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hands even from God. He was the man who overturned the whole world, partly by avarice and partly by cowardice. He made three partners in his government, dividing the Empire into four parts, so that armies were multiplied, because each of the four endeavoured to have a much 5 greater number of soldiers than former emperors had when they ruled the state alone. Thus the receivers of taxes began to be more in number than the payers, so that by reason of the consumption of husbandmen's goods by the excess of land-taxes, the farms were left waste 10 and tilled lands turned into forest. In order too that all places might be filled with terror the provinces also were cut up into fragments, and many presidents and sundry companies of officials lay heavy on every territory, and indeed almost on every city; and there were many 15 receivers besides and secretaries and deputies of the prefects. All these very seldom had civil cases before them, only condemnations and continual confiscations and requisitions-I will not say frequent, but unceasing-of every kind of property, and in the levying intolerable 20 wrongs. Even these might be borne if they were intended to provide pay for the soldiers; but Diocletian in his insatiable avarice would never let his treasures be diminished, but was always heaping up extraordinary aids and benevolences, in order to keep his hoards untouched 25 and inviolate. Again, when by various evil deeds he caused a prodigious scarcity, he essayed by law to fix the prices of goods in the market. Then much blood was shed for trifling and paltry wares, and through fear nothing appeared in the market, so that the scarcity was 30 made much worse, till after the law had ruined multitudes it was of sheer necessity abolished. In addition to this he had an unlimited taste for building, and levied of the provincials as unlimited exactions for the wages of workmen and artificers, and the supplying of wagons and 35

sint fabricandis operibus necessaria. Hic basilicae, hic circus, hic moneta, hic armorum fabrica, hic uxori domus, hic filiae. Repente magna pars civitatis exceditur. Migrabant omnes cum coniugibus ac liberis, quasi urbe ab 5 hostibus capta. Et cum perfecta haec fuerant cum interitu provinciarum, Non recte facta sunt, aiebat; alio modo fiant. Rursus dirui ac mutari necesse erat, iterum fortasse casura. Ita semper dementabat, Nicomediam studens urbi Romae coaequare. Iam illud praetereo, quam multi Io perierint possessionum, aut opum gratia. Hoc enim usitatum et fere licitum consuetudine malorum. Sed in hoc illud fuit praecipuum, quod ubicunque cultiorem agrum viderat, aut ornatius aedificium, iam parata domino calumnia et poena capitalis, quasi non posset rapere aliena 15 sine sanguine.

ID. De Mort. Pers. 7.

LXX.

INTER caetera, quae pro rei publicae semper commodis atque utilitate disponimus, nos quidem volueramus antehac, iuxta leges veteres et publicam disciplinam Romanorum, cuncta corrigere, atque id providere, ut etiam Christiani, 20 qui parentum suorum reliquerant sectam, ad bonas mentes redirent siquidem quadam ratione tanta eosdem Christianos voluntas invasisset et tanta stultitia occupasset, ut non illa veterum instituta sequerentur, quae forsitan primum parentes eorundem constituerant; sed pro arbitrio 25 suo atque ut iisdem erat libitum, ita sibimet leges

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everything else that was wanted for the works in hand.
Here were public offices, there a circus, here a mint,
there a factory of arms, here a palace for his wife, and
there one for his daughter. On a sudden a large part of
the city is turned out of doors: they all had to remove 5
with wives and children, as if the city had been taken by
enemies. And when the works had been finished at the
cost of ruin to the provinces-'They are not done right,'
he used to say; 'let them be done another way.' So they
had to be pulled down and altered, perhaps only to be 10
demolished again. Thus he always played the madman
in his endeavour to equal Nicomedia with imperial Rome.
I leave untold how many perished on account of their
estates or wealth, for by the custom of evil men this was
become frequent and almost lawful. Yet the worst of 15
it was this, that wherever he saw a field more care-
fully tilled or a house more elegantly adorned than usual,
straightway an accusation and capital sentence was pre-
pared for the owner as though he could not spoil his.
neighbour's goods without shedding of blood.

The Toleration Edict of Galerius.

20

AMONGST Our other arrangements, which we are always making for the use and profit of the commonwealth, we for our part had heretofore endeavoured to set all things right according to the ancient laws and public order of the Romans, and to compass this also that the Christians 25 too who had left the persuasion of their own fathers should return to a better mind; seeing that through some strange reasoning such wilfulness had seized the Christians and such folly possessed them, that, instead of following those constitutions of the ancients which per- 30 adventure their own ancestors had first established, they were making themselves laws for their own observance, merely according to their own judgement and as their

sint fabricandis operibus necessaria. Hic basilicae, hic circus, hic moneta, hic armorum fabrica, hic uxori domus, hic filiae. Repente magna pars civitatis exceditur. Migrabant omnes cum coniugibus ac liberis, quasi urbe ab 5 hostibus capta. Et cum perfecta haec fuerant cum interitu provinciarum, Non recte facta sunt, aiebat; alio modo fiant. Rursus dirui ac mutari necesse erat, iterum fortasse casura. Ita semper dementabat, Nicomediam studens urbi Romae coaequare. Iam illud praetereo, quam multi Io perierint possessionum, aut opum gratia. Hoc enim usitatum et fere licitum consuetudine malorum. Sed in hoc illud fuit praecipuum, quod ubicunque cultiorem agrum viderat, aut ornatius aedificium, iam parata domino calumnia et poena capitalis, quasi non posset rapere aliena 15 sine sanguine.

ID. De Mort. Pers. 7.

LXX.

INTER caetera, quae pro rei publicae semper commodis atque utilitate disponimus, nos quidem volueramus antehac, iuxta leges veteres et publicam disciplinam Romanorum, cuncta corrigere, atque id providere, ut etiam Christiani, 20 qui parentum suorum reliquerant sectam, ad bonas mentes redirent siquidem quadam ratione tanta eosdem Christianos voluntas invasisset et tanta stultitia occupasset, ut non illa veterum instituta sequerentur, quae forsitan primum parentes eorundem constituerant; sed pro arbitrio 25 suo atque ut iisdem erat libitum, ita sibimet leges

everything else that was wanted for the works in hand. Here were public offices, there a circus, here a mint, there a factory of arms, here a palace for his wife, and there one for his daughter. On a sudden a large part of the city is turned out of doors: they all had to remove 5 with wives and children, as if the city had been taken by enemies. And when the works had been finished at the cost of ruin to the provinces-'They are not done right,' he used to say; 'let them be done another way.' So they had to be pulled down and altered, perhaps only to be 10 demolished again. Thus he always played the madman in his endeavour to equal Nicomedia with imperial Rome. I leave untold how many perished on account of their estates or wealth, for by the custom of evil men this was become frequent and almost lawful. Yet the worst of 15 it was this, that wherever he saw a field more carefully tilled or a house more elegantly adorned than usual, straightway an accusation and capital sentence was prepared for the owner as though he could not spoil his neighbour's goods without shedding of blood.

The Toleration Edict of Galerius.

20

AMONGST Our other arrangements, which we are always making for the use and profit of the commonwealth, we for our part had heretofore endeavoured to set all things right according to the ancient laws and public order of the Romans, and to compass this also that the Christians 25 too who had left the persuasion of their own fathers should return to a better mind; seeing that through some strange reasoning such wilfulness had seized the Christians and such folly possessed them, that, instead of following those constitutions of the ancients which per- 30 adventure their own ancestors had first established, they were making themselves laws for their own observance, merely according to their own judgement and as their

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