305. DIOCLETIAN, the Roman emperor, abdicated the throne in the presence
of the soldiery and a multitude of people, at Nicomedia, in the 21st
year of his reign. When afterwards solicited by a friend to resume the
purple, he calmly replied, that if he could show the _cabbages_ which he
had planted at Salona with his own hands, he should no longer be urged
to relinquish the enjoyment of happiness for the pursuit of power.