the poison with the Trisagion hymn, and when he saw the whole crowd immediately run wild and drive the eparch from the temple with stones and burn down the houses of impious magnates and slaughter the many shield-bearers of error, willingly or unwillingly he ceased from his rush and his audacity, like some hard-mouthed horse panting from insolence and being tamed, if it tastes a heavier bridle. This man, while sleeping, seemed to see in his dreams a dreadful man carrying a paper in his palms, and that this man unrolled it and, finding the name of Anastasius, said to him with austerity, "God, seeing the piety of Hezekiah, generously bestowed a longer life and deliverance from his enemies and an extension of his life; but disgusted by your wickedness and profane behavior, cutting away he has cut short the course of your life, and has curtailed fourteen years." and having said these things, he wiped these from the paper. Therefore the emperor, struck by a death-bringing scourge and appearing as if struck by lightning, departed this life, having held the scepter for twenty-seven years. But after being shut in the tomb, after some days he sent up a wail from below out of the tomb and a most bitter groan from anguish of heart, calling out for mercy from the guards, and begging them to be brought up from there. But when they said that another was emperor, he replied, "I care nothing for that; only let the gloomy monument be opened for me, so that I may see the sweet torch of the morning star." But there was no one who sympathized or pitied him; for everyone bears a grudge against the wicked even in death. It happened not long after that the tomb was opened and the wretched corpse was revealed to all, a pitiful sight, worthy of tears; for he was found to have eaten the sandals on his feet and his own arms as if they were someone else's. Some say that such things happened to Zeno; for he was often seized by a cataleptic illness, and though thought to be dying, was again among the living. But not all things are evil for men, but sometimes the best things are mixed with the worst. For although this emperor appeared profane and impious, he nevertheless dug up a plant from all the Roman land, whose fruits were bitter and whose root was death; so that if the stumbling block concerning religion had not cast a shadow over him like a thick and murky cloud, this good deed alone would have been strong enough to conceal all his filth and impurities and to heal all his most festering wounds like a protective medicine. The adornment of this most lawless man was the uprooting of a counterfeit tax, which is called the *chrysargyron* by tax collectors. What and of what sort was that which was mentioned, the account will relate. Every man and woman, boy, girl and infant, beggar, freedman, slave, non-slave, for filthy refuse and the stench of urine gave one silver coin to the treasury. And this burden was also laid upon the beasts; for on oxen and mules, and indeed also on horses. And for each dog, for the donkeys, the owner of the animal paid six folles. Therefore Anastasius, shamed by the petitions of men pursuing a solitary and venerable life, drove away so great a burden and so great an abomination, having pulled up from the very roots the sprout of sordid gain and given it to a consuming fire. When, therefore, Anastasius departed most wretchedly, Justin the First handled the rudders of power and the royal scepter without bloodshed; for having received, as they say, much gold from Amantius (that Amantius was a *praepositus*) and having been ordered to distribute this to the regiments, so that they might secure the rule for Theocritus, who shared the same blood as Amantius, from the property of others he acquired the empire for himself, having bought it, most profitably, with another's money. Thus ruling with a scepter is desired by all, and in this alone would one not hesitate to act unjustly, even if in other matters he were found to be just and prudent. But the old man was pious and prudent

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τὸν ἰὸν ὕμνῳ τῷ τρισαγίῳ, καὶ πᾶν τὸ πλῆθος κατιδὼν εὐθὺς ἀφηνιάσαν καὶ λιθασμοῖς ἐκ τοῦ ναοῦ τὸν ἔπαρχον ἐλάσαν καὶ πυρπολῆσαν δυσσεβῶν οἰκίας μεγιστάνων καὶ κατασφάξαν τοὺς πολλοὺς ὑπασπιστὰς τῆς πλάνης, ἑκὼν ἀέκων ἔληξε τῆς ῥύμης καὶ τῆς τόλμης, ὡς ἵππος τις σκληρόστομος ἀσθμαίνων ὑπὸ θράσους καὶ δαμασθείς, ἂν χαλινοῦ γεύσηται βαρυτέρου. Οὗτος καθεύδων ἔδοξεν ἰδεῖν κατὰ τοὺς ὕπνους ἄνδρα φρικώδη φέροντα χάρτην ἐν ταῖς παλάμαις, καὶ τοῦτον ἀναπτύξαντα καὶ τὴν Ἀναστασίου κλῆσιν εὑρόντα πρὸς αὐτὸν φάναι σὺν αὐστηρίᾳ "τὴν μὲν εὐσέβειαν θεὸς ἰδὼν τὴν Ἐζεκίου ἐπεφιλοτιμήσατο ζωὴν χρονιωτέραν καὶ λύτρωσιν ἐκ τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ πλατυσμὸν τοῦ βίου· σὴν δὲ κακίαν μυσαχθεὶς καὶ βεβηλοτροπίαν, ἐκκόπτων ὑπεξέκοψε τὸν δρόμον τῆς ζωῆς σου, καὶ χρόνους ἐκολόβωσε τέσσαρας πρὸς τοῖς δέκα." καὶ ταῦτ' εἰπὼν ἀπήλειψε τούτους ἀπὸ τοῦ χάρτου. μάστιγι γοῦν ὁ βασιλεὺς βληθεὶς ὀλεθροφόρῳ καὶ κεραυνόβλητος φανεὶς μετήλλαξε τὸν βίον, ἔτεσι πρὸς τοῖς εἴκοσιν ἑπτὰ σκηπτροκρατήσας. τῷ τάφῳ δὲ κατακλεισθεὶς μετὰ τινὰς ἡμέρας ὀλολυγὴν ἀνέπεμψεν κάτωθεν ἐκ τοῦ τάφου καὶ στεναγμὸν περίπικρον ἐκ συνοχῆς καρδίας, ἔλεον ἐκκαλούμενος ἀπὸ τῶν φυλασσόντων, καὶ λιταζόμενος αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖθεν ἀναχθῆναι. τῶν δὲ φησάντων ἕτερον κράτορα χρηματίζειν, ἐκεῖνος ἀνθυπήνεγκεν "οὐδείς μοι τούτου λόγος· μόνον ἐξανοιγήτω μοι τὸ κατηφὲς μνημεῖον, ὡς τὴν γλυκεῖαν ἴδοιμι λαμπάδα τοῦ φωσφόρου." ἀλλ' ἦν οὐδεὶς ὁ συμπαθῶν οὐδ' ἐποικτείρων τοῦτον· τοῖς γὰρ κακοῖς κἀν τελευτῇ πάντες ἐπεγκοτοῦσι. συνέβη δὲ μετ' οὐ πολὺ τὸν τάφον ἀνοιγῆναι καὶ τὸν νεκρὸν τὸν δυστυχῆ πᾶσιν ἐκκαλυφθῆναι, ἐλεεινόν τι θέαμα, κατάξιον δακρύων· εὑρέθη γὰρ καταφαγὼν τοὺς τῶν ποδῶν σανδάλους καὶ τοὺς βραχίονας αὐτοῦ καθάπερ ἀλλοτρίους. τινὲς δὲ Ζήνωνί φασι συμβῆναι τὰ τοιαῦτα· πολλάκις γὰρ νοσήματι συνείχετο κατόχῳ, καὶ θνήσκειν νομιζόμενος αὖθις ἦν ἐν τοῖς ζῶσιν. Ἀλλ' οὐ γὰρ πάντα τὰ κακὰ πρόσεστι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ συγκίρναταί ποτε καὶ βέλτιστα κακίστοις. βέβηλος γὰρ καὶ δυσσεβὴς οὗτος φανεὶς ὁ κράτωρ ὅμως ἐξώρυξε φυτὸν γῆς πάσης Ῥωμαΐδος, οὗ καὶ καρποὶ πικράζοντες καὶ θάνατος ἡ ῥίζα· ὡς εἴγε μὴ τὸ πρόσκομμα τὸ περὶ τὴν θρησκείαν ὥσπερ παχὺ καὶ θολερὸν ἀντεπεσκότει νέφος, τοῦτο καὶ μόνον τὸ καλὸν ἴσχυσεν ἂν συγκρύψαι τὰς ὅλας ῥυπαρότητας καὶ τὰς ἀκαθαρσίας καὶ πάντας τοὺς τραυματισμοὺς τοὺς ἰχωρωδεστάτους καθάπερ ἀλεξίκακον φάρμακον ὑγιάσαι. ἦν δὲ τὸ περικόσμημα τοῦ παρανομωτάτου ἡ πρόρριζος ἀναίρεσις εἰσπράξεως κιβδήλου, ἣ λέγεται χρυσάργυρον ἀνδράσι φορολόγοις. τί δὲ καὶ ποῖον τὸ λεχθέν, ὁ λόγος ἱστορήσει. ἅπας ἀνήρ τε καὶ γυνή, παῖς κόρη τε καὶ βρέφος, προσαίτης, ἀπελεύθερος, οἰκέτης, οὐκ οἰκέτης, ὑπὲρ σκυβάλου κοπρηροῦ καὶ δυσοσμίας οὔρου ἓν ἐξ ἀργύρου νόμισμα παρεῖχε τῷ ταμείῳ. τουτὶ δὲ καὶ τοῖς κτήνεσιν ἐπέκειτο τὸ βάρος· βουσὶ γὰρ ἡμιόνοις τε, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τοῖς ἵπποις. ὑπὲρ ἑκάστου δὲ κυνός, ὑπὲρ τῶν ὀναρίων ἓξ φόλλεις κατεβάλλετο τοῦ κτήνους ὁ δεσπόζων. ὁ τοίνυν Ἀναστάσιος δυσωπηθεὶς ἐντεύξεις ἀνδρῶν μονήρη καὶ σεμνὸν μετερχομένων βίον, τοσοῦτον ἄχθος ἤλασε καὶ τηλικοῦτον μύσος, προθέλυμνον τὸ βλάστημα τὸ τῆς αἰσχροκερδείας ἐξανασπάσας καὶ πυρὶ δοὺς ἀφανιστηρίῳ. Ἐπεὶ γοῦν Ἀναστάσιος ᾤχετο κακιγκάκως, ἀναιμωτὶ χειρίζεται τοὺς οἴακας τοῦ κράτους καὶ σκῆπτρον τὸ βασίλειον ὁ πρῶτος Ἰουστῖνος· λαβὼν γάρ, ὥς φασι, πολὺν χρυσὸν ἐξ Ἀμαντίου (ὑπῆρχε δὲ πραιπόσιτος Ἀμάντιος ἐκεῖνος) καὶ κελευσθεὶς τοῖς τάγμασι τοῦτον κατακενῶσαι, ὡς ἂν περιποιήσαιντο τὸ κράτος Θεοκρίτῳ τῷ κοινωνοῦντι τῶν αὐτῶν αἱμάτων Ἀμαντίῳ, ἐκ τῶν ὀθνείων ἑαυτῷ κτᾶται τὴν βασιλείαν, πριάμενος, τὸ κέρδιστον, χρήμασιν ἀλλοτρίοις. οὕτω πᾶσιν ἐπέραστος ἡ σκηπτροκρατορία, κἀνταῦθα μόνον ἀδικεῖν οὐκ ἄν τις κατοκνήσει, κἂν ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις δίκαιος εὑρίσκοιτο καὶ σώφρων. ἦν δ' εὐσεβὴς καὶ νουνεχὴς ὁ γέρων

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