Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 2.djvu/369

 OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. 351 by the pvide of Diocletian, reduced to an humble sta- CHAP, tion by the prudence of Constantine ^ they multiplied in the palaces of his degenerate sons, and insensibly acquired the knowledge, and at length the direction, of the secret councils of Constantius. The aversion and contempt which mankind has so uniformly enter- tained for that imperfect species, appears to have de- graded their character, and to have rendered them almost as incapable as they were supposed to be, of conceiving any generous sentiment, or of performing any worthy action^. But the eunuchs were skilled in the arts of flattery and intrigue ; and they alternately governed the mind of Constantius by his fears, his in- dolence, and his vanity ^. Whilst he viewed in a de- ceitful mirror the fair appearance of public prosperity, he supinely permitted them to intercept the complaints of the injured provinces, to accumulate immense trea- sures by the sale of justice and of honours; to disgrace the most important dignities, by the promotion of those who had purchased at their hands the powers of op- pression', and to gratify their resentment against the ^ There is a passage in the Augustan History, p. 137, in which Lampri- dius, wliilst he praises Alexander Severus and Constantine for restraining the tyranny of the eunuchs, deplores the mischiefs which they occasioned in other reigns. Hue accedit quod eunuchos nee in consiliis nee in mini- steriis habuit ; qui soli principes perdunt, dum eos more gentium aut regum Persarum volunt vivere ; qui a populo etiam amicissimum semo- vent ; qui internuntii sunt, aliud quam respondetur referentes ; claudentes principem suum, et agentes ante omnia ne quid sciat, S Xenophon (Cyropaidia, 1. viii. p. 540.) has stated the specious reasons which engaged Cyrus to intrust his person to the guard of eunuchs. He had observed in animals, that although the practice of castration might tame their ungovernable fierceness, it did not diminish their strength or spirit ; and he persuaded himself, that those who were separated from the rest of human kind, would be more firmly attached to the person of their benefactor. But a long experience has contradicted the judgement of Cyrus. Some particular instances may occur of eunuchs distinguished by their fidelity, their valour, and their abilities ; but if we examine the gene- ral history of Persia, India, and China, we shall find that the power of the eunuchs has uniformly marked the decline and fall of every dynasty. h See Ammianus Marcellinus, 1. xxi. c. 16. 1. xxii. c. 4. The whole tenor of his impartial history serve'* to justify the invectives of Mamertinus, of Libanius, and of Julian himself, who have insulted the vices of the court of Constantius. ' Aurelius 'lctor censures the negligence of his sovereign in choosing the governors of the provinces, and the generals of the army; and concludes his history with a very bold observation, as it is much more dangerous under a feeble reign to attack the ministers than the master himself: " Uti