liberty to do what they pleased in the way
of violent injustice and fraud against the State; but when they were
seen to have amassed a considerable amount of wealth, they straightway
fell into disgrace for having offended the Empress. At first Justinian
would take upon himself to inquire kindly into their case, but soon he
would drop the pretence of good-will, and his zeal on their behalf
would throw the whole matter into confusion. Upon this, Theodora would
treat them in the most shameful way, while he, pretending not to
understand what was going on, would shamelessly confiscate their
entire property. They used to carry on these machinations by appearing
to be at variance, while really playing into each other's hands, and
were thus able to set their subjects by their ears and firmly
establish their own power.

CHAPTER XI

When Justinian came to the throne, he straightway succeeded in
upsetting everything. What had previously been forbidden by the laws
he introduced, while he abolished all existing institutions, as though
he had assumed the imperial robe for no other purpose than to alter
completely the form of government. He did away with existing offices,
and established other new ones for the management of affairs. He acted
in the same manner in regard to the laws and the army; not that he was
led to do so by any love of justice or the public advantage, but
merely in order that all institutions might be new and might bear his
name; if there was any institution that he was unable to abolish at
once, he gave it his name, that at least it might appear new. He
could never satisfy his insatiable desire, either of money or blood;
but after he had plundered one wealthy house, he would seek for
another to rob, and straightway squander the plunder upon subsidies to
barbarians, or senseless extravagance in building. After he had
destroyed his victims by tens of thousands, he immediately began to
lay plots against even greater numbers. As the Roman Empire was at
peace with foreign nations, his impatience of quiet led him, out of
uncontrollable love of bloodshed, to set the barbarians fighting with
one another. Sending for the chieftains of the Huns for no reason
whatever, he took a pride in lavishing great sums of money upon them,
under the pretext of securing their friendship, just as he did in the
time of the Emperor Justin, as I have already told you. These Huns,
when they had got the money, sent to some of their