XVII. CHA P. of Phoenicia; which flourished above 'three centuries from the time of Alexander Severus, the author perhaps of an inftitution fo advantageous to his native country. After a regular courfe of education, which lafted five years, the students difperfed themselves through the provinces, in fearch of fortune and honours; nor could they want an inexhaustible supply of bufinefs in a great empire, already corrupted by the multiplicity of laws, of arts, and of vices. The court of the Prætorian præfect of the east could alone furnish employment for one hundred and fifty advocates, fixty-four of whom were diftinguished by peculiar privileges, and two were annually chofen with a falary of fixty pounds of gold, to defend the causes of the treafury. The first experiment was made of their judicial talents, by appointing them to act occafionally as affeffors to the magistrates; from thence they were often raised to prefide in the tribunals before which they had pleaded. They obtained the government of a province; and, by the aid of merit, of reputation, or of favour, they afcended, by fucceffive fteps, to theilluftrious dignities of the ftate 2. In the practice 121 of puted to have lafted from the third to the middle of the fixth cen tury. Heinecc. Jur. Rom. Hift. p. 351–356. 121 As in a former period I have traced the civil and military promotion of Pertinax, I shall here infert the civil honours of Mallius Theodorus. 1. He was diftinguished by his eloquence, while he pleaded as an advocate in the court of the Prætorian præfect. 2. He governed one of the provinces of Africa, either as prefident or consular, and deserved, by his administration, the honour of a Wars ftatue. 5. He was appointed vicar, or vice-præfect of Macedonia, 4. Quæftor. 5. Count of the facred largeffes. 6. Prætorian præfect of 7 of the bar, thefe men had confidered reafon as c HA P. of the Gauls; whilf he might yet be reprefented as a young man. 122 Mamertinus in Panegyr. Vet. xi. 20. Aufterius apud Pho- E 4 thren. CHAP. thren. Others, reclufe in their chambers, main- The mili tary offi. cers. ing a rich client with fubtleties to confound the III. In the fyftem of policy introduced by Au, 123 The curious paffage of Ammianus (1. xxx. c. 4.), in which 124 See a very fplendid example in the Life of Agricola, particu- fame powers which Cicero, proconful of Cilicia, had exercised in the name of the fenate and people. 1 revenue, XVII. revenue, the authority of law, and the command CHA P. of a military force, concurred to render their power fupreme and abfolute; and whenever they were tempted to violate their allegiance, the loyal province which they involved in their rebellion, was scarcely fenfible of any change in its political state. From the time of Commodus to the reign of Conftantine, near one hundred governors might be enumerated, who, with various fuccefs, erected the standard of revolt; and though the innocent were too often facrificed, the guilty might be fometimes prevented, by the fufpicious cruelty of their mafter 125. To fecure his throne and the public tranquillity from these formidable fervants, Conftantine resolved to divide the military from the civil administration; and to eftablish, as a permanent and profeffional distinction,. a practice which had been adopted only as an occafional expedient. The fupreme jurifdiction exercifed by the Prætorian præfects over the armies of the empire, was transferred to the two masters general whom he instituted, the one for the cavalry, the other for the infantry; and though each of thefe illuftrious officers was more peculiarly refponfible for the difcipline of thofe troops which were under his immediate inspection, they both indifferently commanded in the field the feveral bodies, whether of horse or foot, which were united in the 125 The Abbé Dubos, who has examined with accuracy (fee Hift. de la Monarchie Françoise, tom. i. p. 41—100. edit. 1742.) the inftitutions of Auguftus and of Conftantine, obferves, that if Otho had been put to death the day before he executed his confpiracy, Otho would now appear in history as innocent as Corbulo. fame XVII. by the divifion of the caft and weft; and as feparate generals of the fame rank and title were appointed on the four important frontiers of the Rhine, of the Upper and the Lower Danube, and of the Euphrates, the defence of the Roman empire was at length committed to eight masters general of the cavalry and infantry. Under their orders, thirty-five military commanders were ftationed in the provinces: three in Britain, fix in Gaul, one in Spain, one in Italy, five on the Upper, and four on the Lower Danube; in Afia eight, three in Egypt, and four in Africa. The titles of counts, and dukes "27, by wihch they were properly diftinguifhed, have obtained in modern languages fo very different a fenfe, that the use of them may occafion fome furprise. But it fhould be recollected, that the fecond of thofe appellations is only a corruption of the Latin word, which was indifcriminately applied to any military chief. All these provincial generals were therefore dukes; but no more than ten among them were dignified with the rank of counts or companions, a title of honour, or rather of favour, which had been recently invented in the . 126 Zofimus, l. ii. P. 110. Before the end of the reign of Conftantius, the magistri militum were already increased to four. See Valefius ad Ammian. 1. xvi. c. 7. 137 Though the military counts and dukes are frequently mentioned, both in hiftory and the codes, we must have recourfe to the Notitia for the exact knowledge of their number and stations. For the inftitution, rank, privileges, &c. of the counts in general, fee Cod. Theod. 1. vi. tit. xii-xx. with the Commentary of Godefroy. court |