Problems Concerning First Principles

The treasury was thoroughly exhausted, and since other public institutions of the towns, from which money might have been collected, were suppressed, it was also decided to completely extinguish the Platonic school at Athens, and to assign its very ample revenues at that time to the treasury.

From that point, a huge decline and ruin of all learning began to loom original: "4". Why would it not; since the masters of the arts, who were devoted to the ancient religions, were not only deprived of honors and rewards, but did not even enjoy security of life original: "5".

4) On that sedition, see the Alexandrian Chronicle, p. 776; Procopius, On the Persian War, I, 24; and Theophanes in the notes of N. Alemannus to Procopius, Secret History, p. 62, ed. Lyons. On the revenues of the Platonic school, see Damascius in Photius, Codex 242, p. 1058. Procopius briefly touches upon the ruinous vexations of Justinian against the state, which he often used to obtain money for the treasury, in the Anecdota, pp. 113–114, and elsewhere. Zonaras, Annals, bk. 14, ch. 6, Vol. II, p. 50, ed. Venice; p. 63, ed. Paris, among the Byzantine writers: "Needful of infinite wealth, Justinian cut off the salaries that had been established long ago in each of the cities to be given to the teachers of the liberal arts and sciences, by means of the prefect's mortgages; and so, with the schools in the cities becoming idle, the rustic manners of those in them took hold." Cf. the same, bk. 16, ch. 4, pp. 125–126, ed. Venice; p. 160, Paris: "Bardas accomplished nothing good, except to place great care upon the liberal arts; for the matters of philosophy had been neglected and extinguished almost completely; this had been caused by the irrationality of those who held power. But he also assigned seminars for each of the sciences and placed teachers in charge and awarded public salaries to each of them; and over all, he installed a great and common teacher, the philosopher Leo, etc."

5) John of Antioch Malalas, Vol. II, p. 184: "In that same time, a great persecution of the Hellenes pagans/non-Christians occurred, and many were confiscated, among whom died Macedonius, Asclepiodotus, Phocas the son of Craterus, and Thomas the Quaestor; — and from this, much fear arose. The same emperor decreed that those who held to Hellenic customs should not hold civil office, and those who were of other sects should disappear from the Roman state, having been given a term of three months to become communicants of the orthodox faith. Which divine edict was displayed in all the external cities." — The same, in the same place, p. 187: "In the consulship of the same Decius, the same emperor Justinian sent a decree, commanding that no one should teach philosophy in Athens, nor interpret laws, nor should a Kottos a specific pagan gambling or divination game/ritual take place in any of the cities; since some of the Kottistai practitioners of this ritual were found in Byzantium and had wrapped themselves in terrible blasphemies, they were beheaded and paraded about on camels." Decius was Consul in the year of Christ 529. Alexandrian Chronicle, p. 774, ed. Rader. The school of Platonic philosophers at Athens seems to have been restricted and pressed in various ways already before it was fundamentally overturned, that is, its revenues were gathered into the fisc.