Bessas had long ago given
proof of valour, and enjoyed repute as a general, but since his
holding command in Rome, his vices, chief of which was avarice,
showed much more prominently than the virtues which had advanced
him; he used the Imperial authority chiefly to enrich himself, in
this respect, it is true, merely acting in harmony with the
Emperor's representative at Ravenna, and with: the other Greek
generals scattered about Italy, but exhibiting in his methods a
shrewdness and an inhumanity not easily rivalled. Behind his chair
stood several subordinates, and on a stool before him sat a noble
recently arrived as envoy from Byzantium.
Having been previously instructed as to his behaviour in this
redoubtable presence, Basil followed the example of Marcian in
approaching with bent head to within a distance of three paces, then
dropping to his knees, and bowing so as almost to touch the ground
with his forehead. He heard a gruff voice command him to rise.
'So this is the heir of the Senator Maximus,' said Bessas, much as
he might have spoken of viewing a horse that interested him.
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