as lost, that was not devoted to the advantage of the Cæsars, several of his orations, and his ela- CHAP. XXII. December, A. D. 861. Palace. The reformation of the imperial court was Reformaone of the first and most necessary acts of the tion of the government of Julian t. Soon after his entrance into the palace of Constantinople, he had occasion for the service of a barber. An officer, magnificently dressed, immediately presented himself. "It is a barber," exclaimed the prince, with *Julian in Misopogon. p. 340, Julius Cæsar had offended the Roman people by reading his dispatches during the actual race. Augustus indulged their taste, or his own, by his constant attention to the important business of the Circus, for which he professed the warmest inclination. Sueton. in August. c. xlv. + The reformation of the palace is described by Ammianus (xxii. 4.) Libanius (Orat. Parent. c. lxii. p. 288, &c.), M1mertinus (in Panegyr. Vet. xi. 11.), Socrates (1, iii, c. 1.), and Zonaras (tom. ii. 1. xiii. p. 24.). CHAP. with affected surprise, "that I want, and not a "receiver-general of the finances.” He ques XXII. tioned the man concerning the profits of his employment; and was informed, that, besides a large salary, and some valuable perquisites, he enjoyed a daily allowance for twenty servants, and as many horses. A thousand barbers, a thousand cup-bearers, a thousand cooks, were distributed in the several offices of luxury; and the number of eunuchs could be compared only with the insects of a summer's day t. The mo narch who resigned to his subjects the superiority of merit and virtue, was distinguished by the oppressive magnificence of his dress, his table, his buildings, and his train. The stately palaces erected by Constantine and his sons were decorated with many coloured marbles, and ornaments of massy gold. The most exquisite dainties were procured, to gratify their pride, rather than their taste; birds of the most distant cli mates, fish from the most remote seas, fruits out of their natural season, winter roses, and summer snowst. The domestic crowd of the palace surpassed *Ego non rationalem jussi sed tonsorem acciri. Zonaras uses the less natural image of a senator. Yet an officer of the fi nances, who was satisfied with wealth, might desire and obtain the honours of the senate. † Μάγειρες μεν χιλιάς, κυρίας δε εκ ελαττος, οινοχος de πλείες, σμήνη τραπεζοποιων, συνεχές υπέρ τας μυιας παρα τοις ποιμέσι εν ηρι, are the original words of Libanius, which I have faithfully quoted, lest I should be suspected of magnifying the abuses of the royal household. The expressions of Mamertinus are lively and forcible. Quin etiam prandiorum et cænarum laboratas magnitudines Romanus populus XXII. surpassed the expence of the legions; yet the CHAB smallest part of this costly multitude was subservient to the use, or even to the splendour, of the throne. The monarch was disgraced, and the people was injured, by the creation and sale of an infinite number of obscure, and even titular employments; and the most worthless of mankind might purchase the privilege of being maintained, without the necessity of labour, from the public revenue. The waste of an enormous household, the increase of fees and perquisites, which were soon claimed as a lawful debt, and the bribes which they extorted from those who feared their enmity, or solicited their favour, suddenly enriched these haughty menials. They abused their fortune, without considering their past, or their future, condition; and their rapine and venality could be equalled only by the extravagance of their dissipations. Their silken robes were embroidered with gold, their tables were served with delicacy and profusion; the houses which they built for their own use, would have covered the farm of an ancient consul; and the most honourable citizens were obliged to dismount from their horses, and respectfully to salute an eunuch whom they met on the public highway. The luxury of the palace excited the contempt and indignation of Julian, who usually slept on the ground, who yielded with reluctance. to populus sensit; cum quæsitissimæ dapes non gustu sed difficul ratibus æstimarentur; miracula avium, longinqui maris pisces, alieni temporis poma, æstivæ nives, hybernæ rosz. CHAP. to the indispensable calls of nature, and who XXII. placed his vanity, not in emulating, but in despising, the pomp of royalty. By the total extirpation of a mischief which was magnified even beyond its real extent, he was impatient to relieve the distress, and to appease the murmurs, of the people; who support with less uneasiness the weight of taxes, if they are convinced that the fruits of their industry are appropriated to the service of the state. But in the execution of this salutary work, Julian is accused of proceeding with too much haste and inconsiderate seve rity. By a single edict, he reduced the palace of Constantinople to an immense desert, and dismissed with ignominy the whole train of slaves and dependents", without providing any just, or at least benevolent, exceptions, for the age, the service, or the poverty, of the faithful domestics of the imperial family. Such indeed was the temper of Julian, who seldom recollected the fundamental maxim of Aristotle, that true virtue is placed at an equal distance between the opposite vices. The splendid and effeminate dress of the Asiatics, the curls and paint, the collars and bracelets, which had appeared so ridiculous in the person of Constantine, were consistently rejected by his philosophic successor, But * Yet Julian himself was accused of bestowing whole towns on the eunuchs (Orat. vii. against Polyclet. p. 117-127.). Libanius contents himself with a cold but positive denial of the fact, which seems indeed to belong more properly to Constan, tius. This charge however may allude to some unknown cir cumstance. XXII. But with the fopperies, Julian affected to re- CHAP. nounce the decencies, of dress; and seemed to value himself for his neglect of the laws of cleanliness. In a satirical performance, which was designed for the public eye, the emperor descants with pleasure, and even with pride, on the length of his nails, and the inky blackness of his hands; protests, that although the greatest part of his body was covered with hair, the use of the razor was confined to his head alone; and celebrates, with visible complacency, the shaggy and popu lous beard, which he fondly cherished, after the example of the philosophers of Greece. Had Julian consulted the simple dictates of reason; the first magistrate of the Romans would have scorned the affectation of Diogenes, as well as that of Darius. Justice. But the work of public reformation would Chamber of have remained imperfect, if Julian had only corrected the abuses, without punishing the crimes, of his predecessor's reign. "We are now de"livered," says he, in a familiar letter to one of his intimate friends, "we are now surprisingly "delivered from the voracious jaws of the Hy "dra. *In the Misopogon (p. 338, 339.) he draws a very singular picture of himself, and the following words are strangely characteristic; αυτον προσέθεικα τον βαθυν τετονι παγώνει ο ο ο ταυτα τοι διαθεοντον ανεχομαι των φθείρων οσπερ εν λόχμη των θηρίων. The friends of the Abbé de la Bleterie adjured him, in the name of the French nation, not to translate this passage, so offensive to their delicacy (Hist. de Jovien, tom. ii. p. 94.). Like him, I have contented myself with a transient allusion; but the little animal, which Julian names, is a beast familiar to man, and signifies love. |