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similarly arrayed with him, and the masters of the courts themselves splendidly attired, and silence covering the court, and the most distinguished orators wearing robes worthy of festivals, and the tripod in the middle of the auditorium, with the cantharus hanging in the middle, and a mixing-bowl placed beside it, through which the cantharus, being filled with water, once gave so much time to the end of the trial as the cup was emptied by the water within it being strained through a certain gnomon, and the speech of those speaking was raised altogether to a divine judge. With all these things having perished, not even a trace of solemnity thereafter remained for the court, with the assessors only hearing some supposed cases in a back-room with the laughter of the bystanders, as if at mimes. And there was no order or signal indicating the time of day as was previously customary; for the one presiding over the staff they called a *subadiuva*, as if a helper; while the magistrate was acting, he, standing at the head of the attendants, would suddenly and solemnly release to the ground some not-inexpensive discs made of silver, having inscriptions of the hours of the day in Italian numbers and letters, and produce a solemn sound, the disc being thrown against the marble indicating the hour of the day. 110 17 And with this solemn and so dignified custom having perished, since the magistrate was either not seen at all on the tribunal or, according to the laws of the Cappadocian, of whom I will speak later, was hidden in some bedchamber, no one of any account thereafter came to the staff, which was so cast aside and brought rather shame than any honor to the one approaching it. Thus the affairs collapsed on themselves and the first and rising of magistracies was made utterly cheap, at which time it was dragged cheaply to the court, formerly never, much less appearing at court in the so-called *silentia* with the whole senate running before it, as was said before, entering last of all the magistracies, but proceeding forth first, with the emperor's image escorting it instead of him; whence the first of the so-called *silentiarii* is called *amissionalis*, being sent to her from the palace in the morning and on his knees urging her to proceed to the court, but she moved with difficulty and disdaining the trouble. 18 It remains to relate in detail concerning the staff, by how many and what kind of rolls it is filled, and to enumerate its customs and laws. For I am already persuaded that not even any memory is preserved of things that have just fallen apart, since uneducated men, who have received no experience of a court, are treading on what was once handled with prayer, with difficulty, by the most experienced men who had already reached a venerable old age. For there was a law, not unwritten but in letters, permitting absolutely no one to ascend to the concern of the assistant unless, adorned with moderation of birth and preparation in liberal studies, and having distinguished himself for a ninth year on the register, and having gone through the whole 112 experience of affairs and having changed the boldness of youth into reasonableness, he should appear to be worthy of an office so solemn, possessing no small power, and a profit once amounting to a thousand gold pieces. 19 But perhaps the more intelligent of those who will read will not unreasonably criticize, saying “Why on earth, having promised to speak about the insignia of the magistracy, did you not also mention the vexilla and axes and vine-staffs, for these belonged to the master of the horse of old, and in his place the first of the emperors, that is of the Caesars, appointed the praetorian prefect?” Indeed, I say, these also were insignia of the praetorian prefects until Domitian, but he himself, having appointed Fuscus by name to the office, nearly wiped out the whole memory of the mastership of the horse, leaving neither axe, nor vexilla, nor the so-called vine-staffs. For the vine-staff carried at present by the *princeps* preserves nothing else of antiquity except the name; for of old and now also among

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ὡσαύτως ἐσταλμένη μετ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ αὐτοὶ δὲ οἱ τῶν δικῶν κύριοι λαμπροφανεῖς, καὶ σιγὴ κατασκέπουσα τὸ δικαστήριον, καὶ ῥητόρων οἱ διαφανέστατοι ἀξίας ἑορτῶν ἀμπεχόμενοι στολάς, καὶ ὁ τρίπους ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ἀκροατηρίου, ἐξηρτημένου κατὰ μέσον τοῦ κανθάρου, καὶ κρατὴρ παρακείμενος, δι' οὗ ποτε πληρούμενος ὁ κάνθαρος ὕδατος τοσοῦτον ἐδίδου καιρὸν τῷ τῆς δίκης τέρματι ἐφ' ὅσον διά τινος γνώμονος τοῦ ἐνόντος αὐτῷ ὕδατος διηθουμένου ὁ κύαθος ἀπηλλάττετο, καὶ ὁ λόγος τοῖς λέγουσιν ὅλως πρὸς θεῖον δικαστὴν ἀνυψούμενος. τούτων πάντων ἀπολομένων, οὐδὲ ἴχνος τὸ λοιπὸν ἀπέμεινε σεμνότητος τῷ δικαστηρίῳ, τῶν συνεδρευόντων μόνον ἐν παραβύστῳ μετὰ γέλωτος τῶν περιεστηκότων ὥσπερ ἐν μίμοις τινῶν δῆθεν δικῶν ἀκροωμένων. καὶ τάξις οὐδεμία ἢ μήνυμα κατὰ τὸ πρόσθεν συνειθισμένον παραδηλοῦν τὸν χρόνον τῆς ἡμέρας· ὁ γὰρ τῆς τάξεως προεστηκώς σουβαδιούβαν αὐτὸν ὠνόμασαν, οἷον εἰ ὑποβοηθόν, πραττούσης τῆς ἀρχῆς, ἑστὼς ἐπὶ κορυφῆς τῶν ὑπηρετουμένων τροχίσκους τινὰς οὐκ εὐτελεῖς ἐξ ἀργύρου πεποιημένους, γραφὰς τῶν ὡρῶν ἔχοντας τῆς ἡμέρας τοῖς Ἰταλῶν ἀριθμοῖς καὶ γράμμασιν, ἐμβριθῶς ἀφιεὶς ἐξαπίνης ἐπὶ τὸ ἔδαφος θρόον ἀπετέλει σεμνόν, παραδηλοῦντος τοῦ βαλλομένου τροχίσκου κατὰ τοῦ μαρμάρου τὴν τῆς ἡμέρας ὥραν. 110 17 Καὶ τούτου τοῦ σεμνοῦ καὶ οὕτως ἀξιοπρεποῦς σχήματος ἀπολομένου, οἷα τῆς ἀρχῆς ἢ μηδ' ὅλως ὁρωμένης ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος ἢ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους τοῦ Καππαδόκου, περὶ οὗ ὕστερον ἐρῶ, ἐν κοιτῶνί τινι λανθανούσης, οὐδεὶς τὸ λοιπὸν ἀξιόλογος παρῆλθεν ἐπὶ τὴν τάξιν οὕτως ἀπερριμμένην καὶ μᾶλλον αἰσχύνην ἢ τιμήν τινα τῷ προσιόντι φέρουσαν. συγκατέπεσεν οὖν ἑαυτοῖς τὰ πράγματα καὶ προσευτελίσθη παρὰ πᾶσαν ἡ πρώτη καὶ ἀνίσχουσα τῶν ἀρχῶν, καθ' ὅντινα οὖν καιρὸν ἐπὶ τὴν αὐλὴν εὐτελῶς ἑλκομένη, τὸ πρὶν μηδέποτε, μή τί γε πάσης τῆς βουλῆς προτρεχούσης ἐν τοῖς λεγομένοις σιλεντίοις ἐπὶ τῆς αὐλῆς φαινομένη, κατὰ τὸ πρόσθεν εἰρημένον τελευταία μὲν πασῶν εἰσιοῦσα τῶν ἀρχῶν, πρώτη δὲ προϊοῦσα, τῆς βασιλέως εἰκόνος ἀντ' αὐτοῦ παραπεμπούσης αὐτήν· ἔνθεν τοῦ πρώτου τῶν λεγομένων σιλεντιαρίων ἀμισσιωνάλιος καλεῖται ἐξ ἑωθινοῦ πρὸς τῆς βασιλείας πρὸς αὐτὴν στελλομένου καὶ γονυπετῶς προτρέποντος ἐπὶ τὴν αὐλὴν παρελθεῖν, ἡ δὲ μόγις καὶ ἀπαξιοῦσα τὸν σκυλμὸν ἐκινεῖτο. 18 Ὑπόλοιπον περὶ τῆς τάξεως κατὰ λεπτὸν ἀφηγήσασθαι, πόσοις τε καὶ ποίοις συμπληροῦται καταλόγοις, ἔθη τε καὶ νόμους ἀπαριθμήσασθαι. πέπεισμαι γὰρ ἤδη μηδὲ μνήμην τινὰ σῴζεσθαι τῶν ἄρτι διαπεσόντων, ἀπαιδεύτων οἷα καὶ μηδεμίαν πεῖραν δικαστηρίου παρειληφότων ἐπεμβαινόντων τοῖς ποτε μόγις πρὸς τῶν ἐμπειροτάτων καὶ πρὸς γῆρας ἤδη σεμνοφανὲς ἀφικομένων μετ' εὐχῆς χειριζομένοις. νόμος γὰρ ἦν, οὐ ψιλὸς ἀλλ' ἐν γράμμασιν, μηδενὶ παντελῶς ἐπιτρέπων ἐπὶ τὸ τοῦ βοηθοῦ ἀναβαίνειν φρόντισμα πρὶν ἄν, γένους τε μετριότητι καὶ λόγων ἐλευθερίων παρασκευῇ κοσμούμενος καὶ ἔνατον ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπὶ τῆς δέλτου διαπρέψας, δι' ὅλης τε ἐλθὼν τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων 112 πείρας καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς νεότητος τόλμαν εἰς ἐπιείκειαν μεταβαλών, τιμῆς οὕτω σεμνῆς καὶ δύναμιν οὐ μικρὰν ἐχούσης καὶ κέρδος εἰς χιλίους ποτὲ συναγόμενον χρυσοῦς, ἄξιος εἶναι φανείη. 19 Ἀλλ' ἴσως τῶν ἀναγνωσομένων οἱ νουνεχέστεροι οὐκ ἔξω λόγου καταδραμοῦνται φήσοντες «τί δέ ποτε περὶ τῶν ἐπισήμων τῆς ἀρχῆς ὑποσχόμενος εἰπεῖν, μὴ καὶ βηξίλλων καὶ πελέκεων καὶ κλημάτων ἐμνημόνευσας, ταῦτα γὰρ ἦν τῷ ἱππάρχῳ τὸ πάλαι, ἀντ' ἐκείνου δὲ τὸν τῶν πραιτωρίων ὕπαρχον ὁ πρῶτος τῶν βασιλέων, ἤ τοι Καισάρων, ἐχειροτόνησεν;» ἦν μὲν οὖν, φημί, καὶ ταῦτα γνωρίσματα τῶν πραιτωρίων ὑπάρχων ἄχρι ∆ομιτιανοῦ, αὐτὸς δὲ Φοῦσκον τοὔνομα τῆς ἀρχῆς προστησάμενος ἐγγὺς ὅλην τὴν τῆς ἱππαρχίας μνήμην ἀπήλειψεν, μὴ πέλεκυν, μὴ βήξιλλα μηδὲ τὰ λεγόμενα κλήματα καταλιπών. τὸ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος τῷ πρίγκιπι κλῆμα φερόμενον οὐδὲν ἕτερον παρὰ τὴν προσηγορίαν διασῴζει τῆς ἀρχαιότητος· πάλαι γὰρ καὶ νῦν δὲ παρὰ