le jurisdiction into the three parts of the globe which
were subject to the Romans, from the cataracts of the Nile to the banks
of the Phasis, and from the mountains of Thrace to the frontiers of
Persia. 2. The important provinces of Pannonia, Dacia, Macedonia, and
Greece, once acknowledged the authority of the praefect of Illyricum. 3.
The power of the praefect of Italy was not confined to the country from
whence he derived his title; it extended over the additional territory
of Rhaetia as far as the banks of the Danube, over the dependent islands
of the Mediterranean, and over that part of the continent of Africa
which lies between the confines of Cyrene and those of Tingitania. 4.
The praefect of the Gauls comprehended under that plural denomination
the kindred provinces of Britain and Spain, and his authority was obeyed
from the wall of Antoninus to the foot of Mount Atlas. [99]

[Footnote 99: Zosimus, l. ii. p. 109, 110. If we had not fortunately
possessed this satisfactory account of the division of the power and
provinces of the Praetorian praefects, we should frequently have been
perplexed amidst the copious details of the Code, and the circumstantial
minuteness of the Notitia.]

After the Praetorian praefects had been dismissed from all military
command, the civil functions which they were ordained to exercise over
so many subject nations, were adequate to the ambition and abilities of
the most consummate ministers. To their wisdom was committed the supreme
administration of justice and of the finances, the two objects which,
in a state of peace, comprehend almost all the respective duties of the
sovereign and of the people; of the former, to protect the citizens
who are obedient to the laws; of the latter, to contribute the share
of their property which is required for the expenses of the state. The
coin, the highways, the posts, the granaries, the manufactures, whatever
could interest the public prosperity, was moderated by the authority
of the Praetorian praefects. As the immediate representatives of the
Imperial majesty, they were empowered to explain, to enforce, and on
some occasions to modify, the general edicts by their discretionary
proclamations. They watched over the conduct of the provincial
governors, removed the negligent, and inflicted punishments on the
guilty. From all the inferior jurisdictions, an appeal in every matter
of importance, either civil or criminal, might be brought before the
tri