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for a time, supposedly; but having placed the entire army under himself, he gave to those after him the power either by themselves—unless they preferred to live in luxury—or through generals, whom they might wish, or through subordinate generals, those called legates among the Romans, to carry on the wars that arose, leaving the power with greater authority to the master of the horse alone, who was Lepidus for him as monarch; whom after him Octavian Caesar, as has been said, appointed as his prefect not only of the court but indeed of the entire army and of the civil order, which he did not have before, and as the word was slightly altered out of careless custom, instead of master of the horse he was called prefect. And in Rome, where it is the custom for the court alone to be called the palace, he was considered the prefect of Caesar, as if second after him, but in the camps—for so it is the custom for Romans to call encampments in war—praefectus praetorio, as if one presiding over the praetorium; for it seemed good to them to name the general’s lodging abroad a praetorium, even if it should happen that Caesar himself lodged 92 in it. And I found also a solid reason on account of which to the title of prefect is also added the designation "of the praetoria," so that the office be one of those relative terms and its pre-eminence not seem to have an unclear meaning, being synonymous with the city prefect, who, it has been shown before, was also named prefect, being previously called praetor urbanus. Tranquillus, therefore, dedicating in writing The Lives of the Caesars to Septicius, who was prefect of the praetorian cohorts in his time, indicated that he was the praefectus, being commander of the praetorian regiments and phalanxes. So that one might take the prefect not only of the court, which we have shown is in many places called praetorium in the singular number, but indeed also correctly named in the plural; for he is called not only praefectus praetorii but also praetoriorum, as if commander of the praetorians, with "regiments" or "cohorts" or "armies" or "forces" being understood. 7 One might then offer such reasons, not without logic, for the title of the office, which is like a certain ocean of the affairs of state, "from which all rivers and every sea." For the remaining offices of the state are shown to be like certain sparks of an unquenchable fire from that one, the true principle of principles. For they could never exist without it, in which way neither they themselves nor indeed could the bureaus serving under them, as if they were certain corps, hold together, if the prefecture did not supply the expense for them and for their leaders. For in the way that someone who possesses a very large vessel made of silver, not from himself but having inherited it from his ancestors, 94 then, being dragged down into poverty, breaks up the vessel, caring little for its strength and beauty, and making many small and weak utensils from it, fancies that he has much silver from this mean state, or a very great and ancient thing from one; thus, with the greatest office being broken up, many, and perhaps superfluous, offices have sprung up, rather with Fortune being displeased with the poet who said, "The rule of many is no good thing; let there be one ruler." For the so-called masters of soldiers have from antiquity only the honor of the comites; for this reason antiquity knows the deputy masters of soldiers as comitiani. Italians call their friends and fellow-travelers comites, and simply call the emperor’s retinue the comitatus. The charge of the so-called magister is not an office so approved, but it is nevertheless very great, and soars near the honor and power of the prefects; concerning which I shall speak at the end of this history; for it is necessary that it, being newer, not be numbered with the older offices, but to give it the place which time has yielded to it. 8 Nevertheless, the consular honor is set apart and has ascended above all offices, and is lesser than the prefecture in power, but greater in honor. For the one administers the whole state, providing nothing from its own resources, but managing the public treasury; while the other, both profound wealth from its own resources like snowflakes

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χρόνου δῆθεν· ὑφ' ἑαυτῷ δὲ τάξας τὸν σύμπαντα στρατόν, δέδωκε τοῖς μετ' αὐτὸν ἢ δι' ἑαυτῶν πλὴν εἰ μή γε τὸ τρυφᾶν προτιμῷεν ἢ διὰ στρατηγῶν, ὧν ἂν θέλωσιν, ἢ δι' ὑποστρατήγων, τῶν παρὰ Ῥωμαίοις λεγομένων ληγάτων, τοὺς ἐνισταμένους διεργάζεσθαι πολέμους, μόνῳ τῷ ἱππάρχῳ, ὃς ἦν αὐτῷ Λέπιδος μοναρχοῦντι, καταλείπων μετὰ μείζονος αὐθεντίας τὴν δύναμιν· ὃν μετ' αὐτὸν Ὀκταβιανὸς Καῖσαρ, ὡς εἴρηται, ὕπαρχον ἑαυτῷ οὐ τῆς αὐλῆς μόνης ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ στρατιᾶς ἁπάσης καὶ πολιτικῆς τάξεως, ἣν οὐκ εἶχε πρότερον, ἀναδείξας, ὡς βραχὺ παρατραπείσης τῆς λέξεως ἐξ ἀφυλάκτου συνηθείας, ἀντὶ ἱππάρχου ὕπαρχος προσηγορεύθη. καὶ ἐπὶ μὲν τῆς Ῥώμης ἐφ' ἧς καὶ μόνης τὴν αὐλὴν παλάτιον καλεῖσθαι νόμος ὕπαρχος τοῦ Καίσαρος ἐνόμιζεν, οἷον εἰ δεύτερος μετ' ἐκεῖνον, ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν κάστρων οὕτω δὲ τὰς ἐν πολέμῳ παρεμβολὰς Ῥωμαίοις ἔθος καλεῖν πραίφεκτος πραιτωρίῳ, οἷον εἰ προεστηκὼς τοῦ πραιτωρίου· τὸ γὰρ στρατηγικὸν ἐπὶ ξένης κατάλυμα πραιτώριον ἐκείνοις ἔδοξεν ὀνομάζειν, κἂν εἰ τυχὸν αὐτὸν τὸν Καίσαρα αὐλίζεσθαι 92 ἐπ' ἐκείνου συμβαίνει. ηὗρον δὲ καὶ στερεὰν αἰτίαν ἧς ἕνεκα τῇ τοῦ ἐπάρχου προσηγορίᾳ καὶ τὸ τῶν πραιτωρίων προστίθεται γνώρισμα, ὡς εἶναι τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν πρός τι καὶ μὴ δοκεῖν ἀσήμαντον ἔχειν τὴν ἐξοχήν, συνώνυμον δὲ τῷ πολιάρχῳ, ὃν καὶ αὐτὸν ὕπαρχον ὀνομασθῆναι προδεδήλωται, πραίτωρα οὐρβανὸν τὸ πρὶν προσαγορευόμενον. Τράγκυλλος τοίνυν τοὺς τῶν Καισάρων Βίους ἐν γράμμασιν ἀποτείνων Σεπτικίῳ, ὃς ἦν ὕπαρχος τῶν πραιτωριανῶν σπειρῶν ἐπὶ αὐτοῦ, πραίφεκτον αὐτὸν τῶν πραιτωριανῶν ταγμάτων καὶ φαλάγγων ἡγεμόνα τυγχάνειν ἐδήλωσεν. ὥστε οὐ μόνον ἄν τις λάβοι τὸν ὕπαρχον τῆς αὐλῆς, ἣν καὶ πραιτώριον πολλαχοῦ καλουμένην κατὰ τὸν ἑνικὸν ἀριθμὸν ἐδηλώσαμεν ἀλλὰ μὴν καὶ κατὰ τὸν πληθυντικὸν καλῶς ὠνομασμένον· οὐ μόνον γὰρ λέγεται πραίφεκτος πραιτωρίου ἀλλὰ καὶ πραιτωρίων, οἷον εἰ ἡγεμὼν τῶν πραιτωριανῶν, ὑπακουομένου ταγμάτων ἢ σπειρῶν ἢ στρατευμάτων ἢ δυνάμεων. 7 Αἰτίας μὲν οὖν ἄν τις τοιαύτας οὐκ ἔξω λόγου ἐπὶ τῆς προσηγορίας τῆς ἀρχῆς ἀποδοίη, ἥτις καθάπερ ὠκεανός τις τῶν πραγμάτων τῆς πολιτείας ἐστίν, «ἐξ ἧσπερ πάντες ποταμοὶ καὶ πᾶσα θάλασσα.» σπινθῆρες γάρ τινες ὥσπερ ἀφθάρτου πυρὸς αἱ λοιπαὶ τῆς πολιτείας ἀρχαὶ ἐκείνης, τῆς ἀληθῶς ἀρχῆς τῶν ἀρχῶν, δείκνυνται οὖσαι. οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶναι ἂν ἄνευ ἐκείνης δύναιντό ποτε, καθ' ὃν δὲ μηδὲ αὐταὶ μηδὲ μὴν αἱ τελοῦσαι ὑπ' αὐτὰς ὡς ἂν εἰ τάξεις τινὲς συνεστάναι δύναιντο, μὴ τὴν δαπάνην αὐταῖς τε καὶ τοῖς σὺν αὐτῶν ἡγουμένοις χορηγούσης τῆς ἐπαρχότητος. ὃν γὰρ τρόπον τις σκεῦος μέγιστον ἐξ ἀργυρίου πεποιημένον οὐκ ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ ἀλλ' ἐκ προγόνων ἔχει κεκτημένος, 94 εἶτα πρὸς πενίαν ὑποσυρόμενος καταλύει μὲν τὸ σκεῦος, ὀλίγα φροντίσας ἰσχύος τε καὶ κάλλους, πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἀσθενῆ ἐξ αὐτοῦ σκευΰφια κατασκευάζων πολὺν ἄργυρον ἐξ εὐτελείας ἢ μέγιστον ἐξ ἑνὸς καὶ ἀρχαῖον ἔχειν φαντάζεται· οὕτως, τῆς μεγίστης ἀρχῆς καταλυομένης, πολλαί τινες καὶ τάχα περιτταὶ ἀνέφυσαν ἀρχαί, μᾶλλον τῆς Τύχης ἀπαρεσθείσης τῷ ποιητῇ εἰπόντι «οὐκ ἀγαθὸν πολυκοιρανίη, εἷς κοίρανος ἔστω.» οἱ μὲν γὰρ λεγόμενοι στρατηλάται τὴν τῶν κομίτων ἔχουσιν ἐκ τῆς ἀρχαιότητος καὶ μόνην τιμήν ταύτῃ καὶ κομιτιανοὺς τοὺς δευτεροστρατηλατιανοὺς ἡ παλαιότης οἶδεν· κόμιτας δὲ τοὺς φίλους καὶ συνεκδήμους Ἰταλοὶ λέγουσι καὶ κομιτᾶτον ἁπλῶς τὴν βασιλέως συνοδίαν, ἡ δὲ τοῦ λεγομένου μαγίστρου φροντὶς ἀρχὴ μὲν οὐκ ἔστιν οὕτως ἐγκεκριμένη, μεγίστη δὲ ὅμως, καὶ ἐγγὺς τῆς ὑπάρχων ἀνίπταται τιμῆς τε καὶ δυνάμεως· περὶ ἧς πρὸς τῷ τέλει τῆσδε τῆς ἱστορίας ἐρῶ· δεῖ γὰρ αὐτὴν νεωτέραν οὖσαν μὴ ταῖς πρεσβυτέραις τῶν ἀρχῶν συναριθμεῖν, δοῦναι δὲ αὐτῇ χῶρον, ὃν ὁ χρόνος αὐτῇ παρεχώρησεν. 8 Ἐξῄρηται δὲ ὅμως καὶ πάσας ἀναβέβηκε τὰς ἀρχὰς ἡ ὕπατος τιμὴ καὶ τῇ μὲν δυνάμει τῆς ἐπαρχότητος μείων, τῇ δὲ τιμῇ μείζων. ἡ μὲν γὰρ τὴν ὅλην διέπει πολιτείαν, οἴκοθεν μὲν οὐδὲν παρέχουσα, τὸ δὲ δημόσιον διοικοῦσα· ἡ δὲ πλοῦτόν τε βαθὺν οἴκοθεν νιφάδων δίκην