History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4Gibbon, Edward
History
History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 4
Gibbon, Edward
Byzantine Empire -- History -- To 527; Rome -- History -- Empire, 30 B.C.-476 A.D.
witness, in a vision, to the damnation of Theodoric, 108 whose
soul was plunged, by the ministers of divine vengeance, into the
volcano of Lipari, one of the flaming mouths of the infernal
world. 109
102 (return) [ In the fanciful eloquence of Cassiodorus, the
variety of sea and river fish are an evidence of extensive
dominion; and those of the Rhine, of Sicily, and of the Danube,
were served on the table of Theodoric, (Var. xii. 14.) The
monstrous turbot of Domitian (Juvenal Satir. iii. 39) had been
caught on the shores of the Adriatic.]
103 (return) [ Procopius, Goth. l. i. c. 1. But he might have
informed us, whether he had received this curious anecdote from
common report or from the mouth of the royal physician.]
104 (return) [ Procopius, Goth. l. i. c. 1, 2, 12, 13. This
partition had been directed by Theodoric, though it was not
executed till after his death, Regni hereditatem superstes
reliquit, (Isidor. Chron. p. 721, edit. Grot.)]
105 (return) [ Berimund, the third in descent from Hermanric,
king of the Ostrogoths, had retired into Spain, where he lived
and died in obscurity, (Jornandes, c. 33, p. 202, edit.
Muratori.) See the discovery, nuptials, and death of his grandson
Eutharic, (c. 58, p. 220.) His Roman games might render him
popular, (Cassiodor. in Chron.,) but Eutharic was asper in
religione, (Anonym. Vales. p. 723.)]
106 (return) [ See the counsels of Theodoric, and the professions
of his successor, in Procopius, (Goth. l. i. c. 1, 2,) Jornandes,
(c. 59, p. 220, 221,) and Cassiodorus, (Var. viii. 1—7.) These
epistles are the triumph of his ministerial eloquence.]
107 (return) [ Anonym. Vales. p. 724. Agnellus de Vitis. Pont.
Raven. in Muratori Script. Rerum Ital. tom. ii. P. i. p. 67.
Alberti Descrittione d’ Italia, p. 311. * Note: The Mausoleum of
Theodoric, now Sante Maria della Rotonda, is engraved in
D’Agincourt, Histoire de l’Art, p xviii. of the Architectural
Prints.—M]
108 (return) [ This legend is related by Gregory I., (Dialog. iv.
36,) and approved by Baronius, (A.D. 526, No. 28;) and both the
pope and cardinal are grave doctors, sufficient to establish a
probable opinion.]
109 (return) [ Theodoric himself, or rather Cassiodorus, had
described in tragic strains the volcanos of Lipari (Cluver.
Sicilia, p. 406—410) and Vesuvius, (v 50.)]
Chapter XL: Reign Of Justinian.—Part I.
Elevation Of Justin The Elder.—Reign Of Justinian.—I. The Empress
Theodora.—II. Factions Of The Circus, And Sedition Of
Constantinople.—III. Trade And Manufacture Of Silk.—IV. Finances And
Taxes.—V. Edifices Of Justinian.—Church Of St. Sophia.—Fortifications
And Frontiers Of The Eastern Empire.—Abolition Of The Schools Of
Athens, And The Consulship Of Rome.
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