95
that the approach of the fatal period was an- chapno u need by the tears and terrors of the citizens,who were often compelled by the impendingscourge to embrace the most abhorred and un-natural methods of procuring the sum at whichtheir property had been assessed. The testi-mony of Zosimus cannot indeed be justifiedfrom the charge of passion and prejudice; but,from the nature of this tribute, it seems reason-able to conclude, that it was arbitrary in thedistribution, and extremely rigorous in the modeof collecting. The secret wealth of commerce,and the precarious profits of art or labour, aresusceptible only of a discretionary valuation,which is seldom disadvantageous to the interestof the treasury; and as the person of the tradersupplies the want of a visible and permanentsecurity, the payment of the imposition, whichin the case of a land-tax may be obtained bythe seizure of property, can rarely be extortedby any other means than those of corporal pu-nishments. The cruel treatment of the insol-vent debtors of the state is attested, and wasperhaps mitigated, by a very humane edict ofConstantine, who, disclaiming the use of racksand of scourges, allots a spacious and airy pri-son for the place of their confinement/
These general taxes were imposed and levied Free gifts,by the absolute authority of the monarch; butthe occasional offerings of the coronary gold stillretained the name and semblance of popular con-
* Cod. Theod. 1. xi, tit. vii, leg. 3.