(having the avarice of the soldiery on this hand to satisfy upon
the people, and the Senate and the people on the other to be
defended from the soldiery), seldom died any other death than by
one horn of this dilemma, as is noted more at large by Machiavel.

But the Pretorian bands, those bestial executioners of their
captain's tyranny upon others, and of their own upon him, having
continued from the time of Augustus, were by Constantine the
Great (incensed against them for taking part with his adversary
Maxentius) removed from their strong garrison which they held in
Rome, and distributed into divers provinces. The benefices of the
soldiers that were hitherto held for life and upon duty, were by
this prince made hereditary, so that the whole foundation
whereupon this empire was first built being now removed, shows
plainly that the emperors must long before this have found out
some other way of support; and this was by stipendiating the
Goths, a people that, deriving their roots from the northern
parts of Germany, or out of Sweden, had, through their victories
obtained against Domitian, long since spread their branches to so
near a neighborhood with the Roman territories that they began to
overshadow them. For the emperors making use of them in their
armies, as the French do at this day of the Switz, gave them that
under the notion of a stipend, which they received as tribute,
coming, if there were any default in the payment, so often to
distrain for it, that in the time of Honorius they sacked Rome,
and possessed themselves of Italy. And such was the transition of
ancient into modern prudence, or that breach, which being
followed in every part of the Roman Empire with inundations of
Vandals, Huns, Lombards, Franks, Saxons, overwhelmed ancient
languages, learning, prudence, manners, cities, changing the