Rom these facts it has been inferred that the edict was to apply to the
East only, or perhaps more probably that Diocletian drew it up for his
part of the Roman world, and that before it could be applied to the West
it was repealed. From the pieces which were then known, a very
satisfactory reconstruction of the document was made by Mommsen and
published in the _Corpus of Latin Inscriptions_.[88] The work of
restoration was like putting together the parts of a picture puzzle
where some of the pieces are lacking. Fragments are still coming to
light, and possibly we may have the complete text some day. As it is,
the introduction is complete, and perhaps four-fifths of the list of
articles with prices attached are extant. The introduction opens with a
stately list of the titles of the two Augusti and the two Caesars, which
fixes the date of the proclamation as 301 A.D. Then follows a long
recital of the circumstances which have led the government to adopt this
drastic method of controlling prices. This introduction is one of the
most extraordinary pieces of bombast, mixed metaphors, loose syntax, and
incoherent expressions that Latin literature possesses. One is tempted
to infer from its style that it was the product of Diocletian's own pen.
He was a man of humble origin, and would not live in Rome for fear of
being laughed at on account of his plebeian training. The florid and
awkward style of these introductory pages is exactly what we should
expect from a man of such antecedents. It is very difficult to translate
them into intelligible English, but some conception of their style and
contents may be had from one or two extracts. In explaining the
situation which confronts the world, the Emperor writes: "For, if the
