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Chapter 28
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Laws changed for money considerations—Affair of the church of Emesa—Priscus the forger1—A hundred years’ prescription2 granted to the churches—Mission of Longinus—Persecution of the Jews at the Passover—Justinian’s intolerance.

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 ji1xg     
v.伪造;n.(钱、文件等的)伪造者
参考例句:
  • He admitted seven charges including forging passports.他承认了7项罪名,其中包括伪造护照。
  • She alleged that Taylor had forged her signature on the form.她声称泰勒在表格上伪造了她的签名。
2 prescription u1vzA     
n.处方,开药;指示,规定
参考例句:
  • The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
  • The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。
3 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地,简短地
参考例句:
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
4 distinguished wu9z3v     
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的
参考例句:
  • Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
  • A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
5 patrician hL9x0     
adj.贵族的,显贵的;n.贵族;有教养的人;罗马帝国的地方官
参考例句:
  • The old patrician was buried in the family vault.这位老贵族埋在家族的墓地里。
  • Its patrician dignity was a picturesque sham.它的贵族的尊严只是一套华丽的伪装。
6 reign pBbzx     
n.统治时期,统治,支配,盛行;v.占优势
参考例句:
  • The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
  • The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。
7 disburse 49GyR     
v.支出,拨款
参考例句:
  • Cashiers receive and disburse money in establishments other than financial institutions.除了金融机构,出纳员也会在一些社会机构里收款付款。
  • On approval,we will disburse the fund to your designated bank account directly.一经批核,贷款将于扣除手续费后直接存入您指定的银行账户。
8 notary svnyj     
n.公证人,公证员
参考例句:
  • She is the town clerk and a certified public accountant and notary public.她身兼城镇文书、执业会计师和公证人数职。
  • That notary is authorised to perform the certain legal functions.公证人被授权执行某些法律职能。
9 conspicuous spszE     
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的
参考例句:
  • It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显,抽烟对健康有害。
  • Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。
10 virtue BpqyH     
n.德行,美德;贞操;优点;功效,效力
参考例句:
  • He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
  • You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。
11 ordained 629f6c8a1f6bf34be2caf3a3959a61f1     
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
参考例句:
  • He was ordained in 1984. 他在一九八四年被任命为牧师。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • He was ordained priest. 他被任命为牧师。 来自辞典例句
12 vigour lhtwr     
(=vigor)n.智力,体力,精力
参考例句:
  • She is full of vigour and enthusiasm.她有热情,有朝气。
  • At 40,he was in his prime and full of vigour.他40岁时正年富力强。
13 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
14 condemned condemned     
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
  • The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。
15 distress 3llzX     
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛
参考例句:
  • Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
  • Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
16 incensed 0qizaV     
盛怒的
参考例句:
  • The decision incensed the workforce. 这个决定激怒了劳工大众。
  • They were incensed at the decision. 他们被这个决定激怒了。
17 providence 8tdyh     
n.深谋远虑,天道,天意;远见;节约;上帝
参考例句:
  • It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
  • To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事,是违背上帝的意志的。
18 contriver 1c71e973041fdeaa1fc7af3656c6cbdb     
发明者,创制者,筹划者
参考例句:
19 unwilling CjpwB     
adj.不情愿的
参考例句:
  • The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
  • His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。
20 backwards BP9ya     
adv.往回地,向原处,倒,相反,前后倒置地
参考例句:
  • He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
  • All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。
21 subverting 7d170a8a070fe3d4113b3639b8fd7eba     
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
参考例句:
  • This viewpoint sees the Multinational Corporation as capable of circumventing or subverting national objectives and policies. 这种观点认为,跨国公司能够遏制和破坏国家的目标和政策。 来自辞典例句
  • By simply subverting an expectation, a novelist can undermine a prejudice. 藉由完全推翻期待,一个小说家可以逐渐破坏一种歧视。 来自互联网
22 Christians 28e6e30f94480962cc721493f76ca6c6     
n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
  • His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。
23 magistrates bbe4eeb7cda0f8fbf52949bebe84eb3e     
地方法官,治安官( magistrate的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • to come up before the magistrates 在地方法院出庭
  • He was summoned to appear before the magistrates. 他被传唤在地方法院出庭。
24 inflicted cd6137b3bb7ad543500a72a112c6680f     
把…强加给,使承受,遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
  • Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。
25 infraction gbbz5     
n.违反;违法
参考例句:
  • He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
  • Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的,触犯此条的司机将受重罚。
26 countless 7vqz9L     
adj.无数的,多得不计其数的
参考例句:
  • In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
  • I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。
27 narrative CFmxS     
n.叙述,故事;adj.叙事的,故事体的
参考例句:
  • He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
  • Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。


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