H. Stieglitz

From the palace walls, Diocletian watched his garden in Salonae, where what he cultivated with his own hands gave him more satisfaction than when he ruled his huge empire. When Maximinus’ ambassador begged Diocletian to become emperor for a second time, he answered, “If you could show the cabbage I planted with my own hands to your emperor, he definitely wouldn’t dare suggest I replace the peace and happiness of this place with the storms of a never-satisfied greed.”

Essay, 1845