The Emperor accepted the money, and immediately published a decree which ordained that affairs relating to the Church should not be restricted to the ordinary prescription, but that anything might be recovered, if claimed within a hundred years:  which regulation was to be observed not only in Emesa, but throughout the whole of the Roman Empire.  In order to see that the new rule was put into execution, he sent Longinus to Emesa, a man of great vigour and bodily strength, who was afterwards made praefect of Byzantium.  Those who had the management of the affairs of the church of Emesa, acting upon the forged documents, sued some of the citizens for two centenars of gold, which they were condemned to pay, being unable to raise any objection, by reason of the length of time elapsed and their ignorance of the facts.  All the inhabitants, and especially the principal citizens, were in great distress and highly incensed against their accusers.  When ruin already threatened the majority of the citizens, Providence came to their assistance in a most unexpected manner.  Longinus ordered Priscus, the contriver of this detestable invention, to bring him all the acknowledgments; and, when he showed himself unwilling to do so, he dealt him a violent blow in the face.  Priscus, unable to resist the blow dealt by a man of such bodily strength, fell backwards upon the ground, trembling and affrighted.  Believing that Longinus had discovered the whole affair, he confessed; and, the whole trick being thus brought to light, the suits were stopped.

Justinian, not content with subverting the laws of the Roman Empire every day, exerted himself in like manner to do away with those of the Jews; for, if Easter came sooner in their calendar than in that of the Christians, he did not allow them to celebrate the Passover on their own proper day or to make their offerings to God, or to perform any of their usual solemnities.  The magistrates even inflicted heavy fines upon several of them, upon information that they had eaten the paschal lamb during that time, as if it were an infraction of the laws of the state.  Although I could mention countless acts of this nature committed by Justinian, I will not do so, for I must draw my narrative to a close.  What I have said will be sufficient to indicate the character of the man.

CHAPTER XXIX

I will, however, mention two instances of his falsehood and hypocrisy.

After having deprived Liberius (of whom I have spoken above) of his office, he put in his place John, an Egyptian by birth, surnamed Laxarion.  When Pelagius, who was a particular friend of Liberius, heard of this, he inquired of Justinian whether what he had heard was true.  The Emperor immediately denied it, and protested that he had done nothing of the kind.  He then gave Pelagius a letter in which Liberius was ordered to hold fast to his government and by no means to give it up, and added that he had