Delphi Complete Works of Procopius

by Procopius of Caesarea

  [5] And by a similar method they made themselves heirs of Tatianus and of Demosthenes and of Hilara, who both in other respects and in rank were foremost members of the Roman Senate. And in some cases they fabricated, not wills, but letters, and so acquired the property. [6] For it was in this way that they became heirs of Dionysius, who lived in Lebanon, and of John, son of Basilius, who, though he was the most distinguished of all the people of Edessa, was forcibly delivered into the hands of the Persians by Belisarius as a hostage, as has been related by me in the previous narrative. [7] For thereafter Chosroes refused to release this John, reproaching the Romans with having disregarded all the conditions on which he had been given over to him by Belisarius, but he did consent to sell him as having become a prisoner of war. [8] And the man’s grandmother, who happened to be still alive, provided the ransom to an amount not less than two thousand pounds of silver and with this was expecting to buy back her grandson. [9] But after this ransom had come to Daras, the Emperor, learning of it, refused to permit the agreement to be put into effect, in order, as he said, that the wealth of the Romans might not be conveyed to the barbarians. [10] And not much later it came to pass that John fell sick and departed this world, and the magistrate in charge of the city, forging some sort of a letter, stated that not long before John had written to him as a friend that it was his will that his estate should go to the Emperor. [11] I could not, however, enumerate the names of all the others whose heirs they have automatically become.

  [12] Now up to the time when what is known as the Nika insurrection took place, they saw fit to gather in the properties of the wealthy one by one; but when this revolt took place, as described in the previous narrative, they began to confiscate in a body the estates of practically all the members of the Senate, and they dealt as they wished with all the furnishings and the lands that were fairest, but they segregated those properties which were subject to a severe and very heavy tax and, with a pretence of generosity, handed them back to their former owners. [13] So, being strangled by the tax-collectors and ground down by what we may term the ever-flowing interest on their debts, they unwillingly lived on in a life which was a lingering death. [14] For such reasons, to me and to the most of us these two persons never seemed to be human beings, but rather a kind of avenging demons and, as the poets say, “a twin bane of mortals,” seeing that they purposed together how they might be able most easily and most quickly to destroy all races of men and their works, and, assuming human form and becoming man-demons, they harassed in this fashion the whole world. [15] And one might draw such an inference from many indications and particularly from the power their actions revealed. [16] For demons are distinguished from human beings by a marked difference. Indeed, he though many men in the long course of time either by accident or by nature have shewn themselves supremely terrible, some ruining by their own sole effort cities or countries or other such things, yet no man, with the exception of these two, has been able to accomplish the destruction of all mankind and to bring about calamities affecting the whole world; [17] it is true, however, in their case that chance also assisted their purpose, co-operating in the destruction of men, for by earthquakes, by pestilence, and by the overflowing of the waters of rivers very great destruction was wrought at about this time, as will be told by me directly. Thus they performed their fearful acts, not by human strength, but another kind.

  [18] And they say that Justinian’s mother stated to some of her intimates that he was not the son of her husband Sabbatius nor of any man. [19] For when she was about to conceive him, a demon visited her; he was invisible but affected her with a certain impression that he was there with her as a man having intercourse with a woman and then disappeared as in a dream.

  [20] And some of those who were present with the Emperor, at very late hours of the night presumably, and held conference with him, obviously in the Palace, men whose souls were pure, seemed to see a sort of phantom spirit unfamiliar to them in place of him. [21] For one of these asserted that he would rise suddenly from the imperial throne and walk up and down there (indeed he was never accustomed to remain seated for long), and the head of Justinian would disappear suddenly, but the rest of his body seemed to keep making these same long circuits, while he himself, as if thinking he must have something the matter with his eyesight, stood there for a very long time distressed and perplexed. [22] Later, however, when the head had returned to the body, he thought, to his surprise, that he could fill out that which a moment before had been lacking. [23] And another person said that he stood beside him when he sat and suddenly saw that his face had become like featureless flesh; for neither eyebrows nor eyes were in their proper place, nor did it shew any other means of identification whatsoever; after a time, however, he saw the features of his face return. These things I write although I did not see them myself, but I do so because I have heard the story from those who declare that they saw the occurrences at the time.

  [24] And they said that a certain monk, very dear to God, being persuaded by those who lived with him in the wilderness, set out to Byzantium in order to plead the cause of the people who lived very near the monastery and were being mistreated and wronged in an unbearable manner; and straightway upon his arrival he received admittance to the Emperor. [25] But when he was about to go into his presence, he stepped over the threshold with one foot, but suddenly recoiled and stepped back. [26] Now the eunuch who was his conductor and the others present besought the man earnestly to go forward, but he, making no answer, but acting like a man who had suffered a stroke, departed thence and went to the room where he was lodged. And when his attendants enquired for what reason he acted thus, they said that he declared outright that he had seen the Lord of the Demons in the Palace sitting on the throne, and he would not care to associate with him or ask anything from him. [27] And how could this man fail to be some wicked demon, he who never had a sufficiency of food or drink or sleep, but taking a taste at haphazard of that which was set before him, walked about the Palace at unseasonable hours of the night, though he was passionately devoted to the joys of Aphrodite?

  [28] And some of the lovers of Theodora say that when she was on the stage some sort of a demon descended upon them at night and drove them from the room in which they were spending the night with her. And there was a dancing-girl, Macedonia by name, belonging to the Blue Faction in Antioch, a woman who had acquired great influence. [29] For by writing letters to Justinian while he was still administering the empire for Justinus, she without difficulty kept destroying whomsoever she wished among the notable men of the East and causing their property to be confiscated to the Treasury. [30] They said that once this Macedonia, when greeting Theodora as she came from Egypt and Libya, noticed that she was very distressed and vexed over the high-handed treatment to which she had been subjected by Hecebolius, and also because she had lost some money on that journey, and so she comforted her greatly and encouraged her by suggesting that Fortune was quite able to become once again for her a purveyor of great wealth. [31] On that occasion, they said, Theodora remarked that in fact a dream had come to her during the night just past and had bidden her to lay aside all anxiety as far as wealth was concerned. [32] For as soon as she should come to Byzantium, she would lie with the Lord of the Demons, and would quite certainly live with him as his married wife, and he would cause her to be mistress of money without limit.

  XIII

  Now the case stood as I have said as regards the opinion of most of the people. And while Justinian was such as I have described in respect to his character in general, he still shewed himself approachable and kindly to those who came into contact with him; and no man whatever had the experience of being excluded from access to him, but on the contrary he was never angry even with those who failed to observe decorum as to standing or speaking in his presence. [2] However, he did not, on that account, blush before any of those destined to be ruined by him. Indeed he never allowed himself to shew anger, either, or exasperation, and thus to reveal his
feelings to those who had given offence, but with gentle mien and with lowered brows and in a restrained voice he would give orders for the death of thousands of innocent men, for the dismantling of cities, and for the confiscation of all monies to the Treasury. [3] And one would infer from this characteristic that he had the spirit of a lamb. Yet if anyone sought to intercede through prayers and supplications for those who had given offence and thus to gain for them forgiveness, then, “enraged and showing his teeth,” he would seem to be ready to burst, so that no one of those who were supposed to be intimate with him had any hope after that of getting the desired pardon.

  [4] And while he seemed to have a firm belief as regards Christ, yet even this was for the ruin of his subjects. For he permitted the priests with comparative freedom to outrage their neighbours, and if they plundered the property of the people whose lands adjoined theirs, he would congratulate them, thinking that thus he was shewing reverence for the Deity. [5] And in adjudicating such cases, he considered that he was acting in a pious manner if any man in the name of religion succeeded by his argument in seizing something that did not belong to him, and, having won the case, went his way. For he thought that justice consisted in the priests’ prevailing over their antagonists. [6] And he himself, upon acquiring by means which were entirely improper the estates of persons either living or deceased and immediately dedicating them to one of the Churches, would feel pride in this pretence of piety, his object, however, being that title in these estates should not revert to the injured owners. [7] Nay, more, he carried out an indefinite number of murders to accomplish these ends. For in his eagerness to gather all men into one belief as to Christ, he kept destroying the rest of mankind in senseless fashion, and that too while acting with a pretence of piety. For it did notº seem to him murder if the victims chanced to be not of his own creed. [8] Thus his single interest was the ceaseless destruction of men, and in company with his spouse he never ceased contriving accusations leading to this end. [9] For these two persons had their desires for the most part akin, and where they did actually chance to differ in their characters, though each of them was base, yet by displaying the most opposite tendencies they kept destroying their subjects. [10] For he was lighter than dust in his judgment, always submitting himself to those who from time to time wished to lead him into evil according to their whims, — unless indeed the project involved an act of kindness or loss of gain — and endlessly listening to “fawning speeches.” [11] For his flatterers could persuade him with no difficulty that he was raised to the skies and “walking the air.”

  [12] And one occasion Tribonianus, who was acting as •Assessor to him, said that he was exceedingly fearful lest some day on account of his piety he might unawares be swept up into the heavens. Such praises, or rather gibes, he would interpret in accordance with the fixed conviction of his mind. [13] But even when, should it so happen, he expressed his admiration for the virtues of some man, a little later he would be reviling him as a scoundrel. And after abusing one of his subjects, he would turn about and seem to praise him, shifting his ground for no cause at all. [14] For his thinking ran in a direction exactly contrary to what he himself said and to what he wished to appear. [15] I have already described his character with regard to personal friendship and enmity, citing as evidence for the most part the things the man actually did. [16] For as an enemy, he was sure and unswerving, but to his friends very untrustworthy. Consequently he really caused the ruin of great numbers who had been cultivated by him, but he never became a friend to anyone whom he had once hated. [17] But those whom he seemed to know best and to regard as most intimate he after no long time betrayed to their destruction by delivering them as a favour to his consort or to someone else, even though he was well aware that they would die solely because of their loyalty to him. [18] For he was conspicuously untrustworthy in all things except, to be sure, his cruelty and his avarice. For to make him give up this last proved an impossible task for any man. [19] But also in those matters in which his spouse was not able to persuade him, by injecting into the argument the hope of large sums of money to accrue from the transaction she could win over her husband quite against his will to the action she desired. [20] Indeed for the sake of unseemly gain he never refused either to set up laws or again to tear them down.

  [21] And he rendered judgment, not according to the laws which he himself had written, but according as he was influenced by the vision of a greater or more magnificent promise of money. [22] For he even believed that to take away the property of his subjects by small thefts brought no disgrace whatever upon him — in those cases, namely, where he was not able to take everything at once on some pretence, either by advancing an unexpected accusation or by the pretext of a will never made. [23] And while he ruled over the Romans, neither good faith nor belief in God remained secure, no law remained fixed, no transaction safe, no contract valid. [24] And when any of his intimates were sent by him on some mission, if they had the fortune to destroy many of those whom they encountered and to plunder a quantity of money, they immediately seemed to the Emperor worthy both to be and to be called men of distinction, as having carried out with exactness all their instructions; but if when they returned to him they had shewn mercy to men in any way, he was offended with them thereafter and hostile. [25] And despairing of the ability of these men, as being somehow out of date, he no longer called them to service. Consequently many were eager to shew him how base they could be, even though their usual conduct was not of such sort. [26] And in certain cases, after making a promise many times and making his promise more binding by an oath or by a writing, he straightway became wilfully forgetful, thinking that this conduct brought him some credit. [27] And Justinian continued to act thus, not only to his subjects, but also to many of his enemies, as I have stated previously.

  [28] And he was not given to sleep, as a general thing, and he never filled himself to repletion with either food or drink, but he usually just touched the food with the tips of his fingers and went his way. [29] For such matters seemed to him a kind of side-issue imposed upon him by Nature, for he often actually remained without food two days and nights, especially when the time before the festival called Easter led that way. [30] For on that occasion he many times abstained from food for two days, as has been said, and insisted upon living on a little water and certain wild plants,a and after sleeping perhaps one hour he would spend the rest of the time walking about constantly. [31] And yet, if he had been willing to spend just this Easter-tide on good deeds, affairs would have advanced to a high pitch of prosperity. [32] But as it was, by employing his natural strength for the ruin of the Romans, he succeeded in pulling down to the ground their whole political structure. For he made it his task to be constantly awake and to undergo hardships and to labour for no other purpose than to contrive constantly and every day more grievous calamities for his subjects. [33] For he was, as has been said, particularly keen in devising and swift in executing unholy deeds, so that in the end even his natural good qualities resulted in the undoing of his subjects.

  XIV

  For in the administration of affairs it was a time of the greatest confusion, and none of the customary procedures was maintained, as I shall shew by citing a few examples, while all the rest must be consigned to silence, so that my discourse might not be endless. [2] First of all, he neither himself possessed any quality appropriate to the imperial dignity nor cared to foster any such quality in others, but in speech and in dress and in thinking he played the barbarian. [3] And as to all the rescripts which he wished to have written from himself, he would not send them, as was the custom, to the man holding the office of Quaestor to promulgate, but instead would generally insist upon reading them out himself, although his speech was uncouth, as I have just stated, and that too while a great throng of bystanders . . ., so that those who were wronged thereby had no one against whom they could lay a charge. [4] And the confidential secretaries, as they are called, were not assigned the function of writing the Emper
or’s confidential matters — the purpose for which these secretaries were appointed originally — he not only wrote practically everything himself, but also, whenever it became necessary to give instructions to the public arbitrators in the city, he would tell them in writing what course they must take as regards the judgment they were to render. [5] For he would not allow anyone within the Roman Empire to give decisions on independent judgment, but with an obstinate determination and with a sort of unreasoning frankness he himself arranged in advance the decisions to be given, accepting hearsay from one of the contestants, and thus straightway, without investigation, he upset cases which had been adjudged, not because he had been influenced by any law or consideration of justice, but manifestly because he was overcome by base greed. [6] For the Emperor felt no shame in accepting bribes, since his insatiable greed took away all shame from him.

  [7] But often that which had been decided by the Senate and by the Emperor came up for another and final judgment. [8] For the Senate sat as in a picture, having no control over its vote and no influence for good, but only assembled as a matter of form and in obedience to an ancient law, since it was quite impossible for anyone whomsoever of those gathered there even to raise a voice, but the Emperor and his Consort generally pretended to divide between them the matters in dispute, but that side prevailed which had been agreed upon by them in private. [9] And if it seemed to any man who had broken the law that victory was not certain, such a person flung more gold to this Emperor and straightway secured a law going contrary to all laws which had been previously established. [10] And if someone else should miss this cancelled law, the Emperor felt no reluctance about calling it back once more and re-establishing it, and nothing stood firmly in force, but the scales of justice wavered and wandered in every direction according as the larger amount of gold weighing them down availed to pull them in one direction or the other; Justice was established in the market-place, and that too though she had once dwelt in the Palace, and there one could find salesrooms where could be bought for a price not only court decisions but also legislation.