Page:Secret History of the Court of the Emperor Justinian 1674.djvu/115

 Emperor, or returned from him, and then he would not vouchsafe them time to explain themselves, for fear of being detained one mo­ment, and gain nothing by it. In this manner Justinian made use of his Questor.

The Captain of his Guards, besides the usual sum, paid annually to the Emperor more then 3000 Livres in Gold; which Money was not to be raised, either according to Law, or anti­ent Custom, but was accounted to Justinian as dropped out of the air: For which reason (I conceive) it was called The Aerial Tribute, though it might more properly have been named The effect of the cunning and impiety of the Prince, who under the title of Tribute, gave occasion to the Captains to squeeze the estates of those under him without controul, upon pretence, that they were obliged to pay it into the Empe­ror, though their own expences and manner of living was suitable to the Majesty of a King. The Emperor let them alone in this manner, till they had cram’d their own Coffers, and got immense riches together, then taking advantage of some complaints against them he charged them with some crime, of which, they could not readily clear themselves, and seised upon all they had got, as he served John of Cappadocia. All who were ever in that Office, inriched them­selves vastly, and got incredible estates, only two are to be excepted, Phocas whom I menti­oned in my other Books (a person of great honestly, and so accomplished vertue, he could not be reproached with any thing that he had gained