es to
the prince all the calamities of his times may be countenanced by the
historian as a serious truth or a salutary prejudice. Yet a candid
suspicion will arise, that the sentiments of Justin were pure and
benevolent, and that he might have filled his station without reproach,
if the faculties of his mind had not been impaired by disease, which
deprived the emperor of the use of his feet, and confined him to the
palace, a stranger to the complaints of the people and the vices of the
government. The tardy knowledge of his own impotence determined him
to lay down the weight of the diadem; and, in the choice of a worthy
substitute, he showed some symptoms of a discerning and even magnanimous
spirit. The only son of Justin and Sophia died in his infancy; their
daughter Arabia was the wife of Baduarius, [24] superintendent of the
palace, and afterwards commander of the Italian armies, who vainly
aspired to confirm the rights of marriage by those of adoption. While
the empire appeared an object of desire, Justin was accustomed to behold
with jealousy and hatred his brothers and cousins, the rivals of his
hopes; nor could he depend on the gratitude of those who would accept
the purple as a restitution, rather than a gift. Of these competitors,
one had been removed by exile, and afterwards by death; and the emperor
himself had inflicted such cruel insults on another, that he must either
dread his resentment or despise his patience. This domestic animosity
was refined into a generous resolution of seeking a successor, not
in his family, but in the republic; and the artful Sophia recommended
Tiberius, [25] his faithful captain of the guards, whose virtues and
fortune the emperor might cherish as the fruit of his judicious choice.
The ceremony of his elevation to the rank of Caesar, or Augustus, was
performed in the portico of the palace, in the presence of the patriarch
and the senate. Justin collected the remaining strength of his mind and
body; but the popular belief that his speech was inspired by the Deity
betrays a very humble opinion both of the man and of the times. [26]
"You behold," said the emperor, "the ensigns of supreme power. You are
about to receive them, not from my hand, but from the hand of God. Honor
them, and from them you will derive honor. Respect the empress your
mother: you are now her son; before, you were her servant. Delight not
in blood; abstain from revenge; avoid those actions by which I have
incur