In this state of disgrace
and agony two bishops, Isaiah of Rhodes and Alexander of Diospolis, were
dragged through the streets of Constantinople, while their brethren were
admonished by the voice of a crier to observe this awful lesson, and not
to pollute the sanctity of their character. Perhaps these prelates were
innocent. A sentence of death and infamy was often founded on the slight
and suspicious evidence of a child or a servant; the guilt of the green
faction, of the rich, and of the enemies of Theodora was presumed by the
judges, and pederasty became the crime of those to whom no crime could
be imputed. A French philosopher[38] has dared to remark that whatever
is secret must be doubtful, and that our natural horror of vice may be
abused as an engine of tyranny. But the favorable persuasion of the same
writer, that a legislator may confide in the taste and reason of
mankind, is impeached by the unwelcome discovery of the antiquity and
extent of the disease.
V. The free citizens of Athens and Rome enjoyed in all criminal cases
the invaluable privilege of being tried by their country.
Pages:
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367