Page:The age of Justinian and Theodora (Volume 2).djvu/94

 mercenary jactitation of the law. Hence the venality of the Emperor's Court of Appeal soon incurred obloquy in the capital, and a resentment was kindled among the citizens against his administration.

Yet the ills inflicted on the community by distorted judgements were slight and partial in comparison with the financial tyranny of John of Cappadocia after he had attained to the rank of Praetorian Praefect. Devoid of literary education, and even inefficient with the pen, this man began his career in an unimportant clerical post under the government. While serving in this capacity he came in contact with Justinian, whose favour he courted with an astuteness popularly supposed to be the distinguishing mark of natives of his province. Having a singular aptitude for figures, and being extremely ready with expedients for solving any knotty question, he won over the Emperor by laying before him many subtle schemes for amplifying the incidence of the taxes and proportionately swelling the revenue. These allurements assured him a speedy promotion to the position of logothete, from which he ascended with little delay to the dignity of an Illustrious, and soon made an easy conquest of the praetorian prefecture of the East. Once in the supreme seat of deputed power he had*