the ironical tone of their apology + aggravated this insult on the majesty of the empire. “So extensive, O + Caesar, are your dominions, so numerous are your cities, that you are + continually seeking for nations to whom, either in peace or in war, you + may relinquish these useless possessions. The Gepidae are your brave and + faithful allies; and if they have anticipated your gifts, they have shown + a just confidence in your bounty.” Their presumption was excused by the + mode of revenge which Justinian embraced. Instead of asserting the rights + of a sovereign for the protection of his subjects, the emperor invited a + strange people to invade and possess the Roman provinces between the + Danube and the Alps and the ambition of the Gepidae was checked by the + rising power and fame of the Lombards. <a href="#linknote-42.7" + name="linknoteref-42.7" id="linknoteref-42.7">7</a> This corrupt appellation + has been diffused in the thirteenth century by the merchants and bankers, + the Italian posterity of these savage warriors: but the original name of + Langobards is expressive only of the peculiar length and fashion of their + beards. I am not disposed either to question or to justify their + Scandinavian origin; <a href="#linknote-42.8" name="linknoteref-42.8" + id="linknoteref-42.8">8</a> nor to pursue the migrations of the Lombards + through unknown regions and marvellous adventures. About the time of + Augustus and Trajan, a ray of historic light breaks on the darkness of + their antiquities, and they are discovered, for the first time, between + the Elbe and the Oder. Fierce, beyond the example of the Germans, they + delighted to propagate the tremendous belief, that their heads were formed + like the heads of dogs, and that they drank the blood of their enemies, + whom they vanquished in battle. The smallness of their numbers was + recruited by the adoption of their bravest slaves; and alone, amidst their + powerful neighbors, they defended by arms their high-spirited + independence. In the tempests of the north, which overwhelmed so many + names and nations, this little bark of the Lombards still floated on the + surface: they gradually descended towards the south and the Danube, and, + at the end of four hundred years, they again appear with their ancient + valor and renown. Their manners were not less ferocious. The assassination + of a royal guest was executed in the presence, and by the command, of the + king’s daughter, who had been provoked by some words of insult, and + disappointed by his diminutive stature; and a tribute, the price of blood, + was imposed on the Lombards, by his brother the king of the Heruli. + Adversity revived a sense of moderation and justice, and the insolence of + conquest was chastised by the signal defeat and irreparable dispersion of + the Heruli, who were seated in the southern provinces of Poland. <a + href="#linknote-42.9" name="linknoteref-42.9" id="linknoteref-42.9">9</a> The + victories of the Lombards recommended them to the friendship of the + emperors; and at the solicitations of Justinian, they passed the Danube, + to reduce, according to their treaty, the cities of Noricum and the + fortresses of Pannonia. But the spirit of rapine soon tempted them beyond + these ample limits; they wandered along the coast of the Hadriatic as far + as Dyrrachium, and presumed, with familiar rudeness to enter the towns and + houses of their Roman allies, and to seize the captives who had escaped + from their audacious hands. These acts of hostility, the sallies, as it + might be pretended, of some loose adventurers, were disowned by the + nation, and excused by the emperor; but the arms of the Lombards were more + seriously engaged by a contest of thirty years, which was terminated only + by the extirpation of the Gepidae. The hostile nations often pleaded their + cause before the throne of Constantinople; and the crafty Justinian, to + whom the Barbarians were almost equally odious, pronounced a partial and + ambiguous sentence, and dexterously protracted the war by slow and + ineffectual succors. Their strength was formidable, since the Lombards, + who sent into the field several myriads of soldiers, still claimed, as the + weaker side, the protection of the Romans. Their spirit was intrepid; yet + such is the uncertainty of courage, that the two armies were suddenly + struck with a panic; they fled from each other, and the rival kings + remained with their guards in the midst of an empty plain. A short truce + was obtained; but their mutual resentment again kindled; and the + remembrance of their shame rendered the next encounter more desperate and + bloody. Forty thousand of the Barbarians perished in the decisive battle, + which broke the power of the Gepidae, transferred the fears and wishes of + Justinian, and first displayed the character of Alboin, the youthful + prince of the Lombards, and the future conqueror of Italy. <a + href="#linknote-42.10" name="linknoteref-42.10" id="linknoteref-42.10">10</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.7" id="linknote-42.7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.7">return</a>)<br /> [ Gens Germana feritate + ferocior, says Velleius Paterculus of the Lombards, (ii. 106.) Langobardos + paucitas nobilitat. Plurimis ac valentissimis nationibus cincti non per + obsequium, sed praeliis et perilitando, tuti sunt, (Tacit. de Moribus + German. c. 40.) See likewise Strabo, (l. viii. p. 446.) The best + geographers place them beyond the Elbe, in the bishopric of Magdeburgh and + the middle march of Brandenburgh; and their situation will agree with the + patriotic remark of the count de Hertzberg, that most of the Barbarian + conquerors issued from the same countries which still produce the armies + of Prussia. * Note: See Malte Brun, vol. i. p 402.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.8" id="linknote-42.8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.8">return</a>)<br /> [ The Scandinavian origin + of the Goths and Lombards, as stated by Paul Warnefrid, surnamed the + deacon, is attacked by Cluverius, (Germania, Antiq. l. iii. c. 26, p. 102, + &c.,) a native of Prussia, and defended by Grotius, (Prolegom. ad + Hist. Goth. p. 28, &c.,) the Swedish Ambassador.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.9" id="linknote-42.9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.9">return</a>)<br /> [ Two facts in the + narrative of Paul Diaconus (l. i. c. 20) are expressive of national + manners: 1. Dum ad tabulam luderet—while he played at draughts. 2. + Camporum viridantia lina. The cultivation of flax supposes property, + commerce, agriculture, and manufactures] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.10" id="linknote-42.10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.10">return</a>)<br /> [ I have used, without + undertaking to reconcile, the facts in Procopius, (Goth. l. ii. c. 14, l. + iii. c. 33, 34, l. iv. c. 18, 25,) Paul Diaconus, (de Gestis Langobard, l. + i. c. 1-23, in Muratori, Script. Rerum Italicarum, tom. i. p. 405-419,) + and Jornandes, (de Success. Regnorum, p. 242.) The patient reader may draw + some light from Mascou (Hist. of the Germans, and Annotat. xxiii.) and De + Buat, (Hist. des Peuples, &c., tom. ix. x. xi.)] + </p> + <p> + The wild people who dwelt or wandered in the plains of Russia, Lithuania, + and Poland, might be reduced, in the age of Justinian, under the two great + families of the Bulgarians <a href="#linknote-42.11" name="linknoteref-42.11" + id="linknoteref-42.11">11</a> and the Sclavonians. According to the Greek + writers, the former, who touched the Euxine and the Lake Maeotis, derived + from the Huns their name or descent; and it is needless to renew the + simple and well-known picture of Tartar manners. They were bold and + dexterous archers, who drank the milk, and feasted on the flesh, of their + fleet and indefatigable horses; whose flocks and herds followed, or rather + guided, the motions of their roving camps; to whose inroads no country was + remote or impervious, and who were practised in flight, though incapable + of fear. The nation was divided into two powerful and hostile tribes, who + pursued each other with fraternal hatred. They eagerly disputed the + friendship, or rather the gifts, of the emperor; and the distinctions + which nature had fixed between the faithful dog and the rapacious wolf was + applied by an ambassador who received only verbal instructions from the + mouth of his illiterate prince. <a href="#linknote-42.12" + name="linknoteref-42.12" id="linknoteref-42.12">12</a> The Bulgarians, of + whatsoever species, were equally attracted by Roman wealth: they assumed a + vague dominion over the Sclavonian name, and their rapid marches could + only be stopped by the Baltic Sea, or the extreme cold and poverty of the + north. But the same race of Sclavonians appears to have maintained, in + every age, the possession of the same countries. Their numerous tribes, + however distant or adverse, used one common language (it was harsh and + irregular), and were known by the resemblance of their form, which + deviated from the swarthy Tartar, and approached without attaining the + lofty stature and fair complexion of the German. Four thousand six hundred + villages <a href="#linknote-42.13" name="linknoteref-42.13" + id="linknoteref-42.13">13</a> were scattered over the provinces of Russia + and Poland, and their huts were hastily built of rough timber, in a + country deficient both in stone and iron. Erected, or rather concealed, in + the depth of forests, on the banks of rivers, or the edges of morasses, we + may not perhaps, without flattery, compare them to the architecture of the + beaver; which they resembled in a double issue, to the land and water, for + the escape of the savage inhabitant, an animal less cleanly, less + diligent, and less social, than that marvellous quadruped. The fertility + of the soil, rather than the labor of the natives, supplied the rustic + plenty of the Sclavonians. Their sheep and horned cattle were large and + numerous, and the fields which they sowed with millet or panic <a + href="#linknote-42.14" name="linknoteref-42.14" id="linknoteref-42.14">14</a> + afforded, in place of bread, a coarse and less nutritive food. The + incessant rapine of their neighbors compelled them to bury this treasure + in the earth; but on the appearance of a stranger, it was freely imparted + by a people, whose unfavorable character is qualified by the epithets of + chaste, patient, and hospitable. As their supreme god, they adored an + invisible master of the thunder. The rivers and the nymphs obtained their + subordinate honors, and the popular worship was expressed in vows and + sacrifice. The Sclavonians disdained to obey a despot, a prince, or even a + magistrate; but their experience was too narrow, their passions too + headstrong, to compose a system of equal law or general defence. Some + voluntary respect was yielded to age and valor; but each tribe or village + existed as a separate republic, and all must be persuaded where none could + be compelled. They fought on foot, almost naked, and except an unwieldy + shield, without any defensive armor; their weapons of offence were a bow, + a quiver of small poisoned arrows, and a long rope, which they dexterously + threw from a distance, and entangled their enemy in a running noose. In + the field, the Sclavonian infantry was dangerous by their speed, agility, + and hardiness: they swam, they dived, they remained under water, drawing + their breath through a hollow cane; and a river or lake was often the + scene of their unsuspected ambuscade. But these were the achievements of + spies or stragglers; the military art was unknown to the Sclavonians; + their name was obscure, and their conquests were inglorious. <a + href="#linknote-42.15" name="linknoteref-42.15" id="linknoteref-42.15">15</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.11" id="linknote-42.11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.11">return</a>)<br /> [ I adopt the appellation + of Bulgarians from Ennodius, (in Panegyr. Theodorici, Opp. Sirmond, tom. + i. p. 1598, 1599,) Jornandes, (de Rebus Geticis, c. 5, p. 194, et de Regn. + Successione, p. 242,) Theophanes, (p. 185,) and the Chronicles of + Cassiodorus and Marcellinus. The name of Huns is too vague; the tribes of + the Cutturgurians and Utturgurians are too minute and too harsh. * Note: + The Bulgarians are first mentioned among the writers of the West in the + Panegyric on Theodoric by Ennodius, Bishop of Pavia. Though they perhaps + took part in the conquests of the Huns, they did not advance to the Danube + till after the dismemberment of that monarchy on the death of Attila. But + the Bulgarians are mentioned much earlier by the Armenian writers. Above + 600 years before Christ, a tribe of Bulgarians, driven from their native + possessions beyond the Caspian, occupied a part of Armenia, north of the + Araxes. They were of the Finnish race; part of the nation, in the fifth + century, moved westward, and reached the modern Bulgaria; part remained + along the Volga, which is called Etel, Etil, or Athil, in all the Tartar + languages, but from the Bulgarians, the Volga. The power of the eastern + Bulgarians was broken by Batou, son of Tchingiz Khan; that of the western + will appear in the course of the history. From St. Martin, vol. vii p. + 141. Malte-Brun, on the contrary, conceives that the Bulgarians took their + name from the river. According to the Byzantine historians they were a + branch of the Ougres, (Thunmann, Hist. of the People to the East of + Europe,) but they have more resemblance to the Turks. Their first country, + Great Bulgaria, was washed by the Volga. Some remains of their capital are + still shown near Kasan. They afterwards dwelt in Kuban, and finally on the + Danube, where they subdued (about the year 500) the Slavo-Servians + established on the Lower Danube. Conquered in their turn by the Avars, + they freed themselves from that yoke in 635; their empire then comprised + the Cutturgurians, the remains of the Huns established on the Palus + Maeotis. The Danubian Bulgaria, a dismemberment of this vast state, was + long formidable to the Byzantine empire. Malte-Brun, Prec. de Geog Univ. + vol. i. p. 419.—M. ——According to Shafarik, the Danubian + Bulgaria was peopled by a Slavo Bulgarian race. The Slavish population was + conquered by the Bulgarian (of Uralian and Finnish descent,) and + incorporated with them. This mingled race are the Bulgarians bordering on + the Byzantine empire. Shafarik, ii 152, et seq.—M. 1845] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.12" id="linknote-42.12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.12">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, (Goth. l. + iv. c. 19.) His verbal message (he owns him self an illiterate Barbarian) + is delivered as an epistle. The style is savage, figurative, and + original.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.13" id="linknote-42.13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.13">return</a>)<br /> [ This sum is the result + of a particular list, in a curious Ms. fragment of the year 550, found in + the library of Milan. The obscure geography of the times provokes and + exercises the patience of the count de Buat, (tom. xi. p. 69—189.) + The French minister often loses himself in a wilderness which requires a + Saxon and Polish guide.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.14" id="linknote-42.14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.14">return</a>)<br /> [ Panicum, milium. See + Columella, l. ii. c. 9, p. 430, edit. Gesner. Plin. Hist. Natur. xviii. + 24, 25. The Samaritans made a pap of millet, mingled with mare’s milk or + blood. In the wealth of modern husbandry, our millet feeds poultry, and + not heroes. See the dictionaries of Bomare and Miller.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.15" id="linknote-42.15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.15">return</a>)<br /> [ For the name and + nation, the situation and manners, of the Sclavonians, see the original + evidence of the vith century, in Procopius, (Goth. l. ii. c. 26, l. iii. + c. 14,) and the emperor Mauritius or Maurice (Stratagemat. l. ii. c. 5, + apud Mascon Annotat. xxxi.) The stratagems of Maurice have been printed + only, as I understand, at the end of Scheffer’s edition of Arrian’s + Tactics, at Upsal, 1664, (Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. l. iv. c. 8, tom. iii. + p. 278,) a scarce, and hitherto, to me, an inaccessible book.] + </p> + <p> + I have marked the faint and general outline of the Sclavonians and + Bulgarians, without attempting to define their intermediate boundaries, + which were not accurately known or respected by the Barbarians themselves. + Their importance was measured by their vicinity to the empire; and the + level country of Moldavia and Wallachia was occupied by the Antes, <a + href="#linknote-42.16" name="linknoteref-42.16" id="linknoteref-42.16">16</a> + a Sclavonian tribe, which swelled the titles of Justinian with an epithet + of conquest. <a href="#linknote-42.17" name="linknoteref-42.17" + id="linknoteref-42.17">17</a> Against the Antes he erected the + fortifications of the Lower Danube; and labored to secure the alliance of + a people seated in the direct channel of northern inundation, an interval + of two hundred miles between the mountains of Transylvania and the Euxine + Sea. But the Antes wanted power and inclination to stem the fury of the + torrent; and the light-armed Sclavonians, from a hundred tribes, pursued + with almost equal speed the footsteps of the Bulgarian horse. The payment + of one piece of gold for each soldier procured a safe and easy retreat + through the country of the Gepidae, who commanded the passage of the Upper + Danube. <a href="#linknote-42.18" name="linknoteref-42.18" + id="linknoteref-42.18">18</a> The hopes or fears of the Barbarians; their + intense union or discord; the accident of a frozen or shallow stream; the + prospect of harvest or vintage; the prosperity or distress of the Romans; + were the causes which produced the uniform repetition of annual visits, <a + href="#linknote-42.19" name="linknoteref-42.19" id="linknoteref-42.19">19</a> + tedious in the narrative, and destructive in the event. The same year, and + possibly the same month, in which Ravenna surrendered, was marked by an + invasion of the Huns or Bulgarians, so dreadful, that it almost effaced + the memory of their past inroads. They spread from the suburbs of + Constantinople to the Ionian Gulf, destroyed thirty-two cities or castles, + erased Potidaea, which Athens had built, and Philip had besieged, and + repassed the Danube, dragging at their horses’ heels one hundred and + twenty thousand of the subjects of Justinian. In a subsequent inroad they + pierced the wall of the Thracian Chersonesus, extirpated the habitations + and the inhabitants, boldly traversed the Hellespont, and returned to + their companions, laden with the spoils of Asia. Another party, which + seemed a multitude in the eyes of the Romans, penetrated, without + opposition, from the Straits of Thermopylae to the Isthmus of Corinth; and + the last ruin of Greece has appeared an object too minute for the + attention of history. The works which the emperor raised for the + protection, but at the expense of his subjects, served only to disclose + the weakness of some neglected part; and the walls, which by flattery had + been deemed impregnable, were either deserted by the garrison, or scaled + by the Barbarians. Three thousand Sclavonians, who insolently divided + themselves into two bands, discovered the weakness and misery of a + triumphant reign. They passed the Danube and the Hebrus, vanquished the + Roman generals who dared to oppose their progress, and plundered, with + impunity, the cities of Illyricum and Thrace, each of which had arms and + numbers to overwhelm their contemptible assailants. Whatever praise the + boldness of the Sclavonians may deserve, it is sullied by the wanton and + deliberate cruelty which they are accused of exercising on their + prisoners. Without distinction of rank, or age, or sex, the captives were + impaled or flayed alive, or suspended between four posts, and beaten with + clubs till they expired, or enclosed in some spacious building, and left + to perish in the flames with the spoil and cattle which might impede the + march of these savage victors. <a href="#linknote-42.20" + name="linknoteref-42.20" id="linknoteref-42.20">20</a> Perhaps a more + impartial narrative would reduce the number, and qualify the nature, of + these horrid acts; and they might sometimes be excused by the cruel laws + of retaliation. In the siege of Topirus, <a href="#linknote-42.21" + name="linknoteref-42.21" id="linknoteref-42.21">21</a> whose obstinate + defence had enraged the Sclavonians, they massacred fifteen thousand + males; but they spared the women and children; the most valuable captives + were always reserved for labor or ransom; the servitude was not rigorous, + and the terms of their deliverance were speedy and moderate. But the + subject, or the historian of Justinian, exhaled his just indignation in + the language of complaint and reproach; and Procopius has confidently + affirmed, that in a reign of thirty-two years, each annual inroad of the + Barbarians consumed two hundred thousand of the inhabitants of the Roman + empire. The entire population of Turkish Europe, which nearly corresponds + with the provinces of Justinian, would perhaps be incapable of supplying + six millions of persons, the result of this incredible estimate. <a + href="#linknote-42.22" name="linknoteref-42.22" id="linknoteref-42.22">22</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.16" id="linknote-42.16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.16">return</a>)<br /> [ Antes corum + fortissimi.... Taysis qui rapidus et vorticosus in Histri fluenta furens + devolvitur, (Jornandes, c. 5, p. 194, edit. Murator. Procopius, Goth. l. + iii. c. 14, et de Edific. l iv. c. 7.) Yet the same Procopius mentions the + Goths and Huns as neighbors to the Danube, (de Edific. l. v. c. 1.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.17" id="linknote-42.17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.17">return</a>)<br /> [ The national title of + Anticus, in the laws and inscriptions of Justinian, was adopted by his + successors, and is justified by the pious Ludewig (in Vit. Justinian. p. + 515.) It had strangely puzzled the civilians of the middle age.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.18" id="linknote-42.18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.18">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Goth. l. iv. + c. 25.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.19" id="linknote-42.19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.19">return</a>)<br /> [ An inroad of the Huns + is connected, by Procopius, with a comet perhaps that of 531, (Persic. l. + ii. c. 4.) Agathias (l. v. p. 154, 155) borrows from his predecessors some + early facts.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.20" id="linknote-42.20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.20">return</a>)<br /> [ The cruelties of the + Sclavonians are related or magnified by Procopius, (Goth. l. iii. c. 29, + 38.) For their mild and liberal behavior to their prisoners, we may appeal + to the authority, somewhat more recent of the emperor Maurice, (Stratagem. + l. ii. c. 5.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.21" id="linknote-42.21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.21">return</a>)<br /> [ Topirus was situate + near Philippi in Thrace, or Macedonia, opposite to the Isle of Thasos, + twelve days’ journey from Constantinople (Cellarius, tom. i. p. 676, + 846.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.22" id="linknote-42.22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.22">return</a>)<br /> [ According to the + malevolent testimony of the Anecdotes, (c. 18,) these inroads had reduced + the provinces south of the Danube to the state of a Scythian wilderness.] + </p> + <p> + In the midst of these obscure calamities, Europe felt the shock of + revolution, which first revealed to the world the name and nation of the + Turks. <a href="#linknote-42.2211" name="linknoteref-42.2211" + id="linknoteref-42.2211">2211</a> Like Romulus, the founder <a + href="#linknote-42.2212" name="linknoteref-42.2212" id="linknoteref-42.2212">2212</a> + of that martial people was suckled by a she-wolf, who afterwards made him + the father of a numerous progeny; and the representation of that animal in + the banners of the Turks preserved the memory, or rather suggested the + idea, of a fable, which was invented, without any mutual intercourse, by + the shepherds of Latium and those of Scythia. At the equal distance of two + thousand miles from the Caspian, the Icy, the Chinese, and the Bengal + Seas, a ridge of mountains is conspicuous, the centre, and perhaps the + summit, of Asia; which, in the language of different nations, has been + styled Imaus, and Caf, <a href="#linknote-42.23" name="linknoteref-42.23" + id="linknoteref-42.23">23</a> and Altai, and the Golden Mountains, <a + href="#linknote-42.2311" name="linknoteref-42.2311" id="linknoteref-42.2311">2311</a> + and the Girdle of the Earth. The sides of the hills were productive of + minerals; and the iron forges, <a href="#linknote-42.24" + name="linknoteref-42.24" id="linknoteref-42.24">24</a> for the purpose of + war, were exercised by the Turks, the most despised portion of the slaves + of the great khan of the Geougen. But their servitude could only last till + a leader, bold and eloquent, should arise to persuade his countrymen that + the same arms which they forged for their masters, might become, in their + own hands, the instruments of freedom and victory. They sallied from the + mountains; <a href="#linknote-42.25" name="linknoteref-42.25" + id="linknoteref-42.25">25</a> a sceptre was the reward of his advice; and + the annual ceremony, in which a piece of iron was heated in the fire, and + a smith’s hammer <a href="#linknote-42.2511" name="linknoteref-42.2511" + id="linknoteref-42.2511">2511</a> was successively handled by the prince + and his nobles, recorded for ages the humble profession and rational pride + of the Turkish nation. Bertezena, <a href="#linknote-42.2512" + name="linknoteref-42.2512" id="linknoteref-42.2512">2512</a> their first + leader, signalized their valor and his own in successful combats against + the neighboring tribes; but when he presumed to ask in marriage the + daughter of the great khan, the insolent demand of a slave and a mechanic + was contemptuously rejected. The disgrace was expiated by a more noble + alliance with a princess of China; and the decisive battle which almost + extirpated the nation of the Geougen, established in Tartary the new and + more powerful empire of the Turks. <a href="#linknote-42.2513" + name="linknoteref-42.2513" id="linknoteref-42.2513">2513</a> They reigned + over the north; but they confessed the vanity of conquest, by their + faithful attachment to the mountain of their fathers. The royal encampment + seldom lost sight of Mount Altai, from whence the River Irtish descends to + water the rich pastures of the Calmucks, <a href="#linknote-42.26" + name="linknoteref-42.26" id="linknoteref-42.26">26</a> which nourish the + largest sheep and oxen in the world. The soil is fruitful, and the climate + mild and temperate: the happy region was ignorant of earthquake and + pestilence; the emperor’s throne was turned towards the East, and a golden + wolf on the top of a spear seemed to guard the entrance of his tent. One + of the successors of Bertezena was tempted by the luxury and superstition + of China; but his design of building cities and temples was defeated by + the simple wisdom of a Barbarian counsellor. “The Turks,” he said, “are + not equal in number to one hundredth part of the inhabitants of China. If + we balance their power, and elude their armies, it is because we wander + without any fixed habitations in the exercise of war and hunting. Are we + strong? we advance and conquer: are we feeble? we retire and are + concealed. Should the Turks confine themselves within the walls of cities, + the loss of a battle would be the destruction of their empire. The bonzes + preach only patience, humility, and the renunciation of the world. Such, O + king! is not the religion of heroes.” They entertained, with less + reluctance, the doctrines of Zoroaster; but the greatest part of the + nation acquiesced, without inquiry, in the opinions, or rather in the + practice, of their ancestors. The honors of sacrifice were reserved for + the supreme deity; they acknowledged, in rude hymns, their obligations to + the air, the fire, the water, and the earth; and their priests derived + some profit from the art of divination. Their unwritten laws were rigorous + and impartial: theft was punished with a tenfold restitution; adultery, + treason, and murder, with death; and no chastisement could be inflicted + too severe for the rare and inexpiable guilt of cowardice. As the subject + nations marched under the standard of the Turks, their cavalry, both men + and horses, were proudly computed by millions; one of their effective + armies consisted of four hundred thousand soldiers, and in less than fifty + years they were connected in peace and war with the Romans, the Persians, + and the Chinese. In their northern limits, some vestige may be discovered + of the form and situation of Kamptchatka, of a people of hunters and + fishermen, whose sledges were drawn by dogs, and whose habitations were + buried in the earth. The Turks were ignorant of astronomy; but the + observation taken by some learned Chinese, with a gnomon of eight feet, + fixes the royal camp in the latitude of forty-nine degrees, and marks + their extreme progress within three, or at least ten degrees, of the polar + circle. <a href="#linknote-42.27" name="linknoteref-42.27" + id="linknoteref-42.27">27</a> Among their southern conquests the most + splendid was that of the Nephthalites, or white Huns, a polite and warlike + people, who possessed the commercial cities of Bochara and Samarcand, who + had vanquished the Persian monarch, and carried their victorious arms + along the banks, and perhaps to the mouth, of the Indus. On the side of + the West, the Turkish cavalry advanced to the Lake Maeotis. They passed + that lake on the ice. The khan who dwelt at the foot of Mount Altai issued + his commands for the siege of Bosphorus, <a href="#linknote-42.28" + name="linknoteref-42.28" id="linknoteref-42.28">28</a> a city the voluntary + subject of Rome, and whose princes had formerly been the friends of + Athens. <a href="#linknote-42.29" name="linknoteref-42.29" + id="linknoteref-42.29">29</a> To the east, the Turks invaded China, as + often as the vigor of the government was relaxed: and I am taught to read + in the history of the times, that they mowed down their patient enemies + like hemp or grass; and that the mandarins applauded the wisdom of an + emperor who repulsed these Barbarians with golden lances. This extent of + savage empire compelled the Turkish monarch to establish three subordinate + princes of his own blood, who soon forgot their gratitude and allegiance. + The conquerors were enervated by luxury, which is always fatal except to + an industrious people; the policy of China solicited the vanquished + nations to resume their independence and the power of the Turks was + limited to a period of two hundred years. The revival of their name and + dominion in the southern countries of Asia are the events of a later age; + and the dynasties, which succeeded to their native realms, may sleep in + oblivion; since their history bears no relation to the decline and fall of + the Roman empire. <a href="#linknote-42.30" name="linknoteref-42.30" + id="linknoteref-42.30">30</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.2211" id="linknote-42.2211"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2211 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.2211">return</a>)<br /> [ It must be + remembered that the name of Turks is extended to a whole family of the + Asiatic races, and not confined to the Assena, or Turks of the Altai.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.2212" id="linknote-42.2212"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2212 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.2212">return</a>)<br /> [ Assena (the wolf) + was the name of this chief. Klaproth, Tabl. Hist. de l’Asie p. 114.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.23" id="linknote-42.23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.23">return</a>)<br /> [ From Caf to Caf; which + a more rational geography would interpret, from Imaus, perhaps, to Mount + Atlas. According to the religious philosophy of the Mahometans, the basis + of Mount Caf is an emerald, whose reflection produces the azure of the + sky. The mountain is endowed with a sensitive action in its roots or + nerves; and their vibration, at the command of God, is the cause of + earthquakes. (D’Herbelot, p. 230, 231.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.2311" id="linknote-42.2311"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2311 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.2311">return</a>)<br /> [ Altai, i. e. Altun + Tagh, the Golden Mountain. Von Hammer Osman Geschichte, vol. i. p. 2.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.24" id="linknote-42.24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.24">return</a>)<br /> [ The Siberian iron is + the best and most plentiful in the world; and in the southern parts, above + sixty mines are now worked by the industry of the Russians, (Strahlenberg, + Hist. of Siberia, p. 342, 387. Voyage en Siberie, par l’Abbe Chappe + d’Auteroche, p. 603—608, edit in 12mo. Amsterdam. 1770.) The Turks + offered iron for sale; yet the Roman ambassadors, with strange obstinacy, + persisted in believing that it was all a trick, and that their country + produced none, (Menander in Excerpt. Leg. p. 152.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.25" id="linknote-42.25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.25">return</a>)<br /> [ Of Irgana-kon, + (Abulghazi Khan, Hist. Genealogique des Tatars, P ii. c. 5, p. 71—77, + c. 15, p. 155.) The tradition of the Moguls, of the 450 years which they + passed in the mountains, agrees with the Chinese periods of the history of + the Huns and Turks, (De Guignes, tom. i. part ii. p. 376,) and the twenty + generations, from their restoration to Zingis.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.2511" id="linknote-42.2511"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2511 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.2511">return</a>)<br /> [ The Mongol Temugin + is also, though erroneously, explained by Rubruquis, a smith. Schmidt, p + 876.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.2512" id="linknote-42.2512"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2512 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.2512">return</a>)<br /> [ There appears the + same confusion here. Bertezena (Berte-Scheno) is claimed as the founder of + the Mongol race. The name means the gray (blauliche) wolf. In fact, the + same tradition of the origin from a wolf seems common to the Mongols and + the Turks. The Mongol Berte-Scheno, of the very curious Mongol History, + published and translated by M. Schmidt of Petersburg, is brought from + Thibet. M. Schmidt considers this tradition of the Thibetane descent of + the royal race of the Mongols to be much earlier than their conversion to + Lamaism, yet it seems very suspicious. See Klaproth, Tabl. de l’Asie, p. + 159. The Turkish Bertezena is called Thou-men by Klaproth, p. 115. In 552, + Thou-men took the title of Kha-Khan, and was called Il Khan.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.2513" id="linknote-42.2513"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2513 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.2513">return</a>)<br /> [ Great Bucharia is + called Turkistan: see Hammer, 2. It includes all the last steppes at the + foot of the Altai. The name is the same with that of the Turan of Persian + poetic legend.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.26" id="linknote-42.26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.26">return</a>)<br /> [ The country of the + Turks, now of the Calmucks, is well described in the Genealogical History, + p. 521—562. The curious notes of the French translator are enlarged + and digested in the second volume of the English version.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.27" id="linknote-42.27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.27">return</a>)<br /> [ Visdelou, p. 141, 151. + The fact, though it strictly belongs to a subordinate and successive + tribe, may be introduced here.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.28" id="linknote-42.28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.28">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Persic. l. + i. c. 12, l. ii. c. 3. Peyssonel, Observations sur les Peuples Barbares, + p. 99, 100, defines the distance between Caffa and the old Bosphorus at + xvi. long Tartar leagues.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.29" id="linknote-42.29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.29">return</a>)<br /> [ See, in a Memoire of M. + de Boze, (Mem. de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. vi. p. 549—565,) + the ancient kings and medals of the Cimmerian Bosphorus; and the gratitude + of Athens, in the Oration of Demosthenes against Leptines, (in Reiske, + Orator. Graec. tom. i. p. 466, 187.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.30" id="linknote-42.30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.30">return</a>)<br /> [ For the origin and + revolutions of the first Turkish empire, the Chinese details are borrowed + from De Guignes (Hist. des Huns, tom. P. ii. p. 367—462) and + Visdelou, (Supplement a la Bibliotheque Orient. d’Herbelot, p. 82—114.) + The Greek or Roman hints are gathered in Menander (p. 108—164) and + Theophylact Simocatta, (l. vii. c. 7, 8.)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap42.2"></a> +Chapter XLII: State Of The Barbaric World.—Part II.</h2> + + <p> + In the rapid career of conquest, the Turks attacked and subdued the nation + of the Ogors or Varchonites <a href="#linknote-42.3011" + name="linknoteref-42.3011" id="linknoteref-42.3011">3011</a> on the banks of + the River Til, which derived the epithet of Black from its dark water or + gloomy forests. <a href="#linknote-42.31" name="linknoteref-42.31" + id="linknoteref-42.31">31</a> The khan of the Ogors was slain with three + hundred thousand of his subjects, and their bodies were scattered over the + space of four days’ journey: their surviving countrymen acknowledged the + strength and mercy of the Turks; and a small portion, about twenty + thousand warriors, preferred exile to servitude. They followed the + well-known road of the Volga, cherished the error of the nations who + confounded them with the Avars, and spread the terror of that false though + famous appellation, which had not, however, saved its lawful proprietors + from the yoke of the Turks. <a href="#linknote-42.32" + name="linknoteref-42.32" id="linknoteref-42.32">32</a> After a long and + victorious march, the new Avars arrived at the foot of Mount Caucasus, in + the country of the Alani <a href="#linknote-42.33" name="linknoteref-42.33" + id="linknoteref-42.33">33</a> and Circassians, where they first heard of + the splendor and weakness of the Roman empire. They humbly requested their + confederate, the prince of the Alani, to lead them to this source of + riches; and their ambassador, with the permission of the governor of + Lazica, was transported by the Euxine Sea to Constantinople. The whole + city was poured forth to behold with curiosity and terror the aspect of a + strange people: their long hair, which hung in tresses down their backs, + was gracefully bound with ribbons, but the rest of their habit appeared to + imitate the fashion of the Huns. When they were admitted to the audience + of Justinian, Candish, the first of the ambassadors, addressed the Roman + emperor in these terms: “You see before you, O mighty prince, the + representatives of the strongest and most populous of nations, the + invincible, the irresistible Avars. We are willing to devote ourselves to + your service: we are able to vanquish and destroy all the enemies who now + disturb your repose. But we expect, as the price of our alliance, as the + reward of our valor, precious gifts, annual subsidies, and fruitful + possessions.” At the time of this embassy, Justinian had reigned above + thirty, he had lived above seventy-five years: his mind, as well as his + body, was feeble and languid; and the conqueror of Africa and Italy, + careless of the permanent interest of his people, aspired only to end his + days in the bosom even of inglorious peace. In a studied oration, he + imparted to the senate his resolution to dissemble the insult, and to + purchase the friendship of the Avars; and the whole senate, like the + mandarins of China, applauded the incomparable wisdom and foresight of + their sovereign. The instruments of luxury were immediately prepared to + captivate the Barbarians; silken garments, soft and splendid beds, and + chains and collars incrusted with gold. The ambassadors, content with such + liberal reception, departed from Constantinople, and Valentin, one of the + emperor’s guards, was sent with a similar character to their camp at the + foot of Mount Caucasus. As their destruction or their success must be + alike advantageous to the empire, he persuaded them to invade the enemies + of Rome; and they were easily tempted, by gifts and promises, to gratify + their ruling inclinations. These fugitives, who fled before the Turkish + arms, passed the Tanais and Borysthenes, and boldly advanced into the + heart of Poland and Germany, violating the law of nations, and abusing the + rights of victory. Before ten years had elapsed, their camps were seated + on the Danube and the Elbe, many Bulgarian and Sclavonian names were + obliterated from the earth, and the remainder of their tribes are found, + as tributaries and vassals, under the standard of the Avars. The chagan, + the peculiar title of their king, still affected to cultivate the + friendship of the emperor; and Justinian entertained some thoughts of + fixing them in Pannonia, to balance the prevailing power of the Lombards. + But the virtue or treachery of an Avar betrayed the secret enmity and + ambitious designs of their countrymen; and they loudly complained of the + timid, though jealous policy, of detaining their ambassadors, and denying + the arms which they had been allowed to purchase in the capital of the + empire. <a href="#linknote-42.34" name="linknoteref-42.34" + id="linknoteref-42.34">34</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.3011" id="linknote-42.3011"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3011 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.3011">return</a>)<br /> [ The Ogors or + Varchonites, from Var. a river, (obviously connected with the name Avar,) + must not be confounded with the Uigours, the eastern Turks, (v. Hammer, + Osmanische Geschichte, vol. i. p. 3,) who speak a language the parent of + the more modern Turkish dialects. Compare Klaproth, page 121. They are the + ancestors of the Usbeck Turks. These Ogors were of the same Finnish race + with the Huns; and the 20,000 families which fled towards the west, after + the Turkish invasion, were of the same race with those which remained to + the east of the Volga, the true Avars of Theophy fact.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.31" id="linknote-42.31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.31">return</a>)<br /> [ The River Til, or Tula, + according to the geography of De Guignes, (tom. i. part ii. p. lviii. and + 352,) is a small, though grateful, stream of the desert, that falls into + the Orhon, Selinga, &c. See Bell, Journey from Petersburg to Pekin, + (vol. ii. p. 124;) yet his own description of the Keat, down which he + sailed into the Oby, represents the name and attributes of the black + river, (p. 139.) * Note: M. Klaproth, (Tableaux Historiques de l’Asie, p. + 274) supposes this river to be an eastern affluent of the Volga, the Kama, + which, from the color of its waters, might be called black. M. Abel + Remusat (Recherchea sur les Langues Tartares, vol. i. p. 320) and M. St. + Martin (vol. ix. p. 373) consider it the Volga, which is called Atel or + Etel by all the Turkish tribes. It is called Attilas by Menander, and + Ettilia by the monk Ruysbreek (1253.) See Klaproth, Tabl. Hist. p. 247. + This geography is much more clear and simple than that adopted by Gibbon + from De Guignes, or suggested from Bell.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.32" id="linknote-42.32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.32">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact, l. vii. c. + 7, 8. And yet his true Avars are invisible even to the eyes of M. de + Guignes; and what can be more illustrious than the false? The right of the + fugitive Ogors to that national appellation is confessed by the Turks + themselves, (Menander, p. 108.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.33" id="linknote-42.33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.33">return</a>)<br /> [ The Alani are still + found in the Genealogical History of the Tartars, (p. 617,) and in + D’Anville’s maps. They opposed the march of the generals of Zingis round + the Caspian Sea, and were overthrown in a great battle, (Hist. de + Gengiscan, l. iv. c. 9, p. 447.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.34" id="linknote-42.34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.34">return</a>)<br /> [ The embassies and first + conquests of the Avars may be read in Menander, (Excerpt. Legat. p. 99, + 100, 101, 154, 155,) Theophanes, (p. 196,) the Historia Miscella, (l. xvi. + p. 109,) and Gregory of Tours, (L iv. c. 23, 29, in the Historians of + France, tom. ii. p. 214, 217.)] + </p> + <p> + Perhaps the apparent change in the dispositions of the emperors may be + ascribed to the embassy which was received from the conquerors of the + Avars. <a href="#linknote-42.35" name="linknoteref-42.35" + id="linknoteref-42.35">35</a> The immense distance which eluded their arms + could not extinguish their resentment: the Turkish ambassadors pursued the + footsteps of the vanquished to the Jaik, the Volga, Mount Caucasus, the + Euxine and Constantinople, and at length appeared before the successor of + Constantine, to request that he would not espouse the cause of rebels and + fugitives. Even commerce had some share in this remarkable negotiation: + and the Sogdoites, who were now the tributaries of the Turks, embraced the + fair occasion of opening, by the north of the Caspian, a new road for the + importation of Chinese silk into the Roman empire. The Persian, who + preferred the navigation of Ceylon, had stopped the caravans of Bochara + and Samarcand: their silk was contemptuously burnt: some Turkish + ambassadors died in Persia, with a suspicion of poison; and the great khan + permitted his faithful vassal Maniach, the prince of the Sogdoites, to + propose, at the Byzantine court, a treaty of alliance against their common + enemies. Their splendid apparel and rich presents, the fruit of Oriental + luxury, distinguished Maniach and his colleagues from the rude savages of + the North: their letters, in the Scythian character and language, + announced a people who had attained the rudiments of science: <a + href="#linknote-42.36" name="linknoteref-42.36" id="linknoteref-42.36">36</a> + they enumerated the conquests, they offered the friendship and military + aid of the Turks; and their sincerity was attested by direful imprecations + (if they were guilty of falsehood) against their own head, and the head of + Disabul their master. The Greek prince entertained with hospitable regard + the ambassadors of a remote and powerful monarch: the sight of silk-worms + and looms disappointed the hopes of the Sogdoites; the emperor renounced, + or seemed to renounce, the fugitive Avars, but he accepted the alliance of + the Turks; and the ratification of the treaty was carried by a Roman + minister to the foot of Mount Altai. Under the successors of Justinian, + the friendship of the two nations was cultivated by frequent and cordial + intercourse; the most favored vassals were permitted to imitate the + example of the great khan, and one hundred and six Turks, who, on various + occasions, had visited Constantinople, departed at the same time for their + native country. The duration and length of the journey from the Byzantine + court to Mount Altai are not specified: it might have been difficult to + mark a road through the nameless deserts, the mountains, rivers, and + morasses of Tartary; but a curious account has been preserved of the + reception of the Roman ambassadors at the royal camp. After they had been + purified with fire and incense, according to a rite still practised under + the sons of Zingis, <a href="#linknote-42.3611" name="linknoteref-42.3611" + id="linknoteref-42.3611">3611</a> they were introduced to the presence of + Disabul. In a valley of the Golden Mountain, they found the great khan in + his tent, seated in a chair with wheels, to which a horse might be + occasionally harnessed. As soon as they had delivered their presents, + which were received by the proper officers, they exposed, in a florid + oration, the wishes of the Roman emperor, that victory might attend the + arms of the Turks, that their reign might be long and prosperous, and that + a strict alliance, without envy or deceit, might forever be maintained + between the two most powerful nations of the earth. The answer of Disabul + corresponded with these friendly professions, and the ambassadors were + seated by his side, at a banquet which lasted the greatest part of the + day: the tent was surrounded with silk hangings, and a Tartar liquor was + served on the table, which possessed at least the intoxicating qualities + of wine. The entertainment of the succeeding day was more sumptuous; the + silk hangings of the second tent were embroidered in various figures; and + the royal seat, the cups, and the vases, were of gold. A third pavilion + was supported by columns of gilt wood; a bed of pure and massy gold was + raised on four peacocks of the same metal: and before the entrance of the + tent, dishes, basins, and statues of solid silver, and admirable art, were + ostentatiously piled in wagons, the monuments of valor rather than of + industry. When Disabul led his armies against the frontiers of Persia, his + Roman allies followed many days the march of the Turkish camp, nor were + they dismissed till they had enjoyed their precedency over the envoy of + the great king, whose loud and intemperate clamors interrupted the silence + of the royal banquet. The power and ambition of Chosroes cemented the + union of the Turks and Romans, who touched his dominions on either side: + but those distant nations, regardless of each other, consulted the + dictates of interest, without recollecting the obligations of oaths and + treaties. While the successor of Disabul celebrated his father’s + obsequies, he was saluted by the ambassadors of the emperor Tiberius, who + proposed an invasion of Persia, and sustained, with firmness, the angry + and perhaps the just reproaches of that haughty Barbarian. “You see my ten + fingers,” said the great khan, and he applied them to his mouth. “You + Romans speak with as many tongues, but they are tongues of deceit and + perjury. To me you hold one language, to my subjects another; and the + nations are successively deluded by your perfidious eloquence. You + precipitate your allies into war and danger, you enjoy their labors, and + you neglect your benefactors. Hasten your return, inform your master that + a Turk is incapable of uttering or forgiving falsehood, and that he shall + speedily meet the punishment which he deserves. While he solicits my + friendship with flattering and hollow words, he is sunk to a confederate + of my fugitive Varchonites. If I condescend to march against those + contemptible slaves, they will tremble at the sound of our whips; they + will be trampled, like a nest of ants, under the feet of my innumerable + cavalry. I am not ignorant of the road which they have followed to invade + your empire; nor can I be deceived by the vain pretence, that Mount + Caucasus is the impregnable barrier of the Romans. I know the course of + the Niester, the Danube, and the Hebrus; the most warlike nations have + yielded to the arms of the Turks; and from the rising to the setting sun, + the earth is my inheritance.” Notwithstanding this menace, a sense of + mutual advantage soon renewed the alliance of the Turks and Romans: but + the pride of the great khan survived his resentment; and when he announced + an important conquest to his friend the emperor Maurice, he styled himself + the master of the seven races, and the lord of the seven climates of the + world. <a href="#linknote-42.37" name="linknoteref-42.37" + id="linknoteref-42.37">37</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.35" id="linknote-42.35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.35">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophanes, (Chron. p. + 204,) and the Hist. Miscella, (l. xvi. p. 110,) as understood by De + Guignes, (tom. i. part ii. p. 354,) appear to speak of a Turkish embassy + to Justinian himself; but that of Maniach, in the fourth year of his + successor Justin, is positively the first that reached Constantinople, + (Menander p. 108.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.36" id="linknote-42.36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.36">return</a>)<br /> [ The Russians have found + characters, rude hieroglyphics, on the Irtish and Yenisei, on medals, + tombs, idols, rocks, obelisks, &c., (Strahlenberg, Hist. of Siberia, + p. 324, 346, 406, 429.) Dr. Hyde (de Religione Veterum Persarum, p. 521, + &c.) has given two alphabets of Thibet and of the Eygours. I have long + harbored a suspicion, that all the Scythian, and some, perhaps much, of + the Indian science, was derived from the Greeks of Bactriana. * Note: + Modern discoveries give no confirmation to this suspicion. The character + of Indian science, as well as of their literature and mythology, indicates + an original source. Grecian art may have occasionally found its way into + India. One or two of the sculptures in Col. Tod’s account of the Jain + temples, if correct, show a finer outline, and purer sense of beauty, than + appears native to India, where the monstrous always predominated over + simple nature.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.3611" id="linknote-42.3611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3611 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.3611">return</a>)<br /> [ This rite is so + curious, that I have subjoined the description of it:— When these + (the exorcisers, the Shamans) approached Zemarchus, they took all our + baggage and placed it in the centre. Then, kindling a fire with branches + of frankincense, lowly murmuring certain barbarous words in the Scythian + language, beating on a kind of bell (a gong) and a drum, they passed over + the baggage the leaves of the frankincense, crackling with the fire, and + at the same time themselves becoming frantic, and violently leaping about, + seemed to exorcise the evil spirits. Having thus as they thought, averted + all evil, they led Zemarchus himself through the fire. Menander, in + Niebuhr’s Bryant. Hist. p. 381. Compare Carpini’s Travels. The princes of + the race of Zingis Khan condescended to receive the ambassadors of the + king of France, at the end of the 13th century without their submitting to + this humiliating rite. See Correspondence published by Abel Remusat, Nouv. + Mem. de l’Acad des Inscrip. vol. vii. On the embassy of Zemarchus, compare + Klaproth, Tableaux de l’Asie p. 116.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.37" id="linknote-42.37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.37">return</a>)<br /> [ All the details of + these Turkish and Roman embassies, so curious in the history of human + manners, are drawn from the extracts of Menander, (p. 106—110, 151—154, + 161-164,) in which we often regret the want of order and connection.] + </p> + <p> + Disputes have often arisen between the sovereigns of Asia for the title of + king of the world; while the contest has proved that it could not belong + to either of the competitors. The kingdom of the Turks was bounded by the + Oxus or Gihon; and Touran was separated by that great river from the rival + monarchy of Iran, or Persia, which in a smaller compass contained perhaps + a larger measure of power and population. The Persians, who alternately + invaded and repulsed the Turks and the Romans, were still ruled by the + house of Sassan, which ascended the throne three hundred years before the + accession of Justinian. His contemporary, Cabades, or Kobad, had been + successful in war against the emperor Anastasius; but the reign of that + prince was distracted by civil and religious troubles. A prisoner in the + hands of his subjects, an exile among the enemies of Persia, he recovered + his liberty by prostituting the honor of his wife, and regained his + kingdom with the dangerous and mercenary aid of the Barbarians, who had + slain his father. His nobles were suspicious that Kobad never forgave the + authors of his expulsion, or even those of his restoration. The people was + deluded and inflamed by the fanaticism of Mazdak, <a href="#linknote-42.38" + name="linknoteref-42.38" id="linknoteref-42.38">38</a> who asserted the + community of women, <a href="#linknote-42.39" name="linknoteref-42.39" + id="linknoteref-42.39">39</a> and the equality of mankind, whilst he + appropriated the richest lands and most beautiful females to the use of + his sectaries. The view of these disorders, which had been fomented by his + laws and example, <a href="#linknote-42.40" name="linknoteref-42.40" + id="linknoteref-42.40">40</a> imbittered the declining age of the Persian + monarch; and his fears were increased by the consciousness of his design + to reverse the natural and customary order of succession, in favor of his + third and most favored son, so famous under the names of Chosroes and + Nushirvan. To render the youth more illustrious in the eyes of the + nations, Kobad was desirous that he should be adopted by the emperor + Justin: <a href="#linknote-42.4011" name="linknoteref-42.4011" + id="linknoteref-42.4011">4011</a> the hope of peace inclined the Byzantine + court to accept this singular proposal; and Chosroes might have acquired a + specious claim to the inheritance of his Roman parent. But the future + mischief was diverted by the advice of the quaestor Proclus: a difficulty + was started, whether the adoption should be performed as a civil or + military rite; <a href="#linknote-42.41" name="linknoteref-42.41" + id="linknoteref-42.41">41</a> the treaty was abruptly dissolved; and the + sense of this indignity sunk deep into the mind of Chosroes, who had + already advanced to the Tigris on his road to Constantinople. His father + did not long survive the disappointment of his wishes: the testament of + their deceased sovereign was read in the assembly of the nobles; and a + powerful faction, prepared for the event, and regardless of the priority + of age, exalted Chosroes to the throne of Persia. He filled that throne + during a prosperous period of forty-eight years; <a href="#linknote-42.42" + name="linknoteref-42.42" id="linknoteref-42.42">42</a> and the Justice of + Nushirvan is celebrated as the theme of immortal praise by the nations of + the East. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.38" id="linknote-42.38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.38">return</a>)<br /> [ See D’Herbelot, + (Bibliot. Orient. p. 568, 929;) Hyde, (de Religione Vet. Persarum, c. 21, + p. 290, 291;) Pocock, (Specimen Hist. Arab. p. 70, 71;) Eutychius, (Annal. + tom. ii. p. 176;) Texeira, (in Stevens, Hist. of Persia, l. i. c. 34.) * + Note: Mazdak was an Archimagus, born, according to Mirkhond, (translated + by De Sacy, p. 353, and Malcolm, vol. i. p. 104,) at Istakhar or + Persepolis, according to an inedited and anonymous history, (the + Modjmal-alte-warikh in the Royal Library at Paris, quoted by St. Martin, + vol. vii. p. 322) at Wischapour in Chorasan: his father’s name was + Bamdadam. He announces himself as a reformer of Zoroastrianism, and + carried the doctrine of the two principles to a much greater height. He + preached the absolute indifference of human action, perfect equality of + rank, community of property and of women, marriages between the nearest + kindred; he interdicted the use of animal food, proscribed the killing of + animals for food, enforced a vegetable diet. See St. Martin, vol. vii. p. + 322. Malcolm, vol. i. p. 104. Mirkhond translated by De Sacy. It is + remarkable that the doctrine of Mazdak spread into the West. Two + inscriptions found in Cyrene, in 1823, and explained by M. Gesenius, and + by M. Hamaker of Leyden, prove clearly that his doctrines had been eagerly + embraced by the remains of the ancient Gnostics; and Mazdak was enrolled + with Thoth, Saturn, Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Epicurus, John, and Christ, as + the teachers of true Gnostic wisdom. See St. Martin, vol. vii. p. 338. + Gesenius de Inscriptione Phoenicio-Graeca in Cyrenaica nuper reperta, + Halle, 1825. Hamaker, Lettre a M. Raoul Rochette, Leyden, 1825.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.39" id="linknote-42.39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.39">return</a>)<br /> [ The fame of the new law + for the community of women was soon propagated in Syria (Asseman. Bibliot. + Orient. tom. iii. p. 402) and Greece, (Procop. Persic. l. i. c. 5.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.40" id="linknote-42.40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.40">return</a>)<br /> [ He offered his own wife + and sister to the prophet; but the prayers of Nushirvan saved his mother, + and the indignant monarch never forgave the humiliation to which his + filial piety had stooped: pedes tuos deosculatus (said he to Mazdak,) + cujus foetor adhuc nares occupat, (Pocock, Specimen Hist. Arab. p. 71.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.4011" id="linknote-42.4011"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4011 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.4011">return</a>)<br /> [ St. Martin + questions this adoption: he urges its improbability; and supposes that + Procopius, perverting some popular traditions, or the remembrance of some + fruitless negotiations which took place at that time, has mistaken, for a + treaty of adoption some treaty of guaranty or protection for the purpose + of insuring the crown, after the death of Kobad, to his favorite son + Chosroes, vol. viii. p. 32. Yet the Greek historians seem unanimous as to + the proposal: the Persians might be expected to maintain silence on such a + subject.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.41" id="linknote-42.41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.41">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Persic. l. + i. c. 11. Was not Proclus over-wise? Was not the danger imaginary?—The + excuse, at least, was injurious to a nation not ignorant of letters. + Whether any mode of adoption was practised in Persia, I much doubt.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.42" id="linknote-42.42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.42">return</a>)<br /> [ From Procopius and + Agathias, Pagi (tom. ii. p. 543, 626) has proved that Chosroes Nushirvan + ascended the throne in the fifth year of Justinian, (A.D. 531, April 1.—A.D. + 532, April 1.) But the true chronology, which harmonizes with the Greeks + and Orientals, is ascertained by John Malala, (tom. ii. 211.) Cabades, or + Kobad, after a reign of forty-three years and two months, sickened the + 8th, and died the 13th of September, A.D. 531, aged eighty-two years. + According to the annals of Eutychius, Nushirvan reigned forty seven years + and six months; and his death must consequently be placed in March, A.D. + 579.] + </p> + <p> + But the justice of kings is understood by themselves, and even by their + subjects, with an ample indulgence for the gratification of passion and + interest. The virtue of Chosroes was that of a conqueror, who, in the + measures of peace and war, is excited by ambition, and restrained by + prudence; who confounds the greatness with the happiness of a nation, and + calmly devotes the lives of thousands to the fame, or even the amusement, + of a single man. In his domestic administration, the just Nushirvan would + merit in our feelings the appellation of a tyrant. His two elder brothers + had been deprived of their fair expectations of the diadem: their future + life, between the supreme rank and the condition of subjects, was anxious + to themselves and formidable to their master: fear as well as revenge + might tempt them to rebel: the slightest evidence of a conspiracy + satisfied the author of their wrongs; and the repose of Chosroes was + secured by the death of these unhappy princes, with their families and + adherents. One guiltless youth was saved and dismissed by the compassion + of a veteran general; and this act of humanity, which was revealed by his + son, overbalanced the merit of reducing twelve nations to the obedience of + Persia. The zeal and prudence of Mebodes had fixed the diadem on the head + of Chosroes himself; but he delayed to attend the royal summons, till he + had performed the duties of a military review: he was instantly commanded + to repair to the iron tripod, which stood before the gate of the palace, + <a href="#linknote-42.43" name="linknoteref-42.43" id="linknoteref-42.43">43</a> + where it was death to relieve or approach the victim; and Mebodes + languished several days before his sentence was pronounced, by the + inflexible pride and calm ingratitude of the son of Kobad. But the people, + more especially in the East, is disposed to forgive, and even to applaud, + the cruelty which strikes at the loftiest heads; at the slaves of + ambition, whose voluntary choice has exposed them to live in the smiles, + and to perish by the frown, of a capricious monarch. In the execution of + the laws which he had no temptation to violate; in the punishment of + crimes which attacked his own dignity, as well as the happiness of + individuals; Nushirvan, or Chosroes, deserved the appellation of just. His + government was firm, rigorous, and impartial. It was the first labor of + his reign to abolish the dangerous theory of common or equal possessions: + the lands and women which the sectaries of Mazdak has usurped were + restored to their lawful owners; and the temperate <a + href="#linknote-42.4311" name="linknoteref-42.4311" id="linknoteref-42.4311">4311</a> + chastisement of the fanatics or impostors confirmed the domestic rights of + society. Instead of listening with blind confidence to a favorite + minister, he established four viziers over the four great provinces of his + empire, Assyria, Media, Persia, and Bactriana. In the choice of judges, + præfects, and counsellors, he strove to remove the mask which is always + worn in the presence of kings: he wished to substitute the natural order + of talents for the accidental distinctions of birth and fortune; he + professed, in specious language, his intention to prefer those men who + carried the poor in their bosoms, and to banish corruption from the seat + of justice, as dogs were excluded from the temples of the Magi. The code + of laws of the first Artaxerxes was revived and published as the rule of + the magistrates; but the assurance of speedy punishment was the best + security of their virtue. Their behavior was inspected by a thousand eyes, + their words were overheard by a thousand ears, the secret or public agents + of the throne; and the provinces, from the Indian to the Arabian confines, + were enlightened by the frequent visits of a sovereign, who affected to + emulate his celestial brother in his rapid and salutary career. Education + and agriculture he viewed as the two objects most deserving of his care. + In every city of Persia orphans, and the children of the poor, were + maintained and instructed at the public expense; the daughters were given + in marriage to the richest citizens of their own rank, and the sons, + according to their different talents, were employed in mechanic trades, or + promoted to more honorable service. The deserted villages were relieved by + his bounty; to the peasants and farmers who were found incapable of + cultivating their lands, he distributed cattle, seed, and the instruments + of husbandry; and the rare and inestimable treasure of fresh water was + parsimoniously managed, and skilfully dispersed over the arid territory of + Persia. <a href="#linknote-42.44" name="linknoteref-42.44" + id="linknoteref-42.44">44</a> The prosperity of that kingdom was the effect + and evidence of his virtues; his vices are those of Oriental despotism; + but in the long competition between Chosroes and Justinian, the advantage + both of merit and fortune is almost always on the side of the Barbarian. + <a href="#linknote-42.45" name="linknoteref-42.45" id="linknoteref-42.45">45</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.43" id="linknote-42.43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.43">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Persic. l. + i. c. 23. Brisson, de Regn. Pers. p. 494. The gate of the palace of + Ispahan is, or was, the fatal scene of disgrace or death, (Chardin, Voyage + en Perse, tom. iv. p. 312, 313.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.4311" id="linknote-42.4311"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4311 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.4311">return</a>)<br /> [ This is a strange + term. Nushirvan employed a stratagem similar to that of Jehu, 2 Kings, x. + 18—28, to separate the followers of Mazdak from the rest of his + subjects, and with a body of his troops cut them all in pieces. The Greek + writers concur with the Persian in this representation of Nushirvan’s + temperate conduct. Theophanes, p. 146. Mirkhond. p. 362. Eutychius, Ann. + vol. ii. p. 179. Abulfeda, in an unedited part, consulted by St. Martin as + well as in a passage formerly cited. Le Beau vol. viii. p. 38. Malcolm vol + l p. 109.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.44" id="linknote-42.44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.44">return</a>)<br /> [ In Persia, the prince + of the waters is an officer of state. The number of wells and + subterraneous channels is much diminished, and with it the fertility of + the soil: 400 wells have been recently lost near Tauris, and 42,000 were + once reckoned in the province of Khorasan (Chardin, tom. iii. p. 99, 100. + Tavernier, tom. i. p. 416.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.45" id="linknote-42.45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.45">return</a>)<br /> [ The character and + government of Nushirvan is represented some times in the words of + D’Herbelot, (Bibliot. Orient. p. 680, &c., from Khondemir,) Eutychius, + (Annal. tom. ii. p. 179, 180,—very rich,) Abulpharagius, (Dynast. + vii. p. 94, 95,—very poor,) Tarikh Schikard, (p. 144—150,) + Texeira, (in Stevens, l. i. c. 35,) Asseman, (Bibliot Orient. tom. iii. p. + 404-410,) and the Abbe Fourmont, (Hist. de l’Acad. des Inscriptions, tom. + vii. p. 325—334,) who has translated a spurious or genuine testament + of Nushirvan.] + </p> + <p> + To the praise of justice Nushirvan united the reputation of knowledge; and + the seven Greek philosophers, who visited his court, were invited and + deceived by the strange assurance, that a disciple of Plato was seated on + the Persian throne. Did they expect, that a prince, strenuously exercised + in the toils of war and government, should agitate, with dexterity like + their own, the abstruse and profound questions which amused the leisure of + the schools of Athens? Could they hope that the precepts of philosophy + should direct the life, and control the passions, of a despot, whose + infancy had been taught to consider his absolute and fluctuating will as + the only rule of moral obligation? <a href="#linknote-42.46" + name="linknoteref-42.46" id="linknoteref-42.46">46</a> The studies of + Chosroes were ostentatious and superficial: but his example awakened the + curiosity of an ingenious people, and the light of science was diffused + over the dominions of Persia. <a href="#linknote-42.47" + name="linknoteref-42.47" id="linknoteref-42.47">47</a> At Gondi Sapor, in + the neighborhood of the royal city of Susa, an academy of physic was + founded, which insensibly became a liberal school of poetry, philosophy, + and rhetoric. <a href="#linknote-42.48" name="linknoteref-42.48" + id="linknoteref-42.48">48</a> The annals of the monarchy <a + href="#linknote-42.49" name="linknoteref-42.49" id="linknoteref-42.49">49</a> + were composed; and while recent and authentic history might afford some + useful lessons both to the prince and people, the darkness of the first + ages was embellished by the giants, the dragons, and the fabulous heroes + of Oriental romance. <a href="#linknote-42.50" name="linknoteref-42.50" + id="linknoteref-42.50">50</a> Every learned or confident stranger was + enriched by the bounty, and flattered by the conversation, of the monarch: + he nobly rewarded a Greek physician, <a href="#linknote-42.51" + name="linknoteref-42.51" id="linknoteref-42.51">51</a> by the deliverance of + three thousand captives; and the sophists, who contended for his favor, + were exasperated by the wealth and insolence of Uranius, their more + successful rival. Nushirvan believed, or at least respected, the religion + of the Magi; and some traces of persecution may be discovered in his + reign. <a href="#linknote-42.52" name="linknoteref-42.52" + id="linknoteref-42.52">52</a> Yet he allowed himself freely to compare the + tenets of the various sects; and the theological disputes, in which he + frequently presided, diminished the authority of the priest, and + enlightened the minds of the people. At his command, the most celebrated + writers of Greece and India were translated into the Persian language; a + smooth and elegant idiom, recommended by Mahomet to the use of paradise; + though it is branded with the epithets of savage and unmusical, by the + ignorance and presumption of Agathias. <a href="#linknote-42.53" + name="linknoteref-42.53" id="linknoteref-42.53">53</a> Yet the Greek + historian might reasonably wonder that it should be found possible to + execute an entire version of Plato and Aristotle in a foreign dialect, + which had not been framed to express the spirit of freedom and the + subtilties of philosophic disquisition. And, if the reason of the + Stagyrite might be equally dark, or equally intelligible in every tongue, + the dramatic art and verbal argumentation of the disciple of Socrates, <a + href="#linknote-42.54" name="linknoteref-42.54" id="linknoteref-42.54">54</a> + appear to be indissolubly mingled with the grace and perfection of his + Attic style. In the search of universal knowledge, Nushirvan was informed, + that the moral and political fables of Pilpay, an ancient Brachman, were + preserved with jealous reverence among the treasures of the kings of + India. The physician Perozes was secretly despatched to the banks of the + Ganges, with instructions to procure, at any price, the communication of + this valuable work. His dexterity obtained a transcript, his learned + diligence accomplished the translation; and the fables of Pilpay <a + href="#linknote-42.55" name="linknoteref-42.55" id="linknoteref-42.55">55</a> + were read and admired in the assembly of Nushirvan and his nobles. The + Indian original, and the Persian copy, have long since disappeared; but + this venerable monument has been saved by the curiosity of the Arabian + caliphs, revived in the modern Persic, the Turkish, the Syriac, the + Hebrew, and the Greek idioms, and transfused through successive versions + into the modern languages of Europe. In their present form, the peculiar + character, the manners and religion of the Hindoos, are completely + obliterated; and the intrinsic merit of the fables of Pilpay is far + inferior to the concise elegance of Phaedrus, and the native graces of La + Fontaine. Fifteen moral and political sentences are illustrated in a + series of apologues: but the composition is intricate, the narrative + prolix, and the precept obvious and barren. Yet the Brachman may assume + the merit of inventing a pleasing fiction, which adorns the nakedness of + truth, and alleviates, perhaps, to a royal ear, the harshness of + instruction. With a similar design, to admonish kings that they are strong + only in the strength of their subjects, the same Indians invented the game + of chess, which was likewise introduced into Persia under the reign of + Nushirvan. <a href="#linknote-42.56" name="linknoteref-42.56" + id="linknoteref-42.56">56</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.46" id="linknote-42.46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.46">return</a>)<br /> [ A thousand years before + his birth, the judges of Persia had given a solemn opinion, (Herodot. l. + iii. c. 31, p. 210, edit. Wesseling.) Nor had this constitutional maxim + been neglected as a useless and barren theory.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.47" id="linknote-42.47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.47">return</a>)<br /> [ On the literary state + of Persia, the Greek versions, philosophers, sophists, the learning or + ignorance of Chosroes, Agathias (l. ii. c. 66—71) displays much + information and strong prejudices.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.48" id="linknote-42.48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.48">return</a>)<br /> [ Asseman. Bibliot. + Orient. tom. iv. p. DCCXLV. vi. vii.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.49" id="linknote-42.49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.49">return</a>)<br /> [ The Shah Nameh, or Book + of Kings, is perhaps the original record of history which was translated + into Greek by the interpreter Sergius, (Agathias, l. v. p. 141,) preserved + after the Mahometan conquest, and versified in the year 994, by the + national poet Ferdoussi. See D’Anquetil (Mem. de l’Academie, tom. xxxi. p. + 379) and Sir William Jones, (Hist. of Nadir Shah, p. 161.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.50" id="linknote-42.50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.50">return</a>)<br /> [ In the fifth century, + the name of Restom, or Rostam, a hero who equalled the strength of twelve + elephants, was familiar to the Armenians, (Moses Chorenensis, Hist. Armen. + l. ii. c. 7, p. 96, edit. Whiston.) In the beginning of the seventh, the + Persian Romance of Rostam and Isfendiar was applauded at Mecca, (Sale’s + Koran, c. xxxi. p. 335.) Yet this exposition of ludicrum novae historiae + is not given by Maracci, (Refutat. Alcoran. p. 544—548.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.51" id="linknote-42.51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.51">return</a>)<br /> [ Procop. (Goth. l. iv. + c. 10.) Kobad had a favorite Greek physician, Stephen of Edessa, (Persic. + l. ii. c. 26.) The practice was ancient; and Herodotus relates the + adventures of Democedes of Crotona, (l. iii p. 125—137.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.52" id="linknote-42.52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.52">return</a>)<br /> [ See Pagi, tom. ii. p. + 626. In one of the treaties an honorable article was inserted for the + toleration and burial of the Catholics, (Menander, in Excerpt. Legat. p. + 142.) Nushizad, a son of Nushirvan, was a Christian, a rebel, and—a + martyr? (D’Herbelot, p. 681.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.53" id="linknote-42.53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.53">return</a>)<br /> [ On the Persian + language, and its three dialects, consult D’Anquetil (p. 339—343) + and Jones, (p. 153—185:) is the character which Agathias (l. ii. p. + 66) ascribes to an idiom renowned in the East for poetical softness.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.54" id="linknote-42.54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.54">return</a>)<br /> [ Agathias specifies the + Gorgias, Phaedon, Parmenides, and Timaeus. Renaudot (Fabricius, Bibliot. + Graec. tom. xii. p. 246—261) does not mention this Barbaric version + of Aristotle.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.55" id="linknote-42.55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.55">return</a>)<br /> [ Of these fables, I have + seen three copies in three different languages: 1. In Greek, translated by + Simeon Seth (A.D. 1100) from the Arabic, and published by Starck at Berlin + in 1697, in 12mo. 2. In Latin, a version from the Greek Sapientia Indorum, + inserted by Pere Poussin at the end of his edition of Pachymer, (p. 547—620, + edit. Roman.) 3. In French, from the Turkish, dedicated, in 1540, to + Sultan Soliman Contes et Fables Indiennes de Bidpai et de Lokman, par Mm. + Galland et Cardonne, Paris, 1778, 3 vols. in 12mo. Mr. Warton (History of + English Poetry, vol. i. p. 129—131) takes a larger scope. * Note: + The oldest Indian collection extant is the Pancha-tantra, (the five + collections,) analyzed by Mr. Wilson in the Transactions of the Royal + Asiat. Soc. It was translated into Persian by Barsuyah, the physician of + Nushirvan, under the name of the Fables of Bidpai, (Vidyapriya, the Friend + of Knowledge, or, as the Oriental writers understand it, the Friend of + Medicine.) It was translated into Arabic by Abdolla Ibn Mokaffa, under the + name of Kalila and Dimnah. From the Arabic it passed into the European + languages. Compare Wilson, in Trans. As. Soc. i. 52. dohlen, das alte + Indien, ii. p. 386. Silvestre de Sacy, Memoire sur Kalila vs Dimnah.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.56" id="linknote-42.56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.56">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Historia + Shahiludii of Dr. Hyde, (Syntagm. Dissertat. tom. ii. p. 61—69.)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap42.3"></a> +Chapter XLII: State Of The Barbaric World.—Part III.</h2> + + <p> + The son of Kobad found his kingdom involved in a war with the successor of + Constantine; and the anxiety of his domestic situation inclined him to + grant the suspension of arms, which Justinian was impatient to purchase. + Chosroes saw the Roman ambassadors at his feet. He accepted eleven + thousand pounds of gold, as the price of an endless or indefinite peace: + <a href="#linknote-42.57" name="linknoteref-42.57" id="linknoteref-42.57">57</a> + some mutual exchanges were regulated; the Persian assumed the guard of the + gates of Caucasus, and the demolition of Dara was suspended, on condition + that it should never be made the residence of the general of the East. + This interval of repose had been solicited, and was diligently improved, + by the ambition of the emperor: his African conquests were the first + fruits of the Persian treaty; and the avarice of Chosroes was soothed by a + large portion of the spoils of Carthage, which his ambassadors required in + a tone of pleasantry and under the color of friendship. <a + href="#linknote-42.58" name="linknoteref-42.58" id="linknoteref-42.58">58</a> + But the trophies of Belisarius disturbed the slumbers of the great king; + and he heard with astonishment, envy, and fear, that Sicily, Italy, and + Rome itself, had been reduced, in three rapid campaigns, to the obedience + of Justinian. Unpractised in the art of violating treaties, he secretly + excited his bold and subtle vassal Almondar. That prince of the Saracens, + who resided at Hira, <a href="#linknote-42.59" name="linknoteref-42.59" + id="linknoteref-42.59">59</a> had not been included in the general peace, + and still waged an obscure war against his rival Arethas, the chief of the + tribe of Gassan, and confederate of the empire. The subject of their + dispute was an extensive sheep-walk in the desert to the south of Palmyra. + An immemorial tribute for the license of pasture appeared to attest the + rights of Almondar, while the Gassanite appealed to the Latin name of + strata, a paved road, as an unquestionable evidence of the sovereignty and + labors of the Romans. <a href="#linknote-42.60" name="linknoteref-42.60" + id="linknoteref-42.60">60</a> The two monarchs supported the cause of their + respective vassals; and the Persian Arab, without expecting the event of a + slow and doubtful arbitration, enriched his flying camp with the spoil and + captives of Syria. Instead of repelling the arms, Justinian attempted to + seduce the fidelity of Almondar, while he called from the extremities of + the earth the nations of Aethiopia and Scythia to invade the dominions of + his rival. But the aid of such allies was distant and precarious, and the + discovery of this hostile correspondence justified the complaints of the + Goths and Armenians, who implored, almost at the same time, the protection + of Chosroes. The descendants of Arsaces, who were still numerous in + Armenia, had been provoked to assert the last relics of national freedom + and hereditary rank; and the ambassadors of Vitiges had secretly traversed + the empire to expose the instant, and almost inevitable, danger of the + kingdom of Italy. Their representations were uniform, weighty, and + effectual. “We stand before your throne, the advocates of your interest as + well as of our own. The ambitious and faithless Justinian aspires to be + the sole master of the world. Since the endless peace, which betrayed the + common freedom of mankind, that prince, your ally in words, your enemy in + actions, has alike insulted his friends and foes, and has filled the earth + with blood and confusion. Has he not violated the privileges of Armenia, + the independence of Colchos, and the wild liberty of the Tzanian + mountains? Has he not usurped, with equal avidity, the city of Bosphorus + on the frozen Maeotis, and the vale of palm-trees on the shores of the Red + Sea? The Moors, the Vandals, the Goths, have been successively oppressed, + and each nation has calmly remained the spectator of their neighbor’s + ruin. Embrace, O king! the favorable moment; the East is left without + defence, while the armies of Justinian and his renowned general are + detained in the distant regions of the West. If you hesitate or delay, + Belisarius and his victorious troops will soon return from the Tyber to + the Tigris, and Persia may enjoy the wretched consolation of being the + last devoured.” <a href="#linknote-42.61" name="linknoteref-42.61" + id="linknoteref-42.61">61</a> By such arguments, Chosroes was easily + persuaded to imitate the example which he condemned: but the Persian, + ambitious of military fame, disdained the inactive warfare of a rival, who + issued his sanguinary commands from the secure station of the Byzantine + palace. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.57" id="linknote-42.57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.57">return</a>)<br /> [ The endless peace + (Procopius, Persic. l. i. c. 21) was concluded or ratified in the vith + year, and iiid consulship, of Justinian, (A.D. 533, between January 1 and + April 1. Pagi, tom. ii. p. 550.) Marcellinus, in his Chronicle, uses the + style of Medes and Persians.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.58" id="linknote-42.58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.58">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Persic. l. + i. c. 26.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.59" id="linknote-42.59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.59">return</a>)<br /> [ Almondar, king of Hira, + was deposed by Kobad, and restored by Nushirvan. His mother, from her + beauty, was surnamed Celestial Water, an appellation which became + hereditary, and was extended for a more noble cause (liberality in famine) + to the Arab princes of Syria, (Pocock, Specimen Hist. Arab. p. 69, 70.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.60" id="linknote-42.60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.60">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Persic. l. + ii. c. 1. We are ignorant of the origin and object of this strata, a paved + road of ten days’ journey from Auranitis to Babylonia. (See a Latin note + in Delisle’s Map Imp. Orient.) Wesseling and D’Anville are silent.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.61" id="linknote-42.61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.61">return</a>)<br /> [ I have blended, in a + short speech, the two orations of the Arsacides of Armenia and the Gothic + ambassadors. Procopius, in his public history, feels, and makes us feel, + that Justinian was the true author of the war, (Persic. l. ii. c. 2, 3.)] + </p> + <p> + Whatever might be the provocations of Chosroes, he abused the confidence + of treaties; and the just reproaches of dissimulation and falsehood could + only be concealed by the lustre of his victories. <a href="#linknote-42.62" + name="linknoteref-42.62" id="linknoteref-42.62">62</a> The Persian army, + which had been assembled in the plains of Babylon, prudently declined the + strong cities of Mesopotamia, and followed the western bank of the + Euphrates, till the small, though populous, town of Dura <a + href="#linknote-42.6211" name="linknoteref-42.6211" id="linknoteref-42.6211">6211</a> + presumed to arrest the progress of the great king. The gates of Dura, by + treachery and surprise, were burst open; and as soon as Chosroes had + stained his cimeter with the blood of the inhabitants, he dismissed the + ambassador of Justinian to inform his master in what place he had left the + enemy of the Romans. The conqueror still affected the praise of humanity + and justice; and as he beheld a noble matron with her infant rudely + dragged along the ground, he sighed, he wept, and implored the divine + justice to punish the author of these calamities. Yet the herd of twelve + thousand captives was ransomed for two hundred pounds of gold; the + neighboring bishop of Sergiopolis pledged his faith for the payment: and + in the subsequent year the unfeeling avarice of Chosroes exacted the + penalty of an obligation which it was generous to contract and impossible + to discharge. He advanced into the heart of Syria: but a feeble enemy, who + vanished at his approach, disappointed him of the honor of victory; and as + he could not hope to establish his dominion, the Persian king displayed in + this inroad the mean and rapacious vices of a robber. Hierapolis, Berrhaea + or Aleppo, Apamea and Chalcis, were successively besieged: they redeemed + their safety by a ransom of gold or silver, proportioned to their + respective strength and opulence; and their new master enforced, without + observing, the terms of capitulation. Educated in the religion of the + Magi, he exercised, without remorse, the lucrative trade of sacrilege; + and, after stripping of its gold and gems a piece of the true cross, he + generously restored the naked relic to the devotion of the Christians of + Apamea. No more than fourteen years had elapsed since Antioch was ruined + by an earthquake; <a href="#linknote-42.6212" name="linknoteref-42.6212" + id="linknoteref-42.6212">6212</a> but the queen of the East, the new + Theopolis, had been raised from the ground by the liberality of Justinian; + and the increasing greatness of the buildings and the people already + erased the memory of this recent disaster. On one side, the city was + defended by the mountain, on the other by the River Orontes; but the most + accessible part was commanded by a superior eminence: the proper remedies + were rejected, from the despicable fear of discovering its weakness to the + enemy; and Germanus, the emperor’s nephew, refused to trust his person and + dignity within the walls of a besieged city. The people of Antioch had + inherited the vain and satirical genius of their ancestors: they were + elated by a sudden reenforcement of six thousand soldiers; they disdained + the offers of an easy capitulation and their intemperate clamors insulted + from the ramparts the majesty of the great king. Under his eye the Persian + myriads mounted with scaling-ladders to the assault; the Roman mercenaries + fled through the opposite gate of Daphne; and the generous assistance of + the youth of Antioch served only to aggravate the miseries of their + country. As Chosroes, attended by the ambassadors of Justinian, was + descending from the mountain, he affected, in a plaintive voice, to + deplore the obstinacy and ruin of that unhappy people; but the slaughter + still raged with unrelenting fury; and the city, at the command of a + Barbarian, was delivered to the flames. The cathedral of Antioch was + indeed preserved by the avarice, not the piety, of the conqueror: a more + honorable exemption was granted to the church of St. Julian, and the + quarter of the town where the ambassadors resided; some distant streets + were saved by the shifting of the wind, and the walls still subsisted to + protect, and soon to betray, their new inhabitants. Fanaticism had defaced + the ornaments of Daphne, but Chosroes breathed a purer air amidst her + groves and fountains; and some idolaters in his train might sacrifice with + impunity to the nymphs of that elegant retreat. Eighteen miles below + Antioch, the River Orontes falls into the Mediterranean. The haughty + Persian visited the term of his conquests; and, after bathing alone in the + sea, he offered a solemn sacrifice of thanksgiving to the sun, or rather + to the Creator of the sun, whom the Magi adored. If this act of + superstition offended the prejudices of the Syrians, they were pleased by + the courteous and even eager attention with which he assisted at the games + of the circus; and as Chosroes had heard that the blue faction was + espoused by the emperor, his peremptory command secured the victory of the + green charioteer. From the discipline of his camp the people derived more + solid consolation; and they interceded in vain for the life of a soldier + who had too faithfully copied the rapine of the just Nushirvan. At length, + fatigued, though unsatiated, with the spoil of Syria, <a + href="#linknote-42.6213" name="linknoteref-42.6213" id="linknoteref-42.6213">6213</a> + he slowly moved to the Euphrates, formed a temporary bridge in the + neighborhood of Barbalissus, and defined the space of three days for the + entire passage of his numerous host. After his return, he founded, at the + distance of one day’s journey from the palace of Ctesiphon, a new city, + which perpetuated the joint names of Chosroes and of Antioch. The Syrian + captives recognized the form and situation of their native abodes: baths + and a stately circus were constructed for their use; and a colony of + musicians and charioteers revived in Assyria the pleasures of a Greek + capital. By the munificence of the royal founder, a liberal allowance was + assigned to these fortunate exiles; and they enjoyed the singular + privilege of bestowing freedom on the slaves whom they acknowledged as + their kinsmen. Palestine, and the holy wealth of Jerusalem, were the next + objects that attracted the ambition, or rather the avarice, of Chosroes. + Constantinople, and the palace of the Caesars, no longer appeared + impregnable or remote; and his aspiring fancy already covered Asia Minor + with the troops, and the Black Sea with the navies, of Persia. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.62" id="linknote-42.62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.62">return</a>)<br /> [ The invasion of Syria, + the ruin of Antioch, &c., are related in a full and regular series by + Procopius, (Persic. l. ii. c. 5—14.) Small collateral aid can be + drawn from the Orientals: yet not they, but D’Herbelot himself, (p. 680,) + should blush when he blames them for making Justinian and Nushirvan + contemporaries. On the geography of the seat of war, D’Anville (l’Euphrate + et le Tigre) is sufficient and satisfactory.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.6211" id="linknote-42.6211"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6211 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.6211">return</a>)<br /> [ It is Sura in + Procopius. Is it a misprint in Gibbon?—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.6212" id="linknote-42.6212"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6212 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.6212">return</a>)<br /> [ Joannes Lydus + attributes the easy capture of Antioch to the want of fortifications which + had not been restored since the earthquake, l. iii. c. 54. p. 246.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.6213" id="linknote-42.6213"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6213 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.6213">return</a>)<br /> [ Lydus asserts that + he carried away all the statues, pictures, and marbles which adorned the + city, l. iii. c. 54, p. 246.—M.] + </p> + <p> + These hopes might have been realized, if the conqueror of Italy had not + been seasonably recalled to the defence of the East. <a + href="#linknote-42.63" name="linknoteref-42.63" id="linknoteref-42.63">63</a> + While Chosroes pursued his ambitious designs on the coast of the Euxine, + Belisarius, at the head of an army without pay or discipline, encamped + beyond the Euphrates, within six miles of Nisibis. He meditated, by a + skilful operation, to draw the Persians from their impregnable citadel, + and improving his advantage in the field, either to intercept their + retreat, or perhaps to enter the gates with the flying Barbarians. He + advanced one day’s journey on the territories of Persia, reduced the + fortress of Sisaurane, and sent the governor, with eight hundred chosen + horsemen, to serve the emperor in his Italian wars. He detached Arethas + and his Arabs, supported by twelve hundred Romans, to pass the Tigris, and + to ravage the harvests of Assyria, a fruitful province, long exempt from + the calamities of war. But the plans of Belisarius were disconcerted by + the untractable spirit of Arethas, who neither returned to the camp, nor + sent any intelligence of his motions. The Roman general was fixed in + anxious expectation to the same spot; the time of action elapsed, the + ardent sun of Mesopotamia inflamed with fevors the blood of his European + soldiers; and the stationary troops and officers of Syria affected to + tremble for the safety of their defenceless cities. Yet this diversion had + already succeeded in forcing Chosroes to return with loss and + precipitation; and if the skill of Belisarius had been seconded by + discipline and valor, his success might have satisfied the sanguine wishes + of the public, who required at his hands the conquest of Ctesiphon, and + the deliverance of the captives of Antioch. At the end of the campaign, he + was recalled to Constantinople by an ungrateful court, but the dangers of + the ensuing spring restored his confidence and command; and the hero, + almost alone, was despatched, with the speed of post-horses, to repel, by + his name and presence, the invasion of Syria. He found the Roman generals, + among whom was a nephew of Justinian, imprisoned by their fears in the + fortifications of Hierapolis. But instead of listening to their timid + counsels, Belisarius commanded them to follow him to Europus, where he had + resolved to collect his forces, and to execute whatever God should inspire + him to achieve against the enemy. His firm attitude on the banks of the + Euphrates restrained Chosroes from advancing towards Palestine; and he + received with art and dignity the ambassadors, or rather spies, of the + Persian monarch. The plain between Hierapolis and the river was covered + with the squadrons of cavalry, six thousand hunters, tall and robust, who + pursued their game without the apprehension of an enemy. On the opposite + bank the ambassadors descried a thousand Armenian horse, who appeared to + guard the passage of the Euphrates. The tent of Belisarius was of the + coarsest linen, the simple equipage of a warrior who disdained the luxury + of the East. Around his tent, the nations who marched under his standard + were arranged with skilful confusion. The Thracians and Illyrians were + posted in the front, the Heruli and Goths in the centre; the prospect was + closed by the Moors and Vandals, and their loose array seemed to multiply + their numbers. Their dress was light and active; one soldier carried a + whip, another a sword, a third a bow, a fourth, perhaps, a battle axe, and + the whole picture exhibited the intrepidity of the troops and the + vigilance of the general. Chosroes was deluded by the address, and awed by + the genius, of the lieutenant of Justinian. Conscious of the merit, and + ignorant of the force, of his antagonist, he dreaded a decisive battle in + a distant country, from whence not a Persian might return to relate the + melancholy tale. The great king hastened to repass the Euphrates; and + Belisarius pressed his retreat, by affecting to oppose a measure so + salutary to the empire, and which could scarcely have been prevented by an + army of a hundred thousand men. Envy might suggest to ignorance and pride, + that the public enemy had been suffered to escape: but the African and + Gothic triumphs are less glorious than this safe and bloodless victory, in + which neither fortune, nor the valor of the soldiers, can subtract any + part of the general’s renown. The second removal of Belisarius from the + Persian to the Italian war revealed the extent of his personal merit, + which had corrected or supplied the want of discipline and courage. + Fifteen generals, without concert or skill, led through the mountains of + Armenia an army of thirty thousand Romans, inattentive to their signals, + their ranks, and their ensigns. Four thousand Persians, intrenched in the + camp of Dubis, vanquished, almost without a combat, this disorderly + multitude; their useless arms were scattered along the road, and their + horses sunk under the fatigue of their rapid flight. But the Arabs of the + Roman party prevailed over their brethren; the Armenians returned to their + allegiance; the cities of Dara and Edessa resisted a sudden assault and a + regular siege, and the calamities of war were suspended by those of + pestilence. A tacit or formal agreement between the two sovereigns + protected the tranquillity of the Eastern frontier; and the arms of + Chosroes were confined to the Colchian or Lazic war, which has been too + minutely described by the historians of the times. <a href="#linknote-42.64" + name="linknoteref-42.64" id="linknoteref-42.64">64</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.63" id="linknote-42.63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.63">return</a>)<br /> [ In the public history + of Procopius, (Persic. l. ii. c. 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28;) + and, with some slight exceptions, we may reasonably shut our ears against + the malevolent whisper of the Anecdotes, (c. 2, 3, with the Notes, as + usual, of Alemannus.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.64" id="linknote-42.64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.64">return</a>)<br /> [ The Lazic war, the + contest of Rome and Persia on the Phasis, is tediously spun through many a + page of Procopius (Persic. l. ii. c. 15, 17, 28, 29, 30.) Gothic. (l. iv. + c. 7—16) and Agathias, (l. ii. iii. and iv. p. 55—132, 141.)] + </p> + <p> + The extreme length of the Euxine Sea <a href="#linknote-42.65" + name="linknoteref-42.65" id="linknoteref-42.65">65</a> from Constantinople + to the mouth of the Phasis, may be computed as a voyage of nine days, and + a measure of seven hundred miles. From the Iberian Caucasus, the most + lofty and craggy mountains of Asia, that river descends with such oblique + vehemence, that in a short space it is traversed by one hundred and twenty + bridges. Nor does the stream become placid and navigable, till it reaches + the town of Sarapana, five days’ journey from the Cyrus, which flows from + the same hills, but in a contrary direction to the Caspian Lake. The + proximity of these rivers has suggested the practice, or at least the + idea, of wafting the precious merchandise of India down the Oxus, over the + Caspian, up the Cyrus, and with the current of the Phasis into the Euxine + and Mediterranean Seas. As it successively collects the streams of the + plain of Colchos, the Phasis moves with diminished speed, though + accumulated weight. At the mouth it is sixty fathom deep, and half a + league broad, but a small woody island is interposed in the midst of the + channel; the water, so soon as it has deposited an earthy or metallic + sediment, floats on the surface of the waves, and is no longer susceptible + of corruption. In a course of one hundred miles, forty of which are + navigable for large vessels, the Phasis divides the celebrated region of + Colchos, <a href="#linknote-42.66" name="linknoteref-42.66" + id="linknoteref-42.66">66</a> or Mingrelia, <a href="#linknote-42.67" + name="linknoteref-42.67" id="linknoteref-42.67">67</a> which, on three + sides, is fortified by the Iberian and Armenian mountains, and whose + maritime coast extends about two hundred miles from the neighborhood of + Trebizond to Dioscurias and the confines of Circassia. Both the soil and + climate are relaxed by excessive moisture: twenty-eight rivers, besides + the Phasis and his dependent streams, convey their waters to the sea; and + the hollowness of the ground appears to indicate the subterraneous + channels between the Euxine and the Caspian. In the fields where wheat or + barley is sown, the earth is too soft to sustain the action of the plough; + but the gom, a small grain, not unlike the millet or coriander seed, + supplies the ordinary food of the people; and the use of bread is confined + to the prince and his nobles. Yet the vintage is more plentiful than the + harvest; and the bulk of the stems, as well as the quality of the wine, + display the unassisted powers of nature. The same powers continually tend + to overshadow the face of the country with thick forests; the timber of + the hills, and the flax of the plains, contribute to the abundance of + naval stores; the wild and tame animals, the horse, the ox, and the hog, + are remarkably prolific, and the name of the pheasant is expressive of his + native habitation on the banks of the Phasis. The gold mines to the south + of Trebizond, which are still worked with sufficient profit, were a + subject of national dispute between Justinian and Chosroes; and it is not + unreasonable to believe, that a vein of precious metal may be equally + diffused through the circle of the hills, although these secret treasures + are neglected by the laziness, or concealed by the prudence, of the + Mingrelians. The waters, impregnated with particles of gold, are carefully + strained through sheep-skins or fleeces; but this expedient, the + groundwork perhaps of a marvellous fable, affords a faint image of the + wealth extracted from a virgin earth by the power and industry of ancient + kings. Their silver palaces and golden chambers surpass our belief; but + the fame of their riches is said to have excited the enterprising avarice + of the Argonauts. <a href="#linknote-42.68" name="linknoteref-42.68" + id="linknoteref-42.68">68</a> Tradition has affirmed, with some color of + reason, that Egypt planted on the Phasis a learned and polite colony, <a + href="#linknote-42.69" name="linknoteref-42.69" id="linknoteref-42.69">69</a> + which manufactured linen, built navies, and invented geographical maps. + The ingenuity of the moderns has peopled, with flourishing cities and + nations, the isthmus between the Euxine and the Caspian; <a + href="#linknote-42.70" name="linknoteref-42.70" id="linknoteref-42.70">70</a> + and a lively writer, observing the resemblance of climate, and, in his + apprehension, of trade, has not hesitated to pronounce Colchos the Holland + of antiquity. <a href="#linknote-42.71" name="linknoteref-42.71" + id="linknoteref-42.71">71</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.65" id="linknote-42.65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.65">return</a>)<br /> [ The Periplus, or + circumnavigation of the Euxine Sea, was described in Latin by Sallust, and + in Greek by Arrian: I. The former work, which no longer exists, has been + restored by the singular diligence of M. de Brosses, first president of + the parliament of Dijon, (Hist. de la Republique Romaine, tom. ii. l. iii. + p. 199—298,) who ventures to assume the character of the Roman + historian. His description of the Euxine is ingeniously formed of all the + fragments of the original, and of all the Greeks and Latins whom Sallust + might copy, or by whom he might be copied; and the merit of the execution + atones for the whimsical design. 2. The Periplus of Arrian is addressed to + the emperor Hadrian, (in Geograph. Minor. Hudson, tom. i.,) and contains + whatever the governor of Pontus had seen from Trebizond to Dioscurias; + whatever he had heard from Dioscurias to the Danube; and whatever he knew + from the Danube to Trebizond.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.66" id="linknote-42.66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.66">return</a>)<br /> [ Besides the many + occasional hints from the poets, historians &c., of antiquity, we may + consult the geographical descriptions of Colchos, by Strabo (l. xi. p. 760—765) + and Pliny, (Hist. Natur. vi. 5, 19, &c.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.67" id="linknote-42.67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.67">return</a>)<br /> [ I shall quote, and have + used, three modern descriptions of Mingrelia and the adjacent countries. + 1. Of the Pere Archangeli Lamberti, (Relations de Thevenot, part i. p. + 31-52, with a map,) who has all the knowledge and prejudices of a + missionary. 2. Of Chardia, (Voyages en Perse, tom. i. p. 54, 68-168.) His + observations are judicious and his own adventures in the country are still + more instructive than his observations. 3. Of Peyssonel, (Observations sur + les Peuples Barbares, p. 49, 50, 51, 58 62, 64, 65, 71, &c., and a + more recent treatise, Sur le Commerce de la Mer Noire, tom. ii. p. 1—53.) + He had long resided at Caffa, as consul of France; and his erudition is + less valuable than his experience.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.68" id="linknote-42.68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.68">return</a>)<br /> [ Pliny, Hist. Natur. l. + xxxiii. 15. The gold and silver mines of Colchos attracted the Argonauts, + (Strab. l. i. p. 77.) The sagacious Chardin could find no gold in mines, + rivers, or elsewhere. Yet a Mingrelian lost his hand and foot for showing + some specimens at Constantinople of native gold] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.69" id="linknote-42.69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.69">return</a>)<br /> [ Herodot. l. ii. c. 104, + 105, p. 150, 151. Diodor. Sicul. l. i. p. 33, edit. Wesseling. Dionys. + Perieget. 689, and Eustath. ad loc. Schohast ad Apollonium Argonaut. l. + iv. 282-291.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.70" id="linknote-42.70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.70">return</a>)<br /> [ Montesquieu, Esprit des + Loix, l. xxi. c. 6. L’Isthme... couvero de villes et nations qui ne sont + plus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.71" id="linknote-42.71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.71">return</a>)<br /> [ Bougainville, Memoires + de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxvi. p. 33, on the African voyage of + Hanno and the commerce of antiquity.] + </p> + <p> + But the riches of Colchos shine only through the darkness of conjecture or + tradition; and its genuine history presents a uniform scene of rudeness + and poverty. If one hundred and thirty languages were spoken in the market + of Dioscurias, <a href="#linknote-42.72" name="linknoteref-42.72" + id="linknoteref-42.72">72</a> they were the imperfect idioms of so many + savage tribes or families, sequestered from each other in the valleys of + Mount Caucasus; and their separation, which diminished the importance, + must have multiplied the number, of their rustic capitals. In the present + state of Mingrelia, a village is an assemblage of huts within a wooden + fence; the fortresses are seated in the depths of forests; the princely + town of Cyta, or Cotatis, consists of two hundred houses, and a stone + edifice appertains only to the magnificence of kings. Twelve ships from + Constantinople, and about sixty barks, laden with the fruits of industry, + annually cast anchor on the coast; and the list of Colchian exports is + much increased, since the natives had only slaves and hides to offer in + exchange for the corn and salt which they purchased from the subjects of + Justinian. Not a vestige can be found of the art, the knowledge, or the + navigation, of the ancient Colchians: few Greeks desired or dared to + pursue the footsteps of the Argonauts; and even the marks of an Egyptian + colony are lost on a nearer approach. The rite of circumcision is + practised only by the Mahometans of the Euxine; and the curled hair and + swarthy complexion of Africa no longer disfigure the most perfect of the + human race. It is in the adjacent climates of Georgia, Mingrelia, and + Circassia, that nature has placed, at least to our eyes, the model of + beauty in the shape of the limbs, the color of the skin, the symmetry of + the features, and the expression of the countenance. <a + href="#linknote-42.73" name="linknoteref-42.73" id="linknoteref-42.73">73</a> + According to the destination of the two sexes, the men seemed formed for + action, the women for love; and the perpetual supply of females from Mount + Caucasus has purified the blood, and improved the breed, of the southern + nations of Asia. The proper district of Mingrelia, a portion only of the + ancient Colchos, has long sustained an exportation of twelve thousand + slaves. The number of prisoners or criminals would be inadequate to the + annual demand; but the common people are in a state of servitude to their + lords; the exercise of fraud or rapine is unpunished in a lawless + community; and the market is continually replenished by the abuse of civil + and paternal authority. Such a trade, <a href="#linknote-42.74" + name="linknoteref-42.74" id="linknoteref-42.74">74</a> which reduces the + human species to the level of cattle, may tend to encourage marriage and + population, since the multitude of children enriches their sordid and + inhuman parent. But this source of impure wealth must inevitably poison + the national manners, obliterate the sense of honor and virtue, and almost + extinguish the instincts of nature: the Christians of Georgia and + Mingrelia are the most dissolute of mankind; and their children, who, in a + tender age, are sold into foreign slavery, have already learned to imitate + the rapine of the father and the prostitution of the mother. Yet, amidst + the rudest ignorance, the untaught natives discover a singular dexterity + both of mind and hand; and although the want of union and discipline + exposes them to their more powerful neighbors, a bold and intrepid spirit + has animated the Colchians of every age. In the host of Xerxes, they + served on foot; and their arms were a dagger or a javelin, a wooden + casque, and a buckler of raw hides. But in their own country the use of + cavalry has more generally prevailed: the meanest of the peasants + disdained to walk; the martial nobles are possessed, perhaps, of two + hundred horses; and above five thousand are numbered in the train of the + prince of Mingrelia. The Colchian government has been always a pure and + hereditary kingdom; and the authority of the sovereign is only restrained + by the turbulence of his subjects. Whenever they were obedient, he could + lead a numerous army into the field; but some faith is requisite to + believe, that the single tribe of the Suanians as composed of two hundred + thousand soldiers, or that the population of Mingrelia now amounts to four + millions of inhabitants. <a href="#linknote-42.75" name="linknoteref-42.75" + id="linknoteref-42.75">75</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.72" id="linknote-42.72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.72">return</a>)<br /> [ A Greek historian, + Timosthenes, had affirmed, in eam ccc. nationes dissimilibus linguis + descendere; and the modest Pliny is content to add, et postea a nostris + cxxx. interpretibus negotia ibi gesta, (vi. 5) But the words nunc deserta + cover a multitude of past fictions.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.73" id="linknote-42.73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.73">return</a>)<br /> [ Buffon (Hist. Nat. tom. + iii. p. 433—437) collects the unanimous suffrage of naturalists and + travellers. If, in the time of Herodotus, they were, (and he had observed + them with care,) this precious fact is an example of the influence of + climate on a foreign colony.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.74" id="linknote-42.74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.74">return</a>)<br /> [ The Mingrelian + ambassador arrived at Constantinople with two hundred persons; but he ate + (sold) them day by day, till his retinue was diminished to a secretary and + two valets, (Tavernier, tom. i. p. 365.) To purchase his mistress, a + Mingrelian gentleman sold twelve priests and his wife to the Turks, + (Chardin, tom. i. p. 66.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.75" id="linknote-42.75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.75">return</a>)<br /> [ Strabo, l. xi. p. 765. + Lamberti, Relation de la Mingrelie. Yet we must avoid the contrary extreme + of Chardin, who allows no more than 20,000 inhabitants to supply an annual + exportation of 12,000 slaves; an absurdity unworthy of that judicious + traveller.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap42.4"></a> +Chapter XLII: State Of The Barbaric World.—Part IV.</h2> + + <p> + It was the boast of the Colchians, that their ancestors had checked the + victories of Sesostris; and the defeat of the Egyptian is less incredible + than his successful progress as far as the foot of Mount Caucasus. They + sunk without any memorable effort, under the arms of Cyrus; followed in + distant wars the standard of the great king, and presented him every fifth + year with one hundred boys, and as many virgins, the fairest produce of + the land. <a href="#linknote-42.76" name="linknoteref-42.76" + id="linknoteref-42.76">76</a> Yet he accepted this gift like the gold and + ebony of India, the frankincense of the Arabs, or the negroes and ivory of + Aethiopia: the Colchians were not subject to the dominion of a satrap, and + they continued to enjoy the name as well as substance of national + independence. <a href="#linknote-42.77" name="linknoteref-42.77" + id="linknoteref-42.77">77</a> After the fall of the Persian empire, + Mithridates, king of Pontus, added Colchos to the wide circle of his + dominions on the Euxine; and when the natives presumed to request that his + son might reign over them, he bound the ambitious youth in chains of gold, + and delegated a servant in his place. In pursuit of Mithridates, the + Romans advanced to the banks of the Phasis, and their galleys ascended the + river till they reached the camp of Pompey and his legions. <a + href="#linknote-42.78" name="linknoteref-42.78" id="linknoteref-42.78">78</a> + But the senate, and afterwards the emperors, disdained to reduce that + distant and useless conquest into the form of a province. The family of a + Greek rhetorician was permitted to reign in Colchos and the adjacent + kingdoms from the time of Mark Antony to that of Nero; and after the race + of Polemo <a href="#linknote-42.79" name="linknoteref-42.79" + id="linknoteref-42.79">79</a> was extinct, the eastern Pontus, which + preserved his name, extended no farther than the neighborhood of + Trebizond. Beyond these limits the fortifications of Hyssus, of Apsarus, + of the Phasis, of Dioscurias or Sebastopolis, and of Pityus, were guarded + by sufficient detachments of horse and foot; and six princes of Colchos + received their diadems from the lieutenants of Caesar. One of these + lieutenants, the eloquent and philosophic Arrian, surveyed, and has + described, the Euxine coast, under the reign of Hadrian. The garrison + which he reviewed at the mouth of the Phasis consisted of four hundred + chosen legionaries; the brick walls and towers, the double ditch, and the + military engines on the rampart, rendered this place inaccessible to the + Barbarians: but the new suburbs which had been built by the merchants and + veterans, required, in the opinion of Arrian, some external defence. <a + href="#linknote-42.80" name="linknoteref-42.80" id="linknoteref-42.80">80</a> + As the strength of the empire was gradually impaired, the Romans stationed + on the Phasis were neither withdrawn nor expelled; and the tribe of the + Lazi, <a href="#linknote-42.81" name="linknoteref-42.81" + id="linknoteref-42.81">81</a> whose posterity speak a foreign dialect, and + inhabit the sea coast of Trebizond, imposed their name and dominion on the + ancient kingdom of Colchos. Their independence was soon invaded by a + formidable neighbor, who had acquired, by arms and treaties, the + sovereignty of Iberia. The dependent king of Lazica received his sceptre + at the hands of the Persian monarch, and the successors of Constantine + acquiesced in this injurious claim, which was proudly urged as a right of + immemorial prescription. In the beginning of the sixth century, their + influence was restored by the introduction of Christianity, which the + Mingrelians still profess with becoming zeal, without understanding the + doctrines, or observing the precepts, of their religion. After the decease + of his father, Zathus was exalted to the regal dignity by the favor of the + great king; but the pious youth abhorred the ceremonies of the Magi, and + sought, in the palace of Constantinople, an orthodox baptism, a noble + wife, and the alliance of the emperor Justin. The king of Lazica was + solemnly invested with the diadem, and his cloak and tunic of white silk, + with a gold border, displayed, in rich embroidery, the figure of his new + patron; who soothed the jealousy of the Persian court, and excused the + revolt of Colchos, by the venerable names of hospitality and religion. The + common interest of both empires imposed on the Colchians the duty of + guarding the passes of Mount Caucasus, where a wall of sixty miles is now + defended by the monthly service of the musketeers of Mingrelia. <a + href="#linknote-42.82" name="linknoteref-42.82" id="linknoteref-42.82">82</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.76" id="linknote-42.76"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 76 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.76">return</a>)<br /> [ Herodot. l. iii. c. 97. + See, in l. vii. c. 79, their arms and service in the expedition of Xerxes + against Greece.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.77" id="linknote-42.77"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 77 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.77">return</a>)<br /> [ Xenophon, who had + encountered the Colchians in his retreat, (Anabasis, l. iv. p. 320, 343, + 348, edit. Hutchinson; and Foster’s Dissertation, p. liii.—lviii., + in Spelman’s English version, vol. ii.,) styled them. Before the conquest + of Mithridates, they are named by Appian, (de Bell. Mithridatico, c. 15, + tom. i. p. 661, of the last and best edition, by John Schweighaeuser. + Lipsae, 1785 8 vols. largo octavo.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.78" id="linknote-42.78"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 78 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.78">return</a>)<br /> [ The conquest of Colchos + by Mithridates and Pompey is marked by Appian (de Bell. Mithridat.) and + Plutarch, (in Vit. Pomp.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.79" id="linknote-42.79"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 79 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.79">return</a>)<br /> [ We may trace the rise + and fall of the family of Polemo, in Strabo, (l. xi. p. 755, l. xii. p. + 867,) Dion Cassius, or Xiphilin, (p. 588, 593, 601, 719, 754, 915, 946, + edit. Reimar,) Suetonius, (in Neron. c. 18, in Vespasian, c. 8,) + Eutropius, (vii. 14,) Josephus, (Antiq. Judaic. l. xx. c. 7, p. 970, edit. + Havercamp,) and Eusebius, (Chron. with Scaliger, Animadvers. p. 196.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.80" id="linknote-42.80"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 80 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.80">return</a>)<br /> [ In the time of + Procopius, there were no Roman forts on the Phasis. Pityus and + Sebastopolis were evacuated on the rumor of the Persians, (Goth. l. iv. c. + 4;) but the latter was afterwards restored by Justinian, (de Edif. l. iv. + c. 7.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.81" id="linknote-42.81"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 81 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.81">return</a>)<br /> [ In the time of Pliny, + Arrian, and Ptolemy, the Lazi were a particular tribe on the northern + skirts of Colchos, (Cellarius, Geograph. Antiq. tom. ii. p. 222.) In the + age of Justinian, they spread, or at least reigned, over the whole + country. At present, they have migrated along the coast towards Trebizond, + and compose a rude sea-faring people, with a peculiar language, (Chardin, + p. 149. Peyssonel p. 64.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.82" id="linknote-42.82"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 82 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.82">return</a>)<br /> [ John Malala, Chron. + tom. ii. p. 134—137 Theophanes, p. 144. Hist. Miscell. l. xv. p. + 103. The fact is authentic, but the date seems too recent. In speaking of + their Persian alliance, the Lazi contemporaries of Justinian employ the + most obsolete words, &c. Could they belong to a connection which had + not been dissolved above twenty years?] + </p> + <p> + But this honorable connection was soon corrupted by the avarice and + ambition of the Romans. Degraded from the rank of allies, the Lazi were + incessantly reminded, by words and actions, of their dependent state. At + the distance of a day’s journey beyond the Apsarus, they beheld the rising + fortress of Petra, <a href="#linknote-42.83" name="linknoteref-42.83" + id="linknoteref-42.83">83</a> which commanded the maritime country to the + south of the Phasis. Instead of being protected by the valor, Colchos was + insulted by the licentiousness, of foreign mercenaries; the benefits of + commerce were converted into base and vexatious monopoly; and Gubazes, the + native prince, was reduced to a pageant of royalty, by the superior + influence of the officers of Justinian. Disappointed in their expectations + of Christian virtue, the indignant Lazi reposed some confidence in the + justice of an unbeliever. After a private assurance that their ambassadors + should not be delivered to the Romans, they publicly solicited the + friendship and aid of Chosroes. The sagacious monarch instantly discerned + the use and importance of Colchos; and meditated a plan of conquest, which + was renewed at the end of a thousand years by Shah Abbas, the wisest and + most powerful of his successors. <a href="#linknote-42.84" + name="linknoteref-42.84" id="linknoteref-42.84">84</a> His ambition was + fired by the hope of launching a Persian navy from the Phasis, of + commanding the trade and navigation of the Euxine Sea, of desolating the + coast of Pontus and Bithynia, of distressing, perhaps of attacking, + Constantinople, and of persuading the Barbarians of Europe to second his + arms and counsels against the common enemy of mankind. + </p> + <p> + Under the pretence of a Scythian war, he silently led his troops to the + frontiers of Iberia; the Colchian guides were prepared to conduct them + through the woods and along the precipices of Mount Caucasus; and a narrow + path was laboriously formed into a safe and spacious highway, for the + march of cavalry, and even of elephants. Gubazes laid his person and + diadem at the feet of the king of Persia; his Colchians imitated the + submission of their prince; and after the walls of Petra had been shaken, + the Roman garrison prevented, by a capitulation, the impending fury of the + last assault. But the Lazi soon discovered, that their impatience had + urged them to choose an evil more intolerable than the calamities which + they strove to escape. The monopoly of salt and corn was effectually + removed by the loss of those valuable commodities. The authority of a + Roman legislator, was succeeded by the pride of an Oriental despot, who + beheld, with equal disdain, the slaves whom he had exalted, and the kings + whom he had humbled before the footstool of his throne. The adoration of + fire was introduced into Colchos by the zeal of the Magi: their intolerant + spirit provoked the fervor of a Christian people; and the prejudice of + nature or education was wounded by the impious practice of exposing the + dead bodies of their parents, on the summit of a lofty tower, to the crows + and vultures of the air. <a href="#linknote-42.85" name="linknoteref-42.85" + id="linknoteref-42.85">85</a> Conscious of the increasing hatred, which + retarded the execution of his great designs, the just Nashirvan had + secretly given orders to assassinate the king of the Lazi, to transplant + the people into some distant land, and to fix a faithful and warlike + colony on the banks of the Phasis. The watchful jealousy of the Colchians + foresaw and averted the approaching ruin. Their repentance was accepted at + Constantinople by the prudence, rather than clemency, of Justinian; and he + commanded Dagisteus, with seven thousand Romans, and one thousand of the + Zani, <a href="#linknote-42.8511" name="linknoteref-42.8511" + id="linknoteref-42.8511">8511</a> to expel the Persians from the coast of + the Euxine. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.83" id="linknote-42.83"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 83 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.83">return</a>)<br /> [ The sole vestige of + Petra subsists in the writings of Procopius and Agathias. Most of the + towns and castles of Lazica may be found by comparing their names and + position with the map of Mingrelia, in Lamberti.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.84" id="linknote-42.84"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 84 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.84">return</a>)<br /> [ See the amusing letters + of Pietro della Valle, the Roman traveler, (Viaggi, tom. ii. 207, 209, + 213, 215, 266, 286, 300, tom. iii. p. 54, 127.) In the years 1618, 1619, + and 1620, he conversed with Shah Abbas, and strongly encouraged a design + which might have united Persia and Europe against their common enemy the + Turk.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.85" id="linknote-42.85"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 85 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.85">return</a>)<br /> [ See Herodotus, (l. i. + c. 140, p. 69,) who speaks with diffidence, Larcher, (tom. i. p. 399—401, + Notes sur Herodote,) Procopius, (Persic. l. i. c. 11,) and Agathias, (l. + ii. p. 61, 62.) This practice, agreeable to the Zendavesta, (Hyde, de + Relig. Pers. c. 34, p. 414—421,) demonstrates that the burial of the + Persian kings, (Xenophon, Cyropaed. l. viii. p. 658,) is a Greek fiction, + and that their tombs could be no more than cenotaphs.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.8511" id="linknote-42.8511"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8511 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.8511">return</a>)<br /> [ These seem the same + people called Suanians, p. 328.—M.] + </p> + <p> + The siege of Petra, which the Roman general, with the aid of the Lazi, + immediately undertook, is one of the most remarkable actions of the age. + The city was seated on a craggy rock, which hung over the sea, and + communicated by a steep and narrow path with the land. Since the approach + was difficult, the attack might be deemed impossible: the Persian + conqueror had strengthened the fortifications of Justinian; and the places + least inaccessible were covered by additional bulwarks. In this important + fortress, the vigilance of Chosroes had deposited a magazine of offensive + and defensive arms, sufficient for five times the number, not only of the + garrison, but of the besiegers themselves. The stock of flour and salt + provisions was adequate to the consumption of five years; the want of wine + was supplied by vinegar; and of grain from whence a strong liquor was + extracted, and a triple aqueduct eluded the diligence, and even the + suspicions, of the enemy. But the firmest defence of Petra was placed in + the valor of fifteen hundred Persians, who resisted the assaults of the + Romans, whilst, in a softer vein of earth, a mine was secretly perforated. + The wall, supported by slender and temporary props, hung tottering in the + air; but Dagisteus delayed the attack till he had secured a specific + recompense; and the town was relieved before the return of his messenger + from Constantinople. The Persian garrison was reduced to four hundred men, + of whom no more than fifty were exempt from sickness or wounds; yet such + had been their inflexible perseverance, that they concealed their losses + from the enemy, by enduring, without a murmur, the sight and putrefying + stench of the dead bodies of their eleven hundred companions. After their + deliverance, the breaches were hastily stopped with sand-bags; the mine + was replenished with earth; a new wall was erected on a frame of + substantial timber; and a fresh garrison of three thousand men was + stationed at Petra to sustain the labors of a second siege. The + operations, both of the attack and defence, were conducted with skilful + obstinacy; and each party derived useful lessons from the experience of + their past faults. A battering-ram was invented, of light construction and + powerful effect: it was transported and worked by the hands of forty + soldiers; and as the stones were loosened by its repeated strokes, they + were torn with long iron hooks from the wall. From those walls, a shower + of darts was incessantly poured on the heads of the assailants; but they + were most dangerously annoyed by a fiery composition of sulphur and + bitumen, which in Colchos might with some propriety be named the oil of + Medea. Of six thousand Romans who mounted the scaling-ladders, their + general Bessas was the first, a gallant veteran of seventy years of age: + the courage of their leader, his fall, and extreme danger, animated the + irresistible effort of his troops; and their prevailing numbers oppressed + the strength, without subduing the spirit, of the Persian garrison. The + fate of these valiant men deserves to be more distinctly noticed. Seven + hundred had perished in the siege, two thousand three hundred survived to + defend the breach. One thousand and seventy were destroyed with fire and + sword in the last assault; and if seven hundred and thirty were made + prisoners, only eighteen among them were found without the marks of + honorable wounds. The remaining five hundred escaped into the citadel, + which they maintained without any hopes of relief, rejecting the fairest + terms of capitulation and service, till they were lost in the flames. They + died in obedience to the commands of their prince; and such examples of + loyalty and valor might excite their countrymen to deeds of equal despair + and more prosperous event. The instant demolition of the works of Petra + confessed the astonishment and apprehension of the conqueror. A Spartan + would have praised and pitied the virtue of these heroic slaves; but the + tedious warfare and alternate success of the Roman and Persian arms cannot + detain the attention of posterity at the foot of Mount Caucasus. The + advantages obtained by the troops of Justinian were more frequent and + splendid; but the forces of the great king were continually supplied, till + they amounted to eight elephants and seventy thousand men, including + twelve thousand Scythian allies, and above three thousand Dilemites, who + descended by their free choice from the hills of Hyrcania, and were + equally formidable in close or in distant combat. The siege of + Archaeopolis, a name imposed or corrupted by the Greeks, was raised with + some loss and precipitation; but the Persians occupied the passes of + Iberia: Colchos was enslaved by their forts and garrisons; they devoured + the scanty sustenance of the people; and the prince of the Lazi fled into + the mountains. In the Roman camp, faith and discipline were unknown; and + the independent leaders, who were invested with equal power, disputed with + each other the preeminence of vice and corruption. The Persians followed, + without a murmur, the commands of a single chief, who implicitly obeyed + the instructions of their supreme lord. Their general was distinguished + among the heroes of the East by his wisdom in council, and his valor in + the field. The advanced age of Mermeroes, and the lameness of both his + feet, could not diminish the activity of his mind, or even of his body; + and, whilst he was carried in a litter in the front of battle, he inspired + terror to the enemy, and a just confidence to the troops, who, under his + banners, were always successful. After his death, the command devolved to + Nacoragan, a proud satrap, who, in a conference with the Imperial chiefs, + had presumed to declare that he disposed of victory as absolutely as of + the ring on his finger. Such presumption was the natural cause and + forerunner of a shameful defeat. The Romans had been gradually repulsed to + the edge of the sea-shore; and their last camp, on the ruins of the + Grecian colony of Phasis, was defended on all sides by strong + intrenchments, the river, the Euxine, and a fleet of galleys. Despair + united their counsels and invigorated their arms: they withstood the + assault of the Persians and the flight of Nacoragan preceded or followed + the slaughter of ten thousand of his bravest soldiers. He escaped from the + Romans to fall into the hands of an unforgiving master who severely + chastised the error of his own choice: the unfortunate general was flayed + alive, and his skin, stuffed into the human form, was exposed on a + mountain; a dreadful warning to those who might hereafter be intrusted + with the fame and fortune of Persia. <a href="#linknote-42.86" + name="linknoteref-42.86" id="linknoteref-42.86">86</a> Yet the prudence of + Chosroes insensibly relinquished the prosecution of the Colchian war, in + the just persuasion, that it is impossible to reduce, or, at least, to + hold a distant country against the wishes and efforts of its inhabitants. + The fidelity of Gubazes sustained the most rigorous trials. He patiently + endured the hardships of a savage life, and rejected with disdain, the + specious temptations of the Persian court. <a href="#linknote-42.8611" + name="linknoteref-42.8611" id="linknoteref-42.8611">8611</a> The king of the + Lazi had been educated in the Christian religion; his mother was the + daughter of a senator; during his youth he had served ten years a + silentiary of the Byzantine palace, <a href="#linknote-42.87" + name="linknoteref-42.87" id="linknoteref-42.87">87</a> and the arrears of an + unpaid salary were a motive of attachment as well as of complaint. But the + long continuance of his sufferings extorted from him a naked + representation of the truth; and truth was an unpardonable libel on the + lieutenants of Justinian, who, amidst the delays of a ruinous war, had + spared his enemies and trampled on his allies. Their malicious information + persuaded the emperor that his faithless vassal already meditated a second + defection: an order was surprised to send him prisoner to Constantinople; + a treacherous clause was inserted, that he might be lawfully killed in + case of resistance; and Gubazes, without arms, or suspicion of danger, was + stabbed in the security of a friendly interview. In the first moments of + rage and despair, the Colchians would have sacrificed their country and + religion to the gratification of revenge. But the authority and eloquence + of the wiser few obtained a salutary pause: the victory of the Phasis + restored the terror of the Roman arms, and the emperor was solicitous to + absolve his own name from the imputation of so foul a murder. A judge of + senatorial rank was commissioned to inquire into the conduct and death of + the king of the Lazi. He ascended a stately tribunal, encompassed by the + ministers of justice and punishment: in the presence of both nations, this + extraordinary cause was pleaded, according to the forms of civil + jurisprudence, and some satisfaction was granted to an injured people, by + the sentence and execution of the meaner criminals. <a + href="#linknote-42.88" name="linknoteref-42.88" id="linknoteref-42.88">88</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.86" id="linknote-42.86"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 86 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.86">return</a>)<br /> [ The punishment of + flaying alive could not be introduced into Persia by Sapor, (Brisson, de + Regn. Pers. l. ii. p. 578,) nor could it be copied from the foolish tale + of Marsyas, the Phrygian piper, most foolishly quoted as a precedent by + Agathias, (l. iv. p. 132, 133.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.8611" id="linknote-42.8611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8611 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.8611">return</a>)<br /> [ According to + Agathias, the death of Gubazos preceded the defeat of Nacoragan. The trial + took place after the battle.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.87" id="linknote-42.87"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 87 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.87">return</a>)<br /> [ In the palace of + Constantinople there were thirty silentiaries, who were styled hastati, + ante fores cubiculi, an honorable title which conferred the rank, without + imposing the duties, of a senator, (Cod. Theodos. l. vi. tit. 23. + Gothofred. Comment. tom. ii. p. 129.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.88" id="linknote-42.88"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 88 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.88">return</a>)<br /> [ On these judicial + orations, Agathias (l. iii. p. 81-89, l. iv. p. 108—119) lavishes + eighteen or twenty pages of false and florid rhetoric. His ignorance or + carelessness overlooks the strongest argument against the king of Lazica—his + former revolt. * Note: The Orations in the third book of Agathias are not + judicial, nor delivered before the Roman tribunal: it is a deliberative + debate among the Colchians on the expediency of adhering to the Roman, or + embracing the Persian alliance.—M.] + </p> + <p> + In peace, the king of Persia continually sought the pretences of a + rupture: but no sooner had he taken up arms, than he expressed his desire + of a safe and honorable treaty. During the fiercest hostilities, the two + monarchs entertained a deceitful negotiation; and such was the superiority + of Chosroes, that whilst he treated the Roman ministers with insolence and + contempt, he obtained the most unprecedented honors for his own + ambassadors at the Imperial court. The successor of Cyrus assumed the + majesty of the Eastern sun, and graciously permitted his younger brother + Justinian to reign over the West, with the pale and reflected splendor of + the moon. This gigantic style was supported by the pomp and eloquence of + Isdigune, one of the royal chamberlains. His wife and daughters, with a + train of eunuchs and camels, attended the march of the ambassador: two + satraps with golden diadems were numbered among his followers: he was + guarded by five hundred horse, the most valiant of the Persians; and the + Roman governor of Dara wisely refused to admit more than twenty of this + martial and hostile caravan. When Isdigune had saluted the emperor, and + delivered his presents, he passed ten months at Constantinople without + discussing any serious affairs. Instead of being confined to his palace, + and receiving food and water from the hands of his keepers, the Persian + ambassador, without spies or guards, was allowed to visit the capital; and + the freedom of conversation and trade enjoyed by his domestics, offended + the prejudices of an age which rigorously practised the law of nations, + without confidence or courtesy. <a href="#linknote-42.89" + name="linknoteref-42.89" id="linknoteref-42.89">89</a> By an unexampled + indulgence, his interpreter, a servant below the notice of a Roman + magistrate, was seated, at the table of Justinian, by the side of his + master: and one thousand pounds of gold might be assigned for the expense + of his journey and entertainment. Yet the repeated labors of Isdigune + could procure only a partial and imperfect truce, which was always + purchased with the treasures, and renewed at the solicitation, of the + Byzantine court. Many years of fruitless desolation elapsed before + Justinian and Chosroes were compelled, by mutual lassitude, to consult the + repose of their declining age. At a conference held on the frontier, each + party, without expecting to gain credit, displayed the power, the justice, + and the pacific intentions, of their respective sovereigns; but necessity + and interest dictated the treaty of peace, which was concluded for a term + of fifty years, diligently composed in the Greek and Persian languages, + and attested by the seals of twelve interpreters. The liberty of commerce + and religion was fixed and defined; the allies of the emperor and the + great king were included in the same benefits and obligations; and the + most scrupulous precautions were provided to prevent or determine the + accidental disputes that might arise on the confines of two hostile + nations. After twenty years of destructive though feeble war, the limits + still remained without alteration; and Chosroes was persuaded to renounce + his dangerous claim to the possession or sovereignty of Colchos and its + dependent states. Rich in the accumulated treasures of the East, he + extorted from the Romans an annual payment of thirty thousand pieces of + gold; and the smallness of the sum revealed the disgrace of a tribute in + its naked deformity. In a previous debate, the chariot of Sesostris, and + the wheel of fortune, were applied by one of the ministers of Justinian, + who observed that the reduction of Antioch, and some Syrian cities, had + elevated beyond measure the vain and ambitious spirit of the Barbarian. + “You are mistaken,” replied the modest Persian: “the king of kings, the + lord of mankind, looks down with contempt on such petty acquisitions; and + of the ten nations, vanquished by his invincible arms, he esteems the + Romans as the least formidable.” <a href="#linknote-42.90" + name="linknoteref-42.90" id="linknoteref-42.90">90</a> According to the + Orientals, the empire of Nushirvan extended from Ferganah, in Transoxiana, + to Yemen or Arabia Faelix. He subdued the rebels of Hyrcania, reduced the + provinces of Cabul and Zablestan on the banks of the Indus, broke the + power of the Euthalites, terminated by an honorable treaty the Turkish + war, and admitted the daughter of the great khan into the number of his + lawful wives. Victorious and respected among the princes of Asia, he gave + audience, in his palace of Madain, or Ctesiphon, to the ambassadors of the + world. Their gifts or tributes, arms, rich garments, gems, slaves or + aromatics, were humbly presented at the foot of his throne; and he + condescended to accept from the king of India ten quintals of the wood of + aloes, a maid seven cubits in height, and a carpet softer than silk, the + skin, as it was reported, of an extraordinary serpent. <a + href="#linknote-42.91" name="linknoteref-42.91" id="linknoteref-42.91">91</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.89" id="linknote-42.89"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 89 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.89">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius represents + the practice of the Gothic court of Ravenna (Goth. l. i. c. 7;) and + foreign ambassadors have been treated with the same jealousy and rigor in + Turkey, (Busbequius, epist. iii. p. 149, 242, &c.,) Russia, (Voyage + D’Olearius,) and China, (Narrative of A. de Lange, in Bell’s Travels, vol. + ii. p. 189—311.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.90" id="linknote-42.90"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 90 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.90">return</a>)<br /> [ The negotiations and + treaties between Justinian and Chosroes are copiously explained by + Procopius, (Persie, l. ii. c. 10, 13, 26, 27, 28. Gothic. l. ii. c. 11, + 15,) Agathias, (l. iv. p. 141, 142,) and Menander, (in Excerpt. Legat. p. + 132—147.) Consult Barbeyrac, Hist. des Anciens Traites, tom. ii. p. + 154, 181—184, 193—200.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.91" id="linknote-42.91"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 91 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.91">return</a>)<br /> [ D’Herbelot, Bibliot. + Orient. p. 680, 681, 294, 295.] + </p> + <p> + Justinian had been reproached for his alliance with the Aethiopians, as if + he attempted to introduce a people of savage negroes into the system of + civilized society. But the friends of the Roman empire, the Axumites, or + Abyssinians, may be always distinguished from the original natives of + Africa. <a href="#linknote-42.92" name="linknoteref-42.92" + id="linknoteref-42.92">92</a> The hand of nature has flattened the noses of + the negroes, covered their heads with shaggy wool, and tinged their skin + with inherent and indelible blackness. But the olive complexion of the + Abyssinians, their hair, shape, and features, distinctly mark them as a + colony of Arabs; and this descent is confirmed by the resemblance of + language and manners the report of an ancient emigration, and the narrow + interval between the shores of the Red Sea. Christianity had raised that + nation above the level of African barbarism: <a href="#linknote-42.93" + name="linknoteref-42.93" id="linknoteref-42.93">93</a> their intercourse + with Egypt, and the successors of Constantine, <a href="#linknote-42.94" + name="linknoteref-42.94" id="linknoteref-42.94">94</a> had communicated the + rudiments of the arts and sciences; their vessels traded to the Isle of + Ceylon, <a href="#linknote-42.95" name="linknoteref-42.95" + id="linknoteref-42.95">95</a> and seven kingdoms obeyed the Negus or + supreme prince of Abyssinia. The independence of the Homerites, <a + href="#linknote-42.9511" name="linknoteref-42.9511" id="linknoteref-42.9511">9511</a> + who reigned in the rich and happy Arabia, was first violated by an + Aethiopian conqueror: he drew his hereditary claim from the queen of + Sheba, <a href="#linknote-42.96" name="linknoteref-42.96" + id="linknoteref-42.96">96</a> and his ambition was sanctified by religious + zeal. The Jews, powerful and active in exile, had seduced the mind of + Dunaan, prince of the Homerites. They urged him to retaliate the + persecution inflicted by the Imperial laws on their unfortunate brethren: + some Roman merchants were injuriously treated; and several Christians of + Negra <a href="#linknote-42.97" name="linknoteref-42.97" + id="linknoteref-42.97">97</a> were honored with the crown of martyrdom. <a + href="#linknote-42.98" name="linknoteref-42.98" id="linknoteref-42.98">98</a> + The churches of Arabia implored the protection of the Abyssinian monarch. + The Negus passed the Red Sea with a fleet and army, deprived the Jewish + proselyte of his kingdom and life, and extinguished a race of princes, who + had ruled above two thousand years the sequestered region of myrrh and + frankincense. The conqueror immediately announced the victory of the + gospel, requested an orthodox patriarch, and so warmly professed his + friendship to the Roman empire, that Justinian was flattered by the hope + of diverting the silk trade through the channel of Abyssinia, and of + exciting the forces of Arabia against the Persian king. Nonnosus, + descended from a family of ambassadors, was named by the emperor to + execute this important commission. He wisely declined the shorter, but + more dangerous, road, through the sandy deserts of Nubia; ascended the + Nile, embarked on the Red Sea, and safely landed at the African port of + Adulis. From Adulis to the royal city of Axume is no more than fifty + leagues, in a direct line; but the winding passes of the mountains + detained the ambassador fifteen days; and as he traversed the forests, he + saw, and vaguely computed, about five thousand wild elephants. The + capital, according to his report, was large and populous; and the village + of Axume is still conspicuous by the regal coronations, by the ruins of a + Christian temple, and by sixteen or seventeen obelisks inscribed with + Grecian characters. <a href="#linknote-42.99" name="linknoteref-42.99" + id="linknoteref-42.99">99</a> But the Negus <a href="#linknote-42.9911" + name="linknoteref-42.9911" id="linknoteref-42.9911">9911</a> gave audience + in the open field, seated on a lofty chariot, which was drawn by four + elephants, superbly caparisoned, and surrounded by his nobles and + musicians. He was clad in a linen garment and cap, holding in his hand two + javelins and a light shield; and, although his nakedness was imperfectly + covered, he displayed the Barbaric pomp of gold chains, collars, and + bracelets, richly adorned with pearls and precious stones. The ambassador + of Justinian knelt; the Negus raised him from the ground, embraced + Nonnosus, kissed the seal, perused the letter, accepted the Roman + alliance, and, brandishing his weapons, denounced implacable war against + the worshipers of fire. But the proposal of the silk trade was eluded; and + notwithstanding the assurances, and perhaps the wishes, of the + Abyssinians, these hostile menaces evaporated without effect. The + Homerites were unwilling to abandon their aromatic groves, to explore a + sandy desert, and to encounter, after all their fatigues, a formidable + nation from whom they had never received any personal injuries. Instead of + enlarging his conquests, the king of Aethiopia was incapable of defending + his possessions. Abrahah, <a href="#linknote-42.9912" + name="linknoteref-42.9912" id="linknoteref-42.9912">9912</a> the slave of a + Roman merchant of Adulis, assumed the sceptre of the Homerites,; the + troops of Africa were seduced by the luxury of the climate; and Justinian + solicited the friendship of the usurper, who honored with a slight tribute + the supremacy of his prince. After a long series of prosperity, the power + of Abrahah was overthrown before the gates of Mecca; and his children were + despoiled by the Persian conqueror; and the Aethiopians were finally + expelled from the continent of Asia. This narrative of obscure and remote + events is not foreign to the decline and fall of the Roman empire. If a + Christian power had been maintained in Arabia, Mahomet must have been + crushed in his cradle, and Abyssinia would have prevented a revolution + which has changed the civil and religious state of the world. <a + href="#linknote-42.100" name="linknoteref-42.100" id="linknoteref-42.100">100</a> + <a href="#linknote-42.1001" name="linknoteref-42.1001" + id="linknoteref-42.1001">1001</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.92" id="linknote-42.92"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 92 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.92">return</a>)<br /> [ See Buffon, Hist. + Naturelle, tom. iii. p. 449. This Arab cast of features and complexion, + which has continued 3400 years (Ludolph. Hist. et Comment. Aethiopic. l. + i. c. 4) in the colony of Abyssinia, will justify the suspicion, that + race, as well as climate, must have contributed to form the negroes of the + adjacent and similar regions. * Note: Mr. Salt (Travels, vol. ii. p. 458) + considers them to be distinct from the Arabs—“in feature, color, + habit, and manners.”—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.93" id="linknote-42.93"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 93 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.93">return</a>)<br /> [ The Portuguese + missionaries, Alvarez, (Ramusio, tom. i. fol. 204, rect. 274, vers.) + Bermudez, (Purchas’s Pilgrims, vol. ii. l. v. c. 7, p. 1149—1188,) + Lobo, (Relation, &c., par M. le Grand, with xv. Dissertations, Paris, + 1728,) and Tellez (Relations de Thevenot, part iv.) could only relate of + modern Abyssinia what they had seen or invented. The erudition of + Ludolphus, (Hist. Aethiopica, Francofurt, 1681. Commentarius, 1691. + Appendix, 1694,) in twenty-five languages, could add little concerning its + ancient history. Yet the fame of Caled, or Ellisthaeus, the conqueror of + Yemen, is celebrated in national songs and legends.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.94" id="linknote-42.94"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 94 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.94">return</a>)<br /> [ The negotiations of + Justinian with the Axumites, or Aethiopians, are recorded by Procopius + (Persic. l. i. c. 19, 20) and John Malala, (tom. ii. p. 163—165, 193—196.) + The historian of Antioch quotes the original narrative of the ambassador + Nonnosus, of which Photius (Bibliot. Cod. iii.) has preserved a curious + extract.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.95" id="linknote-42.95"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 95 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.95">return</a>)<br /> [ The trade of the + Axumites to the coast of India and Africa, and the Isle of Ceylon, is + curiously represented by Cosmas Indicopleustes, (Topograph. Christian. l. + ii. p. 132, 138, 139, 140, l. xi. p. 338, 339.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.9511" id="linknote-42.9511"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9511 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.9511">return</a>)<br /> [ It appears by the + important inscription discovered by Mr. Salt at Axoum, and from a law of + Constantius, (16th Jan. 356, inserted in the Theodosian Code, l. 12, c. + 12,) that in the middle of the fourth century of our era the princes of + the Axumites joined to their titles that of king of the Homerites. The + conquests which they made over the Arabs in the sixth century were only a + restoration of the ancient order of things. St. Martin vol. viii. p. 46—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.96" id="linknote-42.96"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 96 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.96">return</a>)<br /> [ Ludolph. Hist. et + Comment. Aethiop. l. ii. c. 3.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.97" id="linknote-42.97"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 97 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.97">return</a>)<br /> [ The city of Negra, or + Nag’ran, in Yemen, is surrounded with palm-trees, and stands in the high + road between Saana, the capital, and Mecca; from the former ten, from the + latter twenty days’ journey of a caravan of camels, (Abulfeda, Descript. + Arabiae, p. 52.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.98" id="linknote-42.98"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 98 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.98">return</a>)<br /> [ The martyrdom of St. + Arethas, prince of Negra, and his three hundred and forty companions, is + embellished in the legends of Metaphrastes and Nicephorus Callistus, + copied by Baronius, (A. D 522, No. 22—66, A.D. 523, No. 16—29,) + and refuted with obscure diligence, by Basnage, (Hist. des Juifs, tom. + viii. l. xii. c. ii. p. 333—348,) who investigates the state of the + Jews in Arabia and Aethiopia. * Note: According to Johannsen, (Hist. + Yemanae, Praef. p. 89,) Dunaan (Ds Nowas) massacred 20,000 Christians, and + threw them into a pit, where they were burned. They are called in the + Koran the companions of the pit (socii foveae.)—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.99" id="linknote-42.99"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 99 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.99">return</a>)<br /> [ Alvarez (in Ramusio, + tom. i. fol. 219, vers. 221, vers.) saw the flourishing state of Axume in + the year 1520—luogomolto buono e grande. It was ruined in the same + century by the Turkish invasion. No more than 100 houses remain; but the + memory of its past greatness is preserved by the regal coronation, + (Ludolph. Hist. et Comment. l. ii. c. 11.) * Note: Lord Valentia’s and Mr. + Salt’s Travels give a high notion of the ruins of Axum.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.9911" id="linknote-42.9911"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9911 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.9911">return</a>)<br /> [ The Negus is + differently called Elesbaan, Elesboas, Elisthaeus, probably the same name, + or rather appellation. See St. Martin, vol. viii. p. 49.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.9912" id="linknote-42.9912"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9912 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.9912">return</a>)<br /> [ According to the + Arabian authorities, (Johannsen, Hist. Yemanae, p. 94, Bonn, 1828,) + Abrahah was an Abyssinian, the rival of Ariathus, the brother of the + Abyssinian king: he surprised and slew Ariathus, and by his craft appeased + the resentment of Nadjash, the Abyssinian king. Abrahah was a Christian; + he built a magnificent church at Sana, and dissuaded his subjects from + their accustomed pilgrimages to Mecca. The church was defiled, it was + supposed, by the Koreishites, and Abrahah took up arms to revenge himself + on the temple at Mecca. He was repelled by miracle: his elephant would not + advance, but knelt down before the sacred place; Abrahah fled, discomfited + and mortally wounded, to Sana—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.100" id="linknote-42.100"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 100 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.100">return</a>)<br /> [ The revolutions of + Yemen in the sixth century must be collected from Procopius, (Persic. l. + i. c. 19, 20,) Theophanes Byzant., (apud Phot. cod. lxiii. p. 80,) St. + Theophanes, (in Chronograph. p. 144, 145, 188, 189, 206, 207, who is full + of strange blunders,) Pocock, (Specimen Hist. Arab. p. 62, 65,) + D’Herbelot, (Bibliot. Orientale, p. 12, 477,) and Sale’s Preliminary + Discourse and Koran, (c. 105.) The revolt of Abrahah is mentioned by + Procopius; and his fall, though clouded with miracles, is an historical + fact. Note: To the authors who have illustrated the obscure history of the + Jewish and Abyssinian kingdoms in Homeritis may be added Schultens, Hist. + Joctanidarum; Walch, Historia rerum in Homerite gestarum, in the 4th vol. + of the Gottingen Transactions; Salt’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 446, &c.: + Sylvestre de Sacy, vol. i. Acad. des Inscrip. Jost, Geschichte der + Israeliter; Johannsen, Hist. Yemanae; St. Martin’s notes to Le Beau, t. + vii p. 42.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-42.1001" id="linknote-42.1001"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1001 (<a href="#linknoteref-42.1001">return</a>)<br /> [ A period of + sixty-seven years is assigned by most of the Arabian authorities to the + Abyssinian kingdoms in Homeritis.—M.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap43.1"></a> +Chapter XLIII: Last Victory And Death Of Belisarius, Death Of Justinian.—Part +I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Rebellions Of Africa.—Restoration Of The Gothic Kingdom By +Totila.—Loss And Recovery Of Rome.—Final Conquest Of Italy By +Narses.—Extinction Of The Ostrogoths.—Defeat Of The Franks And +Alemanni.—Last Victory, Disgrace, And Death Of Belisarius.—Death +And Character Of Justinian.—Comet, Earthquakes, And Plague. +</p> + <p> + The review of the nations from the Danube to the Nile has exposed, on + every side, the weakness of the Romans; and our wonder is reasonably + excited that they should presume to enlarge an empire whose ancient limits + they were incapable of defending. But the wars, the conquests, and the + triumphs of Justinian, are the feeble and pernicious efforts of old age, + which exhaust the remains of strength, and accelerate the decay of the + powers of life. He exulted in the glorious act of restoring Africa and + Italy to the republic; but the calamities which followed the departure of + Belisarius betrayed the impotence of the conqueror, and accomplished the + ruin of those unfortunate countries. + </p> + <p> + From his new acquisitions, Justinian expected that his avarice, as well as + pride, should be richly gratified. A rapacious minister of the finances + closely pursued the footsteps of Belisarius; and as the old registers of + tribute had been burnt by the Vandals, he indulged his fancy in a liberal + calculation and arbitrary assessment of the wealth of Africa. <a + href="#linknote-43.1" name="linknoteref-43.1" id="linknoteref-43.1">1</a> The + increase of taxes, which were drawn away by a distant sovereign, and a + general resumption of the patrimony or crown lands, soon dispelled the + intoxication of the public joy: but the emperor was insensible to the + modest complaints of the people, till he was awakened and alarmed by the + clamors of military discontent. Many of the Roman soldiers had married the + widows and daughters of the Vandals. As their own, by the double right of + conquest and inheritance, they claimed the estates which Genseric had + assigned to his victorious troops. They heard with disdain the cold and + selfish representations of their officers, that the liberality of + Justinian had raised them from a savage or servile condition; that they + were already enriched by the spoils of Africa, the treasure, the slaves, + and the movables of the vanquished Barbarians; and that the ancient and + lawful patrimony of the emperors would be applied only to the support of + that government on which their own safety and reward must ultimately + depend. The mutiny was secretly inflamed by a thousand soldiers, for the + most part Heruli, who had imbibed the doctrines, and were instigated by + the clergy, of the Arian sect; and the cause of perjury and rebellion was + sanctified by the dispensing powers of fanaticism. The Arians deplored the + ruin of their church, triumphant above a century in Africa; and they were + justly provoked by the laws of the conqueror, which interdicted the + baptism of their children, and the exercise of all religious worship. Of + the Vandals chosen by Belisarius, the far greater part, in the honors of + the Eastern service, forgot their country and religion. But a generous + band of four hundred obliged the mariners, when they were in sight of the + Isle of Lesbos, to alter their course: they touched on Peloponnesus, ran + ashore on a desert coast of Africa, and boldly erected, on Mount Aurasius, + the standard of independence and revolt. While the troops of the provinces + disclaimed the commands of their superiors, a conspiracy was formed at + Carthage against the life of Solomon, who filled with honor the place of + Belisarius; and the Arians had piously resolved to sacrifice the tyrant at + the foot of the altar, during the awful mysteries of the festival of + Easter. Fear or remorse restrained the daggers of the assassins, but the + patience of Solomon emboldened their discontent; and, at the end of ten + days, a furious sedition was kindled in the Circus, which desolated Africa + above ten years. The pillage of the city, and the indiscriminate slaughter + of its inhabitants, were suspended only by darkness, sleep, and + intoxication: the governor, with seven companions, among whom was the + historian Procopius, escaped to Sicily: two thirds of the army were + involved in the guilt of treason; and eight thousand insurgents, + assembling in the field of Bulla, elected Stoza for their chief, a private + soldier, who possessed in a superior degree the virtues of a rebel. Under + the mask of freedom, his eloquence could lead, or at least impel, the + passions of his equals. He raised himself to a level with Belisarius, and + the nephew of the emperor, by daring to encounter them in the field; and + the victorious generals were compelled to acknowledge that Stoza deserved + a purer cause, and a more legitimate command. Vanquished in battle, he + dexterously employed the arts of negotiation; a Roman army was seduced + from their allegiance, and the chiefs who had trusted to his faithless + promise were murdered by his order in a church of Numidia. When every + resource, either of force or perfidy, was exhausted, Stoza, with some + desperate Vandals, retired to the wilds of Mauritania, obtained the + daughter of a Barbarian prince, and eluded the pursuit of his enemies, by + the report of his death. The personal weight of Belisarius, the rank, the + spirit, and the temper, of Germanus, the emperor’s nephew, and the vigor + and success of the second administration of the eunuch Solomon, restored + the modesty of the camp, and maintained for a while the tranquillity of + Africa. But the vices of the Byzantine court were felt in that distant + province; the troops complained that they were neither paid nor relieved, + and as soon as the public disorders were sufficiently mature, Stoza was + again alive, in arms, and at the gates of Carthage. He fell in a single + combat, but he smiled in the agonies of death, when he was informed that + his own javelin had reached the heart of his antagonist. <a + href="#linknote-43.1001" name="linknoteref-43.1001" id="linknoteref-43.1001">1001</a> + The example of Stoza, and the assurance that a fortunate soldier had been + the first king, encouraged the ambition of Gontharis, and he promised, by + a private treaty, to divide Africa with the Moors, if, with their + dangerous aid, he should ascend the throne of Carthage. The feeble + Areobindus, unskilled in the affairs of peace and war, was raised, by his + marriage with the niece of Justinian, to the office of exarch. He was + suddenly oppressed by a sedition of the guards, and his abject + supplications, which provoked the contempt, could not move the pity, of + the inexorable tyrant. After a reign of thirty days, Gontharis himself was + stabbed at a banquet by the hand of Artaban; <a href="#linknote-43.1002" + name="linknoteref-43.1002" id="linknoteref-43.1002">1002</a> and it is + singular enough, that an Armenian prince, of the royal family of Arsaces, + should reestablish at Carthage the authority of the Roman empire. In the + conspiracy which unsheathed the dagger of Brutus against the life of + Caesar, every circumstance is curious and important to the eyes of + posterity; but the guilt or merit of these loyal or rebellious assassins + could interest only the contemporaries of Procopius, who, by their hopes + and fears, their friendship or resentment, were personally engaged in the + revolutions of Africa. <a href="#linknote-43.2" name="linknoteref-43.2" + id="linknoteref-43.2">2</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.1" id="linknote-43.1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.1">return</a>)<br /> [ For the troubles of + Africa, I neither have nor desire another guide than Procopius, whose eye + contemplated the image, and whose ear collected the reports, of the + memorable events of his own times. In the second book of the Vandalic war + he relates the revolt of Stoza, (c. 14—24,) the return of + Belisarius, (c. 15,) the victory of Germanus, (c. 16, 17, 18,) the second + administration of Solomon, (c. 19, 20, 21,) the government of Sergius, (c. + 22, 23,) of Areobindus, (c. 24,) the tyranny and death of Gontharis, (c. + 25, 26, 27, 28;) nor can I discern any symptoms of flattery or malevolence + in his various portraits.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.1001" id="linknote-43.1001"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1001 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.1001">return</a>)<br /> [ Corippus gives a + different account of the death of Stoza; he was transfixed by an arrow + from the hand of John, (not the hero of his poem) who broke desperately + through the victorious troops of the enemy. Stoza repented, says the poet, + of his treasonous rebellion, and anticipated—another Cataline—eternal + torments as his punishment. + </p> +<p class="foot"> +<br />Reddam, improba, pœnas Quas merui. Furiis socius Catilina cruentis Exagitatus +adest. Video jam Tartara, fundo Flammarumque globos, et clara incendia +volvi.<br/> +—Johannidos, book iv. line 211.<br /><br /> +</p> + <p class="foot"> + All the other authorities confirm Gibbon’s account of the death of John by + the hand of Stoza. This poem of Corippus, unknown to Gibbon, was first + published by Mazzuchelli during the present century, and is reprinted in + the new edition of the Byzantine writers.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.1002" id="linknote-43.1002"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1002 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.1002">return</a>)<br /> [ This murder was + prompted to the Armenian (according to Corippus) by Athanasius, (then + præfect of Africa.) + </p> +<p class="foot"> +<br />Hunc placidus canâ gravitate coegit<br /> +Inumitera mactare virum.—Corripus, vol. iv. p. 237—M.] +</p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.2" id="linknote-43.2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.2">return</a>)<br /> [ Yet I must not refuse him + the merit of painting, in lively colors, the murder of Gontharis. One of + the assassins uttered a sentiment not unworthy of a Roman patriot: “If I + fail,” said Artasires, “in the first stroke, kill me on the spot, lest the + rack should extort a discovery of my accomplices.”] + </p> + <p> + That country was rapidly sinking into the state of barbarism from whence + it had been raised by the Phœnician colonies and Roman laws; and every + step of intestine discord was marked by some deplorable victory of savage + man over civilized society. The Moors, <a href="#linknote-43.3" + name="linknoteref-43.3" id="linknoteref-43.3">3</a> though ignorant of + justice, were impatient of oppression: their vagrant life and boundless + wilderness disappointed the arms, and eluded the chains, of a conqueror; + and experience had shown, that neither oaths nor obligations could secure + the fidelity of their attachment. The victory of Mount Auras had awed them + into momentary submission; but if they respected the character of Solomon, + they hated and despised the pride and luxury of his two nephews, Cyrus and + Sergius, on whom their uncle had imprudently bestowed the provincial + governments of Tripoli and Pentapolis. A Moorish tribe encamped under the + walls of Leptis, to renew their alliance, and receive from the governor + the customary gifts. Fourscore of their deputies were introduced as + friends into the city; but on the dark suspicion of a conspiracy, they + were massacred at the table of Sergius, and the clamor of arms and revenge + was reechoed through the valleys of Mount Atlas from both the Syrtes to + the Atlantic Ocean. A personal injury, the unjust execution or murder of + his brother, rendered Antalas the enemy of the Romans. The defeat of the + Vandals had formerly signalized his valor; the rudiments of justice and + prudence were still more conspicuous in a Moor; and while he laid + Adrumetum in ashes, he calmly admonished the emperor that the peace of + Africa might be secured by the recall of Solomon and his unworthy nephews. + The exarch led forth his troops from Carthage: but, at the distance of six + days’ journey, in the neighborhood of Tebeste, <a href="#linknote-43.4" + name="linknoteref-43.4" id="linknoteref-43.4">4</a> he was astonished by the + superior numbers and fierce aspect of the Barbarians. He proposed a + treaty; solicited a reconciliation; and offered to bind himself by the + most solemn oaths. “By what oaths can he bind himself?” interrupted the + indignant Moors. “Will he swear by the Gospels, the divine books of the + Christians? It was on those books that the faith of his nephew Sergius was + pledged to eighty of our innocent and unfortunate brethren. Before we + trust them a second time, let us try their efficacy in the chastisement of + perjury and the vindication of their own honor.” Their honor was + vindicated in the field of Tebeste, by the death of Solomon, and the total + loss of his army. <a href="#linknote-43.411" name="linknoteref-43.411" + id="linknoteref-43.411">411</a> The arrival of fresh troops and more + skilful commanders soon checked the insolence of the Moors: seventeen of + their princes were slain in the same battle; and the doubtful and + transient submission of their tribes was celebrated with lavish applause + by the people of Constantinople. Successive inroads had reduced the + province of Africa to one third of the measure of Italy; yet the Roman + emperors continued to reign above a century over Carthage and the fruitful + coast of the Mediterranean. But the victories and the losses of Justinian + were alike pernicious to mankind; and such was the desolation of Africa, + that in many parts a stranger might wander whole days without meeting the + face either of a friend or an enemy. The nation of the Vandals had + disappeared: they once amounted to a hundred and sixty thousand warriors, + without including the children, the women, or the slaves. Their numbers + were infinitely surpassed by the number of the Moorish families extirpated + in a relentless war; and the same destruction was retaliated on the Romans + and their allies, who perished by the climate, their mutual quarrels, and + the rage of the Barbarians. When Procopius first landed, he admired the + populousness of the cities and country, strenuously exercised in the + labors of commerce and agriculture. In less than twenty years, that busy + scene was converted into a silent solitude; the wealthy citizens escaped + to Sicily and Constantinople; and the secret historian has confidently + affirmed, that five millions of Africans were consumed by the wars and + government of the emperor Justinian. <a href="#linknote-43.5" + name="linknoteref-43.5" id="linknoteref-43.5">5</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.3" id="linknote-43.3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.3">return</a>)<br /> [ The Moorish wars are + occasionally introduced into the narrative of Procopius, (Vandal. l. ii. + c. 19—23, 25, 27, 28. Gothic. l. iv. c. 17;) and Theophanes adds + some prosperous and adverse events in the last years of Justinian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.4" id="linknote-43.4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.4">return</a>)<br /> [ Now Tibesh, in the + kingdom of Algiers. It is watered by a river, the Sujerass, which falls + into the Mejerda, (Bagradas.) Tibesh is still remarkable for its walls of + large stones, (like the Coliseum of Rome,) a fountain, and a grove of + walnut-trees: the country is fruitful, and the neighboring Bereberes are + warlike. It appears from an inscription, that, under the reign of Adrian, + the road from Carthage to Tebeste was constructed by the third legion, + (Marmol, Description de l’Afrique, tom. ii. p. 442, 443. Shaw’s Travels, + p. 64, 65, 66.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.411" id="linknote-43.411"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 411 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.411">return</a>)<br /> [ Corripus (Johannidos + lib. iii. 417—441) describes the defeat and death of Solomon.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.5" id="linknote-43.5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.5">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Anecdot. c. + 18. The series of the African history attests this melancholy truth.] + </p> + <p> + The jealousy of the Byzantine court had not permitted Belisarius to + achieve the conquest of Italy; and his abrupt departure revived the + courage of the Goths, <a href="#linknote-43.6" name="linknoteref-43.6" + id="linknoteref-43.6">6</a> who respected his genius, his virtue, and even + the laudable motive which had urged the servant of Justinian to deceive + and reject them. They had lost their king (an inconsiderable loss,) their + capital, their treasures, the provinces from Sicily to the Alps, and the + military force of two hundred thousand Barbarians, magnificently equipped + with horses and arms. Yet all was not lost, as long as Pavia was defended + by one thousand Goths, inspired by a sense of honor, the love of freedom, + and the memory of their past greatness. The supreme command was + unanimously offered to the brave Uraias; and it was in his eyes alone that + the disgrace of his uncle Vitiges could appear as a reason of exclusion. + His voice inclined the election in favor of Hildibald, whose personal + merit was recommended by the vain hope that his kinsman Theudes, the + Spanish monarch, would support the common interest of the Gothic nation. + The success of his arms in Liguria and Venetia seemed to justify their + choice; but he soon declared to the world that he was incapable of + forgiving or commanding his benefactor. The consort of Hildibald was + deeply wounded by the beauty, the riches, and the pride, of the wife of + Uraias; and the death of that virtuous patriot excited the indignation of + a free people. A bold assassin executed their sentence by striking off the + head of Hildibald in the midst of a banquet; the Rugians, a foreign tribe, + assumed the privilege of election: and Totila, <a href="#linknote-43.611" + name="linknoteref-43.611" id="linknoteref-43.611">611</a> the nephew of the + late king, was tempted, by revenge, to deliver himself and the garrison of + Trevigo into the hands of the Romans. + </p> + <p> + But the gallant and accomplished youth was easily persuaded to prefer the + Gothic throne before the service of Justinian; and as soon as the palace + of Pavia had been purified from the Rugian usurper, he reviewed the + national force of five thousand soldiers, and generously undertook the + restoration of the kingdom of Italy. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.6" id="linknote-43.6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.6">return</a>)<br /> [ In the second (c. 30) and + third books, (c. 1—40,) Procopius continues the history of the + Gothic war from the fifth to the fifteenth year of Justinian. As the + events are less interesting than in the former period, he allots only half + the space to double the time. Jornandes, and the Chronicle of Marcellinus, + afford some collateral hints Sigonius, Pagi, Muratori, Mascou, and De + Buat, are useful, and have been used.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.611" id="linknote-43.611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 611 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.611">return</a>)<br /> [ His real name, as + appears by medals, was Baduilla, or Badiula. Totila signifies immortal: + tod (in German) is death. Todilas, deathless. Compare St Martin, vol. ix. + p. 37.—M.] + </p> + <p> + The successors of Belisarius, eleven generals of equal rank, neglected to + crush the feeble and disunited Goths, till they were roused to action by + the progress of Totila and the reproaches of Justinian. The gates of + Verona were secretly opened to Artabazus, at the head of one hundred + Persians in the service of the empire. The Goths fled from the city. At + the distance of sixty furlongs the Roman generals halted to regulate the + division of the spoil. While they disputed, the enemy discovered the real + number of the victors: the Persians were instantly overpowered, and it was + by leaping from the wall that Artabazus preserved a life which he lost in + a few days by the lance of a Barbarian, who had defied him to single + combat. Twenty thousand Romans encountered the forces of Totila, near + Faenza, and on the hills of Mugello, of the Florentine territory. The + ardor of freedmen, who fought to regain their country, was opposed to the + languid temper of mercenary troops, who were even destitute of the merits + of strong and well-disciplined servitude. On the first attack, they + abandoned their ensigns, threw down their arms, and dispersed on all sides + with an active speed, which abated the loss, whilst it aggravated the + shame, of their defeat. The king of the Goths, who blushed for the + baseness of his enemies, pursued with rapid steps the path of honor and + victory. Totila passed the Po, <a href="#linknote-43.6112" + name="linknoteref-43.6112" id="linknoteref-43.6112">6112</a> traversed the + Apennine, suspended the important conquest of Ravenna, Florence, and Rome, + and marched through the heart of Italy, to form the siege or rather the + blockade, of Naples. The Roman chiefs, imprisoned in their respective + cities, and accusing each other of the common disgrace, did not presume to + disturb his enterprise. But the emperor, alarmed by the distress and + danger of his Italian conquests, despatched to the relief of Naples a + fleet of galleys and a body of Thracian and Armenian soldiers. They landed + in Sicily, which yielded its copious stores of provisions; but the delays + of the new commander, an unwarlike magistrate, protracted the sufferings + of the besieged; and the succors, which he dropped with a timid and tardy + hand, were successively intercepted by the armed vessels stationed by + Totila in the Bay of Naples. The principal officer of the Romans was + dragged, with a rope round his neck, to the foot of the wall, from whence, + with a trembling voice, he exhorted the citizens to implore, like himself, + the mercy of the conqueror. They requested a truce, with a promise of + surrendering the city, if no effectual relief should appear at the end of + thirty days. Instead of one month, the audacious Barbarian granted them + three, in the just confidence that famine would anticipate the term of + their capitulation. After the reduction of Naples and Cumae, the provinces + of Lucania, Apulia, and Calabria, submitted to the king of the Goths. + Totila led his army to the gates of Rome, pitched his camp at Tibur, or + Tivoli, within twenty miles of the capital, and calmly exhorted the senate + and people to compare the tyranny of the Greeks with the blessings of the + Gothic reign. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.6112" id="linknote-43.6112"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6112 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.6112">return</a>)<br /> [ This is not quite + correct: he had crossed the Po before the battle of Faenza.—M.] + </p> + <p> + The rapid success of Totila may be partly ascribed to the revolution which + three years’ experience had produced in the sentiments of the Italians. At + the command, or at least in the name, of a Catholic emperor, the pope, <a + href="#linknote-43.7" name="linknoteref-43.7" id="linknoteref-43.7">7</a> + their spiritual father, had been torn from the Roman church, and either + starved or murdered on a desolate island. <a href="#linknote-43.8" + name="linknoteref-43.8" id="linknoteref-43.8">8</a> The virtues of + Belisarius were replaced by the various or uniform vices of eleven chiefs, + at Rome, Ravenna, Florence, Perugia, Spoleto, &c., who abused their + authority for the indulgence of lust or avarice. The improvement of the + revenue was committed to Alexander, a subtle scribe, long practised in the + fraud and oppression of the Byzantine schools, and whose name of + Psalliction, the scissors, <a href="#linknote-43.9" name="linknoteref-43.9" + id="linknoteref-43.9">9</a> was drawn from the dexterous artifice with + which he reduced the size without defacing the figure, of the gold coin. + Instead of expecting the restoration of peace and industry, he imposed a + heavy assessment on the fortunes of the Italians. Yet his present or + future demands were less odious than a prosecution of arbitrary rigor + against the persons and property of all those who, under the Gothic kings, + had been concerned in the receipt and expenditure of the public money. The + subjects of Justinian, who escaped these partial vexations, were oppressed + by the irregular maintenance of the soldiers, whom Alexander defrauded and + despised; and their hasty sallies in quest of wealth, or subsistence, + provoked the inhabitants of the country to await or implore their + deliverance from the virtues of a Barbarian. Totila <a + href="#linknote-43.10" name="linknoteref-43.10" id="linknoteref-43.10">10</a> + was chaste and temperate; and none were deceived, either friends or + enemies, who depended on his faith or his clemency. To the husbandmen of + Italy the Gothic king issued a welcome proclamation, enjoining them to + pursue their important labors, and to rest assured, that, on the payment + of the ordinary taxes, they should be defended by his valor and discipline + from the injuries of war. The strong towns he successively attacked; and + as soon as they had yielded to his arms, he demolished the fortifications, + to save the people from the calamities of a future siege, to deprive the + Romans of the arts of defence, and to decide the tedious quarrel of the + two nations, by an equal and honorable conflict in the field of battle. + The Roman captives and deserters were tempted to enlist in the service of + a liberal and courteous adversary; the slaves were attracted by the firm + and faithful promise, that they should never be delivered to their + masters; and from the thousand warriors of Pavia, a new people, under the + same appellation of Goths, was insensibly formed in the camp of Totila. He + sincerely accomplished the articles of capitulation, without seeking or + accepting any sinister advantage from ambiguous expressions or unforeseen + events: the garrison of Naples had stipulated that they should be + transported by sea; the obstinacy of the winds prevented their voyage, but + they were generously supplied with horses, provisions, and a safe-conduct + to the gates of Rome. The wives of the senators, who had been surprised in + the villas of Campania, were restored, without a ransom, to their + husbands; the violation of female chastity was inexorably chastised with + death; and in the salutary regulation of the edict of the famished + Neapolitans, the conqueror assumed the office of a humane and attentive + physician. The virtues of Totila are equally laudable, whether they + proceeded from true policy, religious principle, or the instinct of + humanity: he often harangued his troops; and it was his constant theme, + that national vice and ruin are inseparably connected; that victory is the + fruit of moral as well as military virtue; and that the prince, and even + the people, are responsible for the crimes which they neglect to punish. + <a name="linknote-43.7" id="linknote-43.7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.7">return</a>)<br /> [Sylverius, bishop of Rome, + was first transported to Patara, in Lycia, and at length starved (sub + eorum custodia inedia confectus) in the Isle of Palmaria, A.D. 538, June + 20, (Liberat. in Breviar. c. 22. Anastasius, in Sylverio. Baronius, A.D. + 540, No. 2, 3. Pagi, in Vit. Pont. tom. i. p. 285, 286.) Procopius + (Anecdot. c. 1) accuses only the empress and Antonina.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.8" id="linknote-43.8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.8">return</a>)<br /> [ Palmaria, a small island, + opposite to Terracina and the coast of the Volsci, (Cluver. Ital. Antiq. + l. iii. c. 7, p. 1014.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.9" id="linknote-43.9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.9">return</a>)<br /> [ As the Logothete + Alexander, and most of his civil and military colleagues, were either + disgraced or despised, the ink of the Anecdotes (c. 4, 5, 18) is scarcely + blacker than that of the Gothic History (l. iii. c. 1, 3, 4, 9, 20, 21, + &c.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.10" id="linknote-43.10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.10">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius (l. iii. c. + 2, 8, &c.,) does ample and willing justice to the merit of Totila. The + Roman historians, from Sallust and Tacitus were happy to forget the vices + of their countrymen in the contemplation of Barbaric virtue.] + </p> + <p> + The return of Belisarius to save the country which he had subdued, was + pressed with equal vehemence by his friends and enemies; and the Gothic + war was imposed as a trust or an exile on the veteran commander. A hero on + the banks of the Euphrates, a slave in the palace of Constantinople, he + accepted with reluctance the painful task of supporting his own + reputation, and retrieving the faults of his successors. The sea was open + to the Romans: the ships and soldiers were assembled at Salona, near the + palace of Diocletian: he refreshed and reviewed his troops at Pola in + Istria, coasted round the head of the Adriatic, entered the port of + Ravenna, and despatched orders rather than supplies to the subordinate + cities. His first public oration was addressed to the Goths and Romans, in + the name of the emperor, who had suspended for a while the conquest of + Persia, and listened to the prayers of his Italian subjects. He gently + touched on the causes and the authors of the recent disasters; striving to + remove the fear of punishment for the past, and the hope of impunity for + the future, and laboring, with more zeal than success, to unite all the + members of his government in a firm league of affection and obedience. + Justinian, his gracious master, was inclined to pardon and reward; and it + was their interest, as well as duty, to reclaim their deluded brethren, + who had been seduced by the arts of the usurper. Not a man was tempted to + desert the standard of the Gothic king. Belisarius soon discovered, that + he was sent to remain the idle and impotent spectator of the glory of a + young Barbarian; and his own epistle exhibits a genuine and lively picture + of the distress of a noble mind. “Most excellent prince, we are arrived in + Italy, destitute of all the necessary implements of war, men, horses, + arms, and money. In our late circuit through the villages of Thrace and + Illyricum, we have collected, with extreme difficulty, about four thousand + recruits, naked, and unskilled in the use of weapons and the exercises of + the camp. The soldiers already stationed in the province are discontented, + fearful, and dismayed; at the sound of an enemy, they dismiss their + horses, and cast their arms on the ground. No taxes can be raised, since + Italy is in the hands of the Barbarians; the failure of payment has + deprived us of the right of command, or even of admonition. Be assured, + dread Sir, that the greater part of your troops have already deserted to + the Goths. If the war could be achieved by the presence of Belisarius + alone, your wishes are satisfied; Belisarius is in the midst of Italy. But + if you desire to conquer, far other preparations are requisite: without a + military force, the title of general is an empty name. It would be + expedient to restore to my service my own veteran and domestic guards. + Before I can take the field, I must receive an adequate supply of light + and heavy armed troops; and it is only with ready money that you can + procure the indispensable aid of a powerful body of the cavalry of the + Huns.” <a href="#linknote-43.11" name="linknoteref-43.11" + id="linknoteref-43.11">11</a> An officer in whom Belisarius confided was + sent from Ravenna to hasten and conduct the succors; but the message was + neglected, and the messenger was detained at Constantinople by an + advantageous marriage. After his patience had been exhausted by delay and + disappointment, the Roman general repassed the Adriatic, and expected at + Dyrrachium the arrival of the troops, which were slowly assembled among + the subjects and allies of the empire. His powers were still inadequate to + the deliverance of Rome, which was closely besieged by the Gothic king. + The Appian way, a march of forty days, was covered by the Barbarians; and + as the prudence of Belisarius declined a battle, he preferred the safe and + speedy navigation of five days from the coast of Epirus to the mouth of + the Tyber. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.11" id="linknote-43.11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.11">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, l. iii. c. + 12. The soul of a hero is deeply impressed on the letter; nor can we + confound such genuine and original acts with the elaborate and often empty + speeches of the Byzantine historians] + </p> + <p> + After reducing, by force, or treaty, the towns of inferior note in the + midland provinces of Italy, Totila proceeded, not to assault, but to + encompass and starve, the ancient capital. Rome was afflicted by the + avarice, and guarded by the valor, of Bessas, a veteran chief of Gothic + extraction, who filled, with a garrison of three thousand soldiers, the + spacious circle of her venerable walls. From the distress of the people he + extracted a profitable trade, and secretly rejoiced in the continuance of + the siege. It was for his use that the granaries had been replenished: the + charity of Pope Vigilius had purchased and embarked an ample supply of + Sicilian corn; but the vessels which escaped the Barbarians were seized by + a rapacious governor, who imparted a scanty sustenance to the soldiers, + and sold the remainder to the wealthy Romans. The medimnus, or fifth part + of the quarter of wheat, was exchanged for seven pieces of gold; fifty + pieces were given for an ox, a rare and accidental prize; the progress of + famine enhanced this exorbitant value, and the mercenaries were tempted to + deprive themselves of the allowance which was scarcely sufficient for the + support of life. A tasteless and unwholesome mixture, in which the bran + thrice exceeded the quantity of flour, appeased the hunger of the poor; + they were gradually reduced to feed on dead horses, dogs, cats, and mice, + and eagerly to snatch the grass, and even the nettles, which grew among + the ruins of the city. A crowd of spectres, pale and emaciated, their + bodies oppressed with disease, and their minds with despair, surrounded + the palace of the governor, urged, with unavailing truth, that it was the + duty of a master to maintain his slaves, and humbly requested that he + would provide for their subsistence, to permit their flight, or command + their immediate execution. Bessas replied, with unfeeling tranquillity, + that it was impossible to feed, unsafe to dismiss, and unlawful to kill, + the subjects of the emperor. Yet the example of a private citizen might + have shown his countrymen that a tyrant cannot withhold the privilege of + death. Pierced by the cries of five children, who vainly called on their + father for bread, he ordered them to follow his steps, advanced with calm + and silent despair to one of the bridges of the Tyber, and, covering his + face, threw himself headlong into the stream, in the presence of his + family and the Roman people. To the rich and pusillammous, Bessas <a + href="#linknote-43.12" name="linknoteref-43.12" id="linknoteref-43.12">12</a> + sold the permission of departure; but the greatest part of the fugitives + expired on the public highways, or were intercepted by the flying parties + of Barbarians. In the mean while, the artful governor soothed the + discontent, and revived the hopes of the Romans, by the vague reports of + the fleets and armies which were hastening to their relief from the + extremities of the East. They derived more rational comfort from the + assurance that Belisarius had landed at the port; and, without numbering + his forces, they firmly relied on the humanity, the courage, and the skill + of their great deliverer. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.12" id="linknote-43.12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.12">return</a>)<br /> [ The avarice of Bessas + is not dissembled by Procopius, (l. iii. c. 17, 20.) He expiated the loss + of Rome by the glorious conquest of Petraea, (Goth. l. iv. c. 12;) but the + same vices followed him from the Tyber to the Phasis, (c. 13;) and the + historian is equally true to the merits and defects of his character. The + chastisement which the author of the romance of Belisaire has inflicted on + the oppressor of Rome is more agreeable to justice than to history.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap43.2"></a> +Chapter XLIII: Last Victory And Death Of Belisarius, Death OF Justinian.—Part +II.</h2> + + <p> + The foresight of Totila had raised obstacles worthy of such an antagonist. + Ninety furlongs below the city, in the narrowest part of the river, he + joined the two banks by strong and solid timbers in the form of a bridge, + on which he erected two lofty towers, manned by the bravest of his Goths, + and profusely stored with missile weapons and engines of offence. The + approach of the bridge and towers was covered by a strong and massy chain + of iron; and the chain, at either end, on the opposite sides of the Tyber, + was defended by a numerous and chosen detachment of archers. But the + enterprise of forcing these barriers, and relieving the capital, displays + a shining example of the boldness and conduct of Belisarius. His cavalry + advanced from the port along the public road, to awe the motions, and + distract the attention of the enemy. His infantry and provisions were + distributed in two hundred large boats; and each boat was shielded by a + high rampart of thick planks, pierced with many small holes for the + discharge of missile weapons. In the front, two large vessels were linked + together to sustain a floating castle, which commanded the towers of the + bridge, and contained a magazine of fire, sulphur, and bitumen. The whole + fleet, which the general led in person, was laboriously moved against the + current of the river. The chain yielded to their weight, and the enemies + who guarded the banks were either slain or scattered. As soon as they + touched the principal barrier, the fire-ship was instantly grappled to the + bridge; one of the towers, with two hundred Goths, was consumed by the + flames; the assailants shouted victory; and Rome was saved, if the wisdom + of Belisarius had not been defeated by the misconduct of his officers. He + had previously sent orders to Bessas to second his operations by a timely + sally from the town; and he had fixed his lieutenant, Isaac, by a + peremptory command, to the station of the port. But avarice rendered + Bessas immovable; while the youthful ardor of Isaac delivered him into the + hands of a superior enemy. The exaggerated rumor of his defeat was hastily + carried to the ears of Belisarius: he paused; betrayed in that single + moment of his life some emotions of surprise and perplexity; and + reluctantly sounded a retreat to save his wife Antonina, his treasures, + and the only harbor which he possessed on the Tuscan coast. The vexation + of his mind produced an ardent and almost mortal fever; and Rome was left + without protection to the mercy or indignation of Totila. The continuance + of hostilities had imbittered the national hatred: the Arian clergy was + ignominiously driven from Rome; Pelagius, the archdeacon, returned without + success from an embassy to the Gothic camp; and a Sicilian bishop, the + envoy or nuncio of the pope, was deprived of both his hands, for daring to + utter falsehoods in the service of the church and state. + </p> + <p> + Famine had relaxed the strength and discipline of the garrison of Rome. + They could derive no effectual service from a dying people; and the + inhuman avarice of the merchant at length absorbed the vigilance of the + governor. Four Isaurian sentinels, while their companions slept, and their + officers were absent, descended by a rope from the wall, and secretly + proposed to the Gothic king to introduce his troops into the city. The + offer was entertained with coldness and suspicion; they returned in + safety; they twice repeated their visit; the place was twice examined; the + conspiracy was known and disregarded; and no sooner had Totila consented + to the attempt, than they unbarred the Asinarian gate, and gave admittance + to the Goths. Till the dawn of day, they halted in order of battle, + apprehensive of treachery or ambush; but the troops of Bessas, with their + leader, had already escaped; and when the king was pressed to disturb + their retreat, he prudently replied, that no sight could be more grateful + than that of a flying enemy. The patricians, who were still possessed of + horses, Decius, Basilius, &c. accompanied the governor; their + brethren, among whom Olybrius, Orestes, and Maximus, are named by the + historian, took refuge in the church of St. Peter: but the assertion, that + only five hundred persons remained in the capital, inspires some doubt of + the fidelity either of his narrative or of his text. As soon as daylight + had displayed the entire victory of the Goths, their monarch devoutly + visited the tomb of the prince of the apostles; but while he prayed at the + altar, twenty-five soldiers, and sixty citizens, were put to the sword in + the vestibule of the temple. The archdeacon Pelagius <a + href="#linknote-43.13" name="linknoteref-43.13" id="linknoteref-43.13">13</a> + stood before him, with the Gospels in his hand. “O Lord, be merciful to + your servant.” “Pelagius,” said Totila, with an insulting smile, “your + pride now condescends to become a suppliant.” “I am a suppliant,” replied + the prudent archdeacon; “God has now made us your subjects, and as your + subjects, we are entitled to your clemency.” At his humble prayer, the + lives of the Romans were spared; and the chastity of the maids and matrons + was preserved inviolate from the passions of the hungry soldiers. + </p> + <p> + But they were rewarded by the freedom of pillage, after the most precious + spoils had been reserved for the royal treasury. The houses of the + senators were plentifully stored with gold and silver; and the avarice of + Bessas had labored with so much guilt and shame for the benefit of the + conqueror. In this revolution, the sons and daughters of Roman consuls + tasted the misery which they had spurned or relieved, wandered in tattered + garments through the streets of the city and begged their bread, perhaps + without success, before the gates of their hereditary mansions. The riches + of Rusticiana, the daughter of Symmachus and widow of Boethius, had been + generously devoted to alleviate the calamities of famine. But the + Barbarians were exasperated by the report, that she had prompted the + people to overthrow the statues of the great Theodoric; and the life of + that venerable matron would have been sacrificed to his memory, if Totila + had not respected her birth, her virtues, and even the pious motive of her + revenge. The next day he pronounced two orations, to congratulate and + admonish his victorious Goths, and to reproach the senate, as the vilest + of slaves, with their perjury, folly, and ingratitude; sternly declaring, + that their estates and honors were justly forfeited to the companions of + his arms. Yet he consented to forgive their revolt; and the senators + repaid his clemency by despatching circular letters to their tenants and + vassals in the provinces of Italy, strictly to enjoin them to desert the + standard of the Greeks, to cultivate their lands in peace, and to learn + from their masters the duty of obedience to a Gothic sovereign. Against + the city which had so long delayed the course of his victories, he + appeared inexorable: one third of the walls, in different parts, were + demolished by his command; fire and engines prepared to consume or subvert + the most stately works of antiquity; and the world was astonished by the + fatal decree, that Rome should be changed into a pasture for cattle. The + firm and temperate remonstrance of Belisarius suspended the execution; he + warned the Barbarian not to sully his fame by the destruction of those + monuments which were the glory of the dead, and the delight of the living; + and Totila was persuaded, by the advice of an enemy, to preserve Rome as + the ornament of his kingdom, or the fairest pledge of peace and + reconciliation. When he had signified to the ambassadors of Belisarius his + intention of sparing the city, he stationed an army at the distance of one + hundred and twenty furlongs, to observe the motions of the Roman general. + With the remainder of his forces he marched into Lucania and Apulia, and + occupied on the summit of Mount Garganus <a href="#linknote-43.14" + name="linknoteref-43.14" id="linknoteref-43.14">14</a> one of the camps of + Hannibal. <a href="#linknote-43.15" name="linknoteref-43.15" + id="linknoteref-43.15">15</a> The senators were dragged in his train, and + afterwards confined in the fortresses of Campania: the citizens, with + their wives and children, were dispersed in exile; and during forty days + Rome was abandoned to desolate and dreary solitude. <a + href="#linknote-43.16" name="linknoteref-43.16" id="linknoteref-43.16">16</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.13" id="linknote-43.13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.13">return</a>)<br /> [ During the long exile, + and after the death of Vigilius, the Roman church was governed, at first + by the archdeacon, and at length (A. D 655) by the pope Pelagius, who was + not thought guiltless of the sufferings of his predecessor. See the + original lives of the popes under the name of Anastasius, (Muratori, + Script. Rer. Italicarum, tom. iii. P. i. p. 130, 131,) who relates several + curious incidents of the sieges of Rome and the wars of Italy.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.14" id="linknote-43.14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.14">return</a>)<br /> [ Mount Garganus, now + Monte St. Angelo, in the kingdom of Naples, runs three hundred stadia into + the Adriatic Sea, (Strab.—vi. p. 436,) and in the darker ages was + illustrated by the apparition, miracles, and church, of St. Michael the + archangel. Horace, a native of Apulia or Lucania, had seen the elms and + oaks of Garganus laboring and bellowing with the north wind that blew on + that lofty coast, (Carm. ii. 9, Epist. ii. i. 201.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.15" id="linknote-43.15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.15">return</a>)<br /> [ I cannot ascertain this + particular camp of Hannibal; but the Punic quarters were long and often in + the neighborhood of Arpi, (T. Liv. xxii. 9, 12, xxiv. 3, &c.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.16" id="linknote-43.16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.16">return</a>)<br /> [ Totila.... Romam + ingreditur.... ac evertit muros, domos aliquantas igni comburens, ac omnes + Romanorum res in praedam ac cepit, hos ipsos Romanos in Campaniam captivos + abduxit. Post quam devastationem, xl. autamp lius dies, Roma fuit ita + desolata, ut nemo ibi hominum, nisi (nulloe?) bestiae morarentur, + (Marcellin. in Chron. p. 54.)] + </p> + <p> + The loss of Rome was speedily retrieved by an action, to which, according + to the event, the public opinion would apply the names of rashness or + heroism. After the departure of Totila, the Roman general sallied from the + port at the head of a thousand horse, cut in pieces the enemy who opposed + his progress, and visited with pity and reverence the vacant space of the + eternal city. Resolved to maintain a station so conspicuous in the eyes of + mankind, he summoned the greatest part of his troops to the standard which + he erected on the Capitol: the old inhabitants were recalled by the love + of their country and the hopes of food; and the keys of Rome were sent a + second time to the emperor Justinian. The walls, as far as they had been + demolished by the Goths, were repaired with rude and dissimilar materials; + the ditch was restored; iron spikes <a href="#linknote-43.17" + name="linknoteref-43.17" id="linknoteref-43.17">17</a> were profusely + scattered in the highways to annoy the feet of the horses; and as new + gates could not suddenly be procured, the entrance was guarded by a + Spartan rampart of his bravest soldiers. At the expiration of twenty-five + days, Totila returned by hasty marches from Apulia to avenge the injury + and disgrace. Belisarius expected his approach. The Goths were thrice + repulsed in three general assaults; they lost the flower of their troops; + the royal standard had almost fallen into the hands of the enemy, and the + fame of Totila sunk, as it had risen, with the fortune of his arms. + Whatever skill and courage could achieve, had been performed by the Roman + general: it remained only that Justinian should terminate, by a strong and + seasonable effort, the war which he had ambitiously undertaken. The + indolence, perhaps the impotence, of a prince who despised his enemies, + and envied his servants, protracted the calamities of Italy. After a long + silence, Belisarius was commanded to leave a sufficient garrison at Rome, + and to transport himself into the province of Lucania, whose inhabitants, + inflamed by Catholic zeal, had cast away the yoke of their Arian + conquerors. In this ignoble warfare, the hero, invincible against the + power of the Barbarians, was basely vanquished by the delay, the + disobedience, and the cowardice of his own officers. He reposed in his + winter quarters of Crotona, in the full assurance, that the two passes of + the Lucanian hills were guarded by his cavalry. They were betrayed by + treachery or weakness; and the rapid march of the Goths scarcely allowed + time for the escape of Belisarius to the coast of Sicily. At length a + fleet and army were assembled for the relief of Ruscianum, or Rossano, <a + href="#linknote-43.18" name="linknoteref-43.18" id="linknoteref-43.18">18</a> + a fortress sixty furlongs from the ruins of Sybaris, where the nobles of + Lucania had taken refuge. In the first attempt, the Roman forces were + dissipated by a storm. In the second, they approached the shore; but they + saw the hills covered with archers, the landing-place defended by a line + of spears, and the king of the Goths impatient for battle. The conqueror + of Italy retired with a sigh, and continued to languish, inglorious and + inactive, till Antonina, who had been sent to Constantinople to solicit + succors, obtained, after the death of the empress, the permission of his + return. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.17" id="linknote-43.17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.17">return</a>)<br /> [ The tribuli are small + engines with four spikes, one fixed in the ground, the three others erect + or adverse, (Procopius, Gothic. l. iii. c. 24. Just. Lipsius, Poliorcetwv, + l. v. c. 3.) The metaphor was borrowed from the tribuli, (land-caltrops,) + an herb with a prickly fruit, commex in Italy. (Martin, ad Virgil. + Georgic. i. 153 vol. ii. p. 33.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.18" id="linknote-43.18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.18">return</a>)<br /> [ Ruscia, the navale + Thuriorum, was transferred to the distance of sixty stadia to Ruscianum, + Rossano, an archbishopric without suffragans. The republic of Sybaris is + now the estate of the duke of Corigliano. (Riedesel, Travels into Magna + Graecia and Sicily, p. 166—171.)] + </p> + <p> + The five last campaigns of Belisarius might abate the envy of his + competitors, whose eyes had been dazzled and wounded by the blaze of his + former glory. Instead of delivering Italy from the Goths, he had wandered + like a fugitive along the coast, without daring to march into the country, + or to accept the bold and repeated challenge of Totila. Yet, in the + judgment of the few who could discriminate counsels from events, and + compare the instruments with the execution, he appeared a more consummate + master of the art of war, than in the season of his prosperity, when he + presented two captive kings before the throne of Justinian. The valor of + Belisarius was not chilled by age: his prudence was matured by experience; + but the moral virtues of humanity and justice seem to have yielded to the + hard necessity of the times. The parsimony or poverty of the emperor + compelled him to deviate from the rule of conduct which had deserved the + love and confidence of the Italians. The war was maintained by the + oppression of Ravenna, Sicily, and all the faithful subjects of the + empire; and the rigorous prosecution of Herodian provoked that injured or + guilty officer to deliver Spoleto into the hands of the enemy. The avarice + of Antonina, which had been some times diverted by love, now reigned + without a rival in her breast. Belisarius himself had always understood, + that riches, in a corrupt age, are the support and ornament of personal + merit. And it cannot be presumed that he should stain his honor for the + public service, without applying a part of the spoil to his private + emolument. The hero had escaped the sword of the Barbarians. But the + dagger of conspiracy <a href="#linknote-43.19" name="linknoteref-43.19" + id="linknoteref-43.19">19</a> awaited his return. In the midst of wealth + and honors, Artaban, who had chastised the African tyrant, complained of + the ingratitude of courts. He aspired to Praejecta, the emperor’s niece, + who wished to reward her deliverer; but the impediment of his previous + marriage was asserted by the piety of Theodora. The pride of royal descent + was irritated by flattery; and the service in which he gloried had proved + him capable of bold and sanguinary deeds. The death of Justinian was + resolved, but the conspirators delayed the execution till they could + surprise Belisarius disarmed, and naked, in the palace of Constantinople. + Not a hope could be entertained of shaking his long-tried fidelity; and + they justly dreaded the revenge, or rather the justice, of the veteran + general, who might speedily assemble an army in Thrace to punish the + assassins, and perhaps to enjoy the fruits of their crime. Delay afforded + time for rash communications and honest confessions: Artaban and his + accomplices were condemned by the senate, but the extreme clemency of + Justinian detained them in the gentle confinement of the palace, till he + pardoned their flagitious attempt against his throne and life. If the + emperor forgave his enemies, he must cordially embrace a friend whose + victories were alone remembered, and who was endeared to his prince by the + recent circumstances of their common danger. Belisarius reposed from his + toils, in the high station of general of the East and count of the + domestics; and the older consuls and patricians respectfully yielded the + precedency of rank to the peerless merit of the first of the Romans. <a + href="#linknote-43.20" name="linknoteref-43.20" id="linknoteref-43.20">20</a> + The first of the Romans still submitted to be the slave of his wife; but + the servitude of habit and affection became less disgraceful when the + death of Theodora had removed the baser influence of fear. Joannina, their + daughter, and the sole heiress of their fortunes, was betrothed to + Anastasius, the grandson, or rather the nephew, of the empress, <a + href="#linknote-43.21" name="linknoteref-43.21" id="linknoteref-43.21">21</a> + whose kind interposition forwarded the consummation of their youthful + loves. But the power of Theodora expired, the parents of Joannina + returned, and her honor, perhaps her happiness, were sacrificed to the + revenge of an unfeeling mother, who dissolved the imperfect nuptials + before they had been ratified by the ceremonies of the church. <a + href="#linknote-43.22" name="linknoteref-43.22" id="linknoteref-43.22">22</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.19" id="linknote-43.19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.19">return</a>)<br /> [ This conspiracy is + related by Procopius (Gothic. l. iii. c. 31, 32) with such freedom and + candor, that the liberty of the Anecdotes gives him nothing to add.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.20" id="linknote-43.20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.20">return</a>)<br /> [ The honors of + Belisarius are gladly commemorated by his secretary, (Procop. Goth. l. + iii. c. 35, l. iv. c. 21.) This title is ill translated, at least in this + instance, by præfectus praetorio; and to a military character, magister + militum is more proper and applicable, (Ducange, Gloss. Graec. p. 1458, + 1459.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.21" id="linknote-43.21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.21">return</a>)<br /> [ Alemannus, (ad Hist. + Arcanum, p. 68,) Ducange, (Familiae Byzant. p. 98,) and Heineccius, (Hist. + Juris Civilis, p. 434,) all three represent Anastasius as the son of the + daughter of Theodora; and their opinion firmly reposes on the unambiguous + testimony of Procopius, (Anecdot. c. 4, 5,—twice repeated.) And yet + I will remark, 1. That in the year 547, Theodora could sarcely have a + grandson of the age of puberty; 2. That we are totally ignorant of this + daughter and her husband; and, 3. That Theodora concealed her bastards, + and that her grandson by Justinian would have been heir apparent of the + empire.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.22" id="linknote-43.22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.22">return</a>)<br /> [ The sins of the hero in + Italy and after his return, are manifested, and most probably swelled, by + the author of the Anecdotes, (c. 4, 5.) The designs of Antonina were + favored by the fluctuating jurisprudence of Justinian. On the law of + marriage and divorce, that emperor was trocho versatilior, (Heineccius, + Element Juris Civil. ad Ordinem Pandect. P. iv. No. 233.)] + </p> + <p> + Before the departure of Belisarius, Perusia was besieged, and few cities + were impregnable to the Gothic arms. Ravenna, Ancona, and Crotona, still + resisted the Barbarians; and when Totila asked in marriage one of the + daughters of France, he was stung by the just reproach that the king of + Italy was unworthy of his title till it was acknowledged by the Roman + people. Three thousand of the bravest soldiers had been left to defend the + capital. On the suspicion of a monopoly, they massacred the governor, and + announced to Justinian, by a deputation of the clergy, that unless their + offence was pardoned, and their arrears were satisfied, they should + instantly accept the tempting offers of Totila. But the officer who + succeeded to the command (his name was Diogenes) deserved their esteem and + confidence; and the Goths, instead of finding an easy conquest, + encountered a vigorous resistance from the soldiers and people, who + patiently endured the loss of the port and of all maritime supplies. The + siege of Rome would perhaps have been raised, if the liberality of Totila + to the Isaurians had not encouraged some of their venal countrymen to copy + the example of treason. In a dark night, while the Gothic trumpets sounded + on another side, they silently opened the gate of St. Paul: the Barbarians + rushed into the city; and the flying garrison was intercepted before they + could reach the harbor of Centumcellae. A soldier trained in the school of + Belisarius, Paul of Cilicia, retired with four hundred men to the mole of + Hadrian. They repelled the Goths; but they felt the approach of famine; + and their aversion to the taste of horse-flesh confirmed their resolution + to risk the event of a desperate and decisive sally. But their spirit + insensibly stooped to the offers of capitulation; they retrieved their + arrears of pay, and preserved their arms and horses, by enlisting in the + service of Totila; their chiefs, who pleaded a laudable attachment to + their wives and children in the East, were dismissed with honor; and above + four hundred enemies, who had taken refuge in the sanctuaries, were saved + by the clemency of the victor. He no longer entertained a wish of + destroying the edifices of Rome, <a href="#linknote-43.23" + name="linknoteref-43.23" id="linknoteref-43.23">23</a> which he now + respected as the seat of the Gothic kingdom: the senate and people were + restored to their country; the means of subsistence were liberally + provided; and Totila, in the robe of peace, exhibited the equestrian games + of the circus. Whilst he amused the eyes of the multitude, four hundred + vessels were prepared for the embarkation of his troops. The cities of + Rhegium and Tarentum were reduced: he passed into Sicily, the object of + his implacable resentment; and the island was stripped of its gold and + silver, of the fruits of the earth, and of an infinite number of horses, + sheep, and oxen. Sardinia and Corsica obeyed the fortune of Italy; and the + sea-coast of Greece was visited by a fleet of three hundred galleys. <a + href="#linknote-43.24" name="linknoteref-43.24" id="linknoteref-43.24">24</a> + The Goths were landed in Corcyra and the ancient continent of Epirus; they + advanced as far as Nicopolis, the trophy of Augustus, and Dodona, <a + href="#linknote-43.25" name="linknoteref-43.25" id="linknoteref-43.25">25</a> + once famous by the oracle of Jove. In every step of his victories, the + wise Barbarian repeated to Justinian the desire of peace, applauded the + concord of their predecessors, and offered to employ the Gothic arms in + the service of the empire. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.23" id="linknote-43.23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.23">return</a>)<br /> [ The Romans were still + attached to the monuments of their ancestors; and according to Procopius, + (Goth. l. iv. c. 22,) the gallery of Aeneas, of a single rank of oars, 25 + feet in breadth, 120 in length, was preserved entire in the navalia, near + Monte Testaceo, at the foot of the Aventine, (Nardini, Roma Antica, l. + vii. c. 9, p. 466. Donatus, Rom Antiqua, l. iv. c. 13, p. 334) But all + antiquity is ignorant of relic.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.24" id="linknote-43.24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.24">return</a>)<br /> [ In these seas Procopius + searched without success for the Isle of Calypso. He was shown, at + Phaeacia, or Cocyra, the petrified ship of Ulysses, (Odyss. xiii. 163;) + but he found it a recent fabric of many stones, dedicated by a merchant to + Jupiter Cassius, (l. iv. c. 22.) Eustathius had supposed it to be the + fanciful likeness of a rock.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.25" id="linknote-43.25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.25">return</a>)<br /> [ M. D’Anville (Memoires + de l’Acad. tom. xxxii. p. 513—528) illustrates the Gulf of Ambracia; + but he cannot ascertain the situation of Dodona. A country in sight of + Italy is less known than the wilds of America. Note: On the site of Dodona + compare Walpole’s Travels in the East, vol. ii. p. 473; Col. Leake’s + Northern Greece, vol. iv. p. 163; and a dissertation by the present bishop + of Lichfield (Dr. Butler) in the appendix to Hughes’s Travels, vol. i. p. + 511.—M.] + </p> + <p> + Justinian was deaf to the voice of peace: but he neglected the prosecution + of war; and the indolence of his temper disappointed, in some degree, the + obstinacy of his passions. From this salutary slumber the emperor was + awakened by the pope Vigilius and the patrician Cethegus, who appeared + before his throne, and adjured him, in the name of God and the people, to + resume the conquest and deliverance of Italy. In the choice of the + generals, caprice, as well as judgment, was shown. A fleet and army sailed + for the relief of Sicily, under the conduct of Liberius; but his youth <a + href="#linknote-43.2511" name="linknoteref-43.2511" id="linknoteref-43.2511">2511</a> + and want of experience were afterwards discovered, and before he touched + the shores of the island he was overtaken by his successor. In the place + of Liberius, the conspirator Artaban was raised from a prison to military + honors; in the pious presumption, that gratitude would animate his valor + and fortify his allegiance. Belisarius reposed in the shade of his + laurels, but the command of the principal army was reserved for Germanus, + <a href="#linknote-43.26" name="linknoteref-43.26" id="linknoteref-43.26">26</a> + the emperor’s nephew, whose rank and merit had been long depressed by the + jealousy of the court. Theodora had injured him in the rights of a private + citizen, the marriage of his children, and the testament of his brother; + and although his conduct was pure and blameless, Justinian was displeased + that he should be thought worthy of the confidence of the malcontents. + The life of Germanus was a lesson of implicit obedience: he nobly refused + to prostitute his name and character in the factions of the circus: the + gravity of his manners was tempered by innocent cheerfulness; and his + riches were lent without interest to indigent or deserving friends. His + valor had formerly triumphed over the Sclavonians of the Danube and the + rebels of Africa: the first report of his promotion revived the hopes of + the Italians; and he was privately assured, that a crowd of Roman + deserters would abandon, on his approach, the standard of Totila. His + second marriage with Malasontha, the granddaughter of Theodoric endeared + Germanus to the Goths themselves; and they marched with reluctance against + the father of a royal infant the last offspring of the line of Amali. <a + href="#linknote-43.27" name="linknoteref-43.27" id="linknoteref-43.27">27</a> + A splendid allowance was assigned by the emperor: the general contributed + his private fortune: his two sons were popular and active and he + surpassed, in the promptitude and success of his levies the expectation of + mankind. He was permitted to select some squadrons of Thracian cavalry: + the veterans, as well as the youth of Constantinople and Europe, engaged + their voluntary service; and as far as the heart of Germany, his fame and + liberality attracted the aid of the Barbarians. <a href="#linknote-43.2711" + name="linknoteref-43.2711" id="linknoteref-43.2711">2711</a> The Romans + advanced to Sardica; an army of Sclavonians fled before their march; but + within two days of their final departure, the designs of Germanus were + terminated by his malady and death. Yet the impulse which he had given to + the Italian war still continued to act with energy and effect. The + maritime towns Ancona, Crotona, Centumcellae, resisted the assaults of + Totila. Sicily was reduced by the zeal of Artaban, and the Gothic navy was + defeated near the coast of the Adriatic. The two fleets were almost equal, + forty-seven to fifty galleys: the victory was decided by the knowledge and + dexterity of the Greeks; but the ships were so closely grappled, that only + twelve of the Goths escaped from this unfortunate conflict. They affected + to depreciate an element in which they were unskilled; but their own + experience confirmed the truth of a maxim, that the master of the sea will + always acquire the dominion of the land. <a href="#linknote-43.28" + name="linknoteref-43.28" id="linknoteref-43.28">28</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.2511" id="linknote-43.2511"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2511 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.2511">return</a>)<br /> [ This is a singular + mistake. Gibbon must have hastily caught at his inexperience, and + concluded that it must have been from youth. Lord Mahon has pointed out + this error, p. 401. I should add that in the last 4to. edition, corrected + by Gibbon, it stands “want of youth and experience;”—but Gibbon can + scarcely have intended such a phrase.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.26" id="linknote-43.26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.26">return</a>)<br /> [ See the acts of + Germanus in the public (Vandal. l. ii, c. 16, 17, 18 Goth. l. iii. c. 31, + 32) and private history, (Anecdot. c. 5,) and those of his son Justin, in + Agathias, (l. iv. p. 130, 131.) Notwithstanding an ambiguous expression of + Jornandes, fratri suo, Alemannus has proved that he was the son of the + emperor’s brother.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.27" id="linknote-43.27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.27">return</a>)<br /> [ Conjuncta Aniciorum + gens cum Amala stirpe spem adhuc utii usque generis promittit, (Jornandes, + c. 60, p. 703.) He wrote at Ravenna before the death of Totila] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.2711" id="linknote-43.2711"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2711 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.2711">return</a>)<br /> [ See note 31, p. + 268.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.28" id="linknote-43.28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.28">return</a>)<br /> [ The third book of + Procopius is terminated by the death of Germanus, (Add. l. iv. c. 23, 24, + 25, 26.)] + </p> + <p> + After the loss of Germanus, the nations were provoked to smile, by the + strange intelligence, that the command of the Roman armies was given to a + eunuch. But the eunuch Narses <a href="#linknote-43.29" + name="linknoteref-43.29" id="linknoteref-43.29">29</a> is ranked among the + few who have rescued that unhappy name from the contempt and hatred of + mankind. A feeble, diminutive body concealed the soul of a statesman and a + warrior. His youth had been employed in the management of the loom and + distaff, in the cares of the household, and the service of female luxury; + but while his hands were busy, he secretly exercised the faculties of a + vigorous and discerning mind. A stranger to the schools and the camp, he + studied in the palace to dissemble, to flatter, and to persuade; and as + soon as he approached the person of the emperor, Justinian listened with + surprise and pleasure to the manly counsels of his chamberlain and private + treasurer. <a href="#linknote-43.30" name="linknoteref-43.30" + id="linknoteref-43.30">30</a> The talents of Narses were tried and improved + in frequent embassies: he led an army into Italy, acquired a practical + knowledge of the war and the country, and presumed to strive with the + genius of Belisarius. Twelve years after his return, the eunuch was chosen + to achieve the conquest which had been left imperfect by the first of the + Roman generals. Instead of being dazzled by vanity or emulation, he + seriously declared that, unless he were armed with an adequate force, he + would never consent to risk his own glory and that of his sovereign. + Justinian granted to the favorite what he might have denied to the hero: + the Gothic war was rekindled from its ashes, and the preparations were not + unworthy of the ancient majesty of the empire. The key of the public + treasure was put into his hand, to collect magazines, to levy soldiers, to + purchase arms and horses, to discharge the arrears of pay, and to tempt + the fidelity of the fugitives and deserters. The troops of Germanus were + still in arms; they halted at Salona in the expectation of a new leader; + and legions of subjects and allies were created by the well-known + liberality of the eunuch Narses. The king of the Lombards <a + href="#linknote-43.31" name="linknoteref-43.31" id="linknoteref-43.31">31</a> + satisfied or surpassed the obligations of a treaty, by lending two + thousand two hundred of his bravest warriors, <a href="#linknote-43.3111" + name="linknoteref-43.3111" id="linknoteref-43.3111">3111</a> who were + followed by three thousand of their martial attendants. Three thousand + Heruli fought on horseback under Philemuth, their native chief; and the + noble Aratus, who adopted the manners and discipline of Rome, conducted a + band of veterans of the same nation. Dagistheus was released from prison + to command the Huns; and Kobad, the grandson and nephew of the great king, + was conspicuous by the regal tiara at the head of his faithful Persians, + who had devoted themselves to the fortunes of their prince. <a + href="#linknote-43.32" name="linknoteref-43.32" id="linknoteref-43.32">32</a> + Absolute in the exercise of his authority, more absolute in the affection + of his troops, Narses led a numerous and gallant army from Philippopolis + to Salona, from whence he coasted the eastern side of the Adriatic as far + as the confines of Italy. His progress was checked. The East could not + supply vessels capable of transporting such multitudes of men and horses. + The Franks, who, in the general confusion, had usurped the greater part of + the Venetian province, refused a free passage to the friends of the + Lombards. The station of Verona was occupied by Teias, with the flower of + the Gothic forces; and that skilful commander had overspread the adjacent + country with the fall of woods and the inundation of waters. <a + href="#linknote-43.33" name="linknoteref-43.33" id="linknoteref-43.33">33</a> + In this perplexity, an officer of experience proposed a measure, secure by + the appearance of rashness; that the Roman army should cautiously advance + along the seashore, while the fleet preceded their march, and successively + cast a bridge of boats over the mouths of the rivers, the Timavus, the + Brenta, the Adige, and the Po, that fall into the Adriatic to the north of + Ravenna. Nine days he reposed in the city, collected the fragments of the + Italian army, and marching towards Rimini to meet the defiance of an + insulting enemy. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.29" id="linknote-43.29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.29">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius relates the + whole series of this second Gothic war and the victory of Narses, (l. iv. + c. 21, 26—35.) A splendid scene. Among the six subjects of epic + poetry which Tasso revolved in his mind, he hesitated between the + conquests of Italy by Belisarius and by Narses, (Hayley’s Works, vol. iv. + p. 70.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.30" id="linknote-43.30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.30">return</a>)<br /> [ The country of Narses + is unknown, since he must not be confounded with the Persarmenian. + Procopius styles him (see Goth. l. ii. c. 13); Paul Warnefrid, (l. ii. c. + 3, p. 776,) Chartularius: Marcellinus adds the name of Cubicularius. In an + inscription on the Salarian bridge he is entitled Ex-consul, + Ex-praepositus, Cubiculi Patricius, (Mascou, Hist. of the Germans, (l. + xiii. c. 25.) The law of Theodosius against ennuchs was obsolete or + abolished, Annotation xx.,) but the foolish prophecy of the Romans + subsisted in full vigor, (Procop. l. iv. c. 21.) * Note: Lord Mahon + supposes them both to have been Persarmenians. Note, p. 256.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.31" id="linknote-43.31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.31">return</a>)<br /> [ Paul Warnefrid, the + Lombard, records with complacency the succor, service, and honorable + dismission of his countrymen—reipublicae Romanae adversus aemulos + adjutores fuerant, (l. ii. c. i. p. 774, edit. Grot.) I am surprised that + Alboin, their martial king, did not lead his subjects in person. * Note: + The Lombards were still at war with the Gepidae. See Procop. Goth. lib. + iv. p. 25.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.3111" id="linknote-43.3111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3111 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.3111">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon has blindly + followed the translation of Maltretus: Bis mille ducentos—while the + original Greek says expressly something else, (Goth. lib. iv. c. 26.) In + like manner, (p. 266,) he draws volunteers from Germany, on the authority + of Cousin, who, in one place, has mistaken Germanus for Germania. Yet only + a few pages further we find Gibbon loudly condemning the French and Latin + readers of Procopius. Lord Mahon, p. 403. The first of these errors + remains uncorrected in the new edition of the Byzantines.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.32" id="linknote-43.32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.32">return</a>)<br /> [ He was, if not an + impostor, the son of the blind Zames, saved by compassion, and educated in + the Byzantine court by the various motives of policy, pride, and + generosity, (Procop. Persic. l. i. c. 23.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.33" id="linknote-43.33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.33">return</a>)<br /> [ In the time of + Augustus, and in the middle ages, the whole waste from Aquileia to Ravenna + was covered with woods, lakes, and morasses. Man has subdued nature, and + the land has been cultivated since the waters are confined and embanked. + See the learned researches of Muratori, (Antiquitat. Italiae Medii Aevi. + tom. i. dissert xxi. p. 253, 254,) from Vitruvius, Strabo, Herodian, old + charters, and local knowledge.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap43.3"></a> +Chapter XLIII: Last Victory And Death Of Belisarius, Death Of Justinian.—Part +III.</h2> + + <p> + The prudence of Narses impelled him to speedy and decisive action. His + powers were the last effort of the state; the cost of each day accumulated + the enormous account; and the nations, untrained to discipline or fatigue, + might be rashly provoked to turn their arms against each other, or against + their benefactor. The same considerations might have tempered the ardor of + Totila. But he was conscious that the clergy and people of Italy aspired + to a second revolution: he felt or suspected the rapid progress of + treason; and he resolved to risk the Gothic kingdom on the chance of a + day, in which the valiant would be animated by instant danger and the + disaffected might be awed by mutual ignorance. In his march from Ravenna, + the Roman general chastised the garrison of Rimini, traversed in a direct + line the hills of Urbino, and reentered the Flaminian way, nine miles + beyond the perforated rock, an obstacle of art and nature which might have + stopped or retarded his progress. <a href="#linknote-43.34" + name="linknoteref-43.34" id="linknoteref-43.34">34</a> The Goths were + assembled in the neighborhood of Rome, they advanced without delay to seek + a superior enemy, and the two armies approached each other at the distance + of one hundred furlongs, between Tagina <a href="#linknote-43.35" + name="linknoteref-43.35" id="linknoteref-43.35">35</a> and the sepulchres of + the Gauls. <a href="#linknote-43.36" name="linknoteref-43.36" + id="linknoteref-43.36">36</a> The haughty message of Narses was an offer, + not of peace, but of pardon. The answer of the Gothic king declared his + resolution to die or conquer. “What day,” said the messenger, “will you + fix for the combat?” “The eighth day,” replied Totila; but early the next + morning he attempted to surprise a foe, suspicious of deceit, and prepared + for battle. Ten thousand Heruli and Lombards, of approved valor and + doubtful faith, were placed in the centre. Each of the wings was composed + of eight thousand Romans; the right was guarded by the cavalry of the + Huns, the left was covered by fifteen hundred chosen horse, destined, + according to the emergencies of action, to sustain the retreat of their + friends, or to encompass the flank of the enemy. From his proper station + at the head of the right wing, the eunuch rode along the line, expressing + by his voice and countenance the assurance of victory; exciting the + soldiers of the emperor to punish the guilt and madness of a band of + robbers; and exposing to their view gold chains, collars, and bracelets, + the rewards of military virtue. From the event of a single combat they + drew an omen of success; and they beheld with pleasure the courage of + fifty archers, who maintained a small eminence against three successive + attacks of the Gothic cavalry. At the distance only of two bow-shots, the + armies spent the morning in dreadful suspense, and the Romans tasted some + necessary food, without unloosing the cuirass from their breast, or the + bridle from their horses. Narses awaited the charge; and it was delayed by + Totila till he had received his last succors of two thousand Goths. While + he consumed the hours in fruitless treaty, the king exhibited in a narrow + space the strength and agility of a warrior. His armor was enchased with + gold; his purple banner floated with the wind: he cast his lance into the + air; caught it with the right hand; shifted it to the left; threw himself + backwards; recovered his seat; and managed a fiery steed in all the paces + and evolutions of the equestrian school. As soon as the succors had + arrived, he retired to his tent, assumed the dress and arms of a private + soldier, and gave the signal of a battle. The first line of cavalry + advanced with more courage than discretion, and left behind them the + infantry of the second line. They were soon engaged between the horns of a + crescent, into which the adverse wings had been insensibly curved, and + were saluted from either side by the volleys of four thousand archers. + Their ardor, and even their distress, drove them forwards to a close and + unequal conflict, in which they could only use their lances against an + enemy equally skilled in all the instruments of war. A generous emulation + inspired the Romans and their Barbarian allies; and Narses, who calmly + viewed and directed their efforts, doubted to whom he should adjudge the + prize of superior bravery. The Gothic cavalry was astonished and + disordered, pressed and broken; and the line of infantry, instead of + presenting their spears, or opening their intervals, were trampled under + the feet of the flying horse. Six thousand of the Goths were slaughtered + without mercy in the field of Tagina. Their prince, with five attendants, + was overtaken by Asbad, of the race of the Gepidae. “Spare the king of + Italy,” <a href="#linknote-43.3611" name="linknoteref-43.3611" + id="linknoteref-43.3611">3611</a> cried a loyal voice, and Asbad struck his + lance through the body of Totila. The blow was instantly revenged by the + faithful Goths: they transported their dying monarch seven miles beyond + the scene of his disgrace; and his last moments were not imbittered by the + presence of an enemy. Compassion afforded him the shelter of an obscure + tomb; but the Romans were not satisfied of their victory, till they beheld + the corpse of the Gothic king. His hat, enriched with gems, and his bloody + robe, were presented to Justinian by the messengers of triumph. <a + href="#linknote-43.37" name="linknoteref-43.37" id="linknoteref-43.37">37</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.34" id="linknote-43.34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.34">return</a>)<br /> [ The Flaminian way, as + it is corrected from the Itineraries, and the best modern maps, by + D’Anville, (Analyse de l’Italie, p. 147—162,) may be thus stated: + Rome to Narni, 51 Roman miles; Terni, 57; Spoleto, 75; Foligno, 88; + Nocera, 103; Cagli, 142; Intercisa, 157; Fossombrone, 160; Fano, 176; + Pesaro, 184; Rimini, 208—about 189 English miles. He takes no notice + of the death of Totila; but West selling (Itinerar. p. 614) exchanges, for + the field of Taginas, the unknown appellation of Ptanias, eight miles from + Nocera.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.35" id="linknote-43.35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.35">return</a>)<br /> [ Taginae, or rather + Tadinae, is mentioned by Pliny; but the bishopric of that obscure town, a + mile from Gualdo, in the plain, was united, in the year 1007, with that of + Nocera. The signs of antiquity are preserved in the local appellations, + Fossato, the camp; Capraia, Caprea; Bastia, Busta Gallorum. See Cluverius, + (Italia Antiqua, l. ii. c. 6, p. 615, 616, 617,) Lucas Holstenius, + (Annotat. ad Cluver. p. 85, 86,) Guazzesi, (Dissertat. p. 177—217, a + professed inquiry,) and the maps of the ecclesiastical state and the march + of Ancona, by Le Maire and Magini.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.36" id="linknote-43.36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.36">return</a>)<br /> [ The battle was fought + in the year of Rome 458; and the consul Decius, by devoting his own life, + assured the triumph of his country and his colleague Fabius, (T. Liv. x. + 28, 29.) Procopius ascribes to Camillus the victory of the Busta Gallorum; + and his error is branded by Cluverius with the national reproach of + Graecorum nugamenta.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.3611" id="linknote-43.3611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3611 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.3611">return</a>)<br /> [ “Dog, wilt thou + strike thy Lord?” was the more characteristic exclamation of the Gothic + youth. Procop. lib. iv. p. 32.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.37" id="linknote-43.37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.37">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophanes, Chron. p. + 193. Hist. Miscell. l. xvi. p. 108.] + </p> + <p> + As soon as Narses had paid his devotions to the Author of victory, and the + blessed Virgin, his peculiar patroness, <a href="#linknote-43.38" + name="linknoteref-43.38" id="linknoteref-43.38">38</a> he praised, rewarded, + and dismissed the Lombards. The villages had been reduced to ashes by + these valiant savages; they ravished matrons and virgins on the altar; + their retreat was diligently watched by a strong detachment of regular + forces, who prevented a repetition of the like disorders. The victorious + eunuch pursued his march through Tuscany, accepted the submission of the + Goths, heard the acclamations, and often the complaints, of the Italians, + and encompassed the walls of Rome with the remainder of his formidable + host. Round the wide circumference, Narses assigned to himself, and to + each of his lieutenants, a real or a feigned attack, while he silently + marked the place of easy and unguarded entrance. Neither the + fortifications of Hadrian’s mole, nor of the port, could long delay the + progress of the conqueror; and Justinian once more received the keys of + Rome, which, under his reign, had been five times taken and recovered. <a + href="#linknote-43.39" name="linknoteref-43.39" id="linknoteref-43.39">39</a> + But the deliverance of Rome was the last calamity of the Roman people. The + Barbarian allies of Narses too frequently confounded the privileges of + peace and war. The despair of the flying Goths found some consolation in + sanguinary revenge; and three hundred youths of the noblest families, who + had been sent as hostages beyond the Po, were inhumanly slain by the + successor of Totila. The fate of the senate suggests an awful lesson of + the vicissitude of human affairs. Of the senators whom Totila had banished + from their country, some were rescued by an officer of Belisarius, and + transported from Campania to Sicily; while others were too guilty to + confide in the clemency of Justinian, or too poor to provide horses for + their escape to the sea-shore. Their brethren languished five years in a + state of indigence and exile: the victory of Narses revived their hopes; + but their premature return to the metropolis was prevented by the furious + Goths; and all the fortresses of Campania were stained with patrician <a + href="#linknote-43.40" name="linknoteref-43.40" id="linknoteref-43.40">40</a> + blood. After a period of thirteen centuries, the institution of Romulus + expired; and if the nobles of Rome still assumed the title of senators, + few subsequent traces can be discovered of a public council, or + constitutional order. Ascend six hundred years, and contemplate the kings + of the earth soliciting an audience, as the slaves or freedmen of the + Roman senate! <a href="#linknote-43.41" name="linknoteref-43.41" + id="linknoteref-43.41">41</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.38" id="linknote-43.38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.38">return</a>)<br /> [ Evagrius, l. iv. c. 24. + The inspiration of the Virgin revealed to Narses the day, and the word, of + battle, (Paul Diacon. l. ii. c. 3, p. 776)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.39" id="linknote-43.39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.39">return</a>)<br /> [ (Procop. Goth. lib. iv. + p. 33.) In the year 536 by Belisarius, in 546 by Totila, in 547 by + Belisarius, in 549 by Totila, and in 552 by Narses. Maltretus had + inadvertently translated sextum; a mistake which he afterwards retracts; + out the mischief was done; and Cousin, with a train of French and Latin + readers, have fallen into the snare.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.40" id="linknote-43.40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.40">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare two passages of + Procopius, (l. iii. c. 26, l. iv. c. 24,) which, with some collateral + hints from Marcellinus and Jornandes, illustrate the state of the expiring + senate.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.41" id="linknote-43.41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.41">return</a>)<br /> [ See, in the example of + Prusias, as it is delivered in the fragments of Polybius, (Excerpt. Legat. + xcvii. p. 927, 928,) a curious picture of a royal slave.] + </p> + <p> + The Gothic war was yet alive. The bravest of the nation retired beyond the + Po; and Teias was unanimously chosen to succeed and revenge their departed + hero. The new king immediately sent ambassadors to implore, or rather to + purchase, the aid of the Franks, and nobly lavished, for the public + safety, the riches which had been deposited in the palace of Pavia. The + residue of the royal treasure was guarded by his brother Aligern, at + Cumaea, in Campania; but the strong castle which Totila had fortified was + closely besieged by the arms of Narses. From the Alps to the foot of Mount + Vesuvius, the Gothic king, by rapid and secret marches, advanced to the + relief of his brother, eluded the vigilance of the Roman chiefs, and + pitched his camp on the banks of the Sarnus or Draco, <a + href="#linknote-43.42" name="linknoteref-43.42" id="linknoteref-43.42">42</a> + which flows from Nuceria into the Bay of Naples. The river separated the + two armies: sixty days were consumed in distant and fruitless combats, and + Teias maintained this important post till he was deserted by his fleet and + the hope of subsistence. With reluctant steps he ascended the Lactarian + mount, where the physicians of Rome, since the time of Galen, had sent + their patients for the benefit of the air and the milk. <a + href="#linknote-43.43" name="linknoteref-43.43" id="linknoteref-43.43">43</a> + But the Goths soon embraced a more generous resolution: to descend the + hill, to dismiss their horses, and to die in arms, and in the possession + of freedom. The king marched at their head, bearing in his right hand a + lance, and an ample buckler in his left: with the one he struck dead the + foremost of the assailants; with the other he received the weapons which + every hand was ambitious to aim against his life. After a combat of many + hours, his left arm was fatigued by the weight of twelve javelins which + hung from his shield. Without moving from his ground, or suspending his + blows, the hero called aloud on his attendants for a fresh buckler; but in + the moment while his side was uncovered, it was pierced by a mortal dart. + He fell; and his head, exalted on a spear, proclaimed to the nations that + the Gothic kingdom was no more. But the example of his death served only + to animate the companions who had sworn to perish with their leader. They + fought till darkness descended on the earth. They reposed on their arms. + The combat was renewed with the return of light, and maintained with + unabated vigor till the evening of the second day. The repose of a second + night, the want of water, and the loss of their bravest champions, + determined the surviving Goths to accept the fair capitulation which the + prudence of Narses was inclined to propose. They embraced the alternative + of residing in Italy, as the subjects and soldiers of Justinian, or + departing with a portion of their private wealth, in search of some + independent country. <a href="#linknote-43.44" name="linknoteref-43.44" + id="linknoteref-43.44">44</a> Yet the oath of fidelity or exile was alike + rejected by one thousand Goths, who broke away before the treaty was + signed, and boldly effected their retreat to the walls of Pavia. The + spirit, as well as the situation, of Aligern prompted him to imitate + rather than to bewail his brother: a strong and dexterous archer, he + transpierced with a single arrow the armor and breast of his antagonist; + and his military conduct defended Cumae <a href="#linknote-43.45" + name="linknoteref-43.45" id="linknoteref-43.45">45</a> above a year against + the forces of the Romans. + </p> + <p> + Their industry had scooped the Sibyl’s cave <a href="#linknote-43.46" + name="linknoteref-43.46" id="linknoteref-43.46">46</a> into a prodigious + mine; combustible materials were introduced to consume the temporary + props: the wall and the gate of Cumae sunk into the cavern, but the ruins + formed a deep and inaccessible precipice. On the fragment of a rock + Aligern stood alone and unshaken, till he calmly surveyed the hopeless + condition of his country, and judged it more honorable to be the friend of + Narses, than the slave of the Franks. After the death of Teias, the Roman + general separated his troops to reduce the cities of Italy; Lucca + sustained a long and vigorous siege: and such was the humanity or the + prudence of Narses, that the repeated perfidy of the inhabitants could not + provoke him to exact the forfeit lives of their hostages. These hostages + were dismissed in safety; and their grateful zeal at length subdued the + obstinacy of their countrymen. <a href="#linknote-43.47" + name="linknoteref-43.47" id="linknoteref-43.47">47</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.42" id="linknote-43.42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.42">return</a>)<br /> [ The item of Procopius + (Goth. l. iv. c. 35) is evidently the Sarnus. The text is accused or + altered by the rash violence of Cluverius (l. iv. c. 3. p. 1156:) but + Camillo Pellegrini of Naples (Discorsi sopra la Campania Felice, p. 330, + 331) has proved from old records, that as early as the year 822 that river + was called the Dracontio, or Draconcello.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.43" id="linknote-43.43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.43">return</a>)<br /> [ Galen (de Method. + Medendi, l. v. apud Cluver. l. iv. c. 3, p. 1159, 1160) describes the + lofty site, pure air, and rich milk, of Mount Lactarius, whose medicinal + benefits were equally known and sought in the time of Symmachus (l. vi. + epist. 18) and Cassiodorus, (Var. xi. 10.) Nothing is now left except the + name of the town of Lettere.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.44" id="linknote-43.44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.44">return</a>)<br /> [ Buat (tom. xi. p. 2, + &c.) conveys to his favorite Bavaria this remnant of Goths, who by + others are buried in the mountains of Uri, or restored to their native + isle of Gothland, (Mascou, Annot. xxi.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.45" id="linknote-43.45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.45">return</a>)<br /> [ I leave Scaliger + (Animadvers. in Euseb. p. 59) and Salmasius (Exercitat. Plinian. p. 51, + 52) to quarrel about the origin of Cumae, the oldest of the Greek colonies + in Italy, (Strab. l. v. p. 372, Velleius Paterculus, l. i. c. 4,) already + vacant in Juvenal’s time, (Satir. iii.,) and now in ruins.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.46" id="linknote-43.46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.46">return</a>)<br /> [ Agathias (l. i. c. 21) + settles the Sibyl’s cave under the wall of Cumae: he agrees with Servius, + (ad. l. vi. Aeneid.;) nor can I perceive why their opinion should be + rejected by Heyne, the excellent editor of Virgil, (tom. ii. p. 650, 651.) + In urbe media secreta religio! But Cumae was not yet built; and the lines + (l. vi. 96, 97) would become ridiculous, if Aeneas were actually in a + Greek city.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.47" id="linknote-43.47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.47">return</a>)<br /> [ There is some + difficulty in connecting the 35th chapter of the fourth book of the Gothic + war of Procopius with the first book of the history of Agathias. We must + now relinquish the statesman and soldier, to attend the footsteps of a + poet and rhetorician, (l. i. p. 11, l. ii. p. 51, edit. Lonvre.)] + </p> + <p> + Before Lucca had surrendered, Italy was overwhelmed by a new deluge of + Barbarians. A feeble youth, the grandson of Clovis, reigned over the + Austrasians or oriental Franks. The guardians of Theodebald entertained + with coldness and reluctance the magnificent promises of the Gothic + ambassadors. But the spirit of a martial people outstripped the timid + counsels of the court: two brothers, Lothaire and Buccelin, <a + href="#linknote-43.48" name="linknoteref-43.48" id="linknoteref-43.48">48</a> + the dukes of the Alemanni, stood forth as the leaders of the Italian war; + and seventy-five thousand Germans descended in the autumn from the + Rhaetian Alps into the plain of Milan. The vanguard of the Roman army was + stationed near the Po, under the conduct of Fulcaris, a bold Herulian, who + rashly conceived that personal bravery was the sole duty and merit of a + commander. As he marched without order or precaution along the Aemilian + way, an ambuscade of Franks suddenly rose from the amphitheatre of Parma; + his troops were surprised and routed; but their leader refused to fly; + declaring to the last moment, that death was less terrible than the angry + countenance of Narses. <a href="#linknote-43.4811" name="linknoteref-43.4811" + id="linknoteref-43.4811">4811</a> The death of Fulcaris, and the retreat of + the surviving chiefs, decided the fluctuating and rebellious temper of the + Goths; they flew to the standard of their deliverers, and admitted them + into the cities which still resisted the arms of the Roman general. The + conqueror of Italy opened a free passage to the irresistible torrent of + Barbarians. They passed under the walls of Cesena, and answered by threats + and reproaches the advice of Aligern, <a href="#linknote-43.4812" + name="linknoteref-43.4812" id="linknoteref-43.4812">4812</a> that the Gothic + treasures could no longer repay the labor of an invasion. Two thousand + Franks were destroyed by the skill and valor of Narses himself, who sailed + from Rimini at the head of three hundred horse, to chastise the licentious + rapine of their march. On the confines of Samnium the two brothers divided + their forces. With the right wing, Buccelin assumed the spoil of Campania, + Lucania, and Bruttium; with the left, Lothaire accepted the plunder of + Apulia and Calabria. They followed the coast of the Mediterranean and the + Adriatic, as far as Rhegium and Otranto, and the extreme lands of Italy + were the term of their destructive progress. The Franks, who were + Christians and Catholics, contented themselves with simple pillage and + occasional murder. But the churches which their piety had spared, were + stripped by the sacrilegious hands of the Alamanni, who sacrificed horses’ + heads to their native deities of the woods and rivers; <a + href="#linknote-43.49" name="linknoteref-43.49" id="linknoteref-43.49">49</a> + they melted or profaned the consecrated vessels, and the ruins of shrines + and altars were stained with the blood of the faithful. Buccelin was + actuated by ambition, and Lothaire by avarice. The former aspired to + restore the Gothic kingdom; the latter, after a promise to his brother of + speedy succors, returned by the same road to deposit his treasure beyond + the Alps. The strength of their armies was already wasted by the change of + climate and contagion of disease: the Germans revelled in the vintage of + Italy; and their own intemperance avenged, in some degree, the miseries of + a defenceless people. <a href="#linknote-43.4911" name="linknoteref-43.4911" + id="linknoteref-43.4911">4911</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.48" id="linknote-43.48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.48">return</a>)<br /> [ Among the fabulous + exploits of Buccelin, he discomfited and slew Belisarius, subdued Italy + and Sicily, &c. See in the Historians of France, Gregory of Tours, + (tom. ii. l. iii. c. 32, p. 203,) and Aimoin, (tom. iii. l. ii. de Gestis + Francorum, c. 23, p. 59.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.4811" id="linknote-43.4811"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4811 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.4811">return</a>)<br /> [.... Agathius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.4812" id="linknote-43.4812"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4812 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.4812">return</a>)<br /> [ Aligern, after the + surrender of Cumae, had been sent to Cesent by Narses. Agathias.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.49" id="linknote-43.49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.49">return</a>)<br /> [ Agathias notices their + superstition in a philosophic tone, (l. i. p. 18.) At Zug, in Switzerland, + idolatry still prevailed in the year 613: St. Columban and St. Gaul were + the apostles of that rude country; and the latter founded a hermitage, + which has swelled into an ecclesiastical principality and a populous city, + the seat of freedom and commerce.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.4911" id="linknote-43.4911"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4911 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.4911">return</a>)<br /> [ A body of + Lothaire’s troops was defeated near Fano, some were driven down precipices + into the sea, others fled to the camp; many prisoners seized the + opportunity of making their escape; and the Barbarians lost most of their + booty in their precipitate retreat. Agathias.—M.] + </p> + <p> + At the entrance of the spring, the Imperial troops, who had guarded the + cities, assembled, to the number of eighteen thousand men, in the + neighborhood of Rome. Their winter hours had not been consumed in + idleness. By the command, and after the example, of Narses, they repeated + each day their military exercise on foot and on horseback, accustomed + their ear to obey the sound of the trumpet, and practised the steps and + evolutions of the Pyrrhic dance. From the Straits of Sicily, Buccelin, + with thirty thousand Franks and Alamanni, slowly moved towards Capua, + occupied with a wooden tower the bridge of Casilinum, covered his right by + the stream of the Vulturnus, and secured the rest of his encampment by a + rampart of sharp stakes, and a circle of wagons, whose wheels were buried + in the earth. He impatiently expected the return of Lothaire; ignorant, + alas! that his brother could never return, and that the chief and his army + had been swept away by a strange disease <a href="#linknote-43.50" + name="linknoteref-43.50" id="linknoteref-43.50">50</a> on the banks of the + Lake Benacus, between Trent and Verona. The banners of Narses soon + approached the Vulturnus, and the eyes of Italy were anxiously fixed on + the event of this final contest. Perhaps the talents of the Roman general + were most conspicuous in the calm operations which precede the tumult of a + battle. His skilful movements intercepted the subsistence of the Barbarian, + deprived him of the advantage of the bridge and river, and in the choice + of the ground and moment of action reduced him to comply with the + inclination of his enemy. On the morning of the important day, when the + ranks were already formed, a servant, for some trivial fault, was killed + by his master, one of the leaders of the Heruli. The justice or passion of + Narses was awakened: he summoned the offender to his presence, and without + listening to his excuses, gave the signal to the minister of death. If the + cruel master had not infringed the laws of his nation, this arbitrary + execution was not less unjust than it appears to have been imprudent. The + Heruli felt the indignity; they halted: but the Roman general, without + soothing their rage, or expecting their resolution, called aloud, as the + trumpets sounded, that unless they hastened to occupy their place, they + would lose the honor of the victory. His troops were disposed <a + href="#linknote-43.51" name="linknoteref-43.51" id="linknoteref-43.51">51</a> + in a long front, the cavalry on the wings; in the centre, the heavy-armed + foot; the archers and slingers in the rear. The Germans advanced in a + sharp-pointed column, of the form of a triangle or solid wedge. They + pierced the feeble centre of Narses, who received them with a smile into + the fatal snare, and directed his wings of cavalry insensibly to wheel on + their flanks and encompass their rear. The host of the Franks and Alamanni + consisted of infantry: a sword and buckler hung by their side; and they + used, as their weapons of offence, a weighty hatchet and a hooked javelin, + which were only formidable in close combat, or at a short distance. The + flower of the Roman archers, on horseback, and in complete armor, + skirmished without peril round this immovable phalanx; supplied by active + speed the deficiency of number; and aimed their arrows against a crowd of + Barbarians, who, instead of a cuirass and helmet, were covered by a loose + garment of fur or linen. They paused, they trembled, their ranks were + confounded, and in the decisive moment the Heruli, preferring glory to + revenge, charged with rapid violence the head of the column. Their leader, + Sinbal, and Aligern, the Gothic prince, deserved the prize of superior + valor; and their example excited the victorious troops to achieve with + swords and spears the destruction of the enemy. Buccelin, and the greatest + part of his army, perished on the field of battle, in the waters of the + Vulturnus, or by the hands of the enraged peasants: but it may seem + incredible, that a victory, <a href="#linknote-43.52" + name="linknoteref-43.52" id="linknoteref-43.52">52</a> which no more than + five of the Alamanni survived, could be purchased with the loss of + fourscore Romans. Seven thousand Goths, the relics of the war, defended + the fortress of Campsa till the ensuing spring; and every messenger of + Narses announced the reduction of the Italian cities, whose names were + corrupted by the ignorance or vanity of the Greeks. <a + href="#linknote-43.53" name="linknoteref-43.53" id="linknoteref-43.53">53</a> + After the battle of Casilinum, Narses entered the capital; the arms and + treasures of the Goths, the Franks, and the Alamanni, were displayed; his + soldiers, with garlands in their hands, chanted the praises of the + conqueror; and Rome, for the last time, beheld the semblance of a triumph. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.50" id="linknote-43.50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.50">return</a>)<br /> [ See the death of + Lothaire in Agathias (l. ii. p. 38) and Paul Warnefrid, surnamed Diaconus, + (l. ii. c. 3, 775.) The Greek makes him rave and tear his flesh. He had + plundered churches.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.51" id="linknote-43.51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.51">return</a>)<br /> [ Pere Daniel (Hist. de + la Milice Francoise, tom. i. p. 17—21) has exhibited a fanciful + representation of this battle, somewhat in the manner of the Chevalier + Folard, the once famous editor of Polybius, who fashioned to his own + habits and opinions all the military operations of antiquity.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.52" id="linknote-43.52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.52">return</a>)<br /> [ Agathias (l. ii. p. 47) + has produced a Greek epigram of six lines on this victory of Narses, which + a favorably compared to the battles of Marathon and Plataea. The chief + difference is indeed in their consequences—so trivial in the former + instance—so permanent and glorious in the latter. Note: Not in the + epigram, but in the previous observations—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.53" id="linknote-43.53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.53">return</a>)<br /> [ The Beroia and Brincas + of Theophanes or his transcriber (p. 201) must be read or understood + Verona and Brixia.] + </p> + <p> + After a reign of sixty years, the throne of the Gothic kings was filled by + the exarchs of Ravenna, the representatives in peace and war of the + emperor of the Romans. Their jurisdiction was soon reduced to the limits + of a narrow province: but Narses himself, the first and most powerful of + the exarchs, administered above fifteen years the entire kingdom of Italy. + Like Belisarius, he had deserved the honors of envy, calumny, and + disgrace: but the favorite eunuch still enjoyed the confidence of + Justinian; or the leader of a victorious army awed and repressed the + ingratitude of a timid court. Yet it was not by weak and mischievous + indulgence that Narses secured the attachment of his troops. Forgetful of + the past, and regardless of the future, they abused the present hour of + prosperity and peace. The cities of Italy resounded with the noise of + drinking and dancing; the spoils of victory were wasted in sensual + pleasures; and nothing (says Agathias) remained unless to exchange their + shields and helmets for the soft lute and the capacious hogshead. <a + href="#linknote-43.54" name="linknoteref-43.54" id="linknoteref-43.54">54</a> + In a manly oration, not unworthy of a Roman censor, the eunuch reproved + these disorderly vices, which sullied their fame, and endangered their + safety. The soldiers blushed and obeyed; discipline was confirmed; the + fortifications were restored; a duke was stationed for the defence and + military command of each of the principal cities; <a href="#linknote-43.55" + name="linknoteref-43.55" id="linknoteref-43.55">55</a> and the eye of Narses + pervaded the ample prospect from Calabria to the Alps. The remains of the + Gothic nation evacuated the country, or mingled with the people; the + Franks, instead of revenging the death of Buccelin, abandoned, without a + struggle, their Italian conquests; and the rebellious Sinbal, chief of the + Heruli, was subdued, taken and hung on a lofty gallows by the inflexible + justice of the exarch. <a href="#linknote-43.56" name="linknoteref-43.56" + id="linknoteref-43.56">56</a> The civil state of Italy, after the agitation + of a long tempest, was fixed by a pragmatic sanction, which the emperor + promulgated at the request of the pope. Justinian introduced his own + jurisprudence into the schools and tribunals of the West; he ratified the + acts of Theodoric and his immediate successors, but every deed was + rescinded and abolished which force had extorted, or fear had subscribed, + under the usurpation of Totila. A moderate theory was framed to reconcile + the rights of property with the safety of prescription, the claims of the + state with the poverty of the people, and the pardon of offences with the + interest of virtue and order of society. Under the exarchs of Ravenna, + Rome was degraded to the second rank. Yet the senators were gratified by + the permission of visiting their estates in Italy, and of approaching, + without obstacle, the throne of Constantinople: the regulation of weights + and measures was delegated to the pope and senate; and the salaries of + lawyers and physicians, of orators and grammarians, were destined to + preserve, or rekindle, the light of science in the ancient capital. + Justinian might dictate benevolent edicts, <a href="#linknote-43.57" + name="linknoteref-43.57" id="linknoteref-43.57">57</a> and Narses might + second his wishes by the restoration of cities, and more especially of + churches. But the power of kings is most effectual to destroy; and the + twenty years of the Gothic war had consummated the distress and + depopulation of Italy. As early as the fourth campaign, under the + discipline of Belisarius himself, fifty thousand laborers died of hunger + <a href="#linknote-43.58" name="linknoteref-43.58" id="linknoteref-43.58">58</a> + in the narrow region of Picenum; <a href="#linknote-43.59" + name="linknoteref-43.59" id="linknoteref-43.59">59</a> and a strict + interpretation of the evidence of Procopius would swell the loss of Italy + above the total sum of her present inhabitants. <a href="#linknote-43.60" + name="linknoteref-43.60" id="linknoteref-43.60">60</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.54" id="linknote-43.54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.54">return</a>)<br /> [ (Agathias, l. ii. p. + 48.) In the first scene of Richard III. our English poet has beautifully + enlarged on this idea, for which, however, he was not indebted to the + Byzantine historian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.55" id="linknote-43.55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.55">return</a>)<br /> [ Maffei has proved, + (Verona Illustrata. P. i. l. x. p. 257, 289,) against the common opinion, + that the dukes of Italy were instituted before the conquest of the + Lombards, by Narses himself. In the Pragmatic Sanction, (No. 23,) + Justinian restrains the judices militares.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.56" id="linknote-43.56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.56">return</a>)<br /> [ See Paulus Diaconus, + liii. c. 2, p. 776. Menander in (Excerp Legat. p. 133) mentions some + risings in Italy by the Franks, and Theophanes (p. 201) hints at some + Gothic rebellions.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.57" id="linknote-43.57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.57">return</a>)<br /> [ The Pragmatic Sanction + of Justinian, which restores and regulates the civil state of Italy, + consists of xxvii. articles: it is dated August 15, A.D. 554; is addressed + to Narses, V. J. Praepositus Sacri Cubiculi, and to Antiochus, Præfectus + Praetorio Italiae; and has been preserved by Julian Antecessor, and in the + Corpus Juris Civilis, after the novels and edicts of Justinian, Justin, + and Tiberius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.58" id="linknote-43.58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.58">return</a>)<br /> [ A still greater number + was consumed by famine in the southern provinces, without the Ionian Gulf. + Acorns were used in the place of bread. Procopius had seen a deserted + orphan suckled by a she-goat. Seventeen passengers were lodged, murdered, + and eaten, by two women, who were detected and slain by the eighteenth, + &c. * Note: Denina considers that greater evil was inflicted upon + Italy by the Urocian conquest than by any other invasion. Reveluz. d’ + Italia, t. i. l. v. p. 247.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.59" id="linknote-43.59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.59">return</a>)<br /> [ Quinta regio Piceni + est; quondam uberrimae multitudinis, ccclx. millia Picentium in fidem P. + R. venere, (Plin. Hist. Natur. iii. 18.) In the time of Vespasian, this + ancient population was already diminished.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.60" id="linknote-43.60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.60">return</a>)<br /> [ Perhaps fifteen or + sixteen millions. Procopius (Anecdot. c. 18) computes that Africa lost + five millions, that Italy was thrice as extensive, and that the + depopulation was in a larger proportion. But his reckoning is inflamed by + passion, and clouded with uncertainty.] + </p> + <p> + I desire to believe, but I dare not affirm, that Belisarius sincerely + rejoiced in the triumph of Narses. Yet the consciousness of his own + exploits might teach him to esteem without jealousy the merit of a rival; + and the repose of the aged warrior was crowned by a last victory, which + saved the emperor and the capital. The Barbarians, who annually visited + the provinces of Europe, were less discouraged by some accidental defeats, + than they were excited by the double hope of spoil and of subsidy. In the + thirty-second winter of Justinian’s reign, the Danube was deeply frozen: + Zabergan led the cavalry of the Bulgarians, and his standard was followed + by a promiscuous multitude of Sclavonians. <a href="#linknote-43.6011" + name="linknoteref-43.6011" id="linknoteref-43.6011">6011</a> The savage + chief passed, without opposition, the river and the mountains, spread his + troops over Macedonia and Thrace, and advanced with no more than seven + thousand horse to the long wall, which should have defended the territory + of Constantinople. But the works of man are impotent against the assaults + of nature: a recent earthquake had shaken the foundations of the wall; and + the forces of the empire were employed on the distant frontiers of Italy, + Africa, and Persia. The seven schools, <a href="#linknote-43.61" + name="linknoteref-43.61" id="linknoteref-43.61">61</a> or companies of the + guards or domestic troops, had been augmented to the number of five + thousand five hundred men, whose ordinary station was in the peaceful + cities of Asia. But the places of the brave Armenians were insensibly + supplied by lazy citizens, who purchased an exemption from the duties of + civil life, without being exposed to the dangers of military service. Of + such soldiers, few could be tempted to sally from the gates; and none + could be persuaded to remain in the field, unless they wanted strength and + speed to escape from the Bulgarians. The report of the fugitives + exaggerated the numbers and fierceness of an enemy, who had polluted holy + virgins, and abandoned new-born infants to the dogs and vultures; a crowd + of rustics, imploring food and protection, increased the consternation of + the city, and the tents of Zabergan were pitched at the distance of twenty + miles, <a href="#linknote-43.62" name="linknoteref-43.62" + id="linknoteref-43.62">62</a> on the banks of a small river, which + encircles Melanthias, and afterwards falls into the Propontis. <a + href="#linknote-43.63" name="linknoteref-43.63" id="linknoteref-43.63">63</a> + Justinian trembled: and those who had only seen the emperor in his old + age, were pleased to suppose, that he had lost the alacrity and vigor of + his youth. By his command the vessels of gold and silver were removed from + the churches in the neighborhood, and even the suburbs, of Constantinople; + the ramparts were lined with trembling spectators; the golden gate was + crowded with useless generals and tribunes, and the senate shared the + fatigues and the apprehensions of the populace. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.6011" id="linknote-43.6011"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6011 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.6011">return</a>)<br /> [ Zabergan was king + of the Cutrigours, a tribe of Huns, who were neither Bulgarians nor + Sclavonians. St. Martin, vol. ix. p. 408—420.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.61" id="linknote-43.61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.61">return</a>)<br /> [ In the decay of these + military schools, the satire of Procopius (Anecdot. c. 24, Aleman. p. 102, + 103) is confirmed and illustrated by Agathias, (l. v. p. 159,) who cannot + be rejected as a hostile witness.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.62" id="linknote-43.62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.62">return</a>)<br /> [ The distance from + Constantinople to Melanthias, Villa Caesariana, (Ammian. Marcellin. xxx. + 11,) is variously fixed at 102 or 140 stadia, (Suidas, tom. ii. p. 522, + 523. Agathias, l. v. p. 158,) or xviii. or xix. miles, (Itineraria, p. + 138, 230, 323, 332, and Wesseling’s Observations.) The first xii. miles, + as far as Rhegium, were paved by Justinian, who built a bridge over a + morass or gullet between a lake and the sea, (Procop. de Edif. l. iv. c. + 8.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.63" id="linknote-43.63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.63">return</a>)<br /> [ The Atyras, (Pompon. + Mela, l. ii. c. 2, p. 169, edit. Voss.) At the river’s mouth, a town or + castle of the same name was fortified by Justinian, (Procop. de Edif. l. + iv. c. 2. Itinerar. p. 570, and Wesseling.)] + </p> + <p> + But the eyes of the prince and people were directed to a feeble veteran, + who was compelled by the public danger to resume the armor in which he had + entered Carthage and defended Rome. The horses of the royal stables, of + private citizens, and even of the circus, were hastily collected; the + emulation of the old and young was roused by the name of Belisarius, and + his first encampment was in the presence of a victorious enemy. His + prudence, and the labor of the friendly peasants, secured, with a ditch + and rampart, the repose of the night; innumerable fires, and clouds of + dust, were artfully contrived to magnify the opinion of his strength; his + soldiers suddenly passed from despondency to presumption; and, while ten + thousand voices demanded the battle, Belisarius dissembled his knowledge, + that in the hour of trial he must depend on the firmness of three hundred + veterans. The next morning the Bulgarian cavalry advanced to the charge. + But they heard the shouts of multitudes, they beheld the arms and + discipline of the front; they were assaulted on the flanks by two + ambuscades which rose from the woods; their foremost warriors fell by the + hand of the aged hero and his guards; and the swiftness of their + evolutions was rendered useless by the close attack and rapid pursuit of + the Romans. In this action (so speedy was their flight) the Bulgarians + lost only four hundred horse; but Constantinople was saved; and Zabergan, + who felt the hand of a master, withdrew to a respectful distance. But his + friends were numerous in the councils of the emperor, and Belisarius + obeyed with reluctance the commands of envy and Justinian, which forbade + him to achieve the deliverance of his country. On his return to the city, + the people, still conscious of their danger, accompanied his triumph with + acclamations of joy and gratitude, which were imputed as a crime to the + victorious general. But when he entered the palace, the courtiers were + silent, and the emperor, after a cold and thankless embrace, dismissed him + to mingle with the train of slaves. Yet so deep was the impression of his + glory on the minds of men, that Justinian, in the seventy-seventh year of + his age, was encouraged to advance near forty miles from the capital, and + to inspect in person the restoration of the long wall. The Bulgarians + wasted the summer in the plains of Thrace; but they were inclined to peace + by the failure of their rash attempts on Greece and the Chersonesus. A + menace of killing their prisoners quickened the payment of heavy ransoms; + and the departure of Zabergan was hastened by the report, that + double-prowed vessels were built on the Danube to intercept his passage. + The danger was soon forgotten; and a vain question, whether their + sovereign had shown more wisdom or weakness, amused the idleness of the + city. <a href="#linknote-43.64" name="linknoteref-43.64" + id="linknoteref-43.64">64</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.64" id="linknote-43.64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.64">return</a>)<br /> [ The Bulgarian war, and + the last victory of Belisarius, are imperfectly represented in the prolix + declamation of Agathias. (l. 5, p. 154-174,) and the dry Chronicle of + Theophanes, (p. 197 198.)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap43.4"></a> +Chapter XLIII: Last Victory And Death Of Belisarius, Death Of Justinian.—Part +IV.</h2> + + <p> + About two years after the last victory of Belisarius, the emperor returned + from a Thracian journey of health, or business, or devotion. Justinian was + afflicted by a pain in his head; and his private entry countenanced the + rumor of his death. Before the third hour of the day, the bakers’ shops + were plundered of their bread, the houses were shut, and every citizen, + with hope or terror, prepared for the impending tumult. The senators + themselves, fearful and suspicious, were convened at the ninth hour; and + the præfect received their commands to visit every quarter of the city, + and proclaim a general illumination for the recovery of the emperor’s + health. The ferment subsided; but every accident betrayed the impotence of + the government, and the factious temper of the people: the guards were + disposed to mutiny as often as their quarters were changed, or their pay + was withheld: the frequent calamities of fires and earthquakes afforded + the opportunities of disorder; the disputes of the blues and greens, of + the orthodox and heretics, degenerated into bloody battles; and, in the + presence of the Persian ambassador, Justinian blushed for himself and for + his subjects. Capricious pardon and arbitrary punishment imbittered the + irksomeness and discontent of a long reign: a conspiracy was formed in the + palace; and, unless we are deceived by the names of Marcellus and Sergius, + the most virtuous and the most profligate of the courtiers were associated + in the same designs. They had fixed the time of the execution; their rank + gave them access to the royal banquet; and their black slaves <a + href="#linknote-43.65" name="linknoteref-43.65" id="linknoteref-43.65">65</a> + were stationed in the vestibule and porticos, to announce the death of the + tyrant, and to excite a sedition in the capital. But the indiscretion of + an accomplice saved the poor remnant of the days of Justinian. The + conspirators were detected and seized, with daggers hidden under their + garments: Marcellus died by his own hand, and Sergius was dragged from the + sanctuary. <a href="#linknote-43.66" name="linknoteref-43.66" + id="linknoteref-43.66">66</a> Pressed by remorse, or tempted by the hopes + of safety, he accused two officers of the household of Belisarius; and + torture forced them to declare that they had acted according to the secret + instructions of their patron. <a href="#linknote-43.67" + name="linknoteref-43.67" id="linknoteref-43.67">67</a> Posterity will not + hastily believe that a hero who, in the vigor of life, had disdained the + fairest offers of ambition and revenge, should stoop to the murder of his + prince, whom he could not long expect to survive. His followers were + impatient to fly; but flight must have been supported by rebellion, and he + had lived enough for nature and for glory. Belisarius appeared before the + council with less fear than indignation: after forty years’ service, the + emperor had prejudged his guilt; and injustice was sanctified by the + presence and authority of the patriarch. The life of Belisarius was + graciously spared; but his fortunes were sequestered, and, from December + to July, he was guarded as a prisoner in his own palace. At length his + innocence was acknowledged; his freedom and honor were restored; and + death, which might be hastened by resentment and grief, removed him from + the world in about eight months after his deliverance. The name of + Belisarius can never die but instead of the funeral, the monuments, the + statues, so justly due to his memory, I only read, that his treasures, the + spoil of the Goths and Vandals, were immediately confiscated by the + emperor. Some decent portion was reserved, however for the use of his + widow: and as Antonina had much to repent, she devoted the last remains of + her life and fortune to the foundation of a convent. Such is the simple + and genuine narrative of the fall of Belisarius and the ingratitude of + Justinian. <a href="#linknote-43.68" name="linknoteref-43.68" + id="linknoteref-43.68">68</a> That he was deprived of his eyes, and reduced + by envy to beg his bread, <a href="#linknote-43.6811" + name="linknoteref-43.6811" id="linknoteref-43.6811">6811</a> “Give a penny + to Belisarius the general!” is a fiction of later times, <a + href="#linknote-43.69" name="linknoteref-43.69" id="linknoteref-43.69">69</a> + which has obtained credit, or rather favor, as a strange example of the + vicissitudes of fortune. <a href="#linknote-43.70" name="linknoteref-43.70" + id="linknoteref-43.70">70</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.65" id="linknote-43.65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.65">return</a>)<br /> [ They could scarcely be + real Indians; and the Aethiopians, sometimes known by that name, were + never used by the ancients as guards or followers: they were the trifling, + though costly objects of female and royal luxury, (Terent. Eunuch. act. i. + scene ii Sueton. in August. c. 83, with a good note of Casaubon, in + Caligula, c. 57.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.66" id="linknote-43.66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.66">return</a>)<br /> [ The Sergius (Vandal. l. + ii. c. 21, 22, Anecdot. c. 5) and Marcellus (Goth. l. iii. c. 32) are + mentioned by Procopius. See Theophanes, p. 197, 201. * Note: Some words, + “the acts of,” or “the crimes cf,” appear to have false from the text. The + omission is in all the editions I have consulted.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.67" id="linknote-43.67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.67">return</a>)<br /> [ Alemannus, (p. quotes + an old Byzantian Ms., which has been printed in the Imperium Orientale of + Banduri.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.68" id="linknote-43.68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.68">return</a>)<br /> [ Of the disgrace and + restoration of Belisarius, the genuine original record is preserved in the + Fragment of John Malala (tom. ii. p. 234—243) and the exact + Chronicle of Theophanes, (p. 194—204.) Cedrenus (Compend. p. 387, + 388) and Zonaras (tom. ii. l. xiv. p. 69) seem to hesitate between the + obsolete truth and the growing falsehood.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.6811" id="linknote-43.6811"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6811 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.6811">return</a>)<br /> [ Le Beau, following + Allemannus, conceives that Belisarius was confounded with John of + Cappadocia, who was thus reduced to beggary, (vol. ix. p. 58, 449.) Lord + Mahon has, with considerable learning, and on the authority of a yet + unquoted writer of the eleventh century, endeavored to reestablish the old + tradition. I cannot acknowledge that I have been convinced, and am + inclined to subscribe to the theory of Le Beau.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.69" id="linknote-43.69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.69">return</a>)<br /> [ The source of this idle + fable may be derived from a miscellaneous work of the xiith century, the + Chiliads of John Tzetzes, a monk, (Basil. 1546, ad calcem Lycophront. + Colon. Allobrog. 1614, in Corp. Poet. Graec.) He relates the blindness and + beggary of Belisarius in ten vulgar or political verses, (Chiliad iii. No. + 88, 339—348, in Corp. Poet. Graec. tom. ii. p. 311.) This moral or + romantic tale was imported into Italy with the language and manuscripts of + Greece; repeated before the end of the xvth century by Crinitus, Pontanus, + and Volaterranus, attacked by Alciat, for the honor of the law; and + defended by Baronius, (A.D. 561, No. 2, &c.,) for the honor of the + church. Yet Tzetzes himself had read in other chronicles, that Belisarius + did not lose his sight, and that he recovered his fame and fortunes. * + Note: I know not where Gibbon found Tzetzes to be a monk; I suppose he + considered his bad verses a proof of his monachism. Compare to Gerbelius + in Kiesling’s edition of Tzetzes.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.70" id="linknote-43.70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.70">return</a>)<br /> [ The statue in the villa + Borghese at Rome, in a sitting posture, with an open hand, which is + vulgarly given to Belisarius, may be ascribed with more dignity to + Augustus in the act of propitiating Nemesis, (Winckelman, Hist. de l’Art, + tom. iii. p. 266.) Ex nocturno visu etiam stipem, quotannis, die certo, + emendicabat a populo, cavana manum asses porrigentibus praebens, (Sueton. + in August. c. 91, with an excellent note of Casaubon.) * Note: Lord Mahon + abandons the statue, as altogether irreconcilable with the state of the + arts at this period, (p. 472.)—M.] + </p> + <p> + If the emperor could rejoice in the death of Belisarius, he enjoyed the + base satisfaction only eight months, the last period of a reign of + thirty-eight years, and a life of eighty-three years. It would be + difficult to trace the character of a prince who is not the most + conspicuous object of his own times: but the confessions of an enemy may + be received as the safest evidence of his virtues. The resemblance of + Justinian to the bust of Domitian, is maliciously urged; <a + href="#linknote-43.71" name="linknoteref-43.71" id="linknoteref-43.71">71</a> + with the acknowledgment, however, of a well-proportioned figure, a ruddy + complexion, and a pleasing countenance. The emperor was easy of access, + patient of hearing, courteous and affable in discourse, and a master of + the angry passions which rage with such destructive violence in the breast + of a despot. Procopius praises his temper, to reproach him with calm and + deliberate cruelty: but in the conspiracies which attacked his authority + and person, a more candid judge will approve the justice, or admire the + clemency, of Justinian. He excelled in the private virtues of chastity and + temperance: but the impartial love of beauty would have been less + mischievous than his conjugal tenderness for Theodora; and his abstemious + diet was regulated, not by the prudence of a philosopher, but the + superstition of a monk. His repasts were short and frugal: on solemn + fasts, he contented himself with water and vegetables; and such was his + strength, as well as fervor, that he frequently passed two days, and as + many nights, without tasting any food. The measure of his sleep was not + less rigorous: after the repose of a single hour, the body was awakened by + the soul, and, to the astonishment of his chamberlain, Justinian walked or + studied till the morning light. Such restless application prolonged his + time for the acquisition of knowledge <a href="#linknote-43.72" + name="linknoteref-43.72" id="linknoteref-43.72">72</a> and the despatch of + business; and he might seriously deserve the reproach of confounding, by + minute and preposterous diligence, the general order of his + administration. The emperor professed himself a musician and architect, a + poet and philosopher, a lawyer and theologian; and if he failed in the + enterprise of reconciling the Christian sects, the review of the Roman + jurisprudence is a noble monument of his spirit and industry. In the + government of the empire, he was less wise, or less successful: the age + was unfortunate; the people was oppressed and discontented; Theodora + abused her power; a succession of bad ministers disgraced his judgment; + and Justinian was neither beloved in his life, nor regretted at his death. + The love of fame was deeply implanted in his breast, but he condescended + to the poor ambition of titles, honors, and contemporary praise; and while + he labored to fix the admiration, he forfeited the esteem and affection, + of the Romans. + </p> + <p> + The design of the African and Italian wars was boldly conceived and + executed; and his penetration discovered the talents of Belisarius in the + camp, of Narses in the palace. But the name of the emperor is eclipsed by + the names of his victorious generals; and Belisarius still lives, to + upbraid the envy and ingratitude of his sovereign. The partial favor of + mankind applauds the genius of a conqueror, who leads and directs his + subjects in the exercise of arms. The characters of Philip the Second and + of Justinian are distinguished by the cold ambition which delights in war, + and declines the dangers of the field. Yet a colossal statue of bronze + represented the emperor on horseback, preparing to march against the + Persians in the habit and armor of Achilles. In the great square before + the church of St. Sophia, this monument was raised on a brass column and a + stone pedestal of seven steps; and the pillar of Theodosius, which weighed + seven thousand four hundred pounds of silver, was removed from the same + place by the avarice and vanity of Justinian. Future princes were more + just or indulgent to his memory; the elder Andronicus, in the beginning of + the fourteenth century, repaired and beautified his equestrian statue: + since the fall of the empire it has been melted into cannon by the + victorious Turks. <a href="#linknote-43.73" name="linknoteref-43.73" + id="linknoteref-43.73">73</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.71" id="linknote-43.71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.71">return</a>)<br /> [ The rubor of Domitian + is stigmatized, quaintly enough, by the pen of Tacitus, (in Vit. Agricol. + c. 45;) and has been likewise noticed by the younger Pliny, (Panegyr. c. + 48,) and Suetonius, (in Domitian, c. 18, and Casaubon ad locum.) Procopius + (Anecdot. c. 8) foolishly believes that only one bust of Domitian had + reached the vith century.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.72" id="linknote-43.72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.72">return</a>)<br /> [ The studies and science + of Justinian are attested by the confession (Anecdot. c. 8, 13) still more + than by the praises (Gothic. l. iii. c. 31, de Edific. l. i. Proem. c. 7) + of Procopius. Consult the copious index of Alemannus, and read the life of + Justinian by Ludewig, (p. 135—142.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.73" id="linknote-43.73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.73">return</a>)<br /> [ See in the C. P. + Christiana of Ducange (l. i. c. 24, No. 1) a chain of original + testimonies, from Procopius in the vith, to Gyllius in the xvith century.] + </p> + <p> + I shall conclude this chapter with the comets, the earthquakes, and the + plague, which astonished or afflicted the age of Justinian. I. In the + fifth year of his reign, and in the month of September, a comet <a + href="#linknote-43.74" name="linknoteref-43.74" id="linknoteref-43.74">74</a> + was seen during twenty days in the western quarter of the heavens, and + which shot its rays into the north. Eight years afterwards, while the sun + was in Capricorn, another comet appeared to follow in the Sagittary; the + size was gradually increasing; the head was in the east, the tail in the + west, and it remained visible above forty days. The nations, who gazed + with astonishment, expected wars and calamities from their baleful + influence; and these expectations were abundantly fulfilled. The + astronomers dissembled their ignorance of the nature of these blazing + stars, which they affected to represent as the floating meteors of the + air; and few among them embraced the simple notion of Seneca and the + Chaldeans, that they are only planets of a longer period and more + eccentric motion. <a href="#linknote-43.75" name="linknoteref-43.75" + id="linknoteref-43.75">75</a> Time and science have justified the + conjectures and predictions of the Roman sage: the telescope has opened + new worlds to the eyes of astronomers; <a href="#linknote-43.76" + name="linknoteref-43.76" id="linknoteref-43.76">76</a> and, in the narrow + space of history and fable, one and the same comet is already found to + have revisited the earth in seven equal revolutions of five hundred and + seventy-five years. The first, <a href="#linknote-43.77" + name="linknoteref-43.77" id="linknoteref-43.77">77</a> which ascends beyond + the Christian aera one thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven years, is + coeval with Ogyges, the father of Grecian antiquity. And this appearance + explains the tradition which Varro has preserved, that under his reign the + planet Venus changed her color, size, figure, and course; a prodigy + without example either in past or succeeding ages. <a href="#linknote-43.78" + name="linknoteref-43.78" id="linknoteref-43.78">78</a> The second visit, in + the year eleven hundred and ninety-three, is darkly implied in the fable + of Electra, the seventh of the Pleiads, who have been reduced to six since + the time of the Trojan war. That nymph, the wife of Dardanus, was unable + to support the ruin of her country: she abandoned the dances of her sister + orbs, fled from the zodiac to the north pole, and obtained, from her + dishevelled locks, the name of the comet. The third period expires in the + year six hundred and eighteen, a date that exactly agrees with the + tremendous comet of the Sibyl, and perhaps of Pliny, which arose in the + West two generations before the reign of Cyrus. The fourth apparition, + forty-four years before the birth of Christ, is of all others the most + splendid and important. After the death of Caesar, a long-haired star was + conspicuous to Rome and to the nations, during the games which were + exhibited by young Octavian in honor of Venus and his uncle. The vulgar + opinion, that it conveyed to heaven the divine soul of the dictator, was + cherished and consecrated by the piety of a statesman; while his secret + superstition referred the comet to the glory of his own times. <a + href="#linknote-43.79" name="linknoteref-43.79" id="linknoteref-43.79">79</a> + The fifth visit has been already ascribed to the fifth year of Justinian, + which coincides with the five hundred and thirty-first of the Christian + aera. And it may deserve notice, that in this, as in the preceding + instance, the comet was followed, though at a longer interval, by a + remarkable paleness of the sun. The sixth return, in the year eleven + hundred and six, is recorded by the chronicles of Europe and China: and in + the first fervor of the crusades, the Christians and the Mahometans might + surmise, with equal reason, that it portended the destruction of the + Infidels. The seventh phenomenon, of one thousand six hundred and eighty, + was presented to the eyes of an enlightened age. <a href="#linknote-43.80" + name="linknoteref-43.80" id="linknoteref-43.80">80</a> The philosophy of + Bayle dispelled a prejudice which Milton’s muse had so recently adorned, + that the comet, “from its horrid hair shakes pestilence and war.” <a + href="#linknote-43.81" name="linknoteref-43.81" id="linknoteref-43.81">81</a> + Its road in the heavens was observed with exquisite skill by Flamstead and + Cassini: and the mathematical science of Bernoulli, Newton <a + href="#linknote-43.8111" name="linknoteref-43.8111" id="linknoteref-43.8111">8111</a>, + and Halley, investigated the laws of its revolutions. At the eighth + period, in the year two thousand three hundred and fifty-five, their + calculations may perhaps be verified by the astronomers of some future + capital in the Siberian or American wilderness. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.74" id="linknote-43.74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.74">return</a>)<br /> [ The first comet is + mentioned by John Malala (tom. ii. p. 190, 219) and Theophanes, (p. 154;) + the second by Procopius, (Persic. l. ii. 4.) Yet I strongly suspect their + identity. The paleness of the sun sum Vandal. (l. ii. c. 14) is applied by + Theophanes (p. 158) to a different year. Note: See Lydus de Ostentis, + particularly c 15, in which the author begins to show the signification of + comets according to the part of the heavens in which they appear, and what + fortunes they prognosticate to the Roman empire and their Persian enemies. + The chapter, however, is imperfect. (Edit. Neibuhr, p. 290.)—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.75" id="linknote-43.75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.75">return</a>)<br /> [ Seneca’s viith book of + Natural Questions displays, in the theory of comets, a philosophic mind. + Yet should we not too candidly confound a vague prediction, a venient + tempus, &c., with the merit of real discoveries.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.76" id="linknote-43.76"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 76 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.76">return</a>)<br /> [ Astronomers may study + Newton and Halley. I draw my humble science from the article Comete, in + the French Encyclopedie, by M. d’Alembert.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.77" id="linknote-43.77"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 77 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.77">return</a>)<br /> [ Whiston, the honest, + pious, visionary Whiston, had fancied for the aera of Noah’s flood (2242 + years before Christ) a prior apparition of the same comet which drowned + the earth with its tail.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.78" id="linknote-43.78"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 78 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.78">return</a>)<br /> [ A Dissertation of + Freret (Memoires de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. x. p. 357-377) + affords a happy union of philosophy and erudition. The phenomenon in the + time of Ogyges was preserved by Varro, (Apud Augustin. de Civitate Dei, + xxi. 8,) who quotes Castor, Dion of Naples, and Adastrus of Cyzicus—nobiles + mathematici. The two subsequent periods are preserved by the Greek + mythologists and the spurious books of Sibylline verses.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.79" id="linknote-43.79"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 79 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.79">return</a>)<br /> [ Pliny (Hist. Nat. ii. + 23) has transcribed the original memorial of Augustus. Mairan, in his most + ingenious letters to the P. Parennin, missionary in China, removes the + games and the comet of September, from the year 44 to the year 43, before + the Christian aera; but I am not totally subdued by the criticism of the + astronomer, (Opuscules, p. 275 )] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.80" id="linknote-43.80"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 80 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.80">return</a>)<br /> [ This last comet was + visible in the month of December, 1680. Bayle, who began his Pensees sur + la Comete in January, 1681, (Oeuvres, tom. iii.,) was forced to argue that + a supernatural comet would have confirmed the ancients in their idolatry. + Bernoulli (see his Eloge, in Fontenelle, tom. v. p. 99) was forced to + allow that the tail though not the head, was a sign of the wrath of God.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.81" id="linknote-43.81"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 81 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.81">return</a>)<br /> [ Paradise Lost was + published in the year 1667; and the famous lines (l. ii. 708, &c.) + which startled the licenser, may allude to the recent comet of 1664, + observed by Cassini at Rome in the presence of Queen Christina, + (Fontenelle, in his Eloge, tom. v. p. 338.) Had Charles II. betrayed any + symptoms of curiosity or fear?] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.8111" id="linknote-43.8111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8111 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.8111">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare Pingre, + Histoire des Cometes.—M.] + </p> + <p> + II. The near approach of a comet may injure or destroy the globe which we + inhabit; but the changes on its surface have been hitherto produced by the + action of volcanoes and earthquakes. <a href="#linknote-43.82" + name="linknoteref-43.82" id="linknoteref-43.82">82</a> The nature of the + soil may indicate the countries most exposed to these formidable + concussions, since they are caused by subterraneous fires, and such fires + are kindled by the union and fermentation of iron and sulphur. But their + times and effects appear to lie beyond the reach of human curiosity; and + the philosopher will discreetly abstain from the prediction of + earthquakes, till he has counted the drops of water that silently filtrate + on the inflammable mineral, and measured the caverns which increase by + resistance the explosion of the imprisoned air. Without assigning the + cause, history will distinguish the periods in which these calamitous + events have been rare or frequent, and will observe, that this fever of + the earth raged with uncommon violence during the reign of Justinian. <a + href="#linknote-43.83" name="linknoteref-43.83" id="linknoteref-43.83">83</a> + Each year is marked by the repetition of earthquakes, of such duration, + that Constantinople has been shaken above forty days; of such extent, that + the shock has been communicated to the whole surface of the globe, or at + least of the Roman empire. An impulsive or vibratory motion was felt: + enormous chasms were opened, huge and heavy bodies were discharged into + the air, the sea alternately advanced and retreated beyond its ordinary + bounds, and a mountain was torn from Libanus, <a href="#linknote-43.84" + name="linknoteref-43.84" id="linknoteref-43.84">84</a> and cast into the + waves, where it protected, as a mole, the new harbor of Botrys <a + href="#linknote-43.85" name="linknoteref-43.85" id="linknoteref-43.85">85</a> + in Phoenicia. The stroke that agitates an ant-hill may crush the + insect-myriads in the dust; yet truth must extort confession that man has + industriously labored for his own destruction. The institution of great + cities, which include a nation within the limits of a wall, almost + realizes the wish of Caligula, that the Roman people had but one neck. Two + hundred and fifty thousand persons are said to have perished in the + earthquake of Antioch, whose domestic multitudes were swelled by the + conflux of strangers to the festival of the Ascension. The loss of Berytus + <a href="#linknote-43.86" name="linknoteref-43.86" id="linknoteref-43.86">86</a> + was of smaller account, but of much greater value. That city, on the coast + of Phoenicia, was illustrated by the study of the civil law, which opened + the surest road to wealth and dignity: the schools of Berytus were filled + with the rising spirits of the age, and many a youth was lost in the + earthquake, who might have lived to be the scourge or the guardian of his + country. In these disasters, the architect becomes the enemy of mankind. + The hut of a savage, or the tent of an Arab, may be thrown down without + injury to the inhabitant; and the Peruvians had reason to deride the folly + of their Spanish conquerors, who with so much cost and labor erected their + own sepulchres. The rich marbles of a patrician are dashed on his own + head: a whole people is buried under the ruins of public and private + edifices, and the conflagration is kindled and propagated by the + innumerable fires which are necessary for the subsistence and manufactures + of a great city. Instead of the mutual sympathy which might comfort and + assist the distressed, they dreadfully experience the vices and passions + which are released from the fear of punishment: the tottering houses are + pillaged by intrepid avarice; revenge embraces the moment, and selects the + victim; and the earth often swallows the assassin, or the ravisher, in the + consummation of their crimes. Superstition involves the present danger + with invisible terrors; and if the image of death may sometimes be + subservient to the virtue or repentance of individuals, an affrighted + people is more forcibly moved to expect the end of the world, or to + deprecate with servile homage the wrath of an avenging Deity. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.82" id="linknote-43.82"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 82 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.82">return</a>)<br /> [ For the cause of + earthquakes, see Buffon, (tom. i. p. 502—536 Supplement a l’Hist. + Naturelle, tom. v. p. 382-390, edition in 4to., Valmont de Bomare, + Dictionnaire d’Histoire Naturelle, Tremblemen de Terre, Pyrites,) Watson, + (Chemical Essays, tom. i. p. 181—209.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.83" id="linknote-43.83"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 83 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.83">return</a>)<br /> [ The earthquakes that + shook the Roman world in the reign of Justinian are described or mentioned + by Procopius, (Goth. l. iv. c. 25 Anecdot. c. 18,) Agathias, (l. ii. p. + 52, 53, 54, l. v. p. 145-152,) John Malala, (Chron. tom. ii. p. 140-146, + 176, 177, 183, 193, 220, 229, 231, 233, 234,) and Theophanes, (p. 151, + 183, 189, 191-196.) * Note *: Compare Daubeny on Earthquakes, and Lyell’s + Geology, vol. ii. p. 161 et seq.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.84" id="linknote-43.84"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 84 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.84">return</a>)<br /> [ An abrupt height, a + perpendicular cape, between Aradus and Botrys (Polyb. l. v. p. 411. + Pompon. Mela, l. i. c. 12, p. 87, cum Isaac. Voss. Observat. Maundrell, + Journey, p. 32, 33. Pocock’s Description, vol. ii. p. 99.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.85" id="linknote-43.85"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 85 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.85">return</a>)<br /> [ Botrys was founded + (ann. ante Christ. 935—903) by Ithobal, king of Tyre, (Marsham, + Canon. Chron. p. 387, 388.) Its poor representative, the village of + Patrone, is now destitute of a harbor.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.86" id="linknote-43.86"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 86 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.86">return</a>)<br /> [ The university, + splendor, and ruin of Berytus are celebrated by Heineccius (p. 351—356) + as an essential part of the history of the Roman law. It was overthrown in + the xxvth year of Justinian, A. D 551, July 9, (Theophanes, p. 192;) but + Agathias (l. ii. p. 51, 52) suspends the earthquake till he has achieved + the Italian war.] + </p> + <p> + III. Aethiopia and Egypt have been stigmatized, in every age, as the + original source and seminary of the plague. <a href="#linknote-43.87" + name="linknoteref-43.87" id="linknoteref-43.87">87</a> In a damp, hot, + stagnating air, this African fever is generated from the putrefaction of + animal substances, and especially from the swarms of locusts, not less + destructive to mankind in their death than in their lives. The fatal + disease which depopulated the earth in the time of Justinian and his + successors, <a href="#linknote-43.88" name="linknoteref-43.88" + id="linknoteref-43.88">88</a> first appeared in the neighborhood of + Pelusium, between the Serbonian bog and the eastern channel of the Nile. + From thence, tracing as it were a double path, it spread to the East, over + Syria, Persia, and the Indies, and penetrated to the West, along the coast + of Africa, and over the continent of Europe. In the spring of the second + year, Constantinople, during three or four months, was visited by the + pestilence; and Procopius, who observed its progress and symptoms with the + eyes of a physician, <a href="#linknote-43.89" name="linknoteref-43.89" + id="linknoteref-43.89">89</a> has emulated the skill and diligence of + Thucydides in the description of the plague of Athens. <a + href="#linknote-43.90" name="linknoteref-43.90" id="linknoteref-43.90">90</a> + The infection was sometimes announced by the visions of a distempered + fancy, and the victim despaired as soon as he had heard the menace and + felt the stroke of an invisible spectre. But the greater number, in their + beds, in the streets, in their usual occupation, were surprised by a + slight fever; so slight, indeed, that neither the pulse nor the color of + the patient gave any signs of the approaching danger. The same, the next, + or the succeeding day, it was declared by the swelling of the glands, + particularly those of the groin, of the armpits, and under the ear; and + when these buboes or tumors were opened, they were found to contain a + coal, or black substance, of the size of a lentil. If they came to a just + swelling and suppuration, the patient was saved by this kind and natural + discharge of the morbid humor. But if they continued hard and dry, a + mortification quickly ensued, and the fifth day was commonly the term of + his life. The fever was often accompanied with lethargy or delirium; the + bodies of the sick were covered with black pustules or carbuncles, the + symptoms of immediate death; and in the constitutions too feeble to + produce an irruption, the vomiting of blood was followed by a + mortification of the bowels. To pregnant women the plague was generally + mortal: yet one infant was drawn alive from his dead mother, and three + mothers survived the loss of their infected foetus. Youth was the most + perilous season; and the female sex was less susceptible than the male: + but every rank and profession was attacked with indiscriminate rage, and + many of those who escaped were deprived of the use of their speech, + without being secure from a return of the disorder. <a + href="#linknote-43.91" name="linknoteref-43.91" id="linknoteref-43.91">91</a> + The physicians of Constantinople were zealous and skilful; but their art + was baffled by the various symptoms and pertinacious vehemence of the + disease: the same remedies were productive of contrary effects, and the + event capriciously disappointed their prognostics of death or recovery. + The order of funerals, and the right of sepulchres, were confounded: those + who were left without friends or servants, lay unburied in the streets, or + in their desolate houses; and a magistrate was authorized to collect the + promiscuous heaps of dead bodies, to transport them by land or water, and + to inter them in deep pits beyond the precincts of the city. Their own + danger, and the prospect of public distress, awakened some remorse in the + minds of the most vicious of mankind: the confidence of health again + revived their passions and habits; but philosophy must disdain the + observation of Procopius, that the lives of such men were guarded by the + peculiar favor of fortune or Providence. He forgot, or perhaps he secretly + recollected, that the plague had touched the person of Justinian himself; + but the abstemious diet of the emperor may suggest, as in the case of + Socrates, a more rational and honorable cause for his recovery. <a + href="#linknote-43.92" name="linknoteref-43.92" id="linknoteref-43.92">92</a> + During his sickness, the public consternation was expressed in the habits + of the citizens; and their idleness and despondence occasioned a general + scarcity in the capital of the East. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.87" id="linknote-43.87"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 87 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.87">return</a>)<br /> [ I have read with + pleasure Mead’s short, but elegant, treatise concerning Pestilential + Disorders, the viiith edition, London, 1722.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.88" id="linknote-43.88"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 88 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.88">return</a>)<br /> [ The great plague which + raged in 542 and the following years (Pagi, Critica, tom. ii. p. 518) must + be traced in Procopius, (Persic. l. ii. c. 22, 23,) Agathias, (l. v. p. + 153, 154,) Evagrius, (l. iv. c. 29,) Paul Diaconus, (l. ii. c. iv. p. 776, + 777,) Gregory of Tours, (tom. ii. l. iv. c. 5, p 205,) who styles it Lues + Inguinaria, and the Chronicles of Victor Tunnunensis, (p. 9, in Thesaur. + Temporum,) of Marcellinus, (p. 54,) and of Theophanes, (p. 153.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.89" id="linknote-43.89"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 89 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.89">return</a>)<br /> [ Dr. Friend (Hist. + Medicin. in Opp. p. 416—420, Lond. 1733) is satisfied that Procopius + must have studied physic, from his knowledge and use of the technical + words. Yet many words that are now scientific were common and popular in + the Greek idiom.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.90" id="linknote-43.90"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 90 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.90">return</a>)<br /> [ See Thucydides, l. ii. + c. 47—54, p. 127—133, edit. Duker, and the poetical + description of the same plague by Lucretius. (l. vi. 1136—1284.) I + was indebted to Dr. Hunter for an elaborate commentary on this part of + Thucydides, a quarto of 600 pages, (Venet. 1603, apud Juntas,) which was + pronounced in St. Mark’s Library by Fabius Paullinus Utinensis, a + physician and philosopher.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.91" id="linknote-43.91"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 91 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.91">return</a>)<br /> [ Thucydides (c. 51) + affirms, that the infection could only be once taken; but Evagrius, who + had family experience of the plague, observes, that some persons, who had + escaped the first, sunk under the second attack; and this repetition is + confirmed by Fabius Paullinus, (p. 588.) I observe, that on this head + physicians are divided; and the nature and operation of the disease may + not always be similar.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.92" id="linknote-43.92"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 92 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.92">return</a>)<br /> [ It was thus that + Socrates had been saved by his temperance, in the plague of Athens, (Aul. + Gellius, Noct. Attic. ii. l.) Dr. Mead accounts for the peculiar salubrity + of religious houses, by the two advantages of seclusion and abstinence, + (p. 18, 19.)] + </p> + <p> + Contagion is the inseparable symptom of the plague; which, by mutual + respiration, is transfused from the infected persons to the lungs and + stomach of those who approach them. While philosophers believe and + tremble, it is singular, that the existence of a real danger should have + been denied by a people most prone to vain and imaginary terrors. <a + href="#linknote-43.93" name="linknoteref-43.93" id="linknoteref-43.93">93</a> + Yet the fellow-citizens of Procopius were satisfied, by some short and + partial experience, that the infection could not be gained by the closest + conversation: <a href="#linknote-43.94" name="linknoteref-43.94" + id="linknoteref-43.94">94</a> and this persuasion might support the + assiduity of friends or physicians in the care of the sick, whom inhuman + prudence would have condemned to solitude and despair. But the fatal + security, like the predestination of the Turks, must have aided the + progress of the contagion; and those salutary precautions to which Europe + is indebted for her safety, were unknown to the government of Justinian. + No restraints were imposed on the free and frequent intercourse of the + Roman provinces: from Persia to France, the nations were mingled and + infected by wars and emigrations; and the pestilential odor which lurks + for years in a bale of cotton was imported, by the abuse of trade, into + the most distant regions. The mode of its propagation is explained by the + remark of Procopius himself, that it always spread from the sea-coast to + the inland country: the most sequestered islands and mountains were + successively visited; the places which had escaped the fury of its first + passage were alone exposed to the contagion of the ensuing year. The winds + might diffuse that subtile venom; but unless the atmosphere be previously + disposed for its reception, the plague would soon expire in the cold or + temperate climates of the earth. Such was the universal corruption of the + air, that the pestilence which burst forth in the fifteenth year of + Justinian was not checked or alleviated by any difference of the seasons. + In time, its first malignity was abated and dispersed; the disease + alternately languished and revived; but it was not till the end of a + calamitous period of fifty-two years, that mankind recovered their health, + or the air resumed its pure and salubrious quality. + </p> + <p> + No facts have been preserved to sustain an account, or even a conjecture, + of the numbers that perished in this extraordinary mortality. I only find, + that during three months, five, and at length ten, thousand persons died + each day at Constantinople; that many cities of the East were left vacant, + and that in several districts of Italy the harvest and the vintage + withered on the ground. The triple scourge of war, pestilence, and famine, + afflicted the subjects of Justinian; and his reign is disgraced by the + visible decrease of the human species, which has never been repaired in + some of the fairest countries of the globe. <a href="#linknote-43.95" + name="linknoteref-43.95" id="linknoteref-43.95">95</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.93" id="linknote-43.93"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 93 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.93">return</a>)<br /> [ Mead proves that the + plague is contagious from Thucydides, Lacretius, Aristotle, Galen, and + common experience, (p. 10—20;) and he refutes (Preface, p. 2—13) + the contrary opinion of the French physicians who visited Marseilles in + the year 1720. Yet these were the recent and enlightened spectators of a + plague which, in a few months, swept away 50,000 inhabitants (sur le Peste + de Marseille, Paris, 1786) of a city that, in the present hour of + prosperity and trade contains no more then 90,000 souls, (Necker, sur les + Finances, tom. i. p. 231.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.94" id="linknote-43.94"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 94 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.94">return</a>)<br /> [ The strong assertions + of Procopius are overthrown by the subsequent experience of Evagrius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-43.95" id="linknote-43.95"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 95 (<a href="#linknoteref-43.95">return</a>)<br /> [ After some figures of + rhetoric, the sands of the sea, &c., Procopius (Anecdot. c. 18) + attempts a more definite account; that it had been exterminated under the + reign of the Imperial demon. The expression is obscure in grammar and + arithmetic and a literal interpretation would produce several millions of + millions Alemannus (p. 80) and Cousin (tom. iii. p. 178) translate this + passage, “two hundred millions:” but I am ignorant of their motives. The + remaining myriad of myriads, would furnish one hundred millions, a number + not wholly inadmissible.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap44.1"></a> +Chapter XLIV: Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—The Laws Of The Kings—The Twelve +Of The Decemvirs.—The Laws Of The People.—The Decrees Of The +Senate.—The Edicts Of The Magistrates And Emperors—Authority Of The +Civilians.—Code, Pandects, Novels, And Institutes Of Justinian:—I. +Rights Of Persons.—II. Rights Of Things.—III. Private Injuries And +Actions.—IV. Crimes And Punishments. +</p> + <p> + Note: In the notes to this important chapter, which is received as the + text-book on Civil Law in some of the foreign universities, I have + consulted, + </p> + <p> + I. the newly-discovered Institutes of Gaius, (Gaii Institutiones, ed. + Goeschen, Berlin, 1824,) with some other fragments of the Roman law, + (Codicis Theodosiani Fragmenta inedita, ab Amadeo Peyron. Turin, 1824.) + </p> + <p> + II. The History of the Roman Law, by Professor Hugo, in the French + translation of M. Jourdan. Paris, 1825. + </p> + <p> + III. Savigny, Geschichte des Romischen Rechts im Mittelalter, 6 bande, + Heidelberg, 1815. + </p> + <p> + IV. Walther, Romische Rechts-Geschichte, Bonn. 1834. But I am particularly + indebted to an edition of the French translation of this chapter, with + additional notes, by one of the most learned civilians of Europe, + Professor Warnkonig, published at Liege, 1821. I have inserted almost the + whole of these notes, which are distinguished by the letter W.—M. + The vain titles of the victories of Justinian are crumbled into dust; but + the name of the legislator is inscribed on a fair and everlasting + monument. Under his reign, and by his care, the civil jurisprudence was + digested in the immortal works of the Code, the Pandects, and the + Institutes: <a href="#linknote-44.1" name="linknoteref-44.1" + id="linknoteref-44.1">1</a> the public reason of the Romans has been + silently or studiously transfused into the domestic institutions of + Europe, <a href="#linknote-44.2" name="linknoteref-44.2" id="linknoteref-44.2">2</a>, + and the laws of Justinian still command the respect or obedience of + independent nations. Wise or fortunate is the prince who connects his own + reputation with the honor or interest of a perpetual order of men. The + defence of their founder is the first cause, which in every age has + exercised the zeal and industry of the civilians. They piously commemorate + his virtues; dissemble or deny his failings; and fiercely chastise the + guilt or folly of the rebels, who presume to sully the majesty of the + purple. The idolatry of love has provoked, as it usually happens, the + rancor of opposition; the character of Justinian has been exposed to the + blind vehemence of flattery and invective; and the injustice of a sect + (the Anti-Tribonians,) has refused all praise and merit to the prince, his + ministers, and his laws. <a href="#linknote-44.3" name="linknoteref-44.3" + id="linknoteref-44.3">3</a> Attached to no party, interested only for the + truth and candor of history, and directed by the most temperate and + skilful guides, <a href="#linknote-44.4" name="linknoteref-44.4" + id="linknoteref-44.4">4</a> I enter with just diffidence on the subject of + civil law, which has exhausted so many learned lives, and clothed the + walls of such spacious libraries. In a single, if possible in a short, + chapter, I shall trace the Roman jurisprudence from Romulus to Justinian, + <a href="#linknote-44.5" name="linknoteref-44.5" id="linknoteref-44.5">5</a> + appreciate the labors of that emperor, and pause to contemplate the + principles of a science so important to the peace and happiness of + society. The laws of a nation form the most instructive portion of its + history; and although I have devoted myself to write the annals of a + declining monarchy, I shall embrace the occasion to breathe the pure and + invigorating air of the republic. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.1" id="linknote-44.1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.1">return</a>)<br /> [ The civilians of the + darker ages have established an absurd and incomprehensible mode of + quotation, which is supported by authority and custom. In their references + to the Code, the Pandects, and the Institutes, they mention the number, + not of the book, but only of the law; and content themselves with reciting + the first words of the title to which it belongs; and of these titles + there are more than a thousand. Ludewig (Vit. Justiniani, p. 268) wishes + to shake off this pendantic yoke; and I have dared to adopt the simple and + rational method of numbering the book, the title, and the law. Note: The + example of Gibbon has been followed by M Hugo and other civilians.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.2" id="linknote-44.2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.2">return</a>)<br /> [ Germany, Bohemia, + Hungary, Poland, and Scotland, have received them as common law or reason; + in France, Italy, &c., they possess a direct or indirect influence; + and they were respected in England, from Stephen to Edward I. our national + Justinian, (Duck. de Usu et Auctoritate Juris Civilis, l. ii. c. 1, 8—15. + Heineccius, Hist. Juris Germanici, c. 3, 4, No. 55-124, and the legal + historians of each country.) * Note: Although the restoration of the Roman + law, introduced by the revival of this study in Italy, is one of the most + important branches of history, it had been treated but imperfectly when + Gibbon wrote his work. That of Arthur Duck is but an insignificant + performance. But the researches of the learned have thrown much light upon + the matter. The Sarti, the Tiraboschi, the Fantuzzi, the Savioli, had made + some very interesting inquiries; but it was reserved for M. de Savigny, in + a work entitled “The History of the Roman Law during the Middle Ages,” to + cast the strongest right on this part of history. He demonstrates + incontestably the preservation of the Roman law from Justinian to the time + of the Glossators, who by their indefatigable zeal, propagated the study + of the Roman jurisprudence in all the countries of Europe. It is much to + be desired that the author should continue this interesting work, and that + the learned should engage in the inquiry in what manner the Roman law + introduced itself into their respective countries, and the authority which + it progressively acquired. For Belgium, there exists, on this subject, + (proposed by the Academy of Brussels in 1781,) a Collection of Memoirs, + printed at Brussels in 4to., 1783, among which should be distinguished + those of M. de Berg. M. Berriat Saint Prix has given us hopes of the + speedy appearance of a work in which he will discuss this question, + especially in relation to France. M. Spangenberg, in his Introduction to + the Study of the Corpus Juris Civilis Hanover, 1817, 1 vol. 8vo. p. 86, + 116, gives us a general sketch of the history of the Roman law in + different parts of Europe. We cannot avoid mentioning an elementary work + by M. Hugo, in which he treats of the History of the Roman Law from + Justinian to the present Time, 2d edit. Berlin 1818 W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.3" id="linknote-44.3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.3">return</a>)<br /> [ Francis Hottoman, a + learned and acute lawyer of the xvith century, wished to mortify Cujacius, + and to please the Chancellor de l’Hopital. His Anti-Tribonianus (which I + have never been able to procure) was published in French in 1609; and his + sect was propagated in Germany, (Heineccius, Op. tom. iii. sylloge iii. p. + 171—183.) * Note: Though there have always been many detractors of + the Roman law, no sect of Anti-Tribonians has ever existed under that + name, as Gibbon seems to suppose.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.4" id="linknote-44.4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.4">return</a>)<br /> [ At the head of these + guides I shall respectfully place the learned and perspicuous Heineccius, + a German professor, who died at Halle in the year 1741, (see his Eloge in + the Nouvelle Bibliotheque Germanique, tom. ii. p. 51—64.) His ample + works have been collected in eight volumes in 4to. Geneva, 1743-1748. The + treatises which I have separately used are, 1. Historia Juris Romani et + Germanici, Lugd. Batav. 1740, in 8 vo. 2. Syntagma Antiquitatum Romanam + Jurisprudentiam illustrantium, 2 vols. in 8 vo. Traject. ad Rhenum. 3. + Elementa Juris Civilis secundum Ordinem Institutionum, Lugd. Bat. 1751, in + 8 vo. 4. Elementa J. C. secundum Ordinem Pandectarum Traject. 1772, in + 8vo. 2 vols. * Note: Our author, who was not a lawyer, was necessarily + obliged to content himself with following the opinions of those writers + who were then of the greatest authority; but as Heineccius, + notwithstanding his high reputation for the study of the Roman law, knew + nothing of the subject on which he treated, but what he had learned from + the compilations of various authors, it happened that, in following the + sometimes rash opinions of these guides, Gibbon has fallen into many + errors, which we shall endeavor in succession to correct. The work of Bach + on the History of the Roman Jurisprudence, with which Gibbon was not + acquainted, is far superior to that of Heineccius and since that time we + have new obligations to the modern historic civilians, whose indefatigable + researches have greatly enlarged the sphere of our knowledge in this + important branch of history. We want a pen like that of Gibbon to give to + the more accurate notions which we have acquired since his time, the + brilliancy, the vigor, and the animation which Gibbon has bestowed on the + opinions of Heineccius and his contemporaries.—W] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.5" id="linknote-44.5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.5">return</a>)<br /> [ Our original text is a + fragment de Origine Juris (Pandect. l. i. tit. ii.) of Pomponius, a Roman + lawyer, who lived under the Antonines, (Heinecc. tom. iii. syl. iii. p. 66—126.) + It has been abridged, and probably corrupted, by Tribonian, and since + restored by Bynkershoek (Opp. tom. i. p. 279—304.)] + </p> + <p> + The primitive government of Rome <a href="#linknote-44.6" + name="linknoteref-44.6" id="linknoteref-44.6">6</a> was composed, with some + political skill, of an elective king, a council of nobles, and a general + assembly of the people. War and religion were administered by the supreme + magistrate; and he alone proposed the laws, which were debated in the + senate, and finally ratified or rejected by a majority of votes in the + thirty curiae or parishes of the city. Romulus, Numa, and Servius Tullius, + are celebrated as the most ancient legislators; and each of them claims + his peculiar part in the threefold division of jurisprudence. <a + href="#linknote-44.7" name="linknoteref-44.7" id="linknoteref-44.7">7</a> The + laws of marriage, the education of children, and the authority of parents, + which may seem to draw their origin from nature itself, are ascribed to + the untutored wisdom of Romulus. The law of nations and of religious + worship, which Numa introduced, was derived from his nocturnal converse + with the nymph Egeria. The civil law is attributed to the experience of + Servius: he balanced the rights and fortunes of the seven classes of + citizens; and guarded, by fifty new regulations, the observance of + contracts and the punishment of crimes. The state, which he had inclined + towards a democracy, was changed by the last Tarquin into a lawless + despotism; and when the kingly office was abolished, the patricians + engrossed the benefits of freedom. The royal laws became odious or + obsolete; the mysterious deposit was silently preserved by the priests and + nobles; and at the end of sixty years, the citizens of Rome still + complained that they were ruled by the arbitrary sentence of the + magistrates. Yet the positive institutions of the kings had blended + themselves with the public and private manners of the city, some fragments + of that venerable jurisprudence <a href="#linknote-44.8" + name="linknoteref-44.8" id="linknoteref-44.8">8</a> were compiled by the + diligence of antiquarians, <a href="#linknote-44.9" name="linknoteref-44.9" + id="linknoteref-44.9">9</a> and above twenty texts still speak the rudeness + of the Pelasgic idiom of the Latins. <a href="#linknote-44.10" + name="linknoteref-44.10" id="linknoteref-44.10">10</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.6" id="linknote-44.6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.6">return</a>)<br /> [ The constitutional + history of the kings of Rome may be studied in the first book of Livy, and + more copiously in Dionysius Halicarnassensis, (l. li. p. 80—96, 119—130, + l. iv. p. 198—220,) who sometimes betrays the character of a + rhetorician and a Greek. * Note: M. Warnkonig refers to the work of + Beaufort, on the Uncertainty of the Five First Ages of the Roman History, + with which Gibbon was probably acquainted, to Niebuhr, and to the less + known volume of Wachsmuth, “Aeltere Geschichte des Rom. Staats.” To these + I would add A. W. Schlegel’s Review of Niebuhr, and my friend Dr. Arnold’s + recently published volume, of which the chapter on the Law of the XII. + Tables appears to me one of the most valuable, if not the most valuable, + chapter.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.7" id="linknote-44.7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.7">return</a>)<br /> [ This threefold division + of the law was applied to the three Roman kings by Justus Lipsius, (Opp. + tom. iv. p. 279;) is adopted by Gravina, (Origines Juris Civilis, p. 28, + edit. Lips. 1737:) and is reluctantly admitted by Mascou, his German + editor. * Note: Whoever is acquainted with the real notions of the Romans + on the jus naturale, gentium et civile, cannot but disapprove of this + explanation which has no relation to them, and might be taken for a + pleasantry. It is certainly unnecessary to increase the confusion which + already prevails among modern writers on the true sense of these ideas. + Hugo.—W] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.8" id="linknote-44.8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.8">return</a>)<br /> [ The most ancient Code or + Digest was styled Jus Papirianum, from the first compiler, Papirius, who + flourished somewhat before or after the Regifugium, (Pandect. l. i. tit. + ii.) The best judicial critics, even Bynkershoek (tom. i. p. 284, 285) and + Heineccius, (Hist. J. C. R. l. i. c. 16, 17, and Opp. tom. iii. sylloge + iv. p. 1—8,) give credit to this tale of Pomponius, without + sufficiently adverting to the value and rarity of such a monument of the + third century, of the illiterate city. I much suspect that the Caius + Papirius, the Pontifex Maximus, who revived the laws of Numa (Dionys. Hal. + l. iii. p. 171) left only an oral tradition; and that the Jus Papirianum + of Granius Flaccus (Pandect. l. L. tit. xvi. leg. 144) was not a + commentary, but an original work, compiled in the time of Caesar, + (Censorin. de Die Natali, l. iii. p. 13, Duker de Latinitate J. C. p. + 154.) Note: Niebuhr considers the Jus Papirianum, adduced by Verrius + Fiaccus, to be of undoubted authenticity. Rom. Geschichte, l. 257.—M. + Compare this with the work of M. Hugo.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.9" id="linknote-44.9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.9">return</a>)<br /> [ A pompous, though feeble + attempt to restore the original, is made in the Histoire de la + Jurisprudence Romaine of Terasson, p. 22—72, Paris, 1750, in folio; + a work of more promise than performance.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.10" id="linknote-44.10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.10">return</a>)<br /> [ In the year 1444, seven + or eight tables of brass were dug up between Cortona and Gubio. A part of + these (for the rest is Etruscan) represents the primitive state of the + Pelasgic letters and language, which are ascribed by Herodotus to that + district of Italy, (l. i. c. 56, 57, 58;) though this difficult passage + may be explained of a Crestona in Thrace, (Notes de Larcher, tom. i. p. + 256—261.) The savage dialect of the Eugubine tables has exercised, + and may still elude, the divination of criticism; but the root is + undoubtedly Latin, of the same age and character as the Saliare Carmen, + which, in the time of Horace, none could understand. The Roman idiom, by + an infusion of Doric and Aeolic Greek, was gradually ripened into the + style of the xii. tables, of the Duillian column, of Ennius, of Terence, + and of Cicero, (Gruter. Inscript. tom. i. p. cxlii. Scipion Maffei, + Istoria Diplomatica, p. 241—258. Bibliotheque Italique, tom. iii. p. + 30—41, 174—205. tom. xiv. p. 1—52.) * Note: The Eugubine + Tables have exercised the ingenuity of the Italian and German critics; it + seems admitted (O. Muller, die Etrusker, ii. 313) that they are Tuscan. + See the works of Lanzi, Passeri, Dempster, and O. Muller.—M] + </p> + <p> + I shall not repeat the well-known story of the Decemvirs, <a + href="#linknote-44.11" name="linknoteref-44.11" id="linknoteref-44.11">11</a> + who sullied by their actions the honor of inscribing on brass, or wood, or + ivory, the Twelve Tables of the Roman laws. <a href="#linknote-44.12" + name="linknoteref-44.12" id="linknoteref-44.12">12</a> They were dictated by + the rigid and jealous spirit of an aristocracy, which had yielded with + reluctance to the just demands of the people. But the substance of the + Twelve Tables was adapted to the state of the city; and the Romans had + emerged from Barbarism, since they were capable of studying and embracing + the institutions of their more enlightened neighbors. <a + href="#linknote-44.1211" name="linknoteref-44.1211" id="linknoteref-44.1211">1211</a> + A wise Ephesian was driven by envy from his native country: before he + could reach the shores of Latium, he had observed the various forms of + human nature and civil society: he imparted his knowledge to the + legislators of Rome, and a statue was erected in the forum to the + perpetual memory of Hermodorus. <a href="#linknote-44.13" + name="linknoteref-44.13" id="linknoteref-44.13">13</a> The names and + divisions of the copper money, the sole coin of the infant state, were of + Dorian origin: <a href="#linknote-44.14" name="linknoteref-44.14" + id="linknoteref-44.14">14</a> the harvests of Campania and Sicily relieved + the wants of a people whose agriculture was often interrupted by war and + faction; and since the trade was established, <a href="#linknote-44.15" + name="linknoteref-44.15" id="linknoteref-44.15">15</a> the deputies who + sailed from the Tyber might return from the same harbors with a more + precious cargo of political wisdom. The colonies of Great Greece had + transported and improved the arts of their mother country. Cumae and + Rhegium, Crotona and Tarentum, Agrigentum and Syracuse, were in the rank + of the most flourishing cities. The disciples of Pythagoras applied + philosophy to the use of government; the unwritten laws of Charondas + accepted the aid of poetry and music, <a href="#linknote-44.16" + name="linknoteref-44.16" id="linknoteref-44.16">16</a> and Zaleucus framed + the republic of the Locrians, which stood without alteration above two + hundred years. <a href="#linknote-44.17" name="linknoteref-44.17" + id="linknoteref-44.17">17</a> From a similar motive of national pride, both + Livy and Dionysius are willing to believe, that the deputies of Rome + visited Athens under the wise and splendid administration of Pericles; and + the laws of Solon were transfused into the twelve tables. If such an + embassy had indeed been received from the Barbarians of Hesperia, the + Roman name would have been familiar to the Greeks before the reign of + Alexander; <a href="#linknote-44.18" name="linknoteref-44.18" + id="linknoteref-44.18">18</a> and the faintest evidence would have been + explored and celebrated by the curiosity of succeeding times. But the + Athenian monuments are silent; nor will it seem credible that the + patricians should undertake a long and perilous navigation to copy the + purest model of democracy. In the comparison of the tables of Solon with + those of the Decemvirs, some casual resemblance may be found; some rules + which nature and reason have revealed to every society; some proofs of a + common descent from Egypt or Phoenicia. <a href="#linknote-44.19" + name="linknoteref-44.19" id="linknoteref-44.19">19</a> But in all the great + lines of public and private jurisprudence, the legislators of Rome and + Athens appear to be strangers or adverse at each other. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.11" id="linknote-44.11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.11">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare Livy (l. iii. + c. 31—59) with Dionysius Halicarnassensis, (l. x. p. 644—xi. + p. 691.) How concise and animated is the Roman—how prolix and + lifeless the Greek! Yet he has admirably judged the masters, and defined + the rules, of historical composition.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.12" id="linknote-44.12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.12">return</a>)<br /> [ From the historians, + Heineccius (Hist. J. R. l. i. No. 26) maintains that the twelve tables + were of brass—aereas; in the text of Pomponius we read eboreas; for + which Scaliger has substituted roboreas, (Bynkershoek, p. 286.) Wood, + brass, and ivory, might be successively employed. Note: Compare Niebuhr, + vol. ii. p. 349, &c.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.1211" id="linknote-44.1211"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1211 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.1211">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare Niebuhr, + 355, note 720.—M. It is a most important question whether the twelve + tables in fact include laws imported from Greece. The negative opinion + maintained by our author, is now almost universally adopted, particularly + by Mm. Niebuhr, Hugo, and others. See my Institutiones Juris Romani + privati Leodii, 1819, p. 311, 312.—W. Dr. Arnold, p. 255, seems to + incline to the opposite opinion. Compare some just and sensible + observations in the Appendix to Mr. Travers Twiss’s Epitome of Niebuhr, p. + 347, Oxford, 1836.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.13" id="linknote-44.13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.13">return</a>)<br /> [ His exile is mentioned + by Cicero, (Tusculan. Quaestion. v. 36; his statue by Pliny, (Hist. Nat. + xxxiv. 11.) The letter, dream, and prophecy of Heraclitus, are alike + spurious, (Epistolae Graec. Divers. p. 337.) * Note: Compare Niebuhr, ii. + 209.—M. See the Mem de l’Academ. des Inscript. xxii. p. 48. It would + be difficult to disprove, that a certain Hermodorus had some share in + framing the Laws of the Twelve Tables. Pomponius even says that this + Hermodorus was the author of the last two tables. Pliny calls him the + Interpreter of the Decemvirs, which may lead us to suppose that he labored + with them in drawing up that law. But it is astonishing that in his + Dissertation, (De Hermodoro vero XII. Tabularum Auctore, Annales Academiae + Groninganae anni 1817, 1818,) M. Gratama has ventured to advance two + propositions entirely devoid of proof: “Decem priores tabulas ab ipsis + Romanis non esse profectas, tota confirma Decemviratus Historia,” et + “Hermodorum legum decemviralium ceri nominis auctorem esse, qui eas + composuerit suis ordinibus, disposuerit, suaque fecerit auctoritate, ut a + decemviris reciperentur.” This truly was an age in which the Roman + Patricians would allow their laws to be dictated by a foreign Exile! Mr. + Gratama does not attempt to prove the authenticity of the supposititious + letter of Heraclitus. He contents himself with expressing his astonishment + that M. Bonamy (as well as Gibbon) will be receive it as genuine.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.14" id="linknote-44.14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.14">return</a>)<br /> [ This intricate subject + of the Sicilian and Roman money, is ably discussed by Dr. Bentley, + (Dissertation on the Epistles of Phalaris, p. 427—479,) whose powers + in this controversy were called forth by honor and resentment.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.15" id="linknote-44.15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.15">return</a>)<br /> [ The Romans, or their + allies, sailed as far as the fair promontory of Africa, (Polyb. l. iii. p. + 177, edit. Casaubon, in folio.) Their voyages to Cumae, &c., are + noticed by Livy and Dionysius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.16" id="linknote-44.16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.16">return</a>)<br /> [ This circumstance would + alone prove the antiquity of Charondas, the legislator of Rhegium and + Catana, who, by a strange error of Diodorus Siculus (tom. i. l. xii. p. + 485—492) is celebrated long afterwards as the author of the policy + of Thurium.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.17" id="linknote-44.17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.17">return</a>)<br /> [ Zaleucus, whose + existence has been rashly attacked, had the merit and glory of converting + a band of outlaws (the Locrians) into the most virtuous and orderly of the + Greek republics. (See two Memoirs of the Baron de St. Croix, sur la + Legislation de la Grande Grece Mem. de l’Academie, tom. xlii. p. 276—333.) + But the laws of Zaleucus and Charondas, which imposed on Diodorus and + Stobaeus, are the spurious composition of a Pythagorean sophist, whose + fraud has been detected by the critical sagacity of Bentley, p. 335—377.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.18" id="linknote-44.18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.18">return</a>)<br /> [ I seize the opportunity + of tracing the progress of this national intercourse 1. Herodotus and + Thucydides (A. U. C. 300—350) appear ignorant of the name and + existence of Rome, (Joseph. contra Appion tom. ii. l. i. c. 12, p. 444, + edit. Havercamp.) 2. Theopompus (A. U. C. 400, Plin. iii. 9) mentions the + invasion of the Gauls, which is noticed in looser terms by Heraclides + Ponticus, (Plutarch in Camillo, p. 292, edit. H. Stephan.) 3. The real or + fabulous embassy of the Romans to Alexander (A. U. C. 430) is attested by + Clitarchus, (Plin. iii. 9,) by Aristus and Asclepiades, (Arrian. l. vii. + p. 294, 295,) and by Memnon of Heraclea, (apud Photium, cod. ccxxiv. p. + 725,) though tacitly denied by Livy. 4. Theophrastus (A. U. C. 440) primus + externorum aliqua de Romanis diligentius scripsit, (Plin. iii. 9.) 5. + Lycophron (A. U. C. 480—500) scattered the first seed of a Trojan + colony and the fable of the Aeneid, (Cassandra, 1226—1280.) A bold + prediction before the end of the first Punic war! * Note: Compare Niebuhr + throughout. Niebuhr has written a dissertation (Kleine Schriften, i. p. + 438,) arguing from this prediction, and on the other conclusive grounds, + that the Lycophron, the author of the Cassandra, is not the Alexandrian + poet. He had been anticipated in this sagacious criticism, as he + afterwards discovered, by a writer of no less distinction than Charles + James Fox.—Letters to Wakefield. And likewise by the author of the + extraordinary translation of this poem, that most promising scholar, Lord + Royston. See the Remains of Lord Royston, by the Rev. Henry Pepys, London, + 1838.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.19" id="linknote-44.19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.19">return</a>)<br /> [ The tenth table, de + modo sepulturae, was borrowed from Solon, (Cicero de Legibus, ii. 23—26:) + the furtem per lancem et licium conceptum, is derived by Heineccius from + the manners of Athens, (Antiquitat. Rom. tom. ii. p. 167—175.) The + right of killing a nocturnal thief was declared by Moses, Solon, and the + Decemvirs, (Exodus xxii. 3. Demosthenes contra Timocratem, tom. i. p. 736, + edit. Reiske. Macrob. Saturnalia, l. i. c. 4. Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et + Romanatum, tit, vii. No. i. p. 218, edit. Cannegieter.) *Note: Are not the + same points of similarity discovered in the legislation of all actions in + the infancy of their civilization?—W.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap44.2"></a> +Chapter XLIV: Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part II.</h2> + + <p> + Whatever might be the origin or the merit of the twelve tables, <a + href="#linknote-44.20" name="linknoteref-44.20" id="linknoteref-44.20">20</a> + they obtained among the Romans that blind and partial reverence which the + lawyers of every country delight to bestow on their municipal + institutions. The study is recommended by Cicero <a href="#linknote-44.21" + name="linknoteref-44.21" id="linknoteref-44.21">21</a> as equally pleasant + and instructive. “They amuse the mind by the remembrance of old words and + the portrait of ancient manners; they inculcate the soundest principles of + government and morals; and I am not afraid to affirm, that the brief + composition of the Decemvirs surpasses in genuine value the libraries of + Grecian philosophy. How admirable,” says Tully, with honest or affected + prejudice, “is the wisdom of our ancestors! We alone are the masters of + civil prudence, and our superiority is the more conspicuous, if we deign + to cast our eyes on the rude and almost ridiculous jurisprudence of Draco, + of Solon, and of Lycurgus.” The twelve tables were committed to the memory + of the young and the meditation of the old; they were transcribed and + illustrated with learned diligence; they had escaped the flames of the + Gauls, they subsisted in the age of Justinian, and their subsequent loss + has been imperfectly restored by the labors of modern critics. <a + href="#linknote-44.22" name="linknoteref-44.22" id="linknoteref-44.22">22</a> + But although these venerable monuments were considered as the rule of + right and the fountain of justice, <a href="#linknote-44.23" + name="linknoteref-44.23" id="linknoteref-44.23">23</a> they were overwhelmed + by the weight and variety of new laws, which, at the end of five + centuries, became a grievance more intolerable than the vices of the city. + <a href="#linknote-44.24" name="linknoteref-44.24" id="linknoteref-44.24">24</a> + Three thousand brass plates, the acts of the senate of the people, were + deposited in the Capitol: <a href="#linknote-44.25" name="linknoteref-44.25" + id="linknoteref-44.25">25</a> and some of the acts, as the Julian law + against extortion, surpassed the number of a hundred chapters. <a + href="#linknote-44.26" name="linknoteref-44.26" id="linknoteref-44.26">26</a> + The Decemvirs had neglected to import the sanction of Zaleucus, which so + long maintained the integrity of his republic. A Locrian, who proposed any + new law, stood forth in the assembly of the people with a cord round his + neck, and if the law was rejected, the innovator was instantly strangled. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.20" id="linknote-44.20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.20">return</a>)<br /> [ It is the praise of + Diodorus, (tom. i. l. xii. p. 494,) which may be fairly translated by the + eleganti atque absoluta brevitate verborum of Aulus Gellius, (Noct. Attic. + xxi. 1.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.21" id="linknote-44.21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.21">return</a>)<br /> [ Listen to Cicero (de + Legibus, ii. 23) and his representative Crassus, (de Oratore, i. 43, 44.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.22" id="linknote-44.22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.22">return</a>)<br /> [ See Heineccius, (Hist. + J. R. No. 29—33.) I have followed the restoration of the xii. tables + by Gravina (Origines J. C. p. 280—307) and Terrasson, (Hist. de la + Jurisprudence Romaine, p. 94—205.) Note: The wish expressed by + Warnkonig, that the text and the conjectural emendations on the fragments + of the xii. tables should be submitted to rigid criticism, has been + fulfilled by Dirksen, Uebersicht der bisherigen Versuche Leipzig Kritik + und Herstellung des Textes der Zwolf-Tafel-Fragmente, Leipzug, 1824.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.23" id="linknote-44.23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.23">return</a>)<br /> [ Finis aequi juris, + (Tacit. Annal. iii. 27.) Fons omnis publici et privati juris, (T. Liv. + iii. 34.) * Note: From the context of the phrase in Tacitus, “Nam secutae + leges etsi alquando in maleficos ex delicto; saepius tamen dissensione + ordinum * * * latae sunt,” it is clear that Gibbon has rendered this + sentence incorrectly. Hugo, Hist. p. 62.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.24" id="linknote-44.24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.24">return</a>)<br /> [ De principiis juris, et + quibus modis ad hanc multitudinem infinitam ac varietatem legum perventum + sit altius disseram, (Tacit. Annal. iii. 25.) This deep disquisition fills + only two pages, but they are the pages of Tacitus. With equal sense, but + with less energy, Livy (iii. 34) had complained, in hoc immenso aliarum + super alias acervatarum legum cumulo, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.25" id="linknote-44.25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.25">return</a>)<br /> [ Suetonius in + Vespasiano, c. 8.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.26" id="linknote-44.26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.26">return</a>)<br /> [ Cicero ad Familiares, + viii. 8.] + </p> + <p> + The Decemvirs had been named, and their tables were approved, by an + assembly of the centuries, in which riches preponderated against numbers. + To the first class of Romans, the proprietors of one hundred thousand + pounds of copper, <a href="#linknote-44.27" name="linknoteref-44.27" + id="linknoteref-44.27">27</a> ninety-eight votes were assigned, and only + ninety-five were left for the six inferior classes, distributed according + to their substance by the artful policy of Servius. But the tribunes soon + established a more specious and popular maxim, that every citizen has an + equal right to enact the laws which he is bound to obey. Instead of the + centuries, they convened the tribes; and the patricians, after an impotent + struggle, submitted to the decrees of an assembly, in which their votes + were confounded with those of the meanest plebeians. Yet as long as the + tribes successively passed over narrow bridges <a href="#linknote-44.28" + name="linknoteref-44.28" id="linknoteref-44.28">28</a> and gave their voices + aloud, the conduct of each citizen was exposed to the eyes and ears of his + friends and countrymen. The insolvent debtor consulted the wishes of his + creditor; the client would have blushed to oppose the views of his patron; + the general was followed by his veterans, and the aspect of a grave + magistrate was a living lesson to the multitude. A new method of secret + ballot abolished the influence of fear and shame, of honor and interest, + and the abuse of freedom accelerated the progress of anarchy and + despotism. <a href="#linknote-44.29" name="linknoteref-44.29" + id="linknoteref-44.29">29</a> The Romans had aspired to be equal; they were + levelled by the equality of servitude; and the dictates of Augustus were + patiently ratified by the formal consent of the tribes or centuries. Once, + and once only, he experienced a sincere and strenuous opposition. His + subjects had resigned all political liberty; they defended the freedom of + domestic life. A law which enforced the obligation, and strengthened the + bonds of marriage, was clamorously rejected; Propertius, in the arms of + Delia, applauded the victory of licentious love; and the project of reform + was suspended till a new and more tractable generation had arisen in the + world. <a href="#linknote-44.30" name="linknoteref-44.30" + id="linknoteref-44.30">30</a> Such an example was not necessary to instruct + a prudent usurper of the mischief of popular assemblies; and their + abolition, which Augustus had silently prepared, was accomplished without + resistance, and almost without notice, on the accession of his successor. + <a href="#linknote-44.31" name="linknoteref-44.31" id="linknoteref-44.31">31</a> + Sixty thousand plebeian legislators, whom numbers made formidable, and + poverty secure, were supplanted by six hundred senators, who held their + honors, their fortunes, and their lives, by the clemency of the emperor. + The loss of executive power was alleviated by the gift of legislative + authority; and Ulpian might assert, after the practice of two hundred + years, that the decrees of the senate obtained the force and validity of + laws. In the times of freedom, the resolves of the people had often been + dictated by the passion or error of the moment: the Cornelian, Pompeian, + and Julian laws were adapted by a single hand to the prevailing disorders; + but the senate, under the reign of the Caesars, was composed of + magistrates and lawyers, and in questions of private jurisprudence, the + integrity of their judgment was seldom perverted by fear or interest. <a + href="#linknote-44.32" name="linknoteref-44.32" id="linknoteref-44.32">32</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.27" id="linknote-44.27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.27">return</a>)<br /> [ Dionysius, with + Arbuthnot, and most of the moderns, (except Eisenschmidt de Ponderibus, + &c., p. 137—140,) represent the 100,000 asses by 10,000 Attic + drachmae, or somewhat more than 300 pounds sterling. But their calculation + can apply only to the latter times, when the as was diminished to 1-24th + of its ancient weight: nor can I believe that in the first ages, however + destitute of the precious metals, a single ounce of silver could have been + exchanged for seventy pounds of copper or brass. A more simple and + rational method is to value the copper itself according to the present + rate, and, after comparing the mint and the market price, the Roman and + avoirdupois weight, the primitive as or Roman pound of copper may be + appreciated at one English shilling, and the 100,000 asses of the first + class amounted to 5000 pounds sterling. It will appear from the same + reckoning, that an ox was sold at Rome for five pounds, a sheep for ten + shillings, and a quarter of wheat for one pound ten shillings, (Festus, p. + 330, edit. Dacier. Plin. Hist. Natur. xviii. 4:) nor do I see any reason + to reject these consequences, which moderate our ideas of the poverty of + the first Romans. * Note: Compare Niebuhr, English translation, vol. i. p. + 448, &c.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.28" id="linknote-44.28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.28">return</a>)<br /> [ Consult the common + writers on the Roman Comitia, especially Sigonius and Beaufort. Spanheim + (de Praestantia et Usu Numismatum, tom. ii. dissert. x. p. 192, 193) + shows, on a curious medal, the Cista, Pontes, Septa, Diribitor, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.29" id="linknote-44.29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.29">return</a>)<br /> [ Cicero (de Legibus, + iii. 16, 17, 18) debates this constitutional question, and assigns to his + brother Quintus the most unpopular side.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.30" id="linknote-44.30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.30">return</a>)<br /> [ Prae tumultu + recusantium perferre non potuit, (Sueton. in August. c. 34.) See + Propertius, l. ii. eleg. 6. Heineccius, in a separate history, has + exhausted the whole subject of the Julian and Papian Poppaean laws, (Opp. + tom. vii. P. i. p. 1—479.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.31" id="linknote-44.31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.31">return</a>)<br /> [ Tacit. Annal. i. 15. + Lipsius, Excursus E. in Tacitum. Note: This error of Gibbon has been long + detected. The senate, under Tiberius did indeed elect the magistrates, who + before that emperor were elected in the comitia. But we find laws enacted + by the people during his reign, and that of Claudius. For example; the + Julia-Norbana, Vellea, and Claudia de tutela foeminarum. Compare the Hist. + du Droit Romain, by M. Hugo, vol. ii. p. 55, 57. The comitia ceased + imperceptibly as the republic gradually expired.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.32" id="linknote-44.32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.32">return</a>)<br /> [ Non ambigitur senatum + jus facere posse, is the decision of Ulpian, (l. xvi. ad Edict. in + Pandect. l. i. tit. iii. leg. 9.) Pomponius taxes the comitia of the + people as a turba hominum, (Pandect. l. i. tit. ii. leg 9.) * Note: The + author adopts the opinion, that under the emperors alone the senate had a + share in the legislative power. They had nevertheless participated in it + under the Republic, since senatus-consulta relating to civil rights have + been preserved, which are much earlier than the reigns of Augustus or + Tiberius. It is true that, under the emperors, the senate exercised this + right more frequently, and that the assemblies of the people had become + much more rare, though in law they were still permitted, in the time of + Ulpian. (See the fragments of Ulpian.) Bach has clearly demonstrated that + the senate had the same power in the time of the Republic. It is natural + that the senatus-consulta should have been more frequent under the + emperors, because they employed those means of flattering the pride of the + senators, by granting them the right of deliberating on all affairs which + did not intrench on the Imperial power. Compare the discussions of M. + Hugo, vol. i. p. 284, et seq.—W.] + </p> + <p> + The silence or ambiguity of the laws was supplied by the occasional edicts + <a href="#linknote-44.3211" name="linknoteref-44.3211" + id="linknoteref-44.3211">3211</a> of those magistrates who were invested + with the honors of the state. <a href="#linknote-44.33" + name="linknoteref-44.33" id="linknoteref-44.33">33</a> This ancient + prerogative of the Roman kings was transferred, in their respective + offices, to the consuls and dictators, the censors and praetors; and a + similar right was assumed by the tribunes of the people, the ediles, and + the proconsuls. At Rome, and in the provinces, the duties of the subject, + and the intentions of the governor, were proclaimed; and the civil + jurisprudence was reformed by the annual edicts of the supreme judge, the + praetor of the city. <a href="#linknote-44.3311" name="linknoteref-44.3311" + id="linknoteref-44.3311">3311</a> As soon as he ascended his tribunal, he + announced by the voice of the crier, and afterwards inscribed on a white + wall, the rules which he proposed to follow in the decision of doubtful + cases, and the relief which his equity would afford from the precise rigor + of ancient statutes. A principle of discretion more congenial to monarchy + was introduced into the republic: the art of respecting the name, and + eluding the efficacy, of the laws, was improved by successive praetors; + subtleties and fictions were invented to defeat the plainest meaning of + the Decemvirs, and where the end was salutary, the means were frequently + absurd. The secret or probable wish of the dead was suffered to prevail + over the order of succession and the forms of testaments; and the + claimant, who was excluded from the character of heir, accepted with equal + pleasure from an indulgent praetor the possession of the goods of his late + kinsman or benefactor. In the redress of private wrongs, compensations and + fines were substituted to the obsolete rigor of the Twelve Tables; time + and space were annihilated by fanciful suppositions; and the plea of + youth, or fraud, or violence, annulled the obligation, or excused the + performance, of an inconvenient contract. A jurisdiction thus vague and + arbitrary was exposed to the most dangerous abuse: the substance, as well + as the form, of justice were often sacrificed to the prejudices of virtue, + the bias of laudable affection, and the grosser seductions of interest or + resentment. But the errors or vices of each praetor expired with his + annual office; such maxims alone as had been approved by reason and + practice were copied by succeeding judges; the rule of proceeding was + defined by the solution of new cases; and the temptations of injustice + were removed by the Cornelian law, which compelled the praetor of the year + to adhere to the spirit and letter of his first proclamation. <a + href="#linknote-44.34" name="linknoteref-44.34" id="linknoteref-44.34">34</a> + It was reserved for the curiosity and learning of Adrian, to accomplish + the design which had been conceived by the genius of Caesar; and the + praetorship of Salvius Julian, an eminent lawyer, was immortalized by the + composition of the Perpetual Edict. This well-digested code was ratified + by the emperor and the senate; the long divorce of law and equity was at + length reconciled; and, instead of the Twelve Tables, the perpetual edict + was fixed as the invariable standard of civil jurisprudence. <a + href="#linknote-44.35" name="linknoteref-44.35" id="linknoteref-44.35">35</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.3211" id="linknote-44.3211"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3211 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.3211">return</a>)<br /> [ There is a curious + passage from Aurelius, a writer on Law, on the Praetorian Præfect, quoted + in Lydus de Magistratibus, p. 32, edit. Hase. The Praetorian præfect was + to the emperor what the master of the horse was to the dictator under the + Republic. He was the delegate, therefore, of the full Imperial authority; + and no appeal could be made or exception taken against his edicts. I had + not observed this passage, when the third volume, where it would have been + more appropriately placed, passed through the press.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.33" id="linknote-44.33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.33">return</a>)<br /> [ The jus honorarium of + the praetors and other magistrates is strictly defined in the Latin text + to the Institutes, (l. i. tit. ii. No. 7,) and more loosely explained in + the Greek paraphrase of Theophilus, (p. 33—38, edit. Reitz,) who + drops the important word honorarium. * Note: The author here follows the + opinion of Heineccius, who, according to the idea of his master Thomasius, + was unwilling to suppose that magistrates exercising a judicial could + share in the legislative power. For this reason he represents the edicts + of the praetors as absurd. (See his work, Historia Juris Romani, 69, 74.) + But Heineccius had altogether a false notion of this important institution + of the Romans, to which we owe in a great degree the perfection of their + jurisprudence. Heineccius, therefore, in his own days had many opponents + of his system, among others the celebrated Ritter, professor at + Wittemberg, who contested it in notes appended to the work of Heineccius, + and retained in all subsequent editions of that book. After Ritter, the + learned Bach undertook to vindicate the edicts of the praetors in his + Historia Jurisprud. Rom. edit. 6, p. 218, 224. But it remained for a + civilian of our own days to throw light on the spirit and true character + of this institution. M. Hugo has completely demonstrated that the + praetorian edicts furnished the salutary means of perpetually harmonizing + the legislation with the spirit of the times. The praetors were the true + organs of public opinion. It was not according to their caprice that they + framed their regulations, but according to the manners and to the opinions + of the great civil lawyers of their day. We know from Cicero himself, that + it was esteemed a great honor among the Romans to publish an edict, well + conceived and well drawn. The most distinguished lawyers of Rome were + invited by the praetor to assist in framing this annual law, which, + according to its principle, was only a declaration which the praetor made + to the public, to announce the manner in which he would judge, and to + guard against every charge of partiality. Those who had reason to fear his + opinions might delay their cause till the following year. The praetor was + responsible for all the faults which he committed. The tribunes could + lodge an accusation against the praetor who issued a partial edict. He was + bound strictly to follow and to observe the regulations published by him + at the commencement of his year of office, according to the Cornelian law, + by which these edicts were called perpetual, and he could make no change + in a regulation once published. The praetor was obliged to submit to his + own edict, and to judge his own affairs according to its provisions. These + magistrates had no power of departing from the fundamental laws, or the + laws of the Twelve Tables. The people held them in such consideration, + that they rarely enacted laws contrary to their provisions; but as some + provisions were found inefficient, others opposed to the manners of the + people, and to the spirit of subsequent ages, the praetors, still + maintaining respect for the laws, endeavored to bring them into accordance + with the necessities of the existing time, by such fictions as best suited + the nature of the case. In what legislation do we not find these fictions, + which even yet exist, absurd and ridiculous as they are, among the ancient + laws of modern nations? These always variable edicts at length + comprehended the whole of the Roman legislature, and became the subject of + the commentaries of the most celebrated lawyers. They must therefore be + considered as the basis of all the Roman jurisprudence comprehended in the + Digest of Justinian. ——It is in this sense that M. Schrader + has written on this important institution, proposing it for imitation as + far as may be consistent with our manners, and agreeable to our political + institutions, in order to avoid immature legislation becoming a permanent + evil. See the History of the Roman Law by M. Hugo, vol. i. p. 296, &c., + vol. ii. p. 30, et seq., 78. et seq., and the note in my elementary book + on the Industries, p. 313. With regard to the works best suited to give + information on the framing and the form of these edicts, see Haubold, + Institutiones Literariae, tom. i. p. 321, 368. All that Heineccius says + about the usurpation of the right of making these edicts by the praetors + is false, and contrary to all historical testimony. A multitude of + authorities proves that the magistrates were under an obligation to + publish these edicts.—W. ——With the utmost deference for + these excellent civilians, I cannot but consider this confusion of the + judicial and legislative authority as a very perilous constitutional + precedent. It might answer among a people so singularly trained as the + Romans were by habit and national character in reverence for legal + institutions, so as to be an aristocracy, if not a people, of legislators; + but in most nations the investiture of a magistrate in such authority, + leaving to his sole judgment the lawyers he might consult, and the view of + public opinion which he might take, would be a very insufficient guaranty + for right legislation.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.3311" id="linknote-44.3311"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3311 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.3311">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare throughout + the brief but admirable sketch of the progress and growth of the Roman + jurisprudence, the necessary operation of the jusgentium, when Rome became + the sovereign of nations, upon the jus civile of the citizens of Rome, in + the first chapter of Savigny. Geschichte des Romischen Rechts im + Mittelalter.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.34" id="linknote-44.34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.34">return</a>)<br /> [ Dion Cassius (tom. i. + l. xxxvi. p. 100) fixes the perpetual edicts in the year of Rome, 686. + Their institution, however, is ascribed to the year 585 in the Acta + Diurna, which have been published from the papers of Ludovicus Vives. + Their authenticity is supported or allowed by Pighius, (Annal. Rom. tom. + ii. p. 377, 378,) Graevius, (ad Sueton. p. 778,) Dodwell, (Praelection. + Cambden, p. 665,) and Heineccius: but a single word, Scutum Cimbricum, + detects the forgery, (Moyle’s Works, vol. i. p. 303.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.35" id="linknote-44.35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.35">return</a>)<br /> [ The history of edicts + is composed, and the text of the perpetual edict is restored, by the + master-hand of Heineccius, (Opp. tom. vii. P. ii. p. 1—564;) in + whose researches I might safely acquiesce. In the Academy of Inscriptions, + M. Bouchaud has given a series of memoirs to this interesting subject of + law and literature. * Note: This restoration was only the commencement of + a work found among the papers of Heineccius, and published after his + death.—G. ——Note: Gibbon has here fallen into an error, + with Heineccius, and almost the whole literary world, concerning the real + meaning of what is called the perpetual edict of Hadrian. Since the + Cornelian law, the edicts were perpetual, but only in this sense, that the + praetor could not change them during the year of his magistracy. And + although it appears that under Hadrian, the civilian Julianus made, or + assisted in making, a complete collection of the edicts, (which certainly + had been done likewise before Hadrian, for example, by Ofilius, qui + diligenter edictum composuit,) we have no sufficient proof to admit the + common opinion, that the Praetorian edict was declared perpetually + unalterable by Hadrian. The writers on law subsequent to Hadrian (and + among the rest Pomponius, in his Summary of the Roman Jurisprudence) speak + of the edict as it existed in the time of Cicero. They would not certainly + have passed over in silence so remarkable a change in the most important + source of the civil law. M. Hugo has conclusively shown that the various + passages in authors, like Eutropius, are not sufficient to establish the + opinion introduced by Heineccius. Compare Hugo, vol. ii. p. 78. A new + proof of this is found in the Institutes of Gaius, who, in the first books + of his work, expresses himself in the same manner, without mentioning any + change made by Hadrian. Nevertheless, if it had taken place, he must have + noticed it, as he does l. i. 8, the responsa prudentum, on the occasion of + a rescript of Hadrian. There is no lacuna in the text. Why then should + Gaius maintain silence concerning an innovation so much more important + than that of which he speaks? After all, this question becomes of slight + interest, since, in fact, we find no change in the perpetual edict + inserted in the Digest, from the time of Hadrian to the end of that epoch, + except that made by Julian, (compare Hugo, l. c.) The latter lawyers + appear to follow, in their commentaries, the same texts as their + predecessors. It is natural to suppose, that, after the labors of so many + men distinguished in jurisprudence, the framing of the edict must have + attained such perfection that it would have been difficult to have made + any innovation. We nowhere find that the jurists of the Pandects disputed + concerning the words, or the drawing up of the edict. What difference + would, in fact, result from this with regard to our codes, and our modern + legislation? Compare the learned Dissertation of M. Biener, De Salvii + Juliani meritis in Edictum Praetorium recte aestimandis. Lipsae, 1809, + 4to.—W.] + </p> + <p> + From Augustus to Trajan, the modest Caesars were content to promulgate + their edicts in the various characters of a Roman magistrate; <a + href="#linknote-44.3511" name="linknoteref-44.3511" id="linknoteref-44.3511">3511</a> + and, in the decrees of the senate, the epistles and orations of the prince + were respectfully inserted. Adrian <a href="#linknote-44.36" + name="linknoteref-44.36" id="linknoteref-44.36">36</a> appears to have been + the first who assumed, without disguise, the plenitude of legislative + power. And this innovation, so agreeable to his active mind, was + countenanced by the patience of the times, and his long absence from the + seat of government. The same policy was embraced by succeeding monarchs, + and, according to the harsh metaphor of Tertullian, “the gloomy and + intricate forest of ancient laws was cleared away by the axe of royal + mandates and constitutions.” <a href="#linknote-44.37" + name="linknoteref-44.37" id="linknoteref-44.37">37</a> During four + centuries, from Adrian to Justinian the public and private jurisprudence + was moulded by the will of the sovereign; and few institutions, either + human or divine, were permitted to stand on their former basis. The origin + of Imperial legislation was concealed by the darkness of ages and the + terrors of armed despotism; and a double tiction was propagated by the + servility, or perhaps the ignorance, of the civilians, who basked in the + sunshine of the Roman and Byzantine courts. 1. To the prayer of the + ancient Caesars, the people or the senate had sometimes granted a personal + exemption from the obligation and penalty of particular statutes; and each + indulgence was an act of jurisdiction exercised by the republic over the + first of her citizens. His humble privilege was at length transformed into + the prerogative of a tyrant; and the Latin expression of “released from + the laws” <a href="#linknote-44.38" name="linknoteref-44.38" + id="linknoteref-44.38">38</a> was supposed to exalt the emperor above all + human restraints, and to leave his conscience and reason as the sacred + measure of his conduct. 2. A similar dependence was implied in the decrees + of the senate, which, in every reign, defined the titles and powers of an + elective magistrate. But it was not before the ideas, and even the + language, of the Romans had been corrupted, that a royal law, <a + href="#linknote-44.39" name="linknoteref-44.39" id="linknoteref-44.39">39</a> + and an irrevocable gift of the people, were created by the fancy of + Ulpian, or more probably of Tribonian himself; <a href="#linknote-44.40" + name="linknoteref-44.40" id="linknoteref-44.40">40</a> and the origin of + Imperial power, though false in fact, and slavish in its consequence, was + supported on a principle of freedom and justice. “The pleasure of the + emperor has the vigor and effect of law, since the Roman people, by the + royal law, have transferred to their prince the full extent of their own + power and sovereignty.” <a href="#linknote-44.41" name="linknoteref-44.41" + id="linknoteref-44.41">41</a> The will of a single man, of a child perhaps, + was allowed to prevail over the wisdom of ages and the inclinations of + millions; and the degenerate Greeks were proud to declare, that in his + hands alone the arbitrary exercise of legislation could be safely + deposited. “What interest or passion,” exclaims Theophilus in the court of + Justinian, “can reach the calm and sublime elevation of the monarch? He is + already master of the lives and fortunes of his subjects; and those who + have incurred his displeasure are already numbered with the dead.” <a + href="#linknote-44.42" name="linknoteref-44.42" id="linknoteref-44.42">42</a> + Disdaining the language of flattery, the historian may confess, that in + questions of private jurisprudence, the absolute sovereign of a great + empire can seldom be influenced by any personal considerations. Virtue, or + even reason, will suggest to his impartial mind, that he is the guardian + of peace and equity, and that the interest of society is inseparably + connected with his own. Under the weakest and most vicious reign, the seat + of justice was filled by the wisdom and integrity of Papinian and Ulpian; + <a href="#linknote-44.43" name="linknoteref-44.43" id="linknoteref-44.43">43</a> + and the purest materials of the Code and Pandects are inscribed with the + names of Caracalla and his ministers. <a href="#linknote-44.44" + name="linknoteref-44.44" id="linknoteref-44.44">44</a> The tyrant of Rome + was sometimes the benefactor of the provinces. A dagger terminated the + crimes of Domitian; but the prudence of Nerva confirmed his acts, which, + in the joy of their deliverance, had been rescinded by an indignant + senate. <a href="#linknote-44.45" name="linknoteref-44.45" + id="linknoteref-44.45">45</a> Yet in the rescripts, <a href="#linknote-44.46" + name="linknoteref-44.46" id="linknoteref-44.46">46</a> replies to the + consultations of the magistrates, the wisest of princes might be deceived + by a partial exposition of the case. And this abuse, which placed their + hasty decisions on the same level with mature and deliberate acts of + legislation, was ineffectually condemned by the sense and example of + Trajan. The rescripts of the emperor, his grants and decrees, his edicts + and pragmatic sanctions, were subscribed in purple ink, <a + href="#linknote-44.47" name="linknoteref-44.47" id="linknoteref-44.47">47</a> + and transmitted to the provinces as general or special laws, which the + magistrates were bound to execute, and the people to obey. But as their + number continually multiplied, the rule of obedience became each day more + doubtful and obscure, till the will of the sovereign was fixed and + ascertained in the Gregorian, the Hermogenian, and the Theodosian codes. + <a href="#linknote-44.4711" name="linknoteref-44.4711" + id="linknoteref-44.4711">4711</a> The two first, of which some fragments + have escaped, were framed by two private lawyers, to preserve the + constitutions of the Pagan emperors from Adrian to Constantine. The third, + which is still extant, was digested in sixteen books by the order of the + younger Theodosius to consecrate the laws of the Christian princes from + Constantine to his own reign. But the three codes obtained an equal + authority in the tribunals; and any act which was not included in the + sacred deposit might be disregarded by the judge as epurious or obsolete. + <a href="#linknote-44.48" name="linknoteref-44.48" id="linknoteref-44.48">48</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.3511" id="linknote-44.3511"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3511 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.3511">return</a>)<br /> [ It is an important + question in what manner the emperors were invested with this legislative + power. The newly discovered Gaius distinctly states that it was in virtue + of a law—Nec unquam dubitatum est, quin id legis vicem obtineat, cum + ipse imperator per legem imperium accipiat. But it is still uncertain + whether this was a general law, passed on the transition of the government + from a republican to a monarchical form, or a law passed on the accession + of each emperor. Compare Hugo, Hist. du Droit Romain, (French + translation,) vol. ii. p. 8.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.36" id="linknote-44.36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.36">return</a>)<br /> [ His laws are the first + in the code. See Dodwell, (Praelect. Cambden, p. 319—340,) who + wanders from the subject in confused reading and feeble paradox. * Note: + This is again an error which Gibbon shares with Heineccius, and the + generality of authors. It arises from having mistaken the insignificant + edict of Hadrian, inserted in the Code of Justinian, (lib. vi, tit. xxiii. + c. 11,) for the first constitutio principis, without attending to the + fact, that the Pandects contain so many constitutions of the emperors, + from Julius Caesar, (see l. i. Digest 29, l) M. Hugo justly observes, that + the acta of Sylla, approved by the senate, were the same thing with the + constitutions of those who after him usurped the sovereign power. + Moreover, we find that Pliny, and other ancient authors, report a + multitude of rescripts of the emperors from the time of Augustus. See + Hugo, Hist. du Droit Romain, vol. ii. p. 24-27.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.37" id="linknote-44.37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.37">return</a>)<br /> [ Totam illam veterem et + squalentem sylvam legum novis principalium rescriptorum et edictorum + securibus truncatis et caeditis; (Apologet. c. 4, p. 50, edit. Havercamp.) + He proceeds to praise the recent firmness of Severus, who repealed the + useless or pernicious laws, without any regard to their age or authority.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.38" id="linknote-44.38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.38">return</a>)<br /> [ The constitutional + style of Legibus Solutus is misinterpreted by the art or ignorance of Dion + Cassius, (tom. i. l. liii. p. 713.) On this occasion, his editor, Reimer, + joins the universal censure which freedom and criticism have pronounced + against that slavish historian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.39" id="linknote-44.39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.39">return</a>)<br /> [ The word (Lex Regia) + was still more recent than the thing. The slaves of Commodus or Caracalla + would have started at the name of royalty. Note: Yet a century before, + Domitian was called not only by Martial but even in public documents, + Dominus et Deus Noster. Sueton. Domit. cap. 13. Hugo.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.40" id="linknote-44.40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.40">return</a>)<br /> [ See Gravina (Opp. p. + 501—512) and Beaufort, (Republique Romaine, tom. i. p. 255—274.) + He has made a proper use of two dissertations by John Frederic Gronovius + and Noodt, both translated, with valuable notes, by Barbeyrac, 2 vols. in + 12mo. 1731.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.41" id="linknote-44.41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.41">return</a>)<br /> [ Institut. l. i. tit. + ii. No. 6. Pandect. l. i. tit. iv. leg. 1. Cod. Justinian, l. i. tit. + xvii. leg. 1, No. 7. In his Antiquities and Elements, Heineccius has amply + treated de constitutionibus principum, which are illustrated by Godefroy + (Comment. ad Cod. Theodos. l. i. tit. i. ii. iii.) and Gravina, (p. 87—90.) + ——Note: Gaius asserts that the Imperial edict or rescript has + and always had, the force of law, because the Imperial authority rests + upon law. Constitutio principis est, quod imperator decreto vel edicto, + vel epistola constituit, nee unquam dubitatum, quin id legis, vicem + obtineat, cum ipse imperator per legem imperium accipiat. Gaius, 6 Instit. + i. 2.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.42" id="linknote-44.42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.42">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophilus, in + Paraphras. Graec. Institut. p. 33, 34, edit. Reitz For his person, time, + writings, see the Theophilus of J. H. Mylius, Excurs. iii. p. 1034—1073.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.43" id="linknote-44.43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.43">return</a>)<br /> [ There is more envy than + reason in the complaint of Macrinus (Jul. Capitolin. c. 13:) Nefas esse + leges videri Commodi et Caracalla at hominum imperitorum voluntates. + Commodus was made a Divus by Severus, (Dodwell, Praelect. viii. p. 324, + 325.) Yet he occurs only twice in the Pandects.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.44" id="linknote-44.44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.44">return</a>)<br /> [ Of Antoninus Caracalla + alone 200 constitutions are extant in the Code, and with his father 160. + These two princes are quoted fifty times in the Pandects, and eight in the + Institutes, (Terasson, p. 265.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.45" id="linknote-44.45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.45">return</a>)<br /> [ Plin. Secund. Epistol. + x. 66. Sueton. in Domitian. c. 23.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.46" id="linknote-44.46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.46">return</a>)<br /> [ It was a maxim of + Constantine, contra jus rescripta non valeant, (Cod. Theodos. l. i. tit. + ii. leg. 1.) The emperors reluctantly allow some scrutiny into the law and + the fact, some delay, petition, &c.; but these insufficient remedies + are too much in the discretion and at the peril of the judge.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.47" id="linknote-44.47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.47">return</a>)<br /> [ A compound of vermilion + and cinnabar, which marks the Imperial diplomas from Leo I. (A.D. 470) to + the fall of the Greek empire, (Bibliotheque Raisonnee de la Diplomatique, + tom. i. p. 504—515 Lami, de Eruditione Apostolorum, tom. ii. p. + 720-726.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.4711" id="linknote-44.4711"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4711 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.4711">return</a>)<br /> [ Savigny states the + following as the authorities for the Roman law at the commencement of the + fifth century:— 1. The writings of the jurists, according to the + regulations of the Constitution of Valentinian III., first promulgated in + the West, but by its admission into the Theodosian Code established + likewise in the East. (This Constitution established the authority of the + five great jurists, Papinian, Paulus, Caius, Ulpian, and Modestinus as + interpreters of the ancient law. * * * In case of difference of opinion + among these five, a majority decided the case; where they were equal, the + opinion of Papinian, where he was silent, the judge; but see p. 40, and + Hugo, vol. ii. p. 89.) 2. The Gregorian and Hermogenian Collection of the + Imperial Rescripts. 3. The Code of Theodosius II. 4. The particular + Novellae, as additions and Supplements to this Code Savigny. vol. i. p 10.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.48" id="linknote-44.48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.48">return</a>)<br /> [ Schulting, + Jurisprudentia Ante-Justinianea, p. 681-718. Cujacius assigned to Gregory + the reigns from Hadrian to Gallienus. and the continuation to his + fellow-laborer Hermogenes. This general division may be just, but they + often trespassed on each other’s ground] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap44.3"></a> +Chapter XLIV: Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part III.</h2> + + <p> + Among savage nations, the want of letters is imperfectly supplied by the + use of visible signs, which awaken attention, and perpetuate the + remembrance of any public or private transaction. The jurisprudence of the + first Romans exhibited the scenes of a pantomime; the words were adapted + to the gestures, and the slightest error or neglect in the forms of + proceeding was sufficient to annul the substance of the fairest claim. The + communion of the marriage-life was denoted by the necessary elements of + fire and water; <a href="#linknote-44.49" name="linknoteref-44.49" + id="linknoteref-44.49">49</a> and the divorced wife resigned the bunch of + keys, by the delivery of which she had been invested with the government + of the family. The manumission of a son, or a slave, was performed by + turning him round with a gentle blow on the cheek; a work was prohibited + by the casting of a stone; prescription was interrupted by the breaking of + a branch; the clinched fist was the symbol of a pledge or deposit; the + right hand was the gift of faith and confidence. The indenture of + covenants was a broken straw; weights and scales were introduced into + every payment, and the heir who accepted a testament was sometimes obliged + to snap his fingers, to cast away his garments, and to leap or dance with + real or affected transport. <a href="#linknote-44.50" + name="linknoteref-44.50" id="linknoteref-44.50">50</a> If a citizen pursued + any stolen goods into a neighbor’s house, he concealed his nakedness with + a linen towel, and hid his face with a mask or basin, lest he should + encounter the eyes of a virgin or a matron. <a href="#linknote-44.51" + name="linknoteref-44.51" id="linknoteref-44.51">51</a> In a civil action the + plaintiff touched the ear of his witness, seized his reluctant adversary + by the neck, and implored, in solemn lamentation, the aid of his + fellow-citizens. The two competitors grasped each other’s hand as if they + stood prepared for combat before the tribunal of the praetor; he commanded + them to produce the object of the dispute; they went, they returned with + measured steps, and a clod of earth was cast at his feet to represent the + field for which they contended. This occult science of the words and + actions of law was the inheritance of the pontiffs and patricians. Like + the Chaldean astrologers, they announced to their clients the days of + business and repose; these important trifles were interwoven with the + religion of Numa; and after the publication of the Twelve Tables, the + Roman people was still enslaved by the ignorance of judicial proceedings. + The treachery of some plebeian officers at length revealed the profitable + mystery: in a more enlightened age, the legal actions were derided and + observed; and the same antiquity which sanctified the practice, + obliterated the use and meaning of this primitive language. <a + href="#linknote-44.52" name="linknoteref-44.52" id="linknoteref-44.52">52</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.49" id="linknote-44.49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.49">return</a>)<br /> [ Scaevola, most probably + Q. Cervidius Scaevola; the master of Papinian considers this acceptance of + fire and water as the essence of marriage, (Pandect. l. xxiv. tit. 1, leg. + 66. See Heineccius, Hist. J. R. No. 317.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.50" id="linknote-44.50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.50">return</a>)<br /> [ Cicero (de Officiis, + iii. 19) may state an ideal case, but St. Am brose (de Officiis, iii. 2,) + appeals to the practice of his own times, which he understood as a lawyer + and a magistrate, (Schulting ad Ulpian, Fragment. tit. xxii. No. 28, p. + 643, 644.) * Note: In this passage the author has endeavored to collect + all the examples of judicial formularies which he could find. That which + he adduces as the form of cretio haereditatis is absolutely false. It is + sufficient to glance at the passage in Cicero which he cites, to see that + it has no relation to it. The author appeals to the opinion of Schulting, + who, in the passage quoted, himself protests against the ridiculous and + absurd interpretation of the passage in Cicero, and observes that Graevius + had already well explained the real sense. See in Gaius the form of cretio + haereditatis Inst. l. ii. p. 166.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.51" id="linknote-44.51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.51">return</a>)<br /> [ The furtum lance + licioque conceptum was no longer understood in the time of the Antonines, + (Aulus Gellius, xvi. 10.) The Attic derivation of Heineccius, (Antiquitat. + Rom. l. iv. tit. i. No. 13—21) is supported by the evidence of + Aristophanes, his scholiast, and Pollux. * Note: Nothing more is known of + this ceremony; nevertheless we find that already in his own days Gaius + turned it into ridicule. He says, (lib. iii. et p. 192, Sections 293,) + prohibiti actio quadrupli ex edicto praetoris introducta est; lex autem eo + nomine nullam poenam constituit. Hoc solum praecepit, ut qui quaerere + velit, nudus quaerat, linteo cinctus, lancem habens; qui si quid + invenerit. jubet id lex furtum manifestum esse. Quid sit autem linteum? + quaesitum est. Sed verius est consuti genus esse, quo necessariae partes + tegerentur. Quare lex tota ridicula est. Nam qui vestitum quaerere + prohibet, is et nudum quaerere prohibiturus est; eo magis, quod invenerit + ibi imponat, neutrum eorum procedit, si id quod quaeratur, ejus + magnitudinis aut naturae sit ut neque subjici, neque ibi imponi possit. + Certe non dubitatur, cujuscunque materiae sit ea lanx, satis legi fieri. + We see moreover, from this passage, that the basin, as most authors, + resting on the authority of Festus, have supposed, was not used to cover + the figure.—W. Gibbon says the face, though equally inaccurately. + This passage of Gaius, I must observe, as well as others in M. Warnkonig’s + work, is very inaccurately printed.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.52" id="linknote-44.52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.52">return</a>)<br /> [ In his Oration for + Murena, (c. 9—13,) Cicero turns into ridicule the forms and + mysteries of the civilians, which are represented with more candor by + Aulus Gellius, (Noct. Attic. xx. 10,) Gravina, (Opp p. 265, 266, 267,) and + Heineccius, (Antiquitat. l. iv. tit. vi.) * Note: Gibbon had conceived + opinions too decided against the forms of procedure in use among the + Romans. Yet it is on these solemn forms that the certainty of laws has + been founded among all nations. Those of the Romans were very intimately + allied with the ancient religion, and must of necessity have disappeared + as Rome attained a higher degree of civilization. Have not modern nations, + even the most civilized, overloaded their laws with a thousand forms, + often absurd, almost always trivial? How many examples are afforded by the + English law! See, on the nature of these forms, the work of M. de Savigny + on the Vocation of our Age for Legislation and Jurisprudence, Heidelberg, + 1814, p. 9, 10.—W. This work of M. Savigny has been translated into + English by Mr. Hayward.—M.] + </p> + <p> + A more liberal art was cultivated, however, by the sages of Rome, who, in a + stricter sense, may be considered as the authors of the civil law. The + alteration of the idiom and manners of the Romans rendered the style of + the Twelve Tables less familiar to each rising generation, and the + doubtful passages were imperfectly explained by the study of legal + antiquarians. To define the ambiguities, to circumscribe the latitude, to + apply the principles, to extend the consequences, to reconcile the real or + apparent contradictions, was a much nobler and more important task; and + the province of legislation was silently invaded by the expounders of + ancient statutes. Their subtle interpretations concurred with the equity + of the praetor, to reform the tyranny of the darker ages: however strange + or intricate the means, it was the aim of artificial jurisprudence to + restore the simple dictates of nature and reason, and the skill of private + citizens was usefully employed to undermine the public institutions of + their country. <a href="#linknote-44.521" name="linknoteref-44.521" + id="linknoteref-44.521">521</a> The revolution of almost one thousand + years, from the Twelve Tables to the reign of Justinian, may be divided + into three periods, almost equal in duration, and distinguished from each + other by the mode of instruction and the character of the civilians. <a + href="#linknote-44.53" name="linknoteref-44.53" id="linknoteref-44.53">53</a> + Pride and ignorance contributed, during the first period, to confine + within narrow limits the science of the Roman law. On the public days of + market or assembly, the masters of the art were seen walking in the forum + ready to impart the needful advice to the meanest of their + fellow-citizens, from whose votes, on a future occasion, they might + solicit a grateful return. As their years and honors increased, they + seated themselves at home on a chair or throne, to expect with patient + gravity the visits of their clients, who at the dawn of day, from the town + and country, began to thunder at their door. The duties of social life, + and the incidents of judicial proceeding, were the ordinary subject of + these consultations, and the verbal or written opinion of the + juris-consults was framed according to the rules of prudence and law. The + youths of their own order and family were permitted to listen; their + children enjoyed the benefit of more private lessons, and the Mucian race + was long renowned for the hereditary knowledge of the civil law. The + second period, the learned and splendid age of jurisprudence, may be + extended from the birth of Cicero to the reign of Severus Alexander. A + system was formed, schools were instituted, books were composed, and both + the living and the dead became subservient to the instruction of the + student. The tripartite of Aelius Paetus, surnamed Catus, or the Cunning, + was preserved as the oldest work of Jurisprudence. Cato the censor derived + some additional fame from his legal studies, and those of his son: the + kindred appellation of Mucius Scaevola was illustrated by three sages of + the law; but the perfection of the science was ascribed to Servius + Sulpicius, their disciple, and the friend of Tully; and the long + succession, which shone with equal lustre under the republic and under the + Caesars, is finally closed by the respectable characters of Papinian, of + Paul, and of Ulpian. Their names, and the various titles of their + productions, have been minutely preserved, and the example of Labeo may + suggest some idea of their diligence and fecundity. That eminent lawyer of + the Augustan age divided the year between the city and country, between + business and composition; and four hundred books are enumerated as the + fruit of his retirement. Of the collection of his rival Capito, the two + hundred and fifty-ninth book is expressly quoted; and few teachers could + deliver their opinions in less than a century of volumes. In the third + period, between the reigns of Alexander and Justinian, the oracles of + jurisprudence were almost mute. The measure of curiosity had been filled: + the throne was occupied by tyrants and Barbarians, the active spirits were + diverted by religious disputes, and the professors of Rome, + Constantinople, and Berytus, were humbly content to repeat the lessons of + their more enlightened predecessors. From the slow advances and rapid + decay of these legal studies, it may be inferred, that they require a + state of peace and refinement. From the multitude of voluminous civilians + who fill the intermediate space, it is evident that such studies may be + pursued, and such works may be performed, with a common share of judgment, + experience, and industry. The genius of Cicero and Virgil was more + sensibly felt, as each revolving age had been found incapable of producing + a similar or a second: but the most eminent teachers of the law were + assured of leaving disciples equal or superior to themselves in merit and + reputation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.521" id="linknote-44.521"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 521 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.521">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare, on the + Responsa Prudentum, Warnkonig, Histoire Externe du Droit Romain Bruxelles, + 1836, p. 122.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.53" id="linknote-44.53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.53">return</a>)<br /> [ The series of the civil + lawyers is deduced by Pomponius, (de Origine Juris Pandect. l. i. tit. + ii.) The moderns have discussed, with learning and criticism, this branch + of literary history; and among these I have chiefly been guided by Gravina + (p. 41—79) and Hei neccius, (Hist. J. R. No. 113-351.) Cicero, more + especially in his books de Oratore, de Claris Oratoribus, de Legibus, and + the Clavie Ciceroniana of Ernesti (under the names of Mucius, &c.) + afford much genuine and pleasing information. Horace often alludes to the + morning labors of the civilians, (Serm. I. i. 10, Epist. II. i. 103, &c) + </p> +<p class="foot"> +<br />Agricolam laudat juris legumque peritus<br /> +Sub galli cantum, consultor ubi ostia pulsat.<br /> + ——————<br /> + Romæ dulce diu fuit et solemne, reclusâ<br /> + Mane domo vigilare, clienti promere jura.<br /><br /> +</p> + <p class="foot"> + * Note: It is particularly in this division of the history of the Roman + jurisprudence into epochs, that Gibbon displays his profound knowledge of + the laws of this people. M. Hugo, adopting this division, prefaced these + three periods with the history of the times anterior to the Law of the + Twelve Tables, which are, as it were, the infancy of the Roman law.—W] + </p> + <p> + The jurisprudence which had been grossly adapted to the wants of the first + Romans, was polished and improved in the seventh century of the city, by + the alliance of Grecian philosophy. The Scaevolas had been taught by use + and experience; but Servius Sulpicius <a href="#linknote-44.5311" + name="linknoteref-44.5311" id="linknoteref-44.5311">5311</a> was the first + civilian who established his art on a certain and general theory. <a + href="#linknote-44.54" name="linknoteref-44.54" id="linknoteref-44.54">54</a> + For the discernment of truth and falsehood he applied, as an infallible + rule, the logic of Aristotle and the stoics, reduced particular cases to + general principles, and diffused over the shapeless mass the light of + order and eloquence. Cicero, his contemporary and friend, declined the + reputation of a professed lawyer; but the jurisprudence of his country was + adorned by his incomparable genius, which converts into gold every object + that it touches. After the example of Plato, he composed a republic; and, + for the use of his republic, a treatise of laws; in which he labors to + deduce from a celestial origin the wisdom and justice of the Roman + constitution. The whole universe, according to his sublime hypothesis, + forms one immense commonwealth: gods and men, who participate of the same + essence, are members of the same community; reason prescribes the law of + nature and nations; and all positive institutions, however modified by + accident or custom, are drawn from the rule of right, which the Deity has + inscribed on every virtuous mind. From these philosophical mysteries, he + mildly excludes the sceptics who refuse to believe, and the epicureans who + are unwilling to act. The latter disdain the care of the republic: he + advises them to slumber in their shady gardens. But he humbly entreats + that the new academy would be silent, since her bold objections would too + soon destroy the fair and well ordered structure of his lofty system. <a + href="#linknote-44.55" name="linknoteref-44.55" id="linknoteref-44.55">55</a> + Plato, Aristotle, and Zeno, he represents as the only teachers who arm and + instruct a citizen for the duties of social life. Of these, the armor of + the stoics <a href="#linknote-44.56" name="linknoteref-44.56" + id="linknoteref-44.56">56</a> was found to be of the firmest temper; and it + was chiefly worn, both for use and ornament, in the schools of + jurisprudence. From the portico, the Roman civilians learned to live, to + reason, and to die: but they imbibed in some degree the prejudices of the + sect; the love of paradox, the pertinacious habits of dispute, and a + minute attachment to words and verbal distinctions. The superiority of + form to matter was introduced to ascertain the right of property: and the + equality of crimes is countenanced by an opinion of Trebatius, <a + href="#linknote-44.57" name="linknoteref-44.57" id="linknoteref-44.57">57</a> + that he who touches the ear, touches the whole body; and that he who + steals from a heap of corn, or a hogshead of wine, is guilty of the entire + theft. <a href="#linknote-44.58" name="linknoteref-44.58" + id="linknoteref-44.58">58</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.5311" id="linknote-44.5311"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5311 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.5311">return</a>)<br /> [ M. Hugo thinks that + the ingenious system of the Institutes adopted by a great number of the + ancient lawyers, and by Justinian himself, dates from Severus Sulpicius. + Hist du Droit Romain, vol.iii.p. 119.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.54" id="linknote-44.54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.54">return</a>)<br /> [ Crassus, or rather + Cicero himself, proposes (de Oratore, i. 41, 42) an idea of the art or + science of jurisprudence, which the eloquent, but illiterate, Antonius (i. + 58) affects to deride. It was partly executed by Servius Sulpicius, (in + Bruto, c. 41,) whose praises are elegantly varied in the classic Latinity + of the Roman Gravina, (p. 60.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.55" id="linknote-44.55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.55">return</a>)<br /> [ Perturbatricem autem + omnium harum rerum academiam, hanc ab Arcesila et Carneade recentem, + exoremus ut sileat, nam si invaserit in haec, quae satis scite instructa + et composita videantur, nimis edet ruinas, quam quidem ego placare cupio, + submovere non audeo. (de Legibus, i. 13.) From this passage alone, Bentley + (Remarks on Free-thinking, p. 250) might have learned how firmly Cicero + believed in the specious doctrines which he has adorned.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.56" id="linknote-44.56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.56">return</a>)<br /> [ The stoic philosophy + was first taught at Rome by Panaetius, the friend of the younger Scipio, + (see his life in the Mem. de l’Academis des Inscriptions, tom. x. p. 75—89.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.57" id="linknote-44.57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.57">return</a>)<br /> [ As he is quoted by + Ulpian, (leg.40, 40, ad Sabinum in Pandect. l. xlvii. tit. ii. leg. 21.) + Yet Trebatius, after he was a leading civilian, que qui familiam duxit, + became an epicurean, (Cicero ad Fam. vii. 5.) Perhaps he was not constant + or sincere in his new sect. * Note: Gibbon had entirely misunderstood this + phrase of Cicero. It was only since his time that the real meaning of the + author was apprehended. Cicero, in enumerating the qualifications of + Trebatius, says, Accedit etiam, quod familiam ducit in jure civili, + singularis memoria, summa scientia, which means that Trebatius possessed a + still further most important qualification for a student of civil law, a + remarkable memory, &c. This explanation, already conjectured by G. + Menage, Amaenit. Juris Civilis, c. 14, is found in the dictionary of + Scheller, v. Familia, and in the History of the Roman Law by M. Hugo. Many + authors have asserted, without any proof sufficient to warrant the + conjecture, that Trebatius was of the school of Epicurus—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.58" id="linknote-44.58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.58">return</a>)<br /> [ See Gravina (p. 45—51) + and the ineffectual cavils of Mascou. Heineccius (Hist. J. R. No. 125) + quotes and approves a dissertation of Everard Otto, de Stoica + Jurisconsultorum Philosophia.] + </p> + <p> + Arms, eloquence, and the study of the civil law, promoted a citizen to the + honors of the Roman state; and the three professions were sometimes more + conspicuous by their union in the same character. In the composition of + the edict, a learned praetor gave a sanction and preference to his private + sentiments; the opinion of a censor, or a counsel, was entertained with + respect; and a doubtful interpretation of the laws might be supported by + the virtues or triumphs of the civilian. The patrician arts were long + protected by the veil of mystery; and in more enlightened times, the + freedom of inquiry established the general principles of jurisprudence. + Subtile and intricate cases were elucidated by the disputes of the forum: + rules, axioms, and definitions, <a href="#linknote-44.59" + name="linknoteref-44.59" id="linknoteref-44.59">59</a> were admitted as the + genuine dictates of reason; and the consent of the legal professors was + interwoven into the practice of the tribunals. But these interpreters + could neither enact nor execute the laws of the republic; and the judges + might disregard the authority of the Scaevolas themselves, which was often + overthrown by the eloquence or sophistry of an ingenious pleader. <a + href="#linknote-44.60" name="linknoteref-44.60" id="linknoteref-44.60">60</a> + Augustus and Tiberius were the first to adopt, as a useful engine, the + science of the civilians; and their servile labors accommodated the old + system to the spirit and views of despotism. Under the fair pretence of + securing the dignity of the art, the privilege of subscribing legal and + valid opinions was confined to the sages of senatorian or equestrian rank, + who had been previously approved by the judgment of the prince; and this + monopoly prevailed, till Adrian restored the freedom of the profession to + every citizen conscious of his abilities and knowledge. The discretion of + the praetor was now governed by the lessons of his teachers; the judges + were enjoined to obey the comment as well as the text of the law; and the + use of codicils was a memorable innovation, which Augustus ratified by the + advice of the civilians. <a href="#linknote-44.61" name="linknoteref-44.61" + id="linknoteref-44.61">61</a> <a href="#linknote-44.6111" + name="linknoteref-44.6111" id="linknoteref-44.6111">6111</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.59" id="linknote-44.59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.59">return</a>)<br /> [ We have heard of the + Catonian rule, the Aquilian stipulation, and the Manilian forms, of 211 + maxims, and of 247 definitions, (Pandect. l. i. tit. xvi. xvii.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.60" id="linknote-44.60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.60">return</a>)<br /> [ Read Cicero, l. i. de + Oratore, Topica, pro Murena.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.61" id="linknote-44.61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.61">return</a>)<br /> [ See Pomponius, (de + Origine Juris Pandect. l. i. tit. ii. leg. 2, No 47,) Heineccius, (ad + Institut. l. i. tit. ii. No. 8, l. ii. tit. xxv. in Element et + Antiquitat.,) and Gravina, (p. 41—45.) Yet the monopoly of Augustus, + a harsh measure, would appear with some softening in contemporary + evidence; and it was probably veiled by a decree of the senate] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.6111" id="linknote-44.6111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6111 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.6111">return</a>)<br /> [ The author here + follows the then generally received opinion of Heineccius. The proofs + which appear to confirm it are l. 2 47, D. I. 2, and 8. Instit. I. 2. The + first of these passages speaks expressly of a privilege granted to certain + lawyers, until the time of Adrian, publice respondendi jus ante Augusti + tempora non dabatur. Primus Divus ut major juris auctoritas haberetur, + constituit, ut ex auctoritate ejus responderent. The passage of the + Institutes speaks of the different opinions of those, quibus est permissum + jura condere. It is true that the first of these passages does not say + that the opinion of these privileged lawyers had the force of a law for + the judges. For this reason M. Hugo altogether rejects the opinion adopted + by Heineccius, by Bach, and in general by all the writers who preceded + him. He conceives that the 8 of the Institutes referred to the + constitution of Valentinian III., which regulated the respective authority + to be ascribed to the different writings of the great civilians. But we + have now the following passage in the Institutes of Gaius: Responsa + prudentum sunt sententiae et opiniones eorum, quibus permissum est jura + condere; quorum omnium si in unum sententiae concorrupt, id quod ita + sentiunt, legis vicem obtinet, si vero dissentiunt, judici licet, quam + velit sententiam sequi, idque rescripto Divi Hadrian signiticatur. I do + not know, how in opposition to this passage, the opinion of M. Hugo can be + maintained. We must add to this the passage quoted from Pomponius and from + such strong proofs, it seems incontestable that the emperors had granted + some kind of privilege to certain civilians, quibus permissum erat jura + condere. Their opinion had sometimes the force of law, legis vicem. M. + Hugo, endeavoring to reconcile this phrase with his system, gives it a + forced interpretation, which quite alters the sense; he supposes that the + passage contains no more than what is evident of itself, that the + authority of the civilians was to be respected, thus making a privilege of + that which was free to all the world. It appears to me almost + indisputable, that the emperors had sanctioned certain provisions relative + to the authority of these civilians, consulted by the judges. But how far + was their advice to be respected? This is a question which it is + impossible to answer precisely, from the want of historic evidence. Is it + not possible that the emperors established an authority to be consulted by + the judges? and in this case this authority must have emanated from + certain civilians named for this purpose by the emperors. See Hugo, l. c. + Moreover, may not the passage of Suetonius, in the Life of Caligula, where + he says that the emperor would no longer permit the civilians to give + their advice, mean that Caligula entertained the design of suppressing + this institution? See on this passage the Themis, vol. xi. p. 17, 36. Our + author not being acquainted with the opinions opposed to Heineccius has + not gone to the bottom of the subject.—W.] + </p> + <p> + The most absolute mandate could only require that the judges should agree + with the civilians, if the civilians agreed among themselves. But positive + institutions are often the result of custom and prejudice; laws and + language are ambiguous and arbitrary; where reason is incapable of + pronouncing, the love of argument is inflamed by the envy of rivals, the + vanity of masters, the blind attachment of their disciples; and the Roman + jurisprudence was divided by the once famous sects of the Proculians and + Sabinians. <a href="#linknote-44.62" name="linknoteref-44.62" + id="linknoteref-44.62">62</a> Two sages of the law, Ateius Capito and + Antistius Labeo, <a href="#linknote-44.63" name="linknoteref-44.63" + id="linknoteref-44.63">63</a> adorned the peace of the Augustan age; the + former distinguished by the favor of his sovereign; the latter more + illustrious by his contempt of that favor, and his stern though harmless + opposition to the tyrant of Rome. Their legal studies were influenced by + the various colors of their temper and principles. Labeo was attached to + the form of the old republic; his rival embraced the more profitable + substance of the rising monarchy. But the disposition of a courtier is + tame and submissive; and Capito seldom presumed to deviate from the + sentiments, or at least from the words, of his predecessors; while the + bold republican pursued his independent ideas without fear of paradox or + innovations. The freedom of Labeo was enslaved, however, by the rigor of + his own conclusions, and he decided, according to the letter of the law, + the same questions which his indulgent competitor resolved with a latitude + of equity more suitable to the common sense and feelings of mankind. If a + fair exchange had been substituted to the payment of money, Capito still + considered the transaction as a legal sale; <a href="#linknote-44.64" + name="linknoteref-44.64" id="linknoteref-44.64">64</a> and he consulted + nature for the age of puberty, without confining his definition to the + precise period of twelve or fourteen years. <a href="#linknote-44.65" + name="linknoteref-44.65" id="linknoteref-44.65">65</a> This opposition of + sentiments was propagated in the writings and lessons of the two founders; + the schools of Capito and Labeo maintained their inveterate conflict from + the age of Augustus to that of Adrian; <a href="#linknote-44.66" + name="linknoteref-44.66" id="linknoteref-44.66">66</a> and the two sects + derived their appellations from Sabinus and Proculus, their most + celebrated teachers. The names of Cassians and Pegasians were likewise + applied to the same parties; but, by a strange reverse, the popular cause + was in the hands of Pegasus, <a href="#linknote-44.67" + name="linknoteref-44.67" id="linknoteref-44.67">67</a> a timid slave of + Domitian, while the favorite of the Caesars was represented by Cassius, <a + href="#linknote-44.68" name="linknoteref-44.68" id="linknoteref-44.68">68</a> + who gloried in his descent from the patriot assassin. By the perpetual + edict, the controversies of the sects were in a great measure determined. + For that important work, the emperor Adrian preferred the chief of the + Sabinians: the friends of monarchy prevailed; but the moderation of + Salvius Julian insensibly reconciled the victors and the vanquished. Like + the contemporary philosophers, the lawyers of the age of the Antonines + disclaimed the authority of a master, and adopted from every system the + most probable doctrines. <a href="#linknote-44.69" name="linknoteref-44.69" + id="linknoteref-44.69">69</a> But their writings would have been less + voluminous, had their choice been more unanimous. The conscience of the + judge was perplexed by the number and weight of discordant testimonies, + and every sentence that his passion or interest might pronounce was + justified by the sanction of some venerable name. An indulgent edict of + the younger Theodosius excused him from the labor of comparing and + weighing their arguments. Five civilians, Caius, Papinian, Paul, Ulpian, + and Modestinus, were established as the oracles of jurisprudence: a + majority was decisive: but if their opinions were equally divided, a + casting vote was ascribed to the superior wisdom of Papinian. <a + href="#linknote-44.70" name="linknoteref-44.70" id="linknoteref-44.70">70</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.62" id="linknote-44.62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.62">return</a>)<br /> [ I have perused the + Diatribe of Gotfridus Mascovius, the learned Mascou, de Sectis + Jurisconsultorum, (Lipsiae, 1728, in 12mo., p. 276,) a learned treatise on + a narrow and barren ground.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.63" id="linknote-44.63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.63">return</a>)<br /> [ See the character of + Antistius Labeo in Tacitus, (Annal. iii. 75,) and in an epistle of Ateius + Capito, (Aul. Gellius, xiii. 12,) who accuses his rival of libertas nimia + et vecors. Yet Horace would not have lashed a virtuous and respectable + senator; and I must adopt the emendation of Bentley, who reads Labieno + insanior, (Serm. I. iii. 82.) See Mascou, de Sectis, (c. i. p. 1—24.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.64" id="linknote-44.64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.64">return</a>)<br /> [ Justinian (Institut. l. + iii. tit. 23, and Theophil. Vers. Graec. p. 677, 680) has commemorated + this weighty dispute, and the verses of Homer that were alleged on either + side as legal authorities. It was decided by Paul, (leg. 33, ad Edict. in + Pandect. l. xviii. tit. i. leg. 1,) since, in a simple exchange, the buyer + could not be discriminated from the seller.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.65" id="linknote-44.65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.65">return</a>)<br /> [ This controversy was + likewise given for the Proculians, to supersede the indecency of a search, + and to comply with the aphorism of Hippocrates, who was attached to the + septenary number of two weeks of years, or 700 of days, (Institut. l. i. + tit. xxii.) Plutarch and the Stoics (de Placit. Philosoph. l. v. c. 24) + assign a more natural reason. Fourteen years is the age. See the vestigia + of the sects in Mascou, c. ix. p. 145—276.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.66" id="linknote-44.66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.66">return</a>)<br /> [ The series and + conclusion of the sects are described by Mascou, (c. ii.—vii. p. 24—120;) + and it would be almost ridiculous to praise his equal justice to these + obsolete sects. * Note: The work of Gaius, subsequent to the time of + Adrian, furnishes us with some information on this subject. The disputes + which rose between these two sects appear to have been very numerous. + Gaius avows himself a disciple of Sabinus and of Caius. Compare Hugo, vol. + ii. p. 106.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.67" id="linknote-44.67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.67">return</a>)<br /> [ At the first summons he + flies to the turbot-council; yet Juvenal (Satir. iv. 75—81) styles + the præfect or bailiff of Rome sanctissimus legum interpres. From his + science, says the old scholiast, he was called, not a man, but a book. He + derived the singular name of Pegasus from the galley which his father + commanded.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.68" id="linknote-44.68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.68">return</a>)<br /> [ Tacit. Annal. xvii. 7. + Sueton. in Nerone, c. xxxvii.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.69" id="linknote-44.69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.69">return</a>)<br /> [ Mascou, de Sectis, c. + viii. p. 120—144 de Herciscundis, a legal term which was applied to + these eclectic lawyers: herciscere is synonymous to dividere. * Note: This + word has never existed. Cujacius is the author of it, who read me words + terris condi in Servius ad Virg. herciscundi, to which he gave an + erroneous interpretation.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.70" id="linknote-44.70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.70">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Theodosian + Code, l. i. tit. iv. with Godefroy’s Commentary, tom. i. p. 30—35. + [! This decree might give occasion to Jesuitical disputes like those in + the Lettres Provinciales, whether a Judge was obliged to follow the + opinion of Papinian, or of a majority, against his judgment, against his + conscience, &c. Yet a legislator might give that opinion, however + false, the validity, not of truth, but of law. Note: We possess (since + 1824) some interesting information as to the framing of the Theodosian + Code, and its ratification at Rome, in the year 438. M. Closius, now + professor at Dorpat in Russia, and M. Peyron, member of the Academy of + Turin, have discovered, the one at Milan, the other at Turin, a great part + of the five first books of the Code which were wanting, and besides this, + the reports (gesta) of the sitting of the senate at Rome, in which the + Code was published, in the year after the marriage of Valentinian III. + Among these pieces are the constitutions which nominate commissioners for + the formation of the Code; and though there are many points of + considerable obscurity in these documents, they communicate many facts + relative to this legislation. 1. That Theodosius designed a great reform + in the legislation; to add to the Gregorian and Hermogenian codes all the + new constitutions from Constantine to his own day; and to frame a second + code for common use with extracts from the three codes, and from the works + of the civil lawyers. All laws either abrogated or fallen into disuse were + to be noted under their proper heads. 2. An Ordinance was issued in 429 to + form a commission for this purpose of nine persons, of which Antiochus, as + quaestor and præfectus, was president. A second commission of sixteen + members was issued in 435 under the same president. 3. A code, which we + possess under the name of Codex Theodosianus, was finished in 438, + published in the East, in an ordinance addressed to the Praetorian + præfect, Florentinus, and intended to be published in the West. 4. Before + it was published in the West, Valentinian submitted it to the senate. + There is a report of the proceedings of the senate, which closed with loud + acclamations and gratulations.—From Warnkonig, Histoire du Droit + Romain, p. 169-Wenck has published this work, Codicis Theodosiani libri + priores. Leipzig, 1825.—M.] * Note *: Closius of Tubingen + communicated to M.Warnkonig the two following constitutions of the emperor + Constantine, which he discovered in the Ambrosian library at Milan:— + 1. Imper. Constantinus Aug. ad Maximium Praef. Praetorio. Perpetuas + prudentum contentiones eruere cupientes, Ulpiani ac Pauli, in Papinianum + notas, qui dum ingenii laudem sectantur, non tam corrigere eum quam + depravere maluerunt, aboleri praecepimus. Dat. III. Kalend. Octob. Const. + Cons. et Crispi, (321.) Idem. Aug. ad Maximium Praef Praet. Universa, quae + scriptura Pauli continentur, recepta auctoritate firmanda runt, et omni + veneratione celebranda. Ideoque sententiarum libros plepissima luce et + perfectissima elocutione et justissima juris ratione succinctos in + judiciis prolatos valere minimie dubitatur. Dat. V. Kalend. Oct. Trovia + Coust. et Max. Coss. (327.)—W] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap44.4"></a> +Chapter XLIV: Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part IV.</h2> + + <p> + When Justinian ascended the throne, the reformation of the Roman + jurisprudence was an arduous but indispensable task. In the space of ten + centuries, the infinite variety of laws and legal opinions had filled many + thousand volumes, which no fortune could purchase and no capacity could + digest. Books could not easily be found; and the judges, poor in the midst + of riches, were reduced to the exercise of their illiterate discretion. + The subjects of the Greek provinces were ignorant of the language that + disposed of their lives and properties; and the barbarous dialect of the + Latins was imperfectly studied in the academies of Berytus and + Constantinople. As an Illyrian soldier, that idiom was familiar to the + infancy of Justinian; his youth had been instructed by the lessons of + jurisprudence, and his Imperial choice selected the most learned civilians + of the East, to labor with their sovereign in the work of reformation. <a + href="#linknote-44.71" name="linknoteref-44.71" id="linknoteref-44.71">71</a> + The theory of professors was assisted by the practice of advocates, and + the experience of magistrates; and the whole undertaking was animated by + the spirit of Tribonian. <a href="#linknote-44.72" name="linknoteref-44.72" + id="linknoteref-44.72">72</a> This extraordinary man, the object of so much + praise and censure, was a native of Side in Pamphylia; and his genius, + like that of Bacon, embraced, as his own, all the business and knowledge + of the age. Tribonian composed, both in prose and verse, on a strange + diversity of curious and abstruse subjects: <a href="#linknote-44.73" + name="linknoteref-44.73" id="linknoteref-44.73">73</a> a double panegyric of + Justinian and the life of the philosopher Theodotus; the nature of + happiness and the duties of government; Homer’s catalogue and the + four-and-twenty sorts of metre; the astronomical canon of Ptolemy; the + changes of the months; the houses of the planets; and the harmonic system + of the world. To the literature of Greece he added the use of the Latin + tongue; the Roman civilians were deposited in his library and in his + mind; and he most assiduously cultivated those arts which opened the road + of wealth and preferment. From the bar of the Praetorian præfects, he + raised himself to the honors of quaestor, of consul, and of master of the + offices: the council of Justinian listened to his eloquence and wisdom; + and envy was mitigated by the gentleness and affability of his manners. + The reproaches of impiety and avarice have stained the virtue or the + reputation of Tribonian. In a bigoted and persecuting court, the + principal minister was accused of a secret aversion to the Christian + faith, and was supposed to entertain the sentiments of an Atheist and a + Pagan, which have been imputed, inconsistently enough, to the last + philosophers of Greece. His avarice was more clearly proved and more + sensibly felt. If he were swayed by gifts in the administration of + justice, the example of Bacon will again occur; nor can the merit of + Tribonian atone for his baseness, if he degraded the sanctity of his + profession; and if laws were every day enacted, modified, or repealed, + for the base consideration of his private emolument. In the sedition of + Constantinople, his removal was granted to the clamors, perhaps to the + just indignation, of the people: but the quaestor was speedily restored, + and, till the hour of his death, he possessed, above twenty years, the + favor and confidence of the emperor. His passive and dutiful submission + had been honored with the praise of Justinian himself, whose vanity was + incapable of discerning how often that submission degenerated into the + grossest adulation. Tribonian adored the virtues of his gracious master: + the earth was unworthy of such a prince; and he affected a pious fear, + that Justinian, like Elijah or Romulus, would be snatched into the air, + and translated alive to the mansions of celestial glory. <a href="#linknote-44.74" + name="linknoteref-44.74" id="linknoteref-44.74">74</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.71" id="linknote-44.71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.71">return</a>)<br /> [ For the legal labors of + Justinian, I have studied the Preface to the Institutes; the 1st, 2d, and + 3d Prefaces to the Pandects; the 1st and 2d Preface to the Code; and the + Code itself, (l. i. tit. xvii. de Veteri Jure enucleando.) After these + original testimonies, I have consulted, among the moderns, Heineccius, + (Hist. J. R. No. 383—404,) Terasson. (Hist. de la Jurisprudence + Romaine, p. 295—356,) Gravina, (Opp. p. 93-100,) and Ludewig, in his + Life of Justinian, (p.19—123, 318-321; for the Code and Novels, p. + 209—261; for the Digest or Pandects, p. 262—317.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.72" id="linknote-44.72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.72">return</a>)<br /> [ For the character of + Tribonian, see the testimonies of Procopius, (Persic. l. i. c. 23, 24. + Anecdot. c. 13, 20,) and Suidas, (tom. iii. p. 501, edit. Kuster.) Ludewig + (in Vit. Justinian, p. 175—209) works hard, very hard, to whitewash—the + blackamoor.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.73" id="linknote-44.73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.73">return</a>)<br /> [ I apply the two + passages of Suidas to the same man; every circumstance so exactly tallies. + Yet the lawyers appear ignorant; and Fabricius is inclined to separate the + two characters, (Bibliot. Grae. tom. i. p. 341, ii. p. 518, iii. p. 418, + xii. p. 346, 353, 474.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.74" id="linknote-44.74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.74">return</a>)<br /> [ This story is related + by Hesychius, (de Viris Illustribus,) Procopius, (Anecdot. c. 13,) and + Suidas, (tom. iii. p. 501.) Such flattery is incredible! —Nihil est + quod credere de se Non possit, cum laudatur Diis aequa potestas. + Fontenelle (tom. i. p. 32—39) has ridiculed the impudence of the + modest Virgil. But the same Fontenelle places his king above the divine + Augustus; and the sage Boileau has not blushed to say, “Le destin a ses + yeux n’oseroit balancer” Yet neither Augustus nor Louis XIV. were fools.] + </p> + <p> + If Caesar had achieved the reformation of the Roman law, his creative + genius, enlightened by reflection and study, would have given to the world + a pure and original system of jurisprudence. Whatever flattery might + suggest, the emperor of the East was afraid to establish his private + judgment as the standard of equity: in the possession of legislative + power, he borrowed the aid of time and opinion; and his laborious + compilations are guarded by the sages and legislature of past times. + Instead of a statue cast in a simple mould by the hand of an artist, the + works of Justinian represent a tessellated pavement of antique and costly, + but too often of incoherent, fragments. In the first year of his reign, he + directed the faithful Tribonian, and nine learned associates, to revise + the ordinances of his predecessors, as they were contained, since the time + of Adrian, in the Gregorian Hermogenian, and Theodosian codes; to purge + the errors and contradictions, to retrench whatever was obsolete or + superfluous, and to select the wise and salutary laws best adapted to the + practice of the tribunals and the use of his subjects. The work was + accomplished in fourteen months; and the twelve books or tables, which the + new decemvirs produced, might be designed to imitate the labors of their + Roman predecessors. The new Code of Justinian was honored with his name, + and confirmed by his royal signature: authentic transcripts were + multiplied by the pens of notaries and scribes; they were transmitted to + the magistrates of the European, the Asiatic, and afterwards the African + provinces; and the law of the empire was proclaimed on solemn festivals at + the doors of churches. A more arduous operation was still behind—to + extract the spirit of jurisprudence from the decisions and conjectures, + the questions and disputes, of the Roman civilians. Seventeen lawyers, + with Tribonian at their head, were appointed by the emperor to exercise an + absolute jurisdiction over the works of their predecessors. If they had + obeyed his commands in ten years, Justinian would have been satisfied with + their diligence; and the rapid composition of the Digest of Pandects, <a + href="#linknote-44.75" name="linknoteref-44.75" id="linknoteref-44.75">75</a> + in three years, will deserve praise or censure, according to the merit of + the execution. From the library of Tribonian, they chose forty, the most + eminent civilians of former times: <a href="#linknote-44.76" + name="linknoteref-44.76" id="linknoteref-44.76">76</a> two thousand + treatises were comprised in an abridgment of fifty books; and it has been + carefully recorded, that three millions of lines or sentences, <a + href="#linknote-44.77" name="linknoteref-44.77" id="linknoteref-44.77">77</a> + were reduced, in this abstract, to the moderate number of one hundred and + fifty thousand. The edition of this great work was delayed a month after + that of the Institutes; and it seemed reasonable that the elements should + precede the digest of the Roman law. As soon as the emperor had approved + their labors, he ratified, by his legislative power, the speculations of + these private citizens: their commentaries, on the twelve tables, the + perpetual edict, the laws of the people, and the decrees of the senate, + succeeded to the authority of the text; and the text was abandoned, as a + useless, though venerable, relic of antiquity. The Code, the Pandects, and + the Institutes, were declared to be the legitimate system of civil + jurisprudence; they alone were admitted into the tribunals, and they alone + were taught in the academies of Rome, Constantinople, and Berytus. + Justinian addressed to the senate and provinces his eternal oracles; and + his pride, under the mask of piety, ascribed the consummation of this + great design to the support and inspiration of the Deity. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.75" id="linknote-44.75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.75">return</a>)<br /> [ General receivers was a + common title of the Greek miscellanies, (Plin. Praefat. ad Hist. Natur.) + The Digesta of Scaevola, Marcellinus, Celsus, were already familiar to the + civilians: but Justinian was in the wrong when he used the two + appellations as synonymous. Is the word Pandects Greek or Latin—masculine + or feminine? The diligent Brenckman will not presume to decide these + momentous controversies, (Hist. Pandect. Florentine. p. 200—304.) + Note: The word was formerly in common use. See the preface is Aulus + Gellius—W] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.76" id="linknote-44.76"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 76 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.76">return</a>)<br /> [ Angelus Politianus (l. + v. Epist. ult.) reckons thirty-seven (p. 192—200) civilians quoted + in the Pandects—a learned, and for his times, an extraordinary list. + The Greek index to the Pandects enumerates thirty-nine, and forty are + produced by the indefatigable Fabricius, (Bibliot. Graec. tom. iii. p. 488—502.) + Antoninus Augustus (de Nominibus Propriis Pandect. apud Ludewig, p. 283) + is said to have added fifty-four names; but they must be vague or + second-hand references.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.77" id="linknote-44.77"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 77 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.77">return</a>)<br /> [ The item of the ancient + Mss. may be strictly defined as sentences or periods of a complete sense, + which, on the breadth of the parchment rolls or volumes, composed as many + lines of unequal length. The number in each book served as a check on the + errors of the scribes, (Ludewig, p. 211—215; and his original author + Suicer. Thesaur. Ecclesiast. tom. i. p 1021-1036).] + </p> + <p> + Since the emperor declined the fame and envy of original composition, we + can only require, at his hands, method, choice, and fidelity, the humble, + though indispensable, virtues of a compiler. Among the various + combinations of ideas, it is difficult to assign any reasonable + preference; but as the order of Justinian is different in his three works, + it is possible that all may be wrong; and it is certain that two cannot be + right. In the selection of ancient laws, he seems to have viewed his + predecessors without jealousy, and with equal regard: the series could not + ascend above the reign of Adrian, and the narrow distinction of Paganism + and Christianity, introduced by the superstition of Theodosius, had been + abolished by the consent of mankind. But the jurisprudence of the Pandects + is circumscribed within a period of a hundred years, from the perpetual + edict to the death of Severus Alexander: the civilians who lived under the + first Caesars are seldom permitted to speak, and only three names can be + attributed to the age of the republic. The favorite of Justinian (it has + been fiercely urged) was fearful of encountering the light of freedom and + the gravity of Roman sages. + </p> + <p> + Tribonian condemned to oblivion the genuine and native wisdom of Cato, the + Scaevolas, and Sulpicius; while he invoked spirits more congenial to his + own, the Syrians, Greeks, and Africans, who flocked to the Imperial court + to study Latin as a foreign tongue, and jurisprudence as a lucrative + profession. But the ministers of Justinian, <a href="#linknote-44.78" + name="linknoteref-44.78" id="linknoteref-44.78">78</a> were instructed to + labor, not for the curiosity of antiquarians, but for the immediate + benefit of his subjects. It was their duty to select the useful and + practical parts of the Roman law; and the writings of the old republicans, + however curious or excellent, were no longer suited to the new system of + manners, religion, and government. Perhaps, if the preceptors and friends + of Cicero were still alive, our candor would acknowledge, that, except in + purity of language, <a href="#linknote-44.79" name="linknoteref-44.79" + id="linknoteref-44.79">79</a> their intrinsic merit was excelled by the + school of Papinian and Ulpian. The science of the laws is the slow growth + of time and experience, and the advantage both of method and materials, is + naturally assumed by the most recent authors. The civilians of the reign + of the Antonines had studied the works of their predecessors: their + philosophic spirit had mitigated the rigor of antiquity, simplified the + forms of proceeding, and emerged from the jealousy and prejudice of the + rival sects. The choice of the authorities that compose the Pandects + depended on the judgment of Tribonian: but the power of his sovereign + could not absolve him from the sacred obligations of truth and fidelity. + As the legislator of the empire, Justinian might repeal the acts of the + Antonines, or condemn, as seditious, the free principles, which were + maintained by the last of the Roman lawyers. <a href="#linknote-44.80" + name="linknoteref-44.80" id="linknoteref-44.80">80</a> But the existence of + past facts is placed beyond the reach of despotism; and the emperor was + guilty of fraud and forgery, when he corrupted the integrity of their + text, inscribed with their venerable names the words and ideas of his + servile reign, <a href="#linknote-44.81" name="linknoteref-44.81" + id="linknoteref-44.81">81</a> and suppressed, by the hand of power, the + pure and authentic copies of their sentiments. The changes and + interpolations of Tribonian and his colleagues are excused by the pretence + of uniformity: but their cares have been insufficient, and the antinomies, + or contradictions of the Code and Pandects, still exercise the patience + and subtilty of modern civilians. <a href="#linknote-44.82" + name="linknoteref-44.82" id="linknoteref-44.82">82</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.78" id="linknote-44.78"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 78 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.78">return</a>)<br /> [ An ingenious and + learned oration of Schultingius (Jurisprudentia Ante-Justinianea, p. 883—907) + justifies the choice of Tribonian, against the passionate charges of + Francis Hottoman and his sectaries.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.79" id="linknote-44.79"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 79 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.79">return</a>)<br /> [ Strip away the crust of + Tribonian, and allow for the use of technical words, and the Latin of the + Pandects will be found not unworthy of the silver age. It has been + vehemently attacked by Laurentius Valla, a fastidious grammarian of the + xvth century, and by his apologist Floridus Sabinus. It has been defended + by Alciat, and a name less advocate, (most probably James Capellus.) Their + various treatises are collected by Duker, (Opuscula de Latinitate veterum + Jurisconsultorum, Lugd. Bat. 1721, in 12mo.) Note: Gibbon is mistaken with + regard to Valla, who, though he inveighs against the barbarous style of + the civilians of his own day, lavishes the highest praise on the admirable + purity of the language of the ancient writers on civil law. (M. Warnkonig + quotes a long passage of Valla in justification of this observation.) + Since his time, this truth has been recognized by men of the highest + eminence, such as Erasmus, David Hume and Runkhenius.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.80" id="linknote-44.80"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 80 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.80">return</a>)<br /> [ Nomina quidem veteribus + servavimus, legum autem veritatem nostram fecimus. Itaque siquid erat in + illis seditiosum, multa autem talia erant ibi reposita, hoc decisum est et + definitum, et in perspicuum finem deducta est quaeque lex, (Cod. + Justinian. l. i. tit. xvii. leg. 3, No 10.) A frank confession! * Note: + Seditiosum, in the language of Justinian, means not seditious, but + discounted.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.81" id="linknote-44.81"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 81 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.81">return</a>)<br /> [ The number of these + emblemata (a polite name for forgeries) is much reduced by Bynkershoek, + (in the four last books of his Observations,) who poorly maintains the + right of Justinian and the duty of Tribonian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.82" id="linknote-44.82"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 82 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.82">return</a>)<br /> [ The antinomies, or + opposite laws of the Code and Pandects, are sometimes the cause, and often + the excuse, of the glorious uncertainty of the civil law, which so often + affords what Montaigne calls “Questions pour l’Ami.” See a fine passage of + Franciscus Balduinus in Justinian, (l. ii. p. 259, &c., apud Ludewig, + p. 305, 306.)] + </p> + <p> + A rumor devoid of evidence has been propagated by the enemies of + Justinian; that the jurisprudence of ancient Rome was reduced to ashes by + the author of the Pandects, from the vain persuasion, that it was now + either false or superfluous. Without usurping an office so invidious, the + emperor might safely commit to ignorance and time the accomplishments of + this destructive wish. Before the invention of printing and paper, the + labor and the materials of writing could be purchased only by the rich; + and it may reasonably be computed, that the price of books was a hundred + fold their present value. <a href="#linknote-44.83" name="linknoteref-44.83" + id="linknoteref-44.83">83</a> Copies were slowly multiplied and cautiously + renewed: the hopes of profit tempted the sacrilegious scribes to erase the + characters of antiquity, <a href="#linknote-44.8311" + name="linknoteref-44.8311" id="linknoteref-44.8311">8311</a> and Sophocles + or Tacitus were obliged to resign the parchment to missals, homilies, and + the golden legend. <a href="#linknote-44.84" name="linknoteref-44.84" + id="linknoteref-44.84">84</a> If such was the fate of the most beautiful + compositions of genius, what stability could be expected for the dull and + barren works of an obsolete science? The books of jurisprudence were + interesting to few, and entertaining to none: their value was connected + with present use, and they sunk forever as soon as that use was superseded + by the innovations of fashion, superior merit, or public authority. In the + age of peace and learning, between Cicero and the last of the Antonines, + many losses had been already sustained, and some luminaries of the school, + or forum, were known only to the curious by tradition and report. Three + hundred and sixty years of disorder and decay accelerated the progress of + oblivion; and it may fairly be presumed, that of the writings, which + Justinian is accused of neglecting, many were no longer to be found in the + libraries of the East. <a href="#linknote-44.85" name="linknoteref-44.85" + id="linknoteref-44.85">85</a> The copies of Papinian, or Ulpian, which the + reformer had proscribed, were deemed unworthy of future notice: the Twelve + Tables and praetorian edicts insensibly vanished, and the monuments of + ancient Rome were neglected or destroyed by the envy and ignorance of the + Greeks. Even the Pandects themselves have escaped with difficulty and + danger from the common shipwreck, and criticism has pronounced that all + the editions and manuscripts of the West are derived from one original. <a + href="#linknote-44.86" name="linknoteref-44.86" id="linknoteref-44.86">86</a> + It was transcribed at Constantinople in the beginning of the seventh + century, <a href="#linknote-44.87" name="linknoteref-44.87" + id="linknoteref-44.87">87</a> was successively transported by the accidents + of war and commerce to Amalphi, <a href="#linknote-44.88" + name="linknoteref-44.88" id="linknoteref-44.88">88</a> Pisa, <a + href="#linknote-44.89" name="linknoteref-44.89" id="linknoteref-44.89">89</a> + and Florence, <a href="#linknote-44.90" name="linknoteref-44.90" + id="linknoteref-44.90">90</a> and is now deposited as a sacred relic <a + href="#linknote-44.91" name="linknoteref-44.91" id="linknoteref-44.91">91</a> + in the ancient palace of the republic. <a href="#linknote-44.92" + name="linknoteref-44.92" id="linknoteref-44.92">92</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.83" id="linknote-44.83"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 83 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.83">return</a>)<br /> [ When Faust, or Faustus, + sold at Paris his first printed Bibles as manuscripts, the price of a + parchment copy was reduced from four or five hundred to sixty, fifty, and + forty crowns. The public was at first pleased with the cheapness, and at + length provoked by the discovery of the fraud, (Mattaire, Annal. + Typograph. tom. i. p. 12; first edit.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.8311" id="linknote-44.8311"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8311 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.8311">return</a>)<br /> [ Among the works + which have been recovered, by the persevering and successful endeavors of + M. Mai and his followers to trace the imperfectly erased characters of the + ancient writers on these Palimpsests, Gibbon at this period of his labors + would have hailed with delight the recovery of the Institutes of Gaius, + and the fragments of the Theodosian Code, published by M Keyron of Turin.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.84" id="linknote-44.84"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 84 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.84">return</a>)<br /> [ This execrable practice + prevailed from the viiith, and more especially from the xiith, century, + when it became almost universal (Montfaucon, in the Memoires de + l’Academie, tom. vi. p. 606, &c. Bibliotheque Raisonnee de la + Diplomatique, tom. i. p. 176.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.85" id="linknote-44.85"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 85 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.85">return</a>)<br /> [ Pomponius (Pandect. l. + i. tit. ii. leg. 2) observes, that of the three founders of the civil law, + Mucius, Brutus, and Manilius, extant volumina, scripta Manilii monumenta; + that of some old republican lawyers, haec versantur eorum scripta inter + manus hominum. Eight of the Augustan sages were reduced to a compendium: + of Cascellius, scripta non extant sed unus liber, &c.; of Trebatius, + minus frequentatur; of Tubero, libri parum grati sunt. Many quotations in + the Pandects are derived from books which Tribonian never saw; and in the + long period from the viith to the xiiith century of Rome, the apparent + reading of the moderns successively depends on the knowledge and veracity + of their predecessors.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.86" id="linknote-44.86"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 86 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.86">return</a>)<br /> [ All, in several + instances, repeat the errors of the scribe and the transpositions of some + leaves in the Florentine Pandects. This fact, if it be true, is decisive. + Yet the Pandects are quoted by Ivo of Chartres, (who died in 1117,) by + Theobald, archbishop of Canterbury, and by Vacarius, our first professor, + in the year 1140, (Selden ad Fletam, c. 7, tom. ii. p. 1080—1085.) + Have our British Mss. of the Pandects been collated?] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.87" id="linknote-44.87"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 87 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.87">return</a>)<br /> [ See the description of + this original in Brenckman, (Hist. Pandect. Florent. l. i. c. 2, 3, p. 4—17, + and l. ii.) Politian, an enthusiast, revered it as the authentic standard + of Justinian himself, (p. 407, 408;) but this paradox is refuted by the + abbreviations of the Florentine Ms. (l. ii. c. 3, p. 117-130.) It is + composed of two quarto volumes, with large margins, on a thin parchment, + and the Latin characters betray the band of a Greek scribe.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.88" id="linknote-44.88"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 88 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.88">return</a>)<br /> [ Brenckman, at the end + of his history, has inserted two dissertations on the republic of Amalphi, + and the Pisan war in the year 1135, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.89" id="linknote-44.89"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 89 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.89">return</a>)<br /> [ The discovery of the + Pandects at Amalphi (A. D 1137) is first noticed (in 1501) by Ludovicus + Bologninus, (Brenckman, l. i. c. 11, p. 73, 74, l. iv. c. 2, p. 417—425,) + on the faith of a Pisan chronicle, (p. 409, 410,) without a name or a + date. The whole story, though unknown to the xiith century, embellished by + ignorant ages, and suspected by rigid criticism, is not, however, + destitute of much internal probability, (l. i. c. 4—8, p. 17—50.) + The Liber Pandectarum of Pisa was undoubtedly consulted in the xivth + century by the great Bartolus, (p. 406, 407. See l. i. c. 9, p. 50—62.) + Note: Savigny (vol. iii. p. 83, 89) examines and rejects the whole story. + See likewise Hallam vol. iii. p. 514.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.90" id="linknote-44.90"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 90 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.90">return</a>)<br /> [ Pisa was taken by the + Florentines in the year 1406; and in 1411 the Pandects were transported to + the capital. These events are authentic and famous.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.91" id="linknote-44.91"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 91 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.91">return</a>)<br /> [ They were new bound in + purple, deposited in a rich casket, and shown to curious travellers by the + monks and magistrates bareheaded, and with lighted tapers, (Brenckman, l. + i. c. 10, 11, 12, p. 62—93.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.92" id="linknote-44.92"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 92 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.92">return</a>)<br /> [ After the collations of + Politian, Bologninus, and Antoninus Augustinus, and the splendid edition + of the Pandects by Taurellus, (in 1551,) Henry Brenckman, a Dutchman, + undertook a pilgrimage to Florence, where he employed several years in the + study of a single manuscript. His Historia Pandectarum Florentinorum, + (Utrecht, 1722, in 4to.,) though a monument of industry, is a small + portion of his original design.] + </p> + <p> + It is the first care of a reformer to prevent any future reformation. To + maintain the text of the Pandects, the Institutes, and the Code, the use + of ciphers and abbreviations was rigorously proscribed; and as Justinian + recollected, that the perpetual edict had been buried under the weight of + commentators, he denounced the punishment of forgery against the rash + civilians who should presume to interpret or pervert the will of their + sovereign. The scholars of Accursius, of Bartolus, of Cujacius, should + blush for their accumulated guilt, unless they dare to dispute his right + of binding the authority of his successors, and the native freedom of the + mind. But the emperor was unable to fix his own inconstancy; and, while he + boasted of renewing the exchange of Diomede, of transmuting brass into + gold, <a href="#linknote-44.93" name="linknoteref-44.93" + id="linknoteref-44.93">93</a> discovered the necessity of purifying his + gold from the mixture of baser alloy. Six years had not elapsed from the + publication of the Code, before he condemned the imperfect attempt, by a + new and more accurate edition of the same work; which he enriched with two + hundred of his own laws, and fifty decisions of the darkest and most + intricate points of jurisprudence. Every year, or, according to Procopius, + each day, of his long reign, was marked by some legal innovation. Many of + his acts were rescinded by himself; many were rejected by his successors; + many have been obliterated by time; but the number of sixteen Edicts, and + one hundred and sixty-eight Novels, <a href="#linknote-44.94" + name="linknoteref-44.94" id="linknoteref-44.94">94</a> has been admitted + into the authentic body of the civil jurisprudence. In the opinion of a + philosopher superior to the prejudices of his profession, these incessant, + and, for the most part, trifling alterations, can be only explained by the + venal spirit of a prince, who sold without shame his judgments and his + laws. <a href="#linknote-44.95" name="linknoteref-44.95" + id="linknoteref-44.95">95</a> The charge of the secret historian is indeed + explicit and vehement; but the sole instance, which he produces, may be + ascribed to the devotion as well as to the avarice of Justinian. A wealthy + bigot had bequeathed his inheritance to the church of Emesa; and its value + was enhanced by the dexterity of an artist, who subscribed confessions of + debt and promises of payment with the names of the richest Syrians. They + pleaded the established prescription of thirty or forty years; but their + defence was overruled by a retrospective edict, which extended the claims + of the church to the term of a century; an edict so pregnant with + injustice and disorder, that, after serving this occasional purpose, it + was prudently abolished in the same reign. <a href="#linknote-44.96" + name="linknoteref-44.96" id="linknoteref-44.96">96</a> If candor will acquit + the emperor himself, and transfer the corruption to his wife and + favorites, the suspicion of so foul a vice must still degrade the majesty + of his laws; and the advocates of Justinian may acknowledge, that such + levity, whatsoever be the motive, is unworthy of a legislator and a man. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.93" id="linknote-44.93"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 93 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.93">return</a>)<br /> [ Apud Homerum patrem + omnis virtutis, (1st Praefat. ad Pandect.) A line of Milton or Tasso would + surprise us in an act of parliament. Quae omnia obtinere sancimus in omne + aevum. Of the first Code, he says, (2d Praefat.,) in aeternum valiturum. + Man and forever!] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.94" id="linknote-44.94"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 94 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.94">return</a>)<br /> [ Novellae is a classic + adjective, but a barbarous substantive, (Ludewig, p. 245.) Justinian never + collected them himself; the nine collations, the legal standard of modern + tribunals, consist of ninety-eight Novels; but the number was increased by + the diligence of Julian, Haloander, and Contius, (Ludewig, p. 249, 258 + Aleman. Not in Anecdot. p. 98.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.95" id="linknote-44.95"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 95 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.95">return</a>)<br /> [ Montesquieu, + Considerations sur la Grandeur et la Decadence des Romains, c. 20, tom. + iii. p. 501, in 4to. On this occasion he throws aside the gown and cap of + a President a Mortier.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.96" id="linknote-44.96"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 96 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.96">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Anecdot. c. + 28. A similar privilege was granted to the church of Rome, (Novel. ix.) + For the general repeal of these mischievous indulgences, see Novel. cxi. + and Edict. v.] + </p> + <p> + Monarchs seldom condescend to become the preceptors of their subjects; and + some praise is due to Justinian, by whose command an ample system was + reduced to a short and elementary treatise. Among the various institutes + of the Roman law, <a href="#linknote-44.97" name="linknoteref-44.97" + id="linknoteref-44.97">97</a> those of Caius <a href="#linknote-44.98" + name="linknoteref-44.98" id="linknoteref-44.98">98</a> were the most popular + in the East and West; and their use may be considered as an evidence of + their merit. They were selected by the Imperial delegates, Tribonian, + Theophilus, and Dorotheus; and the freedom and purity of the Antonines was + incrusted with the coarser materials of a degenerate age. The same volume + which introduced the youth of Rome, Constantinople, and Berytus, to the + gradual study of the Code and Pandects, is still precious to the + historian, the philosopher, and the magistrate. The Institutes of + Justinian are divided into four books: they proceed, with no contemptible + method, from, I. Persons, to, II. Things, and from things, to, III. + Actions; and the article IV., of Private Wrongs, is terminated by the + principles of Criminal Law. <a href="#linknote-44.9811" + name="linknoteref-44.9811" id="linknoteref-44.9811">9811</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.97" id="linknote-44.97"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 97 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.97">return</a>)<br /> [ Lactantius, in his + Institutes of Christianity, an elegant and specious work, proposes to + imitate the title and method of the civilians. Quidam prudentes et arbitri + aequitatis Institutiones Civilis Juris compositas ediderunt, (Institut. + Divin. l. i. c. 1.) Such as Ulpian, Paul, Florentinus, Marcian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.98" id="linknote-44.98"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 98 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.98">return</a>)<br /> [ The emperor Justinian + calls him suum, though he died before the end of the second century. His + Institutes are quoted by Servius, Boethius, Priscian, &c.; and the + Epitome by Arrian is still extant. (See the Prolegomena and notes to the + edition of Schulting, in the Jurisprudentia Ante-Justinianea, Lugd. Bat. + 1717. Heineccius, Hist. J R No. 313. Ludewig, in Vit. Just. p. 199.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.9811" id="linknote-44.9811"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9811 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.9811">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon, dividing + the Institutes into four parts, considers the appendix of the criminal law + in the last title as a fourth part.—W.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap44.5"></a> +Chapter XLIV: Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part V.</h2> + + <p> + The distinction of ranks and persons is the firmest basis of a mixed and + limited government. In France, the remains of liberty are kept alive by + the spirit, the honors, and even the prejudices, of fifty thousand nobles. + <a href="#linknote-44.99" name="linknoteref-44.99" id="linknoteref-44.99">99</a> + Two hundred families <a href="#linknote-44.9911" name="linknoteref-44.9911" + id="linknoteref-44.9911">9911</a> supply, in lineal descent, the second + branch of English legislature, which maintains, between the king and + commons, the balance of the constitution. A gradation of patricians and + plebeians, of strangers and subjects, has supported the aristocracy of + Genoa, Venice, and ancient Rome. The perfect equality of men is the point + in which the extremes of democracy and despotism are confounded; since the + majesty of the prince or people would be offended, if any heads were + exalted above the level of their fellow-slaves or fellow-citizens. In the + decline of the Roman empire, the proud distinctions of the republic were + gradually abolished, and the reason or instinct of Justinian completed the + simple form of an absolute monarchy. The emperor could not eradicate the + popular reverence which always waits on the possession of hereditary + wealth, or the memory of famous ancestors. He delighted to honor, with + titles and emoluments, his generals, magistrates, and senators; and his + precarious indulgence communicated some rays of their glory to the persons + of their wives and children. But in the eye of the law, all Roman citizens + were equal, and all subjects of the empire were citizens of Rome. That + inestimable character was degraded to an obsolete and empty name. The + voice of a Roman could no longer enact his laws, or create the annual + ministers of his power: his constitutional rights might have checked the + arbitrary will of a master: and the bold adventurer from Germany or Arabia + was admitted, with equal favor, to the civil and military command, which + the citizen alone had been once entitled to assume over the conquests of + his fathers. The first Caesars had scrupulously guarded the distinction of + ingenuous and servile birth, which was decided by the condition of the + mother; and the candor of the laws was satisfied, if her freedom could be + ascertained, during a single moment, between the conception and the + delivery. The slaves, who were liberated by a generous master, immediately + entered into the middle class of libertines or freedmen; but they could + never be enfranchised from the duties of obedience and gratitude; whatever + were the fruits of their industry, their patron and his family inherited + the third part; or even the whole of their fortune, if they died without + children and without a testament. Justinian respected the rights of + patrons; but his indulgence removed the badge of disgrace from the two + inferior orders of freedmen; whoever ceased to be a slave, obtained, + without reserve or delay, the station of a citizen; and at length the + dignity of an ingenuous birth, which nature had refused, was created, or + supposed, by the omnipotence of the emperor. Whatever restraints of age, + or forms, or numbers, had been formerly introduced to check the abuse of + manumissions, and the too rapid increase of vile and indigent Romans, he + finally abolished; and the spirit of his laws promoted the extinction of + domestic servitude. Yet the eastern provinces were filled, in the time of + Justinian, with multitudes of slaves, either born or purchased for the use + of their masters; and the price, from ten to seventy pieces of gold, was + determined by their age, their strength, and their education. <a + href="#linknote-44.100" name="linknoteref-44.100" id="linknoteref-44.100">100</a> + But the hardships of this dependent state were continually diminished by + the influence of government and religion: and the pride of a subject was + no longer elated by his absolute dominion over the life and happiness of + his bondsman. <a href="#linknote-44.101" name="linknoteref-44.101" + id="linknoteref-44.101">101</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.99" id="linknote-44.99"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 99 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.99">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Annales + Politiques de l’Abbe de St. Pierre, tom. i. p. 25 who dates in the year + 1735. The most ancient families claim the immemorial possession of arms + and fiefs. Since the Crusades, some, the most truly respectable, have been + created by the king, for merit and services. The recent and vulgar crowd + is derived from the multitude of venal offices without trust or dignity, + which continually ennoble the wealthy plebeians.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.9911" id="linknote-44.9911"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9911 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.9911">return</a>)<br /> [ Since the time of + Gibbon, the House of Peers has been more than doubled: it is above 400, + exclusive of the spiritual peers—a wise policy to increase the + patrician order in proportion to the general increase of the nation.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.100" id="linknote-44.100"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 100 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.100">return</a>)<br /> [ If the option of a + slave was bequeathed to several legatees, they drew lots, and the losers + were entitled to their share of his value; ten pieces of gold for a common + servant or maid under ten years: if above that age, twenty; if they knew a + trade, thirty; notaries or writers, fifty; midwives or physicians, sixty; + eunuchs under ten years, thirty pieces; above, fifty; if tradesmen, + seventy, (Cod. l. vi. tit. xliii. leg. 3.) These legal prices are + generally below those of the market.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.101" id="linknote-44.101"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 101 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.101">return</a>)<br /> [ For the state of + slaves and freedmen, see Institutes, l. i. tit. iii.—viii. l. ii. + tit. ix. l. iii. tit. viii. ix. Pandects or Digest, l. i. tit. v. vi. l. + xxxviii. tit. i.—iv., and the whole of the xlth book. Code, l. vi. + tit. iv. v. l. vii. tit. i.—xxiii. Be it henceforward understood + that, with the original text of the Institutes and Pandects, the + correspondent articles in the Antiquities and Elements of Heineccius are + implicitly quoted; and with the xxvii. first books of the Pandects, the + learned and rational Commentaries of Gerard Noodt, (Opera, tom. ii. p. 1—590, + the end. Lugd. Bat. 1724.)] + </p> + <p> + The law of nature instructs most animals to cherish and educate their + infant progeny. The law of reason inculcates to the human species the + returns of filial piety. But the exclusive, absolute, and perpetual + dominion of the father over his children, is peculiar to the Roman + jurisprudence, <a href="#linknote-44.102" name="linknoteref-44.102" + id="linknoteref-44.102">102</a> and seems to be coeval with the foundation + of the city. <a href="#linknote-44.103" name="linknoteref-44.103" + id="linknoteref-44.103">103</a> The paternal power was instituted or + confirmed by Romulus himself; and, after the practice of three centuries, + it was inscribed on the fourth table of the Decemvirs. In the forum, the + senate, or the camp, the adult son of a Roman citizen enjoyed the public + and private rights of a person: in his father’s house he was a mere thing; + <a href="#linknote-44.1031" name="linknoteref-44.1031" + id="linknoteref-44.1031">1031</a> confounded by the laws with the movables, + the cattle, and the slaves, whom the capricious master might alienate or + destroy, without being responsible to any earthly tribunal. The hand which + bestowed the daily sustenance might resume the voluntary gift, and + whatever was acquired by the labor or fortune of the son was immediately + lost in the property of the father. His stolen goods (his oxen or his + children) might be recovered by the same action of theft; <a + href="#linknote-44.104" name="linknoteref-44.104" id="linknoteref-44.104">104</a> + and if either had been guilty of a trespass, it was in his own option to + compensate the damage, or resign to the injured party the obnoxious + animal. At the call of indigence or avarice, the master of a family could + dispose of his children or his slaves. But the condition of the slave was + far more advantageous, since he regained, by the first manumission, his + alienated freedom: the son was again restored to his unnatural father; he + might be condemned to servitude a second and a third time, and it was not + till after the third sale and deliverance, <a href="#linknote-44.105" + name="linknoteref-44.105" id="linknoteref-44.105">105</a> that he was + enfranchised from the domestic power which had been so repeatedly abused. + According to his discretion, a father might chastise the real or imaginary + faults of his children, by stripes, by imprisonment, by exile, by sending + them to the country to work in chains among the meanest of his servants. + The majesty of a parent was armed with the power of life and death; <a + href="#linknote-44.106" name="linknoteref-44.106" id="linknoteref-44.106">106</a> + and the examples of such bloody executions, which were sometimes praised + and never punished, may be traced in the annals of Rome beyond the times + of Pompey and Augustus. Neither age, nor rank, nor the consular office, + nor the honors of a triumph, could exempt the most illustrious citizen + from the bonds of filial subjection: <a href="#linknote-44.107" + name="linknoteref-44.107" id="linknoteref-44.107">107</a> his own + descendants were included in the family of their common ancestor; and the + claims of adoption were not less sacred or less rigorous than those of + nature. Without fear, though not without danger of abuse, the Roman + legislators had reposed an unbounded confidence in the sentiments of + paternal love; and the oppression was tempered by the assurance that each + generation must succeed in its turn to the awful dignity of parent and + master. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.102" id="linknote-44.102"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 102 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.102">return</a>)<br /> [ See the patria + potestas in the Institutes, (l. i. tit. ix.,) the Pandects, (l. i. tit. + vi. vii.,) and the Code, (l. viii. tit. xlvii. xlviii. xlix.) Jus + potestatis quod in liberos habemus proprium est civium Romanorum. Nulli + enim alii sunt homines, qui talem in liberos habeant potestatem qualem nos + habemus. * Note: The newly-discovered Institutes of Gaius name one nation + in which the same power was vested in the parent. Nec me praeterit + Galatarum gentem credere, in potestate parentum liberos esse. Gaii Instit. + edit. 1824, p. 257.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.103" id="linknote-44.103"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 103 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.103">return</a>)<br /> [ Dionysius Hal. l. ii. + p. 94, 95. Gravina (Opp. p. 286) produces the words of the xii. tables. + Papinian (in Collatione Legum Roman et Mosaicarum, tit. iv. p. 204) styles + this patria potestas, lex regia: Ulpian (ad Sabin. l. xxvi. in Pandect. l. + i. tit. vi. leg. 8) says, jus potestatis moribus receptum; and furiosus + filium in potestate habebit How sacred—or rather, how absurd! * + Note: All this is in strict accordance with the Roman character.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.1031" id="linknote-44.1031"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1031 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.1031">return</a>)<br /> [ This parental power + was strictly confined to the Roman citizen. The foreigner, or he who had + only jus Latii, did not possess it. If a Roman citizen unknowingly married + a Latin or a foreign wife, he did not possess this power over his son, + because the son, following the legal condition of the mother, was not a + Roman citizen. A man, however, alleging sufficient cause for his + ignorance, might raise both mother and child to the rights of citizenship. + Gaius. p. 30.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.104" id="linknote-44.104"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 104 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.104">return</a>)<br /> [ Pandect. l. xlvii. + tit. ii. leg. 14, No. 13, leg. 38, No. 1. Such was the decision of Ulpian + and Paul.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.105" id="linknote-44.105"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 105 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.105">return</a>)<br /> [ The trina mancipatio + is most clearly defined by Ulpian, (Fragment. x. p. 591, 592, edit. + Schulting;) and best illustrated in the Antiquities of Heineccius. * Note: + The son of a family sold by his father did not become in every respect a + slave, he was statu liber; that is to say, on paying the price for which + he was sold, he became entirely free. See Hugo, Hist. Section 61—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.106" id="linknote-44.106"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 106 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.106">return</a>)<br /> [ By Justinian, the old + law, the jus necis of the Roman father (Institut. l. iv. tit. ix. No. 7) + is reported and reprobated. Some legal vestiges are left in the Pandects + (l. xliii. tit. xxix. leg. 3, No. 4) and the Collatio Legum Romanarum et + Mosaicarum, (tit. ii. No. 3, p. 189.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.107" id="linknote-44.107"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 107 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.107">return</a>)<br /> [ Except on public + occasions, and in the actual exercise of his office. In publicis locis + atque muneribus, atque actionibus patrum, jura cum filiorum qui in + magistratu sunt potestatibus collata interquiescere paullulum et + connivere, &c., (Aul. Gellius, Noctes Atticae, ii. 2.) The Lessons of + the philosopher Taurus were justified by the old and memorable example of + Fabius; and we may contemplate the same story in the style of Livy (xxiv. + 44) and the homely idiom of Claudius Quadri garius the annalist.] + </p> + <p> + The first limitation of paternal power is ascribed to the justice and + humanity of Numa; and the maid who, with his father’s consent, had + espoused a freeman, was protected from the disgrace of becoming the wife + of a slave. In the first ages, when the city was pressed, and often + famished, by her Latin and Tuscan neighbors, the sale of children might be + a frequent practice; but as a Roman could not legally purchase the liberty + of his fellow-citizen, the market must gradually fail, and the trade would + be destroyed by the conquests of the republic. An imperfect right of + property was at length communicated to sons; and the threefold distinction + of profectitious, adventitious, and professional was ascertained by the + jurisprudence of the Code and Pandects. <a href="#linknote-44.108" + name="linknoteref-44.108" id="linknoteref-44.108">108</a> Of all that + proceeded from the father, he imparted only the use, and reserved the + absolute dominion; yet if his goods were sold, the filial portion was + excepted, by a favorable interpretation, from the demands of the + creditors. In whatever accrued by marriage, gift, or collateral + succession, the property was secured to the son; but the father, unless he + had been specially excluded, enjoyed the usufruct during his life. As a + just and prudent reward of military virtue, the spoils of the enemy were + acquired, possessed, and bequeathed by the soldier alone; and the fair + analogy was extended to the emoluments of any liberal profession, the + salary of public service, and the sacred liberality of the emperor or + empress. The life of a citizen was less exposed than his fortune to the + abuse of paternal power. Yet his life might be adverse to the interest or + passions of an unworthy father: the same crimes that flowed from the + corruption, were more sensibly felt by the humanity, of the Augustan age; + and the cruel Erixo, who whipped his son till he expired, was saved by the + emperor from the just fury of the multitude. <a href="#linknote-44.109" + name="linknoteref-44.109" id="linknoteref-44.109">109</a> The Roman father, + from the license of servile dominion, was reduced to the gravity and + moderation of a judge. The presence and opinion of Augustus confirmed the + sentence of exile pronounced against an intentional parricide by the + domestic tribunal of Arius. Adrian transported to an island the jealous + parent, who, like a robber, had seized the opportunity of hunting, to + assassinate a youth, the incestuous lover of his step-mother. <a + href="#linknote-44.110" name="linknoteref-44.110" id="linknoteref-44.110">110</a> + A private jurisdiction is repugnant to the spirit of monarchy; the parent + was again reduced from a judge to an accuser; and the magistrates were + enjoined by Severus Alexander to hear his complaints and execute his + sentence. He could no longer take the life of a son without incurring the + guilt and punishment of murder; and the pains of parricide, from which he + had been excepted by the Pompeian law, were finally inflicted by the + justice of Constantine. <a href="#linknote-44.111" name="linknoteref-44.111" + id="linknoteref-44.111">111</a> The same protection was due to every period + of existence; and reason must applaud the humanity of Paulus, for imputing + the crime of murder to the father who strangles, or starves, or abandons + his new-born infant; or exposes him in a public place to find the mercy + which he himself had denied. But the exposition of children was the + prevailing and stubborn vice of antiquity: it was sometimes prescribed, + often permitted, almost always practised with impunity, by the nations who + never entertained the Roman ideas of paternal power; and the dramatic + poets, who appeal to the human heart, represent with indifference a + popular custom which was palliated by the motives of economy and + compassion. <a href="#linknote-44.112" name="linknoteref-44.112" + id="linknoteref-44.112">112</a> If the father could subdue his own + feelings, he might escape, though not the censure, at least the + chastisement, of the laws; and the Roman empire was stained with the blood + of infants, till such murders were included, by Valentinian and his + colleagues, in the letter and spirit of the Cornelian law. The lessons of + jurisprudence <a href="#linknote-44.113" name="linknoteref-44.113" + id="linknoteref-44.113">113</a> and Christianity had been insufficient to + eradicate this inhuman practice, till their gentle influence was fortified + by the terrors of capital punishment. <a href="#linknote-44.114" + name="linknoteref-44.114" id="linknoteref-44.114">114</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.108" id="linknote-44.108"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 108 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.108">return</a>)<br /> [ See the gradual + enlargement and security of the filial peculium in the Institutes, (l. ii. + tit. ix.,) the Pandects, (l. xv. tit. i. l. xli. tit. i.,) and the Code, + (l. iv. tit. xxvi. xxvii.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.109" id="linknote-44.109"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 109 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.109">return</a>)<br /> [ The examples of Erixo + and Arius are related by Seneca, (de Clementia, i. 14, 15,) the former + with horror, the latter with applause.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.110" id="linknote-44.110"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 110 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.110">return</a>)<br /> [ Quod latronis magis + quam patris jure eum interfecit, nam patria potestas in pietate debet non + in atrocitate consistere, (Marcian. Institut. l. xix. in Pandect. l. + xlviii. tit. ix. leg.5.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.111" id="linknote-44.111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 111 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.111">return</a>)<br /> [ The Pompeian and + Cornelian laws de sicariis and parricidis are repeated, or rather + abridged, with the last supplements of Alexander Severus, Constantine, and + Valentinian, in the Pandects (l. xlviii. tit. viii ix,) and Code, (l. ix. + tit. xvi. xvii.) See likewise the Theodosian Code, (l. ix. tit. xiv. xv.,) + with Godefroy’s Commentary, (tom. iii. p. 84—113) who pours a flood + of ancient and modern learning over these penal laws.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.112" id="linknote-44.112"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 112 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.112">return</a>)<br /> [ When the Chremes of + Terence reproaches his wife for not obeying his orders and exposing their + infant, he speaks like a father and a master, and silences the scruples of + a foolish woman. See Apuleius, (Metamorph. l. x. p. 337, edit. Delphin.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.113" id="linknote-44.113"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 113 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.113">return</a>)<br /> [ The opinion of the + lawyers, and the discretion of the magistrates, had introduced, in the + time of Tacitus, some legal restraints, which might support his contrast + of the boni mores of the Germans to the bonae leges alibi—that is to + say, at Rome, (de Moribus Germanorum, c. 19.) Tertullian (ad Nationes, l. + i. c. 15) refutes his own charges, and those of his brethren, against the + heathen jurisprudence.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.114" id="linknote-44.114"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 114 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.114">return</a>)<br /> [ The wise and humane + sentence of the civilian Paul (l. ii. Sententiarum in Pandect, 1. xxv. + tit. iii. leg. 4) is represented as a mere moral precept by Gerard Noodt, + (Opp. tom. i. in Julius Paulus, p. 567—558, and Amica Responsio, p. + 591-606,) who maintains the opinion of Justus Lipsius, (Opp. tom. ii. p. + 409, ad Belgas. cent. i. epist. 85,) and as a positive binding law by + Bynkershoek, (de Jure occidendi Liberos, Opp. tom. i. p. 318—340. + Curae Secundae, p. 391—427.) In a learned out angry controversy, the + two friends deviated into the opposite extremes.] + </p> + <p> + Experience has proved, that savages are the tyrants of the female sex, and + that the condition of women is usually softened by the refinements of + social life. In the hope of a robust progeny, Lycurgus had delayed the + season of marriage: it was fixed by Numa at the tender age of twelve + years, that the Roman husband might educate to his will a pure and + obedient virgin. <a href="#linknote-44.115" name="linknoteref-44.115" + id="linknoteref-44.115">115</a> According to the custom of antiquity, he + bought his bride of her parents, and she fulfilled the coemption by + purchasing, with three pieces of copper, a just introduction to his house + and household deities. A sacrifice of fruits was offered by the pontiffs + in the presence of ten witnesses; the contracting parties were seated on + the same sheep-skin; they tasted a salt cake of far or rice; and this + confarreation, <a href="#linknote-44.116" name="linknoteref-44.116" + id="linknoteref-44.116">116</a> which denoted the ancient food of Italy, + served as an emblem of their mystic union of mind and body. But this union + on the side of the woman was rigorous and unequal; and she renounced the + name and worship of her father’s house, to embrace a new servitude, + decorated only by the title of adoption, a fiction of the law, neither + rational nor elegant, bestowed on the mother of a family <a + href="#linknote-44.117" name="linknoteref-44.117" id="linknoteref-44.117">117</a> + (her proper appellation) the strange characters of sister to her own + children, and of daughter to her husband or master, who was invested with + the plenitude of paternal power. By his judgment or caprice her behavior + was approved, or censured, or chastised; he exercised the jurisdiction of + life and death; and it was allowed, that in the cases of adultery or + drunkenness, <a href="#linknote-44.118" name="linknoteref-44.118" + id="linknoteref-44.118">118</a> the sentence might be properly inflicted. + She acquired and inherited for the sole profit of her lord; and so clearly + was woman defined, not as a person, but as a thing, that, if the original + title were deficient, she might be claimed, like other movables, by the + use and possession of an entire year. The inclination of the Roman husband + discharged or withheld the conjugal debt, so scrupulously exacted by the + Athenian and Jewish laws: <a href="#linknote-44.119" + name="linknoteref-44.119" id="linknoteref-44.119">119</a> but as polygamy + was unknown, he could never admit to his bed a fairer or a more favored + partner. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.115" id="linknote-44.115"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 115 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.115">return</a>)<br /> [ Dionys. Hal. l. ii. + p. 92, 93. Plutarch, in Numa, p. 140-141.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.116" id="linknote-44.116"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 116 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.116">return</a>)<br /> [ Among the winter + frunenta, the triticum, or bearded wheat; the siligo, or the unbearded; + the far, adorea, oryza, whose description perfectly tallies with the rice + of Spain and Italy. I adopt this identity on the credit of M. Paucton in + his useful and laborious Metrologie, (p. 517—529.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.117" id="linknote-44.117"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 117 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.117">return</a>)<br /> [ Aulus Gellius (Noctes + Atticae, xviii. 6) gives a ridiculous definition of Aelius Melissus, + Matrona, quae semel materfamilias quae saepius peperit, as porcetra and + scropha in the sow kind. He then adds the genuine meaning, quae in + matrimonium vel in manum convenerat.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.118" id="linknote-44.118"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 118 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.118">return</a>)<br /> [ It was enough to have + tasted wine, or to have stolen the key of the cellar, (Plin. Hist. Nat. + xiv. 14.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.119" id="linknote-44.119"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 119 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.119">return</a>)<br /> [ Solon requires three + payments per month. By the Misna, a daily debt was imposed on an idle, + vigorous, young husband; twice a week on a citizen; once on a peasant; + once in thirty days on a camel-driver; once in six months on a seaman. But + the student or doctor was free from tribute; and no wife, if she received + a weekly sustenance, could sue for a divorce; for one week a vow of + abstinence was allowed. Polygamy divided, without multiplying, the duties + of the husband, (Selden, Uxor Ebraica, l. iii. c 6, in his works, vol ii. + p. 717—720.)] + </p> + <p> + After the Punic triumphs, the matrons of Rome aspired to the common + benefits of a free and opulent republic: their wishes were gratified by + the indulgence of fathers and lovers, and their ambition was + unsuccessfully resisted by the gravity of Cato the Censor. <a + href="#linknote-44.120" name="linknoteref-44.120" id="linknoteref-44.120">120</a> + They declined the solemnities of the old nuptiais; defeated the annual + prescription by an absence of three days; and, without losing their name + or independence, subscribed the liberal and definite terms of a marriage + contract. Of their private fortunes, they communicated the use, and + secured the property: the estates of a wife could neither be alienated nor + mortgaged by a prodigal husband; their mutual gifts were prohibited by the + jealousy of the laws; and the misconduct of either party might afford, + under another name, a future subject for an action of theft. To this loose + and voluntary compact, religious and civil rights were no longer + essential; and, between persons of a similar rank, the apparent community + of life was allowed as sufficient evidence of their nuptials. The dignity + of marriage was restored by the Christians, who derived all spiritual + grace from the prayers of the faithful and the benediction of the priest + or bishop. The origin, validity, and duties of the holy institution were + regulated by the tradition of the synagogue, the precepts of the gospel, + and the canons of general or provincial synods; <a href="#linknote-44.121" + name="linknoteref-44.121" id="linknoteref-44.121">121</a> and the conscience + of the Christians was awed by the decrees and censures of their + ecclesiastical rulers. Yet the magistrates of Justinian were not subject + to the authority of the church: the emperor consulted the unbelieving + civilians of antiquity, and the choice of matrimonial laws in the Code and + Pandects, is directed by the earthly motives of justice, policy, and the + natural freedom of both sexes. <a href="#linknote-44.122" + name="linknoteref-44.122" id="linknoteref-44.122">122</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.120" id="linknote-44.120"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 120 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.120">return</a>)<br /> [ On the Oppian law we + may hear the mitigating speech of Vaerius Flaccus, and the severe + censorial oration of the elder Cato, (Liv. xxxiv. l—8.) But we shall + rather hear the polished historian of the eighth, than the rough orators + of the sixth, century of Rome. The principles, and even the style, of Cato + are more accurately preserved by Aulus Gellius, (x. 23.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.121" id="linknote-44.121"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 121 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.121">return</a>)<br /> [ For the system of + Jewish and Catholic matrimony, see Selden, (Uxor Ebraica, Opp. vol. ii. p. + 529—860,) Bingham, (Christian Antiquities, l. xxii.,) and Chardon, + (Hist. des Sacremens, tom. vi.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.122" id="linknote-44.122"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 122 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.122">return</a>)<br /> [ The civil laws of + marriage are exposed in the Institutes, (l. i. tit. x.,) the Pandects, (l. + xxiii. xxiv. xxv.,) and the Code, (l. v.;) but as the title de ritu + nuptiarum is yet imperfect, we are obliged to explore the fragments of + Ulpian (tit. ix. p. 590, 591,) and the Collatio Legum Mosaicarum, (tit. + xvi. p. 790, 791,) with the notes of Pithaeus and Schulting. They find in + the Commentary of Servius (on the 1st Georgia and the 4th Aeneid) two + curious passages.] + </p> + <p> + Besides the agreement of the parties, the essence of every rational + contract, the Roman marriage required the previous approbation of the + parents. A father might be forced by some recent laws to supply the wants + of a mature daughter; but even his insanity was not gradually allowed to + supersede the necessity of his consent. The causes of the dissolution of + matrimony have varied among the Romans; <a href="#linknote-44.123" + name="linknoteref-44.123" id="linknoteref-44.123">123</a> but the most + solemn sacrament, the confarreation itself, might always be done away by + rites of a contrary tendency. In the first ages, the father of a family + might sell his children, and his wife was reckoned in the number of his + children: the domestic judge might pronounce the death of the offender, or + his mercy might expel her from his bed and house; but the slavery of the + wretched female was hopeless and perpetual, unless he asserted for his own + convenience the manly prerogative of divorce. <a href="#linknote-44.1231" + name="linknoteref-44.1231" id="linknoteref-44.1231">1231</a> The warmest + applause has been lavished on the virtue of the Romans, who abstained from + the exercise of this tempting privilege above five hundred years: <a + href="#linknote-44.124" name="linknoteref-44.124" id="linknoteref-44.124">124</a> + but the same fact evinces the unequal terms of a connection in which the + slave was unable to renounce her tyrant, and the tyrant was unwilling to + relinquish his slave. When the Roman matrons became the equal and + voluntary companions of their lords, a new jurisprudence was introduced, + that marriage, like other partnerships, might be dissolved by the + abdication of one of the associates. In three centuries of prosperity and + corruption, this principle was enlarged to frequent practice and + pernicious abuse. + </p> + <p> + Passion, interest, or caprice, suggested daily motives for the dissolution + of marriage; a word, a sign, a message, a letter, the mandate of a + freedman, declared the separation; the most tender of human connections + was degraded to a transient society of profit or pleasure. According to + the various conditions of life, both sexes alternately felt the disgrace + and injury: an inconstant spouse transferred her wealth to a new family, + abandoning a numerous, perhaps a spurious, progeny to the paternal + authority and care of her late husband; a beautiful virgin might be + dismissed to the world, old, indigent, and friendless; but the reluctance + of the Romans, when they were pressed to marriage by Augustus, + sufficiently marks, that the prevailing institutions were least favorable + to the males. A specious theory is confuted by this free and perfect + experiment, which demonstrates, that the liberty of divorce does not + contribute to happiness and virtue. The facility of separation would + destroy all mutual confidence, and inflame every trifling dispute: the + minute difference between a husband and a stranger, which might so easily + be removed, might still more easily be forgotten; and the matron, who in + five years can submit to the embraces of eight husbands, must cease to + reverence the chastity of her own person. <a href="#linknote-44.125" + name="linknoteref-44.125" id="linknoteref-44.125">125</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.123" id="linknote-44.123"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 123 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.123">return</a>)<br /> [ According to + Plutarch, (p. 57,) Romulus allowed only three grounds of a divorce—drunkenness, + adultery, and false keys. Otherwise, the husband who abused his supremacy + forfeited half his goods to the wife, and half to the goddess Ceres, and + offered a sacrifice (with the remainder?) to the terrestrial deities. This + strange law was either imaginary or transient.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.1231" id="linknote-44.1231"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1231 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.1231">return</a>)<br /> [ Montesquieu relates + and explains this fact in a different marnes Esprit des Loix, l. xvi. c. + 16.—G.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.124" id="linknote-44.124"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 124 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.124">return</a>)<br /> [ In the year of Rome + 523, Spurius Carvilius Ruga repudiated a fair, a good, but a barren, wife, + (Dionysius Hal. l. ii. p. 93. Plutarch, in Numa, p. 141; Valerius Maximus, + l. ii. c. 1; Aulus Gellius, iv. 3.) He was questioned by the censors, and + hated by the people; but his divorce stood unimpeached in law.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.125" id="linknote-44.125"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 125 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.125">return</a>)<br /> [—Sic fiunt octo + mariti Quinque per autumnos. Juvenal, Satir. vi. 20.—A rapid + succession, which may yet be credible, as well as the non consulum numero, + sed maritorum annos suos computant, of Seneca, (de Beneficiis, iii. 16.) + Jerom saw at Rome a triumphant husband bury his twenty-first wife, who had + interred twenty-two of his less sturdy predecessors, (Opp. tom. i. p. 90, + ad Gerontiam.) But the ten husbands in a month of the poet Martial, is an + extravagant hyperbole, (l. 71. epigram 7.)] + </p> + <p> + Insufficient remedies followed with distant and tardy steps the rapid + progress of the evil. The ancient worship of the Romans afforded a + peculiar goddess to hear and reconcile the complaints of a married life; + but her epithet of Viriplaca, <a href="#linknote-44.126" + name="linknoteref-44.126" id="linknoteref-44.126">126</a> the appeaser of + husbands, too clearly indicates on which side submission and repentance + were always expected. Every act of a citizen was subject to the judgment + of the censors; the first who used the privilege of divorce assigned, at + their command, the motives of his conduct; <a href="#linknote-44.127" + name="linknoteref-44.127" id="linknoteref-44.127">127</a> and a senator was + expelled for dismissing his virgin spouse without the knowledge or advice + of his friends. Whenever an action was instituted for the recovery of a + marriage portion, the proetor, as the guardian of equity, examined the + cause and the characters, and gently inclined the scale in favor of the + guiltless and injured party. Augustus, who united the powers of both + magistrates, adopted their different modes of repressing or chastising the + license of divorce. <a href="#linknote-44.128" name="linknoteref-44.128" + id="linknoteref-44.128">128</a> The presence of seven Roman witnesses was + required for the validity of this solemn and deliberate act: if any + adequate provocation had been given by the husband, instead of the delay + of two years, he was compelled to refund immediately, or in the space of + six months; but if he could arraign the manners of his wife, her guilt or + levity was expiated by the loss of the sixth or eighth part of her + marriage portion. The Christian princes were the first who specified the + just causes of a private divorce; their institutions, from Constantine to + Justinian, appear to fluctuate between the custom of the empire and the + wishes of the church, <a href="#linknote-44.129" name="linknoteref-44.129" + id="linknoteref-44.129">129</a> and the author of the Novels too frequently + reforms the jurisprudence of the Code and Pandects. In the most rigorous + laws, a wife was condemned to support a gamester, a drunkard, or a + libertine, unless he were guilty of homicide, poison, or sacrilege, in + which cases the marriage, as it should seem, might have been dissolved by + the hand of the executioner. But the sacred right of the husband was + invariably maintained, to deliver his name and family from the disgrace of + adultery: the list of mortal sins, either male or female, was curtailed + and enlarged by successive regulations, and the obstacles of incurable + impotence, long absence, and monastic profession, were allowed to rescind + the matrimonial obligation. Whoever transgressed the permission of the + law, was subject to various and heavy penalties. The woman was stripped of + her wealth and ornaments, without excepting the bodkin of her hair: if the + man introduced a new bride into his bed, her fortune might be lawfully + seized by the vengeance of his exiled wife. Forfeiture was sometimes + commuted to a fine; the fine was sometimes aggravated by transportation to + an island, or imprisonment in a monastery; the injured party was released + from the bonds of marriage; but the offender, during life, or a term of + years, was disabled from the repetition of nuptials. The successor of + Justinian yielded to the prayers of his unhappy subjects, and restored the + liberty of divorce by mutual consent: the civilians were unanimous, <a + href="#linknote-44.130" name="linknoteref-44.130" id="linknoteref-44.130">130</a> + the theologians were divided, <a href="#linknote-44.131" + name="linknoteref-44.131" id="linknoteref-44.131">131</a> and the ambiguous + word, which contains the precept of Christ, is flexible to any + interpretation that the wisdom of a legislator can demand. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.126" id="linknote-44.126"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 126 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.126">return</a>)<br /> [ Sacellum Viriplacae, + (Valerius Maximus, l. ii. c. 1,) in the Palatine region, appears in the + time of Theodosius, in the description of Rome by Publius Victor.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.127" id="linknote-44.127"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 127 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.127">return</a>)<br /> [ Valerius Maximus, l. + ii. c. 9. With some propriety he judges divorce more criminal than + celibacy: illo namque conjugalia sacre spreta tantum, hoc etiam injuriose + tractata.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.128" id="linknote-44.128"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 128 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.128">return</a>)<br /> [ See the laws of + Augustus and his successors, in Heineccius, ad Legem Papiam-Poppaeam, c. + 19, in Opp. tom. vi. P. i. p. 323—333.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.129" id="linknote-44.129"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 129 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.129">return</a>)<br /> [ Aliae sunt leges + Caesarum, aliae Christi; aliud Papinianus, aliud Paulus nocter praecipit, + (Jerom. tom. i. p. 198. Selden, Uxor Ebraica l. iii. c. 31 p. 847—853.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.130" id="linknote-44.130"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 130 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.130">return</a>)<br /> [ The Institutes are + silent; but we may consult the Codes of Theodosius (l. iii. tit. xvi., + with Godefroy’s Commentary, tom. i. p. 310—315) and Justinian, (l. + v. tit. xvii.,) the Pandects (l. xxiv. tit. ii.) and the Novels, (xxii. + cxvii. cxxvii. cxxxiv. cxl.) Justinian fluctuated to the last between + civil and ecclesiastical law.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.131" id="linknote-44.131"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 131 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.131">return</a>)<br /> [ In pure Greek, it is + not a common word; nor can the proper meaning, fornication, be strictly + applied to matrimonial sin. In a figurative sense, how far, and to what + offences, may it be extended? Did Christ speak the Rabbinical or Syriac + tongue? Of what original word is the translation? How variously is that + Greek word translated in the versions ancient and modern! There are two + (Mark, x. 11, Luke, xvi. 18) to one (Matthew, xix. 9) that such ground of + divorce was not excepted by Jesus. Some critics have presumed to think, by + an evasive answer, he avoided the giving offence either to the school of + Sammai or to that of Hillel, (Selden, Uxor Ebraica, l. iii. c. 18—22, + 28, 31.) * Note: But these had nothing to do with the question of a + divorce made by judicial authority.—Hugo.] + </p> + <p> + The freedom of love and marriage was restrained among the Romans by + natural and civil impediments. An instinct, almost innate and universal, + appears to prohibit the incestuous commerce <a href="#linknote-44.132" + name="linknoteref-44.132" id="linknoteref-44.132">132</a> of parents and + children in the infinite series of ascending and descending generations. + Concerning the oblique and collateral branches, nature is indifferent, + reason mute, and custom various and arbitrary. In Egypt, the marriage of + brothers and sisters was admitted without scruple or exception: a Spartan + might espouse the daughter of his father, an Athenian, that of his mother; + and the nuptials of an uncle with his niece were applauded at Athens as a + happy union of the dearest relations. The profane lawgivers of Rome were + never tempted by interest or superstition to multiply the forbidden + degrees: but they inflexibly condemned the marriage of sisters and + brothers, hesitated whether first cousins should be touched by the same + interdict; revered the parental character of aunts and uncles, <a + href="#linknote-44.1321" name="linknoteref-44.1321" id="linknoteref-44.1321">1321</a> + and treated affinity and adoption as a just imitation of the ties of + blood. According to the proud maxims of the republic, a legal marriage + could only be contracted by free citizens; an honorable, at least an + ingenuous birth, was required for the spouse of a senator: but the blood + of kings could never mingle in legitimate nuptials with the blood of a + Roman; and the name of Stranger degraded Cleopatra and Berenice, <a + href="#linknote-44.133" name="linknoteref-44.133" id="linknoteref-44.133">133</a> + to live the concubines of Mark Antony and Titus. <a href="#linknote-44.134" + name="linknoteref-44.134" id="linknoteref-44.134">134</a> This appellation, + indeed, so injurious to the majesty, cannot without indulgence be applied + to the manners, of these Oriental queens. A concubine, in the strict sense + of the civilians, was a woman of servile or plebeian extraction, the sole + and faithful companion of a Roman citizen, who continued in a state of + celibacy. Her modest station, below the honors of a wife, above the infamy + of a prostitute, was acknowledged and approved by the laws: from the age + of Augustus to the tenth century, the use of this secondary marriage + prevailed both in the West and East; and the humble virtues of a concubine + were often preferred to the pomp and insolence of a noble matron. In this + connection, the two Antonines, the best of princes and of men, enjoyed the + comforts of domestic love: the example was imitated by many citizens + impatient of celibacy, but regardful of their families. If at any time + they desired to legitimate their natural children, the conversion was + instantly performed by the celebration of their nuptials with a partner + whose faithfulness and fidelity they had already tried. <a + href="#linknote-44.1341" name="linknoteref-44.1341" id="linknoteref-44.1341">1341</a> + By this epithet of natural, the offspring of the concubine were + distinguished from the spurious brood of adultery, prostitution, and + incest, to whom Justinian reluctantly grants the necessary aliments of + life; and these natural children alone were capable of succeeding to a + sixth part of the inheritance of their reputed father. According to the + rigor of law, bastards were entitled only to the name and condition of + their mother, from whom they might derive the character of a slave, a + stranger, or a citizen. The outcasts of every family were adopted without + reproach as the children of the state. <a href="#linknote-44.135" + name="linknoteref-44.135" id="linknoteref-44.135">135</a> <a + href="#linknote-44.1351" name="linknoteref-44.1351" id="linknoteref-44.1351">1351</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.132" id="linknote-44.132"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 132 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.132">return</a>)<br /> [ The principles of the + Roman jurisprudence are exposed by Justinian, (Institut. t. i. tit. x.;) + and the laws and manners of the different nations of antiquity concerning + forbidden degrees, &c., are copiously explained by Dr. Taylor in his + Elements of Civil Law, (p. 108, 314—339,) a work of amusing, though + various reading; but which cannot be praised for philosophical precision.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.1321" id="linknote-44.1321"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1321 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.1321">return</a>)<br /> [ According to the + earlier law, (Gaii Instit. p. 27,) a man might marry his niece on the + brother’s, not on the sister’s, side. The emperor Claudius set the example + of the former. In the Institutes, this distinction was abolished and both + declared illegal.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.133" id="linknote-44.133"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 133 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.133">return</a>)<br /> [ When her father + Agrippa died, (A.D. 44,) Berenice was sixteen years of age, (Joseph. tom. + i. Antiquit. Judaic. l. xix. c. 9, p. 952, edit. Havercamp.) She was + therefore above fifty years old when Titus (A.D. 79) invitus invitam + invisit. This date would not have adorned the tragedy or pastoral of the + tender Racine.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.134" id="linknote-44.134"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 134 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.134">return</a>)<br /> [ The Aegyptia conjux + of Virgil (Aeneid, viii. 688) seems to be numbered among the monsters who + warred with Mark Antony against Augustus, the senate, and the gods of + Italy.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.1341" id="linknote-44.1341"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1341 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.1341">return</a>)<br /> [ The Edict of + Constantine first conferred this right; for Augustus had prohibited the + taking as a concubine a woman who might be taken as a wife; and if + marriage took place afterwards, this marriage made no change in the rights + of the children born before it; recourse was then had to adoption, + properly called arrogation.—G.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.135" id="linknote-44.135"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 135 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.135">return</a>)<br /> [ The humble but legal + rights of concubines and natural children are stated in the Institutes, + (l. i. tit. x.,) the Pandects, (l. i. tit. vii.,) the Code, (l. v. tit. + xxv.,) and the Novels, (lxxiv. lxxxix.) The researches of Heineccius and + Giannone, (ad Legem Juliam et Papiam-Poppaeam, c. iv. p. 164-175. Opere + Posthume, p. 108—158) illustrate this interesting and domestic + subject.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.1351" id="linknote-44.1351"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1351 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.1351">return</a>)<br /> [ See, however, the + two fragments of laws in the newly discovered extracts from the Theodosian + Code, published by M. A. Peyron, at Turin. By the first law of + Constantine, the legitimate offspring could alone inherit; where there + were no near legitimate relatives, the inheritance went to the fiscus. The + son of a certain Licinianus, who had inherited his father’s property under + the supposition that he was legitimate, and had been promoted to a place + of dignity, was to be degraded, his property confiscated, himself punished + with stripes and imprisonment. By the second, all persons, even of the + highest rank, senators, perfectissimi, decemvirs, were to be declared + infamous, and out of the protection of the Roman law, if born ex ancilla, + vel ancillae filia, vel liberta, vel libertae filia, sive Romana facta, + seu Latina, vel scaenicae filia, vel ex tabernaria, vel ex tabernariae + filia, vel humili vel abjecta, vel lenonis, aut arenarii filia, vel quae + mercimoniis publicis praefuit. Whatever a fond father had conferred on + such children was revoked, and either restored to the legitimate children, + or confiscated to the state; the mothers, who were guilty of thus + poisoning the minds of the fathers, were to be put to the torture + (tormentis subici jubemus.) The unfortunate son of Licinianus, it appears + from this second law, having fled, had been taken, and was ordered to be + kept in chains to work in the Gynaeceum at Carthage. Cod. Theodor ab. A. + Person, 87—90.—M.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap44.6"></a> +Chapter XLIV: Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part VI.</h2> + + <p> + The relation of guardian and ward, or in Roman words of tutor and pupil, + which covers so many titles of the Institutes and Pandects, <a + href="#linknote-44.136" name="linknoteref-44.136" id="linknoteref-44.136">136</a> + is of a very simple and uniform nature. The person and property of an + orphan must always be trusted to the custody of some discreet friend. If + the deceased father had not signified his choice, the agnats, or paternal + kindred of the nearest degree, were compelled to act as the natural + guardians: the Athenians were apprehensive of exposing the infant to the + power of those most interested in his death; but an axiom of Roman + jurisprudence has pronounced, that the charge of tutelage should + constantly attend the emolument of succession. If the choice of the + father, and the line of consanguinity, afforded no efficient guardian, the + failure was supplied by the nomination of the praetor of the city, or the + president of the province. But the person whom they named to this public + office might be legally excused by insanity or blindness, by ignorance or + inability, by previous enmity or adverse interest, by the number of + children or guardianships with which he was already burdened, and by the + immunities which were granted to the useful labors of magistrates, + lawyers, physicians, and professors. Till the infant could speak, and + think, he was represented by the tutor, whose authority was finally + determined by the age of puberty. Without his consent, no act of the pupil + could bind himself to his own prejudice, though it might oblige others for + his personal benefit. It is needless to observe, that the tutor often gave + security, and always rendered an account, and that the want of diligence + or integrity exposed him to a civil and almost criminal action for the + violation of his sacred trust. The age of puberty had been rashly fixed by + the civilians at fourteen; <a href="#linknote-44.1361" + name="linknoteref-44.1361" id="linknoteref-44.1361">1361</a> but as the + faculties of the mind ripen more slowly than those of the body, a curator + was interposed to guard the fortunes of a Roman youth from his own + inexperience and headstrong passions. Such a trustee had been first + instituted by the praetor, to save a family from the blind havoc of a + prodigal or madman; and the minor was compelled, by the laws, to solicit + the same protection, to give validity to his acts till he accomplished the + full period of twenty-five years. Women were condemned to the perpetual + tutelage of parents, husbands, or guardians; a sex created to please and + obey was never supposed to have attained the age of reason and experience. + Such, at least, was the stern and haughty spirit of the ancient law, which + had been insensibly mollified before the time of Justinian. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.136" id="linknote-44.136"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 136 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.136">return</a>)<br /> [ See the article of + guardians and wards in the Institutes, (l. i. tit. xiii.—xxvi.,) the + Pandects, (l. xxvi. xxvii.,) and the Code, (l. v. tit. xxviii.—lxx.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.1361" id="linknote-44.1361"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1361 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.1361">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon accuses the + civilians of having “rashly fixed the age of puberty at twelve or fourteen + years.” It was not so; before Justinian, no law existed on this subject. + Ulpian relates the discussions which took place on this point among the + different sects of civilians. See the Institutes, l. i. tit. 22, and the + fragments of Ulpian. Nor was the curatorship obligatory for all minors.—W.] + </p> + <p> + II. The original right of property can only be justified by the accident + or merit of prior occupancy; and on this foundation it is wisely + established by the philosophy of the civilians. <a href="#linknote-44.137" + name="linknoteref-44.137" id="linknoteref-44.137">137</a> The savage who + hollows a tree, inserts a sharp stone into a wooden handle, or applies a + string to an elastic branch, becomes in a state of nature the just + proprietor of the canoe, the bow, or the hatchet. The materials were + common to all, the new form, the produce of his time and simple industry, + belongs solely to himself. His hungry brethren cannot, without a sense of + their own injustice, extort from the hunter the game of the forest + overtaken or slain by his personal strength and dexterity. If his + provident care preserves and multiplies the tame animals, whose nature is + tractable to the arts of education, he acquires a perpetual title to the + use and service of their numerous progeny, which derives its existence + from him alone. If he encloses and cultivates a field for their sustenance + and his own, a barren waste is converted into a fertile soil; the seed, + the manure, the labor, create a new value, and the rewards of harvest are + painfully earned by the fatigues of the revolving year. In the successive + states of society, the hunter, the shepherd, the husbandman, may defend + their possessions by two reasons which forcibly appeal to the feelings of + the human mind: that whatever they enjoy is the fruit of their own + industry; and that every man who envies their felicity, may purchase + similar acquisitions by the exercise of similar diligence. Such, in truth, + may be the freedom and plenty of a small colony cast on a fruitful island. + But the colony multiplies, while the space still continues the same; the + common rights, the equal inheritance of mankind, are engrossed by the bold + and crafty; each field and forest is circumscribed by the landmarks of a + jealous master; and it is the peculiar praise of the Roman jurisprudence, + that it asserts the claim of the first occupant to the wild animals of the + earth, the air, and the waters. In the progress from primitive equity to + final injustice, the steps are silent, the shades are almost + imperceptible, and the absolute monopoly is guarded by positive laws and + artificial reason. The active, insatiate principle of self-love can alone + supply the arts of life and the wages of industry; and as soon as civil + government and exclusive property have been introduced, they become + necessary to the existence of the human race. Except in the singular + institutions of Sparta, the wisest legislators have disapproved an + agrarian law as a false and dangerous innovation. Among the Romans, the + enormous disproportion of wealth surmounted the ideal restraints of a + doubtful tradition, and an obsolete statute; a tradition that the poorest + follower of Romulus had been endowed with the perpetual inheritance of two + jugera; <a href="#linknote-44.138" name="linknoteref-44.138" + id="linknoteref-44.138">138</a> a statute which confined the richest + citizen to the measure of five hundred jugera, or three hundred and twelve + acres of land. The original territory of Rome consisted only of some miles + of wood and meadow along the banks of the Tyber; and domestic exchange + could add nothing to the national stock. But the goods of an alien or + enemy were lawfully exposed to the first hostile occupier; the city was + enriched by the profitable trade of war; and the blood of her sons was the + only price that was paid for the Volscian sheep, the slaves of Briton, or + the gems and gold of Asiatic kingdoms. In the language of ancient + jurisprudence, which was corrupted and forgotten before the age of + Justinian, these spoils were distinguished by the name of manceps or + manicipium, taken with the hand; and whenever they were sold or + emancipated, the purchaser required some assurance that they had been the + property of an enemy, and not of a fellow-citizen. <a + href="#linknote-44.139" name="linknoteref-44.139" id="linknoteref-44.139">139</a> + A citizen could only forfeit his rights by apparent dereliction, and such + dereliction of a valuable interest could not easily be presumed. Yet, + according to the Twelve Tables, a prescription of one year for movables, + and of two years for immovables, abolished the claim of the ancient + master, if the actual possessor had acquired them by a fair transaction + from the person whom he believed to be the lawful proprietor. <a + href="#linknote-44.140" name="linknoteref-44.140" id="linknoteref-44.140">140</a> + Such conscientious injustice, without any mixture of fraud or force could + seldom injure the members of a small republic; but the various periods of + three, of ten, or of twenty years, determined by Justinian, are more + suitable to the latitude of a great empire. It is only in the term of + prescription that the distinction of real and personal fortune has been + remarked by the civilians; and their general idea of property is that of + simple, uniform, and absolute dominion. The subordinate exceptions of use, + of usufruct, <a href="#linknote-44.141" name="linknoteref-44.141" + id="linknoteref-44.141">141</a> of servitude, <a href="#linknote-44.142" + name="linknoteref-44.142" id="linknoteref-44.142">142</a> imposed for the + benefit of a neighbor on lands and houses, are abundantly explained by the + professors of jurisprudence. The claims of property, as far as they are + altered by the mixture, the division, or the transformation of substances, + are investigated with metaphysical subtilty by the same civilians. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.137" id="linknote-44.137"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 137 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.137">return</a>)<br /> [ Institut. l. ii. tit + i. ii. Compare the pure and precise reasoning of Caius and Heineccius (l. + ii. tit. i. p. 69-91) with the loose prolixity of Theophilus, (p. 207—265.) + The opinions of Ulpian are preserved in the Pandects, (l. i. tit. viii. + leg. 41, No. 1.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.138" id="linknote-44.138"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 138 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.138">return</a>)<br /> [ The heredium of the + first Romans is defined by Varro, (de Re Rustica, l. i. c. ii. p. 141, c. + x. p. 160, 161, edit. Gesner,) and clouded by Pliny’s declamation, (Hist. + Natur. xviii. 2.) A just and learned comment is given in the + Administration des Terres chez les Romains, (p. 12—66.) Note: On the + duo jugera, compare Niebuhr, vol. i. p. 337.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.139" id="linknote-44.139"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 139 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.139">return</a>)<br /> [ The res mancipi is + explained from faint and remote lights by Ulpian (Fragment. tit. xviii. p. + 618, 619) and Bynkershoek, (Opp tom. i. p. 306—315.) The definition + is somewhat arbitrary; and as none except myself have assigned a reason, I + am diffident of my own.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.140" id="linknote-44.140"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 140 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.140">return</a>)<br /> [ From this short + prescription, Hume (Essays, vol. i. p. 423) infers that there could not + then be more order and settlement in Italy than now amongst the Tartars. + By the civilian of his adversary Wallace, he is reproached, and not + without reason, for overlooking the conditions, (Institut. l. ii. tit. + vi.) * Note: Gibbon acknowledges, in the former note, the obscurity of his + views with regard to the res mancipi. The interpreters, who preceded him, + are not agreed on this point, one of the most difficult in the ancient + Roman law. The conclusions of Hume, of which the author here speaks, are + grounded on false assumptions. Gibbon had conceived very inaccurate + notions of Property among the Romans, and those of many authors in the + present day are not less erroneous. We think it right, in this place, to + develop the system of property among the Romans, as the result of the + study of the extant original authorities on the ancient law, and as it has + been demonstrated, recognized, and adopted by the most learned expositors + of the Roman law. Besides the authorities formerly known, such as the + Fragments of Ulpian, t. xix. and t. i. 16. Theoph. Paraph. i. 5, 4, may be + consulted the Institutes of Gaius, i. 54, and ii. 40, et seq. The Roman + laws protected all property acquired in a lawful manner. They imposed on + those who had invaded it, the obligation of making restitution and + reparation of all damage caused by that invasion; they punished it + moreover, in many cases, by a pecuniary fine. But they did not always + grant a recovery against the third person, who had become bona fide + possessed of the property. He who had obtained possession of a thing + belonging to another, knowing nothing of the prior rights of that person, + maintained the possession. The law had expressly determined those cases, + in which it permitted property to be reclaimed from an innocent possessor. + In these cases possession had the characters of absolute proprietorship, + called mancipium, jus Quiritium. To possess this right, it was not + sufficient to have entered into possession of the thing in any manner; the + acquisition was bound to have that character of publicity, which was given + by the observation of solemn forms, prescribed by the laws, or the + uninterrupted exercise of proprietorship during a certain time: the Roman + citizen alone could acquire this proprietorship. Every other kind of + possession, which might be named imperfect proprietorship, was called “in + bonis habere.” It was not till after the time of Cicero that the general + name of Dominium was given to all proprietorship. It was then the + publicity which constituted the distinctive character of absolute + dominion. This publicity was grounded on the mode of acquisition, which + the moderns have called Civil, (Modi adquirendi Civiles.) These modes of + acquisition were, 1. Mancipium or mancipatio, which was nothing but the + solemn delivering over of the thing in the presence of a determinate + number of witnesses and a public officer; it was from this probably that + proprietorship was named, 2. In jure cessio, which was a solemn delivering + over before the praetor. 3. Adjudicatio, made by a judge, in a case of + partition. 4. Lex, which comprehended modes of acquiring in particular + cases determined by law; probably the law of the xii. tables; for + instance, the sub corona emptio and the legatum. 5. Usna, called + afterwards usacapio, and by the moderns prescription. This was only a year + for movables; two years for things not movable. Its primary object was + altogether different from that of prescription in the present day. It was + originally introduced in order to transform the simple possession of a + thing (in bonis habere) into Roman proprietorship. The public and + uninterrupted possession of a thing, enjoyed for the space of one or two + years, was sufficient to make known to the inhabitants of the city of Rome + to whom the thing belonged. This last mode of acquisition completed the + system of civil acquisitions. by legalizing. as it were, every other kind + of acquisition which was not conferred, from the commencement, by the Jus + Quiritium. V. Ulpian. Fragm. i. 16. Gaius, ii. 14. We believe, according + to Gaius, 43, that this usucaption was extended to the case where a thing + had been acquired from a person not the real proprietor; and that + according to the time prescribed, it gave to the possessor the Roman + proprietorship. But this does not appear to have been the original design + of this Institution. Caeterum etiam earum rerum usucapio nobis competit, + quae non a domino nobis tradita fuerint, si modo eas bona fide acceperimus + Gaius, l ii. 43. As to things of smaller value, or those which it was + difficult to distinguish from each other, the solemnities of which we + speak were not requisite to obtain legal proprietorship. In this case + simple delivery was sufficient. In proportion to the aggrandizement of the + Republic, this latter principle became more important from the increase of + the commerce and wealth of the state. It was necessary to know what were + those things of which absolute property might be acquired by simple + delivery, and what, on the contrary, those, the acquisition of which must + be sanctioned by these solemnities. This question was necessarily to be + decided by a general rule; and it is this rule which establishes the + distinction between res mancipi and nec mancipi, a distinction about which + the opinions of modern civilians differ so much that there are above ten + conflicting systems on the subject. The system which accords best with a + sound interpretation of the Roman laws, is that proposed by M. Trekel of + Hamburg, and still further developed by M. Hugo, who has extracted it in + the Magazine of Civil Law, vol. ii. p. 7. This is the system now almost + universally adopted. Res mancipi (by contraction for mancipii) were things + of which the absolute property (Jus Quiritium) might be acquired only by + the solemnities mentioned above, at least by that of mancipation, which + was, without doubt, the most easy and the most usual. Gaius, ii. 25. As + for other things, the acquisition of which was not subject to these forms, + in order to confer absolute right, they were called res nec mancipi. See + Ulpian, Fragm. xix. 1. 3, 7. Ulpian and Varro enumerate the different + kinds of res mancipi. Their enumerations do not quite agree; and various + methods of reconciling them have been attempted. The authority of Ulpian, + however, who wrote as a civilian, ought to have the greater weight on this + subject. But why are these things alone res mancipi? This is one of the + questions which have been most frequently agitated, and on which the + opinions of civilians are most divided. M. Hugo has resolved it in the + most natural and satisfactory manner. “All things which were easily known + individually, which were of great value, with which the Romans were + acquainted, and which they highly appreciated, were res mancipi. Of old + mancipation or some other solemn form was required for the acquisition of + these things, an account of their importance. Mancipation served to prove + their acquisition, because they were easily distinguished one from the + other.” On this great historical discussion consult the Magazine of Civil + Law by M. Hugo, vol. ii. p. 37, 38; the dissertation of M. J. M. + Zachariae, de Rebus Mancipi et nec Mancipi Conjecturae, p. 11. Lipsiae, + 1807; the History of Civil Law by M. Hugo; and my Institutiones Juris + Romani Privati p. 108, 110. As a general rule, it may be said that all + things are res nec mancipi; the res mancipi are the exception to this + principle. The praetors changed the system of property by allowing a + person, who had a thing in bonis, the right to recover before the + prescribed term of usucaption had conferred absolute proprietorship. + (Pauliana in rem actio.) Justinian went still further, in times when there + was no longer any distinction between a Roman citizen and a stranger. He + granted the right of recovering all things which had been acquired, + whether by what were called civil or natural modes of acquisition, Cod. l. + vii. t. 25, 31. And he so altered the theory of Gaius in his Institutes, + ii. 1, that no trace remains of the doctrine taught by that civilian.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.141" id="linknote-44.141"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 141 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.141">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Institutes + (l. i. tit. iv. v.) and the Pandects, (l. vii.) Noodt has composed a + learned and distinct treatise de Usufructu, (Opp. tom. i. p. 387—478.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.142" id="linknote-44.142"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 142 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.142">return</a>)<br /> [ The questions de + Servitutibus are discussed in the Institutes (l. ii. tit. iii.) and + Pandects, (l. viii.) Cicero (pro Murena, c. 9) and Lactantius (Institut. + Divin. l. i. c. i.) affect to laugh at the insignificant doctrine, de aqua + de pluvia arcenda, &c. Yet it might be of frequent use among litigious + neighbors, both in town and country.] + </p> + <p> + The personal title of the first proprietor must be determined by his + death: but the possession, without any appearance of change, is peaceably + continued in his children, the associates of his toil, and the partners of + his wealth. This natural inheritance has been protected by the legislators + of every climate and age, and the father is encouraged to persevere in + slow and distant improvements, by the tender hope, that a long posterity + will enjoy the fruits of his labor. The principle of hereditary succession + is universal; but the order has been variously established by convenience + or caprice, by the spirit of national institutions, or by some partial + example which was originally decided by fraud or violence. The + jurisprudence of the Romans appear to have deviated from the inequality of + nature much less than the Jewish, <a href="#linknote-44.143" + name="linknoteref-44.143" id="linknoteref-44.143">143</a> the Athenian, <a + href="#linknote-44.144" name="linknoteref-44.144" id="linknoteref-44.144">144</a> + or the English institutions. <a href="#linknote-44.145" + name="linknoteref-44.145" id="linknoteref-44.145">145</a> On the death of a + citizen, all his descendants, unless they were already freed from his + paternal power, were called to the inheritance of his possessions. The + insolent prerogative of primogeniture was unknown; the two sexes were + placed on a just level; all the sons and daughters were entitled to an + equal portion of the patrimonial estate; and if any of the sons had been + intercepted by a premature death, his person was represented, and his + share was divided, by his surviving children. On the failure of the direct + line, the right of succession must diverge to the collateral branches. The + degrees of kindred <a href="#linknote-44.146" name="linknoteref-44.146" + id="linknoteref-44.146">146</a> are numbered by the civilians, ascending + from the last possessor to a common parent, and descending from the common + parent to the next heir: my father stands in the first degree, my brother + in the second, his children in the third, and the remainder of the series + may be conceived by a fancy, or pictured in a genealogical table. In this + computation, a distinction was made, essential to the laws and even the + constitution of Rome; the agnats, or persons connected by a line of males, + were called, as they stood in the nearest degree, to an equal partition; + but a female was incapable of transmitting any legal claims; and the + cognats of every rank, without excepting the dear relation of a mother and + a son, were disinherited by the Twelve Tables, as strangers and aliens. + Among the Romans agens or lineage was united by a common name and domestic + rites; the various cognomens or surnames of Scipio, or Marcellus, + distinguished from each other the subordinate branches or families of the + Cornelian or Claudian race: the default of the agnats, of the same + surname, was supplied by the larger denomination of gentiles; and the + vigilance of the laws maintained, in the same name, the perpetual descent + of religion and property. A similar principle dictated the Voconian law, + <a href="#linknote-44.147" name="linknoteref-44.147" id="linknoteref-44.147">147</a> + which abolished the right of female inheritance. As long as virgins were + given or sold in marriage, the adoption of the wife extinguished the hopes + of the daughter. But the equal succession of independent matrons supported + their pride and luxury, and might transport into a foreign house the + riches of their fathers. + </p> + <p> + While the maxims of Cato <a href="#linknote-44.148" name="linknoteref-44.148" + id="linknoteref-44.148">148</a> were revered, they tended to perpetuate in + each family a just and virtuous mediocrity: till female blandishments + insensibly triumphed; and every salutary restraint was lost in the + dissolute greatness of the republic. The rigor of the decemvirs was + tempered by the equity of the praetors. Their edicts restored and + emancipated posthumous children to the rights of nature; and upon the + failure of the agnats, they preferred the blood of the cognats to the name + of the gentiles whose title and character were insensibly covered with + oblivion. The reciprocal inheritance of mothers and sons was established + in the Tertullian and Orphitian decrees by the humanity of the senate. A + new and more impartial order was introduced by the Novels of Justinian, + who affected to revive the jurisprudence of the Twelve Tables. The lines + of masculine and female kindred were confounded: the descending, + ascending, and collateral series was accurately defined; and each degree, + according to the proximity of blood and affection, succeeded to the vacant + possessions of a Roman citizen. <a href="#linknote-44.149" + name="linknoteref-44.149" id="linknoteref-44.149">149</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.143" id="linknote-44.143"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 143 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.143">return</a>)<br /> [ Among the patriarchs, + the first-born enjoyed a mystic and spiritual primogeniture, (Genesis, + xxv. 31.) In the land of Canaan, he was entitled to a double portion of + inheritance, (Deuteronomy, xxi. 17, with Le Clerc’s judicious + Commentary.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.144" id="linknote-44.144"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 144 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.144">return</a>)<br /> [ At Athens, the sons + were equal; but the poor daughters were endowed at the discretion of their + brothers. See the pleadings of Isaeus, (in the viith volume of the Greek + Orators,) illustrated by the version and comment of Sir William Jones, a + scholar, a lawyer, and a man of genius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.145" id="linknote-44.145"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 145 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.145">return</a>)<br /> [ In England, the + eldest son also inherits all the land; a law, says the orthodox Judge + Blackstone, (Commentaries on the Laws of England, vol. ii. p. 215,) unjust + only in the opinion of younger brothers. It may be of some political use + in sharpening their industry.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.146" id="linknote-44.146"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 146 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.146">return</a>)<br /> [ Blackstone’s Tables + (vol. ii. p. 202) represent and compare the decrees of the civil with + those of the canon and common law. A separate tract of Julius Paulus, de + gradibus et affinibus, is inserted or abridged in the Pandects, (l. + xxxviii. tit. x.) In the viith degrees he computes (No. 18) 1024 persons.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.147" id="linknote-44.147"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 147 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.147">return</a>)<br /> [ The Voconian law was + enacted in the year of Rome 584. The younger Scipio, who was then 17 years + of age, (Frenshemius, Supplement. Livian. xlvi. 40,) found an occasion of + exercising his generosity to his mother, sisters, &c. (Polybius, tom. + ii. l. xxxi. p. 1453—1464, edit Gronov., a domestic witness.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.148" id="linknote-44.148"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 148 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.148">return</a>)<br /> [ Legem Voconiam + (Ernesti, Clavis Ciceroniana) magna voce bonis lateribus (at lxv. years of + age) suasissem, says old Cato, (de Senectute, c. 5,) Aulus Gellius (vii. + 13, xvii. 6) has saved some passages.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.149" id="linknote-44.149"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 149 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.149">return</a>)<br /> [ See the law of + succession in the Institutes of Caius, (l. ii. tit. viii. p. 130—144,) + and Justinian, (l. iii. tit. i.—vi., with the Greek version of + Theophilus, p. 515-575, 588—600,) the Pandects, (l. xxxviii. tit. + vi.—xvii.,) the Code, (l. vi. tit. lv.—lx.,) and the Novels, + (cxviii.)] + </p> + <p> + The order of succession is regulated by nature, or at least by the general + and permanent reason of the lawgiver: but this order is frequently + violated by the arbitrary and partial wills, which prolong the dominion of + the testator beyond the grave. <a href="#linknote-44.150" + name="linknoteref-44.150" id="linknoteref-44.150">150</a> In the simple + state of society, this last use or abuse of the right of property is + seldom indulged: it was introduced at Athens by the laws of Solon; and the + private testaments of the father of a family are authorized by the Twelve + Tables. Before the time of the decemvirs, <a href="#linknote-44.151" + name="linknoteref-44.151" id="linknoteref-44.151">151</a> a Roman citizen + exposed his wishes and motives to the assembly of the thirty curiae or + parishes, and the general law of inheritance was suspended by an + occasional act of the legislature. After the permission of the decemvirs, + each private lawgiver promulgated his verbal or written testament in the + presence of five citizens, who represented the five classes of the Roman + people; a sixth witness attested their concurrence; a seventh weighed the + copper money, which was paid by an imaginary purchaser; and the estate was + emancipated by a fictitious sale and immediate release. This singular + ceremony, <a href="#linknote-44.152" name="linknoteref-44.152" + id="linknoteref-44.152">152</a> which excited the wonder of the Greeks, was + still practised in the age of Severus; but the praetors had already + approved a more simple testament, for which they required the seals and + signatures of seven witnesses, free from all legal exception, and + purposely summoned for the execution of that important act. A domestic + monarch, who reigned over the lives and fortunes of his children, might + distribute their respective shares according to the degrees of their merit + or his affection; his arbitrary displeasure chastised an unworthy son by + the loss of his inheritance, and the mortifying preference of a stranger. + But the experience of unnatural parents recommended some limitations of + their testamentary powers. A son, or, by the laws of Justinian, even a + daughter, could no longer be disinherited by their silence: they were + compelled to name the criminal, and to specify the offence; and the + justice of the emperor enumerated the sole causes that could justify such + a violation of the first principles of nature and society. <a + href="#linknote-44.153" name="linknoteref-44.153" id="linknoteref-44.153">153</a> + Unless a legitimate portion, a fourth part, had been reserved for the + children, they were entitled to institute an action or complaint of + inofficious testament; to suppose that their father’s understanding was + impaired by sickness or age; and respectfully to appeal from his rigorous + sentence to the deliberate wisdom of the magistrate. In the Roman + jurisprudence, an essential distinction was admitted between the + inheritance and the legacies. The heirs who succeeded to the entire unity, + or to any of the twelve fractions of the substance of the testator, + represented his civil and religious character, asserted his rights, + fulfilled his obligations, and discharged the gifts of friendship or + liberality, which his last will had bequeathed under the name of legacies. + But as the imprudence or prodigality of a dying man might exhaust the + inheritance, and leave only risk and labor to his successor, he was + empowered to retain the Falcidian portion; to deduct, before the payment + of the legacies, a clear fourth for his own emolument. A reasonable time + was allowed to examine the proportion between the debts and the estate, to + decide whether he should accept or refuse the testament; and if he used + the benefit of an inventory, the demands of the creditors could not exceed + the valuation of the effects. The last will of a citizen might be altered + during his life, or rescinded after his death: the persons whom he named + might die before him, or reject the inheritance, or be exposed to some + legal disqualification. In the contemplation of these events, he was + permitted to substitute second and third heirs, to replace each other + according to the order of the testament; and the incapacity of a madman or + an infant to bequeath his property might be supplied by a similar + substitution. <a href="#linknote-44.154" name="linknoteref-44.154" + id="linknoteref-44.154">154</a> But the power of the testator expired with + the acceptance of the testament: each Roman of mature age and discretion + acquired the absolute dominion of his inheritance, and the simplicity of + the civil law was never clouded by the long and intricate entails which + confine the happiness and freedom of unborn generations. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.150" id="linknote-44.150"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 150 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.150">return</a>)<br /> [ That succession was + the rule, testament the exception, is proved by Taylor, (Elements of Civil + Law, p. 519-527,) a learned, rambling, spirited writer. In the iid and + iiid books, the method of the Institutes is doubtless preposterous; and + the Chancellor Daguesseau (Oeuvres, tom. i. p. 275) wishes his countryman + Domat in the place of Tribonian. Yet covenants before successions is not + surely the natural order of civil laws.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.151" id="linknote-44.151"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 151 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.151">return</a>)<br /> [ Prior examples of + testaments are perhaps fabulous. At Athens a childless father only could + make a will, (Plutarch, in Solone, tom. i. p. 164. See Isaeus and Jones.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.152" id="linknote-44.152"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 152 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.152">return</a>)<br /> [ The testament of + Augustus is specified by Suetonius, (in August, c. 101, in Neron. c. 4,) + who may be studied as a code of Roman antiquities. Plutarch (Opuscul. tom. + ii. p. 976) is surprised. The language of Ulpian (Fragment. tit. xx. p. + 627, edit. Schulting) is almost too exclusive—solum in usu est.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.153" id="linknote-44.153"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 153 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.153">return</a>)<br /> [ Justinian (Novell. + cxv. No. 3, 4) enumerates only the public and private crimes, for which a + son might likewise disinherit his father. Note: Gibbon has singular + notions on the provisions of Novell. cxv. 3, 4, which probably he did not + clearly understand.—W] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.154" id="linknote-44.154"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 154 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.154">return</a>)<br /> [ The substitutions of + fidei-commissaires of the modern civil law is a feudal idea grafted on the + Roman jurisprudence, and bears scarcely any resemblance to the ancient + fidei-commissa, (Institutions du Droit Francois, tom. i. p. 347-383. + Denissart, Decisions de Jurisprudence, tom. iv. p. 577-604.) They were + stretched to the fourth degree by an abuse of the clixth Novel; a partial, + perplexed, declamatory law.] + </p> + <p> + Conquest and the formalities of law established the use of codicils. If a + Roman was surprised by death in a remote province of the empire, he + addressed a short epistle to his legitimate or testamentary heir; who + fulfilled with honor, or neglected with impunity, this last request, which + the judges before the age of Augustus were not authorized to enforce. A + codicil might be expressed in any mode, or in any language; but the + subscription of five witnesses must declare that it was the genuine + composition of the author. His intention, however laudable, was sometimes + illegal; and the invention of fidei-commissa, or trusts, arose from the + struggle between natural justice and positive jurisprudence. A stranger of + Greece or Africa might be the friend or benefactor of a childless Roman, + but none, except a fellow-citizen, could act as his heir. The Voconian + law, which abolished female succession, restrained the legacy or + inheritance of a woman to the sum of one hundred thousand sesterces; <a + href="#linknote-44.155" name="linknoteref-44.155" id="linknoteref-44.155">155</a> + and an only daughter was condemned almost as an alien in her father’s + house. The zeal of friendship, and parental affection, suggested a liberal + artifice: a qualified citizen was named in the testament, with a prayer or + injunction that he would restore the inheritance to the person for whom it + was truly intended. Various was the conduct of the trustees in this + painful situation: they had sworn to observe the laws of their country, + but honor prompted them to violate their oath; and if they preferred their + interest under the mask of patriotism, they forfeited the esteem of every + virtuous mind. The declaration of Augustus relieved their doubts, gave a + legal sanction to confidential testaments and codicils, and gently + unravelled the forms and restraints of the republican jurisprudence. <a + href="#linknote-44.156" name="linknoteref-44.156" id="linknoteref-44.156">156</a> + But as the new practice of trusts degenerated into some abuse, the trustee + was enabled, by the Trebellian and Pegasian decrees, to reserve one fourth + of the estate, or to transfer on the head of the real heir all the debts + and actions of the succession. The interpretation of testaments was strict + and literal; but the language of trusts and codicils was delivered from + the minute and technical accuracy of the civilians. <a + href="#linknote-44.157" name="linknoteref-44.157" id="linknoteref-44.157">157</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.155" id="linknote-44.155"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 155 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.155">return</a>)<br /> [ Dion Cassius (tom. + ii. l. lvi. p. 814, with Reimar’s Notes) specifies in Greek money the sum + of 25,000 drachms.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.156" id="linknote-44.156"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 156 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.156">return</a>)<br /> [ The revolutions of + the Roman laws of inheritance are finely, though sometimes fancifully, + deduced by Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, l. xxvii.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.157" id="linknote-44.157"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 157 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.157">return</a>)<br /> [ Of the civil + jurisprudence of successions, testaments, codicils, legacies, and trusts, + the principles are ascertained in the Institutes of Caius, (l. ii. tit. + ii.—ix. p. 91—144,) Justinian, (l. ii. tit. x.—xxv.,) + and Theophilus, (p. 328—514;) and the immense detail occupies twelve + books (xxviii.—xxxix.) of the Pandects.] III. The general duties of + mankind are imposed by their public and private relations: but their + specific obligations to each other can only be the effect of, 1. a + promise, 2. a benefit, or 3. an injury: and when these obligations are + ratified by law, the interested party may compel the performance by a + judicial action. On this principle, the civilians of every country have + erected a similar jurisprudence, the fair conclusion of universal reason + and justice. <a href="#linknote-44.158" name="linknoteref-44.158" + id="linknoteref-44.158">158</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.158" id="linknote-44.158"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 158 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.158">return</a>)<br /> [ The Institutes of + Caius, (l. ii. tit. ix. x. p. 144—214,) of Justinian, (l. iii. tit. + xiv.—xxx. l. iv. tit. i.—vi.,) and of Theophilus, (p. 616—837,) + distinguish four sorts of obligations—aut re, aut verbis, aut + literis aut consensu: but I confess myself partial to my own division. + Note: It is not at all applicable to the Roman system of contracts, even + if I were allowed to be good.—M.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap44.7"></a> +Chapter XLIV: Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part VII.</h2> + + <p> + 1. The goddess of faith (of human and social faith) was worshipped, not + only in her temples, but in the lives of the Romans; and if that nation + was deficient in the more amiable qualities of benevolence and generosity, + they astonished the Greeks by their sincere and simple performance of the + most burdensome engagements. <a href="#linknote-44.159" + name="linknoteref-44.159" id="linknoteref-44.159">159</a> Yet among the same + people, according to the rigid maxims of the patricians and decemvirs, a + naked pact, a promise, or even an oath, did not create any civil + obligation, unless it was confirmed by the legal form of a stipulation. + Whatever might be the etymology of the Latin word, it conveyed the idea of + a firm and irrevocable contract, which was always expressed in the mode of + a question and answer. Do you promise to pay me one hundred pieces of + gold? was the solemn interrogation of Seius. I do promise, was the reply + of Sempronius. The friends of Sempronius, who answered for his ability and + inclination, might be separately sued at the option of Seius; and the + benefit of partition, or order of reciprocal actions, insensibly deviated + from the strict theory of stipulation. The most cautious and deliberate + consent was justly required to sustain the validity of a gratuitous + promise; and the citizen who might have obtained a legal security, + incurred the suspicion of fraud, and paid the forfeit of his neglect. But + the ingenuity of the civilians successfully labored to convert simple + engagements into the form of solemn stipulations. The praetors, as the + guardians of social faith, admitted every rational evidence of a voluntary + and deliberate act, which in their tribunal produced an equitable + obligation, and for which they gave an action and a remedy. <a + href="#linknote-44.160" name="linknoteref-44.160" id="linknoteref-44.160">160</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.159" id="linknote-44.159"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 159 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.159">return</a>)<br /> [ How much is the cool, + rational evidence of Polybius (l. vi. p. 693, l. xxxi. p. 1459, 1460) + superior to vague, indiscriminate applause—omnium maxime et + praecipue fidem coluit, (A. Gellius, xx. l.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.160" id="linknote-44.160"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 160 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.160">return</a>)<br /> [ The Jus Praetorium de + Pactis et Transactionibus is a separate and satisfactory treatise of + Gerard Noodt, (Opp. tom. i. p. 483—564.) And I will here observe, + that the universities of Holland and Brandenburg, in the beginning of the + present century, appear to have studied the civil law on the most just and + liberal principles. * Note: Simple agreements (pacta) formed as valid an + obligation as a solemn contract. Only an action, or the right to a direct + judicial prosecution, was not permitted in every case of compact. In all + other respects, the judge was bound to maintain an agreement made by + pactum. The stipulation was a form common to every kind of agreement, by + which the right of action was given to this.—W.] + </p> + <p> + 2. The obligations of the second class, as they were contracted by the + delivery of a thing, are marked by the civilians with the epithet of real. + <a href="#linknote-44.161" name="linknoteref-44.161" id="linknoteref-44.161">161</a> + A grateful return is due to the author of a benefit; and whoever is + intrusted with the property of another, has bound himself to the sacred + duty of restitution. In the case of a friendly loan, the merit of + generosity is on the side of the lender only; in a deposit, on the side of + the receiver; but in a pledge, and the rest of the selfish commerce of + ordinary life, the benefit is compensated by an equivalent, and the + obligation to restore is variously modified by the nature of the + transaction. The Latin language very happily expresses the fundamental + difference between the commodatum and the mutuum, which our poverty is + reduced to confound under the vague and common appellation of a loan. In + the former, the borrower was obliged to restore the same individual thing + with which he had been accommodated for the temporary supply of his wants; + in the latter, it was destined for his use and consumption, and he + discharged this mutual engagement, by substituting the same specific value + according to a just estimation of number, of weight, and of measure. In + the contract of sale, the absolute dominion is transferred to the + purchaser, and he repays the benefit with an adequate sum of gold or + silver, the price and universal standard of all earthly possessions. The + obligation of another contract, that of location, is of a more complicated + kind. Lands or houses, labor or talents, may be hired for a definite term; + at the expiration of the time, the thing itself must be restored to the + owner, with an additional reward for the beneficial occupation and + employment. In these lucrative contracts, to which may be added those of + partnership and commissions, the civilians sometimes imagine the delivery + of the object, and sometimes presume the consent of the parties. The + substantial pledge has been refined into the invisible rights of a + mortgage or hypotheca; and the agreement of sale, for a certain price, + imputes, from that moment, the chances of gain or loss to the account of + the purchaser. It may be fairly supposed, that every man will obey the + dictates of his interest; and if he accepts the benefit, he is obliged to + sustain the expense, of the transaction. In this boundless subject, the + historian will observe the location of land and money, the rent of the one + and the interest of the other, as they materially affect the prosperity of + agriculture and commerce. The landlord was often obliged to advance the + stock and instruments of husbandry, and to content himself with a + partition of the fruits. If the feeble tenant was oppressed by accident, + contagion, or hostile violence, he claimed a proportionable relief from + the equity of the laws: five years were the customary term, and no solid + or costly improvements could be expected from a farmer, who, at each + moment might be ejected by the sale of the estate. <a + href="#linknote-44.162" name="linknoteref-44.162" id="linknoteref-44.162">162</a> + Usury, <a href="#linknote-44.163" name="linknoteref-44.163" + id="linknoteref-44.163">163</a> the inveterate grievance of the city, had + been discouraged by the Twelve Tables, <a href="#linknote-44.164" + name="linknoteref-44.164" id="linknoteref-44.164">164</a> and abolished by + the clamors of the people. It was revived by their wants and idleness, + tolerated by the discretion of the praetors, and finally determined by the + Code of Justinian. Persons of illustrious rank were confined to the + moderate profit of four per cent.; six was pronounced to be the ordinary + and legal standard of interest; eight was allowed for the convenience of + manufactures and merchants; twelve was granted to nautical insurance, + which the wiser ancients had not attempted to define; but, except in this + perilous adventure, the practice of exorbitant usury was severely + restrained. <a href="#linknote-44.165" name="linknoteref-44.165" + id="linknoteref-44.165">165</a> The most simple interest was condemned by + the clergy of the East and West; <a href="#linknote-44.166" + name="linknoteref-44.166" id="linknoteref-44.166">166</a> but the sense of + mutual benefit, which had triumphed over the law of the republic, has + resisted with equal firmness the decrees of the church, and even the + prejudices of mankind. <a href="#linknote-44.167" name="linknoteref-44.167" + id="linknoteref-44.167">167</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.161" id="linknote-44.161"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 161 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.161">return</a>)<br /> [ The nice and various + subject of contracts by consent is spread over four books (xvii.—xx.) + of the Pandects, and is one of the parts best deserving of the attention + of an English student. * Note: This is erroneously called “benefits.” + Gibbon enumerates various kinds of contracts, of which some alone are + properly called benefits.—W.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.162" id="linknote-44.162"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 162 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.162">return</a>)<br /> [ The covenants of rent + are defined in the Pandects (l. xix.) and the Code, (l. iv. tit. lxv.) The + quinquennium, or term of five years, appears to have been a custom rather + than a law; but in France all leases of land were determined in nine + years. This limitation was removed only in the year 1775, (Encyclopedie + Methodique, tom. i. de la Jurisprudence, p. 668, 669;) and I am sorry to + observe that it yet prevails in the beauteous and happy country where I am + permitted to reside.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.163" id="linknote-44.163"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 163 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.163">return</a>)<br /> [ I might implicitly + acquiesce in the sense and learning of the three books of G. Noodt, de + foenore et usuris. (Opp. tom. i. p. 175—268.) The interpretation of + the asses or centesimoe usuroe at twelve, the unciarioe at one per cent., + is maintained by the best critics and civilians: Noodt, (l. ii. c. 2, p. + 207,) Gravina, (Opp. p. 205, &c., 210,) Heineccius, (Antiquitat. ad + Institut. l. iii. tit. xv.,) Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, l. xxii. c. + 22, tom. ii. p. 36). Defense de l’Esprit des Loix, (tom. iii. p. 478, + &c.,) and above all, John Frederic Gronovius (de Pecunia Veteri, l. + iii. c. 13, p. 213—227,) and his three Antexegeses, (p. 455—655), + the founder, or at least the champion, of this probable opinion; which is, + however, perplexed with some difficulties.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.164" id="linknote-44.164"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 164 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.164">return</a>)<br /> [ Primo xii. Tabulis + sancitum est ne quis unciario foenore amplius exerceret, (Tacit. Annal. + vi. 16.) Pour peu (says Montesquieu, Esprit des Loix, l. xxii. 22) qu’on + soit verse dans l’histoire de Rome, on verra qu’une pareille loi ne devoit + pas etre l’ouvrage des decemvirs. Was Tacitus ignorant—or stupid? + But the wiser and more virtuous patricians might sacrifice their avarice + to their ambition, and might attempt to check the odious practice by such + interest as no lender would accept, and such penalties as no debtor would + incur. * Note: The real nature of the foenus unciarium has been proved; it + amounted in a year of twelve months to ten per cent. See, in the Magazine + for Civil Law, by M. Hugo, vol. v. p. 180, 184, an article of M. Schrader, + following up the conjectures of Niebuhr, Hist. Rom. tom. ii. p. 431.—W. + Compare a very clear account of this question in the appendix to Mr. + Travers Twiss’s Epitome of Niebuhr, vol. ii. p. 257.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.165" id="linknote-44.165"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 165 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.165">return</a>)<br /> [ Justinian has not + condescended to give usury a place in his Institutes; but the necessary + rules and restrictions are inserted in the Pandects (l. xxii. tit. i. ii.) + and the Code, (l. iv. tit. xxxii. xxxiii.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.166" id="linknote-44.166"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 166 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.166">return</a>)<br /> [ The Fathers are + unanimous, (Barbeyrac, Morale des Peres, p. 144. &c.:) Cyprian, + Lactantius, Basil, Chrysostom, (see his frivolous arguments in Noodt, l. + i. c. 7, p. 188,) Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, Jerom, Augustin, and a host + of councils and casuists.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.167" id="linknote-44.167"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 167 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.167">return</a>)<br /> [ Cato, Seneca, + Plutarch, have loudly condemned the practice or abuse of usury. According + to the etymology of foenus, the principal is supposed to generate the + interest: a breed of barren metal, exclaims Shakespeare—and the + stage is the echo of the public voice.] + </p> + <p> + 3. Nature and society impose the strict obligation of repairing an injury; + and the sufferer by private injustice acquires a personal right and a + legitimate action. If the property of another be intrusted to our care, + the requisite degree of care may rise and fall according to the benefit + which we derive from such temporary possession; we are seldom made + responsible for inevitable accident, but the consequences of a voluntary + fault must always be imputed to the author. <a href="#linknote-44.168" + name="linknoteref-44.168" id="linknoteref-44.168">168</a> A Roman pursued + and recovered his stolen goods by a civil action of theft; they might pass + through a succession of pure and innocent hands, but nothing less than a + prescription of thirty years could extinguish his original claim. They + were restored by the sentence of the praetor, and the injury was + compensated by double, or threefold, or even quadruple damages, as the + deed had been perpetrated by secret fraud or open rapine, as the robber + had been surprised in the fact, or detected by a subsequent research. The + Aquilian law <a href="#linknote-44.169" name="linknoteref-44.169" + id="linknoteref-44.169">169</a> defended the living property of a citizen, + his slaves and cattle, from the stroke of malice or negligence: the + highest price was allowed that could be ascribed to the domestic animal at + any moment of the year preceding his death; a similar latitude of thirty + days was granted on the destruction of any other valuable effects. A + personal injury is blunted or sharpened by the manners of the times and + the sensibility of the individual: the pain or the disgrace of a word or + blow cannot easily be appreciated by a pecuniary equivalent. The rude + jurisprudence of the decemvirs had confounded all hasty insults, which did + not amount to the fracture of a limb, by condemning the aggressor to the + common penalty of twenty-five asses. But the same denomination of money + was reduced, in three centuries, from a pound to the weight of half an + ounce: and the insolence of a wealthy Roman indulged himself in the cheap + amusement of breaking and satisfying the law of the twelve tables. + Veratius ran through the streets striking on the face the inoffensive + passengers, and his attendant purse-bearer immediately silenced their + clamors by the legal tender of twenty-five pieces of copper, about the + value of one shilling. <a href="#linknote-44.170" name="linknoteref-44.170" + id="linknoteref-44.170">170</a> The equity of the praetors examined and + estimated the distinct merits of each particular complaint. In the + adjudication of civil damages, the magistrate assumed a right to consider + the various circumstances of time and place, of age and dignity, which may + aggravate the shame and sufferings of the injured person; but if he + admitted the idea of a fine, a punishment, an example, he invaded the + province, though, perhaps, he supplied the defects, of the criminal law. + <a name="linknote-44.168" id="linknote-44.168"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 168 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.168">return</a>)<br /> Sir William Jones has + given an ingenious and rational Essay on the law of Bailment, (London, + 1781, p. 127, in 8vo.) He is perhaps the only lawyer equally conversant + with the year-books of Westminster, the Commentaries of Ulpian, the Attic + pleadings of Isaeus, and the sentences of Arabian and Persian cadhis.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.169" id="linknote-44.169"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 169 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.169">return</a>)<br /> [ Noodt (Opp. tom. i. + p. 137—172) has composed a separate treatise, ad Legem Aquilian, + (Pandect. l. ix. tit. ii.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.170" id="linknote-44.170"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 170 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.170">return</a>)<br /> [ Aulus Gellius (Noct. + Attic. xx. i.) borrowed this story from the Commentaries of Q. Labeo on + the xii. tables.] + </p> + <p> + The execution of the Alban dictator, who was dismembered by eight horses, + is represented by Livy as the first and the fast instance of Roman cruelty + in the punishment of the most atrocious crimes. <a href="#linknote-44.171" + name="linknoteref-44.171" id="linknoteref-44.171">171</a> But this act of + justice, or revenge, was inflicted on a foreign enemy in the heat of + victory, and at the command of a single man. The twelve tables afford a + more decisive proof of the national spirit, since they were framed by the + wisest of the senate, and accepted by the free voices of the people; yet + these laws, like the statutes of Draco, <a href="#linknote-44.172" + name="linknoteref-44.172" id="linknoteref-44.172">172</a> are written in + characters of blood. <a href="#linknote-44.173" name="linknoteref-44.173" + id="linknoteref-44.173">173</a> They approve the inhuman and unequal + principle of retaliation; and the forfeit of an eye for an eye, a tooth + for a tooth, a limb for a limb, is rigorously exacted, unless the offender + can redeem his pardon by a fine of three hundred pounds of copper. The + decemvirs distributed with much liberality the slighter chastisements of + flagellation and servitude; and nine crimes of a very different complexion + are adjudged worthy of death. + </p> + <p> + 1. Any act of treason against the state, or of correspondence with the + public enemy. The mode of execution was painful and ignominious: the head + of the degenerate Roman was shrouded in a veil, his hands were tied behind + his back, and after he had been scourged by the lictor, he was suspended + in the midst of the forum on a cross, or inauspicious tree. + </p> + <p> + 2. Nocturnal meetings in the city; whatever might be the pretence, of + pleasure, or religion, or the public good. + </p> + <p> + 3. The murder of a citizen; for which the common feelings of mankind + demand the blood of the murderer. Poison is still more odious than the + sword or dagger; and we are surprised to discover, in two flagitious + events, how early such subtle wickedness had infected the simplicity of + the republic, and the chaste virtues of the Roman matrons. <a + href="#linknote-44.174" name="linknoteref-44.174" id="linknoteref-44.174">174</a> + The parricide, who violated the duties of nature and gratitude, was cast + into the river or the sea, enclosed in a sack; and a cock, a viper, a dog, + and a monkey, were successively added, as the most suitable companions. <a + href="#linknote-44.175" name="linknoteref-44.175" id="linknoteref-44.175">175</a> + Italy produces no monkeys; but the want could never be felt, till the + middle of the sixth century first revealed the guilt of a parricide. <a + href="#linknote-44.176" name="linknoteref-44.176" id="linknoteref-44.176">176</a> + </p> + <p> + 4. The malice of an incendiary. After the previous ceremony of whipping, + he himself was delivered to the flames; and in this example alone our + reason is tempted to applaud the justice of retaliation. + </p> + <p> + 5. Judicial perjury. The corrupt or malicious witness was thrown headlong + from the Tarpeian rock, to expiate his falsehood, which was rendered still + more fatal by the severity of the penal laws, and the deficiency of + written evidence. + </p> + <p> + 6. The corruption of a judge, who accepted bribes to pronounce an + iniquitous sentence. + </p> + <p> + 7. Libels and satires, whose rude strains sometimes disturbed the peace of + an illiterate city. The author was beaten with clubs, a worthy + chastisement, but it is not certain that he was left to expire under the + blows of the executioner. <a href="#linknote-44.177" + name="linknoteref-44.177" id="linknoteref-44.177">177</a> + </p> + <p> + 8. The nocturnal mischief of damaging or destroying a neighbor’s corn. The + criminal was suspended as a grateful victim to Ceres. But the sylvan + deities were less implacable, and the extirpation of a more valuable tree + was compensated by the moderate fine of twenty-five pounds of copper. + </p> + <p> + 9. Magical incantations; which had power, in the opinion of the Latin + shepherds, to exhaust the strength of an enemy, to extinguish his life, + and to remove from their seats his deep-rooted plantations. + </p> + <p> + The cruelty of the twelve tables against insolvent debtors still remains + to be told; and I shall dare to prefer the literal sense of antiquity to + the specious refinements of modern criticism. <a href="#linknote-44.178" + name="linknoteref-44.178" id="linknoteref-44.178">178</a> <a + href="#linknote-44.1781" name="linknoteref-44.1781" id="linknoteref-44.1781">1781</a> + After the judicial proof or confession of the debt, thirty days of grace + were allowed before a Roman was delivered into the power of his + fellow-citizen. In this private prison, twelve ounces of rice were his + daily food; he might be bound with a chain of fifteen pounds weight; and + his misery was thrice exposed in the market place, to solicit the + compassion of his friends and countrymen. At the expiration of sixty days, + the debt was discharged by the loss of liberty or life; the insolvent + debtor was either put to death, or sold in foreign slavery beyond the + Tyber: but, if several creditors were alike obstinate and unrelenting, + they might legally dismember his body, and satiate their revenge by this + horrid partition. The advocates for this savage law have insisted, that it + must strongly operate in deterring idleness and fraud from contracting + debts which they were unable to discharge; but experience would dissipate + this salutary terror, by proving that no creditor could be found to exact + this unprofitable penalty of life or limb. As the manners of Rome were + insensibly polished, the criminal code of the decemvirs was abolished by + the humanity of accusers, witnesses, and judges; and impunity became the + consequence of immoderate rigor. The Porcian and Valerian laws prohibited + the magistrates from inflicting on a free citizen any capital, or even + corporal, punishment; and the obsolete statutes of blood were artfully, + and perhaps truly, ascribed to the spirit, not of patrician, but of regal, + tyranny. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.171" id="linknote-44.171"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 171 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.171">return</a>)<br /> [ The narrative of Livy + (i. 28) is weighty and solemn. At tu, Albane, maneres, is a harsh + reflection, unworthy of Virgil’s humanity, (Aeneid, viii. 643.) Heyne, + with his usual good taste, observes that the subject was too horrid for + the shield of Aencas, (tom. iii. p. 229.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.172" id="linknote-44.172"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 172 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.172">return</a>)<br /> [ The age of Draco + (Olympiad xxxix. l) is fixed by Sir John Marsham (Canon Chronicus, p. 593—596) + and Corsini, (Fasti Attici, tom. iii. p. 62.) For his laws, see the + writers on the government of Athens, Sigonius, Meursius, Potter, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.173" id="linknote-44.173"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 173 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.173">return</a>)<br /> [ The viith, de + delictis, of the xii. tables is delineated by Gravina, (Opp. p. 292, 293, + with a commentary, p. 214—230.) Aulus Gellius (xx. 1) and the + Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum afford much original information.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.174" id="linknote-44.174"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 174 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.174">return</a>)<br /> [ Livy mentions two + remarkable and flagitious aeras, of 3000 persons accused, and of 190 noble + matrons convicted, of the crime of poisoning, (xl. 43, viii. 18.) Mr. Hume + discriminates the ages of private and public virtue, (Essays, vol. i. p. + 22, 23.) I would rather say that such ebullitions of mischief (as in + France in the year 1680) are accidents and prodigies which leave no marks + on the manners of a nation.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.175" id="linknote-44.175"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 175 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.175">return</a>)<br /> [ The xii. tables and + Cicero (pro Roscio Amerino, c. 25, 26) are content with the sack; Seneca + (Excerpt. Controvers. v 4) adorns it with serpents; Juvenal pities the + guiltless monkey (innoxia simia—156.) Adrian (apud Dositheum + Magistrum, l. iii. c. p. 874—876, with Schulting’s Note,) + Modestinus, (Pandect. xlviii. tit. ix. leg. 9,) Constantine, (Cod. l. ix. + tit. xvii.,) and Justinian, (Institut. l. iv. tit. xviii.,) enumerate all + the companions of the parricide. But this fanciful execution was + simplified in practice. Hodie tamen viv exuruntur vel ad bestias dantur, + (Paul. Sentent. Recept. l. v. tit. xxiv p. 512, edit. Schulting.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.176" id="linknote-44.176"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 176 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.176">return</a>)<br /> [ The first parricide + at Rome was L. Ostius, after the second Punic war, (Plutarch, in Romulo, + tom. i. p. 54.) During the Cimbric, P. Malleolus was guilty of the first + matricide, (Liv. Epitom. l. lxviii.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.177" id="linknote-44.177"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 177 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.177">return</a>)<br /> [ Horace talks of the + formidine fustis, (l. ii. epist. ii. 154,) but Cicero (de Republica, l. + iv. apud Augustin. de Civitat. Dei, ix. 6, in Fragment. Philosoph. tom. + iii. p. 393, edit. Olivet) affirms that the decemvirs made libels a + capital offence: cum perpaucas res capite sanxisent—perpaucus!] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.178" id="linknote-44.178"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 178 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.178">return</a>)<br /> [ Bynkershoek + (Observat. Juris Rom. l. i. c. 1, in Opp. tom. i. p. 9, 10, 11) labors to + prove that the creditors divided not the body, but the price, of the + insolvent debtor. Yet his interpretation is one perpetual harsh metaphor; + nor can he surmount the Roman authorities of Quintilian, Caecilius, + Favonius, and Tertullian. See Aulus Gellius, Noct. Attic. xxi.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.1781" id="linknote-44.1781"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1781 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.1781">return</a>)<br /> [ Hugo (Histoire du + Droit Romain, tom. i. p. 234) concurs with Gibbon See Niebuhr, vol. ii. p. + 313.—M.] + </p> + <p> + In the absence of penal laws, and the insufficiency of civil actions, the + peace and justice of the city were imperfectly maintained by the private + jurisdiction of the citizens. The malefactors who replenish our jails are + the outcasts of society, and the crimes for which they suffer may be + commonly ascribed to ignorance, poverty, and brutal appetite. For the + perpetration of similar enormities, a vile plebeian might claim and abuse + the sacred character of a member of the republic: but, on the proof or + suspicion of guilt, the slave, or the stranger, was nailed to a cross; and + this strict and summary justice might be exercised without restraint over + the greatest part of the populace of Rome. + </p> + <p> + Each family contained a domestic tribunal, which was not confined, like + that of the praetor, to the cognizance of external actions: virtuous + principles and habits were inculcated by the discipline of education; and + the Roman father was accountable to the state for the manners of his + children, since he disposed, without appeal, of their life, their liberty, + and their inheritance. In some pressing emergencies, the citizen was + authorized to avenge his private or public wrongs. The consent of the + Jewish, the Athenian, and the Roman laws approved the slaughter of the + nocturnal thief; though in open daylight a robber could not be slain + without some previous evidence of danger and complaint. Whoever surprised + an adulterer in his nuptial bed might freely exercise his revenge; <a + href="#linknote-44.179" name="linknoteref-44.179" id="linknoteref-44.179">179</a> + the most bloody and wanton outrage was excused by the provocation; <a + href="#linknote-44.180" name="linknoteref-44.180" id="linknoteref-44.180">180</a> + nor was it before the reign of Augustus that the husband was reduced to + weigh the rank of the offender, or that the parent was condemned to + sacrifice his daughter with her guilty seducer. After the expulsion of the + kings, the ambitious Roman, who should dare to assume their title or + imitate their tyranny, was devoted to the infernal gods: each of his + fellow-citizens was armed with the sword of justice; and the act of + Brutus, however repugnant to gratitude or prudence, had been already + sanctified by the judgment of his country. <a href="#linknote-44.181" + name="linknoteref-44.181" id="linknoteref-44.181">181</a> The barbarous + practice of wearing arms in the midst of peace, <a href="#linknote-44.182" + name="linknoteref-44.182" id="linknoteref-44.182">182</a> and the bloody + maxims of honor, were unknown to the Romans; and, during the two purest + ages, from the establishment of equal freedom to the end of the Punic + wars, the city was never disturbed by sedition, and rarely polluted with + atrocious crimes. The failure of penal laws was more sensibly felt, when + every vice was inflamed by faction at home and dominion abroad. In the + time of Cicero, each private citizen enjoyed the privilege of anarchy; + each minister of the republic was exalted to the temptations of regal + power, and their virtues are entitled to the warmest praise, as the + spontaneous fruits of nature or philosophy. After a triennial indulgence + of lust, rapine, and cruelty, Verres, the tyrant of Sicily, could only be + sued for the pecuniary restitution of three hundred thousand pounds + sterling; and such was the temper of the laws, the judges, and perhaps the + accuser himself, <a href="#linknote-44.183" name="linknoteref-44.183" + id="linknoteref-44.183">183</a> that, on refunding a thirteenth part of his + plunder, Verres could retire to an easy and luxurious exile. <a + href="#linknote-44.184" name="linknoteref-44.184" id="linknoteref-44.184">184</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.179" id="linknote-44.179"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 179 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.179">return</a>)<br /> [ The first speech of + Lysias (Reiske, Orator. Graec. tom. v. p. 2—48) is in defence of a + husband who had killed the adulterer. The rights of husbands and fathers + at Rome and Athens are discussed with much learning by Dr. Taylor, + (Lectiones Lysiacae, c. xi. in Reiske, tom. vi. p. 301—308.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.180" id="linknote-44.180"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 180 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.180">return</a>)<br /> [ See Casaubon ad + Athenaeum, l. i. c. 5, p. 19. Percurrent raphanique mugilesque, (Catull. + p. 41, 42, edit. Vossian.) Hunc mugilis intrat, (Juvenal. Satir. x. 317.) + Hunc perminxere calones, (Horat l. i. Satir. ii. 44.) Familiae stuprandum + dedit.. fraudi non fuit, (Val. Maxim. l. vi. c. l, No. 13.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.181" id="linknote-44.181"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 181 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.181">return</a>)<br /> [ This law is noticed + by Livy (ii. 8) and Plutarch, (in Publiccla, tom. i. p. 187,) and it fully + justifies the public opinion on the death of Caesar which Suetonius could + publish under the Imperial government. Jure caesus existimatur, (in Julio, + c. 76.) Read the letters that passed between Cicero and Matius a few + months after the ides of March (ad Fam. xi. 27, 28.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.182" id="linknote-44.182"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 182 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.182">return</a>)<br /> [ Thucydid. l. i. c. 6 + The historian who considers this circumstance as the test of civilization, + would disdain the barbarism of a European court] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.183" id="linknote-44.183"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 183 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.183">return</a>)<br /> [ He first rated at + millies (800,000 L.) the damages of Sicily, (Divinatio in Caecilium, c. + 5,) which he afterwards reduced to quadringenties, (320,000 L.—1 + Actio in Verrem, c. 18,) and was finally content with tricies, (24,000l + L.) Plutarch (in Ciceron. tom. iii. p. 1584) has not dissembled the + popular suspicion and report.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.184" id="linknote-44.184"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 184 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.184">return</a>)<br /> [ Verres lived near + thirty years after his trial, till the second triumvirate, when he was + proscribed by the taste of Mark Antony for the sake of his Corinthian + plate, (Plin. Hist. Natur. xxxiv. 3.)] + </p> + <p> + The first imperfect attempt to restore the proportion of crimes and + punishments was made by the dictator Sylla, who, in the midst of his + sanguinary triumph, aspired to restrain the license, rather than to + oppress the liberty, of the Romans. He gloried in the arbitrary + proscription of four thousand seven hundred citizens. <a + href="#linknote-44.185" name="linknoteref-44.185" id="linknoteref-44.185">185</a> + But, in the character of a legislator, he respected the prejudices of the + times; and, instead of pronouncing a sentence of death against the robber + or assassin, the general who betrayed an army, or the magistrate who + ruined a province, Sylla was content to aggravate the pecuniary damages by + the penalty of exile, or, in more constitutional language, by the + interdiction of fire and water. The Cornelian, and afterwards the Pompeian + and Julian, laws introduced a new system of criminal jurisprudence; <a + href="#linknote-44.186" name="linknoteref-44.186" id="linknoteref-44.186">186</a> + and the emperors, from Augustus to Justinian, disguised their increasing + rigor under the names of the original authors. But the invention and + frequent use of extraordinary pains proceeded from the desire to extend + and conceal the progress of despotism. In the condemnation of illustrious + Romans, the senate was always prepared to confound, at the will of their + masters, the judicial and legislative powers. It was the duty of the + governors to maintain the peace of their province, by the arbitrary and + rigid administration of justice; the freedom of the city evaporated in the + extent of empire, and the Spanish malefactor, who claimed the privilege of + a Roman, was elevated by the command of Galba on a fairer and more lofty + cross. <a href="#linknote-44.187" name="linknoteref-44.187" + id="linknoteref-44.187">187</a> Occasional rescripts issued from the throne + to decide the questions which, by their novelty or importance, appeared to + surpass the authority and discernment of a proconsul. Transportation and + beheading were reserved for honorable persons; meaner criminals were + either hanged, or burnt, or buried in the mines, or exposed to the wild + beasts of the amphitheatre. Armed robbers were pursued and extirpated as + the enemies of society; the driving away horses or cattle was made a + capital offence; <a href="#linknote-44.188" name="linknoteref-44.188" + id="linknoteref-44.188">188</a> but simple theft was uniformly considered + as a mere civil and private injury. The degrees of guilt, and the modes of + punishment, were too often determined by the discretion of the rulers, and + the subject was left in ignorance of the legal danger which he might incur + by every action of his life. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.185" id="linknote-44.185"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 185 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.185">return</a>)<br /> [ Such is the number + assigned by Valer’us Maximus, (l. ix. c. 2, No. 1,) Florus (iv. 21) + distinguishes 2000 senators and knights. Appian (de Bell. Civil. l. i. c. + 95, tom. ii. p. 133, edit. Schweighauser) more accurately computes forty + victims of the senatorian rank, and 1600 of the equestrian census or + order.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.186" id="linknote-44.186"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 186 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.186">return</a>)<br /> [ For the penal laws + (Leges Corneliae, Pompeiae, Julae, of Sylla, Pompey, and the Caesars) see + the sentences of Paulus, (l. iv. tit. xviii.—xxx. p. 497—528, + edit. Schulting,) the Gregorian Code, (Fragment. l. xix. p. 705, 706, in + Schulting,) the Collatio Legum Mosaicarum et Romanarum, (tit. i.—xv.,) + the Theodosian Code, (l. ix.,) the Code of Justinian, (l. ix.,) the + Pandects, (xlviii.,) the Institutes, (l. iv. tit. xviii.,) and the Greek + version of Theophilus, (p. 917—926.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.187" id="linknote-44.187"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 187 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.187">return</a>)<br /> [ It was a guardian who + had poisoned his ward. The crime was atrocious: yet the punishment is + reckoned by Suetonius (c. 9) among the acts in which Galba showed himself + acer, vehemens, et in delictis coercendis immodicus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.188" id="linknote-44.188"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 188 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.188">return</a>)<br /> [ The abactores or + abigeatores, who drove one horse, or two mares or oxen, or five hogs, or + ten goats, were subject to capital punishment, (Paul, Sentent. Recept. l. + iv. tit. xviii. p. 497, 498.) Hadrian, (ad Concil. Baeticae,) most severe + where the offence was most frequent, condemns the criminals, ad gladium, + ludi damnationem, (Ulpian, de Officio Proconsulis, l. viii. in Collatione + Legum Mosaic. et Rom. tit. xi p. 235.)] + </p> + <p> + A sin, a vice, a crime, are the objects of theology, ethics, and + jurisprudence. Whenever their judgments agree, they corroborate each + other; but, as often as they differ, a prudent legislator appreciates the + guilt and punishment according to the measure of social injury. On this + principle, the most daring attack on the life and property of a private + citizen is judged less atrocious than the crime of treason or rebellion, + which invades the majesty of the republic: the obsequious civilians + unanimously pronounced, that the republic is contained in the person of + its chief; and the edge of the Julian law was sharpened by the incessant + diligence of the emperors. The licentious commerce of the sexes may be + tolerated as an impulse of nature, or forbidden as a source of disorder + and corruption; but the fame, the fortunes, the family of the husband, are + seriously injured by the adultery of the wife. The wisdom of Augustus, + after curbing the freedom of revenge, applied to this domestic offence the + animadversion of the laws: and the guilty parties, after the payment of + heavy forfeitures and fines, were condemned to long or perpetual exile in + two separate islands. <a href="#linknote-44.189" name="linknoteref-44.189" + id="linknoteref-44.189">189</a> Religion pronounces an equal censure + against the infidelity of the husband; but, as it is not accompanied by + the same civil effects, the wife was never permitted to vindicate her + wrongs; <a href="#linknote-44.190" name="linknoteref-44.190" + id="linknoteref-44.190">190</a> and the distinction of simple or double + adultery, so familiar and so important in the canon law, is unknown to the + jurisprudence of the Code and the Pandects. I touch with reluctance, and + despatch with impatience, a more odious vice, of which modesty rejects the + name, and nature abominates the idea. The primitive Romans were infected + by the example of the Etruscans <a href="#linknote-44.191" + name="linknoteref-44.191" id="linknoteref-44.191">191</a> and Greeks: <a + href="#linknote-44.192" name="linknoteref-44.192" id="linknoteref-44.192">192</a> + and in the mad abuse of prosperity and power, every pleasure that is + innocent was deemed insipid; and the Scatinian law, <a + href="#linknote-44.193" name="linknoteref-44.193" id="linknoteref-44.193">193</a> + which had been extorted by an act of violence, was insensibly abolished by + the lapse of time and the multitude of criminals. By this law, the rape, + perhaps the seduction, of an ingenuous youth, was compensated, as a + personal injury, by the poor damages of ten thousand sesterces, or + fourscore pounds; the ravisher might be slain by the resistance or revenge + of chastity; and I wish to believe, that at Rome, as in Athens, the + voluntary and effeminate deserter of his sex was degraded from the honors + and the rights of a citizen. <a href="#linknote-44.194" + name="linknoteref-44.194" id="linknoteref-44.194">194</a> But the practice + of vice was not discouraged by the severity of opinion: the indelible + stain of manhood was confounded with the more venial transgressions of + fornication and adultery, nor was the licentious lover exposed to the same + dishonor which he impressed on the male or female partner of his guilt. + From Catullus to Juvenal, <a href="#linknote-44.195" + name="linknoteref-44.195" id="linknoteref-44.195">195</a> the poets accuse + and celebrate the degeneracy of the times; and the reformation of manners + was feebly attempted by the reason and authority of the civilians till the + most virtuous of the Caesars proscribed the sin against nature as a crime + against society. <a href="#linknote-44.196" name="linknoteref-44.196" + id="linknoteref-44.196">196</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.189" id="linknote-44.189"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 189 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.189">return</a>)<br /> [ Till the publication + of the Julius Paulus of Schulting, (l. ii. tit. xxvi. p. 317—323,) + it was affirmed and believed that the Julian laws punished adultery with + death; and the mistake arose from the fraud or error of Tribonian. Yet + Lipsius had suspected the truth from the narratives of Tacitus, (Annal. + ii. 50, iii. 24, iv. 42,) and even from the practice of Augustus, who + distinguished the treasonable frailties of his female kindred.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.190" id="linknote-44.190"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 190 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.190">return</a>)<br /> [ In cases of adultery, + Severus confined to the husband the right of public accusation, (Cod. + Justinian, l. ix. tit. ix. leg. 1.) Nor is this privilege unjust—so + different are the effects of male or female infidelity.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.191" id="linknote-44.191"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 191 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.191">return</a>)<br /> [ Timon (l. i.) and + Theopompus (l. xliii. apud Athenaeum, l. xii. p. 517) describe the luxury + and lust of the Etruscans. About the same period (A. U. C. 445) the Roman + youth studied in Etruria, (liv. ix. 36.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.192" id="linknote-44.192"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 192 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.192">return</a>)<br /> [ The Persians had been + corrupted in the same school, (Herodot. l. i. c. 135.) A curious + dissertation might be formed on the introduction of paederasty after the + time of Homer, its progress among the Greeks of Asia and Europe, the + vehemence of their passions, and the thin device of virtue and friendship + which amused the philosophers of Athens. But scelera ostendi oportet dum + puniuntur, abscondi flagitia.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.193" id="linknote-44.193"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 193 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.193">return</a>)<br /> [ The name, the date, + and the provisions of this law are equally doubtful, (Gravina, Opp. p. + 432, 433. Heineccius, Hist. Jur. Rom. No. 108. Ernesti, Clav. Ciceron. in + Indice Legum.) But I will observe that the nefanda Venus of the honest + German is styled aversa by the more polite Italian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.194" id="linknote-44.194"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 194 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.194">return</a>)<br /> [ See the oration of + Aeschines against the catamite Timarchus, (in Reiske, Orator. Graec. tom. + iii. p. 21—184.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.195" id="linknote-44.195"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 195 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.195">return</a>)<br /> [ A crowd of + disgraceful passages will force themselves on the memory of the classic + reader: I will only remind him of the cool declaration of Ovid:— Odi + concubitus qui non utrumque resolvant. Hoc est quod puerum tangar amore + minus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.196" id="linknote-44.196"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 196 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.196">return</a>)<br /> [ Aelius Lampridius, in + Vit. Heliogabal. in Hist. August p. 112 Aurelius Victor, in Philippo, + Codex Theodos. l. ix. tit. vii. leg. 7, and Godefroy’s Commentary, tom. + iii. p. 63. Theodosius abolished the subterraneous brothels of Rome, in + which the prostitution of both sexes was acted with impunity.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap44.8"></a> +Chapter XLIV: Idea Of The Roman Jurisprudence.—Part VIII.</h2> + + <p> + A new spirit of legislation, respectable even in its error, arose in the + empire with the religion of Constantine. <a href="#linknote-44.197" + name="linknoteref-44.197" id="linknoteref-44.197">197</a> The laws of Moses + were received as the divine original of justice, and the Christian princes + adapted their penal statutes to the degrees of moral and religious + turpitude. Adultery was first declared to be a capital offence: the + frailty of the sexes was assimilated to poison or assassination, to + sorcery or parricide; the same penalties were inflicted on the passive and + active guilt of paederasty; and all criminals of free or servile condition + were either drowned or beheaded, or cast alive into the avenging flames. + The adulterers were spared by the common sympathy of mankind; but the + lovers of their own sex were pursued by general and pious indignation: the + impure manners of Greece still prevailed in the cities of Asia, and every + vice was fomented by the celibacy of the monks and clergy. Justinian + relaxed the punishment at least of female infidelity: the guilty spouse + was only condemned to solitude and penance, and at the end of two years + she might be recalled to the arms of a forgiving husband. But the same + emperor declared himself the implacable enemy of unmanly lust, and the + cruelty of his persecution can scarcely be excused by the purity of his + motives. <a href="#linknote-44.198" name="linknoteref-44.198" + id="linknoteref-44.198">198</a> In defiance of every principle of justice, + he stretched to past as well as future offences the operations of his + edicts, with the previous allowance of a short respite for confession and + pardon. A painful death was inflicted by the amputation of the sinful + instrument, or the insertion of sharp reeds into the pores and tubes of + most exquisite sensibility; and Justinian defended the propriety of the + execution, since the criminals would have lost their hands, had they been + convicted of sacrilege. In this state of disgrace and agony, two bishops, + Isaiah of Rhodes and Alexander of Diospolis, were dragged through the + streets of Constantinople, while their brethren were admonished, by the + voice of a crier, to observe this awful lesson, and not to pollute the + sanctity of their character. Perhaps these prelates were innocent. A + sentence of death and infamy was often founded on the slight and + suspicious evidence of a child or a servant: the guilt of the green + faction, of the rich, and of the enemies of Theodora, was presumed by the + judges, and paederasty became the crime of those to whom no crime could be + imputed. A French philosopher <a href="#linknote-44.199" + name="linknoteref-44.199" id="linknoteref-44.199">199</a> has dared to + remark that whatever is secret must be doubtful, and that our natural + horror of vice may be abused as an engine of tyranny. But the favorable + persuasion of the same writer, that a legislator may confide in the taste + and reason of mankind, is impeached by the unwelcome discovery of the + antiquity and extent of the disease. <a href="#linknote-44.200" + name="linknoteref-44.200" id="linknoteref-44.200">200</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.197" id="linknote-44.197"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 197 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.197">return</a>)<br /> [ See the laws of + Constantine and his successors against adultery, sodomy &c., in the + Theodosian, (l. ix. tit. vii. leg. 7, l. xi. tit. xxxvi leg. 1, 4) and + Justinian Codes, (l. ix. tit. ix. leg. 30, 31.) These princes speak the + language of passion as well as of justice, and fraudulently ascribe their + own severity to the first Caesars.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.198" id="linknote-44.198"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 198 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.198">return</a>)<br /> [ Justinian, Novel. + lxxvii. cxxxiv. cxli. Procopius in Anecdot. c. 11, 16, with the notes of + Alemannus. Theophanes, p. 151. Cedrenus. p. 688. Zonaras, l. xiv. p. 64.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.199" id="linknote-44.199"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 199 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.199">return</a>)<br /> [ Montesquieu, Esprit + des Loix, l. xii. c. 6. That eloquent philosopher conciliates the rights + of liberty and of nature, which should never be placed in opposition to + each other.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.200" id="linknote-44.200"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 200 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.200">return</a>)<br /> [ For the corruption of + Palestine, 2000 years before the Christian aera, see the history and laws + of Moses. Ancient Gaul is stigmatized by Diodorus Siculus, (tom. i. l. v. + p. 356,) China by the Mahometar and Christian travellers, (Ancient + Relations of India and China, p. 34 translated by Renaudot, and his bitter + critic the Pere Premare, Lettres Edifiantes, tom. xix. p. 435,) and native + America by the Spanish historians, (Garcilasso de la Vega, l. iii. c. 13, + Rycaut’s translation; and Dictionnaire de Bayle, tom. iii. p. 88.) I + believe, and hope, that the negroes, in their own country, were exempt + from this moral pestilence.] + </p> + <p> + The free citizens of Athens and Rome enjoyed, in all criminal cases, the + invaluable privilege of being tried by their country. <a + href="#linknote-44.201" name="linknoteref-44.201" id="linknoteref-44.201">201</a> + 1. The administration of justice is the most ancient office of a prince: + it was exercised by the Roman kings, and abused by Tarquin; who alone, + without law or council, pronounced his arbitrary judgments. The first + consuls succeeded to this regal prerogative; but the sacred right of + appeal soon abolished the jurisdiction of the magistrates, and all public + causes were decided by the supreme tribunal of the people. But a wild + democracy, superior to the forms, too often disdains the essential + principles, of justice: the pride of despotism was envenomed by plebeian + envy, and the heroes of Athens might sometimes applaud the happiness of + the Persian, whose fate depended on the caprice of a single tyrant. Some + salutary restraints, imposed by the people or their own passions, were at + once the cause and effect of the gravity and temperance of the Romans. The + right of accusation was confined to the magistrates. + </p> + <p> + A vote of the thirty five tribes could inflict a fine; but the cognizance + of all capital crimes was reserved by a fundamental law to the assembly of + the centuries, in which the weight of influence and property was sure to + preponderate. Repeated proclamations and adjournments were interposed, to + allow time for prejudice and resentment to subside: the whole proceeding + might be annulled by a seasonable omen, or the opposition of a tribune; + and such popular trials were commonly less formidable to innocence than + they were favorable to guilt. But this union of the judicial and + legislative powers left it doubtful whether the accused party was pardoned + or acquitted; and, in the defence of an illustrious client, the orators of + Rome and Athens address their arguments to the policy and benevolence, as + well as to the justice, of their sovereign. 2. The task of convening the + citizens for the trial of each offender became more difficult, as the + citizens and the offenders continually multiplied; and the ready expedient + was adopted of delegating the jurisdiction of the people to the ordinary + magistrates, or to extraordinary inquisitors. In the first ages these + questions were rare and occasional. In the beginning of the seventh + century of Rome they were made perpetual: four praetors were annually + empowered to sit in judgment on the state offences of treason, extortion, + peculation, and bribery; and Sylla added new praetors and new questions + for those crimes which more directly injure the safety of individuals. By + these inquisitors the trial was prepared and directed; but they could only + pronounce the sentence of the majority of judges, who with some truth, and + more prejudice, have been compared to the English juries. <a + href="#linknote-44.202" name="linknoteref-44.202" id="linknoteref-44.202">202</a> + To discharge this important, though burdensome office, an annual list of + ancient and respectable citizens was formed by the praetor. After many + constitutional struggles, they were chosen in equal numbers from the + senate, the equestrian order, and the people; four hundred and fifty were + appointed for single questions; and the various rolls or decuries of + judges must have contained the names of some thousand Romans, who + represented the judicial authority of the state. In each particular cause, + a sufficient number was drawn from the urn; their integrity was guarded by + an oath; the mode of ballot secured their independence; the suspicion of + partiality was removed by the mutual challenges of the accuser and + defendant; and the judges of Milo, by the retrenchment of fifteen on each + side, were reduced to fifty-one voices or tablets, of acquittal, of + condemnation, or of favorable doubt. <a href="#linknote-44.203" + name="linknoteref-44.203" id="linknoteref-44.203">203</a> 3. In his civil + jurisdiction, the praetor of the city was truly a judge, and almost a + legislator; but, as soon as he had prescribed the action of law, he often + referred to a delegate the determination of the fact. With the increase of + legal proceedings, the tribunal of the centumvirs, in which he presided, + acquired more weight and reputation. But whether he acted alone, or with + the advice of his council, the most absolute powers might be trusted to a + magistrate who was annually chosen by the votes of the people. The rules + and precautions of freedom have required some explanation; the order of + despotism is simple and inanimate. Before the age of Justinian, or perhaps + of Diocletian, the decuries of Roman judges had sunk to an empty title: + the humble advice of the assessors might be accepted or despised; and in + each tribunal the civil and criminal jurisdiction was administered by a + single magistrate, who was raised and disgraced by the will of the + emperor. <a name="linknote-44.201" id="linknote-44.201"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 201 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.201">return</a>)<br /> [The important subject + of the public questions and judgments at Rome, is explained with much + learning, and in a classic style, by Charles Sigonius, (l. iii. de + Judiciis, in Opp. tom. iii. p. 679—864;) and a good abridgment may + be found in the Republique Romaine of Beaufort, (tom. ii. l. v. p. 1—121.) + Those who wish for more abstruse law may study Noodt, (de Jurisdictione et + Imperio Libri duo, tom. i. p. 93—134,) Heineccius, (ad Pandect. l. + i. et ii. ad Institut. l. iv. tit. xvii Element. ad Antiquitat.) and + Gravina (Opp. 230—251.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.202" id="linknote-44.202"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 202 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.202">return</a>)<br /> [ The office, both at + Rome and in England, must be considered as an occasional duty, and not a + magistracy, or profession. But the obligation of a unanimous verdict is + peculiar to our laws, which condemn the jurymen to undergo the torture + from whence they have exempted the criminal.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.203" id="linknote-44.203"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 203 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.203">return</a>)<br /> [ We are indebted for + this interesting fact to a fragment of Asconius Pedianus, who flourished + under the reign of Tiberius. The loss of his Commentaries on the Orations + of Cicero has deprived us of a valuable fund of historical and legal + knowledge.] + </p> + <p> + A Roman accused of any capital crime might prevent the sentence of the law + by voluntary exile, or death. Till his guilt had been legally proved, his + innocence was presumed, and his person was free: till the votes of the + last century had been counted and declared, he might peaceably secede to + any of the allied cities of Italy, or Greece, or Asia. <a + href="#linknote-44.204" name="linknoteref-44.204" id="linknoteref-44.204">204</a> + His fame and fortunes were preserved, at least to his children, by this + civil death; and he might still be happy in every rational and sensual + enjoyment, if a mind accustomed to the ambitious tumult of Rome could + support the uniformity and silence of Rhodes or Athens. A bolder effort + was required to escape from the tyranny of the Caesars; but this effort + was rendered familiar by the maxims of the stoics, the example of the + bravest Romans, and the legal encouragements of suicide. The bodies of + condemned criminals were exposed to public ignominy, and their children, a + more serious evil, were reduced to poverty by the confiscation of their + fortunes. But, if the victims of Tiberius and Nero anticipated the decree + of the prince or senate, their courage and despatch were recompensed by + the applause of the public, the decent honors of burial, and the validity + of their testaments. <a href="#linknote-44.205" name="linknoteref-44.205" + id="linknoteref-44.205">205</a> The exquisite avarice and cruelty of + Domitian appear to have deprived the unfortunate of this last consolation, + and it was still denied even by the clemency of the Antonines. A voluntary + death, which, in the case of a capital offence, intervened between the + accusation and the sentence, was admitted as a confession of guilt, and + the spoils of the deceased were seized by the inhuman claims of the + treasury. <a href="#linknote-44.206" name="linknoteref-44.206" + id="linknoteref-44.206">206</a> Yet the civilians have always respected the + natural right of a citizen to dispose of his life; and the posthumous + disgrace invented by Tarquin, <a href="#linknote-44.207" + name="linknoteref-44.207" id="linknoteref-44.207">207</a> to check the + despair of his subjects, was never revived or imitated by succeeding + tyrants. The powers of this world have indeed lost their dominion over him + who is resolved on death; and his arm can only be restrained by the + religious apprehension of a future state. Suicides are enumerated by + Virgil among the unfortunate, rather than the guilty; <a + href="#linknote-44.208" name="linknoteref-44.208" id="linknoteref-44.208">208</a> + and the poetical fables of the infernal shades could not seriously + influence the faith or practice of mankind. But the precepts of the + gospel, or the church, have at length imposed a pious servitude on the + minds of Christians, and condemn them to expect, without a murmur, the + last stroke of disease or the executioner. <a name="linknote-44.204" + id="linknote-44.204"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 204 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.204">return</a>)<br /> [Footnote 204: Polyb. + l. vi. p. 643. The extension of the empire and city of Rome obliged the + exile to seek a more distant place of retirement.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.205" id="linknote-44.205"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 205 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.205">return</a>)<br /> [ Qui de se statuebant, + humabanta corpora, manebant testamenta; pretium festinandi. Tacit. Annal. + vi. 25, with the Notes of Lipsius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.206" id="linknote-44.206"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 206 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.206">return</a>)<br /> [ Julius Paulus, + (Sentent. Recept. l. v. tit. xii. p. 476,) the Pandects, (xlviii. tit. + xxi.,) the Code, (l. ix. tit. l.,) Bynkershoek, (tom. i. p. 59, Observat. + J. C. R. iv. 4,) and Montesquieu, (Esprit des Loix, l. xxix. c. ix.,) + define the civil limitations of the liberty and privileges of suicide. The + criminal penalties are the production of a later and darker age.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.207" id="linknote-44.207"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 207 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.207">return</a>)<br /> [ Plin. Hist. Natur. + xxxvi. 24. When he fatigued his subjects in building the Capitol, many of + the laborers were provoked to despatch themselves: he nailed their dead + bodies to crosses.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-44.208" id="linknote-44.208"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 208 (<a href="#linknoteref-44.208">return</a>)<br /> [ The sole resemblance + of a violent and premature death has engaged Virgil (Aeneid, vi. 434—439) + to confound suicides with infants, lovers, and persons unjustly condemned. + Heyne, the best of his editors, is at a loss to deduce the idea, or + ascertain the jurisprudence, of the Roman poet.] + </p> + <p> + The penal statutes form a very small proportion of the sixty-two books of + the Code and Pandects; and in all judicial proceedings, the life or death + of a citizen is determined with less caution or delay than the most + ordinary question of covenant or inheritance. This singular distinction, + though something may be allowed for the urgent necessity of defending the + peace of society, is derived from the nature of criminal and civil + jurisprudence. Our duties to the state are simple and uniform: the law by + which he is condemned is inscribed not only on brass or marble, but on the + conscience of the offender, and his guilt is commonly proved by the + testimony of a single fact. But our relations to each other are various + and infinite; our obligations are created, annulled, and modified, by + injuries, benefits, and promises; and the interpretation of voluntary + contracts and testaments, which are often dictated by fraud or ignorance, + affords a long and laborious exercise to the sagacity of the judge. The + business of life is multiplied by the extent of commerce and dominion, and + the residence of the parties in the distant provinces of an empire is + productive of doubt, delay, and inevitable appeals from the local to the + supreme magistrate. Justinian, the Greek emperor of Constantinople and the + East, was the legal successor of the Latin shepherd who had planted a + colony on the banks of the Tyber. In a period of thirteen hundred years, + the laws had reluctantly followed the changes of government and manners; + and the laudable desire of conciliating ancient names with recent + institutions destroyed the harmony, and swelled the magnitude, of the + obscure and irregular system. The laws which excuse, on any occasions, the + ignorance of their subjects, confess their own imperfections: the civil + jurisprudence, as it was abridged by Justinian, still continued a + mysterious science, and a profitable trade, and the innate perplexity of + the study was involved in tenfold darkness by the private industry of the + practitioners. The expense of the pursuit sometimes exceeded the value of + the prize, and the fairest rights were abandoned by the poverty or + prudence of the claimants. Such costly justice might tend to abate the + spirit of litigation, but the unequal pressure serves only to increase the + influence of the rich, and to aggravate the misery of the poor. By these + dilatory and expensive proceedings, the wealthy pleader obtains a more + certain advantage than he could hope from the accidental corruption of his + judge. The experience of an abuse, from which our own age and country are + not perfectly exempt, may sometimes provoke a generous indignation, and + extort the hasty wish of exchanging our elaborate jurisprudence for the + simple and summary decrees of a Turkish cadhi. Our calmer reflection will + suggest, that such forms and delays are necessary to guard the person and + property of the citizen; that the discretion of the judge is the first + engine of tyranny; and that the laws of a free people should foresee and + determine every question that may probably arise in the exercise of power + and the transactions of industry. But the government of Justinian united + the evils of liberty and servitude; and the Romans were oppressed at the + same time by the multiplicity of their laws and the arbitrary will of + their master. + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap45.1"></a> +Chapter XLV: State Of Italy Under The Lombards.—Part I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Reign Of The Younger Justin.—Embassy Of The Avars.—Their Settlement +On The Danube.—Conquest Of Italy By The Lombards.—Adoption And +Reign Of Tiberius.—Of Maurice.—State Of Italy Under The Lombards +And The Exarchs.—Of Ravenna.—Distress Of Rome.—Character And +Pontificate Of Gregory The First. +</p> + <p> + During the last years of Justinian, his infirm mind was devoted to + heavenly contemplation, and he neglected the business of the lower world. + His subjects were impatient of the long continuance of his life and reign: + yet all who were capable of reflection apprehended the moment of his + death, which might involve the capital in tumult, and the empire in civil + war. Seven nephews <a href="#linknote-45.1" name="linknoteref-45.1" + id="linknoteref-45.1">1</a> of the childless monarch, the sons or grandsons + of his brother and sister, had been educated in the splendor of a princely + fortune; they had been shown in high commands to the provinces and armies; + their characters were known, their followers were zealous, and, as the + jealousy of age postponed the declaration of a successor, they might + expect with equal hopes the inheritance of their uncle. He expired in his + palace, after a reign of thirty-eight years; and the decisive opportunity + was embraced by the friends of Justin, the son of Vigilantia. <a + href="#linknote-45.2" name="linknoteref-45.2" id="linknoteref-45.2">2</a> At + the hour of midnight, his domestics were awakened by an importunate crowd, + who thundered at his door, and obtained admittance by revealing themselves + to be the principal members of the senate. These welcome deputies + announced the recent and momentous secret of the emperor’s decease; + reported, or perhaps invented, his dying choice of the best beloved and + most deserving of his nephews, and conjured Justin to prevent the + disorders of the multitude, if they should perceive, with the return of + light, that they were left without a master. After composing his + countenance to surprise, sorrow, and decent modesty, Justin, by the advice + of his wife Sophia, submitted to the authority of the senate. He was + conducted with speed and silence to the palace; the guards saluted their + new sovereign; and the martial and religious rites of his coronation were + diligently accomplished. By the hands of the proper officers he was + invested with the Imperial garments, the red buskins, white tunic, and + purple robe. + </p> + <p> + A fortunate soldier, whom he instantly promoted to the rank of tribune, + encircled his neck with a military collar; four robust youths exalted him + on a shield; he stood firm and erect to receive the adoration of his + subjects; and their choice was sanctified by the benediction of the + patriarch, who imposed the diadem on the head of an orthodox prince. The + hippodrome was already filled with innumerable multitudes; and no sooner + did the emperor appear on his throne, than the voices of the blue and the + green factions were confounded in the same loyal acclamations. In the + speeches which Justin addressed to the senate and people, he promised to + correct the abuses which had disgraced the age of his predecessor, + displayed the maxims of a just and beneficent government, and declared + that, on the approaching calends of January, <a href="#linknote-45.3" + name="linknoteref-45.3" id="linknoteref-45.3">3</a> he would revive in his + own person the name and liberty of a Roman consul. The immediate discharge + of his uncle’s debts exhibited a solid pledge of his faith and generosity: + a train of porters, laden with bags of gold, advanced into the midst of + the hippodrome, and the hopeless creditors of Justinian accepted this + equitable payment as a voluntary gift. Before the end of three years, his + example was imitated and surpassed by the empress Sophia, who delivered + many indigent citizens from the weight of debt and usury: an act of + benevolence the best entitled to gratitude, since it relieves the most + intolerable distress; but in which the bounty of a prince is the most + liable to be abused by the claims of prodigality and fraud. <a + href="#linknote-45.4" name="linknoteref-45.4" id="linknoteref-45.4">4</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.1" id="linknote-45.1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.1">return</a>)<br /> [ See the family of Justin + and Justinian in the Familiae Byzantine of Ducange, p. 89—101. The + devout civilians, Ludewig (in Vit. Justinian. p. 131) and Heineccius + (Hist. Juris. Roman. p. 374) have since illustrated the genealogy of their + favorite prince.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.2" id="linknote-45.2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.2">return</a>)<br /> [ In the story of Justin’s + elevation I have translated into simple and concise prose the eight + hundred verses of the two first books of Corippus, de Laudibus Justini + Appendix Hist. Byzant. p. 401—416 Rome 1777.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.3" id="linknote-45.3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.3">return</a>)<br /> [ It is surprising how Pagi + (Critica. in Annal. Baron. tom. ii. p 639) could be tempted by any + chronicles to contradict the plain and decisive text of Corippus, (vicina + dona, l. ii. 354, vicina dies, l. iv. 1,) and to postpone, till A.D. 567, + the consulship of Justin.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.4" id="linknote-45.4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.4">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophan. Chronograph. p. + 205. Whenever Cedrenus or Zonaras are mere transcribers, it is superfluous + to allege their testimony.] + </p> + <p> + On the seventh day of his reign, Justin gave audience to the ambassadors + of the Avars, and the scene was decorated to impress the Barbarians with + astonishment, veneration, and terror. From the palace gate, the spacious + courts and long porticos were lined with the lofty crests and gilt + bucklers of the guards, who presented their spears and axes with more + confidence than they would have shown in a field of battle. The officers + who exercised the power, or attended the person, of the prince, were + attired in their richest habits, and arranged according to the military + and civil order of the hierarchy. When the veil of the sanctuary was + withdrawn, the ambassadors beheld the emperor of the East on his throne, + beneath a canopy, or dome, which was supported by four columns, and + crowned with a winged figure of Victory. In the first emotions of + surprise, they submitted to the servile adoration of the Byzantine court; + but as soon as they rose from the ground, Targetius, the chief of the + embassy, expressed the freedom and pride of a Barbarian. He extolled, by + the tongue of his interpreter, the greatness of the chagan, by whose + clemency the kingdoms of the South were permitted to exist, whose + victorious subjects had traversed the frozen rivers of Scythia, and who + now covered the banks of the Danube with innumerable tents. The late + emperor had cultivated, with annual and costly gifts, the friendship of a + grateful monarch, and the enemies of Rome had respected the allies of the + Avars. The same prudence would instruct the nephew of Justinian to imitate + the liberality of his uncle, and to purchase the blessings of peace from + an invincible people, who delighted and excelled in the exercise of war. + The reply of the emperor was delivered in the same strain of haughty + defiance, and he derived his confidence from the God of the Christians, + the ancient glory of Rome, and the recent triumphs of Justinian. “The + empire,” said he, “abounds with men and horses, and arms sufficient to + defend our frontiers, and to chastise the Barbarians. You offer aid, you + threaten hostilities: we despise your enmity and your aid. The conquerors + of the Avars solicit our alliance; shall we dread their fugitives and + exiles? <a href="#linknote-45.5" name="linknoteref-45.5" id="linknoteref-45.5">5</a> + The bounty of our uncle was granted to your misery, to your humble + prayers. From us you shall receive a more important obligation, the + knowledge of your own weakness. Retire from our presence; the lives of + ambassadors are safe; and, if you return to implore our pardon, perhaps + you will taste of our benevolence.” <a href="#linknote-45.6" + name="linknoteref-45.6" id="linknoteref-45.6">6</a> On the report of his + ambassadors, the chagan was awed by the apparent firmness of a Roman + emperor of whose character and resources he was ignorant. Instead of + executing his threats against the Eastern empire, he marched into the poor + and savage countries of Germany, which were subject to the dominion of the + Franks. After two doubtful battles, he consented to retire, and the + Austrasian king relieved the distress of his camp with an immediate supply + of corn and cattle. <a href="#linknote-45.7" name="linknoteref-45.7" + id="linknoteref-45.7">7</a> Such repeated disappointments had chilled the + spirit of the Avars, and their power would have dissolved away in the + Sarmatian desert, if the alliance of Alboin, king of the Lombards, had not + given a new object to their arms, and a lasting settlement to their + wearied fortunes. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.5" id="linknote-45.5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.5">return</a>)<br /> [ Corippus, l. iii. 390. + The unquestionable sense relates to the Turks, the conquerors of the + Avars; but the word scultor has no apparent meaning, and the sole Ms. of + Corippus, from whence the first edition (1581, apud Plantin) was printed, + is no longer visible. The last editor, Foggini of Rome, has inserted the + conjectural emendation of soldan: but the proofs of Ducange, (Joinville, + Dissert. xvi. p. 238—240,) for the early use of this title among the + Turks and Persians, are weak or ambiguous. And I must incline to the + authority of D’Herbelot, (Bibliotheque Orient. p. 825,) who ascribes the + word to the Arabic and Chaldaean tongues, and the date to the beginning of + the xith century, when it was bestowed by the khalif of Bagdad on Mahmud, + prince of Gazna, and conqueror of India.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.6" id="linknote-45.6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.6">return</a>)<br /> [ For these characteristic + speeches, compare the verse of Corippus (l. iii. 251—401) with the + prose of Menander, (Excerpt. Legation. p 102, 103.) Their diversity proves + that they did not copy each other their resemblance, that they drew from a + common original.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.7" id="linknote-45.7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.7">return</a>)<br /> [ For the Austrasian war, + see Menander (Excerpt. Legat. p. 110,) Gregory of Tours, (Hist. Franc. l. + iv. c 29,) and Paul the deacon, (de Gest. Langobard. l. ii. c. 10.)] + </p> + <p> + While Alboin served under his father’s standard, he encountered in battle, + and transpierced with his lance, the rival prince of the Gepidae. The + Lombards, who applauded such early prowess, requested his father, with + unanimous acclamations, that the heroic youth, who had shared the dangers + of the field, might be admitted to the feast of victory. “You are not + unmindful,” replied the inflexible Audoin, “of the wise customs of our + ancestors. Whatever may be his merit, a prince is incapable of sitting at + table with his father till he has received his arms from a foreign and + royal hand.” Alboin bowed with reverence to the institutions of his + country, selected forty companions, and boldly visited the court of + Turisund, king of the Gepidae, who embraced and entertained, according to + the laws of hospitality, the murderer of his son. At the banquet, whilst + Alboin occupied the seat of the youth whom he had slain, a tender + remembrance arose in the mind of Turisund. “How dear is that place! how + hateful is that person!” were the words that escaped, with a sigh, from + the indignant father. His grief exasperated the national resentment of the + Gepidae; and Cunimund, his surviving son, was provoked by wine, or + fraternal affection, to the desire of vengeance. “The Lombards,” said the + rude Barbarian, “resemble, in figure and in smell, the mares of our + Sarmatian plains.” And this insult was a coarse allusion to the white + bands which enveloped their legs. “Add another resemblance,” replied an + audacious Lombard; “you have felt how strongly they kick. Visit the plain + of Asfield, and seek for the bones of thy brother: they are mingled with + those of the vilest animals.” The Gepidae, a nation of warriors, started + from their seats, and the fearless Alboin, with his forty companions, laid + their hands on their swords. The tumult was appeased by the venerable + interposition of Turisund. He saved his own honor, and the life of his + guest; and, after the solemn rites of investiture, dismissed the stranger + in the bloody arms of his son; the gift of a weeping parent. Alboin + returned in triumph; and the Lombards, who celebrated his matchless + intrepidity, were compelled to praise the virtues of an enemy. <a + href="#linknote-45.8" name="linknoteref-45.8" id="linknoteref-45.8">8</a> In + this extraordinary visit he had probably seen the daughter of Cunimund, + who soon after ascended the throne of the Gepidae. Her name was Rosamond, + an appellation expressive of female beauty, and which our own history or + romance has consecrated to amorous tales. The king of the Lombards (the + father of Alboin no longer lived) was contracted to the granddaughter of + Clovis; but the restraints of faith and policy soon yielded to the hope of + possessing the fair Rosamond, and of insulting her family and nation. The + arts of persuasion were tried without success; and the impatient lover, by + force and stratagem, obtained the object of his desires. War was the + consequence which he foresaw and solicited; but the Lombards could not + long withstand the furious assault of the Gepidae, who were sustained by a + Roman army. And, as the offer of marriage was rejected with contempt, + Alboin was compelled to relinquish his prey, and to partake of the + disgrace which he had inflicted on the house of Cunimund. <a + href="#linknote-45.9" name="linknoteref-45.9" id="linknoteref-45.9">9</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.8" id="linknote-45.8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.8">return</a>)<br /> [ Paul Warnefrid, the + deacon of Friuli, de Gest. Langobard. l. i. c. 23, 24. His pictures of + national manners, though rudely sketched are more lively and faithful than + those of Bede, or Gregory of Tours] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.9" id="linknote-45.9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.9">return</a>)<br /> [ The story is told by an + impostor, (Theophylact. Simocat. l. vi. c. 10;) but he had art enough to + build his fictions on public and notorious facts.] + </p> + <p> + When a public quarrel is envenomed by private injuries, a blow that is not + mortal or decisive can be productive only of a short truce, which allows + the unsuccessful combatant to sharpen his arms for a new encounter. The + strength of Alboin had been found unequal to the gratification of his + love, ambition, and revenge: he condescended to implore the formidable aid + of the chagan; and the arguments that he employed are expressive of the + art and policy of the Barbarians. In the attack of the Gepidae, he had + been prompted by the just desire of extirpating a people whom their + alliance with the Roman empire had rendered the common enemies of the + nations, and the personal adversaries of the chagan. If the forces of the + Avars and the Lombards should unite in this glorious quarrel, the victory + was secure, and the reward inestimable: the Danube, the Hebrus, Italy, and + Constantinople, would be exposed, without a barrier, to their invincible + arms. But, if they hesitated or delayed to prevent the malice of the + Romans, the same spirit which had insulted would pursue the Avars to the extremity + of the earth. These specious reasons were heard by the chagan with + coldness and disdain: he detained the Lombard ambassadors in his camp, + protracted the negotiation, and by turns alleged his want of inclination, + or his want of ability, to undertake this important enterprise. At length + he signified the ultimate price of his alliance, that the Lombards should + immediately present him with a tithe of their cattle; that the spoils and + captives should be equally divided; but that the lands of the Gepidae + should become the sole patrimony of the Avars. Such hard conditions were + eagerly accepted by the passions of Alboin; and, as the Romans were + dissatisfied with the ingratitude and perfidy of the Gepidae, Justin + abandoned that incorrigible people to their fate, and remained the + tranquil spectator of this unequal conflict. The despair of Cunimund was + active and dangerous. He was informed that the Avars had entered his + confines; but, on the strong assurance that, after the defeat of the + Lombards, these foreign invaders would easily be repelled, he rushed + forwards to encounter the implacable enemy of his name and family. But the + courage of the Gepidae could secure them no more than an honorable death. + The bravest of the nation fell in the field of battle; the king of the + Lombards contemplated with delight the head of Cunimund; and his skull was + fashioned into a cup to satiate the hatred of the conqueror, or, perhaps, + to comply with the savage custom of his country. <a href="#linknote-45.10" + name="linknoteref-45.10" id="linknoteref-45.10">10</a> After this victory, + no further obstacle could impede the progress of the confederates, and + they faithfully executed the terms of their agreement. <a + href="#linknote-45.11" name="linknoteref-45.11" id="linknoteref-45.11">11</a> + The fair countries of Walachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, and the other + parts of Hungary beyond the Danube, were occupied, without resistance, by + a new colony of Scythians; and the Dacian empire of the chagans subsisted + with splendor above two hundred and thirty years. The nation of the + Gepidae was dissolved; but, in the distribution of the captives, the + slaves of the Avars were less fortunate than the companions of the + Lombards, whose generosity adopted a valiant foe, and whose freedom was + incompatible with cool and deliberate tyranny. One moiety of the spoil + introduced into the camp of Alboin more wealth than a Barbarian could + readily compute. The fair Rosamond was persuaded, or compelled, to + acknowledge the rights of her victorious lover; and the daughter of + Cunimund appeared to forgive those crimes which might be imputed to her + own irresistible charms. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.10" id="linknote-45.10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.10">return</a>)<br /> [ It appears from Strabo, + Pliny, and Ammianus Marcellinus, that the same practice was common among + the Scythian tribes, (Muratori, Scriptores Rer. Italic. tom. i. p. 424.) + The scalps of North America are likewise trophies of valor. The skull of + Cunimund was preserved above two hundred years among the Lombards; and + Paul himself was one of the guests to whom Duke Ratchis exhibited this cup + on a high festival, (l. ii. c. 28.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.11" id="linknote-45.11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.11">return</a>)<br /> [ Paul, l. i. c. 27. + Menander, in Excerpt Legat. p. 110, 111.] + </p> + <p> + The destruction of a mighty kingdom established the fame of Alboin. In the + days of Charlemagne, the Bavarians, the Saxons, and the other tribes of + the Teutonic language, still repeated the songs which described the heroic + virtues, the valor, liberality, and fortune of the king of the Lombards. + <a href="#linknote-45.12" name="linknoteref-45.12" id="linknoteref-45.12">12</a> + But his ambition was yet unsatisfied; and the conqueror of the Gepidae + turned his eyes from the Danube to the richer banks of the Po, and the + Tyber. Fifteen years had not elapsed, since his subjects, the confederates + of Narses, had visited the pleasant climate of Italy: the mountains, the + rivers, the highways, were familiar to their memory: the report of their + success, perhaps the view of their spoils, had kindled in the rising + generation the flame of emulation and enterprise. Their hopes were + encouraged by the spirit and eloquence of Alboin: and it is affirmed, that + he spoke to their senses, by producing at the royal feast, the fairest and + most exquisite fruits that grew spontaneously in the garden of the world. + No sooner had he erected his standard, than the native strength of the + Lombard was multiplied by the adventurous youth of Germany and Scythia. + The robust peasantry of Noricum and Pannonia had resumed the manners of + Barbarians; and the names of the Gepidae, Bulgarians, Sarmatians, and + Bavarians, may be distinctly traced in the provinces of Italy. <a + href="#linknote-45.13" name="linknoteref-45.13" id="linknoteref-45.13">13</a> + Of the Saxons, the old allies of the Lombards, twenty thousand warriors, + with their wives and children, accepted the invitation of Alboin. Their + bravery contributed to his success; but the accession or the absence of + their numbers was not sensibly felt in the magnitude of his host. Every + mode of religion was freely practised by its respective votaries. The king + of the Lombards had been educated in the Arian heresy; but the Catholics, + in their public worship, were allowed to pray for his conversion; while + the more stubborn Barbarians sacrificed a she-goat, or perhaps a captive, + to the gods of their fathers. <a href="#linknote-45.14" + name="linknoteref-45.14" id="linknoteref-45.14">14</a> The Lombards, and + their confederates, were united by their common attachment to a chief, who + excelled in all the virtues and vices of a savage hero; and the vigilance + of Alboin provided an ample magazine of offensive and defensive arms for + the use of the expedition. The portable wealth of the Lombards attended + the march: their lands they cheerfully relinquished to the Avars, on the + solemn promise, which was made and accepted without a smile, that if they + failed in the conquest of Italy, these voluntary exiles should be + reinstated in their former possessions. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.12" id="linknote-45.12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.12">return</a>)<br /> [ Ut hactenus etiam tam + apud Bajoarior um gentem, quam et Saxmum, sed et alios ejusdem linguae + homines..... in eorum carmini bus celebretur. Paul, l. i. c. 27. He died + A.D. 799, (Muratori, in Praefat. tom. i. p. 397.) These German songs, some + of which might be as old as Tacitus, (de Moribus Germ. c. 2,) were + compiled and transcribed by Charlemagne. Barbara et antiquissima carmina, + quibus veterum regum actus et bella canebantur scripsit memoriaeque + mandavit, (Eginard, in Vit. Carol. Magn. c. 29, p. 130, 131.) The poems, + which Goldast commends, (Animadvers. ad Eginard. p. 207,) appear to be + recent and contemptible romances.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.13" id="linknote-45.13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.13">return</a>)<br /> [ The other nations are + rehearsed by Paul, (l. ii. c. 6, 26,) Muratori (Antichita Italiane, tom. + i. dissert. i. p. 4) has discovered the village of the Bavarians, three + miles from Modena.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.14" id="linknote-45.14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.14">return</a>)<br /> [ Gregory the Roman + (Dialog. l. i. iii. c. 27, 28, apud Baron. Annal Eccles. A.D. 579, No. 10) + supposes that they likewise adored this she-goat. I know but of one + religion in which the god and the victim are the same.] + </p> + <p> + They might have failed, if Narses had been the antagonist of the Lombards; + and the veteran warriors, the associates of his Gothic victory, would have + encountered with reluctance an enemy whom they dreaded and esteemed. But + the weakness of the Byzantine court was subservient to the Barbarian + cause; and it was for the ruin of Italy, that the emperor once listened to + the complaints of his subjects. The virtues of Narses were stained with + avarice; and, in his provincial reign of fifteen years, he accumulated a + treasure of gold and silver which surpassed the modesty of a private + fortune. His government was oppressive or unpopular, and the general + discontent was expressed with freedom by the deputies of Rome. Before the + throne of Justinian they boldly declared, that their Gothic servitude had + been more tolerable than the despotism of a Greek eunuch; and that, unless + their tyrant were instantly removed, they would consult their own + happiness in the choice of a master. The apprehension of a revolt was + urged by the voice of envy and detraction, which had so recently triumphed + over the merit of Belisarius. A new exarch, Longinus, was appointed to + supersede the conqueror of Italy, and the base motives of his recall were + revealed in the insulting mandate of the empress Sophia, “that he should + leave to men the exercise of arms, and return to his proper station among + the maidens of the palace, where a distaff should be again placed in the + hand of the eunuch.” “I will spin her such a thread as she shall not + easily unravel!” is said to have been the reply which indignation and + conscious virtue extorted from the hero. Instead of attending, a slave and + a victim, at the gate of the Byzantine palace, he retired to Naples, from + whence (if any credit is due to the belief of the times) Narses invited + the Lombards to chastise the ingratitude of the prince and people. <a + href="#linknote-45.15" name="linknoteref-45.15" id="linknoteref-45.15">15</a> + But the passions of the people are furious and changeable, and the Romans + soon recollected the merits, or dreaded the resentment, of their + victorious general. By the mediation of the pope, who undertook a special + pilgrimage to Naples, their repentance was accepted; and Narses, assuming + a milder aspect and a more dutiful language, consented to fix his + residence in the Capitol. His death, <a href="#linknote-45.16" + name="linknoteref-45.16" id="linknoteref-45.16">16</a> though in the extreme + period of old age, was unseasonable and premature, since his genius alone + could have repaired the last and fatal error of his life. The reality, or + the suspicion, of a conspiracy disarmed and disunited the Italians. The + soldiers resented the disgrace, and bewailed the loss, of their general. + They were ignorant of their new exarch; and Longinus was himself ignorant + of the state of the army and the province. In the preceding years Italy + had been desolated by pestilence and famine, and a disaffected people + ascribed the calamities of nature to the guilt or folly of their rulers. + <a href="#linknote-45.17" name="linknoteref-45.17" id="linknoteref-45.17">17</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.15" id="linknote-45.15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.15">return</a>)<br /> [ The charge of the + deacon against Narses (l. ii. c. 5) may be groundless; but the weak + apology of the Cardinal (Baron. Annal Eccles. A.D. 567, No. 8—12) is + rejected by the best critics—Pagi (tom. ii. p. 639, 640,) Muratori, + (Annali d’ Italia, tom. v. p. 160—163,) and the last editors, + Horatius Blancus, (Script. Rerum Italic. tom. i. p. 427, 428,) and Philip + Argelatus, (Sigon. Opera, tom. ii. p. 11, 12.) The Narses who assisted at + the coronation of Justin (Corippus, l. iii. 221) is clearly understood to + be a different person.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.16" id="linknote-45.16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.16">return</a>)<br /> [ The death of Narses is + mentioned by Paul, l. ii. c. 11. Anastas. in Vit. Johan. iii. p. 43. + Agnellus, Liber Pontifical. Raven. in Script. Rer. Italicarum, tom. ii. + part i. p. 114, 124. Yet I cannot believe with Agnellus that Narses was + ninety-five years of age. Is it probable that all his exploits were + performed at fourscore?] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.17" id="linknote-45.17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.17">return</a>)<br /> [ The designs of Narses + and of the Lombards for the invasion of Italy are exposed in the last + chapter of the first book, and the seven last chapters of the second book, + of Paul the deacon.] + </p> + <p> + Whatever might be the grounds of his security, Alboin neither expected nor + encountered a Roman army in the field. He ascended the Julian Alps, and + looked down with contempt and desire on the fruitful plains to which his + victory communicated the perpetual appellation of Lombardy. A faithful + chieftain, and a select band, were stationed at Forum Julii, the modern + Friuli, to guard the passes of the mountains. The Lombards respected the + strength of Pavia, and listened to the prayers of the Trevisans: their + slow and heavy multitudes proceeded to occupy the palace and city of + Verona; and Milan, now rising from her ashes, was invested by the powers + of Alboin five months after his departure from Pannonia. Terror preceded + his march: he found every where, or he left, a dreary solitude; and the + pusillanimous Italians presumed, without a trial, that the stranger was + invincible. Escaping to lakes, or rocks, or morasses, the affrighted + crowds concealed some fragments of their wealth, and delayed the moment of + their servitude. Paulinus, the patriarch of Aquileia, removed his + treasures, sacred and profane, to the Isle of Grado, <a + href="#linknote-45.18" name="linknoteref-45.18" id="linknoteref-45.18">18</a> + and his successors were adopted by the infant republic of Venice, which + was continually enriched by the public calamities. Honoratus, who filled + the chair of St. Ambrose, had credulously accepted the faithless offers of + a capitulation; and the archbishop, with the clergy and nobles of Milan, + were driven by the perfidy of Alboin to seek a refuge in the less + accessible ramparts of Genoa. Along the maritime coast, the courage of the + inhabitants was supported by the facility of supply, the hopes of relief, + and the power of escape; but from the Trentine hills to the gates of + Ravenna and Rome the inland regions of Italy became, without a battle or a + siege, the lasting patrimony of the Lombards. The submission of the people + invited the Barbarian to assume the character of a lawful sovereign, and + the helpless exarch was confined to the office of announcing to the + emperor Justin the rapid and irretrievable loss of his provinces and + cities. <a href="#linknote-45.19" name="linknoteref-45.19" + id="linknoteref-45.19">19</a> One city, which had been diligently fortified + by the Goths, resisted the arms of a new invader; and while Italy was + subdued by the flying detachments of the Lombards, the royal camp was + fixed above three years before the western gate of Ticinum, or Pavia. The + same courage which obtains the esteem of a civilized enemy provokes the + fury of a savage, and the impatient besieger had bound himself by a + tremendous oath, that age, and sex, and dignity, should be confounded in a + general massacre. The aid of famine at length enabled him to execute his + bloody vow; but, as Alboin entered the gate, his horse stumbled, fell, and + could not be raised from the ground. One of his attendants was prompted by + compassion, or piety, to interpret this miraculous sign of the wrath of + Heaven: the conqueror paused and relented; he sheathed his sword, and + peacefully reposing himself in the palace of Theodoric, proclaimed to the + trembling multitude that they should live and obey. Delighted with the + situation of a city which was endeared to his pride by the difficulty of + the purchase, the prince of the Lombards disdained the ancient glories of + Milan; and Pavia, during some ages, was respected as the capital of the + kingdom of Italy. <a href="#linknote-45.20" name="linknoteref-45.20" + id="linknoteref-45.20">20</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.18" id="linknote-45.18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.18">return</a>)<br /> [ Which from this + translation was called New Aquileia, (Chron. Venet. p. 3.) The patriarch + of Grado soon became the first citizen of the republic, (p. 9, &c.,) + but his seat was not removed to Venice till the year 1450. He is now + decorated with titles and honors; but the genius of the church has bowed + to that of the state, and the government of a Catholic city is strictly + Presbyterian. Thomassin, Discipline de l’Eglise, tom. i. p. 156, 157, 161—165. + Amelot de la Houssaye, Gouvernement de Venise, tom. i. p. 256—261.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.19" id="linknote-45.19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.19">return</a>)<br /> [ Paul has given a + description of Italy, as it was then divided into eighteen regions, (l. + ii. c. 14—24.) The Dissertatio Chorographica de Italia Medii Aevi, + by Father Beretti, a Benedictine monk, and regius professor at Pavia, has + been usefully consulted.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.20" id="linknote-45.20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.20">return</a>)<br /> [ For the conquest of + Italy, see the original materials of Paul, (l. p. 7—10, 12, 14, 25, + 26, 27,) the eloquent narrative of Sigonius, (tom. il. de Regno Italiae, + l. i. p. 13—19,) and the correct and critical review el Muratori, + (Annali d’ Italia, tom. v. p. 164—180.)] + </p> + <p> + The reign of the founder was splendid and transient; and, before he could + regulate his new conquests, Alboin fell a sacrifice to domestic treason + and female revenge. In a palace near Verona, which had not been erected + for the Barbarians, he feasted the companions of his arms; intoxication + was the reward of valor, and the king himself was tempted by appetite, or + vanity, to exceed the ordinary measure of his intemperance. After draining + many capacious bowls of Rhaetian or Falernian wine, he called for the + skull of Cunimund, the noblest and most precious ornament of his + sideboard. The cup of victory was accepted with horrid applause by the + circle of the Lombard chiefs. “Fill it again with wine,” exclaimed the + inhuman conqueror, “fill it to the brim: carry this goblet to the queen, + and request in my name that she would rejoice with her father.” In an + agony of grief and rage, Rosamond had strength to utter, “Let the will of + my lord be obeyed!” and, touching it with her lips, pronounced a silent + imprecation, that the insult should be washed away in the blood of Alboin. + Some indulgence might be due to the resentment of a daughter, if she had + not already violated the duties of a wife. Implacable in her enmity, or + inconstant in her love, the queen of Italy had stooped from the throne to + the arms of a subject, and Helmichis, the king’s armor-bearer, was the + secret minister of her pleasure and revenge. Against the proposal of the + murder, he could no longer urge the scruples of fidelity or gratitude; but + Helmichis trembled when he revolved the danger as well as the guilt, when + he recollected the matchless strength and intrepidity of a warrior whom he + had so often attended in the field of battle. He pressed and obtained, + that one of the bravest champions of the Lombards should be associated to + the enterprise; but no more than a promise of secrecy could be drawn from + the gallant Peredeus, and the mode of seduction employed by Rosamond + betrays her shameless insensibility both to honor and love. She supplied + the place of one of her female attendants who was beloved by Peredeus, and + contrived some excuse for darkness and silence, till she could inform her + companion that he had enjoyed the queen of the Lombards, and that his own + death, or the death of Alboin, must be the consequence of such treasonable + adultery. In this alternative he chose rather to be the accomplice than + the victim of Rosamond, <a href="#linknote-45.21" name="linknoteref-45.21" + id="linknoteref-45.21">21</a> whose undaunted spirit was incapable of fear + or remorse. She expected and soon found a favorable moment, when the king, + oppressed with wine, had retired from the table to his afternoon slumbers. + His faithless spouse was anxious for his health and repose: the gates of + the palace were shut, the arms removed, the attendants dismissed, and + Rosamond, after lulling him to rest by her tender caresses, unbolted the + chamber door, and urged the reluctant conspirators to the instant + execution of the deed. On the first alarm, the warrior started from his + couch: his sword, which he attempted to draw, had been fastened to the + scabbard by the hand of Rosamond; and a small stool, his only weapon, + could not long protect him from the spears of the assassins. The daughter + of Cunimund smiled in his fall: his body was buried under the staircase of + the palace; and the grateful posterity of the Lombards revered the tomb + and the memory of their victorious leader. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.21" id="linknote-45.21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.21">return</a>)<br /> [ The classical reader + will recollect the wife and murder of Candaules, so agreeably told in the + first book of Herodotus. The choice of Gyges, may serve as the excuse of + Peredeus; and this soft insinuation of an odious idea has been imitated by + the best writers of antiquity, (Graevius, ad Ciceron. Orat. pro Miloue c. + 10)] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap45.2"></a> +Chapter XLV: State Of Italy Under The Lombards.—Part II.</h2> + + <p> + The ambitious Rosamond aspired to reign in the name of her lover; the city + and palace of Verona were awed by her power; and a faithful band of her + native Gepidae was prepared to applaud the revenge, and to second the + wishes, of their sovereign. But the Lombard chiefs, who fled in the first + moments of consternation and disorder, had resumed their courage and + collected their powers; and the nation, instead of submitting to her + reign, demanded, with unanimous cries, that justice should be executed on + the guilty spouse and the murderers of their king. She sought a refuge + among the enemies of her country; and a criminal who deserved the + abhorrence of mankind was protected by the selfish policy of the exarch. + With her daughter, the heiress of the Lombard throne, her two lovers, her + trusty Gepidae, and the spoils of the palace of Verona, Rosamond descended + the Adige and the Po, and was transported by a Greek vessel to the safe + harbor of Ravenna. Longinus beheld with delight the charms and the + treasures of the widow of Alboin: her situation and her past conduct might + justify the most licentious proposals; and she readily listened to the + passion of a minister, who, even in the decline of the empire, was + respected as the equal of kings. The death of a jealous lover was an easy + and grateful sacrifice; and, as Helmichis issued from the bath, he + received the deadly potion from the hand of his mistress. The taste of the + liquor, its speedy operation, and his experience of the character of + Rosamond, convinced him that he was poisoned: he pointed his dagger to her + breast, compelled her to drain the remainder of the cup, and expired in a + few minutes, with the consolation that she could not survive to enjoy the + fruits of her wickedness. The daughter of Alboin and Rosamond, with the + richest spoils of the Lombards, was embarked for Constantinople: the + surprising strength of Peredeus amused and terrified the Imperial court: + <a href="#linknote-45.2111" name="linknoteref-45.2111" + id="linknoteref-45.2111">2111</a> his blindness and revenge exhibited an + imperfect copy of the adventures of Samson. By the free suffrage of the + nation, in the assembly of Pavia, Clepho, one of their noblest chiefs, was + elected as the successor of Alboin. Before the end of eighteen months, the + throne was polluted by a second murder: Clepho was stabbed by the hand of + a domestic; the regal office was suspended above ten years during the + minority of his son Autharis; and Italy was divided and oppressed by a + ducal aristocracy of thirty tyrants. <a href="#linknote-45.22" + name="linknoteref-45.22" id="linknoteref-45.22">22</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.2111" id="linknote-45.2111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2111 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.2111">return</a>)<br /> [ He killed a lion. + His eyes were put out by the timid Justin. Peredeus requesting an + interview, Justin substituted two patricians, whom the blinded Barbarian + stabbed to the heart with two concealed daggers. See Le Beau, vol. x. p. + 99.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.22" id="linknote-45.22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.22">return</a>)<br /> [ See the history of + Paul, l. ii. c. 28—32. I have borrowed some interesting + circumstances from the Liber Pontificalis of Agnellus, in Script. Rer. + Ital. tom. ii. p. 124. Of all chronological guides, Muratori is the + safest.] + </p> + <p> + When the nephew of Justinian ascended the throne, he proclaimed a new aera + of happiness and glory. The annals of the second Justin <a + href="#linknote-45.23" name="linknoteref-45.23" id="linknoteref-45.23">23</a> + are marked with disgrace abroad and misery at home. In the West, the Roman + empire was afflicted by the loss of Italy, the desolation of Africa, and + the conquests of the Persians. Injustice prevailed both in the capital and + the provinces: the rich trembled for their property, the poor for their + safety, the ordinary magistrates were ignorant or venal, the occasional + remedies appear to have been arbitrary and violent, and the complaints of + the people could no longer be silenced by the splendid names of a + legislator and a conqueror. The opinion which imputes to the prince all + the calamities of his times may be countenanced by the historian as a + serious truth or a salutary prejudice. Yet a candid suspicion will arise, + that the sentiments of Justin were pure and benevolent, and that he might + have filled his station without reproach, if the faculties of his mind had + not been impaired by disease, which deprived the emperor of the use of his + feet, and confined him to the palace, a stranger to the complaints of the + people and the vices of the government. The tardy knowledge of his own + impotence determined him to lay down the weight of the diadem; and, in the + choice of a worthy substitute, he showed some symptoms of a discerning and + even magnanimous spirit. The only son of Justin and Sophia died in his + infancy; their daughter Arabia was the wife of Baduarius, <a + href="#linknote-45.24" name="linknoteref-45.24" id="linknoteref-45.24">24</a> + superintendent of the palace, and afterwards commander of the Italian + armies, who vainly aspired to confirm the rights of marriage by those of + adoption. While the empire appeared an object of desire, Justin was + accustomed to behold with jealousy and hatred his brothers and cousins, + the rivals of his hopes; nor could he depend on the gratitude of those who + would accept the purple as a restitution, rather than a gift. Of these + competitors, one had been removed by exile, and afterwards by death; and + the emperor himself had inflicted such cruel insults on another, that he + must either dread his resentment or despise his patience. This domestic + animosity was refined into a generous resolution of seeking a successor, + not in his family, but in the republic; and the artful Sophia recommended + Tiberius, <a href="#linknote-45.25" name="linknoteref-45.25" + id="linknoteref-45.25">25</a> his faithful captain of the guards, whose + virtues and fortune the emperor might cherish as the fruit of his + judicious choice. The ceremony of his elevation to the rank of Caesar, or + Augustus, was performed in the portico of the palace, in the presence of + the patriarch and the senate. Justin collected the remaining strength of + his mind and body; but the popular belief that his speech was inspired by + the Deity betrays a very humble opinion both of the man and of the times. + <a href="#linknote-45.26" name="linknoteref-45.26" id="linknoteref-45.26">26</a> + “You behold,” said the emperor, “the ensigns of supreme power. You are + about to receive them, not from my hand, but from the hand of God. Honor + them, and from them you will derive honor. Respect the empress your + mother: you are now her son; before, you were her servant. Delight not in + blood; abstain from revenge; avoid those actions by which I have incurred + the public hatred; and consult the experience, rather than the example, of + your predecessor. As a man, I have sinned; as a sinner, even in this life, + I have been severely punished: but these servants, (and he pointed to his + ministers,) who have abused my confidence, and inflamed my passions, will + appear with me before the tribunal of Christ. I have been dazzled by the + splendor of the diadem: be thou wise and modest; remember what you have + been, remember what you are. You see around us your slaves, and your + children: with the authority, assume the tenderness, of a parent. Love + your people like yourself; cultivate the affections, maintain the + discipline, of the army; protect the fortunes of the rich, relieve the + necessities of the poor.” <a href="#linknote-45.27" name="linknoteref-45.27" + id="linknoteref-45.27">27</a> The assembly, in silence and in tears, + applauded the counsels, and sympathized with the repentance, of their + prince the patriarch rehearsed the prayers of the church; Tiberius + received the diadem on his knees; and Justin, who in his abdication + appeared most worthy to reign, addressed the new monarch in the following + words: “If you consent, I live; if you command, I die: may the God of + heaven and earth infuse into your heart whatever I have neglected or + forgotten.” The four last years of the emperor Justin were passed in + tranquil obscurity: his conscience was no longer tormented by the + remembrance of those duties which he was incapable of discharging; and his + choice was justified by the filial reverence and gratitude of Tiberius. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.23" id="linknote-45.23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.23">return</a>)<br /> [ The original authors + for the reign of Justin the younger are Evagrius, Hist. Eccles. l. v. c. 1—12; + Theophanes, in Chonograph. p. 204—210; Zonaras, tom. ii. l. xiv. p. + 70-72; Cedrenus, in Compend. p. 388—392.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.24" id="linknote-45.24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.24">return</a>)<br /> [ Dispositorque novus + sacrae Baduarius aulae. Successor soceri mox factus Cura-palati.—Cerippus. + Baduarius is enumerated among the descendants and allies of the house of + Justinian. A family of noble Venetians (Casa Badoero) built churches and + gave dukes to the republic as early as the ninth century; and, if their + descent be admitted, no kings in Europe can produce a pedigree so ancient + and illustrious. Ducange, Fam. Byzantin, p. 99 Amelot de la Houssaye, + Gouvernement de Venise, tom. ii. p. 555.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.25" id="linknote-45.25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.25">return</a>)<br /> [ The praise bestowed on + princes before their elevation is the purest and most weighty. Corippus + has celebrated Tiberius at the time of the accession of Justin, (l. i. 212—222.) + Yet even a captain of the guards might attract the flattery of an African + exile.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.26" id="linknote-45.26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.26">return</a>)<br /> [ Evagrius (l. v. c. 13) + has added the reproach to his ministers He applies this speech to the + ceremony when Tiberius was invested with the rank of Caesar. The loose + expression, rather than the positive error, of Theophanes, &c., has + delayed it to his Augustan investitura immediately before the death of + Justin.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.27" id="linknote-45.27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.27">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact Simocatta + (l. iii. c. 11) declares that he shall give to posterity the speech of + Justin as it was pronounced, without attempting to correct the + imperfections of language or rhetoric. Perhaps the vain sophist would have + been incapable of producing such sentiments.] + </p> + <p> + Among the virtues of Tiberius, <a href="#linknote-45.28" + name="linknoteref-45.28" id="linknoteref-45.28">28</a> his beauty (he was + one of the tallest and most comely of the Romans) might introduce him to + the favor of Sophia; and the widow of Justin was persuaded, that she + should preserve her station and influence under the reign of a second and + more youthful husband. But, if the ambitious candidate had been tempted to + flatter and dissemble, it was no longer in his power to fulfil her + expectations, or his own promise. The factions of the hippodrome demanded, + with some impatience, the name of their new empress: both the people and + Sophia were astonished by the proclamation of Anastasia, the secret, + though lawful, wife of the emperor Tiberius. Whatever could alleviate the + disappointment of Sophia, Imperial honors, a stately palace, a numerous + household, was liberally bestowed by the piety of her adopted son; on + solemn occasions he attended and consulted the widow of his benefactor; + but her ambition disdained the vain semblance of royalty, and the + respectful appellation of mother served to exasperate, rather than + appease, the rage of an injured woman. While she accepted, and repaid with + a courtly smile, the fair expressions of regard and confidence, a secret + alliance was concluded between the dowager empress and her ancient + enemies; and Justinian, the son of Germanus, was employed as the + instrument of her revenge. The pride of the reigning house supported, with + reluctance, the dominion of a stranger: the youth was deservedly popular; + his name, after the death of Justin, had been mentioned by a tumultuous + faction; and his own submissive offer of his head with a treasure of sixty + thousand pounds, might be interpreted as an evidence of guilt, or at least + of fear. Justinian received a free pardon, and the command of the eastern + army. The Persian monarch fled before his arms; and the acclamations which + accompanied his triumph declared him worthy of the purple. His artful + patroness had chosen the month of the vintage, while the emperor, in a + rural solitude, was permitted to enjoy the pleasures of a subject. On the + first intelligence of her designs, he returned to Constantinople, and the + conspiracy was suppressed by his presence and firmness. From the pomp and + honors which she had abused, Sophia was reduced to a modest allowance: + Tiberius dismissed her train, intercepted her correspondence, and + committed to a faithful guard the custody of her person. But the services + of Justinian were not considered by that excellent prince as an + aggravation of his offences: after a mild reproof, his treason and + ingratitude were forgiven; and it was commonly believed, that the emperor + entertained some thoughts of contracting a double alliance with the rival + of his throne. The voice of an angel (such a fable was propagated) might + reveal to the emperor, that he should always triumph over his domestic + foes; but Tiberius derived a firmer assurance from the innocence and + generosity of his own mind. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.28" id="linknote-45.28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.28">return</a>)<br /> [ For the character and + reign of Tiberius, see Evagrius, l v. c. 13. Theophylact, l. iii. c. 12, + &c. Theophanes, in Chron. p. 2 0—213. Zonaras, tom. ii. l. xiv. + p. 72. Cedrenus, p. 392. Paul Warnefrid, de Gestis Langobard. l. iii. c. + 11, 12. The deacon of Forum Juli appears to have possessed some curious + and authentic facts.] + </p> + <p> + With the odious name of Tiberius, he assumed the more popular appellation + of Constantine, and imitated the purer virtues of the Antonines. After + recording the vice or folly of so many Roman princes, it is pleasing to + repose, for a moment, on a character conspicuous by the qualities of + humanity, justice, temperance, and fortitude; to contemplate a sovereign + affable in his palace, pious in the church, impartial on the seat of + judgment, and victorious, at least by his generals, in the Persian war. + The most glorious trophy of his victory consisted in a multitude of + captives, whom Tiberius entertained, redeemed, and dismissed to their + native homes with the charitable spirit of a Christian hero. The merit or + misfortunes of his own subjects had a dearer claim to his beneficence, and + he measured his bounty not so much by their expectations as by his own + dignity. This maxim, however dangerous in a trustee of the public wealth, + was balanced by a principle of humanity and justice, which taught him to + abhor, as of the basest alloy, the gold that was extracted from the tears + of the people. For their relief, as often as they had suffered by natural + or hostile calamities, he was impatient to remit the arrears of the past, + or the demands of future taxes: he sternly rejected the servile offerings + of his ministers, which were compensated by tenfold oppression; and the + wise and equitable laws of Tiberius excited the praise and regret of + succeeding times. Constantinople believed that the emperor had discovered + a treasure: but his genuine treasure consisted in the practice of liberal + economy, and the contempt of all vain and superfluous expense. The Romans + of the East would have been happy, if the best gift of Heaven, a patriot + king, had been confirmed as a proper and permanent blessing. But in less + than four years after the death of Justin, his worthy successor sunk into + a mortal disease, which left him only sufficient time to restore the + diadem, according to the tenure by which he held it, to the most deserving + of his fellow-citizens. He selected Maurice from the crowd, a judgment + more precious than the purple itself: the patriarch and senate were + summoned to the bed of the dying prince: he bestowed his daughter and the + empire; and his last advice was solemnly delivered by the voice of the + quaestor. Tiberius expressed his hope that the virtues of his son and + successor would erect the noblest mausoleum to his memory. His memory was + embalmed by the public affliction; but the most sincere grief evaporates + in the tumult of a new reign, and the eyes and acclamations of mankind + were speedily directed to the rising sun. The emperor Maurice derived his + origin from ancient Rome; <a href="#linknote-45.29" name="linknoteref-45.29" + id="linknoteref-45.29">29</a> but his immediate parents were settled at + Arabissus in Cappadocia, and their singular felicity preserved them alive + to behold and partake the fortune of their august son. The youth of + Maurice was spent in the profession of arms: Tiberius promoted him to the + command of a new and favorite legion of twelve thousand confederates; his + valor and conduct were signalized in the Persian war; and he returned to + Constantinople to accept, as his just reward, the inheritance of the + empire. Maurice ascended the throne at the mature age of forty-three + years; and he reigned above twenty years over the East and over himself; + <a href="#linknote-45.30" name="linknoteref-45.30" id="linknoteref-45.30">30</a> + expelling from his mind the wild democracy of passions, and establishing + (according to the quaint expression of Evagrius) a perfect aristocracy of + reason and virtue. Some suspicion will degrade the testimony of a subject, + though he protests that his secret praise should never reach the ear of + his sovereign, <a href="#linknote-45.31" name="linknoteref-45.31" + id="linknoteref-45.31">31</a> and some failings seem to place the character + of Maurice below the purer merit of his predecessor. His cold and reserved + demeanor might be imputed to arrogance; his justice was not always exempt + from cruelty, nor his clemency from weakness; and his rigid economy too + often exposed him to the reproach of avarice. But the rational wishes of + an absolute monarch must tend to the happiness of his people. Maurice was + endowed with sense and courage to promote that happiness, and his + administration was directed by the principles and example of Tiberius. The + pusillanimity of the Greeks had introduced so complete a separation + between the offices of king and of general, that a private soldier, who + had deserved and obtained the purple, seldom or never appeared at the head + of his armies. Yet the emperor Maurice enjoyed the glory of restoring the + Persian monarch to his throne; his lieutenants waged a doubtful war + against the Avars of the Danube; and he cast an eye of pity, of + ineffectual pity, on the abject and distressful state of his Italian + provinces. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.29" id="linknote-45.29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.29">return</a>)<br /> [ It is therefore + singular enough that Paul (l. iii. c. 15) should distinguish him as the + first Greek emperor—primus ex Graecorum genere in Imperio + constitutus. His immediate predecessors had in deed been born in the Latin + provinces of Europe: and a various reading, in Graecorum Imperio, would + apply the expression to the empire rather than the prince.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.30" id="linknote-45.30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.30">return</a>)<br /> [ Consult, for the + character and reign of Maurice, the fifth and sixth books of Evagrius, + particularly l. vi. c. l; the eight books of his prolix and florid history + by Theophylact Simocatta; Theophanes, p. 213, &c.; Zonaras, tom. ii. + l. xiv. p. 73; Cedrenus, p. 394.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.31" id="linknote-45.31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.31">return</a>)<br /> [ Evagrius composed his + history in the twelfth year of Maurice; and he had been so wisely + indiscreet that the emperor know and rewarded his favorable opinion, (l. + vi. c. 24.)] + </p> + <p> + From Italy the emperors were incessantly tormented by tales of misery and + demands of succor, which extorted the humiliating confession of their own + weakness. The expiring dignity of Rome was only marked by the freedom and + energy of her complaints: “If you are incapable,” she said, “of delivering + us from the sword of the Lombards, save us at least from the calamity of + famine.” Tiberius forgave the reproach, and relieved the distress: a + supply of corn was transported from Egypt to the Tyber; and the Roman + people, invoking the name, not of Camillus, but of St. Peter repulsed the + Barbarians from their walls. But the relief was accidental, the danger was + perpetual and pressing; and the clergy and senate, collecting the remains + of their ancient opulence, a sum of three thousand pounds of gold, + despatched the patrician Pamphronius to lay their gifts and their + complaints at the foot of the Byzantine throne. The attention of the + court, and the forces of the East, were diverted by the Persian war: but + the justice of Tiberius applied the subsidy to the defence of the city; + and he dismissed the patrician with his best advice, either to bribe the + Lombard chiefs, or to purchase the aid of the kings of France. + Notwithstanding this weak invention, Italy was still afflicted, Rome was + again besieged, and the suburb of Classe, only three miles from Ravenna, + was pillaged and occupied by the troops of a simple duke of Spoleto. + Maurice gave audience to a second deputation of priests and senators: the + duties and the menaces of religion were forcibly urged in the letters of + the Roman pontiff; and his nuncio, the deacon Gregory, was alike qualified + to solicit the powers either of heaven or of the earth. + </p> + <p> + The emperor adopted, with stronger effect, the measures of his + predecessor: some formidable chiefs were persuaded to embrace the + friendship of the Romans; and one of them, a mild and faithful Barbarian, + lived and died in the service of the exarchs: the passes of the Alps were + delivered to the Franks; and the pope encouraged them to violate, without + scruple, their oaths and engagements to the misbelievers. Childebert, the + great-grandson of Clovis, was persuaded to invade Italy by the payment of + fifty thousand pieces; but, as he had viewed with delight some Byzantine + coin of the weight of one pound of gold, the king of Austrasia might + stipulate, that the gift should be rendered more worthy of his acceptance, + by a proper mixture of these respectable medals. The dukes of the Lombards + had provoked by frequent inroads their powerful neighbors of Gaul. As soon + as they were apprehensive of a just retaliation, they renounced their + feeble and disorderly independence: the advantages of real government, + union, secrecy, and vigor, were unanimously confessed; and Autharis, the + son of Clepho, had already attained the strength and reputation of a + warrior. Under the standard of their new king, the conquerors of Italy + withstood three successive invasions, one of which was led by Childebert + himself, the last of the Merovingian race who descended from the Alps. The + first expedition was defeated by the jealous animosity of the Franks and + Alemanni. In the second they were vanquished in a bloody battle, with more + loss and dishonor than they had sustained since the foundation of their + monarchy. Impatient for revenge, they returned a third time with + accumulated force, and Autharis yielded to the fury of the torrent. The + troops and treasures of the Lombards were distributed in the walled towns + between the Alps and the Apennine. A nation, less sensible of danger than + of fatigue and delay, soon murmured against the folly of their twenty + commanders; and the hot vapors of an Italian sun infected with disease + those tramontane bodies which had already suffered the vicissitudes of + intemperance and famine. The powers that were inadequate to the conquest, + were more than sufficient for the desolation, of the country; nor could + the trembling natives distinguish between their enemies and their + deliverers. If the junction of the Merovingian and Imperial forces had + been effected in the neighborhood of Milan, perhaps they might have + subverted the throne of the Lombards; but the Franks expected six days the + signal of a flaming village, and the arms of the Greeks were idly employed + in the reduction of Modena and Parma, which were torn from them after the + retreat of their transalpine allies. The victorious Autharis asserted his + claim to the dominion of Italy. At the foot of the Rhaetian Alps, he + subdued the resistance, and rifled the hidden treasures, of a sequestered + island in the Lake of Comum. At the extreme point of the Calabria, he + touched with his spear a column on the sea-shore of Rhegium, <a + href="#linknote-45.32" name="linknoteref-45.32" id="linknoteref-45.32">32</a> + proclaiming that ancient landmark to stand the immovable boundary of his + kingdom. <a href="#linknote-45.33" name="linknoteref-45.33" + id="linknoteref-45.33">33</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.32" id="linknote-45.32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.32">return</a>)<br /> [ The Columna Rhegina, in + the narrowest part of the Faro of Messina, one hundred stadia from Rhegium + itself, is frequently mentioned in ancient geography. Cluver. Ital. Antiq. + tom. ii. p. 1295. Lucas Holsten. Annotat. ad Cluver. p. 301. Wesseling, + Itinerar. p. 106.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.33" id="linknote-45.33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.33">return</a>)<br /> [ The Greek historians + afford some faint hints of the wars of Italy (Menander, in Excerpt. Legat. + p. 124, 126. Theophylact, l. iii. c. 4.) The Latins are more satisfactory; + and especially Paul Warnefrid, (l iii. c. 13—34,) who had read the + more ancient histories of Secundus and Gregory of Tours. Baronius produces + some letters of the popes, &c.; and the times are measured by the + accurate scale of Pagi and Muratori.] + </p> + <p> + During a period of two hundred years, Italy was unequally divided between + the kingdom of the Lombards and the exarchate of Ravenna. The offices and + professions, which the jealousy of Constantine had separated, were united + by the indulgence of Justinian; and eighteen successive exarchs were + invested, in the decline of the empire, with the full remains of civil, of + military, and even of ecclesiastical, power. Their immediate jurisdiction, + which was afterwards consecrated as the patrimony of St. Peter, extended + over the modern Romagna, the marshes or valleys of Ferrara and Commachio, + <a href="#linknote-45.34" name="linknoteref-45.34" id="linknoteref-45.34">34</a> + five maritime cities from Rimini to Ancona, and a second inland + Pentapolis, between the Adriatic coast and the hills of the Apennine. + Three subordinate provinces, of Rome, of Venice, and of Naples, which were + divided by hostile lands from the palace of Ravenna, acknowledged, both in + peace and war, the supremacy of the exarch. The duchy of Rome appears to + have included the Tuscan, Sabine, and Latin conquests, of the first four + hundred years of the city, and the limits may be distinctly traced along + the coast, from Civita Vecchia to Terracina, and with the course of the + Tyber from Ameria and Narni to the port of Ostia. The numerous islands + from Grado to Chiozza composed the infant dominion of Venice: but the more + accessible towns on the Continent were overthrown by the Lombards, who + beheld with impotent fury a new capital rising from the waves. The power + of the dukes of Naples was circumscribed by the bay and the adjacent + isles, by the hostile territory of Capua, and by the Roman colony of + Amalphi, <a href="#linknote-45.35" name="linknoteref-45.35" + id="linknoteref-45.35">35</a> whose industrious citizens, by the invention + of the mariner’s compass, have unveiled the face of the globe. The three + islands of Sardinia, Corsica, and Sicily, still adhered to the empire; and + the acquisition of the farther Calabria removed the landmark of Autharis + from the shore of Rhegium to the Isthmus of Consentia. In Sardinia, the + savage mountaineers preserved the liberty and religion of their ancestors; + and the husbandmen of Sicily were chained to their rich and cultivated + soil. Rome was oppressed by the iron sceptre of the exarchs, and a Greek, + perhaps a eunuch, insulted with impunity the ruins of the Capitol. But + Naples soon acquired the privilege of electing her own dukes: <a + href="#linknote-45.36" name="linknoteref-45.36" id="linknoteref-45.36">36</a> + the independence of Amalphi was the fruit of commerce; and the voluntary + attachment of Venice was finally ennobled by an equal alliance with the + Eastern empire. On the map of Italy, the measure of the exarchate occupies + a very inadequate space, but it included an ample proportion of wealth, + industry, and population. The most faithful and valuable subjects escaped + from the Barbarian yoke; and the banners of Pavia and Verona, of Milan and + Padua, were displayed in their respective quarters by the new inhabitants + of Ravenna. The remainder of Italy was possessed by the Lombards; and from + Pavia, the royal seat, their kingdom was extended to the east, the north, + and the west, as far as the confines of the Avars, the Bavarians, and the + Franks of Austrasia and Burgundy. In the language of modern geography, it + is now represented by the Terra Firma of the Venetian republic, Tyrol, the + Milanese, Piedmont, the coast of Genoa, Mantua, Parma, and Modena, the + grand duchy of Tuscany, and a large portion of the ecclesiastical state + from Perugia to the Adriatic. The dukes, and at length the princes, of + Beneventum, survived the monarchy, and propagated the name of the + Lombards. From Capua to Tarentum, they reigned near five hundred years + over the greatest part of the present kingdom of Naples. <a + href="#linknote-45.37" name="linknoteref-45.37" id="linknoteref-45.37">37</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.34" id="linknote-45.34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.34">return</a>)<br /> [ The papal advocates, + Zacagni and Fontanini, might justly claim the valley or morass of + Commachio as a part of the exarchate. But the ambition of including + Modena, Reggio, Parma, and Placentia, has darkened a geographical question + somewhat doubtful and obscure Even Muratori, as the servant of the house + of Este, is not free from partiality and prejudice.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.35" id="linknote-45.35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.35">return</a>)<br /> [ See Brenckman, Dissert. + Ima de Republica Amalphitana, p. 1—42, ad calcem Hist. Pandect. + Florent.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.36" id="linknote-45.36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.36">return</a>)<br /> [ Gregor. Magn. l. iii. + epist. 23, 25.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.37" id="linknote-45.37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.37">return</a>)<br /> [ I have described the + state of Italy from the excellent Dissertation of Beretti. Giannone + (Istoria Civile, tom. i. p. 374—387) has followed the learned + Camillo Pellegrini in the geography of the kingdom of Naples. After the + loss of the true Calabria, the vanity of the Greeks substituted that name + instead of the more ignoble appellation of Bruttium; and the change + appears to have taken place before the time of Charlemagne, (Eginard, p. + 75.)] + </p> + <p> + In comparing the proportion of the victorious and the vanquished people, + the change of language will afford the most probably inference. According + to this standard, it will appear, that the Lombards of Italy, and the + Visigoths of Spain, were less numerous than the Franks or Burgundians; and + the conquerors of Gaul must yield, in their turn, to the multitude of + Saxons and Angles who almost eradicated the idioms of Britain. The modern + Italian has been insensibly formed by the mixture of nations: the + awkwardness of the Barbarians in the nice management of declensions and + conjugations reduced them to the use of articles and auxiliary verbs; and + many new ideas have been expressed by Teutonic appellations. Yet the + principal stock of technical and familiar words is found to be of Latin + derivation; <a href="#linknote-45.38" name="linknoteref-45.38" + id="linknoteref-45.38">38</a> and, if we were sufficiently conversant with + the obsolete, the rustic, and the municipal dialects of ancient Italy, we + should trace the origin of many terms which might, perhaps, be rejected by + the classic purity of Rome. A numerous army constitutes but a small + nation, and the powers of the Lombards were soon diminished by the retreat + of twenty thousand Saxons, who scorned a dependent situation, and + returned, after many bold and perilous adventures, to their native + country. <a href="#linknote-45.39" name="linknoteref-45.39" + id="linknoteref-45.39">39</a> The camp of Alboin was of formidable extent, + but the extent of a camp would be easily circumscribed within the limits + of a city; and its martial inhabitants must be thinly scattered over the + face of a large country. When Alboin descended from the Alps, he invested + his nephew, the first duke of Friuli, with the command of the province and + the people: but the prudent Gisulf would have declined the dangerous + office, unless he had been permitted to choose, among the nobles of the + Lombards, a sufficient number of families <a href="#linknote-45.40" + name="linknoteref-45.40" id="linknoteref-45.40">40</a> to form a perpetual + colony of soldiers and subjects. In the progress of conquest, the same + option could not be granted to the dukes of Brescia or Bergamo, or Pavia + or Turin, of Spoleto or Beneventum; but each of these, and each of their + colleagues, settled in his appointed district with a band of followers who + resorted to his standard in war and his tribunal in peace. Their + attachment was free and honorable: resigning the gifts and benefits which + they had accepted, they might emigrate with their families into the + jurisdiction of another duke; but their absence from the kingdom was + punished with death, as a crime of military desertion. <a + href="#linknote-45.41" name="linknoteref-45.41" id="linknoteref-45.41">41</a> + The posterity of the first conquerors struck a deeper root into the soil, + which, by every motive of interest and honor, they were bound to defend. A + Lombard was born the soldier of his king and his duke; and the civil + assemblies of the nation displayed the banners, and assumed the + appellation, of a regular army. Of this army, the pay and the rewards were + drawn from the conquered provinces; and the distribution, which was not + effected till after the death of Alboin, is disgraced by the foul marks of + injustice and rapine. Many of the most wealthy Italians were slain or + banished; the remainder were divided among the strangers, and a tributary + obligation was imposed (under the name of hospitality) of paying to the + Lombards a third part of the fruits of the earth. Within less than seventy + years, this artificial system was abolished by a more simple and solid + tenure. <a href="#linknote-45.42" name="linknoteref-45.42" + id="linknoteref-45.42">42</a> Either the Roman landlord was expelled by his + strong and insolent guest, or the annual payment, a third of the produce, + was exchanged by a more equitable transaction for an adequate proportion + of landed property. Under these foreign masters, the business of + agriculture, in the cultivation of corn, wines, and olives, was exercised + with degenerate skill and industry by the labor of the slaves and natives. + But the occupations of a pastoral life were more pleasing to the idleness + of the Barbarian. In the rich meadows of Venetia, they restored and + improved the breed of horses, for which that province had once been + illustrious; <a href="#linknote-45.43" name="linknoteref-45.43" + id="linknoteref-45.43">43</a> and the Italians beheld with astonishment a + foreign race of oxen or buffaloes. <a href="#linknote-45.44" + name="linknoteref-45.44" id="linknoteref-45.44">44</a> The depopulation of + Lombardy, and the increase of forests, afforded an ample range for the + pleasures of the chase. <a href="#linknote-45.45" name="linknoteref-45.45" + id="linknoteref-45.45">45</a> That marvellous art which teaches the birds + of the air to acknowledge the voice, and execute the commands, of their + master, had been unknown to the ingenuity of the Greeks and Romans. <a + href="#linknote-45.46" name="linknoteref-45.46" id="linknoteref-45.46">46</a> + Scandinavia and Scythia produce the boldest and most tractable falcons: <a + href="#linknote-45.47" name="linknoteref-45.47" id="linknoteref-45.47">47</a> + they were tamed and educated by the roving inhabitants, always on + horseback and in the field. This favorite amusement of our ancestors was + introduced by the Barbarians into the Roman provinces; and the laws of + Italy esteemed the sword and the hawk as of equal dignity and importance + in the hands of a noble Lombard. <a href="#linknote-45.48" + name="linknoteref-45.48" id="linknoteref-45.48">48</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.38" id="linknote-45.38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.38">return</a>)<br /> [ Maffei (Verona + Illustrata, part i. p. 310—321) and Muratori (Antichita Italiane, + tom. ii. Dissertazione xxxii. xxxiii. p. 71—365) have asserted the + native claims of the Italian idiom; the former with enthusiasm, the latter + with discretion; both with learning, ingenuity, and truth. Note: Compare + the admirable sketch of the degeneracy of the Latin language and the + formation of the Italian in Hallam, Middle Ages, vol. iii. p. 317 329.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.39" id="linknote-45.39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.39">return</a>)<br /> [ Paul, de Gest. + Langobard. l. iii. c. 5, 6, 7.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.40" id="linknote-45.40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.40">return</a>)<br /> [ Paul, l. ii. c. 9. He + calls these families or generations by the Teutonic name of Faras, which + is likewise used in the Lombard laws. The humble deacon was not insensible + of the nobility of his own race. See l. iv. c. 39.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.41" id="linknote-45.41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.41">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare No. 3 and 177 + of the Laws of Rotharis.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.42" id="linknote-45.42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.42">return</a>)<br /> [ Paul, l. ii. c. 31, 32, + l. iii. c. 16. The Laws of Rotharis, promulgated A.D. 643, do not contain + the smallest vestige of this payment of thirds; but they preserve many + curious circumstances of the state of Italy and the manners of the + Lombards.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.43" id="linknote-45.43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.43">return</a>)<br /> [ The studs of Dionysius + of Syracuse, and his frequent victories in the Olympic games, had diffused + among the Greeks the fame of the Venetian horses; but the breed was + extinct in the time of Strabo, (l. v. p. 325.) Gisulf obtained from his + uncle generosarum equarum greges. Paul, l. ii. c. 9. The Lombards + afterwards introduced caballi sylvatici—wild horses. Paul, l. iv. c. + 11.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.44" id="linknote-45.44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.44">return</a>)<br /> [ Tunc (A.D. 596) primum, + bubali in Italiam delati Italiae populis miracula fuere, (Paul Warnefrid, + l. iv. c. 11.) The buffaloes, whose native climate appears to be Africa + and India, are unknown to Europe, except in Italy, where they are numerous + and useful. The ancients were ignorant of these animals, unless Aristotle + (Hist. Anim. l. ii. c. 1, p. 58, Paris, 1783) has described them as the + wild oxen of Arachosia. See Buffon, Hist. Naturelle, tom. xi. and + Supplement, tom. vi. Hist. Generale des Voyages, tom. i. p. 7, 481, ii. + 105, iii. 291, iv. 234, 461, v. 193, vi. 491, viii. 400, x. 666. Pennant’s + Quadrupedes, p. 24. Dictionnaire d’Hist. Naturelle, par Valmont de Bomare, + tom. ii. p. 74. Yet I must not conceal the suspicion that Paul, by a + vulgar error, may have applied the name of bubalus to the aurochs, or wild + bull, of ancient Germany.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.45" id="linknote-45.45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.45">return</a>)<br /> [ Consult the xxist + Dissertation of Muratori.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.46" id="linknote-45.46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.46">return</a>)<br /> [ Their ignorance is + proved by the silence even of those who professedly treat of the arts of + hunting and the history of animals. Aristotle, (Hist. Animal. l. ix. c. + 36, tom. i. p. 586, and the Notes of his last editor, M. Camus, tom. ii. + p. 314,) Pliny, (Hist. Natur. l. x. c. 10,) Aelian (de Natur. Animal. l. + ii. c. 42,) and perhaps Homer, (Odyss. xxii. 302-306,) describe with + astonishment a tacit league and common chase between the hawks and the + Thracian fowlers.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.47" id="linknote-45.47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.47">return</a>)<br /> [ Particularly the + gerfaut, or gyrfalcon, of the size of a small eagle. See the animated + description of M. de Buffon, Hist. Naturelle, tom. xvi. p. 239, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.48" id="linknote-45.48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.48">return</a>)<br /> [ Script. Rerum + Italicarum, tom. i. part ii. p. 129. This is the xvith law of the emperor + Lewis the Pious. His father Charlemagne had falconers in his household as + well as huntsmen, (Memoires sur l’ancienne Chevalerie, par M. de St. + Palaye, tom. iii. p. 175.) I observe in the laws of Rotharis a more early + mention of the art of hawking, (No. 322;) and in Gaul, in the fifth + century, it is celebrated by Sidonius Apollinaris among the talents of + Avitus, (202—207.) * Note: See Beckman, Hist. of Inventions, vol. i. + p. 319—M.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap45.3"></a> +Chapter XLV: State Of Italy Under The Lombards.—Part III.</h2> + + <p> + So rapid was the influence of climate and example, that the Lombards of + the fourth generation surveyed with curiosity and affright the portraits + of their savage forefathers. <a href="#linknote-45.49" + name="linknoteref-45.49" id="linknoteref-45.49">49</a> Their heads were + shaven behind, but the shaggy locks hung over their eyes and mouth, and a + long beard represented the name and character of the nation. Their dress + consisted of loose linen garments, after the fashion of the Anglo-Saxons, + which were decorated, in their opinion, with broad stripes or variegated + colors. The legs and feet were clothed in long hose, and open sandals; and + even in the security of peace a trusty sword was constantly girt to their + side. Yet this strange apparel, and horrid aspect, often concealed a + gentle and generous disposition; and as soon as the rage of battle had + subsided, the captives and subjects were sometimes surprised by the + humanity of the victor. The vices of the Lombards were the effect of + passion, of ignorance, of intoxication; their virtues are the more + laudable, as they were not affected by the hypocrisy of social manners, + nor imposed by the rigid constraint of laws and education. I should not be + apprehensive of deviating from my subject, if it were in my power to + delineate the private life of the conquerors of Italy; and I shall relate + with pleasure the adventurous gallantry of Autharis, which breathes the + true spirit of chivalry and romance. <a href="#linknote-45.50" + name="linknoteref-45.50" id="linknoteref-45.50">50</a> After the loss of his + promised bride, a Merovingian princess, he sought in marriage the daughter + of the king of Bavaria; and Garribald accepted the alliance of the Italian + monarch. Impatient of the slow progress of negotiation, the ardent lover + escaped from his palace, and visited the court of Bavaria in the train of + his own embassy. At the public audience, the unknown stranger advanced to + the throne, and informed Garribald that the ambassador was indeed the + minister of state, but that he alone was the friend of Autharis, who had + trusted him with the delicate commission of making a faithful report of + the charms of his spouse. Theudelinda was summoned to undergo this + important examination; and, after a pause of silent rapture, he hailed her + as the queen of Italy, and humbly requested that, according to the custom + of the nation, she would present a cup of wine to the first of her new + subjects. By the command of her father she obeyed: Autharis received the + cup in his turn, and, in restoring it to the princess, he secretly touched + her hand, and drew his own finger over his face and lips. In the evening, + Theudelinda imparted to her nurse the indiscreet familiarity of the + stranger, and was comforted by the assurance, that such boldness could + proceed only from the king her husband, who, by his beauty and courage, + appeared worthy of her love. The ambassadors were dismissed: no sooner did + they reach the confines of Italy than Autharis, raising himself on his + horse, darted his battle-axe against a tree with incomparable strength and + dexterity. “Such,” said he to the astonished Bavarians, “such are the + strokes of the king of the Lombards.” On the approach of a French army, + Garribald and his daughter took refuge in the dominions of their ally; and + the marriage was consummated in the palace of Verona. At the end of one + year, it was dissolved by the death of Autharis: but the virtues of + Theudelinda <a href="#linknote-45.51" name="linknoteref-45.51" + id="linknoteref-45.51">51</a> had endeared her to the nation, and she was + permitted to bestow, with her hand, the sceptre of the Italian kingdom. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.49" id="linknote-45.49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.49">return</a>)<br /> [ The epitaph of Droctulf + (Paul, l. iii. c. 19) may be applied to many of his countrymen:— + Terribilis visu facies, sed corda benignus Longaque robusto pectore barba + fuit. The portraits of the old Lombards might still be seen in the palace + of Monza, twelve miles from Milan, which had been founded or restored by + Queen Theudelinda, (l. iv. 22, 23.) See Muratori, tom. i. disserta, xxiii. + p. 300.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.50" id="linknote-45.50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.50">return</a>)<br /> [ The story of Autharis + and Theudelinda is related by Paul, l. iii. 29, 34; and any fragment of + Bavarian antiquity excites the indefatigable diligence of the count de + Buat, Hist. des Peuples de l’Europe, ton. xi. p. 595—635, tom. xii. + p. 1-53.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.51" id="linknote-45.51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.51">return</a>)<br /> [ Giannone (Istoria + Civile de Napoli, tom. i. p. 263) has justly censured the impertinence of + Boccaccio, (Gio. iii. Novel. 2,) who, without right, or truth, or + pretence, has given the pious queen Theudelinda to the arms of a + muleteer.] + </p> + <p> + From this fact, as well as from similar events, <a href="#linknote-45.52" + name="linknoteref-45.52" id="linknoteref-45.52">52</a> it is certain that + the Lombards possessed freedom to elect their sovereign, and sense to + decline the frequent use of that dangerous privilege. The public revenue + arose from the produce of land and the profits of justice. When the + independent dukes agreed that Autharis should ascend the throne of his + father, they endowed the regal office with a fair moiety of their + respective domains. The proudest nobles aspired to the honors of servitude + near the person of their prince: he rewarded the fidelity of his vassals + by the precarious gift of pensions and benefices; and atoned for the + injuries of war by the rich foundation of monasteries and churches. In + peace a judge, a leader in war, he never usurped the powers of a sole and + absolute legislator. The king of Italy convened the national assemblies in + the palace, or more probably in the fields, of Pavia: his great council + was composed of the persons most eminent by their birth and dignities; but + the validity, as well as the execution, of their decrees depended on the + approbation of the faithful people, the fortunate army of the Lombards. + About fourscore years after the conquest of Italy, their traditional + customs were transcribed in Teutonic Latin, <a href="#linknote-45.53" + name="linknoteref-45.53" id="linknoteref-45.53">53</a> and ratified by the + consent of the prince and people: some new regulations were introduced, + more suitable to their present condition; the example of Rotharis was + imitated by the wisest of his successors; and the laws of the Lombards + have been esteemed the least imperfect of the Barbaric codes. <a + href="#linknote-45.54" name="linknoteref-45.54" id="linknoteref-45.54">54</a> + Secure by their courage in the possession of liberty, these rude and hasty + legislators were incapable of balancing the powers of the constitution, or + of discussing the nice theory of political government. Such crimes as + threatened the life of the sovereign, or the safety of the state, were + adjudged worthy of death; but their attention was principally confined to + the defence of the person and property of the subject. According to the + strange jurisprudence of the times, the guilt of blood might be redeemed + by a fine; yet the high price of nine hundred pieces of gold declares a + just sense of the value of a simple citizen. Less atrocious injuries, a + wound, a fracture, a blow, an opprobrious word, were measured with + scrupulous and almost ridiculous diligence; and the prudence of the + legislator encouraged the ignoble practice of bartering honor and revenge + for a pecuniary compensation. The ignorance of the Lombards in the state + of Paganism or Christianity gave implicit credit to the malice and + mischief of witchcraft, but the judges of the seventeenth century might + have been instructed and confounded by the wisdom of Rotharis, who derides + the absurd superstition, and protects the wretched victims of popular or + judicial cruelty. <a href="#linknote-45.55" name="linknoteref-45.55" + id="linknoteref-45.55">55</a> The same spirit of a legislator, superior to + his age and country, may be ascribed to Luitprand, who condemns, while he + tolerates, the impious and inveterate abuse of duels, <a + href="#linknote-45.56" name="linknoteref-45.56" id="linknoteref-45.56">56</a> + observing, from his own experience, that the juster cause had often been + oppressed by successful violence. Whatever merit may be discovered in the + laws of the Lombards, they are the genuine fruit of the reason of the + Barbarians, who never admitted the bishops of Italy to a seat in their + legislative councils. But the succession of their kings is marked with + virtue and ability; the troubled series of their annals is adorned with + fair intervals of peace, order, and domestic happiness; and the Italians + enjoyed a milder and more equitable government, than any of the other + kingdoms which had been founded on the ruins of the Western empire. <a + href="#linknote-45.57" name="linknoteref-45.57" id="linknoteref-45.57">57</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.52" id="linknote-45.52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.52">return</a>)<br /> [ Paul, l. iii. c. 16. + The first dissertations of Muratori, and the first volume of Giannone’s + history, may be consulted for the state of the kingdom of Italy.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.53" id="linknote-45.53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.53">return</a>)<br /> [ The most accurate + edition of the Laws of the Lombards is to be found in the Scriptores Rerum + Italicarum, tom. i. part ii. p. 1—181, collated from the most + ancient Mss. and illustrated by the critical notes of Muratori.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.54" id="linknote-45.54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.54">return</a>)<br /> [ Montesquieu, Esprit des + Loix, l. xxviii. c. 1. Les loix des Bourguignons sont assez judicieuses; + celles de Rotharis et des autres princes Lombards le sont encore plus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.55" id="linknote-45.55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.55">return</a>)<br /> [ See Leges Rotharis, No. + 379, p. 47. Striga is used as the name of a witch. It is of the purest + classic origin, (Horat. epod. v. 20. Petron. c. 134;) and from the words + of Petronius, (quae striges comederunt nervos tuos?) it may be inferred + that the prejudice was of Italian rather than Barbaric extraction.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.56" id="linknote-45.56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.56">return</a>)<br /> [ Quia incerti sumus de + judicio Dei, et multos audivimus per pugnam sine justa causa suam causam + perdere. Sed propter consuetudinom gentem nostram Langobardorum legem + impiam vetare non possumus. See p. 74, No. 65, of the Laws of Luitprand, + promulgated A.D. 724.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.57" id="linknote-45.57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.57">return</a>)<br /> [ Read the history of + Paul Warnefrid; particularly l. iii. c. 16. Baronius rejects the praise, + which appears to contradict the invectives of Pope Gregory the Great; but + Muratori (Annali d’ Italia, tom. v. p. 217) presumes to insinuate that the + saint may have magnified the faults of Arians and enemies.] + </p> + <p> + Amidst the arms of the Lombards, and under the despotism of the Greeks, we + again inquire into the fate of Rome, <a href="#linknote-45.58" + name="linknoteref-45.58" id="linknoteref-45.58">58</a> which had reached, + about the close of the sixth century, the lowest period of her depression. + By the removal of the seat of empire, and the successive loss of the + provinces, the sources of public and private opulence were exhausted: the + lofty tree, under whose shade the nations of the earth had reposed, was + deprived of its leaves and branches, and the sapless trunk was left to + wither on the ground. The ministers of command, and the messengers of + victory, no longer met on the Appian or Flaminian way; and the hostile + approach of the Lombards was often felt, and continually feared. The + inhabitants of a potent and peaceful capital, who visit without an anxious + thought the garden of the adjacent country, will faintly picture in their + fancy the distress of the Romans: they shut or opened their gates with a + trembling hand, beheld from the walls the flames of their houses, and + heard the lamentations of their brethren, who were coupled together like + dogs, and dragged away into distant slavery beyond the sea and the + mountains. Such incessant alarms must annihilate the pleasures and + interrupt the labors of a rural life; and the Campagna of Rome was + speedily reduced to the state of a dreary wilderness, in which the land is + barren, the waters are impure, and the air is infectious. Curiosity and + ambition no longer attracted the nations to the capital of the world: but, + if chance or necessity directed the steps of a wandering stranger, he + contemplated with horror the vacancy and solitude of the city, and might + be tempted to ask, Where is the senate, and where are the people? In a + season of excessive rains, the Tyber swelled above its banks, and rushed + with irresistible violence into the valleys of the seven hills. A + pestilential disease arose from the stagnation of the deluge, and so rapid + was the contagion, that fourscore persons expired in an hour in the midst + of a solemn procession, which implored the mercy of Heaven. <a + href="#linknote-45.59" name="linknoteref-45.59" id="linknoteref-45.59">59</a> + A society in which marriage is encouraged and industry prevails soon + repairs the accidental losses of pestilence and war: but, as the far + greater part of the Romans was condemned to hopeless indigence and + celibacy, the depopulation was constant and visible, and the gloomy + enthusiasts might expect the approaching failure of the human race. <a + href="#linknote-45.60" name="linknoteref-45.60" id="linknoteref-45.60">60</a> + Yet the number of citizens still exceeded the measure of subsistence: + their precarious food was supplied from the harvests of Sicily or Egypt; + and the frequent repetition of famine betrays the inattention of the + emperor to a distant province. The edifices of Rome were exposed to the + same ruin and decay: the mouldering fabrics were easily overthrown by + inundations, tempests, and earthquakes: and the monks, who had occupied + the most advantageous stations, exulted in their base triumph over the + ruins of antiquity. <a href="#linknote-45.61" name="linknoteref-45.61" + id="linknoteref-45.61">61</a> It is commonly believed, that Pope Gregory + the First attacked the temples and mutilated the statues of the city; + that, by the command of the Barbarian, the Palatine library was reduced to + ashes, and that the history of Livy was the peculiar mark of his absurd + and mischievous fanaticism. The writings of Gregory himself reveal his + implacable aversion to the monuments of classic genius; and he points his + severest censure against the profane learning of a bishop, who taught the + art of grammar, studied the Latin poets, and pronounced with the same + voice the praises of Jupiter and those of Christ. But the evidence of his + destructive rage is doubtful and recent: the Temple of Peace, or the + theatre of Marcellus, have been demolished by the slow operation of ages, + and a formal proscription would have multiplied the copies of Virgil and + Livy in the countries which were not subject to the ecclesiastical + dictator. <a href="#linknote-45.62" name="linknoteref-45.62" + id="linknoteref-45.62">62</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.58" id="linknote-45.58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.58">return</a>)<br /> [ The passages of the + homilies of Gregory, which represent the miserable state of the city and + country, are transcribed in the Annals of Baronius, A.D. 590, No. 16, A.D. + 595, No. 2, &c., &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.59" id="linknote-45.59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.59">return</a>)<br /> [ The inundation and + plague were reported by a deacon, whom his bishop, Gregory of Tours, had + despatched to Rome for some relics The ingenious messenger embellished his + tale and the river with a great dragon and a train of little serpents, + (Greg. Turon. l. x. c. 1.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.60" id="linknote-45.60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.60">return</a>)<br /> [ Gregory of Rome + (Dialog. l. ii. c. 15) relates a memorable prediction of St. Benedict. + Roma a Gentilibus non exterminabitur sed tempestatibus, coruscis + turbinibus ac terrae motu in semetipsa marces cet. Such a prophecy melts + into true history, and becomes the evidence of the fact after which it was + invented.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.61" id="linknote-45.61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.61">return</a>)<br /> [ Quia in uno se ore cum + Jovis laudibus, Christi laudes non capiunt, et quam grave nefandumque sit + episcopis canere quod nec laico religioso conveniat, ipse considera, (l. + ix. ep. 4.) The writings of Gregory himself attest his innocence of any + classic taste or literature] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.62" id="linknote-45.62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.62">return</a>)<br /> [ Bayle, (Dictionnaire + Critique, tom. ii. 598, 569,) in a very good article of Gregoire I., has + quoted, for the buildings and statues, Platina in Gregorio I.; for the + Palatine library, John of Salisbury, (de Nugis Curialium, l. ii. c. 26;) + and for Livy, Antoninus of Florence: the oldest of the three lived in the + xiith century.] + </p> + <p> + Like Thebes, or Babylon, or Carthage, the names of Rome might have been + erased from the earth, if the city had not been animated by a vital + principle, which again restored her to honor and dominion. A vague + tradition was embraced, that two Jewish teachers, a tent-maker and a + fisherman, had formerly been executed in the circus of Nero, and at the + end of five hundred years, their genuine or fictitious relics were adored + as the Palladium of Christian Rome. The pilgrims of the East and West + resorted to the holy threshold; but the shrines of the apostles were + guarded by miracles and invisible terrors; and it was not without fear + that the pious Catholic approached the object of his worship. It was fatal + to touch, it was dangerous to behold, the bodies of the saints; and those + who, from the purest motives, presumed to disturb the repose of the + sanctuary, were affrighted by visions, or punished with sudden death. The + unreasonable request of an empress, who wished to deprive the Romans of + their sacred treasure, the head of St. Paul, was rejected with the deepest + abhorrence; and the pope asserted, most probably with truth, that a linen + which had been sanctified in the neighborhood of his body, or the filings + of his chain, which it was sometimes easy and sometimes impossible to + obtain, possessed an equal degree of miraculous virtue. <a + href="#linknote-45.63" name="linknoteref-45.63" id="linknoteref-45.63">63</a> + But the power as well as virtue of the apostles resided with living energy + in the breast of their successors; and the chair of St. Peter was filled + under the reign of Maurice by the first and greatest of the name of + Gregory. <a href="#linknote-45.64" name="linknoteref-45.64" + id="linknoteref-45.64">64</a> His grandfather Felix had himself been pope, + and as the bishops were already bound by the laws of celibacy, his + consecration must have been preceded by the death of his wife. The parents + of Gregory, Sylvia, and Gordian, were the noblest of the senate, and the + most pious of the church of Rome; his female relations were numbered among + the saints and virgins; and his own figure, with those of his father and + mother, were represented near three hundred years in a family portrait, <a + href="#linknote-45.65" name="linknoteref-45.65" id="linknoteref-45.65">65</a> + which he offered to the monastery of St. Andrew. The design and coloring + of this picture afford an honorable testimony that the art of painting was + cultivated by the Italians of the sixth century; but the most abject ideas + must be entertained of their taste and learning, since the epistles of + Gregory, his sermons, and his dialogues, are the work of a man who was + second in erudition to none of his contemporaries: <a href="#linknote-45.66" + name="linknoteref-45.66" id="linknoteref-45.66">66</a> his birth and + abilities had raised him to the office of præfect of the city, and he + enjoyed the merit of renouncing the pomps and vanities of this world. His + ample patrimony was dedicated to the foundation of seven monasteries, <a + href="#linknote-45.67" name="linknoteref-45.67" id="linknoteref-45.67">67</a> + one in Rome, <a href="#linknote-45.68" name="linknoteref-45.68" + id="linknoteref-45.68">68</a> and six in Sicily; and it was the wish of + Gregory that he might be unknown in this life, and glorious only in the + next. Yet his devotion (and it might be sincere) pursued the path which + would have been chosen by a crafty and ambitious statesman. The talents of + Gregory, and the splendor which accompanied his retreat, rendered him dear + and useful to the church; and implicit obedience has always been + inculcated as the first duty of a monk. As soon as he had received the + character of deacon, Gregory was sent to reside at the Byzantine court, + the nuncio or minister of the apostolic see; and he boldly assumed, in the + name of St. Peter, a tone of independent dignity, which would have been + criminal and dangerous in the most illustrious layman of the empire. He + returned to Rome with a just increase of reputation, and, after a short + exercise of the monastic virtues, he was dragged from the cloister to the + papal throne, by the unanimous voice of the clergy, the senate, and the + people. He alone resisted, or seemed to resist, his own elevation; and his + humble petition, that Maurice would be pleased to reject the choice of the + Romans, could only serve to exalt his character in the eyes of the emperor + and the public. When the fatal mandate was proclaimed, Gregory solicited + the aid of some friendly merchants to convey him in a basket beyond the + gates of Rome, and modestly concealed himself some days among the woods + and mountains, till his retreat was discovered, as it is said, by a + celestial light. <a name="linknote-45.63" id="linknote-45.63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.63">return</a>)<br /> [Gregor. l. iii. epist. + 24, edict. 12, &c. From the epistles of Gregory, and the viiith volume + of the Annals of Baronius, the pious reader may collect the particles of + holy iron which were inserted in keys or crosses of gold, and distributed + in Britain, Gaul, Spain, Africa, Constantinople, and Egypt. The pontifical + smith who handled the file must have understood the miracles which it was + in his own power to operate or withhold; a circumstance which abates the + superstition of Gregory at the expense of his veracity.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.64" id="linknote-45.64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.64">return</a>)<br /> [ Besides the epistles of + Gregory himself, which are methodized by Dupin, (Bibliotheque Eccles. tom. + v. p. 103—126,) we have three lives of the pope; the two first + written in the viiith and ixth centuries, (de Triplici Vita St. Greg. + Preface to the ivth volume of the Benedictine edition,) by the deacons + Paul (p. 1—18) and John, (p. 19—188,) and containing much + original, though doubtful, evidence; the third, a long and labored + compilation by the Benedictine editors, (p. 199—305.) The annals of + Baronius are a copious but partial history. His papal prejudices are + tempered by the good sense of Fleury, (Hist. Eccles. tom. viii.,) and his + chronology has been rectified by the criticism of Pagi and Muratori.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.65" id="linknote-45.65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.65">return</a>)<br /> [ John the deacon has + described them like an eye-witness, (l. iv. c. 83, 84;) and his + description is illustrated by Angelo Rocca, a Roman antiquary, (St. Greg. + Opera, tom. iv. p. 312—326;) who observes that some mosaics of the + popes of the viith century are still preserved in the old churches of + Rome, (p. 321—323) The same walls which represented Gregory’s family + are now decorated with the martyrdom of St. Andrew, the noble contest of + Dominichino and Guido.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.66" id="linknote-45.66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.66">return</a>)<br /> [ Disciplinis vero + liberalibus, hoc est grammatica, rhetorica, dialectica ita apuero est + institutus, ut quamvis eo tempore florerent adhuc Romæ studia literarum, + tamen nulli in urbe ipsa secundus putaretur. Paul. Diacon. in Vit. St. + Gregor. c. 2.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.67" id="linknote-45.67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.67">return</a>)<br /> [ The Benedictines (Vit. + Greg. l. i. p. 205—208) labor to reduce the monasteries of Gregory + within the rule of their own order; but, as the question is confessed to + be doubtful, it is clear that these powerful monks are in the wrong. See + Butler’s Lives of the Saints, vol. iii. p. 145; a work of merit: the sense + and learning belong to the author—his prejudices are those of his + profession.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.68" id="linknote-45.68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.68">return</a>)<br /> [ Monasterium Gregorianum + in ejusdem Beati Gregorii aedibus ad clivum Scauri prope ecclesiam SS. + Johannis et Pauli in honorem St. Andreae, (John, in Vit. Greg. l. i. c. 6. + Greg. l. vii. epist. 13.) This house and monastery were situate on the + side of the Caelian hill which fronts the Palatine; they are now occupied + by the Camaldoli: San Gregorio triumphs, and St. Andrew has retired to a + small chapel Nardini, Roma Antica, l. iii. c. 6, p. 100. Descrizzione di + Roma, tom. i. p. 442—446.] + </p> + <p> + The pontificate of Gregory the Great, which lasted thirteen years, six + months, and ten days, is one of the most edifying periods of the history + of the church. His virtues, and even his faults, a singular mixture of + simplicity and cunning, of pride and humility, of sense and superstition, + were happily suited to his station and to the temper of the times. In his + rival, the patriarch of Constantinople, he condemned the anti-Christian + title of universal bishop, which the successor of St. Peter was too + haughty to concede, and too feeble to assume; and the ecclesiastical + jurisdiction of Gregory was confined to the triple character of Bishop of + Rome, Primate of Italy, and Apostle of the West. He frequently ascended + the pulpit, and kindled, by his rude, though pathetic, eloquence, the + congenial passions of his audience: the language of the Jewish prophets + was interpreted and applied; and the minds of a people, depressed by their + present calamities, were directed to the hopes and fears of the invisible + world. His precepts and example defined the model of the Roman liturgy; <a + href="#linknote-45.69" name="linknoteref-45.69" id="linknoteref-45.69">69</a> + the distribution of the parishes, the calendar of the festivals, the order + of processions, the service of the priests and deacons, the variety and + change of sacerdotal garments. Till the last days of his life, he + officiated in the canon of the mass, which continued above three hours: + the Gregorian chant <a href="#linknote-45.70" name="linknoteref-45.70" + id="linknoteref-45.70">70</a> has preserved the vocal and instrumental + music of the theatre, and the rough voices of the Barbarians attempted to + imitate the melody of the Roman school. <a href="#linknote-45.71" + name="linknoteref-45.71" id="linknoteref-45.71">71</a> Experience had shown + him the efficacy of these solemn and pompous rites, to soothe the + distress, to confirm the faith, to mitigate the fierceness, and to dispel + the dark enthusiasm of the vulgar, and he readily forgave their tendency + to promote the reign of priesthood and superstition. The bishops of Italy + and the adjacent islands acknowledged the Roman pontiff as their special + metropolitan. Even the existence, the union, or the translation of + episcopal seats was decided by his absolute discretion: and his successful + inroads into the provinces of Greece, of Spain, and of Gaul, might + countenance the more lofty pretensions of succeeding popes. He interposed + to prevent the abuses of popular elections; his jealous care maintained + the purity of faith and discipline; and the apostolic shepherd assiduously + watched over the faith and discipline of the subordinate pastors. Under + his reign, the Arians of Italy and Spain were reconciled to the Catholic + church, and the conquest of Britain reflects less glory on the name of + Caesar, than on that of Gregory the First. Instead of six legions, forty + monks were embarked for that distant island, and the pontiff lamented the + austere duties which forbade him to partake the perils of their spiritual + warfare. In less than two years, he could announce to the archbishop of + Alexandria, that they had baptized the king of Kent with ten thousand of + his Anglo-Saxons, and that the Roman missionaries, like those of the + primitive church, were armed only with spiritual and supernatural powers. + The credulity or the prudence of Gregory was always disposed to confirm + the truths of religion by the evidence of ghosts, miracles, and + resurrections; <a href="#linknote-45.72" name="linknoteref-45.72" + id="linknoteref-45.72">72</a> and posterity has paid to his memory the same + tribute which he freely granted to the virtue of his own or the preceding + generation. The celestial honors have been liberally bestowed by the + authority of the popes, but Gregory is the last of their own order whom + they have presumed to inscribe in the calendar of saints. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.69" id="linknote-45.69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.69">return</a>)<br /> [ The Lord’s Prayer + consists of half a dozen lines; the Sacramentarius and Antiphonarius of + Gregory fill 880 folio pages, (tom. iii. p. i. p. 1—880;) yet these + only constitute a part of the Ordo Romanus, which Mabillon has illustrated + and Fleury has abridged, (Hist. Eccles. tom. viii. p. 139—152.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.70" id="linknote-45.70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.70">return</a>)<br /> [ I learn from the Abbe + Dobos, (Reflexions sur la Poesie et la Peinture, tom. iii. p. 174, 175,) + that the simplicity of the Ambrosian chant was confined to four modes, + while the more perfect harmony of the Gregorian comprised the eight modes + or fifteen chords of the ancient music. He observes (p. 332) that the + connoisseurs admire the preface and many passages of the Gregorian + office.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.71" id="linknote-45.71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.71">return</a>)<br /> [ John the deacon (in + Vit. Greg. l. ii. c. 7) expresses the early contempt of the Italians for + tramontane singing. Alpina scilicet corpora vocum suarum tonitruis + altisone perstrepentia, susceptae modulationis dulcedinem proprie non + resultant: quia bibuli gutturis barbara feritas dum inflexionibus et + repercussionibus mitem nititur edere cantilenam, naturali quodam fragore, + quasi plaustra per gradus confuse sonantia, rigidas voces jactat, &c. + In the time of Charlemagne, the Franks, though with some reluctance, + admitted the justice of the reproach. Muratori, Dissert. xxv.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.72" id="linknote-45.72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.72">return</a>)<br /> [ A French critic (Petrus + Gussanvillus, Opera, tom. ii. p. 105—112) has vindicated the right + of Gregory to the entire nonsense of the Dialogues. Dupin (tom. v. p. 138) + does not think that any one will vouch for the truth of all these + miracles: I should like to know how many of them he believed himself.] + </p> + <p> + Their temporal power insensibly arose from the calamities of the times: + and the Roman bishops, who have deluged Europe and Asia with blood, were + compelled to reign as the ministers of charity and peace. I. The church of + Rome, as it has been formerly observed, was endowed with ample possessions + in Italy, Sicily, and the more distant provinces; and her agents, who were + commonly sub-deacons, had acquired a civil, and even criminal, + jurisdiction over their tenants and husbandmen. The successor of St. Peter + administered his patrimony with the temper of a vigilant and moderate + landlord; <a href="#linknote-45.73" name="linknoteref-45.73" + id="linknoteref-45.73">73</a> and the epistles of Gregory are filled with + salutary instructions to abstain from doubtful or vexatious lawsuits; to + preserve the integrity of weights and measures; to grant every reasonable + delay; and to reduce the capitation of the slaves of the glebe, who + purchased the right of marriage by the payment of an arbitrary fine. <a + href="#linknote-45.74" name="linknoteref-45.74" id="linknoteref-45.74">74</a> + The rent or the produce of these estates was transported to the mouth of + the Tyber, at the risk and expense of the pope: in the use of wealth he + acted like a faithful steward of the church and the poor, and liberally + applied to their wants the inexhaustible resources of abstinence and + order. The voluminous account of his receipts and disbursements was kept + above three hundred years in the Lateran, as the model of Christian + economy. On the four great festivals, he divided their quarterly allowance + to the clergy, to his domestics, to the monasteries, the churches, the + places of burial, the almshouses, and the hospitals of Rome, and the rest + of the diocese. On the first day of every month, he distributed to the + poor, according to the season, their stated portion of corn, wine, cheese, + vegetables, oil, fish, fresh provisions, clothes, and money; and his + treasurers were continually summoned to satisfy, in his name, the + extraordinary demands of indigence and merit. The instant distress of the + sick and helpless, of strangers and pilgrims, was relieved by the bounty + of each day, and of every hour; nor would the pontiff indulge himself in a + frugal repast, till he had sent the dishes from his own table to some + objects deserving of his compassion. The misery of the times had reduced + the nobles and matrons of Rome to accept, without a blush, the benevolence + of the church: three thousand virgins received their food and raiment from + the hand of their benefactor; and many bishops of Italy escaped from the + Barbarians to the hospitable threshold of the Vatican. Gregory might + justly be styled the Father of his Country; and such was the extreme + sensibility of his conscience, that, for the death of a beggar who had + perished in the streets, he interdicted himself during several days from + the exercise of sacerdotal functions. II. The misfortunes of Rome involved + the apostolical pastor in the business of peace and war; and it might be + doubtful to himself, whether piety or ambition prompted him to supply the + place of his absent sovereign. Gregory awakened the emperor from a long + slumber; exposed the guilt or incapacity of the exarch and his inferior + ministers; complained that the veterans were withdrawn from Rome for the + defence of Spoleto; encouraged the Italians to guard their cities and + altars; and condescended, in the crisis of danger, to name the tribunes, + and to direct the operations, of the provincial troops. But the martial + spirit of the pope was checked by the scruples of humanity and religion: + the imposition of tribute, though it was employed in the Italian war, he + freely condemned as odious and oppressive; whilst he protected, against + the Imperial edicts, the pious cowardice of the soldiers who deserted a + military for a monastic life. If we may credit his own declarations, it + would have been easy for Gregory to exterminate the Lombards by their + domestic factions, without leaving a king, a duke, or a count, to save + that unfortunate nation from the vengeance of their foes. As a Christian + bishop, he preferred the salutary offices of peace; his mediation appeased + the tumult of arms: but he was too conscious of the arts of the Greeks, + and the passions of the Lombards, to engage his sacred promise for the + observance of the truce. Disappointed in the hope of a general and lasting + treaty, he presumed to save his country without the consent of the emperor + or the exarch. The sword of the enemy was suspended over Rome; it was + averted by the mild eloquence and seasonable gifts of the pontiff, who + commanded the respect of heretics and Barbarians. The merits of Gregory + were treated by the Byzantine court with reproach and insult; but in the + attachment of a grateful people, he found the purest reward of a citizen, + and the best right of a sovereign. <a href="#linknote-45.75" + name="linknoteref-45.75" id="linknoteref-45.75">75</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.73" id="linknote-45.73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.73">return</a>)<br /> [ Baronius is unwilling + to expatiate on the care of the patrimonies, lest he should betray that + they consisted not of kingdoms, but farms. The French writers, the + Benedictine editors, (tom. iv. l. iii. p. 272, &c.,) and Fleury, (tom. + viii. p. 29, &c.,) are not afraid of entering into these humble, + though useful, details; and the humanity of Fleury dwells on the social + virtues of Gregory.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.74" id="linknote-45.74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.74">return</a>)<br /> [ I much suspect that + this pecuniary fine on the marriages of villains produced the famous, and + often fabulous right, de cuissage, de marquette, &c. With the consent + of her husband, a handsome bride might commute the payment in the arms of + a young landlord, and the mutual favor might afford a precedent of local + rather than legal tyranny] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-45.75" id="linknote-45.75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-45.75">return</a>)<br /> [ The temporal reign of + Gregory I. is ably exposed by Sigonius in the first book, de Regno + Italiae. See his works, tom. ii. p. 44—75] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap46.1"></a> +Chapter XLVI: Troubles In Persia.—Part I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Revolutions On Persia After The Death Of Chosroes On Nushirvan.—His Son +Hormouz, A Tyrant, Is Deposed.—Usurpation Of Baharam.—Flight And +Restoration Of Chosroes II.—His Gratitude To The Romans.—The Chagan +Of The Avars.—Revolt Of The Army Against Maurice.—His +Death.—Tyranny Of Phocas.—Elevation Of Heraclius.—The Persian +War.—Chosroes Subdues Syria, Egypt, And Asia Minor.—Siege Of +Constantinople By The Persians And Avars.—Persian +Expeditions.—Victories And Triumph Of Heraclius. +</p> + <p> + The conflict of Rome and Persia was prolonged from the death of Craesus to + the reign of Heraclius. An experience of seven hundred years might + convince the rival nations of the impossibility of maintaining their + conquests beyond the fatal limits of the Tigris and Euphrates. Yet the + emulation of Trajan and Julian was awakened by the trophies of Alexander, + and the sovereigns of Persia indulged the ambitious hope of restoring the + empire of Cyrus. <a href="#linknote-46.1" name="linknoteref-46.1" + id="linknoteref-46.1">1</a> Such extraordinary efforts of power and courage + will always command the attention of posterity; but the events by which + the fate of nations is not materially changed, leave a faint impression on + the page of history, and the patience of the reader would be exhausted by + the repetition of the same hostilities, undertaken without cause, + prosecuted without glory, and terminated without effect. The arts of + negotiation, unknown to the simple greatness of the senate and the + Caesars, were assiduously cultivated by the Byzantine princes; and the + memorials of their perpetual embassies <a href="#linknote-46.2" + name="linknoteref-46.2" id="linknoteref-46.2">2</a> repeat, with the same + uniform prolixity, the language of falsehood and declamation, the + insolence of the Barbarians, and the servile temper of the tributary + Greeks. Lamenting the barren superfluity of materials, I have studied to + compress the narrative of these uninteresting transactions: but the just + Nushirvan is still applauded as the model of Oriental kings, and the + ambition of his grandson Chosroes prepared the revolution of the East, + which was speedily accomplished by the arms and the religion of the + successors of Mahomet. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1" id="linknote-46.1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1">return</a>)<br /> [ Missis qui... + reposcerent... veteres Persarum ac Macedonum terminos, seque invasurum + possessa Cyro et post Alexandro, per vaniloquentiam ac minas jaciebat. + Tacit. Annal. vi. 31. Such was the language of the Arsacides. I have + repeatedly marked the lofty claims of the Sassanians.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.2" id="linknote-46.2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.2">return</a>)<br /> [ See the embassies of + Menander, extracted and preserved in the tenth century by the order of + Constantine Porphyrogenitus.] + </p> + <p> + In the useless altercations, that precede and justify the quarrels of + princes, the Greeks and the Barbarians accused each other of violating the + peace which had been concluded between the two empires about four years + before the death of Justinian. The sovereign of Persia and India aspired + to reduce under his obedience the province of Yemen or Arabia <a + href="#linknote-46.3" name="linknoteref-46.3" id="linknoteref-46.3">3</a> + Felix; the distant land of myrrh and frankincense, which had escaped, + rather than opposed, the conquerors of the East. After the defeat of + Abrahah under the walls of Mecca, the discord of his sons and brothers + gave an easy entrance to the Persians: they chased the strangers of + Abyssinia beyond the Red Sea; and a native prince of the ancient Homerites + was restored to the throne as the vassal or viceroy of the great + Nushirvan. <a href="#linknote-46.4" name="linknoteref-46.4" + id="linknoteref-46.4">4</a> But the nephew of Justinian declared his + resolution to avenge the injuries of his Christian ally the prince of + Abyssinia, as they suggested a decent pretence to discontinue the annual + tribute, which was poorly disguised by the name of pension. The churches + of Persarmenia were oppressed by the intolerant spirit of the Magi; <a + href="#linknote-46.411" name="linknoteref-46.411" id="linknoteref-46.411">411</a> + they secretly invoked the protector of the Christians, and, after the + pious murder of their satraps, the rebels were avowed and supported as the + brethren and subjects of the Roman emperor. The complaints of Nushirvan + were disregarded by the Byzantine court; Justin yielded to the + importunities of the Turks, who offered an alliance against the common + enemy; and the Persian monarchy was threatened at the same instant by the + united forces of Europe, of Aethiopia, and of Scythia. At the age of + fourscore the sovereign of the East would perhaps have chosen the peaceful + enjoyment of his glory and greatness; but as soon as war became + inevitable, he took the field with the alacrity of youth, whilst the + aggressor trembled in the palace of Constantinople. Nushirvan, or + Chosroes, conducted in person the siege of Dara; and although that + important fortress had been left destitute of troops and magazines, the + valor of the inhabitants resisted above five months the archers, the + elephants, and the military engines of the Great King. In the mean while + his general Adarman advanced from Babylon, traversed the desert, passed + the Euphrates, insulted the suburbs of Antioch, reduced to ashes the city + of Apamea, and laid the spoils of Syria at the feet of his master, whose + perseverance in the midst of winter at length subverted the bulwark of the + East. But these losses, which astonished the provinces and the court, + produced a salutary effect in the repentance and abdication of the emperor + Justin: a new spirit arose in the Byzantine councils; and a truce of three + years was obtained by the prudence of Tiberius. That seasonable interval + was employed in the preparations of war; and the voice of rumor proclaimed + to the world, that from the distant countries of the Alps and the Rhine, + from Scythia, Maesia, Pannonia, Illyricum, and Isauria, the strength of + the Imperial cavalry was reenforced with one hundred and fifty thousand + soldiers. Yet the king of Persia, without fear, or without faith, resolved + to prevent the attack of the enemy; again passed the Euphrates, and + dismissing the ambassadors of Tiberius, arrogantly commanded them to await + his arrival at Caesarea, the metropolis of the Cappadocian provinces. The + two armies encountered each other in the battle of Melitene: <a + href="#linknote-46.412" name="linknoteref-46.412" id="linknoteref-46.412">412</a> + the Barbarians, who darkened the air with a cloud of arrows, prolonged + their line, and extended their wings across the plain; while the Romans, + in deep and solid bodies, expected to prevail in closer action, by the + weight of their swords and lances. A Scythian chief, who commanded their + right wing, suddenly turned the flank of the enemy, attacked their + rear-guard in the presence of Chosroes, penetrated to the midst of the + camp, pillaged the royal tent, profaned the eternal fire, loaded a train + of camels with the spoils of Asia, cut his way through the Persian host, + and returned with songs of victory to his friends, who had consumed the + day in single combats, or ineffectual skirmishes. The darkness of the + night, and the separation of the Romans, afforded the Persian monarch an + opportunity of revenge; and one of their camps was swept away by a rapid + and impetuous assault. But the review of his loss, and the consciousness + of his danger, determined Chosroes to a speedy retreat: he burnt, in his + passage, the vacant town of Melitene; and, without consulting the safety + of his troops, boldly swam the Euphrates on the back of an elephant. After + this unsuccessful campaign, the want of magazines, and perhaps some inroad + of the Turks, obliged him to disband or divide his forces; the Romans were + left masters of the field, and their general Justinian, advancing to the + relief of the Persarmenian rebels, erected his standard on the banks of + the Araxes. The great Pompey had formerly halted within three days’ march + of the Caspian: <a href="#linknote-46.5" name="linknoteref-46.5" + id="linknoteref-46.5">5</a> that inland sea was explored, for the first + time, by a hostile fleet, <a href="#linknote-46.6" name="linknoteref-46.6" + id="linknoteref-46.6">6</a> and seventy thousand captives were transplanted + from Hyrcania to the Isle of Cyprus. On the return of spring, Justinian + descended into the fertile plains of Assyria; the flames of war approached + the residence of Nushirvan; the indignant monarch sunk into the grave; and + his last edict restrained his successors from exposing their person in + battle against the Romans. <a href="#linknote-46.611" + name="linknoteref-46.611" id="linknoteref-46.611">611</a> Yet the memory of + this transient affront was lost in the glories of a long reign; and his + formidable enemies, after indulging their dream of conquest, again + solicited a short respite from the calamities of war. <a + href="#linknote-46.7" name="linknoteref-46.7" id="linknoteref-46.7">7</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.3" id="linknote-46.3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.3">return</a>)<br /> [ The general independence + of the Arabs, which cannot be admitted without many limitations, is + blindly asserted in a separate dissertation of the authors of the + Universal History, vol. xx. p. 196—250. A perpetual miracle is + supposed to have guarded the prophecy in favor of the posterity of + Ishmael; and these learned bigots are not afraid to risk the truth of + Christianity on this frail and slippery foundation. * Note: It certainly + appears difficult to extract a prediction of the perpetual independence of + the Arabs from the text in Genesis, which would have received an ample + fulfilment during centuries of uninvaded freedom. But the disputants + appear to forget the inseparable connection in the prediction between the + wild, the Bedoween habits of the Ismaelites, with their national + independence. The stationary and civilized descendant of Ismael forfeited, + as it were, his birthright, and ceased to be a genuine son of the “wild + man” The phrase, “dwelling in the presence of his brethren,” is + interpreted by Rosenmüller (in loc.) and others, according to the Hebrew + geography, “to the East” of his brethren, the legitimate race of Abraham—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.4" id="linknote-46.4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.4">return</a>)<br /> [ D’Herbelot, Biblioth. + Orient. p. 477. Pocock, Specimen Hist. Arabum, p. 64, 65. Father Pagi + (Critica, tom. ii. p. 646) has proved that, after ten years’ peace, the + Persian war, which continued twenty years, was renewed A.D. 571. Mahomet + was born A.D. 569, in the year of the elephant, or the defeat of Abrahah, + (Gagnier, Vie de Mahomet, tom. i. p. 89, 90, 98;) and this account allows + two years for the conquest of Yemen. * Note: Abrahah, according to some + accounts, was succeeded by his son Taksoum, who reigned seventeen years; + his brother Mascouh, who was slain in battle against the Persians, twelve. + But this chronology is irreconcilable with the Arabian conquests of + Nushirvan the Great. Either Seif, or his son Maadi Karb, was the native + prince placed on the throne by the Persians. St. Martin, vol. x. p. 78. + See likewise Johannsen, Hist. Yemanae.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.411" id="linknote-46.411"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 411 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.411">return</a>)<br /> [ Persarmenia was long + maintained in peace by the tolerant administration of Mejej, prince of the + Gnounians. On his death he was succeeded by a persecutor, a Persian, named + Ten-Schahpour, who attempted to propagate Zoroastrianism by violence. + Nushirvan, on an appeal to the throne by the Armenian clergy, replaced + Ten-Schahpour, in 552, by Veschnas-Vahram. The new marzban, or governor, + was instructed to repress the bigoted Magi in their persecutions of the + Armenians, but the Persian converts to Christianity were still exposed to + cruel sufferings. The most distinguished of them, Izdbouzid, was crucified + at Dovin in the presence of a vast multitude. The fame of this martyr + spread to the West. Menander, the historian, not only, as appears by a + fragment published by Mai, related this event in his history, but, + according to M. St. Martin, wrote a tragedy on the subject. This, however, + is an unwarrantable inference from the phrase which merely means that he + related the tragic event in his history. An epigram on the same subject, + preserved in the Anthology, Jacob’s Anth. Palat. i. 27, belongs to the + historian. Yet Armenia remained in peace under the government of + Veschnas-Vahram and his successor Varazdat. The tyranny of his successor + Surena led to the insurrection under Vartan, the Mamigonian, who revenged + the death of his brother on the marzban Surena, surprised Dovin, and put + to the sword the governor, the soldiers, and the Magians. From St. Martin, + vol x. p. 79—89.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.412" id="linknote-46.412"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 412 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.412">return</a>)<br /> [ Malathiah. It was in + the lesser Armenia.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.5" id="linknote-46.5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.5">return</a>)<br /> [ He had vanquished the + Albanians, who brought into the field 12,000 horse and 60,000 foot; but he + dreaded the multitude of venomous reptiles, whose existence may admit of + some doubt, as well as that of the neighboring Amazons. Plutarch, in + Pompeio, tom. ii. p. 1165, 1166.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.6" id="linknote-46.6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.6">return</a>)<br /> [ In the history of the + world I can only perceive two navies on the Caspian: 1. Of the + Macedonians, when Patrocles, the admiral of the kings of Syria, Seleucus + and Antiochus, descended most probably the River Oxus, from the confines + of India, (Plin. Hist. Natur. vi. 21.) 2. Of the Russians, when Peter the + First conducted a fleet and army from the neighborhood of Moscow to the + coast of Persia, (Bell’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 325—352.) He justly + observes, that such martial pomp had never been displayed on the Volga.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.611" id="linknote-46.611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 611 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.611">return</a>)<br /> [ This circumstance + rests on the statements of Evagrius and Theophylaci Simocatta. They are + not of sufficient authority to establish a fact so improbable. St. Martin, + vol. x. p. 140.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.7" id="linknote-46.7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.7">return</a>)<br /> [ For these Persian wars + and treaties, see Menander, in Excerpt. Legat. p. 113—125. + Theophanes Byzant. apud Photium, cod. lxiv p. 77, 80, 81. Evagrius, l. v. + c. 7—15. Theophylact, l. iii. c. 9—16 Agathias, l. iv. p. + 140.] + </p> + <p> + The throne of Chosroes Nushirvan was filled by Hormouz, or Hormisdas, the + eldest or the most favored of his sons. With the kingdoms of Persia and + India, he inherited the reputation and example of his father, the service, + in every rank, of his wise and valiant officers, and a general system of + administration, harmonized by time and political wisdom to promote the + happiness of the prince and people. But the royal youth enjoyed a still + more valuable blessing, the friendship of a sage who had presided over his + education, and who always preferred the honor to the interest of his + pupil, his interest to his inclination. In a dispute with the Greek and + Indian philosophers, Buzurg <a href="#linknote-46.8" name="linknoteref-46.8" + id="linknoteref-46.8">8</a> had once maintained, that the most grievous + misfortune of life is old age without the remembrance of virtue; and our + candor will presume that the same principle compelled him, during three + years, to direct the councils of the Persian empire. His zeal was rewarded + by the gratitude and docility of Hormouz, who acknowledged himself more + indebted to his preceptor than to his parent: but when age and labor had + impaired the strength, and perhaps the faculties, of this prudent + counsellor, he retired from court, and abandoned the youthful monarch to + his own passions and those of his favorites. By the fatal vicissitude of + human affairs, the same scenes were renewed at Ctesiphon, which had been + exhibited at Rome after the death of Marcus Antoninus. The ministers of + flattery and corruption, who had been banished by his father, were + recalled and cherished by the son; the disgrace and exile of the friends + of Nushirvan established their tyranny; and virtue was driven by degrees + from the mind of Hormouz, from his palace, and from the government of the + state. The faithful agents, the eyes and ears of the king, informed him of + the progress of disorder, that the provincial governors flew to their prey + with the fierceness of lions and eagles, and that their rapine and + injustice would teach the most loyal of his subjects to abhor the name and + authority of their sovereign. The sincerity of this advice was punished + with death; the murmurs of the cities were despised, their tumults were + quelled by military execution: the intermediate powers between the throne + and the people were abolished; and the childish vanity of Hormouz, who + affected the daily use of the tiara, was fond of declaring, that he alone + would be the judge as well as the master of his kingdom. + </p> + <p> + In every word, and in every action, the son of Nushirvan degenerated from + the virtues of his father. His avarice defrauded the troops; his jealous + caprice degraded the satraps; the palace, the tribunals, the waters of the + Tigris, were stained with the blood of the innocent, and the tyrant + exulted in the sufferings and execution of thirteen thousand victims. As + the excuse of his cruelty, he sometimes condescended to observe, that the + fears of the Persians would be productive of hatred, and that their hatred + must terminate in rebellion but he forgot that his own guilt and folly had + inspired the sentiments which he deplored, and prepared the event which he + so justly apprehended. Exasperated by long and hopeless oppression, the + provinces of Babylon, Susa, and Carmania, erected the standard of revolt; + and the princes of Arabia, India, and Scythia, refused the customary + tribute to the unworthy successor of Nushirvan. The arms of the Romans, in + slow sieges and frequent inroads, afflicted the frontiers of Mesopotamia + and Assyria: one of their generals professed himself the disciple of + Scipio; and the soldiers were animated by a miraculous image of Christ, + whose mild aspect should never have been displayed in the front of battle. + <a href="#linknote-46.9" name="linknoteref-46.9" id="linknoteref-46.9">9</a> + At the same time, the eastern provinces of Persia were invaded by the + great khan, who passed the Oxus at the head of three or four hundred + thousand Turks. The imprudent Hormouz accepted their perfidious and + formidable aid; the cities of Khorassan or Bactriana were commanded to + open their gates; the march of the Barbarians towards the mountains of + Hyrcania revealed the correspondence of the Turkish and Roman arms; and + their union must have subverted the throne of the house of Sassan. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.8" id="linknote-46.8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.8">return</a>)<br /> [ Buzurg Mihir may be + considered, in his character and station, as the Seneca of the East; but + his virtues, and perhaps his faults, are less known than those of the + Roman, who appears to have been much more loquacious. The Persian sage was + the person who imported from India the game of chess and the fables of + Pilpay. Such has been the fame of his wisdom and virtues, that the + Christians claim him as a believer in the gospel; and the Mahometans + revere Buzurg as a premature Mussulman. D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque + Orientale, p. 218.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.9" id="linknote-46.9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.9">return</a>)<br /> [ See the imitation of + Scipio in Theophylact, l. i. c. 14; the image of Christ, l. ii. c. 3. + Hereafter I shall speak more amply of the Christian images—I had + almost said idols. This, if I am not mistaken, is the oldest of divine + manufacture; but in the next thousand years, many others issued from the + same workshop.] + </p> + <p> + Persia had been lost by a king; it was saved by a hero. After his revolt, + Varanes or Bahram is stigmatized by the son of Hormouz as an ungrateful + slave; the proud and ambiguous reproach of despotism, since he was truly + descended from the ancient princes of Rei, <a href="#linknote-46.10" + name="linknoteref-46.10" id="linknoteref-46.10">10</a> one of the seven + families whose splendid, as well as substantial, prerogatives exalted them + above the heads of the Persian nobility. <a href="#linknote-46.11" + name="linknoteref-46.11" id="linknoteref-46.11">11</a> At the siege of Dara, + the valor of Bahram was signalized under the eyes of Nushirvan, and both + the father and son successively promoted him to the command of armies, the + government of Media, and the superintendence of the palace. The popular + prediction which marked him as the deliverer of Persia, might be inspired + by his past victories and extraordinary figure: the epithet Giubin <a + href="#linknote-46.1111" name="linknoteref-46.1111" id="linknoteref-46.1111">1111</a> + is expressive of the quality of dry wood: he had the strength and stature + of a giant; and his savage countenance was fancifully compared to that of + a wild cat. While the nation trembled, while Hormouz disguised his terror + by the name of suspicion, and his servants concealed their disloyalty + under the mask of fear, Bahram alone displayed his undaunted courage and + apparent fidelity: and as soon as he found that no more than twelve + thousand soldiers would follow him against the enemy; he prudently + declared, that to this fatal number Heaven had reserved the honors of the + triumph. <a href="#linknote-46.1112" name="linknoteref-46.1112" + id="linknoteref-46.1112">1112</a> The steep and narrow descent of the Pule + Rudbar, <a href="#linknote-46.12" name="linknoteref-46.12" + id="linknoteref-46.12">12</a> or Hyrcanian rock, is the only pass through + which an army can penetrate into the territory of Rei and the plains of + Media. From the commanding heights, a band of resolute men might overwhelm + with stones and darts the myriads of the Turkish host: their emperor and + his son were transpierced with arrows; and the fugitives were left, + without counsel or provisions, to the revenge of an injured people. The + patriotism of the Persian general was stimulated by his affection for the + city of his forefathers: in the hour of victory, every peasant became a + soldier, and every soldier a hero; and their ardor was kindled by the + gorgeous spectacle of beds, and thrones, and tables of massy gold, the + spoils of Asia, and the luxury of the hostile camp. A prince of a less + malignant temper could not easily have forgiven his benefactor; and the + secret hatred of Hormouz was envenomed by a malicious report, that Bahram + had privately retained the most precious fruits of his Turkish victory. + But the approach of a Roman army on the side of the Araxes compelled the + implacable tyrant to smile and to applaud; and the toils of Bahram were + rewarded with the permission of encountering a new enemy, by their skill + and discipline more formidable than a Scythian multitude. Elated by his + recent success, he despatched a herald with a bold defiance to the camp of + the Romans, requesting them to fix a day of battle, and to choose whether + they would pass the river themselves, or allow a free passage to the arms + of the great king. The lieutenant of the emperor Maurice preferred the + safer alternative; and this local circumstance, which would have enhanced + the victory of the Persians, rendered their defeat more bloody and their + escape more difficult. But the loss of his subjects, and the danger of his + kingdom, were overbalanced in the mind of Hormouz by the disgrace of his + personal enemy; and no sooner had Bahram collected and reviewed his + forces, than he received from a royal messenger the insulting gift of a + distaff, a spinning-wheel, and a complete suit of female apparel. Obedient + to the will of his sovereign he showed himself to the soldiers in this + unworthy disguise: they resented his ignominy and their own; a shout of + rebellion ran through the ranks; and the general accepted their oath of + fidelity and vows of revenge. A second messenger, who had been commanded + to bring the rebel in chains, was trampled under the feet of an elephant, + and manifestos were diligently circulated, exhorting the Persians to + assert their freedom against an odious and contemptible tyrant. The + defection was rapid and universal; his loyal slaves were sacrificed to the + public fury; the troops deserted to the standard of Bahram; and the + provinces again saluted the deliverer of his country. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.10" id="linknote-46.10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.10">return</a>)<br /> [ Ragae, or Rei, is + mentioned in the Apocryphal book of Tobit as already flourishing, 700 + years before Christ, under the Assyrian empire. Under the foreign names of + Europus and Arsacia, this city, 500 stadia to the south of the Caspian + gates, was successively embellished by the Macedonians and Parthians, + (Strabo, l. xi. p. 796.) Its grandeur and populousness in the ixth century + are exaggerated beyond the bounds of credibility; but Rei has been since + ruined by wars and the unwholesomeness of the air. Chardin, Voyage en + Perse, tom. i. p. 279, 280. D’Herbelot, Biblioth. Oriental. p. 714.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.11" id="linknote-46.11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.11">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact. l. iii. c. + 18. The story of the seven Persians is told in the third book of + Herodotus; and their noble descendants are often mentioned, especially in + the fragments of Ctesias. Yet the independence of Otanes (Herodot. l. iii. + c. 83, 84) is hostile to the spirit of despotism, and it may not seem + probable that the seven families could survive the revolutions of eleven + hundred years. They might, however, be represented by the seven ministers, + (Brisson, de Regno Persico, l. i. p. 190;) and some Persian nobles, like + the kings of Pontus (Polyb l. v. p. 540) and Cappadocia, (Diodor. Sicul. + l. xxxi. tom. ii. p. 517,) might claim their descent from the bold + companions of Darius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1111" id="linknote-46.1111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1111 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1111">return</a>)<br /> [ He is generally + called Baharam Choubeen, Baharam, the stick-like, probably from his + appearance. Malcolm, vol. i. p. 120.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1112" id="linknote-46.1112"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1112 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1112">return</a>)<br /> [ The Persian + historians say, that Hormouz entreated his general to increase his + numbers; but Baharam replied, that experience had taught him that it was + the quality, not the number of soldiers, which gave success. * * * No man + in his army was under forty years, and none above fifty. Malcolm, vol. i. + p. 121—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.12" id="linknote-46.12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.12">return</a>)<br /> [ See an accurate + description of this mountain by Olearius, (Voyage en Perse, p. 997, 998,) + who ascended it with much difficulty and danger in his return from Ispahan + to the Caspian Sea.] + </p> + <p> + As the passes were faithfully guarded, Hormouz could only compute the + number of his enemies by the testimony of a guilty conscience, and the + daily defection of those who, in the hour of his distress, avenged their + wrongs, or forgot their obligations. He proudly displayed the ensigns of + royalty; but the city and palace of Modain had already escaped from the + hand of the tyrant. Among the victims of his cruelty, Bindoes, a Sassanian + prince, had been cast into a dungeon; his fetters were broken by the zeal + and courage of a brother; and he stood before the king at the head of + those trusty guards, who had been chosen as the ministers of his + confinement, and perhaps of his death. Alarmed by the hasty intrusion and + bold reproaches of the captive, Hormouz looked round, but in vain, for + advice or assistance; discovered that his strength consisted in the + obedience of others; and patiently yielded to the single arm of Bindoes, + who dragged him from the throne to the same dungeon in which he himself + had been so lately confined. At the first tumult, Chosroes, the eldest of + the sons of Hormouz, escaped from the city; he was persuaded to return by + the pressing and friendly invitation of Bindoes, who promised to seat him + on his father’s throne, and who expected to reign under the name of an + inexperienced youth. In the just assurance, that his accomplices could + neither forgive nor hope to be forgiven, and that every Persian might be + trusted as the judge and enemy of the tyrant, he instituted a public trial + without a precedent and without a copy in the annals of the East. The son + of Nushirvan, who had requested to plead in his own defence, was + introduced as a criminal into the full assembly of the nobles and satraps. + <a href="#linknote-46.13" name="linknoteref-46.13" id="linknoteref-46.13">13</a> + He was heard with decent attention as long as he expatiated on the + advantages of order and obedience, the danger of innovation, and the + inevitable discord of those who had encouraged each other to trample on + their lawful and hereditary sovereign. By a pathetic appeal to their + humanity, he extorted that pity which is seldom refused to the fallen + fortunes of a king; and while they beheld the abject posture and squalid + appearance of the prisoner, his tears, his chains, and the marks of + ignominious stripes, it was impossible to forget how recently they had + adored the divine splendor of his diadem and purple. But an angry murmur + arose in the assembly as soon as he presumed to vindicate his conduct, and + to applaud the victories of his reign. He defined the duties of a king, + and the Persian nobles listened with a smile of contempt; they were fired + with indignation when he dared to vilify the character of Chosroes; and by + the indiscreet offer of resigning the sceptre to the second of his sons, + he subscribed his own condemnation, and sacrificed the life of his own + innocent favorite. The mangled bodies of the boy and his mother were + exposed to the people; the eyes of Hormouz were pierced with a hot needle; + and the punishment of the father was succeeded by the coronation of his + eldest son. Chosroes had ascended the throne without guilt, and his piety + strove to alleviate the misery of the abdicated monarch; from the dungeon + he removed Hormouz to an apartment of the palace, supplied with liberality + the consolations of sensual enjoyment, and patiently endured the furious + sallies of his resentment and despair. He might despise the resentment of + a blind and unpopular tyrant, but the tiara was trembling on his head, + till he could subvert the power, or acquire the friendship, of the great + Bahram, who sternly denied the justice of a revolution, in which himself + and his soldiers, the true representatives of Persia, had never been + consulted. The offer of a general amnesty, and of the second rank in his + kingdom, was answered by an epistle from Bahram, friend of the gods, + conqueror of men, and enemy of tyrants, the satrap of satraps, general of + the Persian armies, and a prince adorned with the title of eleven virtues. + <a href="#linknote-46.14" name="linknoteref-46.14" id="linknoteref-46.14">14</a> + He commands Chosroes, the son of Hormouz, to shun the example and fate of + his father, to confine the traitors who had been released from their + chains, to deposit in some holy place the diadem which he had usurped, and + to accept from his gracious benefactor the pardon of his faults and the + government of a province. The rebel might not be proud, and the king most + assuredly was not humble; but the one was conscious of his strength, the + other was sensible of his weakness; and even the modest language of his + reply still left room for treaty and reconciliation. Chosroes led into the + field the slaves of the palace and the populace of the capital: they + beheld with terror the banners of a veteran army; they were encompassed + and surprised by the evolutions of the general; and the satraps who had + deposed Hormouz, received the punishment of their revolt, or expiated + their first treason by a second and more criminal act of disloyalty. The + life and liberty of Chosroes were saved, but he was reduced to the + necessity of imploring aid or refuge in some foreign land; and the + implacable Bindoes, anxious to secure an unquestionable title, hastily + returned to the palace, and ended, with a bowstring, the wretched + existence of the son of Nushirvan. <a href="#linknote-46.15" + name="linknoteref-46.15" id="linknoteref-46.15">15</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.13" id="linknote-46.13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.13">return</a>)<br /> [ The Orientals suppose + that Bahram convened this assembly and proclaimed Chosroes; but + Theophylact is, in this instance, more distinct and credible. * Note: Yet + Theophylact seems to have seized the opportunity to indulge his propensity + for writing orations; and the orations read rather like those of a Grecian + sophist than of an Eastern assembly.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.14" id="linknote-46.14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.14">return</a>)<br /> [ See the words of + Theophylact, l. iv. c. 7., &c. In answer, Chosroes styles himself in + genuine Oriental bombast.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.15" id="linknote-46.15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.15">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact (l. iv. c. + 7) imputes the death of Hormouz to his son, by whose command he was beaten + to death with clubs. I have followed the milder account of Khondemir and + Eutychius, and shall always be content with the slightest evidence to + extenuate the crime of parricide. Note: Malcolm concurs in ascribing his + death to Bundawee, (Bindoes,) vol. i. p. 123. The Eastern writers + generally impute the crime to the uncle St. Martin, vol. x. p. 300.—M.] + </p> + <p> + While Chosroes despatched the preparations of his retreat, he deliberated + with his remaining friends, <a href="#linknote-46.16" + name="linknoteref-46.16" id="linknoteref-46.16">16</a> whether he should + lurk in the valleys of Mount Caucasus, or fly to the tents of the Turks, + or solicit the protection of the emperor. The long emulation of the + successors of Artaxerxes and Constantine increased his reluctance to + appear as a suppliant in a rival court; but he weighed the forces of the + Romans, and prudently considered that the neighborhood of Syria would + render his escape more easy and their succors more effectual. Attended + only by his concubines, and a troop of thirty guards, he secretly departed + from the capital, followed the banks of the Euphrates, traversed the + desert, and halted at the distance of ten miles from Circesium. About the + third watch of the night, the Roman præfect was informed of his approach, + and he introduced the royal stranger to the fortress at the dawn of day. + From thence the king of Persia was conducted to the more honorable + residence of Hierapolis; and Maurice dissembled his pride, and displayed + his benevolence, at the reception of the letters and ambassadors of the + grandson of Nushirvan. They humbly represented the vicissitudes of fortune + and the common interest of princes, exaggerated the ingratitude of Bahram, + the agent of the evil principle, and urged, with specious argument, that + it was for the advantage of the Romans themselves to support the two + monarchies which balance the world, the two great luminaries by whose + salutary influence it is vivified and adorned. The anxiety of Chosroes was + soon relieved by the assurance, that the emperor had espoused the cause of + justice and royalty; but Maurice prudently declined the expense and delay + of his useless visit to Constantinople. In the name of his generous + benefactor, a rich diadem was presented to the fugitive prince, with an + inestimable gift of jewels and gold; a powerful army was assembled on the + frontiers of Syria and Armenia, under the command of the valiant and + faithful Narses, <a href="#linknote-46.17" name="linknoteref-46.17" + id="linknoteref-46.17">17</a> and this general, of his own nation, and his + own choice, was directed to pass the Tigris, and never to sheathe his + sword till he had restored Chosroes to the throne of his ancestors. <a + href="#linknote-46.1711" name="linknoteref-46.1711" id="linknoteref-46.1711">1711</a> + The enterprise, however splendid, was less arduous than it might appear. + Persia had already repented of her fatal rashness, which betrayed the heir + of the house of Sassan to the ambition of a rebellious subject: and the + bold refusal of the Magi to consecrate his usurpation, compelled Bahram to + assume the sceptre, regardless of the laws and prejudices of the nation. + The palace was soon distracted with conspiracy, the city with tumult, the + provinces with insurrection; and the cruel execution of the guilty and the + suspected served to irritate rather than subdue the public discontent. No + sooner did the grandson of Nushirvan display his own and the Roman banners + beyond the Tigris, than he was joined, each day, by the increasing + multitudes of the nobility and people; and as he advanced, he received + from every side the grateful offerings of the keys of his cities and the + heads of his enemies. As soon as Modain was freed from the presence of the + usurper, the loyal inhabitants obeyed the first summons of Mebodes at the + head of only two thousand horse, and Chosroes accepted the sacred and + precious ornaments of the palace as the pledge of their truth and the + presage of his approaching success. After the junction of the Imperial + troops, which Bahram vainly struggled to prevent, the contest was decided + by two battles on the banks of the Zab, and the confines of Media. The + Romans, with the faithful subjects of Persia, amounted to sixty thousand, + while the whole force of the usurper did not exceed forty thousand men: + the two generals signalized their valor and ability; but the victory was + finally determined by the prevalence of numbers and discipline. With the + remnant of a broken army, Bahram fled towards the eastern provinces of the + Oxus: the enmity of Persia reconciled him to the Turks; but his days were + shortened by poison, perhaps the most incurable of poisons; the stings of + remorse and despair, and the bitter remembrance of lost glory. Yet the + modern Persians still commemorate the exploits of Bahram; and some + excellent laws have prolonged the duration of his troubled and transitory + reign. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.16" id="linknote-46.16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.16">return</a>)<br /> [ After the battle of + Pharsalia, the Pompey of Lucan (l. viii. 256—455) holds a similar + debate. He was himself desirous of seeking the Parthians: but his + companions abhorred the unnatural alliance and the adverse prejudices + might operate as forcibly on Chosroes and his companions, who could + describe, with the same vehemence, the contrast of laws, religion, and + manners, between the East and West.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.17" id="linknote-46.17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.17">return</a>)<br /> [ In this age there were + three warriors of the name of Narses, who have been often confounded, + (Pagi, Critica, tom. ii. p. 640:) 1. A Persarmenian, the brother of Isaac + and Armatius, who, after a successful action against Belisarius, deserted + from his Persian sovereign, and afterwards served in the Italian war.—2. + The eunuch who conquered Italy.—3. The restorer of Chosroes, who is + celebrated in the poem of Corippus (l. iii. 220—327) as excelsus + super omnia vertico agmina.... habitu modestus.... morum probitate + placens, virtute verendus; fulmineus, cautus, vigilans, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1711" id="linknote-46.1711"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1711 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1711">return</a>)<br /> [ The Armenians + adhered to Chosroes. St. Martin, vol. x. p. 312.—M. ——According + to Mivkhond and the Oriental writers, Bahram received the daughter of the + Khakan in marriage, and commanded a body of Turks in an invasion of + Persia. Some say that he was assassinated; Malcolm adopts the opinion that + he was poisoned. His sister Gourdieh, the companion of his flight, is + celebrated in the Shah Nameh. She was afterwards one of the wives of + Chosroes. St. Martin. vol. x. p. 331.—M.] + </p> + <p> + The restoration of Chosroes was celebrated with feasts and executions; and + the music of the royal banquet was often disturbed by the groans of dying + or mutilated criminals. A general pardon might have diffused comfort and + tranquillity through a country which had been shaken by the late + revolutions; yet, before the sanguinary temper of Chosroes is blamed, we + should learn whether the Persians had not been accustomed either to dread + the rigor, or to despise the weakness, of their sovereign. The revolt of + Bahram, and the conspiracy of the satraps, were impartially punished by + the revenge or justice of the conqueror; the merits of Bindoes himself + could not purify his hand from the guilt of royal blood: and the son of + Hormouz was desirous to assert his own innocence, and to vindicate the + sanctity of kings. During the vigor of the Roman power, several princes + were seated on the throne of Persia by the arms and the authority of the + first Caesars. But their new subjects were soon disgusted with the vices + or virtues which they had imbibed in a foreign land; the instability of + their dominion gave birth to a vulgar observation, that the choice of Rome + was solicited and rejected with equal ardor by the capricious levity of + Oriental slaves. But the glory of Maurice was conspicuous in the long and + fortunate reign of his son and his ally. A band of a thousand Romans, who + continued to guard the person of Chosroes, proclaimed his confidence in + the fidelity of the strangers; his growing strength enabled him to dismiss + this unpopular aid, but he steadily professed the same gratitude and + reverence to his adopted father; and till the death of Maurice, the peace + and alliance of the two empires were faithfully maintained. <a + href="#linknote-46.18" name="linknoteref-46.18" id="linknoteref-46.18">18</a> + Yet the mercenary friendship of the Roman prince had been purchased with + costly and important gifts; the strong cities of Martyropolis and Dara <a + href="#linknote-46.1811" name="linknoteref-46.1811" id="linknoteref-46.1811">1811</a> + were restored, and the Persarmenians became the willing subjects of an + empire, whose eastern limit was extended, beyond the example of former + times, as far as the banks of the Araxes, and the neighborhood of the + Caspian. A pious hope was indulged, that the church as well as the state + might triumph in this revolution: but if Chosroes had sincerely listened + to the Christian bishops, the impression was erased by the zeal and + eloquence of the Magi: if he was armed with philosophic indifference, he + accommodated his belief, or rather his professions, to the various + circumstances of an exile and a sovereign. The imaginary conversion of the + king of Persia was reduced to a local and superstitious veneration for + Sergius, <a href="#linknote-46.19" name="linknoteref-46.19" + id="linknoteref-46.19">19</a> one of the saints of Antioch, who heard his + prayers and appeared to him in dreams; he enriched the shrine with + offerings of gold and silver, and ascribed to this invisible patron the + success of his arms, and the pregnancy of Sira, a devout Christian and the + best beloved of his wives. <a href="#linknote-46.20" name="linknoteref-46.20" + id="linknoteref-46.20">20</a> The beauty of Sira, or Schirin, <a + href="#linknote-46.21" name="linknoteref-46.21" id="linknoteref-46.21">21</a> + her wit, her musical talents, are still famous in the history, or rather + in the romances, of the East: her own name is expressive, in the Persian + tongue, of sweetness and grace; and the epithet of Parviz alludes to the + charms of her royal lover. Yet Sira never shared the passions which she + inspired, and the bliss of Chosroes was tortured by a jealous doubt, that + while he possessed her person, she had bestowed her affections on a meaner + favorite. <a href="#linknote-46.22" name="linknoteref-46.22" + id="linknoteref-46.22">22</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.18" id="linknote-46.18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.18">return</a>)<br /> [ Experimentis cognitum + est Barbaros malle Roma petere reges quam habere. These experiments are + admirably represented in the invitation and expulsion of Vonones, (Annal. + ii. 1—3,) Tiridates, (Annal. vi. 32-44,) and Meherdates, (Annal. xi. + 10, xii. 10-14.) The eye of Tacitus seems to have transpierced the camp of + the Parthians and the walls of the harem.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1811" id="linknote-46.1811"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1811 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1811">return</a>)<br /> [ Concerning Nisibis, + see St. Martin and his Armenian authorities, vol. x p. 332, and Memoires + sur l’Armenie, tom. i. p. 25.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.19" id="linknote-46.19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.19">return</a>)<br /> [ Sergius and his + companion Bacchus, who are said to have suffered in the persecution of + Maximian, obtained divine honor in France, Italy, Constantinople, and the + East. Their tomb at Rasaphe was famous for miracles, and that Syrian town + acquired the more honorable name of Sergiopolis. Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. + tom. v. p. 481—496. Butler’s Saints, vol. x. p. 155.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.20" id="linknote-46.20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.20">return</a>)<br /> [ Evagrius (l. vi. c. 21) + and Theophylact (l. v. c. 13, 14) have preserved the original letters of + Chosroes, written in Greek, signed with his own hand, and afterwards + inscribed on crosses and tables of gold, which were deposited in the + church of Sergiopolis. They had been sent to the bishop of Antioch, as + primate of Syria. * Note: St. Martin thinks that they were first written + in Syriac, and then translated into the bad Greek in which they appear, + vol. x. p. 334.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.21" id="linknote-46.21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.21">return</a>)<br /> [ The Greeks only + describe her as a Roman by birth, a Christian by religion: but she is + represented as the daughter of the emperor Maurice in the Persian and + Turkish romances which celebrate the love of Khosrou for Schirin, of + Schirin for Ferhad, the most beautiful youth of the East, D’Herbelot, + Biblioth. Orient. p. 789, 997, 998. * Note: Compare M. von Hammer’s + preface to, and poem of, Schirin in which he gives an account of the + various Persian poems, of which he has endeavored to extract the essence + in his own work.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.22" id="linknote-46.22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.22">return</a>)<br /> [ The whole series of the + tyranny of Hormouz, the revolt of Bahram, and the flight and restoration + of Chosroes, is related by two contemporary Greeks—more concisely by + Evagrius, (l. vi. c. 16, 17, 18, 19,) and most diffusely by Theophylact + Simocatta, (l. iii. c. 6—18, l. iv. c. 1—16, l. v. c. 1-15:) + succeeding compilers, Zonaras and Cedrenus, can only transcribe and + abridge. The Christian Arabs, Eutychius (Annal. tom. ii. p. 200—208) + and Abulpharagius (Dynast. p. 96—98) appear to have consulted some + particular memoirs. The great Persian historians of the xvth century, + Mirkhond and Khondemir, are only known to me by the imperfect extracts of + Schikard, (Tarikh, p. 150—155,) Texeira, or rather Stevens, (Hist. + of Persia, p. 182—186,) a Turkish Ms. translated by the Abbe + Fourmount, (Hist. de l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. vii. p. 325—334,) + and D’Herbelot, (aux mots Hormouz, p. 457—459. Bahram, p. 174. + Khosrou Parviz, p. 996.) Were I perfectly satisfied of their authority, I + could wish these Oriental materials had been more copious.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap46.2"></a> +Chapter XLVI: Troubles In Persia.—Part II.</h2> + + <p> + While the majesty of the Roman name was revived in the East, the prospect + of Europe is less pleasing and less glorious. By the departure of the + Lombards, and the ruin of the Gepidae, the balance of power was destroyed + on the Danube; and the Avars spread their permanent dominion from the foot + of the Alps to the sea-coast of the Euxine. The reign of Baian is the + brightest aera of their monarchy; their chagan, who occupied the rustic + palace of Attila, appears to have imitated his character and policy; <a + href="#linknote-46.23" name="linknoteref-46.23" id="linknoteref-46.23">23</a> + but as the same scenes were repeated in a smaller circle, a minute + representation of the copy would be devoid of the greatness and novelty of + the original. The pride of the second Justin, of Tiberius, and Maurice, + was humbled by a proud Barbarian, more prompt to inflict, than exposed to + suffer, the injuries of war; and as often as Asia was threatened by the + Persian arms, Europe was oppressed by the dangerous inroads, or costly + friendship, of the Avars. When the Roman envoys approached the presence of + the chagan, they were commanded to wait at the door of his tent, till, at + the end perhaps of ten or twelve days, he condescended to admit them. If + the substance or the style of their message was offensive to his ear, he + insulted, with real or affected fury, their own dignity, and that of their + prince; their baggage was plundered, and their lives were only saved by + the promise of a richer present and a more respectful address. But his + sacred ambassadors enjoyed and abused an unbounded license in the midst of + Constantinople: they urged, with importunate clamors, the increase of + tribute, or the restitution of captives and deserters: and the majesty of + the empire was almost equally degraded by a base compliance, or by the + false and fearful excuses with which they eluded such insolent demands. + The chagan had never seen an elephant; and his curiosity was excited by + the strange, and perhaps fabulous, portrait of that wonderful animal. At + his command, one of the largest elephants of the Imperial stables was + equipped with stately caparisons, and conducted by a numerous train to the + royal village in the plains of Hungary. He surveyed the enormous beast + with surprise, with disgust, and possibly with terror; and smiled at the + vain industry of the Romans, who, in search of such useless rarities, + could explore the limits of the land and sea. He wished, at the expense of + the emperor, to repose in a golden bed. The wealth of Constantinople, and + the skilful diligence of her artists, were instantly devoted to the + gratification of his caprice; but when the work was finished, he rejected + with scorn a present so unworthy the majesty of a great king. <a + href="#linknote-46.24" name="linknoteref-46.24" id="linknoteref-46.24">24</a> + These were the casual sallies of his pride; but the avarice of the chagan + was a more steady and tractable passion: a rich and regular supply of silk + apparel, furniture, and plate, introduced the rudiments of art and luxury + among the tents of the Scythians; their appetite was stimulated by the + pepper and cinnamon of India; <a href="#linknote-46.25" + name="linknoteref-46.25" id="linknoteref-46.25">25</a> the annual subsidy or + tribute was raised from fourscore to one hundred and twenty thousand + pieces of gold; and after each hostile interruption, the payment of the + arrears, with exorbitant interest, was always made the first condition of + the new treaty. In the language of a Barbarian, without guile, the prince + of the Avars affected to complain of the insincerity of the Greeks; <a + href="#linknote-46.26" name="linknoteref-46.26" id="linknoteref-46.26">26</a> + yet he was not inferior to the most civilized nations in the refinement of + dissimulation and perfidy. As the successor of the Lombards, the chagan + asserted his claim to the important city of Sirmium, the ancient bulwark + of the Illyrian provinces. <a href="#linknote-46.27" name="linknoteref-46.27" + id="linknoteref-46.27">27</a> The plains of the Lower Hungary were covered + with the Avar horse and a fleet of large boats was built in the Hercynian + wood, to descend the Danube, and to transport into the Save the materials + of a bridge. But as the strong garrison of Singidunum, which commanded the + conflux of the two rivers, might have stopped their passage and baffled + his designs, he dispelled their apprehensions by a solemn oath that his + views were not hostile to the empire. He swore by his sword, the symbol of + the god of war, that he did not, as the enemy of Rome, construct a bridge + upon the Save. “If I violate my oath,” pursued the intrepid Baian, “may I + myself, and the last of my nation, perish by the sword! May the heavens, + and fire, the deity of the heavens, fall upon our heads! May the forests + and mountains bury us in their ruins! and the Save returning, against the + laws of nature, to his source, overwhelm us in his angry waters!” After + this barbarous imprecation, he calmly inquired, what oath was most sacred + and venerable among the Christians, what guilt or perjury it was most + dangerous to incur. The bishop of Singidunum presented the gospel, which + the chagan received with devout reverence. “I swear,” said he, “by the God + who has spoken in this holy book, that I have neither falsehood on my + tongue, nor treachery in my heart.” As soon as he rose from his knees, he + accelerated the labor of the bridge, and despatched an envoy to proclaim + what he no longer wished to conceal. “Inform the emperor,” said the + perfidious Baian, “that Sirmium is invested on every side. Advise his + prudence to withdraw the citizens and their effects, and to resign a city + which it is now impossible to relieve or defend.” Without the hope of + relief, the defence of Sirmium was prolonged above three years: the walls + were still untouched; but famine was enclosed within the walls, till a + merciful capitulation allowed the escape of the naked and hungry + inhabitants. Singidunum, at the distance of fifty miles, experienced a + more cruel fate: the buildings were razed, and the vanquished people was + condemned to servitude and exile. Yet the ruins of Sirmium are no longer + visible; the advantageous situation of Singidunum soon attracted a new + colony of Sclavonians, and the conflux of the Save and Danube is still + guarded by the fortifications of Belgrade, or the White City, so often and + so obstinately disputed by the Christian and Turkish arms. <a + href="#linknote-46.28" name="linknoteref-46.28" id="linknoteref-46.28">28</a> + From Belgrade to the walls of Constantinople a line may be measured of six + hundred miles: that line was marked with flames and with blood; the horses + of the Avars were alternately bathed in the Euxine and the Adriatic; and + the Roman pontiff, alarmed by the approach of a more savage enemy, <a + href="#linknote-46.29" name="linknoteref-46.29" id="linknoteref-46.29">29</a> + was reduced to cherish the Lombards, as the protectors of Italy. The + despair of a captive, whom his country refused to ransom, disclosed to the + Avars the invention and practice of military engines. <a + href="#linknote-46.30" name="linknoteref-46.30" id="linknoteref-46.30">30</a> + But in the first attempts they were rudely framed, and awkwardly managed; + and the resistance of Diocletianopolis and Beraea, of Philippopolis and + Adrianople, soon exhausted the skill and patience of the besiegers. The + warfare of Baian was that of a Tartar; yet his mind was susceptible of a + humane and generous sentiment: he spared Anchialus, whose salutary waters + had restored the health of the best beloved of his wives; and the Romans + confessed, that their starving army was fed and dismissed by the + liberality of a foe. His empire extended over Hungary, Poland, and + Prussia, from the mouth of the Danube to that of the Oder; <a + href="#linknote-46.31" name="linknoteref-46.31" id="linknoteref-46.31">31</a> + and his new subjects were divided and transplanted by the jealous policy + of the conqueror. <a href="#linknote-46.32" name="linknoteref-46.32" + id="linknoteref-46.32">32</a> The eastern regions of Germany, which had + been left vacant by the emigration of the Vandals, were replenished with + Sclavonian colonists; the same tribes are discovered in the neighborhood + of the Adriatic and of the Baltic, and with the name of Baian himself, the + Illyrian cities of Neyss and Lissa are again found in the heart of + Silesia. In the disposition both of his troops and provinces the chagan + exposed the vassals, whose lives he disregarded, <a href="#linknote-46.33" + name="linknoteref-46.33" id="linknoteref-46.33">33</a> to the first assault; + and the swords of the enemy were blunted before they encountered the + native valor of the Avars. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.23" id="linknote-46.23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.23">return</a>)<br /> [ A general idea of the + pride and power of the chagan may be taken from Menander (Excerpt. Legat. + p. 118, &c.) and Theophylact, (l. i. c. 3, l. vii. c. 15,) whose eight + books are much more honorable to the Avar than to the Roman prince. The + predecessors of Baian had tasted the liberality of Rome, and he survived + the reign of Maurice, (Buat, Hist. des Peuples Barbares, tom. xi. p. 545.) + The chagan who invaded Italy, A.D. 611, (Muratori, Annali, tom. v. p. + 305,) was then invenili aetate florentem, (Paul Warnefrid, de Gest. + Langobard. l v c 38,) the son, perhaps, or the grandson, of Baian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.24" id="linknote-46.24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.24">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact, l. i. c. + 5, 6.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.25" id="linknote-46.25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.25">return</a>)<br /> [ Even in the field, the + chagan delighted in the use of these aromatics. He solicited, as a gift, + and received. Theophylact, l. vii. c. 13. The Europeans of the ruder ages + consumed more spices in their meat and drink than is compatible with the + delicacy of a modern palate. Vie Privee des Francois, tom. ii. p. 162, + 163.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.26" id="linknote-46.26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.26">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact, l. vi. c. + 6, l. vii. c. 15. The Greek historian confesses the truth and justice of + his reproach] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.27" id="linknote-46.27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.27">return</a>)<br /> [ Menander (in Excerpt. + Legat. p. 126—132, 174, 175) describes the perjury of Baian and the + surrender of Sirmium. We have lost his account of the siege, which is + commended by Theophylact, l. i. c. 3. * Note: Compare throughout Schlozer + Nordische Geschichte, p. 362—373—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.28" id="linknote-46.28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.28">return</a>)<br /> [ See D’Anville, in the + Memoires de l’Acad. des Inscriptions, tom. xxviii. p. 412—443. The + Sclavonic name of Belgrade is mentioned in the xth century by Constantine + Porphyrogenitus: the Latin appellation of Alba Croeca is used by the + Franks in the beginning of the ixth, (p. 414.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.29" id="linknote-46.29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.29">return</a>)<br /> [ Baron. Annal. Eccles. + A. B. 600, No. 1. Paul Warnefrid (l. iv. c. 38) relates their irruption + into Friuli, and (c. 39) the captivity of his ancestors, about A.D. 632. + The Sclavi traversed the Adriatic cum multitudine navium, and made a + descent in the territory of Sipontum, (c. 47.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.30" id="linknote-46.30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.30">return</a>)<br /> [ Even the helepolis, or + movable turret. Theophylact, l. ii. 16, 17.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.31" id="linknote-46.31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.31">return</a>)<br /> [ The arms and alliances + of the chagan reached to the neighborhood of a western sea, fifteen + months’ journey from Constantinople. The emperor Maurice conversed with + some itinerant harpers from that remote country, and only seems to have + mistaken a trade for a nation Theophylact, l. vi. c. 2.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.32" id="linknote-46.32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.32">return</a>)<br /> [ This is one of the most + probable and luminous conjectures of the learned count de Buat, (Hist. des + Peuples Barbares, tom. xi. p. 546—568.) The Tzechi and Serbi are + found together near Mount Caucasus, in Illyricum, and on the lower Elbe. + Even the wildest traditions of the Bohemians, &c., afford some color + to his hypothesis.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.33" id="linknote-46.33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.33">return</a>)<br /> [ See Fredegarius, in the + Historians of France, tom. ii. p. 432. Baian did not conceal his proud + insensibility.] + </p> + <p> + The Persian alliance restored the troops of the East to the defence of + Europe: and Maurice, who had supported ten years the insolence of the + chagan, declared his resolution to march in person against the Barbarians. + In the space of two centuries, none of the successors of Theodosius had + appeared in the field: their lives were supinely spent in the palace of + Constantinople; and the Greeks could no longer understand, that the name + of emperor, in its primitive sense, denoted the chief of the armies of the + republic. The martial ardor of Maurice was opposed by the grave flattery + of the senate, the timid superstition of the patriarch, and the tears of + the empress Constantina; and they all conjured him to devolve on some + meaner general the fatigues and perils of a Scythian campaign. Deaf to + their advice and entreaty, the emperor boldly advanced <a + href="#linknote-46.34" name="linknoteref-46.34" id="linknoteref-46.34">34</a> + seven miles from the capital; the sacred ensign of the cross was displayed + in the front; and Maurice reviewed, with conscious pride, the arms and + numbers of the veterans who had fought and conquered beyond the Tigris. + Anchialus was the last term of his progress by sea and land; he solicited, + without success, a miraculous answer to his nocturnal prayers; his mind + was confounded by the death of a favorite horse, the encounter of a wild + boar, a storm of wind and rain, and the birth of a monstrous child; and he + forgot that the best of omens is to unsheathe our sword in the defence of + our country. <a href="#linknote-46.35" name="linknoteref-46.35" + id="linknoteref-46.35">35</a> Under the pretence of receiving the + ambassadors of Persia, the emperor returned to Constantinople, exchanged + the thoughts of war for those of devotion, and disappointed the public + hope by his absence and the choice of his lieutenants. The blind + partiality of fraternal love might excuse the promotion of his brother + Peter, who fled with equal disgrace from the Barbarians, from his own + soldiers and from the inhabitants of a Roman city. That city, if we may + credit the resemblance of name and character, was the famous Azimuntium, + <a href="#linknote-46.36" name="linknoteref-46.36" id="linknoteref-46.36">36</a> + which had alone repelled the tempest of Attila. The example of her warlike + youth was propagated to succeeding generations; and they obtained, from + the first or the second Justin, an honorable privilege, that their valor + should be always reserved for the defence of their native country. The + brother of Maurice attempted to violate this privilege, and to mingle a + patriot band with the mercenaries of his camp; they retired to the church, + he was not awed by the sanctity of the place; the people rose in their + cause, the gates were shut, the ramparts were manned; and the cowardice of + Peter was found equal to his arrogance and injustice. The military fame of + Commentiolus <a href="#linknote-46.37" name="linknoteref-46.37" + id="linknoteref-46.37">37</a> is the object of satire or comedy rather than + of serious history, since he was even deficient in the vile and vulgar + qualification of personal courage. His solemn councils, strange + evolutions, and secret orders, always supplied an apology for flight or + delay. If he marched against the enemy, the pleasant valleys of Mount + Haemus opposed an insuperable barrier; but in his retreat, he explored, + with fearless curiosity, the most difficult and obsolete paths, which had + almost escaped the memory of the oldest native. The only blood which he + lost was drawn, in a real or affected malady, by the lancet of a surgeon; + and his health, which felt with exquisite sensibility the approach of the + Barbarians, was uniformly restored by the repose and safety of the winter + season. A prince who could promote and support this unworthy favorite must + derive no glory from the accidental merit of his colleague Priscus. <a + href="#linknote-46.38" name="linknoteref-46.38" id="linknoteref-46.38">38</a> + In five successive battles, which seem to have been conducted with skill + and resolution, seventeen thousand two hundred Barbarians were made + prisoners: near sixty thousand, with four sons of the chagan, were slain: + the Roman general surprised a peaceful district of the Gepidae, who slept + under the protection of the Avars; and his last trophies were erected on + the banks of the Danube and the Teyss. Since the death of Trajan the arms + of the empire had not penetrated so deeply into the old Dacia: yet the + success of Priscus was transient and barren; and he was soon recalled by + the apprehension that Baian, with dauntless spirit and recruited forces, + was preparing to avenge his defeat under the walls of Constantinople. <a + href="#linknote-46.39" name="linknoteref-46.39" id="linknoteref-46.39">39</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.34" id="linknote-46.34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.34">return</a>)<br /> [ See the march and + return of Maurice, in Theophylact, l. v. c. 16 l. vi. c. 1, 2, 3. If he + were a writer of taste or genius, we might suspect him of an elegant + irony: but Theophylact is surely harmless.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.35" id="linknote-46.35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.35">return</a>)<br /> [ Iliad, xii. 243. This + noble verse, which unites the spirit of a hero with the reason of a sage, + may prove that Homer was in every light superior to his age and country.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.36" id="linknote-46.36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.36">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact, l. vii. c. + 3. On the evidence of this fact, which had not occurred to my memory, the + candid reader will correct and excuse a note in Chapter XXXIV., note 86 of + this History, which hastens the decay of Asimus, or Azimuntium; another + century of patriotism and valor is cheaply purchased by such a + confession.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.37" id="linknote-46.37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.37">return</a>)<br /> [ See the shameful + conduct of Commentiolus, in Theophylact, l. ii. c. 10—15, l. vii. c. + 13, 14, l. viii. c. 2, 4.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.38" id="linknote-46.38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.38">return</a>)<br /> [ See the exploits of + Priscus, l. viii. c. 23.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.39" id="linknote-46.39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.39">return</a>)<br /> [ The general detail of + the war against the Avars may be traced in the first, second, sixth, + seventh, and eighth books of the history of the emperor Maurice, by + Theophylact Simocatta. As he wrote in the reign of Heraclius, he had no + temptation to flatter; but his want of judgment renders him diffuse in + trifles, and concise in the most interesting facts.] + </p> + <p> + The theory of war was not more familiar to the camps of Caesar and Trajan, + than to those of Justinian and Maurice. <a href="#linknote-46.40" + name="linknoteref-46.40" id="linknoteref-46.40">40</a> The iron of Tuscany + or Pontus still received the keenest temper from the skill of the + Byzantine workmen. The magazines were plentifully stored with every + species of offensive and defensive arms. In the construction and use of + ships, engines, and fortifications, the Barbarians admired the superior + ingenuity of a people whom they had so often vanquished in the field. The + science of tactics, the order, evolutions, and stratagems of antiquity, + was transcribed and studied in the books of the Greeks and Romans. But the + solitude or degeneracy of the provinces could no longer supply a race of + men to handle those weapons, to guard those walls, to navigate those + ships, and to reduce the theory of war into bold and successful practice. + The genius of Belisarius and Narses had been formed without a master, and + expired without a disciple. Neither honor, nor patriotism, nor generous + superstition, could animate the lifeless bodies of slaves and strangers, + who had succeeded to the honors of the legions: it was in the camp alone + that the emperor should have exercised a despotic command; it was only in + the camps that his authority was disobeyed and insulted: he appeased and + inflamed with gold the licentiousness of the troops; but their vices were + inherent, their victories were accidental, and their costly maintenance + exhausted the substance of a state which they were unable to defend. After + a long and pernicious indulgence, the cure of this inveterate evil was + undertaken by Maurice; but the rash attempt, which drew destruction on his + own head, tended only to aggravate the disease. A reformer should be + exempt from the suspicion of interest, and he must possess the confidence + and esteem of those whom he proposes to reclaim. The troops of Maurice + might listen to the voice of a victorious leader; they disdained the + admonitions of statesmen and sophists; and, when they received an edict + which deducted from their pay the price of their arms and clothing, they + execrated the avarice of a prince insensible of the dangers and fatigues + from which he had escaped. + </p> + <p> + The camps both of Asia and Europe were agitated with frequent and furious + seditions; <a href="#linknote-46.41" name="linknoteref-46.41" + id="linknoteref-46.41">41</a> the enraged soldiers of Edessa pursued with + reproaches, with threats, with wounds, their trembling generals; they + overturned the statues of the emperor, cast stones against the miraculous + image of Christ, and either rejected the yoke of all civil and military + laws, or instituted a dangerous model of voluntary subordination. The + monarch, always distant and often deceived, was incapable of yielding or + persisting, according to the exigence of the moment. But the fear of a + general revolt induced him too readily to accept any act of valor, or any + expression of loyalty, as an atonement for the popular offence; the new + reform was abolished as hastily as it had been announced, and the troops, + instead of punishment and restraint, were agreeably surprised by a + gracious proclamation of immunities and rewards. But the soldiers accepted + without gratitude the tardy and reluctant gifts of the emperor: their + insolence was elated by the discovery of his weakness and their own + strength; and their mutual hatred was inflamed beyond the desire of + forgiveness or the hope of reconciliation. The historians of the times + adopt the vulgar suspicion, that Maurice conspired to destroy the troops + whom he had labored to reform; the misconduct and favor of Commentiolus + are imputed to this malevolent design; and every age must condemn the + inhumanity of avarice <a href="#linknote-46.42" name="linknoteref-46.42" + id="linknoteref-46.42">42</a> of a prince, who, by the trifling ransom of + six thousand pieces of gold, might have prevented the massacre of twelve + thousand prisoners in the hands of the chagan. In the just fervor of + indignation, an order was signified to the army of the Danube, that they + should spare the magazines of the province, and establish their winter + quarters in the hostile country of the Avars. The measure of their + grievances was full: they pronounced Maurice unworthy to reign, expelled + or slaughtered his faithful adherents, and, under the command of Phocas, a + simple centurion, returned by hasty marches to the neighborhood of + Constantinople. After a long series of legal succession, the military + disorders of the third century were again revived; yet such was the + novelty of the enterprise, that the insurgents were awed by their own + rashness. They hesitated to invest their favorite with the vacant purple; + and, while they rejected all treaty with Maurice himself, they held a + friendly correspondence with his son Theodosius, and with Germanus, the + father-in-law of the royal youth. So obscure had been the former condition + of Phocas, that the emperor was ignorant of the name and character of his + rival; but as soon as he learned, that the centurion, though bold in + sedition, was timid in the face of danger, “Alas!” cried the desponding + prince, “if he is a coward, he will surely be a murderer.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.40" id="linknote-46.40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.40">return</a>)<br /> [ Maurice himself + composed xii books on the military art, which are still extant, and have + been published (Upsal, 1664) by John Schaeffer, at the end of the Tactics + of Arrian, (Fabricius, Bibliot Graeca, l. iv. c. 8, tom. iii. p. 278,) who + promises to speak more fully of his work in its proper place.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.41" id="linknote-46.41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.41">return</a>)<br /> [ See the mutinies under + the reign of Maurice, in Theophylact l iii c. 1—4,.vi. c. 7, 8, 10, + l. vii. c. 1 l. viii. c. 6, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.42" id="linknote-46.42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.42">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact and + Theophanes seem ignorant of the conspiracy and avarice of Maurice. These + charges, so unfavorable to the memory of that emperor, are first mentioned + by the author of the Paschal Chronicle, (p. 379, 280;) from whence Zonaras + (tom. ii. l. xiv. p. 77, 78) has transcribed them. Cedrenus (p. 399) has + followed another computation of the ransom.] + </p> + <p> + Yet if Constantinople had been firm and faithful, the murderer might have + spent his fury against the walls; and the rebel army would have been + gradually consumed or reconciled by the prudence of the emperor. In the + games of the Circus, which he repeated with unusual pomp, Maurice + disguised, with smiles of confidence, the anxiety of his heart, + condescended to solicit the applause of the factions, and flattered their + pride by accepting from their respective tribunes a list of nine hundred + blues and fifteen hundred greens, whom he affected to esteem as the solid + pillars of his throne Their treacherous or languid support betrayed his + weakness and hastened his fall: the green faction were the secret + accomplices of the rebels, and the blues recommended lenity and moderation + in a contest with their Roman brethren. The rigid and parsimonious virtues + of Maurice had long since alienated the hearts of his subjects: as he + walked barefoot in a religious procession, he was rudely assaulted with + stones, and his guards were compelled to present their iron maces in the + defence of his person. A fanatic monk ran through the streets with a drawn + sword, denouncing against him the wrath and the sentence of God; and a + vile plebeian, who represented his countenance and apparel, was seated on + an ass, and pursued by the imprecations of the multitude. <a + href="#linknote-46.43" name="linknoteref-46.43" id="linknoteref-46.43">43</a> + The emperor suspected the popularity of Germanus with the soldiers and + citizens: he feared, he threatened, but he delayed to strike; the + patrician fled to the sanctuary of the church; the people rose in his + defence, the walls were deserted by the guards, and the lawless city was + abandoned to the flames and rapine of a nocturnal tumult. In a small bark, + the unfortunate Maurice, with his wife and nine children, escaped to the + Asiatic shore; but the violence of the wind compelled him to land at the + church of St. Autonomus, <a href="#linknote-46.44" name="linknoteref-46.44" + id="linknoteref-46.44">44</a> near Chalcedon, from whence he despatched + Theodosius, he eldest son, to implore the gratitude and friendship of the + Persian monarch. For himself, he refused to fly: his body was tortured + with sciatic pains, <a href="#linknote-46.45" name="linknoteref-46.45" + id="linknoteref-46.45">45</a> his mind was enfeebled by superstition; he + patiently awaited the event of the revolution, and addressed a fervent and + public prayer to the Almighty, that the punishment of his sins might be + inflicted in this world rather than in a future life. After the abdication + of Maurice, the two factions disputed the choice of an emperor; but the + favorite of the blues was rejected by the jealousy of their antagonists, + and Germanus himself was hurried along by the crowds who rushed to the + palace of Hebdomon, seven miles from the city, to adore the majesty of + Phocas the centurion. A modest wish of resigning the purple to the rank + and merit of Germanus was opposed by his resolution, more obstinate and + equally sincere; the senate and clergy obeyed his summons; and, as soon as + the patriarch was assured of his orthodox belief, he consecrated the + successful usurper in the church of St. John the Baptist. On the third + day, amidst the acclamations of a thoughtless people, Phocas made his + public entry in a chariot drawn by four white horses: the revolt of the + troops was rewarded by a lavish donative; and the new sovereign, after + visiting the palace, beheld from his throne the games of the hippodrome. + In a dispute of precedency between the two factions, his partial judgment + inclined in favor of the greens. “Remember that Maurice is still alive,” + resounded from the opposite side; and the indiscreet clamor of the blues + admonished and stimulated the cruelty of the tyrant. The ministers of + death were despatched to Chalcedon: they dragged the emperor from his + sanctuary; and the five sons of Maurice were successively murdered before + the eyes of their agonizing parent. At each stroke, which he felt in his + heart, he found strength to rehearse a pious ejaculation: “Thou art just, + O Lord! and thy judgments are righteous.” And such, in the last moments, + was his rigid attachment to truth and justice, that he revealed to the + soldiers the pious falsehood of a nurse who presented her own child in the + place of a royal infant. <a href="#linknote-46.46" name="linknoteref-46.46" + id="linknoteref-46.46">46</a> The tragic scene was finally closed by the + execution of the emperor himself, in the twentieth year of his reign, and + the sixty-third of his age. The bodies of the father and his five sons + were cast into the sea; their heads were exposed at Constantinople to the + insults or pity of the multitude; and it was not till some signs of + putrefaction had appeared, that Phocas connived at the private burial of + these venerable remains. In that grave, the faults and errors of Maurice + were kindly interred. His fate alone was remembered; and at the end of + twenty years, in the recital of the history of Theophylact, the mournful + tale was interrupted by the tears of the audience. <a href="#linknote-46.47" + name="linknoteref-46.47" id="linknoteref-46.47">47</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.43" id="linknote-46.43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.43">return</a>)<br /> [ In their clamors + against Maurice, the people of Constantinople branded him with the name of + Marcionite or Marcionist; a heresy (says Theophylact, l. viii. c. 9). Did + they only cast out a vague reproach—or had the emperor really + listened to some obscure teacher of those ancient Gnostics?] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.44" id="linknote-46.44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.44">return</a>)<br /> [ The church of St. + Autonomous (whom I have not the honor to know) was 150 stadia from + Constantinople, (Theophylact, l. viii. c. 9.) The port of Eutropius, where + Maurice and his children were murdered, is described by Gyllius (de + Bosphoro Thracio, l. iii. c. xi.) as one of the two harbors of Chalcedon.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.45" id="linknote-46.45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.45">return</a>)<br /> [ The inhabitants of + Constantinople were generally subject; and Theophylact insinuates, (l. + viii. c. 9,) that if it were consistent with the rules of history, he + could assign the medical cause. Yet such a digression would not have been + more impertinent than his inquiry (l. vii. c. 16, 17) into the annual + inundations of the Nile, and all the opinions of the Greek philosophers on + that subject.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.46" id="linknote-46.46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.46">return</a>)<br /> [ From this generous + attempt, Corneille has deduced the intricate web of his tragedy of + Heraclius, which requires more than one representation to be clearly + understood, (Corneille de Voltaire, tom. v. p. 300;) and which, after an + interval of some years, is said to have puzzled the author himself, + (Anecdotes Dramatiques, tom. i. p. 422.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.47" id="linknote-46.47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.47">return</a>)<br /> [ The revolt of Phocas + and death of Maurice are told by Theophylact Simocatta, (l. viii. c. 7—12,) + the Paschal Chronicle, (p. 379, 380,) Theophanes, (Chronograph. p. + 238-244,) Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xiv. p. 77—80,) and Cedrenus, (p. + 399—404.)] + </p> + <p> + Such tears must have flowed in secret, and such compassion would have been + criminal, under the reign of Phocas, who was peaceably acknowledged in the + provinces of the East and West. The images of the emperor and his wife + Leontia were exposed in the Lateran to the veneration of the clergy and + senate of Rome, and afterwards deposited in the palace of the Caesars, + between those of Constantine and Theodosius. As a subject and a Christian, + it was the duty of Gregory to acquiesce in the established government; but + the joyful applause with which he salutes the fortune of the assassin, has + sullied, with indelible disgrace, the character of the saint. The + successor of the apostles might have inculcated with decent firmness the + guilt of blood, and the necessity of repentance; he is content to + celebrate the deliverance of the people and the fall of the oppressor; to + rejoice that the piety and benignity of Phocas have been raised by + Providence to the Imperial throne; to pray that his hands may be + strengthened against all his enemies; and to express a wish, perhaps a + prophecy, that, after a long and triumphant reign, he may be transferred + from a temporal to an everlasting kingdom. <a href="#linknote-46.48" + name="linknoteref-46.48" id="linknoteref-46.48">48</a> I have already traced + the steps of a revolution so pleasing, in Gregory’s opinion, both to + heaven and earth; and Phocas does not appear less hateful in the exercise + than in the acquisition of power. The pencil of an impartial historian has + delineated the portrait of a monster: <a href="#linknote-46.49" + name="linknoteref-46.49" id="linknoteref-46.49">49</a> his diminutive and + deformed person, the closeness of his shaggy eyebrows, his red hair, his + beardless chin, and his cheek disfigured and discolored by a formidable + scar. Ignorant of letters, of laws, and even of arms, he indulged in the + supreme rank a more ample privilege of lust and drunkenness; and his + brutal pleasures were either injurious to his subjects or disgraceful to + himself. Without assuming the office of a prince, he renounced the + profession of a soldier; and the reign of Phocas afflicted Europe with + ignominious peace, and Asia with desolating war. His savage temper was + inflamed by passion, hardened by fear, and exasperated by resistance or + reproach. The flight of Theodosius to the Persian court had been + intercepted by a rapid pursuit, or a deceitful message: he was beheaded at + Nice, and the last hours of the young prince were soothed by the comforts + of religion and the consciousness of innocence. Yet his phantom disturbed + the repose of the usurper: a whisper was circulated through the East, that + the son of Maurice was still alive: the people expected their avenger, and + the widow and daughters of the late emperor would have adopted as their + son and brother the vilest of mankind. In the massacre of the Imperial + family, <a href="#linknote-46.50" name="linknoteref-46.50" + id="linknoteref-46.50">50</a> the mercy, or rather the discretion, of + Phocas had spared these unhappy females, and they were decently confined + to a private house. But the spirit of the empress Constantina, still + mindful of her father, her husband, and her sons, aspired to freedom and + revenge. At the dead of night, she escaped to the sanctuary of St. Sophia; + but her tears, and the gold of her associate Germanus, were insufficient + to provoke an insurrection. Her life was forfeited to revenge, and even to + justice: but the patriarch obtained and pledged an oath for her safety: a + monastery was allotted for her prison, and the widow of Maurice accepted + and abused the lenity of his assassin. The discovery or the suspicion of a + second conspiracy, dissolved the engagements, and rekindled the fury, of + Phocas. A matron who commanded the respect and pity of mankind, the + daughter, wife, and mother of emperors, was tortured like the vilest + malefactor, to force a confession of her designs and associates; and the + empress Constantina, with her three innocent daughters, was beheaded at + Chalcedon, on the same ground which had been stained with the blood of her + husband and five sons. After such an example, it would be superfluous to + enumerate the names and sufferings of meaner victims. Their condemnation + was seldom preceded by the forms of trial, and their punishment was + embittered by the refinements of cruelty: their eyes were pierced, their + tongues were torn from the root, the hands and feet were amputated; some + expired under the lash, others in the flames; others again were transfixed + with arrows; and a simple speedy death was mercy which they could rarely + obtain. The hippodrome, the sacred asylum of the pleasures and the liberty + of the Romans, was polluted with heads and limbs, and mangled bodies; and + the companions of Phocas were the most sensible, that neither his favor, + nor their services, could protect them from a tyrant, the worthy rival of + the Caligulas and Domitians of the first age of the empire. <a + href="#linknote-46.51" name="linknoteref-46.51" id="linknoteref-46.51">51</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.48" id="linknote-46.48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.48">return</a>)<br /> [ Gregor. l. xi. epist. + 38, indict. vi. Benignitatem vestrae pietatis ad Imperiale fastigium + pervenisse gaudemus. Laetentur coeli et exultet terra, et de vestris + benignis actibus universae republicae populus nunc usque vehementer + afflictus hilarescat, &c. This base flattery, the topic of Protestant + invective, is justly censured by the philosopher Bayle, (Dictionnaire + Critique, Gregoire I. Not. H. tom. ii. p. 597 598.) Cardinal Baronius + justifies the pope at the expense of the fallen emperor.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.49" id="linknote-46.49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.49">return</a>)<br /> [ The images of Phocas + were destroyed; but even the malice of his enemies would suffer one copy + of such a portrait or caricature (Cedrenus, p. 404) to escape the flames.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.50" id="linknote-46.50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.50">return</a>)<br /> [ The family of Maurice + is represented by Ducange, (Familiae By zantinae, p. 106, 107, 108;) his + eldest son Theodosius had been crowned emperor, when he was no more than + four years and a half old, and he is always joined with his father in the + salutations of Gregory. With the Christian daughters, Anastasia and + Theocteste, I am surprised to find the Pagan name of Cleopatra.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.51" id="linknote-46.51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.51">return</a>)<br /> [ Some of the cruelties + of Phocas are marked by Theophylact, l. viii. c. 13, 14, 15. George of + Pisidia, the poet of Heraclius, styles him (Bell. Avaricum, p. 46, Rome, + 1777). The latter epithet is just—but the corrupter of life was + easily vanquished.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap46.3"></a> +Chapter XLVI: Troubles In Persia.—Part III.</h2> + + <p> + A daughter of Phocas, his only child, was given in marriage to the + patrician Crispus, <a href="#linknote-46.52" name="linknoteref-46.52" + id="linknoteref-46.52">52</a> and the royal images of the bride and + bridegroom were indiscreetly placed in the circus, by the side of the + emperor. The father must desire that his posterity should inherit the + fruit of his crimes, but the monarch was offended by this premature and + popular association: the tribunes of the green faction, who accused the + officious error of their sculptors, were condemned to instant death: their + lives were granted to the prayers of the people; but Crispus might + reasonably doubt, whether a jealous usurper could forget and pardon his + involuntary competition. The green faction was alienated by the + ingratitude of Phocas and the loss of their privileges; every province of + the empire was ripe for rebellion; and Heraclius, exarch of Africa, + persisted above two years in refusing all tribute and obedience to the + centurion who disgraced the throne of Constantinople. By the secret + emissaries of Crispus and the senate, the independent exarch was solicited + to save and to govern his country; but his ambition was chilled by age, + and he resigned the dangerous enterprise to his son Heraclius, and to + Nicetas, the son of Gregory, his friend and lieutenant. The powers of + Africa were armed by the two adventurous youths; they agreed that the one + should navigate the fleet from Carthage to Constantinople, that the other + should lead an army through Egypt and Asia, and that the Imperial purple + should be the reward of diligence and success. A faint rumor of their + undertaking was conveyed to the ears of Phocas, and the wife and mother of + the younger Heraclius were secured as the hostages of his faith: but the + treacherous heart of Crispus extenuated the distant peril, the means of + defence were neglected or delayed, and the tyrant supinely slept till the + African navy cast anchor in the Hellespont. Their standard was joined at + Abidus by the fugitives and exiles who thirsted for revenge; the ships of + Heraclius, whose lofty masts were adorned with the holy symbols of + religion, <a href="#linknote-46.53" name="linknoteref-46.53" + id="linknoteref-46.53">53</a> steered their triumphant course through the + Propontis; and Phocas beheld from the windows of the palace his + approaching and inevitable fate. The green faction was tempted, by gifts + and promises, to oppose a feeble and fruitless resistance to the landing + of the Africans: but the people, and even the guards, were determined by + the well-timed defection of Crispus; and the tyrant was seized by a + private enemy, who boldly invaded the solitude of the palace. Stripped of + the diadem and purple, clothed in a vile habit, and loaded with chains, he + was transported in a small boat to the Imperial galley of Heraclius, who + reproached him with the crimes of his abominable reign. “Wilt thou govern + better?” were the last words of the despair of Phocas. After suffering + each variety of insult and torture, his head was severed from his body, + the mangled trunk was cast into the flames, and the same treatment was + inflicted on the statues of the vain usurper, and the seditious banner of + the green faction. The voice of the clergy, the senate, and the people, + invited Heraclius to ascend the throne which he had purified from guilt + and ignominy; after some graceful hesitation, he yielded to their + entreaties. His coronation was accompanied by that of his wife Eudoxia; + and their posterity, till the fourth generation, continued to reign over + the empire of the East. The voyage of Heraclius had been easy and + prosperous; the tedious march of Nicetas was not accomplished before the + decision of the contest: but he submitted without a murmur to the fortune + of his friend, and his laudable intentions were rewarded with an + equestrian statue, and a daughter of the emperor. It was more difficult to + trust the fidelity of Crispus, whose recent services were recompensed by + the command of the Cappadocian army. His arrogance soon provoked, and + seemed to excuse, the ingratitude of his new sovereign. In the presence of + the senate, the son-in-law of Phocas was condemned to embrace the monastic + life; and the sentence was justified by the weighty observation of + Heraclius, that the man who had betrayed his father could never be + faithful to his friend. <a href="#linknote-46.54" name="linknoteref-46.54" + id="linknoteref-46.54">54</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.52" id="linknote-46.52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.52">return</a>)<br /> [ In the writers, and in + the copies of those writers, there is such hesitation between the names of + Priscus and Crispus, (Ducange, Fam Byzant. p. 111,) that I have been + tempted to identify the son-in-law of Phocas with the hero five times + victorious over the Avars.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.53" id="linknote-46.53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.53">return</a>)<br /> [ According to + Theophanes. Cedrenus adds, which Heraclius bore as a banner in the first + Persian expedition. See George Pisid. Acroas L 140. The manufacture seems + to have flourished; but Foggini, the Roman editor, (p. 26,) is at a loss + to determine whether this picture was an original or a copy.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.54" id="linknote-46.54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.54">return</a>)<br /> [ See the tyranny of + Phocas and the elevation of Heraclius, in Chron. Paschal. p. 380—383. + Theophanes, p. 242-250. Nicephorus, p. 3—7. Cedrenus, p. 404—407. + Zonaras, tom. ii. l. xiv. p. 80—82.] + </p> + <p> + Even after his death the republic was afflicted by the crimes of Phocas, + which armed with a pious cause the most formidable of her enemies. + According to the friendly and equal forms of the Byzantine and Persian + courts, he announced his exaltation to the throne; and his ambassador + Lilius, who had presented him with the heads of Maurice and his sons, was + the best qualified to describe the circumstances of the tragic scene. <a + href="#linknote-46.55" name="linknoteref-46.55" id="linknoteref-46.55">55</a> + However it might be varnished by fiction or sophistry, Chosroes turned + with horror from the assassin, imprisoned the pretended envoy, disclaimed + the usurper, and declared himself the avenger of his father and + benefactor. The sentiments of grief and resentment, which humanity would + feel, and honor would dictate, promoted on this occasion the interest of + the Persian king; and his interest was powerfully magnified by the + national and religious prejudices of the Magi and satraps. In a strain of + artful adulation, which assumed the language of freedom, they presumed to + censure the excess of his gratitude and friendship for the Greeks; a + nation with whom it was dangerous to conclude either peace or alliance; + whose superstition was devoid of truth and justice, and who must be + incapable of any virtue, since they could perpetrate the most atrocious of + crimes, the impious murder of their sovereign. <a href="#linknote-46.56" + name="linknoteref-46.56" id="linknoteref-46.56">56</a> For the crime of an + ambitious centurion, the nation which he oppressed was chastised with the + calamities of war; and the same calamities, at the end of twenty years, + were retaliated and redoubled on the heads of the Persians. <a + href="#linknote-46.57" name="linknoteref-46.57" id="linknoteref-46.57">57</a> + The general who had restored Chosroes to the throne still commanded in the + East; and the name of Narses was the formidable sound with which the + Assyrian mothers were accustomed to terrify their infants. It is not + improbable, that a native subject of Persia should encourage his master + and his friend to deliver and possess the provinces of Asia. It is still + more probable, that Chosroes should animate his troops by the assurance + that the sword which they dreaded the most would remain in its scabbard, + or be drawn in their favor. The hero could not depend on the faith of a + tyrant; and the tyrant was conscious how little he deserved the obedience + of a hero. Narses was removed from his military command; he reared an + independent standard at Hierapolis, in Syria: he was betrayed by + fallacious promises, and burnt alive in the market-place of + Constantinople. Deprived of the only chief whom they could fear or esteem, + the bands which he had led to victory were twice broken by the cavalry, + trampled by the elephants, and pierced by the arrows of the Barbarians; + and a great number of the captives were beheaded on the field of battle by + the sentence of the victor, who might justly condemn these seditious + mercenaries as the authors or accomplices of the death of Maurice. Under + the reign of Phocas, the fortifications of Merdin, Dara, Amida, and + Edessa, were successively besieged, reduced, and destroyed, by the Persian + monarch: he passed the Euphrates, occupied the Syrian cities, Hierapolis, + Chalcis, and Berrhaea or Aleppo, and soon encompassed the walls of Antioch + with his irresistible arms. The rapid tide of success discloses the decay + of the empire, the incapacity of Phocas, and the disaffection of his + subjects; and Chosroes provided a decent apology for their submission or + revolt, by an impostor, who attended his camp as the son of Maurice <a + href="#linknote-46.58" name="linknoteref-46.58" id="linknoteref-46.58">58</a> + and the lawful heir of the monarchy. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.55" id="linknote-46.55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.55">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact, l. viii. + c. 15. The life of Maurice was composed about the year 628 (l. viii. c. + 13) by Theophylact Simocatta, ex-præfect, a native of Egypt. Photius, who + gives an ample extract of the work, (cod. lxv. p. 81—100,) gently + reproves the affectation and allegory of the style. His preface is a + dialogue between Philosophy and History; they seat themselves under a + plane-tree, and the latter touches her lyre.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.56" id="linknote-46.56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.56">return</a>)<br /> [ Christianis nec pactum + esse, nec fidem nec foedus ..... quod si ulla illis fides fuisset, regem + suum non occidissent. Eutych. Annales tom. ii. p. 211, vers. Pocock.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.57" id="linknote-46.57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.57">return</a>)<br /> [ We must now, for some + ages, take our leave of contemporary historians, and descend, if it be a + descent, from the affectation of rhetoric to the rude simplicity of + chronicles and abridgments. Those of Theophanes (Chronograph. p. 244—279) + and Nicephorus (p. 3—16) supply a regular, but imperfect, series of + the Persian war; and for any additional facts I quote my special + authorities. Theophanes, a courtier who became a monk, was born A.D. 748; + Nicephorus patriarch of Constantinople, who died A.D. 829, was somewhat + younger: they both suffered in the cause of images Hankius, de + Scriptoribus Byzantinis, p. 200-246.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.58" id="linknote-46.58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.58">return</a>)<br /> [ The Persian historians + have been themselves deceived: but Theophanes (p. 244) accuses Chosroes of + the fraud and falsehood; and Eutychius believes (Annal. tom. ii. p. 212) + that the son of Maurice, who was saved from the assassins, lived and died + a monk on Mount Sinai.] + </p> + <p> + The first intelligence from the East which Heraclius received, <a + href="#linknote-46.59" name="linknoteref-46.59" id="linknoteref-46.59">59</a> + was that of the loss of Antioch; but the aged metropolis, so often + overturned by earthquakes, and pillaged by the enemy, could supply but a + small and languid stream of treasure and blood. The Persians were equally + successful, and more fortunate, in the sack of Caesarea, the capital of + Cappadocia; and as they advanced beyond the ramparts of the frontier, the + boundary of ancient war, they found a less obstinate resistance and a more + plentiful harvest. The pleasant vale of Damascus has been adorned in every + age with a royal city: her obscure felicity has hitherto escaped the + historian of the Roman empire: but Chosroes reposed his troops in the + paradise of Damascus before he ascended the hills of Libanus, or invaded + the cities of the Phœnician coast. The conquest of Jerusalem, <a + href="#linknote-46.60" name="linknoteref-46.60" id="linknoteref-46.60">60</a> + which had been meditated by Nushirvan, was achieved by the zeal and + avarice of his grandson; the ruin of the proudest monument of Christianity + was vehemently urged by the intolerant spirit of the Magi; and he could + enlist for this holy warfare with an army of six-and-twenty thousand Jews, + whose furious bigotry might compensate, in some degree, for the want of + valor and discipline. <a href="#linknote-46.6011" name="linknoteref-46.6011" + id="linknoteref-46.6011">6011</a> After the reduction of Galilee, and the + region beyond the Jordan, whose resistance appears to have delayed the + fate of the capital, Jerusalem itself was taken by assault. The sepulchre + of Christ, and the stately churches of Helena and Constantine, were + consumed, or at least damaged, by the flames; the devout offerings of + three hundred years were rifled in one sacrilegious day; the Patriarch + Zachariah, and the true cross, were transported into Persia; and the + massacre of ninety thousand Christians is imputed to the Jews and Arabs, + who swelled the disorder of the Persian march. The fugitives of Palestine + were entertained at Alexandria by the charity of John the Archbishop, who + is distinguished among a crowd of saints by the epithet of almsgiver: <a + href="#linknote-46.61" name="linknoteref-46.61" id="linknoteref-46.61">61</a> + and the revenues of the church, with a treasure of three hundred thousand + pounds, were restored to the true proprietors, the poor of every country + and every denomination. But Egypt itself, the only province which had been + exempt, since the time of Diocletian, from foreign and domestic war, was + again subdued by the successors of Cyrus. Pelusium, the key of that + impervious country, was surprised by the cavalry of the Persians: they + passed, with impunity, the innumerable channels of the Delta, and explored + the long valley of the Nile, from the pyramids of Memphis to the confines + of Aethiopia. Alexandria might have been relieved by a naval force, but + the archbishop and the præfect embarked for Cyprus; and Chosroes entered + the second city of the empire, which still preserved a wealthy remnant of + industry and commerce. His western trophy was erected, not on the walls of + Carthage, <a href="#linknote-46.62" name="linknoteref-46.62" + id="linknoteref-46.62">62</a> but in the neighborhood of Tripoli; the Greek + colonies of Cyrene were finally extirpated; and the conqueror, treading in + the footsteps of Alexander, returned in triumph through the sands of the + Libyan desert. In the same campaign, another army advanced from the + Euphrates to the Thracian Bosphorus; Chalcedon surrendered after a long + siege, and a Persian camp was maintained above ten years in the presence + of Constantinople. The sea-coast of Pontus, the city of Ancyra, and the + Isle of Rhodes, are enumerated among the last conquests of the great king; + and if Chosroes had possessed any maritime power, his boundless ambition + would have spread slavery and desolation over the provinces of Europe. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.59" id="linknote-46.59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.59">return</a>)<br /> [ Eutychius dates all the + losses of the empire under the reign of Phocas; an error which saves the + honor of Heraclius, whom he brings not from Carthage, but Salonica, with a + fleet laden with vegetables for the relief of Constantinople, (Annal. tom. + ii. p. 223, 224.) The other Christians of the East, Barhebraeus, (apud + Asseman, Bibliothec. Oriental. tom. iii. p. 412, 413,) Elmacin, (Hist. + Saracen. p. 13—16,) Abulpharagius, (Dynast. p. 98, 99,) are more + sincere and accurate. The years of the Persian war are disposed in the + chronology of Pagi.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.60" id="linknote-46.60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.60">return</a>)<br /> [ On the conquest of + Jerusalem, an event so interesting to the church, see the Annals of + Eutychius, (tom. ii. p. 212—223,) and the lamentations of the monk + Antiochus, (apud Baronium, Annal. Eccles. A.D. 614, No. 16—26,) + whose one hundred and twenty-nine homilies are still extant, if what no + one reads may be said to be extant.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.6011" id="linknote-46.6011"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6011 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.6011">return</a>)<br /> [ See Hist. of Jews, + vol. iii. p. 240.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.61" id="linknote-46.61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.61">return</a>)<br /> [ The life of this worthy + saint is composed by Leontius, a contemporary bishop; and I find in + Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 610, No. 10, &c.) and Fleury (tom. viii. + p. 235-242) sufficient extracts of this edifying work.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.62" id="linknote-46.62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.62">return</a>)<br /> [ The error of Baronius, + and many others who have carried the arms of Chosroes to Carthage instead + of Chalcedon, is founded on the near resemblance of the Greek words, in + the text of Theophanes, &c., which have been sometimes confounded by + transcribers, and sometimes by critics.] + </p> + <p> + From the long-disputed banks of the Tigris and Euphrates, the reign of the + grandson of Nushirvan was suddenly extended to the Hellespont and the + Nile, the ancient limits of the Persian monarchy. But the provinces, which + had been fashioned by the habits of six hundred years to the virtues and + vices of the Roman government, supported with reluctance the yoke of the + Barbarians. The idea of a republic was kept alive by the institutions, or + at least by the writings, of the Greeks and Romans, and the subjects of + Heraclius had been educated to pronounce the words of liberty and law. But + it has always been the pride and policy of Oriental princes to display the + titles and attributes of their omnipotence; to upbraid a nation of slaves + with their true name and abject condition, and to enforce, by cruel and + insolent threats, the rigor of their absolute commands. The Christians of + the East were scandalized by the worship of fire, and the impious doctrine + of the two principles: the Magi were not less intolerant than the bishops; + and the martyrdom of some native Persians, who had deserted the religion + of Zoroaster, <a href="#linknote-46.63" name="linknoteref-46.63" + id="linknoteref-46.63">63</a> was conceived to be the prelude of a fierce + and general persecution. By the oppressive laws of Justinian, the + adversaries of the church were made the enemies of the state; the alliance + of the Jews, Nestorians, and Jacobites, had contributed to the success of + Chosroes, and his partial favor to the sectaries provoked the hatred and + fears of the Catholic clergy. Conscious of their fear and hatred, the + Persian conqueror governed his new subjects with an iron sceptre; and, as + if he suspected the stability of his dominion, he exhausted their wealth + by exorbitant tributes and licentious rapine despoiled or demolished the + temples of the East; and transported to his hereditary realms the gold, + the silver, the precious marbles, the arts, and the artists of the Asiatic + cities. In the obscure picture of the calamities of the empire, <a + href="#linknote-46.64" name="linknoteref-46.64" id="linknoteref-46.64">64</a> + it is not easy to discern the figure of Chosroes himself, to separate his + actions from those of his lieutenants, or to ascertain his personal merit + in the general blaze of glory and magnificence. He enjoyed with + ostentation the fruits of victory, and frequently retired from the + hardships of war to the luxury of the palace. But in the space of + twenty-four years, he was deterred by superstition or resentment from + approaching the gates of Ctesiphon: and his favorite residence of + Artemita, or Dastagerd, was situate beyond the Tigris, about sixty miles + to the north of the capital. <a href="#linknote-46.65" + name="linknoteref-46.65" id="linknoteref-46.65">65</a> The adjacent pastures + were covered with flocks and herds: the paradise or park was replenished + with pheasants, peacocks, ostriches, roebucks, and wild boars, and the + noble game of lions and tigers was sometimes turned loose for the bolder + pleasures of the chase. Nine hundred and sixty elephants were maintained + for the use or splendor of the great king: his tents and baggage were + carried into the field by twelve thousand great camels and eight thousand + of a smaller size; <a href="#linknote-46.66" name="linknoteref-46.66" + id="linknoteref-46.66">66</a> and the royal stables were filled with six + thousand mules and horses, among whom the names of Shebdiz and Barid are + renowned for their speed or beauty. <a href="#linknote-46.6611" + name="linknoteref-46.6611" id="linknoteref-46.6611">6611</a> Six thousand + guards successively mounted before the palace gate; the service of the + interior apartments was performed by twelve thousand slaves, and in the + number of three thousand virgins, the fairest of Asia, some happy + concubine might console her master for the age or the indifference of + Sira. + </p> + <p> + The various treasures of gold, silver, gems, silks, and aromatics, were + deposited in a hundred subterraneous vaults and the chamber Badaverd + denoted the accidental gift of the winds which had wafted the spoils of + Heraclius into one of the Syrian harbors of his rival. The vice of + flattery, and perhaps of fiction, is not ashamed to compute the thirty + thousand rich hangings that adorned the walls; the forty thousand columns + of silver, or more probably of marble, and plated wood, that supported the + roof; and the thousand globes of gold suspended in the dome, to imitate + the motions of the planets and the constellations of the zodiac. <a + href="#linknote-46.67" name="linknoteref-46.67" id="linknoteref-46.67">67</a> + While the Persian monarch contemplated the wonders of his art and power, + he received an epistle from an obscure citizen of Mecca, inviting him to + acknowledge Mahomet as the apostle of God. He rejected the invitation, and + tore the epistle. “It is thus,” exclaimed the Arabian prophet, “that God + will tear the kingdom, and reject the supplications of Chosroes.” <a + href="#linknote-46.68" name="linknoteref-46.68" id="linknoteref-46.68">68</a> + <a href="#linknote-46.6811" name="linknoteref-46.6811" + id="linknoteref-46.6811">6811</a> Placed on the verge of the two great + empires of the East, Mahomet observed with secret joy the progress of + their mutual destruction; and in the midst of the Persian triumphs, he + ventured to foretell, that before many years should elapse, victory should + again return to the banners of the Romans. <a href="#linknote-46.69" + name="linknoteref-46.69" id="linknoteref-46.69">69</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.63" id="linknote-46.63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.63">return</a>)<br /> [ The genuine acts of St. + Anastasius are published in those of the with general council, from whence + Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 614, 626, 627) and Butler (Lives of the + Saints, vol. i. p. 242—248) have taken their accounts. The holy + martyr deserted from the Persian to the Roman army, became a monk at + Jerusalem, and insulted the worship of the Magi, which was then + established at Caesarea in Palestine.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.64" id="linknote-46.64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.64">return</a>)<br /> [ Abulpharagius, Dynast. + p. 99. Elmacin, Hist. Saracen. p. 14.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.65" id="linknote-46.65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.65">return</a>)<br /> [ D’Anville, Mem. de + l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxxii. p. 568—571.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.66" id="linknote-46.66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.66">return</a>)<br /> [ The difference between + the two races consists in one or two humps; the dromedary has only one; + the size of the proper camel is larger; the country he comes from, + Turkistan or Bactriana; the dromedary is confined to Arabia and Africa. + Buffon, Hist. Naturelle, tom. xi. p. 211, &c. Aristot. Hist. Animal. + tom. i. l. ii. c. 1, tom. ii. p. 185.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.6611" id="linknote-46.6611"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6611 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.6611">return</a>)<br /> [ The ruins of these + scenes of Khoosroo’s magnificence have been visited by Sir R. K. Porter. + At the ruins of Tokht i Bostan, he saw a gorgeous picture of a hunt, + singularly illustrative of this passage. Travels, vol. ii. p. 204. Kisra + Shirene, which he afterwards examined, appears to have been the palace of + Dastagerd. Vol. ii. p. 173—175.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.67" id="linknote-46.67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.67">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophanes, + Chronograph. p. 268. D’Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 997. The + Greeks describe the decay, the Persians the splendor, of Dastagerd; but + the former speak from the modest witness of the eye, the latter from the + vague report of the ear.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.68" id="linknote-46.68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.68">return</a>)<br /> [ The historians of + Mahomet, Abulfeda (in Vit. Mohammed, p. 92, 93) and Gagnier, (Vie de + Mahomet, tom. ii. p. 247,) date this embassy in the viith year of the + Hegira, which commences A.D. 628, May 11. Their chronology is erroneous, + since Chosroes died in the month of February of the same year, (Pagi, + Critica, tom. ii. p. 779.) The count de Boulainvilliers (Vie de Mahomed, + p. 327, 328) places this embassy about A.D. 615, soon after the conquest + of Palestine. Yet Mahomet would scarcely have ventured so soon on so bold + a step.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.6811" id="linknote-46.6811"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6811 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.6811">return</a>)<br /> [ Khoosroo Purveez + was encamped on the banks of the Karasoo River when he received the letter + of Mahomed. He tore the letter and threw it into the Karasoo. For this + action, the moderate author of the Zeenut-ul-Tuarikh calls him a wretch, + and rejoices in all his subsequent misfortunes. These impressions still + exist. I remarked to a Persian, when encamped near the Karasoo, in 1800, + that the banks were very high, which must make it difficult to apply its + waters to irrigation. “It once fertilized the whole country,” said the + zealous Mahomedan, “but its channel sunk with honor from its banks, when + that madman, Khoosroo, threw our holy Prophet’s letter into its stream; + which has ever since been accursed and useless.” Malcolm’s Persia, vol. i. + p. 126—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.69" id="linknote-46.69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.69">return</a>)<br /> [ See the xxxth chapter + of the Koran, entitled the Greeks. Our honest and learned translator, + Sale, (p. 330, 331,) fairly states this conjecture, guess, wager, of + Mahomet; but Boulainvilliers, (p. 329—344,) with wicked intentions, + labors to establish this evident prophecy of a future event, which must, + in his opinion, embarrass the Christian polemics.] + </p> + <p> + At the time when this prediction is said to have been delivered, no + prophecy could be more distant from its accomplishment, since the first + twelve years of Heraclius announced the approaching dissolution of the + empire. If the motives of Chosroes had been pure and honorable, he must + have ended the quarrel with the death of Phocas, and he would have + embraced, as his best ally, the fortunate African who had so generously + avenged the injuries of his benefactor Maurice. The prosecution of the war + revealed the true character of the Barbarian; and the suppliant embassies + of Heraclius to beseech his clemency, that he would spare the innocent, + accept a tribute, and give peace to the world, were rejected with + contemptuous silence or insolent menace. Syria, Egypt, and the provinces + of Asia, were subdued by the Persian arms, while Europe, from the confines + of Istria to the long wall of Thrace, was oppressed by the Avars, + unsatiated with the blood and rapine of the Italian war. They had coolly + massacred their male captives in the sacred field of Pannonia; the women + and children were reduced to servitude, and the noblest virgins were + abandoned to the promiscuous lust of the Barbarians. The amorous matron + who opened the gates of Friuli passed a short night in the arms of her + royal lover; the next evening, Romilda was condemned to the embraces of + twelve Avars, and the third day the Lombard princess was impaled in the + sight of the camp, while the chagan observed with a cruel smile, that such + a husband was the fit recompense of her lewdness and perfidy. <a + href="#linknote-46.70" name="linknoteref-46.70" id="linknoteref-46.70">70</a> + By these implacable enemies, Heraclius, on either side, was insulted and + besieged: and the Roman empire was reduced to the walls of Constantinople, + with the remnant of Greece, Italy, and Africa, and some maritime cities, + from Tyre to Trebizond, of the Asiatic coast. After the loss of Egypt, the + capital was afflicted by famine and pestilence; and the emperor, incapable + of resistance, and hopeless of relief, had resolved to transfer his person + and government to the more secure residence of Carthage. His ships were + already laden with the treasures of the palace; but his flight was + arrested by the patriarch, who armed the powers of religion in the defence + of his country; led Heraclius to the altar of St. Sophia, and extorted a + solemn oath, that he would live and die with the people whom God had + intrusted to his care. The chagan was encamped in the plains of Thrace; + but he dissembled his perfidious designs, and solicited an interview with + the emperor near the town of Heraclea. Their reconciliation was celebrated + with equestrian games; the senate and people, in their gayest apparel, + resorted to the festival of peace; and the Avars beheld, with envy and + desire, the spectacle of Roman luxury. On a sudden the hippodrome was + encompassed by the Scythian cavalry, who had pressed their secret and + nocturnal march: the tremendous sound of the chagan’s whip gave the signal + of the assault, and Heraclius, wrapping his diadem round his arm, was + saved with extreme hazard, by the fleetness of his horse. So rapid was the + pursuit, that the Avars almost entered the golden gate of Constantinople + with the flying crowds: <a href="#linknote-46.71" name="linknoteref-46.71" + id="linknoteref-46.71">71</a> but the plunder of the suburbs rewarded their + treason, and they transported beyond the Danube two hundred and seventy + thousand captives. On the shore of Chalcedon, the emperor held a safer + conference with a more honorable foe, who, before Heraclius descended from + his galley, saluted with reverence and pity the majesty of the purple. The + friendly offer of Sain, the Persian general, to conduct an embassy to the + presence of the great king, was accepted with the warmest gratitude, and + the prayer for pardon and peace was humbly presented by the Praetorian + præfect, the præfect of the city, and one of the first ecclesiastics of + the patriarchal church. <a href="#linknote-46.72" name="linknoteref-46.72" + id="linknoteref-46.72">72</a> But the lieutenant of Chosroes had fatally + mistaken the intentions of his master. “It was not an embassy,” said the + tyrant of Asia, “it was the person of Heraclius, bound in chains, that he + should have brought to the foot of my throne. I will never give peace to + the emperor of Rome, till he had abjured his crucified God, and embraced + the worship of the sun.” Sain was flayed alive, according to the inhuman + practice of his country; and the separate and rigorous confinement of the + ambassadors violated the law of nations, and the faith of an express + stipulation. Yet the experience of six years at length persuaded the + Persian monarch to renounce the conquest of Constantinople, and to specify + the annual tribute or ransom of the Roman empire; a thousand talents of + gold, a thousand talents of silver, a thousand silk robes, a thousand + horses, and a thousand virgins. Heraclius subscribed these ignominious + terms; but the time and space which he obtained to collect such treasures + from the poverty of the East, was industriously employed in the + preparations of a bold and desperate attack. <a name="linknote-46.70" + id="linknote-46.70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.70">return</a>)<br /> [Footnote 70: Paul + Warnefrid, de Gestis Langobardorum, l. iv. c. 38, 42. Muratori, Annali + d’Italia, tom. v. p. 305, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.71" id="linknote-46.71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.71">return</a>)<br /> [ The Paschal Chronicle, + which sometimes introduces fragments of history into a barren list of + names and dates, gives the best account of the treason of the Avars, p. + 389, 390. The number of captives is added by Nicephorus.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.72" id="linknote-46.72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.72">return</a>)<br /> [ Some original pieces, + such as the speech or letter of the Roman ambassadors, (p. 386—388,) + likewise constitute the merit of the Paschal Chronicle, which was + composed, perhaps at Alexandria, under the reign of Heraclius.] + </p> + <p> + Of the characters conspicuous in history, that of Heraclius is one of the + most extraordinary and inconsistent. In the first and last years of a long + reign, the emperor appears to be the slave of sloth, of pleasure, or of + superstition, the careless and impotent spectator of the public + calamities. But the languid mists of the morning and evening are separated + by the brightness of the meridian sun; the Arcadius of the palace arose + the Caesar of the camp; and the honor of Rome and Heraclius was gloriously + retrieved by the exploits and trophies of six adventurous campaigns. It + was the duty of the Byzantine historians to have revealed the causes of + his slumber and vigilance. At this distance we can only conjecture, that + he was endowed with more personal courage than political resolution; that + he was detained by the charms, and perhaps the arts, of his niece Martina, + with whom, after the death of Eudocia, he contracted an incestuous + marriage; <a href="#linknote-46.73" name="linknoteref-46.73" + id="linknoteref-46.73">73</a> and that he yielded to the base advice of the + counsellors, who urged, as a fundamental law, that the life of the emperor + should never be exposed in the field. <a href="#linknote-46.74" + name="linknoteref-46.74" id="linknoteref-46.74">74</a> Perhaps he was + awakened by the last insolent demand of the Persian conqueror; but at the + moment when Heraclius assumed the spirit of a hero, the only hopes of the + Romans were drawn from the vicissitudes of fortune, which might threaten + the proud prosperity of Chosroes, and must be favorable to those who had + attained the lowest period of depression. <a href="#linknote-46.75" + name="linknoteref-46.75" id="linknoteref-46.75">75</a> To provide for the + expenses of war, was the first care of the emperor; and for the purpose of + collecting the tribute, he was allowed to solicit the benevolence of the + eastern provinces. But the revenue no longer flowed in the usual channels; + the credit of an arbitrary prince is annihilated by his power; and the + courage of Heraclius was first displayed in daring to borrow the + consecrated wealth of churches, under the solemn vow of restoring, with + usury, whatever he had been compelled to employ in the service of religion + and the empire. The clergy themselves appear to have sympathized with the + public distress; and the discreet patriarch of Alexandria, without + admitting the precedent of sacrilege, assisted his sovereign by the + miraculous or seasonable revelation of a secret treasure. <a + href="#linknote-46.76" name="linknoteref-46.76" id="linknoteref-46.76">76</a> + Of the soldiers who had conspired with Phocas, only two were found to have + survived the stroke of time and of the Barbarians; <a href="#linknote-46.77" + name="linknoteref-46.77" id="linknoteref-46.77">77</a> the loss, even of + these seditious veterans, was imperfectly supplied by the new levies of + Heraclius, and the gold of the sanctuary united, in the same camp, the + names, and arms, and languages of the East and West. He would have been + content with the neutrality of the Avars; and his friendly entreaty, that + the chagan would act, not as the enemy, but as the guardian, of the + empire, was accompanied with a more persuasive donative of two hundred + thousand pieces of gold. Two days after the festival of Easter, the + emperor, exchanging his purple for the simple garb of a penitent and + warrior, <a href="#linknote-46.78" name="linknoteref-46.78" + id="linknoteref-46.78">78</a> gave the signal of his departure. To the + faith of the people Heraclius recommended his children; the civil and + military powers were vested in the most deserving hands, and the + discretion of the patriarch and senate was authorized to save or surrender + the city, if they should be oppressed in his absence by the superior + forces of the enemy. <a name="linknote-46.73" id="linknote-46.73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.73">return</a>)<br /> [Nicephorus, (p. 10, 11,) + is happy to observe, that of two sons, its incestuous fruit, the elder was + marked by Providence with a stiff neck, the younger with the loss of + hearing.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.74" id="linknote-46.74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.74">return</a>)<br /> [ George of Pisidia, + (Acroas. i. 112—125, p. 5,) who states the opinions, acquits the + pusillanimous counsellors of any sinister views. Would he have excused the + proud and contemptuous admonition of Crispus?] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.75" id="linknote-46.75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.75">return</a>)<br /> [ George Pisid. Acroas. + i. 51, &c. p: 4. The Orientals are not less fond of remarking this + strange vicissitude; and I remember some story of Khosrou Parviz, not very + unlike the ring of Polycrates of Samos.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.76" id="linknote-46.76"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 76 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.76">return</a>)<br /> [ Baronius gravely + relates this discovery, or rather transmutation, of barrels, not of honey, + but of gold, (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 620, No. 3, &c.) Yet the loan was + arbitrary, since it was collected by soldiers, who were ordered to leave + the patriarch of Alexandria no more than one hundred pounds of gold. + Nicephorus, (p. 11,) two hundred years afterwards, speaks with ill humor + of this contribution, which the church of Constantinople might still + feel.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.77" id="linknote-46.77"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 77 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.77">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophylact Symocatta, + l. viii. c. 12. This circumstance need not excite our surprise. The + muster-roll of a regiment, even in time of peace, is renewed in less than + twenty or twenty-five years.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.78" id="linknote-46.78"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 78 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.78">return</a>)<br /> [ He changed his purple + for black, buckskins, and dyed them red in the blood of the Persians, + (Georg. Pisid. Acroas. iii. 118, 121, 122 See the notes of Foggini, p. + 35.)] + </p> + <p> + The neighboring heights of Chalcedon were covered with tents and arms: but + if the new levies of Heraclius had been rashly led to the attack, the + victory of the Persians in the sight of Constantinople might have been the + last day of the Roman empire. As imprudent would it have been to advance + into the provinces of Asia, leaving their innumerable cavalry to intercept + his convoys, and continually to hang on the lassitude and disorder of his + rear. But the Greeks were still masters of the sea; a fleet of galleys, + transports, and store-ships, was assembled in the harbor; the Barbarians + consented to embark; a steady wind carried them through the Hellespont the + western and southern coast of Asia Minor lay on their left hand; the + spirit of their chief was first displayed in a storm, and even the eunuchs + of his train were excited to suffer and to work by the example of their + master. He landed his troops on the confines of Syria and Cilicia, in the + Gulf of Scanderoon, where the coast suddenly turns to the south; <a + href="#linknote-46.79" name="linknoteref-46.79" id="linknoteref-46.79">79</a> + and his discernment was expressed in the choice of this important post. <a + href="#linknote-46.80" name="linknoteref-46.80" id="linknoteref-46.80">80</a> + From all sides, the scattered garrisons of the maritime cities and the + mountains might repair with speed and safety to his Imperial standard. The + natural fortifications of Cilicia protected, and even concealed, the camp + of Heraclius, which was pitched near Issus, on the same ground where + Alexander had vanquished the host of Darius. The angle which the emperor + occupied was deeply indented into a vast semicircle of the Asiatic, + Armenian, and Syrian provinces; and to whatsoever point of the + circumference he should direct his attack, it was easy for him to + dissemble his own motions, and to prevent those of the enemy. In the camp + of Issus, the Roman general reformed the sloth and disorder of the + veterans, and educated the new recruits in the knowledge and practice of + military virtue. Unfolding the miraculous image of Christ, he urged them + to revenge the holy altars which had been profaned by the worshippers of + fire; addressing them by the endearing appellations of sons and brethren, + he deplored the public and private wrongs of the republic. The subjects of + a monarch were persuaded that they fought in the cause of freedom; and a + similar enthusiasm was communicated to the foreign mercenaries, who must + have viewed with equal indifference the interest of Rome and of Persia. + Heraclius himself, with the skill and patience of a centurion, inculcated + the lessons of the school of tactics, and the soldiers were assiduously + trained in the use of their weapons, and the exercises and evolutions of + the field. The cavalry and infantry in light or heavy armor were divided + into two parties; the trumpets were fixed in the centre, and their signals + directed the march, the charge, the retreat or pursuit; the direct or + oblique order, the deep or extended phalanx; to represent in fictitious + combat the operations of genuine war. Whatever hardships the emperor + imposed on the troops, he inflicted with equal severity on himself; their + labor, their diet, their sleep, were measured by the inflexible rules of + discipline; and, without despising the enemy, they were taught to repose + an implicit confidence in their own valor and the wisdom of their leader. + Cilicia was soon encompassed with the Persian arms; but their cavalry + hesitated to enter the defiles of Mount Taurus, till they were + circumvented by the evolutions of Heraclius, who insensibly gained their + rear, whilst he appeared to present his front in order of battle. By a + false motion, which seemed to threaten Armenia, he drew them, against + their wishes, to a general action. They were tempted by the artful + disorder of his camp; but when they advanced to combat, the ground, the + sun, and the expectation of both armies, were unpropitious to the + Barbarians; the Romans successfully repeated their tactics in a field of + battle, <a href="#linknote-46.81" name="linknoteref-46.81" + id="linknoteref-46.81">81</a> and the event of the day declared to the + world, that the Persians were not invincible, and that a hero was invested + with the purple. Strong in victory and fame, Heraclius boldly ascended the + heights of Mount Taurus, directed his march through the plains of + Cappadocia, and established his troops, for the winter season, in safe and + plentiful quarters on the banks of the River Halys. <a + href="#linknote-46.82" name="linknoteref-46.82" id="linknoteref-46.82">82</a> + His soul was superior to the vanity of entertaining Constantinople with an + imperfect triumph; but the presence of the emperor was indispensably + required to soothe the restless and rapacious spirit of the Avars. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.79" id="linknote-46.79"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 79 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.79">return</a>)<br /> [ George of Pisidia, + (Acroas. ii. 10, p. 8) has fixed this important point of the Syrian and + Cilician gates. They are elegantly described by Xenophon, who marched + through them a thousand years before. A narrow pass of three stadia + between steep, high rocks, and the Mediterranean, was closed at each end + by strong gates, impregnable to the land, accessible by sea, (Anabasis, l. + i. p. 35, 36, with Hutchinson’s Geographical Dissertation, p. vi.) The + gates were thirty-five parasangs, or leagues, from Tarsus, (Anabasis, l. + i. p. 33, 34,) and eight or ten from Antioch. Compare Itinerar. Wesseling, + p. 580, 581. Schultens, Index Geograph. ad calcem Vit. Saladin. p. 9. + Voyage en Turquie et en Perse, par M. Otter, tom. i. p. 78, 79.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.80" id="linknote-46.80"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 80 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.80">return</a>)<br /> [ Heraclius might write + to a friend in the modest words of Cicero: “Castra habuimus ea ipsa quae + contra Darium habuerat apud Issum Alexander, imperator haud paulo melior + quam aut tu aut ego.” Ad Atticum, v. 20. Issus, a rich and flourishing + city in the time of Xenophon, was ruined by the prosperity of Alexandria + or Scanderoon, on the other side of the bay.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.81" id="linknote-46.81"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 81 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.81">return</a>)<br /> [ Foggini (Annotat. p. + 31) suspects that the Persians were deceived by the of Aelian, (Tactic. c. + 48,) an intricate spiral motion of the army. He observes (p. 28) that the + military descriptions of George of Pisidia are transcribed in the Tactics + of the emperor Leo.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.82" id="linknote-46.82"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 82 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.82">return</a>)<br /> [ George of Pisidia, an + eye-witness, (Acroas. ii. 122, &c.,) described in three acroaseis, or + cantos, the first expedition of Heraclius. The poem has been lately (1777) + published at Rome; but such vague and declamatory praise is far from + corresponding with the sanguine hopes of Pagi, D’Anville, &c.] + </p> + <p> + Since the days of Scipio and Hannibal, no bolder enterprise has been + attempted than that which Heraclius achieved for the deliverance of the + empire. <a href="#linknote-46.83" name="linknoteref-46.83" + id="linknoteref-46.83">83</a> He permitted the Persians to oppress for a + while the provinces, and to insult with impunity the capital of the East; + while the Roman emperor explored his perilous way through the Black Sea, + <a href="#linknote-46.84" name="linknoteref-46.84" id="linknoteref-46.84">84</a> + and the mountains of Armenia, penetrated into the heart of Persia, <a + href="#linknote-46.85" name="linknoteref-46.85" id="linknoteref-46.85">85</a> + and recalled the armies of the great king to the defence of their bleeding + country. With a select band of five thousand soldiers, Heraclius sailed + from Constantinople to Trebizond; assembled his forces which had wintered + in the Pontic regions; and, from the mouth of the Phasis to the Caspian + Sea, encouraged his subjects and allies to march with the successor of + Constantine under the faithful and victorious banner of the cross. When + the legions of Lucullus and Pompey first passed the Euphrates, they + blushed at their easy victory over the natives of Armenia. But the long + experience of war had hardened the minds and bodies of that effeminate + peeple; their zeal and bravery were approved in the service of a declining + empire; they abhorred and feared the usurpation of the house of Sassan, + and the memory of persecution envenomed their pious hatred of the enemies + of Christ. The limits of Armenia, as it had been ceded to the emperor + Maurice, extended as far as the Araxes: the river submitted to the + indignity of a bridge, <a href="#linknote-46.86" name="linknoteref-46.86" + id="linknoteref-46.86">86</a> and Heraclius, in the footsteps of Mark + Antony, advanced towards the city of Tauris or Gandzaca, <a + href="#linknote-46.87" name="linknoteref-46.87" id="linknoteref-46.87">87</a> + the ancient and modern capital of one of the provinces of Media. At the + head of forty thousand men, Chosroes himself had returned from some + distant expedition to oppose the progress of the Roman arms; but he + retreated on the approach of Heraclius, declining the generous alternative + of peace or of battle. Instead of half a million of inhabitants, which + have been ascribed to Tauris under the reign of the Sophys, the city + contained no more than three thousand houses; but the value of the royal + treasures was enhanced by a tradition, that they were the spoils of + Croesus, which had been transported by Cyrus from the citadel of Sardes. + The rapid conquests of Heraclius were suspended only by the winter season; + a motive of prudence, or superstition, <a href="#linknote-46.88" + name="linknoteref-46.88" id="linknoteref-46.88">88</a> determined his + retreat into the province of Albania, along the shores of the Caspian; and + his tents were most probably pitched in the plains of Mogan, <a + href="#linknote-46.89" name="linknoteref-46.89" id="linknoteref-46.89">89</a> + the favorite encampment of Oriental princes. In the course of this + successful inroad, he signalized the zeal and revenge of a Christian + emperor: at his command, the soldiers extinguished the fire, and destroyed + the temples, of the Magi; the statues of Chosroes, who aspired to divine + honors, were abandoned to the flames; and the ruins of Thebarma or Ormia, + <a href="#linknote-46.90" name="linknoteref-46.90" id="linknoteref-46.90">90</a> + which had given birth to Zoroaster himself, made some atonement for the + injuries of the holy sepulchre. A purer spirit of religion was shown in + the relief and deliverance of fifty thousand captives. Heraclius was + rewarded by their tears and grateful acclamations; but this wise measure, + which spread the fame of his benevolence, diffused the murmurs of the + Persians against the pride and obstinacy of their own sovereign. <a + name="linknote-46.83" id="linknote-46.83"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 83 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.83">return</a>)<br /> [Footnote 83: Theophanes + (p. 256) carries Heraclius swiftly into Armenia. Nicephorus, (p. 11,) + though he confounds the two expeditions, defines the province of Lazica. + Eutychius (Annal. tom. ii. p. 231) has given the 5000 men, with the more + probable station of Trebizond.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.84" id="linknote-46.84"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 84 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.84">return</a>)<br /> [ From Constantinople to + Trebizond, with a fair wind, four or five days; from thence to Erzerom, + five; to Erivan, twelve; to Taurus, ten; in all, thirty-two. Such is the + Itinerary of Tavernier, (Voyages, tom. i. p. 12—56,) who was + perfectly conversant with the roads of Asia. Tournefort, who travelled + with a pacha, spent ten or twelve days between Trebizond and Erzerom, + (Voyage du Levant, tom. iii. lettre xviii.;) and Chardin (Voyages, tom. i. + p. 249—254) gives the more correct distance of fifty-three + parasangs, each of 5000 paces, (what paces?) between Erivan and Tauris.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.85" id="linknote-46.85"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 85 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.85">return</a>)<br /> [ The expedition of + Heraclius into Persia is finely illustrated by M. D’Anville, (Memoires de + l’Academie des Inscriptions, tom. xxviii. p. 559—573.) He discovers + the situation of Gandzaca, Thebarma, Dastagerd, &c., with admirable + skill and learning; but the obscure campaign of 624 he passes over in + silence.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.86" id="linknote-46.86"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 86 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.86">return</a>)<br /> [ Et pontem indignatus + Araxes.—Virgil, Aeneid, viii. 728. The River Araxes is noisy, rapid, + vehement, and, with the melting of the snows, irresistible: the strongest + and most massy bridges are swept away by the current; and its indignation + is attested by the ruins of many arches near the old town of Zulfa. + Voyages de Chardin, tom. i. p. 252.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.87" id="linknote-46.87"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 87 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.87">return</a>)<br /> [ Chardin, tom. i. p. 255—259. + With the Orientals, (D’Herbelot, Biblioth. Orient. p. 834,) he ascribes + the foundation of Tauris, or Tebris, to Zobeide, the wife of the famous + Khalif Haroun Alrashid; but it appears to have been more ancient; and the + names of Gandzaca, Gazaca, Gaza, are expressive of the royal treasure. The + number of 550,000 inhabitants is reduced by Chardin from 1,100,000, the + popular estimate.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.88" id="linknote-46.88"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 88 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.88">return</a>)<br /> [ He opened the gospel, + and applied or interpreted the first casual passage to the name and + situation of Albania. Theophanes, p. 258.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.89" id="linknote-46.89"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 89 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.89">return</a>)<br /> [ The heath of Mogan, + between the Cyrus and the Araxes, is sixty parasangs in length and twenty + in breadth, (Olearius, p. 1023, 1024,) abounding in waters and fruitful + pastures, (Hist. de Nadir Shah, translated by Mr. Jones from a Persian + Ms., part ii. p. 2, 3.) See the encampments of Timur, (Hist. par + Sherefeddin Ali, l. v. c. 37, l. vi. c. 13,) and the coronation of Nadir + Shah, (Hist. Persanne, p. 3—13 and the English Life by Mr. Jones, p. + 64, 65.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.90" id="linknote-46.90"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 90 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.90">return</a>)<br /> [ Thebarma and Ormia, + near the Lake Spauta, are proved to be the same city by D’Anville, + (Memoires de l’Academie, tom. xxviii. p. 564, 565.) It is honored as the + birthplace of Zoroaster, according to the Persians, (Schultens, Index + Geograph. p. 48;) and their tradition is fortified by M. Perron + d’Anquetil, (Mem. de l’Acad. des Inscript. tom. xxxi. p. 375,) with some + texts from his, or their, Zendavesta. * Note: D’Anville (Mem. de l’Acad. + des Inscript. tom. xxxii. p. 560) labored to prove the identity of these + two cities; but according to M. St. Martin, vol. xi. p. 97, not with + perfect success. Ourmiah. called Ariema in the ancient Pehlvi books, is + considered, both by the followers of Zoroaster and by the Mahometans, as + his birthplace. It is situated in the southern part of Aderbidjan.—M.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap46.4"></a> +Chapter XLVI: Troubles In Persia.—Part IV.</h2> + + <p> + Amidst the glories of the succeeding campaign, Heraclius is almost lost to + our eyes, and to those of the Byzantine historians. <a + href="#linknote-46.91" name="linknoteref-46.91" id="linknoteref-46.91">91</a> + From the spacious and fruitful plains of Albania, the emperor appears to + follow the chain of Hyrcanian Mountains, to descend into the province of + Media or Irak, and to carry his victorious arms as far as the royal cities + of Casbin and Ispahan, which had never been approached by a Roman + conqueror. Alarmed by the danger of his kingdom, the powers of Chosroes + were already recalled from the Nile and the Bosphorus, and three + formidable armies surrounded, in a distant and hostile land, the camp of + the emperor. The Colchian allies prepared to desert his standard; and the + fears of the bravest veterans were expressed, rather than concealed, by + their desponding silence. “Be not terrified,” said the intrepid Heraclius, + “by the multitude of your foes. With the aid of Heaven, one Roman may + triumph over a thousand Barbarians. But if we devote our lives for the + salvation of our brethren, we shall obtain the crown of martyrdom, and our + immortal reward will be liberally paid by God and posterity.” These + magnanimous sentiments were supported by the vigor of his actions. He + repelled the threefold attack of the Persians, improved the divisions of + their chiefs, and, by a well-concerted train of marches, retreats, and + successful actions, finally chased them from the field into the fortified + cities of Media and Assyria. In the severity of the winter season, + Sarbaraza deemed himself secure in the walls of Salban: he was surprised + by the activity of Heraclius, who divided his troops, and performed a + laborious march in the silence of the night. The flat roofs of the houses + were defended with useless valor against the darts and torches of the + Romans: the satraps and nobles of Persia, with their wives and children, + and the flower of their martial youth, were either slain or made + prisoners. The general escaped by a precipitate flight, but his golden + armor was the prize of the conqueror; and the soldiers of Heraclius + enjoyed the wealth and repose which they had so nobly deserved. On the + return of spring, the emperor traversed in seven days the mountains of + Curdistan, and passed without resistance the rapid stream of the Tigris. + Oppressed by the weight of their spoils and captives, the Roman army + halted under the walls of Amida; and Heraclius informed the senate of + Constantinople of his safety and success, which they had already felt by + the retreat of the besiegers. The bridges of the Euphrates were destroyed + by the Persians; but as soon as the emperor had discovered a ford, they + hastily retired to defend the banks of the Sarus, <a href="#linknote-46.92" + name="linknoteref-46.92" id="linknoteref-46.92">92</a> in Cilicia. That + river, an impetuous torrent, was about three hundred feet broad; the + bridge was fortified with strong turrets; and the banks were lined with + Barbarian archers. After a bloody conflict, which continued till the + evening, the Romans prevailed in the assault; and a Persian of gigantic + size was slain and thrown into the Sarus by the hand of the emperor + himself. The enemies were dispersed and dismayed; Heraclius pursued his + march to Sebaste in Cappadocia; and at the expiration of three years, the + same coast of the Euxine applauded his return from a long and victorious + expedition. <a href="#linknote-46.93" name="linknoteref-46.93" + id="linknoteref-46.93">93</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.91" id="linknote-46.91"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 91 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.91">return</a>)<br /> [ I cannot find, and + (what is much more,) M. D’Anville does not attempt to seek, the Salban, + Tarantum, territory of the Huns, &c., mentioned by Theophanes, (p. + 260-262.) Eutychius, (Annal. tom. ii. p. 231, 232,) an insufficient + author, names Asphahan; and Casbin is most probably the city of Sapor. + Ispahan is twenty-four days’ journey from Tauris, and Casbin half way + between, them (Voyages de Tavernier, tom. i. p. 63—82.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.92" id="linknote-46.92"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 92 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.92">return</a>)<br /> [ At ten parasangs from + Tarsus, the army of the younger Cyrus passed the Sarus, three plethra in + breadth: the Pyramus, a stadium in breadth, ran five parasangs farther to + the east, (Xenophon, Anabas. l. i. p 33, 34.) Note: Now the Sihan.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.93" id="linknote-46.93"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 93 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.93">return</a>)<br /> [ George of Pisidia + (Bell. Abaricum, 246—265, p. 49) celebrates with truth the + persevering courage of the three campaigns against the Persians.] + </p> + <p> + Instead of skirmishing on the frontier, the two monarchs who disputed the + empire of the East aimed their desperate strokes at the heart of their + rival. The military force of Persia was wasted by the marches and combats + of twenty years, and many of the veterans, who had survived the perils of + the sword and the climate, were still detained in the fortresses of Egypt + and Syria. But the revenge and ambition of Chosroes exhausted his kingdom; + and the new levies of subjects, strangers, and slaves, were divided into + three formidable bodies. <a href="#linknote-46.94" name="linknoteref-46.94" + id="linknoteref-46.94">94</a> The first army of fifty thousand men, + illustrious by the ornament and title of the golden spears, was destined + to march against Heraclius; the second was stationed to prevent his + junction with the troops of his brother Theodorus; and the third was + commanded to besiege Constantinople, and to second the operations of the + chagan, with whom the Persian king had ratified a treaty of alliance and + partition. Sarbar, the general of the third army, penetrated through the + provinces of Asia to the well-known camp of Chalcedon, and amused himself + with the destruction of the sacred and profane buildings of the Asiatic + suburbs, while he impatiently waited the arrival of his Scythian friends + on the opposite side of the Bosphorus. On the twenty-ninth of June, thirty + thousand Barbarians, the vanguard of the Avars, forced the long wall, and + drove into the capital a promiscuous crowd of peasants, citizens, and + soldiers. Fourscore thousand <a href="#linknote-46.95" + name="linknoteref-46.95" id="linknoteref-46.95">95</a> of his native + subjects, and of the vassal tribes of Gepidae, Russians, Bulgarians, and + Sclavonians, advanced under the standard of the chagan; a month was spent + in marches and negotiations, but the whole city was invested on the + thirty-first of July, from the suburbs of Pera and Galata to the + Blachernae and seven towers; and the inhabitants descried with terror the + flaming signals of the European and Asiatic shores. In the mean while, the + magistrates of Constantinople repeatedly strove to purchase the retreat of + the chagan; but their deputies were rejected and insulted; and he suffered + the patricians to stand before his throne, while the Persian envoys, in + silk robes, were seated by his side. “You see,” said the haughty + Barbarian, “the proofs of my perfect union with the great king; and his + lieutenant is ready to send into my camp a select band of three thousand + warriors. Presume no longer to tempt your master with a partial and + inadequate ransom: your wealth and your city are the only presents worthy + of my acceptance. For yourselves, I shall permit you to depart, each with + an under-garment and a shirt; and, at my entreaty, my friend Sarbar will + not refuse a passage through his lines. Your absent prince, even now a + captive or a fugitive, has left Constantinople to its fate; nor can you + escape the arms of the Avars and Persians, unless you could soar into the + air like birds, unless like fishes you could dive into the waves.” <a + href="#linknote-46.96" name="linknoteref-46.96" id="linknoteref-46.96">96</a> + During ten successive days, the capital was assaulted by the Avars, who + had made some progress in the science of attack; they advanced to sap or + batter the wall, under the cover of the impenetrable tortoise; their + engines discharged a perpetual volley of stones and darts; and twelve + lofty towers of wood exalted the combatants to the height of the + neighboring ramparts. + </p> + <p> + But the senate and people were animated by the spirit of Heraclius, who + had detached to their relief a body of twelve thousand cuirassiers; the + powers of fire and mechanics were used with superior art and success in + the defence of Constantinople; and the galleys, with two and three ranks + of oars, commanded the Bosphorus, and rendered the Persians the idle + spectators of the defeat of their allies. The Avars were repulsed; a fleet + of Sclavonian canoes was destroyed in the harbor; the vassals of the + chagan threatened to desert, his provisions were exhausted, and after + burning his engines, he gave the signal of a slow and formidable retreat. + The devotion of the Romans ascribed this signal deliverance to the Virgin + Mary; but the mother of Christ would surely have condemned their inhuman + murder of the Persian envoys, who were entitled to the rights of humanity, + if they were not protected by the laws of nations. <a href="#linknote-46.97" + name="linknoteref-46.97" id="linknoteref-46.97">97</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.94" id="linknote-46.94"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 94 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.94">return</a>)<br /> [ Petavius (Annotationes + ad Nicephorum, p. 62, 63, 64) discriminates the names and actions of five + Persian generals who were successively sent against Heraclius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.95" id="linknote-46.95"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 95 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.95">return</a>)<br /> [ This number of eight + myriads is specified by George of Pisidia, (Bell. Abar. 219.) The poet (50—88) + clearly indicates that the old chagan lived till the reign of Heraclius, + and that his son and successor was born of a foreign mother. Yet Foggini + (Annotat. p. 57) has given another interpretation to this passage.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.96" id="linknote-46.96"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 96 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.96">return</a>)<br /> [ A bird, a frog, a + mouse, and five arrows, had been the present of the Scythian king to + Darius, (Herodot. l. iv. c. 131, 132.) Substituez une lettre a ces signes + (says Rousseau, with much good taste) plus elle sera menacante moins elle + effrayera; ce ne sera qu’une fanfarronade dont Darius n’eut fait que rire, + (Emile, tom. iii. p. 146.) Yet I much question whether the senate and + people of Constantinople laughed at this message of the chagan.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.97" id="linknote-46.97"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 97 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.97">return</a>)<br /> [ The Paschal Chronicle + (p. 392—397) gives a minute and authentic narrative of the siege and + deliverance of Constantinople Theophanes (p. 264) adds some circumstances; + and a faint light may be obtained from the smoke of George of Pisidia, who + has composed a poem (de Bello Abarico, p. 45—54) to commemorate this + auspicious event.] + </p> + <p> + After the division of his army, Heraclius prudently retired to the banks + of the Phasis, from whence he maintained a defensive war against the fifty + thousand gold spears of Persia. His anxiety was relieved by the + deliverance of Constantinople; his hopes were confirmed by a victory of + his brother Theodorus; and to the hostile league of Chosroes with the + Avars, the Roman emperor opposed the useful and honorable alliance of the + Turks. At his liberal invitation, the horde of Chozars <a + href="#linknote-46.98" name="linknoteref-46.98" id="linknoteref-46.98">98</a> + transported their tents from the plains of the Volga to the mountains of + Georgia; Heraclius received them in the neighborhood of Teflis, and the + khan with his nobles dismounted from their horses, if we may credit the + Greeks, and fell prostrate on the ground, to adore the purple of the + Caesars. Such voluntary homage and important aid were entitled to the + warmest acknowledgments; and the emperor, taking off his own diadem, + placed it on the head of the Turkish prince, whom he saluted with a tender + embrace and the appellation of son. After a sumptuous banquet, he + presented Ziebel with the plate and ornaments, the gold, the gems, and the + silk, which had been used at the Imperial table, and, with his own hand, + distributed rich jewels and ear-rings to his new allies. In a secret + interview, he produced the portrait of his daughter Eudocia, <a + href="#linknote-46.99" name="linknoteref-46.99" id="linknoteref-46.99">99</a> + condescended to flatter the Barbarian with the promise of a fair and + august bride; obtained an immediate succor of forty thousand horse, and + negotiated a strong diversion of the Turkish arms on the side of the Oxus. + <a href="#linknote-46.100" name="linknoteref-46.100" id="linknoteref-46.100">100</a> + The Persians, in their turn, retreated with precipitation; in the camp of + Edessa, Heraclius reviewed an army of seventy thousand Romans and + strangers; and some months were successfully employed in the recovery of + the cities of Syria, Mesopotamia and Armenia, whose fortifications had + been imperfectly restored. Sarbar still maintained the important station + of Chalcedon; but the jealousy of Chosroes, or the artifice of Heraclius, + soon alienated the mind of that powerful satrap from the service of his + king and country. A messenger was intercepted with a real or fictitious + mandate to the cadarigan, or second in command, directing him to send, + without delay, to the throne, the head of a guilty or unfortunate general. + The despatches were transmitted to Sarbar himself; and as soon as he read + the sentence of his own death, he dexterously inserted the names of four + hundred officers, assembled a military council, and asked the cadarigan + whether he was prepared to execute the commands of their tyrant. The + Persians unanimously declared, that Chosroes had forfeited the sceptre; a + separate treaty was concluded with the government of Constantinople; and + if some considerations of honor or policy restrained Sarbar from joining + the standard of Heraclius, the emperor was assured that he might + prosecute, without interruption, his designs of victory and peace. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.98" id="linknote-46.98"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 98 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.98">return</a>)<br /> [ The power of the + Chozars prevailed in the viith, viiith, and ixth centuries. They were + known to the Greeks, the Arabs, and under the name of Kosa, to the Chinese + themselves. De Guignes, Hist. des Huns, tom. ii. part ii. p. 507—509. + * Note: Moses of Chorene speaks of an invasion of Armenia by the Khazars + in the second century, l. ii. c. 62. M. St. Martin suspects them to be the + same with the Hunnish nation of the Acatires or Agazzires. They are called + by the Greek historians Eastern Turks; like the Madjars and other Hunnish + or Finnish tribes, they had probably received some admixture from the + genuine Turkish races. Ibn. Hankal (Oriental Geography) says that their + language was like the Bulgarian, and considers them a people of Finnish or + Hunnish race. Klaproth, Tabl. Hist. p. 268-273. Abel Remusat, Rech. sur + les Langues Tartares, tom. i. p. 315, 316. St. Martin, vol. xi. p. 115.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.99" id="linknote-46.99"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 99 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.99">return</a>)<br /> [ Epiphania, or Eudocia, + the only daughter of Heraclius and his first wife Eudocia, was born at + Constantinople on the 7th of July, A.D. 611, baptized the 15th of August, + and crowned (in the oratory of St. Stephen in the palace) the 4th of + October of the same year. At this time she was about fifteen. Eudocia was + afterwards sent to her Turkish husband, but the news of his death stopped + her journey, and prevented the consummation, (Ducange, Familiae Byzantin. + p. 118.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.100" id="linknote-46.100"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 100 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.100">return</a>)<br /> [ Elmcain (Hist. + Saracen. p. 13—16) gives some curious and probable facts; but his + numbers are rather too high—300,000 Romans assembled at Edessa—500,000 + Persians killed at Nineveh. The abatement of a cipher is scarcely enough + to restore his sanity] + </p> + <p> + Deprived of his firmest support, and doubtful of the fidelity of his + subjects, the greatness of Chosroes was still conspicuous in its ruins. + The number of five hundred thousand may be interpreted as an Oriental + metaphor, to describe the men and arms, the horses and elephants, that + covered Media and Assyria against the invasion of Heraclius. Yet the + Romans boldly advanced from the Araxes to the Tigris, and the timid + prudence of Rhazates was content to follow them by forced marches through + a desolate country, till he received a peremptory mandate to risk the fate + of Persia in a decisive battle. Eastward of the Tigris, at the end of the + bridge of Mosul, the great Nineveh had formerly been erected: <a + href="#linknote-46.101" name="linknoteref-46.101" id="linknoteref-46.101">101</a> + the city, and even the ruins of the city, had long since disappeared; <a + href="#linknote-46.102" name="linknoteref-46.102" id="linknoteref-46.102">102</a> + the vacant space afforded a spacious field for the operations of the two + armies. But these operations are neglected by the Byzantine historians, + and, like the authors of epic poetry and romance, they ascribe the + victory, not to the military conduct, but to the personal valor, of their + favorite hero. On this memorable day, Heraclius, on his horse Phallas, + surpassed the bravest of his warriors: his lip was pierced with a spear; + the steed was wounded in the thigh; but he carried his master safe and + victorious through the triple phalanx of the Barbarians. In the heat of + the action, three valiant chiefs were successively slain by the sword and + lance of the emperor: among these was Rhazates himself; he fell like a + soldier, but the sight of his head scattered grief and despair through the + fainting ranks of the Persians. His armor of pure and massy gold, the + shield of one hundred and twenty plates, the sword and belt, the saddle + and cuirass, adorned the triumph of Heraclius; and if he had not been + faithful to Christ and his mother, the champion of Rome might have offered + the fourth opime spoils to the Jupiter of the Capitol. <a + href="#linknote-46.103" name="linknoteref-46.103" id="linknoteref-46.103">103</a> + In the battle of Nineveh, which was fiercely fought from daybreak to the + eleventh hour, twenty-eight standards, besides those which might be broken + or torn, were taken from the Persians; the greatest part of their army was + cut in pieces, and the victors, concealing their own loss, passed the + night on the field. They acknowledged, that on this occasion it was less + difficult to kill than to discomfit the soldiers of Chosroes; amidst the + bodies of their friends, no more than two bow-shot from the enemy the + remnant of the Persian cavalry stood firm till the seventh hour of the + night; about the eighth hour they retired to their unrifled camp, + collected their baggage, and dispersed on all sides, from the want of + orders rather than of resolution. The diligence of Heraclius was not less + admirable in the use of victory; by a march of forty-eight miles in + four-and-twenty hours, his vanguard occupied the bridges of the great and + the lesser Zab; and the cities and palaces of Assyria were open for the + first time to the Romans. By a just gradation of magnificent scenes, they + penetrated to the royal seat of Dastagerd, <a href="#linknote-46.1031" + name="linknoteref-46.1031" id="linknoteref-46.1031">1031</a> and, though + much of the treasure had been removed, and much had been expended, the + remaining wealth appears to have exceeded their hopes, and even to have + satiated their avarice. Whatever could not be easily transported, they + consumed with fire, that Chosroes might feel the anguish of those wounds + which he had so often inflicted on the provinces of the empire: and + justice might allow the excuse, if the desolation had been confined to the + works of regal luxury, if national hatred, military license, and religious + zeal, had not wasted with equal rage the habitations and the temples of + the guiltless subject. The recovery of three hundred Roman standards, and + the deliverance of the numerous captives of Edessa and Alexandria, reflect + a purer glory on the arms of Heraclius. From the palace of Dastagerd, he + pursued his march within a few miles of Modain or Ctesiphon, till he was + stopped, on the banks of the Arba, by the difficulty of the passage, the + rigor of the season, and perhaps the fame of an impregnable capital. The + return of the emperor is marked by the modern name of the city of + Sherhzour: he fortunately passed Mount Zara, before the snow, which fell + incessantly thirty-four days; and the citizens of Gandzca, or Tauris, were + compelled to entertain the soldiers and their horses with a hospitable + reception. <a href="#linknote-46.104" name="linknoteref-46.104" + id="linknoteref-46.104">104</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.101" id="linknote-46.101"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 101 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.101">return</a>)<br /> [ Ctesias (apud Didor. + Sicul. tom. i. l. ii. p. 115, edit. Wesseling) assigns 480 stadia (perhaps + only 32 miles) for the circumference of Nineveh. Jonas talks of three + days’ journey: the 120,000 persons described by the prophet as incapable + of discerning their right hand from their left, may afford about 700,000 + persons of all ages for the inhabitants of that ancient capital, (Goguet, + Origines des Loix, &c., tom. iii. part i. p. 92, 93,) which ceased to + exist 600 years before Christ. The western suburb still subsisted, and is + mentioned under the name of Mosul in the first age of the Arabian + khalifs.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.102" id="linknote-46.102"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 102 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.102">return</a>)<br /> [ Niebuhr (Voyage en + Arabie, &c., tom. ii. p. 286) passed over Nineveh without perceiving + it. He mistook for a ridge of hills the old rampart of brick or earth. It + is said to have been 100 feet high, flanked with 1500 towers, each of the + height of 200 feet.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.103" id="linknote-46.103"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 103 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.103">return</a>)<br /> [ Rex regia arma fero + (says Romulus, in the first consecration).... bina postea (continues Livy, + i. 10) inter tot bella, opima parta sunt spolia, adeo rara ejus fortuna + decoris. If Varro (apud Pomp Festum, p. 306, edit. Dacier) could justify + his liberality in granting the opime spoils even to a common soldier who + had slain the king or general of the enemy, the honor would have been much + more cheap and common] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1031" id="linknote-46.1031"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1031 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1031">return</a>)<br /> [ Macdonald Kinneir + places Dastagerd at Kasr e Shirin, the palace of Sira on the banks of the + Diala between Holwan and Kanabee. Kinnets Geograph. Mem. p. 306.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.104" id="linknote-46.104"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 104 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.104">return</a>)<br /> [ In describing this + last expedition of Heraclius, the facts, the places, and the dates of + Theophanes (p. 265—271) are so accurate and authentic, that he must + have followed the original letters of the emperor, of which the Paschal + Chronicle has preserved (p. 398—402) a very curious specimen.] + </p> + <p> + When the ambition of Chosroes was reduced to the defence of his hereditary + kingdom, the love of glory, or even the sense of shame, should have urged + him to meet his rival in the field. In the battle of Nineveh, his courage + might have taught the Persians to vanquish, or he might have fallen with + honor by the lance of a Roman emperor. The successor of Cyrus chose + rather, at a secure distance, to expect the event, to assemble the relics + of the defeat, and to retire, by measured steps, before the march of + Heraclius, till he beheld with a sigh the once loved mansions of + Dastagerd. Both his friends and enemies were persuaded, that it was the + intention of Chosroes to bury himself under the ruins of the city and + palace: and as both might have been equally adverse to his flight, the + monarch of Asia, with Sira, <a href="#linknote-46.1041" + name="linknoteref-46.1041" id="linknoteref-46.1041">1041</a> and three + concubines, escaped through a hole in the wall nine days before the + arrival of the Romans. The slow and stately procession in which he showed + himself to the prostrate crowd, was changed to a rapid and secret journey; + and the first evening he lodged in the cottage of a peasant, whose humble + door would scarcely give admittance to the great king. <a + href="#linknote-46.105" name="linknoteref-46.105" id="linknoteref-46.105">105</a> + His superstition was subdued by fear: on the third day, he entered with + joy the fortifications of Ctesiphon; yet he still doubted of his safety + till he had opposed the River Tigris to the pursuit of the Romans. The + discovery of his flight agitated with terror and tumult the palace, the + city, and the camp of Dastagerd: the satraps hesitated whether they had + most to fear from their sovereign or the enemy; and the females of the + harem were astonished and pleased by the sight of mankind, till the + jealous husband of three thousand wives again confined them to a more + distant castle. At his command, the army of Dastagerd retreated to a new + camp: the front was covered by the Arba, and a line of two hundred + elephants; the troops of the more distant provinces successively arrived, + and the vilest domestics of the king and satraps were enrolled for the + last defence of the throne. It was still in the power of Chosroes to + obtain a reasonable peace; and he was repeatedly pressed by the messengers + of Heraclius to spare the blood of his subjects, and to relieve a humane + conqueror from the painful duty of carrying fire and sword through the + fairest countries of Asia. But the pride of the Persian had not yet sunk + to the level of his fortune; he derived a momentary confidence from the + retreat of the emperor; he wept with impotent rage over the ruins of his + Assyrian palaces, and disregarded too long the rising murmurs of the + nation, who complained that their lives and fortunes were sacrificed to + the obstinacy of an old man. That unhappy old man was himself tortured + with the sharpest pains both of mind and body; and, in the consciousness + of his approaching end, he resolved to fix the tiara on the head of + Merdaza, the most favored of his sons. But the will of Chosroes was no + longer revered, and Siroes, <a href="#linknote-46.1051" + name="linknoteref-46.1051" id="linknoteref-46.1051">1051</a> who gloried in + the rank and merit of his mother Sira, had conspired with the malcontents + to assert and anticipate the rights of primogeniture. <a + href="#linknote-46.106" name="linknoteref-46.106" id="linknoteref-46.106">106</a> + Twenty-two satraps (they styled themselves patriots) were tempted by the + wealth and honors of a new reign: to the soldiers, the heir of Chosroes + promised an increase of pay; to the Christians, the free exercise of their + religion; to the captives, liberty and rewards; and to the nation, instant + peace and the reduction of taxes. It was determined by the conspirators, + that Siroes, with the ensigns of royalty, should appear in the camp; and + if the enterprise should fail, his escape was contrived to the Imperial + court. But the new monarch was saluted with unanimous acclamations; the + flight of Chosroes (yet where could he have fled?) was rudely arrested, + eighteen sons were massacred <a href="#linknote-46.1061" + name="linknoteref-46.1061" id="linknoteref-46.1061">1061</a> before his + face, and he was thrown into a dungeon, where he expired on the fifth day. + The Greeks and modern Persians minutely describe how Chosroes was + insulted, and famished, and tortured, by the command of an inhuman son, + who so far surpassed the example of his father: but at the time of his + death, what tongue would relate the story of the parricide? what eye could + penetrate into the tower of darkness? According to the faith and mercy of + his Christian enemies, he sunk without hope into a still deeper abyss; <a + href="#linknote-46.107" name="linknoteref-46.107" id="linknoteref-46.107">107</a> + and it will not be denied, that tyrants of every age and sect are the best + entitled to such infernal abodes. The glory of the house of Sassan ended + with the life of Chosroes: his unnatural son enjoyed only eight months the + fruit of his crimes: and in the space of four years, the regal title was + assumed by nine candidates, who disputed, with the sword or dagger, the + fragments of an exhausted monarchy. Every province, and each city of + Persia, was the scene of independence, of discord, and of blood; and the + state of anarchy prevailed about eight years longer, <a + href="#linknote-46.1071" name="linknoteref-46.1071" id="linknoteref-46.1071">1071</a> + till the factions were silenced and united under the common yoke of the + Arabian caliphs. <a href="#linknote-46.108" name="linknoteref-46.108" + id="linknoteref-46.108">108</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1041" id="linknote-46.1041"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1041 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1041">return</a>)<br /> [ The Schirin of + Persian poetry. The love of Chosru and Schirin rivals in Persian romance + that of Joseph with Zuleika the wife of Potiphar, of Solomon with the + queen of Sheba, and that of Mejnoun and Leila. The number of Persian poems + on the subject may be seen in M. von Hammer’s preface to his poem of + Schirin.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.105" id="linknote-46.105"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 105 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.105">return</a>)<br /> [ The words of + Theophanes are remarkable. Young princes who discover a propensity to war + should repeatedly transcribe and translate such salutary texts.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1051" id="linknote-46.1051"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1051 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1051">return</a>)<br /> [ His name was Kabad + (as appears from an official letter in the Paschal Chronicle, p. 402.) St. + Martin considers the name Siroes, Schirquieh of Schirwey, derived from the + word schir, royal. St. Martin, xi. 153.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.106" id="linknote-46.106"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 106 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.106">return</a>)<br /> [ The authentic + narrative of the fall of Chosroes is contained in the letter of Heraclius + (Chron. Paschal. p. 398) and the history of Theophanes, (p. 271.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1061" id="linknote-46.1061"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1061 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1061">return</a>)<br /> [ According to Le + Beau, this massacre was perpetrated at Mahuza in Babylonia, not in the + presence of Chosroes. The Syrian historian, Thomas of Maraga, gives + Chosroes twenty-four sons; Mirkhond, (translated by De Sacy,) fifteen; the + inedited Modjmel-alte-warikh, agreeing with Gibbon, eighteen, with their + names. Le Beau and St. Martin, xi. 146.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.107" id="linknote-46.107"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 107 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.107">return</a>)<br /> [ On the first rumor of + the death of Chosroes, an Heracliad in two cantos was instantly published + at Constantinople by George of Pisidia, (p. 97—105.) A priest and a + poet might very properly exult in the damnation of the public enemy but + such mean revenge is unworthy of a king and a conqueror; and I am sorry to + find so much black superstition in the letter of Heraclius: he almost + applauds the parricide of Siroes as an act of piety and justice. * Note: + The Mahometans show no more charity towards the memory of Chosroes or + Khoosroo Purveez. All his reverses are ascribed to the just indignation of + God, upon a monarch who had dared, with impious and accursed hands, to + tear the letter of the Holy Prophet Mahomed. Compare note, p. 231.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1071" id="linknote-46.1071"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1071 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1071">return</a>)<br /> [ Yet Gibbon himself + places the flight and death of Yesdegird Ill., the last king of Persia, in + 651. The famous era of Yesdegird dates from his accession, June 16 632.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.108" id="linknote-46.108"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 108 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.108">return</a>)<br /> [ The best Oriental + accounts of this last period of the Sassanian kings are found in + Eutychius, (Annal. tom. ii. p. 251—256,) who dissembles the + parricide of Siroes, D’Herbelot (Bibliotheque Orientale, p. 789,) and + Assemanni, (Bibliothec. Oriental. tom. iii. p. 415—420.)] + </p> + <p> + As soon as the mountains became passable, the emperor received the welcome + news of the success of the conspiracy, the death of Chosroes, and the + elevation of his eldest son to the throne of Persia. The authors of the + revolution, eager to display their merits in the court or camp of Tauris, + preceded the ambassadors of Siroes, who delivered the letters of their + master to his brother the emperor of the Romans. <a href="#linknote-46.109" + name="linknoteref-46.109" id="linknoteref-46.109">109</a> In the language of + the usurpers of every age, he imputes his own crimes to the Deity, and, + without degrading his equal majesty, he offers to reconcile the long + discord of the two nations, by a treaty of peace and alliance more durable + than brass or iron. The conditions of the treaty were easily defined and + faithfully executed. In the recovery of the standards and prisoners which + had fallen into the hands of the Persians, the emperor imitated the + example of Augustus: their care of the national dignity was celebrated by + the poets of the times, but the decay of genius may be measured by the + distance between Horace and George of Pisidia: the subjects and brethren + of Heraclius were redeemed from persecution, slavery, and exile; but, + instead of the Roman eagles, the true wood of the holy cross was restored + to the importunate demands of the successor of Constantine. The victor was + not ambitious of enlarging the weakness of the empire; the son of Chosroes + abandoned without regret the conquests of his father; the Persians who + evacuated the cities of Syria and Egypt were honorably conducted to the + frontier, and a war which had wounded the vitals of the two monarchies, + produced no change in their external and relative situation. The return of + Heraclius from Tauris to Constantinople was a perpetual triumph; and after + the exploits of six glorious campaigns, he peaceably enjoyed the Sabbath + of his toils. After a long impatience, the senate, the clergy, and the + people, went forth to meet their hero, with tears and acclamations, with + olive branches and innumerable lamps; he entered the capital in a chariot + drawn by four elephants; and as soon as the emperor could disengage + himself from the tumult of public joy, he tasted more genuine satisfaction + in the embraces of his mother and his son. <a href="#linknote-46.110" + name="linknoteref-46.110" id="linknoteref-46.110">110</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.109" id="linknote-46.109"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 109 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.109">return</a>)<br /> [ The letter of Siroes + in the Paschal Chronicle (p. 402) unfortunately ends before he proceeds to + business. The treaty appears in its execution in the histories of + Theophanes and Nicephorus. * Note: M. Mai. Script. Vet. Nova Collectio, + vol. i. P. 2, p. 223, has added some lines, but no clear sense can be made + out of the fragment.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.110" id="linknote-46.110"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 110 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.110">return</a>)<br /> [ The burden of + Corneille’s song, “Montrez Heraclius au peuple qui l’attend,” is much + better suited to the present occasion. See his triumph in Theophanes (p. + 272, 273) and Nicephorus, (p. 15, 16.) The life of the mother and + tenderness of the son are attested by George of Pisidia, (Bell. Abar. 255, + &c., p. 49.) The metaphor of the Sabbath is used somewhat profanely by + these Byzantine Christians.] + </p> + <p> + The succeeding year was illustrated by a triumph of a very different kind, + the restitution of the true cross to the holy sepulchre. Heraclius + performed in person the pilgrimage of Jerusalem, the identity of the relic + was verified by the discreet patriarch, <a href="#linknote-46.111" + name="linknoteref-46.111" id="linknoteref-46.111">111</a> and this august + ceremony has been commemorated by the annual festival of the exaltation of + the cross. Before the emperor presumed to tread the consecrated ground, he + was instructed to strip himself of the diadem and purple, the pomp and + vanity of the world: but in the judgment of his clergy, the persecution of + the Jews was more easily reconciled with the precepts of the gospel. <a + href="#linknote-46.1113" name="linknoteref-46.1113" id="linknoteref-46.1113">1113</a> + He again ascended his throne to receive the congratulations of the + ambassadors of France and India: and the fame of Moses, Alexander, and + Hercules, <a href="#linknote-46.112" name="linknoteref-46.112" + id="linknoteref-46.112">112</a> was eclipsed in the popular estimation, by + the superior merit and glory of the great Heraclius. Yet the deliverer of + the East was indigent and feeble. Of the Persian spoils, the most valuable + portion had been expended in the war, distributed to the soldiers, or + buried, by an unlucky tempest, in the waves of the Euxine. The conscience + of the emperor was oppressed by the obligation of restoring the wealth of + the clergy, which he had borrowed for their own defence: a perpetual fund + was required to satisfy these inexorable creditors; the provinces, already + wasted by the arms and avarice of the Persians, were compelled to a second + payment of the same taxes; and the arrears of a simple citizen, the + treasurer of Damascus, were commuted to a fine of one hundred thousand + pieces of gold. The loss of two hundred thousand soldiers <a + href="#linknote-46.113" name="linknoteref-46.113" id="linknoteref-46.113">113</a> + who had fallen by the sword, was of less fatal importance than the decay + of arts, agriculture, and population, in this long and destructive war: + and although a victorious army had been formed under the standard of + Heraclius, the unnatural effort appears to have exhausted rather than + exercised their strength. While the emperor triumphed at Constantinople or + Jerusalem, an obscure town on the confines of Syria was pillaged by the + Saracens, and they cut in pieces some troops who advanced to its relief; + an ordinary and trifling occurrence, had it not been the prelude of a + mighty revolution. These robbers were the apostles of Mahomet; their + fanatic valor had emerged from the desert; and in the last eight years of + his reign, Heraclius lost to the Arabs the same provinces which he had + rescued from the Persians. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.111" id="linknote-46.111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 111 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.111">return</a>)<br /> [ See Baronius, (Annal. + Eccles. A.D. 628, No. 1-4,) Eutychius, (Annal. tom. ii. p. 240—248,) + Nicephorus, (Brev. p. 15.) The seals of the case had never been broken; + and this preservation of the cross is ascribed (under God) to the devotion + of Queen Sira.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.1113" id="linknote-46.1113"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1113 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.1113">return</a>)<br /> [ If the clergy + imposed upon the kneeling and penitent emperor the persecution of the + Jews, it must be acknowledge that provocation was not wanting; for how + many of them had been eye-witnesses of, perhaps sufferers in, the horrible + atrocities committed on the capture of the city! Yet we have no authentic + account of great severities exercised by Heraclius. The law of Hadrian was + reenacted, which prohibited the Jews from approaching within three miles + of the city—a law, which, in the present exasperated state of the + Christians, might be a measure of security of mercy, rather than of + oppression. Milman, Hist. of the Jews, iii. 242.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.112" id="linknote-46.112"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 112 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.112">return</a>)<br /> [ George of Pisidia, + Acroas. iii. de Expedit. contra Persas, 415, &c., and Heracleid. + Acroas. i. 65—138. I neglect the meaner parallels of Daniel, + Timotheus, &c.; Chosroes and the chagan were of course compared to + Belshazzar, Pharaoh, the old serpent, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-46.113" id="linknote-46.113"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 113 (<a href="#linknoteref-46.113">return</a>)<br /> [ Suidas (in Excerpt. + Hist. Byzant. p. 46) gives this number; but either the Persian must be + read for the Isaurian war, or this passage does not belong to the emperor + Heraclius.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap47.1"></a> +Chapter XLVII: Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Theological History Of The Doctrine Of The Incarnation.—The Human And +Divine Nature Of Christ.—Enmity Of The Patriarchs Of Alexandria And +Constantinople.—St. Cyril And Nestorius. —Third General Council Of +Ephesus.—Heresy Of Eutyches.—Fourth General Council Of +Chalcedon.—Civil And Ecclesiastical Discord.—Intolerance Of +Justinian.—The Three Chapters.—The Monothelite +Controversy.—State Of The Oriental Sects:—I. The +Nestorians.—II. The Jacobites.—III. The Maronites.—IV. The +Armenians.—V. The Copts And Abyssinians. +</p> + <p> + After the extinction of paganism, the Christians in peace and piety might + have enjoyed their solitary triumph. But the principle of discord was + alive in their bosom, and they were more solicitous to explore the nature, + than to practice the laws, of their founder. I have already observed, that + the disputes of the Trinity were succeeded by those of the Incarnation; + alike scandalous to the church, alike pernicious to the state, still more + minute in their origin, still more durable in their effects. + </p> + <p> + It is my design to comprise in the present chapter a religious war of two + hundred and fifty years, to represent the ecclesiastical and political + schism of the Oriental sects, and to introduce their clamorous or + sanguinary contests, by a modest inquiry into the doctrines of the + primitive church. <a href="#linknote-47.1" name="linknoteref-47.1" + id="linknoteref-47.1">1</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.1" id="linknote-47.1"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.1">return</a>)<br /> [ By what means shall I + authenticate this previous inquiry, which I have studied to circumscribe + and compress?—If I persist in supporting each fact or reflection by + its proper and special evidence, every line would demand a string of + testimonies, and every note would swell to a critical dissertation. But + the numberless passages of antiquity which I have seen with my own eyes, + are compiled, digested and illustrated by Petavius and Le Clerc, by + Beausobre and Mosheim. I shall be content to fortify my narrative by the + names and characters of these respectable guides; and in the contemplation + of a minute or remote object, I am not ashamed to borrow the aid of the + strongest glasses: 1. The Dogmata Theologica of Petavius are a work of + incredible labor and compass; the volumes which relate solely to the + Incarnation (two folios, vth and vith, of 837 pages) are divided into xvi. + books—the first of history, the remainder of controversy and + doctrine. The Jesuit’s learning is copious and correct; his Latinity is + pure, his method clear, his argument profound and well connected; but he + is the slave of the fathers, the scourge of heretics, and the enemy of + truth and candor, as often as they are inimical to the Catholic cause. 2. + The Arminian Le Clerc, who has composed in a quarto volume (Amsterdam, + 1716) the ecclesiastical history of the two first centuries, was free both + in his temper and situation; his sense is clear, but his thoughts are + narrow; he reduces the reason or folly of ages to the standard of his + private judgment, and his impartiality is sometimes quickened, and + sometimes tainted by his opposition to the fathers. See the heretics + (Cerinthians, lxxx. Ebionites, ciii. Carpocratians, cxx. Valentiniins, + cxxi. Basilidians, cxxiii. Marcionites, cxli., &c.) under their proper + dates. 3. The Histoire Critique du Manicheisme (Amsterdam, 1734, 1739, in + two vols. in 4to., with a posthumous dissertation sur les Nazarenes, + Lausanne, 1745) of M. de Beausobre is a treasure of ancient philosophy and + theology. The learned historian spins with incomparable art the systematic + thread of opinion, and transforms himself by turns into the person of a + saint, a sage, or a heretic. Yet his refinement is sometimes excessive; he + betrays an amiable partiality in favor of the weaker side, and, while he + guards against calumny, he does not allow sufficient scope for + superstition and fanaticism. A copious table of contents will direct the + reader to any point that he wishes to examine. 4. Less profound than + Petavius, less independent than Le Clerc, less ingenious than Beausobre, + the historian Mosheim is full, rational, correct, and moderate. In his + learned work, De Rebus Christianis ante Constantinum (Helmstadt 1753, in + 4to.,) see the Nazarenes and Ebionites, p. 172—179, 328—332. + The Gnostics in general, p. 179, &c. Cerinthus, p. 196—202. + Basilides, p. 352—361. Carpocrates, p. 363—367. Valentinus, p. + 371—389 Marcion, p. 404—410. The Manichaeans, p. 829-837, + &c.] + </p> + <p> + I. A laudable regard for the honor of the first proselyte has countenanced + the belief, the hope, the wish, that the Ebionites, or at least the + Nazarenes, were distinguished only by their obstinate perseverance in the + practice of the Mosaic rites. + </p> + <p> + Their churches have disappeared, their books are obliterated: their + obscure freedom might allow a latitude of faith, and the softness of their + infant creed would be variously moulded by the zeal or prudence of three + hundred years. Yet the most charitable criticism must refuse these + sectaries any knowledge of the pure and proper divinity of Christ. + Educated in the school of Jewish prophecy and prejudice, they had never + been taught to elevate their hopes above a human and temporal Messiah. <a + href="#linknote-47.2" name="linknoteref-47.2" id="linknoteref-47.2">2</a> If + they had courage to hail their king when he appeared in a plebeian garb, + their grosser apprehensions were incapable of discerning their God, who + had studiously disguised his celestial character under the name and person + of a mortal. <a href="#linknote-47.3" name="linknoteref-47.3" + id="linknoteref-47.3">3</a> The familiar companions of Jesus of Nazareth + conversed with their friend and countryman, who, in all the actions of + rational and animal life, appeared of the same species with themselves. + His progress from infancy to youth and manhood was marked by a regular + increase in stature and wisdom; and after a painful agony of mind and + body, he expired on the cross. He lived and died for the service of + mankind: but the life and death of Socrates had likewise been devoted to + the cause of religion and justice; and although the stoic or the hero may + disdain the humble virtues of Jesus, the tears which he shed over his + friend and country may be esteemed the purest evidence of his humanity. + The miracles of the gospel could not astonish a people who held with + intrepid faith the more splendid prodigies of the Mosaic law. The prophets + of ancient days had cured diseases, raised the dead, divided the sea, + stopped the sun, and ascended to heaven in a fiery chariot. And the + metaphorical style of the Hebrews might ascribe to a saint and martyr the + adoptive title of Son of God. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.2" id="linknote-47.2"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 2 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.2">return</a>)<br /> [ Jew Tryphon, (Justin. + Dialog. p. 207) in the name of his countrymen, and the modern Jews, the + few who divert their thoughts from money to religion, still hold the same + language, and allege the literal sense of the prophets. * Note: See on + this passage Bp. Kaye, Justin Martyr, p. 25.—M. Note: Most of the + modern writers, who have closely examined this subject, and who will not + be suspected of any theological bias, Rosenmüller on Isaiah ix. 5, and on + Psalm xlv. 7, and Bertholdt, Christologia Judaeorum, c. xx., rightly + ascribe much higher notions of the Messiah to the Jews. In fact, the + dispute seems to rest on the notion that there was a definite and + authorized notion of the Messiah, among the Jews, whereas it was probably + so vague, as to admit every shade of difference, from the vulgar + expectation of a mere temporal king, to the philosophic notion of an + emanation from the Deity.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.3" id="linknote-47.3"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 3 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.3">return</a>)<br /> [ Chrysostom (Basnage, + Hist. des Juifs, tom. v. c. 9, p. 183) and Athanasius (Petav. Dogmat. + Theolog. tom. v. l. i. c. 2, p. 3) are obliged to confess that the + Divinity of Christ is rarely mentioned by himself or his apostles.] + </p> + <p> + Yet in the insufficient creed of the Nazarenes and the Ebionites, a + distinction is faintly noticed between the heretics, who confounded the + generation of Christ in the common order of nature, and the less guilty + schismatics, who revered the virginity of his mother, and excluded the aid + of an earthly father. The incredulity of the former was countenanced by + the visible circumstances of his birth, the legal marriage of the reputed + parents, Joseph and Mary, and his lineal claim to the kingdom of David and + the inheritance of Judah. But the secret and authentic history has been + recorded in several copies of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, <a + href="#linknote-47.4" name="linknoteref-47.4" id="linknoteref-47.4">4</a> + which these sectaries long preserved in the original Hebrew, <a + href="#linknote-47.5" name="linknoteref-47.5" id="linknoteref-47.5">5</a> as + the sole evidence of their faith. The natural suspicions of the husband, + conscious of his own chastity, were dispelled by the assurance (in a + dream) that his wife was pregnant of the Holy Ghost: and as this distant + and domestic prodigy could not fall under the personal observation of the + historian, he must have listened to the same voice which dictated to + Isaiah the future conception of a virgin. The son of a virgin, generated + by the ineffable operation of the Holy Spirit, was a creature without + example or resemblance, superior in every attribute of mind and body to + the children of Adam. Since the introduction of the Greek or Chaldean + philosophy, <a href="#linknote-47.6" name="linknoteref-47.6" + id="linknoteref-47.6">6</a> the Jews <a href="#linknote-47.7" + name="linknoteref-47.7" id="linknoteref-47.7">7</a> were persuaded of the + preexistence, transmigration, and immortality of souls; and providence was + justified by a supposition, that they were confined in their earthly + prisons to expiate the stains which they had contracted in a former state. + <a href="#linknote-47.8" name="linknoteref-47.8" id="linknoteref-47.8">8</a> + But the degrees of purity and corruption are almost immeasurable. It might + be fairly presumed, that the most sublime and virtuous of human spirits + was infused into the offspring of Mary and the Holy Ghost; <a + href="#linknote-47.9" name="linknoteref-47.9" id="linknoteref-47.9">9</a> + that his abasement was the result of his voluntary choice; and that the + object of his mission was, to purify, not his own, but the sins of the + world. On his return to his native skies, he received the immense reward + of his obedience; the everlasting kingdom of the Messiah, which had been + darkly foretold by the prophets, under the carnal images of peace, of + conquest, and of dominion. Omnipotence could enlarge the human faculties + of Christ to the extend of is celestial office. In the language of + antiquity, the title of God has not been severely confined to the first + parent, and his incomparable minister, his only-begotten son, might claim, + without presumption, the religious, though secondary, worship of a subject + of a subject world. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.4" id="linknote-47.4"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 4 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.4">return</a>)<br /> [ The two first chapters of + St. Matthew did not exist in the Ebionite copies, (Epiphan. Haeres. xxx. + 13;) and the miraculous conception is one of the last articles which Dr. + Priestley has curtailed from his scanty creed. * Note: The distinct + allusion to the facts related in the two first chapters of the Gospel, in + a work evidently written about the end of the reign of Nero, the Ascensio + Isaiae, edited by Archbishop Lawrence, seems convincing evidence that they + are integral parts of the authentic Christian history.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.5" id="linknote-47.5"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 5 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.5">return</a>)<br /> [ It is probable enough + that the first of the Gospels for the use of the Jewish converts was + composed in the Hebrew or Syriac idiom: the fact is attested by a chain of + fathers—Papias, Irenaeus, Origen, Jerom, &c. It is devoutly + believed by the Catholics, and admitted by Casaubon, Grotius, and Isaac + Vossius, among the Protestant critics. But this Hebrew Gospel of St. + Matthew is most unaccountably lost; and we may accuse the diligence or + fidelity of the primitive churches, who have preferred the unauthorized + version of some nameless Greek. Erasmus and his followers, who respect our + Greek text as the original Gospel, deprive themselves of the evidence + which declares it to be the work of an apostle. See Simon, Hist. Critique, + &c., tom. iii. c. 5—9, p. 47—101, and the Prolegomena of + Mill and Wetstein to the New Testament. * Note: Surely the extinction of + the Judaeo-Christian community related from Mosheim by Gibbon himself (c. + xv.) accounts both simply and naturally for the loss of a composition, + which had become of no use—nor does it follow that the Greek Gospel + of St. Matthew is unauthorized.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.6" id="linknote-47.6"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 6 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.6">return</a>)<br /> [ The metaphysics of the + soul are disengaged by Cicero (Tusculan. l. i.) and Maximus of Tyre + (Dissertat. xvi.) from the intricacies of dialogue, which sometimes amuse, + and often perplex, the readers of the Phoedrus, the Phoedon, and the Laws + of Plato.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.7" id="linknote-47.7"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 7 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.7">return</a>)<br /> [ The disciples of Jesus + were persuaded that a man might have sinned before he was born, (John, ix. + 2,) and the Pharisees held the transmigration of virtuous souls, (Joseph. + de Bell. Judaico, l. ii. c. 7;) and a modern Rabbi is modestly assured, + that Hermes, Pythagoras, Plato, &c., derived their metaphysics from + his illustrious countrymen.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.8" id="linknote-47.8"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 8 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.8">return</a>)<br /> [ Four different opinions + have been entertained concerning the origin of human souls: 1. That they + are eternal and divine. 2. That they were created in a separate state of + existence, before their union with the body. 3. That they have been + propagated from the original stock of Adam, who contained in himself the + mental as well as the corporeal seed of his posterity. 4. That each soul + is occasionally created and embodied in the moment of conception.—The + last of these sentiments appears to have prevailed among the moderns; and + our spiritual history is grown less sublime, without becoming more + intelligible.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.9" id="linknote-47.9"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 9 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.9">return</a>)<br /> [ It was one of the fifteen + heresies imputed to Origen, and denied by his apologist, (Photius, + Bibliothec. cod. cxvii. p. 296.) Some of the Rabbis attribute one and the + same soul to the persons of Adam, David, and the Messiah.] + </p> + <p> + II. The seeds of the faith, which had slowly arisen in the rocky and + ungrateful soil of Judea, were transplanted, in full maturity, to the + happier climes of the Gentiles; and the strangers of Rome or Asia, who + never beheld the manhood, were the more readily disposed to embrace the + divinity, of Christ. The polytheist and the philosopher, the Greek and the + Barbarian, were alike accustomed to conceive a long succession, an + infinite chain of angels or daemons, or deities, or aeons, or emanations, + issuing from the throne of light. Nor could it seem strange or incredible, + that the first of these aeons, the Logos, or Word of God, of the same + substance with the Father, should descend upon earth, to deliver the human + race from vice and error, and to conduct them in the paths of life and + immortality. But the prevailing doctrine of the eternity and inherent + pravity of matter infected the primitive churches of the East. Many among + the Gentile proselytes refused to believe that a celestial spirit, an + undivided portion of the first essence, had been personally united with a + mass of impure and contaminated flesh; and, in their zeal for the + divinity, they piously abjured the humanity, of Christ. While his blood + was still recent on Mount Calvary, <a href="#linknote-47.10" + name="linknoteref-47.10" id="linknoteref-47.10">10</a> the Docetes, a + numerous and learned sect of Asiatics, invented the phantastic system, + which was afterwards propagated by the Marcionites, the Manichaeans, and + the various names of the Gnostic heresy. <a href="#linknote-47.11" + name="linknoteref-47.11" id="linknoteref-47.11">11</a> They denied the truth + and authenticity of the Gospels, as far as they relate the conception of + Mary, the birth of Christ, and the thirty years that preceded the exercise + of his ministry. He first appeared on the banks of the Jordan in the form + of perfect manhood; but it was a form only, and not a substance; a human + figure created by the hand of Omnipotence to imitate the faculties and + actions of a man, and to impose a perpetual illusion on the senses of his + friends and enemies. Articulate sounds vibrated on the ears of the + disciples; but the image which was impressed on their optic nerve eluded + the more stubborn evidence of the touch; and they enjoyed the spiritual, + not the corporeal, presence of the Son of God. The rage of the Jews was + idly wasted against an impassive phantom; and the mystic scenes of the + passion and death, the resurrection and ascension, of Christ were + represented on the theatre of Jerusalem for the benefit of mankind. If it + were urged, that such ideal mimicry, such incessant deception, was + unworthy of the God of truth, the Docetes agreed with too many of their + orthodox brethren in the justification of pious falsehood. In the system + of the Gnostics, the Jehovah of Israel, the Creator of this lower world, + was a rebellious, or at least an ignorant, spirit. The Son of God + descended upon earth to abolish his temple and his law; and, for the + accomplishment of this salutary end, he dexterously transferred to his own + person the hope and prediction of a temporal Messiah. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.10" id="linknote-47.10"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 10 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.10">return</a>)<br /> [ Apostolis adhuc in + seculo superstitibus, apud Judaeam Christi sanguine recente, Phantasma + domini corpus asserebatur. Hieronym, advers. Lucifer. c. 8. The epistle of + Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, and even the Gospel according to St. John, are + levelled against the growing error of the Docetes, who had obtained too + much credit in the world, (1 John, iv. 1—5.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.11" id="linknote-47.11"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 11 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.11">return</a>)<br /> [ About the year 200 of + the Christian aera, Irenaeus and Hippolytus efuted the thirty-two sects, + which had multiplied to fourscore in the time of Epiphanius, (Phot. + Biblioth. cod. cxx. cxxi. cxxii.) The five books of Irenaeus exist only in + barbarous Latin; but the original might perhaps be found in some monastery + of Greece.] + </p> + <p> + One of the most subtile disputants of the Manichaean school has pressed + the danger and indecency of supposing, that the God of the Christians, in + the state of a human foetus, emerged at the end of nine months from a + female womb. The pious horror of his antagonists provoked them to disclaim + all sensual circumstances of conception and delivery; to maintain that the + divinity passed through Mary like a sunbeam through a plate of glass; and + to assert, that the seal of her virginity remained unbroken even at the + moment when she became the mother of Christ. But the rashness of these + concessions has encouraged a milder sentiment of those of the Docetes, who + taught, not that Christ was a phantom, but that he was clothed with an + impassible and incorruptible body. Such, indeed, in the more orthodox + system, he has acquired since his resurrection, and such he must have + always possessed, if it were capable of pervading, without resistance or + injury, the density of intermediate matter. Devoid of its most essential + properties, it might be exempt from the attributes and infirmities of the + flesh. A foetus that could increase from an invisible point to its full + maturity; a child that could attain the stature of perfect manhood without + deriving any nourishment from the ordinary sources, might continue to + exist without repairing a daily waste by a daily supply of external + matter. Jesus might share the repasts of his disciples without being + subject to the calls of thirst or hunger; and his virgin purity was never + sullied by the involuntary stains of sensual concupiscence. Of a body thus + singularly constituted, a question would arise, by what means, and of what + materials, it was originally framed; and our sounder theology is startled + by an answer which was not peculiar to the Gnostics, that both the form + and the substance proceeded from the divine essence. The idea of pure and + absolute spirit is a refinement of modern philosophy: the incorporeal + essence, ascribed by the ancients to human souls, celestial beings, and + even the Deity himself, does not exclude the notion of extended space; and + their imagination was satisfied with a subtile nature of air, or fire, or + aether, incomparably more perfect than the grossness of the material + world. If we define the place, we must describe the figure, of the Deity. + Our experience, perhaps our vanity, represents the powers of reason and + virtue under a human form. The Anthropomorphites, who swarmed among the + monks of Egypt and the Catholics of Africa, could produce the express + declaration of Scripture, that man was made after the image of his + Creator. <a href="#linknote-47.12" name="linknoteref-47.12" + id="linknoteref-47.12">12</a> The venerable Serapion, one of the saints of + the Nitrian deserts, relinquished, with many a tear, his darling + prejudice; and bewailed, like an infant, his unlucky conversion, which had + stolen away his God, and left his mind without any visible object of faith + or devotion. <a href="#linknote-47.13" name="linknoteref-47.13" + id="linknoteref-47.13">13</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.12" id="linknote-47.12"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 12 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.12">return</a>)<br /> [ The pilgrim Cassian, + who visited Egypt in the beginning of the vth century, observes and + laments the reign of anthropomorphism among the monks, who were not + conscious that they embraced the system of Epicurus, (Cicero, de Nat. + Deorum, i. 18, 34.) Ab universo propemodum genere monachorum, qui per + totam provinciam Egyptum morabantur, pro simplicitatis errore susceptum + est, ut e contraric memoratum pontificem (Theophilus) velut haeresi + gravissima depravatum, pars maxima seniorum ab universo fraternitatis + corpore decerneret detestandum, (Cassian, Collation. x. 2.) As long as St. + Augustin remained a Manichaean, he was scandalized by the anthropomorphism + of the vulgar Catholics.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.13" id="linknote-47.13"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 13 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.13">return</a>)<br /> [ Ita est in oratione + senex mente confusus, eo quod illam imaginem Deitatis, quam proponere sibi + in oratione consueverat, aboleri de suo corde sentiret, ut in amarissimos + fletus, crebrosque singultus repente prorumpens, in terram prostratus, cum + ejulatu validissimo proclamaret; “Heu me miserum! tulerunt a me Deum meum, + et quem nunc teneam non habeo, vel quem adorem, aut interpallam am + nescio.” Cassian, Collat. x. 2.] + </p> + <p> + III. Such were the fleeting shadows of the Docetes. A more substantial, + though less simple, hypothesis, was contrived by Cerinthus of Asia, <a + href="#linknote-47.14" name="linknoteref-47.14" id="linknoteref-47.14">14</a> + who dared to oppose the last of the apostles. Placed on the confines of + the Jewish and Gentile world, he labored to reconcile the Gnostic with the + Ebionite, by confessing in the same Messiah the supernatural union of a + man and a God; and this mystic doctrine was adopted with many fanciful + improvements by Carpocrates, Basilides, and Valentine, <a + href="#linknote-47.15" name="linknoteref-47.15" id="linknoteref-47.15">15</a> + the heretics of the Egyptian school. In their eyes, Jesus of Nazareth was + a mere mortal, the legitimate son of Joseph and Mary: but he was the best + and wisest of the human race, selected as the worthy instrument to restore + upon earth the worship of the true and supreme Deity. When he was baptized + in the Jordan, the Christ, the first of the aeons, the Son of God himself, + descended on Jesus in the form of a dove, to inhabit his mind, and direct + his actions during the allotted period of his ministry. When the Messiah + was delivered into the hands of the Jews, the Christ, an immortal and + impassible being, forsook his earthly tabernacle, flew back to the pleroma + or world of spirits, and left the solitary Jesus to suffer, to complain, + and to expire. But the justice and generosity of such a desertion are + strongly questionable; and the fate of an innocent martyr, at first + impelled, and at length abandoned, by his divine companion, might provoke + the pity and indignation of the profane. Their murmurs were variously + silenced by the sectaries who espoused and modified the double system of + Cerinthus. It was alleged, that when Jesus was nailed to the cross, he was + endowed with a miraculous apathy of mind and body, which rendered him + insensible of his apparent sufferings. It was affirmed, that these + momentary, though real, pangs would be abundantly repaid by the temporal + reign of a thousand years reserved for the Messiah in his kingdom of the + new Jerusalem. It was insinuated, that if he suffered, he deserved to + suffer; that human nature is never absolutely perfect; and that the cross + and passion might serve to expiate the venial transgressions of the son of + Joseph, before his mysterious union with the Son of God. <a + href="#linknote-47.16" name="linknoteref-47.16" id="linknoteref-47.16">16</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.14" id="linknote-47.14"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 14 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.14">return</a>)<br /> [ St. John and Cerinthus + (A.D. 80. Cleric. Hist. Eccles. p. 493) accidentally met in the public + bath of Ephesus; but the apostle fled from the heretic, lest the building + should tumble on their heads. This foolish story, reprobated by Dr. + Middleton, (Miscellaneous Works, vol. ii.,) is related, however, by + Irenaeus, (iii. 3,) on the evidence of Polycarp, and was probably suited + to the time and residence of Cerinthus. The obsolete, yet probably the + true, reading of 1 John, iv. 3 alludes to the double nature of that + primitive heretic. * Note: Griesbach asserts that all the Greek Mss., all + the translators, and all the Greek fathers, support the common reading.—Nov. + Test. in loc.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.15" id="linknote-47.15"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 15 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.15">return</a>)<br /> [ The Valentinians + embraced a complex, and almost incoherent, system. 1. Both Christ and + Jesus were aeons, though of different degrees; the one acting as the + rational soul, the other as the divine spirit of the Savior. 2. At the + time of the passion, they both retired, and left only a sensitive soul and + a human body. 3. Even that body was aethereal, and perhaps apparent.—Such + are the laborious conclusions of Mosheim. But I much doubt whether the + Latin translator understood Irenaeus, and whether Irenaeus and the + Valetinians understood themselves.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.16" id="linknote-47.16"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 16 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.16">return</a>)<br /> [ The heretics abused the + passionate exclamation of “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” + Rousseau, who has drawn an eloquent, but indecent, parallel between Christ + and Socrates, forgets that not a word of impatience or despair escaped + from the mouth of the dying philosopher. In the Messiah, such sentiments + could be only apparent; and such ill-sounding words were properly + explained as the application of a psalm and prophecy.] + </p> + <p> + IV. All those who believe the immateriality of the soul, a specious and + noble tenet, must confess, from their present experience, the + incomprehensible union of mind and matter. A similar union is not + inconsistent with a much higher, or even with the highest, degree of + mental faculties; and the incarnation of an aeon or archangel, the most + perfect of created spirits, does not involve any positive contradiction or + absurdity. In the age of religious freedom, which was determined by the + council of Nice, the dignity of Christ was measured by private judgment + according to the indefinite rule of Scripture, or reason, or tradition. + But when his pure and proper divinity had been established on the ruins of + Arianism, the faith of the Catholics trembled on the edge of a precipice + where it was impossible to recede, dangerous to stand, dreadful to fall + and the manifold inconveniences of their creed were aggravated by the + sublime character of their theology. They hesitated to pronounce; that God + himself, the second person of an equal and consubstantial trinity, was + manifested in the flesh; <a href="#linknote-47.17" name="linknoteref-47.17" + id="linknoteref-47.17">17</a> that a being who pervades the universe, had + been confined in the womb of Mary; that his eternal duration had been + marked by the days, and months, and years of human existence; that the + Almighty had been scourged and crucified; that his impassible essence had + felt pain and anguish; that his omniscience was not exempt from ignorance; + and that the source of life and immortality expired on Mount Calvary. + These alarming consequences were affirmed with unblushing simplicity by + Apollinaris, <a href="#linknote-47.18" name="linknoteref-47.18" + id="linknoteref-47.18">18</a> bishop of Laodicea, and one of the luminaries + of the church. The son of a learned grammarian, he was skilled in all the + sciences of Greece; eloquence, erudition, and philosophy, conspicuous in + the volumes of Apollinaris, were humbly devoted to the service of + religion. The worthy friend of Athanasius, the worthy antagonist of + Julian, he bravely wrestled with the Arians and Polytheists, and though he + affected the rigor of geometrical demonstration, his commentaries revealed + the literal and allegorical sense of the Scriptures. A mystery, which had + long floated in the looseness of popular belief, was defined by his + perverse diligence in a technical form; and he first proclaimed the + memorable words, “One incarnate nature of Christ,” which are still + reechoed with hostile clamors in the churches of Asia, Egypt, and + Aethiopia. He taught that the Godhead was united or mingled with the body + of a man; and that the Logos, the eternal wisdom, supplied in the flesh + the place and office of a human soul. Yet as the profound doctor had been + terrified at his own rashness, Apollinaris was heard to mutter some faint + accents of excuse and explanation. He acquiesced in the old distinction of + the Greek philosophers between the rational and sensitive soul of man; + that he might reserve the Logos for intellectual functions, and employ the + subordinate human principle in the meaner actions of animal life. + </p> + <p> + With the moderate Docetes, he revered Mary as the spiritual, rather than + as the carnal, mother of Christ, whose body either came from heaven, + impassible and incorruptible, or was absorbed, and as it were transformed, + into the essence of the Deity. The system of Apollinaris was strenuously + encountered by the Asiatic and Syrian divines whose schools are honored by + the names of Basil, Gregory and Chrysostom, and tainted by those of + Diodorus, Theodore, and Nestorius. But the person of the aged bishop of + Laedicea, his character and dignity, remained inviolate; and his rivals, + since we may not suspect them of the weakness of toleration, were + astonished, perhaps, by the novelty of the argument, and diffident of the + final sentence of the Catholic church. Her judgment at length inclined in + their favor; the heresy of Apollinaris was condemned, and the separate + congregations of his disciples were proscribed by the Imperial laws. But + his principles were secretly entertained in the monasteries of Egypt, and + his enemies felt the hatred of Theophilus and Cyril, the successive + patriarchs of Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.17" id="linknote-47.17"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 17 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.17">return</a>)<br /> [ This strong expression + might be justified by the language of St. Paul, (1 Tim. iii. 16;) but we + are deceived by our modern Bibles. The word which was altered to God at + Constantinople in the beginning of the vith century: the true reading, + which is visible in the Latin and Syriac versions, still exists in the + reasoning of the Greek, as well as of the Latin fathers; and this fraud, + with that of the three witnesses of St. John, is admirably detected by Sir + Isaac Newton. (See his two letters translated by M. de Missy, in the + Journal Britannique, tom. xv. p. 148—190, 351—390.) I have + weighed the arguments, and may yield to the authority of the first of + philosophers, who was deeply skilled in critical and theological studies. + Note: It should be Griesbach in loc. The weight of authority is so much + against the common reading in both these points, that they are no longer + urged by prudent controversialists. Would Gibbon’s deference for the first + of philosophers have extended to all his theological conclusions?—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.18" id="linknote-47.18"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 18 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.18">return</a>)<br /> [ For Apollinaris and his + sect, see Socrates, l. ii. c. 46, l. iii. c. 16 Sazomen, l. v. c. 18, 1. + vi. c. 25, 27. Theodoret, l. v. 3, 10, 11. Tillemont, Memoires + Ecclesiastiques, tom. vii. p. 602—638. Not. p. 789—794, in + 4to. Venise, 1732. The contemporary saint always mentions the bishop of + Laodicea as a friend and brother. The style of the more recent historians + is harsh and hostile: yet Philostorgius compares him (l. viii. c. 11-15) + to Basil and Gregory.] + </p> + <p> + V. The grovelling Ebionite, and the fantastic Docetes, were rejected and + forgotten: the recent zeal against the errors of Apollinaris reduced the + Catholics to a seeming agreement with the double nature of Cerinthus. But + instead of a temporary and occasional alliance, they established, and we + still embrace, the substantial, indissoluble, and everlasting union of a + perfect God with a perfect man, of the second person of the trinity with a + reasonable soul and human flesh. In the beginning of the fifth century, + the unity of the two natures was the prevailing doctrine of the church. On + all sides, it was confessed, that the mode of their coexistence could + neither be represented by our ideas, nor expressed by our language. Yet a + secret and incurable discord was cherished, between those who were most + apprehensive of confounding, and those who were most fearful of + separating, the divinity, and the humanity, of Christ. Impelled by + religious frenzy, they fled with adverse haste from the error which they + mutually deemed most destructive of truth and salvation. On either hand + they were anxious to guard, they were jealous to defend, the union and the + distinction of the two natures, and to invent such forms of speech, such + symbols of doctrine, as were least susceptible of doubt or ambiguity. The + poverty of ideas and language tempted them to ransack art and nature for + every possible comparison, and each comparison misled their fancy in the + explanation of an incomparable mystery. In the polemic microscope, an atom + is enlarged to a monster, and each party was skilful to exaggerate the + absurd or impious conclusions that might be extorted from the principles + of their adversaries. To escape from each other, they wandered through + many a dark and devious thicket, till they were astonished by the horrid + phantoms of Cerinthus and Apollinaris, who guarded the opposite issues of + the theological labyrinth. As soon as they beheld the twilight of sense + and heresy, they started, measured back their steps, and were again + involved in the gloom of impenetrable orthodoxy. To purge themselves from + the guilt or reproach of damnable error, they disavowed their + consequences, explained their principles, excused their indiscretions, and + unanimously pronounced the sounds of concord and faith. Yet a latent and + almost invisible spark still lurked among the embers of controversy: by + the breath of prejudice and passion, it was quickly kindled to a mighty + flame, and the verbal disputes <a href="#linknote-47.19" + name="linknoteref-47.19" id="linknoteref-47.19">19</a> of the Oriental sects + have shaken the pillars of the church and state. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.19" id="linknote-47.19"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 19 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.19">return</a>)<br /> [ I appeal to the + confession of two Oriental prelates, Gregory Abulpharagius the Jacobite + primate of the East, and Elias the Nestorian metropolitan of Damascus, + (see Asseman, Bibliothec. Oriental. tom. ii. p. 291, tom. iii. p. 514, + &c.,) that the Melchites, Jacobites, Nestorians, &c., agree in the + doctrine, and differ only in the expression. Our most learned and rational + divines—Basnage, Le Clerc, Beausobre, La Croze, Mosheim, Jablonski—are + inclined to favor this charitable judgment; but the zeal of Petavius is + loud and angry, and the moderation of Dupin is conveyed in a whisper.] + </p> + <p> + The name of Cyril of Alexandria is famous in controversial story, and the + title of saint is a mark that his opinions and his party have finally + prevailed. In the house of his uncle, the archbishop Theophilus, he + imbibed the orthodox lessons of zeal and dominion, and five years of his + youth were profitably spent in the adjacent monasteries of Nitria. Under + the tuition of the abbot Serapion, he applied himself to ecclesiastical + studies, with such indefatigable ardor, that in the course of one + sleepless night, he has perused the four Gospels, the Catholic Epistles, + and the Epistle to the Romans. Origen he detested; but the writings of + Clemens and Dionysius, of Athanasius and Basil, were continually in his + hands: by the theory and practice of dispute, his faith was confirmed and + his wit was sharpened; he extended round his cell the cobwebs of + scholastic theology, and meditated the works of allegory and metaphysics, + whose remains, in seven verbose folios, now peaceably slumber by the side + of their rivals. <a href="#linknote-47.20" name="linknoteref-47.20" + id="linknoteref-47.20">20</a> Cyril prayed and fasted in the desert, but + his thoughts (it is the reproach of a friend) <a href="#linknote-47.21" + name="linknoteref-47.21" id="linknoteref-47.21">21</a> were still fixed on + the world; and the call of Theophilus, who summoned him to the tumult of + cities and synods, was too readily obeyed by the aspiring hermit. With the + approbation of his uncle, he assumed the office, and acquired the fame, of + a popular preacher. His comely person adorned the pulpit; the harmony of + his voice resounded in the cathedral; his friends were stationed to lead + or second the applause of the congregation; <a href="#linknote-47.22" + name="linknoteref-47.22" id="linknoteref-47.22">22</a> and the hasty notes + of the scribes preserved his discourses, which in their effect, though not + in their composition, might be compared with those of the Athenian + orators. The death of Theophilus expanded and realized the hopes of his + nephew. The clergy of Alexandria was divided; the soldiers and their + general supported the claims of the archdeacon; but a resistless + multitude, with voices and with hands, asserted the cause of their + favorite; and after a period of thirty-nine years, Cyril was seated on the + throne of Athanasius. <a href="#linknote-47.23" name="linknoteref-47.23" + id="linknoteref-47.23">23</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.20" id="linknote-47.20"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 20 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.20">return</a>)<br /> [ La Croze (Hist. du + Christianisme des Indes, tom. i. p. 24) avows his contempt for the genius + and writings of Cyril. De tous les on vrages des anciens, il y en a peu + qu’on lise avec moins d’utilite: and Dupin, (Bibliotheque Ecclesiastique, + tom. iv. p. 42—52,) in words of respect, teaches us to despise + them.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.21" id="linknote-47.21"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 21 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.21">return</a>)<br /> [ Of Isidore of Pelusium, + (l. i. epist. 25, p. 8.) As the letter is not of the most creditable sort, + Tillemont, less sincere than the Bollandists, affects a doubt whether this + Cyril is the nephew of Theophilus, (Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 268.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.22" id="linknote-47.22"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 22 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.22">return</a>)<br /> [ A grammarian is named + by Socrates (l. vii. c. 13).] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.23" id="linknote-47.23"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 23 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.23">return</a>)<br /> [ See the youth and + promotion of Cyril, in Socrates, (l. vii. c. 7) and Renaudot, (Hist. + Patriarchs. Alexandrin. p. 106, 108.) The Abbe Renaudot drew his materials + from the Arabic history of Severus, bishop of Hermopolis Magma, or + Ashmunein, in the xth century, who can never be trusted, unless our assent + is extorted by the internal evidence of facts.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap47.2"></a> +Chapter XLVII: Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part II.</h2> + + <p> + The prize was not unworthy of his ambition. At a distance from the court, + and at the head of an immense capital, the patriarch, as he was now + styled, of Alexandria had gradually usurped the state and authority of a + civil magistrate. The public and private charities of the city were + blindly obeyed by his numerous and fanatic parabolani, <a + href="#linknote-47.24" name="linknoteref-47.24" id="linknoteref-47.24">24</a> + familiarized in their daily office with scenes of death; and the præfects + of Egypt were awed or provoked by the temporal power of these Christian + pontiffs. Ardent in the prosecution of heresy, Cyril auspiciously opened + his reign by oppressing the Novatians, the most innocent and harmless of + the sectaries. The interdiction of their religious worship appeared in his + eyes a just and meritorious act; and he confiscated their holy vessels, + without apprehending the guilt of sacrilege. The toleration, and even the + privileges of the Jews, who had multiplied to the number of forty + thousand, were secured by the laws of the Caesars and Ptolemies, and a + long prescription of seven hundred years since the foundation of + Alexandria. Without any legal sentence, without any royal mandate, the + patriarch, at the dawn of day, led a seditious multitude to the attack of + the synagogues. Unarmed and unprepared, the Jews were incapable of + resistance; their houses of prayer were levelled with the ground, and the + episcopal warrior, after rewarding his troops with the plunder of their + goods, expelled from the city the remnant of the unbelieving nation. + Perhaps he might plead the insolence of their prosperity, and their deadly + hatred of the Christians, whose blood they had recently shed in a + malicious or accidental tumult. + </p> + <p> + Such crimes would have deserved the animadversion of the magistrate; but + in this promiscuous outrage, the innocent were confounded with the guilty, + and Alexandria was impoverished by the loss of a wealthy and industrious + colony. The zeal of Cyril exposed him to the penalties of the Julian law; + but in a feeble government and a superstitious age, he was secure of + impunity, and even of praise. Orestes complained; but his just complaints + were too quickly forgotten by the ministers of Theodosius, and too deeply + remembered by a priest who affected to pardon, and continued to hate, the + præfect of Egypt. As he passed through the streets, his chariot was + assaulted by a band of five hundred of the Nitrian monks; his guards fled + from the wild beasts of the desert; his protestations that he was a + Christian and a Catholic were answered by a volley of stones, and the face + of Orestes was covered with blood. The loyal citizens of Alexandria + hastened to his rescue; he instantly satisfied his justice and revenge + against the monk by whose hand he had been wounded, and Ammonius expired + under the rod of the lictor. At the command of Cyril his body was raised + from the ground, and transported, in solemn procession, to the cathedral; + the name of Ammonius was changed to that of Thaumasius the wonderful; his + tomb was decorated with the trophies of martyrdom, and the patriarch + ascended the pulpit to celebrate the magnanimity of an assassin and a + rebel. Such honors might incite the faithful to combat and die under the + banners of the saint; and he soon prompted, or accepted, the sacrifice of + a virgin, who professed the religion of the Greeks, and cultivated the + friendship of Orestes. Hypatia, the daughter of Theon the mathematician, + <a href="#linknote-47.25" name="linknoteref-47.25" id="linknoteref-47.25">25</a> + was initiated in her father’s studies; her learned comments have + elucidated the geometry of Apollonius and Diophantus, and she publicly + taught, both at Athens and Alexandria, the philosophy of Plato and + Aristotle. In the bloom of beauty, and in the maturity of wisdom, the + modest maid refused her lovers and instructed her disciples; the persons + most illustrious for their rank or merit were impatient to visit the + female philosopher; and Cyril beheld, with a jealous eye, the gorgeous + train of horses and slaves who crowded the door of her academy. A rumor + was spread among the Christians, that the daughter of Theon was the only + obstacle to the reconciliation of the præfect and the archbishop; and + that obstacle was speedily removed. On a fatal day, in the holy season of + Lent, Hypatia was torn from her chariot, stripped naked, dragged to the + church, and inhumanly butchered by the hands of Peter the reader, and a + troop of savage and merciless fanatics: her flesh was scraped from her + bones with sharp cyster shells, <a href="#linknote-47.26" + name="linknoteref-47.26" id="linknoteref-47.26">26</a> and her quivering + limbs were delivered to the flames. The just progress of inquiry and + punishment was stopped by seasonable gifts; but the murder of Hypatia has + imprinted an indelible stain on the character and religion of Cyril of + Alexandria. <a href="#linknote-47.27" name="linknoteref-47.27" + id="linknoteref-47.27">27</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.24" id="linknote-47.24"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 24 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.24">return</a>)<br /> [ The Parabolani of + Alexandria were a charitable corporation, instituted during the plague of + Gallienus, to visit the sick and to bury the dead. They gradually + enlarged, abused, and sold the privileges of their order. Their outrageous + conduct during the reign of Cyril provoked the emperor to deprive the + patriarch of their nomination, and to restrain their number to five or six + hundred. But these restraints were transient and ineffectual. See the + Theodosian Code, l. xvi. tit. ii. and Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. + 276—278.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.25" id="linknote-47.25"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 25 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.25">return</a>)<br /> [ For Theon and his + daughter Hypatia. see Fabricius, Bibliothec. tom. viii. p. 210, 211. Her + article in the Lexicon of Suidas is curious and original. Hesychius + (Meursii Opera, tom. vii. p. 295, 296) observes, that he was persecuted; + and an epigram in the Greek Anthology (l. i. c. 76, p. 159, edit. Brodaei) + celebrates her knowledge and eloquence. She is honorably mentioned (Epist. + 10, 15 16, 33—80, 124, 135, 153) by her friend and disciple the + philosophic bishop Synesius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.26" id="linknote-47.26"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 26 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.26">return</a>)<br /> [ Oyster shells were + plentifully strewed on the sea-beach before the Caesareum. I may therefore + prefer the literal sense, without rejecting the metaphorical version of + tegulae, tiles, which is used by M. de Valois ignorant, and the assassins + were probably regardless, whether their victim was yet alive.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.27" id="linknote-47.27"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 27 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.27">return</a>)<br /> [ These exploits of St. + Cyril are recorded by Socrates, (l. vii. c. 13, 14, 15;) and the most + reluctant bigotry is compelled to copy an historian who coolly styles the + murderers of Hypatia. At the mention of that injured name, I am pleased to + observe a blush even on the cheek of Baronius, (A.D. 415, No. 48.)] + </p> + <p> + Superstition, perhaps, would more gently expiate the blood of a virgin, + than the banishment of a saint; and Cyril had accompanied his uncle to the + iniquitous synod of the Oak. When the memory of Chrysostom was restored + and consecrated, the nephew of Theophilus, at the head of a dying faction, + still maintained the justice of his sentence; nor was it till after a + tedious delay and an obstinate resistance, that he yielded to the consent + of the Catholic world. <a href="#linknote-47.28" name="linknoteref-47.28" + id="linknoteref-47.28">28</a> His enmity to the Byzantine pontiffs <a + href="#linknote-47.29" name="linknoteref-47.29" id="linknoteref-47.29">29</a> + was a sense of interest, not a sally of passion: he envied their fortunate + station in the sunshine of the Imperial court; and he dreaded their + upstart ambition. which oppressed the metropolitans of Europe and Asia, + invaded the provinces of Antioch and Alexandria, and measured their + diocese by the limits of the empire. The long moderation of Atticus, the + mild usurper of the throne of Chrysostom, suspended the animosities of the + Eastern patriarchs; but Cyril was at length awakened by the exaltation of + a rival more worthy of his esteem and hatred. After the short and troubled + reign of Sisinnius, bishop of Constantinople, the factions of the clergy + and people were appeased by the choice of the emperor, who, on this + occasion, consulted the voice of fame, and invited the merit of a + stranger. + </p> + <p> + Nestorius, <a href="#linknote-47.30" name="linknoteref-47.30" + id="linknoteref-47.30">30</a> native of Germanicia, and a monk of Antioch, + was recommended by the austerity of his life, and the eloquence of his + sermons; but the first homily which he preached before the devout + Theodosius betrayed the acrimony and impatience of his zeal. “Give me, O + Caesar!” he exclaimed, “give me the earth purged of heretics, and I will + give you in exchange the kingdom of heaven. Exterminate with me the + heretics; and with you I will exterminate the Persians.” On the fifth day + as if the treaty had been already signed, the patriarch of Constantinople + discovered, surprised, and attacked a secret conventicle of the Arians: + they preferred death to submission; the flames that were kindled by their + despair, soon spread to the neighboring houses, and the triumph of + Nestorius was clouded by the name of incendiary. On either side of the + Hellespont his episcopal vigor imposed a rigid formulary of faith and + discipline; a chronological error concerning the festival of Easter was + punished as an offence against the church and state. Lydia and Caria, + Sardes and Miletus, were purified with the blood of the obstinate + Quartodecimans; and the edict of the emperor, or rather of the patriarch, + enumerates three-and-twenty degrees and denominations in the guilt and + punishment of heresy. <a href="#linknote-47.31" name="linknoteref-47.31" + id="linknoteref-47.31">31</a> But the sword of persecution which Nestorius + so furiously wielded was soon turned against his own breast. Religion was + the pretence; but, in the judgment of a contemporary saint, ambition was + the genuine motive of episcopal warfare. <a href="#linknote-47.32" + name="linknoteref-47.32" id="linknoteref-47.32">32</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.28" id="linknote-47.28"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 28 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.28">return</a>)<br /> [ He was deaf to the + entreaties of Atticus of Constantinople, and of Isidore of Pelusium, and + yielded only (if we may believe Nicephorus, l. xiv. c. 18) to the personal + intercession of the Virgin. Yet in his last years he still muttered that + John Chrysostom had been justly condemned, (Tillemont, Mem. Eccles. tom. + xiv. p. 278—282. Baronius Annal. Eccles. A.D. 412, No. 46—64.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.29" id="linknote-47.29"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 29 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.29">return</a>)<br /> [ See their characters in + the history of Socrates, (l. vii. c. 25—28;) their power and + pretensions, in the huge compilation of Thomassin, (Discipline de + l’Eglise, tom. i. p. 80-91.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.30" id="linknote-47.30"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 30 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.30">return</a>)<br /> [ His elevation and + conduct are described by Socrates, (l. vii. c. 29 31;) and Marcellinus + seems to have applied the eloquentiae satis, sapi entiae parum, of + Sallust.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.31" id="linknote-47.31"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 31 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.31">return</a>)<br /> [ Cod. Theodos. l. xvi. + tit. v. leg. 65, with the illustrations of Baronius, (A.D. 428, No. 25, + &c.,) Godefroy, (ad locum,) and Pagi, Critica, (tom. ii. p. 208.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.32" id="linknote-47.32"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 32 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.32">return</a>)<br /> [ Isidore of Pelusium, + (l. iv. Epist. 57.) His words are strong and scandalous. Isidore is a + saint, but he never became a bishop; and I half suspect that the pride of + Diogenes trampled on the pride of Plato.] + </p> + <p> + In the Syrian school, Nestorius had been taught to abhor the confusion of + the two natures, and nicely to discriminate the humanity of his master + Christ from the divinity of the Lord Jesus. <a href="#linknote-47.33" + name="linknoteref-47.33" id="linknoteref-47.33">33</a> The Blessed Virgin he + revered as the mother of Christ, but his ears were offended with the rash + and recent title of mother of God, <a href="#linknote-47.34" + name="linknoteref-47.34" id="linknoteref-47.34">34</a> which had been + insensibly adopted since the origin of the Arian controversy. From the + pulpit of Constantinople, a friend of the patriarch, and afterwards the + patriarch himself, repeatedly preached against the use, or the abuse, of a + word <a href="#linknote-47.35" name="linknoteref-47.35" id="linknoteref-47.35">35</a> + unknown to the apostles, unauthorized by the church, and which could only + tend to alarm the timorous, to misled the simple, to amuse the profane, + and to justify, by a seeming resemblance, the old genealogy of Olympus. <a + href="#linknote-47.36" name="linknoteref-47.36" id="linknoteref-47.36">36</a> + In his calmer moments Nestorius confessed, that it might be tolerated or + excused by the union of the two natures, and the communication of their + idioms: <a href="#linknote-47.37" name="linknoteref-47.37" + id="linknoteref-47.37">37</a> but he was exasperated, by contradiction, to + disclaim the worship of a new-born, an infant Deity, to draw his + inadequate similes from the conjugal or civil partnerships of life, and to + describe the manhood of Christ as the robe, the instrument, the tabernacle + of his Godhead. At these blasphemous sounds, the pillars of the sanctuary + were shaken. The unsuccessful competitors of Nestorius indulged their + pious or personal resentment, the Byzantine clergy was secretly displeased + with the intrusion of a stranger: whatever is superstitious or absurd, + might claim the protection of the monks; and the people were interested in + the glory of their virgin patroness. <a href="#linknote-47.38" + name="linknoteref-47.38" id="linknoteref-47.38">38</a> The sermons of the + archbishop, and the service of the altar, were disturbed by seditious + clamor; his authority and doctrine were renounced by separate + congregations; every wind scattered round the empire the leaves of + controversy; and the voice of the combatants on a sonorous theatre + reechoed in the cells of Palestine and Egypt. It was the duty of Cyril to + enlighten the zeal and ignorance of his innumerable monks: in the school + of Alexandria, he had imbibed and professed the incarnation of one nature; + and the successor of Athanasius consulted his pride and ambition, when he + rose in arms against another Arius, more formidable and more guilty, on + the second throne of the hierarchy. After a short correspondence, in which + the rival prelates disguised their hatred in the hollow language of + respect and charity, the patriarch of Alexandria denounced to the prince + and people, to the East and to the West, the damnable errors of the + Byzantine pontiff. From the East, more especially from Antioch, he + obtained the ambiguous counsels of toleration and silence, which were + addressed to both parties while they favored the cause of Nestorius. But + the Vatican received with open arms the messengers of Egypt. The vanity of + Celestine was flattered by the appeal; and the partial version of a monk + decided the faith of the pope, who with his Latin clergy was ignorant of + the language, the arts, and the theology of the Greeks. At the head of an + Italian synod, Celestine weighed the merits of the cause, approved the + creed of Cyril, condemned the sentiments and person of Nestorius, degraded + the heretic from his episcopal dignity, allowed a respite of ten days for + recantation and penance, and delegated to his enemy the execution of this + rash and illegal sentence. But the patriarch of Alexandria, while he + darted the thunders of a god, exposed the errors and passions of a mortal; + and his twelve anathemas <a href="#linknote-47.39" name="linknoteref-47.39" + id="linknoteref-47.39">39</a> still torture the orthodox slaves, who adore + the memory of a saint, without forfeiting their allegiance to the synod of + Chalcedon. These bold assertions are indelibly tinged with the colors of + the Apollinarian heresy; but the serious, and perhaps the sincere + professions of Nestorius have satisfied the wiser and less partial + theologians of the present times. <a href="#linknote-47.40" + name="linknoteref-47.40" id="linknoteref-47.40">40</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.33" id="linknote-47.33"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 33 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.33">return</a>)<br /> [ La Croze (Christianisme + des Indes, tom. i. p. 44-53. Thesaurus Epistolicus, La Crozianus, tom. + iii. p. 276—280) has detected the use, which, in the ivth, vth, and + vith centuries, discriminates the school of Diodorus of Tarsus and his + Nestorian disciples.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.34" id="linknote-47.34"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 34 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.34">return</a>)<br /> [ Deipara; as in zoology + we familiarly speak of oviparous and viviparous animals. It is not easy to + fix the invention of this word, which La Croze (Christianisme des Indes, + tom. i. p. 16) ascribes to Eusebius of Caesarea and the Arians. The + orthodox testimonies are produced by Cyril and Petavius, (Dogmat. Theolog. + tom. v. l. v. c. 15, p. 254, &c.;) but the veracity of the saint is + questionable, and the epithet so easily slides from the margin to the text + of a Catholic Ms] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.35" id="linknote-47.35"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 35 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.35">return</a>)<br /> [ Basnage, in his + Histoire de l’Eglise, a work of controversy, (tom l. p. 505,) justifies + the mother, by the blood, of God, (Acts, xx. 28, with Mill’s various + readings.) But the Greek Mss. are far from unanimous; and the primitive + style of the blood of Christ is preserved in the Syriac version, even in + those copies which were used by the Christians of St. Thomas on the coast + of Malabar, (La Croze, Christianisme des Indes, tom. i. p. 347.) The + jealousy of the Nestorians and Monophysites has guarded the purity of + their text.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.36" id="linknote-47.36"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 36 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.36">return</a>)<br /> [ The Pagans of Egypt + already laughed at the new Cybele of the Christians, (Isidor. l. i. epist. + 54;) a letter was forged in the name of Hypatia, to ridicule the theology + of her assassin, (Synodicon, c. 216, in iv. tom. Concil. p. 484.) In the + article of Nestorius, Bayle has scattered some loose philosophy on the + worship of the Virgin Mary.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.37" id="linknote-47.37"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 37 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.37">return</a>)<br /> [ The item of the Greeks, + a mutual loan or transfer of the idioms or properties of each nature to + the other—of infinity to man, passibility to God, &c. Twelve + rules on this nicest of subjects compose the Theological Grammar of + Petavius, (Dogmata Theolog. tom. v. l. iv. c. 14, 15, p 209, &c.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.38" id="linknote-47.38"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 38 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.38">return</a>)<br /> [ See Ducange, C. P. + Christiana, l. i. p. 30, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.39" id="linknote-47.39"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 39 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.39">return</a>)<br /> [ Concil. tom. iii. p. + 943. They have never been directly approved by the church, (Tillemont. + Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 368—372.) I almost pity the agony of rage + and sophistry with which Petavius seems to be agitated in the vith book of + his Dogmata Theologica] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.40" id="linknote-47.40"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 40 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.40">return</a>)<br /> [ Such as the rational + Basnage (ad tom. i. Variar. Lection. Canisine in Praefat. c. 2, p. 11—23) + and La Croze, the universal scholar, (Christianisme des Indes, tom. i. p. + 16—20. De l’Ethiopie, p. 26, 27. The saur. Epist. p. 176, &c., + 283, 285.) His free sentence is confirmed by that of his friends Jablonski + (Thesaur. Epist. tom. i. p. 193—201) and Mosheim, (idem. p. 304, + Nestorium crimine caruisse est et mea sententia;) and three more + respectable judges will not easily be found. Asseman, a learned and modest + slave, can hardly discern (Bibliothec. Orient. tom. iv. p. 190—224) + the guilt and error of the Nestorians.] + </p> + <p> + Yet neither the emperor nor the primate of the East were disposed to obey + the mandate of an Italian priest; and a synod of the Catholic, or rather + of the Greek church, was unanimously demanded as the sole remedy that + could appease or decide this ecclesiastical quarrel. <a + href="#linknote-47.41" name="linknoteref-47.41" id="linknoteref-47.41">41</a> + Ephesus, on all sides accessible by sea and land, was chosen for the + place, the festival of Pentecost for the day, of the meeting; a writ of + summons was despatched to each metropolitan, and a guard was stationed to + protect and confine the fathers till they should settle the mysteries of + heaven, and the faith of the earth. Nestorius appeared not as a criminal, + but as a judge; he depended on the weight rather than the number of his + prelates, and his sturdy slaves from the baths of Zeuxippus were armed for + every service of injury or defence. But his adversary Cyril was more + powerful in the weapons both of the flesh and of the spirit. Disobedient + to the letter, or at least to the meaning, of the royal summons, he was + attended by fifty Egyptian bishops, who expected from their patriarch’s + nod the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. He had contracted an intimate + alliance with Memnon, bishop of Ephesus. The despotic primate of Asia + disposed of the ready succors of thirty or forty episcopal votes: a crowd + of peasants, the slaves of the church, was poured into the city to support + with blows and clamors a metaphysical argument; and the people zealously + asserted the honor of the Virgin, whose body reposed within the walls of + Ephesus. <a href="#linknote-47.42" name="linknoteref-47.42" + id="linknoteref-47.42">42</a> The fleet which had transported Cyril from + Alexandria was laden with the riches of Egypt; and he disembarked a + numerous body of mariners, slaves, and fanatics, enlisted with blind + obedience under the banner of St. Mark and the mother of God. The fathers, + and even the guards, of the council were awed by this martial array; the + adversaries of Cyril and Mary were insulted in the streets, or threatened + in their houses; his eloquence and liberality made a daily increase in the + number of his adherents; and the Egyptian soon computed that he might + command the attendance and the voices of two hundred bishops. <a + href="#linknote-47.43" name="linknoteref-47.43" id="linknoteref-47.43">43</a> + But the author of the twelve anathemas foresaw and dreaded the opposition + of John of Antioch, who, with a small, but respectable, train of + metropolitans and divines, was advancing by slow journeys from the distant + capital of the East. Impatient of a delay, which he stigmatized as + voluntary and culpable, <a href="#linknote-47.44" name="linknoteref-47.44" + id="linknoteref-47.44">44</a> Cyril announced the opening of the synod + sixteen days after the festival of Pentecost. Nestorius, who depended on + the near approach of his Eastern friends, persisted, like his predecessor + Chrysostom, to disclaim the jurisdiction, and to disobey the summons, of + his enemies: they hastened his trial, and his accuser presided in the seat + of judgment. Sixty-eight bishops, twenty-two of metropolitan rank, + defended his cause by a modest and temperate protest: they were excluded + from the councils of their brethren. Candidian, in the emperor’s name, + requested a delay of four days; the profane magistrate was driven with + outrage and insult from the assembly of the saints. The whole of this + momentous transaction was crowded into the compass of a summer’s day: the + bishops delivered their separate opinions; but the uniformity of style + reveals the influence or the hand of a master, who has been accused of + corrupting the public evidence of their acts and subscriptions. <a + href="#linknote-47.45" name="linknoteref-47.45" id="linknoteref-47.45">45</a> + Without a dissenting voice, they recognized in the epistles of Cyril the + Nicene creed and the doctrine of the fathers: but the partial extracts + from the letters and homilies of Nestorius were interrupted by curses and + anathemas: and the heretic was degraded from his episcopal and + ecclesiastical dignity. The sentence, maliciously inscribed to the new + Judas, was affixed and proclaimed in the streets of Ephesus: the weary + prelates, as they issued from the church of the mother of God, were + saluted as her champions; and her victory was celebrated by the + illuminations, the songs, and the tumult of the night. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.41" id="linknote-47.41"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 41 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.41">return</a>)<br /> [ The origin and progress + of the Nestorian controversy, till the synod of Ephesus, may be found in + Socrates, (l. vii. c. 32,) Evagrius, (l. i. c. 1, 2,) Liberatus, (Brev. c. + 1—4,) the original Acts, (Concil. tom. iii. p. 551—991, edit. + Venice, 1728,) the Annals of Baronius and Pagi, and the faithful + collections of Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv p. 283—377.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.42" id="linknote-47.42"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 42 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.42">return</a>)<br /> [ The Christians of the + four first centuries were ignorant of the death and burial of Mary. The + tradition of Ephesus is affirmed by the synod, (Concil. tom. iii. p. + 1102;) yet it has been superseded by the claim of Jerusalem; and her empty + sepulchre, as it was shown to the pilgrims, produced the fable of her + resurrection and assumption, in which the Greek and Latin churches have + piously acquiesced. See Baronius (Annal. Eccles. A.D. 48, No. 6, &c.) + and Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. i. p. 467—477.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.43" id="linknote-47.43"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 43 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.43">return</a>)<br /> [ The Acts of Chalcedon + (Concil. tom. iv. p. 1405, 1408) exhibit a lively picture of the blind, + obstinate servitude of the bishops of Egypt to their patriarch.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.44" id="linknote-47.44"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 44 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.44">return</a>)<br /> [ Civil or ecclesiastical + business detained the bishops at Antioch till the 18th of May. Ephesus was + at the distance of thirty days’ journey; and ten days more may be fairly + allowed for accidents and repose. The march of Xenophon over the same + ground enumerates above 260 parasangs or leagues; and this measure might + be illustrated from ancient and modern itineraries, if I knew how to + compare the speed of an army, a synod, and a caravan. John of Antioch is + reluctantly acquitted by Tillemont himself, (Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 386—389.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.45" id="linknote-47.45"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 45 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.45">return</a>)<br /> [ Evagrius, l. i. c. 7. + The same imputation was urged by Count Irenaeus, (tom. iii. p. 1249;) and + the orthodox critics do not find it an easy task to defend the purity of + the Greek or Latin copies of the Acts.] + </p> + <p> + On the fifth day, the triumph was clouded by the arrival and indignation + of the Eastern bishops. In a chamber of the inn, before he had wiped the + dust from his shoes, John of Antioch gave audience to Candidian, the + Imperial minister; who related his ineffectual efforts to prevent or to + annul the hasty violence of the Egyptian. With equal haste and violence, + the Oriental synod of fifty bishops degraded Cyril and Memnon from their + episcopal honors, condemned, in the twelve anathemas, the purest venom of + the Apollinarian heresy, and described the Alexandrian primate as a + monster, born and educated for the destruction of the church. <a + href="#linknote-47.46" name="linknoteref-47.46" id="linknoteref-47.46">46</a> + His throne was distant and inaccessible; but they instantly resolved to + bestow on the flock of Ephesus the blessing of a faithful shepherd. By the + vigilance of Memnon, the churches were shut against them, and a strong + garrison was thrown into the cathedral. The troops, under the command of + Candidian, advanced to the assault; the outguards were routed and put to + the sword, but the place was impregnable: the besiegers retired; their + retreat was pursued by a vigorous sally; they lost their horses, and many + of their soldiers were dangerously wounded with clubs and stones. Ephesus, + the city of the Virgin, was defiled with rage and clamor, with sedition + and blood; the rival synods darted anathemas and excommunications from + their spiritual engines; and the court of Theodosius was perplexed by the + adverse and contradictory narratives of the Syrian and Egyptian factions. + During a busy period of three months, the emperor tried every method, + except the most effectual means of indifference and contempt, to reconcile + this theological quarrel. He attempted to remove or intimidate the leaders + by a common sentence, of acquittal or condemnation; he invested his + representatives at Ephesus with ample power and military force; he + summoned from either party eight chosen deputies to a free and candid + conference in the neighborhood of the capital, far from the contagion of + popular frenzy. But the Orientals refused to yield, and the Catholics, + proud of their numbers and of their Latin allies, rejected all terms of + union or toleration. The patience of the meek Theodosius was provoked; and + he dissolved in anger this episcopal tumult, which at the distance of + thirteen centuries assumes the venerable aspect of the third oecumenical + council. <a href="#linknote-47.47" name="linknoteref-47.47" + id="linknoteref-47.47">47</a> “God is my witness,” said the pious prince, + “that I am not the author of this confusion. His providence will discern + and punish the guilty. Return to your provinces, and may your private + virtues repair the mischief and scandal of your meeting.” They returned to + their provinces; but the same passions which had distracted the synod of + Ephesus were diffused over the Eastern world. After three obstinate and + equal campaigns, John of Antioch and Cyril of Alexandria condescended to + explain and embrace: but their seeming reunion must be imputed rather to + prudence than to reason, to the mutual lassitude rather than to the + Christian charity of the patriarchs. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.46" id="linknote-47.46"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 46 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.46">return</a>)<br /> [ After the coalition of + John and Cyril these invectives were mutually forgotten. The style of + declamation must never be confounded with the genuine sense which + respectable enemies entertain of each other’s merit, (Concil tom. iii. p. + 1244.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.47" id="linknote-47.47"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 47 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.47">return</a>)<br /> [ See the acts of the + synod of Ephesus in the original Greek, and a Latin version almost + contemporary, (Concil. tom. iii. p. 991—1339, with the Synodicon + adversus Tragoediam Irenaei, tom. iv. p. 235—497,) the + Ecclesiastical Histories of Socrates (l. vii. c. 34) and Evagrius, (l i. + c. 3, 4, 5,) and the Breviary of Liberatus, (in Concil. tom. vi. p. 419—459, + c. 5, 6,) and the Memoires Eccles. of Tillemont, (tom. xiv p. 377-487.)] + </p> + <p> + The Byzantine pontiff had instilled into the royal ear a baleful prejudice + against the character and conduct of his Egyptian rival. An epistle of + menace and invective, <a href="#linknote-47.48" name="linknoteref-47.48" + id="linknoteref-47.48">48</a> which accompanied the summons, accused him as + a busy, insolent, and envious priest, who perplexed the simplicity of the + faith, violated the peace of the church and state, and, by his artful and + separate addresses to the wife and sister of Theodosius, presumed to + suppose, or to scatter, the seeds of discord in the Imperial family. At + the stern command of his sovereign, Cyril had repaired to Ephesus, where + he was resisted, threatened, and confined, by the magistrates in the + interest of Nestorius and the Orientals; who assembled the troops of Lydia + and Ionia to suppress the fanatic and disorderly train of the patriarch. + Without expecting the royal license, he escaped from his guards, + precipitately embarked, deserted the imperfect synod, and retired to his + episcopal fortress of safety and independence. But his artful emissaries, + both in the court and city, successfully labored to appease the + resentment, and to conciliate the favor, of the emperor. The feeble son of + Arcadius was alternately swayed by his wife and sister, by the eunuchs and + women of the palace: superstition and avarice were their ruling passions; + and the orthodox chiefs were assiduous in their endeavors to alarm the + former, and to gratify the latter. Constantinople and the suburbs were + sanctified with frequent monasteries, and the holy abbots, Dalmatius and + Eutyches, <a href="#linknote-47.49" name="linknoteref-47.49" + id="linknoteref-47.49">49</a> had devoted their zeal and fidelity to the + cause of Cyril, the worship of Mary, and the unity of Christ. From the + first moment of their monastic life, they had never mingled with the + world, or trod the profane ground of the city. But in this awful moment of + the danger of the church, their vow was superseded by a more sublime and + indispensable duty. At the head of a long order of monks and hermits, who + carried burning tapers in their hands, and chanted litanies to the mother + of God, they proceeded from their monasteries to the palace. The people + was edified and inflamed by this extraordinary spectacle, and the + trembling monarch listened to the prayers and adjurations of the saints, + who boldly pronounced, that none could hope for salvation, unless they + embraced the person and the creed of the orthodox successor of Athanasius. + At the same time, every avenue of the throne was assaulted with gold. + Under the decent names of eulogies and benedictions, the courtiers of both + sexes were bribed according to the measure of their power and + rapaciousness. But their incessant demands despoiled the sanctuaries of + Constantinople and Alexandria; and the authority of the patriarch was + unable to silence the just murmur of his clergy, that a debt of sixty + thousand pounds had already been contracted to support the expense of this + scandalous corruption. <a href="#linknote-47.50" name="linknoteref-47.50" + id="linknoteref-47.50">50</a> Pulcheria, who relieved her brother from the + weight of an empire, was the firmest pillar of orthodoxy; and so intimate + was the alliance between the thunders of the synod and the whispers of the + court, that Cyril was assured of success if he could displace one eunuch, + and substitute another in the favor of Theodosius. Yet the Egyptian could + not boast of a glorious or decisive victory. The emperor, with + unaccustomed firmness, adhered to his promise of protecting the innocence + of the Oriental bishops; and Cyril softened his anathemas, and confessed, + with ambiguity and reluctance, a twofold nature of Christ, before he was + permitted to satiate his revenge against the unfortunate Nestorius. <a + href="#linknote-47.51" name="linknoteref-47.51" id="linknoteref-47.51">51</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.48" id="linknote-47.48"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 48 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.48">return</a>)<br /> [ I should be curious to + know how much Nestorius paid for these expressions, so mortifying to his + rival.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.49" id="linknote-47.49"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 49 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.49">return</a>)<br /> [ Eutyches, the + heresiarch Eutyches, is honorably named by Cyril as a friend, a saint, and + the strenuous defender of the faith. His brother, the abbot Dalmatus, is + likewise employed to bind the emperor and all his chamberlains terribili + conjuratione. Synodicon. c. 203, in Concil. tom. iv p. 467.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.50" id="linknote-47.50"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 50 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.50">return</a>)<br /> [ Clerici qui hic sunt + contristantur, quod ecclesia Alexandrina nudata sit hujus causa turbelae: + et debet praeter illa quae hinc transmissa sint auri libras mille + quingentas. Et nunc ei scriptum est ut praestet; sed de tua ecclesia + praesta avaritiae quorum nosti, &c. This curious and original letter, + from Cyril’s archdeacon to his creature the new bishop of Constantinople, + has been unaccountably preserved in an old Latin version, (Synodicon, c. + 203, Concil. tom. iv. p. 465—468.) The mask is almost dropped, and + the saints speak the honest language of interest and confederacy.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.51" id="linknote-47.51"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 51 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.51">return</a>)<br /> [ The tedious + negotiations that succeeded the synod of Ephesus are diffusely related in + the original acts, (Concil. tom. iii. p. 1339—1771, ad fin. vol. and + the Synodicon, in tom. iv.,) Socrates, (l. vii. c. 28, 35, 40, 41,) + Evagrius, (l. i. c. 6, 7, 8, 12,) Liberatus, (c. 7—10, 7-10,) + Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. xiv. p. 487—676.) The most patient + reader will thank me for compressing so much nonsense and falsehood in a + few lines.] + </p> + <p> + The rash and obstinate Nestorius, before the end of the synod, was + oppressed by Cyril, betrayed by the court, and faintly supported by his + Eastern friends. A sentiment of fear or indignation prompted him, while it + was yet time, to affect the glory of a voluntary abdication: <a + href="#linknote-47.52" name="linknoteref-47.52" id="linknoteref-47.52">52</a> + his wish, or at least his request, was readily granted; he was conducted + with honor from Ephesus to his old monastery of Antioch; and, after a + short pause, his successors, Maximian and Proclus, were acknowledged as + the lawful bishops of Constantinople. But in the silence of his cell, the + degraded patriarch could no longer resume the innocence and security of a + private monk. The past he regretted, he was discontented with the present, + and the future he had reason to dread: the Oriental bishops successively + disengaged their cause from his unpopular name, and each day decreased the + number of the schismatics who revered Nestorius as the confessor of the + faith. After a residence at Antioch of four years, the hand of Theodosius + subscribed an edict, <a href="#linknote-47.53" name="linknoteref-47.53" + id="linknoteref-47.53">53</a> which ranked him with Simon the magician, + proscribed his opinions and followers, condemned his writings to the + flames, and banished his person first to Petra, in Arabia, and at length + to Oasis, one of the islands of the Libyan desert. <a href="#linknote-47.54" + name="linknoteref-47.54" id="linknoteref-47.54">54</a> Secluded from the + church and from the world, the exile was still pursued by the rage of + bigotry and war. A wandering tribe of the Blemmyes or Nubians invaded his + solitary prison: in their retreat they dismissed a crowd of useless + captives: but no sooner had Nestorius reached the banks of the Nile, than + he would gladly have escaped from a Roman and orthodox city, to the milder + servitude of the savages. His flight was punished as a new crime: the soul + of the patriarch inspired the civil and ecclesiastical powers of Egypt; + the magistrates, the soldiers, the monks, devoutly tortured the enemy of + Christ and St. Cyril; and, as far as the confines of Aethiopia, the + heretic was alternately dragged and recalled, till his aged body was + broken by the hardships and accidents of these reiterated journeys. Yet + his mind was still independent and erect; the president of Thebais was + awed by his pastoral letters; he survived the Catholic tyrant of + Alexandria, and, after sixteen years’ banishment, the synod of Chalcedon + would perhaps have restored him to the honors, or at least to the + communion, of the church. The death of Nestorius prevented his obedience + to their welcome summons; <a href="#linknote-47.55" name="linknoteref-47.55" + id="linknoteref-47.55">55</a> and his disease might afford some color to + the scandalous report, that his tongue, the organ of blasphemy, had been + eaten by the worms. He was buried in a city of Upper Egypt, known by the + names of Chemnis, or Panopolis, or Akmim; <a href="#linknote-47.56" + name="linknoteref-47.56" id="linknoteref-47.56">56</a> but the immortal + malice of the Jacobites has persevered for ages to cast stones against his + sepulchre, and to propagate the foolish tradition, that it was never + watered by the rain of heaven, which equally descends on the righteous and + the ungodly. <a href="#linknote-47.57" name="linknoteref-47.57" + id="linknoteref-47.57">57</a> Humanity may drop a tear on the fate of + Nestorius; yet justice must observe, that he suffered the persecution + which he had approved and inflicted. <a href="#linknote-47.58" + name="linknoteref-47.58" id="linknoteref-47.58">58</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.52" id="linknote-47.52"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 52 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.52">return</a>)<br /> [ Evagrius, l. i. c. 7. + The original letters in the Synodicon (c. 15, 24, 25, 26) justify the + appearance of a voluntary resignation, which is asserted by Ebed-Jesu, a + Nestorian writer, apud Asseman. Bibliot. Oriental. tom. iii. p. 299, 302.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.53" id="linknote-47.53"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 53 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.53">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Imperial + letters in the Acts of the Synod of Ephesus, (Concil. tom. iii. p. 1730—1735.) + The odious name of Simonians, which was affixed to the disciples of this. + Yet these were Christians! who differed only in names and in shadows.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.54" id="linknote-47.54"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 54 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.54">return</a>)<br /> [ The metaphor of islands + is applied by the grave civilians (Pandect. l. xlviii. tit. 22, leg. 7) to + those happy spots which are discriminated by water and verdure from the + Libyan sands. Three of these under the common name of Oasis, or Alvahat: + 1. The temple of Jupiter Ammon. 2. The middle Oasis, three days’ journey + to the west of Lycopolis. 3. The southern, where Nestorius was banished in + the first climate, and only three days’ journey from the confines of + Nubia. See a learned note of Michaelis, (ad Descript. Aegypt. Abulfedae, + p. 21-34.) * Note: 1. The Oasis of Sivah has been visited by Mons. + Drovetti and Mr. Browne. 2. The little Oasis, that of El Kassar, was + visited and described by Belzoni. 3. The great Oasis, and its splendid + ruins, have been well described in the travels of Sir A. Edmonstone. To + these must be added another Western Oasis also visited by Sir A. + Edmonstone.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.55" id="linknote-47.55"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 55 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.55">return</a>)<br /> [ The invitation of + Nestorius to the synod of Chalcedon, is related by Zacharias, bishop of + Melitene (Evagrius, l. ii. c. 2. Asseman. Biblioth. Orient. tom. ii. p. + 55,) and the famous Xenaias or Philoxenus, bishop of Hierapolis, (Asseman. + Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. p. 40, &c.,) denied by Evagrius and Asseman, + and stoutly maintained by La Croze, (Thesaur. Epistol. tom. iii. p. 181, + &c.) The fact is not improbable; yet it was the interest of the + Monophysites to spread the invidious report, and Eutychius (tom. ii. p. + 12) affirms, that Nestorius died after an exile of seven years, and + consequently ten years before the synod of Chalcedon.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.56" id="linknote-47.56"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 56 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.56">return</a>)<br /> [ Consult D’Anville, + (Memoire sur l’Egypte, p. 191,) Pocock. (Description of the East, vol. i. + p. 76,) Abulfeda, (Descript. Aegypt, p. 14,) and his commentator + Michaelis, (Not. p. 78—83,) and the Nubian Geographer, (p. 42,) who + mentions, in the xiith century, the ruins and the sugar-canes of Akmim.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.57" id="linknote-47.57"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 57 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.57">return</a>)<br /> [ Eutychius (Annal. tom. + ii. p. 12) and Gregory Bar-Hebraeus, of Abulpharagius, (Asseman, tom. ii. + p. 316,) represent the credulity of the xth and xiith centuries.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.58" id="linknote-47.58"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 58 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.58">return</a>)<br /> [ We are obliged to + Evagrius (l. i. c. 7) for some extracts from the letters of Nestorius; but + the lively picture of his sufferings is treated with insult by the hard + and stupid fanatic.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap47.3"></a> +Chapter XLVII: Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part III.</h2> + + <p> + The death of the Alexandrian primate, after a reign of thirty-two years, + abandoned the Catholics to the intemperance of zeal and the abuse of + victory. <a href="#linknote-47.59" name="linknoteref-47.59" + id="linknoteref-47.59">59</a> The monophysite doctrine (one incarnate + nature) was rigorously preached in the churches of Egypt and the + monasteries of the East; the primitive creed of Apollinarius was protected + by the sanctity of Cyril; and the name of Eutyches, his venerable friend, + has been applied to the sect most adverse to the Syrian heresy of + Nestorius. His rival Eutyches was the abbot, or archimandrite, or superior + of three hundred monks, but the opinions of a simple and illiterate + recluse might have expired in the cell, where he had slept above seventy + years, if the resentment or indiscretion of Flavian, the Byzantine + pontiff, had not exposed the scandal to the eyes of the Christian world. + His domestic synod was instantly convened, their proceedings were sullied + with clamor and artifice, and the aged heretic was surprised into a + seeming confession, that Christ had not derived his body from the + substance of the Virgin Mary. From their partial decree, Eutyches appealed + to a general council; and his cause was vigorously asserted by his godson + Chrysaphius, the reigning eunuch of the palace, and his accomplice + Dioscorus, who had succeeded to the throne, the creed, the talents, and + the vices, of the nephew of Theophilus. By the special summons of + Theodosius, the second synod of Ephesus was judiciously composed of ten + metropolitans and ten bishops from each of the six dioceses of the Eastern + empire: some exceptions of favor or merit enlarged the number to one + hundred and thirty-five; and the Syrian Barsumas, as the chief and + representative of the monks, was invited to sit and vote with the + successors of the apostles. But the despotism of the Alexandrian patriarch + again oppressed the freedom of debate: the same spiritual and carnal + weapons were again drawn from the arsenals of Egypt: the Asiatic veterans, + a band of archers, served under the orders of Dioscorus; and the more + formidable monks, whose minds were inaccessible to reason or mercy, + besieged the doors of the cathedral. The general, and, as it should seem, + the unconstrained voice of the fathers, accepted the faith and even the + anathemas of Cyril; and the heresy of the two natures was formally + condemned in the persons and writings of the most learned Orientals. “May + those who divide Christ be divided with the sword, may they be hewn in + pieces, may they be burned alive!” were the charitable wishes of a + Christian synod. <a href="#linknote-47.60" name="linknoteref-47.60" + id="linknoteref-47.60">60</a> The innocence and sanctity of Eutyches were + acknowledged without hesitation; but the prelates, more especially those + of Thrace and Asia, were unwilling to depose their patriarch for the use + or even the abuse of his lawful jurisdiction. They embraced the knees of + Dioscorus, as he stood with a threatening aspect on the footstool of his + throne, and conjured him to forgive the offences, and to respect the + dignity, of his brother. “Do you mean to raise a sedition?” exclaimed the + relentless tyrant. “Where are the officers?” At these words a furious + multitude of monks and soldiers, with staves, and swords, and chains, + burst into the church; the trembling bishops hid themselves behind the + altar, or under the benches, and as they were not inspired with the zeal + of martyrdom, they successively subscribed a blank paper, which was + afterwards filled with the condemnation of the Byzantine pontiff. Flavian + was instantly delivered to the wild beasts of this spiritual amphitheatre: + the monks were stimulated by the voice and example of Barsumas to avenge + the injuries of Christ: it is said that the patriarch of Alexandria + reviled, and buffeted, and kicked, and trampled his brother of + Constantinople: <a href="#linknote-47.61" name="linknoteref-47.61" + id="linknoteref-47.61">61</a> it is certain, that the victim, before he + could reach the place of his exile, expired on the third day of the wounds + and bruises which he had received at Ephesus. This second synod has been + justly branded as a gang of robbers and assassins; yet the accusers of + Dioscorus would magnify his violence, to alleviate the cowardice and + inconstancy of their own behavior. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.59" id="linknote-47.59"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 59 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.59">return</a>)<br /> [ Dixi Cyrillum dum + viveret, auctoritate sua effecisse, ne Eutychianismus et Monophysitarum + error in nervum erumperet: idque verum puto...aliquo... honesto modo + cecinerat. The learned but cautious Jablonski did not always speak the + whole truth. Cum Cyrillo lenius omnino egi, quam si tecum aut cum aliis + rei hujus probe gnaris et aequis rerum aestimatoribus sermones privatos + conferrem, (Thesaur. Epistol. La Crozian. tom. i. p. 197, 198) an + excellent key to his dissertations on the Nestorian controversy!] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.60" id="linknote-47.60"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 60 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.60">return</a>)<br /> [ At the request of + Dioscorus, those who were not able to roar, stretched out their hands. At + Chalcedon, the Orientals disclaimed these exclamations: but the Egyptians + more consistently declared. (Concil. tom. iv. p. 1012.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.61" id="linknote-47.61"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 61 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.61">return</a>)<br /> [ (Eusebius, bishop of + Dorylaeum): and this testimony of Evagrius (l. ii. c. 2) is amplified by + the historian Zonaras, (tom. ii. l. xiii. p. 44,) who affirms that + Dioscorus kicked like a wild ass. But the language of Liberatus (Brev. c. + 12, in Concil. tom. vi. p. 438) is more cautious; and the Acts of + Chalcedon, which lavish the names of homicide, Cain, &c., do not + justify so pointed a charge. The monk Barsumas is more particularly + accused, (Concil. tom. iv. p. 1418.)] + </p> + <p> + The faith of Egypt had prevailed: but the vanquished party was supported + by the same pope who encountered without fear the hostile rage of Attila + and Genseric. The theology of Leo, his famous tome or epistle on the + mystery of the incarnation, had been disregarded by the synod of Ephesus: + his authority, and that of the Latin church, was insulted in his legates, + who escaped from slavery and death to relate the melancholy tale of the + tyranny of Dioscorus and the martyrdom of Flavian. His provincial synod + annulled the irregular proceedings of Ephesus; but as this step was itself + irregular, he solicited the convocation of a general council in the free + and orthodox provinces of Italy. From his independent throne, the Roman + bishop spoke and acted without danger as the head of the Christians, and + his dictates were obsequiously transcribed by Placidia and her son + Valentinian; who addressed their Eastern colleague to restore the peace + and unity of the church. But the pageant of Oriental royalty was moved + with equal dexterity by the hand of the eunuch; and Theodosius could + pronounce, without hesitation, that the church was already peaceful and + triumphant, and that the recent flame had been extinguished by the just + punishment of the Nestorians. Perhaps the Greeks would be still involved + in the heresy of the Monophysites, if the emperor’s horse had not + fortunately stumbled; Theodosius expired; his orthodox sister Pulcheria, + with a nominal husband, succeeded to the throne; Chrysaphius was burnt, + Dioscorus was disgraced, the exiles were recalled, and the tome of Leo was + subscribed by the Oriental bishops. Yet the pope was disappointed in his + favorite project of a Latin council: he disdained to preside in the Greek + synod, which was speedily assembled at Nice in Bithynia; his legates + required in a peremptory tone the presence of the emperor; and the weary + fathers were transported to Chalcedon under the immediate eye of Marcian + and the senate of Constantinople. A quarter of a mile from the Thracian + Bosphorus, the church of St. Euphemia was built on the summit of a gentle + though lofty ascent: the triple structure was celebrated as a prodigy of + art, and the boundless prospect of the land and sea might have raised the + mind of a sectary to the contemplation of the God of the universe. Six + hundred and thirty bishops were ranged in order in the nave of the church; + but the patriarchs of the East were preceded by the legates, of whom the + third was a simple priest; and the place of honor was reserved for twenty + laymen of consular or senatorian rank. The gospel was ostentatiously + displayed in the centre, but the rule of faith was defined by the Papal + and Imperial ministers, who moderated the thirteen sessions of the council + of Chalcedon. <a href="#linknote-47.62" name="linknoteref-47.62" + id="linknoteref-47.62">62</a> Their partial interposition silenced the + intemperate shouts and execrations, which degraded the episcopal gravity; + but, on the formal accusation of the legates, Dioscorus was compelled to + descend from his throne to the rank of a criminal, already condemned in + the opinion of his judges. The Orientals, less adverse to Nestorius than + to Cyril, accepted the Romans as their deliverers: Thrace, and Pontus, and + Asia, were exasperated against the murderer of Flavian, and the new + patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch secured their places by the + sacrifice of their benefactor. The bishops of Palestine, Macedonia, and + Greece, were attached to the faith of Cyril; but in the face of the synod, + in the heat of the battle, the leaders, with their obsequious train, + passed from the right to the left wing, and decided the victory by this + seasonable desertion. Of the seventeen suffragans who sailed from + Alexandria, four were tempted from their allegiance, and the thirteen, + falling prostrate on the ground, implored the mercy of the council, with + sighs and tears, and a pathetic declaration, that, if they yielded, they + should be massacred, on their return to Egypt, by the indignant people. A + tardy repentance was allowed to expiate the guilt or error of the + accomplices of Dioscorus: but their sins were accumulated on his head; he + neither asked nor hoped for pardon, and the moderation of those who + pleaded for a general amnesty was drowned in the prevailing cry of victory + and revenge. + </p> + <p> + To save the reputation of his late adherents, some personal offences were + skilfully detected; his rash and illegal excommunication of the pope, and + his contumacious refusal (while he was detained a prisoner) to attend to + the summons of the synod. Witnesses were introduced to prove the special + facts of his pride, avarice, and cruelty; and the fathers heard with + abhorrence, that the alms of the church were lavished on the female + dancers, that his palace, and even his bath, was open to the prostitutes + of Alexandria, and that the infamous Pansophia, or Irene, was publicly + entertained as the concubine of the patriarch. <a href="#linknote-47.63" + name="linknoteref-47.63" id="linknoteref-47.63">63</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.62" id="linknote-47.62"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 62 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.62">return</a>)<br /> [ The Acts of the Council + of Chalcedon (Concil. tom. iv. p. 761—2071) comprehend those of + Ephesus, (p. 890—1189,) which again comprise the synod of + Constantinople under Flavian, (p. 930—1072;) and at requires some + attention to disengage this double involution. The whole business of + Eutyches, Flavian, and Dioscorus, is related by Evagrius (l. i. c. 9—12, + and l. ii. c. 1, 2, 3, 4,) and Liberatus, (Brev. c. 11, 12, 13, 14.) Once + more, and almost for the last time, I appeal to the diligence of + Tillemont, (Mem. Eccles. tom. xv. p. 479-719.) The annals of Baronius and + Pagi will accompany me much further on my long and laborious journey.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.63" id="linknote-47.63"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 63 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.63">return</a>)<br /> [ (Concil. tom. iv. p. + 1276.) A specimen of the wit and malice of the people is preserved in the + Greek Anthology, (l. ii. c. 5, p. 188, edit. Wechel,) although the + application was unknown to the editor Brodaeus. The nameless epigrammatist + raises a tolerable pun, by confounding the episcopal salutation of “Peace + be to all!” with the genuine or corrupted name of the bishop’s concubine: + I am ignorant whether the patriarch, who seems to have been a jealous + lover, is the Cimon of a preceding epigram, was viewed with envy and + wonder by Priapus himself.] + </p> + <p> + For these scandalous offences, Dioscorus was deposed by the synod, and + banished by the emperor; but the purity of his faith was declared in the + presence, and with the tacit approbation, of the fathers. Their prudence + supposed rather than pronounced the heresy of Eutyches, who was never + summoned before their tribunal; and they sat silent and abashed, when a + bold Monophysite casting at their feet a volume of Cyril, challenged them + to anathematize in his person the doctrine of the saint. If we fairly + peruse the acts of Chalcedon as they are recorded by the orthodox party, + <a href="#linknote-47.64" name="linknoteref-47.64" id="linknoteref-47.64">64</a> + we shall find that a great majority of the bishops embraced the simple + unity of Christ; and the ambiguous concession that he was formed Of or + From two natures, might imply either their previous existence, or their + subsequent confusion, or some dangerous interval between the conception of + the man and the assumption of the God. The Roman theology, more positive + and precise, adopted the term most offensive to the ears of the Egyptians, + that Christ existed In two natures; and this momentous particle <a + href="#linknote-47.65" name="linknoteref-47.65" id="linknoteref-47.65">65</a> + (which the memory, rather than the understanding, must retain) had almost + produced a schism among the Catholic bishops. The tome of Leo had been + respectfully, perhaps sincerely, subscribed; but they protested, in two + successive debates, that it was neither expedient nor lawful to transgress + the sacred landmarks which had been fixed at Nice, Constantinople, and + Ephesus, according to the rule of Scripture and tradition. At length they + yielded to the importunities of their masters; but their infallible + decree, after it had been ratified with deliberate votes and vehement + acclamations, was overturned in the next session by the opposition of the + legates and their Oriental friends. It was in vain that a multitude of + episcopal voices repeated in chorus, “The definition of the fathers is + orthodox and immutable! The heretics are now discovered! Anathema to the + Nestorians! Let them depart from the synod! Let them repair to Rome.” <a + href="#linknote-47.66" name="linknoteref-47.66" id="linknoteref-47.66">66</a> + The legates threatened, the emperor was absolute, and a committee of + eighteen bishops prepared a new decree, which was imposed on the reluctant + assembly. In the name of the fourth general council, the Christ in one + person, but in two natures, was announced to the Catholic world: an + invisible line was drawn between the heresy of Apollinaris and the faith + of St. Cyril; and the road to paradise, a bridge as sharp as a razor, was + suspended over the abyss by the master-hand of the theological artist. + During ten centuries of blindness and servitude, Europe received her + religious opinions from the oracle of the Vatican; and the same doctrine, + already varnished with the rust of antiquity, was admitted without dispute + into the creed of the reformers, who disclaimed the supremacy of the Roman + pontiff. The synod of Chalcedon still triumphs in the Protestant churches; + but the ferment of controversy has subsided, and the most pious Christians + of the present day are ignorant, or careless, of their own belief + concerning the mystery of the incarnation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.64" id="linknote-47.64"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 64 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.64">return</a>)<br /> [ Those who reverence the + infallibility of synods, may try to ascertain their sense. The leading + bishops were attended by partial or careless scribes, who dispersed their + copies round the world. Our Greek Mss. are sullied with the false and + prescribed reading of (Concil. tom. iii. p. 1460:) the authentic + translation of Pope Leo I. does not seem to have been executed, and the + old Latin versions materially differ from the present Vulgate, which was + revised (A.D. 550) by Rusticus, a Roman priest, from the best Mss. at + Constantinople, (Ducange, C. P. Christiana, l. iv. p. 151,) a famous + monastery of Latins, Greeks, and Syrians. See Concil. tom. iv. p. 1959—2049, + and Pagi, Critica, tom. ii. p. 326, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.65" id="linknote-47.65"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 65 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.65">return</a>)<br /> [ It is darkly + represented in the microscope of Petavius, (tom. v. l. iii. c. 5;) yet the + subtle theologian is himself afraid—ne quis fortasse supervacaneam, + et nimis anxiam putet hujusmodi vocularum inquisitionem, et ab instituti + theologici gravitate alienam, (p. 124.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.66" id="linknote-47.66"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 66 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.66">return</a>)<br /> [ (Concil. tom. iv. p. + 1449.) Evagrius and Liberatus present only the placid face of the synod, + and discreetly slide over these embers, suppositos cineri doloso.] + </p> + <p> + Far different was the temper of the Greeks and Egyptians under the + orthodox reigns of Leo and Marcian. Those pious emperors enforced with + arms and edicts the symbol of their faith; <a href="#linknote-47.67" + name="linknoteref-47.67" id="linknoteref-47.67">67</a> and it was declared + by the conscience or honor of five hundred bishops, that the decrees of + the synod of Chalcedon might be lawfully supported, even with blood. The + Catholics observed with satisfaction, that the same synod was odious both + to the Nestorians and the Monophysites; <a href="#linknote-47.68" + name="linknoteref-47.68" id="linknoteref-47.68">68</a> but the Nestorians + were less angry, or less powerful, and the East was distracted by the + obstinate and sanguinary zeal of the Monophysites. Jerusalem was occupied + by an army of monks; in the name of the one incarnate nature, they + pillaged, they burnt, they murdered; the sepulchre of Christ was defiled + with blood; and the gates of the city were guarded in tumultuous rebellion + against the troops of the emperor. After the disgrace and exile of + Dioscorus, the Egyptians still regretted their spiritual father; and + detested the usurpation of his successor, who was introduced by the + fathers of Chalcedon. The throne of Proterius was supported by a guard of + two thousand soldiers: he waged a five years’ war against the people of + Alexandria; and on the first intelligence of the death of Marcian, he + became the victim of their zeal. On the third day before the festival of + Easter, the patriarch was besieged in the cathedral, and murdered in the + baptistery. The remains of his mangled corpse were delivered to the + flames, and his ashes to the wind; and the deed was inspired by the vision + of a pretended angel: an ambitious monk, who, under the name of Timothy + the Cat, <a href="#linknote-47.69" name="linknoteref-47.69" + id="linknoteref-47.69">69</a> succeeded to the place and opinions of + Dioscorus. This deadly superstition was inflamed, on either side, by the + principle and the practice of retaliation: in the pursuit of a + metaphysical quarrel, many thousands <a href="#linknote-47.70" + name="linknoteref-47.70" id="linknoteref-47.70">70</a> were slain, and the + Christians of every degree were deprived of the substantial enjoyments of + social life, and of the invisible gifts of baptism and the holy communion. + Perhaps an extravagant fable of the times may conceal an allegorical + picture of these fanatics, who tortured each other and themselves. “Under + the consulship of Venantius and Celer,” says a grave bishop, “the people + of Alexandria, and all Egypt, were seized with a strange and diabolical + frenzy: great and small, slaves and freedmen, monks and clergy, the + natives of the land, who opposed the synod of Chalcedon, lost their speech + and reason, barked like dogs, and tore, with their own teeth the flesh + from their hands and arms.” <a href="#linknote-47.71" + name="linknoteref-47.71" id="linknoteref-47.71">71</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.67" id="linknote-47.67"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 67 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.67">return</a>)<br /> [ See, in the Appendix to + the Acts of Chalcedon, the confirmation of the Synod by Marcian, (Concil. + tom. iv. p. 1781, 1783;) his letters to the monks of Alexandria, (p. + 1791,) of Mount Sinai, (p. 1793,) of Jerusalem and Palestine, (p. 1798;) + his laws against the Eutychians, (p. 1809, 1811, 1831;) the correspondence + of Leo with the provincial synods on the revolution of Alexandria, (p. + 1835—1930.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.68" id="linknote-47.68"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 68 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.68">return</a>)<br /> [ Photius (or rather + Eulogius of Alexandria) confesses, in a fine passage, the specious color + of this double charge against Pope Leo and his synod of Chalcedon, + (Bibliot. cod. ccxxv. p. 768.) He waged a double war against the enemies + of the church, and wounded either foe with the darts of his adversary. + Against Nestorius he seemed to introduce Monophysites; against Eutyches he + appeared to countenance the Nestorians. The apologist claims a charitable + interpretation for the saints: if the same had been extended to the + heretics, the sound of the controversy would have been lost in the air] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.69" id="linknote-47.69"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 69 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.69">return</a>)<br /> [ From his nocturnal + expeditions. In darkness and disguise he crept round the cells of the + monastery, and whispered the revelation to his slumbering brethren, + (Theodor. Lector. l. i.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.70" id="linknote-47.70"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 70 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.70">return</a>)<br /> [ Such is the hyperbolic + language of the Henoticon.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.71" id="linknote-47.71"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 71 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.71">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Chronicle of + Victor Tunnunensis, in the Lectiones Antiquae of Canisius, republished by + Basnage, tom. 326.] + </p> + <p> + The disorders of thirty years at length produced the famous Henoticon <a + href="#linknote-47.72" name="linknoteref-47.72" id="linknoteref-47.72">72</a> + of the emperor Zeno, which in his reign, and in that of Anastasius, was + signed by all the bishops of the East, under the penalty of degradation + and exile, if they rejected or infringed this salutary and fundamental + law. The clergy may smile or groan at the presumption of a layman who + defines the articles of faith; yet if he stoops to the humiliating task, + his mind is less infected by prejudice or interest, and the authority of + the magistrate can only be maintained by the concord of the people. It is + in ecclesiastical story, that Zeno appears least contemptible; and I am + not able to discern any Manichaean or Eutychian guilt in the generous + saying of Anastasius. That it was unworthy of an emperor to persecute the + worshippers of Christ and the citizens of Rome. The Henoticon was most + pleasing to the Egyptians; yet the smallest blemish has not been described + by the jealous, and even jaundiced eyes of our orthodox schoolmen, and it + accurately represents the Catholic faith of the incarnation, without + adopting or disclaiming the peculiar terms of tenets of the hostile sects. + A solemn anathema is pronounced against Nestorius and Eutyches; against + all heretics by whom Christ is divided, or confounded, or reduced to a + phantom. Without defining the number or the article of the word nature, + the pure system of St. Cyril, the faith of Nice, Constantinople, and + Ephesus, is respectfully confirmed; but, instead of bowing at the name of + the fourth council, the subject is dismissed by the censure of all + contrary doctrines, if any such have been taught either elsewhere or at + Chalcedon. Under this ambiguous expression, the friends and the enemies of + the last synod might unite in a silent embrace. The most reasonable + Christians acquiesced in this mode of toleration; but their reason was + feeble and inconstant, and their obedience was despised as timid and + servile by the vehement spirit of their brethren. On a subject which + engrossed the thoughts and discourses of men, it was difficult to preserve + an exact neutrality; a book, a sermon, a prayer, rekindled the flame of + controversy; and the bonds of communion were alternately broken and + renewed by the private animosity of the bishops. The space between + Nestorius and Eutyches was filled by a thousand shades of language and + opinion; the acephali <a href="#linknote-47.73" name="linknoteref-47.73" + id="linknoteref-47.73">73</a> of Egypt, and the Roman pontiffs, of equal + valor, though of unequal strength, may be found at the two extremities of + the theological scale. The acephali, without a king or a bishop, were + separated above three hundred years from the patriarchs of Alexandria, who + had accepted the communion of Constantinople, without exacting a formal + condemnation of the synod of Chalcedon. For accepting the communion of + Alexandria, without a formal approbation of the same synod, the patriarchs + of Constantinople were anathematized by the popes. Their inflexible + despotism involved the most orthodox of the Greek churches in this + spiritual contagion, denied or doubted the validity of their sacraments, + <a href="#linknote-47.74" name="linknoteref-47.74" id="linknoteref-47.74">74</a> + and fomented, thirty-five years, the schism of the East and West, till + they finally abolished the memory of four Byzantine pontiffs, who had + dared to oppose the supremacy of St. Peter. <a href="#linknote-47.75" + name="linknoteref-47.75" id="linknoteref-47.75">75</a> Before that period, + the precarious truce of Constantinople and Egypt had been violated by the + zeal of the rival prelates. Macedonius, who was suspected of the Nestorian + heresy, asserted, in disgrace and exile, the synod of Chalcedon, while the + successor of Cyril would have purchased its overthrow with a bribe of two + thousand pounds of gold. <a name="linknote-47.72" id="linknote-47.72"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 72 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.72">return</a>)<br /> [The Henoticon is + transcribed by Evagrius, (l. iii. c. 13,) and translated by Liberatus, + (Brev. c. 18.) Pagi (Critica, tom. ii. p. 411) and (Bibliot. Orient. tom. + i. p. 343) are satisfied that it is free from heresy; but Petavius + (Dogmat. Theolog. tom. v. l. i. c. 13, p. 40) most unaccountably affirms + Chalcedonensem ascivit. An adversary would prove that he had never read + the Henoticon.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.73" id="linknote-47.73"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 73 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.73">return</a>)<br /> [ See Renaudot, (Hist. + Patriarch. Alex. p. 123, 131, 145, 195, 247.) They were reconciled by the + care of Mark I. (A.D. 799—819;) he promoted their chiefs to the + bishoprics of Athribis and Talba, (perhaps Tava. See D’Anville, p. 82,) + and supplied the sacraments, which had failed for want of an episcopal + ordination.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.74" id="linknote-47.74"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 74 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.74">return</a>)<br /> [ De his quos baptizavit, + quos ordinavit Acacius, majorum traditione confectam et veram, praecipue + religiosae solicitudini congruam praebemus sine difficultate medicinam, + (Galacius, in epist. i. ad Euphemium, Concil. tom. v. 286.) The offer of a + medicine proves the disease, and numbers must have perished before the + arrival of the Roman physician. Tillemont himself (Mem. Eccles. tom. xvi. + p. 372, 642, &c.) is shocked at the proud, uncharitable temper of the + popes; they are now glad, says he, to invoke St. Flavian of Antioch, St. + Elias of Jerusalem, &c., to whom they refused communion whilst upon + earth. But Cardinal Baronius is firm and hard as the rock of St. Peter.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.75" id="linknote-47.75"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 75 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.75">return</a>)<br /> [ Their names were erased + from the diptych of the church: ex venerabili diptycho, in quo piae + memoriae transitum ad coelum habentium episcoporum vocabula continentur, + (Concil. tom. iv. p. 1846.) This ecclesiastical record was therefore + equivalent to the book of life.] + </p> + <p> + In the fever of the times, the sense, or rather the sound of a syllable, + was sufficient to disturb the peace of an empire. The Trisagion <a + href="#linknote-47.76" name="linknoteref-47.76" id="linknoteref-47.76">76</a> + (thrice holy,) “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hosts!” is supposed, by the + Greeks, to be the identical hymn which the angels and cherubim eternally + repeat before the throne of God, and which, about the middle of the fifth + century, was miraculously revealed to the church of Constantinople. The + devotion of Antioch soon added, “who was crucified for us!” and this + grateful address, either to Christ alone, or to the whole Trinity, may be + justified by the rules of theology, and has been gradually adopted by the + Catholics of the East and West. But it had been imagined by a Monophysite + bishop; <a href="#linknote-47.77" name="linknoteref-47.77" + id="linknoteref-47.77">77</a> the gift of an enemy was at first rejected as + a dire and dangerous blasphemy, and the rash innovation had nearly cost + the emperor Anastasius his throne and his life. <a href="#linknote-47.78" + name="linknoteref-47.78" id="linknoteref-47.78">78</a> The people of + Constantinople was devoid of any rational principles of freedom; but they + held, as a lawful cause of rebellion, the color of a livery in the races, + or the color of a mystery in the schools. The Trisagion, with and without + this obnoxious addition, was chanted in the cathedral by two adverse + choirs, and when their lungs were exhausted, they had recourse to the more + solid arguments of sticks and stones; the aggressors were punished by the + emperor, and defended by the patriarch; and the crown and mitre were + staked on the event of this momentous quarrel. The streets were instantly + crowded with innumerable swarms of men, women, and children; the legions + of monks, in regular array, marched, and shouted, and fought at their + head, “Christians! this is the day of martyrdom: let us not desert our + spiritual father; anathema to the Manichaean tyrant! he is unworthy to + reign.” Such was the Catholic cry; and the galleys of Anastasius lay upon + their oars before the palace, till the patriarch had pardoned his + penitent, and hushed the waves of the troubled multitude. The triumph of + Macedonius was checked by a speedy exile; but the zeal of his flock was + again exasperated by the same question, “Whether one of the Trinity had + been crucified?” On this momentous occasion, the blue and green factions + of Constantinople suspended their discord, and the civil and military + powers were annihilated in their presence. The keys of the city, and the + standards of the guards, were deposited in the forum of Constantine, the + principal station and camp of the faithful. Day and night they were + incessantly busied either in singing hymns to the honor of their God, or + in pillaging and murdering the servants of their prince. The head of his + favorite monk, the friend, as they styled him, of the enemy of the Holy + Trinity, was borne aloft on a spear; and the firebrands, which had been + darted against heretical structures, diffused the undistinguishing flames + over the most orthodox buildings. The statues of the emperor were broken, + and his person was concealed in a suburb, till, at the end of three days, + he dared to implore the mercy of his subjects. Without his diadem, and in + the posture of a suppliant, Anastasius appeared on the throne of the + circus. The Catholics, before his face, rehearsed their genuine Trisagion; + they exulted in the offer, which he proclaimed by the voice of a herald, + of abdicating the purple; they listened to the admonition, that, since all + could not reign, they should previously agree in the choice of a + sovereign; and they accepted the blood of two unpopular ministers, whom + their master, without hesitation, condemned to the lions. These furious + but transient seditions were encouraged by the success of Vitalian, who, + with an army of Huns and Bulgarians, for the most part idolaters, declared + himself the champion of the Catholic faith. In this pious rebellion he + depopulated Thrace, besieged Constantinople, exterminated sixty-five + thousand of his fellow-Christians, till he obtained the recall of the + bishops, the satisfaction of the pope, and the establishment of the + council of Chalcedon, an orthodox treaty, reluctantly signed by the dying + Anastasius, and more faithfully performed by the uncle of Justinian. And + such was the event of the first of the religious wars which have been + waged in the name and by the disciples, of the God of peace. <a + href="#linknote-47.79" name="linknoteref-47.79" id="linknoteref-47.79">79</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.76" id="linknote-47.76"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 76 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.76">return</a>)<br /> [ Petavius (Dogmat. + Theolog. tom. v. l. v. c. 2, 3, 4, p. 217-225) and Tillemont (Mem. Eccles. + tom. xiv. p. 713, &c., 799) represent the history and doctrine of the + Trisagion. In the twelve centuries between Isaiah and St. Proculs’s boy, + who was taken up into heaven before the bishop and people of + Constantinople, the song was considerably improved. The boy heard the + angels sing, “Holy God! Holy strong! Holy immortal!”] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.77" id="linknote-47.77"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 77 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.77">return</a>)<br /> [ Peter Gnapheus, the + fuller, (a trade which he had exercised in his monastery,) patriarch of + Antioch. His tedious story is discussed in the Annals of Pagi (A.D. 477—490) + and a dissertation of M. de Valois at the end of his Evagrius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.78" id="linknote-47.78"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 78 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.78">return</a>)<br /> [ The troubles under the + reign of Anastasius must be gathered from the Chronicles of Victor, + Marcellinus, and Theophanes. As the last was not published in the time of + Baronius, his critic Pagi is more copious, as well as more correct.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.79" id="linknote-47.79"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 79 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.79">return</a>)<br /> [ The general history, + from the council of Chalcedon to the death of Anastasius, may be found in + the Breviary of Liberatus, (c. 14—19,) the iid and iiid books of + Evagrius, the abstract of the two books of Theodore the Reader, the Acts + of the Synods, and the Epistles of the Pope, (Concil. tom. v.) The series + is continued with some disorder in the xvth and xvith tomes of the + Memoires Ecclesiastiques of Tillemont. And here I must take leave forever + of that incomparable guide—whose bigotry is overbalanced by the + merits of erudition, diligence, veracity, and scrupulous minuteness. He + was prevented by death from completing, as he designed, the vith century + of the church and empire.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap47.4"></a> +Chapter XLVII: Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part IV.</h2> + + <p> + Justinian has been already seen in the various lights of a prince, a + conqueror, and a lawgiver: the theologian <a href="#linknote-47.80" + name="linknoteref-47.80" id="linknoteref-47.80">80</a> still remains, and it + affords an unfavorable prejudice, that his theology should form a very + prominent feature of his portrait. The sovereign sympathized with his + subjects in their superstitious reverence for living and departed saints: + his Code, and more especially his Novels, confirm and enlarge the + privileges of the clergy; and in every dispute between a monk and a + layman, the partial judge was inclined to pronounce, that truth, and + innocence, and justice, were always on the side of the church. In his + public and private devotions, the emperor was assiduous and exemplary; his + prayers, vigils, and fasts, displayed the austere penance of a monk; his + fancy was amused by the hope, or belief, of personal inspiration; he had + secured the patronage of the Virgin and St. Michael the archangel; and his + recovery from a dangerous disease was ascribed to the miraculous succor of + the holy martyrs Cosmas and Damian. The capital and the provinces of the + East were decorated with the monuments of his religion; <a + href="#linknote-47.81" name="linknoteref-47.81" id="linknoteref-47.81">81</a> + and though the far greater part of these costly structures may be + attributed to his taste or ostentation, the zeal of the royal architect + was probably quickened by a genuine sense of love and gratitude towards + his invisible benefactors. Among the titles of Imperial greatness, the + name of Pious was most pleasing to his ear; to promote the temporal and + spiritual interest of the church was the serious business of his life; and + the duty of father of his country was often sacrificed to that of defender + of the faith. The controversies of the times were congenial to his temper + and understanding and the theological professors must inwardly deride the + diligence of a stranger, who cultivated their art and neglected his own. + “What can ye fear,” said a bold conspirator to his associates, “from your + bigoted tyrant? Sleepless and unarmed, he sits whole nights in his closet, + debating with reverend graybeards, and turning over the pages of + ecclesiastical volumes.” <a href="#linknote-47.82" name="linknoteref-47.82" + id="linknoteref-47.82">82</a> The fruits of these lucubrations were + displayed in many a conference, where Justinian might shine as the loudest + and most subtile of the disputants; in many a sermon, which, under the + name of edicts and epistles, proclaimed to the empire the theology of + their master. While the Barbarians invaded the provinces, while the + victorious legion marched under the banners of Belisarius and Narses, the + successor of Trajan, unknown to the camp, was content to vanquish at the + head of a synod. Had he invited to these synods a disinterested and + rational spectator, Justinian might have learned, “that religious + controversy is the offspring of arrogance and folly; that true piety is + most laudably expressed by silence and submission; that man, ignorant of + his own nature, should not presume to scrutinize the nature of his God; + and that it is sufficient for us to know, that power and benevolence are + the perfect attributes of the Deity.” <a href="#linknote-47.83" + name="linknoteref-47.83" id="linknoteref-47.83">83</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.80" id="linknote-47.80"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 80 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.80">return</a>)<br /> [ The strain of the + Anecdotes of Procopius, (c. 11, 13, 18, 27, 28,) with the learned remarks + of Alemannus, is confirmed, rather than contradicted, by the Acts of the + Councils, the fourth book of Evagrius, and the complaints of the African + Facundus, in his xiith book—de tribus capitulis, “cum videri doctus + appetit importune...spontaneis quaestionibus ecclesiam turbat.” See + Procop. de Bell. Goth. l. iii. c. 35.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.81" id="linknote-47.81"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 81 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.81">return</a>)<br /> [ Procop. de Edificiis, + l. i. c. 6, 7, &c., passim.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.82" id="linknote-47.82"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 82 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.82">return</a>)<br /> [ Procop. de Bell. Goth. + l. iii. c. 32. In the life of St. Eutychius (apud Aleman. ad Procop. + Arcan. c. 18) the same character is given with a design to praise + Justinian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.83" id="linknote-47.83"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 83 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.83">return</a>)<br /> [ For these wise and + moderate sentiments, Procopius (de Bell. Goth. l. i. c. 3) is scourged in + the preface of Alemannus, who ranks him among the political Christians—sed + longe verius haeresium omnium sentinas, prorsusque Atheos—abominable + Atheists, who preached the imitation of God’s mercy to man, (ad Hist. + Arcan. c. 13.)] + </p> + <p> + Toleration was not the virtue of the times, and indulgence to rebels has + seldom been the virtue of princes. But when the prince descends to the + narrow and peevish character of a disputant, he is easily provoked to + supply the defect of argument by the plenitude of power, and to chastise + without mercy the perverse blindness of those who wilfully shut their eyes + against the light of demonstration. The reign of Justinian was a uniform + yet various scene of persecution; and he appears to have surpassed his + indolent predecessors, both in the contrivance of his laws and the rigor + of their execution. The insufficient term of three months was assigned for + the conversion or exile of all heretics; <a href="#linknote-47.84" + name="linknoteref-47.84" id="linknoteref-47.84">84</a> and if he still + connived at their precarious stay, they were deprived, under his iron + yoke, not only of the benefits of society, but of the common birth-right + of men and Christians. At the end of four hundred years, the Montanists of + Phrygia <a href="#linknote-47.85" name="linknoteref-47.85" + id="linknoteref-47.85">85</a> still breathed the wild enthusiasm of + perfection and prophecy which they had imbibed from their male and female + apostles, the special organs of the Paraclete. On the approach of the + Catholic priests and soldiers, they grasped with alacrity the crown of + martyrdom the conventicle and the congregation perished in the flames, but + these primitive fanatics were not extinguished three hundred years after + the death of their tyrant. Under the protection of their Gothic + confederates, the church of the Arians at Constantinople had braved the + severity of the laws: their clergy equalled the wealth and magnificence of + the senate; and the gold and silver which were seized by the rapacious + hand of Justinian might perhaps be claimed as the spoils of the provinces, + and the trophies of the Barbarians. A secret remnant of Pagans, who still + lurked in the most refined and most rustic conditions of mankind, excited + the indignation of the Christians, who were perhaps unwilling that any + strangers should be the witnesses of their intestine quarrels. A bishop + was named as the inquisitor of the faith, and his diligence soon + discovered, in the court and city, the magistrates, lawyers, physicians, + and sophists, who still cherished the superstition of the Greeks. They + were sternly informed that they must choose without delay between the + displeasure of Jupiter or Justinian, and that their aversion to the gospel + could no longer be distinguished under the scandalous mask of indifference + or impiety. The patrician Photius, perhaps, alone was resolved to live and + to die like his ancestors: he enfranchised himself with the stroke of a + dagger, and left his tyrant the poor consolation of exposing with ignominy + the lifeless corpse of the fugitive. His weaker brethren submitted to + their earthly monarch, underwent the ceremony of baptism, and labored, by + their extraordinary zeal, to erase the suspicion, or to expiate the guilt, + of idolatry. The native country of Homer, and the theatre of the Trojan + war, still retained the last sparks of his mythology: by the care of the + same bishop, seventy thousand Pagans were detected and converted in Asia, + Phrygia, Lydia, and Caria; ninety-six churches were built for the new + proselytes; and linen vestments, Bibles, and liturgies, and vases of gold + and silver, were supplied by the pious munificence of Justinian. <a + href="#linknote-47.86" name="linknoteref-47.86" id="linknoteref-47.86">86</a> + The Jews, who had been gradually stripped of their immunities, were + oppressed by a vexatious law, which compelled them to observe the festival + of Easter the same day on which it was celebrated by the Christians. <a + href="#linknote-47.87" name="linknoteref-47.87" id="linknoteref-47.87">87</a> + And they might complain with the more reason, since the Catholics + themselves did not agree with the astronomical calculations of their + sovereign: the people of Constantinople delayed the beginning of their + Lent a whole week after it had been ordained by authority; and they had + the pleasure of fasting seven days, while meat was exposed for sale by the + command of the emperor. The Samaritans of Palestine <a + href="#linknote-47.88" name="linknoteref-47.88" id="linknoteref-47.88">88</a> + were a motley race, an ambiguous sect, rejected as Jews by the Pagans, by + the Jews as schismatics, and by the Christians as idolaters. The + abomination of the cross had already been planted on their holy mount of + Garizim, <a href="#linknote-47.89" name="linknoteref-47.89" + id="linknoteref-47.89">89</a> but the persecution of Justinian offered only + the alternative of baptism or rebellion. They chose the latter: under the + standard of a desperate leader, they rose in arms, and retaliated their + wrongs on the lives, the property, and the temples, of a defenceless + people. The Samaritans were finally subdued by the regular forces of the + East: twenty thousand were slain, twenty thousand were sold by the Arabs + to the infidels of Persia and India, and the remains of that unhappy + nation atoned for the crime of treason by the sin of hypocrisy. It has + been computed that one hundred thousand Roman subjects were extirpated in + the Samaritan war, <a href="#linknote-47.90" name="linknoteref-47.90" + id="linknoteref-47.90">90</a> which converted the once fruitful province + into a desolate and smoking wilderness. But in the creed of Justinian, the + guilt of murder could not be applied to the slaughter of unbelievers; and + he piously labored to establish with fire and sword the unity of the + Christian faith. <a href="#linknote-47.91" name="linknoteref-47.91" + id="linknoteref-47.91">91</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.84" id="linknote-47.84"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 84 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.84">return</a>)<br /> [ This alternative, a + precious circumstance, is preserved by John Malala, (tom. ii. p. 63, edit. + Venet. 1733,) who deserves more credit as he draws towards his end. After + numbering the heretics, Nestorians, Eutychians, &c., ne expectent, + says Justinian, ut digni venia judicen tur: jubemus, enim ut...convicti et + aperti haeretici justae et idoneae animadversioni subjiciantur. Baronius + copies and applauds this edict of the Code, (A.D. 527, No. 39, 40.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.85" id="linknote-47.85"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 85 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.85">return</a>)<br /> [ See the character and + principles of the Montanists, in Mosheim, Rebus Christ. ante Constantinum, + p. 410—424.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.86" id="linknote-47.86"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 86 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.86">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophan. Chron. p. + 153. John, the Monophysite bishop of Asia, is a more authentic witness of + this transaction, in which he was himself employed by the emperor, + (Asseman. Bib. Orient. tom. ii. p. 85.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.87" id="linknote-47.87"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 87 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.87">return</a>)<br /> [ Compare Procopius + (Hist. Arcan. c. 28, and Aleman’s Notes) with Theophanes, (Chron. p. 190.) + The council of Nice has intrusted the patriarch, or rather the + astronomers, of Alexandria, with the annual proclamation of Easter; and we + still read, or rather we do not read, many of the Paschal epistles of St. + Cyril. Since the reign of Monophytism in Egypt, the Catholics were + perplexed by such a foolish prejudice as that which so long opposed, among + the Protestants, the reception of the Gregorian style.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.88" id="linknote-47.88"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 88 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.88">return</a>)<br /> [ For the religion and + history of the Samaritans, consult Basnage, Histoire des Juifs, a learned + and impartial work.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.89" id="linknote-47.89"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 89 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.89">return</a>)<br /> [ Sichem, Neapolis, + Naplous, the ancient and modern seat of the Samaritans, is situate in a + valley between the barren Ebal, the mountain of cursing to the north, and + the fruitful Garizim, or mountain of cursing to the south, ten or eleven + hours’ travel from Jerusalem. See Maundrel, Journey from Aleppo &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.90" id="linknote-47.90"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 90 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.90">return</a>)<br /> [ Procop. Anecdot. c. 11. + Theophan. Chron. p. 122. John Malala Chron. tom. ii. p. 62. I remember an + observation, half philosophical. half superstitious, that the province + which had been ruined by the bigotry of Justinian, was the same through + which the Mahometans penetrated into the empire.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.91" id="linknote-47.91"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 91 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.91">return</a>)<br /> [ The expression of + Procopius is remarkable. Anecdot. c. 13.] + </p> + <p> + With these sentiments, it was incumbent on him, at least, to be always in + the right. In the first years of his administration, he signalized his + zeal as the disciple and patron of orthodoxy: the reconciliation of the + Greeks and Latins established the tome of St. Leo as the creed of the + emperor and the empire; the Nestorians and Eutychians were exposed, on + either side, to the double edge of persecution; and the four synods of + Nice, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon, were ratified by the code of + a Catholic lawgiver. <a href="#linknote-47.92" name="linknoteref-47.92" + id="linknoteref-47.92">92</a> But while Justinian strove to maintain the + uniformity of faith and worship, his wife Theodora, whose vices were not + incompatible with devotion, had listened to the Monophysite teachers; and + the open or clandestine enemies of the church revived and multiplied at + the smile of their gracious patroness. The capital, the palace, the + nuptial bed, were torn by spiritual discord; yet so doubtful was the + sincerity of the royal consorts, that their seeming disagreement was + imputed by many to a secret and mischievous confederacy against the + religion and happiness of their people. <a href="#linknote-47.93" + name="linknoteref-47.93" id="linknoteref-47.93">93</a> The famous dispute of + the Three Chapters, <a href="#linknote-47.94" name="linknoteref-47.94" + id="linknoteref-47.94">94</a> which has filled more volumes than it + deserves lines, is deeply marked with this subtile and disingenuous + spirit. It was now three hundred years since the body of Origen <a + href="#linknote-47.95" name="linknoteref-47.95" id="linknoteref-47.95">95</a> + had been eaten by the worms: his soul, of which he held the preexistence, + was in the hands of its Creator; but his writings were eagerly perused by + the monks of Palestine. In these writings, the piercing eye of Justinian + descried more than ten metaphysical errors; and the primitive doctor, in + the company of Pythagoras and Plato, was devoted by the clergy to the + eternity of hell-fire, which he had presumed to deny. Under the cover of + this precedent, a treacherous blow was aimed at the council of Chalcedon. + The fathers had listened without impatience to the praise of Theodore of + Mopsuestia; <a href="#linknote-47.96" name="linknoteref-47.96" + id="linknoteref-47.96">96</a> and their justice or indulgence had restored + both Theodore of Cyrrhus, and Ibas of Edessa, to the communion of the + church. But the characters of these Oriental bishops were tainted with the + reproach of heresy; the first had been the master, the two others were the + friends, of Nestorius; their most suspicious passages were accused under + the title of the three chapters; and the condemnation of their memory must + involve the honor of a synod, whose name was pronounced with sincere or + affected reverence by the Catholic world. If these bishops, whether + innocent or guilty, were annihilated in the sleep of death, they would not + probably be awakened by the clamor which, after a hundred years, was + raised over their grave. If they were already in the fangs of the daemon, + their torments could neither be aggravated nor assuaged by human industry. + If in the company of saints and angels they enjoyed the rewards of piety, + they must have smiled at the idle fury of the theological insects who + still crawled on the surface of the earth. The foremost of these insects, + the emperor of the Romans, darted his sting, and distilled his venom, + perhaps without discerning the true motives of Theodora and her + ecclesiastical faction. The victims were no longer subject to his power, + and the vehement style of his edicts could only proclaim their damnation, + and invite the clergy of the East to join in a full chorus of curses and + anathemas. The East, with some hesitation, consented to the voice of her + sovereign: the fifth general council, of three patriarchs and one hundred + and sixty-five bishops, was held at Constantinople; and the authors, as + well as the defenders, of the three chapters were separated from the + communion of the saints, and solemnly delivered to the prince of darkness. + But the Latin churches were more jealous of the honor of Leo and the synod + of Chalcedon: and if they had fought as they usually did under the + standard of Rome, they might have prevailed in the cause of reason and + humanity. But their chief was a prisoner in the hands of the enemy; the + throne of St. Peter, which had been disgraced by the simony, was betrayed + by the cowardice, of Vigilius, who yielded, after a long and inconsistent + struggle, to the despotism of Justinian and the sophistry of the Greeks. + His apostasy provoked the indignation of the Latins, and no more than two + bishops could be found who would impose their hands on his deacon and + successor Pelagius. Yet the perseverance of the popes insensibly + transferred to their adversaries the appellation of schismatics; the + Illyrian, African, and Italian churches were oppressed by the civil and + ecclesiastical powers, not without some effort of military force; <a + href="#linknote-47.97" name="linknoteref-47.97" id="linknoteref-47.97">97</a> + the distant Barbarians transcribed the creed of the Vatican, and, in the + period of a century, the schism of the three chapters expired in an + obscure angle of the Venetian province. <a href="#linknote-47.98" + name="linknoteref-47.98" id="linknoteref-47.98">98</a> But the religious + discontent of the Italians had already promoted the conquests of the + Lombards, and the Romans themselves were accustomed to suspect the faith + and to detest the government of their Byzantine tyrant. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.92" id="linknote-47.92"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 92 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.92">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Chronicle of + Victor, p. 328, and the original evidence of the laws of Justinian. During + the first years of his reign, Baronius himself is in extreme good humor + with the emperor, who courted the popes, till he got them into his power.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.93" id="linknote-47.93"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 93 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.93">return</a>)<br /> [ Procopius, Anecdot. c. + 13. Evagrius, l. iv. c. 10. If the ecclesiastical never read the secret + historian, their common suspicion proves at least the general hatred.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.94" id="linknote-47.94"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 94 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.94">return</a>)<br /> [ On the subject of the + three chapters, the original acts of the vth general council of + Constantinople supply much useless, though authentic, knowledge, (Concil. + tom. vi. p. 1-419.) The Greek Evagrius is less copious and correct (l. iv. + c. 38) than the three zealous Africans, Facundus, (in his twelve books, de + tribus capitulis, which are most correctly published by Sirmond,) + Liberatus, (in his Breviarium, c. 22, 23, 24,) and Victor Tunnunensis in + his Chronicle, (in tom. i. Antiq. Lect. Canisii, 330—334.) The Liber + Pontificalis, or Anastasius, (in Vigilio, Pelagio, &c.,) is original + Italian evidence. The modern reader will derive some information from + Dupin (Bibliot. Eccles. tom. v. p. 189—207) and Basnage, (Hist. de + l’Eglise, tom. i. p. 519—541;) yet the latter is too firmly resolved + to depreciate the authority and character of the popes.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.95" id="linknote-47.95"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 95 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.95">return</a>)<br /> [ Origen had indeed too + great a propensity to imitate the old philosophers, (Justinian, ad Mennam, + in Concil. tom. vi. p. 356.) His moderate opinions were too repugnant to + the zeal of the church, and he was found guilty of the heresy of reason.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.96" id="linknote-47.96"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 96 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.96">return</a>)<br /> [ Basnage (Praefat. p. 11—14, + ad tom. i. Antiq. Lect. Canis.) has fairly weighed the guilt and innocence + of Theodore of Mopsuestia. If he composed 10,000 volumes, as many errors + would be a charitable allowance. In all the subsequent catalogues of + heresiarchs, he alone, without his two brethren, is included; and it is + the duty of Asseman (Bibliot. Orient. tom. iv. p. 203—207) to + justify the sentence.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.97" id="linknote-47.97"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 97 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.97">return</a>)<br /> [ See the complaints of + Liberatus and Victor, and the exhortations of Pope Pelagius to the + conqueror and exarch of Italy. Schisma.. per potestates publicas + opprimatur, &c., (Concil. tom. vi. p. 467, &c.) An army was + detained to suppress the sedition of an Illyrian city. See Procopius, (de + Bell. Goth. l. iv. c. 25:). He seems to promise an ecclesiastical history. + It would have been curious and impartial.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.98" id="linknote-47.98"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 98 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.98">return</a>)<br /> [ The bishops of the + patriarchate of Aquileia were reconciled by Pope Honorius, A.D. 638, + (Muratori, Annali d’ Italia, tom. v. p. 376;) but they again relapsed, and + the schism was not finally extinguished till 698. Fourteen years before, + the church of Spain had overlooked the vth general council with + contemptuous silence, (xiii. Concil. Toretan. in Concil. tom. vii. p. 487—494.)] + </p> + <p> + Justinian was neither steady nor consistent in the nice process of fixing + his volatile opinions and those of his subjects. In his youth he was + offended by the slightest deviation from the orthodox line; in his old age + he transgressed the measure of temperate heresy, and the Jacobites, not + less than the Catholics, were scandalized by his declaration, that the + body of Christ was incorruptible, and that his manhood was never subject + to any wants and infirmities, the inheritance of our mortal flesh. This + fantastic opinion was announced in the last edicts of Justinian; and at + the moment of his seasonable departure, the clergy had refused to + subscribe, the prince was prepared to persecute, and the people were + resolved to suffer or resist. A bishop of Treves, secure beyond the limits + of his power, addressed the monarch of the East in the language of + authority and affection. “Most gracious Justinian, remember your baptism + and your creed. Let not your gray hairs be defiled with heresy. Recall + your fathers from exile, and your followers from perdition. You cannot be + ignorant, that Italy and Gaul, Spain and Africa, already deplore your + fall, and anathematize your name. Unless, without delay, you destroy what + you have taught; unless you exclaim with a loud voice, I have erred, I + have sinned, anathema to Nestorius, anathema to Eutyches, you deliver your + soul to the same flames in which they will eternally burn.” He died and + made no sign. <a href="#linknote-47.99" name="linknoteref-47.99" + id="linknoteref-47.99">99</a> His death restored in some degree the peace + of the church, and the reigns of his four successors, Justin Tiberius, + Maurice, and Phocas, are distinguished by a rare, though fortunate, + vacancy in the ecclesiastical history of the East. <a + href="#linknote-47.100" name="linknoteref-47.100" id="linknoteref-47.100">100</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.99" id="linknote-47.99"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 99 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.99">return</a>)<br /> [ Nicetus, bishop of + Treves, (Concil. tom. vi. p. 511-513:) he himself, like most of the + Gallican prelates, (Gregor. Epist. l. vii. 5 in Concil. tom. vi. p. 1007,) + was separated from the communion of the four patriarchs by his refusal to + condemn the three chapters. Baronius almost pronounces the damnation of + Justinian, (A.D. 565, No. 6.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.100" id="linknote-47.100"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 100 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.100">return</a>)<br /> [ After relating the + last heresy of Justinian, (l. iv. c. 39, 40, 41,) and the edict of his + successor, (l. v. c. 3,) the remainder of the history of Evagrius is + filled with civil, instead of ecclesiastical events.] + </p> + <p> + The faculties of sense and reason are least capable of acting on + themselves; the eye is most inaccessible to the sight, the soul to the + thought; yet we think, and even feel, that one will, a sole principle of + action, is essential to a rational and conscious being. When Heraclius + returned from the Persian war, the orthodox hero consulted his bishops, + whether the Christ whom he adored, of one person, but of two natures, was + actuated by a single or a double will. They replied in the singular, and + the emperor was encouraged to hope that the Jacobites of Egypt and Syria + might be reconciled by the profession of a doctrine, most certainly + harmless, and most probably true, since it was taught even by the + Nestorians themselves. <a href="#linknote-47.101" name="linknoteref-47.101" + id="linknoteref-47.101">101</a> The experiment was tried without effect, + and the timid or vehement Catholics condemned even the semblance of a + retreat in the presence of a subtle and audacious enemy. The orthodox (the + prevailing) party devised new modes of speech, and argument, and + interpretation: to either nature of Christ they speciously applied a + proper and distinct energy; but the difference was no longer visible when + they allowed that the human and the divine will were invariably the same. + <a href="#linknote-47.102" name="linknoteref-47.102" id="linknoteref-47.102">102</a> + The disease was attended with the customary symptoms: but the Greek + clergy, as if satiated with the endless controversy of the incarnation, + instilled a healing counsel into the ear of the prince and people. They + declared themselves Monothelites (asserters of the unity of will), but + they treated the words as new, the questions as superfluous; and + recommended a religious silence as the most agreeable to the prudence and + charity of the gospel. This law of silence was successively imposed by the + ecthesis or exposition of Heraclius, the type or model of his grandson + Constans; <a href="#linknote-47.103" name="linknoteref-47.103" + id="linknoteref-47.103">103</a> and the Imperial edicts were subscribed + with alacrity or reluctance by the four patriarchs of Rome, + Constantinople, Alexandria, and Antioch. But the bishop and monks of + Jerusalem sounded the alarm: in the language, or even in the silence, of + the Greeks, the Latin churches detected a latent heresy: and the obedience + of Pope Honorius to the commands of his sovereign was retracted and + censured by the bolder ignorance of his successors. They condemned the + execrable and abominable heresy of the Monothelites, who revived the + errors of Manes, Apollinaris, Eutyches, &c.; they signed the sentence + of excommunication on the tomb of St. Peter; the ink was mingled with the + sacramental wine, the blood of Christ; and no ceremony was omitted that + could fill the superstitious mind with horror and affright. As the + representative of the Western church, Pope Martin and his Lateran synod + anathematized the perfidious and guilty silence of the Greeks: one hundred + and five bishops of Italy, for the most part the subjects of Constans, + presumed to reprobate his wicked type, and the impious ecthesis of his + grandfather; and to confound the authors and their adherents with the + twenty-one notorious heretics, the apostates from the church, and the + organs of the devil. Such an insult under the tamest reign could not pass + with impunity. Pope Martin ended his days on the inhospitable shore of the + Tauric Chersonesus, and his oracle, the abbot Maximus, was inhumanly + chastised by the amputation of his tongue and his right hand. <a + href="#linknote-47.104" name="linknoteref-47.104" id="linknoteref-47.104">104</a> + But the same invincible spirit survived in their successors; and the + triumph of the Latins avenged their recent defeat, and obliterated the + disgrace of the three chapters. The synods of Rome were confirmed by the + sixth general council of Constantinople, in the palace and the presence of + a new Constantine, a descendant of Heraclius. The royal convert converted + the Byzantine pontiff and a majority of the bishops; <a + href="#linknote-47.105" name="linknoteref-47.105" id="linknoteref-47.105">105</a> + the dissenters, with their chief, Macarius of Antioch, were condemned to + the spiritual and temporal pains of heresy; the East condescended to + accept the lessons of the West; and the creed was finally settled, which + teaches the Catholics of every age, that two wills or energies are + harmonized in the person of Christ. The majesty of the pope and the Roman + synod was represented by two priests, one deacon, and three bishops; but + these obscure Latins had neither arms to compel, nor treasures to bribe, + nor language to persuade; and I am ignorant by what arts they could + determine the lofty emperor of the Greeks to abjure the catechism of his + infancy, and to persecute the religion of his fathers. Perhaps the monks + and people of Constantinople <a href="#linknote-47.106" + name="linknoteref-47.106" id="linknoteref-47.106">106</a> were favorable to + the Lateran creed, which is indeed the least reasonable of the two: and + the suspicion is countenanced by the unnatural moderation of the Greek + clergy, who appear in this quarrel to be conscious of their weakness. + While the synod debated, a fanatic proposed a more summary decision, by + raising a dead man to life: the prelates assisted at the trial; but the + acknowledged failure may serve to indicate, that the passions and + prejudices of the multitude were not enlisted on the side of the + Monothelites. In the next generation, when the son of Constantine was + deposed and slain by the disciple of Macarius, they tasted the feast of + revenge and dominion: the image or monument of the sixth council was + defaced, and the original acts were committed to the flames. But in the + second year, their patron was cast headlong from the throne, the bishops + of the East were released from their occasional conformity, the Roman + faith was more firmly replanted by the orthodox successors of Bardanes, + and the fine problems of the incarnation were forgotten in the more + popular and visible quarrel of the worship of images. <a + href="#linknote-47.107" name="linknoteref-47.107" id="linknoteref-47.107">107</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.101" id="linknote-47.101"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 101 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.101">return</a>)<br /> [ This extraordinary, + and perhaps inconsistent, doctrine of the Nestorians, had been observed by + La Croze, (Christianisme des Indes, tom. i. p. 19, 20,) and is more fully + exposed by Abulpharagius, (Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. p. 292. Hist. Dynast. + p. 91, vers. Latin. Pocock.) and Asseman himself, (tom. iv. p. 218.) They + seem ignorant that they might allege the positive authority of the + ecthesis. (the common reproach of the Monophysites) (Concil. tom. vii. p. + 205.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.102" id="linknote-47.102"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 102 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.102">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Orthodox + faith in Petavius, (Dogmata Theolog. tom. v. l. ix. c. 6—10, p. 433—447:) + all the depths of this controversy in the Greek dialogue between Maximus + and Pyrrhus, (acalcem tom. viii. Annal. Baron. p. 755—794,) which + relates a real conference, and produced as short-lived a conversion.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.103" id="linknote-47.103"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 103 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.103">return</a>)<br /> [ Impiissimam + ecthesim.... scelerosum typum (Concil. tom. vii p. 366) diabolicae + operationis genimina, (fors. germina, or else the Greek in the original. + Concil. p. 363, 364,) are the expressions of the xviiith anathema. The + epistle of Pope Martin to Amandus, Gallican bishop, stigmatizes the + Monothelites and their heresy with equal virulence, (p. 392.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.104" id="linknote-47.104"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 104 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.104">return</a>)<br /> [ The sufferings of + Martin and Maximus are described with simplicity in their original letters + and acts, (Concil. tom. vii. p. 63—78. Baron. Annal. Eccles. A.D. + 656, No. 2, et annos subsequent.) Yet the chastisement of their + disobedience had been previously announced in the Type of Constans, + (Concil. tom. vii. p. 240.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.105" id="linknote-47.105"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 105 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.105">return</a>)<br /> [ Eutychius (Annal. + tom. ii. p. 368) most erroneously supposes that the 124 bishops of the + Roman synod transported themselves to Constantinople; and by adding them + to the 168 Greeks, thus composes the sixth council of 292 fathers.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.106" id="linknote-47.106"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 106 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.106">return</a>)<br /> [ The Monothelite + Constans was hated by all, (says Theophanes, Chron. p. 292). When the + Monothelite monk failed in his miracle, the people shouted, (Concil. tom. + vii. p. 1032.) But this was a natural and transient emotion; and I much + fear that the latter is an anticipation of the good people of + Constantinople.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.107" id="linknote-47.107"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 107 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.107">return</a>)<br /> [ The history of + Monothelitism may be found in the Acts of the Synods of Rome (tom. vii. p. + 77—395, 601—608) and Constantinople, (p. 609—1429.) + Baronius extracted some original documents from the Vatican library; and + his chronology is rectified by the diligence of Pagi. Even Dupin + (Bibliotheque Eccles. tom. vi. p. 57—71) and Basnage (Hist. de + l’Eglise, tom. i. p. 451—555) afford a tolerable abridgment.] + </p> + <p> + Before the end of the seventh century, the creed of the incarnation, which + had been defined at Rome and Constantinople, was uniformly preached in the + remote islands of Britain and Ireland; <a href="#linknote-47.108" + name="linknoteref-47.108" id="linknoteref-47.108">108</a> the same ideas + were entertained, or rather the same words were repeated, by all the + Christians whose liturgy was performed in the Greek or the Latin tongue. + Their numbers, and visible splendor, bestowed an imperfect claim to the + appellation of Catholics: but in the East, they were marked with the less + honorable name of Melchites, or Royalists; <a href="#linknote-47.109" + name="linknoteref-47.109" id="linknoteref-47.109">109</a> of men, whose + faith, instead of resting on the basis of Scripture, reason, or tradition, + had been established, and was still maintained, by the arbitrary power of + a temporal monarch. Their adversaries might allege the words of the + fathers of Constantinople, who profess themselves the slaves of the king; + and they might relate, with malicious joy, how the decrees of Chalcedon + had been inspired and reformed by the emperor Marcian and his virgin + bride. The prevailing faction will naturally inculcate the duty of + submission, nor is it less natural that dissenters should feel and assert + the principles of freedom. Under the rod of persecution, the Nestorians + and Monophysites degenerated into rebels and fugitives; and the most + ancient and useful allies of Rome were taught to consider the emperor not + as the chief, but as the enemy of the Christians. Language, the leading + principle which unites or separates the tribes of mankind, soon + discriminated the sectaries of the East, by a peculiar and perpetual + badge, which abolished the means of intercourse and the hope of + reconciliation. The long dominion of the Greeks, their colonies, and, + above all, their eloquence, had propagated a language doubtless the most + perfect that has been contrived by the art of man. Yet the body of the + people, both in Syria and Egypt, still persevered in the use of their + national idioms; with this difference, however, that the Coptic was + confined to the rude and illiterate peasants of the Nile, while the + Syriac, <a href="#linknote-47.110" name="linknoteref-47.110" + id="linknoteref-47.110">110</a> from the mountains of Assyria to the Red + Sea, was adapted to the higher topics of poetry and argument. Armenia and + Abyssinia were infected by the speech or learning of the Greeks; and their + Barbaric tongues, which have been revived in the studies of modern Europe, + were unintelligible to the inhabitants of the Roman empire. The Syriac and + the Coptic, the Armenian and the Aethiopic, are consecrated in the service + of their respective churches: and their theology is enriched by domestic + versions <a href="#linknote-47.111" name="linknoteref-47.111" + id="linknoteref-47.111">111</a> both of the Scriptures and of the most + popular fathers. After a period of thirteen hundred and sixty years, the + spark of controversy, first kindled by a sermon of Nestorius, still burns + in the bosom of the East, and the hostile communions still maintain the + faith and discipline of their founders. In the most abject state of + ignorance, poverty, and servitude, the Nestorians and Monophysites reject + the spiritual supremacy of Rome, and cherish the toleration of their + Turkish masters, which allows them to anathematize, on the one hand, St. + Cyril and the synod of Ephesus: on the other, Pope Leo and the council of + Chalcedon. The weight which they cast into the downfall of the Eastern + empire demands our notice, and the reader may be amused with the various + prospect of, I. The Nestorians; II. The Jacobites; <a + href="#linknote-47.112" name="linknoteref-47.112" id="linknoteref-47.112">112</a> + III. The Maronites; IV. The Armenians; V. The Copts; and, VI. The + Abyssinians. To the three former, the Syriac is common; but of the latter, + each is discriminated by the use of a national idiom. + </p> + <p> + Yet the modern natives of Armenia and Abyssinia would be incapable of + conversing with their ancestors; and the Christians of Egypt and Syria, + who reject the religion, have adopted the language of the Arabians. The + lapse of time has seconded the sacerdotal arts; and in the East, as well + as in the West, the Deity is addressed in an obsolete tongue, unknown to + the majority of the congregation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.108" id="linknote-47.108"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 108 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.108">return</a>)<br /> [ In the Lateran synod + of 679, Wilfred, an Anglo-Saxon bishop, subscribed pro omni Aquilonari + parte Britanniae et Hiberniae, quae ab Anglorum et Britonum, necnon + Scotorum et Pictorum gentibus colebantur, (Eddius, in Vit. St. Wilfrid. c. + 31, apud Pagi, Critica, tom. iii. p. 88.) Theodore (magnae insulae + Britanniae archiepiscopus et philosophus) was long expected at Rome, + (Concil. tom. vii. p. 714,) but he contented himself with holding (A.D. + 680) his provincial synod of Hatfield, in which he received the decrees of + Pope Martin and the first Lateran council against the Monothelites, + (Concil. tom. vii. p. 597, &c.) Theodore, a monk of Tarsus in Cilicia, + had been named to the primacy of Britain by Pope Vitalian, (A.D. 688; see + Baronius and Pagi,) whose esteem for his learning and piety was tainted by + some distrust of his national character—ne quid contrarium veritati + fidei, Graecorum more, in ecclesiam cui praeesset introduceret. The + Cilician was sent from Rome to Canterbury under the tuition of an African + guide, (Bedae Hist. Eccles. Anglorum. l. iv. c. 1.) He adhered to the + Roman doctrine; and the same creed of the incarnation has been uniformly + transmitted from Theodore to the modern primates, whose sound + understanding is perhaps seldom engaged with that abstruse mystery.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.109" id="linknote-47.109"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 109 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.109">return</a>)<br /> [ This name, unknown + till the xth century, appears to be of Syriac origin. It was invented by + the Jacobites, and eagerly adopted by the Nestorians and Mahometans; but + it was accepted without shame by the Catholics, and is frequently used in + the Annals of Eutychius, (Asseman. Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. p. 507, &c., + tom. iii. p. 355. Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alexandrin. p. 119.), was the + acclamation of the fathers of Constantinople, (Concil. tom. vii. p. 765.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.110" id="linknote-47.110"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 110 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.110">return</a>)<br /> [ The Syriac, which the + natives revere as the primitive language, was divided into three dialects. + 1. The Aramoean, as it was refined at Edessa and the cities of + Mesopotamia. 2. The Palestine, which was used in Jerusalem, Damascus, and + the rest of Syria. 3. The Nabathoean, the rustic idiom of the mountains of + Assyria and the villages of Irak, (Gregor, Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. + 11.) On the Syriac, sea Ebed-Jesu, (Asseman. tom. iii. p. 326, &c.,) + whose prejudice alone could prefer it to the Arabic.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.111" id="linknote-47.111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 111 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.111">return</a>)<br /> [ I shall not enrich my + ignorance with the spoils of Simon, Walton, Mill, Wetstein, Assemannus, + Ludolphus, La Croze, whom I have consulted with some care. It appears, 1. + That, of all the versions which are celebrated by the fathers, it is + doubtful whether any are now extant in their pristine integrity. 2. That + the Syriac has the best claim, and that the consent of the Oriental sects + is a proof that it is more ancient than their schism.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.112" id="linknote-47.112"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 112 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.112">return</a>)<br /> [ In the account of the + Monophysites and Nestorians, I am deeply indebted to the Bibliotheca + Orientalis Clementino-Vaticana of Joseph Simon Assemannus. That learned + Maronite was despatched, in the year 1715, by Pope Clement XI. to visit + the monasteries of Egypt and Syria, in search of Mss. His four folio + volumes, published at Rome 1719—1728, contain a part only, though + perhaps the most valuable, of his extensive project. As a native and as a + scholar, he possessed the Syriac literature; and though a dependent of + Rome, he wishes to be moderate and candid.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap47.5"></a> +Chapter XLVII: Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part V.</h2> + + <p> + I. Both in his native and his episcopal province, the heresy of the + unfortunate Nestorius was speedily obliterated. The Oriental bishops, who + at Ephesus had resisted to his face the arrogance of Cyril, were mollified + by his tardy concessions. The same prelates, or their successors, + subscribed, not without a murmur, the decrees of Chalcedon; the power of + the Monophysites reconciled them with the Catholics in the conformity of + passion, of interest, and, insensibly, of belief; and their last reluctant + sigh was breathed in the defence of the three chapters. Their dissenting + brethren, less moderate, or more sincere, were crushed by the penal laws; + and, as early as the reign of Justinian, it became difficult to find a + church of Nestorians within the limits of the Roman empire. Beyond those + limits they had discovered a new world, in which they might hope for + liberty, and aspire to conquest. In Persia, notwithstanding the resistance + of the Magi, Christianity had struck a deep root, and the nations of the + East reposed under its salutary shade. The catholic, or primate, resided + in the capital: in his synods, and in their dioceses, his metropolitans, + bishops, and clergy, represented the pomp and order of a regular + hierarchy: they rejoiced in the increase of proselytes, who were converted + from the Zendavesta to the gospel, from the secular to the monastic life; + and their zeal was stimulated by the presence of an artful and formidable + enemy. The Persian church had been founded by the missionaries of Syria; + and their language, discipline, and doctrine, were closely interwoven with + its original frame. The catholics were elected and ordained by their own + suffragans; but their filial dependence on the patriarchs of Antioch is + attested by the canons of the Oriental church. <a href="#linknote-47.113" + name="linknoteref-47.113" id="linknoteref-47.113">113</a> In the Persian + school of Edessa, <a href="#linknote-47.114" name="linknoteref-47.114" + id="linknoteref-47.114">114</a> the rising generations of the faithful + imbibed their theological idiom: they studied in the Syriac version the + ten thousand volumes of Theodore of Mopsuestia; and they revered the + apostolic faith and holy martyrdom of his disciple Nestorius, whose person + and language were equally unknown to the nations beyond the Tigris. The + first indelible lesson of Ibas, bishop of Edessa, taught them to execrate + the Egyptians, who, in the synod of Ephesus, had impiously confounded the + two natures of Christ. The flight of the masters and scholars, who were + twice expelled from the Athens of Syria, dispersed a crowd of missionaries + inflamed by the double zeal of religion and revenge. And the rigid unity + of the Monophysites, who, under the reigns of Zeno and Anastasius, had + invaded the thrones of the East, provoked their antagonists, in a land of + freedom, to avow a moral, rather than a physical, union of the two persons + of Christ. Since the first preaching of the gospel, the Sassanian kings + beheld with an eye of suspicion a race of aliens and apostates, who had + embraced the religion, and who might favor the cause, of the hereditary + foes of their country. The royal edicts had often prohibited their + dangerous correspondence with the Syrian clergy: the progress of the + schism was grateful to the jealous pride of Perozes, and he listened to + the eloquence of an artful prelate, who painted Nestorius as the friend of + Persia, and urged him to secure the fidelity of his Christian subjects, by + granting a just preference to the victims and enemies of the Roman tyrant. + The Nestorians composed a large majority of the clergy and people: they + were encouraged by the smile, and armed with the sword, of despotism; yet + many of their weaker brethren were startled at the thought of breaking + loose from the communion of the Christian world, and the blood of seven + thousand seven hundred Monophysites, or Catholics, confirmed the + uniformity of faith and discipline in the churches of Persia. <a + href="#linknote-47.115" name="linknoteref-47.115" id="linknoteref-47.115">115</a> + Their ecclesiastical institutions are distinguished by a liberal principle + of reason, or at least of policy: the austerity of the cloister was + relaxed and gradually forgotten; houses of charity were endowed for the + education of orphans and foundlings; the law of celibacy, so forcibly + recommended to the Greeks and Latins, was disregarded by the Persian + clergy; and the number of the elect was multiplied by the public and + reiterated nuptials of the priests, the bishops, and even the patriarch + himself. To this standard of natural and religious freedom, myriads of + fugitives resorted from all the provinces of the Eastern empire; the + narrow bigotry of Justinian was punished by the emigration of his most + industrious subjects; they transported into Persia the arts both of peace + and war: and those who deserved the favor, were promoted in the service, + of a discerning monarch. The arms of Nushirvan, and his fiercer grandson, + were assisted with advice, and money, and troops, by the desperate + sectaries who still lurked in their native cities of the East: their zeal + was rewarded with the gift of the Catholic churches; but when those cities + and churches were recovered by Heraclius, their open profession of treason + and heresy compelled them to seek a refuge in the realm of their foreign + ally. But the seeming tranquillity of the Nestorians was often endangered, + and sometimes overthrown. They were involved in the common evils of + Oriental despotism: their enmity to Rome could not always atone for their + attachment to the gospel: and a colony of three hundred thousand + Jacobites, the captives of Apamea and Antioch, was permitted to erect a + hostile altar in the face of the catholic, and in the sunshine of the + court. In his last treaty, Justinian introduced some conditions which + tended to enlarge and fortify the toleration of Christianity in Persia. + The emperor, ignorant of the rights of conscience, was incapable of pity + or esteem for the heretics who denied the authority of the holy synods: + but he flattered himself that they would gradually perceive the temporal + benefits of union with the empire and the church of Rome; and if he failed + in exciting their gratitude, he might hope to provoke the jealousy of + their sovereign. In a later age the Lutherans have been burnt at Paris, + and protected in Germany, by the superstition and policy of the most + Christian king. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.113" id="linknote-47.113"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 113 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.113">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Arabic canons + of Nice in the translation of Abraham Ecchelensis, No. 37, 38, 39, 40. + Concil. tom. ii. p. 335, 336, edit. Venet. These vulgar titles, Nicene and + Arabic, are both apocryphal. The council of Nice enacted no more than + twenty canons, (Theodoret. Hist. Eccles. l. i. c. 8;) and the remainder, + seventy or eighty, were collected from the synods of the Greek church. The + Syriac edition of Maruthas is no longer extant, (Asseman. Bibliot. + Oriental. tom. i. p. 195, tom. iii. p. 74,) and the Arabic version is + marked with many recent interpolations. Yet this Code contains many + curious relics of ecclesiastical discipline; and since it is equally + revered by all the Eastern communions, it was probably finished before the + schism of the Nestorians and Jacobites, (Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. tom. xi. + p. 363—367.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.114" id="linknote-47.114"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 114 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.114">return</a>)<br /> [ Theodore the Reader + (l. ii. c. 5, 49, ad calcem Hist. Eccles.) has noticed this Persian school + of Edessa. Its ancient splendor, and the two aeras of its downfall, (A.D. + 431 and 489) are clearly discussed by Assemanni, (Biblioth. Orient. tom. + ii. p. 402, iii. p. 376, 378, iv. p. 70, 924.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.115" id="linknote-47.115"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 115 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.115">return</a>)<br /> [ A dissertation on the + state of the Nestorians has swelled in the bands of Assemanni to a folio + volume of 950 pages, and his learned researches are digested in the most + lucid order. Besides this ivth volume of the Bibliotheca Orientalis, the + extracts in the three preceding tomes (tom. i. p. 203, ii. p. 321-463, + iii. 64—70, 378—395, &c., 405—408, 580—589) + may be usefully consulted.] + </p> + <p> + The desire of gaining souls for God and subjects for the church, has + excited in every age the diligence of the Christian priests. From the + conquest of Persia they carried their spiritual arms to the north, the + east, and the south; and the simplicity of the gospel was fashioned and + painted with the colors of the Syriac theology. In the sixth century, + according to the report of a Nestorian traveller, <a href="#linknote-47.116" + name="linknoteref-47.116" id="linknoteref-47.116">116</a> Christianity was + successfully preached to the Bactrians, the Huns, the Persians, the + Indians, the Persarmenians, the Medes, and the Elamites: the Barbaric + churches, from the Gulf of Persia to the Caspian Sea, were almost + infinite; and their recent faith was conspicuous in the number and + sanctity of their monks and martyrs. The pepper coast of Malabar, and the + isles of the ocean, Socotora and Ceylon, were peopled with an increasing + multitude of Christians; and the bishops and clergy of those sequestered + regions derived their ordination from the Catholic of Babylon. In a + subsequent age the zeal of the Nestorians overleaped the limits which had + confined the ambition and curiosity both of the Greeks and Persians. The + missionaries of Balch and Samarcand pursued without fear the footsteps of + the roving Tartar, and insinuated themselves into the camps of the valleys + of Imaus and the banks of the Selinga. They exposed a metaphysical creed + to those illiterate shepherds: to those sanguinary warriors, they + recommended humanity and repose. Yet a khan, whose power they vainly + magnified, is said to have received at their hands the rites of baptism, + and even of ordination; and the fame of Prester or Presbyter John <a + href="#linknote-47.117" name="linknoteref-47.117" id="linknoteref-47.117">117</a> + has long amused the credulity of Europe. The royal convert was indulged in + the use of a portable altar; but he despatched an embassy to the + patriarch, to inquire how, in the season of Lent, he should abstain from + animal food, and how he might celebrate the Eucharist in a desert that + produced neither corn nor wine. In their progress by sea and land, the + Nestorians entered China by the port of Canton and the northern residence + of Sigan. Unlike the senators of Rome, who assumed with a smile the + characters of priests and augurs, the mandarins, who affect in public the + reason of philosophers, are devoted in private to every mode of popular + superstition. They cherished and they confounded the gods of Palestine and + of India; but the propagation of Christianity awakened the jealousy of the + state, and, after a short vicissitude of favor and persecution, the + foreign sect expired in ignorance and oblivion. <a href="#linknote-47.118" + name="linknoteref-47.118" id="linknoteref-47.118">118</a> Under the reign of + the caliphs, the Nestorian church was diffused from China to Jerusalem and + Cyrus; and their numbers, with those of the Jacobites, were computed to + surpass the Greek and Latin communions. <a href="#linknote-47.119" + name="linknoteref-47.119" id="linknoteref-47.119">119</a> Twenty-five + metropolitans or archbishops composed their hierarchy; but several of + these were dispensed, by the distance and danger of the way, from the duty + of personal attendance, on the easy condition that every six years they + should testify their faith and obedience to the catholic or patriarch of + Babylon, a vague appellation which has been successively applied to the + royal seats of Seleucia, Ctesiphon, and Bagdad. These remote branches are + long since withered; and the old patriarchal trunk <a + href="#linknote-47.120" name="linknoteref-47.120" id="linknoteref-47.120">120</a> + is now divided by the Elijahs of Mosul, the representatives almost on + lineal descent of the genuine and primitive succession; the Josephs of + Amida, who are reconciled to the church of Rome: <a href="#linknote-47.121" + name="linknoteref-47.121" id="linknoteref-47.121">121</a> and the Simeons of + Van or Ormia, whose revolt, at the head of forty thousand families, was + promoted in the sixteenth century by the Sophis of Persia. The number of + three hundred thousand is allowed for the whole body of the Nestorians, + who, under the name of Chaldeans or Assyrians, are confounded with the + most learned or the most powerful nation of Eastern antiquity. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.116" id="linknote-47.116"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 116 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.116">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Topographia + Christiana of Cosmas, surnamed Indicopleustes, or the Indian navigator, l. + iii. p. 178, 179, l. xi. p. 337. The entire work, of which some curious + extracts may be found in Photius, (cod. xxxvi. p. 9, 10, edit. Hoeschel,) + Thevenot, (in the 1st part of his Relation des Voyages, &c.,) and + Fabricius, (Bibliot. Graec. l. iii. c. 25, tom. ii. p. 603-617,) has been + published by Father Montfaucon at Paris, 1707, in the Nova Collectio + Patrum, (tom. ii. p. 113—346.) It was the design of the author to + confute the impious heresy of those who maintained that the earth is a + globe, and not a flat, oblong table, as it is represented in the + Scriptures, (l. ii. p. 138.) But the nonsense of the monk is mingled with + the practical knowledge of the traveller, who performed his voyage A.D. + 522, and published his book at Alexandria, A.D. 547, (l. ii. p. 140, 141. + Montfaucon, Praefat. c. 2.) The Nestorianism of Cosmas, unknown to his + learned editor, was detected by La Croze, (Christianisme des Indes, tom. + i. p. 40—55,) and is confirmed by Assemanni, (Bibliot. Orient. tom. + iv. p. 605, 606.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.117" id="linknote-47.117"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 117 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.117">return</a>)<br /> [ In its long progress + to Mosul, Jerusalem, Rome, &c., the story of Prester John evaporated + in a monstrous fable, of which some features have been borrowed from the + Lama of Thibet, (Hist. Genealogique des Tartares, P. ii. p. 42. Hist. de + Gengiscan, p. 31, &c.,) and were ignorantly transferred by the + Portuguese to the emperor of Abyssinia, (Ludolph. Hist. Aethiop. Comment. + l. ii. c. 1.) Yet it is probable that in the xith and xiith centuries, + Nestorian Christianity was professed in the horde of the Keraites, + (D’Herbelot, p. 256, 915, 959. Assemanni, tom. iv. p. 468—504.) + Note: The extent to which Nestorian Christianity prevailed among the + Tartar tribes is one of the most curious questions in Oriental history. M. + Schmidt (Geschichte der Ost Mongolen, notes, p. 383) appears to question + the Christianity of Ong Chaghan, and his Keraite subjects.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.118" id="linknote-47.118"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 118 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.118">return</a>)<br /> [ The Christianity of + China, between the seventh and the thirteenth century, is invincibly + proved by the consent of Chinese, Arabian, Syriac, and Latin evidence, + (Assemanni, Biblioth. Orient. tom. iv. p. 502—552. Mem. de + l’Academie des Inscript. tom. xxx. p. 802—819.) The inscription of + Siganfu which describes the fortunes of the Nestorian church, from the + first mission, A.D. 636, to the current year 781, is accused of forgery by + La Croze, Voltaire, &c., who become the dupes of their own cunning, + while they are afraid of a Jesuitical fraud. * Note: This famous monument, + the authenticity of which many have attempted to impeach, rather from + hatred to the Jesuits, by whom it was made known, than by a candid + examination of its contents, is now generally considered above all + suspicion. The Chinese text and the facts which it relates are equally + strong proofs of its authenticity. This monument was raised as a memorial + of the establishment of Christianity in China. It is dated the year 1092 + of the era of the Greeks, or the Seleucidae, A.D. 781, in the time of the + Nestorian patriarch Anan-jesu. It was raised by Iezdbouzid, priest and + chorepiscopus of Chumdan, that is, of the capital of the Chinese empire, + and the son of a priest who came from Balkh in Tokharistan. Among the + various arguments which may be urged in favor of the authenticity of this + monument, and which has not yet been advanced, may be reckoned the name of + the priest by whom it was raised. The name is Persian, and at the time the + monument was discovered, it would have been impossible to have imagined + it; for there was no work extant from whence the knowledge of it could be + derived. I do not believe that ever since this period, any book has been + published in which it can be found a second time. It is very celebrated + amongst the Armenians, and is derived from a martyr, a Persian by birth, + of the royal race, who perished towards the middle of the seventh century, + and rendered his name celebrated among the Christian nations of the East. + St. Martin, vol. i. p. 69. M. Remusat has also strongly expressed his + conviction of the authenticity of this monument. Melanges Asiatiques, P. + i. p. 33. Yet M. Schmidt (Geschichte der Ost Mongolen, p. 384) denies that + there is any satisfactory proof that much a monument was ever found in + China, or that it was not manufactured in Europe. But if the Jesuits had + attempted such a forgery, would it not have been more adapted to further + their peculiar views?—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.119" id="linknote-47.119"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 119 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.119">return</a>)<br /> [ Jacobitae et + Nestorianae plures quam Graeci et Latini Jacob a Vitriaco, Hist. Hierosol. + l. ii. c. 76, p. 1093, in the Gesta Dei per Francos. The numbers are given + by Thomassin, Discipline de l’Eglise, tom. i. p. 172.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.120" id="linknote-47.120"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 120 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.120">return</a>)<br /> [ The division of the + patriarchate may be traced in the Bibliotheca Orient. of Assemanni, tom. + i. p. 523—549, tom. ii. p. 457, &c., tom. iii. p. 603, p. 621—623, + tom. iv. p. 164-169, p. 423, p. 622—629, &c.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.121" id="linknote-47.121"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 121 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.121">return</a>)<br /> [ The pompous language + of Rome on the submission of a Nestorian patriarch, is elegantly + represented in the viith book of Fra Paola, Babylon, Nineveh, Arbela, and + the trophies of Alexander, Tauris, and Ecbatana, the Tigris and Indus.] + </p> + <p> + According to the legend of antiquity, the gospel was preached in India by + St. Thomas. <a href="#linknote-47.122" name="linknoteref-47.122" + id="linknoteref-47.122">122</a> At the end of the ninth century, his + shrine, perhaps in the neighborhood of Madras, was devoutly visited by the + ambassadors of Alfred; and their return with a cargo of pearls and spices + rewarded the zeal of the English monarch, who entertained the largest + projects of trade and discovery. <a href="#linknote-47.123" + name="linknoteref-47.123" id="linknoteref-47.123">123</a> When the + Portuguese first opened the navigation of India, the Christians of St. + Thomas had been seated for ages on the coast of Malabar, and the + difference of their character and color attested the mixture of a foreign + race. In arms, in arts, and possibly in virtue, they excelled the natives + of Hindostan; the husbandmen cultivated the palm-tree, the merchants were + enriched by the pepper trade, the soldiers preceded the nairs or nobles of + Malabar, and their hereditary privileges were respected by the gratitude + or the fear of the king of Cochin and the Zamorin himself. They + acknowledged a Gentoo of sovereign, but they were governed, even in + temporal concerns, by the bishop of Angamala. He still asserted his + ancient title of metropolitan of India, but his real jurisdiction was + exercised in fourteen hundred churches, and he was intrusted with the care + of two hundred thousand souls. Their religion would have rendered them the + firmest and most cordial allies of the Portuguese; but the inquisitors + soon discerned in the Christians of St. Thomas the unpardonable guilt of + heresy and schism. Instead of owning themselves the subjects of the Roman + pontiff, the spiritual and temporal monarch of the globe, they adhered, + like their ancestors, to the communion of the Nestorian patriarch; and the + bishops whom he ordained at Mosul, traversed the dangers of the sea and + land to reach their diocese on the coast of Malabar. In their Syriac + liturgy the names of Theodore and Nestorius were piously commemorated: + they united their adoration of the two persons of Christ; the title of + Mother of God was offensive to their ear, and they measured with + scrupulous avarice the honors of the Virgin Mary, whom the superstition of + the Latins had almost exalted to the rank of a goddess. When her image was + first presented to the disciples of St. Thomas, they indignantly + exclaimed, “We are Christians, not idolaters!” and their simple devotion + was content with the veneration of the cross. Their separation from the + Western world had left them in ignorance of the improvements, or + corruptions, of a thousand years; and their conformity with the faith and + practice of the fifth century would equally disappoint the prejudices of a + Papist or a Protestant. It was the first care of the ministers of Rome to + intercept all correspondence with the Nestorian patriarch, and several of + his bishops expired in the prisons of the holy office. + </p> + <p> + The flock, without a shepherd, was assaulted by the power of the + Portuguese, the arts of the Jesuits, and the zeal of Alexis de Menezes, + archbishop of Goa, in his personal visitation of the coast of Malabar. The + synod of Diamper, at which he presided, consummated the pious work of the + reunion; and rigorously imposed the doctrine and discipline of the Roman + church, without forgetting auricular confession, the strongest engine of + ecclesiastical torture. The memory of Theodore and Nestorius was + condemned, and Malabar was reduced under the dominion of the pope, of the + primate, and of the Jesuits who invaded the see of Angamala or Cranganor. + Sixty years of servitude and hypocrisy were patiently endured; but as soon + as the Portuguese empire was shaken by the courage and industry of the + Dutch, the Nestorians asserted, with vigor and effect, the religion of + their fathers. The Jesuits were incapable of defending the power which + they had abused; the arms of forty thousand Christians were pointed + against their falling tyrants; and the Indian archdeacon assumed the + character of bishop till a fresh supply of episcopal gifts and Syriac + missionaries could be obtained from the patriarch of Babylon. Since the + expulsion of the Portuguese, the Nestorian creed is freely professed on + the coast of Malabar. The trading companies of Holland and England are the + friends of toleration; but if oppression be less mortifying than contempt, + the Christians of St. Thomas have reason to complain of the cold and + silent indifference of their brethren of Europe. <a href="#linknote-47.124" + name="linknoteref-47.124" id="linknoteref-47.124">124</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.122" id="linknote-47.122"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 122 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.122">return</a>)<br /> [ The Indian + missionary, St. Thomas, an apostle, a Manichaean, or an Armenian merchant, + (La Croze, Christianisme des Indes, tom. i. p. 57—70,) was famous, + however, as early as the time of Jerom, (ad Marcellam, epist. 148.) + Marco-Polo was informed on the spot that he suffered martyrdom in the city + of Malabar, or Meliapour, a league only from Madras, (D’Anville, + Eclaircissemens sur l’Inde, p. 125,) where the Portuguese founded an + episcopal church under the name of St. Thome, and where the saint + performed an annual miracle, till he was silenced by the profane + neighborhood of the English, (La Croze, tom. ii. p. 7-16.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.123" id="linknote-47.123"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 123 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.123">return</a>)<br /> [ Neither the author of + the Saxon Chronicle (A.D. 833) not William of Malmesbury (de Gestis Regum + Angliae, l. ii. c. 4, p. 44) were capable, in the twelfth century, of + inventing this extraordinary fact; they are incapable of explaining the + motives and measures of Alfred; and their hasty notice serves only to + provoke our curiosity. William of Malmesbury feels the difficulty of the + enterprise, quod quivis in hoc saeculo miretur; and I almost suspect that + the English ambassadors collected their cargo and legend in Egypt. The + royal author has not enriched his Orosius (see Barrington’s Miscellanies) + with an Indian, as well as a Scandinavian, voyage.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.124" id="linknote-47.124"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 124 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.124">return</a>)<br /> [ Concerning the + Christians of St. Thomas, see Assemann. Bibliot Orient. tom. iv. p. 391—407, + 435—451; Geddes’s Church History of Malabar; and, above all, La + Croze, Histoire du Christianisme des Indes, in 2 vols. 12mo., La Haye, + 1758, a learned and agreeable work. They have drawn from the same source, + the Portuguese and Italian narratives; and the prejudices of the Jesuits + are sufficiently corrected by those of the Protestants. Note: The St. + Thome Christians had excited great interest in the ancient mind of the + admirable Bishop Heber. See his curious and, to his friends, highly + characteristic letter to Mar Athanasius, Appendix to Journal. The + arguments of his friend and coadjutor, Mr. Robinson, (Last Days of Bishop + Heber,) have not convinced me that the Christianity of India is older than + the Nestorian dispersion.—M] + </p> + <p> + II. The history of the Monophysites is less copious and interesting than + that of the Nestorians. Under the reigns of Zeno and Anastasius, their + artful leaders surprised the ear of the prince, usurped the thrones of the + East, and crushed on its native soil the school of the Syrians. The rule + of the Monophysite faith was defined with exquisite discretion by Severus, + patriarch of Antioch: he condemned, in the style of the Henoticon, the + adverse heresies of Nestorius; and Eutyches maintained against the latter + the reality of the body of Christ, and constrained the Greeks to allow + that he was a liar who spoke truth. <a href="#linknote-47.125" + name="linknoteref-47.125" id="linknoteref-47.125">125</a> But the + approximation of ideas could not abate the vehemence of passion; each + party was the more astonished that their blind antagonist could dispute on + so trifling a difference; the tyrant of Syria enforced the belief of his + creed, and his reign was polluted with the blood of three hundred and + fifty monks, who were slain, not perhaps without provocation or + resistance, under the walls of Apamea. <a href="#linknote-47.126" + name="linknoteref-47.126" id="linknoteref-47.126">126</a> The successor of + Anastasius replanted the orthodox standard in the East; Severus fled into + Egypt; and his friend, the eloquent Xenaias, <a href="#linknote-47.127" + name="linknoteref-47.127" id="linknoteref-47.127">127</a> who had escaped + from the Nestorians of Persia, was suffocated in his exile by the + Melchites of Paphlagonia. Fifty-four bishops were swept from their + thrones, eight hundred ecclesiastics were cast into prison, <a + href="#linknote-47.128" name="linknoteref-47.128" id="linknoteref-47.128">128</a> + and notwithstanding the ambiguous favor of Theodora, the Oriental flocks, + deprived of their shepherds, must insensibly have been either famished or + poisoned. In this spiritual distress, the expiring faction was revived, + and united, and perpetuated, by the labors of a monk; and the name of + James Baradaeus <a href="#linknote-47.129" name="linknoteref-47.129" + id="linknoteref-47.129">129</a> has been preserved in the appellation of + Jacobites, a familiar sound, which may startle the ear of an English + reader. From the holy confessors in their prison of Constantinople, he + received the powers of bishop of Edessa and apostle of the East, and the + ordination of fourscore thousand bishops, priests, and deacons, is derived + from the same inexhaustible source. The speed of the zealous missionary + was promoted by the fleetest dromedaries of a devout chief of the Arabs; + the doctrine and discipline of the Jacobites were secretly established in + the dominions of Justinian; and each Jacobite was compelled to violate the + laws and to hate the Roman legislator. The successors of Severus, while + they lurked in convents or villages, while they sheltered their proscribed + heads in the caverns of hermits, or the tents of the Saracens, still + asserted, as they now assert, their indefeasible right to the title, the + rank, and the prerogatives of patriarch of Antioch: under the milder yoke + of the infidels, they reside about a league from Merdin, in the pleasant + monastery of Zapharan, which they have embellished with cells, aqueducts, + and plantations. The secondary, though honorable, place is filled by the + maphrian, who, in his station at Mosul itself, defies the Nestorian + catholic with whom he contests the primacy of the East. Under the + patriarch and the maphrian, one hundred and fifty archbishops and bishops + have been counted in the different ages of the Jacobite church; but the + order of the hierarchy is relaxed or dissolved, and the greater part of + their dioceses is confined to the neighborhood of the Euphrates and the + Tigris. The cities of Aleppo and Amida, which are often visited by the + patriarch, contain some wealthy merchants and industrious mechanics, but + the multitude derive their scanty sustenance from their daily labor: and + poverty, as well as superstition, may impose their excessive fasts: five + annual lents, during which both the clergy and laity abstain not only from + flesh or eggs, but even from the taste of wine, of oil, and of fish. Their + present numbers are esteemed from fifty to fourscore thousand souls, the + remnant of a populous church, which was gradually decreased under the + impression of twelve centuries. Yet in that long period, some strangers of + merit have been converted to the Monophysite faith, and a Jew was the + father of Abulpharagius, <a href="#linknote-47.130" name="linknoteref-47.130" + id="linknoteref-47.130">130</a> primate of the East, so truly eminent both + in his life and death. In his life he was an elegant writer of the Syriac + and Arabic tongues, a poet, physician, and historian, a subtile + philosopher, and a moderate divine. In his death, his funeral was attended + by his rival the Nestorian patriarch, with a train of Greeks and + Armenians, who forgot their disputes, and mingled their tears over the + grave of an enemy. The sect which was honored by the virtues of + Abulpharagius appears, however, to sink below the level of their Nestorian + brethren. The superstition of the Jacobites is more abject, their fasts + more rigid, <a href="#linknote-47.131" name="linknoteref-47.131" + id="linknoteref-47.131">131</a> their intestine divisions are more + numerous, and their doctors (as far as I can measure the degrees of + nonsense) are more remote from the precincts of reason. Something may + possibly be allowed for the rigor of the Monophysite theology; much more + for the superior influence of the monastic order. In Syria, in Egypt, in + Ethiopia, the Jacobite monks have ever been distinguished by the austerity + of their penance and the absurdity of their legends. Alive or dead, they + are worshipped as the favorites of the Deity; the crosier of bishop and + patriarch is reserved for their venerable hands; and they assume the + government of men, while they are yet reeking with the habits and + prejudices of the cloister. <a href="#linknote-47.132" + name="linknoteref-47.132" id="linknoteref-47.132">132</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.125" id="linknote-47.125"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 125 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.125">return</a>)<br /> [ Is the expression of + Theodore, in his Treatise of the Incarnation, p. 245, 247, as he is quoted + by La Croze, (Hist. du Christianisme d’Ethiopie et d’Armenie, p. 35,) who + exclaims, perhaps too hastily, “Quel pitoyable raisonnement!” Renaudot has + touched (Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 127—138) the Oriental accounts of + Severus; and his authentic creed may be found in the epistle of John the + Jacobite patriarch of Antioch, in the xth century, to his brother Mannas + of Alexandria, (Asseman. Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. p. 132—141.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.126" id="linknote-47.126"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 126 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.126">return</a>)<br /> [ Epist. + Archimandritarum et Monachorum Syriae Secundae ad Papam Hormisdam, Concil. + tom. v. p. 598—602. The courage of St. Sabas, ut leo animosus, will + justify the suspicion that the arms of these monks were not always + spiritual or defensive, (Baronius, A.D. 513, No. 7, &c.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.127" id="linknote-47.127"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 127 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.127">return</a>)<br /> [ Assemanni (Bibliot. + Orient. tom. ii. p. 10—46) and La Croze (Christianisme d’Ethiopie, + p. 36—40) will supply the history of Xenaias, or Philoxenus, bishop + of Mabug, or Hierapolis, in Syria. He was a perfect master of the Syriac + language, and the author or editor of a version of the New Testament.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.128" id="linknote-47.128"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 128 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.128">return</a>)<br /> [ The names and titles + of fifty-four bishops who were exiled by Justin, are preserved in the + Chronicle of Dionysius, (apud Asseman. tom. ii. p. 54.) Severus was + personally summoned to Constantinople—for his trial, says Liberatus + (Brev. c. 19)—that his tongue might be cut out, says Evagrius, (l. + iv. c. iv.) The prudent patriarch did not stay to examine the difference. + This ecclesiastical revolution is fixed by Pagi to the month of September + of the year 518, (Critica, tom. ii. p. 506.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.129" id="linknote-47.129"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 129 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.129">return</a>)<br /> [ The obscure history + of James or Jacobus Baradaeus, or Zanzalust may be gathered from + Eutychius, (Annal. tom. ii. p. 144, 147,) Renau dot, (Hist. Patriarch. + Alex. p. 133,) and Assemannus, (Bibliot. Orient. tom. i. p. 424, tom. ii. + p. 62-69, 324—332, 414, tom. iii. p. 385—388.) He seems to be + unknown to the Greeks. The Jacobites themselves had rather deduce their + name and pedigree from St. James the apostle.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.130" id="linknote-47.130"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 130 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.130">return</a>)<br /> [ The account of his + person and writings is perhaps the most curious article in the Bibliotheca + of Assemannus, (tom. ii. p. 244—321, under the name of Gregorius + Bar-Hebroeus.) La Croze (Christianisme d’Ethiopie, p. 53—63) + ridicules the prejudice of the Spaniards against the Jewish blood which + secretly defiles their church and state.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.131" id="linknote-47.131"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 131 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.131">return</a>)<br /> [ This excessive + abstinence is censured by La Croze, (p. 352,) and even by the Syrian + Assemannus, (tom. i. p. 226, tom. ii. p. 304, 305.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.132" id="linknote-47.132"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 132 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.132">return</a>)<br /> [ The state of the + Monophysites is excellently illustrated in a dissertation at the beginning + of the iid volume of Assemannus, which contains 142 pages. The Syriac + Chronicle of Gregory Bar-Hebraeus, or Abulpharagius, (Bibliot. Orient. + tom. ii. p. 321—463,) pursues the double series of the Nestorian + Catholics and the Maphrians of the Jacobites.] + </p> + <p> + III. In the style of the Oriental Christians, the Monothelites of every + age are described under the appellation of Maronites, <a + href="#linknote-47.133" name="linknoteref-47.133" id="linknoteref-47.133">133</a> + a name which has been insensibly transferred from a hermit to a monastery, + from a monastery to a nation. Maron, a saint or savage of the fifth + century, displayed his religious madness in Syria; the rival cities of + Apamea and Emesa disputed his relics, a stately church was erected on his + tomb, and six hundred of his disciples united their solitary cells on the + banks of the Orontes. In the controversies of the incarnation they nicely + threaded the orthodox line between the sects of Nestorians and Eutyches; + but the unfortunate question of one will or operation in the two natures + of Christ, was generated by their curious leisure. Their proselyte, the + emperor Heraclius, was rejected as a Maronite from the walls of Emesa, he + found a refuge in the monastery of his brethren; and their theological + lessons were repaid with the gift a spacious and wealthy domain. The name + and doctrine of this venerable school were propagated among the Greeks and + Syrians, and their zeal is expressed by Macarius, patriarch of Antioch, + who declared before the synod of Constantinople, that sooner than + subscribe the two wills of Christ, he would submit to be hewn piecemeal + and cast into the sea. <a href="#linknote-47.134" name="linknoteref-47.134" + id="linknoteref-47.134">134</a> A similar or a less cruel mode of + persecution soon converted the unresisting subjects of the plain, while + the glorious title of Mardaites, <a href="#linknote-47.135" + name="linknoteref-47.135" id="linknoteref-47.135">135</a> or rebels, was + bravely maintained by the hardy natives of Mount Libanus. John Maron, one + of the most learned and popular of the monks, assumed the character of + patriarch of Antioch; his nephew, Abraham, at the head of the Maronites, + defended their civil and religious freedom against the tyrants of the + East. The son of the orthodox Constantine pursued with pious hatred a + people of soldiers, who might have stood the bulwark of his empire against + the common foes of Christ and of Rome. An army of Greeks invaded Syria; + the monastery of St. Maron was destroyed with fire; the bravest chieftains + were betrayed and murdered, and twelve thousand of their followers were + transplanted to the distant frontiers of Armenia and Thrace. Yet the + humble nation of the Maronites had survived the empire of Constantinople, + and they still enjoy, under their Turkish masters, a free religion and a + mitigated servitude. Their domestic governors are chosen among the ancient + nobility: the patriarch, in his monastery of Canobin, still fancies + himself on the throne of Antioch: nine bishops compose his synod, and one + hundred and fifty priests, who retain the liberty of marriage, are + intrusted with the care of one hundred thousand souls. Their country + extends from the ridge of Mount Libanus to the shores of Tripoli; and the + gradual descent affords, in a narrow space, each variety of soil and + climate, from the Holy Cedars, erect under the weight of snow, <a + href="#linknote-47.136" name="linknoteref-47.136" id="linknoteref-47.136">136</a> + to the vine, the mulberry, and the olive-trees of the fruitful valley. In + the twelfth century, the Maronites, abjuring the Monothelite error were + reconciled to the Latin churches of Antioch and Rome, <a + href="#linknote-47.137" name="linknoteref-47.137" id="linknoteref-47.137">137</a> + and the same alliance has been frequently renewed by the ambition of the + popes and the distress of the Syrians. But it may reasonably be + questioned, whether their union has ever been perfect or sincere; and the + learned Maronites of the college of Rome have vainly labored to absolve + their ancestors from the guilt of heresy and schism. <a + href="#linknote-47.138" name="linknoteref-47.138" id="linknoteref-47.138">138</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.133" id="linknote-47.133"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 133 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.133">return</a>)<br /> [ The synonymous use of + the two words may be proved from Eutychius, (Annal. tom. ii. p. 191, 267, + 332,) and many similar passages which may be found in the methodical table + of Pocock. He was not actuated by any prejudice against the Maronites of + the xth century; and we may believe a Melchite, whose testimony is + confirmed by the Jacobites and Latins.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.134" id="linknote-47.134"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 134 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.134">return</a>)<br /> [ Concil. tom. vii. p. + 780. The Monothelite cause was supported with firmness and subtilty by + Constantine, a Syrian priest of Apamea, (p. 1040, &c.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.135" id="linknote-47.135"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 135 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.135">return</a>)<br /> [ Theophanes (Chron. p. + 295, 296, 300, 302, 306) and Cedrenus (p. 437, 440) relates the exploits + of the Mardaites: the name (Mard, in Syriac, rebellavit) is explained by + La Roque, (Voyage de la Syrie, tom. ii. p. 53;) and dates are fixed by + Pagi, (A.D. 676, No. 4—14, A.D. 685, No. 3, 4;) and even the obscure + story of the patriarch John Maron (Asseman. Bibliot. Orient. tom. i. p. + 496—520) illustrates from the year 686 to 707, the troubles of Mount + Libanus. * Note: Compare on the Mardaites Anquetil du Perron, in the + fiftieth volume of the Mem. de l’Acad. des Inscriptions; and Schlosser, + Bildersturmendes Kaiser, p. 100.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.136" id="linknote-47.136"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 136 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.136">return</a>)<br /> [ In the last century + twenty large cedars still remained, (Voyage de la Roque, tom. i. p. 68—76;) + at present they are reduced to four or five, (Volney, tom. i. p. 264.) + These trees, so famous in Scripture, were guarded by excommunication: the + wood was sparingly borrowed for small crosses, &c.; an annual mass was + chanted under their shade; and they were endowed by the Syrians with a + sensitive power of erecting their branches to repel the snow, to which + Mount Libanus is less faithful than it is painted by Tacitus: inter + ardores opacum fidumque nivibus—a daring metaphor, (Hist. v. 6.) + Note: Of the oldest and best looking trees, I counted eleven or twelve + twenty-five very large ones; and about fifty of middling size; and more + than three hundred smaller and young ones. Burckhardt’s Travels in Syria + p. 19.—M] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.137" id="linknote-47.137"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 137 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.137">return</a>)<br /> [ The evidence of + William of Tyre (Hist. in Gestis Dei per Francos, l. xxii. c. 8, p. 1022) + is copied or confirmed by Jacques de Vitra, (Hist. Hierosolym. l. ii. c. + 77, p. 1093, 1094.) But this unnatural league expired with the power of + the Franks; and Abulpharagius (who died in 1286) considers the Maronites + as a sect of Monothelites, (Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. p. 292.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.138" id="linknote-47.138"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 138 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.138">return</a>)<br /> [ I find a description + and history of the Maronites in the Voyage de la Syrie et du Mont Liban + par la Roque, (2 vols. in 12mo., Amsterdam, 1723; particularly tom. i. p. + 42—47, p. 174—184, tom. ii. p. 10—120.) In the ancient + part, he copies the prejudices of Nairon and the other Maronites of Rome, + which Assemannus is afraid to renounce and ashamed to support. Jablonski, + (Institut. Hist. Christ. tom. iii. p. 186.) Niebuhr, (Voyage de l’Arabie, + &c., tom. ii. p. 346, 370—381,) and, above all, the judicious + Volney, (Voyage en Egypte et en Syrie, tom. ii. p. 8—31, Paris, + 1787,) may be consulted.] + </p> + <p> + IV. Since the age of Constantine, the Armenians <a href="#linknote-47.139" + name="linknoteref-47.139" id="linknoteref-47.139">139</a> had signalized + their attachment to the religion and empire of the Christians. <a + href="#linknote-47.1391" name="linknoteref-47.1391" id="linknoteref-47.1391">1391</a> + The disorders of their country, and their ignorance of the Greek tongue, + prevented their clergy from assisting at the synod of Chalcedon, and they + floated eighty-four years <a href="#linknote-47.140" + name="linknoteref-47.140" id="linknoteref-47.140">140</a> in a state of + indifference or suspense, till their vacant faith was finally occupied by + the missionaries of Julian of Halicarnassus, <a href="#linknote-47.141" + name="linknoteref-47.141" id="linknoteref-47.141">141</a> who in Egypt, + their common exile, had been vanquished by the arguments or the influence + of his rival Severus, the Monophysite patriarch of Antioch. The Armenians + alone are the pure disciples of Eutyches, an unfortunate parent, who has + been renounced by the greater part of his spiritual progeny. They alone + persevere in the opinion, that the manhood of Christ was created, or + existed without creation, of a divine and incorruptible substance. Their + adversaries reproach them with the adoration of a phantom; and they retort + the accusation, by deriding or execrating the blasphemy of the Jacobites, + who impute to the Godhead the vile infirmities of the flesh, even the + natural effects of nutrition and digestion. The religion of Armenia could + not derive much glory from the learning or the power of its inhabitants. + The royalty expired with the origin of their schism; and their Christian + kings, who arose and fell in the thirteenth century on the confines of + Cilicia, were the clients of the Latins and the vassals of the Turkish + sultan of Iconium. The helpless nation has seldom been permitted to enjoy + the tranquillity of servitude. From the earliest period to the present + hour, Armenia has been the theatre of perpetual war: the lands between + Tauris and Erivan were dispeopled by the cruel policy of the Sophis; and + myriads of Christian families were transplanted, to perish or to propagate + in the distant provinces of Persia. Under the rod of oppression, the zeal + of the Armenians is fervent and intrepid; they have often preferred the + crown of martyrdom to the white turban of Mahomet; they devoutly hate the + error and idolatry of the Greeks; and their transient union with the + Latins is not less devoid of truth, than the thousand bishops, whom their + patriarch offered at the feet of the Roman pontiff. <a + href="#linknote-47.142" name="linknoteref-47.142" id="linknoteref-47.142">142</a> + The catholic, or patriarch, of the Armenians resides in the monastery of + Ekmiasin, three leagues from Erivan. Forty-seven archbishops, each of whom + may claim the obedience of four or five suffragans, are consecrated by his + hand; but the far greater part are only titular prelates, who dignify with + their presence and service the simplicity of his court. As soon as they + have performed the liturgy, they cultivate the garden; and our bishops + will hear with surprise, that the austerity of their life increases in + just proportion to the elevation of their rank. + </p> + <p> + In the fourscore thousand towns or villages of his spiritual empire, the + patriarch receives a small and voluntary tax from each person above the + age of fifteen; but the annual amount of six hundred thousand crowns is + insufficient to supply the incessant demands of charity and tribute. Since + the beginning of the last century, the Armenians have obtained a large and + lucrative share of the commerce of the East: in their return from Europe, + the caravan usually halts in the neighborhood of Erivan, the altars are + enriched with the fruits of their patient industry; and the faith of + Eutyches is preached in their recent congregations of Barbary and Poland. + <a href="#linknote-47.143" name="linknoteref-47.143" id="linknoteref-47.143">143</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.139" id="linknote-47.139"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 139 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.139">return</a>)<br /> [ The religion of the + Armenians is briefly described by La Croze, (Hist. du Christ. de + l’Ethiopie et de l’Armenie, p. 269—402.) He refers to the great + Armenian History of Galanus, (3 vols. in fol. Rome, 1650—1661,) and + commends the state of Armenia in the iiid volume of the Nouveaux Memoires + des Missions du Levant. The work of a Jesuit must have sterling merit when + it is praised by La Croze.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.1391" id="linknote-47.1391"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1391 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.1391">return</a>)<br /> [ See vol. iii. ch. + xx. p. 271.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.140" id="linknote-47.140"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 140 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.140">return</a>)<br /> [ The schism of the + Armenians is placed 84 years after the council of Chalcedon, (Pagi, + Critica, ad A.D. 535.) It was consummated at the end of seventeen years; + and it is from the year of Christ 552 that we date the aera of the + Armenians, (L’Art de verifier les Dates, p. xxxv.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.141" id="linknote-47.141"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 141 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.141">return</a>)<br /> [ The sentiments and + success of Julian of Halicarnassus may be seen in Liberatus, (Brev. c. + 19,) Renaudot, (Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 132, 303,) and Assemannus, + (Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. Dissertat. Monophysitis, l. viii. p. 286.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.142" id="linknote-47.142"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 142 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.142">return</a>)<br /> [ See a remarkable fact + of the xiith century in the History of Nicetas Choniates, (p. 258.) Yet + three hundred years before, Photius (Epistol. ii. p. 49, edit. Montacut.) + had gloried in the conversion of the Armenians.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.143" id="linknote-47.143"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 143 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.143">return</a>)<br /> [ The travelling + Armenians are in the way of every traveller, and their mother church is on + the high road between Constantinople and Ispahan; for their present state, + see Fabricius, (Lux Evangelii, &c., c. xxxviii. p. 40—51,) + Olearius, (l. iv. c. 40,) Chardin, (vol. ii. p. 232,) Teurnefort, (lettre + xx.,) and, above all, Tavernier, (tom. i. p. 28—37, 510-518,) that + rambling jeweller, who had read nothing, but had seen so much and so well] + </p> + <p> + V. In the rest of the Roman empire, the despotism of the prince might + eradicate or silence the sectaries of an obnoxious creed. But the stubborn + temper of the Egyptians maintained their opposition to the synod of + Chalcedon, and the policy of Justinian condescended to expect and to seize + the opportunity of discord. The Monophysite church of Alexandria <a + href="#linknote-47.144" name="linknoteref-47.144" id="linknoteref-47.144">144</a> + was torn by the disputes of the corruptibles and incorruptibles, and on + the death of the patriarch, the two factions upheld their respective + candidates. <a href="#linknote-47.145" name="linknoteref-47.145" + id="linknoteref-47.145">145</a> Gaian was the disciple of Julian, + Theodosius had been the pupil of Severus: the claims of the former were + supported by the consent of the monks and senators, the city and the + province; the latter depended on the priority of his ordination, the favor + of the empress Theodora, and the arms of the eunuch Narses, which might + have been used in more honorable warfare. The exile of the popular + candidate to Carthage and Sardinia inflamed the ferment of Alexandria; and + after a schism of one hundred and seventy years, the Gaianites still + revered the memory and doctrine of their founder. The strength of numbers + and of discipline was tried in a desperate and bloody conflict; the + streets were filled with the dead bodies of citizens and soldiers; the + pious women, ascending the roofs of their houses, showered down every + sharp or ponderous utensil on the heads of the enemy; and the final + victory of Narses was owing to the flames, with which he wasted the third + capital of the Roman world. But the lieutenant of Justinian had not + conquered in the cause of a heretic; Theodosius himself was speedily, + though gently, removed; and Paul of Tanis, an orthodox monk, was raised to + the throne of Athanasius. The powers of government were strained in his + support; he might appoint or displace the dukes and tribunes of Egypt; the + allowance of bread, which Diocletian had granted, was suppressed, the + churches were shut, and a nation of schismatics was deprived at once of + their spiritual and carnal food. In his turn, the tyrant was + excommunicated by the zeal and revenge of the people: and none except his + servile Melchites would salute him as a man, a Christian, or a bishop. Yet + such is the blindness of ambition, that, when Paul was expelled on a + charge of murder, he solicited, with a bribe of seven hundred pounds of + gold, his restoration to the same station of hatred and ignominy. His + successor Apollinaris entered the hostile city in military array, alike + qualified for prayer or for battle. His troops, under arms, were + distributed through the streets; the gates of the cathedral were guarded, + and a chosen band was stationed in the choir, to defend the person of + their chief. He stood erect on his throne, and, throwing aside the upper + garment of a warrior, suddenly appeared before the eyes of the multitude + in the robes of patriarch of Alexandria. Astonishment held them mute; but + no sooner had Apollinaris begun to read the tome of St. Leo, than a volley + of curses, and invectives, and stones, assaulted the odious minister of + the emperor and the synod. A charge was instantly sounded by the successor + of the apostles; the soldiers waded to their knees in blood; and two + hundred thousand Christians are said to have fallen by the sword: an + incredible account, even if it be extended from the slaughter of a day to + the eighteen years of the reign of Apollinaris. Two succeeding patriarchs, + Eulogius <a href="#linknote-47.146" name="linknoteref-47.146" + id="linknoteref-47.146">146</a> and John, <a href="#linknote-47.147" + name="linknoteref-47.147" id="linknoteref-47.147">147</a> labored in the + conversion of heretics, with arms and arguments more worthy of their + evangelical profession. The theological knowledge of Eulogius was + displayed in many a volume, which magnified the errors of Eutyches and + Severus, and attempted to reconcile the ambiguous language of St. Cyril + with the orthodox creed of Pope Leo and the fathers of Chalcedon. The + bounteous alms of John the eleemosynary were dictated by superstition, or + benevolence, or policy. Seven thousand five hundred poor were maintained + at his expense; on his accession he found eight thousand pounds of gold in + the treasury of the church; he collected ten thousand from the liberality + of the faithful; yet the primate could boast in his testament, that he + left behind him no more than the third part of the smallest of the silver + coins. The churches of Alexandria were delivered to the Catholics, the + religion of the Monophysites was proscribed in Egypt, and a law was + revived which excluded the natives from the honors and emoluments of the + state. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.144" id="linknote-47.144"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 144 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.144">return</a>)<br /> [ The history of the + Alexandrian patriarchs, from Dioscorus to Benjamin, is taken from + Renaudot, (p. 114—164,) and the second tome of the Annals of + Eutychius.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.145" id="linknote-47.145"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 145 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.145">return</a>)<br /> [ Liberat. Brev. c. 20, + 23. Victor. Chron. p. 329 330. Procop. Anecdot. c. 26, 27.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.146" id="linknote-47.146"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 146 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.146">return</a>)<br /> [ Eulogius, who had + been a monk of Antioch, was more conspicuous for subtilty than eloquence. + He proves that the enemies of the faith, the Gaianites and Theodosians, + ought not to be reconciled; that the same proposition may be orthodox in + the mouth of St. Cyril, heretical in that of Severus; that the opposite + assertions of St. Leo are equally true, &c. His writings are no longer + extant except in the Extracts of Photius, who had perused them with care + and satisfaction, ccviii. ccxxv. ccxxvi. ccxxvii. ccxxx. cclxxx.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.147" id="linknote-47.147"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 147 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.147">return</a>)<br /> [ See the Life of John + the eleemosynary by his contemporary Leontius, bishop of Neapolis in + Cyrus, whose Greek text, either lost or hidden, is reflected in the Latin + version of Baronius, (A.D. 610, No.9, A.D. 620, No. 8.) Pagi (Critica, + tom. ii. p. 763) and Fabricius (l. v c. 11, tom. vii. p. 454) have made + some critical observations] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap47.6"></a> +Chapter XLVII: Ecclesiastical Discord.—Part VI.</h2> + + <p> + A more important conquest still remained, of the patriarch, the oracle and + leader of the Egyptian church. Theodosius had resisted the threats and + promises of Justinian with the spirit of an apostle or an enthusiast. + “Such,” replied the patriarch, “were the offers of the tempter when he + showed the kingdoms of the earth. But my soul is far dearer to me than + life or dominion. The churches are in the hands of a prince who can kill + the body; but my conscience is my own; and in exile, poverty, or chains, I + will steadfastly adhere to the faith of my holy predecessors, Athanasius, + Cyril, and Dioscorus. Anathema to the tome of Leo and the synod of + Chalcedon! Anathema to all who embrace their creed! Anathema to them now + and forevermore! Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, naked shall I + descend into the grave. Let those who love God follow me and seek their + salvation.” After comforting his brethren, he embarked for Constantinople, + and sustained, in six successive interviews, the almost irresistible + weight of the royal presence. His opinions were favorably entertained in + the palace and the city; the influence of Theodora assured him a safe + conduct and honorable dismission; and he ended his days, though not on the + throne, yet in the bosom, of his native country. On the news of his death, + Apollinaris indecently feasted the nobles and the clergy; but his joy was + checked by the intelligence of a new election; and while he enjoyed the + wealth of Alexandria, his rivals reigned in the monasteries of Thebais, + and were maintained by the voluntary oblations of the people. A perpetual + succession of patriarchs arose from the ashes of Theodosius; and the + Monophysite churches of Syria and Egypt were united by the name of + Jacobites and the communion of the faith. But the same faith, which has + been confined to a narrow sect of the Syrians, was diffused over the mass + of the Egyptian or Coptic nation; who, almost unanimously, rejected the + decrees of the synod of Chalcedon. A thousand years were now elapsed since + Egypt had ceased to be a kingdom, since the conquerors of Asia and Europe + had trampled on the ready necks of a people, whose ancient wisdom and + power ascend beyond the records of history. The conflict of zeal and + persecution rekindled some sparks of their national spirit. They abjured, + with a foreign heresy, the manners and language of the Greeks: every + Melchite, in their eyes, was a stranger, every Jacobite a citizen; the + alliance of marriage, the offices of humanity, were condemned as a deadly + sin; the natives renounced all allegiance to the emperor; and his orders, + at a distance from Alexandria, were obeyed only under the pressure of + military force. A generous effort might have redeemed the religion and + liberty of Egypt, and her six hundred monasteries might have poured forth + their myriads of holy warriors, for whom death should have no terrors, + since life had no comfort or delight. But experience has proved the + distinction of active and passive courage; the fanatic who endures without + a groan the torture of the rack or the stake, would tremble and fly before + the face of an armed enemy. The pusillanimous temper of the Egyptians + could only hope for a change of masters; the arms of Chosroes depopulated + the land, yet under his reign the Jacobites enjoyed a short and precarious + respite. The victory of Heraclius renewed and aggravated the persecution, + and the patriarch again escaped from Alexandria to the desert. In his + flight, Benjamin was encouraged by a voice, which bade him expect, at the + end of ten years, the aid of a foreign nation, marked, like the Egyptians + themselves, with the ancient rite of circumcision. The character of these + deliverers, and the nature of the deliverance, will be hereafter + explained; and I shall step over the interval of eleven centuries to + observe the present misery of the Jacobites of Egypt. The populous city of + Cairo affords a residence, or rather a shelter, for their indigent + patriarch, and a remnant of ten bishops; forty monasteries have survived + the inroads of the Arabs; and the progress of servitude and apostasy has + reduced the Coptic nation to the despicable number of twenty-five or + thirty thousand families; <a href="#linknote-47.148" + name="linknoteref-47.148" id="linknoteref-47.148">148</a> a race of + illiterate beggars, whose only consolation is derived from the superior + wretchedness of the Greek patriarch and his diminutive congregation. <a + href="#linknote-47.149" name="linknoteref-47.149" id="linknoteref-47.149">149</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.148" id="linknote-47.148"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 148 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.148">return</a>)<br /> [ This number is taken + from the curious Recherches sur les Egyptiens et les Chinois, (tom. ii. p. + 192, 193,) and appears more probable than the 600,000 ancient, or 15,000 + modern, Copts of Gemelli Carreri Cyril Lucar, the Protestant patriarch of + Constantinople, laments that those heretics were ten times more numerous + than his orthodox Greeks, ingeniously applying Homer, (Iliad, ii. 128,) + the most perfect expression of contempt, (Fabric. Lux Evangelii, 740.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.149" id="linknote-47.149"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 149 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.149">return</a>)<br /> [ The history of the + Copts, their religion, manners, &c., may be found in the Abbe + Renaudot’s motley work, neither a translation nor an original; the + Chronicon Orientale of Peter, a Jacobite; in the two versions of Abraham + Ecchellensis, Paris, 1651; and John Simon Asseman, Venet. 1729. These + annals descend no lower than the xiiith century. The more recent accounts + must be searched for in the travellers into Egypt and the Nouveaux + Memoires des Missions du Levant. In the last century, Joseph Abudacnus, a + native of Cairo, published at Oxford, in thirty pages, a slight Historia + Jacobitarum, 147, post p.150] + </p> + <p> + VI. The Coptic patriarch, a rebel to the Caesars, or a slave to the + khalifs, still gloried in the filial obedience of the kings of Nubia and + Aethiopia. He repaid their homage by magnifying their greatness; and it + was boldly asserted that they could bring into the field a hundred + thousand horse, with an equal number of camels; <a href="#linknote-47.150" + name="linknoteref-47.150" id="linknoteref-47.150">150</a> that their hand + could pour out or restrain the waters of the Nile; <a + href="#linknote-47.151" name="linknoteref-47.151" id="linknoteref-47.151">151</a> + and the peace and plenty of Egypt was obtained, even in this world, by the + intercession of the patriarch. In exile at Constantinople, Theodosius + recommended to his patroness the conversion of the black nations of Nubia, + from the tropic of Cancer to the confines of Abyssinia. <a + href="#linknote-47.152" name="linknoteref-47.152" id="linknoteref-47.152">152</a> + Her design was suspected and emulated by the more orthodox emperor. The + rival missionaries, a Melchite and a Jacobite, embarked at the same time; + but the empress, from a motive of love or fear, was more effectually + obeyed; and the Catholic priest was detained by the president of Thebais, + while the king of Nubia and his court were hastily baptized in the faith + of Dioscorus. The tardy envoy of Justinian was received and dismissed with + honor: but when he accused the heresy and treason of the Egyptians, the + negro convert was instructed to reply that he would never abandon his + brethren, the true believers, to the persecuting ministers of the synod of + Chalcedon. <a href="#linknote-47.153" name="linknoteref-47.153" + id="linknoteref-47.153">153</a> During several ages, the bishops of Nubia + were named and consecrated by the Jacobite patriarch of Alexandria: as + late as the twelfth century, Christianity prevailed; and some rites, some + ruins, are still visible in the savage towns of Sennaar and Dongola. <a + href="#linknote-47.154" name="linknoteref-47.154" id="linknoteref-47.154">154</a> + But the Nubians at length executed their threats of returning to the + worship of idols; the climate required the indulgence of polygamy, and + they have finally preferred the triumph of the Koran to the abasement of + the Cross. A metaphysical religion may appear too refined for the capacity + of the negro race: yet a black or a parrot might be taught to repeat the + words of the Chalcedonian or Monophysite creed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.150" id="linknote-47.150"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 150 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.150">return</a>)<br /> [ About the year 737. + See Renaudot, Hist. Patriarch. Alex p. 221, 222. Elmacin, Hist. Saracen. + p. 99.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.151" id="linknote-47.151"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 151 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.151">return</a>)<br /> [ Ludolph. Hist. + Aethiopic. et Comment. l. i. c. 8. Renaudot Hist. Patriarch. Alex. p. 480, + &c. This opinion, introduced into Egypt and Europe by the artifice of + the Copts, the pride of the Abyssinians, the fear and ignorance of the + Turks and Arabs, has not even the semblance of truth. The rains of + Aethiopia do not, in the increase of the Nile, consult the will of the + monarch. If the river approaches at Napata within three days’ journey of + the Red Sea (see D’Anville’s Maps,) a canal that should divert its course + would demand, and most probably surpass, the power of the Caesars.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.152" id="linknote-47.152"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 152 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.152">return</a>)<br /> [ The Abyssinians, who + still preserve the features and olive complexion of the Arabs, afford a + proof that two thousand years are not sufficient to change the color of + the human race. The Nubians, an African race, are pure negroes, as black + as those of Senegal or Congo, with flat noses, thick lips, and woolly + hair, (Buffon, Hist. Naturelle, tom. v. p. 117, 143, 144, 166, 219, edit. + in 12mo., Paris, 1769.) The ancients beheld, without much attention, the + extraordinary phenomenon which has exercised the philosophers and + theologians of modern times] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.153" id="linknote-47.153"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 153 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.153">return</a>)<br /> [ Asseman. Bibliot. + Orient. tom. i. p. 329.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.154" id="linknote-47.154"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 154 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.154">return</a>)<br /> [ The Christianity of + the Nubians (A.D. 1153) is attested by the sheriff al Edrisi, falsely + described under the name of the Nubian geographer, (p. 18,) who represents + them as a nation of Jacobites. The rays of historical light that twinkle + in the history of Ranaudot (p. 178, 220—224, 281—286, 405, + 434, 451, 464) are all previous to this aera. See the modern state in the + Lettres Edifiantes (Recueil, iv.) and Busching, (tom. ix. p. 152—139, + par Berenger.)] + </p> + <p> + Christianity was more deeply rooted in the Abyssinian empire; and, + although the correspondence has been sometimes interrupted above seventy + or a hundred years, the mother-church of Alexandria retains her colony in + a state of perpetual pupilage. Seven bishops once composed the Aethiopic + synod: had their number amounted to ten, they might have elected an + independent primate; and one of their kings was ambitious of promoting his + brother to the ecclesiastical throne. But the event was foreseen, the + increase was denied: the episcopal office has been gradually confined to + the abuna, <a href="#linknote-47.155" name="linknoteref-47.155" + id="linknoteref-47.155">155</a> the head and author of the Abyssinian + priesthood; the patriarch supplies each vacancy with an Egyptian monk; and + the character of a stranger appears more venerable in the eyes of the + people, less dangerous in those of the monarch. In the sixth century, when + the schism of Egypt was confirmed, the rival chiefs, with their patrons, + Justinian and Theodora, strove to outstrip each other in the conquest of a + remote and independent province. The industry of the empress was again + victorious, and the pious Theodora has established in that sequestered + church the faith and discipline of the Jacobites. <a href="#linknote-47.156" + name="linknoteref-47.156" id="linknoteref-47.156">156</a> Encompassed on all + sides by the enemies of their religion, the Aethiopians slept near a + thousand years, forgetful of the world, by whom they were forgotten. They + were awakened by the Portuguese, who, turning the southern promontory of + Africa, appeared in India and the Red Sea, as if they had descended + through the air from a distant planet. In the first moments of their + interview, the subjects of Rome and Alexandria observed the resemblance, + rather than the difference, of their faith; and each nation expected the + most important benefits from an alliance with their Christian brethren. In + their lonely situation, the Aethiopians had almost relapsed into the + savage life. Their vessels, which had traded to Ceylon, scarcely presumed + to navigate the rivers of Africa; the ruins of Axume were deserted, the + nation was scattered in villages, and the emperor, a pompous name, was + content, both in peace and war, with the immovable residence of a camp. + Conscious of their own indigence, the Abyssinians had formed the rational + project of importing the arts and ingenuity of Europe; <a + href="#linknote-47.157" name="linknoteref-47.157" id="linknoteref-47.157">157</a> + and their ambassadors at Rome and Lisbon were instructed to solicit a + colony of smiths, carpenters, tilers, masons, printers, surgeons, and + physicians, for the use of their country. But the public danger soon + called for the instant and effectual aid of arms and soldiers, to defend + an unwarlike people from the Barbarians who ravaged the inland country and + the Turks and Arabs who advanced from the sea-coast in more formidable + array. Aethiopia was saved by four hundred and fifty Portuguese, who + displayed in the field the native valor of Europeans, and the artificial + power of the musket and cannon. In a moment of terror, the emperor had + promised to reconcile himself and his subjects to the Catholic faith; a + Latin patriarch represented the supremacy of the pope: <a + href="#linknote-47.158" name="linknoteref-47.158" id="linknoteref-47.158">158</a> + the empire, enlarged in a tenfold proportion, was supposed to contain more + gold than the mines of America; and the wildest hopes of avarice and zeal + were built on the willing submission of the Christians of Africa. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.155" id="linknote-47.155"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 155 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.155">return</a>)<br /> [ The abuna is + improperly dignified by the Latins with the title of patriarch. The + Abyssinians acknowledge only the four patriarchs, and their chief is no + more than a metropolitan or national primate, (Ludolph. Hist. Aethiopic. + et Comment. l. iii. c. 7.) The seven bishops of Renaudot, (p. 511,) who + existed A.D. 1131, are unknown to the historian.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.156" id="linknote-47.156"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 156 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.156">return</a>)<br /> [ I know not why + Assemannus (Bibliot. Orient. tom. ii. p. 384) should call in question + these probable missions of Theodora into Nubia and Aethiopia. The slight + notices of Abyssinia till the year 1500 are supplied by Renaudot (p. + 336-341, 381, 382, 405, 443, &c., 452, 456, 463, 475, 480, 511, 525, + 559—564) from the Coptic writers. The mind of Ludolphus was a + perfect blank.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.157" id="linknote-47.157"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 157 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.157">return</a>)<br /> [ Ludolph. Hist. + Aethiop. l. iv. c. 5. The most necessary arts are now exercised by the + Jews, and the foreign trade is in the hands of the Armenians. What Gregory + principally admired and envied was the industry of Europe—artes et + opificia.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.158" id="linknote-47.158"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 158 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.158">return</a>)<br /> [ John Bermudez, whose + relation, printed at Lisbon, 1569, was translated into English by Purchas, + (Pilgrims, l. vii. c. 7, p. 1149, &c.,) and from thence into French by + La Croze, (Christianisme d’Ethiopie, p. 92—265.) The piece is + curious; but the author may be suspected of deceiving Abyssinia, Rome, and + Portugal. His title to the rank of patriarch is dark and doubtful, + (Ludolph. Comment. No. 101, p. 473.)] + </p> + <p> + But the vows which pain had extorted were forsworn on the return of + health. The Abyssinians still adhered with unshaken constancy to the + Monophysite faith; their languid belief was inflamed by the exercise of + dispute; they branded the Latins with the names of Arians and Nestorians, + and imputed the adoration of four gods to those who separated the two + natures of Christ. Fremona, a place of worship, or rather of exile, was + assigned to the Jesuit missionaries. Their skill in the liberal and + mechanic arts, their theological learning, and the decency of their + manners, inspired a barren esteem; but they were not endowed with the gift + of miracles, <a href="#linknote-47.159" name="linknoteref-47.159" + id="linknoteref-47.159">159</a> and they vainly solicited a reenforcement + of European troops. The patience and dexterity of forty years at length + obtained a more favorable audience, and two emperors of Abyssinia were + persuaded that Rome could insure the temporal and everlasting happiness of + her votaries. The first of these royal converts lost his crown and his + life; and the rebel army was sanctified by the abuna, who hurled an + anathema at the apostate, and absolved his subjects from their oath of + fidelity. The fate of Zadenghel was revenged by the courage and fortune of + Susneus, who ascended the throne under the name of Segued, and more + vigorously prosecuted the pious enterprise of his kinsman. After the + amusement of some unequal combats between the Jesuits and his illiterate + priests, the emperor declared himself a proselyte to the synod of + Chalcedon, presuming that his clergy and people would embrace without + delay the religion of their prince. The liberty of choice was succeeded by + a law, which imposed, under pain of death, the belief of the two natures + of Christ: the Abyssinians were enjoined to work and to play on the + Sabbath; and Segued, in the face of Europe and Africa, renounced his + connection with the Alexandrian church. A Jesuit, Alphonso Mendez, the + Catholic patriarch of Aethiopia, accepted, in the name of Urban VIII., the + homage and abjuration of the penitent. “I confess,” said the emperor on + his knees, “I confess that the pope is the vicar of Christ, the successor + of St. Peter, and the sovereign of the world. To him I swear true + obedience, and at his feet I offer my person and kingdom.” A similar oath + was repeated by his son, his brother, the clergy, the nobles, and even the + ladies of the court: the Latin patriarch was invested with honors and + wealth; and his missionaries erected their churches or citadels in the + most convenient stations of the empire. The Jesuits themselves deplore the + fatal indiscretion of their chief, who forgot the mildness of the gospel + and the policy of his order, to introduce with hasty violence the liturgy + of Rome and the inquisition of Portugal. He condemned the ancient practice + of circumcision, which health, rather than superstition, had first + invented in the climate of Aethiopia. <a href="#linknote-47.160" + name="linknoteref-47.160" id="linknoteref-47.160">160</a> A new baptism, a + new ordination, was inflicted on the natives; and they trembled with + horror when the most holy of the dead were torn from their graves, when + the most illustrious of the living were excommunicated by a foreign + priest. In the defense of their religion and liberty, the Abyssinians rose + in arms, with desperate but unsuccessful zeal. Five rebellions were + extinguished in the blood of the insurgents: two abunas were slain in + battle, whole legions were slaughtered in the field, or suffocated in + their caverns; and neither merit, nor rank, nor sex, could save from an + ignominious death the enemies of Rome. But the victorious monarch was + finally subdued by the constancy of the nation, of his mother, of his son, + and of his most faithful friends. Segued listened to the voice of pity, of + reason, perhaps of fear: and his edict of liberty of conscience instantly + revealed the tyranny and weakness of the Jesuits. On the death of his + father, Basilides expelled the Latin patriarch, and restored to the wishes + of the nation the faith and the discipline of Egypt. The Monophysite + churches resounded with a song of triumph, “that the sheep of Aethiopia + were now delivered from the hyaenas of the West;” and the gates of that + solitary realm were forever shut against the arts, the science, and the + fanaticism of Europe. <a href="#linknote-47.161" name="linknoteref-47.161" + id="linknoteref-47.161">161</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.159" id="linknote-47.159"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 159 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.159">return</a>)<br /> [ Religio Romana...nec + precibus patrum nec miraculis ab ipsis editis suffulciebatur, is the + uncontradicted assurance of the devout emperor Susneus to his patriarch + Mendez, (Ludolph. Comment. No. 126, p. 529;) and such assurances should be + preciously kept, as an antidote against any marvellous legends.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.160" id="linknote-47.160"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 160 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.160">return</a>)<br /> [ I am aware how tender + is the question of circumcision. Yet I will affirm, 1. That the + Aethiopians have a physical reason for the circumcision of males, and even + of females, (Recherches Philosophiques sur les Americains, tom. ii.) 2. + That it was practised in Aethiopia long before the introduction of Judaism + or Christianity, (Herodot. l. ii. c. 104. Marsham, Canon. Chron. p. 72, + 73.) “Infantes circumcidunt ob consuetudinemn, non ob Judaismum,” says + Gregory the Abyssinian priest, (apud Fabric. Lux Christiana, p. 720.) Yet + in the heat of dispute, the Portuguese were sometimes branded with the + name of uncircumcised, (La Croze, p. 90. Ludolph. Hist. and Comment. l. + iii. c. l.)] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-47.161" id="linknote-47.161"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 161 (<a href="#linknoteref-47.161">return</a>)<br /> [ The three Protestant + historians, Ludolphus, (Hist. Aethiopica, Francofurt. 1681; Commentarius, + 1691; Relatio Nova, &c., 1693, in folio,) Geddes, (Church History of + Aethiopia, London, 1696, in 8vo..) and La Croze, (Hist. du Christianisme + d’Ethiopie et d’Armenie, La Haye, 1739, in 12mo.,) have drawn their + principal materials from the Jesuits, especially from the General History + of Tellez, published in Portuguese at Coimbra, 1660. We might be surprised + at their frankness; but their most flagitious vice, the spirit of + persecution, was in their eyes the most meritorious virtue. Ludolphus + possessed some, though a slight, advantage from the Aethiopic language, + and the personal conversation of Gregory, a free-spirited Abyssinian + priest, whom he invited from Rome to the court of Saxe-Gotha. See the + Theologia Aethiopica of Gregory, in (Fabric. Lux Evangelii, p. 716—734.) + * Note: The travels of Bruce, illustrated by those of Mr. Salt, and the + narrative of Nathaniel Pearce, have brought us again acquainted with this + remote region. Whatever may be their speculative opinions the barbarous + manners of the Ethiopians seem to be gaining more and more the ascendency + over the practice of Christianity.—M.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap48.1"></a> +Chapter XLVIII: Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part +I.</h2> + +<p class="letter"> +Plan Of The Two Last Volumes.—Succession And Characters Of The Greek +Emperors Of Constantinople, From The Time Of Heraclius To The Latin Conquest. +</p> + <p> + I have now deduced from Trajan to Constantine, from Constantine to + Heraclius, the regular series of the Roman emperors; and faithfully + exposed the prosperous and adverse fortunes of their reigns. Five + centuries of the decline and fall of the empire have already elapsed; but + a period of more than eight hundred years still separates me from the term + of my labors, the taking of Constantinople by the Turks. Should I + persevere in the same course, should I observe the same measure, a prolix + and slender thread would be spun through many a volume, nor would the + patient reader find an adequate reward of instruction or amusement. At + every step, as we sink deeper in the decline and fall of the Eastern + empire, the annals of each succeeding reign would impose a more ungrateful + and melancholy task. These annals must continue to repeat a tedious and + uniform tale of weakness and misery; the natural connection of causes and + events would be broken by frequent and hasty transitions, and a minute + accumulation of circumstances must destroy the light and effect of those + general pictures which compose the use and ornament of a remote history. + From the time of Heraclius, the Byzantine theatre is contracted and + darkened: the line of empire, which had been defined by the laws of + Justinian and the arms of Belisarius, recedes on all sides from our view; + the Roman name, the proper subject of our inquiries, is reduced to a + narrow corner of Europe, to the lonely suburbs of Constantinople; and the + fate of the Greek empire has been compared to that of the Rhine, which + loses itself in the sands, before its waters can mingle with the ocean. + The scale of dominion is diminished to our view by the distance of time + and place; nor is the loss of external splendor compensated by the nobler + gifts of virtue and genius. In the last moments of her decay, + Constantinople was doubtless more opulent and populous than Athens at her + most flourishing aera, when a scanty sum of six thousand talents, or + twelve hundred thousand pounds sterling was possessed by twenty-one + thousand male citizens of an adult age. But each of these citizens was a + freeman, who dared to assert the liberty of his thoughts, words, and + actions, whose person and property were guarded by equal law; and who + exercised his independent vote in the government of the republic. Their + numbers seem to be multiplied by the strong and various discriminations of + character; under the shield of freedom, on the wings of emulation and + vanity, each Athenian aspired to the level of the national dignity; from + this commanding eminence, some chosen spirits soared beyond the reach of a + vulgar eye; and the chances of superior merit in a great and populous + kingdom, as they are proved by experience, would excuse the computation of + imaginary millions. The territories of Athens, Sparta, and their allies, + do not exceed a moderate province of France or England; but after the + trophies of Salamis and Platea, they expand in our fancy to the gigantic + size of Asia, which had been trampled under the feet of the victorious + Greeks. But the subjects of the Byzantine empire, who assume and dishonor + the names both of Greeks and Romans, present a dead uniformity of abject + vices, which are neither softened by the weakness of humanity, nor + animated by the vigor of memorable crimes. The freemen of antiquity might + repeat with generous enthusiasm the sentence of Homer, “that on the first + day of his servitude, the captive is deprived of one half of his manly + virtue.” But the poet had only seen the effects of civil or domestic + slavery, nor could he foretell that the second moiety of manhood must be + annihilated by the spiritual despotism which shackles not only the + actions, but even the thoughts, of the prostrate votary. By this double + yoke, the Greeks were oppressed under the successors of Heraclius; the + tyrant, a law of eternal justice, was degraded by the vices of his + subjects; and on the throne, in the camp, in the schools, we search, + perhaps with fruitless diligence, the names and characters that may + deserve to be rescued from oblivion. Nor are the defects of the subject + compensated by the skill and variety of the painters. Of a space of eight + hundred years, the four first centuries are overspread with a cloud + interrupted by some faint and broken rays of historic light: in the lives + of the emperors, from Maurice to Alexius, Basil the Macedonian has alone + been the theme of a separate work; and the absence, or loss, or + imperfection of contemporary evidence, must be poorly supplied by the + doubtful authority of more recent compilers. The four last centuries are + exempt from the reproach of penury; and with the Comnenian family, the + historic muse of Constantinople again revives, but her apparel is gaudy, + her motions are without elegance or grace. A succession of priests, or + courtiers, treads in each other’s footsteps in the same path of servitude + and superstition: their views are narrow, their judgment is feeble or + corrupt; and we close the volume of copious barrenness, still ignorant of + the causes of events, the characters of the actors, and the manners of the + times which they celebrate or deplore. The observation which has been + applied to a man, may be extended to a whole people, that the energy of + the sword is communicated to the pen; and it will be found by experience, + that the tone of history will rise or fall with the spirit of the age. + </p> + <p> + From these considerations, I should have abandoned without regret the + Greek slaves and their servile historians, had I not reflected that the + fate of the Byzantine monarchy is passively connected with the most + splendid and important revolutions which have changed the state of the + world. The space of the lost provinces was immediately replenished with + new colonies and rising kingdoms: the active virtues of peace and war + deserted from the vanquished to the victorious nations; and it is in their + origin and conquests, in their religion and government, that we must + explore the causes and effects of the decline and fall of the Eastern + empire. Nor will this scope of narrative, the riches and variety of these + materials, be incompatible with the unity of design and composition. As, + in his daily prayers, the Mussulman of Fez or Delhi still turns his face + towards the temple of Mecca, the historian’s eye shall be always fixed on + the city of Constantinople. The excursive line may embrace the wilds of + Arabia and Tartary, but the circle will be ultimately reduced to the + decreasing limit of the Roman monarchy. + </p> + <p> + On this principle I shall now establish the plan of the last two volumes + of the present work. The first chapter will contain, in a regular series, + the emperors who reigned at Constantinople during a period of six hundred + years, from the days of Heraclius to the Latin conquest; a rapid abstract, + which may be supported by a general appeal to the order and text of the + original historians. In this introduction, I shall confine myself to the + revolutions of the throne, the succession of families, the personal + characters of the Greek princes, the mode of their life and death, the + maxims and influence of their domestic government, and the tendency of + their reign to accelerate or suspend the downfall of the Eastern empire. + Such a chronological review will serve to illustrate the various argument + of the subsequent chapters; and each circumstance of the eventful story of + the Barbarians will adapt itself in a proper place to the Byzantine + annals. The internal state of the empire, and the dangerous heresy of the + Paulicians, which shook the East and enlightened the West, will be the + subject of two separate chapters; but these inquiries must be postponed + till our further progress shall have opened the view of the world in the + ninth and tenth centuries of the Christian area. After this foundation of + Byzantine history, the following nations will pass before our eyes, and + each will occupy the space to which it may be entitled by greatness or + merit, or the degree of connection with the Roman world and the present + age. I. The Franks; a general appellation which includes all the + Barbarians of France, Italy, and Germany, who were united by the sword and + sceptre of Charlemagne. The persecution of images and their votaries + separated Rome and Italy from the Byzantine throne, and prepared the + restoration of the Roman empire in the West. II. The Arabs or Saracens. + Three ample chapters will be devoted to this curious and interesting + object. In the first, after a picture of the country and its inhabitants, + I shall investigate the character of Mahomet; the character, religion, and + success of the prophet. In the second, I shall lead the Arabs to the + conquest of Syria, Egypt, and Africa, the provinces of the Roman empire; + nor can I check their victorious career till they have overthrown the + monarchies of Persia and Spain. In the third, I shall inquire how + Constantinople and Europe were saved by the luxury and arts, the division + and decay, of the empire of the caliphs. A single chapter will include, + III. The Bulgarians, IV. Hungarians, and, V. Russians, who assaulted by + sea or by land the provinces and the capital; but the last of these, so + important in their present greatness, will excite some curiosity in their + origin and infancy. VI. The Normans; or rather the private adventurers of + that warlike people, who founded a powerful kingdom in Apulia and Sicily, + shook the throne of Constantinople, displayed the trophies of chivalry, + and almost realized the wonders of romance. + </p> + <p> + VII. The Latins; the subjects of the pope, the nations of the West, who + enlisted under the banner of the cross for the recovery or relief of the + holy sepulchre. The Greek emperors were terrified and preserved by the + myriads of pilgrims who marched to Jerusalem with Godfrey of Bouillon and + the peers of Christendom. The second and third crusades trod in the + footsteps of the first: Asia and Europe were mingled in a sacred war of + two hundred years; and the Christian powers were bravely resisted, and + finally expelled by Saladin and the Mamelukes of Egypt. In these memorable + crusades, a fleet and army of French and Venetians were diverted from + Syria to the Thracian Bosphorus: they assaulted the capital, they + subverted the Greek monarchy: and a dynasty of Latin princes was seated + near threescore years on the throne of Constantine. VII. The Greeks + themselves, during this period of captivity and exile, must be considered + as a foreign nation; the enemies, and again the sovereigns of + Constantinople. Misfortune had rekindled a spark of national virtue; and + the Imperial series may be continued with some dignity from their + restoration to the Turkish conquest. IX. The Moguls and Tartars. By the + arms of Zingis and his descendants, the globe was shaken from China to + Poland and Greece: the sultans were overthrown: the caliphs fell, and the + Caesars trembled on their throne. The victories of Timour suspended above + fifty years the final ruin of the Byzantine empire. X. I have already + noticed the first appearance of the Turks; and the names of the fathers, + of Seljuk and Othman, discriminate the two successive dynasties of the + nation, which emerged in the eleventh century from the Scythian + wilderness. The former established a splendid and potent kingdom from the + banks of the Oxus to Antioch and Nice; and the first crusade was provoked + by the violation of Jerusalem and the danger of Constantinople. From an + humble origin, the Ottomans arose, the scourge and terror of Christendom. + Constantinople was besieged and taken by Mahomet II., and his triumph + annihilates the remnant, the image, the title, of the Roman empire in the + East. The schism of the Greeks will be connected with their last + calamities, and the restoration of learning in the Western world. + </p> + <p> + I shall return from the captivity of the new, to the ruins of ancient + Rome; and the venerable name, the interesting theme, will shed a ray of + glory on the conclusion of my labors. + </p> + <p> + The emperor Heraclius had punished a tyrant and ascended his throne; and + the memory of his reign is perpetuated by the transient conquest, and + irreparable loss, of the Eastern provinces. After the death of Eudocia, + his first wife, he disobeyed the patriarch, and violated the laws, by his + second marriage with his niece Martina; and the superstition of the Greeks + beheld the judgment of Heaven in the diseases of the father and the + deformity of his offspring. But the opinion of an illegitimate birth is + sufficient to distract the choice, and loosen the obedience, of the + people: the ambition of Martina was quickened by maternal love, and + perhaps by the envy of a step-mother; and the aged husband was too feeble + to withstand the arts of conjugal allurements. Constantine, his eldest + son, enjoyed in a mature age the title of Augustus; but the weakness of + his constitution required a colleague and a guardian, and he yielded with + secret reluctance to the partition of the empire. The senate was summoned + to the palace to ratify or attest the association of Heracleonas, the son + of Martina: the imposition of the diadem was consecrated by the prayer and + blessing of the patriarch; the senators and patricians adored the majesty + of the great emperor and the partners of his reign; and as soon as the + doors were thrown open, they were hailed by the tumultuary but important + voice of the soldiers. After an interval of five months, the pompous + ceremonies which formed the essence of the Byzantine state were celebrated + in the cathedral and the hippodrome; the concord of the royal brothers was + affectedly displayed by the younger leaning on the arm of the elder; and + the name of Martina was mingled in the reluctant or venal acclamations of + the people. Heraclius survived this association about two years: his last + testimony declared his two sons the equal heirs of the Eastern empire, and + commanded them to honor his widow Martina as their mother and their + sovereign. + </p> + <p> + When Martina first appeared on the throne with the name and attributes of + royalty, she was checked by a firm, though respectful, opposition; and the + dying embers of freedom were kindled by the breath of superstitious + prejudice. “We reverence,” exclaimed the voice of a citizen, “we reverence + the mother of our princes; but to those princes alone our obedience is + due; and Constantine, the elder emperor, is of an age to sustain, in his + own hands, the weight of the sceptre. Your sex is excluded by nature from + the toils of government. How could you combat, how could you answer, the + Barbarians, who, with hostile or friendly intentions, may approach the + royal city? May Heaven avert from the Roman republic this national + disgrace, which would provoke the patience of the slaves of Persia!” + Martina descended from the throne with indignation, and sought a refuge in + the female apartment of the palace. The reign of Constantine the Third + lasted only one hundred and three days: he expired in the thirtieth year + of his age, and, although his life had been a long malady, a belief was + entertained that poison had been the means, and his cruel step-mother the + author, of his untimely fate. Martina reaped indeed the harvest of his + death, and assumed the government in the name of the surviving emperor; + but the incestuous widow of Heraclius was universally abhorred; the + jealousy of the people was awakened, and the two orphans whom Constantine + had left became the objects of the public care. It was in vain that the + son of Martina, who was no more than fifteen years of age, was taught to + declare himself the guardian of his nephews, one of whom he had presented + at the baptismal font: it was in vain that he swore on the wood of the + true cross, to defend them against all their enemies. On his death-bed, + the late emperor had despatched a trusty servant to arm the troops and + provinces of the East in the defence of his helpless children: the + eloquence and liberality of Valentin had been successful, and from his + camp of Chalcedon, he boldly demanded the punishment of the assassins, and + the restoration of the lawful heir. The license of the soldiers, who + devoured the grapes and drank the wine of their Asiatic vineyards, + provoked the citizens of Constantinople against the domestic authors of + their calamities, and the dome of St. Sophia reechoed, not with prayers + and hymns, but with the clamors and imprecations of an enraged multitude. + At their imperious command, Heracleonas appeared in the pulpit with the + eldest of the royal orphans; Constans alone was saluted as emperor of the + Romans, and a crown of gold, which had been taken from the tomb of + Heraclius, was placed on his head, with the solemn benediction of the + patriarch. + </p> + <p> + But in the tumult of joy and indignation, the church was pillaged, the + sanctuary was polluted by a promiscuous crowd of Jews and Barbarians; and + the Monothelite Pyrrhus, a creature of the empress, after dropping a + protestation on the altar, escaped by a prudent flight from the zeal of + the Catholics. A more serious and bloody task was reserved for the senate, + who derived a temporary strength from the consent of the soldiers and + people. + </p> + <p> + The spirit of Roman freedom revived the ancient and awful examples of the + judgment of tyrants, and the Imperial culprits were deposed and condemned + as the authors of the death of Constantine. But the severity of the + conscript fathers was stained by the indiscriminate punishment of the + innocent and the guilty: Martina and Heracleonas were sentenced to the + amputation, the former of her tongue, the latter of his nose; and after + this cruel execution, they consumed the remainder of their days in exile + and oblivion. The Greeks who were capable of reflection might find some + consolation for their servitude, by observing the abuse of power when it + was lodged for a moment in the hands of an aristocracy. + </p> + <p> + We shall imagine ourselves transported five hundred years backwards to the + age of the Antonines, if we listen to the oration which Constans II. + pronounced in the twelfth year of his age before the Byzantine senate. + After returning his thanks for the just punishment of the assassins, who + had intercepted the fairest hopes of his father’s reign, “By the divine + Providence,” said the young emperor, “and by your righteous decree, + Martina and her incestuous progeny have been cast headlong from the + throne. Your majesty and wisdom have prevented the Roman state from + degenerating into lawless tyranny. I therefore exhort and beseech you to + stand forth as the counsellors and judges of the common safety.” The + senators were gratified by the respectful address and liberal donative of + their sovereign; but these servile Greeks were unworthy and regardless of + freedom; and in his mind, the lesson of an hour was quickly erased by the + prejudices of the age and the habits of despotism. He retained only a + jealous fear lest the senate or people should one day invade the right of + primogeniture, and seat his brother Theodosius on an equal throne. By the + imposition of holy orders, the grandson of Heraclius was disqualified for + the purple; but this ceremony, which seemed to profane the sacraments of + the church, was insufficient to appease the suspicions of the tyrant, and + the death of the deacon Theodosius could alone expiate the crime of his + royal birth. <a href="#linknote-48.1111" name="linknoteref-48.1111" + id="linknoteref-48.1111">1111</a> His murder was avenged by the + imprecations of the people, and the assassin, in the fullness of power, + was driven from his capital into voluntary and perpetual exile. Constans + embarked for Greece and, as if he meant to retort the abhorrence which he + deserved he is said, from the Imperial galley, to have spit against the + walls of his native city. After passing the winter at Athens, he sailed to + Tarentum in Italy, visited Rome, <a href="#linknote-48.1112" + name="linknoteref-48.1112" id="linknoteref-48.1112">1112</a> and concluded a + long pilgrimage of disgrace and sacrilegious rapine, by fixing his + residence at Syracuse. But if Constans could fly from his people, he could + not fly from himself. The remorse of his conscience created a phantom who + pursued him by land and sea, by day and by night; and the visionary + Theodosius, presenting to his lips a cup of blood, said, or seemed to say, + “Drink, brother, drink;” a sure emblem of the aggravation of his guilt, + since he had received from the hands of the deacon the mystic cup of the + blood of Christ. Odious to himself and to mankind, Constans perished by + domestic, perhaps by episcopal, treason, in the capital of Sicily. A + servant who waited in the bath, after pouring warm water on his head, + struck him violently with the vase. He fell, stunned by the blow, and + suffocated by the water; and his attendants, who wondered at the tedious + delay, beheld with indifference the corpse of their lifeless emperor. The + troops of Sicily invested with the purple an obscure youth, whose + inimitable beauty eluded, and it might easily elude, the declining art of + the painters and sculptors of the age. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1111" id="linknote-48.1111"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1111 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1111">return</a>)<br /> [ His soldiers + (according to Abulfaradji. Chron. Syr. p. 112) called him another Cain. + St. Martin, t. xi. p. 379.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1112" id="linknote-48.1112"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1112 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1112">return</a>)<br /> [ He was received in + Rome, and pillaged the churches. He carried off the brass roof of the + Pantheon to Syracuse, or, as Schlosser conceives, to Constantinople + Schlosser Geschichte der bilder-sturmenden Kaiser p. 80—M.] + </p> + <p> + Constans had left in the Byzantine palace three sons, the eldest of whom + had been clothed in his infancy with the purple. When the father summoned + them to attend his person in Sicily, these precious hostages were detained + by the Greeks, and a firm refusal informed him that they were the children + of the state. The news of his murder was conveyed with almost supernatural + speed from Syracuse to Constantinople; and Constantine, the eldest of his + sons, inherited his throne without being the heir of the public hatred. + His subjects contributed, with zeal and alacrity, to chastise the guilt + and presumption of a province which had usurped the rights of the senate + and people; the young emperor sailed from the Hellespont with a powerful + fleet; and the legions of Rome and Carthage were assembled under his + standard in the harbor of Syracuse. The defeat of the Sicilian tyrant was + easy, his punishment just, and his beauteous head was exposed in the + hippodrome: but I cannot applaud the clemency of a prince, who, among a + crowd of victims, condemned the son of a patrician, for deploring with + some bitterness the execution of a virtuous father. The youth was + castrated: he survived the operation, and the memory of this indecent + cruelty is preserved by the elevation of Germanus to the rank of a + patriarch and saint. After pouring this bloody libation on his father’s + tomb, Constantine returned to his capital; and the growth of his young + beard during the Sicilian voyage was announced, by the familiar surname of + Pogonatus, to the Grecian world. But his reign, like that of his + predecessor, was stained with fraternal discord. On his two brothers, + Heraclius and Tiberius, he had bestowed the title of Augustus; an empty + title, for they continued to languish, without trust or power, in the + solitude of the palace. At their secret instigation, the troops of the + Anatolian theme or province approached the city on the Asiatic side, + demanded for the royal brothers the partition or exercise of sovereignty, + and supported their seditious claim by a theological argument. They were + Christians, (they cried,) and orthodox Catholics; the sincere votaries of + the holy and undivided Trinity. Since there are three equal persons in + heaven, it is reasonable there should be three equal persons upon earth. + The emperor invited these learned divines to a friendly conference, in + which they might propose their arguments to the senate: they obeyed the + summons, but the prospect of their bodies hanging on the gibbet in the + suburb of Galata reconciled their companions to the unity of the reign of + Constantine. He pardoned his brothers, and their names were still + pronounced in the public acclamations: but on the repetition or suspicion + of a similar offence, the obnoxious princes were deprived of their titles + and noses, <a href="#linknote-48.1113" name="linknoteref-48.1113" + id="linknoteref-48.1113">1113</a> in the presence of the Catholic bishops + who were assembled at Constantinople in the sixth general synod. In the + close of his life, Pogonatus was anxious only to establish the right of + primogeniture: the heir of his two sons, Justinian and Heraclius, was + offered on the shrine of St. Peter, as a symbol of their spiritual + adoption by the pope; but the elder was alone exalted to the rank of + Augustus, and the assurance of the empire. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1113" id="linknote-48.1113"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1113 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1113">return</a>)<br /> [ Schlosser + (Geschichte der bilder sturmenden Kaiser, p. 90) supposed that the young + princes were mutilated after the first insurrection; that after this the + acts were still inscribed with their names, the princes being closely + secluded in the palace. The improbability of this circumstance may be + weighed against Gibbon’s want of authority for his statement.—M.] + </p> + <p> + After the decease of his father, the inheritance of the Roman world + devolved to Justinian II.; and the name of a triumphant lawgiver was + dishonored by the vices of a boy, who imitated his namesake only in the + expensive luxury of building. His passions were strong; his understanding + was feeble; and he was intoxicated with a foolish pride, that his birth + had given him the command of millions, of whom the smallest community + would not have chosen him for their local magistrate. His favorite + ministers were two beings the least susceptible of human sympathy, a + eunuch and a monk: to the one he abandoned the palace, to the other the + finances; the former corrected the emperor’s mother with a scourge, the + latter suspended the insolvent tributaries, with their heads downwards, + over a slow and smoky fire. Since the days of Commodus and Caracalla, the + cruelty of the Roman princes had most commonly been the effect of their + fear; but Justinian, who possessed some vigor of character, enjoyed the + sufferings, and braved the revenge, of his subjects, about ten years, till + the measure was full, of his crimes and of their patience. In a dark + dungeon, Leontius, a general of reputation, had groaned above three years, + with some of the noblest and most deserving of the patricians: he was + suddenly drawn forth to assume the government of Greece; and this + promotion of an injured man was a mark of the contempt rather than of the + confidence of his prince. As he was followed to the port by the kind + offices of his friends, Leontius observed, with a sigh, that he was a + victim adorned for sacrifice, and that inevitable death would pursue his + footsteps. They ventured to reply, that glory and empire might be the + recompense of a generous resolution; that every order of men abhorred the + reign of a monster; and that the hands of two hundred thousand patriots + expected only the voice of a leader. The night was chosen for their + deliverance; and in the first effort of the conspirators, the præfect was + slain, and the prisons were forced open: the emissaries of Leontius + proclaimed in every street, “Christians, to St. Sophia!” and the + seasonable text of the patriarch, “This is the day of the Lord!” was the + prelude of an inflammatory sermon. From the church the people adjourned to + the hippodrome: Justinian, in whose cause not a sword had been drawn, was + dragged before these tumultuary judges, and their clamors demanded the + instant death of the tyrant. But Leontius, who was already clothed with + the purple, cast an eye of pity on the prostrate son of his own benefactor + and of so many emperors. The life of Justinian was spared; the amputation + of his nose, perhaps of his tongue, was imperfectly performed: the happy + flexibility of the Greek language could impose the name of Rhinotmetus; + and the mutilated tyrant was banished to Chersonae in Crim-Tartary, a + lonely settlement, where corn, wine, and oil, were imported as foreign + luxuries. + </p> + <p> + On the edge of the Scythian wilderness, Justinian still cherished the + pride of his birth, and the hope of his restoration. After three years’ + exile, he received the pleasing intelligence that his injury was avenged + by a second revolution, and that Leontius in his turn had been dethroned + and mutilated by the rebel Apsimar, who assumed the more respectable name + of Tiberius. But the claim of lineal succession was still formidable to a + plebeian usurper; and his jealousy was stimulated by the complaints and + charges of the Chersonites, who beheld the vices of the tyrant in the + spirit of the exile. With a band of followers, attached to his person by + common hope or common despair, Justinian fled from the inhospitable shore + to the horde of the Chozars, who pitched their tents between the Tanais + and Borysthenes. The khan entertained with pity and respect the royal + suppliant: Phanagoria, once an opulent city, on the Asiatic side of the + lake Moeotis, was assigned for his residence; and every Roman prejudice + was stifled in his marriage with the sister of the Barbarian, who seems, + however, from the name of Theodora, to have received the sacrament of + baptism. But the faithless Chozar was soon tempted by the gold of + Constantinople: and had not the design been revealed by the conjugal love + of Theodora, her husband must have been assassinated or betrayed into the + power of his enemies. After strangling, with his own hands, the two + emissaries of the khan, Justinian sent back his wife to her brother, and + embarked on the Euxine in search of new and more faithful allies. His + vessel was assaulted by a violent tempest; and one of his pious companions + advised him to deserve the mercy of God by a vow of general forgiveness, + if he should be restored to the throne. “Of forgiveness?” replied the + intrepid tyrant: “may I perish this instant—may the Almighty whelm + me in the waves—if I consent to spare a single head of my enemies!” + He survived this impious menace, sailed into the mouth of the Danube, + trusted his person in the royal village of the Bulgarians, and purchased + the aid of Terbelis, a pagan conqueror, by the promise of his daughter and + a fair partition of the treasures of the empire. The Bulgarian kingdom + extended to the confines of Thrace; and the two princes besieged + Constantinople at the head of fifteen thousand horse. Apsimar was dismayed + by the sudden and hostile apparition of his rival whose head had been + promised by the Chozar, and of whose evasion he was yet ignorant. After an + absence of ten years, the crimes of Justinian were faintly remembered, and + the birth and misfortunes of their hereditary sovereign excited the pity + of the multitude, ever discontented with the ruling powers; and by the + active diligence of his adherents, he was introduced into the city and + palace of Constantine. + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap48.2"></a> +Chapter XLVIII: Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part +II.</h2> + + <p> + In rewarding his allies, and recalling his wife, Justinian displayed some + sense of honor and gratitude; <a href="#linknote-48.1114" + name="linknoteref-48.1114" id="linknoteref-48.1114">1114</a> and Terbelis + retired, after sweeping away a heap of gold coin, which he measured with + his Scythian whip. But never was vow more religiously performed than the + sacred oath of revenge which he had sworn amidst the storms of the Euxine. + The two usurpers (for I must reserve the name of tyrant for the conqueror) + were dragged into the hippodrome, the one from his prison, the other from + his palace. Before their execution, Leontius and Apsimar were cast + prostrate in chains beneath the throne of the emperor; and Justinian, + planting a foot on each of their necks, contemplated above an hour the + chariot-race, while the inconstant people shouted, in the words of the + Psalmist, “Thou shalt trample on the asp and basilisk, and on the lion and + dragon shalt thou set thy foot!” The universal defection which he had once + experienced might provoke him to repeat the wish of Caligula, that the + Roman people had but one head. Yet I shall presume to observe, that such a + wish is unworthy of an ingenious tyrant, since his revenge and cruelty + would have been extinguished by a single blow, instead of the slow variety + of tortures which Justinian inflicted on the victims of his anger. His + pleasures were inexhaustible: neither private virtue nor public service + could expiate the guilt of active, or even passive, obedience to an + established government; and, during the six years of his new reign, he + considered the axe, the cord, and the rack, as the only instruments of + royalty. But his most implacable hatred was pointed against the + Chersonites, who had insulted his exile and violated the laws of + hospitality. Their remote situation afforded some means of defence, or at + least of escape; and a grievous tax was imposed on Constantinople, to + supply the preparations of a fleet and army. “All are guilty, and all must + perish,” was the mandate of Justinian; and the bloody execution was + intrusted to his favorite Stephen, who was recommended by the epithet of + the savage. Yet even the savage Stephen imperfectly accomplished the + intentions of his sovereign. The slowness of his attack allowed the + greater part of the inhabitants to withdraw into the country; and the + minister of vengeance contented himself with reducing the youth of both + sexes to a state of servitude, with roasting alive seven of the principal + citizens, with drowning twenty in the sea, and with reserving forty-two in + chains to receive their doom from the mouth of the emperor. In their + return, the fleet was driven on the rocky shores of Anatolia; and + Justinian applauded the obedience of the Euxine, which had involved so + many thousands of his subjects and enemies in a common shipwreck: but the + tyrant was still insatiate of blood; and a second expedition was commanded + to extirpate the remains of the proscribed colony. In the short interval, + the Chersonites had returned to their city, and were prepared to die in + arms; the khan of the Chozars had renounced the cause of his odious + brother; the exiles of every province were assembled in Tauris; and + Bardanes, under the name of Philippicus, was invested with the purple. The + Imperial troops, unwilling and unable to perpetrate the revenge of + Justinian, escaped his displeasure by abjuring his allegiance: the fleet, + under their new sovereign, steered back a more auspicious course to the + harbors of Sinope and Constantinople; and every tongue was prompt to + pronounce, every hand to execute, the death of the tyrant. Destitute of + friends, he was deserted by his Barbarian guards; and the stroke of the + assassin was praised as an act of patriotism and Roman virtue. His son + Tiberius had taken refuge in a church; his aged grandmother guarded the + door; and the innocent youth, suspending round his neck the most + formidable relics, embraced with one hand the altar, with the other the + wood of the true cross. But the popular fury that dares to trample on + superstition, is deaf to the cries of humanity; and the race of Heraclius + was extinguished after a reign of one hundred years + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1114" id="linknote-48.1114"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1114 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1114">return</a>)<br /> [ Of fear rather than + of more generous motives. Compare Le Beau vol. xii. p. 64.—M.] + </p> + <p> + Between the fall of the Heraclian and the rise of the Isaurian dynasty, a + short interval of six years is divided into three reigns. Bardanes, or + Philippicus, was hailed at Constantinople as a hero who had delivered his + country from a tyrant; and he might taste some moments of happiness in the + first transports of sincere and universal joy. Justinian had left behind + him an ample treasure, the fruit of cruelty and rapine: but this useful + fund was soon and idly dissipated by his successor. On the festival of his + birthday, Philippicus entertained the multitude with the games of the + hippodrome; from thence he paraded through the streets with a thousand + banners and a thousand trumpets; refreshed himself in the baths of + Zeuxippus, and returning to the palace, entertained his nobles with a + sumptuous banquet. At the meridian hour he withdrew to his chamber, + intoxicated with flattery and wine, and forgetful that his example had + made every subject ambitious, and that every ambitious subject was his + secret enemy. Some bold conspirators introduced themselves in the disorder + of the feast; and the slumbering monarch was surprised, bound, blinded, + and deposed, before he was sensible of his danger. Yet the traitors were + deprived of their reward; and the free voice of the senate and people + promoted Artemius from the office of secretary to that of emperor: he + assumed the title of Anastasius the Second, and displayed in a short and + troubled reign the virtues both of peace and war. But after the extinction + of the Imperial line, the rule of obedience was violated, and every change + diffused the seeds of new revolutions. In a mutiny of the fleet, an + obscure and reluctant officer of the revenue was forcibly invested with + the purple: after some months of a naval war, Anastasius resigned the + sceptre; and the conqueror, Theodosius the Third, submitted in his turn to + the superior ascendant of Leo, the general and emperor of the Oriental + troops. His two predecessors were permitted to embrace the ecclesiastical + profession: the restless impatience of Anastasius tempted him to risk and + to lose his life in a treasonable enterprise; but the last days of + Theodosius were honorable and secure. The single sublime word, “Health,” + which he inscribed on his tomb, expresses the confidence of philosophy or + religion; and the fame of his miracles was long preserved among the people + of Ephesus. This convenient shelter of the church might sometimes impose a + lesson of clemency; but it may be questioned whether it is for the public + interest to diminish the perils of unsuccessful ambition. + </p> + <p> + I have dwelt on the fall of a tyrant; I shall briefly represent the + founder of a new dynasty, who is known to posterity by the invectives of + his enemies, and whose public and private life is involved in the + ecclesiastical story of the Iconoclasts. Yet in spite of the clamors of + superstition, a favorable prejudice for the character of Leo the Isaurian + may be reasonably drawn from the obscurity of his birth, and the duration + of his reign.—I. In an age of manly spirit, the prospect of an + Imperial reward would have kindled every energy of the mind, and produced + a crowd of competitors as deserving as they were desirous to reign. Even + in the corruption and debility of the modern Greeks, the elevation of a + plebeian from the last to the first rank of society, supposes some + qualifications above the level of the multitude. He would probably be + ignorant and disdainful of speculative science; and, in the pursuit of + fortune, he might absolve himself from the obligations of benevolence and + justice; but to his character we may ascribe the useful virtues of + prudence and fortitude, the knowledge of mankind, and the important art of + gaining their confidence and directing their passions. It is agreed that + Leo was a native of Isauria, and that Conon was his primitive name. The + writers, whose awkward satire is praise, describe him as an itinerant + pedler, who drove an ass with some paltry merchandise to the country + fairs; and foolishly relate that he met on the road some Jewish + fortune-tellers, who promised him the Roman empire, on condition that he + should abolish the worship of idols. A more probable account relates the + migration of his father from Asia Minor to Thrace, where he exercised the + lucrative trade of a grazier; and he must have acquired considerable + wealth, since the first introduction of his son was procured by a supply + of five hundred sheep to the Imperial camp. His first service was in the + guards of Justinian, where he soon attracted the notice, and by degrees + the jealousy, of the tyrant. His valor and dexterity were conspicuous in + the Colchian war: from Anastasius he received the command of the Anatolian + legions, and by the suffrage of the soldiers he was raised to the empire + with the general applause of the Roman world.—II. In this dangerous + elevation, Leo the Third supported himself against the envy of his equals, + the discontent of a powerful faction, and the assaults of his foreign and + domestic enemies. The Catholics, who accuse his religious innovations, are + obliged to confess that they were undertaken with temper and conducted + with firmness. Their silence respects the wisdom of his administration and + the purity of his manners. After a reign of twenty-four years, he + peaceably expired in the palace of Constantinople; and the purple which he + had acquired was transmitted by the right of inheritance to the third + generation. <a href="#linknote-48.1115" name="linknoteref-48.1115" + id="linknoteref-48.1115">1115</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1115" id="linknote-48.1115"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1115 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1115">return</a>)<br /> [ During the latter + part of his reign, the hostilities of the Saracens, who invested a + Pergamenian, named Tiberius, with the purple, and proclaimed him as the + son of Justinian, and an earthquake, which destroyed the walls of + Constantinople, compelled Leo greatly to increase the burdens of taxation + upon his subjects. A twelfth was exacted in addition to every aurena as a + wall tax. Theophanes p. 275 Schlosser, Bilder eturmeud Kaiser, p. 197.—M.] + </p> + <p> + In a long reign of thirty-four years, the son and successor of Leo, + Constantine the Fifth, surnamed Copronymus, attacked with less temperate + zeal the images or idols of the church. Their votaries have exhausted the + bitterness of religious gall, in their portrait of this spotted panther, + this antichrist, this flying dragon of the serpent’s seed, who surpassed + the vices of Elagabalus and Nero. His reign was a long butchery of + whatever was most noble, or holy, or innocent, in his empire. In person, + the emperor assisted at the execution of his victims, surveyed their + agonies, listened to their groans, and indulged, without satiating, his + appetite for blood: a plate of noses was accepted as a grateful offering, + and his domestics were often scourged or mutilated by the royal hand. His + surname was derived from his pollution of his baptismal font. The infant + might be excused; but the manly pleasures of Copronymus degraded him below + the level of a brute; his lust confounded the eternal distinctions of sex + and species, and he seemed to extract some unnatural delight from the + objects most offensive to human sense. In his religion the Iconoclast was + a Heretic, a Jew, a Mahometan, a Pagan, and an Atheist; and his belief of + an invisible power could be discovered only in his magic rites, human + victims, and nocturnal sacrifices to Venus and the daemons of antiquity. + His life was stained with the most opposite vices, and the ulcers which + covered his body, anticipated before his death the sentiment of + hell-tortures. Of these accusations, which I have so patiently copied, a + part is refuted by its own absurdity; and in the private anecdotes of the + life of the princes, the lie is more easy as the detection is more + difficult. Without adopting the pernicious maxim, that where much is + alleged, something must be true, I can however discern, that Constantine + the Fifth was dissolute and cruel. Calumny is more prone to exaggerate + than to invent; and her licentious tongue is checked in some measure by + the experience of the age and country to which she appeals. Of the bishops + and monks, the generals and magistrates, who are said to have suffered + under his reign, the numbers are recorded, the names were conspicuous, the + execution was public, the mutilation visible and permanent. <a + href="#linknote-48.1116" name="linknoteref-48.1116" id="linknoteref-48.1116">1116</a> + The Catholics hated the person and government of Copronymus; but even + their hatred is a proof of their oppression. They dissembled the + provocations which might excuse or justify his rigor, but even these + provocations must gradually inflame his resentment and harden his temper + in the use or the abuse of despotism. Yet the character of the fifth + Constantine was not devoid of merit, nor did his government always deserve + the curses or the contempt of the Greeks. From the confession of his + enemies, I am informed of the restoration of an ancient aqueduct, of the + redemption of two thousand five hundred captives, of the uncommon plenty + of the times, and of the new colonies with which he repeopled + Constantinople and the Thracian cities. They reluctantly praise his + activity and courage; he was on horseback in the field at the head of his + legions; and, although the fortune of his arms was various, he triumphed + by sea and land, on the Euphrates and the Danube, in civil and Barbarian + war. Heretical praise must be cast into the scale to counterbalance the + weight of orthodox invective. The Iconoclasts revered the virtues of the + prince: forty years after his death they still prayed before the tomb of + the saint. A miraculous vision was propagated by fanaticism or fraud: and + the Christian hero appeared on a milk-white steed, brandishing his lance + against the Pagans of Bulgaria: “An absurd fable,” says the Catholic + historian, “since Copronymus is chained with the daemons in the abyss of + hell.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1116" id="linknote-48.1116"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1116 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1116">return</a>)<br /> [ He is accused of + burning the library of Constantinople, founded by Julian, with its + president and twelve professors. This eastern Sorbonne had discomfited the + Imperial theologians on the great question of image worship. Schlosser + observes that this accidental fire took place six years after the emperor + had laid the question of image-worship before the professors. Bilder + sturmand Kaiser, p. 294. Compare Le Heau. vol. xl. p. 156.—M.] + </p> + <p> + Leo the Fourth, the son of the fifth and the father of the sixth + Constantine, was of a feeble constitution both of mind <a + href="#linknote-48.1117" name="linknoteref-48.1117" id="linknoteref-48.1117">1117</a> + and body, and the principal care of his reign was the settlement of the + succession. The association of the young Constantine was urged by the + officious zeal of his subjects; and the emperor, conscious of his decay, + complied, after a prudent hesitation, with their unanimous wishes. The + royal infant, at the age of five years, was crowned with his mother Irene; + and the national consent was ratified by every circumstance of pomp and + solemnity, that could dazzle the eyes or bind the conscience of the + Greeks. An oath of fidelity was administered in the palace, the church, + and the hippodrome, to the several orders of the state, who adjured the + holy names of the Son, and mother of God. “Be witness, O Christ! that we + will watch over the safety of Constantine the son of Leo, expose our lives + in his service, and bear true allegiance to his person and posterity.” + They pledged their faith on the wood of the true cross, and the act of + their engagement was deposited on the altar of St. Sophia. The first to + swear, and the first to violate their oath, were the five sons of + Copronymus by a second marriage; and the story of these princes is + singular and tragic. The right of primogeniture excluded them from the + throne; the injustice of their elder brother defrauded them of a legacy of + about two millions sterling; some vain titles were not deemed a sufficient + compensation for wealth and power; and they repeatedly conspired against + their nephew, before and after the death of his father. Their first + attempt was pardoned; for the second offence <a href="#linknote-48.1118" + name="linknoteref-48.1118" id="linknoteref-48.1118">1118</a> they were + condemned to the ecclesiastical state; and for the third treason, + Nicephorus, the eldest and most guilty, was deprived of his eyes, and his + four brothers, Christopher, Nicetas, Anthemeus, and Eudoxas, were + punished, as a milder sentence, by the amputation of their tongues. After + five years’ confinement, they escaped to the church of St. Sophia, and + displayed a pathetic spectacle to the people. “Countrymen and Christians,” + cried Nicephorus for himself and his mute brethren, “behold the sons of + your emperor, if you can still recognize our features in this miserable + state. A life, an imperfect life, is all that the malice of our enemies + has spared. It is now threatened, and we now throw ourselves on your + compassion.” The rising murmur might have produced a revolution, had it + not been checked by the presence of a minister, who soothed the unhappy + princes with flattery and hope, and gently drew them from the sanctuary to + the palace. They were speedily embarked for Greece, and Athens was + allotted for the place of their exile. In this calm retreat, and in their + helpless condition, Nicephorus and his brothers were tormented by the + thirst of power, and tempted by a Sclavonian chief, who offered to break + their prison, and to lead them in arms, and in the purple, to the gates of + Constantinople. But the Athenian people, ever zealous in the cause of + Irene, prevented her justice or cruelty; and the five sons of Copronymus + were plunged in eternal darkness and oblivion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1117" id="linknote-48.1117"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1117 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1117">return</a>)<br /> [ Schlosser thinks + more highly of Leo’s mind; but his only proof of his superiority is the + successes of his generals against the Saracens, Schlosser, p. 256.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1118" id="linknote-48.1118"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1118 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1118">return</a>)<br /> [ The second offence + was on the accession of the young Constantine—M.] + </p> + <p> + For himself, that emperor had chosen a Barbarian wife, the daughter of the + khan of the Chozars; but in the marriage of his heir, he preferred an + Athenian virgin, an orphan, seventeen years old, whose sole fortune must + have consisted in her personal accomplishments. The nuptials of Leo and + Irene were celebrated with royal pomp; she soon acquired the love and + confidence of a feeble husband, and in his testament he declared the + empress guardian of the Roman world, and of their son Constantine the + Sixth, who was no more than ten years of age. During his childhood, Irene + most ably and assiduously discharged, in her public administration, the + duties of a faithful mother; and her zeal in the restoration of images has + deserved the name and honors of a saint, which she still occupies in the + Greek calendar. But the emperor attained the maturity of youth; the + maternal yoke became more grievous; and he listened to the favorites of + his own age, who shared his pleasures, and were ambitious of sharing his + power. Their reasons convinced him of his right, their praises of his + ability, to reign; and he consented to reward the services of Irene by a + perpetual banishment to the Isle of Sicily. But her vigilance and + penetration easily disconcerted their rash projects: a similar, or more + severe, punishment was retaliated on themselves and their advisers; and + Irene inflicted on the ungrateful prince the chastisement of a boy. After + this contest, the mother and the son were at the head of two domestic + factions; and instead of mild influence and voluntary obedience, she held + in chains a captive and an enemy. The empress was overthrown by the abuse + of victory; the oath of fidelity, which she exacted to herself alone, was + pronounced with reluctant murmurs; and the bold refusal of the Armenian + guards encouraged a free and general declaration, that Constantine the + Sixth was the lawful emperor of the Romans. In this character he ascended + his hereditary throne, and dismissed Irene to a life of solitude and + repose. But her haughty spirit condescended to the arts of dissimulation: + she flattered the bishops and eunuchs, revived the filial tenderness of + the prince, regained his confidence, and betrayed his credulity. The + character of Constantine was not destitute of sense or spirit; but his + education had been studiously neglected; and the ambitious mother exposed + to the public censure the vices which she had nourished, and the actions + which she had secretly advised: his divorce and second marriage offended + the prejudices of the clergy, and by his imprudent rigor he forfeited the + attachment of the Armenian guards. A powerful conspiracy was formed for + the restoration of Irene; and the secret, though widely diffused, was + faithfully kept above eight months, till the emperor, suspicious of his + danger, escaped from Constantinople, with the design of appealing to the + provinces and armies. By this hasty flight, the empress was left on the + brink of the precipice; yet before she implored the mercy of her son, + Irene addressed a private epistle to the friends whom she had placed about + his person, with a menace, that unless they accomplished, she would + reveal, their treason. Their fear rendered them intrepid; they seized the + emperor on the Asiatic shore, and he was transported to the porphyry + apartment of the palace, where he had first seen the light. In the mind of + Irene, ambition had stifled every sentiment of humanity and nature; and it + was decreed in her bloody council, that Constantine should be rendered + incapable of the throne: her emissaries assaulted the sleeping prince, and + stabbed their daggers with such violence and precipitation into his eyes + as if they meant to execute a mortal sentence. An ambiguous passage of + Theophanes persuaded the annalist of the church that death was the + immediate consequence of this barbarous execution. The Catholics have been + deceived or subdued by the authority of Baronius; and Protestant zeal has + reechoed the words of a cardinal, desirous, as it should seem, to favor + the patroness of images. <a href="#linknote-48.1119" + name="linknoteref-48.1119" id="linknoteref-48.1119">1119</a> Yet the blind + son of Irene survived many years, oppressed by the court and forgotten by + the world; the Isaurian dynasty was silently extinguished; and the memory + of Constantine was recalled only by the nuptials of his daughter + Euphrosyne with the emperor Michael the Second. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1119" id="linknote-48.1119"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1119 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1119">return</a>)<br /> [ Gibbon has been + attacked on account of this statement, but is successfully defended by + Schlosser. B S. Kaiser p. 327. Compare Le Beau, c. xii p. 372.—M.] + </p> + <p> + The most bigoted orthodoxy has justly execrated the unnatural mother, who + may not easily be paralleled in the history of crimes. To her bloody deed + superstition has attributed a subsequent darkness of seventeen days; + during which many vessels in midday were driven from their course, as if + the sun, a globe of fire so vast and so remote, could sympathize with the + atoms of a revolving planet. On earth, the crime of Irene was left five + years unpunished; her reign was crowned with external splendor; and if she + could silence the voice of conscience, she neither heard nor regarded the + reproaches of mankind. The Roman world bowed to the government of a + female; and as she moved through the streets of Constantinople, the reins + of four milk-white steeds were held by as many patricians, who marched on + foot before the golden chariot of their queen. But these patricians were + for the most part eunuchs; and their black ingratitude justified, on this + occasion, the popular hatred and contempt. Raised, enriched, intrusted + with the first dignities of the empire, they basely conspired against + their benefactress; the great treasurer Nicephorus was secretly invested + with the purple; her successor was introduced into the palace, and crowned + at St. Sophia by the venal patriarch. In their first interview, she + recapitulated with dignity the revolutions of her life, gently accused the + perfidy of Nicephorus, insinuated that he owed his life to her + unsuspicious clemency, and for the throne and treasures which she + resigned, solicited a decent and honorable retreat. His avarice refused + this modest compensation; and, in her exile of the Isle of Lesbos, the + empress earned a scanty subsistence by the labors of her distaff. + </p> + <p> + Many tyrants have reigned undoubtedly more criminal than Nicephorus, but + none perhaps have more deeply incurred the universal abhorrence of their + people. His character was stained with the three odious vices of + hypocrisy, ingratitude, and avarice: his want of virtue was not redeemed + by any superior talents, nor his want of talents by any pleasing + qualifications. Unskilful and unfortunate in war, Nicephorus was + vanquished by the Saracens, and slain by the Bulgarians; and the advantage + of his death overbalanced, in the public opinion, the destruction of a + Roman army. <a href="#linknote-48.1011" name="linknoteref-48.1011" + id="linknoteref-48.1011">1011</a> His son and heir Stauracius escaped from + the field with a mortal wound; yet six months of an expiring life were + sufficient to refute his indecent, though popular declaration, that he + would in all things avoid the example of his father. On the near prospect + of his decease, Michael, the great master of the palace, and the husband + of his sister Procopia, was named by every person of the palace and city, + except by his envious brother. Tenacious of a sceptre now falling from his + hand, he conspired against the life of his successor, and cherished the + idea of changing to a democracy the Roman empire. But these rash projects + served only to inflame the zeal of the people and to remove the scruples + of the candidate: Michael the First accepted the purple, and before he + sunk into the grave the son of Nicephorus implored the clemency of his new + sovereign. Had Michael in an age of peace ascended an hereditary throne, + he might have reigned and died the father of his people: but his mild + virtues were adapted to the shade of private life, nor was he capable of + controlling the ambition of his equals, or of resisting the arms of the + victorious Bulgarians. While his want of ability and success exposed him + to the contempt of the soldiers, the masculine spirit of his wife Procopia + awakened their indignation. Even the Greeks of the ninth century were + provoked by the insolence of a female, who, in the front of the standards, + presumed to direct their discipline and animate their valor; and their + licentious clamors advised the new Semiramis to reverence the majesty of a + Roman camp. After an unsuccessful campaign, the emperor left, in their + winter-quarters of Thrace, a disaffected army under the command of his + enemies; and their artful eloquence persuaded the soldiers to break the + dominion of the eunuchs, to degrade the husband of Procopia, and to assert + the right of a military election. They marched towards the capital: yet + the clergy, the senate, and the people of Constantinople, adhered to the + cause of Michael; and the troops and treasures of Asia might have + protracted the mischiefs of civil war. But his humanity (by the ambitious + it will be termed his weakness) protested that not a drop of Christian + blood should be shed in his quarrel, and his messengers presented the + conquerors with the keys of the city and the palace. They were disarmed by + his innocence and submission; his life and his eyes were spared; and the + Imperial monk enjoyed the comforts of solitude and religion above + thirty-two years after he had been stripped of the purple and separated + from his wife. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1011" id="linknote-48.1011"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1011 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1011">return</a>)<br /> [ The Syrian + historian Aboulfaradj. Chron. Syr. p. 133, 139, speaks of him as a brave, + prudent, and pious prince, formidable to the Arabs. St. Martin, c. xii. p. + 402. Compare Schlosser, p. 350.—M.] + </p> + <p> + A rebel, in the time of Nicephorus, the famous and unfortunate Bardanes, + had once the curiosity to consult an Asiatic prophet, who, after + prognosticating his fall, announced the fortunes of his three principal + officers, Leo the Armenian, Michael the Phrygian, and Thomas the + Cappadocian, the successive reigns of the two former, the fruitless and + fatal enterprise of the third. This prediction was verified, or rather was + produced, by the event. Ten years afterwards, when the Thracian camp + rejected the husband of Procopia, the crown was presented to the same Leo, + the first in military rank and the secret author of the mutiny. As he + affected to hesitate, “With this sword,” said his companion Michael, “I + will open the gates of Constantinople to your Imperial sway; or instantly + plunge it into your bosom, if you obstinately resist the just desires of + your fellow-soldiers.” The compliance of the Armenian was rewarded with + the empire, and he reigned seven years and a half under the name of Leo + the Fifth. Educated in a camp, and ignorant both of laws and letters, he + introduced into his civil government the rigor and even cruelty of + military discipline; but if his severity was sometimes dangerous to the + innocent, it was always formidable to the guilty. His religious + inconstancy was taxed by the epithet of Chameleon, but the Catholics have + acknowledged by the voice of a saint and confessors, that the life of the + Iconoclast was useful to the republic. The zeal of his companion Michael + was repaid with riches, honors, and military command; and his subordinate + talents were beneficially employed in the public service. Yet the Phrygian + was dissatisfied at receiving as a favor a scanty portion of the Imperial + prize which he had bestowed on his equal; and his discontent, which + sometimes evaporated in hasty discourse, at length assumed a more + threatening and hostile aspect against a prince whom he represented as a + cruel tyrant. That tyrant, however, repeatedly detected, warned, and + dismissed the old companion of his arms, till fear and resentment + prevailed over gratitude; and Michael, after a scrutiny into his actions + and designs, was convicted of treason, and sentenced to be burnt alive in + the furnace of the private baths. The devout humanity of the empress + Theophano was fatal to her husband and family. A solemn day, the + twenty-fifth of December, had been fixed for the execution: she urged, + that the anniversary of the Savior’s birth would be profaned by this + inhuman spectacle, and Leo consented with reluctance to a decent respite. + But on the vigil of the feast his sleepless anxiety prompted him to visit + at the dead of night the chamber in which his enemy was confined: he + beheld him released from his chain, and stretched on his jailer’s bed in a + profound slumber. Leo was alarmed at these signs of security and + intelligence; but though he retired with silent steps, his entrance and + departure were noticed by a slave who lay concealed in a corner of the + prison. Under the pretence of requesting the spiritual aid of a confessor, + Michael informed the conspirators, that their lives depended on his + discretion, and that a few hours were left to assure their own safety, by + the deliverance of their friend and country. On the great festivals, a + chosen band of priests and chanters was admitted into the palace by a + private gate to sing matins in the chapel; and Leo, who regulated with the + same strictness the discipline of the choir and of the camp, was seldom + absent from these early devotions. In the ecclesiastical habit, but with + their swords under their robes, the conspirators mingled with the + procession, lurked in the angles of the chapel, and expected, as the + signal of murder, the intonation of the first psalm by the emperor + himself. The imperfect light, and the uniformity of dress, might have + favored his escape, whilst their assault was pointed against a harmless + priest; but they soon discovered their mistake, and encompassed on all + sides the royal victim. Without a weapon and without a friend, he grasped + a weighty cross, and stood at bay against the hunters of his life; but as + he asked for mercy, “This is the hour, not of mercy, but of vengeance,” + was the inexorable reply. The stroke of a well-aimed sword separated from + his body the right arm and the cross, and Leo the Armenian was slain at + the foot of the altar. A memorable reverse of fortune was displayed in + Michael the Second, who from a defect in his speech was surnamed the + Stammerer. He was snatched from the fiery furnace to the sovereignty of an + empire; and as in the tumult a smith could not readily be found, the + fetters remained on his legs several hours after he was seated on the + throne of the Caesars. The royal blood which had been the price of his + elevation, was unprofitably spent: in the purple he retained the ignoble + vices of his origin; and Michael lost his provinces with as supine + indifference as if they had been the inheritance of his fathers. His title + was disputed by Thomas, the last of the military triumvirate, who + transported into Europe fourscore thousand Barbarians from the banks of + the Tigris and the shores of the Caspian. He formed the siege of + Constantinople; but the capital was defended with spiritual and carnal + weapons; a Bulgarian king assaulted the camp of the Orientals, and Thomas + had the misfortune, or the weakness, to fall alive into the power of the + conqueror. The hands and feet of the rebel were amputated; he was placed + on an ass, and, amidst the insults of the people, was led through the + streets, which he sprinkled with his blood. The depravation of manners, as + savage as they were corrupt, is marked by the presence of the emperor + himself. Deaf to the lamentation of a fellow-soldier, he incessantly + pressed the discovery of more accomplices, till his curiosity was checked + by the question of an honest or guilty minister: “Would you give credit to + an enemy against the most faithful of your friends?” After the death of + his first wife, the emperor, at the request of the senate, drew from her + monastery Euphrosyne, the daughter of Constantine the Sixth. Her august + birth might justify a stipulation in the marriage-contract, that her + children should equally share the empire with their elder brother. But the + nuptials of Michael and Euphrosyne were barren; and she was content with + the title of mother of Theophilus, his son and successor. + </p> + <p> + The character of Theophilus is a rare example in which religious zeal has + allowed, and perhaps magnified, the virtues of a heretic and a persecutor. + His valor was often felt by the enemies, and his justice by the subjects, + of the monarchy; but the valor of Theophilus was rash and fruitless, and + his justice arbitrary and cruel. He displayed the banner of the cross + against the Saracens; but his five expeditions were concluded by a signal + overthrow: Amorium, the native city of his ancestors, was levelled with + the ground and from his military toils he derived only the surname of the + Unfortunate. The wisdom of a sovereign is comprised in the institution of + laws and the choice of magistrates, and while he seems without action, his + civil government revolves round his centre with the silence and order of + the planetary system. But the justice of Theophilus was fashioned on the + model of the Oriental despots, who, in personal and irregular acts of + authority, consult the reason or passion of the moment, without measuring + the sentence by the law, or the penalty by the offense. A poor woman threw + herself at the emperor’s feet to complain of a powerful neighbor, the + brother of the empress, who had raised his palace-wall to such an + inconvenient height, that her humble dwelling was excluded from light and + air! On the proof of the fact, instead of granting, like an ordinary + judge, sufficient or ample damages to the plaintiff, the sovereign + adjudged to her use and benefit the palace and the ground. Nor was + Theophilus content with this extravagant satisfaction: his zeal converted + a civil trespass into a criminal act; and the unfortunate patrician was + stripped and scourged in the public place of Constantinople. For some + venial offenses, some defect of equity or vigilance, the principal + ministers, a præfect, a quaestor, a captain of the guards, were banished + or mutilated, or scalded with boiling pitch, or burnt alive in the + hippodrome; and as these dreadful examples might be the effects of error + or caprice, they must have alienated from his service the best and wisest + of the citizens. But the pride of the monarch was flattered in the + exercise of power, or, as he thought, of virtue; and the people, safe in + their obscurity, applauded the danger and debasement of their superiors. + This extraordinary rigor was justified, in some measure, by its salutary + consequences; since, after a scrutiny of seventeen days, not a complaint + or abuse could be found in the court or city; and it might be alleged that + the Greeks could be ruled only with a rod of iron, and that the public + interest is the motive and law of the supreme judge. Yet in the crime, or + the suspicion, of treason, that judge is of all others the most credulous + and partial. Theophilus might inflict a tardy vengeance on the assassins + of Leo and the saviors of his father; but he enjoyed the fruits of their + crime; and his jealous tyranny sacrificed a brother and a prince to the + future safety of his life. A Persian of the race of the Sassanides died in + poverty and exile at Constantinople, leaving an only son, the issue of a + plebeian marriage. At the age of twelve years, the royal birth of + Theophobus was revealed, and his merit was not unworthy of his birth. He + was educated in the Byzantine palace, a Christian and a soldier; advanced + with rapid steps in the career of fortune and glory; received the hand of + the emperor’s sister; and was promoted to the command of thirty thousand + Persians, who, like his father, had fled from the Mahometan conquerors. + These troops, doubly infected with mercenary and fanatic vices, were + desirous of revolting against their benefactor, and erecting the standard + of their native king but the loyal Theophobus rejected their offers, + disconcerted their schemes, and escaped from their hands to the camp or + palace of his royal brother. A generous confidence might have secured a + faithful and able guardian for his wife and his infant son, to whom + Theophilus, in the flower of his age, was compelled to leave the + inheritance of the empire. But his jealousy was exasperated by envy and + disease; he feared the dangerous virtues which might either support or + oppress their infancy and weakness; and the dying emperor demanded the + head of the Persian prince. With savage delight he recognized the familiar + features of his brother: “Thou art no longer Theophobus,” he said; and, + sinking on his couch, he added, with a faltering voice, “Soon, too soon, I + shall be no more Theophilus!” + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap48.3"></a> +Chapter XLVIII: Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part +III.</h2> + + <p> + The Russians, who have borrowed from the Greeks the greatest part of their + civil and ecclesiastical policy, preserved, till the last century, a + singular institution in the marriage of the Czar. They collected, not the + virgins of every rank and of every province, a vain and romantic idea, but + the daughters of the principal nobles, who awaited in the palace the + choice of their sovereign. It is affirmed, that a similar method was + adopted in the nuptials of Theophilus. With a golden apple in his hand, he + slowly walked between two lines of contending beauties: his eye was + detained by the charms of Icasia, and in the awkwardness of a first + declaration, the prince could only observe, that, in this world, women had + been the cause of much evil; “And surely, sir,” she pertly replied, “they + have likewise been the occasion of much good.” This affectation of + unseasonable wit displeased the Imperial lover: he turned aside in + disgust; Icasia concealed her mortification in a convent; and the modest + silence of Theodora was rewarded with the golden apple. She deserved the + love, but did not escape the severity, of her lord. From the palace garden + he beheld a vessel deeply laden, and steering into the port: on the + discovery that the precious cargo of Syrian luxury was the property of his + wife, he condemned the ship to the flames, with a sharp reproach, that her + avarice had degraded the character of an empress into that of a merchant. + Yet his last choice intrusted her with the guardianship of the empire and + her son Michael, who was left an orphan in the fifth year of his age. The + restoration of images, and the final extirpation of the Iconoclasts, has + endeared her name to the devotion of the Greeks; but in the fervor of + religious zeal, Theodora entertained a grateful regard for the memory and + salvation of her husband. After thirteen years of a prudent and frugal + administration, she perceived the decline of her influence; but the second + Irene imitated only the virtues of her predecessor. Instead of conspiring + against the life or government of her son, she retired, without a + struggle, though not without a murmur, to the solitude of private life, + deploring the ingratitude, the vices, and the inevitable ruin, of the + worthless youth. Among the successors of Nero and Elagabalus, we have not + hitherto found the imitation of their vices, the character of a Roman + prince who considered pleasure as the object of life, and virtue as the + enemy of pleasure. Whatever might have been the maternal care of Theodora + in the education of Michael the Third, her unfortunate son was a king + before he was a man. If the ambitious mother labored to check the progress + of reason, she could not cool the ebullition of passion; and her selfish + policy was justly repaid by the contempt and ingratitude of the headstrong + youth. At the age of eighteen, he rejected her authority, without feeling + his own incapacity to govern the empire and himself. With Theodora, all + gravity and wisdom retired from the court; their place was supplied by the + alternate dominion of vice and folly; and it was impossible, without + forfeiting the public esteem, to acquire or preserve the favor of the + emperor. The millions of gold and silver which had been accumulated for + the service of the state, were lavished on the vilest of men, who + flattered his passions and shared his pleasures; and in a reign of + thirteen years, the richest of sovereigns was compelled to strip the + palace and the churches of their precious furniture. Like Nero, he + delighted in the amusements of the theatre, and sighed to be surpassed in + the accomplishments in which he should have blushed to excel. Yet the + studies of Nero in music and poetry betrayed some symptoms of a liberal + taste; the more ignoble arts of the son of Theophilus were confined to the + chariot-race of the hippodrome. The four factions which had agitated the + peace, still amused the idleness, of the capital: for himself, the emperor + assumed the blue livery; the three rival colors were distributed to his + favorites, and in the vile though eager contention he forgot the dignity + of his person and the safety of his dominions. He silenced the messenger + of an invasion, who presumed to divert his attention in the most critical + moment of the race; and by his command, the importunate beacons were + extinguished, that too frequently spread the alarm from Tarsus to + Constantinople. The most skilful charioteers obtained the first place in + his confidence and esteem; their merit was profusely rewarded; the emperor + feasted in their houses, and presented their children at the baptismal + font; and while he applauded his own popularity, he affected to blame the + cold and stately reserve of his predecessors. The unnatural lusts which + had degraded even the manhood of Nero, were banished from the world; yet + the strength of Michael was consumed by the indulgence of love and + intemperance. <a href="#linknote-48.1012" name="linknoteref-48.1012" + id="linknoteref-48.1012">1012</a> In his midnight revels, when his passions + were inflamed by wine, he was provoked to issue the most sanguinary + commands; and if any feelings of humanity were left, he was reduced, with + the return of sense, to approve the salutary disobedience of his servants. + But the most extraordinary feature in the character of Michael, is the + profane mockery of the religion of his country. The superstition of the + Greeks might indeed excite the smile of a philosopher; but his smile would + have been rational and temperate, and he must have condemned the ignorant + folly of a youth who insulted the objects of public veneration. A buffoon + of the court was invested in the robes of the patriarch: his twelve + metropolitans, among whom the emperor was ranked, assumed their + ecclesiastical garments: they used or abused the sacred vessels of the + altar; and in their bacchanalian feasts, the holy communion was + administered in a nauseous compound of vinegar and mustard. Nor were these + impious spectacles concealed from the eyes of the city. On the day of a + solemn festival, the emperor, with his bishops or buffoons, rode on asses + through the streets, encountered the true patriarch at the head of his + clergy; and by their licentious shouts and obscene gestures, disordered + the gravity of the Christian procession. The devotion of Michael appeared + only in some offence to reason or piety: he received his theatrical crowns + from the statue of the Virgin; and an Imperial tomb was violated for the + sake of burning the bones of Constantine the Iconoclast. By this + extravagant conduct, the son of Theophilus became as contemptible as he + was odious: every citizen was impatient for the deliverance of his + country; and even the favorites of the moment were apprehensive that a + caprice might snatch away what a caprice had bestowed. In the thirtieth + year of his age, and in the hour of intoxication and sleep, Michael the + Third was murdered in his chamber by the founder of a new dynasty, whom + the emperor had raised to an equality of rank and power. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1012" id="linknote-48.1012"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1012 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1012">return</a>)<br /> [ In a campaign + against the Saracens, he betrayed both imbecility and cowardice. Genesius, + c. iv. p. 94.—M.] + </p> + <p> + The genealogy of Basil the Macedonian (if it be not the spurious offspring + of pride and flattery) exhibits a genuine picture of the revolution of the + most illustrious families. The Arsacides, the rivals of Rome, possessed + the sceptre of the East near four hundred years: a younger branch of these + Parthian kings continued to reign in Armenia; and their royal descendants + survived the partition and servitude of that ancient monarchy. Two of + these, Artabanus and Chlienes, escaped or retired to the court of Leo the + First: his bounty seated them in a safe and hospitable exile, in the + province of Macedonia: Adrianople was their final settlement. During + several generations they maintained the dignity of their birth; and their + Roman patriotism rejected the tempting offers of the Persian and Arabian + powers, who recalled them to their native country. But their splendor was + insensibly clouded by time and poverty; and the father of Basil was + reduced to a small farm, which he cultivated with his own hands: yet he + scorned to disgrace the blood of the Arsacides by a plebeian alliance: his + wife, a widow of Adrianople, was pleased to count among her ancestors the + great Constantine; and their royal infant was connected by some dark + affinity of lineage or country with the Macedonian Alexander. No sooner + was he born, than the cradle of Basil, his family, and his city, were + swept away by an inundation of the Bulgarians: he was educated a slave in + a foreign land; and in this severe discipline, he acquired the hardiness + of body and flexibility of mind which promoted his future elevation. In + the age of youth or manhood he shared the deliverance of the Roman + captives, who generously broke their fetters, marched through Bulgaria to + the shores of the Euxine, defeated two armies of Barbarians, embarked in + the ships which had been stationed for their reception, and returned to + Constantinople, from whence they were distributed to their respective + homes. But the freedom of Basil was naked and destitute: his farm was + ruined by the calamities of war: after his father’s death, his manual + labor, or service, could no longer support a family of orphans and he + resolved to seek a more conspicuous theatre, in which every virtue and + every vice may lead to the paths of greatness. The first night of his + arrival at Constantinople, without friends or money, the weary pilgrim + slept on the steps of the church of St. Diomede: he was fed by the casual + hospitality of a monk; and was introduced to the service of a cousin and + namesake of the emperor Theophilus; who, though himself of a diminutive + person, was always followed by a train of tall and handsome domestics. + Basil attended his patron to the government of Peloponnesus; eclipsed, by + his personal merit the birth and dignity of Theophilus, and formed a + useful connection with a wealthy and charitable matron of Patras. Her + spiritual or carnal love embraced the young adventurer, whom she adopted + as her son. Danielis presented him with thirty slaves; and the produce of + her bounty was expended in the support of his brothers, and the purchase + of some large estates in Macedonia. His gratitude or ambition still + attached him to the service of Theophilus; and a lucky accident + recommended him to the notice of the court. A famous wrestler, in the + train of the Bulgarian ambassadors, had defied, at the royal banquet, the + boldest and most robust of the Greeks. The strength of Basil was praised; + he accepted the challenge; and the Barbarian champion was overthrown at + the first onset. A beautiful but vicious horse was condemned to be + hamstrung: it was subdued by the dexterity and courage of the servant of + Theophilus; and his conqueror was promoted to an honorable rank in the + Imperial stables. But it was impossible to obtain the confidence of + Michael, without complying with his vices; and his new favorite, the great + chamberlain of the palace, was raised and supported by a disgraceful + marriage with a royal concubine, and the dishonor of his sister, who + succeeded to her place. The public administration had been abandoned to + the Caesar Bardas, the brother and enemy of Theodora; but the arts of + female influence persuaded Michael to hate and to fear his uncle: he was + drawn from Constantinople, under the pretence of a Cretan expedition, and + stabbed in the tent of audience, by the sword of the chamberlain, and in + the presence of the emperor. About a month after this execution, Basil was + invested with the title of Augustus and the government of the empire. He + supported this unequal association till his influence was fortified by + popular esteem. His life was endangered by the caprice of the emperor; and + his dignity was profaned by a second colleague, who had rowed in the + galleys. Yet the murder of his benefactor must be condemned as an act of + ingratitude and treason; and the churches which he dedicated to the name + of St. Michael were a poor and puerile expiation of his guilt. The + different ages of Basil the First may be compared with those of Augustus. + The situation of the Greek did not allow him in his earliest youth to lead + an army against his country; or to proscribe the nobles of her sons; but + his aspiring genius stooped to the arts of a slave; he dissembled his + ambition and even his virtues, and grasped, with the bloody hand of an + assassin, the empire which he ruled with the wisdom and tenderness of a + parent. + </p> + <p> + A private citizen may feel his interest repugnant to his duty; but it must + be from a deficiency of sense or courage, that an absolute monarch can + separate his happiness from his glory, or his glory from the public + welfare. The life or panegyric of Basil has indeed been composed and + published under the long reign of his descendants; but even their + stability on the throne may be justly ascribed to the superior merit of + their ancestor. In his character, his grandson Constantine has attempted + to delineate a perfect image of royalty: but that feeble prince, unless he + had copied a real model, could not easily have soared so high above the + level of his own conduct or conceptions. But the most solid praise of + Basil is drawn from the comparison of a ruined and a flourishing monarchy, + that which he wrested from the dissolute Michael, and that which he + bequeathed to the Mecedonian dynasty. The evils which had been sanctified + by time and example, were corrected by his master-hand; and he revived, if + not the national spirit, at least the order and majesty of the Roman + empire. His application was indefatigable, his temper cool, his + understanding vigorous and decisive; and in his practice he observed that + rare and salutary moderation, which pursues each virtue, at an equal + distance between the opposite vices. His military service had been + confined to the palace: nor was the emperor endowed with the spirit or the + talents of a warrior. Yet under his reign the Roman arms were again + formidable to the Barbarians. As soon as he had formed a new army by + discipline and exercise, he appeared in person on the banks of the + Euphrates, curbed the pride of the Saracens, and suppressed the dangerous + though just revolt of the Manichaeans. His indignation against a rebel who + had long eluded his pursuit, provoked him to wish and to pray, that, by + the grace of God, he might drive three arrows into the head of Chrysochir. + That odious head, which had been obtained by treason rather than by valor, + was suspended from a tree, and thrice exposed to the dexterity of the + Imperial archer; a base revenge against the dead, more worthy of the times + than of the character of Basil. But his principal merit was in the civil + administration of the finances and of the laws. To replenish an exhausted + treasury, it was proposed to resume the lavish and ill-placed gifts of his + predecessor: his prudence abated one moiety of the restitution; and a sum + of twelve hundred thousand pounds was instantly procured to answer the + most pressing demands, and to allow some space for the mature operations + of economy. Among the various schemes for the improvement of the revenue, + a new mode was suggested of capitation, or tribute, which would have too + much depended on the arbitrary discretion of the assessors. A sufficient + list of honest and able agents was instantly produced by the minister; but + on the more careful scrutiny of Basil himself, only two could be found, + who might be safely intrusted with such dangerous powers; but they + justified his esteem by declining his confidence. But the serious and + successful diligence of the emperor established by degrees the equitable + balance of property and payment, of receipt and expenditure; a peculiar + fund was appropriated to each service; and a public method secured the + interest of the prince and the property of the people. After reforming the + luxury, he assigned two patrimonial estates to supply the decent plenty, + of the Imperial table: the contributions of the subject were reserved for + his defence; and the residue was employed in the embellishment of the + capital and provinces. A taste for building, however costly, may deserve + some praise and much excuse: from thence industry is fed, art is + encouraged, and some object is attained of public emolument or pleasure: + the use of a road, an aqueduct, or a hospital, is obvious and solid; and + the hundred churches that arose by the command of Basil were consecrated + to the devotion of the age. In the character of a judge he was assiduous + and impartial; desirous to save, but not afraid to strike: the oppressors + of the people were severely chastised; but his personal foes, whom it + might be unsafe to pardon, were condemned, after the loss of their eyes, + to a life of solitude and repentance. The change of language and manners + demanded a revision of the obsolete jurisprudence of Justinian: the + voluminous body of his Institutes, Pandects, Code, and Novels, was + digested under forty titles, in the Greek idiom; and the Basilics, which + were improved and completed by his son and grandson, must be referred to + the original genius of the founder of their race. This glorious reign was + terminated by an accident in the chase. A furious stag entangled his horns + in the belt of Basil, and raised him from his horse: he was rescued by an + attendant, who cut the belt and slew the animal; but the fall, or the + fever, exhausted the strength of the aged monarch, and he expired in the + palace amidst the tears of his family and people. If he struck off the + head of the faithful servant for presuming to draw his sword against his + sovereign, the pride of despotism, which had lain dormant in his life, + revived in the last moments of despair, when he no longer wanted or valued + the opinion of mankind. + </p> + <p> + Of the four sons of the emperor, Constantine died before his father, whose + grief and credulity were amused by a flattering impostor and a vain + apparition. Stephen, the youngest, was content with the honors of a + patriarch and a saint; both Leo and Alexander were alike invested with the + purple, but the powers of government were solely exercised by the elder + brother. The name of Leo the Sixth has been dignified with the title of + philosopher; and the union of the prince and the sage, of the active and + speculative virtues, would indeed constitute the perfection of human + nature. But the claims of Leo are far short of this ideal excellence. Did + he reduce his passions and appetites under the dominion of reason? His + life was spent in the pomp of the palace, in the society of his wives and + concubines; and even the clemency which he showed, and the peace which he + strove to preserve, must be imputed to the softness and indolence of his + character. Did he subdue his prejudices, and those of his subjects? His + mind was tinged with the most puerile superstition; the influence of the + clergy, and the errors of the people, were consecrated by his laws; and + the oracles of Leo, which reveal, in prophetic style, the fates of the + empire, are founded on the arts of astrology and divination. If we still + inquire the reason of his sage appellation, it can only be replied, that + the son of Basil was less ignorant than the greater part of his + contemporaries in church and state; that his education had been directed + by the learned Photius; and that several books of profane and + ecclesiastical science were composed by the pen, or in the name, of the + Imperial philosopher. But the reputation of his philosophy and religion + was overthrown by a domestic vice, the repetition of his nuptials. The + primitive ideas of the merit and holiness of celibacy were preached by the + monks and entertained by the Greeks. Marriage was allowed as a necessary + means for the propagation of mankind; after the death of either party, the + survivor might satisfy, by a second union, the weakness or the strength of + the flesh: but a third marriage was censured as a state of legal + fornication; and a fourth was a sin or scandal as yet unknown to the + Christians of the East. In the beginning of his reign, Leo himself had + abolished the state of concubines, and condemned, without annulling, third + marriages: but his patriotism and love soon compelled him to violate his + own laws, and to incur the penance, which in a similar case he had imposed + on his subjects. In his three first alliances, his nuptial bed was + unfruitful; the emperor required a female companion, and the empire a + legitimate heir. The beautiful Zoe was introduced into the palace as a + concubine; and after a trial of her fecundity, and the birth of + Constantine, her lover declared his intention of legitimating the mother + and the child, by the celebration of his fourth nuptials. But the + patriarch Nicholas refused his blessing: the Imperial baptism of the young + prince was obtained by a promise of separation; and the contumacious + husband of Zoe was excluded from the communion of the faithful. Neither + the fear of exile, nor the desertion of his brethren, nor the authority of + the Latin church, nor the danger of failure or doubt in the succession to + the empire, could bend the spirit of the inflexible monk. After the death + of Leo, he was recalled from exile to the civil and ecclesiastical + administration; and the edict of union which was promulgated in the name + of Constantine, condemned the future scandal of fourth marriages, and left + a tacit imputation on his own birth. In the Greek language, purple and + porphyry are the same word: and as the colors of nature are invariable, we + may learn, that a dark deep red was the Tyrian dye which stained the + purple of the ancients. An apartment of the Byzantine palace was lined + with porphyry: it was reserved for the use of the pregnant empresses; and + the royal birth of their children was expressed by the appellation of + porphyrogenite, or born in the purple. Several of the Roman princes had + been blessed with an heir; but this peculiar surname was first applied to + Constantine the Seventh. His life and titular reign were of equal + duration; but of fifty-four years, six had elapsed before his father’s + death; and the son of Leo was ever the voluntary or reluctant subject of + those who oppressed his weakness or abused his confidence. His uncle + Alexander, who had long been invested with the title of Augustus, was the + first colleague and governor of the young prince: but in a rapid career of + vice and folly, the brother of Leo already emulated the reputation of + Michael; and when he was extinguished by a timely death, he entertained a + project of castrating his nephew, and leaving the empire to a worthless + favorite. The succeeding years of the minority of Constantine were + occupied by his mother Zoe, and a succession or council of seven regents, + who pursued their interest, gratified their passions, abandoned the + republic, supplanted each other, and finally vanished in the presence of a + soldier. From an obscure origin, Romanus Lecapenus had raised himself to + the command of the naval armies; and in the anarchy of the times, had + deserved, or at least had obtained, the national esteem. With a victorious + and affectionate fleet, he sailed from the mouth of the Danube into the + harbor of Constantinople, and was hailed as the deliverer of the people, + and the guardian of the prince. His supreme office was at first defined by + the new appellation of father of the emperor; but Romanus soon disdained + the subordinate powers of a minister, and assumed with the titles of + Caesar and Augustus, the full independence of royalty, which he held near + five-and-twenty years. His three sons, Christopher, Stephen, and + Constantine were successively adorned with the same honors, and the lawful + emperor was degraded from the first to the fifth rank in this college of + princes. Yet, in the preservation of his life and crown, he might still + applaud his own fortune and the clemency of the usurper. The examples of + ancient and modern history would have excused the ambition of Romanus: the + powers and the laws of the empire were in his hand; the spurious birth of + Constantine would have justified his exclusion; and the grave or the + monastery was open to receive the son of the concubine. But Lecapenus does + not appear to have possessed either the virtues or the vices of a tyrant. + The spirit and activity of his private life dissolved away in the sunshine + of the throne; and in his licentious pleasures, he forgot the safety both + of the republic and of his family. Of a mild and religious character, he + respected the sanctity of oaths, the innocence of the youth, the memory of + his parents, and the attachment of the people. The studious temper and + retirement of Constantine disarmed the jealousy of power: his books and + music, his pen and his pencil, were a constant source of amusement; and if + he could improve a scanty allowance by the sale of his pictures, if their + price was not enhanced by the name of the artist, he was endowed with a + personal talent, which few princes could employ in the hour of adversity. + </p> + <p> + The fall of Romanus was occasioned by his own vices and those of his + children. After the decease of Christopher, his eldest son, the two + surviving brothers quarrelled with each other, and conspired against their + father. At the hour of noon, when all strangers were regularly excluded + from the palace, they entered his apartment with an armed force, and + conveyed him, in the habit of a monk, to a small island in the Propontis, + which was peopled by a religious community. The rumor of this domestic + revolution excited a tumult in the city; but Porphyrogenitus alone, the + true and lawful emperor, was the object of the public care; and the sons + of Lecapenus were taught, by tardy experience, that they had achieved a + guilty and perilous enterprise for the benefit of their rival. Their + sister Helena, the wife of Constantine, revealed, or supposed, their + treacherous design of assassinating her husband at the royal banquet. His + loyal adherents were alarmed, and the two usurpers were prevented, seized, + degraded from the purple, and embarked for the same island and monastery + where their father had been so lately confined. Old Romanus met them on + the beach with a sarcastic smile, and, after a just reproach of their + folly and ingratitude, presented his Imperial colleagues with an equal + share of his water and vegetable diet. In the fortieth year of his reign, + Constantine the Seventh obtained the possession of the Eastern world, + which he ruled or seemed to rule, near fifteen years. But he was devoid of + that energy of character which could emerge into a life of action and + glory; and the studies, which had amused and dignified his leisure, were + incompatible with the serious duties of a sovereign. The emperor neglected + the practice to instruct his son Romanus in the theory of government; + while he indulged the habits of intemperance and sloth, he dropped the + reins of the administration into the hands of Helena his wife; and, in the + shifting scene of her favor and caprice, each minister was regretted in + the promotion of a more worthless successor. Yet the birth and misfortunes + of Constantine had endeared him to the Greeks; they excused his failings; + they respected his learning, his innocence, and charity, his love of + justice; and the ceremony of his funeral was mourned with the unfeigned + tears of his subjects. The body, according to ancient custom, lay in state + in the vestibule of the palace; and the civil and military officers, the + patricians, the senate, and the clergy approached in due order to adore + and kiss the inanimate corpse of their sovereign. Before the procession + moved towards the Imperial sepulchre, a herald proclaimed this awful + admonition: “Arise, O king of the world, and obey the summons of the King + of kings!” + </p> + <p> + The death of Constantine was imputed to poison; and his son Romanus, who + derived that name from his maternal grandfather, ascended the throne of + Constantinople. A prince who, at the age of twenty, could be suspected of + anticipating his inheritance, must have been already lost in the public + esteem; yet Romanus was rather weak than wicked; and the largest share of + the guilt was transferred to his wife, Theophano, a woman of base origin + masculine spirit, and flagitious manners. The sense of personal glory and + public happiness, the true pleasures of royalty, were unknown to the son + of Constantine; and, while the two brothers, Nicephorus and Leo, triumphed + over the Saracens, the hours which the emperor owed to his people were + consumed in strenuous idleness. In the morning he visited the circus; at + noon he feasted the senators; the greater part of the afternoon he spent + in the sphoeristerium, or tennis-court, the only theatre of his victories; + from thence he passed over to the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus, hunted + and killed four wild boars of the largest size, and returned to the + palace, proudly content with the labors of the day. In strength and beauty + he was conspicuous above his equals: tall and straight as a young cypress, + his complexion was fair and florid, his eyes sparkling, his shoulders + broad, his nose long and aquiline. Yet even these perfections were + insufficient to fix the love of Theophano; and, after a reign of four <a + href="#linknote-48.1013" name="linknoteref-48.1013" id="linknoteref-48.1013">1013</a> + years, she mingled for her husband the same deadly draught which she had + composed for his father. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1013" id="linknote-48.1013"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1013 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1013">return</a>)<br /> [ Three years and + five months. Leo Diaconus in Niebuhr. Byz p. 50—M.] + </p> + <p> + By his marriage with this impious woman, Romanus the younger left two + sons, Basil the Second and Constantine the Ninth, and two daughters, + Theophano and Anne. The eldest sister was given to Otho the Second, + emperor of the West; the younger became the wife of Wolodomir, great duke + and apostle of russia, and by the marriage of her granddaughter with Henry + the First, king of France, the blood of the Macedonians, and perhaps of + the Arsacides, still flows in the veins of the Bourbon line. After the + death of her husband, the empress aspired to reign in the name of her + sons, the elder of whom was five, and the younger only two, years of age; + but she soon felt the instability of a throne which was supported by a + female who could not be esteemed, and two infants who could not be feared. + Theophano looked around for a protector, and threw herself into the arms + of the bravest soldier; her heart was capacious; but the deformity of the + new favorite rendered it more than probable that interest was the motive + and excuse of her love. Nicephorus Phocus united, in the popular opinion, + the double merit of a hero and a saint. In the former character, his + qualifications were genuine and splendid: the descendant of a race + illustrious by their military exploits, he had displayed in every station + and in every province the courage of a soldier and the conduct of a chief; + and Nicephorus was crowned with recent laurels, from the important + conquest of the Isle of Crete. His religion was of a more ambiguous cast; + and his hair-cloth, his fasts, his pious idiom, and his wish to retire + from the business of the world, were a convenient mask for his dark and + dangerous ambition. Yet he imposed on a holy patriarch, by whose + influence, and by a decree of the senate, he was intrusted, during the + minority of the young princes, with the absolute and independent command + of the Oriental armies. As soon as he had secured the leaders and the + troops, he boldly marched to Constantinople, trampled on his enemies, + avowed his correspondence with the empress, and without degrading her + sons, assumed, with the title of Augustus, the preeminence of rank and the + plenitude of power. But his marriage with Theophano was refused by the + same patriarch who had placed the crown on his head: by his second + nuptials he incurred a year of canonical penance; <a + href="#linknote-48.1014" name="linknoteref-48.1014" id="linknoteref-48.1014">1014</a> + a bar of spiritual affinity was opposed to their celebration; and some + evasion and perjury were required to silence the scruples of the clergy + and people. The popularity of the emperor was lost in the purple: in a + reign of six years he provoked the hatred of strangers and subjects: and + the hypocrisy and avarice of the first Nicephorus were revived in his + successor. Hypocrisy I shall never justify or palliate; but I will dare to + observe, that the odious vice of avarice is of all others most hastily + arraigned, and most unmercifully condemned. In a private citizen, our + judgment seldom expects an accurate scrutiny into his fortune and expense; + and in a steward of the public treasure, frugality is always a virtue, and + the increase of taxes too often an indispensable duty. In the use of his + patrimony, the generous temper of Nicephorus had been proved; and the + revenue was strictly applied to the service of the state: each spring the + emperor marched in person against the Saracens; and every Roman might + compute the employment of his taxes in triumphs, conquests, and the + security of the Eastern barrier. <a href="#linknote-48.1015" + name="linknoteref-48.1015" id="linknoteref-48.1015">1015</a> + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1014" id="linknote-48.1014"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1014 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1014">return</a>)<br /> [ The canonical + objection to the marriage was his relation of Godfather sons. Leo Diac. p. + 50.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1015" id="linknote-48.1015"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1015 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1015">return</a>)<br /> [ He retook Antioch, + and brought home as a trophy the sword of “the most unholy and impious + Mahomet.” Leo Diac. p. 76.—M.] + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap48.4"></a> +Chapter XLVIII: Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part +IV.</h2> + + <p> + Among the warriors who promoted his elevation, and served under his + standard, a noble and valiant Armenian had deserved and obtained the most + eminent rewards. The stature of John Zimisces was below the ordinary + standard: but this diminutive body was endowed with strength, beauty, and + the soul of a hero. By the jealousy of the emperor’s brother, he was + degraded from the office of general of the East, to that of director of + the posts, and his murmurs were chastised with disgrace and exile. But + Zimisces was ranked among the numerous lovers of the empress: on her + intercession, he was permitted to reside at Chalcedon, in the neighborhood + of the capital: her bounty was repaid in his clandestine and amorous + visits to the palace; and Theophano consented, with alacrity, to the death + of an ugly and penurious husband. Some bold and trusty conspirators were + concealed in her most private chambers: in the darkness of a winter night, + Zimisces, with his principal companions, embarked in a small boat, + traversed the Bosphorus, landed at the palace stairs, and silently + ascended a ladder of ropes, which was cast down by the female attendants. + Neither his own suspicions, nor the warnings of his friends, nor the tardy + aid of his brother Leo, nor the fortress which he had erected in the + palace, could protect Nicephorus from a domestic foe, at whose voice every + door was open to the assassins. As he slept on a bear-skin on the ground, + he was roused by their noisy intrusion, and thirty daggers glittered + before his eyes. It is doubtful whether Zimisces imbrued his hands in the + blood of his sovereign; but he enjoyed the inhuman spectacle of revenge. + <a href="#linknote-48.1016" name="linknoteref-48.1016" + id="linknoteref-48.1016">1016</a> The murder was protracted by insult and + cruelty: and as soon as the head of Nicephorus was shown from the window, + the tumult was hushed, and the Armenian was emperor of the East. On the + day of his coronation, he was stopped on the threshold of St. Sophia, by + the intrepid patriarch; who charged his conscience with the deed of + treason and blood; and required, as a sign of repentance, that he should + separate himself from his more criminal associate. This sally of apostolic + zeal was not offensive to the prince, since he could neither love nor + trust a woman who had repeatedly violated the most sacred obligations; and + Theophano, instead of sharing his imperial fortune, was dismissed with + ignominy from his bed and palace. In their last interview, she displayed a + frantic and impotent rage; accused the ingratitude of her lover; + assaulted, with words and blows, her son Basil, as he stood silent and + submissive in the presence of a superior colleague; and avowed her own + prostitution in proclaiming the illegitimacy of his birth. The public + indignation was appeased by her exile, and the punishment of the meaner + accomplices: the death of an unpopular prince was forgiven; and the guilt + of Zimisces was forgotten in the splendor of his virtues. Perhaps his + profusion was less useful to the state than the avarice of Nicephorus; but + his gentle and generous behavior delighted all who approached his person; + and it was only in the paths of victory that he trod in the footsteps of + his predecessor. The greatest part of his reign was employed in the camp + and the field: his personal valor and activity were signalized on the + Danube and the Tigris, the ancient boundaries of the Roman world; and by + his double triumph over the Russians and the Saracens, he deserved the + titles of savior of the empire, and conqueror of the East. In his last + return from Syria, he observed that the most fruitful lands of his new + provinces were possessed by the eunuchs. “And is it for them,” he + exclaimed, with honest indignation, “that we have fought and conquered? Is + it for them that we shed our blood, and exhaust the treasures of our + people?” The complaint was reechoed to the palace, and the death of + Zimisces is strongly marked with the suspicion of poison. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1016" id="linknote-48.1016"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1016 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1016">return</a>)<br /> [ According to Leo + Diaconus, Zimisces, after ordering the wounded emperor to be dragged to + his feet, and heaping him with insult, to which the miserable man only + replied by invoking the name of the “mother of God,” with his own hand + plucked his beard, while his accomplices beat out his teeth with the hilts + of their swords, and then trampling him to the ground, drove his sword + into his skull. Leo Diac, in Niebuhr Byz. Hist. l vii. c. 8. p. 88.—M.] + </p> + <p> + Under this usurpation, or regency, of twelve years, the two lawful + emperors, Basil and Constantine, had silently grown to the age of manhood. + Their tender years had been incapable of dominion: the respectful modesty + of their attendance and salutation was due to the age and merit of their + guardians; the childless ambition of those guardians had no temptation to + violate their right of succession: their patrimony was ably and faithfully + administered; and the premature death of Zimisces was a loss, rather than + a benefit, to the sons of Romanus. Their want of experience detained them + twelve years longer the obscure and voluntary pupils of a minister, who + extended his reign by persuading them to indulge the pleasures of youth, + and to disdain the labors of government. In this silken web, the weakness + of Constantine was forever entangled; but his elder brother felt the + impulse of genius and the desire of action; he frowned, and the minister + was no more. Basil was the acknowledged sovereign of Constantinople and + the provinces of Europe; but Asia was oppressed by two veteran generals, + Phocas and Sclerus, who, alternately friends and enemies, subjects and + rebels, maintained their independence, and labored to emulate the example + of successful usurpation. Against these domestic enemies the son of + Romanus first drew his sword, and they trembled in the presence of a + lawful and high-spirited prince. The first, in the front of battle, was + thrown from his horse, by the stroke of poison, or an arrow; the second, + who had been twice loaded with chains, <a href="#linknote-48.1017" + name="linknoteref-48.1017" id="linknoteref-48.1017">1017</a> and twice + invested with the purple, was desirous of ending in peace the small + remainder of his days. As the aged suppliant approached the throne, with + dim eyes and faltering steps, leaning on his two attendants, the emperor + exclaimed, in the insolence of youth and power, “And is this the man who + has so long been the object of our terror?” After he had confirmed his own + authority, and the peace of the empire, the trophies of Nicephorus and + Zimisces would not suffer their royal pupil to sleep in the palace. His + long and frequent expeditions against the Saracens were rather glorious + than useful to the empire; but the final destruction of the kingdom of + Bulgaria appears, since the time of Belisarius, the most important triumph + of the Roman arms. Yet, instead of applauding their victorious prince, his + subjects detested the rapacious and rigid avarice of Basil; and in the + imperfect narrative of his exploits, we can only discern the courage, + patience, and ferociousness of a soldier. A vicious education, which could + not subdue his spirit, had clouded his mind; he was ignorant of every + science; and the remembrance of his learned and feeble grandsire might + encourage his real or affected contempt of laws and lawyers, of artists + and arts. Of such a character, in such an age, superstition took a firm + and lasting possession; after the first license of his youth, Basil the + Second devoted his life, in the palace and the camp, to the penance of a + hermit, wore the monastic habit under his robes and armor, observed a vow + of continence, and imposed on his appetites a perpetual abstinence from + wine and flesh. In the sixty-eighth year of his age, his martial spirit + urged him to embark in person for a holy war against the Saracens of + Sicily; he was prevented by death, and Basil, surnamed the Slayer of the + Bulgarians, was dismissed from the world with the blessings of the clergy + and the curse of the people. After his decease, his brother Constantine + enjoyed, about three years, the power, or rather the pleasures, of + royalty; and his only care was the settlement of the succession. He had + enjoyed sixty-six years the title of Augustus; and the reign of the two + brothers is the longest, and most obscure, of the Byzantine history. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1017" id="linknote-48.1017"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1017 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1017">return</a>)<br /> [ Once by the caliph, + once by his rival Phocas. Compare De Beau l. p. 176.—M.] + </p> + <p> + A lineal succession of five emperors, in a period of one hundred and sixty + years, had attached the loyalty of the Greeks to the Macedonian dynasty, + which had been thrice respected by the usurpers of their power. After the + death of Constantine the Ninth, the last male of the royal race, a new and + broken scene presents itself, and the accumulated years of twelve emperors + do not equal the space of his single reign. His elder brother had + preferred his private chastity to the public interest, and Constantine + himself had only three daughters; Eudocia, who took the veil, and Zoe and + Theodora, who were preserved till a mature age in a state of ignorance and + virginity. When their marriage was discussed in the council of their dying + father, the cold or pious Theodora refused to give an heir to the empire, + but her sister Zoe presented herself a willing victim at the altar. + Romanus Argyrus, a patrician of a graceful person and fair reputation, was + chosen for her husband, and, on his declining that honor, was informed, + that blindness or death was the second alternative. The motive of his + reluctance was conjugal affection but his faithful wife sacrificed her own + happiness to his safety and greatness; and her entrance into a monastery + removed the only bar to the Imperial nuptials. After the decease of + Constantine, the sceptre devolved to Romanus the Third; but his labors at + home and abroad were equally feeble and fruitless; and the mature age, the + forty-eight years of Zoe, were less favorable to the hopes of pregnancy + than to the indulgence of pleasure. Her favorite chamberlain was a + handsome Paphlagonian of the name of Michael, whose first trade had been + that of a money-changer; and Romanus, either from gratitude or equity, + connived at their criminal intercourse, or accepted a slight assurance of + their innocence. But Zoe soon justified the Roman maxim, that every + adulteress is capable of poisoning her husband; and the death of Romanus + was instantly followed by the scandalous marriage and elevation of Michael + the Fourth. The expectations of Zoe were, however, disappointed: instead + of a vigorous and grateful lover, she had placed in her bed a miserable + wretch, whose health and reason were impaired by epileptic fits, and whose + conscience was tormented by despair and remorse. The most skilful + physicians of the mind and body were summoned to his aid; and his hopes + were amused by frequent pilgrimages to the baths, and to the tombs of the + most popular saints; the monks applauded his penance, and, except + restitution, (but to whom should he have restored?) Michael sought every + method of expiating his guilt. While he groaned and prayed in sackcloth + and ashes, his brother, the eunuch John, smiled at his remorse, and + enjoyed the harvest of a crime of which himself was the secret and most + guilty author. His administration was only the art of satiating his + avarice, and Zoe became a captive in the palace of her fathers, and in the + hands of her slaves. When he perceived the irretrievable decline of his + brother’s health, he introduced his nephew, another Michael, who derived + his surname of Calaphates from his father’s occupation in the careening of + vessels: at the command of the eunuch, Zoe adopted for her son the son of + a mechanic; and this fictitious heir was invested with the title and + purple of the Caesars, in the presence of the senate and clergy. So feeble + was the character of Zoe, that she was oppressed by the liberty and power + which she recovered by the death of the Paphlagonian; and at the end of + four days, she placed the crown on the head of Michael the Fifth, who had + protested, with tears and oaths, that he should ever reign the first and + most obedient of her subjects. + </p> + <p> + The only act of his short reign was his base ingratitude to his + benefactors, the eunuch and the empress. The disgrace of the former was + pleasing to the public: but the murmurs, and at length the clamors, of + Constantinople deplored the exile of Zoe, the daughter of so many + emperors; her vices were forgotten, and Michael was taught, that there is + a period in which the patience of the tamest slaves rises into fury and + revenge. The citizens of every degree assembled in a formidable tumult + which lasted three days; they besieged the palace, forced the gates, + recalled their mothers, Zoe from her prison, Theodora from her monastery, + and condemned the son of Calaphates to the loss of his eyes or of his + life. For the first time the Greeks beheld with surprise the two royal + sisters seated on the same throne, presiding in the senate, and giving + audience to the ambassadors of the nations. But the singular union + subsisted no more than two months; the two sovereigns, their tempers, + interests, and adherents, were secretly hostile to each other; and as + Theodora was still averse to marriage, the indefatigable Zoe, at the age + of sixty, consented, for the public good, to sustain the embraces of a + third husband, and the censures of the Greek church. His name and number + were Constantine the Tenth, and the epithet of Monomachus, the single + combatant, must have been expressive of his valor and victory in some + public or private quarrel. But his health was broken by the tortures of + the gout, and his dissolute reign was spent in the alternative of sickness + and pleasure. A fair and noble widow had accompanied Constantine in his + exile to the Isle of Lesbos, and Sclerena gloried in the appellation of + his mistress. After his marriage and elevation, she was invested with the + title and pomp of Augusta, and occupied a contiguous apartment in the + palace. The lawful consort (such was the delicacy or corruption of Zoe) + consented to this strange and scandalous partition; and the emperor + appeared in public between his wife and his concubine. He survived them + both; but the last measures of Constantine to change the order of + succession were prevented by the more vigilant friends of Theodora; and + after his decease, she resumed, with the general consent, the possession + of her inheritance. In her name, and by the influence of four eunuchs, the + Eastern world was peaceably governed about nineteen months; and as they + wished to prolong their dominion, they persuaded the aged princess to + nominate for her successor Michael the Sixth. The surname of Stratioticus + declares his military profession; but the crazy and decrepit veteran could + only see with the eyes, and execute with the hands, of his ministers. + Whilst he ascended the throne, Theodora sunk into the grave; the last of + the Macedonian or Basilian dynasty. I have hastily reviewed, and gladly + dismiss, this shameful and destructive period of twenty-eight years, in + which the Greeks, degraded below the common level of servitude, were + transferred like a herd of cattle by the choice or caprice of two impotent + females. + </p> + <p> + From this night of slavery, a ray of freedom, or at least of spirit, + begins to emerge: the Greeks either preserved or revived the use of + surnames, which perpetuate the fame of hereditary virtue: and we now + discern the rise, succession, and alliances of the last dynasties of + Constantinople and Trebizond. The Comneni, who upheld for a while the fate + of the sinking empire, assumed the honor of a Roman origin: but the family + had been long since transported from Italy to Asia. Their patrimonial + estate was situate in the district of Castamona, in the neighborhood of + the Euxine; and one of their chiefs, who had already entered the paths of + ambition, revisited with affection, perhaps with regret, the modest though + honorable dwelling of his fathers. The first of their line was the + illustrious Manuel, who in the reign of the second Basil, contributed by + war and treaty to appease the troubles of the East: he left, in a tender + age, two sons, Isaac and John, whom, with the consciousness of desert, he + bequeathed to the gratitude and favor of his sovereign. The noble youths + were carefully trained in the learning of the monastery, the arts of the + palace, and the exercises of the camp: and from the domestic service of + the guards, they were rapidly promoted to the command of provinces and + armies. Their fraternal union doubled the force and reputation of the + Comneni, and their ancient nobility was illustrated by the marriage of the + two brothers, with a captive princess of Bulgaria, and the daughter of a + patrician, who had obtained the name of Charon from the number of enemies + whom he had sent to the infernal shades. The soldiers had served with + reluctant loyalty a series of effeminate masters; the elevation of Michael + the Sixth was a personal insult to the more deserving generals; and their + discontent was inflamed by the parsimony of the emperor and the insolence + of the eunuchs. They secretly assembled in the sanctuary of St. Sophia, + and the votes of the military synod would have been unanimous in favor of + the old and valiant Catacalon, if the patriotism or modesty of the veteran + had not suggested the importance of birth as well as merit in the choice + of a sovereign. Isaac Comnenus was approved by general consent, and the + associates separated without delay to meet in the plains of Phrygia at the + head of their respective squadrons and detachments. The cause of Michael + was defended in a single battle by the mercenaries of the Imperial guard, + who were aliens to the public interest, and animated only by a principle + of honor and gratitude. After their defeat, the fears of the emperor + solicited a treaty, which was almost accepted by the moderation of the + Comnenian. But the former was betrayed by his ambassadors, and the latter + was prevented by his friends. The solitary Michael submitted to the voice + of the people; the patriarch annulled their oath of allegiance; and as he + shaved the head of the royal monk, congratulated his beneficial exchange + of temporal royalty for the kingdom of heaven; an exchange, however, which + the priest, on his own account, would probably have declined. By the hands + of the same patriarch, Isaac Comnenus was solemnly crowned; the sword + which he inscribed on his coins might be an offensive symbol, if it + implied his title by conquest; but this sword would have been drawn + against the foreign and domestic enemies of the state. The decline of his + health and vigor suspended the operation of active virtue; and the + prospect of approaching death determined him to interpose some moments + between life and eternity. But instead of leaving the empire as the + marriage portion of his daughter, his reason and inclination concurred in + the preference of his brother John, a soldier, a patriot, and the father + of five sons, the future pillars of an hereditary succession. His first + modest reluctance might be the natural dictates of discretion and + tenderness, but his obstinate and successful perseverance, however it may + dazzle with the show of virtue, must be censured as a criminal desertion + of his duty, and a rare offence against his family and country. The purple + which he had refused was accepted by Constantine Ducas, a friend of the + Comnenian house, and whose noble birth was adorned with the experience and + reputation of civil policy. In the monastic habit, Isaac recovered his + health, and survived two years his voluntary abdication. At the command of + his abbot, he observed the rule of St. Basil, and executed the most + servile offices of the convent: but his latent vanity was gratified by the + frequent and respectful visits of the reigning monarch, who revered in his + person the character of a benefactor and a saint. If Constantine the + Eleventh were indeed the subject most worthy of empire, we must pity the + debasement of the age and nation in which he was chosen. In the labor of + puerile declamations he sought, without obtaining, the crown of eloquence, + more precious, in his opinion, than that of Rome; and in the subordinate + functions of a judge, he forgot the duties of a sovereign and a warrior. + Far from imitating the patriotic indifference of the authors of his + greatness, Ducas was anxious only to secure, at the expense of the + republic, the power and prosperity of his children. His three sons, + Michael the Seventh, Andronicus the First, and Constantine the Twelfth, + were invested, in a tender age, with the equal title of Augustus; and the + succession was speedily opened by their father’s death. His widow, + Eudocia, was intrusted with the administration; but experience had taught + the jealousy of the dying monarch to protect his sons from the danger of + her second nuptials; and her solemn engagement, attested by the principal + senators, was deposited in the hands of the patriarch. Before the end of + seven months, the wants of Eudocia, or those of the state, called aloud + for the male virtues of a soldier; and her heart had already chosen + Romanus Diogenes, whom she raised from the scaffold to the throne. The + discovery of a treasonable attempt had exposed him to the severity of the + laws: his beauty and valor absolved him in the eyes of the empress; and + Romanus, from a mild exile, was recalled on the second day to the command + of the Oriental armies. + </p> + <p> + Her royal choice was yet unknown to the public; and the promise which + would have betrayed her falsehood and levity, was stolen by a dexterous + emissary from the ambition of the patriarch. Xiphilin at first alleged the + sanctity of oaths, and the sacred nature of a trust; but a whisper, that + his brother was the future emperor, relaxed his scruples, and forced him + to confess that the public safety was the supreme law. He resigned the + important paper; and when his hopes were confounded by the nomination of + Romanus, he could no longer regain his security, retract his declarations, + nor oppose the second nuptials of the empress. Yet a murmur was heard in + the palace; and the Barbarian guards had raised their battle-axes in the + cause of the house of Lucas, till the young princes were soothed by the + tears of their mother and the solemn assurances of the fidelity of their + guardian, who filled the Imperial station with dignity and honor. + Hereafter I shall relate his valiant, but unsuccessful, efforts to resist + the progress of the Turks. His defeat and captivity inflicted a deadly + wound on the Byzantine monarchy of the East; and after he was released + from the chains of the sultan, he vainly sought his wife and his subjects. + His wife had been thrust into a monastery, and the subjects of Romanus had + embraced the rigid maxim of the civil law, that a prisoner in the hands of + the enemy is deprived, as by the stroke of death, of all the public and + private rights of a citizen. In the general consternation, the Caesar John + asserted the indefeasible right of his three nephews: Constantinople + listened to his voice: and the Turkish captive was proclaimed in the + capital, and received on the frontier, as an enemy of the republic. + Romanus was not more fortunate in domestic than in foreign war: the loss + of two battles compelled him to yield, on the assurance of fair and + honorable treatment; but his enemies were devoid of faith or humanity; + and, after the cruel extinction of his sight, his wounds were left to + bleed and corrupt, till in a few days he was relieved from a state of + misery. Under the triple reign of the house of Ducas, the two younger + brothers were reduced to the vain honors of the purple; but the eldest, + the pusillanimous Michael, was incapable of sustaining the Roman sceptre; + and his surname of Parapinaces denotes the reproach which he shared with + an avaricious favorite, who enhanced the price, and diminished the + measure, of wheat. In the school of Psellus, and after the example of his + mother, the son of Eudocia made some proficiency in philosophy and + rhetoric; but his character was degraded, rather than ennobled, by the + virtues of a monk and the learning of a sophist. Strong in the contempt of + their sovereign and their own esteem, two generals, at the head of the + European and Asiatic legions, assumed the purple at Adrianople and Nice. + Their revolt was in the same months; they bore the same name of + Nicephorus; but the two candidates were distinguished by the surnames of + Bryennius and Botaniates; the former in the maturity of wisdom and + courage, the latter conspicuous only by the memory of his past exploits. + While Botaniates advanced with cautious and dilatory steps, his active + competitor stood in arms before the gates of Constantinople. The name of + Bryennius was illustrious; his cause was popular; but his licentious + troops could not be restrained from burning and pillaging a suburb; and + the people, who would have hailed the rebel, rejected and repulsed the + incendiary of his country. This change of the public opinion was favorable + to Botaniates, who at length, with an army of Turks, approached the shores + of Chalcedon. A formal invitation, in the name of the patriarch, the + synod, and the senate, was circulated through the streets of + Constantinople; and the general assembly, in the dome of St. Sophia, + debated, with order and calmness, on the choice of their sovereign. The + guards of Michael would have dispersed this unarmed multitude; but the + feeble emperor, applauding his own moderation and clemency, resigned the + ensigns of royalty, and was rewarded with the monastic habit, and the + title of Archbishop of Ephesus. He left a son, a Constantine, born and + educated in the purple; and a daughter of the house of Ducas illustrated + the blood, and confirmed the succession, of the Comnenian dynasty. + </p> + <p> + John Comnenus, the brother of the emperor Isaac, survived in peace and + dignity his generous refusal of the sceptre. By his wife Anne, a woman of + masculine spirit and a policy, he left eight children: the three daughters + multiplied the Comnenian alliance with the noblest of the Greeks: of the + five sons, Manuel was stopped by a premature death; Isaac and Alexius + restored the Imperial greatness of their house, which was enjoyed without + toil or danger by the two younger brethren, Adrian and Nicephorus. + Alexius, the third and most illustrious of the brothers was endowed by + nature with the choicest gifts both of mind and body: they were cultivated + by a liberal education, and exercised in the school of obedience and + adversity. The youth was dismissed from the perils of the Turkish war, by + the paternal care of the emperor Romanus: but the mother of the Comneni, + with her aspiring face, was accused of treason, and banished, by the sons + of Ducas, to an island in the Propontis. The two brothers soon emerged + into favor and action, fought by each other’s side against the rebels and + Barbarians, and adhered to the emperor Michael, till he was deserted by + the world and by himself. In his first interview with Botaniates, + “Prince,” said Alexius with a noble frankness, “my duty rendered me your + enemy; the decrees of God and of the people have made me your subject. + Judge of my future loyalty by my past opposition.” The successor of + Michael entertained him with esteem and confidence: his valor was employed + against three rebels, who disturbed the peace of the empire, or at least + of the emperors. Ursel, Bryennius, and Basilacius, were formidable by + their numerous forces and military fame: they were successively vanquished + in the field, and led in chains to the foot of the throne; and whatever + treatment they might receive from a timid and cruel court, they applauded + the clemency, as well as the courage, of their conqueror. But the loyalty + of the Comneni was soon tainted by fear and suspicion; nor is it easy to + settle between a subject and a despot, the debt of gratitude, which the + former is tempted to claim by a revolt, and the latter to discharge by an + executioner. The refusal of Alexius to march against a fourth rebel, the + husband of his sister, destroyed the merit or memory of his past services: + the favorites of Botaniates provoked the ambition which they apprehended + and accused; and the retreat of the two brothers might be justified by the + defence of their life and liberty. The women of the family were deposited + in a sanctuary, respected by tyrants: the men, mounted on horseback, + sallied from the city, and erected the standard of civil war. The soldiers + who had been gradually assembled in the capital and the neighborhood, were + devoted to the cause of a victorious and injured leader: the ties of + common interest and domestic alliance secured the attachment of the house + of Ducas; and the generous dispute of the Comneni was terminated by the + decisive resolution of Isaac, who was the first to invest his younger + brother with the name and ensigns of royalty. They returned to + Constantinople, to threaten rather than besiege that impregnable fortress; + but the fidelity of the guards was corrupted; a gate was surprised, and + the fleet was occupied by the active courage of George Palaeologus, who + fought against his father, without foreseeing that he labored for his + posterity. Alexius ascended the throne; and his aged competitor + disappeared in a monastery. An army of various nations was gratified with + the pillage of the city; but the public disorders were expiated by the + tears and fasts of the Comneni, who submitted to every penance compatible + with the possession of the empire. The life of the emperor Alexius has + been delineated by a favorite daughter, who was inspired by a tender + regard for his person and a laudable zeal to perpetuate his virtues. + Conscious of the just suspicions of her readers, the princess Anna Comnena + repeatedly protests, that, besides her personal knowledge, she had + searched the discourses and writings of the most respectable veterans: and + after an interval of thirty years, forgotten by, and forgetful of, the + world, her mournful solitude was inaccessible to hope and fear; and that + truth, the naked perfect truth, was more dear and sacred than the memory + of her parent. Yet, instead of the simplicity of style and narrative which + wins our belief, an elaborate affectation of rhetoric and science betrays + in every page the vanity of a female author. The genuine character of + Alexius is lost in a vague constellation of virtues; and the perpetual + strain of panegyric and apology awakens our jealousy, to question the + veracity of the historian and the merit of the hero. We cannot, however, + refuse her judicious and important remark, that the disorders of the times + were the misfortune and the glory of Alexius; and that every calamity + which can afflict a declining empire was accumulated on his reign by the + justice of Heaven and the vices of his predecessors. In the East, the + victorious Turks had spread, from Persia to the Hellespont, the reign of + the Koran and the Crescent: the West was invaded by the adventurous valor + of the Normans; and, in the moments of peace, the Danube poured forth new + swarms, who had gained, in the science of war, what they had lost in the + ferociousness of manners. The sea was not less hostile than the land; and + while the frontiers were assaulted by an open enemy, the palace was + distracted with secret treason and conspiracy. On a sudden, the banner of + the Cross was displayed by the Latins; Europe was precipitated on Asia; + and Constantinople had almost been swept away by this impetuous deluge. In + the tempest, Alexius steered the Imperial vessel with dexterity and + courage. At the head of his armies, he was bold in action, skilful in + stratagem, patient of fatigue, ready to improve his advantages, and rising + from his defeats with inexhaustible vigor. The discipline of the camp was + revived, and a new generation of men and soldiers was created by the + example and precepts of their leader. In his intercourse with the Latins, + Alexius was patient and artful: his discerning eye pervaded the new system + of an unknown world and I shall hereafter describe the superior policy + with which he balanced the interests and passions of the champions of the + first crusade. In a long reign of thirty-seven years, he subdued and + pardoned the envy of his equals: the laws of public and private order were + restored: the arts of wealth and science were cultivated: the limits of + the empire were enlarged in Europe and Asia; and the Comnenian sceptre was + transmitted to his children of the third and fourth generation. Yet the + difficulties of the times betrayed some defects in his character; and have + exposed his memory to some just or ungenerous reproach. The reader may + possibly smile at the lavish praise which his daughter so often bestows on + a flying hero: the weakness or prudence of his situation might be mistaken + for a want of personal courage; and his political arts are branded by the + Latins with the names of deceit and dissimulation. The increase of the + male and female branches of his family adorned the throne, and secured the + succession; but their princely luxury and pride offended the patricians, + exhausted the revenue, and insulted the misery of the people. Anna is a + faithful witness that his happiness was destroyed, and his health was + broken, by the cares of a public life; the patience of Constantinople was + fatigued by the length and severity of his reign; and before Alexius + expired, he had lost the love and reverence of his subjects. The clergy + could not forgive his application of the sacred riches to the defence of + the state; but they applauded his theological learning and ardent zeal for + the orthodox faith, which he defended with his tongue, his pen, and his + sword. His character was degraded by the superstition of the Greeks; and + the same inconsistent principle of human nature enjoined the emperor to + found a hospital for the poor and infirm, and to direct the execution of a + heretic, who was burned alive in the square of St. Sophia. Even the + sincerity of his moral and religious virtues was suspected by the persons + who had passed their lives in his familiar confidence. In his last hours, + when he was pressed by his wife Irene to alter the succession, he raised + his head, and breathed a pious ejaculation on the vanity of this world. + The indignant reply of the empress may be inscribed as an epitaph on his + tomb, “You die, as you have lived—A Hypocrite!” + </p> + <p> + It was the wish of Irene to supplant the eldest of her surviving sons, in + favor of her daughter the princess Anne whose philosophy would not have + refused the weight of a diadem. But the order of male succession was + asserted by the friends of their country; the lawful heir drew the royal + signet from the finger of his insensible or conscious father and the + empire obeyed the master of the palace. Anna Comnena was stimulated by + ambition and revenge to conspire against the life of her brother, and when + the design was prevented by the fears or scruples of her husband, she + passionately exclaimed that nature had mistaken the two sexes, and had + endowed Bryennius with the soul of a woman. The two sons of Alexius, John + and Isaac, maintained the fraternal concord, the hereditary virtue of + their race, and the younger brother was content with the title of + Sebastocrator, which approached the dignity, without sharing the power, of + the emperor. In the same person the claims of primogeniture and merit were + fortunately united; his swarthy complexion, harsh features, and diminutive + stature, had suggested the ironical surname of Calo-Johannes, or John the + Handsome, which his grateful subjects more seriously applied to the + beauties of his mind. After the discovery of her treason, the life and + fortune of Anne were justly forfeited to the laws. Her life was spared by + the clemency of the emperor; but he visited the pomp and treasures of her + palace, and bestowed the rich confiscation on the most deserving of his + friends. That respectable friend Axuch, a slave of Turkish extraction, + presumed to decline the gift, and to intercede for the criminal: his + generous master applauded and imitated the virtue of his favorite, and the + reproach or complaint of an injured brother was the only chastisement of + the guilty princess. After this example of clemency, the remainder of his + reign was never disturbed by conspiracy or rebellion: feared by his + nobles, beloved by his people, John was never reduced to the painful + necessity of punishing, or even of pardoning, his personal enemies. During + his government of twenty-five years, the penalty of death was abolished in + the Roman empire, a law of mercy most delightful to the humane theorist, + but of which the practice, in a large and vicious community, is seldom + consistent with the public safety. Severe to himself, indulgent to others, + chaste, frugal, abstemious, the philosophic Marcus would not have + disdained the artless virtues of his successor, derived from his heart, + and not borrowed from the schools. He despised and moderated the stately + magnificence of the Byzantine court, so oppressive to the people, so + contemptible to the eye of reason. Under such a prince, innocence had + nothing to fear, and merit had every thing to hope; and, without assuming + the tyrannic office of a censor, he introduced a gradual though visible + reformation in the public and private manners of Constantinople. The only + defect of this accomplished character was the frailty of noble minds, the + love of arms and military glory. Yet the frequent expeditions of John the + Handsome may be justified, at least in their principle, by the necessity + of repelling the Turks from the Hellespont and the Bosphorus. The sultan + of Iconium was confined to his capital, the Barbarians were driven to the + mountains, and the maritime provinces of Asia enjoyed the transient + blessings of their deliverance. From Constantinople to Antioch and Aleppo, + he repeatedly marched at the head of a victorious army, and in the sieges + and battles of this holy war, his Latin allies were astonished by the + superior spirit and prowess of a Greek. As he began to indulge the + ambitious hope of restoring the ancient limits of the empire, as he + revolved in his mind, the Euphrates and Tigris, the dominion of Syria, and + the conquest of Jerusalem, the thread of his life and of the public + felicity was broken by a singular accident. He hunted the wild boar in the + valley of Anazarbus, and had fixed his javelin in the body of the furious + animal; but in the struggle a poisoned arrow dropped from his quiver, and + a slight wound in his hand, which produced a mortification, was fatal to + the best and greatest of the Comnenian princes. + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap48.5"></a> +Chapter XLVIII: Succession And Characters Of The Greek Emperors.—Part +V.</h2> + + <p> + A premature death had swept away the two eldest sons of John the Handsome; + of the two survivors, Isaac and Manuel, his judgment or affection + preferred the younger; and the choice of their dying prince was ratified + by the soldiers, who had applauded the valor of his favorite in the + Turkish war. The faithful Axuch hastened to the capital, secured the person + of Isaac in honorable confinement, and purchased, with a gift of two + hundred pounds of silver, the leading ecclesiastics of St. Sophia, who + possessed a decisive voice in the consecration of an emperor. With his + veteran and affectionate troops, Manuel soon visited Constantinople; his + brother acquiesced in the title of Sebastocrator; his subjects admired the + lofty stature and martial graces of their new sovereign, and listened with + credulity to the flattering promise, that he blended the wisdom of age + with the activity and vigor of youth. By the experience of his government, + they were taught, that he emulated the spirit, and shared the talents, of + his father whose social virtues were buried in the grave. A reign of + thirty seven years is filled by a perpetual though various warfare against + the Turks, the Christians, and the hordes of the wilderness beyond the + Danube. The arms of Manuel were exercised on Mount Taurus, in the plains + of Hungary, on the coast of Italy and Egypt, and on the seas of Sicily and + Greece: the influence of his negotiations extended from Jerusalem to Rome + and Russia; and the Byzantine monarchy, for a while, became an object of + respect or terror to the powers of Asia and Europe. Educated in the silk + and purple of the East, Manuel possessed the iron temper of a soldier, + which cannot easily be paralleled, except in the lives of Richard the + First of England, and of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden. Such was his + strength and exercise in arms, that Raymond, surnamed the Hercules of + Antioch, was incapable of wielding the lance and buckler of the Greek + emperor. In a famous tournament, he entered the lists on a fiery courser, + and overturned in his first career two of the stoutest of the Italian + knights. The first in the charge, the last in the retreat, his friends and + his enemies alike trembled, the former for his safety, and the latter for + their own. After posting an ambuscade in a wood, he rode forwards in + search of some perilous adventure, accompanied only by his brother and the + faithful Axuch, who refused to desert their sovereign. Eighteen horsemen, + after a short combat, fled before them: but the numbers of the enemy + increased; the march of the reenforcement was tardy and fearful, and + Manuel, without receiving a wound, cut his way through a squadron of five + hundred Turks. In a battle against the Hungarians, impatient of the + slowness of his troops, he snatched a standard from the head of the + column, and was the first, almost alone, who passed a bridge that + separated him from the enemy. In the same country, after transporting his + army beyond the Save, he sent back the boats, with an order under pain of + death, to their commander, that he should leave him to conquer or die on + that hostile land. In the siege of Corfu, towing after him a captive + galley, the emperor stood aloft on the poop, opposing against the volleys + of darts and stones, a large buckler and a flowing sail; nor could he have + escaped inevitable death, had not the Sicilian admiral enjoined his + archers to respect the person of a hero. In one day, he is said to have + slain above forty of the Barbarians with his own hand; he returned to the + camp, dragging along four Turkish prisoners, whom he had tied to the rings + of his saddle: he was ever the foremost to provoke or to accept a single + combat; and the gigantic champions, who encountered his arm, were + transpierced by the lance, or cut asunder by the sword, of the invincible + Manuel. The story of his exploits, which appear as a model or a copy of + the romances of chivalry, may induce a reasonable suspicion of the + veracity of the Greeks: I will not, to vindicate their credit, endanger my + own: yet I may observe, that, in the long series of their annals, Manuel + is the only prince who has been the subject of similar exaggeration. With + the valor of a soldier, he did not unite the skill or prudence of a + general; his victories were not productive of any permanent or useful + conquest; and his Turkish laurels were blasted in his last unfortunate + campaign, in which he lost his army in the mountains of Pisidia, and owed + his deliverance to the generosity of the sultan. But the most singular + feature in the character of Manuel, is the contrast and vicissitude of + labor and sloth, of hardiness and effeminacy. In war he seemed ignorant of + peace, in peace he appeared incapable of war. In the field he slept in the + sun or in the snow, tired in the longest marches the strength of his men + and horses, and shared with a smile the abstinence or diet of the camp. No + sooner did he return to Constantinople, than he resigned himself to the + arts and pleasures of a life of luxury: the expense of his dress, his + table, and his palace, surpassed the measure of his predecessors, and + whole summer days were idly wasted in the delicious isles of the + Propontis, in the incestuous love of his niece Theodora. The double cost + of a warlike and dissolute prince exhausted the revenue, and multiplied + the taxes; and Manuel, in the distress of his last Turkish campaign, + endured a bitter reproach from the mouth of a desperate soldier. As he + quenched his thirst, he complained that the water of a fountain was + mingled with Christian blood. “It is not the first time,” exclaimed a + voice from the crowd, “that you have drank, O emperor, the blood of your + Christian subjects.” Manuel Comnenus was twice married, to the virtuous + Bertha or Irene of Germany, and to the beauteous Maria, a French or Latin + princess of Antioch. The only daughter of his first wife was destined for + Bela, a Hungarian prince, who was educated at Constantinople under the + name of Alexius; and the consummation of their nuptials might have + transferred the Roman sceptre to a race of free and warlike Barbarians. + But as soon as Maria of Antioch had given a son and heir to the empire, + the presumptive rights of Bela were abolished, and he was deprived of his + promised bride; but the Hungarian prince resumed his name and the kingdom + of his fathers, and displayed such virtues as might excite the regret and + envy of the Greeks. The son of Maria was named Alexius; and at the age of + ten years he ascended the Byzantine throne, after his father’s decease had + closed the glories of the Comnenian line. + </p> + <p> + The fraternal concord of the two sons of the great Alexius had been + sometimes clouded by an opposition of interest and passion. By ambition, + Isaac the Sebastocrator was excited to flight and rebellion, from whence + he was reclaimed by the firmness and clemency of John the Handsome. The + errors of Isaac, the father of the emperors of Trebizond, were short and + venial; but John, the elder of his sons, renounced forever his religion. + Provoked by a real or imaginary insult of his uncle, he escaped from the + Roman to the Turkish camp: his apostasy was rewarded with the sultan’s + daughter, the title of Chelebi, or noble, and the inheritance of a + princely estate; and in the fifteenth century, Mahomet the Second boasted + of his Imperial descent from the Comnenian family. Andronicus, the younger + brother of John, son of Isaac, and grandson of Alexius Comnenus, is one of + the most conspicuous characters of the age; and his genuine adventures + might form the subject of a very singular romance. To justify the choice + of three ladies of royal birth, it is incumbent on me to observe, that + their fortunate lover was cast in the best proportions of strength and + beauty; and that the want of the softer graces was supplied by a manly + countenance, a lofty stature, athletic muscles, and the air and deportment + of a soldier. The preservation, in his old age, of health and vigor, was + the reward of temperance and exercise. A piece of bread and a draught of + water was often his sole and evening repast; and if he tasted of a wild + boar or a stag, which he had roasted with his own hands, it was the + well-earned fruit of a laborious chase. Dexterous in arms, he was ignorant + of fear; his persuasive eloquence could bend to every situation and + character of life, his style, though not his practice, was fashioned by + the example of St. Paul; and, in every deed of mischief, he had a heart to + resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute. In his youth, after + the death of the emperor John, he followed the retreat of the Roman army; + but, in the march through Asia Minor, design or accident tempted him to + wander in the mountains: the hunter was encompassed by the Turkish + huntsmen, and he remained some time a reluctant or willing captive in the + power of the sultan. His virtues and vices recommended him to the favor of + his cousin: he shared the perils and the pleasures of Manuel; and while + the emperor lived in public incest with his niece Theodora, the affections + of her sister Eudocia were seduced and enjoyed by Andronicus. Above the + decencies of her sex and rank, she gloried in the name of his concubine; + and both the palace and the camp could witness that she slept, or watched, + in the arms of her lover. She accompanied him to his military command of + Cilicia, the first scene of his valor and imprudence. He pressed, with + active ardor, the siege of Mopsuestia: the day was employed in the boldest + attacks; but the night was wasted in song and dance; and a band of Greek + comedians formed the choicest part of his retinue. Andronicus was + surprised by the sally of a vigilant foe; but, while his troops fled in + disorder, his invincible lance transpierced the thickest ranks of the + Armenians. On his return to the Imperial camp in Macedonia, he was + received by Manuel with public smiles and a private reproof; but the + duchies of Naissus, Braniseba, and Castoria, were the reward or + consolation of the unsuccessful general. Eudocia still attended his + motions: at midnight, their tent was suddenly attacked by her angry + brothers, impatient to expiate her infamy in his blood: his daring spirit + refused her advice, and the disguise of a female habit; and, boldly + starting from his couch, he drew his sword, and cut his way through the + numerous assassins. It was here that he first betrayed his ingratitude and + treachery: he engaged in a treasonable correspondence with the king of + Hungary and the German emperor; approached the royal tent at a suspicious + hour with a drawn sword, and under the mask of a Latin soldier, avowed an + intention of revenge against a mortal foe; and imprudently praised the + fleetness of his horse as an instrument of flight and safety. The monarch + dissembled his suspicions; but, after the close of the campaign, + Andronicus was arrested and strictly confined in a tower of the palace of + Constantinople. + </p> + <p> + In this prison he was left about twelve years; a most painful restraint, + from which the thirst of action and pleasure perpetually urged him to + escape. Alone and pensive, he perceived some broken bricks in a corner of + the chamber, and gradually widened the passage, till he had explored a + dark and forgotten recess. Into this hole he conveyed himself, and the + remains of his provisions, replacing the bricks in their former position, + and erasing with care the footsteps of his retreat. At the hour of the + customary visit, his guards were amazed by the silence and solitude of the + prison, and reported, with shame and fear, his incomprehensible flight. + The gates of the palace and city were instantly shut: the strictest orders + were despatched into the provinces, for the recovery of the fugitive; and + his wife, on the suspicion of a pious act, was basely imprisoned in the + same tower. At the dead of night she beheld a spectre; she recognized her + husband: they shared their provisions; and a son was the fruit of these + stolen interviews, which alleviated the tediousness of their confinement. + In the custody of a woman, the vigilance of the keepers was insensibly + relaxed; and the captive had accomplished his real escape, when he was + discovered, brought back to Constantinople, and loaded with a double + chain. At length he found the moment, and the means, of his deliverance. A + boy, his domestic servant, intoxicated the guards, and obtained in wax the + impression of the keys. By the diligence of his friends, a similar key, + with a bundle of ropes, was introduced into the prison, in the bottom of a + hogshead. Andronicus employed, with industry and courage, the instruments + of his safety, unlocked the doors, descended from the tower, concealed + himself all day among the bushes, and scaled in the night the garden-wall + of the palace. A boat was stationed for his reception: he visited his own + house, embraced his children, cast away his chain, mounted a fleet horse, + and directed his rapid course towards the banks of the Danube. At + Anchialus in Thrace, an intrepid friend supplied him with horses and + money: he passed the river, traversed with speed the desert of Moldavia + and the Carpathian hills, and had almost reached the town of Halicz, in + the Polish Russia, when he was intercepted by a party of Walachians, who + resolved to convey their important captive to Constantinople. His presence + of mind again extricated him from danger. Under the pretence of sickness, + he dismounted in the night, and was allowed to step aside from the troop: + he planted in the ground his long staff, clothed it with his cap and upper + garment; and, stealing into the wood, left a phantom to amuse, for some + time, the eyes of the Walachians. From Halicz he was honorably conducted + to Kiow, the residence of the great duke: the subtle Greek soon obtained + the esteem and confidence of Ieroslaus; his character could assume the + manners of every climate; and the Barbarians applauded his strength and + courage in the chase of the elks and bears of the forest. In this northern + region he deserved the forgiveness of Manuel, who solicited the Russian + prince to join his arms in the invasion of Hungary. The influence of + Andronicus achieved this important service: his private treaty was signed + with a promise of fidelity on one side, and of oblivion on the other; and + he marched, at the head of the Russian cavalry, from the Borysthenes to + the Danube. In his resentment Manuel had ever sympathized with the martial + and dissolute character of his cousin; and his free pardon was sealed in + the assault of Zemlin, in which he was second, and second only, to the + valor of the emperor. + </p> + <p> + No sooner was the exile restored to freedom and his country, than his + ambition revived, at first to his own, and at length to the public, + misfortune. A daughter of Manuel was a feeble bar to the succession of the + more deserving males of the Comnenian blood; her future marriage with the + prince of Hungary was repugnant to the hopes or prejudices of the princes + and nobles. But when an oath of allegiance was required to the presumptive + heir, Andronicus alone asserted the honor of the Roman name, declined the + unlawful engagement, and boldly protested against the adoption of a + stranger. His patriotism was offensive to the emperor, but he spoke the + sentiments of the people, and was removed from the royal presence by an + honorable banishment, a second command of the Cilician frontier, with the + absolute disposal of the revenues of Cyprus. In this station the Armenians + again exercised his courage and exposed his negligence; and the same + rebel, who baffled all his operations, was unhorsed, and almost slain by + the vigor of his lance. But Andronicus soon discovered a more easy and + pleasing conquest, the beautiful Philippa, sister of the empress Maria, + and daughter of Raymond of Poitou, the Latin prince of Antioch. For her + sake he deserted his station, and wasted the summer in balls and + tournaments: to his love she sacrificed her innocence, her reputation, and + the offer of an advantageous marriage. But the resentment of Manuel for + this domestic affront interrupted his pleasures: Andronicus left the + indiscreet princess to weep and to repent; and, with a band of desperate + adventurers, undertook the pilgrimage of Jerusalem. His birth, his martial + renown, and professions of zeal, announced him as the champion of the + Cross: he soon captivated both the clergy and the king; and the Greek + prince was invested with the lordship of Berytus, on the coast of + Phoenicia. + </p> + <p> + In his neighborhood resided a young and handsome queen, of his own nation + and family, great-granddaughter of the emperor Alexis, and widow of + Baldwin the Third, king of Jerusalem. She visited and loved her kinsman. + Theodora was the third victim of his amorous seduction; and her shame was + more public and scandalous than that of her predecessors. The emperor + still thirsted for revenge; and his subjects and allies of the Syrian + frontier were repeatedly pressed to seize the person, and put out the + eyes, of the fugitive. In Palestine he was no longer safe; but the tender + Theodora revealed his danger, and accompanied his flight. The queen of + Jerusalem was exposed to the East, his obsequious concubine; and two + illegitimate children were the living monuments of her weakness. Damascus + was his first refuge; and, in the characters of the great Noureddin and + his servant Saladin, the superstitious Greek might learn to revere the + virtues of the Mussulmans. As the friend of Noureddin he visited, most + probably, Bagdad, and the courts of Persia; and, after a long circuit + round the Caspian Sea and the mountains of Georgia, he finally settled + among the Turks of Asia Minor, the hereditary enemies of his country. The + sultan of Colonia afforded a hospitable retreat to Andronicus, his + mistress, and his band of outlaws: the debt of gratitude was paid by + frequent inroads in the Roman province of Trebizond; and he seldom + returned without an ample harvest of spoil and of Christian captives. In + the story of his adventures, he was fond of comparing himself to David, + who escaped, by a long exile, the snares of the wicked. But the royal + prophet (he presumed to add) was content to lurk on the borders of Judaea, + to slay an Amalekite, and to threaten, in his miserable state, the life of + the avaricious Nabal. The excursions of the Comnenian prince had a wider + range; and he had spread over the Eastern world the glory of his name and + religion. + </p> + <p> + By a sentence of the Greek church, the licentious rover had been separated + from the faithful; but even this excommunication may prove, that he never + abjured the profession of Chistianity. + </p> + <p> + His vigilance had eluded or repelled the open and secret persecution of + the emperor; but he was at length insnared by the captivity of his female + companion. The governor of Trebizond succeeded in his attempt to surprise + the person of Theodora: the queen of Jerusalem and her two children were + sent to Constantinople, and their loss imbittered the tedious solitude of + banishment. The fugitive implored and obtained a final pardon, with leave + to throw himself at the feet of his sovereign, who was satisfied with the + submission of this haughty spirit. Prostrate on the ground, he deplored + with tears and groans the guilt of his past rebellion; nor would he + presume to arise, unless some faithful subject would drag him to the foot + of the throne, by an iron chain with which he had secretly encircled his + neck. This extraordinary penance excited the wonder and pity of the + assembly; his sins were forgiven by the church and state; but the just + suspicion of Manuel fixed his residence at a distance from the court, at + Oenoe, a town of Pontus, surrounded with rich vineyards, and situate on + the coast of the Euxine. The death of Manuel, and the disorders of the + minority, soon opened the fairest field to his ambition. The emperor was a + boy of twelve or fourteen years of age, without vigor, or wisdom, or + experience: his mother, the empress Mary, abandoned her person and + government to a favorite of the Comnenian name; and his sister, another + Mary, whose husband, an Italian, was decorated with the title of Caesar, + excited a conspiracy, and at length an insurrection, against her odious + step-mother. The provinces were forgotten, the capital was in flames, and + a century of peace and order was overthrown in the vice and weakness of a + few months. A civil war was kindled in Constantinople; the two factions + fought a bloody battle in the square of the palace, and the rebels + sustained a regular siege in the cathedral of St. Sophia. The patriarch + labored with honest zeal to heal the wounds of the republic, the most + respectable patriots called aloud for a guardian and avenger, and every + tongue repeated the praise of the talents and even the virtues of + Andronicus. In his retirement, he affected to revolve the solemn duties of + his oath: “If the safety or honor of the Imperial family be threatened, I + will reveal and oppose the mischief to the utmost of my power.” His + correspondence with the patriarch and patricians was seasoned with apt + quotations from the Psalms of David and the epistles of St. Paul; and he + patiently waited till he was called to her deliverance by the voice of his + country. In his march from Oenoe to Constantinople, his slender train + insensibly swelled to a crowd and an army: his professions of religion and + loyalty were mistaken for the language of his heart; and the simplicity of + a foreign dress, which showed to advantage his majestic stature, displayed + a lively image of his poverty and exile. All opposition sunk before him; + he reached the straits of the Thracian Bosphorus; the Byzantine navy + sailed from the harbor to receive and transport the savior of the empire: + the torrent was loud and irresistible, and the insects who had basked in + the sunshine of royal favor disappeared at the blast of the storm. It was + the first care of Andronicus to occupy the palace, to salute the emperor, + to confine his mother, to punish her minister, and to restore the public + order and tranquillity. He then visited the sepulchre of Manuel: the + spectators were ordered to stand aloof, but as he bowed in the attitude of + prayer, they heard, or thought they heard, a murmur of triumph or revenge: + “I no longer fear thee, my old enemy, who hast driven me a vagabond to + every climate of the earth. Thou art safely deposited under a seven-fold + dome, from whence thou canst never arise till the signal of the last + trumpet. It is now my turn, and speedily will I trample on thy ashes and + thy posterity.” From his subsequent tyranny we may impute such feelings to + the man and the moment; but it is not extremely probable that he gave an + articulate sound to his secret thoughts. In the first months of his + administration, his designs were veiled by a fair semblance of hypocrisy, + which could delude only the eyes of the multitude; the coronation of + Alexius was performed with due solemnity, and his perfidious guardian, + holding in his hands the body and blood of Christ, most fervently declared + that he lived, and was ready to die, for the service of his beloved pupil. + But his numerous adherents were instructed to maintain, that the sinking + empire must perish in the hands of a child, that the Romans could only be + saved by a veteran prince, bold in arms, skilful in policy, and taught to + reign by the long experience of fortune and mankind; and that it was the + duty of every citizen to force the reluctant modesty of Andronicus to + undertake the burden of the public care. The young emperor was himself + constrained to join his voice to the general acclamation, and to solicit + the association of a colleague, who instantly degraded him from the + supreme rank, secluded his person, and verified the rash declaration of + the patriarch, that Alexius might be considered as dead, so soon as he was + committed to the custody of his guardian. But his death was preceded by + the imprisonment and execution of his mother. After blackening her + reputation, and inflaming against her the passions of the multitude, the + tyrant accused and tried the empress for a treasonable correspondence with + the king of Hungary. His own son, a youth of honor and humanity, avowed + his abhorrence of this flagitious act, and three of the judges had the + merit of preferring their conscience to their safety: but the obsequious + tribunal, without requiring any reproof, or hearing any defence, condemned + the widow of Manuel; and her unfortunate son subscribed the sentence of + her death. Maria was strangled, her corpse was buried in the sea, and her + memory was wounded by the insult most offensive to female vanity, a false + and ugly representation of her beauteous form. The fate of her son was not + long deferred: he was strangled with a bowstring; and the tyrant, + insensible to pity or remorse, after surveying the body of the innocent + youth, struck it rudely with his foot: “Thy father,” he cried, “was a + knave, thy mother a whore, and thyself a fool!” + </p> + <p> + The Roman sceptre, the reward of his crimes, was held by Andronicus about + three years and a half as the guardian or sovereign of the empire. His + government exhibited a singular contrast of vice and virtue. When he + listened to his passions, he was the scourge; when he consulted his + reason, the father, of his people. In the exercise of private justice, he + was equitable and rigorous: a shameful and pernicious venality was + abolished, and the offices were filled with the most deserving candidates, + by a prince who had sense to choose, and severity to punish. He prohibited + the inhuman practice of pillaging the goods and persons of shipwrecked + mariners; the provinces, so long the objects of oppression or neglect, + revived in prosperity and plenty; and millions applauded the distant + blessings of his reign, while he was cursed by the witnesses of his daily + cruelties. The ancient proverb, That bloodthirsty is the man who returns + from banishment to power, had been applied, with too much truth, to + Marius and Tiberius; and was now verified for the third time in the life + of Andronicus. His memory was stored with a black list of the enemies and + rivals, who had traduced his merit, opposed his greatness, or insulted his + misfortunes; and the only comfort of his exile was the sacred hope and + promise of revenge. The necessary extinction of the young emperor and his + mother imposed the fatal obligation of extirpating the friends, who hated, + and might punish, the assassin; and the repetition of murder rendered him + less willing, and less able, to forgive. <a href="#linknote-48.1018" + name="linknoteref-48.1018" id="linknoteref-48.1018">1018</a> A horrid + narrative of the victims whom he sacrificed by poison or the sword, by the + sea or the flames, would be less expressive of his cruelty than the + appellation of the halcyon days, which was applied to a rare and bloodless + week of repose: the tyrant strove to transfer, on the laws and the judges, + some portion of his guilt; but the mask was fallen, and his subjects could + no longer mistake the true author of their calamities. The noblest of the + Greeks, more especially those who, by descent or alliance, might dispute + the Comnenian inheritance, escaped from the monster’s den: Nice and Prusa, + Sicily or Cyprus, were their places of refuge; and as their flight was + already criminal, they aggravated their offence by an open revolt, and the + Imperial title. Yet Andronicus resisted the daggers and swords of his most + formidable enemies: Nice and Prusa were reduced and chastised: the + Sicilians were content with the sack of Thessalonica; and the distance of + Cyprus was not more propitious to the rebel than to the tyrant. His throne + was subverted by a rival without merit, and a people without arms. Isaac + Angelus, a descendant in the female line from the great Alexius, was + marked as a victim by the prudence or superstition of the emperor. <a + href="#linknote-48.1019" name="linknoteref-48.1019" id="linknoteref-48.1019">1019</a> + In a moment of despair, Angelus defended his life and liberty, slew the + executioner, and fled to the church of St. Sophia. The sanctuary was + insensibly filled with a curious and mournful crowd, who, in his fate, + prognosticated their own. But their lamentations were soon turned to + curses, and their curses to threats: they dared to ask, “Why do we fear? + why do we obey? We are many, and he is one: our patience is the only bond + of our slavery.” With the dawn of day the city burst into a general + sedition, the prisons were thrown open, the coldest and most servile were + roused to the defence of their country, and Isaac, the second of the name, + was raised from the sanctuary to the throne. Unconscious of his danger, + the tyrant was absent; withdrawn from the toils of state, in the delicious + islands of the Propontis. He had contracted an indecent marriage with + Alice, or Agnes, daughter of Lewis the Seventh, of France, and relict of + the unfortunate Alexius; and his society, more suitable to his temper than + to his age, was composed of a young wife and a favorite concubine. On the + first alarm, he rushed to Constantinople, impatient for the blood of the + guilty; but he was astonished by the silence of the palace, the tumult of + the city, and the general desertion of mankind. Andronicus proclaimed a + free pardon to his subjects; they neither desired, nor would grant, + forgiveness; he offered to resign the crown to his son Manuel; but the + virtues of the son could not expiate his father’s crimes. The sea was + still open for his retreat; but the news of the revolution had flown along + the coast; when fear had ceased, obedience was no more: the Imperial + galley was pursued and taken by an armed brigantine; and the tyrant was + dragged to the presence of Isaac Angelus, loaded with fetters, and a long + chain round his neck. His eloquence, and the tears of his female + companions, pleaded in vain for his life; but, instead of the decencies of + a legal execution, the new monarch abandoned the criminal to the numerous + sufferers, whom he had deprived of a father, a husband, or a friend. His + teeth and hair, an eye and a hand, were torn from him, as a poor + compensation for their loss: and a short respite was allowed, that he + might feel the bitterness of death. Astride on a camel, without any danger + of a rescue, he was carried through the city, and the basest of the + populace rejoiced to trample on the fallen majesty of their prince. After + a thousand blows and outrages, Andronicus was hung by the feet, between + two pillars, that supported the statues of a wolf and an a sow; and every + hand that could reach the public enemy, inflicted on his body some mark of + ingenious or brutal cruelty, till two friendly or furious Italians, + plunging their swords into his body, released him from all human + punishment. In this long and painful agony, “Lord, have mercy upon me!” + and “Why will you bruise a broken reed?” were the only words that escaped + from his mouth. Our hatred for the tyrant is lost in pity for the man; nor + can we blame his pusillanimous resignation, since a Greek Christian was no + longer master of his life. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1018" id="linknote-48.1018"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1018 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1018">return</a>)<br /> [ Fallmerayer + (Geschichte des Kaiserthums von Trapezunt, p. 29, 33) has highly drawn the + character of Andronicus. In his view the extermination of the Byzantine + factions and dissolute nobility was part of a deep-laid and splendid plan + for the regeneration of the empire. It was necessary for the wise and + benevolent schemes of the father of his people to lop off those limbs + which were infected with irremediable pestilence— “and with + necessity, The tyrant’s plea, excused his devilish deeds!!”—Still + the fall of Andronicus was a fatal blow to the Byzantine empire.—M.] + </p> + <p> + <a name="linknote-48.1019" id="linknote-48.1019"> + <!-- Note --></a> + </p> + <p class="foot"> + 1019 (<a href="#linknoteref-48.1019">return</a>)<br /> [ According to + Nicetas, (p. 444,) Andronicus despised the imbecile Isaac too much to fear + him; he was arrested by the officious zeal of Stephen, the instrument of + the Emperor’s cruelties.—M.] + </p> + <p> + I have been tempted to expatiate on the extraordinary character and + adventures of Andronicus; but I shall here terminate the series of the + Greek emperors since the time of Heraclius. The branches that sprang from + the Comnenian trunk had insensibly withered; and the male line was + continued only in the posterity of Andronicus himself, who, in the public + confusion, usurped the sovereignty of Trebizond, so obscure in history, + and so famous in romance. A private citizen of Philadelphia, Constantine + Angelus, had emerged to wealth and honors, by his marriage with a daughter + of the emperor Alexius. His son Andronicus is conspicuous only by his + cowardice. His grandson Isaac punished and succeeded the tyrant; but he + was dethroned by his own vices, and the ambition of his brother; and their + discord introduced the Latins to the conquest of Constantinople, the first + great period in the fall of the Eastern empire. + </p> + <p> + If we compute the number and duration of the reigns, it will be found, + that a period of six hundred years is filled by sixty emperors, including + in the Augustan list some female sovereigns; and deducting some usurpers + who were never acknowledged in the capital, and some princes who did not + live to possess their inheritance. The average proportion will allow ten + years for each emperor, far below the chronological rule of Sir Isaac + Newton, who, from the experience of more recent and regular monarchies, + has defined about eighteen or twenty years as the term of an ordinary + reign. The Byzantine empire was most tranquil and prosperous when it could + acquiesce in hereditary succession; five dynasties, the Heraclian, + Isaurian, Amorian, Basilian, and Comnenian families, enjoyed and + transmitted the royal patrimony during their respective series of five, + four, three, six, and four generations; several princes number the years + of their reign with those of their infancy; and Constantine the Seventh + and his two grandsons occupy the space of an entire century. But in the + intervals of the Byzantine dynasties, the succession is rapid and broken, + and the name of a successful candidate is speedily erased by a more + fortunate competitor. Many were the paths that led to the summit of + royalty: the fabric of rebellion was overthrown by the stroke of + conspiracy, or undermined by the silent arts of intrigue: the favorites of + the soldiers or people, of the senate or clergy, of the women and eunuchs, + were alternately clothed with the purple: the means of their elevation + were base, and their end was often contemptible or tragic. A being of the + nature of man, endowed with the same faculties, but with a longer measure + of existence, would cast down a smile of pity and contempt on the crimes + and follies of human ambition, so eager, in a narrow span, to grasp at a + precarious and shortlived enjoyment. It is thus that the experience of + history exalts and enlarges the horizon of our intellectual view. In a + composition of some days, in a perusal of some hours, six hundred years + have rolled away, and the duration of a life or reign is contracted to a + fleeting moment: the grave is ever beside the throne: the success of a + criminal is almost instantly followed by the loss of his prize and our + immortal reason survives and disdains the sixty phantoms of kings who have + passed before our eyes, and faintly dwell on our remembrance. The + observation that, in every age and climate, ambition has prevailed with + the same commanding energy, may abate the surprise of a philosopher: but + while he condemns the vanity, he may search the motive, of this universal + desire to obtain and hold the sceptre of dominion. To the greater part of + the Byzantine series, we cannot reasonably ascribe the love of fame and of + mankind. The virtue alone of John Comnenus was beneficent and pure: the + most illustrious of the princes, who procede or follow that respectable + name, have trod with some dexterity and vigor the crooked and bloody paths + of a selfish policy: in scrutinizing the imperfect characters of Leo the + Isaurian, Basil the First, and Alexius Comnenus, of Theophilus, the second + Basil, and Manuel Comnenus, our esteem and censure are almost equally + balanced; and the remainder of the Imperial crowd could only desire and + expect to be forgotten by posterity. Was personal happiness the aim and + object of their ambition? I shall not descant on the vulgar topics of the + misery of kings; but I may surely observe, that their condition, of all + others, is the most pregnant with fear, and the least susceptible of hope. + For these opposite passions, a larger scope was allowed in the revolutions + of antiquity, than in the smooth and solid temper of the modern world, + which cannot easily repeat either the triumph of Alexander or the fall of + Darius. But the peculiar infelicity of the Byzantine princes exposed them + to domestic perils, without affording any lively promise of foreign + conquest. From the pinnacle of greatness, Andronicus was precipitated by a + death more cruel and shameful than that of the malefactor; but the most + glorious of his predecessors had much more to dread from their subjects + than to hope from their enemies. The army was licentious without spirit, + the nation turbulent without freedom: the Barbarians of the East and West + pressed on the monarchy, and the loss of the provinces was terminated by + the final servitude of the capital. + </p> + <p> + The entire series of Roman emperors, from the first of the Caesars to the + last of the Constantines, extends above fifteen hundred years: and the + term of dominion, unbroken by foreign conquest, surpasses the measure of + the ancient monarchies; the Assyrians or Medes, the successors of Cyrus, + or those of Alexander. + </p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE ***</div> +<div style='text-align:left'> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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