. The historians' history of the world; a comprehensive narrative of the rise and development of nations as recorded by over two thousand of the great writers of all ages:. ation preferred the elements to the seasons, and thestruggle of the green and blue was supposed to represent the conflict of theearth and sea. Their respective victories announced either a plentiful har-vest or a prosperous navigation, and the hostility of the husbandmen andmariners was somewhat less absurd than the blind ardour of the Romanpeople, who devoted their lives and fortunes to the colour which they hadespoused. S
. The historians' history of the world; a comprehensive narrative of the rise and development of nations as recorded by over two thousand of the great writers of all ages:. ation preferred the elements to the seasons, and thestruggle of the green and blue was supposed to represent the conflict of theearth and sea. Their respective victories announced either a plentiful har-vest or a prosperous navigation, and the hostility of the husbandmen andmariners was somewhat less absurd than the blind ardour of the Romanpeople, who devoted their lives and fortunes to the colour which they hadespoused. Such folly was disdained and indulged by the wisest princes;but the names of Caligula, Nero, Vitellius, Verus, Commodus, Caracalla,and Elagabalus were enrolled in the blue or green factions of the circus;they frequented their stables, applauded their favourites, chastised theirantagonists, and deserved the esteem of the populace by the natural oraffected imitation of their manners. The bloody and tumultuous contestcontinued to disturb the public festivity, till the last age of the spectacles ofHome; and Theodoric, from a motive of justice or affection, interposed his. Coats of Mail, very early Period 70 THE HISTORY OF THE EASTERN EMPIRE authority to protect the greens against the violence of a consul and a patri-cian, who were passionately addicted to the blue faction of the circus. Constantinople adopted the follies, though not the virtues, of ancientRome; and the same factions which had agitated the circus raged withredoubled fury in the hippodrome. Under the reign of Auastasius, this pop-ular frenzy was inflamed by religious zeal; and the greens, who had treach-erously concealed stones and daggers under baskets of fruit, massacred,at a solemn festival, three thousand of their blue adversaries. From thecapital this pestilence was diffused into the provinces and cities of the East,and the sportive distinction of two colours produced two strong and irrecon-cilable factions, whic
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