506 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 
It is not hard to conceive how Zosimos may have been misled into 
the statement upon which the historical error, which I have tried to 
expose, rests. In the middle of the fifth century—assuming the 
earliest date at which Zosimos can be placed--the system of four pre- 
fectures was a definitely established fact of the administration. It 
was in the time of Constantine that four prefects first held office 
simultaneously under the same Augustus. It was thoroughly in the 
spirit of Zosimos, or any ancient historian, to attribute an institution, 
which attained its final form by a series of gradual changes, and was 
naturally established by a succession of historical events, to an artificial 
enactment. 
We must not forget, moreover, that Zosimos attributes a definite 
design to Constantine in the enactment which he ascribes to him—-the 
design, namely, of diminishing the power and dignity of the prefects. 
A constitution of Constantine remains which shows that the tendency 
of Constantine was to increase, not to diminish, their power. In331, 
a law was addressed ad universos provinciales, by which it was enacted 
that there was no appeal to the Emperor from the judicial sentence of 
the praetorian prefect—a praefectis autem praetorio provocart non sini- 
mus (Cod. Theod. xr., 80, 16; Cod. Just. vir., 62, 19).1 As an indi- 
cation of the great power which the praetorian prefect possessed, and 
his exalted position as head of the civil, financial, and judicial ad- 
ministration of a large portion of the empire, it is interesting to 
mention that Eusebios, in an exposition of the nature of the Godhead 
(in his ‘ Panegyrikos’), illustrates the relation of God the Son to 
God the Father by the relation of the praetorian prefect (vzapxos) to 
the Emperor. 
1 This, however, does not imply that appeals from the sentences of officials of 
inferior rank (comites proconsules, &c.) must necessarily be made to a praetorian 
prefect ; on the contrary, such appeals might be addressed to the Emperor. 
[Prarrortan Prerects, Erc. 
