conduct of Count Romanus.

2. Who, foreseeing what was likely to happen, and being very skilful in
transferring to others the odium which he himself deserved, was detested
by men in general for the savageness of his temper, and also because it
seemed as if his object was to outrun even our enemies in ravaging the
provinces. He greatly relied on his relationship to Remigius, at that
time master of the offices, who sent all kinds of false and confused
statements of the condition of the country, so that the emperor,
cautious and wary as he plumed himself on being, was long kept in
ignorance of the terrible sufferings of the Africans.

3. I will explain with great diligence the complete series of all the
transactions which took place in those regions, the death of Ruricius
the governor, and of his lieutenants, and all the other mournful events
which took place, when the proper opportunity arrives.

4. And since we are able here to speak freely, let us openly say what we
think, that this emperor was the first of all our princes who raised the
arrogance of the soldiers to so great a height, to the great injury of
the state, by increasing their rank, dignity, and riches. And (which was
a lamentable thing, both on public and private accounts) while he
punished the errors of the common soldiers with unrelenting severity, he
spared the officers, who, as if complete licence were given to their
misconduct, proceeded to all possible lengths of rapacity and cruelty
for the acquisition of riches, and acting as if they thought that the
fortunes of all persons depended directly on their nod.

5. The framers of our ancient laws had sought to repress their pride and
power, sometimes even condemning the innocent to death, as is often done
in cases when, from the multitude concerned in some atrocity, some
innocent men, owing to their ill luck, suffer for the whole. And this
has occasionally extended even to the case of private persons.

6. But in Isauria the banditti formed into bodies and roamed through the
villages, laying waste and plundering the towns and wealthy country
houses; and by the magnitude of their ravages they also greatly
distressed Pamphylia and Cilicia. And when Musonius, who at that time
was the deputy of Asia Minor, having previously been a master of
rhetoric at Athens, had heard that they were spreading massacre and
rapine in every direction, being filled with grief at the evil of which
he had just heard, and perce