[153] They were aware of the attention which he paid to every thing, and of the very exceeding care which he took that the [22] national laws and customs prevailing in each nation should be confirmed and preserved, being equally anxious for the preservation of the rights of foreign nations in this respect, as for those of the Romans; and that he received his honours, not for the destruction of the laws existing in any people, filling himself with pride and arrogance, but in a spirit of proper conformity with the magnitude of so vast an empire, which is dignified and honoured by such marks of respect being paid to the emperor.