HL 1.25

English

At this period the emperor Justinian was governing the Roman empire with good fortune. He was both prosperous in waging wars and admirable in civil matters. For by Belisarius, the patrician, he vigorously subdued the Persians and by this same Belisarius he reduced to utter destruction the nation of the Wandals, captured their king Gclismer and restored all Africa to the Roman empire after ninety-six years. Again by the power of Belisarius he overcame the nation of the Goths in Italy and took captive Witichis their king. He subdued also the Moors who afterwards infested Africa together with their king Amtalas, by John the ex-consul, a man of wonderful courage. In like manner too, he subjugated other nations by right of war. For this reason, on account of his victories over them all, he deserved to have his surnames and to be called Alarnannicus, Gothicus, Francicus, Germanicus, Anticus, Alanicus, Wandalicus, and Africanus. He aiso arranged in wonderful brevity the laws of the Romans whose prolixity was very great and whose lack of harmony was injurious. For all the laws of the emperors which were certainly contained in many volumes he abridged into twelve books, and he ordered this volume called the Justinian Code. On the other hand, the laws of special magistrates or judges which were spread over almost two thousand books, he reduced to the number of fifty and called that work by the name of "Digests" or "Panclects." He also composed anew four books of "Institutes" in which the texture of all laws is briefly described; he also ordered that the new laws which he himself had ordained, when reduced to one volume, should be called in the same way the "New Code" (Novels). The same emperor also built within the city of Constantinople to Christ our Lord, who is the wisdom of God the Father, a church which he called by the Greek name" Hagia Sophia," that is," Divine Wisdom.'' The workmanship of this so far excels that of all other buildings that in all the regions of the earth its like cannot be found. This emperor in fact was Catholic in his faith, upright in his deeds, just in his judgments, and therefore, to him all things came together for good. In his time Cassiodorus was renowned in the city of Rome' for knowledge both human and divine. Among other things which he nobly wrote, he expounded particularly in a most powerful way the obscure parts of the Psalms. He was in the first place a consul, then a senator, and at last a monk. At this time also Dionisius, an abbott established in the city of Rome, computed a reckoning of Easter time by a wonderful argumentation. Then also, at Constantinople, Priscian of Cresarea explored the depths of the grammatical art, as I might say, and then also, Arator, a subdeacon of the Roman church, a wonderful poet, wrote the acts of the apostles in hexameter verses. 

Latin

25. Hac tempestate Iustinianus augustus Romanum imperium felici sorte regebat. Qui et bella prospere gessit et in causis civilibus mirificus extitit. Nam per Belisarium patricium Persas fortiter devicit, perque ipsum Belisarium Wandalorum gentem, capto eorum rege Gelismero, usque ad internitionem delevit Africanque totam post annos nonaginta et sex Romano imperio restituit. Rursumque Belisarii viribus Gothorum in Italia gentem, capto Witichis eorum rege, superavit. Mauros quoque post haec Africam infestantes corumque regem Amtalan per Iohannem exconsule mirabili virtute protrivit. Pari etiam modo et alias gentes belli iure conpressit. Quam ob causam propter horum omnium victorias, ut Alamannicus, Gothicus, Francicus, Germanicus, Anticus, Alanicus, Wandalicus Africanusque diceretur, habere agnomina meruit. Logos quoque Romanorum, quarum prolixitas nimia erat et inutilis dissonantia, mirabili brevitate correxit. Nam omnes constitutiones principum, quae utique multis in voluminibus habebantar, intra duodecim libros coartavit eodemque volumen codicem Iustinianum appellari praccepit. Rursumque singulorum magiatrataum sive indicum leges, quae usque ad duo milia pene libros erant extensae, intra quinquaginta librorum numerun redegit, eumque codicem digestorum sive pandectarum vocabulo nuncupavit. Quattuor etiam institutionum libros, in quibus breviter universarum legum textus conprehenditur, noviter conposuit. Novas quoque leges, quas ipse statuerat, in unum volumen redactas, eodem codicem novellam nuncupari sancivit. Extruxit quoque idem princeps intra urbem Constantinopolim Christo domino, qui est sapientiam Dei patris, templum, quod Graeco vocabulo Agian Sophian, id est sanctam sapientiam, nominavit. Cuius opus adeo cuncta aedificia excellit, ut in totis terrarum spatiis huic simile non possit inveniri. Erat enim hic princeps fide catholicus, in operibus rectus, in iudiciis iustas; ideoque ei omnia concurrebant in bonum. Huius temporibus Cassiodorus aput urbem Romam tam seculari quam divina scientia claruit. Qui inter cetera quae nobilitar scripsit psalmorum praecipue occulta potentissime reseravit. Hic primitus consul, deinde senator, ad postremum vero monachus exstitit. Hoc etiam tempore Dionisius abba in urbe Roma constitutus pascale calculum miranda argumentatione conposuit. Tunc quoque aput Constantinopolim Priscianus Caesariensis gramaticae artis, ut ita dixerim, profunda rimatus est. Tuncque nihilominus Arator, Romanae ecclesiae subdiaconus, poeta mirabilis, apostolorum actus versibus exametris exaravit.