How's this for career advancement....

"She [Theodora] was...the daughter of a bear trainer, grew up in the
odor of a circus, became an actor and a prostitute, shocked and delighted
Constantinople with her lewd pantomines, practiced abortion with repeated
success, but gave birth to an illegitimate child; became the mistress of
Hecebolus, a Syrian, was deserted by him, and was lost sight of for a time
in Alexandria... Justinian [Emperor and son of Justin, emperor of the
Eastern Roman Empire] fell in love with her, made her his mistress, then
his wife, then his queen [of the Eastern Roman Empire circa 530 AD]."

"He [Justinian] had invested her uxoriously [meaning 'irrationally
fond of'] with a sovereignty theoretically equal to his own, and could not
complain if she exercised her power. She took an active part in diplomacy
and in ecclesiastical politics, made and unmade Popes and patriachs, and
deposed her enemies. Sometimes she countermanded her husband's orders,
often to the advantage of the state; her intelligence was almost
commensurate with her power. Procopius charges her with cruelty to her
opponents, with dungeon imprisonments and a few murders; men who seriously
offended her were likely to disappear without trace.... But, she knew
mercy too. She protected for two years, by hiding him in her own
appartments, the Patriach Anthemius, who had been exiled by Justinian
for heresy. Perhaps she was too lenient with with the adulteries of
Belisarius'wife [another name associated with lots of unusual historical
noteworthyness]; but to balance this she built a pretty 'Convent of
Repentance; for reformed prostitutes. Some of the girls repented of their
repentance, and threw themselves from the windows, literally bored to
death." [from page 107]

on funding an army....

"Justinian was favored with competant generals, and harassed by limited
means. His people were unwilling to fight his wars, and unable to pay for
them. He soon used up the 320,000 pounds of gold that Justin's
predecessors had left in the treasury... Universal military service had
ceased a century before; now the imperial army was composed almost wholly
of barbarian mercenaries from a hundred tribes and states. They lived by
plunder, and dreamed of riches and rape; time and again they mutinied in
the crisis of battle, or lost a victory by stopping to gather spoils."
[from page 108]

ref: vol 4 of Will Durant's "Story of Civilization: The Age of Faith"
[325 - 1300 AD]

Straydog wrote:

> on funding an army....
>
> "Justinian was favored with competant generals, and harassed by limited
> means. His people were unwilling to fight his wars, and unable to pay for
> them. He soon used up the 320,000 pounds of gold that Justin's
> predecessors had left in the treasury... Universal military service had
> ceased a century before; now the imperial army was composed almost wholly
> of barbarian mercenaries from a hundred tribes and states. They lived by
> plunder, and dreamed of riches and rape; time and again they mutinied in
> the crisis of battle, or lost a victory by stopping to gather spoils."

It does not lok like it is about the career advancement; it looks like
it is about the future of the USA...