Guess who hates the government?

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

He considered his new life among the [Country 1] better than his old life among the [Country 2], and the reasons he gave were as follows: "After war the [Country 1] live in inactivity, enjoying what they have got, and not at all, or very little, harassed. The [Country 2], on the other hand, are in the first place very liable to perish in war, as they have to rest their hopes of safety on others, and are not allowed, on account of their tyrants to use arms. And those who use them are injured by the cowardice of their generals, who cannot support the conduct of war. But the condition of the subjects in time of peace is far more grievous than the evils of war, for the exaction of the taxes is very severe, and unprincipled men inflict injuries on others, because the laws are practically not valid against all classes. A transgressor who belongs to the wealthy classes is not punished for his injustice, while a poor man, who does not understand business, undergoes the legal penalty, that is if he does not depart this life before the trial, so long is the course of lawsuits protracted, and so much money is expended on them. The climax of the misery is to have to pay in order to obtain justice. For no one will give a court to the injured man unless he pay a sum of money to the judge and the judge's clerks."

Names of the two countries mentioned have been redacted, for fun. Anybody want to guess who they are, without using Google? This features in a historical account, not a work of fiction, by someone who witnessed the larger event in which these remarks took place.
Amazing how little complaints about the government have changed over the years. Will post the link to the original document later today. 

[vaskidmark]

Germania/Teutons (country 1) v. Late Roman Empire (country 2)?

I remember reading the whole thing but get the source document confused with The Rise and Decline.

Besides being known for my accumulation of useless information, what did I win, and how soon can I post it on eBay?

stay safe.

skidmark

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Very close. Scythians, not Teutons, though. The account was written by Priscus re: Atilla the Hun. Short but interesting story.
You win 500 Carbon Credits.
http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/jod/texts/priscus.html

[vaskidmark]

Persians v. Germanic antecedent is what, swarthy v. blond/blue-eyed psychopathy?  They'll both lie, cheat and claim to be winning right up to the very end.

And only 500 lousy carbon credits?  Oh, well, I'll take them.  They might cover the energy needed to get my  .

stay safe.

skidmark