Page:Secret History of the Court of the Emperor Justinian 1674.djvu/155

 which, his credit was so great with the Emperor; he had the management of the Imperial De­mesns in Phenicia and Palestine, and disposed of them with full liberty.

I shall say no more of this business, but these two examples are sufficient to discover how Justinian delighted himself in perverting all the orders established among the Christians; and for the Laws which he abolished for Money, I shall speak of them in very few words.

In Emesus there was a Person called Prisous, exceedingly dexterous at counterfeiting of Seals, in which art he was the most expert Man in the World. Many years before Mamianus (who had been a Senator, and of no less eminence for his great birth, then his prodigious riches) had given all his estate by Will to the Church of Emesus.

In process of time, under the Reign of Justi­nian the Emperor, Prisous made a Catalogue of the best Families of that Town, which were in greatest reputation for wealth, and from whom he might hope for the most considerable booty. He observed accurately the pedigrees of those who were the cheif, and having found the names of such of their Ancestors as were contemporary with Mamianus, he counterfeited several Re­ceipts and Recognisances under their names, by which they confessed themselves indebted to Mamianus in very great sums; by which kind of forgeries he made a shift among several of them to pretend to 10000 Livers of Gold. In short, having imitated very neatly the hand of Rh