The prince was instructed no longer to make
himself familiar to the eyes of men. He sequestered himself from his
subjects in the recesses of his palace. None, who sought him, could any
longer gain easy admission to his presence. It was a point of his new
duties to be difficult of access; and they who were at length admitted to
an audience, found him surrounded by eunuchs, and were expected to make
their approaches by genuflexions, by servile "adorations," and by real
acts of worship as to a visible god.
It is strange that a ritual of court ceremonies, so elaborate and
artificial as this, should first have been introduced by a soldier, and a
warlike soldier like Dioclesian. This, however, is in part explained by
his education and long residence in Eastern countries.
But the same eastern training fell to the lot of Constantine, who was in
effect his successor; [Footnote: On the abdication of Dioclesian and of
Maximian, Galerius and Constantius succeeded as the new Augusti. But
Galerius, as the more immediate representative of Dioclesian, thought
himself entitled to appoint both Caesars,--the Daza (or Maximus) in Syria,
Severus in Italy.
Pages:
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347