were oppressed by the intolerable weight
of quarters. The soldiers insensibly forgot the virtues of their
profession, and contracted only the vices of civil life. They were
either degraded by the industry of mechanic trades, or enervated by the
luxury of baths and theatres. They soon became careless of their martial
exercises, curious in their diet and apparel; and while they inspired
terror to the subjects of the empire, they trembled at the hostile
approach of the Barbarians. The chain of fortifications which Diocletian
and his colleagues had extended along the banks of the great rivers,
was no longer maintained with the same care, or defended with the same
vigilance. The numbers which still remained under the name of the troops
of the frontier, might be sufficient for the ordinary defence; but their
spirit was degraded by the humiliating reflection, that they who were
exposed to the hardships and dangers of a perpetual warfare, were
rewarded only with about two thirds of the pay and emoluments which were
lavished on the troops of the court. Even the bands or legions that were
raised the nearest to the level of those unworthy favorites, were in
some measure disgraced by the title of honor which they were allowed
to assume. It was in vain that Constantine repeated the most dreadful
menaces of fire and sword against the Borderers who should dare desert
their colors, to connive at the inroads of the Barbarians, or to
participate in the spoil. The mischiefs which flow from injudicious
counsels are seldom removed by the application of partial severities;
and though succeeding princes labored to restore the strength and
numbers of the frontier garrisons, the empire, till the last moment of
its dissolution, continued to languish under the mortal wound which had
been so rashly or so weakly inflicted by the hand of Constantine.

The same timid policy, of dividing whatever is united, of reducing
whatever is eminent, of dreading every active power, and of expecting
that the most feeble will prove the most obedient, seems to pervade the
institutions of several princes, and particularly those of Constantine.
The martial pride of the legions, whose victorious camps had so often
been the scene of rebellion, was nourished by the memory of their past
exploits, and the consciousness of their actual strength. As long as
they maintained their ancient establishment of six thousand men, they
subsisted, under the reign of Diocletian, each o