of Constantinople, which, it ' Orat. xiv. Comp. Ullmanu's monograph on Gregory, p. 6. ' Adv. avarit. and De gubern. Dei, passim. Comp. § 12, at the close. ' De gubern. Dei, 1. iv. c. 12, p. 82. § 24. BYZANTINE COURT CHRISTIANITY. 129 is true, never violated moral decency so grossly as tlie court of a Kero or a Doniitian, but in vain pomp and prodigality far outdid the courts of the better heathen emperors, and de- generated into complete oriental despotism. The household of Constantius, according to the description of Libanius,' em- braced no less than a thousand barbers, a thousand cup bor- ers, a thousand cooks, and so many eunuchs, that they could be compared only to the insects of a summer day. This bound- less luxury was for a time suppressed by the pagan Julian, who delighted in stoical and cynical severity, and was fond of displaying it ; but under his Christian successors the same prodigality returned ; especially under Theodosius and his sons. These emperors, who prohibited idolatry upon pain of death, called their laws, edicts, and palaces "divine," bore themselves as gods upon earth, and, on the rare occasions when they showed themselves to the people, unfurled an incredible magnificence and empty splendor. " When Arcadius," to borrow a graphic description from a modern historian, "condescended to reveal to the public the majesty of the sovereign, he was preceded by a vast multitude of attendants, dukes, tribunes, civil and military officers, their horses glittering with golden ornaments, with shields of gold set with precious stones, and golden lances. They proclaimed the coming of the emperor, and commanded the ignoble crowd to clear the streets before him. The emperor stood or reclined on a gorgeous chariot, surrounded by his immediate attendants, distinguished by shields with golden bosses set round with golden eyes, and drawn by white mules with gilded trappings ; the chariot was set with precious stones, and golden fans vi- brated with the movement, and cooled the air. The multitude contemplated at a distance the snow-white cushions, the silken carpets, with dragons inwoven upon them in rich colors. Those who were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the emperor, beheld his ears loaded with golden rings, his arms with golden chains, his diadem set with gems of all hues, his purple robes, wliich, with the diadem, were reserved for the emperor, in all ^ Lib., Epitaph. Julian. TOL. 11. — 9 130 THIRD PERIOD. A.D, 311-590. tlieir sutures embroidered with precious stones. Tlie wonder- ing people, on their return to their homes, could talk of noth- ing but the splendor of the spectacle : the robes, the mules, the carpets, the size and splendor of the jewels. On his return to the palace, the emperor walked on gold ; ships were em- ployed with the express purpose of bringing gold dust from remote provinces, which was strewn by the officious care of a host of attendants, so that the emperor rarely