A middle-sized, stout man, of great breadth of chest, and thickness of
limb, a large hand, and a small foot, curly haired, bushy eye-browed,
with remarkably large eyes and eyelids, hook-nosed, thin-lipped;
brilliant, cheerful, impassioned, full of health and strength in mind and
body. He goes to chapel before day-light, sits till eight doing justice,
while the crowd, let into a latticed enclosure, is admitted one by one
behind a curtain into the presence. At eight he leaves the throne, and
goes either to count his money, or look at his horses. If he hunts, he
thinks it undignified to carry his bow, and womanish to keep it strung, a
boy carries it behind him; and when game gets up, he asks you (or the
Bishop, who seems to have gone hunting with him) what you would wish him
to aim at; strings his bow, and then (says Sidonius) never misses his
shot. He dines at noon, quietly in general, magnificently on Saturdays;
drinks very little, and instead of sleeping after dinner, plays at tables
and dice. He is passionately fond of his game, but never loses his
temper, joking and talking to the dice, and to every one round him,
throwing aside royal severity, and bidding all be merry (says the
bishop); for, to speak my mind, what he is afraid of is, that people
should be afraid of him. If he wins he is in immense good humour; then
is the time to ask favours of him; and, says the crafty bishop, many a
time have I lost the game, and won my cause thereby. At three begins
again the toil of state. The knockers return, and those who shove them
away return too; everywhere the litigious crowd murmurs round; and
follows him at evening, when he goes to supper, or gets its matters
settled by the officers of the court, who have to stay there till bed-
time. At supper, though there are but rarely 'mimici sales,' which I
cannot translate--some sort of jesting: but biting and cruel insults
(common at the feasts of the Roman Emperors) are never allowed. His
taste in music is severe. No water-organs, flute-player, lyrist, cymbal
or harp-playing woman is allowed. All he delights in is the old Teutonic
music, whose virtue (says the bishop) soothes the soul no less than does
its sound the ear. When he rises from table the guards for the night are
set, and armed men stand at all the doors, to watch him through the first
hours of sleep.
LECTURE IV.--THE GOTHIC CIVILIZER
Let us follow the fortunes of Italy and of Rome. They are not only a
type of the fortunes of the whole western world, but the fortunes of that
world, as you will see, depend on Rome.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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