Everything was done at the wrong time, and nothing that was established was allowed to continue. To prevent my narrative3 being interminable, I will merely mention a few instances, and pass over the remainder in silence. In the first place, Justinian neither possessed4 in himself the appearance of Imperial dignity, nor demanded that it should be respected by others, but imitated the barbarians5 in language, appearance, and ideas. When he had to issue an Imperial decree, he did not intrust it to the Quaestor in the usual way, but for the most part delivered it himself by word of mouth, although he spoke6 his own language like a foreigner; or else he left it in the hands of one of those by whom he was surrounded, so that those who had been injured by such resolutions did not know to whom to apply. Those who were called A Secretis,12 and had from very ancient times fulfilled the duty of writing the secret dispatches of the Emperor, were no longer allowed to retain their privileges; for he himself wrote them nearly all, even the sentences of the municipal magistrates7, no one throughout the Roman world being permitted to administer justice with a free hand. He took everything upon himself with unreasoning arrogance8, and so managed cases that were to be decided9, that, after he had heard one of the litigants10, he immediately pronounced his verdict and obliged them to submit to it, acting11 in accordance with no law or principle of justice, but being evidently overpowered by shameful12 greed. For the Emperor was not ashamed to take bribes13, since his avarice14 had deprived him of all feelings of shame. It frequently happened that the decrees of the Senate and the edicts of the Emperor were opposed to each other; for the Senate was as it were but an empty shadow, without the power of giving its vote or of keeping up its dignity; it was assembled merely for form’s sake and in order to keep up an ancient custom, for none of its members were allowed to utter a single word. But the Emperor and his consort15 took upon themselves the consideration of questions that were to be discussed, and whatever resolutions they came to between themselves prevailed. If he whose cause had been victorious16 had any doubt as to the legality of his success, all he had to do was to make a present of gold to the Emperor, who immediately promulgated17 a law contrary to all those formerly18 in force. If, again, anyone else desired the revival19 of the law that had been repealed20, the autocrat21 did not disdain22 to revoke23 the existing order of things and to reestablish it. There was nothing stable in his authority, but the balance of justice inclined to one side or the other, according to the weight of gold in either scale. In the market-place there were buildings under the management of palace officials, where traffic was carried on, not only in judicial24, but also in legislative25 decisions. The officers called “Referendars” (or mediators) found it difficult to present the requests of petitioners26 to the Emperor, and still more difficult to bring before the council in the usual manner the answer proper to be made to each of them; but, gathering27 together from all quarters worthless and false testimony28, they deceived Justinian, who was naturally a fit subject for deception29, by fallacious reports and misleading statements. Then, immediately going out to the contending parties, without acquainting them with the conversation that had taken place, they extorted30 from them as much money as they required, without anyone venturing to oppose them.
Even the soldiers of the Praetorian guard, whose duty it was to attend the judges in the court of the palace, forced from them whatsoever31 judgments32 they pleased. All, so to speak, abandoned their own sphere of duty, and followed the paths that pleased them, however difficult or untrodden they had previously33 been. Everything was out of gear; offices were degraded, not even their names being preserved. In a word, the Empire resembled a queen over boys at play. But I must pass over the rest, as I hinted at the commencement of this work.
I will now say something about the man who first taught the Emperor to traffic in the administration of justice. His name was Leo; he was a native of Cilicia, and passionately34 eager to enrich himself. He was the most utterly35 shameless of flatterers, and most apt in ingratiating himself with the ignorant, and with the Emperor, whose folly36 he made use of in order to ruin his subjects. It was this Leo who first persuaded Justinian to barter37 justice for money. When this man had once discovered these means of plunder38, he never stopped. The evil spread and reached such a height that, if anyone desired to come off victorious in an unjust cause against an honest man, he immediately repaired to Leo, and, promising39 to give half of his claim to be divided between the latter and the Emperor, left the palace, having already gained his cause, contrary to all principles of right and justice. In this manner Leo acquired a vast fortune, and a great quantity of land, and became the chief cause of the ruin of the State. There was no longer any security in contracts, in law, in oaths, in written documents, in any penalty agreed upon, or in any other security, unless money had been previously given to Leo and the Emperor. Nor was even this method certain, for Justinian would accept bribes from both parties; and, after having drained the pockets of both of those who had put confidence in him, he was not ashamed to cheat one or other of them (no matter which), for, in his eyes, there was nothing disgraceful in playing a double part, provided only that it turned out profitable for him.
Such a man was Justinian.
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1
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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narrative
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| n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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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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6
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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arrogance
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| n.傲慢，自大 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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litigants
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| n.诉讼当事人( litigant的名词复数 ) | |
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acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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bribes
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| n.贿赂( bribe的名词复数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂v.贿赂( bribe的第三人称单数 )；向（某人）行贿，贿赂 | |
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avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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consort
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| v.相伴；结交 | |
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victorious
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| adj.胜利的，得胜的 | |
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promulgated
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| v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等） | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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revival
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| n.复兴，复苏，（精力、活力等的）重振 | |
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repealed
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| 撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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autocrat
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| n.独裁者；专横的人 | |
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disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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revoke
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| v.废除，取消，撤回 | |
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judicial
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| adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的 | |
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legislative
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| n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的 | |
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petitioners
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| n.请求人，请愿人( petitioner的名词复数 )；离婚案原告 | |
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gathering
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| n.集会，聚会，聚集 | |
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testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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deception
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| n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计 | |
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extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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whatsoever
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| adv.（用于否定句中以加强语气）任何；pron.无论什么 | |
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judgments
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| 判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判 | |
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previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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utterly
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| adv.完全地，绝对地 | |
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folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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37
barter
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| n.物物交换，以货易货，实物交易 | |
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38
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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39
promising
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| adj.有希望的，有前途的 | |
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