Page:The age of Justinian and Theodora (Volume 1).djvu/137

 mystic rite, a triumph of superstition over concupiscence pretended more often perhaps than real.

The luxury of the rich, especially in the use of the precious metals and ivory, is in this age maintained at the maximum. Practically all the furniture in the house of a wealthy man, as far at least as the visible parts are concerned, is constructed of those costly materials. Gilding or plates of gold or silver are applied to every available surface—to tables, chairs, footstools, and bedsteads; even silver night-*urns are essential to the comfort of the fastidious plutocracy. For banqueting the Byzantines make use of a large semi-*