Page:Secret History of the Court of the Emperor Justinian 1674.djvu/111

 the Sea, and sent them all home with very magnificent rewards. So that the wealth of the Romans seemed to be decreed wholly for the Barbarians, either by the presents which were made them, their inroads into the Em­pire, the ransom of their prisoners, or the sums they paid for purchasing Peace, or per­haps a Truce, and that of no long continuance; and this was signified by the Dream which I mentioned before: But besides these, he had several inventions to possess himself by degrees of all his subjects estates, of which, I shall give a particular as well as I am able.

He instituted a new Magistrate among the people, and invested him with jurisdiction over those who sold slaves in their Shops, to whom the said Officer gave Licence to sell what they pleased, upon the payment of a yearly Rent to the Emperor. He obliged the Citizens to buy all they wanted in the Market, where they paid thrice as much as in other places; and though Commodities were racked never so high, and the buyer never so much cheated, it was not permitted to sue him that had cheated him, be­cause the greatest part of the gains went either to the Emperor or Magistrates. Those who bought any thing, were in the same danger of being couzened by the detestable industry of the Magistrates Guards, and the abominable inven­tions of the Merchants, whose impunity gave them encouragement to cheat securely, not only in the prices of their Ware, but in chang­ing the Goods: Afterwards Justinian set up Rh