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will be told in the following account. First, as has been said, by taking over all the markets and establishing what are called monopolies of the most essential commodities, he exacted from all men prices more than three times the normal rate. 26.20 And as for the other things, since they seemed to me to be numberless, I for my part would not strive to enumerate them in an endless account; but from those who bought bread he plundered most bitterly for all time, which it is impossible for artisans and the poor and people afflicted with every kind of misery not to buy. 26.21 For he himself demanded to receive three centenaria from this source every year, on the pretext that the bread might be of better quality and full of ash; for not even at this impiety of shameful gain did this emperor hesitate. 26.22 And under this pretext, those to whom this tax was assigned contrived profits for themselves and very easily amassed great wealth, but for the poor they created a man-made famine in times of plenty, always unexpectedly, since it was not at all permitted for anyone to import grain from elsewhere, but it was necessary for all to eat the bread which they bought. 26.23 And seeing that the city’s aqueduct was broken and bringing only a small portion of water into the city, they neglected it and were unwilling to spend anything on it, even though a great crowd was always choking around the fountains, and all the baths were closed; and yet for maritime and other senseless building projects he would spend a vast amount of money for no reason, contriving them in all the suburbs, as if the palaces were not large enough for them, in which all the previous 26.24 emperors had been content to live their whole lives. Thus it was not from a desire to save money, but for the sake of destroying men, that he decided to neglect the construction of the aqueduct, since in all time no one has ever been more ready than this Justinian to both acquire money wickedly, and to throw it away again even more wickedly right away. 26.25 So then, of the two things left for drink and food to those who were in extreme poverty and were beggars, namely water and bread, through both of them, as I have related, this emperor harmed them, making the one unavailable to them, and the other much more expensive. 26.26 And not only the beggars in Byzantium, but also some of those living elsewhere, he treated in this way, as 26.27 will be told by me presently. For Theoderic, after conquering Italy, had left the soldiers serving in the Palace at Rome where they were, so that some trace of the old government might be preserved there, leaving a small daily allowance for each man. 26.28 And these were very numerous. For the so-called Silentiarii and Domestici and Scholarii were among them, to whom nothing else was left but the name of military service alone, and this allowance, barely sufficient for them to live on, Theoderic had ordered them to hand down to their children and descendants. 26.29 And to the beggars who had their abode by the church of Peter the Apostle, he ordained that the state should supply three thousand medimni of grain each year; all these things they had continued to receive until Alexander 26.30 "the Scissors" came to Italy. For this man immediately decided to abolish everything without any hesitation. When Justinian, Emperor of the Romans, learned this, he both approved this action and held Alexander in even greater honour than before. On this journey Alexander also did the following things to the Greeks. 26.31 The farmers of the lands in that region had from ancient times cared for the garrison at Thermopylae, and they guarded the wall there in turn, whenever an attack of some barbarians was expected to fall upon the Peloponnesus. 26.32 But when this Alexander arrived there at that time, claiming to be taking thought for the Peloponnesians, he said he would not 26.33 entrust the guard-post there to farmers. So he stationed about two thousand soldiers there and ordained that their pay should not be supplied from the public treasury, but that all the public and theatrical funds of all the cities in Greece to the

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τοῖς ὄπισθεν λόγοις λελέξεται. πρῶτα μὲν, ὅπερ εἴρηται, ἅπαντα περιβεβλημένος τὰ πωλητήρια καὶ ὠνίων τῶν ἀναγκαιοτάτων τὰ λεγόμενα καταστησάμενος μονοπώλια πλέον ἢ τριπλάσια τιμήματα 26.20 πάντας ἀνθρώπους ἐπράττετο. καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ἐπεὶ ἀνάριθμά μοι ἔδοξεν εἶναι, οὐκ ἂν ἔγωγε λόγῳ ἀτελευτήτῳ καταλέγειν φιλονεικοίην· ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν τοὺς ἄρτους ὠνουμένων πικρότατα ἐς πάντα τὸν αἰῶνα ἐσύλει, οὓς δὴ καὶ χειρώνακτας καὶ πτωχοὺς καὶ πάσῃ λώβῃ ἐχομένους ἀνθρώπους μὴ οὐκ ὠνεῖσθαι ἀδύνα26.21 τον. αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ ἐς τρία κεντηνάρια φέρεσθαι ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος ἐνθένδε ἠξίου, ὅπως οἱ ἄρτοι ἀξιώτεροι ὦσι καὶ σποδοῦ ἔμπλεῳ· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐς τοῦτο δὴ τὸ τῆς αἰσχροκερδείας ἀσέβημα ὁ βασιλεὺς οὗτος ὀκνηρὸς 26.22 ᾔει· ταύτῃ δὲ τῇ σκήψει οἰκεῖα κέρδη ἐπιτεχνώμενοι οἷς ἐπέκειτο ἡ τιμὴ αὕτη αὐτοὶ μὲν ῥᾷστα ἐς πλοῦτόν τινα περιίσταντο μέγαν, λιμὸν δὲ τοῖς πτωχοῖς χειροποίητον ἐν εὐθηνοῦσι χρόνοις ἀεὶ παρὰ δόξαν εἰργάζοντο, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ σῖτον ἑτέρωθέν τινι εἰσκομίζεσθαι τὸ παράπαν ἐξῆν, ἀλλὰ ἀναγκαῖον ἦν ἅπασι τούτους δὴ ὠνουμένους ἄρτους ἐσθίειν. 26.23 Τὸν δὲ τῆς πόλεως ὀχετὸν διερρωγότα τε ὁρῶντες καὶ μοῖραν ὕδατος ὀλίγην τινὰ ἐς τὴν πόλιν εἰσάγοντα ὑπερεώρων τε καὶ οὐδ' ὁτιοῦν αὐτῷ προέσθαι ἤθελον, καίπερ ὁμίλου ἀεὶ ἀμφὶ τὰς κρήνας ἀποπνιγομένου πολλοῦ, καὶ τῶν βαλανείων ἀποκεκλεισμένων ἁπάντων· καίτοι ἐς οἰκοδομίας θαλασσίους τε καὶ ἀνοήτους ἄλλας μέγεθος χρημάτων οὐδενὶ λόγῳ προΐετο, πανταχόθι τῶν προαστείων ἐπιτεχνώμενος, ὥσπερ τῶν βασιλείων αὐτοὺς οὐ χωρούντων, ἐν οἷς δὴ ἅπαντες οἱ πρότερον 26.24 βεβασιλευκότες διαβιοῦν ἐς ἀεὶ ἤθελον. οὕτως οὐ χρημάτων φειδοῖ, ἀλλὰ φθόρου ἀνθρώπων ἕνεκα τῆς τοῦ ὀχετοῦ οἰκοδομίας ὀλιγωρεῖν ἔγνω, ἐπεὶ οὐδεὶς ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς χρόνουἸουστινιανοῦ τοῦδε ἑτοιμότερος γέγονεν ἀνθρώπων ἁπάντων χρήματά τε προσποιεῖσθαι κακῶς, καὶ ταῦτα χειρόνως αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα προέσθαι. 26.25 δυοῖν τοίνυν ἀπολελειμμένοιν ἔν τε ποτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἐδωδίμοις τοῖς τὰ ἔσχατα πενομένοις καὶ πτωχοῖς οὖσιν, ὕδατός τε καὶ ἄρτου, δι' ἀμφοῖν αὐτοὺς, ὥσπερ μοι δεδιήγηται, βασιλεὺς ὅδε ἔβλαψε, τὸ μὲν ἄπορον σφίσι, τὸν δὲ πολλῷ ἀξιώτερον ἐργασάμενος. 26.26 Οὐ μόνον δὲ τοὺς ἐν Βυζαντίῳ προσαιτητὰς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἑτέρωθι ᾠκημένων τινὰς ἔδρασε ταῦτα, ὥσπερ 26.27 μοι αὐτίκα λελέξεται.Ἰταλίαν γὰρ Θευδέριχος ἑλὼν τοὺς ἐν τῷῬώμης Παλατίῳ στρατευομένους αὐτοῦ εἴασεν, ὅπως τι διασώζοιτο πολιτείας ἐνταῦθα τῆς παλαιᾶς ἴχνος, μικρὰν ἀπολιπὼν σύνταξιν ἐς ἡμέραν ἑκά26.28 στῳ. ἦσαν δὲ οὗτοι παμπληθεῖς ἄγαν. οἵ τε γὰρ σιλεντιάριοι καλούμενοι καὶ δομέστικοι καὶ σχολάριοι ἐν αὐτοῖς ἦσαν, οἷς δὴ ἄλλο οὐδὲν ἀπελέλειπτο ἢ τὸ τῆς στρατείας ὄνομα μόνον, καὶ ἡ σύνταξις αὕτη ἐς τὸ ἀποζῆν ἀποχρῶσα μόλις αὐτοῖς, ἅπερ ἔς τε παῖδας καὶ ἀπογόνους Θευδέριχος αὐτοὺς παραπέμπειν ἐκέ26.29 λευσε. τοῖς τε προσαιτηταῖς οἳ παρὰ τὸν Πέτρου τοῦ ἀποστόλου νεὼν δίαιταν εἶχον, τρισχιλίους σίτου μεδίμνους χορηγεῖν ἀεὶ τὸ δημόσιον ἀνὰ πᾶν ἔτος διώρισεν· ἅπερ ἅπαντες οὗτοι διαγεγόνασι κομιζόμενοι ἕωςἈλέ26.30 ξανδρος ὁ Ψαλίδιος ἐς τὴνἸταλίαν ἀφίκετο. πάντα γὰρ εὐθὺς οὗτος ἀνὴρ ὀκνήσει οὐδεμιᾷ περιελεῖν ἔγνω. ταῦτα μαθὼνἸουστινιανὸςῬωμαίων αὐτοκράτωρ τήν τε πρᾶξιν προσήκατο ταύτην καὶ τὸνἈλέξανδρον ἔτι μᾶλλον ἢ πρότερον διὰ τιμῆς ἔσχεν. ἐν ταύτῃἈλέξανδρος τῇ πορείᾳ καὶ τοὺςἝλληνας εἰργάσατο τάδε. 26.31 Τοῦ ἐν Θερμοπύλαις φυλακτηρίου οἱ τὰ ἐκείνῃ γεωργοῦντες χωρία ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἐπεμελοῦντο, ἐκ περιτροπῆς τε τὸ ἐνταῦθα τεῖχος ἐφύλασσον, ἡνίκα δὴ ἔφοδος βαρβάρων τινῶν ὡς ἐπισκήψει ἐς τὴν Πελοπόννησον ἐπί26.32 δοξος ἦν. ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα γενόμενος τότεἈλέξανδρος οὗτος προνοεῖν Πελοποννησίων σκηπτόμενος οὐκ ἔφη 26.33 γεωργοῖς τὸ ταύτῃ φυλακτήριον ἐπιτρέψειν. στρατιώτας οὖν ἐνταῦθα εἰς δισχιλίους καταστησάμενος οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ δημοσίου χορηγεῖσθαι σφίσι τὰς συντάξεις διώρισεν, ἀλλὰ τῶν ἐν τῇἙλλάδι πασῶν πόλεων τά τε πολιτικὰ καὶ θεωρητικὰ ξύμπαντα χρήματα ἐς τὸ