Those who were considered the wealthiest persons in Byzantium and the other cities of the Empire, next after members of the Senate, were robbed of their wealth by Justinian and Theodora in the manner which I have described above. I shall now describe how they managed to take away all the property of members of the Senate.
There was at Constantinople one Zeno, the grandson of that Anthemius who formerly7 had been Emperor of the West. They sent this man to Egypt as governor. He delayed his departure, while he loaded his ship with precious valuables; for he had silver beyond any man’s counting, and gold plate set with pearls and emeralds, and with other like precious stones. But Justinian and Theodora bribed8 some of those who passed for his most faithful servants, to take everything out of the ship as fast as they could, set it on fire in the hold, and then go and tell Zeno that his ship had taken fire of its own accord, and that all his property was lost. Some time after this Zeno died suddenly, and they took possession of his property as his heirs, producing a will which, it is currently reported, was never made by him.
In like manner they made themselves the heirs of Tatian, of Demosthenes, and of Hilara, persons who at that time held the first rank in the Roman Senate. They obtained other persons’ fortunes by the production, not of formal wills, but of counterfeit9 conveyances10. This was how they became the heirs of Dionysius, who dwelt in Libanus, and of John the son of Basil, who was the leading man in Edessa, and had been delivered up to the Persians as a hostage against his will by Belisarius, as I have told already. Chosroes kept this John a prisoner, and refused to let him go, declaring that the Romans had not performed all the terms of the treaty for which John had been given in pledge by Belisarius, but he was prepared to let him be ransomed12 as a prisoner of war. His grandmother, who was still alive, got together the money for his ransom11, not less than two thousand pounds of silver, and would have ransomed her grandson; but when this money arrived at Dara, the Emperor heard of the transaction and forbade it, that the wealth of Romans might not be conveyed to barbarians13. Not long after this John fell ill and died; whereupon the governor of the city forged a letter which he said John had written to him as a friend not long before, to the effect that he desired the Emperor to succeed to his property.
I could not give the list of all the other people whose heirs Justinian and Theodora became by the free will of the testators. However, up to the time of the insurrection called Nika, they only plundered14 rich men of their property one by one; but when this broke out, as I have described in my former works, they then sequestrated nearly all the property of the Senate. They laid their hands upon all movables and the finest parts of the estates, but set apart such lands as were burdened with grievous imposts, and, under pretence15 of kindness, restored them to their former possessors. So these people, oppressed by the tax-gatherers, and tormented16 by the never-ceasing interest to be paid upon their debts, became weary of their lives.
For the reasons which I have stated, I, and many of my position, never believed that they were really two human beings, but evil demons, and what the poets call scourges17 of mankind, who laid their heads together to see how they could fastest and most easily destroy the race and the works of man, but who had assumed human forms, and become something between men and demons, and thus convulsed the whole world. One can find proofs of this theory more particularly in the superhuman power with which they acted.
There is a wide distinction between the human and the supernatural. Many men have been born in every age who, either by circumstances or their own character, have shown themselves terrible beings, who became the ruin of cities, countries, and whatever else fell into their hands; but to destroy all men and to ruin the whole earth has been granted to none save these two, who have been helped by Fortune in their schemes to destroy the whole human race. For, about this time, much ruin was caused by earthquakes, pestilences18 and inundations of rivers, as I shall immediately tell you. Thus it was not by mere19 human power, but by something greater, that they were enabled to work their evil will.
It is said that Justinian’s mother told some of her intimates that Justinian was not the son of Sabbatius, her husband, or of any human being; but that, at the time when she became pregnant, an unseen demon5 companied with her, whom she only felt as when a man has connection with a woman, and who then vanished away as in a dream.
Some who have been in Justinian’s company in the palace very late at night, men with a clear conscience, have thought that in his place they have beheld20 a strange and devilish form. One of them said that Justinian suddenly arose from his royal throne and walked about (although, indeed, he never could sit still for long), and that at that moment his head disappeared, while the rest of his body still seemed to move to and fro. The man who beheld this stood trembling and troubled in mind, not knowing how to believe his eyes. Afterwards the head joined the body again, and united itself to the parts from which it had so strangely been severed21.
Another declared that he stood beside Justinian as he sat, and of a sudden his face turned into a shapeless mass of flesh, without either eyebrows22 or eyes in their proper places, or anything else which makes a man recognisable; but after a while he saw the form of his face come back again. What I write here I did not see myself, but I heard it told by men who were positive that they had seen it.
They say, too, that a certain monk, highly in favour with God, was sent to Byzantium by those who dwelt with him in the desert, to beg that favour might be shown to their neighbours, who had been wronged and outraged23 beyond endurance. When he arrived at Byzantium, he straightway obtained an audience of the Emperor; but just as he was about to enter his apartment, he started back, and, turning round, suddenly withdrew. The eunuch, who was escorting him, and also the bystanders, besought24 him earnestly to go forward, but he made no answer, but like one who has had a stroke of the palsy, made his way back to his lodging25. When those who had come with him asked why he acted thus, they say that he distinctly stated that he saw the chief of the devils sitting on his throne in the midst of the palace, and he would not meet him or ask anything of him. How can one believe this man to have been anything but an evil demon, who never took his fill of drink, food, or sleep, but snatched at the meals which were set before him anyhow, and roamed about the palace at untimely hours of the night, and yet was so passionately26 addicted27 to venery.
Some of Theodora’s lovers, when she was still on the stage, declare that a demon had fallen upon them and driven them out of her bedchamber that it might pass the night with her. There was a dancer named Macedonia, who belonged to the Blue faction28 at Antioch, and had very great influence with Justinian. This woman used to write letters to him while Justin was still on the throne, and thus easily made away with any great man in the East whom she chose, and caused their property to be confiscated29 for the public use. They say that this Macedonia once greeted Theodora, when she saw her very much troubled and cast down at the ill-treatment which she had received at the hands of Hecebolius, and at the loss of her money on her journey, and encouraged and cheered her, bidding her remember the fickleness30 of fortune, which might again grant her great possessions. They say that Theodora used to tell how, that night, she had a dream which bade her take no thought about money, for that when she came to Byzantium, she would share the bed of the chief of the demons; that she must manage by all means to become his wedded31 wife, and that afterwards she would have all the wealth of the world at her disposal.
This was the common report in regard to these matters.
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1
putative
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| adj.假定的 | |
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monk
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| n.和尚，僧侣，修道士 | |
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temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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5
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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demons
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| n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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8
bribed
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| v.贿赂( bribe的过去式和过去分词 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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counterfeit
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| vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的 | |
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conveyances
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| n.传送( conveyance的名词复数 )；运送；表达；运输工具 | |
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ransom
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| n.赎金，赎身；v.赎回，解救 | |
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ransomed
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| 付赎金救人，赎金( ransom的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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13
barbarians
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| n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人 | |
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14
plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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pretence
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| n.假装，作假；借口，口实；虚伪；虚饰 | |
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tormented
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| 饱受折磨的 | |
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scourges
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| 带来灾难的人或东西，祸害( scourge的名词复数 )； 鞭子 | |
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pestilences
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| n.瘟疫， （尤指）腺鼠疫( pestilence的名词复数 ) | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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beheld
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| v.看，注视( behold的过去式和过去分词 )；瞧；看呀；（叙述中用于引出某人意外的出现）哎哟 | |
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severed
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| v.切断，断绝( sever的过去式和过去分词 )；断，裂 | |
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eyebrows
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| 眉毛( eyebrow的名词复数 ) | |
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outraged
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| a.震惊的，义愤填膺的 | |
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besought
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| v.恳求，乞求（某事物）( beseech的过去式和过去分词 )；(beseech的过去式与过去分词) | |
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25
lodging
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| n.寄宿，住所；(大学生的)校外宿舍 | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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27
addicted
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| adj.沉溺于....的，对...上瘾的 | |
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28
faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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29
confiscated
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| 没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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30
fickleness
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| n.易变；无常；浮躁；变化无常 | |
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31
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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