Their fate, they knew, was in the hands of one man, the commander of the imperial guards, Asper. He was an Arian (or Unitarian), and could not hope to occupy the throne which would soon be at his disposal. The citizens of Constantinople were at least as wanton and passionate8 as those of Rome had been, but they were fiercely devoted10 to the sound doctrine11 of the Trinity, and they would have flung themselves against the bronze gates and marble walls of the palace if an Arian had2 ventured to don the purple. So Senators and Senators’ wives indulged their conflicting hopes and paid their servile reverence12 to the dying monarch13 and the vigorous barbarian14 commander.
Marcian died in the year 457, not without a superfluous15 rumour16 of poison, and expectation rose to the height of fever when the worn frame was entombed with all the rich ceremony of the Eastern Court. Then there came the first of the long series of surprises and dramatic successions which were to enliven Byzantine history for many a century. Asper announced that his steward17 Leo, a tribune, or subordinate officer, of the troops, was to receive the imperial crown. A barbaric soldier and his wife were to occupy the golden throne, and all the nobility of Constantinople hastened to kiss their purple slippers18.
Leo the Isaurian is one of those quite unromantic figures which the restless waves of Roman life often washed into the world of romance: one of the many raw highlanders who had set out from Asia Minor19 to make their fortune in the glittering metropolis20 of the East. A few years of useful military service had won for him the rank of tribune and the confidence of the commander, and Asper thought that he could rely on the docility22 and gratitude23 of the big simple-featured soldier. Wholly illiterate24, with no larger experience than the control of Asper’s servants, a man of rough, hairy face, powerful frame and blunt ways, he suddenly found himself transferred to a throne that gleamed, as few thrones did, with “the sands of Indus and the adamant25 of Golconda.”
His wife, the Empress Verina, shares alike the earlier obscurity and the sudden elevation26 to the extraordinary splendour of the Byzantine Court. We know nothing of her nationality or extraction; and, as the only relatives who gather about her when her hand dispenses27 the gold and the favours of a great empire are just as obscure as herself, we may be sure that her origin was humble28 enough. A soldier like Leo would select his mate in a3 lowly world, and we shall see later that Verina permitted no scruple29 to restrain either her passion or her ambition. But there was personality in the new Empress: an able and vigorous intelligence, a masterful ambition, a virile30 tenacity31 of purpose, and an equally virile disdain32 of scruples33 and of priests in the pursuit of her ambition. She must have been much younger than her husband, who was nearly sixty years old. She not only survived him for more than a decade, but she filled that decade with the most spirited adventures, and she admitted, or attracted, a lover after the death of her husband in his seventy-fourth year.
It is one of the most singular features of Verina’s story that she remains34 almost as obscure and insignificant35 during the seventeen years in which she reigned36 with her husband as she had been before her elevation, yet in her later years reveals a character of remarkable38 vigour39 and great interest. We have, therefore, little concern with the reign37 of Leo, and will rather make ourselves acquainted with the imperial world in which the Byzantine Empresses will move.
New Rome, or Constantinople, had been founded by Constantine on the site of the more ancient city of Byzantium, and is so faithfully replaced by the modern city that its situation needs little description. It spread over the triangular41 point of Europe which runs to a tongue between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmora, and was protected by a double wall from invasion on the land side; in fact, it was in time enclosed entirely42 within thirteen miles of stout43 wall.
The lower portion of this triangular area, a vast domain44 of more than half-a-million square yards, sloping gradually to the silver shores of the Sea of Marmora, was reserved for the imperial palaces and gardens. Running parallel with the imperial palace, to the north, was the Hippodrome, into which the story of the Empresses will repeatedly take us. Like the Great Circus at Rome, on the model of which it was built, it was the4 most commanding and venerated45 institution of the frivolous46 people. Its spacious47 long-drawn48 arena49 was flanked by tiers of seats which could accommodate tens of thousands of people—some authorities say a hundred thousand people. A lofty imperial gallery, the kathisma, surveyed the races and the spectators from the north-eastern end, and a great purple awning50 gave protection from the burning sun. Beyond the Hippodrome and the palace was the chief square of the city, the Augusteum, which corresponded to the old Forum51 at Rome or the Agora at Athens. Under the shelter of the double colonnade52 which surrounded it the idlers of Constantinople held their endless fiery53 discussions of the last chariot race, the last heresy54, or the last revolution: the studious bargained for books: the amorous55 made traffic in love. It was the heart of the city. On the south side of it was the great gate of the palace: on the north side the church, or cathedral, of St Sophia: the Senate House faced it on the east: and from its western side ran the main street of Constantinople, the Mese (or Middle Street), lined with colonnades56, which passed more or less continuously along the central ridge57 of the triangular area which the city occupied. A city was, in those days, and for many a century afterwards, a palace and a cathedral: we can only say of the million citizens that they were packed into the spaces not occupied by Church or State, especially in the region between the Mese and the Golden Horn, where fire and pestilence58 periodically fed on their crowded tenements59.
With the palace we need a closer acquaintance. Verina would be familiar with the massive iron gate on the south side of the square through which, as the Emperor rode in, one might catch a glimpse of the great bronze door of the palace. Through this gate the obscure woman of the people was now borne on her litter, to be crowned mistress of the world. The front part of the palace was burned by the people in 532, but we may assume that it had the general plan of the later structure which experts5 have reconstructed for us.2 The door led into a spacious hall—known as the Chalke on account of its bronze roof—which was richly adorned60 with statues, marbles and mosaics62. Constantine had despoiled63 the world to enrich his palace and city, and this entrance hall had a great store of treasures. Crossing the hall one entered the apartments of the troops who guarded the palace and whose spacious quarters formed an immense and formidable approach to the imperial palace. More than three thousand selected troops, divided into three classes, formed this imperial bodyguard64, and we shall more than once find their halls swimming with blood as some frantic65 mob or adventurous66 usurper67 seeks to penetrate68 to the palace. The palace grounds were, of course, surrounded by lofty and unscaleable walls.
Verina would pass first through the lines of the Scholarians, whose golden shields and lances, and gold helmets surmounted69 with red aigrettes, would form a glittering corridor. Ascending70 the marble steps at the far end of their hall, the purple curtains being drawn aside, she would pass between the Excubitors, a regiment71 of powerful warriors72 with two-edged axes, and the Candidates, or white-robed troops, gleaming with gold; the second and third lines of defence. At the end of these palatial73 barracks three ivory-plated doors, hung with curtains of purple silk, opened into the Consistorium, a large hall lined with marble and mosaic61, in the floor of which were set porphyry slabs74 to indicate the successive spots where even kings must thrice prostrate75 themselves before approaching to kiss the feet of—Leo the Isaurian. A throne, covered with purple and heavily laden76 with gold and jewels, was raised under a golden dome77 at the upper end of the room.
Three pairs of steps and three bronze doors—for this wondrously78 elevated peasant and his obscure wife must not pass through the same door as ordinary mortals—then6 led to an unroofed terrace, lined with columns and precious statues, on one side of which was the chapel79 of the Saviour80, and on the other the ancient gold-roofed banquet-room. Then at length Verina would find herself, probably for the first time, before the door of the palace proper, or the main palace, Daphne. Passing between the crowds of stewards81, secretaries, domestic officers and great ladies, with masses of subordinate servants behind, all bent82 in profound reverence, she would enter by the bronze doors into the Augusteus, or vestibule of the palace: a hall crowded with choice bronze and marble statues and mosaics. Fresh legions of servants—the population of the palace must have been more than five thousand even at this early date—and groups of pale eunuchs now crowded to do homage83, and the fortunate woman surrendered herself to her tire-women, to don the gold-cloth tunic84, the purple mantle85 and the heavy jewellery of an empress.
The coronation would probably take place in the church of St Stephen, within the palace, and it seems that Verina and Leo then crossed the gardens and terraces to receive the homage of the Senators and nobles in the outlying palace of Magnaura. We know it at a later date as a vast hall lined with coloured marbles from the most famous quarries86 of the world, its floors strewn thick with roses, its wonders lit by fourteen massive silver lamps which hung from heavy chains of silvered bronze between its marble columns. But the wonderful golden sparrows which piped their mechanical notes on golden trees, and the golden lions which lashed87 their tails and roared before the throne, and the organs of silver and gold, belong to a later date in Byzantine history. From Magnaura the royal procession returned to Daphne, and mounted the spiral stair which led to the royal lodge88, with a small palace in its rear, overlooking the Hippodrome. There the men of Constantinople rang out their Greek cry of “Many years!” to the rustic89 tribune and his wife who had so suddenly been7 lifted to this giddy height, and were, no doubt, rewarded with chariot races. The coronation day would end, as was usual, with a banquet in the Triclinon, a dining-hall in the space between the apartments of the guards and the palace proper. Its lofty roof was of gold, and on its nineteen purple-draped tables only golden vessels90 were set; some of them—at least, at a later date—were so heavy that they had to be lifted from their purple chariots to the table by machinery92. And after such a banquet as only the palace could command, amidst some two hundred of the highest nobles of the greatest empire in the world, Verina would retire to her ivory or silver couch to brood over this prodigious93 turn of the wheel of her fortune. We shall find numbers of equally romantic elevations94, and just as many tragic95 falls from splendour to obscurity, in the long story of the Byzantine Empresses.
Unfortunately, the coronation does not yet bring Verina plainly before us, and we must pass the seventeen years of her husband’s reign almost in silence. To explain this obscurity it is not enough to say that it was the custom of the Byzantine Court to keep its women in seclusion96. As long as the stream of imperial life flowed evenly they were, generally, content to idle the sunny hours behind the thick hedge of eunuchs and maids, in some sequestered98 palace or other in the vast gardens, where many fountains and the soft breath of the sea and leafy groves99 cooled the air. They did not even feel the exclusion100 of women from the tense sensations of the Hippodrome, for one could witness the thrilling races from the windows in the upper gallery of the church of St Stephen. But we shall see speedily enough that this ceremonious seclusion no more intimidated101 the imperial women, when they were imperial, from playing their part in public life than the pomp and display of the palace intimidated the people of Constantinople from talking to their monarch, when occasion arose, as if he were a village chief. Verina remained quiet and obscure8 because life flowed evenly and she had no cause to interfere102 with its course. The promptness with which she sought, or accepted, consolation103 after the death of her husband does not suggest that she was very deeply devoted to Leo. He was, however, a shrewd and strong man, though rough and uncultivated, and he seems to have left little room for his wife’s interference.
The Empress’s quarters in the palace, or assemblage of palaces, are very imperfectly known to us. Daphne itself, the original palace, to which later Emperors would raise stupendous rivals, cannot have had very numerous apartments. It would assuredly not be possible to hide a bishop104 there for years, as the Empress Theodora afterwards hid a bishop in her apartments; to say nothing of the subterraneous dungeons105 which Theodora is said to have filled with her prisoners. But there were several detached palaces in the grounds, and no doubt the Empress had the use of one of these, standing106 in its own gardens and groves, and protected by its army of eunuchs. Verina had had one daughter, Ariadne, before her elevation to the throne. A few years afterwards she again gave promise of motherhood, and adjourned107 for delivery, as custom demanded, to the Porphyra Palace by the sea, a small square mansion108 whose walls were lined with red, white-spotted porphyry. But it was another girl, Leontia, that she brought into the world, and who lay beside her under the sheets of gold-cloth to receive the homage of the notabilities.3
Many years of this placid109 existence pass before we catch another glimpse of Verina. The legendary110 life of St Daniel Stylites, the emulator111 or successor of the famous Simeon of the Pillar, says that the prayers of the9 holy dweller112 on a column procured113 for the Empress a boy in 462, but the effectiveness of his prayers seems to have been limited, as no such child has found its way into serious history. Leo was now ageing, and the question of the succession must have been keenly discussed. It is at this point that Verina, who seemed doomed114 to pass again into obscurity, begins to reveal her personality. Asper and his son still seemed to dominate Constantinople, but their power was being silently undermined. Leo was filling the palace and the army with his own compatriots, and a conflict impended116 between the Isaurians and Goths, between Leo and Asper.
Amongst these Isaurians a young man named Trascallisseus—or something approaching it, for the Greeks make sad work of the Asiatic names—won the favour of Leo, and approached nearer to the throne. The orthodox chroniclers are severe on Trascallisseus, and depict117 him as “a veritable Pan”—dark, ugly, hairy, ungainly, heavy-footed and ignorant. The Isaurians were not a handsome race, nor had they the least ambition to adopt the culture of the Greeks, yet the portrait is probably overdrawn118. Trascallisseus seems to have been a robust119, sullen120, illiterate, intriguing121 young man, with no apparent grace of body or character, but Leo was minded to marry him to Ariadne, and thus mark him for the throne.
Verina apparently122 desired the succession of her brother Basiliscus, and, as a vast fleet of more than a thousand vessels was about to be sent to wrest123 Roman Africa from the Vandals, she obtained the command of it for him. Verina could watch from the palace gardens the sailing of the great armada which was to win the purple for her brother. And in a few weeks a fugitive124 vessel91 returned with the terrible news that the expedition had failed, the navy had been burned, and the great army of a hundred thousand men sunk or scattered125 by Genseric. Basiliscus had fled shamefully126 at the first shock, and had retired127 to hide his disgrace in private life at Heraclea in Thrace.
It was the turn of Trascallisseus. His name was10 changed to Zeno, and he was married to Ariadne and promoted to the highest honours.4 Verina had now to resign herself to a hope that she would share the power with Zeno and her daughter, but the struggle of Isaurians and Goths had first to be settled, and the settlement interests us. In less than two years the struggle ended with a victory of the Isaurians—a victory that has inscribed128 the name of the Emperor in the chronicles as “Leo the Butcher.” We do not know the course of the quarrel, but one day in the year 471 the marble and bronze palace rang with the clash of swords. Asper and his elder son were cut to pieces by the eunuchs within the palace. No doubt Verina and her family had their boats moored129 at the foot of the garden, as we shall find others doing, but the terrible axes of the Excubitors and the long swords of the Candidates held back the tide of Goths and covered the marble floors with their corpses130. The Isaurians were masters of the Roman Empire.
Leo died three years afterwards. It is said that he wished to crown Zeno before he died, but that the people were bitterly opposed to it. He had, therefore, in order to secure the succession, associated his infant (or boyish) grandson Leo with his imperial power, and had died shortly afterwards. The mother and grandmother now came to an agreement with Zeno, and, when the father came to do humble homage to his imperial child, the boy, prompted by Ariadne and Verina, put the crown on the father’s head, and the Court applauded the succession of the Emperor Zeno. The sickly child died nine months afterwards (November 474), leaving Zeno in sole possession of the throne.
Here begin the adventures of Verina, and at length her virile character is revealed to us. Her second daughter11 Leontia was married to a son of the Western Emperor Anthemius—it was the period of ephemeral Emperors that preceded the extinction131 of the Western Empire—and a niece of hers was wedded132 to the Western Emperor Julius Nepos; though the latter connexion soon proved its tragic futility133, the Emperor fleeing from Ravenna and falling by the hand of a bishop a few months after coronation. While promoting this apparent scheme for the reunion of the Roman Empire, Verina began to assert her personality more vigorously at Constantinople. She still lived in the palace, and seems gradually to have won its officers: as venal134 and corrupt135 a body as ever adorned a court. The works of contemporary Greek historians survive only in tantalizing136 fragments, or summaries, or they would undoubtedly137 furnish a remarkable picture of Byzantine life in the next ten years, when three Empresses occupied the stage. We can but piece together with caution the fragments we find in the chronicles, and endeavour to deduce the character of the Empresses from their actions.
Verina now had a notorious lover named Patricius, and was eager to set him on the throne instead of Zeno. Her daughter Ariadne, a commonplace, docile138 woman, clung to her husband, and the palace divided into two hostile parties and awaited the result. It is piquant139 to remember that Constantinople was at the time an intensely religious city. Its patriarch overshadowed those of Alexandria and Rome; its populace divided its interest almost equally between chariot-racing, vice21 and the suppression of heresy; and to its great church of St Sophia, or to the numerous chapels140 within the area of the palace, were conducted with splendour the important relics141 which were constantly being “found” in Palestine. But the frivolous citizens ignored the practical enjoinments of their religion until the periodical fire, or plague, or earthquake threw them into a spasm142 of repentance143, and the population of the palace seemed to hold themselves entirely dispensed144 from such common laws. Verina, at12 least, knew neither weakness nor scruple in the pursuit of her ambition.
In November 475 Zeno fled across the water to Chalcedon. Ships were kept for such emergencies at the foot of the gardens, so that an imperial family might be well on the way to the Asiatic shore before an enemy could break through the hedge of guards. Zeno, protesting that his life was threatened by Verina’s servants, fled precipitately145, since he left Ariadne under the power of her mother. It seems that Verina virtually imprisoned146 her daughter, but Ariadne escaped and joined her husband. From the coast they travelled, in a common cart, to the wild fastnesses of Isauria, from which another turn of the wheel will presently recall them to the glittering palace.
Zeno had been morose147 and unpopular, and it had not been difficult for Verina to detach the Senators and troops from him. They had, however, no mind to accept the virtual rule of Verina herself by putting her paramour on the throne, and, to her great mortification148, they summoned her discredited149 brother Basiliscus from his exile in Thrace, and clothed him with the purple. The change brings on the scene a third Empress, Zenonis, who was made “Augusta” by her husband as soon as he was crowned.
We have hardly time to make much acquaintance with Zenonis during the brief splendour of her husband’s reign, but her momentary150 appearance is not without romance. Passionately151 devoted to the more philosophical152 religious sect153, which maintained that there was but one nature in Christ, she pressed her husband to espouse154 its cause and restore its persecuted155 members. Constantinople was soon aflame with religious controversy156. Zenonis secured the return from exile, and appointment as patriarch of Alexandria, of Timotheus ?lurus. Timotheus gathered “all the scum of Alexandria”—the orthodox historian says—that could be found in Constantinople, and conducted them in procession to13 the church of St Sophia. But how Timotheus fell off his ass9, to the delight of Constantinople, and how Peter the Fuller was summoned to fill the see of Antioch, and how Basiliscus wrung157 money out of the wealthy orthodox churches, must be read in the pages of ecclesiastical history. Zenonis was impelling158 her husband to his doom115.
A much less serious defect in Zenonis, from the Constantinopolitan point of view, was that she united with her zeal159 for the Monophysite faith a genial160 disregard of its moral implications. A nephew of her husband named Harmatius rapidly became one of the most luxurious161 fops of the city. His lavishly162 spent wealth, his lovely hair and pink cheeks and handsome person, and his reputation for gallantry, made him the idol163 of the frequenters of the Hippodrome. Basiliscus made him prefect of the city, and he delighted its lower populace by moving amongst them in the shining armour164 of Achilles. Duty frequently called him to Court, and his charms conquered the susceptible165 Empress. For some time they sighed and crossed fiery glances as they met in the open chambers166 or corridors, but at length the eunuch Daniel and the midwife Maria were bribed167 to facilitate their desire. Such, at least, was the belief of Constantinople, and the power of Basiliscus was further shaken.
His next fatal mishap168 was to quarrel with Verina. He had her lover Patricius assassinated170, and the enraged171 Empress began at once to pay further gold to buy back the allegiance of Senators and officers to Zeno. The zeal of Basiliscus for his heresy had now completely alienated172 the people and embittered173 the clergy174. He had ventured to send officers into the churches to proscribe175 the great Council of Chalcedon, which had condemned176 the heresy, and the city was profoundly agitated177. Vast crowds of men, women and children shouted their orthodox hymns178 in the streets and filled the black-draped churches. When Basiliscus angrily left the city for a distant palace, the saintly Daniel descended179 from his14 pillar, followed him, and spoke180 to him in very plain language.
In these circumstances Verina was encouraged to further her plan, and the news soon reached Constantinople that Zeno had left the mountains of Isauria and was in command of an army. Two generals, Illus and Trocundus, were sent against him, and were bought by him. The very meagre chronicles now indicate a desperate struggle between Basiliscus and his sister. The Emperor began to trace the plot and execute the plotters, and Verina fled for her life to the sanctuary181 of St Sophia. We shall see often enough how frail182 a protection the law of sanctuary afforded against the anger of an Emperor, but Harmatius, who seems to have despised his lover’s husband, helped her to escape, and she seems either to have crossed to Asia or concealed183 herself. Harmatius himself was now sent against the rebels. Swearing the most solemn oath of fidelity184 to Basiliscus that the clergy could devise, he straightway sold his services to Zeno for the promise of a c?sarship for his son and the perpetual command of the armies for himself.
The career of the romantic Zenonis then came to a rapid and tragic close. As the troops of Zeno marched into the city Basiliscus and his Empress fled to the church of St Sophia, and endeavoured, by promises of undoing185 their heretical work, to induce the clergy to make Zeno respect the sanctuary. After a time an imperial officer came to the trembling wretches186 by the altar, and stripped them of all their imperial ensigns, to be taken to Zeno and Ariadne. Zeno scrupled187 to drag them from the altar, and they were at last induced to come forth188 on the solemn assurance that their lives would be spared. It was now their turn to sail for Asia. They were sent to an obscure village in Cappadocia, and imprisoned in a tower. One tradition reports that they were killed on the journey, but the more persistent189 and convincing report is that the door of the tower was sealed with masonry190, and the brother of Verina and his15 Empress were doomed to a slow and horrible death by starvation. It was the second revolution in three years, and Verina had been an active element in both.
Exile had not improved the temper of Zeno, and the restoration of his rule was at once stained with murder. He reflected gloomily on the prestige of the handsome Harmatius, and easily persuaded himself that he who had been faithless to one master might be faithless to another. Soon afterwards the luxurious officer was cut to pieces as he ascended191 the spiral stair from the palace to the Hippodrome; his son was stripped of the robes and ensigns of C?sar and was sent to take a minor order of the Church at Blachern?. But for the intervention192 of the more humane193 Ariadne the youth would, like his father, have exchanged his high dignity for death.
Constantinople seems to have regarded the murder with indifference194, but an avenger195 arose in the provinces and the two Empresses had soon grave cause for anxiety. For a time Constantinople trembled under the menace of the formidable barbarians196, but they at length returned to Italy without having penetrated197 into the city. A more serious danger fell upon the palace in the following year, however, when the younger daughter of Verina joined for a moment in the conflict of ambitions. Leontia, it will be remembered, had married Marcian, son of the Western Emperor Anthemius. On the ground that she had been “born in the Porphyry,” while her elder sister Ariadne had been born before the crowning of Leo, her husband demanded that the Empire should be assigned to him, and marched on Constantinople at the head of an army. He broke through the defences of the city, and some of the chroniclers actually assure us that he surprised the guard of the palace in their midday siesta198. It is at least certain that Zeno and the Empresses fled in alarm, and a vigorous action would have put Verina’s younger daughter on the throne. Marcian seems, however, to have postponed199 the occupation of the palace until the following day, and the16 commander Illus, secretly transporting fresh troops from Asia, restored the balance in favour of Zeno and Verina. Marcian was visited with the more refined punishment of the Byzantine world—he was forced to enter the priesthood—and Leontia retired into obscurity.
But the romance of Verina and her daughters had already entered upon a fresh chapter. Verina had welcomed her returning son-in-law at the palace, and her earlier expulsion of him and Ariadne was overlooked in view of the important share she had had in securing their return. We can, however, well understand that Zeno regarded her with suspicion and distrust, and would welcome the first opportunity to remove her from the palace. The argument which he had applied200 so remorselessly to Harmatius plainly extended to his imperial mother-in-law. The writers of the time represent him as not taking a prominent part in the events that followed, but it is difficult to doubt that his secret commands directed the whole intrigue201.
In the year 478 a soldier attempted to assassinate169 the commander Illus, and he confessed—under torture or bribery—that he had been instructed by Verina’s steward Epinicius. The steward was given into the custody203 of Illus by the Emperor, and was sent under guard to a castle in Isauria. Illus followed, and easily induced the steward to impeach204 his mistress. Illus then returned to the city, and arranged with Zeno a plot for the capture of Verina. It is clear that the Empress-Mother had great power in Constantinople, and that they dare not openly touch her. Illus was to go to Isauria, and pretend that he feared danger from Zeno. The Emperor was then to ask Verina to take to Illus with her own hand a letter of indemnity205, and, when she reached Isauria, she was to be imprisoned there. We should find it difficult to believe that so na?ve a plot could entrap206 the virile and experienced Empress were we not expressly assured of it by the highest authorities. In a few weeks Verina was enraged to find herself imprisoned in a Papirian17 fortress207, one of the strongly fortified208 castles of remote Isauria. One authority observes that they first compelled her to take the vows209 of a nun210, but we may decline to believe that they troubled to place so frail and so superfluous a chain on such a woman.
From the lonely hills of Isauria Verina at length found a means of communicating with Ariadne and securing her interest. Zeno, to whom Ariadne appealed, referred her to Illus, and, when that general was summoned to the Empress’s apartments, and implored211 with tears to release her mother, he bluntly asked: “Do you want to be rid of your husband and wed97 another?” Ariadne returned stormily to her husband, and declared that either Illus or she must leave the palace. “If you can do anything, I’m with you,” said the distracted Emperor, who was overshadowed by the vigorous commander. Presently, as Illus was mounting the spiral stair to the Hippodrome, a soldier in the pay of Ariadne’s chamberlain fell upon him. Illus was saved, except for the loss of an ear, by his guards, but he prudently212 decided213 that Constantinople was injurious to his health and requested the Emperor for a change of air. He was appointed commander of the eastern troops, took with him the patrician214 Leontius and a distinguished215 company, and reached Antioch only to declare himself in rebellion and Leontius Emperor.
In the extraordinary confusion of events which the meagre chronicles transmit to us Verina had obtained her wish in an unexpected manner. A messenger came to her in her solitary216 prison to say that she was to crown Leontius at the city of Tarsus and join forces with him and Illus against Zeno. Verina was not the woman to hesitate. She crowned Leontius, a cultivated Syrian noble and excellent soldier, at Tarsus, and issued a characteristic letter to the officials and commanders of the Empire:
18
“Verina Augusta, greeting to our prefects and Christian217 peoples. You know that the Empire is ours, and that after the death of our husband Leo we, trusting to improve the condition of the commonwealth218, raised to the throne Trascallisseus, who was afterwards called Zeno; now, however, since we perceive that he is deteriorating219, and on account of his insatiable avarice220, we have thought it needful to give you a Christian Emperor, adorned with piety221 and justice, that he may save the commonwealth and administer war with moderation and prudence222. We have therefore bestowed223 the imperial crown on Leontius, most pious224 of Romans, who will guard us all with care and prudence.”
The throne of Leontius was set up at Antioch, and the aged Empress turned with her confederates to face Zeno’s troops. It was to be the last act of the stirring drama of her life. Zeno acted with unaccustomed vigour, and in a few days Verina and her companions were flying to Isauria. They shut themselves in the Papirian fortress and prepared to sustain a long siege. In the middle of the siege Verina died, and was spared the humiliation225 of the final defeat. Four years afterwards the heads of Illus and Leontius were exhibited on poles at Constantinople, but the body of Verina was decently interred226 there by her daughter.
The loss of contemporary historians prevents us from obtaining the closer acquaintance with Verina which her romantic story leads us to desire. Of her personal appearance and nationality we know nothing. One is tempted202 to conceive her as a Syrian woman of the type of Zenobia or Julia Domna: a virile and masterful personality, ambitious and unscrupulous, subtle and astute227 rather than cultivated, paying no more than a merely external and superficial regard to the teaching of the new religion of the Roman world. It remains to say a few words about the Empress Ariadne before we consider the next great Empress of the Byzantine world.
In the few peaceful years which followed the death of19 Verina life at the palace became sombre and painful. Zeno was morose, suspicious and unpopular, and increased the gloom by the usual device of executing, or murdering, suspects. Their only son came to a lamentable228 end. The officials in charge of his education felt that it would be more profitable to themselves to teach him vice and luxury rather than the manly229 arts which his parents required, and he was profoundly corrupted230. His ostentatious vanity invited ridicule231, and his indulgence in unnatural232 vice and intemperance233 ruined his constitution. He fell an early victim to dysentery, and his father plunged234 into deeper bitterness amid the splendours and pleasures of his palace. Ariadne must have awaited the end with impatience235, and it is not improbable that she already chose a partner to share her throne. Popular rumour afterwards said that she buried Zeno alive. It was said that he used to fall into a kind of trance after his gluttonous236 meals, and that Ariadne in disgust bade the servants seal him in a tomb; the legend even represents him as recovering and crying in vain to be relieved, and one version pretends that, when the tomb was eventually opened, he was found to have eaten his boots and belt. The truth seems to be that he was subject to epileptic fits, one of which ended his life in April 491.
Ariadne at once nominated for the Empire a peasant of northern Greece who had a very subordinate position in the military service of the palace. A tall, handsome man—though one of his eyes was grey and the other almost black—of strong, quiet character, he seems to have been chosen by Ariadne as her future husband before Zeno died. He was unmarried, though past middle age. One of Ariadne’s eunuchs secured the consent of the Senators to the strange nomination237, and Anastasius obtained the applause of the people by remitting238 their debts to the treasury239. The only opposition240 came from the patriarch, or archbishop, who had in earlier years been compelled to prevent Anastasius from setting up an unofficial pulpit in the streets of the city20 and teaching his favourite heresy. Anastasius genially241 forswore his heresy for so high a price, was at once crowned Emperor, and married Ariadne on the fortieth day after the burial of Zeno. Docile and clinging as Ariadne had been in her earlier years, she fully40 reveals herself as the daughter of Verina in her middle life. But the twenty-five years of life which remained for her are years of obscurity, as far as the Empress is concerned, and we will not linger over them. Storm after storm broke over the palace, where she lived, but she seems to have taken no part in public events. The Isaurians marched on the city to demand the throne for the brother of Zeno, and a long struggle ended in the complete destruction of the power of the Isaurians. Then Anastasius returned to his Monophysite heresy, and the streets of the city and towns of the Empire rang with defiance242 and anathema243. On one occasion, in 512, the mob burned the monasteries244 which Anastasius favoured, and so angrily assailed245 the palace that the ships were made ready at the quays246 to conduct Ariadne and her husband to Asia. Anastasius had been guilty of the additional indiscretion of attempting to reform the morals of Constantinople and forbidding contests with wild beasts in the arena.5 Ariadne lived until the year 515 or 516, when she must have been about seventy years old. So completely was she overshadowed by her second husband that the only reference we find to her in the chronicles is that on one occasion she begged Anastasius to make a certain appointment, and he refused.
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1
virtuous
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| adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的 | |
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aged
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| adj.年老的，陈年的 | |
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vow
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| n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓 | |
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plausibly
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| 似真地 | |
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5
arcades
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| n.商场( arcade的名词复数 )；拱形走道（两旁有商店或娱乐设施）；连拱廊；拱形建筑物 | |
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6
chattered
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| （人）喋喋不休( chatter的过去式 )； 唠叨； （牙齿）打战； （机器）震颤 | |
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speculation
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| n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机 | |
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passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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ass
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| n.驴；傻瓜，蠢笨的人 | |
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devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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doctrine
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| n.教义；主义；学说 | |
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reverence
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| n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬 | |
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monarch
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| n.帝王，君主，最高统治者 | |
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barbarian
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| n.野蛮人；adj.野蛮(人)的；未开化的 | |
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superfluous
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| adj.过多的，过剩的，多余的 | |
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rumour
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| n.谣言，谣传，传闻 | |
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steward
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| n.乘务员，服务员；看管人；膳食管理员 | |
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slippers
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| n. 拖鞋 | |
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minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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metropolis
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| n.首府；大城市 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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docility
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| n.容易教，易驾驶，驯服 | |
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gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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illiterate
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| adj.文盲的；无知的；n.文盲 | |
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adamant
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| adj.坚硬的，固执的 | |
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elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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dispenses
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| v.分配，分与；分配( dispense的第三人称单数 )；施与；配（药） | |
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28
humble
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| adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低 | |
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29
scruple
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| n./v.顾忌，迟疑 | |
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virile
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| adj.男性的；有男性生殖力的；有男子气概的；强有力的 | |
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31
tenacity
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| n.坚韧 | |
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32
disdain
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| n.鄙视，轻视；v.轻视，鄙视，不屑 | |
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33
scruples
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| n.良心上的不安( scruple的名词复数 )；顾虑，顾忌v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的第三人称单数 ) | |
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34
remains
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| n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹 | |
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insignificant
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| adj.无关紧要的，可忽略的，无意义的 | |
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reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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39
vigour
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| （=vigor）n.智力，体力，精力 | |
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40
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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41
triangular
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| adj.三角（形）的，三者间的 | |
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42
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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44
domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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45
venerated
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| 敬重（某人或某事物），崇敬( venerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
frivolous
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| adj.轻薄的；轻率的 | |
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47
spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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48
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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49
arena
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| n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台 | |
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50
awning
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| n.遮阳篷；雨篷 | |
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51
forum
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| n.论坛，讨论会 | |
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52
colonnade
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| n.柱廊 | |
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53
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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54
heresy
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| n.异端邪说；异教 | |
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55
amorous
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| adj.多情的；有关爱情的 | |
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56
colonnades
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| n.石柱廊( colonnade的名词复数 ) | |
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57
ridge
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| n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭 | |
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58
pestilence
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| n.瘟疫 | |
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59
tenements
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| n.房屋，住户，租房子( tenement的名词复数 ) | |
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60
adorned
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| [计]被修饰的 | |
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61
mosaic
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| n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的 | |
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62
mosaics
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| n.马赛克( mosaic的名词复数 )；镶嵌；镶嵌工艺；镶嵌图案 | |
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63
despoiled
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| v.掠夺，抢劫( despoil的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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64
bodyguard
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| n.护卫，保镖 | |
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frantic
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| adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的 | |
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66
adventurous
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| adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的 | |
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67
usurper
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| n. 篡夺者, 僭取者 | |
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68
penetrate
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| v.透(渗)入；刺入，刺穿；洞察，了解 | |
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69
surmounted
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| 战胜( surmount的过去式和过去分词 )； 克服（困难）； 居于…之上； 在…顶上 | |
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70
ascending
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| adj.上升的，向上的 | |
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71
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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72
warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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73
palatial
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| adj.宫殿般的，宏伟的 | |
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74
slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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75
prostrate
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| v.拜倒，平卧，衰竭；adj.拜倒的，平卧的，衰竭的 | |
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76
laden
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| adj.装满了的；充满了的；负了重担的；苦恼的 | |
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77
dome
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| n.圆屋顶，拱顶 | |
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78
wondrously
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| adv.惊奇地，非常，极其 | |
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79
chapel
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| n.小教堂，殡仪馆 | |
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80
saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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81
stewards
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| （轮船、飞机等的）乘务员( steward的名词复数 )； （俱乐部、旅馆、工会等的）管理员； （大型活动的）组织者； （私人家中的）管家 | |
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82
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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83
homage
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| n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬 | |
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84
tunic
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| n.束腰外衣 | |
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85
mantle
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| n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红 | |
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86
quarries
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| n.（采）石场( quarry的名词复数 )；猎物（指鸟，兽等）；方形石；（格窗等的）方形玻璃v.从采石场采得( quarry的第三人称单数 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石 | |
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87
lashed
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| adj.具睫毛的v.鞭打( lash的过去式和过去分词 )；煽动；紧系；怒斥 | |
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88
lodge
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| v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆 | |
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89
rustic
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| adj.乡村的，有乡村特色的；n.乡下人，乡巴佬 | |
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90
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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91
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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92
machinery
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| n.(总称)机械，机器；机构 | |
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93
prodigious
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| adj.惊人的，奇妙的；异常的；巨大的；庞大的 | |
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94
elevations
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| （水平或数量）提高( elevation的名词复数 )； 高地； 海拔； 提升 | |
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95
tragic
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| adj.悲剧的，悲剧性的，悲惨的 | |
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96
seclusion
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| n.隐遁，隔离 | |
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97
wed
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| v.娶，嫁，与…结婚 | |
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98
sequestered
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| adj.扣押的；隐退的；幽静的；偏僻的v.使隔绝，使隔离( sequester的过去式和过去分词 )；扣押 | |
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99
groves
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| 树丛，小树林( grove的名词复数 ) | |
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100
exclusion
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| n.拒绝，排除，排斥，远足，远途旅行 | |
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101
intimidated
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| v.恐吓；威胁adj.害怕的；受到威胁的 | |
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102
interfere
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| v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰 | |
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103
consolation
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| n.安慰，慰问 | |
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104
bishop
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| n.主教，（国际象棋）象 | |
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105
dungeons
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| n.地牢( dungeon的名词复数 ) | |
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106
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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107
adjourned
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| （使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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108
mansion
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| n.大厦，大楼；宅第 | |
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109
placid
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| adj.安静的，平和的 | |
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110
legendary
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| adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学） | |
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111
emulator
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| n.仿真器；仿真程序 | |
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112
dweller
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| n.居住者，住客 | |
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113
procured
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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114
doomed
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| 命定的 | |
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115
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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116
impended
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| v.进行威胁，即将发生( impend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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117
depict
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| vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述 | |
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118
overdrawn
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| 透支( overdraw的过去分词 )； (overdraw的过去分词) | |
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119
robust
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| adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的 | |
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120
sullen
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| adj.愠怒的，闷闷不乐的，(天气等)阴沉的 | |
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121
intriguing
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| adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心 | |
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122
apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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123
wrest
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| n.扭，拧，猛夺；v.夺取，猛扭，歪曲 | |
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124
fugitive
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| adj.逃亡的，易逝的；n.逃犯，逃亡者 | |
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125
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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126
shamefully
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| 可耻地； 丢脸地； 不体面地； 羞耻地 | |
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127
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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128
inscribed
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| v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接 | |
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129
moored
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| adj. 系泊的 动词moor的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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130
corpses
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| n.死尸，尸体( corpse的名词复数 ) | |
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131
extinction
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| n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种 | |
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132
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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133
futility
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| n.无用 | |
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134
venal
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| adj.唯利是图的，贪脏枉法的 | |
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135
corrupt
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| v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的 | |
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136
tantalizing
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| adj.逗人的；惹弄人的；撩人的；煽情的v.逗弄，引诱，折磨( tantalize的现在分词 ) | |
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137
undoubtedly
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| adv.确实地，无疑地 | |
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138
docile
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| adj.驯服的，易控制的，容易教的 | |
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139
piquant
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| adj.辛辣的，开胃的，令人兴奋的 | |
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140
chapels
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| n.小教堂， （医院、监狱等的）附属礼拜堂( chapel的名词复数 )；（在小教堂和附属礼拜堂举行的）礼拜仪式 | |
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141
relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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142
spasm
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| n.痉挛，抽搐；一阵发作 | |
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143
repentance
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| n.懊悔 | |
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144
dispensed
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| v.分配( dispense的过去式和过去分词 )；施与；配（药） | |
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145
precipitately
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| adv.猛进地 | |
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146
imprisoned
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| 下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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147
morose
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| adj.脾气坏的，不高兴的 | |
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148
mortification
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| n.耻辱，屈辱 | |
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149
discredited
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| 不足信的，不名誉的 | |
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150
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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151
passionately
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| ad.热烈地，激烈地 | |
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152
philosophical
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| adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的 | |
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153
sect
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| n.派别，宗教，学派，派系 | |
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154
espouse
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| v.支持，赞成，嫁娶 | |
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155
persecuted
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| （尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人 | |
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156
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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157
wrung
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| 绞( wring的过去式和过去分词 )； 握紧（尤指别人的手）； 把（湿衣服）拧干； 绞掉（水） | |
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158
impelling
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| adj.迫使性的，强有力的v.推动、推进或敦促某人做某事( impel的现在分词 ) | |
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159
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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160
genial
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| adj.亲切的，和蔼的，愉快的，脾气好的 | |
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161
luxurious
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| adj.精美而昂贵的；豪华的 | |
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162
lavishly
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| adv.慷慨地，大方地 | |
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163
idol
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| n.偶像，红人，宠儿 | |
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164
armour
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| （=armor）n.盔甲；装甲部队 | |
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165
susceptible
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| adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的 | |
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166
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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167
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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168
mishap
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| n.不幸的事，不幸；灾祸 | |
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169
assassinate
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| vt.暗杀，行刺，中伤 | |
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170
assassinated
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| v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏 | |
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171
enraged
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| 使暴怒( enrage的过去式和过去分词 )； 歜； 激愤 | |
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172
alienated
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| adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等） | |
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173
embittered
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| v.使怨恨，激怒( embitter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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174
clergy
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| n.[总称]牧师，神职人员 | |
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175
proscribe
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| v.禁止；排斥；放逐，充军；剥夺公权 | |
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176
condemned
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| 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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177
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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178
hymns
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| n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌( hymn的名词复数 ) | |
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179
descended
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| a.为...后裔的，出身于...的 | |
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180
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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181
sanctuary
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| n.圣所，圣堂，寺庙；禁猎区，保护区 | |
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182
frail
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| adj.身体虚弱的；易损坏的 | |
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183
concealed
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| a.隐藏的，隐蔽的 | |
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184
fidelity
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| n.忠诚，忠实；精确 | |
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185
undoing
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| n.毁灭的原因，祸根；破坏，毁灭 | |
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186
wretches
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| n.不幸的人( wretch的名词复数 )；可怜的人；恶棍；坏蛋 | |
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187
scrupled
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| v.感到于心不安，有顾忌( scruple的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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188
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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189
persistent
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| adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的 | |
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190
masonry
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| n.砖土建筑；砖石 | |
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191
ascended
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| v.上升，攀登( ascend的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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192
intervention
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| n.介入，干涉，干预 | |
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193
humane
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| adj.人道的，富有同情心的 | |
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194
indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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195
avenger
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| n. 复仇者 | |
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196
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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197
penetrated
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| adj. 击穿的，鞭辟入里的 动词penetrate的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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198
siesta
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| n.午睡 | |
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199
postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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200
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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201
intrigue
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| vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋 | |
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202
tempted
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| v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词） | |
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203
custody
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| n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留 | |
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204
impeach
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| v.弹劾；检举 | |
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205
indemnity
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| n.赔偿，赔款，补偿金 | |
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206
entrap
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| v.以网或陷阱捕捉，使陷入圈套 | |
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207
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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208
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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209
vows
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| 誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿 | |
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210
nun
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| n.修女，尼姑 | |
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211
implored
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| 恳求或乞求（某人）( implore的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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212
prudently
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| adv. 谨慎地，慎重地 | |
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213
decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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214
patrician
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| 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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215
distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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216
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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217
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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218
commonwealth
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| n.共和国，联邦，共同体 | |
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219
deteriorating
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| 恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 ) | |
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220
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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221
piety
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| n.虔诚，虔敬 | |
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222
prudence
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| n.谨慎，精明，节俭 | |
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223
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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224
pious
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| adj.虔诚的；道貌岸然的 | |
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225
humiliation
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| n.羞辱 | |
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226
interred
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| v.埋，葬( inter的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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227
astute
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| adj.机敏的，精明的 | |
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228
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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229
manly
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| adj.有男子气概的；adv.男子般地，果断地 | |
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230
corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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231
ridicule
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| v.讥讽，挖苦；n.嘲弄 | |
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232
unnatural
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| adj.不自然的；反常的 | |
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233
intemperance
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| n.放纵 | |
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234
plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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235
impatience
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| n.不耐烦，急躁 | |
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236
gluttonous
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| adj.贪吃的，贪婪的 | |
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237
nomination
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| n.提名，任命，提名权 | |
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238
remitting
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| v.免除（债务），宽恕( remit的现在分词 )；使某事缓和；寄回，传送 | |
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239
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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240
opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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241
genially
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| adv.亲切地，和蔼地；快活地 | |
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242
defiance
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| n.挑战，挑衅，蔑视，违抗 | |
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243
anathema
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| n.诅咒；被诅咒的人(物)，十分讨厌的人(物) | |
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244
monasteries
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| 修道院( monastery的名词复数 ) | |
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245
assailed
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| v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对 | |
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246
quays
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| 码头( quay的名词复数 ) | |
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