XLV. CHA P. daughter, the heiress of the Lombard throne, her two lovers, her trusty Gepidæ, and the spoils of the palace of Verona, Rosamond descended the Adige and the Po, and was transported by a Greek vessel to the safe harbour of Ravenna. Longinus beheld with delight the charms and the treasures of the widow of Alboin: her situation and her past conduct might justify the most licentious proposals; and she readily listened to the passion of a minister, who, even in the decline of the empire, was respected as the equal of kings. The death of a jealous lover was an easy and grateful sacrifice, and as Helmichis issued from the bath, he received the deadly potion from the hand of his mistress. The taste of the liquor, its speedy operation, and his experience of the character of Rosamond, convinced him that he was poisoned: he pointed his dagger to her breast, compelled her to drain the remainder of the cup, and expired in a few minutes, with the consolation that she could not survive to enjoy the fruits of her wickedness. The daughter of Alboin and Rosamond, with the richest spoils of the Lombards, was embarked for Constantinople; the surprising strength of Peredeus amused and terrified the Imperial court: his blindness and revenge exhibited an imperfect copy of the adventures of Sampson. By the free sufKing of the frage of the nation, in the assembly of Pavia, CleLombards, A. D 573, pho, one of their noblest chiefs, was elected as the successor of Alboin. Bofore the end of eighteen months, the throne was polluted by a second murder; Clepho was stabbed by the hand of a domestic; Clepho, Angust. the the regal office was suspended above ten years, G HAP during the minority of his son Autharis; and Italy XLV. was divided and oppressed by a ducal aristocracy of thirty tyrants *. are of the emperor Justin. When the nephew of Justinian ascended the Weakness throne, he proclaimed a new æra of happiness and glory. The annals of the second Justin' marked with disgrace abroad and misery at home. In the West, the Roman empire was afflicted by the loss of Italy, the desolation of Africa, and the conquests of the Persians. Injustice prevailed both in the capital and the provinces; the rich trembled for their property, the poor for their safety, the ordinary magistrates were ignorant or venal, the occasional remedies appear to have been arbitrary and violent, and the complaints of the people could no longer be silenced by the splendid names of a legislator and a conqueror. The opinion which imputes to the prince all the calamities of his times, may be countenanced by the historian as a serious truth or a salutary prejudice. Yet a candid suspicion will arise, that the sentiments of Justin were pure and benevolent, and that he might have filled his station without reproach, if the faculties of his mind had not been impaired by disease, which deprived the emperor of the use of his *See the history of Paul, 1. ii. c. 28-32. I have borrowed some interesting circumstances from the Liber Pontificalis of Aguelius, in Script. Rer. Ital. tom. ii. p. 124. Of all chronological guides Muratori is the safest. The original authors for the reign of Justin the younger, are Evagrius, Hist. Eccles. 1. v. c. 1—12. Theophanes in Chronograph. p. 204-210. Zohoras, tom. ii, 1. xiv. p. 7572. Cedrenus, in Compendi p. 388-392. XLV. CHA P. his feet, and confined him to the palace, a stranger to the complaints of the people and the vices of the government. The tardy knowledge of his own impotence determined him to lay down the weight of the diadem; and in the choice of a worthy substitute, he shewed some symptoms of a discerning and even magnanimous spirit. The only son of Justin and Sophia died in his infancy: their daughter Arabia was the wife of Baduarius*, superintendant of the palace, and afterwards commander of the Italian armies, who vainly aspired to confirm the rights of marriage by those of adoption. While the empire appeared an object of desire, Justin was accustomed to behold with jealousy and hatred his brothers and cousins, the rivals of his hopes; nor could he depend on the gratitude of those who would accept the purple as a restitution, rather than a gift. Of these competitors, one had been removed by exile, and afterwards by death; and the emperor himself had inflicted such cruel insults on another, that he must either dread his resentment or despise his patience. This domestic animosity was refined into a generous resolution of seeking a successor, not in his family, but in the republic and the artful Sophia recommended Ti Dispositorque novus sacræ Baduarius aulæ. ་་ berius, Successor socere mox factus Cura palati. Carippus. Baduarius is enumerated among the descendants and allies of the house of Justinian A family of noble Venetians (Casa Badoero) built churches and gave dukes to the republic as early as the 1xth century; and if their descent be admitted, no kings in Europe can produce a pedigree so ancient and illustrious. Ducange. Fam. Bizantin, p. 99. Amelot de la Houssaye, Gouvernement de Venise, tom. ii. p. 555. Tiberius, December. berius, his faithful captain of the guards, whose CHA F. virtues and fortune the emperor might cherish as XLV. the fruit of his judicious choice. The ceremony Associa of his elevation to the rank of Cæsar, or Augsutus, tion of was performed in the portico of the palace, in the A. D. 574 presence of the patriarch and the senate. Justin collected the remaining strength of his mind and body, but the popular belief that his speech was inspired by the Deity, betrays a very humble opinion both of the man and the times t. "You "behold," said the emperor, "the ensigns of su 66 preme power. You are about to receive them "not from my hand, but from the hand of God. "Honour them, and from them you will derive "honour. Respect the empress your mother; you are now her son; before, you were her ser 66 66 66 vant. Delight not in blood, abstain from revenge, avoid those actions by which I have in"curred the public hatred, and consult the expe"rience rather than the example of your prede166 cessor. As a man, I have sinned; as a sinner, even in this life, I have been severely punished: "but these servants (and he pointed to his ministers), who have abused my confidence, and in"flamed my passions, will appear with me before "the 66 K 4 *The praise bestowed on princes before their elevation, is the purest and most weighty. Corippus has celebrated Tiberius at the time of the accession of Justin (1. i. 212—222.). Yet even a captain of the guards might attract the flattery of an African exile. + Evagrius (1. v. c. 13.) has added the reproach to his ministers. He applies this speech to the ceremony when Tiberius was invested with the rank of Cæsar. The loose expression, rather than the positive error, of Theophanes, &c. has, delayed it to his Augustan investiture immediately before the death of Justin. 46 CHAP." the tribunal of Christ. I have been dazzled by XLV. "the splendour of the diadem: be thou wise and "modest; remember what you have been, re"member what you are. You see around us "your slaves and your children; with the authority, assume the tenderness, of a parent. Love "your people like yourself; cultivate the affec"tions, maintain the discipline. of the army: protect "the fortunes of the rich, relieve the necessities of "the *" poor The assembly, in silence and in tears, applauded the counsels and sympathised with the repentance, of their prince: the patriarch rehearsed the prayers of the church; Tiberius received the diadem on his knees, and Justin, who in his abdication appeared most worthy to reign, addressed the new monarch in the following words; "If you consent, I liye; if you command, I die; may the God of heaven and earth infuse into your heart whatever I have neglected or forgot"ten." he four last years of the emperor Justin were passed in tranquil obscurity: his conscience was no longer tormented by the remembrance of those duties which he was incapable of discharging; and his choice was justified by the filial reverence and gratitude of Tiberius. Death of AD. 578 October 5. Reign of Fius II. 66 66 Among the virtues of Tiberius †, his beauty (he was one of the tallest and most comely of the Romans) Theophylact Simocatta (1. i. c. 11.) declares that he shall give to posterity the speech of Justin as it was pronounted, without attempting to correct the imperfections of language or rhetoric. Perhaps the vain sophist would have been incapable of producing such sentiments. For the character and reign of Tiberius, see Evagrius, 1. . c. 13. Theophylact, 1. iii. c. 12, &c. Theophanes, in Chron. |