I must now briefly3 relate how he unhesitatingly abolished the laws when money was in question. There was in Emesa a man named Priscus, who was an expert forger and very clever in his art. The church of Emesa, many years before, had been instituted sole heir to the property of one of the most distinguished4 inhabitants named Mammianus, a patrician5 of noble birth and of great wealth. During the reign6 of Justinian, Priscus made a list of all the families of the town, taking care to notice which were wealthy and able to disburse7 large sums. He carefully hunted up the names of their ancestors, and, having found some old documents in their handwriting, forged a number of acknowledgments, in which they confessed that they were largely indebted to Mammianus in sums of money which had been left with them by him as a deposit. The amount of these forged acknowledgments was no less than a hundred centenars of gold. He also imitated in a marvellous manner the handwriting of a public notary8, a man of conspicuous9 honesty and virtue10, who during the lifetime of Mammianus used to draw up all their documents for the citizens, sealing them with his own hand, and delivered these forged documents to those who managed the ecclesiastical affairs of Emesa, on condition that he should receive part of the money which might be obtained in this manner.
But, since there was a law which limited all legal processes to a period of thirty years, except in cases of mortgage and certain others, in which the prescription extended to forty years, they resolved to go to Byzantium and, offering a large sum of money to the Emperor, to beg him to assist them in their project of ruining their fellow-citizens.
The Emperor accepted the money, and immediately published a decree which ordained11 that affairs relating to the Church should not be restricted to the ordinary prescription, but that anything might be recovered, if claimed within a hundred years: which regulation was to be observed not only in Emesa, but throughout the whole of the Roman Empire. In order to see that the new rule was put into execution, he sent Longinus to Emesa, a man of great vigour12 and bodily strength, who was afterwards made praefect of Byzantium. Those who had the management of the affairs of the church of Emesa, acting13 upon the forged documents, sued some of the citizens for two centenars of gold, which they were condemned14 to pay, being unable to raise any objection, by reason of the length of time elapsed and their ignorance of the facts. All the inhabitants, and especially the principal citizens, were in great distress15 and highly incensed16 against their accusers. When ruin already threatened the majority of the citizens, Providence17 came to their assistance in a most unexpected manner. Longinus ordered Priscus, the contriver18 of this detestable invention, to bring him all the acknowledgments; and, when he showed himself unwilling19 to do so, he dealt him a violent blow in the face. Priscus, unable to resist the blow dealt by a man of such bodily strength, fell backwards20 upon the ground, trembling and affrighted. Believing that Longinus had discovered the whole affair, he confessed; and, the whole trick being thus brought to light, the suits were stopped.
Justinian, not content with subverting21 the laws of the Roman Empire every day, exerted himself in like manner to do away with those of the Jews; for, if Easter came sooner in their calendar than in that of the Christians22, he did not allow them to celebrate the Passover on their own proper day or to make their offerings to God, or to perform any of their usual solemnities. The magistrates23 even inflicted24 heavy fines upon several of them, upon information that they had eaten the paschal lamb during that time, as if it were an infraction25 of the laws of the state. Although I could mention countless26 acts of this nature committed by Justinian, I will not do so, for I must draw my narrative27 to a close. What I have said will be sufficient to indicate the character of the man.
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1 forger | |
v.伪造;n.(钱、文件等的)伪造者 | |
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2 prescription | |
n.处方,开药;指示,规定 | |
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3 briefly | |
adv.简单地,简短地 | |
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4 distinguished | |
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的 | |
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5 patrician | |
adj.贵族的,显贵的;n.贵族;有教养的人;罗马帝国的地方官 | |
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6 reign | |
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势 | |
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7 disburse | |
v.支出,拨款 | |
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8 notary | |
n.公证人,公证员 | |
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9 conspicuous | |
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的 | |
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10 virtue | |
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力 | |
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11 ordained | |
v.任命(某人)为牧师( ordain的过去式和过去分词 );授予(某人)圣职;(上帝、法律等)命令;判定 | |
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12 vigour | |
(=vigor)n.智力,体力,精力 | |
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13 acting | |
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的 | |
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14 condemned | |
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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15 distress | |
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛 | |
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16 incensed | |
盛怒的 | |
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17 providence | |
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝 | |
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18 contriver | |
发明者,创制者,筹划者 | |
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19 unwilling | |
adj.不情愿的 | |
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20 backwards | |
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地 | |
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21 subverting | |
v.颠覆,破坏(政治制度、宗教信仰等)( subvert的现在分词 );使(某人)道德败坏或不忠 | |
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22 Christians | |
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 ) | |
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23 magistrates | |
地方法官,治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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24 inflicted | |
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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25 infraction | |
n.违反;违法 | |
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26 countless | |
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的 | |
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27 narrative | |
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的 | |
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