Page:Secret History of the Court of the Emperor Justinian 1674.djvu/44

 abuse that liberty to do mischeif, which was given them, as they might have done. Those of the opposite party (which was called the faction of the Prasinians) committed several murders and outrages as they had opportunity, and it was in their power, though from time to time, some of them suffered privately very cruel punishments, which did but animate the rest; for it is frequently seen, that injury does but ex­asperate, and provoke people to betake them­selves to force; and the desire of revenge car­ries them on to such ill actions as they would not do, had they not been irritated before. The Venetes having got the priority, the Roman Em­pire was utterly overturned, and all things put into confusion without possibility of recovery. The Cities and Towns were ruined, as if they bad been pillaged by an Enemy, or destroyed by some Earthquake or Inundation; all things ran into most desperate disorder. Justice and the Laws were quite out of force, the Face of the Government was intirely changed, and in a lit­tle time all things ran headlong to ruine. The Factions began to be effeminate, to take delight in their Hair, and to cut it after a mode that was quite new to the Romans; they shaved not their Beards as formerly, but suffered them to grow long like the Persians; they shaved the fore part of their Head to their very Temples, leaving it thick as possible behind, after the man­ner of the Massagets; and this kind of cut they called The Mode of the Huns. They made them­selves rich Cloaths, embroidered very ficently,