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the transactions for payment, so that nothing should happen against the law, but he himself ordered the documents to be filled out by his own men, himself becoming the master of the customary expenses to be provided to the appropriate collectors. Then, when the greatest difficulties arose for the taxpayers from the issuance of documents not ventured in the proper manner, he himself grew angry and inflicted death on those who did not understand the power of documents released unrestrainedly and at random. And from that time a law prevailed, and everyone writes and fills out and releases at random matters completely unknown to them, which were previously secured in myriad ways, by the so-called cottidiani, that is daily clerks, of the ab actis, by the appropriate scrinia, and by those who have their revenue from them. And why do I speak at length? Everything has completely fallen apart, preserving no knowledge of the former correct procedures. 69 Thus when the most foul enemy of the laws had behaved in this way, God turned, having decreed to give up the author of these evils to his own deeds, persuading him that “there is Justice and Nemesis bringing evil to the evil.” For while the most gentle emperor knew none of these things, and while all, on account of his absolute power, although being wronged, supported the wicked Cappadocian and used the most outstanding praises of all for him before the emperor—for who would have dared even to mention his name without praise?—his wife alone, being superior to all beings whenever she was vigilant in her wisdom and sympathy for the wronged, no longer bearing to overlook the state being submerged, armed with no moderate words crosses over to the emperor, teaching him all that had until then 242 escaped his notice, and how not only the subject population was in danger of perishing in these evils, but also the empire itself was close to being shaken. Therefore the emperor, being good and slow to defend against evils, was seized by helpless difficulties, not even finding a way to remove the destroyer of the state. So it happened, since he had badly disturbed affairs and obscured the taxes with perplexity and indiscriminate confusion, mixing up the so-called tax-cycles with one another, that there would never be an end to his term of office, nor would anyone from the senate or anyone at all vigilant about justice dare to take on the administration. Nevertheless, the emperor helped his subjects as much as was humanly possible. 70 But the taxpayers, since for the rest there was no surplus left to them on account of the compulsory purchases and forced services and the toils from them, with women along with their nursing infants carrying burdens and transporting the goods from the distant interior to the sea, pitiless and unburied deaths on the journey, and since those collecting the duties were demanding multiform and significant levies—censualia, holographica, bouleutica, homodula, homocensa, aphantica, encataleleimmena, politica, tamiaca, deputata, recollata, relegata, refusa, ceratismoi, ropai, parallagai, interest, endomatica, metatorica, and after the pitiless exaction of these taxes upon the coinage, myriad other evils rising up for the taxpayers from above, as if from a Hydra: meritica, suffragia, [............]ima, co 244 mitatensia, monoptera, monastica, apemelememena, leukochrysa— and finally the armies always stationed there and the plundering seizures by the defenders against those they were supposed to be protecting, and the violence and destruction by the troops passing through the provinces as many as happen of necessity to hasten to the wars, for which reason the subject population reckons for itself an invasion of the barbarians to be lighter than the supervision of their own people. For these reasons, therefore, or rather circumstances, all, abandoning the lands that sustained them and wishing to be idle rather than to toil prudently, as they were not even permitted to, filled the emperor’s city with useless crowds; and great was the lawlessness, extending along with the multitude to an infinity of offenses, so as to bring forward even the magistrates who were previously neglected,

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τὰ πραττόμενα πρὸς πλήρωσιν, ὥστε μηδὲν παρὰ τὸν νόμον γίνεσθαι, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς διὰ τῶν οἰκείων πληροῦσθαι τὰ σύμβολα ἐκέλευσεν, τῶν εἰωθότων παρέχεσθαι δαπανημάτων τοῖς ἁρμοδίοις πληρωταῖς αὐτὸς γινόμενος κύριος. εἶτα ἐκ τῆς μὴ κατὰ τὸ προσῆκον τολμωμένης τῶν χαρτῶν ἐκδόσεως μεγίστων ἀνισταμένων τοῖς ὑποτελέσι δυσχερῶν, αὐτὸς ἠγανάκτει καὶ θανάτους ἐπέφερε τοῖς οὐκ ἐπισταμένοις τὴν τῶν ἀνέδην καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν ἀπολελυμένων χαρτῶν δύναμιν. καὶ νόμος ἐκράτησεν ἐξ ἐκείνου καὶ πάντες ὡς ἔτυχε καὶ γράφουσι καὶ πληροῦσι καὶ ἀπολύουσι τὰ παντελῶς αὐτοῖς ἀγνοούμενα, τὸ πρὶν μυρίοις κατησφαλισμένα τρόποις, τοῖς τε λεγομένοις κοττιδιανοῖς, οἷον εἰ ἐφημέροις, τοῦ ἀβ ἄκτις, τοῖς τε προσφόροις σκρινίοις καὶ αὐτοῖς δὲ τοῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἔχουσι τὸν πόρον. καὶ τί μακρηγορῶ; πάντα παντελῶς διαπέπτωκε μηδεμίαν ἐπίγνωσιν τῶν πρὶν κατορθωμάτων διασῴζοντα. 69 Οὕτως τοῦ μιαρωτάτου πολεμίου τῶν νόμων διαγενομένου, ἐπεστράφη θεός, ἐκδοῦναι τὸν αἴτιον τῶν κακῶν ταῖς ἰδίαις πράξεσι ψηφισάμενος, πείθων αὐτὸν ὡς «ἔστι ∆ίκη Νέμεσίς τε κακοῖς κακότητα φέρουσα.» τοῦ γὰρ ἠπιωτάτου βασιλέως μηδὲν τούτων ἐπισταμένου, πάντων δὲ διὰ τὴν ἄκρατον δυναστείαν, καίπερ ἀδικουμένων, συνηγορούντων τῷ πονηρῷ Καππαδόκῃ καὶ τοῖς πάντων ἐξοχωτάτοις ἐπαίνοις ἐπ' αὐτῷ παρὰ βασιλεῖ χρωμένων τίς γὰρ ἂν ἐτόλμησε καὶ μόνης ἐπαίνων χωρὶς μνησθῆναι τῆς αὐτοῦ προσηγορίας;, μόνη ἡ ὁμόζυγος γυνή, κρεῖττον τῶν ὄντων ὅτε δή ποτε ἐπὶ συνέσει καὶ συμπαθείᾳ τῶν ἀδικουμένων ἀγρυπνοῦσα, μὴ φέρουσα τὸ λοιπὸν περιορᾶν τὴν πολιτείαν βυθιζομένην, οὐ μετρίοις λόγοις ὡς τὸν βασιλέα ὁπλισθεῖσα διαβαίνει, ἅπαντα αὐτὸν τὰ τέως 242 διαλανθάνοντα διδάσκουσα, καὶ ὡς κινδυνεύοι οὐ τὸ ὑπήκοον μόνον ἐναπολεῖσθαι τοῖς κακοῖς ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὴν ἐγγὺς σαλεύεσθαι τὴν βασιλείαν. εἰκὸς οὖν ὁ βασιλεύς, καλὸς ὢν καὶ πρὸς ἀμύνην τῶν κακῶν βραδύς, ἀμηχάνοις ἀπορίαις εἴχετο, μηδὲ ἀποκινεῖν τὸν καταστροφέα τοῦ πολιτεύματος εὑρίσκων. οὕτως ἔτυχεν, οἷα κακῶς ταράξας τὰ πράγματα καὶ τοὺς φόρους ἀπορίᾳ καὶ συγχύσει ἀδιακρίτῳ σκοτώσας, ἀλλήλαις τὰς λεγομένας ἐπινεμήσεις ἐμμίξας, ὡς μηδέποτε πέρας αὐτῷ γενέσθαι τῆς ἀρχῆς μηδέ τινα τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς βουλῆς ἢ ὅλως τοῦ δικαίου πέρι ἀγρυπνοῦντα τολμᾶν ἐπιλαβέσθαι τῆς διοικήσεως. ἐπεκούρει δὲ ὅμως τοῖς ὑπηκόοις ὁ βασιλεὺς καθ' ὅσον ἀνθρώποις δυνατόν. 70 Οἱ δὲ ὑποτελεῖς, τὸ λοιπὸν οὐκ οὔσης αὐτοῖς οὐδὲ ἀφεθείσης περιουσίας διὰ τὰς συνωνὰς καὶ ἀγγαρείας καὶ τοὺς ἐξ αὐτῶν πόνους, γυναικῶν τε σὺν ἐπιμαζίοις βρέφεσιν ἀχθοφορουσῶν καὶ διακομιζουσῶν τὰ εἴδη ἐκ μεσογείου μακρᾶς ἐπὶ θάλασσαν, ἀνελεεῖς καὶ ἄταφοι ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας θάνατοι, τῶν τε τοὺς δασμοὺς πραττομένων πολυτρόπους καὶ πολυσημάντους ἐφόδους αἰτούντων κηνσουάλια, ὁλογραφικά, βουλευτικά, ὁμόδουλα, ὁμόκηνσα, ἀφαντικά, ἐγκαταλελειμμένα, πολιτικά, ταμιακά, δηπουτᾶτα, ῥεκολλᾶτα, ῥελεγᾶτα, ῥεφοῦσα, κερατισμούς, ῥοπάς, παραλλαγάς, τόκους, ἐνδοματικά, μητατωρικὰ καὶ μετὰ τὴν τούτων ἀνελεῆ φόρων ἀπαίτησιν ἐπὶ τοῦ νομίσματος ἄλλων μυρίων, ὥσπερ ἐξ ὕδρας, ἀνισταμένων κακῶν τοῖς ὑποτελέσιν ὑπεράνω, μεριτικῶν, σουφφραγίων, [............]ίμων, κο 244 μιτατησίων, μονοπτέρων, μοναστικῶν, ἀπημελημένων, λευκοχρύσων, καὶ τὸ πέρας τὰς ἐνιδρυμένας ἀεὶ στρατιὰς καὶ τῶν ὑπερμαχούντων τὰς κατ' αὐτῶν τῶν προνοουμένων λαφυραγωγοὺς ἁρπαγὰς βίας τε καὶ φθορὰς τῶν παραπορευομένων διὰ τῶν ἐπαρχιῶν στρατευμάτων ὅσα κατὰ τὸ ἀναγκαῖον ἐπὶ τοὺς πολέμους ὁρμᾶν συμβαίνει, δι' ὃ κουφοτέραν τὴν ἐπιδρομὴν τῶν βαρβάρων τῆς ἐπιστασίας τῶν οἰκείων τὸ ὑπήκοον ἑαυτῷ συλλογίζεται. διὰ ταύτας τοίνυν τὰς αἰτίας, μᾶλλον δὲ περιστάσεις, τὰς ἐνεγκούσας αὐτοὺς ἀπολείποντες ἅπαντες καὶ ῥᾳθυμεῖν μᾶλλον ἢ κάμνειν σωφρόνως ἐθέλοντες, οἷα μηδὲ συγχωρούμενοι, τὴν βασιλέως πόλιν ὄχλων ἀχρήστων ἐνεφόρησαν· καὶ πολὺς ἦν ὁ νόμος πρὸς ἀπειρίαν πταισμάτων τῷ πλήθει συνεκτεινόμενος, ὥστε καὶ τοὺς τὸ πρὶν ἠμελημένους ἄρχοντας προαγαγεῖν,