Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 2.djvu/460

 442 THE DECLIKE AND FALL CHAP, religious edifices was simple and oblong; though they might sometimes swell into the shape of" a dome, and sometimes branch into the figure of a cross. The tim- bers were framed for the most part of cedars of Liba- nus ; the roof was covered with tiles, perhaps of gilt brass ; and the walls, the columns, the pavement, were incrusted with variegated marbles. The most precious ornaments of gold and silver, of silk and gems, were profusely dedicated to the service of the altar ; and this specious magnificence was supported on the solid and perpetual basis of landed property. In the space of two centuries, from the reign of Constantine to that of Justinian, the eighteen hundred churches of the em- pire were enriched by the frequent and inalienable gifts of the prince and people. An annual income of six hundred pounds sterling may be reasonably as- signed to the bishops, who were placed at an equal distance between riches and poverty"; but the stand- ard of their wealth insensibly rose with the dignity and opulence of the cities which they governed. An au- thentic but imperfect" rent-roll specifies some houses, shops, gardens, and farms, which belonged to the three ' basilicae' of Rome, St. Peter, St. Paul, and St. John Lateran, in the provinces of Italy, Africa, and the east. They produce, besides a reserved rent of oil, linen, paper, aromatics, etc. a clear annual revenue of twenty- two thousand pieces of gold, or twelve thousand pounds sterling. In the age of Constantine and Justinian, the bishops no longer possessed, perhaps they no longer deserved, the unsuspecting confidence of their clergy and people. The ecclesiastical revenues of each dio- cese were divided into four parts; for the respective " See Justinian. Novell, cxxiii. 3. The revenue of the patriarchs, and the most wealthy bishops, is not expressed; the highest annual valuation of a bishopric is stated at thirty, and the lowest at two, pounds of gold ; the medium might be taken at sixteen ; but these valuations are much below the real value. o .See Baronius, Annal. Eccles. A. D. 324. N^. 58. 65. 70, 71. Every record which comes from the Vatican is justly suspected; yet these rent- rolls have an ancient and authentic colour ; and it is at least evident, that, if forged, they were forged in a period when funns, not kingdoms, were the objects of papal avarice.