18 THE DECLINE AND FALL popular ; his name, after the death of Justin, had been men- tioned by a tumultuous faction ; and his own submissive offer of his head, with a treasure of sixty thousand pounds, might be interpreted as an evidence of guilt, or at least of fear. Justinian received a free pardon, and the command of the eastern army. The Persian monarch fled before his arms ; and the acclamations which accompanied his triumph declared him worthy of the purple. His artful patroness had chosen the month of the vintage, while the emperor, in a rural solitude, was ])ermitted to enjoy the pleasures of a subject. On the first intelHgence of her designs he returned to Constantinople, and the conspiracy was suppressed by his j^resence and firmness. From the pomp and honours which she had abused, Sophia was reduced to a modest allowance ; Tiberius dismissed her train, intercepted her correspondence, and conmiitted to a faithful guard the custody of her person. But the services of Justinian were not con- sidered by that excellent prince as an aggravation of his offences ; after a mild reproof, his treason and ingratitude were forgiven ; and it was commonly believed that the emperor entertained some thoughts of contracting a double alliance with the rival of his throne. The voice of an angel (such a fable was propa- gated) might reveal to the emperor that he should always triumph over his domestic foes ; but Tiberius derived a firmer assurance from the innocence and generosity of his own mind. With the odious name of Tiberius, he assumed the more popular appellation of Constantine and imitated the purer vir- tues of tiie Antonines. After recording the vice or folly of so many Roman princes, it is pleasing to repose, for a moment, on a character conspicuous by the qualities of humanit)', justice, temperance, and fortitude ; to contemplate a sovereign affable in his palace, pious in the church, impartial on the seat of judgment, and victorious, at least by his generals, in the Persian war. The most glorious trophy of his victory consisted in a multitude of captives whom Tiberius entertained, redeemed, and dismissed to their native homes with the charitable spirit of a Christian hero. The merit or misfortunes of his own sub- jects had a dearer claim to his beneficence, and he measured his bounty not so much by their expectations as by his own dignity. This maxim, however dangerous in a trustee of the public wealth, was balanced by a principle of humanity and justice, which taught him to abhor, as of the basest alloy, the gold that was extracted from the tears of the people. For their relief, as often as they had suffered by natural or hostile calamities, he
