Novel Constitutions of Constantine Porphyrogenitus

rigid and fierce in spirit, breathing only of wrath and insults, ^A became a suppliant, asking in a mournful voice for pardon for his error, and imploring his prayers as the sole remedy for his salvation. For vice is truly always a weak thing, whereas virtue is strong and stable. What, therefore, does the divine mind do at these things? Did he reproach the man for his madness and unbridled audacity? Or did he seem to despise the one praying and refuse him for so long? Not at all. For how could he who was a disciple and, more sharply, a most gentle and peaceful imitator of Him who was naturally disposed to doing good rather than punishing, act in such a way? Therefore, he not only granted him pardon, but also restored his health with his prayers, having laid his hand upon him. So that he immediately took food, safe and sound, and spoke freely and readily, a miracle that was hardly believable even to the eyes of those who were watching.

XVI. John Malacenus was accused by some wicked and malicious men through slander—a man who was a prince of easy distinction not only among the Lacedaemonians but in all of Hellas and the Peloponnese, by the brilliance of his noble lineage as well as the praise of his supreme wisdom—and he was accused before him who was holding the scepter of the empire at that time, namely Basil, the son of Romanus the Younger, the most fortunate of all kings, whose life was illustrious, whose reign was of the greatest extent, and whose victories and trophies over his enemies were most numerous, through whom also that prince of the Bulgarian nation [as histories record], the one called Samuel, who was impregnable in strength and vigor, was broken and subdued in Crete with an innumerable multitude of Bulgarians.

XVII. Therefore, two satraps were sent by the emperor, leading a legion of soldiers, in order to seize Malacenus by surprise and lead him bound to the queen of cities; for his rivals, concocting a crime of defection and treason against him, had filled the emperor’s ears with the slander of a false accusation. When, therefore, they reached Lacedaemon and seized the man for whose sake they had been sent, he immediately summoned the man of God, Nicon, whom he held in the highest honor on account of his remarkable deeds, and anxious with heavy grief, he said: "Pray, pray for me, wretched one, servant of God, that I may not perish miserably through the anger of the emperor." The saint, responding with gentle and honeyed words, told him to strengthen his spirit and to fear nothing too sad. Then, with a certain extraordinary power of charity, he reclined with him at the table, and profferred to the mourner the cup of joy—like that poetic vessel of Gyges—a forgetting of all evils, and added this oracle: "You shall rather obtain the emperor's benevolence, you shall live a life more blessed than the past, you shall ascend to higher grades of honors, and finally, you shall triumph over every trouble and calamity: and me," he said, "you shall see, and you shall return to your homeland at the end of your life." For Nicon had also been graced by the Father of lights (as it has been said above) to foresee the future just as the present. And indeed all things happened just as he had predicted.

XVIII. Malacenus, therefore, as if by a prophetic and divinely moved tongue, hearing these things and doubting nothing, was intensely exhilarated; and, having bid farewell to Nicon, he set out on his voyage with a secure mind. After he arrived before the emperor and the accusation concocted by his rivals was dispelled by the light of truth, but especially by the prayers of Nicon, he gained thereafter greater favor with the emperor, more ample honors, glory, and fame, so much so that he obtained a place for the prince in the senate.

XIX. Not long after this time had passed, while Malacenus was still in Constantinople, Nicon passed on to an immortal and blessed fate. When Malacenus received this news, and felt that that sweet hope, which he had not doubted would come to pass from his words—namely, that he would see his desired face—had been in a way snatched from him: ^B he began to be intensely distressed in spirit, and to seethe with various thoughts; moreover, to live a heavy life, unless he should see that which he had promised brought to completion.

XX. Therefore, being confirmed ^C in his faith (for he was not devoid of that knowledge by which the mysteries of God are accustomed to be known), what does he do? Where does he turn himself? He summons a painter, distinguished in skill and hand, and describes in words what the saint had been like in manner, clothing, and hair: then he orders his whole image to be expressed on a panel with the appropriate colors. Having returned home, the painter, thinking it worth the effort that he had been ordered to do—to follow it as accurately as he could—after various attempts, at last noticed that he was laboring in vain; for he could not, from narration alone, express to a true likeness one whom he had never seen, even though he was most expert and exercised in his art. While he was occupied with this care and grieving intensely that he could not form the features of his face, a certain monk suddenly stood before his eyes who had secretly penetrated into the house, tall in stature, in eremitic habit, clothed in a worn garment, his hair disheveled, dark in hair and beard, and in all things very similar to the blessed man: for he also carried a staff in his hand, the tip of which ended in a cross. After the monk greeted the painter kindly, he inquired about the cause of his sadness and anxiety. He indeed soon opened up both the cause and demonstrated the difficulty of the work. Then the monk said to him in a gentle voice: "Look at me, brother; he whom you are painting is in all ways similar to me." When the painter, therefore, fixed his eyes upon him more keenly and examined him thoroughly, he recognized that he was the very one whom Malacenus had described in words. Wherefore, having turned back to the panel to imitate the form he had seen—a thing to be wondered at!—he sees the figure of the thrice-blessed one already expressed on the panel of its own accord with his own lineaments; and, when he turned around, stunned by the miracle, to call out "Kyrie eleison" in terror to the saint, he did not see him anymore. For he had already flown away. Therefore, adding the remaining pigments of color to the divinely delineated form, he finished the perfect image, such as it is still visited today hanging in the sacred temple of the blessed, and completed in every respect; and, immediately hastening with it to the illustrious Malacenus, all things to him, as ^D

property to two or three outside partners, and made them partners in this property, and they held and possessed it just as the cousins did. But what is it "to be thus intertwined and mixed" like the cousins? If, then, a plot of land or vineyard of such a property or other immovable asset is being sold, ^B the relative who is thus mixed into the portion of that relative, that is, who is intertwined, has precedence. For this is what "thus mixed, that is, intertwined" signifies. And the cousin may purchase this alone, but not the outsider who is likewise mixed. Because the cousin has two rights, that of kinship and that of the mixture, while the outsider has only the right of the mixture. But if the cousin is called to the purchase and refuses before reliable witnesses, then in the second order the outsider who is merely mixed in this way is called instead of the one [the cousin] who was by mixture, and he has precedence over the other, who is of the third degree and is only mixed, but is not also a partner. For instance, again, by way of example: fields were being sold by someone, and vineyards, and olive groves, or even buildings. Two, therefore, having formed a partnership, bought the two-thirds of the estate, intertwined and mixed, undivided and in common, so that they might be partners as many traders form a partnership. But the other third part which remained was bought by another, undivided and ^C purely mixed and intertwined. When, therefore, one of the two partners sells his portion, the partner has precedence for the purchase, but not the other who is not a partner. For the partner has two rights, that of the mixture and that of the partnership; but the one who is not a partner has only the right of the mixture. And finally, when the partner refuses, then [the one] who is merely mixed is called, even if he is an outsider, that is, neither a relative nor a partner. But if even this person of the third degree refuses—the one who is merely mixed and is an outsider, and neither a relative nor a partner—then the one of the fourth degree is called. ^D And who again is this? Listen: the neighbor of the same fiscal status. For example, this is what this means: that sold estate which they bought—the partners, that is, and someone else, though all three are undivided and mixed—has a neighbor with boundaries adjacent to the boundaries of such an estate, and the fields, for example, or the vineyards are bordering, yet they pay taxes under one master, both that estate and this [neighboring land], for example under one archbishopric, or they are enclosed within one village, which village encloses within it many estates. If, therefore, that aforementioned estate or a part of it is being sold, the intertwined and mixed relative is first of all; but if he refuses, the mixed co-partner is second; and if he also does not wish [to buy], the third is the one who is merely mixed and an outsider, ^A even if he is neither a relative nor a partner. But if even this third person does not wish [to buy], then the fourth is called, [the one] who pays taxes under the same village and has adjacent places or buildings or vineyards to the one being sold, and is bordering. For this fourth person has precedence over the fifth, [the one] who is not of the same fiscal status but only has a union and connection in some part of the estate being sold, because he has two rights, both the adjacency and the same fiscal status, whereas the fifth [has] only the union; for his estate is either enclosed by another village or pays tax under another master. But what are "adjacency" and "union"? For "union" exists when the edges of two places are joined. "Adjacency" exists when the edges are not joined, but there is in between a small and slight thing dividing them from one another, such as a narrow lane or a local and rural side-path, but not a public road. For if a public and broad road is found, then the neighboring people here do not have precedence in that direction, as the public road separates them. We have learned that there are 5 degrees of precedence. That is to say, first those relatives joined by mixture ought to be called, then the partners who are thus intertwined, after whom [come] those who are only mixed, even if they be entirely strangers to the one withdrawing; then those adjacent and of the same fiscal status, and after that those who are simply joined in some part by contact. But because some dissent regarding the first degree, saying that "relatives by mixture" are those who are mixed into the kinship, being well aware of it, let them be refuted by many proofs and arguments. And first, by the word itself, because it does not simply say "mixed relatives," but "those who are mixed relatives," that is, those who are related by being mixed into the thing. And again, because since the law calls them relatives, it is redundant to speak of the mixture again; for this kinship is known and characterized in itself by the composition of the two parts of the word, namely the preposition *syn* and the noun of the lineage, as it proceeds according to the law up to the seventh degree. And that we may speak more clearly, let them be silent a little above regarding the ordinance on precedence, and reading and understanding the power of the word from there, let them draw [the meaning]; or if not, let them be taught by others who know what is fitting. For it says: "some from kinship, others from acquisition having a common house or vineyard or any other immovable asset," and so forth. And if kinship alone sufficed for precedence, as indeed some of the uninitiated imagine, the mention of the "common" [owner] would be useless and redundant. For this reason, from many things and from this, let them learn more securely that "mixed relatives" are those who have the thing mixed. And if these are closer than others, let them be preferred by all, as having received the prior order and closer degree from the law.

^A Divise or indivise, or as if from common purchase or other such title of ownership, or acquired in some other way, or partly from kinship, partly from outside purchase, if they have a house, or field, or vineyard, or any other immovable property in common, or if, otherwise than by right of partnership, they are in some part mixed with neighboring properties or are adjacent, or are those who pay tax under the same title, or are simply neighbors, and they wish to alienate their own property either by sale or by emphyteusis or by lease, let them not alienate these to anyone else before they have formally notified those whom we call in order for preference: so that first of all, the indistinctly conjoined relatives be called, then the partners conjoined among themselves, after whom [come] those who are only mixed in, even if they be entirely strangers to the one alienating; next, the adjacent [neighbors] who are subject to the same taxes; and following these, those who are simply joined together in some part contiguously. We call those subject to the same taxes all who are registered under the same assessor, even if they pay their own taxes in different places. When many [persons] are adjacent to the property being alienated, or touch the boundaries of the field being alienated, let the formal notice be given to each in the same order as to his prerogative, so that if those preferred perhaps refuse, those called in succession may deal if they wish. ^B If, however, all come with equal privileges, so that in such an invitation they take no precedence over one another, let the same notice be given to all alike, so that within thirty days they may pay the just price, or that which the true buyer offers without fraud, either by themselves or through the work of some magistrate, apportioning [the property] proportionally. However, as many as do not provide the payment due from them within the appointed day shall have no right of preference anymore, unless one of them is a prisoner, or restricted, or an exile, or is away on public or private business without fraud, or has not yet completed his twenty-fifth year of age. ^C For those who have taken upon themselves the administration of the property of these persons, within four months, [along] with the new adjacent purchasers, enter in for the proportional part, paying to them the due price along with the legal interest and necessary expenses; and they completely push out the foreign purchasers, restoring to them the price along with the same interest and expenses. But if the administrators of the aforementioned persons are suspicious that those [whom they represent] might not consider the act done by them to be valid, let them either abandon or accept the contract with a legal examination, which is done by means of a written document. If they should be negligent in this matter, let them provide of their own [means] to them the entire profit and every advantage which they would have had, if these [administrators] had been quick to settle the contract. And these things [apply] in the case of relatives, and partners, and those who pay tax under the same title, and other neighboring possessors. ^D But also in the case of the group of those called villages or small fields, let it hold with much greater force, so that the owners of them may also have the preference towards one another. But if all to whom preference is given refuse, or show themselves responsible for financial loss or bodily treachery and the disgrace of [injury].

We also wish that those who become possessors ^B of such properties, whether by their own agency or through those who belong to them—not by chance, but by providence—should in no way be introduced into the possession of the property against the wish of the sufferer. By way of pretext, however, of a dowry or a gift before marriage, or a simple gift, or a gift in contemplation of death, or by testament, or exchange, or settlement, both relatives and outsiders are universally permitted to alienate; provided only that no one, under color of a secret sale or lease to those who have no right of preference, makes a pretense of giving, bequeathing, or anything else mentioned openly. For this reason, those who possess the privilege of preference may require an oath from both the giver and the receiver. If, however, those who alienate attempt to do anything else in circumvention of our law—pretending one thing openly while doing another—and are convicted after the oath, both they and those who have struck such a fraudulent bargain with them will suffer the penalties for perjury, and the one will lose the property, and the other the price secretly paid; both will be confiscated by the public treasury, so that the property may be sold from the treasury to those in the vicinity. But if they are caught having done such a thing before the oath, the action will be void, and the one who once attempted to alienate the property wickedly will be compelled to sell it, even against his will, to those to whom we have granted the preference.

2. ^B We forbid the powerful from henceforth receiving anything from the inferior by way of adoption, or simple gift, or gift in contemplation of death, or by testament, or by way of simple usufruct, or by way of some patronage and support, unless they happen to be their kinsmen. Neither may they make new purchases, leases, or exchanges for property from their owners in those villages or small fields where they do not possess their own holdings. But if the properties being sold are not the ^C holdings of these persons, but belong to other persons—whether they are the so-called classified lands ^D of the public treasury or some other property belonging to it that is being alienated—in the same way those same owners shall be preferred. If these voluntarily decline, then it is permitted for the powerful to enter into transactions. And let those be understood as "powerful" who, even if not by their own agency, yet through the power of others with whom they are familiarly and boldly intimate, have sufficient strength to intimidate those who are alienating, or to provide them with assurance of benefits promised to them. If any of the powerful persons attempts to perpetrate such a thing, he shall be deprived of the property, and the valuation of it shall be collected from him by the public treasury. However, after a decade has passed without public objection, there shall be no claim by any of those who were originally preferred, nor by the public treasury, against those who have transacted in any manner, or received gifts, or acquired anything by testament.

3. In addition to these things, we command that all military properties, as many as within a period of thirty years

in any way alienated them, or hereafter shall be alienated, let them return without refund of price to the obligation and service of their own military duty, unless perhaps even after the alienation has been made, there remains to the soldier ^A only so much as is sufficient for one serving to establish new military service. For in as much as it is lacking, to that extent is the alienation rescinded.

II.

Golden Bull of Emperor Romanus the Elder for the Monastery of Xeropotamou on Mount Athos. (Year 924.)

II'. Golden Bull of Emperors Romanus, Christopher, and Constantine, confirming a synodal decree that the bishopric of Rhizaion, though promoted to an archbishopric, should remain subject to the metropolitan of Neo-Caesarea. (Between 920 and 926.) Does not exist.

III. Golden Bull of Emperors Romanus, Christopher, and Constantine, concerning the archbishopric of Patras being promoted to a metropolis. (Between 920 and 926.) Does not exist.

IV.

Novella of Romanus the Elder, concerning the powerful entering into communal holdings of the poor, restraining them from making purchases in the aggregate of the lands. Dictated by Cosmas the Magister, in the first indiction, in the year 6443.

Chapters of the Constitution.

1. Concerning persons who, from the aforementioned indiction and year, are prohibited from acquiring by sale, or gift, or inheritance, or any other means, any lordship in a field or village, and what their monetary penalty is, and concerning those who are preferred in the taking up of such lands.

2. Concerning persons who, from the past first indiction until the present, are expelled in various ways from the villages and lands which they acquired. And concerning the refunding of the price, and of improvements, and of the preference of persons.

3. Concerning those who in many ways have been transferred to a better fortune, that they too remain only in those things which they held before the first indiction.

4. Concerning persons who were expelled even before the past first indiction, who were burdensome and oppressive and causing constant harm to the poor ^C living near them.

^D (5) ... [the text here concerns historical commentary regarding the date and the legal interpretation of the Novella, specifically debating whether the indiction mentioned refers to 929 AD or 935 AD, and discussing the ten-year prescription period].

^A enlarge their hearts for battle; drive away from them their bitter cowardice. Put to shame the words of the prophets of the enemy; show who is Peter, and who is the false-imposter, who permits the eating of camels, and who makes the barbarians fornicators, a false prophet exposed in his craftiness."

Having cried out thus, and having taken up his shield, he ^B spoke to his companions, haranguing them: "Men, generals, children, fellow-servants, friends, the sinews of Rome, faithful friends of the master—for this man holds you as children and friends, exhorting you with words, not compelling you with labors—look at these places, beaten by the sea; look at the many desirable islands all around; they were once the habitation of the ancestral home of Rome, ^C and of the lords of the earth; but creeping in, lethargy and listlessness made the land alien, feeding enemies and wanting for children. Let us go, then, vigorously against the barbarians; let us take, with the sword, their cities, and [theirs], their wives, and the children of their children. Let no one fear the missiles of the barbarians. Let no one fear the festering wound of battle; let no one fear the bitter [stroke], the final harm. For if someone, taking that bloody bath, is washed in the blood of the insolent barbarians, he cleanses his body in the streams of blood, and rises up from the earth bright and victorious. But if there be one who has children and holdings, [having left behind as] a father the designated master, that man will care for him and his children, ^D and for the properties of the masters: but lethargy and listlessness made the land alien, feeding enemies and wanting for children. Let us go, then, vigorously against the barbarians; let us take, with the sword, their cities, and [theirs], their wives, and the children of their children. Let no one fear the missiles of the barbarians. Let no one fear the festering wound of battle; let no one fear the bitter [stroke], the final harm. For if someone, taking that bloody bath, is washed in the blood of the insolent barbarians, he cleanses his body in the streams of blood, and rises up from the earth bright and victorious. But if there be one who has children and holdings, [having left behind as] a father the designated master, that man will care for him and his children,

5. On the triennial period granted for the sake of the refund of the price, so that the needy person may be immediately aided for the recovery of the property, along with others to whom preference has been granted by this law.

6. On those sold from the first indiction up to the eighth, having a valuation double or more, that they may be returned without price.

7. On the condemnation of those who buy within the aforesaid time for less than the just price.

8. On the fact that monasteries of estates, which are given to them under the title of a donation made to the world, should be given according to the valuation of the lands, and not receive the lands themselves.

To those men who consider the wily and fraudulent craftiness a matter of great and august ^A estimation, and who seek it with singular zeal—in order that, by an imitation of that primal deceiver, they may display a similar disposition of soul; to whom, indeed, this does not seem a great thing, nor is there any other thing placed before their eyes than to be tainted by the doctrine of creation and judgment; and nothing remains but to declare that this is the purpose of their soul, that they may live through all their earthly life in this single desire: ^B hence arises that great confusion of things, hence that great flood of nefarious deeds, hence the grave and long-lasting calamity of the poor and their hardship, and the frequent groan of the needy, on account of whom the Lord rises up, as it is written: *For the hardship of the poor and the groan of the needy, now I will arise, saith the Lord* (Ps. CXI, 6). ^C For if God rises up for vengeance, and He who fashioned us, and saved us, and became king, how shall it not be fully satisfied for us? Since only the eyes of the Emperor look to the consolation of the poor. Therefore, for the vindication of these people, we have not only designed this to heal what the recent injuries indicate, but also that we might bring to the public a remedy for the matter; we have promulgated this present law; we have fashioned it for ourselves as a sort of expulsion and purgation of the insatiable greed: so that no one may any longer be despoiled by the powerful: which law we see as something publicly beneficial, and accepted by God, and bringing a fruitful utility to the treasury and the state. Although we are not unaware that this cause has long been managed with suitable study and diligence: for because of it, judicial sentences and decrees have been promulgated, by which the wickedness of souls might be restrained, and all things subject to us in the provinces were traveled through. But because of the fact that the malice of men is various, and quite diverse, and fraught with all vices, though not least of all greed, and since it is far more than others, it is true; indeed, in such a way that it even plots to evade the sanction of the law ^D and to escape the incorruptible gaze of divine justice, paying no mind to it, because of these things we have deemed it necessary, not only to propose this current law as a common, useful, and acceptable remedy for the public and the state, but also to deliberate upon the need for it, that it might be a cleansing and a purgation of that insatiable disposition, so that poor men may no longer be despoiled of their own, nor be oppressed by the powerful. And we are not unaware that this matter has not escaped notice, since, under the care that has been applied, it is such a subject that, while the decrees and judgments restrain the transgressing of the wicked and check the extension of the greedy hand, and have been deposited with the authorities appointed by us in all provinces. But since evil is multifunctional and extremely varied, and not least of all greed, if not even more, it plots to escape the laws and the decrees and the uncorrupted...

and his wife: let him fear nothing in this. ^A Let him only hold his shield firm in the engagements; let him only eagerly extend his sharp spear; let him only appear armed as a soldier of the fatherland; let him not shame the power of Rome. Having given wings to the servants with these words, ^B the man faithful in battle, Nicephorus, sent them forth like mountain-dwelling lions, stirring up all Cretan wickedness, not indeed in a perfunctory manner, nor without a general; for he himself, riding in their midst, armed with a mighty and sharpened blade, ^C at times striking, he followed in a strange manner, and at times he followed, casting the fire-scourge upon the houses. But when all had gone out against the wild beasts, spreading out plague-like from here and there, one might have beheld grievous mourning, and flight, and the straits of the enemy, fearful to behold. ^D For a multitude of men and women lay miserably slaughtered in one dust. There, children hastening to the slaughter fell to the ground with the bending of their feet. There, old men, bowed by time, slipped and fell in the way, and the sword dyed the purple hair which time had tinted white; there, women threw their infants from their bosoms down to the earth, and the danger stirred up a lack of natural affection for their offspring. 110 When all were, instead of wild beasts, spread out from there and here in a plague-like manner, not indeed perfunctorily, nor without a leader; 106 for he himself, riding in the midst of the knights, with a long and sharpened sword, 108 now striking, he followed in a foreign manner, now again casting the fire-scourge upon the houses. 112 It was then possible to see a piteous lamentation and flight, and a bitter wonder at the contrary misfortune. 114 For a multitude of men and women lay in one dust, miserably slaughtered. 116 There, children hastening to the slaughter 117 fell to the earth with the buckling of their feet. 118 There, old men, bowed by time, 119 slipped and fell in the way; 120 and the sword dyed the crimson hair 121 which time had dyed white; 122 there, women, having their infants in their bosoms, 123 cast them to the ground, and the danger stirred up a lack of natural affection for their offspring.

^A gaze of divine justice, for these reasons we have now deemed it worthy of a safer and more careful registration, casting aside and cutting off the sophistries of those who act with malicious intent. We decree, therefore, that all those living in every region and state, which after God our authority governs, should possess their homes, which have fallen to their lot, freely and undisturbed. But if time keeps this safeguarded, let the acquisition remain for the inheritance of heirs or relatives, or let the will of the possessor regarding it be fulfilled. But if, as happens in human life and by the ebb and flow of time, through an intervening necessity or need, or even if by mere desire alone, someone introduces a partial or total alienation of their own lands, let the purchase be offered to the inhabitants of the same or neighboring farms or villages. We do not ordain these things out of hatred or envy of the more powerful, but we ordain this for goodwill and for the protection of the poor and for the common salvation. For whereas those who have obtained rule from God, those who have risen above the many in glory and wealth, ought to have shown the greatest care for the poor, they instead treat them as their own food and are annoyed that they do not possess these things sooner. And if such an unholy deed is not committed by everyone, still let the observance of the law be common to all, so that the tares may not secretly be gathered in with the wheat. ^B

1. Let no one hereafter—neither the illustrious magisters or patricians, nor those honored with offices or commands or civil or military dignities, nor indeed any of those enrolled in the senate, nor provincial governors or ex-governors, nor the most God-beloved metropolitans or archbishops or bishops or abbots or ecclesiastical ^C superiors, nor those who have the protection and control of holy or imperial houses—either in their own name or on behalf of the imperial treasury or of the Church, or by themselves or through a surrogate, dare any longer to enter into a village or a field, either in whole or in part, by reason of purchase, gift, inheritance, or any other pretext whatsoever. Such an acquisition is declared to be invalid, and it is rightly ordained that the acquired things, without restitution of the price, together with ^D the improvements [emponematis] that have accrued, shall pass to the possessors, or, if the possessors or their relatives do not exist, to the inhabitants of the villages or lands. For the control of such persons has increased the great misery of the poor, by the multitude of their servants, their mercenaries, and those who otherwise run to them and associate with them, bringing on rebellions, persecutions, forced services, and other attendant afflictions and hardships, and causing no small destruction to the common weal for those able to see it, unless the present law, by anticipating these things, restrains them. For the presence of many inhabitants shows the great benefit of the need, the contribution of public taxation, the military ser-

^A And binding their inflexible necks with chains, he adorned them with their ancestral honors. 180 O Crete, nurse of barbarians, behold my sons, what honors they suddenly shared! Since the night held the seventh watch—for the darkness of the night prevailed— They sounded the trumpets with a strange clamor, 185 And everyone, seizing his shield with a shout, Was a foot soldier, a general, a chiliarch, a knight. When the golden-rosy torch of the day Had blazed forth from the dark paths, 189 A horse-riding, sword-bearing phalanx mobilized, 190 Having a host of five myriads. ^B It was possible to see the panoply of many footmen Moving with the best tactical precision, And leading the generals, like shepherds in the midst of a flock Of lambs, being wild-beast-like 195 As when ravenous wolves, rejoicing in stealth, In the winter season and the stretching cold, Having been joined together in harmony with the hours 198 Of the sheepfold, they stir it up and buffet the dogs; 199 Just so, the branches of your toils, having been yoked, 200 Knights, marshals, archers, and commanders 201 Hastened to cast down the towers in haste, Breathing with fury, like the blasts (57) of a storm. But he who, at the proper times, raises and again pulls back The light-bearing, fair-hued torches, 205 With baths dimmed their brightness (58), And the night spread its mantle of blackish dye Over all parts of the earth and the firmament. But the host of your soldiers, or rather wild beasts— For these were wild beasts for the slaughter of the barbarians— 210 Had sleep as its foundation and status. But if someone had been stolen away into carefree slumbers, There, standing by from the gate of dreams, Voicing such things, having un-mouthed the loss: 214 O knight, not fearing the general, 215 Have you fallen in the middle of slaughter into strange (59) places, Where there is defeat and sharpened danger,

service, and the payment of these charges—all of which will fail if the multitude of inhabitants disappears. It is necessary for those who are concerned with the security of the State to drive away turbulence, to push back what is harmful, and to establish the public benefit. And let the future time ^A secure this for the common good and the state of our subjects. But it is necessary to provide the appropriate remedy not only for future matters, but also for those that have already occurred. For many, taking the poverty of the poor as an opportunity for trade—poverty which time, bearing all things, has brought, or rather which the multitude of our sins, compelling the divine humanity, has caused—seeing the poor pressed by famine, instead of humanity, instead of compassion, instead of kindness, some with silver, others with gold, others with grain or other supplies, buy up the possessions of the unfortunate at a very low price. ^B By the very urgency of the necessity, they become more violent, and in the following time they become to the wretched inhabitants of the villages like a pestilential deluge of diseases, or like gangrene creeping into the body of the estates and preparing and contriving their utter destruction.

2. Whoever, therefore, since the time of the past first indiction, or since the time of the famine which occurred, has gained control of fields or estates, or has acquired in them, either partially or wholly, possessions of the prominent people whom the present writing prohibits from being approached from above, we ordain that these persons, receiving back the price paid by them, shall withdraw from there—either from the original owners, or from their heirs, or from their kin; or, if these are in need, from those who otherwise contribute taxes, or from the guild as the payment of the price proceeds. Regarding the improvements made upon them, if the aforementioned persons are wealthy and willing to pay what is due, they [the original owners] shall make payment; but if they are in need and unwilling, [the occupiers] shall take back the materials and depart, provided they added them at their own expense and it is not proved that these too proceeded from the wealth and labor of the poor. But these things [apply] to that which, as is likely, seems to be a just acquisition, as if by purchase.

3. Donations, however, or inheritances, or other such sophisticated ^C acquisitions or acts of robbery, we declare to be invalid in all respects, both in the past and now; and those fraudulent men shall be able to seek nothing for them, but these shall be given back free of charge to their own masters, or, if they have perchance passed from the lives of men, to their children or relatives, or if these too are missing, they shall be provided to the taxpayers.

4. If, however, the divine Providence has—more benevolently or for other incomprehensible reasons—transmuted the condition of the present life of some, having snatched them from a humbler fortune and raised them to a higher one, we deem it just that they too should remain in the inheritance and holding which they obtained from the beginning, and that the measure of the ^D

^A For your children are in battle, standing in place of clouds; and the sword of the Romans, coming upon them like the wind, and breathing out slaughter, like a whirlwind, has squeezed out showers of flowing blood. 255 Demosthenes, Philip does not have mastery: Plutarch, Caesar does not have free speech; Dion, Sulla was a democrat in vain: leave off, Xenophon, from writing of the unconquered; marvel at Romanus and write of him alone. 260 Cyzicus, join in lamenting, for Crete, burning and suffering disasters, is your equal; for in days of old Mithridates brought slaughter to you, and in these days the young Romanus weaves slaughter for her. But O general of all the earth—for it is fitting 265 to tell what is to come—do not begrudge your servant for applauding your victory-weaving battles; but loosen my tongue, give me freedom of speech, ^B for I am pricked by the goad of faint-heartedness. Do not overlook the labors of Theodosius 270 written to the glory of your diadem, so that my hand might hasten to write, striving toward the second panoply of your army.

ACROASIS II

With the Cretan conflicts in this state, O beauty of Rome, Romanus, wielder of the scepter, your men were suffering ill in foreign lands, ^C armed against heat [(75)] and the sword. For the light-bearer sent glowing torches, like arrows, against your servants. And you, in your heart, held both the heat [(74)] and the sword as cares for them. When, therefore, the fire of your sleeplessness, burning you, ^D made your starry-eyed countenance pale, those who saw you could not speak the cause, how your radiant face had turned to gloom, until, sighing heavily from your inner self, you released the flames of your hidden burning, 15 telling the situation to all your subjects.

^A extent of their fortune—exceeding its proper bounds—should not lead them to plunder and despoil their neighbors. For this is a most fitting accusation against those who, elated by high station and the splendor of worldly glory, treat those of lower status in their dealings; for the difference between persons, as if the transaction were not common, beneficial, and mutually agreed upon, is demonstrated and proven day by day in many ways, not merely by the assumption of false calculations, but indeed by the very sequence of events. Those who ought rather to have reflected upon the divine favor shown toward them, to treat their neighbors with greater kindness, and—considering the uncertainty of fortune and the inescapability of judgment—not to seize the possessions of their neighbors as if they were ^B plunder, if indeed they do not wish to be themselves judged by the established law.

5. We permit those who have already held such estates before the appointed time to remain, provided that they are seen to continue in the same state, with the same prohibition imposed upon them as upon the others, by which neighbors are excluded from the lands. But if it is discovered that they are burdensome and oppressive to their neighbors, causing severe and continuous damage to the poor, let them be expelled and driven out, paying as the price for their cruel and insatiable intent the forfeiture of their own property.

6. The restoration of prices mentioned above, being in need of a more harmonious and subtle examination, has met with a decision that is neither base nor thoughtless. For when a sale has been completed freely, without constraint, and is seen to be just in the payment of the price, it is just that the rationale of the reversal also be observed, by a small insertion in the decree, alleviating the helplessness of poverty: namely, that the places be returned immediately and revert to those who sold them, or to their heirs or relatives, or, if these do not exist, to those who pay taxes under the same title. If these are wealthy, let them return the price paid from the beginning; but if they are poor, let them not be forced into a ^C hasty restitution of the price, so that the present exaction does not appear to them more burdensome and difficult to bear than the benefit and security hoped for in the future. Moreover, the meddlesomeness and lack of generosity in the opinion of many will not feel ashamed, through hasty exaction, to contrive that the outcome of what has been decreed should not remain intact. For to those who are consumed by the passion of insatiability and spiritual poverty for such gain, and who consider nothing shameful that contributes to the acquisition of money, and who burden their freedom with such meddlesomeness, nothing will remain undared or unattempted that might contribute to the completion of their own purpose. But in order to curb new inventions and fulfill what has been ordained, let a period of three years be set aside for waiting, which is able to bring ease to the poor ^D

^A by providing it without distress, mindful that it is necessary that humanity should be interwoven with what is deemed just and useful, and that it should be contributed by those who establish the laws, especially since a certain delay of time has been introduced for other reasons. For once a decision regarding these matters has been issued, it would be neither insolent nor contrary to the laws for those who are found not to have obeyed the orders to receive rewards worthy of their deeds and to lose whatever right they possessed. But since we always temper the strict severity of the law with a certain mild opinion, in place of this loss that should have taken place, we have established a delay of three years, punishing those who have erred in a moderate way, while kindly fostering and comforting the poor, who are worthy of receiving mercy, with the delay (as is fitting), and thus applying and dispensing a medicine appropriate for both.

7. Since we have heard that some have proceeded to such a desire for gain ^B that they have chosen to purchase—or shall I say, with gaping mouth, to swallow up?—the possessions of the poor at a low price, the difference in intention and action has brought about a judgment different from those that preceded it. Therefore, if the just valuation of the things sold is found to exceed double the price paid, the buyers shall be expelled without any price being returned. But if not to that extent, yet still to the deception and detriment of the sellers, and the profit from the proceeds of the land has already equaled the sum of the price given, the buyers should demand nothing further. If anything is still lacking to them, let them receive the remainder from those to whom the recovery of their estates is granted by law.

8. Nor let anything that has now been rightly decreed bring any confusion ^C under the pretext of someone having become a monk, or wishing to become one, and having assigned his own property to a holy institution; but let them receive enough benefit from the present judgment by taking the just price of the property, if this has truly been done for the sake of salvation and not with deceit, fraud, and sophisticated craftiness. This will be considered no less to the advantage of the holy houses than of the poor, because they are freed from strife, contentions, and the unfree ownership of property, and avoid and do not run into the causes of failures that lead to findings and seizures, since they are human beings still bound by the flesh and not trusting so much in themselves as to believe that they are immune to human slips.

But these things have been ordained with great humanity; they restrain the insatiable lust for acquisition with moderation and urge what is public utility, so that no one henceforth, neither among the ^D illustres magistri or patricians, nor those honored with magistracies, powers, or any principal dignities at all, whether civil, military, or provincial governors or ex-governors, nor metropolitans, archbishops, bishops, abbots, or those who preside over religious houses, or anyone who has attained any other worldly honor, shall, by purchase, gift, or any other way, enter into

into the ownership of lands or fields. For we command that those who, after the present constitution, ^A should dare such a thing, be expelled therefrom without the return of the price, and be deprived of their own labor and improvements, and—should they be illustrious persons—that the valuation of the acquired property be paid into the public treasury (not for the benefit or revenue of the public treasury—for we who strive to restrain the insatiable greed in others, how could we shamelessly decree this for the sake of our own profit, and show ourselves to be seeking not the public good, but our own private advantage?—but for the sake of providing for the poor); and that those of humbler station be expelled without the refunding of the price, and further be punished by fitting correction. We wish these things to be ratified for the sake of the salvation of our subjects, ^B for whose sake vast and perpetual care lies upon us. For if we have taken such care of our subjects that we have spared nothing that conduces to their liberty—by which, with God as our helper, we have obtained territories, villages, and cities from our enemies, some captured by right of war, others surrendered through the example and fear of previous events and of captivity itself before the martial trumpet sounded, and we have, through the aid of God, struggled with the greatest exertion of our powers to provide our subjects with such liberation from the incursion of war, having set before ourselves the work of a single vow and purpose: who, then, having performed such great deeds against the incursion of external enemies, would we not also drive away the domestic and internal enemies of nature, of creation, of equity, ^C and of laws, by the just decree of liberty, that is, by the sharp sword of this present legislation, seeing that we bear with the greatest annoyance and difficulty that insatiable greed, pruning away their avaricious intent and at once liberating the necks of our subjects from the yoke of the tyrannical and heavy hand and mind? And let every one of those who hold the office of judge see to it that these things remain perpetually in the same force, for the worship of God and for the duration, advantage, and utility of the empire granted to us by Him.

V. Novella of the Lord Constantine the Porphyrogenitus, Emperor, concerning the powerful entering into the shares of the poor.

Our God-appointed Majesty has learned from many sources that the powerful and more wealthy in the theme of the Thracesians, ^D holding in contempt the imperial law, and likewise the natural law and our own command, do not cease from entering into lands under the title of purchases, donations, and inheritances, and on such a pretext tyrannize over the wretched poor and make them refugees from their own homes; therefore, after common deliberation, we issue and promulgate this law and common decree throughout all our themes, as follows:

^A of buying from persons and houses, both imperial and religious, whether from the collective village or from individuals. Although it was otherwise ordained regarding those matters which occurred before the law was passed, since the first past indiction, and more severely after the law was promulgated; yet not even thus did the majority of the powerful abstain from contracts most pernicious to the poor, such that even the judges, compelled by necessity rather than by their own will, would issue at different times different decrees and judgments by which to regulate these matters. Wherefore, a common decree regarding such judgments has been issued with our imperial determination, so that without doubt and without delay all those who are prohibited by the aforementioned law from buying shall be expelled, having no claim even to a demand for expenses, namely as many as, from the day of our imperial proclamation, have dared to enter into villages, or fields, or the immovable property of the poor.

^B 2. Regarding those matters which happened from the first indiction, that is, from the time of the famine until the day of our proclamation: let one and the same decree be valid here and operate without distinction, so that every donation, and inheritance, and any arrangements devised to circumvent this law—both confirming documents and settlements—made between persons already prohibited, shall cease and be considered as if they had never taken place, and those who have sold shall fear no repetition or exaction of any kind for that which has been paid under this heading. Furthermore, let exchanges already made be rescinded, with each party receiving back what was his from the beginning, unless perhaps the poor person does not wish this to happen, forasmuch as he was previously a partner, and not only has he separated his own possession for the sake of peace, but he has also received the better portion.

^C 3. As regards sales, let these also be rescinded, and let the things sold be immediately restored to the sellers, and likewise to the co-heirs and those who pay taxes under the same title, according to the first constitution. As to the price, let both the persons and the things themselves be considered. And if the buyer was powerful, or connected by familiarity to any powerful person, whether civil or ecclesiastical—a bishop, for example—while the seller is so destitute that he does not even have fifty gold coins in his possessions, the restitution of the price shall find no place. But if he has more than fifty solidi, he shall indeed restore the price without resentment after the appointed period of three years, enjoying the same privileges as the collective village, even if he is a soldier or an official of the secretariats. But if it was the village that sold, and it lacks the means for the repayment, let it have for this purpose a period of as many years as the judge, by making a calculation, concludes ^D that the price can easily be paid back from the future fruits. But if it is shown in any way that the seller or sellers endured violence or deceit in the sale, or were wronged and oppressed by the buyer or his family before the sale, let nothing...

be returned, even if the buyer was not among the more powerful. ^A

4. As for more humble monasteries, and those who, being among the spatharios residing in this divinely-guarded city, or among the lower-ranking officials, happen to have made purchases without any violence or injustice, and without being shielded by the patronage of the more powerful, they shall receive back not only the prices paid, but also profitable expenses, such as those made for the planting of vineyards and the construction of water mills. They shall also have the power to remove materials from their own buildings provided they do not damage their former condition, unless they receive compensation for the expense incurred for them.

5. ^B If there is a difficulty regarding the turnover of what is owed, the property previously alienated shall be sequestered for such a period of years until the debt or the aforementioned expense can be gathered from the clear income of the produce to come; or rather, the estate shall be held by the one who alienated it, provided that care and caution are exercised in the gathering of the crops, so that the crops themselves are preserved for the satisfaction of the one with whom the contract was made. In this matter, he shall have the authority to make provision lest the crops be lost. If the one who alienated the property is able to provide for himself from another source, let all the crops be handed over to the one with whom the contract was made; but if not, let as much as is required for his own necessary use and for the cultivation of the field be retained by the one who alienated it, ^C and let all the rest be restored to the one who contracted with him.

6. If an alienation has been or will be made from those of more illustrious status to those of equal or slightly lower rank in standing—for instance, from scholares to soldiers, or from those of lower status to those slightly higher, such as from non-military citizens to scholares or those serving in the secretarial bureaus—let it remain undisturbed.

7. Similarly, even if necessity is imposed by the treasury, or perhaps because one wishes to provide a dowry for his own daughter in another place and is unable to pay from elsewhere what he owes to the public treasury or what burden has been laid upon him, or the dowry promised in real estate, for this reason too an alienation may be made of such property that pertains to the land, ^D but only to fellow villagers, or by necessity to those farms which are under the same mother-village, that is, under the same village jurisdiction.

8. Therefore, for this same reason, even when a powerful person is selling or otherwise alienating property, it has been judged best that the villagers be preferred, in matters where they are joined together, or where they cannot manage without that person’s possession of the waters or the mountains. As for the buyer, it is understood that if he wishes to retain only this and to alienate what is held in common, he has the power to do so. If some part of the estate being alienated exists separately, the buyers are nevertheless compelled to buy the whole or to renounce the whole.

I am wandering, sorrowful, full of labors. ^A Hear our humble laments, and while protecting Your saved flock, 65 put the enemies to flight, and calm the toils which Your army steadfastly endures. » Such things you, fighting alongside your servants, even if absent, were accomplishing, as Moses did of old, 70 routing Amalek by the stretching forth of his hands. But your army, in mutual battles, was prevailing, elated in its arrogance. It needed, therefore, an efficacious medicine for the correction of the disease that had set in. And as the dark night was just spreading, 75 and the army was rejoicing or boasting, and hastening toward the station or the place called the harbor, the whole place was like a razor, sword-bearing; mountains, ravines, chasms, straight valleys. For the fleet, having poured out from the Cretan 80 hiding-places and been prepared in seven-fold manner, brought great cowardice upon the army, having suddenly appeared, and having shown itself contrary to expectation. And the night was adorning the darkness with light; for thorax like light, and sword, and helmet 85 were changing the hue of the evening. The leaders, inclined toward flight, protecting their necks with shields, were rushing, and everyone fleeing held as a benefactor the sea itself, and the hulls of the ships. 90 For there was no strength in the night, for the barbarians and the others to fight, and to slaughter again; unless someone—a wonder and this a strange thing to hear—a Knight stood ardent for all, 95 from the invisible, as it seemed, cavalry, was a counselor, and he alone a terror. And he urged them swiftly out of flight to the battle, those who were bewildered by the hidden fight. As they then turned to unexpected violence, and simply drew sharpened swords, ^B 100 the shield resounded, the helmet clattered, the night shone, laboring with you at that time, and every Cretan worker lay in blood, dead, and bereft of breath. The night no longer had the darkness as an expedient in such great 105 slaughter of those of Hagar. It contended with the previous days, and extended the slaughters even more than ten days.

or to cede entirely. They shall have a term of four months for the collection of the price, whatever another might offer, or rather, at what value it is appraised, if the needy who are purchasing it should choose this.

These things having been thus decreed and legislated by our Majesty, we command you to read out this our proclamation and legislation to all who are in the district (theme), from the powerful persons down to the last and lowest; and according to the scope and force of this, to examine and oversee the affairs of both the poor and the powerful. Given in the month of March, in the fifth indiction.

[VI]

New constitution of the same, which Theophilus the patrician and quaestor dictated. Concerning court fees, concerning the opening of testaments, and concerning the fact that there should be a certain and defined measure for customs in every court.

Since the authority of custom and usage does not prevail to such an extent that it can overcome reason or law, for this reason we correct every greedy and superfluous exaction, even if it has prevailed by long custom, by a certain and defined measure, thus we decree:

1. That the provincial judges shall take no more than three solidi for each libra of gold, namely from those who are wealthy (for in the past, those who were called ^A *pedanei* judges used to receive two solidi at the beginning of a lawsuit, and again two solidi at the end of it, from both parties, beyond the public stipends); which three solidi they shall receive for their own needs and those of their men, but also for those who serve them by virtue of their office, as they are able to demand nothing else specifically from those who are on trial. Nor shall they ever demand more than 100 solidi by way of court fees, even if the goods that are sought exceed 100 libra; with the exception of that which the executor spends for food and travel expenses ^B while he is away from home.

But the rustic populace and other poor people, whether they are acting against one another on behalf of their common interests, or privately as individuals against individuals, or against more powerful and wealthy men, shall provide only one solidus for each libra, instead of the three. But if the case involved no legal ambiguity or controversy, and the matter was not worthy of a trial, but perhaps an impudent lawlessness or plunder or robbery or something of ^C that sort was committed, the perpetrators of these acts, if they are among the more illustrious, shall provide for the things that were brought to trial the three solidi defined for each libra; but if they are of more humble status, they shall provide one solidus each, in addition to paying the monetary or corporal penalty established by the laws. Likewise, interest or fruits may be exacted from them, where it is permitted. However, in the case of possession given in payment, if it is to the poor, nothing; ^D but if to the more illustrious, half a solidus per libra. And when...

He commands his people to hold the gates, And the dragon, smiting his face with his hands, Sent forth from his heart the smoke of lamentation. For you, O King, have kindled fire in his inward parts, 140 Discharging sparks upon him in the form of your generals. Let every city of the Romans rejoice; Let the sea dance, let creation be glad. The beast (60), that terrible devourer of flesh, Is deprived of his common food (61), being shut in. 145 He who was not sated by rivers of blood, Wastes away, thirsting for a drop of water. Thus do they fare ill, those who, by wicked deeds, Have driven the threefold power (62) ^A from their own hearts. 150 As he was therefore fenced in from within, Trusting in the wall (63), not in the strength of his troops, Your general, Nicephorus, once again Commands them to use rams, tortoises, and slings To strike at the wall, the bases of the battlements, 155 And those upon the wall, everything with zeal (64) To do, to accomplish, and to act against the enemy. While he was speaking thus, like a nightingale, The measure of the five senses was sensibly laboring. For a fountain of tears flowed from his eyes, 160 Fire from his sense of smell, sound from his ears; His mouth sent forth a river of words, And his hand poured out streams of much blood, Suffering from the turning of the arrows. Such a man, so that he might appear your servant, 165 Was struck with the burning desire of his heart. Yet he had a time of hindrance regarding the matters That were casting him down instead of a thousand pains. He was therefore walking, he was running up and down, Weeping, exhorting, and urging on the fleet. 170 For he was anxious that the labors of your power, Lest through some sluggishness, not being watched, They should be fashioned anew among the lawless Cretans. But the general of the slingers, O King, Does something even more worthy of laughter. 175 For having cast a sluggish donkey into a sling (65) ^B

an adversary has contumaciously abandoned a trial, ^A let the other party be put into possession; in no way shall restitution be made before the end of the lawsuit, nor shall goods be corrupted by being moved from one place to another through a change of personnel, or perhaps due to the plotting of one or the other of them, who may be ill-disposed toward the adversary or aware that the case is not being conducted properly. These customs, according to the stated distinction, shall apply to all civil judges regarding those serving as collectors or executors, and nothing more; for it is necessary for these people not only to govern with clean hands, but also to have subordinates who are superior to any base profit. Concerning those who serve in the writings for judges outside of the city or for the courts here, when the judgment is concluded of itself, ^B for smaller cases up to one libra or even beyond up to one solidus shall be given; but if it is less, a deduction shall be made in proportion from the solidus; just as an increase is to be made again in cases exceeding three librae up to two or three solidi; but never from poor citizens or rustic folk, even if the case is of the greatest importance, shall more than a solidus be provided for the sake of the writing. And for judgments concluded by decree before judges outside the city, the more affluent are to provide the twelfth, and often up to the sixth part; the poor, however, [are to provide] according to the proportion of the writing and the matter over which the vote proceeds, sometimes even more than a solidus, according to the judge’s assessment. And if, with both parties present, a written sentence is issued from a court to the one who is about to judge in that place—assuming, that is, that sufficient property is indicated—it is permissible, according to the judge’s assessment, to increase the fee up to two solidi.

2.

^A As then the mountain-bred wild race Of goats, of hares, and of trembling does, 15 Deprived of food in a bitter winter, From the icy high places above Advances and walks through the low country, Searching for food and grassy spots; So the base children of sin 20 To the places of the sea-tide, To the coastal coverts, they ran, and to the valleys. And as the gluttonous race of flesh-eaters among beasts, The wolves, hastening to find satisfaction for the belly, Advance with rage and emptiness of stomach, 25 Before they arrive, gaping with mouths wide open; So the tribe of the slaves of darkness there, Having been coerced by your flocks, O shepherd of flocks, Rose up against them, and having sharpened the sword, Eager to devour flesh instead of food, 30 And desiring to drink the hot blood of the Romans, And first to brilliantly grasp the prizes of the battle. The leader of these barbarians was Caramuntes, ^B the old man who was rich in slaughter, 34 The young dragon of the days of old, 35 Who, possessing the reins of the Cretans In his mind for his whole life’s time, He then was preparing to cast into slaughter A multitude of ten thousand men. But when he saw all those down from the mountains, 40 Carrying swords, cavalry, and foot-soldiers, Standing, he exhorted, and urged them toward swords, Arranging phalanxes, and the young phalanx-leaders, Fencing the surroundings with circles from the outside, Uttering such things and shouting to the barbarians: 45 "Great, O men, is the necessity upon us, Great the tumult, the storm, and the labor, But our salvation is swifter for us, If only we will it, found by our hands. Let us go toward the enemies, let us not fear the swords, 50 Let us stand against them, let us not be terrified by the spear, And having driven them all into the sea, We shall set up here a trophy of the slaughter of the people." And all at once they said as if with one mouth: "Let us die, if we must, today together with our fathers, 55 And you, be forward, as in all things, grant: ^C For you are the father...

3. Since the scribe is not a perfect judge, but is subordinate both to provincial judges and to the scribes themselves, and since almost all the care of minors and the peril concerning their affairs rests upon him because of great negligence, it is necessary that he, too, along with his assistants, in cases that are finalized and brought to an end, whether in divisions or in petitions, should likewise receive two ^A nomismata for every pound, unless someone happens to possess less than one hundred nomismata in goods and patrimony, as we said before. For we decree that he is not to receive anything at all from these, nor should anyone else, just as is the case with inventories. For these also ought to be performed without fee, unless there is wealth. In that case, he ought to acquire a modest salary proportional to the scribe and the assisting officials.

4. Let none of the civil judges receive anything for any reason whatsoever, but let them have clean hands and despise all gold. ^B

5. Furthermore, we have decided to establish this, following the ancient laws, so that the defendant shall not be dragged into court otherwise than if the plaintiff promises that he will pursue the suit once initiated, either personally or through a lawful representative. And if it be proven subsequently that he initiated the suit unjustly, he shall pay to the victorious party the tenth part of the quantity involved in the suit in the name of expenses or disbursements. But if the plaintiff, being poor, is found to be prosecuting ^C an unjust suit out of slander, he shall not be penalized in terms of fees or expenses, but shall be subjected to a greater punishment in the form of corporal blows; for blows are greater than a monetary penalty. If the plaintiff, having once initiated the suit, later delays in pursuing the matter, and does not appear within three months, let a deadline of another year be granted to him. If even then he does not show himself, nor send another in his place who ought to pursue the matter, let it be permitted to the judge, even in his absence, to examine the pleas of the defendant's side according to the laws, and, having precisely inquired into the truth, to render a lawful verdict. These things shall hold likewise for the defendant, if, after the initiation of the suit, he is absent and the given deadlines expire, and even then he is unwilling to appear either in person or through another. If, therefore, as has been said, one of the parties is absent after the initiation of the suit and does not return within three months, the restoration of possession ^D shall meanwhile be granted to the party who is present. But after the year, let the proofs, even if only produced by the party who stood in judgment, be admitted, and let an end be put to the suit by a lawful and just verdict.

VII.

New legislation of the same (Emperor) concerning military lands, which Theodorus the Patrician and Quaestor, the Decapolite, dictated.

As the head is in the body, so in the state

all feared the common end. For he held his sword in his hands like a thunderbolt, moving it against his enemies and staining it with their slaughter, and while he cut some of the adversaries down, he forced others to flee in terror, and urged others, crying to God, to join the battle, showing them the dead and those defiled with dust. 110 Yet, wounded indeed and having fallen in foreign parts, he caused many labors for the army. And then the horsemen and the runners on foot, having run to those cliffs and craggy places, hemmed them all in and shut them in the middle, 115 and provided the Cretans as food for the birds. So much did you yourself succeed in battle, so much did you yourself prevail over the barbarians, from the help and cooperation from above. Seeing this and fearing immediately, 120 the Caramuntes, that most wretched old man, loses the weight of his arrogance, and takes to flight on foot—but even alone; and towards a small hidden stony place he runs, and acquires from there a wretched safety. 125 It was necessary, old man, for you to die many years ago, rather than be shaken and slip into rocks, just like a hare that has escaped the hunters. ^B There, sitting until the setting of the sun, he watered his face with tears, 150 weeping over the bitter wound of his bad counsel, casting himself into difficult struggles of mind. At the first hour of the night, having risen, the old Emir drove himself towards the inner cliffs of the mountains, on foot, or rather on all fours; 155 for he had force, which strengthened his hands for the ministry of his feet. And your fleet, most great Romanus, having turned towards the walls, struck them with eagerness, rejoicing to lay them low, casting them to the ground.

ACROASIS FIFTH

The whole land of Rome, and the sea, and the city, the mountains, the ravines, the stars, the water of the ever-flowing rivers, the order of the Church, 4 all together rejoice with the Sovereign. 5 Let the multitude of stars above exult, and let the rank of angels dance, for the unapproachable beast has been slaughtered, the terrifying monster has been taken away, the intolerable wound of the earth ^D has been stayed. 10 Proclaim this, O ether, to the whole earth, shout, O sun-star, running above—

^A existing in one way or another, it is necessary that everything should be changed along with them. And he who does not attend to these things with great care puts his own safety in jeopardy, if indeed one ought to consider that which is public as one's own. And since, with the passage of time, the affairs of the soldiers—from whom the opportunity for their subsistence and life was derived—weakened and inclined toward a more difficult condition, our God-given majesty has brought these things back to a rightly ordered and better state, granting a common benefit to the whole.

1.

^A and in a way that is exempt from military service, he shall have the power to dispose of it in whatever manner he wishes, provided that his registered immovable property is sufficient to perform the military service; for if it falls short, the person who received the property from the soldier for any reason whatsoever shall be compelled to make up the deficiency from the immovable property. But if the soldier's immovable properties are not registered at all, those that are most productive shall be tacitly held as obligated up to the value of four pounds, and by Our providence this privilege shall be maintained for them; the excess may be freely disposed of by them. And if it happens that one person buys the more productive ones first, and another the less useful ones later, and the more useful ones are evicted by this aforementioned privilege, the prior purchaser shall have rights of priority against the later purchaser. If those who have many and very valuable immovable properties alienate that which was registered, ^B and afterwards wish to recover it as being registered, We grant them the assistance afforded by eviction, and that the purchaser be satisfied from the other assets of these persons, specifically when the horsemen possess more than four pounds in assets, and the sailors more than two. If someone performs a portion of military service, the payment due from the assets he is required to have shall be determined in proportion to his part. Military properties shall not be acquired as property by those who obtain them in any manner unless a period of forty years has elapsed without any interruption or claim. For custom long counted these among possessors in bad faith; except that those who held possession by contract suffered no loss of fruits, whereas possessors in bad faith paid both fruits and revenues and every loss, a principle which also pleases Us. We determine that those are to be considered soldiers ^C not only those who are devoted to the sacred legions of soldiers, but also those who, having been made destitute by some injury of fortune, have obtained immunity through an edict: We deem it just that they enjoy the same privileges as the others, not permitting that the properties from which military services are provided be sold even by them, and much less by the public treasury. For if We reprimand the true owners for the sake of the common good, how could We permit the public treasury to sell them, and allow that ancient, unwritten iniquity to take the force of law? It ought to have been driven from all land and sea as being the most beastly and cruel thing. For I think that those who introduced this accorded to the state the same nature as bears; for it is commonly said that of all wild beasts, only bears, when pressed by hunger, lick their own paws; and someone who knows the matter well might perhaps think it more correct to say that soldiers are the hands of the entire state, rather than just the fingers.

3. These things, then, we determine fully and also usefully for the times ahead, according to our judgment. As regards the past, a crude and simple custom has long prevailed, that without the restitution of the price ^D

^A particularis singulorum administratio, which was changed at different times and in different ways, according to the whims of those who presided over the courts, brought great destruction to affairs and caused total confusion. We, therefore, turning our thoughts both forward and backward regarding what is advantageous, dispelling those confused and varied practices, and ordering the administration of all things with a certain rhythm and reason, decree the following: if there be heirs to those enrolled soldiers who are descendants, or ancestors, or collateral relatives up to the sixth degree, they are to be entirely admitted, with preference given according to the closeness of the degrees, to reclaim those things which have been evilly alienated by the soldiers or seized by the violence of a powerful person. But if the relatives of a closer degree are unwilling or unable, more distant relatives are also to be admitted. If no such relatives exist, or ^B those who are called by law kinsmen, those who are fellow-soldiers and share the same military obligations who come forward are to be heard. If these do not exist, then the poorer fellow-taxpayers [in the same unit] are to be heard, so that by making up the deficiency of their need from among them, they might be built up to the strength of self-sufficiency. If these also do not exist, it is necessary that the civilian taxpayers be heard as well, so that the tax from the census does not fail. If, however, a soldier has purchased the property of another soldier, if a rich man has purchased from a poor man, he shall undergo the same penalty as the powerful, losing what was purchased without the restitution of the price. If a poor man has purchased from a rich man, he shall entirely keep what was purchased or shall receive the price. But if both are found to be poor, we command that the party affected by the loss be assisted, having regard in this for good faith, which allows no one to make a profit from the disadvantage of another.

4. Concerning these military possessions, which we have found and which we have worked out, we deemed it necessary to pass on to the military persons themselves and to recount from a little further back the things that happened to them. ^C There was once a time when a total overturning of affairs and a tide of destruction was irrepressibly active, and every one of those who excelled in glory, cutting off fields here and there without measure, treated the miserable owners like slaves, thinking he was doing nothing wicked, but rather suffering, as long as another surpassed him in greed: thus there was a certain contest full of evils. And this evil did not indeed persist among the powerful, but beginning from them, it ended in the less capable, for the inclinations of those in authority are generally propagated to the masses. And so those who obtained command ^D of the army, as if a law somehow commanded the leader to be such, drove the soldiers up and down, and having accepted gifts and bribes, repaid them with immunity from military service; they were venal men, negligent, unwarlike, more ignoble than ants and more rapacious than wolves! Wherefore, since they could not exact tribute from the enemy, they exacted money from their subjects. Thus, it did not take long for them to overturn the state, but by their own precipitation they drove the Roman empire to extreme danger. How much, therefore, the zeal

horum ergo repressione quantum studii posuerimus, multi boni moderatique viri prædicaturi sunt. Vel multitudo potius eorum, qui ad patrium solum reversi sunt, recens servitute liberati, clamabit. ^A Celebrabunt etiam, opinor, aliæ res in melius redactæ, quarum curis assiduo cruciamur, ipso cum somno bellum gerentes: ne futilis et evanida sit a nobis excogitata rerum, quæ vitiose feruntur, correctio; quam in edicto præsenti, quantum ejus fieri potuit, accurate instituimus, et ævo secuturo ad durationem æternam tradentes, sancimus; ut si quis militem coloni loco detinere deprehensus fuerit, siquidem is ipse fundos etiam, de quibus functiones militares exhibentur, raptos habeat, triginta sex solidos aureos multæ loco solvat, quorum dimidiam quidem partem miles accipiet ad recuperationem restitutionis in integrum suæ; dimidiam vero fiscus, ejus servitutis nomine, qua spoliatus est. Quod si cum prædia militaria non rapuisse, sed emisse compertum fuerit, fisco quidem viginti tres solidos solvet, adversus militem vero actionem de pretio nullam habebit. Si vero suis bonis ab aliis expulsos, vel per semetipsos cessione usos, alii miseriti receperunt, vel uti colonorum obeant munera, vel uti pro mercede serviant; extra culpam sunto. Si qui autem milites idoneos ad exhibenda ministeria sua, fossatis subreptos habere fuerint ausi; pro quolibet eorum ab excussore sive discussore publico, solidi sex singulis vicibus exigentur, quos fiscus sibi vindicabit: nisi forte ab ipsis ducibus, aliisve magistratibus eos acceperint, ipsique milites ex eorum sint numero, qui ministerio ducis aut magistratuum destinantur. Nam si extranei sint et gregarii, non liberabitur qui eos detinet, tametsi probare non difficulter possit, a duce vel magistratu potestatem ^B sibi factam, ut eis utatur.

VIII.

Injustam contra nostros tributarios nuper excogitatam pensionem hac præsenti lege emendandam esse credidimus, putamus enim, quod nullum fugit, qualem confusionem, et implicationem dictarum sportularum causa introduxit; deprehensi namque, quod fieri non debuit, uni ex judicibus lucrum facientes ex alieno damno, sic probationes eludunt, ut sæpenumero partes exhibere sese non valeant. Ante siquidem necessariam probationem, et audientiam possessionem transferentes præveniunt; interim sæpe contingit ex frequentium judicum viatico, et crebra profectione ambitionem, sive pecuniam judicibus corrumpendis datam supe^Crare rerum de quibus agitur æstimationem. Idcirco Serenitas nostra, consulens iis quæ occurrunt, nec ^D

^A novam aliquam constitutionem introducens, sed veterem incorruptam consuetudinem renovans, breviter hæc de his constituit.

1. Nulla igitur ratione volumus judices ex his lucrum facere, nec prætextu notariorum, vel suorum hominum; neque permittimus, ipsos sportularum participes esse; sed iis duntaxat, qui judicibus subserviunt in faciendis itineribus, pro dispensationis hic subjectæ modo, perceptionem harum concedimus. Judicem igitur contentum iis esse jubemus, quæ ab imperatoris pia manu accipit, adeoque reditus sui præstatione; subditos autem ministerio ipsius, tam notarios, quam apparitores; iis, quæ pro judiciis in scripta redactis ab illis accipiunt, qui sententiam victricem consecuti, scriptis judiciis, ^B munire eam cupiunt. Sic enim, et judex laboriosus ad definitivam sententiam in rebus controversis properabit, et illius apparitores ipsum ad hoc agendum incitabunt, et invitabunt, alacriorique animo inservient, scientes aliunde fructum capere se non posse, quam ex consummatione litis. Quod si sententiam unam quolibet die protulerit de trecentis amplius solidis, omnino lucrum anno toto nullum capiet.

2. Verumtamen neque confusam in his, et indistinctam licentiam ipsis concedimus, sed pro [C] quantitate litis, etiam salarium judicii scriptura comprehensi constituimus. Quapropter in causa triginta sex solidorum, sex millia, sive mala litis victorem, qui sententiam in scriptis accipit, solvere jubemus. In una vero libra, vel duabus, vel tribus, solidum unum. In libris quatuor, vel quinque, vel sex solidos duos. In septem, vel octo, vel novem libris, solidos tres. In libris decern, vel undecim, vel duodecim, solidos quatuor. In majore summa, quantacunque fuerit usque ad centenarium, solidos quinque, non amplius. Atque hæc in judiciis, ubi partitiones sæpenumero, vel solutiones sequuntur. In quibus autem particulares divisiones, vel mandata, vel notationes, quarumdam forte depositionum, aut causæ cognitionum [D] versantur, quæ tamen ad minores spectent; in talibus non amplius uno solido præstetur in duodecim librarum summa, et ultra, licet centenarium excedat. Quin potius etiam minus solido pro ratione summæ propositæ; ut in libra qualibet millia apparitoribus judicis sufficiat.

3. Officialibus autem, qui judicibus subserviunt in itineribus faciendis, permittimus cum alia immunitate, qua fruuntur, a fossatis, et militia excusati, et immunes, sportularum quoque commoda percipere, ut ex iis quantum satis est acquirentes hospitiis venerabiles domos non gravent, nec ipsi quoque cæteris accedant, ad eos novo quodam more magis onerandos, quorum est hospitia præbere; sed ipsi quidem suis ex lucris, quæ faciunt, victum.

in the matter of the lawsuit from Cappadocia: but first I would have wished to point out, both that the text barely bears a "different lawsuit," and that two Cappadocias are nowhere commanded to exist, and also that a proconsul of the first Cappadocia is created, but a second is not added. However that may have turned out, Cappadocia underwent a marked change, which Hierocles was unaware of when he wrote the *Synecdemus*; and although this, having been explored from the proconsul of the first Cappadocia, is not to be neglected, I would not wish it to be overlooked that by the decree of the same emperor the ecclesiastical arrangement of that nation was converted into a different order. Up until this point there had been two metropolises of the Cappadocians, Caesarea for the first Cappadocia and Tyana for the second: he himself imposed a third, Mucissus, taken away from the Tyanensian and named Justinianopolis, upon the third Cappadocia. It would be worth the effort to hear the defense of this matter from Euphratas, the bishop of Tyana (Collat. V, Council of Constantinople II, p. 96). "At that time," he says, "Dohara and Nazianzus were under the Tyanensian city up to the times of this pious reign." But the most pious emperor, when he had given metropolitan rights to the city that was formerly Mucissus, but is now named Justinianopolis, subordinated to it both Dohara and Nazianzus along with other cities. If you think that these could have been passed over in the *Synecdemus* because it is different from the *Notitia Ecclesiae*, nevertheless Mucissus ought to have been inserted into the catalogue of cities, not into the regions or villages, as happens if it was written after the metropolitan dignity was conferred upon that town. Added to these is the fact that Helenopontus is attributed to the consular and Polemoniacus Pontus to the praeses in this *Notitia*, whereas Novella 28, with the title of Polemoniacus Pontus abolished, commits Helenopontus to the administrator Justinianeus. Furthermore, there are only two Armenias in the *Synecdemus*, which Justinian (not "Justinus," as Eustathius wrongly states in *Dionys. Perieges.* 694) wishes in Novella 31 to be and to be held as four, having been divided in many ways. I pass over those things which he decreed by Novella 11 for the first *Justinianae*, and how, that the honor of the illustrious Theodora might not be lacking, he founded the province for which there is Novella 8, [named] Theodoriade. ^A It is well known to the public that the emperor changed many things in the administration of the provinces: he entrusted them to other magistrates, and he either completely abolished their names or made one out of two, and conversely two out of one: but Hierocles, when he enumerated the provinces of the East to us, imposing their own prefects on each, perhaps by this means, having sent them into council and compared them one with another, showed us his own age. The learned author of the *Dissert. Chorograph. Ital. med. ævi* Sect. 5, whose lead we shall follow in investigating these matters, sprinkling our own [observations] here and there, recently entered upon this path. Therefore, let us begin with the magistrates of the provinces changed by Justinian. He commands in Novella 24, c. 1, that whoever is in charge of Pisidia should be and be called a *Justinianeus* praetor; with which same honor he ornaments the prefect of Lycaonia in Novella 25, c. 1, and of Thrace in Novella 26; the prefects of which provinces are *consulares* in Hierocles. Furthermore, he decrees that Phrygia Pacatiana and likewise Galatia Prima should for the future have a *spectabilis* comes; to each of which a *consularis* is imposed by Hierocles. In the *Synecdemus*, Paphlagonia is under a *corrector*, who is created a praetor in Novella 29, and Isauria is under a *praeses*, whom he wishes to be a *comes* in Novella 27. Finally, Phoenice ad Libanum is subordinated to the *moderator* by Edict 4, and likewise Arabia, which in this *Notitia* are obedient to the *praeses* and the so-called *consularis*. Since most of these constitutions were published when Belisarius, V. C., was consul, it is surely established by the best right that the *Synecdemus* is seen to have been published before the consulship of Belisarius and the year 535: for unless you grant that, a reason would have to be given why, in the little book in which Hierocles describes the magistrates of the provinces according to the custom of his own time, no mention at all is made of the Justinianean praetors and moderators. But so that the age of the writer may be brought to light, let us proceed to those provinces which the emperor either utterly abolished or augmented with new titles or even ordered to be more numerous; of which if you find no indication in the *Synecdemus*, what else will you profess than that he is prior to those changes? This *Notitia* mentions the province of Honoriade and subordinates it to a *praeses*: Justinian in Novella 29, c. 1, abolishes it and, having attached it most closely to Paphlagonia, entrusts it to one praetor, "having," he says, "the rule over these nations united and one instead of the two before, we say of Paphlagonia and Honoriade, and to be called a praetor." He divides, moreover, Cappadocia from the institution of Valens Augustus into two, both *consulares*, if you follow most of the manuscripts, which in Novella 30 seem to consist in one: "We wish," he says, "that the whole should be one and be called [one]." But whether they can prevail, as seemed to a most learned man, that in reality Justinian built one out of the two Cappadocias, one may not unjustly doubt: for it is taught explicitly in Novella 20, c. 1, that the *praeses* of the first Cappadocia had been adorned with proconsular dignity; and in Novella 30, c. 10 itself, there is a mention of both Cappadocias: "But if anyone from either Cappadocia [commits a case] of less than five hundred gold pieces, it is appealable." Nor indeed, if he had changed both into one, would he thenceforth have made distinct mention of both. That there is in the edition of Haloander a new [reading]: "But if any other..." ^B To me, these things which I have set forth seem quite sufficient to elicit the age of the writer. You could otherwise call to your aid the cities which he wished to be illustrious by his own and Theodora's name, conjectured into one catalog by N. Alemannus in Procopius *Hist. Arcan.* c. 11, were there not others of which Hierocles took no account. For because the first Justinus took the ancient name away from Anazarbus and Edessa, and boasted for both the title of Justinopolis, which the former [one] also adopts in the Mopsuestian synod (although in the common edition of T. 12 C. G., p. 132 it is published as a Justinianopolitan metropolis), a title imposed [by him] according to Evagrius *H. E.* 4.8 and Theophanes *Chorogr.* p. 146, yet nowhere in the *Synecdemus*, however close he may be to that time, does he deign to include these cities. Therefore those things which I have set in the middle will sufficiently and more than sufficiently prove that Hierocles, when he published this *Notitia*, seems to have heard nothing of those things which Justinian changed; and so that he wrote under the Emperor Justinian, even if before the consul Belisarius, whose year many of those constitutions bear. For that he had departed this life before this consul, a thing which came to the mind of a learned man to conjecture, you would scarcely extract from the same source. He could indeed have added to the published *Synecdemus* all things that the emperor had changed, and published a new edition of it: but how shall we know that he wanted to do so? What if...

[LATIN COLUMN] 591 CONSTANTINI PORPHYROGENITI 592 comparent; judges, however, should enjoy an abundance of the necessities of life. Furthermore, the mode of receiving sportulae ^A should be established for them, not according to the quantity of the estates or of the things that are returned or restored, but according to the measure of the labor, and the delay of both time and the journey itself. For if, by way of example, a person sent once procures the payment of ten pounds, whether in estates or in other goods, it is sufficient for him if he accepts one solidus. But if he has gone out ten times and suffered many troubles, the journey being long, it is by no means burdensome for him to accept one solidus for twenty-four solidi. Moreover, to define the things that ought to be observed concerning this might perhaps require a long discourse. But since it is altogether forbidden for judges to derive gain from this, we entrust it to their good faith to determine ^B the assessments of the sportulae according to the proportion of the labor of those who go out. Nevertheless, if a case should appear difficult and laborious, we decree that up to three solidi per pound may be demanded as sportulae, provided, however, that the provision for the sportulae does not exceed 24 solidi, even if the collection is most laborious and the things paid exceed the sum of one hundred pounds. In a lesser amount, however, we allow the judges to weigh the fee with the labor, and to grant to the apparitors making the journeys one, two, or three solidi, according to the difficulty of the case. And these things are in those instances in which a full settlement follows from the judge’s sentence. But for entries into possession, we order that absolutely nothing be provided under the name of sportulae. But ^C if once or twice an official serving in making the journeys has gone to that place, let no more than one solidus, or at most two, be counted, even if that which is paid is of a great sum.

IX. Constitutio of the same concerning those who commit murder voluntarily, and flee to the Church; that they are not to be admitted.

The Law of Moses (Deut. XIX, 12) decides against the homicide, that he is to be snatched from the sanctuary. Our law, as well as the Roman law (9), following in the footsteps of this law, expressly mandates: that for adulterers, and ravishers of virgins, and homicides, and thieves, there should be no place of asylum to which they may flee. For the security of temples is granted to those suffering injury, not to those inflicting injury. But since the author of this law, that illustrious prince Justinian, who built that admirable temple of the Great Church of God, granted to that same sacred precinct the privilege of being a place of asylum, it is not ^D probable that he wished to overturn the decrees made by himself. For after he had decreed that there should be no place of asylum for adulterers and homicides and ravishers of virgins, he afterward put forward nothing contrary to this when he said that persons of this kind have a place of asylum in the temple built by him; but I think indeed, if any person piously and god-fearing-ly considers the subject proposed, [and] the written law itself, and the sanction concerning the right of asylum,

[GREEK COLUMN] 591 CONSTANTINI PORPHYROGENITI 592 Ἀ δὲ τούτοις τὴν τῶν ἐκταγιατικῶν λήψιν οὐ πρὸς τὴν ποσότητα τῶν ἀποδιδομένων κτημάτων ἢ πραγμά των, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν κόπον καὶ τὴν τριβὴν τοῦ τε χρόνου καὶ τῆς ὁδοιπορίας. Εἰ γὰρ λόγου χάριν ἅπαξ πεμφθεὶς δέκα λιτρῶν ἀπόδοσιν ἐποιήσατο κτημάτ των ἢ πραγμάτων, ἐν νόμισμα λήψεσθαι τοῦτον ἐκα- νὴν ὑπάρχει. Εἰ δὲ δεκάκις ἀπελθὼν πολλὰ συνε τρίβη τῆς ὁδοιπορίας μακρᾶς οὔσης, οὐκέτι φορτικόν τὸ ἐν νομίσμασιν εἴκοσι καὶ τέσσαρσιν ἐν νόμισμα λαβεῖν αὐτόν. Ὁρίσασθαι μὲν οὖν τὰ περὶ τούτου πολλοῦ ἂν εἴη λόγου. 'Αλλ' ἐπεὶ ταῦτα εἰς κέρδος τῶν κριτῶν ἔρχεσθαι ἅπαξ ἀπηγορεύθη, πιστεύομεν ἀγαθῇ χάριτι τούτοις τυποῦσθαι πρὸς ἀναλογίαν τοῦ κόπου τῶν προελευσιμαίων τὰς τῶν ἐκταγιατικῶν τιμήσεις. Πλην εἰ μὲν δυσχερής της υπόθεσις καὶ ἐπίκοπος ἐποφθείη, θεσπίζομεν ἄχρι τῶν τριῶν να μισμάτων ἐπὶ τῇ λίτρᾳ ἐκταγιατικὸν ἀπαιτεῖσθαι· μὴ ὑπερβαινούσης μέντοι τὰ κδ' νομίσματα τῆς τοῦ εκταγιατικοῦ παροχῆς, κἂν εἰ τὰ μάλιστα ἡ εἴσπρα- ξις πολύμοχθος εἴη καὶ τὰ ἀποδιδόμενα ὑπὲρ τὰ ρ' τυγχάνουσι λίτρας. Ἐν ἥττονι δὲ ποσότητι τοῖς τὰς κρίσεις λαχοῦσιν ἐφίεμεν σταθμᾶσθαι τῷ κόπῳ τὴν λήψιν, ὥστε ἢ ἐν ἢ δύο ή τρία νομίσματα πρὸς τὴν τῆς ὑποθέσεως δυσχέρειαν προσεφιέναι τοῖς προελευ σιμαίοις. Καὶ ταῦτα, ἐν οἷς ἡ ἀπόδοσις τελεία ἐξ ἀποφάσεως επακολουθεῖ. Ἐπὶ γὰρ ταῖς ἐπὶ νομ παραδόσεσι, μηδὲν καθόλου ὑπὲρ ἐκταγιατικοῦ παρ- έχεσθαι κελεύομεν. Εἰ δὲ ἅπαξ ἢ δὶς ὁ προελευσ:- μαῖος εἰς τὸν τόπον ἀφίκετο, μὴ πλέον τοῦ νομί- σματος, ἢ τὸ πολὺ δύο δίδοσθαι αὐτῷ, κἂν πολλῆς ποσότητος εἴη τὸ ἀποδιδόμενον.

⑧

the former edition had been enriched by that, and the *Notitia* had come down to our own age just as it first flowed from the writer’s pen? Let us therefore descend to the *Synecdemus* itself, and explore whether the *Notitia* is genuine and of what kind it is, whether civil or ecclesiastical. ^A That it is neither genuine nor complete was a conviction held by Emmanuel Schelstraten (*Antiq. Eccles.* Vol. 2, p. 720), partly because the facts regarding the city of Constantinople which Constantine Porphyrogenitus cites from Hierocles do not appear in the *Notitia*; and partly because it is also proved by the fact that the work of Hierocles contained 64 prefectures or provinces and 835 or 935 cities, whereas the *Notitia* exhibits only 51 provinces and 751 cities. If these points of accusation be weighed as they ought, they will not hold their ground; and that this may be clear to everyone, let us insert the words of the Emperor Constantine attached to them, which we have transcribed above in the *Themata* (1, 11): "I designate Constantinople as the queen of cities and of the whole world, the New Rome. For this reason I have also placed the theme regarding it, which is called Thrace, first among the themes in the parts of Europe." For who, as Anselm Banduri well observed, would not see that these are not the words of Hierocles, but of Constantine, explaining the reason why he assigned the first place among the European themes to the theme of Thrace? Now, as to his adding that the number of provinces does not equal 64, that will apply to the edition of Carolus a S. Paullo, not to the one he himself first published, which he increased from the Farnese manuscript with many provinces. I know that the most learned author of the *Dissertatio Chorographica Italiae* supposed that there should be 65 provinces, not 64, because Pamphylia Secunda is mentioned in the *Synecdemus*, but nowhere is there a "Prima": for which opinion I find no support except in the Latin version. For even if, from an ecclesiastical arrangement, they had divided Pamphylia into two, there was no need for both to be enumerated here, especially since only one is found in the *Notitia* of the Eastern Empire, nor did Justinian, as the 8th Novel indicates, know of two. I would not wish to deny that several cities are missing, nor that the number 935 is rounded. The rampant negligence of scribes, as in everything else, is here too; and many things, because they seemed too corrupt, he neglected, while others he defiled with the most disgraceful errors. Nor is that corruption recent: if you make a conjecture from the Emperor Constantine's codex, from those things which he transferred thence to the *Themata*, you will find it most corrupt, and not more excellent in cleanliness than our own, though they are quite defiled; he mixed the highest with the lowest and very frequently shifted the boundaries of the provinces. Although I acknowledge these defects, I nevertheless think that the accusations brought against this *Notitia*, and for which it is held guilty of crimes of which it is most innocent, should be repelled; but other things prevent me from pursuing this now. It must be asked whether it was civil or ecclesiastical. Jean Hardouin, in his *Antirrheticus* and *Numismata urbium antiquarum illustrata*, gave judgment in favor of the ecclesiastical, although he neglected to teach why he held that opinion; and many followed Hardouin. Yet not rightly: for the *Synecdemus* has nothing noteworthy from which it could appear to be counted among the ecclesiastical *Notitiae*. None—as the author of the *Dissert. Chorogr.* well says—[has] thrones, rare are [the mentions of] metropolises, no archbishops, no autocephalous [bishops]; and whereas in one province there are often many metropolises, ^B even if unequal in dignity (as in Bithynia, Nicomedia, Nicaea, and Chalcedon), it adorns hardly one or another, and very often even none, with that title. Added to this, not a few cities are listed in which no bishop ever existed; when I set out to measure the examples of these with their respective locations, I will finish here with Scythia. 15 cities are attributed to it; whence you might think that, if the *Notitia* were ecclesiastical, they were subject to individual bishops, although they were all committed to the care of one Tomitan prelate. If you doubt it, I will give Sozomen (*H. E.* 6, 21) as authority: "This nation has many cities, towns, and fortresses, but the metropolis is Tomis, a large and prosperous city on the coast, to those sailing on the left into the sea called the Euxine Pontus. Even now an ancient custom prevails there, that one [bishop] oversees the churches of the whole nation." Thus, if the *Synecdemus* were describing the order and dignities of bishops, there would have been no need to enumerate all the cities of its province: it could have given one, the Tomitan, to the prelate of the race, as is customary in ecclesiastical *notitiae*. Then, for most provinces, many cities which had their own bishops are ignored, which is unusual in an ecclesiastical *notitia*. Yet I would not urge other things more vehemently against those who feel otherwise with that weapon: what if those [names] have perished? For I am convinced that many have been lost by the negligence of scribes. For to whom would it be credible, to use one example, that in the province of Mesopotamia only Amida was extant in the age of Hierocles under the Romans? Nay, rather, many flourished there, but they were treated lightly by the scribes; had it been without the Farnese codex, they would likewise have left only Tyre for Phoenice Maritima. Further, what do the titles of the magistrates, to whom the administration of the provinces was attributed, have to do with an ecclesiastical *notitia*? What of the name "Synecdemus," which is inscribed on this *Notitia*? It signifies a companion of a journey, and is an argument that Hierocles wished to assist those traveling through the provinces and to depict the extent of the Eastern Empire in a brief chart, as it were. Which seems to me to be the reason why he preserved the order of the provinces, as they were subject to prefects and vicars, most accurately. It is pleasing to show this, for that fact distinguishes it thoroughly from ecclesiastical *notitiae*. First, [he describes] the diocese of the Thracians, divided into 6 provinces and subject to a vicar, just as he follows in the *Notit. Imp. Orient.* c. 132: then the diocese of Macedonia and Dacia, attributed to the Praetorian Prefect of Illyricum; to which he adds Pannonia, recently recovered by Justinian, which had previously been committed to the Praetorian Prefect of Italy. This is followed by the 11 provinces of Asiana, then the same number of provinces of Pontica, then 15 provinces of the Orient, and lastly Egypt, exactly as in the *Notit. Imp. Orient.* c. 1, all committed to the disposition and care of the Praetorian Prefects of the Orient. ^C And so much for the *Synecdemus*; whose first edition we owe to Carolus a S. Paullo, but [it was] mutilated [by being limited to] 14 provinces. That Jacques Sirmond had considered another [is clear] from a certain letter of his to L. Holsteinius (p. 471, Venice ed.): "Regarding the Hierocles *Synecdemus*," he says, "I do not know whether I should rejoice or grieve. Indeed, I truly grieve that it was not given to me as a gift when you were seeking it; and I rejoice that what I was praying might fall to my lot—that I might obtain another copy—fell to your lot instead; and that from my heart I congratulate you."

γεγραμμένο ^A νόμον καὶ τὸν διορισμὸν περὶ τῆς ἀσυλίας, πρόσφορον ποιούμενος τὴν ζήτησιν, συμβιβάσει, τὴν ἁρμόδιον ἂν εὔροι πρὸς τὰ συμπίπτοντα τῶν πραγμάτων ἀπόφασιν· καὶ συντηρήσει μὲν τὴν ἀσυλίαν, ἐν αἷς ὑποθέσεσι κεκανόνισται, παρόψεται δὲ ταύτην, ἔνθα μὴ δίκαιον εἶναι τόπον ἀσυλίας. Ἐπεὶ δὲ πολυσχιδής καθίσταται τις ὁ τῆς μιαιφονίας τρόπος (ἡ γὰρ ἐκουσίως καὶ ἀπὸ προνοίας καὶ παρασκευῆς ἁμαρτάνει τις, ὡς ὁ εὐτρεπίζων ξίφος εἰς τὸ φονεῦσαι ἄνθρωπον· ἢ ἀπὸ θυμοῦ, ὡς ἐν ἐφόδῳ, ὅτε σκοπεῖται καὶ τὸ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἐπιφερόμενον ὅπλον καὶ ἡ ἐγχείρησις· ἢ κατὰ τύχην, ὡς ἐν κυνηγεσίῳ ρίψας μὲν κατὰ θηρὸς τὸ βέλος, ἄνθρωπον δὲ ἀναιρήσας ἐξ ἀγνοίας· ἢ ἐν μάχῃ μετὰ χειρὸς πλήξας, ἢ ἀπὸ μέθης τινὰ φονεύσας, ὅστις καὶ ἐπὶ πενταετίαν ἐξορίζεται), πρὸς τὰς τοιαύτας διαιρέσεις καὶ τὰς κατὰ μέρος αἰτίας ἔχομεν σαφῶς καὶ κατὰ τὸ προσῆκον καὶ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ νόμου ἀπόφασιν. Καὶ ὁ μὲν κατὰ ἄγνοιαν φονεύων οὔτε τὸν κατὰ τῶν ἀνδροφόνων δέδοιχε νόμον οὔτε ἀσυλίας χρήζει· ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ ἀπὸ τρυφῆς ἀνελών, καὶ ὁ μὴ ἐσχηκὼς γνώμην τοῦ φονεῦσαι ἐὰν φονεύσῃ. Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν τούτοις περιίσταται· ἐκεῖνο δέ ἐστι τὸ πολυθρύλλητον ζήτημα τὸ περὶ τοῦ ἑκουσίου καὶ ἐκ προαιρέσεως καὶ προθέσεως φόνου. Τοῦτον γὰρ τὸν ἑκούσιον φόνον οὔτε ἡ Μωσέως νομοθεσία συγχωρεῖσθαι ἀξιοῖ οὔτε ἡ Ῥωμαϊκὴ ἡ παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων Πατέρων ἀποδεχθεῖσα, οὔτε τις εὐσεβὴς λογισμὸς ἀνέχεται τὸν κατὰ τοσοῦτον ἀδικήσαντα, ἵνα καὶ ξίφος εὐτρεπίσῃ καὶ διαμελετήσῃ τὸν τοῦ πλησίον θάνατον καὶ τοῦτον τελέσῃ, ^C χρησάμενος τῇ ἐκ τοῦ ἱεροῦ βοηθείᾳ. Οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔστι τῶν εὐσεβῶς διανοουμένων· ἀλλὰ δυνατόν, ὡς εἴρηται, καὶ τοὺς νόμους τηρηθῆναι καὶ φυλαχθῆναι καὶ τὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας προνόμιον. Ἡνίκα γὰρ ἂν ἄνθρωπος ἐκ τῆς θείας Προνοίας ἐγκαταλειφθεὶς ἀνθρώπου διαμελετήσει θάνατον καὶ τοῦτον ἀπαρτίσει, καὶ ἀφανὴς καὶ ἀνέγκλητος γένηται ὁ παρ' αὐτοῦ καταρτισθεὶς φόνος, εἰς ἑαυτὸν δὲ γενόμενος μετρήσει τὸ μέγεθος τοῦ τολμηθέντος πτώματος καὶ πρὸς ἐξαγόρευσιν ὁρμήσει, λογίζεται δήπου, ποίῳ τρόπῳ ταύτην ἀσφαλῶς ποιήσηται· καὶ λογιζόμενος εὑρίσκει πάντως, ὅτι τοῦ ἐρευνωμένου ἀφανοῦς θανάτου παρ' αὐτοῦ ἐξαγγελλομένου φωρᾶται, καὶ φωραθεὶς ὡς ἀνδροφόνος ἐκ τοῦ νόμου καὶ τοῦ προσφόρου ἄρχοντος ἢ συλλαμβάνεται ἢ... Καὶ διὰ ταῦτα εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν εἰσερχόμενος καὶ τῷ ἱερεῖ προσερχόμενος, καὶ πανταχόθεν ἔχων τὸ ἀσφαλὲς ποιεῖται τὴν ἐξαγόρευσιν, τυχὸν οἴῳ τρόπῳ καὶ οἵᾳ μηχανῇ τὴν τοῦ φονευθέντος κατήρτισεν ἀγνοουμένην σφαγήν, καὶ ἐπιτυγχάνει τῆς ἀφέσεως. Αὕτη γὰρ καὶ ἔστιν ἀληθῶς καὶ λέγεται ἐξομολόγησις, ἡ τοῦ κεκρυμμένου παραπτώματος αὐθαίρετος δήλωσις. Ἡ δὲ περὶ τῆς φανερᾶς καὶ προδήλου πράξεως καὶ μιαιφονίας συγκατάθεσις πῶς καὶ λεχθήσεται ὅλως ἐξομολόγησις; Ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου οὖν συνάγεται καὶ τηρεῖται καὶ ἡ τοῦ νόμου ἀπόφασις καὶ ἡ τοῦ ἱεροῦ ἀσφάλεια. Εἰ δὲ αὕτη μὴ οὕτω διορισθείη, μάχεται πάντως ^D σὺν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ νόμοις ὁ νομοθέτης Ἰουστινιανός· ἐπεὶ...

^A *Aphrodisias*. It should have been *Aphrodisias* (or ^A *Aprodysia*). See *Ant. Itin.* p. 333.

*Ibid. Kolla*. It should have been *Koila*; for this name was obtained from the nature of the place as a port, quite like the "hollows" (*ta koila*) of Eubœa, concerning which, besides Herodotus VIII, 13, Dio Chrysostom speaks excellently in Orat. 7, p. 100. This harbor was near Sestos, as Valesius demonstrated in his notes to Ammianus XXII, 8, from Nicetas, *Rer. Manueb.* 5, p. 81, and not far from Madytus. Anna Comnena, *Alexiad* 11, p. 429: "He anchored in the harbors of Madytus and Koila." And this is indicated more clearly in the Acts of the Second Council of Nicæa, when Leonides is described as "Bishop of Madytus, that is, of Kols" (p. 351), and p. 571, "of Madytus, that is to say, of Hkoila." Although the name of the harbor is poorly rendered (for *Koilon*, if they had not also formed *Kolns*—just as Valerius 1, 8, 11, should have been called *Colam* of Eubœa, and the Acts of the Council of Ephesus *Cœlan*—it should have been called so), yet, I say, although there is an error in the name, it is clear that they were neighboring ports, since they were subject to the same bishop. Furthermore, no account is taken here of the many cities of Europe; which circumstance, if I am not mistaken, is to be attributed not to the writer, but to the copyists.

*Ibid. Yd Ktemora*. Constantine I, II, *Them.* 1, mandates this as well to a consular in his code; misled by the many districts in this province that he confused, he shows the *Notitia Imp. Orient.* c. 1 that Rhodope was governed by a *praeses*. Indeed, "praeses" was a general title; and therefore proconsuls, legates of Caesar, and all who ruled provinces were designated as *praesides*, as is the case in I. D. *de offic. praesid.* However, custom prevailed such that *praesides* were appointed to certain provinces, distinct from consulars and correctors and inferior to them in dignity, whence they are also deferred to in *l. 8, c. Th. de Cohort.*; and since the consulars were illustrious with their fasces, their banners (among other insignia) were *praesidial* (l. 4, c. Th. *ad L. Jul. de ambitu*, and Notker in *Martyrol.* for the day before the Calends of August) recensent, on which matter see Gothofredus. But as for what the most learned author of *Dissert. Chorogr. Ital.* writes on p. XXV, that 7 cities are designated under the province of Rhodope in the *Synecdemus*, but that 5 are barely named, I am persuaded that this escaped him in his haste.

*Ibid. Aenos*. They relate that it was founded by Aeneas: whether they did so truly, or were moved by a certain resemblance of the name, Salmasius discusses in *Solin.* p. 144, Henri Valesius in *Ammian.* XXII, 8, and Pierius Valerianus in *Aeneid* III, 18. If the arbitration of the dispute were referred to Homer, Aenos would be earlier than Aeneas: for it sends auxiliaries to Troy (*Iliad* IV, 520); to which, when Hesychius had regard in *Aivódev*, it chanced that he wrote *and Ainou*, like the scholia of the poets. The inhabitants were accustomed to a most frigid climate; for which reason Stratonicus said at Aenos, "The cold lasts eight months, and the remaining four are winter." Aenos was, if the Acts of the Second Council of Constantinople do not deceive, the metropolis of Rhodope; for on p. 240, Paulus, Bishop of *Aemorin* (it should have been *Aeniorum*), subscribes to the collation as "metropolis of the province of Rhodope." Do not believe it, however; for many metropolises are listed there about which, unless they were merely honorific, you would very rightly have doubts. It is established, moreover, from elsewhere that Trajanopolis excelled the others in this dignity. See *Concil. Chalcedon.* vol. 8 C. G. p. 91.

*Ibid. Maroneia*. We selected this from Constantine I, II, *Them.* 2. The Acts of the Council of Chalcedon, p. 96, ascribe both this city and Maximianopolis to Rhodope.

*Ibid. Taneiros*. Rightly again Constantine, ^B *Diatoneirou* (or *Diastoneirou*) in the coins of the Getae and Julia Domna prides itself on its surname. It was near the sea, and not far removed from the city of Abdera. Anna Comnena, *Alexiad* 7, p. 212, has *Rusium*, by which name it was subsequently known, and brings it closer to the river which is perhaps the Gossinites, concerning which see *ad Itin. A.* p. 321.

*Ibid. Nicopolis*. It was near the river Nessus: whence *Nicopolis at the Nessus* in Ptolemy III, 11; in coins *OULP. NIKOPOLIS PROS NECTA*; in Socrates VII, 36, *Nicopolis of Thrace*, in a broader sense of Thrace. A later age called it Christopolis, as the Coislinian scholia on Ptolemy teach. Therefore, this is the one which the Acts of St. Germanus denote, c. 2, and do not remove far from Philippi. Add Theophylact II, *Mauric.* 1, 7.

*Ibid. Kereopyrgos*. Constantine, *Keraiopyrgos*. Jo. Harduin (in his emendations to Pliny, vol. 4, c. 45) combines it with the Pyrogeri—whom he says are the Pyrgoceri, or by the transposition of syllables, which he says amounts to the same thing, are the Cereopyrgi. I am far from having such confidence. I would have wished him to have taught how the citizens are properly called *Cereopyrgi* by a gentile name. I do not recall ever finding *Cereopyrgus*, unless it lies hidden in the *Kyptone-phon* fortress, which Procopius, *De Aedif. Justin.* 4, 11, describes in Rhodope.

*Ibid. Yd konsoularion*. *Consularis* of the province of Thrace is found in *Thess.* p. CCCLXIII, 2, and *Notit. imp. Orient.* c. 1.

*Ibid. Poleis*. The Vulgate codex passes over all these cities, attributing the towns of this province to Haemimontus, and others to Moesia. Wess. *Proleg.* p. 630.

*Ibid. Berroe*. Constantine 1, 2, *Them.* 1, describes it nicely, and Sozomen, *H. E.* 4, 11, does not disagree, when he reports that Liberius was exiled to "Berroe of Thrace." Sebastianus, Bishop of *Berroia* (*Beroe* p. 657) of Thrace, was present at the Council of Chalcedon, p. 624. So much so that one can hardly forgive Constantine for the negligence with which he passed over the city; which, however, is common to him with many others. Empress Irene, after she had raised it from its fall, called it Irenopolis, according to Theophanes, p. 585. Concerning its location, we have discussed this at *Itin. A.* p. 231.

*Ibid. Sebastoupolis*. I am still looking for this one.

*Ibid. Diopolis*. It should have been *Diospolis*: its bishop Alexander is famous for his profligacy, whom Malala, vol. II, p. 167, calls "Alexander of the city of Zeus of Thrace," where there was no need for anything to be changed by the hand of Chilmeadus.

*Ibid. Adrianopolis*. It was the metropolis of the province of Haemimontus; whence, in the collation of the 8th Council of Constantinople, p. 240: "Joannes, by the grace of God, Bishop of Adrianopolis of the more eminent province," subscribes in place of "Haemimontians or of Haemimontus."

*Ibid. Anchialos*. Constantine 1, II, *Them.* 1, writes it correctly thus, and soon after *Deultum*, concerning both of which see *Ant. Itin.* p. 229, Athanasius, Bishop of the church at Deultus and Sozopolis, was present at the Council of Ephesus, which is evidence that they were obedient to one bishop; which is perhaps the reason why Sozopolis is ignored. It did, however, subsequently have its own bishop: for Petros, of the city of the Sozopolitans of the province of Haemimontus, was present at the Third Council of Constantinople, p. 507.

*Ibid. Tzurulos*. Constantine, *Tzourulos*, where Moretlu[s] has *Inauditum*: could it be Tzurulum or Zurulum?

edict, whereby he ordained that there be no asylum for manslayers, yet allowed manslayers to have right of asylum in the temple established by him.

X.

I'.

We have determined to legislate these things now, modifying the severity of the prior legislation with the more merciful censure of ecclesiastical laws, and amending the unrestrained and lax state of the offenders—which for that very reason is easily followed—not only by the bond of penances, but also by the almost total forfeiture of the property which the manslayer possesses; carefully providing, for the sake of the manslayers themselves, and also for the common good of the state—lest any be carried away by a similar zeal—that by both means justice may be preserved, and the great and divine privilege of the churches be maintained, and the frequent imitation of such acts be curbed by these safeguards.

1. As then pertains to the deportment of the manslayer and his life hereafter, we order that it be regulated just as the canonical strictness determines. By way of this legislation, however, we condemn him to perpetual exile from the place where the offense of the blood-stained crime occurred, ^C this acting both to punish the one who has sinned, and also to prevent the increase of grief and pain which might be visited upon the kin of the deceased. Perhaps also, it is not unhelpful for both parties, lest the relatives, stirred to willful vengeance by the constant sight of the one who caused them sorrow and by the memory of the one who has perished, might attempt to heal evil with evil and cause the tragedy of the murder to be doubled. Let the manslayer, then, be altogether condemned to perpetual exile from that place, and never wander or dwell in the land that gaped to receive the blood of the brother who was unjustly slain. Let him receive this punishment first, following the ecclesiastical censure.

2. In addition to this, let him also undergo the forfeiture of his own property, which shall not be assigned to the state. For if the manslayer has a spouse, she must take her dowry and all her own possessions, and furthermore the gift made before the wedding; and if, perchance, a nuptial gift or something else was also promised, she must by all means have the recovery and ownership of this as well, if there are no children. But if children exist, she shall enjoy the usufruct of the nuptial gains, with all the legal observations pertaining to this preserved; ^D while the children shall be bequeathed one third of the rest of the paternal property. And if the manslayer, of his own volition or by the counsel and approval of those directing him in penance, laying aside his former foulness, should pass over to the monastic life, the monastery shall receive the third part of his property, with [the remaining] third for the wife and children

^A Thraciar? Male: for it was a town of the province of Europe, not far separated from Heraclea, concerning which there is abundance in the Antonine and Hierosolymitan Itineraries. The reading *Tzoides* must not be changed; it is in another *Notitia* of Jac. Goar, p. 378, as bishop of Phoebus; Procopius, *De Aedificiis Justiniani* vi, 11, further possesses the castle *Tzeidon*. Col. 141. *Marcianopolis*. This was the metropolis of the province of Moesia Secunda and the seat of the governor. Hence on a coin of Severus Alexander: ΗΓ. Μ. ΤΕΡΕΒΕΝΤΙΝΟΥ ΜΑΡΚΙΑΝΟΠΟΛΕΙΤΩΝ, i.e., "under the governor Marcus Terebentinus." The Bulgarians called it *Preslav*, excellently described by Anna Comnena, 7, p. 194; yet she, when she judges it to have once been of the name *Megale Polis* (Great City), strays from the straight path. Add Nicetas, *Annal. Isaac.* 1, p. 185. *Ibid.* *Odyssos*. Nay, rather *Odessos* [with the Leiden codex]. Yet our Procopius agrees with it, *De Aedificiis Justiniani* vi, 11, and Theophanes, *Chronographia* p. 190, who otherwise is accustomed to call it *Odyssopolis*, as p. 137, and calls Varna adjacent to it, p. 298. *Ibid.* *Dorostolos*. Theodoret locates it in Thrace, with a broader usage of the word: "In Dorostolo," he says, "and this is a notable city of Thrace." See Jos. Scaliger in *Euseb.* n. MMCCCLXXVIII, and *Itin. Ant.* p. 222. *Ibid.* *Nicopolis*. Jornandes, *Getica* c. 18: "He approaches Nicopolis, which is built near the river Iatrus, most notable, because Trajan, having defeated the Sarmatians, built it and called it the City of Victory." Regarding these words, Jo. Harduin illustrates them in *Numi antiqui*. From these words of Jornandes, Ortelius in more than one place enriches his *Thesaurus* with the river Jairo; yet no one who has viewed the ancient coins, even superficially, can deny that *Istrum* must be read—of which type are NIKOΠΟΛ. ΠΡΟC ICT. and NIKOΠΟΛΙΤΩΝ ΠΡ. ICTPQ. If you follow him, *Iatrus* will thereafter be nothing. But beware of errors: Theophylactus, *Hist. Mauric.* vi, 44, mentions "the so-called river Iatrus," from which also the name of the opposite city of Iatrus comes, concerning which see *Anton. Itin.* p. 222. Nicopolis was at the confluence of the Ister and the Iatrus, and is correctly supported by the coins in the former case. *Ibid.* *Novæ*. There were two in this vicinity, one near the Cuppi, which Theophylactus, *Hist. Mauric.* vii, 7, calls "the Upper Novas"; the other more towards Appiaria, known by the name of the Moesian city of Novensis to Marcellinus Comes. Concerning these, see *Ant.* 1, p. 221. *Ibid.* *Ebraittos*. More correctly *Abrittos*, as it is called by Procopius at the end of book 4 of the *De Aedificiis*. In Jornandes, *Abrittus*, a city of Moesia in the Ambrosian ms., as we have said elsewhere. It is a famous city for the slaughter of the Emperor Decius, everywhere badly written, just as in the examples brought forth. Scaliger in *Euseb.* n. MMCCLXVII revealed this. It was situated between Odessos and Mesembria, and it is called *Erite* in the Peutinger Table. Those who claim Decius perished at the Tanais, as Zosimus, or across the Danube, as Victor asserts, are therefore mistaken. *Ibid.* *Eparchia Scythias*. This last is one of the four provinces of Thrace, which were under governors, as *Notit. Imp. Orient.* c. 1 teaches. In Athanasius it is called *Scythia* in various places, *Apol. contra Arianos* pp. 123 and 155, and *Histor. Arian. ad Monachos* p. 360; with which, when he enumerates the provinces whose bishops were present at the Council of Sardica or championed their own cause, I would not doubt that he meant *Scythia*: for Siscia was not the name of a province in his age, but a town of Pannonia, which Athanasius there counts with the remaining provinces. In Procopius, by a shameful error, they have founded a castle from Scythia, and likewise from Mysia, at the end of book 4 of his *De Aedificiis*; the peerless writer enumerates the cities and castles which Justinian either restored or adorned with new works; and when he had spoken of Europa and Rhodope, "beside the river Ister," he says, "of Mysia, and Herculis," and with thirty others added, he proceeds "of Scythia," and so forth; hence they made [a city called] Mysia and [a city called] Scythia, when, however, he means nothing else than that these were cities and castles of Mysia upon the Ister and of Scythia upon the same. *Ibid.* *Tomis*. It was the metropolis of Scythia, to whose bishop's care all the cities of the province were committed; concerning which matter there are excellent words in Sozomen, *H. E.* vi, 21; which, because they are interwoven in the Prolegomena, I pass over. I add this, that John Damascene, *Parallel.* p. 781, excerpts certain words from Theotimus, bishop of Scythopolis; who, since he was the Tomitan, according to Sozomen, *H. E.* v, 25, Mich. Le Quien would have preferred "of Scythia." He could have done so with less effort [by writing] "of the city of the Scythians." *Ibid.* *Dionysopolis*. So also correctly Constantine, ^B *Dionysopolis*, as the published and manuscript *Synecdemus* proves. *Ibid.* *Akra*. I seek a city by that name in this tract. There was indeed the promontory of *Tiristris*, the *Akra Tiristria* of Ptolemy, with a town of almost the same name; yet I would not say that this is what is meant. Perhaps the *Akra* of Scythia in Stephanus? *Ibid.* *Kallatis*. This is superior from Constantine. Regarding the city and others of this coast, see *Anton. Itin.* p. 227. *Ibid.* *Istros*. Jul. Capitolinus in *Maximo et Balbino*, c. 6: "Under them, there was fighting by the Carpi against the Moesians, and [it was] the beginning of the Scythian war, and the ruin of Histria at that time"; but as Dexippus says, "of the city of Histria." Without doubt, there was *Histriou polis* in Dexippus, just as in the Coislinian ms. of Ptolemy; which city, when Capitolinus did not recall it, he began to think about *Histria*, at a very long distance of lands from the Moesians and Carpi, as Zosimus 1, 31 teaches, on the banks of the river Ister, [and] he provided an occasion for Ortelius and others to mention the Histrian city as distinct from the Ister. *Ibid.* *Constantiana*. It seems to be *CONSTANTIANA DAPHNE*, which Henr. Vales. excellently illustrated from a coin of Constantine in *Ammian.* xxvii, 5. Yet Procopius, *De Aedificiis Justiniani* iv, 7, stands in the way of this suspicion, placing it in Moesia Secunda. Did it therefore migrate from the former to this province? Constantine, surely, attributing only 14 cities to the province. In any case, it must have been said that there was another by this or a similar name in Scythia; and then let Procopius be summoned as a witness, placing *Constantiana* in Scythia, *De Aedificiis Justiniani* book iv, last chapter. *Ibid.* *Zaldapa*. We have received this, since it is closer to the truth: *Zaldapa* in Procopius, *De Aedificiis Justiniani* iv, 11, *Zalhada* in the *Excerpt. Theophylacti* apud Labbeum, p. 178, but incorrectly, as you will know from *Hist. Mauric.* 1, 8. *Ibid.* *Tropaios*. Frid. Morellus thought of Topiros and Doberos, both of which were on this side of the boundaries of this province. I believe it [was named] from a trophy of defeated enemies.

reserved for the one killed, as a small consolation for their calamity. If the one killed has no children, this third part is to be divided equally between the wife and the ascendants. If the wife has already departed this life, but children exist, they are preferred over the ascendants. If, however, there are neither children, nor wife, nor ascendants surviving the one killed, the other relatives called by law, who were not negligent in revealing the perpetrator of the crime, shall receive the third. But if the murderer does not embrace the monastic life, not just a third, but two-thirds of his free property shall be assigned, according to the constitution mentioned, to the party of the one killed. ^A

3. Furthermore, no one who has been convicted of such a crime shall ever hold or discharge any civil or other kind of magistracy or office, nor shall he be deemed worthy of an imperial rescript; but they shall be in all respects infamous, such that life alone has been graciously granted to them. However, those who, out of a certain abundance of malice, have meditated upon the slaughter of their neighbor, and have prepared and equipped themselves for this very purpose, for the killing of their brother, to the detriment and ruin of their own soul, must by all means be tonsured and enrolled among monks; and they shall be governed in a monastery not only for the time of penance prescribed for them, but for their entire life. But those who have otherwise committed homicide—voluntarily, indeed, yet by an outburst and snatching of irrational anger, and who did not display the murder out of meditation, prior preparation, and consultation—shall undergo perpetual exile in addition to other penalties, yet they shall not be compelled to embrace the solitary life. ^{B C}

4. The positions of military service, or the economic arrangements for military duty, shall be transmitted to his heirs. But if the murderer does not have heirs, others accepting the positions of military service shall also fulfill the duties of that service. ^D

XI. Novella of the Emperor Lord Constantine Porphyrogenitus, concerning those who die intestate and without children, so that the totality of their property does not accrue to those called as relatives by law, or, when these are absent, to the public treasury, but that two parts go to them, and the third be consecrated to God; in which are also included slaves, granted liberty by the present novella.

I have often marveled at the founders of cities and the institutors of laws according to which it is proper to live, in that they [assign property] to the relatives of the departed, when sometimes they contributed nothing to their utility while they were living, nor can the departed provide anything to them when they depart from here, especially to kings, for whom perhaps the deceased was not among the lowest in his service, because to these the intestate's death

^A—those who have departed without a will—they have granted the inheritance of his property as if it were some great favor bestowed upon them, but to God, the Maker and King of all, from whom arises whatever is most excellent among men, who grants us all things, so that—and this surpasses all understanding—He has established us as co-heirs of Christ and heirs of Himself through Christ, they have not contributed even the hundredth part, as if disinheriting Him through oblivion. But while it is foolish and senseless for men—if one should call those who have not acknowledged their own Maker "men"—to decree such things, it is not strange or unexpected that those who have once strayed from duty hasten toward an end consistent with that beginning. But as for men whose citizenship is in heaven (as the divine Apostle says) and for whom the kingdom of heaven is promised as an inheritance, who are accounted worthy to be and to be called friends and brothers of Christ (oh, the immensity of the Lord's loving-kindness!) and co-heirs, what limit of folly or madness do they not leave behind if, having attained such things, and enjoying no benefits from Him who enrolled us among His brothers and made us co-heirs, we do not legislate that even the lesser portion of the succession passing to kin be ^B assigned to Him? For it is absurd, reasonably speaking, that there should be some sense and forethought of the future even among irrational creatures, while we, endowed with reason, should be so attached and fixed upon the present life that not even in the affairs of others (which is the easiest thing for all) do we show some small foresight for the future, both for ourselves and for those who die unexpectedly; but, as we have already said, we assign the inheritance to a king who is passing away and will soon be destroyed, while for Him who reigns eternally, and to whom the deceased goes to render an account of his earthly life, nothing of his property is consecrated by the power of the law.

Constitutio XI

^C α'. For these reasons, we have deemed it necessary to introduce this standard regarding this matter, which we do not know how our predecessors neglected, in order to provide its benefit both to the present life and to posterity, and to those who depart suddenly from life before they can arrange the affairs of their estate according to their will, so that for them there may be prepared a rest, of which they had heard while living among men; establishing this law and common direction as a kind of protection for the entire body politic, by which we decree that, while those things which have been ordered by our predecessors regarding the inheritance of the property of those who die intestate remain firm, we command only that which we have recognized has not yet been regulated by law: that the third part of the inheritance left by one who dies without a last will—whether the succession is assigned to those who are called to the inheritance as intestates, or, in the absence of kin, is delivered to the public treasury—be donated to God, ^D the Lord of all, and the King for the sake of the soul of the deceased, with two parts being reserved for the kin or for the public treasury, as we have said; to which portion shall be added the valuation of the slaves who are found in the usual way, and these being set free

^A are to be considered as belonging to the share which falls to God.

2. If, however, as is likely to happen, the greater part or even all of the property left by the deceased should consist of slaves, we have thought it right to decree this also, in a spirit of kindness and compassion, so that some may not be released from the yoke of servitude while others continue to suffer miserably and to be worn down under it; but rather, that this present decree of ours, granting freedom to all those whom the harsh and heavy yoke of slavery has afflicted and tormented, may make them all rejoice, and that they may likewise come forth free from all servile bonds.

For in this way, ^B both to those who by law succeed the intestate, if they are willing to consider what is proper, no loss is caused; and to the slaves, and to those who have departed this life, salvation is granted; and to God, who disposes the salvation of men even from small beginnings, we shall be rendering what is holy. And let no one, whether a kinsman of the deceased or even the Emperor, feel aggrieved by this present law as if he were being deprived of what is his due; but let everyone—both private citizen and Emperor—reflect in his mind ^C that, since death is for all men equally uncertain and fearful, and it is not possible for anyone to make provision for his end with certainty, he should regard this present law as a provision for that inevitable journey, and not hasten to swallow up the substance of others in greedy gulps; but let him remember that he himself, in turn—such is the inconstancy of human affairs—must be cut down by the sickle of death, and that he will have need of great help there, and that unless he enjoys the grace of this present law, he will obtain no comfort there. For this gift ^D of good will—as one might call it—even if it be small, brings no slight relief to the one who has departed this life, when it is offered to the kind and benevolent Lord God, who in many ways procures our salvation from small occasions. Whoever considers these things in our present decree, and receives this present law as a kind of help, or rather, to speak more truly, as a remedy for his own sloth—for that he who lived his life while omitting to make salutary provision for his own passing—let him receive it with joy; for we deem it salutary for those who die without a final testament, and not to be despised by God, the King of all, but even most useful to the society of citizens itself, and to our own [authority] which is from God.