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possessing their own fruits, which are rotten and lie about uselessly, are forever without profit. 30.12 The matter of the spies was as follows. Many men were supported at public expense from of old, who, by going to the enemy and entering the Persian court either in the name of trade or in some other way, and by investigating each detail accurately, were able, upon returning to the land of the Romans, to report all the secrets of the enemy to the rulers. 30.13 And they, learning of them beforehand, were on their guard, and nothing unexpected befell them. This practice existed also among the Medes from ancient times. Chosroes, therefore, having made the allowances for spies greater, as they say, enjoyed the foresight that came from this. 30.14 For nothing that happened among the Romans escaped his notice. But Justinian, spending nothing at all, wiped out even the name of spies from the land of the Romans, from which time many other errors were committed and Lazica was taken by the enemy, the Romans having heard nothing of where on earth the king of the Persians was with his army. 30.15 But also the state was accustomed from of old to maintain a great number of camels, which would follow the Roman army when it went against the enemy, carrying all the provisions. 30.16 And neither was it then necessary for the farmers to perform forced transport, nor did it happen that the soldiers were in want of any necessities, but Justinian did away with these too, almost all of them. For this reason, when the Roman army now goes against the enemy, it is impossible for anything necessary to be done. 30.17 So the most serious things were thus brought upon the state. But it is no worse to mention also one of his ridiculous acts. 30.18 Among the orators in Caesarea was a certain Evangelus, a man of no small note, who, when the wind of fortune blew favorably for him, became master of much money and land. 30.19 Later he also bought a certain seaside village, Porphyreon by name, for three centenaria of gold. Learning this, the emperor Justinian immediately took the place from him, paying him some small portion of the price, and uttering this saying, that for Evangelus, being an orator, it would never be seemly to be master of such a village. 30.20 But concerning these matters, having mentioned them in some way or other, we shall cease to speak. 30.21 Among the innovations in the state by Justinian and Theodora are also these. Formerly the senate, when it went before the emperor, was accustomed to do obeisance in the following manner. A patrician would kiss his right breast. 30.22 The emperor would then kiss him on the head and dismiss him, while all the rest, bending their right knee to the emperor, departed. 30.23 It was, however, by no means customary to do obeisance to the empress. But when they came before Justinian and Theodora, all the others, including those who held the rank of patrician, would immediately fall face down on the ground, and stretching out their hands and feet to the full, they would touch a foot of each with their lips and then rise. 30.24 For Theodora did not shrink from this claim, and she by no means thought it unworthy to receive the ambassadors of the Persians and the other barbarians, and to present them with gifts, as if the Roman empire lay under her control, a thing that had never happened in all time. 30.25 And in former times, those who met with the emperor would call him Emperor and his wife Empress, and each of the other officials according to whatever rank he held at the time. 30.26 But if anyone, in conversation with either of these two, should mention Emperor or Empress, and not call them Master and Mistress, or if he should try not to call some of the officials slaves, he seemed to be so ignorant and unrestrained of tongue that he would depart from there having committed the bitterest of sins and offered insult to those whom he least ought. 30.27 And formerly few people, and with difficulty, were in the palace, but from the time these two took over the empire, the officials and all the rest spent their time continuously in the Palace. 30.28 The reason was that formerly the officials were allowed to conduct matters of justice and law with independent judgment. 30.29 And so the

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κεκτημένοι καρπῶν τῶν σφετέρων σεσηπότων τε καὶ εἰκῆ κειμένων ἀνόνητοι ἐς ἀεὶ γίνονται. 30.12 Τὰ δὲ τῶν κατασκόπων τοιαῦτά ἐστιν. ἄνδρες πολλοὶ ἐν δημοσίῳ τὸ ἀνέκαθεν ἐσιτίζοντο, οἳ δὴ ἐς τοὺς πολεμίους ἰόντες ἔν τε τοῖς Περσῶν βασιλείοις γινόμενοι ἢ ἐμπορίας ὀνόματι ἢ τρόπῳ ἑτέρῳ, ἔς τε τὸ ἀκριβὲς διερευνώμενοι ἕκαστα, ἐπανήκοντες ἐςῬωμαίων τὴν γῆν πάντα τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ἐπαγγέλλειν ἠδύ30.13 ναντο τὰ τῶν πολεμίων ἀπόρρητα. οἱ δὲ προὔμαθον ἐφύλασσόν τε καὶ ἀπρόοπτον οὐδὲν ξυνέπιπτε σφίσι. τοῦτο δὲ τὸ χρῆμα κἀν τοῖς Μήδοις ἐκ παλαιοῦ ἦν. Χοσρόης μὲν οὖν μείζους, ὥσπερ φασὶ, πεποιημένος τὰς τῶν κατασκόπων ξυντάξεις προμηθείας τῆς ἐνθένδε 30.14 ἀπήλαυσεν. οὐδὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν ἐλάνθανε τῶν ἐνῬωμαίοις γινομένων. ὁ δὲἸουστινιανὸς οὐδ' ὁτιοῦν ἀναλώσας καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ τῶν κατασκόπων ὄνομα ἐξέτριψεν ἐκῬωμαίων τῆς γῆς, ἐξ οὗ δὴ ἄλλα τε πολλὰ ἡμαρτήθη καὶ Λαζικὴ πρὸς τῶν πολεμίων ἑάλω,Ῥωμαίων οὐδαμῆ πεπυσμένων ὅποι ποτὲ γῆς ὁ Περσῶν 30.15 βασιλεὺς ξὺν τῷ στρατῷ εἴη. ἀλλὰ καὶ καμήλους παμπληθεῖς τὸ δημόσιον ἐκ παλαιοῦ τρέφειν εἰώθει, αἳ δὴ τῷῬωμαίων στρατῷ ἐπὶ πολεμίους ἰόντι ἅπαντα 30.16 φέρουσαι τὰ ἐπιτήδεια εἵποντο. καὶ οὔτε τοῖς γεωργοῖς τότε ἀγγαροφορεῖν ἐπάναγκες ἦν οὔτε τι ἐνδεῖν τοῖς στρατιώταις τῶν ἀναγκαίων ξυνέβαινεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτας περιεῖλενἸουστινιανὸς σχεδόν τι ἁπάσας. διὸ δὴ ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἰόντος τὰ νῦν τοῦῬωμαίων στρατοῦ γεγενῆσθαί τι τῶν δεόντων ἀδύνατον. 30.17 Τὰ μὲν οὖν σπουδαιότατα τῇ πολιτείᾳ ἐπεφέρετο τῇδε. οὐδὲν δὲ χεῖρον καί τινος αὐτοῦ τῶν γελοίων 30.18 ἐπιμνησθῆναι. τῶν ἐν Καισαρείᾳ ῥητόρων Εὐάγγελός τις ἦν οὐκ ἄσημος ἀνὴρ, ὅσπερ ἐπιφόρου οἱ τοῦ τῆς τύχης πνεύματος γενομένου χρημάτων τε ἄλλων καὶ 30.19 χώρας πολλῆς κύριος γέγονεν. ὕστερον δὲ καὶ κώμην ἐπιθαλασσίαν τινὰ, Πορφυρεῶνα ὄνομα, τριῶν χρυσίου κεντηναρίων ἐπρίατο. ταῦτα μαθὼνἸουστινιανὸς βασιλεὺς ἀφείλετο αὐτῷ τὸ χωρίον εὐθὺς ὀλίγην αὐτῷ τινα τοῦ τιμήματος προέμενος μοῖραν, καὶ τοῦτο ἀποφθεγξάμενος, ὡς Εὐαγγέλῳ ῥήτορι ὄντι οὐ μήποτε εὐπρε30.20 πὲς εἴη κώμης τοιαύτης κυρίῳ εἶναι. ἀλλὰ περὶ μὲν τούτων, ἀμηγέπη αὐτῶν ἐπιμνησθέντες, παυσόμεθα λέγειν. 30.21 Τῶν δὲ πρός τεἸουστινιανοῦ καὶ Θεοδώρας ἐπὶ τῇ πολιτείᾳ νεοχμωθέντων καὶ ταῦτά ἐστι. πάλαι μὲν ἡ σύγκλητος βουλὴ παρὰ βασιλέα ἰοῦσα τρόπῳ τοιῷδε προσκυνεῖν εἴθιστο. πατρίκιος μέν τις ἀνὴρ παρὰ 30.22 μαζὸν αὐτοῦ προσεκύνει τὸν δεξιόν. βασιλεὺς δὲ αὐτοῦ καταφιλήσας τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐξίει, οἱ δὲ λοιποὶ ἅπαντες γόνυ κλίναντες βασιλεῖ τὸ δεξιὸν ἀπηλλάσ30.23 σοντο. βασιλίδα μέντοι προσκυνεῖν οὐδαμῆ εἴθιστο. παρὰ δὲἸουστινιανόν τε καὶ Θεοδώραν τὰς εἰσόδους ποιούμενοι οἵ τε ἄλλοι ἅπαντες καὶ ὅσοι τὸ πατρικίων ἀξίωμα εἶχον ἔπιπτον μὲν εἰς τὸ ἔδαφος εὐθὺς ἐπὶ στόμα, χειρῶν δὲ καὶ ποδῶν ἐς ἄγαν σφίσι τετανυσμένων τῷ χείλει ποδὸς ἑκατέρου ἁψάμενοι ἐξανίσταντο. 30.24 οὐδὲ γὰρ ἡ Θεοδώρα τὴν ἀξίωσιν ἀνεδύετο ταύτην, ἥ γε καὶ τοὺς πρέσβεις προσίεσθαι Περσῶν τε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων βαρβάρων, χρήμασί τε αὐτοὺς δωρεῖσθαι, ὥσπερ ὑπ' αὐτῇ κειμένης τῆςῬωμαίων ἀρχῆς, οὐδαμῆ ἀπηξίου, πρᾶγμα πώποτε οὐ γεγονὸς ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς χρόνου. 30.25 καὶ πάλαι μὲν οἱ τῷ βασιλεῖ ξυγγενόμενοι αὐτόν τε βασιλέα καὶ τὴν γυναῖκα βασιλίδα ἐκάλουν, ἀρχόντων τε τῶν λοιπῶν ἕκαστον ὅπη αὐτῷ ἀξιώματος πέρι τὰ 30.26 παρόντα ἔχοι. ἢν δέ τις τούτοιν ὁποτέρῳ ἐς λόγους ξυμμίξας βασιλέως ἢ βασιλίδος ἐπιμνησθείη, ἀλλ' οὐ δεσπότην τε ἀποκαλοίη καὶ δέσποιναν, ἢ καὶ μὴ δούλους τῶν τινας ἀρχόντων ὀνομάζειν πειρῷτο, τοσοῦτος δὴ ἀμαθής τε καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν ἀκόλαστος ἐδόκει εἶναι, καὶ ἅτε ἡμαρτηκὼς τὰ πικρότατα καὶ ὑβρίσας ἐς οὓς ἥκιστα ἐχρῆν ἐνθένδε ἀπῄει. 30.27 Καὶ τὰ πρότερα μὲν ὀλίγοι τε καὶ μόλις ἐν βασιλείοις ἐγίνοντο, ἐξ ὅτου δὲ οὗτοι τὴν βασιλείαν παρέλαβον, ἄρχοντες ὁμοῦ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ ξύμπαντες ἐν 30.28 Παλατίῳ ἐνδελεχέστατα διατριβὴν εἶχον. αἴτιον δὲ ὅτι πάλαι μὲν ταῖς ἀρχαῖς τά τε δίκαια καὶ νόμιμα 30.29 πράσσειν γνώμῃ αὐτονόμῳ ἐξῆν. οἵ τε οὖν