at the truce lately made, though not free from trouble, and
not of long duration, still gave him opportunity to remedy some things
which were faulty, he began to remodel the arrangements about tribute.

2. And when Florentius, the prefect of the praetorium, having taken an
estimate of everything, affirmed that whatever deficiency there might be
in the produce of a capitation tax he should be able to make good from
what he could levy by force, Julian, deprecating this practice,
determined to lose his own life rather than permit it.

3. For he knew that the wounds inflicted by such extortions, or, as I
should rather call them, confiscations, are incurable, and have often
reduced provinces to extreme destitution. Indeed, such conduct, as will
be related hereafter, utterly lost us Illyricum.

4. And when, owing to this resolution of his, the praetorian prefect
exclaimed that it could not be endured that he, to whom the emperor had
intrusted the chief authority in this matter, should be thus distrusted,
Julian attempted to appease him, showing by exact and accurate
calculations that the capitation tax was not only enough, but more than
enough to provide all the necessary supplies.

5. And when some time afterwards an edict for a supplementary tax was
nevertheless presented to him by Florentius, he refused to sign or even
to read it; and threw it on the ground; and when warned by letters from
the emperor (written on receiving the prefect's report) not to act in so
embarrassing a manner, lest he should seem to be diminishing the
authority of Florentius, Julian wrote in answer, that it was a matter to
be thankful for, if a province that had been devastated in every
direction could still pay its regular taxes, without demanding from it
any extraordinary contributions, which indeed no punishments could
extort from men in a state of destitution: and then, and from that time
forward, owing to the firmness of one man, no one ever attempted to
extort anything illegal in Gaul beyond the regular taxes.

6. The Caesar had also in another affair set an example wholly
unprecedented, entreating the prefect to intrust to him the government
of the second Belgic province, which was oppressed by manifold evils; on
the especial and single condition that no officer, either belonging to
the prefect or to the garrison, should force any one to pay anything.
And the whole people whom he thus took under his care, comforted and
relieved by this mi