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from the founding of the city until the expulsion of the kings ran two hundred and forty-three years. The years of the consuls until the first Caesar were five or according to some, four hundred and sixty-six. And from Caesar until Constantine three hundred and seventy-five years passed; and from him until the death of the emperor Anastasius, two hundred and twenty-four years and seven months, from which one might take out nine years, which Constantine happened to have reigned over sacred Rome. Thus are gathered from the founding of this blessed city two hundred and fifteen years and seven months. One might therefore sum up from Aeneas to the death of the good Anastasius all the years as one thousand seven hundred and forty-six and seven months, as the Greeks suppose according to all the writers of either language. With these things thus set down by us with truth, it is time to discuss, as has been said, the origins of our own state. 3 So Romulus, being eighteen years old, together with his brother Remus, founded Rome, the mother of the kingdom. And the name of their rule, which the Italians call regium, is something like tyrannical; for the name regium is not indicative of a lawful Roman kingship, as some suppose; whence no longer after 12 the expulsion of the kings was it used among the Romans, even though they were ruled by kings. For the dignity of lawful kingship is one thing, that of tyranny another, and that of the emperorship still another; and how, I will state briefly. A king is the first of his own subjects, chosen by vote for a certain pedestal and as it were a foundation, having obtained by lot a better fortune than the others; as Sophocles said about Ajax that he had the pedestal of sea-girt Salamis. And it is characteristic of a king to disturb none of the laws of the state at all but to preserve with self-control the aspect of his own state through kingship; and to do nothing on his own authority outside the laws, but to seal with his own votes that which is pleasing to the best men of the state, showing at the same time the affection of a father and a leader towards his subjects, such as God and the favor of the times has granted to us. But not so will the tyrant dispose of those who have fallen under him, but he will act by his power irrationally if he wants anything at all, not deigning to honor laws, nor enduring to write with counsel, but being carried away by his own impulses. For the character of a king is the law, but the law of a tyrant is his character. 4 For the title of the Caesars, or at any rate of the emperors, is indicative neither of kingship nor of tyranny, but rather of sole rule and authority to manage for the better the disturbances arising against the common good and to command the army how it should fight against the enemies; for 'to command' is called imperare among the Italians, whence imperator. That the name of autocrator or Caesar is not indicative of kingship is perfectly clear from the fact that both the consuls and after them the Caesars received the dignity of the title of the so-called imperatores. For the rule of the Cae 14 sars does not appear to have used tyrannical insignia, but only the purple robe, attending the Roman senate and directing the armed forces with supreme power, as I said, for this reason also the Romans called them principes, as if the first head of the entire state. For the name Caesar is indicative of a family, from the first Caesar, just like that of the Fabii and Cornelii and Flavii and Anicii, this having been previously found among barbarians. For the Egyptians named their own kings Pharaohs, after the first Pharaoh, and Ptolemies after the first. Therefore such a good order of the Caesars was preserved among the Romans until Diocletian, who first placed a diadem composed of precious stone upon his head and adorning his clothing and his feet with gems turned to the royal, or, to speak the truth, to the tyrannical style, and he remeasured the continent and burdened it with taxes. 5 So Romulus was a tyrant, first of all for killing his brother, and his elder, and for acting irrationally

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δὲ τοῦ πολισμοῦ μέχρι τῆς ἐκβολῆς τῶν ῥηγῶν διέδραμεν ἔτη τρία καὶ τεσσαράκοντα καὶ διακόσια. οἱ δὲ τῶν ὑπάτων ἄχρι Καίσαρος τοῦ πρώτου ἐνιαυτοὶ ε ἢ κατ' ἐνίους ἕξ καὶ ξ καὶ υ. ἀπὸ δὲ Καίσαρος ἕως Κωνσταντίνου διαγέγονεν ἔτη τριακόσια ἑβδομήκοντα πέντε· ἐξ αὐτοῦ δὲ ἄχρι τῆς Ἀναστασίου τοῦ βασιλέως τελευτῆς ἔτη σκδ πρὸς μησὶν ἑπτά, ἐξ ὧν ἄν τις ἐννέα ἐξέλοι ἐνιαυτούς, οὓς ἐπὶ τῆς ἱερᾶς Ῥώμης ἔτυχε βασιλεύσας Κωνσταντῖνος. συνάγεται δὴ ἀπὸ τοῦ πολισμοῦ τῆσδε τῆς εὐδαίμονος πόλεως πέντε καὶ δέκα καὶ διακόσια ἔτη πρὸς μησὶν ἑπτά. συνέλοι οὖν ἄν τις ἀπὸ Αἰνείου ἕως τῆς Ἀναστασίου τοῦ χρηστοῦ τελευτῆς τοὺς πάντας ἐνιαυτοὺς ἓξ καὶ τεσσαράκοντα πρὸς ἑπτακοσίοις καὶ χιλίοις πρὸς μησὶν ἑπτά, ὡς Ἕλληνες οἴονται κατὰ πάντας τοὺς ἑκατέρας φωνῆς συγγραφέας. τούτων οὕτως ἡμῖν σὺν ἀληθείᾳ τεθέντων, καιρός ἐστιν περὶ τῶν ἀρχῶν, ὡς εἴρηται, τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς διαλαβεῖν πολιτεύματος. 3 Ῥωμύλος τοίνυν ὀκτὼ πρὸς τοῖς δέκα ἔτεσι γεγονὼς σὺν τῷ ἀδελφῷ Ῥέμῳ τὴν μητέρα τῆς βασιλείας Ῥώμην ἐδείματο. ὄνομα δὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτῶν, ὃ Ἰταλοὶ λέγουσι ῥήγιον, οἷον τυραννικόν· οὐδὲ γὰρ βασιλείας Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἐννόμου ἐστὶ σημαντικόν, ὥς τινες ὑπολαμβάνουσιν, τὸ ῥήγιον ὄνομα· ὅθεν οὐκέτι μετὰ 12 τὴν ἐκβολὴν τῶν ῥηγῶν παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις καίτοι βασιλευομένοις ἐχρημάτισεν. ἕτερον γὰρ τὸ τῆς ἐννόμου βασιλείας καὶ ἕτερον τὸ τυραννίδος καὶ ἄλλο τὸ τῆς αὐτοκρατορίας ἀξίωμα· καὶ ὅπως, διὰ βραχέων ἐρῶ. βασιλεύς ἐστιν ὁ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ ὑπηκόων πρῶτος ψήφῳ ἐπιλελεγμένος ἐπὶ βάθραν τινὰ ὥσπερ καὶ κρηπῖδα, τύχης κρείττονος ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἄλλους λαχών· ὡς Σοφοκλῆς περὶ Αἴαντος εἶπεν ἔχειν αὐτὸν βάθραν τῆς ἀγχιάλου Σαλαμῖνος. ἴδιον δὲ βασιλέως ἐστὶ τὸ μηδένα καθ' ἅπαξ τῶν τοῦ πολιτεύματος νόμων σαλεύειν ἀλλ' ἐγκρατῶς τὴν ὄψιν τῆς ἑαυτοῦ πολιτείας βασιλείᾳ διατηρεῖν· καὶ μηδὲν μὲν κατ' αὐθεντίαν ἔξω τῶν νόμων πράττειν, τὸ δὲ τοῖς ἀρίστοις τοῦ πολιτεύματος συναρέσκον ψήφοις οἰκείαις ἐπισφραγίζειν, πατρὸς ἅμα καὶ ἡγεμόνος στοργὴν περὶ τοὺς ὑπηκόους ἐνδεικνύμενον, ὁποῖον ἡμῖν θεὸς καὶ καιροῦ δεξιότης ἐχαρίσατο. ἀλλ' οὐχ οὕτως ὁ τύραννος τοὺς ὑπ' αὐτῷ πεσόντας διαθήσεται, πράξει δὲ κατ' ἐξουσίαν ἀλόγως εἴ τι καὶ βούλεται, μηδὲ νόμους τιμᾶν ἀξιῶν, μηδὲ γράφειν μετὰ βουλῆς ἀνεχόμενος, ταῖς δὲ οἰκείαις ὁρμαῖς ἐξαγόμενος. ἔστι γὰρ βασιλέως μὲν τρόπος ὁ νόμος, τυράννου δὲ νόμος ὁ τρόπος. 4 Τὸ γὰρ τῶν Καισάρων, ἤ γ' οὖν αὐτοκρατόρων, ἐπώνυμον οὐδὲ βασιλείας ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τυραννίδος ἐστὶ σημαντικόν, αὐταρχίας δὲ μᾶλλον καὶ αὐθεντίας τοῦ διοικεῖν τοὺς ἐξανισταμένους κατὰ τῶν κοινῶν θορύβους ἐπὶ τὸ κάλλιον ἐπιτάττειν τε τῷ στρατεύματι πῶς ἂν δέοι μάχεσθαι τοῖς ἐναντίοις· ιμπεραρε γὰρ τὸ «ἐπιτάττειν» παρ' Ἰταλοῖς λέγεται, ἔνθεν ἰμπεράτωρ. ὅτι δὲ βασιλείας οὐκ ἔστι σημαντικὸν τὸ αὐτοκράτορος ἢ Καίσαρος ὄνομα, δῆλον ἄντικρυς τῷ καὶ τοὺς ὑπάτους καὶ μετ' ἐκείνους τοὺς Καίσαρας τὸ τῶν λεγομένων ἰμπερατώρων ἀξίωμα τῆς ἐπωνυμίας λαβεῖν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπισήμοις τυραννικοῖς φαίνεται χρησαμένη ἡ τῶν Και 14 σάρων ἀρχή, ἁλουργίδι δὲ μόνῃ, τὴν Ῥωμαίων βουλὴν ἀναβαίνουσα καὶ τὰς ἐν ὅπλοις δυνάμεις αὐτοκρατῶς, ὡς ἔφην, ἰθύνουσα, ταύτῃ καὶ πρίγκιπας αὐτοὺς ἐκάλεσαν Ῥωμαῖοι, οἷον εἰ πρώτην κεφαλὴν τῆς πάσης πολιτείας. τὸ γὰρ Καίσαρος ὄνομα γένους ἐστὶ δεικτικὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου Καίσαρος, ὥσπερ Φαβίων καὶ Κορνηλίων καὶ Φλαυΐων καὶ Ἀνικίων, τούτου πρότερον παρὰ βαρβάροις ηὑρημένου. Αἰγύπτιοι μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου Φαραῶνος τοὺς σφῶν βασιλέας ἐπεφήμιζον Φαραῶνας, καὶ Πτολεμαίους ἀπὸ τοῦ πρώτου. ἐφυλάχθη οὖν παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις ἡ τοιαύτη τῶν Καισάρων εὐταξία ἄχρι ∆ιοκλητιανοῦ, ὃς πρῶτος στέφανον ἐκ λίθου τιμίας συγκείμενον τῇ κεφαλῇ περιθεὶς ἐσθῆτά τε καὶ τοὺς πόδας ψηφώσας ἐπὶ τὸ βασιλικὸν ἤ, τἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν, ἐπὶ τὸ τυραννικὸν ἔτρεψεν, ἀνεμετρήσατό τε τὴν ἤπειρον καὶ τοῖς φόροις ἐβάρυνεν. 5 Ὥστε τύραννος ἦν ὁ Ῥωμύλος, πρῶτον μὲν τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἀνελὼν καὶ τὸν μείζονα, καὶ πράττων ἀλόγως