I must now relate how he robbed Byzantium and other cities of their ornaments.

In the first place he resolved to humiliate the lawyers.

He deprived them of all the fees, which, after they had finished their case, were considerable, and enriched them and increased their distinction.

He ordered that litigants should come to an agreement upon oath, which brought the lawyers into contempt and insignificance.
After he had seized the estates of the Senators and other families reputed wealthy, in Byzantium and throughout the Empire, the profession had little to do, for the citizens no longer possessed property worth disputing about.

Thus, of the numerous and famous orators who once composed this order there remained only a few, who were everywhere despised and lived in the greatest poverty, finding that their profession brought them nothing but insult.