Nor were they satisfied with the presentation of a mere sufficiency to their places of meditation (we had better call them that). The imperial wealth was divided into three parts: one to pay for their pleasures, another to glorify their new-fangled buildings, and a third to enable these who were naturally lazy and made no contribution to the balancing of the nation’s budget, to live in luxury and bring dishonour on the practice and name of virtue, while the military were being stinted and treated harshly.
Roman Empire’s contemptible state
The present emperor, of course, had been commander-in chief of the army. He was already aware, for many reasons, of the cause of the Roman Empire’s contemptible state. He knew why it was that our neighbors prospered while all our affairs had declined, and why not one Roman had been able to put a stop to the attacks and robberies carried out by barbarians. When he had the additional prestige conferred by the title of ‘Emperor’, Isaac at once rooted up the cause of our troubles. So far his actions were worthy of his exalted position, but I am by no means disposed to commend his efforts to do everything at once. However, let me describe what he did.
60. In the first place, once he had taken the government on his own shoulders — from the moment of his coronation indeed — and once he had, by his coronation, legalized his position as emperor, his policy was radically opposed to that of the aged Michael. Donations which Michael had given, Isaac took away; wherever Michael had done something of note, Isaac destroyed it. Then, becoming gradually more bold, he went too far in his reforms, and here too he wiped out and rescinded much of Michael’s work.
Quite a number of his measures he completely annulled. The consequence was that the people came to hate him, and no small section of the army agreed with them — all those soldiers, in fact, who found themselves deprived of their wealth by their new ruler. Having gone so far, instead of relaxing his programme somewhat, he went further, like the grammarian who in analysis starts with the complex and then proceeds to the simple. He classed under one heading the acts of his predecessors, thus attacking all and bringing all into discredit at once.
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