procopius with an english translation by h. b. dewing in seven volumes i history of the wars, books i and ii london william heinemann ltd cambridge, massachusetts harvard university press mcmlxxi first printed contents history of the wars-- page introduction vii bibliography xv book i.--the persian war book ii.--the persian war (_continued_) introduction procopius is known to posterity as the historian of the eventful reign of justinian ( - a.d.), and the chronicler of the great deeds of the general belisarius. he was born late in the fifth century in the city of caesarea in palestine. as to his education and early years we are not informed, but we know that he studied to fit himself for the legal profession. he came as a young man to constantinople, and seems to have made his mark immediately. for as early as the year he was appointed legal adviser and private secretary[ ] to belisarius, then a very young man who had been serving on the staff of the general justinian, and had only recently been advanced to the office of general. shortly after this justinian was called by his uncle justinus to share the throne of the roman empire, and four months later justinus died, leaving justinian sole emperor of the romans. thus the stage was set for the scenes which are presented in the pages of procopius. his own activity continued till well nigh the end of justinian's life, and he seems to have outlived his hero, belisarius. during the eventful years of belisarius' campaigning in africa, in italy, and in the east, procopius was moving about with him and was an eye-witness of the events he describes in his writings. in we find him in mesopotamia; in he accompanied belisarius to africa; and in he journeyed with him to italy. he was therefore quite correct in the assertion which he makes rather modestly in the introduction of his history, that he was better qualified than anyone else to write the history of that period. besides his intimacy with belisarius it should be added that his position gave him the further advantage of a certain standing at the imperial court in constantinople, and brought him the acquaintance of many of the leading men of his day. thus we have the testimony of one intimately associated with the administration, and this, together with the importance of the events through which he lived, makes his record exceedingly interesting as well as historically important. one must admit that his position was not one to encourage impartiality in his presentation of facts, and that the imperial favour was not won by plain speaking; nevertheless we have before us a man who could not obliterate himself enough to play the abject flatterer always, and he gives us the reverse, too, of his brilliant picture, as we shall see presently. procopius' three works give us a fairly complete account of the reign of justinian up till near the year a.d., and he has done us the favour of setting forth three different points of view which vary so widely that posterity has sometimes found it difficult to reconcile them. his greatest work, as well as his earliest, is the _history of the wars_, in eight books. the material is not arranged strictly according to chronological sequence, but so that the progress of events may be traced separately in each one of three wars. thus the first two books are given over to the persian wars, the next two contain the account of the war waged against the vandals in africa, the three following describe the struggle against the goths in italy. these seven books were published together first, and the eighth book was added later as a supplement to bring the history up to about the date of , being a general account of events in different parts of the empire. it is necessary to bear in mind that the wars described separately by procopius overlapped one another in time, and that while the romans were striving to hold back the persian aggressor they were also maintaining armies in africa and in italy. in fact the byzantine empire was making a supreme effort to re-establish the old boundaries, and to reclaim the territories lost to the barbarian nations. the emperor justinian was fired by the ambition to make the roman empire once more a world power, and he drained every resource in his eagerness to make possible the fulfilment of this dream. it was a splendid effort, but it was doomed to failure; the fallen edifice could not be permanently restored. the history is more general than the title would imply, and all the important events of the time are touched upon. so while we read much of the campaigns against the nations who were crowding back the boundaries of the old empire, we also hear of civic affairs such as the great nika insurrection in byzantium in ; similarly a careful account is given of the pestilence of , and the care shewn in describing the nature of the disease shews plainly that the author must have had some acquaintance with the medical science of the time. after the seventh book of the _history of the wars_ procopius wrote the _anecdota_, or _secret history_. here he freed himself from all the restraints of respect or fear, and set down without scruple everything which he had been led to suppress or gloss over in the _history_ through motives of policy. he attacks unmercifully the emperor and empress and even belisarius and his wife antonina, and displays to us one of the blackest pictures ever set down in writing. it is a record of wanton crime and shameless debauchery, of intrigue and scandal both in public and in private life. it is plain that the thing is overdone, and the very extravagance of the calumny makes it impossible to be believed; again and again we meet statements which, if not absolutely impossible, are at least highly improbable. many of the events of the _history_ are presented in an entirely new light; we seem to hear one speaking out of the bitterness of his heart. it should be said, at the same time, that there are very few contradictions in statements of fact. the author has plainly singled out the empress theodora as the principal victim of his venomous darts, and he gives an account of her early years which is both shocking and disgusting, but which, happily, we are not forced to regard as true. it goes without saying that such a work as this could not have been published during the lifetime of the author, and it appears that it was not given to the world until after the death of justinian in . serious doubts have been entertained in times past as to the authenticity of the _anecdota_, for at first sight it seems impossible that the man who wrote in the calm tone of the _history_ and who indulged in the fulsome praise of the panegyric _on the buildings_ could have also written the bitter libels of the _anecdota_. it has come to be seen, however, that this feeling is not supported by any unanswerable arguments, and it is now believed to be highly probable at least, that the _anecdota_ is the work of procopius. its bitterness may be extreme and its calumnies exaggerated beyond all reason, but it must be regarded as prompted by a reaction against the hollow life of the byzantine court. the third work is entitled _on the buildings_, and is plainly an attempt to gain favour with the emperor. we can only guess as to what the immediate occasion was for its composition. it is plain, however, that the publication of the _history_ could not have aroused the enthusiasm of justinian; there was no attempt in it to praise the emperor, and one might even read an unfavourable judgment between the lines. and it is not at all unlikely that he was moved to envy by the praises bestowed upon his general, belisarius. at any rate the work _on the buildings_ is written in the empty style of the fawning flatterer. it is divided into six short books and contains an account of all the public buildings of justinian's reign in every district of the empire. the subject was well chosen and the material ample, and procopius lost no opportunity of lauding his sovereign to the skies. it is an excellent example of the florid panegyric style which was, unfortunately, in great favour with the literary world of his own as well as later byzantine times. but in spite of its faults, this work is a record of the greatest importance for the study of the period, since it is a storehouse of information concerning the internal administration of the empire. the style of procopius is in general clear and straightforward, and shews the mind of one who endeavours to speak the truth in simple language wherever he is not under constraint to avoid it. at the same time he is not ignorant of the arts of rhetoric, and especially in the speeches he is fond of introducing sounding phrases and sententious statements. he was a great admirer of the classical writers of prose, and their influence is everywhere apparent in his writing; in particular he is much indebted to the historians herodotus and thucydides, and he borrows from them many expressions and turns of phrase. but the greek which he writes is not the pure attic, and we find many evidences of the influence of the contemporary spoken language. procopius writes at times as a christian, and at times as one imbued with the ideas of the ancient religion of greece. doubtless his study of the classical writers led him into this, perhaps unconsciously. at any rate it seems not to have been with him a matter in which even consistency was demanded. it was politic to espouse the religion of the state, but still he often allows himself to speak as if he were a contemporary of thucydides. the text followed is that of haury, issued in the teubner series, - . bibliography the _editio princeps_ of procopius was published by david hoeschel, augsburg, ; the _secret history_ was not included, and only summaries of the six books of the work _on the buildings_ were given. the edition is not important except as being the first. the _secret history_ was printed for the first time separately with a latin translation by alemannus, lyon, . the first complete edition was that of maltretus, paris, - , reprinted in venice, ; the edition included a latin translation of all the works, which was taken over into the edition of procopius in the _corpus scriptorum historiae byzantinae_ by dindorf, bonn, - . two editions of recent years are to be mentioned: domenico comparetti, _la guerra gotica di procopio di cesarea_; testo greco emendato sui manoscritti con traduxione italiana, rome, - ; vols. jacobus haury, _procopii caesariensis opera omnia_, leipzig, - ; vols. (bibl. teub.). among a number of works on procopius or on special subjects connected with his writings the following may be mentioned: felix dahn: _procopius von cäsarea_, berlin, . julius jung: _geographisch-historisches bei procopius von caesarea_, wiener studien ( ) - . w. gundlach: _quaestiones procopianae_, progr. hanau, , also dissert. marburg, . j. haury: _procopiana_, progr. augsburg, . b. pancenko: _ueber die geheimgeschichte des prokop_, viz. vrem. ( ). j. haury: _zur beurteilung des geschichtschreibers procopius von caesarea_, munich, - . . the teubner edition in volumes by j. haury ( - ) has been re-edited by g. wirth. footnote: [ ] [greek: xymboulos], _proc. bell._ i. xii. . he is elsewhere referred to as [greek: paredros] or [greek: hypographeus]. procopius of caesarea history of the wars: book i the persian war procopius of caesarea history of the wars: book i the persian war i procopius of caesarea has written the history of the wars which justinian, emperor of the romans, waged against the barbarians of the east and of the west, relating separately the events of each one, to the end that the long course of time may not overwhelm deeds of singular importance through lack of a record, and thus abandon them to oblivion and utterly obliterate them. the memory of these events he deemed would be a great thing and most helpful to men of the present time, and to future generations as well, in case time should ever again place men under a similar stress. for men who purpose to enter upon a war or are preparing themselves for any kind of struggle may derive some benefit from a narrative of a similar situation in history, inasmuch as this discloses the final result attained by men of an earlier day in a struggle of the same sort, and foreshadows, at least for those who are most prudent in planning, what outcome present events will probably have. furthermore he had assurance that he was especially competent to write the history of these events, if for no other reason, because it fell to his lot, when appointed adviser to the general belisarius, to be an eye-witness of practically all the events to be described. it was his conviction that while cleverness is appropriate to rhetoric, and inventiveness to poetry, truth alone is appropriate to history. in accordance with this principle he has not concealed the failures of even his most intimate acquaintances, but has written down with complete accuracy everything which befell those concerned, whether it happened to be done well or ill by them. it will be evident that no more important or mightier deeds are to be found in history than those which have been enacted in these wars,--provided one wishes to base his judgment on the truth. for in them more remarkable feats have been performed than in any other wars with which we are acquainted; unless, indeed, any reader of this narrative should give the place of honour to antiquity, and consider contemporary achievements unworthy to be counted remarkable. there are those, for example, who call the soldiers of the present day "bowmen," while to those of the most ancient times they wish to attribute such lofty terms as "hand-to-hand fighters," "shield-men," and other names of that sort; and they think that the valour of those times has by no means survived to the present,--an opinion which is at once careless and wholly remote from actual experience of these matters. for the thought has never occurred to them that, as regards the homeric bowmen who had the misfortune to be ridiculed by this term[ ] derived from their art, they were neither carried by horse nor protected by spear or shield[ ]. in fact there was no protection at all for their bodies; they entered battle on foot, and were compelled to conceal themselves, either singling out the shield of some comrade[ ], or seeking safety behind a tombstone on a mound[ ], from which position they could neither save themselves in case of rout, nor fall upon a flying foe. least of all could they participate in a decisive struggle in the open, but they always seemed to be stealing something which belonged to the men who were engaged in the struggle. and apart from this they were so indifferent in their practice of archery that they drew the bowstring only to the breast[ ], so that the missile sent forth was naturally impotent and harmless to those whom it hit[ ]. such, it is evident, was the archery of the past. but the bowmen of the present time go into battle wearing corselets and fitted out with greaves which extend up to the knee. from the right side hang their arrows, from the other the sword. and there are some who have a spear also attached to them and, at the shoulders, a sort of small shield without a grip, such as to cover the region of the face and neck. they are expert horsemen, and are able without difficulty to direct their bows to either side while riding at full speed, and to shoot an opponent whether in pursuit or in flight. they draw the bowstring along by the forehead about opposite the right ear, thereby charging the arrow with such an impetus as to kill whoever stands in the way, shield and corselet alike having no power to check its force. still there are those who take into consideration none of these things, who reverence and worship the ancient times, and give no credit to modern improvements. but no such consideration will prevent the conclusion that most great and notable deeds have been performed in these wars. and the history of them will begin at some distance back, telling of the fortunes in war of the romans and the medes, their reverses and their successes. ii [ a.d.] when the roman emperor arcadius was at the point of death in byzantium, having a malechild, theodosius, who was still unweaned, he felt grave fears not only for him but for the government as well, not knowing how he should provide wisely for both. for he perceived that, if he provided a partner in government for theodosius, he would in fact be destroying his own son by bringing forward against him a foe clothed in the regal power; while if he set him alone over the empire, many would try to mount the throne, taking advantage, as they might be expected to do, of the helplessness of the child. these men would rise against the government, and, after destroying theodosius, would make themselves tyrants without difficulty, since the boy had no kinsman in byzantium to be his guardian. for arcadius had no hope that the boy's uncle, honorius, would succour him, inasmuch as the situation in italy was already troublesome. and he was equally disturbed by the attitude of the medes, fearing lest these barbarians should trample down the youthful emperor and do the romans irreparable harm. when arcadius was confronted with this difficult situation, though he had not shewn himself sagacious in other matters, he devised a plan which was destined to preserve without trouble both his child and his throne, either as a result of conversation with certain of the learned men, such as are usually found in numbers among the advisers of a sovereign, or from some divine inspiration which came to him. for in drawing up the writings of his will, he designated the child as his successor to the throne, but appointed as guardian over him isdigerdes, the persian king, enjoining upon him earnestly in his will to preserve the empire for theodosius by all his power and foresight. so arcadius died, having thus arranged his private affairs as well as those of the empire. but isdigerdes, the persian king, when he saw this writing which was duly delivered to him, being even before a sovereign whose nobility of character had won for him the greatest renown, did then display a virtue at once amazing and remarkable. for, loyally observing the behests of arcadius, he adopted and continued without interruption a policy of profound peace with the romans, and thus preserved the empire for theodosius. indeed, he straightway dispatched a letter to the roman senate, not declining the office of guardian of the emperor theodosius, and threatening war against any who should attempt to enter into a conspiracy against him. [ a.d.] when theodosius had grown to manhood and was in the prime of life, and isdigerdes had been taken from the world by disease, vararanes, the persian king, invaded the roman domains with a mighty army; however he did no damage, but returned to his home without accomplishing anything. this came about in the following way. anatolius, general of the east, had, as it happened, been sent by the emperor theodosius as ambassador to the persians, alone and unaccompanied; as he approached the median army, solitary as he was, he leapt down from his horse, and advanced on foot toward vararanes. and when vararanes saw him, he enquired from those who were near who this man could be who was coming forward. and they replied that he was the general of the romans. thereupon the king was so dumbfounded by this excessive degree of respect that he himself wheeled his horse about and rode away, and the whole persian host followed him. when he had reached his own territory, he received the envoy with great cordiality, and granted the treaty of peace on the terms which anatolius desired of him; one condition, however, he added, that neither party should construct any new fortification in his own territory in the neighbourhood of the boundary line between the two countries. when this treaty had been executed, both sovereigns then continued to administer the affairs of their respective countries as seemed best to them. iii at a later time the persian king perozes became involved in a war concerning boundaries with the nation of the ephthalitae huns, who are called white huns, gathered an imposing army, and marched against them. the ephthalitae are of the stock of the huns in fact as well as in name; however they do not mingle with any of the huns known to us, for they occupy a land neither adjoining nor even very near to them; but their territory lies immediately to the north of persia; indeed their city, called gorgo, is located over against the persian frontier, and is consequently the centre of frequent contests concerning boundary lines between the two peoples. for they are not nomads like the other hunnic peoples, but for a long period have been established in a goodly land. as a result of this they have never made any incursion into the roman territory except in company with the median army. they are the only ones among the huns who have white bodies and countenances which are not ugly. it is also true that their manner of living is unlike that of their kinsmen, nor do they live a savage life as they do; but they are ruled by one king, and since they possess a lawful constitution, they observe right and justice in their dealings both with one another and with their neighbours, in no degree less than the romans and the persians. moreover, the wealthy citizens are in the habit of attaching to themselves friends to the number of twenty or more, as the case may be, and these become permanently their banquet-companions, and have a share in all their property, enjoying some kind of a common right in this matter. then, when the man who has gathered such a company together comes to die, it is the custom that all these men be borne alive into the tomb with him. perozes, marching against these ephthalitae, was accompanied by an ambassador, eusebius by name, who, as it happened, had been sent to his court by the emperor zeno. now the ephthalitae made it appear to their enemy that they had turned to flight because they were wholly terrified by their attack, and they retired with all speed to a place which was shut in on every side by precipitous mountains, and abundantly screened by a close forest of wide-spreading trees. now as one advanced between the mountains to a great distance, a broad way appeared in the valley, extending apparently to an indefinite distance, but at the end it had no outlet at all, but terminated in the very midst of the circle of mountains. so perozes, with no thought at all of treachery, and forgetting that he was marching in a hostile country, continued the pursuit without the least caution. a small body of the huns were in flight before him, while the greater part of their force, by concealing themselves in the rough country, got in the rear of the hostile army; but as yet they desired not to be seen by them, in order that they might advance well into the trap and get as far as possible in among the mountains, and thus be no longer able to turn back. when the medes began to realize all this (for they now began to have a glimmering of their peril), though they refrained from speaking of the situation themselves through fear of perozes, yet they earnestly entreated eusebius to urge upon the king, who was completely ignorant of his own plight, that he should take counsel rather than make an untimely display of daring, and consider well whether there was any way of safety open to them. so he went before perozes, but by no means revealed the calamity which was upon them; instead he began with a fable, telling how a lion once happened upon a goat bound down and bleating on a mound of no very great height, and how the lion, bent upon making a feast of the goat, rushed forward with intent to seize him, but fell into a trench exceedingly deep, in which was a circular path, narrow and endless (for it had no outlet anywhere), which indeed the owners of the goat had constructed for this very purpose, and they had placed the goat above it to be a bait for the lion. when perozes heard this, a fear came over him lest perchance the medes had brought harm upon themselves by their pursuit of the enemy. he therefore advanced no further, but, remaining where he was, began to consider the situation. by this time the huns were following him without any concealment, and were guarding the entrance of the place in order that their enemy might no longer be able to withdraw to the rear. then at last the persians saw clearly in what straits they were, and they felt that the situation was desperate; for they had no hope that they would ever escape from the peril. then the king of the ephthalitae sent some of his followers to perozes; he upbraided him at length for his senseless foolhardiness, by which he had wantonly destroyed both himself and the persian people, but he announced that even so the huns would grant them deliverance, if perozes should consent to prostrate himself before him as having proved himself master, and, taking the oaths traditional among the persians, should give pledges that they would never again take the field against the nation of the ephthalitae. when perozes heard this, he held a consultation with the magi who were present and enquired of them whether he must comply with the terms dictated by the enemy. the magi replied that, as to the oath, he should settle the matter according to his own pleasure; as for the rest, however, he should circumvent his enemy by craft. and they reminded him that it was the custom among the persians to prostrate themselves before the rising sun each day; he should, therefore, watch the time closely and meet the leader of the ephthalitae at dawn, and then, turning toward the rising sun, make his obeisance. in this way, they explained, he would be able in the future to escape the ignominy of the deed. perozes accordingly gave the pledges concerning the peace, and prostrated himself before his foe exactly as the magi had suggested, and so, with the whole median army intact, gladly retired homeward. iv not long after this, disregarding the oath he had sworn, he was eager to avenge himself upon the huns for the insult done him. he therefore straightway gathered together from the whole land all the persians and their allies, and led them against the ephthalitae; of all his sons he left behind him only one, cabades by name, who, as it happened, was just past the age of boyhood; all the others, about thirty in number, he took with him. the ephthalitae, upon learning of his invasion, were aggrieved at the deception they had suffered at the hands of their enemy, and bitterly reproached their king as having abandoned them to the medes. he, with a laugh, enquired of them what in the world of theirs he had abandoned, whether their land or their arms or any other part of their possessions. they thereupon retorted that he had abandoned nothing, except, forsooth, the one opportunity on which, as it turned out, everything else depended. now the ephthalitae with all zeal demanded that they should go out to meet the invaders, but the king sought to restrain them at any rate for the moment. for he insisted that as yet they had received no definite information as to the invasion, for the persians were still within their own boundaries. so, remaining where he was, he busied himself as follows. in the plain where the persians were to make their irruption into the land of the ephthalitae he marked off a tract of very great extent and made a deep trench of sufficient width; but in the centre he left a small portion of ground intact, enough to serve as a way for ten horses. over the trench he placed reeds, and upon the reeds he scattered earth, thereby concealing the true surface. he then directed the forces of the huns that, when the time came to retire inside the trench, they should draw themselves together into a narrow column and pass rather slowly across this neck of land, taking care that they should not fall into the ditch[ ]. and he hung from the top of the royal banner the salt over which perozes had once sworn the oath which he had disregarded in taking the field against the huns. now as long as he heard that the enemy were in their own territory, he remained at rest; but when he learned from his scouts that they had reached the city of gorgo which lies on the extreme persian frontier, and that departing thence they were now advancing against his army, remaining himself with the greater part of his troops inside the trench, he sent forward a small detachment with instructions to allow themselves to be seen at a distance by the enemy in the plain, and, when once they had been seen, to flee at full speed to the rear, keeping in mind his command concerning the trench as soon as they drew near to it. they did as directed, and, as they approached the trench, they drew themselves into a narrow column, and all passed over and joined the rest of the army. but the persians, having no means of perceiving the stratagem, gave chase at full speed across a very level plain, possessed as they were by a spirit of fury against the enemy, and fell into the trench, every man of them, not alone the first but also those who followed in the rear. for since they entered into the pursuit with great fury, as i have said, they failed to notice the catastrophe which had befallen their leaders, but fell in on top of them with their horses and lances, so that, as was natural, they both destroyed them, and were themselves no less involved in ruin. among them were perozes and all his sons. and just as he was about to fall into this pit, they say that he realized the danger, and seized and threw from him the pearl which hung from his right ear,--a gem of wonderful whiteness and greatly prized on account of its extraordinary size--in order, no doubt, that no one might wear it after him; for it was a thing exceedingly beautiful to look upon, such as no king before him had possessed. this story, however, seems to me untrustworthy, because a man who found himself in such peril would have thought of nothing else; but i suppose that his ear was crushed in this disaster, and the pearl disappeared somewhere or other. this pearl the roman emperor then made every effort to buy from the ephthalitae, but was utterly unsuccessful. for the barbarians were not able to find it although they sought it with great labour. however, they say that the ephthalitae found it later and sold it to cabades. the story of this pearl, as told by the persians, is worth recounting, for perhaps to some it may not seem altogether incredible. for they say that it was lodged in its oyster in the sea which washes the persian coast, and that the oyster was swimming not far from the shore; both its valves were standing open and the pearl lay between them, a wonderful sight and notable, for no pearl in all history could be compared with it at all, either in size or in beauty. a shark, then, of enormous size and dreadful fierceness, fell in love with this sight and followed close upon it, leaving it neither day nor night; even when he was compelled to take thought for food, he would only look about for something eatable where he was, and when he found some bit, he would snatch it up and eat it hurriedly; then overtaking the oyster immediately, he would sate himself again with the sight he loved. at length a fisherman, they say, noticed what was passing, but in terror of the monster he recoiled from the danger; however, he reported the whole matter to the king, perozes. now when perozes heard his account, they say that a great longing for the pearl came over him, and he urged on this fisherman with many flatteries and hopes of reward. unable to resist the importunities of the monarch, he is said to have addressed perozes as follows: "my master, precious to a man is money, more precious still is his life, but most prized of all are his children; and being naturally constrained by his love for them a man might perhaps dare anything. now i intend to make trial of the monster, and hope to make thee master of the pearl. and if i succeed in this struggle, it is plain that henceforth i shall be ranked among those who are counted blessed. for it is not unlikely that thou, as king of kings, wilt reward me with all good things; and for me it will be sufficient, even if it so fall out that i gain no reward, to have shewn myself a benefactor of my master. but if it must needs be that i become the prey of this monster, thy task indeed it will be, o king, to requite my children for their father's death. thus even after my death i shall still be a wage-earner among those closest to me, and thou wilt win greater fame for thy goodness,--for in helping my children thou wilt confer a boon upon me, who shall have no power to thank thee for the benefit--because generosity is seen to be without alloy only when it is displayed towards the dead." with these words he departed. and when he came to the place where the oyster was accustomed to swim and the shark to follow, he seated himself there upon a rock, watching for an opportunity of catching the pearl alone without its admirer. as soon as it came about that the shark had happened upon something which would serve him for food, and was delaying over it, the fisherman left upon the beach those who were following him for this service, and made straight for the oyster with all his might; already he had seized it and was hastening with all speed to get out of the water, when the shark noticed him and rushed to the rescue. the fisherman saw him coming, and, when he was about to be overtaken not far from the beach, he hurled his booty with all his force upon the land, and was himself soon afterwards seized and destroyed. but the men who had been left upon the beach picked up the pearl, and, conveying it to the king, reported all that had happened. such, then, is the story which the persians relate, just as i have set it down, concerning this pearl. but i shall return to the previous narrative. [ a.d.] thus perozes was destroyed and the whole persian army with him. for the few who by chance did not fall into the ditch found themselves at the mercy of the enemy. as a result of this experience a law was established among the persians that, while marching in hostile territory, they should never engage in any pursuit, even if it should happen that the enemy had been driven back by force. thereupon those who had not marched with perozes and had remained in their own land chose as their king cabades, the youngest son of perozes, who was then the only one surviving. at that time, then, the persians became subject and tributary to the ephthalitae, until cabades had established his power most securely and no longer deemed it necessary to pay the annual tribute to them. and the time these barbarians ruled over the persians was two years. v but as time went on cabades became more high-handed in the administration of the government, and introduced innovations into the constitution, among which was a law which he promulgated providing that persians should have communal intercourse with their women, a measure which by no means pleased the common people. [ a.d.] accordingly they rose against him, removed him from the throne, and kept him in prison in chains. they then chose blases, the brother of perozes, to be their king, since, as has been said, no male offspring of perozes was left, and it is not lawful among the persians for any man by birth a common citizen to be set upon the throne, except in case the royal family be totally extinct. blases, upon receiving the royal power, gathered together the nobles of the persians and held a conference concerning cabades; for it was not the wish of the majority to put the man to death. after the expression of many opinions on both sides there came forward a certain man of repute among the persians, whose name was gousanastades, and whose office that of "chanaranges" (which would be the persian term for general); his official province lay on the very frontier of the persian territory in a district which adjoins the land of the ephthalitae. holding up his knife, the kind with which the persians were accustomed to trim their nails, of about the length of a man's finger, but not one-third as wide as a finger, he said: "you see this knife, how extremely small it is; nevertheless it is able at the present time to accomplish a deed, which, be assured, my dear persians, a little later two myriads of mail-clad men could not bring to pass." this he said hinting that, if they did not put cabades to death, he would straightway make trouble for the persians. but they were altogether unwilling to put to death a man of the royal blood, and decided to confine him in a castle which it is their habit to call the "prison of oblivion." for if anyone is cast into it, the law permits no mention of him to be made thereafter, but death is the penalty for the man who speaks his name; for this reason it has received this title among the persians. on one occasion, however, the history of the armenians relates that the operation of the law regarding the prison of oblivion was suspended by the persians in the following way. there was once a truceless war, lasting two and thirty years, between the persians and the armenians, when pacurius was king of the persians, and of the armenians, arsaces, of the line of the arsacidae. and by the long continuance of this war it came about that both sides suffered beyond measure, and especially the armenians. but each nation was possessed by such great distrust of the other that neither of them could make overtures of peace to their opponents. in the meantime it happened that the persians became engaged in a war with certain other barbarians who lived not far from the armenians. accordingly the armenians, in their eagerness to make a display to the persians of their goodwill and desire for peace, decided to invade the land of these barbarians, first revealing their plan to the persians. then they fell upon them unexpectedly and killed almost the whole population, old and young alike. thereupon pacurius, who was overjoyed at the deed, sent certain of his trusted friends to arsaces, and giving him pledges of security, invited him to his presence. and when arsaces came to him he shewed him every kindness, and treated him as a brother on an equal footing with himself. then he bound him by the most solemn oaths, and he himself swore likewise, that in very truth the persians and armenians should thenceforth be friends and allies to each other; thereafter he straightway dismissed arsaces to return to his own country. not long after this certain persons slandered arsaces, saying that he was purposing to undertake some seditious enterprise. pacurius was persuaded by these men and again summoned him, intimating that he was anxious to confer with him on general matters. and he, without any hesitation at all, came to the king, taking with him several of the most warlike among the armenians, and among them bassicius, who was at once his general and counsellor; for he was both brave and sagacious to a remarkable degree. straightway, then, pacurius heaped reproach and abuse upon both arsaces and bassicius, because, disregarding the sworn compact, they had so speedily turned their thoughts toward secession. they, however, denied the charge, and swore most insistently that no such thing had been considered by them. at first, therefore, pacurius kept them under guard in disgrace, but after a time he enquired of the magi what should be done with them. now the magi deemed it by no means just to condemn men who denied their guilt and had not been explicitly found guilty, but they suggested to him an artifice by which arsaces himself might be compelled to become openly his own accuser. they bade him cover the floor of the royal tent with earth, one half from the land of persia, and the other half from armenia. this the king did as directed. then the magi, after putting the whole tent under a spell by means of some magic rites, bade the king take his walk there in company with arsaces, reproaching him meanwhile with having violated the sworn agreement. they said, further, that they too must be present at the conversation, for in this way there would be witnesses of all that was said. accordingly pacurius straightway summoned arsaces, and began to walk to and fro with him in the tent in the presence of the magi; he enquired of the man why he had disregarded his sworn promises, and was setting about to harass the persians and armenians once more with grievous troubles. now as long as the conversation took place on the ground which was covered with the earth from the land of persia, arsaces continued to make denial, and, pledging himself with the most fearful oaths, insisted that he was a faithful subject of pacurius. but when, in the midst of his speaking, he came to the centre of the tent where they stepped upon armenian earth, then, compelled by some unknown power, he suddenly changed the tone of his words to one of defiance, and from then on ceased not to threaten pacurius and the persians, announcing that he would have vengeance upon them for this insolence as soon as he should become his own master. these words of youthful folly he continued to utter as they walked all the way, until turning back, he came again to the earth from the persian land. thereupon, as if chanting a recantation, he was once more a suppliant, offering pitiable explanations to pacurius. but when he came again to the armenian earth, he returned to his threats. in this way he changed many times to one side and the other, and concealed none of his secrets. then at length the magi passed judgment against him as having violated the treaty and the oaths. pacurius flayed bassicius, and, making a bag of his skin, filled it with chaff and suspended it from a lofty tree. as for arsaces, since pacurius could by no means bring himself to kill a man of the royal blood, he confined him in the prison of oblivion. after a time, when the persians were marching against a barbarian nation, they were accompanied by an armenian who had been especially intimate with arsaces and had followed him when he went into the persian land. this man proved himself a capable warrior in this campaign, as pacurius observed, and was the chief cause of the persian victory. for this reason pacurius begged him to make any request he wished, assuring him that he would be refused nothing by him. the armenian asked for nothing else than that he might for one day pay homage to arsaces in the way he might desire. now it annoyed the king exceedingly, that he should be compelled to set aside a law so ancient; however, in order to be wholly true to his word, he permitted that the request be granted. when the man found himself by the king's order in the prison of oblivion, he greeted arsaces, and both men, embracing each other, joined their voices in a sweet lament, and, bewailing the hard fate that was upon them, were able only with difficulty to release each other from the embrace. then, when they had sated themselves with weeping and ceased from tears, the armenian bathed arsaces, and completely adorned his person, neglecting nothing, and, putting on him the royal robe, caused him to recline on a bed of rushes. then arsaces entertained those present with a royal banquet just as was formerly his custom. during this feast many speeches were made over the cups which greatly pleased arsaces, and many incidents occurred which delighted his heart. the drinking was prolonged until nightfall, all feeling the keenest delight in their mutual intercourse; at length they parted from each other with great reluctance, and separated thoroughly imbued with happiness. then they tell how arsaces said that after spending the sweetest day of his life, and enjoying the company of the man he had missed most of all, he would no longer willingly endure the miseries of life; and with these words, they say, he dispatched himself with a knife which, as it happened, he had purposely stolen at the banquet, and thus departed from among men. such then is the story concerning this arsaces, related in the armenian history just as i have told it, and it was on that occasion that the law regarding the prison of oblivion was set aside. but i must return to the point from which i have strayed. vi while cabades was in the prison he was cared for by his wife, who went in to him constantly and carried him supplies of food. now the keeper of the prison began to make advances to her, for she was exceedingly beautiful to look upon. and when cabades learned this from his wife, he bade her give herself over to the man to treat as he wished. in this way the keeper of the prison came to be familiar with the woman, and he conceived for her an extraordinary love, and as a result permitted her to go in to her husband just as she wished, and to depart from there again without interference from anyone. now there was a persian notable, seoses by name, a devoted friend of cabades, who was constantly in the neighbourhood of this prison, watching his opportunity, in the hope that he might in some way be able to effect his deliverance. and he sent word to cabades through his wife that he was keeping horses and men in readiness not far from the prison, and he indicated to him a certain spot. then one day as night drew near cabades persuaded his wife to give him her own garment, and, dressing herself in his clothes, to sit instead of him in the prison where he usually sat. in this way, therefore, cabades made his escape from the prison. for although the guards who were on duty saw him, they supposed that it was the woman, and therefore decided not to hinder or otherwise annoy him. at daybreak they saw in the cell the woman in her husband's clothes, and were so completely deceived as to think that cabades was there, and this belief prevailed during several days, until cabades had advanced well on his way. as to the fate which befell the woman after the stratagem had come to light, and the manner in which they punished her, i am unable to speak with accuracy. for the persian accounts do not agree with each other, and for this reason i omit the narration of them. cabades, in company with seoses, completely escaped detection, and reached the ephthalitae huns; there the king gave him his daughter in marriage, and then, since cabades was now his son-in-law, he put under his command a very formidable army for a campaign against the persians. this army the persians were quite unwilling to encounter, and they made haste to flee in every direction. and when cabades reached the territory where gousanastades exercised his authority, he stated to some of his friends that he would appoint as chanaranges the first man of the persians who should on that day come into his presence and offer his services. but even as he said this, he repented his speech, for there came to his mind a law of the persians which ordains that offices among the persians shall not be conferred upon others than those to whom each particular honour belongs by right of birth. for he feared lest someone should come to him first who was not a kinsman of the present chanaranges, and that he would be compelled to set aside the law in order to keep his word. even as he was considering this matter, chance brought it about that, without dishonouring the law, he could still keep his word. for the first man who came to him happened to be adergoudounbades, a young man who was a relative of gousanastades and an especially capable warrior. he addressed cabades as "lord," and was the first to do obeisance to him as king, and besought him to use him as a slave for any service whatever. [ a.d.] so cabades made his way into the royal palace without any trouble, and, taking blases destitute of defenders, he put out his eyes, using the method of blinding commonly employed by the persians against malefactors, that is, either by heating olive oil and pouring it, while boiling fiercely, into the wide-open eyes, or by heating in the fire an iron needle, and with this pricking the eyeballs. thereafter blases was kept in confinement, having ruled over the persians two years. gousanastades was put to death and adergoudounbades was established in his place in the office of chanaranges, while seoses was immediately proclaimed "adrastadaran salanes,"--a title designating the one set in authority over all magistrates and over the whole army. seoses was the first and only man who held this office in persia; for it was conferred on no one before or after that time. and the kingdom was strengthened by cabades and guarded securely; for in shrewdness and activity he was surpassed by none. vii. a little later cabades was owing the king of the ephthalitae a sum of money which he was not able to pay him, and he therefore requested the roman emperor anastasius to lend him this money. whereupon anastasius conferred with some of his friends and enquired of them whether this should be done; and they would not permit him to make the loan. for, as they pointed out, it was inexpedient to make more secure by means of their money the friendship between their enemies and the ephthalitae; indeed it was better for the romans to disturb their relations as much as possible. it was for this reason, and for no just cause, that cabades decided to make an expedition against the romans. [ a.d.] first he invaded the land of the armenians, moving with such rapidity as to anticipate the news of his coming, and, after plundering the greater part of it in a rapid campaign, he unexpectedly arrived at the city of amida, which is situated in mesopotamia, and, although the season was winter, he invested the town. now the citizens of amida had no soldiers at hand, seeing that it was a time of peace and prosperity, and in other respects were utterly unprepared; nevertheless they were quite unwilling to yield to the enemy, and shewed an unexpected fortitude in holding out against dangers and hardships. now there was among the syrians a certain just man, jacobus by name, who had trained himself with exactitude in matters pertaining to religion. this man had confined himself many years before in a place called endielon, a day's journey from amida, in order that he might with more security devote himself to pious contemplation. the men of this place, assisting his purpose, had surrounded him with a kind of fencing, in which the stakes were not continuous, but set at intervals, so that those who approached could see and hold converse with him. and they had constructed for him a small roof over his head, sufficient to keep off the rain and snow. there this man had been sitting for a long time, never yielding either to heat or cold, and sustaining his life with certain seeds, which he was accustomed to eat, not indeed every day, but only at long intervals. now some of the ephthalitae who were overrunning the country thereabout saw this jacobus and with great eagerness drew their bows with intent to shoot at him. but the hands of every one of them became motionless and utterly unable to manage the bow. when this was noised about through the army and came to the ears of cabades, he desired to see the thing with his own eyes; and when he saw it, both he and the persians who were with him were seized with great astonishment, and he entreated jacobus to forgive the barbarians their crime. and he forgave them with a word, and the men were released from their distress. cabades then bade the man ask for whatever he wished, supposing that he would ask for a great sum of money, and he also added with youthful recklessness that he would be refused nothing by him. but he requested cabades to grant to him all the men who during that war should come to him as fugitives. this request cabades granted, and gave him a written pledge of his personal safety. and great numbers of men, as might be expected, came flocking to him from all sides and found safety there; for the deed became widely known. thus, then, did these things take place. cabades, in besieging amida, brought against every part of the defences the engines known as rams; but the townspeople constantly broke off the heads of the rams by means of timbers thrown across them[ ]. however, cabades did not slacken his efforts until he realized that the wall could not be successfully assailed in this way. for, though he battered the wall many times, he was quite unable to break down any portion of the defence, or even to shake it; so secure had been the work of the builders who had constructed it long before. failing in this, cabades raised an artificial hill to threaten the city, considerably overtopping the wall; but the besieged, starting from the inside of their defences, made a tunnel extending under the hill, and from there stealthily carried out the earth, until they hollowed out a great part of the inside of the hill. however, the outside kept the form which it had at first assumed, and afforded no opportunity to anyone of discovering what was being done. accordingly many persians mounted it, thinking it safe, and stationed themselves on the summit with the purpose of shooting down upon the heads of those inside the fortifications. but with the great mass of men crowding upon it with a rush, the hill suddenly fell in and killed almost all of them. cabades, then, finding no remedy for the situation, decided to raise the siege, and he issued orders to the army to retreat on the morrow. then indeed the besieged, as though they had no thought of their danger, began laughingly from the fortifications to jeer at the barbarians. besides this some courtesans shamelessly drew up their clothing and displayed to cabades, who was standing close by, those parts of a woman's body which it is not proper that men should see uncovered. this was plainly seen by the magi, and they thereupon came before the king and tried to prevent the retreat, declaring as their interpretation of what had happened that the citizens of amida would shortly disclose to cabades all their secret and hidden things. so the persian army remained there. not many days later one of the persians saw close by one of the towers the mouth of an old underground passage, which was insecurely concealed with some few small stones. in the night he came there alone, and, making trial of the entrance, got inside the circuit-wall; then at daybreak he reported the whole matter to cabades. the king himself on the following night came to the spot with a few men, bringing ladders which he had made ready. and he was favoured by a piece of good fortune; for the defence of the very tower which happened to be nearest to the passage had fallen by lot to those of the christians who are most careful in their observances, whom they call monks. these men, as chance would have it, were keeping some annual religious festival to god on that day. when night came on they all felt great weariness[ ] on account of the festival, and, having sated themselves with food and drink beyond their wont, they fell into a sweet and gentle sleep, and were consequently quite unaware of what was going on. so the persians made their way through the passage inside the fortifications, a few at a time, and, mounting the tower, they found the monks still sleeping and slew them to a man. when cabades learned this, he brought his ladders up to the wall close by this tower. it was already day. and those of the townsmen who were keeping guard on the adjoining tower became aware of the disaster, and ran thither with all speed to give assistance. then for a long time both sides struggled to crowd back the other, and already the townsmen were gaining the advantage, killing many of those who had mounted the wall, and throwing back the men on the ladders, and they came very near to averting the danger. but cabades drew his sword and, terrifying the persians constantly with it, rushed in person to the ladders and would not let them draw back, and death was the punishment for those who dared turn to leave. as a result of this the persians by their numbers gained the upper hand and overcame their antagonists in the fight. so the city was captured by storm on the eightieth day after the beginning of the siege. [jan. , a.d.] there followed a great massacre of the townspeople, until one of the citizens--an old man and a priest--approached cabades as he was riding into the city, and said that it was not a kingly act to slaughter captives. then cabades, still moved with passion, replied: "but why did you decide to fight against me?" and the old man answered quickly: "because god willed to give amida into thy hand not so much because of our decision as of thy valour." cabades was pleased by this speech, and permitted no further slaughter, but he bade the persians plunder the property and make slaves of the survivors, and he directed them to choose out for himself all the notables among them. a short time after this he departed, leaving there to garrison the place a thousand men under command of glones, a persian, and some few unfortunates among the citizens of amida who were destined to minister as servants to the daily wants of the persians; he himself with all the remainder of the army and the captives marched away homeward. these captives were treated by cabades with a generosity befitting a king; for after a short time he released all of them to return to their homes, but he pretended that they had escaped from him by stealth[ ]; and the roman emperor, anastasius, also shewed them honour worthy of their bravery, for he remitted to the city all the annual taxes for the space of seven years, and presented all of them as a body and each one of them separately with many good things, so that they came fully to forget the misfortunes which had befallen them. but this happened in later years. viii at that time the emperor anastasius, upon learning that amida was being besieged, dispatched with all speed an army of sufficient strength. but in this army there were general officers in command of every symmory[ ], while the supreme command was divided between the following four generals: areobindus, at that time general of the east, the son-in-law of olyvrius, who had been emperor in the west not long before; celer, commander of the palace troops (this officer the romans are accustomed to call "magister"); besides these still, there were the commanders of troops in byzantium, patricias, the phrygian, and hypatius, the nephew of the emperor; these four, then, were the generals. with them also was associated justinus, who at a later time became emperor upon the death of anastasius, and patriciolus with his son vitalianus, who raised an armed insurrection against the emperor anastasius not long afterwards and made himself tyrant; also pharesmanes, a native of colchis, and a man of exceptional ability as a warrior, and the goths godidisklus and bessas, who were among those goths who had not followed theoderic when he went from thrace into italy, both of them men of the noblest birth and experienced in matters pertaining to warfare; many others, too, who were men of high station, joined this army. for such an army, they say, was never assembled by the romans against the persians either before or after that time. however, all these men did not assemble in one body, nor did they form a single army as they marched, but each commander by himself led his own division separately against the enemy. and as manager of the finances of the army apion, an aegyptian, was sent, a man of eminence among the patricians and extremely energetic; and the emperor in a written statement declared him partner in the royal power, in order that he might have authority to administer the finances as he wished. now this army was mustered with considerable delay, and advanced with little speed. as a result of this they did not find the barbarians in the roman territory; for the persians had made their attack suddenly, and had immediately withdrawn with all their booty to their own land. now no one of the generals desired for the present to undertake the siege of the garrison left in amida, for they learned that they had carried in a large supply of provisions; but they made haste to invade the land of the enemy. however they did not advance together against the barbarians but they encamped apart from one another as they proceeded. when cabades learned this (for he happened to be close by), he came with all speed to the roman frontier and confronted them. but the romans had not yet learned that cabades was moving against them with his whole force, and they supposed that some small persian army was there. accordingly the forces of areobindus established their camp in a place called arzamon, at a distance of two days' journey from the city of constantina, and those of patricius and hypatius in a place called siphrios, which is distant not less than three hundred and fifty stades from the city of amida. as for celer, he had not yet arrived. areobindus, when he ascertained that cabades was coming upon them with his whole army, abandoned his camp, and, in company with all his men, turned to flight and retired on the run to constantina. and the enemy, coming up not long afterwards, captured the camp without a man in it and all the money it contained. from there they advanced swiftly against the other roman army. now the troops of patricius and hypatius had happened upon eight hundred ephthalitae who were marching in advance of the persian army, and they had killed practically all of them. then, since they had learned nothing of cabades and the persian army, supposing that they had won the victory, they began to conduct themselves with less caution. at any rate they had stacked their arms and were preparing themselves a lunch; for already the appropriate time of day was drawing near. now a small stream flowed in this place and in it the romans began to wash the pieces of meat which they were about to eat; some, too, distressed by the heat, were bathing themselves in the stream; and in consequence the brook flowed on with a muddy current. but while cabades, learning what had befallen the ephthalitae, was advancing against the enemy with all speed, he noticed that the water of the brook was disturbed, and divining what was going on, he came to the conclusion that his opponents were unprepared, and gave orders to charge upon them immediately at full speed. [aug., a.d.] straightway, then, they fell upon them feasting and unarmed. and the romans did not withstand their onset, nor did they once think of resistance, but they began to flee as each one could; and some of them were captured and slain, while others climbed the hill which rises there and threw themselves down the cliff in panic and much confusion. and they say that not a man escaped from there; but patricius and hypatius had succeeded in getting away at the beginning of the onset. after this cabades retired homeward with his whole army, since hostile huns had made an invasion into his land, and with this people he waged a long war in the northerly portion of his realm. in the meantime the other roman army also came, but they did nothing worth recounting, because, it seems, no one was made commander-in-chief of the expedition; but all the generals were of equal rank, and consequently they were always opposing one another's opinions and were utterly unable to unite. however celer, with his contingent, crossed the nymphius river and made some sort of an invasion into arzanene. this river is one very close to martyropolis, about three hundred stades from amida. so celer's troops plundered the country thereabout and returned not long after, and the whole invasion was completed in a short time. ix after this areobindus went to byzantium at the summons of the emperor, while the other generals reached amida, and, in spite of the winter season, invested it. and although they made many attempts they were unable to carry the fortress by storm, but they were on the point of accomplishing their object by starvation; for all the provisions of the besieged were exhausted. the generals, however, had ascertained nothing of the straits in which the enemy were; but since they saw that their own troops were distressed by the labour of the siege and the wintry weather, and at the same time suspected that a persian army would be coming upon them before long, they were eager to quit the place on any terms whatever. the persians, on their part, not knowing what would become of them in such terrible straits, continued to conceal scrupulously their lack of the necessities of life, and made it appear that they had an abundance of all provisions, wishing to return to their homes with the reputation of honour. so a proposal was discussed between them, according to which the persians were to deliver over the city to the romans upon receipt of one thousand pounds of gold. both parties then gladly executed the terms of the agreement, and the son of glones, upon receiving the money, delivered over amida to the romans. for glones himself had already died in the following manner. when the romans had not yet encamped before the city of amida but were not far from its vicinity, a certain countryman, who was accustomed to enter the city secretly with fowls and loaves and many other delicacies, which he sold to this glones at a great price, came before the general patricius and promised to deliver into his hands glones and two hundred persians, if he should receive from him assurance of some requital. and the general promised that he should have everything he desired, and thus dismissed the fellow. he then tore his garments in a dreadful manner, and, assuming the aspect of one who had been weeping, entered the city. and coming before glones, and tearing his hair he said: "o master, i happened to be bringing in for you all the good things from my village, when some roman soldiers chanced upon me (for, as you know, they are constantly wandering about the country here in small bands and doing violence to the miserable country-folk), and they inflicted upon me blows not to be endured, and, taking away everything, they departed,--the robbers, whose ancient custom it is to fear the persians and to beat the farmers. but do you, o master, take thought to defend yourself and us and the persians. for if you go hunting into the outskirts of the city, you will find rare game. for the accursed rascals go about by fours or fives to do their robbery." thus he spoke. and glones was persuaded, and enquired of the fellow about how many persians he thought would be sufficient for him to carry out the enterprise. he said that about fifty would do, for they would never meet more than five of them going together; however, in order to forestall any unexpected circumstance, it would do no harm to take with him even one hundred men; and if he should double this number it would be still better from every point of view; for no harm could come to a man from the larger number. glones accordingly picked out two hundred horsemen and bade the fellow lead the way for them. but he insisted that it was better for him to be sent first to spy out the ground, and, if he should bring back word that he had seen romans still going about in the same districts, that then the persians should make their sally at the fitting moment. accordingly, since he seemed to glones to speak well, he was sent forward by his own order. then he came before the general patricius and explained everything; and the general sent with him two of his own body-guard and a thousand soldiers. these he concealed about a village called thilasamon, forty stades distant from amida, among valleys and woody places, and instructed them to remain there in this ambush; he himself then proceeded to the city on the run, and telling glones that the prey was ready, he led him and the two hundred horsemen upon the ambush of the enemy. and when they passed the spot where the romans were lying in wait, without being observed by glones or any of the persians, he roused the romans from their ambuscade and pointed out to them the enemy. and when the persians saw the men coming against them, they were astounded at the suddenness of the thing, and were in much distress what to do. for neither could they retire to the rear, since their opponents were behind them, nor were they able to flee anywhere else in a hostile land. but as well as they could under the circumstances, they arrayed themselves for battle and tried to drive back their assailants; but being at a great disadvantage in numbers they were vanquished, and all of them together with glones were destroyed. now when the son of glones learned of this, being deeply grieved and at the same time furious with anger because he had not been able to defend his father, he fired the sanctuary of symeon, a holy man, where glones had his lodging. it must be said, however, that with the exception of this one building, neither glones nor cabades, nor indeed any other of the persians, saw fit either to tear down or to destroy in any other way any building in amida at any rate, or outside this city. but i shall return to the previous narrative. [ a.d.] thus the romans by giving the money recovered amida two years after it had been captured by the enemy. and when they got into the city, their own negligence and the hardships under which the persians had maintained themselves were discovered. for upon reckoning the amount of grain left there and the number of barbarians who had gone out, they found that rations for about seven days were left in the city, although glones and his son had been for a long time doling out provisions to the persians more sparingly than they were needed. for to the romans who had remained with them in the city, as i have stated above, they had decided to dispense nothing at all from the time when their enemy began the siege; and so these men at first resorted to unaccustomed foods and laid hold on every forbidden thing, and at the last they even tasted each other's blood. so the generals realized that they had been deceived by the barbarians, and they reproached the soldiers for their lack of self-control, because they had shewn themselves wanting in obedience to them, when it was possible to capture as prisoners of war such a multitude of persians and the son of glones and the city itself, while they had in consequence attached to themselves signal disgrace by carrying roman money to the enemy, and had taken amida from the persians by purchasing it with silver. [ a.d.] after this the persians, since their war with the huns kept dragging on, entered into a treaty with the romans, which was arranged by them for seven years, and was made by the roman celer and the persian aspebedes; both armies then retired homeward and remained at peace. thus, then, as has been told, began the war of the romans and the persians, and to this end did it come. but i shall now turn to the narration of the events touching the caspian gates. x the taurus mountain range of cilicia passes first cappadocia and armenia and the land of the so-called persarmenians, then also albania and iberia and all the other countries in this region, both independent and subject to persia. for it extends to a great distance, and as one proceeds along this range, it always spreads out to an extraordinary breadth and rises to an imposing height. and as one passes beyond the boundary of iberia there is a sort of path in a very narrow passage, extending for a distance of fifty stades. this path terminates in a place cut off by cliffs and, as it seems, absolutely impossible to pass through. for from there no way out appears, except indeed a small gate set there by nature, just as if it had been made by the hand of man, which has been called from of old the caspian gates. from there on there are plains suitable for riding and extremely well watered, and extensive tracts used as pasture land for horses, and level besides. here almost all the nations of the huns are settled, extending as far as the maeotic lake. now if these huns go through the gate which i have just mentioned into the land of the persians and the romans, they come with their horses fresh and without making any detour or encountering any precipitous places, except in those fifty stades over which, as has been said, they pass to the boundary of iberia. if, however, they go by any other passes, they reach their destination with great difficulty, and can no longer use the same horses. for the detours which they are forced to make are many and steep besides. when this was observed by alexander, the son of philip, he constructed gates in the aforesaid place and established a fortress there. and this was held by many men in turn as time went on, and finally by ambazouces, a hun by birth, but a friend of the romans and the emperor anastasius. now when this ambazouces had reached an advanced age and was near to death, he sent to anastasius asking that money be given him, on condition that he hand over the fortress and the caspian gates to the romans. but the emperor anastasius was incapable of doing anything without careful investigation, nor was it his custom to act thus: reasoning, therefore, that it was impossible for him to support soldiers in a place which was destitute of all good things, and which had nowhere in the neighbourhood a nation subject to the romans, he expressed deep gratitude to the man for his good-will toward him, but by no means accepted this proposition. so ambazouces died of disease not long afterwards, and cabades overpowered his sons and took possession of the gates. the emperor anastasius, after concluding the treaty with cabades, built a city in a place called daras, exceedingly strong and of real importance, bearing the name of the emperor himself. now this place is distant from the city of nisibis one hundred stades lacking two, and from the boundary line which divides the romans from the persians about twenty-eight. and the persians, though eager to prevent the building, were quite unable to do so, being constrained by the war with the huns in which they were engaged. but as soon as cabades brought this to an end, he sent to the romans and accused them of having built a city hard by the persian frontier, though this had been forbidden in the agreement previously made between the medes and the romans[ ]. at that time, therefore, the emperor anastasius desired, partly by threats, and partly by emphasizing his friendship with him and by bribing him with no mean sum of money, to deceive him and to remove the accusation. and another city also was built by this emperor, similar to the first, in armenia, hard by the boundaries of persarmenia; now in this place there had been a village from of old, but it had taken on the dignity of a city by the favour of the emperor theodosius even to the name, for it had come to be named after him[ ]. but anastasius surrounded it with a very substantial wall, and thus gave offence to the persians no less than by the other city; for both of them are strongholds menacing their country. xi [aug. , a.d.] and when a little later anastasius died, justinus received the empire, forcing aside all the kinsmen of anastasius, although they were numerous and also very distinguished. then indeed a sort of anxiety came over cabades, lest the persians should make some attempt to overthrow his house as soon as he should end his life; for it was certain that he would not pass on the kingdom to any one of his sons without opposition. for while the law called to the throne the eldest of his children caoses by reason of his age, he was by no means pleasing to cabades; and the father's judgment did violence to the law of nature and of custom as well. and zames, who was second in age, having had one of his eyes struck out, was prevented by the law. for it is not lawful for a one-eyed man or one having any other deformity to become king over the persians. but chosroes, who was born to him by the sister of aspebedes, the father loved exceedingly; seeing, however, that all the persians, practically speaking, felt an extravagant admiration for the manliness of zames (for he was a capable warrior), and worshipped his other virtues, he feared lest they should rise against chosroes and do irreparable harm to the family and to the kingdom. therefore it seemed best to him to arrange with the romans to put an end both to the war and the causes of war, on condition that chosroes be made an adopted son of the emperor justinus; for only in this way could he preserve stability in the government. accordingly he sent envoys to treat of this matter and a letter to the emperor justinus in byzantium. and the letter was written in this wise: "unjust indeed has been the treatment which we have received at the hands of the romans, as even you yourself know, but i have seen fit to abandon entirely all the charges against you, being assured of this, that the most truly victorious of all men would be those who, with justice on their side, are still willingly overcome and vanquished by their friends. however i ask of you a certain favour in return for this, which would bind together in kinship and in the good-will which would naturally spring from this relation not only ourselves but also all our subjects, and which would be calculated to bring us to a satiety of the blessings of peace. my proposal, then, is this, that you should make my son chosroes, who will be my successor to the throne, your adopted son." when this message was brought to the emperor justinus, he himself was overjoyed and justinian also, the nephew of the emperor, who indeed was expected to receive from him the empire. and they were making all haste to perform the act of setting down in writing the adoption, as the law of the romans prescribes--and would have done so, had they not been prevented by proclus, who was at that time a counsellor to the emperor, holding the office of quaestor, as it is called, a just man and one whom it was manifestly impossible to bribe; for this reason he neither readily proposed any law, nor was he willing to disturb in any way the settled order of things; and he at that time also opposed the proposition, speaking as follows: "to venture on novel projects is not my custom, and indeed i dread them more than any others; for where there is innovation security is by no means preserved. and it seems to me that, even if one should be especially bold in this matter, he would feel reluctance to do the thing and would tremble at the storm which would arise from it; for i believe that nothing else is before our consideration at the present time than the question how we may hand over the roman empire to the persians on a seemly pretext. for they make no concealment nor do they employ any blinds, but explicitly acknowledging their purpose they claim without more ado to rob us of our empire, seeking to veil the manifestness of their deceit under a shew of simplicity, and hide a shameless intent behind a pretended unconcern. and yet both of you ought to repel this attempt of the barbarians with all your power; thou, o emperor, in order that thou mayst not be the last emperor of the romans, and thou, o general, that thou mayst not prove a stumbling block to thyself as regards coming to the throne. for other crafty devices which are commonly concealed by a pretentious shew of words might perhaps need an interpreter for the many, but this embassy openly and straight from the very first words means to make this chosroes, whoever he is, the adopted heir of the roman emperor. for i would have you reason thus in this matter: by nature the possessions of fathers are due to their sons and while the laws among all men are always in conflict with each other by reason of their varying nature, in this matter both among the romans and among all barbarians they are in agreement and harmony with each other, in that they declare sons to be masters of their fathers' inheritance. take this first resolve if you choose: if you do you must agree to all its consequences." thus spoke proclus; and the emperor and his nephew gave ear to his words and deliberated upon what should be done. in the meantime cabades sent another letter also to the emperor justinus, asking him to send men of repute in order to establish peace with him, and to indicate by letter the manner in which it would be his desire to accomplish the adoption of his son. and then, indeed, still more than before proclus decried the attempt of the persians, and insisted that their concern was to make over to themselves as securely as possible the roman power. and he proposed as his opinion that the peace should be concluded with them with all possible speed, and that the noblest men should be sent by the emperor for this purpose; and that these men must answer plainly to cabades, when he enquired in what manner the adoption of chosroes should be accomplished, that it must be of the sort befitting a barbarian, and his meaning was that the barbarians adopt sons, not by a document, but by arms and armour[ ]. accordingly the emperor justinus dismissed the envoys, promising that men who were the noblest of the romans would follow them not long afterwards, and that they would arrange a settlement regarding the peace and regarding chosroes in the best possible way. he also answered cabades by letter to the same effect. accordingly there were sent from the romans hypatius, the nephew of anastasius, the late emperor, a patrician who also held the office of general of the east, and rufinus, the son of silvanus, a man of note among the patricians and known to cabades through their fathers; from the persians came one of great power and high authority, seoses by name, whose title was adrastadaran salanes, and mebodes, who held the office of magister. these men came together at a certain spot which is on the boundary line between the land of the romans and the persians: there they met and negotiated as to how they should do away with their differences and settle effectually the question of the peace. chosroes also came to the tigris river, which is distant from the city of nisibis about two days journey, in order that, when the details of the peace should seem to both parties to be as well arranged as possible, he might betake himself in person to byzantium. now many words were spoken on both sides touching the differences between them, and in particular seoses made mention of the land of colchis, which is now called lazica, saying that it had been subject to the persians from of old and that the romans had taken it from them by violence and held it on no just grounds. when the romans heard this, they were indignant to think that even lazica should be disputed by the persians. and when they in turn stated that the adoption of chosroes must take place just as is proper for a barbarian, it seemed to the persians unbearable. the two parties therefore separated and departed homeward, and chosroes with nothing accomplished was off to his father, deeply injured at what had taken place and vowing vengeance on the romans for their insult to him. after this mebodes began to slander seoses to cabades, saying that he had proposed the discussion of lazica purposely, although he had not been instructed to do so by his master, thereby frustrating the peace, and also that he had had words previously with hypatius, who was by no means well-disposed toward his own sovereign and was trying to prevent the conclusion of peace and the adoption of chosroes; and many other accusations also were brought forward by the enemies of seoses, and he was summoned to trial. now the whole persian council gathered to sit in judgment moved more by envy than by respect for the law. for they were thoroughly hostile to his office, which was unfamiliar to them, and also were embittered by the natural temper of the man. for while seoses was a man quite impossible to bribe, and a most exact respecter of justice, he was afflicted with a degree of arrogance not to be compared with that of any other. this quality, indeed, seems to be inbred in the persian officials, but in seoses even they thought that the malady had developed to an altogether extraordinary degree. so his accusers said all those things which have been indicated above, and added to this that the man was by no means willing to live in the established fashion or to uphold the institutions of the persians. for he both reverenced strange divinities, and lately, when his wife had died, he had buried her, though it was forbidden by the laws of the persians ever to hide in the earth the bodies of the dead. the judges therefore condemned the man to death, while cabades, though seeming to be deeply moved with sympathy as a friend of seoses, was by no means willing to rescue him. he did not, on the other hand, make it known that he was angry with him, but, as he said, he was not willing to undo the laws of the persians, although he owed the man the price of his life, since seoses was chiefly responsible both for the fact that he was alive and also that he was king. thus, then, seoses was condemned and was removed from among men. and the office which began with him ended also with him. for no other man has been made adrastadaran salanes. rufinus also slandered hypatius to the emperor. as a result of this the emperor reduced him from his office, and tortured most cruelly certain of his associates only to find out that this slander was absolutely unsound; beyond this, however, he did hypatius no harm. xii immediately after this, cabades, though eager to make some kind of an invasion into the land of the romans, was utterly unable to do so on account of the following obstacle which happened to arise. the iberians, who live in asia, are settled in the immediate neighbourhood of the caspian gates, which lie to the north of them. adjoining them on the left towards the west is lazica, and on the right towards the east are the persian peoples. this nation is christian and they guard the rites of this faith more closely than any other men known to us, but they have been subjects of the persian king, as it happens, from ancient times. and just then cabades was desirous of forcing them to adopt the rites of his own religion. and he enjoined upon their king, gourgenes, to do all things as the persians are accustomed to do them, and in particular not under any circumstances to hide their dead in the earth, but to throw them all to the birds and dogs. for this reason, then, gourgenes wished to go over to the emperor justinus, and he asked that he might receive pledges that the romans would never abandon the iberians to the persians. and the emperor gave him these pledges with great eagerness, and he sent probus, the nephew of the late emperor anastasius, a man of patrician rank, with a great sum of money to bosporus, that he might win over with money an army of huns and send them as allies to the iberians. this bosporus is a city by the sea, on the left as one sails into the so-called euxine sea, twenty days journey distant from the city of cherson, which is the limit of the roman territory. between these cities everything is held by the huns. now in ancient times the people of bosporus were autonomous, but lately they had decided to become subject to the emperor justinus. probus, however, departed from there without accomplishing his mission, and the emperor sent peter as general with some huns to lazica to fight with all their strength for gourgenes. meanwhile cabades sent a very considerable army against gourgenes and the iberians, and as general a persian bearing the title of "varizes," boes by name. then it was seen that gourgenes was too weak to withstand the attack of the persians, for the help from the romans was insufficient, and with all the notables of the iberians he fled to lazica, taking with him his wife and children and also his brothers, of whom peranius was the eldest. and when they had reached the boundaries of lazica, they remained there, and, sheltering themselves by the roughness of the country, they took their stand against the enemy. and the persians followed after them but did nothing deserving even of mention since the circumstance of the rough country was against them. thereafter the iberians presented themselves at byzantium and petrus came to the emperor at his summons; and from then on the emperor demanded that he should assist the lazi to guard their country, even against their will, and he sent an army and eirenaeus in command of it. now there are two fortresses in lazica[ ] which one comes upon immediately upon entering their country from the boundaries of iberia, and the defence of them had been from of old in charge of the natives, although they experienced great hardship in this matter; for neither corn nor wine nor any other good thing is produced there. nor indeed can anything be carried in from elsewhere on account of the narrowness of the paths, unless it be carried by men. however, the lazi were able to live on a certain kind of millet which grows there, since they were accustomed to it. these garrisons the emperor removed from the place and commanded that roman soldiers should be stationed there to guard the fortresses. and at first the lazi with difficulty brought in provisions for these soldiers, but later they gave up the service and the romans abandoned these forts, whereupon the persians with no trouble took possession of them. this then happened in lazica. and the romans, under the leadership of sittas and belisarius, made an inroad into persarmenia, a territory subject to the persians, where they plundered a large tract of country and then withdrew with a great multitude of armenian captives. these two men were both youths and wearing their first beards[ ], body-guards of the general justinian, who later shared the empire with his uncle justinus. but when a second inroad had been made by the romans into armenia, narses and aratius unexpectedly confronted them and engaged them in battle. these men not long after this came to the romans as deserters, and made the expedition to italy with belisarius; but on the present occasion they joined battle with the forces of sittas and belisarius and gained the advantage over them. an invasion was also made near the city of nisibis by another roman army under command of libelarius of thrace. this army retired abruptly in flight although no one came out against thorn. and because of this the emperor reduced libelarius from his office and appointed belisarius commander of the troops in daras. it was at that time that procopius, who wrote this history, was chosen as his adviser. [ a.d.] xiii [apr. , ] not long after this justinus, who had declared his nephew justinian emperor with him, died, and thus the empire came to justinian alone. [aug. , ] this justinian commanded belisarius to build a fortress in a place called mindouos, which is over against the very boundary of persia, on the left as one goes to nisibis. he accordingly with great haste began to carry out the decision of the emperor, and the fort was already rising to a considerable height by reason of the great number of artisans. but the persians forbade them to build any further, threatening that, not with words alone but also with deeds, they would at no distant time obstruct the work. when the emperor heard this, inasmuch as belisarius was not able to beat off the persians from the place with the army he had, he ordered another army to go thither, and also coutzes and bouzes, who at that time commanded the soldiers in libanus[ ]. these two were brothers from thrace, both young and inclined to be rash in engaging with the enemy. so both armies were gathered together and came in full force to the scene of the building operations, the persians in order to hinder the work with all their power, and the romans to defend the labourers. and a fierce battle took place in which the romans were defeated, and there was a great slaughter of them, while some also were made captive by the enemy. among these was coutzes himself. all these captives the persians led away to their own country, and, putting them in chains, confined them permanently in a cave; as for the fort, since no one defended it any longer, they razed what had been built to the ground. after this the emperor justinian appointed belisarius general of the east and bade him make an expedition against the persians. and he collected a very formidable army and came to daras. hermogenes also came to him from the emperor to assist in setting the army in order, holding the office of magister; this man was formerly counsellor to vitalianus at the time when he was at war with the emperor anastasius. the emperor also sent rufinus as ambassador, commanding him to remain in hierapolis on the euphrates river until he himself should give the word. for already much was being said on both sides concerning peace. suddenly, however, someone reported to belisarius and hermogenes that the persians were expected to invade the land of the romans, being eager to capture the city of daras. and when they heard this, they prepared for the battle as follows. [july, ] not far from the gate which lies opposite the city of nisibis, about a stone's throw away, they dug a deep trench with many passages across it. now this trench was not dug in a straight line, but in the following manner. in the middle there was a rather short portion straight, and at either end of this there were dug two cross trenches at right angles to the first; and starting from the extremities of the two cross trenches, they continued two straight trenches in the original direction to a very great distance. not long afterwards the persians came with a great army, and all of them made camp in a place called ammodios, at a distance of twenty stades from the city of daras. among the leaders of this army were pityaxes and the one-eyed baresmanas. but one general held command over them all, a persian, whose title was "mirranes" (for thus the persians designate this office), perozes by name. this perozes immediately sent to belisarius bidding him make ready the bath: for he wished to bathe there on the following day. accordingly the romans made the most vigorous preparations for the encounter, with the expectation that they would fight on the succeeding day. at sunrise, seeing the enemy advancing against them, they arrayed themselves as follows[ ]. the extremity of the left straight trench which joined the cross trench, as far as the hill which rises here, was held by bouzes with a large force of horsemen and by pharas the erulian with three hundred of his nation. on the right of these, outside the trench, at the angle formed by the cross trench and the straight section which extended from that point, were sunicas and aigan, massagetae by birth, with six hundred horsemen, in order that, if those under bouzes and pharas should be driven back, they might, by moving quickly on the flank, and getting in the rear of the enemy, be able easily to support the romans at that point. on the other wing also they were arrayed in the same manner; for the extremity of the straight trench was held by a large force of horsemen, who were commanded by john, son of nicetas, and by cyril and marcellus; with them also were germanus and dorotheus; while at the angle on the right six hundred horsemen took their stand, commanded by simmas and ascan, massagetae, in order that, as has been said, in case the forces of john should by any chance be driven back, they might move out from there and attack the rear of the persians. thus all along the trench stood the detachments of cavalry and the infantry. and behind these in the middle stood the forces of belisarius and hermogenes. thus the romans arrayed themselves, amounting to five-and-twenty thousand; but the persian army consisted of forty thousand horse and foot, and they all stood close together facing the front, so as to make the front of the phalanx as deep as possible. then for a long time neither side began battle with the other, but the persians seemed to be wondering at the good order of the romans, and appeared at a loss what to do under the circumstances. in the late afternoon a certain detachment of the horsemen who held the right wing, separating themselves from the rest of the army, came against the forces of bouzes and pharas. and the romans retired a short distance to the rear. the persians, however, did not pursue them, but remained there, fearing, i suppose, some move to surround them on the part of the enemy. then the romans who had turned to flight suddenly rushed upon them. and the persians did not withstand their onset and rode back to the phalanx, and again the forces of bouzes and pharas stationed themselves in their own position. in this skirmish seven of the persians fell, and the romans gained possession of their bodies; thereafter both armies remained quietly in position. but one persian, a young man, riding up very close to the roman army, began to challenge all of them, calling for whoever wished to do battle with him. and no one of the whole army dared face the danger, except a certain andreas, one of the personal attendants of bouzes, not a soldier nor one who had ever practised at all the business of war, but a trainer of youths in charge of a certain wrestling school in byzantium. through this it came about that he was following the army, for he cared for the person of bouzes in the bath; his birthplace was byzantium. this man alone had the courage, without being ordered by bouzes or anyone else, to go out of his own accord to meet the man in single combat. and he caught the barbarian while still considering how he should deliver his attack, and hit him with his spear on the right breast. and the persian did not bear the blow delivered by a man of such exceptional strength, and fell from his horse to the earth. then andreas with a small knife slew him like a sacrificial animal as he lay on his back, and a mighty shout was raised both from the city wall and from the roman army. but the persians were deeply vexed at the outcome and sent forth another horseman for the same purpose, a manly fellow and well favoured as to bodily size, but not a youth, for some of the hair on his head already shewed grey. this horseman came up along the hostile army, and, brandishing vehemently the whip with which he was accustomed to strike his horse, he summoned to battle whoever among the romans was willing. and when no one went out against him, andreas, without attracting the notice of anyone, once more came forth, although he had been forbidden to do so by hermogenes. so both rushed madly upon each other with their spears, and the weapons, driven against their corselets, were turned aside with mighty force, and the horses, striking together their heads, fell themselves and threw off their riders. and both the two men, falling very close to each other, made great haste to rise to their feet, but the persian was not able to do this easily because his size was against him, while andreas, anticipating him (for his practice in the wrestling school gave him this advantage), smote him as he was rising on his knee, and as he fell again to the ground dispatched him. then a roar went up from the wall and from the roman army as great, if not greater, than before; and the persians broke their phalanx and withdrew to ammodios, while the romans, raising the pæan, went inside the fortifications; for already it was growing dark. thus both armies passed that night. xiv on the following day ten thousand soldiers arrived who had been summoned by the persians from the city of nisibis, and belisarius and hermogenes wrote to the mirranes as follows: "the first blessing is peace, as is agreed by all men who have even a small share of reason. it follows that if any one should be a destroyer of it, he would be most responsible not only to those near him but also to his whole nation for the troubles which come. the best general, therefore, is that one who is able to bring about peace from war. but you, when affairs were well settled between the romans and the persians, have seen fit to bring upon us a war without cause, although the counsels of each king are looking toward peace, and although our envoys are already present in the neighbourhood, who will at no distant time settle all the points of dispute in talking over the situation together, unless some irreparable harm coming from your invasion proves sufficient to frustrate for us this hope. but lead away as soon as possible your army to the land of the persians, and do not stand in the way of the greatest blessings, lest at some time you be held responsible by the persians, as is probable, for the disasters which will come to pass." when the mirranes saw this letter brought to him, he replied as follows: "i should have been persuaded by what you write, and should have done what you demand, were the letter not, as it happens, from romans, for whom the making of promises is easy, but the fulfilment of the promises in deed most difficult and beyond hope, especially if you sanction the agreement by any oaths. we, therefore, despairing in view of your deception, have been compelled to come before you in arms, and as for you, my dear romans, consider that from now on you will be obliged to do nothing else than make war against the persians. for here we shall be compelled either to die or grow old until you accord to us justice in deed." such was the reply which the mirranes wrote back. and again belisarius and his generals wrote as follows: "o excellent mirranes, it is not fitting in all things to depend upon boasting, nor to lay upon one's neighbours reproaches which are justified on no grounds whatever. for we said with truth that rufinus had come to act as an envoy and was not far away, and you yourself will know this at no remote time. but since you are eager for deeds of war, we shall array ourselves against you with the help of god, who will, we know, support us in the danger, being moved by the peaceful inclination of the romans, but rebuking the boastfulness of the persians and your decision to resist us when we invite you to peace. and we shall array ourselves against you, having prepared for the conflict by fastening the letters written by each of us on the top of our banners." such was the message of this letter. and the mirranes again answered as follows: "neither are we entering upon the war without our gods, and with their help we shall come before you, and i expect that on the morrow they will bring the persians into daras. but let the bath and lunch be in readiness for me within the fortifications." when belisarius and his generals read this, they prepared themselves for the conflict. on the succeeding day the mirranes called together all the persians at about sunrise and spoke as follows: "i am not ignorant that it is not because of words of their leaders, but because of their individual bravery and their shame before each other that the persians are accustomed to be courageous in the presence of dangers. but seeing you considering why in the world it is that, although the romans have not been accustomed heretofore to go into battle without confusion and disorder, they recently awaited the advancing persians with a kind of order which is by no means characteristic of them, for this reason i have decided to speak some words of exhortation to you, so that it may not come about that you be deceived by reason of holding an opinion which is not true. for i would not have you think that the romans have suddenly become better warriors, or that they have acquired any more valour or experience, but that they have become more cowardly than they were previously; at any rate they fear the persians so much that they have not even dared to form their phalanx without a trench. and not even with this did they begin any fighting, but when we did not join battle with them at all, joyfully and considering that matters had gone better for them than they had hoped, they withdrew to the wall. for this reason too it happened that they were not thrown into confusion, for they had not yet come into the dangers of battle. but if the fighting comes to close quarters, fear will seize upon them, and this, together with their inexperience, will throw them, in all probability, into their customary disorder. such, therefore, is the case with regard to the enemy; but do you, o men of persia, call to mind the judgment of the king of kings. for if you do not play the part of brave men in the present engagement, in a manner worthy of the valour of the persians, an inglorious punishment will fall upon you." with this exhortation the mirranes began to lead his army against the enemy. likewise belisarius and hermogenes gathered all the romans before the fortifications, and encouraged them with the following words: "you know assuredly that the persians are not altogether invincible, nor too strong to be killed, having taken their measure in the previous battle; and that, although superior to them in bravery and in strength of body, you were defeated only by reason of being rather heedless of your officers, no one can deny. this thing you now have the opportunity to set right with no trouble. for while the adversities of fortune are by no means such as to be set right by an effort, reason may easily become for a man a physician for the ills caused by himself. if therefore you are willing to give heed to the orders given, you will straightway win for yourselves the superiority in battle. for the persians come against us basing their confidence on nothing else than our disorder. but this time also they will be disappointed in this hope, and will depart just as in the previous encounter. and as for the great numbers of the enemy, by which more than anything else they inspire fear, it is right for you to despise them. for their whole infantry is nothing more than a crowd of pitiable peasants who come into battle for no other purpose than to dig through walls and to despoil the slain and in general to serve the soldiers. for this reason they have no weapons at all with which they might trouble their opponents, and they only hold before themselves those enormous shields in order that they may not possibly be hit by the enemy. therefore if you shew yourselves brave men in this struggle, you will not only conquer the persians for the present, but you will also punish them for their folly, so that they will never again make an expedition into the roman territory." when belisarius and hermogenes had finished this exhortation, since they saw the persians advancing against them, they hastily drew up the soldiers in the same manner as before. and the barbarians, coming up before them, took their stand facing the romans. but the mirranes did not array all the persians against the enemy, but only one half of them, while he allowed the others to remain behind. these were to take the places of the men who were fighting and to fall upon their opponents with their vigour intact, so that all might fight in constant rotation. but the detachment of the so-called immortals alone he ordered to remain at rest until he himself should give the signal. and he took his own station at the middle of the front, putting pityaxes in command on the right wing, and baresmanas on the left. in this manner, then, both armies were drawn up. then pharas came before belisarius and hermogenes, and said: "it does not seem to me that i shall do the enemy any great harm if i remain here with the eruli; but if we conceal ourselves on this slope, and then, when the persians have begun the fight, if we climb up by this hill and suddenly come upon their rear, shooting from behind them, we shall in all probability do them the greatest harm." thus he spoke, and, since it pleased belisarius and his staff, he carried out this plan. but up to midday neither side began battle. as soon, however, as the noon hour was passed, the barbarians began the fight, having postponed the engagement to this time of the day for the reason that they are accustomed to partake of food only towards late afternoon, while the romans have their meal before noon; and for this reason they thought that the romans would never hold out so well, if they assailed them while hungry. at first, then, both sides discharged arrows against each other, and the missiles by their great number made, as it were, a vast cloud; and many men were falling on both sides, but the missiles of the barbarians flew much more thickly. for fresh men were always fighting in turn, affording to their enemy not the slightest opportunity to observe what was being done; but even so the romans did not have the worst of it. for a steady wind blew from their side against the barbarians, and checked to a considerable degree the force of their arrows. then, after both sides had exhausted all their missiles, they began to use their spears against each other, and the battle had come still more to close quarters. on the roman side the left wing was suffering especially. for the cadiseni, who with pityaxes were fighting at this point, rushing up suddenly in great numbers, routed their enemy, and crowding hard upon the fugitives, were killing many of them. when this was observed by the men under sunicas and aigan, they charged against them at full speed. but first the three hundred eruli under pharas from the high ground got in the rear of the enemy and made a wonderful display of valorous deeds against all of them and especially the cadiseni. and the persians, seeing the forces of sunicas too already coming up against them from the flank, turned to a hasty flight. and the rout became complete, for the romans here joined forces with each other, and there was a great slaughter of the barbarians. on the persian right wing not fewer than three thousand perished in this action, while the rest escaped with difficulty to the phalanx and were saved. and the romans did not continue their pursuit, but both sides took their stand facing each other in line. such was the course of these events. but the mirranes stealthily sent to the left a large body of troops and with them all the so-called immortals. and when these were noticed by belisarius and hermogenes, they ordered the six hundred men under sunicas and aigan to go to the angle on the right, where the troops of simmas and ascan were stationed, and behind them they placed many of belisarius men. so the persians who held the left wing under the leadership of baresmanas, together with the immortals, charged on the run upon the romans opposite them, who failed to withstand the attack and beat a hasty retreat. thereupon the romans in the angle, and all who were behind them, advanced with great ardour against the pursuers. but inasmuch as they came upon the barbarians from the side, they cut their army into two parts, and the greater portion of them they had on their right, while some also who were left behind were placed on their left. among these happened to be the standard bearer of baresmanas, whom sunicas charged and struck with his spear. and already the persians who were leading the pursuit perceived in what straits they were, and, wheeling about, they stopped the pursuit and went against their assailants, and thus became exposed to the enemy on both sides. for those in flight before them understood what was happening and turned back again. the persians, on their part, with the detachment of the immortals, seeing the standard inclined and lowered to the earth, rushed all together against the romans at that point with baresmanas. there the romans held their ground. and first sunicas killed baresmanas and threw him from his horse to the ground. as a result of this the barbarians were seized with great fear and thought no longer of resistance, but fled in utter confusion. and the romans, having made a circle as it were around them, killed about five thousand. thus both armies were all set in motion, the persians in retreat, and the romans in pursuit. in this part of the conflict all the foot-soldiers who were in the persian army threw down their shields and were caught and wantonly killed by their enemy. however, the pursuit was not continued by the romans over a great distance. for belisarius and hermogenes refused absolutely to let them go farther, fearing lest the persians through some necessity should turn about and rout them while pursuing recklessly, and it seemed to them sufficient to preserve the victory unmarred. for on that day the persians had been defeated in battle by the romans, a thing which had not happened for a long time. thus the two armies separated from each other. and the persians were no longer willing to fight a pitched battle with the romans. however, some sudden attacks were made on both sides, in which the romans were not at a disadvantage. such, then, was the fortune of the armies in mesopotamia. xv and cabades sent another army into the part of armenia which is subject to the romans. this army was composed of persarmenians and sunitae, whose land adjoins that of the alani. there were also huns with them, of the stock called sabiri, to the number of three thousand, a most warlike race. and mermeroes, a persian, had been made general of the whole force. when this army was three days' march from theodosiopolis, they established their camp and, remaining in the land of the persarmenians, made their preparations for the invasion. now the general of armenia was, as it happened, dorotheus, a man of discretion and experienced in many wars. and sittas held the office of general in byzantium, and had authority over the whole army in armenia. these two, then, upon learning that an army was being assembled in persarmenia, straightway sent two body-guards with instructions to spy out the whole force of the enemy and report to them. and both of these men got into the barbarian camp, and after noting everything accurately, they departed. and they were travelling toward some place in that region, when they happened unexpectedly upon hostile huns. by them one of the two, dagaris by name, was made captive and bound, while the other succeeded in escaping and reported everything to the generals. they then armed their whole force and made an unexpected assault upon the camp of their enemy; and the barbarians, panic-stricken by the unexpected attack, never thought of resistance, but fled as best each one could. thereupon the romans, after killing a large number and plundering the camp, immediately marched back. not long after this mermeroes, having collected the whole army, invaded the roman territory, and they came upon their enemy near the city of satala. there they established themselves in camp and remained at rest in a place called octava, which is fifty-six stades distant from the city. sittas therefore led out a thousand men and concealed them behind one of the many hills which surround the plain in which the city of satala lies. dorotheus with the rest of the army he ordered to stay inside the fortifications, because they thought that they were by no means able to withstand the enemy on level ground, since their number was not fewer than thirty thousand, while their own forces scarcely amounted to half that number. on the following day the barbarians came up close to the fortifications and busily set about closing in the town. but suddenly, seeing the forces of sittas who by now were coming down upon them from the high ground, and having no means of estimating their number, since owing to the summer season a great cloud of dust hung over them, they thought they were much more numerous than they were, and, hurriedly abandoning their plan of closing in the town, they hastened to mass their force into a small space. but the romans anticipated the movement and, separating their own force into two detachments, they set upon them as they were retiring from the fortifications; and when this was seen by the whole roman army, they took courage, and with a great rush they poured out from the fortifications and advanced against their opponents. they thus put the persians between their own troops, and turned them to flight. however, since the barbarians were greatly superior to their enemy in numbers, as has been said, they still offered resistance, and the battle had become a fierce fight at close quarters. and both sides kept making advances upon their opponents and retiring quickly, for they were all cavalry. thereupon florentius, a thracian, commanding a detachment of horse, charged into the enemy's centre, and seizing the general's standard, forced it to the ground, and started to ride back. and though he himself was overtaken and fell there, hacked to pieces, he proved to be the chief cause of the victory for the romans. for when the barbarians no longer saw the standard, they were thrown into great confusion and terror, and retreating, got inside their camp, and remained quiet, having lost many men in the battle; and on the following day they all returned homeward with no one following them up, for it seemed to the romans a great and very noteworthy thing that such a great multitude of barbarians in their own country had suffered those things which have just been narrated above, and that, after making an invasion into hostile territory, they should retire thus without accomplishing anything and defeated by a smaller force. at that time the romans also acquired certain persian strongholds in persarmenia, both the fortress of bolum and the fortress called pharangium, which is the place where the persians mine gold, which they take to the king. it happened also that a short time before this they had reduced to subjection the tzanic nation, who had been settled from of old in roman territory as an autonomous people; and as to these things, the manner in which they were accomplished will be related here and now. as one goes from the land of armenia into persarmenia the taurus lies on the right, extending into iberia and the peoples there, as has been said a little before this[ ], while on the left the road which continues to descend for a great distance is overhung by exceedingly precipitous mountains, concealed forever by clouds and snow, from which the phasis river issues and flows into the land of colchis. in this place from the beginning lived barbarians, the tzanic nation, subject to no one, called sani in early times; they made plundering expeditions among the romans who lived round about, maintaining a most difficult existence, and always living upon what they stole; for their land produced for them nothing good to eat. wherefore also the roman emperor sent them each year a fixed amount of gold, with the condition that they should never plunder the country thereabout. and the barbarians had sworn to observe this agreement with the oaths peculiar to their nation, and then, disregarding what they had sworn, they had been accustomed for a long time to make unexpected attacks and to injure not only the armenians, but also the romans who lived next to them as far as the sea; then, after completing their inroad in a short space of time, they would immediately betake themselves again to their homes. and whenever it _so_ happened that they chanced upon a roman army, they were always defeated in the battle, but they proved to be absolutely beyond capture owing to the strength of their fastnesses. in this way sittas had defeated them in battle before this war; and then by many manifestations of kindness in word and in deed he had been able to win them over completely. for they changed their manner of life to one of a more civilized sort, and enrolled themselves among the roman troops, and from that time they have gone forth against the enemy with the rest of the roman army. they also abandoned their own religion for a more righteous faith, and all of them became christians. such then was the history of the tzani. beyond the borders of this people there is a cañon whose walls are both high and exceedingly steep, extending as far as the caucasus mountains. in it are populous towns, and grapes and other fruits grow plentifully. and this canon for about the space of a three days' journey is tributary to the romans, but from there begins the territory of persarmenia; and here is the gold-mine which, with the permission of cabades, was worked by one of the natives, symeon by name. when this symeon saw that both nations were actively engaged in the war, he decided to deprive cabades of the revenue. therefore he gave over both himself and pharangium to the romans, but refused to deliver over to either one the gold of the mine. and as for the romans, they did nothing, thinking it sufficient for them that the enemy had lost the income from there, and the persians were not able against the will of the romans to force the inhabitants of the place to terms, because they were baffled by the difficult country. at about the same time narses and aratius who at the beginning of this war, as i have stated above,[ ] had an encounter with sittas and belisarius in the land of the persarmenians, came together with their mother as deserters to the romans; and the emperor's steward, narses, received them (for he too happened to be a persarmenian by birth), and he presented them with a large sum of money. when this came to the knowledge of isaac, their youngest brother, he secretly opened negotiations with the romans, and delivered over to them the fortress of bolum, which lies very near the limits of theodosiopolis. for he directed that soldiers should be concealed somewhere in the vicinity, and he received them into the fort by night, opening stealthily one small gate for them. thus he too came to byzantium. xvi thus matters stood with the romans. but the persians, though defeated by belisarius in the battle at daras, refused even so to retire from there, until rufinus, coming into the presence of cabades, spoke as follows: "o king, i have been sent by thy brother, who reproaches thee with a just reproach, because the persians for no righteous cause have come in arms into his land. but it would be more seemly for a king who is not only mighty, but also wise as thou art, to secure a peaceful conclusion of war, rather than, when affairs have been satisfactorily settled, to inflict upon himself and his people unnecessary confusion. wherefore also i myself have come here with good hopes, in order that from now on both peoples may enjoy the blessings which come from peace." so spoke rufinus. and cabades replied as follows: "o son of silvanus, by no means try to reverse the causes, understanding as you do best of all men that you romans have been the chief cause of the whole confusion. for we have taken the caspian gates to the advantage of both persians and romans, after forcing out the barbarians there, since anastasius, the emperor of the romans, as you yourself doubtless know, when the opportunity was offered him to buy them with money, was not willing to do so, in order that he might not be compelled to squander great sums of money in behalf of both nations by keeping an army there perpetually. and since that time we have stationed that great army there, and have supported it up to the present time, thereby giving you the privilege of inhabiting the land unplundered as far as concerns the barbarians on that side, and of holding your own possessions with complete freedom from trouble. but as if this were not sufficient for you, you have also made a great city, daras, as a stronghold against the persians, although this was explicitly forbidden in the treaty which anatolius arranged with the persians; and as a result of this it is necessary for the persian state to be afflicted with the difficulties and the expense of two armies, the one in order that the massagetae may not be able fearlessly to plunder the land of both of us, and the other in order that we may check your inroads. when lately we made a protest regarding these matters and demanded that one of two things should be done by you, either that the army sent to the caspian gates should be sent by both of us, or that the city of daras should be dismantled, you refused to understand what was said, but saw fit to strengthen your plot against the persians by a greater injury, if we remember correctly the building of the fort in mindouos[ ]. and even now the romans may choose peace, or they may elect war, by either doing justice to us or going against our rights. for never will the persians lay down their arms, until the romans either help them in guarding the gates, as is just and right, or dismantle the city of daras." with these words cabades dismissed the ambassador, dropping the hint that he was willing to take money from the romans and have done with the causes of the war. this was reported to the emperor by rufinus when he came to byzantium. [ a.d.] hermogenes also came thither not long afterwards, and the winter came to a close; thus ended the fourth year of the reign of the emperor justinian. xvii at the opening of spring a persian army under the leadership of azarethes invaded the roman territory. they were fifteen thousand strong, all horsemen. with them was alamoundaras, son of saccice, with a very large body of saracens. but this invasion was not made by the persians in the customary manner; for they did not invade mesopotamia, as formerly, but the country called commagene of old, but now euphratesia, a point from which, as far as we know, the persians never before conducted a campaign against the romans. but why the land was called mesopotamia and why the persians refrained from making their attack at this point is what i now propose to relate. there is a mountain in armenia which is not especially precipitous, two-and-forty stades removed from theodosiopolis and lying toward the north from it. from this mountain issue two springs, forming immediately two rivers, the one on the right called the euphrates, and the other the tigris. one of these, the tigris, descends, with no deviations and with no tributaries except small ones emptying into it, straight toward the city of amida. and continuing into the country which lies to the north of this city it enters the land of assyria. but the euphrates at its beginning flows for a short distance, and is then immediately lost to sight as it goes on; it does not, however, become subterranean, but a very strange thing happens. for the water is covered by a bog of great depth, extending about fifty stades in length and twenty in breadth; and reeds grow in this mud in great abundance. but the earth there is of such a hard sort that it seems to those who chance upon it to be nothing else than solid ground, so that both pedestrians and horsemen travel over it without any fear. nay more, even wagons pass over the place in great numbers every day, but they are wholly insufficient to shake the bog or to find a weak spot in it at any point. the natives burn the reeds every year, to prevent the roads being stopped up by them, and once, when an exceedingly violent wind struck the place, it came about that the fire reached the extremities of the roots, and the water appeared at a small opening; but in a short time the ground closed again, and gave the spot the same appearance which it had had before. from there the river proceeds into the land called celesene, where was the sanctuary of artemis among the taurians, from which they say iphigenia, daughter of agamemnon, fled with orestes and pylades, bearing the statue of artemis. for the other temple which has existed even to my day in the city of comana is not the one "among the taurians." but i shall explain how this temple came into being. when orestes had departed in haste from the taurians with his sister, it so happened that he contracted some disease. and when he made inquiry about the disease they say that the oracle responded that his trouble would not abate until he built a temple to artemis in a spot such as the one among the taurians, and there cut off his hair and named the city after it. so then orestes, going about the country there, came to pontus, and saw a mountain which rose steep and towering, while below along the extremities of the mountain flowed the river iris. orestes, therefore, supposing at that time that this was the place indicated to him by the oracle, built there a great city and the temple of artemis, and, shearing off his hair, named after it the city which even up to the present time has been called comana. the story goes on that after orestes had done these things, the disease continued to be as violent as before, if not even more so. then the man perceived that he was not satisfying the oracle by doing these things, and he again went about looking everywhere and found a certain spot in cappadocia very closely resembling the one among the taurians. i myself have often seen this place and admired it exceedingly, and have imagined that i was in the land of the taurians. for this mountain resembles the other remarkably, since the taurus is here also and the river sarus is similar to the euphrates there. so orestes built in that place an imposing city and two temples, the one to artemis and the other to his sister iphigenia, which the christians have made sanctuaries for themselves, without changing their structure at all. this is called even now golden comana, being named from the hair of orestes, which they say he cut off there and thus escaped from his affliction. but some say that this disease from which he escaped was nothing else than that of madness which seized him after he had killed his own mother. but i shall return to the previous narrative. from tauric armenia and the land of celesene the river euphrates, flowing to the right of the tigris, flows around an extensive territory, and since many rivers join it and among them the arsinus, whose copious stream flows down from the land of the so-called persarmenians, it becomes naturally a great river, and flows into the land of the people anciently called white syrians but now known as the lesser armenians, whose first city, melitene, is one of great importance. from there it flows past samosata and hierapolis and all the towns in that region as far as the land of assyria, where the two rivers unite with each other into one stream which bears the name of the tigris. the land which lies outside the river euphrates, beginning with samosata, was called in ancient times commagene, but now it is named after the river[ ]. but the land inside the river, that namely which is between it and the tigris, is appropriately named mesopotamia; however, a portion of it is called not only by this name, but also by certain others. for the land as far as the city of amida has come to be called armenia by some, while edessa together with the country around it is called osroene, after osroes, a man who was king in that place in former times, when the men of this country were in alliance with the persians. after the time, therefore, when the persians had taken from the romans the city of nisibis and certain other places in mesopotamia, whenever they were about to make an expedition against the romans, they disregarded the land outside the river euphrates, which was for the most part unwatered and deserted by men, and gathered themselves here with no trouble, since they were in a land which was their own and which lay very close to the inhabited land of their enemy, and from here they always made their invasions. when the mirranes[ ], defeated in battle[ ] and with the greater part of his men lost, came back to the persian land with the remainder of his army, he received bitter punishment at the hands of king cabades. for he took away from him a decoration which he was accustomed to bind upon the hair of his head, an ornament wrought of gold and pearls. now this is a great dignity among the persians, second only to the kingly honour. for there it is unlawful to wear a gold ring or girdle or brooch or anything else whatsoever, except a man be counted worthy to do so by the king. thereafter cabades began to consider in what manner he himself should make an expedition against the romans. for after the mirranes had failed in the manner i have told, he felt confidence in no one else. while he was completely at a loss as to what he should do, alamoundaras, the king of the saracens, came before him and said: "not everything, o master, should be entrusted to fortune, nor should one believe that all wars ought to be successful. for this is not likely and besides it is not in keeping with the course of human events, but this idea is most unfortunate for those who are possessed by it. for when men who expect that all the good things will come to them fail at any time, if it so happen, they are distressed more than is seemly by the very hope which wrongly led them on. therefore, since men have not always confidence in fortune, they do not enter into the danger of war in a straightforward way, even if they boast that they surpass the enemy in every respect, but by deception and divers devices they exert themselves to circumvent their opponents. for those who assume the risk of an even struggle have no assurance of victory. now, therefore, o king of kings, neither be thus distressed by the misfortune which has befallen mirranes, nor desire again to make trial of fortune. for in mesopotamia and the land of osroene, as it is called, since it is very close to thy boundaries, the cities are very strong above all others, and now they contain a multitude of soldiers such as never before, so that if we go there the contest will not prove a safe one; but in the land which lies outside the river euphrates, and in syria which adjoins it, there is neither a fortified city nor an army of any importance. for this i have often heard from the saracens sent as spies to these parts. there too, they say, is the city of antioch, in wealth and size and population the first of all the cities of the eastern roman empire; and this city is unguarded and destitute of soldiers. for the people of this city care for nothing else than fêtes and luxurious living, and their constant rivalries with each other in the theatres. accordingly, if we go against them unexpectedly, it is not at all unlikely that we shall capture the city by a sudden attack, and that we shall return to the land of the persians without having met any hostile army, and before the troops in mesopotamia have learned what has happened. as for lack of water or of any kind of provisions, let no such thought occur to thee; for i myself shall lead the army wherever it shall seem best." when cabades heard this he could neither oppose nor distrust the plan. for alamoundaras was most discreet and well experienced in matters of warfare, thoroughly faithful to the persians, and unusually energetic,--a man who for a space of fifty years forced the roman state to bend the knee. for beginning from the boundaries of aegypt and as far as mesopotamia he plundered the whole country, pillaging one place after another, burning the buildings in his track and making captives of the population by the tens of thousands on each raid, most of whom he killed without consideration, while he gave up the others for great sums of money. and he was confronted by no one at all. for he never made his inroad without looking about, but so suddenly did he move and so very opportunely for himself, that, as a rule, he was already off with all the plunder when the generals and the soldiers were beginning to learn what had happened and to gather themselves against him. if, indeed, by any chance, they were able to catch him, this barbarian would fall upon his pursuers while still unprepared and not in battle array, and would rout and destroy them with no trouble; and on one occasion he made prisoners of all the soldiers who were pursuing him together with their officers. these officers were timostratus, the brother of rufinus, and john, the son of lucas, whom he gave up indeed later, thereby gaining for himself no mean or trivial wealth. and, in a word, this man proved himself the most difficult and dangerous enemy of all to the romans. the reason was this, that alamoundaras, holding the position of king, ruled alone over all the saracens in persia, and he was always able to make his inroad with the whole army wherever he wished in the roman domain; and neither any commander of roman troops, whom they call "duces," nor any leader of the saracens allied with the romans, who are called "phylarchs," was strong enough with his men to array himself against alamoundaras; for the troops stationed in the different districts were not a match in battle for the enemy. [ a.d.] for this reason the emperor justinian put in command of as many clans as possible arethas, the son of gabalas, who ruled over the saracens of arabia, and bestowed upon him the dignity of king, a thing which among the romans had never before been done. however alamoundaras continued to injure the romans just as much as before, if not more, since arethas was either extremely unfortunate in every inroad and every conflict, or else he turned traitor as quickly as he could. for as yet we know nothing certain about him. in this way it came about that alamoundaras, with no one to stand against him, plundered the whole east for an exceedingly long time, for he lived to a very advanced age. xviii this man's suggestion at that time therefore pleased cabades, and he chose out fifteen thousand men, putting in command of them azarethes, a persian, who was an exceptionally able warrior, and he bade alamoundaras lead the expedition. so they crossed the river euphrates in assyria, and, after passing over some uninhabited country, they suddenly and unexpectedly threw their forces into the land of the so-called commagenae. this was the first invasion made by the persians from this point into roman soil, as far as we know from tradition or by any other means, and it paralyzed all the romans with fear by its unexpectedness. and when this news came to the knowledge of belisarius, at first he was at a loss, but afterwards he decided to go to the rescue with all speed. so he established a sufficient garrison in each city in order that cabades with another hostile army might not come there and find the towns of mesopotamia utterly unguarded, and himself with the rest of the army went to meet the invasion; and crossing the river euphrates they moved forward in great haste. now the roman army amounted to about twenty thousand foot and horse, and among them not less than two thousand were isaurians. the commanders of cavalry were all the same ones who had previously fought the battle at daras with mirranes and the persians, while the infantry were commanded by one of the body-guards of the emperor justinian, peter by name. the isaurians, however, were under the command of longinus and stephanacius. arethas also came there to join them with the saracen army. when they reached the city of chalcis, they encamped and remained there, since they learned that the enemy were in a place called gabboulon, one hundred and ten stades away from chalcis. when this became known to alamoundaras and azarethes, they were terrified at the danger, and no longer continued their advance, but decided to retire homeward instantly. accordingly they began to march back, with the river euphrates on the left, while the roman army was following in the rear. and in the spot where the persians bivouacked each night the romans always tarried on the following night. for belisarius purposely refused to allow the army to make any longer march because he did not wish to come to an engagement with the enemy, but he considered that it was sufficient for them that the persians and alamoundaras, after invading the land of the romans, should retire from it in such a fashion, betaking themselves to their own land without accomplishing anything. and because of this all secretly mocked him, both officers and soldiers, but not a man reproached him to his face. finally the persians made their bivouac on the bank of the euphrates just opposite the city of callinicus. from there they were about to march through a country absolutely uninhabited by man, and thus to quit the land of the romans; for they purposed no longer to proceed as before, keeping to the bank of the river. the romans had passed the night in the city of sura, and, removing from there, they came upon the enemy just in the act of preparing for the departure. [ap. , ] now the feast of easter was near and would take place on the following day; this feast is reverenced by the christians above all others, and on the day before it they are accustomed to refrain from food and drink not only throughout the day, but for a large part of the night also they continue the fast. then, therefore, belisarius, seeing that all his men were passionately eager to go against the enemy, wished to persuade them to give up this idea (for this course had been counselled by hermogenes also, who had come recently on an embassy from the emperor); he accordingly called together all who were present and spoke as follows: "o romans, whither are you rushing? and what has happened to you that you are purposing to choose for yourselves a danger which is not necessary? men believe that there is only one victory which is unalloyed, namely to suffer no harm at the hands of the enemy, and this very thing has been given us in the present instance by fortune and by the fear of us that overpowers our foes. therefore it is better to enjoy the benefit of our present blessings than to seek them when they have passed. for the persians, led on by many hopes, undertook an expedition against the romans, and now, with everything lost, they have beaten a hasty retreat. so that if we compel them against their will to abandon their purpose of withdrawing and to come to battle with us, we shall win no advantage whatsoever if we are victorious,--for why should one rout a fugitive?--while if we are unfortunate, as may happen, we shall both be deprived of the victory which we now have, not robbed of it by the enemy, but flinging it away ourselves, and also we shall abandon the land of the emperor to lie open hereafter to the attacks of the enemy without defenders. moreover this also is worth your consideration, that god is always accustomed to succour men in dangers which are necessary, not in those which they choose for themselves. and apart from this it will come about that those who have nowhere to turn will play the part of brave men even against their will, while the obstacles which are to be met by us in entering the engagement are many; for a large number of you have come on foot and all of us are fasting. i refrain from mentioning that some even now have not arrived." so spoke belisarius. but the army began to insult him, not in silence nor with any concealment, but they came shouting into his presence, and called him weak and a destroyer of their zeal; and even some of the officers joined with the soldiers in this offence, thus displaying the extent of their daring. and belisarius, in astonishment at their shamelessness, changed his exhortation and now seemed to be urging them on against the enemy and drawing them up for battle, saying that he had not known before their eagerness to fight, but that now he was of good courage and would go against the enemy with a better hope. he then formed the phalanx with a single front, disposing his men as follows: on the left wing by the river he stationed all the infantry, while on the right where the ground rose sharply he placed arethas and all his saracens; he himself with the cavalry took his position in the centre. thus the romans arrayed themselves. and when azarethes saw the enemy gathering in battle line, he exhorted his men with the following words: "persians as you are, no one would deny that you would not give up your valour in exchange for life, if a choice of the two should be offered. but i say that not even if you should wish, is it within your power to make the choice between the two. for as for men who have the opportunity to escape from danger and live in dishonour it is not at all unnatural that they should, if they wish, choose what is most pleasant instead of what is best; but for men who are bound to die, either gloriously at the hands of the enemy or shamefully led to punishment by your master, it is extreme folly not to choose what is better instead of what is most shameful. now, therefore, when things stand thus, i consider that it befits you all to bear in mind not only the enemy but also your own lord and so enter this battle." after azarethes also had uttered these words of exhortation, he stationed the phalanx opposite his opponents, assigning the persians the right wing and the saracens the left. straightway both sides began the fight, and the battle was exceedingly fierce. for the arrows, shot from either side in very great numbers, caused great loss of life in both armies, while some placed themselves in the interval between the armies and made a display of valorous deeds against each other, and especially among the persians they were falling by the arrows in great numbers. for while their missiles were incomparably more frequent, since the persians are almost all bowmen and they learn to make their shots much more rapidly than any other men, still the bows which sent the arrows were weak and not very tightly strung, so that their missiles, hitting a corselet, perhaps, or helmet or shield of a roman warrior, were broken off and had no power to hurt the man who was hit. the roman bowmen are always slower indeed, but inasmuch as their bows are extremely stiff and very tightly strung, and one might add that they are handled by stronger men, they easily slay much greater numbers of those they hit than do the persians, for no armour proves an obstacle to the force of their arrows. now already two-thirds of the day had passed, and the battle was still even. then by mutual agreement all the best of the persian army advanced to attack the roman right wing, where arethas and the saracens had been stationed. but they broke their formation and moved apart, so that they got the reputation of having betrayed the romans to the persians. for without awaiting the oncoming enemy they all straightway beat a hasty retreat. so the persians in this way broke through the enemy's line and immediately got in the rear of the roman cavalry. thus the romans, who were already exhausted both by the march and the labour of the battle,--and besides this they were all fasting so far on in the day,--now that they were assailed by the enemy on both sides, held out no longer, but the most of them in full flight made their way to the islands in the river which were close by, while some also remained there and performed deeds both amazing and remarkable against the enemy. among these was ascan who, after killing many of the notables among the persians, was gradually hacked to pieces and finally fell, leaving to the enemy abundant reason to remember him. and with him eight hundred others perished after shewing themselves brave men in this struggle, and almost all the isaurians fell with their leaders, without even daring to lift their weapons against the enemy. for they were thoroughly inexperienced in this business, since they had recently left off farming and entered into the perils of warfare, which before that time were unknown to them. and yet just before these very men had been most furious of all for battle because of their ignorance of warfare, and were then reproaching belisarius with cowardice. they were not in fact all isaurians but the majority of them were lycaones. belisarius with some few men remained there, and as long as he saw ascan and his men holding out, he also in company with those who were with him held back the enemy; but when some of ascan's troops had fallen, and the others had turned to flee wherever they could, then at length he too fled with his men and came to the phalanx of infantry, who with peter were still fighting, although not many in number now, since the most of them too had fled. there he himself gave up his horse and commanded all his men to do the same thing and on foot with the others to fight off the oncoming enemy. and those of the persians who were following the fugitives, after pursuing for only a short distance, straightway returned and rushed upon the infantry and belisarius with all the others. then the romans turned their backs to the river so that no movement to surround them might be executed by the enemy, and as best they could under the circumstances were defending themselves against their assailants. and again the battle became fierce, although the two sides were not evenly matched in strength; for foot-soldiers, and a very few of them, were fighting against the whole persian cavalry. nevertheless the enemy were not able either to rout them or in any other way to overpower them. for standing shoulder to shoulder they kept themselves constantly massed in a small space, and they formed with their shields a rigid, unyielding barricade, so that they shot at the persians more conveniently than they were shot at by them. many a time after giving up, the persians would advance against them determined to break up and destroy their line, but they always retired again from the assault unsuccessful. for their horses, annoyed by the clashing of the shields, reared up and made confusion for themselves and their riders. thus both sides continued the struggle until it had become late in the day. and when night had already come on, the persians withdrew to their camp, and belisarius accompanied by some few men found a freight-boat and crossed over to the island in the river, while the other romans reached the same place by swimming. on the following day many freight-boats were brought to the romans from the city of callinicus and they were conveyed thither in them, and the persians, after despoiling the dead, all departed homeward. however they did not find their own dead less numerous than the enemy's. when azarethes reached persia with his army, although he had prospered in the battle, he found cabades exceedingly ungrateful, for the following reason. it is a custom among the persians that, when they are about to march against any of their foes, the king sits on the royal throne, and many baskets are set there before him; and the general also is present who is expected to lead the army against the enemy; then the army passes along before the king, one man at a time, and each of them throws one weapon into the baskets; after this they are sealed with the king's seal and preserved; and when this army returns to persia, each one of the soldiers takes one weapon out of the baskets. a count is then made by those whose office it is to do so of all the weapons which have not been taken by the men, and they report to the king the number of the soldiers who have not returned, and in this way it becomes evident how many have perished in the war. thus the law has stood from of old among the persians. now when azarethes came into the presence of the king, cabades enquired of him whether he came back with any roman fortress won over to their side, for he had marched forth with alamoundaras against the romans, with the purpose of subduing antioch. and azarethes said that he had captured no fortress, but that he had conquered the romans and belisarius in battle. so cabades bade the army of azarethes pass by, and from the baskets each man took out a weapon just as was customary. but since many weapons were left, cabades rebuked azarethes for the victory and thereafter ranked him among the most unworthy. so the victory had this conclusion for azarethes. xix at that time the idea occurred to the emperor justinian to ally with himself the aethiopians and the homeritae, in order to injure the persians. i shall now first explain what part of the earth these nations occupy, and then i shall point out in what manner the emperor hoped that they would be of help to the romans. the boundaries of palestine extend toward the east to the sea which is called the red sea. now this sea, beginning at india, comes to an end at this point in the roman domain. and there is a city called aelas on its shore, where the sea comes to an end, as i have said, and becomes a very narrow gulf. and as one sails into the sea from there, the egyptian mountains lie on the right, extending toward the south; on the other side a country deserted by men extends northward to an indefinite distance; and the land on both sides is visible as one sails in as far as the island called iotabe, not less than one thousand stades distant from the city of aelas. on this island hebrews had lived from of old in autonomy, but in the reign of this justinian they have become subject to the romans. from there on there comes a great open sea. and those who sail into this part of it no longer see the land on the right, but they always anchor along the left coast when night comes on. for it is impossible to navigate in the darkness on this sea, since it is everywhere full of shoals. but there are harbours there and great numbers of them, not made by the hand of man, but by the natural contour of the land, and for this reason it is not difficult for mariners to find anchorage wherever they happen to be. this coast[ ] immediately beyond the boundaries of palestine is held by saracens, who have been settled from of old in the palm groves. these groves are in the interior, extending over a great tract of land, and there absolutely nothing else grows except palm trees. the emperor justinian had received these palm groves as a present from abochorabus, the ruler of the saracens there, and he was appointed by the emperor captain over the saracens in palestine. and he guarded the land from plunder constantly, for both to the barbarians over whom he ruled and no less to the enemy, abochorabus always seemed a man to be feared and an exceptionally energetic fellow. formally, therefore, the emperor holds the palm groves, but for him really to possess himself of any of the country there is utterly impossible. for a land completely destitute of human habitation and extremely dry lies between, extending to the distance of a ten days' journey; moreover the palm groves themselves are by no means worth anything, and abochorabus only gave the form of a gift, and the emperor accepted it with full knowledge of the fact. so much then for the palm groves. adjoining this people there are other saracens in possession of the coast, who are called maddeni and who are subjects of the homeritae. these homeritae dwell in the land on the farther side of them on the shore of the sea. and beyond them many other nations are said to be settled as far as the man-eating saracens. beyond these are the nations of india. but regarding these matters let each one speak as he may wish. about opposite the homeritae on the opposite mainland dwell the aethiopians who are called auxomitae, because their king resides in the city of auxomis. and the expanse of sea which lies between is crossed in a voyage of five days and nights, when a moderately favouring wind blows. for here they are accustomed to navigate by night also, since there are no shoals at all in these parts; this portion of the sea has been called the red sea by some. for the sea which one traverses beyond this point as far as the shore and the city of aelas has received the name of the arabian gulf, inasmuch as the country which extends from here to the limits of the city of gaza used to be called in olden times arabia, since the king of the arabs had his palace in early times in the city of petrae. now the harbour of the homeritae from which they are accustomed to put to sea for the voyage to aethiopia is called bulicas; and at the end of the sail across the sea they always put in at the harbour of the adulitae. but the city of adulis is removed from the harbour a distance of twenty stades (for it lacks only so much of being on the sea), while from the city of auxomis it is a journey of twelve days. all the boats which are found in india and on this sea are not made in the same manner as are other ships. for neither are they smeared with pitch, nor with any other substance, nor indeed are the planks fastened together by iron nails going through and through, but they are bound together with a kind of cording. the reason is not as most persons suppose, that there are certain rocks there which draw the iron to themselves (for witness the fact that when the roman vessels sail from aelas into this sea, although they are fitted with much iron, no such thing has ever happened to them), but rather because the indians and the aethiopians possess neither iron nor any other thing suitable for such purposes. furthermore, they are not even able to buy any of these things from the romans since this is explicitly forbidden to all by law; for death is the punishment for one who is caught. such then is the description of the so-called red sea[ ] and of the land which lies on either side of it. from the city of auxomis to the aegyptian boundaries of the roman domain, where the city called elephantine is situated, is a journey of thirty days for an unencumbered traveller. within that space many nations are settled, and among them the blemyes and the nobatae, who are very large nations. but the blemyes dwell in the central portion of the country, while the nobatae possess the territory about the river nile. formerly this was not the limit of the roman empire, but it lay beyond there as far as one would advance in a seven days' journey; but the roman emperor diocletian came there, and observed that the tribute from these places was of the smallest possible account, since the land is at that point extremely narrow (for rocks rise to an exceedingly great height at no great distance from the nile and spread over the rest of the country), while a very large body of soldiers had been stationed there from of old, the maintenance of which was an excessive burden upon the public; and at the same time the nobatae who formerly dwelt about the city of oasis used to plunder the whole region; so he persuaded these barbarians to move from their own habitations, and to settle along the river nile, promising to bestow upon them great cities and land both extensive and incomparably better than that which they had previously occupied. for in this way he thought that they would no longer harass the country about oasis at least, and that they would possess themselves of the land given them, as being their own, and would probably beat off the blemyes and the other barbarians. and since this pleased the nobatae, they made the migration immediately, just as diocletian directed them, and took possession of all the roman cities and the land on both sides of the river beyond the city of elephantine. then it was that this emperor decreed that to them and to the blemyes a fixed sum of gold should be given every year with the stipulation that they should no longer plunder the land of the romans. and they receive this gold even up to my time, but none the less they overrun the country there. thus it seems that with all barbarians there is no means of compelling them to keep faith with the romans except through the fear of soldiers to hold them in check. and yet this emperor went so far as to select a certain island in the river nile close to the city of elephantine and there construct a very strong fortress in which he established certain temples and altars for the romans and these barbarians in common, and he settled priests of both nations in this fortress, thinking that the friendship between them would be secure by reason of their sharing the things sacred to them. and for this reason he named the place philae. now both these nations, the blemyes and the nobatae, believe in all the gods in which the greeks believe, and they also reverence isis and osiris, and not least of all priapus. but the blemyes are accustomed also to sacrifice human beings to the sun. these sanctuaries in philae were kept by these barbarians even up to my time, but the emperor justinian decided to tear them down. accordingly narses, a persarmenian by birth, whom i have mentioned before as having deserted to the romans[ ], being commander of the troops there, tore down the sanctuaries at the emperor's order, and put the priests under guard and sent the statues to byzantium. but i shall return to the previous narrative. xx at about the time of this war hellestheaeus, the king of the aethiopians, who was a christian and a most devoted adherent of this faith, discovered that a number of the homeritae on the opposite mainland were oppressing the christians there outrageously; many of these rascals were jews, and many of them held in reverence the old faith which men of the present day call hellenic. he therefore collected a fleet of ships and an army and came against them, and he conquered them in battle and slew both the king and many of the homeritae. he then set up in his stead a christian king, a homerite by birth, by name esimiphaeus, and, after ordaining that he should pay a tribute to the aethiopians every year, he returned to his home. in this aethiopian army many slaves and all who were readily disposed to crime were quite unwilling to follow the king back, but were left behind and remained there because of their desire for the land of the homeritae; for it is an extremely goodly land. these fellows at a time not long after this, in company with certain others, rose against the king esimiphaeus and put him in confinement in one of the fortresses there, and established another king over the homeritae, abramus by name. now this abramus was a christian, but a slave of a roman citizen who was engaged in the business of shipping in the city of adulis in aethiopia. when hellestheaeus learned this, he was eager to punish abramus together with those who had revolted with him for their injustice to esimiphaeus, and he sent against them an army of three thousand men with one of his relatives as commander. this army, once there, was no longer willing to return home, but they wished to remain where they were in a goodly land, and so without the knowledge of their commander they opened negotiations with abramus; then when they came to an engagement with their opponents, just as the fighting began, they killed their commander and joined the ranks of the enemy, and so remained there. but hellestheaeus was greatly moved with anger and sent still another army against them; this force engaged with abramus and his men, and, after suffering a severe defeat in the battle, straightway returned home. thereafter the king of the aethiopians became afraid, and sent no further expeditions against abramus. after the death of hellestheaeus, abramus agreed to pay tribute to the king of the aethiopians who succeeded him, and in this way he strengthened his rule. but this happened at a later time. at that time, when hellestheaeus was reigning over the aethiopians, and esimiphaeus over the homeritae, the emperor justinian sent an ambassador, julianus, demanding that both nations on account of their community of religion should make common cause with the romans in the war against the persians; for he purposed that the aethiopians, by purchasing silk from india and selling it among the romans, might themselves gain much money, while causing the romans to profit in only one way, namely, that they be no longer compelled to pay over their money to their enemy. (this is the silk of which they are accustomed to make the garments which of old the greeks called medic, but which at the present time they name "seric"[ ]). as for the homeritae, it was desired that they should establish caïsus, the fugitive, as captain over the maddeni, and with a great army of their own people and of the maddene saracens make an invasion into the land of the persians. this caïsus was by birth of the captain's rank and an exceptionally able warrior, but he had killed one of the relatives of esimiphaeus and was a fugitive in a land which is utterly destitute of human habitation. so each king, promising to put this demand into effect, dismissed the ambassador, but neither one of them did the things agreed upon by them. for it was impossible for the aethiopians to buy silk from the indians, for the persian merchants always locate themselves at the very harbours where the indian ships first put in, (since they inhabit the adjoining country), and are accustomed to buy the whole cargoes; and it seemed to the homeritae a difficult thing to cross a country which was a desert and which extended so far that a long time was required for the journey across it, and then to go against a people much more warlike than themselves. later on abramus too, when at length he had established his power most securely, promised the emperor justinian many times to invade the land of persia, but only once began the journey and then straightway turned back. such then were the relations which the romans had with the aethiopians and the homeritae. xxi hermogenes, as soon as the battle on the euphrates had taken place, came before cabades to negotiate with him, but he accomplished nothing regarding the peace on account of which he had come, since he found him still swelling with rage against the romans; for this reason he returned unsuccessful. and belisarius came to byzantium at the summons of the emperor, having been removed from the office which he held, in order that he might march against the vandals; but sittas, as had been decreed by the emperor justinian, went to the east in order to guard that portion of the empire. and the persians once more invaded mesopotamia with a great army under command of chanaranges and aspebedes and mermeroes. since no one dared to engage with them, they made camp and began the siege of martyropolis, where bouzes and bessas had been stationed in command of the garrison. this city lies in the land called sophanene, two hundred and forty stades distant from the city of amida toward the north; it is just on the river nymphius which divides the land of the romans and the persians. so the persians began to assail the fortifications, and, while the besieged at first withstood them manfully, it did not seem likely that they would hold out long. for the circuit-wall was quite easily assailable in most parts, and could be captured very easily by a persian siege, and besides they did not have a sufficient supply of provisions, nor indeed had they engines of war nor anything else that was of any value for defending themselves. meanwhile sittas and the roman army came to a place called attachas, one hundred stades distant from martyropolis, but they did not dare to advance further, but established their camp and remained there. hermogenes also was with them, coming again as ambassador from byzantium. at this point the following event took place. it has been customary from ancient times both among the romans and the persians to maintain spies at public expense; these men are accustomed to go secretly among the enemy, in order that they may investigate accurately what is going on, and may then return and report to the rulers. many of these men, as is natural, exert themselves to act in a spirit of loyalty to their nation, while some also betray their secrets to the enemy. at that time a certain spy who had been sent from the persians to the romans came into the presence of the emperor justinian and revealed many things which were taking place among the barbarians, and, in particular, that the nation of the massagetae, in order to injure the romans, were on the very point of going out into the land of persia, and that from there they were prepared to march into the territory of the romans, and unite with the persian army. when the emperor heard this, having already a proof of the man's truthfulness to him, he presented him with a handsome sum of money and persuaded him to go to the persian army which was besieging the martyropolitans, and announce to the barbarians there that these massagetae had been won over with money by the roman emperor, and were about to come against them that very moment. the spy carried out these instructions, and coming to the army of the barbarians he announced to chanaranges and the others that an army of huns hostile to them would at no distant time come to the romans. and when they heard this, they were seized with terror, and were at a loss how to deal with the situation. at this juncture it came about that cabades became seriously ill, and he called to him one of the persians who were in closest intimacy with him, mebodes by name, and conversed with him concerning chosroes and the kingdom, and said he feared the persians would make a serious attempt to disregard some of the things which had been decided upon by him. but mebodes asked him to leave the declaration of his purpose in writing, and bade him be confident that the persians would never dare to disregard it. so cabades set it down plainly that chosroes should become king over the persians. the document was written by mebodes himself, and cabades immediately passed from among men. [sept. , ] and when everything had been performed as prescribed by law in the burial of the king, then caoses, confident by reason of the law, tried to lay claim to the office, but mebodes stood in his way, asserting that no one ought to assume the royal power by his own initiative but by vote of the persian notables. so caoses committed the decision in the matter to the magistrates, supposing that there would be no opposition to him from there. but when all the persian notables had been gathered together for this purpose and were in session, mebodes read the document and stated the purpose of cabades regarding chosroes, and all, calling to mind the virtue of cabades, straightway declared chosroes king of the persians. thus then chosroes secured the power. but at martyropolis, sittas and hermogenes were in fear concerning the city, since they were utterly unable to defend it in its peril, and they sent certain men to the enemy, who came before the generals and spoke as follows: "it has escaped your own notice that you are becoming wrongfully an obstacle to the king of the persians and to the blessings of peace and to each state. for ambassadors sent from the emperor are even now present in order that they may go to the king of the persians and there settle the differences and establish a treaty with him; but do you as quickly as possible remove from the land of the romans and permit the ambassadors to act in the manner which will be of advantage to both peoples. for we are ready also to give as hostages men of repute concerning these very things, to prove that they will be actually accomplished at no distant date." such were the words of the ambassadors of the romans. it happened also that a messenger came to them from the palace, who brought them word that cabades had died and that chosroes, son of cabades, had become king over the persians, and that in this way the situation had become unsettled. and as a result of this the generals heard the words of the romans gladly, since they feared also the attack of the huns. the romans therefore straightway gave as hostages martinus and one of the body-guards of sittas, senecius by name; so the persians broke up the siege and made their departure promptly. and the huns not long afterward invaded the land of the romans, but since they did not find the persian army there, they made their raid a short one, and then all departed homeward. xxii straightway rufinus and alexander and thomas came to act as ambassadors with hermogenes, and they all came before the persian king at the river tigris. and when chosroes saw them, he released the hostages. then the ambassadors coaxed chosroes, and spoke many beguiling words most unbecoming to roman ambassadors. by this treatment chosroes became tractable, and agreed to establish a peace with them that should be without end for the price of one hundred and ten "centenaria," on condition that the commander of troops in mesopotamia should be no longer at daras, but should spend all his time in constantina, as was customary in former times; but the fortresses in lazica he refused to give back, although he himself demanded that he should receive back from the romans both pharangium and the fortress of bolum. (now the "centenarium" weighs one hundred pounds, for which reason it is so called; for the romans call one hundred "centum"). he demanded that this gold be given him, in order that the romans might not be compelled either to tear down the city of daras or to share the garrison at the caspian gates with the persians[ ]. however the ambassadors, while approving the rest, said that they were not able to concede the fortresses, unless they should first make enquiry of the emperor concerning them. it was decided, accordingly, that rufinus should be sent concerning them to byzantium, and that the others should wait until he should return. and it was arranged with rufinus that seventy days' time be allowed until he should arrive. when rufinus reached byzantium and reported to the emperor what chosroes' decision was concerning the peace, the emperor commanded that the peace be concluded by them on these terms. in the meantime, however, a report which was not true reached persia saying that the emperor justinian had become enraged and put rufinus to death. chosroes indeed was much perturbed by this, and, already filled with anger, he advanced against the romans with his whole army. but rufinus met him on the way as he was returning not far from the city of nisibis. therefore they proceeded to this city themselves, and, since they were about to establish the peace, the ambassadors began to convey the money thither. but the emperor justinian was already repenting that he had given up the strong holds of lazica, and he wrote a letter to the ambassadors expressly commanding them by no means to hand them over to the persians. for this reason chosroes no longer saw fit to make the treaty; and then it came to the mind of rufinus that he had counselled more speedily than safely in bringing the money into the land of persia. straightway, therefore, he threw himself on the earth, and lying prone he entreated chosroes to send the money back with them and not march immediately against the romans, but to put off the war to some other time. and chosroes bade him rise from the ground, promising that he would grant all these things. so the ambassadors with the money came to daras and the persian army marched back. then indeed the fellow-ambassadors of rufinus began to regard him with extreme suspicion themselves, and they also denounced him to the emperor, basing their judgment on the fact that chosroes had been persuaded to concede him everything which he asked of him. however, the emperor showed him no disfavour on account of this. at a time not long after this rufinus himself and hermogenes were again sent to the court of chosroes, and they immediately came to agreement with each other concerning the treaty, subject to the condition that both sides should give back all the places which each nation had wrested from the other in that war, and that there should no longer be any military post in daras; as for the iberians, it was agreed that the decision rested with them whether they should remain there in byzantium or return to their own fatherland. and there were many who remained, and many also who returned to their ancestral homes. [ a.d.] thus, then, they concluded the so-called "endless peace," when the emperor justinian was already in the sixth year of his reign. and the romans gave the persians pharangium and the fortress of bolum together with the money, and the persians gave the romans the strongholds of lazica. the persians also returned dagaris to the romans, and received in return for him another man of no mean station. this dagaris in later times often conquered the huns in battle when they had invaded the land of the romans, and drove them out; for he was an exceptionally able warrior. thus both sides in the manner described made secure the treaty between them. xxiii straightway it came about that plots were formed against both rulers by their subjects; and i shall now explain how this happened. chosroes, the son of cabades, was a man of an unruly turn of mind and strangely fond of innovations. for this reason he himself was always full of excitement and alarms, and he was an unfailing cause of similar feelings in all others. all, therefore, who were men of action among the persians, in vexation at his administration, were purposing to establish over themselves another king from the house of cabades. and since they longed earnestly for the rule of zames, which was made impossible by the law by reason of the disfigurement of his eye, as has been stated, they found upon consideration that the best course for them was to establish in power his child cabades, who bore the same name as his grandfather, while zames, as guardian of the child, should administer the affairs of the persians as he wished. so they went to zames and disclosed their plan, and, urging him on with great enthusiasm, they endeavoured to persuade him to undertake the thing. and since the plan pleased him, they were purposing to assail chosroes at the fitting moment. but the plan was discovered and came to the knowledge of the king, and thus their proceedings were stopped. for chosroes slew zames himself and all his own brothers and those of zames together with all their male offspring, and also all the persian notables who had either begun or taken part in any way in the plot against him. among these was aspebedes, the brother of chosroes' mother. cabades, however, the son of zames, he was quite unable to kill; for he was still being reared under the chanaranges, adergoudounbades. but he sent a message to the chanaranges, bidding him himself kill the boy he had reared; for he neither thought it well to shew mistrust, nor yet had he power to compel him. the chanaranges, therefore, upon hearing the commands of chosroes, was exceedingly grieved and, lamenting the misfortune, he communicated to his wife and cabades' nurse all that the king had commanded. then the woman, bursting into tears and seizing the knees of her husband, entreated him by no means to kill cabades. they therefore consulted together, and planned to bring up the child in the most secure concealment, and to send word in haste to chosroes that cabades had been put out of the world for him. and they sent word to the king to this effect, and concealed cabades in such a way that the affair did not come to the notice of any one, except varrames, their own child, and one of the servants who seemed to them to be in every way most trustworthy. but when, as time went on, cabades came of age, the chanaranges began to fear lest what had been done should be brought to light; he therefore gave cabades money and bade him depart and save himself by flight wherever he could. at that time, then, chosroes and all the others were in ignorance of the fact that the chanaranges had carried this thing through. at a later time chosroes was making an invasion into the land of colchis with a great army, as will be told in the following narrative[ ]. and he was followed by the son of this same chanaranges, varrames, who took with him a number of his servants, and among them the one who shared with him the knowledge of what had happened to cabades; while there varrames told the king everything regarding cabades, and he brought forward the servant agreeing with him in every particular. when chosroes learned this he was forthwith exceedingly angry, and he counted it a dreadful thing that he had suffered such things at the hand of a man who was his slave; and since he had no other means of getting the man under his hand he devised the following plan. when he was about to return homeward from the land of colchis, he wrote to this chanaranges that he had decided to invade the land of the romans with his whole army, not, however, by a single inroad into the country, but making two divisions of the persian army, in order that the attack might be made upon the enemy on both sides of the river euphrates. now one division of the army he himself, as was natural, would lead into the hostile land, while to no one else of his subjects would he grant the privilege of holding equal honour with the king in this matter, except to the chanaranges himself on account of his valour. it was necessary, therefore, that the chanaranges should come speedily to meet him as he returned, in order that he might confer with him and give him all the directions which would be of advantage to the army, and that he should bid his attendants travel behind him on the road. when the chanaranges received this message, he was overjoyed at the honour shown him by the king, and in complete ignorance of his own evil plight, he immediately carried out the instructions. but in the course of this journey, since he was quite unable to sustain the toil of it (for he was a very old man), he relaxed his hold on the reins and fell off his horse, breaking the bone in his leg. it was therefore necessary for him to remain there quietly and be cared for, and the king came to that place and saw him. and chosroes said to him that with his leg in such a plight it was not possible that he make the expedition with them, but that he must go to one of the fortresses in that region and receive treatment there from the physicians. thus then chosroes sent the man away on the road to death, and behind him followed the very men who were to destroy him in the fortress,--a man who was in fact as well as in name an invincible general among the persians, who had marched against twelve nations of barbarians and subjected them all to king cabades. after adergoudounbades had been removed from the world, varrames, his son, received the office of chanaranges. not long after this either cabades himself, the son of zames, or someone else who was assuming the name of cabades came to byzantium; certainly he resembled very closely in appearance cabades, the king. and the emperor justinian, though in doubt concerning him, received him with great friendliness and honoured him as the grandson of cabades. so then fared the persians who rose against chosroes. later on chosroes destroyed also mebodes for the following reason. while the king was arranging a certain important matter, he directed zaberganes who was present to call mebodes. now it happened that zaberganes was on hostile terms with mebodes. when he came to him, he found him marshalling the soldiers under his command, and he said that the king summoned him to come as quickly as possible. and mebodes promised that he would follow directly as soon as he should have arranged the matter in hand; but zaberganes, moved by his hostility to him, reported to chosroes that mebodes did not wish to come at present, claiming to have some business or other. chosroes, therefore, moved with anger, sent one of his attendants commanding mebodes to go to the tripod. now as to what this is i shall explain forthwith. an iron tripod stands always before the palace; and whenever anyone of the persians learns that the king is angry with him, it is not right for such a man to flee for refuge to a sanctuary nor to go elsewhere, but he must seat himself by this tripod and await the verdict of the king, while no one at all dares protect him. there mebodes sat in pitiable plight for many days, until he was seized and put to death at the command of chosroes. such was the final outcome of his good deeds to chosroes. xxiv [jan. , ] at this same time an insurrection broke out unexpectedly in byzantium among the populace, and, contrary to expectation, it proved to be a very serious affair, and ended in great harm to the people and to the senate, as the following account will shew. in every city the population has been divided for a long time past into the blue and the green factions; but within comparatively recent times it has come about that, for the sake of these names and the seats which the rival factions occupy in watching the games, they spend their money and abandon their bodies to the most cruel tortures, and even do not think it unworthy to die a most shameful death. and they fight against their opponents knowing not for what end they imperil themselves, but knowing well that, even if they overcome their enemy in the fight, the conclusion of the matter for them will be to be carried off straightway to the prison, and finally, after suffering extreme torture, to be destroyed. so there grows up in them against their fellow men a hostility which has no cause, and at no time does it cease or disappear, for it gives place neither to the ties of marriage nor of relationship nor of friendship, and the case is the same even though those who differ with respect to these colours be brothers or any other kin. they care neither for things divine nor human in comparison with conquering in these struggles; and it matters not whether a sacrilege is committed by anyone at all against god, or whether the laws and the constitution are violated by friend or by foe; nay even when they are perhaps ill supplied with the necessities of life, and when their fatherland is in the most pressing need and suffering unjustly, they pay no heed if only it is likely to go well with their "faction"; for so they name the bands of partisans. and even women join with them in this unholy strife, and they not only follow the men, but even resist them if opportunity offers, although they neither go to the public exhibitions at all, nor are they impelled by any other cause; so that i, for my part, am unable to call this anything except a disease of the soul. this, then, is pretty well how matters stand among the people of each and every city. but at this time the officers of the city administration in byzantium were leading away to death some of the rioters. but the members of the two factions, conspiring together and declaring a truce with each other, seized the prisoners and then straightway entered the prison and released all those who were in confinement there, whether they had been condemned on a charge of stirring up sedition, or for any other unlawful act. and all the attendants in the service of the city government were killed indiscriminately; meanwhile, all of the citizens who were sane-minded were fleeing to the opposite mainland, and fire was applied to the city as if it had fallen under the hand of an enemy. the sanctuary of sophia and the baths of zeuxippus, and the portion of the imperial residence from the propylaea as far as the so-called house of ares were destroyed by fire, and besides these both the great colonnades which extended as far as the market place which bears the name of constantine, in addition to many houses of wealthy men and a vast amount of treasure. during this time the emperor and his consort with a few members of the senate shut themselves up in the palace and remained quietly there. now the watch-word which the populace passed around to one another was nika[ ], and the insurrection has been called by this name up to the present time. the praetorian prefect at that time was john the cappadocian, and tribunianus, a pamphylian by birth, was counsellor to the emperor; this person the romans call "quaestor." one of these two men, john, was entirely without the advantages of a liberal education; for he learned nothing while attending the elementary school except his letters, and these, too, poorly enough; but by his natural ability he became the most powerful man of whom we know. for he was most capable in deciding upon what was needful and in finding a solution for difficulties. but he became the basest of all men and employed his natural power to further his low designs; neither consideration for god nor any shame before man entered into his mind, but to destroy the lives of many men for the sake of gain and to wreck whole cities was his constant concern. so within a short time indeed he had acquired vast sums of money, and he flung himself completely into the sordid life of a drunken scoundrel; for up to the time of lunch each day he would plunder the property of his subjects, and for the rest of the day occupy himself with drinking and with wanton deeds of lust. and he was utterly unable to control himself, for he ate food until he vomited, and he was always ready to steal money and more ready to bring it out and spend it. such a man then was john. tribunianus, on the other hand, both possessed natural ability and in educational attainments was inferior to none of his contemporaries; but he was extraordinarily fond of the pursuit of money and always ready to sell justice for gain; therefore every day, as a rule, he was repealing some laws and proposing others, selling off to those who requested it either favour according to their need. now as long as the people were waging this war with each other in behalf of the names of the colours, no attention was paid to the offences of these men against the constitution; but when the factions came to a mutual understanding, as has been said, and so began the sedition, then openly throughout the whole city they began to abuse the two and went about seeking them to kill. accordingly the emperor, wishing to win the people to his side, instantly dismissed both these men from office. and phocas, a patrician, he appointed praetorian prefect, a man of the greatest discretion and fitted by nature to be a guardian of justice; basilides he commanded to fill the office of quaestor, a man known among the patricians for his agreeable qualities and a notable besides. however, the insurrection continued no less violently under them. now on the fifth day of the insurrection in the late afternoon the emperor justinian gave orders to hypatius and pompeius, nephews of the late emperor, anastasius, to go home as quickly as possible, either because he suspected that some plot was being matured by them against his own person, or, it may be, because destiny brought them to this. but they feared that the people would force them to the throne (as in fact fell out), and they said that they would be doing wrong if they should abandon their sovereign when he found himself in such danger. when the emperor justinian heard this, he inclined still more to his suspicion, and he bade them quit the palace instantly. thus, then, these two men betook themselves to their homes, and, as long as it was night, they remained there quietly. but on the following day at sunrise it became known to the people that both men had quit the palace where they had been staying. so the whole population ran to them, and they declared hypatius emperor and prepared to lead him to the market-place to assume the power. but the wife of hypatius, mary, a discreet woman, who had the greatest reputation for prudence, laid hold of her husband and would not let go, but cried out with loud lamentation and with entreaties to all her kinsmen that the people were leading him on the road to death. but since the throng overpowered her, she unwillingly released her husband, and he by no will of his own came to the forum of constantine, where they summoned him to the throne; then since they had neither diadem nor anything else with which it is customary for a king to be clothed, they placed a golden necklace upon his head and proclaimed him emperor of the romans. by this time the members of the senate were assembling,--as many of them as had not been left in the emperor's residence,--and many expressed the opinion that they should go to the palace to fight. but origenes, a man of the senate, came forward and spoke as follows: "fellow romans, it is impossible that the situation which is upon us be solved in any way except by war. now war and royal power are agreed to be the greatest of all things in the world. but when action involves great issues, it refuses to be brought to a successful conclusion by the brief crisis of a moment, but this is accomplished only by wisdom of thought and energy of action, which men display for a length of time. therefore if we should go out against the enemy, our cause will hang in the balance, and we shall be taking a risk which will decide everything in a brief space of time; and, as regards the consequences of such action, we shall either fall down and worship fortune or reproach her altogether. for those things whose issue is most quickly decided, fall, as a rule, under the sway of fortune. but if we handle the present situation more deliberately, not even if we wish shall we be able to take justinian in the palace, but he will very speedily be thankful if he is allowed to flee; for authority which is ignored always loses its power, since its strength ebbs away with each day. moreover we have other palaces, both placillianae and the palace named from helen, which this emperor should make his headquarters and from there he should carry on the war and attend to the ordering of all other matters in the best possible way." so spoke origenes. but the rest, as a crowd is accustomed to do, insisted more excitedly and thought that the present moment was opportune, and not least of all hypatius (for it was fated that evil should befall him) bade them lead the way to the hippodrome. but some say that he came there purposely, being well-disposed toward the emperor. now the emperor and his court were deliberating as to whether it would be better for them if they remained or if they took to flight in the ships. and many opinions were expressed favouring either course. and the empress theodora also spoke to the following effect: "as to the belief that a woman ought not to be daring among men or to assert herself boldly among those who are holding back from fear, i consider that the present crisis most certainly does not permit us to discuss whether the matter should be regarded in this or in some other way. for in the case of those whose interests have come into the greatest danger nothing else seems best except to settle the issue immediately before them in the best possible way. my opinion then is that the present time, above all others, is inopportune for flight, even though it bring safety. for while it is impossible for a man who has seen the light not also to die, for one who has been an emperor it is unendurable to be a fugitive. may i never be separated from this purple, and may i not live that day on which those who meet me shall not address me as mistress. if, now, it is your wish to save yourself, o emperor, there is no difficulty. for we have much money, and there is the sea, here the boats. however consider whether it will not come about after you have been saved that you would gladly exchange that safety for death. for as for myself, i approve a certain ancient saying that royalty is a good burial-shroud." when the queen had spoken thus, all were filled with boldness, and, turning their thoughts towards resistance, they began to consider how they might be able to defend themselves if any hostile force should come against them. now the soldiers as a body, including those who were stationed about the emperor's court, were neither well disposed to the emperor nor willing openly to take an active part in fighting, but were waiting for what the future would bring forth. all the hopes of the emperor were centred upon belisarius and mundus, of whom the former, belisarius, had recently returned from the persian war bringing with him a following which was both powerful and imposing, and in particular he had a great number of spearmen and guards who had received their training in battles and the perils of warfare. mundus had been appointed general of the illyrians, and by mere chance had happened to come under summons to byzantium on some necessary errand, bringing with him erulian barbarians. when hypatius reached the hippodrome, he went up immediately to where the emperor is accustomed to take his place and seated himself on the royal throne from which the emperor was always accustomed to view the equestrian and athletic contests. and from the palace mundus went out through the gate which, from the circling descent, has been given the name of the snail. belisarius meanwhile began at first to go straight up toward hypatius himself and the royal throne, and when he came to the adjoining structure where there has been a guard of soldiers from of old, he cried out to the soldiers commanding them to open the door for him as quickly as possible, in order that he might go against the tyrant. but since the soldiers had decided to support neither side, until one of them should be manifestly victorious, they pretended not to hear at all and thus put him off. so belisarius returned to the emperor and declared that the day was lost for them, for the soldiers who guarded the palace were rebelling against him. the emperor therefore commanded him to go to the so-called bronze gate and the propylaea there. so belisarius, with difficulty and not without danger and great exertion, made his way over ground covered by ruins and half-burned buildings, and ascended to the stadium. and when he had reached the blue colonnade which is on the right of the emperor's throne, he purposed to go against hypatius himself first; but since there was a small door there which had been closed and was guarded by the soldiers of hypatius who were inside, he feared lest while he was struggling in the narrow space the populace should fall upon him, and after destroying both himself and all his followers, should proceed with less trouble and difficulty against the emperor. concluding, therefore, that he must go against the populace who had taken their stand in the hippodrome--a vast multitude crowding each other in great disorder--he drew his sword from its sheath and, commanding the others to do likewise, with a shout he advanced upon them at a run. but the populace, who were standing in a mass and not in order, at the sight of armoured soldiers who had a great reputation for bravery and experience in war, and seeing that they struck out with their swords unsparingly, beat a hasty retreat. then a great outcry arose, as was natural, and mundus, who was standing not far away, was eager to join in the fight,--for he was a daring and energetic fellow--but he was at a loss as to what he should do under the circumstances; when, however, he observed that belisarius was in the struggle, he straightway made a sally into the hippodrome through the entrance which they call the gate of death. then indeed from both sides the partisans of hypatius were assailed with might and main and destroyed. when the rout had become complete and there had already been great slaughter of the populace, boraedes and justus, nephews of the emperor justinian, without anyone daring to lift a hand against them, dragged hypatius down from the throne, and, leading him in, handed him over together with pompeius to the emperor. and there perished among the populace on that day more than thirty thousand. but the emperor commanded the two prisoners to be kept in severe confinement. then, while pompeius was weeping and uttering pitiable words (for the man was wholly inexperienced in such misfortunes), hypatius reproached him at length and said that those who were about to die unjustly should not lament. for in the beginning they had been forced by the people against their will, and afterwards they had come to the hippodrome with no thought of harming the emperor. and the soldiers killed both of them on the following day and threw their bodies into the sea. the emperor confiscated all their property for the public treasury, and also that of all the other members of the senate who had sided with them. later, however, he restored to the children of hypatius and pompeius and to all others the titles which they had formerly held, and as much of their property as he had not happened to bestow upon his friends. this was the end of the insurrection in byzantium. xxv tribunianus and john were thus deprived of office, but at a later time they were both restored to the same positions. and tribunianus lived on in office many years and died of disease, suffering no further harm from anyone. for he was a smooth fellow and agreeable in every way and well able by the excellence of his education to throw into the shade his affliction of avarice. but john was oppressive and severe alike with all men, inflicting blows upon those whom he met and plundering without respect absolutely all their money; consequently in the tenth year of his office he rightly and justly atoned for his lawless conduct in the following manner. the empress theodora hated him above all others. and while he gave offence to the woman by the wrongs he committed, he was not of a mind to win her by flattery or by kindness in any way, but he openly set himself in opposition to her and kept slandering her to the emperor, neither blushing before her high station nor feeling shame because of the extraordinary love which the emperor felt for her. when the queen perceived what was being done, she purposed to slay the man, but in no way could she do this, since the emperor justinian set great store by him. and when john learned of the purpose of the queen regarding him, he was greatly terrified. and whenever he went into his chamber to sleep, he expected every night that some one of the barbarians would fall upon him to slay him; and he kept peeping out of the room and looking about the entrances and remained sleepless, although he had attached to himself many thousands of spearmen and guards, a thing which had been granted to no prefect before that time. but at daybreak, forgetting all his fears of things divine and human, he would become again a plague to all the romans both in public and in private. and he conversed commonly with sorcerers, and constantly listened to profane oracles which portended for him the imperial office, so that he was plainly walking on air and lifted up by his hopes of the royal power. but in his rascality and the lawlessness of his conduct there was no moderation or abatement. and there was in him absolutely no regard for god, and even when he went to a sanctuary to pray and to pass the night, he did not do at all as the christians are wont to do, but he clothed himself in a coarse garment appropriate to a priest of the old faith which they are now accustomed to call hellenic, and throughout that whole night mumbled out some unholy words which he had practised, praying that the mind of the emperor might be still more under his control, and that he himself might be free from harm at the hands of all men. at this time belisarius, after subjugating italy, came to byzantium at the summons of the emperor with his wife antonina, in order to march against the persians[ ]. and while in the eyes of all others he was an honoured and distinguished person, as was natural, john alone was hostile to him and worked actively against him, for no other reason than that he drew the hatred of all to himself, while belisarius enjoyed an unequalled popularity. and it was on him that the hope of the romans centred as he marched once more against the persians, leaving his wife in byzantium. now antonina, the wife of belisarius, (for she was the most capable person in the world to contrive the impossible,) purposing to do a favour to the empress, devised the following plan. john had a daughter, euphemia, who had a great reputation for discretion, but a very young woman and for this reason very susceptible; this girl was exceedingly loved by her father, for she was his only child. by treating this young woman kindly for several days antonina succeeded most completely in winning her friendship, and she did not refuse to share her secrets with her. and on one occasion when she was present alone with her in her room she pretended to lament the fate which was upon her, saying that although belisarius had made the roman empire broader by a goodly measure than it had been before, and though he had brought two captive kings and so great an amount of wealth to byzantium, he found justinian ungrateful; and in other respects she slandered the government as not just. now euphemia was overjoyed by these words, for she too was hostile to the present administration by reason of her fear of the empress, and she said: "and yet, dearest friend, it is you and belisarius who are to blame for this, seeing that, though you have opportunity, you are not willing to use your power." and antonina replied quickly: "it is because we are not able, my daughter, to undertake revolutions in camp, unless some of those here at home join with us in the task. now if your father were willing, we should most easily organize this project and accomplish whatever god wills." when euphemia heard this, she promised eagerly that the suggestion would be carried out, and departing from there she immediately brought the matter before her father. and he was pleased by the message (for he inferred that this undertaking offered him a way to the fulfilment of his prophecies and to the royal power), and straightway without any hesitation he assented, and bade his child arrange that on the following day he himself should come to confer with antonina and give pledges. when antonina learned the mind of john, she wished to lead him as far as possible astray from the understanding of the truth, so she said that for the present it was inadvisable that he should meet her, for fear lest some suspicion should arise strong enough to prevent proceedings; but she was intending straightway to depart for the east to join belisarius. when, therefore, she had quit byzantium and had reached the suburb (the one called rufinianae which was the private possession of belisarius), there john should come as if to salute her and to escort her forth on the journey, and they should confer regarding matters of state and give and receive their pledges. in saying this she seemed to john to speak well, and a certain day was appointed to carry out the plan. and the empress, hearing the whole account from antonina, expressed approval of what she had planned, and by her exhortations raised her enthusiasm to a much higher pitch still. when the appointed day was at hand, antonina bade the empress farewell and departed from the city, and she went to rufinianae, as if to begin on the following day her journey to the east; hither too came john at night in order to carry out the plan which had been agreed upon. meanwhile the empress denounced to her husband the things which were being done by john to secure the tyranny, and she sent narses, the eunuch, and marcellus, the commander of the palace guards to rufinianae with numerous soldiers, in order that they might investigate what was going on, and, if they found john setting about a revolution, that they might kill the man forthwith and return. so these departed for this task. but they say that the emperor got information of what was being done and sent one of john's friends to him forbidding him on any condition to meet antonina secretly. but john (since it was fated that he should fare ill), disregarding the emperor's warning, about midnight met antonina, close by a certain wall behind which she had stationed narses and marcellus with their men that they might hear what was said. there, while john with unguarded tongue was assenting to the plans for the attack and binding himself with the most dread oaths, narses and marcellus suddenly set upon him. but in the natural confusion which resulted the body-guards of john (for they stood close by) came immediately to his side. and one of them smote marcellus with his sword, not knowing who he was, and thus john was enabled to escape with them, and reached the city with all speed. and if he had had the courage to go straightway before the emperor, i believe that he would have suffered no harm at his hand; but as it was, he fled for refuge to the sanctuary, and gave the empress opportunity to work her will against him at her pleasure. [may, ] thus, then, from being prefect he became a private citizen, and rising from that sanctuary he was conveyed to another, which is situated in the suburb of the city of cyzicus called by the cyzicenes artace. there he donned the garb of a priest, much against his will, not a bishop's gown however, but that of a presbyter, as they are called. but he was quite unwilling to perform the office of a priest lest at some time it should be a hindrance to his entering again into office; for he was by no means ready to relinquish his hopes. all his property was immediately confiscated to the public treasury, but a large proportion of this the emperor remitted to him, for he was still inclined to spare him. there it was possible for john to live, disregarding all dangers and enjoying great wealth, both that which he himself had concealed and that which by the decision of the emperor remained with him, and to indulge in luxury at his pleasure, and, if he had reasoned wisely, to consider his present lot a happy one. for this reason all the romans were exceedingly vexed with the man, because, forsooth, after proving himself the basest of all demons, contrary to his deserts he was leading a life happier than before. but god, i think, did not suffer john's retribution to end thus, but prepared for him a greater punishment. and it fell out thus. there was in cyzicus a certain bishop named eusebius, a man harsh to all who came in his way, and no less so than john; this man the cyzicenes denounced to the emperor and summoned to justice. and since they accomplished nothing inasmuch as eusebius circumvented them by his great power, certain youths agreed together and killed him in the market-place of cyzicus. now it happened that john had become especially hostile to eusebius, and hence the suspicion of the plot fell upon him. accordingly men were sent from the senate to investigate this act of pollution. and these men first confined john in a prison, and then this man who had been such a powerful prefect, and had been inscribed among the patricians and had mounted the seat of the consuls, than which nothing seems greater, at least in the roman state, they made to stand naked like any robber or footpad, and thrashing him with many blows upon his back, compelled him to tell his past life. and while john had not been clearly convicted as guilty of the murder of eusebius, it seemed that god's justice was exacting from him the penalties of the world. thereafter they stripped him of all his goods and put him naked on board a ship, being wrapped in a single cloak, and that a very rough one purchased for some few obols; and wherever the ship anchored, those who had him in charge commanded him to ask from those he met bread or obols. thus begging everywhere along the way he was conveyed to the city of antinous in aegypt. and this is now the third year during which they have been guarding him there in confinement. as for john himself, although he has fallen into such troubles, he has not relinquished his hope of royal power, but he made up his mind to denounce certain alexandrians as owing money to the public treasury. thus then john the cappadocian ten years afterward was overtaken by this punishment for his political career. xxvi at that time the emperor again designated belisarius general of the east, and, sending him to libya, gained over the country, as will be told later on in my narrative. when this information came to chosroes and the persians, they were mightily vexed, and they already repented having made peace with the romans, because they perceived that their power was extending greatly. and chosroes sent envoys to byzantium, and said that he rejoiced with the emperor justinian, and he asked with a laugh to receive his share of the spoils from libya, on the ground that the emperor would never have been able to conquer in the war with the vandals if the persians had not been at peace with him. so then justinian made a present of money to chosroes, and not long afterwards dismissed the envoys. in the city of daras the following event took place. there was a certain john there serving in a detachment of infantry; this man, in conspiracy with some few of the soldiers, but not all, took possession of the city, essaying to make himself tyrant. then he established himself in a palace as if in a citadel, and was strengthening his tyranny every day. and if it had not happened that the persians were continuing to keep peace with the romans, irreparable harm would have come from this affair to the romans. but as it was, this was prevented by the agreement which had already been reached, as i have said. on the fourth day of the tyranny some soldiers conspired together, and by the advice of mamas, the priest of the city, and anastasius, one of the notable citizens, they went up to the palace at high noon, each man hiding a small sword under his garment. and first at the door of the courtyard they found some few of the body-guards, whom they slew immediately. then they entered the men's apartment and laid hold upon the tyrant; but some say that the soldiers were not the first to do this, but that while they were still hesitating in the courtyard and trembling at the danger, a certain sausage-vendor who was with them rushed in with his cleaver and meeting john smote him unexpectedly. but the blow which had been dealt him was not a fatal one, this account goes on to say, and he fled with a great outcry and suddenly fell among these very soldiers. thus they laid hands upon the man and immediately set fire to the palace and burned it, in order that there might be left no hope from there for those making revolutions; and john they led away to the prison and bound. and one of them, fearing lest the soldiers, upon learning that the tyrant survived, might again make trouble for the city, killed john, and in this way stopped the confusion. such, then, was the progress of events touching this tyranny. footnotes: [ ] cf. _iliad_ xi. [greek: toxota, lôbêtêr, kerai aglae, parthenopipa], the only place where [greek: toxotês] occurs in homer. [ ] cf. _iliad_ v. . [ ] cf. _iliad_ viii. ; xi. . [ ] cf. _iliad_ iv. . [ ] cf. _iliad_ iv. . [ ] cf. _iliad_ xi. . [ ] the trench crossed the plain in an approximately straight line. the army of the ephthalitae were drawn up behind it, facing the advancing persians, while a few of them went out beyond the trench to draw the attack of the persians. [ ] cf. thuc. ii. , . [ ] cf. book vii. xxvi. . [ ] cf. thuc. i. . [ ] a division of no fixed number. [ ] cf. book i. ii. . [ ] modern erzeroum. [ ] _i.e._ "by force." [ ] cf. book viii. xiii. . [ ] cf. _iliad_ xxiv. ; _odyssey_ x. . [ ] lebanon. [ ] roman formation. _a--a, trench._ . bouzes and pharas. . sunicas and aigan. . john, cyril, marcellus, germanus, and dorotheus. . simmas and ascan. . belisarius and hermogenes. [illustration: roman formation.] . . (h)======= |----| =========== hill .--| . |-- . a__________| |__________a ================= [ ] cf. book i. x. . [ ] cf. book i. xii. . [ ] cf. book i. xiii. . [ ] "euphratesia"; cf. section . [ ] title meaning a patrician. see index. [ ] ch. xiv. - . [ ] the coast described here is that of arabia. [ ] rather the "arabian gulf." [ ] cf. ch. xv. . [ ] in latin _serica_, as coming from the chinese (seres). [ ] cf. chap. xvi. . [ ] cf. book ii. xvii. [ ] _i.e._ "conquer." [ ] book vi. xxx. . history of the wars: book ii the persian war (_continued_) history of the wars: book ii the persian war (_continued_) i not long after this chosroes, upon learning that belisarius had begun to win italy also for the emperor justinian, was no longer able to restrain his thoughts but he wished to discover pretexts, in order that he might break the treaty on some grounds which would seem plausible. and he conferred with alamoundaras concerning this matter and commanded him to provide causes for war. so alamoundaras brought against arethas, the charge that he, arethas, was doing him violence in a matter of boundary lines, and he entered into conflict with him in time of peace, and began to overrun the land of the romans on this pretext. and he declared that, as for him, he was not breaking the treaty between the persians and romans, for neither one of them had included him in it. and this was true. for no mention of saracens was ever made in treaties, on the ground that they were included under the names of persians and romans. now this country which at that time was claimed by both tribes of saracens[ ] is called strata, and extends to the south of the city of palmyra; nowhere does it produce a single tree or any of the useful growth of corn-lands, for it is burned exceedingly dry by the sun, but from of old it has been devoted to the pasturage of some few flocks. now arethas maintained that the place belonged to the romans, proving his assertion by the name which has long been applied to it by all (for strata signifies "a paved road" in the latin tongue), and he also adduced the testimonies of men of the oldest times. alamoundaras, however, was by no means inclined to quarrel concerning the name, but he claimed that tribute had been given him from of old for the pasturage there by the owners of the flocks. the emperor justinian therefore entrusted the settlement of the disputed points to strategius; a patrician and administrator of the royal treasures, and besides a man of wisdom and of good ancestry, and with him summus, who had commanded the troops in palestine. this summus was the brother of julian, who not long before had served as envoy to the aethiopians and homeritae. and the one of them, summus, insisted that the romans ought not to surrender the country, but strategius begged of the emperor that he should not do the persians the favour of providing them with pretexts for the war which they already desired, for the sake of a small bit of land and one of absolutely no account, but altogether unproductive and unsuitable for crops. the emperor justinian, therefore, took the matter under consideration, and a long time was spent in the settlement of the question. but chosroes, the king of the persians, claimed that the treaty had been broken by justinian, who had lately displayed great opposition to his house, in that he had attempted in time of peace to attach alamoundaras to himself. for, as he said, summus, who had recently gone to the saracen ostensibly to arrange matters, had hoodwinked him by promises of large sums of money on condition that he should join the romans, and he brought forward a letter which, he alleged, the emperor justinian had written to alamoundaras concerning these things. he also declared that he had sent a letter to some of the huns, in which he urged them to invade the land of the persians and to do extensive damage to the country thereabout. this letter he asserted to have been put into his hands by the huns themselves who had come before him. so then chosroes, with these charges against the romans, was purposing to break off the treaty. but as to whether he was speaking the truth in these matters, i am not able to say. ii at this point vittigis, the leader of the goths, already worsted in the war, sent two envoys to him to persuade him to march against the romans; but the men whom he sent were not goths, in order that the real character of the embassy might not be at once obvious and so make negotiations useless, but ligurian priests who were attracted to this enterprise by rich gifts of money. one of these men, who seemed to be the more worthy, undertook the embassy assuming the pretended name of bishop which did not belong to him at all, while the other followed as his attendant. and when in the course of the journey they came to the land of thrace, they attached to themselves a man from there to be an interpreter of the syriac and the greek tongues, and without being detected by any of the romans, they reached the land of persia. for inasmuch as they were at peace, they were not keeping a strict guard over that region. and coming before chosroes they spoke as follows: "it is true, o king, that all other envoys undertake their task for the sake of advantages to themselves as a rule, but we have been sent by vittigis, the king of the goths and the italians, in order to speak in behalf of thy kingdom; and consider that he is now present before thee speaking these words. if anyone should say, o king, putting all in a word, that thou hast given up thy kingdom and all men everywhere to justinian, he would be speaking correctly. for since he is by nature a meddler and a lover of those things which in no way belong to him, and is not able to abide by the settled order of things, he has conceived the desire of seizing upon the whole earth, and has become eager to acquire for himself each and every state. accordingly (since he was neither able alone to assail the persians, nor with the persians opposing him to proceed against the others), he decided to deceive thee with the pretence of peace, and by forcing the others to subjection to acquire mighty forces against thy state. therefore, after having already destroyed the kingdom of the vandals and subjugated the moors, while the goths because of their friendship stood aside for him, he has come against us bringing vast sums of money and many men. now it is evident that, if he is able also to crush the goths utterly, he will with us and those already enslaved march against the persians, neither considering the name of friendship nor blushing before any of his sworn promises. while, therefore, some hope of safety is still left thee, do not do us any further wrong nor suffer it thyself, but see in our misfortunes what will a little later befall the persians; and consider that the romans could never be well-disposed to thy kingdom, and that when they become more powerful, they will not hesitate at all to display their enmity toward the persians. use, therefore, this good chance while the time fits, lest thou seek for it after it has ceased. for when once the time of opportunity has passed, it is not its nature to return again. and it is better by anticipating to be in security, than by delaying beyond the opportune time to suffer the most miserable fate possible at the hands of the enemy." when chosroes heard this, it seemed to him that vittigis advised well, and he was still more eager to break off the treaty. for, moved as he was by envy toward the emperor justinian, he neglected completely to consider that the words were spoken to him by men who were bitter enemies of justinian. but because he wished the thing he willingly consented to be persuaded. and he did the very same thing a little later in the case of the addresses of the armenians and of the lazi, which will be spoken of directly. and yet they were bringing as charges against justinian the very things which would naturally be encomiums for a worthy monarch, namely that he was exerting himself to make his realm larger and much more splendid. for these accusations one might make also against cyrus, the king of the persians, and alexander, the macedonian. but justice is never accustomed to dwell together with envy. for these reasons, then, chosroes was purposing to break off the treaty. iii at this same time another event also occurred; it was as follows. that symeon who had given pharangium into the hands of the romans persuaded the emperor justinian, while the war was still at its height, to present him with certain villages of armenia. and becoming master of these places, he was plotted against and murdered by those who had formerly possessed them. after this crime had been committed, the perpetrators of the murder fled into the land of persia. they were two brothers, sons of perozes. and when the emperor heard this, he gave over the villages to amazaspes, the nephew of symeon, and appointed him ruler over the armenians. this amazaspes, as time went on, was denounced to the emperor justinian by one of his friends, acacius by name, on the ground that he was abusing the armenians and wished to give over to the persians theodosiopolis and certain other fortresses. after telling this, acacius, by the emperor's will, slew amazaspes treacherously, and himself secured the command over the armenians by the gift of the emperor. and being base by nature, he gained the opportunity of displaying his inward character, and he proved to be the most cruel of all men toward his subjects. for he plundered their property without excuse and ordained that they should pay an unheard-of tax of four centenaria[ ]. but the armenians, unable to bear him any longer, conspired together and slew acacius and fled for refuge to pharangium. therefore the emperor sent sittas against them from byzantium. for sittas had been delaying there since the time when the treaty was made with the persians. so he came to armenia, but at first he entered upon the war reluctantly and exerted himself to calm the people and to restore the population to their former habitations, promising to persuade the emperor to remit to them the payment of the new tax. but since the emperor kept assailing him with frequent reproaches for his hesitation, led on by the slanders of adolius, the son of acacius, sittas at last made his preparations for the conflict. first of all he attempted by means of promises of many good things to win over some of the armenians by persuasion and to attach them to his cause, in order that the task of overpowering the others might be attended with less difficulty and toil. and the tribe called the aspetiani, great in power and in numbers, was willing to join him. and they went to sittas and begged him to give them pledges in writing that, if they abandoned their kinsmen in the battle and came to the roman army, they should remain entirely free from harm, retaining their own possessions. now sittas was delighted and wrote to them in tablets, giving them pledges just as they desired of him; he then sealed the writing and sent it to them. then, confident that by their help he would be victorious in the war without fighting, he went with his whole army to a place called oenochalakon, where the armenians had their camp. but by some chance those who carried the tablets went by another road and did not succeed at all in meeting the aspetiani. moreover a portion of the roman army happened upon some few of them, and not knowing the agreement which had been made, treated them as enemies. and sittas himself caught some of their women and children in a cave and slew them, either because he did not understand what had happened or because he was angry with the aspetiani for not joining him as had been agreed. but they, being now possessed with anger, arrayed themselves for battle with all the rest. but since both armies were on exceedingly difficult ground where precipices abounded, they did not fight in one place, but scattered about among the ridges and ravines. so it happened that some few of the armenians and sittas with not many of his followers came close upon each other, with only a ravine lying between them. both parties were horsemen. then sittas with a few men following him crossed the ravine and advanced against the enemy; the armenians, after withdrawing to the rear, stopped, and sittas pursued no further but remained where he was. suddenly someone from the roman army, an erulian by birth, who had been pursuing the enemy, returning impetuously from them came up to sittas and his men. now as it happened sittas had planted his spear in the ground; and the erulian's horse fell upon this with a great rush and shattered it. and the general was exceedingly annoyed by this, and one of the armenians, seeing him, recognized him and declared to all the others that it was sittas. for it happened that he had no helmet on his head. thus it did not escape the enemy that he had come there with only a few men. sittas, then, upon hearing the armenian say this, since his spear, as has been said, lay broken in two on the ground, drew his sword and attempted immediately to recross the ravine. but the enemy advanced upon him with great eagerness, and a soldier overtaking him in the ravine struck him a glancing blow with his sword on the top of his head; and he took off the whole scalp, but the steel did not injure the bone at all. and sittas continued to press forward still more than before, but artabanes, son of john of the arsacidae, fell upon him from behind and with a thrust of his spear killed him. thus sittas was removed from the world after no notable fashion, in a manner unworthy of his valour and his continual achievements against the enemy, a man who was extremely handsome in appearance and a capable warrior, and a general second to none of his contemporaries. but some say that sittas did not die at the hand of artabanes, but that solomon, a very insignificant man among the armenians, destroyed him. after the death of sittas the emperor commanded bouzes to go against the armenians; and he, upon drawing near, sent to them promising to effect a reconciliation between the emperor and all the armenians, and asking that some of their notables should come to confer with him on these matters. now the armenians as a whole were unable to trust bouzes nor were they willing to receive his proposals. but there was a certain man of the arsacidae who was especially friendly with him, john by name, the father of artabanes, and this man, trusting in bouzes as his friend came to him with his son-in-law, bassaces, and a few others; but when these men had reached the spot where they were to meet bouzes on the following day, and had made their bivouac there, they perceived that they had come into a place surrounded by the roman army. bassaces, the son-in-law, therefore earnestly entreated john to fly. and since he was not able to persuade him, he left him there alone, and in company with all the others eluded the romans, and went back again by the same road. and bouzes found john alone and slew him; and since after this the armenians had no hope of ever reaching an agreement with the romans, and since they were unable to prevail over the emperor in war, they came before the persian king led by bassaces, an energetic man. and the leading men among them came at that time into the presence of chosroes and spoke as follows: "many of us, o master, are arsacidae, descendants of that arsaces who was not unrelated to the parthian kings when the persian realm lay under the hand of the parthians, and who proved himself an illustrious king, inferior to none of his time. now we have come to thee, and all of us have become slaves and fugitives, not, however, of our own will, but under most hard constraint, as it might seem by reason of the roman power, but in truth, o king, by reason of thy decision,--if, indeed, he who gives the strength to those who wish to do injustice should himself justly bear also the blame of their misdeeds. now we shall begin our account from a little distance back in order that you may be able to follow the whole course of events. arsaces, the last king of our ancestors, abdicated his throne willingly in favour of theodosius, the roman emperor, on condition that all who should belong to his family through all time should live unhampered in every respect, and in particular should in no case be subject to taxation. and we have preserved the agreement, until you, the persians, made this much-vaunted treaty, which, as we think, one would not err in calling a sort of common destruction. for from that time, disregarding friend and foe, he who is in name thy friend, o king, but in fact thy enemy, has turned everything in the world upside down and wrought complete confusion. and this thou thyself shalt know at no distant time, as soon as he is able to subdue completely the people of the west. for what thing which was before forbidden has he not done? or what thing which was well established has he not disturbed? did he not ordain for us the payment of a tax which did not exist before, and has he not enslaved our neighbours, the tzani, who were autonomous, and has he not set over the king of the wretched lazi a roman magistrate?--an act neither in keeping with the natural order of things nor very easy to explain in words. has he not sent generals to the men of bosporus, the subjects of the huns, and attached to himself the city which in no way belongs to him, and has he not made a defensive alliance with the aethiopian kingdoms, of which the romans had never even heard? more than this he has made the homeritae his possession and the red sea, and he is adding the palm groves to the roman dominion. we omit to speak of the fate of the libyans and of the italians. the whole earth is not large enough for the man; it is too small a thing for him to conquer all the world together. but he is even looking about the heavens and is searching the retreats beyond the ocean, wishing to gain for himself some other world. why, therefore, o king, dost thou still delay? why dost thou respect that most accursed peace, in order forsooth that he may make thee the last morsel of all? if it is thy wish to learn what kind of a man justinian would shew himself toward those who yield to him, the example is to be sought near at hand from ourselves and from the wretched lazi; and if thou wishest to see how he is accustomed to treat those who are unknown to him and who have done him not the least wrong, consider the vandals and the goths and the moors. but the chief thing has not yet been spoken. has he not made efforts in time of peace to win over by deception thy slave, alamoundaras, o most mighty king, and to detach him from thy kingdom, and has he not striven recently to attach to himself the huns who are utterly unknown to him, in order to make trouble for thee? and yet an act more strange than this has not been performed in all time. for since he perceived, as i think, that the overthrow of the western world would speedily be accomplished, he has already taken in hand to assail you of the east, since the persian power alone has been left for him to grapple with. the peace, therefore, as far as concerns him, has already been broken for thee, and he himself has set an end to the endless peace. for they break the peace, not who may be first in arms, but they who may be caught plotting against their neighbours in time of peace. for the crime has been committed by him who attempts it, even though success be lacking. now as for the course which the war will follow, this is surely clear to everyone. for it is not those who furnish causes for war, but those who defend themselves against those who furnish them, who are accustomed always to conquer their enemies. nay more, the contest will not be evenly matched for us even in point of strength. for, as it happens, the majority of the roman soldiers are at the end of the world, and as for the two generals who were the best they had, we come here having slain the one, sittas, and belisarius will never again be seen by justinian. for disregarding his master, he has remained in the west, holding the power of italy himself. so that when thou goest against the enemy, no one at all will confront thee, and thou wilt have us leading the army with good will, as is natural, and with a thorough knowledge of the country." when chosroes heard this he was pleased, and calling together all who were of noble blood among the persians, he disclosed to all of them what vittigis had written and what the armenians had said, and laid before them the question as to what should be done. then many opinions were expressed inclining to either side, but finally it was decided that they must open hostilities against the romans at the beginning of spring. [ a.d.] for it was the late autumn season, in the thirteenth year of the reign of the emperor justinian. the romans, however, did not suspect this, nor did they think that the persians would ever break the so-called endless peace, although they heard that chosroes blamed their emperor for his successes in the west, and that he preferred against him the charges which i have lately mentioned. iv [ a.d.] at that time also the comet appeared, at first about as long as a tall man, but later much larger. and the end of it was toward the west and its beginning toward the east, and it followed behind the sun itself. for the sun was in capricorn and it was in sagittarius. and some called it "the swordfish" because it was of goodly length and very sharp at the point, and others called it "the bearded star"; it was seen for more than forty days. now those who were wise in these matters disagreed utterly with each other, and one announced that one thing, another that another thing was indicated by this star; but i only write what took place and i leave to each one to judge by the outcome as he wishes. straightway a mighty hunnic army crossing the danube river fell as a scourge upon all europe, a thing which had happened many times before, but which had never brought such a multitude of woes nor such dreadful ones to the people of that land. for from the ionian gulf these barbarians plundered everything in order as far as the suburbs of byzantium. and they captured thirty-two fortresses in illyricum, and they carried by storm the city of cassandria (which the ancients called potidaea, as far as we know), never having fought against walls before. and taking with them the money and leading away one hundred and twenty thousand captives, they all retired homeward without encountering any opposition. in later times too they often came there and brought upon the romans irreparable calamity. this same people also assailed the wall of the chersonesus, where they overpowered those who were defending themselves from the wall, and approaching through the surf of the sea, scaled the fortifications on the so-called black gulf; thus they got within the long wall, and falling unexpectedly upon the romans in the chersonesus they slew many of them and made prisoners of almost all the survivors. some few of them also crossed the strait between sestus and abydus, and after plundering the asiatic country, they returned again to the chersonesus, and with the rest of the army and all the booty betook themselves to their homes. in another invasion they plundered illyricum and thessaly and attempted to storm the wall at thermopylae; and since the guards on the walls defended them most valiantly, they sought out the ways around and unexpectedly found the path which leads up the mountain which rises there[ ]. in this way they destroyed almost all the greeks except the peloponnesians, and then withdrew. and the persians not long afterwards broke off the treaty and wrought such harm to the romans of the east as i shall set forth immediately. belisarius, after humbling vittigis, the king of the goths and italians, brought him alive to byzantium. and i shall now proceed to tell how the army of the persians invaded the land of the romans. when the emperor justinian perceived that chosroes was eager for war, he wished to offer him some counsel and to dissuade him from the undertaking. now it happened that a certain man had come to byzantium from the city of daras, anastasius by name, well known for his sagacity; he it was who had broken the tyranny which had been established recently in daras. justinian therefore wrote a letter and sent it by this anastasius to chosroes; and the message of the letter was as follows: "it is the part of men of discretion and those by whom divine things are treated with due respect, when causes of war arise, and in particular against men who are in the truest sense friends, to exert all their power to put an end to them; but it belongs to foolish men and those who most lightly bring on themselves the enmity of heaven to devise occasions for war and insurrection which have no real existence. now to destroy peace and enter upon war is not a difficult matter, since the nature of things is such as to make the basest activities easy for the most dishonourable men. but when they have brought about war according to their intention, to return again to peace is for men, i think, not easy. and yet thou chargest me with writing letters which were not written with any dark purpose, and thou hast now made haste to interpret these with arbitrary judgment, not in the sense in which we conceived them when we wrote them, but in a way which will be of advantage to thee in thy eagerness to carry out thy plans not without some pretext. but for us it is possible to point out that thy alamoundaras recently overran our land and performed outrageous deeds in time of peace, to wit, the capture of towns, the seizure of property, the massacre and enslavement of such a multitude of men, concerning which it will be thy duty not to blame us, but to defend thyself. for the crimes of those who have done wrong are made manifest to their neighbours by their acts, not by their thoughts. but even with these things as they are, we have still decided to hold to peace, but we hear that thou in thy eagerness to make war upon the romans art fabricating accusations which do not belong to us at all. natural enough, this; for while those who are eager to preserve the present order of things repel even those charges against their friends which are most pressing, those who are not satisfied with established friendships exert themselves to provide even pretexts which do not exist. but this would not seem to be becoming even to ordinary men, much less to kings. but leaving aside these things do thou consider the number of those who will be destroyed on both sides in the course of the war, and consider well who will justly bear the blame for those things which will come to pass, and ponder upon the oaths which thou didst take when thou didst carry away the money, and consider that if, after that, thou wrongly dishonour them by some tricks or sophistries, thou wouldst not be able to pervert them; for heaven is too mighty to be deceived by any man." when chosroes saw this message, he neither made any immediate answer nor did he dismiss anastasius, but he compelled him to remain there. v [ a.d.] when the winter was already reaching its close, and the thirteenth year of the reign of the emperor justinian was ending, chosroes, son of cabades, invaded the land of the romans at the opening of spring with a mighty army, and openly broke the so-called endless peace. but he did not enter by the country between the rivers, but advanced with the euphrates on his right. on the other side of the river stands the last roman stronghold which is called circesium, an exceedingly strong place, since the river aborras, a large stream, has its mouth at this point and mingles with the euphrates, and this fortress lies exactly in the angle which is made by the junction of the two rivers. and a long second wall outside the fortress cuts off the land between the two rivers, and completes the form of a triangle around circesium. chosroes, therefore, not wishing to make trial of so strong a fortress and not having in mind to cross the river euphrates, but rather to go against the syrians and cilicians, without any hesitation led his army forward, and after advancing for what, to an unencumbered traveller, is about a three-days' journey along the bank of the euphrates, he came upon the city of zenobia; this place zenobia had built in former times, and, as was natural, she gave her name to the city. now zenobia was the wife of odonathus, the ruler of the saracens of that region, who had been on terms of peace with the romans from of old. this odonathus rescued for the romans the eastern empire when it had come under the power of the medes; but this took place in former times. chosroes then came near to zenobia, but upon learning that the place was not important and observing that the land was untenanted and destitute of all good things, he feared lest any time spent by him there would be wasted on an affair of no consequence and would be a hindrance to great undertakings, and he attempted to force the place to surrender. but meeting with no success, he hastened his march forward. after again accomplishing a journey of equal extent, he reached the city of sura, which is on the river euphrates, and stopped very close to it. there it happened that the horse on which chosroes was riding neighed and stamped the ground with his foot. and the magi considered the meaning of this incident and announced that the place would be captured. chosroes then made camp and led his army against the fortifications to assail the wall. now it happened that a certain arsaces, an armenian by birth, was commander of the soldiers in the town; and he made the soldiers mount the parapets, and fighting from there most valiantly slew many of the enemy, but was himself struck by an arrow and died. and then, since it was late in the day, the persians retired to their camp in order to assail the wall again on the following day; but the romans were in despair since their leader was dead, and were purposing to make themselves suppliants of chosroes. on the following day, therefore, they sent the bishop of the city to plead for them and to beg that the town be spared; so he took with him some of his attendants, who carried fowls and wine and clean loaves, and came before chosroes; there he threw himself on the ground, and with tears supplicated him to spare a pitiable population and a city altogether without honour in the eyes of the romans, and one which in past times had never been of any account to the persians, and which never would be such thereafter; and he promised that the men of sura would give him ransom worthy of themselves and the city which they inhabited. but chosroes was angry with the townsmen because, being the first he had met of all the romans, they had not willingly received him into their city, but even daring to raise their arms against him had slain a large number of persian notables. however he did not disclose his anger, but carefully concealed it behind a smooth countenance, in order that by carrying out the punishment of the inhabitants of sura he might make himself in the eyes of the romans a fearful person and one not to be resisted. for by acting in this way he calculated that those who would from time to time come in his way would yield to him without trouble. accordingly with great friendliness he caused the bishop to rise, and receiving the gifts, gave the impression, in a way, that he would immediately confer with the notables of the persians concerning the ransom of the townsmen, and would settle their request favourably. thus he dismissed the bishop and his following without any suspicion of the plot, and he sent with him certain of the men of note among the persians, who were to be ostensibly an escort. these men he secretly commanded to go with him as far as the wall, encouraging him and cheering him with fair hopes, so that he and all those with him should be seen by those inside rejoicing and fearing nothing. but when the guards had set the gate open and were about to receive them into the city, they were to throw a stone or block of wood between the threshold and the gate and not allow them to shut it, but should themselves for a time stand in the way of those who wished to close it; for not long afterwards the army would follow them. after giving these directions to the men chosroes made ready the army, and commanded them to advance upon the city on the run whenever he should give the signal. so when they came close to the fortifications, the persians bade farewell to the bishop and remained outside, and the townsmen, seeing that the man was exceedingly happy and that he was being escorted in great honour by the enemy, forgetting all their difficulties opened the gate wide, and received the priest and his following with clapping of hands and much shouting. and when all got inside, the guards began to push the gate in order to close it, but the persians flung down a stone, which they had provided, between it and the threshold. and the guards pushed and struggled still more, but were quite unable to get the gate back to the threshold. on the other hand they dared not open it again, since they perceived that it was held by the enemy. but some say that it was not a stone but a block of wood which the persians threw into the gateway. when the townsmen had as yet scarcely realized the plot, chosroes was at hand with his whole army, and the barbarians forced back and flung open the gate, which was soon carried by storm. straightway, then, chosroes, filled with wrath, plundered the houses and put to death great numbers of the population; all the remainder he reduced to slavery, and setting fire to the whole city razed it to the ground. then he dismissed anastasius, bidding him announce to the emperor justinian where in the world he had left chosroes, son of cabades. afterwards either through motives of humanity or of avarice, or as granting a favour to a woman whom he had taken as a captive from the city, euphemia by name, chosroes decided to shew some kindness to the inhabitants of sura; for he had conceived for this woman an extraordinary love (for she was exceedingly beautiful to look upon), and had made her his wedded wife. he sent, accordingly, to sergiopolis, a city subject to the romans, named from sergius, a famous saint, distant from the captured city one hundred and twenty-six stades and lying to the south of it in the so-called barbarian plain, and bade candidus, the bishop of the city, purchase the captives, twelve thousand in number, for two centenaria. but the bishop, alleging that he had no money, refused absolutely to undertake the matter. chosroes therefore requested him to set down in a document the agreement that he would give the money at a later time, and thus to purchase for a small sum such a multitude of slaves. candidus did as directed, promising to give the money within a year, and swore the most dire oaths, specifying that he should receive the following punishment if he should not give the money at the time agreed upon, that he should pay double the amount and should himself be no longer a priest, as one who had neglected his sworn promise. and after setting down these things in writing, candidus received all the inhabitants of sura. and some few among them survived, but the majority, unable to support the misery which had fallen to their lot, succumbed soon afterwards. after the settlement of this affair chosroes led his army forward. vi it had happened a little before this that the emperor had divided into two parts the military command of the east, leaving the portion as far as the river euphrates under the control of belisarius who formerly held the command of the whole, while the portion from there as far as the persian boundary he entrusted to bouzes, commanding him to take charge of the whole territory of the east until belisarius should return from italy. bouzes therefore at first remained at hierapolis, keeping his whole army with him; but when he learned what had befallen sura, he called together the first men of the hierapolitans and spoke as follows: "whenever men are confronted with a struggle against an assailant with whom they are evenly matched in strength, it is not at all unreasonable that they should engage in open conflict with the enemy; but for those who are by comparison much inferior to their opponents it will be more advantageous to circumvent their enemy by some kind of tricks than to array themselves openly against them and thus enter into foreseen danger. how great, now, the army of chosroes is you are assuredly informed. and if, with this army, he wishes to capture us by siege, and if we carry on the fight from the wall, it is probable that, while our supplies will fail us, the persians will secure all they need from our land, where there will be no one to oppose them. and if the siege is prolonged in this way, i believe too that the fortification wall will not withstand the assaults of the enemy, for in many places it is most susceptible to attack, and thus irreparable harm will come to the romans. but if with a portion of the army we guard the wall of the city, while the rest of us occupy the heights about the city, we shall make attacks from there at times upon the camp of our antagonists, and at times upon those who are sent out for the sake of provisions, and thus compel chosroes to abandon the siege immediately and to make his retreat within a short time; for he will not be at all able to direct his attack without fear against the fortifications, nor to provide any of the necessities for so great an army." so spoke bouzes; and in his words he seemed to set forth the advantageous course of action, but of what was necessary he did nothing. for he chose out all that portion of the roman army which was of marked excellence and was off. and where in the world he was neither any of the romans in hierapolis, nor the hostile army was able to learn. such, then, was the course of these events. but the emperor justinian, upon learning of the inroad of the persians, immediately sent his nephew germanus with three hundred followers in great disorder, promising that after no great time a numerous army would follow. and germanus, upon reaching antioch, went around the whole circuit of the wall; and the greater part of it he found secure, for along that portion of it which lies on the level ground the river orontes flows, making it everywhere difficult of access, and the portion which is on higher ground rises upon steep hills and is quite inaccessible to the enemy; but when he attained the highest point, which the men of that place are accustomed to call orocasias, he noticed that the wall at that point was very easy to assail. for there happens to be in that place a rock, which spreads out to a very considerable width, and rises to a height only a little less than the fortifications. he therefore commanded that they should either cut off the rock by making a deep ditch along the wall, lest anyone should essay to mount from there upon the fortifications, or that they should build upon it a great tower and connect its structure with the wall of the city. but to the architects of public buildings it seemed that neither one of these things should be done. for, as they said, the work would not be completed in a short time with the attack of the enemy so imminent, while if they began this work and did not carry it to completion, they would do nothing else than shew to the enemy at what point in the wall they should make their attack. germanus, though disappointed in this plan, had some hope at first because he expected an army from byzantium. but when, after considerable time had passed, no army arrived from the emperor nor was expected to arrive, he began to fear lest chosroes, learning that the emperor's nephew was there, would consider it more important than any other thing to capture antioch and himself, and for this reason would neglect everything else and come against the city with his whole army. the natives of antioch also had these things in mind, and they held a council concerning them, at which it seemed most advisable to offer money to chosroes and thus escape the present danger. accordingly they sent megas, the bishop of beroea, a man of discretion who at that time happened to be tarrying among them, to beg for mercy from chosroes; and departing from there he came upon the median army not far from hierapolis. and coming into the presence of chosroes, he entreated him earnestly to have pity upon men who had committed no offence against him and who were not able to hold out against the persian army. for it was becoming to a king least of all men to trample upon and do violence to those who retreated before him and were quite unwilling to array themselves against him; for not one of the things which he was then doing was a kingly or honourable act, because, without affording any time for consideration to the roman emperor, so that he might either make the peace secure as might seem well to both sovereigns, or make his preparations for war in accordance with a mutual agreement, as was to be expected, he had thus recklessly advanced in arms against the romans, while their emperor did not as yet know what had come upon them. when chosroes heard this, he was utterly unable by reason of his stupidity to order his mind with reason and discretion, but still more than before he was lifted up in spirit. he therefore threatened to destroy all the syrians and cilicians, and bidding megas follow him, he led his army to hierapolis. when he had come there and established his camp, since he saw that the fortifications were strong and learned that the city was well garrisoned with soldiers, he demanded money from the hierapolitans, sending to them paulus as interpreter. this paulus had been reared in roman territory and had gone to an elementary school in antioch, and besides he was said to be by birth of roman extraction. but in spite of everything the inhabitants were exceedingly fearful for the fortifications, which embraced a large tract of land as far as the hill which rises there, and besides they wished to preserve their land unplundered; accordingly they agreed to give two thousand pounds of silver. then indeed megas entreated chosroes in behalf of all the inhabitants of the east, and would not cease his entreaty, until chosroes promised him that he would accept ten centenaria of gold and depart from the whole roman empire. vii thus, then, on that day megas departed thence and went on the way to antioch, while chosroes after receiving the ransom was moving toward beroea. this city lies between antioch and hierapolis, at a distance from both of two-days' journey for an unencumbered traveller. now while megas, who travelled with a small company, advanced very quickly, the persian army was accomplishing only one half of the distance which he travelled each day. and so on the fourth day he reached antioch, while the persians came to the suburb of beroea. and chosroes immediately sent paulus and demanded money of the beroeans, not only as much as he had received from the hierapolitans, but double the amount, since he saw that their wall in many places was very vulnerable. as for the beroeans, since they could by no means place confidence in their fortifications, they gladly agreed to give all, but after giving two thousand pounds of silver, they said that they were not able to give the remainder. and since chosroes pressed them on this account, on the following night all of them fled for refuge into the fortress which is on the acropolis together with the soldiers who had been stationed there to guard the place. and on the following day men were sent to the city by chosroes in order to receive the money; but on coming near the fortifications they found all the gates closed, and being unable to discover any man, they reported the situation to the king. and he commanded them to set ladders against the wall and to make trial of mounting it, and they did as directed. then since no one opposed them, they got inside the fortifications and opened the gates at their leisure, and received into the city the whole army and chosroes himself. by this time the king was furious with anger and he fired nearly the whole city. he then mounted the acropolis and decided to storm the fortress. there indeed the roman soldiers while valiantly defending themselves slew some of the enemy; but chosroes was greatly favoured by fortune by reason of the folly of the besieged, who had not sought refuge in this fortress by themselves, but along with all their horses and other animals, and by this inconsiderate act they were placed at a great disadvantage and began to be in danger. for since there was only one spring there and the horses and mules and other animals drank from it when they should not have done so, it came about that the water was exhausted. such, then, was the situation of the beroeans. megas, upon reaching antioch and announcing the terms arranged by him with chosroes, failed utterly to persuade them to carry out this agreement. for it happened that the emperor justinian had sent john, the son of rufinus, and julian, his private[ ] secretary, as ambassadors to chosroes. the person holding this office is styled "a secretis" by the romans; for secrets they are accustomed to call "secreta." these men had reached antioch and were remaining there. now julian, one of the ambassadors, explicitly forbade everybody to give money to the enemy, or to purchase the cities of the emperor, and besides he denounced to germanus the chief priest ephraemius, as being eager to deliver over the city to chosroes. for this reason megas returned unsuccessful. but ephraemius, the bishop of antioch, fearing the attack of the persians, went into cilicia. there too came germanus not long afterwards, taking with him some few men but leaving the most of them in antioch. megas then came in haste to beroea, and in vexation at what had taken place, he charged chosroes with having treated the beroeans outrageously; for while, as it seemed, he had sent him to antioch to arrange the treaty, he had both plundered the property of the citizens, though they had committed no wrong at all, and had compelled them to shut themselves up in that fortress, and had then set fire to the city and razed it to the ground in defiance of right. to this chosroes replied as follows: "verily, my friend, you yourself are responsible for these things, in having compelled us to delay here; for as it is, you have arrived, not at the appointed time, but far behind it. and as for the strange conduct of your fellow-citizens, my most excellent sir, why should one make speeches of great length? for after agreeing to give us a fixed amount of silver for their own safety, they even now do not think it necessary to fulfil the agreement, but placing such complete confidence in the strength of their position, they are disregarding us absolutely, while we are compelled to undertake the siege of a fortress, as you surely see. but for my part, i have hope that with the help of the gods i shall have vengeance upon them shortly, and execute upon the guilty the punishment for the persians whom i have lost wrongfully before this wall." so spoke chosroes, and megas replied as follows: "if one should consider that as king thou art making these charges against men who are in pitiable and most dishonoured plight, he would be compelled without a word of protest to agree with what thou hast said; for authority which is unlimited is bound by its very nature to carry with it also supremacy in argument; but if one be permitted to shake off all else and to espouse the truth of the matter, thou wouldst have, o king, nothing with which justly to reproach us; but mayst thou hear all mildly. first, as for me, since the time when i was sent to declare to the men of antioch the message which thou didst send them, seven days have passed (and what could be done more quickly than this?) and now coming into thy presence i find these things accomplished by thee against my fatherland; but these men, having already lost all that is most valuable, thereafter have only one struggle to engage in--that for life--and have come, i think, so to be masters of the situation that they can no longer be compelled to pay thee any of the money. for to pay a thing which one does not possess could not be made possible for a man by any device. from of old indeed have the names of things been well and suitably distinguished by men; and among these distinctions is this, that want of power is separated from want of consideration. for when the latter by reason of intemperance of mind proceeds to resistance, it is accustomed to be detested, as is natural, but when the former, because of the impossibility of performing a service, is driven to the same point, it deserves to be pitied. permit, therefore, o king, that, while we receive as our portion all the direst misfortunes, we may take with us this consolation at least, that we should not seem to have been ourselves responsible for the things which have befallen us. and as for money, consider that what thou hast taken into thy possession is sufficient for thee, not weighing this by thy position, but with regard to the power of the beroeans. but beyond this do not force us in any way, lest perchance thou shouldst seem unable to accomplish the thing to which thou hast set thy hand; for excess is always punished by meeting obstacles that cannot be overcome, and the best course is not to essay the impossible. let this, then, be my defence for the moment in behalf of these men. but if i should be able to have converse with the sufferers, i should have something else also to say which has now escaped me." so spoke megas, and chosroes permitted him to go into the acropolis. and when he had gone there and learned all that had happened concerning the spring, weeping he came again before chosroes, and lying prone on the ground insisted that no money at all was left to the beroeans, and entreated him to grant him only the lives of the men. moved by the tearful entreaties of the man chosroes fulfilled his request, and binding himself by an oath, gave pledges to all on the acropolis. then the beroeans, after coming into such great danger, left the acropolis free from harm, and departing went each his own way. among the soldiers some few followed them, but the majority came as willing deserters to chosroes, putting forth as their grievance that the government owed them their pay for a long time; and with him they later went into the land of persia. viii [june a.d.] then chosroes (since megas said that he had by no means persuaded the inhabitants of antioch to bring him the money) went with his whole army against them. some of the population of antioch thereupon departed from there with their money and fled as each one could. and all the rest likewise were purposing to do the same thing, and would have done so had not the commanders of the troops in lebanon, theoctistus and molatzes, who arrived in the meantime with six thousand men, fortified them with hope and thus prevented their departure. not long after this the persian army also came. there they all pitched their tents and made camp fronting on the river orontes and not very far from the stream. chosroes then sent paulus up beside the fortifications and demanded money from the men of antioch, saying that for ten centenaria[ ] of gold he would depart from there, and it was obvious that he would accept even less than this for his withdrawal. and on that day their ambassadors went before chosroes, and after speaking at length concerning the breaking of the peace and hearing much from him, they retired. but on the morrow the populace of antioch (for they are not seriously disposed, but are always engaged in jesting and disorderly performance) heaped insults upon chosroes from the battlements and taunted him with unseemly laughter; and when paulus came near the fortifications and exhorted them to purchase freedom for themselves and the city for a small sum of money, they very nearly killed him with shots from their bows, and would have done so if he had not seen their purpose in time and guarded against it. on account of this chosroes, boiling with anger, decided to storm the wall. on the following day, accordingly, he led up all the persians against the wall and commanded a portion of the army to make assaults at different points along the river, and he himself with the most of the men and best troops directed an attack against the height. for at this place, as has been stated by me above, the wall of fortification was most vulnerable. thereupon the romans, since the structure on which they were to stand when fighting was very narrow, devised the following remedy. binding together long timbers they suspended them between the towers, and in this way they made these spaces much broader, in order that still more men might be able to ward off the assailants from there. so the persians, pressing on most vigorously from all sides, were sending their arrows thickly everywhere, and especially along the crest of the hill. meanwhile the romans were fighting them back with all their strength, not soldiers alone, but also many of the most courageous youths of the populace. but it appeared that those who were attacking the wall there were engaged in a battle on even terms with their enemy. for the rock which was broad and high and, as it were, drawn up against the fortifications caused the conflict to be just as if on level ground. and if anyone of the roman army had had the courage to get outside the fortifications with three hundred men and to anticipate the enemy in seizing this rock and to ward off the assailants from there, never, i believe, would the city have come into any danger from the enemy. for the barbarians had no point from which they could have conducted their assault, for they would be exposed to missiles from above both from the rock and from the wall; but as it was (for it was fated that antioch be destroyed by this army of the medes), this idea occurred to no one. so then while the persians were fighting beyond their power, since chosroes was present with them and urging them on with a mighty cry, giving their opponents not a moment in which to look about or guard against the missiles discharged from their bows, and while the romans, in great numbers and with much shouting, were defending themselves still more vigorously, the ropes with which the beams had been bound together, failing to support the weight, suddenly broke asunder and the timbers together with all those who had taken their stand on them fell to the ground with a mighty crash. when this was heard by other romans also, who were fighting from the adjoining towers, being utterly unable to comprehend what had happened, but supposing that the wall at this point had been destroyed, they beat a hasty retreat. now many young men of the populace who in former times had been accustomed to engage in factional strife with each other in the hippodromes descended into the city from the fortification wall, but they refused to flee and remained where they were, while the soldiers with theoctistus and molatzes straightway leaped upon the horses which happened to be ready there and rode away to the gates, telling the others a tale to the effect that bouzes had come with an army and they wished to receive them quickly into the city, and with them to ward off the enemy. thereupon many of the men of antioch and all the women with their children made a great rush toward the gates; but since they were crowded by the horses, being in very narrow quarters, they began to fall down. the soldiers, however, sparing absolutely no one of those before them, all kept riding over the fallen still more fiercely than before, and a great many were killed there, especially about the gates themselves. but the persians, with no one opposing them, set ladders against the wall and mounted with no difficulty. and quickly reaching the battlements, for a time they were by no means willing to descend, but they seemed like men looking about them and at a loss what to do, because, as it seems to me, they supposed that the rough ground was beset with some ambuscades of the enemy. for the land inside the fortifications which one traverses immediately upon descending from the height is an uninhabited tract extending for a great distance and there are found there rocks which rise to a very great height, and steep places. but some say that it was by the will of chosroes that the persians hesitated. for when he observed the difficulty of the ground and saw the soldiers fleeing, he feared lest by reason of some necessity they should turn back from their retreat and make trouble for the persians, and thus become an obstacle, as might well happen, in the way of his capturing a city which was both ancient and of great importance and the first of all the cities which the romans had throughout the east both in wealth and in size and in population and in beauty and in prosperity of every kind. hence it was that, considering everything else of less account, he wished to allow the roman soldiers freely to avail themselves of the chance for flight. for this reason too the persians also made signs to the fugitives with their hands, urging them to flee as quickly as possible. so the soldiers of the romans together with their commanders took a hasty departure, all of them, through the gate which leads to daphne, the suburb of antioch; for from this gate alone the persians kept away while the others were seized; and of the populace some few escaped with the soldiers. then when the persians saw that all the roman soldiers had gone on, they descended from the height and got into the middle of the city. there, however, many of the young men of antioch engaged in battle with them, and at first they seemed to have the upper hand in the conflict. some of them were in heavy armour, but the majority were unarmed and using only stones as missiles. and pushing back the enemy they raised the paean, and with shouts proclaimed the emperor justinian triumphant, as if they had won the victory. at this point chosroes, seated on the tower which is on the height, summoned the ambassadors, wishing to say something. and one of his officers, zaberganes, thinking that he wished to have words with the ambassadors concerning a settlement, came quickly before the king and spoke as follows: "thou dost not seem to me, o master, to think in the same way as do the romans concerning the safety of these men. for they both before fighting offer insults to thy kingdom, and when they are defeated dare the impossible and do the persians irreparable harm, as if fearing lest some reason for shewing them humanity should be left in thee; but thou art wishing to pity those who do not ask to be saved, and hast shewn zeal to spare those who by no means wish it. meanwhile these men have set an ambush in a captured city and are destroying the victors by means of snares, although all the soldiers have long since fled from them." when chosroes heard this, he sent a large number of the best troops against them, and these not long afterwards returned and announced that nothing untoward had come to pass. for already the persians had forced back the citizens by their numbers and turned them to flight, and a great slaughter took place there. for the persians did not spare persons of any age and were slaying all whom they met, old and young alike. at that time they say that two women of those who were illustrious in antioch got outside the fortifications, but perceiving that they would fall into the hands of the enemy (for they were already plainly seen going about everywhere), went running to the river orontes, and, fearing lest the persians should do them some insult, they covered their faces with their veils and threw themselves into the river's current and were carried out of sight. thus the inhabitants of antioch were visited with every form of misfortune. ix then chosroes spoke to the ambassadors as follows: "not far from the truth, i think, is the ancient saying that god does not give blessings unmixed, but he mingles them with troubles and then bestows them upon men. and for this reason we do not even have laughter without tears, but there is always attached to our successes some misfortune, and to our pleasures pain, not permitting anyone to enjoy in its purity such good fortune as is granted. for this city, which is of altogether preeminent importance in fact as well as in name in the land of the romans i have indeed succeeded in capturing with the least exertion, since god has provided the victory all at once for us, as you doubtless see. but when i behold the massacre of such a multitude of men, and the victory thus drenched with blood, there arises in me no sense of the delight that should follow my achievement. and for this the wretched men of antioch are to blame, for when the persians were storming the wall they did not prove able to keep them back, and then when they had already triumphed and had captured the city at the first cry these men with unreasoned daring sought to die fighting against them in close combat. so while all the notables of the persians were harassing me unceasingly with their demand that i should drag the city as with a net and destroy all the captives, i was commanding the fugitives to press on still more in their flight, in order that they might save themselves as quickly as possible. for to trample upon captives is not holy." such high-sounding and airy words did chosroes speak to the ambassadors, but nevertheless it did not escape them why he gave time to the romans in their flight. for he was the cleverest of all men at saying that which was not, and in concealing the truth, and in attributing the blame for the wrongs which he committed to those who suffered the wrong; besides he was ready to agree to everything and to pledge the agreement with an oath, and much more ready to forget completely the things lately agreed to and sworn to by him, and for the sake of money to debase his soul without reluctance to every act of pollution--a past master at feigning piety in his countenance, and absolving himself in words from the responsibility of the act. this man well displayed his own peculiar character on a certain occasion at sura; for after he had hoodwinked the inhabitants of the city by a trick and had destroyed them in the manner which i have described, although they had previously done him no wrong at all, he saw, while the city was being captured, a comely woman and one not of lowly station being dragged by her left hand with great violence by one of the barbarians; and the child, which she had only lately weaned, she was unwilling to let go, but was dragging it with her other hand, fallen, as it was, to the ground since it was not able to keep pace with that violent running. and they say that he uttered a pretended groan, and making it appear to all who were present at that time including anastasius the ambassador that he was all in tears, he prayed god to exact vengeance from the man who was guilty of the troubles which had come to pass. now justinian, the emperor of the romans, was the one whom he wished to have understood, though he knew well that he himself was most responsible for everything. endowed with such a singular nature chosroes both became king of the persians (for ill fortune had deprived zames of his eye, he who in point of years had first right to the kingdom, at any rate after caoses, whom cabades for no good reason hated), and with no difficulty he conquered those who revolted against him, and all the harm which he purposed to do the romans he accomplished easily. for every time when fortune wishes to make a man great, she does at the fitting times those things which she has decided upon, with no one standing against the force of her will; and she neither regards the man's station, nor purposes to prevent the occurrence of things which ought not to be, nor does she give heed that many will blaspheme against her because of these things, mocking scornfully at that which has been done by her contrary to the deserts of the man who receives her favour; nor does she take into consideration anything else at all, if only she accomplish the thing which has been decided upon by her. but as for these matters, let them be as god wishes. chosroes commanded the army to capture and enslave the survivors of the population of antioch, and to plunder all the property, while he himself with the ambassadors descended from the height to the sanctuary which they call a church. there chosroes found stores of gold and silver so great in amount that, though he took no other part of the booty except these stores, he departed possessed of enormous wealth. and he took down from there many wonderful marbles and ordered them to be deposited outside the fortifications, in order that they might convey these too to the land of persia. when he had finished these things, he gave orders to the persians to burn the whole city. and the ambassadors begged him to withhold his hand only from the church, for which he had carried away ransom in abundance. this he granted to the ambassadors, but gave orders to burn everything else; then, leaving there a few men who were to fire the city, he himself with all the rest retired to the camp where they had previously set up their tents. x a short time before this calamity god displayed a sign to the inhabitants of that city, by which he indicated the things which were to be. for the standards of the soldiers who had been stationed there for a long time had been standing previously toward the west, but of their own accord they turned and stood toward the east, and then returned again to their former position untouched by anyone. this the soldiers shewed to many who were near at hand and among them the manager of finances in the camp, while the standards were still trembling. this man, tatianus by name, was an especially discreet person, a native of mopsuestia. but even so those who saw this sign did not recognize that the mastery of the place would pass from the western to the eastern king, in order, evidently, that escape might be utterly impossible for those who were bound to suffer those things which came to pass. but i become dizzy as i write of such a great calamity and transmit it to future times, and i am unable to understand why indeed it should be the will of god to exalt on high the fortunes of a man or of a place, and then to cast them down and destroy them for no cause which appears to us. for it is wrong to say that with him all things are not always done with reason, though he then endured to see antioch brought down to the ground at the hands of a most unholy man, a city whose beauty and grandeur in every respect could not even so be utterly concealed. so, then, after the city had been destroyed, the church was left solitary, thanks to the activity and foresight of the persians to whom this work was assigned. and there were also left about the so-called cerataeum many houses, not because of the foresight of any man, but, since they were situated at the extremity of the city, and not connected with any other building, the fire failed entirely to reach them. the barbarians burned also the parts outside the fortifications, except the sanctuary which is dedicated to st. julianus and the houses which stand about this sanctuary. for it happened that the ambassadors had taken up their lodgings there. as for the fortifications, the persians left them wholly untouched. a little later the ambassadors again came to chosroes and spoke as follows: "if our words were not addressed to thee in thy presence, o king, we should never believe that chosroes, the son of cabades, had come into the land of the romans in arms, dishonouring the oaths which have recently been sworn by thee--for such pledges are regarded as the last and most firm security of all things among men to guarantee mutual trust and truthfulness--and breaking the treaty, though hope in treaties is the only thing left to those who are living in insecurity because of the evil deeds of war. for one might say of such a state of affairs that it is nothing else than the transformation of the habits of men into those of beasts. for in a time when no treaties at all are made, there will remain certainly war without end, and war which has no end is always calculated to estrange from their proper nature those who engage in it. with what intent, moreover, didst thou write to thy brother not long ago that he himself was responsible for the breaking of the treaty? was it not obviously with the admission that the breaking of treaties is an exceedingly great evil? if therefore he has done no wrong, thou art not acting justly now in coming against us; but if it happen that thy brother has done any such thing, yet let thy complaint have its fulfilment thus far, and go no farther, that thou mayst shew thyself superior. for he who submits to be worsted in evil things would in better things justly be victorious. and yet we know well that the emperor justinian has never gone contrary to the treaty, and we entreat thee not to do the romans such harm, from which there will be no advantage to the persians, and thou wilt gain only this, that thou wilt have wrongfully wrought deeds of irreparable harm upon those who have recently made peace with thee." so spoke the ambassadors. and chosroes, upon hearing this, insisted that the treaty had been broken by the emperor justinian; and he enumerated the causes of war which the emperor afforded, some of them of real importance and others idle and fabricated without any reason; most of all he wished to shew that the letters written by him to alamoundaras and the huns were the chief cause of the war, just as i have stated above[ ]. but as for any roman who had invaded the land of persia, or who had made a display of warlike deeds, he was unable either to mention or to point out such a one. the ambassadors, however, referred the charges in part not to justinian but to certain of those who had served him, while in the case of others they took exception to what he had said on the ground that the things had not taken place as stated. finally chosroes made the demand that the romans give him a large sum of money, but he warned them not to hope to establish peace for all time by giving money at that moment only. for friendship, he said, which is made by men on terms of money is generally spent as fast as the money is used up. it was necessary, therefore, that the romans should pay some definite annual sum to the persians. "for thus," he said, "the persians will keep the peace secure for them, guarding the caspian gates themselves and no longer feeling resentment at them on account of the city of daras, in return for which the persians themselves will be in their pay forever." "so," said the ambassadors, "the persians desire to have the romans subject and tributary to themselves." "no," said chosroes, "but the romans will have the persians as their own soldiers for the future, dispensing to them a fixed payment for their service; for you give an annual payment of gold to some of the huns and to the saracens, not as tributary subjects to them, but in order that they may guard your land unplundered for all time." after chosroes and the ambassadors had spoken thus at length with each other, they at last came to terms, agreeing that chosroes should forthwith take from the romans fifty centenaria[ ], and that, receiving a tribute of five more centenaria annually for all time, he should do them no further harm, but taking with him hostages from the ambassadors to pledge the keeping of the agreement, should make his departure with the whole army to his native land, and that there ambassadors sent from the emperor justinian should arrange on a firm basis for the future the compact regarding the peace. xi then chosroes went to seleucia, a city on the sea, one hundred and thirty stades distant from antioch; and there he neither met nor harmed a single roman, and he bathed himself alone in the sea-water, and after sacrificing to the sun and such other divinities as he wished, and calling upon the gods many times, he went back. and when he came to the camp, he said that he had a desire to see the city of apamea which was in the vicinity for no other reason than that of his interest in the place. and the ambassadors unwillingly granted this also, but only on condition that after seeing the city and taking away with him from there one thousand pounds of silver, he should, without inflicting any further injury, march back. but it was evident to the ambassadors and to all the others that chosroes was setting out for apamea with this sole purpose, that he might lay hold upon some pretext of no importance and plunder both the city and the land thereabout. accordingly he first went up to daphne, the suburb of antioch, where he expressed great wonder at the grove and at the fountains of water; for both of these are very well worth seeing. and after sacrificing to the nymphs he departed, doing no further damage than burning the sanctuary of the archangel michael together with certain other buildings, for the following reason. a persian gentleman of high repute in the army of the persians and well known to chosroes, the king, while riding on horseback came in company with some others to a precipitous place near the so-called tretum, where is a temple of the archangel michael, the work of evaris. this man, seeing one of the young men of antioch on foot and alone concealing himself there, separated from the others and pursued him. now the young man was a butcher, aeimachus by name. when he was about to be overtaken, he turned about unexpectedly and threw a stone at his pursuer which hit him on the forehead and penetrated to the membrane by the ear. and the rider fell immediately to the ground, whereupon the youth drew out his sword and slew him. then at his leisure he stripped him of his weapons and all his gold and whatever else he had on his person, and leaping upon his horse rode on. and whether by the favour of fortune or by his knowledge of the country, he succeeded completely in eluding the persians and making good his escape. when chosroes learned this, he was deeply grieved at what had happened, and commanded some of his followers to burn the sanctuary of the archangel michael which i have mentioned above. and they, thinking that the sanctuary at daphne was the one in question, burned it with the buildings about it, and they supposed that the commands of chosroes had been executed. such, then, was the course of these events. but chosroes with his whole army proceeded on the way to apamea. now there is a piece of wood one cubit in length in apamea, a portion of the cross on which the christ in jerusalem once endured the punishment not unwillingly, as is generally agreed, and which in ancient times had been conveyed there secretly by a man of syria. and the men of olden times, believing that it would be a great protection both for themselves and for the city, made for it a sort of wooden chest and deposited it there; and they adorned this chest with much gold and with precious stones and they entrusted it to three priests who were to guard it in all security; and they bring it forth every year and the whole population worship it during one day. now at that time the people of apamea, upon learning that the army of the medes was coming against them, began to be in great fear. and when they heard that chosroes was absolutely untruthful, they came to thomas, the chief priest of the city, and begged him to shew them the wood of the cross, in order that after worshipping it for the last time they might die. and he did as they requested. then indeed it befell that a sight surpassing both description and belief was there seen. for while the priest was carrying the wood and shewing it, above him followed a flame of fire, and the portion of the roof over him was illuminated with a great and unaccustomed light. and while the priest was moving through every part of the temple, the flame continued to advance with him, keeping constantly the place above him in the roof. so the people of apamea, under the spell of joy at the miracle, were wondering and rejoicing and weeping, and already all felt confidence concerning their safety. and thomas, after going about the whole temple, laid the wood of the cross in the chest and covered it, and suddenly the light had ceased. then upon learning that the army of the enemy had come close to the city, he went in great haste to chosroes. and when the king enquired of the priest whether it was the will of the citizens of apamea to marshal themselves on the wall against the army of the medes, the priest replied that no such thing had entered the minds of the men. "therefore," said chosroes, "receive me into the city accompanied by a few men with all the gates opened wide." and the priest said "yes, for i have come here to invite thee to do this very thing." so the whole army pitched their tents and made camp before the fortifications. then chosroes chose out two hundred of the best of the persians and entered the city. but when he had got inside the gates, he forgot willingly enough what had been agreed upon between himself and the ambassadors, and he commanded the bishop to give not only one thousand pounds of silver nor even ten times that amount, but whatsoever treasures were stored there, being all of gold and silver and of marvellous great size. and i believe that he would not have shrunk from enslaving and plundering the whole city, unless some divine providence had manifestly prevented him; to such a degree did avarice overpower him and the desire of fame turn his mind. for he thought the enslavement of the cities a great glory for himself, considering it absolutely nothing that disregarding treaties and compacts he was performing such deeds against the romans. this attitude of chosroes will be revealed by what he undertook to do concerning the city of daras during his withdrawal at this same time, when he treated his agreements with absolute disregard, and also by what he did to the citizens of callinicus a little later in time of peace, as will be told by me in the following narrative[ ]. but god, as has been said, preserved apamea. now when chosroes had seized all the treasures, and thomas saw that he was already intoxicated with the abundance of the wealth, then bringing out the wood of the cross with the chest, he opened the chest and displaying the wood said: "o most mighty king, these alone are left me out of all the treasures. now as for this chest (since it is adorned with gold and precious stones), we do not begrudge thy taking it and keeping it with all the rest, but this wood here, it is our salvation and precious to us, this, i beg and entreat thee, give to me." so spoke the priest. and chosroes yielded and fulfilled the request. afterwards, being filled with a desire for popular applause, he commanded that the populace should go up into the hippodrome and that the charioteers should hold their accustomed contests. and he himself went up there also, eager to be a spectator of the performances. and since he had heard long before that the emperor justinian was extraordinarily fond of the venetus[ ] colour, which is blue, wishing to go against him there also, he was desirous of bringing about victory for the green. so the charioteers, starting from the barriers, began the contest, and by some chance he who was clad in the blue happened to pass his rival and take the lead. and he was followed in the same tracks by the wearer of the green colour. and chosroes, thinking that this had been done purposely, was angry, and he cried out with a threat that the caesar had wrongfully surpassed the others, and he commanded that the horses which were running in front should be held up, in order that from then on they might contend in the rear; and when this had been done just as he commanded, then chosroes and the green faction were accounted victorious. at that time one of the citizens of apamea came before chosroes and accused a persian of entering his house and violating his maiden daughter. upon hearing this, chosroes, boiling with anger, commanded that the man should be brought. and when he came before him, he directed that he should be impaled in the camp. and when the people learned this, they raised a mighty shout as loud as they could, demanding that the man be saved from the king's anger. and chosroes promised that he would release the man to them, but he secretly impaled him not long afterwards. so after these things had been thus accomplished, he departed and marched back with the whole army. xii and when he came to the city of chalcis, eighty-four stades distant from the city of beroea, he again seemed to forget the things which had been agreed upon, and encamping not far from the fortifications he sent paulus to threaten the inhabitants of chalcis, saying that he would take the city by siege, unless they should purchase their safety by giving ransom, and should give up to the persians all the soldiers who were there together with their leader. and the citizens of chalcis were seized with great fear of both sovereigns, and they swore that, as for soldiers, there were absolutely none of them in the city, although they had hidden adonachus, the commander of the soldiers, and others as well in some houses, in order that they might not be seen by the enemy; and with difficulty they collected two centenaria[ ] of gold, for the city they inhabited was not very prosperous, and they gave them to chosroes as the price of their lives and thus saved both the city and themselves. from there on chosroes did not wish to continue the return journey by the road he had come, but to cross the river euphrates and gather by plunder as much money as possible from mesopotamia. he therefore constructed a bridge at the place called obbane, which is forty stades distant from the fortress in barbalissum; then he himself went across and gave orders to the whole army to cross as quickly as possible, adding that he would break up the bridge on the third day, and he appointed also the time of the day. and when the appointed day was come, it happened that some of the army were left who had not yet crossed, but without the least consideration for them he sent the men to break up the bridge. and those who were left behind returned to their native land as each one could. then a sort of ambition came over chosroes to capture the city of edessa. for he was led on to this by a saying of the christians, and it kept irritating his mind, because they maintained that it could not be taken, for the following reason. there was a certain augarus in early times, toparch of edessa (for thus the kings of the different nations were called then). now this augarus was the most clever of all men of his time, and as a result of this was an especial friend of the emperor augustus. for, desiring to make a treaty with the romans, he came to rome; and when he conversed with augustus, he so astonished him by the abundance of his wisdom that augustus wished never more to give up his company; for he was an ardent lover of his conversation, and whenever he met him, he was quite unwilling to depart from him. a long time, therefore, was consumed by him in this visit. and one day when he was desirous of returning to his native land and was utterly unable to persuade augustus to let him go, he devised the following plan. he first went out to hunt in the country about rome; for it happened that he had taken considerable interest in the practice of this sport. and going about over a large tract of country, he captured alive many of the animals of that region, and he gathered up and took with him from each part of the country some earth from the land; thus he returned to rome bringing both the earth and the animals. then augustus went up into the hippodrome and seated himself as was his wont, and augarus came before him and displayed the earth and the animals, telling over from what district each portion of earth was and what animals they were. then he gave orders to put the earth in different parts of the hippodrome, and to gather all the animals into one place and then to release them. so the attendants did as he directed. and the animals, separating from each other, went each to that portion of earth which was from the district in which it itself had been taken. and augustus looked upon the performance carefully for a very long time, and he was wondering that nature untaught makes animals miss their native land. then augarus, suddenly laying hold upon his knees, said: "but as for me, o master, what thoughts dost thou think i have, who possess a wife and children and a kingdom, small indeed, but in the land of my fathers?" and the emperor, overcome and compelled by the truth of his saying, granted not at all willingly that he should go away, and bade him ask besides whatever he wished. and when augarus had secured this, he begged of augustus to build him a hippodrome in the city of edessa. and he granted also this. thus then augarus departed from rome and came to edessa. and the citizens enquired of him whether he had come bringing any good thing for them from the emperor augustus. and he answering said he had brought to the inhabitants of edessa pain without loss and pleasure without gain, hinting at the fortune of the hippodrome. at a later time when augarus was well advanced in years, he was seized with an exceedingly violent attack of gout. and being distressed by the pains and his inability to move in consequence of them, he carried the matter to the physicians, and from the whole land he gathered all who were skilled in these matters. but later he abandoned these men (for they did not succeed in discovering any cure for the trouble), and finding himself helpless, he bewailed the fate which was upon him. but about that time jesus, the son of god, was in the body and moving among the men of palestine, shewing manifestly by the fact that he never sinned at all, and also by his performing even things impossible, that he was the son of god in very truth; for he called the dead and raised them up as if from sleep, and opened the eyes of men who had been born blind, and cleansed those whose whole bodies were covered with leprosy, and released those whose feet were maimed, and he cured all the other diseases which are called by the physicians incurable. when these things were reported to augarus by those who travelled from palestine to edessa, he took courage and wrote a letter to jesus, begging him to depart from judaea and the senseless people there, and to spend his life with him from that time forward. when the christ saw this message, he wrote in reply to augarus, saying distinctly that he would not come, but promising him health in the letter. and they say that he added this also that never would the city be liable to capture by the barbarians. this final portion of the letter was entirely unknown to those who wrote the history of that time; for they did not even make mention of it anywhere; but the men of edessa say that they found it with the letter, so that they have even caused the letter to be inscribed in this form on the gates of the city instead of any other defence. the city did in fact come under the medes a short time afterwards, not by capture however, but in the following manner. a short time after augarus received the letter of the christ, he became free from suffering, and after living on in health for a long time, he came to his end. but that one of his sons who succeeded to the kingdom shewed himself the most unholy of all men, and besides committing many other wrongs against his subjects, he voluntarily went over to the persians, fearing the vengeance which was to come from the romans. but long after this the citizens of edessa destroyed the barbarian guards who were dwelling with them, and gave the city into the hands of the romans. * * *[ ] he is eager to attach it to his cause, judging by what has happened in my time, which i shall present in the appropriate place. and the thought once occurred to me that, if the christ did not write this thing just as i have told it, still, since men have come to believe in it, he wishes to guard the city uncaptured for this reason, that he may never give them any pretext for error. as for these things, then, let them be as god wills, and so let them be told. for this reason it seemed to chosroes at that time a matter of moment to capture edessa. and when he came to batne, a small stronghold of no importance, one day's journey distant from edessa, he bivouacked there for that night, but at early dawn he was on the march to edessa with his whole army. but it fell out that they lost their way and wandered about, and on the following night bivouacked in the same place; and they say that this happened to them a second time also. when with difficulty chosroes reached the neighbourhood of edessa, they say that suppuration set in in his face and his jaw became swollen. for this reason he was quite unwilling to make an attempt on the city, but he sent paulus and demanded money from the citizens. and they said that they had absolutely no fear concerning the city, but in order that he might not damage the country they agreed to give two centenaria of gold. and chosroes took the money and kept the agreement. xiii at that time also the emperor justinian wrote a letter to chosroes, promising to carry out the agreement which had been made by him and the ambassadors regarding the peace[ ]. when this message was received by chosroes, he released the hostages and made preparations for his departure, and he wished to sell off all the captives from antioch. and when the citizens of edessa learned of this, they displayed an unheard-of zeal. for there was not a person who did not bring ransom for the captives and deposit it in the sanctuary according to the measure of his possessions. and there were some who even exceeded their proportionate amount in so doing. for the harlots took off all the adornment which they wore on their persons, and threw it down there, and any farmer who was in want of plate or of money, but who had an ass or a sheep, brought this to the sanctuary with great zeal. so there was collected an exceedingly great amount of gold and silver and money in other forms, but not a bit of it was given for ransom. for bouzes happened to be present there, and he took in hand to prevent the transaction, expecting that this would bring him some great gain. therefore chosroes moved forward, taking with him all the captives. and the citizens of carrhae met him holding out to him great sums of money; but he said that it did not belong to him because the most of them are not christians but are of the old faith. but when, likewise, the citizens of constantina offered money, he accepted it, although he asserted that the city belonged to him from his fathers. [ a.d.] for at the time when cabades took amida, he wished also to capture edessa and constantina. but when he came near to edessa he enquired of the magi whether it would be possible for him to capture the city, pointing out the place to them with his right hand. but they said that the city would not be captured by him by any device, judging by the fact that in stretching out his right hand to it he was not giving thereby the sign of capture or of any other grievous thing, but of salvation. and when cabades heard this, he was convinced and led his army on to constantina. and upon arriving there, he issued orders to the whole army to encamp for a siege. now the priest of constantina was at that time baradotus, a just man and especially beloved of god, and his prayers for this reason were always effectual for whatever he wished; and even seeing his face one would have straightway surmised that this man was most completely acceptable to god. this baradotus came then to cabades bearing wine and dried figs and honey and unblemished loaves, and entreated him not to make an attempt on a city which was not of any importance and which was very much neglected by the romans, having neither a garrison of soldiers nor any other defence, but only the inhabitants, who were pitiable folk. thus spoke the priest; and cabades promised that he would grant him the city freely, and he presented him with all the food-supplies which had been prepared by him for the army in anticipation of the siege, an exceedingly great quantity; and thus he departed from the land of the romans. for this reason it was that chosroes claimed that the city belonged to him from his fathers. and when he reached daras, he began a siege; but within the city the romans and martinus, their general (for it happened that he was there), made their preparations for resistance. now the city is surrounded by two walls, the inner one of which is of great size and a truly wonderful thing to look upon (for each tower reaches to a height of a hundred feet, and the rest of the wall to sixty), while the outer wall is much smaller, but in other respects strong and one to be reckoned with seriously. and the space between has a breadth of not less than fifty feet; in that place the citizens of daras are accustomed to put their cattle and other animals when an enemy assails them. at first then chosroes made an assault on the fortifications toward the west, and forcing back his opponents by overwhelming numbers of missiles, he set fire to the gates of the small wall. however no one of the barbarians dared to get inside. next he decided to make a tunnel secretly at the eastern side of the city. for at this point alone can the earth be dug, since the other parts of the fortifications were set upon rock by the builders. so the persians began to dig, beginning from their trench. and since this was very deep, they were neither observed by the enemy nor did they afford them any means of discovering what was being done. so they had already gone under the foundations of the outer wall, and were about to reach the space between the two walls and soon after to pass also the great wall and take the city by force; but since it was not fated to be captured by the persians, someone from the camp of chosroes came alone about midday close to the fortifications, whether a man or something else greater than man, and he made it appear to those who saw him that he was collecting the weapons which the romans had a little before discharged from the wall against the barbarians who were assailing them. and while doing this and holding his shield before him, he seemed to be bantering those who were on the parapet and taunting them with laughter. then he told them of everything and commanded them all to be on the watch and to take all possible care for their safety. after revealing these things he was off, while the romans with much shouting and confusion were ordering men to dig the ground between the two walls. the persians, on the other hand, not knowing what was being done, were pushing on the work no less than before. so while the persians were making a straight way underground to the wall of the city, the romans by the advice of theodoras, a man learned in the science called mechanics, were constructing their trench in a cross-wise direction and making it of sufficient depth, so that when the persians had reached the middle point between the two circuit-walls they suddenly broke into the trench of the romans. and the first of them the romans killed, while those in the rear by fleeing at top speed into the camp saved themselves. for the romans decided by no means to pursue them in the dark. so chosroes, failing in this attempt and having no hope that he would take the city by any device thereafter, opened negotiations with the besieged, and carrying away a thousand pounds of silver he retired into the land of persia. when this came to the knowledge of the emperor justinian, he was no longer willing to carry the agreement into effect, charging chosroes with having attempted to capture the city of daras during a truce. such were the fortunes of the romans during the first invasion of chosroes; and the summer drew to its close. xiv now chosroes built a city in assyria in a place one day's journey distant from the city of ctesiphon, and he named it the antioch of chosroes and settled there all the captives from antioch, constructing for them a bath and a hippodrome and providing that they should have free enjoyment of their other luxuries besides. for he brought with him charioteers and musicians both from antioch and from the other roman cities. besides this he always provisioned these citizens of antioch at public expense more carefully than in the fashion of captives, and he required that they be called king's subjects, so as to be subordinate to no one of the magistrates, but to the king alone. and if any one else too who was a roman in slavery ran away and succeeded in escaping to the antioch of chosroes, and if he was called a kinsman by any one of those who lived there, it was no longer possible for the owner of this captive to take him away, not even if he who had enslaved the man happened to be a person of especial note among the persians. thus, then, the portent which had come to the citizens of antioch in the reign of anastasius reached this final fulfilment for them. for at that time a violent wind suddenly fell upon the suburb of daphne, and some of the cypresses which were there of extraordinary height were overturned from the extremities of their roots and fell to the earth--trees which the law forbade absolutely to be cut down. [ a.d.] accordingly, a little later, when justinus was ruling over the romans, the place was visited by an exceedingly violent earthquake, which shook down the whole city and straightway brought to the ground the most and the finest of the buildings, and it is said that at that time three hundred thousand of the population of antioch perished. and finally in this capture the whole city, as has been said, was destroyed. such, then, was the calamity which befell the men of antioch. and belisarius came to byzantium from italy, summoned by the emperor; and after he had spent the winter in byzantium, the emperor sent him as general against chosroes and the persians at the opening of spring, together with the officers who had come with him from italy, one of whom, valerianus, he commanded to lead the troops in armenia. [ a.d.] for martinus had been sent immediately to the east, and for this reason chosroes found him at daras, as has been stated above. and among the goths, vittigis remained in byzantium, but all the rest marched with belisarius against chosroes. at that time one of the envoys of vittigis, he who was assuming the name of bishop, died in the land of persia, and the other one remained there. and the man who followed them as interpreter withdrew to the land of the romans, and john, who was commanding the troops in mesopotamia, arrested him near the boundaries of constantina, and bringing him into the city confined him in a prison; there the man in answer to his enquiries related everything which had been done. such, then, was the course of these events. and belisarius and his followers went in haste, since he was eager to anticipate chosroes' making any second invasion into the land of the romans. xv but in the meantime chosroes was leading his army against colchis, where the lazi were calling him in for the following reason. the lazi at first dwelt in the land of colchis as subjects of the romans, but not to the extent of paying them tribute or obeying their commands in any respect, except that, whenever their king died, the roman emperor would send emblems of the office to him who was about to succeed to the throne. and he, together with his subjects, guarded strictly the boundaries of the land in order that hostile huns might not proceed from the caucasus mountains, which adjoin their territory, through lazica and invade the land of the romans. and they kept guard without receiving money or troops from the romans and without ever joining the roman armies, but they were always engaged in commerce by sea with the romans who live on the black sea. for they themselves have neither salt nor grain nor any other good thing, but by furnishing skins and hides and slaves they secured the supplies which they needed. but when the events came to pass in which gourgenes, the king of the iberians, was concerned, as has been told in the preceding narrative[ ], roman soldiers began to be quartered among the lazi; and these barbarians were annoyed by the soldiers, and most of all by peter, the general, a man who was prone to treat insolently those who came into contact with him. this peter was a native of arzanene, which is beyond the river nymphius, a district subject to the persians from of old, but while still a child he had been captured and enslaved by the emperor justinus at the time when justinus, after the taking of amida, was invading the land of the persians with celer's army.[ ] and since his owner showed him great kindness, he attended the school of a grammatist. and at first he became secretary to justinus, but when, after the death of anastasius, justinus took over the roman empire, peter was made a general, and he degenerated into a slave of avarice, if anyone ever did, and shewed himself very fatuous in his treatment of all. and later the emperor justinian sent different officers to lazica, and among them john, whom they called tzibus, a man of obscure and ignoble descent, but who had climbed to the office of general by virtue of no other thing than that he was the most accomplished villain in the world and most successful in discovering unlawful sources of revenue. this man unsettled and threw into confusion all the relations of the romans and the lazi. he also persuaded the emperor justinian to build a city on the sea in lazica, petra by name; and there he sat as in a citadel and plundered the property of the lazi. for the salt, and all other cargoes which were considered necessary for the lazi, it was no longer possible for the merchants to bring into the land of colchis, nor could they purchase them elsewhere by sending for them, but he set up in petra the so-called "monopoly" and himself became a retail dealer and overseer of all the handling of these things, buying everything and selling it to the colchians, not at the customary rates, but as dearly as possible. at the same time, even apart from this, the barbarians were annoyed by the roman army quartered upon them, a thing which had not been customary previously. accordingly, since they were no longer able to endure these things, they decided to attach themselves to the persians and chosroes, and immediately they sent to them envoys who were to arrange this without the knowledge of the romans. these men had been instructed that they should take pledges from chosroes that he would never give up the lazi against their will to the romans, and that with this understanding they should bring him with the persian army into the land. accordingly the envoys went to the persians, and coming secretly before chosroes they said: "if any people in all time have revolted from their own friends in any manner whatsoever and attached themselves wrongfully to men utterly unknown to them, and after that by the kindness of fortune have been brought back once more with greatest rejoicing to those who were formerly their own, consider, o most mighty king, that such as these are the lazi. for the colchians in ancient times, as allies of the persians, rendered them many good services and were themselves treated in like manner; and of these things there are many records in books, some of which we have, while others are preserved in thy palace up to the present time. but at a later time it came about that our ancestors, whether neglected by you or for some other reason (for we are unable to ascertain anything certain about this matter), became allies of the romans. and now we and the king of lazica give to the persians both ourselves and our land to treat in any way you may desire. and we beg of you to think thus concerning us: if, on the one hand, we have suffered nothing outrageous at the hands of the romans, but have been prompted by foolish motives in coming to you, reject this prayer of ours straightway, considering that with you likewise the colchians will never be trustworthy (for when a friendship has been dissolved, a second friendship formed with others becomes, owing to its character, a matter of reproach); but if we have been in name friends of the romans, but in fact their loyal slaves, and have suffered impious treatment at the hands of those who have tyrannized over us, receive us, your former allies, and acquire as slaves those whom you used to treat as friends, and shew your hatred of a cruel tyranny which has risen thus on our borders, by acting worthily of that justice which it has always been the tradition of the persians to defend. for the man who himself does no wrong is not just, unless he is also accustomed to rescue those who are wronged by others when he has it in his power. but it is worth while to tell a few of the things which the accursed romans have dared to do against us. in the first place they have left our king only the form of royal power, while they themselves have appropriated the actual authority, and he sits a king in the position of a servant, fearing the general who issues the orders; and they have put upon us a multitude of soldiery, not in order to guard the land against those who harass us (for not one of our neighbours except, indeed, the romans has disturbed us), but in order that they may confine us as in a prison and make themselves masters of our possessions. and purposing to make more speedy the robbery of what we have, behold, o king, what sort of a design they have formed; the supplies which are in excess among them they compel the lazi to buy against their will, while those things which are most useful to them among the products of lazica these fellows demand to buy, as they put it, from us, the price being determined in both cases by the judgment of the stronger party. and thus they are robbing us of all our gold as well as of the necessities of life, using the fair name of trade, but in fact oppressing us as thoroughly as they possibly can. and there has been set over us as ruler a huckster who has made our destitution a kind of business by virtue of the authority of his office. the cause of our revolt, therefore, being of this sort, has justice on its side; but the advantage which you yourselves will gain if you receive the request of the lazi we shall forthwith tell. to the realm of persia you will add a most ancient kingdom, and as a result of this you will have the power of your sway extended, and it will come about that you will have a part in the sea of the romans through our land, and after thou hast built ships in this sea, o king, it will be possible for thee with no trouble to set foot in the palace in byzantium. for there is no obstacle between. and one might add that the plundering of the land of the romans every year by the barbarians along the boundary will be under your control. for surely you also are acquainted with the fact that up till now the land of the lazi has been a bulwark against the caucasus mountains. so with justice leading the way, and advantage added thereto, we consider that not to receive our words with favour would be wholly contrary to good judgment." so spoke the envoys. and chosroes, delighted by their words, promised to protect the lazi, and enquired of the envoys whether it was possible for him to enter the land of colchis with a large army. for he said that previously he had heard many persons report that the land was exceedingly hard to traverse even for an unimpeded traveller, being extremely rugged and covered very extensively by thick forests of wide-spreading trees. but the envoys stoutly maintained to him that the way through the country would be easy for the whole persian army, if they cut the trees and threw them into the places which were made difficult by precipices. and they promised that they themselves would be guides of the route, and would take the lead in this work for the persians. encouraged by this suggestion, chosroes gathered a great army and made his preparations for the inroad, not disclosing the plan to the persians except those alone to whom he was accustomed to communicate his secrets, and commanding the envoys to tell no one what was being done; and he pretended that he was setting out into iberia, in order to settle matters there; for a hunnic tribe, he kept saying in explanation, had assailed the persian domain at that point. xvi at this time belisarius had arrived in mesopotamia and was gathering his army from every quarter, and he also kept sending men into the land of persia to act as spies. and wishing himself to encounter the enemy there, if they should again make an incursion into the land of the romans, he was organizing on the spot and equipping the soldiers, who were for the most part without either arms or armour, and in terror of the name of the persians. now the spies returned and declared that for the present there would be no invasion of the enemy; for chosroes was occupied elsewhere with a war against the huns. and belisarius, upon learning this, wished to invade the land of the enemy immediately with his whole army. arethas also came to him with a large force of saracens, and besides the emperor wrote a letter instructing him to invade the enemy's country with all speed. he therefore called together all the officers in daras and spoke as follows: "i know that all of you, my fellow officers, are experienced in many wars, and i have brought you together at the present time, not in order to stir up your minds against the enemy by addressing to you any reminder or exhortation (for i think that you need no speech that prompts to daring), but in order that we may deliberate together among ourselves, and choose rather the course which may seem fairest and best for the cause of the emperor. for war is wont to succeed by reason of careful planning more than by anything else. now it is necessary that those who gather for deliberation should make their minds entirely free from modesty and from fear. for fear, by paralyzing those who have fallen into it, does not allow the reason to choose the nobler part, and modesty obscures what has been seen to be the better course and leads investigation the opposite way. if, therefore, it seems to you that any purpose has been formed either by our mighty emperor or by me concerning the present situation, let no thought of this enter your minds. for, as for him, he is altogether ignorant of what is being done, and is therefore unable to adapt his moves to opportune moments; there is therefore no fear but that in going contrary to him we shall do that which will be of advantage to his cause. and as for me, since i am human, and have come here from the west after a long interval, it is impossible that some of the necessary things should not escape me. so it behoves you, without any too modest regard for my opinion, to say outright whatever is going to be of advantage for ourselves and for the emperor. now in the beginning, fellow officers, we came here in order to prevent the enemy from making any invasion into our land, but at the present time, since things have gone better for us than we had hoped, it is possible for us to make his land the subject of our deliberation. and now that you have been gathered together for this purpose, it is fair, i think, that you should tell without any concealment what seems to each one best and most advantageous." thus spoke belisarius. and peter and bouzes urged him to lead the army without any hesitation against the enemy's country. and their opinion was followed immediately by the whole council. rhecithancus, however, and theoctistus, the commanders of the troops in lebanon, said that, while they too had the same wish as the others concerning the invasion, they feared that if they abandoned the country of phoenicia and syria, alamoundaras would plunder it at his leisure, and that the emperor would be angry with them because they had not guarded and kept unplundered the territory under their command, and for this reason they were quite unwilling to join the rest of the army in the invasion. but belisarius said that the opinion of these two men was not in the least degree true; for it was the season of the vernal equinox, and at this season the saracens always dedicated about two months to their god, and during this time never undertook any inroad into the land of others. agreeing, therefore, to release both of them with their followers within sixty days, he commanded them also to follow with the rest of the army. so belisarius was making his preparation for the invasion with great zeal. xvii but chosroes and the median army, after crossing iberia, reached the territory of lazica under the leadership of the envoys; there with no one to withstand them they began to cut down the trees which grow thickly over that very mountainous region, rising to a great height, and spreading out their branches remarkably, so that they made the country absolutely impassable for the army; and these they threw into the rough places, and thus rendered the road altogether easy. and when they arrived in the centre of colchis (the place where the tales of the poets say that the adventure of medea and jason took place), goubazes, the king of the lazi, came and did obeisance to chosroes, the son of cabades, as lord, putting himself together with his palace and all lazica into his hand. now there is a coast city named petra in colchis, on the sea which is called the euxine, which in former times had been a place of no importance, but which the emperor justinian had rendered strong and otherwise conspicuous by means of the circuit-wall and other buildings which he erected. when chosroes ascertained that the roman army was in that place with john, he sent an army and a general, aniabedes, against them in order to capture the place at the first onset. but john, upon learning of their approach, gave orders that no one should go outside the fortifications nor allow himself to be seen from the parapet by the enemy, and he armed the whole army and stationed them in the vicinity of the gates, commanding them to keep silence and not allow the least sound of any kind to escape from them. so the persians came close to the fortifications, and since nothing of the enemy was either seen or heard by them they thought that the romans had abandoned the city and left it destitute of men. for this reason they closed in still more around the fortifications, so as to set up ladders immediately, since no one was defending the wall. and neither seeing nor hearing anything of the enemy, they sent to chosroes and explained the situation. and he sent the greater part of the army, commanding them to make an attempt upon the fortifications from all sides, and he directed one of the officers to make use of the engine known as a ram around the gate, while he himself, seated on the hill which lies very close to the city, became a spectator of the operations. and straightway the romans opened the gates all of a sudden, and unexpectedly fell upon and slew great numbers of the enemy, and especially those stationed about the ram; the rest with difficulty made their escape together with the general and were saved. and chosroes, filled with rage, impaled aniabedes, since he had been outgeneralled by john, a tradesman and an altogether unwarlike man. but some say that not aniabedes, but the officer commanding the men who were working the ram was impaled. and he himself broke camp with the whole army, and coming close to the fortifications of petra, made camp and began a siege. on the following day he went completely around the fortifications, and since he suspected that they could not support a very strong attack, he decided to storm the wall. and bringing up the whole army there, he opened the action, commanding all to shoot with their bows against the parapet. the romans, meanwhile, in defending themselves, made use of their engines of war and all their bows. at first, then, the persians did the romans little harm, although they were shooting their arrows thick and fast, while at the same time they suffered severely at the hands of the romans, since they were being shot at from an elevation. but later on (since it was fated that petra be captured by chosroes), john by some chance was shot in the neck and died, and as a result of this the other romans ceased to care for anything. then indeed the barbarians withdrew to their camp; for it was already growing dark; but on the following day they planned to assail the fortifications by an excavation, as follows. the city of petra is on one side inaccessible on account of the sea, and on the other on account of the sheer cliffs which rise there on every hand; indeed it is from this circumstance that the city has received the name it bears. and it has only one approach on the level ground, and that not very broad; for exceedingly high cliffs overhang it on either side. at that point those who formerly built the city provided that that portion of the wall should not be open to attack by making long walls which ran along beside either cliff and guarded the approach for a great distance. and they built two towers, one in each of these walls, not following the customary plan, but as follows. they refused to allow the space in the middle of the structure to be empty, but constructed the entire towers from the ground up to a great height of very large stones which fitted together, in order that they might never be shaken down by a ram or any other engine. such, then, are the fortifications of petra. but the persians secretly made a tunnel into the earth and got under one of the two towers, and from there carried out many of the stones and in their place put wood, which a little later they burned. and the flame, rising little by little, weakened the stones, and all of a sudden shook the whole tower violently and straightway brought it down to the ground. and the romans who were on the tower perceived what was being done in sufficient time so that they did not fall with it to the ground, but they fled and got inside the city wall. and now it was possible for the enemy to storm the wall from the level, and thus with no trouble to take the city by force. the romans, therefore, in terror, opened negotiations with the barbarians, and receiving from chosroes pledges concerning their lives and their property, they surrendered to him both themselves and the city. [ a.d.] thus chosroes captured petra. and finding the treasures of john, which were extremely rich, he took them himself, but besides this neither he himself nor anyone else of the persians touched anything, and the romans, retaining their own possessions, mingled with the median army. xviii meantime belisarius and the roman army, having learned nothing of what was being done there, were going in excellent order from the city of daras toward nisibis. and when they had reached the middle of their journey, belisarius led the army to the right where there were abundant springs of water and level ground sufficient for all to camp upon. and there he gave orders to make a camp at about forty-two stades from the city of nisibis. but all the others marvelled greatly that he did not wish to camp close to the fortifications, and some were quite unwilling to follow him. belisarius therefore addressed those of the officers who were about him thus: "it was not my wish to disclose to all what i am thinking. for talk carried about through a camp cannot keep secrets, for it advances little by little until it is carried out even to the enemy. but seeing that the majority of you are allowing yourselves to act in a most disorderly manner, and that each one wishes to be himself supreme commander in the war, i shall now say among you things about which one ought to keep silence, mentioning, however, this first, that when many in an army follow independent judgments it is impossible that anything needful be done. now i think that chosroes, in going against other barbarians, has by no means left his own land without sufficient protection, and in particular this city which is of the first rank and is set as a defence to his whole land. in this city i know well that he has stationed soldiers in such number and of such valour as to be sufficient to stand in the way of our assaults. and the proof of this you have near at hand. for he put in command of these men the general nabedes, who, after chosroes himself at least, seems to be first among the persians in glory and in every other sort of honour. this man, i believe, will both make trial of our strength and will permit of our passing by on no other condition than that he be defeated by us in battle. if, therefore, the conflict should be close by the city, the struggle will not be even for us and the persians. for they, coming out from their stronghold against us, in case of success, should it so happen, will feel unlimited confidence in assailing us, and in case of defeat they will easily escape from our attack. for we shall only be able to pursue them a short distance, and from this no harm will come to the city, which you surely see cannot be captured by storming the wall when soldiers are defending it. but if the enemy engage with us here and we conquer them, i have great hopes, fellow officers, of capturing the city. for while our antagonists are fleeing a long way, we shall either mingle with them and rush inside the gates with them, as is probable, or we shall anticipate them and compel them to turn and escape to some other place, and thus render nisibis without its defenders easy of capture for us." when belisarius had said this, all the others except peter were convinced, and they made camp and remained with him. he, however, associating with himself john, who commanded the troops in mesopotamia and had no small part of the army, came up to a position not far removed from the fortifications, about ten stades away, and remained quietly there. but belisarius marshalled the men who were with him as if for combat, and sent word to peter and his men also to hold themselves in array for battle, until he himself should give the signal; and he said that he knew well that the barbarians would attack them about midday, remembering, as they surely would, that while they themselves are accustomed to partake of food in the late afternoon, the romans do so about midday. so belisarius gave this warning; but peter and his men disregarded his commands, and about midday, being distressed by the sun (for the place is exceedingly dry and hot), they stacked their arms, and with never a thought of the enemy began to go about in disorderly fashion and eat gourds which grew there. and when this was observed by nabedes, he led the persian army running at full speed against them. and the romans, since they did not fail to observe that the persians were coming out of the fortifications (for they were seen clearly because moving over a level plain), sent to belisarius urging him to support them, and they themselves snatched up their arms, and in disorder and confusion confronted their foe. but belisarius and his men, even before the messenger had reached them, discovered by the dust the attack of the persians, and went to the rescue on the run. and when the persians came up, the romans did not withstand their onset, but were routed without any difficulty, and the persians, following close upon them, killed fifty men, and seized and kept the standard of peter. and they would have slain them all in this pursuit, for the romans had no thought of resistance, if belisarius and the army with him had not come upon them and prevented it. for as the goths, first of all, came upon them with long spears in close array, the persians did not await their attack but beat a hasty retreat. and the romans together with the goths followed them up and slew a hundred and fifty men. for the pursuit was only of short duration, and the others quickly got inside the fortifications. then indeed all the romans withdrew to the camp of belisarius, and the persians on the following day set up on a tower instead of a trophy the standard of peter, and hanging sausages from it they taunted the enemy with laughter; however, they no longer dared to come out against them, but they guarded the city securely. xix and belisarius, seeing that nisibis was exceedingly strong, and having no hope regarding its capture, was eager to go forward, in order that he might do the enemy some damage by a sudden inroad. accordingly he broke camp and moved forward with the whole army. and after accomplishing a day's journey, they came upon a fortress which the persians call sisauranon. there were in that place besides the numerous population eight hundred horsemen, the best of the persians, who were keeping guard under command of a man of note, bleschames by name. and the romans made camp close by the fortress and began a siege, but, upon making an assault upon the fortifications, they were beaten back, losing many men in the fight. for the wall happened to be extremely strong, and the barbarians defended it against their assailants with the greatest vigour. belisarius therefore called together all the officers and spoke as follows: "experience in many wars, fellow officers, has made it possible for us in difficult situations to foresee what will come to pass, and has made us capable of avoiding disaster by choosing the better course. you understand, therefore, how great a mistake it is for an army to proceed into a hostile land, when many strongholds and many fighting men in them have been left in the rear. now exactly this has happened to us in the present case. for if we continue our advance, some of the enemy from this place as well as from the city of nisibis will follow us secretly and will, in all probability, handle us roughly in places which are for them conveniently adapted for an ambuscade or some other sort of attack. and if, by any chance, a second army confronts us and opens battle, it will be necessary for us to array ourselves against both, and we should thus suffer irreparable harm at their hands. and in saying this i do not mention the fact that if we fail in the engagement, should it so happen, we shall after that have absolutely no way of return left to the land of the romans. let us not therefore by reason of most ill-considered haste seem to have been our own despoilers, nor by our eagerness for strife do harm to the cause of the romans. for stupid daring leads to destruction, but discreet hesitation is well adapted always to save those who adopt such a course. let us therefore establish ourselves here and endeavour to capture this fortress, and let arethas with his forces be sent into the country of assyria. for the saracens are by nature unable to storm a wall, but the cleverest of all men at plundering. and some of the soldiers who are good fighters will join them in the invasion, so that, if no opposition presents itself to them, they may overwhelm those who fall in their way, and if any hostile force encounters them, they may be saved easily by retiring to us. and after we have captured the fortress, if god wills, then with the whole army let us cross the river tigris, without having to fear mischief from anyone in our rear, and knowing well how matters stand with the assyrians." these words of belisarius seemed to all well spoken, and he straightway put the plan into execution. accordingly he commanded arethas with his troops to advance into assyria, and with them he sent twelve hundred soldiers, the most of whom were from among his own guard, putting two guardsmen in command of them, trajan and john who was called the glutton, both capable warriors. these men he directed to obey arethas in everything they did, and he commanded arethas to pillage all that lay before him and then return to the camp and report how matters stood with the assyrians with regard to military strength. so arethas and his men crossed the river tigris and entered assyria. there they found a goodly land and one which had been free from plunder for a long time, and undefended besides; and moving rapidly they pillaged many of the places there and secured a great amount of rich plunder. and at that time belisarius captured some of the persians and learned from them that those who were inside the fortress were altogether out of provisions. for they do not observe the custom which is followed in the cities of daras and nisibis, where they put away the annual food-supply in public store-houses, and now that a hostile army had fallen upon them unexpectedly they had not anticipated the event by carrying in any of the necessities of life. and since a great number of persons had taken refuge suddenly in the fortress, they were naturally hard pressed by the want of provisions. when belisarius learned this, he sent george, a man of the greatest discretion with whom he shared his secrets, to test the men of the place, in the hope that he might be able to arrange some terms of surrender and thus take the place. and george succeeded, after addressing to them many words of exhortation and of kindly invitation, in persuading them to take pledges for their safety and to deliver themselves and the fortress to the romans. thus belisarius captured sisauranon, and the inhabitants, all of whom were christians and of roman origin, he released unscathed, but the persians he sent with bleschames to byzantium, and razed the fortification wall of the fortress to the ground. and the emperor not long afterwards sent these persians and bleschames to italy to fight against the goths. such, then, was the course of events which had to do with the fortress of sisauranon. but arethas, fearing lest he should be despoiled of his booty by the romans, was now unwilling to return to the camp. so he sent some of his followers ostensibly for the purpose of reconnoitring, but secretly commanding them to return as quickly as possible and announce to the army that a large hostile force was at the crossing of the river. for this reason, then, he advised trajan and john to return by another route to the land of the romans. so they did not come again to belisarius, but keeping the river euphrates on the right they finally arrived at the theodosiopolis which is near the river aborrhas. but belisarius and the roman army, hearing nothing concerning this force, were disturbed, and they were filled with fear and an intolerable and exaggerated suspicion. and since much time had been consumed by them in this siege, it came about that many of the soldiers were taken there with a troublesome fever; for the portion of mesopotamia which is subject to the persians is extremely dry and hot. and the romans were not accustomed to this and especially those who came from thrace; and since they were living their daily life in a place where the heat was excessive and in stuffy huts in the summer season, they became so ill that the third part of the army were lying half-dead. the whole army, therefore, was eager to depart from there and return as quickly as possible to their own land, and most of all the commanders of the troops in lebanon, rhecithancus and theoctistus, who saw that the time which was the sacred season of the saracens had in fact already passed. they came, indeed, frequently to belisarius and entreated him to release them immediately, protesting that they had given over to alamoundaras the country of lebanon and syria, and were sitting there for no good reason. belisarius therefore called together all the officers and opened a discussion. then john, the son of nicetas, rose first and spoke as follows: "most excellent belisarius, i consider that in all time there has never been a general such as you are either in fortune or in valour. and this reputation has come to prevail not alone among the romans, but also among all barbarians. this fair name, however, you will preserve most securely, if you should be able to take us back alive to the land of the romans; for now indeed the hopes which we may have are not bright. for i would have you look thus at the situation of this army. the saracens and the most efficient soldiers of the army crossed the river tigris, and one day, i know not how long since, they found themselves in such a plight that they have not even succeeded in sending a messenger to us, and rhecithancus and theoctistus will depart, as you see surely, believing that the army of alamoundaras is almost at this very moment in the midst of phoenicia, pillaging the whole country there. and among those who are left the sick are so numerous that those who will care for them and convey them to the land of the romans are fewer in number than they are by a great deal. under these circumstances, if it should fall out that any hostile force should come upon us, either while remaining here or while going back, not a man would be able to carry back word to the romans in daras of the calamity which had befallen us. for as for going forward, i consider it impossible even to be spoken of. while, therefore, some hope is still left, it will be of advantage both to make plans for the return and to put the plans into action. for when men have come into danger and especially such danger as this, it is downright folly for them to devote their thoughts not to safety, but to opposition to the enemy." so spoke john, and all the others expressed approval, and becoming disorderly, they demanded that the retreat be made with all speed. accordingly belisarius laid the sick in the carts and let them lead the way, while he led the army behind them. and as soon as they got into the land of the romans, he learned everything which had been done by arethas, but he did not succeed in inflicting any punishment upon him, for he never came into his sight again. so ended the invasion of the romans. and after chosroes had taken petra, it was announced to him that belisarius had invaded the persian territory, and the engagement near the city of nisibis was reported, as also the capture of the fortress of sisauranon, and all that the army of arethas had done after crossing the river tigris. straightway, then, he established a garrison in petra, and with the rest of the army and those of the romans who had been captured he marched away into the land of persia. such, then, were the events which took place in the second invasion of chosroes. and belisarius went to byzantium at the summons of the emperor, and passed the winter there. xx [ a.d.] at the opening of spring chosroes, the son of cabades, for the third time began an invasion into the land of the romans with a mighty army, keeping the river euphrates on the right. and candidus, the priest of sergiopolis, upon learning that the median army had come near there, began to be afraid both for himself and for the city, since he had by no means carried out at the appointed time the agreement which he had made[ ]; accordingly he went into the camp of the enemy and entreated chosroes not to be angry with him because of this. for as for money, he had never had any, and for this reason he had not even wished in the first place to deliver the inhabitants of sura, and though he had supplicated the emperor justinian many times on their behalf, he had failed to receive any help from him. but chosroes put him under guard, and, torturing him most cruelly, claimed the right to exact from him double the amount of money, just as had been agreed. and candidus entreated him to send men to sergiopolis to take all the treasures of the sanctuary there. and when chosroes followed this suggestion, candidus sent some of his followers with them. so the inhabitants of sergiopolis, receiving into the city the men sent by chosroes, gave them many of the treasures, declaring that nothing else was left them. but chosroes said that these were by no means sufficient for him, and demanded that he should receive others still more than these. accordingly he sent men, ostensibly to search out with all diligence the wealth of the city, but in reality to take possession of the city. but since it was fated that sergiopolis should not be taken by the persians, one of the saracens, who, though a christian, was serving under alamoundaras, ambrus by name, came by night along the wall of the city, and reporting to them the whole plan, bade them by no means receive the persians into the city. thus those who were sent by chosroes returned to him unsuccessful, and he, boiling with anger, began to make plans to capture the city. he accordingly sent an army of six thousand, commanding them to begin a siege and to make assaults upon the fortifications. and this army came there and commenced active operations, and the citizens of sergiopolis at first defended themselves vigorously, but later they gave up, and in terror at the danger, they were purposing to give over the city to the enemy. for, as it happened, they had not more than two hundred soldiers. but ambrus, again coming along by the fortifications at night, said that within two days the persians would raise the siege since their water supply had failed them absolutely. for this reason they did not by any means open negotiations with the enemy, and the barbarians, suffering with thirst, removed from there and came to chosroes. however, chosroes never released candidus. for it was necessary, i suppose, that since he had disregarded his sworn agreement, he should be a priest no longer. such, then, was the course of these events. but when chosroes arrived at the land of the commagenae which they call euphratesia, he had no desire to turn to plundering or to the capture of any stronghold, since he had previously taken everything before him as far as syria, partly by capture and partly by exacting money, as has been set forth in the preceding narrative. and his purpose was to lead the army straight for palestine, in order that he might plunder all their treasures and especially those in jerusalem. for he had it from hearsay that this was an especially goodly land and peopled by wealthy inhabitants. and all the romans, both officers and soldiers, were far from entertaining any thought of confronting the enemy or of standing in the way of their passage, but manning their strongholds as each one could, they thought it sufficient to preserve them and save themselves. the emperor justinian, upon learning of the inroad of the persians, again sent belisarius against them. and he came with great speed to euphratesia since he had no army with him, riding on the government post-horses, which they are accustomed to call "veredi," while justus, the nephew of the emperor, together with bouzes and certain others, was in hierapolis where he had fled for refuge. and when these men heard that belisarius was coming and was not far away, they wrote a letter to him which ran as follows: "once more chosroes, as you yourself doubtless know, has taken the field against the romans, bringing a much greater army than formerly; and where he is purposing to go is not yet evident, except indeed that we hear he is very near, and that he has injured no place, but is always moving ahead. but come to us as quickly as possible, if indeed you are able to escape detection by the army of the enemy, in order that you yourself may be safe for the emperor, and that you may join us in guarding hierapolis." such was the message of the letter. but belisarius, not approving the advice given, came to the place called europum, which is on the river euphrates. from there he sent about in all directions and began to gather his army, and there he established his camp; and the officers in hierapolis he answered with the following words: "if, now, chosroes is proceeding against any other peoples, and not against subjects of the romans, this plan of yours is well considered and insures the greatest possible degree of safety; for it is great folly for those who have the opportunity of remaining quiet and being rid of trouble to enter into any unnecessary danger; but if, immediately after departing from here, this barbarian is going to fall upon some other territory of the emperor justinian, and that an exceptionally good one, but without any guard of soldiers, be assured that to perish valorously is better in every way than to be saved without a fight. for this would justly be called not salvation but treason. but come as quickly as possible to europum, where, after collecting the whole army, i hope to deal with the enemy as god permits." and when the officers saw this message, they took courage, and leaving there justus with some few men in order to guard hierapolis, all the others with the rest of the army came to europum. xxi but chosroes, upon learning that belisarius with the whole roman army had encamped at europum, decided not to continue his advance, but sent one of the royal secretaries, abandanes by name, a man who enjoyed a great reputation for discretion, to belisarius, in order to find out by inspection what sort of a general he might be, but ostensibly to make a protest because the emperor justinian had not sent the ambassadors to the persians at all in order that they might settle the arrangements for the peace as had been agreed. when belisarius learned this, he did as follows. he himself picked out six thousand men of goodly stature and especially fine physique, and set out to hunt at a considerable distance from the camp. then he commanded diogenes, the guardsman, and adolius, the son of acacius, to cross the river with a thousand horsemen and to move about the bank there, always making it appear to the enemy that if they wished to cross the euphrates and proceed to their own land, they would never permit them to do so. this adolius was an armenian by birth, and he always served the emperor while in the palace as privy counsellor (those who enjoy this honour are called by the romans "silentiarii"), but at that time he was commander of some armenians. and these men did as directed. now when belisarius had ascertained that the envoy was close at hand, he set up a tent of some heavy cloth, of the sort which is commonly called a "pavilion," and seated himself there as one might in a desolate place, seeking thus to indicate that he had come without any equipment. and he arranged the soldiers as follows. on either side of the tent were thracians and illyrians, with goths beyond them, and next to these eruli, and finally vandals and moors. and their line extended for a great distance over the plain. for they did not remain standing always in the same place, but stood apart from one another and kept walking about, looking carelessly and without the least interest upon the envoy of chosroes. and not one of them had a cloak or any other outer garment to cover the shoulders, but they were sauntering about clad in linen tunics and trousers, and outside these their girdles. and each one had his horse-whip, but for weapons one had a sword, another an axe, another an uncovered bow. and all gave the impression that they were eager to be off on the hunt with never a thought of anything else. so abandanes came into the presence of belisarius and said that the king chosroes was indignant because the agreement previously made had not been kept, in that the envoys had not been sent to him by caesar (for thus the persians call the emperor of the romans), and as a result of this chosroes had been compelled to come into the land of the romans in arms. but belisarius was not terrified by the thought that such a multitude of barbarians were encamped close by, nor did he experience any confusion because of the words of the man, but with a laughing, care-free countenance he made answer, saying: "this course which chosroes has followed on the present occasion is not in keeping with the way men usually act. for other men, in case a dispute should arise between themselves and any of their neighbours, first carry on negotiations with them, and whenever they do not receive reasonable satisfaction, then finally go against them in war. but he first comes into the midst of the romans, and then begins to offer suggestions concerning peace." with such words as these he dismissed the ambassador. and when abandanes came to chosroes, he advised him to take his departure with all possible speed. for he said he had met a general who in manliness and sagacity surpassed all other men, and soldiers such as he at least had never seen, whose orderly conduct had roused in him the greatest admiration. and he added that the contest was not on an even footing as regards risk for him and for belisarius, for there was this difference, that if he conquered, he himself would conquer the slave of caesar, but if he by any chance were defeated, he would bring great disgrace upon his kingdom and upon the race of the persians; and again the romans, if conquered, could easily save themselves in strongholds and in their own land, while if the persians should meet with any reverse, not even a messenger would escape to the land of the persians. chosroes was convinced by this admonition and wished to turn back to his own country, but he found himself in a very perplexing situation. for he supposed that the crossing of the river was being guarded by the enemy, and he was unable to march back by the same road, which was entirely destitute of human habitation, since the supplies which they had at the first when they invaded the land of the romans had already entirely failed them. at last after long consideration it seemed to him most advantageous to risk a battle and get to the opposite side, and to make the journey through a land abounding in all good things. now belisarius knew well that not even a hundred thousand men would ever be sufficient to check the crossing of chosroes. for the river at many places along there can be crossed in boats very easily, and even apart from this the persian army was too strong to be excluded from the crossing by an enemy numerically insignificant. but he had at first commanded the troops of diogenes and adolius, together with the thousand horsemen, to move about the bank at that point in order to confuse the barbarian by a feeling of helplessness. but after frightening this same barbarian, as i have said, belisarius feared lest there should be some obstacle in the way of his departing from the land of the romans. for it seemed to him a most significant achievement to have driven away from there the army of chosroes, without risking any battle against so many myriads of barbarians with soldiers who were very few in number and who were in abject terror of the median army. for this reason he commanded diogenes and adolius to remain quiet. chosroes, accordingly, constructed a bridge with great celerity and crossed the river euphrates suddenly with his whole army. for the persians are able to cross all rivers without the slightest difficulty because when they are on the march they have in readiness hook-shaped irons with which they fasten together long timbers, and with the help of these they improvise a bridge on the spur of the moment wherever they may desire. and as soon as he had reached the land on the opposite side, he sent to belisarius and said that he, for his part, had bestowed a favour upon the romans in the withdrawal of the median army, and that he was expecting the envoys from them, who ought to present themselves to him at no distant time. then belisarius also with the whole roman army crossed the river euphrates and immediately sent to chosroes. and when the messengers came into his presence, they commended him highly for his withdrawal and promised that envoys would come to him promptly from the emperor, who would arrange with him that the terms which had previously been agreed upon concerning the peace should be put into effect. and they asked of him that he treat the romans as his friends in his journey through their land. this too he agreed to carry out, if they should give him some one of their notable men as a hostage to make this compact binding, in order that they might carry out their agreement. so the envoys returned to belisarius and reported the words of chosroes, and he came to edessa and chose john, the son of basilius, the most illustrious of all the inhabitants of edessa in birth and in wealth, and straightway sent him, much against his will, as a hostage to chosroes. and the romans were loud in their praises of belisarius and he seemed to have achieved greater glory in their eyes by this affair than when he brought gelimer or vittigis captive to byzantium. for in reality it was an achievement of great importance and one deserving great praise, that, at a time when all the romans were panic-stricken with fear and were hiding themselves in their defences, and chosroes with a mighty army had come into the midst of the roman domain, a general with only a few men, coming in hot haste from byzantium just at that moment, should have set his camp over against that of the persian king, and that chosroes unexpectedly, either through fear of fortune or of the valour of the man or even because deceived by some tricks, should no longer continue his advance, but should in reality take to flight, though pretending to be seeking peace. but in the meantime chosroes, disregarding the agreement, took the city of callinicus which was entirely without defenders. for the romans, seeing that the wall of this city was altogether unsound and easy of capture, were tearing down portions of it in turn and restoring them with new construction. now just at that time they had torn down one section of it and had not yet built in this interval; when, therefore, they learned that the enemy were close at hand, they carried out the most precious of their treasures, and the wealthy inhabitants withdrew to other strongholds, while the rest without soldiers remained where they were. and it happened that great numbers of farmers had gathered there. these chosroes enslaved and razed everything to the ground. a little later, upon receiving the hostage, john, he retired to his own country. and the armenians who had submitted to chosroes received pledges from the romans and came with bassaces to byzantium. such was the fortune of the romans in the third invasion of chosroes. and belisarius came to byzantium at the summons of the emperor, in order to be sent again to italy, since the situation there was already full of difficulties for the romans. xxii [ a.d.] during these times there was a pestilence, by which the whole human race came near to being annihilated. now in the case of all other scourges sent from heaven some explanation of a cause might be given by daring men, such as the many theories propounded by those who are clever in these matters; for they love to conjure up causes which are absolutely incomprehensible to man, and to fabricate outlandish theories of natural philosophy, knowing well that they are saying nothing sound, but considering it sufficient for them, if they completely deceive by their argument some of those whom they meet and persuade them to their view. but for this calamity it is quite impossible either to express in words or to conceive in thought any explanation, except indeed to refer it to god. for it did not come in a part of the world nor upon certain men, nor did it confine itself to any season of the year, so that from such circumstances it might be possible to find subtle explanations of a cause, but it embraced the entire world, and blighted the lives of all men, though differing from one another in the most marked degree, respecting neither sex nor age. for much as men differ with regard to places in which they live, or in the law of their daily life, or in natural bent, or in active pursuits, or in whatever else man differs from man, in the case of this disease alone the difference availed naught. and it attacked some in the summer season, others in the winter, and still others at the other times of the year. now let each one express his own judgment concerning the matter, both sophist and astrologer, but as for me, i shall proceed to tell where this disease originated and the manner in which it destroyed men. it started from the aegyptians who dwell in pelusium. then it divided and moved in one direction towards alexandria and the rest of aegypt, and in the other direction it came to palestine on the borders of aegypt; and from there it spread over the whole world, always moving forward and travelling at times favourable to it. for it seemed to move by fixed arrangement, and to tarry for a specified time in each country, casting its blight slightingly upon none, but spreading in either direction right out to the ends of the world, as if fearing lest some corner of the earth might escape it. for it left neither island nor cave nor mountain ridge which had human inhabitants; and if it had passed by any land, either not affecting the men there or touching them in indifferent fashion, still at a later time it came back; then those who dwelt round about this land, whom formerly it had afflicted most sorely, it did not touch at all, but it did not remove from the place in question until it had given up its just and proper tale of dead, so as to correspond exactly to the number destroyed at the earlier time among those who dwelt round about. and this disease always took its start from the coast, and from there went up to the interior. and in the second year it reached byzantium in the middle of spring, where it happened that i was staying at that time. and it came as follows. apparitions of supernatural beings in human guise of every description were seen by many persons, and those who encountered them thought that they were struck by the man they had met in this or that part of the body, as it happened, and immediately upon seeing this apparition they were seized also by the disease. now at first those who met these creatures tried to turn them aside by uttering the holiest of names and exorcising them in other ways as well as each one could, but they accomplished absolutely nothing, for even in the sanctuaries where the most of them fled for refuge they were dying constantly. but later on they were unwilling even to give heed to their friends when they called to them, and they shut themselves up in their rooms and pretended that they did not hear, although their doors were being beaten down, fearing, obviously, that he who was calling was one of those demons. but in the case of some the pestilence did not come on in this way, but they saw a vision in a dream and seemed to suffer the very same thing at the hands of the creature who stood over them, or else to hear a voice foretelling to them that they were written down in the number of those who were to die. but with the majority it came about that they were seized by the disease without becoming aware of what was coming either through a waking vision or a dream. and they were taken in the following manner. they had a sudden fever, some when just roused from sleep, others while walking about, and others while otherwise engaged, without any regard to what they were doing. and the body shewed no change from its previous colour, nor was it hot as might be expected when attacked by a fever, nor indeed did any inflammation set in, but the fever was of such a languid sort from its commencement and up till evening that neither to the sick themselves nor to a physician who touched them would it afford any suspicion of danger. it was natural, therefore, that not one of those who had contracted the disease expected to die from it. but on the same day in some cases, in others on the following day, and in the rest not many days later, a bubonic swelling developed; and this took place not only in the particular part of the body which is called "boubon,"[ ] that is, below the abdomen, but also inside the armpit, and in some cases also beside the ears, and at different points on the thighs. up to this point, then, everything went in about the same way with all who had taken the disease. but from then on very marked differences developed; and i am unable to say whether the cause of this diversity of symptoms was to be found in the difference in bodies, or in the fact that it followed the wish of him who brought the disease into the world. for there ensued with some a deep coma, with others a violent delirium, and in either case they suffered the characteristic symptoms of the disease. for those who were under the spell of the coma forgot all those who were familiar to them and seemed to be sleeping constantly. and if anyone cared for them, they would eat without waking, but some also were neglected, and these would die directly through lack of sustenance. but those who were seized with delirium suffered from insomnia and were victims of a distorted imagination; for they suspected that men were coming upon them to destroy them, and they would become excited and rush off in flight, crying out at the top of their voices. and those who were attending them were in a state of constant exhaustion and had a most difficult time of it throughout. for this reason everybody pitied them no less than the sufferers, not because they were threatened by the pestilence in going near it (for neither physicians nor other persons were found to contract this malady through contact with the sick or with the dead, for many who were constantly engaged either in burying or in attending those in no way connected with them held out in the performance of this service beyond all expectation, while with many others the disease came on without warning and they died straightway); but they pitied them because of the great hardships which they were undergoing. for when the patients fell from their beds and lay rolling upon the floor, they, kept patting them back in place, and when they were struggling to rush headlong out of their houses, they would force them back by shoving and pulling against them. and when water chanced to be near, they wished to fall into it, not so much because of a desire for drink (for the most of them rushed into the sea), but the cause was to be found chiefly in the diseased state of their minds. they had also great difficulty in the matter of eating, for they could not easily take food. and many perished through lack of any man to care for them, for they were either overcome by hunger, or threw themselves down from a height. and in those cases where neither coma nor delirium came on, the bubonic swelling became mortified and the sufferer, no longer able to endure the pain, died. and one would suppose that in all cases the same thing would have been true, but since they were not at all in their senses, some were quite unable to feel the pain; for owing to the troubled condition of their minds they lost all sense of feeling. now some of the physicians who were at a loss because the symptoms were not understood, supposing that the disease centred in the bubonic swellings, decided to investigate the bodies of the dead. and upon opening some of the swellings, they found a strange sort of carbuncle that had grown inside them. death came in some cases immediately, in others after many days; and with some the body broke out with black pustules about as large as a lentil and these did not survive even one day, but all succumbed immediately. with many also a vomiting of blood ensued without visible cause and straightway brought death. moreover i am able to declare this, that the most illustrious physicians predicted that many would die, who unexpectedly escaped entirely from suffering shortly afterwards, and that they declared that many would be saved, who were destined to be carried off almost immediately. so it was that in this disease there was no cause which came within the province of human reasoning; for in all cases the issue tended to be something unaccountable. for example, while some were helped by bathing, others were harmed in no less degree. and of those who received no care many died, but others, contrary to reason, were saved. and again, methods of treatment shewed different results with different patients. indeed the whole matter may be stated thus, that no device was discovered by man to save himself, so that either by taking precautions he should not suffer, or that when the malady had assailed him he should get the better of it; but suffering came without warning and recovery was due to no external cause. and in the case of women who were pregnant death could be certainly foreseen if they were taken with the disease. for some died through miscarriage, but others perished immediately at the time of birth with the infants they bore. however, they say that three women in confinement survived though their children perished, and that one woman died at the very time of child-birth but that the child was born and survived. now in those cases where the swelling rose to an unusual size and a discharge of pus had set in, it came about that they escaped from the disease and survived, for clearly the acute condition of the carbuncle had found relief in this direction, and this proved to be in general an indication of returning health; but in cases where the swelling preserved its former appearance there ensued those troubles which i have just mentioned. and with some of them it came about that the thigh was withered, in which case, though the swelling was there, it did not develop the least suppuration. with others who survived the tongue did not remain unaffected, and they lived on either lisping or speaking incoherently and with difficulty. xxiii now the disease in byzantium ran a course of four months, and its greatest virulence lasted about three. and at first the deaths were a little more than the normal, then the mortality rose still higher, and afterwards the tale of dead reached five thousand each day, and again it even came to ten thousand and still more than that. now in the beginning each man attended to the burial of the dead of his own house, and these they threw even into the tombs of others, either escaping detection or using violence; but afterwards confusion and disorder everywhere became complete. for slaves remained destitute of masters, and men who in former times were very prosperous were deprived of the service of their domestics who were either sick or dead, and many houses became completely destitute of human inhabitants. for this reason it came about that some of the notable men of the city because of the universal destitution remained unburied for many days. and it fell to the lot of the emperor, as was natural, to make provision for the trouble. he therefore detailed soldiers from the palace and distributed money, commanding theodorus to take charge of this work; this man held the position of announcer of imperial messages, always announcing to the emperor the petitions of his clients, and declaring to them in turn whatever his wish was. in the latin tongue the romans designate this office by the term "referendarius." so those who had not as yet fallen into complete destitution in their domestic affairs attended individually to the burial of those connected with them. but theodorus, by giving out the emperor's money and by making further expenditures from his own purse, kept burying the bodies which were not cared for. and when it came about that all the tombs which had existed previously were filled with the dead, then they dug up all the places about the city one after the other, laid the dead there, each one as he could, and departed; but later on those who were making these trenches, no longer able to keep up with the number of the dying, mounted the towers of the fortifications in sycae[ ], and tearing off the roofs threw the bodies in there in complete disorder; and they piled them up just as each one happened to fall, and filled practically all the towers with corpses, and then covered them again with their roofs. as a result of this an evil stench pervaded the city and distressed the inhabitants still more, and especially whenever the wind blew fresh from that quarter. at that time all the customary rites of burial were overlooked. for the dead were not carried out escorted by a procession in the customary manner, nor were the usual chants sung over them, but it was sufficient if one carried on his shoulders the body of one of the dead to the parts of the city which bordered on the sea and flung him down; and there the corpses would be thrown upon skiffs in a heap, to be conveyed wherever it might chance. at that time, too, those of the population who had formerly been members of the factions laid aside their mutual enmity and in common they attended to the burial rites of the dead, and they carried with their own hands the bodies of those who were no connections of theirs and buried them. nay, more, those who in times past used to take delight in devoting themselves to pursuits both shameful and base, shook off the unrighteousness of their daily lives and practised the duties of religion with diligence, not so much because they had learned wisdom at last nor because they had become all of a sudden lovers of virtue, as it were--for when qualities have become fixed in men by nature or by the training of a long period of time, it is impossible for them to lay them aside thus lightly, except, indeed, some divine influence for good has breathed upon them--but then all, so to speak, being thoroughly terrified by the things which were happening, and supposing that they would die immediately, did, as was natural, learn respectability for a season by sheer necessity. therefore as soon as they were rid of the disease and were saved, and already supposed that they were in security, since the curse had moved on to other peoples, then they turned sharply about and reverted once more to their baseness of heart, and now, more than before, they make a display of the inconsistency of their conduct, altogether surpassing themselves in villainy and in lawlessness of every sort. for one could insist emphatically without falsehood that this disease, whether by chance or by some providence, chose out with exactitude the worst men and let them go free. but these things were displayed to the world in later times. during that time it seemed no easy thing to see any man in the streets of byzantium, but all who had the good fortune to be in health were sitting in their houses, either attending the sick or mourning the dead. and if one did succeed in meeting a man going out, he was carrying one of the dead. and work of every description ceased, and all the trades were abandoned by the artisans, and all other work as well, such as each had in hand. indeed in a city which was simply abounding in all good things starvation almost absolute was running riot. certainly it seemed a difficult and very notable thing to have a sufficiency of bread or of anything else; so that with some of the sick it appeared that the end of life came about sooner than it should have come by reason of the lack of the necessities of life. and, to put all in a word, it was not possible to see a single man in byzantium clad in the chlamys[ ], and especially when the emperor became ill (for he too had a swelling of the groin), but in a city which held dominion over the whole roman empire every man was wearing clothes befitting private station and remaining quietly at home. such was the course of the pestilence in the roman empire at large as well as in byzantium. and it fell also upon the land of the persians and visited all the other barbarians besides. xxiv [ a.d.] now it happened that chosroes had come from assyria to a place toward the north called adarbiganon, from which he was planning to make an invasion into the roman domain through persarmenia. in that place is the great sanctuary of fire, which the persians reverence above all other gods. there the fire is guarded unquenched by the magi, and they perform carefully a great number of sacred rites, and in particular they consult an oracle on those matters which are of the greatest importance. this is the fire which the romans worshipped under the name of hestia[ ] in ancient times. there someone who had been sent from byzantium to chosroes announced that constantianus and sergius would come before him directly as envoys to arrange the treaty. now these two men were both trained speakers and exceedingly clever; constantianus was an illyrian by birth, and sergius was from the city of edessa in mesopotamia. and chosroes remained quiet expecting these men. but in the course of the journey thither constantianus became ill and much time was consumed; in the meantime it came about that the pestilence fell upon the persians. for this reason nabedes, who at that time held the office of general in persarmenia, sent the priest of the christians in dubios by direction of the king to valerianus, the general in armenia, in order to reproach the envoys for their tardiness and to urge the romans with all zeal toward peace. and he came with his brother to armenia, and, meeting valerianus, declared that he himself, as a christian, was favourably disposed toward the romans, and that the king chosroes always followed his advice in every matter; so that if the ambassadors would come with him to the land of persia, there would be nothing to prevent them from arranging the peace as they wished. thus then spoke the priest; but the brother of the priest met valerianus secretly and said that chosroes was in great straits: for his son had risen against him in an attempt to set up a tyranny, and he himself together with the whole persian army had been taken with the plague; and this was the reason why he wished just now to settle the agreement with the romans. when valerianus heard this, he straightway dismissed the bishop, promising that the envoys would come to chosroes at no distant time, but he himself reported the words which he had heard to the emperor justinian. this led the emperor immediately to send word to him and to martinus and the other commanders to invade the enemy's territory as quickly as possible. for he knew well that no one of the enemy would stand in their way. and he commanded them to gather all in one place and so make their invasion into persarmenia. when the commanders received these letters, all of them together with their followers began to gather into the land of armenia. and already chosroes had abandoned adarbiganon a little before through fear of the plague and was off with his whole army into assyria, where the pestilence had not as yet become epidemic. valerianus accordingly encamped close by theodosiopolis with the troops under him; and with him was arrayed narses, who had with him armenians and some of the eruli. and martinus, the general of the east, together with ildiger and theoctistus, reached the fortress of citharizon, and fixing his camp there, remained on the spot. this fortress is separated from theodosiopolis by a journey of four days. there too peter came not long afterwards together with adolius and some other commanders. now the troops in this region were commanded by isaac, the brother of narses. and philemouth and beros with the eruli who were under them came into the territory of chorzianene, not far from the camp of martinus. and justus, the emperor's nephew, and peranius and john, the son of nicetas, together with domentiolus and john, who was called the glutton, made camp near the place called phison, which is close by the boundaries of martyropolis. thus then were encamped the roman commanders with their troops; and the whole army amounted to thirty thousand men. now all these troops were neither gathered into one place, nor indeed was there any general meeting for conference. but the generals sent to each other some of their followers and began to make enquiries concerning the invasion. suddenly, however, peter, without communicating with anyone, and without any careful consideration, invaded the hostile land with his troops. and when on the following day this was found out by philemouth and beros, the leaders of the eruli, they straightway followed. and when this in turn came to the knowledge of martinus and valerianus and their men, they quickly joined in the invasion. and all of them a little later united with each other in the enemy's territory, with the exception of justus and his men, who, as i have said, had encamped far away from the rest of the army, and learned later of their invasion; then, indeed, they also invaded the territory of the enemy as quickly as possible at the point where they were, but failed altogether to unite with the other commanders. as for the others, they proceeded in a body straight for doubios, neither plundering nor damaging in any other way the land of the persians. xxv now doubios is a land excellent in every respect, and especially blessed with a healthy climate and abundance of good water; and from theodosiopolis it is removed a journey of eight days. in that region there are plains suitable for riding, and many very populous villages are situated in very close proximity to one another, and numerous merchants conduct their business in them. for from india and the neighbouring regions of iberia and from practically all the nations of persia and some of those under roman sway they bring in merchandise and carry on their dealings with each other there. and the priest of the christians is called "catholicos" in the greek tongue, because he presides alone over the whole region. now at a distance of about one hundred and twenty stades from doubios on the right as one travels from the land of the romans, there is a mountain difficult of ascent and moreover precipitous, and a village crowded into very narrow space by the rough country about, anglon by name. thither nabedes withdrew with his whole army as soon as he learned of the inroad of the enemy, and, confident in his strength of position, he shut himself in. now the village lies at the extremity of the mountain, and there is a strong fortress bearing the same name as this village on the steep mountain side. so nabedes with stones and carts blocked up the entrances into the village and thus made it still more difficult of access. and in front of it he dug a sort of trench and stationed the army there, having filled some old cabins with ambuscades of infantrymen altogether the persian army amounted to four thousand men. while these things were being done in this way, the romans reached a place one day's journey distant from anglon, and capturing one of the enemy who was going out as a spy they enquired where in the world nabedes was then. and he asserted that the man had retired from anglon with the whole median army. and when narses heard this, he was indignant, and he heaped reproaches and abuse upon his fellow-commanders for their hesitation. and others, too, began to do the very same thing, casting insults upon one another; and from then on, giving up all thought of battle and danger, they were eager to plunder the country thereabout. the troops broke camp, accordingly, and without the guidance of generals and without observing any definite formation, they moved forward in complete confusion; for neither had they any countersign among themselves, as is customary in such perilous situations, nor were they arranged in their proper divisions. for the soldiers marched forward, mixed in with the baggage train, as if going to the ready plunder of great wealth. but when they came near to anglon, they sent out spies who returned to them announcing the array of the enemy. and the generals were thunder-struck by the unexpectedness of it, but they considered it altogether disgraceful and unmanly to turn back with an army of such great size, and so they disposed the army in its three divisions, as well as the circumstances permitted, and advanced straight toward the enemy. now peter held the right wing and valerianus the left, while martinus and his men arrayed themselves in the centre. and when they came close to their opponents, they halted, preserving their formation, but not without disorder. the cause for this was to be found in the difficulty of the ground, which was very badly broken up, and in the fact that they were entering battle in a formation arranged on the spur of the moment. and up to this time the barbarians, who had gathered themselves into a small space, were remaining quiet, considering the strength of their antagonists, since the order had been given them by nabedes not under any circumstances to begin the fighting, but if the enemy should assail them, to defend themselves with all their might. and first narses with the eruli and those of the romans who were under him, engaged with the enemy, and after a hard hand-to-hand struggle, he routed the persians who were before him. and the barbarians in flight ascended on the run to the fortress, and in so doing they inflicted terrible injury upon one another in the narrow way. and then narses urged his men forward and pressed still harder upon the enemy, and the rest of the romans joined in the action. but all of a sudden the men who were in ambush, as has been said[ ], came out from the cabins along the narrow alleys, and killed some of the eruli, falling unexpectedly upon them, and they struck narses himself a blow on the temple. and his brother isaac carried him out from among the fighting men, mortally wounded. and he died shortly afterwards, having proved himself a brave man in this engagement. then, as was to be expected, great confusion fell upon the roman army, and nabedes let out the whole persian force upon his opponents. and the persians, shooting into great masses of the enemy in the narrow alleys, killed a large number without difficulty, and particularly of the eruli who had at the first fallen upon the enemy with narses and were fighting for the most part without protection. for the eruli have neither helmet nor corselet nor any other protective armour, except a shield and a thick jacket, which they gird about them before they enter a struggle. and indeed the erulian slaves go into battle without even a shield, and when they prove themselves brave men in war, then their masters permit them to protect themselves in battle with shields. such is the custom of the eruli. and the romans did not withstand the enemy and all of them fled as fast as they could, never once thinking of resistance and heedless of shame or of any other worthy motive. but the persians, suspecting that they had not turned thus to a shameless flight, but that they were making use of some ambuscades against them, pursued them as far as the rough ground extended and then turned back, not daring to fight a decisive battle on level ground, a few against many. the romans, however, and especially all the generals, supposing that the enemy were continuing the pursuit without pause, kept fleeing still faster, wasting not a moment; and they were urging on their horses as they ran with whip and voice, and throwing their corselets and other accoutrements in haste and confusion to the ground. for they had not the courage to array themselves against the persians if they overtook them, but they placed all hope of safety in their horses' feet, and, in short, the flight became such that scarcely any one of their horses survived, but when they stopped running, they straightway fell down and expired. and this proved a disaster for the romans so great as to exceed anything that had ever befallen them previously. for great numbers of them perished and still more fell into the hands of the enemy. and their weapons and draught animals which were taken by the enemy amounted to such an imposing number that persia seemed as a result of this affair to have become richer. and adolius, while passing through a fortified place during this retreat--it was situated in persarmenia--was struck on the head by a stone thrown by one of the inhabitants of the town, and died there. as for the forces of justus and peranius, they invaded the country about taraunon, and after gathering some little plunder, immediately returned. xxvi [ a.d.] and in the following year, chosroes, the son of cabades, for the fourth time invaded the land of the romans, leading his army towards mesopotamia. now this invasion was made by this chosroes not against justinian, the emperor of the romans, nor indeed against any other man, but only against the god whom the christians reverence. for when in the first invasion he retired, after failing to capture edessa[ ], both he and the magi, since they had been worsted by the god of the christians, fell into a great dejection. wherefore chosroes, seeking to allay it, uttered a threat in the palace that he would make slaves of all the inhabitants of edessa and bring them to the land of persia, and would turn the city into a pasture for sheep. accordingly when he had approached the city of edessa with his whole army, he sent some of the huns who were following him against that portion of the fortifications of the city which is above the hippodrome, with the purpose of doing no further injury than seizing the flocks which the shepherds had stationed there along the wall in great numbers: for they were confident in the strength of the place, since it was exceedingly steep, and supposed that the enemy would never dare to come so very close to the wall. so the barbarians were already laying hold of the sheep, and the shepherds were trying most valiantly to prevent them. and when a great number of persians had come to the assistance of the huns, the barbarians succeeded in detaching something of a flock from there, but roman soldiers and some of the populace made a sally upon the enemy and the battle became a hand-to-hand struggle; meanwhile the flock of its own accord returned again to the shepherds. now one of the huns who was fighting before the others was making more trouble for the romans than all the rest. and some rustic made a good shot and hit him on the right knee with a sling, and he immediately fell headlong from his horse to the ground, which thing heartened the romans still more. and the battle which had begun early in the morning ended at midday, and both sides withdrew from the engagement thinking that they had the advantage. so the romans went inside the fortifications, while the barbarians pitched their tents and made camp in a body about seven stades from the city. then chosroes either saw some vision or else the thought occurred to him that if, after making two attempts, he should not be able to capture edessa, he would thereby cover himself with much disgrace. accordingly he decided to sell his withdrawal to the citizens of edessa for a great sum of money. on the following day, therefore, paulus the interpreter came along by the wall and said that some of the roman notables should be sent to chosroes. and they with all speed chose out four of their illustrious men and sent them. when these men reached the median camp, they were met according to the king's order by zaberganes, who first terrified them with many threats and then enquired of them which course was the more desirable for them, whether that leading to peace, or that leading to war. and when the envoys agreed that they would choose peace rather than the dangers of war, zaberganes replied: "therefore it is necessary for you to purchase this for a great sum of money." and the envoys said that they would give as much as they had provided before, when he came against them after capturing antioch. and zaberganes dismissed them with laughter, telling them to deliberate most carefully concerning their safety and then to come again to the persians. and a little later chosroes summoned them, and when they came before him, he recounted how many roman towns he had previously enslaved and in what manner he had accomplished it; then he threatened that the inhabitants of edessa would receive more direful treatment at the hands of the persians, unless they should give them all the wealth which they had inside the fortifications; for only on this condition, he said, would the army depart. when the envoys heard this, they agreed that they would purchase peace from chosroes, if only he would not prescribe impossible conditions for them: but the outcome of a conflict, they said, was plainly seen by no one at all before the struggle. for there was never a war whose outcome might be taken for granted by those who waged it. thereupon chosroes in anger commanded the envoys to be gone with all speed. on the eighth day of the siege he formed the design of erecting an artificial hill against the circuit wall of the city; accordingly he cut down trees in great numbers from the adjacent districts and, without removing the leaves, laid them together in a square before the wall, at a point which no missile from the city could reach; then he heaped an immense amount of earth right upon the trees and above that threw on a great quantity of stones, not such as are suitable for building, but cut at random, and only calculated to raise the hill as quickly as possible to a great height. and he kept laying on long timbers in the midst of the earth and the stones, and made them serve to bind the structure together, in order that as it became high it should not be weak. but peter, the roman general (for he happened to be there with martinus and peranius), wishing to check the men who were engaged in this work, sent some of the huns who were under his command against them. and they, by making a sudden attack, killed a great number; and one of the guardsmen, argek by name, surpassed all others, for he alone killed twenty-seven. from that time on, however, the barbarians kept a careful guard, and there was no further opportunity for anyone to go out against them. but when the artisans engaged in this work, as they moved forward, came within range of missiles, then the romans offered a most vigorous resistance from the city wall, using both their slings and their bows against them. wherefore the barbarians devised the following plan. they provided screens of goat's hair cloth, of the kind which are called cilician, making them of adequate thickness and height, and attached them to long pieces of wood which they always set before those who were working on the "agesta"[ ] (for thus the romans used to call in the latin tongue the thing which they were making). behind this neither ignited arrows nor any other weapon could reach the workmen, but all of them were thrown back by the screens and stopped there. and then the romans, falling into a great fear, sent the envoys to chosroes in great trepidation, and with them stephanus, a physician of marked learning among those of his time at any rate, who also had once cured cabades, the son of perozes, when ill, and had been made master of great wealth by him. he, therefore, coming into the presence of chosroes with the others, spoke as follows: "it has been agreed by all from of old that kindness is the mark of a good king. therefore, most mighty king, while busying thyself with murders and battles and the enslavement of cities it will perhaps be possible for thee to win the other names, but thou wilt never by any means have the reputation of being 'good.' and yet least of all cities should edessa suffer any adversity at thy hand. for there was i born, who, without any foreknowledge of what was coming to pass, fostered thee from childhood and counselled thy father to appoint thee his successor in the kingdom, so that to thee i have proved the chief cause of the kingship of persia, but to my fatherland of her present woes. for men, as a general thing, bring down upon their own heads the most of the misfortunes which are going to befall them. but if any remembrance of such benefaction comes to thy mind, do us no further injury, and grant me this requital, by which, o king, thou wilt escape the reputation of being most cruel." such were the words of stephanus. but chosroes declared that he would not depart from there until the romans should deliver to him peter and peranius, seeing that, being his hereditary slaves, they had dared to array themselves against him. and if it was not their pleasure to do this, the romans must choose one of two alternatives, either to give the persians five hundred centenaria of gold, or to receive into the city some of his associates who would search out all the money, both gold and silver, as much as was there, and bring it to him, allowing everything else to remain in the possession of the present owners. such then were the words which chosroes hurled forth, being in hopes of capturing edessa with no trouble. and the ambassadors (since all the conditions which he had announced to them seemed impossible), in despair and great vexation, proceeded to the city. and when they had come inside the city-wall, they reported the message from chosroes, and the whole city was filled with tumult and lamentation. now the artificial hill was rising to a great height and was being pushed forward with much haste. and the romans, being at a loss what to do, again sent off the envoys to chosroes. and when they had arrived in the enemy's camp, and said that they had come to make entreaty concerning the same things, they did not even gain a hearing of any kind from the persians, but they were insulted and driven out from there with a great tumult, and so returned to the city. at first, then, the romans tried to over-top the wall opposite the hill by means of another structure. but since the persian work was already rising far above even this, they stopped their building and persuaded martinus to make the arrangements for a settlement in whatever way he wished. he then came up close to the enemy's camp and began to converse with some of the persian commanders. but they, completely deceiving martinus, said that their king was desirous of peace, but that he was utterly unable to persuade the roman emperor to have done with his strife with chosroes and to establish peace with him at last. and they mentioned as evidence of this the fact that belisarius, who in power and dignity was far superior to martinus, as even he himself would not deny, had recently persuaded the king of the persians, when he was in the midst of roman territory, to withdraw from there into persia, promising that envoys from byzantium would come to him at no distant time and establish peace securely, but that he had done none of the things agreed upon, since he had found himself unable to overcome the determination of the emperor justinian. xxvii in the meantime the romans were busying themselves as follows: they made a tunnel from the city underneath the enemy's embankment, commanding the diggers not to leave this work until they should get under the middle of the hill. by this means they were planning to burn the embankment. but as the tunnel advanced to about the middle of the hill, a sound of blows, as it were, came to the ears of those persians who were standing above. and perceiving what was being done, they too began from above and dug on both sides of the middle, so that they might catch the romans who were doing the damage there. but the romans found it out and abandoned this attempt, throwing earth into the place which had been hollowed out, and then began to work on the lower part of the embankment at the end which was next to the wall, and by taking out timbers and stones and earth they made an open space just like a chamber; then they threw in there dry trunks of trees of the kind which burn most easily, and saturated them with oil of cedar and added quantities of sulphur and bitumen. so, then, they were keeping these things in readiness; and meanwhile the persian commanders in frequent meetings with martinus were carrying on conversations with him in the same strain as the one i have mentioned, making it appear that they would receive proposals in regard to peace. but when at last their hill had been completed, and had been raised to a great elevation, approaching the circuit-wall of the city and rising far above it in height, then they sent martinus away, definitely refusing to arrange the treaty, and they intended from then on to devote themselves to active warfare. accordingly the romans straightway set fire to the tree-trunks which had been prepared for this purpose. but when the fire had burned only a certain portion of the embankment, and had not yet been able to penetrate through the whole mass, the wood was already entirely exhausted. but they kept throwing fresh wood into the pit, not slackening their efforts for a moment. and when the fire was already active throughout the whole embankment, some smoke appeared at night rising from every part of the hill, and the romans, who were not yet willing to let the persians know what was being done, resorted to the following device: they filled small pots with coals and fire and threw these and also ignited arrows in great numbers to all parts of the embankment. and the persians who were keeping guard there, began to go about in great haste and extinguish these, and they supposed that the smoke arose from them. but since the trouble increased, the barbarians rushed up to help in great numbers, and the romans, shooting them from the wall, killed many. and chosroes too came there about sunrise, followed by the greater part of the army, and, upon mounting the hill, he first perceived what the trouble was. for he disclosed the fact that the cause of the smoke was underneath, not in the missiles which the enemy were hurling, and he ordered the whole army to come to the rescue with all speed. and the romans, taking courage, began to insult them, while the barbarians were at work, some throwing on earth, and others water, where the smoke appeared, hoping thus to get the better of the trouble; however, they were absolutely unable to accomplish anything. for where the earth was thrown on, the smoke, as was natural, was checked at that place, but not long afterwards it rose from another place, since the fire compelled it to force its way out wherever it could. and where the water fell most plentifully it only succeeded in making the bitumen and the sulphur much more active, and caused them to exert their full force upon the wood near by; and it constantly drove the fire forward, since the water could not penetrate inside the embankment in a quantity at all sufficient to extinguish the flame by its abundance. and in the late afternoon the smoke became so great in volume that it was visible to the inhabitants of carrhae and to some others who dwelt far beyond them. and since a great number of persians and of romans had gone up on top of the embankment, a fight took place and a hand-to-hand struggle to drive each other off, and the romans were victorious. then even the flames rose and appeared clearly above the embankment, and the persians abandoned this undertaking. on the sixth day after this, at early dawn, they made an assault secretly upon a certain part of the circuit-wall with ladders, at the point which is called the fort. and since the romans who were keeping guard there were sleeping a quiet, peaceful sleep, as the night was drawing to its close, they silently set the ladders against the wall and were already ascending. but one of the rustics alone among the romans happened to be awake, and he with a shout and a great noise began to rouse them all. and a hard struggle ensued in which the persians were worsted, and they retired to their camp, leaving the ladders where they were; these the romans drew up at their leisure. but chosroes about midday sent a large part of the army against the so-called great gate in order to storm the wall. and the romans went out and confronted them, not only soldiers, but even rustics and some of the populace, and they conquered the barbarians in battle decisively and turned them to flight. and while the persians were still being pursued, paulus, the interpreter, came from chosroes, and going into the midst of the romans, he reported that rhecinarius had come from byzantium to arrange the peace; and thus the two armies separated. now it was already some days since rhecinarius had arrived at the camp of the barbarians. but the persians had by no means disclosed this fact to the romans, plainly awaiting the outcome of the attempts upon the wall which they had planned, in order that, if they should be able to capture it, they might seem in no way to be violating the treaty, while if defeated, as actually happened, they might draw up the treaty at the invitation of the romans. and when rhecinarius had gone inside the gates, the persians demanded that those who were to arrange the peace should come to chosroes without any delay, but the romans said that envoys would be sent three days later; for that just at the moment their general, martinus, was unwell. and chosroes, suspecting that the reason was not a sound one, prepared for battle. and at that time he only threw a great mass of bricks upon the embankment; but two days later he came against the fortifications of the city with the whole army to storm the wall. and at every gate he stationed some of the commanders and a part of the army, encircling the whole wall in this way, and he brought up ladders and war-engines against it. and in the rear he placed all the saracens with some of the persians, not in order to assault the wall, but in order that, when the city was captured, they might gather in the fugitives and catch them as in a drag-net. such, then, was the purpose of chosroes in arranging the army in this way. and the fighting began early in the morning, and at first the persians had the advantage. for they were in great numbers and fighting against a very small force, since the most of the romans had not heard what was going on and were utterly unprepared. but as the conflict advanced the city became full of confusion and tumult, and the whole population, even women and little children, were going up on to the wall. now those who were of military age together with the soldiers were repelling the enemy most vigorously, and many of the rustics made a remarkable shew of valorous deeds against the barbarians. meanwhile the women and children, and the aged also, were gathering stones for the fighters and assisting them in other ways. some also filled numerous basins with olive-oil, and after heating them over fire a sufficient time everywhere along the wall, they sprinkled the oil, while boiling fiercely, upon the enemy who were assailing the wall, using a sort of whisk for the purpose, and in this way harassed them still more. the persians, therefore, soon gave up and began to throw down their arms, and coming before the king, said that they were no longer able to hold out in the struggle. but chosroes, in a passion of anger, drove them all on with threats and urged them forward against the enemy. and the soldiers with much shouting and tumult brought up the towers and the other engines of war to the wall and set the ladders against it, in order to capture the city with one grand rush. but since the romans were hurling great numbers of missiles and exerting all their strength to drive them off, the barbarians were turned back by force; and as chosroes withdrew, the romans taunted him, inviting him to come and storm the wall. only azarethes at the so-called soinian gate was still fighting with his men, at the place which they call tripurgia[ ]. and since the romans at this point were not a match for them, but were giving way before their assaults, already the outer wall, which they call an outwork, had been torn down by the barbarians in many places, and they were pressing most vigorously upon those who were defending themselves from the great circuit-wall; but at last peranius with a large number of soldiers and some of the citizens went out against them and defeated them in battle and drove them off. and the assault which had begun early in the morning ended in the late afternoon, and both sides remained quiet that night, the persians fearing for their defences and for themselves, and the romans gathering stones and taking them to the parapets and putting everything else in complete readiness, so as to fight against the enemy on the morrow when they should attack the wall. now on the succeeding day not one of the barbarians came against the fortifications; but on the day after that a portion of the army, urged on by chosroes, made an assault upon the so-called gate of barlaus; but the romans sallied forth and confronted them, and the persians were decisively beaten in the engagement, and after a short time retired to the camp. and then paulus, the interpreter of the persians, came along by the wall and called for martinus, in order that he might make the arrangements for the truce. thus martinus came to conference with the commanders of the persians, and they concluded an agreement, by which chosroes received five centenaria from the inhabitants of edessa, and left them, in writing, the promise not to inflict any further injury upon the romans; then, after setting fire to all his defences, he returned homeward with his whole army. xxviii at about this time two generals of the romans died, justus, the nephew of the emperor, and peranius, the iberian, of whom the former succumbed to disease, while peranius fell from his horse in hunting and suffered a fatal rupture. the emperor therefore appointed others in their places, dispatching marcellus, his own nephew who was just arriving at the age of manhood, and constantianus, who a little earlier had been sent as an envoy with sergius to chosroes. then the emperor justinian sent constantianus and sergius a second time to chosroes to arrange the truce. and they overtook him in assyria, at the place where there are two towns, seleucia and ctesiphon, built by the macedonians who after alexander, the son of philip, ruled over the persians and the other nations there. these two towns are separated by the tigris river only, for they have nothing else between them. there the envoys met chosroes, and they demanded that he should give back to the romans the country of lazica, and establish peace with them on a thoroughly secure basis. but chosroes said that it was not easy for them to come to terms with each other, unless they should first declare an armistice, and then should continue to go back and forth to each other without so much fear and settle their differences and make a peace which should be on a secure basis for the future. and it was necessary, he said, that in return for this continued armistice the roman emperor should give him money and should also send a certain physician, tribunus by name, in order to spend some specified time with him. for it happened that this physician at a former time had rid him of a severe disease, and as a result of this he was especially beloved and greatly missed by him. when the emperor justinian heard this, he immediately sent both tribunus and the money, amounting to twenty centenaria. [ a.d.] in this way the treaty was made between the romans and the persians for five years, in the nineteenth year of the reign of the emperor justinian. and a little later arethas and alamoundaras, the rulers of the saracens, waged a war against each other by themselves, unaided either by the romans or the persians. and alamoundaras captured one of the sons of arethas in a sudden raid while he was pasturing horses, and straightway sacrificed him to aphrodite; and from this it was known that arethas was not betraying the romans to the persians. later they both came together in battle with their whole armies, and the forces of arethas were overwhelmingly victorious, and turning their enemy to flight, they killed many of them. and arethas came within a little of capturing alive two of the sons of alamoundaras; however, he did not actually succeed. such, then, was the course of events among the saracens. but it became clear that chosroes, the persian king, had made the truce with the romans with treacherous intent, in order that he might find them remiss on account of the peace and inflict upon them some grave injury. for in the third year of the truce he devised the following schemes. there were in persia two brothers, phabrizus and isdigousnas, both holding most important offices there and at the same time reckoned to be the basest of all the persians, and having a great reputation for their cleverness and evil ways. accordingly, since chosroes had formed the purpose of capturing the city of daras by a sudden stroke, and to move all the colchians out of lazica and establish in their place persian settlers, he selected these two men to assist him in both undertakings. for it seemed to him that it would be a lucky stroke and a really important achievement to win for himself the land of colchis and to have it in secure possession, reasoning that this would be advantageous to the persian empire in many ways. in the first place they would have iberia in security forever afterwards, since the iberians would not have anyone with whom, if they revolted, they might find safety; for since the most notable men of these barbarians together with their king, gourgenes, had looked towards revolt, as i have stated in the preceding pages,[ ] the persians from that time on did not permit them to set up a king over themselves, nor were the iberians single-minded subjects of the persians, but there was much suspicion and distrust between them. and it was evident that the iberians were most thoroughly dissatisfied and that they would attempt a revolution shortly if they could only seize upon some favourable opportunity. furthermore, the persian empire would be forever free from plunder by the huns who lived next to lazica, and he would send them against the roman domains more easily and readily, whenever he should so desire. for he considered that, as regards the barbarians dwelling in the caucasus, lazica was nothing else than a bulwark against them. but most of all he hoped that the subjugation of lazica would afford this advantage to the persians, that starting from there they might overrun with no trouble both by land and by sea the countries along the euxine sea, as it is called, and thus win over the cappadocians and the galatians and bithynians who adjoin them, and capture byzantium by a sudden assault with no one opposing them. for these reasons, then, chosroes was anxious to gain possession of lazica, but in the lazi he had not the least confidence. for since the time when the romans had withdrawn from lazica, the common people of the country naturally found the persian rule burdensome. for the persians are beyond all other men singular in their ways, and they are excessively rigid as regards the routine of daily life. and their laws are difficult of access for all men, and their requirements quite unbearable. but in comparison with the lazi the difference of their thinking and living shews itself in an altogether exceptional degree, since the lazi are christians of the most thorough-going kind, while all the persian views regarding religion are the exact opposite of theirs. and apart from this, salt is produced nowhere in lazica, nor indeed does grain grow there nor the vine nor any other good thing. but from the romans along the coast everything is brought in to them by ship, and even so they do not pay gold to the traders, but hides and slaves and whatever else happens to be found there in great abundance; and when they were excluded from this trade, they were, as was to be expected, in a state of constant vexation. when, therefore, chosroes perceived this, he was eager to anticipate with certainty any move on their part to revolt against him. and upon considering the matter, it seemed to him to be the most advantageous course to put goubazes, the king of the lazi, out of the way as quickly as possible, and to move the lazi in a body out of the country, and then to colonize this land with persians and certain other nations. when chosroes had matured these plans, he sent isdigousnas to byzantium, ostensibly to act as an envoy, and he picked out five hundred of the most valorous of the persians and sent them with him, directing them to get inside the city of daras, and to take their lodgings in many different houses, and at night to set these all on fire, and, while all the romans were occupied with this fire, as was natural, to open the gates immediately, and receive the rest of the persian army into the city. for word had been sent previously to the commander of the city of nisibis to conceal a large force of soldiers near by and hold them in readiness. for in this way chosroes thought that they would destroy all the romans with no trouble, and seizing the city of daras, would hold it securely. but someone who knew well what was being arranged, a roman who had come to the persians as a deserter a little earlier, told everything to george, who was staying there at the time; now this was the same man whom i mentioned in the preceding pages[ ] as having persuaded the persians who were besieged in the fortress of sisauranon to surrender themselves to the romans. george therefore met this ambassador at the boundary line between roman and persian soil and said that this thing he was doing was not after the fashion of an embassy, and that never had so numerous a body of persians stopped for the night in a city of the romans. for he ought, he said, to have left behind all the rest in the town of ammodios, and must himself enter the city of daras with some few men. now isdigousnas was indignant and appeared to take it ill, because he had been insulted wrongfully, in spite of the fact that he was dispatched on an embassy to the roman emperor. but george, paying no heed to him in his fury, saved the city for the romans. for he received isdigousnas into the city with only twenty men. so having failed in this attempt, the barbarian came to byzantium as if on an embassy, bringing with him his wife and two daughters (for this was his pretext for the crowd which had been gathered about him); but when he came before the emperor, he was unable to say anything great or small about any serious matter, although he wasted no less than ten months in roman territory. however, he gave the emperor the gifts from chosroes, as is customary, and a letter, in which chosroes requested the emperor justinian to send word whether he was enjoying the best possible health. nevertheless the emperor justinian received this isdigousnas with more friendliness and treated him with greater honour than any of the other ambassadors of whom we know. so true was this that, whenever he entertained him, he caused braducius, who followed him as interpreter, to recline with him on the couch, a thing which had never before happened in all time. for no one ever saw an interpreter become a table-companion of even one of the more humble officials, not to speak of a king. but he both received and dismissed this man in a style more splendid than that which befits an ambassador, although he had undertaken the embassy for no serious business, as i have said. for if anyone should count up the money expended and the gifts which isdigousnas carried with him when he went away, he will find them amounting to more than ten centenaria of gold. so the plot against the city of daras ended in this way for chosroes. xxix his first move against lazica was as follows. he sent into the country a great amount of lumber suitable for the construction of ships, explaining to no one what his purpose was in so doing, but ostensibly he was sending it in order to set up engines of war on the fortifications of petra. next he chose out three hundred able warriors of the persians, and sent them there under command of phabrizus, whom i have lately mentioned, ordering him to make away with goubazes as secretly as possible; as for the rest, he himself would take care. now when this lumber had been conveyed to lazica, it happened that it was struck suddenly by lightning and reduced to ashes. and phabrizus, upon arriving in lazica with the three hundred, began to contrive so that he might carry out the orders received by him from chosroes regarding goubazes. now it happened that one of the men of note among the colchians, pharsanses by name, had quarrelled with goubazes and in consequence had become exceedingly hostile to him, and now he did not dare at all to go into the presence of the king. when this was learned by phabrizus, he summoned pharsanses and in a conference with him disclosed the whole project, and enquired of the man in what way he ought to go about the execution of the deed. and it seemed best to them after deliberating together that phabrizus should go into the city of petra, and should summon goubazes there, in order to announce to him what the king had decided concerning the interests of the lazi. but pharsanses secretly revealed to goubazes what was being prepared. he, accordingly, did not come to phabrizus at all, but began openly to plan a revolt. then phabrizus commanded the other persians to attend as carefully as they could to the guarding of petra, and to make everything as secure as possible against a siege, and he himself with the three hundred returned homeward without having accomplished his purpose. and goubazes reported to the emperor justinian the condition in which they were, and begged him to grant forgiveness for what the lazi had done in the past, and to come to their defence with all his strength, since they desired to be rid of the median rule. for if left by themselves the colchians would not be able to repel the power of the persians. [ a.d.] when the emperor justinian heard this, he was overjoyed, and sent seven thousand men under the leadership of dagisthaeus and a thousand tzani to the assistance of the lazi. and when this force reached the land of colchis, they encamped together with goubazes and the lazi about the fortifications of petra and commenced a siege. but since the persians who were there made a most stalwart defence from the wall, it came about that much time was spent in the siege; for the persians had put away an ample store of victuals in the town. and chosroes, being greatly disturbed by these things, dispatched a great army of horse and foot against the besiegers, putting mermeroes in command of them. and when goubazes learned of this, he considered the matter together with dagisthaeus and acted in the manner which i shall presently set forth. the river boas rises close to the territory of the tzani among the armenians who dwell around pharangium. and at first its course inclines to the right for a great distance, and its stream is small and can be forded by anyone with no trouble as far as the place where the territory of the iberians lies on the right, and the end of the caucasus lies directly opposite. in that place many nations have their homes, and among them the alani and abasgi, who are christians and friends of the romans from of old; also the zechi, and after them the huns who bear the name sabeiri. but when this river reaches the point which marks the termination of the caucasus and of iberia as well, there other waters also are added to it and it becomes much larger and from there flows on bearing the name of phasis instead of boas[ ]; and it becomes a navigable stream as far as the so-called euxine sea into which it empties; and on either side of it lies lazica. now on the right of the stream particularly the whole country for a great distance is populated by the people of lazica as far as the boundary of iberia. for all the villages of the lazi are here beyond the river, and towns have been built there from of old, among which are archaeopolis, a very strong place, and sebastopolis, and the fortress of pitius, and scanda and sarapanis over against the boundary of iberia. moreover there are two cities of the greatest importance in that region, rhodopolis and mocheresis. but on the left of the river, while the country belongs to lazica as far as one day's journey for an unencumbered traveller, the land is without human habitation. adjoining this land is the home of the romans who are called pontic. now it was in the territory of lazica, in the part which was altogether uninhabited, that the emperor justinian founded the city of petra in my own time. this was the place where john, surnamed tzibus, established the monopoly, as i have told in the previous narrative[ ], and gave cause to the lazi to revolt. and as one leaves the city of petra going southward, the roman territory commences immediately, and there are populous towns there, and one which bears the name of rhizaeum, also athens and certain others as far as trapezus. now when the lazi brought in chosroes, they crossed the river boas and came to petra keeping the phasis on the right, because, as they said, they would thus provide against being compelled to spend much time and trouble in ferrying the men across the river phasis, but in reality they did not wish to display their own homes to the persians. and yet lazica is everywhere difficult to traverse both to the right and to the left of the river phasis. for there are on both sides of the river exceedingly high and jagged mountains, and as a result the passes are narrow and very long. (the romans call the roads through such passes "clisurae" when they put their own word into a greek form.[ ]) but since at that time lazica happened to be unguarded, the persians had reached petra very easily with the lazi who were their guides. but on this occasion goubazes, upon learning of the advance of the persians, directed dagisthaeus to send some men to guard with all their strength the pass which is below the river phasis, and he bade him not on any account to abandon the siege until they should be able to capture petra and the persians in it. he himself meanwhile with the whole colchian army came to the frontier of lazica, in order to devote all his strength to guarding the pass there. now it happened that long before he had persuaded the alani and sabeiri to form an alliance with him, and they had agreed for three centenaria not merely to assist the lazi in guarding the land from plunder, but also to render iberia so destitute of men that not even the persians would be able to come in from there in the future. and goubazes had promised that the emperor would give them this money. so he reported the agreement to the emperor justinian and besought him to send this money for the barbarians and afford the lazi some consolation in their great distress. he also stated that the treasury owed him his salary for ten years, for though he was assigned a post among the privy counsellors in the palace, he had received no payment from it since the time when chosroes came into the land of colchis. and the emperor justinian intended to fulfil this request, but some business came up to occupy his attention and he did not send the money at the proper time. so goubazes was thus engaged. but dagisthaeus, being a rather young man and by no means competent to carry on a war against persia, did not handle the situation properly. for while he ought to have sent certainly the greater part of the army to the pass, and perhaps should have assisted in person in this enterprise, he sent only one hundred men, just as if he were managing a matter of secondary importance. he himself, moreover, though besieging petra with the whole army, accomplished nothing, although the enemy were few. for while they had been at the beginning not less than fifteen hundred, they had been shot at by romans and lazi in their fighting at the wall for a long time, and had made a display of valour such as no others known to us have made, so that many were falling constantly and they were reduced to an exceedingly small number. so while the persians, plunged in despair and at a loss what to do, were remaining quiet, the romans made a trench along the wall for a short space, and the circuit-wall at this point fell immediately. but it happened that inside this space there was a building which did not stand back at all from the circuit-wall, and this reached to the whole length of the fallen portion; thus, taking the place of the wall for the besieged, it rendered them secure none the less. but this was not sufficient greatly to disturb the romans. for knowing well that by doing the same thing elsewhere they would capture the city with the greatest ease, they became still more hopeful than before. for this reason dagisthaeus sent word to the emperor of what had come to pass, and proposed that prizes of victory should be in readiness for him, indicating what rewards the emperor should bestow upon himself and his brother; for he would capture petra after no great time. so the romans and the tzani made a most vigorous assault upon the wall, but the persians unexpectedly withstood them, although only a very few were left. and since the romans were accomplishing nothing by assaulting the wall, they again turned to digging. and they went so far in this work that the foundations of the circuit-wall were no longer on solid ground, but stood for the most part over empty space, and, in the nature of things, would fall almost immediately. and if dagisthaeus had been willing immediately to apply fire to the foundations, i think that the city would have been captured by them straightway; but, as it was, he was awaiting encouragement from the emperor, and so, always hesitating and wasting time, he remained inactive. such, then, was the course of events in the roman camp. xxx but mermeroes, after passing the iberian frontier with the whole median army, was moving forward with the river phasis on his right. for he was quite unwilling to go through the country of lazica, lest any obstacle should confront him there. for he was eager to save the city of petra and the persians in it, even though a portion of the circuit-wall had fallen down suddenly. for it had been hanging in the air, as i have said; and volunteers from the roman army to the number of fifty got inside the city, and raised the shout proclaiming the emperor justinian triumphant. these men were led by a young man of armenian birth, john by name, the son of thomas whom they used to call by the surname gouzes. this thomas had built many of the strongholds about lazica at the direction of the emperor, and he commanded the soldiers there, seeming to the emperor an intelligent person. now john, when the persians joined battle with his men, was wounded and straightway withdrew to the camp with his followers, since no one else of the roman army came to support him. meanwhile the persian mirranes who commanded the garrison in petra, fearing for the city, directed all the persians to keep guard with the greatest diligence, and he himself went to dagisthaeus, and addressed him with fawning speeches and deceptive words, agreeing readily to surrender the city not long afterwards. in this way he succeeded in deceiving him so that the roman army did not immediately enter the city. now when the army of mermeroes came to the pass, the roman garrison, numbering one hundred men, confronted them there and offered a stalwart resistance, and they held in check their opponents who were attempting the entrance. but the persians by no means withdrew, but those who fell were constantly replaced by others, and they kept advancing, trying with all their strength to force their way in. among the persians more than a thousand perished, but at last the romans were worn out with killing, and, being forced back by the throng, they withdrew, and running up to the heights of the mountain there were saved. dagisthaeus, upon learning this, straightway abandoned the siege without giving any commands to the army, and proceeded to the river phasis; and all the romans followed him, leaving their possessions behind in the camp. and when the persians observed what was being done, they opened their gates and came forth, and approached the tents of the enemy in order to capture the camp. but the tzani, who had not followed after dagisthaeus, as it happened, rushed out to defend the camp, and they routed the enemy without difficulty and killed many. so the persians fled inside their fortifications, and the tzani, after plundering the roman camp proceeded straight for rhizaeum. and from there they came to athens and betook themselves to their homes through the territory of the trapezuntines. and mermeroes and the median army came there on the ninth day after the withdrawal of dagisthaeus; and in the city they found left of the persian garrison three hundred and fifty men wounded and unfit for fighting, and only one hundred and fifty men unhurt; for all the rest had perished. now the survivors had in no case thrown the bodies of the fallen outside the fortifications, but though stifled by the evil stench, they held out in a manner beyond belief, in order that they might not afford the enemy any encouragement for the prosecution of the siege, by letting them know that most of their number had perished. and mermeroes remarked by way of a taunt that the roman state was worthy of tears and lamentation, because they had come to such a state of weakness that they had been unable by any device to capture one hundred and fifty persians without a wall. and he was eager to build up the portions of the circuit-wall which had fallen down; but since at the moment he had neither lime nor any of the other necessary materials for the building ready at hand, he devised the following plan. filling with sand the linen bags in which the persians had carried their provisions into the land of colchis, he laid them in the place of the stones, and the bags thus arranged took the place of the wall. and choosing out three thousand of his able fighting men, he left them there, depositing with them victuals for no great length of time, and commanding them to attend to the building of the fortifications; then he himself with all the rest of the army turned back and marched away. but since, if he went from there by the same road, no means of provisioning his army was available, since he had left everything in petra which had been brought in by the army from iberia, he planned to go by another route through the mountains, where he learned that the country was inhabited, in order that by foraging there he might be able to live off the land. in the course of this journey one of the notables among the lazi, phoubelis by name, laid an ambush for the persians while camping for the night, bringing with him dagisthaeus with two thousand of the romans; and these men, making a sudden attack, killed some of the persians who were grazing their horses, and after securing the horses as plunder they shortly withdrew. thus, then, mermeroes with the median army departed from there. but goubazes, upon learning what had befallen the romans both at petra and at the pass, did not even so become frightened, nor did he give up the guarding of the pass where he was, considering that their hope centred in that place. for he understood that, even if the persians had been able by forcing back the romans on the left of the river phasis to cross over the pass and get into petra, they could thereby inflict no injury upon the land of the lazi, since they were utterly unable to cross the phasis, in particular because no ships were at their disposal. for in depth this river is not inferior to the deepest rivers, and it spreads out to a great width. moreover it has such a strong current that when it empties into the sea, it goes on as a separate stream for a very great distance, without mingling at all with the sea-water. indeed, those who navigate in those parts are able to draw up drinking water in the midst of the sea. moreover, the lazi have erected fortresses all along the right bank of the river, in order that, even when the enemy are ferried across in boats, they may not be able to disembark on the land. the emperor justinian at this time sent to the nation of the sabeiri the money which had been agreed upon, and he rewarded goubazes and the lazi with additional sums of money. and it happened that long before this time he had sent another considerable army also to lazica, which had not yet arrived there. the commander of this army was rhecithancus, from thrace, a man of discretion and a capable warrior. such then was the course of these events. now when mermeroes got into the mountains, as i have said, he was anxious to fill petra with provisions from there. for he did not by any means think that the victuals which they had brought in with them would suffice for the garrison there, amounting to three thousand men. but since the supplies they found along the way barely sufficed for the provisioning of that army, which numbered no less than thirty thousand, and since on this account they were able to send nothing at all of consequence to petra, upon consideration he found it better for them that the greater part of the army should depart from the land of colchis, and that some few should remain there, who were to convey to the garrison in petra the most of the provisions which they might find, while using the rest to maintain themselves comfortably. he therefore selected five thousand men and left them there, appointing as commanders over them phabrizus and three others. for it seemed to him unnecessary to leave more men there, since there was no enemy at all. and he himself with the rest of the army came into persarmenia and remained quietly in the country around doubios. now the five thousand, upon coming nearer to the frontier of lazica, encamped in a body beside the phasis river, and from there they went about in small bands and plundered the neighbouring country. now when goubazes perceived this, he sent word to dagisthaeus to hasten there to his assistance: for it would be possible for them to do the enemy some great harm. and he did as directed, moving forward with the whole roman army with the river phasis on the left, until he came to the place where the lazi where encamped on the opposite bank of the river. now it happened that the phasis could be forded at this point, a fact which neither the romans nor the persians suspected in the least because of their lack of familiarity with these regions; but the lazi knew it well, and they made the crossing suddenly and joined the roman army. and the persians chose out a thousand men of repute among them and sent them forth, that no one might advance against the camp to harm it. and two of this force, who had gone out ahead of their fellows to reconnoitre, fell unexpectedly into the hands of the enemy and informed them of the whole situation. the romans, therefore, and the lazi fell suddenly upon the thousand men, and not one of them succeeded in escaping, but the most of them were slain, while some also were captured; and through these the men of goubazes and dagisthaeus succeeded in learning the numbers of the median army and the length of the journey to them and the condition in which they then were. they therefore broke camp and marched against them with their whole army, calculating so that they would fall upon them well on in the night; their own force amounted to fourteen thousand men. now the persians, having no thought of an enemy in their minds, were enjoying a long sleep; for they supposed that the river was impassable, and that the thousand men, with no one to oppose them, were making a long march somewhere. but the romans and lazi at early dawn unexpectedly fell upon them, and they found some still buried in slumber and others just roused from sleep and lying defenceless upon their beds. not one of them, therefore, thought of resistance, and the majority were caught and killed, while some also were captured by the enemy, among whom happened to be one of the commanders; only a few escaped in the darkness and were saved. and the romans and lazi captured the camp and all the standards, and they also secured many weapons and a great deal of money as plunder, besides great numbers of horses and mules. and pursuing them for a very great distance they came well into iberia. there they happened upon certain others of the persians also and slew a great number. thus the persians departed from lazica; and the romans and lazi found there all the supplies, including great quantities of flour, which the barbarians had brought in from iberia, in order to transport them to petra, and they burned them all. and they left a large number of lazi in the pass, so that it might no longer be possible for the persians to carry in supplies to petra, and they returned with all the plunder and the captives. [ a.d.] and the fourth year of the truce between the romans and persians came to an end, being the twenty-third year of the reign of the emperor justinian. and john the cappadocian one year before this came to byzantium at the summons of the emperor. for at that time the empress theodora had reached the term of her life. however, he was quite unable to recover any of his former dignities, but he continued to hold the priestly honour against his will; and yet the vision had often come to the man that he would arrive at royalty. for the divine power is accustomed to tempt those whose minds are not solidly grounded by nature, by holding before their vision, on great and lofty hopes, that which is counted splendid among men. at any rate the marvel-mongers were always predicting to this john many such imaginary things, and especially that he was bound to be clothed in the garment of augustus. now there was a certain priest in byzantium, augustus by name, who guarded the treasures of the temple of sophia. so when john had been shorn and declared worthy of the priestly dignity by force, inasmuch as he had no garment becoming a priest, he had been compelled by those who were in charge of this business to put on the cloak and the tunic of this augustus who was near by, and in this, i suppose, his prophecy reached its fulfilment. footnotes: [ ] that is, the saracens subject to the romans and those subject to the persians. [ ] cf. book i. xxii. . [ ] the huns placed a part of their force in the rear of the defenders of the pass, which lies between the sea and the mountains, sending them around by the same path, probably, as that used by xerxes when he destroyed leonidas and his three hundred spartans; see _herod_. vii. - . [ ] "secretary of secrets." [ ] cf. book i. xxii. . [ ] cf. book ii. i. ; iii. . [ ] cf. book i. xxii. . [ ] cf. book ii. xxi. - . [ ] this term was applied to the "blue faction" in byzantium and elsewhere. [ ] cf. book i. xxii. . [ ] nine ms. lines are missing at this point. [ ] cf. book ii. x. . [ ] cf. book i. xii. ff. [ ] cf. book i. viii. - . [ ] cf. chap. v. . [ ] _i.e._ "groin." [ ] modern galata. [ ] the official dress. [ ] vesta. [ ] cf. section above. [ ] cf. book ii. xii. - . [ ] latin _agger_, "mound." [ ] "three towers." [ ] cf. book i. xii. ff. [ ] book ii. xix. . [ ] procopius seems to have confused two separate and distinct rivers. [ ] cf. book ii. xv. . [ ] latin _clausura_, "a narrow shut-in road." * * * * * index abandanes, secretary of chosroes, sent to belisarius, ii. xxi. ff.; his report, ii. xxi. , abasgi, their location, ii. xxix. ; friends of the romans, _ib._ abochorabus, ruler of the saracens of arabia, presents the palm groves to justinian, i. xix. ff. aborrhas river, protects one side of circesium, ii. v. ; near theodosiopolis, ii. xix. abramus, becomes king of the homeritae, i. xx. ; his servile origin, i. xx. ; defeats two aethiopian armies, i. xx. - ; pays tribute to the aethiopians, i. xx. ; his idle promises to justinian to invade persia, i. xx. abydus, city opposite sestus on the hellespont, ii. iv. acacius, father of adolius, ii. xxi. ; denounces amazaspes to the emperor, ii. iii. ; slays him treacherously, ii. iii. ; his shameless career as governor of armenia, ii. iii. , ; slain by the armenians, ii. iii. adarbiganon, chosroes halts there with his army, ii. xxiv. ; the fire-sanctuary located there, ii. xxiv. ; abandoned by chosroes, ii. xxiv. adergoudounbades, made "chanaranges" by chosroes, i. vi. , ; saves cabades from the hand of chosroes, i. xxiii. ff.; betrayed by his son, i. xxiii. ; his death, i. xxiii. adolius, son of acacius, an armenian, urges severe treatment of armenians, ii. iii. ; commander of roman cavalry, ii. xxi. , , ; commands a detachment in an army to invade persia, ii. xxiv. ; killed by a stone, ii. xxv. adonachus, commander in chalcis, ii. xii. adrastadaran salanes, an office in persia of high authority (_lit._ "leader of the warriors"), i. vi , xi. ; held only by seoses, i. xi. adulis, in aethiopia, the city and harbour, distance from auxomis, i. xix. ; home of a certain roman trader, i. xx. aegypt, its topography, i. xix. ; john the cappadocian an exile there, i. xxv. ; the pestilence there, ii. xxii. aeimachus, a butcher of antioch, his encounter with a persian horseman, ii. xi. ff. aelas, on the "red sea," i. xix. , , aethiopians, location of their country, i. xix. ; the ships used there, i. xix. ; iron not produced there nor imported from elsewhere, i. xix. . ; sought as allies by justinian, i. xix. , xx. ff., ii. iii. ; unable to buy silk from the indians, i. xx. agamemnon, father of iphigenia, i. xvii. ii agesta, _i.e._, "agger," employed by the persians in besieging edessa, ii. xxvi. aigan, massagete chief, in the roman army at the battle of daras, i. xiii. , xiv. , alamoundaras, son of saccice, king of the saracens, marches with the persian army, i. xvii. ; his character and services to the persians, i. xvii. ff.; advises cabades to invade roman territory south of the euphrates river, i. xvii. ff.; retires with azarethes before belisarius, i. xviii. ff.; brings charge against arethas of violating boundary lines, ii. i. ; war with arethas, ii. xxviii. - ; sacrifices to aphrodite the son of arethas, ii. xxviii. ; sought as an ally by justinian, ii. i. , iii. ; accused by justinian of violating the treaty, ii. iv. ; a menace to syria and phoenicia, ii. xvi. ; also to lebanon, ii. xix. alani, their location, ii. xxix. ; friends of the romans, _ib._; neighbours of the sunitae, i. xv. ; persuaded by goubazes to ally themselves with him, ii. xxix. albani, a people near the taurus, i. x. alexander, son of philip, fortified the caspian gates, i. x. ; justinian compared with him, ii. ii. alexander, ambassador to the persians, i. xxii. alexandria, visited by the pestilence, ii. xxii. ; citizens of, accused by john the cappadocian, i. xxv. amazaspes, nephew of symeon, made ruler of certain armenian villages, ii. iii. ; denounced to the emperor, ii. iii. ; treacherously slain, ii. iii. ambazouces, a hun, offers to sell to anastasius the control of the caspian gates, i. x. ; his death, i. x. ambrus, a saracen christian, saves sergiopolis from capture by chosroes, ii. xx. , amida, a city on the border between armenia and mesopotamia, i. xvii. ; distance from martyropolis, i. xxi. ; distance from the nymphius river, i. viii. ; from siphrios, i. viii. ; from endielon, i. vii. ; from thilasamon, i. ix. ; besieged by cabades, i. vii. , ff.; bravely defended, i. vii. , ff.; captured by cabades, i. vii. ; besieged by the romans, i. ix. - ; recovered by the romans by purchase, i. ix. , ; captives of, generously treated by chosroes, i. vii. ; citizens relieved of taxes, i. vii. ammodios, a place near daras, i. xiii. , ; ii. xxviii. anastasius, roman emperor, uncle of hypatius, i. viii. , xi. ; of probus, i. xii. ; and of pompeius, i. xxiv. ; refuses to purchase from ambazouces the control of the caspian gates, i. x. , , xvi. ; insurrection raised against him by vitalianus, i. viii. , xiii. ; refuses request of cabades for a loan, i. vii. , ; shews favour to citizens of amida, i. vii. ; sends succour to amida, i. viii. ; fortifies daras, i. x. ; placates cabades, i. x. ; fortifies theodosiopolis, i. x. , ; his death, i. xi. anastasius of daras, overthrows tyranny there, i. xxvi. , ii. iv. ; bears a letter from justinian to chosroes, ii. iv. ; detained by chosroes, ii. iv. ; dismissed by chosroes, ii. v. ; present with chosroes at the sack of sura, ii. ix. anatolius, general of the east, averts danger to the empire by courtesy to the persian king, i. ii. - andreas, of byzantium, his exploits in single combat, i. xiii. ff. anglon, village in persarmenia, ii. xxv. ; roman armies routed there, ii. xxv. ff. aniabedes, sent by chosroes to capture petra, ii. xvii. ; impaled by chosroes, ii. xvii. antinous, city of, in aegypt, john the cappadocian imprisoned there, i. xxv. antioch, its importance, i. xvii. , ii. viii. , ix. , x. ; situation, ii. vi. , viii. ; ease with which it might be captured, i. xvii. ; character of the inhabitants, i. xvii. , ii. viii. ; distance from beroea, ii. vii. ; from seleucia, ii. xi. ; visited by an earthquake, ii. xiv. ; the citizens propose to buy off chosroes, ii. vi. ; besieged by chosroes, ii. viii. ff.; the wall stormed by chosroes, ii. viii. ff.; captured by chosroes, ii. viii. ff.; plundered by chosroes, ii. ix. ff.; burnt, ii. ix. , ; young men of, check the victorious persians in a street fight, ii. viii. , , , ix. ; citizens of, massacred by the persians, ii. viii. ; church of, robbed of great treasures by chosroes, ii. ix. , ; spared in the burning of the city, ii. ix. , x. ; citizens of, receive portent of coming misfortunes, ii. x. ff.; xiv. ; two women of, their sad fate at the capture of the city, ii. viii. ; captives of, offered for sale by chosroes, ii. xiii. ff.; settled by chosroes in a newly built city under special laws, ii. xiv. ff. antioch of chosroes, special laws concerning it, ii. xiv. , antonina, wife of belisarius, brings about the downfall of john the cappadocian, i. xxv. ff.; departs to the east, i. xxv. apamea, city of syria, ii. xi. , ; wood of the cross preserved there, ii. xi. ; it gives forth a miraculous light in the church, ii. xi. , ; visited by chosroes, ii. xi. ff.; entered by chosroes and robbed of all its treasure, ii. xi. ff.; a citizen of, accuses a persian of having violated his daughter, ii. xi. aphrodite, son of arethas sacrificed to, ii. xxviii. apion, an aegyptian, manager of finances in the roman army, i. viii. arabia, its location, i. xix. arabian gulf, called "red sea" by procopius, i. xix. ; its description, i. xix. ff. aratius, in company with narses defeats sittas and belisarius, i. xii. , ; deserts to the romans, i. xii. , xv. ; sent to italy, i. xii. arcadius, roman emperor, when about to die makes provision for the safety of his heir, i. ii. ff. archaeopolis, a strong city of lazica, ii. xxix. areobindus, son-in-law of olyvrius, roman general, i. viii. ; flees with his army before cabades, i. viii. , ; summoned to byzantium, i. ix. ares, house of, portion of the imperial residence in byzantium, i. xxiv. arethas, son of gabalas, made king of the saracens of arabia by justinian and pitted against alamoundaras, i. xvii. , ; with the roman army, i. xviii. ; at the battle on the euphrates, i. xviii. , ; quarrels with alamoundaras, ii. i. - ; joins belisarius in mesopotamia, ii. xvi. ; sent by belisarius to plunder assyria, ii. xix. , ff.; returns another way, ii. xix. ff.; wages war against alamoundaras, ii. xxviii. - ; son of, sacrificed to aphrodite, ii. xxviii. argek, a guardsman, his effective fighting against the persians at edessa, ii. xxvi. , armenia, considered by some to extend as far as amida, i. xvii. ; armenians wage war with persia, i. v. ff.; history of the armenians, i. v. , arsaces, king of armenia, progenitor of the arsacidae, ii. iii. ; his abdication, ii. iii. arsaces, king of armenia, wages a truceless war with persia, i. v. ff.; slandered to pacurius, i. v. ; victim of strategem of magi, betrays himself to pacurius, i. v. ff.; confined in the prison of oblivion, i. v. ff.; kills himself, i. v. arsaces, last king of armenia, gives his kingdom to theodosius, ii. iii. arsaces, commander in sura, killed while valiantly defending the city, ii. v. arsacidae, descendants of the armenian king, arsaces, ii. iii. ; their privileges, ii. iii. arsinus river, tributary to the euphrates, i. xvii. artabanes, son of john, of the arsacidae, slays sittas, ii. iii. artace, suburb of cyzicus, i. xxv. artemis among the taurians, sanctuary of, in celesene, i. xvii. ; a sanctuary of, founded by orestes in pontus, i. xvii. ; another in cappadocia, i. xvii. arzamon, in mesopotamia, distance from constantina, i. viii. arzanene, district of armenia beyond the river nymphius, i. viii. , ii. xv. ; invaded by celer, i. viii. ascan, a massagete chief, at the battle of daras, i. xiii. , xiv. ; his exploits at the battle on the euphrates and his death, i. xviii. asia, entered from the hellespont by the huns, ii. iv. aspebedes, uncle of chosroes, i. xi. , xxiii. ; negotiates a treaty with celer, i. ix. ; shares command of invading army, i. xxi. ; put to death by chosroes, i. xxiii. aspetiani, their alliance with sittas frustrated by a misunderstanding, ii. iii. - assyria, plundered by arethas, ii. xix. ff. athens, a city near lazica, ii. xxix. , xxx. attachas, place in armenia, distance from martyropolis, i. xxi. augarus, toparch of edessa, ii. xii. ; friend of augustus, ii. xii. , ; his visit to rome, ii. xii. ff.; with difficulty persuades augustus to allow him to return, ii. xii. ff.; receives from augustus the promise of a hippodrome for edessa, ii. xii. ; his enigmatic reply to the enquiries of the citizens, ii. xii. ; stricken with gout, seeks relief from physicians, ii. xii. , ; invites christ to come to edessa, ii. xii. ; cured upon receiving the reply of christ, ii. xii. ; son of, an unrighteous ruler, delivers over edessa to persia, ii. xii. augustus, roman emperor, his affection for augarus, ii. xii. - augustus, priest in byzantium, ii. xxx. , auxomis, capital city of the homeritae, i. xix. ; distance from adulis, i. xix. ; from elephantina and the roman boundary, i. xix. auxomitae, name applied to some of the aethiopians, i. xix. azarethes, persian general, invades roman territory, i. xvii. , xviii. ; retires before belisarius, i. xviii. ff.; exhorts the persian army, i. xviii. ff.; arrays them for battle, i. xviii. ; dishonoured by cabades, i. xviii. ff.; at the siege of edessa, ii. xxvii. baradotus, priest of constantina, his godliness, ii. xiii. ; persuades cabades to spare constantina, ii. xiii. , barbalissum, fortress on the euphrates, distance from obbane, ii. xii. barbarian plain, the, near sergiopolis, ii. v. baresmanas, persian general, at the battle of daras, i. xiii. , xiv. , ; standard bearer of, attacked and killed by sunicas, i. xiv. - barlaus, gate of, in the wall of edessa, ii. xxvii. basilides, appointed quaestor in place of tribunianus, i. xxiv. basilius, father of john of edessa, ii. xxi. bassaces, son-in-law of john, accompanies him on a mission to bouzes, ii. iii. ; escapes with his companions from an ambush, ii. iii. ; leads an embassy to the persian king, ii. iii. ; comes with armenians to byzantium, ii. xxi. bassicius, trusted friend of the armenian king arsaces, i. v. ; flayed by pacurius, i. v. batne, fortress one day's journey distant from edessa, ii. xii. belisarius, married to antonina, i. xxv. ; in company with sittas invades persarmenia, i. xii. , ; defeated by narses and aratius, i. xii. ; appointed commander of troops in daras with procopius his adviser, i. xii. ; at the command of justinian undertakes to build a fortress in mindouos, i. xiii. , ; prevented by the persians, i. xiii. ff.; made general of the east, i. xiii. ; in company with hermogenes prepares to meet the persians at daras, i. xiii. ff.; at the battle of daras, i. xiii. ff.; sends letters to mirranes, i. xiv. ff., ; address to his soldiers, i. xiv. ff.; arrays the army on the second day of the battle of daras, i. xiv. ; wins a brilliant victory, i. xiv. ff.; recalls the romans from the pursuit of the persians, i. xiv. ; hurries to meet the invading army of azarethes i. xviii. ; follows the retiring persian army, i. xviii. ff.; ridiculed by his army, i. xviii. ; attempts to dissuade the romans from battle, i. xviii. ff.; insulted by his army, i. xviii. ; arrays them for battle, i. xviii. , ; fights valiantly after most of the roman army had been routed, i. xviii. ff.; returns to byzantium in order to go against the vandals, i. xxi. ; his share in quelling the nika insurrection, i. xxiv. ff.; made general of the east and sent to libya, i. xxvi. ; victorious in italy, ii. i. ; brings vittigis to byzantium, ii. iv. ; shares the command of the east with bouzes, ii. vi. ; summoned from italy to byzantium, ii. xiv. ; sent against chosroes, ii. xiv. , ; gathers an army in mesopotamia, ii. xvi. ff.; invades persia, ii. xviii. ff.; defeats nabedes at nisibis, ii. xviii. , ; sends arethas into assyria, ii. xix. ; attacks sisauranon, ii. xix. ff.; captures it, ii. xix. ; holds consultation with commanders, ii. xix. ff.; returns to roman territory, ii. xix. ; recalled to byzantium, ii. xix. ; journeys swiftly to the east to confront chosroes, ii. xx. ; gathers an army at europum, ii. xx. ff.; receives abandanes, the envoy of chosroes, i. xxi. ff.; forces chosroes to retire, ii. xxi. ; gives john of edessa as a hostage, ii. xxi. ; his great fame, ii. xxi. , ; summoned to byzantium, ii. xxi. beroea, a town of syria between hierapolis and antioch, ii. vii. ; distance from chalcis, ii. xii. ; chosroes demands money from the inhabitants, ii. vii. ; the citizens retire to the acropolis, ii. vii. ; the lower city entered by chosroes and a large part of it fired, ii. vii. , ; acropolis valiantly defended against chosroes, ii. vii. ; miserable plight of the besieged, ii. vii. ; citizens capitulate to chosroes, ii. vii. beros, an erulian leader, encamps near martinus, ii. xxiv. ; with philemouth follows peter into persia, ii. xxiv. bessas, a goth, officer in the roman army, i. viii. ; commander in martyropolis, i. xxi. bithynians, on the euxine sea, ii. xxviii. black gulf, ii. iv. black sea, _see_ "euxine." blases, brother of perozes, chosen king in place of cabades, deposed, i. v. ; imprisoned and blinded by cabades, i. vi. blemyes, a people of upper aegypt, i. xix. ; receive annual payment from the roman emperor, i. xix. , ; diocletian purposes to hold them in check by means of the nobatae, i. xix. ; their religion, i. xix. , bleschames, commander of the persian soldiers in sisauranon, ii. xix. ; sent to byzantium by belisarius with persian captives, ii. xix. ; sent to italy by justinian, ii. xix. blue faction, their struggles with the green faction, i. xxiv. - ; favoured by justinian, ii. xi. ; in the nika insurrection, i. xxiv. ff.; also called the "veneti" blue colonnade, in byzantium, i. xxiv. boas river, considered by procopius the upper portion of the phasis, ii. xxix. - boes, a persian general, i. xii. bolum, fortress in persarmenia, near which were the gold mines of the persian king, i. xv. ; betrayed to the romans by isaac, i. xv. , ; its return demanded by chosroes, i. xxii. ; given up by the romans, i. xxii. boraedes, nephew of justinian, assists in making hypatius prisoner, i. xxiv. bosporus, a city on the euxine, i. xii. ; citizens of, put themselves under the sway of justinus, i. xii. ; justinian accused of seizing it, ii. iii. bouzes, brother of coutzes, commander in lebanon, i. xiii. ; sent to support belisarius at mindouos, _ib._; commander in martyropolis, i. xxi. ; at the battle of daras, i. xiii. , ff.; sent against the armenians, ii. iii. ; his offers of friendship distrusted by them, ii. iii. , ; slays john treacherously, ii. iii. ; shares the command of the east with belisarius, ii. vi. ; makes suggestions as to the defence of hierapolis, ii. vi. ff.; abandons the city, ii. vi. , ; prevents the citizens of edessa from ransoming the captives of antioch, ii. xiii. ; favours invasion of persia by belisarius, ii. xvi. ; takes refuge with justus in hierapolis, ii. xx. ; they invite belisarius to join them, ii. xx. ff.; but later come to him at europum, ii. xx. braducius, interpreter of isdigousnas, ii. xxviii. bronze gate, in the emperor's palace in byzantium, i. xxiv. bulicas, harbour of the homeritae, i. xix. byzantium, nika insurrection, i. xxiv. ff.; suburbs ravaged by huns, ii. iv. ; visited by the pestilence, ii. xxii. ff.; chosroes contemplates its capture by way of the euxine, ii. xxviii. cabades, youngest son of perozes, i. iv. ; chosen king of persia, i. iv. ; introduces innovations into the persian government displeasing the people, i. v. ; cast into the prison of oblivion, i. v. ; escapes from it, i. vi. , , ; enters persia with an army of ephthalitae, i. vi. - ; appoints adergoudounbades "chanaranges" i. vi. , ; deposes blases, i. vi. ; institutes a new office, i. vi. , ; appeals to anastasius for a loan, i. vii. ; invades roman territory, i. vii. ; grants request of jacobus, the hermit, i. vii. - ; besieges amida, i. vii. - ; captures amida, i. vii. ; puts glones in command of the city, i. vii. ; his treatment of the captives of amida, i. vii. ; routs the roman armies near amida, i. viii. - ; shews kindness to baradotus by sparing constantina, ii. xiii. ; desirous of capturing edessa and constantina, ii. xiii. ; abandons his purpose of capturing edessa, ii. xiii. ff.; retires in order to meet an invasion of the huns, i. viii. ; seizes the caspian gates, i. x. ; protests at the fortification of daras, i. x. ; solicitude as to his successor, i. xi. ff.; cured by stephanus of edessa, ii. xxvi. ; hates his oldest son caoses, i. xi. , ii. ix. ; requests justinus to adopt chosroes, i. xi. , ff.; unwilling to save seoses, i. xi. , ; tries to force the iberians to adopt the persian religion, i. xii. ff.; sends an army against them, i. xii. ; sends an army into roman armenia, i. xv. ; his gold mine at pharangium, i. xv. ; deprived of the revenue therefrom, i. xv. , ; treats with the ambassador rufinus at daras, i. xvi. ff.; punishes perozes, i. xvii. ff.; plans a new campaign against the romans, i. xvii. ; advised by alamoundaras, i. xvii. ff.; adopts the suggestion of alamoundaras, i. xviii. ; dishonours azarethes, i. xviii. ff.; refuses to negotiate with hermogenes, i. xxi. ; bought pearl from the ephthalitae, i. iv. ; his last illness, i. xxi. ff.; his ability as a ruler, i. vi. cabades, son of zames, plot to set him on the persian throne in place of chosroes, i. xxiii. ; ordered to be killed by chosroes, i. xxiii. ; escapes by the help of the chanaranges, i. xxiii. ff.; one claiming this name entertained by justinian in byzantium, i. xxiii. , cadiseni, in the persian army at the battle of daras, i. xiv. , caesar, the title used by the persians to designate the roman emperor, ii. xxi. , xi. caesarea, the home of procopius, i. i. caisus, a homerite, of captain's rank, a fugitive because of murder committed by him, i. xx. , callinicus, city of mesopotamia, ii. xi. ; on the euphrates, i. xviii. ; roman army conveyed thither by boats after the battle on the euphrates, i. xviii. ; taken by chosroes, ii. xxi. ff. candidus, priest of sergiopolis, makes agreement with chosroes, ii. v. ; punished by chosroes for failing to keep his agreement, ii. xx. ff., , caoses, oldest son of cabades, i. xi. ; hated by his father, ii. ix. ; claims the throne of persia upon the death of cabades, i. xxi. ; prevented by mebodes from becoming king, i. xxi. cappadocia, country of asia embracing a portion of the taurus, i. x. ; desired by chosroes, ii. xxviii. ; visited by orestes, i. xvii. carrhae, city of mesopotamia, citizens of, offer money to chosroes, ii. xiii. ; able to see the smoke of the burning "agger" at edessa, ii. xxvii. caspian gates, their location and strategic importance, i. x. ff.; fortified by alexander, i. x. ; offered to anastasius by ambazouces, i. x. ; seized by cabades, i. x. , xvi. , , xxii. ; guarded by the persians, ii. x. cassandria, known in ancient times as potidaea, captured by the huns, ii. iv. catholicos, title of the priest of doubios, ii. xxv. caucasus mountains, i. xv. ; inhabited by huns, ii. xv. , , xxviii. ; by alani, etc., ii. xxix. ; barbarians in, held in check by lazica, ii. xxviii. celer, roman general, i. viii. ; invades arzanene, i. viii. , ii. xv. ; with patricius and hypatius besieges amida, i. ix. ; negotiates a treaty with aspebedes, i. ix. celesene, district in armenia, i. xvii. , ; sanctuary of artemis there, i. xvii. cerataeum, a district of antioch, ii. x. chalcis, city in syria, distance from gabboulon, i. xviii. ; from beroea, ii. xii. ; saved from chosroes by money payment, ii. xii. , chanaranges (_lit._ "commander of the frontier troops"), persian term for "general," i. v. , vi. , xxiii. chanaranges, persian general, shares command of invading army, i. xxi. ; besieges martyropolis, i. xxi. , ; retires, i. xxi. cherson, a city at the limits of roman territory on the euxine, i. xii. chersonesus, its wall assailed by the huns, ii. iv. chorzianene, place in armenia, eruli encamp there, ii. xxiv. chosroes, third son of cabades, i. xi. ; cabades proposes to justinus that he adopt chosroes, i. xi. ff.; ch. awaits outcome of negotiations regarding his adoption by justinus, i. xi. ; retires in anger to persia, i. xi. ; declared by cabades in his testament successor to the throne of persia, i. xxi. ff.; his election to the kingship, i. xxi. ; meets roman ambassadors on the tigris, i. xxii. ff.; failure of their negotiations, i. xxii. ff.; grants the prayer of rufinus, i. xxii. ; concludes the "endless peace." i. xxii. , ; his unpopularity among the persians, i. xxiii. - ; plot to dethrone him, i. xxiii. ff.; slays zames and other male relatives, i. xxiii. ; orders the chanaranges to slay cabades, son of zames, i. xxiii. ; hears from varrames how cabades had been spared, i. xxiii. ; his punishment of adergoudounbades, i. xxiii. ff.; destroys mebodes, i. xxiii. ff.; vexed at roman successes in libya, i. xxvi. ; demands his share of the spoils, i. xxvi. ; desires to break the treaty with the romans, ii. i. ; charges justinian with having broken the treaty, ii. i. - , x. , ; hears with favour the ambassadors of vittigis, ii. ii. ; receives an embassy from the armenians, ii. iii. ff.; decides to open hostilities against the romans, ii. iii. ; admonished by justinian by letter, ii. iv. ff.; detains anastasius, ii. iv. ; dismisses him, ii. v. ; first invasion of roman territory, ii. v. ; marches towards syria, ii. v. ; refrains from attacking zenobia, ii. v. ; arriving at sura, besieges the city, ii. v. ff.; captures it by a strategem, ii. v. ff.; marries euphemia, ii. v. ; releases captives for ransom, ii. v. ; hears the plea of megas, ii. vi. ff.; exacts money from the hierapolitans, ii. vi. - ; promises to depart from the east for ten centenaria of gold, ii. vi. ; demands money from the beroeans, ii. vii. ; enters beroea and fires a large portion of it, ii. vii. , ; besieges the acropolis, ii. vii. ff.; reproached by megas, ii. vii. ; his reply, ii. vii. ff.; allows the beroeans to capitulate, ii. vii. ; moves against antioch, ii. viii. ; demands money from the citizens of antioch, ii. viii. ; hears the ambassadors, ii. viii. ; insulted by the citizens, ii. viii. ; storms the city wall, ii. viii. ff.; captures antioch, ii. viii. ; reproached by zaberganes, ii. viii. ff.; addresses the ambassadors, ii ix. ff.; his hesitation in allowing the persians to enter antioch, ii. viii. - , ix. ; his character ii. ix. - ; orders the plunder of antioch, ii. ix. ; burns the city, ii. ix. , ; addressed by the ambassadors, ii. x. ff.; demands money from them, ii. x. ff.; agrees upon terms for peace, ii. x. ; visits seleucia, ii. xi. ; visits daphne, ii. xi. ff.; burns the sanctuary of michael at daphne, ii. xi. , ; proceeds to apamea, ii xi. ; enters the city and seizes its treasures, ii. xi. ff.; becomes a spectator in the hippodrome, ii. xi. ff.; impales a persian adulterer, ii. xi. , ; exacts money from the citizens of chalcis, ii. xii. , ; crosses the euphrates by a bridge, ii. xii. ff.; eager to capture edessa because of the belief of the christians that it could not be captured, ii. xii. ff., , ; demands and receives money from the citizens, ii. xii. , ; upon receipt of a letter from justinian prepares for departure, ii. xiii. , ; protests at the offer of money by the citizens of carrhae, ii. xiii. ; accepts money from the citizens of constantina, ii. xiii. ; claims constantina as his possession by inheritance, _ib._, ii. xiii. ; besieges daras, ii. xi. , xiii. ; abandons the siege of daras upon receipt of money, ii. xiii. ; charged by justinian with breaking the treaty, ii. xiii. ; provides a home for the captives of antioch, ii. xiv. ff.; called in by the lazi, ii. xv. , ff.; prepares to invade lazica, ii. xv. - ; belisarius sent against him, ii. xiv. ; invades lazica, ii. xvii. ff.; commands an attack to be made on petra, ii. xvii. ; impales aniabedes, ii. xvii. ; besieges petra, ii. xvii. ff.; captures petra, ii. xvii. ; retires from lazica, ii. xix. ; third invasion of roman territory, ii. xx. ff.; besieges sergiopolis in vain, ii. xx. ff.; punishes candidus, the priest of sergiopolis, ii. xx. ff., , ; takes much treasure from sergiopolis, ii. xx. ; sends envoy to belisarius, ii. xxi. , ; retires before belisarius, ii. xxi. ff.; crosses the euphrates by a bridge, ii. xxi. ; takes callinicus, ii. xi. , xxi. - ; receives the hostage john, ii. xxi. ; awaits the roman envoys at adarbiganon, ii. xxiv. ff.; his army visited by the pestilence, ii. xxiv. , ; retires from adarbiganon into assyria, ii. xxiv. ; fourth invasion of roman territory, ii. xxvi. ff.; makes an attempt upon edessa, ii. xxvi. ff.; comes to terms with the citizens of edessa, ii. xxvii. ; arranges a five-year truce with constantianus and sergius, ii. xxviii. ff.; lays plans to capture daras and secure his possession of lazica, ii. xxviii. ff.; attemps to capture daras by a ruse, ii. xxviii. ff.; plans to build a fleet in the euxine, ii. xxix. ; sends phabrizus into lazica to destroy goubazes, ii. xxix. ff.; sends an army to relieve petra, ii. xxix. christ, suffered in jerusalem, ii. xi. . _see_ "jesus." christians, converted two temples into churches, i. xvii. ; boast that edessa cannot be captured, ii. xii. ; reverence especially the feast of easter, i. xviii. ; the lazi and iberians devout christians, i. xii. , ii. xxviii. ; among the homeritae, abused by jews, i. xx. cilicia, the refuge of ephraemius, ii. vii. ; and germanus, ii. vii. cilicians, the objective of chosroes' invasion, ii. v. , vi. cilician screens, used at the siege of edessa, ii. xxvi. circesiurn, roman stronghold on the euphrates, ii. v. ; its excellent defences, ii. v. citharizon, fortress in armenia, four days from theodosiopolis, ii. xxiv. colchis, the old name for lazica (_q.v._) i. xi. , etc. comana, called "golden comana," a city of cappadocia founded by orestes, i. xvii. comana, city in pontus, founded by orestes, not the one "among the taurians," i. xvii. comet, the, its appearance in the heavens, ii. iv. , ; various explanations of the meaning of the phenomenon, ii. iv. commagene, old name for euphratesia, i. xvii. , , ii. xx. ; invaded by the persians, i. xviii. constantianus, an illyrian, ii. xxiv. ; envoy to chosroes with sergius, ii. xxiv. ; appointed general, ii. xxviii. ; sent as envoy to chosroes with sergius a second time, ii. xxviii. ff. constantina, city in mesopotamia, i. xxii. ; distance from arzamon, i. viii. ; cabades desirous of capturing the city, ii. xiii. ; spared by cabades owing to the entreaties of baradotus, ii. xiii. ff.; claimed by chosroes as an inherited possession, ii. xiii. , ; citizens of, their offer of money accepted by chosroes, ii. xiii. constantine, forum of, in byzantium, i. xxiv. , coutzes, roman general, brother of bouzes, sent to support belisarius at mindouos, i. xiii. ; captured by the persians, i. xiii. ctesiphon, town on the tigris, ii. xxviii. - ; distance from the antioch of chosroes, ii. xiv. cyril, roman commander at the battle of daras, i. xiii. cyrus, king of the persians, ii. ii. cyzicus, john the cappadocian exiled thither, i. xxv. dagaris, a roman spy, captured by huns, i. xv. ; returned to the romans, i. xxii. ; his later services to the romans, i. xxii. dagisthaeus, commands an army to succour the lazi, ii. xxix. ; with goubazes besieges petra, ii. xxix. ff.; sends an insufficient force to guard the pass into lazica, ii. xxix. - ; his incompetent conduct of the siege of petra, ii. xxix. ff.; deceived by mirranes, ii. xxx. ; abandons petra, ii. xxx. ; with phoubelis attacks mermeroes, ii. xxx. ; with goubazes attacks and almost annihilates the persians, ii. xxx. ff. daphne, suburb of antioch, ii viii. ; visited by chosroes, ii. xi. ff.; the portent of the uprooted cypresses, ii. xiv. daras, a city in mesopotamia, fortified by anastasius, i. x. ; distance from nisibis and the persian boundary, i. x. ; from ammodius, i. xiii. ; its formidable defences, ii. xiii. ; a menace to the persians, i. xvi. ; battle of, i. xiii. ff.; the persians demand that its walls be demolished, i. xvi. ; its abandonment by the roman army a condition of the "endless peace," i. xxii. ; the tyranny of john, i. xxvi. - ; besieged by chosroes, ii. xi. , xiii. ff.; citizens of, make a settlement with chosroes, ii. xiii. ; chosroes plans to capture it by a ruse, ii. xxviii. ; failure of the attempt, ii. xxviii. ff. death, gate of, in byzantium, i. xxiv. diocletian, roman emperor, readjusts the roman boundary in aegypt, i. xix. ff.; builds the fortress of philae, i. xix. , diogenes, a guardsman, commander of cavalry, ii. xxi. , , domentiolus commands a detachment of an army to invade persia, ii. xxiv. dorotheus, a roman commander at the battle of daras, i. xiii. dorotheus, general of armenia, attacks invading persian army, i. xv. ff.; makes a sally from satala upon the persian army, i. xv. ff. doubios, district in persarmenia, ii. xxv. , ; its trade with india, ii. xxv. ; distance from theodosiopolis, ii. xxv. ; mermeroes stops there with his army ii. xxx. ; priest of, called catholicos, ii. xxv. ; sent to urge the romans to make peace, ii. xxiv. , easter, its especial observance by the christians, i. xviii. edessa, the centre of so-called osroene, i. xvii. ; in mesopotamia, ii. xxiv. ; augustus promises to build a hippodrome in the city, ii. xii. ; the story of its toparch augarus, ii. xii. ff.; citizens of, convinced that the city could not be captured by barbarians, ii. xii. , , ; the letter of christ to augarus inscribed on the city wall, ii. xii. ; given over to the persians by the son of augarus, ii. xii. ; citizens of, destroy the persian guards and give back the city to the romans, ii. xii. ; citizens pay chosroes two centenaria, ii. xii. ; their zeal to ransom the captives of antioch frustrated by bouzes, ii. xiii. ff.; cabades desirous of capturing the city, ii. xii. , , , xiii. ; abandons his purpose upon reaching it, ii. xiii. ff.; attacked by chosroes, ii. xxvi. ff.; the home of sergius, ii. xxiv. eirenaeus, roman general, sent to lazica, i. xii. elephantina, city in aegypt, on the roman boundary, i. xix. ; near philae, i. xix. , endielon, place near amida, i. vii. ephraemius, chief priest of antioch, accused of treason by julian, ii. vii. ; retires to cilicia, ii. vii. ephthalitae huns, called white huns, their manners and customs, i. iii. , ; wage war with perozes, i. iii. ff.; entrap the persian army, i. iii. ff.; in a second war with perozes completely destroy his army, i. iv. ff.; force the persians to pay tribute, i. iv. ; receive cabades after his escape from the prison of oblivion, i. vi. ; cabades owes their king money, i. vii. , ; punished for impiety towards jacobus, the hermit, i. vii. ; eight hundred eph. killed by the persians, i. viii. eruli, accustomed to fight without protective armour except a shield, ii. xxv. , ; in the roman army, ii. xxi. ; in the roman army at the battle of daras, i. xiii. , xiv. , ; under mundus, i. xxiv. ; in the army of valerianus, ii. xxiv. ; with the army of martinus, ii. xxiv. ; follow peter into persia, ii. xxiv. ; in the battle of anglon, ii. xxv. ff. esimiphaeus, established as king of the homeritae, i. xx. ; deposed by insurgents, i. xx. ; makes idle promise to justinian, i. xx. ff. euphemia, daughter of john the cappadocian i. xxv. euphemia, captive of sura, married by chosroes, ii. v. euphratesia, ancient name of commagene i. xvii. , , ii. xx. , ; chosen by azarethes as the starting point for an invasion of roman territory, i. xvii. euphrates river, its source in armenia, i. xvii. ; disappears in a strange marsh, i. xvii. ff.; its course from celesene as far as the junction with the tigris, i. xvii. , ; receives the waters of the aborrhas, ii. v. ; protects one side of circesium, _ib._; important battle on its banks, i. xviii. ff. europe, invaded by the huns, ii. iv. ff. europum, on the euphrates, headquarters of belisarius while recruiting his army, ii. xx. , , eusebius, roman ambassador to the persian king perozes, i. iii. ; warns perozes of the stratagem of the ephthalitae i. iii. eusebius, bishop of cyzicus, murdered by the citizens, i. xxv. , euxine sea, receives the waters of the phasis, ii. xxix. ; chosroes desires an outlet to it, ii. xxviii. evaris, builder of a temple of michael at tretum, near antioch, ii. xi. florentinus, a thracian, distinguishes himself at the battle of satala, i. xv. , gabalas, a saracen, father of arethas, i. xvii. galatians, on the euxine, ii. xxviii. gabboulon, distance from chalcis, i. xviii. gaza, limit of arabia in olden times, i. xix. gelimer, brought captive to byzantium by belisarius, ii. xxi. george, confidant of belisarius, persuades the inhabitants of sisauranon to capitulate, ii. xix. , ; saves the city of daras, ii. xxviii. f. germanus, nephew of justinian, ii. vi. ; commander at the battle of daras, i. xiii. ; sent to meet the invasion of chosroes, ii. vi. ; establishes himself in antioch and inspects the fortifications, ii. vi. ; retires into cilicia, ii. vii. glones, a persian, in command of the garrison in amida, i. vii. ; destroyed by a stratagem, i. ix. - ; son of, i. ix. , godidisklus, a goth, an officer in the roman army, i. viii. gorgo, city of the ephthalitae, against the persian frontier, i. iii. , iv. goths, march with belisarius against chosroes, ii. xiv. , xviii. , xxi. goubazes, king of lazica, privy councillor of justinian _in absentia_, ii. xxix. ; gives himself and his people over to chosroes, ii. xvii. ff.; plotted against by phabrizus, ii. xxix. ff.; begs justinian to succour the lazi, ii. xxix. ; with dagisthaeus besieges petra, ii. xxix. ff.; defends one pass against the persians, ii. xxix. ff.; asks justinian to send money to the alani and the sabeiri, ii. xxix. ; chosroes plans to put him out of the way, ii. xxviii. , xxix. ff.; rewarded with money by justinian, ii. xxx. ; with dagisthaeus attacks and almost annihilates the persians, ii. xxx. ff. gourgenes, king of iberia, revolts from the persians, i. xii. ff., ii. xv. , xxviii. ; retires before the persian army into lazica, i. xii. , gousanastades, "chanaranges," counsels the execution of cabades, i. v. ; put to death by cabades, i. vi. greece, plundered by the huns, ii. iv. greeks, the, i. xix. green faction, their struggles with the blue faction, i. xxiv. - ; in the nika insurrection, i. xxiv. ff.; favoured by chosroes at apamea, ii. xi. hebrews, of iotabe, formerly autonomous, become subject to the romans, i. xix. helen, palace named from, in byzantium, i. xxiv. hellenic faith, the, i. xx. , xxv. hellestheaeus, king of the aethiopians, his expeditions against the homeritae, i. xx. ff.; his vain promises to justinian, i. xx. ff. hermogenes, roman general, sent to assist belisarius, i. xiii. ; in company with belisarius prepares to meet the persians at daras, i. xiii. ff.; at the battle of daras, i. xiii. ff.; forbids andreas to engage in single combat, i. xiii. ; interchange of letters with perozes, i. xiv. ff.; address to the troops, i. xiv. ff.; arrays the army on the second day of the battle of daras, i. xiv. ; at the battle of daras, i. xiv. ; recalls romans from pursuit of the persians, i. xiv. ; returns to byzantium, i. xvi. ; sent as ambassador by the emperor, i. xviii. ; negotiates unsuccessfully with chosroes, i. xxi. ; accompanies the army of sittas as ambassador, i. xxi. , ; ambassador to chosroes with rufinus, i. xxii. hestia, _i.e._ vesta, identified with the persian fire-divinity, ii. xxiv. hierapolis, city on the euphrates, i. xiii. , xvii. ; distance from beroea and antioch, ii. vii. ; bouzes and the roman army stationed there, ii. vi. ; suggested plan for its defence, ii. vi. ff.; deserted by bouzes, ii. vi. , ; saved from chosroes by payment of money, ii. vi. - ; justus and bouzes take refuge there, ii. xx. homeric bowmen, compared with bowmen of procopius' time, i. i. - homeritae, people of arabia, sought as allies by justinian, i. xix. , xx. ff.; location of their country, i. xix. ; domestic conflicts and intervention of hellestheaeus, i. xx. ff. honorius, emperor of the west, uncle of theodosius ii. unable to assist him, i. ii. huns, a nomadic people, of ugly countenance, i. iii. ; their homes, i. x. , xii. , ii. xv. , xxviii. ; their war with cabades, i. viii. , ix. , x. , ii. xvi. ; justinian attempts to win their support, ii. i. , iii. , x. ; capture a roman spy i. xv. ; attack of, feared by the persians at martyropolis, i. xxi. ; invade roman territory, i. xxi. ; often defeated by dagaris, i. xxii. ; receiving annual payments from the romans, ii. x. ; held back by the lazi, ii. xv. ; in the army of chosroes, ii. xxvi. ; assist the romans in the defence of edessa, ii. xxvi. , ; invade europe, ii. iv. ff.; cross the hellespont into asia, ii. iv. ; plunder illyricum and thessaly and greece as far as the isthmus, ii. iv. - hypatius, nephew of anastasius, i. viii. ; army routed by cabades, i. viii. - ; his escape, i. viii. ; sent as envoy to the persians, i. xi. ; slandered by rufinus, i. xi. ; his punishment, i. xi. ; sent from the palace by justinian, i. xxiv. - ; declared emperor by the populace, and conducted to the hippodrome, i. xxiv. f.; his wife mary, i. xxiv. ; takes the emperor's seat in the hippodrome, i. xxiv. ; brought before justinian as a prisoner, i. xxiv. ; meets his death bravely, i. xxiv. , iberia, iberians, a christian people, side with the romans, i. xii. ff., ii. xv. ; come to byzantium, i. xii. ; given choice of remaining in byzantium or returning to their homes, i. xxii. ; dissatisfied with persian rule, ii. xxviii. , ildiger, in the army of martinus, ii. xxiv. illyricum, invaded by the huns, ii. iv. , immortals, a detachment of the persian army, i. xiv. ; at the battle of daras, i. xiv. ff. india, washed by the "red sea," i. xix. ; boats in, tale to account for their construction without iron, i. xix. , ; iron not produced there nor imported from elsewhere, i. xix. - ; silk export, i. xx. , ; its trade with doubios, ii. xxv. ionian gulf, ii. iv. iotabe, an island in the "red sea," i. xix. iphigenia, the story of her flight from the sanctuary of artemis, i. xvii. ff.; temple dedicated to her by orestes, i. xvii. iris river, in pontus, i. xvii. isaac, brother of narses, betrays bolum to the romans and comes as a deserter to byzantium, i. xv. , ; commander in armenia, ii. xxiv. ; carries his brother narses out of the battle of anglon, ii. xxv. isaurians, in the roman army, i. xviii. ; commanded by longinus and stephanacius, i. xviii. ; at the battle on the euphrates, i. xviii. ; their inexperience in war, i. xviii. isdigerdes, persian king, guardian of theodosius i. ii. ff. isdigousnas, high persian official, ii. xxviii. ; employed by chosroes for the furtherance of his plans, ii. xxviii. ; attempts to capture daras for chosroes by a ruse, ii. xxviii. ff.; continues to byzantium as an envoy, ii. xxviii. ff. isis, worshipped by the blemyes and nobatae, i. xix. italy, subdued by belisarius, ii. i. jacobus, a holy man among the syrians, i. vii. ff. jason, the tale of his adventure with medea in colchis, ii. xvii. jerusalem, the scene of christ's suffering, ii. xi. ; its treasures desired by chosroes, ii. xx. jesus, his life and work in palestine, ii. xii. , ; invited by augarus to come to edessa, ii. xii. ; his reply, in which he promises health to augarus, ii. xii. . _see also_ "christ." jews, oppress the christians among the homeritae, i. xx. . _see also_ "hebrews." john, father of artabanes, of the arsacidae, ii. iii. ; treacherously slain by bouzes, ii. iii. - john, son of basilius, a notable of edessa, given as a hostage to chosroes, i. xxi. , john, an armenian, son of thomas gouzes, in the roman army, ii. xxx. john the cappadocian, praetorian prefect, i. xxiv. ; his character and ability, i. xxiv. - , xxv. - ; highly esteemed by justinian, i. xxv. , , ; dismissed from office, i. xxiv. ; restored to office, i. xxv. ; hated by theodora, i. xxv. - ; hostility to belisarius, i. xxv. ; entrapped by antonina, i. xxv. ff.; forced to become a priest and exiled to cyzicus, i. xxv. ; looks forward confidently to becoming emperor, i. xxv. , , , ii. xxx. ; his easy lot in cyzicus, i. xxv. , ; accused of the murder of eusebius, i. xxv. ; his treatment at the trial, i. xxv. ; his punishment, i. xxv. , ; imprisoned in the city of antinous in aegypt, i. xxv. ; returns to byzantium, ii. xxx. , ; the grotesque fulfilment of his dreams, ii. xxx. ; his daughter euphemia, i. xxv. john, son of lucas, roman officer, captured by alamoundaras, i. xvii. , john, commander of troops in mesopotamia, arrests the interpreter of vittigis' envoys, ii. xiv. ; attacked by the persians before nisibis, ii. xviii. john, son of nicetas, roman commander at the battle of daras, i. xiii. ; urges belisarius to retire from mesopotamia, ii. xix. ff.; commands a detachment of an army to invade persia, ii. xxiv. john, son of rufinus, sent as ambassador to chosroes, ii. vii. , ix. , x. , ff. john tzibus, governor of lazica, his origin and character, ii. xv. ; persuades justinian to build petra, ii. xv. ; monopolises the retail trade, ii. xv. , xxix. ; valiantly defends petra, ii. xvii. ff.; killed by a missile, ii. xvii. john, serving in the roman infantry, his tyranny at daras, i. xxvi. - ; his death, i. xxvi. john the glutton, a guardsman, sent with arethas into assyria, ii. xix. ff.; commands a detachment in an army to invade persia, ii. xxiv. julian, sanctuary of, in antioch, ii. x. julian, brother of summas, envoy to the aethiopians and homeritae, i. xx. , ii. i. ; private secretary of justinian, sent as ambassador to chosroes, ii. vii. ; forbids giving money to chosroes and denounces ephraemius, ii. vii. justinian, nephew of justinus, i. xi. ; his great love for his wife theodora, i. xxv. ; favours adoption of chosroes by his uncle justinus, i. xi. ; as general, i. xi. , xii. ; becomes emperor upon the death of justinus, i. xiii. ; orders the building of a fort in mindouos, i. xiii. ; appoints belisarius general of the east, i. xiii. ; makes arethas commander of many tribes, i. xvii. ; pits arethas against alamoundaras, i. xvii. , ; orders demolition of philae, i. xix. ; endeavours to secure the alliance of the aethiopians and homeritae, i. xix. , xx. ff.; receives the palm groves as a present from abochorabus, i. xix. ff.; recalls belisarius and sends sittas to the east, i. xxi. , ; receives information from a persian spy, i. xxi. ; concludes the "endless peace," i. xxii. ; receives in byzantium the cabades who claimed to be the son of zames, i. xxiii. ; his conduct during the nika insurrection, i. xxiv. ff.; his affection for john the cappadocian, i. xxv. , , ; denounced by the armenian embassy before chosroes, ii. iii. ff.; refuses to sanction treaty, ii. xiii. ; summons belisarius from italy and sends him against chosroes, ii. xiv. ; commands belisarius to invade persia, ii. xvi. ; sends him again against chosroes, ii. xx. ; summons belisarius from the east in order to send him to italy, ii. xxi. ; takes measures for the relief of the victims of the pestilence, ii. xxiii. ff.; attacked by the pestilence, ii. xxiii. ; orders valerianus and martinus with others to invade persia, ii. xxiv. ; appoints marcellus and constantianus generals, ii. xxviii. ; sanctions the five-year peace, ii. xxviii. ; receives isdigousnas with especial honour, ii. xxviii. ff.; sends succour to the lazi, ii. xxix. ; neglects to send money requested by goubazes, ii. xxix. - ; finally sends the money for the sabeiri, and gifts of money to goubazes, ii. xxx. ; sends john tzibus to lazica, ii. xv. ; founds petra in lazica, ii. xv. , xxix. ; makes a present of money to chosroes, i. xxvi. ; considers the question of strata, ii. i. ff.; accused of tampering with alamoundaras, ii. i. - , iii. , x. ; advises chosroes not to wage war, ii. iv. ff.; sends germanus to syria, ii. vi. ; sends ambassadors to chosroes, ii. vii. ; favours the green faction, ii. xi. ; writes to chosroes, ii. xiii. ; the years of his reign noted, i. xvi. , xxii. , ii. iii. , v. , xxviii. , xxx. justinus, uncle of justinian, i. xi. ; an officer in the roman army, i. viii. ; becomes emperor, i. xi. ; declines to adopt chosroes, i. xi. ff.; reduces hypatius from authority, i. xi. ; captures peter of arzanene during celer's invasion, ii. xv. ; supports the iberians in their revolt from the persians, i. xii. ff.; makes justinian partner in the royal power, i. xii. ; appoints procopius adviser to belisarius, i. xii. ; his death, i. xiii. justus, nephew of justinian, assists in making hypatius prisoner, i. xxiv. ; takes refuge with bouzes in hierapolis ii. xx. ; they invite belisarius to join them, ii. xx. ff.; but later come to him in europum, ii. xx. ; commands a detachment of an army to invade persia, ii. xxiv. ; invades persia apart from the other commanders, ii. xxiv. ; invades the country about taraunon with peranius, ii. xxv. ; his death, ii. xxviii. lazica, lazi, later names for colchis and colchi (_q.v._), i. xi. ; its cities, ii. xxix. ; an unproductive country, i. xii. ii. xxviii. ; imported salt and other necessities of life, ii. xv. , xxviii. ; many fortresses there, ii. xxx. ; difficult to traverse, ii. xxix. , ; bulwark against the barbarians of the caucasus, ii. xxviii. ; its importance to persia, ii. xxviii. ff.; the scene of the story of jason and medea, ii. xvii. ; the lazi in ancient times allies of the persians, ii. xv. ; become allies of the romans, ii. xv. ; the people christian, ii. xxviii. ; lazica claimed by the persians, i. xi. ; forts of, abandoned by the romans and occupied by the persians, i. xii. ; chosroes refuses to return them to the romans, i. xxii. ; finally given up by the persians, i. xxii. ; invaded by chosroes, i. xxiii. , ii. xv. , xvii. ff.; limited subjection of the lazi to the romans, ii. xv. - ; placed under a roman magistrate, ii. iii. ; become discontented by reason of roman misrule, ii. xv. ff.; appeal to chosroes, ii. xv. , ff.; demanded from chosroes by the roman envoys, ii. xxviii. ; chosroes plans to populate it with persians, ii. xxviii. ; lazi hostile to persian rule, ii. xxviii. lebanon, i. xiii. , ii. viii. , xvi. , xix. libelarius of thrace, roman general, invades mesopotamia, i. xii. ; reduced from office, i. xii. libyans, ii. iii. ligurians, envoys of vittigis to chosroes, ii. ii. longinus, commander of isaurians, i. xviii. lucas, father of john, i. xvii. lycaones, in the army of belisarius, i. xviii. macedonians, founders of seleucia and ctesiphon, ii. xxviii. maddeni, tribe of saracens in arabia, subject to the homeritae, i. xix. , i. xx. magi, advise perozes to deceive the ephthalitae, i. iii. ff.; entrap arsaces, i. v. ff.; advice to cabades at the siege of amida, i. vii. ; announce to chosroes that he will capture sura, ii. v. ; answer cabades' enquiry with regard to edessa, ii. xiii. , ; guardians of the fire-sanctuary, ii. xxiv. mamas, priest of daras, assists in overthrowing the tyranny of john, i. xxvi. marcellus, nephew of justinian, appointed general, ii. xxviii. marcellus, roman commander at the battle of daras i. xiii. ; commander of palace guards, sent by theodora to assassinate john the cappadocian, i. xxv. ff.; wounded in the encounter, i. xxv. martinus, given as a hostage to the persians, i. xxi. ; sent to the east, ii. xiv. ; defends daras against chosroes, ii. xiii. ff.; ordered to invade persia with valerianus, ii., xxiv. ; general of the east, encamps at citharizon, ii. xxiv. ; follows peter in invading persia, ii. xxiv. ; commands the centre at the battle of anglon ii. xxv. ; with peter and peranius defends edessa against chosroes, ii. xxvi. ff.; deceived by the persian commanders, ii. xxvi. ff., xxvii. , ; arranges a settlement with chosroes, ii. xxvii. , martyropolis, near the river nymphius, i. viii. ; distance from amida, i. xxi. ; besieged by the persians, i. xxi. ff.; fears of sittas and hermogenes concerning its safety, i. xxi. ; siege abandoned by the persians, i. xxi. ; near phison, ii. xxiv. mary, wife of hypatius, tries to prevent her husband from going to the hippodrome, i. xxiv. , massagetae, reported to be preparing to join the persians, i. xxi. . _see also_"huns" mebodes, a persian official, sent as envoy to the romans, i. xi. ; slanders seoses, i. xi. ; persuades cabades to leave a written declaration concerning chosroes, i. xxi. - ; opposes the claim of caoses, i. xxi. ; secures the election of chosroes as king, i. xxi. ; his tragic death, i. xxiii. ff. medea, the tale of her adventure with jason in colchis, ii. xvii. medes, the name used by procopius as an equivalent for "persians" (_q.v._) medic garments, called to procopius' time "seric," i. xx. megas, bishop of beroea, sent to chosroes, ii. vi. ; begs him to spare the roman cities, ii. vi. ff.; goes to antioch, ii. vii. ; fails to persuade the citizens of antioch to pay money to chosroes, ii. vii. ; his conference with chosroes at beroea, ii. vii. ff. melitene, chief city of armenia minor, i. xvii. mermeroes, persian general, invades roman armenia, i. xv. ff.; driven back by dorotheus and sittas, i. xv. ; invades roman territory a second time, i. xv. ; defeated at satala, i. xv. ff.; shares command of an invading army, i. xxi. ; lends an army to the relief of petra, ii. xxix. , xxx. ff.; forces the pass into iberia, ii. xxx. - ; reaches petra, ii. xxx. ; taunts the romans, ii. xxx. ; leaving a garrison in petra, starts back, ii. xxx. ; attacked by phoubelis and goubazes, ii. xxx. ; departs from lazica with the greater part of his army, ii. xxx. , mesopotamia, bounded by the tigris and the euphrates, i. xvii. ; its hot climate, ii. xix. ; persians accustomed to invade roman territory from here, i. xvii. ; avoided by invading persian army, i. xvii. ; invaded by the persians, i. xxi. ff. michael, sanctuary of, in daphne, burned by chosroes, ii. xi. , , ; temple of, at tretum, ii. xi. , mindouos, place near the persian border, justinian attempts to fortify it, i. xiii. , xvi. mirranes, a persian term (_lit._ "mithra-son," denoting properly, not an office, but a patrician family); _see_ perozes ; also, commander in petra, deceives dagisthaeus, ii. xxx. mocheresis, important city of lazica, ii. xxix. molatzes, commander of troops in lebanon, brings succour to antioch, ii. viii. ; flees precipitately with the soldiers, ii. viii. - monks, distinguished for piety, i. vii. , moors, ii. ii. , iii. mopsuestia, a city of cilicia, ii. x. mundus, general in illyricum, assists in quelling the nika insurrection, i. xxiv. ff. nabedes, commander of the persian soldiers in nisibis, ii. xviii. ; attacks the roman troops before the city, ii. xviii. ff.; general in persarmenia, takes measures to urge the romans toward making peace, ii. xxiv. ; takes up his position in anglon, ii. xxv. ; defeats the roman armies, ii. xxv. ff. narses, a persarmenian, the emperor's steward, receives narses and aratius when they desert to the romans, i. xv. ; a eunuch, i. xxv. ; sent by theodora to assist in the assassination of john the cappadocian, _ib._; overhears his conversation with antonina, i. xxv. narses, a persarmenian, in company with aratius defeats sittas and belisarius, i. xii. , ; deserts to the romans, i. xv. ; dismantles the sanctuaries in philae at justinian's order, i. xix. ; encamps with valerianus near theodosiopolis, ii. xxiv. ; leads the attack at anglon, ii. xxv. ; dies bravely, ii. xxv. ; brother of isaac, ii. xxiv. nicetas, father of the general john, i. xiii. , ii. xix. , xxiv. nika insurrection, in byzantium, i. xxiv. ff.; significance of the name, i. xxiv. nile river, the nobatae dwell along its banks, i. xix. , ; the island of philae in it, i. xix. nisibis, distance from the tigris, i. xi. ; from daras, i. x. ; from sisauranon, ii. xix. ; bulwark of the persian empire, ii. xviii. ; its capture by the persians, i. xvii. ; its territory invaded by libelarius, i. xii. ; by belisarius, ii. xviii. ff.; negotiations with chosroes there, i. xxii. nobatae, a people of upper aegypt, i. xix. ; settled along the nile by diocletian, i. xix. ff.; receive annual payment from the roman emperor, i. xix. , ; their religion, i. xix. nymphius river, near martyropolis, i. viii. , xxi. ; forms boundary between the roman and persian territory, i. xxi. ; boundary of arzanene, i. viii. , ii. xv. oasis, city in upper aegypt, former home of the nobatae, i. xix. obbane, on the euphrates, distance from barbalissum, ii. xii. octava, place in armenia, distance from satala, i. xv. odonathus, ruler of the saracens, husband of zenobia, ii. v. ; his services to the romans, ii. v. oenochalakon, place in armenia, ii. iii. olyvrius, emperor of the west, father-in-law of areobindus, i. viii. orestes, the story of his flight from tauris, i. xvii. ff. origenes, a senator, counsels moderation, i. xxiv. ff. orocasius, highest part of the city of antioch, ii. vi. orontes river, flows along by antioch, ii. vi. , viii. , osiris, worshipped by the blemyes and nobatae, i. xix. osroene, name applied to country about edessa, i. xvii. ; its strongly fortified cities, i. xvii. osroes, ancient king of edessa, i. xvii. pacurius, king of persia at the time of the truceless war with the armenians, i. v. ; entraps arsaces, i. v. ff.; confines arsaces in the prison of oblivion, i. v. ; flays bassicius, i. v. ; grants favour to a friend of arsaces, i. v. ff. palestine, bounded by the "red sea," i. xix. ; saracens dwelling in it, i. xix. ; the objective of chosroes' third invasion, ii. xx. ; visited by the pestilence, ii. xxii. palm groves, held by saracens of arabia, i. xix. , , ii. iii. ; presented to justinian, i. xix. ff. palmyra, city of phoenicia, ii. i. parthians, their connection with the first arsaces, ii. iii. patriciolus, an officer in the roman army, i. viii. patricias, the phrygian, roman general, i. viii. ; his army routed by cabades, i. viii. - ; his escape, i. viii. ; entraps glones with two hundred persians, i. ix. - paulus, interpreter of chosroes, ii. vi. ; a roman reared in antioch, ii. vi. ; presents the persian demands at hierapolis, ii. vi. ; at beroea, ii. vii. ; at antioch, ii. viii. ; where he exhorts the citizens to abstain from their folly, ii. viii. ; at chalcis, ii. xii. ; at edessa, ii. xii. ; a second time at edessa, ii. xxvi. , xxvii. , pearl, story of the, i. iv. - peloponnesus, escapes plunder by the huns, ii. iv. pelusium, in aegypt, the starting point of the pestilence, ii. xxii. peranius, son of gourgenes, king of iberia, i. xii. ; commands a detachment of an army to invade persia, ii. xxiv. ; invades the country about taraunon with justus, ii. xxv. ; with peter and martinus defends edessa against chosroes, ii. xxvi. ff., xxvii. ; chosroes demands that he and peter be surrendered to him, ii. xxvi. ; his death, ii. xxviii. perozes, persian king, wages war against the ephthalitae, i. iii. , ; entrapped by the ephthalitae, i. iii. ff.; escapes with his army, i. iii. ; his second expedition, i. iv. ff.; destroyed with his army by the ephthalitae, i. iv. ff.; his famous pearl, i. iv. perozes, persian general, i. xiii. ; interchange of letters with belisarius and hermogenes, i. xiv. ff.; address to his troops, i. xiv. ff.; defeated by belisarius, i. xiv. ff.; punished by cabades, i. xvii. ff. perozes, sons of, murder symeon, ii. iii. persarmenia, its trade with india, ii. xxv. ; devastated by sittas and belisarius, i. xii. persarmenians, in the persian army, i. xv. persians, worship the rising sun, i. iii. ; their fire-worship, ii. xxiv. ; do not bury the dead, i. xi. , xii. ; their set character, ii. xxviii. ; their trade in indian silk, i. xx. ; the arrogance of their officials, i. xi. ; their custom of counting an army before and after a campaign, i. xviii. ff.; their infantry inefficient, i. xiv. ; their bowmen quick, but inferior to those of the romans, i. xviii. ; their skill in bridging rivers, ii. xxi. ; maintain spies at public expense, i. xxi. ; suffer a severe defeat at the hands of the ephthalitae, i. iv. , ; pay tribute to the ephthalitae for two years, i. iv. ; make peace with theodosius, i. ii. ; unable to prevent the fortification of daras, i. x. ; capture amida, i. vii. ; receive money from the romans and give back amida, i. ix. ; wage war with the huns during the seven-years' peace with the romans, i. ix. ; seize certain forts in lazica, i. xii. ; prevent the fortification of mindouos, i. xiii. , ; defeated in battle at daras, i. xiv. ff.; defeated in persarmenia, i. xv. ; and in armenia, i. xv. ; refrain from entering roman territory by mesopotamia, i. xvii. ; victorious in the battle on the euphrates, i. xviii. ; invade mesopotamia, i. xxi. ; besiege martyropolis in vain, i. xxi. ff.; make peace with the romans, i. xxii. , ; capture sura, ii. v. ; and beroea, ii. vii. ff.; capture and destroy antioch, ii. viii. ff.; capture petra, ii. xvii. ; besiege edessa in vain, ii. xxvi. ff., xxvii. ; save petra from capture by the romans, ii. xxix. ff.; suffer a severe defeat in lazica, ii. xxx. ff. pestilence, the, devastates the whole world, ii. xxii. ff.; in byzantium, ii. xxii. ff.; in persia, ii. xxiv. , peter, captured as a boy in arzanene by justinus, ii. xv. ; roman general, sent to lazica, i. xii. ; summoned to byzantium, i. xii. ; bodyguard of justinian, commander of infantry, i. xviii. ; at the battle on the euphrates, i. xviii. ; favours invasion of persia by belisarius, ii. xvi. ; attacked by the persians before nisibis, ii. xviii. ff.; commands a detachment in an army to invade persia, ii. xxiv. ; precipitately enters persia, ii. xxiv. ; commands the right wing at the battle of anglon, ii. xxv. ; with martinus and peranius defends edessa against chosroes, ii. xxvi. ff.; chosroes demands that he and peranius be surrendered to him, ii. xxvi. ; his base character and misrule in lazica, ii. xv. - petra, built by justinian in lazica, ii. xv. , xvii. , xxix. ; its impregnable defences, ii. xvii. ff.; attacked by the persians, ii. xvii. ff.; besieged by chosroes, ii. xvii. ff.; captured by chosroes, ii. xvii. ; fortified with a garrison, ii. xix. ; besieged by the romans and lazi, ii. xxix. ff.; the siege abandoned, ii. xxx. ; valour of the persian defenders, ii. xxix. ; monopoly established there by john tzibus, ii. xv. , xxix. petrae, ancient capital of the arabs, i. xix. phabrizus, high persian official, ii. xxviii. ; employed by chosroes for the furtherance of his plans, ii. xxviii. ; attempts to destroy goubazes, ii. xxix. ff.; left as commander in lazica by mermeroes, ii. xxx. ; his forces almost annihilated by the lazi, ii. xxx. ff. pharangium, fortress in persarmenia, occupied by the romans, i. xv. ; gold-mines of the persians there, i. xv. , ; given over to the romans, i. xv. , ii. iii. ; its return demanded by chosroes, i. xxii. ; given up by the romans, i. xxii. ; near the source of the boas river, ii. xxix. pharas, an erulian chief, at the battle of daras, i. xiii. , ff., xiv. , , pharesmanes, of colchis, an officer in the roman army, i. viii. pharsanses, a man of note in lazica, ii. xxix. ; his friendship sought by phabrizus, ii. xxix. ; saves goubazes, ii. xxix. phasis river, its source in the taurus, i. xxv. ; its course through lazica, ii. xxix. ; its size and strong current, ii. xxx. , ; strongly defended by the lazi, ii. xxx. ; forded by the lazi, ii. xxx. philae, fortress established by diocletian on an island in the nile near elephantina, i. xix. - ; its temples dismantled by justinian, i. xix. , philemouth, an erulian chief, encamps near martinus, i. xxiv. ; with beros follows peter into persia, ii. xxiv. phison, place in armenia near martyropolis, ii. xxiv. phocas, made pretorian prefect in place of john the cappadocian, i. xxiv. phoenicia, ii. xvi. phoubelis, a notable among the lazi, with dagisthaeus attacks mermeroes, ii. xxx. pitius, a fortress in lazica, ii. xxix. pityaxes, persian general at the battle of daras, i. xiii. , xiv. , placillianae, palace in byzantium, i. xxiv. pompeius, nephew of anastasius, sent from the palace by justinian, i. xxiv. - ; brought before justinian as a prisoner, i. xxiv. ; his death, i. xxiv. pontic romans, their location, ii. xxix. pontus, visited by orestes, i. xvii. potidaea, known in later times as cassandria, captured by the huns, ii. iv. priapus, worshipped by the blemyes and nobatae, i. xix. prison of oblivion, in persia, reason for the name, i. v. ; law regarding it suspended once in the case of arsaces, i. v. - ; cabades confined therein, i. v. probus, nephew of anastasius, sent by justinus to bosporus to collect an army of huns, i. xii. , proclus, quaestor, dissuades justinus from adopting chosroes, i. xi. ff. procopius of caesarea, author of the _history of the wars_, i. i. ; eye-witness of the events described, i. i. ; chosen adviser to belisarius, i. i. , xii. ; in byzantium at the time of the pestilence, ii. xxii. ; had seen cappadocia and armenia, i. xvii. ; his frankness in writing, i. i. pylades, the story of the flight with orestes from tauris, i. xvii. ff. red sea, its location, extent, harbours, etc. (confused by procopius with the arabian gulf), i. xix. ff., ii. iii. rhecinarius, envoy to chosroes, ii. xxvii. , rhecithancus, of thrace, commander of troops in lebanon, objects to invading persia with belisarius, ii. xvi. ff.; eager to return to lebanon, ii. xix. , ; commands an army sent to lazica, ii. xxx. rhizaeum, a city near lazica, ii. xxix. , xxx. rhodopolis, important city of lazica, ii. xxix. romans, used by procopius to designate the subjects of the empire of byzantium, and mentioned constantly throughout; lack of discipline in roman armies, i. xiv. ; their bowmen more efficient than those of the persians, i. xviii. ; maintain spies at public expense, i. xxi. rufinianae, suburb of byzantium, i. xxv. , rufinus, son of silvanus, sent as an envoy to the persians, i. xi. ; slanders hypatius, i. xi. ; sent as ambassador to hierapolis, i. xiii. ; treats with cabades at daras, i. xvi. ff.; reports to the emperor i. xvi. ; meets chosroes on the tigris, i. xxii. ; sent, to byzantium, i. xxii. ; false report of his death, i. xxii. ; persuades chosroes to give back the money brought by the ambassadors and postpone the war, i. xxii. , ; slandered to the emperor, i. xxii. ; sent again as ambassador to chosroes, i. xxii. ; brother of timostratus, i. xvii. ; father of john, the ambassador, ii. vii. sabeiri huns, their location, ii. xxix. ; in the persian army, i. xv. ; persuaded by goubazes to form an alliance with him, ii. xxix. ; receive promised money from justinian, ii. xxx. saccice, mother of alamoundaras, i. xvii. samosata, city on the euphrates, i. xvii. ; on the boundary of euphratesia, i. xvii. saracens, experts at plundering, but not at storming cities, ii. xix. ; in persia, all ruled by alamoundaras, i. xvii. ; some in alliance with the romans, i. xviii. ; their king odonathus, ii. v. ; of arabia, ruled by arethas, i. xvii. ; receiving annual payments from the romans, ii. x. ; settled in the palm groves, i. xix. , ; and in palestine, i. xix. ; cannibals in arabia, i. xix. ; never mentioned in treaties, ii. i. ; observe a religious holiday at the vernal equinox, ii. xvi. ; dispute possession of strata, ii. i. ; in the army of chosroes, ii. xxvii. ; in the army of azarethes, i. xvii. , xviii. ; with the army of belisarius, i. xviii. , , , , ii. xvi. ; wage war among themselves, ii. xxviii. - sarapanis, a city of lazica, ii. xxix. sarus river, in cappadocia, i. xvii. satala, city in armenia, its location, i. xv. , ; battle of, i. xv. ff. scanda, a city in lazica, ii. xxix. sebastopolis, a fortress of lazica, ii. xxix. seleucia, city on the tigris, founded by the macedonians, ii xxviii. seleucia, distance from antioch, ii. xi. ; visited by chosroes, _ib._ senecius, body-guard of sittas, given as a hostage to the persians, i. xxi. seoses, rescues cabades from the prison of oblivion, i. vi. . ; receives the office of "adrastadaran salanes," i. vi , ; sent as envoy to the romans, i. vi. ; slandered by mebodes and brought to trial, i. xi. ff.; condemned to death, i. xi sergiopolis, city in mesopotamia, ii. v. ; citizens of, give much treasure to chosroes, ii. xx. ; saved from capture by ambrus, ii. xx. ; besieged in vain by chosroes, ii. xx. ff. sergius, an illustrious saint, ii. v. sergius, of edessa, ii. xxiv. ; envoy to chosroes with constantianus, ii. xxiv. ; a second time envoy to chosroes with const., ii. xxviii. ff. sestus, city opposite abydus on the hellespont, ii. iv. silentiarius, a title given to certain officials in the palace at byzantium, "privy councillors," ii. xxii. , ii. xxix. silvanus, father of rufinus, i. xi. , xvi. simmas, massagete chief, in the roman army, i. xiii. , xiv. siphrios, a fortress, distance from amida, i. viii. sisauranon, fortress in mesopotamia, ii. xix. ; attacked by belisarius, ii. xix. ; capitulates to belisarius, ii. xix. , sittas, roman general, in company with belisarius invades persarmenia, i. xii. , ; defeated by narses and aratius, i. xii. ; attacks the persian army invading armenia, i. xv. ff.; occupies the hills about satala, i. xv. ; attacks the persian army unexpectedly, i. xv. ; defeats the tzani in battle and then wins them over by kindness, i. xv. , ; proceeds to the east, i. xxi. ; awaits the persian army at attachas, i. xxi. ; opens negotiations with the persians before martyropolis, i. xxi. ff.; sent against the armenians, ii. iii. ff.; his death, ii. iii. ; his valour and achievements, ii. iii. snail, gate of the, in the palace in byzantium, i. xxiv. soinian gate, in the wall of edessa, ii. xxvii. solomon, an armenian, according to one report slew sittas, ii. iii. sophanene, district in armenia, i. xxi. sophia, sanctuary of, destroyed by fire to the nika insurrection, i. xxiv. ; its treasures guarded by the priest augustus, ii. xxx. stephanacius, commander of isaurians, i. xviii. stephanus, a physician of note, begs chosroes to spare edessa, ii. xxvi. ff. strata, its possession disputed by the saracens, ii. i. ; meaning of the name, ii. i. ; unproductive, ii. i. strategius, guardian of the royal treasures, sent as an envoy by justinian, ii. i. ; his advice concerning strata, ii. i. summus, father of julian, commander in palestine, sent as an envoy by justinian, ii. i. , ; his advice concerning strata, ii. i. sunicas, massagete chief, in the roman army, i. xiii. , xiv. . , ; charges the standard bearer of baresmanas, i. xiv. ; kills baresmanas, i. xiv. sunitae, march in the persian army, i. xv. sura, a city on the euphrates, i. xviii. , ii. v. ; distance from sergiopolis, ii. v. ; besieged by chosroes, ii. v. ff.; bishop of, begs chosroes to spare the city, ii. v. ff.; captured by a stratagem and destroyed, ii. v. ff.; a woman of, made captive by a barbarian in sight of chosroes, ii. ix. , sycae, a suburb of byzantium, modern "galata," ii. xxiii. symeon, sanctuary of, at amida, burned, i. ix. symeon, manager of the persian gold-mine at pharangium, i. xv. ; goes over to the romans, i. xv. , ; presented with certain armenian villages, ii. iii. ; murdered by the sons of perozes, ii. iii. ; uncle of amazaspes, ii. iii. syria, open to invasion by the persians, i. xvii. ff., ii. xvi. , xix. ; attacked by chosroes, ii. v. , vi. syriac tongue, ii. ii. taraunon, a district in persarmenia, invaded by justus and peranius, ii. xxv. tatianus, of mopsuestia, quarter-master of the camp in antioch, witnesses the portent of the standards, ii. x. taurians, the, in celesene, i. xvii. ff., taurus mountains, the, their size and extent, i. x. , , xv. , xvii. theoctistus, commander of troops in lebanon, brings succour to antioch, ii. viii. ; flees precipitately with the soldiers, ii. viii. - ; objects to invading persia with belisarius, ii. xvi. ff.; eager to return to lebanon, ii. xix. , ; commands a detachment in an army to invade persia, ii. xxiv. theodoric, leader of the goths, i. viii. theodora, wife of justinian, greatly beloved by him, i. xxv. ; her hatred of john the cappadocian, _ib._; counsels firmness in dealing with the nika insurrection, i. xxiv. ff.; encourages antonina in her plan to entrap john the cappadocian, i. xxv. ; succeeds in punishing him, i. xxv. ; her death, ii. xxx. theodoras, a citizen of daras, skilled in mechanics, ii. xiii. theodorus, an official in the palace in byzantium, superintends the work of providing burial for the victims of the pestilence, ii. xxiii. ff. theodosiopolis, its location, i. x. , xv. , ii. xxiv. ; near the sources of the euphrates and tigris, i. xvii. ; fortified by anastasius, i. x. ; near bolum, i. xv. ; distance from doubios, ii. xxv. ; from citharizon, ii. xxiv. theodosiopolis, city near the aborrhas river, ii. xix. theodosius ii., son of arcadius, as a child is made the ward of the persian king isdigerdes, i. ii. ff.; sends anatolius as envoy to the persians, i. ii. ; makes peace with the persians, i. ii. ; arsaces' abdication of the kingship of armenia in his favour, ii. iii. thermopylae, attacked by the huns, ii. iv. thessaly, plundered by the huns, ii. iv. thilasamon, village near amida, i. ix. thomas, chief priest of apamea, displays the wood of the cross, ii. xi. ff.; goes before chosroes, ii. xi. ff.; saves the wood of the cross, ii. xi. , thomas, ambassador to the persians, meets chosroes on the tigris, i. xxii. thomas gouzes, commander in lazica, ii. xxx. thrace, thracians in the army of belisarius, ii. xix. , xxi. ; home of coutzes and bouzes, i. xiii. timostratus, brother of rufinus, roman officer, captured by alamoundaras, i. xvii. , tigris river, its source in armenia, i. xvii. ; its course into assyria, i. xvii. , ; distance from nisibis, i. xi. ; its junction with the euphrates, i. xvii. ; flows between seleucia and ctesiphon, ii. xxviii. trajan, a guardsman, sent with arethas into assyria, ii. xix. ff.; they return by another route, ii. xix. ff. trapezus, city on the euxine, ii. xxix. , xxx. tretum, a place near antioch where was a temple of michael, ii. xi. tribunianus, a pamphylian, quaestor, i. xxiv. ; his dexterity in manipulating laws, i. xxiv. ; dismissed from office, i. xxiv. ; restored to office, i. xxv. , ; his death, i. xxv. tribunus, a physician, beloved by chosroes, ii. xxviii. ff. tripod, before the palace of the persian king, where all must sit who fell under the king's displeasure, i. xxiii. tripurgia, a place at edessa, ii. xxvii. tzani, called sani in early times, i. xv. ; the source of the boas river among them, ii. xxix. ; conquered by the romans, i. xv. ff.; become christian, i. xv. ; reduced to subjection, ii. iii. ; with the roman army at petra, ii. xxix. , ; defend the roman camp, ii. xxx. ; return to their homes, ii. xxx. valerianus, appointed general of armenia, ii. xiv. ; receives persian envoys, ii. xxiv. - ; reports to justinian, ii. xxiv. ; ordered to invade persia with martinus, ii. xxiv. ; encamps near theodosiopolis, ii. xxiv. ; follows peter in invading persia, ii. xxiv. ; commands the left wing at the battle of anglon, ii. xxv. vandals, ii. ii. , iii. vararanes, persian king, invades roman territory, i. ii. ff.; concludes peace with the romans, i. ii. varizes, title of a persian general (_lit._ "victorious," properly a family name), i. xii. varrames, son of adergoudounbades, shares the secret of the sparing of chosroes, i. xxiii. ; reveals to chosroes the true story, i. xxiii. ; made chanaranges, i. xxiii. veneti, name of one of the factions, i. xxiv. - ; supported by justinian, ii. xi. ; also called the blue faction, _ib._ venetian colonnade, the, in byzantium, i. xxiv. veredi, the government post horses, ii. xx. vesta, _see_ hestia vitalianus, son of patriciolus, an officer in the roman army, i. viii. ; becomes tyrant, _ib._ his hostility to anastasius, i. xiii. ; his adviser hermogenes, _ib._ vittigis, king of the goths, sends ambassadors to chosroes, ii. ii. ; they address chosroes, ii. ii. ff.; brought to byzantium by belisarius, ii. iv. , xxi. ; remains in byzantium, ii. xiv. ; envoys of, one dies, the other remains in persia, ii. xiv. ; their interpreter captured, ii. xiv. white syrians, old name for the inhabitants of armenia minor, i. xvii. zaberganes, misrepresents mebodes to chosroes, i. xxiii. , ; reproaches chosroes, ii. viii. ff.; at the bidding of chosroes receives the envoys of edessa, ii. xxvi. - zames, son of cabades, disqualified from succeeding his father, i. xi. ; ii. ix. ; plot to put him in power in place of chosroes, i. xxiii. , ; slain by chosroes, i. xxiii. zechi, their location, ii. xxix. zeno, roman emperor at the time of the persian king arsaces, i. iii. zenobia, city on the euphrates, ii. v. ; founded by zenobia, ii. v. ; chosroes refrains from attacking it, ii. v. zenobia, wife of odonathus, founder of the city of zenobia, ii. v. zeuxippus, baths of, destroyed by fire in the nika insurrection, i. xxiv. * * * * * * transcriber's notes: index errata: "caisus" should read "caïsus" under aigan "massagete" should read "massagetae" also under: ascan simmas sunicus under auxomis "elephantina" should be "elephantine" also under: elephantina philae under darras "ammodius" should be "ammodios" "florentinus" should be "florentius" under julian "summas" should be "summus" "orocasius" should read "orocasias" under phocus "pretorian" should read "praetorian"] procopius with an english translation by h. b. dewing in seven volumes ii history of the wars, books iii and iv london william heinemann ltd cambridge, massachusetts harvard university press mcmlxxi first printed contents history of the wars-- page book iii.--the vandalic war book iv.--the vandalic war _(continued)_ index procopius of caesarea history of the wars. book iii the vandalic war i such, then, was the final outcome of the persian war for the emperor justinian; and i shall now proceed to set forth all that he did against the vandals and the moors. but first shall be told whence came the host of the vandals when they descended upon the land of the romans. after theodosius, the roman emperor, had departed from the world, having proved himself one of the most just of men and an able warrior, his kingdom was taken over by his two sons, arcadius, the elder, receiving the eastern portion, and honorius, the younger, the western. [jan. , a.d.] but the roman power had been thus divided as far back as the time of constantine and his sons; for he transferred his government to byzantium, and making the city larger and much more renowned, allowed it to be named after him. now the earth is surrounded by a circle of ocean, either entirely or for the most part (for our knowledge is not as yet at all clear in this matter); and it is split into two continents by a sort of outflow from the ocean, a flow which enters at the western part and forms this sea which we know, beginning at gadira[ ] and extending all the way to the maeotic lake.[ ] of these two continents the one to the right, as one sails into the sea, as far as the lake, has received the name of asia, beginning at gadira and at the southern[ ] of the two pillars of heracles. septem[ ] is the name given by the natives to the fort at that point, since seven hills appear there; for "septem" has the force of "seven" in the latin tongue. and the whole continent opposite this was named europe. and the strait at that point separates the two continents[ ] by about eighty-four stades, but from there on they are kept apart by wide expanses of sea as far as the hellespont. for at this point they again approach each other at sestus and abydus, and once more at byzantium and chalcedon as far as the rocks called in ancient times the "dark blue rocks," where even now is the place called hieron. for at these places the continents are separated from one another by a distance of only ten stades and even less than that. now the distance from one of the pillars of heracles to the other, if one goes along the shore and does not pass around the ionian gulf and the sea called the euxine but crosses from chalcedon[ ] to byzantium and from dryous[ ] to the opposite mainland,[ ] is a journey of two hundred and eighty-five days for an unencumbered traveller. for as to the land about the euxine sea, which extends from byzantium to the lake, it would be impossible to tell everything with precision, since the barbarians beyond the ister river, which they also call the danube, make the shore of that sea quite impossible for the romans to traverse--except, indeed, that from byzantium to the mouth of the ister is a journey of twenty-two days, which should be added to the measure of europe by one making the computation. and on the asiatic side, that is from chalcedon to the phasis river, which, flowing from the country of the colchians, descends into the pontus, the journey is accomplished in forty days. so that the whole roman domain, according to the distance along the sea at least, attains the measure of a three hundred and forty-seven days' journey, if, as has been said, one ferries over the ionian gulf, which extends about eight hundred stades from dryous. for the passage across the gulf[ ] amounts to a journey of not less than four days. such, then, was the size of the roman empire in the ancient times. and there fell to him who held the power in the west the most of libya, extending ninety days' journey--for such is the distance from gadira to the boundaries of tripolis in libya; and in europe he received as his portion territory extending seventy-five days' journey--for such is the distance from the northern[ ] of the pillars of heracles to the ionian gulf.[ ] and one might add also the distance around the gulf. and the emperor of the east received territory extending one hundred and twenty days' journey, from the boundaries of cyrene in libya as far as epidamnus, which lies on the ionian gulf and is called at the present time dyrrachium, as well as that portion of the country about the euxine sea which, as previously stated, is subject to the romans. now one day's journey extends two hundred and ten stades,[ ] or as far as from athens to megara. thus, then, the roman emperors divided either continent between them. and among the islands britain, which is outside the pillars of heracles and by far the largest of all islands, was counted, as is natural, with the west; and inside the pillars, ebusa,[ ] which lies in the mediterranean in what we may call the propontis, just inside the opening where the ocean enters, about seven days' journey from the opening, and two others near it, majorica and minorica, as they are called by the natives, were also assigned to the western empire. and each of the islands in the sea itself fell to the share of that one of the two emperors within whose boundaries it happened to lie. ii now while honorius was holding the imperial power in the west, barbarians took possession of his land; and i shall tell who they were and in what manner they did so. [ - a.d.] there were many gothic nations in earlier times, just as also at the present, but the greatest and most important of all are the goths, vandals, visigoths, and gepaedes. in ancient times, however, they were named sauromatae and melanchlaeni;[ ] and there were some too who called these nations getic. all these, while they are distinguished from one another by their names, as has been said, do not differ in anything else at all. for they all have white bodies and fair hair, and are tall and handsome to look upon, and they use the same laws and practise a common religion. for they are all of the arian faith, and have one language called gothic; and, as it seems to me, they all came originally from one tribe, and were distinguished later by the names of those who led each group. this people used to dwell above the ister river from of old. later on the gepaedes got possession of the country about singidunum[ ] and sirmium,[ ] on both sides of the ister river, where they have remained settled even down to my time. but the visigoths, separating from the others, removed from there and at first entered into an alliance with the emperor arcadius, but at a later time (for faith with the romans cannot dwell in barbarians), under the leadership of alaric, they became hostile to both emperors, and, beginning with thrace, treated all europe as an enemy's land. now the emperor honorius had before this time been sitting in rome, with never a thought of war in his mind, but glad, i think, if men allowed him to remain quiet in his palace. but when word was brought that the barbarians with a great army were not far off, but somewhere among the taulantii,[ ] he abandoned the palace and fled in disorderly fashion to ravenna, a strong city lying just about at the end of the ionian gulf, while some say that he brought in the barbarians himself, because an uprising had been started against him among his subjects; but this does not seem to me trustworthy, as far, at least, as one can judge of the character of the man. and the barbarians, finding that they had no hostile force to encounter them, became the most cruel of all men. for they destroyed all the cities which they captured, especially those south of the ionian gulf, so completely that nothing has been left to my time to know them by, unless, indeed, it might be one tower or one gate or some such thing which chanced to remain. and they killed all the people, as many as came in their way, both old and young alike, sparing neither women nor children. wherefore even up to the present time italy is sparsely populated. they also gathered as plunder all the money out of all europe, and, most important of all, they left in rome nothing whatever of public or private wealth when they moved on to gaul. but i shall now tell how alaric captured rome. after much time had been spent by him in the siege, and he had not been able either by force or by any other device to capture the place, he formed the following plan. among the youths in the army whose beards had not yet grown, but who had just come of age, he chose out three hundred whom he knew to be of good birth and possessed of valour beyond their years, and told them secretly that he was about to make a present of them to certain of the patricians in rome, pretending that they were slaves. and he instructed them that, as soon as they got inside the houses of those men, they should display much gentleness and moderation and serve them eagerly in whatever tasks should be laid upon them by their owners; and he further directed them that not long afterwards, on an appointed day at about midday, when all those who were to be their masters would most likely be already asleep after their meal, they should all come to the gate called salarian and with a sudden rush kill the guards, who would have no previous knowledge of the plot, and open the gates as quickly as possible. after giving these orders to the youths, alaric straightway sent ambassadors to the members of the senate, stating that he admired them for their loyalty toward their emperor, and that he would trouble them no longer, because of their valour and faithfulness, with which it was plain that they were endowed to a remarkable degree, and in order that tokens of himself might be preserved among men both noble and brave, he wished to present each one of them with some domestics. after making this declaration and sending the youths not long afterwards, he commanded the barbarians to make preparations for the departure, and he let this be known to the romans. and they heard his words gladly, and receiving the gifts began to be exceedingly happy, since they were completely ignorant of the plot of the barbarian. for the youths, by being unusually obedient to their owners, averted suspicion, and in the camp some were already seen moving from their positions and raising the siege, while it seemed that the others were just on the point of doing the very same thing. but when the appointed day had come, alaric armed his whole force for the attack and was holding them in readiness close by the salarian gate; for it happened that he had encamped there at the beginning of the siege. and all the youths at the time of the day agreed upon came to this gate, and, assailing the guards suddenly, put them to death; then they opened the gates and received alaric and the army into the city at their leisure. [aug. , a.d.] and they set fire to the houses which were next to the gate, among which was also the house of sallust, who in ancient times wrote the history of the romans, and the greater part of this house has stood half-burned up to my time; and after plundering the whole city and destroying the most of the romans, they moved on. at that time they say that the emperor honorius in ravenna received the message from one of the eunuchs, evidently a keeper of the poultry, that rome had perished. and he cried out and said, "and yet it has just eaten from my hands!" for he had a very large cock, rome by name; and the eunuch comprehending his words said that it was the city of rome which had perished at the hands of alaric, and the emperor with a sigh of relief answered quickly: "but i, my good fellow, thought that my fowl rome had perished." so great, they say, was the folly with which this emperor was possessed. but some say that rome was not captured in this way by alaric, but that proba, a woman of very unusual eminence in wealth and in fame among the roman senatorial class, felt pity for the romans who were being destroyed by hunger and the other suffering they endured; for they were already even tasting each other's flesh; and seeing that every good hope had left them, since both the river and the harbour were held by the enemy, she commanded her domestics, they say, to open the gates by night. now when alaric was about to depart from rome, he declared attalus, one of their nobles, emperor of the romans, investing him with the diadem and the purple and whatever else pertains to the imperial dignity. and he did this with the intention of removing honorius from his throne and of giving over the whole power in the west to attalus. with such a purpose, then, both attalus and alaric were going with a great army against ravenna. but this attalus was neither able to think wisely himself, nor to be persuaded by one who had wisdom to offer. so while alaric did not by any means approve the plan, attalus sent commanders to libya without an army. thus, then, were these things going on. and the island of britain revolted from the romans, and the soldiers there chose as their king constantinus, a man of no mean station. [ a.d.] and he straightway gathered a fleet of ships and a formidable army and invaded both spain and gaul with a great force, thinking to enslave these countries. but honorius was holding ships in readiness and waiting to see what would happen in libya, in order that, if those sent by attalus were repulsed, he might himself sail for libya and keep some portion of his own kingdom, while if matters there should go against him, he might reach theodosius and remain with him. for arcadius had already died long before, and his son theodosius, still a very young child,[ ] held the power of the east. [ - a.d.] but while honorius was thus anxiously awaiting the outcome of these events and tossed amid the billows of uncertain fortune, it so chanced that some wonderful pieces of good fortune befell him. for god is accustomed to succour those who are neither clever nor able to devise anything of themselves, and to lend them assistance, if they be not wicked, when they are in the last extremity of despair; such a thing, indeed, befell this emperor. for it was suddenly reported from libya that the commanders of attalus had been destroyed, and that a host of ships was at hand from byzantium with a very great number of soldiers who had come to assist him, though he had not expected them, and that alaric, having quarrelled with attalus, had stripped him of the emperor's garb and was now keeping him under guard in the position of a private citizen. [ a.d.] and afterwards alaric died of disease, and the army of the visigoths under the leadership of adaulphus proceeded into gaul, and constantinus, defeated in battle, died with his sons. however the romans never succeeded in recovering britain, but it remained from that time on under tyrants. and the goths, after making the crossing of the ister, at first occupied pannonia, but afterwards, since the emperor gave them the right, they inhabited the country of thrace. and after spending no great time there they conquered the west. but this will be told in the narrative concerning the goths. iii now the vandals dwelling about the maeotic lake, since they were pressed by hunger, moved to the country of the germans, who are now called franks, and the river rhine, associating with themselves the alani, a gothic people. then from there, under the leadership of godigisclus, they moved and settled in spain, which is the first land of the roman empire on the side of the ocean. at that time honorius made an agreement with godigisclus that they should settle there on condition that it should not be to the detriment of the country. but there was a law among the romans, that if any persons should fail to keep their property in their own possession, and if, meanwhile, a time amounting to thirty years should pass, that these persons should thenceforth not be entitled to proceed against those who had forced them out, but they were excluded by demurrer[ ] from access to the court; and in view of this he established a law that whatever time should be spent by the vandals in the roman domain should not by any means be counted toward this thirty-year demurrer. and honorius himself, when the west had been driven by him to this pass, died of disease. [aug. , a.d.] now before this, as it happened, the royal power had been shared by honorius with constantius, the husband of placidia, the sister of arcadius and honorius; but he lived to exercise the power only a few days, and then, becoming seriously ill, he died while honorius was still living, [ a.d.] having never succeeded in saying or in doing anything worth recounting; for the time was not sufficient during which he lived in possession of the royal power. now a son of this constantius, valentinian, a child just weaned, was being reared in the palace of theodosius, but the members of the imperial court in rome chose one of the soldiers there, john by name, as emperor. this man was both gentle and well-endowed with sagacity and thoroughly capable of valorous deeds. at any rate he held the tyranny five years[ ] and directed it with moderation, and he neither gave ear to slanderers nor did he do any unjust murder, willingly at least, nor did he set his hand to robbing men of money; but he did not prove able to do anything at all against the barbarians, since his relations with byzantium were hostile. against this john, theodosius, the son of arcadius, sent a great army and aspar and ardaburius, the son of aspar, as generals, and wrested from him the tyranny and gave over the royal power to valentinian, who was still a child. and valentinian took john alive, and he brought him out in the hippodrome of aquileia with one of his hands cut off and caused him to ride in state on an ass, and then after he had suffered much ill treatment from the stage-performers there, both in word and in deed, he put him to death. [ a.d.] thus valentinian took over the power of the west. but placidia, his mother, had reared this emperor and educated him in an altogether effeminate manner, and in consequence he was filled with wickedness from childhood. for he associated mostly with sorcerers and those who busy themselves with the stars, and, being an extraordinarily zealous pursuer of love affairs with other men's wives, he conducted himself in a most indecent manner, although he was married to a woman of exceptional beauty. [ a.d.] and not only was this true, but he also failed to recover for the empire anything of what had been wrested from it before, and he both lost libya in addition to the territory previously lost and was himself destroyed. and when he perished, it fell to the lot of his wife and his children to become captives. now the disaster in libya came about as follows. there were two roman generals, aetius and boniface, especially valiant men and in experience of many wars inferior to none of that time at least. these two came to be at variance in regard to matters of state, but they attained to such a degree of highmindedness and excellence in every respect that if one should call either of them "the last of the romans" he would not err, so true was it that all the excellent qualities of the romans were summed up in these two men. one of these, boniface, was appointed by placidia general of all libya. now this was not in accord with the wishes of aetius, but he by no means disclosed the fact that it did not please him. for their hostility had not as yet come to light, but was concealed behind the countenance of each. but when boniface had got out of the way, aetius slandered him to placidia, saying that he was setting up a tyranny and had robbed her and the emperor of all libya, and he said that it was very easy for her to find out the truth; for if she should summon boniface to rome, he would never come. and when the woman heard this, aetius seemed to her to speak well and she acted accordingly. but aetius, anticipating her, wrote to boniface secretly that the mother of the emperor was plotting against him and wished to put him out of the way. and he predicted to him that there would be convincing proof of the plot; for he would be summoned very shortly for no reason at all. such was the announcement of the letter. and boniface did not disregard the message, for as soon as those arrived who were summoning him to the emperor, he refused to give heed to the emperor and his mother, disclosing to no one the warning of aetius. so when placidia heard this, she thought that aetius was exceedingly well-disposed towards the emperor's cause and took under consideration the question of boniface. but boniface, since it did not seem to him that he was able to array himself against the emperor, and since if he returned to rome there was clearly no safety for him, began to lay plans so that, if possible, he might have a defensive alliance with the vandals, who, as previously stated, had established themselves in spain not far from libya. there godigisclus had died and the royal power had fallen to his sons, gontharis, who was born to him from his wedded wife, and gizeric,[ ] of illegitimate birth. but the former was still a child and not of very energetic temper, while gizeric had been excellently trained in warfare, and was the cleverest of all men. boniface accordingly sent to spain those who were his own most intimate friends and gained the adherence of each of the sons of godigisclus on terms of complete equality, it being agreed that each one of the three, holding a third part of libya, should rule over his own subjects; but if a foe should come against any one of them to make war, that they should in common ward off the aggressors. on the basis of this agreement the vandals crossed the strait at gadira and came into libya, and the visigoths in later times settled in spain. but in rome the friends of boniface, remembering the character of the man and considering how strange his action was, were greatly astonished to think that boniface was setting up a tyranny, and some of them at the order of placidia went to carthage. there they met boniface, and saw the letter of aetius, and after hearing the whole story they returned to rome as quickly as they could and reported to placidia how boniface stood in relation to her. and though the woman was dumbfounded, she did nothing unpleasant to aetius nor did she upbraid him for what he had done to the emperor's house, for he himself wielded great power and the affairs of the empire were already in an evil plight; but she disclosed to the friends of boniface the advice aetius had given, and, offering oaths and pledges of safety, entreated them to persuade the man, if they could, to return to his fatherland and not to permit the empire of the romans to lie under the hand of barbarians. and when boniface heard this, he repented of his act and of his agreement with the barbarians, and he besought them incessantly, promising them everything, to remove from libya. but since they did not receive his words with favour, but considered that they were being insulted, he was compelled to fight with them, and being defeated in the battle, he retired to hippo[ ] regius, a strong city in the portion of numidia that is on the sea. there the vandals made camp under the leadership of gizeric and began a siege; for gontharis had already died. and they say that he perished at the hand of his brother. the vandals, however, do not agree with those who make this statement, but say that gontharis' was captured in battle by germans in spain and impaled, and that gizeric was already sole ruler when he led the vandals into libya. this, indeed, i have heard from the vandals, stated in this way. but after much time had passed by, since they were unable to secure hippo regius either by force or by surrender, and since at the same time they were being pressed by hunger, they raised the siege. and a little later boniface and the romans in libya, since a numerous army had come from both rome and byzantium and aspar with them as general, decided to renew the struggle, and a fierce battle was fought in which they were badly beaten by the enemy, and they made haste to flee as each one could. and aspar betook himself homeward, and boniface, coming before placidia, acquitted himself of the suspicion, showing that it had arisen against him for no true cause. iv so the vandals, having wrested libya from the romans in this way, made it their own. and those of the enemy whom they took alive they reduced to slavery and held under guard. among these happened to be marcian, who later upon the death of theodosius assumed the imperial power. at that time, however, gizeric commanded that the captives be brought into the king's courtyard, in order that it might be possible for him, by looking at them, to know what master each of them might serve without degradation. and when they were gathered under the open sky, about midday, the season being summer, they were distressed by the sun and sat down. and somewhere or other among them marcian, quite neglected, was sleeping. then an eagle flew over him spreading out his wings, as they say, and always remaining in the same place in the air he cast a shadow over marcian alone. and gizeric, upon seeing from the upper storey what was happening, since he was an exceedingly discerning person, suspected that the thing was a divine manifestation, and summoning the man enquired of him who he might be. and he replied that he was a confidential adviser of aspar; such a person the romans call a "domesticus" in their own tongue. and when gizeric heard this and considered first the meaning of the bird's action, and then remembered how great power aspar exercised in byzantium, it became evident to him that the man was being led to royal power. he therefore by no means deemed it right to kill him, reasoning that, if he should remove him from the world, it would be very clear that the thing which the bird had done was nothing (for he would not honour with his shadow a king who was about to die straightway), and he felt, too, that he would be killing him for no good cause; and if, on the other hand, it was fated that in later times the man should become king, it would never be within his power to inflict death upon him; for that which has been decided upon by god could never be prevented by a man's decision. but he bound marcian by oaths that, if it should be in his power, he would never take up arms against the vandals at least. [ a.d.] thus, then, marcian was released and came to byzantium, and when at a later time theodosius died he received the empire. and in all other respects he proved himself a good emperor, but he paid no attention at all to affairs in libya. but this happened in later times. at that time gizeric, after conquering aspar and boniface in battle, displayed a foresight worth recounting, whereby he made his good fortune most thoroughly secure. for fearing lest, if once again an army should come against him from both rome and byzantium, the vandals might not be able to use the same strength and enjoy the same fortune, (since human affairs are wont to be overturned by heaven and to fail by reason of the weakness of men's bodies), he was not lifted up by the good fortune he had enjoyed, but rather became moderate because of what he feared, and so he made a treaty with the emperor valentinian providing that each year he should pay to the emperor tribute from libya, and he delivered over one of his sons, honoric, as a hostage to make this agreement binding. so gizeric both showed himself a brave man in the battle and guarded the victory as securely as possible, and, since the friendship between the two peoples increased greatly, he received back his son honoric. and at rome placidia had died before this time, and after her, valentinian, her son, also died, having no male offspring, but two daughters had been born to him from eudoxia, the child of theodosius. and i shall now relate in what manner valentinian died. there was a certain maximus, a roman senator, of the house of that maximus[ ] who, while usurping the imperial power, was overthrown by the elder theodosius and put to death, and on whose account also the romans celebrate the annual festival named from the defeat of maximus. this younger maximus was married to a woman discreet in her ways and exceedingly famous for her beauty. for this reason a desire came over valentinian to have her to wife. and since it was impossible, much as he wished it, to meet her, he plotted an unholy deed and carried it to fulfilment. for he summoned maximus to the palace and sat down with him to a game of draughts, and a certain sum was set as a penalty for the loser; and the emperor won in this game, and receiving maximus' ring as a pledge for the agreed amount, he sent it to his house, instructing the messenger to tell the wife of maximus that her husband bade her come as quickly as possible to the palace to salute the queen eudoxia. and she, judging by the ring that the message was from maximus, entered her litter and was conveyed to the emperor's court. and she was received by those who had been assigned this service by the emperor, and led into a certain room far removed from the women's apartments, where valentinian met her and forced her, much against her will. and she, after the outrage, went to her husband's house weeping and feeling the deepest possible grief because of her misfortune, and she cast many curses upon maximus as having provided the cause for what had been done. maximus, accordingly, became exceedingly aggrieved at that which had come to pass, and straightway entered into a conspiracy against the emperor; but when he saw that aetius was exceedingly powerful, for he had recently conquered attila, who had invaded the roman domain with a great army of massagetae and the other scythians, the thought occurred to him that aetius would be in the way of his undertaking. and upon considering this matter, it seemed to him that it was the better course to put aetius out of the way first, paying no heed to the fact that the whole hope of the romans centred in him. and since the eunuchs who were in attendance upon the emperor were well-disposed toward him, he persuaded the emperor by their devices that aetius was setting on foot a revolution. and valentinian, judging by nothing else than the power and valour of aetius that the report was true, put the man to death. [sept. , a.d.] whereupon a certain roman made himself famous by a saying which he uttered. for when the emperor enquired of him whether he had done well in putting aetius to death, he replied saying that, as to this matter, he was not able to know whether he had done well or perhaps otherwise, but one thing he understood exceedingly well, that he had cut off his own right hand with the other. so after the death of aetius,[ ] attila, since no one was a match for him, plundered all europe with no trouble and made both emperors subservient and tributary to himself. for tribute money was sent to him every year by the emperors. at that time, while attila was besieging aquileia, a city of great size and exceedingly populous situated near the sea and above the ionian gulf, they say that the following good fortune befell him. for they tell the story that, when he was able to capture the place neither by force nor by any other means, he gave up the siege in despair, since it had already lasted a long time, and commanded the whole army without any delay to make their preparations for the departure, in order that on the morrow all might move from there at sunrise. and the following day about sunrise, the barbarians had raised the siege and were already beginning the departure, when a single male stork which had a nest on a certain tower of the city wall and was rearing his nestlings there suddenly rose and left the place with his young. and the father stork was flying, but the little storks, since they were not yet quite ready to fly, were at times sharing their father's flight and at times riding upon his back, and thus they flew off and went far away from the city. and when attila saw this (for he was most clever at comprehending and interpreting all things), he commanded the army, they say, to remain still in the same place, adding that the bird would never have gone flying off at random from there with his nestlings, unless he was prophesying that some evil would come to the place at no distant time. thus, they say, the army of the barbarians settled down to the siege once more, and not long after that a portion of the wall--the very part which held the nest of that bird--for no apparent reason suddenly fell down, and it became possible for the enemy to enter the city at that point, and thus aquileia was captured by storm. such is the story touching aquileia. later on maximus slew the emperor with no trouble and secured the tyranny, and he married eudoxia by force. [ a.d.] for the wife to whom he had been wedded had died not long before. and on one occasion in private he made the statement to eudoxia that it was all for the sake of her love that he had carried out all that he had done. and since she felt a repulsion for maximus even before that time, and had been desirous of exacting vengeance from him for the wrong done valentinian, his words made her swell with rage still more against him, and led her on to carry out her plot, since she had heard maximus say that on account of her the misfortune had befallen her husband. and as soon as day came, she sent to carthage entreating gizeric to avenge valentinian, who had been destroyed by an unholy man, in a manner unworthy both of himself and of his imperial station, and to deliver her, since she was suffering unholy treatment at the hand of the tyrant. and she impressed it upon gizeric that, since he was a friend and ally and so great a calamity had befallen the imperial house, it was not a holy thing to fail to become an avenger. for from byzantium she thought no vengeance would come, since theodosius had already departed from the world and marcian had taken over the empire. [mar. , a.d.] v and gizeric, for no other reason than that he suspected that much money would come to him, set sail for italy with a great fleet. and going up to rome, since no one stood in his way, he took possession of the palace. now while maximus was trying to flee, the romans threw stones at him and killed him, and they cut off his head and each of his other members and divided them among themselves. but gizeric took eudoxia captive, together with eudocia and placidia, the children of herself and valentinian, and placing an exceedingly great amount of gold and other imperial treasure[ ] in his ships sailed to carthage, having spared neither bronze nor anything else whatsoever in the palace. he plundered also the temple of jupiter capitolinus, and tore off half of the roof. now this roof was of bronze of the finest quality, and since gold was laid over it exceedingly thick, it shone as a magnificent and wonderful spectacle.[ ] but of the ships with gizeric, one, which was bearing the statues, was lost, they say, but with all the others the vandals reached port in the harbour of carthage. gizeric then married eudocia to honoric, the elder of his sons; but the other of the two women, being the wife of olybrius, a most distinguished man in the roman senate, he sent to byzantium together with her mother, eudoxia, at the request of the emperor. now the power of the east had by now fallen to leon, who had been set in this position by aspar, since marcian had already passed from the world. [ a.d.] afterwards gizeric devised the following scheme. he tore down the walls of all the cities in libya except carthage, so that neither the libyans themselves, espousing the cause of the romans, might have a strong base from which to begin a rebellion, nor those sent by the emperor have any ground for hoping to capture a city and by establishing a garrison in it to make trouble for the vandals. now at that time it seemed that he had counselled well and had ensured prosperity for the vandals in the safest possible manner; but in later times when these cities, being without walls, were captured by belisarius all the more easily and with less exertion, gizeric was then condemned to suffer much ridicule, and that which for the time he considered wise counsel turned out for him to be folly. for as fortunes change, men are always accustomed to change with them their judgments regarding what has been planned in the past. and among the libyans all who happened to be men of note and conspicuous for their wealth he handed over as slaves, together with their estates and all their money, to his sons honoric and genzon. for theodorus, the youngest son, had died already, being altogether without offspring, either male or female. and he robbed the rest of the libyans of their estates, which were both very numerous and excellent, and distributed them among the nation of the vandals, and as a result of this these lands have been called "vandals' estates" up to the present time. and it fell to the lot of those who had formerly possessed these lands to be in extreme poverty and to be at the same time free men; and they had the privilege of going away wheresoever they wished. and gizeric commanded that all the lands which he had given over to his sons and to the other vandals should not be subject to any kind of taxation. but as much of the land as did not seem to him good he allowed to remain in the hands of the former owners, but assessed so large a sum to be paid on this land for taxes to the government that nothing whatever remained to those who retained their farms. and many of them were constantly being sent into exile or killed. for charges were brought against them of many sorts, and heavy ones too; but one charge seemed to be the greatest of all, that a man, having money of his own, was hiding it. thus the libyans were visited with every form of misfortune. the vandals and the alani he arranged in companies, appointing over them no less than eighty captains, whom he called "chiliarchs,"[ ] making it appear that his host of fighting men in active service amounted to eighty thousand. and yet the number of the vandals and alani was said in former times, at least, to amount to no more than fifty thousand men. however, after that time by their natural increase among themselves and by associating other barbarians with them they came to be an exceedingly numerous people. but the names of the alani and all the other barbarians, except the moors, were united in the name of vandals. at that time, after the death of valentinian, gizeric gained the support of the moors, and every year at the beginning of spring he made invasions into sicily and italy, enslaving some of the cities, razing others to the ground, and plundering everything; and when the land had become destitute of men and of money, he invaded the domain of the emperor of the east. and so he plundered illyricum and the most of the peloponnesus and of the rest of greece and all the islands which lie near it. and again he went off to sicily and italy, and kept plundering and pillaging all places in turn. and one day when he had embarked on his ship in the harbour of carthage, and the sails were already being spread, the pilot asked him, they say, against what men in the world he bade them go. and he in reply said: "plainly against those with whom god is angry." thus without any cause he kept making invasions wherever chance might lead him. vi and the emperor leon, wishing to punish the vandals because of these things, was gathering an army against them; and they say that this army amounted to about one hundred thousand men. and he collected a fleet of ships from the whole of the eastern mediterranean, shewing great generosity to both soldiers and sailors, for he feared lest from a parsimonious policy some obstacle might arise to hinder him in his desire to carry out his punishment of the barbarians. therefore, they say, thirteen hundred centenaria[ ] were expended by him to no purpose. but since it was not fated that the vandals should be destroyed by this expedition, he made basiliscus commander-in-chief, the brother of his wife berine, a man who was extraordinarily desirous of the royal power, which he hoped would come to him without a struggle if he won the friendship of aspar. for aspar himself, being an adherent of the arian faith, and having no intention of changing it for another, was unable to enter upon the imperial office, but he was easily strong enough to establish another in it, and it already seemed likely that he would plot against the emperor leon, who had given him offence. so they say that since aspar was then fearful lest, if the vandals were defeated, leon should establish his power most securely, he repeatedly urged upon basiliscus that he should spare the vandals and gizeric. [ a.d.] now before this time leon had already appointed and sent anthemius, as emperor of the west, a man of the senate of great wealth and high birth, in order that he might assist him in the vandalic war. and yet gizeric kept asking and earnestly entreating that the imperial power be given to olybrius, who was married to placidia, the daughter of valentinian, and on account of his relationship[ ] well-disposed toward him, and when he failed in this he was still more angry and kept plundering the whole land of the emperor. now there was in dalmatia a certain marcellianus, one of the acquaintances of aetius and a man of repute, who, after aetius had died in the manner told above,[ ] no longer deigned to yield obedience to the emperor, but beginning a revolution and detaching all the others from allegiance, held the power of dalmatia himself, since no one dared encounter him. but the emperor leon at that time won over this marcellianus by very careful wheedling, and bade him go to the island of sardinia, which was then subject to the vandals. and he drove out the vandals and gained possession of it with no great difficulty. and heracleius was sent from byzantium to tripolis in libya, and after conquering the vandals of that district in battle, he easily captured the cities, and leaving his ships there, led his army on foot toward carthage. such, then, was the sequence of events which formed the prelude of the war. but basiliscus with his whole fleet put in at a town distant from carthage no less than two hundred and eighty stades (now it so happened that a temple of hermes had been there from of old, from which fact the place was named mercurium; for the romans call hermes "mercurius"), and if he had not purposely played the coward and hesitated, but had undertaken to go straight for carthage, he would have captured it at the first onset, and he would have reduced the vandals to subjection without their even thinking of resistance; so overcome was gizeric with awe of leon as an invincible emperor, when the report was brought to him that sardinia and tripolis had been captured, and he saw the fleet of basiliscus to be such as the romans were said never to have had before. but, as it was, the general's hesitation, whether caused by cowardice or treachery, prevented this success. and gizeric, profiting by the negligence of basiliscus, did as follows. arming all his subjects in the best way he could, he filled his ships, but not all, for some he kept in readiness empty, and they were the ships which sailed most swiftly. and sending envoys to basiliscus, he begged him to defer the war for the space of five days, in order that in the meantime he might take counsel and do those things which were especially desired by the emperor. they say, too, that he sent also a great amount of gold without the knowledge of the army of basiliscus and thus purchased this armistice. and he did this, thinking, as actually did happen, that a favouring wind would rise for him during this time. and basiliscus, either as doing a favour to aspar in accordance with what he had promised, or selling the moment of opportunity for money, or perhaps thinking it the better course, did as he was requested and remained quietly in the camp, awaiting the moment favourable to the enemy. but the vandals, as soon as the wind had arisen for them which they had been expecting during the time they lay at rest, raised their sails and, taking in tow the boats which, as has been stated above, they had made ready with no men in them, they sailed against the enemy. and when they came near, they set fire to the boats which they were towing, when their sails were bellied by the wind, and let them go against the roman fleet. and since there were a great number of ships there, these boats easily spread fire wherever they struck, and were themselves readily destroyed together with those with which they came in contact. and as the fire advanced in this way the roman fleet was filled with tumult, as was natural, and with a great din that rivalled the noise caused by the wind and the roaring of the flames, as the soldiers together with the sailors shouted orders to one another and pushed off with their poles the fire-boats and their own ships as well, which were being destroyed by one another in complete disorder. and already the vandals too were at hand ramming and sinking the ships, and making booty of such of the soldiers as attempted to escape, and of their arms as well. but there were also some of the romans who proved themselves brave men in this struggle, and most of all john, who was a general under basiliscus and who had no share whatever in his treason. for a great throng having surrounded his ship, he stood on the deck, and turning from side to side kept killing very great numbers of the enemy from there, and when he perceived that the ship was being captured, he leaped with his whole equipment of arms from the deck into the sea. and though genzon, the son of gizeric, entreated him earnestly not to do this, offering pledges and holding out promises of safety, he nevertheless threw himself into the sea, uttering this one word, that john would never come under the hands of dogs. so this war came to an end, and heracleius departed for home; for marcellianus had been destroyed treacherously by one of his fellow-officers. and basiliscus, coming to byzantium, seated himself as a suppliant in the sanctuary of christ the great god ("sophia"[ ] the temple is called by the men of byzantium who consider that this designation is especially appropriate to god), and although, by the intercession of berine, the queen, he escaped this danger, he was not able at that time to reach the throne, the thing for the sake of which everything had been done by him. for the emperor leon not long afterwards destroyed both aspar and ardaburius in the palace, because he suspected that they were plotting against his life. [ a.d.] thus, then, did these events take place. vii [aug. , a.d.] now anthemius, the emperor of the west, died at the hand of his son-in-law rhecimer, and olybrius, succeeding to the throne, a short time afterward suffered the same fate. [oct. , a.d.] and when leon also had died in byzantium, the imperial office was taken over by the younger leon, the son of zeno and ariadne, the daughter of leon, while he was still only a few days old. and his father having been chosen as partner in the royal power, the child forthwith passed from the world. [ a.d.] majorinus also deserves mention, who had gained the power of the west before this time. for this majorinus, who surpassed in every virtue all who have ever been emperors of the romans, did not bear lightly the loss of libya, but collected a very considerable army against the vandals and came to liguria, intending himself to lead the army against the enemy. for majorinus never showed the least hesitation before any task and least of all before the dangers of war. but thinking it not inexpedient for him to investigate first the strength of the vandals and the character of gizeric and to discover how the moors and libyans stood with regard to friendship or hostility toward the romans, he decided to trust no eyes other than his own in such a matter. accordingly he set out as if an envoy from the emperor to gizeric, assuming some fictitious name. and fearing lest, by becoming known, he should himself receive some harm and at the same time prevent the success of the enterprise, he devised the following scheme. his hair, which was famous among all men as being so fair as to resemble pure gold, he anointed with some kind of dye, which was especially invented for this purpose, and so succeeded completely in changing it for the time to a dark hue. and when he came before gizeric, the barbarian attempted in many ways to terrify him, and in particular, while treating him with engaging attention, as if a friend, he brought him into the house where all his weapons were stored, a numerous and exceedingly noteworthy array. thereupon they say that the weapons shook of their own accord and gave forth a sound of no ordinary or casual sort, and then it seemed to gizeric that there had been an earthquake, but when he got outside and made enquiries concerning the earthquake, since no one else agreed with him, a great wonder, they say, came over him, but he was not able to comprehend the meaning of what had happened. so majorinus, having accomplished the very things he wished, returned to liguria, and leading his army on foot, came to the pillars of heracles, purposing to cross over the strait at that point, and then to march by land from there against carthage. and when gizeric became aware of this, and perceived that he had been tricked by majorinus in the matter of the embassy, he became alarmed and made his preparations for war. and the romans, basing their confidence on the valour of majorinus, already began to have fair hopes of recovering libya for the empire. [ a.d.] but meantime majorinus was attacked by the disease of dysentery and died, a man who had shewn himself moderate toward his subjects, and an object of fear to his enemies. [july , a.d.] and another emperor, nepos, upon taking over the empire, and living to enjoy it only a few days, died of disease, and glycerius after him entered into this office and suffered a similar fate. [ - a.d.] and after him augustus assumed the imperial power. there were, moreover, still other emperors in the west before this time, but though i know their names well, i shall make no mention of them whatever. for it so fell out that they lived only a short time after attaining the office, and as a result of this accomplished nothing worthy of mention. such was the course of events in the west. but in byzantium basiliscus, being no longer able to master his passion for royal power, made an attempt to usurp the throne, and succeeded without difficulty, since zeno, together with his wife, sought refuge in isauria, which was his native home. [ a.d.] and while he was maintaining his tyranny for a year and eight months he was detested by practically everyone and in particular by the soldiers of the court on account of the greatness of his avarice. and zeno, perceiving this, collected an army and came against him. and basiliscus sent an army under the general harmatus in order to array himself against zeno. but when they had made camp near one another, harmatus surrendered his army to zeno, on the condition that zeno should appoint as caesar harmatus' son basiliscus, who was a very young child, and leave him as successor to the throne upon his death. and basiliscus, deserted by all, fled for refuge to the same sanctuary as formerly. and acacius, the priest of the city, put him into the hands of zeno, charging him with impiety and with having brought great confusion and many innovations into the christian doctrine, having inclined toward the heresy of eutyches. and this was so. and after zeno had thus taken over the empire a second time, he carried out his pledge to harmatus formally by appointing his son basiliscus caesar, but not long afterwards he both stripped him of the office and put harmatus to death. and he sent basiliscus together with his children and his wife into cappadocia in the winter season, commanding that they should be destitute of food and clothes and every kind of care. and there, being hard pressed by both cold and hunger, they took refuge in one another's arms, and embracing their loved ones, perished. and this punishment overtook basiliscus for the policy he had pursued. these things, however, happened in later times. but at that time gizeric was plundering the whole roman domain just as much as before, if not more, circumventing his enemy by craft and driving them out of their possessions by force, as has been previously said, and he continued to do so until the emperor zeno came to an agreement with him and an endless peace was established between them, by which it was provided that the vandals should never in all time perform any hostile act against the romans nor suffer such a thing at their hands. and this peace was preserved by zeno himself and also by his successor in the empire, anastasius and it remained in force until the time of the emperor justinus. but justinian, who was the nephew of justinus, succeeded him in the imperial power, and it was in the reign of this justinian that the war with which we are concerned came to pass, in the manner which will be told in the following narrative. [ a.d.] gizeric, after living on a short time, died at an advanced age, having made a will in which he enjoined many things upon the vandals and in particular that the royal power among them should always fall to that one who should be the first in years among all the male offspring descended from gizeric himself. so gizeric, having ruled over the vandals thirty-nine years from the time when he captured carthage, died, as i have said. viii and honoric, the eldest of his sons, succeeded to the throne, genzon having already departed from the world. during the time when this honoric ruled the vandals they had no war against anyone at all, except the moors. for through fear of gizeric the moors had remained quiet before that time, but as soon as he was out of their way they both did much harm to the vandals and suffered the same themselves. and honoric shewed himself the most cruel and unjust of all men toward the christians in libya. for he forced them to change over to the arian faith, and as many as he found not readily yielding to him he burned, or destroyed by other forms of death; and he also cut off the tongues of many from the very throat, who even up to my time were going about in byzantium having their speech uninjured, and perceiving not the least effect from this punishment; but two of these, since they saw fit to go in to harlots, were thenceforth no longer able to speak. and after ruling over the vandals eight years he died of disease; and by that time the moors dwelling on mt. aurasium[ ] had revolted from the vandals and were independent (this aurasium is a mountain of numidia, about thirteen days' journey distant from carthage and fronting the south); and indeed they never came under the vandals again, since the latter were unable to carry on a war against moors on a mountain difficult of access and exceedingly steep. after the death of honoric the rule of the vandals fell to gundamundus, the son of genzon, the son of gizeric. [ a.d.] for he, in point of years, was the first of the offspring of gizeric. this gundamundus fought against the moors in numerous encounters, and after subjecting the christians to still greater suffering, he died of disease, being now at about the middle of the twelfth year of his reign. [ a.d.] and his brother trasamundus took over the kingdom, a man well-favoured in appearance and especially gifted with discretion and highmindedness. however he continued to force the christians to change their ancestral faith, not by torturing their bodies as his predecessors had done, but by seeking to win them with honours and offices and presenting them with great sums of money; and in the case of those who would not be persuaded, he pretended he had not the least knowledge of what manner of men they were.[ ] and if he caught any guilty of great crimes which they had committed either by accident or deliberate intent, he would offer such men, as a reward for changing their faith, that they should not be punished for their offences. and when his wife died without becoming the mother of either male or female offspring, wishing to establish the kingdom as securely as possible, he sent to theoderic, the king of the goths, asking him to give him his sister amalafrida to wife, for her husband had just died. and theoderic sent him not only his sister but also a thousand of the notable goths as a bodyguard, who were followed by a host of attendants amounting to about five thousand fighting men. and theoderic also presented his sister with one of the promontories of sicily, which are three in number,--the one which they call lilybaeum,--and as a result of this trasamundus was accounted the strongest and most powerful of all those who had ruled over the vandals. he became also a very special friend of the emperor anastasius. it was during the reign of trasamundus that it came about that the vandals suffered a disaster at the hands of the moors such as had never befallen them before that time. there was a certain cabaon ruling over the moors of tripolis, a man experienced in many wars and exceedingly shrewd. this cabaon, upon learning that the vandals were marching against him, did as follows. first of all he issued orders to his subjects to abstain from all injustice and from all foods tending towards luxury and most of all from association with women; and setting up two palisaded enclosures, he encamped himself with all the men in one, and in the other he shut the women, and he threatened that death would be the penalty if anyone should go to the women's palisade. and after this he sent spies to carthage with the following instructions: whenever the vandals in going forth on the expedition should offer insult to any temple which the christians reverence, they were to look on and see what took place; and when the vandals had passed the place, they were to do the opposite of everything which the vandals had done to the sanctuary before their departure. and they say that he added this also, that he was ignorant of the god whom the christians worshipped, but it was probable that if he was powerful, as he was said to be, he should wreak vengeance upon those who insulted him and defend those who honoured him. so the spies came to carthage and waited quietly, observing the preparation of the vandals; but when the army set out on the march to tripolis, they followed, clothing themselves in humble garb. and the vandals, upon making camp the first day, led their horses and their other animals into the temples of the christians, and sparing no insult, they acted with all the unrestrained lawlessness natural to them, beating as many priests as they caught and lashing them with many blows over the back and commanding them to render such service to the vandals as they were accustomed to assign to the most dishonoured of their domestics. and as soon as they had departed from there, the spies of cabaon did as they had been directed to do; for they straightway cleansed the sanctuaries and took away with great care the filth and whatever other unholy thing lay in them, and they lighted all the lamps and bowed down before the priests with great reverence and saluted them with all friendliness; and after giving pieces of silver to the poor who sat about these sanctuaries, they then followed after the army of the vandals. and from then on along the whole route the vandals continued to commit the same offences and the spies to render the same service. and when they were coming near the moors, the spies anticipated them and reported to cabaon what had been done by the vandals and by themselves to the temples of the christians, and that the enemy were somewhere near by. and cabaon, upon learning this, arranged for the encounter as follows. he marked off a circle in the plain where he was about to make his palisade, and placed his camels turned sideways in a circle as a protection for the camp, making his line fronting the enemy about twelve camels deep. then he placed the children and the women and all those who were unfit for fighting together with their possessions in the middle, while he commanded the host of fighting men to stand between the feet of those animals, covering themselves with their shields.[ ] and since the phalanx of the moors was of such a sort, the vandals were at a loss how to handle the situation; for they were neither good with the javelin nor with the bow, nor did they know how to go into battle on foot, but they were all horsemen, and used spears and swords for the most part, so that they were unable to do the enemy any harm at a distance; and their horses, annoyed at the sight of the camels, refused absolutely to be driven against the enemy. and since the moors, by hurling javelins in great numbers among them from their safe position, kept killing both their horses and men without difficulty, because they were a vast throng, they began to flee, and, when the moors came out against them, the most of them were destroyed, while some fell into the hands of the enemy; and an exceedingly small number from this army returned home. such was the fortune which trasamundus suffered at the hands of the moors. and he died at a later time, having ruled over the moors twenty-seven years. ix [ a.d.] and ilderic, the son of honoric, the son of gizeric, next received the kingdom, a ruler who was easily approached by his subjects and altogether gentle, and he shewed himself harsh neither to the christians nor to anyone else, but in regard to affairs of war he was a weakling and did not wish this thing even to come to his ears. hoamer, accordingly, his nephew and an able warrior, led the armies against any with whom the vandals were at war; he it was whom they called the achilles of the vandals. during the reign of this ilderic the vandals were defeated in byzacium by the moors, who were ruled by antalas, and it so fell out that they became enemies instead of allies and friends to theoderic and the goths in italy. for they put amalafrida in prison and destroyed all the goths, charging them with revolutionary designs against the vandals and ilderic. however, no revenge came from theoderic, for he considered himself unable to gather a great fleet and make an expedition into libya, and ilderic was a very particular friend and guest-friend of justinian, who had not yet come to the throne, but was administering the government according to his pleasure; for his uncle justinus, who was emperor, was very old and not altogether experienced in matters of state. and ilderic and justinian made large presents of money to each other. now there was a certain man in the family of gizeric, gelimer, the son of geilaris, the son of genzon, the son of gizeric, who was of such age as to be second only to ilderic, and for this reason he was expected to come into the kingdom very soon. this man was thought to be the best warrior of his time, but for the rest he was a cunning fellow and base at heart and well versed in undertaking revolutionary enterprises and in laying hold upon the money of others. now this gelimer, when he saw the power coming to him, was not able to live in his accustomed way, but assumed to himself the tasks of a king and usurped the rule, though it was not yet due him; and since ilderic in a spirit of friendliness gave in to him, he was no longer able to restrain his thoughts, but allying with himself all the noblest of the vandals, he persuaded them to wrest the kingdom from ilderic, as being an unwarlike king who had been defeated by the moors, and as betraying the power of the vandals into the hand of the emperor justinus, in order that the kingdom might not come to him, because he was of the other branch of the family; for he asserted slanderously that this was the meaning of ilderic's embassy to byzantium, and that he was giving over the empire of the vandals to justinus. and they, being persuaded, carried out this plan. [ a.d.] thus gelimer seized the supreme power, and imprisoned ilderic, after he had ruled over the vandals seven years, and also hoamer and his brother euagees. [ a.d.] but when justinian heard these things, having already received the imperial power, he sent envoys to gelimer in libya with the following letter: "you are not acting in a holy manner nor worthily of the will of gizeric, keeping in prison an old man and a kinsman and the king of the vandals (if the counsels of gizeric are to be of effect), and robbing him of his office by violence, though it would be possible for you to receive it after a short time in a lawful manner. do you therefore do no further wrong and do not exchange the name of king for the title of tyrant, which comes but a short time earlier. but as for this man, whose death may be expected at any moment, allow him to bear in appearance the form of royal power, while you do all the things which it is proper that a king should do; and wait until you can receive from time and the law of gizeric, and from them alone, the name which belongs to the position. for if you do this, the attitude of the almighty will be favourable and at the same time our relations with you will be friendly." such was his message. but gelimer sent the envoys away with nothing accomplished, and he blinded hoamer and also kept ilderic and euagees in closer confinement, charging them with planning flight to byzantium. and when this too was heard by the emperor justinian, he sent envoys a second time and wrote as follows: "we, indeed, supposed that you would never go contrary to our advice when we wrote you the former letter. but since it pleases you to have secured possession of the royal power in the manner in which you have taken and now hold it, get from it whatever heaven grants. but do you send to us ilderic, and hoamer whom you have blinded, and his brother, to receive what comfort they can who have been robbed of a kingdom or of sight; for we shall not let the matter rest if you do not do this. and i speak thus because we are led by the hope which i had based on our friendship. and the treaty with gizeric will not stand as an obstacle for us. for it is not to make war upon him who has succeeded to the kingdom of gizeric that we come, but to avenge gizeric with all our power." when gelimer had read this, he replied as follows: "king gelimer to the emperor justinian. neither have i taken the office by violence nor has anything unholy been done by me to my kinsmen. for ilderic, while planning a revolution against the house of gizeric, was dethroned by the nation of the vandals; and i was called to the kingdom by my years, which gave me the preference, according to the law at least. now it is well for one to administer the kingly office which belongs to him and not to make the concerns of others his own. hence for you also, who have a kingdom, meddling in other's affairs is not just; and if you break the treaty and come against us, we shall oppose you with all our power, calling to witness the oaths which were sworn by zeno, from whom you have received the kingdom which you hold." the emperor justinian, upon receiving this letter, having been angry with gelimer even before then, was still more eager to punish him. and it seemed to him best to put an end to the persian war as soon as possible and then to make an expedition to libya; and since he was quick at forming a plan and prompt in carrying out his decisions, belisarius, the general of the east, was summoned and came to him immediately, no announcement having been made to him nor to anyone else that he was about to lead an army against libya, but it was given out that he had been removed from the office which he held. and straightway the treaty with persia was made, as has been told in the preceding narrative.[ ] x and when the emperor justinian considered that the situation was as favourable as possible, both as to domestic affairs and as to his relations with persia, he took under consideration the situation in libya. but when he disclosed to the magistrates that he was gathering an army against the vandals and gelimer, the most of them began immediately to show hostility to the plan, and they lamented it as a misfortune, recalling the expedition of the emperor leon and the disaster of basiliscus, and reciting how many soldiers had perished and how much money the state had lost. but the men who were the most sorrowful of all, and who, by reason of their anxiety, felt the keenest regret, were the pretorian prefect, whom the romans call "praetor," and the administrator of the treasury, and all to whom had been assigned the collection of either public or imperial[ ] taxes, for they reasoned that while it would be necessary for them to produce countless sums for the needs of the war, they would be granted neither pardon in case of failure nor extension of time in which to raise these sums. and every one of the generals, supposing that he himself would command the army, was in terror and dread at the greatness of the danger, if it should be necessary for him, if he were preserved from the perils of the sea, to encamp in the enemy's land, and, using his ships as a base, to engage in a struggle against a kingdom both large and formidable. the soldiers, also, having recently returned from a long, hard war, and having not yet tasted to the full the blessings of home, were in despair, both because they were being led into sea-fighting,--a thing which they had not learned even from tradition before then,--and because they were sent from the eastern frontier to the west, in order to risk their lives against vandals and moors. but all the rest, as usually happens in a great throng, wished to be spectators of new adventures while others faced the dangers. but as for saying anything to the emperor to prevent the expedition, no one dared to do this except john the cappadocian, the pretorian prefect, a man of the greatest daring and the cleverest of all men of his time. for this john, while all the others were bewailing in silence the fortune which was upon them, came before the emperor and spoke as follows: "o emperor, the good faith which thou dost shew in dealing with thy subjects enables us to speak frankly regarding anything which will be of advantage to thy government, even though what is said and done may not be agreeable to thee. for thus does thy wisdom temper thy authority with justice, in that thou dost not consider that man only as loyal to thy cause who serves thee under any and all conditions, nor art thou angry with the man who speaks against thee, but by weighing all things by pure reason alone, thou hast often shewn that it involves us in no danger to oppose thy purposes. led by these considerations, o emperor, i have come to offer this advice, knowing that, though i shall give perhaps offence at the moment, if it so chance, yet in the future the loyalty which i bear you will be made clear, and that for this i shall be able to shew thee as a witness. for if, through not hearkening to my words, thou shalt carry out the war against the vandals, it will come about, if the struggle is prolonged for thee, that my advice will win renown. for if thou hast confidence that thou wilt conquer the enemy, it is not at all unreasonable that thou shouldst sacrifice the lives of men and expend a vast amount of treasure, and undergo the difficulties of the struggle; for victory, coming at the end, covers up all the calamities of war. but if in reality these things lie on the knees of god, and if it behoves us, taking example from what has happened in the past, to fear the outcome of war, on what grounds is it not better to love a state of quiet rather than the dangers of mortal strife? thou art purposing to make an expedition against carthage, to which, if one goes by land, the journey is one of a hundred and forty days, and if one goes by water, he is forced to cross the whole open sea and go to its very end. so that he who brings thee news of what will happen in the camp must needs reach thee a year after the event. and one might add that if thou art victorious over thy enemy, thou couldst not take possession of libya while sicily and italy lie in the hands of others; and at the same time, if any reverse befall thee, o emperor, the treaty having already been broken by thee, thou wilt bring the danger upon our own land. in fact, putting all in a word, it will not be possible for thee to reap the fruits of victory, and at the same time any reversal of fortune will bring harm to what is well established. it is before an enterprise that wise planning is useful. for when men have failed, repentance is of no avail, but before disaster comes there is no danger in altering plans. therefore it will be of advantage above all else to make fitting use of the decisive moment." thus spoke john; and the emperor justinian, hearkening to his words, checked his eager desire for the war. but one of the priests whom they call bishops, who had come from the east, said that he wished to have a word with the emperor. and when he met justinian, he said that god had visited him in a dream, and bidden him go to the emperor and rebuke him, because, after undertaking the task of protecting the christians in libya from tyrants, he had for no good reason become afraid. "and yet," he had said, "i will myself join with him in waging war and make him lord of libya." when the emperor heard this, he was no longer able to restrain his purpose, and he began to collect the army and the ships, and to make ready supplies of weapons and of food, and he announced to belisarius that he should be in readiness, because he was very soon to act as general in libya. meanwhile pudentius, one of the natives of tripolis in libya, caused this district to revolt from the vandals, and sending to the emperor he begged that he should despatch an army to him; for, he said, he would with no trouble win the land for the emperor. and justinian sent him tattimuth and an army of no very great size. this force pudentius joined with his own troops and, the vandals being absent, he gained possession of the land and made it subject to the emperor. and gelimer, though wishing to inflict punishment upon pudentius, found the following obstacle in his way. there was a certain godas among the slaves of gelimer, a goth by birth, a passionate and energetic fellow possessed of great bodily strength, but appearing to be well-disposed to the cause of his master. to this godas gelimer entrusted the island of sardinia, in order both to guard the island and to pay over the annual tribute. but he neither could digest the prosperity brought by fortune nor had he the spirit to endure it, and so he undertook to establish a tyranny, and he refused to continue the payment of the tribute, and actually detached the island from the vandals and held it himself. and when he perceived that the emperor justinian was eager to make war against libya and gelimer, he wrote to him as follows: "it was neither because i yielded to folly nor because i had suffered anything unpleasant at my master's hands that i turned my thoughts towards rebellion, but seeing the extreme cruelty of the man both toward his kinsmen and toward his subjects, i could not, willingly at least, be reputed to have a share in his inhumanity. for it is better to serve a just king than a tyrant whose commands are unlawful. but do thou join with me to assist in this my effort and send soldiers so that i may be able to ward off my assailants." and the emperor, on receiving this letter, was pleased, and he sent eulogius as envoy and wrote a letter praising godas for his wisdom and his zeal for justice, and he promised an alliance and soldiers and a general, who would be able to guard the island with him and to assist him in every other way, so that no trouble should come to him from the vandals. but eulogius, upon coming to sardinia, found that godas was assuming the name and wearing the dress of a king and that he had attached a body-guard to his person. and when godas read the emperor's letter, he said that it was his wish to have soldiers, indeed, come to fight along with him, but as for a commander, he had absolutely no desire for one. and having written to the emperor in this sense, he dismissed eulogius. xi the emperor, meanwhile, not having yet ascertained these things, was preparing four hundred soldiers with cyril as commander, who were to assist godas in guarding the island. and with them he also had in readiness the expedition against carthage, ten thousand foot-soldiers, and five thousand horsemen, gathered from the regular troops and from the "foederati." now at an earlier time only barbarians were enlisted among the foederati, those, namely, who had come into the roman political system, not in the condition of slaves, since they had not been conquered by the romans, but on the basis of complete equality.[ ] for the romans call treaties with their enemies "foedera." but at the present time there is nothing to prevent anyone from assuming this name, since time will by no means consent to keep names attached to the things to which they were formerly applied, but conditions are ever changing about according to the desire of men who control them, and men pay little heed to the meaning which they originally attached to a name. and the commanders of the foederati were dorotheus, the general of the troops in armenia, and solomon, who was acting as manager for the general belisarius; (such a person the romans call "domesticus." now this solomon was a eunuch, but it was not by the devising of man that he had suffered mutilation, but some accident which befell him while in swaddling clothes had imposed this lot upon him); and there were also cyprian, valerian, martinus, althias, john, marcellus, and the cyril whom i have mentioned above; and the commanders of the regular cavalry were rufinus and aïgan, who were of the house of belisarius, and barbatus and pappus, while the regular infantry was commanded by theodorus, who was surnamed cteanus, and terentius, zaïdus, marcian, and sarapis. and a certain john, a native of epidamnus, which is now called dyrrachium, held supreme command over all the leaders of infantry. among all these commanders solomon was from a place in the east, at the very extremity of the roman domain, where the city called daras now stands, and aïgan was by birth of the massagetae whom they now call huns; and the rest were almost all inhabitants of the land of thrace. and there followed with them also four hundred eruli, whom pharas led, and about six hundred barbarian allies from the nation of the massagetae, all mounted bowmen; these were led by sinnion and balas, men endowed with bravery and endurance in the highest degree. and for the whole force five hundred ships were required, no one of which was able to carry more than fifty thousand medimni,[ ] nor any one less than three thousand. and in all the vessels together there were thirty thousand sailors, egyptians and ionians for the most part, and cilicians, and one commander was appointed over all the ships, calonymus of alexandria. and they had also ships of war prepared as for sea-fighting, to the number of ninety-two, and they were single-banked ships covered by decks, in order that the men rowing them might if possible not be exposed to the bolts of the enemy. such boats are called "dromones"[ ] by those of the present time; for they are able to attain a great speed. in these sailed two thousand men of byzantium, who were all rowers as well as fighting men; for there was not a single superfluous man among them. and archelaus was also sent, a man of patrician standing who had already been pretorian prefect both in byzantium and in illyricum, but he then held the position of prefect of the army; for thus the officer charged with the maintenance of the army is designated. but as general with supreme authority over all the emperor sent belisarius, who was in command of the troops of the east for the second time. and he was followed by many spearmen and many guards as well, men who were capable warriors and thoroughly experienced in the dangers of fighting. and the emperor gave him written instructions, bidding him do everything as seemed best to him, and stating that his acts would be final, as if the emperor himself had done them. the writing, in fact, gave him the power of a king. now belisarius was a native of germania, which lies between thrace and illyricum. these things, then, took place in this way. gelimer, however, being deprived of tripolis by pudentius and of sardinia by godas, scarcely hoped to regain tripolis, since it was situated at a great distance and the rebels were already being assisted by the romans, against whom just at that moment it seemed to him best not to take the field; but he was eager to get to the island before any army sent by the emperor to fight for his enemies should arrive there. he accordingly selected five thousand of the vandals and one hundred and twenty ships of the fastest kind, and appointing as general his brother tzazon, he sent them off. and so they were sailing with great enthusiasm and eagerness against godas and sardinia. in the meantime the emperor justinian was sending off valerian and martinus in advance of the others in order to await the rest of the army in the peloponnesus. and when these two had embarked upon their ships, it came to the emperor's mind that there was something which he wished to enjoin upon them,--a thing which he had wished to say previously, but he had been so busied with the other matters of which he had to speak that his mind had been occupied with them and this subject had been driven out. he summoned them, accordingly, intending to say what he wished, but upon considering the matter, he saw that it would not be propitious for them to interrupt their journey. he therefore sent men to forbid them either to return to him or to disembark from their ships. and these men, upon coming near the ships, commanded them with much shouting and loud cries by no means to turn back, and it seemed to those present that the thing which had happened was no good omen and that never would one of the men in those ships return from libya to byzantium. for besides the omen they suspected that a curse also had come to the men from the emperor, not at all by his own will, so that they would not return. now if anyone should so interpret the incident with regard to these two commanders, valerian and martinus, he will find the original opinion untrue. but there was a certain man among the body-guards of martinus, stotzas by name, who was destined to be an enemy of the emperor, to make an attempt to set up a tyranny, and by no means to return to byzantium, and one might suppose that curse to have been turned upon him by heaven. but whether this matter stands thus or otherwise, i leave to each one to reason out as he wishes. but i shall proceed to tell how the general belisarius and the army departed. xii [ a.d.] in the seventh year of justinian's reign, at about the spring equinox, the emperor commanded the general's ship to anchor off the point which is before the royal palace. thither came also epiphanius, the chief priest of the city, and after uttering an appropriate prayer, he put on the ships one of the soldiers who had lately been baptized and had taken the christian name. and after this the general belisarius and antonina, his wife, set sail. and there was with them also procopius, who wrote this history; now previously he had been exceedingly terrified at the danger, but later he had seen a vision in his sleep which caused him to take courage and made him eager to go on the expedition. for it seemed in the dream that he was in the house of belisarius, and one of the servants entering announced that some men had come bearing gifts; and belisarius bade him investigate what sort of gifts they were, and he went out into the court and saw men who carried on their shoulders earth with the flowers and all. and he bade him bring these men into the house and deposit the earth they were carrying in the portico; and belisarius together with his guardsmen came there, and he himself reclined on that earth and ate of the flowers, and urged the others to do likewise; and as they reclined and ate, as if upon a couch, the food seemed to them exceedingly sweet. such, then, was the vision of the dream. and the whole fleet followed the general's ship, and they put in at perinthus, which is now called heracleia,[ ] where five days' time was spent by the army, since at that place the general received as a present from the emperor an exceedingly great number of horses from the royal pastures, which are kept for him in the territory of thrace. and setting sail from there, they anchored off abydus, and it came about as they were delaying there four days on account of the lack of wind that the following event took place. two massagetae killed one of their comrades who was ridiculing them, in the midst of their intemperate drinking; for they were intoxicated. for of all men the massagetae are the most intemperate drinkers. belisarius, accordingly, straightway impaled these two men on the hill which is near abydus. and since all, and especially the relatives of these two men, were angry and declared that it was not in order to be punished nor to be subject to the laws of the romans that they had entered into an alliance (for their own laws did not make the punishment for murder such _as_ this, they said); and since they were joined in voicing the accusation against the general even by roman soldiers, who were anxious that there should be no punishment for their offences, belisarius called together both the massagetae and the rest of the army and spoke as follows: "if my words were addressed to men now for the first time entering into war, it would require a long time for me to convince you by speech how great a help justice is for gaining the victory. for those who do not understand the fortunes of such struggles think that the outcome of war lies in strength of arm alone. but you, who have often conquered an enemy not inferior to you in strength of body and well endowed with valour, you who have often tried your strength against your opponents, you, i think, are not ignorant that, while it is men who always do the fighting in either army, it is god who judges the contest as seems best to him and bestows the victory in battle. now since this is so, it is fitting to consider good bodily condition and practice in arms and all the other provision for war of less account than justice and those things which pertain to god. for that which may possibly be of greatest advantage to men in need would naturally be honoured by them above all other things. now the first proof of justice would be the punishment of those who have committed unjust murder. for if it is incumbent upon us to sit in judgment upon the actions which from time to time are committed by men toward their neighbours, and to adjudge and to name the just and the unjust action, we should find that nothing is more precious to a man than his life. and if any barbarian who has slain his kinsman expects to find indulgence in his trial on the ground that he was drunk, in all fairness he makes the charge so much the worse by reason of the very circumstance by which, as he alleges, his guilt is removed. for it is not right for a man under any circumstances, and especially when serving in an army, to be so drunk as readily to kill his dearest friends; nay, the drunkenness itself, even if the murder is not added at all, is worthy of punishment; and when a kinsman is wronged, the crime would clearly be of greater moment as regards punishment than when committed against those who are not kinsmen, at least in the eyes of men of sense. now the example is before you and you may see what sort of an outcome such actions have. but as for you, it is your duty to avoid laying violent hands upon anyone without provocation, or carrying off the possessions of others; for i shall not overlook it, be assured, and i shall not consider anyone of you a fellow-soldier of mine, no matter how terrible he is reputed to be to the foe, who is not able to use clean hands against the enemy. for bravery cannot be victorious unless it be arrayed along with justice." so spoke belisarius. and the whole army, hearing what was said and looking up at the two men impaled, felt an overwhelming fear come over them and took thought to conduct their lives with moderation, for they saw that they would not be free from great danger if they should be caught doing anything unlawful. xiii after this belisarius bethought him how his whole fleet should always keep together as it sailed and should anchor in the same place. for he knew that in a large fleet, and especially if rough winds should assail them, it was inevitable that many of the ships should be left behind and scattered on the open sea, and that their pilots should not know which of the ships that put to sea ahead of them it was better to follow. so after considering the matter, he did as follows. the sails of the three ships in which he and his following were carried he painted red from the upper corner for about one third of their length, and he erected upright poles on the prow of each, and hung lights from them, so that both by day and by night the general's ships might be distinguishable; then he commanded all the pilots to follow these ships. thus with the three ships leading the whole fleet not a single ship was left behind. and whenever they were about to put out from a harbour, the trumpets announced this to them. and upon setting out from abydus they met with strong winds which carried them to sigeum. and again in calm weather they proceeded more leisurely to malea, where the calm proved of the greatest advantage to them. for since they had a great fleet and exceedingly large ships, as night came on everything was thrown into confusion by reason of their being crowded into small space, and they were brought into extreme peril. at that time both the pilots and the rest of the sailors shewed themselves skilful and efficient, for while shouting at the top of their voices and making a great noise they kept pushing the ships apart with their poles, and cleverly kept the distances between their different vessels; but if a wind had arisen, whether a following or a head wind, it seems to me that the sailors would hardly have preserved themselves and their ships. but as it was, they escaped, as i have said, and put in at taenarum, which is now called caenopolis.[ ] then, pressing on from there, they touched at methone, and found valerian and martinus with their men, who had reached the same place a short time before. and since there were no winds blowing, belisarius anchored the ships there, and disembarked the whole army; and after they were on shore he assigned the commanders their positions and drew up the soldiers. and while he was thus engaged and no wind at all arose, it came about that many of the soldiers were destroyed by disease caused in the following manner. the pretorian prefect, john, was a man of worthless character, and so skilful at devising ways of bringing money into the public treasury to the detriment of men that i, for my part, should never be competent to describe this trait of his. but this has been said in the preceding pages, when i was brought to this point by my narrative.[ ] but i shall tell in the present case in what manner he destroyed the soldiers. the bread which soldiers are destined to eat in camp must of necessity be put twice into the oven, and be cooked so carefully as to last for a very long period and not spoil in a short time, and loaves cooked in this way necessarily weigh less; and for this reason, when such bread is distributed, the soldiers generally received as their portion one-fourth more than the usual weight.[ ] john, therefore, calculating how he might reduce the amount of firewood used and have less to pay to the bakers in wages, and also how he might not lose in the weight of the bread, brought the still uncooked dough to the public baths of achilles, in the basement of which the fire is kept burning, and bade his men set it down there. and when it seemed to be cooked in some fashion or other, he threw it into bags, put it on the ships, and sent it off. and when the fleet arrived at methone, the loaves disintegrated and returned again to flour, not wholesome flour, however, but rotten and becoming mouldy and already giving out a sort of oppressive odour. and the loaves were dispensed by measure[ ] to the soldiers by those to whom this office was assigned, and they were already making the distribution of the bread by quarts and bushels. and the soldiers, feeding upon this in the summer time in a place where the climate is very hot, became sick, and not less than five hundred of them died; and the same thing was about to happen to more, but belisarius prevented it by ordering the bread of the country to be furnished them. and reporting the matter to the emperor, he himself gained in favour, but he did not at that time bring any punishment upon john. these events, then, took place in the manner described. and setting out from methone they reached the harbour of zacynthus, where they took in enough water to last them in crossing the adriatic sea, and after making all their other preparations, sailed on. but since the wind they had was very gentle and languid, it was only on the sixteenth day that they came to land at a deserted place in sicily near which mount aetna rises. and while they were being delayed in this passage, as has been said, it so happened that the water of the whole fleet was spoiled, except that which belisarius himself and his table-companions were drinking. for this alone was preserved by the wife of belisarius in the following manner. she filled with water jars made of glass and constructed a small room with planks in the hold of the ship where it was impossible for the sun to penetrate, and there she sank the jars in sand, and by this means the water remained unaffected. so much, then, for this. xiv and as soon as belisarius had disembarked upon the island, he began to feel restless, knowing not how to proceed, and his mind was tormented by the thought that he did not know what sort of men the vandals were against whom he was going, and how strong they were in war, or in what manner the romans would have to wage the war, or what place would be their base of operations. but most of all he was disturbed by the soldiers, who were in mortal dread of sea-fighting and had no shame in saying beforehand that, if they should be disembarked on the land, they would try to show themselves brave men in the battle, but if hostile ships assailed them, they would turn to flight; for, they said, they were not able to contend against two enemies at once, both men and water. being at a loss, therefore, because of all these things, he sent procopius, his adviser, to syracuse, to find out whether the enemy had any ships in ambush keeping watch over the passage across the sea, either on the island or on the continent, and where it would be best for them to anchor in libya, and from what point as base it would be advantageous for them to start in carrying on the war against the vandals. and he bade him, when he should have accomplished his commands, return and meet him at the place called caucana,[ ] about two hundred stades distant from syracuse, where both he and the whole fleet were to anchor. but he let it be understood that he was sending him to buy provisions, since the goths were willing to give them a market, this having been decided upon by the emperor justinian and amalasountha, the mother of antalaric,[ ] who was at that time a boy being reared under the care of his mother, amalasountha, and held sway over both the goths and the italians. for when theoderic had died and the kingdom came to his nephew, antalaric, who had already before this lost his father, amalasountha was fearful both for her child and for the kingdom and cultivated the friendship of justinian very carefully, and she gave heed to his commands in all matters and at that time promised to provide a market for his army and did so. now when procopius reached syracuse, he unexpectedly met a man who had been a fellow-citizen and friend of his from childhood, who had been living in syracuse for a long time engaged in the shipping business, and he learned from him what he wanted; for this man showed him a domestic who had three days before that very day come from carthage, and he said that they need not suspect that there would be any ambush set for the fleet by the vandals. for from no one in the world had they learned that an army was coming against them at that time, but all the active men among the vandals had actually a little before gone on an expedition against godas. and for this reason gelimer, with no thought of an enemy in his mind and regardless of carthage and all the other places on the sea, was staying in hermione, which is in byzacium, four days' journey distant from the coast; so that it was possible for them to sail without fearing any difficulty and to anchor wherever the wind should call them. when procopius heard this, he took the hand of the domestic and walked to the harbour of arethousa where his boat lay at anchor, making many enquiries of the man and searching out every detail. and going on board the ship with him, he gave orders to raise the sails and to make all speed for caucana. and since the master of the domestic stood on the shore wondering that he did not give him back the man, procopius shouted out, when the ship was already under way, begging him not to be angry with him; for it was necessary that the domestic should meet the general, and, after leading the army to libya, would return after no long time to syracuse with much money in his pocket. but upon coming to caucana they found all in deep grief. for dorotheus, the general of the troops of armenia, had died there, leaving to the whole army a great sense of loss. but belisarius, when the domestic had come before him and related his whole story, became exceedingly glad, and after bestowing many praises upon procopius, he issued orders to give the signal for departure with the trumpets. and setting sail quickly they touched at the islands of gaulus and melita,[ ] which mark the boundary between the adriatic and tuscan seas. there a strong east wind arose for them, and on the following day it carried the ships to the point of libya, at the place which the romans call in their own tongue "shoal's head." for its name is "caputvada," and it is five days' journey from carthage for an unencumbered traveller. xv and when they came near the shore, the general bade them furl the sails, throw out anchors from the ships, and make a halt; and calling together all the commanders to his own ship, he opened a discussion with regard to the disembarkation. thereupon many speeches were made inclining to either side, and archelaus came forward and spoke as follows: "i admire, indeed, the virtue of our general, who, while surpassing all by far in judgment and possessing the greatest wealth of experience, and at the same time holding the power alone, has proposed an open discussion and bids each one of us speak, so that we shall be able to choose whichever course seems best, though it is possible for him to decide alone on what is needful and at his leisure to put it into execution as he wishes. but as for you, my fellow officers--i do not know how i am to say it easily--one might wonder that each one did not hasten to be the first to oppose the disembarkation. and yet i understand that the making of suggestions to those who are entering upon a perilous course brings no personal advantage to him who offers the advice, but as a general thing results in bringing blame upon him. for when things go well for men, they attribute their success to their own judgment or to fortune, but when they fail, they blame only the one who has advised them. nevertheless i shall speak out. for it is not right for those who deliberate about safety to shrink from blame. you are purposing to disembark on the enemy's land, fellow-officers; but in what harbour are you planning to place the ships in safety? or in what city's wall will you find security for yourselves? have you not then heard that this promontory--i mean from carthage to iouce--extends, they say, for a journey of nine days, altogether without harbours and lying open to the wind from whatever quarter it may blow? and not a single walled town is left in all libya except carthage, thanks to the decision of gizeric.[ ] and one might add that in this place, they say, water is entirely lacking. come now, if you wish, let us suppose that some adversity befall us, and with this in view make the decision. for that those who enter into contests of arms should expect no difficulty is not in keeping with human experience nor with the nature of things. if, then, after we have disembarked upon the mainland, a storm should fall upon us, will it not be necessary that one of two things befall the ships, either that they flee away as far as possible, or perish upon this promontory? secondly, what means will there be of supplying us with necessities? let no one look to me as the officer charged with the maintenance of the army. for every official, when deprived of the means of administering his office, is of necessity reduced to the name and character of a private person. and where shall we deposit our superfluous arms or any other part of our necessaries when we are compelled to receive the attack of the barbarians? nay, as for this, it is not well even to say how it will turn out. but i think that we ought to make straight for carthage. for they say that there is a harbour called stagnum not more than forty stades distant from that city, which is entirely unguarded and large enough for the whole fleet. and if we make this the base of our operations, we shall carry on the war without difficulty. and i, for my part, think it likely that we shall win carthage by a sudden attack, especially since the enemy are far away from it, and that after we have won it we shall have no further trouble. for it is a way with all men's undertakings that when the chief point has been captured, they collapse after no long time. it behoves us, therefore, to bear in mind all these things and to choose the best course." so spoke archelaus. and belisarius spoke as follows: "let no one of you, fellow-officers, think that my words are those of censure, nor that they are spoken in the last place to the end that it may become necessary for all to follow them, of whatever sort they may be. for i have heard what seems best to each one of you, and it is becoming that i too should lay before you what i think, and then with you should choose the better course. but it is right to remind you of this fact, that the soldiers said openly a little earlier that they feared the dangers by sea and would turn to flight if a hostile ship should attack them, and we prayed god to shew us the land of libya and allow us a peaceful disembarkation upon it. and since this is so, i think it the part of foolish men first to pray to receive from god the more favourable fortune, then when this is given them, to reject it and go in the contrary direction. and if we do sail straight for carthage and a hostile fleet encounters us, the soldiers will remain without blame, if they flee with all their might--for a delinquency announced beforehand carries with it its own defence--but for us, even if we come through safely, there will be no forgiveness. now while there are many difficulties if we remain in the ships, it will be sufficient, i think, to mention only one thing,--that by which especially they wish to frighten us when they hold over our heads the danger of a storm. for if any storm should fall upon us, one of two things, they say, must necessarily befall the ships, either that they flee far from libya or be destroyed upon this headland. what then under the present circumstances will be more to our advantage to choose? to have the ships alone destroyed, or to have lost everything, men and all? but apart from this, at the present time we shall fall upon the enemy unprepared, and in all probability shall fare as we desire; for in warfare it is the unexpected which is accustomed to govern the course of events. but a little later, when the enemy have already made their preparation, the struggle we shall have will be one of strength evenly matched. and one might add that it will be necessary perhaps to fight even for the disembarkation, and to seek for that which now we have within our grasp but over which we are deliberating as a thing not necessary. and if at the very time, when we are engaged in conflict, a storm also comes upon us, as often happens on the sea, then while struggling both against the waves and against the vandals, we shall come to regret our prudence. as for me, then, i say that we must disembark upon the land with all possible speed, landing horses and arms and whatever else we consider necessary for our use, and that we must dig a trench quickly and throw a stockade around us of a kind which can contribute to our safety no less than any walled town one might mention, and with that as our base must carry on the war from there if anyone should attack us. and if we shew ourselves brave men, we shall lack nothing in the way of provisions. for those who hold the mastery over their enemy are lords also of the enemy's possessions; and it is the way of victory, first to invest herself with all the wealth, and then to set it down again on that side to which she inclines. therefore, for you both the chance of safety and of having an abundance of good things lies in your own hands." when belisarius had said this, the whole assembly agreed and adopted his proposal, and separating from one another, they made the disembarkation as quickly as possible, about three months later than their departure from byzantium. and indicating a certain spot on the shore the general bade both soldiers and sailors dig the trench and place the stockade about it. and they did as directed. and since a great throng was working and fear was stimulating their enthusiasm and the general was urging them on, not only was the trench dug on the same day, but the stockade was also completed and the pointed stakes were fixed in place all around. then, indeed, while they were digging the trench, something happened which was altogether amazing. a great abundance of water sprang forth from the earth, a thing which had not happened before in byzacium, and besides this the place where they were was altogether waterless. now this water sufficed for all uses of both men and animals. and in congratulating the general, procopius said that he rejoiced at the abundance of water, not so much because of its usefulness, as because it seemed to him a symbol of an easy victory, and that heaven was foretelling a victory to them. this, at any rate, actually came to pass. so for that night all the soldiers bivouacked in the camp, setting guards and doing everything else as was customary, except, indeed, that belisarius commanded five bowmen to remain in each ship for the purpose of a guard, and that the ships-of-war should anchor in a circle about them, taking care that no one should come against them to do them harm. xvi but on the following day, when some of the soldiers went out into the fields and laid hands on the fruit, the general inflicted corporal punishment of no casual sort upon them, and he called all the army together and spoke as follows: "this using of violence and the eating of that which belongs to others seems at other times a wicked thing only on this account, that injustice is in the deed itself, as the saying is; but in the present instance so great an element of detriment is added to the wrongdoing that--if it is not too harsh to say so--we must consider the question of justice of less account and calculate the magnitude of the danger that may arise from your act. for i have disembarked you upon this land basing my confidence on this alone, that the libyans, being romans from of old, are unfaithful and hostile to the vandals, and for this reason i thought that no necessaries would fail us and, besides, that the enemy would not do us any injury by a sudden attack. but now this your lack of self-control has changed it all and made the opposite true. for you have doubtless reconciled the libyans to the vandals, bringing their hostility round upon your own selves. for by nature those who are wronged feel enmity toward those who have done them violence, and it has come round to this that you have exchanged your own safety and a bountiful supply of good things for some few pieces of silver, when it was possible for you, by purchasing provisions from willing owners, not to appear unjust and at the same time to enjoy their friendship to the utmost. now, therefore, the war will be between you and both vandals and libyans, and i, at least, say further that it will be against god himself, whose aid no one who does wrong can invoke. but do you cease trespassing wantonly upon the possessions of others, and reject a gain which is full of dangers. for this is that time in which above all others moderation is able to save, but lawlessness leads to death. for if you give heed to these things, you will find god propitious, the libyan people well-disposed, and the race of the vandals open to your attack." with these words belisarius dismissed the assembly. and at that time he heard that the city of syllectus was distant one day's journey from the camp, lying close to the sea on the road leading to carthage, and that the wall of this city had been torn down for a long time, but the inhabitants of the place had made a barrier on all sides by means of the walls of their houses, on account of the attacks of the moors, and guarded a kind of fortified enclosure; he, accordingly, sent one of his spearmen, boriades, together with some of the guards, commanding them to make an attempt oh the city, and, if they captured it, to do no harm in it, but to promise a thousand good things and to say that they had come for the sake of the people's freedom, that so the army might be able to enter into it. and they came near the city about dusk and passed the night hidden in a ravine. but at early dawn, meeting country folk going into the city with waggons, they entered quietly with them and with no trouble took possession of the city. and when day came, no one having begun any disturbance, they called together the priest and all the other notables and announced the commands of the general, and receiving the keys of the entrances from willing hands, they sent them to the general. on the same day the overseer of the public post deserted, handing over all the government horses. and they captured also one of those who are occasionally sent to bear the royal responses, whom they call "veredarii"[ ]; and the general did him no harm but presented him with much gold and, receiving pledges from him, put into his hand the letter which the emperor justinian had written to the vandals, that he might give it to the magistrates of the vandals. and the writing was as follows: "neither have we decided to make war upon the vandals, nor are we breaking the treaty of gizeric, but we are attempting to dethrone your tyrant, who, making light of the testament of gizeric, has imprisoned your king and is keeping him in custody, and those of his relatives whom he hated exceedingly he put to death at the first, and the rest, after robbing them of their sight, he keeps under guard, not allowing them to terminate their misfortunes by death. do you, therefore, join forces with us and help us in freeing yourselves from so wicked a tyranny, in order that you may be able to enjoy both peace and freedom. for we give you pledges in the name of god that these things will come to you by our hand." such was the message of the emperor's letter. but the man who received this from belisarius did not dare to publish it openly, and though he shewed it secretly to his friends, he accomplished nothing whatever of consequence. xvii and belisarius, having arrayed his army as for battle in the following manner, began the march to carthage. he chose out three hundred of his guards, men who were able warriors, and handed them over to john, who was in charge of the expenditures of the general's household; such a person the romans call "optio."[ ] and he was an armenian by birth, a man gifted with discretion and courage in the highest degree. this john, then, he commanded to go ahead of the army, at a distance of not less than twenty stades, and if he should see anything of the enemy, to report it with all speed, so that they might not be compelled to enter into battle unprepared. and the allied massagetae he commanded to travel constantly on the left of the army, keeping as many stades away or more; and he himself marched in the rear with the best troops. for he suspected that it would not be long before gelimer, following them from hermione, would make an attack upon them. and these precautions were sufficient, for on the right side there was no fear, since they were travelling not far from the coast. and he commanded the sailors to follow along with them always and not to separate themselves far from the army, but when the wind was favouring to lower the great sails, and follow with the small sails, which they call "dolones,"[ ] and when the wind dropped altogether to keep the ships under way as well as they could by rowing. and when belisarius reached syllectus, the soldiers behaved with moderation, and they neither began any unjust brawls nor did anything out of the way, and he himself, by displaying great gentleness and kindness, won the libyans to his side so completely that thereafter he made the journey as if in his own land; for neither did the inhabitants of the land withdraw nor did they wish to conceal anything, but they both furnished a market and served the soldiers in whatever else they wished. and accomplishing eighty stades each day, we completed the whole journey to carthage, passing the night either in a city, should it so happen, or in a camp made as thoroughly secure as the circumstances permitted. thus we passed through the city of leptis and hadrumetum and reached the place called grasse, three hundred and fifty stades distant from carthage. in that place was a palace of the ruler of the vandals and a park the most beautiful of all we know. for it is excellently watered by springs and has a great wealth of woods. and all the trees are full of fruit; so that each one of the soldiers pitched his tent among fruit-trees, and though all of them ate their fill of the fruit, which was then ripe, there was practically no diminution to be seen in the fruit. but gelimer, as soon as he heard in hermione that the enemy were at hand, wrote to his brother ammatas in carthage to kill ilderic and all the others, connected with him either by birth or otherwise, whom he was keeping under guard, and commanded him to make ready the vandals and all others in the city serviceable for war, in order that, when the enemy got inside the narrow passage at the suburb of the city which they call decimum,[ ] they might come together from both sides and surround them and, catching them as in a net, destroy them. and ammatas carried this out, and killed ilderic, who was a relative of his, and euagees, and all the libyans who were intimate with them. for hoamer had already departed from the world.[ ] and arming the vandals, he made them ready, intending to make his attack at the opportune moment. but gelimer was following behind, without letting it be known to us, except, indeed, that, on that night when we bivouacked in grasse, scouts coming from both armies met each other, and after an exchange of blows they each retired to their own camp, and in this way it became evident to us that the enemy were not far away. as we proceeded from there it was impossible to discern the ships. for high rocks extending well into the sea cause mariners to make a great circuit, and there is a projecting headland,[ ] inside of which lies the town of hermes. belisarius therefore commanded archelaus, the prefect, and calonymus, the admiral, not to put in at carthage, but to remain about two hundred stades away until he himself should summon them. and departing from grasse we came on the fourth day to decimum, seventy stades distant from carthage. xviii and on that day gelimer commanded his nephew gibamundus with two thousand of the vandals to go ahead of the rest of the army on the left side, in order that ammatas coming from carthage, gelimer himself from the rear, and gibamundus from the country to the left, might unite and accomplish the task of encircling the enemy with less difficulty and exertion. but as for me, during this struggle i was moved to wonder at the ways of heaven and of men, noting how god, who sees from afar what will come to pass, traces out the manner in which it seems best to him that things should come to pass, while men, whether they are deceived or counsel aright, know not that they have failed, should that be the issue, or that they have succeeded, god's purpose being that a path shall be made for fortune, who presses on inevitably toward that which has been foreordained. for if belisarius had not thus arranged his forces, commanding the men under john to take the lead, and the massagetae to march on the left of the army, we should never have been able to escape the vandals. and even with this planned so by belisarius, if ammatas had observed the opportune time, and had not anticipated this by about the fourth part of a day, never would the cause of the vandals have fallen as it did; but as it was, ammatas came to decimum about midday, in advance of the time, while both we and the vandal army were far away, erring not only in that he did not arrive at the fitting time, but also in leaving at carthage the host of the vandals, commanding them to come to decimum as quickly as possible, while he with a few men and not even the pick of the army came into conflict with john's men. and he killed twelve of the best men who were fighting in the front rank, and he himself fell, having shewn himself a brave man in this engagement. and the rout, after ammatas fell, became complete, and the vandals, fleeing at top speed, swept back all those who were coming from carthage to decimum. for they were advancing in no order and not drawn up as for battle, but in companies, and small ones at that; for they were coming in bands of twenty or thirty. and seeing the vandals under ammatas fleeing, and thinking their pursuers were a great multitude, they turned and joined in the flight. and john and his men, killing all whom they came upon, advanced as far as the gates of carthage. and there was so great a slaughter of vandals in the course of the seventy stades that those who beheld it would have supposed that it was the work of an enemy twenty thousand strong. at the same time gibamundus and his two thousand came to pedion halon, which is forty stades distant from decimum on the left as one goes to carthage, and is destitute of human habitation or trees or anything else, since the salt in the water permits nothing except salt to be produced there; in that place they encountered the huns and were all destroyed. now there was a certain man among the massagetae, well gifted with courage and strength of body, the leader of a few men; this man had the privilege handed down from his fathers and ancestors to be the first in all the hunnic armies to attack the enemy. for it was not lawful for a man of the massagetae to strike first in battle and capture one of the enemy until, indeed, someone from this house began the struggle with the enemy. so when the two armies had come not far from each other, this man rode out and stopped alone close to the army of the vandals. and the vandals, either because they were dumbfounded at the courageous spirit of the man or perhaps because they suspected that the enemy were contriving something against them, decided neither to move nor to shoot at the man. and i think that, since they had never had experience of battle with the massagetae, but heard that the nation was very warlike, they were for this reason terrified at the danger. and the man, returning to his compatriots, said that god had sent them these strangers as a ready feast. then at length they made their onset and the vandals did not withstand them, but breaking their ranks and never thinking of resistance, they were all disgracefully destroyed. xix but we, having learned nothing at all of what had happened, were going on to decimum. and belisarius, seeing a place well adapted for a camp, thirty-five stades distant from decimum, surrounded it with a stockade which was very well made, and placing all the infantry there and calling together the whole army, he spoke as follows: "fellow-soldiers, the decisive moment of the struggle is already at hand; for i perceive that the enemy are advancing upon us; and the ships have been taken far away from us by the nature of the place; and it has come round to this that our hope of safety lies in the strength of our hands. for there is not a friendly city, no, nor any other stronghold, in which we may put our trust and have confidence concerning ourselves. but if we should show ourselves brave men, it is probable that we shall still overcome the enemy in the war; but if we should weaken at all, it will remain for us to fall under the hand of the vandals and to be destroyed disgracefully. and yet there are many advantages on our side to help us on toward victory; for we have with us both justice, with which we have come against our enemy (for we are here in order to recover what is our own), and the hatred of the vandals toward their own tyrant. for the alliance of god follows naturally those who put justice forward, and a soldier who is ill-disposed toward his ruler knows not how to play the part of a brave man. and apart from this, we have been engaged with persians and scythians all the time, but the vandals, since the time they conquered libya, have seen not a single enemy except naked moors. and who does not know that in every work practice leads to skill, while idleness leads to inefficiency? now the stockade, from which we shall have to carry on the war, has been made by us in the best possible manner. and we are able to deposit here our weapons and everything else which we are not able to carry when we go forth; and when we return here again, no kind of provisions can fail us. and i pray that each one of you, calling to mind his own valour and those whom he has left at home, may so march with contempt against the enemy." after speaking these words and uttering a prayer after them, belisarius left his wife and the barricaded camp to the infantry, and himself set forth with all the horsemen. for it did not seem to him advantageous for the present to risk an engagement with the whole army, but it seemed wise to skirmish first with the horsemen and make trial of the enemy's strength, and finally to fight a decisive battle with the whole army. sending forward, therefore, the commanders of the foederati,[ ] he himself followed with the rest of the force and his own spearmen and guards. and when the foederati and their leaders reached decimum, they saw the corpses of the fallen--twelve comrades from the forces of john and near them ammatas and some of the vandals. and hearing from the inhabitants of the place the whole story of the fight, they were vexed, being at a loss as to where they ought to go. but while they were still at a loss and from the hills were looking around over the whole country thereabouts, a dust appeared from the south and a little later a very large force of vandal horsemen. and they sent to belisarius urging him to come as quickly as possible, since the enemy were bearing down upon them. and the opinions of the commanders were divided. for some thought that they ought to close with their assailants, but the others said that their force was not sufficient for this. and while they were debating thus among themselves, the barbarians drew near under the leadership of gelimer, who was following a road between the one which belisarius was travelling and the one by which the massagetae who had encountered gibamundus had come. but since the land was hilly on both sides, it did not allow him to see either the disaster of gibamundus or belisarius' stockade, nor even the road along which belisarius' men were advancing. but when they came near each other, a contest arose between the two armies as to which should capture the highest of all the hills there. for it seemed a suitable one to encamp upon, and both sides preferred to engage with the enemy from there. and the vandals, coming first, took possession of the hill by crowding off their assailants and routed the enemy, having already become an object of terror to them. and the romans in flight came to a place seven stades distant from decimum, where, as it happened, uliaris, the personal guard of belisarius, was, with eight hundred guardsmen. and all supposed that uliaris would receive them and hold his position, and together with them would go against the vandals; but when they came together, these troops all unexpectedly fled at top speed and went on the run to belisarius. from then on i am unable to say what happened to gelimer that, having the victory in his hands, he willingly gave it up to the enemy, unless one ought to refer foolish actions also to god, who, whenever he purposes that some adversity shall befall a man, touches first his reason and does not permit that which will be to his advantage to come to his consideration. for if, on the one hand, he had made the pursuit immediately, i do not think that even belisarius would have withstood him, but our cause would have been utterly and completely lost, so numerous appeared the force of the vandals and so great the fear they inspired in the romans; or if, on the other hand, he had even ridden straight for carthage, he would easily have killed all john's men, who, heedless of everything else, were wandering about the plain one by one or by twos and stripping the dead. and he would have preserved the city with its treasures, and captured our ships, which had come rather near, and he would have withdrawn from us all hope both of sailing away and of victory. but in fact he did neither of these things. instead he descended from the hill at a walk, and when he reached the level ground and saw the corpse of his brother, he turned to lamentations, and, in caring for his burial, he blunted the edge of his opportunity--an opportunity which he was not able to grasp again. meantime belisarius, meeting the fugitives, bade them stop, and arrayed them all in order and rebuked them at length; then, after hearing of the death of ammatas and the pursuit of john, and learning what he wished concerning the place and the enemy, he proceeded at full speed against gelimer and the vandals. but the barbarians, having already fallen into disorder and being now unprepared, did not withstand the onset of the romans, but fled with all their might, losing many there, and the battle ended at night. now the vandals were in flight, not to carthage nor to byzacium, whence they had come, but to the plain of boulla and the road leading into numidia. so the men with john and the massagetae returned to us about dusk, and after learning all that had happened and reporting what they had done, they passed the night with us in decimum. xx but on the following day the infantry with the wife of belisarius came up and we all proceeded together on the road toward carthage, which we reached in the late evening; and we passed the night in the open, although no one hindered us from marching into the city at once. for the carthaginians opened the gates and burned lights everywhere and the city was brilliant with the illumination that whole night, and those of the vandals who had been left behind were sitting as suppliants in the sanctuaries. but belisarius prevented the entrance in order to guard against any ambuscade being set for his men by the enemy, and also to prevent the soldiers from having freedom to turn to plundering, as they might under the concealment of night. on that day, since an east wind arose for them, the ships reached the headland, and the carthaginians, for they already sighted them, removed the iron chains of the harbour which they call mandracium, and made it possible for the fleet to enter. now there is in the king's palace a room filled with darkness, which the carthaginians call ancon, where all were cast with whom the tyrant was angry. in that place, as it happened, many of the eastern merchants had been confined up to that time. for gelimer was angry with these men, charging them with having urged the emperor on to the war, and they were about to be destroyed, all of them, this having been decided upon by gelimer on that day on which ammatas was killed in decimum; to such an extremity of danger did they come. the guard of this prison, upon hearing what had taken place in decimum and seeing the fleet inside the point, entered the room and enquired of the men, who had not yet learned the good news, but were sitting in the darkness and expecting death, what among their possessions they would be willing to give up and be saved. and when they said they desired to give everything he might wish, he demanded nothing of all their treasures, but required them all to swear that, if they escaped, they would assist him also with all their power when he came into danger. and they did this. then he told them them the whole story, and tearing off a plank from the side toward the sea, he pointed out the fleet approaching, and releasing all from the prison went out with them. but the men on the ships, having as yet heard nothing of what the army had done on the land, were completely at a loss, and slackening their sails they sent to the town of mercurium; there they learned what had taken place at decimum, and becoming exceedingly joyful sailed on. and when, with a favouring wind blowing, they came to within one hundred and fifty stades of carthage, archelaus and the soldiers bade them anchor there, fearing the warning of the general, but the sailors would not obey. for they said that the promontory at that point was without a harbour and also that the indications were that a well-known storm, which the natives call cypriana, would arise immediately. and they predicted that, if it came upon them in that place, they would not be able to save even one of the ships. and it was as they said. so they slackened their sails for a short time and deliberated; and they did not think they ought to try for mandracium (for they shrank from violating the commands of belisarius, and at the same time they suspected that the entrance to mandracium was closed by the chains, and besides they feared that this harbour was not sufficient for the whole fleet) but stagnum seemed to them well situated (for it is forty stades distant from carthage), and there was nothing in it to hinder them, and also it was large enough for the whole fleet. there they arrived about dusk and all anchored, except, indeed, that calonymus with some of the sailors, disregarding the general and all the others, went off secretly to mandracium, no one daring to hinder him, and plundered the property of the merchants dwelling on the sea, both foreigners and carthaginians. on the following day belisarius commanded those on the ships to disembark, and after marshalling the whole army and drawing it up in battle formation, he marched into carthage; for he feared lest he should encounter some snare set by the enemy. there he reminded the soldiers at length of how much good fortune had come to them because they had displayed moderation toward the libyans, and he exhorted them earnestly to preserve good order with the greatest care in carthage. for all the libyans had been romans in earlier times and had come under the vandals by no will of their own and had suffered many outrages at the hands of these barbarians. for this very reason the emperor had entered into war with the vandals, and it was not holy that any harm should come from them to the people whose freedom they had made the ground for taking the field against the vandals. [sept. , a.d.] after such words of exhortation he entered carthage, and, since no enemy was seen by them, he went up to the palace and seated himself on gelimer's throne. there a crowd of merchants and other carthaginians came before belisarius with much shouting, persons whose homes were on the sea, and they made the charge that there had been a robbery of their property on the preceding night by the sailors. and belisarius bound calonymus by oaths to bring without fail all his thefts to the light. and calonymus, taking the oath and disregarding what he had sworn, for the moment made the money his plunder, but not long afterwards he paid his just penalty in byzantium. for being taken with the disease called apoplexy, he became insane and bit off his own tongue and then died. but this happened at a later time. xxi but then, since the hour was appropriate, belisarius commanded that lunch be prepared for them, in the very place where gelimer was accustomed to entertain the leaders of the vandals. this place the romans call "delphix," not in their own tongue, but using the greek word according to the ancient custom. for in the palace at rome, where the dining couches of the emperor were placed, a tripod had stood from olden times, on which the emperor's cupbearers used to place the cups. now the romans call a tripod "delphix," since they were first made at delphi, and from this both in byzantium and wherever there is a king's dining couch they call the room "delphix"; for the romans follow the greek also in calling the emperor's residence "palatium." for a greek named pallas lived in this place before the capture of troy and built a noteworthy house there, and they called this dwelling "palatium"; and when augustus received the imperial power, he decided to take up his first residence in that house, and from this they call the place wherever the emperor resides "palatium." so belisarius dined in the delphix and with him all the notables of the army. and it happened that the lunch made for gelimer on the preceding day was in readiness. and we feasted on that very food and the domestics of gelimer served it and poured the wine and waited upon us in every way. and it was possible to see fortune in her glory and making a display of the fact that all things are hers and that nothing is the private possession of any man. and it fell to the lot of belisarius on that day to win such fame as no one of the men of his time ever won nor indeed any of the men of olden times. for though the roman soldiers were not accustomed to enter a subject city without confusion, even if they numbered only five hundred, and especially if they made the entry unexpectedly, all the soldiers under the command of this general showed themselves so orderly that there was not a single act of insolence nor a threat, and indeed nothing happened to hinder the business of the city; but in a captured city, one which had changed its government and shifted its allegiance, it came about that no man's household was excluded from the privileges of the marketplace; on the contrary, the clerks drew up their lists of the men and conducted the soldiers to their lodgings, just as usual,[ ] and the soldiers themselves, getting their lunch by purchase from the market, rested as each one wished. afterwards belisarius gave pledges to those vandals who had fled into the sanctuaries, and began to take thought for the fortifications. for the circuit-wall of carthage had been so neglected that in many places it had become accessible to anyone who wished and easy to attack. for no small part of it had fallen down, and it was for this reason, the carthaginians said, that gelimer had not made his stand in the city. for he thought that it would be impossible in a short time to restore such a circuit-wall to a safe condition. and they said that an old oracle had been uttered by the children in earlier times in carthage, to the effect that "gamma shall pursue beta, and again beta itself shall pursue gamma." and at that time it had been spoken by the children in play and had been left as an unexplained riddle, but now it was perfectly clear to all. for formerly gizeric had driven out boniface and now belisarius was doing the same to gelimer. this, then, whether it was a rumour or an oracle, came out as i have stated. at that time a dream also came to light, which had been seen often before this by many persons, but without being clear as to how it would turn out. and the dream was as follows. cyprian,[ ] a holy man, is reverenced above all others by the carthaginians. and they have founded a very noteworthy temple in his honour before the city on the sea-shore, in which they conduct all other customary services, and also celebrate there a festival which they call the "cypriana"; and the sailors are accustomed to name after cyprian the storm, which i mentioned lately,[ ] giving it the same name as the festival, since it is wont to come on at the time at which the libyans have always been accustomed to celebrate the festival. this temple the vandals took from the christians by violence in the reign of honoric. and they straightway drove out their priests from the temple in great dishonour, and themselves thereafter attended to the sacred festival which, they said, now belonged to the arians. and the libyans, indeed, were angry on this account and altogether at a loss, but cyprian, they say, often sent them a dream saying that there was not the least need for the christians to be concerned about him; for he himself as time went on would be his own avenger. and when the report of this was passed around and came to all the libyans, they were expecting that some vengeance would come upon the vandals at some time because of this sacred festival, but were unable to conjecture how in the world the vision would be realized for them. now, therefore, when the emperor's expedition had come to libya, since the time had already come round and would bring the celebration of the festival on the succeeding day, the priests of the arians, in spite of the fact that ammatas had led the vandals to decimum, cleansed the whole sanctuary and were engaged in hanging up the most beautiful of the votive offerings there, and making ready the lamps and bringing out the treasures from the store-houses and preparing all things with exactness, arranging everything according to its appropriate use. but the events in decimum turned out in the manner already described. and the priests of the arians were off in flight, while the christians who conform to the orthodox faith came to the temple of cyprian, and they burned all the lamps and attended to the sacred festival just as is customary for them to perform this service, and thus it was known to all what the vision of the dream was foretelling. this, then, came about in this way. xxii and the vandals, recalling an ancient saying, marvelled, understanding clearly thereafter that for a man, at least, no hope could be impossible nor any possession secure. and what this saying was and in what manner it was spoken i shall explain. when the vandals originally, pressed by hunger, were about to remove from their ancestral abodes, a certain part of them was left behind who were reluctant to go and not desirous of following godigisclus. and as time went on it seemed to those who had remained that they were well off as regards abundance of provisions, and gizeric with his followers gained possession of libya. and when this was heard by those who had not followed godigisclus, they rejoiced, since thenceforth the country was altogether sufficient for them to live upon. but fearing lest at some time much later either the very ones who had conquered libya, or their descendants, should in some way or other be driven out of libya and return to their ancestral homes (for they never supposed that the romans would let libya be held for ever), they sent ambassadors to them. and these men, upon coming before gizeric, said that they rejoiced with their compatriots who had met with such success, but that they were no longer able to guard the land of which he and his men had thought so little that they had settled in libya. they prayed therefore that, if they laid no claim to their fatherland, they would bestow it as an unprofitable possession upon themselves, so that their title to the land might be made as secure as possible, and if anyone should come to do it harm, they might by no means disdain to die in behalf of it. gizeric, accordingly, and all the other vandals thought that they spoke fairly and justly, and they were in the act of granting everything which the envoys desired of them. but a certain old man who was esteemed among them and had a great reputation for discretion said that he would by no means permit such a thing. "for in human affairs," he said, "not one thing stands secure; nay, nothing which now exists is stable for all time for men, while as regards that which does not yet exist, there is nothing which may not come to pass." when gizeric heard this, he expressed approval and decided to send the envoys away with nothing accomplished. now at that time both he himself and the man who had given the advice were judged worthy of ridicule by all the vandals, as foreseeing the impossible. but when these things which have been told took place, the vandals learned to take a different view of the nature of human affairs and realized that the saying was that of a wise man. now as for those vandals who remained in their native land, neither remembrance nor any name of them has been preserved to my time.[ ] for since, i suppose, they were a small number, they were either overpowered by the neighbouring barbarians or they were mingled with them not at all unwillingly and their name gave way to that of their conquerors. indeed, when the vandals were conquered at that time by belisarius, no thought occurred to them to go from there to their ancestral homes. for they were not able to convey themselves suddenly from libya to europe, especially as they had no ships at hand, but paid the penalty[ ] there for all the wrongs they had done the romans and especially the zacynthians. for at one time gizeric, falling suddenly upon the towns in the peloponnesus, undertook to assault taenarum. and being repulsed from there and losing many of his followers he retired in complete disorder. and while he was still filled with anger on account of this, he touched at zacynthus, and having killed many of those he met and enslaved five hundred of the notables, he sailed away soon afterwards. and when he reached the middle of the adriatic sea, as it is called, he cut into small pieces the bodies of the five hundred and threw them all about the sea without the least concern. but this happened in earlier times. xxiii but at that time gelimer, by distributing much money to the farmers among the libyans and shewing great friendliness toward them, succeeded in winning many to his side. these he commanded to kill the romans who went out into the country, proclaiming a fixed sum of gold for each man killed, to be paid to him who did the deed. and they killed many from the roman army, not soldiers, however, but slaves and servants, who because of a desire for money went up into the villages stealthily and were caught. and the farmers brought their heads before gelimer and departed receiving their pay, while he supposed that they had slain soldiers of the enemy. at that time diogenes, the aide of belisarius, made a display of valorous deeds. for having been sent, together with twenty-two of the body-guards, to spy upon their opponents, he came to a place two days' journey distant from carthage. and the farmers of the place, being unable to kill these men, reported to gelimer that they were there. and he chose out and sent against them three hundred horsemen of the vandals, enjoining upon them to bring all the men alive before him. for it seemed to him a most remarkable achievement to make captive a personal aide of belisarius with twenty-two body-guards. now diogenes and his party had entered a certain house and were sleeping in the upper storey, having no thought of the enemy in mind, since, indeed, they had learned that their opponents were far away. but the vandals, coming there at early dawn, thought it would not be to their advantage to destroy the doors of the house or to enter it in the dark, fearing lest, being involved in a night encounter, they might themselves destroy one another, and at the same time, if that should happen, provide a way of escape for a large number of the enemy in the darkness. but they did this because cowardice had paralyzed their minds, though it would have been possible for them with no trouble, by carrying torches or even without these, to catch their enemies in their beds not only without weapons, but absolutely naked besides. but as it was, they made a phalanx in a circle about the whole house and especially at the doors, and all took their stand there. but in the meantime it so happened that one of the roman soldiers was roused from sleep, and he, noticing the noise which the vandals made as they talked stealthily among themselves and moved with their weapons, was able to comprehend what was being done, and rousing each one of his comrades silently, he told them what was going on. and they, following the opinion of diogenes, all put on their clothes quietly and taking up their weapons went below. there they put the bridles on their horses and leaped upon them unperceived by anyone. and after standing for a time by the court-yard entrance, they suddenly opened the door there, and straightway all came out. and then the vandals immediately closed with them, but they accomplished nothing. for the romans rode hard, covering themselves with their shields and warding off their assailants with their spears. and in this way diogenes escaped the enemy, losing two of his followers, but saving the rest. he himself, however, received three blows in this encounter on the neck and the face, from which indeed he came within a little of dying, and one blow also on the left hand, as a result of which he was thereafter unable to move his little finger. this, then, took place in this way. and belisarius offered great sums of money to the artisans engaged in the building trade and to the general throng of workmen, and by this means he dug a trench deserving of great admiration about the circuit-wall, and setting stakes close together along it he made an excellent stockade about the fortifications. and not only this, but he built up in a short time the portions of the wall which had suffered, a thing which seemed worthy of wonder not only to the carthaginians, but also to gelimer himself at a later time. for when he came as a captive to carthage, he marvelled when he saw the wall and said that his own negligence had proved the cause of all his present troubles. this, then, was accomplished by belisarius while in carthage. xxiv but tzazon, the brother of gelimer, reached sardinia with the expedition which has been mentioned above[ ] and disembarked at the harbour of caranalis[ ]; and at the first onset he captured the city and killed the tyrant godas and all the fighting men about him. and when he heard that the emperor's expedition was in the land of libya, having as yet learned nothing of what had been done there, he wrote to gelimer as follows: "know, o king of the vandals and alani, that the tyrant godas has perished, having fallen into our hands, and that the island is again under thy kingdom, and celebrate the festival of triumph. and as for the enemy who have had the daring to march against our land, expect that their attempt will come to the same fate as that experienced by those who in former times marched against our ancestors." and those who took this letter sailed into the harbour of carthage with no thought of the enemy in mind. and being brought by the guards before the general, they put the letter into his hands and gave him information on the matters about which he enquired, being thunderstruck at what they beheld and awed at the suddenness of the change; however, they suffered nothing unpleasant at the hand of belisarius. at this same time another event also occurred as follows. a short time before the emperor's expedition reached libya, gelimer had sent envoys into spain, among whom were gothaeus and fuscias, in order to persuade theudis, the ruler of the visigoths,[ ] to establish an alliance with the vandals. and these envoys, upon disembarking on the mainland after crossing the strait at gadira, found theudis in a place situated far from the sea. and when they had come up to the place where he was, theudis received them with friendliness and entertained them heartily, and during the feast he pretended to enquire how matters stood with gelimer and the vandals. now since these envoys had travelled to him rather slowly, it happened that he had heard from others everything which had befallen the vandals. for one merchant ship sailing for trade had put out from carthage on the very same day as the army marched into the city, and finding a favouring wind, had come to spain. from those on this ship theudis learned all that had happened in libya, but he forbade the merchants to reveal it to anyone, in order that this might not become generally known. and when gothaeus and his followers replied that everything was as well as possible for them, he asked them for what purpose, then, they had come. and when they proposed the alliance, theudis bade them go to the sea-coast; "for from there," he said, "you will learn of the affairs at home with certainty." and the envoys, supposing that the man was in his cups and his words were not sane, remained silent. but when on the following day they met him and made mention of the alliance, and theudis used the same words a second time, then at length they understood that some change of fortune had befallen them in libya, but never once thinking of carthage they sailed for the city. and upon coming to land close by it and happening upon roman soldiers, they put themselves in their hands to do with them as they wished. and from there they were led away to the general, and reporting the whole story, they suffered no harm at his hand. these things, then, happened thus. and cyril,[ ] upon coming near to sardinia and learning what had happened to godas, sailed to carthage, and there, finding the roman army and belisarius victorious, he remained at rest; and solomon[ ] was sent to the emperor in order to announce what had been accomplished. xxv but gelimer, upon reaching the plain of boulla, which is distant from carthage a journey of four days for an unencumbered traveller, not far from the boundaries of numidia, began to gather there all the vandals and as many of the moors as happened to be friendly to him. few moors, however, joined his alliance, and these were altogether insubordinate. for all those who ruled over the moors in mauretania and numidia and byzacium sent envoys to belisarius saying that they were slaves of the emperor and promised to fight with him. there were some also who even furnished their children as hostages and requested that the symbols of office be sent them from him according to the ancient custom. for it was a law among the moors that no one should be a ruler over them, even if he was hostile to the romans, until the emperor of the romans should give him the tokens of the office. and though they had already received them from the vandals, they did not consider that the vandals held the office securely. now these symbols are a staff of silver covered with gold, and a silver cap,--not covering the whole head, but like a crown and held in place on all sides by bands of silver,--a kind of white cloak gathered by a golden brooch on the right shoulder in the form of a thessalian cape, and a white tunic with embroidery, and a gilded boot. and belisarius sent these things to them, and presented each one of them with much money. however, they did not come to fight along with him, nor, on the other hand, did they dare give their support to the vandals, but standing out of the way of both contestants, they waited to see what would be the outcome of the war. thus, then, matters stood with the romans. but gelimer sent one of the vandals to sardinia with a letter to his brother tzazon. and he went quickly to the coast, and finding by chance a merchant-ship putting out to sea, he sailed into the harbour of caranalis and put the letter into the hands of tzazon. now the message of the letter was as follows: "it was not, i venture to think, godas who caused the island to revolt from us, but some curse of madness sent from heaven which fell upon the vandals. for by depriving us of you and the notables of the vandals, it has seized and carried off from the house of gizeric absolutely all the blessings which we enjoyed. for it was not to recover the island for us that you sailed from here, but in order that justinian might be master of libya. for that which fortune had decided upon previously it is now possible to know from the outcome. belisarius, then, has come against us with a small army, but valour straightway departed and fled from the vandals, taking good fortune with her. for ammatas and gibamundus have fallen, because the vandals lost their courage, and the horses and shipyards and all libya and, not least of all, carthage itself, are held already by the enemy. and the vandals are sitting here, having paid with their children and wives and all their possessions for their failure to play the part of brave men in battle, and to us is left only the plain of boulla, where our hope in you has set us down and still keeps us. but do you have done with such matters as rebel tyrants and sardinia and the cares concerning these things, and come to us with your whole force as quickly as possible. for when men find the very heart and centre of all in danger, it is not advisable for them to consider minutely other matters. and struggling hereafter in common against the enemy, we shall either recover our previous fortune, or gain the advantage of not bearing apart from each other the hard fate sent by heaven." when this letter had been brought to tzazon, and he had disclosed its contents to the vandals, they turned to wailing and lamentation, not openly, however, but concealing their feelings as much as possible and avoiding the notice of the islanders, silently among themselves they bewailed the fate which was upon them. and straightway setting in order matters in hand just as chance directed, they manned the ships. and sailing from there with the whole fleet, on the third day they came to land at the point of libya which marks the boundary between the numidians and mauretanians. and they reached the plain of boulla travelling on foot, and there joined with the rest of the army. and in that place there were many most pitiable scenes among the vandals, which i, at least, could never relate as they deserve. for i think that even if one of the enemy themselves had happened to be a spectator at that time, he would probably have felt pity, in spite of himself, for the vandals and for human fortune. for gelimer and tzazon threw their arms about each other's necks, and could not let go, but they spoke not a word to each other, but kept wringing their hands and weeping, and each one of the vandals with gelimer embraced one of those who had come from sardinia, and did the same thing. and they stood for a long time as if grown together and found such comfort as they could in this, and neither did the men of gelimer think fit to ask about godas (for their present fortune had prostrated them and caused them to reckon such things as had previously seemed to them most important with those which were now utterly negligible), nor could those who came from sardinia bring themselves to ask about what had happened in libya. for the place was sufficient to permit them to judge of what had come to pass. and indeed they did not make any mention even of their own wives and children, knowing well that whoever of theirs was not there had either died or fallen into the hands of the enemy. thus, then, did these things happen. footnotes: [ ] cadiz. [ ] sea of azov. [ ] abila. [ ] or septem fratres. [ ] most ancient geographers divided the inhabited world into three continents, but some made two divisions. it was a debated question with these latter whether africa belonged to asia or to europe; of. sallust, _jugurtha_, . [ ] kadi keui. [ ] more correctly hydrous, lat. hydruntum (otranto). [ ] at aulon (avlona). [ ] adding these four days to the other items ( , , ), the total is days. [ ] calpe (gibraltar). [ ] _i.e._, instead of stopping at otranto, one might also reckon in the coast-line around the adriatic to dyrrachium. [ ] about twenty-four english miles. [ ] iviza. [ ] "black-cloaks." [ ] belgrade. [ ] mitrovitz. [ ] in illyricum. [ ] he ascended the throne at the age of seven. [ ] that is, the actual occupant could enter a demurrer to the former owner's action for recovery, citing his own occupancy for thirty years or more. the new law extended the period during which the ousted proprietor could recover possession, by admitting no demurrer from the occupant so far as the years were concerned during which the vandals should be in possession of the country. [ ] this is an error; he really ruled only eighteen months. [ ] geiseric, gaiseric, less properly genseric. [ ] now corrupted to bona. [ ] emperor in gaul, britain and spain - . aspiring to be emperor of the west, he invaded italy, was defeated by theodosius, and put to death. [ ] this is an error, for attila died before aetius. [ ] including the famous treasure which titus had brought from jerusalem, cf. iv. ix. . [ ] domitian had spent , talents (£ , , ) on the gilding alone; plutarch, _publ._ . [ ] _i.e._ "leaders of a thousand." [ ] , roman pounds; cf. book i. xxii. . the modern equivalent is unknown. [ ] placidia's sister, eudocia, was wife of honoric, gizeric's son. [ ] see chap. iv. . [ ] _i.e._ "wisdom." [ ] jebel auress. [ ] _i.e._ to what sect or religion they belonged. [ ] cf. book iv. xi. ff. [ ] book i. xxii. . [ ] the "imperial" taxes were for the emperor's privy purse, the fiscus. [ ] these foederati were private bands of troops under the leadership of condottiere; these had the title of "count" and received from the state an allowance for the support of their bands. [ ] the medimnus equalled about one and a half bushels. [ ] _i.e._ "runners." [ ] eregli, on the sea of marmora. [ ] cape matapan. [ ] book i. xxiv. - ; xxv. - . [ ] the ration of this twice-baked bread represented for the same weight one-fourth more wheat than when issued in the once-baked bread. he was evidently paid on the basis of so much per ration, in weight, of the once-baked bread, but on account of the length of the voyage the other kind was requisitioned. [ ] instead of by weight. [ ] now porto lombardo. [ ] or athalaric. [ ] now gozzo and malta. [ ] cf. iii. v. ff. [ ] _i.e._ couriers, from _veredus_, "post-horse." [ ] an adjutant, the general's own "choice." [ ] topsails. [ ] _i.e._ _decimum miliarium_, tenth milestone from carthage. [ ] before a.d. [ ] hermaeum, lat. mercurii promontorium (cape bon). [ ] "auxiliaries"; see chap. xi. , . [ ] the troops were billeted as at a peaceful occupation. [ ] st. cyprian (_circa_ - a.d.), bishop of carthage. [ ] chap. xx. . [ ] compare the remarks of gibbon, iv. p. . [ ] in _arcana_, , ff., procopius estimates the number of the vandals in africa, at the time of belisarius, at , males, and intimates that practically all perished. [ ] chap. xi. . [ ] cagliari. [ ] on this theudis and his accession to the throne of the visigoths in spain see v. xii. ff. [ ] the leader of a band of _foederati_. cf. iii. xi. , , xxiv. . [ ] also a _dux foederatorum_, and _domesticus_ of belisarius. cf. iii. xi. ff. * * * * * history of the wars: * * * * * book iv the vandalic war (_continued_) i gelimer, seeing all the vandals gathered together, led his army against carthage. and when they came close to it, they tore down a portion of the aqueduct,--a structure well worth seeing--which conducted water into the city, and after encamping for a time they withdrew, since no one of the enemy came out against them. and going about the country there they kept the roads under guard and thought that in this way they were besieging carthage; however, they did not gather any booty, nor plunder the land, but took possession of it as their own. and at the same time they kept hoping that there would be some treason on the part of the carthaginians themselves and such of the roman soldiers as followed the doctrine of arius. they also sent to the leaders of the huns, and promising that they would have many good things from the vandals, entreated them to become their friends and allies. now the huns even before this had not been well-disposed toward the cause of the romans, since they had not indeed come to them willingly as allies (for they asserted that the roman general peter had given an oath and then, disregarding what had been sworn, had thus brought them to byzantium), and accordingly they received the words of the vandals, and promised that when they should come to real fighting they would turn with them against the roman army. but belisarius had a suspicion of all this (for he had heard it from the deserters), and also the circuit-wall had not as yet been completed entirely, and for these reasons he did not think it possible for his men to go out against the enemy for the present, but he was making his preparations within as well as possible. and one of the carthaginians, laurus by name, having been condemned on a charge of treason and proved guilty by his own secretary, was impaled by belisarius on a hill before the city, and as a result of this the others came to feel a sort of irresistible fear and refrained from attempts at treason. and he courted the massagetae with gifts and banquets and every other manner of flattering attention every day, and thus persuaded them to disclose to him what gelimer had promised them on condition of their turning traitors in the battle. and these barbarians said that they had no enthusiasm for fighting, for they feared that, if the vandals were vanquished, the romans would not send them back to their native land, but they would be compelled to grow old and die right there in libya; and besides they were also concerned, they said, about the booty, lest they be robbed of it. then indeed belisarius gave them pledges that, if the vandals should be conquered decisively, they would be sent without the least delay to their homes with all their booty, and thus he bound them by oaths in very truth to assist the romans with all zeal in carrying through the war. and when all things had been prepared by him in the best way possible, and the circuit-wall had been already completed, he called together the whole army and spoke as follows: "as for exhortation, fellow romans, i do not know that it is necessary to make any to you,--men who have recently conquered the enemy so completely that carthage here and the whole of libya is a possession of your valour, and for this reason you will have no need of admonition that prompts to daring. for the spirits of those who have conquered are by no means wont to be overcome. but i think it not untimely to remind you of this one thing, that, if you on the present occasion but prove equal to your own selves in valour, straightway there will be an end for the vandals of their hopes, and for you of the battle. hence there is every reason why you should enter into this engagement with the greatest eagerness. for ever sweet to men is toil coming to an end and reaching its close. now as for the host of the vandals, let no one of you consider them. for not by numbers of men nor by measure of body, but by valour of soul, is war wont to be decided. and let the strongest motive which actuates men come to your minds, namely, pride in past achievement. for it is a shame, for those at least who have reason, to fall short of one's own self and to be found inferior to one's own standard of valour. for i know well that terror and the memory of misfortunes have laid hold upon the enemy and compel them to become less brave, for the one fills them with fear because of what has already happened, and the other brushes aside their hope of success. for fortune, once seen to be bad, straightway enslaves the spirit of those who have fallen in her way. and i shall explain how the struggle involves for you at the present time a greater stake than formerly. for in the former battle the danger was, if things did not go well for us, that we should not take the land of others; but now, if we do not win the struggle, we shall lose the land which is our own. in proportion, then, as it is easier to possess nothing than to be deprived of what one has, just so now our fear touches our most vital concerns more than before. and yet formerly we had the fortune to win the victory with the infantry absent, but now, entering the battle with god propitious and with our whole army, i have hopes of capturing the camp of the enemy, men and all. thus, then, having the end of the war ready at hand, do not by reason of any negligence put it off to another time, lest you be compelled to seek for the opportune moment after it has run past us. for when the fortune of war is postponed, its nature is not to proceed in the same manner as before, especially if the war be prolonged by the will of those who are carrying it on. for heaven is accustomed to bring retribution always upon those who abandon the good fortune which is present. but if anyone considers that the enemy, seeing their children and wives and most precious possessions in our hands, will be daring beyond reason and will incur risks beyond the strength which they have, he does not think rightly. for an overpowering passion springing up in the heart in behalf of what is most precious is wont to diminish men's actual strength and does not allow them to make full use of their present opportunities. considering, then, all these things, it behooves you to go with great contempt against the enemy." ii after such words of exhortation, belisarius sent out all the horsemen on the same day, except five hundred, and also the guardsmen and the standard, which the romans call "bandum,"[ ] entrusting them to john the armenian, and directing him to skirmish only, if opportunity should arise. and he himself on the following day followed with the infantry forces and the five hundred horsemen. and the massagetae, deliberating among themselves, decided, in order to seem in friendly agreement with both gelimer and belisarius, neither to begin fighting for the romans nor to go over to the vandals before the encounter, but whenever the situation of one or the other army should be bad, then to join the victors in their pursuit of the vanquished. thus, then, had this matter been decided upon by the barbarians. and the roman army came upon the vandals encamped in tricamarum, one hundred and fifty stades distant from carthage. so they both bivouacked there at a considerable distance from one another. and when it was well on in the night, a prodigy came to pass in the roman camp as follows. the tips of their spears were lighted with a bright fire and the points of them seemed to be burning most vigorously. this was not seen by many, but it filled with consternation the few who did see it, not knowing how it would come out. and this happened to the romans in italy again at a much later time. and at that time, since they knew by experience, they believed it to be a sign of victory. but now, as i have said, since this was the first time it had happened, they were filled with consternation and passed the night in great fear. and on the following day gelimer commanded the vandals to place the women and children and all their possessions in the middle of the stockade, although it had not the character of a fort, and calling all together, he spoke as follows: "it is not to gain glory, or to retrieve the loss of empire alone, o fellow vandals, that we are about to fight, so that even if we wilfully played the coward and sacrificed these our belongings we might possibly live, sitting at home and keeping our own possessions; but you see, surely, that our fortunes have come round to such a pass that, if we do not gain the mastery over the enemy, we shall, if we perish, leave them as masters of these our children and our wives and our land and all our possessions, while if we survive, there will be added our own enslavement and to behold all these enslaved; but if, indeed, we overcome our foes in the war, we shall, if we live, pass our lives among all good things, or, after the glorious ending of our lives, there will be left to our wives and children the blessings of prosperity, while the name of the vandals will survive and their empire be preserved. for if it has ever happened to any men to be engaged in a struggle for their all, we now more than all others realize that we are entering the battle-line with our hopes for all we have resting wholly upon ourselves. not for our bodies, then, is our fear, nor in death is our danger, but in being defeated by the enemy. for if we lose the victory, death will be to our advantage. since, therefore, the case stands so, let no one of the vandals weaken, but let him proudly expose his body, and from shame at the evils that follow defeat let him court the end of life. for when a man is ashamed of that which is shameful, there is always present with him a dauntless courage in the face of danger. and let no recollection of the earlier battle come into your minds. for it was not by cowardice on our part that we were defeated, but we tripped upon obstacles interposed by fortune and were overthrown. now it is not the way of the tide of fortune to flow always in the same direction, but every day, as a rule, it is wont to change about. in manliness it is our boast that we surpass the enemy, and that in numbers we are much superior; for we believe that we surpass them no less than tenfold. and why shall i add that many and great are the incentives which, now especially, urge us on to valour, naming the glory of our ancestors and the empire which has been handed down to us by them? for in our case that glory is obscured by our unlikeness to our kindred, while the empire is bent upon fleeing from us as unworthy. and i pass over in silence the wails of these poor women and the tears of our children, by which, as you see, i am now so deeply moved that i am unable to prolong my discourse. but having said this one thing, i shall stop,--that there will be for us no returning to these most precious possessions if we do not gain the mastery over the enemy. remembering these things, shew yourselves brave men and do not bring shame upon the fame of gizeric." after speaking such words, gelimer commanded his brother tzazon to deliver an exhortation separately to the vandals who had come with him from sardinia. and he gathered them together a little apart from the camp and spoke as follows: "for all the vandals, fellow soldiers, the struggle is in behalf of those things which you have just heard the king recount, but for you, in addition to all the other considerations, it so happens that you are vying with yourselves. for you have recently been victorious in a struggle for the maintenance of our rule, and you have recovered the island for the empire of the vandals; there is every reason, therefore, for you to make still greater display of your valour. for those whose hazard involves the greatest things must needs display the greatest zeal for warfare also. indeed, when men who struggle for the maintenance of their rule are defeated, should it so happen, they have not failed in the most vital part; but when men are engaged in battle for their all, surely their very lives are influenced by the outcome of the struggle. and for the rest, if you shew yourselves brave men at the present time, you will thereby prove with certainty that the destruction[ ] of the tyrant godas was an achievement of valour on your part; but if you weaken now, you will be deprived of even the renown of those deeds, as of something which does not belong to you at all. and yet, even apart from this, it is reasonable to think that you will have an advantage over the rest of the vandals in this battle. for those who have failed are dismayed by their previous fortune, while those who have encountered no reverse enter the struggle with their courage unimpaired. and this too, i think, will not be spoken out of season, that if we conquer the enemy, it will be you who will win the credit for the greatest part of the victory, and all will call you saviours of the nation of the vandals. for men who achieve renown in company with those who have previously met with misfortune naturally claim the better fortune as their own. considering all these things, therefore, i say that you should bid the women and children who are lamenting their fate to take courage even now, should summon god to fight with us, should go with enthusiasm against the enemy, and lead the way for our compatriots into this battle." iii after both gelimer and tzazon had spoken such exhortations, they led out the vandals, and at about the time of lunch, when the romans were not expecting them, but were preparing their meal, they were at hand and arrayed themselves for battle along the bank of the stream. now the stream at that place is an ever-flowing one, to be sure, but its volume is so small that it is not even given a special name by the inhabitants of the place, but it is designated simply as a brook. so the romans came to the other bank of this river, after preparing themselves as well as they could under the circumstances, and arrayed themselves as follows. the left wing was held by martinus and valerian, john, cyprian, althias, and marcellus, and as many others as were commanders of the foederati[ ]; and the right was held by pappas, barbatus, and aïgan, and the others who commanded the forces of cavalry. and in the centre john took his position, leading the guards and spearmen of belisarius and carrying the general's standard. and belisarius also came there at the opportune moment with his five hundred horsemen, leaving the infantry behind advancing at a walk. for all the huns had been arrayed in another place, it being customary for them even before this not to mingle with the roman army if they could avoid so doing, and at that time especially, since they had in mind the purpose which has previously been explained,[ ] it was not their wish to be arrayed with the rest of the army. such, then, was the formation of the romans. and on the side of the vandals, either wing was held by the chiliarchs, and each one led the division under him, while in the centre was tzazon, the brother of gelimer, and behind him were arrayed the moors. but gelimer himself was going about everywhere exhorting them and urging them on to daring. and the command had been previously given to all the vandals to use neither spear nor any other weapon in this engagement except their swords. after a considerable time had passed and no one began the battle, john chose out a few of those under him by the advice of belisarius and crossing the river made an attack on the centre, where tzazon crowded them back and gave chase. and the romans in flight came into their own camp, while the vandals in pursuit came as far as the stream, but did not cross it. and once more john, leading out more of the guardsmen of belisarius, made a dash against the forces of tzazon, and again being repulsed from there, withdrew to the roman camp. and a third time with almost all the guards and spearmen of belisarius he took the general's standard and made his attack with much shouting and a great noise. but since the barbarians manfully withstood them and used only their swords, the battle became fierce, and many of the noblest of the vandals fell, and among them tzazon himself, the brother of gelimer. then at last the whole roman army was set in motion, and crossing the river they advanced upon the enemy, and the rout, beginning at the centre, became complete; for each of the roman divisions turned to flight those before them with no trouble. and the massagetae, seeing this, according to their agreement among themselves[ ] joined the roman army in making the pursuit, but this pursuit was not continued for a great distance. for the vandals entered their own camp quickly and remained quiet, while the romans, thinking that they would not be able to fight it out with them inside the stockade, stripped such of the corpses as had gold upon them and retired to their own camp. and there perished in this battle, of the romans less than fifty, but of the vandals about eight hundred. but belisarius, when the infantry came up in the late afternoon, moved as quickly as he could with the whole army and went against the camp of the vandals. and gelimer, realising that belisarius with his infantry and the rest of his army was coming against him straightway, without saying a word or giving a command leaped upon his horse and was off in flight on the road leading to numidia. and his kinsmen and some few of his domestics followed him in utter consternation and guarding with silence what was taking place. and for some time it escaped the notice of the vandals that gelimer had run away, but when they all perceived that he had fled, and the enemy were already plainly seen, then indeed the men began to shout and the children cried out and the women wailed. and they neither took with them the money they had nor did they heed the laments of those dearest to them, but every man fled in complete disorder just as he could. and the romans, coming up, captured the camp, money and all, with not a man in it; and they pursued the fugitives throughout the whole night, killing all the men upon whom they happened, and making slaves of the women and children. and they found in this camp a quantity of wealth such as has never before been found, at least in one place. for the vandals had plundered the roman domain for a long time and had transferred great amounts of money to libya, and since their land was an especially good one, nourishing abundantly with the most useful crops, it came about that the revenue collected from the commodities produced there was not paid out to any other country in the purchase of a food supply, but those who possessed the land always kept for themselves the income from it for the ninety-five years during which the vandals ruled libya. and from this it resulted that their wealth, amounting to an extraordinary sum, returned once more on that day into the hands of the romans. so this battle and the pursuit and the capture of the vandals' camp happened three months after the roman army came to carthage, at about the middle of the last month, which the romans call "december." [ a.d.] iv then belisarius, seeing the roman army rushing about in confusion and great disorder, was disturbed, being fearful throughout the whole night lest the enemy, uniting by mutual agreement against him, should do him irreparable harm. and if this thing had happened at that time in any way at all, i believe that, not one of the romans would have escaped and enjoyed this booty. for the soldiers, being extremely poor men, upon becoming all of a sudden masters of very great wealth and of women both young and extremely comely, were no longer able to restrain their minds or to find any satiety in the things they had, but were so intoxicated, drenched as they were by their present good fortunes, that each one wished to take everything with him back to carthage. and they were going about, not in companies but alone or by twos, wherever hope led them, searching out everything roundabout among the valleys and the rough country and wherever there chanced to be a cave or anything such as might bring them into danger or ambush. for neither did fear of the enemy nor their respect for belisarius occur to them, nor indeed anything else at all except the desire for spoils, and being overmastered by this they came to think lightly of everything else. and belisarius, taking note of all this, was at a loss as to how he should handle the situation. but at daybreak he took his stand upon a certain hill near the road, appealing to the discipline which no longer existed and heaping reproaches upon all, soldiers and officers alike. then indeed, those who chanced to be near, and especially those who were of the household of belisarius, sent the money and slaves which they had to carthage with their tentmates and messmates, and themselves came up beside the general and gave heed to the orders given them. and he commanded john, the armenian, with two hundred men to follow gelimer, and without slackening their speed either night or day to pursue him, until they should take him living or dead. and he sent word to his associates in carthage to lead into the city all the vandals who were sitting as suppliants in sanctuaries in the places about the city, giving them pledges and taking away their weapons, that they might not begin an uprising, and to keep them there until he himself should come. and with those who were left he went about everywhere and gathered the soldiers hastily, and to all the vandals he came upon he gave pledges for their safety. for it was no longer possible to catch anyone of the vandals except as a suppliant in the sanctuaries. and from these he took away their weapons and sent them, with soldiers to guard them, to carthage, not giving them time to unite against the romans. and when everything was as well settled as possible, he himself with the greater part of the army moved against gelimer with all speed. but john, after continuing the pursuit five days and nights, had already come not far from gelimer, and in fact he was about to engage with him on the following day. but since it was not fated that gelimer should be captured by john, the following obstacle was contrived by fortune. among those pursuing with john it happened that there was uliaris, the aide of belisarius. now this man was a passionate fellow and well favoured in strength of heart and body, but not a very serious man, but one who generally took delight in wine and buffoonery. this uliaris on the sixth day of the pursuit, being drunk, saw a bird sitting in a tree at about sunrise, and he quickly stretched his bow and despatched a missile at the bird. and he missed the bird, but john, who was behind it, he hit in the neck by no will of his own. and since the wound was mortal, john passed away a short time afterwards, leaving great sorrow at his loss to the emperor justinian and belisarius, the general, and to all the romans and carthaginians. for in manliness and every sort of virtue he was well endowed, and he shewed himself, to those who associated with him, gentle and equitable to a degree quite unsurpassed. thus, then, john fulfilled his destiny. as for uliaris, when he came to himself, he fled to a certain village which was near by and sat as a suppliant in the sanctuary there. and the soldiers no longer pressed the pursuit of gelimer, but they cared for john as long as he survived, and when he had died they carried out all the customary rites in his burial, and reporting the whole matter to belisarius they remained where they were. and as soon as he heard of it, he came to john's burial, and bewailed his fate. and after weeping over him and grieving bitterly at the whole occurrence, he honoured the tomb of john with many gifts and especially by providing for it a regular income. however, he did nothing severe to uliaris, since the soldiers said that john had enjoined upon them by the most dread oaths that no vengeance should come to him, since he had not performed the unholy deed with deliberate intent. thus, then, gelimer escaped falling into the hands of the enemy on that day. and from that time on belisarius pursued him, but upon reaching a strong city of numidia situated on the sea, ten days distant from carthage, which they call hippo regius,[ ] he learned that gelimer had ascended the mountain papua and could no longer be captured by the romans. now this mountain is situated at the extremity of numidia and is exceedingly precipitous and climbed only with the greatest difficulty (for lofty cliffs rise up toward it from every side), and on it dwell barbarian moors, who were friends and allies to gelimer, and an ancient city named medeus lies on the outskirts of the mountain. there gelimer rested with his followers. but as for belisarius, he was not able to make any attempt at all on the mountain, much less in the winter season, and since his affairs were still in an uncertain state, he did not think it advisable to be away from carthage; and so he chose out soldiers, with pharas as their leader, and set them to maintain the siege of the mountain. now this pharas was energetic and thoroughly serious and upright in every way, although he was an erulian by birth. and for an erulian not to give himself over to treachery and drunkenness, but to strive after uprightness, is no easy matter and merits abundant praise.[ ] but not only was it pharas who maintained orderly conduct, but also all the erulians who followed him. this pharas, then, belisarius commanded to establish himself at the foot of the mountain during the winter season and to keep close guard, so that it would neither be possible for gelimer to leave the mountain nor for any supplies to be brought in to him. and pharas acted accordingly. then belisarius turned to the vandals who were sitting as suppliants in the sanctuaries in hippo regius,--and there were many of them and of the nobility--and he caused them all to accept pledges and arise, and then he sent them to carthage with a guard. and there it came about that the following event happened to him. in the house of gelimer there was a certain scribe named boniface, a libyan, and a native of byzacium, a man exceedingly faithful to gelimer. at the beginning of this war gelimer had put this boniface on a very swift-sailing ship, and placing all the royal treasure in it commanded him to anchor in the harbour of hippo regius, and if he should see that the situation was not favourable to their side, he was to sail with all speed to spain with the money, and go to theudis, the leader of the visigoths, where he was expecting to find safety for himself also, should the fortune of war prove adverse for the vandals. so boniface, as long as he felt hope for the cause of the vandals, remained there; but as soon as the battle in tricamarum took place, with all the other events which have been related, he spread his canvas and sailed away just as gelimer had directed him. but an opposing wind brought him back, much against his will, into the harbour of hippo regius. and since he had already heard that the enemy were somewhere near, he entreated the sailors with many promises to row with all their might for some other continent or for an island. but they were unable to do so, since a very severe storm had fallen upon them and the waves of the sea were rising to a great height, seeing that it was the tuscan sea,[ ] and then it occurred to them and to boniface that, after all, god wished to give the money to the romans and so was not allowing the ship to put out. however, though they had got outside the harbour, they encountered great danger in bringing their ship back to anchorage. and when belisarius arrived at hippo regius, boniface sent some men to him. these he commanded to sit in a sanctuary, and they were to say that they had been sent by boniface, who had the money of gelimer, but to conceal the place where he was, until they should receive the pledges of belisarius that upon giving gelimer's money he himself should escape free from harm, having all that was his own. these men, then, acted according to these instructions, and belisarius was pleased at the good news and did not decline to take an oath. and sending some of his associates he took the treasure of gelimer and released boniface in possession of his own money and also with an enormous sum which he plundered from gelimer's treasure. v and when he returned to carthage, he put all the vandals in readiness, so that at the opening of spring he might send them to byzantium; and he sent out an army to recover for the romans everything which the vandals ruled. and first he sent cyril to sardinia with a great force, having the head of tzazon, since these islanders were not at all willing to yield to the romans, fearing the vandals and thinking that what had been told them as having happened in tricamarum could not be true. and he ordered this cyril to send a portion of the army to corsica, and to recover for the roman empire the island, which had been previously subject to the vandals; this island was called cyrnus in early times, and is not far from sardinia. so he came to sardinia and displayed the head of tzazon to the inhabitants of the place, and he won back both the islands and made them tributary to the roman domain. and to caesarea[ ] in mauretania belisarius sent john with an infantry company which he usually commanded himself; this place is distant from carthage a journey of thirty days for an unencumbered traveller, as one goes towards gadira and the west; and it is situated upon the sea, having been a great and populous city from ancient times. another john, one of his own guardsmen, he sent to gadira on the strait and by one of the pillars of heracles, to take possession of the fort there which they call "septem."[ ] and to the islands which are near the strait where the ocean flows in, called ebusa and majorica and minorica[ ] by the natives, he sent apollinarius, who was a native of italy, but had come while still a lad to libya. and he had been rewarded with great sums of money by ilderic, who was then leader of the vandals, and after ilderic had been removed from the office and was in confinement, as has been told in the previous narrative,[ ] he came to the emperor justinian with the other libyans who were working in the interest of ilderic, in order to entreat his favour as a suppliant. and he joined the roman expedition against gelimer and the vandals, and proved himself a brave man in this war and most of all at tricamarum. and as a result of his deeds there belisarius entrusted to him these islands. and later belisarius sent an army also into tripolis to pudentius and tattimuth,[ ] who were being pressed by the moors there, and thus strengthened the roman power in that quarter. he also sent some men to sicily in order to take the fortress in lilybaeum, as belonging to the vandals' kingdom,[ ] but he was repulsed from there, since the goths by no means saw fit to yield any part of sicily, on the ground that this fortress did not belong to the vandals at all. and when belisarius heard this, he wrote to the commanders who were there as follows: "you are depriving us of lilybaeum, the fortress of the vandals who are the slaves of the emperor, and are not acting justly nor in a way to benefit yourselves, and you wish to bring upon your ruler, though he does not so will it and is far distant from the scene of these actions, the hostility of the great emperor, whose good-will he has, having won it with great labour. and yet how could you but seem to be acting contrary to the ways of men, it you recently allowed gelimer to hold the fortress, but have decided to wrest from the emperor, gelimer's master, the possessions of the slave? you, at least, should not act thus, most excellent sirs. but reflect that, while it is the nature of friendship to cover over many faults, hostility does not brook even the smallest misdeeds, but searches the past for every offence, and allows not its enemy to grow rich on what does not in the least belong to them.[ ] moreover, the enemy fights to avenge the wrongs which it says have been done to its ancestors; and whereas, if friendship thus turned to hostility fails in the struggle, it suffers no loss of its own possessions, yet if it succeeds, it teaches the vanquished to take a new view of the indulgence which has been shewn them in the past. see to it, then, that you neither do us further harm nor suffer harm yourselves, and do not make the great emperor an enemy to the gothic nation, when it is your prayer that he be propitious toward you. for be well assured that, if you lay claim to this fortress, war will confront you immediately, and not for lilybaeum alone, but for all the possessions you claim as yours, though not one of them belongs to you." such was the message of the letter. and the goths reported these things to the mother[ ] of antalaric, and at her direction made the following reply: "the letter which you have written, most excellent belisarius, carries sound admonition, but pertinent to some other men, not to us the goths. for there is nothing of the emperor justinian's which we have taken and hold; may we never be so mad as to do such a thing! the whole of sicily we claim because it is our own, and the fortress of lilybaeum is one of its promontories. and if theoderic gave his sister, who was the consort of the king of the vandals, one of the trading-ports of sicily for her use, this is nothing. for this fact could not afford a basis for any claim on your part. but you, o general, would be acting justly toward us, if you should be willing to make the settlement of the matters in dispute between us, not as an enemy, but as a friend. and there is this difference, that friends are accustomed to settle their disagreements by arbitration, but enemies by battle. we, therefore, shall commit this matter to the emperor justinian, to arbitrate[ ] in whatever manner seems to him lawful and just. and we desire that the decisions you make shall be as wise as possible, rather than as hasty as possible, and that you, therefore, await the decision of your emperor." such was the message of the letter of the goths. and belisarius, reporting all to the emperor, remained quiet until the emperor should send him word what his wish was. vi but pharas, having by this time become weary of the siege for many reasons, and especially because of the winter season, and at the same time thinking that the moors there would not be able to stand in his way, undertook the ascent of papua with great zeal. accordingly he armed all his followers very carefully and began the ascent. but the moors rushed to the defence, and since they were on ground which was steep and very hard to traverse, their efforts to hinder those making the ascent were easily accomplished. but pharas fought hard to force the ascent, and one hundred and ten of his men perished in this struggle, and he himself with the remainder was beaten back and retired; and as a result of this he did not dare to attempt the ascent again, since the situation was against him, but he established as careful a guard as possible, in order that those on papua, being pressed by hunger, might surrender themselves; and he neither permitted them to run away nor anything to be brought in to them from outside. then, indeed, it came about that gelimer and those about him, who were nephews and cousins of his and other persons of high birth, experienced a misery which no one could describe, however eloquent he might be, in a way which would equal the facts. for of all the nations which we know that of the vandals is the most luxurious, and that of the moors the most hardy. for the vandals, since the time when they gained possession of libya, used to indulge in baths, all of them, every day, and enjoyed a table abounding in all things, the sweetest and best that the earth and sea produce. and they wore gold very generally, and clothed themselves in the medic garments, which now they call "seric,"[ ] and passed their time, thus dressed, in theatres and hippodromes and in other pleasureable pursuits, and above all else in hunting. and they had dancers and mimes and all other things to hear and see which are of a musical nature or otherwise merit attention among men. and the most of them dwelt in parks, which were well supplied with water and trees; and they had great numbers of banquets, and all manner of sexual pleasures were in great vogue among them. but the moors live in stuffy huts[ ] both in winter and in summer and at every other time, never removing from them either because of snow or the heat of the sun or any other discomfort whatever due to nature. and they sleep on the ground, the prosperous among them, if it should so happen, spreading a fleece under themselves. moreover, it is not customary among them to change their clothing with the seasons, but they wear a thick cloak and a rough shirt at all times. and they have neither bread nor wine nor any other good thing, but they take grain, either wheat or barley, and, without boiling it or grinding it to flour or barley-meal, they eat it in a manner not a whit different from that of animals. since the moors, then, were of a such a sort, the followers of gelimer, after living with them for a long time and changing their accustomed manner of life to such a miserable existence, when at last even the necessities of life had failed, held out no longer, but death was thought by them most sweet and slavery by no means disgraceful. now when this was learned by pharas, he wrote to gelimer as follows: "i too am a barbarian and not accustomed to writing and speaking, nor am i skilful in these matters. but that which i am forced as a man to know, having learned from the nature of things, this i am writing you. what in the world has happened to you, my dear gelimer, that you have cast, not yourself alone, but your whole family besides, into this pit? is it, forsooth, that you may avoid becoming a slave? but this is assuredly nothing but youthful folly, and making of 'liberty' a mere shibboleth, as though liberty were worth possessing at the price of all this misery! and, after all, do you not consider that you are, even now, a slave to the most wretched of the moors, since your only hope of being saved, if the best happens, is in them? and yet why would it not be better in every way to be a slave among the romans and beggared, than to be monarch on mount papua with moors as your subjects? but of course it seems to you the very height of disgrace even to be a fellow slave with belisarius! away with the thought, most excellent gelimer. are not we,[ ] who also are born of noble families, proud that we are now in the service of an emperor? and indeed they say that it is the wish of the emperor justinian to have you enrolled in the senate, thus sharing in the highest honour and being a patrician, as we term that rank, and to present you with lands both spacious and good and with great sums of money, and that belisarius is willing to make himself responsible for your having all these things, and to give you pledges. now as for all the miseries which fortune has brought you, you are able to bear with fortitude whatever comes from her, knowing that you are but a man and that these things are inevitable; but if fortune has purposed to temper these adversities with some admixture of good, would you of yourself refuse to accept this gladly? or should we consider that the good gifts of fortune are not just as inevitable as are her undesirable gifts? yet such is not the opinion of even the utterly senseless; but you, it would seem, have now lost your good judgment, steeped as you are in misfortunes. indeed, discouragement is wont to confound the mind and to be transformed to folly. if, however, you can bear your own thoughts and refrain from rebelling against fortune when she changes, it will be possible at this very moment for you to choose that which will be wholly to your advantage, and to escape from the evils which hang over you." when gelimer had read this letter and wept bitterly over it, he wrote in reply as follows: "i am both deeply grateful to you for the advice which you have given me and i also think it unbearable to be a slave to an enemy who wrongs me, from whom i should pray god to exact justice, if he should be propitious to me,--an enemy who, though he had never experienced any harm from me either in deeds which he suffered or in words which he heard, provided a pretext for a war which was unprovoked, and reduced me to this state of misfortune, bringing belisarius against me from i know not where. and yet it is not at all unlikely that he also, since he is but a man, though he be emperor too, may have something befall him which he would not choose. but as for me, i am not able to write further. for my present misfortune has robbed me of my thoughts. farewell, then, dear pharas, and send me a lyre and one loaf of bread and a sponge, i pray you." when this reply was read by pharas, he was at a loss for some time, being unable to understand the final words of the letter, until he who had brought the letter explained that gelimer desired one loaf because he was eager to enjoy the sight of it and to eat it, since from the time when he went up upon papua he had not seen a single baked loaf. a sponge also was necessary for him; for one of his eyes, becoming irritated by lack of washing, was greatly swollen. and being a skilful harpist he had composed an ode relating to his present misfortune, which he was eager to chant to the accompaniment of a lyre while he wept out his soul. when pharas heard this, he was deeply moved, and lamenting the fortune of men, he did as was written and sent all the things which gelimer desired of him. however he relaxed the siege not a whit, but kept watch more closely than before. vii and already a space of three months had been spent in this siege and the winter was coming to an end. and gelimer was afraid, suspecting that his besiegers would come up against him after no great time; and the bodies of most of the children who were related to him[ ] were discharging worms in this time of misery. and though in everything he was deeply distressed, and looked upon everything,--except, indeed, death,--with dissatisfaction, he nevertheless endured the suffering beyond all expectation, until it happened that he beheld a sight such as the following. a certain moorish woman had managed somehow to crush a little corn, and making of it a very tiny cake, threw it into the hot ashes on the hearth. for thus it is the custom among the moors to bake their loaves. and beside this hearth two children were sitting, in exceedingly great distress by reason of their hunger, the one being the son of the very woman who had thrown in the cake, and the other a nephew of gelimer; and they were eager to seize the cake as soon as it should seem to them to be cooked. and of the two children the vandal got ahead of the other and snatched the cake first, and, though it was still exceedingly hot and covered with ashes, hunger overpowered him, and he threw it into his mouth and was eating it, when the other seized him by the hair of the head and struck him over the temple and beat him again and thus compelled him with great violence to cast out the cake which was already in his throat. this sad experience gelimer could not endure (for he had followed all from the beginning), and his spirit was weakened and he wrote as quickly as possible to pharas as follows: "if it has ever happened to any man, after manfully enduring terrible misfortunes, to take a course contrary to that which he had previously determined upon, consider me to be such a one, o most excellent pharas. for there has come to my mind your advice, which i am far from wishing to disregard. for i cannot resist fortune further nor rebel against fate, but i shall follow straightway wherever it seems to her best to lead; but let me receive the pledges, that belisarius guarantees that the emperor will do everything which you recently promised me. for i, indeed, as soon as you give the pledges, shall put both myself into your hands and these kinsmen of mine and the vandals, as many as are here with us." such were the words written by gelimer in this letter. and pharas, having signified this to belisarius, as well as what they had previously written to each other, begged him to declare as quickly as possible what his wish was. and belisarius (since he was greatly desirous of leading gelimer alive to the emperor), as soon as he had read the letter, became overjoyed and commanded cyprian, a leader of foederati,[ ] to go to papua with certain others, and directed them to give an oath concerning the safety of gelimer and of those with him, and to swear that he would be honoured before the emperor and would lack nothing. and when these men had come to pharas, they went with him to a certain place by the foot of the mountain, where gelimer came at their summons, and after receiving the pledges just as he wished he came with them to carthage. and it happened that belisarius was staying for a time in the suburb of the city which they call aclas. accordingly gelimer came before him in that place, laughing with such laughter as was neither moderate nor the kind one could conceal, and some of those who were looking at him suspected that by reason of the extremity of his affliction he had changed entirely from his natural state and that, already beside himself, he was laughing for no reason. but his friends would have it that the man was in his sound mind, and that because he had been born in a royal family, and had ascended the throne, and had been clothed with great power and immense wealth from childhood even to old age, and then being driven to flight and plunged into great fear had undergone the sufferings on papua, and now had come as a captive, having in this way had experience of all the gifts of fortune, both good and evil, for this reason, they believed, he thought that man's lot was worthy of nothing else than much laughter. now concerning this laughter of gelimer's, let each one speak according to his judgment, both enemy and friend. but belisarius, reporting to the emperor that gelimer was a captive in carthage, asked permission to bring him to byzantium with him. at the same time he guarded both him and all the vandals in no dishonour and proceeded to put the fleet in readiness. now many other things too great to be hoped for have before now been experienced in the long course of time, and they will continue as long as the fortunes of men are the same as they now are; for those things which seem to reason impossible are actually accomplished, and many times those things which previously appeared impossible, when they have befallen, have seemed to be worthy of wonder; but whether such events as these ever took place before i am not able to say, wherein the fourth descendant of gizeric, and his kingdom at the height of its wealth and military strength, were completely undone in so short a time by five thousand men coming in as invaders and having not a place to cast anchor. for such was the number of the horsemen who followed belisarius, and carried through the whole war against the vandals. for whether this happened by chance or because of some kind of valour, one would justly marvel at it. but i shall return to the point from which i have strayed. viii so the vandalic war ended thus. but envy, as is wont to happen in cases of great good fortune, was already swelling against belisarius, although he provided no pretext for it. for some of the officers slandered him to the emperor, charging him, without any grounds whatever, with seeking to set up a kingdom for himself,[ ] a statement for which there was no basis whatever. but the emperor did not disclose these things to the world, either because he paid no heed to the slander, or because this course seemed better to him. but he sent solomon and gave belisarius the opportunity to choose whichever of two things he desired, either to come to byzantium with gelimer and the vandals, or to remain there and send them. and belisarius, since it did not escape him that the officers were bringing against him the charge of seeking supreme power, was eager to get to byzantium, in order that he might clear himself of the charge and be able to proceed against his slanderers. now as to the manner in which he learned of the attempt of his accusers, i shall explain. when those who denounced him wished to present this slander, fearing lest the man who was to carry their letter to the emperor should be lost at sea and thus put a stop to their proceedings, they wrote the aforesaid accusation on two tablets, purposing to send two messengers to the emperor in two ships. and one of these two sailed away without being detected, but the second, on account of some suspicion or other, was captured in mandracium, and putting the writing into the hands of his captors, he made known what was being done. so belisarius, having learned in this way, was eager to come before the emperor, as has been said. such, then, was the course of these events at carthage. but the moors who dwelt in byzacium and in numidia turned to revolt for no good reason, and they decided to break the treaty and to rise suddenly against the romans. and this was not out of keeping with their peculiar character. for there is among the moors neither fear of god nor respect for men. for they care not either for oaths or for hostages, even though the hostages chance to be the children or brothers of their leaders. nor is peace maintained among the moors by any other means than by fear of the enemies opposing them. now i shall set forth in what manner the treaty was made by them with belisarius and how it was broken. when it came to be expected that the emperor's expedition would arrive in libya, the moors, fearing lest they should receive some harm from it, consulted the oracles of their women. for it is not lawful in this nation for a man to utter oracles, but the women among them as a result of some sacred rites become possessed and foretell the future, no less than any of the ancient oracles. so on that occasion, when they made enquiry, as has been said, the women gave the response: "there shall be a host from the waters, the overthrow of the vandals, destruction and defeat of the moors, when the general of the romans shall come unbearded." when the moors heard this, since they saw that the emperor's army had come from the sea, they began to be in great fear and were quite unwilling to fight in alliance with the vandals, but they sent to belisarius and established peace, as has been stated previously,[ ] and then remained quiet and waited for the future, to see how it would fall out. and when the power of the vandals had now come to an end, they sent to the roman army, investigating whether there was anyone unbearded among them holding an office. and when they saw all wearing full beards, they thought that the oracle did not indicate the present time to them, but one many generations later, interpreting the saying in that way which they themselves wished. immediately, therefore, they were eager to break the treaty, but their fear of belisarius prevented them. for they had no hope that they would ever overcome the romans in war, at least with him present. but when they heard that he was making his departure together with his guards and spearmen, and that the ships were already being filled with them and the vandals, they suddenly rose in arms and displayed every manner of outrage upon the libyans. for the soldiers were both few in each place on the frontier and still unprepared, so that they would not have been able to stand against the barbarians as they made inroads at every point, nor to prevent their incursions, which took place frequently and not in an open manner. but men were being killed indiscriminately and women with their children were being made slaves, and the wealth was being plundered from every part of the frontier and the whole country was being filled with fugitives. these things were reported to belisarius when he was just about setting sail. and since it was now too late for him to return himself, he entrusted solomon with the administration of libya and he also chose out the greatest part of his own guards and spearmen, instructing them to follow solomon and as quickly as possible to punish with all zeal those of the moors who had risen in revolt and to exact vengeance for the injury done the romans. and the emperor sent another army also to solomon with theodoras, the cappadocian, and ildiger, who was the son-in-law of antonina, the wife of belisarius. and since it was no longer possible to find the revenues of the districts of libya set down in order in documents, as the romans had recorded them in former times,[ ] inasmuch as gizeric had upset and destroyed everything in the beginning, tryphon and eustratius were sent by the emperor, in order to assess the taxes for the libyans each according to his proportion. but these men seemed to the libyans neither moderate nor endurable. ix belisarius, upon reaching byzantium with gelimer and the vandals, was counted worthy to receive such honours, as in former times were assigned to those generals of the romans who had won the greatest and most noteworthy victories. and a period of about six hundred years had now passed since anyone had attained these honours,[ ] except, indeed, titus and trajan, and such other emperors as had led armies against some barbarian nation and had been victorious. for he displayed the spoils and slaves from the war in the midst of the city and led a procession which the romans call a "triumph," not, however, in the ancient manner, but going on foot from his own house to the hippodrome and then again from the barriers until he reached the place where the imperial throne is.[ ] and there was booty,--first of all, whatever articles are wont to be set apart for the royal service,--thrones of gold and carriages in which it is customary for a king's consort to ride, and much jewelry made of precious stones, and golden drinking cups, and all the other things which are useful for the royal table. and there was also silver weighing many thousands of talents and all the royal treasure amounting to an exceedingly great sum (for gizeric had despoiled the palatium in rome, as has been said in the preceding narrative),[ ] and among these were the treasures of the jews, which titus, the son of vespasian, together with certain others, had brought to rome after the capture of jerusalem. and one of the jews, seeing these things, approached one of those known to the emperor and said: "these treasures i think it inexpedient to carry into the palace in byzantium. indeed, it is not possible for them to be elsewhere than in the place where solomon, the king of the jews, formerly placed them. for it is because of these that gizeric captured the palace of the romans, and that now the roman army has captured that the vandals." when this had been brought to the ears of the emperor, he became afraid and quickly sent everything to the sanctuaries of the christians in jerusalem. and there were slaves in the triumph, among whom was gelimer himself, wearing some sort of a purple garment upon his shoulders, and all his family, and as many of the vandals as were very tall and fair of body. and when gelimer reached the hippodrome and saw the emperor sitting upon a lofty seat and the people standing on either side and realized as he looked about in what an evil plight he was, he neither wept nor cried out, but ceased not saying over in the words of the hebrew scripture:[ ] "vanity of vanities, all is vanity." and when he came before the emperor's seat, they stripped off the purple garment, and compelled him to fall prone on the ground and do obeisance to the emperor justinian. this also belisarius did, as being a suppliant of the emperor along with him. and the emperor justinian and the empress theodora presented the children of ilderic and his offspring and all those of the family of the emperor valentinian with sufficient sums of money, and to gelimer they gave lands not to be despised in galatia and permitted him to live there together with his family. however, gelimer was by no means enrolled among the patricians, since he was unwilling to change from the faith of arius. [jan. , a.d.] a little later the triumph[ ] was celebrated by, belisarius in the ancient manner also. for he had the fortune to be advanced to the office of consul, and therefore was borne aloft by the captives, and as he was thus carried in his curule chair, he threw to the populace those very spoils of the vandalic war. for the people carried off the silver plate and golden girdles and a vast amount of the vandals' wealth of other sorts as a result of belisarius' consulship, and it seemed that after a long interval of disuse an old custom was being revived.[ ] these things, then, took place in byzantium in the manner described. x and solomon took over the army in libya; but in view of the fact that the moors had risen against him, as has been told previously, and that everything was in suspense, he was at a loss how to treat the situation. for it was reported that the barbarians had destroyed the soldiers in byzacium and numidia and that they were pillaging and plundering everything there. but what disturbed most of all both him and all carthage was the fate which befell aïgan, the massagete, and rufinus, the thracian, in byzacium. for both were men of great repute both in the household of belisarius and in the roman army, one of them, aïgan, being among the spearmen of belisarius, while the other, as the most courageous of all, was accustomed to carry the standard of the general in battle; such an officer the romans call "bandifer."[ ] now at the time referred to these two men were commanding detatchments of cavalry in byzacium, and when they saw the moors plundering everything before them and making all the libyans captives, they watched in a narrow pass with their followers for those who were escorting the booty, and killed them and took away all the captives. and when a report of this came to the commanders of the barbarians, coutzinas and esdilasas and iourphouthes and medisinissas, who were not far away from this pass, they moved against them with their whole army in the late afternoon. and the romans, being a very few men and shut off in a narrow place in the midst of many thousands, were not able to ward off their assailants. for wherever they might turn, they were always shot at from the rear. then, indeed, rufinus and aïgan with some few men ran to the top of a rock which was near by and from there defended themselves against the barbarians. now as long as they were using their bows, the enemy did not dare come directly to a hand-to-hand struggle with them, but they kept hurling their javelins among them; but when all the arrows of the romans were now exhausted, the moors closed with them, and they defended themselves with their swords as well as the circumstances permitted. but since they were overpowered by the multitude of the barbarians, aïgan fell there with his whole body hacked to pieces, and rufinus was seized by the enemy and led away. but straightway one of the commanders, medisinissas, fearing lest he should escape and again make trouble for them, cut off his head and taking it to his home shewed it to his wives, for it was a remarkable sight on account of the extraordinary size of the head and the abundance of hair. and now, since the narration of the history has brought me to this point, it is necessary to tell from the beginning whence the nations of the moors came to libya and how they settled there. when the hebrews had withdrawn from egypt and had come near the boundaries of palestine, moses, a wise man, who was their leader on the journey, died, and the leadership was passed on to joshua, the son of nun, who led this people into palestine, and, by displaying a valour in war greater than that natural to a man, gained possession of the land. and after overthrowing all the nations he easily won the cities, and he seemed to be altogether invincible. now at that time the whole country along the sea from sidon as far as the boundaries of egypt was called phoenicia. and one king in ancient times held sway over it, as is agreed by all who have written the earliest accounts of the phoenicians. in that country there dwelt very populous tribes, the gergesites and the jebusites and some others with other names by which they are called in the history of the hebrews.[ ] now when these nations saw that the invading general was an irresistible prodigy, they emigrated from their ancestral homes and made their way to egypt, which adjoined their country. and finding there no place sufficient for them to dwell in, since there has been a great population in aegypt from ancient times, they proceeded to libya. and they established numerous cities and took possession of the whole of libya as far as the pillars of heracles, and there they have lived even up to my time, using the phoenician tongue. they also built a fortress in numidia, where now is the city called tigisis. in that place are two columns made of white stone near by the great spring, having phoenician letters cut in them which say in the phoenician tongue: "we are they who fled from before the face of joshua, the robber, the son of nun." there were also other nations settled in libya before the moors, who on account of having been established there from of old were said to be children of the soil. and because of this they said that antaeus, their king, who wrestled with heracles in clipea,[ ] was a son of the earth. and in later times those who removed from phoenicia with dido came to the inhabitants of libya as to kinsmen. and they willingly allowed them to found and hold carthage. but as time went on carthage became a powerful and populous city. and a battle took place between them and their neighbours, who, as has been said, had come from palestine before them and are called moors at the present time, and the carthaginians defeated them and compelled them to live a very great distance away from carthage. later on the romans gained the supremacy over all of them in war, and settled the moors at the extremity of the inhabited land of libya, and made the carthaginians and the other libyans subject and tributary to themselves. and after this the moors won many victories over the vandals and gained possession of the land now called mauretania, extending from gadira as far as the boundaries of caesarea,[ ] as well as the most of libya which remained. such, then, is the story of the settlement of the moors in libya. xi now when solomon heard what had befallen rufinus and aïgan, he made ready for war and wrote as follows to the commanders of the moors: "other men than you have even before this had the ill fortune to lose their senses and to be destroyed, men who had no means of judging beforehand how their folly would turn out. but as for you, who have the example near at hand in your neighbours, the vandals, what in the world has happened to you that you have decided to raise your hands against the great emperor and throw away your own security, and that too when you have given the most dread oaths in writing and have handed over your children as pledges to the agreement? is it that you have determined to make a kind of display of the fact that you have no consideration either for god or for good faith or for kinship itself or for safety or for any other thing at all? and yet, if such is your practice in matters which concern the divine, in what ally do you put your trust in marching against the emperor of the romans? and if you are taking the field to the destruction of your children, what in the world is it in behalf of which you have decided to endanger yourselves? but if any repentance has by now entered your hearts for what has already taken place, write to us, that we may satisfactorily arrange with you touching what has already been done; but if your madness has not yet abated, expect a roman war, which will come upon you together with the oaths which you have violated and the wrong which you are doing to your own children." such was the letter which solomon wrote. and the moors replied as follows: "belisarius deluded us with great promises and by this means persuaded us to become subjects of the emperor justinian; but the romans, while giving us no share in any good thing, expected to have us, though pinched with hunger, as their friends and allies. therefore it is more fitting that you should be called faithless than that the moors should be. for the men who break treaties are not those who, when manifestly wronged, bring accusation against their neighbours and turn away from them, but those who expect to keep others in faithful alliance with them and then do them violence. and men make god their enemy, not when they march against others in order to recover their own possessions, but when they get themselves into danger of war by encroaching upon the possessions of others. and as for children, that will be your concern, who are not permitted to marry more than one wife; but with us, who have, it may be, fifty wives living with each of us, offspring of children can never fail." when solomon had read this letter, he decided to lead his whole army against the moors. so after arranging matters in carthage, he proceeded with all his troops to byzacium. and when he reached the place which is called mammes,[ ] where the four moorish commanders, whom i have mentioned a little before,[ ] were encamped, he made a stockade for himself. now there are lofty mountains there, and a level space near the foothills of the mountains, where the barbarians had made preparations for the battle and arranged their fighting order as follows. they formed a circle of their camels, just as, in the previous narrative,[ ] i have said cabaon did, making the front about twelve deep. and they placed the women with the children within the circle; (for among the moors it is customary to take also a few women, with their children, to battle, and these make the stockades and huts for them and tend the horses skilfully, and have charge of the camels and the food; they also sharpen the iron weapons and take upon themselves many of the tasks in connection with the preparation for battle); and the men themselves took their stand on foot in between the legs of the camels, having shields and swords and small spears which they are accustomed to hurl like javelins. and some of them with their horses remained quietly among the mountains. but solomon disregarded one half of the circle of the moors, which was towards the mountain, placing no one there. for he feared lest the enemy on the mountain should come down and those in the circle should turn about and thus make the men drawn up there exposed to attack on both sides in the battle. but against the remainder of the circle he drew up his whole army, and since he saw the most of them frightened and without courage, on account of what had befallen aïgan and rufinus, and wishing to admonish them to be of good cheer, he spoke as follows: "men who have campaigned with belisarius, let no fear of these men enter your minds, and, if moors gathered to the number of fifty thousand have already defeated five hundred romans, let not this stand for you as an example. but call to mind your own valour, and consider that while the vandals defeated the moors, you have become masters of the vandals in war without any effort, and that it is not right that those who have conquered the greater should be terrified before those who are inferior. and indeed of all men the moorish nation seems to be the most poorly equipped for war's struggle. for the most of them have no armour at all, and those who have shields to hold before themselves have only small ones which are not well made and are not able to turn aside what strikes against them. and after they have thrown those two small spears, if they do not accomplish anything, they turn of their own accord to flight. so that it is possible for you, after guarding against the first attack of the barbarians, to win the victory with no trouble at all. but as to your equipment of arms, you see, of course, how great is the difference between it and that of your opponents. and apart from this, both valour of heart and strength of body and experience in war and confidence because you have already conquered all your enemies,--all these advantages you have; but the moors, being deprived of all these things, put their trust only in their own great throng. and it is easier for a few who are most excellently prepared to conquer a multitude of men not good at warfare than it is for the multitude to defeat them. for while the good soldier has his confidence in himself, the cowardly man generally finds that the very number of those arrayed with him produces a want of room that is full of peril. furthermore, you are warranted in despising these camels, which cannot fight for the enemy, and when struck by our missiles will, in all probability, become the cause of considerable confusion and disorder among them. and the eagerness for battle which the enemy have acquired on account of their former success will be your ally in the fight. for daring, when it is kept commensurate with one's power, will perhaps be of some benefit even to those who make use of it, but when it exceeds one's power it lends into danger. bearing these things in mind and despising the enemy, observe silence and order; for by taking thought for these things we shall win the victory over the disorder of the barbarians more easily and with less labour." thus spoke solomon. and the commanders of the moors also, seeing the barbarians terrified at the orderly array of the romans, and wishing to recall their host to confidence again, exhorted them in this wise: "that the romans have human bodies, the kind that yield when struck with iron, we have been taught, o fellow-soldiers, by those of them whom we have recently met, the best of them all, some of whom we have overwhelmed with our spears and killed, and the others we have seized and made our prisoners of war. and not only is this so, but it is now possible to see also that we boast great superiority over them in numbers. and, furthermore, the struggle for us involves the very greatest things, either to be masters of all libya or to be slaves to these braggarts. it is therefore necessary for us to be in the highest degree brave men at the present time. for it is not expedient that those whose all is at stake should be other than exceedingly courageous. and it behoves us to despise the equipment of arms which the enemy have. for if they come on foot against us, they will not be able to move rapidly, but will be worsted by the agility of the moors, and their cavalry will be terrified both by the sight of the camels, and by the noise they make, which, rising above the general tumult of battle, will, in all likelihood, throw them into disorder. and if anyone by taking into consideration the victory of the romans over the vandals thinks them not to be withstood, he is mistaken in his judgment. for the scales of war are, in the nature of the case, turned by the valour of the commander or by fortune; and belisarius, who was responsible for their gaining the mastery over the vandals, has now, thanks to heaven, been removed out of our way. and, besides, we too have many times conquered the vandals and stripped them of their power, and have thus made the victory over them a more feasible and an easier task for the romans. and now we have reason to hope to conquer this enemy also if you shew yourselves brave men in the struggle." after the officers of the moors had delivered this exhortation, they began the engagement. and at first there arose great disorder in the roman army. for their horses were offended by the noise made by the camels and by the sight of them, and reared up and threw off their riders and the most of them fled in complete disorder. and in the meantime the moors were making sallies and hurling all the small spears which they had in their hands, thus causing the roman army to be filled with tumult, and they were hitting them with their missiles while they were unable either to defend themselves or to remain in position. but after this, solomon, observing what was happening, leaped down from his horse himself first and caused all the others to do the same. and when they had dismounted, he commanded the others to stand still, and, holding their shields before them and receiving the missiles sent by the enemy, to remain in their position; but he himself, leading forward not less than five hundred men, made an attack upon the other portion of the circle.[ ] these men he commanded to draw their swords and kill the camels which stood at that point. then the moors who were stationed there beat a hasty retreat, and the men under solomon killed about two hundred camels, and straightway, when the camels fell, the circle became accessible to the romans. and they advanced on the run into the middle of the circle where the women of the moors were sitting; meanwhile the barbarians in consternation withdrew to the mountain which was close by, and as they fled in complete disorder the romans followed behind and killed them. and it is said that ten thousand of the moors perished in this encounter, while all the women together with the children were made slaves. and the soldiers secured as booty all the camels which they had not killed. thus the romans with all their plunder went to carthage to celebrate the festival of triumph. xii but the barbarians, being moved with anger, once more took the field in a body against the romans, leaving behind not one of their number, and they began to overrun the country in byzacium, sparing none of any age of those who fell in their way. and when solomon had just marched into carthage it was reported that the barbarians with a great host had come into byzacium and were plundering everything there. he therefore departed quickly with his whole army and marched against them. and when he reached bourgaon, where the enemy were encamped, he remained some days in camp over against them, in order that, as soon as the moors should get on level ground, he might begin the battle. but since they remained on the mountain, he marshalled his army and arrayed it for battle; the moors, however, had no intention of ever again engaging in battle with the romans in level country (for already an irresistible fear had come over them), but on the mountain they hoped to overcome them more easily. now mt. bourgaon is for the most part precipitous and on the side toward the east extremely difficult to ascend, but on the west it is easily accessible and rises in an even slope. and there are two lofty peaks which rise up, forming between them a sort of vale, very narrow, but of incredible depth. now the barbarians left the peak of the mountain unoccupied, thinking that on this side no hostile movement would be made against them; and they left equally unprotected the space about the foot of the mountain where bourgaon was easy of access. but at the middle of the ascent they made their camp and remained there, in order that, if the enemy should ascend and begin battle with them, they might at the outset, being on higher ground, shoot down upon their heads. they also had on the mountain many horses, prepared either for flight or for the pursuit, if they should win the battle. now when solomon saw that the moors were unwilling to fight another battle on the level ground, and also that the roman army was opposed to making a siege in a desert place, he was eager to come to an encounter with the enemy on bourgaon. but inasmuch as he saw that the soldiers were stricken with terror because of the multitude of their opponents, which was many times greater than it had been in the previous battle, he called together the army and spoke as follows: "the fear which the enemy feel toward you needs no other arraignment, but voluntarily pleads guilty, bringing forward, as it does, the testimony of its own witnesses. for you see, surely, our opponents gathered in so many tens and tens of thousands, but not daring to come down to the plain and engage with us, unable to feel confidence even in their own selves, but taking refuge in the difficulty of this place. it is therefore not even necessary to address any exhortation to you, at the present time at least. for those to whom both the circumstances and the weakness of the enemy give courage, need not, i think, the additional assistance of words. but of this one thing it will be needful to remind you, that if we fight out this engagement also with brave hearts, it will remain for us, having defeated the vandals and reduced the moors to the same fortune, to enjoy all the good things of libya, having no thought whatever of an enemy in our minds. but as to preventing the enemy from shooting down upon our heads, and providing that no harm come to us from the nature of the place, i myself shall make provision." after making this exhortation solomon commanded theodorus, who led the "excubitores[ ]" (for thus the romans call their guards), to take with him a thousand infantrymen toward the end of the afternoon and with some of the standards to go up secretly on the east side of bourgaon, where the mountain is most difficult of ascent and, one might say, impracticable, commanding him that, when they arrived near the crest of the mountain, they should remain quietly there and pass the rest of the night, and that at sunrise they should appear above the enemy and displaying the standards commence to shoot. and theodoras did as directed. and when it was well on in the night, they climbed up the precipitous slope and reached a point near the peak without being noticed either by the moors or even by any of the romans; for they were being sent out, it was said, as an advance guard, to prevent anyone from coming to the camp from the outside to do mischief. and at early dawn solomon with the whole army went up against the enemy to the outskirts of bourgaon. and when morning had come and the enemy were seen near at hand, the soldiers were completely at a loss, seeing the summit of the mountain no longer unoccupied, as formerly, but covered with men who were displaying roman standards; for already some daylight was beginning to shew. but when those on the peak began their attack, the romans perceived that the army was their own and the barbarians that they had been placed between their enemy's forces, and being shot at from both sides and having no opportunity to ward off the enemy, they thought no more of resistance but turned, all of them, to a hasty flight. and since they could neither run up to the top of bourgaon, which was held by the enemy, nor go to the plain anywhere over the lower slopes of the mountain, since their opponents were pressing upon them from that side, they went with a great rush to the vale and the unoccupied peak, some even with their horses, others on foot. but since they were a numerous throng fleeing in great fear and confusion, they kept killing each other, and as they rushed into the vale, which was exceedingly deep, those who were first were being killed constantly, but their plight could not be perceived by those who were coming up behind. and when the vale became full of dead horses and men, and the bodies made a passage from bourgaon to the other mountain, then the remainder were saved by making the crossing over the bodies. and there perished in this struggle, among the moors fifty thousand, as was declared by those of them who survived, but among the romans no one at all, nor indeed did anyone receive even a wound, either at the hand of the enemy or by any accident happening to him, but they all enjoyed this victory unscathed. all of the leaders of the barbarians also made their escape, except esdilasas, who received pledges and surrendered himself to the romans. so great, however, was the multitude of women and children whom the romans seized as booty, that they would sell a moorish boy for the price of a sheep to any who wished to buy. and then the remainder of the moors recalled the saying of their women, to the effect that their nation would be destroyed by a beardless man.[ ] so the roman army, together with its booty and with esdilasas, marched into carthage; and those of the barbarians who had not perished decided that it was impossible to settle in byzacium, lest they, being few, should be treated with violence by the libyans who were their neighbours, and with their leaders they went into numidia and made themselves suppliants of iaudas, who ruled the moors in aurasium.[ ] and the only moors who remained in byzacium were those led by antalas, who during this time had kept faith with the romans and together with his subjects had remained unharmed. xiii but during the time when these things were happening in byzacium, iaudas, who ruled the moors in aurasium, bringing more than thirty thousand fighting men, was plundering the country of numidia and enslaving many of the libyans. now it so happened that althias[ ] in centuriae was keeping guard over the forts there; and he, being eager to take from the enemy some of their captives, went outside the fort with the huns who were under his command, to the number of about seventy. and reasoning that he was not able to cope with such a great multitude of moors with only seventy men, he wished to occupy some narrow pass, so that, while the enemy were marching through it, he might be able to snatch up some of the captives. and since there are no such roads there, because flat plains extend in every direction, he devised the following plan. there is a city not far distant, named tigisis, then an unwalled place, but having a great spring at a place which was very closely shut in. althias therefore decided to take possession of this spring, reasoning that the enemy, compelled by thirst, would surely come there; for there is no other water at all close by. now it seemed to all upon considering the disparity of the armies that his plan was insane. but the moors came up feeling very much wearied and greatly oppressed by the heat in the summer weather, and naturally almost overcome by an intense thirst, and they made for the spring with a great rush, having no thought of meeting any obstacle. but when they found the water held by the enemy, they all halted, at a loss what to do, the greatest part of their strength having been already expended because of their desire for water. iaudas therefore had a parley with althias and agreed to give him the third part of the booty, on condition that the moors should all drink. but althias was by no means willing to accept the proposal, but demanded that he fight with him in single combat for the booty. and this challenge being accepted by iaudas, it was agreed that if it so fell out that althias was overcame, the moors should drink. and the whole moorish army was rejoiced, being in good hope, since althias was lean and not tall of body, while iaudas was the finest and most warlike of all the moors. now both of them were, as it happened, mounted. and iaudas hurled his spear first, but as it was coming toward him althias succeeded with amazing skill in catching it with his right hand, thus filling iaudas and the enemy with consternation. and with his left hand he drew his bow instantly, for he was ambidextrous, and hit and killed the horse of iaudas. and as he fell, the moors brought another horse for their commander, upon which iaudas leaped and straightway fled; and the moorish army followed him in complete disorder. and althias, by thus taking from them the captives and the whole of the booty, won a great name in consequence of this deed throughout all libya. such, then, was the course of these events. and solomon, after delaying a short time in carthage, led his army toward mt. aurasium and iaudas, alleging against him that, while the roman army was occupied in byzacium, he had plundered many of the places in numidia. and this was true. solomon was also urged on against iaudas by the other commanders of the moors, massonas and ortaïas, because of their personal enmity; massonas, because his father mephanias, who was the father-in-law of iaudas, had been treacherously slain by him, and ortaïas, because iaudas, together with mastinas, who ruled over the barbarians in mauretania, had purposed to drive him and all the moors whom he ruled from the land where they had dwelt from of old. so the roman army, under the leadership of solomon, and those of the moors who came into alliance with them, made their camp on the river abigas, which flows along by aurasium and waters the land there. but to iaudas it seemed inexpedient to array himself against the enemy in the plain, but he made his preparations on aurasium in such a way as seemed to him would offer most difficulty to his assailants. this mountain is about thirteen days' journey distant from carthage, and the largest of all known to us. for its circuit is a three days' journey for an unencumbered traveller. and for one wishing to go upon it the mountain is difficult of access and extremely wild, but as one ascends and reaches the level ground, plains are seen and many springs which form rivers and a great number of altogether wonderful parks. and the grain which grows here, and every kind of fruit, is double the size of that produced in all the rest of libya. and there are fortresses also on this mountain, which are neglected, by reason of the fact that they do not seem necessary to the inhabitants. for since the time when the moors wrested aurasium from the vandals,[ ] not a single enemy had until now ever come there or so much as caused the barbarians to be afraid that they would come, but even the populous city of tamougadis, situated against the mountain on the east at the beginning of the plain, was emptied of its population by the moors and razed to the ground, in order that the enemy should not only not be able to encamp there, but should not even have the city as an excuse for coming near the mountain. and the moors of that place held also the land to the west of aurasium, a tract both extensive and fertile. and beyond these dwelt other nations of the moors, who were ruled by ortaïas, who had come, as was stated above, as an ally to solomon and the romans. and i have heard this man say that beyond the country which he ruled there was no habitation of men, but desert land extending to a great distance, and that beyond that there are men, not black-skinned like the moors, but very white in body and fair-haired. so much, then, for these things. and solomon, after bribing the moorish allies with great sums of money and earnestly exhorting them, began the ascent of mt. aurasium with the whole army arrayed as for battle, thinking that on that day he would do battle with the enemy and just as he was have the matter out with them according as fortune should wish. accordingly the soldiers did not even take with them any food, except a little, for themselves and their horses. and after proceeding over very rough ground for about fifty stades, they made a bivouac. and covering a similar distance each day they came on the seventh day to a place where there was an ancient fortress and an ever-flowing stream. the place is called "shield mountain" by the romans in their own tongue.[ ] now it was reported to them that the enemy were encamped there, and when they reached this place and encountered no enemy, they made camp and, preparing themselves for battle, remained there; and three days' time was spent by them in that place. and since the enemy kept altogether out of their way, and their provisions had failed, the thought came to solomon and to the whole army that there had been some plot against them on the part of the moors who were their allies; for these moors were not unacquainted with the conditions of travel on aurasium, and understood, probably, what had been decided upon by the enemy; they were stealthily going out to meet them each day, it was said, and had also frequently been sent to their country by the romans to reconnoitre, and had decided to make nothing but false reports, in order, no doubt, that the romans, with no prior knowledge of conditions, might make the ascent of mt. aurasium without supplies for a longer time or without preparing themselves otherwise in the way which would be best. and, all things considered, the romans were suspicious that an ambush had been set for them by men who were their allies and began to be afraid, reasoning that the moors are said to be by nature untrustworthy at all times and especially whenever they march as allies with the romans or any others against moors. so, remembering these things, and at the same time being pinched by hunger, they withdrew from there with all speed without accomplishing anything, and, upon reaching the plain, constructed a stockade. after this solomon established a part of the army in numidia to serve as a guard and with the remainder went to carthage, since it was already winter. there he arranged and set everything in order, so that at the beginning of spring he might again march against aurasium with a larger equipment and, if possible, without moors as allies. at the same time he prepared generals and another army and a fleet of ships for an expedition against the moors who dwell in the island of sardinia; for this island is a large one and flourishing besides, being about two thirds as large as sicily (for the perimeter of the island makes a journey of twenty days for an unencumbered traveller); and lying, as it does, between rome and carthage, it was oppressed by the moors who dwelt there. for the vandals in ancient times, being enraged against these barbarians, sent some few of them with their wives to sardinia and confined them there. but as time went on they seized the mountains which are near caranalis, at first making plundering expeditions secretly upon those who dwelt round about, but when they became no less than three thousand, they even made their raids openly, and with no desire for concealment plundered all the country there, being called barbaricini[ ] by the natives. it was against these barbarians, therefore, that solomon was preparing the fleet during that winter. such, then, was the course of events in libya. xiv and in italy during these same times the following events took place. belisarius was sent against theodatus and the gothic nation by the emperor justinian, and sailing to sicily he secured this island with no trouble. and the manner in which this was done will be told in the following pages, when the history leads me to the narration of the events in italy. for it has not seemed to me out of order first to record all the events which happened in libya and after that to turn to the portion of the history touching italy and the goths. during this winter belisarius remained in syracuse and solomon in carthage. and it came about during this year that a most dread portent took place. for the sun gave forth its light without brightness, like the moon, during this whole year, and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear nor such as it is accustomed to shed. and from the time when this thing happened men were free neither from war nor pestilence nor any other thing leading to death. and it was the time when justinian was in the tenth year of his reign. [ - a.d.] [ a.d.] at the opening of spring, when the christians were celebrating the feast which they call easter, there arose a mutiny among the soldiers in libya. i shall now tell how it arose and to what end it came. after the vandals had been defeated in the battle, as i have told previously,[ ] the roman soldiers took their daughters and wives and made them their own by lawful marriage. and each one of these women kept urging her husband to lay claim to the possession of the lands which she had owned previously, saying that it was not right or fitting if, while living with the vandals, they had enjoyed these lands, but after entering into marriage with the conquerors of the vandals they were then to be deprived of their possessions. and having these things in mind, the soldiers did not think that they were bound to yield the lands of the vandals to solomon, who wished to register them as belonging to the commonwealth and to the emperor's house and said that while it was not unreasonable that the slaves and all other things of value should go as booty to the soldiers, the land itself belonged to the emperor and the empire of the romans, which had nourished them and caused them to be called soldiers and to be such, not in order to win for themselves such land as they should wrest from the barbarians who were trespassing on the roman empire, but that this land might come to the commonwealth, from which both they and all others secured their maintenance. this was one cause of the mutiny. and there was a second, concurrent, cause also, which was no less, perhaps even more, effective in throwing all libya into confusion. it was as follows: in the roman army there were, as it happened, not less than one thousand soldiers of the arian faith; and the most of these were barbarians, some of these being of the erulian[ ] nation. now these men were urged on to the mutiny by the priests of the vandals with the greatest zeal. for it was not possible for them to worship god in their accustomed way, but they were excluded both from all sacraments and from all sacred rites. for the emperor justinian did not allow any christian who did not espouse the orthodox faith to receive baptism or any other sacrament. but most of all they were agitated by the feast of easter, during which they found themselves unable to baptize[ ] their own children with the sacred water, or do anything else pertaining to this feast. and as if these things were not sufficient for heaven, in its eagerness to ruin the fortunes of the romans, it so fell out that still another thing provided an occasion for those who were planning the mutiny. for the vandals whom belisarius took to byzantium were placed by the emperor in five cavalry squadrons, in order that they might be settled permanently in the cities of the east; he also called them the "vandals of justinian," and ordered them to betake themselves in ships to the east. now the majority of these vandal soldiers reached the east, and, filling up the squadrons to which they had been assigned, they have been fighting against the persians up to the present time; but the remainder, about four hundred in number, after reaching lesbos, waiting until the sails were bellied with the wind, forced the sailors to submission and sailed on till they reached the peloponnesus. and setting sail from there, they came to land in libya at a desert place, where they abandoned the ships, and, after equipping themselves, went up to mt. aurasium and mauretania. elated by their accession, the soldiers who were planning the mutiny formed a still closer conspiracy among themselves. and there was much talk about this in the camp and oaths were already being taken. and when the rest were about to celebrate the easter festival, the arians, being vexed by their exclusion from the sacred rites, purposed to attack them vigorously. and it seemed best to their leading men to kill solomon in the sanctuary on the first day of the feast, which they call the great day. [march , a.d.] and they were fortunate enough not to be found out, since no one disclosed this plan. for though there were many who shared in the horrible plot, no word of it was divulged to any hostile person as the orders were passed around, and thus they succeeded completely in escaping detection, for even the spearmen and guards of solomon for the most part and the majority of his domestics had become associated with this mutiny because of their desire for the lands. and when the appointed day had now come, solomon was sitting in the sanctuary, utterly ignorant of his own misfortune. and those who had decided to kill the man went in, and, urging one another with nods, they put their hands to their swords, but they did nothing nevertheless, either because they were filled with awe of the rites then being performed in the sanctuary, or because the fame of the general caused them to be ashamed, or perhaps also some divine power prevented them. and when the rites on that day had been completely performed and all were betaking themselves homeward, the conspirators began to blame one another with having turned soft-hearted at no fitting time, and they postponed the plot for a second attempt on the following day. and on the next day they acted in the same manner and departed from the sanctuary without doing anything, and entering the market place, they reviled each other openly, and every single man of them called the next one soft-hearted and a demoralizer of the band, not hesitating to censure strongly the respect felt for solomon. for this reason, indeed, they thought that they could no longer without danger remain in carthage, inasmuch as they had disclosed their plot to the whole city. the most of them, accordingly, went out of the city quickly and began to plunder the lands and to treat as enemies all the libyans whom they met; but the rest remained in the city, giving no indication of what their own intentions were but pretending ignorance of the plot which had been formed. but solomon, upon hearing what was being done by the soldiers in the country, became greatly disturbed, and ceased not exhorting those in the city and urging them to loyalty toward the emperor. and they at first seemed to receive his words with favour, but on the fifth day, when they heard that those who had gone out were secure in their power, they gathered in the hippodrome and insulted solomon and the other commanders without restraint. and theodorus, the cappadocian, being sent there by solomon, attempted to dissuade them and win them by kind words, but they listened to nothing of what was said. now this theodorus had a certain hostility against solomon and was suspected of plotting against him. for this reason the mutineers straightway elected him general over them by acclamation, and with him they went with all speed to the palace carrying weapons and raising a great tumult. there they killed another theodorus, who was commander of the guards, a man of the greatest excellence in every respect and an especially capable warrior. and when they had tasted this blood, they began immediately to kill everyone they met, whether libyan or roman, if he were known to solomon or had money in his hands; and then they turned to plundering, going up into the houses which had no soldiers to defend them and seizing all the most valuable things, until the coming of night, and drunkenness following their toil, made them cease. and solomon succeeded in escaping unnoticed into the great sanctuary which is in the palace, and martinus joined him there in the late afternoon. and when all the mutineers were sleeping, they went out from the sanctuary and entered the house of theodorus, the cappadocian, who compelled them to dine although they had no desire to do so, and conveyed them to the harbour and put them on the skiff of a certain ship, which happened to have been made ready there by martinus. and procopius also, who wrote this history, was with them, and about five men of the house of solomon. and after accomplishing three hundred stades they reached misuas, the ship-yard of carthage, and, since they had reached safety, solomon straightway commanded martinus to go into numidia to valerian and the others who shared his command, and endeavour to bring it about that each one of them, if it were in any way possible, should appeal to some of the soldiers known to him, either with money or by other means, and bring them back to loyalty toward the emperor. and he sent a letter to theodorus, charging him to take care of carthage and to handle the other matters as should seem possible to him, and he himself with procopius went to belisarius at syracuse. and after reporting everything to him which had taken place in libya, he begged him to come with all speed to carthage and defend the emperor, who was suffering unholy treatment at the hands of his own soldiers, solomon, then, was thus engaged. xv but the mutineers, after plundering everything in carthage, gathered in the plain of boulla, and chose stotzas,[ ] one of the guards of martinus, and a passionate and energetic man, as tyrant over them, with the purpose of driving the emperor's commanders out of all libya and thus gaining control over it. and he armed the whole force, amounting to about eight thousand men, and led them on to carthage, thinking to win over the city instantly with no trouble. he sent also to the vandals who had run away from byzantium with the ships and those who had not gone there with belisarius in the beginning, either because they had escaped notice, or because those who were taking off the vandals at that time took no account of them. now they were not fewer than a thousand, and after no great time they joined stotzas and the army with enthusiasm. and a great throng of slaves also came to him. and when they drew near carthage, stotzas sent orders that the people should surrender the city to him as quickly as possible, on condition of their remaining free from harm. but those in carthage and theodorus, in reply to this, refused flatly to obey, and announced that they were guarding carthage for the emperor. and they sent to stotzas joseph, the secretary of the emperor's guards, a man of no humble birth and one of the household of belisarius, who had recently been sent to carthage on some mission to them, and they demanded that stotzas should go no further in his violence. but stotzas, upon hearing this, straightway killed joseph and commenced a siege. and those in the city, becoming terrified at the danger, were purposing to surrender themselves and carthage to stotzas under an agreement. such was the course of events in the army in libya. but belisarius selected one hundred men from his own spearmen and guards, and taking solomon with him, sailed into carthage with one ship at about dusk, at the time when the besiegers were expecting that the city would be surrendered to them on the following day. and since they were expecting this, they bivouacked that night. but when day had come and they learned that belisarius was present, they broke up camp as quickly as possible and disgracefully and in complete disorder beat a hasty retreat and belisarius gathered about two thousand of the army and, after urging them with words to be loyal to the emperor and encouraging them with large gifts of money, he began the pursuit of the fugitives. and he overtook them at the city of membresa, three hundred and fifty stades distant from carthage. there both armies made camp and prepared themselves for battle, the forces of belisarius making their entrenchment at the river bagradas, and the others in a high and difficult position. for neither of them saw fit to enter the city, since it was without walls. and on the day following they joined battle, the mutineers trusting in their numbers, and the troops of belisarius despising their enemy as both without sense and without generals. and belisarius, wishing that these thoughts should be firmly lodged in the minds of his soldiers, called them all together and spoke as follows:-- "the situation, fellow-soldiers, both for the emperor and for the romans, falls far short of our hopes and of our prayers. for we have now come to a combat in which even the winning of the victory will not be without tears for us, since we are fighting against kinsmen and men who have been reared with us. but we have this comfort in our misfortune, that we are not ourselves beginning the battle, but have been brought into the conflict in our own defence. for he who has framed the plot against his dearest friends and by his own act has dissolved the ties of kinship, dies not, if he perishes, by the hands of his friends, but having become an enemy is but making atonement to those who have suffered wrong. and that our opponents are public enemies and barbarians and whatever worse name one might call them, is shewn not alone by libya, which has become plunder under their hands, nor by the inhabitants of this land, who have been wrongfully slain, but also by the multitude of roman soldiers whom these enemies have dared to kill, though they have had but one fault to charge them with--loyalty to their government. and it is to avenge these their victims that we have now come against them, having with good reason become enemies to those who were once most dear. for nature has made no men in the world either friends or opponents to one another, but it is the actions of men in every case which, either by the similarity of the motives which actuate them unite them in alliance, or by the difference set them in hostility to each other, making them friends or enemies as the case may be. that, therefore, we are fighting against men who are outlaws and enemies of the state, you must now be convinced; and now i shall make it plain that they deserve to be despised by us. for a throng of men united by no law, but brought together by motives of injustice, is utterly unable by nature to play the part of brave men, since valour is unable to dwell with lawlessness, but always shuns those who are unholy. nor, indeed, will they preserve discipline or give heed to the commands given by stotzas. for when a tyranny is newly organized and has not yet won that authority which self-confidence gives, it is, of necessity, looked upon by its subjects with contempt. nor is it honoured through any sentiment of loyalty, for a tyranny is, in the nature of the case, hated; nor does it lead its subjects by fear, for timidity deprives it of the power to speak out openly. and when the enemy is handicapped in point of valour and of discipline, their defeat is ready at hand. with great contempt, therefore, as i said, we should go against this enemy of ours. for it is not by the numbers of the combatants, but by their orderly array and their bravery, that prowess in war is wont to be measured." so spoke belisarius. and stotzas exhorted his troops as follows: "men who with me have escaped our servitude to the romans, let no one of you count it unworthy to die on behalf of the freedom which you have won by your courage and your other qualities. for it is not so terrible a thing to grow old and die in the midst of ills, as to return again to it after having gained freedom from oppressive conditions. for the interval which has given one a taste of deliverance makes the misfortune, naturally enough, harder to bear. and this being so, it is necessary for you to call to mind that after conquering the vandals and the moors you yourselves have enjoyed the labours of war, while others have become masters of all the spoils. and consider that, as soldiers, you will be compelled all your lives to be acquainted with the dangers of war, either in behalf of the emperor's cause, if, indeed, you are again his slaves, or in behalf of your own selves, if you preserve this present liberty. and whichever of the two is preferable, this it is in your power to choose, either by becoming faint-hearted at this time, or by preferring to play the part of brave men. furthermore, this thought also should come to your minds,--that if, having taken up arms against the romans, you come under their power, you will have experience of no moderate or indulgent masters, but you will suffer the extreme of punishment, and, what is more, your death will not have been unmerited. to whomsoever of you, therefore, death comes in this battle, it is plain that it will be a glorious death; and life, if you conquer the enemy, will be independent and in all other respects happy; but if you are defeated,--i need mention no other bitterness than this, that all your hope will depend upon the mercy of those men yonder. and the conflict will not be evenly matched in regard to strength. for not only are the enemy greatly surpassed by us in numbers, but they will come against us without the least enthusiasm, for i think that they are praying for a share of this our freedom." such was the speech of stotzas. as the armies entered the combat, a wind both violent and exceedingly troublesome began to blow in the faces of the mutineers of stotzas. for this reason they thought it disadvantageous for them to fight the battle where they were, fearing lest the wind by its overpowering force should carry the missiles of the enemy against them, while the impetus of their own missiles would be very seriously checked. they therefore left their position and moved toward the flank, reasoning that if the enemy also should change front, as they probably would, in order that they might not be assailed from the rear, the wind would then be in their faces. but belisarius, upon seeing that they had left their position and in complete disorder were moving to his flank, gave orders immediately to open the attack. and the troops of stotzas were thrown into confusion by the unexpected move, and in great disorder, as each one could, they fled precipitately, and only when they reached numidia did they collect themselves again. few of them, however, perished in this action, and most of them were vandals. for belisarius did not pursue them at all, for the reason that it seemed to him sufficient, since his army was very small, if the enemy, having been defeated for the present, should get out of his way. and he gave the soldiers the enemy's stockade to plunder, and they took it with not a man inside. but much money was found there and many women, the very women because of whom this war took place.[ ] after accomplishing this, belisarius marched back to carthage. and someone coming from sicily reported to him that a mutiny had broken out in the army and was about to throw everything into confusion, unless he himself should return to them with all speed and take measures to prevent it. he there therefore arranged matters in libya as well as he could and, entrusting carthage to ildiger and theodorus, went to sicily. and the roman commanders in numidia, hearing that the troops of stotzas had come and were gathering there, prepared for battle. now the commanders were as follows: of foederati,[ ] marcellus and cyril, of the cavalry forces, barbatus, and of infantry terentius and sarapis. all, however, took their commands from marcellus, as holding the authority in numidia. he, therefore, upon hearing that stotzas with some few men was in a place called gazophyla,[ ] about two days' journey distant from constantina,[ ] wished to anticipate the gathering of all the mutineers, and led his army swiftly against them. and when the two armies were near together and the battle was about to commence, stotzas came alone into the midst of his opponents and spoke as follows: "fellow-soldiers, you are not acting justly in taking the field against kinsmen and those who have been reared with you, and in raising arms against men who in vexation at your misfortunes and the wrongs you have suffered have decided to make war upon the emperor and the romans. or do you not remember that you have been deprived of the pay which has been owing you for a long time back, and that you have been robbed of the enemy's spoil, which the law of war has set as prizes for the dangers of battle? and that the others have claimed the right to live sumptuously all their lives upon the good things of victory, while you have followed as if their servants? if, now, you are angry with me, it is within your power to vent your wrath upon this body, and to escape the pollution of killing the others; but if you have no charge to bring against me, it is time for you to take up your weapons in your own behalf." so spoke stotzas; and the soldiers listened to his words and greeted him with great favour. and when the commanders saw what was happening, they withdrew in silence and took refuge in a sanctuary which was in gazophyla. and stotzas combined both armies into one and then went to the commanders. and finding them in the sanctuary, he gave pledges and then killed them all. xvi when the emperor learned this, he sent his nephew germanus, a man of patrician rank, with some few men to libya. and symmachus also and domnicus, men of the senate, followed him, the former to be prefect and charged with the maintenance of the army, while domnicus was to command the infantry forces. for john,[ ] who had held the office of prefect, had already died of disease. and when they had sailed into carthage, germanus counted the soldiers whom they had, and upon looking over the books of the scribes where the names of all the soldiers were registered, he found that the third part of the army was in carthage and the other cities, while all the rest were arrayed with the tyrant against the romans. he did not, therefore, begin any fighting, but bestowed the greatest care upon his army. and considering that those left in carthage were the kinsmen or tentmates of the enemy, he kept addressing many winning words to all, and in particular said that he had himself been sent by the emperor to libya in order to defend the soldiers who had been wronged and to punish those who had unprovoked done them any injury. and when this was found out by the mutineers, they began to come over to him a few at a time. and germanus both received them into the city in a friendly manner and, giving pledges, held them in honour, and he gave them their pay for the time during which they had been in arms against the romans. and when the report of these acts was circulated and came to all, they began now to detach themselves in large numbers from the tyrant and to march to carthage. then at last germanus, hoping that in the battle he would be evenly matched in strength with his opponents, began to make preparations for the conflict. but in the meantime stotzas, already perceiving the trouble, and fearing lest by the defection of still others of his soldiers the army should be reduced still more, was pressing for a decisive encounter immediately and trying to take hold of the war with more vigour. and since he had some hope regarding the soldiers in carthage, that they would come over to him, and thought that they would readily desert if he came near them, he held out the hope to all his men; and after encouraging them exceedingly in this way, he advanced swiftly with his whole army against carthage. and when he had come within thirty-five stades of the city, he made camp not far from the sea, and germanus, after arming his whole army and arraying them for battle, marched forth. and when they were all outside the city, since he had heard what stotzas was hoping for, he called together the whole army and spoke as follows: "that there is nothing, fellow-soldiers, with which you can justly reproach the emperor, and no fault which you can find with what he has done to you, this, i think, no one of you all could deny; for it was he who took you as you came from the fields with your wallets and one small frock apiece and brought you together in byzantium, and has caused you to be so powerful that the roman state now depends upon you. and that he has not only been treated with wanton insult, but has also suffered the most dreadful of all things at your hands, you yourselves, doubtless, know full well. and desiring that you should preserve the memory of these things for ever, he has dismissed the accusations brought against you for your crimes, asking that this debt alone be due to him from you--shame for what you have done. it is reasonable, therefore, that you, being thus regarded by him, should learn anew the lesson of good faith and correct your former folly. for when repentance comes at the fitting time upon those who have done wrong, it is accustomed to make those who have been injured indulgent; and service which comes in season is wont to bring another name to those who have been called ungrateful. "and it will be needful for you to know well this also, that if at the present time you shew yourselves completely loyal to the emperor, no remembrance will remain of what has gone before. for in the nature of things every course of action is characterized by men in accordance with its final outcome; and while a wrong which has once been committed can never be undone in all time, still, when it has been corrected by better deeds on the part of those who committed it, it receives the fitting reward of silence and generally comes to be forgotten. moreover, if you act with any disregard of duty toward these accursed rascals at the present time, even though afterwards you fight through many wars in behalf of the romans and often win the victory over the enemy, you will never again be regarded as having requited the emperor as you can requite him to-day. for those who win applause in the very matter of their former wrong-doing always gain for themselves a fairer apology. as regards the emperor, then, let each one of you reason in some such way. but as for me, i have not voluntarily done you any injustice, and i have displayed my good-will to you by all possible means, and now, facing this danger, i have decided to ask this much of you all: let no man advance with us against the enemy contrary to his judgement. but if anyone of you is already desirous of arraying himself with them, without delay let him go with his weapons to the enemy's camp, granting us this one favour, that it be not stealthily, but openly, that he has decided to do us wrong. indeed, it is for this reason that i am making my speech, not in carthage, but after coming on the battle-field, in order that i might not be an obstacle to anyone who desires to desert to our opponents, since it is possible for all without danger to shew their disposition toward the state." thus spoke germanus. and a great uproar ensued in the roman army, for each one demanded the right to be the first to display to the general his loyalty to the emperor and to swear the most dread oaths in confirmation. xvii now for some time the two armies remained in position opposite each other. but when the mutineers saw that nothing of what stotzas had foretold was coming to pass, they began to be afraid as having been unexpectedly cheated of their hope, and they broke their ranks and withdrew, and marched off to numidia, where were their women and the money from their booty. and germanus too came there with the whole army not long afterwards, having made all preparations in the best way possible and also bringing along many wagons for the army. and overtaking his opponents in a place which the romans call scalae veteres, he made his preparations for battle in the following manner. placing the wagons in line facing the front, he arrayed all the infantry along them under the leadership of domnicus, so that by reason of having their rear in security they might fight with the greater courage. and the best of the horsemen and those who had come with him from byzantium he himself had on the left of the infantry, while all the others he placed on the right wing, not marshalled in one body but in three divisions. and ildiger led one of them, theodoras the cappadocian another, while the remaining one, which was larger, was commanded by john, the brother of pappus, with three others. thus did the romans array themselves. and the mutineers took their stand opposite them, not in order, however, but scattered, more in the manner of barbarians. and at no great distance many thousands of moors followed them, who were commanded by a number of leaders, and especially by iaudas and ortaïas. but not all of them, as it happened, were faithful to stotzas and his men, for many had sent previously to germanus and agreed that, when they came into the fight, they would array themselves with the emperor's army against the enemy. however, germanus could not trust them altogether, for the moorish nation is by nature faithless to all men. it was for this reason also that they did not array themselves with the mutineers, but remained behind, waiting for what would come to pass, in order that with those who should be victorious they might join in the pursuit of the vanquished. such was the purpose, then, of the moors, in following behind and not mingling with the mutineers. and when stotzas came close to the enemy and saw the standard of germanus, he exhorted his men and began to charge against him. but the mutinous eruli who were arrayed about him did not follow and even tried with all their might to prevent him, saying that they did not know the character of the forces of germanus, but that they did know that those arrayed on the enemy's right would by no means withstand them. if, therefore, they should advance against these, they would not only give way themselves and turn to flight, but would also, in all probability, throw the rest of the roman army into confusion; but if they should attack germanus and be driven back and put to rout, their whole cause would be ruined on the spot. and stotzas was persuaded by these words, and permitted the others to fight with the men of germanus, while he himself with the best men went against john and those arrayed with him. and they failed to withstand the attack and hastened to flee in complete disorder. and the mutineers took all their standards immediately, and pursued them as they fled at top speed, while some too charged upon the infantry, who had already begun to abandon their ranks. but at this juncture germanus himself, drawing his sword and urging the whole of that part of the army to do the same, with great difficulty routed the mutineers opposed to him and advanced on the run against stotzas. and then, since he was joined in this effort by the men of ildiger and theodorus, the two armies mingled with each other in such a way that, while the mutineers were pursuing some of their enemy, they were being overtaken and killed by others. and as the confusion became greater and greater, the troops of germanus, who were in the rear, pressed on still more, and the mutineers, falling into great fear, thought no longer of resistance. but neither side could be distinguished either by their own comrades or by their opponents. for all used one language and the same equipment of arms, and they differed neither in figure nor in dress nor in any other thing whatever. for this reason the soldiers of the emperor by the advice of germanus, whenever they captured anyone, asked who he was; and then, if he said that he was a soldier of germanus, they bade him give the watchword of germanus, and if he was not at all able to give this, they killed him instantly. in this struggle one of the enemy got by unnoticed and killed the horse of germanus, and germanus himself fell to the ground and came into danger, and would have been lost had not his guards quickly saved him by forming an enclosure around him and mounting him on another horse. as for stotzas, he succeeded in this tumult in escaping with a few men. but germanus, urging on his men, went straight for the enemy's camp. there he was encountered by those of the mutineers who had been stationed to guard the stockade. a stubborn fight took place around its entrance, and the mutineers came within a little of forcing back their opponents, but germanus sent some of his followers and bade them make trial of the camp at another point. these men, since no one was defending the camp at this place, got inside the stockade with little trouble. and the mutineers, upon seeing them, rushed off in flight, and germanus with all the rest of the army dashed into the enemy's camp. there the soldiers, finding it easy to plunder the goods of the camp, neither took any account of the enemy nor paid any further heed to the exhortations of their general, since booty was at hand. for this reason germanus, fearing lest the enemy should get together and come upon them, himself with some few men took his stand at the entrance of the stockade, uttering many laments and urging his unheeding men to return to good order. and many of the moors, when the rout had taken place in this way, were now pursuing the mutineers, and, arraying themselves with the emperor's troops, were plundering the camp of the vanquished. but stotzas, at first having confidence in the moorish army, rode to them in order to renew the battle. but perceiving what was being done, he fled with a hundred men, and succeeded with difficulty in making his escape. and once more many gathered about him and attempted to engage with the enemy, but being repulsed no less decisively than before, if not even more so, they all came over to germanus. and stotzas alone with some few vandals withdrew to mauretania, and taking to wife the daughter of one of the rulers, remained there. and this was the conclusion of that mutiny. xviii now there was among the body-guards of theodorus, the cappadocian, a certain maximinus, an exceedingly base man. this maximinus had first got a very large number of the soldiers to join with him in a conspiracy against the government, and was now purposing to attempt a tyranny. and being eager to associate with himself still more men, he explained the project to others and especially to asclepiades, a native of palestine, who was a man of good birth and the first of the personal friends of theodorus. now asclepiades, after conversing with theodorus, straightway reported the whole matter to germanus. and he, not wishing as yet, while affairs were still unsettled, to begin any other disturbance, decided to get the best of the man by cajoling and flattering him rather than by punishment, and to bind him by oaths to loyalty toward the government. accordingly, since it was an old custom among all romans that no one should become a body-guard of one of the commanders, unless he had previously taken the most dread oaths and given pledges of his loyalty both toward his own commander and toward the roman emperor, he summoned maximinus, and praising him for his daring, directed him to be one of his body-guards from that time forth. and he, being overjoyed at the extraordinary honour, and conjecturing that his project would in this way get on more easily, took the oath, and though from that time forth he was counted among the body-guards of germanus, he did not hesitate to disregard his oaths immediately and to strengthen much more than ever his plans to achieve the tyranny. now the whole city was celebrating some general festival, and many of the conspirators of maximinus at about the time of lunch came according to their agreement to the palace, where germanus was entertaining his friends at a feast, and maximinus took his stand beside the couches with the other body-guards. and as the drinking proceeded, someone entered and announced to germanus that many soldiers were standing in great disorder before the door of the court, putting forward the charge that the government owed them their pay for a long period. and he commanded the most trusty of the guards secretly to keep close watch over maximinus, allowing him in no way to perceive what was being done. then the conspirators with threats and tumult proceeded on the run to the hippodrome, and those who shared their plan with them gathered gradually from the houses and were assembling there. and if it had so chanced that all of them had come together, no one, i think, would have been able easily to destroy their power; but, as it was, germanus anticipated this, and, before the greater part had yet arrived, he straightway sent against them all who were well-disposed to himself and to the emperor. and they attacked the conspirators before they expected them. and then, since maximinus, for whom they were waiting to begin the battle for them, was not with them, and they did not see the crowd gathered to help them, as they had thought it would be, but instead even beheld their fellow-soldiers unexpectedly fighting against them, they consequently lost heart and were easily overcome in the struggle and rushed off in flight and in complete disorder. and their opponents slew many of them, and they also captured many alive and brought them to germanus. those, however, who had not already come to the hippodrome gave no indication of their sentiment toward maximinus. and germanus did not see fit to go on and seek them out, but he enquired whether maximinus, since he had sworn the oath, had taken part in the plot. and since it was proved that, though numbered among his own body-guards he had carried on his designs still more than before, germanus impaled him close by the fortifications of carthage, and in this way succeeded completely in putting down the sedition. as for maximinus, then, such was the end of his plot. xi [ - a.d.] and the emperor summoned germanus together with symmachus and domnicus and again entrusted all libya to solomon, in the thirteenth year of his reign; and he provided him with an army and officers, among whom were rufinus and leontius, the sons of zaunas the son of pharesmanas, and john, the son of sisiniolus. for martinus and valerianus had already before this gone under summons to byzantium. and solomon sailed to carthage, and having rid himself of the sedition of stotzas, he ruled with moderation and guarded libya securely, setting the army in order, and sending to byzantium and to belisarius whatever suspicious elements he found in it, and enrolling new soldiers to equal their number, and removing those of the vandals who were left and especially all their women from the whole of libya. and he surrounded each city with a wall, and guarding the laws with great strictness, he restored the government completely. and libya became under his rule powerful as to its revenues and prosperous in other respects. and when everything had been arranged by him in the best way possible, he again made an expedition against iaudas and the moors on aurasium. and first he sent forward gontharis, one of his own body-guards and an able warrior, with an army. now gontharis came to the abigas river and made camp near bagaïs, a deserted city. and there he engaged with the enemy, but was defeated in battle, and retiring to his stockade was already being hard pressed by the siege of the moors. but afterwards solomon himself arrived with his whole army, and when he was sixty stades away from the camp which gontharis was commanding, he made a stockade and remained there; and hearing all that had befallen the force of gontharis, he sent them a part of his army and bade them keep up the fight against the enemy with courage. but the moors, having gained the upper hand in the engagement, as i have said, did as follows. the abigas river flows from aurasium, and descending into a plain, waters the land just as the men there desire. for the natives conduct this stream to whatever place they think it will best serve them at the moment, for in this plain there are many channels, into which the abigas is divided, and entering all of them, it passes underground, and reappears again above the ground and gathers its stream together. this takes place over the greatest part of the plain and makes it possible for the inhabitants of the region, by stopping up the waterways with earth, or by again opening them, to make use of the waters of this river as they wish. so at that time the moors shut off all the channels there and thus allowed the whole stream to flow about the camp of the romans. as a result of this, a deep, muddy marsh formed there through which it was impossible to go; this terrified them exceedingly and reduced them to a state of helplessness. when this was heard by solomon, he came quickly. but the barbarians, becoming afraid, withdrew to the foot of aurasium. and in a place which they call babosis they made camp and remained there. so solomon moved with his whole army and came to that place. and upon engaging with the enemy, he defeated them decisively and turned them to flight. now after this the moors did not think it advisable for them to fight a pitched battle with the romans; for they did not hope to overcome them in this kind of contest; but they did have hope, based on the difficult character of the country around aurasium, that the romans would in a short time give up by reason of the sufferings they would have to endure and would withdraw from there, just as they formerly had done. the most of them, therefore, went off to mauretania and the barbarians to the south of aurasium, but iaudas with twenty thousand of the moors remained there. and it happened that he had built a fortress on aurasium, zerboule by name. into this he entered with all the moors and remained quiet. but solomon was by no means willing that time should be wasted in the siege, and learning that the plains about the city of tamougade were full of grain just becoming ripe, he led his army into them, and settling himself there, began to plunder the land. then, after firing everything, he returned again to the fortress of zerboule. but during this time, while the romans were plundering the land, iaudas, leaving behind some of the moors, about as many as he thought would be sufficient for the defence of the fortress, himself ascended to the summit of aurasium with the rest of the army, not wishing to stand siege in the fort and have provisions fail his forces. and finding a high place with cliff's on all sides of it and concealed by perpendicular rocks, toumar by name, he remained quietly there. and the romans besieged the fortress of zerboule for three days. and using their bows, since the wall was not high, they hit many of the barbarians upon the parapets. and by some chance it happened that all the leaders of the moors were hit by these missiles and died. and when the three days' time had passed and night came on, the romans, having learned nothing of the death of the leaders among the moors, were planning to break up the siege. for it seemed better to solomon to go against iaudas and the multitude of the moors, thinking that, if he should be able to capture that force by siege, the barbarians in zerboule would with less trouble and difficulty yield to the romans. but the barbarians, thinking that they could no longer hold out against the siege, since all their leaders had now been destroyed, decided to flee with all speed and abandon the fortress. accordingly they fled immediately in silence and without allowing the enemy in any way to perceive it, and the romans also at daybreak began to prepare for departure. and since no one appeared on the wall, although the besieging army was withdrawing, they began to wonder and fell into the greatest perplexity among themselves. and in this state of uncertainty they went around the fortress and found the gate open from which the moors had departed in flight. and entering the fortress they treated everything as plunder, but they had no thought of pursuing the enemy, for they had set out with light equipment and were familiar with the country round about. and when they had plundered everything, they set guards over the fortress, and all moved forward on foot. xx and coming to the place toumar, where the enemy had shut themselves in and were remaining quiet, they encamped near by in a bad position, where there would be no supply of water, except a little, nor any other necessary thing. and after much time had been spent and the barbarians did not come out against them at all, they themselves, no less than the enemy, if not even more, were hard pressed by the siege and began to be impatient. and more than anything else, they were distressed by the lack of water; this solomon himself guarded, giving each day no more than a single cupful to each man. and since he saw that they were openly discontented and no longer able to bear their present hardships, he planned to make trial of the place, although it was difficult of access, and called all together and exhorted them as follows: "since god has granted to the romans to besiege the moors on aurasium, a thing which hitherto has been beyond hope and now, to such as do not see what is actually being done, is altogether incredible, it is necessary that we too should lend our aid to the help that has come from above, and not prove false to this favour, but undergoing the danger with enthusiasm, should reach after the good fortune which is to come from success. for in every case the turning of the scales of human affairs depends upon the moment of opportunity; but if a man, by wilful cowardice, is traitor to his fortune, he cannot justly blame it, having by his own action brought the guilt upon himself. now as for the moors, you see their weakness surely and the place in which they have shut themselves up and are keeping guard, deprived of all the necessities of life. and as for you, one of two things is necessary, either without feeling any vexation at the siege to await the surrender of the enemy, or, if you shrink from this, to accept the victory which goes with the danger. and fighting against these barbarians will be the more free from danger for us, inasmuch as they are already fighting with hunger and i think they will never even come to an engagement with us. having these things in mind at the present time, it behooves you to execute all your orders with eagerness." after solomon had made this exhortation, he looked about to see from what point it would be best for his men to make an attempt on the place, and for a long time he seemed to be in perplexity. for the difficult nature of the ground seemed to him quite too much to contend with. but while solomon was considering this, chance provided a way for the enterprise as follows. there was a certain gezon in the army, a foot-soldier, "optio"[ ] of the detachment to which solomon belonged; for thus the romans call the paymaster. this gezon, either in play or in anger, or perhaps even moved by some divine impulse, began to make the ascent alone, apparently going against the enemy, and not far from him went some of his fellow-soldiers, marvelling greatly at what he was doing. and three of the moors, who had been stationed to guard the approach, suspecting that the man was coming against them, went on the run to confront him. but since they were in a narrow way, they did not proceed in orderly array, but each one went separately. and gezon struck the first one who came upon him and killed him, and in this way he despatched each of the others. and when those in the rear perceived this, they advanced with much shouting and tumult against the enemy. and when the whole roman army both heard and saw what was being done, without waiting either for the general to lead the way for them or for the trumpets to give the signal for battle, as was customary, nor indeed even keeping their order, but making a great uproar and urging one another on, they ran against the enemy's camp. there rufinus and leontius, the sons of zaunas the son of pharesmanes, made a splendid display of valorous deeds against the enemy. and by this the moors were terror-stricken, and when they learned that their guards also had been destroyed, they straightway turned to flight where each one could, and the most of them were overtaken in the difficult ground and killed. and iaudas himself, though struck by a javelin in the thigh, still made his escape and withdrew to mauretania. but the romans, after plundering the enemy's camp, decided not to abandon aurasium again, but to guard fortresses which solomon was to build there, so that this mountain might not be again accessible to the moors. now there is on aurasium a perpendicular rock which rises in the midst of precipices; the natives call it the rock of geminianus; there the men of ancient times had built a tower, making it very small as a place of refuge, strong and unassailable, since the nature of the position assisted them. here, as it happened, iaudas had a few days previously deposited his money and his women, setting one old moor in charge as guardian of the money. for he could never have suspected that the enemy would either reach this place, or that they could in all time capture the tower by force. but the romans at that time, searching through the rough country of aurasium, came there, and one of them, with a laugh, attempted to climb up to the tower; but the women began to taunt him, ridiculing him as attempting the impossible; and the old man, peering out from the tower, did the same thing. but when the roman soldier, climbing with both hands and feet, had come near them, he drew his sword quietly and leaped forward as quickly as he could, and struck the old man a fair blow on the neck, and succeeded in cutting it through. and the head fell down to the ground, and the soldiers, now emboldened and holding to one another, ascended to the tower, and took out from there both the women and the money, of which there was an exceedingly great quantity. and by means of it solomon surrounded many of the cities in libya with walls. and after the moors had retired from numidia, defeated in the manner described, the land of zabe, which is beyond mt. aurasium and is called "first mauretania," whose metropolis is sitiphis,[ ] was added to the roman empire by solomon as a tributary province; for of the other mauretania caesarea is the first city, where was settled mastigas[ ] with his moors, having the whole country there subject and tributary to him, except, indeed, the city of caesarea. for this city belisarius had previously recovered for the romans, as has been set forth in the previous narrative[ ]; and the romans always journey to this city in ships, but they are not able to go by land, since moors dwell in that country. and as a result of this all the libyans who were subjects of the romans, coming to enjoy secure peace and finding the rule of solomon wise and very moderate, and having no longer any thought of hostility in their minds, seemed the most fortunate of all men. xxi but in the fourth year after this it came about that all their blessings were turned to the opposite. [ - a.d.] for in the seventeenth year of the reign of the emperor justinian, cyrus and sergius, the sons of bacchus, solomon's brother, were assigned by the emperor to rule over the cities in libya, cyrus, the elder, to have pentapolis,[ ] and sergius tripolis. and the moors who are called leuathae came to sergius with a great army at the city of leptimagna,[ ] spreading the report that the reason they had come was this, that sergius might give them the gifts and insignia of office which were customary[ ] and so make the peace secure. but sergius, persuaded by pudentius, a man of tripolis, of whom i made mention in the preceding narrative[ ] as having served the emperor justinian against the vandals at the beginning of the vandalic war, received eighty of the barbarians, their most notable men, into the city, promising to fulfil all their demands; but he commanded the rest to remain in the suburb. then after giving these eighty men pledges concerning the peace, he invited them to a banquet. but they say that these barbarians had come into the city with treacherous intent, that they might lay a trap for sergius and kill him. and when they came into conference with him, they called up many charges against the romans, and in particular said that their crops had been plundered wrongfully. and sergius, paying no heed to these things, rose from the seat on which he was sitting, with intent to go away. and one of the barbarians, laying hold upon his shoulder, attempted to prevent him from going. then the others began to shout in confusion, and were already rushing together about him. but one of the body-guards of sergius, drawing his sword, despatched that moor. and as a result of this a great tumult, as was natural, arose in the room, and the guards of sergius killed all the barbarians. but one of them, upon seeing the others being slain, rushed out of the house where these things were taking place, unnoticed by anyone, and coming to his tribemates, revealed what had befallen their fellows. and when they heard this, they betook themselves on the run to their own camp and together with all the others arrayed themselves in arms against the romans. now when they came near the city of leptimagna, sergius and pudentius confronted them with their whole army. and the battle becoming a hand-to-hand fight, at first the romans were victorious and slew many of the enemy, and, plundering their camp, secured their goods and enslaved an exceedingly great number of women and children. but afterwards pudentius, being possessed by a spirit of reckless daring, was killed; and sergius with the roman army, since it was already growing dark, marched into leptimagna. at a later time the barbarians took the field against the romans with a greater array. and sergius went to join his uncle solomon, in order that he too might go to meet the enemy with a larger army; and he found there his brother cyrus also. and the barbarians, coming into byzacium, made raids and plundered a great part of the country there; and antalas (whom i mentioned in the preceding narrative[ ] as having remained faithful to the romans and as being for this reason sole ruler of the moors in byzacium) had by now, as it happened, become hostile to solomon, because solomon had deprived him of the maintenance with which the emperor had honoured him and had killed his brother, charging him with responsibility for an uprising against the people of byzacium. so at that time antalas was pleased to see these barbarians, and making an offensive and defensive alliance with them, led them against solomon and carthage. and solomon, as soon as he heard about this, put his whole army in motion and marched against them, and coming upon them at the city of tebesta, distant six days' journey from carthage, he established his camp in company with the sons of his brother bacchus, cyrus and sergius and solomon the younger. and fearing the multitude of the barbarians, he sent to the leaders of the leuathae, reproaching them because, while at peace with the romans, they had taken up arms and come against them, and demanding that they should confirm the peace existing between the two peoples, and he promised to swear the most dread oaths, that he would hold no remembrance of what they had done. but the barbarians, mocking his words, said that he would of course swear by the sacred writings of the christians, which they are accustomed to call gospels. now since sergius had once taken these oaths and then had slain those who trusted in them,[ ] it was their desire to go into battle and make a test of these same sacred writings, to see what sort of power they had against the perjurers, in order that they might first have absolute confidence in them before they finally entered into the agreement. when solomon heard this, he made his preparations for the combat. and on the following day he engaged with a portion of the enemy as they were bringing in a very large booty, conquered them in battle, seized all their booty and kept it under guard. and when the soldiers were dissatisfied and counted it an outrage that he did not give them the plunder, he said that he was awaiting the outcome of the war, in order that they might distribute everything then, according to the share that should seem to suit the merit of each. but when the barbarians advanced a second time, with their whole army, to give battle, this time some of the romans stayed behind and the others entered the encounter with no enthusiasm. at first, then, the battle was evenly contested, but later, since the moors were vastly superior by reason of their great numbers, the most of the romans fled, and though solomon and a few men about him held out for a time against the missiles of the barbarians, afterwards they were overpowered by the enemy, and fleeing in haste, reached a ravine made by a brook which flowed in that region. and there solomon's horse stumbled and threw him to the ground, and his body-guards lifted him quickly in their arms and set him upon his horse. but overcome by great pain and unable to hold the reins longer, he was overtaken and killed by the barbarians, and many of his guards besides. such was the end of solomon's life. xxii after the death of solomon, sergius, who, as has been said, was his nephew, took over the government of libya by gift of the emperor. and this man became the chief cause of great ruin to the people of libya, and all were dissatisfied with his rule--the officers because, being exceedingly stupid and young both in character and in years, he proved to be the greatest braggart of all men, and he insulted them for no just cause and disregarded them, always using the power of his wealth and the authority of his office to this end; and the soldiers disliked him because he was altogether unmanly and weak; and the libyans, not only for these reasons, but also because he had shown himself strangely fond of the wives and the possessions of others. but most of all john, the son of sisiniolus, was hostile to the power of sergius; for, though he was an able warrior and was a man of unusually fair repute, he found sergius absolutely ungrateful. for this reason neither he nor anyone else at all was willing to take up arms against the enemy. but almost all the moors were following antalas, and stotzas came at his summons from mauretania. and since not one of the enemy came out against them, they began to sack the country, making plunder of everything without fear. at that time antalas sent to the emperor justinian a letter, which set forth the following: "that i am a slave of thy empire not even i myself would deny, but the moors, having suffered unholy treatment at the hands of solomon in time of peace, have taken up arms under the most severe constraint, not lifting them against thee, but warding off our personal enemy; and this is especially true of me. for he not only decided to deprive me of the maintenance, which belisarius long before specified and thou didst grant, but he also killed my own brother, although he had no wrongdoing to charge against him. we have therefore taken vengeance upon him who wronged us. and if it is thy will that the moors be in subjection to thy empire and serve it in all things as they are accustomed to do, command sergius, the nephew of solomon, to depart from here and return to thee, and send another general to libya. for thou wilt not be lacking in men of discretion and more worthy than sergius in every way; for as long as this man commands thy army, it is impossible for peace to be established between the romans and the moors." such was the letter written by antalas. but the emperor, even after reading these things and learning the common enmity of all toward sergius, was still unwilling to remove him from his office, out of respect for the virtues of solomon and especially the manner of his death. such, then, was the course of these events. but solomon, the brother of sergius, who was supposed to have disappeared from the world together with his uncle solomon, was forgotten by his brother and by the rest as well; for no one had learned that he was alive. but the moors, as it happened, had taken him alive, since he was very young; and they enquired of him who he was. and he said that he was a vandal by birth, and a slave of solomon. he said, moreover, that he had a friend, a physician, pegasius by name, in the city of laribus near by, who would purchase him by giving ransom. so the moors came up close to the fortifications of the city and called pegasius and displayed solomon to him, and asked whether it was his pleasure to purchase the man. and since he agreed to purchase him, they sold solomon to him for fifty pieces of gold. but upon getting inside the fortifications, solomon taunted the moors as having been deceived by him, a mere lad; for he said that he was no other than solomon, the son of bacchus and nephew of solomon. and the moors, being deeply stung by what had happened, and counting it a terrible thing that, while having a strong security for the conduct of sergius and the romans, they had relinquished it so carelessly, came to laribus and laid siege to the place, in order to capture solomon with the city. and the besieged, in terror at being shut in by the barbarians, for they had not even carried in provisions, as it happened, opened negotiations with the moors, proposing that upon receiving a great sum of money they should straightway abandon the siege. whereupon the barbarians, thinking that they could never take the city by force--for the moors are not at all practised in the storming of walls--and at the same time not knowing that provisions were scarce for the besieged, welcomed their words, and when they had received three thousand pieces of gold, they abandoned the siege, and all the leuathae retired homeward. xxiii but antalas and the army of the moors were gathering again in byzacium and stotzas was with them, having some few soldiers and vandals. and john, the son of sisiniolus, being earnestly entreated by the libyans, gathered an army and marched against them. now himerius, the thracian, was commander of the troops in byzacium, and at that time he was ordered by john to bring with him all the troops there, together with the commanders of each detachment, and come to a place called menephesse, which is in byzacium, and join his force there. but later, upon hearing that the enemy were encamped there, john wrote to himerius telling what had happened and directing him to unite with his forces at another place, that they might not go separately, but all together, to encounter the enemy. but by some chance those who had this letter, making use of another road, were quite unable to find himerius, and he together with his army, coming upon the camp of the enemy, fell into their hands. now there was in this roman army a certain youth, severianus, son of asiaticus, a phoenician and a native of emesa, commanding a detachment of horse. this man alone, together with the soldiers under him, fifty in number, engaged with the enemy. and for some time they held out, but later, being overpowered by the great multitude, they ran to the top of a hill in the neighbourhood on which there was also a fort, but one which offered no security. for this reason they surrendered themselves to their opponents when they ascended the hill to attack them. and the moors killed neither him nor any of the soldiers, but they made prisoners of the whole force; and himerius they kept under guard, and handed over his soldiers to stotzas, since they agreed with great readiness to march with the rebels against the romans; himerius, however, they threatened with death, if he should not carry out their commands. and they commanded him to put into their hands by some device the city of hadrumetum on the sea. and since he declared that he was willing, they went with him against hadrumetum. and upon coming near the city, they sent himerius a little in advance with some of the soldiers of stotzas, dragging along, as it seemed, some moors in chains, and they themselves followed behind. and they directed himerius to say to those in command of the gates of the city that the emperor's army had won a decisive victory, and that john would come very soon, bringing an innumerable multitude of moorish captives; and when in this manner the gates had been opened to them, he was to get inside the fortifications together with those who went with him. and he carried out these instructions. and the citizens of hadrumetum, being deceived in this way (for they could not distrust the commander of all the troops in byzacium), opened wide the gates and received the enemy. then, indeed, those who had entered with himerius drew their swords and would not allow the guards there to shut the gates again, but straightway received the whole army of the moors into the city. and the barbarians, after plundering it and establishing there some few guards, departed. and of the romans who had been captured some few escaped and came to carthage, among whom were severianus and himerius. for it was not difficult for those who wished it to make their escape from moors. and many also, not at all unwillingly, remained with stotzas. not long after this one of the priests, paulus by name, who had been appointed to take charge of the sick, in conferring with some of the nobles, said: "i myself shall journey to carthage and i am hopeful that i shall return quickly with an army, and it will be your care to receive the emperor's forces into the city." so they attached some ropes to him and let him down by night from the fortifications, and he, coming to the sea-shore and happening upon a fishing-vessel which was thereabouts, won over the masters of this boat by great sums of money and sailed off to carthage. and when he had landed there and come into the presence of sergius, he told the whole story and asked him to give him a considerable army in order to recover hadrumetum. and since this by no means pleased sergius, inasmuch as the army in carthage was not great, the priest begged him to give him some few soldiers, and receiving not more than eighty men, he formed the following plan. he collected a large number of boats and skiffs and embarked on them many sailors and libyans also, clad in the garments which the roman soldiers are accustomed to wear. and setting off with the whole fleet, he sailed at full speed straight for hadrumetum. and when he had come close to it, he sent some men stealthily and declared to the notables of the city that germanus, the emperor's nephew, had recently come to carthage, and had sent a very considerable army to the citizens of hadrumetum. and he bade them take courage at this and open for them one small gate that night. and they carried out his orders. thus paulus with his followers got inside the fortifications, and he slew all the enemy and recovered hadrumetum for the emperor; and the rumour about germanus, beginning there, went even to carthage. and the moors, as well as stotzas and his followers, upon hearing this, at first became terrified and went off in flight to the extremities of libya, but later, upon learning the truth, they counted it a terrible thing that they, after sparing all the citizens of hadrumetum, had suffered such things at their hands. for this reason they made raids everywhere and wrought unholy deeds upon the libyans, sparing no one whatever his age, and the land became at that time for the most part depopulated. for of the libyans who had been left some fled into the cities and some to sicily and the other islands. but almost all the notables came to byzantium, among whom was paulus also, who had recovered hadrumetum for the emperor. and the moors with still less fear, since no one came out against them, were plundering everything, and with them stotzas, who was now powerful. for many roman soldiers were following him, some who had come as deserters, and others who had been in the beginning captives but now remained with him of their own free will. and john, who was indeed a man of some reputation among the moors, was remaining quiet because of the extreme hostility he had conceived against sergius. xxiv at this time the emperor sent to libya, with some few soldiers, another general, areobindus, a man of the senate and of good birth, but not at all skilled in matters of warfare. and he sent with him athanasius, a prefect, who had come recently from italy, and some few armenians led by artabanes and john, sons of john, of the line of the arsacidae,[ ] who had recently left the persian army and as deserters had come back to the romans, together with the other armenians. and with areobindus was his sister and prejecta, his wife, who was the daughter of vigilantia, the sister of the emperor justinian. the emperor, however, did not recall sergius, but commanded both him and areobindus to be generals of libya, dividing the country and the detachments of soldiers between them. and he enjoined upon sergius to carry on the war against the barbarians in numidia, and upon areobindus to direct his operations constantly against the moors in byzacium. and when this expedition lauded at carthage, sergius departed forthwith for numidia with his own army, and areobindus, upon learning that antalas and stotzas were encamped near the city of siccaveneria, which is three days' journey distant from carthage, commanded john, the son of sisiniolus, to go against them, choosing out whatever was best of the army; and he wrote to sergius to unite with the forces of john, in order that they might all with one common force engage with the enemy. now sergius decided to pay no heed to the message and have nothing to do with this affair, and john with a small army was compelled to engage with an innumerable host of the enemy. and there had always been great enmity between him and stotzas, and each one used to pray that he might become the slayer of the other before departing from the world. at that time, accordingly, as soon as the fighting was about to come to close quarters, both rode out from their armies and came against each other. and john drew his bow, and, as stotzas was still advancing, made a successful shot and hit him in the right groin, and stotzas, mortally wounded, fell there, not yet dead, but destined to survive this wound only a little time. and all came up immediately, both the moorish army and those who followed stotzas, and placing stotzas with little life in him against a tree, they advanced upon their enemy with great fury; and since they were far superior in numbers, they routed john and all the romans with no difficulty. then, indeed, they say, john remarked that death had now a certain sweetness for him, since his prayer regarding stotzas had reached fulfilment. and there was a steep place near by, where his horse stumbled and threw him off. and as he was trying to leap upon the horse again, the enemy caught and killed him, a man who had shown himself great both in reputation and in valour. and stotzas learned this and then died, remarking only that now it was most sweet to die. in this battle john, the armenian, brother of artabanes, also died, after making a display of valorous deeds against the enemy. and the emperor, upon hearing this, was very deeply grieved because of the valour of john; and thinking it inexpedient for the two generals to administer the province, he immediately recalled sergius and sent him to italy with an army, and gave over the whole power of libya to areobindus. xxv and two months after sergius had departed from there, gontharis essayed to set up a tyranny in the following manner. he himself, as it happened, was commanding the troops in numidia and spending his time there for that reason, but he was secretly treating with the moors that they might march against carthage. forthwith, therefore, an army of the enemy, having been gathered into one place from numidia and byzacium, went with great zeal against carthage. and the numidians were commanded by coutzinas and iaudas, and the men of byzacium by antalas. and with him was also john, the tyrant, and his followers; for the mutineers, after the death of stotzas, had set him up as ruler over themselves. and when areobindus learned of their attack, he summoned to carthage a number of the officers with their men, and among them gontharis. and he was joined also by artabanes and the armenians. areobindus, accordingly, bade gontharis lead the whole army against the enemy. and gontharis, though he had promised to serve him zealously in the war, proceeded to act as follows. one of his servants, a moor by birth and a cook by trade, he commanded to go to the enemy's camp, and to make it appear to all others that he had run away from his master, but to tell antalas secretly that gontharis wished to share with him the rule of libya. so the cook carried out these directions, and antalas heard the word gladly, but made no further reply than to say that worthy enterprises are not properly brought to pass among men by cooks. when this was heard by gontharis, he immediately sent to antalas one of his body-guards, ulitheus by name, whom he had found especially trustworthy in his service, inviting him to come as close as possible to carthage. for, if this were done, he promised him to put areobindus out of the way. so ulitheus without the knowledge of the rest of the barbarians made an agreement with antalas that he, antalas, should rule byzacium, having half the possessions of areobindus and taking with him fifteen hundred roman soldiers, while gontharis should assume the dignity of king, holding the power over carthage and the rest of libya. and after settling these matters he returned to the roman camp, which they had made entirely in front of the circuit-wall, distributing among themselves the guarding of each gate. and the barbarians not long afterwards proceeded straight for carthage in great haste, and they made camp and remained in the place called decimum.[ ] and departing from there on the following day, they were moving forward. but some of the roman army encountered them, and engaging with them unexpectedly, slew a small number of the moors. but these were straightway called back by gontharis, who rebuked them for acting with reckless daring and for being willing to give the romans foreknowledge of the danger into which they were thrown. but in the meantime areobindus sent to coutzinas secretly and began to treat with him with regard to turning traitor. and coutzinas promised him that, as soon as they should begin the action, he would turn against antalas and the moors of byzacium. for the moors keep faith neither with any other men nor with each other. this areobindus reported to gontharis. and he, wishing to frustrate the enterprise by having it postponed, advised areobindus by no means to have faith in coutzinas, unless he should receive from him his children as hostages. so areobindus and coutzinas, constantly sending secret messages to each other, were busying themselves with the plot against antalas. and gontharis sent ulitheus once more and made known to antalas what was being done. and he decided not to make any charges against coutzinas nor did he allow him to know that he had discovered the plot, nor indeed did he disclose anything of what had been agreed upon by himself and gontharis. but though enemies and hostile at heart to one another, they were arrayed together with treacherous intent, and each of them was marching with the other against his own particular friend. with such purposes coutzinas and antalas were leading the moorish army against carthage. and gontharis was intending to kill areobindus, but, in order to avoid the appearance of aiming at sole power, he wished to do this secretly in battle, in order that it might seem that the plot had been made by others against the general, and that he had been compelled by the roman army to assume command over libya. accordingly he circumvented areobindus by deceit, and persuaded him to go out against the enemy and engage with them, now that they had already come close to carthage. he decided, therefore, that on the following day he would lead the whole army against the enemy at sunrise. but areobindus, being very inexperienced in this matter and reluctant besides, kept holding back for no good reason. for while considering how he should put on his equipment of arms and armour, and making the other preparations for the sally, he wasted the greatest part of the day. he accordingly put off the engagement to the following day and remained quiet. but gontharis, suspecting that he had hesitated purposely, as being aware of what was being done, decided openly to accomplish the murder of the general and make his attempt at the tyranny. xxvi and on the succeeding day he proceeded to act as follows. opening wide the gates where he himself kept guard, he placed huge rocks under them, that no one might be able easily to shut them, and he placed armoured men with bows in their hands about the parapet in great numbers, and he himself, having put on his breastplate, took his stand between the gates. and his purpose in doing this was not that he might receive the moors into the city; for the moors, being altogether fickle, are suspicious of all men. and it is not unnatural that they are so; for whoever is by nature treacherous toward his neighbours is himself unable to trust anyone at all, but he is compelled to be suspicious of all men, since he estimates the character of his neighbour by his own mind. for this reason, then, gontharis did not hope that even the moors would trust him and come inside the circuit-wall, but he made this move in order that areobindus, falling into great fear, might straightway rush off in flight, and, abandoning carthage as quickly as he could, might betake himself to byzantium. and he would have been right in his expectation had not winter come on just then and frustrated his plan. [ - a.d.] and areobindus, learning what was being done, summoned athanasius and some of the notables. and artabanes also came to him from the camp with two others and he urged areobindus neither to lose heart nor to give way to the daring of gontharis, but to go against him instantly with all his men and engage him in battle, before any further trouble arose. at first, then, areobindus sent to gontharis one of his friends, phredas by name, and commanded him to test the other's purpose. and when phredas returned and reported that gontharis by no means denied his intention of seizing the supreme power, he purposed immediately to go against him arrayed for battle. but in the meantime gontharis slandered areobindus to the soldiers, saying that he was a coward and not only possessed with fear of the enemy, but at the same time quite unwilling to give them, his soldiers, their pay, and that he was planning to run away with anastasius and that they were about to sail very soon from mandracium[ ], in order that the soldiers, fighting both with hunger and with the moors, might be destroyed; and he enquired whether it was their wish to arrest both and keep them under guard. for thus he hoped either that areobindus, perceiving the tumult, would turn to flight, or that he would be captured by the soldiers and ruthlessly put to death. moreover he promised that he himself would advance to the soldiers money of his own, as much as the government owed them. and they were approving his words and were possessed with great wrath against areobindus, but while this was going on areobindus together with artabanes and his followers came there. and a battle took place on the parapet and below about the gate where gontharis had taken his stand, and neither side was worsted. and all were about to gather from the camps, as many as were well disposed to the emperor, and capture the mutineers by force. for gontharis had not as yet deceived all, but the majority remained still uncorrupted in mind. but areobindus, seeing then for the first time the killing of men (for he had not yet, as it happened, become acquainted with this sight), was terror-stricken and, turning coward, fled, unable to endure what he saw. now there is a temple inside the fortifications of carthage hard by the sea-shore, the abode of men who are very exact in their practice of religion, whom we have always been accustomed to call "monks"; this temple had been built by solomon not long before, and he had surrounded it with a wall and rendered it a very strong fortress. and areobindus, fleeing for refuge, rushed into the monastery, where he had already sent his wife and sister. then artabanes too ran away, and all the rest withdrew from carthage as each one could. and gontharis, having taken the city by assault, with the mutineers took possession of the palace, and was already guarding both the gates and the harbour most carefully. first, then, he summoned athanasius, who came to him without delay, and by using much flattery athanasius made it appear that what had been done pleased him exceedingly. and after this gontharis sent the priest of the city and commanded areobindus, after receiving pledges, to come to the palace, threatening that he would besiege him if he disobeyed and would not again give him pledges of safety, but would use every means to capture and put him to death. so the priest, reparatus, stoutly declared to areobindus that in accordance with the decision of gontharis he would swear that no harm would come to him from gontharis, telling also what he had threatened in case he did not obey. but areobindus became afraid and agreed that he would follow the priest immediately, if the priest, after performing the rite of the sacred bath[ ] in the usual manner, should swear to him by that rite and then give him pledges for his safety. so the priest did according to this. and areobindus without delay followed him, clad in a garment which was suitable neither for a general nor for any one else in military service, but altogether appropriate to a slave or one of private station; this garment the romans call "casula"[ ] in the latin tongue. and when they came near the palace, he took in his hands the holy scriptures from the priest, and so went before gontharis. and falling prone he lay there a long time, holding out to him the suppliant olive-branch and the holy scriptures, and with him was the child which had been counted worthy of the sacred bath by which the priest had given him the pledge, as has been told. and when, with difficulty, gontharis had raised him to his feet, he enquired of gontharis in the name of all things holy whether his safety was secure. and gontharis now bade him most positively to be of good cheer, for he would suffer no harm at his hands, but on the following day would be gone from carthage with his wife and his possessions. then he dismissed the priest reparatus, and bade areobindus and athanasius dine with him in the palace. and during the dinner he honoured areobindus, inviting him to take his place first on the couch; but after the dinner he did not let him go, but compelled him to sleep in a chamber alone; and he sent there ulitheus with certain others to assail him. and while he was wailing and crying aloud again and again and speaking many entreating words to them to move them to pity, they slew him. athanasius, however, they spared, passing him by, i suppose, on account of his advanced age. xxvii and on the following day gontharis sent the head of areobindus to antalas, but decided to deprive him of the money and of the soldiers. antalas, therefore, was outraged, because he was not carrying out anything of what had been agreed with him, and at the same time, upon considering what gontharis had sworn and what he had done to areobindus, he was incensed. for it did not seem to him that one who had disregarded such oaths would ever be faithful either to him or to anyone else at all. so after considering the matter long with himself, he was desirous of submitting to the emperor justinian; for this reason, then, he marched back. and learning that marcentius, who commanded the troops in byzacium, had fled to one of the islands which lie off the coast, he sent to him, and telling him the whole story and giving pledges, persuaded him by kind words to come to him. and marcentius remained with antalas in the camp, while the soldiers who were on duty in byzacium, being well disposed to the emperor, were guarding the city of hadrumetum. but the soldiers of stotzas, being not less than a thousand, perceiving what was being done, went in great haste, with john leading them, to gontharis; and he gladly received them into the city. now there were five hundred romans and about eighty huns, while all the rest were vandals. and artabanes, upon receiving pledges, went up to the palace with his armenians, and promised to serve the tyrant according to his orders. but secretly he was purposing to destroy gontharis, having previously communicated this purpose to gregorius, his nephew, and to artasires, his body-guard. and gregorius, urging him on to the undertaking, spoke as follows: "artabanes, the opportunity is now at hand for you, and you alone, to win the glory of belisarius--nay more, even to surpass that glory by far. for he came here, having received from the emperor a most formidable army and great sums of money, having officers accompanying him and advisers in great numbers, and a fleet of ships whose like we have never before heard tell of, and numerous cavalry, and arms, and everything else, to put it in a word, prepared for him in a manner worthy of the roman empire. and thus equipped he won back libya for the romans with much toil. but all these achievements have so completely come to naught, that they are, at this moment, as if they had never been--except indeed, that there is at present left to the romans from the victory of belisarius the losses they have suffered in lives and in money, and, in addition, that they are no longer able even to guard the good things they won. but the winning back of all these things for the emperor now depends upon the courage and judgment and right hand of you alone. therefore consider that you are of the house of the arsacidae by ancient descent, and remember that it is seemly for men of noble birth to play the part of brave men always and in all places. now many remarkable deeds have been performed by you in behalf of freedom. for when you were still young, you slew acacius,[ ] the ruler of the armenians, and sittas,[ ] the general of the romans, and as a result of this becoming known to the king chosroes, you campaigned with him against the romans. and since you have reached so great a station that it devolves upon you not to allow the roman power to lie subject to a drunken dog, show at this time that it was by reason of noble birth and a valorous heart that at the former time, good sir, you performed those deeds; and i as well as artasires here will assist you in everything, so far as we have the power, in accordance with your commands." so spoke gregorius; and he excited the mind of artabanes still more against the tyrant. but gontharis, bringing out the wife and the sister of areobindus from the fortress, compelled them to remain at a certain house, showing them no insult by any word or deed whatsoever, nor did they have provisions in any less measure than they needed, nor were they compelled to say or to do anything except, indeed, that prejecta was forced to write to her uncle[ ] that gontharis was honouring them exceedingly and that he was altogether guiltless of the murder of her husband, and that the base deed had been done by ulitheus, gontharis by no means approving. and gontharis was persuaded to do this by pasiphilus, a man who had been foremost among the mutineers in byzacium, and had assisted gontharis very greatly in his effort to establish the tyranny. for pasiphilus maintained that, if he should do this, the emperor would marry the young woman to him, and in view of his kinship with her would give also a, dowry of a large sum of money. and gontharis commanded artabanes to lead the army against antalas and the moors in byzacium. for coutzinas, having quarrelled with antalas, had separated from him openly and allied himself with gontharis; and he gave gontharis his son and his mother as hostages. so the army, under the leadership of artabanes, proceeded immediately against antalas. and with artabanes was john also, the commander of the mutineers of stotzas, and ulitheus, the body-guard of gontharis; and there were moors also following him, led by coutzinas. and after passing by the city of hadrumetum, they came upon their opponents somewhere near there, and making a camp a little apart from the enemy, they passed the night. and on the day after that john and ulitheus, with a detachment of the army, remained there, while artabanes and coutzinas led their army against their opponents. and the moors under antalas did not withstand their attack and rushed off in flight. but artabanes of a sudden wilfully played the coward, and turning his standard about marched off towards the rear. for this reason ulitheus was purposing to kill him when he came into the camp. but artabanes, by way of excusing himself, said he feared lest marcentius, coming to assist the enemy from the city of hadrumetum, where he then happened to be, would do his forces irreparable harm; but gontharis, he said, ought to march against the enemy with the whole army. and at first he considered going to hadrumetum with his followers and uniting with the emperor's forces. but after long deliberation it seemed to him better to put gontharis out of the world and thus free both the emperor and libya from a difficult situation. returning, accordingly, to carthage, he reported to the tyrant that he would need a larger army to meet the enemy. and gontharis, after conferring with pasiphilus, consented, indeed, to equip his whole army, but purposed to place a guard in carthage, and in person to lead the army against the enemy. each day, therefore, he was destroying many men toward whom he felt any suspicion, even though groundless. and he gave orders to pasiphilus, whom he was intending to appoint in charge of the garrison of carthage, to kill all the greeks[ ] without any consideration. xxviii and after arranging everything else in the very best way, as it seemed to him, gontharis decided to entertain his friends at a banquet, with the intention of making his departure on the following day. and in a room where there were in readiness three couches which had been there from ancient times, he made the banquet. so he himself reclined, as was natural, upon the first couch, where were also athanasius and artabanes, and some of those known to gontharis, and peter, a thracian by birth, who had previously been a body-guard of solomon. and on both the other couches were the first and noblest of the vandals. john, however, who commanded the mutineers of stotzas; was entertained by pasiphilus in his own house, and each of the other leaders wherever it suited the several friends of gontharis to entertain them. artabanes, accordingly, when he was bidden to this banquet, thinking that this occasion furnished him a suitable opportunity for the murder of the tyrant, was planning to carry out his purpose. he therefore disclosed the matter to gregorius and to artasires and three other body-guards, bidding the body-guards get inside the hall with their swords (for when commanders are entertained at a banquet it is customary for their body-guards to stand behind them), and after getting inside to make an attack suddenly, at whatever moment should seem to them most suitable; and artasires was to strike the first blow. at the same time he directed gregorius to pick out a large number of the most daring of the armenians and bring them to the palace, carrying only their swords in their hands (for it is not lawful for the escort of officers in a city to be armed with anything else), and leaving these men in the vestibule, to come inside with the body-guards; and he was to tell the plan to no one of them, but to make only this explanation, that he was suspicious of gontharis, fearing that he had called artabanes to this banquet to do him harm, and therefore wished that they should stand beside the soldiers of gontharis who had been stationed there on guard, and giving the appearance of indulging in some play, they were to take hold of the shields which these guards carried, and waving them about and otherwise moving them keep constantly turning them up and down; and if any tumult or shouting took place within, they were to take up these very shields and come to the rescue on the run. such were the orders which artabanes gave, and gregorius proceeded to put them into execution. and artasires devised the following plan: he cut some arrows into two parts and placed them on the wrist of his left arm, the sections reaching to his elbow. and after binding them very carefully with straps, he laid over them the sleeve of his tunic. and he did this in order that, if anyone should raise his sword over him and attempt to strike him, he might avoid the chance of suffering serious injury; for he had only to thrust his left arm in front of him, and the steel would break off as it crashed upon the wood, and thus his body could not be reached at any point. with such purpose, then, artasires did as i have said. and to artabanes he spoke as follows: "as for me, i have hopes that i shall prove equal to the undertaking and shall not hesitate, and also that i shall touch the body of gontharis with this sword; but as for what will follow, i am unable to say whether god in his anger against the tyrant will co-operate with me in this daring deed, or whether, avenging some sin of mine, he will stand against me there and be an obstacle in my way. if, therefore, you see that the tyrant is not wounded in a vital spot, do you kill me with my sword without the least hesitation, so that i may not be tortured by him into saying that it was by your will that i rushed into the undertaking, and thus not only perish myself most shamefully, but also be compelled against my will to destroy you as well." and after artasires had spoken such words he too, together with gregorius and one of the body-guards, entered the room where the couches were and took his stand behind artabanes. and the rest, remaining by the guards, did as they had been commanded. so artasires, when the banquet had only just begun, was purposing to set to work, and he was already touching the hilt of his sword. but gregorius prevented him by saying in the armenian tongue that gontharis was still wholly himself, not having as yet drunk any great quantity of wine. then artasires groaned and said: "my good fellow, how fine a heart i have for the deed, and now you have for the moment wrongfully hindered me!" and as the drinking went on, gontharis, who by now was thoroughly saturated with wine, began to give portions of the food to the body-guards, yielding to a generous mood. and they, upon receiving these portions, went outside the building immediately and were about to eat them, leaving beside gontharis only three body-guards, one of whom happened to be ulitheus. and artasires also started to go out in order to taste the morsels with the rest. but just then a kind of fear came over him lest, when he should wish to draw his sword, something might prevent him. accordingly, as soon as he got outside, he secretly threw away the sheath of the sword, and taking it naked under his arm, hidden by his cloak, he rushed in to gontharis, as if to say something without the knowledge of the others. and artabanes, seeing this, was in a fever of excitement, and became exceedingly anxious by reason of the surpassing magnitude of the issue at stake; he began to move his head, the colour of his countenance changed repeatedly, and he seemed to have become altogether like one inspired, on account of the greatness of the undertaking. and peter, upon seeing this, understood what was being done, but he did not disclose it to any of the others, because, being well disposed to the emperor, he was exceedingly pleased by what was going on. and artasires, having come close to the tyrant, was pushed by one of the servants, and as he retreated a little to the rear, the servant observed that his sword was bared and cried out saying: "what is this, my excellent fellow?" and gontharis, putting his hand to his right ear, and turning his face, looked at him. and artasires struck him with his sword as he did so, and cut off a piece of his scalp together with his fingers. and peter cried out and exhorted artasires to kill the most unholy of all men. and artabanes, seeing gontharis leaping to his feet (for he reclined close to him), drew a two-edged dagger which hung by his thigh--a rather large one--and thrusting it into the tyrant's left side clean up to the hilt, left it there. and the tyrant none the less tried to leap up, but having received a mortal wound, he fell where he was. ulitheus then brought his sword down upon artasires as if to strike him over the head; but he held his left arm above his head, and thus profited by his own idea in the moment of greatest need. for since ulitheus' sword had its edge turned when it struck the sections of arrows on his arm, he himself was unscathed, and he killed ulitheus with no difficulty. and peter and artabanes, the one seizing the sword of gontharis and the other that of ulitheus who had fallen, killed on the spot those of the body-guards who remained. thus there arose, as was natural, an exceedingly great tumult and confusion. and when this was perceived by those of the armenians who were standing by the tyrant's guards, they immediately picked up the shields according to the plan which had been arranged with them, and went on the run to the banquet-room. and they slew all the vandals and the friends of gontharis, no one resisting. then artabanes enjoined upon athanasius to take charge of the money in the palace: for all that had been left by areobindus was there. and when the guards learned of the death of gontharis, straightway many arrayed themselves with the armenians; for the most of them were of the household of areobindus. with one accord, therefore, they proclaimed the emperor justinian triumphant. and the cry, coming forth from a multitude of men, and being, therefore, an exceedingly mighty sound, was strong enough to reach the greater part of the city. wherefore those who were well-disposed to the emperor leaped into the houses of the mutineers and straightway killed them, some while enjoying sleep, others while taking food, and still others while they were awe-struck with fear and in terrible perplexity. and among these was pasiphilus, but not john, for he with some of the vandals fled to the sanctuary. to these artabanes gave pledges, and making them rise from there, sent them to byzantium, and having thus recovered the city for the emperor, he continued to guard it. and the murder of the tyrant took place on the thirty-sixth day of the tyranny, in the nineteenth year of the reign of the emperor justinian. [ - a.d.] and artabanes won great fame for himself from this deed among all men. and straightway prejecta, the wife of areobindus, rewarded him with great sums of money, and the emperor appointed him general of all libya. but not long after this artabanes entreated the emperor to summon him to byzantium, and the emperor fulfilled his request. and having summoned artabanes, he appointed john, the brother of pappus, sole general of libya. and this john, immediately upon arriving in libya, had an engagement with antalas and the moors in byzacium, and conquering them in battle, slew many; and he wrested from these barbarians all the standards of solomon, and sent them to the emperor--standards which they had previously secured as plunder, when solomon had been taken from the world.[ ] and the rest of the moors he drove as far as possible from the roman territory. but at a later time the leuathae came again with a great army from the country about tripolis to byzacium, and united with the forces of antalas. and when john went to meet this army, he was defeated in the engagement, and losing many of his men, fled to laribus. and then indeed the enemy, overrunning the whole country there as far as carthage, treated in a terrible manner those libyans who fell in their way. but not long afterward john collected those of the soldiers who had survived, and drawing into alliance with him many moors and especially those under coutzinas, came to battle with the enemy and unexpectedly routed them. and the romans, following them up as they fled in complete disorder, slew a great part of them, while the rest escaped to the confines of libya. thus it came to pass that those of the libyans who survived, few as they were in number and exceedingly poor, at last and after great toil found some peace. footnotes: [ ] the _vexillum praetorium_ carried by the cavalry of the imperial guard, iv. x. below; cf. lat. _pannum_. [ ] see iii. xxiv. . [ ] "auxiliaries"; see book iii. xi. and note. [ ] chap. i. . [ ] chap. i. . [ ] now bona; it was the home and burial-place of st. augustine. [ ] the eruli, or heruli, were one of the wildest and most corrupt of the barbarian tribes. they came from beyond the danube. on their origin, practices, and character, see vi. xiv. [ ] the greek implies that the tuscan sea was stormy, like the adriatic. the syrtes farther east had a bad reputation. [ ] about twelve miles west of algiers, originally iol, now cherchel; named after augustus. [ ] see iii. i. and note. [ ] see iii. i. . [ ] book iii. ix. . [ ] see iii. x. [ ] lilybaeum had been ceded to the vandals by theoderic as dower of his sister amalafrida on her marriage to thrasamund, the african king (iii. viii. ). [ ] "friendship" and "hostility" refer to the present relations between justinian and the goths and what they may become. [ ] amalasountha. [ ] the correspondence between queen amalasountha and justinian is given in v. iii. . [ ] in latin _serica_, "silk," as coming from the chinese (seres). [ ] cf. thucydides' description of the huts in which the athenians lived during the great plague. [ ] pharas and the other eruli. [ ] cf. ch. vi. . [ ] "auxiliaries"; see book iii. xi. . [ ] _i.e._ there in africa, as successor to the throne of the vandal kings. [ ] book iii. xxv. - . [ ] examples of the roman system have come to light in egyptian papyri: cf. the declarations of personal property, [greek: apographai], _pap. lond._, i., p. ; _flinders petrie pap._, iii., p. , ed. mahaffy and smyly. [ ] since a triumph was granted only to an _imperator_, after the establishment of the principate by augustus all triumphs were celebrated in the name of the emperor himself, the victorious general receiving only the _insignia triumphalia_. the first general to refuse a triumph was agrippa, after his campaign in spain, about years before belisarius' triumph in constantinople. [ ] the barriers (_carceres_), or starting-point for the racers, were at the open end of the hippodrome, the imperial box at the middle of the course at the right as one entered. [ ] cf. book iii. v. ; that was in a.d. . the spoliation of jerusalem by titus had taken place in a.d. . [ ] ecclesiastes, i. . [ ] not an actual "triumph," but a triumphal celebration of his inauguration as consul. [ ] the reference is to the old custom of distributing to the populace largesses (_congiaria_) of money or valuables on the occasion of events of interest to the imperial house, such as the emperor's assumption of the consular office, birthdays, etc. the first largess of this kind was made by julius caesar. [ ] cf. book iv. ii. . [ ] the canaanites of the old testament. [ ] _i.e._, clypea, or aspis, now kalibia, on the carthaginian coast. [ ] _i.e._, from tangier, opposite cadiz, to algiers. on caesarea see iv. v. and note. [ ] "on the borders of mauretania" according to procopius, _de aedificiis_, vi. . . [ ] chap. x. . [ ] book iii. viii. , . [ ] the side toward the mountains; cf. § . [ ] in the late empire the _excubitores_, in number, constituted the select guard of the palace. their commander, _comes excubitorum_, held high rank at court; cf. viii. xxi. , where we are told that belisarius held this position, and _arcana_ . , where justin, afterwards emperor, is mentioned. [ ] cf. chap. viii. . procopius has explained in iii. xi. that solomon was a eunuch. [ ] see iii. viii. . [ ] a _comes foedtratorum_, mentioned in iii. xi. . [ ] book iii. viii. . [ ] _i.e._ clypea. not the place mentioned in iv. x. . [ ] the region in the interior of sardinia called barbargia or barbagia still preserves this name. but procopius' explanation of the origin of the barbarian settlers there has not been generally accepted. [ ] book iii. xviii. ff. [ ] iv. iv. and note. [ ] baptism was administered only during the fifty days between easter and pentecost. justinian had forbidden the baptism of arians. [ ] cf. iii. xi. . [ ] cf. chap. xiv. . [ ] "auxiliaries"; see book iii. xi. . [ ] more correctly gadiaufala, now ksar-sbehi. [ ] cirta, later named constantina, now constantine (ksantina). [ ] john the cappadocian, cf. i. xxiv. ff. [ ] see book iii. xvii. and note. [ ] now setif. [ ] called mastinas in iv. xiii. . [ ] book iv. v. . [ ] cyrenaica. [ ] now lebida. [ ] cf. iii. xxv. ff. [ ] book iii. x. ff. [ ] book iv. xii. . [ ] a reference to his slaughter of the eighty notables, iv. xxi. , where, however, nothing is said of an oath sworn on the gospels. [ ] cf. book ii. iii. . [ ] cf. book iii. xvii. , xxi. . [ ] the port of carthage; see iii. xx. . [ ] _i.e._ baptism. [ ] a garment with a cowl, like the _cucullus_. [ ] cf. book ii. iii. . [ ] cf. book ii. iii. . [ ] justinian. [ ] a contemptuous term for "subjects of the emperor." [ ] see book iv. xxi. . * * * * * index abigas river, in numidia, flowing down from mt. aurasium, iv. xix. , , xiii. ; its many channels, iv. xix. - ; turned upon the roman camp, iv. x. abydus, city on the hellespont, iii. i. ; the roman fleet delayed there, iii. xii. -xiii. acacius, ruler of armenians; slain by artabanes, iv. xxvii. acacius, priest of byzantium, delivers over basiliscus, iii. vii. achilles, bath of, in byzantium, iii. xiii. achilles, the, of the vandals, name applied to hoamer, iii. ix. aclas, suburb of carthage, iv. vii. adaulphus, king of the visigoths, iii. ii. adriatic sea, divided from the tuscan sea by the islands gaulus and melite, iii. xiv. ; crossed by the roman fleet, iii. xiii. ; the scene of one of gizeric's atrocities, iii. xxii. aetius, roman general; his splendid qualities, iii. iii. , ; rival of boniface, iii. iii. ; whom he slanders to placidia, iii. iii. ; writes a deceitful letter to boniface, iii. iii. , ; spared by placidia by reason of his great power, iii. iii. ; defeats attila, iii. iv. ; maximus plans to destroy him, iii. iv. , ; slandered to the emperor, iii. iv. ; his death, iii. iv. , vi. ; a great loss to the emperor, iii. iv. aetna, mountain in sicily, iii. xiii. aïgan, a massagete, bodyguard of belisarius, iii, xi. , , iv. x. ; commander of cavalry, iii. xi. ; on the right wing at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; makes a successful attack upon the moors in byzacium, iv. x. ; his force in turn annihilated by the moors, iv. x. ff.; his death, iv. x. , xi. alani, a gothic people, allies of the vandals in their migration, iii. iii. ; with the vandals in africa, iii. v. , , xxiv. ; lose their individuality as a people, iii. v. alaric, king of the visigoths, invades europe, iii, ii, ; captures rome by a trick, iii. ii. - ; plunders the city, iii. ii. ; declares attalus emperor of the romans, iii. ii. ; marches with attalus against ravenna, iii. ii. ; opposes sending of commanders to libya by attalus, iii. ii. ; quarrels with attalus, and reduces him from the kingship, iii. ii. ; dies of disease, iii. ii. alexandria, the home of calonymus, iii. xi. althias, commander of roman auxiliaries, iii. xi. ; on the left wing at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; commander of huns in numidia, iv. xiii. ; his encounter with iaudas, iv. xiii. - ; his fame from the deed, iv. xiii. amalasountha, mother of antalaric; makes an agreement with justinian, iii. xiv. ; courts his friendship to secure protection, iii. xiv. ; appealed to by the goths in regard to lilybaeum, iv. v. amalafrida, sister of theoderic; sought and given in marriage to trasamundus, iii. viii. , ; presented with lilybaeum, iii. viii. ; put under guard by the vandals, iii. ix. ammatas, brother of gelimer; instructed to prepare to meet the romans near carthage, iii. xvii. , xviii. ; kills his kinsmen in prison, iii. xvii. ; his inopportune arrival at decimum, iii. xviii. , ; on the day before easter, iii. xxi. ; engages with john there and is defeated, iii. xviii. , ; his death, iii. xviii. ; xix. , xx. , xxv. ; his body found by the romans, iii. xix. anastasius, emperor of the east, keeps peace with the vandals, iii. vii. , viii. ancon, a dungeon in the royal residence in carthage, iii. xx. ; unexpected release of roman merchants confined there, iii. xx. - antaeus, the mythical wrestler, king in libya, iv. x. antalas, ruler of the moors in byzacium, iii. ix. , iv. xxv. ; remains faithful to the romans, iv. xii. ; becomes hostile to solomon, iv. xxi. ; joins forces with the leuathae, iv. xxi. ; gathers almost all the moors under him, iv. xxii. ; writes a letter to justinian, iv. xxii. - ; gathers his army again, iv. xxiii. ; areobindus sends an army against him, iv. xxiv. ; makes an agreement with gontharis for the destruction of areobindus, iv. xxv. - ; coutzinas agrees to turn against him, iv. , , ; hears of the plot of coutzinas and keeps his knowledge secret, iv. xxv. - ; resents the sending of the head of areobindus to him by gontharis, iv. xxvii. , ; decides to side with justinian, iv. xxvii. ; persuades marcentius to come to him, iv. xxvii. , ; artabanes sent against him, iv. xxvii. ; his quarrel with coutzinas, iv. xxvii. ; artabanes marches against him, iv. xxvii. ; his army spared by artabanes, iv. xxvii. , ; defeated by john, iv. xxviii. , anthemius, a wealthy senator, appointed emperor of the west by leon, iii. vi. ; killed by his son-in-law, rhecimer, iii. vii. antonina, wife of belisarius, mother-in-law of ildiger, iv. viii. ; sets sail with belisarius for africa, iii. xii. ; preserves drinking water for belisarius and his attendants, iii. xiii. , ; with the army at decimum, iii, xix. , xx. apollinaris, a native of italy; comes to justinian to seek support for ilderic, iv. v. , ; his good services to the romans, iv. v. ; sent to the islands of ebusa, majorica, and minorica, with an army, iv. v. aquileia, city in italy, iii. iii. ; its size and importance, iii. iv. ; besieged and captured by attila, iii. iv. ff. arcadius, elder son of theodosius i; receives the eastern empire, iii. i. ; brother of honorius and placidia, iii. iii. ; his alliance with the visigoths, iii. ii. ; succeeded by his son theodosius ii, iii. ii. archelaus, a patrician; manager of expenditures of the african expedition, iii. xi. ; advises against disembarking on the african coast, iii. xv. - ; ordered by belisarius not to take the fleet into carthage, iii. xvii. ; commands the fleet to anchor off carthage, iii. xx. ardaburius, son of aspar, roman general; sent against the tyrant john, iii. iii. ; destroyed by leon, iii. vi. areobindus, a senator; sent as general to libya, iv. xxiv. ; his inexperience in warfare, iv. xxiv. , xxv. , xxvi. ; accompanied by his sister and wife, iv. xxiv. ; shares the rule of libya with sergius, iv. xxiv. , ; sends john against antalas and stotzas, iv. xxiv. ; writes to sergius to unite with john, iv. xxiv. ; made sole commander of libya, iv. xxiv. ; sends gontharis against the moors, iv. xxv. , ; arranges with coutzinas to turn against the other moors, iv. xxv. ; tells gontharis of his dealings with coutzinas, iv. xxv. ; persuaded by g. to postpone the engagement, iv. xxv. , ; his death planned and finally accomplished by gontharis, iv. xxv. -xxvi. ; treasure left by him in the palace, iv. xxviii. ; sister of, iv. xxiv. ; placed in a fortress for her safety, iv. xxvi. ; removed from the fortress by gontharis, iv. xxvii. arethusa, harbour of syracuse, iii. xiv. ariadne, daughter of leon, wife of zenon, and mother of leon the younger, iii. vii. ; flees to isauria with zenon, iii. vii. arian faith, disqualified one for the office of emperor, iii. vi. ; followed by all goths, iii. ii, ; by the vandals, iii. viii. , xxi. ; by some among the roman soldiers, iv. i, , xiv. , ; adhered to steadfastly by gelimer, iv. ix. ; arian priests of the vandals, iii. xxi. , armenia, iii. xi. ; armenians, sent with areobindus to libya, iv. xxiv. ; follow artabanes in entering the service of gontharis, iv. xxvii. ; support artabanes in his plot against gontharis, iv. xxviii. , , arsacidae, the ancient royal family of armenia, iv. xxiv. , xxvii. artabanes, son of john, of the arsacidae; sent to libya in command of armenians, iv. xxiv. ; known to chosroes for his brave deeds, iv. xxvii. ; brother of john, iv. xxiv. ; uncle of gregorius, iv. xxvii. ; joins areobindus, iv. xxv. ; supports him against gontharis, iv. xxvi. , , ; enters the service of gontharis, iv. xxvii. ; his plot to kill the tyrant, iv. xxvii. ; urged on by gregorius, iv. xxvii. - ; sent against antalas, iv. xxvii. , ; joins battle, but allows the enemy to escape, iv. xxvii. - ; threatened by ulitheus, iv. xxvii. ; his excuses, iv. xxvii. , ; after deliberation returns to carthage, iv. xxvii. , ; entertained by gontharis at a banquet, iv. xxviii. ; arranges to carry out his plot against gontharis, iv. xxviii. - ; artasires makes a request of him, iv. xxviii. , ; he succeeds in destroying gontharis with his own hand, iv. xxviii. - ; assisted by peter, cuts down the body-guards who remain, iv. xxviii. ; directs athanasius to look after the treasure of areobindus, iv. xxviii. ; sends john and others to byzantium, iv. xxviii. ; wins great fame, iv, xxviii. ; rewarded with money by prejecta, iv. xxviii. ; made general of all libya, iv. xxviii. ; summoned to byzantium, iv. xxviii. . artasires, body-guard of artabanes; shares knowledge of his plot against gontharis, iv. xxvii. , ; renders good service in the execution of the plot, iv. xxviii. - ; his ingenious protection for his arm, iv. xxviii. , , asclepiades, a native of palestine and friend of theodorus, iv. xviii. ; reveals the plot of maximinus to theodorus and germanus, iv. xviii. asia, the continent to the right of the mediterranean as one sails into it, iii. i. ; distance from europe at different points, iii. i. , ; distance along the asiatic side of the euxine, iii. i. asiaticus, father of severianus, iv. xxiii. aspar, roman general; father of ardaburius, iii. iii. ; of the arian faith, iii. vi. ; his great power in byzantium, iii. iv. ; sent against the tyrant john, iii. iii. ; defeated by the vandals in libya, iii. iii. ; returns home, iii. iii. ; makes leon emperor of the east, iii. v. ; his friendship sought by basiliscus, iii. vi. ; quarrels with leon, iii. vi. ; urges basiliscus to spare the vandals, iii. vi. , ; destroyed by leon, iii. vi. ; the emperor marcian had been his adviser, iii. iv. atalaric, son of amalasuntha; ruler of the goths, iii. xiv. ; succeeded his grandfather theoderic, iii. xiv. athanasius, sent with areobindus to libya, iv. xxiv. ; summoned by areobindus, iv. xxvi. ; being summoned by gontharis, pretends to be pleased, iv. xxvi. , ; with areobindus entertained by gontharis, iv. xxvi. ; spared by the assassins of gontharis, iv. xxvi. ; entertained by gontharis at a second banquet, iv. xxviii. ; directed by artabanes to look after the treasure of areobindus, iv. xxviii. athens, its distance from megara a measure of one day's journey, iii. i. attalus, made king of the visigoths and declared emperor of the romans by alaric, iii. ii. ; of noble family, _ibid._; his lack of discretion, iii. ii. ; marches with alaric against ravenna, _ibid._; sends commanders alone to libya against the advice of alaric, iii. ii. , ; failure of his attempt upon libya, _ibid._; quarrels with alaric, and is reduced from the kingship, iii. ii. attila, leader of the huns, defeated by aetius, iii. iv. ; overruns europe, iii. iv. ; besieges and captures aquileia; iii. iv. ff. augustus, emperor of the west, iii. vii. aurasium, a mountain in numidia; distance from carthage, iii. viii. , iv. xiii. ; its great size, fruitful plateaus, and defences, iv. xiii. - ; source of the abigas river there, iv. xiii. , xix. ; adjoins first mauretania, iv. xx. ; taken by the moors from the vandals, iii. viii. , iv. xiii. ; its west side also held by the moors, iv. xiii. ; moors of, ruled by iaudas, iv. xii. , xiii. ; solomon marches thither, iv. xiii. ; iaudas establishes himself there, iv. xiii. ; ascended by solomon, iv. xiii. ff.; the romans eluded by the moors on the mountain, iv. xiii. , ; solomon prepares more carefully for a second attempt, iv. xiii. ; in which he succeeds completely in dislodging the moors from there, iv. xix. -xx. ; fortified and held by the romans, iv. xx. ; capture of iaudas' treasure there, iv. xx. - ; fugitive vandals return thither, iv. xiv. babosis, place in numidia, iv. xix. bacchus, brother of solomon, and father of cyrus and sergius, iv. xxi. , ; father of solomon the younger, iv. xxi. , xxii. bagaïs, a deserted city near the abigas river, iv. xix. bagradas river, in libya, iv. xv. balas, leader of the massagetae, iii. xi. bandifer, "standard-bearer" (latin), cf. bandum, iv. x. bandum, the latin term for "standard" in procopius' time, iv. ii. barbaricini, name applied to the moors in sardinia, iv. xiii. barbatus, commander of roman cavalry, iii. xi. , iv. xv. ; on the roman right wing at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; his death, iv. xv. basiliscus, brother of berine; commander of an expedition against the vandals, iii. vi. ; his aspirations to the throne, _ibid._; urged by aspar to spare the vandals, iii. vi. ; landing in africa, makes a complete failure of the expedition, iii. vi. - , x. ; returning to byzantium, becomes a suppliant, iii. vi. ; saved by berine, _ibid._; makes himself tyrant in byzantium, iii. vii. ; his misrule, iii. vii. ; sends an army under harmatus to meet zenon, iii. vii. ; becomes a suppliant, iii. vii. ; exiled to cappadocia and dies, iii. vii. , basiliscus, son of harmatus, iii. vii. ; made caesar and then removed by zenon, iii. vii. belisarius, roman general; a native of "germany," iii. xi. ; summoned from the east, iii. ix. ; ordered to be in readiness to lead the african expedition, iii. x. ; made commander-in-chief of the african expedition with unlimited power, iii. xi. , ; sets sail for africa, iii. xii. ; punished two massagetae for murder, iii. xii. ; addresses the army at abydus, iii. xii. - ; provides for the safe navigation of the fleet, iii. xiii. - ; disembarks the army at methone, iii. xiii. ff.; provides a supply of bread for the army, iii. xiii. ; his wife preserves the drinking water, iii. xiii. , ; sends procopius to syracuse to get information, iii. xiv. ff.; his anxiety regarding the vandals and the attitude of his own soldiers, iii. xiv. , ; starts from sicily toward africa, iii. xiv. ; holds a consultation regarding disembarking on the african coast, iii. xv. ff.; disembarks the army and fortifies a camp, iii. xv. - ; orders the fleet not to put in at carthage, iii. xvii. ; commands five men to remain on each ship, iii. xv. ; punishes some of the soldiers for stealing and addresses the army, iii. xvi. - ; advances with the army to decimum, where he defeats the vandals in an engagement, iii. xvi. -xix. , xxi. . xxii. ; captures with ease the unwalled cities of libya, iii. v. ; prevents the army from entering carthage on the evening of their arrival, iii. xx. ; his commands respected by the greater part of the fleet, iii. xx. ; enters carthage with his army, iii. xx. ; exhorts the soldiers to moderation, iii. xx. - ; sits upon the throne of gelimer, iii. xx. ; hears and answers complaints of carthaginian citizens, iii. xx. , ; lunches in gelimer's palace, iii. xxi. , ; enjoys great renown by reason of the peaceful entry into carthage, iii. xxi. ; his treaties with the moors, iii. xxv. - , iv. viii. ff., xi. ; considers the repair of the fortifications of carthage, iii. xxi. ; presses on the work of repairing them, iii. xxiii. , ; spares the messengers of tzazon, iii. xxiv. ; and the envoys of gelimer, iii. xxiv. ; takes measures to prevent desertions to the vandals, iv, i. - ; addresses the army, iv. i. - ; defeats the moors in the battle of tricamarum, iv. ii. -iii. ; attacks the vandal camp, iv. iii. ; takes measures to stop the disorder in the roman army, iv. iv. - ; sends john the armenian to pursue gelimer, iv. iv. ; himself follows gelimer, iv. iv. ; mourns the death of john the armenian, iv. iv. ; spares uliaris, iv. iv, ; continues the pursuit of gelimer, iv. iv. ; leaves pharas to besiege gelimer, iv. iv. ; sends suppliant vandals to carthage, iv. iv. ; captures boniface with the treasures of gelimer, iv. iv. - ; returns to carthage, iv. v. ; sends out armies to recover many lost provinces, v. v. - ; makes an unsuccessful expedition to sicily, iv. v. ; writes a letter to the goths, iv. v. - ; their reply, iv. v. - ; reports to justinian, iv. v. ; receives the report of pharas regarding gelimer, iv. vii. ; sends cyprian with instructions, iv. vii. ; receives gelimer at aclas, iv. vii. , ; reports the capture of gelimer, iv. vii. ; the victim of unjust slander, iv. viii. , ; given choice of going to byzantium or remaining in carthage, iv. viii. ; chooses the former iv. viii. ; learns of the accusation of treason to be brought against him, iv. viii. , ; hears the report of the uprising of the moors, iv. viii. ; leaves solomon in charge of libya, iv. viii. ; returning to byzantium, receives great honours, iv, ix. ff.; brings vandals with him, iv. ix. , xiv. ; pays homage to justinian in the hippodrome, iv. ix. ; later celebrates a "triumph" in the old manner, iv. ix. ; becomes a consul, _ibid._; distributes much wealth of the vandals to the people, iv. ix. ; subjugates sicily, iv. xiv. ; passes the winter in syracuse, iv. xiv. , ; solomon begs him to come to carthage from syracuse to put down the mutiny, iv. xiv. , ; arrives at carthage in time to prevent its surrender, iv. xv. - ; pursues and overtakes the fugitives, iv. xv. , ; encamps at the bagradas river and prepares for battle, iv. xv. - ; addresses the army, iv. xv. - ; defeats stotzas' army, iv. xv. ff.; forbids pursuit of the enemy, but allows their camp to be plundered, iv. xv. , ; returns to carthage, iv. xv. ; upon receipt of unfavourable news, sets sail for sicily, iv. xv. , ; solomon sends suspected soldiers to him, iv. xix. ; counted the chief cause of the defeat of the vandals, iv. xi. . berine, wife of the emperor leon, and sister of basiliscus, iii. vi. ; gains clemency for basiliscus, iii. vi. boniface, roman general; his splendid qualities, iii. iii. , ; rival of aetius, iii. iii. ; made general of all libya, iii. iii. ; slandered by aetius, iii. iii. ; summoned to rome by placidia, iii. iii. ; refuses to come, iii. iii. ; makes an alliance with the vandals, iii. iii. , ; the true cause of his conduct discovered by his friends, iii. iii. , ; urged by placidia to return to rome, iii. iii. ; unable to persuade the vandals to withdraw, meets them in battle and is twice defeated, iii. iii. - , xxi. ; returns to rome, iii. iii. boniface, the libyan, a native of byzacium; entrusted by gelimer with his wealth, iv. iv. , ; falls into the hands of belisarius, iv. iv. - boriades, body-guard of belisarius; sent to capture syllectus, iii. xvi. boulla, plain of, distance from carthage, iii. xxv. ; near the boundary of numidia, _ibid._; the vandals gather there, iii. xix. , xxv. ; the only territory left to the vandals, iii. xxv. ; gelimer and tzazon meet there, iii. xxv. ; mutineers gather there, iv. xv. bourgaon, mountain in byzacium; battle there with the moors, iv. xii. ff. britain, counted in the western empire, iii. i. ; revolts from the romans, iii. ii. ; not recovered by the romans, but held by tyrants, iii. ii. byzacium, a moorish province in libya, iii. xix. ; a dry region, iii. xv. ; the town hermione there, iii. xiv. ; moors of, defeat the vandals, iii. ix. ; moors, of, seek alliance with the romans, iii. xxv. ; the home of boniface, the libyan, iv. iv. ; moors of, revolt, iv. viii. , x. , xii. , ; roman force annihilated there, iv. x. ff.; solomon marches thither to confront the moors, iv. xi. ; moors of, suffer a crushing defeat, iv. xii. - ; abandoned by the moors, iv. xii. ; except those under antalas, iv. xii. ; plundered by the leuathae, iv. xxi. ; moors gather there once more, iv. xxiii. ; himerius of thrace commander there, iv. xxiii. , ; moors march, thence against carthage, iv. xxv. ; defeated by john, iv. xxviii. ; subsequent battles, iv. xxviii. ff. byzantium, distance from the mouth of the danube, iii. i. ; from carthage, iii. x. ; its chief priest epiphanius, iii. xii. ; natives of, as rowers in the roman fleet, iii. xi. cabaon, a moorish ruler, prepares to meet the vandals, iii. viii. - ; sends spies to carthage, iii. viii. ff.; receives the report of his spies, iii. viii. ; prepares for the conflict, iii. viii. , , iv. xi. ; defeats the enemy, iii. viii. caenopolis, name of taenarum in procopius' time, iii. xiii. caesar, a title given to one next below the emperor in station, iii. vii. , caesarea, first city of "second mauretania," iv. xx. ; situated at its eastern extremity, iv. x. ; distance from carthage, iv. v. ; recovered for the romans by belisarius, _ibid._, iv. xx. calonymus, of alexandria, admiral of the roman fleet, iii. xi. ; ordered by belisarius not to take the fleet into carthage, iii. xvii. ; enters the harbour mandracium with a few ships, and plunders the houses along the sea, iii. xx. ; bound by oath to return his plunder, iii. xx. ; disregards his oath, but later dies of apoplexy in byzantium, iii. xx. , capitolinus, see jupiter. cappadocia, basiliscus exiled thither, iii. vii. caputvada, a place on the african coast; distance from carthage, iii. xiv. ; the roman army lands there, _ibid._ caranalis, town in sardinia, captured by tzazon, iii. xxiv. , xxv. , iv. xiii. carthage, city in africa, founded by dido, iv. x. ; grows to be the metropolis of libya, iv. x. , ; captured by the romans, iv. x. ; after the vandal occupation, its wall preserved by gizeric, iii. v. ; the only city with walls in libya, iii. xv. ; its defences neglected by the vandals, iii. xxi. , ; entered by the roman army under belisarius, iii. xx. , ; its fortifications restored by belisarius, iii. xxiii. , ; besieged by gelimer, iv. i. ; by stotzas, iv. xv. ; its surrender prevented by belisarius, iv. xv. , ; the harbours, stagnum, iii. xv. , xx. , and mandracium, iii. xx. , , iv. xxvi. ; the ship-yard misuas, iv. xiv. ; its suburb aclas, iv. vii. ; and decimum, iii. xvii. ; its aqueduct, iv. i. ; its hippodrome, iv. xiv. , xviii. ; its palace, iii. xx, , iv. xiv. , xviii. , xxvi. ; the priest of the city, reparatus, iv. xxvi. , ; monastery built and fortified there by solomon, iv. xxvi. ; an ancient saying among the children there, iii. xxi. - ; church of st. cyprian, and a special annual festival in his honour, iii. xxi. , ; distance from aurasium, iii, viii. , iv. xiii. ; from the plain of boulla, iii. xxv. ; from byzantium, iii. x. ; from caesarea, iv. v. ; from caputvada, iii. xiv. ; from decimum, iii. xvii. ; from grasse, iii. xvii. ; from hippo regius, iv. iv. ; from iouce, iii, xv. ; from membresa, iv. xv. ; from mercurium, iii. vi. ; from siccaveneria, iv. xxiv. ; from stagnum, iii. xv. , xx. ; from tebesta, iv. xxi. ; from tricamarum, iv. ii. casula (latin), garment befitting one of humble station, iv. xxvi. caucana, place in sicily, iii. xiv. , , ; distance from syracuse, iii. xiv. centenarium, a sum of money, so called because it "weighs one hundred pounds" (i. xxii. ), iii. vi. centuriae, place in numidia, iv. xiii. chalcedon, city opposite byzantium, iii. i. , ; distance from the phasis river, iii. i. chiliarch, iii. v. , iv. iii. chosroes, persian king; artabanes known to him, iv. xxvii. christ, his temple in byzantium, iii. vi. christians, persecuted by honoric, iii. viii. , , xxi. ; by gundamundus, iii. viii. ; courted by trasamundus, iii. viii. , ; not troubled by ilderic, iii. ix. ; justinian reproached for not protecting them, iii. x. ; the church of st. cyprian taken from them by the vandals, iii. xxi. ; consoled in a dream sent by st. cyprian, iii. xxi. ; recover the church of st. cyprian, iii. xxi. ; in jerusalem, receive the treasures of the temple, iv. ix. ; reverence their churches and their worship, iii. viii. , , , ; their rite of baptism, iii. xii. , iv. xxvi. , ; their feast of easter, iv. xiv. ; if not of the orthodox faith, excluded from the church, iv. xiv. ; christian scriptures, iv. xxi. , xxvi. ; christian teaching, offended against by basiliscus, iii. vii. cilicians, as sailors in the african expedition, iii. xi. clipea, city in africa, iv. x. clypea, see shield mountain colchis, at the end of the black sea, iii. i. constantina, city in africa; distance from gazophyla, iv. xv. constantine the great; division of the roman empire dating from his time, iii. i. ; his enlargement of byzantium and giving of his name to the city, _ibid._ constantinus, chosen king by the soldiers in britain, iii. ii. ; his invasion of spain and gaul, _ibid._; defeated and killed in battle, iii. ii. constantius, husband of placidia, partner in the royal power with honorius; his brief reign and death, iii. iii. ; father of valentinian, iii. iii. corsica, called cyrnus in ancient times, iv. v. ; cyril sent thither with an army, _ibid._; recovered for the roman empire, iv. v. coutzinas, a moorish ruler, joins in an attack upon a roman force, iv. x. ; agrees to turn against the other moors, iv. xxv. , ; his further dealings with areobindus, iv. xxv. , ; ignorant of antalas' knowledge of his plot, iv. xxv. , ; separates from antalas, and sides with gontharis, iv. xxvii. ; marches with artabanes against antalas, iv. xxvii. , ; in alliance with john, iv. xxviii. cteanus, name applied to theodorus, iii. xi. cyanean rocks, or "dark blue rocks" at the mouth of the bosphorus, iii. i. cyprian, commander of roman auxiliaries, iii. xi. ; on the left wing at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; sent by belisarius to bring gelimer from papua, iv. vii. cyprian, a saint, especially reverenced at carthage, iii. xxi. ; a church to him there and a festival celebrated in his honour, iii. xxi. , , ; sends a dream to devout christians, iii. xxi. cypriana, a periodic storm on the african coast, iii. xx. cypriana, a festival celebrated at carthage, in honour of cyprian, from which the storm was named, iii. xxi. cyrene, city in africa, marking the division between the eastern and western empires, iii. i. cyril, sent as commander of an army to sardinia, iii. xi. , ; avoids sardinia and sails to carthage, iii. xxiv. ; sent to sardinia and corsica with an army, iv. v. , ; wins them back for the empire, iv. v. ; commander of auxiliaries in numidia, iv. xv. ; his death, iv. xv. cyrnus, ancient name of corsica, iv. v. cyrus, son of bacchus and brother of sergius; becomes ruler of pentapolis in libya, iv. xxi. , ; brother of solomon the younger, iv. xxi. ; marches with solomon against the moors, ibid. dalmatia, held by marcellianus as tyrant, iii. vi. danube river, called also the ister, iii. i. daras, city on the eastern frontier of the empire; home of solomon, iii. xi. december, iv. in. decimum, suburb of carthage, iii. xvii. , , xviii. , xix. , , , , xx. , , , xxi. , , iv. xxv. ; the vandals routed there, iii. xviii. - , xix. ; distance from carthage, iii. xvii. ; from pedion halon, iii. xviii. delphi, tripods first made there, iii. xxi. delphix, a word used by the romans to designate a royal banquet room, iii. xxi. , ; in the palace of gelimer, iii. xxi. dido, her emigration from phoenicia, iv. x. diogenes, guardsman of belisarius; his notable exploit on a scouting expedition, iii. xxiii. - dolones, the large sails on ships, iii. xvii. domesticus, a title designating a kind of confidential adviser, iii. iv. , xi. domnicus, senator, accompanies germanus to libya, iv. xvi. ; at the battle of scalae veteres, iv. xvii. ; summoned to byzantium, iv. xix. dorotheus, general of armenia; commander of auxiliaries, iii. xi. ; his death; iii. xiv. dromon, a swift ship of war, iii. xi. , , xv. dryous, city on the east coast of italy, iii. i. , dyrrachium, the name of epidamnus in procopius' time, iii. i. , xi. easter, a feast of the christians, iv. xiv. ; arians annoyed by exclusion from it, iv. xiv, ebusa, island in the western mediterranean, so-called by the natives, iii. i. ; apollinarius sent thither with an army, iv. v. egypt, formerly marked the limit of phoenicia, iv. x. ; densely populated from ancient times, iv. x. ; the migration of the hebrews from there, iv. x. ; the phoenicians pass through it on their way to libya, iv. x. egyptians, as sailors in the african expedition, iii. xi. emesa, city in syria; home of severianus, iv. xxiii. epidamnus (dyrrachium), city on the ionian sea, iii. i. ; home of john, iii. xi. epiphanius, chief priest of byzantium; blesses the fleet, iii. xii. eruli, roman auxiliaries in the african expedition, iii. xi. ; their untrustworthy character, iv. iv. ; of the arian faith, iv. xiv. ; dissuade stotzas from attacking germanus, iv. xvii. , esdilasas, a moorish ruler; joins in an attack upon a roman force, iv. x. ff.; surrenders himself to the romans, iv. xii. ; brought to carthage, iv. xii. euagees, brother of hoamer; imprisoned by gelimer, iii. ix. . ; killed in prison by ammatas, iii. xvii. eudocia, daughter of eudoxia; taken captive by gizeric, iii. v. ; married to honoric, iii. v. eudoxia, daughter of theodosius and wife of valentinian, iii. iv. , ; mother of eudocia and placidia, iii. v. ; forced to be the mistress of maximus, iii. iv. ; invites gizeric to avenge her, iii. iv. - ; taken captive by gizeric, iii. v. ; sent to byzantium, iii. v. eulogius, roman envoy to godas, iii. x. , ; returns with his reply, iii. x. europe, the continent opposite asia, iii. i. , xxii. ; distance from asia at different points, iii. i. , ; distance along the european side of the euxine, iii. i. ; extent of the western empire in, iii. i. ; invaded by alaric, iii. ii. ; all its wealth plundered by the visigoths, iii. ii. ; overrun by attila, iii. iv. eustratius, sent to libya to assess the taxes, iv. viii. eutyches, heresy of, iii. vii. euxine sea, distance around it, iii. i. , ; receives the waters of the phasis, iii. i. excubitori, a latin name for "guard," iv. xii. foederati, auxiliary troops, iii. xi. , , , xix. , , iv. iii. , vii. , xv. foedus (latin) "treaty," iii. xi. franks, name used for all the germans in procopius' time, iii. iii. fuscias, sent as envoy to spain by gelimer, iii. xxiv. ff. gadira, the strait of gibraltar at the western extremity of the mediterranean, iii. i. , , xxiv. , iv. v. , ; width of the strait, iii. i. ; distance from tripolis, iii. i. ; and from the ionian sea, iii. i. ; marking the limit of mauretania, iv. x. ; the vandals cross there, iii. iii. ; _see_ heracles, pillars of galatia, lands there given to gelimer, iv. ix. gaulus, island between the adriatic and tyrrhenian seas, iii. xiv. gaul, the visigoths retire thither, iii. ii. , ; invaded by constantius, iii. ii. gazophyla, place in numidia, iv. xv. ; distance from constantina, _ibid._; roman commanders take sanctuary there, iv. xv. geilaris, son of genzon and father of gelimer, iii. ix. gelimer, king of the vandals; son of geilaris, iii. ix. ; brother of tzazon, iii. xi. , xxiv. ; and of ammatas, iii. xvii. ; uncle of gibamundus, iii. xviii. ; his character, iii. ix. ; encroaches upon the authority of ilderic, iii. ix. ; secures the royal power, _ibid._; allowed by the goths to hold lilybaeum, iv. v. ; imprisons ilderic, hoamer, and euagees, iii. ix. ; defies justinian, and shews further cruelty to the imprisoned princes, iii. ix. ; replies to justinian, iii. ix. - ; justinian prepares an expedition against him, iii. x. ff.; sends envoys to spain, iii. xxiv. ; his slave godas becomes tyrant of sardinia, iii. x. - ; sends an expedition to sardinia, iii. xi. , ; his ignorance of the approaching roman expedition, iii. xiv. ; entrusts his wealth to boniface, iv. iv. ; confines roman merchants in a dungeon in the palace, iii. xx. , ; expected by belisarius to make an attack, iii. xvii. ; writes to his brother in carthage, iii. xvii. ; follows the roman army, iii. xvii. ; plans his attack upon the roman army, iii. xviii. ; comes upon the romans with a large force of cavalry, iii. xix. ; anticipates them in seizing a point of advantage, iii. xix. - ; by a great blunder loses the chance of defeating the roman armies, iii. xix. - ; attacked and routed by belisarius, iii. xix. , , xxi. ; flees to the plain of boulla, iii. xix. ; belisarius sits upon his throne, iii. xx. ; his banquet-hall, servants, and even food, used by the romans, iii. xxi. - ; reason for his not staying in carthage, iii. xxi. ; encourages libyan farmers to kill roman soldiers, iii. xxiii. - ; eluded by a party of roman scouts, iii. xxiii. - ; tzazon writes to him from sardinia, iii. xxiv. - ; collects the vandals in the plain of boulla, iii. xxv. ; sends a letter to tzazon in sardinia, iii. xxv. - ; leads the vandals against carthage, iv. i. ; cuts the aqueduct and tries to besiege the city, iv. i. , ; prepares the vandals for battle at tricamarum, and addresses the army, iv. ii. - ; at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; flees from the vandals' camp, iv. iii. ; pursued by john the armenian, iv. iv. , ; and by belisarius, iv. iv. , ; escapes his pursuers, and takes refuge on mt. papua, iv. iv. , ; moors there friendly to him, iv. iv. ; pharas set to guard him, iv. iv. , ; suffers great misery on mt. papua, iv. vi. , ; receives a letter from pharas, iv. vi. - ; replies with a letter, iv. vi. - ; the meaning of his strange request, iv. vi. - ; after enduring extreme suffering, is induced by a piteous sight to surrender, iv. vii. - ; writes a second time to pharas, iv. vii. - ; cyprian comes to papua to take him prisoner, iv. vii. ; surrenders himself, iv. vii. ; meets belisarius at aclas, iv. vii. ; his unexpected laughter, iv. vii. - ; marvels at the restoration of the fortifications of carthage by belisarius, iii. xxiii. , ; his capture reported by belisarius, iv. vii. ; reaches byzantium with belisarius, iv, ix. ; a slave in belisarius' triumph, iv. ix. ; before justinian in the hippodrome, iv. ix. , ; given lands in galatia, but not made a patrician, iv. ix. , ; nephew of, iv. vii. geminianus, rock of, on mt aurasium, iv. xx. genzon, son of gizeric; receives libyan slaves, iii. v. ; tries to save john, iii. vi. ; father of gundamundus and trasamundus, iii. viii. , ; and of geilaris, iii. ix. ; his death, iii. viii. gergesites, ancient people of phoenicia, iv. x. ; emigrate to egypt and then to libya, iv. x. , gepaides, one division of the gothic peoples, iii. ii. ; their location, iii. ii. getic, a name sometime applied to the gothic peoples, iii. ii. gezon, a roman infantryman, paymaster of his company, iv. xx. ; scales the fortress of toumar and leads the army to its capture, iv. xx. - germania, the home of belisarius, iii. xi. germans, called franks in procopius' time, iii. iii. ; according to one account killed gontharis, iii. iii. germanus, roman general, nephew of justinian; sent to libya, iv. xvi. ; makes a count of the loyal part of the army, iv. xvi. ; wins over many mutineers by persuasion, iv. xvi. - ; prepares to meet stotzas in battle, iv. xvi. ; arrays his army for battle, iv. xvi. ; addresses his troops, iv. xvi. - ; follows the mutineers into numidia, iv. xvii. ; overtaking the enemy at scalae veteres, prepares for battle, iv. xvii. - ; receives offers of desertion from the moors with stotzas, iv. xvii. ; not able to trust them, iv. xvii. ; stotzas proposes to attack his division, iv. xvii. ; rallies the romans, iv. xvii. ; routs the mutineers, iv. xvii. , ; his horse killed under him, iv. xvii. ; orders his men to distinguish their comrades by the countersign, iv. xvii. ; captures and plunders the enemy's camp, iv. xvii. - ; tries to restore order in the army, iv. xvii. ; defeats stotzas in a second battle, iv. xvii. ; learns the plot of maximinus from asclepiades; iv. xviii. ; invites max. to join his body-guards, iv. xviii. , ; frustrates the attempt of maximinus, iv. xviii. - ; examines max. and impales him, iv. xviii. , ; summoned to byzantium, iv. xix. ; false report of his coming to carthage, iv. xxiii. , gibamundus, nephew of gelimer, iii. xviii. ; sent to attack the roman army on the left, _ibid._; his force destroyed at pedion halon, iii. xviii. , , xix. , , xxv. gizeric, king of the vandals; son of godigisclus and brother of gontharis, iii. iii. ; father of honoric, genzon, and theodorus, iii. v. , , vi. ; becomes ruler of the vandals with his brother, iii. iii. ; according to one account destroyed his brother gontharis, iii. iii. ; his great ability, iii. iii. ; invited by boniface to share libya, iii. iii. ; leads the vandals into libya, iii. iii. ; besieges hippo regius, iii. iii. , ; discovers marcian among roman captives, iii. iv. - ; spares his life and makes him swear friendship to the vandals, iii. iv. , ; secures possession of libya, iii. xxi. , xxii. ; secures his power by making a compact with valentinian and giving his son as a hostage, iii. iv. - , xvi. ; receives his son back, iii. iv. ; receives ambassadors from the vandals who had not emigrated, iii. xxii. ; at first hears them with favour, but later refuses their petition, iii. xxii. - ; makes an attempt on taenarum, iii. xxii. ; attacks zacynthus and brutally massacres many of the inhabitants, iii. xxii. , ; invited by eudoxia to punish maximus, iii. iv. , ; despoils the city of rome, iii. v. ff. iv. ix. , ; takes captive eudoxia and her daughters, iii. v. ; removes the walls of libyan cities, iii. v. , xv. ; wins ridicule thereby in later times, iii. v. ; destroyed all the tax records of libya, iv. viii. ; enslaves notable libyans and takes property from others, iii. v. , ; exempts confiscated lands from taxation, iii. v. ; with the moors, makes many inroads into roman provinces iii. v. - ; aspar urges basiliscus to spare him, iii. vi. ; desires the appointment of olyvrius as emperor of the west, iii. vi. ; his fear of leon, iii. vi. ; persuades basiliscus to delay, iii. vi. - ; destroys the roman fleet, iii. vi. - ; receives majorinus disguised as an envoy, iii. vii. , , , ; prepares to meet the army of majorinus, iii. vii. ; forms a compact with zenon, iii. vii. , ix. ; his death and his will, iii. vii. , . ix. , xvi. ; the "law of gizeric," iii. ix. glycerius, emperor of the west, dies after a very short reign, iii. vii. godas, a goth, slave of gelimer; sets up a tyranny in sardinia, iii. x. - . xi. , xxv. ; invites justinian to support him, iii. x. - ; receives the envoy eulogius, iii. x. ; sends him back with a letter, iii. x. ; the vandals send an expedition against him, iii. xi. , xiv. ; killed by tzazon, xi, xxiv. , , iv. ii. godigisclus, leader of the vandals in their migration, iii. iii. , xxii. , ; settles in spain by agreement with honorius, iii. iii. ; dies in spain, iii. ii. ; father of gontharis and gizeric, iii. ii. gontharis, son of godigisclus and brother of gizeric; becomes ruler of the vandals with his brother, iii. ii. ; his mild character, iii. ii. ; invited by boniface to share libya, iii. ii. ; his death, iii. iii. , . gontharis, body-guard of solomon; sent forward against the moors, iv. xix. ; camps near the abigas river, iv. xix. ; defeated by the moors and besieged in his camp, iv. xix. ; receives support from solomon, iv. xix. ; attempts to set up a tyranny, iv. xxv. ff.; summoned to carthage and sent against the moors, iv. xxv. , ; makes an agreement with antalas to betray the romans, iv. xxv. - ; recalls roman skirmishers, iv. xxv. ; hears of the treasonable plan of coutzinas, iv. xxv. ; persuades areobindus to postpone the engagement, iv. xxv. , ; reveals the plot to antalas, iv. xxv. ; plans to kill areobindus, iv. xxv. ; persuades him to join battle with the moors, iv. xxv. ff.; openly sets about establishing his tyranny, iv. xxv. ff.; summons athanasius, iv. xxvi. ; and areobindus, iv. xxvi. ; his reception of areobindus, iv. xxvi. - ; has him assassinated, iv. xxvi. , ; offends antalas by sending him the head of areobindus, iv. xxvii. , ; receives the mutineers under john, iv. xxvii. , ; removes the wife and sister of areobindus from the fortress, iv. xxvii. ; compels prejecta to write a false report in a letter to justinian for his own advantage, iv. xxvii. - ; sends artabanes against antalas, iv. xxvii. ; coutzinas sides with him, iv. xxvii. ; artabanes determines to kill him, iv. xxvii. ; prepares a larger army against antalas, iv. xxvii. ; destroys many in the city, iv. xxvii. , ; entertains artabanes and others at a banquet, iv. xxviii. ff.; his murder planned by artabanes, iv. xxviii. ff; his death, iv. xxviii. - gospels, the sacred writings of the christians; oaths taken upon them, iv. xxi. . gothaeus, sent as envoy to spain by gelimer, iii. xxiv. ff. goths, general description of the gothic peoples, iii. ii. ff.; their migrations, iii. ii. ff.; their common religion and language, iii. ii. ; enter pannonia and then settle in thrace for a time, iii. ii. ; subdue the western empire, iii. ii. ; in italy, belisarius sent against them, iv. xiv. ; furnish the roman fleet a market in sicily, iii. xiv. ; refuse to give up lilybaeum, iv. v. ; receive a letter of remonstrance from belisarius, iv. v. - ; their reply, iv. v. - grasse, a place in libya, iii. xvii. , , ; its pleasant park, iii. xvii. , ; distance from carthage, iii. xvii. greece, plundered by gizeric, iii. v. greeks, contemptuous term for the subjects of the emperor, iv. xxvii. gregorius, nephew of artabanes; with him plans the murder of gontharis, iv. xxviii. - ; urges artabanes to carry out the plot, iv. xxvii. - ; takes his stand in the banquet-hall, iv. xxviii. ; restrains artasires, iv. xxviii. gundamundus, son of gezon; becomes king of the vandals, iii. viii. ; his reign and death, iii. viii. ; brother of trasamundus, iii. viii. hadrumetum, city in libya, iii. xvii. , iv. xxvii. , , ; taken by the moors, iv. xxiii. - ; recovered by paulus, a priest, iv. xxiii. - , ; guarded for the emperor, iv. xxvii. harmatus, roman general; marches against zenon, iii. vii. ; surrenders to him, iii. vii. ; killed by zenon, iii. vii. hebrews, their migration from egypt to palestine, iv. x. ; history of the, iv. x. hebrew scripture, quoted by gelimer, iv. ix. hellespont, strait between sestus and abydus, iii. i. heracleia, the name of perinthus in procopius' time, iii. xii. heracles, wrestled with antaeus in clipea, iv. x. heracles, pillars of, gibraltar, iii. i. , , , . vii. , iv. x. heraclius, defeats the vandals in tripolis, iii. vi. ; returns to byzantium, iii. vi. hermes, called mercury by the romans, iii. vi. ; town of hermes or mercurium, on the coast of libya, iii. vi. , xvii. , xx. hermione, town in byzacium; distance from the coast, iii. xiv. , xvii. , hieron, near the mouth of the bosphorus, iii. i. himerius of thrace, commander in byzacium; fails to unite with john, and falls into the hands of the moors, iv. xxiii. - ; guarded by the moors, iv. xxiii. ; puts hadrumetum into their hands, iv. xxiii. - ; escapes to carthage, iv. xxiii. hippo regius, a strong city of numidia, iii. iii. , iv. iv. ; besieged by the vandals, iii. iii. , ; distance from carthage, iv. iv. ; boniface the libyan captured there, iv. iv. , , hoamer, nephew of ilderic; acts as his general, iii. ix. ; imprisoned by gelimer, iii. ix. ; blinded by gelimer, iii. ix. , ; his death, iii. xvii. honoric, son of gizeric; given as a hostage to valentinian, iii. iv. ; returned, iii, iv. ; marries eudocia, iii. v. ; receives libyan slaves, iii. v. ; succeeds to the throne of the vandals, iii. viii. , xxi. ; makes war on the moors, iii. viii. , ; persecutes the christians, iii. viii. , ; his death, iii. viii. ; father of ilderic, iii. ix. ; in his reign the church of st. cyprian taken by the arians, iii. xxi. honorius, younger son of theodosius; receives the western empire, iii. i. , ii. ; brother of arcadius and placidia, iii. iii. ; the western empire overrun by barbarians during his reign, iii. ii. ; retires from rome to ravenna, iii. ii. , ; accused of bringing in the visigoths, iii. ii. ; his stupid remark upon hearing of the fall of rome, iii. ii. , ; displaced from the throne of the western empire by attalus, iii. ii. ; prepares for flight either to libya or to byzantium, iii. ii. ; his good fortune in extreme peril, iii. ii. - ; allows the vandals to settle in spain, iii. iii. ; provides that they shall not acquire possession of the land, iii. iii. ; shares royal power with constantius, iii. iii. ; his death, iii. iii. huns, see massagetae. iaudas, ruler of the moors in aurasium, iv. xii. , xxv. ; the best warrior among the moors, iv. xiii. ; plunders numidia, iv. xiii. ; his combat with althias at tigisis, iv. xiii. - ; solomon marches against him, iv. xiii. ; accused before solomon by other moorish rulers, iv. xiii. ; slays his father-in-law mephanius, _ibid._; establishes himself on mt, aurasium, iv. xiii. ; with the mutineers of stotzas, iv. xvii. ; solomon marches against him, iv. xix. ; remains on mt. aurasium, iv. xix. ; goes up to the top of mt. aurasium, iv. xix. ; escapes wounded from toumar, iv. xx. ; deposited his treasures in a tower at the rock of geminianus, iv. xx. ilderic, son of honoric, becomes king of the vandals, iii. ix. ; an unwarlike ruler, _ibid._; uncle of hoamer, iii. ix. ; suspected plot of the goths against him, iii. ix. ; on terms of special friendship with justinian, iii. ix. ; makes large gifts to apollinarius, iv. v. ; allows gelimer to encroach upon his authority, iii. ix. ; dethroned and imprisoned, iii. ix. , , , ; killed in prison by ammatas, iii. xvii. , ; his sons and other offspring receive rewards from justinian and theodora, iv. ix. ildiger, son-in-law of antonina, iv. viii. ; sent to libya with an army, _ibid._; made joint commander of carthage with theodoras, iv. xv. ; at the battle of scalae veteres, iv. xvii. , illyricum, iii. xi. , ; plundered by gizeric, iii. v. ionian sea, iii. i. , , , ii. , ionians, as sailors in the african expedition, iii. xi. iouce, distance from carthage, iii. xv. iourpouthes, a moorish ruler, joins in an attack upon a roman force, iv. x. ff. ister, called also the danube, iii. i. , ii. ; crossed by the goths, iii. ii. italy the brutal destruction of its cities and people by the visigoths, iii. ii. , ; invaded by gizeric, iii. v. ff., , jebusites, ancient people of phoenicia, iv. x. ; emigrate to egypt and then to libya, iv. x. , jerusalem, captured by titus, iv. ix. ; christians there receive back the treasures of the temple, iv. ix. jews, their treasures brought to byzantium by belisarius, iv. ix. ; sent back to jerusalem by justinian, iv. ix. ; one of them warns the romans not to keep the treasures of the temple in jerusalem, iv. ix. - john the armenian; financial manager of belisarius, iii. xvii. , ; commanded to precede the roman army, iii. xvii, , xviii. ; engages with ammatas at decimum and defeats his force, iii. xviii. , ; pursues the fugitives to carthage, iii. xviii. , xix. ; rejoins belisarius, iii. xix. ; entrusted with the command of a skirmishing force, iv. ii. ; in the centre at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; begins the fighting, iv. iii. , , ; pursues gelimer, iv, iv. , ; killed accidentally by uliaris, iv. iv. , ; his character, iv, iv. ; cared for and buried by his soldiers, iv. iv. ; mourned by belisarius, iv. iv. john, father of artabanes and john, of the arsacidae, iv. xxiv. john, commander of auxiliaries, iii. xi. ; on the left wing at the battle of tricamarum, iv. in. ; sent with an army to caesarea, iv. v. john, a general under basiliscus; his excellent fighting against the vandals, iii. vi. - john the cappadocian, urges justinian not to make war on the vandals, iii. x. - ; praetorian perfect; supplies the army with bad bread, iii. xiii. ff. john, guardsman of belisarius; sent to the pillars of heracles with an army, iv. v. john, a roman soldier, chosen emperor, iii. iii. ; his virtues as a ruler, iii. iii. , ; reduced from power by theodosius, iii. iii. ; captured, brutally abused, and killed by valentinian, iii. iii. john of epidamnus, commander-in-chief of infantry, iii. xi. , iv. xvi. john, son of john, of the arsacidae; sent to libya in command of armenians, iv. xxiv. ; brother of artabanes, iv. xxiv. ; his death, _ibid._ john the mutineer, succeeds stotzas as general of the mutineers, iv. xxv. ; leads the mutineers to join gontharis, iv. xxvii. ; marches with artabanes against antalas, iv. xxvii. ; does not take part in the battle, iv, xxvii. ; entertained by pamphilus at a banquet, iv. xxviii. ; taken from sanctuary, and sent to byzantium, iv. xxviii. , john, brother of pappus; at the battle of scalae veteres, iv. xvii. , ; made general of libya, iv. xxviii. ; his varying fortunes in fighting with the moors, iv. xxviii. - john, son of sisiniolus; sent as commander to libya, iv. xix. ; especially hostile to sergius, iv. xxii. , ; marches against the moors, iv. xxiii. ; fails to meet himerius, iv. xxiii. - ; quarrels with sergius, iv. xxiii. ; sent against antalas and stotzas, iv. xxiv. c; meets the enemy at a great disadvantage, iv. xxiv. ; his enmity against stotzas, iv, xxiv. ; gives him a mortal wound in the battle, iv. xxiv. ; his army routed by the moors, iv. xxiv. ; his death, iv. xxiv. . ; justinian's sorrow at his death, iv. xxiv. joseph, an imperial scribe, sent as envoy to stotzas, iv. xv. ; killed by stotzas, iv. xv. joshua ("jesus"), son of ("naues"), brings the hebrews into palestine, iv. x. ; subjugates the country, iv. x. ; mentioned in a phoenician inscription, iv. x. juppiter capitolinus, temple of, in rome, despoiled by gizeric, iii. v. justinian, succeeds his uncle justinus as emperor, iii. vii. ; on terms of especial friendship with ilderic, iii. ix. ; sends warning to gelimer, iii. ix. - ; sends a second warning to gelimer, iii. ix. - ; approached by apollinarius and other libyans seeking help for ilderic, iv. v. ; prepares to make war upon gelimer, iii. ix. , ; summons belisarius from the east to command the african expedition, iii. ix. ; makes preparations for the expedition, iii. x. ff.; discouraged by john the cappadocian, iii. x. ff.; urged by a priest to prosecute the war, iii. x. - ; continues preparations iii. x. ; invited by godas to support him in sardinia, iii. x. - ; sends an envoy to him, iii. x. ; and later an army, iii. xi. ; sends valerianus and martinus in advance of the african expedition, iii. xi. ; despatches the expedition, iii. xii. ff.; makes an agreement with amalasountha for a market, iii. xiv. ; their mutual friendship, iii. xiv. ; his letter to the vandals, iii. xvi. - ; never properly delivered, iii. xvi. ; the goths appeal to him as arbiter, iv. v. ; receives report of belisarius regarding the dispute with the goths, iv. v. ; hears slander against belisarius, iv. viii. ; sends solomon to test him, iv. viii. ; sends the jewish treasures back to jerusalem, iv. ix. ; receives the homage of gelimer and of belisarius, iv. ix. ; distributes rewards to gelimer and others, iv. ix. ; sends belisarius against the goths in italy, iv. xiv. ; sends germanus to libya, iv. xvi. ; entrusts solomon again with the command of libya, iv. xix. ; receives a letter from antalas, iv. xxii. - ; refuses to recall sergius, iv. xxii. ; sends areobindus to libya iv. xxiv. ; recalls sergius and sends him to italy, iv. xxiv. ; appoints artabanes general of all libya, iv. xxviii. ; summons him to byzantium, iv. xxviii. ; uncle of germanus, iv. xvi. ; and of vigilantia, iv. xxiv. ; the vandals of, iv. xiv. ; excluded all not of the orthodox faith from the church, iv. xiv. ; years of reign noted, iii. xii. , iv. xiv. , xix. , xxi. , xxviii. justinus, roman emperor, uncle of justinian, iii. vii. ; not a vigorous or skilful ruler, iii. ix. ; ilderic accused of betraying the vandals to him, iii. ix. laribus or laribous, city in libya, iv. xxii. , xxviii. ; attacked by the moors, iv. xxii. - latin tongue, the, iii. i. , iv. xiii. laurus, a carthaginian; impaled by belisarius, iv. i. leon, emperor of the east, iii. v. ; sends an expedition against the vandals, iii. vi. ff., xx. ; quarrels with aspar, iii. vi. ; appoints anthemius emperor of the west, iii. vi. ; wins over the tyrant marcellianus and sends him against the vandals in sardinia, iii. vi. ; dreaded by gizeric, iii. vi. ; his expedition destroyed by the vandals, iii. vi. ff.; destroys aspar and ardaburius, iii. vi. ; his death, iii. vii. ; husband of berine, iii. vi. ; father of ariadne, iii. vii. leon the younger, son of zenon and ariadne, iii. vii. ; becomes emperor while an infant, iii. vii. ; dies soon afterwards, iii. vii. leontius, son of zaunus, sent as commander to libya, iv. xix. ; fights valorously at the capture of toumar, iv. xx. ; brother of rufinus, _ibid._ leptes, city in libya, iii. xvii. leptimagna, city in tripolis; threatened by an army of leuathae, iv. xxi. , , lesbos, passed by the fugitive vandals, iv. xiv. leuathae, tribe of moors; present demands to sergius, iv. xxi. ; their representatives received by sergius and killed, iv. xxi. - ; come in arms against leptimagna, iv. xxi. ; routed by the romans, iv. xxi. ; march against the romans a second time, iv. xxi. ; scorn the overtures of solomon, iv. xxi. - ; capture solomon, son of bacchus, iv. xxii. ; release him, iv. xxii. ; besiege laribus, iv. xxii. ; depart to their homes iv. xxii. ; join the moors of byzacium against the romans, iv. xxviii. libya, included in "asia," iii. i. ; its aborigines, iv. x. ; the phoenicians emigrate thither, iv. x. ; phoenician tongue used there, iv. x. ; subjugated by the romans, iv. x. ; failure of the visigothic king attalus to get a foothold there, iii. ii. , , ; lost by valentinian, iii. iii. ; occupied by the vandals, iii. iii. , xxii. ; who remove the walls of the cities, iii. v. , xv. ; recovered for the romans by belisarius, iii. xvi. ff.; prospers under the rule of solomon, iv. xix. , xx. ; who restores the walls of the cities, iv. xix. , xx. ; overrun by the moors, iv. xxiii. - , xxviii. libyans, enslaved and impoverished by gizeric, iii. v. - , - ; cannot trust the vandals, iii. xvi. ; their sufferings at the hands of the vandals, iii. xx. ; oppressed by the moors, iv. viii. , xxiii. ; enjoy peace at last, iv. xxviii. liguria, the army of majorinus halts there, iii. vii. , lilybaeum, a promontory of sicily; presented to amalafrida, iii. viii. ; belisarius attempts unsuccessfully to take it, iv. v. ; he asserts his claim, iv. v. ff.; the claim denied by the goths, iv. v. ff. massagetae, called huns in procopius' time, iii. xi. ; their love of wine, iii. xii. ; their custom of allowing only members of a certain family to begin a battle, iii. xviii. ; in the army of aetius, iii. iv. ; in the african expedition of belisarius, iii. xi. , xii. - , xvii. , xviii. , , , xix. , , iv. xiii. ; their doubtful allegiance, iv. i. , , - , ii. , iii. , ; with the mutineers under john, iv. xxvii. maeotic lake, at the eastern extremity of the "mediterranean," iii. i. ; limit of the euxine, iii. i. ; home of the vandals, iii. iii. majorica, island in the western mediterranean, iii. i. ; apollinarius sent thither with an army, iv. v. majorinus, emperor of the west; makes an expedition against the vandals, iii. vii. - ; disguised as an envoy and received by gizeric, iii. vii. - ; his death, iii. vii. malea, southern promontory of the peloponnesus, iii. xiii. mammes, a place in byzacium; solomon encamps there, iv. xi. ; battle fought there, iv. xi. - mandracium, the harbour of carthage, iii. xx. , , iv. viii. , xxvi. ; opened to the roman fleet, iii. xx. ; entered by calonymus with a few ships, iii. xx. marcellianus, rules as independent tyrant over dalmatia, iii. vi. ; won over by leon and sent to sardinia against the vandals, iii. vi. ; destroyed by treachery, iii. vi. marcellus, commander of auxiliaries, iii. xi. ; on the left wing at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; commander-in-chief of roman forces in numidia, iv. xv. , ; leads his army against stotzas, iv. xv. ; his death, iv. xv. marcentius, commander in byzacium; persuaded by antalas to join him, iv. xxvii. , , marcian, confidential adviser of aspar, iii. iv. ; taken prisoner by gizeric, iii. iv. ; his career foreshadowed by a sign, iii. iv. - ; spared by gizeric, iii. iv. , ; becomes emperor of the east, iii. iv. , ; his successful reign, iii. iv. ; his death, iii. v. marcian, commander of infantry, iii. xi. martinus, commander of auxiliaries, iii. xi. , ; sent with valerian in advance of the african expedition, iii. xi. ; meets the roman fleet at methone, iii. xiii. ; on the left wing at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; escapes with solomon from the mutiny in carthage iv. xiv. - ; sent back to numidia, iv. xiv. ; summoned to byzantium, iv. xix. massonas, son of mephanias; a moorish ruler, accuses iaudas to solomon, iv. xiii. mastigas, moorish ruler, iv. xx. mastinas, ruler of moors in mauretania, iv. xiii. mauritania, occupied by the moors, iv. x. ; moors of, seek alliance with the romans, iii. xxv. ; ruled by mastinas iv. xiii. ; fugitive vandals return thither, iv. xiv. ; iaudas retires thither, iv. xx. ; "first mauritania," called zabe, subjugated by solomon, iv. xx. ; stotzas comes thence to joizabetalas, iv. xxii. ; adjoins numidia, iii. xxv. ; city of caesarea there, iv. v. maximinus, body-guard of theodorus the cappadocian; tries to set up a tyranny, iv. xviii. - ; upon invitation of germanus, becomes a body-guard of his, iv. xviii. , ; his attempt frustrated by germanus, iv. xviii. - ; examined by germanus and impaled, iv. xviii. , maximus the elder, his tyranny, iii. iv. ; the festival celebrating his defeat, _ibid._ maximus, a roman senator, iii. iv. ; his wife outraged by valentinian, iii. iv. - ; plans to murder valentinian, iii. iv. ; slanders and destroys aetius, iii. iv. - ; kills valentinian, and makes himself tyrant, iii. iv. ; stoned to death, iii. v. medeos, city at the foot of mt. papua in numidia, iv. iv. medic garments, _i.e._ silk; called "seric" in procopius' time, as coming from the chinese (seres); worn by the vandals, iv. vi. medissinissas, a moorish ruler; joins in an attack upon a roman force, iv. x. ff.; slays rufinus, iv. x. megara, its distance from athens the measure of a one day's journey, iii. i. melanchlaenae, an old name for the goths, iii. ii. melita, island between the adriatic and tyrrhenian seas (malta), iii. xiv. membresa, city in libya, iv. xv. ; distance from carthage, _ibid._ menephesse, place in byzacium, iv. xxiii. mephanias, a moor, father of massonas, and father-in-law of iaudas, iv. xiii. ; treacherously slain by iaudas, _ibid._ mercurium, a town near carthage, iii. vi. , xvii. , xx. mercurius, the latin name for hermes, iii. vi. methone, a town in the peloponnesus, iii. xiii. ; the roman fleet stops there, iii. xiii. - minorica, island in the western mediterranean, iii. i. ; apollinarius sent thither with an army, iv. v. misuas, the ship-yard of carthage, iv. xiv. monks, their monastery in carthage, iv. xxvi. moors, a black race of africa, iv. xiii. ; an account of their origin in palestine, and migration westward, iv. x. ff.; driven away from carthage, iv. x. , ; possess themselves of much of libya, iv. x. ; take mt. aurasium from the vandals, iv. xiii. , ; those beyond mt. aurasium ruled by ortaïas, iv. xiii. ; on aurasium, ruled by iaudas, iv. xii. , xiii. ; of mauritania, ruled by mastinas, iv. xiii. ; inhabit mt. papua, iv. iv. , vi. , ; not merged with the vandals, iii. v. ; their alliance secured by gizeric, iii. v. ; make war on the vandals, iii. viii. , ; dwelling on mt. aurasium, establish their independence from the vandals, iii. viii. ; their wars with gundamundus, iii. viii. ; inflict a great disaster upon the vandals, iii. viii. - ; of byzacium, defeat the vandals, iii. ix. ; most of them seek alliance with the romans, iii. xxv. - , iv. viii. ff.; their doubtful fidelity, iii. xxv. ; stationed in the rear of the vandals at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; threaten the roman power in tripolis, iv. v. ; on mt. papua, drive back pharas and his men, iv. vi. - ; of byzacium and numidia, rise and overrun the country, iv. viii. - , x. , ; caught by aïgan and rufinus in an ambush, iv. x. ; in turn annihilate the roman force, iv. x. ff.; receive a warning letter from solomon, iv. xi. - ; their reply, iv. xi. - ; solomon marches against them, iv. xi. ; prepare for battle at mammes, iv. xi. , , - ; defeated by the romans, iv. xi. - ; rise against the romans a second time, iv. xii. ; establish themselves on mt. bourgaon, iv. xii. - ; suffer a crushing defeat, iv. xii. ff.; finally understand their ancient prophecy, iv. xii. ; emigrate from byzacium to numidia, iv. xii, ; those under antalas remain in byzacium, iv. xii. ; of aurasium, take up arms under iaudas, iv. xiii. ff.; checked by althias at the spring of tigisis, iv. xiii. , ; in the army of solomon, iv. xiii. ; elude solomon on mt. aurasium, iv. xiii. , ; solomon prepares another expedition against them, iv. xiii. ; with the mutineers of stotzas, iv. xvii. ; their uncertain allegiance, iv. xvii. - ; join in the pursuit of the mutineers, iv. xvii. ; on aurasium; solomon marches against them, iv. xix. ; defeat gontharis, iv. xix. ; flood the roman camp, iv. xix. ; retire to mt. aurasium, iv. xix. ; defeated by solomon, retire to the heights of aurasium, iv. xix. , ; abandon the fortress of zerboule to the romans, iv. xix. - ; overwhelmingly defeated at toumar, iv, xx. ff.; defeat the romans under solomon, iv. xxi. - ; gather under antalas, iv. xxii. ; tricked by solomon the younger, iv. xxii. - ; attack laribus, iv. xxii. - ; gathered a second time by antalas, iv. xxiii. ; capture himerius and take hadrumetum, iv. xxiii. - ; lose hadrumetum, iv. xxiii. ; pillage all libya unhindered, iv. xxiii. - ; defeat the roman army at siccaveneria, iv. xxiv. - ; at the invitation of gontharis, march against carthage, iv. xxv. , ; of coutzinas, in the army of artabanes, iv. xxvii. ; of byzacium, defeated by john, iv. xxviii. ; with the leuathae defeat john, iv. xxviii. , ; routed in a third battle, iv. xxviii. , ; of coutzinas, in alliance with john, iv. xxviii. ; in sardinia, solomon prepares an expedition against them, iv. xiii. , ; sent thither by the vandals, iv. xiii. ; overrun the island, iv. xiii. , ; called barbaricini, iv. xiii. ; their polygamy, iv. xi. ; untrustworthy by nature, iv. xiii. , xvii. , even among themselves, iv. xxv. ; suspicious toward all, iv. xxvi. ; their hardiness as a nation, iv. vi. , - ; their reckless character, iv. viii. ; their female oracles, iv. viii. ; their method of cooking bread, iv. vii. ; accustomed to take some women with their armies, iv. xi. , ; undesirable allies, iv. xiii. ; not practised in storming walls, iv. xxii. ; not diligent in guarding captives, iv. xxiii. ; the symbols of kingship among them received from the roman emperor, iii. xxv. - ; moorish old man, guardian of iaudas' treasures, iv. xx. ; slain by a roman soldier, iv. xx. ; moorish woman, iv. vii. moses, leader of the hebrews, his death, iv. x. nepos, emperor of the west, dies after a reign of a few days, iii. vii. numidia, in africa, adjoins mauritania, iii. xxv. ; its boundary near the plain of boulla, iii. xxv. ; mt. papua on its borders, iv. iv. ; includes mt. aurasium, iii. viii. ; and the city of hippo regius, iii. iii. , iv. iv. ; and the city of tigisis, iv. x. ; moors of, seek alliance with the romans, iii. xxv. ; plundered by the moors, iv. viii. , x. ; plundered by iaudas, iv. xiii. , ; a place of retreat for the mutineers of stotzas, iv. xv. , , xvii. ; romans retire from there, iv. xx. ; gontharis commander there, iv. xxv. ; moors of, march out against carthage, iv. xxv. nun ("naues"), father of joshua ("jesus"), iv. x. , ocean, procopius' conception of it as encircling the earth, iii. . olyvrius, roman senator, husband of placidia, iii. v. , vi. ; becomes emperor of the west; killed after a short reign, iii. vii. optio (latin), a kind of adjutant in the roman army, iii. xvii. , iv. xx. ortaïas, moorish ruler beyond mt. aurasium, iv. xiii. , ; accuses iaudas to solomon, iv. xiii. ; with the mutineers of stotzas, iv. xvii. ; his report of the country beyond his own, iv. xiii. palatium, the imperial residence in rome; said to be named from pallas, iii. xxi. ; despoiled by gizeric, iii. v. , iv. ix. palestine, settlement of the hebrews there, iv. x. ; moors emigrated therefrom, iv. x. pallas, an "eponymous" hero, used to explain the word "palatium," iii. xxi. pannonia, entered by the goths, iii. ii. pappus, brother of john, iv. xvii. , xxviii. ; commander of cavalry, iii. xi. ; on the right wing at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. papua, mountain in numidia, iv. iv. ; gelimer takes refuge there, iv. , ; its ascent attempted by pharas, iv. vi. ; closely besieged, iv. iv. , vi. ; cyprian sent thither to receive gelimer, iv. vii. pasiphilus, a mutineer in the roman army; active supporter of gontharis, iv. xxvii. , , , ; entertains john at a banquet, iv. xxviii. ; his death, iv. xxviii. patrician rank, iii. ii. , xi. , iv. vi. , xvi. ; gelimer excluded from it because of arianism, iv. ix. paulus, a priest of hadrumetum; rescues the city from the moors, iv. xxiii. - ; comes to byzantium, iv. xxiii. pedion halon, in libya, distance from decimum; forces of gibamundus destroyed there, iii. xviii. pegasius, friend of solomon the younger, iv. xxii. , peloponnesus, iii. xi. , iv. xiv. ; plundered by gizeric, iii. v. , xxii. pentapolis, part of libya; its rule falls to cyrus, iv. xxi. perinthus, called heracleia in procopius' time, iii, xii. persians, iii. xix. ; make peace with the romans, iii. i. , ix. , ; vandals fight against them iv. xiv. peter, roman general, accused by the massagetae of unfair dealing, iv. i. peter, of thrace, body-guard of solomon; at the banquet of gontharis, iv. xxviii. ; looks with approval upon artabanes' plot, iv. xxviii. , ; with artabanes cuts down the body-guards who remain, iv. xxviii. pharas, leader of eruli, in the african expedition, iii. xi. ; left in charge of the siege of gelimer on mt. papua, iv. iv. , , vi. , ; his correspondence with gelimer, iv. vi. - , vii. - ; learns the reasons for gelimer's peculiar request, and fulfils it, iv. vi. - ; reports to belisarius, iv. vii. ; his good qualities, iv. iv. , ; an uneducated man, iv. vi. pharesmanes, father of zaunas, iv. xix. , xx. phasis river, in colchis, iii. i. ; distance from chalcedon, _ibid._ phoenicia, its extent, iv. x. ; ruled by one king in ancient times, iv. x. ; home of various peoples, iv. x. ; dido's emigration therefrom, iv. x. ; phoenician tongue, spoken in libya, iv. x. ; phoenician writing, on two stones in numidia iv. x. phredas, friend of areobindus, sent by him to gontharis, iv. xxvi. , placidia, sister of arcadius and honorius and wife of constantius, iii. iii. ; mother of valentinian, brings him up in vicious ways, iii. iii. ; as regent for her son, appoints boniface general of all libya, iii. iii. ; gives ear to aetius' slander of boniface, iii. iii. , ; summons him to rome, iii. iii. ; sends men to boniface at carthage, iii. iii. ; upon learning the truth tries to bring him back, iii. iii. , ; finally receives him back, iii. iii. ; her death, iii. iv. placidia, daughter of eudoxia and wife of olyvrius; taken captive by gizeric, iii. v. , vi. ; sent to byzantium, iii. v. pontus, see euxine praetor, iii. x. praetorian, see prefect prefect, praetorian prefect (lit. "of the court"), iii. x. , , xi. , xiii. ; of the army, "financial manager," iii. xi. . cf. iii. xv. , xvii, , iv. xvi. prejecta, daughter of vigilantia and wife of areobindus, accompanies him to libya, iv. xxiv. ; placed in a fortress for her safety, iv. xxvi. ; removed from the fortress by gontharis and compelled to give a false report in a letter to justinian, iv. xxvii. ; presents a great sum of money to artabanes, iv. xxviii. proba, a notable woman of rome; according to one account opened the gates of the city to alaric, iii. ii. procopius, author of the history of the wars; sails with belisarius for africa, iii. xii. ; his reassuring dream, iii. xii. - ; sent by belisarius to syracuse to get information, iii. xiv. , , - ; praised by belisarius iii. xiv. ; congratulates belisarius upon a good omen, iii. xv. ; escapes from carthage with solomon, iv. xiv. ; goes to belisarius in syracuse, iv. xiv. pudentius, of tripolis; recovers this country for the roman empire, iii. x. - , xi. , iv. xxi. ; receives support from belisarius, iv. v. ; persuades sergius to receive only representatives of the leuathae, iv. xxi. ; rights against the leuathae, iv. xxi. , ; his death, iv. xxii. ravenna, city in italy; the refuge of honorius, iii. ii. , ; attacked by alaric and attalus, iii. ii. reparatus, priest of carthage; sent by gontharis to summon areobindus, iv. xxvi. ; with difficulty persuades him to come, iv. xxvi. - ; dismissed by gontharis, iv. xxvi. rhecimer, slays his father-in-law anthemius, emperor of the west, iii. vii. rhine river, crossed by the vandals, iii. iii. romans, subjects of the roman empire, both in the east and in the west; mentioned constantly throughout; celebrate a festival commemorating the overthrow of maximus, iii. iv. ; accustomed to enter subject cities in disorder, iii. xxi. ; require especial oaths of loyalty from body-guards of officers, iv. xviii. ; subjugate the peoples of libya, iv. x. ; lose libya to gizeric and the vandals, iii. iii. - ; send an unsuccessful expedition under basiliscus against the vandals, iii. vi. - ; make peace with the persians, iii. ix. ; send a second expedition under belisarius, iii. xi. ff.; defeat the vandals at decimum, iii. xviii. - , xix. - ; at tricamarum, iv. ii. ff.; defeat the moors at the battle of mammes, iv. xi. - ; on mt. bourgaon, iv. xii. ff.; and on mt. aurasium, iv. xix. -xx. ; further conflicts with the moors, iv. xi.-xxviii.; poverty of the roman soldiers, iv. iv. ; their marriages with the vandal women, iv. xiv. ; and their desire for the vandals estates, iv. xiv. ; they make a mutiny, iv. xiv. ff. rome, abandoned by honorius, iii. ii. , ; completely sacked by the visigoths, iii. ii. ; captured by alaric, iii. ii. - ; sacked by alaric, iii. ii. ; according to one account, was delivered over to alaric by proba, iii. ii. ; the suffering of the city during the siege of alaric, iii. ii. ; despoiled by gizeric, iii. v. ff., iv. ix. rome, name of a cock of the emperor honorius, iii. ii. rufinus, of thrace; of the house of belisarius and his standard-bearer, iv. x. , ; commander of cavalry, iii. xi. ; makes a successful attack upon the moors in byzacium, iv. x. ; his force in turn annihilated by the moors, iv. x. ff; captured and killed, iv. x. , , xi. rufinus, son of zaunas and brother of leontius; sent as commander to libya, iv. xix. ; fights valorously at the capture of toumar, iv. xx. salarian gate, at rome, iii. ii. , sallust, roman historian, the house of, burned by alaric, iii. ii. sarapis, commander of roman infantry, iii. xi. , iv. xv. ; his death, iv. xv. sardinia, its size compared with that of sicily, iv. xiii. ; half way between rome and carthage, _ibid._; recovered by the romans from the vandals, iii. vi. , ; occupied by the tyrant godas, iii. x. , ; gelimer sends an expedition to recover it, iii. xi. , ; subdued by tzazon, iii, xxiv. , , iv. ii. ; avoided by cyril, iii. xxiv. ; tzazon and his men summoned thence by gelimer, iii. xxv. , , , ; recovered for the roman empire by cyril, iv. v. , ; solomon sends an expedition against the moors who had overrun the island, iv. xiii. - sauromatae, an old name for the goths, iii. ii. scalae veteres, place in numidia, iv. xvii. scythians, a barbarian people, iii. xix. ; in the army of attila, iii. iv. scriptures of the christians; areobindus seeks to protect himself by them, iv. xxvi. ; see also gospel, and hebrew scriptures septem, fort at the pillars of heracles, iii. i. ; john sent thither with an army, iv. v. sergius, son of bacchus, and brother of cyrus; becomes ruler of tripolis in libya, iv. xxi. ; brother of solomon the younger, iv. xxi. ; threatened by an army of leuathae, iv. xxi, ; receives representative from them, iv. xxi. ff.; meets them in battle, iv. xxi. , ; retires into the city, iv. xxi. ; and receives help from solomon, iv. xxi. , ; succeeds solomon in the command of libya, iv. xxii. ; his misrule, iv. xxii, ; his recall demanded by antalas, iv. xxii. , ; justinian refuses to recall him, iv. xxii. ; appealed to by paulus to save hadrumetum, but does nothing, iv. xxiii. , ; quarrels with john, son of sisiniolus, iv. xxii. ; xxiii. ; shares the rule of libya with areobindus, iv. xxiv. , ; departs to numidia, iv. xxiv. ; disregards areobindus' instructions to unite with john, iv. xxiv. , ; recalled and sent to italy, iv. xxiv. , xxv. seric, see medic garments, iv. vi. sestus, city on the hellespont, iii. i. severianus, son of asiaticus, a phoenician; his daring encounter with the moors, iv. xxiii. - ; escapes to carthage, iv. xxiii. shield mountain (clypea), ancient fort on aurasium, iv. xiii. shoal's head, see caputvada, iii. xiv. siccaveneria, city in libya; distance from carthage, iv. xxiv. sicily, its size compared with that of sardinia, iv. xiii. ; invaded by gizeric, iii. v. , ; concessions given the vandals there, iii. viii. , iv. v. ; reached by the roman fleet, iii. xiii. ; expedition sent thither by belisarius, iv. v. ; claimed by the goths, iv. v. ; subjugated by belisarius, iv. xiv. ; a mutiny there causes belisarius to return to it, iv. xv. , ; refuge of libyans, iv. xxiii. sidon, city at the extremity of phoenicia, iv. x. sigeum, promontory on the coast of the troad, iii. xiii. singidunum, town in the land of the gepaides, modern belgrade, iii. ii. sinnion, leader of the massagetae, iii. xi. sirmium, town in the land of the gepaides, iii. ii. sisiniolus, father of john, iv. xix. , xxii. , xxiii. , xxiv. sitiphis, metropolis of "first mauritania," iv. xx. sittas, roman general; slain by artabanes, iv. xxvii. sophia, name of the great church in byzantium, iii. vi. solomon, commander of auxiliaries, iii. xi. ; a eunuch, iii. xi. ; a native of the country about daras, iii. xi. ; uncle of bacchus, iv. xxi. ; sent to report belisarius' victory to the emperor, iii. xxiv. ; returns to libya, iv. viii. ; left by belisarius in charge of libya, iv. viii. ; receives reinforcements from byzantium, iv. viii. ; disturbed by the news of uprisings in libya, iv. x. _ff._; writes to the moorish leaders, iv. xi. - ; their reply, iv. xi. - ; moves against the moors with his whole army, iv. xi. ; addresses his troops, iv. xi. - ; inflicts a crushing defeat upon the enemy at mammes, iv. xi. ff.; receives word of the second moorish uprising, and marches back, iv. xii. ; wins a brilliant victory on mt. bourgaon, iv. xii. ff.; moves against iaudas, iv. xiii. ; instigated against him by other moorish leaders, iv. xiii. ; encamps on the abigas river, iv. xiii. ; ascends mt. aurasium with few provisions, iv. xiii. - ; eluded by the moors, iv. xiii. , ; returns to carthage, iv. xiii. ; prepares a second expedition against mt. aurasium, iv. xiii. ; and against sardinia, iv. xiii. . ; passes the winter in carthage, iv. xiv. ; opposed by the soldiers in regard to confiscated lands, iv. xiv. ; plan to assassinate him, iv. xiv. ; his guards implicated in the plot, iv. xiv. ; failure of the conspirators to act, iv. xiv. - ; tries to win back the loyalty of his men, iv. xiv. ; insulted openly, iv. xiv. ; sends theodorus to the mutineers, iv. xiv. ; his enmity toward theodorus, iv. xiv. ; his acquaintances killed by the mutineers, iv. xiv. ; flees to a sanctuary in the palace, iv. xiv. ; joined by martinus there, _ibid._; they come out to the house of theodorus, iv. xiv. ; escape in a boat to misuas, whence he sends martinus to numidia, iv. xiv. ; writes to theodorus, and departs to syracuse, iv. xiv. ; begs belisarius to come to carthage, iv. xiv. ; returns with him, iv. xv. ; entrusted again with the command of libya, iv. xix. ; his prosperous rule, iv. xix. , , xx. ; marches against iaudas once more, iv. xix. ; sends gontharis ahead, iv. xix. ; hears of the defeat of gontharis, iv. xix. ; advances to the camp of gontharis, thence to babosis, iv. xix. ; defeats the moors in battle, iv. xix. ; plunders the plain and then returns to zerboule, iv. xix. ; which he unexpectedly captures, iv. xix. - ; his care of the water supply during the siege of toumar, iv. xx. ; addresses the army, iv. xx. - ; tries to find a point of attack, iv. xx. , ; fortifies mt. aurasium against the moors, iv. xx, ; fortifies many libyan cities with money captured from iaudas, iv. xix. , xx. ; subjugates zabe, or "first mauritania," iv. xx. ; appealed to by sergius for help, iv. xxi. ; incurs the enmity of antalas, iv. xxi. , xxii. , ; marches against the moors, iv. xxi. ; his overtures scorned by the leuathae, iv. xxi. - ; captures some booty and refuses to distribute it to the soldiers, iv. xxi. , ; defeated by the moors and slain, iv. xxi. - ; justinian's regard for him, iv. xxii. ; builds and fortifies a monastery in carthage, iv. xxvi. ; standards of, recovered from the moors, iv. xxviii. solomon the younger, brother of cyrus and sergius; marches with solomon against the moors, iv. xxi. ; his capture and release, iv. xxii. - solomon, king of the jews, iv. ix. sophia, temple of, in byzantium; appropriateness of its name, iii. vi. spain, settled by the vandals, iii. iii. , ; invaded by constantinus, iii. ii. ; settled by the visigoths, iii. iii. . xxiv. , iv. iv. stagnum, a harbour near carthage, iii. xv. ; the roman fleet anchors there, iii. xx. , stotzas, a body-guard of martinus, destined not to return to byzantium, iii. xi. ; chosen tyrant by the mutineers, iv. xv. ; marches on carthage, iv. xv. ; invites the vandals to join his army, iv. xv. , ; demands the surrender of carthage, iv. xv. ; kills the envoy joseph, and besieges carthage, iv. xv. ; addresses his troops, iv. xv. - ; defeated by belisarius, iv. xv. ff.; his forces gather in numidia, iv. xv. ; the romans march against him at gazophyla, iv. xv. ; comes alone into the roman army and addresses the soldiers, iv. xv. - ; received with favour, iv. xv. ; kills the roman commanders in a sanctuary, iv. xv. ; eager to fight a battle with germanus, iv. xvi. ; approaches carthage, hoping for defection from there, iv. xvi. , ; his hopes falsified, iv. xvii. ; defeated by germanus at scalae veteres, iv. xvii. ff.; escapes with a few men, iv. xvii. ; hopes to renew the battle with the help of the moors, iv. xvii. ; makes his escape with difficulty, iv. xvii. ; suffers another defeat, iv. xvii. ; withdraws to mauritania and marries the daughter of a moorish chief, iv. xvii. ; the end of his mutiny, _ibid._; iv. xix. ; joins antalas, iv. xxii. , xxiii. ; receives roman captives, iv. xxiii. , ; joins the moors in plundering libya, iv. xxiii. - ; areobindus sends an army against him, iv. xxiv. ; his enmity against john, iv, xxiv. ; mortally wounded by him in battle, iv. xxiv. ; carried out of the battle, iv. xxiv. ; his death, iv. xxiv. ; succeeded by john as tyrant of the mutineers, iv. xxv. syllectus, city in libya, iii. xvi. ; captured by belisarius' men, iii. xvi. ; entered by the roman army, iii. xvii. symmachus, a roman senator; accompanies germanus to libya, iv. xvi. ; summoned to byzantium, iv. xix. syracuse, city in sicily, iii. xiv. ; its harbour arethusa, iii. xiv. ; procopius sent thither, iii. xiv. , ; belisarius passes the winter there, iv. xiv. , ; distance from caucana, iii. xiv. taenarum, called caenopolis in procopius' time; promontory of the peloponnesus, iii. xiii. ; gizeric repulsed from there, iii. xxii. tamougadis, a city at the foot of mt. aurasium; dismantled by the moors, iv. xiii. , xix. tattimuth, sent in command of an army to tripolis, iii. x. ; receives support from belisarius, iv. v. taulantii, a people of illyricum, iii. ii. tebesta, city in libya; distance from carthage, iv. xxi. terentius, roman commander of infantry, iii. xi. , iv. xv. theoderic, king of the goths; gives his daughter in marriage to the king of the vandals, and makes certain concessions in sicily, iii. viii. - , iv. v. ; becomes hostile to the vandals, iii. ix. ; refrains from attacking them iii. ix. ; his death, iii. xiv. ; grandfather of antalaric, _ibid._; brother of amalafrida, iii. viii. , theodora, wife of justinian; distributes rewards to gelimer and others, iv. ix. theodorus, youngest son of gizeric; his death, iii. v. theodorus, called cteanus, commander of infantry, iii. xi. theodorus, commander of guards; sent to the top of mt. bourgaon by solomon, iv. xii. ; killed by the mutineers, iv. xiv. ; his excellent qualities as a soldier, _ibid._ theodorus, the cappadocian; sent to libya with an army, iv. viii. ; sent by solomon to quiet the mutineers, iv. xiv. ; his enmity against solomon, iv. xiv. ; elected general by the mutineers, iv. xiv. ; gives solomon and martinus dinner and helps them to escape, iv. xiv. ; bidden by solomon to take care of carthage, iv. xiv. ; refuses to surrender carthage to stotzas, iv. xv. ; made joint ruler of carthage with ildiger, iv. xv. ; at the battle of scalae veteres, iv. xvii. , ; learns of the plot of maximinus from asclepiades, iv. xviii. theodosius i, roman emperor, father of arcadius and honorius, iii. i. ; overthrows the tyranny of maximus, iii. iv. theodosius ii, son of arcadius; becomes emperor of the east, iii. ii. , iii. ; honorius considers the possibility of finding refuge with him, iii. ii. ; rears valentinian, iii. iii. ; makes him emperor of the west, iii. iii. ; sends an army against the tyrant john, _ibid._; his death, iii. iv. ; succeeded by marcian, iii. iv. , ; father of eudoxia, iii. iv. thrace, starting point of alaric's invasion, iii. ii. ; the goths settle there for a time, iii. ii. ; home of several roman commanders, iii. xi. ; adjoins "germania," iii. xi. ; royal horse-pastures there, iii. xii. ; home of himerius, iv. xxiii. ; and of peter, iv. xxviii. thessalian cape, or chlamys, iii. xxv. theodatus, king of the goths; belisarius sent against him, iv. xiv. theudis, king of the visigoths, iv. iv. ; receives envoys from gelimer, iii. xxiv. - tigisis, city in numidia, iv. x. ; two phoenician inscriptions there, iv. x. ; its great spring, iv. xiii. titus, roman emperor, iv. ix. ; his capture of jerusalem, iv. ix. ; son of vespasian, _ibid._ toumar, place on the summit of mt. aurasium, iv. xix. ; besieged by the romans, iv. xx. ff.; scaled by gezon and captured by solomon, iv. xx. - trajan, roman emperor, iv. ix. trasamundus, brother of gundamundus; becomes king of the vandals, iii. viii. ; tries to win over the christians, iii. viii. , ; asks the hand of amalafrida, iii. viii. ; becomes a friend of anastasius, iii. viii. ; his death, iii. viii. tricamarum, place in libya; distance from carthage, iv. ii. ; vandals defeated there, iv. iii. ff., iv. , v. , tripolis, district in libya; distance from gadira, iii. i. ; the vandals there defeated by heraclius, iii. vi. , ; moors dwelling there, iii. viii. ; lost again by the vandals, iii. x. - ; gelimer hopeless of recovering it, iii. xi. ; belisarius sends an army thither, iv. v. ; rule of, falls to sergius, iv. xxi. ; leuathae come from there with a large army, iv. xxviii. troy, iii. xxi. tryphon, sent to libya to assess the taxes, iv. viii. tuscan sea, separated from the adriatic by gaulus and melita, iii. xiv. ; severity of its storms, iv. iv. tzazon, brother of gelimer; sent with an army to recover sardinia, iii. xi. ; overthrows and kills godas in sardinia, iii. xxiv. ; writes to gelimer, iii. xxiv. - ; receives a letter from him, iii. xxv. - ; thereupon departs for libya, iii. xxv. - ; meets gelimer in the plain of boulla, iii. xxv. ; addresses his troops separately, iv. ii. - ; commands the centre at the battle of tricamarum, iv. in. , , , ; his death, iv. iii. ; his head taken to sardinia by cyril, iv. v. , uliaris, body-guard of belisarius, iii. xix. ; his stupid action at decimum, iii. xix. ; kills john the armenian accidentally, iv, iv. ff.; takes refuge in a sanctuary, iv. iv. ; spared by belisarius, iv. iv. ulitheus, trusted body-guard of gontharis, iv. xxv. ; bears messages to antalas, iv. xxv. - , ; at gontharis' order assassinates areobindus, iv. xxvi. , , xxvii. ; marches with artabanes against antalas, iv. xxvii. ff.; killed by artasires at the banquet of gontharis, iv. xxviii. ff. valentinian, son of constantius, reared by theodosius, iii. iii. ; made emperor of the west, iii. iii. ; captures john and after brutal abuse kills him, iii. iii. ; his viciousness resulting from early training, iii. iii. , ; loses libya to the empire, iii. iii. ; receives tribute and a hostage from gizeric, iii. iv. ; returns the hostage, iii. iv. ; slays aetius, iii. iv. ; outrages the wife of maximus, iii. iv. ff.; slain by him, iii. iv. , ; son of placidia, iii. iii. ; father of eudocia and placidia, iii. v. , vi. ; husband of eudoxia, iii. iv. ; members of his family receive rewards from justinian and theodora, iv. ix. valerian, commander of auxiliaries, iii. xi. ; sent with martinus in advance of the african expedition, iii. xi. , ; meets the roman fleet at methone, iii. xiii. ; on the left wing at the battle of tricamarum, iv. iii. ; martinus sent to him in numidia, iv. xiv. ; summoned to byzantium, iv. xix. vandals, a gothic people, iii. ii. ; whence they came into the roman empire, iii. i. , iii. ff.; a portion of them left behind and lost to memory, iii. xxii. , ; settle in spain, iii. iii. ; their alliance sought by boniface, iii. iii. , ; cross from spain into libya, iii. iii. ; defeat boniface in battle, iii. iii. ; besiege hippo regius, iii. iii. , ; defeat a second roman army, iii. iii. ; secure possession of libya, iii. xxii. ; send moors to sardinia, iv. xiii. ; take the church of st. cyprian at carthage from the christians, iii. xxi. ; invade italy and sack rome, iii. v. ff.; their numbers together with the alani, iii. v. - ; absorb all barbarian peoples associated with them except the moors, iii. v. ; leon sends an expedition against them, iii. vi. ff.; driven out of sardinia by marcellianus; iii. vi. ; defeated in tripolis by heraclius, iii. vi. ; lost mt. aurasium to the moors, iv. xiii. ; enter into an "endless peace" with the emperor zeno, iii. vii. ; make war on the moors, iii. viii. , ; suffer a great disaster at the hands of the moors, iii. viii. - ; defeated by the moors, and become enemies of the goths, iii. ix. ; defeated many times by the moors, iv. x. ; justinian prepares an expedition against them, iii. x. ff.; lose tripolis, iii. x. - ; and sardinia, iii. x. - ; letter addressed to them by justinian, iii. xvi. - ; recover sardinia, iii. xxiv. ; defeated by the romans at decimum, iii. xviii. ff.; greatly feared by the roman army iii. xix. ; collected by gelimer in the plain of boulla, iii. xxv. ff.; besiege carthage, iv. i. ; invite the huns to join them, iv. i. ; defeated by the romans at tricamarum, iv. ii. ff.; taken to byzantium by belisarius, iv. xiv. ; some of them go to the east, while the others escape to libya, iv. xiv. - ; together with their women, sent out of libya, iv. xix. ; upon invitation of stotzas, join the mutineers, iv. xv. , ; accumulate great wealth in africa, iv. iii. ; not trusted by the libyans, iii. xvi. ; their effeminacy as a nation, iv. vi. - ; their women, as wives of the romans, incite them to mutiny, iv. xiv. , ; priests of, incite romans of arian faith to mutiny, iv. xiv. ; vandals' estates, established by gizeric, iii. v. ; vandals of justinian, iv. xiv. veredarii (latin), royal messengers, iii. xvi. vespasian, roman emperor, father of titus, iv. ix. vigilantia, mother of prejecta, and sister of justinian, iv. xxiv. visigoths, a gothic people, iii. ii. ; their alliance with arcadius, iii. ii. ; the destruction wrought by them in italy, iii. ii. - ; settle in spain, iii. iii. ; iv. iv. ; invited to form alliance with the vandals, iii. xxiv. zabe, called "first mauritania"; subjugated by solomon, iv. xx. zacynthus, island off the coast of greece, iii. xiii. ; its inhabitants the victims of gizeric's atrocity, iii. xxii. , , zaïdus, commander of roman infantry, iii. xi. zaunus, son of paresmanes, and father of leontius and rufinus, iv. xix. , xx. zeno, emperor of the east; husband of ariadne, and father of leon the younger, iii. vii. ; shares the empire with his infant son, iii. vii. ; flees into isauria, iii. vii. ; gathers an army and marches against basiliscus, iii. vii. ; meets harmatus and receives the army by surrender, iii. vii. ; captures basiliscus and banishes him, iii. vii. , ; becomes emperor a second time, iii. vii. ; kills harmatus, _ibid._; forms a compact with gizeric, iii. vii. zerboule, fortress on mt. aurasium, iv. xix. , ; besieged by the romans, iv. xix. - ; abandoned by the moors, iv. xix. - * * * * * * transcriber's note: periods added in index to some instances of roman numerals to conform to rest of index. index errata: under adriatic sea "melite" should read "melita" "apollonaris" should read "apollonarius" "arethusa" should read "arethousa" (also under syracuse) under ariadne "zenon" should read "zeno" also under: basiliscus, brother of berine basiliscus, son of harmatus gizeric harmatus leon the younger "atalaric" should be "antalaric" under atalaric "amalasuntha" should be "amalasountha" "centenarium" should be "centenaria" "dromon" should be "dromone" "gepaides" should be "gepaedes" also under: singidunum sirmium under gizeric "olyvrius" should be "olybrius" also under: olyvrius placidia "heraclius" should be "heracleius" also under: tripolis vandals under iaudas "mephanius" should be "mephanias" "iourpouthes" should be "iourphothes" under john, the mutineer, "pamphilus" should be "pasiphilus" "juppiter" should be "jupiter" under leontius "zaunus" should be "zaunas" also under: zaunus "leptes" should be "leptis" "medeos" should be "medeus" "medissinissas" should be "medisinissas" under zaunus "paresmanes" should be "pharesmanes" transcriber's note: the numbers in the right margin of the text are from the original book; although nothing in the book says so, it appears that they might be page numbers from the manuscript of which this is a translation. they are preserved in this transcription in the hope that they are indeed page numbers. the origin and deeds of the goths by jordanes in english version part of a thesis presented to the faculty of princeton university for the degree of doctor of philosophy by charles c. mierow princeton note for the first time the story of the goths recorded in the _getica_ of jordanes, a christian goth who wrote his account in the year , probably in constantinople, is now put in english form, as part of an edition of the _getica_ prepared by mr. mierow. those who care for the romance of history will be charmed by this great tale of a lost cause and will not find the simple-hearted exaggerations of the eulogist of the gothic race misleading. he pictured what he believed or wanted to believe, and his employment of fable and legend, as well as the naïve exhibition of his loyal prejudices, merely heightens the interest of his story. those who want coldly scientific narrative should avoid reading jordanes, but should likewise remember the truthful, words of delbrück: "legende und poesie malen darum noch nicht falsch, weil sie mit anderen farben malen als die historie. sie reden nur eine andere sprache, und es handelt sich darum, aus dieser richtig ins historische zu übersetzen." andrew f. west. preface the following version of the getica of jordanes is based upon the text of mommsen, as found in the monumenta germaniae historica, auctores antiquissimi (berlin ). i have adhered closely to his spelling of proper names, especially the gothic names, except in the case of a very few words which are in common use in another form (such as gaiseric and belisarius). i wish to express my sincere thanks to dean andrew f. west of the princeton graduate school for his unfailing interest in my work. it was in one of his graduate courses that the translation was begun, three years ago, and at his suggestion that i undertook the composition of the thesis in its present form. he has read the entire treatise in the manuscript, and has been my constant adviser and critic. thanks are also due to dr. charles g. osgood of the english department of princeton university for reading the translation. charles c. mierow. classical seminary, princeton university, july . the origin and deeds of the goths (preface) though it had been my wish to glide in my little boat by the shore of a peaceful coast and, as a certain writer says, to gather little fishes from the pools of the ancients, you, brother castalius, bid me set my sails toward the deep. you urge me to leave the little work i have in hand, that is, the abbreviation of the chronicles, and to condense in my own style in this small book the twelve volumes of the senator on the origin and deeds of the getae from olden time to the present day, descending through the generations of the kings. truly a hard command, and imposed by one who seems unwilling to realize the burden of the task. nor do you note this, that my utterance is too slight to fill so magnificent a trumpet of speech as his. but above every burden is the fact that i have no access to his books that i may follow his thought. still--and let me lie not--i have in times past read the books a second time by his steward's loan for a three days' reading. the words i recall not, but the sense and the deeds related i think i retain entire. to this i have added fitting matters from some greek and latin histories. i have also put in an introduction and a conclusion, and have inserted many things of my own authorship. wherefore reproach me not, but receive and read with gladness what you have asked me to write. if aught be insufficiently spoken and you remember it, do you as a neighbor to our race add to it, praying for me, dearest brother. the lord be with you. amen. (geographical introduction) [sidenote: ocean and its lesser isles.] i our ancestors, as orosius relates, were of the opinion that the circle of the whole world was surrounded by the girdle of ocean on three sides. its three parts they called asia, europe and africa. concerning this threefold division of the earth's extent there are almost innumerable writers, who not only explain the situations of cities and places, but also measure out the number of miles and paces to give more clearness. moreover they locate the islands interspersed amid the waves, both the greater and also the lesser islands, called cyclades or sporades, as situated in the vast flood of the great sea. but the impassable farther bounds of ocean not only has no one attempted to describe, but no man has been allowed to reach; for by reason of obstructing seaweed and the failing of the winds it is plainly inaccessible and is unknown to any save to him who made it. but the nearer border of this sea, which we call the circle of the world, surrounds its coasts like a wreath. this has become clearly known to men of inquiring mind, even to such as desired to write about it. for not only is the coast itself inhabited, but certain islands off in the sea are habitable. thus there are to the east in the indian ocean, hippodes, iamnesia, solis perusta (which though not habitable, is yet of great length and breadth), besides taprobane, a fair island wherein there are towns or estates and ten strongly fortified cities. but there is yet another, the lovely silefantina, and theros also. these, though not clearly described by any writer, are nevertheless well filled with inhabitants. this same ocean has in its western region certain islands known to almost everyone by reason of the great number of those that journey to and fro. and there are two not far from the neighborhood of the strait of gades, one the blessed isle and another called the fortunate. although some reckon as islands of ocean the twin promontories of galicia and lusitania, where are still to be seen the temple of hercules on one and scipio's monument on the other, yet since they are joined to the extremity of the galician country, they belong rather to the great land of europe than to the islands of ocean. however, it has other islands deeper within its own tides, which are called the baleares; and yet another, mevania, besides the orcades, thirty-three in number, though not all inhabited. and at the farthest bound of its western expanse it has another island named thule, of which the mantuan bard makes mention: "and farthest thule shall serve thee." the same mighty sea has also in its arctic region, that is in the north, a great island named scandza, from which my tale (by god's grace) shall take its beginning. for the race whose origin you ask to know burst forth like a swarm of bees from the midst of this island and came into the land of europe. but how or in what wise we shall explain hereafter, if it be the lord's will. (britain) [sidenote: caesar's two invasions of britain b.c. - ] ii but now let me speak briefly as i can concerning the island of britain, which is situated in the bosom of ocean between spain, gaul and germany. although livy tells us that no one in former days sailed around it, because of its great size, yet many writers have held various opinions of it. it was long unapproached by roman arms, until julius caesar disclosed it by battles fought for mere glory. in the busy age which followed it became accessible to many through trade and by other means. thus it revealed more clearly its position, which i shall here explain as i have found it in greek and latin authors. most of them say it is like a triangle pointing between the north and west. its widest angle faces the mouths of the rhine. then the island shrinks in breadth and recedes until it ends in two other angles. its long doubled side faces gaul and germany. its greatest breadth is said to be over two thousand three hundred and ten stadia, and its length not more than seven thousand one hundred and thirty-two stadia. in some parts it is moorland, in others there are wooded plains, and sometimes it rises into mountain peaks. the island is surrounded by a sluggish sea, which neither gives readily to the stroke of the oar nor runs high under the blasts of the wind. i suppose this is because other lands are so far removed from it as to cause no disturbance of the sea, which indeed is of greater width here than anywhere else. moreover strabo, a famous writer of the greeks, relates that the island exhales such mists from its soil, soaked by the frequent inroads of ocean, that the sun is covered throughout the whole of their disagreeable sort of day that passes as fair, and so is hidden from sight. cornelius also, the author of the annals, says that in the farthest part of britain the night gets brighter and is very short. he also says that the island abounds in metals, is well supplied with grass and is more productive in all those things which feed beasts rather than men. moreover many large rivers flow through it, and the tides are borne back into them, rolling along precious stones and pearls. the silures have swarthy features and are usually born with curly black hair, but the inhabitants of caledonia have reddish hair and large loose-jointed bodies. they are like the gauls or the spaniards, according as they are opposite either nation. hence some have supposed that from these lands the island received its inhabitants, alluring them by its nearness. all the people and their kings are alike wild. yet dio, a most celebrated writer of annals, assures us of the fact that they have all been combined under the name of caledonians and maeatae. they live in wattled huts, a shelter used in common with their flocks, and often the woods are their home. they paint their bodies with iron-red, whether by way of adornment or perhaps for some other reason. they often wage war with one another, either because they desire power or to increase their possessions. they fight not only on horseback or on foot, but even with scythed two-horse chariots, which they commonly call _essedae_. let it suffice to have said thus much on the shape of the island of britain. (scandza) iii let us now return to the site of the island of scandza, which we left above. claudius ptolemaeus, an excellent describer of the world, has made mention of it in the second book of his work, saying: "there is a great island situated in the surge of the northern ocean, scandza by name, in the shape of a juniper leaf with bulging sides that taper down to a point at a long end." pomponius mela also makes mention of it as situated in the codan gulf of the sea, with ocean lapping its shores. this island lies in front of the river vistula, which rises in the sarmatian mountains and flows through its triple mouth into the northern ocean in sight of scandza, separating germany and scythia. the island has in its eastern part a vast lake in the bosom of the earth, whence the vagus river springs from the bowels of the earth and flows surging into the ocean. and on the west it is surrounded by an immense sea. on the north it is bounded by the same vast unnavigable ocean, from which by means of a sort of projecting arm of land a bay is cut off and forms the german sea. here also there are said to be many small islands scattered round about. if wolves cross over to these islands when the sea is frozen by reason of the great cold, they are said to lose their sight. thus the land is not only inhospitable to men but cruel even to wild beasts. now in the island of scandza, whereof i speak, there dwell many and divers nations, though ptolemaeus mentions the names of but seven of them. there the honey-making swarms of bees are nowhere to be found on account of the exceeding great cold. in the northern part of the island the race of the adogit live, who are said to have continual light in midsummer for forty days and nights, and who likewise have no clear light in the winter season for the same number of days and nights. by reason of this alternation of sorrow and joy they are like no other race in their sufferings and blessings. and why? because during the longer days they see the sun returning to the east along the rim of the horizon, but on the shorter days it is not thus seen. the sun shows itself differently because it is passing through the southern signs, and whereas to us the sun seem to rise from below, it seems to go around them along the edge of the earth. there also are other peoples. there are the screrefennae, who do not seek grain for food but live on the flesh of wild beasts and birds' eggs; for there are such multitudes of young game in the swamps as to provide for the natural increase of their kind and to afford satisfaction to the needs of the people. but still another race dwells there, the suehans, who, like the thuringians, have splendid horses. here also are those who send through innumerable other tribes the sappherine skins to trade for roman use. they are a people famed for the dark beauty of their furs and, though living in poverty, are most richly clothed. then comes a throng of various nations, theustes, vagoth, bergio, hallin, liothida. all their habitations are in one level and fertile region. wherefore they are disturbed there by the attacks of other tribes. behind these are the ahelmil, finnaithae, fervir and gauthigoth, a race of men bold and quick to fight. then come the mixi, evagre, and otingis. all these live like wild animals in rocks hewn out like castles. and there are beyond these the ostrogoths, raumarici, aeragnaricii, and the most gentle finns, milder than all the inhabitants of scandza. like them are the vinovilith also. the suetidi are of this stock and excel the rest in stature. however, the dani, who trace their origin to the same stock, drove from their homes the heruli, who lay claim to preëminence among all the nations of scandza for their tallness. furthermore there are in the same neighborhood the grannii, augandzi, eunixi, taetel, rugi, arochi and ranii, over whom roduulf was king not many years ago. but he despised his own kingdom and fled to the embrace of theodoric, king of the goths, finding there what he desired. all these nations surpassed the germans in size and spirit, and fought with the cruelty of wild beasts. (the united goths) [sidenote: how the goths came to scythia] iv now from this island of scandza, as from a hive of races or a womb of nations, the goths are said to have come forth long ago under their king, berig by name. as soon as they disembarked from their ships and set foot on the land, they straightway gave their name to the place. and even to-day it is said to be called gothiscandza. soon they moved from here to the abodes of the ulmerugi, who then dwelt on the shores of ocean, where they pitched camp, joined battle with them and drove them from their homes. then they subdued their neighbors, the vandals, and thus added to their victories. but when the number of the people increased greatly and filimer, son of gadaric, reigned as king--about the fifth since berig--he decided that the army of the goths with their families should move from that region. in search of suitable homes and pleasant places they came to the land of scythia, called oium in that tongue. here they were delighted with the great richness of the country, and it is said that when half the army had been brought over, the bridge whereby they had crossed the river fell in utter ruin, nor could anyone thereafter pass to or fro. for the place is said to be surrounded by quaking bogs and an encircling abyss, so that by this double obstacle nature has made it inaccessible. and even to-day one may hear in that neighborhood the lowing of cattle and may find traces of men, if we are to believe the stories of travellers, although we must grant that they hear these things from afar. this part of the goths, which is said to have crossed the river and entered with filimer into the country of oium, came into possession of the desired land, and there they soon came upon the race of the spali, joined battle with them and won the victory. thence the victors hastened to the farthest part of scythia, which is near the sea of pontus; for so the story is generally told in their early songs, in almost historic fashion. ablabius also, a famous chronicler of the gothic race, confirms this in his most trustworthy account. some of the ancient writers also agree with the tale. among these we may mention josephus, a most reliable relator of annals, who everywhere follows the rule of truth and unravels from the beginning the origin of causes;--but why he has omitted the beginnings of the race of the goths, of which i have spoken, i do not know. he barely mentions magog of that stock, and says they were scythians by race and were called so by name. before we enter on our history, we must describe the boundaries of this land, as it lies. [sidenote: scythia] v now scythia borders on the land of germany as far as the source of the river ister and the expanse of the morsian swamp. it reaches even to the rivers tyra, danaster and vagosola, and the great danaper, extending to the taurus range--not the mountains in asia but our own, that is, the scythian taurus--all the way to lake maeotis. beyond lake maeotis it spreads on the other side of the straits of bosphorus to the caucasus mountains and the river araxes. then it bends back to the left behind the caspian sea, which comes from the north-eastern ocean in the most distant parts of asia, and so is formed like a mushroom, at first narrow and then broad and round in shape. it extends as far as the huns, albani and seres. this land, i say,--namely, scythia, stretching far and spreading wide,--has on the east the seres, a race that dwelt at the very beginning of their history on the shore of the caspian sea. on the west are the germans and the river vistula; on the arctic side, namely the north, it is surrounded by ocean; on the south by persis, albania, hiberia, pontus and the farthest channel of the ister, which is called the danube all the way from mouth to source. but in that region where scythia touches the pontic coast it is dotted with towns of no mean fame:--borysthenis, olbia, callipolis, cherson, theodosia, careon, myrmicion and trapezus. these towns the wild scythian tribes allowed the greeks to build to afford them means of trade. in the midst of scythia is the place that separates asia and europe, i mean the rhipaeian mountains, from which the mighty tanais flows. this river enters maeotis, a marsh having a circuit of one hundred and forty-four miles and never subsiding to a depth of less than eight fathoms. in the land of scythia to the westward dwells, first of all, the race of the gepidae, surrounded by great and famous rivers. for the tisia flows through it on the north and northwest, and on the southwest is the great danube. on the east it is cut by the flutausis, a swiftly eddying stream that sweeps whirling into the ister's waters. within these rivers lies dacia, encircled by the lofty alps as by a crown. near their left ridge, which inclines toward the north, and beginning at the source of the vistula, the populous race of the venethi dwell, occupying a great expanse of land. though their names are now dispersed amid various clans and places, yet they are chiefly called sclaveni and antes. the abode of the sclaveni extends from the city of noviodunum and the lake called mursianus to the danaster, and northward as far as the vistula. they have swamps and forests for their cities. the antes, who are the bravest of these peoples dwelling in the curve of the sea of pontus, spread from the danaster to the danaper, rivers that are many days' journey apart. but on the shore of ocean, where the floods of the river vistula empty from three mouths, the vidivarii dwell, a people gathered out of various tribes. beyond them the aesti, a subject race, likewise hold the shore of ocean. to the south dwell the acatziri, a very brave tribe ignorant of agriculture, who subsist on their flocks and by hunting. farther away and above the sea of pontus are the abodes of the bulgares, well known from the wrongs done to them by reason of our oppression. from this region the huns, like a fruitful root of bravest races, sprouted into two hordes of people. some of these are called altziagiri, others sabiri; and they have different dwelling places. the altziagiri are near cherson, where the avaricious traders bring in the goods of asia. in summer they range the plains, their broad domains, wherever the pasturage for their cattle invites them, and betake themselves in winter beyond the sea of pontus. now the hunuguri are known to us from the fact that they trade in marten skins. but they have been cowed by their bolder neighbors. [sidenote: the three abodes of the goths] we read that on their first migration the goths dwelt in the land of scythia near lake maeotis. on the second migration they went to moesia, thrace and dacia, and after their third they dwelt again in scythia, above the sea of pontus. nor do we find anywhere in their written records legends which tell of their subjection to slavery in britain or in some other island, or of their redemption by a certain man at the cost of a single horse. of course if anyone in our city says that the goths had an origin different from that i have related, let him object. for myself, i prefer to believe what i have read, rather than put trust in old wives' tales. to return, then, to my subject. the aforesaid race of which i speak is known to have had filimer as king while they remained in their first home in scythia near maeotis. in their second home, that is in the countries of dacia, thrace and moesia, zalmoxes reigned, whom many writers of annals mention as a man of remarkable learning in philosophy. yet even before this they had a learned man zeuta, and after him dicineus; and the third was zalmoxes of whom i have made mention above. nor did they lack teachers of wisdom. wherefore the goths have ever been wiser than other barbarians and were nearly like the greeks, as dio relates, who wrote their history and annals with a greek pen. he says that those of noble birth among them, from whom their kings and priests were appointed, were called first tarabostesei and then pilleati. moreover so highly were the getae praised that mars, whom the fables of poets call the god of war, was reputed to have been born among them. hence virgil says: "father gradivus rules the getic fields." now mars has always been worshipped by the goths with cruel rites, and captives were slain as his victims. they thought that he who is the lord of war ought to be appeased by the shedding of human blood. to him they devoted the first share of the spoil, and in his honor arms stripped from the foe were suspended from trees. and they had more than all other races a deep spirit of religion, since the worship of this god seemed to be really bestowed upon their ancestor. in their third dwelling place, which was above the sea of pontus, they had now become more civilized and, as i have said before, were more learned. then the people were divided under ruling families. the visigoths served the family of the balthi and the ostrogoths served the renowned amali. they were the first race of men to string the bow with cords, as lucan, who is more of a historian than a poet, affirms: "they string armenian bows with getic cords." [sidenote: the river don] [sidenote: the dnieper] in earliest times they sang of the deeds of their ancestors in strains of song accompanied by the cithara; chanting of eterpamara, hanala, fritigern, vidigoia and others whose fame among them is great; such heroes as admiring antiquity scarce proclaims its own to be. then, as the story goes, vesosis waged a war disastrous to himself against the scythians, whom ancient tradition asserts to have been the husbands of the amazons. concerning these female warriors orosius speaks in convincing language. thus we can clearly prove that vesosis then fought with the goths, since we know surely that he waged war with the husbands of the amazons. they dwelt at that time along a bend of lake maeotis, from the river borysthenes, which the natives call the danaper, to the stream of the tanais. by the tanais i mean the river which flows down from the rhipaeian mountains and rushes with so swift a current that when the neighboring streams or lake maeotis and the bosphorus are frozen fast, it is the only river that is kept warm by the rugged mountains and is never solidified by the scythian cold. it is also famous as the boundary of asia and europe. for the other tanais is the one which rises in the mountains of the chrinni and flows into the caspian sea. the danaper begins in a great marsh and issues from it as from its mother. it is sweet and fit to drink as far as half-way down its course. it also produces fish of a fine flavor and without bones, having only cartilage as the frame-work of their bodies. but as it approaches the pontus it receives a little spring called exampaeus, so very bitter that although the river is navigable for the length of a forty days' voyage, it is so altered by the water of this scanty stream as to become tainted and unlike itself, and flows thus tainted into the sea between the greek towns of callipidae and hypanis. at its mouth there is an island named achilles. between these two rivers is a vast land filled with forests and treacherous swamps. [sidenote: defeat of vesosis (sesostris)] vi this was the region where the goths dwelt when vesosis, king of the egyptians, made war upon them. their king at that time was tanausis. in a battle at the river phasis (whence come the birds called pheasants, which are found in abundance at the banquets of the great all over the world) tanausis, king of the goths, met vesosis, king of the egyptians, and there inflicted a severe defeat upon him, pursuing him even to egypt. had he not been restrained by the waters of the impassable nile and the fortifications which vesosis had long ago ordered to be made against the raids of the ethiopians, he would have slain him in his own land. but finding he had no power to injure him there, he returned and conquered almost all asia and made it subject and tributary to sornus, king of the medes, who was then his dear friend. at that time some of his victorious army, seeing that the subdued provinces were rich and fruitful, deserted their companies and of their own accord remained in various parts of asia. from their name or race pompeius trogus says the stock of the parthians had its origin. hence even to-day in the scythian tongue they are called parthi, that is, deserters. and in consequence of their descent they are archers--almost alone among all the nations of asia--and are very valiant warriors. now in regard to the name, though i have said they were called parthi because they were deserters, some have traced the derivation of the word otherwise, saying that they were called parthi because they fled from their kinsmen. now when this tanausis, king of the goths, was dead, his people worshipped him as one of their gods. [sidenote: the amazons in asia minor] vii after his death, while the army under his successors was engaged in an expedition in other parts, a neighboring tribe attempted to carry off women of the goths as booty. but they made a brave resistance, as they had been taught to do by their husbands, and routed in disgrace the enemy who had come upon them. when they had won this victory, they were inspired with greater daring. mutually encouraging each other, they took up arms and chose two of the bolder, lampeto and marpesia, to act as their leaders. while they were in command, they cast lots both for the defense of their own country and the devastation of other lands. so lampeto remained to guard their native land and marpesia took a company of women and led this novel army into asia. after conquering various tribes in war and making others their allies by treaties, she came to the caucasus. there she remained for some time and gave the place the name rock of marpesia, of which also virgil makes mention: "like to hard flint or the marpesian cliff." it was here alexander the great afterwards built gates and named them the caspian gates, which now the tribe of the lazi guard as a roman fortification. here, then, the amazons remained for some time and were much strengthened. then they departed and crossed the river halys, which flows near the city of gangra, and with equal success subdued armenia, syria, cilicia, galatia, pisidia and all the places of asia. then they turned to ionia and aeolia, and made provinces of them after their surrender. here they ruled for some time and even founded cities and camps bearing their name. at ephesus also they built a very costly and beautiful temple for diana, because of her delight in archery and the chase--arts to which they were themselves devoted. then these scythian-born women, who had by such a chance gained control over the kingdoms of asia, held them for almost a hundred years, and at last came back to their own kinsfolk in the marpesian rocks i have mentioned above, namely the caucasus mountains. [sidenote: the caucasus] inasmuch as i have twice mentioned this mountain-range, i think it not out of place to describe its extent and situation, for, as is well known, it encompasses a great part of the earth with its continuous chain. beginning at the indian ocean, where it faces the south it is warm, giving off vapor in the sun; where it lies open to the north it is exposed to chill winds and frost. then bending back into syria with a curving turn, it not only sends forth many other streams, but pours from its plenteous breasts into the vasianensian region the euphrates and the tigris, navigable rivers famed for their unfailing springs. these rivers surround the land of the syrians and cause it to be called mesopotamia, as it truly is. their waters empty into the bosom of the red sea. then turning back to the north, the range i have spoken of passes with great bends through the scythian lands. there it sends forth very famous rivers into the caspian sea--the araxes, the cyrus and the cambyses. it goes on in continuous range even to the rhipaeian mountains. thence it descends from the north toward the pontic sea, furnishing a boundary to the scythian tribes by its ridge, and even touches the waters of the ister with its clustered hills. being cut by this river, it divides, and in scythia is named taurus also. such then is the great range, almost the mightiest of mountain chains, rearing aloft its summits and by its natural conformation supplying men with impregnable strongholds. here and there it divides where the ridge breaks apart and leaves a deep gap, thus forming now the caspian gates, and again the armenian or the cilician, or of whatever name the place may be. yet they are barely passable for a wagon, for both sides are sharp and steep as well as very high. the range has different names among various peoples. the indian calls it imaus and in another part paropamisus. the parthian calls it first choatras and afterward niphates; the syrian and armenian call it taurus; the scythian names it caucasus and rhipaeus, and at its end calls it taurus. many other tribes have given names to the range. now that we have devoted a few words to describing its extent, let us return to the subject of the amazons. [sidenote: the amazons] viii fearing their race would fail, they sought marriage with neighboring tribes. they appointed a day for meeting once in every year, so that when they should return to the same place on that day in the following year each mother might give over to the father whatever male child she had borne, but should herself keep and train for warfare whatever children of the female sex were born. or else, as some maintain, they exposed the males, destroying the life of the ill-fated child with a hate like that of a stepmother. among them childbearing was detested, though everywhere else it is desired. the terror of their cruelty was increased by common rumor; for what hope, pray, would there be for a captive, when it was considered wrong to spare even a son? hercules, they say, fought against them and overcame menalippe, yet more by guile than by valor. theseus, moreover, took hippolyte captive, and of her he begat hippolytus. and in later times the amazons had a queen named penthesilea, famed in the tales of the trojan war. these women are said to have kept their power even to the time of aleander the great. [sidenote: reign of telefus and eurypylus] ix but say not "why does a story which deals with the men of the goths have so much to say of their women?" hear, then, the tale of the famous and glorious valor of the men. now dio, the historian and diligent investigator of ancient times, who gave to his work the title "getica" (and the getae we have proved in a previous passage to be goths, on the testimony of orosius paulus)--this dio, i say, makes mention of a later king of theirs named telefus. let no one say that this name is quite foreign to the gothic tongue, and let no one who is ignorant cavil at the fact that the tribes of men make use of many names, even as the romans borrow from the macedonians, the greeks from the romans, the sarmatians from the germans, and the goths frequently from the huns. this telefus, then, a son of hercules by auge, and the husband of a sister of priam, was of towering stature and terrible strength. he matched his father's valor by virtues of his own and also recalled the traits of hercules by his likeness in appearance. our ancestors called his kingdom moesia. this province has on the east the mouths of the danube, on the south macedonia, on the west histria and on the north the danube. now this king we have mentioned carried on wars with the greeks, and in their course he slew in battle thesander, the leader of greece. but while he was making a hostile attack upon ajax and was pursuing ulysses, his horse became entangled in some vines and fell. he himself was thrown and wounded in the thigh by a javelin of achilles, so that for a long time he could not be healed. yet, despite his wound, he drove the greeks from his land. now when telefus died, his son eurypylus succeeded to the throne, being a son of the sister of priam, king of the phrygians. for love of cassandra he sought to take part in the trojan war, that he might come to the help of her parents and his own father-in-law; but soon after his arrival he was killed. [sidenote: cyrus the great b.c. - ] [sidenote: queen tomyris and cyrus b.c. ] x then cyrus, king of the persians, after a long interval of almost exactly six hundred and thirty years (as pompeius trogus relates), waged an unsuccessful war against tomyris, queen of the getae. elated by his victories in asia, he strove to conquer the getae, whose queen, as i have said, was tomyris. though she could have stopped the approach of cyrus at the river araxes, yet she permitted him to cross, preferring to overcome him in battle rather than to thwart him by advantage of position. and so she did. as cyrus approached, fortune at first so favored the parthians that they slew the son of tomyris and most of the army. but when the battle was renewed, the getae and their queen defeated, conquered and overwhelmed the parthians and took rich plunder from them. there for the first time the race of the goths saw silken tents. after achieving this victory and winning so much booty from her enemies, queen tomyris crossed over into that part of moesia which is now called lesser scythia--a name borrowed from great scythia,--and built on the moesian shore of pontus the city of tomi, named after herself. [sidenote: darius b.c. - ] [sidenote: darius repelled] afterwards darius, king of the persians, the son of hystaspes, demanded in marriage the daughter of antyrus, king of the goths, asking for her hand and at the same time making threats in case they did not fulfil his wish. the goths spurned this alliance and brought his embassy to naught. inflamed with anger because his offer had been rejected, he led an army of seven hundred thousand armed men against them and sought to avenge his wounded feelings by inflicting a public injury. crossing on boats covered with boards and joined like a bridge almost the whole way from chalcedon to byzantium, he started for thrace and moesia. later he built a bridge over the danube in like manner, but he was wearied by two brief months of effort and lost eight thousand armed men among the tapae. then, fearing the bridge over the danube would be seized by his foes, he marched back to thrace in swift retreat, believing the land of moesia would not be safe for even a short sojourn there. [sidenote: xerxes b.c. - ] after his death, his son xerxes planned to avenge his father's wrongs and so proceeded to undertake a war against the goths with seven hundred thousand of his own men and three hundred thousand armed auxiliaries, twelve hundred ships of war and three thousand transports. but he did not venture to try them in battle, being overawed by their unyielding animosity. so he returned with his force just as he had come, and without righting a single battle. [sidenote: philip of macedon b.c. - ] [sidenote: siege of odessus] then philip, the father of alexander the great, made alliance with the goths and took to wife medopa, the daughter of king gudila, so that he might render the kingdom of macedon more secure by the help of this marriage. it was at this time, as the historian dio relates, that philip, suffering from need of money, determined to lead out his forces and sack odessus, a city of moesia, which was then subject to the goths by reason of the neighboring city of tomi. thereupon those priests of the goths that are called the holy men suddenly opened the gates of odessus and came forth to meet them. they bore harps and were clad in snowy robes, and chanted in suppliant strains to the gods of their fathers that they might be propitious and repel the macedonians. when the macedonians saw them coming with such confidence to meet them, they were astonished and, so to speak, the armed were terrified by the unarmed. straight-way they broke the line they had formed for battle and not only refrained from destroying the city, but even gave back those whom they had captured outside by right of war. then they made a truce and returned to their own country. after a long time sitalces, a famous leader of the goths, remembering this treacherous attempt, gathered a hundred and fifty thousand men and made war upon the athenians, fighting against perdiccas, king of macedon. this perdiccas had been left by alexander as his successor to rule athens by hereditary right, when he drank his destruction at babylon through the treachery of an attendant. the goths engaged in a great battle with him and proved themselves to be the stronger. thus in return for the wrong which the macedonians had long before committed in moesia, the goths overran greece and laid waste the whole of macedonia. [sidenote: sulla's dictatorship b.c. - ] [sidenote: the wise rule of dicineus] [sidenote: caesar's dictatorship b.c. - ] [sidenote: tiberius a.d. - ] xi then when buruista was king of the goths, dicineus came to gothia at the time when sulla ruled the romans. buruista received dicineus and gave him almost royal power. it was by his advice the goths ravaged the lands of the germans, which the franks now possess. then came caesar, the first of all the romans to assume imperial power and to subdue almost the whole world, who conquered all kingdoms and even seized islands lying beyond our world, reposing in the bosom of ocean. he made tributary to the romans those that knew not the roman name even by hearsay, and yet was unable to prevail against the goths, despite his frequent attempts. soon gaius tiberius reigned as third emperor of the romans, and yet the goths continued in their kingdom unharmed. their safety, their advantage, their one hope lay in this, that whatever their counsellor dicineus advised should by all means be done; and they judged it expedient that they should labor for its accomplishment. and when he saw that their minds were obedient to him in all things and that they had natural ability, he taught them almost the whole of philosophy, for he was a skilled master of this subject. thus by teaching them ethics he restrained their barbarous customs; by imparting a knowledge of physics he made them live naturally under laws of their own, which they possess in written form to this day and call _belagines_. he taught them logic and made them skilled in reasoning beyond all other races; he showed them practical knowledge and so persuaded them to abound in good works. by demonstrating theoretical knowledge he urged them to contemplate the twelve signs and the courses of the planets passing through them, and the whole of astronomy. he told them how the disc of the moon gains increase or suffers loss, and showed them how much the fiery globe of the sun exceeds in size our earthly planet. he explained the names of the three hundred and forty-six stars and told through what signs in the arching vault of the heavens they glide swiftly from their rising to their setting. think, i pray you, what pleasure it was for these brave men, when for a little space they had leisure from warfare, to be instructed in the teachings of philosophy! you might have seen one scanning the position of the heavens and another investigating the nature of plants and bushes. here stood one who studied the waxing and waning of the moon, while still another regarded the labors of the sun and observed how those bodies which were hastening to go toward the east are whirled around and borne back to the west by the rotation of the heavens. when they had learned the reason, they were at rest. these and various other matters dicineus taught the goths in his wisdom and gained marvellous repute among them, so that he ruled not only the common men but their kings. he chose from among them those that were at that time of noblest birth and superior wisdom and taught them theology, bidding them worship certain divinities and holy places. he gave the name of pilleati to the priests he ordained, i suppose because they offered sacrifice having their heads covered with tiaras, which we otherwise call _pillei_. but he bade them call the rest of their race capillati. this name the goths accepted and prized highly and they retain it to this day in their songs. after the death of dicineus, they held comosicus in almost equal honor, because he was not inferior in knowledge. by reason of his wisdom he was accounted their priest and king, and he judged the people with the greatest uprightness. [sidenote: dacia] xii when he too had departed from human affairs, coryllus ascended the throne as king of the goths and for forty years ruled his people in dacia. i mean ancient dacia, which the race of the gepidae now possess. this country lies across the danube within sight of moesia, and is surrounded by a crown of mountains. it has only two ways of access, one by way of the boutae and the other by the tapae. this gothia, which our ancestors called dacia and now, as i have said, is called gepidia, was then bounded on the east by the roxolani, on the west by the iazyges, on the north by the sarmatians and basternae and on the south by the river danube. the iazyges are separated from the roxolani by the aluta river only. [sidenote: the danube] and since mention has been made of the danube, i think it not out of place to make brief notice of so excellent a stream. rising in the fields of the alamanni, it receives sixty streams which flow into it here and there in the twelve hundred miles from its source to its mouths in the pontus, resembling a spine inwoven with ribs like a basket. it is indeed a most vast river. in the language of the bessi it is called the hister, and it has profound waters in its channel to a depth of quite two hundred feet. this stream surpasses in size all other rivers, except the nile. let this much suffice for the danube. but let us now with the lord's help return to the subject from which we have digressed. [sidenote: domitian a.d. - ] [sidenote: war with domitian] xiii now after a long time, in the reign of the emperor domitian, the goths, through fear of his avarrice, broke the truce they had long observed under other emperors. they laid waste the bank of the danube, so long held by the roman empire, and slew the soldiers and their generals. oppius sabinus was then in command of that province, succeeding agrippa, while dorpaneus held command over the goths. thereupon the goths made war and conquered the romans, cut off the head of oppius sabinus, and invaded and boldly plundered many castles and cities belonging to the emperor. in this plight of his countrymen domitian hastened with all his might to illyricum, bringing with him the troops of almost the entire empire. he sent fuscus before him as his general with picked soldiers. then joining boats together like a bridge, he made his soldiers cross the river danube above the army of dorpaneus. but the goths were on the alert. they took up arms and presently overwhelmed the romans in the first encounter. they slew fuscus, the commander, and plundered the soldiers' camp of its treasure. and because of the great victory they had won in this region, they thereafter called their leaders, by whose good fortune they seemed to have conquered, not mere men, but demigods, that is ansis. their genealogy i shall run through briefly, telling the lineage of each and the beginning and the end of this line. and do thou, o reader, hear me without repining; for i speak truly. [sidenote: genealogy of the ansis or amali] xiv now the first of these heroes, as they themselves relate in their legends, was gapt, who begat hulmul. and hulmul begat augis; and augis begat him who was called amal, from whom the name of the amali comes. this amal begat hisarnis. hisarnis moreover begat ostrogotha, and ostrogotha begat hunuil, and hunuil likewise begat athal. athal begat achiulf and oduulf. now achiulf begat ansila and ediulf, vultuulf and hermanaric. and vultuulf begat valaravans and valaravans begat vinitharius. vinitharius moreover begat vandalarius; vandalarius begat thiudimer and valamir and vidimer; and thiudimer begat theodoric. theodoric begat amalasuentha; amalasuentha bore athalaric and mathesuentha to her husband eutharic, whose race was thus joined to hers in kinship. for the aforesaid hermanaric, the son of achiulf, begat hunimund, and hunimund begat thorismud. now thorismud begat beremud, beremud begat veteric, and veteric likewise begat eutharic, who married amalasuentha and begat athalaric and mathesuentha. athalaric died in the years of his childhood, and mathesuentha married vitiges, to whom she bore no child. both of them were taken together by belisarius to constantinople. when vitiges passed from human affairs, germanus the patrician, a cousin of the emperor justinian, took mathesuentha in marriage and made her a patrician ordinary. and of her he begat a son, also called germanus. but upon the death of germanus, she determined to remain a widow. now how and in what wise the kingdom of the amali was overthrown we shall keep to tell in its proper place, if the lord help us. but let us now return to the point whence we made our digression and tell how the stock of this people of whom i speak reached the end of its course. now ablabius the historian relates that in scythia, where we have said that they were dwelling above an arm of the pontic sea, part of them who held the eastern region and whose king was ostrogotha, were called ostrogoths, that is, eastern goths, either from his name or from the place. but the rest were called visigoths, that is, the goths of the western country. [sidenote: maximinus, the goth who became a roman emperor] [sidenote: septimius severus a.d. - ] [sidenote: antoninus caracalla a.d. - ] [sidenote: macrinus a.d. - ] [sidenote: antoninus elagabalus a.d. - ] [sidenote: alexander a.d. - ] [sidenote: maximinus a.d. - ] [sidenote: pupienus a.d. ] xv as already said, they crossed the danube and dwelt a little while in moesia and thrace. from the remnant of these came maximinus, the emperor succeeding alexander the son of mama. for symmachus relates it thus in the fifth book of his history, saying that upon the death of caesar alexander, maximinus was made emperor by the army; a man born in thrace of most humble parentage, his father being a goth named micca, and his mother a woman of the alani called ababa. he reigned three years and lost alike his empire and his life while making war on the christians. now after his first years spent in rustic life, he had come from his flocks to military service in the reign of the emperor severus and at the time when he was celebrating his son's birthday. it happened that the emperor was giving military games. when maximinus saw this, although he was a semi-barbarian youth, he besought the emperor in his native tongue to give him permission to wrestle with the trained soldiers for the prizes offered. severus marvelling much at his great size--for his stature, it is said, was more than eight feet,--bade him contend in wrestling with the camp followers, in order that no injury might befall his soldiers at the hands of this wild fellow. thereupon maximinus threw sixteen attendants with so great ease that he conquered them one by one without taking any rest by pausing between the bouts. so then, when he had won the prizes, it was ordered that he should be sent into the army and should take his first campaign with the cavalry. on the third day after this, when the emperor went out to the field, he saw him coursing about in barbarian fashion and bade a tribune restrain him and teach him roman discipline. but when he understood it was the emperor who was speaking about him, he came forward and began to run ahead of him as he rode. then the emperor spurred on his horse to a slow trot and wheeled in many a circle hither and thither with various turns, until he was weary. and then he said to him "are you willing to wrestle now after your running, my little thracian?" "as much as you like, o emperor," he answered. so severus leaped from his horse and ordered the freshest soldiers to wrestle with him. but he threw to the ground seven very powerful youths, even as before, taking no breathing space between the bouts. so he alone was given prizes of silver and a golden necklace by caesar. then he was bidden to serve in the body guard of the emperor. after this he was an officer under antoninus caracalla, often increasing his fame by his deeds, and rose to many military grades and finally to the centurionship as the reward of his active service. yet afterwards, when macrinus became emperor, he refused military service for almost three years, and though he held the office of tribune, he never came into the presence of macrinus, thinking his rule shameful because he had won it by committing a crime. then he returned to eliogabalus, believing him to be the son of antoninus, and entered upon his tribuneship. after his reign, he fought with marvellous success against the parthians, under alexander the son of mama. when he was slain in an uprising of the soldiers at mogontiacum, maximinus himself was made emperor by a vote of the army, without a decree of the senate. but he marred all his good deeds by persecuting the christians in accordance with an evil vow and, being slain by pupienus at aquileia, left the kingdom to philip. these matters we have borrowed from the history of symmachus for this our little book, in order to show that the race of which we speak attained to the very highest station in the roman empire. but our subject requires us to return in due order to the point whence we digressed. [sidenote: king ostrogotha wars with philip] [sidenote: philip pater a.d. - "the arabian"] [sidenote: philip filius a.d. - ] xvi now the gothic race gained great fame in the region where they were then dwelling, that is in the scythian land on the shore of pontus, holding undisputed sway over great stretches of country, many arms of the sea and many river courses. by their strong right arm the vandals were often laid low, the marcomanni held their footing by paying tribute and the princes of the quadi were reduced to slavery. now when the aforesaid philip--who, with his son philip, was the only christian emperor before constantine--ruled over the romans, in the second year of his reign rome completed its one thousandth year. he withheld from the goths the tribute due them; whereupon they were naturally enraged and instead of friends became his foes. for though they dwelt apart under their own kings, yet they had been allied to the roman state and received annual gifts. and what more? ostrogotha and his men soon crossed the danube and ravaged moesia and thrace. philip sent the senator decius against him. and since he could do nothing against the getae, he released his own soldiers from military service and sent them back to private life, as though it had been by their neglect that the goths had crossed the danube. when, as he supposed, he had thus taken vengeance on his soldiers, he returned to philip. but when the soldiers found themselves expelled from the army after so many hardships, in their anger they had recourse to the protection of ostrogotha, king of the goths. he received them, was aroused by their words and presently led out three hundred thousand armed men, having as allies for this war some of the taifali and astringi and also three thousand of the carpi, a race of men very ready to make war and frequently hostile to the romans. but in later times when diocletian and maximian were emperors, the caesar galerius maximianus conquered them and made them tributary to the roman empire. besides these tribes, ostrogotha had goths and peucini from the island of peucë, which lies in the mouths of the danube where they empty into the sea of pontus. he placed in command argaithus and guntheric, the noblest leaders of his race. they speedily crossed the danube, devastated moesia a second time and approached marcianople, the famed metropolis of that land. yet after a long siege they departed, upon receiving money from the inhabitants. [sidenote: marcianople] [sidenote: the gepidae and their defeat by ostrogotha] now since we have mentioned marcianople, we may briefly relate a few matters in connection with its founding. they say that the emperor trajan built this city for the following reason. while his sister's daughter marcia was bathing in the stream called potamus--a river of great clearness and purity that rises in the midst of the city--she wished to draw some water from it and by chance dropped into its depths the golden pitcher she was carrying. yet though very heavy from its weight of metal, it emerged from the waves a long time afterwards. it surely is not a usual thing for an empty vessel to sink; much less that, when once swallowed up, it should be cast up by the waves and float again. trajan marvelled at hearing this and believed there was some divinity in the stream. so he built a city and called it marcianople after the name of his sister. xvii from this city, then, as we were saying, the getae returned after a long siege to their own land, enriched by the ransom they had received. now the race of the gepidae was moved with envy when they saw them laden with booty and so suddenly victorious everywhere, and made war on their kinsmen. should you ask how the getae and gepidae are kinsmen, i can tell you in a few words. you surely remember that in the beginning i said the goths went forth from the bosom of the island of scandza with berig, their king, sailing in only three ships toward the hither shore of ocean, namely to gothiscandza. one of these three ships proved to be slower than the others, as is usually the case, and thus is said to have given the tribe their name, for in their language _gepanta_ means slow. hence it came to pass that gradually and by corruption the name gepidae was coined for them by way of reproach. for undoubtedly they too trace their origin from the stock of the goths, but because, as i have said, _gepanta_ means something slow and stolid, the word gepidae arose as a gratuitous name of reproach. i do not believe this is very far wrong, for they are slow of thought and too sluggish for quick movement of their bodies. these gepidae were then smitten by envy while they dwelt in the province of spesis on an island surrounded by the shallow waters of the vistula. this island they called, in the speech of their fathers, gepedoios; but it is now inhabited by the race of the vividarii, since the gepidae themselves have moved to better lands. the vividarii are gathered from various races into this one asylum, if i may call it so, and thus they form a nation. so then, as we were saying, fastida, king of the gepidae, stirred up his quiet people to enlarge their boundaries by war. he overwhelmed the burgundians, almost annihilating them, and conquered a number of other races also. he unjustly provoked the goths, being the first to break the bonds of kinship by unseemly strife. he was greatly puffed up with vain glory, but in seeking to acquire new lands for his growing nation, he only reduced the numbers of his own countrymen. for he sent ambassadors to ostrogotha, to whose rule ostrogoths and visigoths alike, that is, the two peoples of the same tribe, were still subject. complaining that he was hemmed in by rugged mountains and dense forests, he demanded one of two things,--that ostrogotha should either prepare for war or give up part of his lands to them. then ostrogotha, king of the goths, who was a man of firm mind, answered the ambassadors that he did indeed dread such a war and that it would be a grievous and infamous thing to join battle with their kin,--but he would not give up his lands. and why say more? the gepidae hastened to take arms and ostrogotha likewise moved his forces against them, lest he should seem a coward. they met at the town of galtis, near which the river auha flows and there both sides fought with great valor; indeed the similarity of their arms and of their manner of fighting turned them against their own men. but the better cause and their natural alertness aided the goths. finally night put an end to the battle as a part of the gepidae were giving way. then fastida, king of the gepidae, left the field of slaughter and hastened to his own land, as much humiliated with shame and disgrace as formerly he had been elated with pride. the goths returned victorious, content with the retreat of the gepidae, and dwelt in peace and happiness in their own land so long as ostrogotha was their leader. [sidenote: king cniva at war with decius] [sidenote: decius a.d. - ] [sidenote: capture of philippopolis a.d. ] [sidenote: death of decius at abrittus a.d. ] xviii after his death, cniva divided the army into two parts and sent some to waste moesia, knowing that it was undefended through the neglect of the emperors. he himself with seventy thousand men hastened to euscia, that is, novae. when driven from this place by the general gallus, he approached nicopolis, a very famous town situated near the iatrus river. this city trajan built when he conquered the sarmatians and named it the city of victory. when the emperor decius drew near, cniva at last withdrew to the regions of haemus, which were not far distant. thence he hastened to philippopolis, with his forces in good array. when the emperor decius learned of his departure, he was eager to bring relief to his own city and, crossing mount haemus, came to beroa. while he was resting his horses and his weary army in that place, all at once cniva and his goths fell upon him like a thunderbolt. he cut the roman army to pieces and drove the emperor, with a few who had succeeded in escaping, across the alps again to euscia in moesia, where gallus was then stationed with a large force of soldiers as guardian of the frontier. collecting an army from this region as well as from oescus, he prepared for the conflict of the coming war. but cniva took philippopolis after a long siege and then, laden with spoil, allied himself to priscus, the commander in the city, to fight against decius. in the battle that followed they quickly pierced the son of decius with an arrow and cruelly slew him. the father saw this, and although he is said to have exclaimed, to cheer the hearts of his soldiers: "let no one mourn; the death of one soldier is not a great loss to the republic", he was yet unable to endure it, because of his love for his son. so he rode against the foe, demanding either death or vengeance, and when he came to abrittus, a city of moesia, he was himself cut off by the goths and slain, thus making an end of his dominion and of his life. this place is to-day called the altar of decius, because he there offered strange sacrifices to idols before the battle. (the goths in the time of gallus, volusianus and aemilianus) [sidenote: gallus a.d. - ] [sidenote: volusianus a.d. - ] [sidenote: aemilianus a.d. ] [sidenote: the plague a.d. - ] [sidenote: gallienus a.d. - ] xix then upon the death of decius, gallus and volusianus succeeded to the roman empire. at this time a destructive plague, almost like death itself, such as we suffered nine years ago, blighted the face of the whole earth and especially devastated alexandria and all the land of egypt. the historian dionysius gives a mournful account of it and cyprian, our own bishop and venerable martyr in christ, also describes it in his book entitled "on mortality". at this time the goths frequently ravaged moesia, through the neglect of the emperors. when a certain aemilianus saw that they were free to do this, and that they could not be dislodged by anyone without great cost to the republic, he thought that he too might be able to achieve fame and fortune. so he seized the rule in moesia and, taking all the soldiers he could gather, began to plunder cities and people. in the next few months, while an armed host was being gathered against him, he wrought no small harm to the state. yet he died almost at the beginning of his evil attempt, thus losing at once his life and the power he coveted. now though gallus and volusianus, the emperors we have mentioned, departed this life after remaining in power for barely two years, yet during this space of two years which they spent on earth they reigned amid universal peace and favor. only one thing was laid to their charge, namely the great plague. but this was an accusation made by ignorant slanderers, whose custom it is to wound the lives of others with their malicious bite. soon after they came to power they made a treaty with the race of the goths. when both rulers were dead, it was no long time before gallienus usurped the throne. [sidenote: the goths plunder asia minor a.d. or ] xx while he was given over to luxurious living of every sort, respa, veduc and thuruar, leaders of the goths, took ship and sailed across the strait of the hellespont to asia. there they laid waste many populous cities and set fire to the renowned temple of diana at ephesus, which, as we said before, the amazons built. being driven from the neighborhood of bithynia, they destroyed chalcedon, which cornelius avitus afterwards restored to some extent. yet even to-day, though it is happily situated near the royal city, it still shows some traces of its ruin as a witness to posterity. after their success, the goths recrossed the strait of the hellespont, laden with booty and spoil, and returned along the same route by which they had entered the lands of asia, sacking troy and ilium on the way. these cities, which had scarce recovered a little from the famous war with agamemnon, were thus destroyed anew by the hostile sword. after the goths had thus devastated asia, thrace next felt their ferocity. for they went thither and presently attacked anchiali, a city at the foot of haemus and not far from the sea. sardanapalus, king of the parthians, had built this city long ago between an inlet of the sea and the base of haemus. there they are said to have stayed for many days, enjoying the baths of the hot springs which are situated about twelve miles from the city of anchiali. there they gush from the depths of their fiery source, and among the innumerable hot springs of the world they are esteemed as specially famous and efficacious for their healing virtues. (the times of diocletian) [sidenote: diocletian - ] [sidenote: masimian - ] xxi after these events, the goths had already returned home when they were summoned at the request of the emperor maximian to aid the romans against the parthians. they fought for him faithfully, serving as auxiliaries. but after caesar maximian by their aid had routed narseus, king of the persians, the grandson of sapor the great, taking as spoil all his possessions, together with his wives and his sons, and when diocletian had conquered achilles in alexandria and maximianus herculius had broken the quinquegentiani in africa, thus winning peace for the empire, they began rather to neglect the goths. [sidenote: constantine i - ] [sidenote: licinius - ] now it had long been a hard matter for the roman army to fight against any nations whatsoever without them. this is evident from the way in which the goths were so frequently called upon. thus they were summoned by constantine to bear arms against his kinsman licinius. later, when he was vanquished and shut up thessalonica and deprived of his power, they slew him with the sword of constantine the victor. in like manner it was the aid of the goths that enabled him to build the famous city that is named after him, the rival of rome, inasmuch as they entered into a truce with the emperor and furnished him forty thousand men to aid him against various peoples. this body of men, namely, the allies, and the service they rendered in war are still spoken of in the land to this day. now at that time they prospered under the rule of their kings ariaric and aoric. upon their death geberich appeared as successor to the throne, a man renowned for his valor and noble birth. [sidenote: geberich conquers the vandals ] xxii for he was the son of hilderith, who was the son of ovida, who was the son of nidada; and by his illustrious deeds he equalled the glory of his race. soon he sought to enlarge his country's narrow bounds at the expense of the race of the vandals and visimar, their king. this visimar was of the stock of the asdingi, which is eminent among them and indicates a most warlike descent, as dexippus the historian relates. he states furthermore that by reason of the great extent of their country they could scarcely come from ocean to our frontier in a year's time. at that time they dwelt in the land where the gepidae now live, near the rivers marisia, miliare, gilpil and the grisia, which exceeds in size all previously mentioned. they then had on the east the goths, on the west the marcomanni, on the north the hermunduli and on the south the hister, which is also called the danube. at the time when the vandals were dwelling in this region, war was begun against them by geberich, king of the goths, on the shore of the river marisia which i have mentioned. here the battle raged for a little while on equal terms. but soon visimar himself, the king of the vandals, was overthrown, together with the greater part of his people. when geberich, the famous leader of the goths, had conquered and spoiled vandals, he returned to his own place whence he had come. then the remnant of the vandals who had escaped, collecting a band of their unwarlike folk, left their ill-fated country and asked the emperor constantine for pannonia. here they made their home for about sixty years and obeyed the commands of the emperors like subjects. a long time afterward they were summoned thence by stilicho, master of the soldiery, ex-consul and patrician, and took possession of gaul. here they plundered their neighbors and had no settled place of abode. [sidenote: conquest of the herculi, venethi and aesti] xxiii soon geberich, king of the goths, departed from human affairs and hermanaric, noblest of the amali, succeeded to the throne. he subdued many warlike peoples of the north and made them obey his laws, and some of our ancestors have justly compared him to alexander the great. among the tribes he conquered were the golthescytha, thiudos, inaunxis, vasinabroncae, merens, mordens, imniscaris, rogas, tadzans, athaul, navego, bubegenae and coldae. but though famous for his conquest of so many races, he gave himself no rest until he had slain some in battle and then reduced to his sway the remainder of the tribe of the heruli, whose chief was alaric. now the aforesaid race, as the historian ablabius tells us, dwelt near lake maeotis in swampy places which the greeks call _hel[=e]_; hence they were named heluri. they were a people swift of foot, and on that account were the more swollen with pride, for there was at that time no race that did not choose from them its light-armed troops for battle. but though their quickness often saved them from others who made war upon them, yet they were overthrown by the slowness and steadiness of the goths; and the lot of fortune brought it to pass that they, as well as the other tribes, had to serve hermanaric, king of the getae. after the slaughter of the heruli, hermanaric also took arms against the venethi. this people, though despised in war, was strong in numbers and tried to resist him. but a multitude of cowards is of no avail, particularly when god permits an armed multitude to attack them. these people, as we started to say at the beginning of our account or catalogue of nations, though off-shoots from one stock, have now three names, that is, venethi, antes and sclaveni. though they now rage in war far and wide, in punishment for our sins, yet at that time they were all obedient to hermanaric's commands. this ruler also subdued by his wisdom and might the race of the aesti, who dwell on the farthest shore of the german ocean, and ruled all the nations of scythia and germany by his own prowess alone. [sidenote: origin and history of the huns] xxiv but after a short space of time, as orosius relates, the race of the huns, fiercer than ferocity itself, flamed forth against the goths. we learn from old traditions that their origin was as follows: filimer, king of the goths, son of gadaric the great, who was the fifth in succession to hold the rule of the getae after their departure from the island of scandza,--and who, as we have said, entered the land of scythia with his tribe,--found among his people certain witches, whom he called in his native tongue haliurunnae. suspecting these women, he expelled them from the midst of his race and compelled them to wander in solitary exile afar from his army. there the unclean spirits, who beheld them as they wandered through the wilderness, bestowed their embraces upon them and begat this savage race, which dwelt at first in the swamps,--a stunted, foul and puny tribe, scarcely human, and having no language save one which bore slight resemblance to human speech. such was the descent of the huns who came to the country of the goths. this cruel tribe, as priscus the historian relates, settled on the farther bank of the maeotic swamp. they were fond of hunting and had no skill in any other art. after they had grown to a nation, they disturbed the peace of neighboring races by theft and rapine. at one time, while hunters of their tribe were as usual seeking for game on the farthest edge of maeotis, they saw a doe unexpectedly appear to their sight and enter the swamp, acting as guide of the way; now advancing and again standing still. the hunters followed and crossed on foot the maeotic swamp, which they had supposed was impassable as the sea. presently the unknown land of scythia disclosed itself and the doe disappeared. now in my opinion the evil spirits, from whom the huns are descended, did this from envy of the scythians. and the huns, who had been wholly ignorant that there was another world beyond maeotis, were now filled with admiration for the scythian land. as they were quick of mind, they believed that this path, utterly unknown to any age of the past, had been divinely revealed to them. they returned to their tribe, told them what had happened, praised scythia and persuaded the people to hasten thither along the way they had found by the guidance of the doe. as many as they captured, when they thus entered scythia for the first time, they sacrificed to victory. the remainder they conquered and made subject to themselves. like a whirlwind of nations they swept across the great swamp and at once fell upon the alpidzuri, alcildzuri, itimari, tuncarsi and boisci, who bordered on that part of scythia. the alani also, who were their equals in battle, but unlike them in civilization, manners and appearance, they exhausted by their incessant attacks and subdued. for by the terror of their features they inspired great fear in those whom perhaps they did not really surpass in war. they made their foes flee in horror because their swarthy aspect was fearful, and they had, if i may call it so, a sort of shapeless lump, not a head, with pin-holes rather than eyes. their hardihood is evident in their wild appearance, and they are beings who are cruel to their children on the very day they are born. for they cut the cheeks of the males with a sword, so that before they receive the nourishment of milk they must learn to endure wounds. hence they grow old beardless and their young men are without comeliness, because a face furrowed by the sword spoils by its scars the natural beauty of a beard. they are short in stature, quick in bodily movement, alert horsemen, broad shouldered, ready in the use of bow and arrow, and have firm-set necks which are ever erect in pride. though they live in the form of men, they have the cruelty of wild beasts. [sidenote: first irruption of the huns as early as ] when the getae beheld this active race that had invaded many nations, they took fright and consulted with their king how they might escape from such a foe. now although hermanaric, king of the goths, was the conqueror of many tribes, as we have said above, yet while he was deliberating on this invasion of the huns, the treacherous tribe of the rosomoni, who at that time were among those who owed him their homage, took this chance to catch him unawares. for when the king had given orders that a certain woman of the tribe i have mentioned, sunilda by name, should be bound to wild horses and torn apart by driving them at full speed in opposite directions (for he was roused to fury by her husband's treachery to him), her brothers sarus and immius came to avenge their sister's death and plunged a sword into hermanaric's side. enfeebled by this blow, he dragged out a miserable existence in bodily weakness. balamber, king of the huns, took advantage of his ill health to move an army into the country of the ostrogoths, from whom the visigoths had already separated because of some dispute. meanwhile hermanaric, who was unable to endure either the pain of his wound or the inroads of the huns, died full of days at the great age of one hundred and ten years. the fact of his death enabled the huns to prevail over those goths who, as we have said, dwelt in the east and were called ostrogoths. (the divided goths: visigoths) [sidenote: valentinian i - ] [sidenote: the visigoths settle in thrace and moesia ] [sidenote: valens - ] xxv the visigoths, who were their other allies and inhabitants of the western country, were terrified as their kinsmen had been, and knew not how to plan for safety against the race of the huns. after long deliberation by common consent they finally sent ambassadors into romania to the emperor valens, brother of valentinian, the elder emperor, to say that if he would give them part of thrace or moesia to keep, they would submit themselves to his laws and commands. that he might have greater confidence in them, they promised to become christians, if he would give them teachers who spoke their language. when valens learned this, he gladly and promptly granted what he had himself intended to ask. he received the getae into the region of moesia and placed them there as a wall of defense for his kingdom against other tribes. and since at that time the emperor valens, who was infected with the arian perfidy, had closed all the churches of our party, he sent as preachers to them those who favored his sect. they came and straightway filled a rude and ignorant people with the poison of their heresy. thus the emperor valens made the visigoths arians rather than christians. moreover from the love they bore them, they preached the gospel both to the ostrogoths and to their kinsmen the gepidae, teaching them to reverence this heresy, and they invited all people of their speech everywhere to attach themselves to this sect. they themselves as we have said, crossed the danube and settled dacia ripensis, moesia and thrace by permission of the emperor. [sidenote: famine - ] xxvi soon famine and want came upon them, as often happens to a people not yet well settled in a country. their princes and the leaders who ruled them in place of kings, that is fritigern, alatheus and safrac, began to lament the plight of their army and begged lupicinus and maximus, the roman commanders, to open a market. but to what will not the "cursed lust for gold" compel men to assent? the generals, swayed by avarice, sold them at a high price not only the flesh of sheep and oxen, but even the carcasses of dogs and unclean animals, so that a slave would be bartered for a loaf of bread or ten pounds of meat. when their goods and chattels failed, the greedy trader demanded their sons in return for the necessities of life. and the parents consented even to this, in order to provide for the safety of their children, arguing that it was better to lose liberty than life; and indeed it is better that one be sold, if he will be mercifully fed, than that he should be kept free only to die. [sidenote: treachery of the romans] now it came to pass in that troublous time that lupicinus, the roman general, invited fritigern, a chieftain of the goths, to a feast and, as the event revealed, devised a plot against him. but fritigern, thinking evil came to the feast with a few followers. while he was dining in the praetorium he heard the dying cries of his ill-fated men, for, by order of the general, the soldiers were slaying his companions who were shut up in another part of the house. the loud cries of the dying fell upon ears already suspicious, and fritigern at once perceived the treacherous trick. he drew his sword and with great courage dashed quickly from the banqueting-hall, rescued his men from their threatening doom and incited them to slay the romans. thus these valiant men gained the chance they had longed for--to be free to die in battle rather than to perish of hunger--and immediately took arms to kill the generals lupicinus and maximus. thus that day put an end to the famine of the goths and the safety of the romans, for the goths no longer as strangers and pilgrims, but as citizens and lords, began to rule the inhabitants and to hold in their own right all the northern country as far as the danube. [sidenote: emperor valens defeated and slain a.d. ] when the emperor valens heard of this at antioch, he made ready an army at once and set out for the country of thrace. here a grievous battle took place and the goths prevailed. the emperor himself was wounded and fled to a farm near hadrianople. the goths, not knowing that an emperor lay hidden in so poor a hut, set fire to it (as is customary in dealing with a cruel foe), and thus he was cremated in royal splendor. plainly it was a direct judgment of god that he should be burned with fire by the very men whom he had perfidiously led astray when they sought the true faith, turning them aside from the flame of love into the fire of hell. from this time the visigoths, in consequence of their glorious victory, possessed thrace and dacia ripensis as if it were their native land. [sidenote: gratian - ] [sidenote: hostile relations with rome ended by a truce] [sidenote: theodosius - ] xxvii now in the place of valens, his uncle, the emperor gratian established theodosius the spaniard in the eastern empire. military discipline was soon restored to a high level, and the goth, perceiving that the cowardice and sloth of former princes was ended, became afraid. for the emperor was famed alike for his acuteness and discretion. by stern commands and by generosity and kindness he encouraged a demoralized army to deeds of daring. but when the soldiers, who had obtained a better leader by the change, gained new confidence, they sought to attack the goths and drive them from the borders of thrace. but as the emperor theodosius fell so sick at this time that his life was almost despaired of, the goths were again inspired with courage. dividing the gothic army, fritigern set out to plunder thessaly, epirus and achaia, while alatheus and safrac with the rest of the troops made for pannonia. now the emperor gratian had at this time retreated from rome to gaul because of the invasions of the vandals. when he learned that the goths were acting with greater boldness because theodosius was in despair of his life, he quickly gathered an army and came against them. yet he put no trust in arms, but sought to conquer them by kindness and gifts. so he entered on a truce with them and made peace, giving them provisions. [sidenote: peace confirmed by theodosius ] [sidenote: death of king athanaric at constantinople ] xxviii when the emperor theodosius afterwards recovered and learned that the emperor gratian had made a compact between the goths and the romans, as he had himself desired, he took it very graciously and gave his assent. he gave gifts to king athanaric, who had succeeded fritigern, made an alliance with him and in the most gracious manner invited him to visit him in constantinople. athanaric very gladly consented and as he entered the royal city exclaimed in wonder "lo, now i see what i have often heard of with unbelieving ears," meaning the great and famous city. turning his eyes hither and thither, he marvelled as he beheld the situation of the city, the coming and going of the ships, the splendid walls, and the people of divers nations gathered like a flood of waters streaming from different regions into one basin. so too, when he saw the army in array, he said "truly the emperor is a god on earth, and whoso raises a hand against him is guilty of his own blood." in the midst of his admiration and the enjoyment of even greater honors at the hand of the emperor, he departed this life after the space of a few months. the emperor had such affection for him that he honored athanaric even more when he was dead than during his life-time, for he not only gave him a worthy burial, but himself walked before the bier at the funeral. now when athanaric was dead, his whole army continued in the service of the emperor theodosius and submitted to the roman rule, forming as it were one body with the imperial soldiery. the former service of the allies under the emperor constantine was now renewed and they were again called allies. and since the emperor knew that they were faithful to him and his friends, he took from their number more than twenty thousand warriors to serve against the tyrant eugenius who had slain gratian and seized gaul. after winning the victory over this usurper, he wreaked his vengeance upon him. [sidenote: alaric i king of the goths - ] [sidenote: stilicho and aurelian consuls in ] xxix but after theodosius, the lover of peace and of the gothic race, had passed from human cares, his sons began to ruin both empires by their luxurious living and to deprive their allies, that is to say the goths, of the customary gifts. the contempt of the goths for the romans soon increased, and for fear their valor would be destroyed by long peace, they appointed alaric king over them. he was of a famous stock, and his nobility was second only to that of the amali, for he came from the family of the balthi, who because of their daring valor had long ago received among their race the name _baltha_, that is, the bold. now when this alaric was made king, he took counsel with his men and persuaded them to seek a kingdom by their own exertions rather than serve others in idleness. in the consulship of stilicho and aurelian he raised an army and entered italy, which seemed to be bare of defenders, and came through pannonia and sirmium along the right side. without meeting any resistance, he reached the bridge of the river candidianus at the third milestone from the royal city of ravenna. [sidenote: description of ravenna] this city lies amid the streams of the po between swamps and the sea, and is accessible only on one side. its ancient inhabitants, as our ancestors relate, were called _ainetoi_, that is, "laudable". situated in a corner of the roman empire above the ionian sea, it is hemmed in like an island by a flood of rushing waters. on the east it has the sea, and one who sails straight to it from the region of corcyra and those parts of hellas sweeps with his oars along the right hand coast, first touching epirus, then dalmatia, liburnia and histria and at last the venetian isles. but on the west it has swamps through which a sort of door has been left by a very narrow entrance. to the north is an arm of the po, called the fossa asconis. on the south likewise is the po itself, which they call the king of the rivers of italy; and it has also the name eridanus. this river was turned aside by the emperor augustus into a very broad canal which flows through the midst of the city with a seventh part of its stream, affording a pleasant harbor at its mouth. men believed in ancient times, as dio relates, that it would hold a fleet of two hundred and fifty vessels in its safe anchorage. fabius says that this, which was once a harbor, now displays itself like a spacious garden full of trees; but from them hang not sails but apples. the city itself boasts of three names and is happily placed in its threefold location. i mean to say the first is called ravenna and the most distant part classis; while midway between the city and the sea is caesarea, full of luxury. the sand of the beach is fine and suited for riding. [sidenote: honorius - ] [sidenote: honorius grants the goths lands in gaul and spain] xxx but as i was saying, when the army of the visigoths had come into the neighborhood of this city, they sent an embassy to the emperor honorius, who dwelt within. they said that if he would permit the goths to settle peaceably in italy, they would so live with the roman people that men might believe them both to be of one race; but if not, whoever prevailed in war should drive out the other, and the victor should henceforth rule unmolested. but the emperor honorius feared to make either promise. so he took counsel with his senate and considered how he might drive them from the italian borders. he finally decided that alaric and his race, if they were able to do so, should be allowed to seize for their own home the provinces farthest away, namely, gaul and spain. for at this time he had almost lost them, and moreover they had been devastated by the invasion of gaiseric, king of the vandals. the grant was confirmed by an imperial rescript, and the goths, consenting to the arrangement, set out for the country given them. [sidenote: stilicho's treacherous attack ] [sidenote: alaric i sacks rome a.d. ] when they had gone away without doing any harm in italy, stilicho, the patrician and father-in-law of the emperor honorius,--for the emperor had married both his daughters, maria and thermantia, in succession, but god called both from this world in their virgin purity--this stilicho, i say, treacherously hurried to pollentia, a city in the cottian alps. there he fell upon the unsuspecting goths in battle, to the ruin of all italy and his own disgrace. when the goths suddenly beheld him, at first they were terrified. soon regaining their courage and arousing each other by brave shouting, as is their custom, they turned to flight the entire army of stilicho and almost exterminated it. then forsaking the journey they had undertaken, the goths with hearts full of rage returned again to liguria whence they had set out. when they had plundered and spoiled it, they also laid waste aemilia, and then hastened toward the city of rome along the flaminian way, which runs between picenum and tuscia, taking as booty whatever they found on either hand. when they finally entered rome, by alaric's express command they merely sacked it and did not set the city on fire, as wild peoples usually do, nor did they permit serious damage to be done to the holy places. thence they departed to bring like ruin upon campania and lucania, and then came to bruttii. here they remained a long time and planned to go to sicily and thence to the countries of africa. [sidenote: death of alaric i a.d. ] [sidenote: athavulf - ] now the land of the bruttii is at the extreme southern bound of italy, and a corner of it marks the beginning of the apennine mountains. it stretches out like a tongue into the adriatic sea and separates it from the tyrrhenian waters. it chanced to receive its name in ancient times from a queen bruttia. to this place came alaric, king of visigoths, with the wealth of all italy which he had taken as spoil, and from there, as we have said, he intended to cross over by way of sicily to the quiet land of africa. but since man is not free to do anything he wishes without the will of god, that dread strait sunk several of his ships and threw all into confusion. alaric was cast down by his reverse and, while deliberating what he should do, was suddenly overtaken by an untimely death and departed from human cares. his people mourned for him with the utmost affection. then turning from its course the river busentus near the city of consentia--for this stream flows with its wholesome waters from the foot of a mountain near that city--they led a band of captives into the midst of its bed to dig out a place for his grave. in the depths of this pit they buried alaric, together with many treasures, and then turned the waters back into their channel. and that none might ever know the place, they put to death all the diggers. they bestowed the kingdom of the visigoths on athavulf his kinsman, a man of imposing beauty and great spirit; for though not tall of stature, he was distinguished for beauty of face and form. [sidenote: deeds of king athavulf] [sidenote: marries galla placidia ] [sidenote: king segeric ] xxxi when athavulf became king, he returned again to rome, and whatever had escaped the first sack his goths stripped bare like locusts, not merely despoiling italy of its private wealth, but even of its public resources. the emperor honorius was powerless to resist even when his sister placidia, the daughter of the emperor theodosius by his second wife, was led away captive from the city. but athavulf was attracted by her nobility, beauty and chaste purity, and so he took her to wife in lawful marriage at forum julii, a city of aemilia. when the barbarians learned of this alliance, they were the more effectually terrified, since the empire and the goths now seemed to be made one. then athavulf set out for gaul, leaving honorius augustus stripped of his wealth, to be sure, yet pleased at heart because he was now a sort of kinsman of his. upon his arrival the neighboring tribes who had long made cruel raids into gaul,--franks and burgundians alike,--were terrified and began to keep within their own borders. now the vandals and the alani, as we have said before, had been dwelling in both pannonias by permission of the roman emperors. yet fearing they would not be safe even here if the goths should return, they crossed over into gaul. but no long time after they had taken possession of gaul they fled thence and shut themselves up in spain, for they still remembered from the tales of their forefathers what ruin geberich, king of the goths, had long ago brought on their race, and how by his valor he had driven them from their native land. and thus it happened that gaul lay open to athavulf when he came. now when the goth had established his kingdom in gaul, he began to grieve for the plight of the spaniards and planned to save them from the attacks of the vandals. so athavulf left at barcelona his treasures and the men who were unfit for war, and entered the interior of spain with a few faithful followers. here he fought frequently with the vandals and, in the third year after he had subdued gaul and spain, fell pierced through the groin by the sword of euervulf, a man whose short stature he had been wont to mock. after his death segeric was appointed king, but he too was slain by the treachery of his own men and lost both his kingdom and his life even more quickly than athavulf. [sidenote: king valia - ] xxxii then valia, the fourth from alaric, was made king, and he was an exceeding stern and prudent man. the emperor honorius sent an army against him under constantius, who was famed for his achievements in war and distinguished in many battles, for he feared that valia would break the treaty long ago made with athavulf and that, after driving out the neighboring tribes, he would again plot evil against the empire. moreover honorius was eager to free his sister placidia from the disgrace of servitude, and made an agreement with constantius that if by peace or war or any means soever he could bring her back to the kingdom, he should have her in marriage. pleased with this promise, constantius set out for spain with an armed force and in almost royal splendor. valia, king of the goths, met him at a pass in the pyrenees with as great a force. here-upon embassies were sent by both sides and it was decided to make peace on the following terms, namely that valia should give up placidia, the emperor's sister, and should not refuse to aid the roman empire when occasion demanded. [sidenote: constantine iii - ] [sidenote: constans - ] [sidenote: jovinus - ] [sidenote: sebastian ] now at that time a certain constantine usurped imperial power in gaul and appointed as caesar his son constans, who was formerly a monk. but when he had held for a short time the empire he had seized, he was himself slain at arelate and his son at vienne. jovinus and sebastian succeeded them with equal presumption and thought they might seize the imperial power; but they perished by a like fate. [sidenote: valia moves against the vandals ] now in the twelfth year of valia's reign the huns were driven out of pannonia by the romans and goths, almost fifty years after they had taken possession of it. then valia found that the vandals had come forth with bold audacity from the interior of galicia, whither athavulf had long ago driven them, and were devastating and plundering everywhere in his own territories, namely in the land of spain. so he made no delay but moved his army against them at once, at about the time when hierius and ardabures had become consuls. [sidenote: valentinian iii - ] [sidenote: the vandals and gaiseric their king - ] xxxiii but gaiseric, king of the vandals, had already been invited into africa by boniface, who had fallen into a dispute with the emperor valentinian and was able to obtain revenge only by injuring the empire. so he invited them urgently and brought them across the narrow strait known as the strait of gades, scarcely seven miles wide, which divides africa from spain and unites the mouth of the tyrrhenian sea with the waters of ocean. gaiseric, still famous in the city for the disaster of the romans, was a man of moderate height and lame in consequence of a fall from his horse. he was a man of deep thought and few words, holding luxury in disdain, furious in his anger, greedy for gain, shrewd in winning over the barbarians and skilled in sowing the seeds of dissension to arouse enmity. such was he who, as we have said, came at the solicitous invitation of boniface to the country of africa. there he reigned for a long time, receiving authority, as they say, from god himself. before his death he summoned the band of his sons and ordained that there should be no strife among them because of desire for the kingdom, but that each should reign in his own rank and order as he survived the others; that is, the next younger should succeed his elder brother, and he in turn should be followed by his junior. by giving heed to this command they ruled their kingdom in happiness for the space of many years and were not disgraced by civil war, as is usual among other nations; one after the other receiving the kingdom and ruling the people in peace. [sidenote: the six kings of the vandals - ] [sidenote: kingdom of the vandals made subject to rome] now this is their order of succession: first, gaiseric who was father and lord, next, huneric, the third gunthamund, the fourth thrasamund, and the fifth ilderich. he was driven from the throne and slain by gelimer, who destroyed his race by disregarding his ancestor's advice and setting up a tyranny. but what he had done did not remain unpunished, for soon the vengeance of the emperor justinian was manifested against him. with his whole family and that wealth over which he gloated like a robber, he was taken to constantinople by that most renowned warrior belisarius, master of the soldiery of the east, ex-consul ordinary and patrician. here he afforded a great spectacle to the people in the circus. his repentance, when he beheld himself cast down from his royal state, came too late. he died as a mere subject and in retirement, though he had formerly been unwilling to submit to private life. thus after a century africa, which in the division of the earth's surface is regarded as the third part of the world, was delivered from the yoke of the vandals and brought back to the liberty of the roman empire. the country which the hand of the heathen had long ago cut off from the body of the roman empire, by reason of the cowardice of emperors and the treachery of generals, was now restored by a wise prince and a faithful leader and to-day is happily flourishing. and though, even after this, it had to deplore the misery of civil war and the treachery of the moors, yet the triumph of the emperor justinian, vouchsafed him by god. brought to a peaceful conclusion what he had begun. but why need we speak of what the subject does not require? let us return to our theme. [sidenote: migration or the amali to the visigoths] [sidenote: theodorid i - ] now valia, king of the goths, and his army fought so fiercely against the vandals that he would have pursued them even into africa, had not such a misfortune recalled him as befell alaric when he was setting out for africa. so when he had won great fame in spain, he returned after a bloodless victory to tolosa, turning over to the roman empire, as he had promised, a number of provinces which he had rid of his foes. a long time after this he was seized by sickness and departed this life. just at that time beremud, the son of thorismud, whom we have mentioned above in the genealogy of the family of the amali, departed with his son veteric from the ostrogoths, who still submitted to the oppression of the huns in the land of scythia, and came to the kingdom of the visigoths. well aware of his valor and noble birth, he believed that the kingdom would be the more readily bestowed upon him by his kinsmen, inasmuch as he was known to be the heir of many kings. and who would hesitate to choose one of the amali, if there were an empty throne? but he was not himself eager to make known who he was, and so upon the death of valia the visigoths made theodorid his successor. beremud came to him and, with the strength of mind for which he was noted, concealed his noble birth by prudent silence, for he knew that those of royal lineage are always distrusted by kings. so he suffered himself to remain unknown, that he might not bring the established order into confusion. king theodorid received him and his son with special honor and made him partner in his counsels and a companion at his board; not for his noble birth, which he knew not, but for his brave spirit and strong mind, which beremud could not conceal. [sidenote: consulship of theodosius ] [sidenote: first breach between theodorid i and the romans] [sidenote: the truce ] xxxiv and what more? valia (to repeat what we have said) had but little success against the gauls, but when he died the more fortunate and prosperous theodorid succeeded to the throne. he was a man of the greatest moderation and notable for vigor of mind and body. in consulship of theodosius and festus the romans broke the truce and took up arms against him in gaul, with the huns as their auxiliaries. for a band of the gallic allies, led by count gaina, had aroused the romans by throwing constantinople into a panic. now at that time the patrician aëtius was in command of the army. he was of the bravest moesian stock, born of his father gaudentius in the city of durostorum. he was a man fitted to endure the toils of war, born expressly to serve the roman state; and by inflicting crushing defeats he had compelled the proud suavi and barbarous franks to submit to roman sway. so then, with the huns as allies under their leader litorius, the roman army moved in array against the goths. when the battle lines of both sides had been standing for a long time opposite each other, both being brave and neither side the weaker, they struck a truce and returned to their ancient alliance. and after the treaty had been confirmed by both and an honest peace was established, they both withdrew. [sidenote: embassy to attila ] during this peace attila was lord over all the huns and almost the sole earthly ruler of all the tribes of scythia; a man marvellous for his glorious fame among all nations. the historian priscus, who was sent to him on an embassy by the younger theodosius, says this among other things: "crossing mighty rivers--namely, the tisia and tibisia and dricca--we came to the place where long ago vidigoia, bravest of the goths, perished by the guile of the sarmatians. at no great distance from that place we arrived at the village where king attila was dwelling,--a village, i say, like a great city in which we found wooden walls made of smooth-shining boards, whose joints so counterfeited solidity that the union of the boards could scarcely be distinguished by close scrutiny. there you might see dining halls of large extent and porticoes planned with great beauty, while the courtyard was bounded by so vast a circuit that its very size showed it was the royal palace." this was the abode of attila, the king of all the barbarian world; and he preferred this as a dwelling to the cities he captured. [sidenote: character of attila king of the huns] [sidenote: attila and bleda joint kings - ] [sidenote: attila sole king - ] xxxv now this attila was the son of mundiuch, and his brothers were octar and ruas who are said to have ruled before attila, though not over quite so many tribes as he. after their death he succeeded to the throne of the huns, together with his brother bleda. in order that he might first be equal to the expedition he was preparing, he sought to increase his strength by murder. thus he proceeded from the destruction of his own kindred to the menace of all others. but though he increased his power by this shameful means, yet by the balance of justice he received the hideous consequences of his own cruelty. now when his brother bleda, who ruled over a great part of the huns, had been slain by his treachery, attila united all the people under his own rule. gathering also a host of the other tribes which he then held under his sway, he sought to subdue the foremost nations of the world--the romans and the visigoths. his army is said to have numbered five hundred thousand men. he was a man born into the world to shake the nations, the scourge of all lands, who in some way terrified all mankind by the dreadful rumors noised abroad concerning him. he was haughty in his walk, rolling his eyes hither and thither, so that the power of his proud spirit appeared in the movement of his body. he was indeed a lover of war, yet restrained in action, mighty in counsel, gracious to suppliants and lenient to those who were once received into his protection. he was short of stature with a broad chest and a large head; his eyes were small, his beard thin and sprinkled with gray; and he had a flat nose and a swarthy complexion, showing the evidences of his origin. and though his temper was such that he always had great self-confidence, yet his assurance was increased by finding the sword of mars, always esteemed sacred among the kings of the scythians. the historian priscus says it was discovered under the following circumstances: "when a certain shepherd beheld one heifer of his flock limping and could find no cause for this wound, he anxiously followed the trail of blood and at length came to a sword it had unwittingly trampled while nibbling the grass. he dug it up and took it straight to attila. he rejoiced at this gift and, being ambitious, thought he had been appointed ruler of the whole world, and that through the sword of mars supremacy in all wars was assured to him." [sidenote: gaiseric incites him to war with the goths] xxxvi now when gaiseric, king of the vandals, whom we mentioned shortly before, learned that his mind was bent on the devastation of the world, he incited attila by many gifts to make war on the visigoths, for he was afraid that theodorid, king of the visigoths, would avenge the injury done to his daughter. she had been joined in wedlock with huneric, the son of gaiseric, and at first was happy in this union. but afterwards he was cruel even to his own children, and because of the mere suspicion that she was attempting to poison him, he cut off her nose and mutilated her ears. he sent her back to her father in gaul thus despoiled of her natural charms. so the wretched girl presented a pitiable aspect ever after, and the cruelty which would stir even strangers still more surely incited her father to vengeance. attila, therefore, in his efforts to bring about the wars long ago instigated by the bribe of gaiseric, sent ambassadors into italy to the emperor valentinian to sow strife between the goths and the romans, thinking to shatter by civil discord those whom he could not crush in battle. he declared that he was in no way violating his friendly relations with the empire, but that he had a quarrel with theodorid, king of the visigoths. as he wished to be kindly received, he had filled the rest of the letter with the visual flattering salutations, striving to win credence for his falsehood. in like manner he despatched a message to theodorid, king of the visigoths, urging him to break his alliance with the romans and reminding him of the battles to which they had recently provoked him. beneath his great ferocity he was a subtle man, and fought with craft before he made war. [sidenote: league of the visigoths and romans against attila ] then the emperor valentinian sent an embassy to the visigoths and their king theodorid, with this message: "bravest of nations, it is the part of prudence for us to unite against the lord of the earth who wishes to enslave the whole world; who requires no just cause for battle, but supposes whatever he does is right. he measures his ambition by his might. license satisfies his pride. despising law and right, he shows himself an enemy to nature herself. and thus he, who clearly is the common foe of each, deserves the hatred of all. pray remember--what you surely cannot forget--that the huns do not overthrow nations by means of war, where there is an equal chance, but assail them by treachery, which is a greater cause for anxiety. to say nothing about ourselves, can you suffer such insolence to go unpunished? since you are mighty in arms, give heed to your own danger and join hands with us in common. bear aid also to the empire, of which you hold a part. if you would learn how needful such an alliance is for us, look into the plans of the foe." [sidenote: the forces of the allies] by these and like arguments the ambassadors of valentinian prevailed upon king theodorid. he answered them, saying "romans, you have attained your desire; you have made attila our foe also. we will pursue him wherever he summons us, and though he is puffed up by his victories over divers races, yet the goths know how to fight this haughty foe. i call no war dangerous save one whose cause is weak; for he fears no ill on whom majesty has smiled." the nobles shouted assent to the reply and the multitude gladly followed. all were fierce for battle and longed to meet the huns, their foe. and so a countless host was led forth by theodorid, king of the visigoths, who sent home four of his sons, namely friderich and eurich, retemer and himnerith, taking with him only the two elder sons, thorismud and theodorid, as partners of his toil. o brave array, sure defense and sweet comradeship! having as its solace the peril of those whose one joy is the endurance of the same dangers. on the side of the romans stood the patrician aëtius, on whom at that time the whole empire of the west depended; a man of such wisdom that he had assembled warriors from everywhere to meet them on equal terms. now these were his auxiliaries: franks, sarmatians, armoricians, liticians, burgundians, saxons, riparians olibriones (once roman soldiers and now the flower of the allied forces), and some other celtic or german tribes. and so they met in the catalaunian plains, which are also called mauriacian, extending in length one hundred _leuva_, as the gauls express it, and seventy in width. now a gallic _leuva_ measures a distance of fifteen hundred paces. that portion of the earth accordingly became the threshing-floor of countless races. the two hosts bravely joined battle. nothing was done under cover, but they contended in open fight. what just cause can be found for the encounter of so many nations, or what hatred inspired them all to take arms against each other? it is proof that the human race lives for its kings, for it is at the mad impulse of one mind a slaughter of nations takes place, and at the whim of a haughty ruler that which nature has taken ages to produce perishes in a moment. [sidenote: the beginning of the strife] xxxvii but before we set forth the order of the battle itself, it seems needful to relate what had already happened in the course of the campaign, for it was not only a famous struggle but one that was complicated and confused. well then, sangiban, king of the alani, smitten with fear of what might come to pass, had promised to surrender to attila, and to give into his keeping aureliani, a city of gaul wherein he then dwelt. when theodorid and aëtius learned of this, they cast up great earthworks around that city before attila's arrival and kept watch over the suspected sangiban, placing him with his tribe in the midst of their auxiliaries. then attila, king of the huns, was taken aback by this event and lost confidence in his own troops, so that he feared to begin the conflict. while he was meditating on flight--a greater calamity than death itself--he decided to inquire into the future through soothsayers. so, as was their custom, they examined the entrails of cattle and certain streaks in bones that had been scraped, and foretold disaster to the huns. yet as a slight consolation they prophesied that the chief commander of the foe they were to meet should fall and mar by his death the rest of the victory and the triumph. now attila deemed the death of aëtius a thing to be desired even at the cost of his own life, for aëtius stood in the way of his plans. so although he was disturbed by this prophecy, yet inasmuch as he was a man who sought counsel of omens in all warfare, he began the battle with anxious heart at about the ninth hour of the day, in order that the impending darkness might come to his aid if the outcome should be disastrous. [sidenote: battle of the catalaunian plains a.d. ] xxxviii the armies met, as we have said, in the catalaunian plains. the battle field was a plain rising by a sharp slope to a ridge, which both armies sought to gain; for advantage of position is a great help. the huns with their forces seized the right side, the romans, the visigoths and their allies the left, and then began a struggle for the yet untaken crest. now theodorid with the visigoths held the right wing and aëtius with the romans the left. they placed in the centre sangiban (who, as said before, was in command of the alani), thus contriving with military caution to surround by a host of faithful troops the man in whose loyalty they had little confidence. for one who has difficulties placed in the way of his flight readily submits to the necessity of fighting. on the other side, however, the battle line of the huns was so arranged that attila and his bravest followers were stationed in the centre. in arranging them thus the king had chiefly his own safety in view, since by his position in the very midst of his race he would be kept out of the way of threatening danger. the innumerable peoples of divers tribes, which he had subjected to his sway, formed the wings. amid them was conspicuous the army of the ostrogoths under the leadership of the brothers valamir, thiudimer and vidimer, nobler even than the king they served, for the might of the family of the amali rendered them glorious. the renowned king of the gepidae, ardaric, was there also with a countless host, and because of his great loyalty to attila, he shared his plans. for attila, comparing them in his wisdom, prized him and valamir, king of the ostrogoths, above all the other chieftains. valamir was a good keeper of secrets, bland of speech and skilled in wiles, and ardaric, as we have said, was famed for his loyalty and wisdom. attila might well feel sure that they would fight against the visigoths, their kinsmen. now the rest of the crowd of kings (if we may call them so) and the leaders of various nations hung upon attila's nod like slaves, and when he gave a sign even by a glance, without a murmur each stood forth in fear and trembling, or at all events did as he was bid. attila alone was king of all kings over all and concerned for all. so then the struggle began for the advantage of position we have mentioned. attila sent his men to take the summit of the mountain, but was outstripped by thorismud and aëtius, who in their effort to gain the top of the hill reached higher ground and through this advantage of position easily routed the huns as they came up. [sidenote: attila addresses his men] xxxix now when attila saw his army was thrown into confusion by this event, he thought it best to encourage them by an extemporaneous address on this wise: "here you stand, after conquering mighty nations and subduing the world. i therefore think it foolish for me to goad you with words, as though you were men who had not been proved in action. let a new leader or an untried army resort to that. it is not right for me to say anything common, nor ought you to listen. for what is war but your usual custom? or what is sweeter for a brave man than to seek revenge with his own hand? it is a right of nature to glut the soul with vengeance. let us then attack the foe eagerly; for they are ever the bolder who make the attack. despise this union of discordant races! to defend oneself by alliance is proof of cowardice. see, even before our attack they are smitten with terror. they seek the heights, they seize the hills and, repenting too late, clamor for protection against battle in the open fields. you know how slight a matter the roman attack is. while they are still gathering in order and forming in one line with locked shields, they are checked, i will not say by the first wound, but even by the dust of battle. then on to the fray with stout hearts, as is your wont. despise their battle line. attack the alani, smite the visigoths! seek swift victory in that spot where the battle rages. for when the sinews are cut the limbs soon relax, nor can a body stand when you have taken away the bones. let your courage rise and your own fury burst forth! now show your cunning, huns, now your deeds of arms! let the wounded exact in return the death of his foe; let the unwounded revel in slaughter of the enemy. no spear shall harm those who are sure to live; and those who are sure to die fate overtakes even in peace. and finally, why should fortune have made the huns victorious over so many nations, unless it were to prepare them for the joy of this conflict. who was it revealed to our sires the path through the maeotian swamp, for so many ages closed secret? who, moreover, made armed men yield to you, when you were as yet unarmed? even a mass of federated nations could not endure the sight of the huns. i am not deceived in the issue;--here is the field so many victories have promised us. i shall hurl the first spear at the foe. if any can stand at rest while attila fights, he is a dead man." inflamed by these words, they all dashed into battle. [sidenote: fierce fighting] xl and although the situation was itself fearful, yet the presence of their king dispelled anxiety and hesitation. hand to hand they clashed in battle, and the fight grew fierce, confused, monstrous, unrelenting--a fight whose like no ancient time has ever recorded. there such deeds were done that a brave man who missed this marvellous spectacle could not hope to see anything so wonderful all his life long. for, if we may believe our elders, a brook flowing between low banks through the plain was greatly increased by blood from the wounds of the slain. it was not flooded by showers, as brooks usually rise, but was swollen by a strange stream and turned into a torrent by the increase of blood. those whose wounds drove them to slake their parching thirst drank water mingled with gore. in their wretched plight they were forced to drink what they thought was the blood they had poured from their own wounds. [sidenote: death of king theodorid i in the battle] here king theodorid, while riding by to encourage his army, was thrown from his horse and trampled under foot by his own men, thus ending his days at a ripe old age. but others say he was slain by the spear of andag of the host of the ostrogoths, who were then under the sway of attila. this was what the soothsayers had told to attila in prophecy, though he understood it of aëtius. then the visigoths, separating from the alani, fell upon the horde of the huns and nearly slew attila. but he prudently took flight and straightway shut himself and his companions within the barriers of the camp, which he had fortified with wagons. a frail defence indeed; yet there they sought refuge for their lives, whom but a little while before no walls of earth could withstand. but thorismud, the son of king theodorid, who with aëtius had seized the hill and repulsed the enemy from the higher ground, came unwittingly to the wagons of the enemy in the darkness of night, thinking he had reached his own lines. as he was fighting bravely, someone wounded him in the head and dragged him from his horse. then he was rescued by the watchful care of his followers and withdrew from the fierce conflict. aëtius also became separated from his men in the confusion of night and wandered about in the midst of the enemy. fearing disaster had happened, he went about in search of the goths. at last he reached the camp of his allies and passed the remainder of the night in the protection of their shields. at dawn on the following day, when the romans saw the fields were piled high with bodies and that the huns did not venture forth, they thought the victory was theirs, but knew that attila would not flee from the battle unless overwhelmed by a great disaster. yet he did nothing cowardly, like one that is overcome, but with clash of arms sounded the trumpets and threatened an attack. he was like a lion pierced by hunting spears, who paces to and fro before the mouth of his den and dares not spring, but ceases not to terrify the neighborhood by his roaring. even so this warlike king at bay terrified his conquerors. therefore the goths and romans assembled and considered what to do with the vanquished attila. they determined to wear him out by a siege, because he had no supply of provisions and was hindered from approaching by a shower of arrows from the bowmen placed within the confines of the roman camp. but it was said that the king remained supremely brave even in this extremity and had heaped up a funeral pyre of horse trappings, so that if the enemy should attack him, he was determined to cast himself into the flames, that none might have the joy of wounding him and that the lord of so many races might not fall into the hands of his foes. [sidenote: results of the battle] xli now during these delays in the siege, the visigoths sought their king and the king's sons their father, wondering at his absence when success had been attained. when, after a long search, they found him where the dead lay thickest, as happens with brave men, they honored him with songs and bore him away in the sight of the enemy. you might have seen bands of goths shouting with dissonant cries and paying the honors of death while the battle still raged. tears were shed, but such as they were accustomed to devote to brave men. it was death indeed, but the huns are witness that it was a glorious one. it was a death whereby one might well suppose the pride of the enemy would be lowered, when they beheld the body of so great a king borne forth with fitting honors. and so the goths, still continuing the rites due to theodorid, bore forth the royal majesty with sounding arms, and valiant thorismud, as befitted a son, honored the glorious spirit of his dear father by following his remains. when this was done, thorismud was eager to take vengeance for his father's death on the remaining huns, being moved to this both by the pain of bereavement and the impulse of that valor for which he was noted. yet he consulted with the patrician aëtius (for he was an older man and of more mature wisdom) with regard to what he ought to do next. but aëtius feared that if the huns were totally destroyed by the goths, the roman empire would be overwhelmed, and urgently advised him to return to his own dominions to take up the rule which his father had left. otherwise his brothers might seize their father's possessions and obtain the power over the visigoths. in this case thorismud would have to fight fiercely and, what is worse, disastrously with his own countrymen. thorismud accepted the advice without perceiving its double meaning, but followed it with an eye toward his own advantage. so he left the huns and returned to gaul. thus while human frailty rushes into suspicion, it often loses an opportunity of doing great things. in this most famous war of the bravest tribes, one hundred and sixty five thousand are said to have been slain on both sides, leaving out of account fifteen thousand of the gepidae and franks, who met each other the night before the general engagement and fell by wounds mutually received, the franks fighting for the romans and the gepidae for the huns. now when attila learned of the retreat of the goths, he thought it a ruse of the enemy,--for so men are wont to believe when the unexpected happens--and remained for some time in his camp. but when a long silence followed the absence of the foe, the spirit of the mighty king was aroused to the thought of victory and the anticipation of pleasure, and his mind turned to the old oracles of his destiny. [sidenote: thorismud - ] thorismud, however, after the death of his father on the catalaunian plains where he had fought, advanced in royal state and entered tolosa. here although the throng of his brothers and brave companions were still rejoicing over the victory he yet began to rule so mildly that no one strove with him for the succession to the kingdom. [sidenote: the siege and fall of aquileia ] xlii but attila took occasion from the withdrawal of the visigoths, observing what he had often desired that his enemies were divided. at length feeling secure, he moved forward his array to attack the romans. as his first move he besieged the city of aquileia, the metropolis of venetia, which is situated on a point or tongue of land by the adriatic sea. on the eastern side its walls are washed by the river natissa, flowing from mount piccis. the siege was long and fierce, but of no avail, since the bravest soldiers of the romans withstood him from within. at last his army was discontented and eager to withdraw. attila chanced to be walking around the walls, considering whether to break camp or delay longer, and noticed that the white birds, namely, the storks, who build their nests in the gables of houses, were bearing their young from the city and, contrary to their custom, were carrying them out into the country. being a shrewd observer of events, he understood this and said to his soldiers: "you see the birds foresee the future. they are leaving the city sure to perish and are forsaking strongholds doomed to fall by reason of imminent peril. do not think this a meaningless or uncertain sign; fear, arising from the things they foresee, has changed their custom." why say more? he inflamed the hearts of his soldiers to attack aquileia again. constructing battering rams and bringing to bear all manner of engines of war, they quickly forced their way into the city, laid it waste, divided the spoil and so cruelly devastated it as scarcely to leave a trace to be seen. then growing bolder and still thirsting for roman blood, the huns raged madly through the remaining cities of the veneti. they also laid waste mediolanum, the metropolis of liguria, once an imperial city, and gave over ticinum to a like fate. then they destroyed the neighboring country in their frenzy and demolished almost the whole of italy. [sidenote: pope leo intervenes to save rome ] attila's mind had been bent on going to rome. but his followers, as the historian priscus relates, took him away, not out of regard for the city to which they were hostile, but because they remembered the case of alaric, the former king of the visigoths. they distrusted the good fortune of their own king, inasmuch as alaric did not live long after the sack of rome, but straightway departed this life. therefore while attila's spirit was wavering in doubt between going and not going, and he still lingered to ponder the matter, an embassy came to him from rome to seek peace. pope leo himself came to meet him in the ambuleian district of the veneti at the well-travelled ford of the river mincius. then attila quickly put aside his usual fury, turned back on the way he had advanced from beyond the danube and departed with the promise of peace. but above all he declared and avowed with threats that he would bring worse things upon italy, unless they sent him honoria, the sister of the emperor valentinian and daughter of augusta placidia, with her due share of the royal wealth. for it was said that honoria, although bound to chastity for the honor of the imperial court and kept in constraint by command of her brother, had secretly despatched a eunuch to summon attila that she might have his protection against he brother's power;--a shameful thing, indeed, to get license for her passion at the cost of the public weal. [sidenote: marcian - ] [sidenote: attila defeated by thorismud] xliii so attila returned to his own country, seeming to regret the peace and to be vexed at the cessation of war. for he sent ambassadors to marcian, emperor of the east, threatening to devastate the provinces, because that which had been promised him by theodosius, a former emperor, was in no wise performed, and saying that he would show himself more cruel to his foes than ever. but as he was shrewd and crafty, he threatened in one direction and moved his army in another; for in the midst of these preparations he turned his face toward the visigoths who had yet to feel his vengeance. but here he had not the same success as against the romans. hastening back by a different way than before, he decided to reduce to his sway that part of the alani which was settled across the river loire, in order that by attacking them, and thus changing the aspect of the war, he might become a more terrible menace to the visigoths. accordingly he started from the provinces of dacia and pannonia, where the huns were then dwelling with various subject peoples, and moved his array against the alani. but thorismud, king of the visigoths, with like quickness of thought perceived attila's trick. by forced marches he came to the alani before him, and was well prepared to check the advance of attila when he came after him. they joined battle in almost the same way as before at the catalaunian plains, and thorismud dashed his hopes of victory, for he routed him and drove him from the land without a triumph, compelling him to flee to his own country. thus while attila, the famous leader and lord of many victories, sought to blot out the fame of his destroyer and in this way to annul what he had suffered at the hands of the visigoths, he met a second defeat and retreated ingloriously. now after the bands of the huns had been repulsed by the alani, without any hurt to his own men, thorismud departed for tolosa. there he established a settled peace for his people and in the third year of his reign fell sick. while letting blood from a vein, he was betrayed to his death by ascalc, a client, who told his foes that his weapons were out of reach. yet grasping a foot-stool in the one hand he had free, he became the avenger of his own blood by slaying several of those that were lying in wait for him. [sidenote: the reign of king theodorid ii - ] [sidenote: battle near the ulbius ] xliv after his death, his brother theodorid succeeded to the kingdom of the visigoths and soon found that riciarius his kinsman, the king of the suavi, was hostile to him. for riciarius, presuming on his relationship to theodorid, believed that he might seize almost the whole of spain, thinking the disturbed beginning of theodorid's reign made the time opportune for his trick. the suavi formerly occupied as their country galicia and lusitania, which extend on the right side of spain along the shore of ocean. to the east is austrogonia, to the west, on a promontory, is the sacred monument of the roman general scipio, to the north ocean, and to the south lusitania and the tagus river, which mingles golden grains in its sands and thus carries wealth in its worthless mud. so then riciarius, king of the suavi, set forth and strove to seize the whole of spain. theodorid, his kinsman, a man of moderation, sent ambassadors to him and told him quietly that he must not only withdraw from the territories that were not his own, but furthermore that he should not presume to make such an attempt, as he was becoming hated for his ambition. but with arrogant spirit he replied: "if you murmur here and find fault with my coming, i shall come to tolosa where you dwell. resist me there, if you can." when he heard this, theodorid was angry and, making a compact with all the other tribes, moved his array against the suavi. he had as his close allies gundiuch and hilperic, kings of the burgundians. they came to battle near the river ulbius, which flows between asturica and hiberia, and in the engagement theodorid with the visigoths, who fought for the right, came off victorious, overthrowing the entire tribe of the suavi and almost exterminating them. their king riciarius fled from the dread foe and embarked upon a ship. but he was beaten back by another foe, the adverse wind of the tyrrhenian sea, and so fell into the hands of the visigoths. thus though he changed from sea to land, the wretched man did not avert his death. when theodorid had become the victor, he spared the conquered and did not suffer the rage of conflict to continue, but placed over the suavi whom he had conquered one of his own retainers, named agrivulf. but agrivulf soon treacherously changed his mind, through the persuasion of the suavi, and failed to fulfil his duty. for he was quite puffed up with tyrannical pride, believing he had obtained the province as a reward for the valor by which he and his lord had recently subjugated it. now he was a man born of the stock of the varni, far below the nobility of gothic blood, and so was neither zealous for liberty nor faithful toward his patron. as soon as theodorid heard of this, he gathered a force to cast him out from the kingdom he had usurped. they came quickly and conquered him in the first battle, inflicting a punishment befitting his deeds. for he was captured, taken from his friends and beheaded. thus at last he was made aware of the wrath of the master he thought might be despised because he was kind. now when the suavi beheld the death of their leader, they sent priests of their country to theodorid as suppliants. he received them with the reverence due their office and not only granted the suavi exemption from punishment, but was moved by compassion and allowed them to choose a ruler of their own race for themselves. the suavi did so, taking rimismund as their prince. when this was done and peace was everywhere assured, theodorid died in the thirteenth year of his reign. [sidenote: king eurich - ] [sidenote: the western empire from the death of valentinian iii to romulus augustulus] [sidenote: maximus ] [sidenote: gaiseric sacks rome ] [sidenote: majorian - ] [sidenote: livius severus - ] [sidenote: leo i - ] [sidenote: anthemius - ] xlv his brother eurich succeeded him with such eager haste that he fell under dark suspicion. now while these and various other matters were happening among the people of the visigoths, the emperor valentinian was slain by the treachery of maximus, and maximus himself, like a tyrant, usurped the rule. gaiseric, king of the vandals, heard of this and came from africa to italy with ships of war, entered rome and laid it waste. maximus fled and was slain by a certain ursus, a roman soldier. after him majorian undertook the government of the western empire at the bidding of marcian, emperor of the east. but he too ruled but a short time. for when he had moved his forces against the alani who were harassing gaul, he was killed at dertona near the river named ira. severus succeeded him and died at rome in the third year of his reign. when the emperor leo, who had succeeded marcian in the eastern empire, learned of this, he chose as emperor his patrician anthemius and sent him to rome. upon his arrival he sent against the alani his son-in-law ricimer, who was an excellent man and almost the only one in italy at that time fit to command the army. in the very first engagement he conquered and destroyed the host of the alani, together with their king, beorg. [sidenote: olybrius ] now eurich, king of the visigoths, perceived the frequent change of roman emperors and strove to hold gaul by his own right. the emperor anthemius heard of it and asked the brittones for aid. their king riotimus came with twelve thousand men into the state of the bituriges by the way of ocean, and was received as he disembarked from his ships. eurich, king of the visigoths, came against them with an innumerable army, and after a long fight he routed riotimus, king of the brittones, before the romans could join him. so when he had lost a great part of his army, he fled with all the men he could gather together, and came to the burgundians, a neighboring tribe then allied to the romans. but eurich, king of the visigoths, seized the gallic city of arverna; for the emperor anthemius was now dead. engaged in fierce war with his son-in-law ricimer, he had worn out rome and was himself finally slain by his son-in-law and yielded the rule to olybrius. [sidenote: glycerius ] [sidenote: nepos ] at that time aspar, first of the patricians and a famous man of the gothic race was wounded by the swords of the eunuchs in his palace at constantinople and died. with him were slain his sons ardabures and patriciolus, the one long a patrician, and the other styled a caesar and son-in-law of the emperor leo. now olybrius died barely eight months after he had entered upon his reign, and glycerius was made caesar at ravenna, rather by usurpation than by election. hardly had a year been ended when nepos, the son of the sister of marcellinus, once a patrician, deposed him from his office and ordained him bishop at the port of rome. [sidenote: romulus augustulus ] when eurich, as we have already said, beheld these great and various changes, he seized the city of arverna, where the roman general ecdicius was at that time in command. he was a senator of most renowned family and the son of avitus, a recent emperor who had usurped the reign for a few days--for avitus held the rule for a few days before olybrius, and then withdrew of his own accord to placentia, where he was ordained bishop. his son ecdicius strove for a long time with the visigoths, but had not the power to prevail. so he left the country and (what was more important) the city of arverna to the enemy and betook himself to safer regions. when the emperor nepos heard of this, he ordered ecdicius to leave gaul and come to him, appointing orestes in his stead as master of the soldiery. this orestes thereupon received the army, set out from rome against the enemy and came to ravenna. here he tarried while he made his son romulus augustulus emperor. when nepos learned of this, he fled to dalmatia and died there, deprived of his throne, in the very place where glycerius, who was formerly emperor, held at that time the bishopric of salona. [sidenote: the rule of odoacer - ] [sidenote: death of bracila ] xlvi now when augustulus had been appointed emperor by his father orestes in ravenna, it was not long before odoacer, king of the torcilingi, invaded italy, as leader of the sciri, the heruli and allies of various races. he put orestes to death, drove his son augustulus from the throne and condemned him to the punishment of exile in the castle of lucullus in campania. thus the western empire of the roman race, which octavianus augustus, the first of the augusti, began to govern in the seven hundred and ninth year from the founding of the city, perished with this augustulus in the five hundred and twenty second year from the beginning of the rule of his predecessors and those before them, and from this time onward kings of the goths held rome and italy. meanwhile odoacer, king of nations, subdued all italy and then at the very outset of his reign slew count bracila at ravenna that he might inspire a fear of himself among the romans. he strengthened his kingdom and held it for almost thirteen years, even until the appearance of theodoric, of whom we shall speak hereafter. [sidenote: leo ii - ] [sidenote: zeno - ] [sidenote: eurich killed ] [sidenote: alaric ii last king of the visigoths - ] xlvii but first let us return to that order from which we have digressed and tell how eurich, king of the visigoths, beheld the tottering of the roman empire and reduced arelate and massilia to his own sway. gaiseric, king of the vandals, enticed him by gifts to do these things, to the end that he himself might forestall the plots which leo and zeno had contrived against him. therefore he stirred the ostrogoths to lay waste the eastern empire and the visigoths the western, so that while his foes were battling in both empires, he might himself reign peacefully in africa. eurich perceived this with gladness and, as he already held all of spain and gaul by his own right, proceeded to subdue the burgundians also. in the nineteenth year of his reign he was deprived of his life at arelate, where he then dwelt. he was succeeded by his own son alaric, the ninth in succession from the famous alaric the great to receive the kingdom of the visigoths. for even as it happened to the line of the augusti, as we have stated above, so too it appears in the line of the alarici, that kingdoms often come to an end in kings who bear the same name as those at the beginning. meanwhile let us leave this subject, and weave together the whole story of the origin of the goths, as we promised. (the divided goths: ostrogoths) [sidenote: the ostrogoths and their subjection to the huns] [sidenote: death of hermanaric or ] xlviii since i have followed the stories of my ancestors and retold to the best of my ability the tale of the period when both tribes, ostrogoths and visigoths, were united, and then clearly treated of the visigoths apart from the ostrogoths, i must now return to those ancient scythian abodes and set forth in like manner the ancestry and deeds of the ostrogoths. it appears that at the death of their king, hermanaric, they were made a separate people by the departure of the visigoths, and remained in their country subject to the sway of the huns; yet vinitharius of the amali retained the insignia of his rule. he rivalled the valor of his grandfather vultuulf, although he had not the good fortune of hermanaric. but disliking to remain under the rule of the huns, he withdrew a little from them and strove to show his courage by moving his forces against the country of the antes. when he attacked them, he was beaten in the first encounter. thereafter he did valiantly and, as a terrible example, crucified their king, named boz, together with his sons and seventy nobles, and left their bodies hanging there to double the fear of those who had surrendered. when he had ruled with such license for barely a year, balamber, king of the huns, would no longer endure it, but sent for gesimund, son of hunimund the great. now gesimund, together with a great part of the goths, remained under the rule of the huns, being mindful of his oath of fidelity. balamber renewed his alliance with him and led his army up against vinitharius. after a long contest, vinitharius prevailed in the first and in the second conflict, nor can any say how great a slaughter he made of the army of the huns. but in the third battle, when they met each other unexpectedly at the river named erac, balamber shot an arrow and wounded vinitharius in the head, so that he died. then balamber took to himself in marriage vadamerca, the grand-daughter of vinitharius, and finally ruled all the people of the goths as his peaceful subjects, but in such a way that one ruler of their own number always held the power over the gothic race, though subject to the huns. [sidenote: king hunimund] [sidenote: king thorismud killed ] and later, after the death of vinitharius, hunimund ruled them, the son of hermanaric, a mighty king of yore; a man fierce in war and of famous personal beauty, who afterwards fought successfully against the race of the suavi. and when he died, his son thorismud succeeded him, in the very bloom of youth. in the second year of his rule he moved an army against the gepidae and won a great victory over them, but is said to have been killed by falling from his horse. when he was dead, the ostrogoths mourned for him so deeply that for forty years no other king succeeded in his place, and during all this time they had ever on their lips the tale of his memory. now as time went on, valamir grew to man's estate. he was the son of thorismud's cousin vandalarius. for his son beremud, as we have said before, at last grew to despise the race of the ostrogoths because of the overlordship of the huns, and so had followed the tribe of the visigoths to the western country, and it was from him veteric was descended. veteric also had a son eutharic, who married amalasuentha, the daughter of theodoric, thus uniting again the stock of the amali which had divided long ago. eutharic begat athalaric and mathesuentha. but since athalaric died in the years of his boyhood, mathesuentha was taken to constantinople by her second husband, namely germanus, a cousin of the emperor justinian, and bore a posthumous son, whom she named germanus. [sidenote: king valamir ?] but that the order we have taken for our history may run its due course, we must return to the stock of vandalarius, which put forth three branches. this vandalarius, the son of a brother of hermanaric and cousin of the aforesaid thorismud, vaunted himself among the race of the amali because he had begotten three sons, valamir, thiudimer and vidimer. of these valamir ascended the throne after his parents, though the huns as yet held the power over the goths in general as among other nations. it was pleasant to behold the concord of these three brothers; for the admirable thiudimer served as a soldier for the empire of his brother valamir, and valamir bade honors be given him, while vidimer was eager to serve them both. thus regarding one another with common affection, not one was wholly deprived of the kingdom which two of them held in mutual peace. yet, as has often been said, they ruled in such a way that they respected the dominion of attila, king of the huns. indeed they could not have refused to fight against their kinsmen the visigoths, and they must even have committed parricide at their lord's command. there was no way whereby any scythian tribe could have been wrested from the power of the huns, save by the death of attila,--an event the romans and all other nations desired. now his death was as base as his life was marvellous. [sidenote: death of attila ] xlix shortly before he died, as the historian priscus relates, he took in marriage a very beautiful girl named ildico, after countless other wives, as was the custom of his race. he had given himself up to excessive joy at his wedding, and as he lay on his back, heavy with wine and sleep, a rush of superfluous blood, which would ordinarily have flowed from his nose, streamed in deadly course down his throat and killed him, since it was hindered in the usual passages. thus did drunkenness put a disgraceful end to a king renowned in war. on the following day, when a great part of the morning was spent, the royal attendants suspected some ill and, after a great uproar, broke in the doors. there they found the death of attila accomplished by an effusion of blood, without any wound, and the girl with downcast face weeping beneath her veil. then, as is the custom of that race, they plucked out the hair of their heads and made their faces hideous with deep wounds, that the renowned warrior might be mourned, not by effeminate wailings and tears, but by the blood of men. moreover a wondrous thing took place in connection with attila's death. for in a dream some god stood at the side of marcian, emperor of the east, while he was disquieted about his fierce foe, and showed him the bow of attila broken in that same night, as if to intimate that the race of huns owed much to that weapon. this account the historian priscus says he accepts upon truthful evidence. for so terrible was attila thought to be to great empires that the gods announced his death to rulers as a special boon. we shall not omit to say a few words about the many ways in which his shade was honored by his race. his body was placed in the midst of a plain and lay in state in a silken tent as a sight for men's admiration. the best horsemen of the entire tribe of the huns rode around in circles, after the manner of circus games, in the place to which he had been brought and told of his deeds in a funeral dirge in the following manner: "the chief of the huns, king attila, born of his sire mundiuch, lord of bravest tribes, sole possessor of the scythian and german realms--powers unknown before--captured cities and terrified both empires of the roman world and, appeased by their prayers, took annual tribute to save the rest from plunder. and when he had accomplished all this by the favor of fortune, he fell, not by wound of the foe, nor by treachery of friends, but in the midst of his nation at peace, happy in his joy and without sense of pain. who can rate this as death, when none believes it calls for vengeance?" when they had mourned him with such lamentations, a _strava_, as they call it, was celebrated over his tomb with great revelling. they gave way in turn to the extremes of feeling and displayed funereal grief alternating with joy. then in the secrecy of night they buried his body in the earth. they bound his coffins, the first with gold, the second with silver and the third with the strength of iron, showing by such means that these three things suited the mightiest of kings; iron because he subdued the nations, gold and silver because he received the honors of both empires. they also added the arms of foemen won in the fight, trappings of rare worth, sparkling with various gems, and ornaments of all sorts whereby princely state is maintained. and that so great riches might be kept from human curiosity, they slew those appointed to the work--a dreadful pay for their labor; and thus sudden death was the lot of those who buried him as well as of him who was buried. [sidenote: dissolution of the kingdom of the huns ] [sidenote: battle of nedao ] l after they had fulfilled these rites, a contest for the highest place arose among attila's successors,--for the minds of young men are wont to be inflamed by ambition for power,--and in their rash eagerness to rule they all alike destroyed his empire. thus kingdoms are often weighed down by a superfluity rather than by a lack of successors. for the sons of attila, who through the license of his lust formed almost a people of themselves, were clamoring that the nations should be divided among them equally and that warlike kings with their peoples should be apportioned to them by lot like a family estate. when ardaric, king of the gepidae, learned this, he became enraged because so many nations were being treated like slaves of the basest condition, and was the first to rise against the sons of attila. good fortune attended him, and he effaced the disgrace of servitude that rested upon him. for by his revolt he freed not only his own tribe, but all the others who were equally oppressed; since all readily strive for that which is sought for the general advantage. they took up arms against the destruction that menaced all and joined battle with the huns in pannonia, near a river called nedao. there an encounter took place between the various nations attila had held under his sway. kingdoms with their peoples were divided, and out of one body were made many members not responding to a common impulse. being deprived of their head, they madly strove against each other. they never found their equals ranged against them without harming each other by wounds mutually given. and so the bravest nations tore themselves to pieces. for then, i think, must have occurred a most remarkable spectacle, where one might see the goths fighting with pikes, the gepidae raging with the sword, the rugi breaking off the spears in their own wounds, the suavi fighting on foot, the huns with bows, the alani drawing up a battle-line of heavy-armed and the heruli of light-armed warriors. finally, after many bitter conflicts, victory fell unexpectedly to the gepidae. for the sword and conspiracy of ardaric destroyed almost thirty thousand men, huns as well as those of the other nations who brought them aid. in this battle fell ellac, the elder son of attila, whom his father is said to have loved so much more than all the rest that he preferred him to any child or even to all the children of his kingdom. but fortune was not in accord with his father's wish. for after slaying many of the foe, it appears that he met his death so bravely that, if his father had lived, he would have rejoiced at his glorious end. when ellac was slain, his remaining brothers were put to flight near the shore of the sea of pontus, where we have said the goths first settled. thus did the huns give way, a race to which men thought the whole world must yield. so baneful a thing is division, that they who used to inspire terror when their strength was united, were overthrown separately. the cause of ardaric, king of the gepidae, was fortunate for the various nations who were unwillingly subject to the rule of the huns, for it raised their long downcast spirits to the glad hope of freedom. many sent ambassadors to the roman territory, where they were most graciously received by marcian, who was then emperor, and took the abodes allotted them to dwell in. but the gepidae by their own might won for themselves the territory of the huns and ruled as victors over the extent of all dacia, demanding of the roman empire nothing more than peace and an annual gift as a pledge of their friendly alliance. this the emperor freely granted at the time, and to this day that race receives its customary gifts from the roman emperor. [sidenote: jordanes] now when the goths saw the gepidae defending for themselves the territory of the huns and the people of the huns dwelling again in their ancient abodes, they preferred to ask for lands from the roman empire rather than invade the lands of others with danger to themselves. so they received pannonia, which stretches in a long plain, being bounded on the east by upper moesia, on the south by dalmatia, on the west by noricum and on the north by the danube. this land is adorned with many cities, the first of which is sirmium and the last vindobona. but the sauromatae, whom we call sarmatians, and the cemandri and certain of the huns dwelt in castra martis, a city given them in the region of illyricum. of this race was blivila, duke of pentapolis, and his brother froila and also bessa, a patrician in our time. the sciri, moreover, and the sadagarii and certain of the alani with their leader, candac by name, received scythia minor and lower moesia. paria, the father of my father alanoviiamuth (that is to say, my grandfather), was secretary to this candac as long as he lived. to his sister's son gunthigis, also called baza, the master of the soldiery, who was the son of andag the son of andela, who was descended from the stock of the amali, i also, jordanes, although an unlearned man before my conversion, was secretary. the rugi, however, and some other races asked that they might inhabit bizye and arcadiopolis. hernac, the younger son of attila, with his followers, chose a home in the most distant part of lesser scythia. emnetzur and ultzindur, kinsmen of his, won oescus and utus and almus in dacia on the bank of the danube, and many of the huns, then swarming everywhere, betook themselves into romania, and from them the sacromontisi and the fossatisii of this day are said to be descended. [sidenote: bishop ulfilas about - ] [sidenote: the lesser goths] li there were other goths also, called the lesser, a great people whose priest and primate was vulfila, who is said to have taught them to write. and to-day they are in moesia, inhabiting the nicopolitan region as far as the base of mount haemus. they are a numerous people, but poor and unwarlike, rich in nothing save flocks of various kinds and pasture-lands for cattle and forests for wood. their country is not fruitful in wheat and other sorts of grain. certain of them do not know that vineyards exist elsewhere, and they buy their wine from neighboring countries. but most of them drink milk. [sidenote: the ostrogoths in pannonia] [sidenote: birth of theodoric the great ] lii let us now return to the tribe with which we started, namely the ostrogoths, who were dwelling in pannonia under their king valamir and his brothers thiudimer and vidimer. although their territories were separate, yet their plans were one. for valamir dwelt between the rivers scarniunga and aqua nigra, thiudimer near lake pelso and vidimer between them both. now it happened that the sons of attila, regarding the goths as deserters from their rule, came against them as though they were seeking fugitive slaves, and attacked valamir alone, when his brothers knew nothing of it. he sustained their attack, though he had but few supporters, and after harassing them a long time, so utterly overwhelmed them that scarcely any portion of the enemy remained. the remnant turned in flight and sought the parts of scythia which border on the stream of the river danaper, which the huns call in their own tongue the var. thereupon he sent a messenger of good tidings to his brother thiudimer, and on the very day the messenger arrived he found even greater joy in the house of thiudimer. for on that day his son theodoric was born, of a concubine erelieva indeed, and yet a child of good hope. [sidenote: his youth spent at constantinople beginning ] now after no great time king valamir and his brothers thiudimer and vidimer sent an embassy to the emperor marcian, because the usual gifts which they received like a new year's present from the emperor, to preserve the compact of peace, were slow in arriving. and they found that theodoric, son of triarius, a man of gothic blood also, but born of another stock, not of the amali, was in great favor, together with his followers. he was allied in friendship with the romans and obtained an annual bounty, while they themselves were merely held in disdain. thereat they were aroused to frenzy and took up arms. they roved through almost the whole of illyricum and laid it waste in their search for spoil. then the emperor quickly changed his mind and returned to his former state of friendship. he sent an embassy to give them the past gifts, as well as those now due, and furthermore promised to give these gifts in future without any dispute. from the goths the romans received as a hostage of peace theodoric, the young child of thiudimer, whom we have mentioned above. he had now attained the age of seven years and was entering upon his eighth. while his father hesitated about giving him up, his uncle valamir besought him to do it, hoping that peace between the romans and the goths might thus be assured. therefore theodoric was given as a hostage by the goths and brought to the city of constantinople to the emperor leo and, being a goodly child, deservedly gained the imperial favor. [sidenote: the goths overwhelm the remnant of the huns] liii now after firm peace was established between goths and romans, the goths found that the possessions they had received from the emperor were not sufficient for them. furthermore, they were eager to display their wonted valor, and so began to plunder the neighboring races round about them, first attacking the sadagis who held the interior of pannonia. when dintzic, king of the huns, a son of attila, learned this, he gathered to him the few who still seemed to have remained under his sway, namely, the ultzinzures, and angisciri, the bittugures and the bardores. coming to bassiana, a city of pannonia, he beleaguered it and began to plunder its territory. then the goths at once abandoned the expedition they had planned against the sadagis, turned upon the huns and drove them so ingloriously from their own land that those who remained have been in dread of the arms of the goths from that time down to the present day. [sidenote: conquest of the suavi] [sidenote: plot of hunimund about ] when the tribe of the huns was at last subdued by the goths, hunimund, chief of the suavi, who was crossing over to plunder dalmatia, carried off some cattle of the goths which were straying over the plains; for dalmatia was near suavia and not far distant from the territory of pannonia, especially that part where the goths were then staying. so then, as hunimund was returning with the suavi to his own country, after he had devastated dalmatia, thiudimer the brother of valamir, king of the goths, kept watch on their line of march. not that he grieved so much over the loss of his cattle, but he feared that if the suavi obtained this plunder with impunity, they would proceed to greater license. so in the dead of night, while they were asleep, he made an unexpected attack upon them, near lake pelso. here he so completely crushed them that he took captive and sent into slavery under the goths even hunimund, their king, and all of his army who had escaped the sword. yet as he was a great lover of mercy, he granted pardon after taking vengeance and became reconciled to the suavi. he adopted as his son the same man whom he had taken captive, and sent him back with his followers into suavia. but hunimund was unmindful of his adopted father's kindness. after some time he brought forth a plot he had contrived and aroused the tribe of the sciri, who then dwelt above the danube and abode peaceably with the goths. so the sciri broke off their alliance with them, took up arms, joined themselves to hunimund and went out to attack the race of the goths. thus war came upon the goths who were expecting no evil, because they relied upon both of their neighbors as friends. constrained by necessity they took up arms and avenged themselves and their injuries by recourse to battle. in this battle, as king valamir rode on his horse before the line to encourage his men, the horse was wounded and fell, overthrowing its rider. valamir was quickly pierced by his enemies' spears and slain. thereupon the goths proceeded to exact vengeance for the death of their king, as well as for the injury done them by the rebels. they fought in such wise that there remained of all the race of the sciri only a few who bore the name, and they with disgrace. thus were all destroyed. [sidenote: success of the goths under hiudimer about ] liv the kings [of the suavi], hunimund and alaric, fearing the destruction that had come upon the sciri, next made war upon the goths, relying upon the aid of the sarmations, who had come to them as auxiliaries with their kings beuca and babai. they summoned the last remnants of the sciri, with edica and hunuulf, their chieftains, thinking they would fight the more desperately to avenge themselves. they had on their side the gepidae also, as well as no small reinforcements from the race of the rugi and from others gathered here and there. thus they brought together a great host at the river bolia in pannonia and encamped there. now when valamir was dead, the goths fled to thiudimer, his brother. although he had long ruled along with his brothers, yet he took the insignia of his increased authority and summoned his younger brother vidimer and shared with him the cares of war, resorting to arms under compulsion. a battle was fought and the party of the goths was found to be so much the stronger that the plain was drenched in the blood of their fallen foes and looked like a crimson sea. weapons and corpses, piled up like hills, covered the plain for more than ten miles. when the goths saw this, they rejoiced with joy unspeakable, because by this great slaughter of their foes they had avenged the blood of valamir their king and the injury done themselves. but those of the innumerable and motley throng of the foe who were able to escape, though they got away, nevertheless came to their own land with difficulty and without glory. [sidenote: thiudimer again wars with the suavi] [sidenote: theodoric sent back to his own people ] [sidenote: capture of belgrade] lv after a certain time, when the wintry cold was at hand, the river danube was frozen over as usual. for a river like this freezes so hard that it will support like a solid rock an army of foot-soldiers and wagons and carts and whatsoever vehicles there may be,--nor is there need of skiffs and boats. so when thiudimer, king of the goths, saw that it was frozen, he led his army across the danube and appeared unexpectedly to the suavi from the rear. now this country of the suavi has on the east the baiovari, on the west the franks, on the south the burgundians and on the north the thuringians. with the suavi there were present the alamanni, then their confederates, who also ruled the alpine heights, whence several streams flow into the danube, pouring in with a great rushing sound. into a place thus fortified king thiudimer led his army in the winter-time and conquered, plundered and almost subdued the race of the suavi as well as the alamanni, who were mutually banded together. thence he returned as victor to his own home in pannonia and joyfully received his son theodoric, once given as hostage to constantinople and now sent back by the emperor leo with great gifts. now theodoric had reached man's estate, for he was eighteen years of age and his boyhood was ended. so he summoned certain of his father's adherents and took to himself from the people his friends and retainers,--almost six thousand men. with these he crossed the danube, without his father's knowledge, and marched against babai, king of the sarmatians, who had just won a victory over camundus, a general of the romans, and was ruling with insolent pride. theodoric came upon him and slew him, and taking as booty his slaves and treasure, returned victorious to his father. next he invaded the city of singidunum, which the sarmatians themselves had seized, and did not return it to the romans, but reduced it to his own sway. [sidenote: vidimer the younger goes to gaul ] lvi then as the spoil taken from one and another of the neighboring tribes diminished, the goths began to lack food and clothing, and peace became distasteful to men for whom war had long furnished the necessaries of life. so all the goths approached their king thiudimer and, with great outcry, begged him to lead forth his army in whatsoever direction he might wish. he summoned his brother and, after casting lots, bade him go into the country of italy, where at this time glycerius ruled as emperor, saying that he himself as the mightier would go to the east against a mightier empire. and so it happened. thereupon vidimer entered the land of italy, but soon paid the last debt of fate and departed from earthly affairs, leaving his son and namesake vidimer to succeed him. the emperor glycerius bestowed gifts upon vidimer and persuaded him to go from italy to gaul, which was then harassed on all sides by various races, saying that their own kinsmen, the visigoths, there ruled a neighboring kingdom. and what more? vidimer accepted the gifts and, obeying the command of the emperor glycerius, pressed on to gaul. joining with his kinsmen the visigoths, they again formed one body, as they had been long ago. thus they held gaul and spain by their own right and so defended them that no other race won the mastery there. [sidenote: thiudimer in macedonia] but thiudimer, the elder brother, crossed the river savus with his men, threatening the sarmatians and their soldiers with war if any should resist him. from fear of this they kept quiet; moreover they were powerless in the face of so great a host. thiudimer, seeing prosperity everywhere awaiting him, invaded naissus, the first city of illyricum. he was joined by his son theodoric and the counts astat and invilia, and sent them to ulpiana by way of castrum herculis. upon their arrival the town surrendered, as did stobi later; and several places of illyricum, inaccessible to them at first, were thus made easy of approach. for they first plundered and then ruled by right of war heraclea and larissa, cities of thessaly. but thiudimer the king, perceiving his own good fortune and that of his son, was not content with this alone, but set forth from the city of naissus, leaving only a few men behind as a guard. he himself advanced to thessalonica, where hilarianus the patrician, appointed by the emperor, was stationed with his army. when hilarianus beheld thessalonica surrounded by an entrenchment and saw that he could not resist attack, he sent an embassy to thiudimer the king and by the offer of gifts turned him aside from destroying the city. then the roman general entered upon a truce with the goths and of his own accord handed over to them those places they inhabited, namely cyrrhus, pella, europus, methone, pydna, beroea, and another which is called dium. so the goths and their king laid aside their arms, consented to peace and became quiet. soon after these events, king thiudimer was seized with a mortal illness in the city of cyrrhus. he called the goths to himself, appointed theodoric his son as heir of his kingdom and presently departed this life. [sidenote: zeno ] [sidenote: theodoric the great ] [sidenote: theodoric honored by zeno ] lvii when the emperor zeno heard that theodoric had been appointed king over his own people, he received the news with pleasure and invited him to come and visit him in the city, appointing an escort of honor. receiving theodoric with all due respect, he placed him among the princes of his palace. after some time zeno increased his dignity by adopting him as his son-at-arms and gave him a triumph in the city at his expense. theodoric was made consul ordinary also, which is well known to be the supreme good and highest honor in the world. nor was this all, for zeno set up before the royal palace an equestrian statue to the glory of this great man. [sidenote: asks to the empire for his rule] [sidenote: theodoric sets out for italy ] now while theodoric was in alliance by treaty with the empire of zeno and was himself enjoying every comfort in the city, he heard that his tribe, dwelling as we have said in illyricum, was not altogether satisfied or content. so he chose rather to seek a living by his own exertions, after the manner customary to his race, rather than to enjoy the advantages of the roman empire in luxurious ease while his tribe lived in want. after pondering these matters, he said to the emperor: "though i lack nothing in serving your empire, yet if your piety deem it worthy, be pleased to hear the desire of my heart." and when as usual he had been granted permission to speak freely, he said: "the western country, long ago governed by the rule of your ancestors and predecessors, and that city which was the head and mistress of the world,--wherefore is it now shaken by the tyranny of the torcilingi and the rugi? send me there with my race. thus if you but say the word, you may be freed from the burden of expense here, and, if by the lord's help i shall conquer, the fame of your piety shall be glorious there. for it is better that i, your servant and your son, should rule that kingdom, receiving it as a gift from you if i conquer, than that one whom you do not recognize should oppress your senate with his tyrannical yoke and a part of the republic with slavery. for if i prevail, i shall retain it as your grant and gift; if i am conquered, your piety will lose nothing--nay, as i have said, it will save the expense i now entail." although the emperor was grieved that he should go, yet when he heard this he granted what theodoric asked, for he was unwilling to cause him sorrow. he sent him forth enriched by great gifts and commended to his charge the senate and the roman people. [sidenote: he conquers odoacer and puts him to death ] therefore theodoric departed from the royal city and returned to his own people. in company with the whole tribe of the goths, who gave him their unanimous consent, he set out for hesperia. he went in straight march through sirmium to the places bordering on pannonia and, advancing into the territory of venetia as far as the bridge of the sontius, encamped there. when he had halted there for some time to rest the bodies of his men and pack-animals, odoacer sent an armed force against him, which he met on the plains of verona and destroyed with great slaughter. then he broke camp and advanced through italy with greater boldness. crossing the river po, he pitched camp near the royal city of ravenna, about the third milestone from the city in the place called pineta. when odoacer saw this, he fortified himself within the city. he frequently harassed the army of the goths at night, sallying forth stealthily with his men, and this not once or twice, but often; and thus he struggled for almost three whole years. but he labored in vain, for all italy at last called theodoric its lord and the empire obeyed his nod. but odoacer, with his few adherents and the romans who were present, suffered daily from war and famine in ravenna. since he accomplished nothing, he sent an embassy and begged for mercy. theodoric first granted it and afterwards deprived him of his life. [sidenote: theodoric founds the ostrogothic kingdom in italy ] it was in the third year after his entrance into italy, as we have said, that theodoric, by advice of the emperor zeno, laid aside the garb of a private citizen and the dress of his race and assumed a costume with a royal mantle, as he had now become the ruler over both goths and romans. he sent an embassy to lodoin, king of the franks, and asked for his daughter audefleda in marriage. lodoin freely and gladly gave her, and also his sons celdebert and heldebert and thiudebert, believing that by this alliance a league would be formed and that they would be associated with the race of the goths. but that union was of no avail for peace and harmony, for they fought fiercely with each other again and again for the lands of the goths; but never did the goths yield to the franks while theodoric lived. [sidenote: of the increase of his power] [sidenote: amalaric - ] lviii now before he had a child from audefleda, theodoric had children of a concubine, daughters begotten in moesia, one named thiudigoto and another ostrogotho. soon after he came to italy, he gave them in marriage to neighboring kings, one to alaric, king of the visigoths, and the other to sigismund, king of the burgundians. now alaric begat amalaric. while his grandfather theodoric cared for and protected him--for he had lost both parents in the years of childhood--he found that eutharic, the son of veteric, grandchild of beremud and thorismud, and a descendant of the race of the amali, was living in spain, a young man strong in wisdom and valor and health of body. theodoric sent for him and gave him his daughter amalasuentha in marriage. and that he might extend his family as much as possible, he sent his sister amalafrida (the mother of theodahad, who was afterwards king) to africa as wife of thrasamund, king of the vandals, and her daughter amalaberga, who was his own niece, he united with herminefred, king of the thuringians. now he sent his count pitza, chosen from among the chief men of his kingdom, to hold the city of sirmium. he got possession of it by driving out its king thrasaric, son of thraustila, and keeping his mother captive. thence he came with two thousand infantry and five hundred horsemen to aid mundo against sabinian, master of the soldiery of illyricum, who at that time had made ready to fight with mundo near the city named margoplanum, which lies between the danube and margus rivers, and destroyed the army of illyricum. for this mundo, who traced his descent from the attilani of old, had put to flight the tribe of the gepidae and was roaming beyond the danube in waste places where no man tilled the soil. he had gathered around him many outlaws and ruffians and robbers from all sides and had seized a tower called herta, situated on the bank of the danube. there he plundered his neighbors in wild license and made himself king over his vagabonds. now pitza came upon him when he was nearly reduced to desperation and was already thinking of surrender. so he rescued him from the hands of sabinian and made him a grateful subject of his king theodoric. [sidenote: thiudis - ] [sidenote: thiudigisclus - ] [sidenote: agil - ] [sidenote: athanagild - ] theodoric won an equally great victory over the franks through his count ibba in gaul, when more than thirty thousand franks were slain in battle. moreover, after the death of his son-in-law alaric, theodoric appointed thiudis, his armor-bearer, guardian of his grandson amalaric in spain. but amalaric was ensnared by the plots of the franks in early youth and lost at once his kingdom and his life. then his guardian thiudis, advancing from the same kingdom, assailed the franks and delivered the spaniards from their disgraceful treachery. so long as he lived he kept the visigoths united. after him thiudigisclus obtained the kingdom and, ruling but a short time, met his death at the hands of his own followers. he was succeeded by agil, who holds the kingdom to the present day. athanagild has rebelled against him and is even now provoking the might of the roman empire. so liberius the patrician is on the way with an army to oppose him. now there was not a tribe in the west that did not serve theodoric while he lived, either in friendship or by conquest. [sidenote: theodoric the great dies ] [sidenote: king athalaric - ] lix when he had reached old age and knew that he should soon depart this life, he called together the gothic counts and chieftains of his race and appointed athalaric as king. he was a boy scarce ten years old, the son of his daughter amalasuentha, and he had lost his father eutharic. as though uttering his last will and testament, theodoric adjured and commanded them to honor their king, to love the senate and roman people and to make sure of the peace and good will of the emperor of the east, as next after god. [sidenote: amalasuentha] [sidenote: theodahad - ] [sidenote: ] they kept this command fully so long as athalaric their king and his mother lived, and ruled in peace for almost eight years. but as the franks put no confidence in the rule of a child and furthermore held him in contempt, and were also plotting war, he gave back to them those parts of gaul which his father and grandfather had seized. he possessed all the rest in peace and quiet. therefore when athalaric was approaching the age of manhood, he entrusted to the emperor of the east both his own youth and his mother's widowhood. but in a short time the ill-fated boy was carried off by an untimely death and departed from earthly affairs. his mother feared she might be despised by the goths on account of the weakness of her sex. so after much thought she decided, for the sake of relationship, to summon her cousin theodahad from tuscany, where he led a retired life at home, and thus she established him on the throne. but he was unmindful of their kinship and, after a little time, had her taken from the palace at ravenna to an island of the bulsinian lake where he kept her in exile. after spending a very few days there in sorrow, she was strangled in the bath by his hirelings. [sidenote: justinian - ] [sidenote: justinian sends belisarius to avenge the death of his wards ] [sidenote: vitiges king - ] lx when justinian, the emperor of the east, heard this, he was aroused as if he had suffered personal injury in the death of his wards. now at that time he had won a triumph over the vandals in africa, through his most faithful patrician belisarius. without delay he sent his army under this leader against the goths at the very time when his arms were yet dripping with the blood of the vandals. this sagacious general believed he could not overcome the gothic nation, unless he should first seize sicily, their nursing-mother. accordingly he did so. as soon as he entered trinacria, the goths, who were besieging the town of syracuse, found that they were not succeeding and surrendered of their own accord to belisarius, with their leader sinderith. when the roman general reached sicily, theodahad sought out evermud, his son-in-law, and sent him with an army to guard the strait which lies between campania and sicily and sweeps from a bend of the tyrrhenian sea into the vast tide of the adriatic. when evermud arrived, he pitched his camp by the town of rhegium. he soon saw that his side was the weaker. coming over with a few close and faithful followers to the side of the victor and willingly casting himself at the feet of belisarius, he decided to serve the rulers of the roman empire. when the army of the goths perceived this, they distrusted theodahad and clamored for his expulsion from the kingdom and for the appointment as king of their leader vitiges, who had been his armor bearer. this was done; and presently vitiges was raised to the office of king on the barbarian plains. he entered rome and sent on to ravenna the men most faithful to him to demand the death of theodahad. they came and executed his command. after king theodahad was slain, a messenger came from the king--for he was already king in the barbarian plains--to proclaim vitiges to the people. [sidenote: the ostrogoths overcome by belisarius] [sidenote: siege of rome - ] [sidenote: surrender of vitiges ] [sidenote: death of vitiges ] [sidenote: mathesuentha marries germanus ] meanwhile the roman army crossed the strait and marched toward campania. they took naples and pressed on to rome. now a few days before they arrived, king vitiges had set forth from rome, arrived at ravenna and married mathesuentha, the daughter of amalasuentha and grand-daughter of theodoric, the former king. while he was celebrating his new marriage and holding court at ravenna, the imperial army advanced from rome and attacked the strongholds in both parts of tuscany. when vitiges learned of this through messengers, he sent a force under hunila, a leader of the goths, to perusia which was beleaguered by them. while they were endeavoring by a long siege to dislodge count magnus, who was holding the place with a small force, the roman army came upon them, and they themselves were driven away and utterly exterminated. when vitiges heard the news, he raged like a lion and assembled all the host of the goths. he advanced from ravenna and harassed the walls of rome with a long siege. but after fourteen months his courage was broken and he raised the siege of the city of rome and prepared to overwhelm ariminum. here he was baffled in like manner and put to flight; and so he retreated to ravenna. when besieged there, he quickly and willingly surrendered himself to the victorious side, together with his wife mathesuentha and the royal treasure. and thus a famous kingdom and most valiant race, which had long held sway, was at last overcome in almost its two thousand and thirtieth year by that conquerer of many nations, the emperor justinian, through his most faithful consul belisarius. he gave vitiges the title of patrician and took him to constantinople, where he dwelt for more than two years, bound by ties of affection to the emperor, and then departed this life. but his consort mathesuentha was bestowed by the emperor upon the patrician germanus, his cousin. and of them was born a son (also called germanus) after the death of his father germanus. this union of the race of the anicii with the stock of the amali gives hopeful promise, under the lord's favor, to both peoples. (conclusion) and now we have recited the origin of the goths, the noble line of the amali and the deeds of brave men. this glorious race yielded to a more glorious prince and surrendered to a more valiant leader, whose fame shall be silenced by no ages or cycles of years; for the victorious and triumphant emperor justinian and his consul belisarius shall be named and known as vandalicus, africanus and geticus. thou who readest this, know that i have followed the writings of my ancestors, and have culled a few flowers from their broad meadows to weave a chaplet for him who cares to know these things. let no one believe that to the advantage of the race of which i have spoken--though indeed i trace my own descent from it--i have added aught besides what i have read or learned by inquiry. even thus i have not included all that is written or told about them, nor spoken so much to their praise as to the glory of him who conquered them. procopius with an english translation by h.b. dewing in seven volumes iii history of the wars, books v and vi london william heinemann ltd cambridge, massachusetts harvard university press _first printed_ _printed in great britain_ contents page history of the wars-- book v.--the gothic war book vi.--the gothic war (_continued_) index * * * * * plan of walls and gates of rome _facing_ procopius of caesarea history of the wars: book v the gothic war i such, then, were the fortunes of the romans in libya. i shall now proceed to the gothic war, first telling all that befell the goths and italians before this war. during the reign of zeno[a] in byzantium the power in the west was held by augustus, whom the romans used to call by the diminutive name augustulus because he took over the empire while still a lad,[b] his father orestes, a man of the greatest discretion, administering it as regent for him. now it happened that the romans a short time before had induced the sciri and alani and certain other gothic nations to form an alliance with them; and from that time on it was their fortune to suffer at the hand of alaric and attila those things which have been told in the previous narrative.[ ] and in proportion as the barbarian element among them became strong, just so did the prestige of the roman soldiers forthwith decline, and under the fair name of alliance they were more and more tyrannized over by the intruders and oppressed by them; so that the barbarians ruthlessly forced many other measures upon the romans much against their will and finally demanded that they should divide with them the entire land of italy. and indeed they commanded orestes to give them the third part of this, and when he would by no means agree to do so, they killed him immediately.[c] now there was a certain man among the romans named odoacer, one of the bodyguards of the emperor, and he at that time agreed to carry out their commands, on condition that they should set him upon the throne. and when he had received the supreme power in this way, [d] he did the emperor no further harm, but allowed him to live thenceforth as a private citizen. and by giving the third part of the land to the barbarians, and in this way gaining their allegiance most firmly, he held the supreme power securely for ten years.[ ] dates: [a] - a.d. [b]july , a.d. [c]july , a.d. [d]july , a.d. it was at about this same time that the goths also, who were dwelling in thrace with the permission of the emperor, took up arms against the romans under the leadership of theoderic, a man who was of patrician rank and had attained the consular office in byzantium. but the emperor zeno, who understood how to settle to his advantage any situation in which he found himself, advised theoderic to proceed to italy, attack odoacer, and win for himself and the goths the western dominion. for it was better for him, he said, especially as he had attained the senatorial dignity, to force out a usurper and be ruler over all the romans and italians than to incur the great risk of a decisive struggle with the emperor. now theoderic was pleased with the suggestion and went to italy, and he was followed by the gothic host, who placed in their waggons the women and children and such of their chattels as they were able to take with them. and when they came near the ionian gulf,[ ] they were quite unable to cross over it, since they had no ships at hand; and so they made the journey around the gulf, advancing through the land of the taulantii and the other nations of that region. here the forces of odoacer encountered them, but after being defeated in many battles, they shut themselves up with their leader in ravenna and such other towns as were especially strong. [e] and the goths laid siege to these places and captured them all, in one way or another, as it chanced in each case, except that they were unable to capture, either by surrender or by storm, the fortress of caesena,[ ] which is three hundred stades distant from ravenna, and ravenna itself, where odoacer happened to be. for this city of ravenna lies in a level plain at the extremity of the ionian gulf, lacking two stades of being on the sea, and it is so situated as not to be easily approached either by ships or by a land army. ships cannot possibly put in to shore there because the sea itself prevents them by forming shoals for not less than thirty stades; consequently the beach at ravenna, although to the eye of mariners it is very near at hand, is in reality very far away by reason of the great extent of the shoal-water. and a land army cannot approach it at all; for the river po, also called the eridanus, which flows past ravenna, coming from the boundaries of celtica, and other navigable rivers together with some marshes, encircle it on all sides and so cause the city to be surrounded by water. in that place a very wonderful thing takes place every day. for early in the morning the sea forms a kind of river and comes up over the land for the distance of a day's journey for an unencumbered traveller and becomes navigable in the midst of the mainland, and then in the late afternoon it turns back again, causing the inlet to disappear, and gathers the stream to itself.[ ] all those, therefore, who have to convey provisions into the city or carry them out from there for trade or for any other reason, place their cargoes in boats, and drawing them down to the place where the inlet is regularly formed, they await the inflow of the water. and when this comes, the boats are lifted little by little from the ground and float, and the sailors on them set to work and from that time on are seafaring men. and this is not the only place where this happens, but it is the regular occurrence along the whole coast in this region as far as the city of aquileia. however, it does not always take place in the same way at every time, but when the light of the moon is faint, the advance of the sea is not strong either, but from the first[ ] half-moon until the second the inflow has a tendency to be greater. so much for this matter. dates: [e] a.d. but when the third year had already been spent by the goths and theoderic in their siege of ravenna, the goths, who were weary of the siege, and the followers of odoacer, who were hard pressed by the lack of provisions, came to an agreement with each other through the mediation of the priest of ravenna, the understanding being that both theoderic and odoacer should reside in ravenna on terms of complete equality. and for some time they observed the agreement; but afterward theoderic caught odoacer, as they say, plotting against him, and bidding him to a feast with treacherous intent slew him,[ ] and in this way, after gaining the adherence of such of the hostile barbarians as chanced to survive, he himself secured the supremacy over both goths and italians. and though he did not claim the right to assume either the garb or the name of emperor of the romans, but was called "rex" to the end of his life (for thus the barbarians are accustomed to call their leaders),[ ] still, in governing his own subjects, he invested himself with all the qualities which appropriately belong to one who is by birth an emperor. for he was exceedingly careful to observe justice, he preserved the laws on a sure basis, he protected the land and kept it safe from the barbarians dwelling round about, and attained the highest possible degree of wisdom and manliness. and he himself committed scarcely a single act of injustice against his subjects, nor would he brook such conduct on the part of anyone else who attempted it, except, indeed, that the goths distributed among themselves the portion of the lands which odoacer had given to his own partisans. and although in name theoderic was a usurper, yet in fact he was as truly an emperor as any who have distinguished themselves in this office from the beginning; and love for him among both goths and italians grew to be great, and that too contrary to the ordinary habits of men. for in all states men's preferences are divergent, with the result that the government in power pleases for the moment only those with whom its acts find favour, but offends those whose judgment it violates. but theoderic reigned for thirty-seven years, and when he died, he had not only made himself an object of terror to all his enemies, but he also left to his subjects a keen sense of bereavement at his loss. and he died in the following manner.[f] date: [f] a.d. symmachus and his son-in-law boetius were men of noble and ancient lineage, and both had been leading men[ ] in the roman senate and had been consuls. but because they practised philosophy and were mindful of justice in a manner surpassed by no other men, relieving the destitution of both citizens and strangers by generous gifts of money, they attained great fame and thus led men of the basest sort to envy them. now such persons slandered them to theoderic, and he, believing their slanders, put these two men to death, on the ground that they were setting about a revolution, and made their property confiscate to the public treasury. and a few days later, while he was dining, the servants set before him the head of a great fish. this seemed to theoderic to be the head of symmachus newly slain. indeed, with its teeth set in its lower lip and its eyes looking at him with a grim and insane stare, it did resemble exceedingly a person threatening him. and becoming greatly frightened at the extraordinary prodigy and shivering excessively, he retired running to his own chamber, and bidding them place many covers upon him, remained quiet. but afterwards he disclosed to his physician elpidius all that had happened and wept for the wrong he had done symmachus and boetius. then, having lamented and grieved exceedingly over the unfortunate occurrence, he died not long afterward. this was the first and last act of injustice which he committed toward his subjects, and the cause of it was that he had not made a thorough investigation, as he was accustomed to do, before passing judgment on the two men. footnotes: [ ] book iii. ii. ff., iv. ff. [ ] odoacer was defeated and shut up in ravenna by theoderic in , surrendered to him in , and was put to death in the same year. his independent rule ([greek: tyrannis]) therefore lasted thirteen years. [ ] meaning the whole adriatic; cf. chap. xv. , note. [ ] modern cesena. [ ] he means that an estuary ([greek: porthmos]) is formed by the rising tide in the morning, and the water flows out again as the tide falls in the evening. [ ] from the first until the third quarter. [ ] see note in bury's edition of gibbon, vol. iv. p. , for an interesting account of this event. [ ] this is a general observation; the title "rex" was current among the barbarians to indicate a position inferior to that of a [greek: basileus] or "imperator"; cf. vi. xiv. . [ ] probably a reminiscence of the "princeps senatus" of classical times. ii after his death[g] the kingdom was taken over by atalaric, the son of theoderic's daughter; he had reached the age of eight years and was being reared under the care of his mother amalasuntha. for his father had already departed from among men. and not long afterward justinian succeeded to the imperial power in byzantium. [h]now amalasuntha, as guardian of her child, administered the government, and she proved to be endowed with wisdom and regard for justice in the highest degree, displaying to a great extent the masculine temper. as long as she stood at the head of the government she inflicted punishment upon no roman in any case either by touching his person or by imposing a fine. furthermore, she did not give way to the goths in their mad desire to wrong them, but she even restored to the children of symmachus and boetius their fathers' estates. now amalasuntha wished to make her son resemble the roman princes in his manner of life, and was already compelling him to attend the school of a teacher of letters. and she chose out three among the old men of the goths whom she knew to be prudent and refined above all the others, and bade them live with atalaric. but the goths were by no means pleased with this. for because of their eagerness to wrong their subjects they wished to be ruled by him more after the barbarian fashion. on one occasion the mother, finding the boy doing some wrong in his chamber, chastised him; and he in tears went off thence to the men's apartments. and some goths who met him made a great to-do about this, and reviling amalasuntha insisted that she wished to put the boy out of the world as quickly as possible, in order that she might marry a second husband and with him rule over the goths and italians. and all the notable men among them gathered together, and coming before amalasuntha made the charge that their king was not being educated correctly from their point of view nor to his own advantage. for letters, they said, are far removed from manliness, and the teaching of old men results for the most part in a cowardly and submissive spirit. therefore the man who is to shew daring in any work and be great in renown ought to be freed from the timidity which teachers inspire and to take his training in arms. they added that even theoderic would never allow any of the goths to send their children to school; for he used to say to them all that, if the fear of the strap once came over them, they would never have the resolution to despise sword or spear. and they asked her to reflect that her father theoderic before he died had become master of all this territory and had invested himself with a kingdom which was his by no sort of right, although he had not so much as heard of letters. "therefore, o queen," they said, "have done with these tutors now, and do you give to atalaric some men of his own age to be his companions, who will pass through the period of youth with him and thus give him an impulse toward that excellence which is in keeping with the custom of barbarians." dates: [g] a.d. [h] a.d. when amalasuntha heard this, although she did not approve, yet because she feared the plotting of these men, she made it appear that their words found favour with her, and granted everything the barbarians desired of her. and when the old men had left atalaric, he was given the company of some boys who were to share his daily life,--lads who had not yet come of age but were only a little in advance of him in years; and these boys, as soon as he came of age, by enticing him to drunkenness and to intercourse with women, made him an exceptionally depraved youth, and of such stupid folly that he was disinclined to follow his mother's advice. consequently he utterly refused to champion her cause, although the barbarians were by now openly leaguing together against her; for they were boldly commanding the woman to withdraw from the palace. but amalasuntha neither became frightened at the plotting of the goths nor did she, womanlike, weakly give way, but still displaying the dignity befitting a queen, she chose out three men who were the most notable among the barbarians and at the same time the most responsible for the sedition against her, and bade them go to the limits of italy, not together, however, but as far apart as possible from one another; but it was made to appear that they were being sent in order to guard the land against the enemy's attack. but nevertheless these men by the help of their friends and relations, who were all still in communication with them, even travelling a long journey for the purpose, continued to make ready the details of their plot against amalasuntha. and the woman, being unable to endure these things any longer, devised the following plan. sending to byzantium she enquired of the emperor justinian whether it was his wish that amalasuntha, the daughter of theoderic, should come to him; for she wished to depart from italy as quickly as possible. and the emperor, being pleased by the suggestion, bade her come and sent orders that the finest of the houses in epidamnus should be put in readiness, in order that when amalasuntha should come there, she might lodge in it and after spending such time there as she wished might then betake herself to byzantium. when amalasuntha learned this, she chose out certain goths who were energetic men and especially devoted to her and sent them to kill the three whom i have just mentioned, as having been chiefly responsible for the sedition against her. and she herself placed all her possessions, including four hundred centenaria[ ] of gold, in a single ship and embarked on it some of those most faithful to her and bade them sail to epidamnus, and, upon arriving there, to anchor in its harbour, but to discharge from the ship nothing whatever of its cargo until she herself should send orders. and she did this in order that, if she should learn that the three men had been destroyed, she might remain there and summon the ship back, having no further fear from her enemies; but if it should chance that any one of them was left alive, no good hope being left her, she purposed to sail with all speed and find safety for herself and her possessions in the emperor's land. such was the purpose with which amalasuntha was sending the ship to epidamnus; and when it arrived at the harbour of that city, those who had the money carried out her orders. but a little later, when the murders had been accomplished as she wished, amalasuntha summoned the ship back and remaining at ravenna strengthened her rule and made it as secure as might be. footnote: [ ] see book i. xxii. ; iii. vi. and note. iii there was among the goths one theodatus by name, son of amalafrida, the sister of theoderic, a man already of mature years, versed in the latin literature and the teachings of plato, but without any experience whatever in war and taking no part in active life, and yet extraordinarily devoted to the pursuit of money. this theodatus had gained possession of most of the lands in tuscany, and he was eager by violent methods to wrest the remainder from their owners. for to have a neighbour seemed to theodatus a kind of misfortune. now amalasuntha was exerting herself to curb this desire of his, and consequently he was always vexed with her and resentful. he formed the plan, therefore, of handing over tuscany to the emperor justinian, in order that, upon receiving from him a great sum of money and the senatorial dignity, he might pass the rest of his life in byzantium. after theodatus had formed this plan, there came from byzantium to the chief priest of rome two envoys, hypatius, the priest of ephesus, and demetrius, from philippi in macedonia, to confer about a tenet of faith, which is a subject of disagreement and controversy among the christians. as for the points in dispute, although i know them well, i shall by no means make mention of them; for i consider it a sort of insane folly to investigate the nature of god, enquiring of what sort it is. for man cannot, i think, apprehend even human affairs with accuracy, much less those things which pertain to the nature of god. as for me, therefore, i shall maintain a discreet silence concerning these matters, with the sole object that old and venerable beliefs may not be discredited. for i, for my part, will say nothing whatever about god save that he is altogether good and has all things in his power. but let each one say whatever he thinks he knows about these matters, both priest and layman. as for theodatus, he met these envoys secretly and directed them to report to the emperor justinian what he had planned, explaining what has just been set forth by me. but at this juncture atalaric, having plunged into a drunken revel which passed all bounds, was seized with a wasting disease. wherefore amalasuntha was in great perplexity; for, on the one hand, she had no confidence in the loyalty of her son, now that he had gone so far in his depravity, and, on the other, she thought that if atalaric also should be removed from among men, her life would not be safe thereafter, since she had given offence to the most notable of the goths. for this reason she was desirous of handing over the power of the goths and italians to the emperor justinian, in order that she herself might be saved. and it happened that alexander, a man of the senate, together with demetrius and hypatius, had come to ravenna. for when the emperor had heard that amalasuntha's boat was anchored in the harbour of epidamnus, but that she herself was still tarrying, although much time had passed, he had sent alexander to investigate and report to him the whole situation with regard to amalasuntha; but it was given out that the emperor had sent alexander as an envoy to her because he was greatly disturbed by the events at lilybaeum which have been set forth by me in the preceding narrative,[ ] and because ten huns from the army in libya had taken flight and reached campania, and uliaris, who was guarding naples, had received them not at all against the will of amalasuntha, and also because the goths, in making war on the gepaedes about sirmium,[ ] had treated the city of gratiana, situated at the extremity of illyricum, as a hostile town. so by way of protesting to amalasuntha with regard to these things, he wrote a letter and sent alexander. and when alexander arrived in rome, he left there the priests busied with the matters for which they had come, and he himself, journeying on to ravenna and coming before amalasuntha, reported the emperor's message secretly, and openly delivered the letter to her. and the purport of the writing was as follows: "the fortress of lilybaeum, which is ours, you have taken by force and are now holding, and barbarians, slaves of mine who have run away, you have received and have not even yet decided to restore them to me, and besides all this you have treated outrageously my city of gratiana, though it belongs to you in no way whatever. wherefore it is time for you to consider what the end of these things will some day be." and when this letter had been delivered to her and she had read it, she replied in the following words: "one may reasonably expect an emperor who is great and lays claim to virtue to assist an orphan child who does not in the least comprehend what is being done, rather than for no cause at all to quarrel with him. for unless a struggle be waged on even terms, even the victory it gains brings no honour. but thou dost threaten atalaric on account of lilybaeum, and ten runaways, and a mistake, made by soldiers in going against their enemies, which through some misapprehension chanced to affect a friendly city. nay! do not thus; do not thou thus, o emperor, but call to mind that when them wast making war upon the vandals, we not only refrained from hindering thee, but quite zealously even gave thee free passage against the enemy and provided a market in which to buy the indispensable supplies,[ ] furnishing especially the multitude of horses to which thy final mastery over the enemy was chiefly due. and yet it is not merely the man who offers an alliance of arms to his neighbours that would in justice be called their ally and friend, but also the man who actually is found assisting another in war in regard to his every need. and consider that at that time thy fleet had no other place at which to put in from the sea except sicily, and that without the supplies bought there it could not go on to libya. therefore thou art indebted to us for the chief cause of thy victory; for the one who provides a solution for a difficult situation is justly entitled also to the credit for the results which flow from his help. and what could be sweeter for a man, o emperor, than gaining the mastery over his enemies? and yet in our case the outcome is that we suffer no slight disadvantage, in that we do not, in accordance with the custom of war, enjoy our share of the spoils. and now thou art also claiming the right to despoil us of lilybaeum in sicily, which has belonged to the goths from ancient times, a lone rock, o emperor, worth not so much as a piece of silver, which, had it happened to belong to thy kingdom from ancient times, thou mightest in equity at least have granted to atalaric as a reward for his services, since he lent thee assistance in the times of thy most pressing necessity." such was the message which amalasuntha wrote openly to the emperor; but secretly she agreed to put the whole of italy into his hands. and the envoys, returning to byzantium, reported everything to the emperor justinian, alexander telling him the course which had been decided upon by amalasuntha, and demetrius and hypatius all that they had heard theodatus say, adding that theodatus enjoyed great power in tuscany, where he had become owner of the most of the land and consequently would be able with no trouble at all to carry his agreement into effect. and the emperor, overjoyed at this situation, immediately sent to italy peter, an illyrian by birth, but a citizen of thessalonica, a man who was one of the trained speakers in byzantium, a discreet and gentle person withal and fitted by nature to persuade men. footnotes: [ ] book iv. v. ff. [ ] near modern mitrowitz. [ ] cf. book iii. xiv. , . iv but while these things were going on as i have explained, theodatus was denounced before amalasuntha by many tuscans, who stated that he had done violence to all the people of tuscany and had without cause seized their estates, taking not only all private estates but especially those belonging to the royal household, which the romans are accustomed to call "patrimonium." for this reason the woman called theodatus to an investigation, and when, being confronted by his denouncers, he had been proved guilty without any question, she compelled him to pay back everything which he had wrongfully seized and then dismissed him. and since in this way she had given the greatest offence to the man, from that time she was on hostile terms with him, exceedingly vexed as he was by reason of his fondness for money, because he was unable to continue his unlawful and violent practices. at about this same time[i] atalaric, being quite wasted away by the disease, came to his end, having lived eight years in office. as for amalasuntha, since it was fated that she should fare ill, she took no account of the nature of theodatus and of what she had recently done to him, and supposed that she would suffer no unpleasant treatment at his hands if she should do the man some rather unusual favour. she accordingly summoned him, and when he came, set out to cajole him, saying that for some time she had known well that it was to be expected that her son would soon die; for she had heard the opinion of all the physicians, who agreed in their judgment, and had herself perceived that the body of atalaric continued to waste away. and since she saw that both goths and italians had an unfavourable opinion regarding theodatus, who had now come to represent the race of theoderic, she had conceived the desire to clear him of this evil name, in order that it might not stand in his way if he were called to the throne. but at the same time, she explained, the question of justice disturbed her, at the thought that those who claimed to have been wronged by him already should find that they had no one to whom they might report what had befallen them, but that they now had their enemy as their master. for these reasons, then, although she invited him to the throne after his name should have been cleared in this way, yet it was necessary, she said, that he should be bound by the most solemn oaths that while the title of the office should be conferred upon theodatus, she herself should in fact hold the power no less than before. when theodatus heard this, although he swore to all the conditions which amalasuntha wished, he entered into the agreement with treacherous intent, remembering all that she had previously done to him. thus amalasuntha, being deceived by her own judgment and the oaths of theodatus, established him in the office. and sending some goths as envoys to byzantium, she made this known to the emperor justinian. date: [i]oct. , a.d. but theodatus, upon receiving the supreme power, began to act in all things contrary to the hopes she had entertained and to the promises he had made. and after winning the adherence of the relatives of the goths who had been slain by her--and they were both numerous and men of very high standing among the goths--he suddenly put to death some of the connections of amalasuntha and imprisoned her, the envoys not having as yet reached byzantium. now there is a certain lake in tuscany called vulsina,[ ] within which rises an island,[ ] exceedingly small but having a strong fortress upon it. there theodatus confined amalasuntha and kept her under guard.[j] but fearing that by this act he had given offence to the emperor, as actually proved to be the case, he sent some men of the roman senate, liberius and opilio and certain others, directing them to excuse his conduct to the emperor with all their power by assuring him that amalasuntha had met with no harsh treatment at his hands, although she had perpetrated irreparable outrages upon him before. and he himself wrote in this sense to the emperor, and also compelled amalasuntha, much against her will, to write the same thing. date: [j]apr. , a.d. such was the course of these events. but peter had already been despatched by the emperor on an embassy to italy with instructions to meet theodatus without the knowledge of any others, and after theodatus had given pledges by an oath that none of their dealings should be divulged, he was then to make a secure settlement with him regarding tuscany; and meeting amalasuntha stealthily he was to make such an arrangement with her regarding the whole of italy as would be to the profit of either party. but openly his mission was to negotiate with regard to lilybaeum and the other matters which i have lately mentioned. for as yet the emperor had heard nothing about the death of atalaric or the succession of theodatus to the throne, or the fate which had befallen amalasuntha. and peter was already on his way when he met the envoys of amalasuntha and learned, in the first place, that theodatus had come to the throne; and a little later, upon reaching the city of aulon,[ ] which lies on the ionian gulf, he met there the company of liberius and opilio, and learned everything which had taken place, and reporting this to the emperor he remained there. and when the emperor justinian heard these things, he formed the purpose of throwing the goths and theodatus into confusion; accordingly he wrote a letter to amalasuntha, stating that he was eager to give her every possible support, and at the same time he directed peter by no means to conceal this message, but to make it known to theodatus himself and to all the goths. and when the envoys from italy arrived in byzantium, they all, with a single exception, reported the whole matter to the emperor, and especially liberius; for he was a man unusually upright and honourable, and one who knew well how to shew regard for the truth; but opilio alone declared with the greatest persistence that theodatus had committed no offence against amalasuntha. now when peter arrived in italy, it so happened that amalasuntha had been removed from among men. for the relatives of the goths who had been slain by her came before theodatus declaring that neither his life nor theirs was secure unless amalasuntha should be put out of their way as quickly as possible. and as soon as he gave in to them, they went to the island and killed amalasuntha,--an act which grieved exceedingly all the italians and the goths as well. for the woman had the strictest regard for every kind of virtue, as has been stated by me a little earlier.[ ] now peter protested openly[ ] to theodatus and the other goths that because this base deed had been committed by them, there would be war without truce between the emperor and themselves. but theodatus, such was his stupid folly, while still holding the slayers of amalasuntha in honour and favour kept trying to persuade peter and the emperor that this unholy deed had been committed by the goths by no means with his approval, but decidedly against his will. footnotes: [ ] modern bolsena. [ ] marta; "now entirely uninhabited, but with a few steps cut in the rock which are said to have led to the prison of amalasuntha."--hodgkin. [ ] modern avlona in albania. [ ] chap. ii. . [ ] see gibbon's note (chap. xli.), amplified in bury's edition, vol. iv. p. , for additional light on the part played by justinian and peter in this affair. v meanwhile it happened that belisarius had distinguished himself by the defeat of gelimer and the vandals. and the emperor, upon learning what had befallen amalasuntha, immediately entered upon the war, being in the ninth year of his reign. and he first commanded mundus, the general of illyricum, to go to dalmatia, which was subject to the goths, and make trial of salones.[ ] now mundus was by birth a barbarian, but exceedingly loyal to the cause of the emperor and an able warrior. then he sent belisarius by sea with four thousand soldiers from the regular troops and the foederati,[ ] and about three thousand of the isaurians. and the commanders were men of note: constantinus and bessas from the land of thrace, and peranius from iberia[ ] which is hard by media, a man who was by birth a member of the royal family of the iberians, but had before this time come as a deserter to the romans through enmity toward the persians; and the levies of cavalry were commanded by valentinus, magnus, and innocentius, and the infantry by herodian, paulus, demetrius, and ursicinus, while the leader of the isaurians was ennes. and there were also two hundred huns as allies and three hundred moors. but the general in supreme command over all was belisarius, and he had with him many notable men as spearmen and guards. and he was accompanied also by photius, the son of his wife antonina by a previous marriage; he was still a young man wearing his first beard, but possessed the greatest discretion and shewed a strength of character beyond his years. and the emperor instructed belisarius to give out that his destination was carthage, but as soon as they should arrive at sicily, they were to disembark there as it obliged for some reason to do so, and make trial of the island. and if it should be possible to reduce it to subjection without any trouble, they were to take possession and not let it go again; but if they should meet with any obstacle, they were to sail with all speed to libya, giving no one an opportunity to perceive what their intention was. and he also sent a letter to the leaders of the franks as follows: "the goths, having seized by violence italy, which was ours, have not only refused absolutely to give it back, but have committed further acts of injustice against us which are unendurable and pass beyond all bounds. for this reason we have been compelled to take the field against them, and it is proper that you should join with us in waging this war, which is rendered yours as well as ours not only by the orthodox faith, which rejects the opinion of the arians, but also by the enmity we both feel toward the goths." such was the emperor's letter; and making a gift of money to them, he agreed to give more as soon as they should take an active part. and they with all zeal promised to fight in alliance with him. now mundus and the army under his command entered dalmatia, and engaging with the goths who encountered them there, defeated them in the battle and took possession of salones. as for belisarius, he put in at sicily and took catana. and making that place his base of operations, he took over syracuse and the other cities by surrender without any trouble; except, indeed, that the goths who were keeping guard in panormus,[ ] having confidence in the fortifications of the place, which was a strong one, were quite unwilling to yield to belisarius and ordered him to lead his army away from there with all speed. but belisarius, considering that it was impossible to capture the place from the landward side, ordered the fleet to sail into the harbour, which extended right up to the wall. for it was outside the circuit-wall and entirely without defenders. now when the ships had anchored there, it was seen that the masts were higher than the parapet. straightway, therefore, he filled all the small boats of the ships with bowmen and hoisted them to the tops of the masts. and when from these boats the enemy were shot at from above, they fell into such an irresistible fear that they immediately delivered panormus to belisarius by surrender. as a result of this the emperor held all sicily subject and tributary to himself. and at that time it so happened that there fell to belisarius a piece of good fortune beyond the power of words to describe. for, having received the dignity of the consulship because of his victory over the vandals, while he was still holding this honour, and after he had won the whole of sicily, on the last day of his consulship,[k] he marched into syracuse, loudly applauded by the army and by the sicilians and throwing golden coins to all. this coincidence, however, was not intentionally arranged by him, but it was a happy chance which befell the man, that after having recovered the whole of the island for the romans he marched into syracuse on that particular day; and so it was not in the senate house in byzantium, as was customary, but there that he laid down the office of the consuls and so became an ex-consul. thus, then, did good fortune attend belisarius. date: [k]dec. , a.d. footnotes: [ ] or salona, near modern spalato. [ ] auxiliaries; see book iii. xi. , , and note. [ ] corresponding roughly to modern georgia, just south of the caucasus. [ ] modern palermo. vi and when peter learned of the conquest of sicily, he was still more insistent in his efforts to frighten theodatus and would not let him go. but he, turning coward and reduced to speechlessness no less than if he himself had become a captive with gelimer,[ ] entered into negotiations with peter without the knowledge of any others, and between them they formed an agreement, providing that theodatus should retire from all sicily in favour of the emperor justinian, and should send him also a golden crown every year weighing three hundred litrae,[ ] and gothic warriors to the number of three thousand whenever he should wish; and that theodatus himself should have no authority to kill any priest or senator, or to confiscate his property for the public treasury except by the decision of the emperor; and that if theodatus wished to advance any of his subjects to the patrician or some other senatorial rank this honour should not be bestowed by him, but he should ask the emperor to bestow it; and that the roman populace, in acclaiming their sovereign, should always shout the name of the emperor first, and afterward that of theodatus, both in the theatres and in the hippodromes and wherever else it should be necessary for such a thing to be done; furthermore, that no statue of bronze nor of any other material should ever be set up to theodatus alone, but statues must always be made for both, and they must stand thus: on the right that of the emperor, and on the other side that of theodatus. and after theodatus had written in confirmation of this agreement he dismissed the ambassador. but, a little later, terror laid hold upon the man's soul and brought him into fears which knew no bound and tortured his mind, filling him with dread at the name of war, and reminding him that if the agreement drawn up by peter and himself did not please the emperor at all, war would straightway come upon him. once more, therefore, he summoned peter, who had already reached albani,[ ] for a secret conference, and enquired of the man whether he thought that the agreement would be pleasing to the emperor. and he replied that he supposed it would. "but if," said theodatus, "these things do not please the man at all, what will happen then?" and peter replied "after that you will have to wage war, most noble sir." "but what is this," he said; "is it just, my dear ambassador?" and peter, immediately taking him up, said "and how is it not just, my good sir, that the pursuits appropriate to each man's nature should be preserved?" "what, pray, may this mean?" asked theodatus. "it means," was the reply, "that your great interest is to philosophize, while justinian's is to be a worthy emperor of the romans. and there is this difference, that for one who has practised philosophy it would never be seemly to bring about the death of men, especially in such great numbers, and it should be added that this view accords with the teachings of plato, which you have evidently espoused, and hence it is unholy for you not to be free from all bloodshed; but for him it is not at all inappropriate to seek to acquire a land which has belonged from of old to the realm which is his own." thereupon theodatus, being convinced by this advice, agreed to retire from the kingship in favour of the emperor justinian, and both he and his wife took an oath to this effect. he then bound peter by oaths that he would not divulge this agreement until he should see that the emperor would not accept the former convention. and he sent with him rusticus, a priest who was especially devoted to him and a roman citizen, to negotiate on the basis of this agreement. and he also entrusted a letter to these men. so peter and rusticus, upon reaching byzantium, reported the first decision to the emperor, just as theodatus had directed them to do. but when the emperor was quite unwilling to accept the proposal, they revealed the plan which had been committed to writing afterwards. this was to the following effect: "i am no stranger to royal courts, but it was my fortune to have been born in the house of my uncle while he was king and to have been reared in a manner worthy of my race; and yet i have had little experience of wars and of the turmoils which wars entail. for since from my earliest years i have been passionately addicted to scholarly disputations and have always devoted my time to this sort of thing, i have consequently been up to the present time very far removed from the confusion of battles. therefore it is utterly absurd that i should aspire to the honours which royalty confers and thus lead a life fraught with danger, when it is possible for me to avoid them both. for neither one of these is a pleasure to me; the first, because it is liable to satiety, for it is a surfeit of all sweet things, and the second, because lack of familiarity with such a life throws one into confusion. but as for me, if estates should be provided me which yielded an annual income of no less than twelve centenaria,[ ] i should regard the kingdom as of less account than them, and i shall hand over to thee forthwith the power of the goths and italians. for i should find more pleasure in being a farmer free from all cares than in passing my life amid a king's anxieties, attended as they are by danger after danger. pray send a man as quickly as possible into whose hands i may fittingly deliver italy and the affairs of the kingdom." such was the purport of the letter of theodatus. and the emperor, being exceedingly pleased, replied as follows: "from of old have i heard by report that you were a man of discretion, but now, taught by experience, i know it by the decision you have reached not to await the issue of the war. for certain men who in the past have followed such a course have been completely undone. and you will never repent having made us friends instead of enemies. but you will not only have this that you ask at our hands, but you will also have the distinction of being enrolled in the highest honours of the romans. now for the present i have sent athanasius and peter, so that each party may have surety by some agreement. and almost immediately belisarius also will visit you to complete all the arrangements which have been agreed upon between us." after writing this the emperor sent athanasius, the brother of alexander, who had previously gone on an embassy to atalaric, as has been said,[ ] and for the second time peter the orator, whom i have mentioned above,[ ] enjoining upon them to assign to theodatus the estates of the royal household, which they call "patrimonium"; and not until after they had drawn up a written document and had secured oaths to fortify the agreement were they to summon belisarius from sicily, in order that he might take over the palace and all italy and hold them under guard. and he wrote to belisarius that as soon as they should summon him he should go thither with all speed. footnotes: [ ] the captivity of gelimer is described in book iv. vii. - ; ix. - . [ ] at present values "worth about £ , ."--hodgkin. [ ] modern albano; on the appian way. cf. book vi. iv. . [ ] see book i. xxii. ; iii. vi. , note. [ ] chap. iii. . [ ] chap. iii. , iv. ff. vii but meantime, while the emperor was engaged in these negotiations and these envoys were travelling to italy, the goths, under command of asinarius and gripas and some others, had come with a great army into dalmatia. and when they had reached the neighbourhood of salones, mauricius, the son of mundus, who was not marching out for battle but, with a few men, was on a scouting expedition, encountered them. a violent engagement ensued in which the goths lost their foremost and noblest men, but the romans almost their whole company, including their general mauricius. and when mundus heard of this, being overcome with grief at the misfortune and by this time dominated by a mighty fury, he went against the enemy without the least delay and regardless of order. the battle which took place was stubbornly contested, and the result was a cadmean victory[ ] for the romans. for although the most of the enemy fell there and their rout had been decisive, mundus, who went on killing and following up the enemy wherever he chanced to find them and was quite unable to restrain his mind because of the misfortune of his son, was wounded by some fugitive or other and fell. thereupon the pursuit ended and the two armies separated. and at that time the romans recalled the verse of the sibyl, which had been pronounced in earlier times and seemed to them a portent. for the words of the saying were that when africa should be held, the "world" would perish together with its offspring. this, however, was not the real meaning of the oracle, but after intimating that libya would be once more subject to the romans, it added this statement also, that when that time came mundus would perish together with his son. for it runs as follows: "africa capta mundus cum nato peribit."[ ] but since "mundus" in the latin tongue has the force of "world," they thought that the saying had reference to the world. so much, then, for this. as for salones, it was not entered by anyone. for the romans went back home, since they were left altogether without a commander, and the goths, seeing that not one of their nobles was left them, fell into fear and took possession of the strongholds in the neighbourhood; for they had no confidence in the defences of salones, and, besides, the romans who lived there were not very well disposed towards them. when theodatus heard this, he took no account of the envoys who by now had come to him. for he was by nature much given to distrust, and he by no means kept his mind steadfast, but the present fortune always reduced him now to a state of terror which knew no measure, and this contrary to reason and the proper understanding of the situation, and again brought him to the opposite extreme of unspeakable boldness. and so at that time, when he heard of the death of mundus and mauricius, he was lifted up exceedingly and in a manner altogether unjustified by what had happened, and he saw fit to taunt the envoys when they at length appeared before him. and when peter on one occasion remonstrated with him because he had transgressed his agreement with the emperor, theodatus called both of them publicly and spoke as follows: "the position of envoys is a proud one and in general has come to be held in honour among all men; but envoys preserve for themselves these their prerogatives only so long as they guard the dignity of their embassy by the propriety of their own conduct. for men have sanctioned as just the killing of an envoy whenever he is either found to have insulted a sovereign or has had knowledge of a woman who is the wife of another." such were the words with which theodatus inveighed against peter, not because he had approached a woman, but, apparently, in order to make good his claim that there were charges which might lead to the death of an ambassador. but the envoys replied as follows: "the facts are not, o ruler of the goths, as thou hast stated them, nor canst thou, under cover of flimsy pretexts, wantonly perpetrate unholy deeds upon men who are envoys. for it is not possible for an ambassador, even if he wishes it, to become an adulterer, since it is not easy for him even to partake of water except by the will of those who guard him. and as for the proposals which he has received from the lips of him who has sent him and then delivers, he himself cannot reasonably incur the blame which arises from them, in case they be not good, but he who has given the command would justly bear this charge, while the sole responsibility of the ambassador is to have discharged his mission. we, therefore, shall say all that we were instructed by the emperor to say when we were sent, and do thou hear us quietly; for if thou art stirred to excitement, all thou canst do will be to wrong men who are ambassadors. it is time, therefore, for thee of thine own free will to perform all that thou didst promise the emperor. this, indeed, is the purpose for which we have come. and the letter which he wrote to thee thou hast already received, but as for the writing which he sent to the foremost of the goths, to no others shall we give it than to them." when the leading men of the barbarians, who were present, heard this speech of the envoys, they bade them give to theodatus what had been written to them. and it ran as follows: "it has been the object of our care to receive you back into our state, whereat you may well be pleased. for you will come to us, not in order to be made of less consequence, but that you may be more honoured. and, besides, we are not bidding the goths enter into strange or alien customs, but into those of a people with whom you were once familiar, though you have by chance been separated from them for a season. for these reasons athanasius and peter have been sent to you, and you ought to assist them in all things." such was the purport of this letter. but after theodatus had read everything, he not only decided not to perform in deed the promises he had made to the emperor, but also put the envoys under a strict guard. but when the emperor justinian heard these things and what had taken place in dalmatia, he sent constantianus, who commanded the royal grooms, into illyricum, bidding him gather an army from there and make an attempt on salones, in whatever manner he might be able; and he commanded belisarius to enter italy with all speed and to treat the goths as enemies. so constantianus came to epidamnus and spent some time there gathering an army. but in the meantime the goths, under the leadership of gripas, came with another army into dalmatia and took possession of salones; and constantianus, when all his preparations were as complete as possible, departed from epidamnus with his whole force and cast anchor at epidaurus[ ] which is on the right as one sails into the ionian gulf. now it so happened that some men were there whom gripas had sent out as spies. and when they took note of the ships and the army of constantianus it seemed to them that both the sea and the whole land were full of soldiers, and returning to gripas they declared that constantianus was bringing against them an army of men numbering many tens of thousands. and he, being plunged into great fear, thought it inexpedient to meet their attack, and at the same time he was quite unwilling to be besieged by the emperor's army, since it so completely commanded the sea; but he was disturbed most of all by the fortifications of salones (since the greater part of them had already fallen down), and by the exceedingly suspicious attitude on the part of the inhabitants of the place toward the goths. and for this reason he departed thence with his whole army as quickly as possible and made camp in the plain which is between salones and the city of scardon.[ ] and constantianus, sailing with all his ships from epidaurus, put in at lysina,[ ] which is an island in the gulf. thence he sent forward some of his men, in order that they might make enquiry concerning the plans of gripas and report them to him. then, after learning from them the whole situation, he sailed straight for salones with all speed. and when he had put in at a place close to the city, he disembarked his army on the mainland and himself remained quiet there; but he selected five hundred from the army, and setting over them as commander siphilas, one of his own bodyguards, he commanded them to seize the narrow pass[ ] which, as he had been informed, was in the outskirts of the city. and this siphilas did. and constantianus and his whole land army entered salones on the following day, and the fleet anchored close by. then constantianus proceeded to look after the fortifications of the city, building up in haste all such parts of them as had fallen down; and gripas, with the gothic army, on the seventh day after the romans had taken possession of salones, departed from there and betook themselves to ravenna; and thus constantianus gained possession of all dalmatia and liburnia, bringing over to his side all the goths who were settled there. such were the events in dalmatia. and the winter drew to a close, and thus ended the first year of this war, the history of which procopius has written. footnotes: [ ] proverbial for a victory in which the victor is slain; probably from the story of the theban, or "cadmean," heroes eteocles and polynices. [ ] see bury's edition of gibbon, vol. iv. app. , for a discussion of this oracle. [ ] modern ragusa vecchia. [ ] near sebenico. [ ] modern lesina. [ ] an important approach to the city from the west. viii and belisarius, leaving guards in syracuse and panormus, crossed with the rest of the army from messana to rhegium (where the myths of the poets say scylla and charybdis were), and every day the people of that region kept coming over to him. for since their towns had from of old been without walls, they had no means at all of guarding them, and because of their hostility toward the goths they were, as was natural, greatly dissatisfied with their present government. and ebrimous came over to belisarius as a deserter from the goths, together with all his followers; this man was the son-in-law of theodatus, being married to theodenanthe, his daughter. and he was straightway sent to the emperor and received many gifts of honour and in particular attained the patrician dignity. and the army of belisarius marched from rhegium through bruttium and lucania, and the fleet of ships accompanied it, sailing close to the mainland. but when they reached campania, they came upon a city on the sea, naples by name, which was strong not only because of the nature of its site, but also because it contained a numerous garrison of goths. and belisarius commanded the ships to anchor in the harbour, which was beyond the range of missiles, while he himself made his camp near the city. he then first took possession by surrender of the fort which is in the suburb, and afterwards permitted the inhabitants of the city at their own request to send some of their notables into his camp, in order that they might tell what their wish was and, after receiving his reply, report to the populace. straightway, therefore, the neapolitans sent stephanus. and he, upon coming before belisarius, spoke as follows: "you are not acting justly, o general, in taking the field against men who are romans and have done no wrong, who inhabit but a small city and have over us a guard of barbarians as masters, so that it does not even lie in our power, if we desire to do so, to oppose them. but it so happens that even these guards had to leave their wives and children, and their most precious possessions in the hands of theodatus before they came to keep guard over us. therefore, if they treat with you at all, they will plainly be betraying, not the city, but themselves. and if one must speak the truth with no concealment, you have not counselled to your advantage, either, in coming against us. for if you capture rome, naples will be subject to you without any further trouble, whereas if you are repulsed from there, it is probable that you will not be able to hold even this city securely. consequently the time you spend on this siege will be spent to no purpose." so spoke stephanus. and belisarius replied as follows: "whether we have acted wisely or foolishly in coming here is not a question which we propose to submit to the neapolitans. but we desire that you first weigh carefully such matters as are appropriate to your deliberations and then act solely in accordance with your own interests. receive into your city, therefore, the emperor's army, which has come to secure your freedom and that of the other italians, and do not choose the course which will bring upon you the most grievous misfortunes. for those who, in order to rid themselves of slavery or any other shameful thing, go into war, such men, if they fare well in the struggle, have double good fortune, because along with their victory they have also acquired freedom from their troubles, and if defeated they gain some consolation for themselves, in that, they have not of their own free will chosen to follow the worse fortune. but as for those who have the opportunity to be free without fighting, but yet enter into a struggle in order to make their condition of slavery permanent, such men, even if it so happens that they conquer, have failed in the most vital point, and if in the battle they fare less happily than they wished, they will have, along with their general ill-fortune, also the calamity of defeat. as for the neapolitans, then, let these words suffice. but as for these goths who are present, we give them the choice, either to array themselves hereafter on our side under the great emperor, or to go to their homes altogether immune from harm. because, if both you and they, disregarding all these considerations, dare to raise arms against us, it will be necessary for us also, if god so wills, to treat whomever we meet as an enemy. if, however, it is the will of the neapolitans to choose the cause of the emperor and thus to be rid of so cruel a slavery, i take it upon myself, giving you pledges, to promise that you will receive at our hands those benefits which the sicilians lately hoped for, and with regard to which they were unable to say that we had sworn falsely." such was the message which belisarius bade stephanus take back to the people. but privately he promised him large rewards if he should inspire the neapolitans with good-will toward the emperor. and stephanus, upon coming into the city, reported the words of belisarius and expressed his own opinion that it was inexpedient to fight against the emperor. and he was assisted in his efforts by antiochus, a man of syria, but long resident in naples for the purpose of carrying on a shipping business, who had a great reputation there for wisdom and justice. but there were two men, pastor and asclepiodotus, trained speakers and very notable men among the neapolitans, who were exceedingly friendly toward the goths, and quite unwilling to have any change made in the present state of affairs. these two men, planning how they might block the negotiations, induced the multitude to demand many serious concessions, and to try to force belisarius to promise on oath that they should forthwith obtain what they asked for. and after writing down in a document such demands as nobody would have supposed that belisarius would accept, they gave it to stephanus. and he, returning to the emperor's army, shewed the writing to the general, and enquired of him whether he was willing to carry out all the proposals which the neapolitans made and to take an oath concerning them. and belisarius promised that they should all be fulfilled for them and so sent him back. now when the neapolitans heard this, they were in favour of accepting the general's assurances at once and began to urge that the emperor's army be received into the city with all speed. for he declared that nothing unpleasant would befall them, if the case of the sicilians was sufficient evidence for anyone to judge by, since, as he pointed out, it had only recently been their lot, after they had exchanged their barbarian tyrants for the sovereignty of justinian, to be, not only free men, but also immune from all difficulties. and swayed by great excitement they were about to go to the gates with the purpose of throwing them open. and though the goths were not pleased with what they were doing, still, since they were unable to prevent it, they stood out of the way. but pastor and asclepiodotus called together the people and all the goths in one place, and spoke as follows: "it is not at all unnatural that the populace of a city should abandon themselves and their own safety, especially if, without consulting any of their notables, they make an independent decision regarding their all. but it is necessary for us, who are on the very point of perishing together with you, to offer as a last contribution to the fatherland this advice. we see, then, fellow citizens, that you are intent upon betraying both yourselves and the city to belisarius, who promises to confer many benefits upon you and to swear the most solemn oaths in confirmation of his promises. now if he is able to promise you this also, that to him will come the victory in the war, no one could deny that the course you are taking is to your advantage. for it is great folly not to gratify every whim of him who is to become master. but if this outcome lies in uncertainty, and no man in the world is competent to guarantee the decision of fortune, consider what sort of misfortunes your haste is seeking to attain. for if the goths overcome their adversaries in the war, they will punish you as enemies and as having done them the foulest wrong. for you are resorting to this act of treason, not under constraint of necessity, but out of deliberate cowardice. so that even to belisarius, if he wins the victory over his enemies, we shall perhaps appear faithless and betrayers of our rulers, and having proved ourselves deserters, we shall in all probability have a guard set over us permanently by the emperor. for though he who has found a traitor is pleased at the moment of victory by the service rendered, yet afterwards, moved by suspicion based upon the traitor's past, he hates and fears his benefactor, since he himself has in his own possession the evidences of the other's faithlessness. if, however, we shew ourselves faithful to the goths at the present time, manfully submitting to the danger, they will give us great rewards in case they win the mastery over the enemy, and belisarius, if it should so happen that he is the victor, will be prone to forgive. for loyalty which fails is punished by no man unless he be lacking in understanding. but what has happened to you that you are in terror of being besieged by the enemy, you who have no lack of provisions, have not been deprived by blockade of any of the necessities of life, and hence may sit at home, confident in the fortifications and in your garrison here?[ ] and in our opinion even belisarius would not have consented to this agreement with us if he had any hope of capturing the city by force. and yet if what he desired were that which is just and that which will be to our advantage, he ought not to be trying to frighten the neapolitans or to establish his own power by means of an act of injustice on our part toward the goths; but he should do battle with theodatus and the goths, so that without danger to us or treason on our part the city might come into the power of the victors." when they had finished speaking, pastor and asclepiodotus brought forward the jews, who promised that the city should be in want of none of the necessities, and the goths on their part promised that they would guard the circuit-wall safely. and the neapolitans, moved by these arguments, bade belisarius depart thence with all speed. he, however, began the siege. and he made many attempts upon the circuit-wall, but was always repulsed, losing many of his soldiers, and especially those who laid some claim to valour. for the wall of naples was inaccessible, on one side by reason of the sea, and on the other because of some difficult country, and those who planned to attack it could gain entrance at no point, not only because of its general situation, but also because the ground sloped steeply. however, belisarius cut the aqueduct which brought water into the city; but he did not in this way seriously disturb the neapolitans, since there were wells inside the circuit-wall which sufficed for their needs and kept them from feeling too keenly the loss of the aqueduct. footnote: [ ] _i.e._ the goths; cf. § above. ix so the besieged, without the knowledge of the enemy, sent to theodatus in rome begging him to come to their help with all speed. but theodatus was not making the least preparation for war, being by nature unmanly, as has been said before.[ ] and they say that something else happened to him, which terrified him exceedingly and reduced him to still greater anxiety. i, for my part, do not credit this report, but even so it shall be told. theodatus even before this time had been prone to make enquiries of those who professed to foretell the future, and on the present occasion he was at a loss what to do in the situation which confronted him--a state which more than anything else is accustomed to drive men to seek prophecies; so he enquired of one of the hebrews, who had a great reputation for prophecy, what sort of an outcome the present war would have. the hebrew commanded him to confine three groups of ten swine each in three huts, and after giving them respectively the names of goths, romans, and the soldiers of the emperor, to wait quietly for a certain number of days. and theodatus did as he was told. and when the appointed day had come, they both went into the huts and looked at the swine; and they found that of those which had been given the name of goths all save two were dead, whereas all except a few were living of those which had received the name of the emperor's soldiers; and as for those which had been called romans, it so happened that, although the hair of all of them had fallen out, yet about half of them survived. when theodatus beheld this and divined the outcome of the war, a great fear, they say, came upon him, since he knew well that it would certainly be the fate of the romans to die to half their number and be deprived of their possessions, but that the goths would be defeated and their race reduced to a few, and that to the emperor would come, with the loss of but a few of his soldiers, the victory in the war. and for this reason, they say, theodatus felt no impulse to enter into a struggle with belisarius. as for this story, then, let each one express his views according to the belief or disbelief which he feels regarding it. but belisarius, as he besieged the neapolitans both by land and by sea, was beginning to be vexed. for he was coming to think that they would never yield to him, and, furthermore, he could not hope that the city would be captured, since he was finding that the difficulty of its position was proving to be a very serious obstacle. and the loss of the time which was being spent there distressed him, for he was making his calculations so as to avoid being compelled to go against theodatus and rome in the winter season. indeed he had already even given orders to the army to pack up, his intention being to depart from there as quickly as possible. but while he was in the greatest perplexity, it came to pass that he met with the following good fortune. one of the isaurians was seized with the desire to observe the construction of the aqueduct, and to discover in what manner it provided the supply of water to the city. so he entered it at a place far distant from the city, where belisarius had broken it open, and proceeded to walk along it, finding no difficulty, since the water had stopped running because the aqueduct had been broken open. but when he reached a point near the circuit-wall, he came upon a large rock, not placed there by the hand of man, but a part of the natural formation of the place. and those who had built the aqueduct many years before, after they had attached the masonry to this rock, proceeded to make a tunnel from that point on, not sufficiently large, however, for a man to pass through, but large enough to furnish a passage for the water. and for this reason it came about that the channel of the aqueduct was not everywhere of the same breadth, but one was confronted by a narrow place at that rock, impassable for a man, especially if he wore armour or carried a shield. and when the isaurian observed this, it seemed to him not impossible for the army to penetrate into the city, if they should make the tunnel at that point broader by a little. but since he himself was a humble person, and never had come into conversation with any of the commanders, he brought the matter before paucaris, an isaurian, who had distinguished himself among the guards of belisarius. so paucaris immediately reported the whole matter to the general. and belisarius, being pleased by the report, took new courage, and by promising to reward the man with great sums of money induced him to attempt the undertaking, and commanded him to associate with himself some of the isaurians and cut out a passage in the rock as quickly as possible, taking care to allow no one to become aware of what they were doing. paucaris then selected some isaurians who were thoroughly suitable for the work, and secretly got inside the aqueduct with them. and coming to the place where the rock caused the passage to be narrow, they began their work, not cutting the rock with picks or mattocks, lest by their blows they should reveal to the enemy what they were doing, but scraping it very persistently with sharp instruments of iron. and in a short time the work was done, so that a man wearing a corselet and carrying a shield was able to go through at that point. but when all his arrangements were at length in complete readiness, the thought occurred to belisarius that if he should by act of war make his entry into naples with the army, the result would be that lives would be lost and that all the other things would happen which usually attend the capture of a city by an enemy. and straightway summoning stephanus, he spoke as follows: "many times have i witnessed the capture of cities and i am well acquainted with what takes place at such a time. for they slay all the men of every age, and as for the women, though they beg to die, they are not granted the boon of death, but are carried off for outrage and are made to suffer treatment that is abominable and most pitiable. and the children, who are thus deprived of their proper maintenance and education, are forced to be slaves, and that, too, of the men who are the most odious of all--those on whose hands they see the blood of their fathers. and this is not all, my dear stephanus, for i make no mention of the conflagration which destroys all the property and blots out the beauty of the city. when i see, as in the mirror of the cities which have been captured in times past, this city of naples falling victim to such a fate, i am moved to pity both it and you its inhabitants. for such means have now been perfected by me against the city that its capture is inevitable. but i pray that an ancient city, which has for ages been inhabited by both christians and romans, may not meet with such a fortune, especially at my hands as commander of roman troops, not least because in my army are a multitude of barbarians, who have lost brothers or relatives before the wall of this town; for the fury of these men i should be unable to control, if they should capture the city by act of war. while, therefore, it is still within your power to choose and to put into effect that which will be to your advantage, adopt the better course and escape misfortune; for when it falls upon you, as it probably will, you will not justly blame fortune but your own judgment." with these words belisarius dismissed stephanus. and he went before the people of naples weeping and reporting with bitter lamentations all that he had heard belisarius say. but they, since it was not fated that the neapolitans should become subjects of the emperor without chastisement, neither became afraid nor did they decide to yield to belisarius. footnote: [ ] chap. iii. . x then at length belisarius, on his part, made his preparations to enter the city as follows. selecting at nightfall about four hundred men and appointing as commander over them magnus, who led a detachment of cavalry, and ennes, the leader of the isaurians, he commanded them all to put on their corselets, take in hand their shields and swords, and remain quiet until he himself should give the signal. and he summoned bessas[ ] and gave him orders to stay with him, for he wished to consult with him concerning a certain matter pertaining to the army. and when it was well on in the night, he explained to magnus and ennes the task before them, pointed out the place where he had previously broken open the aqueduct, and ordered them to lead the four hundred men into the city, taking lights with them and he sent with them two men skilled in the use of the trumpet, so that as soon as they should get inside the circuit-wall, they might be able both to throw the city into confusion and to notify their own men what they were doing. and he himself was holding in readiness a very great number of ladders which had been constructed previously. so these men entered the aqueduct and were proceeding toward the city, while he with bessas and photius[ ] remained at his post and with their help was attending to all details. and he also sent to the camp, commanding the men to remain awake and to keep their arms in their hands. at the same time he kept near him a large force--men whom he considered most courageous. now of the men who were on their way to the city above half became terrified at the danger and turned back. and since magnus could not persuade them to follow him, although he urged them again and again, he returned with them to the general. and belisarius, after reviling these men, selected two hundred of the troops at hand, and ordered them to go with magnus. and photius also, wishing to lead them, leaped into the channel of the aqueduct, but belisarius prevented him. then those who were fleeing from the danger, put to shame by the railings of the general and of photius, took heart to face it once more and followed with the others. and belisarius, fearing lest their operations should be perceived by some of the enemy, who were maintaining a guard on the tower which happened to be nearest to the aqueduct, went to that place and commanded bessas to carry on a conversation in the gothic tongue with the barbarians there, his purpose being to prevent any clanging of the weapons from being audible to them. and so bessas shouted to them in a loud voice, urging the goths to yield to belisarius and promising that they should have many rewards. but they jeered at him, indulging in many insults directed at both belisarius and the emperor. belisarius and bessas, then, were thus occupied. now the aqueduct of naples is not only covered until it reaches the wall, but remains covered as it extends to a great distance inside the city, being carried on a high arch of baked brick. consequently, when the men under the command of magnus and ennes had got inside the fortifications, they were one and all unable even to conjecture where in the world they were. furthermore, they could not leave the aqueduct at any point until the foremost of them came to a place where the aqueduct chanced to be without a roof and where stood a building which had entirely fallen into neglect. inside this building a certain woman had her dwelling, living alone with utter poverty as her only companion; and an olive tree had grown out over the aqueduct. so when these men saw the sky and perceived that they were in the midst of the city, they began to plan how they might get out, but they had no means of leaving the aqueduct either with or without their arms. for the structure happened to be very high at that point and, besides, offered no means of climbing to the top. but as the soldiers were in a state of great perplexity and were beginning to crowd each other greatly as they collected there (for already, as the men in the rear kept coming up, a great throng was beginning to gather), the thought occurred to one of them to make trial of the ascent. he immediately therefore laid down his arms, and forcing his way up with hands and feet, reached the woman's house. and seeing her there, he threatened to kill her unless she should remain silent. and she was terror-stricken and remained speechless. he then fastened to the trunk of the olive tree a strong strap, and threw the other end of it into the aqueduct. so the soldiers, laying hold of it one at a time, managed with difficulty to make the ascent. and after all had come up and a fourth part of the night still remained, they proceeded toward the wall; and they slew the garrison of two of the towers before the men in them had an inkling of the trouble. these towers were on the northern portion of the circuit-wall, where belisarius was stationed with bessas and photius, anxiously awaiting the progress of events. so while the trumpeters were summoning the army to the wall, belisarius was placing the ladders against the fortifications and commanding the soldiers to mount them. but it so happened that not one of the ladders reached as far as the parapet. for since the workmen had not made them in sight of the wall, they had not been able to arrive at the proper measure. for this reason they bound two together, and it was only by using both of them for the ascent that the soldiers got above the level of the parapet. such was the progress of these events where belisarius was engaged. but on the side of the circuit-wall which faces the sea, where the forces on guard were not barbarians, but jews, the soldiers were unable either to use the ladders or to scale the wall. for the jews had already given offence to their enemy by having opposed their efforts to capture the city without a fight, and for this reason they had no hope if they should fall into their hands; so they kept fighting stubbornly, although they could see that the city had already been captured, and held out beyond all expectation against the assaults of their opponents. but when day came and some of those who had mounted the wall marched against them, then at last they also, now that they were being shot at from behind, took to flight, and naples was captured by storm. by this time the gates were thrown open and the whole roman army came in. [l] but those who were stationed about the gates which fronted the east, since, as it happened, they had no ladders at hand, set fire to these gates, which were altogether unguarded; for that part of the wall had been deserted, the guards having taken to flight. and then a great slaughter took place; for all of them were possessed with fury, especially those who had chanced to have a brother or other relative slain in the fighting at the wall. and they kept killing all whom they encountered, sparing neither old nor young, and dashing into the houses they made slaves of the women and children and secured the valuables as plunder; and in this the massagetae outdid all the rest, for they did not even withhold their hand from the sanctuaries, but slew many of those who had taken refuge in them, until belisarius, visiting every part of the city, put a stop to this, and calling all together, spoke as follows: date: [l] a.d. "inasmuch as god has given us the victory and has permitted us to attain the greatest height of glory, by putting under our hand a city which has never been captured before, it behooves us on our part to shew ourselves not unworthy of his grace, but by our humane treatment of the vanquished, to make it plain that we have conquered these men justly. do not, therefore, hate the neapolitans with a boundless hatred, and do not allow your hostility toward them to continue beyond the limits of the war. for when men have been vanquished, their victors never hate them any longer. and by killing them you will not be ridding yourselves of enemies for the future, but you will be suffering a loss through the death of your subjects. therefore, do these men no further harm, nor continue to give way wholly to anger. for it is a disgrace to prevail over the enemy and then to shew yourselves vanquished by passion. so let all the possessions of these men suffice for you as the rewards of your valour, but let their wives, together with the children, be given back to the men. and let the conquered learn by experience what kind of friends they have forfeited by reason of foolish counsel." after speaking thus, belisarius released to the neapolitans their women and children and the slaves, one and all, no insult having been experienced by them, and he reconciled the soldiers to the citizens. and thus it came to pass for the neapolitans that on that day they both became captives and regained their liberty, and that they recovered the most precious of their possessions. for those of them who happened to have gold or anything else of value had previously concealed it by burying it in the earth, and in this way they succeeded in hiding from the enemy the fact that in getting back their houses they were recovering their money also. and the siege, which had lasted about twenty days, ended thus. as for the goths who were captured in the city, not less than eight hundred in number, belisarius put them under guard and kept them from all harm, holding them in no less honour than his own soldiers. and pastor, who had been leading the people upon a course of folly, as has been previously[ ] set forth by me, upon seeing the city captured, fell into a fit of apoplexy and died suddenly, though he had neither been ill before nor suffered any harm from anyone. but asclepiodotus, who was engaged in this intrigue with him, came before belisarius with those of the notables who survived. and stephanus mocked and reviled him with these words: "see, o basest of all men, what evils you have brought to your fatherland, by selling the safety of the citizens for loyalty to the goths. and furthermore, if things had gone well for the barbarians, you would have claimed the right to be yourself a hireling in their service and to bring to court on the charge of trying to betray the city to the romans each one of us who have given the better counsel. but now that the emperor has captured the city, and we have been saved by the uprightness of this man, and you even so have had the hardihood recklessly to come into the presence of the general as if you had done no harm to the neapolitans or to the emperor's army, you will meet with the punishment you deserve." such were the words which stephanus, who was deeply grieved by the misfortune of the city, hurled against asclepiodotus. and asclepiodotus replied to him as follows: "quite unwittingly, noble sir, you have been heaping praise upon us, when you reproach us for our loyalty to the goths. for no one could ever be loyal to his masters when they are in danger, except it be by firm conviction. as for me, then, the victors will have in me as true a guardian of the state as they lately found in me an enemy, since he whom nature has endowed with the quality of fidelity does not change his conviction when he changes his fortune. but you, should their fortunes not continue to prosper as before, would readily listen to the overtures of their assailants. for he who has the disease of inconstancy of mind no sooner takes fright than he denies his pledge to those most dear." such were the words of asclepiodotus. but the populace of the neapolitans, when they saw him returning from belisarius, gathered in a body and began to charge him with responsibility for all that had befallen them. and they did not leave him until they had killed him and torn his body into small pieces. after that they came to the house of pastor, seeking for the man. and when the servants insisted that pastor was dead, they were quite unwilling to believe them until they were shown the man's body. and the neapolitans impaled him in the outskirts of the town. then they begged belisarius to pardon them for what they had done while moved with just anger, and receiving his forgiveness, they dispersed. such was the fate of the neapolitans. footnotes: [ ] cf. chap. v. . [ ] cf. chap. v. . [ ] chap. viii. . xi but the goths who were at rome and in the country round about had even before this regarded with great amazement the inactivity of theodatus, because, though the enemy was in his neighbourhood, he was unwilling to engage them in battle, and they felt among themselves much suspicion toward him, believing that he was betraying the cause of the goths to the emperor justinian of his own free will, and cared for nothing else than that he himself might live in quiet, possessed of as much money as possible. accordingly, when they heard that naples had been captured, they began immediately to make all these charges against him openly and gathered at a place two hundred and eighty stades distant from rome, which the romans call regata.[ ] and it seemed best to them to make camp in that place; for there are extensive plains there which furnish pasture for horses. and a river also flows by the place, which the inhabitants call decennovium[ ] in the latin tongue, because it flows past nineteen milestones, a distance which amounts to one hundred and thirteen stades, before it empties into the sea near the city of taracina; and very near that place is mt. circaeum, where they say odysseus met circe, though the story seems to me untrustworthy, for homer declares that the habitation of circe was on an island. this, however, i am able to say, that this mt. circaeum, extending as it does far into the sea, resembles an island, so that both to those who sail close to it and to those who walk to the shore in the neighbourhood it has every appearance of being an island. and only when a man gets on it does he realize that he was deceived in his former opinion. and for this reason homer perhaps called the place an island. but i shall return to the previous narrative. the goths, after gathering at regata, chose as king over them and the italians vittigis, a man who, though not of a conspicuous house, had previously won great renown in the battles about sirmium, when theoderic was carrying on the war against the gepaedes.[ ] theodatus, therefore, upon hearing this, rushed off in flight and took the road to ravenna. but vittigis quickly sent optaris, a goth, instructing him to bring theodatus alive or dead. now it happened that this optaris was hostile to theodatus for the following cause. optaris was wooing a certain young woman who was an heiress and also exceedingly beautiful to look upon. but theodatus, being bribed to do so, took the woman he was wooing from him, and betrothed her to another. and so, since he was not only satisfying his own rage, but rendering a service to vittigis as well, he pursued theodatus with great eagerness and enthusiasm, stopping neither day nor night. and he overtook him while still on his way, laid him on his back on the ground, and slew him like a victim for sacrifice. such was the end of theodatus' life and of his rule, which had reached the third year.[m] date: [m]dec. a.d. and vittigis, together with the goths who were with him, marched to rome. and when he learned what had befallen theodatus, he was pleased and put theodatus' son theodegisclus under guard. but it seemed to him that the preparations of the goths were by no means complete, and for this reason he thought it better first to go to ravenna, and after making everything ready there in the best possible way, then at length to enter upon the war. he therefore called all the goths together and spoke as follows: "the success of the greatest enterprises, fellow-soldiers, generally depends, not upon hasty action at critical moments, but upon careful planning. for many a time a policy of delay adopted at the opportune moment has brought more benefit than the opposite course, and haste displayed at an unseasonable time has upset for many men their hope of success. for in most cases those who are unprepared, though they fight on equal terms so far as their forces are concerned, are more easily conquered than those who, with less strength, enter the struggle with the best possible preparation. let us not, therefore, be so lifted up by the desire to win momentary honour as to do ourselves irreparable harm; for it is better to suffer shame for a short time and by so doing gain an undying glory, than to escape insult for the moment and thereby, as would probably be the case, be left in obscurity for all after time. and yet you doubtless know as well as i that the great body of the goths and practically our whole equipment of arms is in gaul and venetia and the most distant lands. furthermore, we are carrying on against the nations of the franks a war which is no less important than this one, and it is great folly for us to proceed to another war without first settling that one satisfactorily. for it is natural that those who become exposed to attack on two sides and do not confine their attention to a single enemy should be worsted by their opponents. but i say that we must now go straight from here to ravenna, and after bringing the war against the franks to an end and settling all our other affairs as well as possible, then with the whole army of the goths we must fight it out with belisarius. and let no one of you, i say, try to dissemble regarding this withdrawal, nor hesitate to call it flight. for the title of coward, fittingly applied, has saved many, while the reputation for bravery which some men have gained at the wrong time, has afterward led them to defeat. for it is not the names of things, but the advantage which comes from what is done, that is worth seeking after. for a man's worth is revealed by his deeds, not at their commencement, but at their end. and those do not flee before the enemy who, when they have increased their preparation, forthwith go against them, but those who are so anxious to save their own lives for ever that they deliberately stand aside. and regarding the capture of this city, let no fear come to any one of you. for if, on the one hand, the romans are loyal to us, they will guard the city in security for the goths, and they will not experience any hardship, for we shall return to them in a short time. and if, on the other hand, they harbour any suspicions toward us, they will harm us less by receiving the enemy into the city; for it is better to fight in the open against one's enemies. none the less i shall take care that nothing of this sort shall happen. for we shall leave behind many men and a most discreet leader, and they will be sufficient to guard rome so effectively that not only will the situation here be favourable for us, but also that no harm may possibly come from this withdrawal of ours." thus spoke vittigis. and all the goths expressed approval and prepared for the journey. after this vittigis exhorted at length silverius, the priest[ ] of the city, and the senate and people of the romans, reminding them of the rule of theoderic, and he urged upon all to be loyal to the nation of the goths, binding them by the most solemn oaths to do so; and he chose out no fewer than four thousand men, and set in command over them leuderis, a man of mature years who enjoyed a great reputation for discretion, that they might guard rome for the goths. then he set out for ravenna with the rest of the army, keeping the most of the senators with him as hostages. and when he had reached that place, he made matasuntha, the daughter of amalasuntha, who was a maiden now of marriageable age, his wedded wife, much against her will, in order that he might make his rule more secure by marrying into the family of theoderic. after this he began to gather all the goths from every side and to organize and equip them, duly distributing arms and horses to each one; and only the goths who were engaged in garrison duty in gaul he was unable to summon, through fear of the franks. these franks were called "germani" in ancient times. and the manner in which they first got a foothold in gaul, and where they had lived before that, and how they became hostile to the goths, i shall now proceed to relate. footnotes: [ ] near terracina. [ ] the name is made from _decem_ and _novem_, "nineteen,"--apparently a late formation. the "river" was in reality a canal, extending from appii forum to terracina. [ ] chap. iii. . [ ] silverius was pope - a.d. xii as one sails from the ocean into the mediterranean at gadira, the land on the left, as was stated in the preceding narrative,[ ] is named europe, while the land opposite to this is called libya, and, farther on, asia. now as to the region beyond libya[ ] i am unable to speak with accuracy;[ ] for it is almost wholly destitute of men, and for this reason the first source of the nile, which they say flows from that land toward egypt, is quite unknown. but europe at its very beginning is exceedingly like the peloponnesus, and fronts the sea on either side. and the land which is first toward the ocean and the west is named spain, extending as far as the alps of the pyrenees range. for the men of this country are accustomed to call a narrow, shut-in pass "alps." and the land from there on as far as the boundaries of liguria is called gaul. and in that place other alps separate the gauls and the ligurians. gaul, however, is much broader than spain, and naturally so, because europe, beginning with a narrow peninsula, gradually widens as one advances until it attains an extraordinary breadth. and this land is bounded by water on either side, being washed on the north by the ocean, and having on the south the sea called the tuscan sea. and in gaul there flow numerous rivers, among which are the rhone and the rhine. but the course of these two being in opposite directions, the one empties into the tuscan sea, while the rhine empties into the ocean. and there are many lakes[ ] in that region, and this is where the germans lived of old, a barbarous nation, not of much consequence in the beginning, who are now called franks. next to these lived the arborychi,[ ] who, together with all the rest of gaul, and, indeed, spain also, were subjects of the romans from of old. and beyond them toward the east were settled the thuringian barbarians, augustus, the first emperor, having given them this country.[ ] and the burgundians lived not far from them toward the south,[ ] and the suevi[ ] also lived beyond the thuringians, and the alamani,[ ] powerful nations. all these were settled there as independent peoples in earlier times. but as time went on, the visigoths forced their way into the roman empire and seized all spain and the portion of gaul lying beyond[ ] the rhone river and made them subject and tributary to themselves. by that time it so happened that the arborychi had become soldiers of the romans. and the germans, wishing to make this people subject to themselves, since their territory adjoined their own and they had changed the government under which they had lived from of old, began to plunder their land and, being eager to make war, marched against them with their whole people. but the arborychi proved their valour and loyalty to the romans and shewed themselves brave men in this war, and since the germans were not able to overcome them by force, they wished to win them over and make the two peoples kin by intermarriage. this suggestion the arborychi received not at all unwillingly; for both, as it happened, were christians. and in this way they were united into one people, and came to have great power. now other roman soldiers, also, had been stationed at the frontiers of gaul to serve as guards. and these soldiers, having no means of returning to rome, and at the same time being unwilling to yield to their enemy[ ] who were arians, gave themselves, together with their military standards and the land which they had long been guarding for the romans, to the arborychi and germans; and they handed down to their offspring all the customs of their fathers, which were thus preserved, and this people has held them in sufficient reverence to guard them even up to my time. for even at the present day they are clearly recognized as belonging to the legions to which they were assigned when they served in ancient times, and they always carry their own standards when they enter battle, and always follow the customs of their fathers. and they preserve the dress of the romans in every particular, even as regards their shoes. now as long as the roman polity remained unchanged,[ ] the emperor held all gaul as far as the rhone river; but when odoacer changed the government into a tyranny, [n] then, since the tyrant yielded to them, the visigoths took possession of all gaul as far as the alps which mark the boundary between gaul and liguria. [o]but after the fall of odoacer, the thuringians and the visigoths began to fear the power of the germans, which was now growing greater (for their country had become exceedingly populous and they were forcing into subjection without any concealment those who from time to time came in their way), and so they were eager to win the alliance of the goths and theoderic. and since theoderic wished to attach these peoples to himself, he did not refuse to intermarry with them. accordingly he betrothed to alaric the younger, who was then leader of the visigoths, his own unmarried daughter theodichusa, and to hermenefridus, the ruler of the thuringians, amalaberga, the daughter of his sister amalafrida. as a result of this the franks refrained from violence against these peoples through fear of theoderic, but they began a war against the burgundians. but later on the franks and the goths entered into an offensive alliance against the burgundians, agreeing that each of the two should send an army against them; and it was further agreed that if either army should be absent when the other took the field against the nation of the burgundians and overthrew them and gained the land which they had, then the victors should receive as a penalty from those who had not joined in the expedition a fixed sum of gold, and that only on these terms should the conquered land belong to both peoples in common. so the germans went against the burgundians with a great army according to the agreement between themselves and the goths; but theoderic was still engaged with his preparations, as he said, and purposely kept putting off the departure of the army to the following day, and waiting for what would come to pass. finally, however, he sent the army, but commanded the generals to march in a leisurely fashion, and if they should hear that the franks had been victorious, they were thenceforth to go quickly, but if they should learn that any adversity had befallen them, they were to proceed no farther, but remain where they were. so they proceeded to carry out the commands of theoderic, but meanwhile the germans joined battle alone with the burgundians.[p] the battle was stubbornly contested and a great slaughter took place on both sides, for the struggle was very evenly matched; but finally the franks routed their enemy and drove them to the borders of the land which they inhabited at that time, where they had many strongholds, while the franks took possession of all the rest. and the goths, upon hearing this, were quickly at hand. and when they were bitterly reproached by their allies, they blamed the difficulty of the country, and laying down the amount of the penalty, they divided the land with the victors according to the agreement made. and thus the foresight of theoderic was revealed more clearly than ever, because, without losing a single one of his subjects, he had with a little gold acquired half of the land of his enemy. thus it was that the goths and germans in the beginning got possession of a certain part of gaul. dates: [n] a.d. [o] a.d. [p] a.d. but later on, when the power of the germans was growing greater, they began to think slightingly of theoderic and the fear he inspired, and took the field against alaric and the visigoths. and when alaric learned this, he summoned theoderic as quickly as possible. and he set out to his assistance with a great army. in the meantime, the visigoths, upon learning that the germans were in camp near the city of carcasiana,[ ] went to meet them, and making a camp remained quiet. but since much time was being spent by them in blocking the enemy in this way, they began to be vexed, and seeing that their land was being plundered by the enemy, they became indignant. and at length they began to heap many insults upon alaric, reviling him on account of his fear of the enemy and taunting him with the delay of his father-in-law. for they declared that they by themselves were a match for the enemy in battle and that even though unaided they would easily overcome the germans in the war. for this reason alaric was compelled to do battle with the enemy before the goths had as yet arrived. and the germans, gaining the upper hand in this engagement, killed the most of the visigoths and their ruler alaric. [q] then they took possession of the greater part of gaul and held it; and they laid siege to carcasiana with great enthusiasm, because they had learned that the royal treasure was there, which alaric the elder in earlier times had taken as booty when he captured rome.[ ] among these were also the treasures of solomon, the king of the hebrews, a most noteworthy sight. [r]for the most of them were adorned with emeralds; and they had been taken from jerusalem by the romans in ancient times.[ ] then the survivors of the visigoths declared giselic, an illegitimate son of alaric, ruler over them, amalaric, the son of theoderic's daughter, being still a very young child. and afterwards, when theoderic had come with the army of the goths, the germans became afraid and broke up the siege. so they retired from there and took possession of the part of gaul beyond the rhone river as far as the ocean. and theoderic, being unable to drive them out from there, allowed them to hold this territory, but he himself recovered the rest of gaul. then, after giselic had been put out of the way, he conferred the rule of the visigoths upon his grandson amalaric, for whom, since he was still a child, he himself acted as regent. and taking all the money which lay in the city of carcasiana, he marched quickly back to ravenna; furthermore, he continued to send commanders and armies into gaul and spain, thus holding the real power of the government himself, and by way of providing that he should hold it securely and permanently, he ordained that the rulers of those countries should bring tribute to him. and though he received this every year, in order not to give the appearance of being greedy for money he sent it as an annual gift to the army of the goths and visigoths. and as a result of this, the goths and visigoths, as time went on, ruled as they were by one man and holding the same land, betrothed their children to one another and thus joined the two races in kinship. dates: [q] a.d. [r] a.d. but afterwards, theudis, a goth, whom theoderic had sent as commander of the army, took to wife a woman from spain; she was not, however, of the race of the visigoths, but belonged to the house of one of the wealthy inhabitants of that land, and not only possessed great wealth but also owned a large estate in spain. from this estate he gathered about two thousand soldiers and surrounded himself with a force of bodyguards, and while in name he was a ruler over the goths by the gift of theoderic, he was in fact an out and out tyrant. and theoderic, who was wise and experienced in the highest degree, was afraid to carry on a war against his own slave, lest the franks meanwhile should take the field against him, as they naturally would, or the visigoths on their part should begin a revolution against him; accordingly he did not remove theudis from his office, but even continued to command him, whenever the army went to war, to lead it forth. however, he directed the first men of the goths to write to theudis that he would be acting justly and in a manner worthy of his wisdom, if he should come to ravenna and salute theoderic. theudis, however, although he carried out all the commands of theoderic and never failed to send in the annual tribute, would not consent to go to ravenna, nor would he promise those who had written to him that he would do so. footnotes: [ ] book iii. i. . [ ] _i.e._ equatorial africa. [ ] cf. book iv. xiii. . [ ] this vague statement is intended to describe the country west of the rhine, at that time a land of forests and swamps. [ ] the people whom procopius names arborychi must be the armorici. if so, they occupied the coast of what is now belgium. [ ] now south-eastern germany. [ ] now south-eastern france. [ ] between the germans and burgundians. [ ] in modern bavaria. [ ] _i.e._ west of the rhone. [ ] _i.e._ the visigoths. [ ] _i.e._ under a recognized imperial dynasty. [ ] in gallia narbonensis, modern carcassone. procopius has been misled. the battle here described was fought in the neighbourhood of poitiers. [ ] cf. book iii. ii. - . [ ] at the capture of jerusalem by titus in a.d. the treasures here mentioned were removed from rome in a.d. the remainder of the jewish treasure formed part of the spoil of gizeric, the vandal. cf. book iv. ix. and note. xiii after theoderic had departed from the world,[s] the franks, now that there was no longer anyone to oppose them, took the field against the thuringians, and not only killed their leader hermenefridus but also reduced to subjection the entire people. but the wife of hermenefridus took her children and secretly made her escape, coming to theodatus, her brother, who was at that time ruling over the goths. after this the germans made an attack upon the burgundians who had survived the former war,[ ] and defeating them in battle confined their leader in one of the fortresses of the country and kept him under guard, while they reduced the people to subjection and compelled them, as prisoners of war, to march with them from that time forth against their enemies, and the whole land which the burgundians had previously inhabited they made subject and tributary to themselves. and amalaric, who was ruling over the visigoths, upon coming to man's estate, became thoroughly frightened at the power of the germans and so took to wife the sister of theudibert, ruler of the germans, and divided gaul with the goths and his cousin atalaric. the goths, namely, received as their portion the land to the east of the rhone river, while that to the west fell under the control of the visigoths. and it was agreed that the tribute which theoderic had imposed should no longer be paid to the goths, and atalaric honestly and justly restored to amalaric all the money which he had taken from the city of carcasiana. then, since these two nations had united with one another by intermarriage, they allowed each man who had espoused a wife of the other people to choose whether he wished to follow his wife, or bring her among his own people. and there were many who led their wives to the people they preferred and many also who were led by their wives. but later on amalaric, having given offence to his wife's brother, suffered a great calamity. for while his wife was of the orthodox faith, he himself followed the heresy of arius, and he would not allow her to hold to her customary beliefs or to perform the rites of religion according to the tradition of her fathers, and, furthermore, because she was unwilling to conform to his customs, he held her in great dishonour. and since the woman was unable to bear this, she disclosed the whole matter to her brother. for this reason, then, the germans and visigoths entered into war with each other. [t]and the battle which took place was for a long time very stoutly contested, but finally amalaric was defeated, losing many of his men, and was himself slain. and theudibert took his sister with all the money, and as much of gaul as the visigoths held as their portion. and the survivors of the vanquished emigrated from gaul with their wives and children and went to theudis in spain, who was already acting the tyrant openly. thus did the goths and germans gain possession of gaul. dates: [s] a.d. [t] a.d. but at a later time[ ] theodatus, the ruler of the goths, upon learning that belisarius had come to sicily, made a compact with the germans, in which it was agreed that the germans should have that portion of gaul which fell to the goths, and should receive twenty centenaria[ ] of gold, and that in return they should assist the goths in this war. but before he had as yet carried out the agreement he fulfilled his destiny.[u] it was for this reason, then, that many of the noblest of the goths, with marcias as their leader, were keeping guard in gaul. it was these men whom vittigis was unable to recall from gaul,[ ] and indeed he did not think them numerous enough even to oppose the franks, who would, in all probability, overrun both gaul and italy, if he should march with his whole army against rome. he therefore called together all who were loyal among the goths and spoke as follows: date: [u] a.d. "the advice which i have wished to give you, fellow-countrymen, in bringing you together here at the present time, is not pleasant, but it is necessary; and do you hear me kindly, and deliberate in a manner befitting the situation which is upon us. for when affairs do not go as men wish, it is inexpedient for them to go on with their present arrangements in disregard of necessity or fortune. now in all other respects our preparations for war are in the best possible state. but the franks are an obstacle to us; against them, our ancient enemies, we have indeed been spending both our lives and our money, but nevertheless we have succeeded in holding our own up to the present time, since no other hostile force has confronted us. but now that we are compelled to go against another foe, it will be necessary to put an end to the war against them, in the first place because, if they remain hostile to us, they will certainly array themselves with belisarius against us; for those who have the same enemy are by the very nature of things induced to enter into friendship and alliance with each other. in the second place, even if we carry on the war separately against each army, we shall in the end be defeated by both of them. it is better, therefore, for us to accept a little loss and thus preserve the greatest part of our kingdom, than in our eagerness to hold everything to be destroyed by the enemy and lose at the same time the whole power of our supremacy. so my opinion is that if we give the germans the provinces of gaul which adjoin them, and together with this land all the money which theodatus agreed to give them, they will not only be turned from their enmity against us, but will even lend us assistance in this war. but as to how at a later time, when matters are going well for us, we may regain possession of gaul, let no one of you consider this question. for an ancient saying[ ] comes to my mind, which bids us 'settle well the affairs of the present.'" upon hearing this speech the notables of the goths, considering the plan advantageous, wished it to be put into effect. accordingly envoys were immediately sent to the nation of the germans, in order to give them the lands of gaul together with the gold, and to make an offensive and defensive alliance. now at that time the rulers of the franks were ildibert, theudibert, and cloadarius, and they received gaul and the money, and divided the land among them according to the territory ruled by each one, and they agreed to be exceedingly friendly to the goths, and secretly to send them auxiliary troops, not franks, however, but soldiers drawn from the nations subject to them. for they were unable to make an alliance with them openly against the romans, because they had a little before agreed to assist the emperor in this war. so the envoys, having accomplished the mission on which they had been sent, returned to ravenna. at that time also vittigis summoned marcias with his followers. footnotes: [ ] cf. chap. xii. ff. [ ] procopius resumes his narrative, which was interrupted by the digression beginning in chap. xii. [ ] cf. book i. xxii. ; iii. vi. and note. [ ] cf. chap. xi. . [ ] cf. thuc. i. , [greek: thesthai to paron], "to deal with the actual situation"; hor. _od._ iii. , , "quod adest memento | componere." xiv but while vittigis was carrying on these negotiations, belisarius was preparing to go to rome. he accordingly selected three hundred men from the infantry forces with herodian as their leader, and assigned them the duty of guarding naples. and he also sent to cumae as large a garrison as he thought would be sufficient to guard the fortress there. for there was no stronghold in campania except those at cumae and at naples. it is in this city of cumae that the inhabitants point out the cave of the sibyl, where they say her oracular shrine was; and cumae is on the sea, one hundred and twenty-eight stades distant from naples. belisarius, then, was thus engaged in putting his army in order; but the inhabitants of rome, fearing lest all the calamities should befall them which had befallen the neapolitans, decided after considering the matter that it was better to receive the emperor's army into the city. and more than any other silverius,[ ] the chief priest of the city, urged them to adopt this course. so they sent fidelius, a native of milan, which is situated in liguria, a man who had been previously an adviser of atalaric (such an official is called "quaestor"[ ] by the romans), and invited belisarius to come to rome, promising to put the city into his hands without a battle. so belisarius led his army from naples by the latin way, leaving on the left the appian way, which appius, the consul of the romans, had made nine hundred years before[ ] and to which he had given his name. now the appian way is in length a journey of five days for an unencumbered traveller; for it extends from rome to capua. and the breadth of this road is such that two waggons going in opposite directions can pass one another, and it is one of the noteworthy sights of the world. for all the stone, which is mill-stone[ ] and hard by nature, appius quarried in another place[ ] far away and brought there; for it is not found anywhere in this district. and after working these stones until they were smooth and flat, and cutting them to a polygonal shape, he fastened them together without putting concrete or anything else between them. and they were fastened together so securely and the joints were so firmly closed, that they give the appearance, when one looks at them, not of being fitted together, but of having grown together. and after the passage of so long a time, and after being traversed by many waggons and all kinds of animals every day, they have neither separated at all at the joints, nor has any one of the stones been worn out or reduced in thickness,--nay, they have not even lost any of their polish. such, then, is the appian way. but as for the goths who were keeping guard in rome, it was not until they learned that the enemy were very near and became aware of the decision of the romans, that they began to be concerned for the city, and, being unable to meet the attacking army in battle, they were at a loss; but later, with the permission of the romans, they all departed thence and proceeded to ravenna, except that leuderis, who commanded them, being ashamed, i suppose, because of the situation in which he found himself, remained there. and it so happened on that day that at the very same time when belisarius and the emperor's army were entering rome through the gate which they call the asinarian gate, the goths were withdrawing from the city through another gate which bears the name flaminian; and rome became subject to the romans again after a space of sixty years, on the ninth day of the last month, which is called "december" by the romans, in the eleventh year of the reign of the emperor justinian. [v] now belisarius sent leuderis, the commander of the goths, and the keys of the gates to the emperor, but he himself turned his attention to the circuit-wall, which had fallen into ruin in many places; and he constructed each merlon of the battlement with a wing, adding a sort of flanking wall on the left side,[ ] in order that those fighting from the battlement against their assailants might never be hit by missiles thrown by those storming the wall on their left; and he also dug a moat about the wall of sufficient depth to form a very important part of the defences. and the romans applauded the forethought of the general and especially the experience displayed in the matter of the battlement; but they marvelled greatly and were vexed that he should have thought it possible for him to enter rome if he had any idea that he would be besieged, for it cannot possibly endure a siege because it cannot be supplied with provisions, since it is not on the sea, is enclosed by a wall of so huge a circumference,[ ] and, above all, lying as it does in a very level plain, is naturally exceedingly easy of access for its assailants. but although belisarius heard all these criticisms, he nevertheless continued to make all his preparations for a siege, and the grain which he had in his ships when he came from sicily he stored in public granaries and kept under guard, and he compelled all the romans, indignant though they were, to bring all their provisions in from the country. date: [v] a.d. footnotes: [ ] cf. chap. xi. , note. [ ] the quaestor held an important position as counsellor ([greek: paredros]) of the emperor in legal matters. it was his function, also, to formulate and publish new laws. [ ] built in b.c. by the censor, appius claudius. [ ] chiefly basalt. as built by appius, however, the surface was of gravel; the stone blocks date from later years. [ ] apparently an error, for lava quarries have been found along the road. [ ] _i.e._ on the left of the defender. the battlement, then, in horizontal section, had this form |--|--|--, instead of the usual series of straight merlons. winged merlons were used on the walls of pompeii; for an excellent illustration see overbeck, _pompeji_^ , p. . [ ] _i.e._ too great to be defended at every point: the total length of the circuit-wall was about twelve miles. xv at that time pitzas, a goth, coming from samnium, also put himself and all the goths who were living there with him into the hands of belisarius, as well as the half of that part of samnium which lies on the sea, as far as the river which flows through the middle of that district.[ ] for the goths who were settled on the other side of the river were neither willing to follow pitzas nor to be subjects of the emperor. and belisarius gave him a small number of soldiers to help him guard that territory. and before this the calabrians and apulians, since no goths were present in their land, had willingly submitted themselves to belisarius, both those on the coast and those who held the interior. among the interior towns is beneventus,[ ] which in ancient times the romans had named "maleventus," but now they call it beneventus, avoiding the evil omen of the former name,[ ] "ventus" having the meaning "wind" in the latin tongue. for in dalmatia, which lies across from this city on the opposite mainland, a wind of great violence and exceedingly wild is wont to fall upon the country, and when this begins to blow, it is impossible to find a man there who continues to travel on the road, but all shut themselves up at home and wait. such, indeed, is the force of the wind that it seizes a man on horseback together with his horse and carries him through the air, and then, after whirling him about in the air to a great distance, it throws him down wherever he may chance to be and kills him. and it so happens that beneventus, being opposite to dalmatia, as i have said, and situated on rather high ground, gets some of the disadvantage of this same wind. this city was built of old by diomedes, the son of tydeus, when after the capture of troy he was repulsed from argos. and he left to the city as a token the tusks of the calydonian boar, which his uncle meleager had received as a prize of the hunt, and they are there even up to my time, a noteworthy sight and well worth seeing, measuring not less than three spans around and having the form of a crescent. there, too, they say that diomedes met aeneas, the son of anchises, when he was coming from ilium, and in obedience to the oracle gave him the statue of athena which he had seized as plunder in company with odysseus, when the two went into troy as spies before the city was captured by the greeks. for they tell the story that when he fell sick at a later time, and made enquiry concerning the disease, the oracle responded that he would never be freed from his malady unless he should give this statue to a man of troy. and as to where in the world the statue itself is, the romans say they do not know, but even up to my time they shew a copy of it chiselled on a certain stone in the temple of fortune, where it lies before the bronze statue of athena, which is set up under the open sky in the eastern part of the temple. and this copy on the stone represents a female figure in the pose of a warrior and extending her spear as if for combat; but in spite of this she has a chiton reaching to the feet. but the face does not resemble the greek statues of athena, but is altogether like the work of the ancient aegyptians. the byzantines, however, say that the emperor constantine dug up this statue in the forum which bears his name[ ] and set it there. so much, then, for this. in this way belisarius won over the whole of that part of italy which is south of the ionian gulf,[ ] as far as rome and samnium, and the territory north of the gulf, as far as liburnia, had been gained by constantianus, as has been said.[ ] but i shall now explain how italy is divided among the inhabitants of the land. the adriatic sea[ ] sends out a kind of outlet far into the continent and thus forms the ionian gulf, but it does not, as in other places where the sea enters the mainland, form an isthmus at its end. for example, the so-called crisaean gulf, ending at lechaeum, where the city of corinth is, forms the isthmus of that city, about forty stades in breadth; and the gulf off the hellespont, which they call the black gulf,[ ] makes the isthmus at the chersonese no broader than the corinthian, but of about the same size. but from the city of ravenna, where the ionian gulf ends, to the tuscan sea is not less than eight days' journey for an unencumbered traveller. and the reason is that the arm of the sea, as it advances,[ ] always inclines very far to the right. and below this gulf the first town is dryus,[ ] which is now called hydrus. and on the right of this are the calabrians, apulians, and samnites, and next to them dwell the piceni, whose territory extends as far as the city of ravenna. and on the other side are the remainder of the calabrians, the bruttii, and the lucani, beyond whom dwell the campani as far as the city of taracina, and their territory is adjoined by that of rome. these peoples hold the shores of the two seas, and all the interior of that part of italy. and this is the country called magna graecia in former times. for among the bruttii are the epizephyrian locrians and the inhabitants of croton and thurii. but north of the gulf the first inhabitants are greeks, called epirotes, as far as the city of epidamnus, which is situated on the sea. and adjoining this is the land of precalis, beyond which is the territory called dalmatia, all of which is counted as part of the western empire. and beyond that point is liburnia,[ ] and istria, and the land of the veneti extending to the city of ravenna. these countries are situated on the sea in that region. but above them are the siscii and suevi (not those who are subjects of the franks, but another group), who inhabit the interior. and beyond these are settled the carnii and norici. on the right of these dwell the dacians and pannonians, who hold a number of towns, including singidunum[ ] and sirmium, and extend as far as the ister river. now these peoples north of the ionian gulf were ruled by the goths at the beginning of this war, but beyond the city of ravenna on the left of the river po the country was inhabited by the ligurians.[ ] and to the north of them live the albani in an exceedingly good land called langovilla, and beyond these are the nations subject to the franks, while the country to the west is held by the gauls and after them the spaniards. on the right of the po are aemilia[ ] and the tuscan peoples, which extend as far as the boundaries of rome. so much, then, for this. footnotes: [ ] probably either the biferno or the sangro. [ ] _sic_ procopius. the customary form "beneventum" shews less clearly the derivation from "ventus" which procopius favours. other possible explanations are "bene" + "venio" or "bene" + (suff.) "entum." [ ] cf. pliny iii. xi. , § , who says that the name was originally "maleventum," on account of its unwholesome air. [ ] the forum of constantine was a short distance west of the hippodrome. one of its principle monuments, a huge porphyry column, still stands and is known as the "burnt column." [ ] _i.e._ the adriatic sea; see note . [ ] chap. vii. . [ ] by the "adriatic" is meant the part of the mediterranean which lies between africa on the south, sicily and italy on the west, and greece and epirus on the east; procopius' "ionian gulf" is therefore our adriatic sea. [ ] now the gulf of saros, north and west of the gallipoli peninsula. [ ] _i.e._ to the north-west. procopius means that the adriatic should incline at its upper end more toward the left (the west) in order to form the isthmus which he is surprised to find lacking. [ ] hydruntum; cf. book iii. i. , note. [ ] modern croatia. [ ] modern belgrade. [ ] procopius seems to have erred: liguria, as well as aemilia (below), was south of the po. cf. chap. xii. , where liguria is represented as extending to the alps. [ ] whose capital was placentia (piacenzo). xvi so belisarius took possession of all the territory of rome as far as the river tiber, and strengthened it. and when all had been settled by him in the best possible manner, he gave to constantinus a large number of his own guards together with many spearmen, including the massagetae zarter, chorsomanus, and aeschmanus, and an army besides, commanding him to go into tuscany, in order to win over the towns of that region. and he gave orders to bessas to take possession of narnia, a very strong city in tuscany. now this bessas was a goth by birth, one of those who had dwelt in thrace from of old and had not followed theoderic when he led the gothic nation thence into italy, and he was an energetic man and a capable warrior. for he was both a general of the first rank, and a skilful man in action. and bessas took narnia not at all against the will of the inhabitants, and constantinus won over spolitium[ ] and perusia[ ] and certain other towns without any trouble. for the tuscans received him into their cities willingly. so after establishing a garrison in spolitium, he himself remained quietly with his army in perusia, the first city in tuscany. now when vittigis heard this, he sent against them an army with unilas and pissas as its commanders. and constantinus confronted these troops in the outskirts of perusia and engaged with them. the battle was at first evenly disputed, since the barbarians were superior in numbers, but afterwards the romans by their valour gained the upper hand and routed the enemy, and while they were fleeing in complete disorder the romans killed almost all of them; and they captured alive the commanders of the enemy and sent them to belisarius. now when vittigis heard this, he was no longer willing to remain quietly in ravenna, where he was embarrassed by the absence of marcias and his men, who had not yet come from gaul. so he sent to dalmatia a great army with asinarius and uligisalus as its commanders, in order to recover dalmatia for the gothic rule. and he directed them to add to their own troops an army from the land of the suevi, composed of the barbarians there, and then to proceed directly to dalmatia and salones. and he also sent with them many ships of war, in order that they might be able to besiege salones both by land and by sea. but he himself was hastening to go with his whole army against belisarius and rome, leading against him horsemen and infantry to the number of not less than one hundred and fifty thousand, and the most of them as well as their horses were clad in armour. so asinarius, upon reaching the country of the suevi, began to gather the army of the barbarians, while uligisalus alone led the goths into liburnia. and when the romans engaged with them at a place called scardon, they were defeated in the battle and retired to the city of burnus; and there uligisalus awaited his colleague. but constantianus, upon hearing of the preparations of asinarius, became afraid for salones, and summoned the soldiers who were holding all the fortresses in that region. he then dug a moat around the whole circuit-wall and made all the other preparations for the siege in the best manner possible. and asinarius, after gathering an exceedingly large army of barbarians, came to the city of burnus. there he joined uligisalus and the gothic army and proceeded to salones. and they made a stockade about the circuit-wall, and also, filling their ships with soldiers, kept guard over the side of the fortifications which faced the sea. in this manner they proceeded to besiege salones both by land and by sea; but the romans suddenly made an attack upon the ships of the enemy and turned them to flight, and many of them they sunk, men and all, and also captured many without their crews. however, the goths did not raise the siege, but maintained it vigorously and kept the romans still more closely confined to the city than before. such, then, were the fortunes of the roman and gothic armies in dalmatia. but vittigis, upon hearing from the natives who came from rome that the army which belisarius had was very small, began to repent of his withdrawal from rome, and was no longer able to endure the situation, but was now so carried away by fury that he advanced against them. and on his way thither he fell in with a priest who was coming from rome. whereupon they say that vittigis in great excitement enquired of this man whether belisarius was still in rome, shewing that he was afraid he would not be able to catch him, but that belisarius would forestall him by running away. but the priest, they say, replied that he need not be at all concerned about that; for he, the priest, was able to guarantee that belisarius would never resort to flight, but was remaining where he was. but vittigis, they say, kept hastening still more than before, praying that he might see with his own eyes the walls of rome before belisarius made his escape from the city. footnotes: [ ] modern spoleto. [ ] modern perugia. xvii but belisarius, when he heard that the goths were marching against him with their whole force, was in a dilemma. for he was unwilling, on the one hand, to dispense with the troops of constantinus and bessas, especially since his army was exceedingly small, and, on the other, it seemed to him inexpedient to abandon the strongholds in tuscany, lest the goths should hold these as fortresses against the romans. so after considering the matter he sent word to constantinus and bessas to leave garrisons in the positions which absolutely required them, large enough to guard them, while they themselves with the rest of the army should come to rome with all speed. and constantinus acted accordingly. for he established garrisons in perusia and spolitium, and with all the rest of his troops marched off to rome. but while bessas, in a more leisurely manner, was making his dispositions in narnia, it so happened that, since the enemy were passing that way, the plains in the outskirts of the city were filled with goths. these were an advance guard preceding the rest of the army; and bessas engaged with them and unexpectedly routed those whom he encountered and killed many; but then, since he was overpowered by their superior numbers, he retired into narnia. and leaving a garrison there according to the instructions of belisarius, he went with all speed to rome, and reported that the enemy would be at hand almost instantly. for narnia is only three hundred and fifty stades distant from rome. but vittigis made no attempt at all to capture perusia and spolitium; for these places are exceedingly strong and he was quite unwilling that his time should be wasted there, his one desire having come to be to find belisarius not yet fled from rome. moreover, even when he learned that narnia also was held by the enemy, he was unwilling to attempt anything there, knowing that the place was difficult of access and on steep ground besides; for it is situated on a lofty hill. and the river narnus flows by the foot of the hill, and it is this which has given the city its name. there are two roads leading up to the city, the one on the east, and the other on the west. one of these is very narrow and difficult by reason of precipitous rocks, while the other cannot be reached except by way of the bridge which spans the river and provides a passage over it at that point. this bridge was built by caesar augustus in early times, and is a very noteworthy sight; for its arches are the highest of any known to us. so vittigis, not enduring to have his time wasted there, departed thence with all speed and went with the whole army against rome, making the journey through sabine territory. [w]and when he drew near to rome, and was not more than fourteen stades away from it, he came upon a bridge over the tiber river.[ ] there a little while before belisarius had built a tower, furnished it with gates, and stationed in it a guard of soldiers, not because this is the only point at which the tiber could be crossed by the enemy (for there are both boats and bridges at many places along the river), but because he wished the enemy to have to spend more time in the journey, since he was expecting another army from the emperor, and also in order that the romans might bring in still more provisions. for if the barbarians, repulsed at that point, should try to cross on a bridge somewhere else, he thought that not less than twenty days would be consumed by them, and if they wished to launch boats in the tiber to the necessary number, a still longer time would probably be wasted by them. these, then, were the considerations which led him to establish the garrison at that point; and the goths bivouacked there that day, being at a loss and supposing that they would be obliged to storm the tower on the following day; but twenty-two deserters came to them, men who were barbarians by race but roman soldiers, from the cavalry troop commanded by innocentius.[ ] just at that time it occurred to belisarius to establish a camp near the tiber river, in order that they might hinder still more the crossing of the enemy and make some kind of a display of their own daring to their opponents. but all the soldiers who, as has been stated, were keeping guard at the bridge, being overcome with terror at the throng of goths and quailing at the magnitude of their danger, abandoned by night the tower they were guarding and rushed off in flight. but thinking that they could not enter rome, they stealthily marched off toward campania, either because they were afraid of the punishment the general would inflict or because they were ashamed to appear before their comrades. date: [w]feb. , a.d. footnotes: [ ] the mulvian bridge. [ ] cf. chap. v. . xviii on the following day the goths destroyed the gates of the tower with no trouble and made the crossing, since no one tried to oppose them. but belisarius, who had not as yet learned what had happened to the garrison, was bringing up a thousand horsemen to the bridge over the river, in order to look over the ground and decide where it would be best for his forces to make camp. but when they had come rather close, they met the enemy already across the river, and not at all willingly they engaged with some of them. and the battle was carried on by horsemen on both sides. then belisarius, though he was safe before, would no longer keep the general's post, but began to fight in the front ranks like a soldier; and consequently the cause of the romans was thrown into great danger, for the whole decision of the war rested with him. but it happened that the horse he was riding at that time was unusually experienced in warfare and knew well how to save his rider; and his whole body was dark grey, except that his face from the top of his head to the nostrils was the purest white. such a horse the greeks call "phalius"[ ] and the barbarians "balan." and it so happened that the most of the goths threw their javelins and other missiles at him and at belisarius for the following reason. those deserters who on the previous day had come to the goths, when they saw belisarius fighting in the front ranks, knowing well that, if he should fall, the cause of the romans would be ruined instantly, cried aloud urging them to "shoot at the white-faced horse." consequently this saying was passed around and reached the whole gothic army, and they did not question it at all, since they were in a great tumult of fighting, nor did they know clearly that it referred to belisarius. but conjecturing that it was not by mere accident that the saying had gained such currency as to reach all, the most of them, neglecting all others, began to shoot at belisarius. and every man among them who laid any claim to valour was immediately possessed with a great eagerness to win honour, and getting as close as possible they kept trying to lay hold of him and in a great fury kept striking with their spears and swords. but belisarius himself, turning from side to side, kept killing as they came those who encountered him, and he also profited very greatly by the loyalty of his own spearmen and guards in this moment of danger. for they all surrounded him and made a display of valour such, i imagine, as has never been shewn by any man in the world to this day; for, holding out their shields in defence of both the general and his horse, they not only received all the missiles, but also forced back and beat off those who from time to time assailed him. and thus the whole engagement was centred about the body of one man. in this struggle there fell among the goths no fewer than a thousand, and they were men who fought in the front ranks; and of the household of belisarius many of the noblest were slain, and maxentius, the spearman, after making a display of great exploits against the enemy. but by some chance belisarius was neither wounded nor hit by a missile on that day, although the battle was waged around him alone. finally by their valour the romans turned the enemy to flight, and an exceedingly great multitude of barbarians fled until they reached their main army. for there the gothic infantry, being entirely fresh, withstood their enemy and forced them back without any trouble. and when another body of cavalry in turn reinforced the goths, the romans fled at top speed until they reached a certain hill, which they climbed, and there held their position. but the enemy's horsemen were upon them directly, and a second cavalry battle took place. there valentinus, the groom of photius, the son of antonina, made a remarkable exhibition of valour. for by leaping alone into the throng of the enemy he opposed himself to the onrush of the goths and thus saved his companions. in this way the romans escaped, and arrived at the fortifications of rome, and the barbarians in pursuit pressed upon them as far as the wall by the gate which has been named the salarian gate.[ ] but the people of rome, fearing lest the enemy should rush in together with the fugitives and thus get inside the fortifications, were quite unwilling to open the gates, although belisarius urged them again and again and called upon them with threats to do so. for, on the one hand, those who peered out of the tower were unable to recognise the man, for his face and his whole head were covered with gore and dust, and at the same time no one was able to see very clearly, either; for it was late in the day, about sunset. moreover, the romans had no reason to suppose that the general survived; for those who had come in flight from the rout which had taken place earlier reported that belisarius had died fighting bravely in the front ranks. so the throng of the enemy, which had rushed up in strength and possessed with great fury, were purposing to cross the moat straightway and attack the fugitives there; and the romans, finding themselves massed along the wall, after they had come inside the moat, and so close together that they touched one another, were being crowded into a small space. those inside the fortifications, however, since they were without a general and altogether unprepared, and being in a panic of fear for themselves and for the city, were quite unable to defend their own men, although these were now in so perilous a situation. then a daring thought came to belisarius, which unexpectedly saved the day for the romans. for urging on all his men he suddenly fell upon the enemy. and they, even before this, had been in great disorder because of the darkness and the fact that they were making a pursuit, and now when, much to their surprise, they saw the fugitives attacking them, they supposed that another army also had come to their assistance from the city, and so were thrown into a great panic and all fled immediately at top speed. but belisarius by no means rushed out to pursue them, but returned straightway to the wall. and at this the romans took courage and received him and all his men into the city. so narrowly did belisarius and the emperor's cause escape peril; and the battle which had begun early in the morning did not end until night. and those who distinguished themselves above all others by their valour in this battle were, among the romans, belisarius, and among the goths, visandus vandalarius, who had fallen upon belisarius at the first when the battle took place about him, and did not desist until he had received thirteen wounds on his body and fell. and since he was supposed to have died immediately, he was not cared for by his companions, although they were victorious, and he lay there with the dead. but on the third day, when the barbarians had made camp hard by the circuit-wall of rome and had sent some men in order to bury their dead and to perform the customary rites of burial, those who were searching out the bodies of the fallen found visandus vandalarius with life still in him, and one of his companions entreated him to speak some word to him. but he could not do even this, for the inside of his body was on fire because of the lack of food and the thirst caused by his suffering, and so he nodded to him to put water into his mouth. then when he had drunk and become himself again, they lifted and carried him to the camp. and visandus vandalarius won a great name for this deed among the goths, and he lived on a very considerable time, enjoying the greatest renown. this, then, took place on the third day after the battle. but at that time belisarius, after reaching safety with his followers, gathered the soldiers and almost the whole roman populace to the wall, and commanded them to burn many fires and keep watch throughout the whole night. and going about the circuit of the fortifications, he set everything in order and put one of his commanders in charge of each gate. but bessas, who took command of the guard at the gate called the praenestine,[ ] sent a messenger to belisarius with orders to say that the city was held by the enemy, who had broken in through another gate which is across the tiber river[ ] and bears the name of pancratius, a holy man. and all those who were in the company of belisarius, upon hearing this, urged him to save himself as quickly as possible through some other gate. he, however, neither became panic-stricken, nor did he hesitate to declare that the report was false. and he also sent some of his horsemen across the tiber with all speed, and they, after looking over the ground there, brought back word that no hostile attack had been made on the city in that quarter. he therefore sent immediately to each gate and instructed the commanders everywhere that, whenever they heard that the enemy had broken in at any other part of the fortifications, they should not try to assist in the defence nor abandon their post, but should remain quiet; for he himself would take care of such matters. and he did this in order that they might not be thrown into disorder a second time by a rumour which was not true. but vittigis, while the romans were still in great confusion, sent to the salarian gate[ ] one of his commanders, vacis by name, a man of no mean station. and when he had arrived there, he began to reproach the romans for their faithlessness to the goths and upbraided them for the treason which he said they had committed against both their fatherland and themselves, for they had exchanged the power of the goths for greeks who were not able to defend them, although they had never before seen any men of the greek race come to italy except actors of tragedy and mimes and thieving sailors.[ ] such words and many like them were spoken by vacis, but since no one replied to him, he returned to the goths and vittigis. as for belisarius, he brought upon himself much ridicule on the part of the romans, for though he had barely escaped from the enemy, he bade them take courage thenceforth and look with contempt upon the barbarians; for he knew well, he said, that he would conquer them decisively. now the manner in which he had come to know this with certainty will be told in the following narrative.[ ] at length, when it was well on in the night, belisarius, who had been fasting up to this time, was with difficulty compelled by his wife and those of his friends who were present to taste a very little bread. thus, then, the two armies passed this night. [illustration: based upon the plan in hodgkin's "italy and her invaders." edward stanford ltd. london] footnotes: [ ] having a white spot, "white-face." [ ] see plan opposite p. . [ ] see plan opposite p. . [ ] for procopius' description of the wall "across the tiber," see chap. xix. - . [ ] see plan opposite p. . [ ] cf. book iv. xxvii. , note. [ ] chap. xxvii. - . xix but on the following day they arrayed themselves for the struggle, the goths thinking to capture rome by siege without any trouble on account of the great size of the city, and the romans defending it. now the wall of the city has fourteen large gates and several smaller ones. and the goths, being unable with their entire army to envelop the wall on every side, made six fortified camps from which they harassed the portion of the wall containing five gates, from the flaminian as far as the one called the praenestine gate; and all these camps were made by them on the left bank of the tiber river. wherefore the barbarians feared lest their enemy, by destroying the bridge which bears the name of mulvius, should render inaccessible to them all the land on the right bank of the river as far as the sea, and in this way have not the slightest experience of the evils of a siege, and so they fixed a seventh camp across the tiber in the plain of nero, in order that the bridge might be between their two armies. so in this way two other gates came to be exposed to the attacks of the enemy, the aurelian[ ] (which is now named after peter, the chief of the apostles of christ, since he lies not far from there[ ]) and the transtiburtine gate.[ ] thus the goths surrounded only about one-half of the wall with their army, but since they were in no direction wholly shut off from the wall by the river, they made attacks upon it throughout its whole extent whenever they wished. now the way the romans came to build the city-wall on both sides of the river i shall now proceed to tell. in ancient times the tiber used to flow alongside the circuit-wall for a considerable distance, even at the place where it is now enclosed. but this ground, on which the wall rises along the stream of the river, is flat and very accessible. and opposite this flat ground, across the tiber, it happens that there is a great hill[ ] where all the mills of the city have been built from of old, because much water is brought by an aqueduct to the crest of the hill, and rushes thence down the incline with great force. for this reason the ancient romans[ ] determined to surround the hill and the river bank near it with a wall, so that it might never be possible for an enemy to destroy the mills, and crossing the river, to carry on operations with ease against the circuit-wall of the city. so they decided to span the river at this point with a bridge, and to attach it to the wall; and by building many houses in the district across the river they caused the stream of the tiber to be in the middle of the city. so much then for this. and the goths dug deep trenches about all their camps, and heaped up the earth, which they took out from them, on the inner side of the trenches, making this bank exceedingly high, and they planted great numbers of sharp stakes on the top, thus making all their camps in no way inferior to fortified strongholds. and the camp in the plain of nero was commanded by marcias (for he had by now arrived from gaul with his followers, with whom he was encamped there), and the rest of the camps were commanded by vittigis with five others; for there was one commander for each camp. so the goths, having taken their positions in this way, tore open all the aqueducts, so that no water at all might enter the city from them. now the aqueducts of rome are fourteen in number, and were made of baked brick by the men of old, being of such breadth and height that it is possible for a man on horseback to ride in them.[ ] and belisarius arranged for the defence of the city in the following manner. he himself held the small pincian gate and the gate next to this on the right, which is named the salarian. for at these gates the circuit-wall was assailable, and at the same time it was possible for the romans to go out from them against the enemy. the praenestine gate he gave to bessas. and at the flaminian, which is on the other side of the pincian, he put constantinus in command, having previously closed the gates and blocked them up most securely by building a wall of great stones on the inside, so that it might be impossible for anyone to open them. for since one of the camps was very near, he feared least some secret plot against the city should be made there by the enemy. and the remaining gates he ordered the commanders of the infantry forces to keep under guard. and he closed each of the aqueducts as securely as possible by filling their channels with masonry for a considerable distance, to prevent anyone from entering through them from the outside to do mischief. but after the aqueducts had been broken open, as i have stated, the water no longer worked the mills, and the romans were quite unable to operate them with any kind of animals owing to the scarcity of all food in time of siege; indeed they were scarcely able to provide for the horses which were indispensable to them. and so belisarius hit upon the following device. just below the bridge[ ] which i lately mentioned as being connected with the circuit-wall, he fastened ropes from the two banks of the river and stretched them as tight as he could, and then attached to them two boats side by side and two feet apart, where the flow of the water comes down from the arch of the bridge with the greatest force, and placing two mills on either boat, he hung between them the mechanism by which mills are customarily turned. and below these he fastened other boats, each attached to the one next behind in order, and he set the water-wheels between them in the same manner for a great distance. so by the force of the flowing water all the wheels, one after the other, were made to revolve independently, and thus they worked the mills with which they were connected and ground sufficient flour for the city. now when the enemy learned this from the deserters, they destroyed the wheels in the following manner. they gathered large trees and bodies of romans newly slain and kept throwing them into the river; and the most of these were carried with the current between the boats and broke off the mill-wheels. but belisarius, observing what was being done, contrived the following device against it. he fastened above the bridge long iron chains, which reached completely across the tiber. all the objects which the river brought down struck upon these chains, and gathered there and went no farther. and those to whom this work was assigned kept pulling out these objects as they came and bore them to the land. and belisarius did this, not so much on account of the mills, as because he began to think with alarm that the enemy might get inside the bridge at this point with many boats and be in the middle of the city before their presence became known. thus the barbarians abandoned the attempt, since they met with no success in it. and thereafter the romans continued to use these mills; but they were entirely excluded from the baths because of the scarcity of water. however, they had sufficient water to drink, since even for those who lived very far from the river it was possible to draw water from wells. but as for the sewers, which carry out from the city whatever is unclean, belisarius was not forced to devise any plan of safety, for they all discharge into the tiber river, and therefore it was impossible for any plot to be made against the city by the enemy in connection with them. footnotes: [ ] this is an error. procopius means the porta cornelia. [ ] according to tradition the basilica of st. peter was built over the grave of the apostle. [ ] the aurelian. [ ] the janiculum. [ ] the wall described was a part of the wall of aurelian. [ ] this is an exaggeration; the channels vary from four to eight feet in height. [ ] the pons aurelius. see section of this chapter. xx thus, then, did belisarius make his arrangements for the siege. and among the samnites a large company of children, who were pasturing flocks in their own country, chose out two among them who were well favoured in strength of body, and calling one of them by the name of belisarius, and naming the other vittigis, bade them wrestle. and they entered into the struggle with the greatest vehemence and it so fell out that the one who impersonated vittigis was thrown. then the crowd of boys in play hung him to a tree. but a wolf by some chance appeared there, whereupon the boys all fled, and the one called vittigis, who was suspended from the tree, remained for some time suffering this punishment and then died. and when this became known to the samnites, they did not inflict any punishment upon these children, but divining the meaning of the incident declared that belisarius would conquer decisively. so much for this. but the populace of rome were entirely unacquainted with the evils of war and siege. when, therefore, they began to be distressed by their inability to bathe and the scarcity of provisions, and found themselves obliged to forgo sleep in guarding the circuit-wall, and suspected that the city would be captured at no distant date; and when, at the same time, they saw the enemy plundering their fields and other possessions, they began to be dissatisfied and indignant that they, who had done no wrong, should suffer siege and be brought into peril of such magnitude. and gathering in groups by themselves, they railed openly against belisarius, on the ground that he had dared to take the field against the goths before he had received an adequate force from the emperor. and these reproaches against belisarius were secretly indulged in also by the members of the council which they call the senate. and vittigis, hearing all this from the deserters and desiring to embroil them with one another still more, and thinking that in this way the affairs of the romans would be thrown into great confusion, sent to belisarius some envoys, among whom was albis. and when these men came before belisarius, they spoke as follows in the presence of the roman senators and all the commanders of the army: "from of old, general, mankind has made true and proper distinctions in the names they give to things; and one of these distinctions is this--rashness is different from bravery. for rashness, when it takes possession of a man, brings him into danger with discredit, but bravery bestows upon him an adequate prize in reputation for valour. now one of these two has brought you against us, but which it is you will straightway make clear. for if, on the one hand, you placed your confidence in bravery when you took the field against the goths, there is ample opportunity, noble sir, for you to do the deeds of a brave man, since you have only to look down from your wall to see the army of the enemy; but if, on the other hand, it was because you were possessed by rashness that you came to attack us, certainly you now repent you of the reckless undertaking. for the opinions of those who have made a desperate venture are wont to undergo a change whenever they find themselves in serious straits. now, therefore, do not cause the sufferings of these romans to be prolonged any further, men whom theoderic fostered in a life not only of soft luxury but also of freedom, and cease your resistance to him who is the master both of the goths and of the italians. is it not monstrous that you should sit in rome hemmed in as you are and in abject terror of the enemy, while the king of this city passes his time in a fortified camp and inflicts the evils of war upon his own subjects? but we shall give both you and your followers an opportunity to take your departure forthwith in security, retaining all your possessions. for to trample upon those who have learned to take a new view of prudence we consider neither holy nor worthy of the ways of men. and, further, we should gladly ask these romans what complaints they could have had against the goths that they betrayed both us and themselves, seeing that up to this time they have enjoyed our kindness, and now are acquainted by experience with the assistance to be expected from you." thus spoke the envoys. and belisarius replied as follows: "it is not to rest with you to choose the moment for conference. for men are by no means wont to wage war according to the judgment of their enemies, but it is customary for each one to arrange his own affairs for himself, in whatever manner seems to him best. but i say to you that there will come a time when you will want to hide your heads under the thistles but will find no shelter anywhere. as for rome, moreover, which we have captured, in holding it we hold nothing which belongs to others, but it was you who trespassed upon this city in former times, though it did not belong to you at all, and now you have given it back, however unwillingly, to its ancient possessors. and whoever of you has hopes of setting foot in rome without a fight is mistaken in his judgment. for as long as belisarius lives, it is impossible for him to relinquish this city." such were the words of belisarius. but the romans, being overcome by a great fear, sat in silence, and, even though they were abused by the envoys at length for their treason to the goths, dared make no reply to them, except, indeed, that fidelius saw fit to taunt them. this man was then praetorian prefect, having been appointed to the office by belisarius, and for this reason he seemed above all others to be well disposed toward the emperor. xxi the envoys then betook themselves to their own army. and when vittigis enquired of them what manner of man belisarius was and how his purpose stood with regard to the question of withdrawing from rome, they replied that the goths were hoping for vain things if they supposed that they would frighten belisarius in any way whatsoever. and when vittigis heard this, he began in great earnest to plan an assault upon the wall, and the preparations he made for the attempt upon the fortifications were as follows. he constructed wooden towers equal in height to the enemy's wall, and he discovered its true measure by making many calculations based upon the courses of stone. and wheels were attached to the floor of these towers under each corner, which were intended, as they turned, to move the towers to any point the attacking army might wish at a given time, and the towers were drawn by oxen yoked together. after this he made ready a great number of ladders, that would reach as far as the parapet, and four engines which are called rams. now this engine is of the following sort. four upright wooden beams, equal in length, are set up opposite one another. to these beams they fit eight horizontal timbers, four above and an equal number at the base, thus binding them together. after they have thus made the frame of a four-sided building, they surround it on all sides, not with walls of wood or stone, but with a covering of hides, in order that the engine may be light for those who draw it and that those within may still be in the least possible danger of being shot by their opponents. and on the inside they hang another horizontal beam from the top by means of chains which swing free, and they keep it at about the middle of the interior. they then sharpen the end of this beam and cover it with a large iron head, precisely as they cover the round point of a missile, or they sometimes make the iron head square like an anvil. and the whole structure is raised upon four wheels, one being attached to each upright beam, and men to the number of no fewer than fifty to each ram move it from the inside. then when they apply it to the wall, they draw back the beam which i have just mentioned by turning a certain mechanism, and then they let it swing forward with great force against the wall. and this beam by frequent blows is able quite easily to batter down and tear open a wall wherever it strikes, and it is for this reason that the engine has the name it bears, because the striking end of the beam, projecting as it does, is accustomed to butt against whatever it may encounter, precisely as do the males among sheep. such, then, are the rams used by the assailants of a wall. and the goths were holding in readiness an exceedingly great number of bundles of faggots, which they had made of pieces of wood and reeds, in order that by throwing them into the moat they might make the ground level, and that their engines might not be prevented from crossing it. now after the goths had made their preparations in this manner, they were eager to make an assault upon the wall. but belisarius placed upon the towers engines which they call "ballistae."[ ] now these engines have the form of a bow, but on the under side of them a grooved wooden shaft projects; this shaft is so fitted to the bow that it is free to move, and rests upon a straight iron bed. so when men wish to shoot at the enemy with this, they make the parts of the bow which form the ends bend toward one another by means of a short rope fastened to them, and they place in the grooved shaft the arrow, which is about one half the length of the ordinary missiles which they shoot from bows, but about four times as wide. however, it does not have feathers of the usual sort attached to it, but by inserting thin pieces of wood in place of feathers, they give it in all respects the form of an arrow, making the point which they put on very large and in keeping with its thickness. and the men who stand on either side wind it up tight by means of certain appliances, and then the grooved shaft shoots forward and stops, but the missile is discharged from the shaft,[ ] and with such force that it attains the distance of not less than two bow-shots, and that, when it hits a tree or a rock, it pierces it easily. such is the engine which bears this name, being so called because it shoots with very great force.[ ] and they fixed other engines along the parapet of the wall adapted for throwing stones. now these resemble slings and are called "wild asses."[ ] and outside the gates they placed "wolves,"[ ] which they make in the following manner. they set up two timbers which reach from the ground to the battlements; then they fit together beams which have been mortised to one another, placing some upright and others crosswise, so that the spaces between the intersections appear as a succession of holes. and from every joint there projects a kind of beak, which resembles very closely a thick goad. then they fasten the cross-beams to the two upright timbers, beginning at the top and letting them extend half way down, and then lean the timbers back against the gates. and whenever the enemy come up near them, those above lay hold of the ends of the timbers and push, and these, falling suddenly upon the assailants, easily kill with the projecting beaks as many as they may catch. so belisarius was thus engaged. footnotes: [ ] cf. the description of the ballista and other engines of war in ammianus marcellinus, xxii. iv. the engine here described by procopius is the catapult of earlier times; the ballista hurled stones, not arrows. see the classical dictionaries for illustrations. [ ] the "shaft" is a holder for the missile, and it (not the missile) is driven by the bowstring. when the holder stops, the missile goes on. [ ] a popular etymology of [greek: bállistra], a corrupted form of [greek: bállista]; the point is in the greek words [greek: bállo] + [greek: málista], an etymology correct only as far as [greek: bállo] is concerned. [ ] called also "scorpions"; described by ammianus, _l.c._ [ ] this contrivance was not one familiar to classical times. the "lupi" of livy xxviii. iii. were hooks; vegetius, _de re militari_, ii. and iv. , mentions "lupi" (also hooks), used to put a battering-ram out of action. xxii on the eighteenth day from the beginning of the siege the goths moved against the fortifications at about sunrise under the leadership of vittigis in order to assault the wall, and all the romans were struck with consternation at the sight of the advancing towers and rams, with which they were altogether unfamiliar. but belisarius, seeing the ranks of the enemy as they advanced with the engines, began to laugh, and commanded the soldiers to remain quiet and under no circumstances to begin fighting until he himself should give the signal. now the reason why he laughed he did not reveal at the moment, but later it became known. the romans, however, supposing him to be hiding his real feelings by a jest, abused him and called him shameless, and were indignant that he did not try to check the enemy as they came forward. but when the goths came near the moat, the general first of all stretched his bow and with a lucky aim hit in the neck and killed one of the men in armour who were leading the army on. and he fell on his back mortally wounded, while the whole roman army raised an extraordinary shout such as was never heard before, thinking that they had received an excellent omen. and twice did belisarius send forth his bolt, and the very same thing happened again a second time, and the shouting rose still louder from the circuit-wall, and the romans thought that the enemy were conquered already. then belisarius gave the signal for the whole army to put their bows into action, but those near himself he commanded to shoot only at the oxen. and all the oxen fell immediately, so that the enemy could neither move the towers further nor in their perplexity do anything to meet the emergency while the fighting was in progress. in this way the forethought of belisarius in not trying to check the enemy while still at a great distance came to be understood, as well as the reason why he had laughed at the simplicity of the barbarians, who had been so thoughtless as to hope to bring oxen up to the enemy's wall. now all this took place at the salarian gate. but vittigis, repulsed at this point, left there a large force of goths, making of them a very deep phalanx and instructing the commanders on no condition to make an assault upon the fortifications, but remaining in position to shoot rapidly at the parapet, and give belisarius no opportunity whatever to take reinforcements to any other part of the wall which he himself might propose to attack with a superior force; he then went to the praenestine gate with a great force, to a part of the fortifications which the romans call the "vivarium,"[ ] where the wall was most assailable. now it so happened that engines of war were already there, including towers and rams and a great number of ladders. but in the meantime another gothic assault was being made at the aurelian gate[ ] in the following manner. the tomb of the roman emperor hadrian[ ] stands outside the aurelian gate, removed about a stone's throw from the fortifications, a very noteworthy sight. for it is made of parian marble, and the stones fit closely one upon the other, having nothing at all[ ] between them. and it has four sides which are all equal, each being about a stone's throw in length, while their height exceeds that of the city wall; and above there are statues of the same marble, representing men and horses, of wonderful workmanship.[ ] but since this tomb seemed to the men of ancient times a fortress threatening the city, they enclosed it by two walls, which extend to it from the circuit-wall,[ ] and thus made it a part of the wall. and, indeed, it gives the appearance of a high tower built as a bulwark before the gate there. so the fortifications at that point were most adequate. now constantinus, as it happened, had been appointed by belisarius to have charge of the garrison at this tomb. and he had instructed him also to attend to the guarding of the adjoining wall, which had a small and inconsiderable garrison. for, since that part of the circuit-wall was the least assailable of all, because the river flows along it, he supposed that no assault would be made there, and so stationed an insignificant garrison at that place, and, since the soldiers he had were few, he assigned the great majority to the positions where there was most need of them. for the emperor's army gathered in rome at the beginning of this siege amounted at most to only five thousand men. but since it was reported to constantinus that the enemy were attempting the crossing of the tiber, he became fearful for that part of the fortifications and went thither himself with all speed, accompanied by some few men to lend assistance, commanding the greater part of his men to attend to the guarding of the gate and the tomb. but meanwhile the goths began an assault upon the aurelian gate and the tower of hadrian, and though they had no engines of war, they brought up a great quantity of ladders, and thought that by shooting a vast number of arrows they would very easily reduce the enemy to a state of helplessness and overpower the garrison there without any trouble on account of its small numbers. and as they advanced, they held before them shields no smaller than the long shields used by the persians, and they succeeded in getting very close to their opponents without being perceived by them. for they came hidden under the colonnade which extends[ ] to the church of the apostle peter. from that shelter they suddenly appeared and began the attack, so that the guards were neither able to use the engine called the ballista (for these engines do not send their missiles except straight out), nor, indeed, could they ward off their assailants with their arrows, since the situation was against them on account of the large shields. but the goths kept pressing vigorously upon them, shooting many missiles at the battlements, and they were already about to set their ladders against the wall, having practically surrounded those who were fighting from the tomb; for whenever the goths advanced they always got in the rear of the romans on both flanks[ ]; and for a short time consternation fell upon the romans, who knew not what means of defence they should employ to save themselves, but afterwards by common agreement they broke in pieces the most of the statues, which were very large, and taking up great numbers of stones thus secured, threw them with both hands down upon the heads of the enemy, who gave way before this shower of missiles. and as they retreated a little way, the romans, having by now the advantage, plucked up courage, and with a mighty shout began to drive back their assailants by using their bows and hurling stones at them. and putting their hands to the engines, they reduced their opponents to great fear, and their assault was quickly ended. and by this time constantinus also was present, having frightened back those who had tried the river and easily driven them off, because they did not find the wall there entirely unguarded, as they had supposed they would. and thus safety was restored at the aurelian gate.[ ] footnotes: [ ] see chap. xxiii. - and note. [ ] procopius errs again (cf. chap. xix. ). he means the porta cornelia. [ ] now called castello di sant' angelo. [ ] _i.e._ no mortar or other binding material. [ ] the square structure was the base of the monument, each side measuring roman feet in length and feet in height. above this rose a cylindrical drum, surrounded by columns and carrying the statues, and perhaps capped by a second drum. for details see jordan, _topographie der stadt rom_, iii. ff. [ ] procopius neglects to say that the tomb was across the river from the circuit-wall at this point, at the end of a bridge (pons aelius) which faced the gate (porta cornelia) which he calls the aurelian gate. [ ] from the pons aelius. [ ] because of the quadrangular shape of the building the goths were able to take their enemy in flank and in rear by advancing beyond the corners. [ ] _i.e._ the cornelian. xxiii but at the gate beyond the tiber river, which is called the pancratian gate, a force of the enemy came, but accomplished nothing worth mentioning because of the strength of the place; for the fortifications of the city at this point are on a steep elevation and are not favourably situated for assaults. paulus was keeping guard there with an infantry detachment which he commanded in person. in like manner they made no attempt on the flaminian gate, because it is situated on a precipitous slope and is not very easy of access. the "reges,"[ ] an infantry detachment, were keeping guard there with ursicinus, who commanded them. and between this gate and the small gate next on the right, which is called the pincian, a certain portion of the wall had split open of its own accord in ancient times, not clear to the ground, however, but about half way down, but still it had not fallen or been otherwise destroyed, though it leaned so to either side that one part of it appeared outside the rest of the wall and the other inside. and from this circumstance the romans from ancient times have called the place "broken wall"[ ] in their own tongue. but when belisarius in the beginning undertook to tear down this portion and rebuild it, the romans prevented him, declaring that the apostle peter had promised them that he would care for the guarding of the wall there. this apostle is reverenced by the romans and held in awe above all others. and the outcome of events at this place was in all respects what the romans contemplated and expected. for neither on that day nor throughout the whole time during which the goths were besieging rome did any hostile force come to that place, nor did any disturbance occur there. and we marvelled indeed that it never occurred to us nor to the enemy to remember this portion of the fortifications during the whole time, either while they were making their assaults or carrying out their designs against the wall by night; and yet many such attempts were made. it was for this reason, in fact, that at a later time also no one ventured to rebuild this part of the defences, but up to the present day the wall there is split open in this way. so much, then, for this. and at the salarian gate a goth of goodly stature and a capable warrior, wearing a corselet and having a helmet on his head, a man who was of no mean station in the gothic nation, refused to remain in the ranks with his comrades, but stood by a tree and kept shooting many missiles at the parapet. but this man by some chance was hit by a missile from an engine which was on a tower at his left. and passing through the corselet and the body of the man, the missile sank more than half its length into the tree, and pinning him to the spot where it entered the tree, it suspended him there a corpse. and when this was seen by the goths they fell into great fear, and getting outside the range of missiles, they still remained in line, but no longer harassed those on the wall. but bessas and peranius summoned belisarius, since vittigis was pressing most vigorously upon them at the vivarium. and he was fearful concerning the wall there (for it was most assailable at that point, as has been said[ ]), and so came to the rescue himself with all speed, leaving one of his friends at the salarian gate. and finding that the soldiers in the vivarium dreaded the attack of the enemy, which was being pressed with great vigour and by very large numbers, he bade them look with contempt upon the enemy and thus restored their confidence. now the ground there[ ] was very level, and consequently the place lay open to the attacks of any assailant. and for some reason the wall at that point had crumbled a great deal, and to such an extent that the binding of the bricks did not hold together very well. consequently the ancient romans had built another wall of short length outside of it and encircling it, not for the sake of safety (for it was neither strengthened with towers, nor indeed was there any battlement built upon it, nor any other means by which it would have been possible to repulse an enemy's assault upon the fortifications), but in order to provide for an unseemly kind of luxury, namely, that they might confine and keep there lions and other wild animals. and it is for this reason that this place has been named the vivarium; for thus the romans call a place where untamed animals are regularly cared for. so vittigis began to make ready various engines at different places along the wall and commanded the goths to mine the outside wall, thinking that, if they should get inside that, they would have no trouble in capturing the main wall, which he knew to be by no means strong. but belisarius, seeing that the enemy was undermining the vivarium and assaulting the fortifications at many places, neither allowed the soldiers to defend the wall nor to remain at the battlement, except a very few, although he had with him whatever men of distinction the army contained. but he held them all in readiness below about the gates, with their corselets on and carrying only swords in their hands. and when the goths, after making a breach in the wall, got inside the vivarium, he quickly sent cyprian with some others into the enclosure against them, commanding them to set to work. and they slew all who had broken in, for these made no defence and at the same time were being destroyed by one another in the cramped space about the exit. and since the enemy were thrown into dismay by the sudden turn of events and were not drawn up in order, but were rushing one in one direction and one in another, belisarius suddenly opened the gates of the circuit-wall and sent out his entire army against his opponents. and the goths had not the least thought of resistance, but rushed off in flight in any and every direction, while the romans, following them up, found no difficulty in killing all whom they fell in with, and the pursuit proved a long one, since the goths, in assaulting the wall at that place, were far away from their own camps. then belisarius gave the order to burn the enemy's engines, and the flames, rising to a great height, naturally increased the consternation of the fugitives. meanwhile it chanced that the same thing happened at the salarian gate also. for the romans suddenly opened the gates and fell unexpectedly upon the barbarians, and, as these made no resistance but turned their backs, slew them; and they burned the engines of war which were within their reach. and the flames at many parts of the wall rose to a great height, and the goths were already being forced to retire from the whole circuit-wall; and the shouting on both sides was exceedingly loud, as the men on the wall urged on the pursuers, and those in the camps bewailed the overwhelming calamity they had suffered. among the goths there perished on that day thirty thousand, as their leaders declared, and a larger number were wounded; for since they were massed in great numbers, those fighting from the battlement generally hit somebody when they shot at them, and at the same time those who made the sallies destroyed an extraordinary number of terrified and fleeing men. and the fighting at the wall, which had commenced early in the morning, did not end until late in the afternoon. during that night, then, both armies bivouacked where they were, the romans singing the song of victory on the fortifications and lauding belisarius to the skies, having with them the spoils stripped from the fallen, while the goths cared for their wounded and bewailed their dead. footnotes: [ ] "no doubt these are the same as the _regii_, one of the seventeen 'auxilia palatina' under the command of the magister militum praesentalis, mentioned in the _notitia orientis_, chap. v."--hodgkin. [ ] murus ruptus. "here, to this day, notwithstanding some lamentable and perfectly unnecessary 'restorations' of recent years, may be seen some portions of the muro torto, a twisted, bulging, overhanging mass of _opus reticulatum_."--hodgkin. [ ] chap. xxii. . [ ] the exact location is hard to determine; the majority of the authorities agree on the location given in the plan (opposite p. ), near the porta labicana. xxiv and belisarius wrote a letter to the emperor of the following purport: "we have arrived in italy, as thou didst command, and we have made ourselves masters of much territory in it and have taken possession of rome also, after driving out the barbarians who were here, whose leader, leuderis, i have recently sent to you. but since we have stationed a great number of soldiers both in sicily and in italy to guard the strongholds which we have proved able to capture, our army has in consequence been reduced to only five thousand men. but the enemy have come against us, gathered together to the number of one hundred and fifty thousand. and first of all, when we went out to spy upon their forces along the tiber river and were compelled, contrary to our intention, to engage with them, we lacked only a little of being buried under a multitude of spears. and after this, when the barbarians attacked the wall with their whole army and assaulted the fortifications at every point with sundry engines of war, they came within a little of capturing both us and the city at the first onset, and they would have succeeded had not some chance snatched us from ruin. for achievements which transcend the nature of things may not properly and fittingly be ascribed to man's valour, but to a stronger power. now all that has been achieved by us hitherto, whether it has been due to some kind fortune or to valour, is for the best; but as to our prospects from now on, i could wish better things for thy cause. however, i shall never hide from you anything that it is my duty to say and yours to do, knowing that while human affairs follow whatever course may be in accordance with god's will, yet those who are in charge of any enterprise always win praise or blame according to their own deeds. therefore let both arms and soldiers be sent to us in such numbers that from now on we may engage with the enemy in this war with an equality of strength. for one ought not to trust everything to fortune, since fortune, on its part, is not given to following the same course forever. but do thou, o emperor, take this thought to heart, that if at this time the barbarians win the victory over us, we shall be cast out of italy which is thine and shall lose the army in addition, and besides all this we shall have to bear the shame, however great it may be, that attaches to our conduct. for i refrain from saying that we should also be regarded as having ruined the romans, men who have held their safety more lightly than their loyalty to thy kingdom. consequently, if this should happen, the result for us will be that the successes we have won thus far will in the end prove to have been but a prelude to calamities. for if it had so happened that we had been repulsed from rome and campania and, at a much earlier time, from sicily, we should only be feeling the sting of the lightest of all misfortunes, that of having found ourselves unable to grow wealthy on the possessions of others. and again, this too is worthy of consideration by you, that it has never been possible even for many times ten thousand men to guard rome for any considerable length of time, since the city embraces a large territory, and, because it is not on the sea, is shut off from all supplies. and although at the present time the romans are well disposed toward us, yet when their troubles are prolonged, they will probably not hesitate to choose the course which is better for their own interests. for when men have entered into friendship with others on the spur of the moment, it is not while they are in evil fortune, but while they prosper, that they are accustomed to keep faith with them. furthermore, the romans will be compelled by hunger to do many things they would prefer not to do. now as for me, i know i am bound even to die for thy kingdom, and for this reason no man will ever be able to remove me from this city while i live; but i beg thee to consider what kind of a fame such an end of belisarius would bring thee." such was the letter written by belisarius. and the emperor, greatly distressed, began in haste to gather an army and ships, and sent orders to the troops of valerian and martinus[ ] to proceed with all speed. for they had been sent, as it happened, with another army at about the winter solstice, with instructions to sail to italy. but they had sailed as far as greece, and since they were unable to force their way any farther, they were passing the winter in the land of aetolia and acarnania. and the emperor justinian sent word of all this to belisarius, and thus filled him and all the romans with still greater courage and confirmed their zeal. at this time it so happened that the following event took place in naples. there was in the market-place a picture of theoderic, the ruler of the goths, made by means of sundry stones which were exceedingly small and tinted with nearly every colour. at one time during the life of theoderic it had come to pass that the head of this picture fell apart, the stones as they had been set having become disarranged without having been touched by anyone, and by a coincidence theoderic finished his life forthwith. and eight years later the stones which formed the body of the picture fell apart suddenly, and atalaric, the grandson of theoderic, immediately died. and after the passage of a short time, the stones about the groin fell to the ground, and amalasuntha, the child of theoderic, passed from the world. now these things had already happened as described. but when the goths began the siege of rome, as chance would have it, the portion of the picture from the thighs to the tips of the feet fell into ruin, and thus the whole picture disappeared from the wall. and the romans, divining the meaning of the incident, maintained that the emperor's army would be victorious in the war, thinking that the feet of theoderic were nothing else than the gothic people whom he ruled, and, in consequence, they became still more hopeful. in rome, moreover, some of the patricians brought out the sibylline oracles,[ ] declaring that the danger which had come to the city would continue only up till the month of july. for it was fated that at that time someone should be appointed king over the romans, and thenceforth rome should have no longer any getic peril to fear; for they say that the goths are of the getic race. and the oracle was as follows: "in the fifth (quintilis) month . . . under . . . as king nothing getic longer. . . ." and they declared that the "fifth month" was july, some because the siege began on the first day of march, from which july is the fifth month, others because march was considered the first month until the reign of numa, the full year before that time containing ten months and our july for this reason having its name quintilis. but after all, none of these predictions came true. for neither was a king appointed over the romans at that time, nor was the siege destined to be broken up until a year later, and rome was again to come into similar perils in the reign of totila, ruler of the goths, as will be told by me in the subsequent narrative.[ ] for it seems to me that the oracle does not indicate this present attack of the barbarians, but some other attack which has either happened already or will come at some later time. indeed, in my opinion, it is impossible for a mortal man to discover the meaning of the sibyl's oracles before the actual event. the reason for this i shall now set forth, having read all the oracles in question. the sibyl does not invariably mention events in their order, much less construct a well-arranged narrative, but after uttering some verse or other concerning the troubles in libya she leaps straightway to the land of persia, thence proceeds to mention the romans, and then transfers the narrative to the assyrians. and again, while uttering prophecies about the romans, she foretells the misfortunes of the britons. for this reason it is impossible for any man soever to comprehend the oracles of the sibyl before the event, and it is only time itself, after the event has already come to pass and the words can be tested by experience, that can shew itself an accurate interpreter of her sayings. but as for these things, let each one reason as he desires. but i shall return to the point from which i have strayed. footnotes: [ ] leaders of foederati; see book iii. xi. - ; they had been recalled from africa to byzantium, cf. book iv. xix. . [ ] the story of the origin of these oracles is given in dionysius of halicarnassus, _ant. rom._ iv. lxii. they were burned with the capitol in b.c. the second collection was burned by stilicho in a.d. the oracles procopius saw (cf. § of this chapter) were therefore a third collection. [ ] book vii. xx. xxv when the goths had been repulsed in the fight at the wall, each army bivouacked that night in the manner already described.[ ] but on the following day belisarius commanded all the romans to remove their women and children to naples, and also such of their domestics as they thought would not be needed by them for the guarding of the wall, his purpose being, naturally, to forestall a scarcity of provisions. and he issued orders to the soldiers to do the same thing, in case anyone had a male or female attendant. for, he went on to say, he was no longer able while besieged to provide them with food to the customary amount, but they would have to accept one half their daily ration in actual supplies, taking the remainder in silver. so they proceeded to carry out his instructions. and immediately a great throng set out for campania. now some, who had the good fortune to secure such boats as were lying at anchor in the harbour[ ] of rome, secured passage, but the rest went on foot by the road which is called the appian way. and no danger or fear, as far as the besiegers were concerned, arose to disturb either those who travelled this way on foot or those who set out from the harbour. for, on the one hand, the enemy were unable to surround the whole of rome with their camps on account of the great size of the city, and, on the other, they did not dare to be found far from the camps in small companies, fearing the sallies of their opponents. and on this account abundant opportunity was afforded for some time to the besieged both to move out of the city and to bring provisions into it from outside. and especially at night the barbarians were always in great fear, and so they merely posted guards and remained quietly in their camps. for parties were continually issuing from the city, and especially moors in great numbers, and whenever they found their enemies either asleep or walking about in small companies (as is accustomed to happen often in a large army, the men going out not only to attend to the needs of nature, but also to pasture horses and mules and such animals as are suitable for food), they would kill them and speedily strip them, and if perchance a larger number of the enemy should fall upon them, they would retire on the run, being men swift of foot by nature and lightly equipped, and always distancing their pursuers in the flight. consequently, the great majority were able to withdraw from rome, and some went to campania, some to sicily, and others wherever they thought it was easier or better to go. but belisarius saw that the number of soldiers at his command was by no means sufficient for the whole circuit of the wall, for they were few, as i have previously stated,[ ] and the same men could not keep guard constantly without sleeping, but some would naturally be taking their sleep while others were stationed on guard. at the same time he saw that the greatest part of the populace were hard pressed by poverty and in want of the necessities of life; for since they were men who worked with their hands, and all they had was what they got from day to day, and since they had been compelled to be idle on account of the siege, they had no means of procuring provisions. for these reasons belisarius mingled soldiers and citizens together and distributed them to each post, appointing a certain fixed wage for an unenlisted man for each day. in this way companies were made up which were sufficient for the guarding of the wall, and the duty of keeping guard on the fortifications during a stated night was assigned to each company, and the members of the companies all took turns in standing guard. in this manner, then, belisarius did away with the distress of both soldiers and citizens. but a suspicion arose against silverius, the chief priest of the city, that he was engaged in treasonable negotiations with the goths, and belisarius sent him immediately to greece, and a little later appointed another man, vigilius by name, to the office of chief priest. and he banished from rome on the same charge some of the senators, but later, when the enemy had abandoned the siege and retired, he restored them again to their homes. among these was maximus, whose ancestor maximus[ ] had committed the crime against the emperor valentinian. and fearing lest the guards at the gates should become involved in a plot, and lest someone should gain access from the outside with intent to corrupt them with money, twice in each month he destroyed all the keys and had new ones made, each time of a different design, and he also changed the guards to other posts which were far removed from those they had formerly occupied, and every night he set different men in charge of those who were doing guard-duty on the fortifications. and it was the duty of these officers to make the rounds of a section of the wall, taking turns in this work, and to write down the names of the guards, and if anyone was missing from that section, they put another man on duty in his stead for the moment, and on the morrow reported the missing man to belisarius himself, whoever he might be, in order that the fitting punishment might be given him. and he ordered musicians to play their instruments on the fortifications at night, and he continually sent detachments of soldiers, especially moors, outside the walls, whose duty it was always to pass the night about the moat, and he sent dogs with them in order that no one might approach the fortifications, even at a distance, without being detected. at that time some of the romans attempted secretly to force open the doors of the temple of janus. this janus was the first of the ancient gods whom the romans call in their own tongue "penates."[ ] and he has his temple in that part of the forum in front of the senate-house which lies a little above the "tria fata"[ ]; for thus the romans are accustomed to call the moirai.[ ] and the temple is entirely of bronze and was erected in the form of a square, but it is only large enough to cover the statue of janus. now this statue, is of bronze, and not less than five cubits high; in all other respects it resembles a man, but its head has two faces, one of which is turned toward the east and the other toward the west. and there are brazen doors fronting each face, which the romans in olden times were accustomed to close in time of peace and prosperity, but when they had war they opened them. but when the romans came to honour, as truly as any others, the teachings of the christians, they gave up the custom of opening these doors, even when they were at war. during this siege, however, some, i suppose, who had in mind the old belief, attempted secretly to open them, but they did not succeed entirely, and moved the doors only so far that they did not close tightly against one another as formerly. and those who had attempted to do this escaped detection; and no investigation of the act was made, as was natural in a time of great confusion, since it did not become known to the commanders, nor did it reach the ears of the multitude, except of a very few. footnotes: [ ] chap. xxiii. . [ ] at this time the town of portus, on the north side of the tiber's mouths, ostia, on the south side, having been long neglected. cf. chap. xxvi. , . [ ] five thousand; cf. chap. xxiv. . [ ] book iii. iv. . [ ] janus was an old italian divinity, whose worship was said to have been introduced by romulus. we are not told by anyone else that he was included among the penates, but the statement is doubtless true. [ ] "this temple of janus--the most celebrated, but not the only one in rome--must have stood a little to the right of the arch of septimius severus (as one looks toward the capitol) and a little in front of the mamertine prison."--hodgkin. the "tria fata" were three ancient statues of sibyls which stood by the rostra. [ ] _i.e._ the fates. xxvi now vittigis, in his anger and perplexity, first sent some of his bodyguards to ravenna with orders to kill all the roman senators whom he had taken there at the beginning of this war. and some of them, learning of this beforehand, succeeded in making their escape, among them being vergentinus and reparatus, the brother of vigilius, the chief priest of rome, both of whom betook themselves into liguria and remained there; but all the rest were destroyed. after this vittigis, seeing that the enemy were enjoying a large degree of freedom, not only in taking out of the city whatever they wished, but also in bringing in provisions both by land and by sea, decided to seize the harbour, which the romans call "portus." this harbour is distant from the city one hundred and twenty-six stades; for rome lacks only so much of being on the sea; and it is situated where the tiber river has its mouth.[ ] now as the tiber flows down from rome, and reaches a point rather near the sea, about fifteen stades from it, the stream divides into two parts and makes there the sacred island, as it is called. as the river flows on the island becomes wider, so that the measure of its breadth corresponds to its length, for the two streams have between them a distance of fifteen stades; and the tiber remains navigable on both sides. now the portion of the river on the right empties into the harbour, and beyond the mouth the romans in ancient times built on the shore a city,[ ] which is surrounded by an exceedingly strong wall; and it is called, like the harbour, "portus." but on the left at the point where the other part of the tiber empties into the sea is situated the city of ostia, lying beyond the place where the river-bank ends, a place of great consequence in olden times, but now entirely without walls. moreover, the romans at the very beginning made a road leading from portus to rome, which was smooth and presented no difficulty of any kind. and many barges are always anchored in the harbour ready for service, and no small number of oxen stand in readiness close by. now when the merchants reach the harbour with their ships, they unload their cargoes and place them in the barges, and sail by way of the tiber to rome; but they do not use sails or oars at all, for the boats cannot be propelled in the stream by any wind since the river winds about exceedingly and does not follow a straight course, nor can oars be employed, either, since the force of the current is always against them. instead of using such means, therefore, they fasten ropes from the barges to the necks of oxen, and so draw them just like waggons up to rome. but on the other side of the river, as one goes from the city of ostia to rome, the road is shut in by woods and in general lies neglected, and is not even near the bank of the tiber, since there is no towing of barges on that road. so the goths, finding the city at the harbour unguarded, captured it at the first onset and slew many of the romans who lived there, and so took possession of the harbour as well as the city. and they established a thousand of their number there as guards, while the remainder returned to the camps. in consequence of this move it was impossible for the besieged to bring in the goods which came by sea, except by way of ostia, a route which naturally involved great labour and danger besides. for the roman ships were not even able to put in there any longer, but they anchored at anthium,[ ] a day's journey distant from ostia. and they found great difficulty in carrying the cargoes thence to rome, the reason for this being the scarcity of men. for belisarius, fearing for the fortifications of rome, had been unable to strengthen the harbour with any garrison at all, though i think that if even three hundred men had been on guard there, the barbarians would never have made an attempt on the place, which is exceedingly strong. footnotes: [ ] the northern mouth. [ ] the emperor claudius cut the northern channel for the river, in order to prevent inundations of rome, and made the "portus claudii," opening to the sea, near its mouth; a second enclosed harbour, adjoining that of claudius, was built by trajan. [ ] _i.e._ antium. xxvii this exploit, then, was accomplished by the goths on the third day after they were repulsed in the assault on the wall. but twenty days after the city and harbour of portus were captured, martinus and valerian arrived, bringing with them sixteen hundred horsemen, the most of whom were huns and sclaveni[ ] and antae,[ ] who are settled above the ister river not far from its banks. and belisarius was pleased by their coming and thought that thenceforth his army ought to carry the war against the enemy. on the following day, accordingly, he commanded one of his own bodyguards, trajan by name, an impetuous and active fighter, to take two hundred horsemen of the guards and go straight towards the enemy, and as soon as they came near the camps to go up on a high hill (which he pointed out to him) and remain quietly there. and if the enemy should come against them, he was not to allow the battle to come to close quarters, nor to touch sword or spear in any case, but to use bows only, and as soon as he should find that his quiver had no more arrows in it, he was to flee as hard as he could with no thought of shame and retire to the fortifications on the run. having given these instructions, he held in readiness both the engines for shooting arrows and the men skilled in their use. then trajan with the two hundred men went out from the salarian gate against the camp of the enemy. and they, being filled with amazement at the suddenness of the thing, rushed out from the camps, each man equipping himself as well as he could. but the men under trajan galloped to the top of the hill which belisarius had shewn them, and from there began to ward off the barbarians with missiles. and since their shafts fell among a dense throng, they were for the most part successful in hitting a man or a horse. but when all their missiles had at last failed them, they rode off to the rear with all speed, and the goths kept pressing upon them in pursuit. but when they came near the fortifications, the operators of the engines began to shoot arrows from them, and the barbarians became terrified and abandoned the pursuit. and it is said that not less than one thousand goths perished in this action. a few days later belisarius sent mundilas, another of his own bodyguard, and diogenes, both exceptionally capable warriors, with three hundred guardsmen, commanding them to do the same thing as the others had done before. and they acted according to his instructions. then, when the enemy confronted them, the result of the encounter was that no fewer than in the former action, perhaps even more, perished in the same way. and sending even a third time the guardsman oilas with three hundred horsemen, with instructions to handle the enemy in the same way, he accomplished the same result. so in making these three sallies, in the manner told by me, belisarius destroyed about four thousand of his antagonists. but vittigis, failing to take into account the difference between the two armies in point of equipment of arms and of practice in warlike deeds, thought that he too would most easily inflict grave losses upon the enemy, if only he should make his attack upon them with a small force. he therefore sent five hundred horsemen, commanding them to go close to the fortifications, and to make a demonstration against the whole army of the enemy of the very same tactics as had time and again been used against them, to their sorrow, by small bands of the foe. and so, when they came to a high place not far from the city, but just beyond the range of missiles, they took their stand there. but belisarius selected a thousand men, putting bessas in command, and ordered them to engage with the enemy. and this force, by forming a circle around the enemy and always shooting at them from behind, killed a large number, and by pressing hard upon the rest compelled them to descend into the plain. there a hand-to-hand battle took place between forces not evenly matched in strength, and most of the goths were destroyed, though some few with difficulty made their escape and returned to their own camp. and vittigis reviled these men, insisting that cowardice had been the cause of their defeat, and undertaking to find another set of men to retrieve the loss after no long time, he remained quiet for the present; but three days later he selected men from all the camps, five hundred in number, and bade them make a display of valorous deeds against the enemy. now as soon as belisarius saw that these men had come rather near, he sent out against them fifteen hundred men under the commanders martinus and valerian. and a cavalry battle taking place immediately, the romans, being greatly superior to the enemy in numbers, routed them without any trouble and destroyed practically all of them. and to the enemy it seemed in every way a dreadful thing and a proof that fortune stood against them, if, when they were many and the enemy who came against them were few, they were defeated, and when, on the other hand, they in turn went in small numbers against their enemy, they were likewise destroyed. belisarius, however, received a public vote of praise from the romans for his wisdom, at which they not unnaturally marvelled greatly, but in private his friends asked him on what he had based his judgment on that day when he had escaped from the enemy after being so completely defeated,[ ] and why he had been confident that he would overcome them decisively in the war. and he said that in engaging with them at the first with only a few men he had noticed just what the difference was between the two armies, so that if he should fight his battles with them with a force which was in strength proportionate to theirs,[ ] the multitudes of the enemy could inflict no injury upon the romans by reason of the smallness of their numbers. and the difference was this, that practically all the romans and their allies, the huns, are good mounted bowmen, but not a man among the goths has had practice in this branch, for their horsemen are accustomed to use only spears and swords, while their bowmen enter battle on foot and under cover of the heavy-armed men. so the horsemen, unless the engagement is at close quarters, have no means of defending themselves against opponents who use the bow, and therefore can easily be reached by the arrows and destroyed; and as for the foot-soldiers, they can never be strong enough to make sallies against men on horseback. it was for these reasons, belisarius declared, that the barbarians had been defeated by the romans in these last engagements. and the goths, remembering the unexpected outcome of their own experiences, desisted thereafter from assaulting the fortifications of rome in small numbers and also from pursuing the enemy when harassed by them, except only so far as to drive them back from their own camps. footnotes: [ ] _i.e._ slavonians, described in book vi. xxvi. and book vii. xiv. ff. [ ] a slavic people, described in book vii. xiv. [ ] referring to the battle described in chap. xviii. [ ] _i.e._ smaller, but equal in strength. xxviii but later on the romans, elated by the good fortune they had already enjoyed, were with one accord eager to do battle with the whole gothic army and thought that they should make war in the open field. belisarius, however, considering that the difference in size of the two armies was still very great, continued to be reluctant to risk a decisive battle with his whole army; and so he busied himself still more with his sallies and kept planning them against the enemy. but when at last he yielded his point because of the abuse heaped upon him by the army and the romans in general, though he was willing to fight with the whole army, yet nevertheless he wished to open the engagement by a sudden sally. and many times he was frustrated when he was on the point of doing this, and was compelled to put off the attack to the following day, because he found to his surprise that the enemy had been previously informed by deserters as to what was to be done and were unexpectedly ready for him. for this reason, then, he was now willing to fight a decisive battle even in the open field, and the barbarians gladly came forth for the encounter. and when both sides had been made ready for the conflict as well as might be, belisarius gathered his whole army and exhorted them as follows: "it is not because i detected any cowardice on your part, fellow-soldiers, nor because i was terrified at the strength of the enemy, that i have shrunk from the engagement with them, but i saw that while we were carrying on the war by making sudden sallies matters stood well with us, and consequently i thought that we ought to adhere permanently to the tactics which were responsible for our success. for i think that when one's present affairs are going to one's satisfaction, it is inexpedient to change to another course of action. but since i see that you are eager for this danger, i am filled with confidence and shall never oppose your ardour. for i know that the greatest factor in the decision of war is always the attitude of the fighting men, and it is generally by their enthusiasm that successes are won. now, therefore, the fact that a few men drawn up for battle with valour on their side are able to overcome a multitude of the enemy, is well known by every man of you, not by hearsay, but by daily experience of fighting. and it will rest with you not to bring shame upon the former glories of my career as general, nor upon the hope which this enthusiasm of yours inspires. for the whole of what has already been accomplished by us in this war must of necessity be judged in accordance with the issue of the present day. and i see that the present moment is also in our favour, for it will, in all probability, make it easier for us to gain the mastery over the enemy, because their spirit has been enslaved by what has gone before. for when men have often met with misfortune, their hearts are no longer wont to thrill even slightly with manly valour. and let no one of you spare horse or bow or any weapon. for i will immediately provide you with others in place of all that are destroyed in the battle." after speaking these words of exhortation, belisarius led out his army through the small pincian gate and the salarian gate, and commanded some few men to go through the aurelian gate into the plain of nero. these he put under the command of valentinus, a commander of a cavalry detachment, and he directed him not to begin any fighting, or to go too close to the camp of the enemy, but constantly to give the appearance of being about to attack immediately, so that none of the enemy in that quarter might be able to cross the neighbouring bridge and come to the assistance of the soldiers from the other camps. for since, as i have previously stated,[ ] the barbarians encamped in the plain of nero were many, it seemed to him sufficient if these should all be prevented from taking part in the engagement and be kept separated from the rest of the army. and when some of the roman populace took up arms and followed as volunteers, he would not allow them to be drawn up for battle along with the regular troops, fearing lest, when they came to actual fighting, they should become terrified at the danger and throw the entire army into confusion, since they were labouring men and altogether unpractised in war. but outside the pancratian gate, which is beyond the tiber river, he ordered them to form a phalanx and remain quiet until he himself should give the signal, reasoning, as actually proved to be the case, that if the enemy in the plain of nero should see both them and the men under valentinus, they would never dare leave their camp and enter battle with the rest of the gothic army against his own forces. and he considered it a stroke of good luck and a very important advantage that such a large number of men should be kept apart from the army of his opponents. such being the situation, he wished on that day to engage in a cavalry battle only; and indeed most of the regular infantry were now unwilling to remain in their accustomed condition, but, since they had captured horses as booty from the enemy and had become not unpractised in horsemanship, they were now mounted. and since the infantry were few in number and unable even to make a phalanx of any consequence, and had never had the courage to engage with the barbarians, but always turned to flight at the first onset, he considered it unsafe to draw them up at a distance from the fortifications, but thought it best that they should remain in position where they were, close by the moat, his purpose being that, if it should so happen that the roman horsemen were routed, they should be able to receive the fugitives and, as a fresh body of men, help them to ward off the enemy. but there were two men among his bodyguards, a certain principius, who was a man of note and a pisidian by birth, and tarmutus, an isaurian, brother of ennes who was commander of the isaurians. these men came before belisarius and spoke as follows: "most excellent of generals, we beg you neither to decide that your army, small as it is and about to fight with many tens of thousands of barbarians, be cut off from the phalanx of the infantry, nor to think that one ought to treat with contumely the infantry of the romans, by means of which, as we hear, the power of the ancient romans was brought to its present greatness. for if it so happens that they have done nothing of consequence in this war, this is no evidence of the cowardice of the soldiers, but it is the commanders of the infantry who would justly bear the blame, for they alone ride on horseback in the battle-line and are not willing to consider the fortunes of war as shared by all, but as a general thing each one of them by himself takes to flight before the struggle begins. but do you keep all the commanders of infantry, since you see that they have become cavalry and that they are quite unwilling to take their stand beside their subordinates, and include them with the rest of the cavalry and so enter this battle, but permit us to lead the infantry into the combat. for since we also are unmounted, as are these troops, we shall do our part in helping them to support the attack of the multitude of barbarians, full of hope that we shall inflict upon the enemy whatever chastisement god shall permit." when belisarius heard this request, at first he did not assent to it; for he was exceedingly fond of these two men, who were fighters of marked excellence, and he was unwilling to have a small body of infantry take such a risk. but finally, overborne by the eagerness of the men, he consented to leave only a small number of their soldiers, in company with the roman populace, to man the gates and the battlement along the top of the wall where the engines of war were, and to put the rest under command of principius and tarmutus, ordering them to take position in the rear in regular formation. his purpose in this was, in the first place, to keep these troops from throwing the rest of the army into confusion if they themselves should become panic-stricken at the danger, and, in the second place, in case any division of the cavalry should be routed at any time, to prevent the retreat from extending to an indefinite distance, but to allow the cavalry simply to fall back upon the infantry and make it possible for them, with the infantry's help, to ward off the pursuers. footnote: [ ] chap. xix. , xiii. . xxix in this fashion the romans had made their preparations for the encounter. as for vittigis, he had armed all the goths, leaving not a man behind in the camps, except those unfit for fighting. and he commanded the men under marcias to remain in the plain of nero, and to attend to the guarding of the bridge, that the enemy might not attack his men from that direction. he himself then called together the rest of the army and spoke as follows: "it may perhaps seem to some of you that i am fearful about my sovereignty, and that this is the motive which has led me, in the past, to shew a friendly spirit toward you and, on the present occasion, to address you with seductive words in order to inspire you with courage. and such reasoning is not out of accord with the ways of men. for unenlightened men are accustomed to shew gentleness toward those whom they want to make use of, even though these happen to be in a much humbler station than they, but to be difficult of access to others whose assistance they do not desire. as for me, however, i care neither for the end of life nor for the loss of power. nay, i should even pray that i might put off this purple to-day, if a goth were to put it on. and i have always regarded the end of theodatus as one of the most fortunate, in that he was privileged to lose both his sovereignty and his life at the hands of men of his own nation. for a calamity which falls upon an individual without involving his nation also in destruction does not lack an element of consolation, in the view, at least, of men who are not wanting in wisdom. but when i reflect upon the fate of the vandals and the end of gelimer, the thoughts which come to my mind are of no ordinary kind; nay, i seem to see the goths and their children reduced to slavery, your wives ministering in the most shameful of all ways to the most hateful of men, and myself and the granddaughter[ ] of theoderic led wherever it suits the pleasure of those who are now our enemies; and i would have you also enter this battle fearing lest this fate befall us. for if you do this, on the field of battle you will count the end of life as more to be desired than safety after defeat. for noble men consider that there is only one misfortune--to survive defeat at the hands of their enemy. but as for death, and especially death which comes quickly, it always brings happiness to those who were before not blest by fortune. it is very clear that if you keep these thoughts in mind as you go through the present engagement, you will not only conquer your opponents most easily, few as they are and greeks,[ ] but will also punish them forthwith for the injustice and insolence with which they, without provocation, have treated us. for although we boast that we are their superiors in valour, in numbers, and in every other respect, the boldness which they feel in confronting us is due merely to elation at our misfortunes; and the only asset they have is the indifference we have shewn. for their self-confidence is fed by their undeserved good fortune." with these words of exhortation vittigis proceeded to array his army for battle, stationing the infantry in the centre and the cavalry on the two wings. he did not, however, draw up his phalanx far from the camps, but very near them, in order that, as soon as the rout should take place, the enemy might easily be overtaken and killed, there being abundance of room for the pursuit. for he expected that if the struggle should become a pitched battle in the plain, they would not withstand him even a short time; since he judged by the great disparity of numbers that the army of the enemy was no match for his own. so the soldiers on both sides, beginning in the early morning, opened battle; and vittigis and belisarius were in the rear urging on both armies and inciting them to fortitude. and at first the roman arms prevailed, and the barbarians kept falling in great numbers before their archery, but no pursuit of them was made. for since the gothic cavalry stood in dense masses, other men very easily stepped into the places of those who were killed, and so the loss of those who fell among them was in no way apparent. and the romans evidently were satisfied, in view of their very small number, that the struggle should have such a result for them. so after they had by midday carried the battle as far as the camps of their opponents, and had already slain many of the enemy, they were anxious to return to the city if any pretext should present itself to them. in this part of the action three among the romans proved themselves brave men above all others, athenodorus, an isaurian, a man of fair fame among the guards of belisarius, and theodoriscus and george, spearmen of martinus and cappadocians by birth. for they constantly kept going out beyond the front of the phalanx, and there despatched many of the barbarians with their spears. such was the course of events here. but in the plain of nero the two armies remained for a long time facing one another, and the moors, by making constant sallies and hurling their javelins among the enemy, kept harrying the goths. for the goths were quite unwilling to go out against them through fear of the forces of the roman populace which were not far away, thinking, of course, that they were soldiers and were remaining quiet because they had in mind some sort of an ambush against themselves with the object of getting in their rear, exposing them to attack on both sides, and thus destroying them. but when it was now the middle of the day, the roman army suddenly made a rush against the enemy, and the goths were unexpectedly routed, being paralyzed by the suddenness of the attack. and they did not succeed even in fleeing to their camp, but climbed the hills near by and remained quiet. now the romans, though many in number, were not all soldiers, but were for the most part a throng of men without defensive armour. for inasmuch as the general was elsewhere, many sailors and servants in the roman camp, in their eagerness to have a share in the war, mingled with that part of the army. and although by their mere numbers they did fill the barbarians with consternation and turn them to flight, as has been said, yet by reason of their lack of order they lost the day for the romans. for the intermixture of the above-mentioned men caused the soldiers to be thrown into great disorder, and although valentinus kept constantly shouting orders to them, they could not hear his commands at all. for this reason they did not even follow up the fugitives or kill a man, but allowed them to stand at rest on the hills and in security to view what was going on. nor did they take thought to destroy the bridge there, and thus prevent the city from being afterwards besieged on both sides; for, had they done so, the barbarians would have been unable to encamp any longer on the farther side of the tiber river. furthermore, they did not even cross the bridge and get in the rear of their opponents who were fighting there with the troops of belisarius. and if this had been done, the goths, i think, would no longer have thought of resistance, but they would have turned instantly to flight, each man as he could. but as it was, they took possession of the enemy's camp and turned to plundering his goods, and they set to work carrying thence many vessels of silver and many other valuables. meanwhile the barbarians for some time remained quietly where they were and observed what was going on, but finally by common consent they advanced against their opponents with great fury and shouting. and finding men in complete disorder engaged in plundering their property, they slew many and quickly drove out the rest. for all who were caught inside the camp and escaped slaughter were glad to cast their plunder from their shoulders and take to flight. while these things were taking place in the plain of nero, meantime the rest of the barbarian army stayed very near their camps and, protecting themselves with their shields, vigorously warded off their opponents, destroying many men and a much larger number of horses. but on the roman side, when those who had been wounded and those whose horses had been killed left the ranks, then, in an army which had been small even before, the smallness of their numbers was still more evident, and the difference between them and the gothic host was manifestly great. finally the horsemen of the barbarians who were on the right wing, taking note of this, advanced at a gallop against the enemy opposite them. and the romans there, unable to withstand their spears, rushed off in flight and came to the infantry phalanx. however, the infantry also were unable to hold their ground against the oncoming horsemen, and most of them began to join the cavalry in flight. and immediately the rest of the roman army also began to retire, the enemy pressing upon their heels, and the rout became decisive. but principius and tarmutus with some few of the infantry of their command made a display of valorous deeds against the goths. for as they continued to fight and disdained to turn to flight with the others, most of the goths were so amazed that they halted. and consequently the rest of the infantry and most of the horsemen made their escape in greater security. now principius fell where he stood, his whole body hacked to pieces, and around him fell forty-two foot-soldiers. but tarmutus, holding two isaurian javelins, one in each hand, continued to thrust them into his assailants as he turned from side to side, until, finally, he desisted because his body was covered with wounds; but when his brother ennes came to the rescue with a detachment of cavalry, he revived, and running swiftly, covered as he was with gore and wounds, he made for the fortifications without throwing down either of his javelins. and being fleet of foot by nature, he succeeded in making his escape, in spite of the plight of his body, and did not fall until he had just reached the pincian gate. and some of his comrades, supposing him to be dead, lifted him on a shield and carried him. but he lived on two days before he died, leaving a high reputation both among the isaurians and in the rest of the army. the romans, meanwhile, being by now thoroughly frightened, attended to the guarding of the wall, and shutting the gates they refused, in their great excitement, to receive the fugitives into the city, fearing that the enemy would rush in with them. and such of the fugitives as had not already got inside the fortifications, crossed the moat, and standing with their backs braced against the wall were trembling with fear, and stood there forgetful of all valour and utterly unable to ward off the barbarians, although they were pressing upon them and were about to cross the moat to attack them. and the reason was that most of them had lost their spears, which had been broken in the engagement and during the flight, and they were not able to use their bows because they were huddled so closely together. now so long as not many defenders were seen at the battlement, the goths kept pressing on, having hopes of destroying all those who had been shut out and of overpowering the men who held the circuit-wall. but when they saw a very great number both of soldiers and of the roman populace at the battlements defending the wall, they immediately abandoned their purpose and rode off thence to the rear, heaping much abuse upon their opponents. and the battle, having begun at the camps of the barbarians, ended at the moat and the wall of the city. footnotes: [ ] matasuntha. [ ] cf. book iv. xxvii. , note. history of the wars: book vi the gothic war (_continued_) i after this the romans no longer dared risk a battle with their whole army; but they engaged in cavalry battles, making sudden sallies in the same manner as before, and were generally victorious over the barbarians. foot-soldiers also went out from both sides, not, however, arrayed in a phalanx, but accompanying the horsemen. and once bessas in the first rush dashed in among the enemy carrying his spear and killed three of their best horsemen and turned the rest to flight. and another time, when constantinus had led out the huns in the plain of nero in the late afternoon, and saw that they were being overpowered by the superior numbers of their opponents, he took the following measures. there has been in that place from of old a great stadium[ ] where the gladiators of the city used to fight in former times, and the men of old built many other buildings round about this stadium; consequently there are, as one would expect, narrow passages all about this place. now on the occasion in question, since constantinus could neither overcome the throng of the goths nor flee without great danger, he caused all the huns to dismount from their horses, and on foot, in company with them, took his stand in one of the narrow passages there. then by shooting from that safe position they slew large numbers of the enemy. and for some time the goths withstood their missiles. for they hoped, as soon as the supply of missiles in the quivers of the huns should be exhausted, to be able to surround them without any trouble, take them prisoners, and lead them back to their camp. but since the massagetae, who were not only good bowmen but also had a dense throng to shoot into, hit an enemy with practically every shot, the goths perceived that above half their number had perished, and since the sun was about to set, they knew not what to do and so rushed off in flight. then indeed many of them fell; for the massagetae followed them up, and since they know how to shoot the bow with the greatest accuracy even when running at great speed, they continued to discharge their arrows no less than before, shooting at their backs, and kept up the slaughter. and thus constantinus with his huns came back to rome at night. and when peranius, not many days later, led some of the romans through the salarian gate against the enemy, the goths, indeed, fled as hard as they could, but about sunset a counter-pursuit was made suddenly, and a roman foot-soldier, becoming greatly confused, fell into a deep hole, many of which were made there by the men of old, for the storage of grain, i suppose. and he did not dare to cry out, supposing that the enemy were encamped near by, and was not able in any way whatever to get out of the pit, for it afforded no means of climbing up; he was therefore compelled to pass the night there. now on the next day, when the barbarians had again been put to flight, one of the goths fell into the same hole. and there the two men were reconciled to mutual friendship and good-will, brought together as they were by their necessity, and they exchanged solemn pledges, each that he would work earnestly for the salvation of the other; and then both of them began shouting with loud and frantic cries. now the goths, following the sound, came and peered over the edge of the hole, and enquired who it was who shouted. at this, the roman, in accordance with the plan decided upon by the two men, kept silence, and the goth in his native tongue said that he had just recently fallen in there during the rout which had taken place, and asked them to let down a rope that he might come up. and they as quickly as possible threw down the ends of ropes, and, as they thought, were pulling up the goth, but the roman laid hold of the ropes and was pulled up, saying only that if he should go up first the goths would never abandon their comrade, but if they should learn that merely one of the enemy was there they would take no account of him. so saying, he went up. and when the goths saw him, they wondered and were in great perplexity, but upon hearing the whole story from him they drew up his comrade next, and he told them of the agreement they had made and of the pledges both had given. so he went off with his companions, and the roman was released unharmed and permitted to return to the city. after this horsemen in no great numbers armed themselves many times for battle, but the struggles always ended in single combats, and the romans were victorious in all of them. such, then, was the course of these events. a little after this an engagement took place in the plain of nero, wherein various small groups of horsemen were engaged in pursuing their opponents in various directions; in one group was chorsamantis, a man of note among the guards of belisarius, by birth a massagete, who with some others was pursuing seventy of the enemy. and when he had got well out in the plain the other romans rode back, but chorsamantis went on with the pursuit alone. as soon as the goths perceived this, they turned their horses about and came against him. and he advanced into their midst, killed one of the best of them with his spear, and then went after the others, but they again turned and rushed off in flight. but they were ashamed before their comrades in the camp, who, they suspected, could already see them, and wished to attack him again. they had, however, precisely the same experience as before and lost one of their best men, and so turned to flight in spite of their shame, and after chorsamantis had pursued them as far as their stockade he returned alone. and a little later, in another battle, this man was wounded in the left shin, and it was his opinion that the weapon had merely grazed the bone. however, he was rendered unfit for fighting for a certain number of days by reason of this wound, and since he was a barbarian he did not endure this patiently, but threatened that he would right speedily have vengeance upon the goths for this insult to his leg. so when not long afterwards he had recovered and was drunk at lunch time, as was his custom, he purposed to go alone against the enemy and avenge the insult to his leg; and when he had come to the small pincian gate he stated that he was sent by belisarius to the enemy's camp. and the guards at the gate, who could not doubt the word of a man who was the best of the guards of belisarius, opened the gates and allowed him to go wherever he would. and when the enemy spied him, they thought at first that some deserter was coming over to them, but when he came near and put his hand to his bow, twenty men, not knowing who he might be, went out against him. these he easily drove off, and then began to ride back at a walk, and when more goths came against him he did not flee. but when a great throng gathered about him and he still insisted upon fighting them, the romans, watching the sight from the towers, suspected that the man was crazy, but they did not yet know that it was chorsamantis. at length, after making a display of great and very noteworthy deeds, he found himself surrounded by the army of the enemy, and paid the penalty for his unreasonable daring. and when belisarius and the roman army learned this, they mourned greatly, lamenting that the hope which all placed in the man had come to naught. footnotes: [ ] perhaps the stadium of caligula. ii now a certain euthalius, at about the spring equinox, came to taracina from byzantium with the money which the emperor owed the soldiers. and fearing lest the enemy should come upon him on the road and both rob him of the money and kill him, he wrote to belisarius requesting him to make the journey to rome safe for him. belisarius accordingly selected one hundred men of note from among his own bodyguards and sent them with two spearmen to taracina to assist him in bringing the money. and at the same time he kept trying to make the barbarians believe that he was about to fight with his whole army, his purpose being to prevent any of the enemy from leaving the vicinity, either to bring in provisions or for any other purpose. but when he found out that euthalius and his men would arrive on the morrow, he arrayed his army and set it in order for battle, and the barbarians were in readiness. now throughout the whole forenoon he merely held his soldiers near the gates; for he knew that euthalius and those who accompanied him would arrive at night. then, at midday, he commanded the army to take their lunch, and the goths did the same thing, supposing that he was putting off the engagement to the following day. a little later, however, belisarius sent martinus and valerian to the plain of nero with the troops under their command, directing them to throw the enemy's camp into the greatest possible confusion. and from the small pincian gate he sent out six hundred horsemen against the camps of the barbarians, placing them under command of three of his own spearmen, artasires, a persian, and bochas, of the race of the massagetae, and cutilas, a thracian. and many of the enemy came out to meet them. for a long time, however, the battle did not come to close quarters, but each side kept retreating when the other advanced and making pursuits in which they quickly turned back, until it looked as if they intended to spend the rest of the day at this sort of thing. but as they continued, they began at last to be filled with rage against each other. the battle then settled down to a fierce struggle in which many of the best men on both sides fell, and support came up for each of the two armies, both from the city and from the camps. and when these fresh troops were mingled with the fighters the struggle became still greater. and the shouting which filled the city and the camps terrified the combatants. but finally the romans by their valour forced back the enemy and routed them. in this action cutilas was struck in the middle of the head by a javelin, and he kept on pursuing with the javelin still embedded in his head. and after the rout had taken place, he rode into the city at about sunset together with the other survivors, the javelin in his head waving about, a most extraordinary sight. during the same encounter arzes, one of the guards of belisarius, was hit by one of the gothic archers between the nose and the right eye. and the point of the arrow penetrated as far as the neck behind, but it did not shew through, and the rest of the shaft projected from his face and shook as the man rode. and when the romans saw him and cutilas they marvelled greatly that both men continued to ride, paying no heed to their hurt. such, then, was the course of events in that quarter. but in the plain of nero the barbarians had the upper hand. for the men of valerian and martinus, fighting with a great multitude of the enemy, withstood them stoutly, to be sure, but suffered most terribly, and came into exceedingly great danger. and then belisarius commanded bochas to take his troops, which had returned from the engagement unwearied, men as well as horses, and go to the plain of nero. now it was already late in the day. and when the men under bochas had come to the assistance of the romans, suddenly the barbarians were turned to flight, and bochas, who had impetuously followed the pursuit to a great distance, came to be surrounded by twelve of the enemy, who carried spears. and they all struck him at once with their spears. but his corselet withstood the other blows, which therefore did not hurt him much; but one of the goths succeeded in hitting him from behind, at a place where his body was uncovered, above the right armpit, very close to the shoulder, and smote the youth, though not with a mortal stroke, nor even one which brought him into danger of death. but another goth struck him in front and pierced his left thigh, and cut the muscles there; it was not a straight blow, however, but only a slanting cut. but valerian and martinus saw what was happening, and coming to his rescue as quickly as possible, they routed the enemy, and both took hold of the bridle of bochas' horse, and so came into the city. then night came on and euthalius entered the city with the money. and when all had returned to the city, they attended to the wounded men. now in the case of arzes, though the physicians wished to draw the weapon from his face, they were for some time reluctant to do so, not so much on account of the eye, which they supposed could not possibly be saved, but for fear lest, by the cutting of membranes and tissues such as are very numerous in that region, they should cause the death of a man who was one of the best of the household of belisarius. but afterwards one of the physicians, theoctistus by name, pressed on the back of his neck and asked whether he felt much pain. and when the man said that he did feel pain, he said, "then both you yourself will be saved and your sight will not be injured." and he made this declaration because he inferred that the barb of the weapon had penetrated to a point not far from the skin. accordingly he cut off that part of the shaft which shewed outside and threw it away, and cutting open the skin at the back of the head, at the place where the man felt the most pain, he easily drew toward him the barb, which with its three sharp points now stuck out behind and brought with it the remaining portion of the weapon. thus arzes remained entirely free from serious harm, and not even a trace of his wound was left on his face. but as for cutilas, when the javelin was drawn rather violently from his head (for it was very deeply embedded), he fell into a swoon. and since the membranes about the wound began to be inflamed, he fell a victim to phrenitis[ ] and died not long afterwards. bochas, however, immediately had a very severe hemorrhage in the thigh, and seemed like one who was presently to die. and the reason for the hemorrhage, according to what the physicians said, was that the blow had severed the muscle, not directly from the front, but by a slanting cut. in any event he died three days later. because of these things, then, the romans spent that whole night in deep grief; while from the gothic camps were heard many sounds of wailing and loud lamentation. and the romans indeed wondered, because they thought that no calamity of any consequence had befallen the enemy on the previous day, except, to be sure, that no small number of them had perished in the encounters. this had happened to them before in no less degree, perhaps even to a greater degree, but it had not greatly distressed them, so great were their numbers. however, it was learned on the following day that men of the greatest note from the camp in the plain of nero were being bewailed by the goths, men whom bochas had killed in his first charge. and other encounters also, though of no great importance, took place, which it has seemed to me unnecessary to chronicle. this, however, i will state, that altogether sixty-seven encounters occurred during this siege, besides two final ones which will be described in the following narrative. and at that time the winter drew to its close, and thus ended the second year of this war, the history of which procopius has written. footnote: [ ] inflammation of the brain. iii but at the beginning of the spring equinox famine and pestilence together fell upon the inhabitants of the city. there was still, it is true, some grain for the soldiers, though no other kind of provisions, but the grain-supply of the rest of the romans had been exhausted, and actual famine as well as pestilence was pressing hard upon them. and the goths, perceiving this, no longer cared to risk a decisive battle with their enemy, but they kept guard that nothing in future should be brought in to them. now there are two aqueducts between the latin and the appian ways, exceedingly high and carried on arches for a great distance. these two aqueducts meet at a place fifty stades distant from rome[ ] and cross each other, so that for a little space they reverse their relative position. for the one which previously lay to the right from then on continues on the left side. and again coming together, they resume their former places, and thereafter remain apart. consequently the space between them, enclosed, as it is, by the aqueducts, comes to be a fortress. and the barbarians walled up the lower arches of the aqueducts here with stones and mud and in this way gave it the form of a fort, and encamping there to the number of no fewer than seven thousand men, they kept guard that no provisions should thereafter be brought into the city by the enemy. then indeed every hope of better things abandoned the romans, and every form of evil encompassed them round about. as long as there was ripe grain, however, the most daring of the soldiers, led on by lust of money, went by night to the grain-fields not far from the city mounted on horses and leading other horses after them. then they cut off the heads of grain, and putting them on the horses which they led, would carry them into the city without being seen by the enemy and sell them at a great price to such of the romans as were wealthy. but the other inhabitants lived on various herbs such as grow in abundance not only in the outskirts but also inside the fortifications. for the land of the romans is never lacking in herbs either in winter or at any other season, but they always flourish and grow luxuriantly at all times. wherefore the besieged also pastured their horses in those places. and some too made sausages of the mules that died in rome and secretly sold them. but when the corn-lands had no more grain and all the romans had come into an exceedingly evil plight, they surrounded belisarius and tried to compel him to stake everything on a single battle with the enemy, promising that not one of the romans would be absent from the engagement. and when he was at a loss what to do in that situation and greatly distressed, some of the populace spoke to him as follows: "general, we were not prepared for the fortune which has overtaken us at the present time; on the contrary, what has happened has been altogether the opposite of our expectations. for after achieving what we had formerly set our hearts upon, we have now come into the present misfortune, and we realize at length that our previous opinion that we did well to crave the emperor's watchful care was but folly and the beginning of the greatest evils. indeed, this course has brought us to such straits that at the present time we have taken courage to use force once more and to arm ourselves against the barbarians. and while we may claim forgiveness if we boldly come into the presence of belisarius--for the belly knows not shame when it lacks its necessities--our plight must be the apology for our rashness; for it will be readily agreed that there is no plight more intolerable for men than a life prolonged amid the adversities of fortune. and as to the fortune which has fallen upon us, you cannot fail to see our distress. these fields and the whole country have fallen under the hand of the enemy; and this city has been shut off from all good things for we know not how long a time. and as for the romans, some already lie in death, and it has not been their portion to be hidden in the earth, and we who survive, to put all our terrible misfortunes in a word, only pray to be placed beside those who lie thus. for starvation shews to those upon whom it comes that all other evils can be endured, and wherever it appears it is attended by oblivion of all other sufferings, and causes all other forms of death, except that which proceeds from itself, to seem pleasant to men. now, therefore, before the evil has yet mastered us, grant us leave on our own behalf to take up the struggle, which will result either in our overcoming the enemy or in deliverance from our troubles. for when delay brings men hope of safety, it would be great folly for them prematurely to enter into a danger which involves their all, but when tarrying makes the struggle more difficult, to put off action even for a little time is more reprehensible than immediate and precipitate haste." so spoke the romans. and belisarius replied as follows: "well, as for me, i have been quite prepared for your conduct in every respect, and nothing that has happened has been contrary to my expectation. for long have i known that a populace is a most unreasoning thing, and that by its very nature it cannot endure the present or provide for the future, but only knows how rashly in every case to attempt the impossible and recklessly to destroy itself. but as for me, i shall never, willingly at least, be led by your carelessness either to destroy you or to involve the emperor's cause in ruin with you. for war is wont to be brought to a successful issue, not by unreasoning haste, but by the use of good counsel and forethought in estimating the turn of the scale at decisive moments. you, however, act as though you were playing at dice, and want to risk all on a single cast; but it is not my custom to choose the short course in preference to the advantageous one. in the second place, you promise that you will help us do battle against the enemy; but when have you ever taken training in war? or who that has learned such things by the use of arms does not know that battle affords no room for experiment? nor does the enemy, on his part, give opportunity, while the struggle is on, to practise on him. this time, indeed, i admire your zeal and forgive you for making this disturbance; but that you have taken this action at an unseasonable time and that the policy of waiting which we are following is prudent, i shall now make clear. the emperor has gathered for us from the whole earth and despatched an army too great to number, and a fleet such as was never brought together by the romans now covers the shore of campania and the greater part of the ionian gulf. and within a few days these reinforcements will come to us and bring with them all kinds of provisions, to put an end to our destitution and to bury the camps of the barbarians under a multitude of missiles. i have therefore reasoned that it was better to put off the time of conflict until they are present, and thus gain the victory in the war with safety, than to make a show of daring in unreasoning haste and thus throw away the salvation of our whole cause. to secure their immediate arrival and to prevent their loitering longer shall be my concern." footnote: [ ] torre fiscale; but it is only about thirty stades from rome. iv with these words belisarius encouraged the roman populace and then dismissed them; and procopius, who wrote this history, he immediately commanded to go to naples. for a rumour was going about that the emperor had sent an army there. and he commissioned him to load as many ships as possible with grain, to gather all the soldiers who at the moment had arrived from byzantium, or had been left about naples in charge of horses or for any other purpose whatever--for he had heard that many such were coming to the various places in campania--and to withdraw some of the men from the garrisons there, and then to come back with them, convoying the grain to ostia, where the harbour of the romans was. and procopius, accompanied by mundilas the guardsman and a few horsemen, passed out by night through the gate which bears the name of the apostle paul,[ ] eluding the enemy's camp which had been established very close to the appian way to keep guard over it. and when mundilas and his men, returning to rome, announced that procopius had already arrived in campania without meeting any of the barbarians,--for at night, they said, the enemy never went outside their camp,--everybody became hopeful, and belisarius, now emboldened, devised the following plan. he sent out many of his horsemen to the neighbouring strongholds, directing them, in case any of the enemy should come that way in order to bring provisions into their camps, that they should constantly make sallies upon them from their positions and lay ambushes everywhere about this region, and thus keep them from succeeding; on the contrary, they should with all their might hedge them in, so that the city might be in less distress than formerly through lack of provisions, and also that the barbarians might seem to be besieged rather than to be themselves besieging the romans. so he commanded martinus and trajan with a thousand men to go to taracina. and with them he sent also his wife antonina, commanding that she be sent with a few men to naples, there to await in safety the fortune which would befall the romans. and he sent magnus and sinthues the guardsman, who took with them about five hundred men, to the fortress of tibur, one hundred and forty stades distant from rome. but to the town of albani,[ ] which was situated on the appian way at the same distance from the city, he had already, as it happened, sent gontharis with a number of eruli, and these the goths had driven out from there by force not long afterward. now there is a certain church of the apostle paul,[ ] fourteen stades distant from the fortifications of rome, and the tiber river flows beside it. in that place there is no fortification, but a colonnade extends all the way from the city to the church, and many other buildings which are round about it render the place not easy of access. but the goths shew a certain degree of actual respect for sanctuaries such as this. and indeed during the whole time of the war no harm came to either church of the two apostles[ ] at their hands, but all the rites were performed in them by the priests in the usual manner. at this spot, then, belisarius commanded valerian to take all the huns and make a stockade by the bank of the tiber, in order that their horses might be kept in greater security and that the goths might be still further checked from going at their pleasure to great distances from their camps. and valerian acted accordingly. then, after the huns had made their camp in the place where the general directed, he rode back to the city. so belisarius, having accomplished this, remained quiet, not offering battle, but eager to carry on the defence from the wall, if anyone should advance against it from outside with evil intent. and he also furnished grain to some of the roman populace. but martinus and trajan passed by night between the camps of the enemy, and after reaching taracina sent antonina with a few men into campania; and they themselves took possession of the fortified places in that district, and using them as their bases of operations and making thence their sudden attacks, they checked such of the goths as were moving about in that region. as for magnus and sinthues, in a short time they rebuilt such parts of the fortress[ ] as had fallen into ruin, and as soon as they had put themselves in safety, they began immediately to make more trouble for the enemy, whose fortress was not far away, not only by making frequent raids upon them, but also by keeping such of the barbarians as were escorting provision-trains in a constant state of terror by the unexpectedness of their movements; but finally sinthues was wounded in his right hand by a spear in a certain battle, and since the sinews were severed, he became thereafter unfit for fighting. and the huns likewise, after they had made their camp near by, as i have said, were on their part causing the goths no less trouble, so that these as well as the romans were now feeling the pressure of famine, since they no longer had freedom to bring in their food-supplies as formerly. and pestilence too fell upon them and was destroying many, and especially in the camp which they had last made, close by the appian way, as i have previously stated.[ ] and the few of their number who had not perished withdrew from that camp to the other camps. the huns also suffered in the same way, and so returned to rome. such was the course of events here. but as for procopius, when he reached campania, he collected not fewer than five hundred soldiers there, loaded a great number of ships with grain, and held them in readiness. and he was joined not long afterwards by antonina, who immediately assisted him in making arrangements for the fleet. at that time the mountain of vesuvius rumbled, and though it did not break forth in eruption, still because of the rumbling it led people to expect with great certainty that there would be an eruption. and for this reason it came to pass that the inhabitants fell into great terror. now this mountain is seventy stades distant from naples and lies to the north[ ] of it--an exceedingly steep mountain, whose lower parts spread out wide on all sides, while its upper portion is precipitous and exceedingly difficult of ascent. but on the summit of vesuvius and at about the centre of it appears a cavern of such depth that one would judge that it extends all the way to the bottom of the mountain. and it is possible to see fire there, if one should dare to peer over the edge, and although the flames as a rule merely twist and turn upon one another, occasioning no trouble to the inhabitants of that region, yet, when the mountain gives forth a rumbling sound which resembles bellowing, it generally sends up not long afterward a great quantity of ashes. and if anyone travelling on the road is caught by this terrible shower, he cannot possibly survive, and if it falls upon houses, they too fall under the weight of the great quantity of ashes. but whenever it so happens that a strong wind comes on, the ashes rise to a great height, so that they are no longer visible to the eye, and are borne wherever the wind which drives them goes, falling on lands exceedingly far away. and once, they say, they fell in byzantium[ ] and so terrified the people there, that from that time up to the present the whole city has seen fit to propitiate god with prayers every year; and at another time they fell on tripolis in libya. formerly this rumbling took place, they say, once in a hundred years or even more,[ ] but in later times it has happened much more frequently. this, however, they declare emphatically, that whenever vesuvius belches forth these ashes, the country round about is bound to flourish with an abundance of all crops. furthermore, the air on this mountain is very light and by its nature the most favourable to health in the world. and indeed those who are attacked by consumption have been sent to this place by physicians from remote times. so much, then, may be said regarding vesuvius. footnotes: [ ] the porta ostiensis. [ ] see book v. vi. , note. [ ] the basilica of st. paul stood south of the city, outside the porta ostiensis which is still called porta s. paolo. [ ] st. peter and st. paul. [ ] tibur. [ ] chap. iii. . [ ] this is an error on the part of procopius. in point of fact it lies to the south-east of naples. [ ] during the eruption of a.d. [ ] since the great eruption of a.d.--the first in historical times--eruptions have succeeded one another at intervals varying from one to more than one hundred years. v at this time another army also arrived by sea from byzantium, three thousand isaurians who put in at the harbour of naples, led by paulus and conon, and eight hundred thracian horsemen who landed at dryus, led by john, the nephew of the vitalian who had formerly been tyrant, and with them a thousand other soldiers of the regular cavalry, under various commanders, among whom were alexander and marcentius. and it happened that zeno with three hundred horsemen had already reached rome by way of samnium and the latin way. and when john with all the others came to campania, provided with many waggons by the inhabitants of calabria, his troops were joined by five hundred men who, as i have said, had been collected in campania. these set out by the coast road with the waggons, having in mind, if any hostile force should confront them, to make a circle of the waggons in the form of a stockade and thus to ward off the enemy; and they commanded the men under paulus and conon to sail with all speed and join them at ostia, the harbour of rome[ ]; and they put sufficient grain in the waggons and loaded all the ships, not only with grain, but also with wine and all kinds of provisions. and they, indeed, expected to find the forces of martinus and trajan in the neighbourhood of taracina and to have their company from that point on, but when they approached taracina, they learned that these forces had recently been recalled and had retired to rome. but belisarius, learning that the forces of john were approaching and fearing that the enemy might confront them in greatly superior numbers and destroy them, took the following measures. it so happened that the enemy had encamped very close to the flaminian gate; this gate belisarius himself had blocked up at the beginning of this war by a structure of stone, as has been told by me in the previous narrative,[ ] his purpose of course being to make it difficult for the enemy either to force their way in or to make any attempt upon the city at that point. consequently no engagement had taken place at this gate, and the barbarians had no suspicion that there would be any attack upon them from there. now belisarius tore down by night the masonry which blocked this gate, without giving notice to anyone at all, and made ready the greatest part of the army there. and at daybreak he sent trajan and diogenes with a thousand horsemen through the pincian gate, commanding them to shoot missiles into the camps, and as soon as their opponents came against them, to flee without the least shame and to ride up to the fortifications at full speed. and he also stationed some men inside this gate. so the men under trajan began to harass the barbarians, as belisarius had directed them to do, and the goths, gathering from all the camps, began to defend themselves. and both armies began to move as fast as they could toward the fortifications of the city, the one giving the appearance of fleeing, and the other supposing that they were pursuing the enemy. but as soon as belisarius saw the enemy take up the pursuit, he opened the flaminian gate and sent his army out against the barbarians, who were thus taken unawares. now it so happened that one of the gothic camps was on the road near this gate, and in front of it there was a narrow passage between steep banks which was exceedingly difficult of access. and one of the barbarians, a man of splendid physique and clad in a corselet, when he saw the enemy advancing, reached this place before them and took his stand there, at the same time calling his comrades and urging them to help in guarding the narrow passage. but before any move could be made mundilas slew him and thereafter allowed none of the barbarians to go into this passage. the romans therefore passed through it without encountering opposition, and some of them, arriving at the gothic camp near by, for a short time tried to take it, but were unable to do so because of the strength of the stockade, although not many barbarians had been left behind in it. for the trench had been dug to an extraordinary depth, and since the earth taken from it had invariably been placed along its inner side, this reached a great height and so served as a wall[ ]; and it was abundantly supplied with stakes, which were very sharp and close together, thus making a palisade. these defences so emboldened the barbarians that they began to repel the enemy vigorously. but one of the guards of belisarius, aquilinus by name, an exceedingly active man, seized a horse by the bridle and, bestriding it, leaped from the trench into the middle of the camp, where he slew some of the enemy. and when his opponents gathered about him and hurled great numbers of missiles, the horse was wounded and fell, but he himself unexpectedly made his escape through the midst of the enemy. so he went on foot with his companions toward the pincian gate. and overtaking the barbarians, who were still engaged in pursuing roman horsemen,[ ] they began to shoot at them from behind and killed some of them. now when trajan and his men perceived this, since they had meanwhile been reinforced by the horsemen who had been standing near by in readiness, they charged at full speed against their pursuers. then at length the goths, being now outgeneraled and unexpectedly caught between the forces of their enemy, began to be killed indiscriminately. and there was great slaughter of them, and very few escaped to their camps, and that with difficulty; meanwhile the others, fearing for the safety of all their strongholds, shut themselves in and remained in them thereafter, thinking that the romans would come against them without the least delay. in this action one of the barbarians shot trajan in the face, above the right eye and not far from the nose. and the whole of the iron point, penetrated the head and disappeared entirely, although the barb on it was large and exceedingly long, but the remainder of the arrow immediately fell to the ground without the application of force by anyone, in my opinion because the iron point had never been securely fastened to the shaft. trajan, however, paid no heed to this at all, but continued none the less killing and pursuing the enemy. but in the fifth year afterward the tip of the iron of its own accord began to project visibly from his face. and this is now the third year since it has been slowly but steadily coming out. it is to be expected, therefore, that the whole barb will eventually come out, though not for a long time. but it has not been an impediment to the man in any way. so much then for these matters. footnotes: [ ] the regular harbour, portus, was held by the goths. [ ] book v. xix. . [ ] cf. book v. xix. . [ ] these were the forces of trajan and diogenes. vi now the barbarians straightway began to despair of winning the war and were considering how they might withdraw from rome, inasmuch as they had suffered the ravages both of the pestilence and of the enemy, and were now reduced from many tens of thousands to a few men; and, not least of all, they were in a state of distress by reason of the famine, and while in name they were carrying on a siege, they were in fact being besieged by their opponents and were shut off from all necessities. and when they learned that still another army had come to their enemy from byzantium both by land and by sea--not being informed as to its actual size, but supposing it to be as large as the free play of rumour was able to make it,--they became terrified at the danger and began to plan for their departure. they accordingly sent three envoys to rome, one of whom was a roman of note among the goths, and he, coming before belisarius, spoke as follows: "that the war has not turned out to the advantage of either side each of us knows well, since we both have had actual experience of its hardships. for why should anyone in either army deny facts of which neither now remains in ignorance. and no one, i think, could deny, at least no one who does not lack understanding, that it is only senseless men who choose to go on suffering indefinitely merely to satisfy the contentious spirit which moves them for the moment, and refuse to find a solution of the troubles which harass them. and whenever this situation arises, it is the duty of the commanders on both sides not to sacrifice the lives of their subjects to their own glory, but to choose the course which is just and expedient, not for themselves alone, but also for their opponents, and thus to put an end to present hardships. for moderation in one's demands affords a way out of all difficulties, but it is the very nature of contentiousness that it cannot accomplish any of the objects which are essential. now we, on our part, have deliberated concerning the conclusion of this war and have come before you with proposals which are of advantage to both sides, wherein we waive, as we think, some portion even of our rights. and see to it that you likewise in your deliberations do not yield to a spirit of contentiousness respecting us and thus destroy yourselves as well as us, in preference to choosing the course which will be of advantage to yourselves. and it is fitting that both sides should state their case, not in continuous speech, but each interrupting the other on the spur of the moment, if anything that is said shall seem inappropriate. for in this way each side will be able to say briefly whatever it is minded to say, and at the same time the essential things will be accomplished." belisarius replied: "there will be nothing to prevent the debate from proceeding in the manner you suggest, only let the words spoken by you be words of peace and of justice." so the ambassadors of the goths in their turn said: "you have done us an injustice, o romans, in taking up arms wrongfully against us, your friends and allies. and what we shall say is, we think, well known to each one of you as well as to ourselves. for the goths did not obtain the land of italy by wresting it from the romans by force, but odoacer in former times dethroned the emperor, changed the government of italy to a tyranny, and so held it.[ ] and zeno, who then held the power of the east, though he wished to avenge his partner in the imperial office and to free this land from the usurper, was unable to destroy the authority of odoacer. accordingly he persuaded theoderic, our ruler, although he was on the point of besieging him and byzantium, not only to put an end to his hostility towards himself, in recollection of the honour which theoderic had already received at his hands in having been made a patrician and consul of the romans,[ ] but also to punish odoacer for his unjust treatment of augustulus, and thereafter, in company with the goths, to hold sway over the land as its legitimate and rightful rulers. it was in this way, therefore, that we took over the dominion of italy, and we have preserved both the laws and the form of government as strictly as any who have ever been roman emperors, and there is absolutely no law, either written or unwritten, introduced by theoderic or by any of his successors on the throne of the goths. and we have so scrupulously guarded for the romans their practices pertaining to the worship of god and faith in him, that not one of the italians has changed his belief, either willingly or unwillingly, up to the present day, and when goths have changed,[ ] we have taken no notice of the matter. and indeed the sanctuaries of the romans have received from us the highest honour; for no one who has taken refuge in any of them has ever been treated with violence by any man; nay, more, the romans themselves have continued to hold all the offices of the state, and not a single goth has had a share in them. let someone come forward and refute us, if he thinks that this statement of ours is not true. and one might add that the goths have conceded that the dignity of the consulship should be conferred upon romans each year by the emperor of the east. such has been the course followed by us; but you, on your side, did not take the part of italy while it was suffering at the hands of the barbarians and odoacer, although it was not for a short time, but for ten years, that he treated the land outrageously; but now you do violence to us who have acquired it legitimately, though you have no business here. do you therefore depart hence out of our way, keeping both that which is your own and whatever you have gained by plunder." and belisarius said: "although your promise gave us to understand that your words would be brief and temperate, yet your discourse has been both long and not far from fraudulent in its pretensions. for theoderic was sent by the emperor zeno in order to make war on odoacer, not in order to hold the dominion of italy for himself. for why should the emperor have been concerned to exchange one tyrant for another? but he sent him in order that italy might be free and obedient to the emperor. and though theoderic disposed of the tyrant in a satisfactory manner, in everything else he shewed an extraordinary lack of proper feeling; for he never thought of restoring the land to its rightful owner. but i, for my part, think that he who robs another by violence and he who of his own will does not restore his neighbour's goods are equal. now, as for me, i shall never surrender the emperor's country to any other. but if there is anything you wish to receive in place of it, i give you leave to speak." and the barbarians said: "that everything which we have said is true no one of you can be unaware. but in order that we may not seem to be contentious, we give up to you sicily, great as it is and of such wealth, seeing that without it you cannot possess libya in security." and belisarius replied: "and we on our side permit the goths to have the whole of britain, which is much larger than sicily and was subject to the romans in early times. for it is only fair to make an equal return to those who first do a good deed or perform a kindness." the barbarians: "well, then, if we should make you a proposal concerning campania also, or about naples itself, will you listen to it?" belisarius: "no, for we are not empowered to administer the emperor's affairs in a way which is not in accord with his wish." the barbarians: "not even if we impose upon ourselves the payment of a fixed sum of money every year?" belisarius: "no, indeed. for we are not empowered to do anything else than guard the land for its owner." the barbarians: "come now, we must send envoys to the emperor and make with him our treaty concerning the whole matter. and a definite time must also be appointed during which the armies will be bound to observe an armistice." belisarius: "very well; let this be done. for never shall i stand in your way when you are making plans for peace." after saying these things they each left the conference, and the envoys of the goths withdrew to their own camp. and during the ensuing days they visited each other frequently and made the arrangements for the armistice, and they agreed that each side should put into the hands of the other some of its notable men as hostages to ensure the keeping of the armistice. footnotes: [ ] a.d. cf. book v. i. - and note. [ ] cf. book v. i. , . [ ] the goths were christians, but followed the arian heresy. vii but while these negotiations were in progress at rome, meanwhile the fleet of the isaurians put in at the harbour[ ] of the romans and john with his men came to ostia, and not one of the enemy hindered them either while bringing their ships to land or while making their camp. but in order that they might be able to pass the night safe from a sudden attack by the enemy, the isaurians dug a deep trench close to the harbour and kept a constant guard by shifts of men, while john's soldiers made a barricade of their waggons about the camp and remained quiet. and when night came on belisarius went to ostia with a hundred horsemen, and after telling what had taken place in the engagement and the agreement which had been made between the romans and the goths and otherwise encouraging them, he bade them bring their cargoes and come with all zeal to rome. "for," he said, "i shall take care that the journey is free from danger." so he himself at early dawn rode back to the city, and antonina together with the commanders began at daybreak to consider means of transporting the cargoes. but it seemed to them that the task was a hard one and beset with the greatest difficulties. for the oxen could hold out no longer, but all lay half-dead, and, furthermore, it was dangerous to travel over a rather narrow road with the waggons, and impossible to tow the barges on the river, as had formerly been the custom. for the road which is on the left[ ] of the river was held by the enemy, as stated by me in the previous narrative,[ ] and not available for the use of the romans at that time, while the road on the other side of it is altogether unused, at least that part of it which follows the river-bank. they therefore selected the small boats belonging to the larger ships, put a fence of high planks around them on all sides, in order that the men on board might not be exposed to the enemy's shots, and embarked archers and sailors on them in numbers suitable for each boat. and after they had loaded the boats with all the freight they could carry, they waited for a favouring wind and set sail toward rome by the tiber, and a portion of the army followed them along the right[ ] bank of the river to support them. but they left a large number of isaurians to guard the ships. now where the course of the river was straight, they found no trouble in sailing, simply raising the sails of the boats; but where the stream wound about and took a course athwart the wind, and the sails received no impulse from it, the sailors had no slight toil in rowing and forcing the boats against the current. as for the barbarians, they sat in their camps and had no wish to hinder their enemy, either because they were terrified at the danger, or because they thought that the romans would never by such means succeed in bringing in any provisions, and considered it contrary to their own interest, when a matter of no consequence was involved, to frustrate their hope of the armistice which belisarius had already promised. moreover, the goths who were in portus, though they could see their enemy constantly sailing by almost near enough to touch, made no move against them, but sat there wondering in amazement at the plan they had hit upon. and when the romans had made the voyage up the river many times in the same way, and had thus conveyed all the cargoes into the city without interference, the sailors took the ships and withdrew with all speed, for it was already about the time of the winter solstice; and the rest of the army entered rome, except, indeed, that paulus remained in ostia with some of the isaurians. and afterwards they gave hostages to one another to secure the keeping of the armistice, the romans giving zeno, and the goths ulias, a man of no mean station, with the understanding that during three months they should make no attack upon one another, until the envoys should return from byzantium and report the will of the emperor. and even if the one side or the other should initiate offences against their opponents, the envoys were nevertheless to be returned to their own nation. so the envoys of the barbarians went to byzantium escorted by romans, and ildiger, the son-in-law of antonina, came to rome from libya with not a few horsemen. and the goths who were holding the stronghold at portus abandoned the place by the order of vittigis because their supplies were exhausted, and came to the camp in obedience to his summons. whereupon paulus with his isaurians came from ostia and took possession of it and held it. now the chief reason why these barbarians were without provisions was that the romans commanded the sea and did not allow any of the necessary supplies to be brought in to them. and it was for this reason that they also abandoned at about the same time a sea-coast city of great importance, centumcellae[ ] by name, that is, because they were short of provisions. this city is large and populous, lying to the west of rome, in tuscany, distant from it about two hundred and eighty stades. and after taking possession of it the romans went on and extended their power still more, for they took also the town of albani, which lies to the east of rome, the enemy having evacuated it at that time for the same reason, and they had already surrounded the barbarians on all sides and now held them between their forces. the goths, therefore, were in a mood to break the agreement and do some harm to the romans. so they sent envoys to belisarius and asserted that they had been unjustly treated during a truce; for when vittigis had summoned the goths who were in portus to perform some service for him, paulus and the isaurians had seized and taken possession of the fort there for no good reason. and they made this same false charge regarding albani and centumcellae, and threatened that, unless he should give these places back to them, they would resent it. but belisarius laughed and sent them away, saying that this charge was but a pretext, and that no one was ignorant of the reason why the goths had abandoned these places. and thereafter the two sides were somewhat suspicious of one another. but later, when belisarius saw that rome was abundantly supplied with soldiers, he sent many horsemen to places far distant from rome, and commanded john, the nephew of vitalian, and the horsemen under his command, eight hundred in number, to pass the winter near the city of alba, which lies in picenum; and with him he sent four hundred of the men of valerian, whom damianus, the nephew of valerian, commanded, and eight hundred men of his own guards who were especially able warriors. and in command of these he put two spearmen, suntas and adegis, and ordered them to follow john wherever he should lead; and he gave john instructions that as long as he saw the enemy was keeping the agreement made between them, he should remain quiet; but whenever he found that the armistice had been violated by them, he should do as follows: with his whole force he was to make a sudden raid and overrun the land of picenum, visiting all the districts of that region and reaching each one before the report of his coming. for in this whole land there was virtually not a single man left, since all, as it appeared, had marched against rome, but everywhere there were women and children of the enemy and money. he was instructed, therefore, to enslave or plunder whatever he found, taking care never to injure any of the romans living there. and if he should happen upon any place which had men and defences, as he probably would, he was to make an attempt upon it with his whole force. and if he was able to capture it, he was to go forward, but if it should so happen that his attempt was unsuccessful, he was to march back or remain there. for if he should go forward and leave such a fortress in his rear, he would be involved in the greatest danger, since his men would never be able to defend themselves easily, if they should be harassed by their opponents. he was also to keep the whole booty intact, in order that it might be divided fairly and properly among the army. then with a laugh he added this also: "for it is not fair that the drones should be destroyed with great labour by one force, while others, without having endured any hardship at all, enjoy the honey." so after giving these instructions, belisarius sent john with his army. and at about the same time datius, the priest of milan, and some notable men among the citizens came to rome and begged belisarius to send them a few guards. for they declared that they were themselves able without any trouble to detach from the goths not only milan, but the whole of liguria also, and to recover them for the emperor. now this city is situated in liguria, and lies about half way between the city of ravenna and the alps on the borders of gaul; for from either one it is a journey of eight days to milan for an unencumbered traveller; and it is the first of the cities of the west, after rome at least, both in size and in population and in general prosperity. and belisarius promised to fulfil their request, but detained them there during the winter season. footnotes: [ ] ostia, since the regular harbour, portus, was held by the goths. [ ] _i.e._ facing upstream. [ ] book iv. xxvi. . [ ] modern civita vecchia. viii such was the course of these events. but the envy of fortune was already swelling against the romans, when she saw their affairs progressing successfully and well, and wishing to mingle some evil with this good, she inspired a quarrel, on a trifling pretext, between belisarius and constantinus; and how this grew and to what end it came i shall now go on to relate. there was a certain presidius, a roman living at ravenna, and a man of no mean station. this presidius had given offence to the goths at the time when vittigis was about to march against rome, and so he set out with some few of his domestics ostensibly on a hunting expedition, and went into exile; he had communicated his plan to no one and took none of his property with him, except indeed that he himself carried two daggers, the scabbards of which happened to be adorned with much gold and precious stones. and when he came to spolitium, he lodged in a certain temple outside the fortifications. and when constantinus, who happened to be still tarrying there,[ ] heard of this, he sent one of his guards, maxentiolus, and took away from him both the daggers for no good reason. the man was deeply offended by what had taken place, and set out for rome with all speed and came to belisarius, and constantinus also arrived there not long afterward; for the gothic army was already reported to be not far away. now as long as the affairs of the romans were critical and in confusion, presidius remained silent; but when he saw that the romans were gaining the upper hand and that the envoys of the goths had been sent to the emperor, as has been told by me above, he frequently approached belisarius reporting the injustice and demanding that he assist him in obtaining his rights. and belisarius reproached constantinus many times himself, and many times through others, urging him to clear himself of the guilt of an unjust deed and of a dishonouring report. but constantinus--for it must needs be that evil befall him--always lightly evaded the charge and taunted the wronged man. but on one occasion presidius met belisarius riding on horseback in the forum, and he laid hold of the horse's bridle, and crying out with a loud voice asked whether the laws of the emperor said that, whenever anyone fleeing from the barbarians comes to them as a suppliant, they should rob him by violence of whatever he may chance to have in his hands. and though many men gathered about and commanded him with threats to let go his hold of the bridle, he did not let go until at last belisarius promised to give him the daggers. on the following day, therefore, belisarius called constantinus and many of the commanders to an apartment in the palace, and after going over what had happened on the previous day urged him even at that late time to restore the daggers. but constantinus refused to do so; nay, he would more gladly throw them into the waters of the tiber than give them to presidius. and belisarius, being by now mastered by anger, enquired whether constantinus did not think that he was subject to his orders. and he agreed to obey him in all other things, for this was the emperor's will; this command, however, which at the present time he was laying upon him, he would never obey. belisarius then commanded his guards to enter, whereupon constantinus said: "in order, plainly, to have them kill me." "by no means," said belisarius, "but to have them compel your bodyguard maxentiolus, who forcibly carried away the daggers for you, to restore to the man what he took from him by violence." but constantinus, thinking that he was to die that very instant, wished to do some great deed before he should suffer anything himself. he accordingly drew the dagger which hung by his thigh and suddenly thrust it at the belly of belisarius. and he in consternation stepped back, and by throwing his arms around bessas, who was standing near, succeeded in escaping the blow. then constantinus, still boiling with anger, made after him; but ildiger and valerian, seeing what was being done, laid hold of his hands, one of the right and the other of the left, and dragged him back. and at this point the guards entered whom belisarius had summoned a moment before, snatched the dagger of constantinus from his hand with great violence, and seized him amid a great uproar. at the moment they did him no harm, out of respect, i suppose, to the officers present, but led him away to another room at the command of belisarius, and at a somewhat later time put him to death. this was the only unholy deed done by belisarius, and it was in no way worthy of the character of the man; for he always shewed great gentleness in his treatment of all others. but it had to be, as i have said, that evil should befall constantinus. footnote: [ ] cf. book v. xvi. ff. ix and the goths not long after this wished to strike a blow at the fortifications of rome. and first they sent some men by night into one of the aqueducts, from which they themselves had taken out the water at the beginning of this war.[ ] and with lamps and torches in their hands they explored the entrance into the city by this way. now it happened that not far from the small pincian gate an arch of this aqueduct[ ] had a sort of crevice in it, and one of the guards saw the light through this and told his companions; but they said that he had seen a wolf passing by his post. for at that point it so happened that the structure of the aqueduct did not rise high above the ground, and they thought that the guard had imagined the wolf's eyes to be fire. so those barbarians who explored the aqueduct, upon reaching the middle of the city, where there was an upward passage built in olden times leading to the palace itself, came upon some masonry there which allowed them neither to advance beyond that point nor to use the ascent at all. this masonry had been put in by belisarius as an act of precaution at the beginning of this siege, as has been set forth by me in the preceding narrative.[ ] so they decided first to remove one small stone from the wall and then to go back immediately, and when they returned to vittigis, they displayed the stone and reported the whole situation. and while he was considering his scheme with the best of the goths, the romans who were on guard at the pincian gate recalled among themselves on the following day the suspicion of the wolf. but when the story was passed around and came to belisarius, the general did not treat the matter carelessly, but immediately sent some of the notable men in the army, together with the guardsman diogenes, down into the aqueduct and bade them investigate everything with all speed. and they found all along the aqueduct the lamps of the enemy and the ashes which had dropped from their torches, and after observing the masonry where the stone had been taken out by the goths, they reported to belisarius. for this reason he personally kept the aqueduct under close guard; and the goths, perceiving it, desisted from this attempt. but later on the barbarians went so far as to plan an open attack against the fortifications. so they waited for the time of lunch, and bringing up ladders and fire, when their enemy were least expecting them, made an assault upon the small pincian gate, emboldened by the hope of capturing the city by a sudden attack, since not many soldiers had been left there. but it happened that ildiger and his men were keeping guard at that time; for all were assigned by turns to guard-duty. so when he saw the enemy advancing in disorder, he went out against them before they were yet drawn up in line of battle and while they were advancing in great disarray, and routing those who were opposite him without any trouble he slew many. and a great outcry and commotion arose throughout the city, as was to be expected, and the romans gathered as quickly as possible to all parts of the fortifications; whereupon the barbarians after a short time retired to their camp baffled. but vittigis resorted again to a plot against the wall. now there was a certain part of it that was especially vulnerable, where the bank of the tiber is, because at this place the romans of old, confident in the protection afforded by the stream, had built the wall carelessly, making it low and altogether without towers; vittigis therefore hoped to capture the city rather easily from that quarter. for indeed there was not even any garrison there of any consequence, as it happened. he therefore bribed with money two romans who lived near the church of peter the apostle to pass along by the guards there at about nightfall carrying a skin full of wine, and in some way or other, by making a show of friendship, to give it to them, and then to sit drinking with them well on into the night; and they were to throw into the cup of each guard a sleep-producing drug which vittigis had given them. and he stealthily got ready some skiffs, which he kept at the other bank; as soon as the guards should be overcome by sleep, some of the barbarians, acting in concert, were to cross the river in these, taking ladders with them, and make the assault on the wall. and he made ready the entire army with the intention of capturing the whole city by storm. after these arrangements were all complete, one of the two men who had been prepared by vittigis for this service (for it was not fated that rome should be captured by this army of the goths) came of his own accord to belisarius and revealed everything, and told who the other man was. so this man under torture brought to light all that he was about to do and displayed the drug which vittigis had given him. and belisarius first mutilated his nose and ears and then sent him riding on an ass into the enemy's camp. and when the barbarians saw him, they realised that god would not allow their purposes to have free course, and that therefore the city could never be captured by them. footnotes: [ ] book v. xix. . [ ] the _aqua virgo_. [ ] book v. xix. . x but while these things were happening, belisarius wrote to john and commanded him to begin operations. and he with his two thousand horsemen began to go about the land of picenum and to plunder everything before him, treating the women and children of the enemy as slaves. and when ulitheus, the uncle of vittigis, confronted him with an army of goths, he defeated them in battle and killed ulitheus himself and almost the whole army of the enemy. for this reason no one dared any longer to engage with him. but when he came to the city of auximus,[ ] though he learned that it contained a gothic garrison of inconsiderable size, yet in other respects he observed that the place was strong and impossible to capture. and for this reason he was quite unwilling to lay siege to it, but departing from there as quickly as he could, he moved forward. and he did this same thing at the city of urbinus,[ ] but at ariminum,[ ] which is one day's journey distant from ravenna, he marched into the city at the invitation of the romans. now all the barbarians who were keeping guard there were very suspicious of the roman inhabitants, and as soon as they learned that this army was approaching, they withdrew and ran until they reached ravenna. and thus john secured ariminum; but he had meanwhile left in his rear a garrison of the enemy both at auximus and at urbinus, not because he had forgotten the commands of belisarius, nor because he was carried away by unreasoning boldness, since he had wisdom as well as energy, but because he reasoned--correctly, as it turned out--that if the goths learned that the roman army was close to ravenna, they would instantly break up the siege of rome because of their fears regarding this place. and in fact his reasoning proved to be true. for as soon as vittigis and the army of the goths heard that ariminum was held by him, they were plunged into great fear regarding ravenna, and abandoning all other considerations, they straightway made their withdrawal, as will be told by me directly. and john won great fame from this deed, though he was renowned even before. for he was a daring and efficient man in the highest degree, unflinching before danger, and in his daily life shewing at all times a certain austerity and ability to endure hardship unsurpassed by any barbarian or common soldier. such a man was john. and matasuntha, the wife of vittigis, who was exceedingly hostile to her husband because he had taken her to wife by violence in the beginning,[ ] upon learning that john had come to ariminum was absolutely overcome by joy, and sending a messenger to him opened secret negotiations with him concerning marriage and the betrayal of the city. so these two kept sending messengers to each other without the knowledge of the rest and arranging these matters. but when the goths learned what had happened at ariminum, and when at the same time all their provisions had failed them, and the three months' time had already expired, they began to make their withdrawal, although they had not as yet received any information as far as the envoys were concerned. now it was about the spring equinox, and one year had been spent in the siege and nine days in addition, when the goths, having burned all their camps, set out at daybreak. and the romans, seeing their opponents in flight, were at a loss how to deal with the situation. for it so happened that the majority of the horsemen were not present at that time, since they had been sent to various places, as has been stated by me above,[ ] and they did not think that by themselves they were a match for so great a multitude of the enemy. however, belisarius armed all the infantry and cavalry. and when he saw that more than half of the enemy had crossed the bridge, he led the army out through the small pincian gate, and the hand-to-hand battle which ensued proved to be equal to any that had preceded it. at the beginning the barbarians withstood their enemy vigorously, and many on both sides fell in the first encounter; but afterwards the goths turned to flight and brought upon themselves a great and overwhelming calamity; for each man for himself was rushing to cross the bridge first. as a result of this they became very much crowded and suffered most cruelly, for they were being killed both by each other and by the enemy. many, too, fell off the bridge on either side into the tiber, sank with all their arms, and perished. finally, after losing in this way the most of their number, the remainder joined those who had crossed before. and longinus the isaurian and mundilas, the guards of belisarius, made themselves conspicuous for their valour in this battle. but while mundilas, after engaging with four barbarians in turn and killing them all, was himself saved, longinus, having proved himself the chief cause of the rout of the enemy, fell where he fought, leaving the roman army great regret for his loss. footnotes: [ ] modern osimo. [ ] modern urbino. [ ] modern rimini. [ ] cf. book v. xi. . [ ] chap. vii. . xi now vittigis with the remainder of his army marched toward ravenna; and he strengthened the fortified places with a great number of guards, leaving in clusium,[ ] the city of tuscany, one thousand men and gibimer as commander, and in urviventus[ ] an equal number, over whom he set albilas, a goth, as commander. and he left uligisalus in tudera[ ] with four hundred men. and in the land of picenum he left in the fortress of petra four hundred men who had lived there previously, and in auximus, which is the largest of all the cities of that country, he left four thousand goths selected for their valour and a very energetic commander, visandus by name, and two thousand men with moras in the city of urbinus. there are also two other fortresses, caesena and monteferetra,[ ] in each of which he established a garrison of not less than five hundred men. then he himself with the rest of the army moved straight for ariminum with the purpose of laying siege to it. but it happened that belisarius, as soon as the goths had broken up the siege of rome, had sent ildiger and martinus with a thousand horsemen, in order that by travelling more quickly by another road they might arrive at ariminum first, and he directed them promptly to remove john from the city and all those with him, and to put in their place fully enough men to guard the city, taking them from the fortress which is on the ionian gulf, ancon by name, two days' journey distant from ariminum. for he had already taken possession of it not long before, having sent conon with no small force of isaurians and thracians. it was his hope that if unsupported infantry under commanders of no great note should hold ariminum, the gothic forces would never undertake its siege, but would regard it with contempt and so go at once to ravenna, and that if they should decide to besiege ariminum, the provisions there would suffice for the infantry for a somewhat longer time; and he thought also that two thousand horsemen,[ ] attacking from outside with the rest of the army, would in all probability do the enemy great harm and drive them more easily to abandon the siege. it was with this purpose that belisarius gave such orders to martinus and ildiger and their men. and they, by travelling over the flaminian way, arrived long before the barbarians. for since the goths were moving in a great throng, they proceeded in a more leisurely manner, and they were compelled to make certain long detours, both because of the lack of provisions, and because they preferred not to pass close to the fortresses on the flaminian way, narnia and spolitium and perusia, since these were in the hands of the enemy, as has been stated above.[ ] when the roman army arrived at petra, they made an attack upon the fortress there, regarding it as an incident of their expedition. now this fortress was not devised by man, but it was made by the nature of the place; for the road passes through an extremely mountainous country at that place. on the right of this road a river descends which no man can ford because of the swiftness of the current, and on the left not far away rises a sheer rock which reaches to such a height that men who might chance to be standing on its summit, as seen by those below, resemble in size the smallest birds. and in olden times there was no passage through as one went forward. for the end of the rock reaches to the very stream of the river, affording no room for those who travel that way to pass by. so the men of ancient times constructed a tunnel at that point, and made there a gate for the place.[ ] and they also closed up the greatest part of the other[ ] entrance, leaving only enough space for a small gate there also, and thus rendered the place a natural fortress, which they call by the fitting name of petra. so the men of martinus and ildiger first made an attack upon one of the two gates,[ ] and shot many missiles, but they accomplished nothing, although the barbarians there made no defence at all; but afterwards they forced their way up the cliff behind the fortress and hurled stones from there upon the heads of the goths. and they, hurriedly and in great confusion, entered their houses and remained quiet. and then the romans, unable to hit any of the enemy with the stones they threw, devised the following plan. they broke off large pieces from the cliff and, many of them pushing together, hurled them down, aiming at the houses. and wherever these in their fall did no more than just graze the building, they yet gave the whole fortress a considerable shock and reduced the barbarians to great fear. consequently the goths stretched out their hands to those who were still about the gate and surrendered themselves and the fort, with the condition that they themselves should remain free from harm, being slaves of the emperor and subject to belisarius. and ildiger and martinus removed the most of them and led them away, putting them on a basis of complete equality with themselves, but some few they left there, together with their wives and children. and they also left something of a garrison of romans. thence they proceeded to ancon, and taking with them many of the infantry in that place on the third day reached ariminum, and announced the will of belisarius. but john was not only unwilling himself to follow them, but also proposed to retain damianus with the four hundred.[ ] so they left there the infantry and retired thence with all speed, taking the spearmen and guards of belisarius. footnotes: [ ] modern chiusi. [ ] urbs vetus, modern orvieto. [ ] tuder or tudertum, modern todi. [ ] modern montefeltro. [ ] _i.e._ the force which john had when he had set out on his raid of picenum (cf. chap. x. ) and with which he was now holding ariminum. [ ] book v. xxix. . [ ] the tunnel was made by the emperor vespasian, a.d. this gate was at the southern end. [ ] _i.e._ northern. [ ] the upper, or southern, gate. [ ] cf. chap. vii. . xii and not long afterward vittigis and his whole army arrived at ariminum, where they established their camp and began the siege. and they immediately constructed a wooden tower higher than the circuit-wall of the city and resting on four wheels, and drew it toward that part of the wall which seemed to them most vulnerable. but in order that they might not have the same experience here which they had before the fortifications of rome, they did not use oxen to draw the tower, but hid themselves within it and thus hauled it forward. and there was a stairway of great breadth inside the tower on which the barbarians in great numbers were to make the ascent easily, for they hoped that as soon as they should place the tower against the fortifications, they would have no trouble in stepping thence to the parapet of the wall; for they had made the tower high with this in view. so when they had come close to the fortifications with this engine of war, they remained quiet for the time, since it was already growing dark, and stationing guards about the tower they all went off to pass the night, supposing that they would meet with no obstacle whatever. and indeed there was nothing in their way, not even a trench between them and the wall, except an exceedingly small one. as for the romans, they passed the night in great fear, supposing that on the morrow they would perish. but john, neither yielding to despair in face of the danger nor being greatly agitated by fear, devised the following plan. leaving the others on guard at their posts, he himself took the isaurians, who carried pickaxes and various other tools of this kind, and went outside the fortifications; it was late in the night and no word had been given beforehand to anyone in the city; and once outside the wall, he commanded his men in silence to dig the trench deeper. so they did as directed, and as they dug they kept putting the earth which they took out of the trench upon the side of it nearer the city-wall, and there it served them as an earthwork. and since they were unobserved for a long time by the enemy, who were sleeping, they soon made the trench both deep and sufficiently wide, at the place where the fortifications were especially vulnerable and where the barbarians were going to make the assault with their engine of war. but far on in the night the enemy, perceiving what was being done, charged at full speed against those who were digging, and john went inside the fortifications with the isaurians, since the trench was now in a most satisfactory condition. but at daybreak vittigis noted what had been accomplished and in his exceeding vexation at the occurrence executed some of the guards; however, he was as eager as before to bring his engine to bear, and so commanded the goths to throw a great number of faggots as quickly as possible into the trench, and then by drawing the tower over them to bring it into position. this they proceeded to do as vittigis commanded, with all zeal, although their opponents kept fighting them back from the wall with the utmost vigour. but when the weight of the tower came upon the faggots they naturally yielded and sank down. for this reason the barbarians were quite unable to go forward with the engine, because the ground became still more steep before them, where the romans had heaped up the earth as i have stated. fearing, therefore, that when night came on the enemy would sally forth and set fire to the engine, they began to draw it back again. this was precisely what john was eager to prevent with all his power, and so he armed his soldiers, called them all together, and exhorted them as follows: "my men, who share this danger common to us all, if it would please any man among you to live and see those whom he has left at home, let him realize that the only hope he has of obtaining these things lies in nothing but his own hands. for when belisarius sent us forth in the beginning, hope and desire for many things made us eager for the task. for we never suspected that we should be besieged in the country along the coast, since the romans command the sea so completely, nor would one have supposed that the emperor's army would so far neglect us. but apart from these considerations, at that time we were prompted to boldness by an opportunity to display our loyalty to the state and by the glory which we should acquire in the sight of all men as the result of our struggles. but as things now stand, we cannot possibly survive save by courage, and we are obliged to undergo this danger with no other end in view than the saving of our own lives. therefore, if any of you perchance lay claim to valour, all such have the opportunity to prove themselves brave men, if any men in the world have, and thereby to cover themselves with glory. for they achieve a fair name, not who overpower those weaker than themselves, but who, though inferior in equipment, still win the victory by the greatness of their souls. and as for those in whom the love of life has been more deeply implanted, it will be of advantage to these especially to be bold, for it is true of all men, as a general thing, that when their fortunes stand on the razor's edge, as is now the case with us, they may be saved only by scorning the danger." with these words john led his army out against the enemy, leaving some few men to guard the battlement. but the enemy withstood them bravely, and the battle became exceedingly fierce. and with great difficulty and late in the day the barbarians succeeded in bringing the tower back to their own camp. however, they lost so great a number of their fighting men that they decided thenceforth to make no further attacks upon the wall, but in despair of succeeding that way, they remained quiet, expecting that their enemy would yield to them under stress of famine. for all their provisions had already failed them completely, since they had not found any place from which they could bring in a sufficient supply. such was the course of events here. but as for belisarius, he sent to the representatives of milan[ ] a thousand men, isaurians and thracians. the isaurians were commanded by ennes, the thracians by paulus, while mundilas was set over them all and commanded in person, having as his guard some few of the guardsmen of belisarius. and with them was also fidelius, who had been made praetorian prefect. for since he was a native of milan, he was regarded as a suitable person to go with this army, having as he did some influence in liguria. they set sail, accordingly, from the harbour of rome and put in at genoa, which is the last city in tuscany and well situated as a port of call for the voyage to gaul and to spain. there they left their ships and travelling by land moved forward, placing the boats of the ships on their waggons, in order that nothing might prevent their crossing the river po. it was by this means, in any event, that they made the crossing of the river. and when they reached the city of ticinum,[ ] after crossing the po, the goths came out against them and engaged them in battle. and they were not only numerous but also excellent troops, since all the barbarians who lived in that region had deposited the most valuable of their possessions in ticinum, as being a place which had strong defences, and had left there a considerable garrison. so a fierce battle took place, but the romans were victorious, and routing their opponents, they slew a great number and came within a little of capturing the city in the pursuit. for it was only with difficulty that the barbarians succeeded in shutting the gates, so closely did their enemy press upon their heels. and as the romans were marching away, fidelius went into a temple there to pray, and was the last to leave. but by some chance his horse stumbled and he fell. and since he had fallen very near the fortifications, the goths seeing him came out and killed him without being observed by the enemy. wherefore, when this was afterwards discovered by mundilas and the romans, they were greatly distressed. then, leaving ticinum, they arrived at the city of milan and secured this city with the rest of liguria without a battle. when vittigis learned about this, he sent a large army with all speed and uraïas, his own nephew, as commander. and theudibert, the leader of the franks, sent him at his request ten thousand men as allies, not of the franks themselves, but burgundians, in order not to appear to be doing injury to the emperor's cause. for it was given out that the burgundians made the expedition willingly and of their own choice, not as obeying the command of theudibert. and the goths, joined by these troops, came to milan, made camp and began a siege when the romans were least expecting them. at any rate the romans, through this action, found it impossible to bring in any kind of provisions, but they were immediately in distress for want of necessities. indeed, even the guarding of the walls was not being maintained by the regular soldiers, for it so happened that mundilas had occupied all the cities near milan which had defences, namely bergomum, comum, and novaria,[ ] as well as some other strongholds, and in every place had established a considerable garrison, while he himself with about three hundred men remained in milan, and with him ennes and paulus. consequently and of necessity the inhabitants of the city were regularly keeping guard in turn. such was the progress of events in liguria, and the winter drew to its close, and the third year came to an end in this war, the history of which procopius has written. footnotes: [ ] cf. chap. vii. . [ ] modern pavia. [ ] modern bergamo, como, and novara. xiii and belisarius at about the time of the summer solstice marched against vittigis and the gothic army, leaving a few men to act as a garrison in rome, but taking all the others with him. and he sent some men to tudera and clusium, with orders to make fortified camps there, and he was intending to follow them and assist in besieging the barbarians at those places. but when the barbarians learned that the army was approaching, they did not wait to face the danger, but sent envoys to belisarius, promising to surrender both themselves and the two cities, with the condition that they should remain free from harm. and when he came there, they fulfilled their promise. and belisarius removed all the goths from these towns and sent them to sicily and naples, and after establishing a garrison in clusium and in tudera, he led his army forward. but meanwhile vittigis had sent another army, under command of vacimus, to auximus, commanding it to join forces with the goths there, and with them to go against the enemy in ancon and make an attempt upon that fortress. now this ancon is a sort of pointed rock, and indeed it is from this circumstance that it has taken its name; for it is exceedingly like an "elbow." and it is about eighty stades distant from the city of auximus, whose port it is. and the defences of the fortress lie upon the pointed rock in a position of security, but all the buildings outside, though they are many, have been from ancient times unprotected by a wall. now as soon as conon, who was in command of the garrison of the place, heard that the forces of vacimus were coming against him and were already not far away, he made an exhibition of thoughtless folly. for thinking it too small a thing to preserve free from harm merely the fortress and its inhabitants together with the soldiers, he left the fortifications entirely destitute of soldiers, and leading them all out to a distance of about five stades, arrayed them in line of battle, without, however, making the phalanx a deep one at all, but thin enough to surround the entire base of the mountain, as if for a hunt. but when these troops saw that the enemy were greatly superior to them in number, they turned their backs and straightway fled to the fortress. and the barbarians, following close upon them, slew on the spot most of their number--those who did not succeed in getting inside the circuit-wall in time--and then placed ladders against the wall and attempted the ascent. some also began burning the houses outside the fortress. and the romans who resided habitually in the fortress, being terror-stricken at what was taking place, at first opened the small gate and received the soldiers as they fled in complete disorder. but when they saw the barbarians close at hand and pressing upon the fugitives, fearing that they would charge in with them, they closed the gates as quickly as they could, and letting down ropes from the battlement, saved a number by drawing them up, and among them conon himself. but the barbarians scaled the wall by means of their ladders and came within a little of capturing the fortress by storm, and would have succeeded if two men had not made a display of remarkable deeds by valorously pushing off the battlements those who had already got upon the wall; one of these two was a bodyguard of belisarius, a thracian named ulimuth, and the other a bodyguard of valerian, named gouboulgoudou, a massagete by birth. these two men had happened by some chance to come by ship to ancon a little before; and in this struggle, by warding off with their swords those who were scaling the wall, they saved the fortress contrary to expectation, but they themselves were carried from the battlement half dead, their whole bodies hacked with many wounds. at that time it was reported to belisarius that narses had come with a great army from byzantium and was in picenum. now this narses[ ] was a eunuch and guardian of the royal treasures, but for the rest keen and more energetic than would be expected of a eunuch. and five thousand soldiers followed him, of whom the several detachments were commanded by different men, among whom were justinus, the general of illyricum, and another narses, who had previously come to the land of the romans as a deserter from the armenians who are subject to the persians; with him had come his brother aratius,[ ] who, as it happened, had joined belisarius a little before this with another army. and about two thousand of the erulian nation also followed him, commanded by visandus and aluith and phanitheus. footnotes: [ ] he was an armenian of persia; see book i. xv. . [ ] book i. xv. . xiv now as to who in the world the eruli are, and how they entered into alliance with the romans, i shall forthwith explain.[ ] they used to dwell beyond the ister[ ] river from of old, worshipping a great host of gods, whom it seemed to them holy to appease even by human sacrifices. and they observed many customs which were not in accord with those of other men. for they were not permitted to live either when they grew old or when they fell sick, but as soon as one of them was overtaken by old age or by sickness, it became necessary for him to ask his relatives to remove him from the world as quickly as possible. and these relatives would pile up a quantity of wood to a great height and lay the man on top of the wood, and then they would send one of the eruli, but not a relative of the man, to his side with a dagger; for it was not lawful for a kinsman to be his slayer. and when the slayer of their relative had returned, they would straightway burn the whole pile of wood, beginning at the edges. and after the lire had ceased, they would immediately collect the bones and bury them in the earth. and when a man of the eruli died, it was necessary for his wife, if she laid claim to virtue and wished to leave a fair name behind her, to die not long afterward beside the tomb of her husband by hanging herself with a rope. and if she did not do this, the result was that she was in ill repute thereafter and an offence to the relatives of her husband. such were the customs observed by the eruli in ancient times. but as time went on they became superior to all the barbarians who dwelt about them both in power and in numbers, and, as was natural, they attacked and vanquished them severally and kept plundering their possessions by force. and finally they made the lombards, who were christians, together with several other nations, subject and tributary to themselves, though the barbarians of that region were not accustomed to that sort of thing; but the eruli were led to take this course by love of money and a lawless spirit. [x]when, however, anastasius took over the roman empire, the eruli, having no longer anyone in the world whom they could assail, laid down their arms and remained quiet, and they observed peace in this way for a space of three years. but the people themselves, being exceedingly vexed, began to abuse their leader rodolphus without restraint, and going to him constantly they called him cowardly and effeminate, and railed at him in a most unruly manner, taunting him with certain other names besides. and rodolphus, being quite unable to bear the insult, marched against the lombards, who were doing no wrong, without charging against them any fault or alleging any violation of their agreement, but bringing upon them a war which had no real cause. and when the lombards got word of this, they sent to rodolphus and made enquiry and demanded that he should state the charge on account of which the eruli were coming against them in arms, agreeing that if they had deprived the eruli of any of the tribute, then they would instantly pay it with large interest; and if their grievance was that only a moderate tribute had been imposed upon them, then the lombards would never be reluctant to make it greater. such were the offers which the envoys made, but rodolphus with a threat sent them away and marched forward. and they again sent other envoys to him on the same mission and supplicated him with many entreaties. and when the second envoys had fared in the same way, a third embassy came to him and forbade the eruli on any account to bring upon them a war without excuse. for if they should come against them with such a purpose, they too, not willingly, but under the direst necessity, would array themselves against their assailants, calling upon god as their witness, the slightest breath of whose favour, turning the scales, would be a match for all the strength of men; and he, in all likelihood, would be moved by the causes of the war and would determine the issue of the fight for both sides accordingly. so they spoke, thinking in this way to terrify their assailants, but the eruli, shrinking from nothing whatever, decided to meet the lombards in battle. and when the two armies came close to one another, it so happened that the sky above the lombards was obscured by a sort of cloud, black and very thick, but above the eruli it was exceedingly clear. and judging by this one would have supposed that the eruli were entering the conflict to their own harm; for there ran be no more forbidding portent than this for barbarians as they go into battle. however, the eruli gave no heed even to this, but in absolute disregard of it they advanced against their enemy with utter contempt, estimating the outcome of war by mere superiority of numbers. but when the battle came to close quarters, many of the eruli perished and rodolphus himself also perished, and the rest fled at full speed, forgetting all their courage. and since their enemy followed them up, the most of them fell on the field of battle and only a few succeeded in saving themselves. date: [x] a.d. for this reason the eruli were no longer able to tarry in their ancestral homes, but departing from there as quickly as possible they kept moving forward, traversing the whole country which is beyond the ister river, together with their wives and children. but when they reached a land where the rogi dwelt of old, a people who had joined the gothic host and gone to italy, they settled in that place. but since they were pressed by famine, because they were in a barren land, they removed from there not long afterward, and came to a place close to the country of the gepaedes.[ ] and at first the gepaedes permitted them to dwell there and be neighbours to them, since they came as suppliants. but afterwards for no good reason the gepaedes began to practise unholy deeds upon them. for they violated their women and seized their cattle and other property, and abstained from no wickedness whatever, and finally began an unjust attack upon them. and the eruli, unable to bear all this any longer, crossed the ister river and decided to live as neighbours to the romans in that region; this was during the reign of the emperor anastasius, who received them with great friendliness and allowed them to settle where they were. but a short time afterwards these barbarians gave him offence by their lawless treatment of the romans there, and for this reason he sent an army against them. and the romans, after defeating them in battle, slew most of their number, and had ample opportunity to destroy them all. but the remainder of them threw themselves upon the mercy of the generals and begged them to spare their lives and to have them as allies and servants of the emperor thereafter. and when anastasius learned this, he was pleased, and consequently a number of the eruli were left; however, they neither became allies of the romans, nor did they do them any good. but when justinian took over the empire,[y] he bestowed upon them good lands and other possessions, and thus completely succeeded in winning their friendship and persuaded them all to become christians. as a result of this they adopted a gentler manner of life and decided to submit themselves wholly to the laws of the christians, and in keeping with the terms of their alliance they are generally arrayed with the romans against their enemies. they are still, however, faithless toward them, and since they are given to avarice, they are eager to do violence to their neighbours, feeling no shame at such conduct. and they mate in an unholy manner, especially men with asses, and they are the basest of all men and utterly abandoned rascals. date: [y] a.d. afterwards, although some few of them remained at peace with the romans, as will be told by me in the following narrative,[ ] all the rest revolted for the following reason. the eruli, displaying their beastly and fanatical character against their own "rex," one ochus by name, suddenly killed the man for no good reason at all, laying against him no other charge than that they wished to be without a king thereafter. and yet even before this, while their king did have the title, he had practically no advantage over any private citizen whomsoever. but all claimed the right to sit with him and eat with him, and whoever wished insulted him without restraint; for no men in the world are less bound by convention or more unstable than the eruli. now when the evil deed had been accomplished, they were immediately repentant. for they said that they were not able to live without a ruler and without a general; so after much deliberation it seemed to them best in every way to summon one of their royal family from the island of thule. and the reason for this i shall now explain. footnotes: [ ] cf. book iv. iv. . [ ] modern danube. [ ] cf. book iii. ii. - , vii. xxiv. . [ ] book vii. xxxiv. . xv when the eruli, being defeated by the lombards in the above-mentioned battle, migrated from their ancestral homes, some of them, as has been told by me above,[ ] made their home in the country of illyricum, but the rest were averse to crossing the ister river, but settled at the very extremity of the world; at any rate, these men, led by many of the royal blood, traversed all the nations of the sclaveni one after the other, and after next crossing a large tract of barren country, they came to the varni,[ ] as they are called. after these they passed by the nations of the dani,[ ] without suffering violence at the hands of the barbarians there. coming thence to the ocean, they took to the sea, and putting in at thule,[ ] remained there on the island. now thule is exceedingly large; for it is more than ten times greater than britain. and it lies far distant from it toward the north. on this island the land is for the most part barren, but in the inhabited country thirteen very numerous nations are settled; and there are kings over each nation. in that place a very wonderful thing takes place each year. for the sun at the time of the summer solstice never sets for forty days, but appears constantly during this whole time above the earth. but not less than six months later, at about the time of the winter solstice, the sun is never seen on this island for forty days, but never-ending night envelops it; and as a result of this dejection holds the people there during this whole time, because they are unable by any means to mingle with one another during this interval. and although i was eager to go to this island and become an eye-witness of the things i have told, no opportunity ever presented itself. however, i made enquiry from those who come to us from the island as to how in the world they are able to reckon the length of the days, since the sun never rises nor sets there at the appointed times. and they gave me an account which is true and trustworthy. for they said that the sun during those forty days does not indeed set just as has been stated, but is visible to the people there at one time toward the east, and again toward the west. whenever, therefore, on its return, it reaches the same place on the horizon where they had previously been accustomed to see it rise, they reckon in this way that one day and night have passed. when, however, the time of the nights arrives, they always take note of the courses of the moon and stars and thus reckon the measure of the days. and when a time amounting to thirty-five days has passed in this long night, certain men are sent to the summits of the mountains--for this is the custom among them--and when they are able from that point barely to see the sun, they bring back word to the people below that within five days the sun will shine upon them. and the whole population celebrates a festival at the good news, and that too in the darkness. and this is the greatest festival which the natives of thule have; for, i imagine, these islanders always become terrified, although they see the same thing happen every year, fearing that the sun may at some time fail them entirely. but among the barbarians who are settled in thule, one nation only, who are called the scrithiphini, live a kind of life akin to that of the beasts. for they neither wear garments of cloth nor do they walk with shoes on their feet, nor do they drink wine nor derive anything edible from the earth. for they neither till the land themselves, nor do their women work it for them, but the women regularly join the men in hunting, which is their only pursuit. for the forests, which are exceedingly large, produce for them a great abundance of wild beasts and other animals, as do also the mountains which rise there. and they feed exclusively upon the flesh of the wild beasts slain by them, and clothe themselves in their skins, and since they have neither flax nor any implement with which to sew, they fasten these skins together by the sinews of the animals, and in this way manage to cover the whole body. and indeed not even their infants are nursed in the same way as among the rest of mankind. for the children of the scrithiphini do not feed upon the milk of women nor do they touch their mother's breast, but they are nourished upon the marrow of the animals killed in the hunt, and upon this alone. now as soon as a woman gives birth to a child, she throws it into a skin and straightway hangs it to a tree, and after putting marrow into its mouth she immediately sets out with her husband for the customary hunt. for they do everything in common and likewise engage in this pursuit together. so much for the daily life of these barbarians. but all the other inhabitants of thule, practically speaking, do not differ very much from the rest of men, but they reverence in great numbers gods and demons both of the heavens and of the air, of the earth and of the sea, and sundry other demons which are said to be in the waters of springs and rivers. and they incessantly offer up all kinds of sacrifices, and make oblations to the dead, but the noblest of sacrifices, in their eyes, is the first human being whom they have taken captive in war; for they sacrifice him to ares, whom they regard as the greatest god. and the manner in which they offer up the captive is not by sacrificing him on an altar only, but also by hanging him to a tree, or throwing him among thorns, or killing him by some of the other most cruel forms of death. thus, then, do the inhabitants of thule live. and one of their most numerous nations is the gauti, and it was next to them that the incoming eruli settled at the time in question. on the present occasion,[ ] therefore, the eruli who dwelt among the romans, after the murder of their king had been perpetrated by them, sent some of their notables to the island of thule to search out and bring back whomsoever they were able to find there of the royal blood. and when these men reached the island, they found many there of the royal blood, but they selected the one man who pleased them most and set out with him on the return journey. but this man fell sick and died when he had come to the country of the dani. these men therefore went a second time to the island and secured another man, datius by name. and he was followed by his brother aordus and two hundred youths of the eruli in thule. but since much time passed while they were absent on this journey, it occurred to the eruli in the neighbourhood of singidunum that they were not consulting their own interests in importing a leader from thule against the wishes of the emperor justinian. they therefore sent envoys to byzantium, begging the emperor to send them a ruler of his own choice. and he straightway sent them one of the eruli who had long been sojourning in byzantium, suartuas by name. at first the eruli welcomed him and did obeisance to him and rendered the customary obedience to his commands; but not many days later a messenger arrived with the tidings that the men from the island of thule were near at hand. and suartuas commanded them to go out to meet those men, his intention being to destroy them, and the eruli, approving his purpose, immediately went with him. but when the two forces were one day's journey distant from each other, the king's men all abandoned him at night and went over of their own accord to the newcomers, while he himself took to flight and set out unattended for byzantium. thereupon the emperor earnestly undertook with all his power to restore him to his office, and the eruli, fearing the power of the romans, decided to submit themselves to the gepaedes. this, then, was the cause of the revolt of the eruli.[ ] footnotes: [ ] this has not been stated before by procopius. [ ] or varini, a tribe living on the coast near the mouth of the rhine. [ ] a group of tribes inhabiting the danish peninsula. [ ] probably iceland or the northern portion of the scandinavian peninsula, which was then regarded as an island and called "scanza." the name of thule was familiar from earlier times. it was described by the navigator pytheas in the age of alexander the great, and he claimed to have visited the island. it was variously placed, but always considered the northernmost land in the world--"ultima thule." [ ] cf. chap. xiv. . [ ] chap. xiv. introduces this topic. index acarnania, a roman fleet winters there, v. xxiv. adegis, bodyguard of belisarius, vi. vii. adriatic sea, of which the modern adriatic was an inlet, v. xv. aemilia, district in northern italy, on the right of the po, v. xv. aeneas, son of anchises, meets diomedes at beneventus and receives from him the palladium, v. xv. aeschmanus, a massagete, bodyguard of belisarius, v. xvi. aetolia, a roman fleet winters there, v. xxiv. africa, mentioned in the oracle regarding mundus, v. vii. , alamani, barbarian people of gaul, v. xii. alani, a gothic nation, v. i. alaric, leader of the visigoths, v. i. ; deposited plunder of rome in carcasiana, v. xii. alaric the younger, ruler of the visigoths; betrothed to theodichusa, daughter of theoderic, v. xii. ; attacked by the franks, v. xii. ; appeals to theoderic, v. xii. ; meets the franks in battle and is slain, v. xii. - ; father of giselic, v. xii. alba, town in picenum, vi. vii. albani, a people north of liguria, v. xv. albani, town near rome, v. vi. ; occupied by gontharis, vi. iv. , vii. , albanum, vi. vii. , see albani albilas, gothic commander of urviventus, vi. xi. albis, a goth sent as envoy to belisarius, v. xx. alexander, roman senator, envoy of justinian, v. iii. , vi. ; meets amalasuntha in ravenna, v. iii. ; his report, v. iii. ; brother of athanasius, v. vi. alexander, commander of cavalry, vi. v. aluith, erulian commander, vi. xiii. alps, form boundary between gaul and liguria, v. xii. , ; distance from milan, vi. vii. , ; definition of the word "alps," v. xii. , . amalaberga, daughter of amalafrida, betrothed to hermenefridus, v. xii. ; sister of theodatus, v. xiii. amalafrida, sister of theoderic and mother of theodatus, v. iii. ; mother of amalaberga, v. xii. amalaric, grandson of theoderic and son of theodichusa, v. xii. , ; becomes king of the visigoths, with theoderic as regent, v. xii. ; marries the daughter of the frankish king, and divides gaul with the goths and his cousin atalaric, v. xiii. ; receives back the treasures of carcasiana, v. xiii. ; gives offence to theudibert by his treatment of his wife, v. xiii. , ; defeated by him in battle and slain, v. xiii. amalasuntha, daughter of theoderic, v. ii. , xxiv. ; mother of atalaric, v. ii. ; acts as regent for him, v. ii. ; her plan for his education frustrated by the goths, v. ii. ff.; allows him to be trained according to the ideas of the goths, v. ii. ff.; her conflict with the gothic nobles, v. ii. - ; sends a ship to epidamnus, v. ii. ff., iii. ; later recalls it, v. ii. ; her concern at the failing health of atalaric, v. iii. , ; plans to hand over italy to justinian, v. iii. ; accused by justinian, v. iii. - ; meets alexander in ravenna, v. iii. ; receives justinian's letter, v. iii. - ; her reply, v. iii. - ; sends envoys agreeing to hand over all italy to justinian, v. iii. , ; hears accusations against theodatus, v. iv. ; compels him to make restitution, v. iv. ; attempts to gain his support, v. iv. ff.; deceived by him, v. iv. ; imprisoned, v. iv. - ; compelled by him to write justinian, v. iv. ; the envoy peter sent to treat with her, v. iv. ; championed by justinian, v. iv. ; her death, v. iv. - , ; her death foreshadowed by the crumbling of a mosaic in naples, v. xxiv. ; her noble qualities, v. iv. ; her ability and justice as a ruler, v. ii. - ; mother of matasuntha, v. xi. anastasius, roman emperor, vi. xiv. ; makes alliance with the eruli, vi. xiv. , anchises, father of aeneas, v. xv. ancon, fortress on the ionian gulf, vi. xi. , ; its strong position, vi. xiii. ; taken by belisarius, vi. xi. ; attacked by the goths, vi. xiii. ff.; port of auximus, vi. xiii. ; distance from ariminum, vi. xi. ; and from auximus, vi. xiii. antae, a people settled near the ister river; serve in the roman army, v. xxvii. anthium, used as a harbour by the romans, v. xxvi. ; distance from ostia, _ibid._ antiochus, a syrian, resident in naples, favours the roman party, v. viii. antonina, wife of belisarius, v. xviii. ; departs for naples, vi. iv. ; arriving in taracina, proceeds to campania, vi. iv. , where she assists procopius, vi. iv. ; assists in shipping provisions from ostia to rome, vi. vii. ff.; mother of photius, v. v. , xviii. ; mother-in-law of ildiger, vi. vii. aordus, an erulian, brother of datius, vi. xv. appian way, built by appius, v. xiv. ; description of the road, v. xiv. - ; travelled by refugees from rome, v. xxv. ; gothic camp near it, vi. iii. , iv. , appius, roman consul, builder of the appian way, v. xiv. - apulians, a people of southern italy, v. xv. ; voluntarily submit to belisarius, v. xv. aquileia, city in northern italy, v. i. aquilinus, bodyguard of belisarius; performs a remarkable feat, vi. v. , aratius, commander of armenians, who had deserted from the persians, vi. xiii. ; joins belisarius in italy with an army, _ibid._ arborychi, barbarians in gaul, formerly subject to the romans, v. xii. ; become roman soldiers, v. xii. ; absorbed by the germans, v. xii. - ; receive land from roman soldiers, v. xii. ares, worshipped by the inhabitants of thule, vi. xv. argos, diomedes repulsed thence, v. xv. arians, their views not held by the franks, v. v. ; not trusted by roman soldiers in gaul, v. xii. ; arian heresy espoused by amalaric, v. xiii. ariminum, city of northern italy, occupied by john, vi. x. ff.; abandoned by the goths, vi. x. ; besieged by vittigis, vi. xi. , xii. ff.; ildiger and martinus sent thither, vi. xi. , ; distance from ravenna, vi. x. ; from ancon, vi. xi. armenians, narses an armenian, vi. xiii. artasires, a persian, bodyguard of belisarius, vi. ii. arzes, bodyguard of belisarius; his remarkable wound, vi. ii. - ; treatment of his wound, vi. ii. - ; of the household of belisarius, vi. ii. asclepiodotus, of naples, a trained speaker; with pastor opposes the plan to surrender the city, v. viii. ff.; they address the neapolitans, v. viii. - ; bring forward the jews, v. viii. ; his effrontery after the capture of the city, v. x. , - ; bitterly accused by stephanus, v. x. - ; killed by a mob, v. x. asia, the continent adjoining libya, v. xii. asinarian gate, in rome, v. xiv. asinarius, gothic commander in dalmatia, v. vii. , xvi. ; gathers an army among the suevi, v. xvi. , ; joins uligisalus and proceeds to salones, v. xvi. , assyrians, v. xxiv. atalaric, grandson of theoderic; succeeds him as king of the goths, v. ii. ; reared by his mother amalasuntha, _ibid._; who attempts to educate him, v. ii. ff.; corrupted by the goths, v. ii. ff.; receives the envoy alexander, v. vi. ; divides gaul with his cousin amalaric, v. xiii. , ; returns the treasures of carcasiana to him, v. xiii. ; attacked by a wasting disease, v. iii. , iv. ; his death, v. iv. , ; his quaestor fidelius, v. xiv. ; his death foreshadowed by the crumbling of a mosaic in naples, v. xxiv. athanasius, brother of alexander, v. vi. ; envoy of justinian, v. vi. , vii. athena, her statue stolen from troy, v. xv. ; given to aeneas, v. xv. ; different views as to the existence of the statue in the time of procopius, v. xv. - ; a copy of it in the temple of fortune in rome, v. xv. ; greek statues of, v. xv. athenodorus, an isaurian, bodyguard of belisarius, v. xxix. , attila, leader of the huns, v. i. augustulus, name given to augustus, emperor of the west, v. i. ; dethroned by odoacer, v. i. , vi. vi. augustus, first emperor of the romans; allowed the thuringians to settle in gaul, v. xii. ; builder of a great bridge over the narnus, v. xvii. augustus, see augustulus aulon, city on the ionian gulf, v. iv. aurelian gate, in rome, called also the gate of peter, v. xix. , xxviii. ; near the tomb of hadrian, v. xxii. auximus, city in picenum; its strong position, vi. x. ; strongly garrisoned by the goths, vi. xi. ; metropolis of picenum, _ibid._; distance from its port ancon, vi. xiii. balan, barbarian name for a white-faced horse, v. xviii. , ballista, description of, v. xxi. - ; could shoot only straight out, v. xxii. belisarius, his victory over the vandals, v. v. ; sent by sea against the goths, v. v. ; commander-in-chief of the army, v. v. ; sent first to sicily, v. v. , , xiii. ; takes catana and the other cities of sicily, except panormus, by surrender, v. v. ; takes panormus, v. v. - ; enjoys great fame, v. v. ff.; lays down the consulship in syracuse, v. v. , ; given power to make settlement with theodatus, v. vi. , , ; ordered to hasten to italy, crosses from sicily, v. vii. , viii. ; ebrimous comes over to him as a deserter, v. viii. ; reaching naples, attempts to bring about its surrender, v. viii. ff.; failing in this, begins a siege, v. viii. ; does not succeed in storming the walls, v. viii. ; cuts the aqueduct, v. viii. , ix. ; despairs of success in the siege, v. ix. , ; learns of the possibility of entering naples by the aqueduct, v. ix. ff.; makes necessary preparations for the enterprise, v. ix. - ; makes final effort to persuade the neapolitans to surrender, v. ix. ff.; carries out the plan of entering the city by the aqueduct, v. x. ff.; captures the city, v. x. ff.; addresses the army, v. x. - ; guards the gothic prisoners from harm, v. x. ; addressed by asclepiodotus, v. x. ff.; forgives the neapolitans for killing him, v. x. ; prepares to march on rome, leaving a garrison in naples, v. xiv. , ; garrisons cumae, v. xiv. ; invited to rome by the citizens, v. xiv. ; enters rome, v. xiv. ; sends leuderis and the keys of rome to justinian, v. xiv. ; repairs and improves the defences of the city, _ibid._; prepares for a siege in spite of the complaints of the citizens, v. xiv. , ; places ballistae and "wild asses" on the wall, v. xxi. , ; guards the gates with "wolves," v. xxi. ; smallness of his army in rome, v. xxii. , xxiv. ; receives the submission of part of samnium, calabria, and apulia, v. xv. - ; in control of all southern italy, v. xv. ; sends troops to occupy many strongholds north of rome, v. xvi. ff.; vittigis fearful that he would not catch him in rome, v. xvi. , , xvii. ; recalls some of his troops from tuscany, v. xvii. , ; fortifies the mulvian bridge, v. xvii. ; comes thither with troops, v. xviii. ; unexpectedly engages with the goths and fights a battle, v. xviii. ff.; his excellent horse, v. xviii. ; shut out of rome by the romans, v. xviii. ; drives the goths from the moat, v. xviii. , ; enters the city, v. xviii. ; disposes the guards of the city, v. xviii. ; receives a false report of the capture of the city, v. xviii. - ; provides against a second occurrence of this kind, v. xviii. , ; ridiculed by the romans, v. xviii. ; persuaded to take a little food late in the night, v. xviii. ; arranges for the guarding of each gate, v. xix. - ; his name given in play to one of the samnite children, v. xx. - ; omen of victory for him, v. xx. ; stops up the aqueducts, v. xix. , vi. ix. ; operates the mills on the tiber, v. xix. ff.; reproached by the citizens, v. xx. , ; receives envoys from vittigis, v. xx. ; his reply to them, v. xx. - ; appoints fidelius praetorian prefect, v. xx. ; report of the gothic envoys regarding him, v. xxi. ; as the goths advance against the wall, shoots two of their number with his own bow, v. xxii. - ; checks their advance, v. xxii. - ; assigns constantinus to the aurelian gate, v. xxii. ; prevented from rebuilding "broken wall," v. xxiii. ; summoned to the vivarium, v. xxiii. ; directs the defence there with signal success, v. xxiii. - ; praised by the romans, v. xxiii. ; writes to the emperor asking for reinforcements, v. xxiv. ff.; receives from him an encouraging reply, v. xxiv. ; sends women, children, and servants to naples, v. xxv. ; uses roman artisans as soldiers on the wall, v. xxv. , ; exiles silverius and some senators from rome, v. xxv. , ; precautions against corruption of the guards, v. xxv. , ; against surprise at night, v. xxv. ; unable to defend portus, v. xxvi. ; encouraged by the arrival of martinus and valerian, v. xxvii. ; outwits the goths in three attacks, v. xxvii. - ; and likewise when they try his tactics, v. xxvii. - ; publicly praised by the romans, v. xxvii. ; explains his confidence in the superiority of the roman army, v. xxvii. - ; compelled by the impetuosity of the romans to risk a pitched battle, v. xxviii. , ; addresses the army, v. xxviii. - ; leads out his forces and disposes them for battle, v. xxviii. - ; commands in person at the great battle, v. xxix. ff.; grieves at the death of chorsamantis, vi. i. ; provides safe-conduct of euthalius, vi. ii. - ; appealed to by the citizens to fight a decisive battle, vi. iii. ff.; his reply, vi. iii. - ; sends procopius to naples, vi. iv. ; garrisons strongholds near rome, vi. iv. ff.; provides for the safe entry of john's troops into rome, vi. v. ff.; opens the flaminian gate, vi. v. ; out-generals the goths and wins a decisive victory, vi. v. ff.; his dialogue with the envoys of the goths, vi. vi. ff.; arranges an armistice with the goths, vi. vi. , vii. ; goes to ostia, vi. vii. , ; receives envoys from the goths, vi. vii. ff.; sends out cavalry from rome, vi. vii. ff.; appealed to for help from milan, vi. vii. , ; his disagreement with constantinus, vi. viii. ff.; puts him to death, vi. viii. , ; hearing of the strange lights in the aqueduct makes investigation, vi. ix. - ; learns of the stratagem planned by vittigis, vi. ix. ; punishes his accomplice, vi. ix. ; writes to john to begin operations in picenum, vi. x. , ; arms his men and attacks the departing goths, vi. x. ff.; sends messengers to john in ariminum, vi. xi. - ; sends assistance to milan, vi. xii. ; moves against vittigis, vi. xiii. ; takes tudera and clusium by surrender, vi. xiii. , ; garrisons them, vi. xiii. ; receives reinforcements, vi. xiii. - beneventus (beneventum), city in samnium, called in ancient times maleventus, v. xv. ; its strong winds, v. xv. ; founded by diomedes, v. xv. ; relics of the caledonian boar preserved in, _ibid._; meeting of diomedes and aeneas at, v. xv. bergomum, city near milan; occupied by mundilas, vi. xii. bessas, of thrace, roman general, v. v. ; by birth a goth, v. xvi. ; his ability, v. xvi. , ; at the capture of naples, v. x. , , , , , ; sent against narnia, v. xvi. ; takes narnia by surrender, v. xvi. ; recalled to rome, v. xvii. , ; returning slowly, meets the goths in battle, v. xvii. , ; arrives in rome, v. xvii. ; in command of the praenestine gate, sends a false report of the capture of the city, v. xviii. , xix. ; summons belisarius to the vivarium, v. xxiii. ; sent out against the goths by belisarius, v. xxvii. ; his remarkable fighting, vi. i. ; saves belisarius from constantinus, vi. viii. black gulf, modern gulf of saros, v. xv. bochas, a massagete, bodyguard of belisarius, vi. ii. ; sent to the plain of nero, vi. ii. ; helps to rout the goths, but is surrounded and wounded, vi. ii. - ; after inflicting great losses upon the goths, vi. ii. ; rescued by valerian and martinus, vi. ii. ; dies of his wound, vi. ii. boetius, a roman senator, son-in-law of symmachus, v. i. ; his death, v. i. ; his children receive from amalasuntha his property, v. ii. britain, compared in size with thule, vi. xv. ; offered to the goths by belisarius, vi. vi. ; much larger than sicily, _ibid._ britons, v. xxiv. broken wall, a portion of the defences of rome, v. xxiii. , ; not rebuilt by belisarius, v. xxiii. ; never attacked by the goths, v. xxiii. , ; never rebuilt, v. xxiii. bruttii, a people of southern italy, v. xv. , bruttium, v. viii. burgundians, a barbarian people of gaul, v. xii. ; attacked by the franks, v. xii. ; alliance formed against them by the franks and goths, v. xii. , ; driven back by the franks, v. xii. , - ; and completely subjugated, v. xiii. ; sent by theudibert as allies to the goths, vi. xii. , burnus, town in liburnia, v. xvi. , byzantines, their identification of the palladium, v. xv. byzantium, ashes from vesuvius once fell there, vi. iv. ; senate house of, v. v. cadmean victory, v. vii. caesar, see augustus caesena, fortress in northern italy, v. i. ; distance from ravenna, _ibid._; garrisoned by vittigis, vi. xi. calabria, in southern italy, vi. v. calabrians, their location, v. xv. , ; voluntarily submit to belisarius, v. xv. calydonian boar, its tusks preserved in beneventus, v. xv. campani, a people of southern italy, v. xv. campania, its cities: naples, v. viii. ; and cumae, v. xiv. ; sought by roman fugitives, v. xvii. ; by refugees from rome, v. xxv. , ; by procopius, vi. ix. ff.; by antonina, vi. iv. ; roman forces unite there, vi. v. ; procopius gathers soldiers and provisions in, vi. iv. ; offered to belisarius by the goths, vi. vi. cappadocians, theodoriscus and george, v. xxix. capua, terminus of the appian way, v. xiv. carcasiana, city in gaul; battle fought near it, v. xii. ff.; besieged by the franks, v. xii. ; siege raised at the approach of theoderic, v. xii. ; its treasures conveyed to ravenna, v. xii. ; later returned to amalaric, v. xiii. carnii, a people of central europe, v. xv. carthage, the ostensible destination of belisarius' expedition, v. v. catana, in sicily; taken by belisarius, v. v. celtica, at the headwaters of the po, v. i. centenarium, a sum of money, v. xiii. ; cf. book i. xxii. centumcellae, town in italy; occupied by the romans, vi. vii. ; abandoned by the goths, vi. vii. ; distance from rome, vi. vii. charybdis, the story of, located at the strait of messana, v. viii. chersonese (thracian), the size of its isthmus, v. xv. chorsamantis, a massagete, bodyguard of belisarius; alone pursues the goths to their camp, vi. i. - ; wounded in a second encounter, vi. i. , ; goes out alone against the goths and is killed, vi. i. - chorsomanus, a massagete, bodyguard of belisarius, v. xvi. christ, his apostle peter, v. xix. christians, their disagreement regarding doctrine, v. iii. , ; the following are mentioned as christians: the neapolitans, v. ix. ; the arborychi and germans, v. xii. ; the lombards, vi. xiv. ; the eruli, vi. xiv. , ; christian teachings held in especial favour by the romans, v. xxv. circaeum, mountain near taracina, v. xi. ; considered to be named from the homeric circe, _ibid._; its resemblance to an island, v. xi. , circe, her meeting with odysseus, v. xi. cloadarius, ruler of the franks; sanctions treaty with theodatus, v. xiii. clusium, city in tuscany; garrisoned by vittigis, vi. xi. ; surrenders to belisarius, vi. xiii. , ; garrisoned by him, vi. xiii. comum, city near milan; occupied by mundilas, vi. xii. conon, commander of isaurians, vi. v. ; proceeds to ostia by sea, vi. v. ; captures ancon, vi. xi. ; nearly loses it by a blunder, vi. xiii. ff. constantianus, commander of the royal grooms; sent to illyricum, v. vii. ; his successful campaign in dalmatia, v. vii. - ; in control of the territory as far as liburnia, v. xv. ; prepares to defend salones, v. xvi. , constantine i, said to have discovered the palladium in byzantium, v. xv. ; his forum there, _ibid._ constantinus, of thrace, roman general, v. v. ; sent into tuscany, v. xvi. ; takes spolitium and perusia and certain other strongholds, v. xvi. ; defeats a gothic army and captures the commanders, v. xvi. , ; recalled to rome, v. xvii. - ; leaves garrisons in perusia and spolitium, v. xvii. ; assigned to guard the flaminian gate, v. xix. ; assigned to the aurelian gate and the adjoining wall, v. xxii. , ; leaves the gate during an attack, v. xxii. ; returns, v. xxii. ; leads the huns in a signally successful skirmish, vi. i. - ; his disagreement with belisarius, vi. viii. ff.; killed by his order, vi. viii. consul, this office held by romans during the gothic rule, vi. vi. ; held by appius, v. xiv. ; by theoderic, vi. vi. ; by belisarius, v. v. corinth, near the head of the crisaean gulf, v. xv. crisaean gulf (the corinthian gulf), v. xv. croton, city in southern italy, v. xv. cumae, coast city in campania, v. xiv. ; distance from naples, _ibid._; garrisoned by belisarius, v. xiv. ; one of the only two fortresses in campania, v. xiv. ; the home of the sibyl, v. xiv. cutilas, a thracian, bodyguard of belisarius, vi. ii. ; his remarkable wound, vi. ii. , , ; which causes his death, vi. ii. , dacians, a people of central europe, v. xv. dalmatia, east of the ionian gulf, adjoining precalis and liburnia, v. xv. ; counted in the western empire, _ibid._; its strong winds, v. xv. , ; opposite to italy, v. xv. , ; mundus sent thither by justinian, v. v. ; conquered by him, v. v. ; invaded by the goths, v. vii. ff.; recovered for the empire by constantianus, v. vii. - ; an army sent thither by vittigis, v. xvi. , damianus, nephew of valerian; sent from rome with troops, vi. vii. ; detained in ariminum by john, vi. xi. dani, a barbarian nation in europe, vi. xv. , datius, priest of milan; asks aid of belisarius, vi. vii. datius, brought as king from thule by the eruli, vi. xv. december, last month in the roman calendar, v. xiv. decennovium, river near rome, v. xi. demetrius, of philippi, envoy of justinian, v. iii. , , demetrius, roman commander of infantry, v. v. diogenes, bodyguard of belisarius; sent out against the goths, v. xxvii. , , vi. v. ; sent to investigate the aqueduct, vi. ix. diomedes, son of tydeus; founder of beneventus, v. xv. ; received the tusks of the caledonian boar from his uncle meleager, _ibid._; meets aeneas there, v. xv. ; gives the palladium to him, v. xv. , dryus, city in southern italy, called also hydrus, v. xv. ; vi. v. ebrimous, son-in-law of theodatus; deserts to the romans, v. viii. ; honoured by the emperor, _ibid._ egypt, traversed by the nile, v. xii. ; ancient statues of the aegyptians, v. xv. elpidius, physician of theoderic, v. i. ennes, commander of the isaurians in the roman army, v. v. ; brother of tarmutus, v. xxviii. ; at the capture of naples, v. x. , , ; saves his brother, v. xxix. ; sent to milan with isaurians, vi. xii. , ephesus, priest of, v. iii. epidamnus, situated on the sea at the limit of epirus, v. ii. , xv. ; amalasuntha sends a ship thither, v. ii. , , iii. ; constantianus gathers an army there, v. vii. , epidaurus, on the eastern side of the ionian gulf, v. vii. , epirotes, a people east of the ionian gulf, adjoining precalis, v. xv. epizephyrian locrians, among the bruttii, v. xv. eridanus, a name sometimes given the po river, v. i. eruli, serving in the roman army, vi. iv. , xiii. ; their wanderings as a nation, alliances, customs, etc., vi. xiv. - ; their worthless character, vi. xiv. , , ; some of them emigrate to thule, vi. xv. ff.; revolt from the romans, vi. xiv. ; kill their king and summon another from thule, vi. xiv. , , xv. , ; their king a figure-head, vi. xiv. , ; decide to ask justinian to nominate a king for them, vi. xv. ff.; welcome suartuas as king, vi. xv. ; abandon him, vi. xv. , ; submit to the gepaedes, vi. xv. europe, the continent to the left of gibraltar, v. xii. ; its shape, rivers, population, etc., v. xii. ff. euthalius, comes to taracina with money for the roman soldiers, vi. ii. ; secures safe-conduct from belisarius, vi. ii. ff.; arrives safely at nightfall, vi. ii. , fates, called "fata" by the romans, v. xxv. , fidelius, native of milan, v. xiv. ; previously quaestor to atalaric, _ibid._; envoy of the romans to belisarius, _ibid._; praetorian prefect, sent to milan in company with troops, vi. xii. , ; taunts the gothic envoys, v. xx. , ; killed by the goths, vi. xii. , flaminian gate, in rome; the goths pass out through it, v. xiv. ; threatened by a gothic camp, v. xix. ; next to the pincian, v. xix. , xxiii. ; held by constantianus, v. xix. ; closed by belisarius, _ibid._, vi. v. ; not attacked by the goths, v. xxiii. ; guarded by ursicinus, v. xxiii. ; opened by belisarius, vi. v. , flaminian way, road leading northward from rome, vi. xi. ; the strongholds narnia, spolitium, and perusia on it, vi. xi. foederati, auxiliary troops, v. v. fortune, temple of, in rome, v. xv. franks, "modern" name for the germans, v. xi. , xii. ; account of the growth of their kingdom up to the time of procopius, v. xii. -xiii. ; their ruler theudibert, vi. xii. ; persuaded by justinian to ally themselves with him, v. v. - , xiii. ; their war with the goths, v. xi. , , ; occupy the visigothic portion of gaul, v. xiii. , ; invited to form alliance with theodatus, receiving the gothic portion of gaul, v. xiii. ; vittigis advises forming of such an alliance with them, v. xiii. - ; make the treaty with some reserve, v. xiii. - ; send burgundians as allies, vi. xii. ; have the suevi subject to them, v. xv. ; the nations north of langovilla subject to them, v. xv. gadira, the strait of gibraltar, v. xii. gaul, extending from the pyrenees to liguria, v. xii. ; separated from liguria by the alps, v. xii. , , vi. vii. ; its great extent, v. xii. , ; its rivers, lakes, and population, v. xii. - ; formerly subject to the romans, v. xii. ; occupied by the goths, v. xi. , ; how the franks became established there, v. xi. , xii. ff.; partly occupied by the visigoths, v. xii. , ; guarded by roman soldiers, v. xii. ; divided between the franks and goths, v. xii. , ; really under the sway of theoderic, v. xii. ; divided between the goths and visigoths, v. xiii. , ; the visigothic portion taken over by the franks, v. xiii. ; visigoths retire thence to spain, v. xiii. ; the gothic portion offered to the franks as the price of alliance with theodatus, v. xiii. ; held by the goths under marcias, v. xiii. , xvi. ; threatened by the franks, v. xiii. ; given to them by vittigis, v. xiii. , gauti, nation on the island of thule, vi. xv. gelimer, king of the vandals, v. v. , vi. , xxix. genoa, its location, vi. xii. george, a cappadocian, bodyguard of martinus, conspicuous for his valour, v. xxix. , gepaedes, a people of southern europe; their war with the goths, v. iii. , xi. ; their relations with the eruli, vi. xiv. - ; who submit to them, vi. xv. germans, called also franks, _q.v._ getic, the "getic peril," v. xxiv. , ; equivalent to "gothic," v. xxiv. gibimer, gothic commander, stationed in clusium, vi. xi. giselic, illegitimate son of alaric; chosen king over the visigoths, v. xii. ; his death, v. xii. gladiators, vi. i. gontharis, roman commander; occupies albani, vi. iv. goths, used throughout to indicate the ostro-goths; called also "getic," v. xxiv. ; their fortunes previous to the war with justinian, v. i. ff.; form alliance with the franks against the burgundians, v. xii. , ; their crafty hesitation, v. xii. , ; reproached by their allies, v. xii. ; secure a portion of gaul, v. xii. ; mingle with the visigoths, v. xii. ; divide gaul with the visigoths, v. xiii. , , , ; remit the tribute imposed by theoderic, v. xiii. ; ruled formerly over the peoples north of the ionian gulf, v. xv. ; led into italy by theoderic, v. xvi. , vi. xiv. ; prevented by amalasuntha from injuring the romans, v. ii. ; their leaders hostile to her, v. iii. ; oppose her in her effort to educate atalaric, v. ii. ff.; grieve at the death of amalasuntha, v. iv. ; defeated in dalmatia, v. v. ; enter dalmatia again, v. vii. ff.; again defeated, v. vii. - ; garrison naples strongly, v. viii. ; lose naples, v. x. ; dissatisfied with theodatus, declare vittigis king, v. xi. , ; their war with the franks, v. xi. , , ; yield gaul to them, v. xiii. ; withdraw from rome, v. xi. , xiv. - ; defeat the romans at the mulvian bridge, v. xviii. ff.; establish six camps about rome and begin the siege, v. xix. - , , xxiv. ; cut the aqueducts, v. xix. ; assault the wall, v. xxi-xxiii.; capture portus, v. xxvi. ; outwitted in three attacks, v. xxvii. - ; again defeated when they try belisarius' tactics, v. xxvii. - ; inferiority of their soldiers to the romans, v. xxvii. ; defeat the romans in a pitched battle, v. xxix. ff.; but suffer great losses in the plain of nero, vi. ii. ff.; respect the church of paul, vi. iv. ; suffer famine and pestilence, vi. iv. , ; retire from the camp near the appian way, vi. iv. ; decide to abandon the siege, vi. vi. , ; send envoys to rome, vi. vi. ; arrange an armistice with belisarius, vi. vi. , vii. ; abandon portus, vi. vii. , ; and centumcellae, vi. vii. ; and albani, vi. vii. ; attempt to enter rome by stealth, vi. ix. ff.; assault the pincian gate, vi. ix. ff.; abandon ariminum, vi. x. ; raise the siege of rome, vi. x. , , ; defeated at the mulvian bridge, vi. x. ff.; besiege ariminum, vi. xii. ff.; defeated at ticinum, vi. xii. , ; besiege milan, vi. xii. , ; no new laws made by the gothic kings in italy, vi. vi. ; tolerant in religious matters, vi. vi. ; respect the churches, vi. vi. ; allowed all offices to be filled by romans, _ibid._; gothic language, v. x. ; a goth makes trouble for the romans at the salarian gate, v. xxiii. ; killed by a well-directed missile, v. xxiii. , gouboulgoudou, a massagete, bodyguard of valerian; renders signal service at ancon, vi. xiii. , gratiana, city at the extremity of illyricum, v. iii. , greece, v. xxiv. , xxv. ; magna graecia, v. xv. greeks (hellenes), include the epirotes, v. xv. ; their capture of troy, v. xv. ; greek statues of athena, v. xv. ; greek language, v. xviii. greeks, contemptuous term for the eastern romans, v. xviii. , xxix. gripas, gothic commander, in dalmatia, v. vii. ; defeated by constantianus, v. vii. - ; retires to ravenna, v. vii. hadrian, tomb of, near the aurelian gate, v. xxii. ; its excellent construction and decoration, v. xxii. , ; attacked by the goths, v. xxii. ff.; statues thereon torn down by the romans and hurled upon the goths, v. xxii. hebrews, treasures of their king solomon taken from rome by alaric, v. xii. ; a certain hebrew makes a prophecy to theodatus by the actions of swine, v. ix. - ; see also jews hellespont, v. xv. hermenefridus, ruler of the thuringians, betrothed to amalaberga, v. xii. ; killed by the franks, v. xiii. ; wife of, escapes to theodatus, v. xiii. herodian, roman commander of infantry, v. v. ; left in command of the roman garrison in naples, v. xiv. homer, his testimony as to the place where odysseus met circe, v. xi. , huns, in the roman army, v. iii. , v. , xxvii. , ; led by constantinus in a signally successful skirmish, vi. i. - ; encamp at the church of paul, vi. iv. ; harass the goths, vi. iv. ; return to rome, vi. iv. ; see also massagetae hydrus, name of dryus in procopius' time, v. xv. hypatius, priest of ephesus; envoy of justinian, v. iii. , , iberia, home of peranius, v. v. ildibert, ruler of the franks, sanctions treaty with theodatus, v. xiii. ildiger, son-in-law of antonina; comes to rome, vi. vii. ; with valerian, seizes constantinus, vi. viii. ; on guard at the pincian gate, vi. ix. ; meets a gothic attack, vi. ix. ; sent by belisarius with martinus to ariminum, vi. xi. , , ; they capture petra, vi. xi. - ; leave ariminum, vi. xi. ilium, capture of, v. xv. , ; entered by diomedes and odysseus as spies, v. xv. illyricum, mundus general of, v. v. ; constantinus sent to, v. vii. ; justinus general of, vi. xiii. ; eruli settled in, vi. xv. ; the city of gratiana at its extremity, v. iii. ; home of peter, v. iii. innocentius, roman commander of cavalry, v. v. , xvii. ionian gulf, the modern adriatic, v. i. , etc.; ends at ravenna, v. xv. isaurians, in the army of belisarius, v. v. ; commanded by ennes, v. v. , x. ; render signal service at the capture of naples, v. ix. ff., - , x. ; a force of, reaches naples, vi. v. ; arrives in the harbour of rome, vi. vii. ; they fortify a camp, vi. vii. ; guard ships at ostia, vi. vii. ; remain in ostia, vi. vii. , ; occupy portus, vi. vii. , ; occupy ancon, vi. xi. ; with john at ariminum, vi. xii. , ; sent to milan under command of ennes, vi. xii. , ; isaurian javelins, v. xxix. ister river, the modern danube; boundary of pannonia, v. xv. , etc.; antae settled near its banks, v. xxvii. istria, adjoining liburnia and venetia, v. xv. italians, often coupled with "goths," v. i. , etc.; their love for theoderic, v. i. ; grieve at the death of amalasuntha, v. iv. italy, its inhabitants enumerated, v. xv. , - ; claimed by the barbarians, v. i. , vi. vi. , ; neglected by the romans until the goths held it, vi. vi. ; amalasuntha agrees to hand it over to justinian, v. iii. , iv. ; offered to justinian by theodatus, v. vi. janus, his temple in rome, v. xxv. , ; one of the older gods, v. xxv. ; his double-faced statue, v. xxv. , jerusalem, its capture by the romans, v. xii. jews, supporting the gothic party in naples, v. viii. ; offer stubborn resistance to the romans at its capture, v. x. - ; see also hebrews john, nephew of vitalian, commander of thracians, vi. v. ; reaches campania, vi. v. ; approaches rome, vi. v. ; reaches ostia, vi. vii. ; forms a barricade of wagons, vi. vii. ; sent out from rome by belisarius, vi. vii. ff.; instructed by belisarius to begin operations, vi. x. ; defeats and kills ulitheus, vi. x. ; passes by auximus and urbinus, vi. x. - ; enters ariminum, vi. x. , . ; wins great fame, vi, x. ; receives proposal of marriage from matasuntha, vi. x. ; directed by belisarius to leave ariminum, vi. xi. ; refuses, vi. xi. ; prevents the approach of a tower to the wall of ariminum, vi. xii. ff.; addresses his soldiers, vi. xii. ff.; attacks and inflicts severe losses on the goths, vi. xii. - ; his excellent qualities, vi. x. july, called "quintilis," as being the fifth month from march, v. xxiv. ; mentioned in the sibyl's prophecy, v. xxiv. , , justinian, becomes emperor, v. ii. ; appealed to by amalasuntha, v. ii. ; makes a friendly reply, v. ii. ; theodatus purposes to hand over tuscany to him, v. iii. ; amalasuntha plans to hand over italy to him, v. iii. ; sends alexander to learn of amalasuntha's plans, v. iii. ; but ostensibly to make complaints against the goths, v. iii. - ; his letter to amalasuntha v. iii. - ; her reply, v. iii. - ; sends peter as envoy, v. iii. ; receives envoys from amalasuntha, v. iv. ; receives envoys and a letter from theodatus, v. iv. , ; sends peter as envoy to theodatus and amalasuntha, v. iv. ; champions amalasuntha against theodatus, v. iv. ; hears the report of the italian envoys, v. iv. ff.; inaugurates the gothic war, v. v. ff.; sends belisarius with a fleet to sicily, v. v. , , ; recovers all sicily, v. v. ; persuades the franks to ally themselves with him, v. v. - , xiii. ; theodatus proposes an agreement with him, v. vi. - ; receives a letter from theodatus, v. vi. - ; his reply, v. vi. - ; addresses a letter to the gothic nobles, v. vii. - ; sends constantianus to illyricum and belisarius to italy, v. vii. ; honours the deserter ebrimous, v. viii. ; receives the keys of rome, v. xiv. ; sends relief to belisarius, v. xxiv. ; writes encouragingly to belisarius, v. xxiv. ; wins the friendship of the eruli, vi. xiv. ; appoints a king over the eruli at their request, vi. xv. ff.; attempts to restore suartuas, vi. xv. ; year of reign noted, v. v. , xiv. justinus, general of illyricum; arrives in italy, vi. xiii. langovilla, home of the albani, north of liguria, v. xv. latin language, v. xi. , xv. ; latin literature, v. iii. ; latin way, running southward from rome, v. xiv. , vi. iii. , v. lechaeum, at the head of the crisaean gulf, v. xv. leuderis, a goth; left in command of the garrison in rome, v. xi. ; his reputation for discretion, _ibid._; remains in rome after the withdrawal of the garrison, v. xiv. ; sent to the emperor, v. xiv. , xxiv. liberius, roman senator; envoy of theodatus, v. iv. , ; makes a true report to justinian, v. iv. , liburnia, adjoining dalmatia and istria, v. xv. ; subdued by constantianus, v. vii. ; invaded by the goths, v. xvi. libya, the continent to the right of gibraltar, v. xii. ; character of the country, v. xii. ; huns escape from the army there, v. iii. ; ildiger comes thence, vi. vii. liguria, on the boundary of gaul, v. xii. ; separated from gaul by the cottian alps, v. xii. ; its chief city milan, vi. vii. , , v. xiv. ; bounded by the po, v. xv. ; occupied by the romans, vi. xii. lilybaeum, in sicily, subject of complaint by justinian, v. iii. ff., iv. locrians, see epizephyrian locrians lombards, a christian people, subjugated by the eruli, vi. xiv. ; attacked wantonly by rodolphus, vi. xiv. ff.; rout his army and kill him, vi. xiv. , ; defeat the eruli, vi. xv. longinus, an isaurian, bodyguard of belisarius; distinguished for his valour, vi. x. , lucani, a people of southern italy, v. xv. lucania, v. viii. lysina, island off the coast of dalmatia, v. vii. macedonia, v. iii. magna graecia, v. xv. magnus, roman commander of cavalry, v. v. at the capture of naples, v. x. , , , , ; sent to tibur with sinthues, vi. iv. ; repairs the defences, vi. iv. maleventus, ancient name of "beneventus," city in samnium, v. xv. marcentius, commander of cavalry, vi. v. march, the first month in the early roman calendar, v. xxiv. marcias, commands a gothic garrison in gaul, v. xiii. ; summoned thence by vittigis, v. xiii. , xix. ; his absence prevents vittigis from leaving ravenna, v. xvi. ; commands a gothic camp in the plain of nero, v. xix. , xxix. martinus, roman commander sent to italy, v. xxiv. - ; arrives in rome, v. xxvii. ; sent put against the goths by belisarius, v. xxvii. , ; his bodyguards theodoriscus and george, v. xxix. ; sent to the plain of nero by belisarius, vi. ii. ; fights there with varying fortune, vi. ii. ff.; with valerian rescues bochas, vi. ii. ; sent to taracina, vi. iv. , ; summoned back to rome, vi. v. ; sent by belisarius with ildiger to ariminum, vi. xi. , - ; they capture petra, vi. xi. - ; leave ariminum, vi. xi. massagetae, in the roman army; their savage conduct at the capture of naples, v. x. ; see also huns matasuntha, daughter of amalasuntha, wedded by vittigis, v. xi. ; opens negotiations with john, vi. x. mauricius, roman general, son of mundus; slain in battle, v. vii. , , maxentiolus, bodyguard of constantinus, vi. viii. , maxentius, a bodyguard of the household of belisarius, v. xviii. maximus, slayer of valentinian, v. xxv. maximus, descendant of the above maximus; exiled by belisarius, v. xxv. medes, see persians melas, see black gulf meleager, uncle of diomedes, slayer of the calydonian boar, v. xv. messana, city in sicily, v. viii. milan, chief city of liguria, vi. vii. , ; second only to rome among the cities of the west. _ibid._; receives assistance from belisarius against the goths, vi. xii. ff.; occupied by the romans, vi. xii. ; besieged by uraïas, vi. xii. , ; its priest datius, vi. vii. ; distance from rome and from the alps, vi. vii. monteferetra, town in italy; garrisoned by vittigis, vi. xi. moors, allies in the roman army, v. v. ; their night attacks upon the goths, v. xxv. ; sent outside the walls at night by belisarius, v. xxv. ; in the battle in the plain of nero, v. xxix. moras, gothic commander in urbinus, vi. xi. mulvian bridge, guarded by the goths, v. xix. mundilas, bodyguard of belisarius; distinguished for his valour, vi. x. ; sent out against the goths, v. xxvii. , ; accompanies procopius to naples, vi. iv. ; returns to rome, vi. iv. ; kills a brave goth, vi. v. ; sent in command of troops to milan, vi. xii. , ; grieves at the death of fidelius, vi. xii. ; occupies cities near milan, vi. xii. mundus, a barbarian, general of illyricum; sent against salones, v. v. ; secures salones, v. v. ; slain in battle, v. vii. , , ; the sibyl's prophecy concerning him, v. vii. - ; father of mauricius, v. vii. - naples, city in campania, on the sea, v. viii. ; commanded by uliaris, v. iii. ; strongly garrisoned by the goths, v. viii. ; belisarius attempts to bring about its surrender, v. viii. ff.; strength of its position, v. viii. ; besieged by belisarius, v. viii. ff.; its aqueduct cut by belisarius, v. viii. ; its aqueduct investigated by one of the isaurians, v. ix. ff.; the city captured thereby, v. x. - ; slaughter by the soldiers, v. x. , ; garrisoned by belisarius, v. xiv. ; women, etc., sent thither by belisarius, v. xxv. ; procopius sent thither, vi. iv. ; antonina retires thither, vi. iv. ; isaurian soldiers arrive there from byzantium, vi. v. ; offered to belisarius by the goths, vi. vi. ; goths sent thither by belisarius, vi. xiii. ; one of the only two fortresses in campania, v. xiv. ; distance from cumae, v. xiv. ; from vesuvius, vi. iv. ; its mosaic picture of theoderic, v. xxiv. ff.; its inhabitants romans and christians, v. ix. narnia, strong city in tuscany; bessas sent against it, v. xvi. ; named from the narnus river, v. xvii. ; distance from rome, v. xvii. ; surrenders to bessas, v. xvi. ; battle fought there, v. xvii. , ; garrisoned by bessas, v. xvii. ; avoided by vittigis, v. xvii. , vi. xi. narnus river, flows by narnia, v. xvii. ; its great bridge, v. xvii. , narses, a eunuch, imperial steward, vi. xiii. ; arrives in italy, _ibid._ narses, an armenian; deserted to the romans, vi. xiii. neapolitans, send stephanus to belisarius, v. viii. ; reject proposals of belisarius, v. viii. ; appeal to theodatus for help, v. ix. ; belisarius' final appeal to them, v. ix. ff.; their obduracy, v. ix. ; saved by belisarius from abuse by the romans, v. x. , - ; kill asclepiodotus, v. x. ; impale the body of pastor, v. x. ; forgiven by belisarius, v. x. ; see also naples nero, plain of, near rome; a gothic camp established there, v. xix. , , xxviii. ; troops sent thither by belisarius, v. xxviii. ff.; operations there on the day of the great battle, v. xxix. ff.; marcias ordered by vittigis to remain there, v. xxix. ; constantinus wins a signal success in, vi. i. - ; skirmish in, vi. i. ; martinus and valerian sent to, vi. ii. ; goths victorious in, vi. ii. ff.; but with heavy losses, vi. ii. ; its "stadium," vi. i. nile river, its source unknown, v. xii. norici, a people of central europe, v. xv. novaria, city near milan; occupied by mundilas, vi. xii. numa, early roman king, v. xxiv. ochus, king of the eruli, vi. xiv. odoacer, bodyguard of the emperor, v. i. ; his tyranny, v. i. , , xii. , vi. vi. ; divides lands in tuscany among his followers, v. i. ; allows the visigoths to occupy all of gaul, v. xii. ; zeno unable to cope with him, vi. vi. , ; theoderic persuaded to attack him, v. i. , vi. vi. ; his troops defeated by theoderic, v. i. , v. xii. ; besieged in ravenna, v. i. , ; his agreement with theoderic, v. i. ; killed by theoderic, v. i. odysseus, his meeting with circe, v. xi. ; with diomedes stole the palladium from troy, v. xv. oilas, bodyguard of belisarius, v. xxvii. opilio, roman senator, envoy of theodatus, v. iv. , ; makes a false report to justinian, v. iv. optaris, a goth; his hostility to theodatus, v. xi. , ; pursues and kills him, v. xi. , orestes, father of augustus, acts as regent for his son, v. i. ; his death, v. i. ostia, city at the mouth of the tiber; neglected in procopius' time, v. xxvi. ; no good road thence to rome, v. xxvi. , vi. vii. ; the only port on the tiber left to rome, v. xxvi. , vi. iv. ; distance from anthium, v. xxvi. ; paulus and conon sent thither, vi. v. ; reached by john, vi. vii. ; provisions brought into rome by way of ostia, vi. vii. ff. pancratian gate, in rome, across the tiber, v. xxviii. ; false report of its capture, v. xviii. ; threatened by the goths, v. xxiii. ; guarded by paulus, v. xxiii. pancratius, a saint; the pancratian gate named from him, v. xviii. pannonians, a people of central europe, v. xv. panormus, city in sicily; goths in, defy belisarius, v. v. ; taken by him, v. v. - ; garrisoned by him, v. viii. parian marble, used in building hadrian's tomb, v. xxii. pastor, of naples, a trained speaker; with asclepiodotus opposes the proposal to surrender the city, v. viii. ff.; they address the neapolitans, v. viii. - ; bring forward the jews, v. viii. ; his death, v. x. ; his body impaled by the mob, v. x. patrician rank, how conferred, v. vi. ; some of the patricians consult the sibylline prophecies, v. xxiv. ff.; patrician rank conferred upon theoderic, v. i. , vi. vi. ; upon ebrimous, v. viii. patrimonium, used to denote the lands of the royal house, v. iv. paucaris, an isaurian, bodyguard of belisarius, v. ix. ; prepares the channel of the aqueduct of naples for the passage of roman troops, v. ix. - paul the apostle, church of, on the tiber, vi. iv. ; respected by the goths, vi. iv. ; its site fortified by valerian, vi. iv. ; gate of rome named from him, vi. iv. paulus, roman commander of cavalry, v. v. ; on guard at the pancratian gate, v. xxiii. ; sent to milan with thracians, vi. xii. , paulus, commander of isaurians, vi. v. ; proceeds to ostia by sea, vi. v. ; remains in ostia, vi. vii. , ; occupies portus, vi. vii. , peloponnesus, its resemblance to spain, v. xii. penates, the ancient gods of rome, v. xxv. peranius, of iberia, roman general, v. v. ; of the family of the king of iberia, _ibid._; had come as a deserter to the romans, _ibid._; summons belisarius to the vivarium, v. xxiii. ; leads a sally against the goths, vi. i. persia, adjoining iberia, v. v. persians, frequently referred to, also under the name of medes, v. v. , etc.; their long shields, v. xxii. ; artasires a persian, vi. ii. perusia, the first city of tuscany, v. xvi. ; submits to constantinus, v. xvi. ; battle fought near it, v. xvi. ; garrisoned by constantinus, v. xvii. ; avoided by vittigis, v. xvii. , vi. xi. peter, the apostle, buried near rome; one of the gates of the city named after him, v. xix. ; his church, v. xxii. , vi. ix. ; his promise to guard "broken wall," v. xxiii. ; reverenced by the romans above all others, v. xxiii. peter, an illyrian, envoy of justinian to italy, v. iii. , iv. ; his excellent qualities, v. iii. ; learns of events in italy and waits in aulon, v. iv. , ; sent on with a letter to amalasuntha, v. iv. ; arrives in italy, v. iv. ; denounces theodatus, v. iv. ; who tries to prove his innocence, v. iv. ; tries to terrify theodatus, v. iv. ; who suggests to him an agreement with justinian, v. vi. - ; recalled and given further instructions, v. vi. - ; reports to justinian, v. vi. ; sent again to italy, v. vi. , , vii. ; reproaches theodatus, v. vii. ; who makes a public speech of warning, v. vii. - ; his reply thereto, v. vii. - ; delivers a letter from justinian to the gothic nobles, v. vii. petra (pertusa), on the flaminian way; allowed by vittigis to retain its original garrison, vi. xi. ; attacked and captured by the romans, vi. xi. ff.; its natural position and defences, vi. xi. - phanitheus, erulian commander, vi. xiii. philippi, in macedonia, home of demetrius, v. iii. photius, step-son of belisarius; accompanies him to italy, v. v. ; at the capture of naples, v. x. , , , ; his groom valentinus, v. xviii. piceni, a people of central italy, v. xv. picenum, john sent thither, vi. vii. ; raided by john, vi. x. ff.; its metropolis auximus, vi. xi. ; its strongholds: petra, auximus, and urbinus, vi. xi. ; caesena and monteferetra, vi. xi. ; its town alba, vi. vii. pincian gate, in rome; next to the flaminian, v. xix. , xxiii. ; held by belisarius, v. xix. ; often mentioned in the fighting, v. xxviii. , etc. pisidian, principius the guardsman, v. xxviii. pissas, gothic commander; sent into tuscany, v. xvi. ; defeated and captured, v. xvi. , pitzas, a goth; surrenders part of samnium to belisarius, v. xv. , platonic teachings, espoused by theodatus, v. iii. , vi. po river, called also the "eridanus," v. i. ; boundary of liguria, v. xv. ; and of aemilia, v. xv. ; crossed by mundilas, vi. xii. , portus, harbour of rome, v. xxvi. ; its situation, v. xxvi. - ; distance from rome, v. xxvi. ; a good road between it and rome, v. xxvi. , vi. vii. ; captured by the goths and garrisoned by them, v. xxvi. , , xxvii. , vi. vii. ; strength of its defences, v. xxvi. , ; abandoned by the goths and occupied by paulus, vi. vii. , praenestine gate, in rome; commanded by bessas, v. xviii. , xix. ; threatened by a gothic camp, v. xix. ; near the vivarium, v. xxii. precalis, a district east of the ionian gulf adjoining epirus and dalmatia, v. xv. presidius, a roman of ravenna, vi. viii. ; escapes to spolitium. _ibid._; robbed of two daggers by constantinus, vi. viii. ; appeals to belisarius in rome, vi. viii. ff. principius, a pisidian, bodyguard of belisarius; persuades him to allow his infantry troops a share in the fighting, v. xxviii. - ; fights valiantly, v. xxix. , ; killed in battle, v. xxix. procopius, writer of the history of the gothic war, v. vii. , vi. ii. , xii. ; sent to naples to procure provisions and soldiers, vi. iv. ff.; gathers soldiers and provisions in campania, vi. iv. ; assisted by antonina, vi. iv. ; religious views, v. iii. - pyrenees mountains, on the northern boundary of spain, v. xii. quaestor, office held by fidelius, v. xiv. quintilis, name given early to july as being the fifth month from march, v. xxiv. ram, an engine of war; its construction, v. xxi. - ravenna, its situation, v. i. ff.; besieged by the goths, v. i. , ; surrendered to theoderic, v. i. ; treasures of carcasiana brought to, v. xii. ; occupied by vittigis and the goths, v. xi. ; roman senators killed there by order of vittigis, v. xxvi. ; distance from ariminum, vi. x. ; from caesena, v. i. ; from milan, vi. vii. , ; from the tuscan sea, v. xv. ; limit of the picene territory, v. xv. ; the priest of, v. i. regata, distance from rome, v. xi. ; goths gather at, v. xi. , reges, a body of infantry commanded by ursicinus, v. xxiii. reparatus, brother of vigilius, escapes execution by flight, v. xxvi. rex, title used by barbarian kings, and preserved by theoderic, v. i. , vi. xiv. rhegium, city in southern italy, v. viii. ; belisarius departs thence with his army, v. viii. rhine, one of the rivers of gaul, v. xii. rhone, one of the rivers of gaul, v. xii. ; boundary of the visigothic power, v. xii. , xiii. ; boundary of roman power, v. xii. ; boundary between the franks and the goths, v. xii. rodolphus, leader of the eruli, vi. xiv. ; forced by his people to march against the lombards, vi. xiv. ff. rogi, a barbarian people, allies of the goths, vi. xiv. romans, subjects of the roman empire both in the east and in the west, mentioned constantly throughout; captured jerusalem in ancient times, v. xii. ; roman senators killed by order of vittigis, v. xxvi. ; roman dress of ancient times, preserved by descendants of soldiers stationed in gaul, v. xii. , ; roman soldiers, their importance greatly lessened by the addition of barbarians, v. i. ; superiority of their soldiers to the goths, v. xxvii. ; small importance of their infantry, v. xxviii. more particularly of the inhabitants of rome: exhorted by vittigis to remain faithful to the goths, v. xi. ; decide to receive belisarius into the city, v. xiv. ; admire the forethought of belisarius, but object to his holding the city for a siege, v. xiv. ; compelled by belisarius to provide their own provisions, v. xiv. ; deprived of the baths, v. xix. ; distressed by the labours of the siege, reproach belisarius, v. xx. ff.; applaud his marksmanship, v. xxii. ; prevent him from rebuilding "broken wall," v. xxiii. ; their allegiance feared by belisarius, v. xxiv. , ; send women, children, and servants to naples, v. xxv. , ; some of the, attempt to open the doors of the temple of janus, v. xxv. - ; praise belisarius publicly, v. xxvii. ; eager to fight a pitched battle, v. xxviii. , ; many of the populace mingle with the army, v. xxviii. , , xxix. , , ; reduced to despair, vi. iii. ; resort to unaccustomed foods, vi. iii. , ; try to force belisarius to light a decisive battle, vi. iii. ff.; lived in luxury under theoderic, v. xx. ; held in especial honour the teachings of the christians, v. xxv. rome, first city of the west, vi. vii. ; captured by alaric the elder, v. xii. ; visited by envoys from justinian, v. iii. , ; garrison left therein by vittigis, v. xi. , ; goths withdraw from, v. xi. ; abandoned by the gothic garrison, v. xiv. , ; entered by belisarius at the same time that the gothic garrison left it, v. xiv. ; keys of, sent to justinian, v. xiv. ; its defences repaired and improved by belisarius, v. xiv. ; ill-situated for a siege, v. xiv. ; had never sustained a long siege, v. xxiv. ; its territories secured by belisarius, v. xvi. ; provisioned for the siege, v. xvii. ; account of the building of the wall on both sides of the tiber, v. xix. - ; its siege begun by the goths, v. xxiv. ; not entirely shut in by them, v. xxv. ; mills operated in the tiber by belisarius, v. xix. ff.; visited by famine and pestilence, vi. iii. ; abandoned by the goths, vi. x. ff.; garrisoned by belisarius, vi. xiii. ; terminus of the appian way, v. xiv. ; its boundaries adjoin campania, v. xv. ; the palace, vi. viii. , ix. ; its aqueducts, vi. iii. - , ix. , ; cut by the goths, v. xix. ; their number and size, _ibid._; stopped up by belisarius, v. xix. ; water of one used to turn the mills, v. xix. ; its chief priest silverius, v. xi. , xiv. , xxv. ; vigilius v. xxv. , xxvi. ; its gates fourteen in number, v. xix. ; the asinarian, v. xiv. ; the pancratian, v. xviii. ; the salarian, v. xviii. ; the flaminian, v. xix. ; the praenestine, _ibid._; the aurelian, v. xix. ; the transtiburtine, _ibid._; of peter, _ibid._; of paul, vi. iv. ; the pincian, v. xix. ; its church of peter the apostle, vi. ix. ; its sewers, v. xix. ; its "stadium" in the plain of nero vi. i. ; excavations for storage outside the walls, vi. i. ; its harbour portus, v. xxv. , xxvi. , , ; ostia, vi. iv. ; distance from centumcellae, vi. vii. ; from narnia, v. xvii. ; from portus and the sea, v. xxvi. ; from tibur, vi. iv. ; description of the engines of war used against it by vittigis, v. xxi. - ; a priest of, v. xvi. rusticus, a roman priest, sent with peter to justinian, v. vi. , sacred island, at the mouth of the tiber, v. xxvi. salarian gate, in rome, v. xviii. , etc.; held by belisarius, v. xix. ; attacked by the goths, v. xxxii. - ; goths repulsed from, v. xxiii. , salones, city in dalmatia; mundus sent against, v. v. ; taken by him, v. v. ; battle near, v. vii. ff.; its inhabitants mistrusted by the goths, v. vii. , ; weakness of its defences, v. vii. ; occupied by the goths, v. vii. ; abandoned by them, v. vii. ; occupied by constantianus, v. vii. - ; vittigis sends an army against, v. xvi. , ; strengthened by constantianus, v. xvi. , ; invested by the goths, v. xvi. samnites, a people of central italy, v. xv. ; children among; their gruesome play, v. xx. - samnium, vi. v. ; a portion of, surrendered to belisarius, v. xv. , ; the remainder held by the goths, v. xv. scardon, city in dalmatia, v. vii. , xvi. sciri, a gothic nation, v. i. sclaveni, a barbarian nation, vi. xv. ; in the roman army, v. xxvii. scrithiphini, nation on the island of thule; their manner of life, customs, etc., vi. xv. - scylla, the story of, located at the strait of messana, v. viii. sibyl, the, her prophecy regarding mundus, v. vii. - ; prophecies of, consulted by patricians, v. xxiv. ; difficulty of understanding them, v. xxiv. - ; her cave shewn at cumae, v. xiv. sicilians, applaud belisarius, v. v. ; find the romans faithful to their promises, v. viii. , sicily, belisarius sent thither with a fleet, v. v. , xiii. ; taken by him, v. v. ff., ; garrisoned by him, v. xxiv. ; theodatus proposes to withdraw from, v. vi. ; grain brought thence by belisarius, v. xiv. ; roman refugees resort to, v. xxv. ; offered to belisarius by the goths, vi. vi. ; goths sent thither by belisarius, vi. xiii. ; smaller than britain, vi. vi. silverius, chief priest of rome, v. xi. ; influences the citizens to yield to the romans, v. xiv. ; dismissed by belisarius, v. xxv. singidunum, city in pannonia, v. xv. , vi. xv. sinthues, bodyguard of belisarius; sent to tibur with magnus, vi. iv. ; repairs the defences, vi. iv. ; wounded in battle, _ibid._ siphilas, bodyguard of constantianus, at the taking of salones, v. vii. sirmium, city of the gepaedes in pannonia, v. iii. , xi. , xv. siscii, a people of central europe, v. xv. solomon, king of the jews; his treasures taken from rome by alaric, v. xii. spain, first country of europe beginning from gibraltar, v. xii. ; its size compared with that of gaul, v. xii. ; formerly subject to the romans, v. xii. ; occupied by the visigoths, v. xii. ; really under the sway of theoderic, v. xii. ; theudis establishes an independent power in, v. xii. - ; spanish woman of great wealth married by him, v. xii. ; visigoths retire to, v. xiii. spaniards, situated beyond gaul, v. xv. spolitium, city in italy; submits to constantinus, v. xvi. ; garrisoned by him, v. xvi. , xvii. ; avoided by vittigis, v. xvii. , vi. xi. ; presidius takes refuge in, vi. viii. stephanus, a neapolitan; remonstrates with belisarius, v. viii. - ; urged by belisarius to win over the neapolitans, v. viii. ; his attempts to do so, v. viii. , ; assisted by antiochus, v. viii. ; opposed by pastor and asclepiodotus, v. viii. - ; goes again to belisarius, v. viii. ; summoned once more by belisarius, v. ix. ; returns to the city, v. ix. ; bitterly accuses asclepiodotus before belisarius, v. x. - suartuas, an erulian; appointed king of the eruli by justinian, vi. xv. ; attempts to destroy the eruli sent to thule, vi. xv. ; flees to byzantium, vi. xv. ; justinian attempts to restore him, vi. xv. suevi, barbarian people in gaul, v. xii. ; in two divisions, v. xv. ; asinarius gathers an army among them, v. xvi. , suntas, bodyguard of belisarius, vi. vii. symmachus, a roman senator and ex-consul, father-in-law of boetius, v. i. ; his death, v. i. ; his children receive from amalasuntha his property, v. ii. syracuse, surrenders to belisarius, v. v. ; entered by him on the last day of his consulship, v. v. , ; garrisoned by him, v. viii. syria, home of antiochus of naples, v. viii. taracina, city near rome, v. xi. ; at the limit of campania, v. xv. ; euthalius stops in, vi. ii. ; belisarius sends a hundred men thither, vi. ii. ; occupied by martinus and trajan, vi. iv. , ; left by them, vi. v. tarmutus, an isaurian, brother of ennes; persuades belisarius to allow his infantry troops a share in the fighting, v. xxviii. - ; fights valiantly, v. xxix. , ; his remarkable escape, v. xxix. , ; his death, v. xxix. taulantii, a people of illyricum, v. i. theoctistus, a physician; his successful treatment of arzes' wound, vi. ii. ff. theodatus, son of amalafrida and nephew of theoderic, v. iii. ; opposed by amalasuntha in his oppression of the people of tuscany, v. iii. , ; plans to hand over tuscany to justinian, v. iii. , ; meets the envoys of justinian secretly, v. iii. ; accused by the tuscans, v. iv. ; compelled by amalasuntha to make restitution, v. iv. ; her attempts to gain his support, v. iv. ff.; becomes king, v. iv. , ; imprisons amalasuntha, v. iv. - ; sends envoys and a letter to justinian, v. iv. , ; receives the envoy peter from justinian, v. iv. ; opposed by justinian, v. iv. ; defended by opilio, v. iv. ; persuaded to kill amalasuntha, v. iv. , ; denounced by peter, v. iv. ; his excuses, v. iv. ; terrified by peter, suggests an agreement with justinian, v. vi. - ; recalls peter and consults him further, v. vi. - ; his letter to justinian, v. vi. - ; reply of justinian, v. vi. - ; receives envoys from justinian, v. vi. ; refuses to put his agreement into effect, v. vii. , ; makes a speech regarding rights of envoys, v. vii. - ; receives a letter addressed to the gothic nobles, v. vii. ; guards the envoys peter and athanasius, v. vii. ; proposes an alliance with the franks, v. xiii. , ; kept the wives and children of the garrison of naples, v. viii. ; appealed to in vain by the neapolitans, v. ix. ; the story of the swine whose fortune foreshadowed the outcome of the war, v. ix. - ; dethroned by the goths, v. xi. ; flees toward ravenna, pursued by optaris, v. xi. ; the cause of optaris' hatred of him, v. xi. , ; killed on the road, v. xi. , xiii. , xxix. ; brother of amalaberga, v. xiii. ; father of theodegisclus, v. xi. ; father-in-law of ebrimous, v. viii. ; father of theodenanthe, _ibid._; his unstable character, v. vii. ; accustomed to seek oracles, v. ix. theodegisclus, son of theodatus; imprisoned by vittigis, v. xi. theodenanthe, daughter of theodatus, wife of ebrimous, v. viii. theoderic, gothic king, patrician and ex-consul in byzantium, v. i. , vi. vi. ; leads the goths in rebellion, v. i. ; persuaded by zeno to attack odoacer, v. i. , vi. vi. , ; leads the gothic people to italy, v. i. ; not followed from thrace by all the goths, v. xvi. ; besieges ravenna, v. i. ; his agreement with odoacer, v. i. ; kills him, v. i. ; his war with the gepaedes, v. xi. ; forms close alliance with the thuringians and visigoths, v. xii. , ; feared by the franks, v. xii. ; forms an alliance with them, v. xii. ; craftily refrains from participation in the war against the burgundians and gains part of their land, v. xii. - , , ; disregarded by the franks, v. xii. ; appealed to by alaric and sends him an army, v. xii. ; reproached by the visigoths, v. xii. ; drives the franks from besieging carcasiana, v. xii. ; recovers eastern gaul, v. xii. ; makes amalaric king of the visigoths, acting as regent himself, v. xii. ; sends theudis to spain with an army, v. xii. ; tolerates his tyranny, v. xii. - ; virtual ruler over gaul and spain as well as italy, v. xii. - ; imposed a tribute on the visigoths, v. xii. , , xiii. ; removed the treasures of carcasiana, v. xiii. ; kills symmachus and boetius, v. i. ; terrified thereafter by the appearance of a fish's head, v. i. ff.; his death, v. i. , xiii. ; succeeded by atalaric, v. ii. ; made no new laws in italy, vi. vi. ; mosaic picture of, in naples, v. xxiv. ; kept the romans in luxury, v. xx. ; did not allow the goths to educate their children, v. ii. ; his own ignorance of letters, v. ii. ; his character as a sovereign, v. i. ff., xi. ; beloved by his subjects, v. i. - ; brother of amalafrida, v. iii. ; father of amalasuntha, v. ii. , xxiv. ; father of theodichusa, v. xii. ; grandfather of amalaric, v. xii. , ; of atalaric, v. ii. , xxiv. ; of matasuntha, v. xi. , xxix. ; uncle of theodatus, v. iii. ; the family of, v. iv. theodichusa, daughter of theoderic, betrothed to alaric the younger, v. xii. ; mother of amalaric, v. xii. theodoriscus, a cappadocian, guardsman of martinus; conspicuous for his valour, v. xxix. , thessalonica, home of peter, v. iii. theudibert, king of the franks; gives his sister in marriage to amalaric, v. xiii. ; appealed to by her, v. xiii. ; defeats amalaric in battle, v. xiii. ; takes possession of the visigothic portion of gaul, v. xiii. ; sanctions treaty with theodatus, v. xiii. ; sends allies to vittigis, vi. xii. , theudis, a goth, marries a woman in spain and sets up an independent power there, v. xii. - ; tyrant in spain, v. xiii. thrace, ancient home of the goths, v. xvi. ; home of constantinus and bessas, v. v. ; of cutilas, vi. ii. ; of ulimuth, vi. xiii. thracians, a force of, reaches dryus, vi. v. ; with the roman army, vi. xi. ; sent to milan under command of paulus, vi. xii. , thule, description of the island, its inhabitants, long nights, etc., vi. xv. ff.; eruli settled there, vi. xv. ; the eruli send thither for a king, vi. xiv. , xv. , ; their messengers return from, vi. xv. thurii, a city in southern italy, v. xv. thuringians, barbarians in gaul, v. xii. , ; form close alliance with theoderic, v. xii. , ; their ruler hermenefridus, v. xii. ; subjugated by the franks, v. xiii. tiber river, an obstacle to vittigis, v. xvii. - ; defended by belisarius, v. xvii. , xviii. ff.; crossed by vittigis, v. xviii. ff.; xxiv. ; crossed by the goths to storm the wall, v. xxii. , ; used by belisarius to turn the mills, v. xix. ff.; romans bring in provisions by it, vi. vii. ff; description of its mouths, v. xxvi. - ; navigable, v. xxvi. ; freight traffic on, v. xxvi. - ; its tortuous course, v. xxvi. ; flowed by the wall near the aurelian gate, v. xxii. , vi. ix. ; sewers of rome discharged into it, v. xix. ; bridged in building the wall of rome, v. xix. ; included in the fortifications of rome, v. xix. - ; bridge over, distance from rome, v. xvii. ; fortified by belisarius, v. xvii. ; abandoned by the garrison, v. xvii. tibur, occupied by sinthues and magnus, vi. iv. ; distance from rome, _ibid._ ticinum, strongly fortified city, vi. xii. ; battle fought near, vi. xii. , totila, ruler of the goths, v. xxiv. trajan, bodyguard of belisarius; makes a successful attack upon the goths, v. xxvii. ff.; sent to taracina, vi. iv. ; which he occupies with martinus, vi. iv. ; summoned back to rome, vi. v. ; sent against the goths, vi. v. , ; in the battle at the pincian gate, vi. v. ; his strange wound, vi. v. - transtiburtine gate, threatened by a gothic camp, v. xix. tria fata, near the temple of janus in rome, v. xxv. tripolis, ashes from vesuvius fell in, vi. iv. troy, a man of troy, v. xv. ; see also ilium tudera, town in italy, garrisoned by vittigis; vi. xi. ; surrenders to belisarius, vi. xiii. , ; garrisoned by him, vi. xiii. tuscan sea, south of gaul, v. xii. , ; distance from ravenna, v. xv. tuscans, accuse theodatus before amalasuntha, v. iv. ; welcome constantinus into their cities, v. xvi. tuscany, extending from aemilia to the boundaries of rome, v. xv. ; most of its lands owned by theodatus, v. iii. , ; who plans to hand it over to justinian, v. iii. , iv. ; invaded by constantinus, v. xvi. ff.; its cities: genoa, vi. xii. ; narnia, v. xvi. ; spolitium and perusia, v. xvi. ; clusium, vi. xi. ; centumcellae, vi. vii. , ; its lake vulsina, v. iv. tydeus, father of diomedes, v. xv. uliaris, a goth, in command of naples, v. iii. ulias, a goth, given as a hostage, vi. vii. uligisalus, sent to dalmatia, v. xvi. ; enters liburnia alone, v. xvi. ; defeated, retires to burnus, v. xvi. ; proceeds with asinarius to salones, v. xvi. ; stationed in tudera, vi. xi. ulimuth, of thrace, bodyguard of belisarius; renders signal service at ancon, vi. xiii. , ulitheus, uncle of vittigis, defeated and killed by john, vi. x. unilas, gothic commander; sent into tuscany, v. xvi. ; defeated and captured, v. xvi. , uraïas, gothic commander; sent into liguria, vi. xii. ; nephew of vittigis, _ibid._ urbinus, city in picenum, vi. x. ; passed by john, vi. x. , ; garrisoned by vittigis, vi. xi. ursicinus, roman commander of infantry, v. v. , xxiii. urviventus, town near rome; garrisoned by vittigis, vi. xi. vacimus, gothic commander; sent against ancon, vi. xiii. , vacis, a goth, sent to the salarian gate to harangue the romans, v. xviii. - valentinian, roman emperor; slain by maximus, v. xxv. valentinus, roman commander of cavalry, v. v. ; sent to the plain of nero by belisarius, v. xxviii. , ; unable to control his troops, v. xxix. valentinus, groom of photius; fights valiantly, v. xviii. valerian, roman commander; sent to italy, v. xxiv. ; winters in aetolia, v. xxiv. ; ordered to hasten to rome, v. xxiv. ; arrives in rome, v. xxvii. ; sent out against the goths by belisarius, v. xxvii. ; sent to the plain of nero, vi. ii. ; fights there with varying fortune, vi. ii. ff.; with martinus rescues bochas, vi. ii. ; establishes a camp at the church of paul, vi. iv. ; returns to the city, vi. iv. ; with ildiger seizes constantinus, vi. viii. ; uncle of damian, vi. vii. ; his bodyguard gouboulgoudou, vi. xiii. vandalarius, see visandus vandals in africa; their overthrow, v. iii. , v. , xxix. varni, a barbarian nation, vi. xv. veneti, their territory adjoining istria, and extending to ravenna, v. xv. venetia, held by the goths, v. xi. vergentinus, roman senator; escapes execution by flight, v. xxvi. vesuvius, threatens an eruption, vi. iv. ; description of the mountain, vi. iv. - ; distance from naples, vi. iv. ; its heavy ash showers, vi. iv. - ; periodicity of its eruptions, vi. iv. ; its fertility, vi. iv. ; its salubrious atmosphere, vi. iv. vigilius, appointed chief priest of rome, v. xxv. ; brother of reparatus, v. xxvi. visandus vandalarius, a goth; distinguished for his bravery at the battle of the mulvian bridge, v. xviii. ; his unexpected recovery, v. xviii. - ; stationed at auximus, vi. xi. visandus, erulian commander, vi. xiii. visigoths, occupy all of spain and part of gaul, v. xii. ; their ruler alaric the younger, v. xii. ; form close alliance with theoderic, v. xii. , ; attacked by the franks, v. xii. ; encamp against them, v. xii. ; compel alaric to fight, v. xii. - ; defeated in battle, v. xii. ; choose giselic as king, v. xii. ; amalaric becomes king over them, v. xii. ; mingle with the goths, v. xii. ; separate from them, v. xiii. , ; defeated by the franks, v. xiii. ; withdraw from gaul to spain, v. xiii. vitalian, the tyrant, uncle of john, vi. v. , vii. vittigis, chosen king of the goths, v. xi. ; his good birth and military achievements, _ibid._; sends optaris in pursuit of theodatus, v. xi. ; imprisons the son of theodatus, v. xi. ; advises withdrawal to ravenna, v. xi. ff.; withdraws to ravenna, leaving a garrison in rome, v. xi. ; unable to recall the goths from gaul, v. xiii. ; addresses the goths, v. xiii. - ; forms an alliance with the franks, v. xiii. - ; summons marcias from gaul, v. xiii. ; sends an army against the romans in tuscany, v. xvi. ; eager to leave ravenna, but prevented by the absence of marcias, v. xvi. , ; sends an army to dalmatia, v. xvi. , ; finally moves against rome, v. xvi. ; his feverish haste, v. xvi. , , xvii. ; refrains from attacking perusia, spolitium, and narnia, v. xvii. , ; advances through sabine territory, v. xvii. ; halts at the tiber, v. xvii. ; sends vacis to the salarian gate, v. xviii. ; commands one gothic camp, v. xix. ; his name given in play to one of the samnite children, v. xx. - ; sends envoys to belisarius, v. xx. ; hears their report, v. xxi. ; prepares to storm the wall, v. xxi. , ; constructs engines of war, v. xxi. - ; makes a general assault on the wall, v. xxii. ff.; leads an attack on the vivarium, v. xxii. ff.; where he presses the romans hard, v. xxiii. ; breaks down the outer wall, v. xxiii. , ; his attacking force cut to pieces, v. xxiii. - ; kills roman senators, v. xxvi. ; seizes portus, v. xxvi. , ; tries to use roman tactics on belisarius, v. xxvii. - ; prepares for battle and addresses his army, v. xxix. - ; commands in person at the great battle, v. xxix. ff.; allows portus to be abandoned, vi. vii. , ; investigates the aqueduct, vi. ix. ff.; tries a new stratagem, vi. ix. ff.; alarmed for ravenna, abandons rome, vi. x. , , ; marches to ariminum, leaving garrisons in certain towns vi. xi. - ; besieges ariminum, vi. xii. ff.; sends an army into liguria, vi. xii. ; receives frankish allies, vi. xii. ; belisarius marches against him, vi. xiii. ; sends an army against ancon, vi. xiii. ; uncle of uraïas, vi. xii. ; nephew of ulitheus, vi. x. ; husband of matasuntha, v. xi. , vi. x. vivarium, an enclosure in the walls of rome, v. xxii. ; built for the keeping of wild animals, v. xxiii. ; a very vulnerable point in the wall, v. xxiii. , ; attacked by vittigis, v. xxii. , , xxiii. - ; successfully defended under the direction of belisarius, v. xxiii. - vulsina, lake in tuscany; amalasuntha imprisoned there, v. iv. wild ass, an engine used for throwing stones, v. xxi. , wolf, a contrivance used by belisarius for guarding the gates of rome, v. xxi. - zarter, a massagete, bodyguard of belisarius, sent into tuscany, v. xvi. zeno, emperor of the east, v. i. ; persuades theoderic to attack odoacer, v. i. , vi. vi. , zeno, a roman commander of cavalry, vi. v. ; given as a hostage, vi. vii. transcriber's notes: in this text edition, the dated sidenotes were replaced with lettered footnotes with the references following the paragraph in which they land. obvious punctuation errors repaired. chapter xxiii, footnote : "cap." changed to "chap." page , "dryous" changed to "dryus". (who landed at dryus) page , "seven" changed to "six". (establish six camps) index: the following words were changed so that the index matched what was actually in the text. original changed index to "aclyinus" "aquilinus" "aegypt" "egypt" "peter" "pastor" (under asclepiodotus) "giselicus" "giselic"(under alaric and giselic) "aquilea" "aquileia" "bandalarius" "vandalarius" (under vandalarius and visandus) "chorsomantis" "chorsamantis" "diomed" "diomedes" (twice under beneventus) "messina" "messana" (under charybdis and scylla) "chersonnesus" "chersonese" "rudolphus" "rodolophus"(under lombards) "viselicus" "giselic"(under visigoths) "uraias" "uraïas" body-guard used four times in the a section in index changed to bodyguard to conform to text. none ******************************************************************* this ebook was one of project gutenberg's early files produced at a time when proofing methods and tools were not well developed. there is an improved edition of this title which may be viewed as ebook (# ) at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/ ******************************************************************* the letters of cassiodorus _hodgkin_ oxford printed by horace hart, printer to the university the letters of cassiodorus being a condensed translation of the variae epistolae of magnus aurelius cassiodorus senator with an introduction by thomas hodgkin fellow of university college, london; hon. d.c.l. of durham university author of 'italy and her invaders' london: henry frowde amen corner, paternoster row, e.c. . [_all rights reserved_] preface. the abstract of the 'variae' of cassiodorus which i now offer to the notice of historical students, belongs to that class of work which professor max müller happily characterised when he entitled two of his volumes 'chips from a german workshop.' in the course of my preparatory reading, before beginning the composition of the third and fourth volumes of my book on 'italy and her invaders,' i found it necessary to study very attentively the 'various letters' of cassiodorus, our best and often our only source of information, for the character and the policy of the great theodoric. the notes which in this process were accumulated upon my hands might, i hoped, be woven into one long chapter on the ostrogothic government of italy. when the materials were collected, however, they were so manifold, so perplexing, so full of curious and unexpected detail, that i quite despaired of ever succeeding in the attempt to group them into one harmonious and artistic picture. frankly, therefore, renouncing a task which is beyond my powers, i offer my notes for the perusal of the few readers who may care to study the mutual reactions of the roman and the teutonic mind upon one another in the sixth century, and i ask these to accept the artist's assurance, 'the curtain is the picture.' it will be seen that i only profess to give an abstract, not a full translation of the letters. there is so much repetition and such a lavish expenditure of words in the writings of cassiodorus, that they lend themselves very readily to the work of the abbreviator. of course the longer letters generally admit of greater relative reduction in quantity than the shorter ones, but i think it may be said that on an average the letters have lost at least half their bulk in my hands. on any important point the real student will of course refuse to accept my condensed rendering, and will go straight to the fountain-head. i hope, however, that even students may occasionally derive the same kind of assistance from my labours which an astronomer derives from the humble instrument called the 'finder' in a great observatory. a few important letters have been translated, to the best of my ability, verbatim. in the not infrequent instances where i have been unable to extract any intelligible meaning, on grammatical principles, from the words of my author, i have put in the text the nearest approximation that i could discover to his meaning, and placed the unintelligible words in a note, hoping that my readers may be more fortunate in their interpretation than i have been. with the usual ill-fortune of authors, just as my last sheet was passing through the press i received from italy a number of the 'atti e memorie della r. deputazione di storia patria per le provincie di romagna' (to which i am a subscriber), containing an elaborate and scholarlike article by s. augusto gaudenzi, entitled 'l'opera di cassiodorio a ravenna.' it is a satisfaction to me to see that in several instances s. gaudenzi and i have reached practically the same conclusions; but i cannot but regret that his paper reached me too late to prevent my benefiting from it more fully. a few of the more important points in which i think s. gaudenzi throws useful light on our common subject are noticed in the 'additions and corrections,' to which i beg to draw my readers' attention. i may perhaps be allowed to add that the index, the preparation of which has cost me no small amount of labour, ought (if i have not altogether failed in my endeavour) to be of considerable assistance to the historical enquirer. for instance, if he will refer to the heading _sajo_, and consult the passages there referred to, he will find, i believe, all that cassiodorus has to tell us concerning these interesting personages, the sajones, who were almost the only representatives of the intrusive gothic element in the fabric of roman administration. from textual criticism and the discussion of the authority of different mss. i have felt myself entirely relieved by the announcement of the forthcoming critical edition of the 'variae,' under the superintendence of professor meyer. the task to which an eminent german scholar has devoted the labour of several years, it would be quite useless for me, without appliances and without special training, to approach as an amateur; and i therefore simply help myself to the best reading that i can get from the printed texts, leaving to professor meyer to say which reading possesses the highest diplomatic authority. simply as a a matter of curiosity i have spent some days in examining the mss. of cassiodorus in the british museum. if they are at all fair representatives (which probably they are not) of the mss. which professor meyer has consulted, i should say that though the titles of the letters have often got into great confusion through careless and unintelligent copying, the main text is not likely to show any very important variations from the editions of nivellius and garet. i now commend this volume with all its imperfections to the indulgent criticism of the small class of historical students who alone will care to peruse it. the man of affairs and the practical politician will of course not condescend to turn over its pages; yet the anxious and for a time successful efforts of theodoric and his minister to preserve to italy the blessings of _civilitas_ might perhaps teach useful lessons even to a modern statesman. thos. hodgkin. note. the following note as to the mss. at the british museum may save a future enquirer a little trouble. ( ) b. xv. is a ms. about inches by , written in a fine bold hand, and fills folios, of which belong to the 'variae' and to the 'institutiones divinarum litterarum.' there are also two folios at the end which i have not deciphered. the ms. is assigned to the thirteenth century. the title of the first book is interesting, because it contains the description of cassiodorus' official rank, 'ex magistri officii,' which mommsen seems to have looked for in the mss. in vain. the ms. contains the first three books complete, but only letters of the fourth. letters - of the fourth book, and the whole of the fifth, sixth, and seventh books, are missing. it then goes on to the eighth book (which it calls the fifth), but omits the first five letters. the remaining appear to be copied satisfactorily. the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth books, which the transcriber calls the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth, seem to be on the whole correctly copied. there seems to be a certain degree of correspondence between the readings of this ms. and those of the leyden ms. of the twelfth century (formerly at fulda) which are described by ludwig tross in his 'symbolae criticae' (hammone, ). ( ) b. xix. is a ms. also of the thirteenth century, in a smaller hand than the foregoing. the margins are very large, but the codex measures only - / inches by - / . the rubricated titles are of somewhat later date than the body of the text. the initial letters are elaborately illuminated. this ms. contains, in a mutilated state and in a peculiar order, the books from the eighth to the twelfth. the following is the order in which the books are placed: ix. - , folios - . x. " - . xi. " - . xii. " - . viii. " - . ix. - , " - . the amanuensis, who has evidently been a thoroughly dishonest worker, constantly omits whole letters, from which however he sometimes extracts a sentence or two, which he tacks on to the end of some preceding letter without regard to the sense. this process makes it exceedingly difficult to collate the ms. with the printed text. owing to the eighth book being inserted after the twelfth, it is erroneously labelled on the back, 'cassiodori senatoris epistolae, lib. x-xiii.' ( ) b. iv. (also of the thirteenth century, and measuring inches by ) contains, in a tolerably complete state, the first three books of the 'variae,' book iv. - , book viii. - , and books x-xii. the order, however, is transposed, books iv. and viii. coming after book xii. these excerpts from cassiodorus, which occupy folios to of the ms., are preceded by some collections relative to the civil and canon law. the letters which are copied seem to be carefully and conscientiously done. these three mss. are all in the king's library. besides these mss. i have also glanced at no. , in the bodleian library at oxford. like those previously described it is, i believe, of the thirteenth century, and professes to contain the whole of the 'variae;' but the letters are in an exceedingly mutilated form. on an average it seems to me that not more than one-third of each letter is copied. in this manner the 'variae' are compressed into the otherwise impossible number of folios ( - ). all these mss., even the best of them, give me the impression of being copied by very unintelligent scribes, who had but little idea of the meaning of the words which they were transcribing. in all, the superscription v.s. is expanded (wrongly, as i believe) into 'viro senatori;' for 'praefecto praetorio' we have the meaningless 'praeposito;' and the agapitus who is addressed in the th, nd, and rd letters of the first book is turned, in defiance of chronology, into a pope. contents. introduction. chapter i. life of cassiodorus. page historical position of cassiodorus his ancestry - his name - his birthplace - date of his birth - his education consiliarius to his father quaestor - composition of the 'variae' their style - policy of theodoric date of composition of the 'variae' consulship patriciate composition of the 'chronicon' " " gothic history - relation of the work of jordanes to this history master of the offices praetorian praefect sketch of history during his praefecture - end of official career edits the 'variae' his treatise 'de animâ' he retires to the cloister his theological works - his literary works - his death note on the topography of squillace - chapter ii. the 'anecdoton holderi.' content of the ms. - to whom addressed information as to life of symmachus " " " boethius religious position of boethius information as to life of cassiodorus chapter iii. the gradations of official rank in the lower empire. nobilissimi illustres - spectabiles - clarissimi perfectissimi egregii chapter iv. on the officium of the praefectus praetorio. military character of the roman civil service sources of information princeps cornicularius - adjutor commentariensis ab actis numerarii inferior officers - chapter v. bibliography. editions of the 'variae' - literature concerning the 'variae' - chapter vi. chronology. consular fasti indictions chronological tables - abstract of the 'variae.' preface - book i. containing forty-six letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. . to emperor anastasius. persuasives to peace . " theon. manufacture of purple dye . " cassiodorus, father of the author. his praises . " senate. great deeds of ancestors of cassiodorus . " florianus. end of litigation . " agapitus. mosaics for ravenna . " felix. inheritance of plutianus . " amabilis. prodigality of neotherius . " bishop eustorgius. offences of ecclesiastics . " boetius. frauds of moneyers . " servatus. violence of breones . " eugenius. appointment as magister officium . " senate. on the same . " faustus. collection of 'tertiae' . " festus. interests of the absent . " julianus. remission of taxes . " gothic and roman inhabitants of dertona. fortification of camp . " domitianus and wilias. statute of limitations, &c. . " saturninus and verbusius. rights of the fiscus . " albinus and albienus. circus quarrels . " maximian and andreas. embellishment of rome . " marcellus. his promotion to rank of advocatus fisci . " coelianus and agapitus. litigation between senators . " all the goths. call to arms . " sabinianus. repair of the walls of rome . " faustus. immunity of certain church property . " speciosus. circus quarrels . " goths and romans. building of walls of rome . " the lucristani on river sontius. postal service . " senate. injury to public peace from circus rivalries . " the roman people. same subject . " agapitus. same subject . " " arrangements for pantomime . " faustus. exportation of corn . " " unreasonable delays in transmission of corn . " theriolus. guardianship of sons of benedictus . " crispianus. justifiable homicide . " baion. hilarius to have possession of his property . " festus. nephews of filagrius to be detained in rome . " assuin (or assius). inhabitants of salona to be drilled . " agapitus. enquiries into character of younger faustus . " artemidorus. appointment as praefect of the city . " senate. promotion of artemidorus . " the people of rome. same subject . " boetius. water-clock and sundial for burgundian king . " gundibad. same subject book ii. containing forty-one letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. . to emperor anastasius. consulship of felix . " felix. same subject . " senate. same subject . " ecdicius (or benedictus). collection of _siliquaticum_ . " faustus. soldiers' arrears . " agapitus. embassy to constantinople . " sura (or suna). embellishment of city . " bishop severus. compensation for damage by troops . " faustus. allowance to retired charioteer . " speciosus. abduction of agapita . " provinus (probinus?). gift unduly obtained from agapita . " the count of the siliquatarii, and the harbour master (of portus?). prohibition of export of lard . " fruinarith. dishonest conduct of venantius . " symmachus. romulus the parricide . " venantius. appointment as comes domesticorum . " senate. same subject. panegyric on liberius, father of venantius . " possessors, defensors, and curials of tridentum (trient). immunity from tertiae enjoyed by lands granted by the king . " bishop gudila. ecclesiastics as curiales . " goths and romans, and keepers of harbours and mountain fortresses. domestic treachery and murder . " uniligis (or wiligis). order for provision ships . " joannes. drainage-concession too timidly acted upon . " festus. ecdicius to be buried by his sons . " ampelius, despotius, and theodulus. protection for owners of potteries . " senate. arrears of taxation due from senators . " senate. an edict. evasion of taxes by the rich . " faustus. regulations for corn-traffic . " jews living in genoa. rebuilding of synagogue . " stephanus. honours bestowed on retirement . " adila. protection to dependents of the church . " faustus. privileges granted to church of milan . " the dromonarii [rowers in express-boats]. state galleys on the po . " senate. drainage of marshes of decennonium . " decius. same subject . " artemidorus. embezzlement of city building funds . " tancila. theft of statue at como . edict. same subject . to faustus. largesse to citizens of spoleto . " " immunity from taxation . " aloisius. hot springs of aponum . " boetius. harper for king of the franks . " luduin [clovis]. victories over the alamanni book iii. containing fifty-three letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. . to alaric. dissuades from war with the franks . " gundibad. dissuades from war . " the kings of the heruli, warni (guarni), and thuringians. attempt to form a teutonic coalition . " luduin (ludwig, or clovis). to desist from war on alaric. . " importunus. promotion to the patriciate . " senate. same subject . " januarius. reproof for alleged extortion . " venantius. remissness in collection of public revenue . " possessores, defensores, and curiales of aestunae. marbles for ravenna . " festus. same subject . " argolicus. appointment to praefecture of the city . " senate. same subject . " sunhivad. appointment as governor of samnium . " bishop aurigenes. accusations against servants of a bishop . " theodahad. disposal of contumacious person . " gemellus. appointment as governor of gaulish provinces . " gaulish provincials. proclamation . " gemellus. re-patriation of magnus . " daniel. supply of marble sarcophagi . " grimoda and ferrocinctus. oppression of castorius by faustus . " faustus. disgrace and temporary exile . " artemidorus. invitation to king's presence . " colossaeus. appointment as governor of pannonia . " barbarians and romans settled in pannonia. same subject . " simeon. tax-collecting and iron-mining in dalmatia . " osun. simeon's journey to dalmatia . " joannes. protection against praetorian praefect . " cassiodorus (senior). invitation to court . " argolicus. repair of granaries in rome . " " repair of cloacae " " . " senate. conservation of aqueducts and temples in rome . " gemellus. remission of taxes to citizens of arles . " argolicus. promotion of armentarius and superbus . " inhabitants of massilia. appointment of governor . " romulus. gifts not to be revoked . " arigern. complaints against venantius . " bishop peter. alleged injustice . " wandil [vuandil]. gothic troops not to molest citizens . " felix. largesse to charioteers of milan . " provincials settled in gaul. exemption from taxation . " gemellus. corn for garrisons on the durance . " provincials in gaul. exemption from military contributions . " unigis. fugitive slaves to be restored to owners . " landowners (possessores) of arles. repair of walls, &c. . " arigern. dispute between roman church and samaritans . " adeodatus. further charges against venantius . " faustus. banishment of jovinus to vulcanian islands . " goths and romans living near fort verruca. fortification . " possessores, defensores, and curiales of catana. repair of walls . " provincials of noricum. alamanni and noricans to exchange cattle . " faustus. stipend of charioteer. description of circus . " consularis. roman land surveying . " apronianus. water-finders book iv. containing fifty-one letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. . to king of the thuringians. marriage with theodoric's niece . " king of the heruli. adoption as son . " senarius. appointment as comes patrimonii . " senate. same subject . " amabilis. supply of provisions to gaulish provinces . " symmachus. sons of valerian to be detained in rome . " senarius. losses by shipwreck to be refunded . " possessores and curiales of forum livii (forli). transport of timber to alsuanum . " osuin. '_tuitio regii nominis_' . " joannes. repression of lawless custom of pignoratio . " senarius. dispute between possessores and curiales . " marabad and gemellus. complaint of archotamia . " senarius. supplies for colossaeus and suite . " gesila. evasion of land-tax by goths . " benenatus. new rowers, and their qualifications . " senate. arigern entrusted with charge of city of rome . " ida. church possessions to be restored . " annas. enquiry concerning a priestly ghoul . " gemellus. corn, wine, and oil to be exempt from the siliquaticum . " geberich. church land to be restored . " gemellus. promptness and integrity required . " argolicus. } . " arigern. } accusation of magic against roman senators . " elpidius. architectural restoration at spoleto . " argolicus. petrus to become senator . " citizens of marseilles. remission of taxes . " tezutzat. } . " duda. } petrus assaulted by his defensor . " argolicus. official tardiness rebuked . " albinus. erection of workshops near roman forum . " aemilianus. aqueduct to be promptly finished . " duda. crown rights to be asserted with moderation . " jews of genoa. their privileges confirmed . " duda. reclamation of buried treasure . " representatives (actores) of albinus. extravagant minor . " faustus. remission of taxes for provincials . " theodagunda. to do justice to renatus . " faustus. taxes to be reduced . " theodahad. his encroachments . " representatives (actores) of probinus. the affair of agapita . " joannes. unjust judgment reversed . " argolicus. property to be restored to sons of volusian . " senate. punishment of incendiaries of jewish synagogue . " antonius. to do justice to stephanus . " comites, defensores, and curiales of ticinum (pavia). heruli to be forwarded on their way to ravenna . " marabad. case of liberius' wife to be reheard . " gudisal. abuses of the cursus publicus . " eusebius. his honourable retirement . " provincials and the long-haired men, the defensores and curiales residing in suavia. appointment of governor, &c. . " faustus. campanian taxes remitted. eruption of vesuvius . " symmachus. restoration of theatre of pompey book v. containing forty-four letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. . to king of the vandals. thanking for presents . " the haesti. their present of amber . " honoratus. } . " senate. } promotion to quaestorship, &c. . " mannila. abuses of the cursus publicus . " stabularius. } . " joannes. } default in payments to treasury . " anastasius. transport of marbles to ravenna . " possessores of feltria. new city to be built . " veranus. } . " the gepidae. } payment on march to gaul . " theodahad. his avarice and injustice . " eutropius and acretius. commissariat . " severi(a)nus. financial abuses in suavia . " possessores in suavia. same subject . " abundantius. formation of navy . " " same subject . " uvilias [willias?]. } . " gudinand. } same subject . " avilf. } . " capuanus. } . " senate. } appointment as rector decuriarum . " abundantius. archery drill . " epiphanius. property of intestate claimed for the state . " bacauda. appointment as tribunus voluptatum . " goths settled in picenum and samnium. summons to the royal presence . " guduim. the same . " carinus. invitation to court . " neudes. blind gothic warrior enslaved . " gudui[m]. servile tasks imposed on free goths . " decoratus. arrears of siliquaticum to be enforced . " brandila. assault of his wife on regina . " wilitanch. adulterous connection between brandila and regina . " abundantius. frontosus compared to chameleon . " luvirit and ampelius. punishment of fraudulent shipowners . " starcedius. honourable discharge . " jews of milan. rights of synagogue not to be invaded . " all cultivators. shrubs obstructing aqueduct of ravenna . " ampelius and liveria. abuses in administration of spanish government . " cyprian. } . " senate. } promotion to the comitiva sacrarum largitionum . " maximus. rewards to performers in amphitheatre . " transmund [thrasamund]. complains of protection given to gesalic . " transmund [thrasamund]. reconciliation book vi. containing twenty-five formulae. . of the consulship . " " patriciate . " " praetorian praefecture . " " praefecture of the city . " " quaestorship . " " magisterial dignity, and its excellency (magistratus officiorum) . " " office of comes sacrarum largitionum. . " " " " " privatarum, and its excellency . " " " " count of the patrimony, and its excellency . for promotion as proceres per codicillos vacantes . conferring the rank of an illustris and title of comes domesticorum, without office . bestowal of countship of first order, without office . bestowing the honorary rank of master of the bureau and count of the first order on an officer of the courts in active service . bestowing rank as a senator . of the vicarius of the city of rome . " " notaries . " " referendarii . " " praefectus annonae, and his excellency . " " count of the chief physicians . " " office of a consular, and its excellency . " " governor (rector) of a province . " " count of the city of syracuse . " " count of naples . to the gentlemen-farmers and common councilmen of the city of naples . 'de comitiva principis militum'(?) book vii. containing forty-seven formulae. . of the count of a province . of a praeses . of count of the goths in the several provinces . of the duke of raetia . " " palace architect . " " count of the aqueducts . " " praefect of the watch of city of rome . " " " " " " ravenna . " " count of portus . " " tribunus voluptatum . " " defensor of any city . " " curator of a city . " " count of rome . " " " ravenna . addressed to the praefect of the city on appointment of an architect . of the count of the islands of curritana and celsina . concerning the president of the lime-kilns . concerning armourers . to the praetorian praefect concerning armourers . } . } relating to collection of bina and terna . exhortation addressed to two scriniarii . of the vicarius of portus . " " princeps of dalmatia . recommending the principes to the comes . of the countship of second rank in divers cities . addressed to the dignified cultivators and curiales . announcing appointment of a comes to the chief of his staff . concerning the guard at the gates of a city . of the tribunate in the provinces . " " princeps of the city of rome . " " master of the mint . respecting the ambassadors of various nations . of summons to the king's court (unsolicited) . of summons to the court (solicited) . granting temporary leave of absence . conferring the rank of a spectabilis . " " clarissimus . bestowing 'police protection' . for the confirmation of marriage and the legitimation of offspring . conferring the rights of full age . edict to quaestor, ordering person who asks for protection of sajo to give bail . approving the appointment of a clerk in record-office . grant of public property on condition of improvement . remission of taxes where taxpayer has only one house, too heavily assessed . legitimating marriage with a first cousin . to praetorian praefect, directing sale of the property of a curialis book viii. containing thirty-three letters, all written in the name of athalaric the king, except the eleventh, which is written in the name of tulum. . to the emperor justin. announcement of athalaric's accession . " " senate. same subject . " " roman people. same subject . " " romans settled in italy and the dalmatias. same subject . " " goths settled in italy. same subject . " liberius, governor of gaul. " " . " the provincials settled in gaul. same subject . " bishop victorinus. same subject . " tulum. raised to the patriciate. his praises . " senate. same subject . tulum's address to senate. elevation to the patriciate . to arator. promotion to count of the domestics . " ambrosius. appointment to quaestorship . " senate. same subject . " " election of pope felix iii (or iv) . " opilio. appointment as count of the sacred largesses . " senate. same subject . " felix. promotion to quaestorship . " senate. same subject . " albienus. appointment as praetorian praefect . " cyprian. } . " senate. } elevation to the patriciate . " bergantinus. gifts to theodahad . " clergy of the roman church. ecclesiastical immunities . " joannes. confirmation of tulum's gift of property . " inhabitants of reate and nursia. to obey their prior . " dumerit and florentinus. to suppress robbery at faventia . " cunigast. enforced slavery of possessores (or coloni?) . " the dignified cultivators and curials of parma. necessity for sanitary measures . " genesius. same subject . " severus. dissuasions from a country life, and praises of bruttii . " " fountain of arethusa . " " feast of st. cyprian book ix. containing twenty-five letters, written in the name of athalaric the king. . to hilderic. murder of amalafrida . edict. oppression of the curiales . to bergantinus. gold-mining in italy . " abundantius. curiales to become possessores . " certain bishops and functionaries. forestalling and regrating prohibited . " a certain primiscrinius. leave to visit baiae . " reparatus. appointment to praefecture of city . " osuin (or osum). promotion to governorship of dalmatia and savia . " goths and romans in dalmatia and savia. same subject . " provincials of syracuse. remission of augmentum . " gildias. {oppression by king's} . " victor and witigisclus (or wigisicla). { officers rebuked } . " willias. increase of emoluments of domestici . " gildias. charge of oppression . " pope john ii. against simony at papal elections . " salvantius. same subject . " " release of two roman citizens . edict. offences against civilitas . to senate. promulgation of edict . " judges of provinces. same subject . " senate. increase of grammarians' salaries . " paulinus. appointment as consul . " senate. same subject . " senator [cassiodorus himself]. appointment as praetorian praefect, &c. . " senate. eulogy of cassiodorus on his appointment. his gothic history. his official career. his military services. his religious character - book x. containing thirty-five letters written by cassiodorus: four in the name of queen amalasuentha; twenty-two in that of king theodahad; four in that of his wife gudelina; five in that of king witigis. . queen amalasuentha to emperor justinian. association of theodahad in the sovereignty . king theodahad to emperor justinian. same subject . amalasuentha to senate. same. praises of theodahad . theodahad to senate. same. praises of amalasuentha . " " his man theodosius. followers of new king to live justly . " " patricius. appointment to quaestorship . " " senate. same subject . amalasuentha to justinian. acknowledging present of marbles . theodahad to justinian. same subject . amalasuentha to theodora. salutation . theodahad to maximus. appointment to office of primicerius . " " senate. same subject . " " " summons to ravenna. suspicions of senators . " " the roman people. dissensions between citizens of rome and gothic troops . " " emperor justinian. letter of introduction for ecclesiastic . " " senate. assurances of good-will . " " the roman people. same subject . " " senate. gothic garrison for rome . " " justinian. embassy of peter . queen gudelina to theodora, augusta. embassy of rusticus . " " " " " soliciting friendship . theodahad to justinian. entreaties for peace . gudelina to theodora. same subject . " " justinian. same subject . theodahad to justinian. same subject . " " " monastery too heavily taxed . " " senator. corn distributions in liguria and venetia . " " " grant of monopolies . " " winusiad. old soldier gets leave to visit baths of bormio . " " honorius. brazen elephants in the via sacra. natural history of elephant . king witigis to all the goths. on his elevation . " " " justinian. overtures for peace . " " " the master of the offices (at constantinople). sending of embassy . " " " his bishops. same subject . " " " the praefect of thessalonica. same subject book xi. containing thirty-nine letters written by cassiodorus in his own name as praefectus praetorio, and one on behalf of the roman senate. preface . to senate. on his promotion to the praefecture. praises of amalasuentha. comparison to placidia. relations with the east. expedition against franks. league with burgundians. virtues of amal kings - . " pope john. salutations . " divers bishops. the same . " ambrosius (his deputy). functions of praefect's deputy . " the same. grain distributions for rome . " joannes. functions of the cancellarius . " judges of the provinces. duties of tax-collectors . edict published through the provinces. announcement of cassiodorus' principles of administration . to judges of the provinces. exhortation to govern in conformity with edict . " beatus. davus invalided to mons lactarius. the milk-cure for consumption - . edict. concerning prices to be maintained at ravenna . " concerning prices along the flaminian way . the senate to emperor justinian. supplications of the senate . to gaudiosus. praises of como. relief of its inhabitants . " the ligurians. relief of their necessities . " the same. oppressions practised on them to be remedied . " the princeps(?). promotions in official staff of praetorian praefect - . variously addressed. [documents, for the most part very short ones, relating to these promotions.] - . to anat(h)olius. retirement of a cornicularius on superannuation allowance justified on astronomical grounds . " lucinus. payment of retiring primiscrinius . " joannes. praises of paper . " vitalian. payment of commuted cattle-tax . indulgence [to prisoners on some great festival of the church, probably easter]. general amnesty book xii. containing twenty-eight letters written by cassiodorus in his own name as praetorian praefect. . to the various cancellarii of the provinces. general instructions . " all judges of the provinces. general instructions to provincial governors . " sajones assigned to the cancellarii. general instructions . " the canonicarius of the venetiae. praise of _acinaticium_ . " valerian. measures for relief of lucania and bruttii . " all subordinate governors of the praefecture. general instructions . " the tax-collector of the venetian province. remission of taxes on account of invasion by suevi . " the consularis of the province of liguria. permission to pay taxes direct to royal treasury . " paschasius. claim of an african to succeed to estate of intestate countryman . " divers cancellarii. taxes to be punctually enforced . " peter, distributor of relishes. their due distribution . " anastasius. praise of the cheese and wine of bruttii . edict. frauds committed by revenue-officers on churches . to anastasius. plea for gentle treatment of citizens of rhegium . " maximus. praises of author's birthplace, scyllacium . " a revenue officer. payment of trina illatio . " john, siliquatarius of ravenna. defence of city . " constantian. repair of flaminian way . " maximus. bridge of boats across the tiber . " thomas and peter. sacred vessels mortgaged by pope agapetus to be restored to papal see . " deusdedit. duties of a scribe . " provincials of istria. requisition from province of istria . " laurentius. same subject . " tribunes of the maritime population. first historical notice of venice . " ambrosius, his deputy. famine in italy . " paulus. remission of taxes in consequence of famine . " datius. relief of famine-stricken citizens of ticinum, &c. . edict [addressed to ligurians]. relief of inhabitants additions and corrections. p. , l. , for 'scylletium' read 'scylletion.' p. , _n._ , for 'uterwerfung' read 'unterwerfung.' in the 'note on the topography of squillace' (pp. - ), and the map illustrating it, for 'scylacium' read 'scyllacium.' (the line of virgil, however, quoted on p. , shows that the name was sometimes spelt with only one 'l.') pp. and , head line, dele 'the.' p. (chronological table, under heading 'popes') for 'john iii.' read 'john ii.' p. (last line of text). s. gaudenzi remarks that the addresses of the laws in the code of justinian forbid us to suppose that heliodorus was praetorian praefect for eighteen years. he thinks that most likely the meaning of the words 'in illa republica nobis videntibus praefecturam bis novenis annis gessit eximie' is that twice in the space of nine years heliodorus filled the office of praefect. p. , letter of book i. the date of this letter is probably , as importunus, who is therein mentioned as consul, was consul in that year. p. , letter of book i. s. gaudenzi points out that a letter has probably dropped out here, as the title does not fit the contents of the letter, which seems to have been addressed to a sajo. in the titles of i. , , , , and ii. and , for 'praepositus' read 'praetorian praefect.' the contraction used by the early amanuenses for praefecto praetorio has been misunderstood by their successors, and consequently many mss. read 'praeposito,' and this reading has been followed by nivellius. there can be no doubt, however, that garet is right in restoring 'praefecto praetorio.' on the other hand, i have been misled by garet's edition into quoting the following letters as addressed _viro senatori_; i. ; ii. , , , ; iii. , , , , , , ; iv. , , , , , , , ; v. , . here, too, the only mss. that i have examined read 'viro senatori;' but nivellius preserves what is no doubt the earlier reading, 'v.s.,' which assuredly stands for 'viro spectabili.' practically there is no great difference between the two readings, and the remarks made by me on ii. , , &c., as to senators with gothic names may still stand; for as every senator was (at least) a clarissimus, it is not likely that any person who reached the higher dignity of a spectabilis was not also a senator. (see pp. and .) p. , letter of book ii. here again, on account of the want of correspondence between the title and contents of the letter, s. gaudenzi suggests that a letter has dropped out. p. , title of letter , for 'unigilis' read 'uniligis.' p. , l. from bottom, for 'praefectum' read 'praefectorum.' p. , l. , for 'provinces' read 'provincials.' p. (marginal note), for 'amphitheatre' read 'walls.' last line (text), for 'its' read 'their.' p. , title of letter , for 'idae' some mss. read 'ibbae,' which is probably the right reading, ibbas having commanded the ostrogothic army in gaul in . p. , dele the last two lines. (the peter who was consul in was an official of the eastern empire, the same who came on an embassy to theodahad in .) p. . l. , for ' ' read ' .' p. , ll. , , and in margin, for 'agapeta' read 'agapita.' p. , ll. , , and in margin, for 'velusian' read 'volusian.' p. , title of letter . s. gaudenzi thinks this letter was really addressed to argolicus, praefectus urbis. p. , l. , dele 'possibly stabularius.' p. , letter of book v. (to decoratus). as decoratus is described in v. and as already dead, it is clear that the letters are not arranged in chronological order. p. , l. , for 'upon' read 'before.' p. , l. , for 'extortions' read 'extra horses.' p. , l. , for 'anomymus' read 'anonymus.' p. , l. . this is an important passage, as illustrating the nature of the office which cassiodorus held as consiliarius to his father. p. , second marginal note, for 'aguntur' read 'agantur' (twice). p. , title of letter , for ' ' read ' - .' p. , title of letter , for 'between and ' read 'between and .' p. , l. . probably, as suggested by s. gaudenzi, felix was consiliarius to cassiodorus. introduction. chapter i. life of cassiodorus. the interest of the life of cassiodorus is derived from his position rather than from his character. he was a statesman of considerable sagacity and of unblemished honour, a well-read scholar, and a devout christian; but he was apt to crouch before the possessors of power however unworthy, and in the whole of his long and eventful life we never find him playing a part which can be called heroic. [sidenote: position of cassiodorus on the confines of the ancient and the modern.] his position, however, which was in more senses than one that of a borderer between two worlds, gives to the study of his writings an exceptional value. born a few years after the overthrow of the western empire, a roman noble by his ancestry, a rhetorician-philosopher by his training, he became what we should call the prime minister of the ostrogothic king theodoric; he toiled with his master at the construction of the new state, which was to unite the vigour of germany and the culture of rome; for a generation he saw this edifice stand, and when it fell beneath the blows of belisarius he retired, perhaps well-nigh broken-hearted, from the political arena. the writings of such a man could hardly fail, at any rate they do not fail, to give us many interesting glimpses into the political life both of the romans and the barbarians. it is true that they throw more light backwards than forwards, that they teach us far more about the constitution of the roman empire than they do about the teutonic customs from whence in due time feudalism was to be born. still, they do often illustrate these teutonic usages; and when we remember that the writer to whom after tacitus we are most deeply indebted for our knowledge of teutonic antiquity, jordanes, professedly compiled his ill-written pamphlet from the twelve books of the gothic history of cassiodorus, we see that indirectly his contribution to the history of the german factor in european civilisation is a most important one. thus then, as has been already said, cassiodorus stood on the confines of two worlds, the ancient and the modern; indeed it is a noteworthy fact that the very word _modernus_ occurs for the first time with any frequency in his writings. or, if the ever-shifting boundary between ancient and modern be drawn elsewhere than in the fifth and sixth centuries, at any rate it is safe to say, that he stood on the boundary of two worlds, the roman and the teutonic. [sidenote: also on the confines of politics and religion.] but the statesman who, after spending thirty years at the court of theodoric and his daughter, spent thirty-three years more in the monastery which he had himself erected at squillace, was a borderer in another sense than that already mentioned--a borderer between the two worlds of politics and religion; and in this capacity also, as the contemporary, perhaps the friend, certainly the imitator, of st. benedict, and in some respects the improver upon his method, cassiodorus largely helped to mould the destinies of mediaeval and therefore of modern europe. i shall now proceed to indicate the chief points in the life and career of cassiodorus. where, as is generally the case, our information comes from his own correspondence, i shall, to avoid repetition, not do much more than refer the reader to the passage in the following collection, where he will find the information given as nearly as may be in the words of the great minister himself. [sidenote: his ancestors.] the ancestors of cassiodorus for three generations, and their public employments, are enumerated for us in the letters (var. i. - ) which in the name of theodoric he wrote on his father's elevation to the patriciate. from these letters we learn that-- [sidenote: great grandfather.] ( ) cassiodorus, the writer's great grandfather, who held the rank of an illustris, defended the shores of sicily and bruttii from the incursions of the vandals. this was probably between and , and, as we may suppose, towards the end of the life of this statesman, to whom we may conjecturally assign a date from to . [sidenote: grandfather.] ( ) his son and namesake, the grandfather of our cassiodorus, was a tribune (a military rank nearly corresponding to our 'colonel') and notarius under valentinian iii. he enjoyed the friendship of the great aetius, and was sent with carpilio the son of that statesman on an embassy to attila, probably between the years and . in this embassy, according to his grandson, he exerted an extraordinary influence over the mind of the hunnish king. soon after this he retired to his native province of bruttii, where he passed the remainder of his days. we may probably fix the limits of his life from about to . [sidenote: father.] ( ) his son, the third cassiodorus, our author's father, served under odovacar (therefore between and ), as comes privatarum rerum and comes sacrarum largitionum. these two offices, one of which nominally involved the care of the domains of the sovereign and the other the regulation of his private charities, were in fact the two great financial offices of the empire and of the barbarian royalties which modelled their system upon it. upon the fall of the throne of odovacar, cassiodorus transferred his services to theodoric, at the beginning of whose reign he acted as governor (consularis[ ]) of sicily. in this capacity he showed much tact and skill, and thereby succeeded in reconciling the somewhat suspicious and intractable sicilians to the rule of their ostrogothic master. he next administered (as corrector[ ]) his own native province of 'bruttii et lucania[ ].' either in the year or soon after, he received from theodoric the highest mark of his confidence that the sovereign could bestow, being raised to the great place of praetorian praefect, which still conferred a semi-regal splendour upon its holder, and which possibly under a barbarian king may have involved yet more participation in the actual work of reigning than it had done under a roman emperor. [footnote : we get these titles from the notitia occidentis i.] [footnote : [see previous footnote.]] [footnote : on the authority of a letter of pope gelasius, 'philippo et cassiodoro,' usener fixes this governorship of bruttii between the years and (p. ).] the praefecture of this cassiodorus probably lasted three or four years, and at its close he received the high honour of the patriciate. we are not able to name the exact date of his retirement from office; but the important point for us is, that while he still held this splendid position his son was first introduced to public life. to that son's history we may now proceed, for we have no further information of importance as to the father's old age or death beyond the intimation (contained in var. iii. ) that theodoric invited him, apparently in vain, to leave his beloved bruttii and return to the court of ravenna. magnus aurelius cassiodorus senator was born at scyllacium (_squillace_) about the year . his name, his birthplace, and his year of birth will each require a short notice. [sidenote: name.] [sidenote: cassiodorus, or cassiodorius.] ( ) _name._ magnus (not marcus, as it has been sometimes incorrectly printed) is the author's praenomen. aurelius, the gentile name, connects him with a large gens, of which q. aurelius memmius symmachus was one of the most distinguished ornaments. as to the form of the cognomen there is a good deal of diversity of opinion, the majority of german scholars preferring cassiodor_i_us to cassiodorus. the argument in favour of the former spelling is derived from the fact that some of the mss. of his works (not apparently the majority) write the name with the termination _rius_, and that while it is easy to understand how from the genitive form _ri_ a nominative _rus_ might be wrongly inferred instead of the real nominative _rius_, it is not easy to see why the opposite mistake should be made, and _rius_ substituted for the genuine _rus_. the question will probably be decided one way or the other by the critical edition of the 'variae' which is to be published among the 'monumenta germaniae historica;' but in the meantime it may be remarked that the correct greek form of the name as shown by inscriptions appears to be cassiodo_rus_, and that in a poem of alcuin's[ ] occurs the line 'cassiodorus item chrysostomus atque johannes,' showing that the termination _rus_ was generally accepted as early as the eighth century. it is therefore to be hoped that this is the form which may finally prevail. [footnote : de pontificibus et sanctis ecclesiae eboracensis, p. of migne's second volume of alcuin's works. i owe this quotation to adolph franz.] [sidenote: senator.] senator, it is clear, was part of the original name of cassiodorus, and not a title acquired by sitting in the roman senate. it seems a curious custom to give a title of this kind to an infant as part of his name, but the well-known instance of patricius (st. patrick) shows that this was sometimes done, and there are other instances (collected by thorbecke, p. ) of this very title senator being used as a proper name. it is clear from jordanes (who calls the gothic history of cassiodorus 'duodecem senatoris volumina de origine actibusque getarum[ ]'), from pope vigilius (who speaks of 'religiosum virum filium nostrum senatorem[ ]'), from the titles of the letters written by cassiodorus[ ], and from his punning allusions to his own name and the love to the senate which it had prophetically expressed, that senator was a real name and not a title of honour. [footnote : preface to getica (mommsen's edition, p. ).] [footnote : epist. xiv. ad rusticum et sebastianum (migne, p. ).] [footnote : nearly all the letters in the xith and xiith books of the variae are headed 'senator praefectus praetorio.'] [sidenote: birthplace, scyllacium.] ( ) scyllacium, the modern squillace, was, according to cassiodorus, the first, either in age or in importance, of the cities of bruttii, a province which corresponds pretty closely with the modern calabria. it is situated at the head of the gulf to which it gives its name, on the eastern side of italy, and at the point where the peninsula is pinched in by the tyrrhene and ionian seas to a width of only fifteen miles, the narrowest dimensions to which it is anywhere reduced. the apennine chain comes here within a distance of about five miles of the sea, and upon one of its lower dependencies scyllacium was placed. the slight promontory in front of the town earned for it from the author of the aeneid the ominous name of 'navifragum scylaceum[ ].' in the description which cassiodorus himself gives of his birthplace (var. xii. ) we hear nothing of the danger to mariners which had attracted the attention of virgil, possibly a somewhat timid sailor. the name, however, given to the place by the greek colonists who founded it, _scylletium_, is thought by some to contain an allusion to dangers of the coast similar to those which were typified by the barking dogs of the not far distant scylla. [footnote : 'adtollit se diva lacinia contra, caulonisque arces, et navifragum scylaceum.' (iii. - .)] [sidenote: the greek city.] according to cassiodorus, this greek city was founded by ulysses after the destruction of troy. strabo[ ] attributes the foundation of it to the almost equally widespread energy of menestheus. the form of the name makes it probable that the colonists were in any case of ionian descent; but in historic times we find scylletion subject to the domineering achaian city of crotona, from whose grasp it was wrested (b.c. ) by the elder dionysius. it no doubt shared in the general decay of the towns of this part of magna graecia consequent on the wars of dionysius and agathocles, and may very probably, like crotona, have been taken and laid waste by the bruttian banditti in the second punic war. during the latter part of this war hannibal seems to have occupied a position near to, but not in, the already ruined city, and its port was known long after as castra hannibalis[ ]. [footnote : p. : ed. oxon. .] [footnote : pliny (hist. nat. iii. ) says: 'dein sinus scylacius et scyllacium, scylletium atheniensibus, cum conderent, dictum: quem locum occurrens terinaeus sinus peninsulam efficit: et in eâ portus qui vocatur castra annibalis, nusquam angustiore italia xx millia passuum latitudo est.'] [sidenote: the roman colony.] [ ]'a century before the end of the republic, a city much more considerable than that which had existed in the past was again established near the point where the greek scylletion had existed. among the colonies of roman citizens founded b.c. on the rogation of caius gracchus, was one sent to this part of bruttii, under the name of colonia minervia scolacium, a name parallel to those of colonia neptunia tarentum and colonia junonia karthago, decided on at the same time. _scolacium_ is the form that we meet with in velleius paterculus, and that is found in an extant latin inscription of the time of antoninus pius. this is the old latin form of the name of the town. _scylacium_, which first appears as used by the writers of the first century of our era, is a purely literary form springing from the desire to get nearer to the greek type _scylletion_. [footnote : i take the two following paragraphs from lenormant's la grande grèce, pp. - .] 'scolacium, or scylacium, a town purely roman by reason of the origin of its first colonists, was from its earliest days an important city, and remained such till the end of the empire. pomponius mela, strabo, pliny, and ptolemy speak of it as one of the principal cities of bruttii. it had for its port castra hannibalis. under nero its population was strengthened by a new settlement of veterans as colonists. the city then took the names of colonia minervia nervia augusta scolacium. we read these names in an inscription discovered in at , metres from the modern squillace, between that city and the sea--an inscription which mentions the construction of an aqueduct bringing water to scolacium, executed a.d. at the cost of the emperor antoninus.' [sidenote: appearance of the city at the time of cassiodorus.] for the appearance of this roman colony in the seventh century of its existence the reader is referred to the letter of cassiodorus before quoted (var. xii. ). the picture of the city, 'hanging like a cluster of grapes upon the hills, basking in the brightness of the sun all day long, yet cooled by the breezes from the sea, and looking at her leisure on the labours of the husbandman in the corn-fields, the vineyards, and the olive-groves around her,' is an attractive one, and shows that kind of appreciation of the gentler beauties of nature which befits a countryman of virgil. this picture, however, is not distinctive enough to enable us from it alone to fix the exact site of the roman city. lenormant (pp. - ), while carefully distinguishing between the sites of the greek scylletion and the latin scolacium, and assigning the former with much apparent probability to the neighbourhood of the promontory and the grotte di stalletti, has been probably too hasty in his assertion that the modern city of squillace incontestably covers the ground of the latin scolacium. mr. arthur j. evans, after making a much more careful survey of the place and its neighbourhood than the french archaeologist had leisure for, has come to the conclusion that in this identification m. lenormant is entirely wrong, and that the roman city was not at squillace, where there are no remains of earlier than mediaeval times, but at roccella del vescovo, five or six miles from squillace in a north-easterly direction, where there are such remains as can only have belonged to a roman provincial city of the first rank. for a further discussion of the question the reader is referred to the note (and accompanying map) at the end of this chapter. we pass on from considering the place of cassiodorus' birth to investigate the date of that event. [sidenote: date of birth.] ( ) the only positive statement that we possess as to the birth-year of cassiodorus comes from a very late and somewhat unsatisfactory source. john trittheim (or trithemius), abbot of the benedictine monastery of spanheim, who died in , was one of the ecclesiastical scholars of the renaissance period, and composed, besides a multitude of other books, a treatise 'de scriptoribus ecclesiasticis,' in which is found this notice of cassiodorus[ ]:-- 'claruit temporibus justini senioris usque ad imperii justini junioris paene finem, annos habens aetatis plus quam , anno domini .' [footnote : the reference is given by köpke (die anfänge des königthums, p. ) as 'de scr. ecc. bibliotheca ecclesiastica, ed. fabricius, p. ;' by thorbecke (p. ) as 'catalogus seu liber scriptorum ecclesiasticorum, coloniae , p. .' franz (p. ) quotes from the same edition as köpke, 'de script. eccl. c. in fabricii biblioth. eccl., hamburgi , iii. p. .'] this notice is certainly not one to which we should attach much importance if it contradicted earlier and trustworthy authorities, or if there were any internal evidence against it. but if this cannot be asserted, it is not desirable entirely to discard the assertion of a scholar who, in the age of the renaissance and before the havoc wrought among the monasteries of germany by the thirty years' war, may easily have had access to some sources which are now no longer available. when we examine the information which is thus given us, we find it certainly somewhat vague. 'cassiodorus was illustrious' (no doubt as a writer, since it is 'ecclesiastici scriptores' of whom trittheim is speaking) 'in the time of justin the elder [ - ] down nearly to the end of the reign of justin the younger [ - ], attaining to more than years of age in the year of our lord .' but on reflection we see that the meaning must be that cassiodorus died in (which agrees well with the words 'paene finem imperii justini junioris'), and that when he died he was some way on in his th year, or as we say colloquially 'ninety-five off.' the marvel of his attaining such an age is no doubt the reason for inserting the 'plus quam,' to show that he did not die immediately after his th birthday. if this notice be trustworthy, therefore, we may place the birth of cassiodorus in or . now upon examining all the facts in our possession as to his career as a statesman and an author, and especially our latest acquired information[ ], we find that they do in a remarkable manner agree with trittheim's date, while we have no positive statement by any author early or late which really conflicts with it. [footnote : the anecdoton holderi.] the only shadow of an argument that has been advanced for a different and earlier date is so thin that it is difficult to state without confuting it. in some editions of the works of cassiodorus there appears a very short anonymous tract on the method of determining easter, called 'computus paschalis,' and composed in . in the 'orthographia,' which was undoubtedly written by cassiodorus at the age of , and which contains a list of his previously published works, no mention is made of this 'computus.' it must therefore, say the supporters of the theory, have been written after he was . he must have been at least in , and the year of his birth must be put back at least to . in this argument there are two absolutely worthless links. there is no evidence to show that the 'computus paschalis' came from the pen of cassiodorus at all, but much reason to think that pithoeus, the editor who first published it under his name, was mistaken in doing so. and if it were his, a little memorandum like this--only two pages long, and with no literary pretension whatever--we may almost say with certainty would _not_ be included by the veteran author in the enumeration of his theological works prefixed to his 'orthographia.' the reason why a theory founded on such an absurdly weak basis has held its ground at all, has probably been that it buttressed up another obvious fallacy. a whole school of biographers of cassiodorus and commentators on his works has persisted, in spite of the plainest evidence of his letters, in identifying him with his father, who bore office under odovacar ( - ). to do this it was necessary to get rid of the date for the birth of cassiodorus senator, and to throw back that event as far as possible. and yet, not even by pushing it back to , do they make it reasonably probable that a person, who was only a child of eight years old at odovacar's accession, could in the course of his short reign (the last four years of which were filled by his struggle with theodoric) have held the various high offices which were really held during that reign by the father of senator. we assume therefore with some confidence the year as the approximate date of the birth of our author; and while we observe that this date fits well with those which the course of history induces us to assign to his ancestors in the three preceding generations[ ], we also note with interest that it was, as nearly as we can ascertain, the year of the birth of two of the most distinguished contemporaries of cassiodorus--boethius and benedict. [footnote : cassiodorus the first, born about ; the second, about ; the third, about .] [sidenote: education of cassiodorus.] of the training and education of the young senator we can only speak from their evident results as displayed in the 'variae,' to which the reader is accordingly referred. it may be remarked, however, that though he evidently received the usual instruction in philosophy and rhetoric which was given to a young roman noble aspiring to employment in the civil service, there are some indications that the bent of his own genius was towards natural history, strange and often laughable as are the facts or fictions which this taste of his has caused him to accumulate. [sidenote: consiliarius to his father.] in the year [ ], when senator had just attained the age of twenty, his father, as we have already seen, received from theodoric the high office of praetorian praefect. as a general might make an _aide-de-camp_ of his son, so the praefect conferred upon the young senator the post of _consiliarius_, or assessor in his court[ ]. the consiliarius[ ] had been in the time of the republic an experienced jurist who sat beside the praetor or the consul (who might be a man quite unversed in the law) and advised him as to his judgments. from the time of severus onwards he became a paid functionary of the court, receiving a salary which varied from to solidi (£ to £ ). at the time which we are now describing it was customary for the judge to choose his consiliarius from among the ranks of young jurists who had just completed their studies. the great legal school of berytus especially furnished a large number of consiliarii to the roman governors. in order to prevent an officer in this position from obtaining an undue influence over the mind of his principal, the latter was forbidden by law to keep a consiliarius, who was a native of the province in which he was administering justice, more than four months in his employ[ ]. this provision, of course, would not apply when the young assessor, as in the case of cassiodorus, came with his father from a distant province: and in such a case, if the magistrate died during his year of office, by a special enactment the fairly-earned pay of the assessor was protected from unjust demands on the part of the exchequer[ ]. the functions thus exercised by senator in his father's court at rome, and the title which he bore, were somewhat similar to those which procopius held in the camp of belisarius, but doubtless required a more thorough legal training. in our own system, if we could imagine the judge's marshal invested with the responsibilities of a registrar of the court, we should perhaps get a pretty fair idea of the position and duties of a roman consiliarius[ ]. [footnote : or possibly .] [footnote : this fact, and also the cause of senator's promotion to the quaestorship, we learn from the anecdoton holderi described in a following chapter.] [footnote : the terms adsessor, consiliarius, [greek: paredros], [greek: symboulos], seem all to indicate the same office.] [footnote : cod. theod. i. . .] [footnote : this seems to be the meaning of cod. theod. i. . . the gains of the 'filii familias assessores' were to be protected as if they were 'castrense peculium.'] [footnote : some points in this description are taken from bethmann hollweg, gerichtsverfassung der sinkenden römischen reichs, pp. - .] [sidenote: panegyric on theodoric.] [sidenote: appointed quaestor.] it was while cassiodorus was holding this agreeable but not important position, that the opportunity came to him, by his dexterous use of which he sprang at one bound into the foremost ranks of the official hierarchy. on some public occasion it fell to his lot to deliver an oration in praise of theodoric[ ], and he did this with such admirable eloquence--admirable according to the depraved taste of the time--that theodoric at once bestowed upon the orator, still in the first dawn of manhood[ ], the 'illustrious' office of quaestor, giving him thereby what we should call cabinet-rank, and placing him among the ten or eleven ministers of the highest class[ ], by whom, under the king, the fortunes of the gothic-roman state were absolutely controlled. [footnote : 'cassiodorus senator ... juvenis adeo, dum patris cassiodori patricii et praefecti praetorii consiliarius fieret et laudes theodorichi regis gothorum facundissime recitasset, ab eo quaestor est factus' (anecdoton holderi, ap. usener, p. ).] [footnote : he himself says, or rather makes theodoric's grandson say to him, 'quem _primaevum_ recipiens ad quaestoris officium, mox reperit [theodoricus] conscientiâ praeditum, et legum eruditione maturum' (var. ix. ).] [footnote : at this time the illustres actually in office would probably be the praefectus praetorio italiae (cassiodorus the father), the praefectus urbis romae, the two magistri militum in praesenti, the praepositus sacri cubiculi, the magister officiorum, the quaestor, the comes sacrarum largitionum, the comes rerum privatarum, and the two comites domesticorum equitum et peditum.] [sidenote: nature of the quaestor's office.] the quaestor's duty required him to be beyond all other ministers the mouthpiece of the sovereign. in the 'notitia[ ]' the matters under his control are concisely stated to be 'laws which are to be dictated, and petitions.' [footnote : 'sub dispositione viri illustris quaestoris leges dictandae preces. officium non habet sed adjutores de scriniis quos voluerit.'] to him therefore was assigned the duty (which the british parliament in its folly assigns to no one) of giving a final revision to the laws which received the sovereign's signature, and seeing that they were consistent with one another and with previous enactments, and were clothed in fitting language. he replied in the sovereign's name to the petitions which were presented to him. he also, as we learn from cassiodorus, had audience with the ambassadors of foreign powers, to whom he addressed suitable and stately harangues, or through whom he forwarded written replies to the letters which they had brought, but always of course speaking or writing in the name of his master. in the performance of these duties he had chiefly to rely on his own intellectual resources as a trained jurist and rhetorician. the large official staff which waited upon the nod of the other great ministers of state was absent from his apartments[ ]; but for the mere manual work of copying, filing correspondence, and the like, he could summon the needful number of clerks from the four great bureaux (scrinia) which were under the control of the master of the offices. [footnote : officium non habet.] we have an interesting summary of the quaestor's duties and privileges from the pen of cassiodorus himself in the 'variae' (vi. ), under the title 'formula quaesturae,' and to this document i refer the reader who wishes to complete the picture of the occupations in which the busiest years of the life of cassiodorus were passed. [sidenote: special utility of a quaestor to theodoric.] to a ruler in theodoric's position the acquisition of such a quaestor as cassiodorus was a most fortunate event. he himself was doubtless unable to speak or to write latin with fluency. according to the common story, which passes current on the authority of the 'anonymus valesii,' he never could learn to write, and had to 'stencil' his signature. i look upon this story with some suspicion, especially because it is also told of his contemporary, the emperor justin; but i have no doubt that such literary education as theodoric ever received was greek rather than latin, being imparted during the ten years of his residence as a hostage at constantinople. years of marches and countermarches, of battle and foray, at the head of his ostrogothic warriors, may well have effaced much of the knowledge thus acquired. at any rate, when he descended the julian alps, close upon forty years of age, and appeared for the first time in italy to commence his long and terrible duel with odovacar, it was too late to learn the language of her sons in such fashion that the first sentence spoken by him in the hall of audience should not betray him to his new subjects as an alien and a barbarian. yet theodoric was by no means indifferent to the power of well-spoken words, by no means unconcerned as to the opinion which his latin-speaking subjects held concerning him. he was no cambyses or timour, ruling by the sword alone. his proud title was 'gothorum romanorumque rex,' and the ideal of his hopes, successfully realised during the greater part of his long and tranquil reign, was to be equally the king of either people. he had been fortunate thus far in his praetorian praefects. liberius, a man of whom history knows too little, had amid general applause steered the vessel of the state for the first seven years of the new reign. the elder cassiodorus, who had succeeded him, seemed likely to follow the same course. but possibly theodoric had begun to feel the necessity laid upon all rulers of men, not only to be, but also to seem, anxious for the welfare of their subjects. possibly some dull, unsympathetic quaestor had failed to present the generous thoughts of the king in a sufficiently attractive shape to the minds of the people. this much at all events we know, that when the young consiliarius, high-born, fluent, and learned, poured forth his stream of panegyric on 'our lord theodoric'--a panegyric which, to an extent unusual with these orations, reflected the real feelings of the speaker, and all the finest passages of which were the genuine outcome of his own enthusiasm--the great ostrogoth recognised at once the man whom he was in want of to be the exponent of his thoughts to the people, and by one stroke of wise audacity turned the boyish and comparatively obscure assessor into the illustrious quaestor, one of the great personages of his realm. [sidenote: composition of the variae.] [sidenote: their style.] the monument of the official life of cassiodorus is the correspondence styled the 'variae,' of which an abstract is now submitted to the reader. there is no need to say much here, either as to the style or the thoughts of these letters; a perusal of a few pages of the abstract will give a better idea of both than an elaborate description. the style is undoubtedly a bad one, whether it be compared with the great works of greek and latin literature or with our own estimate of excellence in speech. scarcely ever do we find a thought clothed in clear, precise, closely-fitting words, or a metaphor which really corresponds to the abstract idea that is represented by it. we take up sentence after sentence of verbose and flaccid latin, analyse them with difficulty, and when at last we come to the central thought enshrouded in them, we too often find that it is the merest and most obvious commonplace, a piece of tinsel wrapped in endless folds of tissue paper. perhaps from one point of view the study of the style of cassiodorus might prove useful to a writer of english, as indicating the faults which he has in this age most carefully to avoid. over and over again, when reading newspaper articles full of pompous words borrowed from latin through french, when wearied with 'velleities' and 'solidarities' and 'altruisms' and 'homologators,' or when vainly endeavouring to discover the real meaning which lies hidden in a jungle of parliamentary verbiage, i have said to myself, remembering my similar labour upon the 'variae,' 'how like this is to cassiodorus.' [sidenote: lack of humour.] [sidenote: the letter about the sucking-fish.] intellectually one of the chief deficiencies of our author--a deficiency in which perhaps his age and nation participated--was a lack of humour. it is difficult to think that anyone who possessed a keen sense of humour could have written letters so drolly unsuited to the character of theodoric, their supposed author, as are some which we find in the 'variae.' for instance, the king had reason to complain that faustus, the praetorian praefect, was dawdling over the execution of an order which he had received for the shipment of corn from the regions of calabria and apulia to rome. we find the literary quaestor putting such words as these into the mouth of theodoric, when reprimanding the lazy official[ ]: 'why is there such great delay in sending your swift ships to traverse the tranquil seas? though the south wind blows and the rowers are bending to their oars, has the sucking-fish[ ] fixed its teeth into the hulls through the liquid waves; or have the shells of the indian sea, whose quiet touch is said to hold so firmly that the angry billows cannot loosen it, with like power fixed their lips into your keels? idle stands the bark though winged by swelling sails; the wind favours her but she makes no way; she is fixed without an anchor, she is bound without a cable; and these tiny animals hinder more than all such prospering circumstances can help. thus, though the loyal wave may be hastening its course, we are informed that the ship stands fixed on the surface of the sea, and by a strange paradox the swimmer [the ship] is made to remain immovable while the wave is hurried along by movements numberless. or, to describe the nature of another kind of fish, perchance the sailors in the aforesaid ships have grown dull and torpid by the touch of the torpedo, by which such a deadly chill is struck into the right hand of him who attacks it, that even through the spear by which it is itself wounded, it gives a shock which causes the hand of the striker to remain, though still a living substance, senseless and immovable. i think some such misfortunes as these must have happened to men who are unable to move their own bodies. but i know that in their case the echeneis is corruption trading on delays; the bite of the indian shell-fish is insatiable cupidity; the torpedo is fraudulent pretence. with perverted ingenuity they manufacture delays that they may seem to have met with a run of ill-luck. wherefore let your greatness, whom it specially concerns to look after such men as these, by a speedy rebuke bring them to a better mind. else the famine which we fear, will be imputed not to the barrenness of the times but to official negligence, whose true child it will manifestly appear.' [footnote : var. i. .] [footnote : echeneis.] it is not likely that theodoric ever read a letter like this before affixing to it his (perhaps stencilled) signature. if he did, he must surely have smiled to see his few angry teutonic words transmuted into this wonderful rhapsody about sucking-fishes and torpedoes and shell-fish in the indian sea. [sidenote: character of cassiodorus.] the french proverb 'le style c'est l'homme,' is not altogether true as to the character of cassiodorus. from his inflated and tawdry style we might have expected to find him an untrustworthy friend and an inefficient administrator. this, however, was not the case. as was before said, his character was not heroic; he was, perhaps, inclined to humble himself unduly before mere power and rank, and he had the fault, common to most rhetoricians, of over-estimating the power of words and thinking that a few fluent platitudes would heal inveterate discords and hide disastrous blunders. but when we have said this we have said the worst. he was, as far as we have any means of judging, a loyal subject, a faithful friend, a strenuous and successful administrator, and an exceptionally far-sighted statesman. his right to this last designation rests upon the part which he bore in the establishment of the italian kingdom 'of the goths and romans,' founded by the great theodoric. [sidenote: his work in seconding the policy of theodoric.] theodoric, it must always be remembered, had entered italy not ostensibly as an invader but as a deliverer. he came in pursuance of a compact with the legitimate emperor of the new rome, to deliver the elder rome and the land of italy from the dominion of 'the upstart king of rugians and turcilingians[ ],' odovacar. the compact, it is true, was loose and indefinite, and contained within itself the germs of that misunderstanding which, forty-seven years later, was developed into a terrible war. still, for the present, theodoric, king of the ostrogoths, was also in some undefined way legitimate representative of the old roman empire within the borders of italy. this double aspect of his rule was illustrated by that which (rather than the doubtful rex italiae) seems to have been his favourite title, 'gothorum romanorumque rex.' [footnote : jordanes, de rebus geticis, lvii.] [sidenote: theodoric's love of _civilitas_.] the great need of italy was peace. after a century of wars and rumours of wars; after alaric, attila, and gaiseric had wasted her fields or sacked her capital; after she had been exhausting her strength in hopeless efforts to preserve the dominion of gaul, spain, and africa; after she had groaned under the exactions of the insolent _foederati_, roman soldiers only in name, who followed the standards of ricimer or odovacar, she needed peace and to be governed with a strong hand, in order to recover some small part of her old material prosperity. these two blessings, peace and a strong government, theodoric's rule ensured to her. the theory of his government was this, that the two nations should dwell side by side, not fused into one, not subject either to the other, but the romans labouring at the arts of peace, the goths wielding for their defence the sword of war. over all was to be the strong hand of the king of goths and romans, repressing the violence of the one nation, correcting the chicanery of the other, and from one and all exacting the strict observance of that which was the object of his daily and nightly cares, civilitas. of this civilitas--which we may sometimes translate 'good order,' sometimes 'civilisation,' sometimes 'the character of a law-abiding citizen,' but which no english word or phrase fully expresses--the reader of the following letters will hear, even to weariness. but though we may be tired of the phrase, we ought none the less to remember that the thing was that which italy stood most in need of, that it was secured for her during forty years by the labours of theodoric and cassiodorus, and that happiness, such as she knew not again for many centuries, was the result. [sidenote: foresight of cassiodorus in aiding this policy.] but the theory of a warrior caste of goths and a trading and labouring caste of romans was not flattering to the national vanity of a people who, though they had lost all relish for fighting, could not forget the great deeds of their forefathers. this was no doubt the weak point of the new state-system, though one cannot say that it is a weakness which need have been fatal if time enough had been given for the working out of the great experiment, and for roman and goth to become in italy, as they did become in spain, one people. the grounds upon which the praise of far-seeing statesmanship may be claimed for cassiodorus are, that notwithstanding the bitter taste which it must have had in his mouth, as in the mouth of every educated roman, he perceived that here was the best medicine for the ills of italy. all attempts to conjure with the great name of the roman empire could only end in subjection to the really alien rule of byzantium. all attempts to rouse the religious passions of the catholic against the heretical intruders were likely to benefit the catholic but savage frank. the cruel sufferings of the italians at the hands of the heruli of belisarius and from the ravages of the alamannic brethren are sufficient justification of the soundness of cassiodorus' view that theodoric's state-system was the one point of hope for italy. [sidenote: his religious tolerance.] allusion has been made in the last paragraph to the religious differences which divided the goths from the italians. it is well known that theodoric was an arian, but an arian of the most tolerant type, quite unlike the bitter persecutors who reigned at toulouse and at carthage. during the last few years of his reign, indeed, when his mind was perhaps in some degree failing, he was tempted by the persecuting policy of the emperor justin into retaliatory measures of persecution towards his catholic subjects, but as a rule his policy was eminently fair and even-handed towards the professors of the two hostile creeds, and even towards the generally proscribed nation of the jews. so conspicuous to all the world was his desire to hold the balance perfectly even between the two communions, that it was said of him that he beheaded an orthodox deacon who was singularly dear to him, because he had professed the arian faith in order to win his favour. but this story, though told by a nearly contemporary writer[ ], is, it may be hoped, mere saga. [footnote : theodorus lector (circa ), eccl. hist. ii. . both he and some later writers who borrow from him call the king [greek: theoderichos ho aphros]; why, it is impossible to say.] [sidenote: this did not proceed from indifference.] the point which we may note is, that this policy of toleration or rather of absolute fairness between warring creeds, though not initiated by cassiodorus, seems to have thoroughly commended itself to his reason and conscience. it is from his pen that we get those golden words which may well atone for many platitudes and some ill-judged display of learning: _religionem imperare non possumus, quia nemo cogitur ut credat invitus_[ ]. and this tolerant temper of mind is the more to be commended, because it did not proceed from any indifference on his part to the subjects of religious controversy. cassiodorus was evidently a devout and loyal catholic. much the larger part of his writings is of a theological character, and the thirty-five years of his life which he passed in a monastery were evidently 'bound each to each in natural piety' with the earlier years passed at court and in the council-chamber. [footnote : var. ii. .] [sidenote: date of the commencement of the variae.] we cannot trace as we should like to do the precise limits of time by which the official career of cassiodorus was bounded. the 'various letters' are evidently not arranged in strict chronological order, and to but few of them is it possible to affix an exact date. there are two or three, however, which require especial notice, because some authors have assigned them to a date previous to that at which, as i believe, the author entered the service of the emperor. [sidenote: letter to anastasius.] the first letter of the whole series is addressed to the emperor anastasius. it has been sometimes connected with the embassy of faustus in , or with that of festus in , to the court of constantinople, the latter of which embassies resulted in the transmission to theodoric of 'the ornaments of the palace' (that is probably the regal insignia) which odovacar had surrendered to zeno. but the language of the letter in question, which speaks of 'causas iracundiae,' does not harmonise well with either of these dates, since there was then, as far as we know, no quarrel between ravenna and constantinople. on the other hand, it would fit perfectly with the state of feeling between the two courts in , after sabinian the general of anastasius had been defeated by the troops of theodoric under pitzias at the battle of horrea margi; or in , when the byzantine ships had made a raid on apulia and plundered tarentum. to one of these dates it should probably be referred, its place at the beginning of the collection being due to the exalted rank of the receiver of the letter, not to considerations of chronology. [sidenote: letters to clovis.] the fortieth and forty-first letters of the second book relate to the sending of a harper to clovis, or, as cassiodorus calls him, luduin, king of the franks. in the earlier letter boethius is directed to procure such a harper (citharoedus), and to see that he is a first-rate performer. in the later, theodoric congratulates his royal brother-in-law on his victory over the alamanni, adjures him not to pursue the panic-stricken fugitives who have taken refuge within the ostrogothic territory, and sends ambassadors to introduce the harper whom boethius has provided. it used to be thought that these letters must be referred to , the year of the celebrated victory of clovis over the alamanni, commonly, but incorrectly, called the battle of tulbiacum. but this was a most improbable theory, for it was difficult to understand how a boy of sixteen (and that was the age of boethius in ) should have attained such eminence as a musical connoisseur as to be entrusted with the task of selecting the citharoedus. and in a very recent monograph[ ] herr von schubert has shown, i think convincingly, that the last victory of clovis over the alamanni, and their migration to raetia within the borders of theodoric's territory, occurred not in but a few years later, probably about or . it is true that gregory of tours (to whom the earlier battle is all-important, as being the event which brought about the conversion of clovis) says nothing about this later campaign; but to those who know the fragmentary and incomplete character of this part of his history, such an omission will not appear an important argument. [footnote : die uterwerfung der alamannen: strassburg, .] [sidenote: letters to gaulish princes.] the letters written in theodoric's name to clovis, to alaric ii, to gundobad of burgundy, and to other princes, in order to prevent the outbreak of a war between the visigoths and the franks, have been by some authors[ ] assigned to a date some years before the war actually broke out; but though this cannot, perhaps, be disproved, it seems to me much more probable that they were written in the early part of on the eve of the war between clovis and alaric, which they were powerless to avert. [footnote : especially binding, geschichte des burgundisch-romanischen königreichs, p. .] [sidenote: duration of cassiodorus' office.] more difficult than the question of the beginning of the quaestorship of cassiodorus is that of its duration and its close. it was an office which was in its nature an annual one. at the commencement of each fresh year 'of the indiction,' that is on the first of september of the calendar year, a quaestor was appointed; but there does not seem to have been anything to prevent the previous holder of the office from being re-appointed. in the case of cassiodorus, the quaestor after theodoric's own heart, his intimate friend and counsellor, this may have been done for several years running, or he may have apparently retired from office for a year and then resumed it. it is clear, that whether in or out of office he had always, as the king's friend, a large share in the direction of state affairs. he himself says, in a letter supposed to be addressed to himself after the death of theodoric[ ]: 'non enim proprios fines sub te _ulla dignitas_ custodivit;' and that this was the fact we cannot doubt. whatever his nominal dignity might be, or if for the moment he possessed no ostensible office at all, he was still virtually what we should call the prime minister of the ostrogothic king[ ]. [footnote : ix. .] [footnote : thorbecke has pointed out (pp. - ) that we possess letters written by cassiodorus to four quaestors before the year , and that therefore the fact of others holding the nominal office of quaestor did not circumscribe his activity as secretary to theodoric.] [sidenote: consulship of cassiodorus, .] in the year he received an honour which, notwithstanding that it was utterly divorced from all real authority, was still one of the highest objects of the ambition of every roman noble: he was hailed as consul ordinarius, and gave his name to the year. for some reason which is not stated, possibly because the city of constantinople was in that year menaced by the insurrection of vitalian, no colleague in the east was nominated to share his dignity; and the entry in the consular calendars is therefore 'senatore solo consule.' in his own chronicle, cassiodorus adds the words,'me etiam consule in vestrorum laude temporum, adunato clero vel [= et] populo, romanae ecclesiae rediit optata concordia.' this sentence no doubt relates to the dissensions which had agitated the roman church ever since the contested papal election of symmachus and laurentius in the year . victory had been assured to symmachus by the synod of , but evidently the feelings of hatred then aroused had still smouldered on, especially perhaps among the senators and high nobles of rome, who had for the most part adopted the candidature of laurentius. now, on the death of symmachus (july , ) the last embers of the controversy were extinguished, and the genial influence of cassiodorus, senator by name and consul by office, was successfully exerted to induce nobles, clergy, and people to unite in electing a new pope. after eight days hormisdas the campanian sat in the chair of st. peter, an undoubted pontiff. [sidenote: deference to the roman senate.] not only in maintaining the dignity of the consulship, but also in treating the roman senate with every outward show of deference and respect, did the ostrogothic king follow and even improve upon the example of the roman emperors. the student of the following letters will observe the tone of deep respect which is almost always adopted towards the senate; how every nomination of importance to an official post is communicated to them, almost as if their suffrages were solicited for the new candidate; what a show is made of consulting them in reference to peace and war; and what a reality there seems to be in the appeals made to their loyalty to the new king after the death of theodoric. in all this, as in the whole relation of the empire to the senate during the five centuries of their joint existence, it is difficult to say where well-acted courtesy ended, and where the desire to secure such legal power as yet remained to a venerable assembly began. perhaps when we remember that for many glorious centuries the senate had been the real ruler of the roman state, we may assert that the attitude and the language of the successors of augustus towards the conscript fathers were similar to those used by a modern house of commons towards the crown, only that in the one case the individual supplanted the assembly, in the other the assembly supplanted the individual. but whatever the exact relations between king and senate may have been, and though occasionally the former found it necessary to rebuke the latter pretty sharply for conduct unbecoming their high position, there can be no doubt that the general intention of theodoric was to soothe the wounded pride and flatter the vanity of the roman senators by every means in his power: and for this purpose no one could be so well fitted as cassiodorus, senator by name and by office, descendant of many generations of roman nobles, and master of such exuberant rhetoric that it was difficult then, as it is often impossible now, to extract any definite meaning from his sonorous periods. [sidenote: cassiodorus patrician.] it was possibly upon his laying down the consulship, that cassiodorus received the dignity of patrician--a dignity only, for in itself it seems to have conferred neither wealth nor power. yet a title which had been borne by ricimer, odovacar, and theodoric himself might well excite the ambition of theodoric's subject. if our conjecture be correct that it was conferred upon cassiodorus in the year , he received it at an earlier age than his father, to whom only about ten or eleven years before he had written the letter announcing his elevation to this high dignity. [sidenote: the chronicon.] five years after his consulate, cassiodorus undertook a little piece of literary labour which he does not appear to have held in high account himself (since he does not include it in the list of his works), and which has certainly added but little to his fame. this was his 'chronicon,' containing an abstract of the history of the world from the deluge down to a.d. , the year of the consulship of the emperor justin, and of theodoric's son-in-law eutharic. this chronicle is for the most part founded upon, or rather copied from, the well-known works of eusebius and prosper, the copying being unfortunately not correctly done. more than this, cassiodorus has attempted with little judgment to combine the mode of reckoning by consular years and by years of emperors. as he is generally two or three years out in his reckoning of the former, this proceeding has the curious result of persistently throwing some consulships of the reigning emperor into the reign of his predecessor.[ ] thus probus is consul for two years under aurelian, and for one year under tacitus; both the two consulships of carus and the first of diocletian are under probus, while diocletian's second consulship is under carinus and numerianus; and so forth. it is wonderful that so intelligent a person as cassiodorus did not see that combinations of this kind were false upon the face of them. [footnote : it need hardly be explained that, as a matter of compliment to the reigning emperor, the first consulship that fell vacant after his accession to the throne was (i believe invariably) filled by him, and that though he might sometimes have held the office of consul before his assumption of the diadem, this was not often the case. certainly, in the instances given above, probus, carus, and diocletian held no consulships till after they had been saluted as emperors.] when the chronicle gets nearer to the compiler's own times it becomes slightly more interesting, but also slightly less fair. throughout the fourth century a few little remarks are interspersed in the dry list of names and dates, the general tendency of which is to praise up the gothic nation or to extenuate their faults and reverses. the battle of pollentia ( [ ]) is unhesitatingly claimed as a gothic victory; the clemency of alaric at the capture of rome ( ) is magnified; the valour of the goths is made the cause of the defeat of attila in the catalaunian plains ( ); the name of gothic eutharic is put before that of byzantine justin in the consular list; and so forth. upon the whole, as has been already said, the work cannot be considered as adding to the reputation of its author; nor can it be defended from the terrible attack which has been made upon it by that scholar of our own day whose opinion upon such a subject stands the highest, theodor mommsen[ ]. only, when he makes this unfortunate chronicle reflect suspicion on the other works of cassiodorus, and especially on the gothic history[ ], the german scholar seems to me to chastise the busy minister more harshly than he deserves. [footnote : clinton's date for this battle, , differs from that assigned by cassiodorus, and is, in my judgment, erroneous.] [footnote : abhandlungen der philologisch-historischen klasse der königlich sächsischen gesellschaft der wissenschaften, iii. - .] [footnote : 'dass die ganze procedur von der übelsten art ist und den viel gefeierten gothischen historiker in jeder weise compromittirt, bedarf keiner ausaneindersetzung' (l.c. ).] [sidenote: the gothic history.] i have just alluded to the gothic history of cassiodorus. it was apparently shortly after the composition of his chronicle[ ] that this, in some respects his most important work, was compiled and arranged according to his accustomed habit in twelve books. his own estimate--and it is not a low one--of the value of this performance is expressed in a letter which he makes his young sovereign athalaric address to the senate on his promotion to the praefecture[ ]: 'he extended his labours even to our remote ancestry, learning by his reading that which scarcely the hoar memories of our forefathers retained. he drew forth from their hiding-place the kings of the goths, hidden by long forgetfulness. he restored the amals to their proper place with the lustre of his own[ ] lineage (?), evidently proving that up to the seventeenth generation we have had kings for our ancestors. he made the origin of the goths a part of roman history, collecting as it were into one wreath all the flowery growth which had before been scattered through the plains of many books. consider therefore what love he showed to you [the senate] in praising us, he who showed that the nation of your sovereign had been from antiquity a marvellous people; so that ye, who from the days of your forefathers have ever been deemed noble, are yet ruled over by the ancient progeny of kings[ ].' [footnote : it could not have been written, at any rate in its present shape, before , because athalaric's birth is mentioned in it. i prefer jordanes' date for this event, or , to that given by procopius, . on the other hand, usener proves (p. ), from the reference to it in the anecdoton holderi, that it could not have been written after .] [footnote : var. ix. .] [footnote : 'iste amalos cum generis _sui_ claritate restituit.' perhaps it is better to take 'sui' as equivalent to 'illorum,' and translate 'their lineage.'] [footnote : 'ut sicut fuistis a majoribus vestris semper nobiles aestimati, ita vobis rerum antiqua progenies imperaret.' for 'rerum' we must surely read 'regum.'] [sidenote: its purpose.] in reading this estimate by cassiodorus of his own performance, we can see at once that it lacked that first of all conditions precedent for the attainment of absolute historic truth, complete impartiality[ ]. like hume and like macaulay cassiodorus wrote his history with a purpose. we may describe that purpose as two-fold: [footnote : my meaning would be better expressed by the useful german word 'voraussetzungslosigkeit,' freedom from a foregone conclusion.] ( ) to vindicate the claim of the goths to rank among the historic nations of antiquity by bringing them into some sort of connection with greece and rome ('originem gothicam historiam fecit esse romanam'); and ( ) among the goths, to exalt as highly as possible the family of the amals, that family from which theodoric had sprung, and to string as many regal names as possible upon the amal chain ('evidenter ostendens in decimam septimam progeniem stirpem nos habere regalem'). i have said that the possession of a purpose like this is unfavourable to the attainment of absolute historic truth; but the aim which cassiodorus proposed to himself was a lofty one, being in fact the reconciliation of the past and the future of the world by showing to the outworn latin race that the new blood which was being poured into it by the northern nations came, like its own, from a noble ancestry: and, for us, the labour to which it stimulated him has been full of profit, since to it we owe something like one half of our knowledge of the teutonic ancestors of modern europe. [sidenote: confusion between goths and getae.] the much-desired object of 'making the origin of gothic history roman' was effected chiefly by attributing to the goths all that cassiodorus found written in classic authors concerning the getae or the scythians. the confusion between goths and getae, though modern ethnologists are nearly unanimous in pronouncing it to be a confusion between two utterly different nations, is not one for which cassiodorus is responsible, since it had been made at least a hundred years before his time. when the emperor claudius ii won his great victories over the goths in the middle of the third century, he was hailed rightly enough by the surname of _gothicus_; but when at the beginning of the fifth century the feeble emperors arcadius and honorius wished to celebrate a victory which, as they vainly hoped, had effectually broken the power of the goths, the words which they inscribed upon the arch of triumph were 'quod _getarum_ nationem in omne aevum docuere extingui.' in the poems of claudian, and generally in all the contemporary literature of the time, the regular word for the countrymen of alaric is getae. [sidenote: the term scythian.] the greek historians, on the other hand, freely applied the general term scythian--as they had done at any time since the scythian campaign of darius hystaspis--to any barbarian nation living beyond the danube and the cimmerian bosporus. with these two clues, or imaginary clues, in his hand, cassiodorus could traverse a considerable part of the border-land of classical antiquity. the battles between the scythians and the egyptians, the story of the amazons, telephus son of hercules and nephew of priam, the defeat of cyrus by tomyris, and the unsuccessful expedition of darius--all were connected with gothic history by means of that easily stretched word, scythia. then comes sitalces, king of thrace, who makes war on perdiccas of macedon; and then, 'in the time of sylla,' a certain wise philosopher-king of dacia, diceneus by name, in whose character and history cassiodorus perhaps outlined his own ideal of wisdom swaying brute force. with these and similar stories culled from classical authors cassiodorus appears to have filled up the interval--which was to him of absolutely uncertain duration--between the gothic migration from the baltic to the euxine and their appearance as conquerors and ravagers in the eastern half of the roman empire in the middle of the third century of the christian era. now, soothing as it may have been to the pride of a roman subject of theodoric to be informed that his master's ancestors had fought at the war of troy and humbled the pride of perdiccas, to a scientific historian these scytho-getic histories culled from herodotus and trogus are of little or no value, and his first step in the process of enquiry is to eliminate them from 'gothica historia,' thus making it, as far as he can, _not_ 'romana.' the question then arises whether there was another truly gothic element in the history of cassiodorus, and if so, what value can be attached to it. thus enquiring we soon find, both before and after this intrusive scytho-getic element, matter of quite a different kind, which has often much of the ring of the true teutonic _saga_. it is reasonable to believe that here cassiodorus, whose mission it was to reconcile roman and goth, and who could not have achieved this end by altering the history of the less civilised people out of all possibility of recognition by its own chieftains and warriors, has really interwoven in his work some part of the songs and sagas which were still current among the older men who had shared the wanderings of theodoric. this legendary portion, which cassiodorus himself perhaps half despised, as being gathered not from books but from the lips of rude minstrels, is in fact the only part of his work which has any scientific value. [sidenote: the amal pedigree.] in his glorification of the amal line, cassiodorus follows more closely these genuine national traditions than in his history of the gothic people. references to herodotus and trogus would have been here obviously out of place, and he accordingly puts before us a pedigree fashioned on the same model as those which we find in the saxon chronicle, and therefore probably genuine. by genuine of course is meant a pedigree which was really current and accepted among the people over whom theodoric ruled. how many of the links which form it represent real historical personages is a matter about which we may almost be said neither to know nor care. we see that it begins in the approved fashion with 'non puri homines sed semidei id est anses[ ],' and that the first of these half-divine ancestors is named _gaut_, evidently the eponymous hero of the gothic people. some of the later links--amal, ostrogotha, athal--have the same appearance of names coined to embody facts of the national consciousness. at the end of the genealogy appear the undoubtedly historical names of the immediate ancestors of theodoric. it is noteworthy that several, in fact the majority of the names of kings who figure in early gothic history, are not included in this genealogy. while this fact permits us to doubt whether cassiodorus has not exaggerated the pre-eminence of the amal race in early days, it must be admitted to be also an evidence of the good faith with which he preserved the national tradition on these points. had he been merely inventing, it would have been easy to include every name of a distinguished gothic king among the progenitors of his sovereign. [footnote : jordanes, de reb. get. xiii.] [sidenote: abstract by jordanes.] such then was the general purpose of the gothic history of cassiodorus. the book itself has perished--a tantalising loss when we consider how many treatises from the same pen have been preserved to us which we could well have spared. but we can speak, as will be seen from the preceding remarks, with considerable confidence as to its plan and purpose, because we possess in the well-known treatise of jordanes 'on the origin of the goths[ ]' an abbreviated copy, executed it is true by a very inferior hand, but still manifestly preserving some of the features of the original. it will not be necessary here to go into the difficult question as to the personality of this writer, which has been debated at considerable length and with much ingenuity by several german authors[ ]. it is enough to say that jordanes, who was, according to his own statement, 'agrammatus,' a man of gothic descent, a notary, and then a monk[ ], on the alleged request of his friend castalius, 'compressed the twelve books of senator, _de origine actibusque getarum_, bringing down the history from olden times to our own days by kings and generations, into one little pamphlet.' still, according to his statement, which there can be little doubt is here thoroughly false, he had the loan of the gothic history for only three days from the steward of cassiodorus, and wrote chiefly or entirely from his recollection of this hasty perusal[ ]. he says that he added some suitable passages from the greek and latin historians, but his own range of historical reading was evidently so narrow that we may fairly suspect these additions to have been of the slenderest possible dimensions. upon the whole, there can be little doubt that it is a safe rule to attribute everything that is good or passable in this little treatise to cassiodorus, and everything that is very bad, childish, and absurd in it to jordanes. [footnote : 'de rebus geticis,' or 'de gothorum origine,' is the name by which this little treatise is usually known. it seems to be doubtful, however, what title, if any, jordanes himself prefixed to it. mommsen calls it simply 'getica.'] [footnote : especially schirren, 'de ratione quae inter jordanem et cassiodorum intercedat' (dorpat, ); sybel, 'de fontibus libri jordanis' (berlin, ); and köpke, 'die anfänge des königthums bei den gothen' (berlin, ).] [footnote : _possibly_ in the end bishop of crotona, or a defensor of the roman church, since we find a jordanes in each of these positions; but this is mere guesswork, and to me neither theory seems probable.] [footnote : 'sed ut non mentiar, ad triduanam lectionem dispensatoris ejus beneficio libros ipsos antehac relegi.' notwithstanding the 'ut non mentiar,' most of those who have enquired into the subject have come to the opinion which is bluntly expressed by usener (p. ), 'die dreitägige frist die jordanes zur benutzung der bücher gehabt haben will, _ist natürlich schwindel_.' even by an expert précis-writer a loan of three months would be much more probably needed for the purpose indicated by jordanes than one of three days.] [sidenote: temporary retirement from official life (?).] the literary labours of cassiodorus, of which the gothic history was one of the fruits, were probably continued for two or three years after its completion[ ]. at least there is reason to believe that he was not actively engaged in the service of the state during those terrible years ( and ) in which the failing intellect of theodoric, goaded almost to madness by justin's persecution of his arian co-religionists, condescended to ignoble measures of retaliation, which brought him into collision with senate and pope, and in the end tarnished his fame by the judicial murder of boethius and symmachus. it was fortunate indeed for cassiodorus if he was during this time, perhaps because of his unwillingness to help the king to his own hurt, enjoying an interval of literary retirement at squillace. his honour must have suffered if he had abetted the intolerant policy of theodoric; his life might have been forfeit if he had openly opposed it. [footnote : this was probably at latest.] [sidenote: cassiodorus as master of the offices, .] whatever may have been the cause of the temporary obscuration of cassiodorus, he was soon again shining in all the splendour of official dignity; for when theodoric died, his old and trusted minister was holding--probably not for the first time in his official career[ ]--the great place of master of the offices. [footnote : the language of cassiodorus in var. ix. implies that he had held this office for a considerable time before the death of theodoric. usener thinks that he was made magister officiorum for the first time about the year .] the _magister officiorum_, whose relation to the other members of the cabinet of the sovereign was somewhat indefinite, and who was in fact constantly trying to enlarge the circle of his authority at their expense, was at the head of the civil service of the roman empire, and afterwards occupied a similar position in the ostrogothic state. it was said of him by the byzantine orator priscus (himself a man who had been engaged in important embassies), 'of all the counsels of the emperor the magister is a partaker, inasmuch as the messengers and interpreters and the soldiers employed on guard at the palace are ranged under him.' quite in harmony with this general statement are the more precise indications of the 'notitia.' there, 'under the disposition of the illustrious magister officiorum,' we find five _scholae_, which seem to have been composed of household troops[ ]. then comes the great schola of the _agentes in rebus_ and their deputies--a mighty army of 'king's messengers,' who swarmed through all the provinces of the empire, executing the orders of the sovereign, and earning gold and hatred from the helpless provincials among whom their errands lay. in addition to these the four great stationary bureaux--the scrinium memoriae, scrinium dispositionum, scrinium epistolarum, and scrinium libellorum--the offices whose duty it was to conduct the correspondence of the sovereign with foreign powers, and to answer the petitions of his own subjects, all owned the master of the offices as their head. moreover, the great arsenals (of which there were six in italy at concordia, verona, mantua, cremona, ticinum, and lucca) received their orders from the same official. an anomalous and too widely dispersed range of functions this seems according to our ideas, including something of the secretaryship for foreign affairs, something of the home secretaryship, and something of the war office and the horse guards. yet, as if this were not enough, there was also transferred to him from the office of the praetorian praefect the superintendence of the cursus publicus, that excellent institution by which facilities for intercourse were provided between the capital and the most distant provinces, relays of post-horses being kept at every town, available for use by those who bore properly signed 'letters of evection.' thus to the multifarious duties of the master of the offices was added in effect the duty of postmaster-general. it was found however in practice to be an inconvenient arrangement for the master of the offices to have the control of the services of the 'public horses,' while the praetorian praefect remained responsible for the supply of their food; and the charge of the _cursus publicus_ was accordingly retransferred--at any rate in the eastern empire--to the office of the praefect, though the letters of evection still required the counter-signature of the master[ ]. [footnote : they are 'scutariorum prima, secunda et tertia, armaturarum seniorum et gentilium seniorum' (notitia occidentis, cap. ix.).] [footnote : this is the account of the matter given by lydus (de magistratibus ii. ); but as the notitia (or. xi.) puts the 'curiosus cursus publici praesentalis' under the disposition of the magister officiorum, the retransfer had probably not then taken place. it would seem also from the formula of cassiodorus (var. vi. ) that in his time the magister officiorum still had the charge of the cursus publicus.] [sidenote: death of theodoric, aug. , .] such was the position of cassiodorus when, on the th of august, , by the death of theodoric, he lost the master whom he had served so long and so faithfully. the difficulties which beset the new reign are pretty clearly indicated in the letters which cassiodorus published in the name of the young king athalaric, theodoric's grandson, and which are to be found in the eighth book of the 'variae.' athalaric himself being only a boy of eight or ten years of age, supreme power was vested in his mother amalasuentha, with what title we are unable to say, but apparently not with that of queen. this princess, a woman of great and varied accomplishments, perhaps once a pupil, certainly a friend, of cassiodorus, ruled entirely in accordance with the maxims of his statesmanship, and endeavoured with female impulsiveness to carry into effect his darling scheme of romanising the goths. during the whole of her regency we may doubtless consider cassiodorus as virtually her prime minister, and the eight years which it occupied were without doubt that portion of his life in which he exercised the most direct and unquestioned influence on state affairs. [sidenote: services of cassiodorus to the regent amalasuentha.] his services at the commencement of the new reign will be best described in his own words: 'nostris quoque principiis[ ]' (the letter is written in athalaric's name) 'quanto se labore concessit, cum novitas regni multa posceret ordinari? erat solus ad universa sufficiens. ipsum dictatio publica, ipsum consilia nostra poscebant; et labore ejus actum est ne laboraret imperium. _reperimus eum quidem magistrum sed implevit nobis quaestoris officium_: et mercedes justissima devotione persolvens, cautelam, quam ab auctore nostro didicerat, libenter haeredis utilitatibus exhibebat[ ].' [footnote : variarum ix. .] [footnote : the meaning apparently is: 'the experience which he had gained in theodoric's service was employed for the advantage of his grandson.'] [sidenote: fears of invasion.] cassiodorus then goes on to describe how he laboured for his young sovereign with the sword as well as with the pen. some hostile invasion was dreaded, perhaps from the franks, or, more probably, from the vandals, whose relations with the ostrogoths at that time were strained, owing to the murder of theodoric's sister amalafrida by hilderic the vandal king. cassiodorus provided ships and equipped soldiers at his own expense, probably for the defence of his beloved province of bruttii. the alarm of war passed away, but difficulties appear to have arisen owing to the sudden cancellation of the contracts which had been entered into when hostilities seemed imminent; and to these difficulties cassiodorus tells us that he brought his trained experience as an administrator and a judge, resolving them so as to give satisfaction to all who were concerned. [sidenote: cassiodorus as praetorian praefect, .] seven years of amalasuentha's regency thus passed, and now at length, at fifty-three years of age, cassiodorus was promoted (sept. , ) to the most distinguished place which a subject could occupy. he received from amalasuentha the office of praetorian praefect. as thirty-three years had elapsed since his father was invested with the same dignity, we may fairly conjecture that father and son both climbed this eminence at the same period of their lives; yet, considering the extraordinary credit which the younger cassiodorus enjoyed at court, we might have expected that he would have been clothed with the praefecture before he attained the fifty-third year of his age. and, in fact, he hints in the letter composed by him, in which he informs himself of his own elevation[ ], that that elevation had been somewhat too long delayed, though the reason which he alleges for the delay (namely, that the people might greet the new praefect the more heartily[ ]) is upon the face of it not the true cause. [footnote : var. ix. .] [footnote : 'diutius quidem differendo pro te cunctorum vota lassavimus, ut benevolentiam in te probaremus generalitatis, et cunctis desiderabilior advenires.'] [sidenote: office of the praetorian praefect.] the majesty of the praetorian praefect's office is fully dwelt upon and its functions described in a letter in the following collection[ ], to which the reader is referred. originally only the chief officer of those praetorian troops in rome by whom the emperor was guarded, until, as was so often the case, he was in some fit of petulance by the same pampered sentinels dethroned, the praefectus praetorio had gradually become more and more of a judge, less and less of a soldier. in the great changes wrought by constantine the praetorian guards disappeared--somewhat in the same fashion after which the janissaries were removed by sultan mahmoud. the praetorian praefect's dignity, however, survived, and though he lost every shred of military command he became or continued to be the first civil servant of the empire. cassiodorus is fond of comparing him to joseph at the court of pharaoh, nor is the comparison an inapt one. in the constantinople of our own day the grand vizier holds a position not altogether unlike that which the praefect held in the court of arcadius and theodosius. 'the office of this praefect,' said one who had spent his life as one of his subordinates[ ],' is like the ocean, encircling all other offices and ministering to all their needs. the consulate is indeed higher in rank than the praefecture, but less in power. the praefect wears a _mandye_, or woollen cloak, dyed with the purple of cos, and differing from the emperor's only in the fact that it reaches not to the feet but to the knees. girt with his sword he takes his seat as president of the senate. when that body has assembled, the chiefs of the army fall prostrate before the praefect, who raises them and kisses each in turn, in order to express his desire to be on good terms with the military power. nay, even the emperor himself walks (or till lately used to walk) on foot from his palace to meet the praefect as he moves slowly towards him at the head of the senate. the insignia of the praefect's office are his lofty chariot, his golden reed-case [pen-holder], weighing one hundred pounds, his massive silver inkstand, and silver bowl on a tripod of the same metal to receive the petitions of suitors. three official yachts wait upon his orders, and convey him from the capital to the neighbouring provinces.' [footnote : var. vi. .] [footnote : joannes lydus, de dignitatibus ii. , , , , .] [sidenote: the praetorian praefect as judge of appeal.] the personage thus highly placed had a share in the government of the state, a share which the master of the offices was for ever trying to diminish, but which, in the hands of one who like cassiodorus was _persona grata_ at the court, might be made not only important but predominant[ ]. the chief employment, however, of the ordinary praefectus praetorio consisted in hearing appeals from the governors of the provinces. when the magical words 'provoco ad caesarem' had been uttered, it was in most cases before the praetorian praefect that the appeal was practically heard; and when the praetorian praefect had pronounced his decision, no appeal from that was permitted, even to the emperor himself[ ]. [footnote : bethmann hollweg (pp. , ) enumerates the functions of the praetorian praefect thus: '( ) _legislative._ he promulgated the imperial laws, and issued edicts which had almost the force of laws. ( ) _financial._ the general tax (indictio, delegatio) ordered by the emperor for the year, was proclaimed by each praefect for his own praefecture. through his officials he took part in the levy of the tax, and had a special state-chest (arca praetoria) for the proceeds. ( ) _administrative._ the praefect proposed the names of provincial governors, handed to them their salaries, had a general oversight of them, issued rescripts on the information furnished by them, and could as their ordinary judge inflict punishments upon them, even depose them from their offices, and temporarily nominate substitutes to act in their places. ( ) _judicial_, as the highest judge of appeal.'] [footnote : see authorities quoted by bethmann hollweg, pp. , .] [sidenote: letters written during the praefecture of cassiodorus.] cassiodorus held the post of praetorian praefect, amid various changes in the fortunes of the state, from to , or perhaps a year or two longer. of his activity in the domain of internal administration, the eleventh and twelfth books of the 'variae' give a vivid and interesting picture. unfortunately, neither those books nor the tenth book of the same collection, which contains the letters written by him during the same time in the names of the successive gothic sovereigns, give any sufficient information as to the real course of public events. great misfortunes, great crimes, and the movements of great armies are covered over in these documents by a veil of unmeaning platitudes and hypocritical compliments. in order to enable the student to 'read between the lines,' and to pierce through the verbiage of these letters to the facts which they were meant to hint at or to conceal, it will be necessary briefly to describe the political history of the period as we learn it from the narratives of procopius and jordanes--narratives which may be inaccurate in a few minor details but are doubtless correct in their main outlines. [sidenote: opposition to romanising policy of amalasuentha.] the romanising policy of the cultivated but somewhat self-willed princess amalasuentha met with considerable opposition on the part of her gothic subjects. above all, they objected to the bookish education which she was giving to her son, the young king. they declared that it was entirely contrary to the maxims of theodoric that a young goth should be trembling before the strap of a pedagogue when he ought to be learning to look unfalteringly on spear and sword. these representations were so vigorously made, and by speakers of such high rank in the state, that amalasuentha was compelled to listen to them, to remove her son from the society of his teachers, and to allow him to associate with companions of his own age, who, not being wisely chosen, soon initiated him in every kind of vice and dissipation. [sidenote: amalasuentha puts three gothic nobles to death.] the princess, who had not forgiven the leaders of the gothic party for their presumptuously offered counsels, singled out three of the most powerful nobles who were at the head of that party and sent them into honourable banishment at the opposite ends of italy. finding, however, that they were still holding communication with one another, she sent to the emperor justinian to ask if he would give her an asylum in his dominions if she required it, and then gave orders for the secret assassination of the three noblemen. the _coup d'état_ succeeded: she had no need to flee the country; and the ship bearing the royal treasure, which amounted to , pounds weight of gold, which she had sent to dyrrhachium to await her possible flight, was ordered to return home. [sidenote: embassies between ravenna and constantinople.] athalaric's health was now rapidly failing, owing to his licentious excesses, and amalasuentha, fearing that after his death her own life might be in danger, began again secretly to negotiate with justinian for the entire surrender of the kingdom of italy into his hands, on receiving an assurance of shelter and maintenance at the court of byzantium. these negotiations were masked by others of a more public kind, in which justinian claimed the sicilian fortress of lilybaeum, which had once belonged to the vandals; insisted on the surrender of some huns, deserters from the army of africa; and demanded redress for the sack by the goths of the moesian city of gratiana. these claims amalasuentha met publicly with a reply as brave and uncompromising as her most patriotic subjects could desire, but in private, as has been already said, she was prepared, for an adequate assurance of personal safety, to barter away all the rights and liberties of her italian subjects, roman as well as gothic, and to allow her father's hard-earned kingdom to sink into a mere dependency of constantinople. [sidenote: death of athalaric, oct. , .] such was the position of affairs when on the nd october , little more than a year after cassiodorus had donned the purple of the praefect, athalaric died, and by his death the whole attitude of the parties to the negotiations was changed. the power to rule, and with it the very power to make terms of any kind with the emperor, was in danger of slipping from the hands of amalasuentha. the principle of female sovereignty was barely accepted by any teutonic tribe. evidently the ostrogoths had not accepted it, or amalasuentha would have ruled as queen in her own right instead of as regent for her son. in order to strengthen her position, and ensure her acceptance as sovereign by the gothic warriors, she decided to associate with herself, not in matrimony, for he was already married, but in regal partnership, her cousin theodahad, the nearest male heir of theodoric, and to mount the throne together with him. previously, however, to announcing this scheme in public, she sent for theodahad and exacted from him 'tremendous oaths[ ]' that if he were chosen king he would be satisfied with the mere name of royalty, leaving her as much of the actual substance of power as she possessed at that moment. [footnote : [greek: horkois deinotatois].] [sidenote: amalasuentha associates theodahad in the sovereignty.] the partnership-royalty and the oath of self-abnegation were the desperate expedients of a woman who knew herself to have mighty enemies among her subjects, and who felt power slipping from her grasp. with one side of her character her new partner could sympathise; for theodahad, though sprung from the loins of gothic warriors, was a man of some literary culture, who preferred poring over the 'republic' of plato to heading a charge of the gothic cavalry. but his acquaintance with latin and greek literature had done nothing to ennoble his temper or expand his heart. a cold, hard, avaricious soul, he had been entirely bent on adding field to field and removing his neighbour's landmark, until the vast possessions which he had received from the generosity of theodoric should embrace the whole of the great tuscan plain. it will be seen by referring to two letters in the following collection[ ] that theodoric himself had twice employed the pen of cassiodorus to rebuke the rapacity of his nephew; and at a more recent date, since the beginning of athalaric's illness, amalasuentha had been compelled by the complaints of her tuscan subjects to issue a commission of enquiry, which had found theodahad guilty of the various acts of land-robbery which had been charged against him, and had compelled him to make restitution. [footnote : variarum iv. and v. .] [sidenote: amalasuentha is deposed and imprisoned by theodahad, april , .] the new queen persuaded herself, and tried to persuade her cousin, that this ignominious sentence had in some way put the subject of it straight with the world, and had smoothed his pathway to the throne. she trusted to his gratitude and his tremendous oaths for her own undisturbed position at the helm of the state, but she found before many months of the joint reign had passed that the reed upon which she was leaning was about to pierce her hand. only four letters, it will be seen, of the following collection were written by order of amalasuentha after the commencement of the joint reign. soon theodahad felt himself strong enough to hurl from the throne the woman who had dared to compel him to draw back the boundary of his tuscan _latifundium._ the relations of the three noblemen whom amalasuentha had put to death gathered gladly round him, eager to work out the blood-feud; and by their help he slew many of the strongest supporters of the queen, and shut her up in prison in a little lonely island upon the lake of vulsinii. this event took place on the th of april, , not quite seven months after the death of athalaric[ ]. [footnote : the dates of the death of athalaric and deposition of amalasuentha are given by agnellus in his liber pontificalis ecclesiae ravennatis, p. (in the edition comprised in the monumenta germaniae historica).] [sidenote: embassy of peter.] [sidenote: death of amalasuentha.] during all these later months there had been a perpetual flux and reflux of diplomatic communications between ravenna and constantinople. the different stages of the negotiations are marked, apparently with clearness, by procopius; but it is not always easy to harmonise them with the letters published by cassiodorus, who either did not write, or shrank from republishing, some of the most important letters to the emperor. this remark applies to the missive which was probably taken by the senators liberius and opilio, who were now sent by theodahad to justinian to apologise for the imprisonment of amalasuentha, and to promise that she should receive no injury. meanwhile peter, a rhetorician and an ex-consul, was travelling from constantinople with a commission the character of which was being constantly changed by the rapid current of events. he started with instructions to complete the transaction with amalasuentha as to the surrender of italy, and to buy from theodahad, who was still a private individual, his possessions in tuscany. soon after his departure he met the ambassadors, who told him of the death of athalaric and the accession of theodahad. on the shores of the hadriatic he heard of amalasuentha's captivity. he waited for further instructions from his master, and on his arrival at ravenna he found that all was over. the letter which he was to have handed to the deposed queen, assuring her of justinian's protection, was already obsolete. the kinsmen of the three nobles had been permitted or encouraged by theodahad to end the blood-feud bloodily. they had repaired to the lake of vulsinii and murdered amalasuentha in her bath[ ]. the byzantine ambassador sought the presence of the king, boldly denounced his wicked deed, and declared on the part of his master a war which would be waged without truce or treaty till amalasuentha was avenged. thus began the eighteen years' war between justinian and the ostrogoths. [footnote : we do not seem to have the precise date of the death of amalasuentha, but apparently it happened about the month of may, .] [sidenote: why did cassiodorus continue in the service of theodahad?] it might certainly have been expected that a statesman who had been honoured with the intimate friendship of theodoric and his daughter, even if unable to avenge her death, would have refused to serve in the cabinet of her murderer. it is accordingly with a feeling of painful surprise that we find cassiodorus still holding the secretary's pen, and writing letter after letter (they form the majority of the documents in the tenth book of the 'variae') in the name of theodahad and his wife gudelina. dangers no doubt were thickening round his beloved italy. he may have thought that whoever wore the gothic crown, duty forbade him to quit the secretum at ravenna just when war with the empire was becoming every day more imminent. on the other hand, the praetorian praefecture, the object of a life's ambition, was now his, but had been his only for two years. it was hard to lay aside the purple _mandye_ while the first gloss was yet upon it; hard to have to fall back into the ranks of the ordinary senators, and no longer to receive the reverent salutations of the chiefs of the army when he entered the hall of meeting. whether the public good or the private advantage swayed him most who shall say? there are times when patriotism calls for the costliest sacrifice which a statesman can make--the sacrifice, apparently, of his own honour. the man who has made such a sacrifice must be content to be misjudged by his fellow-men. certainly, to us the one stain upon an otherwise pure reputation seems to be found in the service, the apparently willing service, which in the tenth book of his letters cassiodorus renders to theodahad. [sidenote: vacillation of theodahad.] throughout the latter half of , belisarius in sicily and mundus in dalmatia were warring for justinian against theodahad. the rhetorician peter, who had boldly rebuked the gothic king for the murder of his benefactress, and had on his master's behalf denounced a truceless war against him, still lingered at his court. theodahad, who during part of the summer and autumn of seems to have been at rome, not at ravenna, was more than half inclined to resume his old negotiations with the emperor, and either to purchase peace by sinking into the condition of a tributary, or to sell his kingdom outright for a revenue of £ , a year and a high place among the nobles of the empire. procopius[ ] gives us a vivid and detailed narrative of the manner in which these negotiations were conducted by theodahad, who was perpetually wavering between arrogance and timidity; trembling at the successes of belisarius, elated by any victory which his generals might win in dalmatia; and who at length, upon receiving the tidings of the defeat and death of mundus, broke off the negotiations altogether, and shut up peter and his colleague athanasius in prison. [footnote : de bello gotthico, i. .] [sidenote: silence of the 'variae' as to many of the negotiations between theodahad and justinian.] here again, while not doubting the truth of the narrative of procopius, i do not find it possible exactly to fit in the letters written by cassiodorus for theodahad with the various stages of the negotiation as described by him. especially the striking letter of the king to the emperor--striking by reason of its very abjectness--which is quoted by procopius in the sixth chapter of his first book, appears to be entirely unrepresented in the collection of cassiodorus. evidently all this part of the 'variae' has been severely edited by its author, who has expunged all that seemed to reflect too great discredit on the sovereign whom he had once served, and has preserved only some letters written to justinian and theodora by theodahad and his wife, vaguely praising peace, and beseeching the imperial pair to restore it to italy; letters which, as it seems to me, may be applied with about equal fitness to any movement of the busy shuttle of diplomacy backwards and forwards between ravenna and constantinople. [sidenote: theodahad deposed, witigis elected, aug. .] the onward march of belisarius trampled all the combinations of diplomatists into the dust. in the early part of july, , he had succeeded in capturing the important city of neapolis, and had begun to threaten rome. the gothic warriors, disgusted at the incapacity of their king, and probably suspecting his disloyalty to the nation, met (august, ) under arms upon the plain of regeta[ ], deposed theodahad, and elected a veteran named witigis as his successor. witigis at once ordered theodahad to be put to death, and being himself of somewhat obscure lineage, endeavoured to strengthen his title to the crown by marrying matasuentha, the sister of athalaric and the only surviving descendant of theodoric. [footnote : the situation of this plain is unknown.] [sidenote: letter on the elevation of witigis.] whether cassiodorus had any hand in this revolution--which was pre-eminently a gothic movement--we cannot tell; but certainly one of the best specimens of his letters is that written in the name of the new king[ ], in which he makes witigis thus speak, 'universis gothis'--not as theodoric had so often spoken, 'universis gothis et romanis:' [footnote : var. x. .] 'unde auctori nostro christo gratias humillimâ satisfactione referentes, indicamus parentes nostros gothos inter procinctuales gladios, more majorum, scuto supposito, regalem nobis contulisse, praestante deo, dignitatem, ut honorem arma darent, cujus opinionem bella pepererant. non enim in cubilis angustis, sed in campis latè patentibus electum me esse noveritis: nec inter blandientium delicata colloquia, sed tubis concrepantibus sum quaesitus, ut tali fremitu concitatus desiderio virtutis ingenitae regem sibi martium geticus populus inveniret.' [sidenote: letters written in name of witigis.] we have only five letters written by cassiodorus for witigis (who reigned from august, , to may[ ], ). one has been already described. all the other four are concerned with negotiations for peace with justinian, and may probably be referred to the early part of the new reign. [footnote : we get this date only from agnellus (loc. cit. p. ).] [sidenote: share of cassiodorus in the administration during the war.] it will be seen that the letters written by cassiodorus for the sovereign during the five years following the death of athalaric are few and somewhat unsatisfactory. but, on the other hand, it was just during these years that he wrote in his own name as praetorian praefect the letters which are comprised in the eleventh and twelfth books of his collection, and which are in some respects the most interesting of the whole series. there is a strong probability that he was not present at the long siege of rome (march, , to march, ), nor is it likely that he, an elderly civilian, would take much part in any of the warlike operations that followed. upon the whole, it seems probable that during the greater part of this time cassiodorus was, to the best of his power, keeping the civil administration together by virtue of his own authority as praetorian praefect, without that constant reference to the wishes of the sovereign which would have been necessary under theodoric and his daughter. perhaps, in the transitional state of things which then prevailed in italy, with the power of the gothic sceptre broken but the sway of the roman caesar not yet firmly established in its stead, men of all parties and both nationalities were willing that as much as possible of the routine of government should be carried on by a statesman who was roman by birth and culture, but who had been the trusted counsellor of gothic kings. [sidenote: dates of later letters.] i have endeavoured as far as possible to fix the dates of these later letters. it will be seen that we have one[ ] probably belonging to the year , five[ ] to , and one[ ] (possibly) to . these later letters refer chiefly to the terrible famine which followed in the train of the war, and of which cassiodorus strenuously laboured to mitigate the severity. [footnote : var. xii. .] [footnote : var. xii. , , , , .] [footnote : var. xii. .] [sidenote: end of cassiodorus' official career.] it is possible that the praefect may have continued to hold office down to the capture of ravenna in may, , which made witigis a prisoner, and seemed to bring the ostrogothic monarchy to an end. upon the whole, however, it is rather more probable that in the year or he finally retired from public life. the dates of his letters will show that there is nothing in them which forbids us to accept this conclusion; and the fact, if it be a fact, that in , when belisarius, with his secretary procopius in his train, made his triumphal entry into ravenna, the late praefect was no longer there, but in his native province of bruttii, a little lessens the difficulty of that which still remains most difficult of comprehension, the entire omission from procopius' history of the gothic war of all mention of the name of cassiodorus. [sidenote: the variae edited.] the closing years of the veteran statesman's tenure of office were years of some literary activity. it was in them that he was collecting, and to some extent probably revising, the letters which appear in the following collection. his motives for publishing this monument of his official life are sufficiently set forth in the two prefaces, one prefixed to the first book and the other to the eleventh. much emphasis is laid on the entreaties of his friends, the regular excuse, in the sixth century as in the nineteenth, for an author or a politician doing the very thing which most pleases his own vanity. a worthier reason probably existed in the author's natural desire to vindicate his own consistency, by showing that the influence which for more than thirty years he had wielded in the councils of the gothic sovereigns had been uniformly exerted on the side of law and order and just government, directed equally to the repression of teutonic barbarism and the punishment of roman venality. [sidenote: what alterations were made in the letters.] the question how far the letters which now appear in the 'variae' really reproduce the actual documents originally issued by cassiodorus is one which has been a good deal discussed by scholars, but with no very definite result. it is, after all, a matter of conjecture; and every student who peruses the following letters is entitled to form his own conjecture--especially as to those marvellous digressions on matters of natural history, moral philosophy, and the like--whether they were veritably included in the original letters that issued from the royal secretum, and were carried over italy by the cursus publicus. my own conjecture is, that though they may have been a little amplified and elaborated, substantially they were to be found in those original documents. the age was pedantic and half-educated, and had lost both its poetic inspiration and its faculty of humour; and i fear that these marvellous letters were read by the officials to whom they were addressed with a kind of stolid admiration, provoking neither the smile of amusement nor the shrug of impatience which are their rightful meed. [sidenote: 'illum atque illum.'] the reader will observe that in many, in fact most of the letters, which were meant to serve as credentials to ambassadors or commissions to civil servants, no names are inserted, but we have instead only the tantalising formula, 'illum atque illum,' which i have generally translated, 'a and b.' this circumstance has also been much commented upon, but without our arriving at any very definite result. all that can be said is, that cassiodorus must have formed his collection of state-papers either from rough drafts in his own possession, or from copies preserved in the public archives, and that, from whichsoever source he drew, the names in that source had not been preserved: a striking comment on the rhetorical unbusinesslike character of the royal and imperial chanceries of that day, in which words were deemed of more importance than things, and the flowers of speech which were showered upon the performer of some piece of public business were preserved, while the name of the performer was forgotten. [sidenote: treatise 'de animâ.'] as soon as he had finished the collection of the 'variae,' the praefect--again in obedience to the entreaties of his friends--composed a short philosophic treatise on the nature of the soul ('de animâ'). as he said, it seems an absurd thing to treat as a stranger and an unknown quantity the very centre of our being; to seek to understand the height of the air, the extent of the earth, the causes of storms and earthquakes, and the nature of the wandering winds, and yet to leave the faculty, by which we grasp all this knowledge, itself uncomprehended[ ]. he therefore sets himself to enquire, in twelve chapters: [footnote : 'cum jam suscepti operis optato fine gauderem, meque duodecim voluminibus jactatum quietis portus exciperet, ubi etsi non laudatus, certe liberatus adveneram, amicorum me suave collegium in salum rursus cogitationis expressit, postulans ut aliqua quae tam in libris sacris, quam in saecularibus abstrusa compereram de animae substantiâ, vel de ejus virtutibus aperirem, cui datum est tam ingentium rerum secreta reserare: addens nimis ineptum esse si eam per quam plura cognoscimus, quasi a nobis alienam ignorare patiamur, dum ad anima sit utile nosse qua sapimus' (de animâ, praefatio).] . why the soul is called anima? . what is the definition of the soul? . what is its substantial quality? . if it is to be believed to have any shape? . what moral virtues it has which contribute to its glory and its adornment? . what are its natural virtues [or powers], given to enable it to hold together the framework of the body? . concerning the origin of the soul. . what is its especial seat, since it appears to be in a certain sense diffused over the whole body? . concerning the form and composition of the body itself. . sufficient signs by which we may discern what properties the souls of sinners possess. . similar signs by which we may distinguish the souls of righteous men, since we cannot see them with our bodily eyes. . concerning the soul's state after death, and how it will be affected by the general resurrection. the treatise ends with a prayer to christ to preserve the body in good health, that it may be in tune with the harmony of the soul; to give reason the ascendancy over the flesh; and to keep the mind in happy equipoise, neither so strong as to be puffed up with pride, nor so languid as to fail of its proper powers. [sidenote: cassiodorus retires to the cloister.] the line of thought indicated by the 'de animâ' led, in such a country as italy, at such a time as the gothic war, to one inevitable end--the cloister. it can have surprised none of the friends of cassiodorus when the veteran statesman announced his intention of spending the remainder of his days in monastic retirement. he was now sixty years of age[ ]; his wife, if he had ever married, was probably by this time dead; and we hear nothing of any children for whose sake he need have remained longer in the world. the emperor would probably have received him gladly into his service, but cassiodorus had now done with politics. the dream of his life had been to build up an independent italian state, strong with the strength of the goths, and wise with the wisdom of the romans. that dream was now scattered to the winds. providence had made it plain that not by this bridge was civilisation to pass over from the old world to the new. cassiodorus accepted the decision, and consecrated his old age to religious meditation and to a work even more important than any of his political labours (though one which must be lightly touched on here), the preservation by the pens of monastic copyists of the christian scriptures, and of the great works of classical antiquity. [footnote : fifty-eight, if the retirement was in .] [sidenote: he founds two monasteries at scyllacium.] it was to his ancestral scyllacium that cassiodorus retired; and here, between the mountains of aspromonte and the sea, he founded his monastery, or, more accurately, his two monasteries, one for the austere hermit, and the other for the less aspiring coenobite. the former was situated among the 'sweet recesses of mons castellius[ ],' the latter among the well-watered gardens which took their name from the vivaria (fish-ponds) that cassiodorus had constructed among them in connection with the river pellena[ ]. baths, too, especially intended for the use of the sick, had been prepared on the banks of the stream[ ]. here in monastic simplicity, but not without comfort, cassiodorus ordained that his monks should dwell. the rule of the order--in so far as it had a written rule--was drawn from the writings of cassian, the great founder of western monachism, who had died about a century before the vivarian monastery was founded. in commending the writings of cassian to the study of his monks, cassiodorus warns them against the bias shown in them towards the semi-pelagian heresy, and desires them to choose the good in those treatises and to refuse the evil. whatever the reason may have been, it seems clear that cassiodorus did not make the rule of benedict the law of his new monastery; and indeed, strange as the omission may appear, there is, i believe, no allusion to that great contemporary saint, the 'father of monks,' in the whole of his writings. [footnote : 'nam si vos in monasterio vivariensi divinâ gratia suffragante coenobiorum consuetudo competenter erudiat, et aliquid sublimius defaecatis animis optare contingat, habetis mentis castelli secreta suavia, ubi velut anachoritae (praestante domino) feliciter esse possitis' (de inst. div. litt. xxix.).] [footnote : 'invitat vos locus vivariensis monasterii ... quando habetis hortos irriguos, et piscosi amnis pellenae fluenta vicina, qui nec magnitudine undarum suspectus habetur, nec exiguitate temnibilis. influit vobis arte moderatus, ubicunque necessarius judicatur et hortis vestris sufficiens et molendinis.... maria quoque vobis ita subjacent, ut piscationibus variis pateant; et captus piscis, cum libuerit, vivariis possit includi. fecimus enim illic (juvante deo) grata receptacula ubi sub claustro fideli vagetur piscium multitudo; ita consentanea montium speluncis, ut nullatenus se sentiat captum, cui libertas eat escas sumere, et per solitas se cavernas abscondere.'] [footnote : 'balnea quoque congruenter aegris praeparata corporibus jussimus aedificari, ubi fontium perspicuitas decenter illabitur, quae et potui gratissima cognoscitur et lavacris.'] [sidenote: probably never abbot.] though the founder and patron of these two monasteries, it seems probable that cassiodorus never formally assumed the office of abbot in either of them[ ]. he had probably still some duties to perform as a large landholder in bruttii; but besides these he had also work to do for 'his monks' (as he affectionately called them)--work of a literary and educational kind--which perhaps made it undesirable that he should be burdened with the petty daily routine of an abbot's duties. some years before, he had endeavoured to induce pope agapetus[ ] to found a school of theology and christian literature at rome, in imitation of the schools of alexandria and nisibis[ ]. the clash of arms consequent on the invasion of italy by belisarius had prevented the fulfilment of this scheme; but the aged statesman now determined to devote the remainder of his days to the accomplishment of the same purpose in connection with the vivarian convent. [footnote : but the words of trithemius (quoted by migne, patrologia lxix. ), 'hic post aliquot conversionis suae annos abbas electus est, et monasterio multo tempore utiliter praefuit,' _may_ preserve a genuine and accurate tradition. cassiodorus' mention of the two abbots, chalcedonius and geruntius (de inst. div. litt. cap. xxxii.) shows that at any rate in the infancy of his monasteries he was not abbot of either of them.] [footnote : agapetus was pope in and .] [footnote : 'nisus sum ergo cum beatissimo agapeto papa urbis romae, ut sicut apud alexandriam multo tempore fuisse traditur institutum, nunc etiam in nisibi civitate syrorum ab hebraeis sedulo fertur exponi, collatis expensis in urbe romana professos doctores scholae potius acciperent christianae, unde et anima susciperet aeternam salutem, et casto atque purissimo eloquio fidelium lingua comeretur' (de inst. praefatio).] in the earliest days of monasticism men like the hermits of the thebaid had thought of little else but mortifying the flesh by vigils and fastings, and withdrawing from all human voices to enjoy an ecstatic communion with their maker. the life in common of monks like those of nitria and lerinum had chastened some of the extravagances of these lonely enthusiasts while still keeping their main ends in view. st. jerome, in his cell at bethlehem, had shown what great results might be obtained for the church of all ages from the patient literary toil of one religious recluse. and finally st. benedict, in that rule of his which was to be the code of monastic christendom for centuries, had sanctified work as one of the most effectual preservatives of the bodily and spiritual health of the ascetic, bringing together _laborare_ and _orare_ in friendly union, and proclaiming anew for the monk as for the untonsured citizen the primal ordinance, 'in the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat bread.' [sidenote: the father of literary monasticism.] the great merit of cassiodorus, that which shows his deep insight into the needs of his age and entitles him to the eternal gratitude of europe, was his determination to utilise the vast leisure of the convent for the preservation of divine and human learning and for its transmission to after ages. in the miserable circumstances of the times theology was in danger of becoming brutified and ignorant; the great treasures of pagan literature were no longer being perpetuated by the slaves who had once acted as _librarii_ to the greek or roman noble; and with every movement of the ostrogothic armies, or of the yet more savage hordes who served under the imperial standard, with every sacked city and with every ravaged villa, some codex, it may be such as we should now deem priceless and irreplaceable, was perishing. this being the state of italy, cassiodorus resolved to make of his monastery not merely a place for pious meditation, but a theological school and a manufactory for the multiplication of copies, not only of the scriptures, not only of the fathers and the commentators on scripture, but also of the great writers of pagan antiquity. in the chapter[ ] which he devotes to the description of the _scriptorium_ of his monastery he describes, with an enthusiasm which must have been contagious, the noble work done there by the _antiquarius_: 'he may fill his mind with the scriptures while copying the sayings of the lord. with his fingers he gives life to men and arms them against the wiles of the devil. so many wounds does satan receive as the _antiquarius_ copies words of christ. what he writes in his cell will be scattered far and wide over distant provinces. man multiplies the heavenly words, and by a striking figure--if i may dare so to speak--the three fingers of his hand express the utterances of the holy trinity. the fast-travelling reed writes down the holy words, and thus avenges the malice of the wicked one, who caused a reed to be used to smite the head of the saviour.' [footnote : the th of the de institutione div. litt.] it is true that the passage here quoted refers only to the work of the copyist of the christian scriptures, but it could easily be shown from other passages[ ] that the literary activity of the monastery was not confined to these, but was also employed on secular literature. [footnote : for instance, in cap. xv., after cautioning his copyists against rash corrections of apparent faults in the sacred mss., he says: 'ubicunque paragrammata in disertis hominibus [i.e. in classical authors] reperta fuerint, intrepidus vitiosa recorrigat.' and the greater part of cap. xxviii. is an argument against 'respuere saecularium litterarum studia.'] [sidenote: bookbinding.] [sidenote: mechanical appliances for the convent.] cassiodorus then goes on to describe the care which he has taken for the binding of the sacred codices in covers worthy of the beauty of their contents, following the example of the householder in the parable, who provided wedding garments for all who came to the supper of his son. one pattern volume had been prepared, containing samples of various sorts of binding, that the amanuensis might choose that which pleased him best. he had moreover provided, to help the nightly toil of the _scriptorium_, mechanical lamps of some wonderful construction, which appears to have made them self-trimming, and to have ensured their having always a sufficient supply of oil[ ]. sun-dials also for bright days, and water-clocks for cloudy days and the night-season, regulated their labour, and admonished them when it was time to unclose the three fingers, to lay down the reed, and to assemble with their brethren in the chapel of the convent for psalmody and prayer. [footnote : paravimus etiam nocturnis vigiliis mechanicas lucernas, conservatrices illuminantium flammarum, ipsas sibi nutrientes incendium, quae humano ministerio cessante, prolixe custodiant uberrimi luminis abundantissimam claritatem; ubi olei pinguedo non deficit, quamvis flammis ardentibus jugitor torreatur.] [sidenote: relation to the benedictine rule.] upon the whole, though the idea of using the convent as a place of literary toil and theological training was not absolutely new, cassiodorus seems certainly entitled to the praise of having first realised it systematically and on an extensive scale. it was entirely in harmony with the spirit of the rule of st. benedict, if it was not formally ordained in that document. at a very early date in the history of their order, the benedictines, influenced probably by the example of the monastery of vivaria, commenced that long series of services to the cause of literature which they have never wholly intermitted. thus, instead of accepting the obsolete formula for which some scholars in the last age contended, 'cassiodorus was a benedictine,' we should perhaps be rather justified in maintaining that benedict, or at least his immediate followers, were cassiodorians. [sidenote: cassiodorus as a transcriber of the scriptures.] in order to set an example of literary diligence to his monks, and to be able to sympathise with the difficulties of an amanuensis, cassiodorus himself transcribed the psalter, the prophets, and the epistles[ ], no doubt from the translation of jerome. this is not the place for enlarging on the merits of cassiodorus as a custodian and transmitter of the sacred text. they were no doubt considerable; and the rules which he gives to his monks, to guide them in the work of transcription, show that he belonged to the conservative school of critics, and was anxious to guard against hasty emendations of the text, however plausible. practically, however, his mss. of the latin scriptures, showing the itala and the vulgate in parallel columns, seem to have been answerable for some of that confusion between the two versions which to some extent spoiled the text of jerome, without preserving to us in its purity the interesting translation of the earlier church. [footnote : 'in psalterio et prophetis et epistolis apostolorum studium maximum laboris impendi.... quos ego cunctos novem codices auctoritatis divinae (ut senex potui) sub collatione priscorum codicum amicis ante me legentibus, sedula lectione transivi' (de inst. praefatio). we should have expected 'tres' rather than 'novem,' as the psalter, the prophets, and the epistles each formed one codex.] besides his labours as a transcriber, cassiodorus, both as an original author and a compiler, used his pen for the instruction of his fellow-inmates at vivarium. [sidenote: commentary on the psalms.] ( ) he began and slowly completed a commentary on the psalms. this very diffuse performance (which occupies more than five hundred closely printed pages in migne's edition) displays, in the opinion of those who have carefully studied it[ ], a large amount of acquaintance with the writings of the fathers, and was probably looked upon as a marvel of the human intellect by the vivarian monks, for whose benefit it was composed, and to whom it revealed, in the psalms which they were daily and nightly intoning, refutations of all the heresies that had ever racked the church, and the rudiments of all the sciences that flourished in the world. it is impossible now for this or any future age to do aught but lament over so much wasted ingenuity, when we find the author maintaining that the whole of the one hundred and fifty psalms were written by king david, and that asaph, heman, and jeduthun have only a mystical meaning; that the first seventy represent the old testament, and the last eighty the new, because we celebrate the resurrection of christ on the eighth day of the week, and so forth. a closer study of the book might perhaps discover in it some genuine additions to the sum of human knowledge; but it is difficult to repress a murmur at the misdirected industry which has preserved to us the whole of this ponderous futility, while it has allowed the history of the goths to perish. [footnote : i take my account of this treatise chiefly from franz (pp. - ).] [sidenote: commentary on the epistles.] ( ) the 'complexiones in epistolas apostolorum' (first published by maffei in , from a ms. discovered by him at verona) have at least the merit of being far shorter than the commentary on the psalms. perhaps the only points of interest in them, even for theological scholars, are that cassiodorus evidently attributes the epistle to the hebrews without hesitation to the apostle paul, and that he notices the celebrated passage concerning the three heavenly witnesses ( john v. ) in a way which seems to imply that he found that passage in the text of the vulgate, though on examination his language is seen to be consistent with the theory that these words are a gloss added by the commentator himself. [sidenote: historia tripartita.] ( ) in order to supply the want of any full church history in the latin tongue, a want which was probably felt not only by his own monks but throughout the churches of the west, cassiodorus induced his friend epiphanius to translate from the greek the ecclesiastical histories of socrates, sozomen, and theodoret, and then himself fused these three narratives into one, the well-known 'historia tripartita,' which contains the story of the church's fortunes from the accession of constantine to the thirty-second year of the reign of theodosius ii ( - ). the fact that the numerous mistranslations of epiphanius have passed uncorrected, probably indicates that cassiodorus' own knowledge of greek was but slight, and that he depended on his coadjutor entirely for this part of the work. the 'historia tripartita' has probably had a larger circulation than any other of its author's works; but cassiodorus himself thought so little of his share in it, that he does not include it in the list of his writings prefixed to the treatise 'de orthographiâ.' and, in fact, the inartistic way in which the three narratives are soldered together, rather than recast into one symmetrical and harmonious whole, obliges us to admit that cassiodorus' work at this book was little more than mechanical, and entitles him to scarcely any other praise than that of industry. [sidenote: institutiones divinarum et humanarum lectionum.] ( ) of a different quality, though still partaking somewhat of the nature of a compilation, was his chief educational treatise, the 'institutiones divinarum et humanarum lectionum[ ].' about the year , some three or four years after his retirement from public life, while he was slowly ploughing his way through the commentary on the psalms, twenty of which he had already interpreted, he seems to have laid it aside for a time in order to devote himself to this work, which aimed more at instruction than at religious edification. in the outset of this book he describes that unsuccessful attempt of his, to which allusion has already been made, for the establishment of a theological school in rome, and continues that, 'as the rage of war and the turbulence of strife in the italian realm[ ] had prevented the fulfilment of this desire, he felt himself constrained by divine charity to write for his monks' behoof these _libri introductorii_, in which, after the manner of a teacher, he would open to them the series of the books of holy scripture, and would give them a compendious acquaintance with secular literature.' as the book is not written for the learned, he undertakes to abstain from 'affectata eloquentia,' and he does in the main keep his promise. the simple, straightforward style of the book, which occasionally rises into real and 'unaffected eloquence' where the subject inspires him to make an appeal to the hearts of his readers, presents a striking and favourable contrast to the obscure and turgid phraseology in which the perverted taste of the times caused him generally to shroud his meaning[ ]. [footnote : printed hitherto as two works, de institutione divinarum litterarum, and de artibus ac disciplinis liberalium litterarum. but, as ebert has shown (i. ), the preface to the orthographia makes it probable that these two really formed one book, with a title like that given above.] [footnote : 'in italico regno.' these words seem to favour the conjecture that theodoric may have called himself king of italy.] [footnote : as a specimen of this better style of cassiodorus, i may refer to his praises of the life of the literary monk, and his exhortation to him who is of duller brain to practise gardening: 'quapropter toto nisu, toto labore, totis desideriis exquiramus ut ad tale tantumque munus, domino largiente, pervenire mereamur. hoc enim nobis est salutare, proficuum, gloriosum, perpetuum, quod nulla mors, nulla mobilitas, nulla possit separare oblivio; sed in illa suavitate patriae, cum domino faciet aeterna exsultatione gaudere. quod si alicui fratrum, ut meminit virgilius, "frigidus obstiterit circum praecordia sanguis," ut nec humanis nec divinis litteris perfecte possit erudiri, aliqua tamen scientiae mediocritate suffultus, eligat certe quod sequitur, "rura mihi et rigui placeant in vallibus amnes." quia nec ipsum est a monachis alienum hortos colere, agros exercere, et pomorum fecunditate gratulari; legitur enim in psalmo centesimo vigesimo septimo, "labores manuum tuarum manducabis; beatus es et bene tibi erit."'] in the first part of this treatise (commonly called the 'de institutione divinarum litterarum') cassiodorus briefly describes the contents of the nine codices[ ] which made up the scripture of the old and new testaments, and mentions the names of the chief commentators upon each. after some important cautions as to the preservation of the purity of the sacred text and abstinence from plausible emendations, the author proceeds to enumerate the christian historians--eusebius, orosius, marcellinus, prosper, and others[ ]; and he then slightly sketches the characters of some of the principal fathers--hilary, cyprian, ambrose, jerome, and augustine. this part of the work contains an interesting allusion to 'dionysius monachus, scytha natione, sed moribus omnino romanus,' of whom cassiodorus speaks as a colleague in his literary enterprises. this is the so-called dionysius exiguus, who fixed (erroneously, as it now appears) the era of the birth of christ, and whose system of chronology founded on this event has been accepted by all the nations of christendom. at the conclusion of this the first part of the treatise we find some general remarks on the nature of the monastic life, and some pictures of vivarium and its neighbourhood, to which we are indebted for some of the information contained in the preceding pages. the book ends with a prayer, and contains thirty-three chapters, the same number, remarks cassiodorus (who is addicted to this kind of moralising on numbers) that was reached by the years of the life of christ on earth. [footnote : . octateuchus (pentateuch, joshua, judges, ruth). . kings (samuel and kings, chronicles). . prophets (four major, including daniel, and twelve minor). . psalms. . solomon (proverbs, ecclesiastes, canticles, wisdom, ecclesiasticus). . hagiographa (tobias, esther, judith, maccabees, esdras). . gospels. . epistles of the apostles (including that to the hebrews). . acts of the apostles and apocalypse.] [footnote : the remarks on marcellinus comes and prosper are worth transcribing: 'hunc [eusebium] subsecutus est suprascriptus marcellinus illyricianus, qui adhuc patricii justiniani fertur egisse cancellos; sed meliore conditione devotus, a tempore theodosii principis usque ad finem imperii triumphalis augusti justiniani opus suum, domino juvante, perduxit; ut qui ante fuit in obsequio suscepto gratus, postea ipsius imperio copiose amantissimus appareret.' [the allusion to 'finem imperii justiniani' was probably added in a later revision of the institutiones.] 'sanctus quoque prosper chronica ab adam ad genserici tempora et urbis romae depraedationem usque perduxit.'] the second part of the treatise, commonly called 'de artibus ac disciplinis liberalium litterarum,' contains so much as the author thought that every monk should be acquainted with concerning the four liberal arts--grammar, rhetoric, logic, mathematics--the last of which is divided into the four 'disciplines' of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. as illustrating the relative importance of these sciences (as we call them) as apprehended by cassiodorus, it is curious to observe that while geometry and astronomy occupy only about one page, and arithmetic and music two pages each, logic takes up eighteen pages, grammar two, and rhetoric six. [sidenote: de orthographiâ.] ( ) some other works, chiefly of a grammatical kind[ ], which have now perished, together with the exegetical treatises already named, occupied the leisure hours of the old age of cassiodorus. at length, in the ninety-third year of his age, the veteran statesman, nobleman, and judge crowned his life of useful service by writing for his beloved monks his still extant treatise 'de orthographia[ ].' he tells us that the monks suddenly exclaimed, 'what doth it profit us to study either those works which the ancients have composed or those which your wisdom has caused to be added to the list, if we are altogether ignorant how we ought to write these things, and on the other hand cannot understand and accurately represent in speech the words which we find written?' in other words, 'give us a treatise on spelling.' the venerable teacher gladly complied with the request, and compiled from twelve grammarians[ ] various rules, the observance of which would prevent the student from committing the usual faults in spelling. it is no doubt true[ ] that this work is a mere collection of excerpts from other authors, not arranged on any systematic principle. still, even as such a collection, it does great credit to the industry of a nonagenarian; and it seems to me that there is much in it which a person who was studying the transition of latin into the lingua volgare might peruse with profit. to an epigraphist especially it must be interesting to see what were the mistakes which an imperfectly educated italian in that age was most likely to commit. the confusion between _b_ and _v_ was evidently a great source of error, and their nice discrimination, to which cassiodorus devotes four chapters, a very _crux_ of accurate scholarship. we see also from a passage in the 'de institutione divinarum litterarum[ ]' that the practice of assimilating the last letter of the prefix in compound words, like i_l_luminatio, i_r_risio, i_m_probus, though it had been introduced, was as yet hardly universal; and similarly that the monks required to be instructed to write qui_c_quam for euphony, instead of qui_d_quam. [footnote : they were a compilation from the 'artes' of donatus, from a book on etymologies (perhaps also by donatus), and from a treatise by sacerdos on schemata; and a short table of contents of the books of scripture, prepared in such a form as to be easily committed to memory.] [footnote : ad amantissimos orthographos discutiendos anno aetatis meae nonagesimo tertio (domino adjuvante) perveni.] [footnote : they were donatus, cn. cornutus, velius longus, curtius valerianus, papirianus, adamantius martyrius, eutiches, caesellius, lucius caecilius, and 'priscianus grammaticus, qui nostro tempore constantinopoli doctor fuit.' two names seem to be omitted by cassiodorus.] [footnote : as stated by ebert (p. ).] [footnote : cap. xv.] [sidenote: death of cassiodorus, (?).] the treatise 'de orthographiâ' was the last product, as far as we know, of the industrious brain of cassiodorus. two years after its composition the aged statesman and scholar, in the ninety-sixth year of his age, entered into his well-earned rest[ ]. the death of cassiodorus occurred (as i believe) in the year , three years before the death of the emperor justin ii, nephew and successor of justinian. the period covered by his life had been one of vast changes. born when the kingdom of odovacar was only four years old, he had as a young man seen that kingdom overthrown by the arms of theodoric; he had sat by the cradle of the ostrogothic monarchy, and mourned over its grave; had seen the eunuch narses supreme vicegerent of the emperor; had heard the avalanche of the lombard invasion thunder over italy, and had outlived even the lombard invader alboin. pope leo, the tamer of attila and the hero of chalcedon, had not been dead twenty years when cassiodorus was born. pope gregory the great, the converter of england, was within fifteen years of his accession to the pontificate when cassiodorus died. the first great schism between the eastern and western churches was begun in his boyhood and ended before he had reached old age. he saw the irretrievable ruin of rome, such as augustus and trajan had known her; the extinction of the roman senate; the practical abolition of the consulate; the close of the schools of philosophy at athens. [footnote : in assigning the death of cassiodorus to the ninety-sixth year of his age i rest upon the authority of trittheim (as quoted in the earlier part of this chapter), who appears to me to have preserved the chronology which was generally accepted, before the question became entangled by the confusion between cassiodorus and his father.] reverting to the line of thought with which this chapter opened, if one were asked to specify any single life which more than another was in contact both with the ancient world and the modern, none could be more suitably named than the life of cassiodorus. note on the topography of squillace. the chief conclusions which mr. evans came to after his two days' study of the country about squillace are these:-- [sidenote: position of scylacium.] i. the scylacium or scolacium of roman times, the city of cassiodorus, is not to be looked for at the modern squillace, but at the place called roccella in the italian military map, which lenormant and evans know as _la roccelletta del vescovo di squillace_. [illustration: [map] _oxford university press_] this place, which is about ten kilometres north-east of modern squillace, is on a little hill immediately overhanging the sea, while squillace is on a spur of the apennines three or four miles distant from the sea. mr. evans' chief reasons for identifying roccella with scylacium are ( ) its position, 'hanging like a cluster of grapes on hills not so high as to make the ascent of them a weariness, but high enough to command a delightful prospect over land and sea.' this description by cassiodorus exactly suits roccella, but does not suit squillace, which is at the top of a conical hill, and is reached only by a very toilsome ascent. 'with its gradual southern and eastern slope and its freedom from overlooking heights (different in this respect from squillace),' says mr. evans, 'roccella was emphatically, as cassiodorus describes it, "a city of the sun."' ( ) its ruins. while no remains of a pre-mediaeval time have been discovered at squillace, there is still standing at roccella the shell of a splendid basilica, of which mr. evans has taken some plans and sketches, but which seems to have strangely escaped the notice of most preceding travellers. the total length of this building is paces, the width of the nave , the extreme width of the transept . it has three fine apses at the eastern end, and is built in the form of a latin cross. on either side of the nave was an exterior arcade, which apparently consisted originally of eleven window arches, six of them not being for the transmission of light. 'altogether,' says mr. evans, 'this church, even in its dilapidated state, is one of the finest monuments of the kind anywhere existing. we should have to go to rome, to ravenna, or to thessalonica, to find its parallel; but i doubt whether, even at any of those places, there is to be seen a basilica with such fine exterior arcading. it is a great tribute to the strength of the original fabric that so much should have survived the repeated shocks of earthquake that have desolated calabria, and scarcely left one stone upon another of her ancient cities.' after a careful examination of the architectural peculiarities of this basilica, mr. evans is disposed to fix its erection somewhere about the time of the emperor justinian. in addition to this fine building there are at roccella the ruins of two smaller late roman churches, mausolea, and endless foundations of buildings which must have formed very extensive suburbs. more important than all, the massive walls of a considerable city can still be traced for nearly a mile in two parallel lines, with the transverse wall which unites them. certainly all these indications seem to point to the existence at this spot of a great provincial city of the empire, and to make mr. evans' conjecture more probable than that of m. lenormant, who identified the ruins at roccella with those of castra hannibalis, the seaport of scylacium. it would seem probable, if mr. evans' theory be correct, that the city may have been removed to its present site in the early middle ages, in order to guard it against the incursions of the saracens. [sidenote: the vivarian monastery.] ii. as to the situation of the _vivarian monastery_ mr. evans comes to nearly the same conclusion as m. lenormant. both place it on the promontory of squillace (eastward of staletti), and, as mr. evans observes, 'only such a position can be reconciled, on the one hand, with the presence of an abundant stream and rich campagna, on the other with the neighbourhood of caves and grottoes on the sea-shore.' but while m. lenormant places it at a place called coscia, almost immediately to the north of and under staletti, mr. evans pleads for the site now occupied by the church of s. maria del mare, on the cliff top, very near the sea, and about three kilometres south of staletti. this church is itself of later date than cassiodorus, and probably formed part of the work of restoration undertaken by nicephorus phocas in the tenth century; but there are signs of its having formerly joined on to a monastery, and some of the work about it looks as if materials taken from the cassiodorian edifice had been used in the work of reconstruction. [sidenote: the fons arethusae.] iii. the _fountain of arethusa_ may possibly, according to mr. evans, be identified with the fontana della panaghia, a small fountain by the sea-shore at the south end of a little bay under the promontory of s. gregorio. the so-called fontana di cassiodoro, near coscia, has received its name and its present appearance in modern times, and is much too far from the sea to be the fountain of arethusa. chapter ii. the anecdoton holderi. a few pages must be devoted to the ms. bearing the somewhat uncouth title of 'anecdoton holderi,' because it is the most recently opened source of information as to the life and works of cassiodorus, and one which, if genuine, settles some questions which have been long and vigorously debated among scholars. my information on the subject is derived from a pamphlet of pages by hermann usener, printed at bonn in , and bearing the title 'anecdoton holderi: ein beitrag zur geschichte roms in ostgothischer zeit.' i am indebted to mr. bywater, of exeter college, oxford, for my introduction to this pamphlet, which, while strikingly confirming some conclusions which i had come to from my own independent study of the 'variae,' has been of the greatest possible service to me in studying the lives of cassiodorus and boethius. [sidenote: description of the ms.] the 'anecdoton' (which loses its right to that name by usener's publication of it) was discovered by alfred holder in a ms. known as codex augiensis, no. cvl, which came from the monastery of reichenau and is now in the grand-ducal library at carlsruhe. the monks of the fertile island of reichenau (augia dives), in the lake of constance, were celebrated in the ninth and tenth centuries for their zeal in the collection and transcription of manuscripts. the well-known codex augiensis (an uncial ms. of the greek text of the new testament, with the vulgate version in parallel columns) is referred by palaeographers to the ninth century[ ]. the codex augiensis with which we are now concerned, and which is a copy of the 'institutiones humanarum rerum' of cassiodorus, is believed to have been written in the next succeeding century. on the last page of this ms. holder discovered the fragment--not properly belonging to the 'institutiones'--to which he has given his name, and which is as follows[ ]:-- [footnote : see scrivener, plain introduction to the criticism of the new testament, pp. - .] [footnote : i have adopted the emendations--most of them the corrections of obvious mistakes--which are suggested by usener.] [sidenote: contents of the anecdoton holderi.] 'excerpta ex libello cassiodori senatoris monachi servi dei, ex-patricio, ex-consule ordinario quaestore et magistro officiorum, quem scripsit ad rufum petronium nicomachum ex-consule ordinario patricium et magistrum officiorum. ordo generis cassiodororum[ ]: qui scriptores exstiterint ex eorum progenie vel ex civibus[ ] eruditis. [footnote : in the original, 'casiodoru.'] [footnote : in the original, 'ex quibus.'] 'symmachus patricius et consul ordinarius, vir philosophus, qui antiqui catonis fuit novellus imitator, sed virtutes veterum sanctissima religione transcendit. dixit sententiam pro allecticiis in senatu, parentesque suos imitatus historiam quoque romanam septem libris edidit. 'boethius dignitatibus summis excelluit. utraque lingua peritissimus orator fuit. qui regem theodorichum in senatu pro consulatu filiorum luculenta oratione laudavit. scripsit librum de sancta trinitate et capita quaedam dogmatica et librum contra nestorium. condidit et carmen bucolicum. sed in opere artis logicae, id est dialecticae, transferendo ac mathematicis disciplinis talis fuit ut antiquos auctores aut aequiperaret aut vinceret. 'cassiodorus senator, vir eruditissimus et multis dignitatibus pollens. juvenis adeo, dum patris cassiodori patricii et praefecti praetorii consiliarius fieret et laudes theodorichi regis gothorum facundissime recitasset, ab eo quaestor est factus. patricius et consul ordinarius, postmodum dehinc magister officiorum [et praefuisset formulas dictionum, quas in duodecim libris ordinavit et variarum titulum superposuit] scripsit praecipiente theodoricho rege historiam gothicam, originem eorum et loca moresque xii libris annuntians.' this memorandum, for it is hardly more, is a vestige, and the only vestige now remaining, of a short tract by cassiodorus on the literary history of his family and kinsmen. the 'excerpta' have been made by some later hand--perhaps that of a monk in the vivarian convent. to him undoubtedly we owe the words 'monachi servi dei' as a description of cassiodorus; probably also the 'ex-patricio,' which is perhaps an incorrect designation. 'vir eruditissimus,' in the last paragraph, is probably due to the same hand, as, with all his willingness to do justice to his own good qualities, cassiodorus would hardly have spoken thus of himself in a work avowedly proceeding from his own pen. the clause which is placed in brackets [et ... superposuit] is probably also due to the copyist, anxious to supply what he deemed the imperfections of his memorandum. in short, it must be admitted that the fragment cannot consist of the very words of cassiodorus in however abbreviated a form. still it contains so much that is valuable, and that could hardly have been invented by any writer of a post-cassiodorian age, that it is well worthy of the careful and, so to speak, microscopical examination to which it has been subjected by usener. [sidenote: date of the fragment.] [sidenote: persons to whom addressed.] the work from which these 'excerpta' are taken was composed, according to usener, in the year . this is proved by the facts that the receiver of the letter is spoken of as magister officiorum, a post which he apparently held from sept. , , to sept. , ; and that the consulship of the two sons of boethius, which began on jan. , , is also referred to. the name of the person to whom the letter is addressed is given as rufius petronius nicomachus. usener, however, shows good reason for thinking that his final name, the name by which he was known in the consular lists, is omitted, and that his full designation was rufius petronius nicomachus cethegus, consul in , magister officiorum (as above stated) in - , and patrician. he was probably the same cethegus whom procopius mentions[ ] as princeps senatus, and as withdrawing from rome to centumcellae in the year because he was accused of treachery to the imperial cause[ ]. [footnote : de bello gotthico iii. (p. , ed. bonn).] [footnote : if usener be right (and he has worked up this point with great care), we can trace the following links in the pedigree of cethegus (see pp. and ): rufius petronius _placidus_, consul . | rufius petronius anicius _probinus_, consul . | rufius petronius nicomachus _cethegus_, consul , correspondent of cassiodorus. probinus and cethegus are referred to by ennodius in his letter to ambrosius and beatus, otherwise called his paraenesis (p. , ed. hartel).] [sidenote: its object.] the object of the little treatise referred to evidently was to give an account of those members of the family to which cassiodorus belonged who had distinguished themselves in literature. the words 'ex genere cassiodororum' are perhaps a gloss of the transcribers. at least it does not appear that they would correctly describe the descent of symmachus and boethius, though they were relations of cassiodorus, being descended from or allied to the great house of the aurelii from which he also sprang. probably several other names may have been noticed in the original treatise, but the only three as to which the 'anecdoton' informs us are the three as to whom information is most acceptable--symmachus, boethius, and cassiodorus himself. [sidenote: information as to life of symmachus.] i. the name of q. aurelius memmius _symmachus_ was already known to us as that of the friend, guardian, and father-in-law of boethius, and his fellow-sufferer from the outburst of suspicious rage which disgraced the last years of theodoric. that he was consul in (under the dominion of odovacar), and that he had at the time of his fall attained the honoured position of father of the senate[ ], we also know from the 'consular fasti' and the 'anonymus valesii.' this extract tells us that he had attained the rank of patricius, which may perhaps have been bestowed upon him when he laid down the consulship. he was 'a philosopher, and a modern imitator of the ancient cato; but surpassed the virtues of the men of old by [his devotion to] our most holy religion.' this sentence quite accords with all that we hear of the character of symmachus from our other authorities--the 'anonymus valesii,' procopius, and boethius. the blending of old roman gravity and christian piety in such a man's disposition is happily indicated in the words before us. it would be an interesting commentary upon them if we were to contrast the career of the christian symmachus, who suffered in some sense as a martyr for the nicene creed under theodoric, with that of his ancestor the pagan symmachus, who, years before, incurred the anger of gratian by his protests against the removal of the altar of victory from the senate house, and the curtailment of the grant to the vestal virgins. [footnote : caput senati. this, not caput senatus, is the form which we find in anon. valesii. usener suggests (p. ) that symmachus probably became caput senati on the death of festus, who had held that position from to .] the symmachus with whom we are now concerned was also an orator; and we learn from this extract that he delivered a speech, evidently of some importance, in the senate, 'pro allecticiis.' there seems much probability in usener's contention that these 'allecticii' were men who had been 'allecti,' or admitted by co-optation into the senate during the reign of odovacar, and whom, on the downfall of that ruler, it had been proposed to strip of their recently acquired dignity--a proposal which seems to have been successfully resisted by symmachus and his friends. lastly, we learn that symmachus, 'in imitation of his ancestors,' put forth a roman history in seven books. the expression for ancestors (parentes) here used is thought by usener to refer chiefly to virius nicomachus flavianus (consul in [ ]), whose granddaughter married q. fabius memmius symmachus, and was the grandmother of our symmachus. this flavianus, who was in his time one of the chief leaders of the heathen party in the senate, is spoken of in one inscription as 'historicus disertissimus;' and in another, mention is made of the fact that he dedicated his annals to theodosius. [footnote : see usener, p. . the consules ordinarii for that year were arcadius and honorius.] whether the elder symmachus, the pagan champion, was a historian as well as an orator is a matter about which there is a good deal of doubt. jordanes twice quotes 'the history of symmachus,' once as to the elevation of the emperor maximin, and once as to his death[ ]. usener thinks that the 'anecdoton holderi' authorises us henceforward to assign these quotations without doubt to the younger, christian symmachus, not to his pagan ancestor. to me the allusion to _parentes_ (in the plural), whose industry as historians the symmachus there spoken of imitated, seems to make it at least as probable that the earlier, not the later member of the family composed the history which is here quoted by jordanes. [footnote : jordanes, getica xv.: 'nam, ut dicit symmachus in quinto suae historiae libro, maximinus ... ab exercitus effectus est imperator.' 'occisus aquileia a puppione regnum reliquit philippo; quod nos huic nostro opusculo de symmachi hystoria [sic] mutuavimus.'] [sidenote: information as to life of boethius.] ii. we now pass on to consider the information furnished by this fragment as to the illustrious son-in-law of symmachus, anicius manlius severinus _boethius_. of the facts of his life we had already pretty full information, from the autobiographical sections of the 'consolation of philosophy' and other sources. he does not indeed mention the exact year of his birth, but the allusion to 'untimely gray hairs' which he makes in that work, written in or , together with other indications[ ] as to his age, entitle us to fix it at about , certainly not earlier than that year. the death of his father (who was consul in ) occurred while he was still a child. symmachus, as has been already said, was the guardian of his youth and the friend of his manhood, and gave him his daughter rusticiana to wife. that he received the honour of the consulship in we know from the 'fasti consulares;' but it is perplexing to find him even before that year spoken of[ ] as patricius, since this honour was generally bestowed only on those who had already sat in the curule chair of the consul[ ]. the high consideration in which he was held at the court of theodoric, and the value placed upon his scientific attainments, are sufficiently proved by the letters in the following collection, especially by those in which he is consulted about the frauds committed by the officers of the mint, about the water-clock which is to be sent to gundobad king of the burgundians, and the harper who is to be provided for the king of the franks[ ]. in the year his two sons, symmachus and boethius, though they had but just attained to man's estate, received the honour of the consulship, upon which occasion the proud and happy father pronounced a panegyric upon theodoric before the assembled senate. some of these facts in the life of boethius are referred to in the extract before us, which, as was before said, appears to be taken from a treatise composed in this same year , the year of the consulship of the young boethii. of their father's investiture with the office of _magister officiorum_ on september , , of his sudden fall from the royal favour, of the charge of treason which was preferred against him before the end of that year, of his imprisonment during and execution (probably in the early part of ), we have of course no trace in this extract; and the fact that we have none is a strong argument for the genuineness and contemporary character of the treatise from which it is taken. [footnote : chiefly derived from the paraenesis of ennodius (opusc. vi.).] [footnote : in the paraenesis.] [footnote : usener's suggestion (pp. , ) that he obtained this honour in consequence of having filled the place of _comes sacrarum largitionum_ seems to me only to land us in the further difficulty caused by the entire omission of all allusion to this fact both in the paraenesis and in the anecdoton holderi.] [footnote : see var. i. and ; ii. .] [sidenote: his theological treatises.] so far, then, we have in the 'anecdoton holderi' only a somewhat meagre reiteration of facts already known to us. but when we come to the statement of the literary labours of boethius the case is entirely altered. it is well known that in the middle ages certain treatises on disputed points of christian theology were attributed to him as their author. they are:-- . a treatise 'de sancta trinitate.' . 'ad johannem diaconum: utrum pater et filius et spiritus sanctus de divinitate substantialiter praedicentur.' . 'ad eundem: quomodo substantiae in eo quod sint bonae sint cum non sint substantialia bona.' . 'de fide catholica.' . 'contra eutychen et nestorium.' it may be said at once that in the earlier mss. the fourth treatise is not attributed to boethius. it seems to have been included with the others by some mistake, and i shall therefore in the following remarks assume that it is not his, and shall confine my attention to the first three and the fifth. [sidenote: difficulty as to religious position of boethius.] even as to these, notwithstanding the nearly unanimous voice of the early middle ages (as represented by mss. of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh centuries) assigning them to boethius as their author, scholars, especially recent scholars, have felt the gravest possible doubts of their being really his, doubts which have of late ripened into an almost complete certainty that he was not their author. the difficulty does not arise from anything in the diction or in the theology which points to a later age as the time of their composition, but from the startling contrast which they present to the religious atmosphere of the 'consolation of philosophy.' here, in these theological treatises, we have the author entering cheerfully into the most abstruse points of the controversy concerning the nature of christ, without apparently one wavering thought as to the deity of the son of mary. there, in the 'consolation,' a book written in prison and in disgrace, with death at the executioner's hands impending over him--a book in which above all others we should have expected a man possessing the christian faith to dwell upon the promises of christianity--the name of christ is never once mentioned, the tone, though religious and reverential, is that of a theist only; and from beginning to end, except one or two sentences in which an obscure allusion may possibly be detected to the christian revelation, there is nothing which might not have been written by a greek philosopher ignorant of the very name of christianity. of the various attempts which have been made to solve this riddle perhaps the most ingenious is that of m. charles jourdain, who, in a monograph devoted to the subject[ ], seeks to prove that the author of the theological treatises referred to was a certain boethus, an african bishop of the byzacene province, who was banished to sardinia about the year by the vandal king thrasamond. [footnote : de l'origine des traditions sur le christianisme de boèce (paris, .)] not thus, however, as it now appears, is the knot to be cut. and after all, m. jourdain, in arguing, as he seems disposed to argue, against any external profession of christianity on the part of boethius, introduces contradictions greater than any that his theory would remove. to any person acquainted with the thoughts and words of the little coterie of roman nobles to which boethius belonged, it will seem absolutely impossible that the son-in-law of symmachus, the receiver of the praises of ennodius and cassiodorus, should have been a professed votary of the old paganism. it is not the theological treatises coming from a man in his position which are hard to account for; it is the apparently non-christian tone of the 'consolation.' the fragment now before us shows that the old-fashioned belief in boethius as a theologian was well founded. 'he wrote a book concerning the holy trinity, and certain dogmatic chapters, and a book against nestorius.' that is a sufficiently accurate _resumé_ of the four theological treatises enumerated above. here usener also observes--and i am inclined to agree with him--that there is a certain resemblance between the style of thought of these treatises and that of the 'consolation' itself. they are, after all, philosophical rather than religious; one of the earliest samples of that kind of logical discussion of theological dogmas which the schoolmen of the middle ages so delighted to indulge in. the young philosopher, hearing at his father-in-law's table the discussions between chalcedonian and monophysite with which all rome resounded, on account of the prolonged strife with the church of constantinople, set himself down to discuss the same topics which they were wrangling over by the light--to him so clear and precious--of the greek philosophy. there was perhaps in this employment neither reverence nor irreverence. he had not st. augustine's intense and almost passionate conviction of the truth of christianity; but he was quite willing to accept it and to discourse upon it, as he discoursed on arithmetic, music, and geometry. but when premature old age, solitude, and the loss of liberty befell him, it was not to the highly elaborated christian theology of the sixth century that he turned for support and consolation. probably enough the very fact that he knew some of the pitfalls in the way deterred him from that dangerous journey, where the slightest deviation on either side landed him in some detested heresy, the heresy of nestorius or of eutyches. 'on revient toujours à ses premiers amours;' and even so boethius, though undoubtedly professing himself a christian, and about to die in full communion with the catholic church, turned for comfort in his dungeon to the philosophical studies of his youth, especially to the ethical writings of plato and aristotle. after all, the title of the treatise is '_philosophiae_ consolatio;' and however vigorous a literature of philosophy may in the course of centuries have grown up in the christian domain, in the sixth century the remembrance of the old opposition between christianity and philosophy was perhaps still too strong for a writer to do anything more than stand neutral as to the distinctive claims of christianity, when he had for the time donned the cloak of the philosopher. [sidenote: the bucolic poem of boethius.] we learn from the fragment before us that boethius also wrote a 'bucolic poem.' this is an interesting fact, and helps to explain the facility with which he breaks into song in the midst of the 'consolation.' it may have been to this effort of the imagination that he alluded when he said at the beginning of that work-- 'carmina qui quondam studio florente peregi flebilis, heu, moestos cogor inire modos.' we would gladly know something more of this 'bucolic poem' indited by the universal genius, boethius. [sidenote: cassiodorus.] iii. as for _cassiodorus_ himself, the additional information furnished by this fragment has been already discussed in the foregoing chapter. that he was _consilarius_ to his father during his praefecture, and that in that capacity he recited an eloquent panegyric on theodoric, which was rewarded by his promotion to the high office of the quaestorship, are facts which we learn from this fragment only; and they are of high importance, not only for the life of cassiodorus but for the history of europe at the beginning of the sixth century, because they make it impossible to assign to any letter in the 'variae' an earlier date than . chapter iii. the gradations of official rank in the later empire. [sidenote: official hierarchy introduced by diocletian.] it is well known that diocletian introduced and constantine perfected an elaborate system of administration under which the titles, functions, order of precedence, and number of attendants of the various officers of the civil service as well as of the imperial army were minutely and punctiliously regulated. this system, which, as forming the pattern upon which the nobility of mediaeval europe was to a great extent modelled, perhaps deserves even more careful study than it has yet received, is admirably illustrated by the letters of cassiodorus. the _notitia utriusque imperii_, our copies of which must have been compiled in the early years of the fifth century, furnishes us with a picture of official life which, after we have made allowance for the fact that the empire of the west has shrunk into the ostrogothic kingdom of italy (with the addition of dalmatia and some other portions of illyricum), is almost precisely reproduced in the pages of the 'various letters.' in order that the student may understand the full significance of many passages in those letters, and especially of the superscriptions by which each letter is prefaced, it will be well to give a brief outline of the system which existed alike under theodosius and theodoric. [sidenote: nobilissimi.] in the first place, then, we come to what is rather a family than a class, the persons bearing the title _nobilissimus_[ ]. these were the nearest relatives of the reigning emperor; his brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters. the title therefore is not unlike that of royal or imperial highness in modern monarchies. i am not sure whether any trace can be found of the survival of this title in the ostrogothic court. theodahad, nephew of theodoric, is addressed simply as 'vir senator[ ],' and he is spoken of as 'praecelsus et amplissimus vir[ ].' it is not so, however, in respect of the three great official classes which follow--the illustres, spectabiles, and clarissimi--whose titles were rendered as punctiliously in the italy of theodoric as ever they were in the italy of diocletian and constantine. [footnote : the existence of this title is proved not only by the language of arcadius in the theodosian code x. . , concerning 'nobilissimae puellae, filiae meae,' but also by zosimus (ii. ), who says that constantine bestowed the dignity of nobilissimus on his brother constantius and his nephew hannibalianus ([greek: tês tou legomenou nôbelissimou par' autou kônstantinou tuchontes axias aidoi tês syngeneias]); and by marcellinus comes, s. a. , who says: 'justinus imperator justinianum ex sorore suâ nepotem, jamdudum a se nobilissimum designatum, participem quoque regni ani, successoremque creavit.' it is evident that the title did not come by right of birth, but that some sort of declaration of it was necessary.] [footnote : var. iii. .] [footnote : var. viii. .] [sidenote: illustres.] i. the _illustres_ were a small and select circle of men, the chief depositaries of power after the sovereign, and they may with some truth be compared to the cabinet ministers of our own political system. the 'notitia' mentions thirteen of them as bearing rule in the western empire. they are: . the praetorian praefect of italy. . the praetorian praefect of the gauls. . the praefect of the city of rome. . the master of the foot guards (magister peditum in praesenti). . the master of the horse guards (magister equitum in praesenti). . the master of the horse for the gauls (per gallias). . the grand chamberlain (praepositus sacri cubiculi). . the master of the offices. . the quaestor. . the count of sacred largesses. . the count of the private domains (comes rerum privatarum). . the count of the household cavalry (comes domesticorum equitum). . the count of the household infantry (comes domesticorum peditum). substantially these same titles were borne by the illustres to whom cassiodorus (himself one of them) addressed his 'various letters.' the second and the sixth (the praetorian praefect of the gauls, and the master of the horse for the gauls) may possibly have disappeared; and yet, in view of the fact that theodoric was during the greater part of his reign ruler of a portion of gaul, it is not necessary to assume even this change. into the question of the military officers i will not enter, as i confess that i do not understand the relations (whether co-ordinate or subordinated one to another) of the two pairs of officers, nos. and and nos. and . the rank and duties of the praetorian praefect of italy, the master of the offices, and the quaestor have already been described in the first chapter. it will be well to say a few words as to the four remaining civil dignitaries, the praefect of the city, the grand chamberlain, the count of sacred largesses, and the count of the private domains. [sidenote: praefect of the city.] (_a_) the _praefectus urbis romae_ was by virtue of his office head of the senate. he had the care of the annona or corn-largesses to the people, the command of the city-watch, and the duty of keeping the aqueducts in proper repair. the shores and channel of the tiber, the vast _cloacae_ which carried off the refuse of the city, the quays and warehouses of portus at the river's mouth were also under his authority. the officer who was charged with taking the census, the officers charged with levying the duties on wine, the masters of the markets, the superintendents of the granaries, the curators of the statues, baths, theatres, and the other public buildings with which the city was adorned, all owned the supreme control of the urban praefect. at the beginning of the fifth century the _vicarius urbis_ (whom it is difficult not to think of as in some sort subject to the _praefectus urbis_), had jurisdiction over all central and southern italy and sicily. but if this was the arrangement then, it must have been altered before the time of cassiodorus, who certainly appears as praetorian praefect to have wielded authority over the greater part of italy. he states, however[ ], that the urban praefect had, by an ancient law, jurisdiction, not only over rome itself, but over all the district within miles of the capital. [footnote : var. vi. .] [sidenote: grand chamberlain.] (_b_) the _praepositus sacri cubiculi_ had under his orders the large staff of grooms of the bedchamber, at whose head stood the _primicerius cubiculariorum_, an officer of 'respectable' rank. the _castrensis_, butler or seneschal, with his army of lacqueys and pages who attended to the spreading and serving of the royal table; the _comes sacrae vestis_, who with similar assistance took charge of the royal wardrobe; the _comes domorum_, who perhaps superintended the needful repairs of the royal palace, all took their orders in the last resort from the grand chamberlain. so, too, did the three decurions, officers with a splendid career of advancement before them, who marshalled the thirty brilliantly armed silentiarii, that paced backwards and forwards before the purple veil guarding the slumbers of the sovereign. [sidenote: count of sacred largesses.] (_c_) the _comes sacrarum largitionum_, theoretically only the grand almoner of the sovereign, discharged in practice many of the duties of chancellor of the exchequer. the mines, the mint, the imperial linen factories, the receipt of the tribute of the provinces, and many other departments of the public revenue were originally under the care of this functionary, whose office however, as we are expressly told by cassiodorus, had lost part of its lustre, probably by a transfer of some of these duties to the count of the private domains. [sidenote: count of private domains.] (_d_) this minister, the _comes rerum privatarum_, had the superintendence of the imperial estates in italy and the provinces. confiscations and the absorption by the state of the properties of defaulting tax-payers were probably always tending to increase the extent of these estates, and to make the office of count of the domain more important. the collection of the land-tax, far the most important item of the imperial revenue, was also made subject to his authority. finally, in order, as cassiodorus quaintly observes[ ], that his jurisdiction should not be exercised only over slaves (the cultivators of the state domains), some authority was given to him within the city, and by a curious division of labour all charges of incestuous crime, or of the spoliation of graves, were brought before the tribunal of the comes privatarum. [footnote : var. vi. .] besides the thirteen persons who, as acting ministers of the highest class, were entitled to the designation of illustris, there were also those whom we may call honorary members of the class: the persons who had received the dignity of the patriciate--a dignity which was frequently bestowed on those who had filled the office of consul, and which, unlike the others of which we have been speaking, was held for life. it is a question on which i think we need further information, whether a person who had once filled an illustrious office lost the right to be so addressed on vacating it. i am not sure that we have any clear case in the following collection of an ex-official holding this courtesy-rank; but it seems probable that such would be the case. considering also the great show of honour with which the consulate, though now destitute of all real power, was still greeted, it seems probable that the consuls for the year would rank as illustres; but here, too, we seem to require fuller details. [sidenote: spectabiles.] ii. we now come to the second class, the _spectabiles_, which consists chiefly of the lieutenants and deputies of the illustres. for instance, every praetorian praefect had immediately under him a certain number of _vicarii_, each of whom was a spectabilis. the praefecture included an extent of territory equivalent to two or three countries of modern europe (for instance, the praefecture of the gauls embraced britain, gaul, a considerable slice of germany, spain, and morocco). this was divided into dioceses (in the instance above referred to britain formed one diocese, gaul another, and spain with its attendant portion of africa a third), and the diocese was again divided into provinces. the title of the ruler of the diocese, who in his restricted but still ample domain wielded a similar authority to that of the illustrious praefect, was _spectabilis vicarius_. but the praefect and the vicar controlled only the civil government of the territories over which they respectively bore sway. the military command of the diocese was vested in a _spectabilis comes_, who was under the orders of the illustrious magister militum. subordinate in some way to the comes was the _dux_, who was also a spectabilis, but whose precise relation to his superior the comes is, to me at least, not yet clear[ ]. [footnote : i think the usual account of the matter is that which i have given elsewhere (italy and her invaders, i. ), that the comes had military command in the diocese and the dux in the province. but on closer examination i cannot find that the notitia altogether bears out this view. it gives us for the western empire eight comites and twelve duces. the former pretty nearly correspond to the dioceses, but the latter are far too few for the provinces, which number forty-two, excluding all the provinces of italy. besides, in some cases the jurisdiction appears to be the same. thus we have both a dux and a comes britanniarum, and the dux mauritaniae caesariensis must, one would think, have held command in a region as large or larger than the comes tingitaniae. again, we have a comes argentoratensis and a dux moguntiacensis, two officers whose power, one would think, was pretty nearly equal. the same may perhaps be said of the comes litoris saxonici in britain and the dux tractus armoricani et nervicani in gaul. while recognising a _general_ inferiority of the dux to the comes, i do not think we can, with the notitia before us, assert that the provincial duces were regularly subordinated to the diocesan comes, as the provincial consulares were to the diocesan vicarius. and the fact that both comes and dux were addressed as spectabilis rather confirms this view.] besides these three classes of dignitaries, the _castrensis_, who was a kind of head steward in the imperial household, and most of the heads of departments in the great administrative offices, such as the _primicerius notariorum_ and the _magistri scriniorum_[ ], bore the title of spectabilis. we have perhaps hardly sufficient data for an exact calculation, but i conjecture that there would be as many as fifty or sixty spectabiles in the kingdom of theodoric. [footnote : probably, from the order in which they are mentioned by the notitia.] it appears to me that the epithet _sublimis_ (which is almost unknown to the theodosian code), when it occurs in the 'variae' is used as synonymous with spectabilis[ ]. [footnote : sublimis occurs in the superscription of the following letters: i. ; iv. ; v. , , and ; ix. and ; xii. .] [sidenote: clarissimi.] iii. the _clarissimi_ were the third rank in the official hierarchy. to our minds it may appear strange that the 'most renowned' should come below 'the respectable,' but such was the imperial pleasure. the title 'clarissimus' had moreover its own value, for from the time of constantine onwards it was conferred on all the members of the senate, and was in fact identical with senator[ ]; and this was doubtless, as usener points out[ ], the reason why the letters cl. were still appended to a roman nobleman's name after he had risen higher in the official scale and was entitled to be called spectabilis or illustris. the _consulares_ or _correctores_, who administered the provinces under the vicarii, were called clarissimi; and we shall observe in the collection before us many other cases in which the title is given to men in high, but not the highest, positions in the civil service of the state. [footnote : see emil kühn's verfassung des römischen reichs i. , and the passages quoted there.] [footnote : p. .] besides the three classes above enumerated there were also:-- [sidenote: perfectissimi.] iv. the _perfectissimi_, to which some of the smaller provincial governors belonged, as well as some of the clerks in the revenue offices (numerarii) who had seen long service, and even some veteran decurions. below these again were:-- [sidenote: egregii.] v. the _egregii_, who were also decurions who had earned a right to promotion, or even what we should call veteran non-commissioned officers in the army (primipilares). but of these two classes slight mention is made in the theodosian code, and none at all (i believe) in the 'notitia' or the 'letters of cassiodorus.' chapter iv. on the officium of the praefectus praetorio[ ]. [footnote : to illustrate the eleventh book of the variae, letters to .] [sidenote: military character of the roman civil service.] the official staff that served under the roman governors of high rank was an elaborately organised body, with a carefully arranged system of promotion, and liberal superannuation allowances for those of its members who had attained a certain position in the office. although, in consequence of the changes introduced by diocletian and constantine, the civil and military functions had been for the most part divided from one another, and it was now unusual to see the same magistrate riding at the head of armies and hearing causes in the praetorium, in theory the officers of the courts of justice were still military officers. their service was spoken of as a _militia_; the type of their office was the _cingulum_, or military belt; and one of the leading officers of the court, as we shall see, was styled _cornicularius_, or trumpeter. the praetorian praefect, whose office had been at first a purely military one, had now for centuries been chiefly concerned in civil administration, and as judge over the highest court of appeal in the empire. his _officium_ (or staff of subordinates) was, at any rate in the fifth century, still the most complete and highly developed that served under any great functionary; and probably the career which it offered to its members was more brilliant than any that they could look for elsewhere. accordingly, in studying the composition of this body we shall familiarise ourselves with the type to which all the other _officia_ throughout the empire more or less closely approximated. notitia. cassiodorus lydus (xi.). (iii. and ii. .). princeps. cornicularius. cornicularius. cornicularius. adjutor. primiscrinius. ii primiscrinii. commentariensis. scriniarius actorum. ab actis. cura epistolarum. iv numerarii. scriniarius curae militaris. subadjuva. primicerius exceptorum. cura epistolarum. sextus scholarius. regerendarius. praerogativarius. exceptores. commentariensis. ii commentarisii. adjutores. regendarius. ii regendarii. singularii. primicerius deputatorum. ii curae epistolarum ponticae. primicerius augustalium. primicerius singulariorum. singularii. lydus calls all the officers down to the curae ep. ponticae [greek: hai logikai leitourgiai] (officium litteratum). [sidenote: sources of information as to the officium.] our chief information as to this elaborate official hierarchy is derived from three sources[ ]:-- [footnote : see table, p. .] ( ) the _notitia dignitatum_, the great official gazetteer of the empire[ ], which in its existing shape appears to date from the reign of arcadius and honorius, early in the fifth century. [footnote : to use a modern illustration, we might perhaps say that the notitia dignitatum = whitaker's almanac + the army list.] ( ) the _de magistratibus_ of joannes lydus, composed by a civil servant of the eastern empire in the middle of the sixth century. ( ) the _variae epistolae_ of cassiodorus, the composition of which ranges from about to . the first of these authorities relates to the eastern and western empires, the second to the eastern alone, the third to the western empire as represented by the ostrogothic kingdom founded by theodoric. much light is also thrown on the subject by the codes of theodosius and justinian. godefroy's commentary on the theodosian code, and bethmann hollweg's 'gerichtsverfassung des sinkenden römischen reichs,' are the chief modern works which have treated of the subject. [sidenote: the officium as described in the notitia.] we will follow the order in which the various offices are arranged by the 'notitia,' which is most likely to correspond with that of official precedence. in the second chapter of the 'notitia orientis,' after an enumeration of the five dioceses and forty-six provinces which are 'sub dispositione viri illustris praefecti praetorio per orientem,' we have this list, 'officium viri illustris praefecti praetorio orientis:' princeps. cornicularius. adjutor. commentariensis. ab actis. numerarii. subadjuvae. cura epistolarum. regerendarius. exceptores. adjutores. singularii. the lists of the officia of all the other praetorian praefects in the 'notitia' are exactly the same as this, except that under the head 'praefectus praetorio per illyricum' we have, instead of the simple entry 'numerarii,' 'numerarii quatuor: in his auri unus, operum alter;' and the 'praefectus urbis romae' had under his numerarii, a 'primiscrinius,' and between the 'adjutores' and 'singularii,' censuales and nomenculatores. we will go through the offices enumerated above in order: [sidenote: princeps.] ( ) the princeps was the head of the whole official staff. in the case of the officium of the praetorian praefect, however, this officer seems, after the compilation of the 'notitia,' to have disappeared, and his rights and privileges became vested in the cornicularius. it will be observed that in the letters of cassiodorus to the members of his staff there is none addressed to the princeps; and similarly there is no mention of a princeps as serving under the praetorian praefect in the treatise of lydus. this elimination of the princeps, however, was not universally applicable to all the officia. cassiodorus (xi. ) mentions a _princeps augustorum_, who was, perhaps, princeps of the _agentes in rebus_; and lydus more distinctly ('de mag.' iii. ) speaks of a bargain made between the cornicularius of the praetorian praefect and the [greek: prinkips tôn magistrianôn], who must be supposed to be princeps in the officium of the _magister officiorum_, though no such officer appears in the 'notitia[ ].' [footnote : see also var. vii. and .] speaking generally, however, we may perhaps say that the greater part of what we are about to hear concerning the rights and endowments of the cornicularius in the praefect's office might be truly asserted of the princeps at the time when the 'notitia' was compiled, before the two offices had been amalgamated. [sidenote: cornicularius.] ( ) the _cornicularius_. as to this officer we have a good many details in the pages of joannes lydus. the antiquarian and etymological part of his information must generally be received with caution; but as to the actual privileges of the office in the days of justinian we may very safely speak after him, since it was an office which he himself held, and whose curtailed gains and privileges caused him bitter disappointment. 'the foremost in rank,' says he[ ], 'of the emperor's assistants (adjutores) is even to this day called _cornicularius_, that is to say _horned_ ([greek: keraïtês]), or _fighting in the front rank_. for the place of the monarch or the caesar was in the middle of the army, where he alone might direct the stress of battle. this being the emperor's place, according to frontinus, on the left wing was posted the praefect or master of the horse, and on the right the praetors or legati, the latter being the officers left in charge of the army when their year of office was drawing to a close, to hold the command till the new consul should come out to take it from them. [footnote : de mag. iii. , .] 'of the whole legion then, amounting to , men, exclusive of cavalry and auxiliaries, as i before said, the _cornicularius_ took the foremost place; and for that reason he still presides over the whole [civil] service, now that the praefect, for reasons before stated, no longer goes forth to battle. 'since, then, all the rest of the staff are called assistants (_adjutores_), the praefect gives an intimation under his own hand to him who is entering the service in what department ([greek: katalogos]) he is ordered to take up his station[ ]. and the following are the names of all the departments of the service. first the _cornicularius_, resplendent in all the dignity of a so-called count ([greek: komês]; comes; companion), but having not yet laid aside his belt of office, nor received the honour of admission to the palace, or what they call brevet-rank (_codicilli vacantes_), which honour at the end of his term of service is given to him, and to none of the other chiefs of departments[ ]. [footnote : lydus here gives the formula for the admission of assistants, 'et colloca eum in legione primâ adjutrice nostrâ,' which he proceeds to translate into greek for the benefit of his readers ([greek: kai taxeias auton en tô prôtô tagmati tô boêthounti hêmin]).] [footnote : i have slightly expanded a sentence here, but this is evidently the author's meaning.] 'and after the cornicularius follow:-- ' primiscrinii, ' commentarisii, ' regendarii, ' curae epistolarum, ' scholae of exceptores, and then the "unlearned service" of the singularii[ ].' [footnote : condensed from lydus, de mag. iii. - .] again, further on[ ], lydus, who delights to 'magnify his office,' gives us this further information as to the rank and functions of the cornicularius: [footnote : ib. iii. - .] 'now that, if i am not mistaken, we have described all the various official grades, it is meet to set forth the history of the cornicularius, the venerable head of the civil service, the man who, as beginning and ending, sums up in himself the complete history of the whole official order. the mere antiquity of his office is sufficient to establish his credit, seeing that he was the leader of his troop for , years, and made his appearance in the world at the same time with the sacred city of rome itself: for the cornicularius was, from the first, attendant on the master of the horse, and the master of the horse on the king, and thus the cornicularius, if he retained nothing of his office but the name, would still be connected with the very beginnings of the roman state. 'but from the time when domitian appointed fuscus to the office of praefect of the praetorians (an office which had been instituted by augustus), and abolished the rank of master of the horse, taking upon himself the command of the army[ ], everything was changed. henceforward, therefore, all affairs that were transacted in the office of the praefect were arranged by the cornicularius alone, and he received the revenues arising from them for his own refreshment. this usage, which prevailed from the days of domitian to our own theodosius, was then changed, on account of the usurpation of rufinus. for the emperor arcadius, fearing the overgrown power of the praefectoral office, passed a law that the princeps of the magister [officiorum]'s staff[ ] ... should appear in the highest courts, and should busy himself with part of the praefect's duties, and especially should enquire into the principle upon which orders for the imperial post-horses ([greek: synthêmata]; _evectiones_) were granted[ ].... this order of arcadius was inscribed in the earlier editions of the theodosian code, but has been omitted in the later as superfluous. [footnote : this seems to be the meaning of lydus, but it is not clearly expressed.] [footnote : there is something wanting in the text here.] [footnote : see cod. theod. vi. . , which looks rather like the law alluded to by lydus, notwithstanding his remark about its omission.] 'thus, then, the princeps of the magistriani, being introduced into the highest courts, but possessing nothing there beyond his mere empty dignity, made a bargain with the cornicularius of the day, the object of which was to open up to him some portion of the business; and, having come to terms, the princeps agreed to hand over to the cornicularius one pound's weight of gold [£ ] monthly, and to give instant gratuities to all his subordinates according to their rank in the service. in consequence of this compact the cornicularius then in office, after receiving his lbs. weight of gold without any abatement, with every show of honour conceded to his superior[ ] (?) the preferential right of introducing "one-membered" cases ([greek: tên tôn monomerôn entuchiôn eisagôgên]), having reserved to himself, beside the fees paid for promotion in the office[ ], and other sources of gain, especially the sole right of subscribing the _acta_ of the court, and thus provided for himself a yearly revenue of not less than , aurei [£ ].' [footnote : [greek: tô kreittoni].] [footnote : [greek: ek tou bathmou].] i have endeavoured to translate as clearly as possible the obscure words of lydus as to this bargain between the two court-officers. the complaint of lydus appears to be that the cornicularius of the day, by taking the money of the princeps magistrianorum, and conceding to him in return the preferential claim to manage 'one-membered' cases (or unopposed business), made a purse for himself, but prepared the way for the ruin of his successors. the monthly payment was, i think, to be made for twelve months only, and thus the whole amount which the cornicularius received from this source was only £ , but from other sources--chiefly the sums paid for promotion by the subordinate members of the _officium_, and the fees charged by him for affixing his subscription to the _acta_ of the court--he still remained in receipt of a yearly revenue of £ . [sidenote: jealousy between the officia of the praefect and the magister.] the jealousy between the officia of the praetorian praefect and the magister officiorum was intense. almost every line in the treatise of lydus testifies to it, and shows that the former office, in which he had the misfortune to serve, was being roughly shouldered out of the way by its younger and more unscrupulous competitor. lydus continues[ ]: 'now, what followed, like the peleus of euripides, i can never describe without tears. for on account of all these sources of revenue having been dried up, i myself have had to bear my part in the general misery of our time, since, though i have reached the highest grade of promotion in the service, i have derived nothing from it but the bare name. i do not blush to call justice herself as a witness to the truth of what i say, when i affirm that i am not conscious of having received one obol from the princeps, nor from the letters patent for promotions in the office[ ]. for indeed whence should i have derived it, since it was the ancient custom that those who in any way appeared in the highest courts should pay to the _officium_ seven and thirty _aurei_ [£ ] for a "one-membered" suit; but ever after this bargain was made there has been given only a very moderate sum of copper--not gold--in a beggarly way, as if one were buying a flask of oil, and that not regularly? or how compel the princeps to pay the ancient covenanted sum to the cornicularius of the day, when he now scarcely remembered the bare name of that officer, as he never condescended to be present in the court when promotions were made from a lower grade to a higher? bitterly do i regret that i was so late in coming to perceive for what a paltry price i was rendering my long services as assistant in the courts, receiving in fact nothing therefrom as my own _solatium_. it serves me right, however, for having chosen that line of employment, as i will explain, if the reader will allow me to recount to him my career from its commencement to the present time.' [footnote : de mag. iii. .] [footnote : [greek: apo tôn legomenôn kompleusimôn], apparently the same source of revenue as the promotion-money ([greek: tên ek tou bathmou pronomian]).] lydus then goes on to describe his arrival at constantinople (a.d. ), his intention to enter the _scrinium memoriae_ (in which he would have served under the magister officiorum), and his abandonment of this intention upon the pressing entreaties of his countryman zoticus, who was at the time praefectus praetorio. this step lydus looks upon as the fatal mistake of his life, though the consequences of it to him were in some degree mitigated by the marriage which zoticus enabled him to make with a lady possessed of a fortune of pounds' weight of gold (£ , ). her property, her virtues (for 'she was superior to all women who have ever been admired for their moral excellence'), and the consolations of philosophy and literature, did much to soothe the disappointment of lydus, who nevertheless felt, when he retired to his books after forty years of service, in which he had reached the unrewarded post of cornicularius, that his official life had been a failure. it has seemed worth while to give this sketch of the actual career of a byzantine official, as it may illustrate in some points the lives of the functionaries to whom so many of the letters of cassiodorus are addressed; though i know not whether we have any indications of such a rivalry at ravenna as that which prevailed at constantinople between the _officium_ of the praefect and that of the magister. we now pass on to [sidenote: adjutor.] [sidenote: primiscrinius.] ( ) the _adjutor_. some of the uses of this term are very perplexing. it seems clear (from lydus, 'de mag.' iii. ) that all the members of the officium were known by the generic name _adjutores_. here however we may perhaps safely assume that adjutor means simply an assistant to the officer next above him, as we find, lower down in the list of the 'notitia,' the exceptores followed by their adjutores. we may find a parallel to adjutor in the word lieutenant, which, for the same reason is applied to officers of such different rank as the lord lieutenant of ireland, a lieutenant-general, a lieutenant-colonel, and a simple lieutenant in the army or navy. in the lists of cassiodorus and lydus we find no mention of an officer bearing the special name of adjutor, but we meet instead with a _primiscrinius_, of whom, according to lydus, there were two. he says[ ], 'after the cornicularius are two primiscrinii, whom the greeks call first of the service[ ].' and later on[ ], when he is describing the course of business in the _secretum_ of the praefect, as it used to be in the good old days, he informs us that after judgment had been given, and the secretarii had read to the litigant the decree prepared by the assessors and carefully copied by one of the cancellarii, and after an accurate digest of the case had been prepared in the latin language by a secretarius, in order to guard against future error or misrepresentation, the successful litigant passed on with the decree in his hand _to the primiscrinii, who appointed an officer to execute the judgment of the court_[ ]. these men then put the decree into its final shape by means of the persons appointed to assist them[ ] (men who could puzzle even the professors themselves in logical discussions), and endorsed it on the litigant's petition in characters which at once struck awe into the reader, and which seemed actually swollen with official importance[ ]. the name and titles of the 'completing' officer were then subscribed. [footnote : de mag. iii. .] [footnote : [greek: meta de ton kornikoularion primiskrinioi duo, ous hellênes prôtous tês taxeôs kalousi].] [footnote : de mag. iii. .] [footnote : [greek: parêei pros tous primiskrinious taxantas ekbibastên tois apopephasmenois]. probably we should read [greek: taxontas] for [greek: taxantas].] [footnote : [greek: eplêroun dia tôn boêthein autois tetagmenôn] (? adjutores).] [footnote : [greek: epi tou nôtou tês entuchias grammasin aidous autothen apasês kai exousias onkô sesobêmenois].] if the suggestion that the primiscrinii were considered as in some sense substitutes (adjutores) for the cornicularius be correct, we may perhaps account for there being two of them in the days of lydus by the disappearance of the princeps. the office of cornicularius had swallowed up that of princeps, and accordingly the single adjutor, who was sufficient at the compilation of the 'notitia,' had to be multiplied by two. [sidenote: commentariensis, or commentarisius.] ( ) the _commentariensis_. here we come again to an officer who is mentioned by all our three authorities, though in cassiodorus he seems to be degraded some steps below his proper rank (but this may only be from an accidental transposition of the order of the letters), and though lydus again gives us two of the name instead of one. the last-named authority inserts next after the primiscrinii 'two commentarisii--so the law calls those who are appointed to attend to the drawing up of indictments[ ].' [footnote : [greek: kommentarisioi duo (houtô de tous epi tôn hypomnêmatôn graphê tattomenous ho nomos kalei)] (iii. ). i accept the necessary emendation of the text proposed in the bonn edition.] the commentariensis (or commentarisius, as lydus calls him[ ]) was evidently the chief assistant of the judge in all matters of criminal jurisdiction[ ]. we have a remarkably full, and in the main clear account of his functions in the pages of lydus (iii. - ), from which it appears that he was promoted from the ranks of the _exceptores_ (shorthand writers), and had six of his former colleagues serving under him as adjutores[ ]. great was the power, and high the position in the civil service, of the commentariensis. the whole tribe of process-servers, gaolers, lictors[ ]--all that we now understand by the police force--waited subserviently on his nod. it rested with him, says lydus, to establish the authority of the court of justice by means of the wholesome fear inspired by iron chains and scourges and the whole apparatus of torture[ ]. nay, not only did the subordinate magistrates execute their sentences by his agency, he had even the honour of being chosen by the emperor himself to be the minister of vengeance against the persons who had incurred his anger or his suspicion. 'i myself remember,' says lydus, 'when i was serving as chartularius in the office of the commentariensis, under the praefecture of leontius (a man of the highest legal eminence), and when the wrath of anastasius was kindled against apion, a person of the most exalted rank, and one who had assisted in his elevation to the throne[ ], at the same time when kobad, king of persia, blazed out into fury[ ], that then all the confiscations and banishments which were ordered by the enraged emperor were entrusted to no one else but to the commentarienses serving under the praefect. in this service they acquitted themselves so well, with such vigour, such harmonious energy, such entire clean-handedness and absence of all dishonest gain, as to move the admiration of the emperor, who made use of them on all similar occasions that presented themselves in the remainder of his reign. they had even the honour of being employed against macedonius, patriarch of constantinople, when that prelate had provoked the emperor by suspending all intercourse with him as a heretic; and that, although celer, one of the most intimate friends of anastasius, was at that very time holding the rank of magister officiorum.' [footnote : to avoid confusion i will use the term 'commentariensis' throughout.] [footnote : so bethmann hollweg (p. ), 'diess ist der gehülfe des magistrats bei verwaltung der criminaljustiz.' i compare him in the following translation of cassiodorus to a 'magistrate's clerk.'] [footnote : see iii. (p. , ed. bonn), and combine with iii. . the _augustales_ referred to in the latter passage were a higher class of exceptores.] [footnote : applicitarii, clavicularii, lictores.] [footnote : [greek: sidêreois desmois kai poinaiôn organôn kai plêktrôn poikilia saleuontôn tô phobô to dikastêrion] (iii. ).] [footnote : [greek: kai koinônêsantos autô tês basileias].] [footnote : [greek: hote kôadês ho persês ephlegmaine]. the whole passage is mysterious, but we seem to have here an allusion to the outbreak of the persian war (a.d. ).] an officer who was thus privileged to lay hands on patriarch and patrician in the name of augustus was looked up to with awful reverence by all the lower members of the official hierarchy; and lydus, with one graphic touch, brings before us the glow of gratified self-love with which, when he was a subordinate _scriniarius_, he found himself honoured by the familiar conversation of so great a person as the commentariensis[ ]: 'i too am struck with somewhat of my old awe, recurring in memory to those who were then holders of the office. i remember what fear of the commentarisii fell upon all who at all took the lead in the _officium_, but especially on the scriniarii; and how greatly he who was favoured with a chat with a commentarisius passing by valued himself on the honour.' lydus also describes to us how the commentariensis, instructed by the praefect, or perhaps even by the emperor himself, would take with him one of his faithful servants, the chartularii, would visit the abode of the suspected person (who might, as we have seen, be one of the very highest officers of the state), and would then in his presence dictate in solemn latin words the indictment which was to be laid against him, the mere hearing of which sometimes brought the criminal to confess his guilt and throw himself on the mercy of the emperor. [footnote : iii. (p. ).] it was from this _commentum_, the equivalent of a french _acte d'accusation_, that the commentariensis derived his title. [sidenote: ab actis (scriniarius actorum?).] ( ) the _ab actis_. the officer who bore this title (which is perhaps the same as the scriniarius actorum of cassiodorus[ ]) seems to have been exclusively concerned with civil cases, and perhaps held the same place in reference to them that the commentarienses held in criminal matters[ ]. practically, his office appears to have been very much what we understand by that of _chief registrar_ of the court. he (or they, for in lydus' time there were two _ab actis_ as well as two commentarienses[ ]) was chosen from the select body of shorthand writers who were known as augustales, and was assisted by six men of the same class, 'men of high character and intelligence and still in the vigour of their years[ ].' his chief business--and in this he was served by the _nomenclatores_, who shouted out in a loud voice the names of the litigants--was to introduce the plaintiff and defendant into the court, or to make a brief statement of the nature of the case to the presiding magistrate. he then had to watch the course of the pleadings and listen to the judge's decision, so as to be able to prepare a full statement of the case for the registers or journals[ ] of the court. these registers--at least in the flourishing days of roman jurisprudence--were most fully and accurately kept. even the _dies nefasti_ were marked upon them, and the reason for their being observed as legal holidays duly noted. elaborate indices, prepared by the chartularii, made search an easy matter to those who wished to ascertain what was the decision of the law upon every point; and the marginal notes, or _personalia_, prepared in latin[ ] by the ab actis or his assistants, were so excellent and so full that sometimes when the original entry in the registers had been lost the whole case could be sufficiently reconstructed from them alone. [footnote : var. xi. .] [footnote : this seems to be bethmann hollweg's view (p. ).] [footnote : this we learn from iii. . they are not mentioned in iii. , where we should have expected to find them.] [footnote : [greek: hex andres erastoi kai nounechestatoi kai sphrigôntes eti] (lydus iii. ).] [footnote : [greek: rhegestôn ê kottidianôn (anti tou ephêmerôn)].] [footnote : [greek: italisti]. of course the emphasis laid on this point proceeds from the greek nationality of our present authority.] the question was already mooted at constantinople in the sixth century whence the ab actis derived his somewhat elliptical name; and our archaeology-loving scribe was able to inform his readers that as the officer of the household who was called _a pigmentis_ had the care of the aromatic ointments of the court; as the _a sabanis_[ ] had charge of the bathing towels of the baths; as the _a secretis_ (who was called ad secretis by vulgar byzantines, ignorant of the niceties of latin grammar) was concerned in keeping the secret counsels of his sovereign: so the _ab actis_ derived his title from the acts of the court which it was his duty to keep duly posted up and properly indexed. [footnote : [greek: sabanon] = a towel.] [sidenote: numerarii.] ( ) the _numerarii_ (whose exact number is not stated in the 'notitia'[ ]) were the cashiers of the praefect's office. though frequently mentioned in the theodosian code, and though persons exercising this function must always have existed in a great court of justice like the praefect's, we hear but little of them from cassiodorus[ ]; and lydus' notices of the [greek: diapsêphistai], who seem to correspond to the numerarii[ ], are scanty and imperfect. our german commentator has collected the passages of the theodosian code which relate to this class of officers, and has shown that on account of their rapacity and extortion their office was subjected to a continual process of degradation. all the numerarii, except those of the two highest classes of judges[ ], were degraded into _tabularii_, a name which had previously indicated the cashiers of a municipality as distinguished from those in the imperial service; and the numerarii, even of the praetorian praefect himself, were made subject to examination by torture. this was not only to be dreaded on account of the bodily suffering which it inflicted, but was also a mark of the humble condition of those to whom it was applied. [footnote : except, as before stated, those in the office of the praetorian praefect for illyricum. these were four in number, and one of them had charge of 'gold,' another of '[public] works.' further information is requisite to enable us to explain these entries.] [footnote : they are alluded to in var. xii. . the canonicarii (tax-collectors) had plundered the churches of bruttii and lucania in the name of 'sedis nostrae numerarii;' but the numerarii with holy horror declared that they had received no part of the spoils.] [footnote : see bethmann hollweg, .] [footnote : illustres and spectabiles.] [sidenote: scriniarius curae militaris.] we may perhaps see in the _scriniarius curae militaris_ of cassiodorus[ ] one of these numerarii detailed for service as paymaster to the soldiers who waited upon the orders of the praefect. [footnote : xi. .] [sidenote: subadjuvae.] ( ) the _subadjuvae_. this is probably a somewhat vague term, like adjutores, and indicates a second and lower class of cashiers who acted as deputies for the regular numerarii. [sidenote: cura epistolarum.] ( ) _cura epistolarum._ the officer who bore this title appears to have had the duty of copying out all letters relating to fiscal matters[ ]. this theory as to his office is confirmed by the words of cassiodorus (var. xi. ): 'let constantinian on his promotion receive the care of the letters relating to the land-tax' (hic itaque epistolarum _canonicarum_ curam provectus accipiat). [footnote : this is bethmann hollweg's interpretation of the words of lydus, [greek: hoi tas men epi tois dêmosiois phoitôsas psêphous graphousi monon, to loipon kataphronoumenoi] (iii. ). in another passage (iii. , ) lydus appears to assign a reason for the fact that the praefectus urbis constantinopolitanae, the magister militum, and the magister officiorum had no _cura epistolarum_ on their staff; but the paragraph is to me hopelessly obscure. curiously enough, too, while he avers that every department of the state (perhaps every diocese) had, as a rule, its own curae epistolarum, he limits the two in the praetorian praefect's office to the diocese of pontica ([greek: koura epistolaroum pontikês duo]).] [sidenote: regerendarius, or regendarius.] ( ) _regerendarius_, or _regendarius_[ ]. this officer had the charge of all contracts relating to the very important department of the _cursus publicus_, or imperial mail service. at the time of the compilation of the 'notitia' only one person appears to have acted in this capacity under each praefect. when lydus wrote, there were two regendarii in each praefecture, but, owing to the increasing influence of the magister officiorum over the cursus publicus[ ], their office had become apparently little more than an ill-paid sinecure. as we hear nothing of similar changes in the west, the cursus publicus was probably a part of the public service which was directly under the control of cassiodorus when praetorian praefect, and was administered at his bidding by one or more regendarii. [footnote : the first form of the name is found in the notitia, the second in lydus and cassiodorus.] [footnote : it is not easy to make out exactly what lydus wishes us to understand about the cursus publicus; but i think his statements amount to this, that it was taken by arcadius from the praetorian praefect and given to the magister officiorum, was afterwards restored to the praefect, and finally was in effect destroyed by the corrupt administration of john of cappadocia. (see ii. ; iii. , .)] [sidenote: exceptores.] ( ) we now come to the _exceptores_, or shorthand writers[ ], a large and fluctuating body who stood on the lowest step of the official ladder[ ] and formed the raw material out of which all its higher functionaries were fashioned in the regular order of promotion. [footnote : the [greek: tachygraphoi] of lydus.] [footnote : in making this statement i consider the adjutores to be virtually another class of exceptores, and i purposely omit the singularii as not belonging to the _militia litterata_, which alone i am now considering.] [sidenote: augustales.] [sidenote: deputati.] we are informed by lydus[ ], that in his time the exceptores in the eastern empire were divided into two corps, the higher one called _augustales_, who were limited in number to thirty, and the lower, of indefinite number and composing the rank and file of the profession. the augustales only could aspire to the rank of cornicularius; but in order that some prizes might still be left of possible attainment by the larger class, the rank of primiscrinius was tenable by those who remained 'on the rolls of the exceptores.' the reason for this change was that the unchecked application of the principle of seniority to so large a body of public servants was throwing all the more important offices in the courts of justice into the hands of old men. the principle of 'seniority tempered by selection' was therefore introduced, and the ablest and most learned members of the class of exceptores were drafted off into this favoured section of augustales, fifteen of the most experienced of whom were appropriated to the special service of the emperor, while the other fifteen filled the higher offices (with the exception of the primiscriniate) in the praefectoral courts[ ]. the first fifteen were called _deputati_[ ], the others were apparently known simply as augustales. [footnote : iii. , .] [footnote : i think this is a fair summary of lydus iii. and , but these paragraphs are very difficult and obscure.] [footnote : we should certainly have expected that the augustales would be those writers who were specially appropriated to the emperor's service, but the other conclusion necessarily follows from the language of lydus (iii. ): [greek: hôste kai pentekaideka ex autôn tôn pepanôterôn peira te kai tô chronô kreittonôn pros hypographên tois basileusin aphoristhênai, ous eti kai nun dêpoutatous kalousin, hoi tou tagmatos tôn augoustaliôn prôteuousin].] the change thus described by lydus appears to have been made in the west as well as in the east, since we hear in the 'variae' of cassiodorus (xi. ) of the appointment of a certain ursus to be primicerius of the deputati, and of beatus to take the same place among the augustales[ ]. [footnote : the form of the word must i think prevent us from applying the princeps _augustorum_ of xi. to the same class of officers.] [sidenote: adjutores.] ( ) the _adjutores_ of the 'notitia' were probably a lower class of exceptores, who may very likely have disappeared when the augustales were formed out of them by the process of differentiation which has been described above. we have now gone through the whole of what was termed the 'learned service[ ]' mentioned in the 'notitia,' with one exception--the title of an officer, in himself humble and obscure, who has given his name to the highest functionaries of mediaeval and modern europe. [footnote : [greek: tous epi tais logikais tetagmenous leitourgiais] (lydus iii. ). [greek: peras men hode tôn logikôn tês taxeôs systêmatôn] (iii. ). the 'learned service' may be taken as corresponding to 'a post fit for a gentleman,' in modern phraseology. in our present official directories the members of the [greek: logikê taxis] appear to be all dignified with the title 'esq.;' the others have only 'mr.'] [sidenote: cancellarius.] ( ) the _cancellarius_ appears in the 'notitia' only once[ ], and then in connection not with the praetorian praefect, but with the master of the offices. at the very end of the officium of this dignitary, after the six _scholae_ and four _scrinia_ of his subordinates, and after the _admissionales_, whom we must look upon as the ushers of the court, comes the entry, cancellarii: their very number not stated, the office being too obscure to make a few less or more a matter of importance. [footnote : occidentis ix. .] after the compilation of the 'notitia' the office of cancellarius apparently rose somewhat in importance, and was introduced into other departments besides that of the master of the offices. one cancellarius appears attached to the court of cassiodorus as praetorian praefect, and from the admonitions addressed to him by his master[ ], we see that he had it in his power considerably to aid the administration of justice by his integrity, or to hinder it by showing himself accessible to bribes. [footnote : in var. xi. , which see.] in describing the cancellarius, as in almost every other part of his treatise, lydus has to tell a dismal story of ruin and decay[ ]: [footnote : iii. , .] 'now the scriniarii [subordinates of the magister officiorum] are made cancellarii and logothetes and purveyors of the imperial table, whereas in old time the cancellarius was chosen only from the ranks of augustales and exceptores who had served with credit. in those days the judgment hall [of the praefect] recognised only two cancellarii, who received an _aureus_ apiece[ ] per day from the treasury. there was aforetime in the court of justice a fence separating the magistrate from his subordinates, and this fence, being made of long splinters of wood placed diagonally, was called _cancellus_, from its likeness to network, the regular latin word for a net being casses, and the diminutive cancellus[ ]. at this latticed barrier then stood two _cancellarii_, by whom, since no one was allowed to approach the judgment-seat, paper was brought to the members of the staff and needful messages were delivered. but now that the office owing to the number of its holders[ ] has fallen into disrepute, and that the treasury no longer makes a special provision for their maintenance, almost all the hangers-on of the courts of law call themselves cancellarii; and, not only in the capital but in the provinces, they give themselves this title in order that they may be able more effectually to plunder the wealthy.' [footnote : about twelve shillings.] [footnote : this derivation from casses is, of course, absurd.] [footnote : can this be the meaning of [greek: eis plêthos]?] this description by lydus, while it aptly illustrates cassiodorus' exhortations to his cancellarii to keep their hands clean from bribes, shows how lowly their office was still considered; and indeed, but for his statement that it used to be filled by veteran augustales, we might almost have doubted whether it is rightly classed among the 'learned services' at all. [sidenote: end of the militia literata.] now at any rate we leave the ranks of the gentlemen of the civil service behind us, and come to the 'militia illiterata,' of whom the 'notitia' enumerates only [sidenote: militia illiterata: singularii.] ( ) the _singularii_, a class of men of whose useful services lydus speaks in terms of high praise, contrasting their modest efficiency with the pompous verbosity[ ] of the magistriani (servants of the master of the offices) by whom they were being generally superseded in his day. they travelled through the provinces, carrying the praefect's orders, and riding in a post-chaise drawn by a single horse (veredus), from which circumstance, according to lydus, they derived their name singularii[ ]. [footnote : [greek: kompophakellorrêmosynê] = pomp-bundle-wordiness, an aristophanic word.] [footnote : de dignitatibus iii. .] we observe that the letter of cassiodorus[ ] addressed to the retiring chief (primicerius) of the singularii informs him that he is promoted to a place among the king's body-guard (domestici et protectores), a suitable reward for one who had not been a member of the 'learned services.' [footnote : var. xi. .] after the singularii lydus mentions the _mancipes_, the men who were either actually slaves or were at any rate engaged in servile occupations; as, for instance, the bakers at the public bakeries, the _rationalii_, who distributed the rations to the receivers of the annona[ ], the _applicitarii_ (officers of arrest), and _clavicularii_ (gaolers), who, as we before heard, obeyed the mandate of the commentariensis. the lictors, i think, are not mentioned by him. a corresponding class of men would probably be the _apparitores_, who in the 'notitia' appear almost exclusively attached to the service of the great ministers of war[ ]. [footnote : this seems a probable explanation of a rather obscure passage.] [footnote : see the following sections of the notitia: magister militum praesentatis (oriens v. , vi. ; occidens v. , vi. ); m.m. per orientem (or. vii. ); m.m. per thracias (or. viii. ); m.m. per illyricum (or. ix. ); magister equitum per gallias (occ. vii. ). the only civil officer who has apparitores is the proconsul achaiae (oriens xxi. ).] thus, it will be seen, from the well-paid and often highly-connected princeps, who, no doubt, discussed the business of the court with the praetorian praefect on terms of friendly though respectful familiarity, down to the gaoler and the lictor and the lowest of the half-servile _mancipes_, there was a regular gradation of rank, which still preserved, in the staff of the highest court of justice in the land, all the traditions of subordination and discipline which had once characterised the military organisation out of which it originally sprang. chapter v. bibliography. [sidenote: editiones principes.] the ecclesiastical history ('historia tripartita') seems to have been the first of the works of cassiodorus to attract the notice of printers at the revival of learning. the editio princeps of this book (folio) was printed by johann schuszler, at augsburg, in [ ]. [footnote : this edition is described by dibdin (bibliotheca spenceriana iii. - ).] the editio princeps of the 'chronicon' is contained in a collection of chronicles published at basel in by joannes sichardus (printer, henricus petrus). the contribution of cassiodorus is prefaced by an appropriate epistle dedicatory to sir thos. more, in which a parallel is suggested between the lives of these two literary statesmen. next followed the editio princeps of the 'variae,' published at augsburg in , by mariangelus accurtius. in , joannes cuspinianus, a counsellor of the emperor maximilian, published at basel a series of chronicles with which he interwove the chronicle of cassiodorus, and to which he prefixed a short life of our author. [sidenote: edition of nivellius.] the editio princeps of the collected works of cassiodorus was published at paris in by sebastianus nivellius; and other editions by the same publisher followed in and . this edition does not contain the tripartite history, the exposition of the psalter, or the 'complexiones' on the epistles. some notes, not without merit, are added, which were compiled in by 'gulielmus fornerius, parisiensis, regius apud aurelianenses consiliarius et antecessor.' the annotator says[ ] that these notes had gradually accumulated on the margin of his copy of cassiodorus, an author who had been a favourite of his from youth, and whom he had often quoted in his forensic speeches. [footnote : p. .] the edition of nivellius, which is evidently prepared with a view to aid the historical rather than the theological study of the writings of cassiodorus, contains also the gothic history of jordanus (sic), the 'edictum theoderici,' the letter of sidonius describing the court of theodoric ii _the visigoth_ ( - ), and the panegyric of ennodius on theodoric the great. the letter of sidonius is evidently inserted owing to a confusion between the two theodorics; and this error has led many later commentators astray. but the reprint of the 'edictum theoderici' is of great interest and value, because the ms. from which it was taken has since disappeared, and none other is known to be in existence. a letter is prefixed to the 'edictum,' written by pierre pithou to edouard molé, dec. , , and describing his reasons for sending this document to the publisher who was printing the works of cassiodorus. at the same time, 'that the west might not have cause to envy the east,' he sent a ms. of the 'leges wisigothorum,' with illustrative extracts from isidore and procopius, which is printed at the end of nivellius' edition. i express no opinion about the text of this edition; but it possesses the advantage of an index to the 'variae' only, which will be found at the end of the panegyric of ennodius. garet's index, which is in itself not so full, has the additional disadvantage of being muddled up with the utterly alien matter of the tripartite history. in appeared an edition in to. of the works of cassiodorus (still excluding the tripartite history and the biblical commentaries), published at paris by marc orry. this was republished in in two volumes mo. the 'variae' and 'chronicon' only, in mo. were published at lyons by jacques chouet in , and again by pierre and jacques chouet at geneva in , and by their successors in . these editions contain the notes of pierre brosse, jurisconsult, as well as those of fornerius. [sidenote: edition of garet.] in appeared, in two volumes folio, the great rouen edition by françois jean garet (of the congregation of s. maur), which has ever since been the standard edition of the works of cassiodorus. garet speaks of collating several mss. of various ages for the text of this edition, especially mentioning 'codex s. audoeni' (deficient for books , , and of the 'variae'), 'et antiquissimae membranae s. remigii remensis' (containing only the first four books of the same collection). a codex which once belonged to the jurist cujacius, and which had been collated with accurtius' text in by a certain claude grulart, seems to have given garet some valuable readings by means of grulart's notes, though the codex itself had disappeared. garet's edition was re-issued at venice in , and more recently in migne's 'patrologia' (paris, ), of which it forms vols. and . [sidenote: forthcoming edition by meyer.] there can be little doubt, however, that all these editions will be rendered obsolete by the new edition which is expected to appear as a volume of the 'auctores antiquissimi' in the _monumenta germaniae historica_. the editor is professor wilhelm meyer, of munich. the work has been for some years announced as near completion, but i have not been able to ascertain how soon it may be expected to appear. [sidenote: supposed fragment of orations.] finally, i must not omit to notice the fragments of an oration published by baudi de vesme in the transactions of the royal academy of sciences at turin ( ). those fragments, which were found in a palimpsest ms. of the acts of the council of chalcedon, were first published in by angelo mai, who was then disposed to attribute them to symmachus (the elder), and to assign them to the early part of the fifth century. on reflection, however, he came to the conclusion that they were probably the work of cassiodorus, and formed part of a panegyric addressed to theodoric. this theory appears now to meet with general approval. the style is certainly very similar to that of cassiodorus; but, as will be inferred from the doubt as to their origin, there is little or nothing in these scanty fragments which adds anything to our knowledge of the history of theodoric. [sidenote: life by garet.] to the literature relating to cassiodorus the most important contribution till recent times was the life by garet prefixed to his edition of . i cannot speak of this from a very minute investigation, but it seems to be a creditable performance, the work of one who had carefully studied the 'variae,' but unfortunately quite misleading as to the whole framework of the life of cassiodorus, from the confusion which it makes between him and his father, an error which garet has probably done more than any other author to perpetuate. [sidenote: life by st. marthe.] the life by garet was paraphrased in french by denys de _ste. marthe_ ('vie de cassiodore,' paris, ), whose work has enjoyed a reputation to which it was not entitled on the ground either of originality or accuracy, but which was probably due to the fact that the handy octavo volume written in french was accessible to a wider circle of readers than garet's unwieldy folio in latin. a more original performance was that of _count buat_ (in the 'abhandlungen der kurfürstlichen bairischen akademie der wissenschaften,' munich, ); but this author, though he pointed out the cardinal error of garet, his confusion between senator and his father, introduced some further gratuitous entanglements of his own into the family history of the cassiodori. [sidenote: modern monographs.] all these works, however, are rendered entirely obsolete by three excellent monographs which have recently been published in germany on the life and writings of cassiodorus. these are-- [sidenote: thorbecke.] august _thorbecke's_ 'cassiodorus senator' (heidelberg, ); [sidenote: franz.] adolph _franz's_ 'm. aurelius cassiodorius senator' (breslau, ); and [sidenote: usener.] hermann _usener's_ 'anecdoton holderi' (bonn, ), described in the second chapter of this introduction. thorbecke discusses the political, and franz the religious and literary aspects of the life of their common hero, and between them they leave no point of importance in obscurity. usener, as we have already seen, brings an important contribution to our knowledge of the subject in presenting us with holder's fragment; and his commentary (of eighty pages) on this fragment is a model of patient and exhaustive research. it seems probable that these three authors have really said pretty nearly the last word about the life and writings of cassiodorus. in addition to these authors many writers of historical works in germany have of late years incidentally contributed to a more accurate understanding of the life and times of cassiodorus. _dahn_, in the third section of his 'könige der germanen' (würzburg, ), has written a treatise on the political system of the ostrogoths which is almost a continuous commentary on the 'variae,' and from which i have derived the greatest possible assistance. _köpke_, in his 'anfänge des königthums bei den gothen' (berlin, ), has condensed into a small compass a large amount of useful disquisition on cassiodorus and his copyist jordanes. the relation between these two writers was also elaborately discussed by _von sybel_ in his thesis 'de fontibus libri jordanis' (berlin, ), and by _schirren_, in his monograph 'de ratione quae inter jordanem et cassiodorum intercedat' (dorpat, ). the latter, though upon the whole a creditable performance, is disfigured by one or two strange blunders, and not improved by some displays of irrelevant learning. _von schubert_, in his 'unterwerfung der alamannen unter die franken' (strassburg, ), throws some useful light on the question of the date of the early letters in the 'variae;' and _binding_, in his 'geschichte des burgundisch-romanischen königreichs' (leipzig, ), discusses the relations between theodoric and the sovereigns of gaul, as disclosed by the same collection of letters, in a manner which i must admit to be forcible, though i do not accept all his conclusions. _mommsen_, in his paper 'die chronik des cassiodorus senator' (vol. viii. of the 'abhandlungen der königlich sächsischen gesellschaft der wissenschaften;' leipzig, ), has said all that is to be said concerning the unfortunate 'chronicon' of cassiodorus, which he handles with merciless severity. to say that _ebert_, in his 'allgemeine geschichte der litteratur des mittelalters im abendlande' (leipzig, ), and _wattenbach_, in his 'deutschlands geschichtsquellen im mittelalter,' tell us with fullness and accuracy just what the student ought to wish to know concerning cassiodorus as an author, is only to say that they are ebert and wattenbach. every one who has had occasion to refer to these two books knows their merits. passing from german literature, i regret that i am prevented by ignorance of the dutch language from forming an opinion as to the work of _thijm_ ('iets over m.a. cassiodorus en zijne eeuw;' amsterdam, ), which is frequently quoted by my german authorities. _gibbon_ of course quotes from the 'variae,' and though he did not know them intimately, he has with his usual sagacity apprehended the true character of the book and of its author. but the best account of the 'various letters' in english, as far as i know, is unfortunately entombed in the pages of a periodical, being an article by dean _church_, contributed in july, , to the 'church quarterly review.' there is also a very good though necessarily brief notice of cassiodorus in _ugo balzani's_ little volume on the 'early chroniclers of italy,' published by the christian knowledge society in . chapter vi. chronology. in the following chronological table of the life of cassiodorus i have, for convenience sake, assumed as the year of his birth, and as that of his death. it is now, i think, sufficiently proved that if these dates are not absolutely correct, they cannot be more than a year or two wrong in one direction or the other. [sidenote: consular fasti.] as dates were still reckoned by consulships, at any rate through the greater part of the life of cassiodorus, i have inserted the consular fasti for the period in question. it will be seen that several names of correspondents of cassiodorus figure in this list. as a general though not universal practice, one of the two consuls at this time was chosen from out of the senate of rome and the other from that of constantinople. we can almost always tell whether a chronicler belongs to the eastern or western empire by observing whether he puts the eastern or western consul first. thus, for a.d. , marcellinus comes, who was an official of the eastern empire, gives us 'pompeius et avienus, coss.;' while cassiodorus, in his 'chronicon,' assigns the year to 'avienus et pompeius.' pompeius was a nobleman of constantinople, nephew of the emperor anastasius; while avienus was a roman senator[ ]. again, in a.d. , marcellinus gives the names of longinus and faustus, which cassiodorus quotes as faustus and longinus. longinus was a brother of the emperor zeno, and faustus was for many years praetorian praefect under theodoric, and was the receiver of many letters in the following collection. [footnote : see usener, p. .] i have endeavoured to give the priority always to the _western_ consul in the list before us, except in those cases where an emperor (who was of course an eastern) condescended to assume the consular _trabea_. [sidenote: indictions.] another mode of reckoning the dates which the reader will continually meet with in the following pages is by _indictions_. the indiction, as is well known, was a cycle of fifteen years, during which, as we have reason to believe, the assessment for the taxes remained undisturbed, a fresh valuation being made all round when the cycle was ended. traces of this quindecennial period may be found in the third century, but the formal adoption of the indiction is generally assigned to the emperor constantine, and to the year [ ]. the indiction itself, and every one of the years composing it, began on the st of september of the calendar year. the reason for this period being chosen probably was that the harvests of the year being then gathered in, the collection of the tithes of the produce, which formed an important part of the imperial revenue, could be at once proceeded with. what gives an especial importance to this method of dating by indictions, for the reader of the following letters is, that most of the great offices of state changed hands at the beginning of the year of the indiction (sept. ), not at the beginning of the calendar year. [footnote : compare marquardt (römische staatsverwaltung ii. ). he remarks that the indiction seems to have been first adopted in egypt, and did not come into universal use all over the empire till the end of the fourth century.] to make such a mode of dating the year at all satisfactory, it would seem to us necessary that the number of the cycle itself, as well as of the year in the cycle, should be given; for instance, that a.d. should be called the first year of the first indiction, and a.d. the ninth year of the third indiction. this practice, however, was not adopted till far on into the middle ages[ ]. at the time we are speaking of, the word indiction seems generally to have been given not to the cycle itself, but to the year in the cycle. thus, was the first indiction, the second indiction, the third indiction, and so on. and thus we find a year, which from other sources we know to be , called the first indiction, the ninth indiction, the fifteenth indiction, without any clue being given to guide us to the important point in what cycles these years held respectively the first, the ninth, and the fifteenth places. [footnote : the twelfth century, according to marquardt.] as the indiction began on the st of september a question arises whether the calendar year is to be named after the number of the indiction which belongs to its beginning or its end; whether, to go back to the beginning, a.d. or a.d. is to be accounted the first indiction. the practice of the chroniclers and of most writers on chronology appears to be in favour of the latter method, which is natural, inasmuch as nine months of the indiction belong to the later date and only three to the earlier. thus, for instance, marcellinus comes calls the year of the consulship of belisarius, which was undoubtedly , 'indictio xiii:' the thirteenth indiction of that cycle having begun sept. , , and ended august , . but it is well that the student should be warned that our greatest english authority, mr. fynes clinton, adopts the other method. in the very useful table of comparative chronology which he gives in his fasti romani[ ] he assigns the indiction to that year of the christian era in which it had its beginning, and accordingly , not , is identified with the thirteenth indiction. [footnote : vol. ii. pp. - . see his remarks, p. : 'the indictions in marcellinus and in the tables of du fresnoy are compared with the consulship and the julian year in which they end. in the following table they are compared with the year in which they begin, because the years of the christian era are here made the measure of the rest, and contain the beginnings of all the other epochs.'] in order to translate years of indiction into years of the christian era it is necessary first to add some multiple of (_what_ multiple our knowledge of history must inform us) to . on the st of september of the year so obtained the indiction cycle began; and for any other year of the same cycle we must of course add its own number minus one. thus, when we find cassiodorus as praetorian praefect writing a letter[ ] informing joannes of his appointment to the office of cancellarius 'for the _twelfth_ indiction,' as we know within a little what date is wanted, we first of all add x (= ) to , and so obtain . the first indiction in that cycle ran from september , , to august , . the twelfth indiction was therefore from september , , to august , , and that is the date we require. [footnote : var. xi. .] on the other hand, when we find a letter written by cassiodorus as praetorian praefect to the provincials of istria[ ] as to the payment of tribute for the _first_ indiction, we know that we must now have entered upon a new cycle. we therefore add x (= ) to , and get . as it happens to be the _first_ indiction that we require, our calculation ends here: september , , to august , , is the answer required. [footnote : var. xii. .] if anyone objects that such a system of chronology is cumbrous, uncertain, and utterly unscientific, i can only say that i entirely agree with him, and that the system is worthy of the perverted ingenuity which produced the nones and ides of the roman calendar. in the following tables i have not attempted to mark the years of the indiction, on account of the confusion caused by the fact that two calendar years require the same number. but i have denoted by the abbreviation 'ind.' the years in which each cycle of the indictions _began_. these years are , , , , , and . _chronological tables._ private public rulers of a.d. consuls. events. events. italy. popes. emperors. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- basilius magnus assassination odovacar simplicius zeno junior. aurelius of nepos, (from ). (from ). (from ). cassiodorus formerly senator, emperor of born at the west. scyllacium (?). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- placidus. odovacar avenges the murder of nepos. death of theodoricus triarii. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- trocondus accession of and clovis. severinus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- faustus. zeno issues felix ii the henoticon. (or iii). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- theodoricus illus revolts and against zeno. venantius. schism between eastern and western churches. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- q. aurelius memmius symmachus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- decius and longinus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- boethius war between (_father of odovacar and the great the rugians. boethius_). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- dyanamius theodoric and starts for sifidius. italy. death of illus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- anicius theodoric probinus descends into and italy. battles eusebius. of the isonzo and verona. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius battle of the faustus adda. junior and longinus (ii). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- olybrius battle of anastasius. junior. ravenna. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius gelasius. (ind.) anastasius augustus and rufus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- eusebius surrender of theodoric. (ii) and ravenna. albinus. death of odovacar. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- turcius rufus apronianus asterius and praesidius. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius viator. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- paulus. clovis anastasius. defeats the alamanni. his conversion. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius symmachus anastasius (antipope aug. (ii). laurentius). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- paulinus and joannes scytha. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- joannes gibbus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- patricius cassiodorus war between and senior, gundobad and hypatius. patrician, clovis. praefect. theodoric's his son visit to becomes his rome. _consili- conspiracy of arius_. odoin. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- rufius about this synodus magnus time palmaris at faustus cassiodorus rome. avienus pronounces symmachus and his confirmed in flavius panegyric the pompeius. on pontificate. theodoric, and is rewarded by being appointed quaestor. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius avienus junior and probus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- dexicrates and volusianus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- cethegus. war of sirmium. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- theodorus war between and theodoric and sabinianus. anastasius (affair of mundo). battle of horrea margi. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- messala and areobinda. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius clovis (ind.) anastasius defeats aug. (iii) alaric ii at and campus venantius. vogladensis. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- venantius tulum and celer. endeavours to raise siege of arles. byzantine raid on apulia. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- importunus. mammo invades burgundy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- anicius ibbus defeats manlius franks and severinus burgundians. boethius (_author of the 'consolation'_). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- felix and death of secundinus. clovis. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- paulus and muschianus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- probus and clementinus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- senator, cassiodorus hormisdas. _solus as consul consul_ restores (cassio- harmony dorus). between clergy and people of rome. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- florentius cassiodorus marriage of and receives eutharic and anthemius. the amalasuentha. patriciate (?). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- petrus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- agapitus and flavius anastasius (_nephew of the emperor_). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- magnus. justin i. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- justinus composition end of schism augustus of the between and 'chroni- eastern and eutharicus con,' western cillica. dedicated churches. to eutharic. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- rusticus composition and of the vitalianus. gothic history (?). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- valerius and flavius justinianus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- symmachus (ind.) and boethius (_sons of the great boethius_). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius franks invade john i. anicius burgundy. maximus. imprisonment of boethius. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius death of justinus boethius. aug. (ii) and opilio. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- anicius death of probus symmachus. junior and pope john's flavius mission to theodorus constantinople. philoxenus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- olybrius. cassiodorus pope john athalaric. felix iii master of dies in (or iv). the prison (may offices. ). death of theodoric (aug. ). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- vettius death of justinian. agorius amalafrida, basilius queen-dowager mavortius. of the vandals. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius justinianus aug. (ii). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- decius boniface ii. junior. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius lampadius and orestes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _post consulatum lampadii et orestis._ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _post final invasion consulatum of burgundy by lampadii et the franks. orestis. anno ii._ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius cassiodorus the vandal war john iii. justinianus praetorian of justinian aug. (iii). praefect (june, - (sept. ), march, ). which office he holds till he retires from public life. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius death of amalasuentha. justinianus athalaric theodahad. aug. (iv) (oct. ). and flavius association of theodorus theodahad with paulinus amalasuentha. junior. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius death of agapetus. belisarius. amalasuentha. the gothic war begins. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _post belisarius witigis. silverius. consulatum takes naples fl. and enters belisarii._ rome. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _post siege of rome vigilius. (ind.) consulatum by witigis. fl. belisarii anno ii._ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius collection siege of rome johannes of the raised. (john of 'variae.' cappa- composition docia). of the 'de animâ.' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius cassiodorus mediolanum appion. about this taken by the time lays goths. down his belisarius office and takes retires to auximum. his birthplace (scyllacium), where he founds the monastery of vivaria. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius ravenna ildibad. justinus surrendered junior. to belisarius. captivity of witigis. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius he writes eraric. basilius commentary baduila junior. on the (totila). psalms as far as psalm . ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- years " totila twice reckoned defeats the post imperial consulatum generals, and basilii. retrieves the fortune of the ostrogoths. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " composition of the 'institutiones divinarum et humanarum litterarum.' ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " belisarius returns to italy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " rome taken by totila. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " continues and completes his commentary on the psalms. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " rome re-occupied by belisarius. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " death of empress theodora. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " rome again taken by totila. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " death of germanus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " narses commander of italian expedition. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " writes the narses teias. (ind.) 'complexi- defeats ones in totila epistolas near apostolo- tadinum. rum,' and compiles the 'historia tripartita' (the precise date of these works unknown). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " teias narses, defeated and governor of slain near italy under mons the emperor. lactarius. the ostrogoths leave italy. invasion of the alamannic brethren. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " pelagius. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " belisarius defeats the huns under zabergan. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " " john iii. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " disgrace of belisarius. belisarius restored to favour. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- post justin ii. consulatum basilii xxiv. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- flavius death of justinus belisarius augustus. and of justinian. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- years narses longinus, (ind.) reckoned recalled by exarch. post justin. consulatum alleged justini. invitation to the lombards. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " the lombards alboin, under alboin king of the enter italy. lombards. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " milan taken by the lombards. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " ticinum taken by the lombards. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " composition assassination cleph, death of of treatise of alboin. king of the john iii. 'de lombards. orthographia' in rd year of cassiodorus. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " death of benedict i. cleph. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- " cassiodorus dies in his th year (?). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- the letters of cassiodorus. preface[ ]. [footnote : translated in full.] [sidenote: reason for publication: entreaties of friends.] learned men, who had become my friends through conversations which we had had together, or benefits which i had bestowed upon them, sought to persuade me to draw together into one work the various utterances which it had been my duty to make, during my tenure of office, for the explanation of different affairs. they desired me to do this, in order that future generations might recognise the painful labours which i had undergone for the public good, and the workings of my own unbribed conscience. i then replied that their very kindness for me might turn out to my disadvantage, since the letters which their good-will found acceptable might to future readers seem insipid. i reminded them also of the words of horace, warning us of the dangers of hasty publication. [sidenote: difficulty of writing.] 'you see,' said i, 'that all require from me a speedy reply to their petitions; and do you think that i couch those replies in words which leave me nothing to regret hereafter? our diction must be somewhat rude when there is no sufficient delay to enable the speaker to choose words which shall rightly express the precise shade of his meaning. speech is the common gift of all mankind: it is embellishment (ornatus) alone which distinguishes between the learned and unlearned. the author is told to keep his writings by him for nine years for reflection; but i have not as many hours, hardly as many moments. as soon as i begin the petitioner worries me with his clamours, and hurries me too much to prevent my finishing cautiously, even if i have so begun my task. one vexes me past endurance by his interruptions and innuendoes; another torments me with the doleful tale of his miseries; others surround me with the mad shouts of their seditious contentions[ ]. in such circumstances how can you expect elegance of language, when we have scarcely opportunity to put words together in any fashion? even at night indescribable cares are flitting round our couch[ ], while we are harassed with fear lest the cities should lack their supplies of food--food which the common people insist upon more than anything else, caring more for their bellies than for the gratification of their ears by eloquence. this thought obliges us to wander in imagination through all the provinces, and ever to enquire after the execution of our orders, since it is not enough to tell our staff what has to be done, but the diligent administrator must see that it is done[ ]. therefore, i pray you, spare us your harmful love. i must decline this persuasion of yours, which will bring me more of danger than of glory.' [footnote : 'alii furiosa contentionum seditione circumdant.' this is probably meant to describe turbulent goths.] [footnote : [greek: ou chrê pannuchion eudein boulêphoron andra] (il. ii. ).] [footnote : quia non sufficit agenda militibus imperare, nisi haec judicis assiduitas videatur exigere.] so i pleaded; but they plied me all the more with such arguments as these: [sidenote: the praefecture.] 'all men have known you as praefect of the praetorian throne, a dignity which all other public employments wait upon like lacqueys. for from this high office, ways and means for the army are demanded; from this, without any regard for the difficulty of the times, the food of the people is required; on this, a weight of judicial responsibility is thrown, which would be by itself a heavy burden. now the law, which has thrown this immense load on the praefect's office, has, on the other hand, honoured him by putting almost all things under his control. in truth, what interval of leisure could you snatch from your public labours, when into your single breast flowed every claim which could be made on behalf of the common good of all? [sidenote: the quaestorship.] 'we must add, moreover, that when you were on frequent occasions charged with the office of the quaestorship, the leisure which you might have enjoyed was taken from you by your own constant thoughtfulness for the public good; and when you were thus bearing the weight of an honour which was not the highest, your sovereigns used to lay upon you those duties, properly belonging to other offices, which their own holders were unable to discharge[ ]. all these duties you discharged with absolute freedom from corruption, following your father's example in receiving, from those who hoped for your favour, nothing but the obligation to serve them, and bestowing on petitioners all that they had a right to ask for without traffic or reward. [footnote : 'addimus etiam quod frequenter quaesturae vicibus ingravato otii tempus adimit crebra cogitatio, et velut mediocribus fascibus insudanti, illa tibi de aliis honoribus principes videntur imponere, quae proprii judices nequeunt explicare.' this is probably the clearest account that is anywhere given of the peculiar and somewhat undefined position held by cassiodorus during the greater part of the reign of theodoric.] [sidenote: intimacy with theodoric.] 'moreover, men know that the conversations which you were honoured by holding with the king occupied a large portion of your days, greatly to the public welfare[ ], so that men of leisure have no right to expect that their requirements shall be met by you, whose day was thus occupied with continuous toil[ ]. but in truth this will redound yet more to your glory, if amid so many and such severe labours you succeed in writing that which is worthy to be read. besides, your work can without wounding their self-love instruct unlettered persons who are not prepared by any consciousness of eloquence for the service of the republic[ ]; and the experience which you have gained by being tossed to and fro on the waves of stormy altercation, they in their more tranquil lot may more fortunately make their own. again (and here we make an appeal which your loyalty cannot resist), if you allow posterity to be ignorant of the numerous benefits conferred by your king, it is in vain that with benevolent eagerness he so often granted your requests. do not, we pray, draw back once more into silence and obscurity those who, while you were sounding their eulogies, seemed worthy to receive illustrious dignities. for you then professed to describe them with true praises, and to paint their characters with the colours of history[ ]. now if you leave it to posterity to write the panegyric on these men, you take away as it were from those who die an honourable death the funeral oration to which, by the customs of our ancestors, they are entitled. besides, in these letters you correct immorality with a ruler's authority; you break the insolence of the transgressor; you restore to the laws their reverence. do you still hesitate about publishing that which, as you know, satisfies so many needs? will you conceal, if we may say so, the mirror of your own mind, in which all ages to come may behold your likeness? often does it happen that a man begets a son unlike himself, but his writings are hardly ever found unequal to his character[ ]. the progeny of his own will is his truest child; what is born in the secret recesses of his own heart is that by which posterity will know him best. [footnote : 'regum quinetiam gloriosa colloquia pro magnâ diei parte in bonum publicum te occupare noverunt.' it is difficult to translate the expressive term, 'gloriosa colloquia.'] [footnote : 'ut fastidium sit otiosis exspectare quae tu continuo labore cognosceris sustinere.' i cannot translate this literally.] [footnote : 'rudes viros et ad rempublicam consciâ facundiâ praeparatos.' surely some negative has dropped out of the latter clause.] [footnote : 'tu enim illos assumpsisti verâ laude describere, et quodammodo historico colore depingere.'] [footnote : 'contingit enim dissimilem filium plerumque generari, oratio dispar moribus vix potest inveniri.'] [sidenote: gothic history.] 'you have often, amid universal acclamation, pronounced the praises of kings and queens. in twelve books you have compiled the history of the goths, culling the story of their triumphs[ ]. since these works have had such favourable fortunes, and since you have thus served your first campaign in literature, why hesitate to give these productions of yours also to the public?' [footnote : 'duodecim libris gothorum historiam _defloratis prosperitatibus_ condidisti.' by an extraordinary error this sentence has been interpreted to mean that cassiodorus wrote his history of the goths after their prosperity had faded; and some writers have accordingly laboured, quite hopelessly, to bring down the composition of the gothic history to a late period in the reign of athalaric. it is perfectly clear from many passages that cassiodorus uses 'deflorare' in the sense of 'picking flowers,' 'culling a nosegay.' see historia tripartita, preface (twice); de instit. divin. litterarum, cap. xxx; and de orthographiâ, cap. ii (title). i doubt not that careful search would discover many more instances. it is only strange to me that cassiodorus should, by the words 'defloratis _prosperitatibus_,' so naïvely confess the one-sided character of his history.] [sidenote: cassiodorus consents to publish.] so pleaded my friends, and to my shame i must own that i was conquered, and could no longer resist so many prayers; especially when i saw myself accused of want of affection. i have now only to crave my readers' pardon; and if they find rashness and presumption in my attempt, to blame my advisers rather than me, since my own judgment agrees with that of my severest critic. all the letters, therefore, which i have been able to find in various public archives that had been dictated by me as quaestor, as magister [officiorum], or as praefect, are here collected and arranged in twelve books. by the variety of subjects touched upon, the attention of the reader will be aroused, and it will be maintained by the feeling that he is rapidly approaching the conclusion of the letter. i have also wished to preserve others from those unpolished and hasty forms of speech into which i am conscious that i have often fallen in announcing the bestowal of dignities, a kind of document which is often asked for in such haste that there seems scarce time for the mere manual labour of writing it. i have therefore included in my sixth and seventh books _formulae_ for the granting of all the dignities of the state, hoping thus to be of some service to myself, though at a late period of my career, and to help my successors who may be hard pressed for time. what i have thus written concerning the past will serve equally well for the future, since i have said nothing about the qualities of the individual office-holder, but have made such explanations as seemed suitable concerning the office. [sidenote: reason of the title variarum.] as for the title of all twelve books, the index of the work, the herald of its meaning, the expression in briefest compass of the whole performance, i have for this chosen the name variae. and this, because it was necessary for me not always to use the same style, since i had undertaken to address various kinds of persons. one must speak in one way to men jaded with much reading; in another to those who skim lightly over the surface, tasting here and there; in another (if one would persuade them), to persons who are devoid of a taste for letters, since it is sometimes a proof of skill to avoid the very things which please the learned. in short, the definition given by our ancestors is a good one: 'to speak fitly is to persuade the hearers to accept your wishes for their own.' nor was it at random that the prudence of antiquity thus defined the three modes of speaking:-- [sidenote: the three styles of composition.] ( ) the _humble_ style, which seems to creep along the ground in the very expression of its thought. ( ) the _middle_ style, which is neither swollen with self-importance nor shrunk into littleness; but being placed between the two, and enriched by a peculiar elegance, is contained within its own true boundaries. ( ) the _supreme_ style, which by exquisite phraseology is raised to the very highest pitch of oratory. the object of this distinction is that the various sorts and conditions of men may each receive their appropriate address, and that the thoughts which proceed from the same breast may nevertheless flow in divers channels. no man is entitled to the name of eloquent who is not prepared to do his duty manfully with the triple strength of these three styles, as one cause after another may arise. it must be added hereto that we have sometimes to speak to kings, sometimes to the officers of the court, sometimes to the very humblest of the people. to the last we may allowably pour out our words with some degree of haste, but the other addresses should be deeply pondered before they are delivered. deservedly therefore is a work entitled variae, which is subject to so much diversity in its composition. would that, as we have received these maxims from those who have gone before us, so our own compositions could claim the praise of having reduced them into practice. in sooth we do with shamefacedness promise that the humble style shall be found in us; we think we may without dishonesty covenant for the middle style; but the supreme style, which on account of its nobility is the fitting language of a royal edict[ ], we cannot hope that we have attained unto. [footnote : the editors waver between 'quod est in edicto' and 'quod est in edito (constitutum).'] but since we are to be read, let us abstain from further unlawful canvassing for the votes of our readers. it is an incongruous thing for us to be thus piling up our own discourses about ourselves: we ought rather to wait for your judgment on our work. book i. containing forty-six letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. . king theodoric to emperor anastasius. [sidenote: persuasives to peace between italy and constantinople.] 'it behoves us, most clement emperor, to seek for peace, since there are no causes for anger between us. 'peace by which the nations profit; peace the fair mother of all liberal arts, the softener of manners, the replenisher of the generations of mankind. peace ought certainly to be an object of desire to every kingdom. 'therefore, most pious of princes, it accords with your power and your glory that we who have already profited by your affection [personally] should seek concord with your empire. you are the fairest ornament of all realms; you are the healthful defence of the whole world, to which all other rulers rightfully look up with reverence[ ], because they know that there is in you something which is unlike all others[ ]: we above all, who by divine help learned in your republic the art of governing romans with equity. our royalty is an imitation of yours, modelled on your good purpose, a copy of the only empire; and in so far as we follow you do we excel all other nations. [footnote : 'vos totius orbis salutare praesidium, quod caeteri dominantes jure suspiciunt quia in vobis singulare aliquid inesse cognoscunt.' 'suspiciunt' seems to give a better sense than the other reading, 'suscipiunt.'] [footnote : 'quia in vobis singulare aliquid inesse cognoscunt.'] 'often have you exhorted me to love the senate, to accept cordially the laws of past emperors, to join together in one all the members of italy. how can you separate from your august alliance one whose character you thus try to make conformable to your own? there is moreover that noble sentiment, love for the city of rome, from which two princes, both of whom govern in her name, should never be disjoined. 'we have thought fit therefore to send a and b[ ] as ambassadors to your most serene piety, that peace, which has been broken, through a variety of causes, may, by the removal of all matters of dispute, be firmly restored between us. for we think you will not suffer that any discord should remain between two republics, which are declared to have ever formed one body under their ancient princes[ ], and which ought not to be joined by a mere sentiment of love, but actively to aid one another with all their powers. let there be always one will, one purpose in the roman kingdom. therefore, while greeting you with our respectful salutations, we humbly beg that you will not remove from us the high honour of your mildness's affection[ ], which we have a right to hope for if it were never granted to any others. [footnote : 'illum atque illum.' i shall always render this phrase (which shows that cassiodorus had not preserved the names of the ambassadors) as above.] [footnote : 'quia pati vos non credimus, inter utrasque respublicas, quarum semper unum corpus sub antiquis principibus fuisse declaratur, aliquid discordiae permanere.'] [footnote : 'pomâ meute deposcimus ne suspendatis a nobis mansuetudinis vestrae gloriosissimam caritatem.'] 'the rest of their commission will be verbally conveyed to your piety by the bearers of these letters[ ].' [footnote : for some remarks on the date of this letter, see introduction, p. . the mention of interrupted peace, which evidently requires not mere estrangement but an actual state of war, points to the year , when sabinian, the general of anastasius, was defeated by the ostrogoths and their allies at horrea margi; or to , when the imperial fleet made a raid on the coast of apulia, as probable dates for the composition of the letter. its place at the beginning of the variae does not at all imply priority in date to the letters which follow it. it was evidently cassiodorus' method to put in the forefront of every book in his collection a letter to an emperor or king, or other great personage. as for the tone of the letter, and the exact character of the relation between the courts of ravenna and constantinople which is indicated by it, there is room for a wide divergence of opinion. to me it does not seem to bear out justinian's contention (recorded by procopius, de bello gotthico ii. ) that theodoric ruled italy as the emperor's lieutenant. under all the apparent deference and affectation of humility the language seems to me to be substantially that of one equal addressing another, older and with a somewhat more assured position, but still an equal.] . king theodoric to theon, vir sublimis. [sidenote: manufacture of purple dye.] 'we are informed by count stephen that the work of preparing the purple for the sacred (_i.e._ royal) robes, which was put under your charge, has been interrupted through reprehensible negligence on your part. there must be neglect somewhere, or else the wool with its milk-white hairs would long before now have imbibed the precious quality of the adorable _murex_. if the diver in the waters of hydruntum[ ] had sought for these murex-shells at the proper season, that neptunian harvest, mixed with an abundant supply of water, would already have generated the flame-bright liquid which dyes the robes that adorn the throne. the colour of that dye is gay[ ] with too great beauty; 'tis a blushing obscurity, an ensanguined blackness, which distinguishes the wearer from all others, and makes it impossible for the human race not to know who is the king. it is marvellous that that substance after death should for so long a time exude an amount of gore which one would hardly find flowing from the wounds of a living creature. for even six months after they have been separated from the delights of the sea, these shell-fish are not offensive to the keenest nostrils, as if on purpose that that noble blood might inspire no disgust. once this dye is imparted to the cloth, it remains there for ever; the tissue may be destroyed sooner than part with it. if the murex has not changed its quality, if the press (torcular) is still there to receive its one vintage, it must be the fault of the labourers that the dye is not forthcoming. what are they doing, all those crowds of sailors, those families of rustics? and you who bear the name of count, and were exalted high over your fellow-citizens on purpose that you might attend to this very thing, what sacrilegious negligence is this which you are manifesting in reference to the sacred vesture? if you have any care for your own safety come at once with the purple[ ], which you have hitherto been accustomed to render up every year. if not, if you think to mock us by delay, we shall send you not a constrainer but an avenger. [footnote : otranto.] [footnote : vernans.] [footnote : blatta.] 'how easy was the discovery of this great branch of manufacture! a dog, keen with hunger, bounding along the tyrian shore, crunched the shells which were cast up there. the purple gore dyed his jaws with a marvellous colour; and the men who saw it, after the sudden fashion of inventors, conceived the idea of making therewith a noble adornment for their kings. what tyre is for the east, hydron[ ] is for italy--the great cloth-factory of courts, not keeping its old art (merely), but ever transmitting new improvements.' [footnote : i presume the same as hydruntum (otranto).] . king theodoric to cassiodorus, vir illustris and patrician[ ]. [footnote : father of the author.] [sidenote: praises of the father of cassiodorus.] extols in high-flown language the merits of the minister who in the early and troublous days of theodoric's reign conciliated the wavering affections of the suspicious sicilians[ ], governed them so justly that not even they (addicted as they are, according to cicero, to grumbling) could complain; then displayed equal rectitude in the government of his own native province of bruttii and lucania (hard as it is to be perfectly just in the government of one's own native place); then administered the praefecture in such a way as to earn the thanks of all italy, even the taxes not being felt to be burdensome under his rule, because so justly levied; and now, finally, as a reward for all these services, is raised to the distinguished honour of the patriciate. [footnote : 'in ipso quippe imperii nostri devotus exordio, cum adhuc fluctuantibus rebus provinciarum corda vagarentur, et negligi rudem dominum novitas ipsa pateretur.'] . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [introducing cassiodorus (senior) on his accession to the honours of the patriciate.] [sidenote: great deeds of the ancestors of cassiodorus for three generations.] compliments to the senate, of which theodoric wishes to increase the dignity by bestowing honours on its most eminent members. recital of the services and good qualities of cassiodorus[ ]: [footnote : father of cassiodorus senator.] (_a_) as 'comes privatarum;' (_b_) as 'comes sacrarum largitionum;' (_c_) as governor of provinces. (general reflections on the importance of a governor being himself a virtuous man). 'having been trained thus to official life under the preceding king [odovacar] he came with well-earned praises to our palace.' (_d_) his eminent career as praetorian praefect and modest demeanour therein. services of previous members of his family. fame seems to be always at home among the cassiodori. they are of noble birth, equally celebrated among orators and warriors, healthy of body, and very tall. his father, _cassiodorus_[ ], was 'tribunus et notarius' under valentinian iii. this last was a great honour, for only men of spotless life were associated with the imperial 'secretum.' a friendship, founded on likeness, drew him to the side of aetius, whose labours for the state he shared. [footnote : grandfather of cassiodorus senator.] _embassy to attila._ 'with the son of this aetius, named carpilio, he was sent on no vain embassy to attila, the mighty in arms. he looked undaunted on the man before whom the empire quailed. calm in conscious strength, he despised all those terrible wrathful faces that scowled around him. he did not hesitate to meet the full force of the invectives of the madman who fancied himself about to grasp the empire of the world. he found the king insolent; he left him pacified; and so ably did he argue down all his slanderous pretexts for dispute that though the hun's interest was to quarrel with the richest empire in the world, he nevertheless condescended to seek its favour. the firmness of the orator roused the fainting courage of his countrymen, and men felt that rome could not be pronounced defenceless while she was armed with such ambassadors. thus did he bring back the peace which men had despaired of; and as earnestly as they had prayed for his success, so thankfully did they welcome his return.' he was offered honours and revenues, but preferred to seek the pleasant retirement of bruttii in the land which his exertions had freed from the terror of the stranger. his father, cassiodorus[ ], an 'illustris,' defended the coasts of sicily and bruttii from the vandals, thus averting from those regions the ruin which afterwards fell upon rome from the same quarter. [footnote : great-grandfather of cassiodorus senator.] in the east, heliodorus, a cousin of the cassiodori, has brilliantly discharged the office of praefect for eighteen years, as theodoric himself can testify. thus the family, conspicuous both in the eastern and western world, has two eyes with which it shines with equal brilliancy in each senate. cassiodorus is so wealthy that his herds of horses surpass those of the king, to whom he makes presents of some of them in order to avoid envy. 'hence it arises that our present candidate [for patrician honours] mounts the armies of the goths; and having even improved upon his education, generously administers the wealth which he received from his parents. 'now, conscript fathers, welcome and honour the new patrician, who is so well worthy of a high place among you.' . king theodoric to florianus, vir spectabilis. [sidenote: interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium.] 'lawsuits must not be dragged on for ever. there must be some possibility of reaching a quiet haven. wherefore, if the petitioners have rightly informed us that the controversy as to the farm at mazenes has been decided in due course of law by count annas, and there is no reasonable ground for appeal[ ], let that sentence be held final and irreversible. we must sometimes save a litigious man from himself, as a good doctor will not allow a patient to take that which is injurious to him.' [footnote : 'nec aliqua probatur appellatione suspensa.'] . king theodoric to agapitus, praefectus urbis. [one of the mss. reads _pontifici_, but this is clearly wrong. the language is not at all suitable to be addressed to a pope, and there was no pope agapetus till , nine years after the death of theodoric.] [sidenote: mosaics ordered for ravenna.] 'i am going to build a great basilica of hercules at ravenna, for i wish my age to match preceding ones in the beauty of its buildings, as it does in the happiness of the lives of my subjects. 'send me therefore skilful workers in mosaic' [of which kind of work we have a very good description as follows]. _(cassiodorus on mosaic)._ 'send us from your city some of your most skilful marble-workers, who may join together those pieces which have been exquisitely divided, and, connecting together their different veins of colour, may admirably represent the natural appearance[ ]. from art proceeds this gift, which conquers nature. and thus the discoloured surface of the marble is woven into the loveliest variety of pictures; the value of the work, now as always, being increased by the minute labour which has to be expended on the production of the beautiful.' [footnote : 'et venis colludentibus illigata naturalem faciem laudabiliter mentiantur.'] . king theodoric to felix, vir clarissimus. this letter will be best understood by a reference to the following pedigree: n. | __________________________________________ | | | felix = a daughter. neotherius plutianus [a spendthrift]. [a minor, whose guardian is venantius]. [sidenote: the inheritance of plutianus.] apparently felix is accused by venantius, the guardian of his young brother-in-law plutianus, of having, on behalf of his wife, made an unfair division of the family property (which had been originally given to the father of these lads by theodoric, as a reward for his services). in doing this he has availed himself of the spendthrift character of neotherius, the elder brother, who was probably already of age. felix is severely blamed, and ordered to hand over what he has fraudulently appropriated to the official, who is charged with the execution of this mandate. both are summoned to the 'comitatus' of the king, that a fair division may there be made between them. . king theodoric to amabilis, the collector (exsecutor). [sidenote: the prodigality of neotherius.] in reference to this same matter of the wasted property of plutianus. it appears from this letter that neotherius has been not merely a spendthrift, but has been actuated by motives of passionate hatred to his younger brother[ ]. the king enlarges on his obligation to protect the weak, and orders the officer to see that justice is done according to the representations of venantius, unless the other side have any counter plea to allege, in which case 'ad nostrum venire deproperet comitatum.' [footnote : 'neotherium fratrem suum, affectum germanitatis oblitum, _bona parvuli hostili furore lacerasse_.'] . king theodoric to eustorgius, bishop of milan. [sidenote: offences charged against ecclesiastics.] 'you will be glad to hear that we are satisfied that the bishop of augusta [turin or aosta] has been falsely accused of betrayal of his country. he is therefore to be restored to his previous rank. his accusers, as they are themselves of the clerical order, are not punished by us, but sent to your holiness to be dealt with according to the ecclesiastical tradition.' [the reflections in this letter about the impropriety of believing readily accusations against a bishop[ ], and the course adopted of handing over the clerical false accusers to be dealt with by their bishop, have an obvious bearing on the great hildebrandic controversy. but as dahn ('könige der germanen' iii. ) points out, there is no abandonment by the king of the ultimate right to punish an ecclesiastic.] [footnote : 'nihil enim in tali honore temeraria cogitatione praesumendum est, ubi si proposito creditur, etiam tacitus ab excessibus excusatur. manifesta proinde crimina in talibus vix capiunt fidem. quidquid autem ex invidia dicitur, veritas non putatur.'] . king theodoric to boetius[ ], vir illustris and patrician. [footnote : if the mss. are correctly represented in the printed editions, the name of the author of the consolation of philosophy was spelt boetius in the variae. there can be little doubt however that boethius is the more correct form, and this is the form given us in the anecdoton holderi.] [sidenote: frauds of the moneyers.] the horse and foot guards[ ] seem to have complained that after their severe labours they were not paid in solidi of full weight by the 'arcarius praefectorum.' [footnote : why are these called 'domestici patres equitum et peditum?'] cassiodorus gives-- ( ) some sublime reflections in the true cassiodorian vein on the nature of arithmetic, by which earth and the heavens are ruled. ( ) some excellent practical remarks on the wickedness of clipping and depreciating the currency. the most interesting but most puzzling sentence in this letter is that in which he says that 'the ancients wished that the _solidus_ should consist of , _denarii_, in order that the golden coin like a golden sun might represent the , years which are the appointed age of the world.' but how can we reconcile this with any known solidus or any known denarius? the solidus of constantine ( to the lb.) was worth about twelve shillings. the reduced denarius of diocletian was probably worth one penny. at the very lowest (and most improbable) computation it was worth at least a farthing, and even thus one would only get to a solidus. the earlier denarius, worth about eightpence, clearly will not do; and the matter is made more difficult by the fact that cassiodorus is talking about the ancients (veteres), whereas the solidus was a comparatively modern coin. it seems that either cassiodorus has some entirely wrong information as to the early currency of rome, or else that we have not yet got the clue to his meaning. this passage is quoted by finlay ('greece under the romans,' p. , ed. ), but the difficulty is not removed by his remarks. . king theodoric to servatus, duke of the raetias. [sidenote: violence of the breones.] 'it is your duty to repress all violence and injustice in the provinces over which you preside. maniarius complains that his slaves (mancipia) have been without any cause taken away from him by the _breones_ [a raetian tribe dwelling near the pass of the brenner], who are continuing in peace the habits and maxims of war. 'if this proves to be a true complaint, see that justice is done, and speedily.' . king theodoric to eugenius (or eugenites)[ ], vir illustris, magister officiorum. [footnote : perhaps the name really was eugenes, -etis. see var. viii. , and ennodii, epist. iv. .] [sidenote: bestowal of dignity of magister officiorum.] 'it is the glory of our reign to confer office on those who deserve it. 'you are a learned man, and arrived long ago at the dignity of the quaestorship as a reward for your creditable exertions as an advocate. 'one office leads to another: the tree of the fasces puts forth fresh fasces; and we therefore have great pleasure in calling you now to the dignity of magister, bestowing upon you all the privileges which have belonged to your predecessors in that office. justify our choice by your actions. you know, as one of our counsellors, what our standard of righteousness is. a sort of religious holiness is required from those who hold office under a righteous king[ ].' [footnote : 'pio principi sub quodam sacerdotio serviatur.' cf. claudian, 'nunquam libertas gratior exstat quam _sub rege pio_.'] . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: on the same subject.] announces the elevation of eugenius (or eugenites) to the post of master of the offices, and recapitulates his past services and character in nearly the same terms as the preceding letter. he is to go from one office to another, 'even as the sun having shone one day, rises in order to shine again on another. even horses are stimulated to greater speed by the shouts of men. but man is an animal peculiarly fond of approbation. do you therefore stimulate the new master to all noble deeds.' [notice this sentence about the senate: 'whatever is the flower of the human race, the senate ought to possess it: and as the citadel is the crown of the city, so should your order be the ornament of all other ranks.'] . king theodoric to faustus, praepositus. [sidenote: collection of 'tertiae.'] 'we have no objection to grant the petition of the inhabitants of cathalia (?), that their "tertiae" shall be collected at the same time as the ordinary tribute. what does it matter under what name the "possessor" pays his contribution, so long as he pays it without deduction? thus they will get rid of the suspected name of "tertiae," and our mildness will not be worried by their importunity.' [see dahn ('könige der germanen' iii. ), who decides that the 'tertiae' was the pecuniary equivalent paid by the roman possessor for that portion of the _sors barbarica_ (the gothic third of the lands of italy) which, for convenience sake, was left in the actual occupation of romans.] . king theodoric to festus, vir illustris and patrician. [sidenote: looking after the interests of the absent.] 'we are glad to see that our good opinion of you is shared by your neighbours, and that the patrician agnellus, going to africa on our business, has chosen you to defend his interests in his absence. no one can give a higher proof of confidence than this. look well after the trust committed to you. there seems to be a peculiar temptation to neglect the interests of the absent.' . king theodoric to julianus, comes patrimonii [probably ]. [sidenote: remission of taxes. hostile incursions.] 'it is an excellent investment to do a generous thing to our subjects. the apulian "conductores" [farmers of the royal domain] have represented to us with tears that their crops have been burned by hostile invaders [byzantines?]. we therefore authorise you to deduct at the next indiction what shall seem the right proportion for these losses from the amount due to us[ ]. see, however, that our revenue sustains no unnecessary loss. we are touched by the losses of the suppliants, but we ought on the other hand to share their profits.' [footnote : 'ut quantum eos minus vendidisse constiterit, de reliquis primae indictionis habita moderatione detrahatis.'] . king theodoric to all the gothic and roman inhabitants of dertona (tortona). [sidenote: fortification of camp near dertona.] 'we have decided that the camp near you shall at once be fortified. it is expedient to execute works of this kind in peace rather than in war. 'the true meaning of _expeditio_ shows that the leader of a military expedition should have an unencumbered mind. 'do you therefore second our efforts by building good private houses, in which you will be sheltered, while the enemy (whenever he comes) will be in the worst possible quarters[ ], and exposed to all the severity of the weather.' [footnote : 'durissimae mansiones.'] . king theodoric to domitianus and wilias. [sidenote: statute of limitations.] 'it is right that you, who are administering justice to the nations, should learn and practise it yourselves. we therefore hasten to reply to the question which you have asked [concerning the length of time that is required to bestow a title by prescription]. if any barbarian usurper have taken possession of a roman farm since the time when we, through god's grace, crossed the streams of the isonzo, when first the empire of italy received us[ ], and if he have no documents of title [sine delegatoris cujusquam pyctacio] to show that he is the rightful holder, then let him without delay restore the property to its former owner. but if he shall be found to have entered upon the property before the aforesaid time, since the principle of the thirty years' prescription comes in, we order that the petition of the plaintiff shall be dropped. [footnote : 'ex quo, deo propitio, sonti fluenta transmisimus ubi primum italiae nos suscepit imperium.'] [sidenote: crimes of violence.] 'the assailant, as well as the murderer, of his brother, is to be driven forth from the kingdom, that the serenity of our commonwealth may not be troubled with any such dark spots.' [theodoric crossed the isonzo, august, , and as i understand this letter, it was written somewhere about , and he therefore lays down a convenient practical rule: 'no dispossession which occurred before i crossed the isonzo shall be enquired into; any which have happened since, may.' but the letter is a very difficult one, and i am bound to say that dahn's interpretation ('könige der germanen' iii. , ) does not agree with mine.] . king theodoric to saturninus and verbusius, viri sublimes. [sidenote: the rights of the fiscus.] 'the _fiscus_ is to have its rights, but we do not wish to oppress our people. let moderation be observed in all things. 'when you receive the petition of the curiales of adriana, if anyone who is able to pay, stubbornly and impudently refuses to contribute to the _fiscus gothorum_, you are to compel him to do so. but let off the really poor man who is unable to contribute.' . king theodoric to albinus and albienus, viri illustres and patricians. [sidenote: circus quarrels. patronage of the greens. rivalry between helladius and theodorus.] 'notwithstanding our greater cares for the republic, we are willing to provide also for the amusement of our subjects. for it is the strongest possible proof of the success of our labours that the multitude knows itself to be again at leisure[ ]. [footnote : 'illud enim, propitiante deo, labores nostros asserit quod se _otiosam_ generalitas esse cognoscit.'] 'the petition of the green party in the circus informs us that they are oppressed, and that the factions of the circus are fatal to public tranquillity. we therefore order you to assume the patronage of the green party, which our father of glorious memory paid for[ ]. so let the spectators be assembled, and let them choose between helladius and theodorus which is fittest to be pantomimist of the greens, whose salary we will pay.' [footnote : 'quapropter illustris magnitudo vestra praesenti jussione commonita, patrocinium partis prasini, quod gloriosae recordationis pater noster impendit, dignanter assumat.' this passage probably alludes to theodoric's adoption by zeno. but one reading is 'pater _vester_.'] then follows a digression on pantomimes. . king theodoric to maximian, vir illustris; and andreas, vir spectabilis. [sidenote: embellishment of rome.] 'if the people of rome will beautify their city we will help them. 'institute a strict audit (of which no one need be ashamed) of the money given by us to the different workmen for the beautification of the city. see that we are receiving money's worth for the money spent. if there is embezzlement anywhere, cause the funds so embezzled to be disgorged. we expect the romans to help from their own resources in this patriotic work, and certainly not to intercept our contributions for the purpose. 'the wandering birds love their own nests; the beasts haste to their own lodgings in the brake; the voluptuous fish, roaming the fields of ocean, returns to its own well-known cavern. how much more should rome be loved by her children!' . king theodoric to marcellus, vir spectabilis, advocatus fisci. [sidenote: promotion of marcellus.] after some rather vapid praise of the eloquence and good qualities of marcellus, theodoric promotes him from the rank of a private advocate to that of an _advocatus fisci_, and gives him some excellent counsels about not pressing the claims of the crown too far. 'we shall not enquire how many causes you have gained, but how you have gained them. let there sometimes be a bad cause for the fiscus, that the sovereign may be seen to be good.' . king theodoric to coelianus and agapitus, viri illustres and patricians. [sidenote: litigation between senators.] 'the concord and harmony of subjects redound to the praise of their prince. 'we desire that festus and symmachus (patricians and magnifici) should prosecute the causes for action which they say they have against paulinus (illustris and patrician) in your court. let paulinus bring before you any counter-claim which he may assert himself to possess. let justice be rendered speedily. show yourselves worthy of this high trust. it is a matter of great moment to end lawsuits between men of such eminence in the state as these.' . king theodoric to all the goths. [sidenote: a call to arms for the invasion of gaul.] 'to the goths a hint of war rather than persuasion to the strife is needed, since a warlike race such as ours delights to prove its courage. in truth, he shuns no labour who hungers for the renown of valour. therefore with the help of god, whose blessing alone brings prosperity, we design to send our army to the gauls for the common benefit of all, that you may have an opportunity of promotion, and we the power of testing your merits; for in time of peace the courage which we admire lies hidden, and when men have no chance of showing what is in them, their relative merits are concealed. we have therefore given our sajo[ ], nandius, instructions to warn you that, on the eighth day before the kalends of next july, you move forward to the campaign in the name of god, sufficiently equipped, according to your old custom, with horses, arms, and every requisite for war. thus will ye at the same time show that the old valour of your sires yet dwells in your hearts, and also successfully perform your king's command. bring forth your young men for the discipline of mars. let them see you do deeds which they may love to tell of to their children. for an art not learned in youth is an art missing in our riper years. the very hawk, whose food is plunder, thrusts her still weak and tender young ones out of the nest, that they may not become accustomed to soft repose. she strikes the lingerers with her wings; she forces her callow young to fly, that they may prove to be such in the future as her maternal fondness can be proud of. do you therefore, lofty by nature, and stimulated yet more by the love of fame, study to leave such sons behind you as your fathers have left in leaving you.' [footnote : see for the office of the sajo, note on ii. .] [we can hardly be wrong in referring this stirring proclamation to the year , when theodoric sent troops into gaul to save the remnants of the visigothic monarchy from the grasp of clovis. the first sentence recalls the expression 'certaminis gaudia,' which jordanes no doubt borrowed from cassiodorus. for the simile at the end of the letter, cf. deuteronomy xxxii. , 'as an eagle stirreth up her nest'.] . king theodoric to sabinianus, vir spectabilis. [sidenote: repair of the walls of rome.] 'it is important to preserve as well as to create. we are earnestly anxious to keep the walls of rome in good repair, and have therefore ordered the lucrine port[ ] to furnish , tiles annually for this purpose. see that this is done, that the cavities which have been formed by the fall of stones may be roofed over with tiles, and so preserved, and that thus we may deserve the thanks of ancient kings, to whose works we have given immortal youth.' [footnote : i presume that 'portum lucini' is an error for the lucrine harbour; but there is an allusion which i do not understand in the following passage: 'simul etiam portubus junctis, qui ad illa loca antiquitus pertinebant, et nunc diversorum usurpatione suggeruntur invasi?'] . king theodoric to faustus, praepositus. [sidenote: immunity of church property from taxation.] in the time of cassiodorus the patrician (a man of tried integrity and pure fidelity[ ]), a grant of freedom from taxation[ ] was made to the church of vercelli. since that time other property has been conveyed to the same church, apparently by a soldier. an attempt is made to represent this after-acquired property as also tax-free. 'no,' says the king. 'it would be very wrong in us to recall our gift; but it is equally wrong in you to try to stretch it to something which it never included. private persons must not make grants to the injury of our treasury. tribute belongs to the purple, not to the military cloak[ ]. your newly acquired possessions must pay taxes along with those of other owners.' [footnote : this is evidently the writer's father.] [footnote : 'onera indictorum titulorum.'] [footnote : 'tributa sunt purpurae, non lacernae.'] . king theodoric to speciosus. [sidenote: circus quarrels.] 'if we are moderating under our laws the character of foreign nations, if the roman law is supreme over all that is in alliance with italy, how much more doth it become the senate of the seat of civilisation itself to have a surpassing reverence for law, that by the example of their moderation the beauty of their dignities may shine forth more eminently. for where shall we look for moderation, if violence stains patricians? the green party complain that they have been truculently assaulted by the patrician theodoric and the "illustris and consul importunus," and that one life has been lost in the fray. we wish the matter to be at once brought before the illustres coelianus and agapitus and examined into by them[ ]. [footnote : see i. , from which it appears that these two men had special jurisdiction in cases affecting patricians.] 'as to their counter-complaints of rudeness against the mob, you must distinguish between deliberate insolence and the licence of the theatre. who expects seriousness of character at the spectacles? it is not exactly a congregation of catos that comes together at the circus. the place excuses some excesses. and besides, it is the _beaten_ party which vents its rage in insulting cries. do not let the patricians complain of clamour that is really the result of a victory for their own side, which they greatly desired.' [the mention of 'the patrician theodoric' is a difficulty, as we know of no namesake of the king among the roman nobility. perhaps we ought to read (with the remensian ms.) 'theodoro,' as we know from 'anon. valesii' that there was a theodorus, son of basilius, who perhaps succeeded liberius, praef. praetorio.] . king theodoric to all the goths and romans. [sidenote: the walls of rome.] 'most worthy of royal attention is the rebuilding of ancient cities, an adornment in time of peace, a precaution for time of war. 'therefore, if anyone have in his fields stones suitable for the building of the walls, let him cheerfully and promptly produce them. even though he should be paid at a low rate, he will have his reward as a member of the community, which will benefit thereby.' . king theodoric to all the lucristani (lustriani?) on the river sontius (isonzo). [sidenote: the postal service.] 'the post (_cursus publicus_) is evidently an institution of great public utility, tending to the rapid promulgation of our decrees. 'care must therefore be taken that the horses are not allowed to get out of condition, lest they break down under their work, and lest the journey, which should be rapid, become tediously slow. 'also any lands formerly appropriated to the _mutationes_ [places for changing horses] which have fallen into private hands must be reclaimed for the public service, the owners being sufficiently indemnified for their loss.' . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: on the injury to public peace arising from the circus rivalries.] the senators are exhorted not to allow their menials to embroil themselves with the populace, and thus bring their good name into disgrace. any slave accused of the murder of a free-born citizen is to be at once given up, under penalty of a fine of lbs. of gold (£ ), and the king's severe displeasure for the master who disobeys this command. 'and do not you, oh senators, be too severe in marking every idle word which the mob may utter amidst the general rejoicing. if there is any insult which requires notice, bring it before the "praefectus urbis"--a far better and safer course than taking the law into your own hands.' [this letter, a very interesting and sensible one, is somewhat spoilt by a characteristic cassiodorian sentence at the end:-- 'men in old time used always to fight with their fists, whence the word _pugna_, "a pugnis." afterwards iron was introduced by king belus, and hence came _bellum_, "a belo."'] . king theodoric to the roman people. [sidenote: on the same subject.] gives similar good advice to that contained in the previous letter to the senate. 'the circus, in which the king spends so much money, is meant to be for public delight, not for stirring up wrath. instead of uttering howls and insults like other nations [the populace of byzantium?], whom they have despised for doing so, let them tune their voices, so that their applause shall sound like the notes of some vast organ, and even the brute creation delight to hear it. 'anyone uttering outrageous reproaches against any senator will be dealt with by the praefectus urbis.' . king theodoric to agapitus, vir illustris, praefectus urbis. [sidenote: on the same subject.] 'the ruler of the city ought to keep the peace, and justify my choice of him. your highest praise is a quiet people. 'we have issued our "oracles" to the "amplissimus ordo" (senate) and to the people, that the custom of insulting persons in the circus is to be put under some restraint; on the other hand, any senator who shall be provoked to kill a free-born person shall pay a fine. the games are meant to make people happy, not to stir them up to deadly rage. helladius[ ] is to come forth into the midst and afford the people pleasure [as a pantomimist], and he is to receive his monthly allowance (menstruum) with the other actors of the green faction. his partisans are to be allowed to sit where they please.' [footnote : see letter i. .] [was there not some division in the green faction itself concerning the merits of helladius and his rival theodorus?] . king theodoric to agapitus, vir illustris, praefectus urbis. [sidenote: arrangements for the pantomime.] 'our serenity is not going to change the arrangements which we have once made for the public good. we told albinus and albienus[ ] to choose the most fitting person they could find as pantomimist of the greens. they have done so [choosing probably helladius]. he shall have his monthly allowance, and let there be peace.' [footnote : ibid.] . king theodoric to faustus, praepositus. [sidenote: only the surplus of corn to be exported.] 'it should be only the surplus of the crops of any province, beyond what is needed for the supply of its own wants, that should be exported. station persons in the harbours to see that foreign ships do not take away produce to foreign shores until the public providers[ ] have got all that they require.' [footnote : 'expensae publicae' perhaps = curatores annonae.] . king theodoric to faustus, praepositus. [sidenote: unreasonable delays. the sucking-fish and torpedo.] 'this extraordinarily dry season having ruined the hopes of our harvest, it is more than ever necessary that the produce should be brought forward promptly. we are therefore exceedingly annoyed at finding that the crops which are generally sent forward by your chancellor from the coasts of calabria and apulia in summer have not yet arrived, though it is near autumn and the time is at hand when the sun, entering the southern signs (which are all named from showers), will send us storm and tempest. 'what are you waiting for? why are your ships not spreading their sails to the breeze? with a favourable wind and with bending oarsmen, are you perhaps delayed by the _echeneis_ (remora, or sucking-fish)? or by the shell-fish of the indian ocean? or by the torpedo, whose touch paralyses the hand? no; the echeneis in this case is entangling venality; the bites of the shell-fish, insatiable avarice; the torpedo, fraudulent pretence. 'the merchants are making delays in order that they may seem to have fallen on adverse weather. 'let your magnitude put all this to rights promptly, otherwise our famine will be imputed, not to bad seasons, but to negligence[ ].' [footnote : for a fuller translation of this marvellous letter, see introd. p. .] . king theodoric to theriolus, vir spectabilis. [sidenote: guardianship of children of benedictus.] 'we wish you to take the place of the late benedictus in the city of pedon. 'as we never forget the services of the dead, we wish you to undertake officially the guardianship of the sons of the said benedictus. 'we always pay back to our faithful servants more than we have received from them, and thus we do not go on the principle "equality is equity," because we think it just to make them _more_ than an equal recompence.' . king theodoric to crispianus. [sidenote: justifiable homicide.] 'murder is abominable, but it is right to take into account the circumstances which may have provoked to homicide. if the slain man was trying to violate the rights of wedlock, his blood be on his own head. for even brute beasts vindicate their conjugal rights by force: how much more man, who is so deeply dishonoured by the adulterer! 'therefore, if it be true that the man whom you slew had wronged you as a husband, we do not agree to the punishment of exile which has been inflicted upon you. nor will we uphold the action of the _vicarius_ or of his _officium_, who, as you say, have impounded the money paid by your _fidei-jussor_ (guarantor) agnellus. also, we will protect you against the hostile assaults of candax [next of kin to the murdered man?] in future. but your allegation as to the provocation must be fully established by legal process.' [it may be remarked that candac, king of the alani in moesia, is mentioned in the pedigree of jordanes ('getica,' cap. ).] . king theodoric to baion, a senator[ ]. [footnote : see remarks on this letter in dahn, könige der germanen iv. - . some mss. read coion or goinon, as the name of the senator to whom it is addressed.] [sidenote: the young hilarius to be allowed to enter on possession of his property.] 'we are told that you are keeping in your own hands the administration of the property of your young nephew [or grandson] hilarius against his will, and not for his good, but yours. restore it at once. let him dispose of it as he likes. he seems to be quite able to enter upon the lordship of his own. the eagle feeds her callow young with food which she has procured for them, till their wings grow. then, when their flight is strong and their nails sharp, she trains them to strike their own prey. so with our young goths: when they are fit for soldiership we cannot bear that they should be deemed incapable of managing their own concerns. "to the goths valour makes full age. and he who is strong enough to stab his enemy to the heart should be allowed to vindicate himself from every accusation of incapacity."' [notwithstanding his roman name, hilarius is evidently a goth.] . king theodoric to festus, vir illustris and patrician. [sidenote: the nephews of filagrius to be detained in rome.] 'we are always delighted to grant just requests. 'filagrius (vir spectabilis), who has been long absent from his home on our business, seeks to return to syracuse, but at the same time asks that his brother's sons may be kept for their education's sake at rome. do you attend to this petition, and do not let the lads go till we send you a second order to that effect. no one ought to murmur at being detained in rome, which is everyone's country, the fruitful mother of eloquence, the wide temple of all virtues. ulysses would very likely never have become famous if he had lingered on at home; but homer's noble poem most chiefly proclaims his wisdom in this fact, that he roamed among many cities and nations.' . king theodoric to assuin (or assius), vir illustris and comes. [sidenote: the inhabitants of salona to be drilled.] 'war needs rehearsal and preparation. therefore let your illustrious sublimity provide the inhabitants of salona with arms, and let them practise themselves in the use of them; for the surest safeguard of the republic is an armed defender.' the necessity of drill and practice is shown by the early combats of bullocks, the play-huntings of puppies, the necessity of first kindling a fire with very little sticks, and so forth. . king theodoric to agapitus, vir illustris, praefectus urbis. [sidenote: enquiries into character of the younger faustus.] 'the dignity of the senate makes it necessary to be unusually careful who is admitted into that body. let other orders receive middling men: the senate must receive none but those who are of proved excellence. 'therefore let your illustrious magnificence cause those enquiries to be made concerning faustus, the grown-up son of the illustrious faustus, which the senate hath ordered to be made concerning all persons who are to be enrolled in its council[ ]. in thus confirming and ratifying the proceedings of the senate we are in no degree trenching on the accustomed authority of that sacred order.' [footnote : 'quae circa referendos curiae priscus ordo designavit.'] . king theodoric to artemidorus, vir illustris and patrician [ or ]. [sidenote: artemidorus to be praefect of the city.] 'we are especially bound to reward merit. everyone who does us a service makes a very good investment. you have long had what was formerly considered more precious than great dignity--near access to our person. much as we loved you, we somewhat retarded your advance in order that you might be the more richly adorned with all virtues when you came to honour. your birthplace, your lineage, your merit, all declare you worthy of the promotion which we now bestow upon you, declaring you for this third indiction[ ] _praefectus urbis_. you will thus have the function of presiding over the senate, a far higher office than that of ruling the palace or arranging private houses. the value of the object committed to a person's care increases the dignity of the post. it is much more honourable to be caretaker of a diadem than of a wine-cellar. judge of our esteem for you by the preciousness of the body over which we are thus calling you to preside.' [footnote : either - or - ; more probably the former.] . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: promotion of artemidorus.] [announcing the elevation of artemidorus to the post of praefectus urbis.] 'artemidorus, though entitled from his relationship to the emperor zeno to expect great promotion at the court of constantinople, has preferred to share the fortunes and attach himself to the person of theodoric, who has often been refreshed after the cares of state by an hour of his charming converse. though he might have aspired to the highest dignities of the court, he has hitherto been satisfied with the comparatively humble post of superintendent of the public spectacles [as tribunus voluptatum?]. now, as praefectus urbis, he is to preside over and become a member of your body. welcome him.' . king theodoric to the people of rome. [sidenote: on the same subject.] [on the same subject as and , the elevation of artemidorus to the urban praefecture.] rebukes the commonalty sharply for their recent disturbances, which defile with illicit seditions the blessings of peace, earned under god's blessing by their prince. the newly-appointed praefectus urbanus, artemidorus, long devoted to the service of theodoric, will attest the innocence of the good, and sharply punish the errors of the bad, both by his own inherent prerogative and by a special commission entrusted to him for that purpose by the king. . king theodoric to boetius, vir illustris and patrician. [sidenote: the water-clock and sundial destined for the burgundian king.] 'it is important to oblige our royal neighbours even in trifles, for none can tell what great matters may be aided thereby. often what arms cannot obtain the offices of kindness bring to pass. thus let even our unbending be for the benefit of the republic. for our object in seeking pleasure is that we may thereby discharge the serious duties of life. 'the lord of the burgundians has earnestly requested that we would send him a clock which is regulated by water flowing under a modulus, and one which is marked by embracing the illumination of the immense sun[ ].' [footnote : an unintelligible translation doubtless, but is the original clearer? 'burgundionum dominus a nobis magnopere postulavit ut horologium quod aquis sub modulo fluentibus temperatur et quod solis immensi comprehensa illuminatione distinguitur ... ei transmittere deberemus.' it is pretty clear that the first request of the burgundian king was for a clepsydra of some kind. the second must be for some kind of sundial, but the description is very obscure.] [i transcribe, and do not attempt to translate, the further description of the two machines, the order of which is now changed.] '_primum_ sit, ubi stylus diei index, per umbram exiguam horas consuevit ostendere. radius itaque immobilis, et parvus, peragens quod tam miranda magnitudo solis discurrit, et fugam solis aequiparat quod modum semper ignorat. [this must be the sundial.] inviderent talibus, si astra sentirent: et meatum suum fortasse deflecterent, ne tali ludibrio subjacerent. ubi est illud horarum de lumine venientium singulare miraculum, si has et umbra demonstrat? ubi praedicabilis indefecta roratio, si hoc et metalla peragunt, quae situ perpetuo continentur? o artis inaestimabilis virtus quae dum se dicit ludere, naturae praevalet secreta vulgare. '_secundum_ sit [the clepsydra] ubi praeter solis radios hora dignoscitur, noctes in partes dividens: quod ut nihil deberet astris, rationem coeli ad aquarum potius fluenta convertit, quorum motibus ostendit, quod coelum volvitur; et audaci praesumptione concepta, ars elementis confert quod originis conditio denegavit.' 'it will be a great gain to us that the burgundians should daily look upon something sent by us which will appear to them little short of miraculous. exert yourself therefore, oh boetius, to get this thing put in hand. you have thoroughly imbued yourself with greek philosophy[ ]. you have translated pythagoras the musician, ptolemy the astronomer, nicomachus the arithmetician, euclid the geometer, plato the theologian, aristotle the logician, and have given back the mechanician archimedes to his own sicilian countrymen (who now speak latin). you know the whole science of mathematics, and the marvels wrought thereby. a machine [perhaps something like a modern orrery] has been made to exhibit the courses of the planets and the causes of eclipses. what a wonderful art is mechanics! the mechanician, if we may say so, is almost nature's comrade, opening her secrets, changing her manifestations, sporting with miracles, feigning so beautifully, that what we know to be an illusion is accepted by us as truth.' [footnote : evidently 'sic enim atheniensium scholas longe positus introisti' does not mean that boethius actually visited athens, but that he became thoroughly at home in the works of athenian philosophers.] . king theodoric to gundibad [sic], king of the burgundians. [sidenote: on the same subject.] sends the two clocks, or rather perhaps the celestial globe and the water-clock. 'have therefore in your country what you have often seen in rome. it is right that we should send you presents, because you are connected with us by affinity. it is said that under you "burgundia" looks into the most subtle things, and praises the discoveries of the ancients. through you she lays aside her "gentile" (barbarous) nature, and imitating the prudence of her king, rightly desires to possess the inventions of sages. let her arrange her daily actions by the movements of god's great lights; let her nicely adjust the moments of each hour. in mere confusion passes the order of life when this accurate division of time is unknown. men are like the beasts, if they only know the passage of the hours by the pangs of hunger, and have no greater certainty as to the flight of time than such as is afforded them by their bellies. for certainty is undoubtedly meant to be entwined in human actions.' book ii. containing forty-one letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. i. king theodoric to anastasius, most pious emperor. a.d. . [sidenote: consulship of felix.] 'by excellent ordinance of the ancients the year is named from the consul. let the happy year take its title from our new consul, _felix_ [consul with secundinus, a.d. [ ]]. [footnote : 'portamque dierum tali nomine dicatus annus, tempos introeat.' the figure here used seems borrowed from claudian, in primum cons. stilichonis ii. - .] 'it is most suitable that rome should gather back her children to her bosom, and in her venerable senate should enrol a son of gaul. 'felix showed his excellent disposition first in this, that while still a young man he hastened to "the native land of all the virtues" [rome]. success followed his choice; we promoted him as he deserved. while still a young man, deprived of his father's care, he showed the rare gift of continence; he subdued avarice, the enemy of wisdom; he despised the blandishments of vice; he trampled under foot the vanities of pride. 'we have now determined to reward him with the consulship. do you who can with indiscriminate pleasure rejoice in both the blessings of the republic [in the consuls of the east and west] join your favouring vote. he who is worthy of so high an office as the consulship may well be chosen by the judgment of both' [emperor and king]. [an important letter, as showing the extent to which concurrent choice of consuls was vested in rome, or rather ravenna, and constantinople.] . king theodoric to felix, vir illustris, consul ordinarius, a.d. ( th of the indiction). [sidenote: on the same subject.] an address on his elevation to the consulship, touching on nearly the same topics as the preceding. theodoric delights in bestowing larger favours on those whom he has once honoured [a favourite topic with cassiodorus]. felix has come back from gaul to the old fatherland[ ]. thus the consulship has returned to a transalpine family, and green laurels are seen on a brown stock. [footnote : 'cum soli genitalis fortunâ relictâ, velut quodam postliminio in antiquam patriam commeasses.'] felix has shown an early maturity of character. he has made a wise use of his father's wealth. the honour which other men often acquire by prodigality he has acquired by saving. cassiodorus evidently has a little fear that the new consul may carry his parsimony too far, and tells him that this office of the consulship is one in which liberality, almost extravagance, earns praise[ ]; in which it is a kind of virtue not to love one's own possessions; and in which one gains in good opinion all that one loses in wealth. [footnote : 'ubi praeconium meretur effusio.'] 'see the sacred city all white with your _vota_ (?). see yourself borne upon the shoulders of all, and your name flitting through their mouths, and manifest yourself such that you may be deemed worthy of your race, worthy of the city, worthy of our choice, worthy of the consular _trabea_.' [the letter makes one suspect a certain narrowness and coldness of heart in the subject of its praise.] . king theodoric to the senate. a.d. . [sidenote: on the same subject.] recommends felix for the consulship, going over again the topics mentioned in the two last letters. it appears that it was the father of felix who emerged, after a temporary eclipse of the family fortunes, and then showed himself 'the cato of our times, abstaining from vice himself, and forming the characters of others; imbued also with all greek philosophy, he glutted himself with the honey of the cecropian doctrine.' mention is made of the consulship of an earlier felix, a.d. , the happy renown of which still lingered in the memories of men. the young felix is praised for the qualities described in the two previous letters, and also for his power of conciliating the friendship of older men, especially the excellent patrician paulinus. . king theodoric to ecdicius (or benedictus), vir honestus. [sidenote: collection of siliquaticum.] 'we wish always to observe long-established rules in fiscal matters, the best guarantee against extortion. therefore, whatever dues in the way of _siliquaticum_ appertained to antiochus are now transferred to you by the present authority, and the sajo is charged to support your claims herein; only the contention must not be mixed up with any private matters of your own.' [the _siliquaticum_ was a tax of one twenty-fourth--the _siliqua_ being the twenty-fourth of a _solidus_--payable on all sales in market overt by buyer and seller together.] . king theodoric to faustus, praepositus. [sidenote: soldiers' arrears.] 'we are always generous, and sometimes out of clemency we bestow our gifts on persons who have no claim upon us. how much more fitting is it then that the servants of the state should receive our gifts promptly! wherefore, pray let your magnificence see to it that the sixty soldiers who are keeping guard in the fastnesses of aosta receive their _annonae_ without delay. think what a life of hardship the soldier leads in those frontier forts for the general peace, thus, as at the gate of the province, shutting out the entry of the barbarous nations. he must be ever on the alert who seeks to keep out the barbarians. for fear alone checks these men, whom honour will not keep back.' [a singular letter to write in the name of one who was himself a barbarian invader.] . king theodoric to agapitus, illustris and patrician. [sidenote: embassy to constantinople.] 'we have decided to send you on an embassy to the east (constantinople). every embassy requires a prudent man, but here there is need of especial prudence, because you will have to dispute against the most subtle persons--artificers of words, who think they can foresee every possible answer to their arguments. do your best therefore to justify the opinion which i formed of you before full trial of your powers.' . king theodoric to sura (or suna), illustris and comes. [sidenote: embellishment of the city.] 'let nothing lie useless which may redound to the beauty of the city. let your illustrious magnificence therefore cause the blocks of marble which are everywhere lying about in ruins to be wrought up into the walls by the hands of the workmen whom i send herewith. only take care to use only those stones which have really fallen from public buildings, as we do not wish to appropriate private property, even for the glorification of the city.' . king theodoric to bishop severus, vir venerabilis. [sidenote: compensation for damage done by troops on march.] 'none is more suitable than a member of the priesthood to perform acts of justice towards his flock. 'we therefore send your holiness, by montanarius, , solidi (£ ), for distribution among the provincials, according to the amount of damage which each one has sustained this year by the passage of our army. see that the distribution is made systematically--not at random--so that it may reach the right persons.' . king theodoric to faustus, praepositus. [sidenote: allowance to a retired charioteer.] 'we always enjoy being generous. compassion is the one virtue to which all other virtues may honourably give way. long ago we made the charioteer sabinus a monthly allowance of a solidus [twelve shillings]. now, as we learn from histrius [or historius] that this former servant of the public pleasures is afflicted with the most melancholy poverty, we have pleasure in adding _another_ solidus to his monthly allowance. we are never so well pleased as when the accounts of our expenditure show these items of charitable disbursement.' . king theodoric to speciosus, vir devotus, comitiacus [officer of the court]. [sidenote: the abduction of agapita.] 'the laws guarding the sanctity of the marriage bed[ ] must be carefully upheld. [footnote : 'illud humani generis procreabile sacramentum.'] 'agapita[ ] has explained to us that she was tempted away from her husband by seducers, who promised to procure his death. from the time of her leaving his company let all revenues which came to her under the marriage contract (invalidated by her unfaithfulness) be given up by her wrongful detainers[ ] without any delay. it is too absurd that men who ought to be severely punished for their wrong-doing should even seek to make a profit out of it.' [footnote : 'foemina spectabilis.'] [footnote : 'retentatores.' so the gepid prince is called the retentator of sirmium (ennodius, panegyric. theod. . ed. migne).] . king theodoric to provinus (probinus?), illustris and patrician. [sidenote: gift obtained from agapita under undue influence.] [refers to the same business of agapita, who seems to have been a woman of feeble intellect as well as an unfaithful wife.] the petition of her husband basilius (vir spectabilis) sets forth that, influenced by seducers, and from the levity so natural to woman, she for no good reason quitted her own home. her own petition confirms this; and she states that, while taking refuge within the precincts of the church, she by deed of gift bestowed on provinus the 'casa areciretina,' a most preposterous gift from a poor woman to a rich man; from one whose reputation was gone to a chaste man; from a half-crazy creature to one who knew fully what he was about. this gift agapita [and basilius] now seek to annul. provinus is exhorted at once to throw up a possession which cannot possibly bring him any credit, and the loss of which has brought the poor woman to destitution. alienation of property should be the act of a person having 'solidum judicium,' which this poor creature evidently had not, or she would not have left her husband causelessly. 'this is the second time of writing. let there be no further delay in complying.' [probably, therefore, probinus really is one of the 'retentatores' referred to in letter , though this letter does not distinctly identify him with them.] . king theodoric to the count of the siliquatarii (customs officers), and to him who has the care of the harbour (of portus?). [sidenote: prohibition of export of lard.] 'italy ought to enjoy her own products, and it is monstrous that anything which she produces should be wanting to her own children. 'therefore let no lard be exported to foreign parts, but let it by god's grace be all kept for consumption at home. 'now take care not to incur the slightest blame in this matter. it is a very serious fault even in trifles to disobey orders. sin consists in quality, not in quantity; and injustice cannot be measured. a command, if it be despised in one part, is violated in the whole.' . king theodoric to the sajo[ ] fruinarith. [footnote : the sajo was an officer, not of very high rank, apparently always of gothic nationality, who was charged with executing the king's mandates. perhaps our word 'henchman' would be the best translation of his title. his conventional attribute was 'devotio.' see dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. - , and my 'italy and her invaders' iii. - .] [sidenote: dishonest conduct of venantius.] 'we are always especially touched by the prayers of petitioners who complain that they are forced to pay unjustly. ulpianus in his lamentable petition informs us that on the request of venantius he bound himself as a guarantor (fidei jussionis vinculo) to pay over to the public treasury at the time of his administration solidi (£ ). with the presumption of a truculent rustic venantius despised his own promise, and ulpianus has therefore been burdened with payment of the money. we therefore order that venantius, who has been accused of many other crimes besides this, shall be summoned before you, and if found to be legally liable, shall be at once, and sharply, compelled to fulfil his promise.' . king theodoric to symmachus, patrician. [sidenote: romulus the parricide.] 'parricide is the most terrible and unnatural of crimes. even the cubs of wild beasts follow their sires; the offshoot of the vine serves the parent stem: shall man war against him who gave him being? it is for our little ones that we lay up wealth. shall we not earn the love of those for whom we would willingly incur death itself? the young stork, that harbinger of spring, gives a signal example of filial piety, warming and feeding its aged parents in the moulting season till they have recovered their strength, and thus repaying the good offices received in its earlier years. so too, when the partridge, which is wont to hatch the young of other birds, takes her adopted brood forth into the fields, if these hear the cry of their genuine mother they run to her, leaving the partridge forsaken. 'wherefore, if romulus[ ] have fouled the roman name by laying violent hands on his father martinus, we look to your justice (we chose you because we knew you would not spare the cruel) to inflict on him legitimate revenge.' [footnote : quaere if named from the last emperor.] . king theodoric to venantius, vir illustris. [sidenote: promotion of venantius to comitiva domesticorum vacans.] 'we always like to promote to office the sons of distinguished fathers. we therefore bestow on you the honour of comes domesticorum (comitiva vacans), in memory of your glorious father. he held at the same time the praefecture [of italy] and the command of the army, so that neither the provinces lacked his ordering, nor did his wise care for the army fail. all was mastered by his skilled and indefatigable prudence; he inclined the manners of the barbarians to peace, and governed so that all were satisfied with our rule. 'you are a zealous student of literature, illustrious by birth and eloquent by education. go on as you have begun, and show yourself worthy of our choice.' . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: on the same subject.] this letter adds a little to the information contained in the preceding one, as to the career of liberius, father of venantius. [sidenote: praises of liberius.] liberius was a faithful servant of odovacar, who adhered to his master to the last. 'he awaited incorruptly the divine judgments, nor did he allow himself to seek a new king till he had first lost his old one. on the overthrow of his lord he was bowed by no terror; he bore unmoved the ruin of his prince; nor did the revolution, at which even the proud hearts of the barbarians trembled[ ], avail to move him from his calm. [footnote : 'quam etiam ferocitas gentilis expavit.'] 'prudently did he follow the common fortunes, in order that while fixedly bearing the divine judgments he might with the more approbation find the divine favour. we approved the faith of the man; he came over in sadness to our allegiance as one who being overcome changes his mind, not like one who has contrived [treacherously] that he should be conquered. we made him praefectus praetorio. he administered the finances admirably. by his economical management we felt the increased returns, while you knew nothing of added tributes. [sidenote: apportionment of tertiae.] 'we especially like to remember how in the assignment of the [gothic] thirds (in tertiarum deputatione) he joined both the possessions and the hearts of goths and romans alike. for whereas men are wont to come into collision on account of their being neighbours, with these men the common holding of their farms proved in practice a reason for concord. thus it has happened that while the two nations have been living in common they have concurred in the same desires. lo! a new fact, and one wholly laudable. the friendship of the lords has been joined with the division of the soil; amity has grown out of the loss of the provincials, and by the land a defender has been gained whose occupation of part guarantees the quiet enjoyment of the whole. one law includes them: one equal administration rules them: for it is necessary that sweet affection should grow between those who always keep the boundaries which have been allotted them. 'all this the roman republic owes to liberius, who to two such illustrious nations has imparted sentiments of mutual affection. see to it, conscript fathers, that his offspring does not go unrewarded.' . to the possessors, defensors, and curials[ ] of the city of tridentum (trient). [footnote : cf. iii. for a similar heading.] [sidenote: immunity from tertiae enjoyed by lands granted by the king.] 'we do not wish to be generous at the expense of others, and we therefore declare that the _sors_ which in our generosity we have bestowed on butilianus the presbyter, is not to be reckoned in to the tax calculations; but as many solidi as are comprehended in that gift, so many are you to be relieved from, in the contribution of "tertiae."' [that is to say, the land given by the gothic king to butilian was to be itself, as a matter of course, free from tertiae; but, in order that this might not throw a heavier burden on the other owners in the district, they were to be allowed to deduct the solidi of that portion from the gross amount payable by them on behalf of the whole district. butilian's own immunity from tertiae seems to be taken for granted as a result of the king's gift to him. (see dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. .)] . king theodoric to bishop gudila. [sidenote: ecclesiastics as curiales.] an interesting but rather obscure letter on the condition of _curiales_. apparently some ecclesiastics were claiming as slaves some men whom the curia of sarsena (?) asserted to be fellow-curials of their own, whom they therefore wanted to assist them in performing curial obligations. cassiodorus argues that as the 'sors nascendi' prevented the curialis from rising to the higher honours of the state, it certainly ought also to prevent him from sinking into slavery[ ]. 'therefore we advise you to look well to your facts, and see whether these men are not justly claimed as curials, in which case the church should give them up before the matter comes to trial. it does not look well for the bishop, who should be known as a lover of justice, to be publicly vanquished in a suit of this kind.' [footnote : 'quod si eos vel ad honores transire jura vetuerunt, quam videtur esse contrarium, curialem reipublicae, amissâ turpiter libertate, servire? et usque ad conditionem pervenisse postremam quem vocavit antiquitas _minorem senatum_.'] [did the alleged curials, in such a case, wish to have their curiality or their quasi-ecclesiastical character established? who can say?] . king theodoric to all the goths and romans, and those who keep the harbours and mountain-fortresses (clusuras). [sidenote: domestic treachery and murder.] 'we hate all crime, but domestic bloodshed and treachery most of all. therefore we command you to act with the utmost severity of the law against the servants of stephanus, who have killed their master and left him unburied. they might have learned pity even from birds. even the vulture, who lives on the corpses of other creatures, protects little birds from the attacks of the hawk. yet men are found cruel enough to slay him who has fed them. to the gallows with them! let _him_ become the food of the pious vulture, who has cruelly contrived the death of his provider. that is the fitting sepulchre for the man who has left his lord unburied.' . king theodoric to the sajo unigilis (or wiligis). [sidenote: provision-ships to follow movements of theodoric's court.] 'let any provision-ships [_sulcatoriæ?_] which may be now lying at ravenna be ordered round to liguria (which in ordinary times supplies the needs of ravenna herself). 'our presence and that of our court (comitatus) attracts many spectators and petitioners to those parts, for whose maintenance an extra effort must be made.' [see dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. .] . king theodoric to joannes the apparitor. [sidenote: a concession too timidly acted upon.] 'the king has conceded to the spectabiles spes and domitius a certain tract of land which was laid waste by wide and muddy streams, and which neither showed a pure expanse of water nor had preserved the comeliness of solid earth, for them to reclaim and cultivate. 'the petition of the _actores_ of spes sets forth that the operation is put in jeopardy by the ill-timed parsimony of domitius, which throws back the labourers to the point from which they set out at first[ ]. therefore let domitius be stirred up to finish his part of the work, or if he thinks that too expensive, let him throw up his share of the concession and allow his partner to work it out.' [footnote : 'cum jam in soli faciem paulatim mollities siccata duresceret, celatamque longâ voracitate tellurem sol insuetus afflaret.' i cannot understand these words. i suppose there was a hard cake of clay left when the water was drained off, which was baked by the sun, and that there should have been further digging to work through this stratum and get at the good soil beneath; but the wording is not very clear.] [we find in this letter a good motto for theodoric's reign: 'nos quibus cordi est in melius cuncta mutare.'] . king theodoric to festus, vir illustris and patrician. [sidenote: ecdicius to be buried by his sons.] 'the sons of ecdicius, whom at first we had ordered to reside in the city, are to be allowed to return to their own country in order to bury their father. that grief is insatiable which feels that it has been debarred from rendering the last offices to the dead. think at what risk of his life priam implored the raging achilles to give him back the body of his son.' [apparently the sons of ecdicius, not ecdicius himself, had fallen into disgrace with theodoric, or incurred some suspicion of disloyalty, which led to the rigorous order for their detention in rome. see dahn iii. - .] . king theodoric to ampelius, despotius, and theodulus, senators. [sidenote: protection for owners of potteries.] 'it befits the discipline of our time that those who are serving the public interests shall not be loaded with superfluous burdens. labour therefore diligently at the potteries (figulinae) which our royal authority has conceded to you. protection is hereby promised against the wiles of wicked men.' [what was the nature of the artifices to which they were exposed is not very clear.] . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: arrears of taxation due from senators.] 'we hear with sorrow, by the report of the provincial judges, that you the fathers of the state, who ought to set an example to your sons (the ordinary citizens), have been so remiss in the payment of taxes that on this first collection[ ] nothing, or next to nothing, has been brought in from any senatorial house. thus a crushing weight has fallen on the lower orders (_tenues_, _curiales_), who have had to make good your deficiencies and have been distraught by the violence of the tax-gatherers. [footnote : 'primae transmissionis tempus.'] 'now then, oh conscript fathers, who owe as much duty to the republic as we do, pay the taxes for which each one of you is liable, to the procurators appointed in each province, by three instalments (trinâ illatione). or, if you prefer to do so--and it used to be accounted a privilege--pay all at once into the chest of the vicarius. and let this following edict be published, that all the provincials may know that they are not to be imposed upon and that they are invited to state their grievances[ ].' [footnote : see dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. and , n. .] . an edict of king theodoric. [referred to in the preceding letter.] [sidenote: evasion of taxes by the rich.] the king detests the oppression of the unfortunate, and encourages them to make their complaints to him. he has heard that the powerful houses are failing to pay their share of the taxes, and that a larger sum in consequence is being exacted from the _tenues_[ ]. [footnote : here follows a sentence which i am unable to translate: 'superbia deinde conductorum canonicos solidos non ordine traditos, sed sub iniquo pondere imminentibus fuisse projectos nec universam siliquam quam reddere consueverant solemniter intulisse.' i think the meaning is, that the stewards of the senators (conductores) arrogantly refused to allow the money paid to the tax-collectors (canonici solidi) to be tested, as in ordinary course it should have been, to see if it was of full weight. the 'imminentes' are, i think, the tax-collectors. i cannot at all understand the clause about 'universam siliquam.'] to 'amputate' such wickedness for the future, the letter last preceding has been addressed to the senate; and the 'possessores sive curiales' are now invited to state their grievances fully and frankly, or else ever after hold their peace and cultivate a habit of patience. . king theodoric to faustus, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: regulations for corn-traffic of southern italy.] a difficult letter about the corn-merchants of apulia and calabria. . the corn which they have collected by public sale is not to be demanded over again from them under the title of 'interpretium' [difference of price]. . similarly as to the sextarius which the merchant of each province imports. no one is to dare insolently to exact the prices which have been always condemned. . fines of £ , on the praefect himself, and £ on his _officium_ (subordinates), are to be levied if this order is disobeyed. . if the 'siliquatarius' thinks right to withhold the monopoly (of corn) from any merchant, he must not also exact the monopoly payment from him. . as to the aurarii [persons liable to payment of the _lustralis auri collatio_[ ]], let the old order be observed, and those only be classed under this function whom the authority of antiquity chose to serve thereunder. [footnote : this appears to have been a tax levied on all traders, otherwise known as the chrysargyron. see cod. theod. xiii. . aurarii is therefore equivalent to licensed traders.] . king theodoric to all the jews living in genoa. [sidenote: rebuilding of jewish synagogue.] the jews are permitted to roof in the old walls of their synagogue, but they are not to enlarge it beyond its old borders, nor to add any kind of ornament, under pain of the king's sharp displeasure; and this leave is granted on the understanding that it does not conflict with the thirty years' 'statute of limitations.' 'why do ye desire what ye ought to shun? in truth we give the permission which you craved, but we suitably blame the desire of your wandering minds. _we cannot order a religion, because no one is forced to believe against his will._' . king theodoric to stephanus, 'senator, comes primi ordinis, and ex-princeps of our officium[ ].' [footnote : are we to understand by this expression the officium of the praetorian praefect?] [sidenote: honours conferred on stephanus on his retirement from the civil service.] praises him for all the good qualities which have been recognised by successive judges under whom he has served--his secrecy, efficiency, and incorruptibility. he is therefore, on his retirement from active service, raised to the honour of a 'spectabilis,' and rewarded with the rank of 'comitiva primi ordinis.' as a substantial recompence he is to have all the privileges which by 'divalia constituta' belong to the 'ex-principes' of his schola, and is guaranteed against all damage and 'sordid burdens[ ],' with a hope of further employment in other capacities[ ]. [footnote : curial obligations.] [footnote : 'fixum tenuisti _militiae probatae_ vestigium. spectabilitatis honorem, quem _militiae sudore_ detersis justa deputavit antiquitas praesenti tibi auctoritate conferimus ut laboris tui tandem finitas _excubias_ ... intelligas ... tibique utpote _militiae_ munere persoluto.' the term 'militia' is employed here, as in the codes, of 'service in a bureau.'] . king theodoric to adila, senator and comes. [sidenote: protection to dependents of the church.] [notice the senatorial rank borne by a man with a gothic name.] 'we wish to protect all our subjects[ ], but especially the church, because by so doing we earn the favour of heaven. therefore, in accordance with the petition of the blessed eustorgius[ ], bishop of milan, we desire you to accord all necessary protection to the men and farms belonging to the milanese church in sicily: always understanding, however, that they are not to refuse to plead in answer to any public or private suit that may be brought against them. they are to be protected from wrong, but are not themselves to deviate from the path of justice.' [footnote : 'quia regnantes est gloria, subjectorum otiosa tranquillitas.'] [footnote : for eustorgius, cf. letter i. .] . king theodoric to faustus, praetorian praefect. [sequel to last letter.] [sidenote: freedom from taxation granted to church of milan.] 'our generosity to an individual does not harm the public, and there is no reason for putting any bounds to its exercise. 'the defensores of the holy church of milan want to be enabled to buy as cheap as possible the things which they need for the relief of the poor; and they say that we have bestowed this favour on the church of ravenna. 'your magnificence will therefore allow them to single out some one merchant who shall buy for them in the market, without being subject to monopoly, siliquaticum, or the payment of gold-fee[ ].' [footnote : auraria pensio. see note on ii. .] [it is easy to see how liable to abuse such an exception was. who was to decide when this merchant was buying for the church and when for himself; when the church was buying for the poor and when for her own enrichment?] . king theodoric to the dromonarii [rowers in express-boats]. [sidenote: state galleys on the po.] 'those who claim the title of "militia" ought to serve the public advantage. we have therefore told the count of sacred largesses that you are to assemble at hostilia [on the padus, about fifteen miles east of mantua], there to receive pay from our treasury, and then to relieve the land postal-service (veredarii) by excursions up and down the channel of the padus. there is no fear of _your_ limping; you walk with your hands. no fear of _your_ carriages wearing out; they travel over liquid roads, and suffer no wear and tear because they are borne along upon the wave which itself runs with them.' . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: drainage of marshes of decennonium.] 'we always enjoy rewarding public spirit. decius, magnificus and patrician, has most nobly volunteered to drain the marsh of decennonium, where the sea-like swamp, accustomed to impunity through long licence, rushes in and spoils all the surrounding lands. 'we, in consideration of so great an undertaking, determine to secure to him the fruits of his labour, and we therefore wish that you, conscript fathers, should appoint a commission of two to visit the spot and mark out the ground, which is at present wasted by the inundations, that this land may be secured to decius as a permanent possession when he has drained it.' [the palus decennonii is undoubtedly connected with the decennovial canal mentioned by procopius ('de bello gotth.' i. ), and so called because it flowed for nineteen miles alongside the appian way. in the piazza at terracina there is a very interesting inscription, recording the fact that theodoric had ordered that nineteen miles of the appian way should be cleared of the waters which had accumulated round it, and had committed the work to caecina maurus basilius decius, 'vir clarissimus et illustris, ex-praefectus urbi, ex-praefectus praetori, ex-consul ordinarius et patricius.' see 'italy and her invaders' iii. .] . king theodoric to decius, illustris and patrician. [sidenote: the same subject.] the complement of the foregoing letter, about the drainage of the marshes of decennonium, which are hereby granted to him, apparently 'sine fisco,' tax-free. [but the meaning may be, 'the marshes which you drain _sine fisco_'--without help from the treasury.] the chief point of difference between this and the previous letter is that here decius is allowed and encouraged to associate partners with him in the drainage-scheme, whom he is to reward according to their share of the work. thus will he be less likely to sink under the enterprise, and he will also lessen men's envy of his success. . king theodoric to artemidorus, praefect of the city. [sidenote: embezzlement of city building funds.] 'the persons to whom money was entrusted for the rebuilding of the walls of rome have been embezzling it, as was proved by your examination of their accounts (discussio). we are very glad that you have not hidden their misconduct from us (inclined as a generous mind is to cover up offences), since you would thereby have made yourself partaker of their evil deeds. they must restore that which they have dishonestly appropriated, but we shall not (as we might fairly do) inflict upon them any further fine. we are naturally inclined to clemency, and they will groan at having to give up plunder which they had already calculated upon as their own.' . king theodoric to tancila, senator. [we have here another senator with a gothic name]. [sidenote: theft of brazen statue at como.] 'we are much displeased at hearing that a brazen statue has been stolen from the city of como. it is vexatious that while we are labouring to increase the ornaments of our cities, those which antiquity has bequeathed to us should by such deeds be diminished. offer a reward of aurei (£ ) to anyone who will reveal the author of this crime; promise pardon [to an accomplice], and if this does not suffice, call all the workmen together "post diem venerabilem" [does this mean on the day after sunday?], and enquire of them "sub terrore" [by torture?] by whose help this has been done. for such a piece of work as moving this statue could only have been undertaken by some handicraftsman.' . edict about the statue at como. [refers to previous letter.] [sidenote: the same subject.] 'though impunity for the crime should be sufficient reward, we promise aurei, as well as forgiveness for his share in the offence, to anyone who will reveal the author of the theft of the statue at como. a golden reward for a brazen theft. anyone not accepting this offer and afterwards convicted will suffer the extreme penalty of the law.' . king theodoric to faustus, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: largesse to citizens of spoleto.] 'as our kingdom and revenues prosper, we wish to increase our liberality. let your magnificence therefore give to the citizens of spoletium another "millena" for extraordinary gratuitous admissions to the baths[ ]. we wish to pay freely for anything that tends to the health of our citizens, because the praise of our times is the celebration of the joys of the people.' [footnote : 'ad exhibitionem thermarum supra consuetudinem.'] [the 'millena' probably means , solidi, or £ .] . king theodoric to faustus, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: immunity from taxation. hostile ravages.] 'we have no pleasure in gains which are acquired by the misery of our subjects. we are informed that the merchants of the city of sipontum [in apulia] have been grievously despoiled by hostile incursions [probably by the byzantine fleet in ]. let your magnificence therefore see to it that they are for two years not vexed by any claims for purveyance (coemptio) on the part of our treasury. but their other creditors must give them the same indulgence.' . king theodoric to aloisius the architect. [sidenote: hot springs of aponum.] 'the fountain of aponus--so called originally in the greek language as being the remover of pain[ ]--has many marvellous and beneficial properties, for the sake of which the buildings round it ought to be kept in good repair. one may see it welling up from the bowels of the earth in spherical form, under a canopy of steam. from this parent spring the waters, glassy-clear and having lost their first impetuosity, flow by various channels into chambers prepared for them by nature but made longer by art. in the first, when the boiling element dashes against the rock, it is hot enough to make a natural sudatorium; then it cools sufficiently for the tepidarium; and at last, quite cold, flows out into a fish-pond like that of nero. marvellous provision of nature, whereby the opposing elements, fire and water, are joined in harmonious union and made to soothe the pain and remove the sickness of man! yet more wonderful is the moral purity of this fountain. should a woman descend into the bath when men are using it, it suddenly grows hotter, as if with indignation that out of its abundant supply of waters separate bathing-places should not be constructed for the two sexes, if they wish to enjoy its bounty[ ]. moreover, those secret caves, the bowels of the mountains from whence it springs, have power even to judge contentious business. for if any sheep-stealer presumes to bring to it the fleece of his prey, however often he may dip it in the seething wave, he will have to boil it before he succeeds in cleansing it. [footnote : [greek: aponos].] [footnote : i think this is cassiodorus' meaning, but his language is obscure.] 'this fountain then, as we before said, deserves a worthy habitation. if there be anything to repair in the _thermae_ themselves or in the passages (cuniculi), let this be done out of the money which we now send you. let the thorns and briers which have grown up around it be rooted up. let the palace, shaken with extreme old age, be strengthened by careful restoration. let the space which intervenes between the public building and the source of the hot-spring be cleared of its woodland roughness, and the turf around rejoice in the green beauty which it derives from the heated waters.' [the hot-springs of abano, the ancient aponum, are situated near the euganean hills, and are about six miles from padua. the heat of the water varies from ° to ° (fahr.). the chief chemical ingredients are, as stated by cassiodorus, salt and sulphur. some of the minute description of cassiodorus (greatly condensed in the above abstract) seems to be still applicable; but he does not mention the mud-baths which now take a prominent place in the cure. on the other hand, the wonderful moral qualities of the spring are not mentioned by modern travellers.] . king theodoric to boetius the patrician. [sidenote: boetius to choose a harper for the king of the franks.] 'the king of the franks [clovis] has asked us to send him a harper. we felt that in you lay our best chance of complying with his request, because you, being such a lover of music yourself, will be able to introduce us to the right man.' reflections on the nature of music. she is the queen of the senses; when she comes forth from her secret abiding place all other thoughts are cast out. her curative influence on the soul. the five tones: the dorian[ ], influencing to modesty and purity; the phrygian to fierce combat; the aeolian to tranquillity and slumber; the ionian (jastius), which sharpens the intellect of the dull and kindles the desire of heavenly things; the lydian, which soothes the soul oppressed with too many cares. [footnote : cf. milton: 'to the dorian mood of flutes and soft recorders; such as rais'd to highth of noblest temper heroes old arming to battle, and instead of rage deliberate valour breath'd, firm and unmov'd with dread of death to flight or foul retreat.'] we distinguish the highest, middle, and lowest in each tone, obtaining thus in all fifteen tones of artificial music. the diapason is collected from all, and unites all their virtues. classical instances of music: orpheus. amphion. musaeus. the human voice as an instrument of music. oratory and poesy as branches of the art. the power of song: ulysses and the sirens. david the author of the psalter, who by his melody three (?) times drove away the evil spirit from saul. the lyre is called 'chorda,' because it so easily moves the hearts (corda) of men. as the diadem dazzles by the variegated lustre of its gems, so the lyre with its divers sounds. the lyre, the loom of the muses. mercury, the inventor of the lyre, is said to have derived the idea of it from the harmony of the spheres. this astral music, apprehended by reason alone, is said to form one of the delights of heaven. 'if philosophers had placed that enjoyment not in sweet sounds but in the contemplation of the creator, they would have spoken fitly; for there is truly joy without end, eternity abiding for ever without weariness, and the mere contemplation of the divinity produces such happiness that nothing can surpass it. this being furnishes the true immortality; this heaps delight upon delight; and as outside of him no creature can exist, so without him changeless happiness cannot be[ ]. [footnote : 'bene quidem arbitrati, si causam celestis beatitudinis non in sonis sed in creatore possuissent; ubi veraciter sine fine gaudium est, sine aliquo taedio manens semper aeternitas: et inspectio sola divinitatis efficit, ut beatius esse nil possit. haec veraciter perennitatem praestat: haec jucunditates accumulat; et sicut praeter ipsam creatura non extat, ita sine ipsâ incommutabilem laetitiam habere non praevalet.'] 'we have indulged ourselves in a pleasant digression, because it is always agreeable to talk of learning with the learned; but be sure to get us that _citharoedus_, who will go forth like another orpheus to charm the beast-like hearts of the barbarians. you will thus both obey us and render yourself famous.' . king theodoric to luduin [clovis], king of the franks. [sidenote: victories of clovis over the alamanni.] congratulates him on his recent victories over the alamanni. refers to the ties of affinity between them (theodoric having married the sister of clovis). clovis has stirred up the nation of the franks, 'prisca aetate residem,' to new and successful encounters. 'it is a memorable triumph that the impetuous alaman should be struck with such terror as even to beg for his life. let it suffice that that king with all the pride of his race should have fallen: let it suffice that an innumerable people should have been doomed either to the sword or to slavery.' he recommends (almost orders) clovis not to touch the panic-stricken refugees who have fled to the territory of theodoric. theodoric himself has always found that those wars were prosperously waged which were ended moderately. theodoric sends 'illum et illum' as ambassadors, to take certain verbal counsels from himself, to bring this letter and carry back the reply, and also to introduce the citharoedus of whom we heard in the preceding letter[ ]. [footnote : there are two allusions to the relationship between the kings: 'vestrae virtutis affinitate' (line ), and 'ad parentum vestrorum defensionem confugisse' (line ).] [the campaign of clovis against the alamanni, referred to in this letter, is not mentioned by gregory of tours. ennodius, however, in his panegyric on theodoric, and agathias in his history, make distinct allusions to this event, and to theodoric's reception of the vanquished alamanni in his own dominions, probably in the valleys of raetia. this letter is very fully discussed by von schubert, at pp. - of his 'unterwerfung der alamannen' (strassburg, ). i may also refer to 'italy and her invaders' iii. - . the date of the letter is probably about .] book iii. containing fifty-three letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. . king theodoric to alaric, king of the visigoths. [sidenote: dissuades alaric the visigoth from war with the franks.] 'surrounded as you are by an innumerable multitude of subjects, and strong in the remembrance of their having turned back attila[ ], still do not fight with clovis. war is a terrible thing, and a terrible risk. the long peace may have softened the hearts of your people, and your soldiers from want of practice may have lost the habit of working together on the battlefield. ere yet blood is shed, draw back if possible. we are sending ambassadors to the king of the franks to try to prevent this war between our relatives; and the ambassadors whom we are sending to you will go on to gundibad, king of the burgundians, to get him to interpose on behalf of peace. your enemy will be mine also.' [footnote : 'quamvis attilam potentem reminiscamini visigothorum viribus inclinatum.'] [the battle of vouglé in which alaric was overthrown by clovis, was fought in ; but the date of this letter is probably (dahn's date) rather than , as there were no doubt some premonitory symptoms before the war broke out. binding i. (_n._ ), and pallmann ii. _n._ , and _n._ , incline to a date somewhat earlier even than , thinking that there may have been earlier threatenings of war, which theodoric succeeded for the time in averting. the earlier the date the better will it suit the allusion to clovis (and alaric) as 'regii _juvenes_' in the following letter. clovis was born in , and was therefore years of age at the battle of vouglé.] . king theodoric to gundibad, king of the burgundians. [sidenote: dissuades gundibad from war.] repeats the arguments in iii. about the ill effects of war on the fortunes of all, and says that it is theodoric's part to moderate the angry impulses of 'regii juvenes.' it becomes them to reverence 'senes,' such as theodoric and gundibad, although they are themselves in the balmy vigour of the flower of their age. sends two ambassadors ('illum atque illum') with letters and a verbal message, hoping that the wisdom of gundibad may reflect upon what they say to him [perhaps too delicate a matter to be committed to writing], and find some way of preserving peace. [it is remarkable that in this letter theodoric, who was probably only , if the date of it be , and who may have been a year or two younger, speaks of himself along with gundibad as a _senex_, and of clovis, who could hardly be more than twelve years his junior, as _regius juvenis_. perhaps this is partly due to the fact that cassiodorus speaks from his own point of view. to him, now about years of age, theodoric might seem to be fitly described as 'senex.' see binding i. - on this letter and the reasons why it produced no effect on gundibad. see also dahn ii. .] . king theodoric to the kings of the heruli, warni (guarni), and thuringians. [sidenote: attempt to form a teutonic coalition on behalf of alaric.] [on the same subject.] if clovis succeeds in his unprovoked aggression on alaric, none of his neighbours will be safe. 'i will tell you just what i think: he who inclines to act without law is prepared to shake the kingdoms of all of us[ ].' [footnote : compare the state of europe during the wars of the french revolution, as expressed by tennyson: 'again their ravening eagle rose, in anger, wheel'd on europe-shadowing wings, and barking for the thrones of kings.'] 'remember how often alaric's father euric gave you presents and staved off war from your borders. repay to the son the kindness of the father. i send you two ambassadors, and i want you to join your representations to mine and gundibad's, calling on clovis to desist from his attacks on alaric and seek redress from the law of nations[ ], or else expect the combined attack of all of us, for this quarrel is really the quarrel of us all.' [footnote : 'et leges gentium quaerat.' but how was the law of nations to be enforced?] [the turn of the thuringians to be swallowed up by the frankish monarchy came in . see on this letter dahn, 'könige der germanen' ii. and _n._ ; pallmann ii. .] . king theodoric to luduin (ludwig, or clovis), king of the franks. [sidenote: desires clovis to desist from war on alaric.] [on the same subject.] 'the affinities of kings ought to keep their subjects from the plague of war. we are grieved to hear of the paltry causes which are giving rise to rumours of war between you and our son alaric, rumours which gladden the hearts of the enemies of both of you. let me say with all frankness, but with all affection, just what i think: "it is the act of a passionate man to get his troops ready for action at the first embassy which he sends." instead of that refer the matter to our arbitration. it would be a delight to me to choose men capable of mediating between you. what would you yourselves think of me if i could hear unmoved of your murderous intentions towards one another? away with this conflict, in which one of you will probably be utterly destroyed. throw away the sword which you wield for _my_ humiliation. by what right do i thus threaten you? by the right of a father and a friend. he who shall despise this advice of ours will have to reckon us and our friends as his adversaries. 'i send two ambassadors to you, as i have to my son alaric, and hope that they may be able so to arrange matters that no alien malignity may sow the seeds of dissension between you, and that your nations, which under your fathers have long enjoyed the blessings of peace, may not now be laid waste by sudden collision. you ought to believe him who, as you know, has rejoiced in your prosperity. no true friend is he who launches his associates, unwarned, into the headlong dangers of war.' . king theodoric to importunus, vir illustris and patrician. [sidenote: importunus promoted to the patriciate.] [importunus was consul in . this letter therefore probably belongs to the early part of .] 'noble birth and noble deeds meet in you, and we are therefore bestowing on you an honour to which by age you are scarcely yet entitled. your father and uncle were especially noteworthy, the glory of the senate, men who adorned modern ages[ ] with the antique virtues, men who were prosperous without being hated. the senate felt their courage, the multitude their wisdom. [footnote : notice the use of the word _modernus_ here, a post-classical word, which apparently occurs first in cassiodorus.] 'therefore, being descended from such ancestors, and yourself possessing such virtues, on laying down the consular fasces, assume the insignia of the patriciate. bind those fillets, which are generally reserved for the hoary head, round your young locks, and by your future actions justify my choice of you.' . king theodoric to the senate on importunus' accession to the patriciate. [see preceding letter.] [sidenote: the same subject.] 'we delight to introduce new men to the senate, but we delight still more when we can bring back to that venerable body, crowned with fresh honours, her own offspring[ ]. and such is now my fortune in presenting to you importunus, crowned with the honours of the patriciate; importunus, who is descended from the great stock of the decii, a stock illustrated by noble names in every generation, by the favour of the senate and the choice of the people. even as a boy he had a countenance of serene beauty, and to the gifts of nature he added the endowments of the mind. from his parents in household lays he learned the great deeds of the old decii. once, at a great spectacle, the whole school at the recitation of the lay of the decii turned their eyes on importunus, discerning that he would one day rival his ancestors. thus his widowed mother brought him up, him and all his troop of brothers, and gave to the curia as many consulars as she had sons[ ]. all these private virtues i have discerned in him, and now seal them with promotion to the patriciate. at this act i call on you specially to rejoice.' [footnote : 'origo ipsa jam gloria est: laus nobilitati connascitur. idem vobis est dignitatis, quod vitae principium. senatus enim honor amplissimus vobiscum gignitur, ad quem vix maturis aetatibus pervenitur.'] [footnote : 'et quot edidit familiae juvenes, tot reddidit curiae consulares.'] . king theodoric to the venerable januarius, bishop of salona. [sidenote: extortion by the bishop of salona.] 'the lamentable petition of john says that you have taken sixty tuns of oil from him, and never paid him for them. it is especially important that preachers of righteousness should be righteous themselves. we cannot suppose that god is ignorant whence come the offerings which we make before him [and he must therefore hate robbery for a burnt offering]. pray enquire into this matter, and if the complaint be well founded remedy it promptly. you who preach to us our duty in great things should not be caught tripping in little ones.' . king theodoric to venantius, senator, corrector of lucania and bruttii. [sidenote: remissness of venantius in collection of public revenue.] [venantius, son of liberius, was, with many high commendations, made comes domesticorum in letters ii. and . see further as to his fall in iii. , also iii. .] 'remissness in the collection of the public taxes is a great fault, and no kindness in the end to the taxpayer. for want of a timely caution you probably have to end by selling him up. 'the count of sacred largesses tells us that you were long ago commissioned to get in the _bina_ and _terna_ [and have not done so]. be quick about it, that the collection may be completed according to the registers of the treasury. if you are not quick, and the treasury suffers loss, you will have to make it good out of your private property. you have not shown proper respect to our orders, nor a due sense of the obligation of your own promise.' [these 'bina' and 'terna' are a mystery; but dahn[ ] thinks they are not a specially gothic tax, but an inheritance from the fiscal administration of rome, having probably nothing to do with the tertiae.] [footnote : iii. , _n._ .] . king theodoric to the possessores, defensores, and curiales[ ] dwelling at aestunae[ ]. [footnote : note these three classes; as also in ii. .] [footnote : i have not been able to identify this place.] [sidenote: marbles for ravenna.] 'we wish to build new edifices without despoiling the old[ ]. but we are informed that in your municipality there are blocks of masonry and columns formerly belonging to some building now lying absolutely useless and unhonoured. if it be so, send these slabs of marble[ ] and columns[ ] by all means to ravenna, that they may be again made beautiful and take their place in a building there.' [footnote : 'moderna sine priorum imminutione desideramus erigere.'] [footnote : 'platonias.' this, which is the spelling found in nivellius' edition, seems to be a more correct form than the 'platomas' of garet. ducange, who has a long article on the subject, refers the word to the greek [greek: platunion].] [footnote : possibly the columns in s. apollinare deutro may have been some of those here mentioned.] . king theodoric to the illustrious festus, patrician. [sidenote: the same subject.] a similar order, for the transport of marbles from the pincian hill to ravenna, by catabulenses[ ]. 'we have ordered a "subvectus" [assistance from the public postal-service?], that the labourers may set to work at once.' [footnote : 'catabulenses,' or 'catabolenses'--freighters, contractors, who effected the transport of heavy goods by means of draught-horses and mules.] . king theodoric to argolicus, vir illustris [a.d. ]. [sidenote: argolicus appointed praefect of the city.] announces to this young man his nomination to the praefecture of the city (for the th indiction). enlarges on the dignity of the office, especially as involving the presidency of the senate, and calls upon him by a righteous and sober life to show himself worthy of the choice. argolicus is a great student [perhaps a literary friend of cassiodorus], and he is exhorted to keep himself in the right path by musing on the great examples of antiquity. [there is a sort of tone of apology for the appointment of argolicus, which is perhaps accounted for by the fact, which comes out in the next letter, that his father was a comparatively poor man. see a sharp rebuke of argolicus for venal procrastination, iv. .] . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: the same subject.] rehearses the usual sentiments about the dignity of the senate and theodoric's care in the choice of officials. 'it is easier, if one may say so, for nature herself to err, than that a sovereign should make a state unlike to himself.' recounts the ancestry of argolicus. the older senators will remember his eloquent and purely-living grandfather, a man of perfectly orthodox reputation, who filled the offices of comes sacrarum largitionum and magister officiorum. his father never stained the dignity of 'comes privatarum' by cruelty, and was free from ill-gotten gains in an age when avarice was not accounted a crime[ ]. [footnote : tillemont understands this of the times of odovacar, vi. .] 'we may hope that the son will follow the example of such distinguished ancestors.' . king theodoric to sunhivad, senator. [sidenote: sunhivad, governor of samnium.] [notice again the roman title and gothic name.] 'you who have ruled your own life in a long career so well should make a good governor of others. i therefore send you to samnium as governor, in reply to the complaints which reach me from that province. settle according to the law of justice the disputes which have arisen there between the romans and the goths.' . king theodoric to the venerable bishop aurigenes. [sidenote: accusations against the servants of a bishop.] 'you as a bishop will be especially grieved to hear of any offences against the sanctity of the married state. julianus complains that his wife has been outraged and his goods wasted by some of your servants [probably slaves]. 'do you enquire into the matter, and if the complaint appears to be just, deal promptly and severely with the offenders.' [cf. dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. , on this letter. he shows that it has been improperly appealed to as proving the immunity of all ecclesiastical persons from a secular tribunal. what theodoric really intended was to give the bishop a chance of settling the affair himself, and so to prevent the scandal of its appearing in the secular courts, which it assuredly would do if the bishop were apathetic. but one sees how easily this would glide into something like immunity from secular tribunals.] . king theodoric to theodahad, senator[ ]. [footnote : this is no doubt the nephew of theodoric.] [sidenote: a contumacious person handed over to theodahad.] 'it is the extreme of insolence in anyone not to execute our "sacred orders." a certain person whom we commanded to attend before the judgment-seat of the illustrious sona, has with inveterate cunning withdrawn himself therefrom. we therefore hand him over to you, that your fame may grow by your skilful management of a difficult case like this.' . king theodoric to gemellus, senator ( - ). [sidenote: appointment of gemellus as governor of gaul.] 'having proved your worth by experience we are now going to send you to govern the provinces of gaul newly wrested [from clovis], as vicar of the praefects[ ]. [footnote : 'vicarius praefectorum.' vicar of what praefects? why the plural number? had theodoric a titular praefect _of the gauls_, to whom this vicarius was theoretically subject while practically obeying the praefect of italy? or, to prevent bickerings, did he give the 'praefectus italiae' and the 'praefectus urbis' conjoint authority over the new conquests? there is some mystery here which would be worth explaining.] 'think what a high opinion we must have formed of you to delegate to you the government of these provinces, the conquest of which has added so much to our glory, and the good opinion of whose inhabitants we so particularly wish to acquire. abhor turbulence; do not think of avarice; show yourself in all things such a governor as "romanus princeps" ought to send, and let the province feel such an improvement in her lot that she may "rejoice to have been conquered."' [this is so like the words put by sidonius into the mouth of lyons, after majorian's conquest of her, that i believe it to be intentionally imitated.] . king theodoric to all the gaulish provinces ( ). [sidenote: proclamation to the new gaulish subjects.] 'obey the roman customs. you are now by god's blessing restored to your ancient freedom; put off the barbarian; clothe yourselves with the morals of the toga; unlearn cruelty, that you may not be unworthy to be our subjects. we are sending you spectabilis gemellus as vicarius praefectorum, a man of tried worth, who we trust will be guilty of no crime, because he knows he would thereby seriously displease us. obey his commands therefore. do not dislike the reign of law because it is new to you, after the aimless seethings of barbarism (gentilitas). 'you may now bring out your long-hidden treasures; the rich and the noble will again have a chance of suitable promotion. you may now enjoy what till now you have only heard of--the triumph of public right, the most certain solace of human life, the help of the weak, the curb of the strong. you may now understand that men are exalted not by their bodily strength, but by reason.' [some of these reflections on the past misgovernment of _gentilitas_ hit the visigoths, theodoric's friends, harder than the franks. if the gaulish nobles of the south-eastern provinces (and these were all that theodoric had conquered) had _long_ been obliged to hide the treasures of their fathers, that surely was the fault rather of euric and alaric ii than of clovis. cf. dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. - , on all this correspondence.] . king theodoric to gemellus. [sidenote: magnus to be restored to his possessions.] [probably during his government of gaul]. 'we wish that all who have elected to live under our clemency should be the better for it. 'the spectabilis magnus, spurning the conversation of our enemies [franks?], and remembering his own origin, has sought re-patriation in the roman empire; but during his absence his property has suffered loss. let him therefore be restored to, and henceforward have unquestioned possession of, all that he can prove to be his own in the way of lands, urban or rural slaves.' . king theodoric to daniel [a 'commonitorium']. [sidenote: monopoly of supply of marble sarcophagi.] 'we wish the servants of our palace to have proper reward for their labours, though we might call on them to render them gratuitously. therefore, being much pleased with your skill in preparing and ornamenting marbles, we concede to you the [sole] right of furnishing the marble chests in which the citizens of ravenna bury their dead. 'they thus keep them above ground--no small consolation to the survivors, since the souls alone depart from this world's conversation; but they do not altogether lose the bodies which once were dear to them. 'do not, however, impose upon their sadness; do not let a relative be forced to the alternative of wasting his substance in funeral expenses, or else throwing the body of his dear one into some well. be moderate in your charges.' [odovacar was buried [greek: en lithinê larnaki] (joann. ant. fr. ). the great stone coffins of honorius and valentinian will be remembered by every visitor to ravenna.] . king theodoric to the sajo grimoda and to the apparitor ferrocinctus. [sidenote: oppression of castorius by faustus.] [cf. dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. and .] 'we are determined to assist the humble, and to repress the violence of the proud. 'the lamentable petition of castorius sets forth that he has been unjustly deprived of his property by the magnificent praetorian praefect faustus. [the same, no doubt, to whom are addressed iii. , i. , and the immediately succeeding letter (iii. ).] 'if it be so, let the invader (pervasor) restore to castorius his property, and hand over, besides, another property of equal value. 'if faustus have employed any intermediate person in the act of violence, let him be brought to us in chains; and if that well-known author of ill [faustus] tries any further to injure castorius, he shall pay £ , , besides having the misery of seeing his would-be victim unharmed. 'no powers of any kind, be they praetorian praefects or what they may, shall be permitted to trample on the lowly.' . king theodoric to faustus, vir illustris. [sidenote: disgrace and temporary exile of faustus.] 'as all men require change, faustus is allowed to absent himself from the sacred walls of rome for four months, which he may spend at his own penates. the king expects, however, that he will then return to the most famous (opinatissima) city, from which no roman senator can long be absent without grief.' [coupling this letter with its immediate predecessor it is difficult not to believe that faustus is sent away in disgrace--notwithstanding the smooth words here used--for the act of injustice therein mentioned. but why is he only addressed as vir illustris, and not also as praefectus? perhaps his term of office was expired; perhaps he was even dismissed from it.] . king theodoric to artemidorus, vir illustris. [sidenote: an earnest invitation to the king's friend, artemidorus.] 'we hereby [by these oracles] invite your greatness to behold us, which we know will be most agreeable to you, in order that you who have now spent a large portion of your life with us may be satisfied by the sweetness of our presence. he who is permitted to share our converse deems it a divine boon. we believe that you will come gladly, as we shall entertain you with alacrity.' [cf. dahn iii. - . the ending of the letter (venire te gaudentem credimus, quem alacriter sustinemus) is the common form, and 'sustineo' is a technical word for the king's reception of his subjects: see iii. , ad finem.] . king theodoric to colossaeus, vir illustris and comes (cir. a.d. ). [sidenote: appointment of colossaeus as governor of pannonia.] 'we delight to entrust our mandates to persons of approved character. 'we are sending you "with the dignity of the illustrious belt" to pannonia sirmiensis, an old habitation of the goths. let that province be induced to welcome her old defenders, even as she used gladly to obey our ancestors. show forth the justice of the goths, a nation happily situated for praise, since it is theirs to unite the forethought of the romans and the virtue of the barbarians. remove all ill-planted customs[ ], and impress upon all your subordinates that we would rather that our treasury lost a suit than that it gained one wrongfully, rather that we lost money than the taxpayer was driven to suicide.' [footnote : 'consuetudines abominanter inolitas.' fornerius thinks this means 'all extortionate taxes.' compare the english use of the word 'customs.'] [cf. muchar, 'geschichte der steiermark' iv. .] . king theodoric to all the barbarians and romans settled in pannonia. [cf. muchar, iv. .] [sidenote: to the pannonians, on the appointment of colossaeus.] 'intent on the welfare of our subjects we are sending you colossaeus for governor. his name means a mighty man; and a mighty man he is, who has given many proofs of his virtue. now we exhort you with patience and constancy to submit yourselves to his authority. do not excite that wrath before which our enemies tremble. acquiesce in the rule of justice in which the whole world rejoices. why should you, who have now an upright judge[ ], settle your grievances by single combat? what has man got a tongue for, if the armed hand is to settle all differences? or where can peace be looked for, if there is fighting in a civilised state like ours[ ]? imitate then our goths, who have learned to practise war abroad, to show peaceable dispositions at home. we want you so to live as you see that our subjects (parentes) have lived and flourished under the divine blessing.' [footnote : 'cur ad monomachiam recurritis, qui venalem judicem non habetis?'] [footnote : 'aut unde pax quaeritur si sub civilitate pugnetur.'] . king theodoric to simeon, vir illustris and comes. [sidenote: tax-collecting and iron-mining in dalmatia.] 'we entrust to you the duty of collecting throughout the province of dalmatia the arrears of siliquaticum for the first, second, and third indictions [sept. , , to aug. , ]. we do this not only for the sake of gain to our treasury, but to prevent the demoralisation of our subjects. 'also by careful mining (cuniculo veritatis) seek out the iron veins in dalmatia, where the softness of earth is pregnant with the rigour of iron, which is cooked by fire that it may become hard. 'iron enables us to defend our country, is serviceable for agriculture and for countless arts of human life: yea, iron is master of gold, compelling the rich man, weaponless, to obey the poor man who wields a blade of steel.' . king theodoric to osun, vir illustris and count. [sidenote: simeon's journey to dalmatia.] commands him to provide all the necessaries for the journey of 'clarissimus' simeon, setting off for dalmatia on the aforesaid mission to collect siliquaticum and develop the iron mines. [why is simeon not called illustris, as in the previous letter? this seems to show that the titles 'clarissimus' and 'illustris' were not always used with technical exactness, as they would have been under diocletian.] . king theodoric to joannes, senator, consular of campania. [sidenote: promises protection against the praetorian praefect.] 'you have not complained to us in vain that the praetorian praefect [perhaps again faustus] is venting a private grudge against you under colour of the discharge of his public duty. we will wall you round with our protection. go now and discharge the duties of consular of campania with the like devotion as your predecessors, and with this reflection: "if the king prevents my superior the praetorian praefect from doing me harm, with what unfailing rigour will he visit me if i do wrong."' . king theodoric to cassiodorus, vir illustris and patrician[ ]. [footnote : father of the writer.] [sidenote: an invitation to cassiodorus senior to come to court.] 'for your glorious services, and your incorruptible administration, which has given deep peace to the nation, we reward you by summoning you to court. 'having endeavoured to check _another_ [probably alluding to the disgrace of faustus], we have bestowed our praises on you, as all the palace knows. come then, come eagerly, as he should do whom his sovereign is going to entertain[ ].' [footnote : there is an obscure sentence in this letter: 'hinc omnibus factus notior, quia multi te positum in potestate nesciunt.' possibly the meaning is that the elder cassiodorus used his power so little for his own private aggrandisement, that many people did not even know that he possessed it.] . king theodoric to argolicus, illustris and praefect of the city. [sidenote: permission to paulinus to repair certain granaries at rome.] 'the king should sow his gifts broadcast, as the sower his seeds--not put them all into one hole. 'the patrician paulinus represents to us that such and such granaries are falling into ruin and are of no use to anyone, and asks to be allowed to repair them and transmit them to his heirs. we consent to this, if you are of opinion that they are not wanted for the public, and if there is no corn in them belonging to our treasury. 'it is especially fitting that all ruined buildings should be repaired in rome. in rome, praised beyond all other cities by the world's mouth, there should be nothing sordid or mediocre[ ].' [footnote : this letter is well illustrated by an inscription of the time of severus alexander, found at great chesters in northumberland, and recording the repair of 'horreum vetustate conlabsum.' the words of cassiodorus are 'horrea longi temporis vetustate destructa.'] . king theodoric to argolicus, illustris and praefectus urbis. [sidenote: repair of the cloacae of rome.] 'we are ever vigilant for the repair and beautification of rome. 'let your sublimity know that we have directed john to repair the cloacae of the city, those splendid works which strike astonishment into the hearts of all beholders. there you see rivers as it were shut in by concave mountains, flowing down through mighty rafters[ ] (?). there you see men steering their ships with the utmost possible care, lest they should suffer shipwreck. hence may the greatness of rome be inferred. what other city can compare with her in her heights when even her depths are so incomparable? [footnote : 'per ingentia ligna decurrere.' fornerius proposes to read 'stagna.'] 'see therefore, o praefect, that john as a public officer receives his proper salary.' . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: commission issued to john to check ruin of aqueducts and temples in rome.] 'our care is for the whole republic, "in which, by the favour of god, we are striving to bring back all things to their former state;" but especially for the city of rome. we hear that great depredations are being committed on public property there. '( ) it is said that the water of the aqueducts (formae) is being diverted to turn mills and water gardens--a thing which would not be suffered even in the country districts. even in redressing this wrong we must be observant of law; and therefore if it should be found that those who are doing this can plead thirty years' prescription, they must be bought off, but the misuser must cease. if the diversion is of less ancient date[ ], it must of course be at once stopped without compensation. [footnote : 'si vero aliquid modernâ praesumptione tentatum est.' (again 'modernus.')] '( ) slaves assigned by the forethought of previous rulers to the service of the formae have passed under the sway of private masters. '( ) great weights of brass and lead (the latter very easy to steal, from its softness) have been stripped off from the public buildings. now ionos, king of thessaly, is said to have first discovered lead, and midas, king of phrygia, brass. how grievous that we should be handed down to posterity as neglecting two metals which they were immortalised by discovering! '( ) temples and other public buildings, which at the request of many we have repaired, are handed over without a thought to spoliation and ruin. 'we have appointed the spectabilis john to enquire into and set straight all these matters. _you_ ought to have brought the matter before us yourselves: at least, now, support him with the necessary "solatia."' [see preceding letter as to the commission entrusted to john, theodoric's clerk of the works in rome.] . king theodoric to gemellus, senator. a.d. . [appointed governor of the gaulish province in letter iii. .] [sidenote: remission of taxes to citizens of arles.] 'the men of arles, who were reduced to penury in the glorious siege which they endured on our behalf, are freed from the obligation of taxes for the fourth indiction [sept. , , to aug. , ]. we ask for these payments from men at peace, not from men besieged. how can one claim taxes from the lord of a field when one knows he has not been able to cultivate it? they have already rendered a most precious tribute in their fidelity to us. after this year, however, the taxes will be collected as usual.' . king theodoric to argolicus, illustris, praefect of the city. [sidenote: promotion of armentarius and superbus to post of referendi curiae.] armentarius (clarissimus) and his son superbus are to receive the privilege of _referendi curiae_[ ]. thus will the profession of the law be, as is most fitting, adorned with the honours of the senate. [footnote : possibly referendi is the same as referendarii. see var. vi. .] praises of rhetoric. the man who has swayed the judges by his eloquence is sure to have a favouring audience in the senate. . king theodoric to the inhabitants of massilia. [sidenote: count marabad governor of marseilles.] 'in accordance with our usual policy of sending persons of tried ability and moderation to govern the provinces, we are sending count marabad [a gothic name?] to act as your governor, to bring solace to the lowly and repress the insolent, and to force all into the path of justice, which is the secret of the prosperity of our empire. as befits your long-tried loyalty, welcome and obey him.' . king theodoric to romulus. [it is surely possible that this is the dethroned emperor. the name romulus, which, as we know, he derived from his maternal grandfather, was not a very common one in rome (it must be admitted there is another romulus, ii. ). and is there not something rather peculiar in the entire absence of all titles of honour, the superscription being simply 'romulo theodoricus rex,' as if neither king nor scribe quite knew how to address an ex-emperor?] [sidenote: gifts to romulus shall not be revoked.] 'the liberality of the prince must be kept firm and unshaken by the arts of malignant men. therefore any gift which shall be proved to have been given according to our orders by the patrician liberius, to you _or to your mother_, by written instrument (pictacium or pittacium), shall remain in full force, and you need not fear its being questioned.' [for liberius, see ii. . a man of that eminence, who was employed to arrange disputes between the goths and romans at the first settlement of the former in italy, was the very man to be also employed to arrange terms with augustulus. there is some reason to think that the mother of the deposed emperor was named barbaria, and that she is mentioned in the history of the translation of the relics of st. severinus. see 'italy and her invaders' iii. .] . king theodoric to the illustrious count arigern. [sidenote: complaints against venantius.] 'firminus alleges that he has some cause of complaint against the magnificent venantius [son of liberius, mentioned in the previous letter, and strongly commended in ii. ], and that venantius treats his claims with contempt. there is always a danger of justice being wrested in the interests of the great. we therefore desire you with all due reverence to address the aforesaid magnificent person and desire him to appoint a representative, with proper credentials, to plead in our court in answer to the claims of firminus, who will be punished for his audacity if he have brought a false charge against so illustrious a person.' [this and the preceding letter look as if the fortunes of the house of liberius (so greatly extolled in ii. and ) were passing under a cloud. see also iii. , as to the disgrace of venantius. this may have made the ex-emperor anxious as to the validity of the settlement made through him.] . king theodoric to bishop peter. [sidenote: alleged injustice of a bishop.] [see the full explanation of this letter in dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. - . cf. also var. iii. . observe how the marginal note (in the edition of the benedictine, garet) strains the doctrine of this letter in favour of the clergy[ ].] [footnote : 'causae sacerdotum a sacerdotibus debent terminari.'] 'germanus, in his "flebilis allegatio," informs us that you detain from him a part of the property of his father thomas. as it is proper that causes which concern you should first be remitted to you (so often employed as judges to settle the disputes of others), we call upon you to enquire into this claim, and if it be a just one to satisfy it. know that if you fail to do justice yourself to the petitioner, his cause will be carried through to our own audience-chamber.' . king theodoric to wandil [vuandil[ ]]. [footnote : probably a gothic officer.] [sidenote: the gothic troops at avignon to abstain from molesting the citizens.] 'our piety wishes that there should be order and good government everywhere in our dominions, but especially in gaul, that our new subjects there may form a good opinion of the ruler under whom they have come. therefore by this authority we charge you to see that no violence happen in avignon where you reside. let our army live "civiliter" with the romans, and let the latter feel that our troops are come for their defence, not for their annoyance.' . king theodoric to felix, illustris and consul (a.d. ). [sidenote: largesse to charioteers of milan.] 'those who minister to the pleasures of the public should be liberally treated, and the consul must not belie the expectations of his generosity which have been formed when he was senator. therefore let your sublimity enquire into the petition for largesse presented by the charioteers of milan; and if their statements are correct, let them have whatever it has been customary for them to receive. in matters of this kind custom creates a kind of debt.' . king theodoric to all the provincials settled in gaul. [sidenote: immunity from taxes for districts ravaged by war.] 'we wish promptly to relieve all the distresses of our subjects, and we therefore at once announce to you that the districts ravaged by the incursions of the enemy will not be called upon to pay tribute at the fourth indiction [sept. , to aug. ]. for we have no pleasure in receiving what is paid by a heavy-hearted contributor. the part of the country, however, which has been untouched by the enemy will have to contribute to the expense of our army. but a hungry defender is a weak defender.' . king theodoric to gemellus, senator [governor of gothic gaul[ ]]. [footnote : see letters iii. and .] [sidenote: corn for the garrisons on the durance.] 'a burden borne in common is lightened, since only the edge as it were of the whole rests on the shoulders of each individual. we have ordered the corn for the army to be carried from the granaries of marseilles to the forts upon the durance. let all unite in this toil. the willing labour of many brings a speedy end to the work.' [this letter, as showing that at least one if not both banks of the durance were included in the ostrogothic monarchy in , has an important bearing on the geographical extent of the burgundian kingdom. see exkurs vi. to binding's 'burgundisch-romanische königreich.' he makes the northern bank of the durance belong to burgundy, the southern to the ostrogoths.] . king theodoric to all the provincials in gaul. [sidenote: no part of gaul to be called on for military contributions.] 'because the generosity of the prince should even outrun the petitions of his subjects we repeal that part of a previous letter [iii. ] which says that the unravaged portion of the province of gaul must pay the expenses of our soldiers. we will transmit to the duces and praepositi sufficient money to provide "alimonia nostris gothis."' ['praebendae,' near the end of this letter, seems to be used in a technical sense, almost equivalent to stipendia or annonae.] . king theodoric to unigis, the sword-bearer [spatarius]. [no doubt a high officer in the royal household.] [sidenote: runaway slaves to be restored to their owners.] 'we delight to live after the law of the romans, whom we seek to defend with our arms; and we are as much interested in the maintenance of morality as we can possibly be in war. for what profit is there in having removed the turmoil of the barbarians, unless we live according to law? certain slaves, on our army's entry into gaul, have run away from their old masters and betaken themselves to new ones. let them be restored to their rightful owners. rights must not be confounded under the rule of justice, nor ought the defender of liberty to favour recreant slaves. [probably an allusion to the office of the _assertor libertatis_ in the _liberalis causa_, as set forth in the theodosian code iv. .] let other kings desire the glory of battles won, of cities taken, of ruins made; our purpose is, god helping us, so to rule that our subjects shall grieve that they did not earlier acquire the blessing of our dominion.' . king theodoric to all the landowners [possessores] of arles. [sidenote: repair of walls of arles, and supply of corn.] 'we wish to refresh men, but to repair cities also, that the renewed fortune of the citizens may be displayed by the splendour of their buildings. 'we have therefore directed that a certain sum of money be sent for the repair of the walls and old towers of arles. but we are also going to send you, as soon as the time is favourable for navigation, provisions to supply the waste caused by the war. be of good cheer, therefore! grain for which our word is pledged is as good as grain already in your granaries.' . king theodoric to arigern, illustris and count. [sidenote: site disputed between roman church and samaritans.] 'it is represented to us by the defensors of the "sacrosanct" roman church that pope simplicius, of blessed memory, bought a house at rome[ ] of eufrasius the acolyte, with all proper formalities, and that now the people of the samaritan superstition, hardened in effrontery, allege that a synagogue of theirs was built on that site, and claim it accordingly; whereas the very style of building, say their opponents, shows that this was meant as a private house and not as a synagogue. enquire into this matter, and do justice accordingly. if we will not tolerate chicanery [calumniae] against men, much less will we against the divinity himself.' [footnote : 'in sacratissimâ urbe.'] . king theodoric to adeodatus. [sidenote: further charges of misgovernment against venantius.] 'the crimes of subjects are an occasion for manifesting the virtues of princes. you have addressed to us your petition, alleging that you were compelled by the spectabilis venantius, governor of lucania and bruttii, to confess yourself guilty of the rape of the maiden valeriana. [sidenote: illogical decision in the case of adeodatus.] 'overcome, you say, by the severity of your imprisonment and the tortures inflicted upon you, and longing for death as a release from agony; being moreover refused the assistance of advocates, while the utmost resources of rhetoric were at the disposal of your opponents, you confessed a crime which you had never committed. 'such is your statement. the governor of bruttii sends his _relatio_ in opposition, saying that we must not give credence to a petitioner who is deceitfully seeking to upset a sentence which was given in the interests of public morality. 'our decision is that we will by our clemency mitigate the severity of your punishment. from the date of this decree you shall be banished for six months; and on your return no note of infamy of any kind shall be attached to you; since it is competent for the prince to wipe off all the blots on a damaged reputation. anyone who offends against this decree [by casting your old offence in your teeth] shall be fined £ ( lbs. of gold). and all who are accused of the same offence in any place or time, but who offended through ignorance, are to be freed from all fear of punishment.' [a most illogical and unjust conclusion, by which the judgment of venantius is in fact neither upheld nor reversed. and what the meaning of the concluding sentence may be it is impossible to conjecture. see dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. , on this absurd decision. on the subject of the misgovernment and disgrace of venantius, cf. letters ii. , ; iii. , . cf. also procopius, 'de bello gotthico' iii. and , as to his son tullianus. in connection with the alleged misgovernment of bruttii and lucania by venantius, remember the close connection of cassiodorus himself with those provinces.] . king theodoric to faustus, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: jovinus, for killing a fellow curial, is banished to the islands of lipari, the volcanoes of which are described.] 'jovinus the curialis, according to the report of the corrector of lucania and bruttii, had an angry altercation with a fellow curial (collega), and in his rage slew him. 'he then took refuge within the precincts of a church, and refused to surrender himself to justice. we decide that the capital punishment shall be remitted out of reverence for his place of refuge, but he shall be banished to the vulcanian [lipari] islands, there to live away from the paternal hearth, but ever in the midst of burning, like a salamander, which is a small and subtile beast, of kin to the slippery worm, clothed with a yellow colour. 'the substance of volcanoes, which is perpetually destroyed, is by the inextricable power of nature perpetually renewed. 'the vulcanian islands are named from vulcan, the god of fire, and burst into eruption on the day when hannibal took poison at the court of prusias. it is especially wonderful that a mountain kindling into such a multitude of flames, should yet be half hidden by the waves of the sea.' . king theodoric to all goths and romans living near the fort of verruca[ ]. [footnote : the double 'r' seems to be the correct spelling, though the mss. of the variarum apparently have the single 'r.'] [sidenote: fortification of verruca in the tyrol.] 'it is the duty and the glory of a ruler to provide with wise forethought for the safety of his subjects. we have therefore ordered the sajo leodifrid that under his superintendence you should build yourselves houses in the fort verruca, which from its position receives its most suitable name[ ]. [footnote : 'milites ad verrucam illum--_sic enim m. cato locum editum asperumque appellat_--ire jubeas' (gell. . . ). verruca therefore means primarily a steep cliff, and only secondarily a wart. see white and biddell, s.v.] 'for it is in the midst of the plains a hill of stone roundly arising, which with its tall sides, being bare of woods, is all one great mountain fortress. its lower parts are slenderer (graciliora) than its summit, and like some softest fungus the top broadens out, while it is thin at bottom. it is a mound not made by soldiers[ ], a stronghold made safe by nature[ ], where the besieged can try no _coup-de-main_ and the besieged need feel no panic. past this fort swirls the adige, that prince of rivers, with the pleasant gurgle of his clear waters, affording a defence and an adornment in one. it is a fort almost unequalled in the whole world, "a key that unlocks a kingdom[ ];" and all the more important because it bars the invasion of wild and savage nations. this admirable defence what inhabitant would not wish to share, since even foreigners delight to visit it? and though by god's blessing we trust that the province [of raetia] is in our times secure, yet it is the part of prudence to guard against evils, though we may think they will not arise.' [footnote : 'agger sine pugna.'] [footnote : 'obsessio secura.'] [footnote : 'tenens claustra provinciae.'] examples of gulls, who fly inland when they foresee a storm; of dolphins, which seek the shallower waters; of the edible sea-urchin, 'that honey of flesh, that dainty of the deep,' who anchors himself to a little pebble to prevent being dashed about by the waves; of birds, who change their dwellings when winter draws nigh; of beasts, who adapt their lair to the time of year. and shall man alone be improvident? shall he not imitate that higher providence by which the world is governed? [the fortress of verruca does not seem to be mentioned in the 'notitia,' in the antonine 'itinerary,' or by the geographer of ravenna. maffei ('verona illustrata,' book ix. vol. , pp. - in ed. ) comments on this passage, and argues that _verruca = dos trento_, a cliff about a mile from trient, and this identification seems to have been accepted, for ball ('alpine guide, eastern alps,' p. ) says: 'in the centre of the valley, close to the city, rises a remarkable rock known as _dos trento, and also called la verruca_, formerly frequented for the sake of the beautiful view which it commands. since it has been strongly fortified, and permission to ascend to the summit is not easily obtained.' maffei says that the french bombarded trient from this rock in . he speaks of another 'verruca, or rocca,' on the other side of aquileia, and thinks that the modern word 'rocca' (rock) may perhaps have been derived herefrom (?). it is remarkable that there is a place called _verrua_ near the po in piedmont (about miles east of turin). 'situated upon an abrupt and insulated hill, in a most defensible position, it opposed an obstinate resistance to the emperor frederick ii. in more recent times ( ), the duc de vendôme attacked it without success' (murray's 'guide to northern italy,' p. ). no doubt this was also originally called _verruca_.] . king theodoric to the honoured possessores, defensores, and curiales of the city of catana. [sidenote: repair of amphitheatre of catana.] 'it is a great delight to the ruler when his subjects of their own accord suggest that which is for the good of the state. you have called our attention to the ruinous state of your walls, and ask leave to use for its repair the stones of the amphitheatre, which have fallen down from age and are now of no ornament to your town, in fact only show disgraceful ruins. you have not only our permission to do this, but our hearty approval. let the stones, which can be of no use while they lie there, rise again into the fabric of the walls; and your improved defence will be our boast and confidence.' [some remains of the amphitheatre are still visible at catania; not, however, so important as those of the theatre.] . king theodoric to the provincials of noricum. [sidenote: the alamanni and noricans to exchange their cattle.] 'it is an admirable arrangement when a favour can be conferred by which giver and receiver are alike benefited. 'we therefore decree that you should exchange your oxen for those of the alamanni. 'theirs is the finer and larger breed of cattle, but they are worn out by the long journey. thus will they get fresh beasts capable of doing the work which is required of them, and you will permanently improve your breed of cattle, and so be able to till your fields better. thus, what does not often happen, the same transaction will equally benefit both parties to it.' [cf. ii. as to these alamannic exiles. possibly this letter as well as that refers to their expulsion by clovis (cir. ); but it seems more probable, as von schubert suggests (pp. - ), that we have here to do with a removal of some of the alamannic subjects of theodoric from raetia to noricum, in order to guard the north-east frontier of the kingdom.] . king theodoric to faustus, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: stipend of thomas the charioteer. description of the circus.] 'constancy in actors is not a very common virtue, therefore with all the more pleasure do we record the faithful allegiance of thomas the charioteer, who came long ago from the east hither, and who, having become champion charioteer, has chosen to attach himself to "the seat of our empire[ ];" and we therefore decide that he shall be rewarded by a monthly allowance. he embraced what was then the losing side in the chariot races and carried it to victory--victory which he won so often that envious rivals declared that he conquered by means of witchcraft. [footnote : 'nostri sedes delegit fovere _imperii_.'] 'the sight of a chariot-race (spectaculum) drives out morality and invites the most trifling contentions; it is the emptier of honourable conduct, the ever-flowing spring of squabbles: a thing which antiquity commenced as a matter of religion, but which a quarrelsome posterity has turned into a sport. 'for aenomaus is said first to have exhibited this sport at elis, a city of asia (?), and afterwards romulus, at the time of the rape of the sabines, displayed it in rural fashion to italy, no buildings for the purpose being yet founded. long after, augustus, the lord of the world, raising his works to the same high level as his power, built a fabric marvellous even to romans, which stretched far into the vallis murcia. this immense mass, firmly girt round with hills, enclosed a space which was fitted to be the theatre of great events. 'twelve _ostia_ at the entrance represent the twelve signs of the zodiac. these are suddenly and equally opened by ropes let down by the _hermulae_ (little pilasters)[ ]. the four colours worn by the four parties of charioteers denote the seasons: green for verdant spring, blue for cloudy winter, red for flaming summer, white for frosty autumn. thus, throughout the spectacle we see a determination to represent the works of nature. the _biga_ is made in imitation of the moon, the _quadriga_ of the sun. the circus horses (_equi desultorii_), by means of which the servants of the circus announce the heats (_missos_) that are to be run, imitate the herald-swiftness of the morning star. thus it came to pass that while they deemed they were worshipping the stars, they profaned their religion by parodying it in their games. [footnote : the ostia are denoted by a and the hermulae by h in the accompanying plan. (see page .)] 'a white line is drawn not far from the ostia to each _podium_ (balcony), that the contest may begin when the quadrigae pass it, lest they should interrupt the view of the spectators by their attempts to get each before the other[ ]. there are always seven circuits round the goals (_metae_) to one heat, in analogy with the days of the week. the goals themselves have, like the decani[ ] of the zodiac, each three pinnacles, round which the swift quadrigae circle like the sun. the wheels indicate the boundaries of east and west. the channel (_euripus_) which surrounds the circus presents us with an image of the glassy sea, whence come the dolphins which swim hither through the waters[ ] (?). the lofty obelisks lift their height towards heaven; but the upper one is dedicated to the sun, the lower one to the moon: and upon them the sacred rites of the ancients are indicated with chaldee signs for letters[ ]. [footnote : 'ut quadrigis progredientibus, inde certamen oriretur: ne dum semper propere conantur elidere, spectandi voluptatem viderentur populis abrogare.' in fact, to compel the charioteers to start fair.] [footnote : each sign of the zodiac was considered to have three decani, occurring at intervals of ten days.] [footnote : 'unde illuc delphini aequorei aquas interfluunt.' the sentence is very obscure, but the allusion must be to the dolphins, the figures of which were placed upon the spina.] [footnote : 'obeliscorum quoque prolixitates ad coeli altitudinem sublevantur: sed potior soli, inferior lunae dicatus est: ubi sacra priscorum chaldaicis signis, quasi litteris indicantur.'] 'the _spina_ (central wall, or backbone) represents the lot of the unhappy captives, inasmuch as the generals of the romans, marching over the backs of their enemies, reaped that joy which was the reward of their labours. the _mappa_ (napkin), which is still seen to give the signal at the games, came into fashion on this wise. once when nero was loitering over his dinner, and the populace, as usual, was impatient for the spectacle to begin, he ordered the napkin which he had used for wiping his fingers to be thrown out of window, as a signal that he gave the required permission. hence it became a custom that the display of a napkin gave a certain promise of future _circenses_. 'the _circus_ is so called from "circuitus:" _circenses_ is, as it were, _circu-enses_, because in the rude ages of antiquity, before an elaborate building had been prepared for the purpose, the races were exhibited on the green grass, and the multitude were protected by the river on one side and the swords (_enses_) of the soldiers on the other[ ]. [footnote : i can extract no other meaning than the above from this extraordinary sentence: 'circenses, quasi circu-enses: propterea quod apud antiquitatem rudem, quae necdum spectacula in ornatum deduxerat fabricarum, inter _enses_ et flumina locis virentibus agerentur.'] 'we observe, too, that the rule of this contest is that it be decided in twenty-four heats[ ], an equal number to that of the hours of day and night. nor let it be accounted meaningless that the number of circuits round the goals is expressed by the putting up of _eggs_[ ], since that emblem, pregnant as it is with many superstitions[ ], indicates that something is about to be born from thence. and in truth we may well understand that the most fickle and inconstant characters, well typified by the birds who have laid those eggs, will spring from attendance on these spectacles[ ]. it were long to describe in detail all the other points of the roman circus, since each appears to arise from some special cause. this only will we remark upon as pre-eminently strange, that in these beyond all other spectacles men's minds are hurried into excitement without any regard to a fitting sobriety of character. the green charioteer flashes by: part of the people is in despair. the blue gets a lead: a larger part of the city is in misery. they cheer frantically when they have gained nothing; they are cut to the heart when they have received no loss; and they plunge with as much eagerness into these empty contests as if the whole welfare of the imperilled fatherland were at stake. [footnote : _missibus._ in a previous sentence cassiodorus makes the acc. plural _missos_.] [footnote : the number of times that the charioteers had rounded the goal was indicated by large wooden _eggs_, which were posted up in a conspicuous place on the spina. it seems that in a corresponding place near the other end of the spina figures of _dolphins_ were used for the same purpose. upon the cilurnum gem (figured on page ) we can perceive four eggs near one end of the spina, and four creatures which may be dolphins near the other, indicating that four circuits out of the seven which constitute a missus have been accomplished by the quadrigae.] [footnote : alluding probably to the story of castor and pollux.] [footnote : 'et ideo datur intelligi, volitantes atque inconstantissimos inde mores nasci, quos avium matribus aptaverunt.' _ovium_ would seem to give a better sense than _avium_.] 'no wonder that such a departure from all sensible dispositions should be attributed to a superstitious origin. we are compelled to support this institution by the necessity of humouring the majority of the people, who are passionately fond of it; for it is always the few who are led by reason, while the many crave excitement and oblivion of their cares. therefore, as we too must sometimes share the folly of our people, we will freely provide for the expenses of the circus, however little our judgment approves of this institution.' [notwithstanding some absurdities, the above description of the circus maximus (which i have attempted to translate in full) is of great value, being, after that given by dionysius of halicarnassus, our chief authority on the subject. the accompanying plan (taken, with some slight variations, from smith's 'dictionary of antiquities'), will, i trust, render it intelligible. [illustration: plan of ancient circus.] it is well illustrated by the recently excavated 'stadium of augustus,' on the palatine; but perhaps even better by a beautifully executed gem lately found at chesters in northumberland, on the site of the roman station at cilurnum. by the kindness of the owner, mr. clayton, i am able to give an enlarged copy of this gem, which is described in the 'archaeologia aeliana,' vol. x. pp. - . [illustration: the circus maximus, a magnified engraving of an intaglio on a carnelian signet-ring found at cilurnum (chesters in northumberland) in .] the reader will easily discern the _spina_ with one obelisk (not two, as described by cassiodorus) in the centre, the high tables supported by pillars on which the ova and delphini are placed, the three spindle-shaped columns which formed the _meta_ at each end, and the four quadrigae (four was the regular number for each missus) careering in front.] . king theodoric to the illustrious consularis. [sidenote: on roman land surveying.] 'we are sorry to hear that a dispute (which is on the point of being settled by arms instead of by the law) has arisen between the spectabiles leontius and paschasius as to the boundaries of their properties[ ]. if they are so fierce against one another here in italy, where there are mountains and rivers and the "arcaturae" [square turrets of the land surveyor] to mark the boundaries, what would they have done in egypt, where the yearly returning waters of the nile wash out all landmarks, and leave a deposit of mud over all? [footnote : 'casarum.' casa is evidently no longer a cottage; perhaps the estate attached to a villa. there is probably still a flavour of rusticity about it.] 'geometry was discovered by the chaldaeans, who perceived that its principles lay at the root of astronomy, music, mechanics, architecture, medicine, logic, and every science which deals with generals. this science was eagerly welcomed by the egyptians, who perceived the advantage it would be to them in recovering the boundaries of estates obliterated by the wished-for deluge[ ] of the nile. [footnote : 'votiva inundatione.'] 'therefore let your greatness send an experienced land surveyor (agrimensor) to settle this dispute by assigning fixed boundaries to the two estates. 'augustus made a complete survey of the whole "orbis romanus," in order that each taxpayer should know exactly his resources and obligations. the results of this survey were tabulated by the author hyrummetricus. the professors of this science [of land surveying] are honoured with a more earnest attention than falls to the lot of any other philosophers. arithmetic, theoretical geometry, astronomy, and music are discoursed upon to listless audiences, sometimes to empty benches. but the land surveyor is like a judge; the deserted fields become his forum, crowded with eager spectators. you would fancy him a madman when you see him walking along the most devious paths. but in truth he is seeking for the traces of lost facts in rough woods and thickets[ ]. he walks not as other men walk. his path is the book from which he reads; he _shows_ what he is saying; he proves what he hath learned; by his steps he divides the rights of hostile claimants; and like a mighty river he takes away the fields of one side to bestow them on the other. [footnote : an excellent description of an antiquary walking along a roman 'limes imperii.'] 'wherefore, acting on our instructions, choose such a land surveyor, whose authority may be sufficient to settle this dispute, that the litigants may henceforth cultivate their lands in peace.' . king theodoric to the illustrious apronianus, count of the private domains. [sidenote: on water-finders.] 'your greatness tells us that a water-finder has come to rome from africa, where, on account of the dryness of the soil, his art is greatly in request. 'we are glad to hear it. it is a very useful art. 'signs of the existence of water are the greenness of the grass, the size of the trees, the nature of the plants, reeds, rushes, brambles, willows, poplars, &c. some discover water by putting out dry wool under a bowl at night. so too, if you see at sunrise a cloud [or gossamer, 'spissitudinem'] of very small flies. a mist rising like a column shows water as deep below as the column rises high above. 'the water-finder will also predict the quality of the water, and so prevent you from wasting labour on a brackish spring. this science was ably treated of by ----[ ], and by marcellus among the latins. they tell us that waters which gush forth towards the east and south are light and wholesome; that those which emerge towards the north and west are too cold and heavy. [footnote : 'apud graecos _ille_.' cassiodorus has left the name blank, and has either forgotten or been unable to fill it up; like the 'ille et ille' in his state documents.] 'so then, if the testimonials of the aforesaid water-finder and the results of his indications shall approve themselves to your wisdom, you may pay his travelling expenses and relieve his wants: he having to repay you by his future services. for though rome itself is so abundantly supplied with aqueducts, there are many suburban places in which his help would be very useful. associate with him also a mechanician who can sink for and raise the water when he has pointed it out. rome ought not to lack anything which is an object of desire.' book iv. containing fifty-one letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. . king theodoric to herminafrid, king of the thuringians. [sidenote: marriage of theodoric's niece to the king of the thuringians.] 'desiring to unite you to ourselves by the bonds of kindred, we bestow upon you our niece [amalabirga, daughter of theodoric's sister; see 'anon. valesii' § ], so that you, who descend from a royal stock, may now far more conspicuously shine by the splendour of imperial blood[ ]'. [a remarkable passage, as showing that theodoric did in a sense consider himself to be filling the place of the emperors of the west.] [footnote : 'nunc etiam longius claritate imperialis sanguinis fulgeatis.'] the virtues and intellectual accomplishments of the new queen of the thuringians are described. 'we gladly acknowledge the price of a favour, in itself beyond price, which, according to the custom of the nations, we have received from your ambassadors: namely, a team of horses, silvery in colour, as wedding-horses should be. their chests and thighs are suitably adorned with round surfaces of flesh. their ribs are expanded to a certain width. they are short in the belly. their heads have a certain resemblance to the stag, the swiftness of which animal they imitate. these horses are gentle from their extreme plumpness; very swift notwithstanding their great bulk; pleasant to look at, still better to use. for they have gentle paces, not fatiguing their riders by insane curvetings. to ride them is repose rather than toil; and being broken-in to a delightful and steady pace, they can keep up their speed, over long distances. 'we too are sending you some presents, but our niece is the fairest present of all. may god bless you with children, so that our lines may be allied in future.' . king theodoric to the king of the heruli. [adopting him as his son by right of arms.] [sidenote: herminafrid adopted as 'filius per arma' by theodoric.] 'it has been always held amongst the nations a great honour to be adopted as "filius per arma." our children by nature often disappoint our expectations, but to say that we esteem a man _worthy to be our son_ is indeed praise. as such, after the manner of the nations and in manly fashion, do we now beget you[ ]. [footnote : notice the strong expression, 'et ideo more gentium et conditione virili filium te praesenti munere _procreamus_.'] 'we send you horses, spears, and shields, and the rest of the trappings of the warrior; but above all we send you our judgment that you are worthy to be our son[ ]. highest among the nations will you be considered who are thus approved by the mind of theodoric. [footnote : 'damus quidem tibi equos, enses clypeos, et reliqua instrumenta bellorum, sed quae sunt omnimodis fortiora, largimur tibi nostra judicia.'] 'and though the son should die rather than see his father suffer aught of harm, we in adopting you are also throwing round you the shield of our protection. the heruli have known the value of gothic help in old times, and that help will now be yours. a and b, the bearers of these letters, will explain to you in gothic (patrio sermone) the rest of our message to you[ ]. [footnote : in , says marcellinus comes, 'gens erulorum in terras atque civitates romanorum jussu anastasii caesaris introducta.' but what relation that entry of the heruli into roman territory may bear to this letter is a very difficult question. see dahn, könige der germanen ii. , _n._ .] . king theodoric to senarius, vir illustris, comes. [conferring upon him the dignity of 'comitiva patrimonii.'] [sidenote: senarius made comes patrimonii.] 'the master's fame is enhanced by choosing the right persons for his servants. the sovereign ought to promote such persons that whenever he condescends to behold them he may feel that his _judicia_[ ] have been justified. we therefore hereby bestow upon you, for the fourth indiction [sept. , ], the illustrious dignity of comes of our patrimony.' [footnote : same expression as in preceding letter.] services of senarius as a diplomatist, in standing up against barbarian kings and subduing their intellects to the moderate counsels of theodoric[ ]. [footnote : 'subiisti saepe arduae legationis officium. restitisti regibus non impar assertor, coactus justitiam nostram et illis ostendere, qui rationem vix poterant cruda obstinatione sentire. non te terruit contentionibus inflammata regalis auctoritas,' etc.] his success as an advocate[ ]. the charm of his pronunciation. his purity of morals; his popularity with high and low. he is exhorted still to cultivate these dispositions, and to win favour for his office by his affable demeanour. [footnote : 'usus es sub exceptionis officio eloquentis ingenio.' 'exceptio' is a law term, the defendant's answer to the plaintiff's bill; but is it so used here?] . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [announcing the promotion of senarius, conferred in the preceding letter.] [sidenote: on the same subject.] describes the merits of the new comes, who when young in years but mature in merit had entered the service of the palace; his diplomatic career[ ] and his moderation and reserve in the midst of success, although naturally 'joy is a garrulous thing,' and it is difficult for men who are carrying all before them to restrain the expression of their exaltation. [footnote : again we have 'exceptiones' mentioned (see preceding letter). 'nunc ad colloquia dignus, _nunc ad exceptiones aptissimus_, frequenter etiam in legationis honorem electus.'] compliments to the senate, who are invited to give a hearty welcome to the new comer. . king theodoric to amabilis, vir devotus[ ] and comes. [footnote : probably this epithet means that amabilis was a sajo.] [sidenote: supply of provisions to famine-stricken provinces of gaul.] 'having heard that there is dearth in our gaulish provinces we direct your devotion to take bonds from the shipmasters along the whole western coast of italy (lucania, campania, and thuscia) that they will go with supplies of food only to the gauls, having liberty to dispose of their cargoes as may be agreed between buyer and seller. they will find their own profit in this, for there is no better customer for a corn-merchant than a hungry man. he looks on all his other possessions as dross if he can only supply the cravings of necessity. he who is willing to sell to a man in this condition almost seems to be _giving_ him what he needs, and can very nearly ask his own price.' [it will be seen that in this letter there is no attempt to fix a maximum price, only to prescribe the kind of cargo, 'victuales species,' which is to be carried to gaul.] . king theodoric to symmachus, vir illustris, patrician. [sidenote: the sons of valerian to be detained in rome.] 'the spectabilis valerian, who lives at syracuse, wishes to return thither himself, but that his sons, whom he has brought to rome for their education, may be detained in that city. 'let your magnificence therefore not allow them to leave the aforesaid city till an order has been obtained from us to that effect. thus will their progress in their studies be assured, and proper reverence be paid to our command. and let none of them think this a burden, which should have been an object of desire[ ]. to no one should rome be disagreeable, for she is the common country of all, the fruitful mother of eloquence, the broad temple of the virtues: it is a striking mark of our favour to assign such a city as a residence to any of our subjects[ ].' [footnote : 'non ergo sibi putet impositum quod debuit esse votivum. nulli sit ingrata roma, quae dici non potest aliena. illa eloquentiae foecunda mater, illa virtutum omnium latissimum templum.'] [footnote : cf. the very similar letter, i. .] . king theodoric to senarius, vir illustris, comes privatarum. [sidenote: losses by shipwreck to be refunded to those who were sending provisions to gaul.] 'any calamity which comes upon a man from causes beyond his control ought not to be imputed to him as a fault. the pathetic petition of the superintendents of grain[ ] informs us that the cargoes which they destined for gaul have perished at sea. [footnote : 'prosecutores frumentorum.' it would seem that these are not merchants supplying the famine-stricken provinces of gaul as a private speculation (according to iv. ), but public officers who have had certain cargoes of corn entrusted to them from the state magazines, and who, but for this letter, would be bound to make good the loss suffered under their management.] 'the framework of the timbers of the ships gaped under the violence of the winds and waves, and from all that overabundance of water nothing remains to them but their tears. 'let your sublimity therefore promptly refund to them the proportion (modiatio) which each of them can prove that he has thus lost. it would be cruel to punish them for having merely suffered shipwreck.' . king theodoric to the honoured possessores and curiales of forum livii (forli). [sidenote: transport of timber ordered for alsuanum.] 'you must not think anything which we order hard; for our commands are reasonable, and we know what you ought to do. your devotion is therefore to cut timber and transport it to alsuanum[ ], where you will be paid the proper price for it.' [footnote : where is this?] . king theodoric to osuin, vir illustris and comes. [sidenote: tuitio regii nominis.] [this letter is quoted by dahn ('könige der germanen' iii. ) as an illustration of '_tuitio regii nominis_.'] 'maurentius and paula, who are left orphans, inform us that their youth and helplessness expose them to the attacks of many unscrupulous persons. 'let your sublimity therefore cause it to be known that any suits against them must be prosecuted in our comitatus, the place of succour for the distressed and of sharp punishment for tricksters.' . king theodoric to joannes, senator and consularis of campania. [sidenote: the lawless custom of pignoratio is to be repressed.] [a custom had apparently grown up during the lawless years of the fifth century, of litigants helping themselves, during the slow progress of the suit, to a 'material guarantee' from the fields of their opponents. this custom, unknown apparently at the time of the theodosian code, was called 'pignoratio,' and was especially rife in the provinces of campania and samnium.] 'how does peace differ from the confusion of war, if law-suits are to be settled by violence? we hear with displeasure from our provincials in campania and samnium that certain persons there are giving themselves up to the practice of _pignoratio_. and so far has this gone that neighbours club together and transfer their claims to some one person who "pignorates" for the whole of them, thus in fact compelling a man to pay a debt to an entire stranger--a monstrous perversion of all the rules of law, which separates so delicately between the rights even of near relations, and will not allow the son to be sued for the father's debts unless he is the heir, nor the wife for the husband's unless she has succeeded to the estate. hitherto our ignorance has allowed this lawless practice to exist. now that we know of it we are determined to suppress it. therefore, firstly, if any man lays violent hands on any property to secure an alleged claim, he shall at once forfeit that claim [and restore the _pignus_]. secondly, where one has "pignorated" for another, he shall be compelled to restore twofold the value of that which he has taken. thirdly, if any offender is so poor and squalid that restitution cannot be compelled from him, he shall be beaten with clubs.' . king theodoric to senarius, vir illustris and comes. [sidenote: dispute between possessores and curiales.] 'let your magnitude enquire into and decide promptly the dispute between the possessores and curiales of velia.' [a conjectural emendation for _volienses_.] . king theodoric to marabad, vir illustris and comes; and gemellus, senator. [sidenote: archotamia's complaint against the extravagant widow of her grandson.] 'it is our purpose not only to defend by arms but to govern by just laws the provinces which god has subjected to us. 'archotamia, an illustrious lady who has lost her grandson by death, complains that his widow aetheria, having married again with a certain liberius, is wasting the property of her children in order to make her new home appear more splendid. 'let your sublimities enquire into this matter. after suppressing all violent action[ ], placing the holy gospels in the midst of the court, and calling in three honourable persons agreed upon by the parties, as assessors, decide with their help upon the matter according to ancient law, due reference being had to the arrangements of modern times.' [footnote : 'omni incivilitate submotâ.'] [theodoric says that in not hearing the case himself, but referring it to marabad and gemellus, he is following his usual practice, 'remittere ad statuta divalium sanctionum;' that is, apparently, according to the theodosian code. see dahn, 'könige der germanen' iv. , _n._ .] . king theodoric to senarius, vir illustris, comes privatarum. [sidenote: supplies for colossaeus and his suite.] 'let colossaeus, who is sent as governor to pannonia sirmiensis, have rations for himself and suite, according to ancient usage. [for his appointment, see letters iii. and .] 'a hungry army cannot be expected to preserve discipline, since the armed man will always help himself to that which he requires. let him have the chance of buying, that he may not be forced to think what he can plunder. necessity loves not a law[ ], nor is it right to command the many to observe a moderation which even the few can barely practise.' [footnote : 'necessitas moderamen non diligit.'] . king theodoric to the sajo gesila. [sidenote: evasion of land-tax by goths in picenum and thuscia.] 'it is a great offence to put off the burden of one's own debts upon other people. that man ought to pay the "tributum" for a property who receives the income of it. but some of the goths in picenum and the two tuscanies[ ] are evading the payment of their proper taxes[ ]. this vicious practice must be suppressed at once, lest it spread by imitation. if anyone in a spirit of clownish stubbornness shall still refuse to obey our commands as expressed through you, affix the proper notice to his houses and confiscate them, that he who would not pay a small debt may suffer a great loss[ ]. none ought to be more prompt in their payments to the exchequer than those [the goths] who are the receivers of our donative. the sum thus given by our liberality is much more than they could claim as soldiers' pay. in fact _we_ pay them a voluntary tribute by the care which we have of their fortunes.' [footnote : 'gothi per picenum sive thuscias utrasque residentes.' what are the two thusciae?] [footnote : 'debitas functiones.'] [footnote : 'si quis ergo jussa nostra agresti spiritu resupinatus abjecerit, casas ejus appositis titulis fisci nostri juribus vindicabis; ut qui juste noluit parva solvere, rationabiliter videatur maxima perdidisse.'] . king theodoric to benenatus, senator. [sidenote: new rowers to be selected. their qualifications.] 'being informed by the illustrious and magnificent count of the patrimony that twenty-one of the _dromonarii_ [rowers in the express-boats] have been removed by the inconvenient incident of death, we hereby charge you to select others to fill their places. but they must be strong men, for the toil of rowing requires powerful arms and stout hearts to battle with the stormy waves. for what is in fact more daring than with one's little bark to enter upon that wide and treacherous sea, which only despair enables a man successfully to combat?' . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: arigern entrusted with the charge of the city of rome.] 'some time ago we committed the government of our new gaulish provinces to arigern, a member of your body, that he might by his firmness and prudence bring about a settlement in that agitated country. this he has accomplished to our entire satisfaction, and, practising the lessons which he learned in your midst, he has also brought back warlike trophies from thence. we now decide to bestow upon him the charge of the roman order. 'he is to see that the laws are vigorously administered, and that private revenge has no place. 'receive, o conscript fathers, your honoured and venerable member back into your bosom.' [it seems probable that arigern was not appointed 'praefectus urbis,' because in letter iv. he is associated as comes with argolicus, 'praefectus urbis.' was he 'comes urbis romae?'] . king theodoric to ida, vir sublimis and dux. [cf. the name of our own northumbrian king.] [sidenote: possessions of the church of narbonne to be restored to it.] 'we do not wish to disturb anything that has been well settled by a preceding king. certain possessions of the church of narbonne, which were secured to it by grant of the late king alaric of exalted memory, have been wrongfully wrested from it. do you now restore these. as you are illustrious in war, so be also excellent in "civilitas." the wrong-doers will not dare to resist a man of your well-known bravery.' . king theodoric to annas, senator and comes. [sidenote: a priestly ghoul.] 'enquire if the story which is told us be true, namely that the presbyter laurentius has been groping for fatal riches among human corpses. an odious inversion of his functions, that he who should preach peace to the living has been robbing the dead, and that hands which have been touched with the oil of consecration should have been grasping at unholy gains, instead of distributing his own honestly acquired substance to the poor. if after diligent examination you find that the charge is true, you must make him disgorge the gold. as for punishment, for the sake of the honour of the priesthood we leave that to a higher power[ ].' [footnote : 'scelus enim, quod nos pro sacerdotali honore relinquimus impunitum, majori pondere credimus vindicandum.' the words seem to be purposely vague, but i think they allude to the judgment of heaven on the offender.] . king theodoric to gemellus, senator. [sidenote: the siliquaticum not to be levied on corn, wine, and oil.] 'the prince should try to remedy the afflictions of his subjects. therefore, for the present time [probably on account of the scarcity in gaul], we decree that the tax of siliquaticum, which antiquity ordained should be levied on all buyings and sellings, shall not be levied on corn, wine, and oil. we hope thus to stimulate trade, and to benefit not only the provincials, who are our chief care, but also the merchants. let the ship that traverses the seas not fear our harbours. often the sailor dreads the rapacity of the collector of customs more than the danger of shipwreck. it shall not be so now.' . king theodoric to geberich, senator. [sidenote: land taken from the church to be restored to it.] 'if we are willing to enrich the church by our own liberality, _à fortiori_ will we not allow it to be despoiled of the gifts received from pious princes in the past. 'the supplication of the venerable bishop constantius informs us that a _jugum_ [= jugerum, about two-thirds of an english acre] of land so bestowed on the "sacrosanct" church has been taken away from her, and is unlawfully held by the despoiler. 'see that right is done, and that the church has her own restored to her without any diminution.' . king theodoric to gemellus, senator. [sidenote: promptness and integrity required.] 'be prompt in the execution of our orders. no one should think our commands harsh, since they are excused by the necessity of the times. [reject the thought of all unjustly acquired gains, for] you are sure to receive from our favour all that you seem to lose by not yielding to temptation.' . king theodoric to argolicus, vir illustris and praefect of the city; and . king theodoric to arigern, vir illustris and comes. [sidenote: roman senators accused of magic.] these two letters relate to the affair of basilius[ ] and praetextatus, men of high rank in rome. they are accused of practising magical arts, and in the interval between the first and second letters they escape from prison by taking advantage of the insanity of the gaoler. [footnote : basilius, the patron of sidonius, was consul in , and another basilius, perhaps the father of the accused, was consul in . the person here spoken of _may_ be the same as the basilius, 'olim regio ministerio depulsus,' whom boethius (phil. cons. i. ) mentions as one of his accusers; but it seems more likely that in that case this imputation of magical practices would also have been referred to by him. the name basilius was a somewhat common one at this time.] theodoric, who says that he will not suffer any such acts of treason against the divine majesty, and that it is not lawful for christian times to deal in magical arts, orders the recapture of the offenders, who are to be handed over to a quinque-viral board, consisting of the patricians symmachus, decius, volusianus, and caelianus, with the illustrious maximian, and by them examined; if guilty to be punished (probably with confiscation and exile); if innocent, of course to be discharged[ ]. [footnote : at the beginning of the first letter occurs the remarkable expression 'abscedat ritus de medio jam profanus; conticescat _poenale murmur animarum_,' which the commentator interprets of the ventriloquistic sounds produced by soothsayers. cf. milton's christmas hymn: 'no voice or hideous hum runs through the arched roof in words deceiving.'] [the association of the quinque-viri with the praefectus urbis is a mark of the high rank of the accused. the praefectus urbis could not adjudicate on the crimes of senators without five assessors chosen by lot from that body. arigern, who was entrusted (it is not quite clear in what capacity) with the 'disciplina romanae civitatis,' is commissioned to bring the accused to trial. baronius says that we do not hear whether they were ever re-captured.] . king theodoric to elpidius, deacon [of spoleto]. [sidenote: architectural restoration at spoleto.] gives leave to pull down a _porticus_ behind the baths of turasius at spoleto, and to build some new edifice [perhaps a church] on its site and on the site of a yard (areola) adjoining it, on condition only that the building thus pulled down is of no public utility. reflections on the duty of architectural restoration. . king theodoric to argolicus, vir illustris, praefectus urbis. [it is to be borne in mind that the praefectus urbis was the official president of the senate.] [sidenote: petrus to be inscribed as senator.] 'ambition ennobles man, and he who has aimed when young at high honours is often stimulated to lead a worthy life by the fact of having obtained them. we therefore look favourably on the petition of petrus, illustrious by descent, and in gravity of character already a senator, to enter the sacred order (the senate); and we authorise your illustrious magnificence to inscribe his name, according to ancient custom, in the album of that body.' [a petrus, probably the same as the subject of this letter, was consul in .] . king theodoric to all the citizens of marseilles[ ]. [footnote : 'universis massiliae constitutis.' a curious expression.] [sidenote: taxes remitted for a year.] confirms all privileges and immunities granted by previous princes, and remits the taxes (censum) for one year, a boon which they had not dared to ask for. 'for that is perfect _pietas_, which before it is bent by prayer, knows how to consider the weary ones.' [here, as in many other passages of cassiodorus, _pietas_ shows signs of passing into the italian _pietà_ (= pity).] . king theodoric to the sajo tezutzat, and . king theodoric to duda, senator and comes. [sidenote: petrus assaulted by the sajo who was assigned for his protection.] [duda was also a sajo, as we see from letter . dahn ('könige der germanen' iv. , _n._ ) thinks he was comes gothorum.] both letters relate to the affair of petrus (a vir spectabilis, and probably the same whose admission to the senate is ordered by iv. ). this roman nobleman, according to a usage common under theodoric's government, has had the gothic sajo amara assigned to him as his defensor. amara, by an inversion of his functions, which the letter bitterly laments and upbraids, has turned upon his _protegé_ and even used personal violence towards him. he has drawn a sword and wounded him in the hand; and nothing but the fact that petrus was sheltered by a door saved him from losing his hand altogether. yet, notwithstanding this assault, amara has had the audacity to claim from his victim 'commodi nomine,' the usual payment made by the defended to the defender. the first letter decrees that this shall be refunded twofold, and assigns tezutzat instead of amara to the office of defender, warning him not to follow the evil example of his predecessor. the second assigns to duda the task of enquiring into the alleged assault and punishing it with the sword[ ]. [footnote : the story of this assault is a typical specimen of the style of cassiodorus, high-flown yet not really pictorial: 'ita ut ictum gladii in se demersum, aliquatenus postium retardaret objectio: subjecta est vulneri manus, quae ut in totum truncata non caderet, januarum percussa robora praestiterunt: ubi lassato impetu corusca ferri acies corporis extrema perstrinxit.'] . king theodoric to argolicus, vir illustris, praefect of the city. [sidenote: official tardiness rebuked.] a sharp rebuke to him for having (if the _suggestio_ of the clarissimus armentarius be correct) so long delayed, it is to be feared with a corrupt motive, complying with the instructions of the king to do justice in some case (not described) in which the honour of the senate is concerned. as head of the senate he ought to have been eager to examine into it, without any prompting from his master. . king theodoric to albinus, vir illustris and patrician. [sidenote: workshops may be erected above the porticus curba, by the roman forum.] 'those whom the republic has honoured should in their turn bring honour to the city. we are therefore gratified by receiving your supplication for leave to erect workshops[ ] above the porticus curba, which being situated near the domus palmata, shuts in the forum in comely fashion "in modum areae." we like the plan. the range of private dwellings will thereby be extended. a look of cheerful newness will be given to the old walls; and the presence of residents in the building will tend to preserve it from further decay. you have our permission and encouragement to proceed, if the proposed erections do not in any way interfere with public convenience or the beauty of the city.' [footnote : fabricae.] [the mss. of cassiodorus waver between curbae and curiae in the above letter. jordan ('topographie der stadt rom.' i. . ) inclines to the opinion that porticus curba denotes the portico of the secretarium of the senate, on the site of the present church of sta. martina. as the curia immediately adjoined this building, there is practically but little difference between the two readings. in either case the fabricae were to be erected so as to overlook the north-west end of the forum. it is admitted that the domus palmata was near the arch of septimius severus.] . king theodoric to aemilianus, vir venerabilis, bishop. [sidenote: an aqueduct to be promptly finished.] 'wise men should finish what they have begun, and not incur the reproach which attends half-done work. 'let your holiness therefore promptly complete what by our authority you so well began in the matter of the aqueduct, and thus most fitly provide water for your thirsting flock, imitating by labour the miracle of moses, who made water gush forth from the flinty rock.' . king theodoric to duda the sajo. [sidenote: the rights of the crown to the property of the proscribed man, tupha, to be asserted with moderation.] 'we are anxious strictly to obey the laws, and to take no advantage over our subjects in courts of justice. if a man knows that he can get his own by legal process, even from the sovereign, he is the less likely to seek it by the armed hand. the memorandum of marinus informs us that the property of tupha was long ago mortgaged to a certain joannes[ ]. but since it is quite clear that the property of a proscribed man belongs to our fiscus, we desire you to summon the widow of this joannes and his secretary januarius, "moderata executione." [footnote : 'marini relatione comperimus res tuphae apud joannem quondam sub emissione chirographi fuisse depositas.'] 'if they acknowledge that they have no right to the property let them at once restore it; but if not, let them come before the _consularis_ of campania and establish their right according to course of law. 'but let all be done without loss or prejudice to the rights of innocent persons. if any such charge be established against you, _you_ will become the offender in our eyes.' [the description of tupha as 'proscriptus' makes it probable that we are dealing with that officer of odovacar whose double treachery ( - ) so nearly caused the failure of theodoric's invasion of italy, and who finally fell in battle against his fellow-rebel, frederic the rugian. the only difficulty is the lapse of time since those events, as this letter was probably written not earlier than about ; but that is in some degree met by the word _quondam_ in the sentence quoted (_n._ , p. ).] . king theodoric to all the jews of genoa. [sidenote: privileges of the jews confirmed.] 'the true mark of _civilitas_ is the observance of law. it is this which makes life in communities possible, and which separates man from the brutes. we therefore gladly accede to your request that all the privileges which the foresight of antiquity conferred upon the jewish customs shall be renewed to you[ ], for in truth it is our great desire that the laws of the ancients shall be kept in force to secure the reverence due to us[ ]. everything which has been found to conduce to _civilitas_ should be held fast with enduring devotion.' [footnote : 'privilegia debere servari quae judaicis institutis legum provida decrevit antiquitas.'] [footnote : 'quod nos libenter annuimus qui jura veterum ad nostram cupimus reverentiam custodiri.'] . king theodoric to duda the sajo. [sidenote: buried treasure to be reclaimed for the state.] 'it is the part of true prudence to recall to the uses of commerce "the talent hidden in the earth." we therefore direct you, by this "moderata jussio," where you hear of buried treasures to proceed to the spot with suitable witnesses and reclaim for the public treasury either gold or silver, abstaining, however, from actually laying hands on the ashes of the dead[ ]. the dead can do nothing with treasure, and it is not greedy to take away what the holder of it can never mourn the loss of. [footnote : how this was to be done is not quite clear, since it is plain that this letter is really and chiefly an order for rifling _sepulchres_ in search of buried treasure.] 'eacus is said to have discovered the use of gold, and indus, king of the scythians, that of silver. they are extremely useful metals.' . king theodoric to the representatives (actores) of albinus. [sidenote: an extravagant minor. restitutio in integrum.] 'it has been wisely decided by antiquity that minors cannot make a binding contract, for they are naturally the prey of every sharper. you allege that your _patronus_ [albinus] is under age, that he is heaping up expenses instead of property, and that his raw boyhood does not know what is really for his benefit. if this be correct, and be legally proved, he is entitled to a _restitutio in integrum_' [a suit commenced through these actores for the quashing of the contracts which have been fraudulently made with the minor]. [for the _restitutio in integrum_, see cod. theod. ii. . , and vi. . . nothing seems to be expressly said in this letter about the appointment of a _curator_.] . king theodoric to faustus, praetorian praefect. a.d. - . [sidenote: remission of taxes for provincials of cottian alps.] 'a wise ruler will always lessen the weight of taxation when his subjects are weighed down by temporary poverty. therefore let your magnificence remit to the provincials of the cottian alps the _as publicum_ for this year [the third indiction], in consideration of their losses by the passage of our army. [the army of ibbas, on its march in to fight clovis, after the fall of the visigothic monarchy.] true, that army went forth with shouts of concord to _liberate_ gaul. but so a river bursting forth may irrigate and fertilise a whole country, and yet destroy the increase of that particular channel in which its waters run. 'we have earned new subjects by that campaign: we do not wish them to suffer loss by it. our own heart whispers to us the request which the subjects dare not utter to their prince.' . king theodoric to the illustrious woman theodagunda. [sidenote: theodagunda is admonished to do justice to renatus.] warns theodagunda [apparently a member of the royal family and governing some province; but what place could she hold in the roman official hierarchy?], that she must emulate the virtue of her ancestors and show prompt obedience to the royal commands. 'the lamentable petition of renatus states that, after judgment given in his favour by the king's court, he is still harassed by the litigation (not in the way of regular appeal) of inquilina, who appears to be not so much desirous of victory as anxious to ruin his adversary.' [notwithstanding the form of the name i think inquilina is male, not female.] 'you must see that this is put right at once.' . king theodoric to faustus, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: taxes must be reduced to the figure at which they stood in the days of odoacer.] 'the inhabitants of gravasi (?) and ponto (?) complain that they have been overloaded with taxes by the assessors (discussores) probus and januarius. they have bad land, and say that they really cannot cope with the taxes imposed upon them [at the last indiction?]. the former practice is to be reverted to, and they are not to be called upon to pay more than they did in the days of odoacer.' [an evidence that in one case at least the fiscal yoke of odoacer was lighter than that of his successor.] . king theodoric to theodahad, vir illustris [and nephew of the king]. [sidenote: the encroachments of theodahad repressed.] 'avarice, which holy writ declares to be "the root of all evil," is a vulgar vice which you, our kinsman, a man of amal blood, whose family is known to be royal, are especially bound to avoid[ ]. [footnote : 'amali sanguinis virum nos decet vulgare desiderium: quia genus suum conspicit esse purpuratum.'] 'the spectabilis domitius complains to us that such and such portions of his property have been seized by you with the strong hand, without any pretence of establishing a legal claim to them. 'we send the sajo duda to you, and order you on his arrival[ ], without any delay, to restore the property which you have taken possession of, with all the moveables of which you have despoiled it. [footnote : 'si momenti tempora suffragantur.' what is the meaning of this limitation?] 'if you have any claim to make to the lands in question, send a person fully informed of the facts to our comitatus, and there let the case be fairly heard. 'a high-born man should ever act according to well-ordered _civilitas_. any neglect of this principle brings upon him odium, proportioned to the oppression which the man of humbler rank conceives himself to have suffered at his hands.' . king theodoric to the representatives (actores) of probinus. [sidenote: the affair of agapeta. basilius, her husband, ordered to plead.] recurs to the case of the possessio areciretina, which agapeta, the wife of basilius, had given (or sold) to probinus, and which probinus was commanded to restore. (see letters ii. and .) the petition, now presented by the representatives of probinus, puts a somewhat different face upon the matter, and seems to show that the sale by agapeta (notwithstanding her melancholy condition of fatuity and vice) was a _bonâ fide_ one, for sufficient consideration. her husband basilius is now ordered to reply to the pleadings of the opposite party, either at the king's comitatus, or in some local court of competent jurisdiction. the king's comitatus is meant to be a blessing to his subjects, and recourse to it is not made compulsory where, on account of distance, the suitor would rather be excused from resorting to it. . king theodoric to joannes, arch-physician. [sidenote: an unjust judgment against joannes reversed.] 'a king should delight to succour the oppressed. 'you inform us that, by the devices of the spectabilis vivianus and his superior knowledge of the laws, an unjust judgment was obtained against you, in default, in the court of the vicarius of the city of rome: that vivianus himself has now renounced the world, repents of his injustice to you, and interposes no obstacle to the restitution of your rights. we therefore (if your statements shall prove to be correct) quash the sentence against you, restore you to your country and your property, and that you may be preserved from future molestation, founded on the old sentence against you, we assign you to the guardianship (tuitio) of the patrician albinus, without prejudice to the laws (salvis legibus). 'we wish that nothing contrary to _civilitas_ should be done, since our daily labour is for the repose of all.' [i presume that this letter is in fact an edict for 'restitutio in integrum.'] . king theodoric to argolicus, praefect of the city. [sidenote: the sons of velusian to have their property restored to them.] 'under a good king the loss even of a father should be less felt than with a different ruler, for the king is the father of his people. 'the petition of marcian and maximius, sons of velusian (patrician and magnificus), sets forth that they lost their father at easter; that thus the time of joy to all christians became to them a season of sorrow; that while they were immersed in their grief and incapable of attending to their affairs, "the tower of the circus and the place of the amphitheatre[ ]," which had belonged to their illustrious father, were by some heartless intriguer wrested from them, under the authority of the praefect. [footnote : can this be the amphitheatrum castrense?] 'be pleased to enquire into this matter, and if those places truly belonged to velusian, restore them to his sons. we wish to cherish rather than oppress the sons of illustrious men, who are the germ of our future senate.' . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: punishment of incendiaries who have burned a jewish synagogue.] [on the burning of the jewish synagogue. this synagogue of the jews was in the trastevere. see gregorovius i. - for a description of it. i do not know on what authority he assigns for the date of the tumult in which it was burned.] 'the propriety of manners which is characteristic of the city of rome must be upheld. to fall into the follies of popular tumult, and to set about burning their own city, is not like the roman disposition[ ]. [footnote : 'levitates quippe seditionum et ambire propriae civitatis incendium, non est velle romanum.'] 'but we are informed by count arigern[ ] that the populace of rome, enraged at the punishment inflicted on some christian servants who had murdered their jewish masters, has risen in fury and burned their synagogue to the ground[ ], idly venting on innocent buildings their anger against the men who used them. [footnote : it happens that one of the letters addressed to count arigern also refers to a jewish synagogue. see iii. .] [footnote : 'quod in dominorum caede proruperit servilis audacia: in quibus cum fuisset pro districtione publicâ resecatum, statim plebis inflammata contentio synagogam temerario duxerunt incendio concremandam.' the above is gregorovius' explanation of the somewhat enigmatical language of cassiodorus.] 'be pleased to enquire into this matter, and severely punish the authors of the tumult, who are probably few in number. 'at the same time enquire into the complaints which are brought against the jews, and if you find that there is any foundation for them, punish accordingly.' . king theodoric to the venerable antonius, bishop of pola. [sidenote: bishop antonius called upon to do justice to stephanus.] 'it is an invidious task to have to listen to complaints against the revered ministers of the church. 'but the petition of stephanus sets forth that a property, which belonged to him before the time of your predecessor, has, within the last nine months, wrongfully, and in defiance of _civilitas_, been seized by the officers of your church. if this be so, we desire you, as a matter of justice, to correct what your familiars have done amiss, and restore it to him without delay. but if you dispute his title, send a properly instructed person to plead the cause in our comitatus. 'you will be better off by having the matter enquired into and settled, than if the complaints of stephanus had never come to a hearing[ ].' [footnote : there are some technical terms in this letter the meaning of which is not clear to me: 'eam justitiae consideratione _momenti_ jure restituite supplicanti.... veruntamen si partibus vestris in _causa_ possessionis _momentaria_ vel _principali_ justitiam adesse cognoscitis.'] . king theodoric to the comites, defensores, and curiales of ticinum (pavia). [sidenote: the heruli to be forwarded on their way to ravenna.] [it is not easy to see why this order should be addressed to the inhabitants of ticinum. had the heruli crossed the alps by some pass near the modern simplon?] 'we have ordered the heruli, who are suppliants to us, to come to our comitatus at ravenna. 'provide them promptly with ships of provisions for five days, that they may at once see the difference between italy and their own hungry country[ ].' [footnote : it is probably to the same transaction that marcellinus comes refers when he says, s.a. : 'gens erulorum in terras atque civitates romanorum jussu anastasii caesaris introducta.' the words 'jussu anastasii caesaris' represent this chronicler's tendency to refer everything that is done in italy to the initiation of byzantium.] . king theodoric to marabad, vir illustris. [sidenote: the case of the wife of liberius to be reheard.] 'the spectabilis liberius[ ] complains that his wife has had an unjust judgment given against her in your court. try the case over again, associating with yourself arbitrators chosen by both parties. if it cannot so be ended, let them appoint properly instructed persons to represent them at our comitatus, if they cannot come themselves.' [footnote : possibly a son of the praefect liberius.] . king theodoric to gudisal the sajo. [sidenote: abuses of the cursus publicus.] 'if the public post-horses (veredi) are not allowed proper intervals of rest they will soon be worn out. 'we are informed by our _legati_ that these horses are constantly employed by persons who have no right to use them. 'you are therefore to reside in rome, and to put yourself in constant communication with the officers of the praefectus praetorio and the magister officiorum, so as not to allow any to leave the city using the horses of the _cursus publicus_ except the regularly commissioned agents of those two functionaries. anyone transgressing is to pay a fine of solidi (£ ) per horse; not that the injury to the animal is represented by so high a figure, but in order to punish his impertinence. our sajones, when sent with a commission, are to go straight to the mark and return, not to make pleasure-tours at the public expense; and if they disobey this order, they are to pay the same fine as that just mentioned. 'moreover, the extra horses (parhippi) are not to be weighted with a load of more than lbs. for we wish our messengers[ ] to travel in light marching order, not to make of their journey a regular domestic migration. [footnote : 'mittendarii.' a 'scrinium mittendariorum' formed part of the staff of the count of sacred largesses. see theodosian code vi. . .] 'cranes, when they are going to cross the sea, clasp little pebbles with their claws, in order to steady without overweighting themselves. why cannot those who are sent on public errands follow so good an example? every transport master[ ] who violates this rule by loading a horse with more than lbs. shall pay solidi (£ ). [footnote : 'catabulensis.' see iii. .] 'all fines levied under this edict are to go to the benefit of the postal-servants[ ], and thus the evil will, as we so often see in human affairs, furnish its own remedy.' [footnote : 'mancipes mutationum.' the 'mutationes' were the places for changing horses; there are generally two of them between each 'mansio' (hostelry). probably the horses were found by the 'mancipes mutationum.' it was therefore a sort of _corvée_.] . king theodoric to eusebius, vir illustris. [sidenote: honourable retirement of eusebius.] 'after the worries of the noisy city, and the heavy burden of your official duties, your greatness is longing to taste the sweetness of country life. when therefore you have finished your present duties, we grant you by our authority a holiday of eight months in the charming recesses of lucania [near cassiodorus' own country], to be reckoned from the time when by divine [royal?] favour you depart from the city. when those months are at an end, return with speed, much missed as you will be, to your roman habitation, to the assembly of the nobles, and to social intercourse of a kind that is worthy of your character.' . king theodoric to all the provincials and the long-haired men[ ], the defensores and the curiales residing in suavia[ ]. [footnote : _capillatis._ the only passage which throws a light on this name--and that is a doubtful one--is jordanes, de rebus geticis xi. after describing the _pileati_, the tiara-wearing priests of the getae, he says: 'reliquam vero gentem capillatos dicere jussit [diceneus] quod nomen gothi pro magno suscipientes adhuc hodie suis cantionibus reminiscuntur.'] [footnote : _suavia_ is nearly equivalent to the modern sclavonia, between the rivers drave and save.] [sidenote: fridibad to be governor of suavia, and to punish freebooters.] 'the king's orders must be vigorously executed, that terror may be struck into the hearts of the lawless, and that those who have suffered violence may begin to hope for better days. often the threat of punishment does more to quiet a country than punishment itself. therefore, under divine guidance, we have appointed fridibad to be your governor. 'he will punish cattle-lifters with due severity, will cut off murderers, condemn thieves, and render you, who are now torn by presumptuous iniquity, safe from the daring attempts of villains. live like a settled people; live like men who have learned the lessons of morality; let neither nationality nor rank be alleged as an excuse from these duties. if any man gives himself up to wicked courses, he must needs undergo chastisement.' . king theodoric to faustus, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: remission of taxes for campanians who have suffered from an eruption of vesuvius.] 'the campanians complain that their fields have been devastated by an eruption of vesuvius, and ask in consequence for a remission of tribute. [this eruption is assigned--i do not know on what authority--to the year [ ].] [footnote : the passage in marcellinus comes, s.a. , which at first sight seems to describe an eruption taking place in that year, really describes the _commemoration_ of the eruption of . see following note.] 'let your greatness send men of proved integrity to the territories of neapolis and nola, who may examine the ravaged lands for themselves, and proportion the relief granted, to the amount of damage done in each case. 'that province is visited at intervals by this terrible calamity, as if to mar its otherwise perfect happiness. there is one favourable feature in the visitation. it does not come wholly unawares. for some time before, the mountain groans with the strife of nature going on inside it, and it seems as if an angry spirit within would terrify all the neighbourhood by his mighty roar. then the air is darkened by its foul exhalations; hot ashes scudding along the sea, a shower of drops of dust upon the land, tell to all italy, to the transmarine provinces, to the world, from what calamity campania is suffering[ ]. [footnote : in the eruption of (apparently the last great eruption previous to ), the ashes were carried as far as byzantium, the inhabitants of which city instituted a yearly religious service in memory of the event: 'vesuvius mons campaniae torridus intestinis ignibus aestuans exusta evomuit viscera, nocturnisque in die tenebris incumbentibus, _omnem europae faciem minuto contexit pulvere_. hujus metuendi memoriam cineris byzantii annue celebrant viii idus novembris.' the eruption was accompanied by widespread earthquake: 'in asia aliquantae civitates vel oppida terrae motu collapsa sunt' (marcellinus comes, sub anno).] 'go nearer: you will see as it were rivers of dust flowing, and glowing streams of barren sand moving over the country. you see and wonder: the furrows of the fields are suddenly lifted to a level with the tops of the trees; the country, which but now was dressed in a robe of gladsome greenness, is laid waste by sudden and mournful heat. and yet, even those sandy tracts of pumice-stone which the mountain vomits forth, dry and burnt up as they appear, have their promise of fertility. there are germs within them which will one day spring to life, and re-clothe the mountain side which they have wasted. 'how strange that one mountain alone should thus terrify the whole world! other mountains may be seen with silently glowing summits; this alone announces itself to distant lands by darkened skies and changed air. so it still goes on, shedding its dusty dews over the land; ever parting with its substance, yet a mountain still undiminished in height and amplitude. who that sees those mighty blocks in the plain would believe that they had boiled over from the depths of that distant hill, that they had been tossed like straws upon the wind by the angry spirit of the mountain? 'therefore let your prudence so manage the enquiry that those who have really suffered damage shall be relieved, while no room is left for fraud.' . king theodoric to symmachus, patrician[ ]. [footnote : the father-in-law of boethius.] [sidenote: commends the public spirit of symmachus, as shown in the restoration of pompey's theatre.] commends him for the diligence and skill with which he has decorated rome with new buildings--especially in the suburbs, which no one would distinguish from the city except for the occasional glimpses of pleasant fields; and still more for his restoration of the massive ruins of past days[ ], chiefly the theatre of pompeius. [footnote : we have here a striking description of the massive strength of the public buildings of rome: '[videmus] caveas illas saxis pendentibus apsidatas ita juncturis absconditis in formas pulcherrimas convenisse, ut cryptas magis excelsi montis crederes quam aliquid fabricatum esse judicares.'] as the letter is addressed to a learned man, it seems a suitable opportunity to explain why antiquity reared this mighty pile. accordingly a very long digression follows on the origin, progress, and decline of tragedy, comedy, and pantomime. it is remarked incidentally that pompeius seems to have derived his appellation _magnus_ chiefly from the building of this wonderful theatre. the expense which symmachus has been put to in these vast works is to be refunded to him by the _praepositus sacri cubiculi_, that he may still have the glory of the work, but that the king may have done his due part in preserving the memorials of antiquity. book v. containing forty-four letters written by cassiodorus in the name of theodoric. . king theodoric to the king of the vandals[ ]. [footnote : no doubt thrasamund, who married theodoric's sister. he reigned from to .] [sidenote: the king of the vandals is thanked for his presents.] 'the swords which you have sent us are most beautiful: so sharp that they will cut other weapons; so bright that they reflect with a sort of iron light[ ] the face of the beholder; with the two blades descending to their edges with such absolute equality of slope, that you would fancy them the result of the furnace rather than of the whetstone[ ]; in the middle, between the blades, channels carved which are filled in with beautiful enamel of various colours[ ]. [footnote : 'ut speculum quoddam virorum faciat ferream lucem.'] [footnote : 'quarum margines in acutum tali aequalitate descendunt, ut non limis compositae, sed igneis fornacibus credantur effusae.'] [footnote : 'harum media pulchris alveis excavata, quibusdam videntur crispari posse vermiculis, ubi tanta varietatis umbra concludit, ut intextum magis credas variis coloribus lucidum metallum.'] 'along with these arms you have also sent us musical instruments of ebony, and slave boys of beautiful whiteness. 'we thank you heartily, send by a and b, our ambassadors, presents of equal value; and hope that mutual concord will always unite our states.' . king theodoric to the haesti. [sidenote: the haesti, dwellers by the baltic. their present of amber.] [these are the aestii of tacitus, dwelling in or on the south border of the country which is still called esthonia. tacitus also mentions their quest of amber[ ].] [footnote : germ. : 'ergo jam dextro suevici maris litore aestiorum gentes alluuntur, quibus ritus habitusque suevorum, lingua britannicae propior.... sed et mare scrutantur ac soli omnium sucinum quod ipsi glesum vocant, inter vada atque in ipso littore legunt.' then follows an account of the nature of amber, and a history of its supposed origin, from which cassiodorus has borrowed in this letter.] 'it is gratifying to us to know that you have heard of our fame, and have sent ambassadors who have pressed through so many strange nations to seek our friendship. 'we have received the amber which you have sent us. you say that you gather this lightest of all substances from the shores of the ocean, but how it comes thither you know not. but, as an author named cornelius [tacitus] informs us, it is gathered in the innermost islands of the ocean, being formed originally of the juice of a tree (whence its name _succinum_[ ]), and gradually hardened by the heat of the sun. [footnote : cassiodorus apparently spells this word with two c's. the more usual spelling is with one.] 'thus it becomes an exuded metal, a transparent softness, sometimes blushing with the colour of saffron, sometimes glowing with flame-like clearness[ ]. then, gliding down to the margin of the sea, and further purified by the rolling of the tides, it is at length transported to your shores to be cast up upon them. we have thought it better to point this out to you, lest you should imagine that your supposed secrets have escaped our knowledge. [footnote : 'modo croceo colore rubens, modo flammea claritate pinguescens.'] 'we send you some presents by our ambassadors, and shall be glad to receive further visits from you by the road which you have thus opened up, and to show you future favours.' [the collection of amber is also noticed by pliny ('nat. hist.' . ). it is interesting to observe that he there, on the authority of pytheas, attributes to the guttones dwelling on the baltic shore the collection of amber, and its sale to the teutones. these guttones were, if we are right in accepting jordanes' account of the gothic migrations, themselves ancestors of the ostrogoths.] . king theodoric to honoratus, vir illustris, quaestor. . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: honoratus, brother of decoratus, is made quaestor.] the usual pair of letters on the promotion of honoratus to the quaestorship. he succeeds his brother decoratus, whose early death theodoric regrets. the date of the letters is the third indiction, september , . the writer remarks on the prophetic instinct[ ] of the parents, who named these two sons, destined to future eminence, decoratus and honoratus. decoratus was originally an advocate at rome. his services were often sought by men of consular rank, and before his admission to the senate he had had a patrician for his client in a very celebrated case[ ]. [footnote : we have here a remark on unconscious prophecies: 'loqui datur quod nos sensisse nescimus: sed post casum reminiscimur, quod ignorantes veraciter dixeramus.'] [footnote : 'inferior gradu praestabat viris consularibus se patronum et cum honoribus vestris impar haberetur, patricius ei dictus est in celeberrima cognitione susceptus.' the last part of this sentence is very obscure.] when he became quaestor he distinguished himself by his excellent qualities. 'he stood beside us, under the light of our genius, bold but reverent; silent at the right time, fluent when there was need of fluency. he kept our secrets as if he had forgotten them; he remembered every detail of our orders as if he had written them down. thus was he ever an eminent lightener of our labours[ ].' [footnote : decoratus is called by boethius, who was his colleague in some office, 'a wretched buffoon and informer' (nequissimus scurra et delator. cons. phil. iii. ). but ennodius addresses him in friendly and cordial language (epist. iv. ). his epitaph, which mentions his spoletan origin, is of course laudatory: 'nam fessis tribuit requiem, miseros que levavit, justitiae cultor, largus et hospes erat.' (quoted in the notes to ennodius in migne's patrologia.)] the past career of the younger brother, honoratus, who has been advocate at spoleto, and has had to contend with the corrupt tendencies of provincial judges, full of their little importance, and removed from the wholesome control which the opinion of the senate exercised upon them at rome, is then sketched; and the hope is expressed that, in the words of the virgilian quotation[ ], this bough upon the family tree will be found as goodly as that which it has untimely lost. [footnote : 'primo avulso non deficit alter' (aen. vi. ).] [sidenote: duties of the quaestorship.] the letter to the senate has an interesting passage on the duties and responsibilities of the quaestor. 'it is only men whom we consider to be of the highest learning that we raise to the dignity of the quaestorship, such men as are fitted to be interpreters of the laws and sharers of our counsels. this is an honour which neither riches nor high birth by itself can procure, only learning joined with prudence. in granting all other dignities we confer favours, but from the holder of this we ever receive them. he is favoured to have a share in our anxieties; he enters in by the door of our thoughts; he is intimately acquainted with the breast in which the cares of the whole state are weighed. think what judgment you ought to form of a man who is partaker of such a confidence. from him we require skill in the laws; to him flow together all the prayers of all suitors, and (a thing more precious than any treasure) to him is committed our own reputation for _civilitas_. under a just quaestor the mind of an innocent man is at rest: only the wicked become anxious as to the success of their evil designs; and thus the bad lose their hope of plunder, while more earnestness is shown in the practice of virtue. it is his to safeguard the just rights of all men: temperate in expenditure, lavish in his zeal for justice, incapable of deception, prompt in succour. he serves that sovereign mind before which all bow: through his lips must he speak who has not an equal in the land.' . king theodoric to the sajo mannila. [sidenote: abuses of the cursus publicus.] repeats the injunctions given in letter iv. against improper use of the public post-horses, and overloading of the extra horses. the fines imposed are the same as in that letter [with the addition of a fine of two ounces of gold (about £ s.) for overloading]; the examples from natural history are similar. 'the very bird when weighted with a load flies slowly. ships though they cannot feel their toils, yet move tardily when they are filled with cargo. what can the poor quadruped do when pressed by too great burden? it succumbs.' but apparently this rule against overloading is not to apply to praepositi (provincial governors?), since 'reverenda antiquitas' has given them special rights over the _cursus publicus_. . king theodoric to stabularius, comitiacus[ ]. [footnote : officer of the court. see vi. .] . king theodoric to joannes, vir clarissimus, arcarius [treasurer]. [sidenote: default in payments to treasury made by thomas. his property assigned to his son-in-law joannes.] 'the _vir honestus_, thomas, has long been a defaulter (reliquator) in respect of the indictions payable for certain farms which he has held under the king's house in apulia[ ], and this default has now reached the sum of , solidi (£ , ). repeatedly summoned to pay, he always procrastinates, and we can get no satisfaction out of him. the petition of joannes, who is son-in-law to thomas, informs us that he is willing to pay the , solidi due, if we will make over to him the said farms, and all the property of his father-in-law. this we therefore now do, reserving to thomas the right to pay the debt at any time before the next kalends of september, and thus to redeem his property. failing such payment, the property is to pass finally into the hands of joannes, on his paying the , solidi to the illustrious count of the patrimony [possibly stabularius]. [footnote : 'thomatem domus nostrae certa praedia suscepisse sed eum male administrando suscepta usque ad decem millia solidorum de indictionibus illa atque illa reliquatorem publicis rationibus extitisse.' it is not quite clear whether the debt is due as what we should call rent or as land-tax. perhaps the debt had accumulated under both heads.] 'it may be some little consolation to thomas to reflect that after all it is his son-in-law who enters into possession of his goods.' [dahn ('könige der germanen' iii. ) remarks on this letter: 'but even the well-meaning theodoric takes steps in the interests of substantial justice which from a juristic point of view it would be hard to justify.... evidently here the king, in his consideration of what was practically just, has decided according to caprice, not according to right; for the fiscus could strictly only be repaid its debt out of the property of the defaulter, and hold the arcarius (joannes) responsible for the balance' (for which dahn thinks he had already made himself liable). i do not quite agree with this view. it seems to me that thomas was hopelessly bankrupt (the debt was , solidi, not , , as stated by dahn), and the fiscus virtually sells the bankrupt's estate to his son-in-law, for him to make of it what he can.] . king theodoric to anastasius the consular. [sidenote: transport of marble from faenza to ravenna.] 'we rely upon your sublimity's zeal and prudence to see that the required blocks of marble are forwarded from faventia (faenza) to ravenna, without any extortion from private individuals; so that, on the one hand, our desire for the adornment of that city may be gratified, and on the other, there may be no cause for complaint on the part of our subjects.' . king theodoric to the possessores of feltria. [sidenote: new city to be built in district of trient.] 'we have ordered the erection of a new city in the territory of tridentum (trient). as the work is great and the inhabitants few, we order you all to assist and build each your appointed length (pedatura) of wall, for which you will receive suitable pay.' [this use of the word _pedatura_ is found in vegetius, 'epitoma rei militaris' iii. , and is illustrated by the centurial stones on the two great roman walls in britain, recording the number of feet accomplished by each century of soldiers (see 'archaeologia aeliana,' vol. ix. p. ; paper by mr. clayton).] 'none, not even the servants of the royal house (divina domus), are excepted from this order.' . king theodoric to the sajo veranus. . king theodoric to the gepidae, on their march to gaul. [sidenote: payment to gepidae on their march to gaul.] 'we desire that our soldiers should always be well paid, and that they should never become the terror of the country which they are ordered to defend. do you therefore, sajo veranus, cause the gepid troops whom we have ordered to come to the defence of gaul, to march in all peace and quietness through venetia and liguria. 'you gepidae shall receive three solidi (£ s.) per week; and we trust that thus supplied you will everywhere buy your provisions, and not take them by force. 'we generally give the soldiers their pay in kind, but in this case, for obvious reasons, we think it better to pay them in money, and let them buy for themselves. 'if their waggons are becoming shaky with the long journey, or their beasts of burden weary, let them exchange for sound waggons and fresh beasts with the inhabitants of the country, but on such terms that the latter shall not regret the transaction.' [does this payment of three solidi mean per head? that would be an enormously high rate of pay. sartorius (p. ) feels the difficulty so strongly that he suggests that this was the pay given to the whole troop, whose number was not large; but 'multitudo' seems hostile to this hypothesis[ ]. possibly the high cost of provisions in the alpine mountain-country may help to explain this unheard-of rate of pay to common soldiers.] [footnote : 'ut multitudinem gepidarum quam fecimus ad gallias custodiae causâ properare, per venetiam atque liguriam sub omni facias moderatione transire.'] . king theodoric to theodahad, vir illustris [nephew of the king]. [sidenote: avarice and injustice of theodahad.] 'if all are bound to seek justice and to avoid ignoble gains, most especially are they thus bound who pride themselves on their close relationship to us. 'the heirs of the illustrious argolicus [probably the praefect of rome] and the clarissimus amandianus complain that the estate[ ] of palentia, which we generously gave them to console them for the loss of the casa arbitana, has been by your servants, for no cause, unbecomingly invaded; and thus you, who should have shown an example of glorious moderation, have caused the scandal of high-handed spoliation. wherefore, if this be true, let your greatness at once restore what has been taken away; and if you consider that you have any claims on the land, come and assert them in our comitatus. even success yonder is injurious to your fame; but here, after full trial of the case and hearing of witnesses, no one will believe that any injustice has been done if your cause should triumph.' [footnote : 'massa;' cf. the american 'block.'] [the republication of this letter at the close of his official life shows what was cassiodorus' opinion of theodahad, though he had served under him.] . king theodoric to eutropius and acretius. [sidenote: commissariat.] 'we rely upon you to collect the prescribed rations and deliver them to the soldiers. it is most important that they should be regularly supplied, and that there should be no excuse for pillage, so hard to check when once an army has begun to practise it.' . king theodoric to severi(a)nus[ ], vir illustris ( - ). [footnote : in the next letter the same official is called severinus.] [sidenote: financial abuses in suavia.] 'we send you to redress the long-standing grievances of the possessores of the province of suavia, to which we have not yet been able to apply a remedy. '( ) it appears that some of the chief possessores are actually making a profit out of the taxes, imposing heavy burdens on their poorer neighbours and not honestly accounting for the receipts to us. see that this is put right, that the land-tax (assis[ ] publicus) is fairly and equitably reimposed according to the ability of each possessor, and that those who have been oppressing their neighbours heal the wounds which they have made. [footnote : cassiodorus uses the rare nominative form 'assis.'] '( ) see also that a strict account is rendered by all defensores, curiales, and possessores of any receipts on behalf of the public treasury. if a possessor can show that he paid his tax (tributarius solidus) for the now expired eighth indiction (a.d. - ), and the money has not reached our treasury, find out the defaulter and punish his crime. '( ) similarly with sums disbursed by one of the clerks of our treasury[ ], for the relief of the province, which have not reached their destination. [footnote : 'tabularius a cubiculo nostro.'] '( ) men who were formerly barbarians[ ], who have married roman wives and acquired property in land, are to be compelled to pay their indictions and other taxes to the public treasury just like any other provincials. [footnote : 'antiqui barbari qui romanis mulieribus elegerint nuptiali foedere sociari, quolibet titulo praedia quaesiverint, fiscum possessi cespitis persolvere, ac super indictitiis oneribus parere cogantur.'] '( ) judges are to visit each town (municipium) once in the year, and are not entitled to claim from such towns more than three days' maintenance. our ancestors wished that the circuits of the judges should be a benefit, not a burden, to the provincials. '( ) it is alleged that some of the servants of the count of the goths and of the vice-dominus (?) have levied black-mail on some of the provincials. property so taken must be at once restored and the offenders punished. '( ) enter all your proceedings under this commission in official registers (polyptycha), both for your own protection and for the sake of future reference, to prevent the recurrence of similar abuses.' [a long and interesting letter, but with some obscure passages.] . king theodoric to all the possessores in suavia. [sidenote: on the same subject.] 'although our comitatus is always ready to redress the grievances of our subjects, yet, on account of the length of the journey from your province hither, we have thought good to send the illustrious and magnificent severinus to you to enquire into your complaints on the spot. he is a man fully imbued with our own principles of government, and he has seen how greatly we have at heart the administration of justice. we therefore doubt not that he will soon put right whatever has been done wrong in your province; and we have published our "oracles" [the previous letter, containing severinus' patent of appointment], that all may know upon what principles he is to act, and that those who have grievances against the present functionaries may learn their rights.' . king theodoric to abundantius, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: formation of a navy.] 'by divine inspiration we have determined to raise a navy which may both ensure the arrival of the cargoes of public corn and may, if need be, combat the ships of an enemy. for, that italy, a country abounding in timber, should not have a navy of her own hath often stricken us with regret. 'let your greatness therefore give directions for the construction of , _dromones_ (swift cutters). wherever cypresses and pines are found near to the sea-shore, let them be bought at a suitable price. 'then as to the levy of sailors: any fitting man, if a slave, must be hired of his master, or bought at a reasonable price. if free, he is to receive solidi (£ ) as donative, and will have his rations during the term of service. 'even those who were slaves are to be treated in the same way, "since it is a kind of freedom to serve the ruler of the state[ ];" and are to receive, according to their condition, two or three solidi (£ s. or £ s.) of bounty money[ ]. [footnote : 'quando libertatis genus est servire rectori.'] [footnote : 'arrharum nomine.'] 'fishermen, however, are not to be enlisted in this force, since we lose with regret one whose vocation it is to provide us with luxuries; and moreover one kind of training is required for him who has to face the stormy wind, and another for him who need only fish close to shore.' . king theodoric to abundantius, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: on the same subject.] 'we praise you for your prompt fulfilment of the orders contained in the previous letter. you have built a fleet almost as quickly as ordinary men would sail one. the model of the triremes, revealing the number of the rowers but concealing their faces, was first furnished by the argonauts. so too the sail, that flying sheet[ ] which wafts idle men to their destination quicker than swiftest birds can fly, was first invented by the lorn isis, when she set off on her wanderings through the world to find her lost son apochran. [footnote : 'linum volatile.'] 'now that we have our fleet, there is no need for the greek to fasten a quarrel upon us, or for the african [the vandal] to insult us[ ]. with envy they see that we have now stolen from them the secret of their strength. [footnote : 'non habet quod nobis graecus imputet aut afer insultet.'] 'let all the fleet be assembled at ravenna on the next ides of june. let our own padus send his home-born navy to the sea, his river-nurtured firs to battle with the winds of ocean. 'but there is one suggestion of yours of great importance, and which must be diligently acted upon, namely the removal of the nets whereby the fishermen at present impede the channels of the following rivers: mincius, ollius (oglio), anser (serchio), arno, tiber. let the river lie open for the transit of ships; let it suffice for the appetite of man to seek for delicacies in the ordinary way, not by rustic artifice to hinder the freedom of the stream.' . king theodoric to uvilias [willias?], vir illustris and count of the patrimony. . king theodoric to gudinand, a sajo. . king theodoric to avilf, a sajo. [sidenote: on the same subject.] these three letters all relate to the same subject as the two preceding ones--the formation of a navy, and the _rendezvous_ of ships and sailors at ravenna on the ides of june. the count of the patrimony is courteously requested to see if there is any timber suitable for the purposes of the navy, growing in the royal estates along the banks of the po. the sajones are ordered in more brusque and peremptory fashion: gudinand to collect the sailors at ravenna on the appointed day; and avilf to collect timber along the banks of the po, with as little injury to the possessors as possible (not, however, apparently paying them anything for it), to keep his hands clean from extortion and fraud, and to pull up the stake-nets in the channels of the five rivers mentioned in letter ; 'for we all know that men ought to fish with nets, not with hedges, and the opposite practice shows detestable greediness.' . king theodoric to capuanus, senator. . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: capuanus appointed rector decuriarum.] [on the appointment of capuanus to the office of rector of the guilds (rector decuriarum). the guilds (decuriae) of the city of rome--not to be confounded with the provincial _curiae_, membership in which was at this time a burden rather than an advantage--enjoyed several special privileges. we find from the theodosian code, lib. xiv. tit. , that there were decuriae of the _librarii_, _fiscales_, _censuales_. the _decuria scribarum_ is perhaps the same as the _decuria librariorum_. i use the word guilds, which seems best to describe a body of this kind; but it will be seen from their names that these guilds are not of a commercial character, but are rather concerned with the administration of justice. some of them must have discharged the duties of attorneys, others of inland revenue officers, others acted as clerks to register the proceedings of the senate, others performed the mere mechanical work of copying, which is now undertaken by a law stationer. it was ordained by a law of constantius and julian ( ) that no one should enter the first class in these decuriae[ ] unless he were a trained and practised literary man. [footnote : 'locum primi ordinis.'] the office which in the theodosian code is called _judex decuriarum_ seems here to be called _rector_.] the young capuanus has distinguished himself as a advocate both before the senate and other tribunals. there has been a certain diffidence and hesitation in his manner, especially when he was dealing with common subjects; but he always warmed with his peroration, and the same man who even stammered in discussing some trifling detail became fluent, nay eloquent, when the graver interests of his client were at stake. when he saw that the judge was against him he did not lose heart, but, by praising his justice and impartiality, gradually coaxed him into a more favourable mood. on one memorable occasion, when a certain document was produced which appeared hostile, he boldly challenged the accuracy of the copy [made probably by one of the _decuria librariorum_] and insisted on seeing the original. this young advocate is now appointed _rector decuriarum_, and thus accorded the privilege of seniority over many men who are much older than himself. he is exhorted to treat them with all courtesy, to remember the importance of accuracy and fidelity in the execution of his duties and those of the _decuriales_ under him, on whose correct transcription of documents the property, the liberty, nay even the life of their fellow-subjects may depend. especially he is exhorted to remember his own challenge of the accuracy of a copied document, that he may not ever find that memorable oration of his brought up against himself. the senate is exhorted to give the young official a kindly welcome. it will now devolve upon him to report with praiseworthy accuracy the proceedings of that body, the most celebrated in the whole world. he who has often pleaded before them the cause of the humble and weak, will now have to introduce consulars to their assembly. it is expected that his eloquence will grow and his stammer will disappear, now that he is clothed with a more dignified office. 'freedom nourishes words, but fear frequently interrupts their plenteous flow.' . king theodoric to abundantius, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: archery drill.] 'tata the sajo is ordered to proceed to the illustrious count julian, with the young archers whom he has drilled, that they may practise on the field the lessons which they have learned in the gymnasium. let your greatness provide them with rations and ships according to custom.' [the place to which this expedition was directed does not seem to be stated.] . king theodoric to the senator epiphanius, consularis of dalmatia. [sidenote: property of a widow dying intestate and without heirs to be claimed for the state.] 'we are informed that joanna, the wife of andreas, having succeeded to her husband's estate, has died intestate without heirs. her property ought therefore to lapse to our treasury[ ], but it is being appropriated, so we are informed, by divers persons who have no claim to it. [footnote : 'quia caduca bona fisco nostro competere legum cauta decreverunt.'] 'enquire into this matter; and if it be as we are informed, reclaim for our treasury so legitimate a possession. we should consider ourselves guilty of negligence if we omitted to take possession of that which, without harming anyone, so obviously comes in to lighten the public burdens. 'but if you find the facts different to these, by all means leave the present owners in quiet possession. the secure enjoyment by our subjects of that which is lawfully theirs we hold to be our truest patrimony.' . king theodoric to bacauda[ ], vir sublimis. [footnote : the name is a peculiar one, reminding us of the bacaudae, who for more than a century waged a sort of servile war in gaul against the officers of the empire. it is not probable, however, that there is any real connection between them and the receiver of this letter.] [sidenote: bacauda receives the office of tribunus voluptatum for life.] 'by way of support for your declining years we appoint you, for life, _tribunus voluptatum_ [minister of public amusement] at milan. 'it is a new principle in the public service[ ] to give any man a life-tenure of his office; but you will now not have to fear the interference of any successor, and your mind being at ease about your own future, you will be able to minister to the pleasures of the people with a smiling face.' [footnote : 'quod est in reipublicae _militiâ_ novum.' observe the use of militia for civil service.] . king theodoric to all the goths settled in picenum and samnium. [sidenote: the goths summoned to the royal presence.] 'the presence of the sovereign doubles the sweetness of his gifts, and that man is like one dead whose face is not known to his lord[ ]. come therefore by god's assistance, come all into our presence on the eighth day before the ides of june (june th), there solemnly to receive our royal largesse. but let there be no excesses by the way, no plundering the harvest of the cultivators nor trampling down their meadows, since for this cause do we gladly defray the expense of our armies that _civilitas_ may be kept intact by armed men.' [footnote : 'nam pene similis est mortuo qui a suo dominante nescitur.' a motto more suited to the presence-chamber of byzantium than the camp-fires of a gothic king.] . king theodoric to guduim, sajo. [sidenote: the same.] 'order all the captains of thousands[ ] of picenum and samnium to come to our court, that we may bestow the wonted largesse on our goths. we enquire diligently into the deeds of each of our soldiers, that none may lose the credit of any exploit which he has performed in the field. on the other hand, let the coward tremble at the thought of coming into our presence. even this fear may hereafter make him brave against the enemy.' [footnote : 'millenarii.' cf. the [greek: chiliarchoi], who, as procopius tells us, were appointed by gaiseric over the vandals; also the _thusundifaths_ of ulfilas.] . king theodoric to carinus, vir illustris. [sidenote: invitation to court.] 'granting your request, and also satisfying our own desire for your companionship, we invite you to our court.' . king theodoric to neudes, vir illustris. [sidenote: a blind gothic warrior enslaved.] 'our pity is greatly moved by the petition of ocer, a blind goth, who has come by the help of borrowed sight to _feel_ the sweetness of our clemency, though he cannot see our presence. 'he asserts that he, a free goth, who once followed our armies, has, owing to his misfortune, been reduced to slavery by gudila and oppas. strange excess of impudence to make that man their servant, before whose sword they had assuredly trembled had he possessed his eyesight! he pleads that count pythias has already pronounced against the claims of his pretended masters. if you find that this is so, restore him at once to freedom, and warn those men not to dare to repeat their oppression of the unfortunate.' . king theodoric to gudui[m], vir sublimis [and dux]. [sidenote: servile tasks imposed on free goths by a duke.] 'we expect those whom we choose as dukes to work righteousness. costula and daila, men who by the blessing of god rejoice in the freedom of our goths, complain that servile tasks are imposed upon them by you. we do not do this ourselves, nor will we allow anyone else to do it. if you find that the grievance is correctly stated rectify it at once, or our anger will turn against the duke who thus abuses his power.' . king theodoric to decoratus, vir devotus (?). [for the career of decoratus see v. and .] [sidenote: arrears of siliquaticum to be enforced.] 'thomas, vir clarissimus, complains that he cannot collect the arrears of siliquaticum from certain persons in apulia and calabria. 'do you therefore summon mark the presbyter, andreas, simeonius, and the others whose names are set forth in the accompanying schedule, to come into your presence, using no unnecessary force[ ] in your summons. if they cannot clear themselves of this debt to the public treasury, they must be forced to pay.' [footnote : 'servata in omnibus civilitate.'] [the arrears are said to be for the th, th, th, st, nd, and th indictiones; i.e. probably for the years , , , , , . i cannot account for this curious order in which the years are arranged, which seems to suggest some corruption of the text. probably this letter was written about .] . king theodoric to brandila (cir. - ). [see remarks on this letter in dahn ('könige der germanen' iv. - ); he claims it as a proof that gothic law still existed for the goths in italy.] [sidenote: assault of the wife of brandila on the wife of patzenes.] 'times without number has patzenes laid his complaint upon us, to wit that while he was absent on the recent successful expedition[ ] your wife procula fell upon his wife [regina], inflicted upon her three murderous blows, and finally left her for dead, the victim having only escaped by the supposed impossibility of her living. now therefore, if you acknowledge the fact to be so, you are to consult your own honour by inflicting summary punishment as a husband on your wife, that we may not hear of this complaint again[ ]. but if you deny the fact, you are to bring your said wife to our comitatus and there prove her innocence.' [footnote : into gaul; see next letter.] [footnote : 'atque ideo decretis te praesentibus admonemus, ut si factum evidenter agnoscis, delatam querimoniam, pudori tuo consulens, _maritali districtione redarguas_; quatenus ex eâdem causâ ad nos querela justa non redeat.'] . king theodoric to duke wilitanch. [containing the explanation of procula's violence to regina]. [sidenote: adulterous connection between brandila and the wife of patzenes.] 'patzenes brings before us a most serious complaint: that during his absence in the gaulish campaign, brandila dared to form an adulterous connection with his wife regina, and to go through the form of marriage with her. 'whose honour will be safe if advantage is thus to be taken with impunity of the absense of a brave defender of his country? alas for the immodesty of women! they might learn virtue even from the chaste example of the cooing turtle-dove, who when once deprived by misfortune of her mate, never pairs again with another. 'let your sublimity compel the parties accused to come before you for examination, and if the charge be true, if these shameless ones were speculating on the soldier of the republic not returning from the wars, if they were hoping, as they must have hoped, for general collapse and ruin in order to hide their shame, then proceed against them as our laws against adulterers dictate[ ], and thus vindicate the rights of all husbands.' [footnote : 'et rerum veritate discussâ _sicut jura nostra praecipiunt_, in adulteros maritorum favore resecetur.'] [if these laws were, as is probable, those contained in the _edictum theodorici_, the punishment for both the guilty parties was death, § , .] . king theodoric to abundantius, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: endless evasions of frontosus. the nature of the chameleon.] 'frontosus, acting worthily of his name [the shameless-browed one], confessed to having embezzled a large sum of public money, but promised that, if a sufficient interval were allowed him, he would repay it. times without number has this interval expired and been renewed, and still he does not pay. when he is arrested he trembles with fear, and will promise anything; as soon as he is liberated he seems to forget every promise that he has made. he changes his words, like the chameleon, that little creature which in the shape of a serpent is distinguished by a gold-coloured head, and has all the rest of its body of a pale green. this little beast when it meets the gaze of men, not being gifted with speed of flight, confused with its excess of timidity, changes its colours in marvellous variety, now azure, now purple, now green, now dark blue. the chameleon, again, may be compared to the pandian gem [sapphire?], which flashes with all sorts of lights and colours while you hold it still in your hand. 'such then is the mind of frontosus. he may be rightly compared to proteus, who when he was laid hold of, appeared in every shape but his own, roared as a lion, hissed as a serpent, or foamed away in watery waves, all in order to conceal his true shape of man. 'since this is his character, when you arrest him, first stop his mouth from promising, for his facile nature is ready with all sorts of promises which he has no chance of performing. then ascertain what he can really pay at once, and keep him bound till he does it. he must not be allowed to think that he can get the better of us with his tricks.' . king theodoric to count luvirit, and ampelius. [sidenote: fraudulent ship-owners to be punished.] 'when we were in doubt about the food supply of rome, we judged it proper that spain should send her cargoes of wheat hither, and the vir spectabilis marcian collected supplies there for this purpose. his industry, however, was frustrated by the greed of the shipowners, who, disliking the necessary delay, slipped off and disposed of the grain for their own profit. little as we like harshness, this offence must be punished. we have therefore directed catellus and servandus (viri strenui) to collect from these shipmasters the sum of , solidi (£ s.), inasmuch as they appear to have received: 'from the sale of the corn solidi. 'and from the fares of passengers " ------ ' , " 'let your sublimity assist in the execution of this order.' . king theodoric to starcedius, vir sublimis. [sidenote: honourable discharge.] 'you tell us that your body, wearied out with continual labour, is no longer equal to the fatigues of our glorious campaigns, and you therefore ask to be released from the necessity of further military service. we grant your request, but stop your donative; because it is not right that you should consume the labourer's bread in idleness. we shall extend to you our protection from the snares of your adversaries, and allow no one to call you a deserter, since you are not one[ ].' [footnote : this is perhaps a specimen of the 'honesta missio' of which we read in the theodosian code xii. . , .] . king theodoric to the jews of milan. [sidenote: rights of the jewish synagogue not to be invaded by christians.] 'for the preservation of _civilitas_ the benefits of justice are not to be denied even to those who are recognised as wandering from the right way in matters of faith. 'you complain that you are often wantonly attacked, and that the rights pertaining to your synagogue are disregarded[ ]. we therefore give you the needed protection of our mildness, and ordain that no ecclesiastic shall trench on the privileges of your synagogue, nor mix himself up in your affairs. but let the two communities keep apart, as their faiths are different: you on your part not attempting to do anything _incivile_ against the rights of the said church. [footnote : 'nonnullorum vos frequenter causamini praesumptione laceratos et quae ad synagogam vestram pertinent perhibetis jura rescindi.'] 'the law of thirty years' prescription, which is a world-wide custom[ ], shall enure for your benefit also. [footnote : 'tricennalis humano generi patrona praescriptio vobis jure servabitur; nec conventionalia vos irrationabiliter praecipimus sustinere dispendia.' i do not know what is meant by 'conventionalia dispendia.'] 'but why, oh jew, dost thou petition for peace and quietness on earth when thou canst not find that rest which is eternal[ ]?' [footnote : 'sed quid, judaeo, supplicans temporalem quietem quaeris si aeternam requiem invenire non possis.'] . king theodoric to all cultivators[ ]. [footnote : 'universis possessoribus.'] [sidenote: shrubs obstructing the aqueduct of ravenna to be rooted up.] 'the aqueducts are an object of our special care. we desire you at once to root up the shrubs growing in the signine channel[ ], which will before long become big trees scarcely to be hewn down with the axe, and which interfere with the purity of the water in the aqueduct of ravenna. vegetation is the peaceable overturner of buildings, the battering-ram which brings them to the ground, though the trumpets never sound for siege. [footnote : where was this? signia in latium is, of course, not to be thought of.] 'we shall now again have baths that we may look upon with pleasure; water which will cleanse, not stain; water after using which we shall not require to wash ourselves again; drinking-water such that the mere sight of it will not take away all our appetite for food[ ].' [footnote : the scarcity of water at ravenna was proverbial.] . king theodoric to ampelius and liveria[ ]. [footnote : cf. the somewhat similar letter to severinus, special commissioner for suavia (v. ).] [sidenote: sundry abuses in the administration of the spanish government to be rectified.] 'that alone is the true life of men which is controlled by the reign of law. 'we regret to hear that through the capricious extortions of our revenue-officers anarchy is practically prevailing in spain. the public registers (polyptycha), not the whim of the collector, ought to measure the liability of the provincial. 'we therefore send your sublimity to spain in order to remedy these disorders. '( ) murder must be put down with a strong hand; but the sharper the punishment is made the more rigid we ought to be in requiring proof of the crime[ ]. [footnote : 'homicidii scelus legum jubemus auctoritate resecari: sed quantum vehementior poena est tanto ejus rei debet inquisitio plus haberi: ne amore vindictae innocentes videantur vitae pericula sustinere.'] '( ) the collectors of the land-tax (assis publicus) are accused of using false weights [in collecting the quotas of produce from the provincials]. this must cease, and they must use none but the standard weights kept by our chamberlain[ ]. [footnote : 'libra cubiculi nostri.'] '( ) the farmers[ ] of our royal domain must pay the rent imposed on them, otherwise they will get to look on the farms as their own property; but certain salaries may be paid them for their trouble, as you shall think fit[ ]. [dahn suggests that the salary was to reimburse them for their labours as a kind of local police, but is not himself satisfied with this explanation.] [footnote : 'conductores domus regiae.'] [footnote : 'et ne cuiquam labor suus videatur ingratus, salaria eis pro qualitate locatae rei, vestrâ volumus aequitate constitui.'] '( ) import duties[ ] are to be regularly collected and honestly paid over. [footnote : 'transmarinorum canon.'] '( ) the officers of the mint are not to make their private gains out of the coinage.' ( ) an obscure sentence as to the 'canon telonei' [from the greek [greek: telônês], a tax-gatherer. garet reads 'tolonei,' which is probably an error]. ( ) the same as to the _actus laeti_, whose conscience is assailed by the grossest imputations. [laetus is perhaps the name of an official.] '( ) those concerned in _furtivae actiones_, and their accomplices, are to disgorge the property thus acquired. '( ) those who have received _praebendae_ [apparently official allowances charged on the province] are, with detestable injustice, claiming them _both_ in money and in kind. this must be put a stop to: of course the one mode of payment is meant to be alternative to the other. '( ) the exactores (collectors) are said to be extorting from the provincials more than they pay into our chamber (_cubiculum_). let this be carefully examined into, and let the payment exacted be the same that was fixed in the times of alaric and euric. '( ) the abuse of claiming extortions (_paraveredi_) by those who have a right to use the public posts must be repressed. '( ) the defence of the provincials by the _villici_ is so costly, and seems to be so unpopular, that we remove it altogether.' [for this _tuitio villici_, see dahn iii. ; but he is not able to throw much light on the nature of the office of the _villicus_.] '( ) degrading services (servitia famulatus) are not to be claimed of our free-born goths, although they may be residents in cities[ ].' [footnote : cf. the th letter of this book.] [this very long letter is one of great importance, but also of great difficulty.] . king theodoric to cyprian, count of the sacred largesses. [this cyprian is the accuser of albinus and boethius.] . king theodoric to the senate of the city of rome. [on cyprian's appointment to the above office, .] [sidenote: promotion of cyprian to the comitiva sacrarum largitionum.] the usual pair of letters setting forth the merits of the new official. the senate is congratulated on the fact that the king never presents to a place in that body a mere tyro in official life, but always himself first tests the servants of the state, and rewards with a place in the senate only those who have shown themselves worthy of it. cyprian is the son of a man of merit, opilio, who in the times of the state's ill-fortune was chosen to a place in the royal household[ ]. he was not able, owing to the wretchedness of the times, to do much for his son. the difference between the fortunes of father and son is the measure of the happy change introduced by the rule of theodoric. [footnote : 'vir quidem abjectis temporibus ad excubias tamen palatinas electus.' the time of odovacar's government is here alluded to (see viii. ). an opilio, probably father of the one here mentioned, was consul under valentinian iii in .] in some subordinate capacity in the king's final court of appeal (probably as _referendarius_[ ]) cyprian has hitherto had the duty of stating the cases of the hostile litigants. he has shown wonderful dexterity in suddenly stating the same case from the two opposite points of view[ ], and this so as to satisfy even the requirements of the litigants themselves. [footnote : anonymus valesii says: 'cyprianus, qui tunc referendarius erat postea comes sacrarum et magister,' § .] [footnote : 'nam cum oratoribus sit propositum diu tractata unius partis vota dicere, tibi semper necesse fuit repentinum negotium utroque latere declarare.'] often the king has transacted business in his rides which used of old to be brought before a formal consistory. he has mounted his horse, when weary with the cares of the republic, to renew his vigour by exercise and change of scene. in these rides he has been accompanied by cyprian, who has in such a lively manner stated the cases which had come up on appeal, that an otherwise tedious business was turned into a pleasure. even when the king was most moved to wrath by what seemed to him a thoroughly bad cause, he still appreciated the charm of the advocate's style in setting it before him. thus has cyprian had that most useful of all trainings, action, not books. thus prepared he was sent on an embassy to the east, a commission which he discharged with conspicuous ability. versed in three languages (greek, roman, gothic?), he found that greece had nothing to show him that was new; and as for subtlety, he was a match for the keenest of the greeks. the emperor's presence had nothing in it to make him hesitating or confused. why should it, since he had seen and pleaded before theodoric[ ]? [footnote : 'talibus igitur institutis edoctus, eoae sumpsisti legationis officium, missus ad summae quidem peritiae viros: sed nulla inter eos confusus es trepidatione _quia nihil tibi post nos potuit esse mirabile_. instructus enim trifariis linguis, non tibi graecia quod novum ostentaret invenit; nec ipsâ quâ nimium praevalet, te transcendit argutiâ.'] in addition to all these other gifts he possesses _faith_, that anchor of the soul amidst the waves of a stormy world. he is therefore called upon to assume at the third indiction [ - ] the office of count of the sacred largesses, and exhorted to bear himself therein worthily of his parentage and his past career, that the king may afterwards promote him to yet higher honour. [for further remarks on this letter--a very important one, as bearing on the trial of boethius--see viii. . the third indiction might mean either - or - ; but the statement of 'anomymus valesii,' that cyprian was still only referendarius at the time of his accusation of albinus, warrants us in fixing on the later date. this makes the encomiums conferred in this letter more significant, since they must have been bestowed _after_ the delation against albinus and boethius. probably it was during cyprian's embassy to constantinople (described in this letter) that he discovered these intrigues of the senators with the byzantine court, which he denounced on his return.] . king theodoric to maximus, vir illustris, consul. [flavius anicius maximus was consul a.d. .] [sidenote: rewards to performers in the amphitheatre.] 'if singers and dancers are to be rewarded by the generosity of the consul, _à fortiori_ should the _venator_, the fighter with wild beasts in the amphitheatre, be rewarded for _his_ endeavours to please the people, who after all are secretly hoping to see him killed. and what a horrible death he dies--denied even the rites of burial, disappearing before he has yet become a corpse into the maw of the hungry animal which he has failed to kill. these spectacles were first introduced as part of the worship of the scythian diana, who was feigned to gloat on human gore. the ancients called her the triple deity, proserpina-luna-diana. they were right in one point; the goddess who invented these games certainly reigned _in hell_.' the colosseum (the amphitheatre of titus) is described. the combats with wild beasts are pourtrayed in a style of pompous obscurity. we may dimly discern the form of the _bestiarius_, who is armed with a wooden spear; of another who leaps into the air to escape the beast's onset; of one who protects himself with a portable wall of reeds, 'like a sea-urchin;' of others who are fastened to a revolving wheel, and alternately brought within the range of the animal's claws and borne aloft beyond his grasp. 'there are as many perilous forms of encounter as virgil described varieties of crime and punishment in tartarus. alas for the pitiable error of mankind! if they had any true intuition of justice, they would sacrifice as much wealth for the preservation of human life as they now lavish on its destruction.' ['a noble regret,' says gregorovius ('geschichte der stadt rom.' i. ), 'in which in our own day every well-disposed minister of a military state will feel bound to concur with cassiodorus.'] . king theodoric to transmund [thrasamund], king of the vandals (cir. ). [sidenote: complains of the protection given by thrasamund to gesalic.] 'having given you our sister, that singular ornament of the amal race, in marriage, in order to knit the bonds of friendship between us, we are amazed that you should have given protection and support to our enemy gesalic [natural son of alaric ii]. if it was out of mere pity and as an outcast that you received him into your realm, you ought to have kept him there; whereas you have sent him forth furnished with large supplies of money to disturb the peace of our gaulish provinces. this is not the conduct of a friend, much less of a relative. we are sure that you cannot have taken counsel in this matter with your wife, who would neither have liked to see her brother injured, nor the fair fame of her husband tarnished by such doubtful intrigues. we send you a and b as our ambassadors, who will speak to you further on this matter.' . king theodoric to transmund [thrasamund], king of the vandals. [sidenote: reconciliation between theodoric and thrasamund.] 'you have shown, most prudent of kings, that wise men know how to amend their faults, instead of persisting in them with that obstinacy which is the characteristic of brutes. in the noblest and most truly kinglike manner you have humbled yourself to confess your fault in reference to the reception of gesalic, and to lay bare to us the very secrets of your heart in this matter. we thank you and praise you, and accept your purgation of yourself from this offence with all our heart. as for the presents sent us by your ambassadors, we accept them with our minds, but not with our hands. let them return to your treasury (cubiculum), that it may be seen that it was simply love of justice, not desire of gain, which prompted our complaints. we have both acted in a truly royal manner[ ]. let your frankness and our contempt of gold be celebrated through the nations. it is sweeter to us to return these presents to you, than to receive much larger ones from anyone else. your ambassadors carry back with them the fullest salutation of love from your friend and ally.' [footnote : 'fecimus utrique regalia.'] book vi. containing twenty-five formulae[ ]. [footnote : for the reasons which induced cassiodorus to compile the two books of formulae, see his preface (translated, p. ).] . formula of the consulship. [sidenote: consulship.] 'in old days the supreme reward of the consulship was given to him who, by his strong right hand, had delivered the republic. the mantle embroidered with palms of victory[ ], the privilege of giving his name to the year and of enfranchising the slave, even power over the lives of his fellow-citizens, were rightly given to a man to whom the republic owed so much. he received the axe--the power of life and death--but bound up in the bundle of rods, in order that the necessary delay in undoing these might prevent him from striking the irrevocable stroke without due consideration. whence also he received the name of consul, because it was his duty to _consult_ for the good of his country. he was bound to spend money freely; and thus he who had shed the blood of the enemies of rome made the lives of her children happy by his generosity. [footnote : 'palmata vestis.'] 'but now take this office under happier circumstances, since we have the labours of the consul, you the joys of his dignity. your palm-embroidered robes therefore are justified by our victories, and you, in the prosperous hour of peace, confer freedom on the slave, because we by our wars are giving security to the romans. therefore, for this indiction, we decorate you with the ensigns of the consulship. 'adorn your broad shoulders[ ] with the variegated colours of the palm-robe; ennoble your strong hand with the sceptre of victory[ ]. enter your private dwelling having even your sandals gilded; ascend the curule chair by the many steps which its dignity requires: that thus you, a subject and at your ease, may enjoy the dignity which we, the ruler, assumed only after mightiest labours. you enjoy the fruit of victory who are ignorant of war; we, god helping us, will reign; we will consult for the safety of the state, while your name marks the year. you overtop sovereigns in your good fortune, since you wear the highest honours, and yet have not the annoyances of ruling. wherefore pluck up spirit and confidence. it becometh consuls to be generous. do not be anxious about your private fortune, you who have elected to win the public favour by your gifts. it is for this cause [because the consul has to spend lavishly during his year of office] that we make a difference between your dignity and all others. other magistrates we appoint, even though they do not ask for the office. to the consulship we promote only those who are candidates for the dignity, those who know that their fortunes are equal to its demands; otherwise we might be imposing a burden rather than a favour. enjoy therefore, in a becoming manner, the honour which you wished for. this mode of spending money is a legitimate form of canvassing[ ]. be illustrious in the world, be prosperous in your own life, leave an example for the happy imitation of your posterity.' [footnote : 'pinge vastos humeros vario colore palmatae.'] [footnote : 'validam manum victoriali scipione nobilita.'] [footnote : 'hic est ambitus qui probatur;' or, 'allowable bribery.'] . formula of the patriciate. [sidenote: patriciate.] 'in olden times the patricians were said to derive their origin from jupiter, whose priests they were. mythology apart, they derived their name from _patres_, the dignity of priest having blended itself with that of senator. 'the great distinction of the patriciate is that it is a rank held _for life_, like that of the priesthood, from which it sprang. the patrician takes precedence of praefects and all other dignities save one (the consulship), and that is one which we ourselves sometimes assume. 'ascend then the pinnacle of the patriciate. you may have yet further honours to receive from us, if you bear yourself worthily in this station.' . formula of the praetorian praefecture. [on account of the importance of the office a translation of the whole formula is here attempted, though with some hesitation on account of its obscure allusions.] [sidenote: praetorian praefecture.] 'if the origin of any dignity can confer upon it special renown and promise of future usefulness, the praetorian praefecture may claim this distinction, illustrated as its establishment was by the wisdom of this world, and also stamped by the divine approval. for when pharaoh, king of egypt, was oppressed by strange visions of future famine, there was found a blessed man, even joseph, able to foretell the future with truth, and to suggest the wisest precautions for the people's danger. he first consecrated the insignia of this dignity; he in majesty entered the official chariot[ ], raised to this height of honour, in order that his wisdom might confer blessings on the people which they could not receive from the mere power of the ruler. [footnote : 'ipse carpentum reverendus ascendit.' the _carpentum_ was one great mark of the dignity of the praetorian praefect, as of his inferior, the praefectus urbis.] 'from that patriarch is this officer now called _father of the empire_; his name is even to-day celebrated by the voice of the crier, who calls upon the judge to show himself not unworthy of his example. rightly was it felt that he to whom such power was committed should always be thus delicately reminded of his duty. 'for some prerogatives are shared in common between ourselves and the holder of this dignity. [the next sentence[ ] i leave untranslated, as i am not sure of the meaning. manso (p. ) translates it, 'he forces fugitives from justice, without regard to the lapse of time, to come before his tribunal.'] he inflicts heavy fines on offenders, he distributes the public revenue as he thinks fit, he has a like power in bestowing rights of free conveyance[ ], he appropriates unclaimed property, he punishes the offences of provincial judges, he pronounces sentence by word of mouth [whereas all other judges had to read their decisions from their tablets]. [footnote : 'exhibet enim sine prescriptione longinquos.'] [footnote : 'evectiones,' free passes by the _cursus publicus_.] 'what is there that he has not entrusted to him whose very speech is judgment? he may almost be said to have the power of making laws, since the reverence due to him enables him to finish law-suits without appeal. 'on his entrance into the palace he, like ourselves, is adored by the assembled throng[ ], and an office of such high rank appears to excuse a practice which in other cases would be considered matter for accusation[ ]. [footnote : 'ingressus palatium nostra consuetudine frequenter adoratur.' we know from lydus (de mag. ii. ) that the highest officers of the army _knelt_ at the entrance of the praetorian praefect. perhaps we need not infer from this passage that oriental _prostration_ was used either towards theodoric or his praefect.] [footnote : 'et tale officium morem videtur solvere, quod alios potuit accusare.'] 'in power, no dignity is his equal. he judges everywhere as the representative of the sovereign[ ]. no soldier marks out to him the limits of his jurisdiction, except the official of the master of the soldiery. i suppose that the ancients wished [even the praefect] to yield something to those who were to engage in war on behalf of the republic. [footnote : 'vice sacrâ ubique judicat.'] 'he punishes with stripes even the curials, who are called in the laws a lesser senate. 'in his own official staff (officium) he is invested with peculiar privileges; since all men can see that he lays his commands on men of such high quality that not even the judges of provinces may presume to look down upon them. the staff is therefore composed of men of the highest education, energetic, strong-minded[ ], intent on prompt obedience to the orders of their head, and not tolerating obstruction from others. to those who have served their time in his office, he grants the rank of tribunes and notaries, thus making his attendants equal to those who, mingled with the chiefs of the state, wait upon our own presence. [footnote : 'officium plane geniatum, efficax, instructum et totâ animi firmitate praevalidum.'] 'we joyfully accomplish that which he arranges, since our reverence for his office constrains us to give immediate effect to his decrees. he deserves this at our hands, since his forethought nourishes the palace, procures the daily rations of our servants, provides the salaries even of the judges themselves[ ]. by his arrangements he satiates the hungry appetites of the ambassadors of the [barbarous] nations[ ]. and though other dignities have their specially defined prerogatives, by him everything that comes within the scope of our wisely-tempered sway is governed. [footnote : 'humanitates quoque judicibus ipsis facit.'] [footnote : 'legatos gentium voraces explet ordinationibus suis.' _voraces_ seems to give a better sense than the other reading, _veraces_.] 'take therefore, from this indiction, on your shoulders the noble burden of all these cares. administer it with vigour and with utmost loyalty, that your rule may be prosperous to us and useful to the republic. the more various the anxieties, the greater your glory. let that glory beam forth, not in our palace only, but be reflected in far distant provinces. let your prudence be equal to your power; yea, let the fourfold virtue [of the platonic philosophy] be seated in your conscience. remember that your tribunal is placed so high that, when seated there, you should think of nothing sordid, nothing mean. weigh well what you ought to say, seeing that it is listened to by so many. let the public records contain nothing [of your saying] which any need blush to read. the good governor not only has no part nor lot in injustice; unless he is ever diligently doing some noble work he incurs blame even for his inactivity. for if that most holy author [moses?] be consulted, it will be seen that it is a kind of priesthood to fill the office of the praetorian praefecture in a becoming manner.' . formula of the praefecture of the city. [sidenote: praefecture of the city.] 'you, to whose care rome is committed, are exalted by that charge to a position of the highest dignity. the senate also is presided over by you; and the senators, who wield full power in that assembly, tremble when they have to plead their own cause at your tribunal. but this is because they, who are the makers of laws, are subject to the laws; and so are we too, though not to a judge. 'behave in a manner worthy of your high office. treat the consulars with deference. put away every base thought when you cross the threshold of every virtue. if you wish to avoid unpopularity, avoid receiving bribes. it is a grand thing when it can be said that judges will not accept that which thousands are eager to offer them. 'to your care is committed not only rome herself (though rome includes the world[ ]), but, by ancient law, all within the hundredth milestone. [footnote : 'quamvis in illa contineantur universa.'] 'you judge, on appeal, causes brought from certain provinces defined by law. your staff is composed of learned men; eloquent they can hardly help being, since they are always hearing the masters of eloquence. you ride in your _carpentum_ through a populace of nobles[ ]; oh, act so as to deserve their shouts of welcome! how will you deserve their favour? by seeing that merchandise is sold without venality[ ]; that the fires kindled to heat the wholesome baths are not chilled by corruption; that the games, which are meant for the pleasure of the people, are not by partisanship made a cause of strife. for so great is the power of glorious truth, that even in the affairs of the stage justice is desired[ ]. take then the robe of romulus, and administer the laws of rome. other honours await you if you behave worthily in this office, and above all, if you win the applause of the senate.' [footnote : 'carpento veheris per nobilem plebem.'] [footnote : i.e. probably, 'that you are not bribed by monopolists.' perhaps there is a reference to the _annona publica_.] [footnote : 'tanta est enim vis gloriosae veritatis, ut etiam in rebus scenicis aequitas desideretur.'] . formula of the quaestorship. [this letter is particularly interesting, from the fact that it describes cassiodorus' own office, that which he filled during many years of the reign of theodoric, and in virtue of which he wrote the greater part of his 'various letters.'] [sidenote: quaestorship.] 'no minister has more reason to glory in his office than the quaestor, since it brings him into constant and intimate communication with ourselves. the quaestor has to learn our inmost thoughts, that he may utter them to our subjects. whenever we are in doubt as to any matter we ask our quaestor, who is the treasure-house of public fame, the cupboard of laws; who has to be always ready for a sudden call, and must exercise the wonderful powers which, as cicero has pointed out, are inherent in the art of an orator. he should so paint the delights of virtue and the terrors of vice, that his eloquence should almost make the sword of the magistrate needless. 'what manner of man ought the quaestor to be, who reflects the very image of his sovereign? if, as is often our custom, we chance to listen to a suit, what authority must there be in his tongue who has to speak the king's words in the king's own presence? he must have knowledge of the law, wariness in speech, firmness of purpose, that neither gifts nor threats may cause him to swerve from justice. for in the interests of equity we suffer even ourselves to be contradicted, since we too are bound to obey her. let your learning be such that you may set forth every subject on which you have to treat, with suitable embellishments. 'moved therefore by the fame of your wisdom and eloquence, we bestow upon you, by god's grace, the dignity of the quaestorship, which is the glory of letters, the temple of _civilitas_, the mother of all the dignities, the home of continence, the seat of all the virtues. 'to you the provinces transmit their prayers. from you the senate seeks the aid of law. you are expected to suffice for the needs of all who seek from us the remedies of the law. but when you have done all this, be not elated with your success, be not gnawed with envy, rejoice not at the calamities of others; for what is hateful in the sovereign cannot be becoming in the quaestor. 'exercise the power of the prince in the condition of a subject; and may you render a good account to the judges at the end of your term of office.' . formula of the magisterial dignity, and its excellency (magister officiorum). [the dignity and powers of the master of the offices were continually rising throughout the fourth and fifth centuries at the cost of the praetorian praefect, many of whose functions were transferred to the master.] [sidenote: mastership of the offices.] 'the master's is a name of dignity. to him belongs the discipline of the palace; he calms the stormy ranks of the insolent scholares [the household troops, , in number, in the palace of the eastern emperor, according to lydus (ii. )]. he introduces the senators to our presence, cheers them when they tremble, calms them when they are speaking, sometimes inserts a word or two of his own, that all may be laid in an orderly manner before us. it rests with him to fix a day for the admission of a suitor to our _aulicum consistorium_, and to fulfil his promise. the opportune velocity of the post-horses [the care of the _cursus publicus_] is diligently watched over by him[ ]. [footnote : according to lydus (ii. ), the cursus publicus was transferred from the praefect to the master, and afterwards, in part, retransferred to the praefect.] 'the ambassadors of foreign powers are introduced by him, and their _evectiones_ [free passes by the postal-service] are received from his hands[ ]. [footnote : 'per eum nominis nostri destinatur evectio.' the above is a conjectural translation.] 'to an officer with these great functions antiquity gave great prerogatives: that no provincial governor should assume office without his consent, and that appeals should come to him from their decisions. he has no charge of collecting money, only of spending it. it is his to appoint _peraequatores_[ ] of provisions in the capital, and a judge to attend to this matter. he also superintends the pleasures of the people, and is bound to keep them from sedition by a generous exhibition of shows. the members of his staff, when they have served their full time, are adorned with the title of _princeps_, and take their places at the head of the praetorian cohorts and those of the urban praefecture [the officials serving in the bureaux of those two praefects]--a mark of favour which almost amounts to injustice, since he who serves in one office (the master's) is thereby put at the head of all those who have been serving in another (the praefect's)[ ].' [footnote : are these superintendents of the markets, charged with the regulation of prices?] [footnote : 'miroque modo inter praetorianas cohortes et urbanae praefecturae milites videantur invenisse primatum, a quibus tibi humile solvebatur obsequium. sic in favore magni honoris injustitia quaedam a legibus venit, dum alienis excubiis praeponitur, qui alibi militasse declaratur.'] [we learn from lydus how intense was the jealousy of the grasping and aspiring _magistriani_ felt by the praefect's subordinates; and we may infer from this passage that cassiodorus thought that there was some justification for this feeling.] 'the assistant (adjutor) of the magister is also present at our audiences, a distinguished honour for his chief. 'take therefore this illustrious office and discharge it worthily, that, in all which you do, you may show yourself a true magister. if _you_ should in anywise go astray (which god forbid), where should morality be found upon earth?' . formula of the office of comes sacrarum largitionum. [sidenote: office of count of sacred largesses.] 'yours is the high and pleasing office of administering the bounty of your sovereign[ ]. through you we dispense our favours and relieve needy suppliants on new year's day. it is your business to see that our face is imprinted on our coins, a reminder to our subjects of our ceaseless care on their behalf, and a memorial of our reign to future ages. [footnote : 'regalibus magna profecti felicitas _militare_ donis.... laetitia publica _militia_ tua est.' observe the continued use of military terms for what we call the civil service.] 'to this your regular office we also add the place of _primicerius_ [_primicerius notariorum_?], so that you are the channel through which honours as well as largesses flow. not only the judges of the provinces are subject to you, even the _proceres chartarum_ (?) have not their offices assured to them till you have confirmed the instrument. you have also the care of the royal robes. the sea-coasts and their products, and therefore merchants, are under your sway. the commerce of salt, that precious mineral, rightly classed with silken robes and pearls, is placed under your superintendence. 'take therefore these two dignities, the comitiva sacrarum largitionum and the primiceriatus. if some of the ancient privileges of your office have been retrenched [some functions, probably, taken from the comes sacrarum largitionum and assigned to the comes patrimonii], comfort yourself with the thought that you have two dignities instead of one.' . formula of the office of comes privatarum, and its excellency. [sidenote: office of count of private domains.] 'your chief business, as the name of your office implies, is to govern the royal estates by the instrumentality of the _rationales_ under you. 'this work alone, however, would have given you a jurisdiction only over slaves [those employed on the royal domains]; and as a slave is not a person in the eye of the law, it seemed unworthy of the dignity of latium to confine your jurisdiction to these men. some urban authority has therefore been given you in addition to that which you exercise over these boors: cases of incest, and of pollution or spoliation of graves, come before you. thus the chastity of the living and the security of the dead are equally your care. in the provinces you superintend the tribute-collectors (canonicarios), you admonish the cultivators of the soil (possessores), and you claim for the royal exchequer property to which no heirs are forthcoming[ ]. deposited monies also, the owners of which are lost by lapse of time, are searched out by you and brought into our exchequer, since those who by our permission enjoy all their own property ought willingly and without sense of loss to offer us that which belongs to other men. [footnote : 'caduca bona non sinis esse vacantia.'] 'take then the honour of _comes privatarum_: it also is a courtly dignity, and you will augment it by your worthy fulfilment of its functions.' . formula of the office of count of the patrimony, and its excellency. [sidenote: office of count of the patrimony.] 'to our distant servants we send long papers with instructions as to their conduct; but you, admitted to our daily converse, do not need these. you are to undertake the care of our royal patrimony. 'do not give in to all the suggestions of our servants on these domains, who are apt to think that everything is permitted them because they represent the king; but rather incline the scale against them. you will have to act much in our sight; and as the rising sun discloses the true colours of objects, so the king's constant presence reveals the minister's character in its true light. avoid loud and harsh tones in pronouncing your decisions: when we hear you using these, we shall know that you are in the wrong. external acts and bodily qualities show the habit of the mind. we know a proud man by his swaggering gait, an angry one by his flashing eyes, a crafty one by his downcast look, a fickle one by his wandering gaze, at avaricious one by his hooked nails. 'take then the office of count of the patrimony, and discharge it uprightly. be expeditious in your decisions on the complaints of the tillers of the soil. justice speedily granted is thereby greatly enhanced in value, and though it is really the suitor's right it charms him as if it were a favour. 'attend also to the provision of suitable delicacies for our royal table. it is a great thing that ambassadors coming from all parts of the world should see rare dainties at our board, and such an inexhaustible supply of provisions brought in by the crowds of our servants that they are almost ready to think the food grows again in the kitchen, whither they see the dishes carried with the broken victuals. these banqueting times are, and quite deservedly, your times for approaching us with business, when no one else is allowed to do so.' . formula by which men are made proceres per codicillos vacantes. [bestowal of brevet-rank on persons outside the civil service.] [sidenote: codicilli vacantes.] 'there are cases in which men whom it is desirable for the sovereign to honour are unable, from delicate health or slender fortunes, to enter upon an official career. for instance, a poor nobleman may dread the expenses of the consulship; a man illustrious by his wisdom may be unable to bear the worries of a praefecture; an eloquent tongue may shun the weight of a quaestorship. in these cases the laws have wisely ordained that we may give such persons the rank which they merit by _codicilli vacantes_. it must always be understood, however, that in each dignity those who thus obtain it rank behind those who have earned it by actual service. otherwise we should have all men flocking into these quiet posts, if the workers were not preferred to men of leisure[ ]. [footnote : 'alioqui omnes ad quietas possunt currere dignitates, si laborantes minime praeferantur ociosis.'] 'take therefore, by these present codicils, the rank which you deserve, though you have not earned it by your official career.' . formula by which the rank of an illustris and the title of a comes domesticorum are conferred, without office. [sidenote: illustratus vacans.] 'the bestowal of honour, though it does not change the nature of a man, induces him to consider his own reputation more closely, and to abstain from that which may stain it[ ]. [footnote : 'noblesse oblige.'] 'take therefore the rank (without office) of an illustrious count of the domestics[ ], and enjoy that greatest luxury of worthy minds--power to attend to your own pursuits. [footnote : 'cape igitur ... comitivae domesticorum illustratum vacantem.'] 'for what can be sweeter than to find yourself honoured when you enter the city, and yet to be able to cultivate your own fields; to abstain from fraudful gains, and yet see your barns overflowing with the fruit of your own sweet toil? 'but even as the seed and the soil must co-operate to produce the harvest, so do we sow in you the seed of this dignity, trusting that your own goodness of heart will give the increase.' . formula for the bestowal of a countship of the first order, without office. [a similar honour to that which is conferred on an english statesman who, without receiving any place in the ministry, is 'sworn of the privy council.'] [sidenote: comitiva primi ordinis.] 'it is a delightful thing to enjoy the pleasures of high rank without having to undergo the toils and annoyances of office, which often make a man loathe the very dignity which he eagerly desired. 'the rank of _comes_ is one which is reached by governors (rectores) of provinces after a year's tenure of office, and by the counsellors of the praefect, whose functions are so important that we look upon them as almost quaestors. 'their rank[ ] gives the holder of it, though only a _spectabilis_, admission to our consistory, where he sits side by side with all the illustres. [footnote : betokened by the expression 'ociosum cingulum.'] 'we bestow it upon you, and name you a _comes primi ordinis_, thereby indicating that you are to take your place at the head of all the other spectabiles and next after the illustres. see that you imitate the latter, and that you are not surpassed in excellence of character by any of those below you.' . formula for bestowing the [honorary] rank of master of the bureau [magister scrinii] and count of the first order, on an officer of the courts (comitiacus) in active service. [sidenote: honorary promotion for a comitiacus.] 'great toils and great perils are the portion of an officer of the courts in giving effect to their sentences. it is easy for the judge to say, "let so and so be done;" but on the unhappy officer falls all the difficulty and all the odium of doing it. he has to track out offenders and hunt them to their very beds, to compel the contumacious to obey the law, to make the proud learn their equality before it. if he lingers over the business assigned to him, the plaintiff complains; if he is energetic, the defendant calls out. the very honesty with which he addresses himself to the work is sure to make him enemies, enemies perhaps among powerful persons, who next year may be his superiors in office, and thus subjects him to all sorts of accusations which he may find it very hard to disprove. in short, if we may say it without offence to the higher dignitaries, it is far easier to discharge without censure the functions of a judge than those of the humble officer who gives effect to his decrees. 'wherefore, in reward for your long and faithful service, and in accordance with ancient usage, we bestow on you the rank of a count of the first order, and ordain that if anyone shall molest you on account of your acts done in the discharge of your duties, he shall pay a fine of so many [perhaps ten = £ ] pounds of gold.' [this letter will be found well worth studying in the original, as giving a picture of the kind of opposition met with by the men who were charged with the execution of the orders of the rectores provinciarum, and whose functions were themselves partly judicial, varying between those of a master in chancery and those of a sheriff's officer. throughout, the civil service is spoken of in military language. the officer is called _miles_, and his duty is _excubiae_.] . formula bestowing rank as a senator. [sidenote: senatorial rank.] 'we desire that our senate should grow and flourish abundantly. as a parent sees the increase of his family, as a husbandman the growth of his trees with joy, so we the growth of the senate. we therefore desire that graius should be included in that virtuous and praiseworthy assembly[ ]. this is a new kind of grafting, in which the less noble shoot is grafted on to the nobler stock. as a candle shines at night, but pales in the full sunlight, so does everyone, however illustrious by birth or character, who is introduced into your majestic body. open your curia, receive our candidate. he is already predestined to the senate upon whom we have conferred the dignity of the laticlave.' [footnote : a conjectural translation of 'sic nos virtutum jucundissimas laudes incinctum graium desideramus includere.' perhaps 'incinctum' means, 'though _not_ girded with the belt of office.' graium must surely be a proper name, and this document is therefore, strictly speaking, not a 'formula.'] . formula of the vicarius of the city of rome. [sidenote: vicariate of the city of rome.] 'though nominally only the agent of another [the praefectus urbi] you have powers and privileges of your own which almost entitle you to rank with the praefects. suitors plead before you in causes otherwise heard only before praefects[ ]; you pronounce sentence in the name of the king[ ] [not of the praefect]; and you have jurisdiction even in capital cases. you wear the chlamys, and are not to be saluted by passers-by except when thus arrayed, as if the law wished you to be always seen in military garb. [the chlamys was therefore at this time a strictly military dress.] in all these things the glory of the praefecture seems to be exalted in you, as if one should say, "how great must the praefect be, if his vicar is thus honoured!" like the highest dignitaries you ride in a state carriage[ ]. you have jurisdiction everywhere within the fortieth milestone from the city. you preside over the games at praeneste, sitting in the consul's seat. you enter the senate-house itself, that palace of liberty[ ]. even senators and consulars have to make their request to you, and may be injured by you. [footnote : 'partes apud te sub praetorianâ advocatione confligunt' (?).] [footnote : 'vice sacrâ sententiam dicis.'] [footnote : 'carpentum.'] [footnote : 'aula libertatis.'] 'take therefore this dignity, and wield it with moderation and courage.' . formula of the notaries. [sidenote: notaries.] 'it is most important that the secrets of the sovereign, which many men so eagerly desire to discover, should be committed to persons of tried fidelity. a good secretary should be like a well-arranged _escritoire_, full of information when you want it, but absolutely silent at other times. nay, he must even be able to dissimulate his knowledge, for keen questioners can often read in the face what the lips utter not. [cf. the description of the quaestor decoratus in v. .] 'our enquiries, keen-scented as they are for all men of good life and conversation, have brought your excellent character before us. we therefore ordain that you shall henceforth be a notary. in due course of service you will attain the rank of primicerius, which will entitle you to enter the senate, "the curia of liberty." moreover, should you then arrive at the dignity of illustris or at the [comitiva] vacans, you will be preferred to all who are in the same rank but who have not acquired it by active service[ ]. [footnote : i think this must be the meaning of the sentence: 'additur etiam perfuncti laboris aliud munus, ut si quo modo ad illustratum vel vacantem meruerit pervenire, omnibus debeat anteponi, qui codicillis illustratibus probantur ornari.'] 'enter then upon this duty, cheered by the prospect of one day attaining to the highest honours.' . formula of the referendarii. [sidenote: referendarii.] [we have no word corresponding to this title. registrar, referee, solicitor, each expresses only part of the duties of the referendarius, whose business it was, _on behalf of the court_, to draw up a statement of the conflicting claims of the litigants before it. see the interesting letters (v. and ) describing the useful services rendered in this capacity by cyprian in the king's court of appeal. his duties seem to have been very similar to those which in the court of the praetorian praefect were discharged by the officer called _ab actis_ (see p. ).] 'great is the privilege of being admitted to such close converse with the king as you will possess, but great also are the responsibilities and the anxieties of the referendarius. in the midst of the hubbub of the court he has to make out the case of the litigant, and to clothe it in language suitable for our ears. if he softens it down ever so little in his repetition of it, the claimant declares that he has been bribed, that he is hostile to his suit. a man who is pleading his own cause may soften down a word or two here and there, if he see that the court is against him; but the referendarius dares not alter anything. then upon him rests the responsibility of drawing up our decree, adding nothing, omitting nothing. hard task to speak _our_ words in our own presence. 'take then the office of referendarius, and show by your exercise of it to what learning men may attain by sharing our conversation. under us it is impossible for an officer of the court to be unskilled in speech. like a whetstone we sharpen the intellects of our courtiers, and polish them by practice at our bar[ ].' [footnote : 'sub nobis enim non licet esse imperitos; quando in vicem cotis ingenia splendida reddimus, quae causarum assiduitate polimus.' strange words to put into the mouth of a monarch who could not write.] . formula of the praefectus annonae, and his excellency. [sidenote: praefectus annonae.] 'if the benefit of the largest number of citizens is a test of the dignity of an office yours is certainly a glorious one. you have to prepare the annona of the sacred city, and to feed the whole people as at one board. you run up and down through the shops of the bakers, looking after the weight and fineness of the bread, and not thinking any office mean by which you may win the affections of the citizens. 'you mount the chariot of the praefect of the city, and are displayed in closest companionship with him at the games. should a sudden tumult arise by reason of a scarcity of loaves, you have to still it by promising a liberal distribution. it was from his conduct in this office that pompey attained the highest dignities and earned the surname of the great. 'the pork-butchers also (suarii) are subject to your control. 'it is true that the corn is actually provided by the praetorian praefect, but you see that it is worked up into elegant bread[ ]. [footnote : 'quando in quavis abundantia querela non tollitur, si panis elegantia nulla servetur.'] 'even so ceres discovered corn, but pan taught men how to bake it into bread; whence its name (_panis_, from pan). 'take then this office: discharge it faithfully, and weigh, more accurately than gold, the bread by which the quirites live.' . formula of the count of the chief physicians. [sidenote: comes archiatrorum.] 'the doctor helps us when all other helpers seem to fail. by his art he finds out things about a man of which he himself is ignorant; and his prognosis of a case, though founded on reason, seems to the ignorant like prophecy. 'it is disgraceful that there should be a president of the lascivious pleasures of the people (tribunus voluptatum) and none of this healing art. excellent too may your office be in enabling you to control the squabbles of the doctors. they ought not to quarrel. at the beginning of their exercise of their art they take a sort of priestly oath to hate wickedness and to love purity. take then this rank of comes archiatrorum, and have the distinguished honour of presiding over so many skilled practitioners and of moderating their disputes. 'leave it to clumsy men to ask their patients "if they have had good sleep; if the pain has left them." do you rather incline the patient to ask you about his own malady, showing him that you know more about it than he does. the patient's pulse, the patient's water, tell to a skilled physician the whole story of his disease. 'enter our palace unbidden; command us, whom all other men obey; weary us if you will with fasting, and make us do the very opposite of that which we desire, since all this is your prerogative.' . formula of the office of a consular, and its excellency. [sidenote: consularis.] 'you bear among your trappings the axes and the rods of the consul, as a symbol of the nature of the jurisdiction which you exercise in the provinces. 'in some provinces you even wear the _paenula_ (military cloak) and ride in the _carpentum_ (official chariot), as a proof of your dignity. 'you must not think that because your office is allied to that of consul any lavish expenditure by way of largesse is necessary. by no means; but it is necessary that you should abstain from all unjust gains. nothing is worse than a mixture of rapacity and prodigality. 'respect the property of the provincials, and your tenure of office will be without blame. 'receive therefore, for this indiction, the office of consular in such and such a province, and let your moderation appear to all the inhabitants.' . formula of the governor (rector) of a province. [the distinction between the powers of a rector and those of a consularis seems to have been very slight, if it existed at all; but the dignity of the latter office was probably somewhat the greater.] [sidenote: rector provinciae.] 'it is important to repress crime on the spot. if all criminal causes had to wait till they could be tried in the capital, robbers would grow so bold as to be intolerable. hence the advantage of provincial governors. receive then for this indiction the office of rector of such and such a province. look at the broad stripe (laticlave) on your purple robe, and remember the dignity which is betokened by that bright garment, which poets say was first woven by venus for her son priapus, that the son's beautiful robe might attest the mother's loveliness. 'you have to collect the public revenues, and to report to the sovereign all important events in your province. you may judge even senators and the officers of praefects. your name comes before that of even dignified provincials, and you are called brother by the sovereign. see that your character corresponds to this high vocation. your subjects will not fear you if they see that your own actions are immoral. there can be no worse slavery than to sit on the judgment-seat, knowing that the men who appear before you are possessors of some disgraceful secret by which they can blast your reputation. 'refrain from unholy gains, and we will reward you all the more liberally.' . formula of the count of the city of syracuse. [sidenote: comitiva syracusana.] 'we must provide such governors for our distant possessions that appeals from them shall not be frequent. many men would rather lose a just cause than have the expense of coming all the way from sicily to defend it; and as for complaints against a governor, we should be strongly inclined to think that a complaint presented by such distant petitioners must be true. 'act therefore with all the more caution in the office which we bestow upon you for this indiction. you have all the pleasant pomp of an official retinue provided for you at our expense. do not let your soldiers be insolent to the cultivators of the soil (possessores). let them receive their rations and be satisfied with them, nor mix in matters outside their proper functions. be satisfied with the dignity which your predecessors held. it ought not to be lowered; but do not seek to exalt it.' . formula of the count of naples. [sidenote: comitiva neapolitana.] 'as the sun sends forth his rays so we send out our servants to the various cities of our dominions, to adorn them with the splendour of their retinue, and to facilitate the untying of the knots of the law by the multitude of jurisconsults who follow in their train. thus we sow a liberal crop of official salaries, and reap our harvest in the tranquillity of our subjects. for this indiction we send you as count to weigh the causes of the people of naples. it is a populous city, and one abounding in delights by sea and land. you may lead there a most delicious life, if your cup be not mixed with bitterness by the criticisms of the citizens on your judgments. you will sit on a jewelled tribunal, and the praetorium will be filled with your officers; but you will also be surrounded by a multitude of fastidious spectators, who assuredly, in their conversation, will judge the judge. see then that you walk warily. your power extends for a certain distance along the coast, and both the buyer and seller have to pay you tribute. we give you the chance of earning the applause of a vast audience: do you so act that your sovereign may take pleasure in multiplying his gifts.' . formula addressed to the gentlemen-farmers (or the titled cultivators) and common councilmen[ ] of the city of naples [and surrounding district]. [footnote : an attempt to translate 'honoratis possessoribus et curialibus civitatis neapolitanae.'] [sidenote: honorati possessores et curiales civitatis neapolitanae.] 'you pay us tribute, but we have conferred honours upon you. we are now sending you a comes [the one appointed in the previous formula], but he will be a terror only to the evil-disposed. do you live according to reason, since you are reasonable beings, and then the laws may take holiday. your quietness is our highest joy[ ].' [footnote : 'erit nostrum gaudium vestra quies.... degite moribus compositis, ut vivatis legibus feriatis.'] is entitled, 'formula de comitiva principis militum;' but this is evidently an inaccurate, or at least an insufficient title. [sidenote: doubtful.] the letter, though very short, is obscure. it starts with the maxim that every staff of officials ought to have its own judge[ ], and then, apparently, proceeds to make an exception to this rule by making the persons addressed--the civil or military functionaries of naples--subject to the comes neapolitanus who was appointed by the twenty-third formula. no reason is given for this exception, except an unintelligible one about preserving the yearly succession of judges[ ]; but the persons are assured that their salaries shall be safe[ ]. [footnote : 'omnes apparitiones decet habere judices suos. nam cui praesul adimitur et militia denegatur.'] [footnote : 'ut judicibus annuâ successione reparatis, vobis solemnitas non pereat actionis.'] [footnote : 'vos non patimur emolumentorum commoda perdere.'] book vii. containing forty-seven formulae. . formula of the count of a province. [sidenote: comitiva provinciae.] 'your dignity, unlike that of most civil officers, is guarded by the sword of war. see however that this terrible weapon is only drawn on occasions of absolute necessity, and only wielded for the punishment of evil-doers. anyone who is determining a case of life and death should decide slowly, since any other sentence is capable of correction, but the dead man cannot be recalled to life. let the ensigns of your power be terrible to drivers-away of cattle, to thieves and robbers; but let innocence rejoice when she sees the tokens of approaching succour. let no one pervert your will by bribes: the sword of justice is sheathed when gold is taken. receive then for this indiction the dignity of count in such and such a province. so use your power that you may be able to defend your actions when reduced to a private station, though indeed, if you serve us well in this office, we are minded to promote you to yet higher dignities.' . formula of a praeses. [the praeses had practically the same powers as the consularis (v. ) and the rector (v. ), but occupied a less dignified position, being only a 'perfectissimus,' not a 'clarissimus[ ].'] [footnote : see p. .] [sidenote: praesidatus.] 'it has been wisely ordered by the ancients that a provincial governor's term of office should be only annual. thus men are prevented from growing arrogant by long tenure of power, and we are enabled to reward a larger number of aspirants. get through one year of office if you can without blame: even that is not an easy matter. it rests then with us to prolong the term of a deserving ruler[ ], since we are not keen to remove those whom we feel to be governing justly. receive then for this indiction the praesidatus of such and such a province, and so act that the tiller of the soil (possessor) may bring us thanks along with his tribute. follow the good example of your predecessors: carefully avoid the bad. remember how full your province is of nobles, whose good report you may earn but cannot compel. you will find it a delightful reward, when you travel through the neighbouring provinces, to hear your praises sounded there where your power extends not. you know our will: it is all contained in the laws of the state. govern in accordance with these, and you shall not go unrewarded.' [footnote : 'nostrum est merentibus tempus augere.' the limit of one year might therefore be exceeded by favour of the sovereign.] . formula of the count of the goths in the several provinces. [sidenote: comitiva gothorum per singulas provincias.] [dahn remarks ('könige der germanen' iv. ): 'we must go thoroughly into the question of this office. the _comes gothorum_ is the most important, in fact almost the only new dignity in the gothic state, and the formula of his installation is the chief proof of the coexistence of roman and gothic law in this kingdom.' i have therefore translated this formula at full length.] 'as we know that, by god's help, goths are dwelling intermingled among you, in order to prevent the trouble (indisciplinatio) which is wont to arise among partners (consortes) we have thought it right to send to you as count, a b, a sublime person, a man already proved to be of high character, in order that he may terminate (amputare) any contests arising between two goths according to our edicts; but that, if any matter should arise between a goth and a born roman, he may, after associating with himself a roman jurisconsult[ ], decide the strife by fair reason[ ]. as between two romans, let the decision rest with the roman examiners (cognitores), whom we appoint in the various provinces; that thus each may keep his own laws, and with various judges one justice may embrace the whole realm. thus, sharing one common peace, may both nations, if god favour us, enjoy the sweets of tranquillity. [footnote : 'adhibito sibi prudente romano.'] [footnote : 'aequabili ratione.'] 'know, however, that we view all [our subjects] with one impartial love; but he may commend himself more abundantly to our favour who subdues his own will into loving submission to the law[ ]. we like nothing that is disorderly[ ]; we detest wicked arrogance and all who have anything to do with it. our principles lead us to execrate violent men[ ]. in a dispute let laws decide, not the strong arm. why should men seek by choice violent remedies, when they know that the courts of justice are open to them? it is for this cause that we pay the judges their salaries, for this that we maintain such large official staffs with all their privileges, that we may not allow anything to grow up among you which may tend towards hatred. since you see that one lordship (imperium) is over you, let there be also one desire in your hearts, to live in harmony. [footnote : 'qui leges moderatâ voluntate dilexerit.' to translate this literally might give a wrong idea, because with us 'to love the law' means to be litigious.] [footnote : 'non amamus aliquid incivile.'] [footnote : 'violentos nostra pietas execratur.'] 'let both nations hear what we have at heart. you [oh goths!] have the romans as neighbours to your lands: even so let them be joined to you in affection. you too, oh romans! ought dearly to love the goths, who in peace swell the numbers of your people and in war defend the whole republic[ ]. it is fitting therefore that you obey the judge whom we have appointed for you, that you may by all means accomplish all that he may ordain for the preservation of the laws; and thus you will be found to have promoted your own interests while obeying our command.' [footnote : 'vos autem, romani, magno studio gothos diligere debetis, qui et in pace numerosos vobis populos faciunt, et universam rempublicam per bella defendunt.'] . formula of the duke of raetia. [sidenote: ducatus raetiarum.] 'although promotion among the _spectabiles_ goes solely by seniority, it is impossible to deny that those who are employed in the border provinces have a more arduous, and therefore in a sense more honourable, office than those who command in the peaceful districts of italy. the former have to deal with war, the latter only with the repression of crime. the former hear the trumpet's clang, the latter the voice of the crier. 'the provinces of raetia are the bars and bolts of italy. wild and cruel nations ramp outside of them, and they, like nets, whence their name[ ], catch the barbarian in their toils and hold him there till the hurled arrow can chastise his mad presumption. [footnote : raetia, from _rete_, a net.] 'receive then for this indiction the _ducatus raetiarum_. let your soldiers live on friendly terms with the provincials, avoiding all lawless presumption; and at the same time let them be constantly on their guard against the barbarians outside. even bloodshed is often prevented by seasonable vigilance.' . formula of the palace architect. [sidenote: cura palatii.] 'much do we delight in seeing the greatness of our kingdom imaged forth in the splendour of our palace. 'thus do the ambassadors of foreign nations admire our power, for at first sight one naturally believes that as is the house so is the inhabitant. 'the cyclopes invented the art of working in metal, which then passed over from sicily to italy. 'take then for this indiction the care of our palace, thus receiving the power of transmitting your fame to a remote posterity which shall admire your workmanship. see that your new work harmonises well with the old. study euclid--get his diagrams well into your mind; study archimedes and metrobius. 'when we are thinking of rebuilding a city, or of founding a fort or a general's quarters, we shall rely upon you to express our thoughts on paper [in an architect's design]. the builder of walls, the carver of marbles, the caster of brass, the vaulter of arches[ ], the plasterer, the worker in mosaic, all come to you for orders, and you are expected to have a wise answer for each. but, then, if you direct them rightly, while theirs is the work yours is all the glory. [footnote : 'camerarum rotator.'] 'above all things, dispense honestly what we give you for the workmen's wages; for the labourer who is at ease about his victuals works all the better. 'as a mark of your high dignity you bear a golden wand, and amidst the numerous throng of servants walk first before the royal footsteps [i.e. last in the procession and immediately before the king], that even by your nearness to our person it may be seen that you are the man to whom we have entrusted the care of our palaces.' . formula of the count of the aqueducts. [sidenote: comitiva formarum urbis.] 'though all the buildings of rome are wonderful, and one can scarce for this reason say which are the chief among them, we think a distinction may be drawn between those which are reared only for the sake of ornament and those which also serve a useful purpose. thus, however often one sees the forum of trajan, it always seems a wonder[ ]. to stand on the lofty capitol is to see all other works of the human intellect surpassed. and yet neither of these great works touches human life, nor ministers to health or enjoyment. but in the aqueducts of rome we note both the marvel of their construction and the rare wholesomeness of their waters. when you look at those rivers, led as it were over piled up mountains, you would think that their solid stony beds were natural channels, through so many ages have they borne the rush of such mighty waters. and yet even mountains are frequently undermined, and let out the torrents which have excavated them; while these artificial channels, the work of the ancients, never perish, if reasonable care be taken of their preservation. [footnote : 'trajani forum vel sub assiduitate videre miraculum est.'] 'let us consider how much that wealth of waters adds to the adornment of the city of rome. where would be the beauty of our _thermae_, if those softest waters were not supplied to them? 'purest and most delightful of all streams glides along the _aqua virgo_, so named because no defilement ever stains it. for while all the others, after heavy rain show some contaminating mixture of earth, this alone by its ever pure stream would cheat us into believing that the sky was always blue above us. ah! how express these things in words worthy of them? the _aqua claudia_ is led along on the top of such a lofty pile that, when it reaches mount aventine, it falls from above upon that lofty summit as if it were watering some lowly valley. it is true that the egyptian nile, rising at certain seasons, brings its flood of waters over the land under a cloudless sky; but how much fairer a sight is it to see the roman claudia flowing with a never-failing stream over all those thirsty mountain tops, and bringing purest water through a multitude of pipes to so many baths and houses. when nile retreats he leaves mud behind him; when he comes unexpectedly he brings a deluge. shall we not then boldly say that our aqueducts surpass the famous nile, which is so often a terror to the dwellers on his banks either by what he brings or by what he leaves behind him? it is in no spirit of pride that we enumerate these particulars, but in order that you may consider how great diligence should be shown by you to whom such splendid works are entrusted. 'wherefore, after careful consideration, we entrust you for this indiction with the _comitiva formarum_, that you may zealously strive to accomplish what the maintenance of such noble structures requires. especially as to the hurtful trees which are the ruin of buildings, [inserting their roots between the stones and] demolishing them with the destructiveness of a battering-ram: we wish them to be pulled up by the roots, since it is no use dealing with an evil of this kind except in its origin. if any part is falling into decay through age, let it be repaired at once: the first expense is the least. the strengthening of the aqueducts will constitute your best claim on our favour, and will be the surest means of establishing your own fortune. act with skill and honesty, and let there be no corrupt practices in reference to the distribution of the water.' . formula of the praefect of the watch of the city of rome. [sidenote: praefectus vigilum urbis romae.] 'your office, exercised as it is in the city itself, and under the eyes of patricians and consuls, is sure to bring you renown if you discharge its duties with diligence. you have full power to catch thieves, though the law reserves the right of punishing them for another official, apparently because it would remember that even these detestable plunderers are yet roman citizens. take then for this indiction the _praefectura vigilum_. you will be the safety of sleepers, the bulwark of houses, the defence of bolts and bars, an unseen scrutineer, a silent judge, one whose right it is to entrap the plotters and whose glory to deceive them. your occupation is a nightly hunting, most feared when it is not seen. you rob the robbers, and strive to circumvent the men who make a mock at all other citizens. it is only by a sort of sleight of hand that you can throw your nets around robbers; for it is easier to guess the riddles of the sphinx than to detect the whereabouts of a flying thief. he looks round him on all sides, ready to start off at the sound of an advancing footstep, trembling at the thought of a possible ambush. how can one catch him who, like the wind, tarries never in one place? go forth, then, under the starry skies; watch diligently with all the birds of night, and as they seek their food in the darkness so do you therein hunt for fame. 'let there be no corruption, no deeds of darkness which the day need blush for. do this, and you will have our support in upholding the rightful privileges of yourself and your staff.' . formula of the praefect of the watch of the city of ravenna. [sidenote: praefectus vigilum urbis ravennatis.] contains the same topics as the preceding formula, rather less forcibly urged, and with no special reference to the city of ravenna. an exhortation at the end not to be too hasty, nor to shed blood needlessly, even when dealing with thieves. . formula of the count of portus. [sidenote: comitiva portus urbis romae.] 'it is a service of pleasure rather than of toil to hold the dignity of comes in the harbour of the city of rome, to look forth upon the wide sail-traversed main, to see the commerce of all the provinces tending towards rome, and to welcome travellers arriving with the joy of ended peril. excellent thought of the men of old to provide two channels by which strangers might enter the tiber, and to adorn them with those two stately cities [portus and ostia], which shine like lights upon the watery way! 'do you therefore, by your fair administration, make it easy for strangers to enter. do not grasp at more than the lawful dues; for the greedy hand closes a harbour, and extortion is as much dreaded by mariners as adverse winds. receive then for this indiction the _comitiva portus_; enjoy the pleasures of the office, and lay it down with increased reputation.' . formula of the tribunus voluptatum. [sidenote: tribunus voluptatum.] [minister of public amusements, the roman equivalent to our 'lord chamberlain' in that part of his office which relates to the control of theatres.] 'though the wandering life of the stage-player seems as if it might run to any excess of licence, antiquity has wisely provided that even it should be under some sort of discipline. thus respectability governs those who are not respectable, and people who are themselves ignorant of the path of virtue are nevertheless obliged to live under some sort of rule. your place, in fact, is like that of a guardian; as he looks after the tender years of his ward, so you bridle the passionate pleasures of your theatrical subjects. 'therefore, for this indiction, we appoint you tribune of [the people's] pleasures. see that order is observed at the public spectacles: they are not really popular without this. keep your own high character for purity in dealing with these men and women of damaged reputation, that men may say, "even in promoting the pleasures of the people he showed his virtuous disposition." 'it is our hope that through this frivolous employment you may pass to more serious dignities.' . formula of the defensor of any city. [sidenote: defensor cujuslibet civitatis.] [observe that the defensor has power to fix prices, in addition to his original function of protecting the commonalty from oppression.] 'the number of his clients makes it necessary for the representative of a whole city to be especially wary in his conduct. 'at the request of your fellow-citizens we appoint you, for this indiction, defensor of such and such a city. take care that there be nothing venal in your conduct. fix the prices for the citizens according to the goodness or badness of the seasons, and remember to pay yourself what you have prescribed to others. a good defensor allows his citizens neither to be oppressed by the laws nor harassed by the dearness of provisions.' . formula of the curator of a city. [sidenote: curator civitatis.] [the defensor and curator had evidently almost equivalent powers, but with some slight difference of dignity. they cannot both have existed in the same city. it would be interesting to know what decided the question whether a city should have a defensor or a curator.] this formula differs very little from the preceding, except that the new officer is told 'wisely to govern the ranks of the curia.' stress is again laid on the regulation of prices: 'cause moderate prices to be adhered to by those whom it concerns. let not merchandise be in the sole power of the sellers, but let an agreeable equability be observed in all things. this is the most enriching kind of popularity, which is derived from maintaining moderation in prices[ ]. you shall have the same salary (consuetudines) which your predecessors had in the same place.' [footnote : 'opulentissima siquidem et hinc gratia civium colligitur, si pretia sub moderatione serventur.'] . formula of the count of rome. [sidenote: comitiva romana.] 'if even bolts and bars cannot secure a house from robbery, much more do the precious things left in the streets and open spaces of rome require protection. i refer to that most abundant population of statues, to that mighty herd of horses [in stone and metal] which adorn our city. it is true that if there were any reverence in human nature, it, and not the watchman, ought to be the sufficient guardian of the beauty of rome[ ]. but what shall we say of the marbles, precious both by material and workmanship, which many a hand longs, if it has opportunity, to pick out of their settings? who when entrusted with such a charge can be negligent? who venal? we entrust to you therefore for this indiction the dignity of the comitiva romana, with all its rights and just emoluments. watch for all such evil-doers as we have described. rightly does the public grief[ ] punish those who mar the beauty of the ancients with amputation of limbs, inflicting on them that which they have made our monuments to suffer. do you and your staff and the soldiers at your disposal watch especially by night; in the day the city guards itself. at night the theft looks tempting; but the rascal who tries it is easily caught if the guardian approaches him unperceived. nor are the statues absolutely dumb; the ringing sound which they give forth under the blows of the thief seems to admonish their drowsy guardian. let us see you then diligent in this business, that whereas we now bestow upon you a toilsome dignity, we may hereafter confer an honour without care.' [footnote : 'si esset humanis rebus ulla consideratio romanam pulchritudinem non vigiliae sed sola deberet reverentia custodire.'] [footnote : 'quia juste tales persequitur publicus dolor.'] . formula of the count of ravenna. [sidenote: comitiva ravennatis.] 'high is your honour, to be the means of taking away all slowness from the execution of our orders. who knows not what a quantity of ships you can muster at the least hint from us! scarcely is the ink dry on the _evectio_ [permission to use the public post] prepared by some palace dignitary, when already with the utmost speed it is by you being carried into effect. do not exact too much service from merchants[ ], nor yet from corrupt motives let them off too easily. be very careful in your judicial capacity, and especially when trying the causes of the poor, to whom a small error in your judgment may be far more disastrous than to the rich.' [footnote : 'negociatorum operas consuetas nec nimias exigas, nec venalitate derelinquas.' apparently then a certain amount of forced labour could be claimed from the owners of merchant-vessels by the count of ravenna.] . formula addressed to the praefect of the city on the appointment of an architect. [sidenote: architectus publicorum.] 'it is desirable that the necessary repairs to this forest of walls and population of statues which make up rome should be in the hands of a learned man who will make the new work harmonise with the old. therefore for this indiction we desire your greatness to appoint a b architect of the city of rome. let him read the books of the ancients; but he will find more in this city than in his books. statues of men, showing the muscles swelling with effort, the nerves in tension, the whole man looking as if he had grown rather than been cast in metal. statues of horses, full of fire, with the curved nostril, with rounded tightly-knit limbs, with ears laid back--you would think the creature longed for the race, though you know that the metal moves not. this art of statuary the etruscans are said to have practised first in italy; posterity has embraced it, and given to the city an artificial population almost equal to its natural one. the ancients speak of the wonders of the world [here enumerated and described], but this one of the city of rome surpasses them all. it had need to be a learned man who is charged with the care of upholding all these works; else, in his despair, he will deem himself the man of stone, and the statues about him the truly living men.' . formula of the count of the islands of curritana and celsina. [sidenote: comitiva insulae curritanae et celsinae.] [celsina, from the place in which it is mentioned in the 'itinerary' of antonine ( ), was probably one of the lipari islands. curritana must have been near it but is not further identified.] 'the presence of a ruler is necessary; and it is not desirable that men should live without discipline, according to their own wills. we therefore appoint you judge of these two islands. for it is right that someone should go to the habitations of these men, who are shut out from converse with the rest of their kind, and settle their differences by fair reason. 'oh ye inhabitants of these islands, ye now know whom our piety has set over you, and we shall expect you to obey him.' . formula concerning the president of the lime-kilns. [sidenote: praepositus calcis.] 'it is a glorious labour to serve the city of rome. it cannot be doubted that lime (coctilis calx), which is snow-white and lighter than sponge, is useful for the mightiest buildings. in proportion as it is itself disintegrated by the application of fire does it lend strength to walls; a dissolvable rock, a stony softness, a sandy pebble, which burns the best when it is most abundantly watered, without which neither stones are fixed nor the minute particles of sand hardened. 'therefore we set you, well known for your industry, over the burning and distribution of lime, that there may be plenty of it both for public and private works, and that thereby people may be put in good heart for building. do this well, and you shall be promoted to greater things.' . formula concerning armourers. [sidenote: armorum factores.] 'good arms are of the utmost importance to a community. by means of them man, the frailest of creatures, is made stronger than monstrous beasts. phoroneus is said to have first invented them, and brought them to juno to consecrate them by her divinity. 'for this indiction we set you over the soldiers and workmen in our armouries. do not presume in our absence to pass bad workmanship. we shall find out by diligent search all that you do, and in such a matter as this consider no mistake venial.' . formula addressed to the praetorian praefect concerning the armourers. [sidenote: ad praefectum praetorio de armorum factoribus.] announces to the praefects the appointment conferred in the preceding letter, and repeats that to supply inferior arms to soldiers is an act of treason. the workmen are to receive their just _consuetudines_ [wages]. and . formula as to the collection of bina and terna: ( ) _if collected by the judge himself;_ ( ) _if collected by his officium._ [sidenote: binorum et ternorum: (xx.) si per judicem aguntur; (xxi.) si per officium aguntur.] these _bina_ and _terna_, as stated in the note to iii. , are a mystery. all that can be positively stated about them is that they were a kind of land-tax, collected from the cultivators (possessores), and that they had to be brought into the treasury by the first of march in each year. under the first formula the judex himself, under the second two _scriniarii_ superintend the collection, reporting to the count of sacred largesses. as in the previous letter (iii. ), the judex is reminded that if there is any deficiency he will have to make it good himself. cf. manso, 'geschichte des ostgothischen reiches' ; and sartorius, 'regierung der ostgothen' and . . formula of exhortation addressed to the two scriniarii referred to in formula . [sidenote: commonitorium illi et illi scriniariis.] 'your day of promotion is come. proceed to such and such a province, in order that you may assist the judex and his staff in collecting the _bina_ and _terna_, before the first of march, and may forward them without delay to the count of sacred largesses. let there be no extortion from the cultivator, no dishonest surrender of our rights.' . formula of the vicarius of portus. [sidenote: vicarius portus.] 'great prudence is necessary in your office, since discords easily arise between two nationalities. therefore you must use skill to soothe those [the greek merchants and sailors from the levant] whose characters are unstable as the winds, and who, unless you bring their minds into a state of calm, will, with their natural quickness of temper, fly out into the extremity of insolence.' . formula of the princeps of dalmatia. [sidenote: princeps dalmatiarum.] [the princeps, as observed on p. , seems to have practically disappeared from the officium of the praefectus praetorio. here, however, we find a provincial princeps whose rank and functions are not a little perplexing. it seems probable that, while still nominally only the chief of a staff of subordinates, he may, owing to the character of the superior under whom he served, have practically assumed more important functions. that superior in this case was a comes, whose military character is indicated by the first letter of this book. the princeps was therefore virtually the civil assessor of this officer. the comes under theodoric would generally be a goth; the princeps must be a roman and a jurisconsult. the business of the former was war and administration; that of the latter, judgment, though his decisions were apparently pronounced by the mouth of the comes, his superior in rank.] 'whosoever serves while bearing the title of princeps has high pre-eminence among his colleagues. to the consul of the provinces power is given, but to you the judge himself is entrusted. without you there is no access to the secretarium, nor is the ceremony of salutation[ ] [by subordinate officers] performed. you hold the vine-rod[ ] which menaces the wicked; you have the right, withheld from the governor himself, of punishing the insolence of an orator pleading in his court. the records of the whole suit have to be signed by you, and for this your consent is sought after the will of the judge has been explained.' [footnote : 'pompa osculationis.' another reading is 'pompa postulationis.'] [footnote : 'tu vitem tenes improbis minantem.' the allusion is to the vine-bough, which was used in scourging. the alternative reading, _vitam_, does not seem to give so good a sense.] . formula recommending the principes[ ] to the comes. [footnote : plural. apparently, therefore, each count had more than one princeps, perhaps one for each large city in his province.] [sidenote: ad commendandos comiti principes.] 'it is our glory to see you [a goth, one of our own nation] accompanied by a roman official staff. acting through such ministers, your power seems to be hallowed by the sanction of antiquity. 'for to this point, by god's help, have we brought our goths, that they should be both well-trained in arms and attuned to justice. it is this which the other races cannot accomplish; this that makes you unique among the nations, namely, that you, who are accustomed to war, are seen to live obedient to the laws side by side with the romans. therefore from out of our _officium_, we have decided to send a and b to you, that according to ancient custom, while forwarding the execution of your commands they may bring those commands into conformity with the mind of past ages[ ].' [footnote : 'rationabili debeant antiquitate moderari.' perhaps we might translate, 'with the common law.'] . formula of the countship of the second rank in divers cities[ ]. [footnote : the title runs thus (in nivellius' edition): 'formula comitivae honorum scientiae ordinis diversarum civitatum.' i do not know what is meant by 'honorum scientiae.' can 'scientiae' be a transcriber's blunder for 'secundi?'] [sidenote: comitiva diversarum civitatum.] for the sentences, more than usually devoid of meaning, in which cassiodorus dilates on free-will, justice, and the mind of man, it may be well to substitute manso's description of this dignity (p. ): 'by the title of a count of the second order the judges in little towns appear chiefly to have been rewarded and encouraged. those named for it, however, can hardly have received any great distinction or especial privileges, for cassiodorus not only enumerates no civic advantages thus secured to them, but expressly says, "we intend to bestow better things than this upon you, if you earn our approbation in your present office." he does not use this language to those adorned with the _comitiva primi ordinis_.' . formula addressed to the dignified cultivators and curiales[ ]. [footnote : cf. vi. .] [sidenote: honorati possessores et curiales.] 'as one must rule and the rest obey, we have for this indiction conferred the countship of your city on a b, that he may hear your causes and give effect to our orders.' [apparently this letter and the preceding relate to the same appointment. the words 'secundi ordinis' are not added to the title of the new count when his fellow-citizens are informed of it.] . formula announcing the appointment of a comes to the chief of his staff[ ]. [footnote : this must, i think, be the meaning; but it is hard to extract it from the words 'formula principis militum comitivae.'] [sidenote: princeps militum comitivae.] 'judge and court officer (praesul and miles) are terms which involve one another. the officers of the court have no right to exist, without the judge; he is powerless without them to execute his commands. we therefore think it well to inform you of our appointment of a b as count over your body[ ]. it is no light benefit that so long as you attend to your duty[ ] you are allowed to elect the examiners.' [footnote : 'comitem militiae vestrae.'] [footnote : 'nec istud leve credatis beneficium, ut cum vos scitis obsequium, vobis occurrat electio cognitorum.' for cognitores, see vii. . these cognitores had virtually the decision of all 'issues of fact,' and consequently their nomination was a very important matter. i think the meaning of this passage is: 'i, the king, appoint the _comes_ (= judex), and graciously inform you of my decision. but you (the officium) have the privilege--and it is no small one--of electing the _cognitores_.'] . formula concerning the guard at the gates of a city. [sidenote: de custodiendis portis civitatis.] 'we entrust to you an important office, the care of the gate of such and such a city. do not keep it always shut--that were to turn the city into a prison; nor let it always lie open--then the walls are useless. use your own judgment, but remember that the gate of a city is like the jaws of the human body, through which provisions enter to nourish it.' . formula of the tribunate in the provinces. [sidenote: tribunatus provinciarum.] 'it is right that one who has served his time in civil employment should receive his reward, and we therefore appoint as your tribune the man who has a right to the office by seniority. you are to obey him, since officers of this kind partake of the nature of judges [governors], as they are called to account for any excesses committed by you.' [who this tribune was--since the _tribunus voluptatum_ is apparently out of the question--and how his jurisdiction fitted in to that of other officers, manso (p. ) deems it impossible to decide, nor can i offer any suggestion.] . formula of the princeps of the city of rome. [sidenote: formula principatus urbis romae.] 'as there must be the _officium_, of a count in rome, and as we want to have our chief princeps[ ] near us [in ravenna], we wish you to take his place and wield power as his _vicarius_ in rome. [footnote : 'principem nostrum _cardinalem_' (observe this use of the word).] 'if you think that any of the _comitiaci_ ought to be sent to attend our comitatus [at ravenna], do so at your own discretion, retaining those whom you think proper to retain at rome. let there be an alternation, however, that one set of men be not worn out with continuous labour, while the others are rusting in idleness.' . formula of the master of the mint. [sidenote: formula qua moneta committitur.] 'great is the crime of tampering with the coinage; a crime against the many--whose buying and selling is disturbed by it; and a crime and a sacrilege against us, whose image is impressed on the coins. 'let everything be pure and unalloyed which bears the impress of our serenity. let the flame of gold be pale and unmixed, let the colour of silver smile with its gracious whiteness, let the ruddy copper retain its native glow. 'coins are to keep their full weight. they used to pass current by weight, not by tale, whence the words for profit and expenditure[ ]. _pecunia_ was named from cattle (pecus). you must see that our money does not return to this low condition. king servius first used stamped money. take then the care of the mint; hold it for five years, and be very careful how you administer it.' [footnote : 'compendium et dispendium' (from _pendere_, to weigh).] . formula respecting the ambassadors of various nations. [sidenote: formula legatorum gentium diversarum.] 'since it is important that when ambassadors return to their country they should feel that they have been well treated in ours, hand the enclosed _douceur_ (humanitas), and a certain quantity of fodder for their horses, to the ambassadors of such and such a nation. nothing pleases those who have commenced their return journey better than speeding them on their way.' . formula of summons to the king's court (unsolicited). [sidenote: formula evocatoria quam princeps dirigit.] 'we summon you by these presents to our comitatus, that you may have an extraordinary pleasure. be brisk therefore, and come on such a day to such a city. our palace longs for the presence of good men, and god puts it into our hearts to give them a cordial reception.' . formula of summons to the court (solicited). [sidenote: formula evocatoria quae petenti conceditur.] 'it is a sign of a good conscience to seek the presence of a just ruler; it is only good deeds that crave the light of the sun. come then speedily. we consider our own glory augmented when we see noble men flocking to our obedience.' . formula granting temporary leave of absence. [sidenote: formula commeatalis ad tempus.] 'all men require change: even honey cloys after a time. we therefore give you leave to visit such a province and remain there so many months, with the understanding that when they are over you return to the city. if it be tedious to live always in the city, how much more to live long in the country! but we gladly give you this holiday, not that rome should be deserted, but that absence from her may commend her to you all the more.' . formula conferring the rank of a spectabilis. [sidenote: spectabilitas.] 'wishing to bestow the right honours on the right man among our subjects, we decorate you with the splendour of a _spectabilis_, that you may know that your opinion is duly respected[ ] at all public meeting-places, when you take your honoured seat among the nobles.' [footnote : 'spectandam,' an allusion to the derivation of _spectabilis_.] . formula conferring the rank of a clarissimus. [sidenote: clarissimatus.] 'the desire of praise is a good thing, and leads to the increase of virtue. receive the honour of the _clarissimatus_, as a testimony to the excellence of your past life and a pledge of your future prosperity. observe, you are not called _clarus_, but _clarissimus_. everything that is most excellent may be believed of him who is saluted by such a splendid superlative.' . formula bestowing 'police protection.' [sidenote: tuitio regii nominis.] 'though it seems superfluous to grant special protection to any of our subjects, since all are shielded by the laws, yet moved by your cry for help we are willing to relieve you and to give you as a strong tower of defence the shelter of our name[ ], into which you may retire when wounded by the assaults of your enemies. this defence will avail you alike against the hot-headed onslaughts [of the goths] and the ruinous chicanery [of the romans][ ]; but you must beware that you, who have thus had to solicit the help of the law, do not yourself set law at defiance by refusing to appear in answer to a summons. [footnote : 'tuitio nostri nominis.'] [footnote : 'validissimam turrem contra inciviles impetus et conventionalia detrimenta.'] 'that our royal protection be not a mere name, we appoint a and b to protect you by their fidelity and diligence, the former against the goths, and the latter against the romans[ ]. if any one hereafter attempt any act of _incivilitas_ against you, you will see your desire upon your enemies.' [footnote : 'praesentis beneficii jussione adversus gothis illa, adversus romanos illa, facile te fides et diligentia custodiet' ('custodivit' is surely an error).] [this important letter is commented upon at some length by dahn ('könige der germanen' iii. - ). i am not sure that he is right in stating that _tuitio_ against a goth would _necessarily_ be given by means of a sajo, though evidently this was often the rank of the officer employed.] . formula for the confirmation of marriage and the legitimation of offspring. [sidenote: de matrimonio confirmando et liberis legitime constituendis.] 'an eternal benefit is that which is bestowed on a man's offspring; and hard is the lot of him who, born with a stain on his name, finds his troubles prepared as soon as he comes forth to the light of day. 'you pray that the woman whom you have loved but not married may receive the honour of wedlock, and that your children by her may attain the name of heirs. we grant your request, and ordain that your mistress shall be your lawful wife, and the children whom you love and whom nature has given you, your successors.' [some of the maxims of this letter can hardly have obtained the approval of the author after he 'entered religion.'] . formula conferring the rights of full age. [sidenote: aetatis venia.] 'an honourable boast is contained in the suit for "venia aetatis." in it a young man says, "give me those rights which my stability of character warrants, though my age does not as yet entitle me to them." 'thus you refuse the protection which the law throws round the years of weakness, and this is as bold a thing as any man can do. we grant your request; and if you can prove that you have come to the age at which "venia aetatis" should be asked for, we ordain that, with the proper formalities which have been of old provided in this matter[ ], you shall be admitted to all the rights of an adult, and that your dispositions of property, whether in city or country, shall be held valid[ ]. you must exhibit that steadfastness of character which you claim. you say that you will not be caught by the snares of designing men; and you must remember that now to deny the fulfilment of your promise will become a much more serious matter than heretofore.' [footnote : 'ut in foro competenti ea quae in his causis reverenda legum dictat antiquitas solenniter actitentur.'] [footnote : 'ita ut in alienandis rusticis vel urbanis praediis constitutionum servitus auctoritas.'] . formula of an edict to the quaestor ordering the person who asks for the protection of a sajo to give bail. [sidenote: edictum ad quaestorem, ut ipse spondere debeat qui sajonem meretur.] 'heavy charges are sometimes brought against the sajones whom with the best intentions we have granted for the protection of our wealthy subjects. we are told that the valour of the sajo is employed not merely for the protection of him to whom he is assigned, but for illegal violence and rapine against that person's enemies. thus our remedy becomes itself a disease. to guard against this perversion of our beneficent designs we ordain that anyone asking for the guardianship of a brave sajo against violence with which he feels himself unable to cope, shall give a penal bond to our officium, with this condition, that if the sajo[ ] who is assigned to him shall exceed our orders by any improper violence, he himself shall pay by way of fine so many pounds of gold, and shall make satisfaction for the damage sustained by his adversary as well as for the expenses of his journey [to obtain redress]. for our wish is to repress uncivil dispositions, not to injure the innocent. as for the sajo who shall have wilfully transgressed the limit of our commands, he shall lose his donative, and--which is the heaviest of all punishments--our favour also. nor will we entrust any further duty to him who has been the violator rather than the executor of our will.' [footnote : 'sajus' in the original, and so in the next place where it occurs.] . formula approving the appointment of a clerk in the record-office. [sidenote: probatoria cartariorum.] 'at the suggestion of the tribune of the cartarii--to whom the whole office pays fitting reverence--we bestow upon you the title of a cartarius. flee avarice and avoid all unjust gains.' [this letter gives no information as to the duties of a cartarius, or, as he is called in the codes, cartularius.] . formula for the grant of public property on condition of improvement[ ]. [footnote : formula de competitoribus is the somewhat obscure title of this document, which might perhaps be compared to our commons' enclosure acts.] [sidenote: de competitoribus.] 'he who seeks to become owner of public property can only justify his claim by making the squalid beautiful, and by adorning the waste. therefore, as you desire it, we confer upon you as your full property such and such a place, reserving all mineral rights--brass, lead, marbles--should any such be found therein; but we do this on the understanding that you will restore to beauty that which has become shabby by age and neglect. it is the part of a good citizen to adorn the face of his city, and you may securely transmit to your posterity that which your own labour has accomplished[ ].' [footnote : 'securus etiam ad posteros transmissurus, quod proprio fuerit labore compositum.'] . formula of remission of taxes where the taxpayer has only one house, too heavily assessed. [sidenote: formula qua census relevetur ei qui unam casam possidet praegravatam.] 'you complain that the land-tax (tributum) levied upon your holding (possessio) in such a province is so heavy that all your means are swallowed up in the swamp of indebtedness, and that more is claimed by the tax-collectors than can be obtained from the soil by the husbandman. you might, by surrendering the property altogether, escape from this miserable necessity which is making you a slave rather than, a landowner; but since the imperial laws (sacratissimae leges) give us the power to relieve a man of moderate fortune in such circumstances, our greatness, which always hath the cause of justice at heart, decrees by these presents that if the case be as you say, the liability for the payment of so many solidi on behalf of the aforesaid property shall be cancelled in the public archives, and that this shall be done so thoroughly that there shall be no trace of it left in any copy of the taxing-rolls by which the charge may be revived at a future day[ ].' [footnote : 'decernimus ut, si ita est, tot solidos tributario supradictae possessionis ... ita faciatis de vasariis publicis diligenter abradi ut hujus rei duplarum vestigium non debeat inveniri.' cf. what is said by evagrius (iii. ) of the proceedings of anastasius at the time of the abolition of the chrysargyron.] . formula legitimating marriage with a first cousin. [sidenote: formula qua consobrina legitima fiat uxor.] 'after the laws of the two tables, moses adds the laws wherein god forbids marriages between near kindred, to guard against incest and provide for a wise admixture of divers strains of blood[ ]. [footnote : 'ne dilationem providam in genus extraneum non haberent.'] 'these commands have been extended to remoter degrees of relationship by the wise men of old, who have however reserved to the prince the power of granting dispensations from the rule in the cases (not likely to be frequent) where first cousins (by the mother's side) seek to intermarry. 'acting on this wise principle we permit you to marry c d, if she is of no nearer kinship to you than first cousin. by god's favour may you have legitimate heirs from this marriage, which, our consent having been obtained, is not blameable but praiseworthy.' . formula addressed to the praetorian praefect directing the sale of the property of a curialis. [sidenote: formula ad praefectum, ut sub decreto curialis praedia vendat.] 'it is the hard lot of human nature often to be injured by the very things which were intended as remedies. the prohibition against the sale of the property of a curialis was intended for his protection, and to enable him fearlessly to discharge his share of the public burdens. in some cases, however, where he has contracted large debts, this prohibition simply prevents him from saving anything out of the gulf of indebtedness. you have the power, after making due enquiry into the circumstances, to authorise the sale of such a property. you have the power; but as the proceeding is an unusual one, to guard you against any odium to which it may expose you, we fortify your eminence by this our present command. let the curialis who petitions for this relief satisfy you as to the cause of his losses, that it may be shown that they are really the result of circumstances beyond his own control, not due to his own bad character. 'wisely has antiquity laid upon _you_ the responsibility of deciding cases of this kind, you whose advantage lies in the maintenance of the curia. for by whom could its burdens be borne, if the nerves of the communities should everywhere be seen to be severed[ ]?' [footnote : 'quapropter provide vobis permisit antiquitas de illâ causa decernere, cui est utile curiam custodire. a quibus enim munia petuerunt sustineri, si civitatum nervi passim videantur abscidi.'] book viii. containing thirty-three letters, all written in the name of athalaric the king, except the eleventh, which is written in the name of tulum. . king athalaric to the emperor justin (a.d. ). [sidenote: the accession of athalaric announced to the emperor justin.] [some mss. read justiniano, but there can be no doubt that justino is the right reading. athalaric's accession took place august , ; the death of justin, august , . justinian was associated with his uncle in the empire, april , .] 'most earnestly do i seek your friendship, oh most clement of princes, who are made even more illustrious by the wide extension of your favours than by the purple robe and the kingly throne. on this friendship i have an hereditary claim. my father was adorned by you with the palm-enwoven robe of the consul [eutharic, consul ] and adopted as a son in arms, a name which i, as one of a younger generation, could more fittingly receive[ ]. my grandfather also received curule honours from you[ ] in your city. love and friendship should pass from parents to their offspring, while hatred should be buried in the tomb; and therefore with confidence, as one who by reason of my tender years cannot be an object of suspicion to you, and as one whose ancestors you have already known and cherished, i claim from you your friendship on the same compacts and conditions on which your renowned predecessors granted it to my lord and grandfather of divine memory[ ]. it will be to me something better than dominion to have the friendship of so excellent and so mighty a ruler. my ambassadors (a and b) will open the purport of their commission more fully to your serenity.' [footnote : the text is evidently corrupt here: 'genitor meus desiderio quoque concordiae factus est per arma filius, quia unis nobis pene videbatur aequaevus.' the suggested reading, 'quamvis vobis,' does not entirely remove the difficulty.] [footnote : that is, of course, not from justin himself but from his predecessors.] [footnote : 'ut amicitiam nobis illis pactis, illis conditionibus concedatis, quas cum divae memoriae domino avo nostro inclytos decessores vestros constat habuisse.'] . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome on his accession (a.d. ). [sidenote: to the senate.] 'great must be the joy of all orders of the state at hearing of the accession of a new ruler, above all of a peaceful succession, without war, without sedition, without loss of any kind to the republic. 'such has been our succession to our grandfather. on account of the glory of the amal race, which yields to none[ ], the hope of our youth has been preferred to the merits of all others. the chiefs, glorious in council and in war, have flocked to recognise us as king so gladly, so unmurmuringly, that it seems like a divine inspiration, and the kingdom has been changed as one changes a garment. [footnote : 'quoniam quaevis claritas generis amalis cedit.'] 'the institution of royalty is consolidated when power thus passes from one generation to another, and when a good prince lives again, not in statues of brass but in the lineaments and the character of his descendants. 'the general consent of goths and romans [at ravenna] has crowned us king, and they have confirmed their allegiance by an oath. you, though separated from us by space, are, we know, as near to us in heart as they; and we call upon you therefore to follow their example. we all know that the most excellent fathers of the senate love their king more fervently than other ranks of the state, in proportion to the greater benefits which they have received at his hand. 'and since one should never enter your curia empty-handed, we have sent our count, the illustrious sigismer, with certain persons to administer the oath to you. if you have any requests to make to us which shall be for the common benefit of the republic, make them through him, and they are granted beforehand.' . king athalaric to the roman people (a.d. ). [sidenote: to the citizens of rome.] 'if a stranger to the royal line were succeeding to the throne, you might doubt whether the friendship between him and you would endure, and might look for a reversal of the policy of his predecessors. but now the person of the king only, not his policy, is changed. we are determined to follow the revered maxims of our predecessor, and to load with even more abundant benefits those whom he most kindly defended. 'everything was so ordered by our glorious grandfather that on his death the glad consent of goths called us to our kingdom; and that no doubt might remain upon the matter they pledged themselves by an oath most cordially taken, to accept us as their ruler. we invite you to follow their example, and like trajan, we, the sovereign, in whose name all oaths are made, will also swear to you. the bearers of this letter will receive your sworn promise, and will give you ours, "by the lord's help to observe justice and fair clemency, the nourisher of the nations; that goths and romans shall meet with impartial treatment at our hands; and that there shall be no other division between the two nations, except that _they_ undergo the labours of war for the common benefit, while _you_ are increased in numbers by your peaceable inhabitancy of the city of rome[ ]." raise then your spirits, and hope for even better things and more tranquillity, under god's blessing, from our reign than from that of our predecessor.' [footnote : 'justitiam nos et aequabilem clementiam, quae populos nutrit, juvante domino, custodire et _gothis romanisque apud nos jus esse commune_, nec aliud inter vos esse divisum, nisi quod illi labores bellicos pro communi utilitate subeunt, vos autem civitatis romanae habitatio quieta multiplicat.' i do not consider that the words in italics, taken with the context, are irreconcilable with dahn's view that the goths were still, to a certain extent, under gothic law.] . king athalaric to all the romans settled in italy and the dalmatias (a.d. ). [sidenote: to the romans in italy and dalmatia.] 'he who hears of a change in the ruler is apt to fear that it may be a change for the worse; and a new king who makes no kind promises at his accession is supposed to be harbouring designs of severity. we therefore inform you that we have received the oaths of goths and romans and are ready to receive yours, which we doubt not you will willingly offer.' [the rest as in the preceding letters.] . king athalaric to all the goths settled in italy (a.d. ). [sidenote: to the goths.] 'gladly would we have announced to you the prolonged life of our lord and grandfather; but inasmuch as he has been withdrawn by hard fate from us who loved him, he has substituted us, by divine command, as heirs of his kingdom, that through us his successors in blood, he might make the benefits which he has conferred on you perpetual. and in truth we hope not only to defend but to increase the blessings wrought by him. all the goths in the royal city [ravenna] have taken the oaths to us. do you do the same by this count whom we send to you. 'receive then a name which ever brought prosperity to your race, the royal offshoot of the amals, the sprout of the balthae[ ], a childhood clad in purple. ye are they by whom, with god's help, our ancestors were borne to such a height of honour, and obtained an ever higher place amid the serried ranks of kings[ ].' [footnote : 'amalorum regalem prosapiem, baltheum germen.' i know not how athalaric had any blood of the balths in his veins. the other reading, 'blatteum,' gives the same idea as the following clause, 'infantiam purpuratam.'] [footnote : 'inter tam prolixum ordinem regum susceperunt semper augmenta.' perhaps we should translate 'by such a long line of (amal) kings obtained advancement for their nation;' but the meaning is not very clear.] . king athalaric to liberius, praetorian praefect of the gauls (a.d. ). [sidenote: to the governor of gaul.] 'you will be grieved to hear of the death of our lord and grandfather of glorious memory, but will be comforted in learning that he is succeeded by his descendant. thus, by god's command, did he arrange matters, associating us as lords in the throne of his royalty, in order that he might leave his kingdom at peace, and that no revolution might trouble it after his death.' [invitation to take the oath, as in previous letters.] . king athalaric to all the provincials settled in gaul (a.d. ). [sidenote: to the gaulish subjects of athalaric.] 'our grandfather of glorious memory is dead, but we have succeeded him, and will faithfully repay, both on his account and our own, the loyalty of our subjects. 'so unanimous was the acclamation of our [italian] subjects when we succeeded to the throne, that the thing seemed to be of god rather than of man. 'we now invite you to follow their example, that the goths may give their oath to the romans, and the romans may confirm it by a _sacramentum_ to the goths, that they are unanimously devoted to our king.' 'thus will your loyalty be made manifest, and concord and justice flourish among you.' [there is an appearance of mutuality about this oath of allegiance as between goths and romans, not merely by both to athalaric, which we have not had in the previous letters.] . king athalaric to victorinus, vir venerabilis and bishop[ ] (a.d. ). [footnote : baronius says (vii. ): 'cujusnam ecclesiae antistes fuerit victorinus ignoratur.' from the tone of the letter one may conjecture that victorinus was a bishop in gaul.] [sidenote: to bishop victorinus.] 'saluting you with all the veneration due to your character and office, we inform you with grief of the death of our lord and grandfather. but your sadness will be moderated when you hear that his kingdom is continued in us. favour us with your prayers, that the king of heaven may confirm to us the kingdom, subdue foreign nations before us, forgive us our sins, and propitiously preserve all that he was pleased to bestow on our ancestors. let your holiness exhort all the provincials to concord.' . king athalaric to tulum, patrician. [sidenote: praises of tulum, who is raised to the patriciate.] 'as our grandfather used to refresh his mind and strengthen his judgment by intercourse with you, so, _à fortiori_, may we in our tender years do the same. we therefore make you, by this present letter, patrician, that the counsels which you give us may not seem to proceed from any unknown and obscure source. 'greece adorned our hero [tulum] with the chlamys and the painted silken buskin; and the eastern peoples yearned to see him, because for some reason civic virtues are most prized in him who is believed to be of warlike disposition[ ]. contented with this repayment of honour he laboured with unwearied devotion for foreign countries (?), and with his relations (or parents) he deigned to offer his obedience to the sovereign, who was begotten of the stock of so many kings[ ]. [footnote : probably tulum had gone on some embassy to constantinople.] [footnote : 'hac igitur honoris remuneratione contentus, pro exteris partibus indefessa devotione laboravit: et praestare com suis parentibus principi dignabatur obsequium, qui tantorum regum fuerat stirpe procreatus.' this sentence is full of difficulties. what can he mean by the labour 'pro exteris partibus?' who is the 'princeps' whom tulum deigns to serve: the eastern emperor or theodoric? above all, who is 'tantorum regum stirpe procreatus?' i think the turn of the sentence requires that it should be tulum; but dahn has evidently not so understood it, for in his könige der germanen (iii. , ) he makes tulum a conspicuous example of a man not of noble birth raised to high dignity, and says that the two long letters about him in the variae contain no allusion to illustrious descent.] [after some very obscure sentences, in which the writer appears to be celebrating the praises of theodoric, he turns to tulum, of whom he has hitherto spoken in the third person, and addresses him as _you_.] 'his toil so formed your character that we have the less need to labour. with you he discussed the sure blessings of peace, the doubtful gains of war; and--rare boon from a wise king--to you, in his anxiety, he confidently opened all the secrets of his breast. you, however, responded fully to his trust. you never put him off with doubtful answers. ever patient and truthful, you won the entire confidence of your king, and dared even, hardest of all tasks, to argue against him for his own good. 'thus did your noble deeds justify your alliance with the amal race [apparently he has received an amal princess in marriage], and thus did you become worthy to be joined in common fame with gensemund, a man whose praises the whole world should sing, a man only made son by adoption in arms to the king, yet who exhibited such fidelity to the amals that he transferred it even to their heirs, although he was himself sought for to be crowned[ ]. therefore will his fame live for ever, so long as the gothic name endures. [footnote : 'exstat gentis gothicae hujus probitatis exemplum: gensemundus ille toto orbe cantabilis, solum armis filius factus, tanta se amalis devotione conjunxit ut haeredibus eorum curiosum exhibuerit famulatum, quamvis ipse peteretur ad regnum.' dahn (ii. and iii. ) and köpke (p. ) refer this mysterious affair of gensemund's renunciation to the interval after the death of thorismund (a.d. ). but this is mere conjecture. see italy and her invaders iii. - .] 'we look for even nobler things from you, because you are allied to us by race.' [a singularly obscure, vapid, and ill-written letter. the allusion to gensemund seems introduced on purpose to bewilder the reader.] . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome. [on the elevation of tulum to the patriciate.] [sidenote: the same subject.] 'we are conferring new lustre on your body by the promotion of tulum. a man sprung from the noblest stock[ ] he early undertook the duties of attendance in the king's bedchamber[ ], a difficult post, where the knowledge that you share the secret counsels of royalty itself exposes you to enmity. [footnote : 'primum, quod inter nationes eximium est, gothorum nobilissima stirpe gloriatur.'] [footnote : 'statim rudes annos ad sacri cubiculi secreta portavit.'] 'in the dawn of manhood he went forth with our army to the war of sirmium [a.d. ], showed what one of our young nobles bred in peace could do in war, triumphed over the huns[ ], and gave to slaughter the bulgarians, terrible to the whole world. such warriors do even our nurseries send forth: thus does the preparation of a courageous heart supersede the necessity for martial training[ ]. [footnote : we do not hear from the other authorities of huns being engaged in this war. in mundo the hun was in alliance with theodoric against the empire.] [footnote : 'tales mittunt nostra cunabula bellatores: sic paratae sunt manus, ubi exercetur animus.'] 'returned to the court he became the most intimate counsellor of the king, who arranged with him all his plans for campaign, and so admitted him to his most secret thoughts that tulum could always anticipate how theodoric would act in every fresh conjuncture of events; and it may be said "by offering him counsel he ruled the king[ ]." [footnote : 'et ministrando consilium regebat ipse rectorem.'] 'he then distinguished himself in the gaulish campaign [a.d. ], where he was already enrolled among the generals, directing the campaign by his prudence, and bravely sharing its dangers. in the fierce fight which was waged at arles for the possession of the covered bridge across the rhone[ ], the bravery of our _candidatus_ was everywhere conspicuous, and he received many honourable wounds, those best and most eloquent champions of a soldier's courage. [footnote : 'arelate est civitas supra undas rhodani constituta, quae in orientis prospectum tabulatum pontem per nuncupati fluminis dorsa transmittit.'] 'but a general ought not to be always fighting. i have pleasure in relating his next success, which was brilliant yet achieved without bloodshed. when the frank and burgundian again fell out, he was sent to gaul [a.d. ] to defend our frontier from hostile incursion. he then obtained for the roman republic, without any trouble, a whole province while others were fighting. it was a triumph without a battle, a palm-branch without toil, a victory without slaughter. 'so great were his services in this campaign that theodoric considered that he ought to be rewarded by the possession of large lands in the district which he had added to our dominions. 'a storm overtook him on his return to italy: the remembrance of the vanished danger of that storm is sweet to us now[ ]. in the wide, foaming sea his ship was swallowed up. he had to save himself by rowing; the sailors perished; he alone with the dear pledge of his love [one child?] escaped. theodoric rushed to the shore, and would have dashed into the waves to save his friend, but had the delight of receiving him unharmed, saved manifestly by divine protection for his present honours. [footnote : 'discrimina dum feliciter cedunt, suavissimae memoriae sensum relinquunt.' compare claudian (de bella getico - ): 'an potius meminisse juvat semperque vicissim gaudia praemissi cumulant inopina dolores.'] 'favour then, conscript fathers, the ambition of our _candidatus_, and open for the man of our choice the hall of liberty[ ]. the race of romulus deserves to have such martial colleagues as tulum.' [footnote : 'favete nunc auspiciis candidati, et viris nostris libertatis atria reserate.'] . tulum, illustris and patrician, to the senate of the city of rome. [note that cassiodorus has to provide an elegant oration not only for his master, but for this gothic fellow-minister of state. see dahn's remarks on the writer of this letter, 'könige der germanen' iii. .] [sidenote: tulum's address to the senate.] 'i pray you to receive favourably the order of the king which makes me a member of your body. 'i have ever favoured the dignity of the senate, as if with a prescience that i should one day hold it. when i shared the counsels of theodoric, that chief of kings, of glorious memory, i often by my intercessions obtained for members of your body consulships, patriciates, praefectures; and now, behold, i am similarly honoured myself. reflect, i pray, that by my accepting it, the genius of the patriciate is exalted, since none of my fellow-countrymen will hold cheaply that rank in you which he sees honoured in me. live in security, by the blessing of god; enjoy your prosperity with your children; and strive, now as always, to show forth the true roman type of character. i shall defend those with whom i am now associated.' . king athalaric to arator, vir illustris. [bestowing on him the rank of comes domesticorum.] [i have altered the order of subjects in this letter, to make it correspond with that of time. there cannot be much doubt that arator's _pomposa legatio_ from dalmatia was his first introduction to the court of theodoric, and preceded his employment as advocatus.] [sidenote: arator made count of the domestics.] 'by raising tulum to the patriciate we have provided for the military strength of the state. now must we see to it that she is equally adorned by the glory of letters, and for this purpose we raise you, still in the prime of life, to the rank of _comes domesticorum_. by your example it was seen that eloquence could be acquired elsewhere than at rome, since in your own province [probably dalmatia] your father, who was an extremely learned man, taught you to excel in this art: a happy lot for you, who obtained from your father's love that accomplishment which most youths have to acquire with terror from a master. 'that i may say something here of a very _recherché_ character[ ], i may mention that, according to some, letters were first invented by mercury, who watched the flight of cranes by the strymon, and turned the shapes assumed by their flying squadron into forms expressive of the various sounds of the human voice. [footnote : 'ut aliquid studiose exquisitum dicere videamur.'] 'you were sent upon a stately embassy[ ] by the provincials of dalmatia to our grandfather; and there, not in commonplace words but with a torrent of eloquence, you so set forth their needs and the measures which would be for the advantage of the public, that theodoric, a man of cautious temperament, listened to your flow of words without weariness, and all men desired still to listen, when you ceased speaking. [footnote : 'juvat repetere pomposam legationem.'] '[since then] you have filled the office of advocate in our court. you might have been a trier of causes (cognitor): you have preferred to be a pleader, though to all your advocacy you have brought so fair and judicial a mind that your eloquence and your zeal for your client have never exceeded the bounds of truth.' . king athalaric to ambrosius. [conferring on him the quaestorship.] [this ambrosius, son of faustinus, is apparently the same to whom ennodius addressed his 'paraenesis didascalica,' containing some important notices of festus, symmachus, boethius, cethegus, and their contemporaries. (in migne's 'patrologia' lxiii. .)] [sidenote: ambrosius appointed quaestor.] 'a steady gradation of honours secures good servants for the state. you have already served with credit the office of count of the private largesses. and you have also filled satisfactorily the place of a high official who was dismissed in disgrace[ ]. we now therefore promote you to the office of quaestor, and expect you to be the pliny to the new trajan. let your eloquent tongue adorn all that we have to say, and be fearless in suggesting to us all that is for the welfare of the state. a good sovereign always allows his ministers to speak to him on behalf of justice, while it is the sure mark of a tyrant to refuse to listen to the voice of the ancient maxims of law. remember that celebrated saying of trajan to an orator: "plead, if i am a good ruler, for the republic and me; if i am a bad one, for the republic against me[ ]." but remember, that if we are thus severe upon ourselves we are equally strict with regard to you, and expect you to follow the example of your noble ancestors, and to abstain from everything like an infraction of the laws. we confer upon you the insignia of the quaestorship for this fifth indiction' [sept. , --sept. , ]. [footnote : 'gratiam quoque loci alterius invenisti. dictationibus enim probaris adhibitus, cum sit offensionibus alter expulsus: et ita suspensum honorem tuum sustinebat ingenium, ut palatio non sineres decesse judicem, cujus ad tempus abrogatam cognovimus dignitatem.' i do not think we can say from this what the office temporarily filled by arator was.] [footnote : 'sume dicationem, si bonus fuero, pro republica et me: si malus, pro republica in me.'] . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome. [on the elevation of ambrosius to the quaestorship]. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'as a kind of door to our royal favour do we appoint ambrosius to be our quaestor. you know his merits of old: but, to speak only of recent matters[ ], we may remind you that when your hearts were wrung with grief for the death of our glorious grandfather, it was by his mouth that we assured you of our determination to continue to you the blessings of good government. [footnote : 'quando et moderna quae loquimur.' (notice again _moderna_.)] 'the presence of ambrosius is full of dignity, and has a soothing influence which the words of his speech do but confirm[ ]. it is unfortunate for an orator to have eloquence for his only gift, and to have to obliterate by his oration the unfavourable effect produced on the multitude by his appearance. [footnote : so the contemporary poet maximian, speaking of his own past successes as an orator, and a good-looking one, says: 'nec minor his aderat sublimis gratia formae quae vel si decent cetera, muta placet.' elegiae i. - .] 'we consider it not necessary to praise his eloquence. of course a quaestor is eloquent. while some have the government of a province committed to them, others the care of the treasury, he receives the ensigns of his dignity in order that by him his sovereign's fame may be spread abroad through the whole world.' . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome. [on the election of pope felix iii, .] [as this letter has an important bearing on the royal rights in connection with papal elections, it is translated in full.] [sidenote: election of pope felix iii (or iv).] 'we profess that we hear with great satisfaction that you have responded to the judgment of our glorious lord and grandfather in your election of a bishop. it was right in sooth to obey the will of a good sovereign, who, handling the matter with wise deliberation, although it had reference to a form of faith alien from his own[ ], thought fit to select such a pontiff as could rightfully be displeasing to none. you may thus recognise that his one chief desire was that religion might flourish by good priests being supplied to all the churches. [footnote : 'qui sapienti deliberatione pertractans quamvis in aliena religione.'] 'you have received then a man both admirably endowed with divine grace and approved by royal scrutiny. let no one any longer be involved in the old contention. there is no disgrace in being conquered when the king's power has helped the winning side. that man makes him [the successful candidate] his own, who manifests to him pure affection. for what cause for regret can there be, when you find in this man, those very qualities which you looked for in the other when you embraced his party? 'these are family quarrels[ ], a battle without cold steel, a contest without hatred: by shouts, not wounds, a matter like this is decided. [footnote : the words of cassiodorus are, 'crinea sunt ista certamina.' no one seems able to suggest a meaning for _crinea_. the editors propose to read _civica_, which however is very flat, and not exactly in cassiodorus' manner. i suspect some recondite classical allusion, which has been missed by the transcribers, has led to the corruption of the text.] 'for even though the person who is desired be taken from you, yet naught is lost by the faithful, since the longed-for priesthood is possessed by them. [they have a pope, if not just the pope whom they wished for.] wherefore on the return of your legate, the illustrious publianus, we have thought it right to send to your assembly these letters of salutation. for we taste one of our highest pleasures when we exchange words with our nobles; and we doubt not that this is very sweet to you also, when you reflect that what you did by our grandsire's order is personally agreeable to ourselves.' [for remarks on this important letter see dahn's 'könige der germanen' iii. . he makes it a simple appointment of the pope by the bare will of theodoric, afterwards confirmed by athalaric. to me it seems more probable that there had been a contest, threatening the election of an antipope (as in in the case of symmachus and laurentius), and that the matter had been, as on that occasion, referred to the arbitration of theodoric.] . king athalaric to opilio, count of the sacred largesses ( ). [sidenote: opilio appointed comes sacrarum largitionum.] 'it is generally necessary to weigh carefully the merits of a new aspirant to the honours of the court (aulicas dignitates); but in your case the merits of your family render this examination needless. both your father and brother held the same office[ ] which we are now entrusting to you, and one may say that this dignity has taken up its abode in your house. [footnote : 'pater his fascibus praefuit sed et frater eadem resplenduit claritate.'] 'you learned the duties of a subordinate in the office under your brother; and often did he, leaning upon you as on a staff, take a little needful repose, knowing that all things would be attended to by you. the crowds of suppliants who resorted to him with their grievances, shared the confidence which the people had in you, and saw that you were already assuming the character of a good judge. 'most useful also were your services to the throne at the commencement of the new reign, when men's minds were in trouble as to what should happen next. you bore the news of our accession to the ligurians, and so strengthened them by your wise address that the error into which they had been betrayed by the sun-setting was turned into joy at the rising of our empire[ ].' [footnote : 'nam cum ... auspicia nostra liguribus felix portitor nuntiasti, et sapientiae tuae allocutione firmasti, in errorem _quem de occasu conceperant_, ortum nostri imperii in gaudia commutabant.' does this obscure passage indicate some revolutionary movements in liguria after the death of theodoric, perhaps fomented by the frankish neighbours of italy?] 'we therefore confer upon you the dignity of count of the sacred largesses from this sixth indiction (sept. , ). enjoy all the privileges and emoluments which belonged to your predecessors. god forbid that those whose own actions are right should be shaken by any machinations of calumny. there was a time when even judges were harassed by informers (delatores); but that time is over. lay aside then all fear, you who have no errors to reproach yourself with, and freely enjoy the advantages of your dignity. imitate your brother: even though a little way behind him you will still be before most holders of the office. he was a man of the highest authority and of proved constancy, and the highest testimony to his merits was afforded by the fact that even under a successor who was hostile to him the whole official staff of the palace was loud in his praises[ ].' [footnote : 'quando sub ingrato successore palatinum officium praeconia ejus tacere non potuit.'] [this letter is of great importance, as containing indirectly the expression of cassiodorus' opinion on the trial of boethius, and the tendency of that opinion seems to be against him and in favour of his accusers. comparing this letter with v. , addressed to cyprian, cornes sacrarum largitionum and _son of opilio_, we may with something like certainty construct this genealogical table: opilio, c.s.l. (? son of the consul of ). _________________|_________________ | | cyprian, opilio, c.s.l. . c.s.l. . now cyprian, whose ready wit and ingenious eloquence had rendered him a favourite with theodoric, is represented to us in the 'philosophiae consolatio' of boethius (i. iv.) and in the 'anonymus valesii' ( ) as the informer by whom albinus and boethius were accused of high treason. opilio too (no doubt the same as the receiver of this letter) is described by boethius (loc. cit.) as a man who on account of his numberless frauds had been ordered by the king to go into banishment, had taken refuge at the altar, and had been sternly bidden to leave ravenna before a given day, and then had purchased pardon by coming forward as a _delator_ against boethius. against all this passionate invective it is fair to set this remarkable letter of cassiodorus, written it is true in the young king's name and presenting the court view of these transactions, but still written after the death of theodoric, and perhaps republished by cassiodorus in the 'variarum' after the downfall of the gothic monarchy. in any case the allusions to _delatores_ in this letter, considering the history of opilio and his brother, are extraordinary.] . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: the same subject.] this letter, though it does not mention the name of opilio, is evidently written on his promotion to the office of comes sacrarum largitionum. it enumerates his good qualities, and declares that it is marvellous and almost fortunate for athalaric that so suitable a candidate should not have been promoted in the reign of his grandfather. the father of opilio was a man of noble character and robust body, who distinguished himself by his abstinence from the vices of the times and his preference for dignified repose in the stormy period of odovacar[ ]. [footnote : 'adjectis saeculi vitiis, ditatus claris honoribus.' the text is evidently corrupt. 'abjectis' seems to be required; but some mss. instead of 'vitiis' read 'odovacris.' in any case odovacar's government is evidently alluded to. cf. the words used of the same man in the letter announcing the elevation of his other son, cyprian (v. ): 'nam pater huic, sicut meministis, opilio fuit, vir quidem _abjectis temporibus_ ad excubias tamen palatinas electus.'] 'he was reputed an excellent man in those times, when the sovereign was not a man of honour[ ]. but why go back to his parentage, when his brother has set so noble an example. the friendship, the rivalry in virtue of these two brothers, is worthy of the good old times. both are true to their friends; both are devoid of avarice. both have kept their loyalty to their king unspotted, and no marvel, since they have first shown themselves true to their friends and colleagues. [footnote : 'his temporibus habitus est eximius, cum princeps non esset erectus.'] 'distinguished by these virtues, our candidate has been fittingly allied by marriage with the noble family of basilius[ ]. [footnote : this is probably the basilius who was concerned in the accusation of boethius (phil. cons. i. iv.); possibly the consul of , who fled to constantinople when totila took rome in (procop. de bello gotthico iii. , and anastasius lib. pontif. apud murator. iii. ); and perhaps the basilius whom we find in trouble in variarum iv. , : scarcely the basilius of variarum ii. , .] 'he has managed his private affairs so as to avoid the two extremes of parsimony and extravagance. he has become popular with the goths by his manner of life, and with the romans by his righteous judgments[ ]; and has been over and over again chosen as a referee (judex privatus), thus showing the high opinion in which his integrity is held. [footnote : 'gentiles victu (?), romanos sibi judiciis obligabat.'] 'the conscript fathers are exhorted to endorse the favourable judgment of the king, by welcoming the new count of sacred largesses into their body.' [in view of these letters i do not understand what gibbon means by saying (cap. xxxix. _n._ ), 'the characters of the two delators, basilius ('var.' ii. , ; iv. ) and opilio (v. ; viii. ), are illustrated, not much to their honour, in the epistles of cassiodorus.' this is quite true of basilius, if the person alluded to in the references given by gibbon be the same as the informer against boethius, of which there may be a doubt; but opilio is mentioned, as we see, with the highest honour by cassiodorus. so, too, is decoratus, whom in the same note gibbon too hastily stigmatises as 'the worthless colleague of boethius.'] . king athalaric to felix, quaestor ( ). [this cannot be the same as the consul of , nor even his son; for that felix was of gaulish extraction, and came from beyond the alps.] [sidenote: promotion of felix to the quaestorship.] 'it is desirable that those who are appointed as judges should know something of law, and most unfitting that he whom so many officials (_milites_) obey should be seen to be dependent for his law on some one of his subordinates. 'you long ago, when engaged in civil causes as an advocate, were marked out by your sovereign's eye[ ]. he noted your eloquence, your fidelity, your youthful beauty, and your maturity of mind. no client could ask for more devotion than you showed in his cause; no judge found in you anything to blame. [footnote : 'dudum te forensibus negociis insudantem, _oculus imperialis_ aspexit'--an expression which goes very near to styling theodoric imperator.] 'receive then now the dignity of quaestor for this sixth indiction (sept. , ), and judge in the courts where hitherto you have pleaded. 'you are called felix; act so as always to merit that name; for it is absurd to have a name which denotes one thing and to display the opposite in one's character. we think we have now said enough for a man of your good conscience. many admonitions seem to imply a doubt of the character of him who receives them.' [a maxim often forgotten by cassiodorus.] . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome. [on the promotion of felix.] [sidenote: the same subject.] 'as the sky with stars, or the meadow with flowers, so do we wish the senate to be resplendent with the men of eminence whom we introduce into it. it is itself a seminary of senators; but our favour and the dignities of our court also rear them. 'the quaestorship is the true mother of the senatorial dignity, since who can be fitter to take his seat in the curia than he who has shared the counsels of his sovereign? 'you know the eloquence of our candidate [felix], his early triumphs, his modesty, his fidelity. to leave such a man unpromoted were a public loss; and he will always love the laws by the practice of which he has risen to eminence. 'nor is he the first of his race to earn rhetorical distinction. his father shone so brilliantly in the forum of milan, that he bloomed forth with undying fruits from the soil of cicero[ ]. he stood against magnus olybrius, he was found equal in fluency to eugenius[ ] and many others whom rome knew as foremost in their art. if the transmission of material wealth by long descent makes men noble, how much more should the inheritance of the treasures of the intellect give nobility.' [footnote : 'pater ita in mediolanensi foro resplenduit, ut aeterno fructu e tulliano cespite pullularet.'] [footnote : 'is palmarum eugenetis linguae ubertate suffecit.' possibly this is the magister officiorum of var. i. , and the person to whom is addressed a letter of ennodius (iv. ). the form eugenetis, instead of eugenii, belongs to the debased latinity of the age.] . king athalaric to albienus, vir illustris and praefectus praetorio[ ] ( ). [footnote : in nivellius' edition the title of this office is given as _praepositus_.] [sidenote: albienus made praetorian praefect.] 'your predecessor has been the model of a bad governor. as the north wind clears the face of the sky from the rain and clouds brought by the south wind, so do we look to you to repair the evils wrought by his misgovernment. in all things your best maxim will be to do exactly the opposite of what he did. he made himself hateful by his unjust prosecutions: do you become popular by your righteous deeds. he was rapacious: be you moderate. soothe and relieve the harassed people entrusted to your charge. receive for this sixth indiction [sept. , - ] the fasces of the praefecture, and let the office of praetorian praefect return to its ancient fame, an object of praise to the whole world[ ]. this office dates from joseph, and rightly is he who holds it called by our laws father of the provinces, father of the empire. [footnote : 'redeat ad nomen antiquum praefectura illa praetorii, toto orbe laudabilis.' is it possible that there had been some attempt to change the _title_ of the praefect, which accounts for the _praepositus_ which in some mss. we find in the heading of this letter?] 'see that you avoid all unjust exactions. we cannot bear that our treasury should be filled by unrighteous means. 'your descent from a father who has held the same high office, and your intimate knowledge of the _dicta prudentum_, warrant us in believing that you will make a good judge.' [i have not been able to find any hint of the name of the praefectus praetorio for - , so bitterly condemned in this letter. as he may have held office for some years, his misgovernment may have been connected with the death of boethius ( ). can we connect him with the trigguilla 'regiae praepositus domus' whose injustice is denounced by boethius ('phil. cons.' i. )?] . king athalaric to cyprian, patrician. . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: cyprian's elevation to the patriciate.] in these two letters the high character and distinguished services of cyprian are commemorated. 'under theodoric he distinguished himself both in war and peace. at the time of the war of sirmium he was conspicuous both in his resistance to the fiery onslaught of the bulgarians and in his active pursuit of them when their ranks were broken[ ]. he then filled, with great credit to himself, the office of referendarius[ ]. great was the responsibility of exercising peaceful as well as warlike offices under such a master as theodoric. in fact the training for one was helpful for the other, since it required a soldier's courage and promptness to be always ready with a truthful and accurate reply to that keen, firm-minded ruler of men[ ]. [footnote : 'vidit te adhuc gentilis' (still under the dominion of the gepidae) 'danubius bellatorem: non te terruit bulgarorum globus, qui etiam nostris erat praesumptione certaminis obstaturus. peculiare tibi fuit et renitentes barbaros aggredi, et conversos terrore sectari. sic victoriam gothorum non tam numero quam labore juvisti.'] [footnote : for a description of his services in this function, see var. v. .] [footnote : this is evidently the meaning; but something seems to have dropped out of the text.] 'thence he was promoted to the dignity of count of the sacred largesses, a post well suited to his pure, self-restrained character[ ]. he is now growing old in body, but ever young in fame, and the king heartily wishes him increase of years to enjoy his renown. [footnote : 'hoc est laborum tuorum aptissimum munus: quam sic castâ sic moderatâ mente peregisti ut majora tibi deberi faceres, quamvis eam in magna praemia suscepisses.'] 'rightly, too, is there now conferred upon him the dignity of _patricius_, since he is the father of such noble sons, men whose childhood was passed in the palace under the very eye of theodoric (thus like young eagles already learning to gaze upon the sun), and who now cultivate the friendship of the goths, learn from them all martial exercises, speak their language, and thus give evident tokens of their future fidelity to the gothic nation[ ]. [footnote : 'relucent etiam gratia gentili, nec cessant armorum imbui fortibus institutis. _pueri stirpis romanae nostra linguâ loquuntur; eximie indicantes exhibere se nobis futuram fidem, quorum jam videntur affectasse sermonem.... variis linguis loquuntur egregie_, maturis viris communione miscentur.'] 'the senate is therefore exhorted to welcome its thus promoted colleague, who at each accession of rank has shown himself yet worthier of his high place, and whom grandfather and grandson have both delighted to honour. thus will it renew the glories of the decii and the corvini, who were its sons in the days of old.' [the subject of these letters is indisputably the same cyprian whom the 'anonymus valesii' speaks of as suborning false witnesses against albinus and boethius, and of whom the latter says ('phil. cons.' i. ): 'ne albinum, consularem virum praejudicatae accusationis poena corriperet, odiis me cypriani delatoris opposui.' compare the remarks made on letters and ; and remember that this letter was composed three years after the death of boethius, when theodoric also was dead, and his daughter was only too willing to retrace his steps, in all that concerned the severities of the latter years of his reign. for the pedigree of cyprian see p. .] . king athalaric to bergantinus, vir illustris and comes patrimonii. [sidenote: gifts to theodahad.] 'kings should always be generous, but especially to those of their own family. 'therefore we desire your greatness to transfer the farms herein described, to the exalted and most honourable theodahad, weighing out to him so many solidi, out of that which was formerly the patrimony of his magnificent mother; and we guarantee to him the absolute ownership of such farms, free from any claims to the inheritance on our part[ ]. [footnote : 'atque ideo illustrem magnitudinem tuam praecelso atque amplissimo viro theodahado massas subter annexas, tot solidos pensitantes, ex patrimonio quondam magnificae foeminae matris ipsius, praecipimus reformari, ejus feliciter dominio plenissime vendicandas, cujus successionis integrum jus in ea qua praecipimus parte largimur.' according to dahn (könige der germanen iv. - ), these lands had been given in her lifetime by theodahad's mother to the king, and are now begged for by theodahad. but why 'tot solidos pensitantes?' why should theodahad receive both land and money? there seems no authority for translating 'pensitantes' receiving. probably the solidi thus paid to him are mesne rents received by the king and accounted for to theodahad. on the whole affair cf. procopius, de bello gotthico i. .] 'we trust to his sincerity and good faith, that in the future he will deserve the remainder of the above-mentioned patrimony, with the addition of the whole quantity[ ]. [footnote : 'de cujus fide ac synceritate praesumimus, ut sequenti tempore reliqua supra memorati patrimonii cum omni adjecta quantitate mereatur.' this sentence is to me quite unintelligible.] 'what can we deny to such a man, whose obedience might claim a higher reward even were he not our cousin--a man who is not puffed up by any pride of his noble birth, humble in his modesty, always uniform in his prudence? therefore instruct the cartarii of your office to make over the aforesaid farms to his actores without delay[ ].' [footnote : cf. the formalities connected with odovacar's deed of gift to pierius (marini, pap. diplom. , ), quoted in italy and her invaders iii. .] . king athalaric to the clergy of the roman church. [sidenote: ecclesiastical immunities.] 'for the gift of kingly power we owe an infinite debt to god, whose ministers ye are. 'ye state in your tearful memorial to us that it has been an ordinance of long custom that anyone who has a suit of any kind against a servant of the sacrosanct roman church should first address himself to the chief priest of that city, lest haply your clergy, being profaned by the litigation of the forum, should be occupied in secular rather than religious matters. and you add that one of your deacons has, to the disgrace of religion, been so sharply handled by legal process that the sajo[ ] has dared actually to take him into his own custody. [footnote : in the text, 'sajus.'] 'this dishonour to the ministers of holy things is highly displeasing to our inborn reverence, yet we are glad that it gives us the opportunity of paying part of our debt to heaven. 'therefore, considering the honour of the apostolic see, and wishing to meet the desires of the petitioners, we by the authority of this letter decree in regular course[ ]: [footnote : 'praesenti auctoritate moderato ordine definimus.' dahn interprets 'moderato ordine,' 'not so absolutely as the roman clergy desires.' is not this to attribute rather too much force to the conventional language of cassiodorus?] 'that if anyone shall think he has a good cause for going to law with a person belonging to the roman clergy, he shall first present himself for hearing at the judgment-seat of the most blessed pope, in order that the latter may either decide between the two in his own holy manner, or may delegate the cause to a jurisconsult to be ended by him. and if, perchance, which it is impiety to believe, the reasonable desire of the petitioner shall have been evaded, then may he come to the secular courts with his grievance, when he can prove that his petitions have been spurned by the bishop of the aforesaid see[ ]. [footnote : 'definimus, ut si quispiam ad romanum clerum aliquem pertinentem, in quâlibet causâ probabili crediderit actione pulsandum, ad beatissimi papae judicium prius conveniat audiendus. ut aut ipse inter utrosque more suae sanctitatis agnoscat, aut causam deleget aequitatis studio terminandam: et si forte, quod credi nefas est, competens desiderium fuerit petitoris elusum, tuno ad saecularia fora jurgaturus occurrat, quando suas petitiones probaverit a supradictae sedis praesule fuisse contemptas.'] 'should any litigant be so dishonest and so irreverent, both towards the holy see and our authority, as to disregard this order [and proceed first in our tribunals against one of the roman clergy], he shall forfeit lbs. of gold [£ ], to be exacted by the officers of the count of sacred largesses and distributed by the pope to the poor; and he shall lose his suit in addition, notwithstanding any decree which he may have gained in the secular court. 'meanwhile do you, whom our judgments thus venerate, live according to the ordinances of the church. it is a great wickedness in you to admit such crimes as do not become the conversation even of secular men. your profession is the heavenly life. do not condescend to the grovelling wishes and vulgar errors of ordinary mortals. let the men of this world be coerced by human laws; do you obey the precepts of righteousness.' [see dahn, 'könige der germanen' iii. - , sartorius , and bauer's 'history of the popes' ii. - , for remarks on this important _privilegium_. it is clear that it relates to civil, not criminal procedure, and that it does leave a right of final appeal from the papal courts to the dissatisfied secular litigant. at the same time, that such an appeal would be prosecuted with immense difficulty is clear even from the words of the decree. the appellant will have to satisfy the king's judges of a thing which it is almost impiety to believe, that the occupant of the roman see has spurned his petitions.] . king athalaric to joannes, vir spectabilis, referendarius. [sidenote: confirmation of tulum's gift of property in the lucullanum.] 'it is a very fitting thing to confirm the generosity of others towards persons who might well have received gifts from oneself. we therefore declare that in your case the gift is another's but the will to give is our own, and the king has only been anticipated by the rapid bounty of the subject[ ]. [footnote : 'profitemur itaque alterius quidem donum, sed nostrum esse judicium, et modernam principis mentem praevenisse tantum velocissimam largitatem.' observe again the use of cassiodorus' favourite word _modernam_.] 'everyone knows that our grandfather wished to give you the house of agnellus in the castrum lucullanum, but could not do so having already given it to the patrician tulum[ ]. tulum, however, with his usual generosity, seconding the wishes of his master, formally conveyed the property to you; and that conveyance we now confirm, guaranteeing the quiet possession of it to you and your heirs for all time to come. if any doubt exist as to your title, by any mischance, or by reason of any enquiry, such doubt is exploded by the authority of this letter of ours[ ]. [footnote : tholuit, or tholum, in some mss., but no doubt the same as the tulum of letters and .] [footnote : 'ubi et si quid esset quolibet casu, qualibet inquisitione fortassis ambiguum, hujus auctoritatis nostrae judicio constat explosum.'] 'and should any envious person, in contempt of our royal will, dare to raise any question in this matter hereafter, either on behalf of the fiscus or of any private individual, we declare that he shall pay to you, or to the person to whom you may have assigned the said house, lbs. of gold (£ , ) by way of penalty.' [why should there be the necessity of this royal confirmation of a transaction between two private individuals, tulum and joannes, and this tremendous penalty on all future impugners of it? evidently because the property had been impressed with the character of state domain, and it was doubtful how far tulum's alienation of it might stand good against the claims of future sovereigns. this becomes quite clear when we reflect what is the property to which this letter refers. it is either the whole or a part of the lucullanum, to which the deposed emperor, romulus augustulus, was banished in . on his death, as we may conjecture, this property, one of the most delightful places of residence in italy, has been given by theodoric to tulum, perhaps just after he had distinguished himself in the gaulish campaign of . for some reason or other, tulum has alienated it (ostensibly, given it) to the reporter joannes, no doubt a roman, who is apparently nervous lest his title to it should hereafter be impugned on the ground that the palace of the last roman emperor was national property. hence this letter. there is some difficulty and variation between the mss. in the words describing the property: 'saepe dicta domus paternae recordationis agnelli, in lucullano castro posita.' for _paternae_, migne's editor reads _patriciae_. the forthcoming critical edition of the 'variae' will show whether there is any support in the mss. for a conjecture which i cannot help entertaining that _agnelli_ is an error for _augustuli_.] . king athalaric to all the inhabitants of reate and nursia. [sidenote: gothic settlers in the sabine territory exhorted to obedience to their prior, quidila.] 'our glorious grandfather had arranged that, in accordance with your desire, quidila, son of sibia, should be your captain (prior). we confirm this appointment, and desire you to obey him in all things. you are so far moulded by the character of our grandfather that you willingly obey both the laws and the judges. our enemies are best vanquished, and the favour both of heaven and of other nations is best conciliated for us, by our obeying the principles of justice. if anyone is in need of anything, let him seek to obtain it from the generosity of his sovereign rather than by the strength of his own right hand, since it is for your advantage that the romans be at peace, who, in filling our treasury, at the same time multiply your donatives.' [this letter is evidently addressed to goths, and quidila the _prior_, who is set over them, is also a goth. we can only conjecture what the office of prior was: probably to some extent it involved civil as well as military authority. the conjecture of dahn ('könige der germanen' iv. ) that it corresponds to the gothic _hundafath_ (centenarius), seems to me extremely probable. the title of the letter is curious. it is addressed 'universis reatinis et nursinis.' are we then to suppose that strong military colonies of goths had been settled in these places, the roman inhabitants having been extruded? the fact that st. benedict was born in nursia, some fifty-seven years before the writing of this letter, gives an additional interest to this question.] . king athalaric to dumerit the sajo, and to florentinus, a zealous officer of the court[ ]. [footnote : 'florentino viro devoto comitiaco.'] [sidenote: robbery in the district of faenza to be suppressed.] 'justice must be shown upon the wicked. different diseases require different remedies. 'let your devotion speed instantly through the territory of faventia, and if you find any persons, either goths or romans, concerned in the plunder of the possessors, punish them severely. how much better it would be for those misguided persons to live according to our will, and earn the reward of pleasing us.' [the last sentence is obscure, and perhaps the text is corrupt.] . king athalaric to cunigast, vir illustris. [no doubt the same as the conigast attacked by boethius in the 'philosophiae consolatio' i. [ ].] [footnote : 'quoticus ego conigastum in inbecillis cujusque fortunas impetum facientem obvius excepi!'] [sidenote: possessores (or coloni?) forced to become slaves.] 'our serenity has been moved by the grievous petition of constantius and venerius, who complain that tanca [probably a goth] has wrested from them the farm which is called fabricula, which belonged to them in their own right, together with the stock upon it[ ], and has compelled them, in order to prevent similar forcible demands upon their property in future, to allow the worst lot of all--the condition of slavery--to be imposed upon them, who are really free[ ]. [footnote : 'cum suo peculio.' if they were not slaves they could not have _peculium_ in the technical sense. i therefore understand 'peculio' to be simply equivalent to _cattle_, a sense which is confirmed by 'calabri peculiosi' in letter .] [footnote : 'adjicientes ne rerum suarum repetitionibus imminerent [? imminuerent] liberis sibi conditionem ultimae servitutis imponi.' cf. salvian, de gubernatione dei v. , , for a description of similar occurrences in gaul.] 'let your greatness therefore summon tanca to your judgment-seat, and, after hearing all parties, pronounce a just judgment and one accordant to your character. for though it is a serious matter to oust a lord from his right, it is contrary to the feelings of our age to press down free necks under the yoke of slavery. 'let tanca therefore either establish his right to the slaves and their property, or, if they are proved free, let him give them up, whole and unharmed: in which case we will inflict upon him no further penalty.' . king athalaric to the dignified cultivators[ ] and curials of the city of parma. [footnote : 'honoratis possessoribus.'] [sidenote: sanitary measures needed in parma.] 'you ought willingly to co-operate in that which is being done for the advantage of your town. when it was suffering from a long drought, our grandfather, with god's help, watered it with the life-giving wave. cleanse out then the mouths of your sewers, lest otherwise, being checked in its flow by the accumulated filth, it should surge back into your houses, and bring into them the pollution which it was meant to wash away. 'the spectabilis genesius is appointed to superintend this work, and to quicken your zeal regarding it.' . king athalaric to genesius, vir spectabilis. [relating to the same subject as the preceding.] [sidenote: the same subject.] 'through love of your city our grandfather, with royal generosity, constructed an aqueduct of the ancient type[ ] for you. but it is of no use to provide a good water-supply unless your sewers are in good order. therefore let your sublimity set the citizens of parma diligently to work at this business, that all ancient channels, whether underground or those which run by the sides of the streets, be diligently repaired[ ], in order that when the longed-for stream flows into your town it be not hindered by any obstacle. [footnote : 'antiqui operis formam.'] [footnote : 'quatenus antiquos cuniculos, sive subterraneos, sive qui junguntur marginibus platearum diligenter emendent.'] 'how fair is water in a running stream, but how ugly in puddles and swamps; it is good then neither for man nor beast. without water city and country alike languish; and rightly did the ancients punish one who was unfit for human society by forbidding all men to give him water. therefore you ought all heartily to combine for this most useful work, since the man who is not touched by the comeliness of his city has not yet the mind of a citizen.' . king athalaric to severus, vir spectabilis. [is severus _vicarius urbis_? his title spectabilis seems to require some such rank as this, otherwise he seems more like a _corrector_ (clarissimus) _bruttiorum et lucaniae_. perhaps already the strict gradation established by diocletian and constantine was somewhat broken down, and governors received higher titles than strictly belonged to them.] [sidenote: dissuasions from a country life, and praises of cassiodorus' native land of bruttii.] 'since you, when on the staff of the praefect, have learned the principles of statesmanship, we are sure that you will agree with us that cities are the chief ornament of human society. let the wild beasts live in fields and woods: men ought to draw together into cities. even among birds we see that those of gentle disposition--like thrushes, storks, and doves--love to flock together, while the greedy hawk, intent on its bloody pastime, seeks solitude. 'now we say that the man who shuns human society becomes at once an object of suspicion. let therefore the possessores and curiales of bruttii return to their cities. the coloni may cultivate the soil--that is what their name denotes[ ]; but the men whom we decorate with civic honours ought to live in cities. [footnote : 'coloni sunt qui agros jugiter colunt.'] 'in truth it is a lovely land. ceres and pallas have crowned it with their respective gifts (corn and oil); the plains are green with pastures, the slopes are purple with vineyards. above all is it rich in its vast herds of horses[ ], and no wonder, since the dense shade of its forests protects them from the bites of flies, and provides them with ever verdant pasture even in the height of summer. cool waters flow from its lofty heights; fair harbours on both its shores woo the commerce of the world. [footnote : cf. what is said (i. ) as to the large present of horses made by the father of cassiodorus to theodoric for the use of the gothic army.] 'there the countryman enjoys the good food of the citizen, the poor man the abundance of the wealthy[ ]. if such then be the charms even of the country in your province, why should you shirk living in its cities[ ]? [footnote : 'vivunt illic rustici epulis urbanorum, mediocres autem abundantia praepotentium.' 'mediocres' and 'tenues' are technical words with cassiodorus for the poor.] [footnote : cassiodorus must have felt the weakness of his logic here. he patriotically praises the rural beauty of bruttii, yet the conclusion which by main force he arrives at is, 'leave the country and live in towns.'] 'why should so many men refined by literature skulk in obscurity? the boy goes to a good school, becomes imbued with the love of letters, and then, when he is come to man's estate and should be seeking the forum in order to display his talents, he suddenly changes into a boor, unlearns all that he has learned, and in his love for the fields forgets what is due to a reasonable love for himself. and yet even birds love human fellowship, and the nightingale boldly rears her brood close to the haunts of men. 'let the cities then return to their old splendour; let none prefer the charms of the country to the walls reared by the men of old. why should not everyone be attracted by the concourse of noble persons, by the pleasures of converse with his equals? to stroll through the forum, to look in at some skilful craftsman at his work, to push one's own cause through the law courts, then between whiles to play with the counters of palamedes (draughts), to go to the baths with one's acquaintances, to indulge in the friendly emulation of the banquet--these are the proper employments of a roman noble; yet not one of them is tasted by the man who chooses to live always in the country with his farm-servants[ ]. [footnote : 'cui enim minus grata nobilium videatur occursio. cui non affectuosum sit cum paribus miscere sermonem, forum petere, honestas artes invisere, causas proprias legibus expedire, interdum palamediacis calculis occupari, ad balneas ire cum sociis, prandia mutuis apparatibus exhibere? caret profecto omnibus his, qui vitam suam vult semper habere cum famulis.'] 'we order therefore that all possessores and curiales shall, according to their relative means, find bail and give bonds, promising that they will for the larger part of the year reside in some city, such as they may choose[ ]. and thus, while not wholly debarred from the pleasures of the country, they will furnish to the cities their proper adornment of citizens.' [footnote : 'datis fidejussoribus jam possessores quam curiales, sub aestimatione virium, poenâ interpositâ, promittant anni parte majore se in civitatibus manere, quas habitare delegerint.'] . king athalaric to severus, vir spectabilis. [sidenote: the fountain of arethusa.] 'nimfadius (vir sublimis) was journeying to the king's comitatus on some affair of his own, when, wearied with his journey, he lay down to rest, and let his beasts of burden graze round the fountain of arethusa. 'this fountain, situated in the territory of squillace[ ], at the foot of the hills and above the sand of the sea, makes a green and pleasant place all round it, fringed with rustling reeds as with a crown. it has certain marvellous properties: for let a man go to it in silence and he sees it calmly flowing, more like a pond than a fountain. but let him cough or speak with a loud voice, and it becomes violently agitated, heaving to and fro like a pot boiling. strange power this of a fountain to answer a man. i have read that some fountains can change the colours of the animals that drink at them; that others can turn wood dropped into them to stone. the human reason is altogether unable to understand such things as these. [footnote : 'in scyllatino territoris.' transcribers, thinking of the arethusa at syracuse, have tried to alter this into _siciliano_; but there can be little doubt that the above reading is right. as to the situation of the fountain of arethusa, see introduction, p. .] 'but let us return to the complaint of our suppliant. nimfadius asserts that, while he was resting, the country people artfully drove off his beasts of burden. 'this kind of crime brings our times into disgrace, and turns the charm of that quiet resting-place into disgust. diligently enquire into it, for the credit of our comitatus is involved in our subjects being able to journey to it in safety. at first, no doubt, the offenders will lie close, and seem as silent as the unmoved arethusa. but begin your investigations, and they will soon break forth, like that fountain, with angry exclamations, in the midst of which you will discover the truth. punish the offenders severely; for we should regret that owing to the excesses of robbers that wonderful and joy-bringing fountain should be deserted.' . king athalaric to severus, vir spectabilis. [sidenote: the feast of st. cyprian.] 'we hear that the rustics are indulging in disorderly practices, and robbing the market-people who come from all quarters to the chief fair of lucania on the day of st. cyprian. this must by all means be suppressed, and your respectability should quietly collect a sufficient number of the owners and tenants of the adjoining farms[ ] to overpower these freebooters and bring them to justice. any rustic or other person found guilty of disturbing the fair should be at once punished with the stick[ ], and then exhibited with some mark of infamy upon him[ ]. [footnote : 'spectabilitas vestra praedicto tempore, unâ cum possessoribus atque conductoribus diversarum massarum ad quietem convenientium ... reos inveniat,' &c.] [footnote : 'inter ipsa initia comprehensus fustuariae subdatur ultioni.'] [footnote : 'pompatus mala nota.'] 'this fair, which according to the old superstition was named leucothea [after the nymph], from the extreme purity of the fountain at which it is held, is the greatest fair in all the surrounding country. everything that industrious campania, or opulent bruttii, or cattle-breeding calabria[ ], or strong apulia produces, is there to be found exposed for sale, on such reasonable terms that no buyer goes away dissatisfied. it is a charming sight to see the broad plains filled with suddenly-reared houses formed of leafy branches intertwined: all the beauty of the most leisurely-built city, and yet not a wall to be seen. there stand ready boys and girls, with the attractions which belong to their respective sexes and ages, whom not captivity but freedom sets a price upon. these are with good reason sold by their parents, since they themselves gain by their very servitude. for one cannot doubt that they are benefited even as slaves [or servants?], by being transferred from the toil of the fields to the service of cities[ ]. [footnote : 'calabri peculiosi.'] [footnote : 'praesto sunt pueri ac puellae, diverso sexu atque aetate conspicuo, quos non facit captivitas esse sub pretio sed libertas: hos merito parentes vendunt, quoniam de ipsa famulatione proficiunt. dubium quippe non est servos posse meliorari qui de labore agrorum ad urbana servitia transferuntur.' with almost any writer but cassiodorus this would prove that in the sixth century free italians were selling their children into actual slavery. but i doubt whether he really means more than that the children of the country people were for hire as domestic servants in the cities. if so, the scene is not unlike our own 'statute fairs' or 'hirings' in the north of england. it appears from § of the edictum theodorici that parents could sell their children, but that the latter did not lose their _status ingenuus_. must they then claim it on coming of age? 'parentes qui cogente necessitate filios suos alimentorum gratia vendiderint ingenuitati eorum non praejudicant. _homo enim liber pretio nullo aestimatur._' cf. also § : 'operas enim tantum parentes filiorum quos in potestate habuerint, locare possunt.'] 'what can i say of the bright and many-coloured garments? what of the sleek and well-fed cattle offered at such a price as to tempt any purchaser? 'the place itself is situated in a wide and pleasant plain, a suburb of the ancient city of cosilinum, and has received the name of marcilianum from the founder of these sacred springs[ ]. [footnote : marcilianum is now sala, in the valley of the calore (tanager). padula is thought by some to mark the site of cosilinum. the island of leucosia, now licosa, a few miles from paestum, evidently does not represent the leucothea of this letter.] 'and this is in truth a marvellous fountain, full and fresh, and of such transparent clearness that when you look through it you think you are looking through air alone. choice fishes swim about in the pool, perfectly tame, because if anyone presumes to capture them he soon feels the divine vengeance. on the morning which precedes the holy night [of st. cyprian], as soon as the priest begins to utter the baptismal prayer, the water begins to rise above its accustomed height. generally it covers but five steps of the well, but the brute element, as if preparing itself for miracles, begins to swell, and at last covers two steps more, never reached at any other time of the year. truly a stupendous miracle, that streams of water should thus stand still or increase at the sound of the human voice, as if the fountain itself desired to listen to the sermon. 'thus hath lucania a river jordan of her own. wherefore, both for religion's sake and for the profit of the people, it behoves that good order should be kept among the frequenters of the fair, since in the judgment of all, that man must be deemed a villain who would sully the joys of such happy days.' book ix. containing twenty-five letters, all written in the name of athalaric the king. . king athalaric to hilderic, king of the vandals (a.d. ). [sidenote: murder of amalafrida, widow of king thrasamund and sister of theodoric.] 'friendship and relationship are turned to bitterness by the tidings that amalafrida, of divine memory, the distinguished ornament of our race, has been put to death by you[ ]. if you had any cause of offence against her, you ought to have sent her to us for judgment. what you have done is a species of parricide. if the succession, on the death of her husband, passed to another [yourself], that was no reason why a woman should be embroiled in the contest. it was really an addition to your nobility to have the purple dignity of the amal blood allied to the lineage of the hasdingi. [footnote : with reference to this event victor tunnunensis writes: 'cujus (trasamundi) uxor amalafrida fugiens ad barbaros congressione facta capsae juxta heremum capitur, et in custodia privata moritur.' procopius (de b. vandalico i. ) says: [greek: kai sphisi (tois bandilois) xynênechthê theuderichô te kai gotthois en italia ek te symmachôn kai philôn polemioi genesthai tên te gar amalaphridan en phylakê eschon kai tous gotthous diephtheiran hapantas epenenkontes autois neôterizein es te bandilous kai hilderichon]. both victor and procopius seem to place the conflict before the death of theodoric; victor says a.d. . probably therefore the fighting, the capture of amalafrida, and the death of her countrymen, took place in that year, the year of her husband's death and hilderic's accession. three or four years later ( or ), when her brother theodoric was dead, the imprisoned princess was murdered--a grievous insult to the young sovereign of the goths, her great-nephew.] 'our goths keenly feel the insults conveyed in this deed, since to slay the royal lady of another race is to despise the valour of that race and doubt its willingness to avenge her. 'we send you two ambassadors to hear what your excuses are. we hear that you pretend that her death was natural. and you also must send ambassadors in return to us to explain the matter, without war or bloodshed, and either pacify us or acknowledge your guilt. if you do not do this, all ties of alliance between us are broken, and we must leave you to the judgment of the divine majesty, which heard the blood of abel crying from the ground.' . edict of king athalaric. [sidenote: oppression of the curiales.] 'the body of the republic is so tempered together that if one member suffers all the members suffer with it. the curiales, whose name is derived from their care (cura) and forethought, are, we are told, molested by hostile proceedings, so that what was bestowed upon them as an honour turns out rather to their injury. what scandalous injustice! what an insupportable evil! that he who ought to have benefited the republic by his services, should often lose both fortune and liberty. 'wherefore by this edict we decree that if any curialis suffer oppression, if anyone, without the express warrant of ourselves or the high officers of state whose business it is, inflict upon a curialis any injury or loss of property, he shall pay a fine of lbs. of gold (£ ), to go to the benefit of the person thus oppressed; or, if his property be insufficient to pay this fine, he shall be beaten with clubs. the curialis must then give additional diligence to the discharge of his public duties, since his debt to the state is, as it were, increased by the protection which we are thus affording him. as for the farms of curiales, in connection with which the greatest frauds are practised on poor men, let no one seek to obtain them by an unlawful purchase; for a contract cannot be called a contract when it is in violation of the law[ ]. the judges must help the curiales against the molestations of sajones and other officials. it is a grievous offence, when the very person to whom is entrusted the duty of defending the weak, himself turns oppressor. [footnote : 'praedia curialium, unde maximae mediocribus parantur insidiae, nullus illicita emptione pervadat. quia contractus dici non potest nisi qui de legibus venit.'] 'raise your heads in hope, oh ye oppressed ones! lift up your hearts, ye who are weighed down with a load of evils! to each citizen his own city is his republic. administer justice in your cities in conformity with the general will. let your various ranks live on a footing of justice. do not oppress the weak, lest you in your turn be deservedly oppressed by the strong. this is the penalty of wrong-doing, that each one suffers in his own person what he has wantonly inflicted on another. 'live then in justice and moderation. follow the example of the cranes, who change the order of their flight, making foremost hindmost, and hindmost foremost, without difficulty, each willingly obeying its fellow--a commonwealth of birds. 'you have, according to the laws, power over your citizens. not in vain has antiquity conceded to you the title of curia: not vainly did it call you the lesser senate, the nerves and vital organs of the state[ ]. what is not contained of honour and power in that title! for that which is compared to the senate is excluded from no kind of glory.' [footnote : 'non enim incassum vobis curiam concessit antiquitas, non inaniter appellavit minorem senatum, nervos quoque vocitans ac viscera civitatum.'] . king athalaric to bergantinus, vir illustris, comes [patrimonii], and patrician[ ]. [footnote : cf. viii. .] [sidenote: gold-mining in italy.] 'gold, as well as many other fair fruits of nature which gold can buy, is said to be produced by our generous italy. theodorus, who is an expert in such matters, asserts that gold will be found on the farm rusticiana in bruttii[ ]. let your greatness therefore send a _cartarius_ to commence mining operations on that spot. the work of a miner resembles that of a mole. he burrows underground, far from the light of day. sometimes the sides of his passages fall in and his way is closed up behind him; but if he emerge safely with his treasure, how happy is he! then the gold-miner proceeds to immerse his ore in water, that the heavy metal may be separated from the lighter earth; then to submit it to a fervent heat, that it may thence derive its beautiful colour[ ]. [footnote : have we any clue to the geographical position of this farm? the only rusticiana known to the itineraries is in spain.] [footnote : 'origo quidem nobilis, sed de flamma suscipit vim coloris, ut magis credas inde nasci, cujus similitudine videtur ornari. sed cum auro tribuat splendidum ruborem, argento confert albissimam lucem. ut mirum sit, unam substantiam tradere, quod rebus dissimilibus possit aptari.' have we here a hint of 'the transmutation of metals?' cassiodorus seems to think that it is only the furnace that makes the difference between the colours of gold and of silver.] 'let then the land of bruttii pay her tribute in gold, the most desired of all treasure. to seek gold by war is wicked, by voyages dangerous, by swindling shameful; but to seek it from nature in its own home is righteous. no one is hurt by this honest gain. griffins are said to dig for gold and to delight in the contemplation of this metal; but no one blames them, because their proceedings are not dictated by criminal covetousness. for it is not the act itself, but the motive for the act, that gives it its moral quality.' . king athalaric to abundantius, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: a family of curiales permitted to step down into the ranks of the possessores.] 'the _pietas_ of the king is happily shown in moderating the sentence of the law, where for certain reasons it bears with especial hardness on anyone. the curiales have peculiar advantages in their opportunity of being thus liberated by the sovereign from the performance of their duties[ ]. it is reasonable to release a curialis whose health prevents him from fulfilling his appointed task; and a numerous curia will never miss a few names out of so large a number. [footnote : 'neque enim ob aliud curiales leges sacratissimae ligaverunt, nisi ut cum illos soli principes absolverent, indulgentiae praeconia reperirent.'] 'therefore let your illustrious magnificence remove agenantia, wife [or widow?] of the most eloquent man campanianus, dwelling in lucania, from the album of her curia, and her sons also, so that posterity may never know that they were formerly liable to curial duties. 'remitted to the ranks of [mere] possessores they will now be liable to the same demands which formerly [as members of the curia] they made upon others. they will now dread the face of the tax-collector (compulsor), and will begin to fear the mandates by which formerly they made themselves feared[ ]. still this is a sign of their past good life, that they are willing to live without office _among_ a population whose dislike they are not conscious of having incurred, and _under_ old colleagues whom they know that they have not incited to an abuse of their powers.' [footnote : 'formidare delegata incipient, per quae antea timebantur.' to translate by an analogy, 'and will tremble at the rate-summonses, their signatures to which used to make other men tremble.'] . king athalaric to the bishops and functionaries of ----[ ]. [footnote : 'episcopis et honoratis.' perhaps it is from motives of delicacy that cassiodorus has not added the name of the province.] [sidenote: forestalling and regrating of corn prohibited.] 'we learn with regret by the complaint of the possessores of your district that the severity of famine is being increased by the conduct of certain persons who have bought up corn and are holding it for higher prices. in a time of absolute famine there can be no "higgling of the market;" the hungry man will submit to be cheated rather than let another get the food before him[ ]. [footnote : 'in necessitate siquidem penuriae pretii nulla contentio est: dum patitur quis induci ne possit aliquâ tarditate percelli.'] 'to stop this practice we send to you the present messengers, whose business it is to examine all the stores of corn collected for public distribution[ ] or otherwise, to leave to each family sufficient for its needs, and to purchase the remainder from the owners at a fair market price. co-operate with these orders of ours cheerfully, and do not grumble at them. complain not that your freedom is interfered with. there is no free-trade in crime[ ]. if you work with us you will earn good renown for yourselves; if against us, the king's reputation will gain by your loss. it is the sign of a good ruler to make men act righteously, even against their wills.' [footnote : 'sive in gradu [panis gradilis?] sive in aliis locis.'] [footnote : a paraphrase, confessedly anachronistic, of 'ne quis ergo venditionem sibi impositam conqueratur, sciat libertatem in crimine non requiri.'] . king athalaric to ----, primiscrinius. [sidenote: a furlough granted for a visit to baiae.] 'you complain that your health is failing under the long pressure of your work, and that you fear, if you absent yourself, you may lose the emoluments of your office. at the same time you ask leave to visit the baths of baiae. go then with a mind perfectly at rest as to your emoluments, which we will keep safe for you. seek the sun, seek the pure air and smiling shore of that lovely bay, thickly set with harbours and dotted with noble islands--that bay in which nature displays all her marvels and invites man to explore her secrets. there is the lake of avernus, with its splendid supply of oysters. there are long piers jutting out into the sea; and the most delightful fishing in the world is to be had in the fish-ponds--open to the sky--on either side of them. there are warm baths, heated not by brick-work flues and smoky balls of fire, but by nature herself. the pure air supplies the steam and softly stimulates perspiration, and the health-giving work is so much the better done as nature is above art. let the coralli [in moesia, on the shore of the euxine] boast their wonderful sea, let the pearl fisheries of india vaunt themselves. in our judgment baiae, for its powers of bestowing pleasure and health, surpasses them all. go then to baiae to bathe, and have no fear about the emoluments.' . king athalaric to reparatus, praefect of the city. [we learn from procopius ('de bello gotthico' i. ) that reparatus was brother of pope vigilius; that in he escaped from the captivity in which the other senators were kept at ravenna by witigis, and fled to milan. in reparatus, who was then praefectus praetorio, was captured at milan by the goths, hewn in pieces, and his flesh given to the dogs (ibid. ii. ).] [sidenote: reparatus appointed praefectus urbis.] 'the son of a high official naturally aspires to emulate his father's dignities. your father had a distinguished career, first as comes largitionum, then as praefectus praetorio. while holding the latter office, he repaired the senate-house, restored to the poor the gifts (?) of which they had been deprived[ ], and though not himself a man of liberal education, pleased all by the natural charm of his manner. [footnote : 'curiam reparans, pauperibus ablata restituens.'] 'you have those advantages of mental training which were denied to your father. education lifts an obscure man on to a level with nobles, but also adorns him who is of noble birth. you have moreover been chosen as son-in-law by a man of elevated character, whose choice is in itself a mark of your high merit. you are coming young to office[ ]; but, with such a man's approbation, you cannot be said to be untried. [footnote : 'licet primaevus venias ad honorem.'] 'we therefore confer upon you for this indiction the dignity of praefect of the city. the eyes of the world are upon you. the senate, that illustrious and critical body, the youngest members of which are called _patres_, will listen to your words. see that you say nothing which can displease those wise men, whose praise, though hard to win, will be most sweet to your ears. diligently help the oppressed. hand on to your posterity the renown which you have received from your ancestors.' . king athalaric to count osuin (or osum), vir illustris[ ]. [footnote : cf. iii. and iv. . in the former letter he is called osun.] [sidenote: osuin made governor of dalmatia and savia.] 'we reward our faithful servants with high honours, hoping thereby to quicken the slothful into emulation, when they ask themselves why, under such an impartial rule, they too do not receive promotion. 'we therefore again entrust to your illustrious greatness the provinces of dalmatia and s(u)avia. we need not hold up to you the examples of others. you have only to imitate yourself, and to confer now again in your old age the same blessings on those provinces which, as a younger man, you bestowed on them under our grandfather.' . king athalaric to all the goths and romans (in dalmatia and savia). [sidenote: the same subject.] 'we send back to you the illustrious count osuin, whose valour and justice you already know, to ward off from you the fear of foreign nations, and to keep you from unjust demands. with him comes the illustrious severinus[ ], that with one heart and one mind, like the various reeds of an organ, they may utter their praiseworthy precepts. [footnote : we are not told in what capacity severinus came. probably it was on account of osuin's age that severinus was associated with him.] [sidenote: remission of augmentum.] 'as an act of grace on the commencement of our reign, we direct the count of the patrimony to remit to you all the super-assessment (augmentum) which was fixed for your province at the fourth indiction[ ]. [footnote : 'per quartam indictionem quod a nobis augmenti nomine quaerebatur illustrem virum comitem patrimonii nostri nunc jussimus removere.' as the fourth indiction began sept. , in the lifetime of theodoric, it is clear that that date belongs to the imposition, not to the removal of the 'augmentum.'] 'we also grant that when the aforesaid person [severinus] returns to our presence, you may send suitable men with him to inform us of your financial position, that we may, by readjustment of the taxes, lighten your load if it be still too heavy. nothing consolidates the republic so much as the uninjured powers of the taxpayer.' . king athalaric to all the provincials of the city of syracuse. [sidenote: remission of augmentum to syracusans.] 'lately we announced to you our accession: now we wish to confer upon you a benefit in the matter of taxes. for we look on that only as our revenue which the cultivator pays cheerfully. our grandfather, considering the great increase in wealth and population which his long and peaceful reign had brought with it, thought it prudent to increase the taxes to be paid by the province of sicily[ ]. he was quite right in doing this, but he thereby prepared for us, his young successor, an opportunity of conferring an unexpected favour, for we hereby remit to you all the augmentum which was assessed upon you at the fourth indiction. and not only so, but all that you have already paid under this head for the fifth indiction ( - ) we direct the tax-collectors to carry to your credit on account[ ]. [footnote : 'avus noster de suis beneficiis magna praesumens (quia longa quies et culturam agris praestitit et populos ampliavit) intra siciliam provinciam sub consueta prudentiae suae moderatione censum statuit subflagitari ut vobis cresceret devotio, quibus se facultas extenderat.'] [footnote : this most be the meaning of 'quicquid a discursoribus novi census per quintam indictionem probatur affixum, ad vestram eos fecimus deferre notitiam.'] 'besides this, if anyone have to complain of oppression on the part of the governors of the province, let him seek at once a remedy from our piety. often did our grandfather of glorious memory grieve over the slowness of the governors to obey their letters of recall, feeling sure that they were lingering in the provinces neither for his good nor yours. 'we however, with god's help, shall go on in the good work which we have begun. you have a prince who, the older he grows, the more will love you. we send to you our sajo quidila, who will convey to you our orders on this matter.' . king athalaric to gildias, vir spectabilis, count of syracuse. . king athalaric to victor and witigisclus (or wigisicla), viri spectabiles, censitores[ ] of sicily. [footnote : tax-collectors. the word is unknown to the notitia, but censuales occurs once in it (not. occ. iv.).] [sidenote: oppressions exercised by the king's officers in sicily rebuked.] victor and witigisclus are sharply rebuked for their delay in desisting from the oppression of the provincials and coming to the court of theodoric when called for[ ], a delay which is made more suspicious by their not having presented themselves to welcome athalaric on his accession. both they and count gildias are informed of the king's decision to remit the increased tax imposed at the fourth indiction (sept. ); and the two censitores are recommended, if they are conscious of having oppressed or injured any of the provincials, to remedy the matter themselves, as the king has given all the sicilians leave to appeal to himself against their oppressions: and the complaints of the sicilians, though distant, will certainly reach his ears. [footnote : 'quos etiam seris praeceptionibus credidit esse admonendos, ut _relicto tandem provincialium gravamine_ ad ejus deberetis justitiam festinare.'] . king athalaric to willias, vir illustris, comes patrimonii. [sidenote: increase of emoluments of domestici.] 'your greatness informs us of cases that have come to your knowledge, in which the guards (domestici) attending the counts who are appointed [to the government of various provinces] have oppressed the provincials by their exactions. as we believe that there is some excuse for this in the smallness of their _emolumenta_, which at present consist of only solidi (£ ) and ten rations (annonae), we direct that you henceforth pay them, as from the fifth indiction (sept. ), solidi (£ ) annually, in addition to the above, charging this further payment to our account. by taking away necessity, the mother of crimes, we hope that the practice of sinning will also be removed. if, after this, anyone is found oppressing the provincials, let him lose his _emolumenta_ altogether. our gifts ennoble the receiver, and are given in order to take away from him any pretext for begging from others.' [the domestici were a very select corps of life-guardsmen; probably only a very small number of them would accompany a provincial governor to his charge. this may explain what seems an extraordinarily high rate of pay. perhaps it is the comes himself, not his domestici, who is to receive the emolumenta here specified; but, if so, the letter is very obscurely expressed.] . king athalaric to gildias, vie spectabilis, count of syracuse. [sidenote: oppressive acts charged against gildias, comes of syracuse.] 'we hear great complaints of you from the sicilians; but, as they are willing to let bye-gones be bye-gones, we accede to their request, but give you the following warning: '( ) you are said to have extorted large sums from them on pretence of rebuilding the walls, which you have not done. either repay them the money or build up their walls. it is too absurd, to promise fortifications and give instead to the citizens hideous desolation[ ]. [footnote : 'nimis enim absurdum est, spondere munitiones et dare civibus excecrabiles vastitates.'] '( ) you are said to be claiming for the exchequer (under the name of "fiscus caducus") the estates of deceased persons, without any sort of regard for justice, whereas that title was only intended to apply to the case of strangers dying without heirs, natural or testamentary. '( ) you are said to be oppressing the suitors in the courts with grievous charges[ ], so that you make litigation utterly ruinous to those who undertake it. [footnote : 'conventiones.' i think the complaint here is of the expenses of 'executing process.' it is not as judge but as the functionary who carries the judge's orders into effect that gildias is here blamed.] 'we order therefore that when _our_[ ] decrees are being enforced against a beaten litigant, the gratuity claimed by the officer shall be the same which our glorious grandfather declared to be payable--according to the respective ranks of the litigants--to the sajo who was charged with the enforcement of the decree; for gratuities ought not to be excessive[ ]. [footnote : 'nostra' (the reading of nivellius) seems evidently a better reading than 'vestra' (which migne has adopted).] [footnote : 'commodum debet esse _cum modo_.' a derivation or a pun.] 'but if _your_ decrees are being enforced--and that must be only in cases against persons with whom the edicts allow you to interfere[ ]--then your officer must receive half the gratuity allowed to him who carries our decrees into execution. it is obviously improper that the man who only performs _your_ orders should receive as much as is paid out of reverence for _our_ command. anyone infringing this constitution is to restore fourfold. [footnote : 'duntaxat in illis causis atque personis, ubi te misceri edicta voluerunt.'] '( ) the edicts of our glorious grandfather, and all the precepts which he made for the government of sicily, are to be so obediently observed that he shall be held guilty of sacrilege who, spurred on by his own beastly disposition, shall try to break down the bulwark of our commands[ ]. [footnote : 'quisquis belluinis moribus excitatus munimen tentaverit irrumpere jussionum.'] '( ) it is said that you cite causes between two romans, even against their will, before your tribunal. if you are conscious that this has been done by you, do not so presume in future, lest while seeking the office of judge, for which you are incompetent, you wake up to find yourself a culprit. you, of all men, ought to be mindful of the edictum, since you insist on its being followed by others. if not, if this rule is not observed by you, your whole power of decreeing shall be taken from you. let the administration of the laws be preserved intact to the _judices ordinarii_. let the litigants throng, as they ought to do, to the courts of their _cognitores_. do not be gnawed by envy of their pomp. the true praise of the goths is _law-abidingness_[ ]. the more seldom the litigant is seen in your presence the greater is your renown. do you defend the state with your arms; let the romans plead before their own law courts in peace. [footnote : 'gothorum laus est civilitas custodita.'] '( ) you are also accused of insisting on buying the cargoes of vessels that come to the port at your own price [and selling again at a higher]--a practice the very suspicion of which is injurious to an official, even if it cannot be proved against him in fact[ ]. wherefore, if you wish to avoid the rumour of this deed, let the bishop and people of the city come forward as witnesses on behalf of your conscience[ ]. prices ought to be fixed by the common deliberation [of buyer and seller]; since no one likes a commercial transaction which is forced upon the unwilling. [footnote : this seems a possible interpretation of a dark sentence: 'navigiis vecta commercia te suggerunt occupare, et ambitu cupiditatis exosae solum antiqua pretia definire, quod non creditur a suspicione longinquum etiam si non sit actione vicinum.'] [footnote : is this a kind of compurgation which is here proposed?] 'wherefore we have thought it proper to warn your sublimity by these presents, since we do not like those whom we love to be guilty of excess, nor to hear evil reports of those who are charged with reforming the morals of others.' [this is an important letter, especially when taken in connection with the words of totila (procopius, 'de bello gotthico' iii. ), as to the exceptional indulgence with which the gothic kings had treated sicily, 'leaving, at the request of the inhabitants, very few soldiers in the island, that there might be no distaste to their freedom or to their general prosperity.' gildias is evidently a goth, and though a _vir spectabilis_ and holding a roman office--the comitiva syracusanae civitatis--still it is essentially a military office, and he has no business to divert causes from the judices ordinarii to his tribunal, though probably a roman comes might often do this without serious blame. but by his doing so, the general principle, that in purely roman causes a goth is not to interfere, seems to be infringed, and therefore he receives this sharp reprimand to prevent his doing it again.] . king athalaric to pope john ii ( ). [sidenote: against simony at papal elections.] 'the defensor of the roman church hath informed us in his tearful petition that lately, when a president was sought for the papal chair, so much were the usual largesses to the poor augmented by the promises which had been extorted from the candidate, that, shameful to say, even the sacred vessels were exposed to sale in order to provide the necessary money[ ]. [footnote : 'quosdam nefariâ machinatione necessitatem temporis aucupatos, ita facultates pauperum extortis promissionibus ingravasse, ut quod dictu nefas est, etiam sacra vasa emptioni publicae viderentur exposita.'] 'therefore let your holiness know that by this present decree, which relates also to all the patriarchs and metropolitan churches [the five metropolitan churches in rome, and such sees as milan, aquileia, ravenna], we confirm the wise law passed by the senate in the time of the most holy pope boniface [predecessor of john ii]. by it any contract or promise made by any person in order to obtain a bishopric is declared void. 'anyone refusing to refund money so received is to be declared guilty of sacrilege, and restitution is to be enforced by the judge.' 'should a contention arise as to an election to the apostolic see, and the matter be brought to our palace for decision, we direct that the maximum fee to be paid, on the completion of the necessary documents (?), shall be , solidi [£ , ][ ]; but this is only to be exacted from persons of sufficient ability to pay it. [footnote : 'et quia omnia decet sub ratione moderari, nec possunt dici justa quae nimia sunt, cum de apostolici consecratione pontificis intentio fortasse pervenerit, et ad palatium nostrum producta fuerit altercatio populorum, suggerentes (?) nobis intra tria millia solidorum, cum collectione cartarum censemus accipere.'] 'patriarchs [archbishops of the other great italian sees] under similar circumstances are to pay not more than , solidi [£ , ]. 'no one is to give [on his consecration] more than solidi [£ ] to the poor. 'anyone professing to obtain for money the suffrage of any one of our servants on behalf of a candidate for papacy or patriarchate, shall be forced to refund the money. if it cannot be recovered from him, it may be from his heirs. he himself shall be branded with infamy. 'should the giver of the money have been bound by such oaths, that, without imperilling his soul, he cannot disclose the transaction, anyone else may inform, and on establishing the truth of his accusation, receive a third part of the money so corruptly paid, the rest to go to the churches themselves, for the repair of the fabric or for the daily ministry. remember the fate of simon magus. we have ordered that this decree be made known to the senate and people by the praefect of the city.' [i think the early part of this letter gives us the clue to the pretext under which these simoniacal practices were introduced. it was usual for the pope on his election to give a certain sum of money to the poor. then at a vehemently contested election certain of the voters--perhaps especially the priests of the different _tituli_ of rome--claimed to be distributors of the papal bounty, a large part of which they no doubt kept for themselves.] . king athalaric to salvantius, vir illustris, praefect of the city. [sidenote: the same subject.] rehearses the motives of the previous edict, and directs that both it and the senatus consulta having reference to the same subject [and framed two years previously], be engraved on marble tablets, and fixed up in a conspicuous place, before the atrium of st. peter the apostle. . king athalaric to the same (between and ). [sidenote: release of two roman citizens accused of sedition.] 'we cannot bear that there should be sadness in rome, the head of the world. we hear with regret from the apostolic pope john, and other nobles, that a and b, who are romans, on a mere suspicion of sedition are being macerated by so long imprisonment that the whole city mourns for them; no gladness of a holyday and no respect for the papal name[ ] (which is most dear to us) availing to mitigate their confinement. this treatment of persons against whom no crime has been proved distresses us much, and we admonish your greatness, wherever you may succeed in finding them, to set them free. if, confident in their innocence, they think that they have been unjustly tormented, we give them liberty to make their appeal to the laws. judges were raised to their high estate, not to oppress but to defend the innocent. [footnote : 'nec ulla--quae apud nos est gratissima--nominis sui dignitas subveniret.' i think _sui_ must refer to the recently-mentioned _papa johannes_.] 'now let the romans return to their ancient gladness; nor let them think that any [rulers] please us but those who seek to act with fairness and moderation. let them understand that our forefathers underwent labours and dangers that _they_ might have rest; and that we are expending large sums in order that they may rejoice with garrulous exultation. for even if they have before now suffered some rough and unjust treatment, let them not believe that that is a thing to be neglected by our mildness. no; for we give ourselves no rest, that they may enjoy secure peace and calm gladness. let them understand at once that _we_ cannot love the men whose excesses have made them terrible to our subjects. whose favour do those men expect to win who have earned the dislike of their fellow-citizens? they might have reaped a harvest of the public love, and instead thereof they have so acted that their names are justly held in execration.' . the edict of athalaric. [this edict is minutely examined by dahn ('könige der germanen' iv. - ). i have adopted his division of paragraphs, though rather disposed to think that the 'de donationibus' should be broken up into two, to prevent counting the epilogue as a section. see also manso ('geschichte der ostrogothen' - ).] [sidenote: edict of athalaric.] '_prologue._ this edict is a general one. no names are mentioned in it, and those who are conscious of innocence need take no offence at anything contained therein. 'for long an ominous whisper has reached our ears that certain persons, despising _civilitas_, affect a life of beastly barbarism[ ], returning to the wild beginnings of society, and looking with a fierce hatred on all human laws. the present seems to us a fitting time for repressing these men, in order that we may be hunting down vice and immorality within the republic at the same time that, with god's help, we are resisting her external foes. both are hurtful, both have to be repelled; but the internal enemy is even more dangerous than the external. one, however, rests upon the other; and we shall more easily sweep down the armies of our enemies if we subdue under us the vices of the age. [this allusion to foreign enemies is perhaps explained by the hint in jordanes ('de reb. get.' ) of threatened war with the franks. but he gives us no sufficient indication of time to enable us to fix the date of the edictum.] [footnote : 'affectare vivere belluinâ saevitiâ.'] 'i. _forcible appropriation of landed property_[ ] (pervasio). this is a crime which is quite inconsistent with _civilitas_, and we remit those who are guilty of it to the punishment[ ] provided by a law of divus valentinianus [valentinian iii. novell. xix. 'de invasoribus'], adding that if anyone is unable to pay the penalty therein provided he shall suffer banishment (deportatio). he ought to have been more chary of disobeying the laws if he had no means to pay the penalty. judges who shrink from obeying this law, and allow the _pervasor_ to remain in possession of what he has forcibly annexed, shall lose their offices and be held liable to pay to our treasury the same fine which might have been exacted from him. if the _pervasor_ sets the judge's official staff (officium) at defiance, on the report of the judge our sajones will make _him_ feel the weight of the royal vengeance who refused to obey the [humbler] _cognitor_. [footnote : 'praedia urbana vel rustica.'] [footnote : the punishment consisted in loss of all claim to the property--which was generally seized by someone who had some kind of ostensible claim to it--and a penalty of equal value with that of the property wrongfully seized.] 'ii. _affixing titles to property._ [when land had from any cause become public property, the emperor's officers used to affix _tituli_, to denote the fact and to warn off all other claimants. powerful men who had dispossessed weaker claimants used to imitate this practice, and are here forbidden to do so.] 'this offence shall subject the perpetrator to the same penalties as _pervasio_. it is really a kind of sacrilege to try to add the majesty of the royal name to the weight of his own oppression. costs are to be borne by the defeated claimant. 'iii. _suppression of words in a decree._ anyone obtaining a decree against an adversary is to be careful to suppress nothing in the copy which he serves upon him. if he does so, he shall lose all the benefits that he obtained. we wish to help honest men, not rogues. 'iv. _seduction of a married woman._ he who tries to interfere with the married rights of another, shall be punished by inability to contract a valid marriage himself. [this punishment of compulsory celibacy is, according to dahn, derived neither from roman nor german law, but is possibly due to church influence.] the offender who has no hope of present or future matrimony[ ] shall be punished by confiscation of half his property; or, if a poor man, by banishment. [footnote : 'illis quos spes non habet praesentis conjugii vel futuri.' it is not easy to see how the judge could ascertain whether a man belonged to this claim or not.] 'v. _adultery_. all the statutes of the late king (divalis commonitio) in this matter are to be strictly observed. [edict. theodorici, § , inflicted the penalty of death on both offenders and on the abettors of the crime.] 'vi. _bigamy_ is to be punished with loss of all the offender's property. 'vii. _concubinage._ if a married man forms a connection of this kind with a free woman, she and all her children shall become the slaves of the injured wife. if with a woman who is a slave already, she shall be subjected to any revenge that the lawful wife likes to inflict upon her, short of blood-shedding[ ]. [footnote : 'quod si ad tale flagitium ancilla pervenerit, excepta poena sanguinis, matronali subjaceat ultioni: ut illam patiatur judicem, quam formidare debuisset absentem.' these provisions are probably of germanic origin.] 'viii. _donations_ are not to be extorted by terror, nor acquired by fraud, or as the price of immorality. where a gift is _bonâ fide_, the document conveying it is to be drawn up with the strictness prescribed by antiquity, in order to remove occasions of fraud. 'ix. magicians and other persons practising nefarious arts are to be punished by the severity of the laws. what madness to leave the giver of life and seek to the author of death! let the judges be especially careful to avoid the contagion of these foul practices. 'x. _violence exercised towards the weak._ let the condition of mediocrity be safe from the arrogance of the rich. let the madness of bloodshed be avoided. to take the law into your own hands is to wage private war, especially in the case of those who are fortified by the authority of our _tuitio_. if anyone attempts with foul presumption to act contrary to these principles, let him be considered a violator of our orders. 'xi. _appeals_ are not to be made twice in the same cause. 'xii. _epilogue._ but lest, while touching on a few points, we should be thought not to wish the laws to be observed in other matters, we declare that all the edicts of ourself and of our lord and grandfather, which were confirmed by venerable deliberation[ ], and the whole body of decided law[ ], be adhered to with the utmost rigour. [footnote : 'quae sunt venerabili deliberatione firmata.' is it possible that we have here a reference to a theoretical right of the _senate_ to concur in legislation?] [footnote : 'et usualia jura publica.' dahn expands: 'all other juristic material, all sources of law--roman _leges_ and _jus_, and gothic customary law--the whole inheritance of the state in public and private law.'] 'and these laws are so scrupulously guarded that our own oath is interposed for their defence. why enlarge further? let the usual rule of law and the honest intent of our precepts be everywhere observed.' . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: promulgation of the edict.] 'good laws are called forth by evil manners. if no complaints were ever heard, the prince might take holiday. stirred up by many and frequent complaints of our people, we have drawn up certain regulations necessary for the roman peace, in our edict which is divided into twelve chapters, after the manner of the civil law[ ]. we do not thereby abrogate, but rather confirm, the previously existing body of law. [footnote : 'necessaria quaedam romanae quieti edictali programmate duodecim capitibus sicut jus civile legitur institutum in aevum servanda conscripsimus, quae custodita residuum jus non debilitare, sed potius corroborare videantur.'] 'let this edict be read in your splendid assembly, and exhibited for thirty days by the praefect of the city in the most conspicuous places. thus shall our _civilitas_ be recognised, and truculent men lose their confidence. what insolent subjects[ ] can indulge in violence when the sovereign condemns it? our armies fight that there may be peace at home. let the judges do their duty fearlessly, and avoid foul corruption.' [footnote : evidently aimed at the goths.] . king athalaric to all the judges of the provinces. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'it is vexatious that, though we appoint you year by year to your duties, and leave no district without its judge, there is yet such tardiness in administering justice that suitors come by preference to our distant court. 'to take away all excuse from you, and relieve the necessity of our subjects, we have drawn up an edict which we desire you to exhibit for thirty days in the wonted manner at all places of public meeting.' . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: increase of salaries of grammarians.] 'you who are called fathers should be interested in all that concerns the education of your sons. we hear by certain whisperings that the teachers of eloquence at rome are not receiving their proper reward, and that the sums appointed to be paid to the masters of schools are lessened by the haggling of some persons. 'grammar is the noble foundation of all literature, the glorious mother of eloquence. as a virtuous man is offended by any act of vice, as a musician is pained by a discordant note, so does the grammarian in a moment perceive a false concord. 'the grammatical art is not used by barbarous kings: it abides peculiarly with legitimate sovereigns[ ]. other nations have arms: the lords of the romans alone have eloquence. hence sounds the trumpet for the legal fray in the forum. hence comes the eloquence of so many chiefs of the state. hence, to say nothing more, even this discourse which is now addressed to you[ ]. [footnote : 'hac non utuntur barbari reges: apud legales dominos manere cognoscitur singularis.'] [footnote : 'et, ut reliqua taceamus, hoc quod loquimur inde est.'] 'wherefore let the teacher of grammar and of rhetoric, if he be found suitable for his work and obey the decrees of the praefect of the city, be supported by your authority, and suffer no diminution of his salary[ ]. [footnote : 'et semel primi ordinis vestri ac reliqui senatus amplissimi auctoritate firmatus.' what is the meaning of 'primi ordinis vestri?'] 'to prevent his being dependent in any way on the caprice of his employer, let him receive half his salary at the end of half a year, and his _annonae_ at the customary times. if the person whose business it is to pay him neglects this order, he shall be charged interest on the arrears. 'the grammarian is a man to whom every hour unemployed is misery, and it is a shame that such a man should have to wait the caprice of a public functionary before he gets his pay. we provide for the salaries of the play-actors, who minister only to the amusement of the public; and how much more for these men, the moulders of the style and character of our youth! therefore let them henceforward not have to try the philosophical problem of thinking about two things at once, but, with their minds at ease about their subsistence, devote themselves with all their vigour to the teaching of liberal arts.' . king athalaric to paulinus, vir clarissimus and consul ( ). [flavius theodoras paulinus junior was consul with the emperor justinian in . this letter was written in sept. , about thirteen months before the death of athalaric. paulinus was son of venantius and grandson of liberius.] [sidenote: paulinus chosen as consul.] 'the absent from our court need not fear that they will be disregarded in the distribution of honours, especially when they are sprung from an illustrious stock, the offspring of the senate. 'in your family rome recognises the descendants of her ancient heroes the decii, who, in a great crisis, alone saved their country. 'take then for the twelfth indiction the ensigns of the consulship[ ]. it is an arduous honour, but one which your family is well used to. the fasti are studded with its names, and nearly all the senate is of kin to you. still, presume not too much on the merits of your ancestors, but rather seek to emulate their noble deeds.' [footnote : the twelfth indiction began sept. , . the consul would enter office jan. , . was he _designated_ when the great imperial officers were _appointed_ at the beginning of the indiction?] . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: on the consulship of paulinus.] 'judge of our esteem for your honourable body, conscript fathers, when, without any hesitation, we appoint your sons whom we have never seen to high office, because they are your sons. 'we admire the patrician venantius, blessed as he has been with such an abundant progeny, and found equal to the weight of so many consulships. his sons have been all temperate and lively; worthy members of the same distinguished family. they have been trained in arms, their minds have been formed by letters, their bodies by the exercises of the gymnasium. they have learned to show constancy to their friends, loyalty to their lords; and they have succeeded to the virtues of their ancestors, as they will to their patrimony. wisely husbanding his own fortune, venantius has been able to support the honour--gratifying, but burdensome--of seeing so many of his sons made consuls. but this is an honour not strange to his family, sprung from the ancient decii. his hall is full of laurelled fasces, and in his line one might almost say that each one is born a consular. 'favour our candidate then, conscript fathers, and cherish him with that care which the name of your body[ ] signifies.' [footnote : _curia_, from _cura_.] . king athalaric to senator [cassiodorus himself], praetorian praefect (sept. , ). [sidenote: cassiodorus appointed praetorian praefect.] 'if you had been hitherto an obscure person we might feel some doubt how you would bear yourself in your new office, but your long and glorious career under our grandfather relieves us from any such anxieties. _his_ choice of you is a thing to be not discussed but reverently accepted. it was by him that we ourselves were chosen; and the divine favour so conspicuously followed him that no general whom he selected was other than victorious, no judge whom he appointed was other than just. in short, one might almost deem him to have been endowed with the gift of prophecy. [sidenote: his quaestorship.] 'in your early manhood he received you into the office of quaestor, and soon found you to be a conscientious man, learned in the law beyond your years[ ]. you were the chief ornament of your times, inasmuch as you, by your blameless service sustaining the weight of that royal intellect by all the force of your eloquence, enabled him, with his keen interest in all public affairs, to await the result with confidence. in you he possessed a counsellor pleasant in the transaction of business, rigid in his sense of justice, free from all taint of avarice. you never fixed a scandalous tariff for the sale of his benefits; and thus you reaped your reward in a wealth of public opinion, not in gold. it was because that just prince proved you to be averse from all these vices that he selected you for his glorious friendship. a wise judge, he threw upon you the weight of listening to the arguments of contending parties; and so high was his opinion of your tried sagacity that he at once uttered your decision as the greatest benefit that he could confer on the litigants. how often did he rank you among the oldest chiefs of his council! how often was it seen that your young beginnings were more than a match for them, who had the experience of long years behind them! what he found to praise in you was your excellent disposition, wide open for useful work, tight closed against the vices of avarice. whereas, for some reason, it is rare to find amongst men, the hand closed and justice open. [footnote : 'primaevum recipiens ad quaestoris officium, mox reperit conscientia praeditum, et legum eruditione maturum.'] [sidenote: his career as master of the offices.] 'let us pass on to the dignity of _magister officiorum_, which all men knew that you obtained, not from the reputation of wealth, but as a testimony to your character. in this place you were always ready to help the [successive] quaestors; for, when pure eloquence was required, the case was always put in your hands. the benignant sovereign claimed from you the fulfilment of duties which he knew that he had not formally laid upon you; and such was the favour that he had for you, while others laboured you received the reward of his abundant praises[ ]. for under your administration no dignity kept its exact limits; anything that was to be honestly done by all the chiefs of the state together, you considered to be entrusted to _your_ conscience for its performance. [footnote : 'et quadam gratia praejudiciali vacabat alios laborare, ut te sententiae suae copiosa laude compleret.' one would have expected cassiodorus to say, 'you had the special privilege of doing other people's work and being praised for it, while they enjoyed their leisure;' but i hardly see how we can get this meaning out of 'vacabat alios laborare.'] 'no one found occasion to murmur anything to your disadvantage, though you had to bear all the weight of unpopularity which comes from the sovereign's favour. the integrity of your life conquered those who longed to detract from your reputation, and your enemies were obliged to utter the praises which their hearts abhorred; for even malice leaves manifest goodness unattacked, lest it be itself exposed to general hatred. [sidenote: his friendship for theodoric.] 'to the monarch you showed yourself a friendly minister and an intimate noble[ ]. for when he had laid aside the cares of state, he would seek in your conversation the opinions of wise men of old, that by his own deeds he might make himself equal to the ancients[ ]. into the courses of the stars, into the gulfs of the sea, into the marvels of springing fountains, this most acute questioner enquired, so that by his diligent investigations into the nature of things he seemed to be a philosopher wearing the purple. [footnote : 'egisti rerum domino judicem familiarem et internum procerem.'] [footnote : 'nam cum esset publica cura vacuatus, sententias prudentum a tuis fabulis exigebat; ut factis propriis se aequaret antiquis.'] 'it were long to narrate all your merits in the past. let us rather turn to the future, and show how the heir of theodoric's empire proposes to pay the debts of theodoric. 'therefore, with the divine help, we bestow on you from the twelfth indiction [sept. , ] the authority and insignia of praetorian praefect. let the provinces, which we know to have been hitherto wearied by the administration of dishonest men, fearlessly receive a judge of tried integrity. 'though you have before you the example of your father's praefecture[ ], renowned throughout the italian world, we do not so much set before you either that or any other example, as your own past character, exhorting you to rule consistently with that. you have always been averse from bribery; now earnestly help the victims of injustice. we have purposely delayed your accession to this high office that you might be the more heartily welcomed by the people, who expected to see you clothed with it long ago. diligently seek out anything belonging to the titles of the praetorian praefecture, of which it has been defrauded by the cupidity of others. we send you as a light into a dark chamber, and expect that your sagacity and loyalty will discover many hidden things. [footnote : 'quamvis habeas paternam praefecturam, italico orbe praedicatam.' this is one of the many proofs that senator (now first advanced to the office of praefectus praetorio) is the _son_ of the cassiodorus to whom the letter (i. ) is addressed on his retirement from that office.] 'we know that you will work not so much for the sake of honour as in order to satisfy your conscience; and work so done knows no limit to its excellence.' . king athalaric to the senate of the city of rome (on the promotion of cassiodorus senator to the praetorian praefecture). [sidenote: eulogy of cassiodorus on his appointment as praetorian praefect.] 'we have loaded senator with our benefits, conscript fathers, because he abounds in virtue, is rich in excellence of character, and is already full of the highest honours. but, in fact, we are his debtors. how shall we repay that eloquent tongue of his, with which he set forth the deeds of the prince, till he himself who had wrought them wondered at his story? in praising the reign of the wearer of the purple, he made it acceptable to your nation. for taxes may be paid to a tyrant; praise, such as this, is given only to a good prince. [sidenote: his gothic history.] 'not satisfied with extolling living kings, from whom he might hope for a reward, he drew forth the kings of the goths from the dust of ages, showing that the amal family had been royal for seventeen generations, and proved that the origin of the gothic people belonged to roman history[ ], adorning the whole subject with the flowers of his learning gathered from wide fields of literature. [footnote : 'tetendit se etiam in antiquam prosapiem nostram, lectione discens, quod vix majorum notitia cana retinebat. iste reges gothorum longa oblivione celatos, latibulo vetustatis eduxit. iste amalos cum generis sui claritate restituit, evidenter ostendens in decimam septimam progeniem stirpem nos habere regalem. originem gothicam historiam fecit esse romanam, colligens quasi in unam coronam germen floridum quod per librorum campos passim fuerat ante dispersum.'] 'in the early days of our reign what labour he gave to the settling of our affairs! he was alone sufficient for all. the duty of making public harangues, our own private counsels, required him. he laboured that the empire might rest. [sidenote: his official career.] 'we found him magister; but he discharged the duties of quaestor, and willingly bestowed on us, the heir, the experience which he had gained in the counsels of our grandfather. [sidenote: his military services.] 'and not only so, he helped the beginning of our reign both with his arms and his pen. for when the care of our shores[ ] occupied our royal meditation, he suddenly emerged from the seclusion of his cabinet, boldly, like his ancestors, assumed the office of general[ ], and triumphed by his character when there was no enemy to overcome. for he maintained the gothic warriors[ ] at his own charges, so that there should be no robbery of the provincials on the one hand, no too heavy burden on the exchequer on the other. thus was the soldier what he ought to be, the true defender, not the ravager of his country. then when the time for victualling the ships was over, and the war was laid aside, he shone as an administrator rather than a warrior, healing, without injury to the litigants, the various suits which arose out of the sudden cessation of the contracts[ ]. [footnote : probably from some expected descent of the vandals, in connection with the affair of amalafrida.] [footnote : 'par suis majoribus ducatum sumpsit intrepidus.'] [footnote : 'deputatos.'] [footnote : a conjectural translation of a difficult sentence: 'mox autem ut tempus clausit navium commeatum, bellique cura resoluta est, ingenium suum legum potius ductor exercuit: sanans sine damno litigantium quod ante sub pretio comstabat esse laceratum.' i conjecture that by the sudden stoppage of the warlike preparations several of the contractors were in danger of being ruined, and there was a general disposition to repudiate all purchases.] 'such was the glory of the military command of a metellus in asia, of a cato in spain--a glory far more durable than any that can be derived from the varying shock of war. [sidenote: his religious character.] 'yet with all these merits, how humble he has been, how modest, how benevolent, how slow to wrath, how generous in the distribution of that which is his own, how slow to covet the property of others! all these virtues have been consolidated by his reading of the divine book, the fear of god helping him to triumph over baser, human motives. thus has he been rendered humble towards all, as one imbued with heavenly teaching. 'him therefore, conscript fathers, we make, under god's blessing, praetorian praefect from the twelfth indiction [sept. , ], that he may repress by his own loyalty the trafficking of knaves, and may use his power for the good of the republic, bequeathing eternal renown to his posterity.' book x. containing thirty-five letters written by cassiodorus: four in the name of queen amalasuentha. twenty-two in that of king theodahad. four in that of his wife gudelina. five in that of king witigis. . queen amalasuentha to justinian the emperor (a.d. ). [sidenote: association of theodahad in the sovereignty.] 'i have hitherto forborne to distress you with the sad tidings of the death of my son of glorious memory, but now am able to mingle a joyful announcement with this mournful message. we have promoted to the sceptre a man allied to us by a fraternal tie, that he may wear the purple robes of his ancestors, and may cheer our own soul by his prudent counsels. we are persuaded that you will give us your good wishes on this event, as we hope that every kind of prosperity may befall the kingdom of your piety. the friendship of princes is always comely, but your friendship absolutely ennobles me, since that person is exalted in dignity who is united by friendship to your glory[ ]. [footnote : 'nam licet concordia principum semper deceat, vestra tamen absolute me nobilitat; quoniam ille redditur amplius excelsus, qui vestrae gloriae fuerit unanimiter conjunctus.'] 'as we cannot in the short space of a letter express all that we desire to say on such an occasion, we have entrusted certain verbal messages to the ambassadors who bear this epistle.' . theodahad the king to justinian the emperor. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'it is usual for newly-crowned kings to signify their accession to the different nations round them. i, in making this communication to you, am greatly favoured by providence, feeling secure of your favour, because i know that my most excellent lady and sister has already attained it. i feel confident that i shall justify the choice of one who shines in such a light of wisdom that she both governs her own kingdom with admirable forethought and keeps firmly the vows of friendship which she has plighted to her neighbours. partner of her cares, i desire also to be a partner of her wisely-formed friendships, those especially which she has contracted with you, who have nothing like unto you in the whole world. this alliance is no new thing: if you will look back upon the deeds of our ancestors you will find that there is a custom which has obtained the force of a law, that the amals should be friendly with the empire. so old a friendship is likely to endure; and if, in obedience to it and to my sister's choice, i have your love, i shall feel that i am indeed a king. 'the ambassadors who have charge of this letter will further express my sentiments.' . queen amalasuentha to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'after the death of our son of blessed memory[ ] our love for the common weal overcame the yearnings of a mother's heart and caused us to seek your prosperity rather than an opportunity to indulge in our own sorrow. we have considered by what solace we should strengthen ourselves for the cares of royalty. the same providence which has deprived us of a son in the dawn of manhood, has reserved for us the affection of a brother in mature age. under the divine auspices we have chosen theodahad[ ] as the fortunate partner of our throne. we two, with conjoined counsels, shall now labour for the common welfare, _two_ in our meditations, _one_ in the action which results from them. the stars give one another mutual help in ruling the heavens, and god has bestowed on man two hands, two ears, two eyes, that each one of these members should assist the other. [footnote : 'divae recordationis.'] [footnote : is there any authority for the reading of nivellius, 'theo_baldum_?'] [sidenote: praises of theodahad.] 'therefore exult, conscript fathers, and commend our deed to the blessing of the almighty. our sharing our power with another is a pledge of its being wisely and gently exercised. by god's help we have opened our palace to a man of our own race, conspicuous by his illustrious position, who, born of the amal stock, has a kingly dignity in all his actions, being patient in adversity, moderate in prosperity, and, most difficult of all kinds of government, long used to the government of himself. moreover, he possesses that desirable quality, literary erudition, lending a grace to a nature originally praiseworthy. it is in books that the sage counsellor finds deeper wisdom, in books that the warrior learns how he may be strengthened by the courage of the soul, in books that the sovereign discovers how he may weld nations together under his equal rule. in short, there is no condition in life the credit whereof is not augmented by the glorious knowledge of literature. 'your new sovereign is moreover learned in ecclesiastical lore, by which we are ever reminded of the things which make for our own true honour, right judgment, wise discretion, reverence for god, thought of the future judgment. for the remembrance that we shall one day stand at the bar to answer for ourselves compels us to follow the footprints of justice. thus does religious reading not only sharpen the intellect but ever tend to make men scrupulous in the performance of their duties. 'let me pass on to that most generous frugality of his private household[ ] which procured the means of such abundance in his gifts, of such plenty at his banquets, that even the kingdom will not call for any new expenditure in this respect greater than the old. generous in his hospitality, most pitiful in his compassions, while he was thus spending much, his fortune, by a heavenly reward, was ever on the increase. [footnote : 'veniamus ad illam privatae ecclesiae (?) largissimam frugalitatem.' 'ecclesiae,' if it means here 'the church,' seems to spoil the sense. can cassiodorus mean to compare the household of theodahad to a 'private ecclesia?'] 'the wish of the people should coincide with our choice of such a man, who, reasonably spending his own goods, does not desire the goods of others[ ]. for moderation in his own expenditure takes away from the sovereign the temptation to transgress the precepts of justice and to abandon the golden mean. [footnote : 'talem universitas debuit optare, qualem nos probamur elegisse, qui rationabiliter disponens propria, non appetat aliena.' and this of theodahad!] 'rejoice then, conscript fathers, and give thanks to the most high, that i have chosen such a ruler, who will supplement my justice by the good deeds which spring from his own piety. for this man is both admonished by the virtue of his ancestors and powerfully stimulated by the example of his uncle theodoric.' . king theodahad to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'we announce to you, conscript fathers, the divine favour which has been manifested unto us, in that our sovereign lady[ ], who is renowned throughout the whole world, has with generous affection made me partaker of her throne, so that she may not lack loyal support and i may be fittingly clothed with the purple of my ancestors. [footnote : 'dominam rerum.'] 'i know that this elevation of mine was the object of the wishes of the community. your whispers in my favour might have been a source of danger, but now your openly expressed acclamations are my proudest boast. you wished that god should bestow upon me this honour, to which i for my part should not have ventured to aspire. but if i have, as i trust i have, any influence with you, let me prevail upon you to join with me in perpetually hymning the glorious praises of our lady and sister. she has wished to strengthen the greatness of our empire by associating me therein, even as the two eyes of a man harmoniously co-operate towards a single act of vision. divine grace joins us together: our near relationship cements our friendship. persons of diverse character may find it an arduous matter thus to work in common; but, to those who resemble one another in the goodness of their intentions, the difficulty would rather be _not_ to work in harmony. the man devoid of forethought may fear the changing of his purposes; but he who is really great in wisdom eagerly seeks wisdom in another. 'but of all the gifts which with this regal dignity the divine favour has bestowed upon me, none pleases me more than the fact that i should have been thus chosen by that wisest lady who is herself a moral balance of the utmost delicacy, and who made me first feel her justice before advancing me to this high dignity. for, as you know, she ordained that i should plead my cause against private persons in the common judgment-hall[ ]. oh wonderful nobility of her mind! oh admirable justice, which the world may well tell of! she hesitated not first to subject her own relation to the course of public justice, even him whom, a little after, she would raise above the laws themselves. she thoroughly searched the conscience of him to whom she was about to hand over the dignity of kingship, that she might be recognised as sovereign lady of all, and that i, when tested, might be advanced by her to the throne. [footnote : 'cujus prius ideo justitiam pertuli ut prius [posterius?] ad ejus provectionis gratiam pervenirem. causas enim, ut scitis, jure communi nos fecit dicere cum privatis.' we have here, no doubt, an allusion to the punishment which, as we learn from procopius, amalasuentha inflicted on her cousin for his various acts of injustice towards his tuscan neighbours.] [sidenote: praises of amalasuentha.] 'when shall i be able to repay her for all these favours: her who, having reigned alone during the minority of her son, now chooses me as the partner of her realm? in her is the glory of all kingdoms, the flower of all our family. all our splendour is derived from her, and she reflects a lustre not only on our ancestors, but on the whole human race. her dutiful affection, her weight of character, who can set forth? the philosophers would learn new lessons if they knew her, and would acknowledge that their books fail to describe all her attributes. acute she is in her powers of reasoning; but with royal taciturnity she knows how to veil her conclusions in secrecy. she is mistress of many languages; and her intellect, if suddenly tested, is found so ready for the trial that it scarcely seems like that of a mortal. in the books of kings the queen of the south is said to have come to learn the wisdom of solomon: but here a woman speaks, and sovereigns listen to her with admiration. infinite depths of meaning are fathomed by her in few words, and she, with utmost ease, expresses what others can only after long deliberation embody in language[ ]. [footnote : 'et summâ felicitate componitur quod ab aliis sub longâ deliberatione componitur.' 'ab aliis' probably refers to cassiodorus himself. the contrast between his elaborate and diffuse rhetoric, and the few, terse, soon-moulded sentences of his mistress is very fairly drawn.] 'happy the commonwealth which boasts the guidance of such a mistress. it was not enough that already liberty and convenience were combined for the multitude[ ]: her merits have secured the fitting reverence for the person of the sovereign. in obeying _her_ we obey all the virtues. i, too, with such a counsellor, fear not the weight of the crown; and i know that whatever is strange to me in my new duties i shall learn from her as the safest of teachers. [footnote : 'minus fuit ut generalitas sub libertate serviret.'] 'acknowledge, noble sirs, that all my power of increased usefulness to the state comes from this our most wise lady, from whom i may either gain wisdom by asking questions, or virtue by following her example. 'live happily: live in harmony by god's help, and emulate that grace of concord which you see prevailing between your sovereigns.' . king theodahad to his man theodosius[ ]. [footnote : 'theodosio homini suo theodahadus rex.' does 'homo suus' mean a member of his comitatus? we seem to have here an anticipation of the 'homagium' of later times.] [sidenote: the followers of the new king must live justly.] 'by my accession to the throne i have become lord of the whole nation and guardian of the general welfare. i therefore command that all who belong to my private household shall vindicate their rights only in the courts of law, and shall abstain from all high-handed modes of obtaining redress. only that man must henceforward be called mine who can live quietly subject to the laws. my new dignity has changed my purpose; and if before i have defended my rights with pertinacity, i shall now temper all my acts with clemency[ ]; since there is nothing exceptional about a sovereign's household, but wheresoever, by the grace of god, our rule extends, there, as we fully confess, is something which it is our duty to defend. augment therefore my renown by your patience, and let me hear praises rather than complaints of the actions of my servants.' [footnote : 'mutavimus cum dignitate propositum, et si ante justa districte defendimus, nunc clementer omnia mitigamus.' a pretty plain confession of theodahad's past wrong-doing, and one which was probably insisted upon by amalasuentha in admitting him to a share in the kingship.] . king theodahad to patricius, vir illustris and quaestor. [sidenote: patricius appointed quaestor.] 'in conferring upon you the office of quaestor we look first to character, and we find in you that love of justice which is all important in a representative of the prince. then we look at the qualities of your intellect, and we find in you that flow of eloquence which among all mental accomplishments we value most highly. what does it profit to be a philosopher, if one cannot worthily set forth the results of one's investigations? to discover is natural to man; but to set forth one's discoveries in noble language, that is indeed a desirable gift. therefore we bestow on you for this thirteenth indiction[ ] the fasces of the quaestorship, desiring you to consecrate your time to the study of the laws and the _responsa prudentum_, and to spread abroad our fame by the eloquent manner in which you shall communicate our decrees to the cities and provinces under our sway, and speak in our name to the representatives of foreign nations.' [footnote : - . as athalaric died oct. , , the appointment of patricius cannot have taken place on the usual day, sept. .] . king theodahad to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'after announcing to you our own accession, one of our first cares was to choose a judge whose style of speaking might dignify the state. such a judge have we found in patricius (patrician by his name already), whom we hereby appoint to the office of quaestor. he studied eloquence at rome. where could he have studied better? for while other parts of the world have their wine, their balm, their frankincense, which they can export, the peculiar product of rome is eloquence. 'having thus learned his art, he practised it at the bar with singular moderation. no heat of strife hurried him into abuse of his competitors. seeking only to win his client's cause, he calmly and courteously set forth that client's rights without sacrificing his own dignity of demeanour. 'thinking that this man has pleaded long enough, we now appoint that he shall sit as judge, having made diligent enquiry as to his character. in this, and in all other matters, we wish to follow the example of the emperors who have gone before us, in so far as they followed the paths of justice[ ].' [footnote : 'velle nostrum antiquorum principum est voluntas, quos in tantum desideramus imitari quantum illi justitiam sunt secuti.'] . queen amalasuentha to justinian, augustus. [sidenote: present of marbles from justinian to amalasuentha.] 'delighting to receive from your piety some of those treasures of which the heavenly bounty has made you partaker, we send the bearer of the present letter to receive those marbles and other necessaries which we formerly ordered calogenitus to collect on our behalf. all our adornments, furnished by you, redound to your glory. for it is fitting that by your assistance should shine resplendent that roman world which the love of your serenity renders illustrious.' . king theodahad to justinian, augustus. [sidenote: the same subject.] [on the same subject as the previous letter, and in nearly the same words. calogenitus apparently is dead.] 'we have directed the bearer of this letter to exhibit (?) those things for which calogenitus was previously destined; so that, although that person is withdrawn from this life, your benefits, by god's help, may still be brought unto us.' . queen amalasuentha to theodora, augusta[ ]. [footnote : there is something in the tone of this letter which suggests that theodora was known to be pregnant when it was written.] [sidenote: salutation to theodora.] 'we approach you with the language of veneration, because it is agreed on all hands that your virtues increase more and more. friendship exists not for those only who are in one another's presence, but also for the absent. rendering you therefore the salutation of august reverence, i hope that our ambassadors, whom we have directed to the most clement and most glorious emperor, will bring me news of your welfare. your prosperity is as dear to me as my own; and as i constantly pray for your safety, i cannot hear without pleasure that my prayers have been answered.' . king theodahad to maximus[ ], vir illustris and domesticus. [footnote : this maximus does not appear to be mentioned by procopius. he may be the same maximus who took refuge in one of the churches after totila's capture of rome in (de bello gotthico iii. ), and who was slain by order of teias in (ibid. iv. ); but that person was grandson of an emperor, and it seems hardly probable that cassiodorus would have spared us such a detail in the pedigree of theodahad's kinsman. we seem also to be entirely without information as to the amal princess who was the bride of maximus.] [sidenote: maximus appointed to office of primicerius (domesticorum?)] 'it is the glory of a good sovereign to confer office on the deserving descendants of illustrious families. such are the anicii, an ancient family, almost on an equality with princes[ ], from whom you are descended. gladly would we decorate the descendants of the marii and corvini if time had permitted their progeny to survive to our own day. but it were inconsistent to regret the impossibility of enjoying this privilege if we neglected the opportunity which we do possess in your case. [footnote : 'anicios quidem pene principibus pares aetas prisca genuit.'] 'therefore we bestow upon you from this fourteenth indiction[ ] the office of primicerius, which is also called domesticatus. this office may appear somewhat less than you are entitled to by your pedigree, but you have received an honour which is greater than all the _fasces_ in being permitted to marry a wife of our royal race, a distinction which you could not have hoped for even when you sat in the curule chair. comport yourself now with mildness, patience, and moderation, that you may show yourself worthy of your affinity with us. your ancestors have hitherto been praised, but they were never dignified with such an alliance. your nobility has now reached a point beyond which it can climb no further. all that you do henceforward of a praiseworthy kind will but have the effect of rendering you more worthy of the matrimonial alliance which you have already achieved[ ].' [footnote : to .] [footnote : 'laudati sunt hactenus parentes tui, sed tantâ non sunt conjunctione decorati. nobilitas tua non est ultra quod crescat. quicquid praeconialiter egeris, proprio matrimonio dignissimus aestimaris.'] . king theodahad to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'we do not think that the fact of a man's having received the consulship early in life should shut him out from holding office of lower rank in his maturer years[ ]. as the tiber receives the water of smaller rivers which merge their names in his, so a man of consular rank can serve the state in less conspicuous ways, yet still be consular. therefore we have thought fit to bestow on the illustrious and magnificent patrician maximus, the primiceriatus which is also called domesticatus, from this fourteenth indiction, that the lowliness of the honour may be raised by the merit of the wearer. he is an anicius, sprung from a family renowned throughout the whole world. he is also honoured with the affinity of our own illustrious race. receive him, welcome him, rejoice at these nuptials, which bind me closer to you, now that you have in your ranks one whom i can truly call a relation.' [footnote : flavius anicius maximus was consul in .] . king theodahad to the senate of the city of rome. [this letter may probably be referred to the spring or summer of . theodahad, soon after the deposition or death of amalasuentha, has apparently invited the senate to ravenna, an invitation which they have respectfully declined. he chides their suspicions of him.] [sidenote: summons to ravenna. suspicions of the senators.] 'after we had dismissed the venerable bishops who brought your message, without taking exception to your requests, though there were some things blameworthy among them, we received tidings that the city of rome was agitated by certain foolish anxieties, from which real evil would grow unless the suspicion which caused them could be laid to rest. 'i fear that i cannot complain of "popular levity" if your illustrious body, which should set an example to all others, should give way to such fond imaginings. if rome, which should govern the provinces, be so foolish, what can we expect of _them_? 'divine grace, however, prompts us both to pardon your faults and to grant your requests. we owe you nothing, and yet we pay you[ ]; but we trust to be rewarded by hearing not our own praises but yours. put away these unworthy, these childish suspicions, and behave as becomes the fathers of the people. [footnote : 'nihil debemus et solvimus.' have we here an echo of st. augustine's thought, 'reddis debita nulli debens?'] 'in desiring your presence at our court, we sought not your vexation but your advantage. it is certainly a great privilege to see the face of the sovereign, and we thought to bestow on you, for the advantage of the state, that which used to be counted as a reward. however, not to deal harshly with you, we shall be satisfied with the attendance of certain individuals from your body, as occasion may require, so that on the one hand rome may not be denuded of her citizens, and on the other that we may not lack prudent counsellors in our chamber. now return to your old devotion, and serve us, not as a matter of fear, but of love. the rest shall the bearer of this letter explain unto you.' . king theodahad to the roman people. [the occasion of writing this letter, which we may perhaps refer to the early part of , is apparently that some gothic troops have been sent to rome, and the people have broken out into clamours against them, or petitioned for their removal.] [sidenote: dissensions between citizens of rome and gothic troops.] 'your predecessors have always been distinguished by the loyal love which they bore to the chief of the state; and it is only right that he [the sovereign] who is defended with so much toil, he, for whom, as the representative of public order, daily precautions are taken[ ], should in return love that people above all others whose loyalty gives him a right to rule the world[ ]. [footnote : 'qui maximo labore defenditur, cujus per dies singulos civilitas custoditur.'] [footnote : 'ut illos diligat super omnia, per quos habere probatur universa.'] 'oh! let there be nothing in you in our days which may justly move our indignation. still show forth your older loyalty. it is not fitting that the roman people should be fickle, or crafty, or full of seditions. 'let no fond suspicions, no shadow of fear sway you. you have a sovereign who only longs to find opportunities to love you. meet with hostile arms your enemies, not your own defenders. 'you ought to have invited, not to have shut out the succour which we sent you. evidently you have been misled by counsellors who care not for the public weal. return to your own better minds. 'was it some new and strange nation whose faces forsooth thus terrified you? no: the very men whom hitherto you have called your kinsmen, the men who in their anxiety for your safety have left their homes and families in order to defend you. strange return on your part for their devotion! 'as for you, you should know this, that night and day our one ceaseless desire is to perfect, with god's help, the security which was fostered in the times of our relations [theodoric and amalasuentha]. where, indeed, would our credit as a sovereign be if anything happened to your hurt? dismiss all such thoughts from your minds. if any have been unjustly cast down, we will raise him up again. we have sent you some verbal messages by the bearer of this letter, and hope that from henceforth we may rely on your constant obedience.' . king theodahad to the emperor justinian. [sidenote: letter of introduction for an ecclesiastic.] 'it is always a delight to us to have an opportunity of directing our letters of salutation[ ] to your piety, since he is filled with happy joy who converses with you with sincere heart. i therefore recommend to your clemency the bearer of this letter, who comes on the affairs of the church of ravenna. there can be no doubt that if you grant his request you will earn a just reward.' [footnote : 'salutiferos apices.'] . king theodahad to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: assurances of good-will. oath of concord.] 'it is worthy of a ruler to do good of his own freewill, not under compulsion. by god's favour we _can_ do anything, but we choose to do only things that are praiseworthy. recognise now, oh prudent counsellors, that clemency of mine which ye might always have reckoned upon. ye feared that i was your enemy; far from that, i cannot even bear that ye should be racked by the fear of evil[ ]. and therefore, though i change no purpose of mine, since i never had thoughts of evil towards you, i have ordained that a and b, the bearers of this letter, should take unto you the oaths which you solicited[ ]. i do this thing for god's sake, not for man's; for how could i, who have run through the story of ancient realms in holy writ, wish to do anything else but that which is well-pleasing to god, who will assuredly recompense me according to my works. henceforward, then, serve me loyally, and in the full security which you have thus acquired: yea, your love will be now the repayment of a debt rather than a freewill offering.' [footnote : 'ecce nec sollicitos patimur, quibus infensi esse putabamur.'] [footnote : 'postulata siquidem sacramenta vobis, ab illo atque illo praestari nostra decrevit auctoritas.'] . king theodahad to the roman people. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'since your security is our highest ornament, and since our love wishes to remove every shade of anxiety from your minds, we have ordered a and b to take oaths to you in our name, whereby you may know the mind of your king towards you. though this act might seem not to consort with our dignity, we willingly perform it for your sakes, and add the sanction of an oath, though we have learned from the sacred scriptures that a mere promise ought to be kept. now it is for you to show your devotion, and with assiduous prayers to implore of the majesty on high that the tranquil times which we long that you may enjoy may be granted by the gift of heaven.' . king theodahad to the senate of the city of rome. [sidenote: a gothic garrison for rome.] 'anxious that what we are devising for your safety should not be misinterpreted by bitter suspicion, we do you to wit that the army which is marching to rome is intended for your defence, in order that they who covet your possessions may by divine help be resisted by the arms of the goths. if the shepherd is bound to watch over his flock, the father of the family to see that no crafty deceiver enters therein, with what anxious care ought not we to defend the city of rome, which by universal consent is unequalled in the world[ ]. so precious a possession must not be staked upon any throw. but that the defence of the city may be in no wise burdensome to you, we have ordered that the soldiers shall pay at the ordinary market rate for the provisions which they require; and we have desired vacco, the steward of our house, to superintend these purchases. he is a man of valour and integrity, whose character will secure him the obedience of the troops, and enable him to prevent any excesses. [footnote : 'quâ nos convenit cautelâ romam defendere, quam constat in mundo simile nihil habere?'] 'as for the soldiers, we have told them to take up their quarters in fitting places [outside the city?], that without there may be armed defence, within for you, tranquil order[ ]. [footnote : 'quos tamen locis aptis praecipimus immorari, ut foris sit armata defensio, intus vobis tranquilla civilitas.'] 'god forbid that in our days that city should seem to be protected by walls, the very name of which hath been of old a terror to the nations[ ]. we hope for this from the aid of heaven, that she who hath always been free may never be stained by the insult of any blockade[ ]. [footnote : 'absit enim ut nostris temporibus urbs illa muris videatur protegi, quam constat gentibus vel sola opinione fuisse terrori.'] [footnote : 'ut quae semper fuit libera, nullius inclusionis decoloretur injuria.'] . king theodahad to the emperor justinian. [sidenote: embassy of peter.] 'we thank the divine being, who loves to see kings at peace with one another, that you expressed such joy at our elevation to the throne. continue to set to the world this example of benignity; continue to show your interest in one who recommends himself by his pure affection for you. for you do not seek to pick shabby quarrels with other sovereigns; you do not delight in unjust contests, which are contrary to sound morality[ ], since you seek for nothing but what may increase the good opinion which men have of you. how could you throw away that peace which it is the glory of your piety to have imposed even on angry nations[ ]? [footnote : 'non enim rixas viles per regna requiritis: non vos injusta certamina quae sunt bonis moribus inimica, delectant.' no doubt this was meant to be taken as a hint of the censure which it professes to deny.] [footnote : 'pacem quam et iracundis gentibus consuevistis imponere.' an allusion, perhaps, to the peace concluded with persia.] 'even you, glorious sovereigns! [justinian and theodora] gain somewhat when all other realms revere you. it is a common thing for the ruler to be praised in his own land, but to receive the unforced praise of foreign lands, that is indeed desirable. you are loved, most pious emperor, in your own dominions; but how much grander a thing to be yet more loved in the regions of italy, from whence the glory of the roman name was diffused over the whole world! it behoves you therefore to continue that peaceful disposition which you showed towards us at the commencement of our reign. 'we have desired the most blessed pope and the most honourable senate of the city of rome to give their answers to the eloquent and worthy peter, your ambassador, with as little delay as possible; and we have joined with him that venerable person our ambassador[ ], that you may know our mind from our own messenger.' [footnote : the name of 'virum illum venerabilem' is not given, but we learn from procopius (de bello gotthico i. ) that it was rusticus, a priest, a roman, and an intimate friend of theodahad.] . queen gudelina[ ] to theodora augusta. [footnote : wife of theodahad.] [sidenote: embassy of rusticus.] 'i have received with thanks the earnestly-desired letters of your piety, and reverently prize the report of your spoken words as better than all gifts. you exhort us first of all to impart to your hearing whatever requests we wish to make to your triumphant lord and consort[ ]. backed by such patronage as yours, how can there be any doubt as to the success of our petitions? it is an addition to our joy that your serenity has chosen such a man for your ambassador, one whom it is equally fitting for your glory to send and for our obedience to receive[ ]. there can be no doubt that it is by constant observation of your character that his own has become so excellent, since it is by good maxims that the mind of man is cleansed from impurity[ ]. according to the warning of your reverence we have given orders that both pope and senate shall give their answers to your messengers quickly, so that there may be no delay. [footnote : 'hortamini enim ut quidquid expetendum a triumphali principe domino jugali nostro (?) credimus vestris ante sensibus ingeramus.' it seems to me that the sense requires _vestro_ instead of _nostro_, and i have translated accordingly. (dahn also makes this correction.)] [footnote : 'et vestra decet obsequia retinere.' here 'nostra' seems to give a better sense than 'vestra.'] [footnote : 'dubium enim non est illam mores dare cui observatur assidue, dum constat defaecari animum bonis praeceptionibus institutum.' rather hazardous praise to address to a theodora.] [sidenote: possible reference to death of amalasuentha.] 'for moreover, concerning that person about whom something came to our ears with tickling speech, know that that has been ordained which we believed would suit your intentions[ ]; for it is our desire that by the interposition of our good offices your will should be law as much in our kingdom as in your empire[ ]. [footnote : 'nam et de illâ personâ, de quâ ad nos aliquid verbo titillante pervenit, hoc ordinatum esse cognoscite, quod vestris credidimus animis convenire.'] [footnote : these mysterious sentences, according to gibbon, cap. xli. _n._ (following buat), refer to amalasuentha, and thus lend probability to the story in the anecdote of procopius that theodora, out of jealousy, intrigued with theodahad to have amalasuentha put to death. but whatever may be the truth of that story, this sentence can hardly by any possibility refer to it. for ( ) it is clear that this letter was written at the same time as theodahad's, which precedes it, therefore after the arrival of peter in italy. but procopius is clear that amalasuentha was put to death before peter had crossed the hadriatic, whereas this event, whatever it be, is evidently a piece of news which gudelina has to communicate to theodora. ( ) this letter, though purporting to be from gudelina, is confessedly written by cassiodorus, and published by him at the end of his official career. it is hardly conceivable that he would deliberately publish to the world his connection with the murder of theodoric's daughter and his own friend and benefactress. it is remarkable, on the contrary, how complete (but for this passage) is the silence of the variae as to amalasuentha's deposition and death: as if cassiodorus had said, 'if you do anything to harm _her_, you may get other apologists for your deeds; i will be no champion of such wickedness.' it is scarcely necessary to remark that there is nothing in the wording of the sentence 'de illa persona,' &c. which makes it more applicable to a woman than to a man. as peter's embassy was ostensibly connected with ecclesiastical affairs, there is perhaps an allusion in this sentence to some scheme of theodora's with reference to the papacy. it is possible that she may have been already working for the election of vigilius to the chair of st. peter, and therefore that _he_ is meant by 'illa persona.'] 'we therefore inform you that we had caused our messenger [rusticus the priest] to be despatched by the pope before your ambassador could possibly have left rome. so saluting you with all the veneration which is your due, we assign the office of ambassador to a man eminent both by his character and learning, and venerable by reason of his office; since we believe that those persons are acceptable to you whom we have thought suitable to be entrusted with the divine ministry.' . queen gudelina to theodora, augusta. [sidenote: soliciting theodora's friendship.] 'oh, wisest of augustas, both i and my wedded lord earnestly desire your friendship. the love of so great a lady seems to raise me higher than royalty. shed on us the lustre of your glory, for one light loses nothing by imparting some of its brilliancy to another. with affectionate presumption i commend myself to the favour of the emperor and yourself, desiring that, as is fitting, there should be no discord between the two roman realms[ ].' [footnote : 'nullam inter romana regna decet esse discordiam.'] . king theodahad to the emperor justinian[ ]. [footnote : this letter seems as if it was written on precisely the same occasion as x. . again peter is sent back, and with him a 'venerable man' to represent theodahad. we learn from procopius (i. ) that theodahad, in his fear of war, recalled peter when he had already got as far as albano, and gave him another set of propositions for justinian. it seems possible that these fresh letters ( and ) from theodahad and his queen were given him when he set out the _second_ time.] [sidenote: entreaties for peace.] 'our own ambassadors, and that most excellent person peter, whom your piety despatched to us, will both have informed you how earnestly we desire concord with your august serenity. we now send two more ambassadors charged with the same commission. we certainly with all sincerity plead for peace who have no cause of quarrel with you. consider also, oh learned sovereigns, and consult the archives of your great grandfather[ ], that you may see how large a part of their own rights your predecessors were willing to relinquish for the sake of an alliance with our ancestors[ ]. think how fortunate you are in having that friendship willingly offered to you for which they had humbly to sue. yet, we may say it without arrogance, we know ourselves to be better than those ancestors of ours with whom the treaty was made[ ]. we send you on this embassy a venerable man, made illustrious by his priestly office, and conspicuous by the renown of his learning. we pray the divine goodness to bring our wishes to pass; and as not even a series of letters can contain all that we have to say, we have given some verbal messages to be conveyed to your sacred ears, that you may not be wearied by the reading of too diffuse a letter.' [footnote : zeno (not of course an ancestor in natural relationship, but predecessor in the third degree).] [footnote : 'considerate etiam, principes docti, et abavi vestri historica monumenta recolite, quantum decessores vestri studuerint de suo jure relinquere ut eis parentum nostrorum foedera provenirent.'] [footnote : 'nunc illi vestram gratiam ultro quaerunt, qui suis parentibus meliores se esse cognoscunt.' dahn remarks that theodahad's asserted superiority to theodoric probably consisted in his philosophical culture.] . queen gudelina to theodora, augusta[ ]. [footnote : see note on the preceding letter.] [sidenote: the same subject.] 'we learn with satisfaction from that most eloquent man peter, that what has happened in this state is acceptable to you[ ]. you show your love of justice when, all suspicion by god's providence having been wiped away, you desire that there should be lasting agreement between us. let there then be definite promises on both sides, and lasting concord as the result. we therefore send that venerable man to secure the peace of our most serene husband with yours in the sight of all men. if there be anything in the emperor's terms so hard that it ought not to be imposed on us, we trust to your wise moderation to mitigate the same, that the love which we have begun to feel towards your kingdom be not chilled by harsh terms of peace. [footnote : 'ut per eum disceremus acceptum vobis esse quod in hac republicâ constat evenisse.' at first sight this seems to refer to the death of amalasuentha or to the accession of theodahad. dahn thinks that those events have been disposed of in previous letters. perhaps it is a general expression for 'the whole course of recent events in italy.' though upon the whole rejecting the story of theodora's complicity in the death of amalasuentha, i am bound to admit that this passage lends a certain amount of probability to the charge. at the same time, the words in the next sentence, 'per divinam providentiam omni suspicione detersâ,' are susceptible of an honourable meaning, even if the death of amalasuentha be alluded to. 'you and your husband accused us of that crime. now by god's providence we have been able to show that we were guiltless of it [that it was done without our privity by the relations of the three gothic nobles whom she had put to death]. nothing therefore remains to hinder peace between us.'] 'claim this palm of concord between the two states as your own especial crown, that as the emperor is renowned for his successful wars, so you may receive the praises of all men for this accomplished peace. let the bearer of these letters see you often and confidentially. we hope for just, not onerous, conditions of peace, although in truth nothing seems impossible to us if we know that it is asked for by such a glorious person as yourself.' . queen gudelina to the emperor justinian[ ]. [footnote : apparently sent at the same time as the two preceding letters.] [sidenote: the same subject.] a short letter of compliments to the emperor, and earnest desire for the preservation of peace. peter and 'ille vir venerabilis' are still the messengers. . king theodahad to the emperor justinian. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'the august page written by your serenity, and brought to us by the venerable presbyter heracleanus, has gleamed upon us, bringing us the grace of your salutation. oh, what a great benefit for us is this sweet converse with so mighty a prince! 'may we ever hear of your safety, and of the increase of the happiness of your kingdom. we have no other wish but this. according to your desire we have addressed letters to the pope of the city of rome[ ], telling him to reply to the letter brought by the present messenger with the least possible delay, since anyone who comes from you should be attended to with utmost celerity. we hope for many future opportunities of thus obeying your desires and earning your love in return.' [footnote : negotiations were evidently still going on between the emperor and the pope, probably with reference to the election of anthimus, who, though accused of monophysitism, had been made patriarch of constantinople in by theodora's influence, and whom the pope apparently refused to recognise. he was afterwards deposed by pope agapetus when he visited constantinople.] . king theodahad to the emperor justinian. [sidenote: a monastery too heavily taxed.] 'richer than all other gifts bestowed by your serenity is this, when you exhort us to do that which will profit for our own salvation and recommend us to the divine power. we hear that it has been brought to the knowledge of your glory that a monastery of god's servants is too heavily oppressed with tribute, and we point out that this is owing to an inundation which has smitten their land with the curse of barrenness. however, we have given orders to the most eminent senator[ ] to appoint a careful inspector to visit the farm in question, weigh the matter carefully, and make such reasonable reduction as may leave a sufficient profit to the owners of the soil. we consider that anything which we thus concede to the desire of your mildness will be to us the most precious of all gains. [footnote : cassiodorus.] [sidenote: alleged losses of a convert from arianism.] 'in the matter of veranilda, too, about which your serenity has deigned to admonish me, though it happened long ago under the reign of my relations, i thought it right to make good her loss by my own generosity, that she might not repent her change of religion[ ]. for seeing that the deity suffers many religions, we should not seek to impose one on all our subjects. he who tries to do otherwise flies in the face of the divine commands. your piety, therefore, fittingly invites me to these acts of obedience to god.' [footnote : apparently veranilda had in the reign of theodoric become a convert from arianism to orthodoxy, and had suffered some pecuniary losses in consequence, which theodahad now proposes to make up to her. see dahn, könige der germanen iii. , _n._ .] . king theodahad to senator[ ], praefectus praetorio. [footnote : cassiodorus.] [sidenote: corn distributions in liguria and venetia.] 'in succouring his subjects, the payers of tribute, the king does not seem to give, so much as to restore what he has received. the cultivator of the soil is abandoned to future famine, unless he is helped in the day of his necessity. therefore let the corn which has been received by the government from industrious liguria and loyal venetia, though it has been taken from their fields, be born again to them in our granaries, since it is too outrageous that the cultivator should starve while our barns are full. therefore let your illustrious greatness (whose office is said to have been instituted for the express purpose of feeding the people from the accumulated stores of the state[ ]) sell to the impoverished ligurians the third part of the grain warehoused at ticinum and dertona, at the rate of modii to the solidus[ ]. similarly distribute the third part of the stores in the warehouses of tarvisium and tridentum to the venetians, at the same rate, that pitying heaven, seeing men's bounty to one another, may give us fruitful harvests. take care that this distribution is so managed that our indulgence shall reach those persons chiefly, who are least able to depend on their own resources.' [footnote : 'quorum dignitas ad hoc legitur instituta, ut de repositis copiis populum saturare possetis.' probably an allusion to joseph, whom cassiodorus celebrates as the first praefectus praetorio.] [footnote : six bushels for twelve shillings, or sixteen shillings a quarter.] . king theodahad to senator[ ], praefectus praetorio. [footnote : cassiodorus.] [sidenote: grant of monopolies.] 'the king ought to confirm whatever has been wisely ordered by the judges, especially those who are known to be above suspicion of bribery. 'therefore we confirm in their offices[ ] the stewards[ ], purveyors[ ] of wheat, wine, and cheese, the meat sellers, vintners, farmers of the revenue derived from granaries and taverns[ ], hay merchants, and general provision dealers[ ], who belong to the city of rome or the royal residence of ravenna[ ]; also those who hold public charges of this description along the river banks of ticinum or placentia[ ], or in any other places, whom we know to have been appointed by you, whose judgments we willingly embrace and desire to hold fast exactly as if they were our own; nor will we allow the malice of any to prevail against those persons who by your choice have assumed these public functions. if therefore they acquit themselves to your satisfaction, they shall hold their office for five years without fear of disturbance during that period. on account of the present barrenness of the land you should cause them to fix such prices for the different kinds of grain as shall seem reasonable to your eminence[ ]. [footnote : the sentence is so long that cassiodorus seems to have forgotten its construction, and these important words are in fact omitted.] [footnote : 'arcarios.'] [footnote : 'prorogatores.'] [footnote : 'capitularios horreariorum et tabernariorum.'] [footnote : 'cellaritas.'] [footnote : 'mansionem ravennatem.'] [footnote : 'ripam ticinensem vel placentinam.'] [footnote : here follows, 'ut hi quibus commissum est exercere singulos apparatus de injusto gravamine non querantur,' which i do not venture to translate, as i am not sure whether it relates to buyers or sellers.] 'as human ambition requires to be checked by fear of punishment, anyone who by petitioning or canvassing seeks to obtain the place of one of these lawfully appointed purveyors shall be visited with a fine of lbs. of gold[ ], to be exacted from him by you. if unable to pay this fine he shall suffer corporal punishment and be noted as infamous. nothing can be considered safe or stable if men are to be perpetually exposed to the snares of envious competitors like these. your greatness is to bring this law to the knowledge of all men.' [footnote : £ , .] [it is clear that this letter refers to an office greatly coveted, and one in which there was a possibility of making great gains, but also one in which, owing to the regulation of prices by the government, there might be temporary losses; to guard against which it was considered reasonable that the holder should be guaranteed in his office for five years. the office is the supply of the staple articles of food to the king's household at rome and ravenna, and to the garrisons probably of pavia and piacenza and the neighbouring country. did this right carry with it an absolute monopoly as far as the other inhabitants of those places are concerned? this seems probable; but i do not know that we can positively state it. the term used, 'arcarii,' is applied in the theodosian code (xii. , ) to the bailiffs by whom the rents on the imperial domain were collected. here it has manifestly altered its meaning.] . king theodahad to count winusiad. [sidenote: an old soldier receives furlough for a visit to the baths of bormio.] 'your noble birth and tried fidelity induced us to commit to you the government of the city of ticinum, which you had defended in war: but now, being deluged with a sudden inundation of muddy gout[ ], you ask leave to resort to the waters of bormio, which by their drying influences are of healing power for this malady. [footnote : 'limosae podagrae subitâ inundatione complutus.'] 'we permit, nay earnestly encourage, you to undertake this journey; for we cannot bear that one of our warriors should fall a victim to the tyranny of this cruel disease, which, like the barbarians, when it has once claimed by force hospitality in the owner's body, ever after defends its right thereto by cruelty. it seeks out all the hollow places of the system, makes stones out of its moisture, and deposits them there, destroying all the beautiful arrangements of nature for free and easy movement. it loosens what ought to be tight, it contracts the nerves, and so shortens the limbs that a tall man finds all the comeliness of his stature taken from him while he is still unmutilated. it is in truth a living death; and when the excruciating torment is gone, it leaves an almost worse legacy behind it--inability to move. even debtors in the torture chamber have the weights sometimes removed from their feet; but this cruel malady, when it has once taken hold of a man, seems never to relinquish possession. a disease of this kind, bringing with it weakness and helplessness, is especially terrible to a warrior, who after overcoming the foes that came against him in battle, finds himself thus struck down by an enemy within. 'go then, in heaven's name, to the healing springs. we cannot bear the thought that you the warrior should be carried on men's shoulders, instead of bestriding your war-horse. we have painted all these evils in somewhat exaggerated style in order to stir you up to seek an early cure. 'use then these waters, soothing to the taste, and in the hot bath able to dry up the gouty humours. god has given us this ally wherewith to overcome that enemy of the human race; and under its double influence, within and without, the malady, which ten years of regimen and endless medicines cannot lessen, is put to flight by remedies which are in themselves delightful. 'may god grant that this far-famed place may restore your body to health[ ].' [footnote : the nature-heated springs of bormio are still resorted to; and some pedestrian travellers, who have crossed the stelvio from trafoi, have a grateful remembrance of their soothing waters.] . king theodahad to honorius, praefect of the city. [sidenote: the elephants in the via sacra.] 'we regret to learn from your report that the brazen elephants placed in the via sacra[ ] (so called from the many superstitions to which it was consecrated of old) are falling into ruins. [footnote : i have not found any other mention of these brazen elephants. nardini (roma antica i. ) cites this passage, and illustrates it by quotations from suetonius, pliny, and the historia augusta, showing that it was the custom to erect to emperors and empresses statues of elephants drawing triumphal chariots.] 'this is to be much regretted, that whereas these animals live in the flesh more than a thousand years, their brazen effigies should be so soon crumbling away. see therefore that their gaping limbs be strengthened by iron hooks, and that their drooping bellies be fortified by masonry placed underneath them. [sidenote: natural history of the elephant.] 'the living elephant, when it is prostrate on the ground, as it often is when helping men to fell trees, cannot get up again unaided. this is because it has no joints in its feet; and accordingly you see numbers of them lying as if dead till men come to help them up again. thus this creature, so terrible by its size, is really not equally endowed by nature with the tiny ant. 'that the elephant surpasses all other animals in intelligence is proved by the adoration which it renders to him whom it understands to be the almighty ruler of all. moreover it pays to good princes a homage which it refuses to tyrants. 'it uses its proboscis[ ], that nosëd hand which nature has given it to compensate for its very short neck, for the benefit of its master, accepting the presents which will be profitable to him. it always walks cautiously, mindful of that fatal fall [into the hunter's pit] which was the beginning of its captivity. at its master's bidding it exhales its breath, which is said to be a remedy for the human headache. [footnote : cassiodorus calls it 'promuscis.'] 'when it comes to water it sucks up in its trunk a vast quantity, which at the word of command it squirts forth like a shower. if anyone have treated it with contempt, it pours forth such a stream of dirty water over him that one would think a river had entered his house. for this beast has a wonderfully long memory, both of injury and of kindness. its eyes are small, but move solemnly. there is a sort of kingly dignity in its appearance, and while it recognises with pleasure all that is honourable, it seems to despise scurrilous jests. its skin is furrowed by deep channels, like that of the victims of the foreign disease named after it[ ], _elephantiasis_. it is on account of the impenetrability of this hide that the persian kings used the elephant in war. [footnote : 'a quâ transportaneorum (?) nefanda passio nomen accepit.'] 'it is most desirable that we should preserve the images of these creatures, and that our citizens should thus be familiarised with the sight of the denizens of foreign lands. do not therefore permit them to perish, since it is for the glory of rome to collect all specimens of the process by which the art of workmen hath imitated the productions of wealthy nature in all parts of the world.' [this letter traverses the same ground as pliny's 'historia naturalis' viii. - , but supplies some new facts. pliny makes the elephant live to the age of or even years. cassiodorus boldly says 'more than a thousand.' the curious story of the elephant's religion is given with more detail by pliny; but he knows nothing of the political sagacity which enables it to discern between a good king and a tyrant. pliny mentions the fact that the elephant's breath is a cure for headache, but adds, 'especially if he sneeze[ ].' [footnote : hist. nat. xxviii. .] upon the whole, though cassiodorus had probably read pliny's description, his own must be pronounced original. this marvellous letter is the last that we have, written in the name of theodahad.] . king witigis[ ] to all the goths. [footnote : spelt 'vitigis' by cassiodorus.] [sidenote: elevation of witigis.] 'though every advance in station is to be accounted among the good gifts of the divinity, especially is the kingly dignity to be looked upon as coming by his ordinance through whom kings reign and subjects obey. wherefore, with liveliest satisfaction returning thanks to our maker christ, we inform you that our kinsmen[ ] the goths, amid a fence of circling swords, raising us in ancestral fashion upon a shield, have by divine guidance bestowed on us the kingly dignity, thus making arms the emblem of honour to one who has earned all his renown in war. for know that not in the corner of a presence-chamber, but in wide-spreading plains i have been chosen king; and that not the dainty discourse of flatterers, but the blare of trumpets announced my elevation, that the gothic people, roused by the sound to a kindling of their inborn valour, might once more gaze upon a soldier king. [footnote : 'parentes nostros gothos.'] 'too long indeed have these brave men, bred up amid the shock of battle, borne with a sovereign who was untried in war; too long have they laboured to uphold his dubious fame, though they might presume upon their own well-known valour[ ]. for it is inevitable that the character of the ruler should in some degree influence the reputation of the whole people. [footnote : 'ut de ejus fama laboraret quamvis de propria virtute praesumeret.' i have translated as if 'laboraret' and 'praesumeret' were in the plural, and even so, find it difficult to get a satisfactory meaning out of these words.] 'but, as ye have heard, called forth by the dangers of my kindred, i was ready to undergo with them one common fate; but they would not suffer me to continue a mere general, feeling that they needed a veteran king. wherefore now accept first the divine decree, and then the judgment of the goths, since it is your unanimous wish which makes me king. lay aside then the fear of disaster: cast off the suspicion of further losses: fear no rude strokes of fate under our dominion. we who have ridden so oft to war have learned to love valiant men. associated in all things with your labours, i have been myself a witness to the brave deeds of each of you, and need no other evidence of your worth. by no fraudulent variations between my public and private negotiations shall the might of the gothic arms be broken[ ]. everything that we do shall have respect to the welfare of our whole people: in private we will not even love. we promise to follow those courses which shall adorn the royal name. finally, we undertake that our rule shall in all things be such as becomes a gothic king, the successor of the renowned theodoric--that man who was so rarely and so nobly qualified by nature for the cares of royalty; that man of whom it may be truly said that every other sovereign is illustrious in so far as he loves _his_ counsels. therefore he who succeeds in imitating the deeds of theodoric ought to be considered as belonging to his line. thus then, manifest your anxious care for the welfare of our kingdom, while your hearts are at ease, through god's goodness, as to our internal security.' [footnote : 'arma gothorum nullâ promissionum mearum varietate frangenda sunt.' an evident allusion to the treacherous and unpatriotic diplomacy of theodahad, as described by procopius.] . king witigis to the emperor justinian. [sidenote: overtures for peace with the empire.] 'how much, oh most clement emperor, we long for the sweetness of your favour, may be understood from this fact alone, that after such serious injuries and such grievous bloodshed as you have inflicted on us, we still come forward to ask for peace with you, as if none of your servants had ever wronged us. we have suffered such things as might move the indignation even of our enemies, who must know that they have attacked us without our guilt, have hated us without our fault, have despoiled us without our owing them anything. nor can it be said that the blow has been so slight that no account need be taken of it, since it has been struck not in the provinces alone but in rome [or italy] herself, the capital of the world[ ]. think how great must be our pain at this, which nevertheless we banish from memory in order that we may obtain justice at your hands. such disturbance has been made as the whole world speaks of[ ] [and condemns], and it deserves to be so composed by you that all men may admire your spirit of equity. [footnote : 'non in provinciis tantum sed in ipso rerum capite probatur inflictum.'] [footnote : 'talis res effecta est quam mundus loquatur.' the commentator fornerius absurdly understands this of mundus, the general of justinian in dalmatia, who had already fallen in battle before the accession of witigis.] 'if vengeance on king theodahad be the thing required, i [who have put him to death] merit your love. if you desire to honour the blessed memory of queen amalasuentha, think of her daughter[ ], who has reached [by our means] that royal station to which your soldiers might well have striven to exalt her, in order that all the nations might see how faithful you remained to the old friendship. [footnote : matasuentha, now wife of witigis.] 'this fact too ought to influence you, that by the ordering of providence we were permitted to make your acquaintance before our accession to the throne, that the remembrance of our favourable reception at your court, and the sight of your person in that splendid position, might move us to love and reverence. 'even now you can undo all that has been misdone, since the continual expectation of favours to come, makes perseverance in affection easy[ ]. therefore, soliciting your clemency with all due respect, we inform you that we have appointed a and b our ambassadors to the wisdom of your serenity, that you may, according to your custom, duly weigh all these considerations, that the two republics may persevere in restored harmony, and that all which hath been settled in past times by sovereigns of blessed memory may, by god's help, be increased and made more prosperous under your dominion. [footnote : 'quando non est difficile illum in affectu retinere, qui gratiam constat desideranter expetere.' very nearly, but not quite, the modern proverb which says that gratitude is 'a lively sense of favours to come.'] 'the rest of their commission will be more fully explained to your serenity by the aforesaid ambassadors.' . king witigis to the master of the offices [at constantinople]. [sidenote: embassy to constantinople.] 'in sending our two ambassadors to the most serene emperor, it is fitting also to send letters of salutation[ ] to your greatness. may your prudence support our reasonable requests with the emperor. you can easily correct those things [the war against the gothic people] which you ought never to have allowed to take place; and all things can now be arranged in the most friendly manner, since a reconciliation between men who have fought out their quarrel is often the surest ground of friendship. an unknown man might possibly have been shunned by you; but i, who have seen the magnificence of your republic, who have known the hearts of so many of your noble statesmen, have no desire to quarrel with your most pious emperor, if he will only cherish thoughts of justice towards me. if another [theodahad] deserved the anger of the emperor, i ought to be looked upon with the highest favour, who have executed vengeance on that hateful predecessor. i have carried your intentions into effect, and therefore i deserve reward, not punishment. let all hatred be buried in the grave of the sinner; and even if you think nothing of our deservings, think of the liberty of the romans, which is everywhere suffering amid the clash of arms. a few words to a man of your wisdom are sufficient.' [footnote : 'salutiferos apices.' see x. .] . king witigis to his bishops. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'if we owe honour to priests even when unknown to us, how much more so to you whom we have seen and spoken to, and with whom we have had frequent and familiar intercourse. 'by the ambassadors who are bearing our letters to the most serene emperor we send a message of reverence to your holiness, hoping that you will pray for us and set them forward on their journey with all necessary assistance, since you are bound to wish well to those whom you know to be united to you by the ties of religion.' . king witigis to the praefect of thessalonica. [sidenote: the same subject.] 'we are sending two ambassadors to the most serene emperor, who will salute your greatness. we earnestly hope that your excellency will speed them on their journey.' book xi. preface. 'the necessity for a preface often arises from some contrariety in an author's position which prevents him from writing as he would wish to write. it is admitted that it is not fair to expect the same degree of excellence from a busy man which we may reasonably look for in a man of leisure. but a man in high official position cannot be a man of leisure. it would be the highest disgrace to him if he were, since even his so-called privy-chamber[ ] resounds with the noise of clamorous litigants. [footnote : 'secretum.'] 'i can well understand that a man of few occupations will object against me, here that a word has been thrown out with ill-considered haste, there that a commonplace sentiment has not been dressed up in sufficiently ornamental language, or there that i have not complied with the rules of the ancients by making my persons speak "in character." but the busy man, hurried from one cause to another, and constantly under the necessity of dictating to one man and replying to another, will not make these objections, because the consciousness of his own literary perils will make him tender in his judgments. and yet there is something even in the pressure of business which sometimes promotes briskness of mind, since the art of speaking is one which is placed very much in our own power[ ]. [footnote : here follows a sentence which i do not understand: 'remanet itaque ad excusandum brevitas insperata librorum, quam nemo purgat diutius, nisi qui bene creditur esse dicturus.'] 'if anyone objects that i, placed in the height of the praetorian dignity, should have dictated so few decisions of a legal kind, let him know that this was the result of my associating with myself that most prudent man felix[ ], whose advice i have followed in every case. he is a man of absolute purity of character, of surpassing knowledge of the law, of distinguished accuracy of speech; a young man with the gravity of age, a sweet pleader, a measured orator; one who by his graceful discharge of his official duties has earned the favourable opinion of the public. [footnote : this can hardly be the consul of a.d. , since he is called in the next sentence 'senilis juvenis.'] 'had it not been for his help, overwhelmed by so great a multitude of causes, i must either have been found unequal to the burden, or else perchance have seemed arrogant [in my disregard of previously settled decisions]. but, what was more important still, relieved by his labours from this duty, i was able to give such attention to the higher affairs of the state, that i could not fail to win approbation even in those arduous duties. 'i have therefore subjoined two books, in which i myself speak in my capacity as praefect, to the ten in which i have spoken by the mouth of the king; for it seemed absurd to me to be silent in my newly-acquired dignity, who had so often spoken on behalf of others. 'then, after these twelve books had been brought to their long-desired end, my friends compelled me to discuss the substance and the powers of the soul, that i might say something _about_ that faculty _through_ which i had already said so much[ ]. [footnote : 'de animae substantiâ vel de virtutibus ejus amici me disserere coëgerunt: ut per quam multa diximus, de ipsa quoque dicere videremur.'] 'now then, learned men! view these letters with indulgence. if there be no eloquence in them, attribute it to my many occupations, which have prevented my reading as much as i would gladly have done. cicero, that fountain of eloquence, when he was one day asked to speak, excused himself on the ground that he had read nothing the day before. the barn must be constantly refilled if it is not to become empty. all that is good in our minds is the fruit of study, and soon withers if it be separated from reading, which is the parent stem. great indulgence therefore should be shown to us if we have often had to write when we were busy, to be read by others when we had no leisure to read, ourselves. and now enough of excuses, lest too elaborate a defence should rather injure our cause.' book xi. containing thirty-nine letters written by cassiodorus in his own name as praefectus praetorio, and one on behalf of the roman senate. . senator, praetorian praefect, to the senate of the city of rome (a.d. )[ ]. [footnote : this letter, which was not composed immediately after cassiodorus' accession to office, most have been written after the death of the frankish king theodoric, which occurred, according to clinton, early in , and before october of the same year, the date of the death of athalaric. notwithstanding the obscurity of many of the allusions in it, this document is one of our best authorities for the history of amalasuentha's regency, and is therefore translated almost verbatim.] [sidenote: cassiodorus on his promotion to the praefecture.] 'if i can only be sure that my advancement is acceptable to you, conscript fathers, i shall not doubt of its being approved by god and popular with all good men. 'it is in the nature of things to love a colleague, and you are in fact exalting your own honour when you approve of a dignity given to a _senator_[ ]. [footnote : partly a pun on his name, partly an allusion to his rank.] 'after our sovereigns there is none to whom i so much desire to commend myself as you. to me honour will ever be the sole test of advantage. justice, like a handmaid, will wait upon my actions; and the power, which i have not myself bought from our virtuous sovereign, i in my turn shall sell to no man. you have heard, noble sirs, the panegyrics[ ] passed upon me at my entrance into office. these praises i will not dare to call false, but i will say that they lay upon me a heavy responsibility to show that they are not unmerited. [footnote : the letter written by cassiodorus himself, in the name of athalaric, to announce his elevation to the praefecture (var. ix. ).] 'happy fortune of our time in which, while the sovereign himself takes holiday, the love of his mother rules and covers us all with the robe of her universal charity! happy for the young ruler, who in this difficult position learns first to triumph over his impetuous impulses, and attains in the springtime of his life that self-control which hoary age with difficulty acquires! [sidenote: praises of amalasuentha.] 'as for the mother whom he so dutifully obeys, her most fittingly do all kingdoms venerate, whom to behold is to adore, to listen to is to witness a miracle. of what language is she not a perfect mistress? she is skilled in the niceties of attic eloquence; she shines in the majesty of roman speech; she glories in the wealth of the language of her fathers. she is equally marvellous in all these, and in each the orator in his own especial tongue feels himself surpassed by her. a great safeguard and a great excellence is this in the ruler of so many nationalities. none needs an interpreter with his accomplished mistress. no ambassador need wait, or hear his words slowly filtered through the mind of a go-between. everyone feels that his own words are listened to, and receives his answer from her lips in the language of his forefathers. 'to these accomplishments, as a splendid diadem, is added that priceless knowledge of literature, by which the treasures of ancient learning are appropriated, and the dignity of the throne is ever enhanced. 'yet, while she rejoices in such perfect mastery of language, on public occasions she is so taciturn that she might be supposed to be indolent. with a few words she unties the knots of entangled litigations, she calmly arranges hot disputes, she silently promotes the public welfare. you do not hear her announce beforehand what will be her course of action in public; but with marvellous skill she attains, by feigning, those points which she knows require to be rapidly gained[ ]. [footnote : 'et temperamento mirabili dissimulando peragit quod accelerandum esse cognoscit.'] [sidenote: comparison to placidia.] 'what case like this can be produced from the annals of revered antiquity? placidia's care for her purple-clad son has often been celebrated; but by placidia's lax administration of the empire its boundaries were unbecomingly retrenched. she gained for him a wife and for herself a daughter-in-law[ ] by the loss of illyricum; and thus the union of sovereigns was bought by a lamentable division of the provinces[ ]. the discipline of the soldiers was relaxed by too long peace; and, in short, valentinian, under the guardianship of his mother, lost more than he could have done if he had been a helpless orphan. [footnote : 'eudoxia.'] [footnote : 'nurum denique sibi amissione illyrici comparavit: factaque est conjunctio regnantis, divisio dolenda provinciis.' on this alleged loss of illyricum by the western empire, see gibbon, cap. xxxiii. note . one may doubt, however, whether cassiodorus has been correctly informed concerning it. noricum and pannonia at the time of valentinian's marriage must have been entirely in the possession of the huns; and on the dissolution of their monarchy noricum at any rate seems to be connected with the western rather than the eastern empire. as for dalmatia, or the _province_ (as distinct from the _praefecture_) of illyricum, the retirement thither of the emperor nepos in , and the previous history of his uncle marcellinus, point towards the conclusion that this province was then considered as belonging _de jure_ to the caesar of rome rather than to him of constantinople.] [sidenote: relations with the east.] 'but under this lady, who can count as many kings as ancestors in her pedigree, our army by divine help is a terror to foreign nations. being kept in a prudent equipoise it is neither worn away by continual fighting nor enervated by unbroken peace. in the very beginnings of the reign, when a new ruler's precarious power is apt to be most assailed, contrary to the wish of the eastern emperor she made the danube a roman stream. well known is all that the invaders suffered, of which i therefore omit further mention, that the shame of defeat may not be too closely associated with the thought of the emperor, our ally. still, what he thought of your part of the empire is clear from this, that he conceded to our attack that peace which he has refused to the abject entreaties of others. add this fact, that though we have rarely sought him he has honoured us with so many embassies, and that thus his unique majesty has bowed down the stately head of the orient to exalt the lords of italy[ ]. [footnote : 'et singularis illa potentia, ut _italicos dominos_, erigeret, reverentiam eoi culminis ordinavit.' this somewhat favours the notion that theodoric and his successors called themselves kings of italy.] [sidenote: expedition against the franks.] 'the franks also, overmighty by their victories over so many barbarous tribes--by what a great expedition were they harassed! attacked, they dreaded a contest with our soldiers; they who had leaped unawares upon so many nations and forced them into battle. but though that haughty race declined the offered conflict, they could not prevent the death of their own king. for theodoric[ ], he who had so often availed himself of the name of our glorious king as an occasion for triumph, now fell vanquished in the struggle with disease--a stroke of divine providence surely, to prevent us from staining ourselves with the blood of our kindred, and yet to grant some revenge to the army which had been justly called out to war. hail! thou gothic array, happy above all other happiness, who strikest at the life of a royal foe, yet leavest us not the poorer by the life of one of the least of our soldiers[ ]. [footnote : theodoric i, son of clovis, king of the franks, reigning at metz, died, as before stated, in .] [footnote : 'et nobis nec unius ultimi facta subducis (?).'] [sidenote: league with the burgundians.] 'the burgundian too, in order to receive his own again, crouched in devotion, giving up his whole self that he might receive a trifle. for he chose to obey with unimpaired territories, rather than to resist with these cut short; and thus, by laying aside his arms, he most effectually defended his kingdom, recovering by his prayers what he had lost by the sword[ ]. [footnote : 'burgundio quinetiam, ut sua reciperet, devotus effectus est: reddens se totum dum accepisset exiguum. elegit quippe integer obedire, quam imminutus obsistere: tutius tunc defendit regnum quando arma deposuit. recuperavit enim prece, quod amisit in acie.' the meaning of these mysterious words, as interpreted by binding ( - ) and jahn (ii. ), is that godomar, king of the burgundians, received back from amalasuentha (probably about , or a little later) the territory between the durance and the isere, which theodoric had wrested from his brother in . the occasion of this cession was probably some league of mutual defence against the franks, which cassiodorus could without dishonesty represent as a kind of vassalage of burgundy to ostrogothia. if so, it availed godomar little, as his territories were overrun by the frankish kings in , and the conquest of them was apparently completed by (jahn ii. - ).] 'happy princess, whose enemies either fall by the hand of god, or else by your bounty are united with your empire! rejoice, goths and romans alike, and hail this marvel, a being who unites the excellences of both the sexes! as woman she has given birth to your illustrious king, while with manly fortitude of mind she has maintained the bounds of your empire. 'and now, if leaving the realm of war we enter the inner courts of her moral goodness, a hundred tongues will not suffice to sound forth all her praises. her justice is as great as her goodwill, but even greater is her kindness than her power. you, senators, know the heavenly goodness which she has shown to your order, restoring those who had met with affliction to a higher state than that from which they had fallen[ ], and exalting to honour those who were still uninjured. [footnote : 'afflictos statu meliore restituit.' an allusion, probably, to her kindness to the families of boethius and symmachus.] 'look at the case of the patrician liberius[ ], praefect of the gauls--a man of charming manners, of distinguished merit, a soldier with honourable scars--who even while absent in his praefecture has received the _fasces_ and a patrimony from her. [footnote : no doubt the same liberius who nobly defended the character of amalasuentha at the court of justinian (procopius, de bello gotthico i. ). apparently he was made consul, but his name does not appear in the fasti at this time.] 'what can i say of her strength of mind and tenacity of purpose, in which she excels even philosophers? i speak of this from my own experience. you know, oh conscript fathers, what influences were arrayed against me[ ]. neither gold nor the prayers of great men availed: all things were tried, and tried in vain, to prove the glorious constancy of that wisest lady. [footnote : probably to prevent his obtaining the praefecture.] [sidenote: virtues of the amal kings.] 'and here the rules of rhetoric would require me to compare her with a long line of empresses in the past. but if men cannot vie with her glory, what is the use of adducing female examples? if we look at the royal cohort of her ancestors, we shall see that she, like a pure mirror, reflects all their excellences. for amal[ ] was conspicuous for his good fortune, ostrogotha for his patience, athal for mildness, munitarius [winithar] for justice, unimund for beauty, thorismuth for chastity, unalamer [walamir] for faith, theudimer for warmth of heart[ ], and theodoric, the renowned father of amalasuentha, as ye have all seen, for patience. each of these would recognise in her his own special attribute, but all would acknowledge that in these very attributes they are excelled by her. [footnote : this and the following names belong to the ancestors of amalasuentha, and are found with slight variations in the treatise of jordanes on the history of the goths, which was founded on a similar treatise by cassiodorus.] [footnote : 'pietate theudimer.'] 'you will now perhaps expect me to praise our young king, but in extolling the author of his being, i have abundantly extolled him, her offspring. you will remember that excellent saying of the eloquent symmachus, "i hesitate to praise the beginning of his career because i am confidently hoping for his advance in virtue[ ]." come to my help, conscript fathers, and render to your lords and mine your united thanks for my promotion.' [footnote : 'specto feliciter virtutis ejus augmenta, qui differo laudare principia.' the annotator says that these words are not to be found in the extant writings of symmachus [the orator]. it was probably the younger symmachus, the father-in-law of boethius, who uttered them. at this time athalaric was killing himself by his debaucheries.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to pope john[ ]. [footnote : pope john ii (a roman, son of projectus, and originally named mercurius) succeeded boniface ii jan. , . his pontificate lasted till may , . his successor was agapetus. this letter appears to have been written at a time of scarcity in rome.] [sidenote: salutations to the pope.] 'your prayers are assuredly the cause of our promotion. your fastings have procured plenty for the citizens. saluting you therefore with all due reverence, we pray you to continue your prayers for long life to our rulers, for peace and plenty to the state, and for an increase of heavenly wisdom to me. let the judge in public life be such as the catholic church has trained her son to be. i am indeed a judge of the palace, but i shall not cease to be your disciple[ ]. cast not off upon me the whole care of this city, which you watch over with a father's love, but take thought both for its bodily and spiritual wants, and admonish me whenever you think i am erring. your see is an object of admiration through all lands, and your charity is world-wide; but yet you have also an especial, local love for the sheep of your own flock. [footnote : 'sum quidem judex palatinus, sed vester non desinam esse discipulus.'] 'rome has in her own borders those shrines of martyrdom[ ] of the apostles [peter and paul] which the whole world longs to behold. with such patrons, if only your prayers ascend, we need fear no evil.' [footnote : 'confessiones.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to divers bishops. [sidenote: salutations to the bishops.] 'fathers after the flesh delight in the advancement of their sons. even so do ye, my spiritual fathers, diligently pray to the holy trinity that he may make my candle to give light to all that are in the house; yea, and that he may so purge and enlighten mine own conscience that i may not, while an accurate judge over other men, be a deceiver of mine own self. 'i beg of you to declare a fast, and supplicate the lord that he will prolong the life of our sovereigns[ ], for the happiness of the realm; that he will defend our state from the assaults of its enemies, will give us all tranquillity in our time, and will deign to make me worthy of your love. [footnote : this was written, no doubt, when athalaric was on his deathbed.] 'watch narrowly the acts of the subordinates whom i send among you, and inform me of anything which they do amiss. i cannot be held responsible for deeds of which i know nothing. and if they take bribes they at least cannot justify themselves by saying that they have first had to pay money for their offices. 'continue to afford your wonted solace to the widow and orphan; yet beware that your pity does not lead you to seek to set aside the laws even for these. oh, most holy men, banish to the home of all other unclean spirits violence, avarice, hatred, rapine; and root out from among your people luxury, which is the depopulator of the human race. let the bishop teach, that the judge may have a maiden assize[ ]. if only your preaching he continued, the penal course of law must necessarily come to an end. [footnote : 'episcopus doceat, ne judex possit invenire quod puniat.'] 'i therefore commend my dignity to your prayers, and end my letter with a salutation of love and honour to your holinesses.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to his deputy[ ] ambrosius, an illustris. [footnote : 'agenti vices.' bethmann hollweg (gerichtsverfassung des sinkenden römischen reichs, pp. - ) remarks: 'the relation of the _vices magistratuum agentes_ does not belong to the _jurisdictio mandata_. they are lieutenants (stellvertreter) who are substituted provisionally in the room of an ordinary official of the empire or of a province, on account of his being temporarily disqualified or suspended from office by the emperor or praetorian praefect. the municipal magistrates were also represented by _vices agentes_. but the extant authorities give us no very clear information as to their position.' unfortunately this letter, relating to a _vices agens_ of the praetorian praefect himself, does not add much to our information.] [sidenote: functions of the praefect's deputy.] 'we have formed a high opinion of you from long observation of your career as an advocate, and feel sure that you will justify that opinion by your conduct in the office to which we are now calling you. the forum has long resounded to your eloquence: now your turn is come to sit upon the magistrate's bench. hitherto you have assisted the officers of the court: now you are yourself called upon to play the part of a judge. even when you are absent from me, you will be deemed to be sitting by my side; but whatever credit you may earn when hearing a case by yourself will be reckoned to you alone. 'we therefore ordain that the official staff which waits upon our orders shall be at your disposal, to carry your decisions into effect, and to see that none treat them with contempt. 'if you shall think it necessary to hand over any [insolvent] persons to those who have become security for them, assume that right with confidence, because that will most effectually relieve my mind when i shall learn that this matter has been finally disposed of by you[ ]. for if i were present you might give me words only; but now in my absence you owe me, rather, deeds. [footnote : i suggest this with hesitation as the translation of a difficult sentence: 'si quos etiam fidejussoribus committere necessarium aestimaveris, confidenter assume: quia illud magis relevare potest animum nostrum, si aliquid per vos cognoscimus impletum.' cassiodorus seems to be urging his deputy not to shrink from the exercise of even the most stringent rights inherent in his office, in order that causes may be terminated without reference to him. but is there authority for such a translation of the words 'fidejussoribus committere?'] 'think, then, of all that is involved in your high office. let your toil procure me rest from all men. avoid the rocks on either side of you. these warnings come rather from my over-particularity[ ] than from any distrust of you, for i believe that with god's help you will order all things as shall be best for our fame and for the republic.' [footnote : 'curiositas.'] . the same to the same. [on the occasion of a scarcity in rome, either existing or dreaded. see the letter to pope john ii (xi. ).] [sidenote: grain distributions for rome.] 'i am sure that you will rejoice with me if the needs of the roman people can be satisfied by our means, and thus we can testify our gratitude for the hospitality which we have both received from that city. to this end have we endured the discomforts of travel, for this purpose have we racked our brains with anxious thought, that that people, which tasted such delights of old in the happy days of its former rulers, may now see its necessities relieved and again enjoy its former prosperity. 'their poverty and hunger we make our own. therefore, with all speed, let stores of grain in good condition be at once collected, so that the bread cooked therefrom may be a delight and not a horror. let just weight be given. flee all thought of unholy profit from this source. my own soul is wounded if anyone dares to transgress in this matter of the food-supply of the people. not favour nor popular applause is my aim; but to be permitted, by god's help, to accomplish my own heart's desire. 'i love all my fellow-countrymen, but the roman citizens deserve more than ordinary love from me. theirs is a city adorned with so many illustrious senators, blest with such a noble commonalty, a city so well fitted to celebrate the victories of our glorious rulers. when the question of my promotion hung in suspense, it was the good wishes of these citizens which turned the scale in my favour with the lords of the world[ ], who complied with the universal desire of the roman people. come, then; so act that this goodwill of theirs to me may continue. let us all beseech the mercy of the most high to bless us with an abundant harvest; and let us resolve that, if we are thus favoured, no negligence of ours shall diminish, no venality divert from its proper recipients, the bounty of heaven[ ].' [footnote : athalaric and amalasuentha.] [footnote : in the last sentence but one, 'fidem meam promitto: sed cum ipsis divinitatis dona sustineo, cautelam offero,' i would suggest _ipsius_ for 'ipsis,' making _cum_ = 'when,' not 'with.' there does not seem to be any antecedent plural to which 'ipsis' can refer.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to joannes, cancellarius. [an interesting letter, as showing the lowly original of the office from whence have sprung the mediaeval and modern chancellors.] [sidenote: functions of the cancellarius.] 'your rare merit causes you to enjoy a position beyond that which of right belongs to you in the official hierarchy[ ]. those who are above you cheerfully manifest to you a deference which you might be required to show to them; and thus you, while keeping your inferiors in their proper place, take without presumption precedence of many of your superiors. [footnote : 'transgressio matriculae actio tua est.'] 'this laudable prejudice has assigned to you, from the twelfth indiction[ ], the dignity of cancellarius[ ]. [footnote : september , .] [footnote : 'hoc igitur laudabili praejudicium a duodecima indictione cancellorum tibi decus attribuit.'] 'guard then the secrets of our consistory with incorruptible fidelity. through your intervention the petitioner for justice has to approach me. on your acts depends in great measure the opinion which men shall form of me; for as a house is judged by its front towards the street, and men by the trimness or shabbiness of their raiment, so are we high officials judged by the demeanour of our subordinates who represent us to the crowd. therefore, if such officials do anything which redounds to their master's dishonour, they put themselves altogether outside the pale of his clemency. 'remember your title, _cancellarius_. ensconced behind the lattice-work (cancelli) of your compartment, keeping guard behind those windowed doors, however studiously you may conceal yourself, it is inevitable that you be the observed of all observers[ ]. if you step forth, _my_ glances range all over you: if you return to your shelter, the eyes of the litigants are upon you. this is where antiquity ruled that you should be placed, in order that your actions should be visible to all. [footnote : 'respice quo nomine nuncuperis. latere non potest quod inter cancellos egeris. tenes quippe lucidas fores, claustra patentia, fenestratas januas; et quamvis studiose claudas, necesse est ut te cunctis aperias.'] 'attend now to this advice which i have given you, and let it not merely filter through your mind, like water through a pipe, but let it sink down into your heart, and, safely stored up there, let it influence the actions of your life.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to all the judges of the provinces. [sidenote: duties of the collectors of taxes.] 'it is an excellent thing that the yearly taxes should be regularly paid. what confidence does the consciousness of this give to the taxpayer, who can march boldly through the forum, feeling that he owes nothing to anybody and need not fear the face of any official! one can only enjoy an estate if one has no fear of the process-server making his appearance upon it. 'therefore, in the diocese of your excellency[ ], we desire you and your staff at the beginning of this twelfth indiction[ ], with all proper gentleness, to impress upon the cultivator of the soil that he must pay his land-tax[ ] and end those long arrears, which were introduced not for the assistance of the taxpayer, but for the corrupt profit of the tax-collector. for the officials who in this way professed to relieve the burdens of the people, really imposed upon them a heavier and more hateful weight in the shape of douceurs[ ] to themselves. [footnote : 'dicationis tuae.' a peculiar and untranslatable form of respect.] [footnote : september , .] [footnote : 'trina illatio' (see var. ii. ). so called because it was collected three times in the year. see dahn, könige der germanen iii. ; and sartorius, regierung der ostg. . the latter seems however to confuse it with the 'tertiae,' from which dahn very properly distinguishes it.] [footnote : 'nundinationes.'] 'let then this hateful swindling be henceforth banished. let the cultivator pay nothing more than his lawful debt to the treasury, and let him pay it at the appointed time, thus removing the confusion in which the slowness of collection has involved our accounts. 'make up, therefore, the abstracts of accounts[ ] at the stated times, and forward them to the proper bureaux[ ], according to old law and the authority of this present edict; and if you neglect any of these injunctions, know that you do so at your peril. to quicken your diligence we have appointed a and b, persons of tried merit in the past, to supervise the proceedings of yourself and your staff, that this double check may prevent the possibility of negligence. [footnote : 'breves.'] [footnote : 'scrinia.'] 'act then with justice if you wish to receive further promotion. only those gains are to be sought for which the cultivator gladly offers and which the public servant can securely accept. if you take bribes you will be miserable ever after, through fear of discovery; but if you act uprightly, you will have in me a willing spectator and rewarder of your merits. i am most anxious to be your friend; do not force me against my will to become your enemy.' . edict published through the provinces by senator, praetorian praefect. [sidenote: edict announcing cassiodorus' principles of administration.] 'the custom of the ancients was for a new ruler to promulgate a new set of laws to his subjects, but now it is sufficient praise to a conscientious ruler that he adheres to the legislation of antiquity. 'do you all study to perform good actions, and shrink from deeds of lawlessness and sedition, and you will have nothing to fear from your governors. i know that some fear, however irrational, is felt in the presence of the judge; but as far as my purpose can avail, with the help of god and the rulers of the state[ ], i can promise you that all things shall be done with justice and moderation. [footnote : 'juvante deo, rerumque dominis regnantibus.'] 'venality, that greatest stain upon a judge's character, will be unknown in me; for i should think scorn to sell the words that go out of my lips, like clothes in the market-place. 'in exercising the right of pre-emption we shall be solely guided by the wants of the state, buying nothing at a forced price in order to sell it again[ ]. [footnote : 'sperari a vobis aliquid sola specierum indigentia faciet, non malitiosa venalitas ... nec ad taxationem trahimus quae necessaria non habentur.'] 'be cheerful and of good courage, therefore, with reference to the new administration. no soldier or civil servant shall harass you for his own pleasure. no tax-collector shall load you with burdens of his own imposition. we are determined to keep not only our own hands clean, but also those of our officials. otherwise, vainly does a good judge guard himself from receiving money, if he leaves to the many under him licence to receive it on their own account. but we, both by precept and example, show that we aim at the public good, not at private and fraudulent gains. 'we know what prayers you put up for us, how anxiously you watched for our elevation, and we are determined that you shall not be disappointed. our praetorium, which no base action has ever denied, shall be open to all. no servile throng shall lord it over you. you shall come straight to us, making your requests known to us through no hired interpreter, and none shall leave our presence poorer than he entered it. with god's help we trust we shall so act as to conform to the instructions which we have received from our sovereign[ ]; and we trust that you, by your loyalty, will enable us to be rather the father of our provinces than their judge. you have patiently obeyed governors who fleeced you; how much more ought you to obey one who, as you know, loves you mightily! pay the regular fees to the officials who are labouring in your midst; for there is no such excuse for high-handed oppression as the fact that a man is not receiving his covenanted salary. obey the rule of reason, and you will not have to fear the armed man's wrath. [footnote : 'quemadmodum a rerum dominis mandata suscepimus.'] 'we wish that you should enjoy the privileges conceded to you by former rulers without any encroachment by violent men. 'and now be of good heart; i pledge myself for your righteous government. had i been present with you face to face, ye could not have seen my mind; but ye can read it in this letter, which is the mirror of my heart, the true image of my will, and ye can see that it desires only your prosperity.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to the judges of the provinces. [sidenote: exhortation to the judges to govern in conformity with the edict.] 'knowing that past suffering makes men anxious and timid as to the future, we have put forth an edict [the preceding document] in order to reassure the minds of the provincials, and to deliver them from the torment of ever-present fear. 'therefore we call upon your excellency[ ] to cause this edict to be exposed in all the places which are most resorted to. thus let the love and devotion of all classes be excited towards our happy sovereigns[ ], that as our thoughts towards the people are entirely thoughts of goodwill, so their dispositions towards the rulers who govern them in righteousness may be only loyal[ ]. [footnote : 'dicatio tua.'] [footnote : 'circa dominos felices.'] [footnote : 'ita se et illi devotos debent _pie regnantibus_ exhibere.' compare again claudian's words: 'nunquam libertas gratior exstat, quam sum _rege pio_.'] 'it now rests with you, by your just government of the provincials, to carry our promises into effect. 'remember that the official staff standing by, is a witness of the acts of every one of you; and so comport yourselves, that both they and all others may see that you in your own conduct obey the laws which you administer. 'be more anxious to remedy the poverty of the provincials than to inflict punishment upon them. so act that when you are giving an account of your stewardship your year of office may be felt to have been all too short[ ]. if you have acted justly, and earned the goodwill of your provincials, you will have no need of gifts to stave off accusations. [footnote : 'sic agite ut cum justitia probata quaeritur, annus vester brevis esse videatur.'] 'we do not appoint any spies upon your actions, and we pray you so to act that this most humiliating expedient may not be necessary. 'if you meet with any who pertinaciously set themselves up against the authority of your _fasces_, send us at once a messenger with your report; or, if you cannot spare such an one, send the report alone, as you have authority to use the public postal-service[ ]. thus all excuse for remissness on your part is taken away, since you can either wield your power or explain to us the hindrances which beset you.' [footnote : 'quando et evectiones publicas accepistis et nobis gratum sit audire de talibus.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to beatus, vir clarissimus and cancellarius. [sidenote: davus is invalided to the mons lactarius.] 'our lord the king[ ] (whose prayer it is that he may ever rejoice in the welfare of all his subjects), when he reflected upon the impaired health of his servant davus[ ], ordered him to seek to the healing properties of the mons lactarius[ ], for the cure which medical aid seemed powerless to bestow. a frequent cough resounded from his panting chest, his limbs were becoming emaciated, and the food which he took seemed to have lost all power to nourish his frame. persons in this state can neither feed nor endure to fast, and their bodies seem like leaky casks, from which all strength must soon dribble away. [footnote : 'rerum domini clementia.'] [footnote : or david, according to some mss.] [footnote : this is no doubt the mountain on whose skirts was fought the decisive battle between narses and teias in , now known as monte lettere. it is a spur of the range reaching from sorrento to salerno, which attains its highest elevation in monte san angelo ( , feet high). it rises opposite to mount vesuvius on the south-east, the ruins of pompeii and the valley of the sarno (formerly the draco) lying between the two.] [sidenote: the milk-cure, a remedy for consumption.] 'as an antidote to this cruel malady heaven has given us the mons lactarius, where the salubrious air working together with the fatness of the soil has produced a herbage of extraordinary sweetness. the cows which are fed on this herbage give a milk which seems to be the only remedy for consumptive patients who have been quite given over by their physicians. as sleep refreshes the weary limbs of toil, so does this milk fill up the wasted limbs and restore the vanished strength. strange is it to see the herds feeding on this abundant pasture. they look as if it did not profit them at all. thin and scraggy, as they wander through the thickets they look like the patients who seek their aid; yet their milk is so thick that it sticks to the milker's fingers. 'do you therefore supply the invalid when he arrives, with the appointed rations and pecuniary allowance, that he may be suitably maintained in that place while he is recreating his exhausted energies with the food of infancy. 'and, oh! all ye who are suffering under the like grievous malady, lift up your hearts. there is hope for you. by no bitter antidote, but by a delicious draught, you shall imbibe life--life, in itself the sweetest of all things.' . edict concerning prices to be maintained at ravenna. [sidenote: prices at ravenna.] 'the price at which provisions are sold ought to follow, in a reasonable way, the circumstances of the times, that there may be neither cheapness in a dear season, nor dearness in a cheap one, and that the grumblings of both buyers and sellers may be avoided, by fairness being observed towards both. 'therefore, after careful consideration, we have fixed in the subjoined schedule the prices of the various articles of produce, which prices are to remain free from all ambiguity. 'if any vendor does not observe the prices named in the present edict, he will be liable to a fine of six solidi (£ s.) for each violation of the law, and may be visited by corporal punishment[ ].' [footnote : 'per singulos excessus sex solidorum mulctam a se noverit exigendam et fustuario posse subjacere supplicio.'] [the schedule mentioned in this letter is unfortunately not preserved. few documents that cassiodorus could have handed down to posterity would have been more valuable. if we could have compared it with the celebrated edict of stratonicea (cir. a.d. ), we should have seen what changes had been wrought in the value of the precious metals and the distribution of wealth during the two centuries of disturbance and barbaric invasion which had elapsed since the reign of diocletian. but, unfortunately, cassiodorus believed that his rhetoric and his natural history would be more interesting to us than these vulgar facts.] . edict concerning prices along the flaminian way. [sidenote: prices per viam flaminiam.] 'if prices need to be fixed for the leisurely inhabitant of a town, much more for the traveller, whose journey may otherwise become a burden instead of a pleasure. let strangers therefore find that they are entertained by you at fixed prices. to fawn upon them with feigned politeness and then terrify them with enormous charges is the act of a highway robber. do you not know how much better moderate prices would suit your own purpose? travellers would gladly flock to your accommodation-houses[ ] if they found that you treated them fairly. [footnote : this is, i believe, the expression used in some of the australian colonies for what cassiodorus calls _commoda vestra_.] 'let no one think that because he is a long way off, his extortion will escape notice, for people are arriving here every day with tales of your rapacity. 'an official despatched for the purpose will, after deliberation with the citizens and bishops of each place, decide what prices are to be charged there; and then whosoever dares to ask higher prices will have to pay a fine of six solidi (£ s.) and will be afflicted by the laceration of his body. 'honest gains at the expense of your fellow-citizens ought to suffice for all of you. one would think that the highways were beset with brigands.' . the senate of the city of rome to the emperor justinian. [sidenote: supplications of the senate to justinian.] 'it seems a right and proper thing that we should address our prayers for the safety of the roman republic to a dutiful sovereign[ ], who can only desire what will benefit our freedom. we therefore beseech you, most clement emperor, and from the bosom of the curia we stretch forth our two hands to you in prayer, that you will grant a most enduring peace to our king. spurn not us, who ever seemed certain of your love. it is in truth the roman name that you are commending, if you grant gracious terms to our lords. may your league with them assure the peace of italy; and if our prayers be not sufficient to accomplish this thing, imagine that you hear our country break forth with these words of supplication: "if ever i was acceptable to thee, love, oh most dutiful sovereign, love my defenders! they who rule me ought to be in harmony with thee, lest otherwise they begin to do such deeds towards me as thou least of all men wouldest desire. be not to me a cause of death, thou who hast ever ministered unto me the joys of life. lo, while at peace with thee i have doubled the number of my children, i have been decked with the glory of my citizens. if thou sufferest me to be wounded, where is thy dutiful name of son? what couldest even thou do more for me [than these rulers], seeing that my religion and thine thus flourish under their rule? [footnote : 'pio principi.'] '"my senate grows in honour and is incessantly increasing in wealth. do not dissipate in quarrels what thou oughtest rather to defend with the sword. i have had many kings; but none so trained in letters as this one. i have had foreseeing statesmen, but none so powerful in learning and religion. i love the amal, bred up as he has been at my knees, a strong man, one who has been formed by my conversation, dear to the romans by his prudence, venerable to the nations by his valour. join rather thy prayers to his; share with him thy counsels: so that any prosperity which i may earn may redound to thy glory. do not woo me in the only fashion in which i may not be won. thine am i already in love, if thou sendest none of thy soldiers to lacerate my limbs. for if africa has deserved through thee to recover freedom, it were hard that i should from the same hand lose that freedom which i have ever possessed. control the emotions of anger, oh illustrious conqueror! the claims urged upon thee by the general voice of the people ought to outweigh the offence which the ingratitude of any private individual may have occasioned to thy heart." 'thus rome speaks while, through her senators, she makes supplications to you. and if that be not enough, let the sacred petition of the blessed apostles peter and paul be also taken into your account. for surely they, who are proved to have so often defended the peace of rome from her enemies, deserve that your sovereignty should yield everything to their merits. the venerable man, our most pious king's ambassador to your clemency, will further set forth our prayers.' [it is not easy to fix the exact occasion on which this petition was likely to be sent from the senate to the emperor. the allusion to the conquest of africa shows that it was after the vandal war, which ended in march, . on the other hand, the language put into the mouth of the senate implies that the imperial troops had not yet landed in italy or sicily, and the petition is therefore of an earlier date than the summer of . during the whole of these fourteen months the relations between empire and kingdom were more or less strained, the causes of complaint on the part of constantinople beginning with the occupation of lilybaeum and ending with the murder of amalasuentha. i fear that the nattering portrait drawn of 'the amal' can apply to no one but theodahad, the terms used being hopelessly inapplicable to a boy like athalaric. who then are 'our lords' ('nostri domini'), in whose name peace is besought. the best that we can hope, for the sake of the reputation of cassiodorus, is that they are amalasuentha and theodahad, the letter being written between october , (when athalaric died), and april , (when amalasuentha was imprisoned). upon the whole this seems the most probable conclusion. if written after amalasuentha's death, in the few months or weeks which intervened between that event and the landing of belisarius in sicily, the language employed reflects deep discredit on the writer. in that case, 'nostri domini' must mean theodahad and gudelina.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to gaudiosus, cancellarius of the province of liguria. [sidenote: praises of como. relief of its inhabitants.] 'the city of como[ ] is visited by so many travellers that the cultivators of the soil declare that they are quite worn out with requisitions for post-horses[ ]. wherefore we direct that by royal indulgence they be favoured in this matter[ ], that this city, so beautifully situated, do not become a solitude for want of inhabitants. [footnote : thus called by cassiodorus; not comum.] [footnote : 'se possessores paraveredorum assiduitate suggerunt esse fatigatos.'] [footnote : 'quibus indultu regali beneficium praecipimus jugiter custodiri.' these words do not make it clear how the inhabitants were relieved by the royal decree; but it was probably by some gift of money like that which is announced in the next letter.] 'como, with its precipitous mountains and its vast expanse of lake, seems placed there for the defence of the province of liguria; and yet, again, it is so beautiful that one would think it was created for pleasure only. to the south lies a fertile plain with easy roads for the transport of provisions; on the north a lake sixty miles long, abounding in fish, soothing the mind with delicious recreation. 'rightly is it called _como_, because it is adorned (compta) with such gifts. the lake lies in a shell-like valley, with white margins. above rises a diadem of lofty mountains, their slopes studded with bright villas[ ], a girdle of olives below, vineyards above, while a crest of thick chestnut-woods adorns the very summit of the hills. streams of snowy clearness dash from the hill-sides into the lake. on the eastern side these unite to form the river addua, so called because it contains the _added_ volume of two streams. it plunges into the lake with such force that it keeps its own colour[ ] (dark among the whiter waters) and its own name far along the northern shore[ ], a phenomenon often seen with rivers flowing into the ocean, but surely marvellous with one flowing into an inland lake. and so swift is its course as it moves through the alien waves, that you might fancy it a river flowing over the solid plains. [footnote : 'praetoriorum luminibus decenter ornata.'] [footnote : so claudian (de vi consolata honorii ), 'et addua visu caerulus.'] [footnote : 'ut nomen retinens et colorem in septentrionem obesiore alvei ventre generetur.'] 'so delightful a region makes men delicate and averse to labour. therefore the inhabitants deserve especial consideration, and for this reason we wish them to enjoy perpetually the royal bounty.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to the ligurians. [announcing the despatch of money to relieve the necessities of the province, possibly after some incursions of the franks. this would fit in pretty well with the mention of _astensis civitas_ as having suffered the most.] [sidenote: relief of the necessities of liguria.] 'it is the privilege of a king to increase the happiness of his subjects. not to postpone your joy by too long a preface, i will come to the point at once, and inform you that our most glorious lords, taking the necessities of their loyal liguria into account, have sent lbs. of gold [£ , ] by the hands of a and b, officers of the royal bedchamber. _you_ are to say how the money is to be spent, indicating the persons who are in the greatest necessity; but as we are informed that the city of asti has been more heavily weighted than others, it is our wish that it should be chiefly helped by this disbursement. now, do you who are tributaries, reflect upon the clemency of your lords, who are inverting the usual order of things, and paying out to you from the treasury what they are accustomed to receive. let us know at once how much you think each taxpayer ought to receive, that we may deduct it from his first instalment of land-tax [ ]. [footnote : 'sed ut beneficia dominorum _subtractis exactionum, incommodis_ augeantur, celerius relatio vestra nos instruat, quid unicuique de hac summâ relaxandum esse judicetis, ut tantum de _primâ illatione_ faciamus _suspendi_ quantum ad nos notitia directa vulgaverit.' the meaning of cassiodorus seems quite clear, though it is not easy to understand how far the actual gift of money was supplemented by, or independent of, remission of land-tax.] 'and put up your prayers for your most affectionate sovereigns, that they may receive back again from heaven the favour which they are conferring on you.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to the ligurians. [sidenote: oppressions practised on the ligurians to be remedied.] 'in thanking me so earnestly for a recent benefit [probably the present mentioned in the preceding letter] you invited me to further favours, and the implied promise which i then gave you i now fulfil. 'you complain that you are burdened with unjust weights and measures, and i therefore declare that this iniquity shall cease, and that no tax-collector or tithe-collector[ ], shall dare to use too long a measure or too heavy a weight [in the collection of the king's revenue]. [footnote : 'exactores atque susceptores.' for the latter office, see cod. theod. xii. .] 'also that their accounts shall be promptly balanced, and that any overcharge that may be detected shall be at once repaid. 'now then, your minds being freed from anxiety on this score, turn your attention to the supply of the wants of our most flourishing army, and show your zeal for the public good, since we have satisfied you that it is not for private and fraudulent gains that you are to pay your contributions.' . on the promotions in the official staff of the praetorian praefect, made on christmas day[ ]. [footnote : this letter was probably addressed to the princeps, the highest person in the whole officium, as it contains the words '_unus_ quisque ... _tuâ designatione vulgetur_.'] [sidenote: promotions in officium of praefectus praetorio.] 'on this day of general rejoicing, when by the kindness of heaven the way of salvation was opened to all mankind, we wish that the members of our staff should also be glad. for to rejoice, ourselves, when those around us are mourning, is a kind of sacrilege. hence some philosophers have held that the whole human race is one being, the various members of which are constrained to share one another's feelings of joy or sadness. therefore let every official in our staff according to his grade[ ] get promotion on this day, not only rising himself, but creating a vacancy which enables those below him to rise also.' [footnote : 'juxta matriculae seriem.'] [all the letters from to are documents, for the most part very short ones, relating to these promotions. for an explanation of the terms used in these letters, and of the whole subject of the staff of the praetorian praefect, see chapter iv. of the introduction.] in letter , antianus, who is vacating the office of cornicularius, receives the rank of _spectabilis_, and has a place assigned him among the tribuni and notarii, where he may 'adore the presence of his sovereign[ ]'. [footnote : 'inter tribunos et notarios ad adorandos aspectus properet principales.'] in letter the successor of antianus in the office of cornicularius receives his appointment. in letter the retiring primiscrinius also receives the rank of _spectabilis_, and takes his place among the tribuni and notarii, 'to adore the purple of royalty.' in letter andreas is rewarded for his faithful service on the praetorian staff[ ], by being promoted to the office of primiscrinius. [footnote : 'qui praetorianis fascibus inculpabiliter noscitur obsecutus.'] in letter catellus, who stands next in grade for this promotion[ ], obtains the post of scriniarius actorum. [footnote : 'quem matriculae series fecit accedere.'] in letter constantinian, to whose virtues cassiodorus himself bears witness, receives the charge of letters relating to the collection of land-tax (cura epistolarum canonicarum). in letter lucillus is appointed a clerk in the war-office (scriniarius curae militaris). in letter patricius is appointed chief of the shorthand writers (primicerius exceptorum). in letter justus obtains a place as member of the sixth schola (sextus scholaris[ ]). [footnote : i am unable to suggest any explanation of this title.] in letter joannes, whom we saw in the sixth letter of this book entrusted with the duties of cancellarius, is rewarded for his faithful discharge of those duties by receiving the place of praerogativarius[ ]. [footnote : i have not found any explanation of this title, which is apparently unknown to the notitia, to lydus, and to the theodosian code.] in letter cheliodorus[ ] is appointed to the place of commentariensis (magistrates' clerk). [footnote : note the corrupt form of the name heliodorus.] in letter cart(h)erius is promoted to the office of regerendarius (secretary of the post-office), in the hope that this promotion will render him yet more earnest in the discharge of his praetorian labours. in letter ursus is appointed primicerius deputatorum, and beatus (probably the cancellarius addressed in letter ) is made primicerius augustalium. in letter urbicus, on vacating the post of primicerius singulariorum (chief of the king's messengers), is placed among the body-guards (domestici et protectores), where he may adore the royal purple, that, being made illustrious by gazing on the sovereign, he may rejoice in his liberation from official harassment. [as the singularii did not form part of the learned staff (militia litterata), their chief on retiring receives a guardsman's place, but still one which gives him access to royalty.] in letter pierius receives the post of primicerius singulariorum which is thus vacated. [sidenote: delegatoria.] in letter cassiodorus, expanding the proverb 'bis dat qui cito dat,' agrees that the _delegatoria_[ ] (or delegatiorius), the letter conferring on the receiver the right to receive the increase of rations due to his promotion, should not be long delayed. [footnote : we get this sense of delegatio in cod. theod. vii. . : '_annonas omnes_, quae universis officiis atque sacri palatii ministeriis et sacris scriniis ceterisque cunctarum adminiculis dignitatum adsolent _delegari_.'] in letter antianus, the retired cornicularius of letter , receives a somewhat evasive answer to a petition which apparently affected the rights of those below him in the official hierarchy[ ]. [footnote : in this letter occurs a sentence of tantalising obscurity: 'sola nos alpha complectitur ubi ea littera non timetur.'] in letter we have an example of the _delegatoria_ alluded to in letter . it is concerned with a princeps, apparently the princeps of the agentes in rebus; and, after extolling the zeal and alacrity of those officers, who are constantly intent on enforcing obedience to the imperial decrees and reverence for the authority of the praetorian praefect, he observes that it would be impiety to delay the reward of such labour. 'therefore let your experience[ ] pay, out of the third instalment of land-tax[ ] from such and such a province, those monies which the wisdom of antiquity directed should be paid to the princeps augustorum[ ]. let this be done at once to those who are chargeable on the accounts of the thirteenth indiction (sept. , --sept. , ). let there be no venal delays. behave to the out-going public servant as you would wish that others should behave to you on your retirement from office. all men should honour the veteran, but especially they who are still toiling in the public service.' [footnote : it is not clear to whom the letter is addressed.] [footnote : 'ex illatione tertiâ.'] [footnote : the marginal note says: 'i.e. agentium in rebus.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to anat(h)olius, cancellarius of the province of samnium. [sidenote: the retirement of a cornicularius on a superannuation allowance justified on astronomical grounds.] 'as all things else come to an end, so it is right that the laborious life of a civil servant should have its appointed term. 'the heavenly bodies have their prescribed time in which to complete their journeyings. saturn in thirty years wanders over his appointed portion of space. jupiter in twelve years finishes the survey of his kingdom. mars, with fiery rapidity, completes his course in eighteen months. the sun in one year goes through all the signs of the zodiac. venus accomplishes her circuit in fifteen months; the rapid mercury in thirteen months. the moon, peculiar in her nearer neighbourhood, traverses in thirty days the space which it takes the sun a year to journey over[ ]. [footnote : as might be expected from an observer who did not understand the earth's motion in its orbit, the periods assigned to the _inferior_ planets in this paragraph are all wrong, while those assigned to the _superior_ planets are pretty nearly right. _periods according to cassiodorus_. _true periods_. saturn years years days. jupiter " " " mars year days year " venus " " " mercury " " "] 'all these bodies, which, as philosophers say, shall only perish with the world, have an appointed end to their journeyings. but they complete their course that they may begin it again: the human race serves that it may rest from its ended labours. therefore, since the cornicularius in my court has completed his term of office, you are to pay him without any deduction this st september solidi (£ ) from the revenues of the province of samnium, taking them out of the third instalment of land-tax[ ]. he commanded the wings of the army of the praefect's assistants, from whence he derived his name[ ]. when he handed us the inkstand, we wrote, unbribed, those decrees which men would have paid a great price to obtain[ ]. we gratified him whom the laws favoured, we frowned on him who had not justice on his side. no litigant had cause to regret his success, since it came to him unbought. you know all this that we are saying to be true, for our business was all transacted in the office, not in the bedchamber. what we did, the whole troop of civil servants knew[ ]. we were private persons in our power of harming, judges in our power of doing good. our words might be stern, our deeds were kindly. we frowned though mollified; we threatened though intending no evil; and we struck terror that we might not have to strike. you have had in me, as you were wont to say, a most clean-handed judge: i shall leave behind in you my most uncorrupted witnesses.' [footnote : 'per illam indictionem de samnii provinciâ ex illatione tertiâ sine ambiguitate contrade.'] [footnote : 'praefuit enim cornibus secretarii praetoriani, unde ei nomen est derivatum.'] [footnote : 'eo ministrante caliculum scripsimus inempti quod magnis pretiis optabatur impleri.'] [footnote : 'quod egimus cohortes noverunt.' observe the military character of the service, 'cohortes.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to the clarissimus lucinus, cancellarius of campania. [sidenote: payment of retiring primiscrinius.] 'it was well ordered by antiquity that the servants of the public should receive a due reward for their labours; and who of all these are more deserving than the officers of the praetorian praefect (praetoriani). theirs is the difficult task of waiting on the necessities of the army. they must demand accounts, often minute and intricate, from great officers whom they dare not offend. they must collect the stores of food for the roman people from the provincials without giving them cause for complaint[ ]. their acts constitute our true glory; and in the formation of their characters, work, hard work, that stern and anxious pedagogue[ ], is better than all literary or philosophic training. [footnote : 'eorum est etiam sudoribus applicandum, quod victuales expensae longe quidem positae, _sed tamquam in urbe regiâ natae_ [i do not quite understand this antithesis] sine querelâ provincialium congregantur.'] [footnote : 'labores, violenti magistri, solliciti paedagogi, per quos cautior quis efficitur dum incurri pericula formidantur.'] 'such men ought assuredly to receive their stipulated rewards; and therefore we order you to pay regularly so many solidi of the third instalment, from the land-tax of the province of campania[ ], to such and such a person, who has now just completed his term of service as primiscrinius.' [footnote : 'ex canone provinciae campaniae tertiae illationis tot solidos solenniter te dare censemus.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to joannes, canonicarius[ ] of thuscia. [footnote : tax-collector.] [sidenote: praises of paper.] 'rightly did antiquity ordain that a large store of paper should be laid in by our bureaux (scrinia), that litigants might receive the decision of the judge clearly written, without delay, and without avaricious and impudent charges for the paper which bore it[ ]. [footnote : lydus (de magistratibus iii. ) makes a similar remark, but says that in his time the copying clerks (exceptarii, or exceptores) supplied disgracefully bad paper made of grass, and charged a fee for doing so.] 'a wonderful product in truth is this wherewith ingenious memphis has supplied all the offices in the world. the plants of nile arise, a wood without leaves or branches, a harvest of the waters, the fair tresses of the marshes, plants full of emptiness, spongy, thirsty, having all their strength in their outer rind, tall and light, the fairest fruit of a foul inundation. 'before paper was discovered, all the sayings of the wise, all the thoughts of the ancients, were in danger of perishing. who could write fluently or pleasantly on the rough bark of trees, though it is from that practice that we call a book _liber_? while the scribe was laboriously cutting his letters on the sordid material, his very thought grew cold: a rude contrivance assuredly, and only fit for the beginnings of the world. 'then was paper discovered, and therewith was eloquence made possible. paper, so smooth and so continuous, the snowy entrails of a green herb; paper which can be spread out to such a vast extent, and yet be folded up into such a little space; paper, on whose white expanse the black characters look beautiful; paper which keeps the sweet harvest of the mind, and restores it to the reader whenever he chooses to consult it; paper which is the faithful witness of all human actions, eloquent of the past, a sworn foe to oblivion. 'therefore for this thirteenth indiction[ ] pay so many solidi from the land-tax of the tuscan province to our bureau, that it may be able to keep in perpetuity a faithful record of all its transactions.' [footnote : sept. , . the reading 'de tertiae decimae indictionis rationibus' seems required by the sense, instead of 'tertiam de decimae indictionis rationibus.' it is quite clear that cassiodorus was not praetorian praefect at the tenth indiction.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to the clarissimus vitalian, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii. [sidenote: payment by province of bruttii of commuted cattle-tax.] 'the vast numbers of the roman people in old time are evidenced by the extensive provinces from which their food supply was drawn, as well as by the wide circuit of their walls, the massive structure of their amphitheatre, the marvellous bigness of their public baths, and the enormous multitude of mills, which could only have been made for use, not for ornament. 'it was to feed this population, that mountainous lucania paid her tribute of swine, that fertile bruttii furnished her droves of oxen. it was a glorious privilege for them thus to feed the roman people: yet the length of roads over which the animals had to be driven made the tribute unnecessarily burdensome, since every mile reduced their weight, and the herdsman could not possibly obtain credit at the journey's end for the same number of pounds of flesh which he possessed at its beginning. for this reason the tribute was commuted into a money payment, one which no journeyings can diminish and no toil can wound. the provinces should understand and respond to this favourable change, and not show themselves more slack than their ancestors were, under far more burdensome conditions. your diligence has now collected both these taxes[ ] at the appointed periods; and i am glad of it, that my countrymen, who have served alien magistrates with praiseworthy diligence, might not seem negligent under my rule. these provinces, which i, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather have benefited as private persons, i have endeavoured to help yet more earnestly while i bore the majesty of the _fasces_, that they who have rejoiced in my exaltation might see that i still retained my love for our common country. let them pay the tax then, not from fear but from love. i have prevailed on the royal generosity to limit its amount; for whereas it used to be , solidi [£ ] annually, it is henceforward to be , [£ ][ ].' [footnote : 'ambos titulos.'] [footnote : this sum seems ridiculously small for the province of bruttii. can it be the sum assessed on each district?] . an indulgence [or amnesty to prisoners on some great festival of the church, probably easter]. [sidenote: general amnesty.] 'all the year we are bound to tread in the path of justice, but on this day we secure our approach to the redeemer by the path of forgiveness. therefore we forswear punishments of all kinds, we condemn the torture, and thus feel ourselves, in forgiving, to be more truly than ever a judge. 'hail to thee, o clemency[ ], patroness of the human race! thou reignest in the heavens and on the earth: and most fitting is it that, at sacred seasons like this, thou shouldest be supreme. [footnote : 'indulgentia.'] 'therefore, o lictor, thou who art allowed to do with impunity the very thing for which other men are punished, put up thy axe; let it be henceforth bright, not bloody. let the chains which have been so often wet with tears now grow rusty. the prison--that house of pluto, in which men suffer a living death, from its foul odours, from the sound of groaning which assails their ears, from the long fastings which destroy their taste, from the heavy weights which weary their hands, from the endless darkness which makes their eyes grow dim--let the prison now be filled with emptiness. never is it so popular as when it is seen to be deserted. 'and you, its denizens, who are thus in a manner transplanted to heaven from hell, avoid the evil courses which made you acquainted with its horrors. even animals shun the things which they have once found harmful. cattle which have once fallen into a pit seek not again the same road. the bird once snared shuns bird-lime. the pike buries himself in deep sand, that he may escape the drag-net, and when it has scraped his back leaps nimbly into the waves and expresses by his gambols his joy for his deliverance. when the wrasse[ ] finds that he is caught in an osier trap, he moves himself slowly backwards till he can leave his tail protruding, that one of his fellows, perceiving his capture, may pull him out from his prison. [footnote : 'scarus.'] 'so too the sauri (?), a clever race of fish, named from their speed, when they have swum into a net, tie themselves together into a sort of rope; and then, tugging backwards with all their might, seek to liberate their fellow-prisoners. 'many facts of the same kind would be discovered on enquiry. but my discourse must return to thee, o gaoler. thou wilt be miserable in the general joy, because thou art wont to derive thy gladness from the affliction of many. but as some consolation for thy groans, we leave to thee those prisoners whom the law, for very pity's sake, cannot set free--the men found guilty of outrageous crimes, whose liberation would make barbarous deeds frequent. over these thou mayest still exert thy power.' book xii. containing twenty-eight letters written by cassiodorus in his own name as praetorian praefect. . senator, praetorian praefect, to the various cancellarii of the several provinces. [sidenote: general instructions to the cancellarii.] 'it is generally supposed that long attendance at the courts of law increases the love of justice. the character of the judge also is in some degree estimated by that of his officers[ ], as that of a philosophical teacher by his disciples. thus your bad actions might endanger our reputation, while, on the other hand, with no effort on our part, we earn glory from all that you do well. beware, therefore, lest by any misconduct of yours, which is sure to be exaggerated by popular rumour, you rouse anger in us, who as your judge will be sure to exact stern recompence for all the wrong you have done to our reputation. study this rather, that you may receive praise and promotion at our hands, and go forth, with divine help, on this indiction, to such and such a province, adorned with the pomp of the cancelli, and girt about with a certain proud gravity. remember the honour of the _fasces_ which are borne before you, of the praetorian seat whose commands you execute. [footnote : 'per milites suos judex intelligitur.'] 'fly avarice, the queen of all the vices, who never enters the human heart alone, but always brings a flattering and deceiving train along with her. show yourself zealous for the public good; do more by reason than by terror. let your person be a refuge for the oppressed, a defence of the weak, a stronghold for him who is stricken down by any calamity. never do you more truly discharge the functions of the cancelli than when you open the prison doors to those who have been unjustly confined.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to all the judges of the provinces (a.d. - ). [sidenote: general instructions to the provincial governors.] 'god be thanked, the provincials have attended to all my admonitions, and i have kept all my promises to them. you, as judges, have admirably copied my own freedom from corruption, and i can only desire that you will go on as you have begun. 'let the peasant pay cheerfully his share of the public taxes, and i on my part will guarantee him the administration of justice in the courts[ ]. [footnote : 'possessor mihi publicas pecunias libens inferat: ego illi in conventus justitiae tributa persolvam.'] 'it was evidently the intention of the legislators that you should be imitators of our dignity, since they have given you almost the same jurisdiction in the provinces as ourselves. 'what avails the reputation of being a rich man? it confers no glory. but to be known as a just man wins the praise of all. nothing mean or avaricious is becoming in a judge. all his faults are made more conspicuous by his elevation. better were it to be absolutely unknown, than to be marked out for the scorn of all men. let us keep our own brews clear from shame; then can we rebuke the sins of others. a terrible leveller is iniquity: it makes the judge himself feel like the culprit who is tried before him. all these considerations, according to my custom, i bring before you in this my yearly address, since it is impossible ever to have too much of a good thing[ ]. [footnote :'haec nos annuo sermone convenit loqui: quia bonarum rerum nulla satietas est.'] 'now, to proceed to business. do you and your official staff impress upon all the cultivators of the soil the absolute necessity of their paying their land-tax[ ] for this thirteenth indiction[ ] at the appointed time. let there be no pressing them to pay before the time, and no venal connivance at their postponement of payment after the time. what kindness is there in delay? the money must be paid, sooner or later. [footnote : 'trina illatio.'] [footnote : sept. , , to sept. , .] 'prepare also a full and faithful statement of the expenditure for every four months[ ], and address it to our bureaux[ ], that there may be perfect clearness in the public accounts. [footnote : 'expensarum fidelem notitiam quaternis mensibus comprehensam.' as the receipts of the _trina illatio_ had to be gathered in every four months, the account of provincial expenditure covered the same period.] [footnote : 'ad scrinia nostra dirigere maturabis.'] 'in order to help you, we send a and b, members of our official staff, to examine your accounts. see that you come up to the standard of duty here prescribed for you.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to all the sajones who have been assigned to the cancellarii. [sidenote: general instructions to the sajones.] 'there must be fear of the magistrate in the heart of the citizen, else the laws would never be obeyed. but as in medicine various remedies are required by various constitutions, so in the administration of the laws sometimes force and sometimes gentleness has to be used. wisdom is required to decide which is the best mode of dealing with each particular case. 'therefore we despatch your devotion[ ] to attend upon a b, clarissimus cancellarius. be terrible to the lawless, but to them alone. above all things see to the punctual collection of the taxes. do not study popularity. attend only to those cases which are entrusted to your care, and work them thoroughly. no greater disgrace can attach to an officer of court than that a judge's sentence should be left unexecuted[ ]. do not swagger through the streets exulting in the fact that nobody dares meet you. brave men are ever gentle in time of peace, and there is no greater lover of justice than he who has seen many battles. when you return to your parents and friends let it not be brawls that you have to boast of, but good conduct. we also shall in that case welcome you back with pleasure, and not leave you long without another commission. and the king too, the lord of all[ ], will entrust higher duties to him who returns from the lower with credit and the reward of a good conscience.' [footnote : 'devotio tua' was the technical way of addressing the _fortis sajo_.] [footnote : 'in executore illud est pessimum, si judicis relinquat arbitrium.'] [footnote : 'rerum dominus.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to the canonicarius[ ] of the venetiae. [footnote : revenue-officer.] [sidenote: praise of acinaticium, a red wine of verona.] 'a well furnished royal table is a credit to the state. a private person may eat only the produce of his own district; but it is the glory of a king to collect at his table the delicacies of all lands. let the danube send us her carp, let the _anchorago_ (?) come from the rhine, let the labour of sicily furnish the _exormiston_[ ], let the sea of bruttii send its sweet _acerniae_ (?); in short, let well-flavoured dishes be gathered from all coasts. it becomes a king so to regale himself that he may seem to foreign ambassadors to possess almost everything. [footnote : 'perhaps a kind of lamprey' (white and riddle's latin-english dictionary).] 'and therefore, not to neglect home-produce also, as our fertile italy is especially rich in wines, we must have these also provided for the king's table. now the report of the count of the patrimony informs us that the stock of _acinaticium_[ ] has fallen very low in the royal cellars. we therefore order you to visit the cultivators of verona, and offer them a sufficient price for this product of theirs, which they ought to offer without price to their sovereign. [footnote : apparently a kind of raisin wine; from _acina_, a grape or berry.] 'it is in truth a noble wine and one that italy may be proud of. inglorious greece may doctor her wines with foreign admixtures, or disguise them with perfumes. there is no need of any such process with this liquor. it is purple, as becomes the wine of kings. sweet and strong[ ], it grows more dense in tasting it, so that you might doubt whether it was a liquid food or an edible drink[ ]. [footnote : what are we to make of 'stipsis nescio quâ firmitate roboratur?'] [footnote : 'tactus ejus densitate pinguescit: ut dicas esse aut carneum liquorem aut edibilem potionem.' questionable praise, according to the ideas of a modern wine-grower.] 'i have a mind to describe the singular mode of manufacturing this wine. the grape cluster, gathered in autumn, is hung up under the roof of the house to dry till december. thus exuding its insipid humours it becomes much sweeter. then in december, when everything else is bound by the frost of winter, the chilly blood of these grapes is allowed to flow forth. it is not insultingly trodden down by the feet, nor is any foul admixture suffered to pollute it; its stream of gem-like clearness is drawn forth from it by a noble provocation. it seems to shed tears of joy, and delights the eye by its beauty as much as the palate by its flavour. collect this wine as speedily as possible, pay a sufficient price for it, and hand it over to the _cartarii_ who are charged with this business. 'and this point is not to be forgotten, that it is to be served up in goblets of a milky whiteness. lilies and roses thus unite their charms, and a pleasure is ministered to the eye, far beyond the mere commonplace facts that the wine has a pleasant taste, and that it restores the strength of the drinker. 'we rely on you to provide both the wine and the drinking vessels[ ] with all despatch.' [footnote : we might have expected to find wine-bottles rather than wine-glasses thus requisitioned; but i think the words of cassiodorus, 'quod lacteo poculo relucescit,' oblige us to adopt the latter translation.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to valerian, vir sublimis. [written probably in the autumn or winter of , when belisarius was in sicily threatening the southern provinces of italy.] [sidenote: measures for relief of lucania and bruttii.] 'the ruler's anxiety for the common good of all over whom he is placed, may allowably show itself in an especial manner towards the dwellers in his own home, and that pre-eminently at a time when they need his succour from peril. 'the numerous army which was destined for the defence of the republic is said to have laid waste the cultivated parts of lucania and bruttii, and to have diminished the abundance of those regions by its love of rapine. 'now since they must take and you must give, and since the cultivator must not be robbed nor the army starved, know that the prices of provisions are fixed by the order of the lord of the state at a much lower figure than you have been wont to sell at[ ]. [footnote : 'pretia quae antiquus ordo constituit ex jussione rerum domini cognoscite temperata, ut multo arctius quam vendere solebatis in assem publicum praebita debeant imputari.'] 'be not therefore anxious. you have escaped the hands of the tax-collector. the present instrument takes away from you the liability to tribute. in order that your knowledge may be made more complete, we have thought it better that the amounts of the provisions for which you are held responsible should be expressed in the below-written letters[ ], that no one may sell you a benefit which you know to be conferred by the public generosity. [footnote : 'sed quo facilius instrueretur vestra notitia, _imputationum summas infra scriptis brevibus credidimus exprimendas._' apparently the ordinary taxes for the two provinces are remitted, but a certain quantity of provisions has to be furnished to the army, perhaps by each township; and besides this, the commissariat officers have a right of pre-emption at prices considerably below the market rate.] 'repress, therefore, the unruly movements of the cultivators[ ]. while the gothic army is fighting, let the roman peasant enjoy in quiet the peace for which he sighs. according to the king's command, admonish the several tenants on the farms, and the better sort of peasants, not to mingle in the barbarism of the strife, lest the danger to public tranquillity be greater than any service they can render in the wars[ ]. let them lay hands to the iron, but only to cultivate their fields; let them grasp the pointed steel, but only to goad their oxen. [footnote : 'continete ergo possessorum intemperantes motus.'] [footnote : 'ex regiâ jussione singulos conductores massarum et possessores validos admonete, ut nullam contrahant in concertatione barbariem: ne non tantum festinent bellis prodesse quantum quiete confundere.' evidently the rustics are dissuaded from taking up arms lest they should use them on the side of belisarius.] 'let the judges be active: let the tribunals echo with their denunciations of crime. let the robber, the adulterer, the forger, the thief, find that the arm of the state is still strong to punish their crimes. true freedom rejoices when these men are made sad. here, in this civil battle, is full scope for your energies: attend to this, and enjoy the thought that others are fighting the battle with the foreign foe for you. 'exercise great care in calculating the rations of the soldiers, that no trickery may succeed in defrauding the soldier of his due. 'the officers of the army are by the rulers of the state placed under my authority, and you are therefore to admonish them if they go wrong, while redressing all their real grievances. they, in their turn, must uphold discipline, which is the most powerful weapon of an army. rise to the dignity of the occasion, and show that you are able to govern a province in a disturbed condition of public affairs, since anyone can govern it while all things are quiet. 'the royal household is specially ordered to pay the same obedience to this rescript as all the rest of the province; and as for my own dependants, i say expressly that, though i wish them well, i ask for no favour for them which i would not grant to all the other inhabitants of the province.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to all the subordinate governors of the praefecture[ ]. [footnote : 'universis praefecturae titulos administrantibus.'] [sidenote: general instructions to subordinate governors.] 'the exhortations addressed to you by the inborn piety of our lords ought to suffice; but nevertheless, that we may be doubly assured, we will address to you our threats against all who shall wield their power unrighteously. cease from avarice, from arrogance, from venality. what will your money avail you when the day of inquisition comes? _we_ shall not be tempted by it. let it be clearly understood that we shall not sell pardons to unjust judges, but shall hunt them to their ruin. 'but all you, good and honest rulers, continue to serve the state without fear. no rival will buy your offices over your heads; you are secure in your seats so long as you do well, until the time fixed by our lords expires. be earnest, therefore, that my good deeds may be imitated and receive their due meed of praise in your persons.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to the tax-collector of the venetian province[ ]. [footnote : 'canonicario venetiarum.'] [sidenote: remission of taxes on account of invasion by the suevi.] 'a good sovereign will always exert himself to repair fortuitous disasters, and will allow those who have paid their taxes punctually in prosperity, considerable liberty in times of barbaric invasion. on this ground, and on account of the incursions of the suevi, the king grants for this year, the fifteenth indiction[ ], a discharge of all claims by the fiscus preferred against a and b. and in all similar cases where you shall be satisfied that the property has really been laid waste by those barbarians, you are at liberty to remit the taxes for this indiction. afterwards you will use all the ordinary methods, in order that you may be able to pay over the stipulated sum to the royal treasurer. but meanwhile the poor cultivator has the best of all arguments against paying you, namely, that he has nothing left him wherewith to pay. thus is his calamity his best voucher for payment[ ]; and we do not wish that he who has been already alarmed by the arms of the robber should further tremble at the official robe of the civil servant[ ]. [footnote : sept. , , to sept. , .] [footnote : 'validas contra te apochas invenerunt.'] [footnote : 'chlamydes non pavescant, qui arma timuerunt.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to the consularis of the province of liguria. [sidenote: permission to pay taxes direct to royal treasury.] 'it is a new and delightful kind of profit to be able to grant the request of a petitioner without feeling any loss oneself. the present suitor, complaining that he is vexed by the exactions of the tax-gatherer on account of certain farms mentioned in the subjoined letter, offers to bring the amount due from them himself to our treasurers[ ]. we are willing to grant this request, on condition that the fiscus does not suffer thereby; and therefore desire your respectability to warn all _curiales_, _compulsores_, and all other persons concerned, to remove for this indiction every kind of legal process from the before-mentioned properties; the condition of this immunity being that he shall, before the kalends of such and such a month produce the receipts[ ] of the _arcarius_, showing that he has discharged his debt to the state. otherwise the debt must be exacted by ordinary process. but it is delightful to us whenever the tax is paid without calling in the aid of the _compulsor_. would that the peasant would always thus freely anticipate the needs of the treasury!' [footnote : 'arcarii.'] [footnote : 'apochae.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to paschasius, praefect of the corn-distributions[ ]. [footnote : 'praefectus annonae.'] [sidenote: african claims to succeed to estate of an intestate countryman.] [to make this letter intelligible we must presuppose a custom, certainly a very extraordinary one, by which on the death of an african without heirs, any other african in italy was allowed to claim the inheritance. by 'african,' no doubt, we must understand one of the indigenous inhabitants of africa, perhaps a man of negro race. the custom certainly cannot have applied to african provincials of roman descent. it was perhaps based on some old tribal notions of joint possession and mutual inheritance.] 'it is a work of wondrous kindness to oblige a foreign race with public benefits, and not only to invite blood relations to enjoy the advantages of property, but to permit even strangers to share them. this kind of heirship is independent of the ties of kindred, independent of succession from parents, and requires nothing else save only power to utter the speech of the fatherland. 'this is the privilege which, as the african asserts, was of old bestowed on his race. by virtue thereof they lawfully demand the inheritance of others, and thus obtain a right which the roman in a similar case could never claim. nor have they this benefit in their own land; but here they are for this purpose looked upon as all related to one another. 'the whole nation, in what relates to the advantages of succession, is regarded as one family. 'your experience is therefore to submit the subject of this man's petition to a diligent examination, and if it shall turn out, as he alleges, that the deceased has left no sons nor other persons who might reasonably claim to succeed him, your official staff is to induct him into the aforesaid property according to the established usage. 'he will thus cease to be a foreigner, and will acquire the status of a native possessor, and therewith the usual liability to pay tribute. he is inferior to other owners only in this one point, that he lacks the power of alienating his property. let him who has derived so much benefit from our commiseration now relieve others. fortunate and enviable has turned out his captivity[ ], which enables him at one and the same time to enjoy the citizenship of rome and the privileges of the african.' [footnote : 'felix illi contigit et praedicanda captivitas.' a little before, we read, 'resumat facultatem quam se suspiraverat amississe.' these sentences suggest the idea that the petitioner had been brought over in the train of the lately deceased person as a slave. this a little lessens the difficulty of his being admitted to the inheritance. compare gen. xv. , where abraham, before the birth of a son, says, 'and one born in my house' (i.e. a slave) 'is mine heir.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to divers cancellarii in the provinces. [sidenote: taxes to be punctually enforced.] 'arrears of tribute are like bodily diseases, serious and enfeebling when they become chronic. a man who is under a load of debt cannot be called free: he has abandoned the power of controlling his actions to another. your supposed indulgence to the taxpayer is no real kindness. there comes a time when the whole arrear of debt has to be claimed, and then these venal delays of yours make the demand seem twice as heavy in the eyes of the unfortunate taxpayer. cease then to trade upon the peasants' losses. exact the whole amount of taxes for the coming indiction, and pay them in on the appointed day to the treasurer[ ] of the province; or else it will be the worse for you, and you will have to return, stripped of all official rank[ ], into the province which you are conscious of having badly administered. [footnote : 'arcarius.'] [footnote : 'degeniatus.'] 'i shall not _speak_ again on this subject, but shall, if necessary, extract the sums from you by an irrevocable act of distraint.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to peter, vir clarissimus, distributor of relishes[ ]. [footnote : 'erogatori obsoniorum.'] [sidenote: distribution of relishes to roman citizens.] 'the liberality of a good sovereign must not be discredited by fraud and carelessness in the person charged with its distribution. even molten gold contracts a stain if not poured into an absolutely clean vessel. how sweet is it to see a stream flowing clear and unpolluted over a snow-white channel! even so must you see that the gifts of the sovereign of the state reach the roman people as pure and as copious as they issue forth from him. 'all fraud is hateful; but fraud exercised upon the people of romulus is absolutely unbearable. that quiet and easily satisfied people, whose existence you might forget except when they testify their happiness by their shouts; noisy without a thought of sedition; whose only care is to shun poverty without amassing wealth; lowly in fortune but rich in temper--it is a kind of profanation to rob such people as these. 'we therefore entrust to you the task of distributing the relishes[ ] to the roman people from this indiction. be true to the citizens, else you will become as an alien unto us. do not be bribed into allowing anyone to pass as a latin who was not born in latium. [footnote : 'obsonia.'] 'these privileges belong to the quirites alone: no slave must be admitted to share them. that man sins against the majesty of the roman people, who defiles the pure river of their blood by thrusting upon them the fellowship of slaves.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to anastasius, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii. [sidenote: praise of the cheese and wine of bruttii.] 'when we were dining, according to our wonted custom, with the sovereign of the state[ ], the conversation happened to turn upon the delicacies of various provinces, and we praised the wines of bruttii and the cheese of the district around mount sila[ ]. [footnote : 'cum apud rerum dominum solemni more pranderemus.'] [footnote : 'silanum.' mount sila is a range of hills in calabria immediately to the north of squillace, forty miles from north to south, and twenty miles from east to west, and occupying the whole of the projecting portion of the south-east side of italy between the gulf of squillace and the bay of taranto. the highest peaks, which are about , feet high, are covered with snow during half the year. it is said that from the beginning of june till far on into october, , head of cattle and , sheep, besides horses and mules, graze in these uplands. (see gael-fells: unter italien, p. .)] 'the _cheese_, which retains in its pores the milk which has been collected there, recalls by its taste the fragrant herbs upon which the cattle have fed; by its texture it reminds us of the softness of oil, from which it differs in colour by its snowy whiteness. having been carefully pressed into a wide cask and hardened therein, it retains permanently the beautiful round shape which has thus been given to it[ ]. [footnote : from the description of cassiodorus, it seems to have been a kind of cream cheese.] 'the _wine_, to which antiquity gave the name of praise, palmatiana, must be selected not of a rough but sweet kind[ ]. though last [in geographical position] among the wines of bruttii, it is by general opinion accounted the best, equal to that of gaza, similar to the sabine, moderately thick, strong, brisk, of conspicuous whiteness, distinguished by the fine aroma, of which a pleasant after-taste is perceived by the drinker[ ]. it constrains loosened bowels, dries up moist wounds, and refreshes the weary breast. [footnote : 'non stipsi asperum sed gratum suavitate perquire.' the same peculiar word, _stipsis_, which we had in letter xii. . what meaning are we to assign to the word?] [footnote : 'magnis odoribus singulare:--quod ita redolet ore ructatum ut merito illi a palma nomen videatur impositum.'] 'let it be your care to provide as speedily as possible a stock of both these products of our country, and send them in ships to the royal residence. for a temporary supply we have drawn on our own cellars, but we look to you to choose specimens of the genuine quality for the king. we cannot be deceived, who retain the true taste in our patriotic memory; and at your peril will you provide any inferior article to that which our cellars will have supplied[ ].' [footnote : baronius (ad ann. ) quotes this letter of cassiodorus to explain an allusion in the life of pope gregory the great, who refused to receive a present of 'palmatiana' from the bishop of messina, and insisted on paying for it.] . an edict. [sidenote: frauds committed by the revenue officers on the churches of bruttii and lucania.] 'the generous gifts of kings ought to be respected by their subjects. 'long ago the constitutions of the emperors enriched the holy churches of bruttii and lucania with certain gifts. but since the sacrilegious mind is not afraid of sinning against the divine reverence, the canonicarii (officers of the exchequer) have robbed these ecclesiastical positions of a certain portion of their revenue in the name of the numerarii of the praetorian praefect's staff; but these latter, with righteous indignation, declare that they have received no part of the spoils thus impiously collected in their name. 'thus have the canonicarii turned the property of the clergy into a _douceur_ for the laity[ ]. oh, audacity of man! what barriers can be erected against thee? thou mightest have hoped to escape human observation, but why commit crimes which the divinity cannot but notice? [footnote : 'facientes laicum commodum substantiam clericorum.'] 'therefore we ordain by this edict that anyone who shall hereafter commit this kind of fraud shall lose his own private gains, and shall forfeit his place in the public service[ ]. [footnote : 'edictali programmate definimus, ut qui in hac fuerit ulterius fraude versatus et militiâ careat et compendium propriae facultatis amittat.' the last clause is perhaps purposely vague. we should have expected to hear something about restitution, but the words will not bear that meaning.] 'let the poor keep the gifts which god has put it into the heart of kings to bestow upon them. it is cruel above all other cruelty to wish to become rich by means of the scanty possessions of the mendicant.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to anastasius, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii. [sidenote: plea for gentle treatment for citizens of rhegium.] 'the citizens of rhegium (so called from the greek word [greek: rhêgnumi], to break, because their island has been broken off from sicily by the violence of the waves) complain that they are being unfairly harassed by the tax-gatherers. i, as an eyewitness, can confirm the truth of their statement that their territory does not bring forth the produce which is claimed at their hands. it is a rocky and mountainous country, too dry for pasture, though sufficiently undulating for vineyards; bad for grain-crops, though well suited for olives. the shade has to be all provided by the industry of man, who has planted there the tree of pallas [the olive], which prospers in even the driest soil, because it sends its roots down into the very depths of the earth. 'the corn has to be watered by hand, like pot-herbs in a garden. you seldom see the husbandman bending beneath his load as he returns from the threshing-floor. a few bushels full are all that he can boast of, even in an abundant harvest[ ]. [footnote : i do not understand the following sentences: 'in hortis autem rusticorum agmen habetur operosum: quia olus illic omne saporum est marinâ irroratione respersum. quod humanâ industriâ fieri consuevit, hoc cum nutriretur accepit.' can they have watered any herbs with salt water?] 'contrary to the opinion of virgil [who speaks of the bitter roots of the endive[ ]], the fibres of endive are here extremely sweet, and encircled by their twisting leaves are caked together with a certain callous tenderness[ ]. [footnote : 'nec tamen, haec quum sint hominumque boumque labores versando terram experti, nihil improbus anser, strymoniaeque grues, et _amaris intuba fibris_ officiunt.'--georgic i. - .] [footnote : i must renounce the attempt to translate the rest of the sentence: 'unde in morem nitri aliquid decerptum frangitur, dum a fecundo cespite segregatur.' there is an alternative reading, _vitri_ for _nitri_; but i am still unable to understand the author's meaning.] 'in the treasures of the deep that region is certainly rich; for the upper and lower sea meet there. the _exormiston_[ ], a sort of king among fishes, with bristly nostrils and a milky delicacy of flavour, is found in these waters. in stormy weather it is tossed about on the top of the waves, and seems to be too tired or too indolent to seek a refuge in the deeper water[ ]. no other fish can be compared to it in sweetness[ ]. [footnote : apparently a kind of lamprey. see the fourth letter of this book.] [footnote : perhaps cassiodorus means to say this makes it more easy of capture, but he does not say so.] [footnote : the praises of the exormiston are not only foreign to the main subject of the letter, but to a certain extent weaken the writer's argument on behalf of his countrymen; but, as a good bruttian, he cannot help vaunting the products of his country.] 'these are the products--i speak from my own knowledge--of the rhegian shore. therefore you must not seek to levy a tribute of wheat or lard from the inhabitants under the name of "coemptio." 'i may add that they are so troubled by the constant passage of travellers entering italy or leaving it, that it would have been right to excuse them even if those products had been found there in abundance[ ].' [footnote : the passage to and fro of travellers no doubt brought with it burdensome duties for the inhabitants in connection with the _cursus publicus_. it was therefore a reason for mitigating other taxes.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to maximus, vir clarissimus, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii[ ]. [footnote : this letter, being the description by cassiodorus of his native place, is translated entire.] [sidenote: praises of the author's birthplace, scyllacium.] 'scyllacium, the first city of bruttii, which ulysses the destroyer of troy is believed to have founded, is said to be unreasonably vexed by the exorbitant demands of purveyors[ ]. these injuries grieve us all the more on account of our patriotic love for the place. [footnote : 'irrationabiliter dicitur praesumentium nimietate vexari.'] 'the city of scyllacium, which is so placed as to look down upon the hadriatic gulf, hangs upon the hills like a cluster of grapes: not that it may pride itself upon their difficult ascent, but that it may voluptuously gaze on verdant plains and the blue back of the sea. the city beholds the rising sun from its very cradle, when the day that is about to be born sends forward no heralding aurora; but as soon as it begins to rise, the quivering brightness displays its torch. it beholds phoebus in his joy; it is bathed in the brightness of that luminary, so that it might be thought to be itself the native land of the sun, the claims of rhodes to that honour being outdone. 'it enjoys a translucent air, but withal so temperate that its winters are sunny, and its summers cool; and life passes there without sorrow, since hostile seasons are feared by none. hence, too, man himself is here freer of soul than elsewhere, for this temperateness of the climate prevails in all things. 'in sooth, a hot fatherland makes its children sharp and fickle, a cold one slow and sly; it is only a temperate climate which composes the characters of men by its own moderation. hence was it that the ancients pronounced athens to be the seat of sages, because, enriched with an air of the greatest purity, it prepared with glad liberality the lucid intellects of its sons for the contemplative part of life. assuredly for the body to imbibe muddy waters is a different thing from sucking in the transparency of a sweet fountain. even so the vigour of the mind is repressed when it is clogged by a heavy atmosphere. nature herself hath made us subject to these influences. clouds make us feel sad; and again a bright sky fills us with joy, because the heavenly substance of the soul delights in everything that is unstained and pure. 'scyllacium has also an abundant share of the delicacies of the sea, possessing near it those gates of neptune which we ourselves constructed. at the foot of the moscian mount we hollowed out the bowels of the rock, and tastefully[ ] introduced therein the eddying waves of nereus. here a troop of fishes, sporting in free captivity, refreshes all minds with delight, and charms all eyes with admiration. they run greedily to the hand of man, and before they become his food seek dainties from him. man feeds his own dainty morsels, and while he has that which can bring them into his power, it often happens that being already replete he lets them all go again. [footnote : 'decenter.'] 'the spectacle moreover of men engaged in honourable labour is not denied to those who are sitting tranquilly in the city. plenteous vineyards are beheld in abundance. the fruitful toil of the threshing-floor is seen. the face of the green olive is disclosed. no one need sigh for the pleasures of the country, when it is given him to see them all from the town. 'and inasmuch as it has now no walls, you believe scyllacium to be a rural city, though you might judge it to be an urban villa; and thus placed between the two worlds of town and country, it is lavishly praised by both. 'this place wayfarers desire frequently to visit, and as they object to the toil of walking, the citizens, called upon to provide them with post-horses, and rations for their servants, have to pay heavily in purse for the pleasantness of their city. therefore to prevent this, for the future we decide that all charges for providing post-horses and rations shall be debited to the public account. we cut up, root and branch, the system of paying _pulveratica_[ ] to the judge; and we decide, according to ancient custom, that rations for three days only shall be given on their arrival to the great dignitaries of the state, and that any more prolonged delay in their locomotion be provided for by themselves. [footnote : dust-money.] 'to relieve your city of its heaviest burdens will be, according to our injunctions, an act of judicial impartiality, not of laxity. live, by god's help, a mirror of the justice of the age, delighting in the security of all. some people call the isles of the atlantic 'fortunate:' i would rather give that name to the place where you do now dwell.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to a revenue officer[ ]. [footnote : 'canonicario.'] [this interesting letter is one of the few written by cassiodorus as praetorian praefect which we can date with certainty. it is written apparently at the beginning of the first indiction, i.e. sept. , . witigis and the goths have been for nearly six months besieging rome, and are beginning to be discouraged as to its capture. cassiodorus is probably at ravenna, directing the machine of government from that capital.] [sidenote: payment of trina illatio.] 'time, which adapts itself incessantly to the course of human affairs, and reconciles us even to adversity[ ], has brought round again the period for collecting the _trina illatio_ from the taxpayer. let the peasant (_possessor_) pay in your diocese, for this first indiction, his instalment of the tax freely, not being urged too soon nor allowed to postpone it too late, so that he may plead that he has been let off from payment[ ]. let none exceed the fair weight, but let him use a just pound: if once the true weight is allowed to be exceeded, there is no limit to extortion[ ]. [footnote : 'dum res nobis etiam asperas captatâ semper opinione conciliat.' apparently a veiled allusion to the disasters of the goths.] [footnote : 'nec iterum remissione lentatâ quisquam se dicat esse praeteritum.'] [footnote : this mention of the just weight of course suits a tax paid in kind, not in money.] 'let a faithful account of the expenses of collection be rendered every four months to our office[ ], that, all error and obscurity being removed, truth may be manifest in the public accounts. [footnote : 'expensarum quoque fidelem notitiam per quaternos menses ad scrinia nostra solemniter destinabis.'] 'that you may, with god's help, be the better able to fulfil our instructions, i have ordered a and b, servants of our tribunal, who are mindful of their own past responsibilities, to assist you and your staff[ ]. beware therefore, lest you incur the blame of corruptly discharging the taxpayer, or of sluggish idleness in the discharge of your duties, in which case your own fortunes will suffer from your neglect.' [footnote : 'illum atque illum sedis nostrae milites, tibi officioque tuo periculorum suorum memores praecipimus imminere.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to john, siliquatarius[ ] of ravenna. [footnote : collector of the siliquaticum, or tax of one twenty-fourth on sales. see ii. , iii. , iv. .] [sidenote: defence of ravenna.] 'in times of peace, by contact with foreigners who swarm in our cities, we learn what will be our best defence in war. who can tell with what nation we may be next at war? therefore, to be on the safe side, make such preparations as our future enemies, whosoever they may be, will dislike to hear of. accordingly you are to order the peasants to dig a series of pits with wide mouths near the mountains of caprarius and the parts round about the walls[ ]; and let such a chasm yawn there that there shall be no possibility of entrance that way. [footnote : no doubt the walls of ravenna. i cannot identify the mons caprarius. the name caprera is a common one in italy.] 'if strangers want to enter the city, why do they not enter it in the right way--by the gates--instead of going skulking about these bye-paths? henceforth, anyone trying to take any such short cut to our city will probably find that he loses his life in consequence[ ].' [footnote : one may conjecture that this letter was written in , when war with the empire was imminent, but before it was actually declared.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to constantian, vir experientissimus. [sidenote: repair of flaminian way.] 'great is the reward of those who serve kings efficiently; as severe is the punishment of those who neglect their duties towards them. 'how delightful is it to journey without obstacles over a well-made road[ ], to pass doubtful places without fear, to ascend mountainous steeps by a gentle incline, to have no fear of the planking of a bridge when one crosses it[ ], and in short to accomplish one's journey so that everything happens to one's liking! [footnote : 'videre judicia diligentia.' i leave this clause untranslated, as i cannot understand it.] [footnote : 'in pontibus contrabium non tremere.'] 'this is the pleasure which you can now prepare for your sovereign. therefore, as the flaminian way is furrowed by the action of torrents, join the yawning chasms by the broadest of bridges; clear away the rough woods which choke the sides of the highway; procure the stipulated number of post-horses, and see that they have all the points which are required in a good steed; collect the designated quantities of provisions without plundering the peasants. a failure in any one of these particulars will ruin your whole service. [sidenote: supply of delicacies for the king's table.] 'collect, too, with the utmost diligence the spices which are needed for the king's table. what avails it to have satisfied the army, if the king's own board lack proper care. let all the provincials attend to your admonitions: let the cities furnish the stores set forth in the accompanying letters. then, when they have put the sovereign in a good humour, they may ask him for benefits to some purpose. 'think of me as present and as judging of all your deeds. i shall have to bear the blame of your failures at court; so act rather as to set my mind at rest, to cover me and yourselves with glory, and to entitle me to receive on your behalf the thanks of the whole army.' [this letter was probably written in the autumn of , when theodahad was preparing to march to rome. the mention of the delicacies for the royal table suggests that that king, in addition to the other excellencies of his character, was probably an epicure.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to maximus, vicarius of the city of rome. [sidenote: bridge of boats across the tiber.] 'as all great events in nature have their heralding signs, so is the approaching visit of the king announced to you even by the concourse of wayfarers to your city. we, however, have to order you to clothe the waves of tiber with a bridge [of boats]. the boat, thus used, is no longer moved by slowly hauled ropes, as it is wont to be. fixed itself, it affords a means of transit to others. the joining of its planks gives the desired appearance of solidity; all the terror of the waves is removed by its likeness to the land, and the traveller passing over it unharmed only wishes that the bridge were longer. 'let a safe bulwark of lattice-work shield the bridge on the right side and on the left. see that you give no cause for misadventure of any kind. you have a noble opportunity of distinguishing yourself in the presence of so many senators and of the king himself, the rewarder of every well-done work. on the other hand, if you do it badly and put him out of humour, woe be unto you! 'we send a b, a servant of our praefecture[ ], to assist you and your staff and bring us report of the accomplishment of the work; for so heavy is our responsibility in this matter that we dare not leave anything to chance.' [footnote : 'illum sedis nostrae militem.'] [the king whose advent to rome is here announced may be witigis, after his election in the plains of regeta (august, ). but the fact that he is apparently approaching rome by the northern bank of the tiber, coupled with the directions in the preceding letter for the repair of the flaminian way, makes it more probable that some visit of theodahad (probably in the year ), when he would come from ravenna to rome, is here in prospect.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to thomas and peter, viri clarissimi and arcarii. [sidenote: sacred vessels mortgaged by pope agapetus to be restored to the stewards of the papal see.] 'you will remember, most faithful sirs, that when the holy agapetus, pope of the city of rome, was sent as ambassador to the sovereign of the east[ ], he received so many pounds of gold from you for the expenses of the journey, for which he gave his bond[ ] and deposited some of the church plate as security[ ]. the provident ruler thus lent him money in his necessity, and now, far more gloriously, returns as a free gift those pledges which the pope might well have thanked him for taking. [footnote : he was sent by theodahad; entered constantinople february , , and died there st april of the same year.] [footnote : 'facto pictacio.'] [footnote : 'vasa sanctorum.' one would think this must refer to the vessels used in celebrating mass; but i do not quite see how the meaning is to be got out of the words.] 'therefore, in obedience to these instructions of ours, and fortified by the royal order, do you return without any delay to the stewards[ ] of the holy apostle peter the vessels of the saints together with the written obligation, that these things may be felt to be profitably restored and speedily granted, that the longed-for means of performing their world-famous ministrations may be replaced in the hands of the levites. let that be given back which was their own, since that is justly received back by way of largesse which the priest had legally mortgaged. [footnote : 'actoribus.'] 'herein is the great example of king alaric surpassed. he, when glutted with the spoil of rome, having received the vessels of the apostle peter from his men, when he heard the story of their seizure, ordered them to be carried back across the sacred threshold, that so the remembrance of the cupidity of their capture might be effaced by the generosity of their restoration. 'but our king, with religious purpose, has restored the vessels which had become his own by the law of mortgage. in recompense for such deeds frequent prayer ought to ascend, and heaven will surely gladly grant the required return for such good actions[ ].' [footnote : baronius not unfairly argues that if the roman see was so poor that the church plate had to be pawned to provide for the pope's journey to constantinople, the _wealth_ of the pope cannot have largely contributed to that great increase of his influence which marked the early years of the sixth century.] [there are in this letter several extremely obscure sentences as to the generosity of theodahad. as the papal journey was undertaken by theodahad's orders, it was a piece of meanness, quite in keeping with that king's character, to treat the advance of money for the journey as a loan, and to insist on a bond and the deposit of the church plate as a security for repayment. cassiodorus evidently feels this; and very probably the restoration of the vessels and the quittance of the debt had been insisted on by him. but the more he despises his master's shabbiness, the more he struggles through a maze of almost nonsensical sentences, to prove that he has committed some very glorious action in lending the money and then forgiving the debt.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to deusdedit, a scribe of ravenna. [sidenote: duties of a scribe.] 'the scribe's office is the great safeguard of the rights of all men. the evidence of ownership may be destroyed by fire or purloined by dishonest men, but the state by making use of the scribe's labours is able to make good the loss so sustained. the scribe is more diligent in other men's business than they are in their own. his muniment-chest is the refuge of all the oppressed, and the repository of the fortunes of all men[ ]. [footnote : 'armarium ipsius fortuna cunctorum est.'] 'in testimony of your past integrity, and in the hope that no change will mar this fair picture, we appoint you to this honourable office. remember that ancient truth is committed to your keeping, and that it often really rests with you, rather than with the judge, to decide the disputes of litigants. when your indisputable testimony is given, and when the ancient voice of charters proceeds from your _sanctum_, advocates receive it with reverence, and suitors, even evil-intentioned men, are constrained into obedience. 'banish, therefore, all thoughts of venality from your mind. the worst moth that gets into papers and destroys them is the gold of the dishonest litigant, who bribes the scribes to make away with evidence which he knows to be hostile. thus, then, be ready always to produce to suitors genuine old documents; and, on the other hand, transcribe only, do not compose ancient proceedings[ ]. let the copy correspond to the original as the wax to the signet-ring, that as the face is the index of the emotions[ ] so your handwriting may not err from the authentic original in anything. [footnote : 'translator esto, non conditor antiquorum gestorum.'] [footnote : compare cassiodorus' treatise de animâ, chapters x. and xi., in which he enumerates the various points in which the faces of good men and bad men differ from one another.] 'if a claimant succeed in enticing you even once from the paths of honesty, vainly will you in any subsequent case seek to obtain his credence for any document that you may produce; for he will always believe that the trick which has been played once may be played again. keep to the line of justice, and even his angry exclamations at the impossibility of inducing you to deviate therefrom, will be your highest testimonial. your whole career is public, and the favour or disgrace which awaits you must be public also.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to the provincials of istria. [this letter was written sept. , , probably in consequence of the scarcity which the operations of belisarius were already causing at ravenna. apparently the whole taxes levied from a province at an indiction were divided into two heads: so much for the central authority, and so much for the province. cassiodorus in this and the following letter says in effect: 'all the state's share of the taxes we will take not in money, but in your staple products, corn, wine, and oil. the rest goes as usual to the province; but owing to the scarcity at ravenna we shall be glad to buy all that can be spared either by the authorities of the province or by individuals, whether farmers or merchants.'] 'the true way to prevent the requirements of the public revenue from becoming oppressive, is to order each province to supply those products in which it is naturally most fertile. [sidenote: requisition from province of istria.] 'now i have learned by conversation with travellers that the province of istria is this year especially blessed in three of its crops--wine, oil, and corn. therefore let her give of these products the equivalent of ... solidi, which are due from you in payment of tribute for this first indiction[ ]: while the remainder we leave to that loyal province for her own regular expenses. but since we require a larger quantity of the above-mentioned products, we send ... solidi from our state chest for the purchase of them, that these necessaries may be collected for us with as little delay as possible. often when you are desirous to sell you cannot find a purchaser, and suffer loss accordingly. how much better is it to obey the requirements of your lords than to supply foreigners; and to pay your debts in the fruits of the soil, rather than to wait on the caprices of a buyer! [footnote : the first indiction was from september , , to september , .] 'we will ourselves out of our love of justice state a fact of which you might otherwise remind us, that we can afford to be liberal in price because we are not burdened by the payment of freights [on account of your nearness to the seat of government]. for what campania is to rome, istria is to ravenna--a fruitful province abounding in corn, wine, and oil; so to speak, the cupboard of the capital. i might carry the comparison further, and say that istria can show her own baiae in the lagunes with which her shores are indented[ ], her own averni in the pools abounding in oysters and fish. the palaces, strung like pearls along the shores of istria, show how highly our ancestors appreciated its delights[ ]. the beautiful chain of islands with which it is begirt, shelter the sailor from danger and enrich the cultivator. the residence of the court in this district delights the nobles and enriches the lower orders; and it may be said that all its products find their way to the royal city. now let the loyal province, which has often tendered her services when they were less required, send forward her stores freely. [footnote : here follows this sentence: 'haec loca garismatia plura nutriunt.' garum seems to have been a sauce something like our anchovy-sauce. garismatium is evidently a garum-supplying place.] [footnote : we have a special allusion in martial (iv. ) to the villas of altinum, and he too compares them to those of baiae.] 'to guard against any misunderstanding of our orders, we send laurentius, a man of great experience, whose instructions are contained in the annexed letter. 'we will publish a tariff of moderate prices when we next address you, and when we have ascertained what is the yield of the present crops; for we should be deciding quite at random before we have received that information.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to laurentius, vir experientissimus[ ]. [footnote : evidently 'the annexed letter' referred to in no. .] [sidenote: the same subject.] 'anyone can discharge the duties of the commissariat in a time of abundance. it is a mark of our high appreciation of your experience and efficiency, that we select you for this service in a time of scarcity. we therefore direct you to repair to the province of istria, there to collect stores of wine, oil, and corn, equivalent to ... solidi, due from the province for land-tax[ ], and with ... solidi which you have received from our treasurer to buy these products either from the merchants or from the peasants directly, according to the information prepared for you by the cashiers[ ]. raise your spirits for this duty, and discharge it in a manner worthy of your past reputation. make to us a faithful report of the yield of the coming harvest, under these three heads[ ], that we may fix a tariff of prices which shall be neither burdensome to the provincials nor injurious to the public service.' [footnote : 'ut in tot solidos vini, olei, vel tritici species de tributario solido debeas procurare.'] [footnote : 'sicut te a numerariis instruxit porrecta notitia.' note this use of the word 'notitia,' as illustrating the title of the celebrated document bearing that name.] [footnote : corn, wine, and oil.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to the tribunes of the maritime population[ ]. [footnote : written shortly after sept. , . this is the celebrated letter to which venetian historians point as evidence of the existence of their city (or at least of the group of settlements out of which their city sprang) in the sixth century. we may set side by side with it the words of the anonymous geographer of ravenna (in the seventh century), 'in patria vero venetiae sunt aliquantae insulae, quae hominibus habitantur.' the address, _tribunis maritimorum_, looks as if there were something like a municipal government established in these islands. tribunus was at this time generally, but not exclusively, a military title. compare the tribunus fori suarii and tribunus rerum nitentium of the notitia (occidens iv. and iv. ). but there can be no doubt, from the tone of this letter, that the islanders were subjects of the ostrogothic king.] [sidenote: first historical notice of venice.] 'we have previously given orders that istria should send wine and oil, of which there are abundant crops this year, to the royal residence at ravenna. do you, who possess numerous ships on the borders of the province, show the same devotion in forwarding the stores which they do in supplying them. 'be therefore active in fulfilling this commission in your own neighbourhood, you who often cross boundless distances. it may be said that [in visiting ravenna] you are going through your own guest-chambers, you who in your voyages traverse your own home[ ]. this is also added to your other advantages, that to you another route is open, marked by perpetual safety and tranquillity. for when by raging winds the sea is closed, a way is opened to you through the most charming river scenery[ ]. your keels fear no rough blasts; they touch the earth with the greatest pleasure, and cannot perish however frequently they may come in contact with it. beholders from a distance, not seeing the channel of the stream, might fancy them moving through the meadows. cables have been used to keep them at rest: now drawn by ropes they move, and by a changed order of things men help their ships with their feet. they draw their drawers without labour, and instead of the capricious favour of sails they use the more satisfactory steps of the sailor. [footnote : an obscure sentence: 'per hospitia quodammodo vestra discurritis qui per patriam navigatis.' the idea seems to be: 'you have to sail about from one room to another of your own house, and therefore ravenna will seem like a neighbouring inn.'] [footnote : the next four sentences describe the movement of the ships when towed along the channels of the streams (brenta, piave, tagliamento, &c.) the deposits from which have made the lagunes.] 'it is a pleasure to recall the situation of your dwellings as i myself have seen them. venetia the praiseworthy[ ], formerly full of the dwellings of the nobility, touches on the south ravenna and the po, while on the east it enjoys the delightsomeness of the ionian shore, where the alternating tide now discovers and now conceals the face of the fields by the ebb and flow of its inundation. here after the manner of water-fowl have you fixed your home. he who was just now on the mainland finds himself on an island, so that you might fancy yourself in the cyclades[ ], from the sudden alterations in the appearance of the shore. [footnote : 'venetiae praedicabiles.' an allusion, no doubt, as other commentators have suggested, to the reputed derivation of venetia from [greek: ainetoi], 'the laudable.'] [footnote : alluding probably to the story of the floating island of delos.] 'like them[ ] there are seen amid the wide expanse of the waters your scattered homes, not the product of nature, but cemented by the care of man into a firm foundation[ ]. for by a twisted and knotted osier-work the earth there collected is turned into a solid mass, and you oppose without fear to the waves of the sea so fragile a bulwark, since forsooth the mass of waters is unable to sweep away the shallow shore, the deficiency in depth depriving the waves of the necessary power. [footnote : 'earum similitudine.' does cassiodorus mean 'like the water-fowl,' or 'like the cyclades?'] [footnote : the reading of nivellius (followed by migne), 'domicilia videntur sparsa, quae natura non protulit sed hominum cura fundavit,' seems to give a better sense than that of garet, who omits the 'non.'] 'the inhabitants have one notion of plenty, that of gorging themselves with fish. poverty therefore may associate itself with wealth on equal terms. one kind of food refreshes all; the same sort of dwelling shelters all; no one can envy his neighbour's home; and living in this moderate style they escape that vice [of envy] to which all the rest of the world is liable. 'your whole attention is concentrated on your salt-works. instead of driving the plough or wielding the sickle, you roll your cylinders. thence arises your whole crop, when you find in them that product which you have not manufactured[ ]. there it may be said is your subsistence-money coined[ ]. of this art of yours every wave is a bondservant. in the quest for gold a man may be lukewarm: but salt every one desires to find; and deservedly so, since to it every kind of meat owes its savour. [footnote : 'inde vobis fructus omnis enascitur, quando in ipsis, et quae non facitis possidetis.'] [footnote : 'moneta illic quodammodo percutitur victualis.' some have supposed that these words point to a currency in salt; but i think they are only a cassiodorian way of saying 'by this craft ye have your wealth.'] 'therefore let your ships, which you have tethered, like so many beasts of burden, to your walls, be repaired with diligent care: so that when the most experienced laurentius attempts to bring you his instructions, you may hasten forth to greet him. do not by any hindrance on your part delay the necessary purchases which he has to make; since you, on account of the character of your winds, are able to choose the shortest sea-track[ ].' [footnote : this is the only translation i can suggest of 'quatenus expensas necessarias nulla difficultate tardetis, qui pro qualitate aeris compendium vobis eligere potestis itineris.'] . senator, praetorian praefect, to his deputy[ ] ambrosius, an illustris. [footnote : 'agenti vices.' see note on xi. .] [this letter appears to have been written in the early autumn of , about a year after the three last letters, and also after letters and , which precede it in order of date, though they follow it in this collection. for an account of the terrible famine in italy, the beginning of which is here described, see procopius, de bello gotthico ii. .] [sidenote: famine in italy.] 'since the world is not governed by chance, but by a divine ruler who does not change his purposes at random, men are alarmed, and naturally alarmed, at the extraordinary signs in the heavens, and ask with anxious hearts what events these may portend. the sun, first of stars, seems to have lost his wonted light, and appears of a bluish colour. we marvel to see no shadows of our bodies at noon, to feel the mighty vigour of his heat wasted into feebleness, and the phenomena which accompany a transitory eclipse prolonged through a whole year. 'the moon too, even when her orb is full, is empty of her natural splendour. strange has been the course of the year thus far. we have had a winter without storms, a spring without mildness, and a summer without heat. whence can we look for harvest, since the months which should have been maturing the corn have been chilled by boreas? how can the blade open if rain, the mother of all fertility, is denied to it? these two influences, prolonged frost and unseasonable drought, must be adverse to all things that grow. the seasons seem to be all jumbled up together, and the fruits, which were wont to be formed by gentle showers, cannot be looked for from the parched earth. but as last year was one that boasted of an exceptionally abundant harvest, you are to collect all of its fruits that you can, and store them up for the coming months of scarcity, for which it is well able to provide. and that you may not be too much distressed by the signs in the heavens of which i have spoken, return to the consideration of nature, and apprehend the reason of that which makes the vulgar gape with wonder. 'the middle air is thickened by the rigour of snow and rarefied by the beams of the sun. this is the great inane, roaming between the heavens and the earth. when it happens to be pure and lighted up by the rays of the sun it opens out its true aspect[ ]; but when alien elements are blended with it, it is stretched like a hide across the sky, and suffers neither the true colours of the heavenly bodies to appear nor their proper warmth to penetrate. this often happens in cloudy weather for a time; it is only its extraordinary prolongation which has produced these disastrous effects, causing the reaper to fear a new frost in harvest, making the apples to harden when they should grow ripe, souring the old age of the grape-cluster. [footnote : 'vestros (?) veraciter pandit aspectus.'] 'all this, however, though it would be wrong to construe it as an omen of divine wrath, cannot but have an injurious effect on the fruits of the earth. let it be your care to see that the scarcity of this one year does not bring ruin on us all. even thus was it ordained by the first occupant of our present dignity[ ], that the preceding plenty should avail to mitigate the present penury.' [footnote : joseph, praetorian praefect of egypt under pharaoh.] . senator, praetorian praefect, to paulus, vir strenuus[ ]. [footnote : paulas was probably a sajo.] [sidenote: remission of taxes for province of venetia in consequence of the famine.] 'we are glad when we can reconcile the claims of the public service with the suggestions of pity. the venerable augustin, a man illustrious by his life and name, has brought under our notice the lamentable petition of the venetians, to the effect that there have been in their province no crops of wine, wheat, or millet, and that they must be ruined unless the royal pity succours them. 'in these circumstances it would be cruel to exact the customary supplies from them, and we therefore remit the contributions of wine and wheat for the use of the army which we had ordered from the cities of concordia, aquileia, and forojulii[ ], exacting only the meat, as shown by the accompanying letter[ ]. [footnote : now cividale in friuli. notice the terminations of these names: 'ex concordiense, aquileiense, et forojuliense civitatibus' ('e,' not 'i').] [footnote : the letter here alluded to does not appear to be preserved.] 'we shall send from hence a sufficient supply of wheat when the time comes; and as we are told that there is a plentiful crop of wine in istria, you can buy there the wine that would have been furnished by the three cities. be sure that you ask for no fee in this matter. this remission of taxes is absolutely gratuitous on our part.' . senator, praetorian praefect, to datius[ ], bishop of milan. [footnote : cassiodorus, like procopius, spells this name with a 't.' some of the ecclesiastical writers spell it with a 'c.'] [sidenote: relief of famine-stricken citizens of ticinum and dertona.] 'it is most fitting that good and holy men should be made the stewards of the royal bounty. we therefore request your holiness, in accordance with the king's commands, to open the granaries at ticinum[ ], and dertona[ ], and sell millet thereat to the starving people at the rate of modii per solidum[ ]. we are anxious that you should do this, lest the work should fall into venal hands which would sell the king's bounty to those who are able to provide for themselves. it is the poor, not the rich, that we wish to help: we would pour our bounty into empty vessels. let not then your holiness think this work of compassion, unworthy of your sacred office. in order to assist you we have sent a and b, who will simply obey the orders of your holiness, doing nothing of their own motion. [footnote : pavia.] [footnote : tortona.] [footnote : twelve shillings for twenty pecks, or about nineteen shillings and twopence a quarter; not a very low price, one would think, for such a grain as millet. datius is ordered to sell _tertiam portionem_ of this millet. probably this expression has the same meaning as the 'tertia illatio' of xi. . in the similar letter, x. , 'tertia portio' (whether of wheat or millet is not stated) is to be sold at modii per solidum.] 'send us an account of the solidi received in payment for the said millet, that they may be stored up with our treasurer[ ], in order to replace the before-mentioned grain, and thus provide a reserve for future times of scarcity; like a garment taken to pieces that it may be made up again as good as new.' [footnote : 'arcarius.'] [it is not very easy to assign a date to this letter. the mention of the famine would incline us to assign it to , as that seems to have been the year when the full force of the famine was felt in italy (see procopius, de bello gotthico ii. , where and seem to be marked as the two great famine years). but very early in the bishop of milan, the same datius to whom this letter is addressed, visited rome to entreat belisarius to send a small garrison to occupy milan, which had already revolted, or was on the verge of revolting, from the gothic king. as soon as the siege of rome was raised belisarius complied with this request, and sent , men, under mundilas, to escort datius back to milan. this expedition set forth probably in april , and as soon as it arrived at milan that city openly proclaimed its defection from witigis and its allegiance to the emperor. it was soon besieged by uraias, nephew of witigis, by whom in the following year ( ) it was taken. the city, we are informed, was rased to the ground, and bishop datius escaped to constantinople. evidently we have here a continuous chain of events, which makes it impossible for us to date this letter in or any subsequent year. we ought probably therefore to assign it to the autumn of , and to look upon it as an attempt (unsuccessful, as it proved) to retain datius and the citizens of milan on the side of the goths. we know from the twenty-second letter of this book that signs of scarcity had already shown themselves in italy by the st september, ; and in an interesting passage of the 'historia miscella' (book xvi.), famine in liguria, the year , and the name of datius are all combined. 'praeter belli instantiam angebatur insuper roma famis penuriâ: tanta siquidem per universum mundum eo anno [the year of the siege of rome], _maxime apud liguriam_ fames excreverat, ut _sicut vir sanctissimus datius mediolanensis antistes retulit_, pleraeque matres infelicium natorum membra comederent.' i owe this reference to baronius.] . an edict [addressed to the ligurians]. [sidenote: relief of inhabitants of liguria.] 'divine providence uses adversity as a means of testing our characters. famine has afflicted the provinces, but the result of it has been that they have proved more fully than before the bounty of their king. rejoice herein, oh ye ligurians! for when, as you will remember, on a previous occasion the savage temper of your neighbours was aroused, and aemilia and your liguria were shaken by an incursion of the burgundians, who waged a sneaking campaign by reason of their nearness to your territory, suddenly the renown of the insulted empire[ ] arose like the sun in his strength. the enemy mourned the ruin which was caused by his own presumption, when he learned that that man was ruler of the gothic race whose rare valour he had experienced when he was still a private soldier[ ]. how often did the burgundian wish that he had never left his own frontiers to be compelled to fight with such an adversary as our sovereign; for though he found with relief that he escaped his actual presence in the field, none the less did his rashness bring him in contact with the good fortune of his arms. for when with redoubled fortitude[ ] the goths turned to the prosecution of the war, with such successfully combined operations did they strike the bands of the rebels, that you would have thought those were all armed men, these were all defenceless[ ]. such was the just judgment of god, that the robber should perish in those very plains which he had presumed to desolate. exult now, oh province, adorned with the carcases of thine adversaries! rejoice, oh liguria, at the heap of dead bodies! if the harvest of corn is denied thee, the harvest of dead enemies shall not be wanting. tribute thou mayest not be able to offer to thy king, but the triumphs which are won in thy land thou canst offer with pride. [footnote : literally, 'of the present empire:' 'subito praesentis imperii tanquam solis ortus fama radiavit.' i avoid the word 'present,' because of its ambiguity. observe the use of 'imperii' applied to the gothic kingdom.] [footnote : 'quando illum cognovit nominatae (?) gentis esse rectorem, quem sub militis nomine probaverat esse singularem.' this evident allusion to witigis obliges us to place the date of this burgundian invasion not much earlier than the summer of , when witigis was raised to the throne. apparently the burgundians were already in italy when they heard the news of that event.] [footnote : 'ut gothi ad belli studium geminâ se fortitudine contulerunt.' these words perhaps allude to the necessity of fighting two enemies at once, belisarius and the burgundians; or perhaps to the existence of two gothic armies, whose combined operations are indicated by the following words, 'prospera concertatione.'] [footnote : 'quasi inde nudos hinc stare contigisset armatos.' 'hinc' and 'inde' refer to geographical position, not to the order of the words in the sentence.] '[ ]to these triumphs must be added the lately foiled plunder-raid of the alamanni, so checked in its very first attempts that their entrance and exit were almost one event, like a wound well and opportunely cauterised. thus were the excesses of the presumptuous invader punished, and the subjects of our king were saved from absolute ruin. i might indeed enumerate to you what crowds of the enemy fell in other places, but i turn rather--such is human nature--to more joyful themes, and revert to the point with which i at first commenced, namely that the sovereign who has saved you from the hostile sword is determined now to avert from your province the perils of famine. [footnote : see von schubert's 'unterwerfung der alamannen,' pp. - , for a careful analysis of the following paragraph.] 'in this new war the citadels are well-stored granaries; starvation is the dreaded foe: if they are closed she enters; by opening them wide she is put to flight. i know not what the world in general may think of the relative merit of these two campaigns of our king. for my part, though i recognise it as the mark of a brave man to have fought a winning battle, i think it is something above mere human valour to have conquered penury. 'in addition to these benefits the king has remitted one-half of the taxes of the province, that he might not sadden with the one hand those whom he was gladdening with the other. herein he compares favourably with joseph, who sold corn to the egyptians, but on such terms that they lost their personal freedom. doubtless that holy man was placed in a dilemma between the necessity of satisfying a covetous king on the one hand, and that of rescuing a starving people on the other. still i must think that the egyptian, whose life was preserved, groaned over the loss of his liberty; and if i may say so, with all respect to so great a patriarch[ ], far nobler is it to sell corn to freemen who remain freemen, and to lighten their taxes on account of poverty. this is really a gratuitous distribution, when both the money with which to buy is handed over to you [by the abatement of tribute], and a price is fixed on purpose to please you. [footnote : 'pace tanti patris dixerim.'] 'the generosity of the state therefore will sell modii, when the peasant has lost his crops, at the price at which are usually sold[ ]. humanity has altered the usual course of affairs, and by a strange kind of chaffering, but one which truly becomes a king, just when the famished peasant is willing to offer us an enhanced price for food, we are directed to offer it to him for a smaller one. [footnote : probably one solidus: making the largesse price s. d. a quarter (about four shillings less than the price named in the preceding letter for millet); while the market price was s. d. a quarter. i read these sentences thus: 'vendit itaque largitas publica vicenos quinque modios, dum possessor invenire non possit, ad denos. ordinem rerum saeculi mutavit humanitas.' the construction is harsh and elliptical, but this makes sense, which the ordinary punctuation, throwing 'ad denos' into the following sentence, does not.] 'the king himself had seen your calamity, and thereupon bestowed on you previously one favour. now, on hearing of its continuance, he adds to it a second. happy calamity, which forced itself on the notice of such an eye-witness! 'now, oh ligurian, rejoice in the good fortune which has come to thee. compare thy lot with the egyptian's and be happy. he was fed, but lost his freedom; thou art fed, and at the same time defended from thy enemies. joseph gave back the purchase-money to his brethren in their sacks, showing a greater kindness to his kindred than to his subjects. our king shows no such partiality, but bestows on all the taxpayers larger benefits than he did on his brethren. happy age! in which kings may be likened, not to kings, but to prophets, and yet bear away the palm. 'but that we may not longer detain you from the desired enjoyment of the royal benefits, know that our commands have been given to those whose business it is to attend to this affair, that, according to the tenour of this edict, the generosity of the sovereign may penetrate into your homes.' [the same considerations which were applied to the date of the preceding letter seem to require that this also be dated in . after the raising of the siege of rome (march, ), by the despatch of imperial troops into liguria, and the enthusiastic adherence of that province to the imperial cause, a new state of things was established, and one to which the language of this letter would have been utterly inapplicable. there are two events of which we have no other knowledge than that furnished by this letter: the invasion of the burgundians, and the ravages of the alamanni in the province of liguria. ( ) the invasion of the burgundians seems, as stated in a previous note, to have occurred in the spring or early summer of ; so that cassiodorus could represent the invaders as surprised and disheartened by learning of the elevation of witigis. it no doubt formed part of those hostile operations of the frankish kings described by procopius (de bello gotthico i. ), the termination of which was purchased by witigis by the cession of provence and the payment of a subsidy. it is interesting to observe, however, that the burgundians, notwithstanding their subjugation in , and their incorporation in the frankish monarchy, are still spoken of as conducting an invasion on their own account. this is just like the invasion of italy in by the alamannic brethren, and is quite in keeping with the loosely compacted character of the merovingian monarchy, in which it was copied by the anglian and saxon kingdoms. ( ) for the ravages of the alamanni consult, as before stated, von schubert's monograph. this passage quite confirms his view of the events connected with the overthrow of the alamannic kingdom by clovis. a remnant of the people, settled as refugees in raetia under theodoric's protection, now, in the decline of the ostrogothic monarchy throw off their allegiance to his successors, and press forward over the alps to share the spoil of italy. witigis, however, notwithstanding his struggle with belisarius, is still able promptly to repel this incursion; but it co-operates with the burgundian invasion and the inclement spring and summer of to bring about the famine in liguria in the autumn of that year.] the end. index of persons to whom the letters are addressed. a. abundantius, praetorian praefect, v. , , , ; ix. . acretius, _see_ eutropius. adeodatus, iii. . adila, vir spectabilis, comes, ii. . aemilianus, vir venerabilis, bishop, iv. . aestunae, possessores, defensores, and curiales dwelling at, iii. . agapitus, praefectus urbis, vir illustris atque patricius, i. , , , , ; ii. . alaric (ii), king of the visigoths ( - ), iii. . albienus, vir illustris atque patricius, i. ; praefectus praetorio, viii. . albinus and albienus, viri illustres atque patricii, i. . albinus, vir illustris, patricius, iv. . albinus, actores of, iv. . aloisius, architect, ii. . amabilis, exsecutor, i. ; vir devotus (? sajo) and comes, iv. . ambrosius, quaestor, viii. ; vir illustris agens vices (praefecti praetorio), xi. , ; xii. . ampelius, despotius, and theodulus, viri spectabiles, ii. . ampelius, count luvirit and, v. . ampelius and liveria, v. . anastasius, emperor ( - ), i. ; ii. . anastasius, consularis, v. . anastasius, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii, xii. , . anat(h)olius, cancellarius of province of samnium, xi. . andreas, primiscrinius, xi. . andreas, _see_ maximian. annas, vir spectabilis and comes, iv. . antianus, vir spectabilis, ex-cornicularius, xi. , . antonius, vir venerabilis, bishop of pola, iv. . apronianus, vir illustris, comes privatarum, iii. . arator, vir illustris, comes domesticorum, viii. . arelate (_arles_), possessores of, iii. . argolicus, vir illustris, praefectas urbis, iii. , , , ; iv. , , , . arigern, vir illustris, comes, iii. , ; iv. . artemidorus, vir illustris atque patricius, praefectus urbis, i. ; ii. ; iii. . assuin (assius, or assum), vir illustris, comes, i. . aurigenes, vir venerabilis, bishop, iii. . avilf, sajo, v. . b. baion (coion, or goinon), vir spectabilis, i. . beatus, vir clarissimus and cancellarius, xi. ; primicerius augustalium, xi. . benenatus, vir spectabilis, iv. . bergantinus, vir illustris and patrician, comes patrimonii, viii. ; ix. . boetius, vir illustris atque patricius, i. , ; ii. . brandila, v. . c. cancellarii diversi provinciarum singularum, xii. , . canonicarius venetiarum, xii. , . capuanus, vir spectabilis, v. . carinus, vir illustris, v. . cart(h)erius, regerendarius, xi. . cassiodorus, vir illustris atque patricius (father of cassiodorus senator), i. ; iii. . catana, city of, honorati possessores, defensores, and curiales of, iii. . catellus, scriniarius actorum, xi. . cheliodorus, commentariensis, xi. . clovis, _see_ luduin. coelianus and agapitus, viri illustres et patricii, i. . colossaeus, vir illustris, comes, governor of pannonia, iii. . comes siliquatariorum et portus curas agens, ii. . constantian, vir experientissimus, xii. . constantinian, cura epistolarum canonicarum, xi. . consularis, vir illustris, iii. . consularis liguriae, xii. . crispianus, i. . cunigast, vir illustris, viii. . cyprian, comes sacrarum largitionum and patrician, v. ; viii. . d. dalmatia and s(u)avia, all the goths and romans in, ix. . daniel, iii. . datius, bishop of milan, xii. . decius, vir illustris, patricius, ii. . decoratus, vir devotus, v. . dertona (_tortona_), all goths and romans abiding (consistentes) at, i. . despotius, _see_ ampelius. densdedit, scriba ravennas, xii. . domitianus and willias, i. . dromonarii, the, ii. . duda, vir spectabilis and comes, iv. ; sajo, iv. , . dumerit, sajo, viii. . e. ecdicius (or benedictus), vir honestus, ii. . elpidius (or hespidius), deacon, iv. . epiphanius, vir spectabilis, consularis of dalmatia, v. . episcopi et honorati (?), ix. . episcopi sui, x. ; diversi, xi. . eugenius (eugenites, or eugenes), vir illustris, magister officiorum, i. . eusebius, vir illustris, iv. . eustorgius, vir venerabilis, bishop of milan, i. . eutropius and acretius, v. . f. faustus, praefectus praetorio (in the edition of nivellius his title is given as praepositus), i. , , , ; ii. , , , , , ; vir illustris, iii. ; praefectus praetorio, iii. , ; iv. , , . felix, vir clarissimus, i. ; vir illustris, consul ( ), ii. ; iii. . felix, quaestor, viii. . feltria (_feltre_), possessors of, v. . ferrocinctus, _see_ grimoda. festus, vir illustris atque patricius, i. , ; ii. ; iii. . florentinus (or florentianus), vir devotus, comitiacus, viii. . florianus, vir spectabilis, i. . forum livii (_forli_), honorati possessores, and curiales of, iv. . fruinarith, sajo, ii. . g. gaudiosus, cancellarius of province of liguria, xi. . gaul, all the provincials of, iii. , ; viii. . geberich, vir spectabilis, iv. . gemellus, vir spectabilis, governor of gaul, iii. , , ; iv. , , . genesius, vir spectabilis, viii. . gepidae, ad gallias destinati, v. . gesila, sajo, iv. . gildias, vir spectabilis, count of syracuse, ix. , . goths, all the, i. ; x. ; settled in italy, viii. . goths, all the, and romans, i. . goths, all the, and romans, and those who hold the harbours and mountain-passes, ii. . grimoda, sajo, and ferrocinctus, apparitor, iii. . gudila, bishop, ii. . gudinand, sajo, v. . gudisal, sajo, iv. . guduim, sajo, v. ; vir sublimis and dux, v. . gundibad, king of the burgundians ( - ), i. ; iii. . h. haesti, the, v. . herminafrid, king of the thuringians, iv. . heruli, king of the, iv. . heruli, warni, and thoringi, kings of the, iii. . hilderic, king of the vandals ( - ), ix. . honoratus, vir illustris, quaestor, v. . honorius, praefectus urbis, x. . i. ida (perhaps ibbas), vir sublimis and dux, iv. . importunus, vir illustris, patricius, iii. . istria, provincials of, xii. . j. januarius, vir venerabilis, bishop of salona, iii. . jews, all the, residing in genoa, ii. ; iv. . joannes, vir spectabilis, consularis campaniae, iii. ; iv. . joannes, vir spectabilis, referendarius, viii. . joannes, vir clarissimus, arcarius, v. . joannes, canonicarius of thuscia, xi. . joannes, cancellarius, xi. ; praerogativarius, xi. . joannes, siliquatarius of ravenna, xii. . joannes, apparitor, ii. ; arch-physician, iv. . john ii, pope ( - ), ix. ; xi. . judges, all the, of the provinces, ix. ; xi. , ; xii. . julianus, comes patrimonii, i. . justin, emperor ( - ), viii. . justinian, emperor ( - ), x. , , , , , , , , , , ; xi. . justus, sextus scholaris, xi. . l. laurentius, vir experientissimus, xii. . liberius, praetorian praefect of the gauls, viii. . ligurians, the, xi. , ; xii. . liveria, _see_ ampelius. lucillus, scriniarius curae militaris, xi. . lucinus, vir clarissimus, cancellarius of campania, xi. . lucristani (lustriani?), the, settled (constituti) on the river sontius (_isonzo_), i. . luduin (clovis), king of the franks ( - ), ii. ; iii. . luvirit, count, and ampelius, v. . m. magister officiorum (at constantinople), x. . mannila, sajo, v. . marabad, vir illustris and comes, iv. , . marcellus, vir spectabilis, advocatus fisci, i. . massilia (_marseilles_), citizens of, iii. ; iv. . maximian, vir illustris, and andreas, vir spectabilis, i. . maximus, vir lllustris, consul, v. ; vir illustris and domesticus, x. . maximus, vir clarissimus, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii, xii. . maximus, vicarius urbis romae, xii. . milan, the jews of, v. . n. neudes, vir illustris, v. . noricum, provincials of, iii. . nursia, _see_ reate. o. opilio, comes sacrarum largitionum, viii. . osun (osuin, or osum), vir illustris, comes, iii. ; iv. ; ix. . p. pannonia, all the barbarians and romans settled in, iii. . parma, honorati possessores, and curiales of, viii. . paschasius, praefectus annonae, xii. . patricius, vir illustris and quaestor, x. . patricius, primicerius exceptorum, xi. . paulinas, vir clarissimus and consul, ix. . paulus, vir strenuus, xii. . peter, bishop, iii. . peter, vir clarissimus, erogator obsoniorum, xii. ; arcarius, xii. . picenum and samnium, all the goths settled in, v. . pierius, primicerius singulariorum, xi. . possessores, universi, v. . provinus (probinus), vir illustris, patricius, ii. ; actores of, iv. . r. reate and nursia, all the inhabitants of, viii. . reparatus, praefectus urbis, ix. . roman church, clergy of, viii. . romans, all the, i. ; in italy and the dalmatias, viii. . roman people, the, i. ; viii. ; x. , . rome, people of the city of, i. . romulus (? ex-emperor), iii. . s. sabinianus, vir spectabilis, i. . sajones, universi, qui sunt cancellariis deputati, xii. . salvantius, vir illustris, praefectus urbis, ix. , . samnium, _see_ picenum. saturninus and verbusius, viri illustres, senatores, i. . senarius, vir illustris, comes patrimonii, iv. ; comes privatarum, iv. , , . senate of the city of rome, i. , , , ; ii. , , , ; iii. , , ; iv. , , ; v. , , ; viii. , , , , , , , ; ix. , , , ; x. , , , , , , ; xi. . senator (magnus aurelius cassiodorus), praetorian praefect, ix. ; x. , . servatus, dux raetiarum, i. . severianus (or severinus), vir illustris, v. . severus, vir venerabilis, bishop, ii. . severus, vir spectabilis, viii. , , . simeon, vir illustris, comes, iii. . speciosus, i. ; vir devotus, comitiacus, ii. . stabularius, comitiacus, v. . starcedius, vir sublimis, v. . stephanus, vir spectabilis, comes primi ordinis et ex-princeps nostri ordinis, ii. . s(u)avia, all the provincials and capillati, defensores and curiales, residing in, iv. ; all the possessores in, v. ; all the goths and romans in, ix. . sunhivad, vir spectabilis, iii. . sura (or suna), vir illustris, comes, ii. . symmachus, vir illustris and patricius, ii. ; iv. , . syracuse, all the provincials of the city of, ix. . t. tancila, vir spectabilis, ii. . tezutzat, sajo, iv. . theodagunda, illustris femina, iv. . theodahad, vir spectabilis, iii. ; vir illustris, iv. ; v. . theodora, augusta, x. , , , . theodosius, homo theodahadi (?), x. . theodulus, _see_ ampelius. theon (or theonius), vir sublimis, i. . theriolus, vir spectabilis, i. . thessalonica, praefect of, x. . thomas, vir clarissimus, arcarius, xii. . thoringi (thuringians). _see_ heruli. ticinum (_pavia_), comites, defensores, and curiales of, iv. . transmund (or thrasamund), king of the vandals, v. , . tribuni maritimorum, xii. . tridentinae civitatis, honorati possessores, defensores, et curiales, ii. . tulum, patrician, viii. . u. unigis, spatarius, iii. . uniligis (or wiligis), sajo, ii. . urbicus, ex-primicerius singulariorum, xi. . ursus, primicerius deputatorum, xi. . v. valerian, vir sublimis, xii. . vandals, king of the, v. , , ; ix. . venantius, vir illustris, ii. ; spectabilis, corrector of lucania and bruttii, iii. . veranus, sajo, v. . verbusius, _see_ saturninus. verruca, fort of, all goths and romans living near, iii. . victor, vir spectabilis, censitor of sicily, ix. . victorinus, vir venerabilis, bishop, viii. . vitalian, vir clarissimus, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii, xi. . w. wandil (vuandil), iii. . warni (guarni), _see_ heruli. wilitanch, duke, v. . willias, i. ; v. ; vir illustris, comes patrimonii, ix. . winusiad, count, x. . witigisclus (or wigisicla), vir spectabilis, censitor of sicily, ix. . general index. [note.--_the references to the introduction and to the notes are by the page (thus, - ); references to the 'variae' are by the numbers of the book and letter (thus, v. , ). the formulae are printed in small capitals._] a. ab actis (registrar), officer in court of praetorian praefect, - ; origin of the name, ; compared to referendarius, . abundantius, praetorian praefect, instructions to, as to forming a navy, v. , ; to provide ships, and rations for young recruits, v. ; instructions to, in the case of frontosus, v. ; to allow a family of curials to degrade into possessores, ix. . acinaticium, red wine of verona, praises of, and account of its manufacture, xii. . actores (representatives, attorneys), of albinus, iv. ; of the holy apostle peter, xii. ; of probinus, iv. ; of spes, ii. ; of theodahad, viii. . addua, river (_adda_), derivation of the name, xi. . adeodatus, forced by torture to confess himself guilty of rape, iii. ; the sentence against him partially cancelled, iii. . adjutores, general word for assistants, , - ; is adjutor equivalent to primiscrinius? ; a lower class of exceptores seem to have been called adjutores, ; of magister officiorum, vi. . admissionales, ushers of the praefectoral court, . adriana, petition of curiales of, as to taxation, i. . adulterer slain by the injured husband, case of, i. . adultery, punishment of (edictum athalarici), ix. . aemilia, province of, invaded by burgundians, xii. . aemilianus, bishop, ordered to finish the aqueduct which he has begun, iv. . aestii, _see_ haesti. aestunae (?), inhabitants of, ordered to send marbles to ravenna, iii. . aetatis venia, formula granting, vii. ; letter relating to, i. . aetheria, a widow, re-married, accused of wasting her children's property, iv. . african. singular custom by which an african was allowed to claim estate of a fellow-countryman dying without heirs, xii. . agapetus, pope (june , --april , ), cassiodorus seeks to persuade him to found a school of theology at rome, ; ordered by theodahad and gudelina to give his answer to justinian's ambassador promptly, x. , , ; mortgaged the church plate to defray expenses of his journey to constantinople, xii. . agapita (or agapeta), foemina spectabilis, wife of basilius, and a person of feeble intellect ii. ; affair of her abduction, ii. , ; further light on this affair, iv. . agapitus, with coelianus, seems to have had special jurisdiction in cases affecting patricians, i. , . agathias on theodoric's protection of the alamanni, . agenantia, widow of campanianus, ix. . _agens vices_ (deputy), functions of, _n_; xii. . agentes in rebus, schola of, emissaries of the magister officiorum, ; princeps of, xi. . agnellus, patrician, chooses festus to defend his interests in his absence, i. . agnellus, fidei-jussor of crispianus, i. . agnellus, house of, in castrum lucullanum given to joannes, viii. . agrimensor, a roman, description of, iii. . alamanni, date of clovis' victory over, , , ; theodoric congratulates clovis on his victory over, ii. ; directed to exchange their cattle with noricans, iii. ; plundering incursion of, into liguria, xii. ; . alaric i, clemency of, at siege of rome, ; xii. . alaric ii, letters intended to avert war between alaric and clovis, iii. - ; possessions granted by, to church of narbonne, iv. ; taxation in the time of, v. ; reception of his son gesalic by thrasamund, v. , . albienus, vir illustris and patrician, deputed to select a pantomimist, i. , ; appointed praetorian praefect ( ), viii. . albinus, vir illustris and patrician, deputed to select a pantomimist, i. , ; allowed to erect 'fabricae' overlooking the forum, iv. ; accused by cyprian of treason, , . albinus, an extravagant minor, case of, iv. . allecticii, symmachus' oration on behalf of, ; probable explanation of the term, . alpes cottiae, provincials of, to be relieved from taxation, iv. . alsuanum (?), transport of timber to, iv. . altinum, villas of, _n_. amal race, glorified by cassiodorus in his gothic history, , , ; 'amali sanguinis purpurea dignitas,' ix. . amal race, glory of, viii. , ; 'consuetudinis est lex, cum imperio [romano] amicitiam amalos semper habuisse,' x. . amalus (according to jordanes, amala), ancestor of theodoric, 'felicitate enituit,' xi. . amalabirga, niece of theodoric, married to herminafrid, king of the thuringians, iv. . amalafrida, queen of the vandals, sister of theodoric, wife of king thrasamund, put to death by his successor hilderic, ix. . amalasuentha, daughter of theodoric, mother of athalaric, her regency, , - ; associates theodahad in the kingship on the death of her son, ; x. - ; dethroned and put to death by theodahad, ; praises of her character, x. ; xi. ; sends present of marbles to justinian, x. ; writes warmly to theodora, x. ; a doubtful allusion to her death, x. (_see_ note on p. ). amandianus, clarissimus, heirs of, defrauded by theodahad, v. . ambassadors, formula respecting, vii. . amber, nature of, described, v. . ambrosius, son of faustinus, addressed by ennodius in 'paraenesis didascalica,' ; count of the sacred largesses, viii. ; appointed quaestor, viii. , . ambrosius, illustris (probably the same as preceding), appointed 'vices agens' to cassiodorus as praetorian praefect, xi. ; instructions to, xii. . amphitheatre, sports of, described and condemned, v. . anastasius, emperor, date of letter to, in the 'variae,' ; his wrath against apion and macedonius, ; relations between him and theodoric, i. _n_; informed of elevation of felix to consulship, ii. ; as to introduction of heruli into italy, _n_. anchorago, a fish caught in the rhine, xii. . andreas, intestacy of widow of, v. . andreas, defaulting taxpayer in apulia, v. . 'anecdoton holderi,' ms. containing information as to cassiodorus and his friends, - . anicii, dignity of the family of, x. . annonae, of soldiers stationed in passes near aosta, ii. ; of garrisons on the durance, iii. , ; is _praebendae_ equivalent to? ; to be regularly supplied, v. (_see_ praefectus annonae). anonymus valesii (an unknown chronicler of the sixth century, whose fragments are generally edited along with the history of ammianus marcellinus), quoted, , , . anthimus, patriarch of constantinople ( - ), deposition of, by pope agapetus, _n_. antianus, ex-cornicularius, made a spectabilis, xi. ; evasive reply to, xi. . antiochus, apparently a tax-collector, ii. . antiquarius, transcriber of manuscripts, cassiodorus on the functions of, . apion, anger of anastasius against, . apocha, a voucher for payment of taxes, xii. , . aponus (_abano_, six miles from padua), marvellous qualities of hot-springs at, ii. . apparitores, attendants on the great ministers of war, ; joannes, apparitor, ii. ; ferrocinctus, apparitor, iii. . applicitarii, officers of arrest, ; under orders of commentariensis, . apulia, conductores of, despoiled by hostile invaders, i. ; merchants similarly despoiled, ii. ; crops from, not forwarded expeditiously, i. ; corn-merchants of, ii. ; farms of thomas in, transferred to his son-in-law joannes, v. , ; arrears of siliquaticum in, v. . 'apuli idonei,' viii. . aqua claudia, roman aqueduct, description of, vii. . aqua virgo, roman aqueduct, description of, vii. . aqueducts of rome, abuses connected with, iii. ; glory of, vii. . aqueduct begun by bishop aemilianus must be finished by him, iv. . aqueduct of ravenna protected, v. . aqueduct constructed by theodoric for city of parma, viii. . aquileia, contributions of wine and wheat from, remitted, xii. . arator, vir illustris, sent by provincials of dalmatia to theodoric, viii. ; made comes domesticorum, viii. . arcadius, emperor ( - ), change effected by him in relation of praetorian praefect to master of the offices, . arcarius, treasurer or steward, v. ; x. (_see_ p. ); xii. , , . archery, practice in, for young soldiers, v. . archiatrus, arch-physician, iv. (_see_ comes archiatrorum). architect, duties of, vii. . architect, public, formula for the appointment of, vii. . archotamia, 'illustris femina,' accuses her grandson's widow of wasting her children's property, iv. . arelate (_arles_), remission of taxation to inhabitants of, iii. ; 'glorious defence of,' iii. ; its walls to be repaired and its citizens fed, iii. ; fight for possession of covered bridge at, viii. . arethusa, fountain of, site of, near squillace, ; qualities of, described, viii. . argolicus, vir illustris, made praefect of the city of rome, iii. , ; his ancestry and character, ii. , ; ordered to repair cloacae of rome, iii. ; other references to, iii. , ; iv. , ; iv. ; his tardiness rebuked, iv. ; heirs of, defrauded by theodahad, v. . arigern, vir illustris and comes, governor of the new gaulish provinces, iv. ; appointed comes urbis romae (?), iv. ; instructions to, iii. ; iv. ; report by, iv. . armentarius, clarissimus, appointed referendus curiae, iii. ; informs against argolicus, praefect of the city, iv. . armourers (armorum factores), formulae of, vii. , . arsenals of italy, under the magister officiorum, . artemidorus, illustris and patrician, a relation of emperor zeno, and friend of theodoric, i. ; tribunus voluptatum (?), i. ; praefectus urbis, i. , ; detects embezzlement by persons employed for repair of walls of rome, ii. ; invited to theodoric's court, iii. . assertor libertatis (of the theodosian code, iv. ), a possible allusion to, iii. . astensis civitas (_asti_), to be especially helped in relief of necessities of liguria, xi. . astronomy, reasons derived from, for pensioning off civil servants, xi. . athala, ancestor of theodoric, 'mansuetudine enituit,' xi. . athalaric, grandson of theodoric, date of birth of, _n_; accession of (aug. , ), ; manner of his education, ; his death (oct. , ), ; letters announcing his accession, viii. - ; edict of, ix. ; his death announced to justinian, x. ; praises of, by cassiodorus, xi. . athens (_adige_), flows past fort of verruca, iii. . attila, defeat of, in catalaunian plains, ; iii. ; embassy of cassiodorus (grandfather of senator) to, i. . augiensis, codex, of 'anecdoton holderi,' . augmentum, super-assessment, remitted by athalaric for dalmatia and suavia, ix. ; for syracuse, ix. . augusta (_turin_, or _aosta_), bishop of, falsely accused of treason, i. ; fastnesses (clusurae) of, soldiers stationed at, ii. . augustales, highest class of exceptores (shorthand writers), _n_, ; xi. . augustin, vir venerabilis (probably a bishop), brings the scarcity in venetia under the notice of the king, xii. . augustus, builder of the circus maximus, iii. ; his survey of the 'orbis romanus,' iii. . aurarii, persons liable to payment of 'lustralis auri collatio,' ii. . auraria pensio = probably 'lustralis auri collatio,' ii. . avenio (_avignon_), gothic troops not to molest citizens of, iii. . b. bacauda, vir sublimis, tribunes voluptatum, v. . bacaudae, insurgent peasantry of gaul, v. . baiae, baths of, praises of, ix. ; xii. . balthae, royal house of the visigoths, was athalaric descended from? viii. . balzani, ugo, on cassiodorus, . barbarians, checked by fear, not honour, ii. . barbaria, probably the name of the mother of romulus augustulus, . barbarian kings, intellects of, subdued by diplomacy, iv. ; do not use the grammatical art, ix. . baronius, cardinal, author of 'annales ecclesiae,' quoted, _n_, _n_. basilius (no. ), vir spectabilis, claims restoration of his wife's property from probinus, ii. , ; iv. . basilius (no. ), accused of magical practices, iv. , (_see_ note on p. ). basilius (no. , possibly same as no. ), opilio connected with him by marriage, viii. ; concerned in accusation of boethius (?), _n_. baths, gratuitous admission to, at spoletium, ii. ; of turasius, at spoletium, iv. ; at baiae, ix. . baudi de vesme, fragments of oration of cassiodorus (?), published by, . beatus, vir clarissimus and cancellarius, ordered to supply rations to invalided officer, xi. ; made primicerius augustalium, xi. . belisarius, imperial general, his capture of neapolis, ; his campaign in southern italy, ; his recovery and loss of milan, ; his entry into ravenna, . bellum (war), derived from king belus, i. . benedict, st., not alluded to by cassiodorus, ; relation of his rule to that of cassiodorus, , . benedictus, a civil officer of some kind in the city of pedon, guardianship of his children assigned to theriolus, i. . bethmann hollweig, his 'gerichtsverfassung des sinkenden römischen reichs,' , , _n._ bigamy, punishment of, according to edictum athalarici, ix. . bina, a kind of tax, iii. . bina et terna, formulae for the collection of, vii. , , . birds, habits of, i. ; the hawk's way of teaching her young to fly, i. ; the eagle and her young, i. ; filial piety of the stork, ii. ; instinct of young partridges towards their mother, ii. ; the vulture protects little birds from attacks of the hawk, ii. ; gulls fly inland when they foresee a storm, iii. ; cranes when about to cross the sea clasp pebbles with their claws, iv. ; the turtle-dove once widowed never takes another mate, v. ; flight of cranes suggested to mercury shapes of letters, viii. ; thrushes, storks, and doves gregarious, the greedy hawk loves solitude, viii. ; orderly evolutions of cranes, ix. . bishops, king witigis' exhortations to, x. ; cassiodorus' exhortations to, xi. . blue party in the circus, rivalry of, with the greens, iii. . bodily signs by which character may be discerned, vi. (_compare_ also cassiodorus, 'de animâ,' capp. and , referred to p. ). boethius (or boetius), illustris and patrician, receives orders to choose a harper to be sent to clovis, , ; ii. ; information as to his life in the 'anecdoton holderi,' , - ; really author of the theological treatises which have passed current with his name, , - ; and of a 'bucolic poem,' , ; difficulty caused by the non-christian character of his 'consolations of philosophy,' , ; consulted as to depreciation of currency, i. ; ordered to prepare water-clock and sundial for king of burgundians, i. . boethius, as to character of basilius, _n_; as to character of decoratus, _n_; character of his accuser cyprian, v. , ; viii. , ; character of opilio, viii. . boethus, bishop of byzacene province in africa, author, according to m. jourdain, of the theological treatises attributed to boethius, . bormiae aquae (_baths of bormio_), count winusiad recommended to visit, x. . brandila, husband of procula, story of his intrigue with regina, wife of patzenes, v. , . breones, a raetian freebooting tribe living near the brenner pass, i. . bribery repressed, xii. , , , . bridge of boats ordered to be built across the tiber, xii. . brosse, pierre, notes of, on cassiodorus, . bruttii and lucania, venantius corrector of, iii. , , ; his misgovernment of, ; the praises of, viii. ; xii. ; 'opulenti bruttii,' viii. ; gold-mining to be commenced in, ix. ; abundance of cattle in, ii. ; measures for relief of, during presence of gothic army, xii. ; praise of the wine of, xii. ; canonicarii of, rebuked for despoiling the churches, xii. . buat, count, on the life and ancestry of cassiodorus, ; as to theodora's share in the murder of amalasuentha, _n_. burgundians, king of (_see_ gundibad); cease to be 'gentiles' under gundibad, i. ; boundary of, with ostrogothic kingdom, iii. ; dispute with franks, viii. ; league with amalasuentha, xi. (_see_ _n_); invasion of liguria and aemilia, xii. ; . butilianus, presbyter, land allotment given by theodoric to, in neighbourhood of trient, ii. . c. caduca bona, property to which no heir is forthcoming, and which is therefore claimed by the state, v. ; vi. . caelianus, one of the quinque-viri appointed to try basilius and praetextatus, iv. , . calabria, crops from, not forwarded expeditiously, i. ; regulations for corn-traffic in, ii. ; arrears of siliquaticum in, v. . 'calabri peculiosi,' viii. . calogenitus, sent by amalasuentha to justinian with a present of marbles, x. , . campania, practice of _pignoratio_ prevalent in, iv. ; suffers from eruption of vesuvius, iv. ; 'industriosa campania,' viii. ; cancellarius of, to pay pension to retiring primiscrinius, xi. ; the cupboard of rome ('urbis regiae cella penaria'), xii. . campanianus, of lucania, widow and family of, permitted to step down from rank of curiales, ix. . cancellarius, an officer of humble rank in the court of the praetorian praefect, , ; origin of the name, ; his functions described, xi. ; of faustus, desired to forward corn from apulia, i. ; beatus (vir clarissimus) ordered to supply rations to invalided officer, xi. ; gaudiosus, cancellarius of province of inguria, xi. ; anatholius, cancellarius of samnium, xi. ; lucinus, cancellarius of campania, xi. ; vitalian, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii, xi. ; admonition to various cancellarii, xii. , ; sajones ordered to wait upon cancellarii, xii. ; anastasius, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii, ordered to send cheese and wine for royal table, xii. ; the same, ordered to be gentle with the citizens of rhegium, xii. ; maximus, cancellarius of lucania and bruttii, xii. . canonicarii, tribute-collectors under comes rerum privatarum, vi. ; to collect the trina illatio, xii. ; of thuscia, xi. ; of venetia, xii. , ; of bruttii, rebuked for robbing the churches, xii. . candac, king of alani, mentioned by jordanes, . candax, apparently next of kin to a man slain by crispianus, i. . capillati (?) of suavia, iv. . capitularii horreariorum et tabernariorum, farmers of revenue derived from granaries and taverns, x. . caprarius, mons (situation of doubtful, but near ravenna), xii. ; works of defence to be constructed near, xii. . capuanus, senator, appointed rector decuriarum, v. , ; his character, v. . cardinalis = chief officer of court, vii. . carpentum, official chariot of praetorian praefect, vi. ; of praefect of the city, vi. ; of consularis of a province, vi. . cartarius (or cartularius), clerk in the record office, formula approving appointment of, vii. . cartarii ordered to prepare transfers of property to theodahad, viii. ; to receive the wine collected for the royal table, xii. . casa arbitana taken from heirs of argolicus and amandianus, v. . casa areciretina, deed of gift of, from agapita to probinus, annulled, ii. ; this decree revoked, iv. . cassian, one of the founders of western monachism, cassiodorus' qualified praises of, . cassiodorus ( ), an illustris, great-grandfather of cassiodorus senator, ; history of, i. . cassiodorus ( ), grandfather of cassiodorus senator, tribunus and notarius under valentinian iii, his embassy to attila, ; history of, i. . cassiodorus ( ), father of cassiodorus senator, comes privatarum rerum and comes sacrarum largitionum under odovacar, ; consularis of sicily, ; corrector of bruttii and lucania, ; praetorian praefect (cir. ), , ; patrician (cir. ), ; frequently confused with his son, ; his praises, i. , ; a man of tried integrity and pure fidelity, i. ; invited to visit court of theodoric, iii. . cassiodorus, magnus aurelius senator, his position in history, , ; his name, cassiodorus or cassiodorius (?), ; senator not a title, ; his birthplace, scyllacium, ; date of his birth (cir. ), - ; his love of natural history, ; ix. ; appointed consiliarius under his father, ; his panegyric on theodoric, , ; appointed quaestor, ; ix. ; his special utility, as quaestor, to theodoric, ; his official correspondence, the 'variae,' - , - ; statesmanlike insight which led him to second theodoric's policy, , ; his religious tolerance, ; duration of his quaestorship, ; his consulship ( ), ; restores harmony between clergy and people of rome, ; patrician, ; his 'chronicon,' its defective character, - ; his gothic history, - ; ix. ; appointed magister officiorum, ; ix. ; his services to the regent amalasuentha, ; provides ships and soldiers for the state, ; appointed praefectus praetorio, ; ix. ; letters during his praefecture, ; continues in office after murder of amalasuentha, ; announces the elevation of witigis, ; his position during the first five years of the gothic war, ; he retires from office ( or ?), ; probably did not meet procopius, ; edits the 'variae,' , ; writes the treatise 'de animâ,' , , ; his reasons for publishing the 'variae,' - ; letter written by himself to himself on receiving the praetorian praefecture, describing his many virtues, ix. ; letters to the senate on the same subject, ix. ; xi. ; his account of his occupations as praetorian praefect, ; issues his edict, xi. , ; his own and his ancestors' services to bruttii and lucania, xi. ; his praises of scyllacium, xii. ; resides at ravenna (?) during the war, ; retires to scyllacium and founds two monasteries there, ; probably never abbot, ; devotes the leisure of his monks to literature, ; his relation to the benedictines, ; his merits as a transcriber of the scriptures, ; his commentary on the psalms, ; on the epistles, ; his tripartite history, ; his 'institutiones divinarum et humanarum lectionum,' - ; his 'de orthographiâ, , ; his death, ( ?), ; his knowledge of greek probably slight, ; information derived from the 'anecdoton holderi' as to his life, , ; editions of his works, - ; chronology of the life of, - . castellius, mons, near scyllacium, monastery founded by cassiodorus at, . castorius unjustly deprived of his property by faustus, iii. . castrensis, butler or seneschal, , . catabulenses, freighters, transport masters, iv. ; ordered to transport marbles from pincian hill to ravenna, iii. . catana, walls of, to be repaired with stones of amphitheatre, iii. . cathalia (?), petition of inhabitants of, as to collection of tertiae, i. . catos, the mob of the circus is not precisely a congregation of, i. ; 'the father of felix was the cato of our times,' ii. . cellaritae, provision dealers (?), x. . celsina, _see_ curritana. censitores, tax-collectors, ix. . cethegus, rufus petronius nicomachus, consul ( ), magister officiorum, patrician, probably the person to whom the 'anecdoton holderi' was addressed, . chameleon, appearance and habits of, v. . chance, the world not governed by, xii. . chariot-race, effect of, on spectators, iii. ; picture of, from cilurnum gem, . cheese of mount sila described, xii. . chorda, the lyre so called 'quia facile corda moveat,' ii. . christmas day (natale domini), promotions of praefect's staff upon, xi. . 'chronicon' of cassiodorus, faulty character of the work, , . chrysargyron, tax on traders = 'lustralis auri collatio,' ii. _n_. church, dean, author of article on cassiodorus, . cilurnum (_chesters_ in northumberland), gem found at, representing chariot-race, . circus, factions of the, i. , , , ; iii. . circus maximus, description of, iii. ; plan of, . city and country life contrasted, viii. . civilitas, theodoric's anxious care for, ; description of, iv. ; theodahad exhorted to observe, iv. ; for the sake of it even jews are to be protected, v. ; references to, iv. , ; v. ; vi. ; ix. , , . clarissimus, formula conferring rank of, vii. . clarissimus, title of ministers of the third rank, ; epithet of clarissimus conferred on all senators, . clavicularii, gaolers, ; under orders of commentariensis, . climate, influence of, on character, xii. . cloacae of rome, description of, iii. . clovis (luduin), king of the franks, date of letters to, , ; theodoric marches his troops against ( ), i. ; a harper sent to, chosen by boethius, ii. ; congratulated on victory over alamanni, ii. ; letter dissuading from war with alaric ii, iii. ; called 'regius juvenis' by theodoric, iii. ; his overthrow of the alamannic kingdom, . clusurae, mountain fastnesses, ii. , . codicilli vacantes, vi. . coelianus, with agapitus, seems to have had special jurisdiction in cases affecting patricians, i. , . coemptio (purveyance) of wheat or lard not to be claimed from the citizens of rhegium, xii. . cognitor, trier of causes, viii. ; ix. , . cohortes, used of civil servants of praetorian praefect, xi. . coloni, apparent case of, reduced to slavery, viii. ; 'coloni sunt qui agros jugiter colunt,' viii. . colossaeus, illustris and comes, appointed governor of pannonia sirmiensis, iii. ; pun on his name, iii. ; rations ordered for him and his suite, iv. . colosseum described, v. . comes archiatrorum, formula of, vi. . comes, a spectabilis, nature of his office (military), _n_; relation of comes to his principes, vii. , . comes domesticorum (vacans), formula of, vi. ; arator receives the rank of, viii. . comes domorum, his functions, . comes formarum, formula of, vii. . comes gothorum, formula of, vii. ; servants of, have oppressed provincials of suavia, v. ; his dignity almost the only one peculiar to the gothic state, . comes neapolitanus, formula of, vi. ; reference to, vi. . comes patrimonii, formula of, vi. ; references to, iv. , ; bergantinus as, ordered to transfer property to theodahad, viii. ; ordered to commence gold-mining in bruttii, ix. ; willias (comes patrimonii) ordered to increase the pay of the domestici, ix. . comes portus urbis romae, formula of, vii. . comes primi ordinis, formula of, vi. , ; letter addressed to, ii. . comes principis militum (?), formula of, vi. . comes provinciae, formula of, vii. . comes ravennas, formula of, vii. . comes rerum privatarum, formula of, vi. ; an illustris, ; iv. ; his functions, ; office of, held by father of argolicus, iii. ; held by senarius ( ), iv. . comes romanus, formula of, vii. . comes sacrae vestis, keeper of the wardrobe, . comes sacrarum largitionum, formula of, vi. ; an illustris, ; his functions, ; orders given to, ii. ; reports remissness of venantius, iii. ; office of, held by grandfather of argolicus, iii. ; bina and terna to be collected under his superintendence, vii. ; ambrosius held office of, viii. ; opilio, father and son, held office of, viii. ; cyprian held office of, v. . comes secundi ordinis, formula of, vii. . comes syracusanus, formula of, vi. (_see_ also ix. , ). comitatus of the king, litigants summoned to, i. ; iv. , ; v. , ; presence of in liguria requires extraordinary supply of provisions, ii. ; the place 'ubi et innocentia perfugium et calumniatores jus possunt invenire districtum,' iv. ; meant to be a blessing to his subjects, iv. ; recourse to it by a distant suitor not compulsory, iv. ; journey of the heruli to, iv. ; always ready for redress of grievances, v. ; nimfadius journeying to, viii. . comites of pavia, iv. . comitiacus (officer of the law courts), formula bestowing honorary rank on, vi. ; stabularius, comitiacus, v. ; florentinus, vir devotus, comitiacus, viii. . commentariensis (or commentarisius), officer in court of praetorian praefect, nature of his functions, - ; cheliodorus appointed, xi. . commonitorium, iii. ; vii. . como, city and lake of, the praises of, xi. . competitores, formula concerning, vii. . compulsor, officer employed to compel payment of taxes, xii. . compurgation, evidences of a practice similar to, ix. (p. ). computus paschalis, tract on determination of easter, attributed to cassiodorus, , . comum (_como_), theft of brazen statue at, ii. , . concordia (_caorle_), contributions of wine and wheat from, remitted, xii. . conductores, farmers of royal domain, losses of, in apulia, i. ; in spain, v. . confiscated property, manner of asserting claims of crown to, iv. . consiliarius (assessor), nature of the office, , ; cassiodorus appointed to office of, . constantinople, character of diplomatists of, ii. ; cyprian's mission to, v. . constantius, bishop, his petition as to spoliation of the church, iv. . constantius, a farmer, unjustly reduced to slavery by tanca, viii. . consularis, formula of, vi. ; of liguria, xii. . consulship, formula of, vi. ; of cassiodorus ( ), - ; of reigning emperors, _n_; of felix, ii. , , ; of maximus, not to prevent his filling lower offices afterwards, x. . consuls, eastern and western, order of precedence of, in the fasti, . consumption cured by milk of the cows on mons lactarius, xi. . corn, restraints on exportation of, i. ; traffic in, for southern italy, regulated, ii. ; traffic in, from western coast of italy to gaul, iv. , ; traffic in, from spain to rome, v. ; forestalling and regrating of, prohibited, ix. ; sale of, at reduced price, in liguria and venetia, x. ; distribution of, in rome, xi. ; sale of, at reduced price, to citizens of milan, xii. . cornicularius, his position on the official staff of the praetorian praefect, ; nature of his functions, - ; must be chosen from the augustales, ; antianus vacates office of, xi. , ; retired, to be pensioned, xi. . corrector (lowest grade of provincial governor) of bruttii and lucania, iii. . cosilinum (? _padula_), a city of lucania, viii. . costula, a free goth, complains that servile tasks are imposed on him by guduim, v. . cubiculum = royal treasury, v. ; 'libra cubiculi nostri' = the standard pound, v. . cunigast (or conigast), vir illustris, evil character of, according to boethius, ; ordered to administer justice between tanca and his poorer neighbours, viii. . cura epistolarum, officer charged with copying letters on fiscal matters, . cura epistolarum canonicarum, constantinian appointed, xi. . cura palatii, formula of, vii. . curator of a city, formula of, vii. . curia, called by antiquity minor senatus, ii. ; vi. ; ix. . curialis, formula directing sale of property of, vii. . curiales, condition of, ii. ; conflict between curial and ecclesiastical obligations, ii. ; have to make good the senators' deficiencies in payment of taxes, ii. ; 'sordid burdens' = curial obligations (?), ii. ; of aestunae, iii. ; penalty on jovinus for killing a fellow-curial, iii. ; might be punished with stripes by praetorian praefect, vi. ; oppression of, forbidden by edictum athalarici, ix. ; of adriana, i. ; of catana, iii. ; of forum livii, iv. ; of velia (?), iv. ; of ticinum, iv. ; of suavia, iv. ; v. ; of neapolis, vi. ; of liguria, xii. ; formula addressed to, vii. ; family of, permitted to descend from the curia, ix. . currency, wickedness of depreciating, i. ; vii. . curritana insula et celsina (two of the lipari islands), formula for the comes of, vii. . cursus publicus, postal-service, ; transferred from praetorian praefect to magister officiorum, , ; vi. , ; under regerendarius, ; letter as to, i. ; abuses of, to be reformed by the sajo gudisal, iv. ; by sajo mannila, v. ; abuses of, in spain, v. ; citizens of scyllacium not to be harassed by, xii. . cyprian, vir illustris, count of the sacred largesses ( - ), his character and appointment to above office, v. , ; viii. ; his services as referendarius, v. ; his mission to constantinople, v. ; his accusation of albinus and boethius, , , , ; raised to honour of patricate, viii. , . d. dahn, felix (author of 'könige der germanen'), quoted, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , _n_, _n_, , , _n_, , , , , , _n_. daila, a free goth, complains that servile tasks are imposed on him by duke guduim, v. . dalmatia, simeon appointed to collect arrears of taxation from, iii. ; iron mining in, iii. ; epiphanius consularis of, v. ; address of athalario to goths settled in, viii. ; arator sent on an embassy from provincials of, to theodoric, viii. ; osuin appointed governor of, ix. , . danube, river, 'made a roman stream by amalasuentha, xi. . datius, bishop of milan, made steward of the king's bounty to the citizens, xii. . (for his history, _see_ .) davus receives sick-leave to visit mons lactarius, xi. . death, the inconvenience of, 'comperimus dromonarios viginti et unum de constituto numero _mortis incommodo_ fuisse subtractos,' iv. . decennonium, marsh of, drained by decius, ii. , . decennovial canal mentioned by procopius, . decii, lay of the, recited at school, iii. ; family of liberius and paulinas descended from, ix. , . decius, caecina maurus basilius, illustris, ex-praefect of the city, and ex-praetorian praefect, undertakes to drain the marsh of decennonium, ii. , ; one of the quinque-viri appointed to try basilius and praetextatus (?), iv. , . decoratus (vir devotus), brother of honoratus, appointed quaestor, his character and early death, v. , ; conflicting testimony of boethius and ennodius as to, _n_; instructions to, as to arrears of siliquaticum, v. . decuriae, guilds of copying-clerks, &c., connected with administration of justice, . defensor, gothic soldier of a roman noble, iv. , . defensor of a city, formula of, vii. . defensores of church of milan, ii. ; of aestunae, iii. ; of the sacrosanct roman church, iii. ; of catena, iii. ; of ticinum, iv. ; of suavia, iv. ; v. . 'defloratis prosperitatibus,' meaning of this phrase, used by cassiodorus of his gothic history, _n_. degeniatus = (apparently) stripped of official rank, xii. . delegatoria, warrant for increased rations consequent on promotion, xi. , . denarius, puzzling passage as to relation of to solidus, i. . deputati, fifteen shorthand writers of the highest class, appropriated to the emperor's service, ; xi. . dertona (_tortona_), fortification of, i. ; corn warehouse at, to be opened, x. ; xii. . diceneus, philosopher-king of dacia, perhaps cassiodorus' ideal of a king, . dionysius 'exiguus,' author of our present chronology, a colleague of cassiodorus in his literary enterprises, . dionysius of halicarnassus, chief authority on the roman chariot-races, . discussores, assessors of taxes, iv. . documents not to be tampered with by the scribe, xii. . domestici, life-guardsmen attached to the provincial governors, to receive larger pay, ix. . domitian, office of master of the horse abolished by, . domitius, spectabilis, has received a concession for drainage of land which he is too parsimonious to take full advantage of, ii. ; complains of seizure of his estates by theodahad, iv. . domus palmata, near the forum, iv. . donativum, _see_ largesse. drainage concession to spes and domitius, ii. . drill, need of, exemplified, i. . dromonarii, rowers in express boats, ii. ; twenty-one dead, iv. . dromones, express boats, one thousand to be built, v. . druentia (_durance_), river, frontier of ostrogothic and burgundian monarchies, ; provisions for garrisons upon, iii. . dux, a military officer of the rank of spectabilis, his relation to the comes, _n_. dux raetiarum, formula of, vii. . e. eastern empire, amalasuentha's relations with, xi. . ecclesiastical privileges and immunities, i. , ; ii. , ; iii. , , ; iv. , ; viii. ; ix. , ; x. , ; xii. , ; conflict between ecclesiastical and curial obligations, ii. . ecdicius, sons of, allowed to leave rome to bury their father, ii. . edictum athalarici, ix. , , , . edictum theodorici, published by nivellius, from a ms. belonging to pithou, ; punishment for adulterers according to, , ; permission to parents to sell their children, _n_. egregii, fifth rank in imperial service, ; not mentioned by cassiodorus, . elephant, natural history of the, x. ; brazen images of, in via sacra, x. . eloquence the special product of rome--'aliae regiones vina, balsama et olentia thura transmittant: roma tradit eloquium, quo suavius nil sit auditum,' x. . endive of bruttii has not the bitter fibres spoken of by virgil, xii. . ennodius, magnus felix, bishop of ticinum (died ), information given by, as to boethius, _n_; information as to alamannic refugees, ; his testimony to character of decoratus, _n_; addressed his 'paraenesis' to ambrosius, . epiphanius employed by cassiodorus to assist him in the compilation of 'historia tripartita,' . eufrasius the acolyte sold a house at rome to pope simplicius, iii. . eugenius, vir illustris, receives the dignity of master of the offices, i. , ; possibly alluded to, viii. (_see_ note). euric, king of the visigoths ( - ), father of alaric ii, taxation in his time, v. . eustorgius, bishop of milan, his petition for protection to milanese church granted, ii. . eutharic, husband of amalasuentha, consulship of ( ), , ; adopted as son in arms by justin, viii. . evans, arthur j., on the topography of squillace, , - . exceptores, shorthand writers, , , ; xi. ; charged a fee for the bad paper which they supplied to suitors, _n_. exormiston, a kind of lamprey (?), xii. , . expeditio, derivation of, i. . f. famine, provisions for relief of, x. ; unusual appearances foreboding the famine of , xii. ; in liguria to be relieved, xii. . faustus, praetorian praefect, illustris, rebuked for his delay in sending corn from south of italy to rome, - ; i. ; embassy of, to constantinople ( ), ; consulship of, ; severely censured for his oppression of castorius, iii. , ; sent into the country for change of air, iii. ; oppression of joannes (?), iii. . faustus the younger, son of the above, i. ; enquiry into character of, on his admission to the senate, i. . faventia (_faenza_), blocks of marble to be forwarded to ravenna from, v. . felix iii, pope ( - ), election of, in deference to recommendation of theodoric, viii. . felix (apparently a native of milan), appointed quaestor ( ), viii. , ; his pedigree, viii. . felix, vir clarissimus, accused by venantius of defrauding the minor plutianus, i. , . felix, consul with secundinus ( ), his character and elevation to the consulship, ii. , , ; ordered to give largesse to charioteers of milan, iii. . felix, consul with taurus ( ), . felix, an assistant (probably vices agens), to cassiodorus in the discharge of his duties as praetorian praefect, . feltria (_feltre_), inhabitants of, to assist in erection of new city in district of tridentum, v. . festus, embassy of, to constantinople ( ), ; chosen by agnellus to defend his interests in his absence, i. ; his claims against paulinus, i. . fidei-jussor, guarantor, i. ; ii. ; xi. . filagrius, vir spectabilis, petition of, as to his nephew's detention in rome, i. . 'filius per arma,' adoption of, iv. . firminus, complaints of, against venantius, iii. . fiscus gothorum, rights of, i. ; its claims not to be pressed unduly, i. . fiscus, rights of, as to castrum lucullanum, viii. ; rights of, to estates of deceased persons (fiscus caducus), ix. . fishermen, not to be enlisted for the navy, v. ; their nets not to be allowed to hinder navigation of rivers, v. , . fishes, natural history of: the echeneis or sucking-fish, ; i. ; shell-fish of indian ocean, their power of arresting vessels, ; i. ; torpedo, its numbing touch, ; i. ; dolphins, habits of, iii. ; echinus, 'that honey of flesh, that dainty of the deep,' iii. ; the strange habits of the pike and the wrasse, xi. ; in the fishponds (vivaria) of scyllacium, xii. ; the anchorage, exormiston, &c., xii. , . flaminian way, edict regulating prices upon the, xi. ; to be put in order for the king's passage, xii. . flavianus, virius nicomachus, consul suffectus ( ), ancestor of symmachus, ; a leader of the heathen party in the senate, ; author of a roman history, . formulae, reasons given by cassiodorus for composing, . fornerius, notes of, on cassiodorus, . forojulii (_cividale_), contributions of wine and wheat from, remitted, xii. . forum livii (_forli_), inhabitants of, to transport timber to alsuanum, iv. . franks, the, dispute of with burgundians ( ), viii. ; war between amalasuentha and, xi. . franz, adolph, author of 'm. aurel. cassiodorius senator,' . fraudulent shipowners punished, v. . frontinus (cir. a.d. ), author of 'strategematicon' and 'de aquaeductibus,' quoted by lydus, . frontosus has embezzled a large sum of public money, v. ; his evasions and slippery character, v. . 'furtivae actiones,' those concerned in, to be punished, v. . fuscus, appointed praetorian praefect by domitian, . g. garet, f.j., his edition of cassiodorus, ; his ecclesiastical bias, . garismatium, a place supplying garum, _n_. garum, a kind of sauce, _n_. gaul, summons to the goths to take up arms for invasion of, i. ; gemellus appointed governor of, iii. ; address to theodoric's subjects in, iii. ; remission of taxation in, iii. , ; iv. , ; especial desire of theodoric for good government of, iii. ; famine in, to be relieved from italy, iv. , ; placed under government of arigern (probably before gemellus), iv. ; gepid troops ordered for defence of, v. , ; peace of, disturbed by gesalic, v. ; athalaric's accession announced to his subjects in, viii. , . gemellus, senator, appointed governor of gaul, iii. , ; instructions to, iii. , ; iv. , , . genesius, vir spectabilis, directed to reform the sanitary condition of parma, viii. . genoa, jews living at, ii. . gensemund, an example of fidelity to the amal race, viii. ; his history mysterious, _n_. gentilis, barbarian, i. ; ii. ; viii. . gentilitas, barbarism, misery of, iii. . geometry, origin of, iii. . gepidae, ordered for defence of gaul, to march peaceably through northern italy, v. , ; extraordinarily high rate of pay of (?), v. . germanus, his complaint against bishop peter, iii. . gesalic, natural son of alaric ii, sheltered by thrasamund, king of the vandals, v. , . getae, confusion of, with goths, , . gibbon, on the 'variae,' ; as to character of accusers of boethius, ; as to theodoric's participation in murder of amalasuentha, _n_. gildias, vir spectabilis, count of syracuse, rebuked for oppression of the sicilians, ix. (_see_ also ix. ). godomar, king of the burgundians ( - ), _n_. gold-mining in bruttii, ix. . gothic history of cassiodorus, estimate of, by its author, , , ; ix. ; purpose of, ; jordanes' abstract of, . gothic law for gothic men (?), vii. ; viii. ; not for romans, ix. . goths, delight of in war, i. ; manner of training young, i. ; disputes between, and romans, in samnium, to be settled by sunhivad, iii. ; pannonia of old the dwelling of, iii. ; in picenum and tuscia evading payment of taxes, iv. ; ancestors of (guttones), dealers in amber, ; in picenum and samnium summoned to royal presence, v. , ; free gothic warriors enslaved, v. , ; degrading services not to be claimed from, v. ; disputes with romans, how to be decided, vii. ; relation of gothic comes to his roman staff, vii. ; oath between, and romans on athalaric's accession, viii. ; settled at reate and nursia, viii. ; indignant at the murder of amalafrida, ix. ; 'gothorum laus est civilitas custodita,' ix. ; dissensions between gothic soldiers and roman populace, x. ; raise witigis on the shield as king, 'indicamus parentes nostros gothos inter procinctuales gladios, more majorum, scuto supposito, regalem nobis contulisse, praestante deo, dignitatem,' x. . gout, a living death, x. . graius (?), senatorial rank conferred on, vi. . grammarians, twelve eminent, quoted by cassiodorus, ; salaries of, to be increased, ix. . granaries in rome, repair of, iii. . gravasiani (?), iv. . green party in the circus, complaint made by, i. ; complaint against theodoric (the patrician) and importunus, i. ; mentioned, i. , ; rivalry of with the blues, iii. . gregory of tours, incompleteness of his history of clovis, . gregory the great, pope ( - ), as to wine called palmatiana, _n_. griffins dig for gold, and delight in contemplation of that metal, ix. . guard at the gates of a city, formula respecting, vii. . guardianship of orphans delegated by theodoric, i. ; of the young hilarius not to be protracted, i. . gudelina, wife of theodahad, letters of, to theodora, x. , , ; letter of, to justinian, x. ; doubtful allusion of, to murder of amalasuentha, x. . gudila accused of enslaving ocer, a blind goth, v. . guduim, sajo, v. ; vir sublimis and dux, v. ; accused of imposing servile tasks on costula and daila, v. . gundibad (gundobad), king of the burgundians ( - ), theodoric sends him a water-clock and sundial, i. , ; theodoric asks him to assist in reconciling clovis and alaric, iii. ; called 'senex' by theodoric, iii. . h. haesti, or aestii, inhabitants of esthonia, send present of amber to theodoric, v. . hannibal, death of, iii. . hasdingi (hasdirigi?), or asdingi, royal family of the vandals, honoured by alliance with the amals, ix. . heliodorus, a relative of cassiodorus, praefect in the eastern empire, i. . helladius, candidate for office of pantomimist, i. ; ordered to come forth and amuse the people, i. . heracleanus, presbyter, messenger from justinian to theodahad, x. . herminafrid, king of the thuringians, married to amalabirga, niece of theodoric, iv. . heruli, king of, appealed to by theodoric to prevent war between clovis and alaric, iii. ; king of, adopted as theodoric's son by right of arms, iv. ; to receive provisions at ticinum on their journey to ravenna, iv. . hilarius, a young goth, grandson of baion, i. ; to be allowed to enter on enjoyment of his property, i. . hilderic, king of the vandals ( - ), murders amalafrida, widow of his predecessor, ix. . histrius (or historius), ii. . homer quoted, as to travels of ulysses, i. ; as to priam's request for the body of hector, ii. . homo; theodosius is addressed by theodahad as _homo suus_; meaning of the term (?), x. . 'honesta missio' of the theodosian code illustrated by, v. . honoratus, vir illustris, brother of decoratus, appointed quaestor; his character, v. , . hormisdas, pope ( - ), election of during consulship of cassiodorus, . horses, description of, sent as a present by the king of the thuringians, iv. . hostilia, on the po, place of rendezvous for the dromonarii, ii. . hot-springs of abano described, ii. . hydruntum, or hydron (_otranto_), chief seat of the purple manufacture, i. . i. ibbas, general of theodoric in gaul (perhaps the person to whom iv. is addressed), . ides of june (june th), sailors and ships to meet at ravenna on, v. , ; eighth day before (june th), goths to come to ravenna for their largesse upon, v. . illustratus vacans, formula of, vi. . illustres, highest class of ministers; who belonged to it? - ; was an illustris once, always an illustris? ; were the consuls illustres? . illyricum, alleged loss of, under placidia, xi. . imperium, used of the gothic kingdom, xii. . importunus, illustris and consul ( ), accused of assaulting the green party at the circus, i. . importunus, vir illustris and patrician, consul ( ), descended from the decii, iii. ; incident of the recitation of lay of the decii, iii. . indictions, mode of reckoning by, - ; remission of taxes at, i. . indulgentia, an amnesty to prisoners, xi. . inquilina persists in harassing benatus with litigation, iv. . interpretium not to be exacted from apulian corn-merchants, ii. . intestate property of widow claimed by the state, v. (_see_ also vi. ); property of an african claimed by a fellow-countryman, xii. . iron, mines of, in dalmatia, iii. ; praises of, iii. . istria, province of, large harvests of wine, oil, and corn in, xii. ; extraordinary requisition from, xii. ; plentiful yield of wine in, xii. . italy, ought to enjoy her own products, ii. ; western coast of, exports corn to gaul, iv. . j. januarius, secretary of joannes, iv. . januarius, assessor of taxes, iv. . jews, of genoa, permitted to rebuild but not enlarge their synagogue, ii. ; their privileges confirmed, iv. ; synagogue of, at rome, burned by the mob, iv. ; christian servants of, punished for murdering their masters, iv. ; of milan, protected from molestation, v. . joanna, widow of andreas, intestacy of, v. . joannes, vir spectabilis, referendarius, receives gift of property at castrum lucullanum from tulum, confirmed by athalaric, viii. . joannes, cancellarius ( - ), xi. ; appointed praerogativarius, xi. . joannes, mortgagee of property of tupha, iv. . joannes, vir clarissimus, arcarius (perhaps same as preceding), pays off the debt of his father-in-law thomas, and takes his property in apulia, v. , . joannes, arch-physician, unjust judgment against, reversed, iv. . john ii, pope (jan. , --may , ), letter to, against simony at papal elections, ix. ; report from, as to imprisonment of roman citizens, ix. ; cassiodorus sends greeting to, on his promotion, xi. . john complains that the bishop of salona has taken tuns of oil from him, iii. . john, spectabilis, ordered to enquire into abuses connected with aqueducts of rome, iii. . jordanes, relation of his book 'de rebus geticis' to the gothic history of cassiodorus, ; his quotations from symmachus' history, ; as to 'capillati' among the getae, _n_; as to goths by the baltic sea, ; as to threatened war between goths and franks, . joseph, the patriarch, office of praetorian praefect derived from, vi. ; alluded to, x. ; precautions of, against egyptian famine, xii. ; his bargain with the starving egyptians criticised, xii. . jovinus banished to the lipari islands for murder of a fellow-curial, iii. . judges to visit each town once in the year, and not to claim more than three days' maintenance, v. . julianus complains of injuries received from the servants of bishop aurigenes, iii. . julian, count and illustris, tata is ordered to conduct recruits to, v. . justin, emperor ( - ), athalaric announces his accession to, viii. . justinian, emperor ( - ), his negotiations with amalasuentha, ; with theodahad, , ; amalasuentha announces her son's death and the association of theodahad to, x. , ; present of marbles from amalasuentha to, x. , ; letters of theodahad to, x. , , , , ; letter of gudelina to, x. ; letter of witigis to, x. ; his interference on bt half of a heavily taxed monastery, x. ; on behalf of veranilda, a catholic convert, x. ; petition of senate to, xi. . l. lactarius, mons (_monte lettere_), description of, xi. ; health-resort for consumptive patients, xi. . land surveying among the romans, iii. . lard not to be exported from italy, ii. . largesse (regalia dona, donativum), goths summoned to court to receive, on the ides of june, v. , ; starcedius' donative stopped on his retirement from service, v. . laurentius, presbyter, accused of rifling graves, iv. . laurentius, vir experientissimus, ordered to collect in istria stores of wine, oil, and corn for ravenna, xii. , , . lawsuits not to be interminable, i. . leave of absence, temporary, formula commeatalis ad tempus, vii. . lenormant, his work 'la grande grèce' quoted, , , . leodifrid, _see_ under sajo. leontius, vir spectabilis, his dispute about boundaries with paschasius, iii. . leontius, praefecture of, . letters, origin of, from imitation of flight of cranes, viii. . leucothea, fountain of, its marvellous qualities, viii. . liber, derivation of, xi. . liberius ( ), praetorian praefect under theodoric ( - ), ; ii. , ; his fidelity to odovacar, ii. ; conduct in assignment of 'tertiae,' ii. ; father of venantius, ii. ; arranged gift from theodoric to ex-emperor (?) romulus, iii. . liberius ( ), spectabilis (possibly son of preceding), complains of unjust judgment by marabad, iv. . liberius ( ), senator, sent as ambassador by theodahad to justinian, . liberius ( , probably same as no. ), patrician, praetorian praefect of the gauls ( ), viii. ; xi. . liberius ( ), second husband of aetheria, iv. . lictor, apostrophised by cassiodorus in his 'indulgentia,' xi. . liguria, province of, ships ordered from ravenna to, ii. ; the gepidae on their way to gaul to march peaceably through, v. , ; obscure allusion to troubles in, viii. ; famine in 'liguria industriosa' to be relieved by corn-distribution, x. ; relief of 'devota liguria,' xi. , ; consularis of, addressed, xii. ; invaded by the burgundians, xii. ; plunder-raid of alamanni into, xii. ; famine in, relieved, xii. . lime, the praises of, vii. . lime-kilns, president of, praepositus calcis, formula of, vii. . lucania, province of, eusebius is recommended to take holiday in, iv. ; rustics of, at feast of st. cyprian, viii. ; campanianus, inhabitant of, ix. ; 'montuosa lucania' abounded in swine, xi. ; measures for relief of, during presence of gothic army, xii. . (_see_ also bruttii.) lucrine port (?) to furnish tiles for repair of walls of rome, i. . lucullanum, castrum (_castel dell ovo_, at naples), property at, given by theodoric to tulum, and by athalaric to joannes, viii. (_see_ note, p. ). lydus, joannes, civil servant in constantinople under justinian, author of 'de dignitatibus;' his account of the dignity of the praetorian praefect, ; on the official staff of the praetorian praefect, - ; his disappointment with the emoluments of the cornicularius, ; as to salutation of praetorian praefect, ; as to scholares, ; jealousy of magistriani, ; as to supply of paper for law courts, xi. . m. maffei, scipione, author of 'verona illustrate,' on situation of verruca, . magic, trial of roman senators on accusation of practising, iv. , ; punishment of, according to edictum athalarici, ix. . magister officiorum, formula of, vi. ; nature of his office, , ; jealousy between his subordinates and those of the praefectus praetorio, , ; eugenius promoted to office of, i. , ; office of, held by grandfather of argolicus, iii. ; as to cursus publicus, ; iv. ; vi. ; letter of witigis to m.o. at constantinople, x. . magister scrinii, formula of, vi. . magistriani, officers under magister officiorum, jealousy of, felt by members of praefectoral staff, . magistri scriniorum, spectabiles, . magnus, a spectabilis, of gaul (?), to be reimbursed for losses sustained from the franks, iii. . major domus, steward of the royal house; theodahad calls vacco 'majorem domus nostrae,' and orders him to superintend the purchase of provisions for gothic garrison of rome, x. . mancipes mutationum, servants at posting-stations, iv. . maniarius, complaint of, as to abstraction of his slaves by the breones, i. . manso, author of 'geschichte des ostgothischen reiches,' quoted, , , . mappa, why used to denote the signal for the races, iii. . marabad, vir illustris and comes, appointed governor of marseilles, iii. ; instructions to, iv. , . marcellinus comes, chronicler in the reign of justinian, as to introduction of heruli into italy, _n_; as to eruption of vesuvius, _n_, _n_. marcellus on water-finding, iii. . marcian, vir spectabilis, employed to collect grain for italy in spain, v. . marcilianum (_sala_, in lucania), viii. . marinus, his petition about the property of tupha, iv. . mark the presbyter summoned for arrears of siliquaticum, v. . marriage, confirmation of, and legitimation of offspring, formula for, vii. . marriage, formula legitimating with first cousin, vii. . marriage law (edictum athalarici), ix. . martinus, his son romulus accused of parricide, ii. . massa palentiana, wrested from rightful owners by theodahad, v. . massa, a farm, viii. . massilia (_marseilles_), inhabitants of, to welcome count marabad, iii. ; privileges confirmed to, and exemption from taxation granted to for one year, iv. . master of the horse, office of, abolished by domitian, . matasuentha, granddaughter of theodoric, married to witigis, . maurentius, an orphan, taken under the king's guardianship, iv. . maximian, vir illustris, one of the quinque-viri appointed to try basilius and praetextatus, iv. , . maximus, flavius anicius, vir illustris, consul ( ), encouraged to reward handsomely the _venator_ in the amphitheatre, v. ; appointed primicerius domesticorum ( ), x. , ; married a wife of the amal race, x. ; discussion as to his subsequent history, _n_. mercury, inventor of letters, viii. . milan, church of, immunities granted to, ii. , ; charioteers of, to receive largesse from felix, iii. ; bacauda, tribunus voluptatum at, v. ; jews of, protected from molestation, v. ; famine in, to be relieved by datius, xii. ; sieges and demolition of, . militia, used of the purely civil service of the staff of the praetorian praefect, ; ii. ; obligations of the title, ii. ; used of service of tribunus voluptatum, v. ; of functions of count of sacred largesses, vi. ; of functions of comitiacus, vi. . militia litterata, the learned staff, . millenarius (in gothic, _thusundifaths_), captain of a thousand, v. . millet (panicum), to be sold to citizens of milan at modii per solidum, xii. . minors, protection of, from fraud, iv. . mint (moneta) master of, formula appointing, vii. . mommsen, theodor, severe judgment of, on 'chronicon' of cassiodorus, , . monopoly, letters relating to, ii. , ; iii. ; x. . montanarius, bearer of money to bishop severus, ii. . mosaic, discription of, i. . moscius, mons, near scyllacium, xii. . mundus, general of justinian, in dalmatia, _n_. munitarius (winithar), ancestor of theodoric, 'aequitate enituit,' xi. . music, dissertation on, ii. . n. narbonne, church of, possessions granted by alaric, wrested from, iv. . navy, theodoric's directions as to raising, v. , . neapolis (_naples_), territory of, suffers from eruption of vesuvius, iv. ; formula of count of naples, vi. ; formula addressed honoratis possessoribus, et curialibus civitatis neapolitanae, vi. . neotherius, a spendthrift, and brother of plutianus, i. , . nero, anecdote of, giving the signal for the chariot-race, iii. . nicephorus phocas, emperor of the east ( - ), his work of restoration at squillace, . nicomachus, _see_ cethegus. nimfadius, vir sublimis, his adventure at the fountain of arethusa, viii. . nivellius, sebastianus, his edition of cassiodorus, , . nobilissimus, title given to nearest relatives of the emperor, , . nola, territory of, suffers from eruption of vesuvius, iv. . noricum, provincials of, to exchange their cattle with the alamanni, iii. . notarii, formula of, vi. . notitia utriusque imperii, general correspondence of, with the 'variae,' ; on the official staff of the praetorian praefect, - ; illustration of the name, xii. . numerarii, cashiers in the court of praetorian praefect, , ; spoliation of churches of bruttii alleged to be committed in their name, xii. ; referred to, xii. . nursia, the birthplace of st. benedict, ; colony of goths settled at, viii. . o. oath, mutual, between athalaric and his subjects on his accession, viii. ; between goths and romans, viii. . obsonia (= relishes, anything eaten with bread, especially fish), to be distributed to the roman people, xii. . ocer, a blind gothic warrior, reduced to slavery by gudila and oppas, v. . odovacar (odoacer), king ( - ), faithful service of liberius to, ii. ; possible allusion to times of, iii. ; buried in a stone chest, ; tupha an officer of, ; moderate taxation under, iv. ; opilio filled a place under (?), v. . officium (official staff) of praetorian praefect, - ; otherwise called praetoriani, xi. ; to be fined if they disobey the king's orders, ii. ; duties of in collection of bina and terna, vii. ; promotion of, on christmas day, xi. ; their duties and rightful claims, xi. . opilio, count of sacred largesses, father of cyprian, viii. , ; chosen for a place in household of odovacar (?), v. . opilio, son of above, count of sacred largesses, viii. , ; ambassador from theodahad to justinian ( ), ; evil character of, given by boethius, . oppas, accused of enslaving ocer, a blind goth, v. . orthography, difficulties of latin, in sixth century, . ostrogotha, ancestor of theodoric, 'patientiâ enituit,' xi. . osuin (or osum), vir illustris and comes, made governor of dalmatia and suavitt, ix. , . p. padus (_po_), timber for navy to be collected upon the banks of, v. , ; stake-nets to be removed from mouth of, v. , . palamediaci calculi = draughts, citizens fond of playing at, viii. . palmatiana, wine of bruttii, described, xii. . panis, derivation of, from pan, vi. . pannonia sirmiensis, colossaeus appointed governor of, iii. , ; an old habitation of the goths, iii. . pantomimist, dispute as to choice of, i. ; his menstruum (monthly allowance), i. , . papal election, contested between symmachus and laurentius ( ), ; of felix iii ( ), viii. . paper, praises of, xi. . paraveredi, extra horses, v. . (_see errata._) parhippi, extra horses, iv. . parma, sanitary measures in, viii. , . parricide, the horror of, ii. . paschasius, vir spectabilas, his dispute about boundaries with leontius, iii. . patriciate, formula of, vi. . patricius, vir illustris, appointed quaestor by theodahad, x. , . patzenes, husband of regina, story of his wife's intrigue with brandila during his absence on gaulish campaign, v. , . paula, an orphan, taken under the king's guardianship, iv. . paulinus, illustris and patrician, claims of festus and symmachus against, i. [n.b. compare the following passage from boethius' 'philosophiae consolatio' i. : 'paulinum consularem virum cujus opes palatini canes jam spe atque ambitione devorassent, ab ipsis hiantium faucibus traxi.' considering the relationship between boethius and symmachus, it is impossible that symmachus could be one of these 'palatini canes,' but perhaps not impossible that festus may be here aimed at. paulinus was consul ]; felix is praised for cultivating the friendship of, ii. ; allowed to repair and appropriate public granaries, iii. . paulinas (flavius theodoras paulinus junior), vir clarissimus, son of venantius, grandson of liberius, chosen consul for , ix. . peace, praises of, i. . pedatura, length of wall assigned to be built by soldiers, v. . pedonensis civitas (situation unknown), benedictus a citizen of, i. . peraequatores, regulators of prices of provisions (?), vi. . perfectissimi, fourth grade in the imperial service, , ; not mentioned by cassiodorus, . pervasio, forcible appropriation of landed property, condemned by edict of athalaric, ix. . peter, consul ( ) and rhetorician, ambassador from justinian to theodahad, , ; x. , , , . petrus, vir spectabilis, illustrious by descent, allowed to enter the senate, iv. ; his troubles with the sajo assigned to him as his defensor, iv. , . physician, duty of a good, vi. . picenum, province of, goths resident in, iv. ; v. , . pietas = pity (very nearly), iv. . pignoratio, lawless practice of, described and repressed, iv. . pincian hill, _see_ rome. pithoeus (pierre pithou), editor of cassiodorus, attributes to him the 'computus paschalis,' . placentia, provision dealers at, x. . placidia, unfavourable comparison of with amalasuentha, xi. . planets, periods of, xi. . pliny, on amber, ; on the elephant, . plutianus, a minor, felix accused of defrauding, i. , . pola, antonius, bishop of, iv. . pollentia, battle of, represented as gothic victory by cassiodorus, . polyptycha, official registers, v. , . pompeius magnus, theatre of, the origin of his epithet, iv. . pontonates (?), iv. . popes, _see_ agapetus, felix iii, gregory the great, john ii, symmachus, vigilius. porticus curba (or curiae), near the forum, 'fabricae' to be erected above, iv. . portus (_porto_), quays and warehouses of, under the praefectus urbis romae, ; 'portus curas agens,' ii. ; comes portus, vii. ; vicarius portus, vii. . possessores, ii. ; vi. ; of aestunae, iii. ; of arles, iii. ; of velia, iv. . possessores honorati, of catena, iii. ; of forum livii, iv. ; of feltria, v. ; of suavia, v. , ; of neighbourhood of ravenna (?), v. ; of sicily, vi. ; of neapolis, vi. . possessores honorati, et curiales, formula addressed to, vii. ; of parma, viii. ; of bruttii, exhorted to return to their cities, viii. . possessores, curiales permitted to become, ix. ; complain of abuses in corn-traffic, ix. . potteries (figulinae), owners of, safeguarded, ii. . praebendae, apparently = stipendia or annonae, ; claimed both in money and kind, v. . praefectus annonae, formula of, vi. ; office of, held by paschasius, xii. . praefectus praetorio, formula of, vi. ; formula as to superintendence of armourers, vii. ; dignity of the office, - , ; quotation from lydus as to, ; his functions described by bethmann-hollweg, _n_; gradations of rank in his official staff, - ; fine on, for disobeying king's orders, ii. ; not to be allowed to oppress men in humbler station, iii. , ; as to cursus publicus, ; iv. ; vi. ; albienus appointed ( ), viii. ; was trigguilla his predecessor? . praefectus urbis romae, formula of, vi. ; an illustris, ; his functions described, , ; to punish insults against the senate, i. , ; artemidorus raised to dignity of, i. ; argolicus raised to dignity of ( ), iii. ; quinque-viri associated with him for trial of senators, iv. , ; his close companionship with the praefectus annonae, vi. ; honorius ordered to see to preservation of brazen elephants at rome, x. . praefectus vigilum urbis romae, formula of, vii. . praefectus vigilum urbis ravennatis, formula of, vii. . praepositus sacri cubiculi, an illustris, ; his functions, ; to refund to symmachus expense of restoration of pompey's theatre, iv. . praepositi (?) have special rights as to the cursus publicus, v. . praerogativarius (?), joannes appointed, xi. . praeses provinciae, formula of, vii. . praetextatus, a roman senator, accused of magical practices, iv. , . prescription, title by, i. ; ii. ; v. . prices, to be fixed by the defensor of a city, vii. ; by the curator, vii. ; tariff of, to be charged at ravenna, xi. ; regulated along the flaminian way, xi. ; fixed in, bruttii and lucania, xii. ; tariff of, for istria, xii. , ; of corn sold for relief of ligurians in time of famine, x. ; xii. . primicerius augustalium, beatus appointed, xi. (_see_ augustales). primicerius cubiculariorum, a spectabilis, ; his functions, . primicerius deputatorum, ursua appointed, xi. ; (_see_ deputati). primicerius domesticorum, maximus appointed, x. , . primicerius exceptorum, chief of shorthand writers, patricius appointed, xi. . primicerius notariorum, vi. ; a spectabilis, ; his office (apparently) joined to that of count of sacred largesses, vi. . primicerius singulariorum, pierius appointed, in the room of urbicus, xi. , (_see_ singularii). primiscrinii, officers of court of praetorian praefect, , ; perhaps equivalent to adjutores, ; might be chosen from the ordinary exceptores, ; retiring primiscrinius receives rank of spectabilis, xi. ; andreas obtains rank of, xi. ; retiring primiscrinius to receive pension, xi. . princeps, head of the officium of the praefectus praetorio, nature of his office, , , _n_; ex-princeps, ii. ; title of, given to magistriani, vi. ; formula recommending principes to comes, vii. ; formula announcing appointment of comes to princeps, vii. . princeps augustorum, ; xi. . princeps magistrianorum, , , . princeps dalmatiae, formula of, vii. . princeps urbis romae, formula of, vii. . prior, a military officer among the goths, viii. ; perhaps equivalent to 'hundafath,' . probinus (or provinus), illustris and patrician (perhaps same as consul ), obtains property by undue influence from agapita, ii. ; the transfer declared to be bonâ fide, iv. . probus, assessor of taxes, iv. . proceres per codicillos vacantes, formula of, vi. . proceres chartarum (?), subordinate to count of sacred largesses, vi. . procopius, his narrative of events in italy in and , - ; makes no mention of the name of cassiodorus, ; his statement of justinian's argument as to the position of theodoric, _n_; his account of family of venantius, ; attributes the death of amalasuentha to theodora, _n_; quoted, _n_, _n_, , , , , , , . procula, wife of brandila, her assault on regina, v. . prorogatores, purveyors (?), x. . prosecutores frumentorum, petition of, as to loss of cargoes, iv. . provincials, compensation to, for damage done by troops on march, ii. . publianus, vir illustris, messenger from the senate to court at ravenna as to election of pope ( ), viii. . public property assigned on condition of improvement, vii. . pulveratica (dust-money) not to be paid to a judge on his journeys, xii. . purple dye, history of the discovery of, i. . pyctacium (pictacium or pittacium), delegatoris, bond or document of title, i. ; iii. ; xii. . pythias, count, pronounces decree in favour of liberty of ocer, a blind goth, v. . q. quaestor, formula of, vi. ; duties of the office of, , ; v. ; vi. ; other quaestors besides cassiodorus between and , _n_; ambrosius appointed ( ), viii. ; felix appointed ( ), viii. ; patricius appointed ( ), x. . quidila, son of sibia, made 'prior' of the goths in reate and nursia, viii. . quinque-viri associated with praefectus urbis to try two senators accused of magical arts, iv. , . r. raetia (grisons and tyrol), servatus, duke of, i. ; alamannic refugees received in, ii. ; guarded by fortress of verruca, iii. ; duties of the duke of, vii. ; derivation of the name from _rete_, vii. . rationales, bailiffs superintending the royal estates under the comes rerum privatarum, vi. . rationalii, persons charged with distribution of the annona, . rations for three days only, to be given to provincial governors and others journeying to scyllacium, xii. . ravenna, basilica of hercules (?) at, i. ; mosaic ordered for, i. ; ships ordered round from, to liguria, ii. ; favour bestowed on church of, ii. ; marbles to be transported to, iii. , ; marble chests in which the citizens of ravenna buried their dead, iii. ; blocks of marble to be forwarded from faventia to, v. ; fleet to be mustered at, v. , ; aqueduct of, to be kept clean, v. ; drinking water of, de-appetising, v. ; police of, vii. ; elevation of athalaric at, viii. , ; provision dealers at, x. ; tariff of prices at, xi. ; siliquatarius of, xii. ; defences of, to be strengthened, xii. ; deusdedit, a scribe of, xii. ; wine, oil, and corn to be furnished by provincials of istria to, xii. , , . reate (_rieti_, in the sabine territory), goths settled at, viii. . rector decuriarum, governor of guilds, v. , ; same as judex decuriarum of theodosian code, . rector provinciae, formula of, vi. . referendi curiae, armentarius and his son superbus appointed, iii. . referendarius, formula of, vi. ; cyprian's services as, v. , ; viii. ; joannes, vir spectabilis, holds the post of, viii. . regerendarius (or regendarius), officer charged with regulation of the postal-service, ; cartherius appointed, xi. . regina, wife of patzenes, her intrigue with brandila, v. ; assaulted by brandila's wife, v. . religious toleration practised by theodoric, , ; principle of, stated, ii. ; v. ; x. . remission of taxes, i. . renatus complains that he is harassed by litigation of inquilina, iv. . reparatus, brother of pope vigilius, appointed praefect of the city, ix. ; his subsequent history, . restitutio in integrum, . retentator, a wrongful detainer, ii. . rhegium (_reggio_) derivation of the name, xii. ; the citizens of, to be exempt from 'coemptio' of wheat and lard, xii. . roccella, near squillace, probable site of scyllacium, . roman law only to be administered between romans, ix. . roman citizens, release of, imprisoned on suspicion of sedition, ix. . rome, theodoric's measures for embellishment of, i. ; ii. ; walls of, to be repaired, i. , ; ii. ; the nephews of filagrius detained at, for their education, i. ; 'everyone's country,' i. ; blocks of marble lying about in, to be used, ii. ; sons of ecdicius detained at, ii. ; marbles on the pincian hill to be transported to ravenna, iii. ; repair of granaries in, iii. ; cloacae of, iii. ; repair of aqueducts and temples in, iii. ; vii. ; sons of valerian detained at, iv. ; new buildings overlooking forum of, iv. ; 'turris circi et locus amphitheatri' wrested from sons of volusianus, iv. ; burning of jewish synagogue at, iv. ; theatre of pompey restored by symmachus, iv. ; to receive supplies of corn from spain, v. ; brazen elephants in via sacra, x. ; police of, vii. ; statues of, vii. , ; dissensions between citizens of, and gothic troops ( ), x. ; a gothic garrison for, x. ; owns the shrines of the apostles, xi. ; scarcity in, relieved by corn-distributions, xi. ; roman citizens, and they only, to receive _obsonia_, xii. ; high character given to the roman populace, xii. . romulus, assured that theodoric's gift to him through the patrician liberius shall not be revoked, iii. ; probably this is the ex-emperor romulus augustulus, ; subsequent disposal of his palace, the lucullanum, . romulus accused of murder of his father, ii. . rufinus, praetorian praefect under arcadius, his usurpation caused some of praetorian praefect's powers to be transferred to the magister, . rusticiana, farm of, in bruttii, gold discovered at, ix. . rusticus, a priest and a friend of theodahad, sent on return embassy with peter to justinian, _n_; x. , . s. sabinus, ex-charioteer, his pension increased, ii. . sacrilege, the folly of, xii. . st. cyprian's fair (in lucania) described, viii. . sajo, saio, or sajus (henchman), description of his office, _n_; to go straight to object of his mission, and not to make pleasure tours at the public expense, iv. ; nandius, sent to summon goths to war, i. ; to support ecdicius in levying siliquaticum, ii. ; fruinarith to enquire into conduct of venantius, ii. ; grimoda ordered to redress the oppression of faustus, iii. ; leodifrid ordered to superintend building of houses near fort verruca, iii. ; amabilis (?) ordered to superintend grain traffic from italy to gaul, iv. ; gesila ordered to make gothic defaulters in picenum and tuscia pay their taxes, iv. ; tezutzat assigned as defensor to petrus, iv. ; amara has wounded petrus, whose defensor he nominally was, iv. , ; duda (vir spectabilis and comes), instructions to, iv. , , ; gudisal ordered to reform abuses of _cursus publicus_, iv. ; mannila receives like instructions, v. ; veranus to see that the gepidae march peaceably through liguria, v. ; gudinand and avilf ordered to muster sailors and collect timber for navy, v. , ; tata ordered to conduct recruits to count julian, v. ; guduim ordered to summon gothic captains to court, v. ; catellus and servandus (?), 'viri strenui,' to collect fines from fraudulent shipowners, v. ; a sajo (unnamed) accused of rough treatment of a deacon, viii. ; dumerit sent to repress robbery at faventia, viii. ; quidila sent with athalaric's orders to sicily, ix. ; to execute vengeance on pervasores, ix. ; bond for proper use of sajo's services, formula of, vii. ; was he necessarily the instrument by which 'tuitio regii nominis' was given? ; sajones assigned to various cancellarii, xii. ; their duties and temptations, xii. ; paulus, vir strenuus, perhaps a sajo, xii. . salamander, nature of, iii. . salona (in dalmatia), inhabitants of, to be armed and drilled, i. ; bishop of, takes tuns of oil from one john, iii. . salt-works at venice, xii. . samaritans contest possession of a house in rome with the roman church, iii. . samnium, province of, sunhivad appointed governor of, iii. ; practice of _pignoratio_ prevalent in, iv. ; goths resident in, v. , ; anatholius, cancellarius of, xi. ; retiring allowance of cornicularius charged on revenues of, xi. . sarsena (?), curia of, ii. . scholares, household troops, under magister officiorum, v. . scholaris, sextus (?), justus appointed, xi. . schubert, von, author of 'unterwerfung der alamannen,' , , . science, list of greek men of, whose works were translated by boetius, i. . scribe, importance of the office of, xii. . scrinia, the four, under the magister officiorum, , ; to provide themselves with paper, xi. . scriniarii, vii. , . scriniarius, . scriniarius curae militaris, ; lucillus appointed, xi. . scrinium memoriae, . scriniarius actorum, catellus obtains rank of, xi. . scyllacium (_squillace_), birthplace of cassiodorus, ; the greek colony, scylletion, , ; roman colony, minerva scolacium, , ; appearance of, ; xii. ; modern remains at, ; cassiodorus founds his monasteries at, ; topography of, - ; citizens of, not to be called on to contribute to the _cursus publicus_, xii. . scythian, vagueness of the term, which was often applied to the goths, , . senarius, vir illustris, appointed comes patrimonii, iv. , ; instructions to, as comes privatarum rerum, iv. , , . senate of rome, attitude of theodoric and cassiodorus towards, , ; flattery of, i. , ; iii. ; v. ; not to degrade themselves by altercations with the mob in the circus, i. , ; enquiry into character of candidates for admission to, i. ; iv. ; senators' taxes in arrear, ii. ; senators with gothic names, ii. , ; iii. ; proceedings on trial of senators, iv. , ; vi. ; addressed on election of pope felix iii, viii. ; theodahad's elevation announced to, x. ; chidden by theodahad for not accepting his invitation to ravenna, x. ; theodahad announces arrival of gothic garrison to, x. ; ordered by theodahad to communicate with justinian, x. ; cassiodorus writes to, on his elevation to the praetorian praefecture, xi. ; petition of, to justinian for peace, xi. . senator, formula conferring the rank of, vi. . severinus (or severianus), vir illustris, appointed a commissioner for province of suavia, to remedy financial abuses, v. , ; again sent to suavia and dalmatia with osuin, ix. . severus, vir spectabilis, apparently governor of bruttii and lucania, vii. - . sextarius, corn measure, ii. . sicily, inhabitants of, suspicious, and with difficulty won over to the rule of theodoric, i. ; filagrius, a citizen of syracuse, asks leave to return to, i. ; possessions of milanese church in, ii. ; valerian, a citizen of syracuse, allowed to return thither, iv. ; formula of count of syracuse, vi. ; _augmentum_ imposed by theodoric remitted by athalaric, ix. , , ; oppressive acts of censitores and count of syracuse rebuked, ix. , . sidonius, apollinaris, possible quotation from, iii. . sigismer, illustris and count, sent to administer to the senate the oath of fidelity to athalaric, viii. . signine channel, near ravenna (?), shrubs growing in, to be rooted up, v. . sila, mount, in bruttii, celebrated for its cheese, xii. . silentiarii, thirty life-guards, . siliqua, one-twenty-fourth of solidus, . siliquaticum, a tax of one-twenty-fourth on sales in open market, collection of, ii. ; exemption from, ii. ; iv. ; collection of arrears of, in dalmatia, iii. ; collection of arrears of, in apulia and calabria, v. . siliquatarii, ii. , ; xii. . simeon, vir illustris and comes, appointed to collect arrears of taxation in dalmatia, iii. , . simeonius (an apulian or calabrian), summoned for arrears of siliquaticum, v. . simony practised at papal elections, edict against, ix. , . simplicius, pope ( - ), bought a house at rome claimed by the samaritans, iii. . singularii, servants charged with conveying the orders of the praetorian praefect into the provinces, ; origin of their name, . (_see_ also, xi. , .) sipontum in apulia, merchants of, despoiled by byzantine fleet (?), ii. . sirmium, war of ( ), tulum's services in, viii. ; cyprian's services in, viii. . slave of a senator, murderer of a freeborn citizen, to be surrendered, i. ; as to levy of slaves for the navy, v. ; gothic soldier made a slave wrongfully, v. ; degrading services (servitia famulatus) not to be claimed of freeborn goths, v. , ; tanca is accused of unjustly enslaving two rustic neighbours, viii. . slaves, runaway, to be restored to their owners, iii. ; did free italians sell their children as? viii. _n_. solidus, 'the ancients wished that it should consist of , denarii' (?), i. . sona, illustris, iii. . sontius (_isonzo_), river of, theodoric's crossing of, made an era in lawsuits as to landed property, i. ; the lucristani (?) on, ordered to attend to the cursus publicus, i. . sors, land-allotment, ii. . sors nascendi of the curialis, ii. . spain, to send corn-supplies to rome, v. ; abuses in administration of, to be repressed, v. . spatarius, sword-bearer, an officer in the royal household, iii. . spectabiles, second class of ministers, who belonged to it? , ; honour of, conferred on stephanus, ii. ; comes primi ordinis, highest of, vi. ; formula conferring rank of, vii. ; antianus, ex-cornicularius, receives rank of, xi. ; retiring primiscrinius receives rank of, xi. . spes, spectabilis, has a concession for draining land, ii. . spoletium (_spoleto_), gratuitous admission to baths at, ii. ; rebuilding behind the baths of turasius at, iv. ; honoratus, advocate at, v. . _staletti_, near squillace, near the site of vivarian monastery, . starcedius, vir sublimis, allowed to retire from military service, but without a pension, v. . statue, theft of brazen, at comum, ii. , . statues, care of, at como, ii. , ; at rome, vii. , . ste. marthe, denys de, author of 'vie de cassiodore,' . stephanus, killed by his servants and left unburied, ii. . stephanus, petition of, against bishop of pola, iv. . stratonicea, edict of, by diocletian, 'de pretiis venalium rerum,' . style, cassiodorus on the different kinds of, . suarii, pork-butchers, subject to praefectus annonae, vi. . s(u)avia (_sclavonia_), fridibad appointed governor of, iv. ; order to be maintained in, iv. ; grievances of the possossores of, to be redressed, v. ; osuin appointed governor of, ix. , . subadjuvae, deputy cashiers (?), . sublimis, epithet used in the 'variae,' _n_; equivalent to spectabilis (?), . suevi (perhaps here the same as alamanni) invade the venetian province ( ), xii. . sulcatoriae (?), some kind of merchant ships, ii. . summons, letters of, to the king's court, formulae evocatoriae, vii. , . sundial, description of, to be made by boetius for gundibad, i. . superbus, son of armentarius, appointed referendus curiae, iii. . sustineo, technically used of the king's reception of his guests, iii. (and ). swords, description of, sent by king of the vandals to theodoric, v. . symmachus, pope ( - ), contested election with laurentius, . symmachus the elder, orator and leader of the pagan party in the senate, ; was he also a historian? . symmachus, q. aurelius memmius, consul ( ), patrician, father-in-law of boethius, information as to, in the 'anecdoton holderi,' , - ; his speech for the 'allecticii,' ; his roman history, ; his claims against paulinus, i. ; one of the quinque-viri appointed to try barilius and praetextatus, iv. , ; commended for his restoration of buildings in rome, iv. ; a saying of, xi. . t. table of the king, provision of delicacies for, vi. ; xii. , . tabularii, cashiers of a municipality, a lower class of numerarii, . tacitus, on amber, quoted, v. . tanca, a goth (?), accused of unjustly enslaving free rustics, viii. . tarvisium (_treviso_), corn-warehouse at, to be opened, x. . taxation, arrears of, ii. , ; iv. ; v. ; immunity from, ii. ; remissness in tax-collectors condemned, iii. ; xii. ; remission of, for citizens of aries, iii. ; remission of, for all provincials of gaul, iii. ; iv. ; remission of, for one year, for citizens of marseilles, iv. ; weight of, to be lessened, iv. ; regulation of, for province of suavia, v. , ; abuses of, in spain, corrected, v. ; collection of _bina_ and _terna_, vii. - ; remission of super-assessment for dalmatia, ix. ; similar remission for sicily, ix. , , ; remission of, for a monastery, x. ; proper manner of collecting, xi. ; correction of abuses of, in liguria, xi. ; commutation of cattle-tax for lucania and bruttii, xi. ; taxes to be paid punctually, xii. ; in lucania and bruttii in time of war, xii. ; remission of, for venetia, on account of invasion of the suevi, xii. ; tax-gatherer allowed to make prepayment of his taxes, xii. ; _trina illatio_ to be collected regularly, xii. ; special requisition from istria, xii. , ; contributions from venetia remitted, xii. ; remission of half of, for liguria, xii. . taxes, formula for remission of, where the taxpayer is too heavily assessed, vii. . teias, king of the goths ( - ), his battle with narses on monte lettere, _n_. tenues = the poor, ii. , . terna, a kind of tax (not to be confounded with the tertiae or the trina illatio), iii. ; collection of, vii. , , . terracina, inscription at, as to draining marsh of decennonium, . tertiae, probably either the land assigned to the goths in italy or the pecuniary equivalent paid by the roman possessor for an undivided 'sors barbarica,' ; (tax), to be collected at same time as ordinary tribute, i. ; (land), demarcation of, by liberius, ii. ; (tax), immunity from, ii. . theodagunda, illustris foemina, apparently a gothic princess, ordered to do justice to renatus, iv. . theodahad, nephew of theodoric, associated in the sovereignty by amalasuentha, ; x. - ; his character, ; he dethrones amalasuentha (april , ), and puts her to death, ; his negotiations with justinian, ; his deposition and death, ; style of address in the 'variae,' ; ordered to undertake a case of contumacy, iii. ; his avarice condemned, iv. ; v. ; to receive farms which had belonged to his mother, viii. ; declares that his character has changed with his accession, x. ; chides the senate for their suspicions of him, x. ; thinks himself much superior to theodoric, x. ; intended journey of, to rome, xii. , ; his questionable generosity in releasing his mortgage on the church plate to the pope, xii. . theodora, augusta (married to justinian , died ), letter of amalasuentha to, x. ; letters of gudelina to, x. , , ; alleged complicity of, in murder of amalasuentha, , . theodoric, king of the goths and romans ( - ), his position in italy, , ; story of his inability to write, ; relation of cassiodorus to, , ; his religious tolerance, , ; his persecution of the orthodox, ; condemnation of boethius and symmachus, ; death of (aug. , ), ; may _possibly_ have called himself king of italy, _n_; _n_; confusion between him and theodoric ii the visigoth, ; letters written in the name of, - ; learned in the roman republic the art of governing romans with equity, i. ; relations between him and anastasius, i. ; allusion to his adoption by zeno (?), i. ; his intervention in gaul ( ), i. ; his friendship for artemidoras, i. ; motto for his reign, ii. ; inscription recording his drainage of decennonial marsh, ; his attempts to prevent war between alaric and clovis, iii. - ; calls himself 'romanus princeps,' iii. ; his high purpose in ruling, iii. ; his alliance with the thuringians, iv. ; his alliance with the heruli, iv. ; his rides after the hours of business with cyprian his _referendarius_, v. ; cassiodorus speaks of his 'oculus imperialis,' viii. ; praises of, by witigis, x. ; his especial characteristic was patience, xi. . theodoric i, king of the franks ( - ), death of, xi. ; _n_; _n_. theodoric, or more probably theodorus, patrician, accused of assaulting the green party in the circus, i. . theodorus, candidate for office of pantomimist, i. . theodoras, report of, as to gold in bruttii, ix. . theodosian code, perhaps referred to in the words 'statuta divalium sanctionum,' iv. ; as to decuriae librariorum, &c. ; as to delegatio, _n_. theodosius, man of theodahad (?), exhorted to abstain from violence, x. . thessalonica, praefect of, entreated by witigis to speed his ambassadors on their way to justinian, x. . theudimer, father of theodoric, 'pietate enituit,' xi. . thomas, father of germanus, iii. . thomas, vir clarissimus, complains that he cannot collect arrears of taxes in apulia, v. . thomas, vir honestus, hopelessly in debt for taxes on apulian farms, v. , . thomas the charioteer to receive a monthly allowance, iii. . thorbecke, august, author of 'cassiodorus senator,' . thorismuth, predecessor of theodoric, 'castitate enituit,' xi. . thuringians, king of, appealed to by theodoric to prevent war between clovis and alaric, iii. ; herminafrid, king of, married to amalabirga, niece of theodoric, iv. . tiber to be crossed by a bridge of boats, xii. . ticinum (_pavia_), inhabitants of, ordered to provision the heruli on their journey to king's comitatus, iv. ; corn warehouse at, to be opened, x. ; xii. ; provision dealers at, x. ; count winusiad, governor of, x. . tituli, practice of affixing to property, condemned, ix. . totila, words of, as to exceptional favour accorded to sicily, . trajan, oath taken by, to the roman people, viii. ; noble saying of, to an orator, viii. . transmund (thrasamund), king of the vandals ( - ), complained of for sheltering gesalic, theodoric's enemy, v. ; the reconciliation, v. . transmutation of metals (?), viii. . treasure, buried, search for, iv. . tribunatus provinciarum, formula of, vii. . tribuni maritimorum (in islands of venetia), xii. . tribunus voluptatum, minister of public amusement, formula of, vii. ; bacauda appointed, at milan, v. ; referred to, vi. . tridentum (_trient_), proprietors in district of, ii. ; new city to be erected in district of, v. ; corn warehouse at, to be opened, x. . trigguilla, 'regiae praepositus domus,' was he the praetorian praefect whose misgovernment is denounced, viii. ? trina illatio, three instalments for payment of taxes, ii. ; x. (?); xi. , , , ; xii. , , (?). trittheim, john (trithemius), abbot of spanheim, his notice of date of cassiodorus' birth, , , ; as to office of abbot held by cassiodorus, _n_. tuitio regii nominis, formula bestowing, vii. ; promised to owner of potteries, ii. ; to milanese church, ii. ; to maurentius and paula, iv. ; alluded to in edictum athalarici, ix. (p. ). tullianus, son of venantius, . tulum, patrician, his early history and character, viii. , ; embassy to constantinople (?), viii. ; share in the war of sirmium, viii. ; in the gaulish wars ( and ), viii. ; his escape from shipwreck, viii. ; marriage with an amal princess, viii. ; letter written on his behalf to the senate, viii. ; declared patrician, viii. , , , ; receives castrum lucullanum from theodoric and hands it over to joannes, viii. . tupha (tufa), an officer of odovacar, who deserted to theodoric and then betrayed him, ; lawsuit about his property, confiscated to the treasury, iv. . tusciae (thusciae) utraeque, iv. ; goths resident in, iv. ; canonicarius of, to buy a fitting quantity of paper, xi. . u. ulpianus, guarantor for venantius, has lost solidi by his default, ii. . (as this occurred 'administrationis suae tempore,' ulpianus must have held some kind of public office.) ulysses, reputed founder of scyllacium, xii. . unalamer (walamir), uncle of theodoric, 'fide enituit,' xi. . unimundus (hunimund), collateral ancestor of theodoric, 'forma enituit,' xi. . uraias, nephew of king witigis, his capture of milan ( ), xii. . usener, hermann, editor of 'anecdoton holderi,' - , . v. vacco, major domus to theodahad, x. ; to superintend purchase of provisions for gothic garrison, x. . valentinian iii, emperor ( - ), quotation from novellae of, ix. ; placidia's guardianship of, xi. . valerian, a spectabilis, citizen of syracuse, sons of, to be detained in rome, iv. . valeriana, adeodatus condemned for rape of, iii. . vandals, king of (thrasamund), sends presents to theodoric, v. . (_see_ also _transmund_ and _hilderic_.) vandals, allusion to, v. . 'variae' of cassiodorus, their style described, - ; not arranged in chronological order, ; time and manner of their editing, , ; reason of the name, , . velia (or volia), dispute between possessores and curiales of, iv. . venantius ( ), guardian of plutianus, his accusation of felix, i. , . venantius ( ), by his dishonesty has caused his guarantor ulpianus to forfeit solidi, ii. . venantius ( ), son of liberius, vir illustris, praises of, ii. ; made comes domesticorum, ii. , ; rebuked for remissness in collection of taxes when corrector of bruttii and lucania, iii. ; complaints of firminus against, iii. ; his alleged unjust judgment of adeodatus, iii. ; descended from the ancient decii, ix. ; congratulated on consulship of his son paulinus ( ), ix. . venerius, a farmer, unjustly reduced to slavery by tanca, viii. . venetia, province of, gepidae on their way to gaul to march peaceably through, v. , ; famine in 'devotae venetiae' to be relieved by corn distribution, x. ; canonicarius of, ordered to collect wine for the king's table, xii. ; taxes of, remitted, on account of invasion of the suevi, xii. ; 'venetiae praedicabiles,' xii. ; scarcity of crops in, xii. . venice, letter containing first historical notice of ( ), xii. . veranilda, convert from arianism to catholic faith, interceded for by justinian, x. . vercelli, grant of freedom from taxation made to church of, i. . veredarii, drivers of the royal mail, ii. . veredi, post-horses, not to be overworked, iv. . verruca (perhaps _dos trento_), near trient, description of the fort of, iii. ; meaning of the word, , _n_ . vesuvius, eruption of, iv. . vicarius, a spectabilis and governor of a diocese, ; i. . vicarius praefectorum (?), title borne by gemellus as governor of gaul, iii. . vicarius portus, formula of, vii. . vicarius urbis romae, formula of, vi. ; limits of his jurisdiction, . vice-dominus (?), servants of, have oppressed provincials of suavia, v. . victor tunnunensis, chronicler (died in ), as to the death of amalafrida, _n_. victor, vir spectabilis, censitor of sicily, severely rebuked for acts of oppression, ix. . vigilus, pope ( - ), allusion to by cassiodorus, ; brother of reparatus, ; perhaps alluded to by gudelina, x. (_see_ p. _n_). villiciorum tuitio (?), removed in spain, as being costly and unpopular, v. . virgil quoted, _n_; xii. . vivarian monastery, founded by cassiodorus, near scyllacium, ; site of, . vivianus, spectabilis, renouncing the world, foregoes the benefit of an unjust decree which he has obtained against joannes, iv. . volcanoes, nature of, iii. ; iv. . volusianus, one of the quinque-viri appointed to try basilius and praetextatus, iv. , ; died at easter, iv. ; his sons robbed of their possessions by a heartless intriguer, iv. . vulcanian islands (_lipari_), a murderer banished to, iii. . w. walamir (_see_ unalamer). warni (or guarni), king of, appealed to by theodoric to prevent war between clovis and alaric, iii. . water-clock, description of, to be made by boetius for gundibad, i. . water-finder has come from africa to rome, iii. ; description of his art, iii. . wine, acinaticium, xii. ; palmatiana, xii. ; of gaza, xii. ; sabine, xii. . winithar (_see_ munitarius). winusiad, comes, governor of ticinum, recommended to visit baths of bormio, x. . witigis (or vitigis), king of the goths ( - ), proclamation announcing his accession, ; x. ; letters written in the name of, x. - ; his vengeance on theodahad, x. ; his marriage with matasuentha, x. ; his siege of rome, ; possibly alluded to in xii. ; ; the burgundians' fear of him, xii. . witigisclus (or wigisicla), vir spectabilis, censitor of sicily, severely rebuked for acts of oppression, ix. . z. zeno, emperor ( - ), his concessions to theodoric, x. . * * * * * _printed at the university press, oxford_ _by_ horace hart, _printer to the university_ antonina or, the fall of rome by wilkie collins preface in preparing to compose a fiction founded on history, the writer of these pages thought it no necessary requisite of such a work that the principal characters appearing in it should be drawn from the historical personages of the period. on the contrary, he felt that some very weighty objections attached to this plan of composition. he knew well that it obliged a writer to add largely from invention to what was actually known--to fill in with the colouring of romantic fancy the bare outline of historic fact--and thus to place the novelist's fiction in what he could not but consider most unfavourable contrast to the historian's truth. he was further by no means convinced that any story in which historical characters supplied the main agents, could be preserved in its fit unity of design and restrained within its due limits of development, without some falsification or confusion of historical dates--a species of poetical licence of which he felt no disposition to avail himself, as it was his main anxiety to make his plot invariably arise and proceed out of the great events of the era exactly in the order in which they occurred. influenced, therefore, by these considerations, he thought that by forming all his principal characters from imagination, he should be able to mould them as he pleased to the main necessities of the story; to display them, without any impropriety, as influenced in whatever manner appeared most strikingly interesting by its minor incidents; and further, to make them, on all occasions, without trammel or hindrance, the practical exponents of the spirit of the age, of all the various historical illustrations of the period, which the author's researches among conflicting but equally important authorities had enabled him to garner up, while, at the same time, the appearance of verisimilitude necessary to an historical romance might, he imagined, be successfully preserved by the occasional introduction of the living characters of the era, in those portions of the plot comprising events with which they had been remarkably connected. on this plan the recent work has been produced. to the fictitious characters alone is committed the task of representing the spirit of the age. the roman emperor, honorius, and the gothic king, alaric, mix but little personally in the business of the story--only appearing in such events, and acting under such circumstances, as the records of history strictly authorise; but exact truth in respect to time, place, and circumstance is observed in every historical event introduced in the plot, from the period of the march of the gothic invaders over the alps to the close of the first barbarian blockade of rome. contents. chapter . goisvintha. chapter . the court. chapter . rome. chapter . the church. chapter . antonina. chapter . an apprenticeship to the temple. chapter . the bed-chamber. chapter . the goths. chapter . the two interviews. chapter . the rift in the wall. chapter . goisvintha's return. chapter . the passage of the wall. chapter . the house in the suburbs. chapter . the famine. chapter . the city and the gods. chapter . love meetings. chapter . the huns. chapter . the farm-house. chapter . the guardian restored. chapter . the breach repassed. chapter . father and child. chapter . the banquet of famine. chapter . the last efforts of the besieged. chapter . the grave and the camp. chapter . the temple and the church. chapter . retribution. chapter . the vigil of hope. the conclusion. 'ubi thesaurus ibi cor.' chapter . goisvintha. the mountains forming the range of alps which border on the north-eastern confines of italy, were, in the autumn of the year , already furrowed in numerous directions by the tracks of the invading forces of those northern nations generally comprised under the appellation of goths. in some places these tracks were denoted on either side by fallen trees, and occasionally assumed, when half obliterated by the ravages of storms, the appearance of desolate and irregular marshes. in other places they were less palpable. here, the temporary path was entirely hidden by the incursions of a swollen torrent; there, it was faintly perceptible in occasional patches of soft ground, or partly traceable by fragments of abandoned armour, skeletons of horses and men, and remnants of the rude bridges which had once served for passage across a river or transit over a precipice. among the rocks of the topmost of the range of mountains immediately overhanging the plains of italy, and presenting the last barrier to the exertions of a traveller or the march of an invader, there lay, at the beginning of the fifth century, a little lake. bounded on three sides by precipices, its narrow banks barren of verdure or habitations, and its dark and stagnant waters brightened but rarely by the presence of the lively sunlight, this solitary spot--at all times mournful--presented, on the autumn of the day when our story commences, an aspect of desolation at once dismal to the eye and oppressive to the heart. it was near noon; but no sun appeared in the heaven. the dull clouds, monotonous in colour and form, hid all beauty in the firmament, and shed heavy darkness on the earth. dense, stagnant vapours clung to the mountain summits; from the drooping trees dead leaves and rotten branches sunk, at intervals, on the oozy soil, or whirled over the gloomy precipice; and a small steady rain fell, slow and unintermitting, upon the deserts around. standing upon the path which armies had once trodden, and which armies were still destined to tread, and looking towards the solitary lake, you heard, at first, no sound but the regular dripping of the rain-drops from rock to rock; you saw no prospect but the motionless waters at your feet, and the dusky crags which shadowed them from above. when, however, impressed by the mysterious loneliness of the place, the eye grew more penetrating and the ear more attentive, a cavern became apparent in the precipices round the lake; and, in the intervals of the heavy rain-drops, were faintly perceptible the sounds of a human voice. the mouth of the cavern was partly concealed by a large stone, on which were piled some masses of rotten brushwood, as if for the purpose of protecting any inhabitant it might contain from the coldness of the atmosphere without. placed at the eastward boundary of the lake, this strange place of refuge commanded a view not only of the rugged path immediately below it, but of a large plot of level ground at a short distance to the west, which overhung a second and lower range of rocks. from this spot might be seen far beneath, on days when the atmosphere was clear, the olive grounds that clothed the mountain's base, and beyond, stretching away to the distant horizon, the plains of fated italy, whose destiny of defeat and shame was now hastening to its dark and fearful accomplishment. the cavern, within, was low and irregular in form. from its rugged walls the damp oozed forth upon its floor of decayed moss. lizards and noisome animals had tenanted its comfortless recesses undisturbed, until the period we have just described, when their miserable rights were infringed on for the first time by human intruders. a woman crouched near the entrance of the place. more within, on the driest part of the ground, lay a child asleep. between them were scattered some withered branches and decayed leaves, which were arranged as if to form a fire. in many parts this scanty collection of fuel was slightly blackened; but, wetted as it was by the rain, all efforts to light it permanently had evidently been fruitless. the woman's head was bent forwards, and her face, hid in her hands, rested on her knees. at intervals she muttered to herself in a hoarse, moaning voice. a portion of her scanty clothing had been removed to cover the child. what remained on her was composed, partly of skins of animals, partly of coarse cotton cloth. in many places this miserable dress was marked with blood, and her long, flaxen hair bore upon its dishevelled locks the same ominous and repulsive stain. the child seemed scarcely four years of age, and showed on his pale, thin face all the peculiarities of his gothic origin. his features seemed to have been once beautiful, both in expression and form; but a deep wound, extending the whole length of his cheek, had now deformed him for ever. he shivered and trembled in his sleep, and every now and then mechanically stretched forth his little arms towards the dead cold branches that were scattered before him. suddenly a large stone became detached from the rock in a distant part of the cavern, and fell noisily to the ground. at this sound he woke with a scream--raised himself--endeavoured to advance towards the woman, and staggered backward against the side of the cave. a second wound in the leg had wreaked that destruction on his vigour which the first had effected on his beauty. he was a cripple. at the instant of his awakening the woman had started up. she now raised him from the ground, and taking some herbs from her bosom, applied them to his wounded cheek. by this action her dress became discomposed: it was stiff at the top with coagulated blood, which had evidently flowed from a cut in her neck. all her attempts to compose the child were in vain; he moaned and wept piteously, muttering at intervals his disjointed exclamations of impatience at the coldness of the place and the agony of his recent wounds. speechless and tearless the wretched woman looked vacantly down on his face. there was little difficulty in discerning from that fixed, distracted gaze the nature of the tie that bound the mourning woman to the suffering boy. the expression of rigid and awful despair that lowered in her fixed, gloomy eyes, the livid paleness that discoloured her compressed lips, the spasms that shook her firm, commanding form, mutely expressing in the divine eloquence of human emotion that between the solitary pair there existed the most intimate of earth's relationships--the connection of mother and child. for some time no change occurred in the woman's demeanour. at last, as if struck by some sudden suspicion, she rose, and clasping the child in one arm, displaced with the other the brushwood at the entrance of her place of refuge, cautiously looking forth on all that the mists left visible of the western landscape. after a short survey she drew back as if reassured by the unbroken solitude of the place, and turning towards the lake, looked down upon the black waters at her feet. 'night has succeeded to night,' she muttered gloomily, 'and has brought no succour to my body, and no hope to my heart! mile on mile have i journeyed, and danger is still behind, and loneliness for ever before. the shadow of death deepens over the boy; the burden of anguish grows weightier than i can bear. for me, friends are murdered, defenders are distant, possessions are lost. the god of the christian priests has abandoned us to danger and deserted us in woe. it is for me to end the struggle for us both. our last refuge has been in this place--our sepulchre shall be here as well!' with one last look at the cold and comfortless sky, she advanced to the very edge of the lake's precipitous bank. already the child was raised in her arms, and her body bent to accomplish successfully the fatal spring, when a sound in the east--faint, distant, and fugitive--caught her ear. in an instant her eye brightened, her chest heaved, her cheek flushed. she exerted the last relics of her wasted strength to gain a prominent position upon a ledge of the rocks behind her, and waited in an agony of expectation for a repetition of that magic sound. in a moment more she heard it again--for the child, stupefied with terror at the action that had accompanied her determination to plunge with him into the lake, now kept silence, and she could listen undisturbed. to unpractised ears the sound that so entranced her would have been scarcely audible. even the experienced traveller would have thought it nothing more than the echo of a fallen stone among the rocks in the eastward distance. but to her it was no unimportant sound, for it gave the welcome signal of deliverance and delight. as the hour wore on, it came nearer and nearer, tossed about by the sportive echoes, and now clearly betraying that its origin was, as she had at first divined, the note of the gothic trumpet. soon the distant music ceased, and was succeeded by another sound, low and rumbling, as of an earthquake afar off or a rising thunderstorm, and changing, ere long, to a harsh confused noise, like the rustling of a mighty wind through whole forests of brushwood. at this instant the woman lost all command over herself; her former patience and caution deserted her; reckless of danger, she placed the child upon the ledge on which she had been standing; and, though trembling in every limb, succeeded in mounting so much higher on the crag as to gain a fissure near the top of the rock, which commanded an uninterrupted view of the vast tracts of uneven ground leading in an easterly direction to the next range of precipices and ravines. one after another the long minutes glided on, and, though much was still audible, nothing was yet to be seen. at length the shrill sound of the trumpet again rang through the dull, misty air, and the next instant the advance guard of an army of goths emerged from the distant woods. then, after an interval, the multitudes of the main body thronged through every outlet in the trees, and spread in dusky masses over the desert ground that lay between the woods and the rocks about the borders of the lake. the front ranks halted, as if to communicate with the crowds of the rearguard and the stragglers among the baggage waggons, who still poured forth, apparently in interminable hosts, from the concealment of the distant trees. the advanced troops, evidently with the intention of examining the roads, still marched rapidly on, until they gained the foot of the ascent leading to the crags to which the woman still clung, and from which, with eager attention, she still watched their movements. placed in a situation of the extremest peril, her strength was her only preservative against the danger of slipping from her high and narrow elevation. hitherto the moral excitement of expectation had given her the physical power necessary to maintain her position; but just as the leaders of the guard arrived at the cavern, her over-wrought energies suddenly deserted her; her hands relaxed their grasp; she tottered, and would have sunk backwards to instant destruction, had not the skins wrapped about her bosom and waist become entangled with a point of one of the jagged rocks immediately around her. fortunately--for she could utter no cry--the troops halted at this instant to enable their horses to gain breath. two among them at once perceived her position and detected her nation. they mounted the rocks; and, while one possessed himself of the child, the other succeeded in rescuing the mother and bearing her safely to the ground. the snorting of horses, the clashing of weapons, the confusion of loud, rough voices, which now startled the native silence of the solitary lake, and which would have bewildered and overwhelmed most persons in the woman's exhausted condition, seemed, on the contrary, to reassure her feelings and reanimate her powers. she disengaged herself from her preserver's support, and taking her child in her arms, advanced towards a man of gigantic stature, whose rich armour sufficiently announced that his position in the army was one of command. 'i am goisvintha,' said she, in a firm, calm voice--'sister to hermanric. i have escaped from the massacre of the hostages of aquileia with one child. is my brother with the army of the king?' this declaration produced a marked change in the bystanders. the looks of indifference or curiosity which they had at first cast on the fugitive, changed to the liveliest expression of wonder and respect. the chieftain whom she had addressed raised the visor of his helmet so as to uncover his face, answered her question in the affirmative, and ordered two soldiers to conduct her to the temporary encampment of the main army in the rear. as she turned to depart, an old man advanced, leaning on his long, heavy sword, and accosted her thus-- 'i am withimer, whose daughter was left hostage with the romans in aquileia. is she of the slain or of the escaped?' 'her bones rot under the city walls,' was the answer. 'the romans made of her a feast for the dogs.' no word or tear escaped the old warrior. he turned in the direction of italy; but, as he looked downwards towards the plains, his brow lowered, and his hands tightened mechanically round the hilt of his enormous weapon. the same gloomy question was propounded to goisvintha by the two men who guided her to the army that had been asked by their aged comrade. it received the same terrible answer, which was borne with the same stern composure, and followed by the same ominous glance in the direction of italy, as in the instance of the veteran withimer. leading the horse that carried the exhausted woman with the utmost care, and yet with wonderful rapidity, down the paths which they had so recently ascended, the men in a short space of time reached the place where the army had halted, and displayed to goisvintha, in all the majesty of numbers and repose, the vast martial assemblage of the warriors of the north. no brightness gleamed from their armour; no banners waved over their heads; no music sounded among their ranks. backed by the dreary woods, which still disgorged unceasing additions to the warlike multitude already encamped; surrounded by the desolate crags which showed dim, wild, and majestic through the darkness of the mist; covered with the dusky clouds which hovered motionless over the barren mountain tops, and poured their stormy waters on the uncultivated plains--all that the appearance of the goths had of solemnity in itself was in awful harmony with the cold and mournful aspect that the face of nature had assumed. silent--menacing--dark,--the army looked the fit embodiment of its leader's tremendous purpose--the subjugation of rome. conducting goisvintha quickly through the front files of warriors, her guides, pausing at a spot of ground which shelved upwards at right angles with the main road from the woods, desired her to dismount; and pointing to the group that occupied the place, said, 'yonder is alaric the king, and with him is hermanric thy brother.' at whatever point of view it could have been regarded, the assemblage of persons thus indicated to goisvintha must have arrested inattention itself. near a confused mass of weapons, scattered on the ground, reclined a group of warriors apparently listening to the low, muttered conversation of three men of great age, who rose above them, seated on pieces of rock, and whose long white hair, rough skin dresses, and lean tottering forms appeared in strong contrast with the iron-clad and gigantic figures of their auditors beneath. above the old men, on the highroad, was one of alaric's waggons; and on the heaps of baggage piled against its clumsy wheels had been chosen resting-place of the future conqueror of rome. the top of the vehicle seemed absolutely teeming with a living burden. perched in every available nook and corner were women and children of all ages, and weapons and live stock of all varieties. now, a child--lively, mischievous, inquisitive--peered forth over the head of a battering-ram. now, a lean, hungry sheep advanced his inquiring nostrils sadly to the open air, and displayed by the movement the head of a withered old woman pillowed on his woolly flanks. here, appeared a young girl struggling, half entombed in shields. there, gasped an emaciated camp-follower, nearly suffocated in heaps of furs. the whole scene, with its background of great woods, drenched in a vapour of misty rain, with its striking contrasts at one point and its solemn harmonies at another, presented a vast combination of objects that either startled or awed--a gloomy conjunction of the menacing and the sublime. bidding goisvintha wait near the waggon, one of her conductors approached and motioned aside a young man standing near the king. as the warrior rose to obey the demand, he displayed, with all the physical advantages of his race, and ease and elasticity of movement unusual among the men of his nation. at the instant when he joined the soldier who had accosted him, his face was partially concealed by an immense helmet, crowned with a boar's head, the mouth of which, forced open at death, gaped wide, as if still raging for prey. but the man had scarcely stated his errand, when he started violently, removed the grim appendage of war, and hastened bare-headed to the side of the waggon where goisvintha awaited his approach. the instant he was beheld by the woman, she hastened to meet him; placed the wounded child in his arms, and greeted him with these words:-- 'your brother served in the armies of rome when our people were at peace with the empire. of his household and his possessions this is all that the romans have left!' she ceased, and for an instant the brother and sister regarded each other in touching and expressive silence. though, in addition to the general characteristics of country, the countenances of the two naturally bore the more particular evidences of community of blood, all resemblance between them at this instant--so wonderful is the power of expression over feature--had utterly vanished. the face and manner of the young man (he had numbered only twenty years) expressed a deep sorrow, manly in its stern tranquility, sincere in its perfect innocence of display. as he looked on the child, his blue eyes--bright, piercing, and lively--softened like a woman's; his lips, hardly hidden by his short beard, closed and quivered; and his chest heaved under the armour that lay upon its noble proportions. there was in this simple, speechless, tearless melancholy--this exquisite consideration of triumphant strength for suffering weakness--something almost sublime; opposed as it was to the emotions of malignity and despair that appeared in goisvintha's features. the ferocity that gleamed from her dilated, glaring eyes, the sinister markings that appeared round her pale and parted lips, the swelling of the large veins, drawn to their extremest point of tension on her lofty forehead, so distorted her countenance, that the brother and sister, as they stood together, seemed in expression to have changed sexes for the moment. from the warrior came pity for the sufferer; from the mother, indignation for the offence. arousing himself from his melancholy contemplation of the child, and as yet answering not a word to goisvintha, hermanric mounted the waggon, and placing the last of his sister's offspring in the arms of a decrepid old woman, who sat brooding over some bundles of herbs spread out upon her lap, addressed her thus:-- 'these wounds are from the romans. revive the child, and you shall be rewarded from the spoils of rome.' 'ha! ha! ha!' chuckled the crone; 'hermanric is an illustrious warrior, and shall be obeyed. hermanric is great, for his arm can slay; but brunechild is greater than he, for her cunning can cure!' as if anxious to verify this boast before the warrior's eyes, the old woman immediately began the preparation of the necessary dressings from her store of herbs; but hermanric waited not to be a witness of her skill. with one final look at the pale, exhausted child, he slowly descended from the waggon, and approaching goisvintha, drew her towards a sheltered position near the ponderous vehicle. here he seated himself by her side, prepared to listen with the deepest attention to her recital of the scenes of terror and suffering through which she had so recently passed. 'you,' she began, 'born while our nation was at peace; transported from the field of war to those distant provinces where tranquility still prevailed; preserved throughout your childhood from the chances of battle; advanced to the army in your youth, only when its toils are past and its triumphs are already at hand--you alone have escaped the miseries of our people, to partake in the glory of their approaching revenge. 'hardly had a year passed since you had been removed from the settlements of the goths when i wedded priulf. the race of triflers to whom he was then allied, spite of their roman haughtiness, deferred to him in their councils, and confessed among their legions that he was brave. i saw myself with joy the wife of a warrior of renown; i believed, in my pride, that i was destined to be the mother of a race of heroes; when suddenly there came news to us that the emperor theodosius was dead. then followed anarchy among the people of the soil, and outrages on the liberties of their allies, the goths. ere long the call to arms arose among our nation. soon our waggons of war were rolled across the frozen danube; our soldiers quitted the roman camp; our husbandmen took their weapons from their cottage walls; we that were women prepared with our children to follow our husbands to the field; and alaric, the king, came forth as the leader of our hosts. 'we marched upon the territories of the greeks. but how shall i tell you of the events of those years of war that followed our invasion; of the glory of our victories; of the hardships of our defences; of the miseries of our retreats; of the hunger that we vanquished; of the diseases that we endured; of the shameful peace that was finally ratified, against the wishes of our king! how shall i tell of all this, when my thoughts are on the massacre from which i have just escaped--when these first evils, though once remembered in anguish, are, even now, forgotten in the superior horrors that ensued! 'the truce was made. alaric departed with the remnant of his army, and encamped at aemona, on the confines of that land which he had already invaded, and which he is now prepared to conquer. between our king and stilicho, the general of the romans, passed many messages, for the leaders disputed on the terms of the peace that should be finally ordained. meanwhile, as an earnest of the gothic faith, bands of our warriors, and among them priulf, were despatched into italy to be allies once more of the legions of rome, and with them they took their wives and their children, to be detained as hostages in the cities throughout the land. 'i and my children were conducted to aquileia. in a dwelling within the city we were lodged with our possessions. it was night when i took leave of priulf, my husband, at the gates. i watched him as he departed with the army, and, when the darkness hid him from my eyes, i re-entered the town; from which i am the only woman of our nation who has escaped alive.' as she pronounced these last words, goisvintha's manner, which had hitherto been calm and collected, began to change: she paused abruptly in her narrative, her head sunk upon her breast, her frame quivered as if convulsed with violent agony. when she turned towards hermanric after an interval of silence to address him again, the same malignant expression lowered over her countenance that had appeared on it when she presented to him her wounded child; her voice became broken, hoarse, and unfeminine; and pressing closely to the young man's side, she laid her trembling fingers on his arm, as if to bespeak his most undivided attention. 'time grew on,' she continued, 'and still there came no tidings that the peace was finally secured. we, that were hostages, lived separate from the people of the town; for we felt enmity towards each other even then. in my captivity there was no employment for me but patience--no pursuit but hope. alone with my children, i was wont to look forth over the sea towards the camp of our king; but day succeeded to day, and his warriors appeared not on the plains; nor did priulf return with the legions to encamp before the gates of the town. so i mourned in my loneliness; for my heart yearned towards the homes of my people; i longed once more to look upon my husband's face, and to behold again the ranks of our warriors, and the majesty of their battle array. 'but already, when the great day of despair was quickly drawing near, a bitter outrage was preparing for me alone. the men who had hitherto watched us were changed, and of the number of the new guards was one who cast on me the eyes of lust. night after night he poured his entreaties into my unwilling ear; for, in his vanity and shamelessness, he believed that i, who was gothic and the wife of a goth, might be won by him whose parentage was but roman! soon from prayers he rose to threats; and one night, appearing before me with smiles, he cried out that stilicho, whose desire was to make peace with the goths, had suffered, for his devotion to our people, the penalty of death; that a time of ruin was approaching for us all, and that he alone--whom i despised--could preserve me from the anger of rome. as he ceased he approached me; but i, who had been in many battle-fields, felt no dread at the prospect of war, and i spurned him with laughter from my presence. 'then, for a few nights more, my enemy approached me not again. until one evening, as i sat on the terrace before the house, with the child that you have beheld, a helmet-crest suddenly fell at my feet, and a voice cried to me from the garden beneath: 'priulf thy husband has been slain in a quarrel by the soldiers of rome! already the legions with whom he served are on their way to the town; for a massacre of the hostages is ordained. speak but the word, and i can save thee even yet!' 'i looked on the crest. it was bloody, and it was his! for an instant my heart writhed within me as i thought on my warrior whom i had loved! then, as i heard the messenger of death retire, cursing, from his lurking-place in the garden, i recollected that now my children had none but their mother to defend them, and that peril was preparing for them from the enemies of their race. besides the little one in my arms, i had two that were sleeping in the house. as i looked round, bewildered and in despair, to see if a chance were left us to escape, there rang through the evening stillness the sound of a trumpet, and the tramp of armed men was audible in the street beneath. then, from all quarters of the town rose, as one sudden sound, the shrieks of women and the yells of men. already, as i rushed towards my children's beds, the fiends of rome had mounted the stairs, and waved in bloody triumph their reeking swords! i gained the steps; and, as i looked up, they flung down at me the body of my youngest child. o hermanric! hermanric! it was the most beautiful and the most beloved! what the priests say that god should be to us, that, the fairest one of my offspring, was to me! as i saw it mutilated and dead--i, who but an hour before had hushed it on my bosom to rest!--my courage forsook me, and when the murderers advanced on me i staggered and fell. i felt the sword-point enter my neck; i saw the dagger gleam over the child in my arms; i heard the death-shriek of the last victim above; and then my senses failed me, and i could listen and move no more! 'long must i have lain motionless at the foot of those fatal stairs; for when i awoke from my trance the noises in the city were hushed, and from her place in the firmament the moon shone softly into the deserted house. i listened, to be certain that i was alone with my murdered children. no sound was in the dwelling; the assassins had departed, believing that their labour of blood was ended when i fell beneath their swords; and i was able to crawl forth in security, and to look my last upon my offspring that the romans had slain. the child that i held to my breast still breathed. i stanched with some fragments of my garment the wounds that he had received, and laying him gently by the stairs--in the moonlight, so that i might see him when he moved--i groped in the shadow of the wall for my first murdered and my last born; for that youngest and fairest one of my offspring whom they had slaughtered before my eyes! when i touched the corpse, it was wet with blood; i felt its face, and it was cold beneath my hands; i raised its body in my arms, and its limbs already were rigid in death! then i thought of the eldest child, who lay dead in the chamber above. but my strength was failing me fast. i had an infant who might yet be preserved; and i knew that if morning dawned on me in the house, all chances of escape were lost for ever. so, though my heart was cold within me at leaving my child's corpse to the mercy of the romans, i took up the dead and the wounded one in my arms, and went forth into the garden, and thence towards the seaward quarter of the town. 'i passed through the forsaken streets. sometimes i stumbled against the body of a child--sometimes the moonlight showed me the death-pale face of some woman of my nation whom i had loved, stretched upward to the sky; but i still advanced until i gained the wall of the town, and heard on the other side the waters of the river running onward to the port of aquileia and the sea. 'i looked around. the gates i knew were guarded and closed. by the wall was the only prospect of escape; but its top was high and its sides were smooth when i felt them with my hands. despairing and wearied, i laid my burdens down where they were hidden by the shade, and walked forward a few paces, for to remain still was a torment that i could not endure. at a short distance i saw a soldier sleeping against the wall of a house. by his side was a ladder placed against the window. as i looked up i beheld the head of a corpse resting on its top. the victim must have been lately slain, for her blood still dripped slowly down into an empty wine-pot that stood within the soldier's reach. when i saw the ladder, hope revived within me. i removed it to the wall--i mounted, and laid my dead child on the great stones at its top--i returned, and placed my wounded boy by the corpse. slowly, and with many efforts, i dragged the ladder upwards, until from its own weight one end fell to the ground on the other side. as i had risen so i descended. in the sand of the river-bank i scraped a hole, and buried there the corpse of the infant; for i could carry the weight of two no longer. then with my wounded child i reached some caverns that lay onward near the seashore. there throughout the next day i lay hidden--alone with my sufferings of body and my affliction of heart--until the night came on, when i set forth on my journey to the mountains; for i knew that at aemona, in the camp of the warriors of my people, lay the only refuge that was left to me on earth. feebly and slowly, hiding by day and travelling by night, i kept on my way until i gained that lake among the rocks, where the guards of the army came forward and rescued me from death.' she ceased. throughout the latter portion of her narrative her demeanour had been calm and sad; and as she dwelt, with the painful industry of grief, over each minute circumstance connected with the bereavements she had sustained, her voice softened to those accents of quiet mournfulness, which make impressive the most simple words, and render musical the most unsteady tones. it seemed as if those tenderer and kinder emotions, which the attractions of her offspring had once generated in her character, had at the bidding of memory become revivified in her manner while she lingered over the recital of their deaths. for a brief space of time she looked fixedly and anxiously upon the countenance of hermanric, which was half averted from her, and expressed a fierce and revengeful gloom that sat unnaturally on it noble lineaments. then turning from him, she buried her face in her hands, and made no effort more to attract him to attention or incite him to reply. this solemn silence kept by the bereaved woman and the brooding man had lasted but a few minutes, when a harsh, trembling voice was heard from the top of the waggon, calling at intervals, 'hermanric! hermanric!' at first the young man remained unmoved by those discordant and repulsive tones. they repeated his name, however, so often and so perseveringly, that he noticed them ere long; and rising suddenly, as if impatient of the interruption, advanced towards the side of the waggon from which the mysterious summons appeared to come. as he looked up towards the vehicle the voice ceased, and he saw that the old woman to whom he had confided the child was the person who had called him so hurriedly but a few moments before. her tottering body, clothed in bear-skins, was bent forward over a large triangular shield of polished brass, on which she leant her lank, shrivelled arms. her head shook with a tremulous, palsied action; a leer, half smile, half grimace, distended her withered lips and lightened her sunken eyes. sinister, cringing, repulsive; her face livid with the reflection from the weapon that was her support, and her figure scarcely human in the rugged garments that encompassed its gaunt proportions, she seemed a deformity set up by evil spirits to mock the majesty of the human form--an embodied satire on all that is most deplorable in infirmity and most disgusting in age. the instant she discerned hermanric, she stretched her body out still farther over the shield; and pointing to the interior of the waggon, muttered softly that one fearful and expressive word--dead! without waiting for any further explanation, the young goth mounted the vehicle, and gaining the old woman's side, saw stretched on her collection of herbs--beautiful in the sublime and melancholy stillness of death--the corpse of goisvintha's last child. 'is hermanric wroth?' whined the hag, quailing before the steady, rebuking glance of the young man. 'when i said that brunechild was greater than hermanric, i lied. it is hermanric that is most powerful! see, the dressings were placed on the wounds; and, though the child has died, shall not the treasures that were promised me be mine? i have done what i could, but my cunning begins to desert me, for i am old--old--old! i have seen my generation pass away! aha! i am old, hermanric, i am old!' when the young warrior looked on the child, he saw that the hag had spoken truth, and that the victim had died from no fault of hers. pale and serene, the countenance of the boy showed how tranquil had been his death. the dressings had been skilfully composed and carefully applied to his wounds, but suffering and privation had annihilated the feebleness of human resistance in their march toward the last dread goal, and the treachery of imperial rome had once more triumphed as was its wont, and triumphed over a child! as hermanric descended with the corpse goisvintha was the first object that met his eyes when he alighted on the ground. the mother received from him the lifeless burden without an exclamation or a tear. that emanation from her former and kinder self which had been produced by the closing recital of her sufferings was henceforth, at the signal of her last child's death, extinguished in her for ever! 'his wounds had crippled him,' said the young man gloomily. 'he could never have fought with the warriors! our ancestors slew themselves when they were no longer vigorous for the fight. it is better that he has died!' 'vengeance!' gasped goisvintha, pressing up closely to his side. 'we will have vengeance for the massacre of aquileia! when blood is streaming in the palaces of rome, remember my murdered children, and hasten not to sheathe thy sword!' at this instant, as if to rouse still further the fierce determination that appeared already in the face of the young goth, the voice of alaric was heard commanding the army to advance. hermanric started, and drew the panting woman after him to the resting-place of the king. there, armed at all points, and rising, by his superior stature, high above the throng around him, stood the dreaded captain of the gothic hosts. his helmet was raised so as to display his clear blue eyes gleaming over the multitude around him; he pointed with his sword in the direction of italy; and as rank by rank the men started to their arms, and prepared exultingly for the march, his lips parted with a smile of triumph, and ere he moved to accompany them he spoke thus:-- 'warriors of the goths, our halt is a short one among the mountains; but let not the weary repine, for the glorious resting-place that awaits our labours is the city of rome! the curse of odin, when in the infancy of our nation he retired before the myriads of the empire, it is our privilege to fulfil! that future destruction which he denounced against rome, it is ours to effect! remember your hostages that the romans have slain; your possessions that the romans have seized; your trust that the romans have betrayed! remember that i, your king, have within me that supernatural impulse which never deceives, and which calls to me in a voice of encouragement--advance, and the empire is thine! assemble the warriors, and the city of the world shall be delivered to the conquering goths! let us onward without delay! our prey awaits us! our triumph is near! our vengeance is at hand!' he paused; and at that moment the trumpet gave signal for the march. 'up! up!' cried hermanric, seizing goisvintha by the arm, and pointing to the waggon which had already begun to move; 'make ready for the journey! i will charge myself with the burial of the child. yet a few days and our encampment may be before aquileia. be patient, and i will avenge thee in the palaces of rome!' the mighty mass moved. the multitude stretched forth over the barren ground; and even now the warriors in front of the army might be seen by those in the rear mounting the last range of passes that lay between the plains of italy and the goths. chapter . the court. the traveller who so far departs from the ordinary track of tourists in modern italy as to visit the city of ravenna, remembers with astonishment, as he treads its silent and melancholy streets, and beholds vineyards and marshes spread over an extent of four miles between the adriatic and the town, that this place, now half deserted, was once the most populous of roman fortresses; and that where fields and woods now present themselves to his eyes the fleets of the empire once rode securely at anchor, and the merchant of rome disembarked his precious cargoes at his warehouse door. as the power of rome declined, the adriatic, by a strange fatality, began to desert the fortress whose defence it had hitherto secured. coeval with the gradual degeneracy of the people was the gradual withdrawal of the ocean from the city walls; until, at the beginning of the sixth century, a grove of pines already appeared where the port of augustus once existed. at the period of our story--though the sea had even then receded perceptibly--the ditches round the walls were yet filled, and the canals still ran through the city in much the same manner as they intersect venice at the present time. on the morning that we are about to describe, the autumn had advanced some days since the events mentioned in the preceding chapter. although the sun was now high in the eastern horizon, the restlessness produced by the heat emboldened a few idlers of ravenna to brave the sultriness of the atmosphere, in the vain hope of being greeted by a breeze from the adriatic as they mounted the seaward ramparts of the town. on attaining their destined elevation, these sanguine citizens turned their faces with fruitless and despairing industry towards every point of the compass, but no breath of air came to reward their perseverance. nothing could be more thoroughly suggestive of the undiminished universality of the heat than the view, in every direction, from the position they then occupied. the stone houses of the city behind them glowed with a vivid brightness overpowering to the strongest eyes. the light curtains hung motionless over the lonely windows. no shadows varied the brilliant monotony of the walls, or softened the lively glitter on the waters of the fountains beneath. not a ripple stirred the surface of the broad channel, that now replaced the ancient harbour. not a breath of wind unfolded the scorching sails of the deserted vessels at the quay. over the marshes in the distance hung a hot, quivering mist; and in the vineyards, near the town, not a leaf waved upon its slender stem. on the seaward side lay, vast and level, the prospect of the burning sand; and beyond it the main ocean--waveless, torpid, and suffused in a flood of fierce brightness--stretched out to the cloudless horizon that closed the sunbright view. within the town, in those streets where the tall houses cast a deep shadow on the flagstones of the road, the figures of a few slaves might here and there be seen sleeping against the walls, or gossiping languidly on the faults of their respective lords. sometimes an old beggar might be observed hunting on the well-stocked preserves of his own body the lively vermin of the south. sometimes a restless child crawled from a doorstep to paddle in the stagnant waters of a kennel; but, with the exception of these doubtful evidences of human industry, the prevailing characteristic of the few groups of the lowest orders of the people which appeared in the streets was the most listless and utter indolence. all that gave splendour to the city at other hours of the day was at this period hidden from the eye. the elegant courtiers reclined in their lofty chambers; the guards on duty ensconced themselves in angles of walls and recesses of porticoes; the graceful ladies slumbered on perfumed couches in darkened rooms; the gilded chariots were shut into the carriage-houses; the prancing horses were confined in the stables; and even the wares in the market-places were removed from exposure to the sun. it was clear that the luxurious inhabitants of ravenna recognised no duties of sufficient importance, and no pleasures of sufficient attraction, to necessitate the exposure of their susceptible bodies to the noontide heat. to give the reader some idea of the manner in which the indolent patricians of the court loitered away their noon, and to satisfy, at the same time, the exigencies attaching to the conduct of this story, it is requisite to quit the lounging-places of the plebeians in the streets for the couches of the nobles in the emperor's palace. passing through the massive entrance gates, crossing the vast hall of the imperial abode, with its statues, its marbles, and its guards in attendance, and thence ascending the noble staircase, the first object that might on this occasion have attracted the observer, when he gained the approaches to the private apartments, was a door at an extremity of the corridor, richly carved and standing half open. at this spot were grouped some fifteen or twenty individuals, who conversed by signs, and maintained in all their movements the most decorous and complete silence. sometimes one of the party stole on tiptoe to the door, and looked cautiously through, returning almost instantaneously, and expressing to his next neighbour, by various grimaces, his immense interest in the sight he had just beheld. occasionally there came from this mysterious chamber sounds resembling the cackling of poultry, varied now and then by a noise like the falling of a shower of small, light substances upon a hard floor. whenever these sounds were audible, the members of the party outside the door looked round upon each other and smiled--some sarcastically, some triumphantly. a few among these patient expectants grasped rolls of vellum in their hands; the rest held nosegays of rare flowers, or supported in their arms small statues and pictures in mosaic. of their number, some were painters and poets, some orators and philosophers, and some statuaries and musicians. among such a motley assemblage of professions, remarkable in all ages of the world for fostering in their votaries the vice of irritability, it may seem strange that so quiet and orderly a behaviour should exist as that just described. but it is to be observed that in attending at the palace, these men of genius made sure at least of outward unanimity among their ranks, by coming equally prepared with one accomplishment, and equally animated by one hope: they waited to employ a common agent--flattery; to attain a common end--gain. the chamber thus sacred, even from the intrusion of intellectual inspiration, although richly ornamented, was of no remarkable extent. at other times the eye might have wandered with delight on the exquisite plants and flowers, scattered profusely over a noble terrace, to which a second door in the apartment conducted; but, at the present moment, the employment of the occupant of the room was of so extraordinary a nature, that the most attentive observation must have missed all the inferior characteristics of the place, to settle immediately on its inhabitant alone. in the midst of a large flock of poultry, which seemed strangely misplaced on a floor of marble and under a gilded roof, stood a pale, thin, debilitated youth, magnificently clothed, and holding in his hand a silver vase filled with grain, which he ever and anon distributed to the cackling multitude at his feet. nothing could be more pitiably effeminate than the appearance of this young man. his eyes were heavy and vacant, his forehead low and retiring, his cheeks sallow, and his form curved as if with a premature old age. an unmeaning smile dilated his thin, colourless lips; and as he looked down on his strange favourites, he occasionally whispered to them a few broken expressions of endearment, almost infantine in their simplicity. his whole soul seemed to be engrossed by the labour of distributing his grain, and he followed the different movements of the poultry with an earnestness of attention which seemed almost idiotic in its ridiculous intensity. if it be asked, why a person so contemptible as this solitary youth has been introduced with so much care, and described with so much minuteness, it must be answered, that, though destined to form no important figure in this work, he played, from his position, a remarkable part in the great drama on which it is founded--for this feeder of chickens was no less a person than honorius, emperor of rome. it is the very imbecility of this man, at such a time as that we now write on, which invests his character with a fearful interest in the eye of posterity. in himself the impersonation of the meanest vices inherent in the vicious civilisation of his period, to his feebleness was accorded the terrible responsibility of liberating the long-prisoned storm whose elements we have attempted to describe in the preceding chapter. with just intellect enough to be capricious, and just determination enough to be mischievous, he was an instrument fitted for the uses of every ambitious villain who could succeed in gaining his ear. to flatter his puerile tyranny, the infatuated intriguers of the court rewarded the heroic stilicho for the rescue of his country with the penalty of death, and defrauded alaric of the moderate concessions that they had solemnly pledged themselves to perform. to gratify his vanity, he was paraded in triumph through the streets of rome for a victory that others had gained. to pander to his arrogance, by an exhibition of the vilest privilege of that power which had been intrusted to him for good, the massacre of the helpless hostages, confided by gothic honour to roman treachery, was unhesitatingly ordained; and, finally, to soothe the turbulence of his unmanly fears, the last act of his unscrupulous councillors, ere the empire fell, was to authorise his abandoning his people in the hour of peril, careless who suffered in defenceless rome, while he was secure in fortified ravenna. such was the man under whom the mightiest of the world's structures was doomed to totter to its fall! such was the figure destined to close a scene which time and glory had united to hallow and adorn! raised and supported by a superhuman daring, that invested the nauseous horrors of incessant bloodshed with a rude and appalling magnificence, the mistress of nations was now fated to sink by the most ignoble of defeats, under the most abject of tremblers. for this had the rough old kingdom shaken off its enemies by swarms from its vigorous arms! for this had the doubtful virtues of the republic, and the perilous magnificence of the empire, perplexed and astonished the world! in such a conclusion as honorius ended the dignified barbarities of a brutus, the polished splendours of an augustus, the unearthly atrocities of a nero, and the immortal virtues of a trajan! vainly, through the toiling ages, over the ruin of her noblest hearts, and the prostitution of her grandest intellects, had rome striven pitilessly onward, grasping at the shadow--glory; the fiat had now gone forth that doomed her to possess herself finally of the substance--shame! when the imperial trifler had exhausted his store of grain, and satisfied the cravings of his voracious favourites, he was relieved of his silver vase by two attendants. the flock of poultry was then ushered out at one door, while the flock of geniuses was ushered in at the other. leaving the emperor to cast his languid eyes over objects of art for which he had no admiration, and to open his unwilling ears to panegyrical orations for which he had no comprehension, we proceed to introduce the reader to an apartment on the opposite side of the palace, in which are congregated all the beauty and elegance of his court. imagine a room two hundred feet long and proportionably broad. its floor is mosaic, wrought into the loveliest patterns. its sides are decorated with immense pillars of variegated marble, the recesses formed by which are occupied by statues, all arranged in exquisite variety of attitude, so as to appear to be offering to whoever approaches them the rare flowers which it is the duty of the attendants to place in their hands. the ceiling is painted in fresco, in patterns and colours harmonising with those on the mosaic floor. the cornices are of silver, and decorated with mottoes from the amatory poets of the day, the letters of which are formed by precious stones. in the middle of the room is a fountain throwing up streams of perfumed water, and surrounded by golden aviaries containing birds of all sizes and nations. three large windows, placed at the eastern extremity of the apartment, look out upon the adriatic, but are covered at this hour, from the outside, with silk curtains of a delicate green shade, which cast a soft, luxurious light over every object, but are so thinly woven and so skilfully arranged that the slightest breath of air which moves without finds its way immediately to the languid occupants of the court waiting-room. the number of these individuals amounts to about fifty or sixty persons. by far the larger half of the assemblage are women. their black hair tastefully braided into various forms, and adorned with flowers or precious stones, contrasts elegantly with the brilliant whiteness of the robes in which they are for the most part clothed. some of them are occupied in listlessly watching the movements of the birds in the aviaries; others hold a languid and whispered conversation with such of the courtiers as happen to be placed near them. the men exhibit in their dresses a greater variety of colour, and in their occupations a greater fertility of resource, than the women. their garments, of the lightest rose, violet, or yellow tints, diversify fantastically the monotonous white robes of their gentle companions. of their employments, the most conspicuous are playing on the lute, gaming with dice, teasing their lapdogs, and insulting their parasites. whatever their occupation, it is performed with little attention, and less enthusiasm. some recline on their couches with closed eyes, as if the heat made the labour of using their organs of vision too much for them; others, in the midst of a conversation, suddenly leave a sentence unfinished, apparently incapacitated by lassitude from giving expression to the simplest ideas. every sight in the apartment that attracts the eye, every sound that gains the ear, expresses a luxurious repose. no brilliant light mars the pervading softness of the atmosphere; no violent colour materialises the light, ethereal hues of the dresses; no sudden noises interrupt the fitful and plaintive notes of the lute, jar with the soft twittering of the birds in the aviaries, or drown the still, regular melody of the ladies' voices. all objects, animate and inanimate, are in harmony with each other. it is a scene of spiritualised indolence--a picture of dreamy beatitude in the inmost sanctuary of unruffled repose. amid this assemblage of beauty and nobility, the members of which were rather to be generally noticed than particularly observed, there was, however, one individual who, both by the solitary occupation he had chosen and his accidental position in the room, was personally remarkable among the listless patricians around him. his couch was placed nearer the window than that of any other occupant of the chamber. some of his indolent neighbours--especially those of the gentler sex--occasionally regarded him with mingled looks of admiration and curiosity; but no one approached him, or attempted to engage him in conversation. a piece of vellum lay by his side, on which, from time to time, he traced a few words, and then resumed his reclining position, apparently absorbed in reflection, and utterly regardless of all the occupants, male and female, of the imperial apartment. judging from his general appearance, he could scarcely be twenty-five years of age. the conformation of the upper part of his face was thoroughly intellectual--the forehead high, broad, and upright; the eyes clear, penetrating, and thoughtful;--but the lower part was, on the other hand, undeniably sensual. the lips, full and thick, formed a disagreeable contrast to the delicate chiselling of the straight grecian nose; while the fleshiness of the chin, and the jovial redundancy of the cheeks, were, in their turn, utterly at variance with the character of the pale, noble forehead, and the expression of the quick, intelligent eyes. in stature he was barely of the middle size; but every part of his body was so perfectly proportioned that he appeared, in any position, taller than he really was. the upper part of his dress, thrown open from the heat, partly disclosed the fine statuesque formation of his neck and chest. his ears, hands, and feet were of that smallness and delicacy which is held to denote the aristocracy of birth; and there was in his manner that indescribable combination of unobtrusive dignity and unaffected elegance, which in all ages and countries, and through all changes of manners and customs, has rendered the demeanour of its few favoured possessors the instantaneous interpreter of their social rank. while the patrician was still occupied over his vellum, the following conversation took place in whispers between two ladies placed near the situation he occupied. 'tell me, camilla,' said the eldest and stateliest of the two, 'who is the courtier so occupied in composition? i have endeavoured, i know not how often, to catch his eye; but the man will look at nothing but his roll of vellum or the corners of the room.' 'what, are you so great a stranger in italy as not to know him!' replied the other, a lively girl of small delicate form, who fidgeted with persevering restlessness on her couch, and seemed incapable of giving an instant's steady attention to any of the objects around her. 'by all the saints, martyrs, and relics of my uncle the bishop!' 'hush! you should not swear!' 'not swear! why, i am making a new collection of oaths, intended solely for ladies' use! i intend to set the fashion of swearing by them myself!' 'but answer my question, i beseech you! will you never learn to talk on one subject at a time?' 'your question--ah, your question! it was about the goths?' 'no, no! it was about that man who is incessantly writing, and will look at nobody. he is almost as provoking as camilla herself!' 'don't frown so! that man, as you call him, is the senator vetranio.' the lady started. it was evident that vetranio had a reputation. 'yes!' continued the lively camilla, 'that is the accomplished vetranio; but he will be no favourite of yours, for he sometimes swears--swears by the ancient gods, too, which is forbidden!' 'he is handsome.' 'handsome! he is beautiful! not a woman in italy but is languishing for him!' 'i have heard that he is clever.' 'who has not? he is the author of some of the most celebrated sauces of the age. cooks of all nations worship him as an oracle. then he writes poetry, and composes music, and paints pictures! and as for philosophy--he talks it better than my uncle the bishop!' 'is he rich?' 'ah! my uncle the bishop!--i must tell you how i helped vetranio to make a satire on him! when i was staying with him at rome, i used often to see a woman in a veil taken across the garden to his study; so, to perplex him, i asked him who she was. and he frowned and stammered, and said at first that i was disrespectful; but he told me afterwards that she was an arian whom he was labouring to convert. so i thought i should like to see how this conversion went on, and i hid myself behind a bookcase. but it is a profound secret; i tell it you in confidence.' 'i don't care to know it. tell me about vetranio.' 'how ill-natured you are! oh! i shall never forget how we laughed when i told vetranio what i had seen. he took up his writing materials, and made the satire immediately. the next day all rome heard of it. my uncle was speechless with rage! i believe he suspected me; but he gave up converting the arian lady, and--' 'i ask you again--is vetranio rich?' 'half sicily is his. he has immense estates in africa, olive-grounds in syria, and corn-fields in gaul. i was present at an entertainment he gave at his villa in sicily. he fitted up one of his vessels from the descriptions of the furnishing of cleopatra's galley, and made his slaves swim after us as attendant tritons. oh! it was magnificent!' 'i should like to know him.' 'you should see his cats! he has a perfect legion of them at his villa. twelve slaves are employed to attend on them. he is mad about cats, and declares that the old egyptians were right to worship them. he told me yesterday, that when his largest cat is dead he will canonise her, in spite of the christians! and then he is so kind to his slaves! they are never whipped or punished, except when they neglect or disfigure themselves; for vetranio will allow nothing that is ugly or dirty to come near him. you must visit his banqueting-hall in rome. it is perfection!' 'but why is he here?' 'he has come to ravenna, charged with some secret message from the senate, and has presented a rare breed of chickens to that foolish--' 'hush! you may be overheard!' 'well!--to that wise emperor of ours! ah! the palace has been so pleasant since he has been here!' at this instant the above dialogue--from the frivolity of which the universally-learned readers of modern times will, we fear, recoil with contempt--was interrupted by a movement on the part of its hero which showed that his occupation was at an end. with the elaborate deliberation of a man who disdains to exhibit himself as liable to be hurried by any mortal affair, vetranio slowly folded up the vellum he had now filled with writing, and depositing it in his bosom, made a sign to a slave who happened to be then passing near him with a dish of fruit. having received his message, the slave retired to the entrance of the apartment, and beckoning to a man who stood outside the door, motioned him to approach vetranio's couch. this individual immediately hurried across the room to the window where the elegant roman awaited him. not the slightest description of him is needed; for he belonged to a class with which moderns are as well acquainted as ancients--a class which has survived all changes of nations and manners--a class which came in with the first rich man in the world, and will only go out with the last. in a word, he was a parasite. he enjoyed, however, one great superiority over his modern successors: in his day flattery was a profession--in ours it has sunk to a pursuit. 'i shall leave ravenna this evening,' said vetranio. the parasite made three low bows and smiled ecstatically. 'you will order my travelling equipage to be at the palace gates an hour before sunset.' the parasite declared he should never forget the honour of the commission, and left the room. the sprightly camilla, who had overheard vetranio's command, jumped off her couch, as soon as the parasite's back was turned, and running up to the senator, began to reproach him for the determination he had just formed. 'have you no compunction at leaving me to the dulness of this horrible palace, to satisfy your idle fancy for going to rome,' said she, pouting her pretty lip, and playing with a lock of the dark brown hair that clustered over vetranio's brow. 'has the senator vetranio so little regard for his friends as to leave them to the mercy of the goths?' said another lady, advancing with a winning smile to camilla's side. 'ah, those goths!' exclaimed vetranio, turning to the last speaker. 'tell me, julia, is it not reported that the barbarians are really marching into italy?' 'everybody has heard of it. the emperor is so discomposed by the rumour, that he has forbidden the very name of the goths to be mentioned in his presence again.' 'for my part,' continued vetranio, drawing camilla towards him, and playfully tapping her little dimpled hand, 'i am in anxious expectation of the goths, for i have designed a statue of minerva, for which i can find no model so fit as a woman of that troublesome nation. i am informed upon good authority, that their limbs are colossal, and their sense of propriety most obediently pliable under the discipline of the purse.' 'if the goths supply you with a model for anything,' said a courtier who had joined the group while vetranio was speaking, 'it will be with a representation of the burning of your palace at rome, which they will enable you to paint from the inexhaustible reservoir of your own wounds.' the individual who uttered this last observation was remarkable among the brilliant circle around him by his excessive ugliness. urged by his personal disadvantages, and the loss of all his property at the gaming-table, he had latterly personated a character, the accomplishments attached to which rescued him, by their disagreeable originality in that frivolous age, from oblivion or contempt. he was a cynic philosopher. his remark, however, produced no other effect on his hearers' serenity than to excite their merriment. vetranio laughed, camilla laughed, julia laughed. the idea of a troop of barbarians ever being able to burn a palace at rome was too wildly ridiculous for any one's gravity; and as the speech was repeated in other parts of the room, in spite of their dulness and lassitude the whole court laughed. 'i know not why i should be amused by that man's nonsense,' said camilla, suddenly becoming grave at the very crisis of a most attractive smile, 'when i am so melancholy at the thought of vetranio's departure. what will become of me when he is gone? alas! who will be left in the palace to compose songs to my beauty and music for my lute? who will paint me as venus, and tell me stories about the ancient egyptians and their cats? who at the banquet will direct what dishes i am to choose, and what i am to reject? who?'--and poor little camilla stopped suddenly in her enumeration of the pleasures she was about to lose, and seemed on the point of weeping as piteously as she had been laughing rapturously but the instant before. vetranio was touched--not by the compliment to his more intellectual powers, but by the admission of his convivial supremacy as a guide to the banquet, contained in the latter part of camilla's remonstrance. the sex were then, as now, culpably deficient in gastronomic enthusiasm. it was, therefore, a perfect triumph to have made a convert to the science of the youngest and loveliest of the ladies of the court. 'if she can gain leave of absence,' said the gratified senator, 'camilla shall accompany me to rome, and shall be present at the first celebration of my recent discovery of a nightingale sauce.' camilla was in ecstasies. she seized vetranio's cheeks between her rosy little fingers, kissed him as enthusiastically as a child kisses a new toy, and darted gaily off to prepare for her departure. 'vetranio would be better employed,' sneered the cynic, 'in inventing new salves for future wounds than new sauces for future nightingales! his carcase will be carved by gothic swords as a feast for the worms before his birds are spitted with roman skewers as a feast for his guests! is this a time for cutting statues and concocting sauces? fie on the senators who abandon themselves to such pursuits as vetranio's!' 'i have other designs,' replied the object of all this moral indignation, looking with insulting indifference on the cynic's repulsive countenance, 'which, from their immense importance to the world, must meet with universal approval. the labour that i have just achieved forms one of a series of three projects which i have for some time held in contemplation. the first is an analysis of the new priesthood; the second, a true personification, both by painting and sculpture, of venus; the third, a discovery of what has been hitherto uninvented--a nightingale sauce. by the inscrutable wisdom of fate, it has been so willed that the last of the objects i proposed to myself has been the first attained. the sauce is composed, and i have just concluded on this vellum the ode that is to introduce it at my table. the analysation will be my next labour. it will take the form of a treatise, in which, making the experience of past years the groundwork of prophecy for the future, i shall show the precise number of additional dissensions, controversies, and quarrels that will be required to enable the new priesthood to be themselves the destroyers of their own worship. i shall ascertain by an exact computation the year in which this destruction will be consummated; and i have by me as the materials for my work an historical summary of christian schisms and disputes in rome for the last hundred years. as for my second design, the personification of venus, it is of appalling difficulty. it demands an investigation of the women of every nation under the sun; a comparison of the relative excellences and peculiarities of their several charms; and a combination of all that is loveliest in the infinite variety of their most prominent attractions, under one form. to forward the execution of this arduous project, my tenants at home and my slave-merchants abroad have orders to send to my villa in sicily all women who are born most beautiful in the empire, or can be brought most beautiful from the nations around. i will have them displayed before me, of every shade in complexion and of every peculiarity in form! at the fitting period i shall commence my investigations, undismayed by difficulty, and determined on success. never yet has the true venus been personified! should i accomplish the task, how exquisite will be my triumph! my work will be the altar at which thousands will offer up the softest emotions of the heart. it will free the prisoned imagination of youth, and freshen the fading recollections on the memory of age!' vetranio paused. the cynic was struck dumb with indignation. a solitary zealot for the church, who happened to be by, frowned at the analysation. the ladies tittered at the personification. the gastronomists chuckled at the nightingale sauce; but for the first few minutes no one spoke. during this temporary embarrassment, vetranio whispered a few words in julia's ear; and--just as the cynic was sufficiently recovered to retort--accompanied by the lady, he quitted the room. never was popularity more unalloyed than vetranio's. gifted with a disposition the pliability of which adapted itself to all emergencies, his generosity disarmed enemies, while his affability made friends. munificent without assumption, successful without pride, he obliged with grace and shone with safety. people enjoyed his hospitality, for they knew that it was disinterested; and admired his acquirements, for they felt that they were unobtrusive. sometimes (as in his dialogue with the cynic) the whim of the moment, or the sting of a sarcasm, drew from him a hint at his station, or a display of his eccentricities; but, as he was always the first soon afterwards to lead the laugh at his own outbreak, his credit as a noble suffered nothing by his infirmity as a man. gaily and attractively he moved in all grades of the society of his age, winning his social laurels in every rank, without making a rival to dispute their possession, or an enemy to detract from their value. on quitting the court waiting-room, vetranio and julia descended the palace stairs and passed into the emperor's garden. used generally as an evening lounge, this place was now untenanted, save by the few attendants engaged in cultivating the flower-beds and watering the smooth, shady lawns. entering one of the most retired of the numerous summer-houses among the trees, vetranio motioned his companion to take a seat, and then abruptly addressed her in the following words:-- 'i have heard that you are about to depart for rome--is it true?' he asked this question in a low voice, and with a manner in its earnestness strangely at variance with the volatile gaiety which had characterised him, but a few moments before, among the nobles of the court. as julia answered him in the affirmative, his countenance expressed a lively satisfaction; and seating himself by her side, he continued the conversation thus:-- 'if i thought that you intended to stay for any length of time in the city, i should venture upon a fresh extortion from your friendship by asking you to lend me your little villa at aricia!' 'you shall take with you to rome an order on my steward to place everything there at your entire disposal.' 'my generous julia! you are of the gifted few who really know how to confer a favour! another woman would have asked me why i wanted the villa--you give it unreservedly. so delicate an unwillingness to intrude on a secret reminds me that the secret should now be yours!' to explain the easy confidence that existed between vetranio and julia, it is necessary to inform the reader that the lady--although still attractive in appearance--was of an age to muse on her past, rather than to meditate on her future conquests. she had known her eccentric companion from his boyhood, had been once flattered in his verses, and was sensible enough--now that her charms were on the wane--to be as content with the friendship of the senator as she had formerly been enraptured with the adoration of the youth. 'you are too penetrating,' resumed vetranio, after a short pause, 'not to have already suspected that i only require your villa to assist me in the concealment of an intrigue. so peculiar is my adventure in its different circumstances, that to make use of my palace as the scene of its development would be to risk a discovery which might produce the immediate subversion of all my designs. but i fear the length of my confession will exceed the duration of your patience!' 'you have aroused my curiosity. i could listen to you for ever!' 'a short time before i took my departure from rome for this place,' continued vetranio, 'i encountered an adventure of the most extraordinary nature, which has haunted me with the most extraordinary perseverance, and which will have, i feel assured, the most extraordinary results. i was sitting one evening in the garden of my palace on the pincian mount, occupied in trying a new composition on my lute. in one of the pauses of the melody, which was tender and plaintive, i heard sounds that resembled the sobbing of some one in distress among the trees behind me. i looked cautiously round, and discerned, half-hidden by the verdure, the figure of a young girl, who appeared to be listening to the music with the most entranced attention. flattered by such a testimony to my skill, and anxious to gain a nearer view of my mysterious visitant, i advanced towards her hiding-place, forgetting in my haste to continue playing on the lute. the instant the music ceased, she discerned me and disappeared. determined to behold her, i again struck the chords, and in a few minutes i saw her white robe once more among the trees. i redoubled my efforts. i played with the utmost expression the most pathetic parts of the melody. as if under the influence of a charm, she began to advance towards me, now hesitating, now moving back a few steps, now approaching, half-reluctantly, half willingly, until, utterly vanquished by the long trembling close of the last cadence of the air, she ran suddenly up to me, and falling at my feet, raised her hands as if to implore my pardon.' 'truly this was no common tribute to your skill! did she speak to you?' 'she uttered not a word,' continued vetranio. 'her large soft eyes, bright with tears, looked piteously up in my face; her delicate lips trembled, as if she wished to speak, but dared not; her smooth round arms were the very perfection of beauty. child as she seemed in years and emotions, she looked a woman in loveliness and form. for the moment i was too much astonished by the suddenness of her supplicating action to move or speak. as soon as i recovered myself i attempted to fondle and console her, but she shrunk from my embrace, and seemed inclined to escape from me again; until i touched once more the strings of the lute, and then she uttered a subdued exclamation of delight, nestled close up to me, and looked into my face with such a strange expression of mingled adoration and rapture, that i declare to you, julia, i felt as bashful before her as a boy.' 'you bashful! the senator vetranio bashful!' exclaimed julia, looking up with an expression of the most unfeigned incredulity and astonishment. 'the lute,' pursued vetranio gravely, without heeding the interruption, 'was my sole means of procuring any communication with her. if i ceased playing, we were as strangers; if i resumed, we were as friends. so, subduing the notes of the instrument while she spoke to me in a soft tremulous musical voice, i still continued to play. by this plan i discovered at our first interview that she was the daughter of one numerian, that she was on the point of completing her fourteenth year, and that she was called antonina. i had only succeeded in gaining this mere outline of her story, when, as if struck by some sudden apprehension, she tore herself from me with a look of the utmost terror, and entreating me not to follow her if i ever desired to see her again, she disappeared rapidly among the trees.' 'more and more wonderful! and, in your new character of a bashful man, you doubtless obeyed her injunctions?' 'i did,' replied the senator; 'but the next evening i revisited the garden grove, and, as soon as i struck the chords, as if by magic, she again approached. at this second interview i learned the reason of her mysterious appearances and departures. her father, she told me, was one of a new sect, who imagine--with what reason it is impossible to comprehend--that they recommend themselves to their deity by making their lives one perpetual round of bodily suffering and mental anguish. not content with distorting all his own feelings and faculties, this tyrant perpetrated his insane austerities upon the poor child as well. he forbade her to enter a theatre, to look on sculpture, to read poetry, to listen to music. he made her learn long prayers, and attend to interminable sermons. he allowed her no companions of her own age--not even girls like herself. the only recreation that she could obtain was the permission--granted with much reluctance and many rebukes--to cultivate a little garden which belonged to the house they lived in, and joined at one point the groves round my palace. there, while she was engaged over her flowers, she first heard the sound of my lute for many months before i had discovered her, she had been in the habit of climbing the enclosure that bounded her garden, and hiding herself among the trees to listen to the music, whenever her father's concerns took him abroad. she had been discovered in this occupation by an old man appointed to watch her in his master's absence. the attendant, however, on hearing her confession, not only promised to keep her secret, but permitted her to continue her visits to my grove whenever i chanced to be playing there on the lute. now the most mysterious part of this matter is, that the girl seemed--in spite of his severity towards her--to have a great affection for her surly; for, when i offered to deliver her from his custody, she declared that nothing could induce her to desert him--not even the attraction of living among fine pictures and hearing beautiful music every hour in the day. but i see i weary you; and, indeed, it is evident from the length of the shadows that the hour of my departure is at hand. let me then pass from my introductory interviews with antonina, to the consequences that had resulted from them when i set forth on my journey to ravenna.' 'i think i can imagine the consequences already!' said julia, smiling maliciously. 'begin then,' retorted vetranio, 'by imagining that the strangeness of this girl's situation, and the originality of her ideas, invested her with an attraction for me, which the charms of her person and age contributed immensely to heighten. she delighted my faculties as a poet, as much as she fired my feelings as a man; and i determined to lure her from the tyrannical protection of her father by the employment of every artifice that my ingenuity could suggest. i began by teaching her to exercise for herself the talent which had so attracted her in another. by the familiarity engendered on both sides by such an occupation, i hoped to gain as much in affection from her as she acquired in skill from me; but to my astonishment, i still found her as indifferent towards the master, and as tender towards the music, as she had appeared at our first interview. if she had repelled my advances, if they had overwhelmed her with confusion, i could have adapted myself to her humour, i should have felt the encouragement of hope; but the coldness, the carelessness, the unnatural, incomprehensible ease with which she received even my caresses, utterly disconcerted me. it seemed as if she could only regard me as a moving statue, as a mere impersonation, immaterial as the science i was teaching her. if i spoke, she hardly looked on me; if i moved, she scarcely noticed the action. i could not consider it dislike; she seemed to gentle to nourish such a feeling for any creature on earth. i could not believe it coldness; she was all life, all agitation, if she heard only a few notes of music. when she touched the chords of the instrument, her whole frame trembled. her eyes, mild, serious, and thoughtful when she looked on me, now brightened with delight, now softened with tears, when she listened to the lute. as day by day her skill in music increased, so her manner towards me grew more inexplicably indifferent. at length, weary of the constant disappointments that i experienced, and determined to make a last effort to touch her heart by awakening her gratitude, i presented her with the very lute which she had at first heard, and on which she had now learned to play. never have i seen any human being so rapturously delighted as this incomprehensible girl when she received the instrument from my hands. she alternately wept and laughed over it, she kissed it, fondled it, spoke to it, as if it had been a living thing. but when i approached to suppress the expressions of thankfulness that she poured on me for the gift, she suddenly hid the lute in her robe, as if afraid that i should deprive her of it, and hurried rapidly from my sight. the next day i waited for her at our accustomed meeting-place, but she never appeared. i sent a slave to her father's house, but she would hold no communication with him. it was evident that, now she had gained her end, she cared no more to behold me. in my first moments of irritation, i determined to make her feel my power, if she despised my kindness; but reflection convinced me, from my acquaintance with her character, that in such a matter force was impolitic, that i should risk my popularity in rome, and engage myself in an unworthy quarrel to no purpose. dissatisfied with myself, and disappointed in the girl, i obeyed the first dictates of my impatience, and seizing the opportunity afforded by my duties in the senate of escaping from the scene of defeated hopes, i departed angrily for ravenna.' 'departed for ravenna!' cried julia, laughing outright. 'oh, what a conclusion to the adventure! i confess it, vetranio, such consequences as these are beyond all imagination!' 'you laugh, julia,' returned the senator, a little piqued; 'but hear me to the end, and you will find that i have not yet resigned myself to defeat. for the few days that i have remained here, antonina's image has incessantly troubled my thoughts. i perceive that my inclination, as well as my reputation, is concerned in subduing her ungrateful aversion. i suspect that my anxiety to gain her will, if unremoved, so far influence my character, that from vetranio the serene, i shall be changed into vetranio the sardonic. pride, honour, curiosity, and love all urge me to her conquest. to prepare for my banquet is an excuse to the court for my sudden departure from this place; the real object of my journey is antonina alone.' 'ah, now i recognise my friend again in his own character,' remarked the lady approvingly. 'you will ask me how i purpose to obtain another interview with her?' continued vetranio. 'i answer, that the girl's attendant has voluntarily offered himself as an instrument for the prosecution of my plans. the very day before i departed from rome, he suddenly presented himself to my in my garden, and proposed to introduce me into numerian's house--having first demanded, with the air more of an equal than an inferior, whether the report that i was still a secret adherent of the old religion, of the worship of the gods, was true. suspicious of the fellow's motives (for he abjured all recompense as the reward of his treachery), and irritated by the girl's recent ingratitude, i treated his offer with contempt. now, however, that my dissatisfaction is calmed and my anxiety aroused, i am determined, at all hazards, to trust myself to this man, be his motives for aiding me what they may. if my efforts at my expected interview--and i will not spare them--are rewarded with success, it will be necessary to obtain some refuge for antonina that will neither be suspected nor searched. for such a hiding-place, nothing can be more admirably adapted than your arician villa. do you--now that you know for what use it is intended--repent of your generous disposal of it in aid of my design?' 'i am delighted to have had it to bestow on you,' replied the liberal julia, pressing vetranio's hand. 'your adventure is indeed uncommon--i burn with impatience to hear how it will end. whatever happens, you may depend on my secrecy and count on my assistance. but see, the sun is already verging towards the west; and yonder comes one of your slaves to inform you, i doubt not, that your equipage is prepared. return with me to the palace, and i will supply you with the letter necessary to introduce you as master to my country abode.' * * * * * the worthy citizens of ravenna assembled in the square before the palace to behold the senator's departure, had entirely exhausted such innocent materials for amusement as consisted in staring at the guards, catching the clouds of gnats that hovered about their ears, and quarrelling with each other; and were now reduced to a state of very noisy and unanimous impatience, when their discontent was suddenly and most effectually appeased by the appearance of the travelling equipage with vetranio and camilla outside the palace gates. uproarious shouts greeted the appearance of the senator and his magnificent retinue; but they were increased a hundred-fold when the chief slaves, by their master's command, each scattered a handful of small coin among the poorer classes of the spectators. every man among that heterogeneous assemblage of rogues, fools, and idlers roared his loudest and capered his highest, in honour of the generous patrician. gradually and carefully the illustrious travellers moved through the crowd around them to the city gate; and thence, amid incessant shouts of applause, raised with imposing unanimity of lung, and wrought up to the most distracting discordancy of noise, vetranio and his lively companion departed in triumph for rome. * * * * * a few days after this event the citizens were again assembled at the same place and hour--probably to witness another patrician departure--when their ears were assailed by the unexpected sound produced by the call to arms, which was followed immediately by the closing of the city gates. they had scarcely asked each other the meaning of these unusual occurrences, when a peasant, half frantic with terror, rushed into the square, shouting out the terrible intelligence that the goths were in sight! the courtiers heard the news, and starting from a luxurious repast, hurried to the palace windows to behold the portentous spectacle. for the remainder of the evening the banqueting tables were unapproached by the guests. the wretched emperor was surprised among his poultry by that dreaded intelligence. he, too, hastened to the windows, and looking forth, saw the army of avengers passing in contempt his solitary fortress, and moving swiftly onward towards defenceless rome. long after the darkness had hidden the masses of that mighty multitude from his eyes, did he remain staring helplessly upon the fading landscape, in a stupor of astonishment and dread; and, for the first time since he had possessed them, his flocks of fowls were left for that night unattended by their master's hand. chapter . rome. the perusal of the title to this chapter will, we fear, excite emotions of apprehension, rather than of curiosity, in the breasts of experienced readers. they will doubtless imagine that it is portentous of long rhapsodies on those wonders of antiquity, the description of which has long become absolutely nauseous to them by incessant iteration. they will foresee wailings over the palace of the caesars, and meditations among the arches of the colosseum, loading a long series of weary paragraphs to the very chapter's end; and, considerately anxious to spare their attention a task from which it recoils, they will unanimously hurry past the dreaded desert of conventional reflection, to alight on the first oasis that may present itself, whether it be formed by a new division of the story, or suddenly indicated by the appearance of a dialogue. animated, therefore, by apprehensions such as these, we hasten to assure them that in no instance will the localities of our story trench upon the limits of the well-worn forum, or mount the arches of the exhausted colosseum. it is with the beings, and not the buildings of old rome, that their attention is to be occupied. we desire to present them with a picture of the inmost emotions of the times--of the living, breathing actions and passions of the people of the doomed empire. antiquarian topography and classical architecture we leave to abler pens, and resign to other readers. it is, however, necessary that the sphere in which the personages of our story are about to act should be in some measure indicated, in order to facilitate the comprehension of their respective movements. that portion of the extinct city which we design to revive has left few traces of its existence in the modern town. its sites are traditionary--its buildings are dust. the church rises where the temple once stood, and the wine-shop now lures the passing idler where the bath invited his ancestor of old. the walls of rome are in extent, at the present day, the same as they were at the period of which we now write. but here all analogy between the ancient and modern city ends. the houses that those walls were once scarcely wide enough to enclose have long since vanished, and their modern successors occupy but a third of the space once allotted to the capital of the empire. beyond the walls immense suburbs stretched forth in the days of old. gorgeous villas, luxurious groves, temples, theatres, baths--interspersed by colonies of dwellings belonging to the lower orders of the people--surrounded the mighty city. of these innumerable abodes hardly a trace remains. the modern traveller, as he looks forth over the site of the famous suburbs, beholds, here and there, a ruined aqueduct, or a crumbling tomb, tottering on the surface of a pestilential marsh. the present entrance to rome by the porta del popolo occupies the same site as the ancient flaminian gate. three great streets now lead from it towards the southern extremity of the city, and form with their tributaries the principal portion of modern rome. on one side they are bounded by the pincian hill, on the other by the tiber. of these streets, those nearest the river occupy the position of the famous campus martius; those on the other side, the ancient approaches to the gardens of sallust and lucullus, on the pincian mount. on the opposite bank of the tiber (gained by the ponte st. angelo, formerly the pons elius), two streets pierced through an irregular and populous neighbourhood, conduct to the modern church of st. peter. at the period of our story this part of the city was of much greater consequence, both in size and appearance, than it is at present, and led directly to the ancient basilica of st. peter, which stood on the same site as that now occupied by the modern edifice. the events about to be narrated occur entirely in the parts of the city just described. from the pincian hill, across the campus martius, over the pons elius, and on to the basilica of st. peter, the reader may be often invited to accompany us, but he will be spared all necessity of penetrating familiar ruins, or mourning over the sepulchres of departed patriots. ere, however, we revert to former actors or proceed to new characters, it will be requisite to people the streets that we here attempt to rebuild. by this process it is hoped that the reader will gain that familiarity with the manners and customs of the romans of the fifth century on which the influence of this story mainly depends, and which we despair of being able to instil by a philosophical disquisition on the features of the age. a few pages of illustration will serve our purpose better, perhaps, than volumes of historical description. there is no more unerring index to the character of a people than the streets of their cities. it is near evening. in the widest part of the campus martius crowds of people are assembled before the gates of a palace. they are congregated to receive several baskets of provisions, distributed with ostentatious charity by the owner of the mansion. the incessant clamour and agitation of the impatient multitude form a strange contrast to the stately serenity of the natural and artificial objects by which they are enclosed on all sides. the space they occupy is oblong in shape and of great extent in size. part of it is formed by a turf walk shaded with trees, part by the paved approaches to the palace and the public baths which stand in its immediate neighbourhood. these two edifices are remarkable by their magnificent outward adornments of statues, and the elegance and number of the flights of steps by which they are respectively entered. with the inferior buildings, the market-places and the gardens attached to them, they are sufficiently extensive to form the boundary of one side of the immediate view. the appearance of monotony which might at other times be remarked in the vastness and regularity of their white fronts, is at this moment agreeably broken by several gaily-coloured awnings stretched over their doors and balconies. the sun is now shining on them with overpowering brightness; the metallic ornaments on their windows glitter like gems of fire; even the trees which form their groves partake of the universal flow of light, and fail, like the objects around them, to offer to the weary eye either refreshment or repose. towards the north, the mausoleum of augustus, towering proudly up into the brilliant sky, at once attracts the attention. from its position, parts of this noble building are already in shade. not a human being is visible on any part of its mighty galleries--it stands solitary and sublime, an impressive embodiment of the emotions which it was raised to represent. on the side opposite the palace and the baths is the turf walk already mentioned. trees, thickly planted and interlaced by vines, cast a luxurious shade over this spot. in their interstices, viewed from a distance, appear glimpses of gay dresses, groups of figures in repose, stands loaded with fruit and flowers, and innumerable white marble statues of fauns and wood-nymphs. from this delicious retreat the rippling of fountains is to be heard, occasionally interrupted by the rustling of leaves, or the plaintive cadences of the roman flute. southward two pagan temples stand in lonely grandeur among a host of monuments and trophies. the symmetry of their first construction still remains unimpaired, their white marble pillars shine in the sunlight brightly as of old, yet they now present to the eye an aspect of strange desolation, of unnatural mysterious gloom. although the laws forbid the worship for which they were built, the hand of reform has as yet not ventured to doom them to ruin or adapt them to christian purposes. none venture to tread their once-crowded colonnades. no priest appears to give the oracles from their doors; no sacrifices reek upon their naked altars. under their roofs, visited only by the light that steals through their narrow entrances, stand unnoticed, unworshipped, unmoved, the mighty idols of old rome. human emotion, which made them omnipotence once, has left them but stone now. the 'star in the east' has already dimmed the fearful halo which the devotion of bloodshed once wreathed round their forms. forsaken and alone, they stand but as the gloomy monuments of the greatest delusion ever organised by the ingenuity of man. we have now, so to express it, exhibited the frame surrounding the moving picture, which we shall next attempt to present to the reader by mixing with the multitude before the palace gates. this assembly resolved itself into three divisions: that collected before the palace steps, that loitering about the public baths, and that reposing in the shade of the groves. the first was of the most consequence in numbers, and of the greatest variety in appearance. composed of rogues of the worst order from every quarter of the world, it might be said to present, in its general aspect of numerical importance, the very sublime of degradation. confident in their rude union of common avidity, these worthy citizens vented their insolence on all objects, and in every direction, with a careless impartiality which would have shamed the most victorious efforts of modern mobs. the hubbub of voices was perfectly fearful. the coarse execrations of drunken gauls, the licentious witticisms of effeminate greeks, the noisy satisfaction of native romans, the clamorous indignation of irritable jews--all sounded together in one incessant chorus of discordant noises. nor were the senses of sight and smell more agreeably assailed than the faculty of hearing, by this anomalous congregation. immodest youth and irreverent age; woman savage, man cowardly; the swarthy ethiopian beslabbered with stinking oil; the stolid briton begrimed with dirt--these, and a hundred other varying combinations, to be imagined rather than expressed, met the attention in every direction. to describe the odours exhaled by the heat from this seething mixture of many pollutions, would be to force the reader to close the book; we prefer to return to the distribution which was the cause of this degrading tumult, and which consisted of small baskets of roasted meat packed with common fruits and vegetables, and handed, or rather flung down, to the mob by the servants of the nobleman who gave the feast. the people revelled in the abundance thus presented to them. they threw themselves upon it like wild beasts; they devoured it like hogs, or bore it off like plunderers; while, secure in the eminence on which they were placed, the purveyors of this public banquet expressed their contempt for its noisy recipients, by holding their noses, stopping their ears, turning their backs, and other pantomimic demonstrations of lofty and excessive disgust. these actions did not escape the attention of those members of the assembly who, having eaten their fill, were at leisure to make use of their tongues, and who showered an incessant storm of abuse on the heads of their benefactor's retainers. 'see those fellows!' cried one; 'they are the waiters at our feast, and they mock us to our faces! down with the filthy kitchen thieves!' 'excellently well said, davus!--but who is to approach them? they stink at this distance!' 'the rotten-bodied knaves have the noses of dogs and the carcases of goats.' then came a chorus of voices--'down with them! down with them!' in the midst of which an indignant freedman advanced to rebuke the mob, receiving, as the reward of his temerity, a shower of missiles and a volley of curses; after which he was thus addressed by a huge, greasy butcher, hoisted on his companions' shoulders:-- 'by the soul of the emperor, could i get near you, you rogue, i would quarter you with my fingers alone!--a grinning scoundrel that jeers at others! a filthy flatterer that dirts the very ground he walks on! by the blood of the martyrs, should i fling the sweepings of the slaughter-house at him, he knows not where to get himself dried!' 'thou rag of a man,' roared a neighbour of the indignant butcher's, 'dost thou frown upon the guests of thy master, the very scrapings of whose skin are worth more than thy whole carcase! it is easier to make a drinking-vessel of the skull of a flea than to make an honest man of such a villainous night-walker as thou art!' 'health and prosperity to our noble entertainer!' shouted one section of the grateful crowd as the last speaker paused for breath. 'death to all knaves of parasites!' chimed in another. 'honour to the citizens of rome!' roared a third party with modest enthusiasm. 'give that freedman our bones to pick!' screamed an urchin from the outskirts of the crowd. this ingenious piece of advice was immediately followed; and the populace gave vent to a shout of triumph as the unfortunate freedman, scared by a new volley of missiles, retreated with ignominious expedition to the shelter of his patron's halls. in the slight and purified specimen of the 'table talk' of a roman mob which we have here ventured to exhibit, the reader will perceive that extraordinary mixture of servility and insolence which characterised not only the conversation but the actions of the lower orders of society at the period of which we write. oppressed and degraded, on the one hand, to a point of misery scarcely conceivable to the public of the present day, the poorer classes in rome were, on the other, invested with such a degree of moral license, and permitted such an extent of political privilege, as flattered their vanity into blinding their sense of indignation. slaves in their season of servitude, masters in their hours of recreation, they presented, as a class, one of the most amazing social anomalies ever existing in any nation; and formed, in their dangerous and artificial position, one of the most important of the internal causes of the downfall of rome. the steps of the public baths were almost as crowded as the space before the neighbouring building. incessant streams of people, either entering or departing, poured over the broad flagstones of its marble colonnades. this concourse, although composed in some parts of the same class of people as that assembled before the palace, presented a certain appearance of respectability. here and there--chequering the dusky monotony of masses of dirty tunics--might be discerned the refreshing vision of a clean robe, or the grateful indication of a handsome person. little groups, removed as far as possible from the neighbourhood of the noisy plebeians, were scattered about, either engaged in animated conversation, or listlessly succumbing to the lassitude induced by a recent bath. an instant's attention to the subject of discourse among the more active of these individuals will aid us in pursuing our social revelations. the loudest voice among the speakers at this particular moment proceeded from a tall, thin, sinister-looking man, who was haranguing a little group of listeners with great vehemence and fluency. 'i tell you, socius,' said he, turning suddenly upon one of his companions, 'that, unless new slave-laws are made, my calling is at an end. my patron's estate requires incessant supplies of these wretches. i do my best to satisfy the demand, and the only result of my labour is, that the miscreants either endanger my life, or fly with impunity to join the gangs of robbers infesting our woods.' 'truly i am sorry for you; but what alteration would you have made in the slave-laws?' 'i would empower bailiffs to slay upon the spot all slaves whom they thought disorderly, as an example to the rest!' 'what would such a permission avail you? these creatures are necessary, and such a law would exterminate them in a few months. can you not break their spirit with labour, bind their strength with chains, and vanquish their obstinacy with dungeons?' 'all this i have done, but they die under the discipline, or escape from their prisons. i have now three hundred slaves on my patron's estates. against those born on our lands i have little to urge. many of them, it is true, begin the day with weeping and end it with death; but for the most part, thanks to their diurnal allowance of stripes, they are tolerably submissive. it is with the wretches that i have been obliged to purchase from prisoners of war and the people of revolted towns that i am so dissatisfied. punishments have no effect on them, they are incessantly indolent, sulky, desperate. it was but the other day that ten of them poisoned themselves while at work in the fields, and fifty more, after setting fire to a farm-house while my back was turned, escaped to join a gang of their companions, who are now robbers in the woods. these fellows, however, are the last of the troop who will perpetrate such offences. with the concurrence of my patron, i have adopted a plan that will henceforth tame them efficiently!' 'are you at liberty to communicate it?' 'by the keys of st. peter, i wish i could see it practised on every estate in the land! it is this:--near a sulphur lake at some distance from my farm-house is a tract of marshy ground, overspread here and there by the ruins of an ancient slaughter-house. i propose to dig in this place several subterranean caverns, each of which shall be capable of holding twenty men. here my mutinous slaves shall sleep after their day's labour. the entrances shall be closed until morning with a large stone, on which i will have engraven this inscription: 'these are the dormitories invented by gordian, bailiff of saturninus, a nobleman, for the reception of refractory slaves.' 'your plan is ingenious; but i suspect your slaves (so insensible to hardships are the brutal herd) will sleep as unconcernedly in their new dormitories as in their old.' 'sleep! it will be a most original species of repose that they will taste there! the stench of the sulphur lake will breathe sabian odours for them over a couch of mud! their anointing oil will be the slime of attendant reptiles! their liquid perfumes will be the stagnant oozings from their chamber roof! their music will be the croaking of frogs and the humming of gnats; and as for their adornments, why, they will be decked forth with head-garlands of twining worms, and movable brooches of cockchafers and toads! tell me now, most sagacious socius, do you still think that amidst such luxuries as these my slaves will sleep?' 'no; they will die.' 'you are again wrong. they will curse and rave perhaps, but that is of no consequence. they will work the longer above ground to shorten the term of their repose beneath. they will wake at an instant's notice, and come forth at a moment's signal. i have no fear of their dying!' 'do you leave rome soon?' 'i go this evening, taking with me such a supply of trustworthy assistants as will enable me to execute my plan without delay. farewell, socius!' 'most ingenious of bailiffs, i bid you farewell!' as the worthy gordian stalked off, big with the dignity of his new projects, the gestures and tones of a man who formed one of a little group collected in a remote part of the portico he was about to quit attracted his attention. curiosity formed as conspicuous an ingredient in this man's character as cruelty. he stole behind the base of a neighbouring pillar; and, as the frequent repetition of the word 'goths' struck his ear (the report of that nation's impending invasion having by this time reached rome), he carefully disposed himself to listen with the most implicit attention to the speaker's voice. 'goths!' cried the man, in the stern, concentrated accents of despair. 'is there one among us to whom this report of their advance upon rome does not speak of hope rather than of dread? have we a chance of rising from the degradation forced on us by our superiors until this den of heartless triflers and shameless cowards is swept from the very earth that it pollutes!' 'your sentiments on the evils of our condition are undoubtedly most just,' observed a fat, pompous man, to whom the preceding remarks had been addressed, 'but i cannot desire the reform you so ardently hope for. think of the degradation of being conquered by barbarians!' 'i am the exile of my country's privileges. what interest have i in upholding her honour--if honour she really has!' replied the first speaker. 'nay! your expressions are too severe. you are too discontented to be just.' 'am i! hear me for a moment, and you will change your opinion. you see me now by my bearing and appearance superior to yonder plebeian herd. you doubtless think that i live at my ease in the world, that i can feel no anxiety for the future about my bodily necessities. what would you say were i to tell you that if i want another meal, a lodging for to-night, a fresh robe for tomorrow, i must rob or flatter some great man to gain them? yet so it is. i am hopeless, friendless, destitute. in the whole of the empire there is not an honest calling in which i can take refuge. i must become a pander or a parasite--a hired tyrant over slaves, or a chartered groveller beneath nobles--if i would not starve miserably in the streets, or rob openly in the woods! this is what i am. now listen to what i was. i was born free. i inherited from my father a farm which he had successfully defended from the encroachments of the rich, at the expense of his comfort, his health, and his life. when i succeeded to his lands, i determined to protect them in my time as studiously as he had defended them in his. i worked unintermittingly: i enlarged my house, i improved my fields, i increased my flocks. one after another i despised the threats and defeated the wiles of my noble neighbours, who desired possession of my estate to swell their own territorial grandeur. in process of time i married and had a child. i believed that i was picked out from my race as a fortunate man--when one night i was attacked by robbers: slaves made desperate by the cruelty of their wealthy masters. they ravaged my cornfields, they deprived me of my flocks. when i demanded redress, i was told to sell my lands to those who could defend them--to those rich nobles whose tyranny had organised the band of wretches who had spoiled me of my possessions, and to whose fraud-gotten treasures the government were well pleased to grant that protection which they had denied to my honest hoards. in my pride i determined that i would still be independent. i planted new crops. with the little remnant of my money i hired fresh servants and bought more flocks. i had just recovered from my first disaster when i became the victim of a second. i was again attacked. this time we had arms, and we attempted to defend ourselves. my wife was slain before my eyes; my house was burnt to the ground; i myself only escaped, mutilated with wounds; my child soon afterwards pined and died. i had no wife, no offspring, no house, no money. my fields still stretched round me, but i had none to cultivate them. my walls still tottered at my feet, but i had none to rear them again, none to inhabit them if they were reared. my father's lands were now become a wilderness to me. i was too proud to sell them to my rich neighbour; i preferred to leave them before i saw them the prey of a tyrant, whose rank had triumphed over my industry, and who is now able to boast that he can travel over ten leagues of senatorial property untainted by the propinquity of a husbandman's farm. houseless, homeless, friendless, i have come to rome alone in my affliction, helpless in my degradation! do you wonder now that i am careless about the honour of my country? i would have served her with my life and my possessions when she was worthy of my service; but she has cast me off, and i care not who conquers her. i say to the goths--with thousands who suffer the same tribulation that i now undergo--"enter our gates! level our palaces to the ground! confound, if you will, in one common slaughter, we that are victims with those that are tyrants! your invasion will bring new lords to the land. they cannot crush it more--they may oppress it less. our posterity may gain their rights by the sacrifice of lives that our country has made worthless. romans though we are, we are ready to suffer and submit!"' he stopped; for by this time he had lashed himself into fury. his eyes glared, his cheeks flushed, his voice rose. could he then have seen the faintest vision of the destiny that future ages had in store for the posterity of the race that now suffered throughout civilised europe, like him--could he have imagined how, in after years, the 'middle class', despised in his day, was to rise to privilege and power; to hold in its just hands the balance of the prosperity of nations; to crush oppression and regulate rule; to soar in its mighty flight above thrones and principalities, and rank and riches, apparently obedient, but really commanding;--could he but have foreboded this, what a light must have burst upon his gloom, what a hope must have soothed him in his despair! to what further extremities his anger might have carried him, to what proceedings the indignant gordian, who still listened from his concealment, might have had recourse, it is difficult to say; for the complaints of the ill-fated landholder and the cogitations of the authoritative bailiff were alike suddenly suspended by an uproar raging at this moment round a carriage which had just emerged from the palace we have elsewhere described. this vehicle looked one mass of silver. embroidered silk curtains fluttered all around it, gold ornaments studded its polished sides, and it held no less a person than the nobleman who had feasted the people with baskets of meat. this fact had become known to the rabble before the palace gates. such an opportunity of showing their exultation in their bondage, their real servility in their imaginary independence, was not to be lost; and accordingly they let loose such a torrent of clamorous gratitude on their entertainer's appearance, that a stranger in rome would have thought the city in revolt. they leapt, they ran, they danced round the prancing horses, they flung their empty baskets into the air, and patted approvingly their 'fair round bellies'. from every side, as the carriage moved on, they gained fresh recruits and acquired new importance. the timid fled before them, the noisy shouted with them, the bold plunged into their ranks; and the constant burden of their rejoicing chorus was--'health to the noble pomponius! prosperity to the senators of rome, who feast us with their food and give us the freedom of their theatres! glory to pomponius! glory to the senators!' fate seemed on this day to take pleasure in pampering the insatiable curiosity of gordian, the bailiff. the cries of the multitude had scarcely died away in the distance, as they followed the departing carriage, when the voices of two men, pitched to a low, confidential tone, reached his ear from the opposite side of the pillar. he peeped cautiously round, and saw that they were priests. 'what an eternal jester is that pomponius!' said one voice. 'he is going to receive absolution, and he journeys in his chariot of state, as if he were preparing to celebrate his triumph, instead of to confess his sins!' 'has he committed, then, a fresh imprudence?' 'alas, yes! for a senator he is dreadfully wanting in caution! a few days since, in a fit of passion, he flung a drinking-cup at one of his female slaves. the girl died on the spot, and her brother, who is also in his service, threatened immediate vengeance. to prevent disagreeable consequences to his body, pomponius has sent the fellow to his estates in egypt; and now, from the same precaution for the welfare of his soul, he goes to demand absolution from our holy and beneficent church.' 'i am afraid these incessant absolutions, granted to men who are too careless even to make a show of repentance for their crimes, will prejudice us with the people at large.' 'of what consequence are the sentiments of the people while we have their rulers on our side! absolution is the sorcery that binds these libertines of rome to our will. we know what converted constantine--politic flattery and ready absolution; the people will tell you it was the sign of the cross.' 'it is true this pomponius is rich, and may increase our revenues, but still i fear the indignation of the people.' 'fear nothing: think how long their old institutions imposed on them, and then doubt, if you can, that we may shape them to our wishes as we will. any deceptions will be successful with a mob, if the instrument employed to forward them be a religion.' the voices ceased. gordian, who still cherished a vague intention of denouncing the fugitive landholder to the senatorial authorities, employed the liberty afforded to his attention by the silence of the priests in turning to look after his intended victim. to his surprise he saw that the man had left the auditors to whom he had before addressed himself, and was engaged in earnest conversation in another part of the portico, with an individual who seemed to have recently joined him, and whose appearance was so remarkable that the bailiff had moved a few steps forwards to gain a nearer view of him, when he was once more arrested by the voices of the priests. irresolute for an instant to which party to devote his unscrupulous attention, he returned mechanically to his old position. ere long, however, his anxiety to hear the mysterious communications proceeding between the landholder and his friend overbalanced his delight in penetrating the theological secrets of the priests. he turned once more, but to his astonishment the objects of his curiosity had disappeared. he stepped to the outside of the portico and looked for them in every direction, but they were nowhere to be seen. peevish and disappointed, he returned as a last resource to the pillar where he had left the priests, but the time consumed in his investigations after one party had been fatal to his reunion with the other. the churchmen were gone. sufficiently punished for his curiosity by his disappointment, the bailiff walked doggedly off towards the pincian hill. had he turned in the contrary direction, towards the basilica of st. peter, he would have found himself once more in the neighbourhood of the landholder and his remarkable friend, and would have gained that acquaintance with the subjects of their conversation, which we intend that the reader shall acquire in the course of the next chapter. chapter . the church. in the year , on the locality assigned by rumour to the martyrdom of st. peter, and over the ruins of the circus of nero, constantine erected the church called the basilica of st. peter. for twelve centuries, this building, raised by a man infamous for his murders and his tyrannies, stood uninjured amid the shocks which during that long period devastated the rest of the city. after that time it was removed, tottering to its base from its own reverend and illustrious age, by pope julius ii, to make way for the foundations of the modern church. it is towards this structure of twelve hundred years' duration, erected by hands stained with blood, and yet preserved as a star of peace in the midst of stormy centuries of war, that we would direct the reader's attention. what art has done for the modern church, time has effected for the ancient. if the one is majestic to the eye by its grandeur, the other is hallowed to the memory by its age. as this church by its rise commemorated the triumphant establishment of christianity as the religion of rome, so in its progress it reflected every change wrought in the spirit of the new worship by the ambition, the prodigality, or the frivolity of the priests. at first it stood awful and imposing, beautiful in all its parts as the religion for whose glory it was built. vast porphyry colonnades decorated its approaches, and surrounded a fountain whose waters issued from the representation of a gigantic pine-tree in bronze. its double rows of aisles were each supported by forty-eight columns of precious marble. its flat ceiling was adorned with beams of gilt metal, rescued from the pollution of heathen temples. its walls were decorated with large paintings of religious subjects, and its tribunal was studded with elegant mosaics. thus it rose, simple and yet sublime, awful and yet alluring; in this its beginning, a type of the dawn of the worship which it was elevated to represent. but when, flushed with success, the priests seized on christianity as their path to politics and their introduction to power, the aspect of the church gradually began to change. as, slowly and insensibly, ambitious man heaped the garbage of his mysteries, his doctrines, and his disputes, about the pristine purity of the structure given him by god, so, one by one, gaudy adornments and meretricious alterations arose to sully the once majestic basilica, until the threatening and reproving apparition of the pagan julian, when both church and churchmen received in their corrupt progress a sudden and impressive check. the short period of the revival of idolatry once passed over, the priests, unmoved by the warning they had received, returned with renewed vigour to confuse that which both in their gospel and their church had been once simple. day by day they put forth fresh treatises, aroused fierce controversies, subsided into new sects; and day by day they altered more and more the once noble aspect of the ancient basilica. they hung their nauseous relics on its mighty walls, they stuck their tiny tapers about its glorious pillars, they wreathed their tawdry fringes around its massive altars. here they polished, there they embroidered. wherever there was a window, they curtained it with gaudy cloths; wherever there was a statue, they bedizened it with artificial flowers; wherever there was a solemn recess, they outraged its religious gloom with intruding light; until (arriving at the period we write of) they succeeded so completely in changing the aspect of the building, that it looked, within, more like a vast pagan toyshop than a christian church. here and there, it is true, a pillar or an altar rose unencumbered as of old, appearing as much at variance with the frippery that surrounded it as a text of scripture quoted in a sermon of the time. but as regarded the general aspect of the basilica, the decent glories of its earlier days seemed irrevocably departed and destroyed. after what has been said of the edifice, the reader will have little difficulty in imagining that the square in which it stood lost whatever elevation of character it might once have possessed, with even greater rapidity than the church itself. if the cathedral now looked like an immense toyshop, assuredly its attendant colonnades had the appearance of the booths of an enormous fair. the day, whose decline we have hinted at in the preceding chapter, was fast verging towards its close, as the inhabitants of the streets on the western bank of the tiber prepared to join the crowds that they beheld passing by their windows in the direction of the basilica of st. peter. the cause of this sudden confluence of the popular current in once common direction was made sufficiently apparent to all inquirers who happened to be near a church or a public building, by the appearance in such situations of a large sheet of vellum elaborately illuminated, raised on a high pole, and guarded from contact with the inquisitive rabble by two armed soldiers. the announcements set forth in these strange placards were all of the same nature and directed to the same end. in each of them the bishop of rome informed his 'pious and honourable brethren', the inhabitants of the city, that, as the next days was the anniversary of the martyrdom of st. luke, the vigil would necessarily be held on that evening in the basilica of st. peter; and that, in consideration of the importance of the occasion, there would be exhibited, before the commencement of the ceremony, those precious relics connected with the death of the saint, which had become the inestimable inheritance of the church; and which consisted of a branch of the olive-tree to which st. luke was hung, a piece of the noose--including the knot--which had been passed round his neck, and a picture of the apotheosis of the virgin painted by his own hand. after some sentences expressive of lamentation for the sufferings of the saint, which nobody read, and which it is unnecessary to reproduce here, the proclamation went on to state that a sermon would be preached in the course of the vigil, and that at a later hour the great chandelier, containing two thousand four hundred lamps, would be lit to illuminate the church. finally, the worthy bishop called upon all members of his flock, in consideration of the solemnity of the day, to abstain from sensual pleasures, in order that they might the more piously and worthily contemplate the sacred objects submitted to their view, and digest the spiritual nourishment to be offered to their understandings. from the specimen we have already given of the character of the populace of rome, it will perhaps be unnecessary to say that the great attractions presented by this theological bill of fare were the relics and the chandelier. pulpit eloquence and vigil solemnities alone must have long exhibited their more sober allurements, before they could have drawn into the streets a fiftieth part of the immense crowd that now hurried towards the desecrated basilica. indeed, so vast was the assemblage soon congregated, that the advanced ranks of sightseers had already filled the church to overflowing, before those in the rear had come within view of the colonnades. however dissatisfied the unsuccessful portion of the citizens might feel at their exclusion from the church, they found a powerful counter-attraction in the amusements going forward in the place, the occupants of which seemed thoroughly regardless of the bishop's admonitions upon the sobriety of behaviour due to the solemnity of the day. as if in utter defiance of the decency and order recommended by the clergy, popular exhibitions of all sorts were set up on the broad flagstones of the great space before the church. street dancing-girls exercised at every available spot those 'gliding gyrations' so eloquently condemned by the worthy ammianus marcellinus of orderly and historical memory. booths crammed with relics of doubtful authenticity, baskets filled with neat manuscript abstracts of furiously controversial pamphlets, pagan images regenerated into portraits of saints, pictorial representations of arians writhing in damnation, and martyrs basking in haloes of celestial light, tempted, in every direction, the more pious among the spectators. cooks perambulated with their shops on their backs; rival slave-merchants shouted petitions for patronage; wine-sellers taught bacchanalian philosophy from the tops of their casks; poets recited compositions for sale; sophisters held arguments destined to convert the wavering and perplex the ignorant. incessant motion and incessant noise seemed to be the sole compensations sought by the multitude for the disappointment of exclusion from the church. if a stranger, after reading the proclamation of the day, had proceeded to the basilica, to feast his eyes on the contemplation of the illustrious aggregate of humanity, entitled by the bishop 'his pious and honourable brethren,' he must, on mixing at this moment with the assemblage, have either doubted the truth of the episcopal appellation, or have given the citizens credit for that refinement of intrinsic worth which is of too elevated a nature to influence the character of the outward man. at the time when the sun set, nothing could be more picturesque than the distant view of this joyous scene. the deep red rays of the departing luminary cast their radiance, partly from behind the church, over the vast multitude in the place. brightly and rapidly the rich light roved over the waters that leaped towards it from the fountain in all the loveliness of natural and evanescent form. bathed in that brilliant glow, the smooth porphyry colonnades reflected, chameleon like, ethereal and varying hues; the white marble statues became suffused in a delicate rose-colour, and the sober-tinted trees gleamed in the innermost of their leafy depths as if steeped in the exhalations of a golden mist. while, contrasting strangely with the wondrous radiance around them, the huge bronze pine-tree in the middle of the place, and the wide front of the basilica, rose up in gloomy shadow, indefinite and exaggerated, lowering like evil spirits over the joyous beauty of the rest of the scene, and casting their great depths of shade into the midst of the light whose dominion they despised. beheld from a distance, this wild combination of vivid brightness and solemn gloom; these buildings, at one place darkened till they looked gigantic, at another lightened till they appeared ethereal; these crowded groups, seeming one great moving mass gleaming at this point in radiant light, obscured at that in thick shadow, made up a whole so incongruous and yet so beautiful, so grotesque and yet so sublime, that the scene looked, for the moment, more like some inhabited meteor, half eclipsed by its propinquity to earth, than a mortal and material prospect. the beauties of this atmospheric effect were of far too serious and sublime a nature to interest the multitude in the place. out of the whole assemblage, but two men watched that glorious sunset with even an appearance of the admiration and attention which it deserved. one was the landholder whose wrongs were related in the preceding chapter--the other his remarkable friend. these two men formed a singular contrast to each other, both in demeanour and appearance, as they gazed forth upon the crimson heaven. the landholder was an under-sized, restless-looking man, whose features, naturally sharp, were now distorted by a fixed expression of misery and discontent. his quick, penetrating glance wandered incessantly from place to place, perceiving all things, but resting on none. in his attention to the scene before him, he appeared to have been led more by the influence of example than by his own spontaneous feelings; for ever and anon he looked impatiently round upon his friend as if expecting him to speak--but no word or movement escaped his thoughtful companion. occupied exclusively in his own contemplations, he appeared wholly insensible to any ordinary outward appeal. in age and appearance this individual was in the decline of life; for he had numbered sixty years, his hair was completely grey, and his face was covered with deep wrinkles. yet, in spite of these disadvantages, he was in the highest sense of the word a handsome man. though worn and thin, his features were still bold and regular; and there was an elevation about the habitual mournfulness of his expression, and an intelligence about his somewhat severe and earnest eyes, that bore eloquent testimony to the superiority of his intellectual powers. as he now stood gazing fixedly out into the glowing sky, his tall, meagre figure half supported upon his staff, his lips firmly compressed, his brow slightly frowning, and his attitude firm and motionless, the most superficial observer must have felt immediately that he looked on no ordinary being. the history of a life of deep thought--perhaps of long sorrow--seemed written in every lineament of his meditative countenance; and there was a natural dignity in his manner, which evidently restrained his restless companion from offering any determined interruption to the course of his reflections. slowly and gorgeously the sun had continued to wane in the horizon until he was now lost to view. as his last rays sunk behind the distant hills, the stranger started from his reverie and approached the landholder, pointing with his staff towards the fast-fading brightness of the western sky. 'probus,' said he, in a low, melancholy voice, 'as i looked on that sunset i thought on the condition of the church.' 'i see little in the church to think of, or in the sunset to observe,' replied his companion. 'how pure, how vivid,' murmured the other, scarcely heeding the landholder's remark, 'was the light which that sun cast upon this earth at our feet! how nobly for a time its brightness triumphed over the shadows around; and yet, in spite of the promise of that radiance, how swiftly did it fade ere long in its conflict with the gloom--how thoroughly, even now, has it departed from the earth, and withdrawn the beauty of its glory from the heavens! already the shadows are lengthening around us, and shrouding in their darkness every object in the place. but a short hour hence, and--should no moon arise--the gloom of night will stretch unresisted over rome!' 'to what purpose do you tell me this?' 'are you not reminded, by what we have observed, of the course of the worship which it is our privilege to profess? does not that first beautiful light denote its pure and perfect rise; that short conflict between the radiance and the gloom, its successful preservation, by the apostles and the fathers; that rapid fading of the radiance, its desecration in later times; and the gloom which now surrounds us, the destruction which has encompassed it in this age we live in?--a destruction which nothing can avert but a return to that pure first faith that should now be the hope of our religion, as the moon is the hope of night!' 'how should we reform? do people who have no liberties care about a religion? who is to teach them?' 'i have--i will. it is the purpose of my life to restore to them the holiness of the ancient church; to rescue them from the snare of traitors to the faith, whom men call priests. they shall learn through me that the church knew no adornment once, but the presence of the pure; that the priest craved no finer vestment than his holiness; that the gospel, which once taught humility and now raises dispute, was in former days the rule of faith--sufficient for all wants, powerful over all difficulties. through me they shall know that in times past it was the guardian of the heart; through me they shall see that in times present it is the plaything of the proud; through me they shall fear that in times future it may become the exile of the church! to this task i have vowed myself; to overthrow this idolatry--which, like another paganism, rises among us with its images, its relics, its jewels, and its gold--i will devote my child, my life, my energies, and my possessions. from this attempt i will never turn aside--from this determination i will never flinch. while i have a breath of life in me, i will persevere in restoring to this abandoned city the true worship of the most high!' he ceased abruptly. the intensity of his agitation seemed suddenly to deny to him the faculty of speech. every muscle in the frame of that stern, melancholy man quivered at the immortal promptings of the soul within him. there was something almost feminine in his universal susceptibility to the influence of one solitary emotion. even the rough, desperate landholder felt awed by the enthusiasm of the being before him, and forgot his wrongs, terrible as they were--and his misery, poignant as it was--as he gazed upon his companion's face. for some minutes neither of the men said more. soon, however, the last speaker calmed his agitation with the facility of a man accustomed to stifle the emotions that he cannot crush, and advancing to the landholder, took him sorrowfully by the hand. 'i see, probus, that i have amazed you,' said he; 'but the church is the only subject on which i have no discretion. in all other matters i have conquered the rashness of my early manhood; in this i have to wrestle with my hastier nature still. when i look on the mockeries that are acting around us; when i behold a priesthood deceivers, a people deluded, a religion defiled, then, i confess it, my indignation overpowers my patience, and i burn to destroy, where i ought only to hope to reform.' 'i knew you always violent of imagination; but when i last saw you your enthusiasm was love. your wife--' 'peace! she deceived me!' 'your child--' 'lives with me at rome.' 'i remember her an infant, when, fourteen years since, i was your neighbour in gaul. on my departure from the province, you had just returned from a journey into italy, unsuccessful in your attempts to discover there a trace either of your parents, or of that elder brother whose absence you were wont so continually to lament. tell me, have you, since that period, discovered the members of your ancient household? hitherto you have been so occupied in listening to the history of my wrongs that you have scarcely spoken of the changes in your life since we last met.' 'if, probus, i have been silent to you concerning myself, it is because for me retrospection has little that attracts. while yet it was in my power to return to those parents whom i deserted in my boyhood, i thought not of repentance; and now that they must be but too surely lost to me, my yearning towards them is of no avail. of my brother, from whom i parted in a moment of childish jealousy and anger, and whose pardon and love i would give up even my ambition to acquire, i have never yet discovered a trace. atonement to those whom i injured in early life is a privilege denied to the prayers of my age. from my parents and my brother i departed unblest, and unforgiven by them i feel that i am doomed to die! my life has been careless, useless, godless, passing from rapine and violence to luxury and indolence, and leading me to the marriage which i exulted in when i last saw you, but which i now feel was unworthy alike in its motives and its results. but blessed and thrice blessed by that last calamity of my wicked existence, for it opened my eyes to the truth--it made a christian of me while i was yet alive!' 'is it thus that the christian can view his afflictions? i would, then, that i were a christian like you!' murmured the landholder, in low, earnest tones. 'it was in those first days, probus,' continued the other, 'when i found myself deserted and dishonoured, left alone to be the guardian of my helpless child, exiled for ever from a home that i had myself forsaken, that i repented me in earnest of my misdeeds, that i sought wisdom from the book of salvation, and the conduct of life from the fathers of the church. it was at that time that i determined to devote my child, like samuel of old, to the service of heaven, and myself to the reformation of our degraded worship. as i have already told you, i forsook my abode and changed my name (remember it is as 'numerian' that you must henceforth address me), that of my former self no remains might be left, that of my former companions not one might ever discover and tempt me again. with incessant care have i shielded my daughter from the contamination of the world. as a precious jewel in a miser's hands she has been watched and guarded in her father's house. her destiny is to soothe the afflicted, to watch the sick, to succour the forlorn, when i, her teacher, have restored to the land the dominion of its ancient faith and the guidance of its faultless gospel. we have neither of us an affection or a hope that can bind us to the things of earth. our hearts look both towards heaven; our expectations are only from on high!' 'do not set your hopes too firmly on your child. remember how the nobles of rome have destroyed the household i once had, and tremble for your own.' 'i have no fear for my daughter; she is cared for in my absence by one who is vowed to aid me in my labours for the church. it is now nearly a year since i first met ulpius, and from that time forth he has devoted himself to my service and watched over my child.' 'who is this ulpius, that you should put such faith in him?' 'he is a man of age like mine. i found him, like me, worn down by the calamities of his early life, and abandoned, as i had once been, to the delusions of the pagan gods. he was desolate, suffering, forlorn, and i had pity on him in his misery. i proved to him that the worship he still professed was banished for its iniquities from the land; that the religion which had succeeded it had become defiled by man, and that there remained but one faith for him to choose, if he would be saved--the faith of the early church. he heard me and was converted. from that moment he has served me patiently and helped me willingly. under the roof where i assemble the few who as yet are true believers, he is always the first to come and the last to remain. no word of anger has ever crossed his lips--no look of impatience has ever appeared in his eyes. though sorrowful, he is gentle; though suffering, he is industrious. i have trusted him with all i possess, and i glory in my credulity! ulpius is incorruptible!' 'and your daughter?--is ulpius reverenced by her as he is respected by you?' 'she knows that her duty is to love whom i love, and to avoid whom i avoid. can you imagine that a christian virgin has any feelings disobedient to her father's wishes? come to my house; judge with your own eyes of my daughter and my companion. you, whose misfortunes have left you no home, shall find one, if you will, with me. come then and labour with me in my great undertaking! you will withdraw your mind from the contemplation of your woes, and merit by your devotion the favour of the most high.' 'no, numerian, i will still be independent, even of my friends! nor rome nor italy are abiding-places for me. i go to another land to abide among another people, until the arms of a conqueror shall have restored freedom to the brave and protection to the honest throughout the countries of the empire.' 'probus, i implore you stay!' 'never! my determination is taken, numerian--farewell!' for a few minutes numerian stood motionless, gazing wistfully in the direction taken by his companion on his departure. at first an expression of grief and pity softened the austerity which seemed the habitual characteristic of his countenance when in repose, but soon these milder and tenderer feelings appeared to vanish from his heart as suddenly as they had arisen; his features reassumed their customary sternness, and he muttered to himself as he mixed with the crowd struggling onwards in the direction of the basilica: 'let him depart unregretted; he has denied himself to the service of his maker. he should no longer be my friend.' in this sentence lay the index to the character of the man. his existence was one vast sacrifice, one scene of intrepid self-immolation. although, in the brief hints at the events of his life which he had communicated to his friend, he had exaggerated the extent of his errors, he had by no means done justice to the fervour of his penitence--a penitence which outstripped the usual boundaries of repentance, and only began in despair to terminate in fanaticism. his desertion of his father's house (into the motives of which it is not our present intention to enter), and his long subsequent existence of violence and excess, indisposed his naturally strong passions to submit to the slightest restraint. in obedience to their first impulses, he contracted, at a mature age, a marriage with a woman thoroughly unworthy of the ardent admiration that she had inspired. when he found himself deceived and dishonoured by her, the shock of such an affliction thrilled through his whole being--crushed all his energies--struck him prostrate, heart and mind, at one blow. the errors of his youth, committed in his prosperity with moral impunity, reacted upon him in his adversity with an influence fatal to his future peace. his repentance was darkened by despondency; his resolutions were unbrightened by hope. he flew to religion as the suicide flies to the knife--in despair. leaving all remaining peculiarities in numerian's character to be discussed at a future opportunity, we will now follow him in his passage through the crowd, to the entrance of the basilica--continuing to designate him, here and elsewhere, by the name which he had assumed on his conversion, and by which he had insisted on being addressed during his interview with the fugitive landholder. although at the commencement of his progress towards the church, our enthusiast found himself placed among the hindermost of the members of the advancing throng, he soon contrived so thoroughly to outstrip his dilatory and discursive neighbours as to gain, with little delay, the steps of the sacred building. here, in common with many others, he was compelled to stop, while those nearest the basilica squeezed their way through its stately doors. in such a situation his remarkable figure could not fail to be noticed, and he was silently recognised by many of the bystanders, some of whom looked on him with wonder, and some with aversion. nobody, however, approached or spoke to him. every one felt the necessity of shunning a man whose bold and daily exposures of the abuses of the church placed in incessant peril his liberty, and even his life. among the bystanders who surrounded numerian, there were nevertheless two who did not remain content with carelessly avoiding any communication with the intrepid and suspected reformer. these two men belonged to the lowest order of the clergy, and appeared to be occupied in cautiously watching the actions and listening to the conversation of the individuals immediately around them. the instant they beheld numerian they moved so as to elude his observation, taking care at the same time to occupy such a position as enabled them to keep in view the object of their evident distrust. 'look, osius,' said one, 'that man is here again!' 'and doubtless with the same motives which brought him here yesterday,' replied the other. 'you will see that he will again enter the church, listen to the service, retire to his little chapel near the pincian mount, and there, before his ragged mob of adherents, attack the doctrines which our brethren have preached, as we know he did last night, and as we suspect he will continue to do until the authorities think proper to give the signal for his imprisonment.' 'i marvel that he should have been permitted to persist so long a time as he has in his course of contumacy towards the church. have we not evidence enough in his writings alone to convict him of heresy? the carelessness of the bishop upon such a matter as this is quite inexplicable!' 'you should consider, numerian not being a priest, that the carelessness about our interests lies more with the senate than the bishop. what time our nobles can spare from their debaucheries has been lately given to discussions on the conduct of the emperor in retiring to ravenna, and will now be dedicated to penetrating the basis of this rumour about the goths. besides, even were they at liberty, what care the senate about theological disputes? they only know this numerian as a citizen of rome, a man of some influence and possessions, and, consequently, a person of political importance as a member of the population. in addition to which, it would be no easy task for us at the present moment to impugn the doctrines broached by our assailant; for the fellow has a troublesome facility of supporting what he says by the bible. believe me, in this matter, our only way of righting ourselves will be to convict him of scandal against the highest dignitaries of the church.' 'the order that we have lately received to track his movements and listen to his discourses, leads me to believe that our superiors are of your opinion.' 'whether my convictions are correct or not, of this i feel assured--that his days of liberty are numbered. it was but a few hours ago that i saw the bishop's chamberlain's head-assistant, and he told me that he had heard, through the crevice of a door--' 'hush! he moves; he is pressing forward to enter the church. you can tell me what you were about to say as we follow him. quick! let us mix with the crowd.' ever enthusiastic in the performance of their loathsome duties, these two discreet pastors of a christian flock followed numerian with the most elaborate caution into the interior of the sacred building. although the sun still left a faint streak of red in the western sky, and the moon had as yet scarcely risen, the great chandelier of two thousand four hundred lamps, mentioned by the bishop in his address to the people, was already alight. in the days of its severe and sacred beauty, the appearance of the church would have suffered fatally by this blaze of artificial brilliancy; but now that the ancient character of the basilica was completely changed, now that from a solemn temple it had been altered to the semblance of a luxurious palace, it gained immensely by its gaudy illumination. not an ornament along the vast extent of its glorious nave but glittered in vivid distinctness in the dazzling light that poured downwards from the roof. the gilded rafters, the smooth inlaid marble pillars, the rich hangings of the windows, the jewelled candlesticks on the altars, the pictures, the statues, the bronzes, the mosaics, each and all glowed with a steady and luxurious transparency absolutely intoxicating to the eye. not a trace of wear, not a vestige of tarnish now appeared on any object. each portion of the nave to which the attention was directed appeared too finely, spotlessly radiant, ever to have been touched by mortal hands. entranced and bewildered, the observation roamed over the surface of the brilliant scene, until, wearied by the unbroken embellishment of the prospect, it wandered for repose upon the dimly lighted aisles, and dwelt with delight upon the soft shadows that hovered about their distant pillars, and the gliding forms that peopled their dusky recesses, or loitered past their lofty walls. at the moment when numerian entered the basilica, a part of the service had just concluded. the last faint echo from the voices of the choir still hung upon the incense-laden air, and the vast masses of the spectators were still grouped in their listening and various attitudes, as the devoted reformer looked forth upon the church. even he, stern as he was, seemed for a moment subdued by the ineffable enchantment of the scene; but ere long, as if displeased with his own involuntary emotions of admiration, his brow contracted, and he sighed heavily, as (still followed by the attentive spies) he sought the comparative seclusion of the aisles. during the interval between the divisions of the service, the congregation occupied themselves in staring at the relics, which were enclosed in a silver cabinet with crystal doors, and placed on the top of the high altar. although it was impossible to obtain a satisfactory view of these ecclesiastical treasures, they nevertheless employed the attention of every one until the appearance of a priest in the pulpit gave signal of the commencement of the sermon, and admonished all those who had seats to secure them without delay. passing through the ranks of the auditors of the sermon--some of whom were engaged in counting the lights in the chandelier, to be certain that the bishop had not defrauded them of one out of the two thousand four hundred lamps; others in holding whispered conversations, and opening small boxes of sweetmeats--we again conduct the reader to the outside of the church. the assemblage here had by this time much diminished; the shadows flung over the ground by the lofty colonnades had deepened and increased; and in many of the more remote recesses of the place hardly a human being was to be observed. at one of these extremities, where the pillars terminated in the street and the obscurity was most intense, stood a solitary old man keeping himself cautiously concealed in the darkness, and looking out anxiously upon the public way immediately before him. he had waited but a short time when a handsome chariot, preceded by a body-guard of gaily-attired slaves, stopped within a few paces of his lurking-place, and the voice of the person it contained pronounced audibly the following words:-- 'no! no! drive on--we are later than i thought. if i stay to see this illumination of the basilica, i shall not be in time to receive my guests for to-night's banquet. besides, this inestimable kitten of the breed most worshipped by the ancient egyptians has already taken cold, and i would not for the world expose the susceptible animal any longer than is necessary to the dampness of the night-air. drive on, good carrio, drive on!' the old man scarcely waited for the conclusion of this speech before he ran up to the chariot, where he was immediately confronted by two heads--one that of vetranio the senator, the other that of a glossy black kitten adorned with a collar of rubies, and half enveloped in its master's ample robes. before the astonished noble could articulate a word, the man whispered in hoarse, hurried accents, 'i am ulpius--dismiss your servants--i have something important to say!' 'ha! my worthy ulpius! you have a most unhappy faculty of delivering a message with the manner of an assassin! but i must pardon your unpleasant abruptness in consideration of your diligence. my excellent carrio, if you value my approbation, remove your companions and yourself out of hearing!' the freedman yielded instant obedience to his master's mandate. the following conversation then took place, the strange man opening it thus:-- 'you remember your promise?' 'i do.' 'upon your honour, as a nobleman and a senator, you are prepared to abide by it whenever it is necessary?' 'i am.' 'then at the dawn of morning meet me at the private gate of your palace garden, and i will conduct you to antonina's bedchamber.' 'the time will suit me. but why at the dawn of morning?' 'because the christian dotard will keep a vigil until midnight, which the girl will most probably attend. i wished to tell you this at your palace, but i heard there that you had gone to aricia, and would return by way of the basilica; so i posted myself to intercept you thus.' 'industrious ulpius!' 'remember your promise!' vetranio leaned forward to reply, but ulpius was gone. as the senator again commanded his equipage to move on, he looked anxiously around him, as if once more expecting to see his strange adherent still lurking near the chariot. he only perceived, however, a man whom he did not know, followed by two other, walking rapidly past him. they were numerian and the spies. 'at last, my projects are approaching consummation,' exclaimed vetranio to himself, as he and his kitten rolled off in the chariot. 'it is well that i thought of securing possession of julia's villa to-day, for i shall now, assuredly, want to use it to-morrow. jupiter! what a mass of dangers, contradictions, and mysteries encompass this affair! when i think that i, who pride myself on my philosophy, have quitted ravenna, borrowed a private villa, leagued myself with an uncultivated plebeian, and all for the sake of a girl who has already deceived my expectations by gaining me as a music-master without admitting me as a lover, i am positively astonished at my own weakness! still it must be owned that the complexion my adventure has lately assumed renders it of some interest in itself. the mere pleasure of penetrating the secrets of this numerian's household is by no means the least among the numerous attraction of my design. how has he gained his influence over the girl? why does he keep her in such strict seclusion? who is this old half-frantic, unceremonious man-monster calling himself ulpius; refusing all reward for his villainy; raving about a return to the old religion of the gods; and exulting in the promise he has extorted from me, as a good pagan, to support the first restoration of the ancient worship that may be attempted in rome? where does he come from? why does he outwardly profess himself a christian? what sent him into numerian's service? by the girdle of venus! everything connected with the girl is as incomprehensible as herself! but patience--patience! a few hours more, and these mysteries will be revealed. in the meantime, let me think of my banquet, and of its presiding deity, the nightingale sauce!' chapter . antonina. who that has been at rome does not remember with delight the attractions of the pincian hill? who, after toiling through the wonders of the dark, melancholy city, has not been revived by a visit to its shady walks, and by breathing its fragrant breezes? amid the solemn mournfulness that reigns over declining rome, this delightful elevation rises light, airy, and inviting, at once a refreshment to the body and a solace to the spirit. from its smooth summit the city is seen in its utmost majesty, and the surrounding country in its brightest aspect. the crimes and miseries of rome seem deterred from approaching its favoured soil; it impresses the mind as a place set apart by common consent for the presence of the innocent and the joyful--as a scene that rest and recreation keep sacred from the intrusion of tumult and toil. its appearance in modern days is the picture of its character for ages past. successive wars might dull its beauties for a time, but peace invariably restored them in all their pristine loveliness. the old romans called it 'the mount of gardens'. throughout the disasters of the empire and the convulsions of the middle ages, it continued to merit its ancient appellation, and a 'mount of gardens' it still triumphantly remains to the present day. at the commencement of the fifth century the magnificence of the pincian hill was at its zenith. were it consistent with the conduct of our story to dwell upon the glories of its palaces and its groves, its temples and its theatres, such a glowing prospect of artificial splendour, aided by natural beauty, might be spread before the reader as would tax his credulity, while it excited his astonishment. this task, however, it is here unnecessary to attempt. it is not for the wonders of ancient luxury and taste, but for the abode of the zealous and religious numerian, that we find it now requisite to arouse interest and engage attention. at the back of the flaminian extremity of the pincian hill, and immediately overlooking the city wall, stood, at the period of which we write, a small but elegantly built house, surrounded by a little garden of its own, and protected at the back by the lofty groves and outbuildings of the palace of vetranio the senator. this abode had been at one time a sort of summer-house belonging to the former proprietor of a neighbouring mansion. profligate necessities, however, had obliged the owner to part with this portion of his possessions, which was purchased by a merchant well known to numerian, who received it as a legacy at his friend's death. disgusted, as soon as his reforming projects took possession of his mind, at the bare idea of propinquity to the ennobled libertines of rome, the austere christian determined to abandon his inheritance, and to sell it to another; but, at the repeated entreaties of his daughter, he at length consented to change his purpose, and sacrifice his antipathy to his luxurious neighbours to his child's youthful attachment to the beauties of nature as displayed in his legacy on the pincian mount. in this instance only did the natural affection of the father prevail over the acquired severity of the reformer. here he condescended, for the first and the last time, to the sweet trivialities of youth. here, indulgent in spite of himself, he fixed his little household, and permitted to his daughter her sole recreations of tending the flowers in the garden and luxuriating in the loveliness of the distant view. * * * * * the night has advanced an hour since the occurrence mentioned in the preceding chapter. the clear and brilliant moonlight of italy now pervades every district of the glorious city, and bathes in its pure effulgence the groves and palaces on the pincian mount. from the garden of numerian the irregular buildings of the great suburbs of rome, the rich undulating country beyond, and the long ranges of mountains in the distance, are now all visible in the soft and luxurious light. near the spot which commands this view, not a living creature is to be seen on a first examination; but on a more industrious and patient observation, you are subsequently able to detect at one of the windows of numerian's house, half hidden by a curtain, the figure of a young girl. soon this solitary form approaches nearer to the eye. the moonbeams, that have hitherto shone only upon the window, now illuminate other objects. first they display a small, white arm; then a light, simple robe; then a fair, graceful neck; and finally a bright, youthful, innocent face, directed steadfastly towards the wide moon-brightened prospect of the distant mountains. for some time the girl remains in contemplation at her window. then she leaves her post, and almost immediately reappears at a door leading into the garden. her figure, as she advances towards the lawn before her, is light and small--a natural grace and propriety appear in her movements--she holds pressed to her bosom and half concealed by her robe, a gilt lute. when she reaches a turf bank commanding the same view as the window, she arranges her instrument upon her knees, and with something of restraint in her manner gently touches the chords. then, as if alarmed at the sound she has produced, she glances anxiously around her, apparently fearful of being overheard. her large, dark, lustrous eyes have in them an expression of apprehension; her delicate lips are half parted; a sudden flush rises in her soft, olive complexion as she examines every corner of the garden. having completed her survey without discovering any cause for the suspicions she seems to entertain, she again employs herself over her instrument. once more she strikes the chords, and now with a bolder hand. the notes she produces resolve themselves into a wild, plaintive, irregular melody, alternately rising and sinking, as if swayed by the fickle influence of a summer wind. these sounds are soon harmoniously augmented by the young minstrel's voice, which is calm, still, and mellow, and adapts itself with exquisite ingenuity to every arbitrary variation in the tone of the accompaniment. the song that she has chosen is one of the fanciful odes of the day. its chief merit to her lies in its alliance to the strange eastern air which she heard at her first interview with the senator who presented her with the lute. paraphrased in english, the words of the composition would run thus:-- the origin of music i. spirit, whose dominion reigns over music's thrilling strains, whence may be thy distant birth? say what tempted thee to earth? mortal, listen: i was born in creation's early years, singing, 'mid the stars of morn, to the music of the spheres. once as, within the realms of space, i view'd this mortal planet roll, a yearning towards they hapless race, unbidden, filled my seraph soul! angels, who had watched my birth, heard me sigh to sing to earth; 'twas transgression ne'er forgiv'n to forget my native heav'n; so they sternly bade me go-- banish'd to the world below. ii. exil'd here, i knew no fears; for, though darkness round me clung, though none heard me in the spheres, earth had listeners while i sung. young spirits of the spring sweet breeze came thronging round me, soft and coy, light wood-nymphs sported in the trees, and laughing echo leapt for joy! brooding woe and writhing pain soften'd at my gentle strain; bounding joy, with footstep fleet, ran to nestle at my feet; while, aroused, delighted love softly kiss'd me from above! iii. since those years of early time, faithful still to earth i've sung; flying through each distant clime, ever welcome, ever young! still pleas'd, my solace i impart where brightest hopes are scattered dead; 'tis mine--sweet gift!--to charm the heart, though all its other joys have fled! time, that withers all beside, harmless past me loves to glide; change, that mortals must obey, ne'er shall shake my gentle sway; still 'tis mine all hearts to move in eternity of love. as the last sounds of her voice and her lute died softly away upon the still night air, an indescribable elevation appeared in the girl's countenance. she looked up rapturously into the far, star-bright sky; her lip quivered, her dark eyes filled with tears, and her bosom heaved with the excess of the emotions that the music and the scene inspired. then she gazed slowly around her, dwelling tenderly upon the fragrant flower-beds that were the work of her own hands, and looking forth with an expression half reverential, half ecstatic over the long, smooth, shining plains, and the still, glorious mountains, that had so long been the inspiration of her most cherished thoughts, and that now glowed before her eyes, soft and beautiful as her dreams on her virgin couch. then, overpowered by the artless thoughts and innocent recollections which on the magic wings of nature and night came wafted over her mind, she bent down her head upon her lute, pressed her round, dimpled cheek against its smooth frame, and drawing her fingers mechanically over its strings, abandoned herself unreservedly to the reveries of maidenhood and youth. such was the being devoted by her father's fatal ambition to a lifelong banishment from all that is attractive in human art and beautiful in human intellect! such was the daughter whose existence was to be one long acquaintance with mortal woe, one unvaried refusal of mortal pleasure, whose thoughts were to be only of sermons and fasts, whose action were to be confined to the binding up of strangers' wounds and the drying of strangers' tears; whose life, in brief, was doomed to be the embodiment of her father's austere ideal of the austere virgins of the ancient church! deprived of her mother, exiled from the companionship of others of her age, permitted no familiarity with any living being, no sympathies with any other heart, commanded but never indulged, rebuked but never applauded, she must have sunk beneath the severities imposed on her by her father, but for the venial disobedience committed in the pursuit of the solitary pleasure procured for her by her lute. vainly, in her hours of study, did she read the fierce anathemas against love, liberty, and pleasure, poetry, painting, and music, gold, silver, and precious stones, which the ancient fathers had composed for the benefit of the submissive congregations of former days; vainly did she imagine, during those long hours of theological instruction, that her heart's forbidden longings were banished and destroyed--that her patient and childlike disposition was bowed in complete subserviency to the most rigorous of her father's commands. no sooner were her interviews with numerian concluded than the promptings of that nature within us, which artifice may warp but can never destroy, lured her into a forgetfulness of all that she had heard and a longing for much that was forbidden. we live, in this existence, but by the companionship of some sympathy, aspiration, or pursuit, which serves us as our habitual refuge from the tribulations we inherit from the outer world. the same feeling which led antonina in her childhood to beg for a flower-garden, in her girlhood induced her to gain possession of a lute. the passion for music which prompted her visit to vetranio, which alone saved her affections from pining in the solitude imposed on them, and which occupied her leisure hours in the manner we have already described, was an inheritance of her birth. her spanish mother had sung to her, hour after hour, in her cradle, for the short time during which she was permitted to watch over her child. the impression thus made on the dawning faculties of the infant, nothing ever effaced. though her earliest perception were greeted only by the sight of her father's misery; though the form which his despairing penitence soon assumed doomed her to a life of seclusion and an education of admonition, the passionate attachment to the melody of sound, inspired by her mother's voice--almost imbibed at her mother's breast--lived through all neglect, and survived all opposition. it found its nourishment in childish recollections, in snatches of street minstrelsy heard through her window, in the passage of the night winds of winter through the groves on the pincian mount, and received its rapturous gratification in the first audible sounds from the roman senator's lute. how her possession of an instrument, and her skill in playing, were subsequently gained, the reader already knows from vetranio's narrative at ravenna. could the frivolous senator have discovered the real intensity of the emotions his art was raising in his pupil's bosom while he taught her; could he have imagined how incessantly, during their lessons, her sense of duty struggled with her love for music--how completely she was absorbed, one moment by an agony of doubt and fear, another by an ecstasy of enjoyment and hope--he would have felt little of that astonishment at her coldness towards himself which he so warmly expressed at his interview with julia in the gardens of the court. in truth, nothing could be more complete than antonina's childish unconsciousness of the feelings with which vetranio regarded her. in entering his presence, whatever remnant of her affections remained unwithered by her fears was solely attracted and engrossed by the beloved and beautiful lute. in receiving the instrument, she almost forgot the giver in the triumph of possession; or, if she thought of him at all, it was to be grateful for having escaped uninjured from a member of that class, for whom her father's reiterated admonitions had inspired her with a vague feeling of dread and distrust, and to determine that, now she had acknowledged his kindness and departed from his domains, nothing should ever induce her to risk discovery by her father and peril to herself by ever entering them again. innocent in her isolation, almost infantine in her natural simplicity, a single enjoyment was sufficient to satisfy all the passions of her age. father, mother, lover, and companion; liberties, amusements, and adornments--they were all summed up for her in that simple lute. the archness, the liveliness, and the gentleness of her disposition; the poetry of her nature, and the affection of her heart; the happy bloom of youth, which seclusion could not all wither nor distorted precept taint, were now entirely nourished, expanded, and freshened--such is the creative power of human emotion--by that inestimable possession. she could speak to it, smile on it, caress it, and believe, in the ecstasy of her delight, in the carelessness of her self-delusion, that it sympathised with her joy. during her long solitudes, when she was silently watched in her father's absence by the brooding, melancholy stranger whom he had set over her, it became a companion dearer than the flower-garden, dearer even that the plains and mountains which formed her favourite view. when her father returned, and she was led forth to sit in a dark place among strange, silent people, and to listen to interminable declamations, it was a solace to think of the instrument as it lay hidden securely in her chamber, and to ponder delightedly on what new music of her own she could play upon it next. and then, when evening arrived, and she was left alone in her garden--then came the hour of moonlight and song; the moment of rapture and melody that drew her out of herself, elevated her she felt not how, and transported her she knew not whither. but, while we thus linger over reflection on motives and examinations into character, we are called back to the outer world of passing interests and events by the appearances of another figure on the scene. we left antonina in the garden thinking over her lute. she still remains in her meditative position, but she is now no longer alone. from the same steps by which she had descended, a man now advances into the garden, and walks towards the place she occupies. his gait is limping, his stature crooked, his proportions distorted. his large, angular features stand out in gaunt contrast to his shrivelled cheeks. his dry, matted hair has been burnt by the sun into a strange tawny brown. his expression is one of fixed, stern, mournful thought. as he steps stealthily along, advancing towards antonina, he mutters to himself, and clutches mechanically at his garments with his lank, shapeless fingers. the radiant moonlight, falling fully upon his countenance, invests it with a livid, mysterious, spectral appearance: seen by a stranger at the present moment, he would have been almost awful to look upon. this was the man who had intercepted vetranio on his journey home, and who had now hurried back so as to regain his accustomed post before his master's return, for he was the same individual mentioned by numerian as his aged convert, ulpius, in his interview with the landholder at the basilica of st. peter. when ulpius had arrived within a few paces of the girl he stopped, saying in a hoarse, thick voice-- 'hide your toy--numerian is at the gates!' antonina started violently as she listened to those repulsive accents. the blood rushed into her cheeks; she hastily covered the lute with her robe; paused an instant, as if intending to speak to the man, then shuddered violently, and hurried towards the house. as she mounted the steps numerian met her in the hall. there was now no chance of hiding the lute in its accustomed place. 'you stay too late in the garden,' said the father, looking proudly, in spite of all his austerity, upon his beautiful daughter as she stood by his side. 'but what affects you?' he added, noticing her confusion. 'you tremble; your colour comes and goes; your lips quiver. give me your hand!' as antonina obeyed him, a fold of the treacherous robe slipped aside, and discovered a part of the frame of the lute. numerian's quick eye discovered it immediately. he snatched the instrument from her feeble grasp. his astonishment on beholding it was too great for words, and for an instant he confronted the poor girl, whose pale face looked rigid with terror, in ominous and expressive silence. 'this thing,' said he at length, 'this invention of libertines in my house--in my daughter's possession!' and he dashed the lute into fragments on the floor. for one moment antonina looked incredulously on the ruins of the beloved companion, which was the centre of all her happiest expectations for future days. then, as she began to estimate the reality of her deprivation, her eyes lost all their heaven-born brightness, and filled to overflowing with the tears of earth. 'to your chamber!' thundered numerian, as she knelt, sobbing convulsively, over those hapless fragments. 'to your chamber! tomorrow shall bring this mystery of iniquity to light!' she rose humbly to obey him, for indignation had no part in the emotions that shook her gentle and affectionate nature. as she moved towards the room that no lute was henceforth to occupy, as she thought on the morrow that no lute was henceforth to enliven, her grief almost overpowered her. she turned back and looked imploringly at her father, as if entreating permission to pick up even the smallest of the fragments at his feet. 'to your chamber!' he reiterated sternly. 'am i to be disobeyed to my face?' without any repetition of her silent remonstrance, she instantly retired. as soon as she was out of sight, ulpius ascended the steps and stood before the angered father. 'look, ulpius,' cried numerian, 'my daughter, whom i have so carefully cherished, whom i intended for an example to the world, has deceived me, even thus!' he pointed, as he spoke, to the ruins of the unfortunate lute; but ulpius did not address to him a word in reply, and he hastily continued:-- 'i will not sully the solemn offices of tonight by interrupting them with my worldly affairs. to-morrow i will interrogate my disobedient child. in the meantime, do not imagine, ulpius, that i connect you in any way with this wicked and unworthy deception! in you i have every confidence, in your faithfulness i have every hope.' again he paused, and again ulpius kept silence. any one less agitated, less confiding, than his unsuspicious master, would have remarked that a faint sinister smile was breaking forth upon his haggard countenance. but numerian's indignation was still too violent to permit him to observed, and, spite of his efforts to control himself, he again broke forth in complaint. 'on this night too, of all others,' cried he, 'when i had hoped to lead her among my little assembly of the faithful, to join in their prayers, and to listen to my exhortations--on this night i am doomed to find her a player on a pagan lute, a possessor of the most wanton of the world's vanities! god give me patience to worship this night with unwandering thoughts, for my heart is vexed at the transgression of my child, as the heart of eli of old at the iniquities of his sons!' he was moving rapidly away, when, as if struck with a sudden recollection, he stopped abruptly, and again addressed his gloomy companion. 'i will go by myself to the chapel to-night,' said he. 'you, ulpius, will stay to keep watch over my disobedient child. be vigilant, good friend, over my house; for even now, on my return, i thought that two strangers were following my steps, and i forebode some evil in store for me as the chastisement for my sins, even greater than this misery of my daughter's transgression. be watchful, good ulpius--be watchful!' and, as he hurried away, the stern, serious man felt as overwhelmed at the outrage that had been offered to his gloomy fanaticism, as the weak, timid girl at the destruction that had been wreaked upon her harmless lute. after numerian had departed, the sinister smile again appeared on the countenance of ulpius. he stood for a short time fixed in thought, and then began slowly to descend a staircase near him which led to some subterranean apartments. he had not gone far when a slight noise became audible at an extremity of the corridor above. as he listened for a repetition of the sound, he heard a sob, and looking cautiously up, discovered, by the moonlight, antonina stepping cautiously along the marble pavement of the hall. she held in her hand a little lamp; her small, rosy feet were uncovered; the tears still streamed over her cheeks. she advanced with the greatest caution (as if fearful of being overheard) until she gained the part of the floor still strewn with the ruins of the broken lute. here she knelt down, and pressed each fragment that lay before her separately to her lips. then hurriedly concealing a single piece in her bosom, she arose and stole quickly away in the direction by which she had come. 'be patient till the dawn,' muttered her faithless guardian, gazing after her from his concealment as she disappeared; 'it will bring to thy lute a restorer, and to ulpius an ally!' chapter . an apprenticeship to the temple. the action of our characters during the night included in the last two chapters has now come to a pause. vetranio is awaiting his guests for the banquet; numerian is in the chapel, preparing for the discourse that he is to deliver to his friends; ulpius is meditating in his master's house; antonina is stretched upon her couch, caressing the precious fragment that she had saved from the ruins of her lute. all the immediate agents of our story are, for the present, in repose. it is our purpose to take advantage of this interval of inaction, and direct the reader's attention to a different country from that selected as the scene of our romance, and to such historical events of past years as connect themselves remarkably with the early life of numerian's perfidious convert. this man will be found a person of great importance in the future conduct of our story. it is necessary to the comprehension of his character, and the penetration of such of his purposes as have been already hinted at, and may subsequently appear, that the long course of his existence should be traced upwards to its source. it was in the reign of julian, when the gods of the pagan achieved their last victory over the gospel of the christian, that a decently attired man, leading by the hand a handsome boy of fifteen years of age, entered the gates of alexandria, and proceeded hastily towards the high priest's dwelling in the temple of serapis. after a stay of some hours at his destination, the man left the city alone as hastily as he entered it, and was never after seen at alexandria. the boy remained in the abode of the high priest until the next day, when he was solemnly devoted to the service of the temple. the boy was the young emilius, afterwards called ulpius. he was nephew to the high priest, to whom he had been confided by his father, a merchant of rome. ambition was the ruling passion of the father of emilius. it had prompted him to aspire to every distinction granted to the successful by the state, but it had not gifted him with the powers requisite to turn his aspirations in any instance into acquisitions. he passed through existence a disappointed man, planning but never performing, seeing his more fortunate brother rising to the highest distinction in the priesthood, and finding himself irretrievably condemned to exist in the affluent obscurity ensured to him by his mercantile pursuits. when his brother macrinus, on julian's accession to the imperial throne, arrived at the pinnacle of power and celebrity as high priest of the temple of serapis, the unsuccessful merchant lost all hope of rivalling his relative in the pursuit of distinction. his insatiable ambition, discarded from himself, now settled on one of his infant sons. he determined that his child should be successful where he had failed. now that his brother had secured the highest elevation in the temple, no calling could offer more direct advantages to a member of his household that the priesthood. his family had been from their earliest origin rigid pagans. one of them had already attained to the most distinguished honours of his gorgeous worship. he determined that another should rival his kinsman, and that that other should be his eldest son. firm in this resolution, he at once devoted his child to the great design which he now held continually in view. he knew well that paganism, revived though it was, was not the universal worship that it had been; that it was now secretly resisted, and might soon be openly opposed, by the persecuted christians throughout the empire; and that if the young generation were to guard it successfully from all future encroachments, and to rise securely to its highest honours, more must be exacted from them than the easy attachment to the ancient religion require from the votaries of former days. then, the performance of the most important offices in the priesthood was compatible with the possession of military or political rank. now, it was to the temple, and to the temple only, that the future servant of the gods should be devoted. resolving thus, the father took care that all the son's occupations and rewards should, from his earliest years, be in some way connected with the career for which he was intended. his childish pleasures were to be conducted to sacrifices and auguries; his childish playthings and prizes were images of the deities. no opposition was offered on the boy's part to this plan of education. far different from his younger brother, whose turbulent disposition defied all authority, he was naturally docile; and his imagination, vivid beyond his years, was easily led captive by any remarkable object presented to it. with such encouragement, his father became thoroughly engrossed by the occupation of forming him for his future existence. his mother's influence over him was jealously watched; the secret expression of her love, of her sorrow, at the prospect of parting with him, was ruthlessly suppressed whenever it was discovered; and his younger brother was neglected, almost forgotten, in order that the parental watchfulness might be entirely and invariably devoted to the eldest son. when emilius had numbered fifteen years, his father saw with delight that the time had come when he could witness the commencement of the realisation of all his projects. the boy was removed from home, taken to alexandria, and gladly left, by his proud and triumphant father, under the especial guardianship of macrinus, the high priest. the chief of the temple full sympathised in his brother's designs for the young emilius. as soon as the boy had entered on his new occupations, he was told that he must forget all that he had left behind him at rome; that he must look upon the high priest as his father, and upon the temple, henceforth, as his home; and that the sole object of his present labours and future ambition must be to rise in the service of the gods. nor did macrinus stop here. so thoroughly anxious was he to stand to his pupil in the place of a parent, and to secure his allegiance by withdrawing him in every way from the world in which he had hitherto lived, that he even changed his name, giving to him one of his own appellations, and describing it as a privilege to stimulate him to future exertions. from the boy emilius, he was now permanently transformed to the student ulpius. with such a natural disposition as we have already described, and under such guardianship as that of the high priest, there was little danger that ulpius would disappoint the unusual expectations which had been formed of him. his attention to his new duties never relaxed; his obedience to his new masters never wavered. whatever macrinus demanded of him he was sure to perform. whatever longings he might feel to return to home, he never discovered them; he never sought to gratify the tastes naturally peculiar to his age. the high priest and his colleagues were astonished at the extraordinary readiness with which the boy himself forwarded their intentions for him. had they known how elaborately he had been prepared for his future employments at his father's house, they would have been less astonished at their pupil's unusual docility. trained as he had been, he must have shown a more than human perversity had he displayed any opposition to his uncle's wishes. he had been permitted no childhood either of thought or action. his natural precocity had been seized as the engine to force his faculties into a perilous and unwholesome maturity; and when his new duties demanded his attention, he entered on them with the same sincerity of enthusiasm which his boyish coevals would have exhibited towards a new sport. his gradual initiation into the mysteries of his religion created a strange, voluptuous sensation of fear and interest in his mind. he heard the oracles, and he trembled; he attended the sacrifices and the auguries, and he wondered. all the poetry of the bold and beautiful superstition to which he was devoted flowed overwhelmingly into his young heart, absorbing the service of his fresh imagination, and transporting him incessantly from the vital realities of the outer world to the shadowy regions of aspiration and thought. but his duties did not entirely occupy the attention of ulpius. the boy had his peculiar pleasures as well as his peculiar occupations. when his employments were over for the day, it was a strange, unearthly, vital enjoyment to him to wander softly in the shade of the temple porticoes, looking down from his great mysterious eminence upon the populous and sun-brightened city at his feet; watching the brilliant expanse of the waters of the nile glittering joyfully in the dazzling and pervading light; raising his eyes from the fields and woods, the palaces and garden, that stretched out before him below, to the lovely and cloudless sky that watched round him afar and above, and that awoke all that his new duties had left of the joyfulness, the affectionate sensibility, which his rare intervals of uninterrupted intercourse with his mother had implanted in his heart. then, when the daylight began to wane, and the moon and stars already grew beautiful in their places in the firmament, he would pass into the subterranean vaults of the edifice, trembling as his little taper scarcely dispelled the dull, solemn gloom, and listening with breathless attention for the voices of those guardian spirits whose fabled habitation was made in the apartments of the sacred place. or, when the multitude had departed for their amusements and their homes, he would steal into the lofty halls and wander round the pedestals of the mighty statues, breathing fearfully the still atmosphere of the temple, and watching the passage of the cold, melancholy moonbeams through the openings in the roof, and over the colossal limbs and features of the images of the pagan gods. sometimes, when the services of serapis and the cares attendant on his communications with the emperor were concluded, macrinus would lead his pupil into the garden of the priests, and praise him for his docility till his heart throbbed with gratitude and pride. sometimes he would convey him cautiously outside the precincts of the sacred place, and show him, in the suburbs of the city, silent, pale, melancholy men, gliding suspiciously through the gay, crowded streets. those fugitive figures, he would declare, were the enemies of the temple and all that it contained; conspirators against the emperor and the gods; wretches who were to be driven forth as outcasts from humanity; whose appellation was 'christian'; and whose impious worship, if tolerated, would deprive him of the uncle whom he loved, of the temple that he reverenced, and of the priestly dignity and renown which it should be his life's ambition to acquire. thus tutored in his duties by his guardian, and in his recreations by himself, as time wore on, the boy gradually lost every remaining characteristic of his age. even the remembrance of his mother and his mother's love grew faint on his memory. serious, solitary, thoughtful, he lived but to succeed in the temple; he laboured but to emulate the high priest. all his feelings and faculties were now enslaved by an ambition, at once unnatural at his present age, and ominous of affliction for his future life. the design that macrinus had contemplated as the work of years was perfected in a few months. the hope that his father had scarce dared to entertain for his manhood was already accomplished in his youth. in these preparations for future success passed three years of the life of ulpius. at the expiration of that period the death of julian darkened the brilliant prospects of the pagan world. scarcely had the priests of serapis recovered the first shock of astonishment and grief consequent upon the fatal news of the vacancy in the imperial throne, when the edict of toleration issued by jovian, the new emperor, reached the city of alexandria, and was elevated on the walls of the temple. the first sight of this proclamation (permitting freedom of worship to the christians) aroused in the highly wrought disposition of ulpius the most violent emotions of anger and contempt. the enthusiasm of his character and age, guided invariably in the one direction of his worship, took the character of the wildest fanaticism when he discovered the emperor's careless infringement of the supremacy of the temple. he volunteered in the first moments of his fury to tear down the edict from the walls, to lead an attack on the meetings of the triumphant christians, or to travel to the imperial abode and exhort jovian to withdraw his act of perilous leniency ere it was too late. with difficulty did his more cautious confederates restrain him from the execution of his impetuous designs. for two days he withdrew himself from his companions, and brooded in solitude over the injury offered to his beloved superstition, and the prospective augmentation of the influence of the christian sect. but the despair of the young enthusiast was destined to be further augmented by a private calamity, at once mysterious in its cause and overwhelming in its effect. two days after the publication of the edict the high priest macrinus, in the prime of vigour and manhood, suddenly died. to narrate the confusion and horror within and without the temple on the discovery of this fatal even; to describe the execrations and tumults of the priests and the populace, who at once suspected the favoured and ambitious christians of causing, by poison, the death of their spiritual ruler, might be interesting as a history of the manners of the times, but is immaterial to the object of this chapter. we prefer rather to trace the effect on the mind of ulpius of his personal and private bereavement; of this loss--irretrievable to him--of the master whom he loved and the guardian whom it was his privilege to revere. an illness of some months, during the latter part of which his attendants trembled for his life and reason, sufficiently attested the sincerity of the grief of ulpius for the loss of his protector. during his paroxysms of delirium the priests who watched round his bed drew from his ravings many wise conclusions as to the effects that his seizure and its causes were likely to produce on his future character; but, in spite of all their penetration, they were still far from appreciating to a tithe of its extent the revolution that his bereavement had wrought in his disposition. the boy himself, until the moment of the high priest's death, had never been aware of the depth of his devotion to his second father. warped as they had been by his natural parent, the affectionate qualities that were the mainspring of his nature had never been entirely destroyed; and they seized on every kind word and gentle action of macrinus as food which had been grudged them since their birth. morally and intellectually, macrinus had been to him the beacon that pointed the direction of his course, the judge that regulated his conduct, the muse that he looked to for inspiration. and now, when this link which had connected every ramification of his most cherished and governing ideas was suddenly snapped asunder, a desolation sunk down upon his mind which at once paralysed its elasticity and withered its freshness. he glanced back, and saw nothing but a home from whose pleasures and affections his father's ambition had exiled him for ever. he looked forward, and as he thought of his unfitness, both from character and education, to mix in the world as others mixed in it, he saw no guiding star of social happiness for the conduct of his existence to come. there was now no resource left for him but entirely to deliver himself up to those pursuits which had made his home as a strange place to him, which were hallowed by their connection with the lost object of his attachment, and which would confer the sole happiness and distinction that he could hope for in the wide world on his future life. in addition to this motive for labour in his vocation, there existed in the mind of ulpius a deep and settled feeling that animated him with unceasing ardour for the prosecution of his cherished occupations. this governing principle was detestation of the christian sect. the suspicion that others had entertained regarding the death of the high priest was to his mind a certainty. he rejected every idea which opposed his determined persuasion that the jealousy of the christians had prompted them to the murder, by poison, of the most powerful and zealous of the pagan priests. to labour incessantly until he attained the influence and position formerly enjoyed by his relative, and to use that influence and position, when once acquired, as the means of avenging macrinus, by sweeping every vestige of the christian faith from the face of the earth, were now the settled purposes of his heart. inspired by his determination with the deliberate wisdom which is in most men the result only of the experience of years, he employed the first days of his convalescence in cautiously maturing his future plans, and impartially calculating his chances of success. this self-examination completed, he devoted himself at once and for ever to his life's great design. nothing wearied, nothing discouraged, nothing impeded him. outward events passed by him unnoticed; the city's afflictions and the city's triumphs spoke no longer to his heart. year succeeded to year, but time had no tongue for him. paganism gradually sank, and christianity imperceptibly rose, but change spread no picture before his eyes. the whole outward world was a void to him, until the moment arrived that beheld him successful in his designs. his preparations for the future absorbed every faculty of his nature, and left him, as to the present, a mere automaton, reflecting no principle, and animated by no event--a machine that moved, but did not perceive--a body that acted, without a mind that thought. returning for a moment to the outward world, we find that on the death of jovian, in , valentinian, the new emperor, continued the system of toleration adopted by his predecessor. on his death, in , gratian, the successor to the imperial throne, so far improved on the example of the two former potentates as to range himself boldly on the side of the partisans of the new faith. not content with merely encouraging, both by precept and by example, the growth of christianity, the emperor further testified to his zeal for the rising religion by inflicting incessant persecutions upon the rapidly decreasing advocates of the ancient worship; serving, by these acts of his reign, as pioneer to his successor, theodosius the great, in the religious revolution which that illustrious opponent of paganism was destined to effect. the death of gratian, in , saw ulpius enrolled among the chief priests of the temple, and pointed out as the next inheritor of the important office once held by the powerful and active macrinus. beholding himself thus secure of the distinction for which he had laboured, the aspiring priest found leisure, at length, to look forth upon the affairs of the passing day. from every side desolation darkened the prospect that he beheld. already, throughout many provinces of the empire, the temples of the gods had been overthrown by the destructive zeal of the triumphant christians. already hosts of the terrified people, fearing that the fate of their idols might ultimately be their own, finding themselves deserted by their disbanded priests, and surrounded by the implacable enemies of the ancient faith, had renounced their worship for the sake of saving their lives and securing their property. on the wide field of pagan ruin there now rose but one structure entirely unimpaired. the temple of serapis still reared its head--unshaken, unbending, unpolluted. here the sacrifice still prospered and the people still bowed in worship. before this monument of the religious glories of ages, even the rising power of christian supremacy quailed in dismay. though the ranks of its once multitudinous congregations were now perceptibly thinned, though the new churches swarmed with converts, though the edicts from rome denounced it as a blot on the face of the earth, its gloomy and solitary grandeur was still preserved. no unhallowed foot trod its secret recesses; no destroying hand was raised as yet against its ancient and glorious walls. indignation, but not despondency, filled the heart of ulpius as he surveyed the situation of the pagan world. a determination nourished as his had been by the reflections of years, and matured by incessant industry of deliberation, is above all those shocks which affect a hasty decision or destroy a wavering intention. impervious to failure, disasters urge it into action, but never depress it to repose. its existence is the air that preserves the vitality of the mind--the spring that moves the action of the thoughts. never for a moment did ulpius waver in his devotion to his great design, or despair of its ultimate execution and success. though every succeeding day brought the news of fresh misfortunes for the pagans and fresh triumphs for the christians, still, with a few of his more zealous comrades, he persisted in expecting the advent of another julian, and a day of restoration for the dismantled shrines of the deities that he served. while the temple of serapis stood uninjured, to give encouragement to his labours and refuge to his persecuted brethren, there existed for him such an earnest of success as would spur him to any exertion, and nerve him against any peril. and now, to the astonishment of priests and congregations, the silent, thoughtful, solitary ulpius suddenly started from his long repose, and stood forth the fiery advocate of the rights of his invaded worship. in a few days the fame of his addresses to the pagans who still attended the rites of serapis spread throughout the whole city. the boldest among the christians, as they passed the temple walls, involuntarily trembled when they heard the vehemence of the applause which arose from the audience of the inspired priest. addressed to all varieties of age and character, these harangues woke an echo in every breast they reached. to the young they were clothed in all the poetry of the worship for which they pleaded. they dwelt on the altars of venus that the christians would lay waste; on the woodlands that the christians would disenchant of their dryads; on the hallowed arts that the christians would arise and destroy. to the aged they called up remembrances of the glories of the past achieved through the favour of the gods; of ancestors who had died in their service; of old forgotten loves, and joys, and successes that had grown and prospered under the gentle guardianship of the deities of old--while the unvarying burden of their conclusion to all was the reiterated assertion that the illustrious macrinus had died a victim to the toleration of the christian sect. but the efforts of ulpius were not confined to the delivery of orations. every moment of his leisure time was dedicated to secret pilgrimages into alexandria. careless of peril, regardless of threats, the undaunted enthusiast penetrated into the most private meeting-places of the christians; reclaiming on every side apostates to the pagan creed, and defying the hostility of half the city from the stronghold of the temple walls. day after day fresh recruits arrived to swell the ranks of the worshippers of serapis. the few members of the scattered congregations of the provinces who still remained faithful to the ancient worship were gathered together in alexandria by the private messengers of the unwearied ulpius. already tumults began to take place between the pagans and the christians; and even now the priest of serapis prepared to address a protest to the new emperor in behalf of the ancient religion of the land. at this moment it seemed probable that the heroic attempts of one man to prop the structure of superstition, whose foundations were undermined throughout, and whose walls were attacked by brigands, might actually be crowned with success. but time rolled on; and with him came inexorable change, trampling over the little barriers set up against it by human opposition, and erecting its strange and transitory fabrics triumphantly in their stead. in vain did the devoted priest exert all his powers to augment and combine his scattered band; in vain did the mighty temple display its ancient majesty, its gorgeous sacrifices, its mysterious auguries. the spirit of christianity was forth for triumph on the earth--the last destinies of paganism were fast accomplishing. yet a few seasons more of unavailing resistance passed by, and then the archbishop of alexandria issued his decree that the temple of serapis should be destroyed. at the rumour of their primate's determination, the christian fanatics rose by swarms from every corner of egypt, and hurried into alexandria to be present at the work of demolition. from the arid solitudes of the desert, from their convents on rocks and their caverns in the earth, hosts of rejoicing monks flew to the city gates, and ranged themselves with the soldiery and the citizens, impatient for the assault. at the dawn of morning this assembly of destroyers was convened, and as the sun rose over alexandria they arrived before the temple walls. the gates of the glorious structure were barred; the walls were crowded with their pagan defenders. a still, dead, mysterious silence reigned over the whole edifice; and, of all the men who thronged it, one only moved from his appointed place--one only wandered incessantly from point to point, wherever the building was open to assault. those among the besiegers who were nearest the temple saw in this presiding genius of the preparations for defence the object at once of their most malignant hatred and their most ungovernable dread--ulpius the priest. as soon as the archbishop gave the signal for the assault, a band of monks--their harsh, discordant voices screaming fragments of psalms, their tattered garments waving in the air, their cadaverous faces gleaming with ferocious joy--led the way, placed the first ladders against the walls, and began the attack. from all sides the temple was assailed by the infuriated besiegers, and on all sides it was successfully defended by the resolute besieged. shock after shock fell upon the massive gates without forcing them to recede; missile after missile was hurled at the building, but no breach was made in its solid surface. multitudes scaled the walls, gained the outer porticoes, and slaughtered their pagan defenders, but were incessantly repulsed in their turn ere they could make their advantage good. over and over again did the assailants seem on the point of storming the temple successfully, but the figure of ulpius, invariably appearing at the critical moment among his disheartened followers, acted like a fatality in destroying the effect of the most daring exertions and the most important triumphs. wherever there was danger, wherever there was carnage, wherever there was despair, thither strode the undaunted priest, inspiring the bold, succouring the wounded, reanimating the feeble. blinded by no stratagem, wearied by no fatigue, there was something almost demoniac in his activity for destruction, in his determination under defeat. the besiegers marked his course round the temple by the calamities that befell them at his every step. if the bodies of slaughtered christians were flung down upon them from the walls, they felt that ulpius was there. if the bravest of the soldiery hesitated at mounting the ladders, it was known that ulpius was directing the defeat of their comrades above. if a sally from the temple drove back the advanced guard upon the reserves in the rear, it was pleaded as their excuse that ulpius was fighting at the head of his pagan bands. crowd on crowd of christian warriors still pressed forward to the attack; but though the ranks of the unbelievers were perceptibly thinned, though the gates that defended them at last began to quiver before the reiterated blows by which they were assailed, every court of the sacred edifice yet remained in the possession of the besieged, and was at the disposal of the unconquered captain who organised the defence. depressed by the failure of his efforts, and horrified at the carnage already perpetrated among his adherents, the archbishop suddenly commanded a cessation of hostilities, and proposed to the defenders of the temple a short and favourable truce. after some delay, and apparently at the expense of some discord among their ranks, the pagans sent to the primate an assurance of their acceptance of his terms, which were that both parties should abstain from any further struggle for the ascendancy until an edict from theodosius determining the ultimate fate of the temple should be applied for and obtained. the truce once agreed on, the wide space before the respited edifice was gradually cleared of its occupants. slowly and sadly the archbishop and his followers departed from the ancient walls whose summits they had assaulted in vain; and when the sun went down, of the great multitude congregated in the morning a few corpses were all that remained. within the sacred building, death and repose ruled with the night, where morning had brightly glittered on life and action. the wounded, the wearied, and the cold, all now lay hushed alike, fanned by the night breezes that wandered through the lofty porticoes, or soothed by the obscurity that reigned over the silent halls. among the ranks of the pagan devotees but one man still toiled and thought. round and round the temple, restless as a wild beast that is threatened in his lair, watchful as a lonely spirit in a city of strange tombs, wandered the solitary and brooding ulpius. for him there was no rest of body--no tranquility of mind. on the events of the next few days hovered the fearful chance that was soon, either for misery or happiness, to influence irretrievably the years of his future life. round and round the mighty walls he watched with mechanical and useless anxiety. every stone in the building was eloquent to his lonely heart--beautiful to his wild imagination. on those barren structures stretched for him the loved and fertile home; there was the shrine for whose glory his intellect had been enslaved, for whose honour his youth had been sacrificed! round and round the secret recesses and sacred courts he paced with hurried footstep, cleansing with gentle and industrious hand the stains of blood and the defilements of warfare from the statues at his side. sad, solitary, thoughtful, as in the first days of his apprenticeship to the gods, he now roved in the same moonlit recesses where macrinus had taught him in his youth. as the menacing tumults of the day had aroused his fierceness, so the stillness of the quiet night awakened his gentleness. he had combated for the temple in the morning as a son for a parent, and he now watched over it at night as a miser over his treasure, as a lover over his mistress, as a mother over her child! the days passed on; and at length the memorable morning arrived which was to determine the fate of the last temple that christian fanaticism had spared to the admiration of the world. at an early hour of the morning the diminished numbers of the pagan zealots met their reinforced and determined opponents--both sides being alike unarmed--in the great square of alexandria. the imperial prescript was then publicly read. it began by assuring the pagans that their priest's plea for protection for the temple had received the same consideration which had been bestowed on the petition against the gods presented by the christian archbishop, and ended by proclaiming the commands of the emperor that serapis and all other idols in alexandria should immediately be destroyed. the shout of triumph which followed the conclusion of the imperial edict still rose from the christian ranks when the advanced guard of the soldiers appointed to ensure the execution of the emperor's designs appeared in the square. for a few minutes the forsaken pagans stood rooted to the spot where they had assembled, gazing at the warlike preparations around them in a stupor of bewilderment and despair. then as they recollected how diminished were their numbers, how arduous had been their first defence against a few, and how impossible would be a second defence against many--from the boldest to the feeblest, a panic seized on them; and, regardless of ulpius, regardless of honour, regardless of the gods, they turned with one accord and fled from the place. with the flight of the pagans the work of demolition began. even women and children hurried to join in the welcome task of indiscriminate destruction. no defenders on this occasion barred the gates of the temple to the christian hosts. the sublime solitude of the tenantless building was outraged and invaded in an instant. statues were broken, gold was carried off, doors were splintered into fragments; but here for a while the progress of demolition was delayed. those to whom the labour of ruining the outward structure had been confided were less successful than their neighbours who had pillaged its contents. the ponderous stones of the pillars, the massive surfaces of the walls, resisted the most vigorous of their puny efforts, and forced them to remain contented with mutilating that which they could not destroy--with tearing off roofs, defacing marbles, and demolishing capitals. the rest of the buildings remained uninjured, and grander even now in the wildness of ruin than ever it had been in the stateliness of perfection and strength. but the most important achievement still remained, the death-wound of paganism was yet to be struck--the idol serapis, which had ruled the hearts of millions, and was renowned in the remotest corners of the empire, was to be destroyed! a breathless silence pervaded the christian ranks as they filled the hall of the god. a superstitious dread, to which they had hitherto thought themselves superior, overcame their hearts, as a single soldier, bolder than his fellows, mounted by a ladder to the head of the colossal statue, and struck at its cheek with an axe. the blow had scarcely been dealt when a deep groan was heard from the opposite wall of the apartment, succeeded by a noise of retreating footsteps, and then all was silent again. for a few minutes this incident stayed the feet of those who were about to join their companion in the mutilation of the idol; but after an interval their hesitation vanished, they dealt blow after blow at the statue, and no more groans followed--no more sounds were heard, save the wild echoes of the stroke of hammer, crowbar, and club, resounding through the lofty hall. in an incredibly short space of time the image of serapis lay in great fragments on the marble floor. the multitude seized on the limbs of the idol and ran forth to drag them in triumph through the streets. yet a few minutes more, and the ruins were untenanted, the temple was silent--paganism was destroyed! throughout the ravaging course of the christians over the temple, they had been followed with dogged perseverance, and at the same time with the most perfect impunity, by the only pagan of all his brethren who had not sought safety by flight. this man, being acquainted with every private passage and staircase in the sacred building, was enabled to be secretly present at each fresh act of demolition, in whatever part of the edifice it might be perpetrated. from hall to hall, and from room to room, he tracked with noiseless step and glaring eye the movements of the christian mob--now hiding himself behind a pillar, now passing into concealed cavities in the walls, now looking down from imperceptible fissures in the roof; but, whatever his situation, invariably watching from it, with the same industry of attention and the same silence of emotion, the minutest acts of spoliation committed by the most humble follower of the christian ranks. it was only when he entered with the victorious ravagers into the vast apartment occupied by the idol serapis that the man's countenance began to give evidence of the agony under which his heart was writhing within him. he mounted a private staircase cut in the hollow of the massive wall of the room, and gaining a passage that ran round the extremities of the ceiling, looked through a sort of lattice concealed in the ornaments of the cornice. as he gazed down and saw the soldier mounting, axe in hand, to the idol's head, great drops of perspiration trickled from his forehead. his hot, thick breath hissed through his closed teeth, and his hands strained at the strong metal supports of the lattice until they bent beneath his grasp. when the stroke descended on the image, he closed his eyes. when the fragment detached by the blow fell on the floor, a groan burst from his quivering lips. for one moment more he glared down with a gaze of horror upon the multitude at his feet, and then with frantic speed he descended the steep stairs by which he had mounted to the roof, and fled from the temple. the same night this man was again seen by some shepherds whom curiosity led to visit the desecrated building, weeping bitterly in its ruined and deserted porticoes. as they approached to address him, he raised his head, and with a supplicating action signed to them to leave the place. for the few moments during which he confronted them, the moonlight shone full upon his countenance, and the shepherds, who had in former days attended the ceremonies of the temple, saw with astonishment that the solitary mourner whose meditations they had disturbed was no other than ulpius the priest. at the dawn of day these shepherds had again occasion to pass the walls of the pillaged temple. throughout the hours of the night the remembrance of the scene of unsolaced, unpartaken grief that they had beheld--of the awful loneliness of misery in which they had seen the heart-broken and forsaken man, whose lightest words they had once delighted to revere--inspired them with a feeling of pity for the deserted pagan, widely at variance with the spirit of persecution which the spurious christianity of their day would fain have instilled in the bosoms of its humblest votaries. bent on consolation, anxious to afford help, these men, like the samaritan of old, went up at their own peril to succour a brother in affliction. they searched every portion of the empty building, but the object of their sympathy was nowhere to be seen. they called, but heard no answering sound, save the dirging of the winds of early morning through the ruined halls, which but a short time since had resounded with the eloquence of the once illustrious priest. except a few night-birds, already sheltered by the deserted edifice, not a living being moved in what was once the temple of the eastern world. ulpius was gone. these events took place in the year . in , pagan ceremonies were made treason by the laws throughout the whole roman empire. from that period the scattered few who still adhered to the ancient faith became divided into three parties; each alike insignificant, whether considered as openly or secretly inimical to the new religion of the state at large. the first party unsuccessfully endeavoured to elude the laws prohibitory of sacrifices and divinations by concealing their religious ceremonies under the form of convivial meetings. the second preserved their ancient respect for the theory of paganism, but abandoned all hope and intention of ever again accomplishing its practice. by such timely concessions many were enabled to preserve--and some even to attain--high and lucrative employments as officers of the state. the third retired to their homes, the voluntary exiles of every religion; resigning the practice of their old worship as a necessity, and shunning the communion of christians as a matter of choice. such were the unimportant divisions into which the last remnants of the once powerful pagan community now subsided; but to none of them was the ruined and degraded ulpius ever attached. for five weary years--dating from the epoch of the prohibition of paganism--he wandered through the empire, visiting in every country the ruined shrines of his deserted worship--a friendless, hopeless, solitary man! throughout the whole of europe, and all of asia and the east that still belonged to rome, he bent his slow and toilsome course. in the fertile valleys of gaul, over the burning sands of africa, through the sun-bright cities of spain, he travelled--unfriended as a man under a curse, lonely as a second cain. never for an instant did the remembrance of his ruined projects desert his memory, or his mad determination to revive his worship abandon his mind. at every relic of paganism, however slight, that he encountered on his way, he found a nourishment for his fierce anguish, and employment for his vengeful thoughts. often, in the little villages, children were frightened from their sports in a deserted temple by the apparition of his gaunt, rigid figure among the tottering pillars, or the sound of his hollow voice as he muttered to himself among the ruins of the pagan tombs. often, in crowded cities, groups of men, congregated to talk over the fall of paganism, found him listening at their sides, and comforting them, when they carelessly regretted their ancient faith, with a smiling and whispered assurance that a time of restitution would yet come. by all opinions and in all places he was regarded as a harmless madman, whose strange delusions and predilections were not to be combated, but to be indulged. thus he wandered through the christian world; regardless alike of lapse of time and change of climate; living within himself; mourning, as a luxury, over the fall of his worship; patient of wrongs, insults, and disappointments; watching for the opportunity that he still persisted in believing was yet to arrive; holding by his fatal determination with all the recklessness of ambition and all the perseverance of revenge. the five years passed away unheeded, uncalculated, unregretted by ulpius. for him, living but in the past, hoping but for the future, space held no obstacles--time was an oblivion. years pass as days, hours as moments, when the varying emotions which mark their existence on the memory, and distinguish their succession on the dial of the heart, exist no longer either for happiness or woe. dead to all freshness of feeling, the mind of ulpius, during the whole term of his wanderings, lay numbed beneath the one idea that possessed it. it was only at the expiration of those unheeded years, when the chances of travel turned his footsteps towards alexandria, that his faculties burst from the long bondage which had oppressed them. then--when he passed through those gates which he had entered in former years a proud, ambitious boy, when he walked ungreeted through the ruined temple where he had once lived illustrious and revered--his dull, cold thoughts arose strong and vital within him. the spectacle of the scene of his former glories, which might have awakened despair in others, aroused the dormant passions, emancipated the stifled energies in him. the projects of vengeance and the visions of restoration which he had brooded over for five long years, now rose before him as realised already under the vivid influence of the desecrated scenes around. as he stood beneath the shattered porticoes of the sacred place, not a stone crumbling at his feet but rebuked him for his past inaction, and strengthened him for daring, for conspiracy, for revenge, in the service of the outraged gods. the ruined temples he had visited in his gloomy pilgrimages now became revived by his fancy, as one by one they rose on his toiling memory. broken pillars soared from the ground; desecrated idols reoccupied their vacant pedestals; and he, the exile and the mourner, stood forth once again the ruler, the teacher, and the priest. the time of restitution was come; though his understanding supplied him with no distinct projects, his heart urged him to rush blindly on the execution of his reform. the moment had arrived--macrinus should yet be avenged; the temple should at last be restored. he descended into the city; he hurried--neither welcomed nor recognised--through the crowded streets; he entered the house of a man who had once been his friend and colleague in the days that were past, and poured forth to him his wild determinations and disjointed plans, entreating his assistance, and promising him a glorious success. but his old companion had become, by a timely conversion to christianity, a man of property and reputation in alexandria, and he turned from the friendless enthusiast with indignation and contempt. repulsed, but not disheartened, ulpius sought others who he had known in his prosperity and renown. they had all renounced their ancient worship--they all received him with studied coldness or careless disdain; but he still persisted in his useless efforts. he blinded his eyes to their contemptuous looks; he shut his ears to their derisive words. persevering in his self-delusion, he appointed them messengers to their brethren in other countries, captains of the conspiracy that was to commence in alexandria, orators before the people when the memorable revolution had once begun. it was in vain that they refused all participation in his designs; he left them as the expressions of refusal rose to their lips, and hurried elsewhere, as industrious in his efforts, as devoted to his unwelcome mission, as if half the population of the city had vowed themselves joyfully to aid him in his frantic attempt. thus during the whole day he continued his labour of useless persuasion among those in the city who had once been his friends. when the evening came, he repaired, weary but not despondent, to the earthly paradise that he was determined to regain--to the temple where he had once taught, and where he still imagined that he was again destined to preside. here he proceeded, ignorant of the new laws, careless of discovery and danger, to ascertain by divination, as in the days of old, whether failure or success awaited him ultimately in his great design. meanwhile the friends whose assistance ulpius had determined to extort were far from remaining inactive on their parts after the departure of the aspiring priest. they remembered with terror that the laws affected as severely those concealing their knowledge of a pagan intrigue as those actually engaged in directing a pagan conspiracy; and their anxiety for their personal safety overcoming every consideration of the dues of honour or the claims of ancient friendship, they repaired in a body to the prefect of the city, and informed him, with all the eagerness of apprehension, of the presence of ulpius in alexandria, and of the culpability of the schemes that he had proposed. a search after the devoted pagan was immediately commenced. he was found the same night before a ruined altar, brooding over the entrails of an animal that he had just sacrificed. further proof of his guilt could not be required. he was taken prisoner; led forth the next morning to be judged, amid the execrations of the very people who had almost adored him once; and condemned the following day to suffer the penalty of death. at the appointed hour the populace assembled to behold the execution. to their indignation and disappointment, however, when the officers of the city appeared before the prison, it was only to inform the spectators that the performance of the fatal ceremony had been adjourned. after a mysterious delay of some weeks, they were again convened, not to witness the execution, but to receive the extraordinary announcement that the culprit's life had been spared, and that his amended sentence now condemned him to labour as a slave for life in the copper-mines of spain. what powerful influence induced the prefect to risk the odium of reprieving a prisoner whose guilt was so satisfactorily ascertained as that of ulpius never was disclosed. some declared that the city magistrate was still at heart a pagan, and that he consequently shrunk from authorising the death of a man who had once been the most illustrious among the professors of the ancient creed. others reported that ulpius had secured the leniency of his judges by acquainting them with the position of one of those secret repositories of enormous treasure supposed to exist beneath the foundations of the dismantled temple of serapis. but the truth of either of these rumours could never be satisfactorily proved. nothing more was accurately discovered than that ulpius was removed from alexandria to the place of earthly torment set apart for him by the zealous authorities, at the dead of night; and that the sentry at the gate through which he departed heard him mutter to himself, as he was hurried onward, that his divinations had prepared him for defeat, but that the great day of pagan restoration would yet arrive. in the year , twelve years after the events above narrated, ulpius entered the city of rome. he had not advanced far, before the gaiety and confusion in the streets appeared completely to bewilder him. he hastened to the nearest public garden that he could perceive, and avoiding the frequented paths, flung himself down, apparently fainting with exhaustion, at the foot of a tree. for some time he lay on the shady resting-place which he had chosen, gasping painfully for breath, his frame ever and anon shaken to its centre by sudden spasms, and his lips quivering with an agitation which he vainly endeavoured to suppress. so changed was his aspect, that the guards who had removed him from alexandria, wretched as was his appearance even then, would have found it impossible to recognise him now as the same man whom they had formerly abandoned to slavery in the mines of spain. the effluvia exhaled from the copper ore in which he had been buried for twelve years had not only withered the flesh upon his bones, but had imparted to its surface a livid hue, almost death-like in its dulness. his limbs, wasted by age and distorted by suffering, bent and trembled beneath him; and his form, once so majestic in its noble proportions, was now so crooked and misshapen, that whoever beheld him could only have imagined that he must have been deformed from his birth. of the former man no characteristic remained but the expression of the stern, mournful eyes; and these, the truthful interpreters of the indomitable mind whose emotions they seemed created to express, preserved, unaltered by suffering and unimpaired by time, the same look, partly of reflection, partly of defiance, and partly of despair, which had marked them in those past days when the temple was destroyed and the congregations of the pagans dispersed. but the repose at this moment demanded by his worn-out body was even yet denied to it by his untamed, unwearied mind, and, as the voice of his old delusion spoke within him again, the devoted priest rose from his solitary resting-place, and looked forth upon the great city, whose new worship he was vowed to overthrow. 'by years of patient watchfulness,' he whispered to himself, 'have i succeeded in escaping successfully from my dungeon among the mines. yet a little more cunning, a little more endurance, a little more vigilance, and i shall still live to people, by my own exertions, the deserted temples of rome.' as he spoke he emerged from the grove into the street. the joyous sunlight--a stranger to him for years--shone warmly down upon his face, as if to welcome him to liberty and the world. the sounds of gay laughter rang in his ears, as if to woo him back to the blest enjoyments and amenities of life; but nature's influence and man's example were now silent alike to his lonely heart. over its dreary wastes still reigned the ruthless ambition which had exiled love from his youth, and friendship from his manhood, and which was destined to end its mission of destruction by banishing tranquility from his age. scowling fiercely at all around and above him, he sought the loneliest and shadiest streets. solitude had now become a necessity to his heart. the 'great gulph' of his unshared aspirations had long since socially separated him for ever from his fellow-men. he thought, laboured, and suffered for himself alone. to describe the years of unrewarded labour and unalleviated hardship endured by ulpius in the place of his punishment; to dwell on the day that brought with it--whatever the season in the world above--the same unwearying inheritance of exertion and fatigue; to chronicle the history of night after night of broken slumber one hour, of wearying thought the next, would be to produce a picture from the mournful monotony of which the attention of the reader would recoil with disgust. it will be here sufficient to observe, that the influence of the same infatuation which had nerved him to the defence of the assaulted temple, and encouraged him to attempt his ill-planned restoration of paganism, had preserved him through sufferings under which stronger and younger men would have sunk for ever; had prompted his determination to escape from his slavery, and had now brought him to rome--old, forsaken, and feeble as he was--to risk new perils and suffer new afflictions for the cause to which, body and soul, he had ruthlessly devoted himself for ever. urged, therefore, by his miserable delusion, he had now entered a city where even his name was unknown, faithful to his frantic project of opposing himself, as a helpless, solitary man, against the people and government of an empire. during his term of slavery, regardless of his advanced years, he had arranged a series of projects, the gradual execution of which would have demanded the advantages of a long and vigorous life. he no more desired, as in his former attempt at alexandria, to precipitate at all hazards the success of his designs. he was now prepared to watch, wait, plot, and contrive for years on years; he was resigned to be contented with the poorest and slowest advancement--to be encouraged by the smallest prospect of ultimate triumph. acting under this determination, he started his project by devoting all that remained of his enfeebled energies to cautiously informing himself, by every means in his power, of the private, political, and religious sentiments of all men of influence in rome. wherever there was a popular assemblage, he attended it to gather the scandalous gossip of the day; wherever there was a chance of overhearing a private conversation, he contrived to listen to it unobserved. about the doors of taverns and the haunts of discharged servants he lurked noiseless as a shadow, attentive alike to the careless revelations of intoxication or the scurrility of malignant slaves. day after day passed on, and still saw him devoted to his occupation (which, servile as it was in itself, was to his eyes ennobled by its lofty end), until at the expiration of some months he found himself in possession of a vague and inaccurate fund of information, which he stored up as a priceless treasure in his mind. he next discovered the name and abode of every nobleman in rome suspected even of the most careless attachment to the ancient form of worship. he attended christian churches, mastered the intricacies of different sects, and estimated the importance of contending schisms; gaining this collection of heterogeneous facts under the combined disadvantages of poverty, solitude, and age; dependent for support on the poorest public charities, and for shelter on the meanest public asylums. every conclusion that he drew from all he learned partook of the sanguine character of the fatal self-deception which had embittered his whole life. he believed that the dissensions which he saw raging in the church would speedily effect the destruction of christianity itself; that, when such a period should arrive, the public mind would require but the guidance of some superior intellect to return to its old religious predilections; and that to lay the foundation for effecting in such a manner the desired revolution, it was necessary for him--impossible though it might seem in his present degraded condition--to gain access to the disaffected nobles of rome, and discover the secret of acquiring such an influence over them as would enable him to infect them with his enthusiasm, and fire them with his determination. greater difficulties even than these had been overcome by other men. solitary individuals had, ere this, originated revolutions. the gods would favour him; his own cunning would protect him. yet a little more patience, a little more determination, and he might still, after all his misfortunes, be assured of success. it was about this period that he first heard, while pursuing his investigations, of an obscure man who had suddenly arisen to undertake a reformation in the christian church, whose declared aim was to rescue the new worship from that very degeneracy on the fatal progress of which rested all his hopes of triumph. it was reported that this man had been for some time devoted to his reforming labours, but that the difficulties attendant on the task that he had appointed for himself had hitherto prevented him from attaining all the notoriety essential to the satisfactory prosecution of his plans. on hearing this rumour, ulpius immediately joined the few who attended the new orator's discourses, and there heard enough to convince him that he listened to the most determined zealot for christianity in the city of rome. to gain this man's confidence, to frustrate every effort that he might make in his new vocation, to ruin his credit with his hearers, and to threaten his personal safety by betraying his inmost secrets to his powerful enemies in the church, were determinations instantly adopted by the pagan as duties demanded by the exigencies of his creed. from that moment he seized every opportunity of favourably attracting the new reformer's attention to himself, and, as the reader already knows, he was at length rewarded for his cunning and perseverance by being received into the household of the charitable and unsuspicious numerian as a pious convert to the christianity of the early church. once installed under numerian's roof, the treacherous pagan saw in the christian's daughter an instrument admirably adapted, in his unscrupulous hands, for forwarding his wild project of obtaining the ear of a roman of power and station who was disaffected to the established worship. among the patricians of whose anti-christian predilections report had informed him, was numerian's neighbour, vetranio the senator. to such a man, renowned for his life of luxury, a girl so beautiful as antonina would be a bribe rich enough to enable him to extort any promise required as a reward for betraying her while under the protection of her father's house. in addition to this advantage to be drawn from her ruin, was the certainty that her loss would so affect numerian as to render him, for a time at least, incapable of pursuing his labours in the cause of christianity. fixed then in his detestable purpose, the ruthless priest patiently awaited the opportunity of commencing his machinations. nor did he watch in vain. the victim innocently fell into the very trap that he had prepared for her when she first listened to the music of vetranio's lute, and permitted her treacherous guardian to become the friend who concealed her disobedience from her father's ear. after that first fatal step every day brought the projects of ulpius nearer to success. the long-sought interview with the senator was at length obtained; the engagement imperatively demanded on the one side was, as we have already related, carelessly accepted on the other; the day that was to bring success to the schemes of the betrayer, and degradation to the honour of the betrayed, was appointed; and once more the cold heart of the fanatic warmed to the touch of joy. no doubts upon the validity of his engagement with vetranio ever entered his mind. he never imagined that powerful senator could with perfect impunity deny him the impracticable assistance he had demanded as his reward, and thrust him as an ignorant madman from his palace gates. firmly and sincerely he believed that vetranio was so satisfied with his readiness in pandering to his profligate designs, and so dazzled by the prospect of the glory which would attend success in the great enterprise, that he would gladly hold to the performance of his promise whenever it should be required of him. in the meantime the work was begun. numerian was already, through his agency, watched by the spies of a jealous and unscrupulous church. feuds, schisms, treacheries, and dissensions marched bravely onward through the christian ranks. all things combined to make it certain that the time was near at hand when, through his exertions and the friendly senator's help, the restoration of paganism might be assured. with the widest diversity of pursuit and difference of design, there was still a strange and mysterious analogy between the temporary positions of ulpius and numerian. one was prepared to be a martyr for the temple; the other to be a martyr for the church. both were enthusiasts in an unwelcome cause; both had suffered more than a life's wonted share of affliction; and both were old, passing irretrievably from their fading present on earth to the eternal future awaiting them in the unknown spheres beyond. but here--with their position--the comparison between them ends. the christian's principle of action, drawn from the divinity he served, was love; the pagan's, born of the superstition that was destroying him, was hate. the one laboured for mankind; the other for himself. and thus the aspirations of numerian, founded on the general good, nourished by offices of kindness, and nobly directed to a generous end, might lead him into indiscretion, but could never degrade him into crime--might trouble the serenity of his life, but could never deprive him of the consolation of hope. while, on the contrary, the ambition of ulpius, originating in revenge and directed to destruction, exacted cruelty from his heart and duplicity from his mind; and, as the reward for his service, mocked him alternately throughout his whole life with delusion and despair. chapter . the bed-chamber. it is now time to resume our chronicle of the eventful night which marked the destruction of antonina's lute and the conspiracy against antonina's honour. the gates of vetranio's palace were closed, and the noises in it were all hushed; the banquet was over, the triumph of the nightingale sauce had been achieved, and the daybreak was already glimmering in the eastern sky, when the senator's favoured servant, the freedman carrio, drew back the shutter of the porter's lodge, where he had been dozing since the conclusion of the feast, and looked out lazily into the street. the dull, faint light of dawn was now strengthening slowly over the lonely roadway and on the walls of the lofty houses. of the groups of idlers of the lowest class who had assembled during the evening in the street to snuff the fragrant odours which steamed afar from vetranio's kitchens, not one remained; men, women, and children had long since departed to seek shelter wherever they could find it, and to fatten their lean bodies on what had been charitable bestowed on them of the coarser relics of the banquet. the mysterious solitude and tranquility of daybreak in a great city prevailed over all things. nothing impressed, however, by the peculiar and solemn attraction of the scene at this moment, the freedman apostrophised the fresh morning air, as it blew over him, in strong terms of disgust, and even ventured in lowered tones to rail against his master's uncomfortable fancy for being awakened after a feast at the approach of dawn. far too well aware, nevertheless, of the necessity of yielding the most implicit obedience to the commands he had received to resign himself any longer to the pleasant temptations of repose, carrio, after yawning, rubbing his eyes, and indulging for a few moments more in the luxury of complaint, set forth in earnest to follow the corridors leading to the interior of the palace, and to awaken vetranio without further delay. he had not advanced more than a few steps when a proclamation, written in letters of gold on a blue-coloured board, and hung against the wall at his side, attracted his attention. this public notice, which delayed his progress at the very outset, and which was intended for the special edification of all the inhabitants of rome, was thus expressed:-- 'on this day, and for ten days following, the affairs of our patron oblige him to be absent from rome.' here the proclamation ended, without descending to particulars. it had been put forth, in accordance with the easy fashion of the age, to answer at once all applications at vetranio's palace during the senator's absence. although the colouring of the board, the writing of the letters, and the composition of the sentence were the work of his own ingenuity, the worthy carrio could not prevail upon himself to pass the proclamation without contemplating its magnificence anew. for some time he stood regarding it with the same expression of lofty and complacent approbation which we see in these modern days illuminating the countenance of a connoisseur before one of his own old pictures which he has bought as a great bargain, or dawning over the bland features of a linen-draper as he surveys from the pavement his morning's arrangement of the window of the shop. all things, however, have their limits, even a man's approval of an effort of his own skill. accordingly, after a prolonged review of the proclamation, some faint ideas of the necessity of immediately obeying his master's commands revived in the mind of the judicious carrio, and counselled him to turn his steps at once in the direction of the palace sleeping apartments. greatly wondering what new caprice had induced the senator to contemplate leaving rome at the dawn of day--for vetranio had divulged to no one the object of his departure--the freedman cautiously entered his master's bed-chamber. he drew aside the ample silken curtains suspended around and over the sleeping couch, from the hands of graces and cupids sculptured in marble; but the statues surrounded an empty bed. vetranio was not there. carrio next entered the bathroom; the perfumed water was steaming in its long marble basin, and the soft wrapping-cloths lay ready for use; the attendant slave, with his instruments of ablution, waited, half asleep, in his accustomed place; but here also no signs of the master's presence appeared. somewhat perplexed, the freedman examined several other apartments. he found guests, dancing girls, parasites, poets, painters--a motley crew--occupying every kind of dormitory, and all peacefully engaged in sleeping off the effects of the wine they had drunk at the banquet; but the great object of his search still eluded him as before. at last it occurred to him that the senator, in an excess of convivial enthusiasm and jovial hospitality, might yet be detaining some favoured guest at the table of the feast. pausing, therefore, at some carved doors which stood ajar at one extremity of a spacious hall, he pushed them open, and hurriedly entered the banqueting-room beyond. a soft, dim, luxurious light reigned over this apartment, which now presented, as far as the eye could discern, an aspect of confusion that was at once graceful and picturesque. of the various lamps, of every variety of pattern, hanging from the ceiling, but few remained alight. from those, however, which were still unextinguished there shone a mild brightness, admirably adapted to display the objects immediately around them. the golden garlands and the alabaster pots of sweet ointment which had been suspended before the guests during the banquet, still hung from the painted ceiling. on the massive table, composed partly of ebony and partly of silver, yet lay, in the wildest confusion, fragments of gastronomic delicacies, grotesque dinner services, vases of flowers, musical instruments, and crystal dice; while towering over all rose the glittering dish which had contained the nightingales consumed by the feasters, with the four golden cupids which had spouted over them that illustrious invention--the nightingale sauce. around the couches, of violet and rose colour, ranged along the table, the perfumed and gaily-tinted powders that had been strewn in patterns over the marble floor were perceptible for a few yards; but beyond this point nothing more was plainly distinguishable. the eye roved down the sides of the glorious chamber, catching dim glimpses of gorgeous draperies, crowded statues, and marble columns, but discerning nothing accurately, until it reached the half-opened windows, and rested upon the fresh dewy verdure now faintly visible in the shady gardens without. there--waving in the morning breezes, charged on every leaf with their burden of pure and welcome moisture--rose the lofty pine-trees, basking in the recurrence of the new day's beautiful and undying youth, and rising in reproving contrast before the exhausted allurements of luxury and the perverted creations of art which burdened the tables of the hall within. after a hasty survey of the apartment, the freedman appeared to be on the point of quitting it in despair, when the noise of a falling dish, followed by several partly suppressed and wholly confused exclamations of affright, caught his ear. he once more approached the banqueting-table, retrimmed a lamp that hung near him, and taking it in his hand, passed to the side of the room whence the disturbance proceeded. a hideous little negro, staring in ludicrous terror at a silver oven, half filled with bread, which had just fallen beside him, was the first object he discovered. a few paces beyond the negro reposed a beautiful boy, crowned with vine leaves and ivy, still sleeping by the side of his lyre; and farther yet, stretched in an uneasy slumber on a silken couch, lay the identical object of the freedman's search--the illustrious author of the nightingale sauce. immediately above the sleeping senator hung his portrait, in which he was modestly represented as rising by the assistance of minerva to the top of parnassus, the nine muses standing round him rejoicing. at his feet reposed a magnificent white cat, whose head rested in all the luxurious laziness of satiety on the edge of a golden saucer half filled with dormice stewed in milk. the most indubitable evidences of the night's debauch appeared in vetranio's disordered dress and flushed countenance as the freedman regarded him. for some minutes the worthy carrio stood uncertain whether to awaken his master or not, deciding finally, however, on obeying the commands he had received, and disturbing the slumbers of the wearied voluptuary before him. to effect this purpose, it was necessary to call in the aid of the singing-boy; for, by a refinement of luxury, vetranio had forbidden his attendants to awaken him by any other method than the agency of musical sounds. with some difficulty the boy was sufficiently aroused to comprehend the service that was required of him. for a short time the notes of the lyre sounded in vain. at last, when the melody took a louder and more martial character, the sleeping patrician slowly opened his eyes and stared vacantly around him. 'my respected patron,' said the polite carrio in apologetic tones, 'commanded that i should awaken him with the dawn; the daybreak has already appeared.' when the freedman had ceased speaking, vetranio sat up on the couch, called for a basin of water, dipped his fingers in the refreshing liquid, dried them abstractedly on the long silky curls of the singing-boy who stood beside him, gazed about him once more, repeated interrogatively the word 'daybreak', and sunk gently back upon his couch. we are grieved to confess it--but the author of the nightingale sauce was moderately inebriated. a short pause followed, during which the freedman and the singing-boy stared upon each other in mutual perplexity. at length the one resumed his address of apology, and the other resumed his efforts on the lyre. once more, after an interval, the eyes of vetranio lazily unclosed, and this time he began to speak; but his thoughts--if thoughts they could be called--were as yet wholly occupied by the 'table-talk' at the past night's banquet. 'the ancient egyptians--oh, sprightly and enchanting camilla--were a wise nation!' murmured the senator drowsily. 'i am myself descended from the ancient egyptians; and, therefore, i hold in high veneration that cat in your lap, and all cats besides. herodotus--an historian whose works i feel a certain gratification in publicly mentioning as good--informs us, that when a cat died in the dwelling of an ancient egyptian, the owner shaved his eyebrows as a mark of grief, embalmed the defunct animal in a consecrated house, and carried it to be interred in a considerable city of lower egypt, called 'bubastis'--an egyptian word which i have discovered to mean the sepulchre of all the cats; whence it is scarcely erroneous to infer--' at this point the speaker's power of recollection and articulation suddenly failed him, and carrio--who had listened with perfect gravity to his master's oration upon cats--took immediate advantage of the opportunity now afforded him to speak again. 'the equipage which my patron was pleased to command to carry him to aricia,' said he, with a strong emphasis on the last word, 'now stands in readiness at the private gate of the palace gardens.' as he heard the word 'aricia', the senator's powers of recollection and perception seemed suddenly to return to him. among that high order of drinkers who can imbibe to the point of perfect enjoyment, and stop short scientifically before the point of perfect oblivion, vetranio occupied an exalted rank. the wine he had swallowed during the night had disordered his memory and slightly troubled his self-possession, but had not deprived him of his understanding. there was nothing plebeian even in his debauchery; there was an art and a refinement in his very excesses. 'aricia--aricia!' he repeated to himself, 'ah! the villa that julia lent to me at ravenna! the pleasures of the table must have obscured for a moment the image of my beautiful pupil of other days, which now revives before me again as love resumes the dominion that bacchus usurped! my excellent carrio,' he continued, speaking to the freedman, 'you have done perfectly right in awakening me; delay not a moment more in ordering my bath to be prepared, or my man-monster ulpius, the king of conspirators and high priest of all that is mysterious, will wait for me in vain! and you, glyco,' he pursued, when carrio had departed, addressing the singing-boy, 'array yourself for a journey, and wait with my equipage at the garden-gate. i shall require you to accompany me in my expedition to aricia. but first, oh! gifted and valued songster, let me reward you for the harmonious symphony that has just awakened me. of what rank of my musicians are you at present, glyco?' 'of the fifth,' replied the boy. 'were you bought, or born in my house?' asked vetranio. 'neither; but bequeathed to you by geta's testament,' rejoined the gratified glyco. 'i advance you,' continued vetranio, 'to the privileges and the pay of the first rank of my musicians; and i give you, as a proof of my continued favour, this ring. in return for these obligations, i desire to keep secret whatever concerns my approaching expedition; to employ your softest music in soothing the ear of a young girl who will accompany us--in calming her terrors if she is afraid, in drying her tears if she weeps; and finally, to exercise your voice and your lute incessantly in uniting the name 'antonina' to the sweetest harmonies of sound that your imagination can suggest.' pronouncing these words with an easy and benevolent smile, and looking round complacently on the display of luxurious confusion about him, vetranio retired to the bath that was to prepare him for his approaching triumph. meanwhile a scene of a very different nature was proceeding without, at numerian's garden-gate. here were no singing-boys, no freedmen, no profusion of rich treasures--here appeared only the solitary and deformed figure of ulpius, half hidden among surrounding trees, while he waited at his appointed post. as time wore on, and still vetranio did not appear, the pagan's self-possession began to desert him. he moved restlessly backwards and forwards over the soft dewy grass, sometimes in low tones calling upon his gods to hasten the tardy footsteps of the libertine patrician, who was to be made the instrument of restoring to the temples the worship of other days--sometimes cursing the reckless delay of the senator, or exulting in the treachery by which he madly believed his ambition was at last to be fulfilled; but still, whatever his words or thoughts, wrought up to the same pitch of fierce, fanatic enthusiasm which had strengthened him for the defence of his idols at alexandria, and had nerved him against the torment and misery of years in his slavery in the copper mines of spain. the precious moments were speeding irrevocably onwards. his impatience was rapidly changing to rage and despair as he strained his eyes for the last time in the direction of the palace gardens, and now at length discerned a white robe among the distant trees. vetranio was rapidly approaching him. restored by his bath, no effect of the night's festivity but its exhilaration remained in the senator's brain. but for a slight uncertainty in his gait, and an unusual vacancy in his smile, the elegant gastronome might now have appeared to the closest observer guiltless of the influence of intoxicating drinks. he advanced, radiant with exultation, prepared for conquest, to the place where ulpius awaited him, and was about to address the pagan with that satirical familiarity so fashionable among the nobles of rome in their communications with the people, when the object of his intended pleasantries sternly interrupted him, saying, in tones more of command than of advice, 'be silent! if you would succeed in your purpose, follow me without uttering a word!' there was something so fierce and determined in the tones of the old man's voice--low, tremulous, and husky though they were--as he uttered those words, that the bold, confident senator instinctively held his peace as he followed his stern guide into numerian's house. avoiding the regular entrance, which at that early hour of the morning was necessarily closed, ulpius conducted the patrician through a small wicket into the subterranean apartment, or rather outhouse, which was his customary, though comfortless, retreat in his leisure hours, and which was hardly ever entered by the other members of the christian's household. from the low, arched brick ceiling of this place hung an earthenware lamp, whose light, small and tremulous, left all the corners of the apartment in perfect obscurity. the thick buttresses that projected inwards from the walls, made visible by their prominence, displayed on their surfaces rude representations of idols and temples drawn in chalk, and covered with strange, mysterious hieroglyphics. on a block of stone which served as a table lay some fragments of small statues, which vetranio recognised as having belonged to the old, accredited representations of pagan idols. over the sides of the table itself were scrawled in latin characters these two words, 'serapis', 'macrinus'; and about its base lay some pieces of torn, soiled linen, which still retained enough of their former character, both in shape, size, and colour, to convince vetranio that they had once served as the vestments of a pagan priest. further than this the senator's observation did not carry him, for the close, almost mephitic atmosphere of the place already began to affect him unfavourably. he felt a suffocating sensation in his throat and a dizziness in his head. the restorative influence of his recent bath declined rapidly. the fumes of the wine he had drunk in the night, far from having been, as he imagined, permanently dispersed, again mounted to his head. he was obliged to lean against the stone table to preserved his equilibrium as he faintly desired the pagan to shorten their sojourn in his miserable retreat. without even noticing the request, ulpius hurriedly proceeded to erase the drawings on the buttresses and the inscriptions on the table. then collecting the fragments of statues and the pieces of linen, he deposited them in a hiding-place in the corner of the apartment. this done, he returned to the stone against which vetranio supported himself, and for a few minutes silently regarded the senator with a firm, earnest, and penetrating gaze. a dark suspicion that he had betrayed himself into the hands of a villain, who was then plotting some atrocious project connected with his safety or honour, began to rise on the senator's bewildered brain as he unwillingly submitted to the penetrating examination of the pagan's glance. at that moment, however, the withered lips of the old man slowly parted, and he began to speak. whether as he looked on vetranio's disturbed countenance, and marked his unsteady gait, the heart of ulpius, for the first time since his introduction to the senator, misgave him when he thought of their monstrous engagement; or whether the near approach of the moment that was henceforth, as he wildly imagined, to fix vetranio as his assistant and ally, so powerfully affected his mind that it instinctively sought to vent its agitation through the natural medium of words, it is useless to inquire. whatever his motives for speech, the impressive earnestness of his manner gave evidence of the depth and intensity of his emotions as he addressed the senator thus:-- 'i have submitted to servitude in a christian's house, i have suffered the contamination of a christian's prayers, to gain the use of your power and station when the time to employ them should arrive. the hour has now come when my part of the conditions of our engagement is to be performed; the hour will yet come when your part shall be exacted from you in turn! do you wonder at what i have done and what i will do? do you marvel that a household drudge should speak thus to a nobleman of rome? are you astonished that i risk so much as to venture on enlisting you--by the sacrifice of the girl who now slumbers above--in the cause whose end is the restoration of our fathers' gods, and in whose service i have suffered and grown old? listen, and you shall hear from what i have fallen--you shall know what i once was!' 'i adjure you by all the gods and goddesses of our ancient worship, let me hear you where i can breathe--in the garden, on the housetop, anywhere but in this dungeon!' murmured the senator in entreating accents. 'my birth, my parents, my education, my ancient abode--these i will not disclose,' interrupted the pagan, raising one arm authoritatively, as if to obstruct vetranio from approaching the door. 'i have sworn by my gods, that until the day of restitution these secrets of my past life shall remain unrevealed to strangers' ears. unknown i entered rome, and unknown i will labour in rome until the projects i have lived for are crowned with success! it is enough that i confess to you that with those sacred images whose fragments you have just beheld, i was once lodged; that those sacred vestments whose remains you discerned at your feet, i once wore. to attain the glories of the priesthood there was nothing that i did not resign, to preserve them there was nothing i did not perform, to recover them there is nothing that i will not attempt! i was once illustrious, prosperous, beloved; of my glory, my happiness, my popularity, the christians have robbed me, and i will yet live to requite it heavily at their hands! i had a guardian who loved me in my youth; the christians murdered him! a temple was under the rule of my manhood; the christians destroyed it! the people of a whole nation once listened to my voice; the christians have dispersed them! the wise, the great, the beautiful, the good, were once devoted to me; the christians have made me a stranger at their doors, and outcast of their affections and thoughts! for all this shall i take no vengeance? shall i not plot to rebuild my ruined temple, and win back, in my age, the honours that adorned me in my youth?' 'assuredly!--at once--without delay!' stammered vetranio, returning the stern and inquiring gaze of the pagan with a bewildered, uneasy stare. 'to mount over the bodies of the christian slain,' continued the old man, his sinister eyes dilating in anticipated triumph as he whispered close at the senator's ear, 'to rebuild the altars that the christians have overthrown, is the ambition that has made light to me the sufferings of my whole life. i have battled, and it has sustained me in the midst of carnage; i have wandered, and it has been my home in the desert; i have failed, and it has supported me; i have been threatened with death, and it has preserved me from fear; i have been cast into slavery, and it has made my fetters light. you see me now, old, degraded, lonely--believe that i long neither for wife, children, tranquility, nor possessions; that i desire no companion but my cherished and exalted purpose! remember, then, in the hour of performance the promise you have now made to aid me in the achievement of that purpose! remember that you are a pagan yourself! feast, laugh, carouse with your compeers; be still the airy jester, the gay companion; but never forget the end to which you are vowed--the destiny of glory that the restoration of our deities has in store for us both!' he ceased. though his voice, while he spoke, never rose beyond a hoarse, monotonous, half-whispering tone, all the ferocity of his abused and degraded nature was for the instant thoroughly aroused by his recapitulation of his wrongs. had vetranio at this moment shown any symptoms of indecision, or spoken any words of discouragement, he would have murdered him on the spot where they stood. every feature in the pagan's seared and livid countenance expressed the stormy emotions that were rushing over his heart as he now confronted his bewildered yet attentive listener. his firm, menacing position; his poor and scanty garments; his wild, shaggy hair; his crooked, distorted form; his stern, solemn, unwavering gaze--opposed as they were (under the fitful illumination of the expiring lamp and the advancing daylight) to the unsteady gait, the vacant countenance, the rich robes, the youthful grace of form and delicacy of feature of the object of his steady contemplation, made so wild and strange a contrast between his patrician ally and himself that they scarcely looked like beings of the same race. nothing could be more immense than the difference, more wild than the incongruity between them. it was sickness hand-in-hand with health; pain marshalled face to face with enjoyment; darkness ranged in monstrous discordance by the very side of light. the next instant--just as the astonished senator was endeavouring to frame a suitable answer to the solemn adjuration that had been addressed to him--ulpius seized his arm, and opening a door at the inner extremity of the apartment, led him up some stairs that conducted to the interior of the house. they passed the hall, on the floor of which still lay the fragments of the broken lute, dimly distinguishable in the soft light of daybreak; and ascending another staircase, paused at a little door at the top, which ulpius cautiously opened, and in a moment afterwards vetranio was admitted into antonina's bed-chamber. the room was of no great extent; its scanty furniture was of the most ordinary description; no ornaments glittered on its walls; no frescoes adorned its ceiling; and yet there was a simple elegance in its appearance, an unobtrusive propriety in its minutest details, which made it at once interesting and attractive to the eye. from the white curtains at the window to the vase of flowers standing by the bedside, the same natural refinement of taste appeared in the arrangement of all that the apartment contained. no sound broke the deep silence of the place, save the low, soft breathing, occasionally interrupted by a long, trembling sigh, of its sleeping occupant. the sole light in the room consisted of a little lamp, so placed in the middle of the flowers round the sides of the vase that no extended or steady illumination was cast upon any object. there was something in the decent propriety of all that was visible in the bed-chamber; in the soft obscurity of its atmosphere; in the gentle and musical sound that alone interrupted its magical stillness, impressive enough, it might have been imagined, to have awakened some hesitation in the bosom of the boldest libertine ere he deliberately proceeded to intrude on the unprotected slumbers of its occupant. no such feeling of indecision, however, troubled the thoughts of vetranio as he cast a rapid glance round the apartment which he had ventured so treacherously to invade. the fumes of the wine he had imbibed at the banquet had been so thoroughly resuscitated by the oppressive atmosphere of the subterranean retreat he had just quitted, as to have left him nothing of his more refined nature. all that was honourable or intellectual in his character had now completely ceded to all that was base and animal. he looked round, and perceiving that ulpius had silently quitted him, softly closed the door. then advancing to the bedside with the utmost caution compatible with the involuntary unsteadiness of an intoxicated man, he took the lamp from the vase in which it was half concealed, and earnestly surveyed by its light the figure of the sleeping girl. the head of antonina was thrown back and rested rather over than on her pillow. her light linen dress had become so disordered during the night that it displayed her throat and part of her bosom, in all the dawning beauties of their youthful formation, to the gaze of the licentious roman. one hand half supported her head, and was almost entirely hidden in the locks of her long black hair, which had escaped from the white cincture intended to confine it, and now streamed over the pillow in dazzling contrast to the light bed-furniture around it. the other hand held tightly clasped to her bosom the precious fragment of her broken lute. the deep repose expressed in her position had not thoroughly communicated itself to her face. now and then her slightly parted lips moved and trembled, and ever and anon a change, so faint and fugitive that it was hardly perceptible, appeared in her complexion, breathing on the soft olive that was its natural hue, the light rosy flush which the emotions of the past night had impressed on it ere she slept. her position, in its voluptuous negligence, seemed the very type of oriental loveliness; while her face, calm and sorrowful in its expression, displayed the more refined and sober graces of the european model. and thus these two characteristics of two different orders of beauty, appearing conjointly under one form, produced a whole so various and yet so harmonious, so impressive and yet so attractive, that the senator, as he bent over the couch, though the warm, soft breath of the young girl played on his cheeks and waved the tips of his perfumed locks, could hardly imagine that the scene before him was more than a bright, delusive dream. while vetranio was yet absorbed in admiration of her charms, antonina's form slightly moved, as if agitated by the influence of a passing dream. the change thus accomplished in her position broke the spell that its former stillness and beauty had unconsciously wrought to restrain the unhallowed ardour of the profligate roman. he now passed his arm round her warm, slender figure, and gently raising her till her head rested on his shoulder as he sat by the bed, imprinted kiss after kiss on the pure lips that sleep had innocently abandoned to him. as he had foreseen, antonina instantly awoke, but, to his unmeasured astonishment, neither started nor shrieked. the moment she had opened her eyes she had recognised the person of vetranio; and that overwhelming terror which suspends in its victims the use of every faculty, whether of the body or the mind, had immediately possessed itself of her heart. too innocent to imagine the real motive that prompted the senator's intrusion on her slumbers, where others of her sex would have foreboded dishonour, she feared death. all her father's vague denunciations against the enormities of the nobles of rome rushed in an instant over her mind, and her childish imagination pictured vetranio as armed with some terrible and mysterious vengeance to be wreaked on her for having avoided all communication with him as soon as she had gained possession of her lute. prostrate beneath the petrifying influence of her fears, motionless and powerless before him as its prey before the serpent, she made no effort to move or speak; but looked up steadfastly into the senator's face, her large eyes fixed and dilated in a gaze of overpowering terror. intoxicated though he was, the affrighted expression of the poor girl's pale, rigid countenance did not escape vetranio's notice; and he taxed his bewildered brain for such soothing and reassuring expressions as would enable him to introduce his profligate proposals with some chance that they would be listened to and understood. 'dearest pupil! most beautiful of roman maidens,' he began in the husky, monotonous tones of inebriety, 'abandon your fears! i come hither, wafted by the breath of love, to restore the worship of the--i would say to bear you on my bosom to a villa--the name of which has for the moment escaped my remembrance. you cannot have forgotten that it was i who taught you to compose the nightingale sauce--or, no--let me rather say to play upon the lute. love, music, pleasure, all await you in the arms of your attached vetranio. your eloquent silence speaks encouragement to my heart. beloved anto--' here the senator suddenly paused; for the eyes of the girl, which had hitherto been fixed on him with the same expression of blank dismay that had characterised them from the first, slowly moved in the direction of the door. the instant afterwards a slight noise caught vetranio's ear, and antonina shuddered so violently as he pressed her to his side that he felt it through his whole frame. slowly and unwillingly he withdrew his gaze from the pale yet lovely countenance on which it had been fixed, and looked up. at the open door, pale, silent, motionless, stood the master of the house. incapable, from the confusion of his ideas, of any other feeling than the animal instinct of self-defence, vetranio no sooner beheld numerian's figure than he rose, and drawing a small dagger from his bosom, attempted to advance on the intruder. he found himself, however, restrained by antonina, who had fallen on her knees before him, and grasped his robe with a strength which seemed utterly incompatible with the slenderness of her form and the feebleness of her sex and age. the first voice that broke the silence which ensued was numerian's. he advanced, his face ghastly with anguish, his lip quivering with suppressed emotions, to the senator's side, and addressed him thus:-- 'put up your weapon; i come but to ask a favour at your hands.' vetranio mechanically obeyed him. there was something in the stern calmness, frightful at such a moment, of the christian's manner that awed him in spite of himself. 'the favour i would petition for,' continued numerian, in low, steady, bitter tones, 'is that you would remove your harlot there, to your own abode. here are no singing-boys, no banqueting-halls, no perfumed couches. the retreat of a solitary old man is no place for such an one as she. i beseech you, remove her to a more congenial home. she is well fitted for her trade; her mother was a harlot before her!' he laughed scornfully, and pointed, as he spoke, to the figure of the unhappy girl kneeling with outstretched arms at his feet. 'father, father!' she cried, in accents bereft of their native softness and melody, 'have you forgotten me?' 'i know you not!' he replied, thrusting her from him. 'return to his bosom; you shall never more be pressed to mine. go to his palace; my house is yours no longer! you are his harlot, not my daughter! i command you--go!' as he advanced towards her with fierce glance and threatening demeanour, she suddenly rose up. her reason seemed crushed within her as she looked with frantic earnestness from vetranio to her father, and then back again from her father to vetranio. on one side she saw an enemy who had ruined her she knew not how, and who threatened her with she knew not what; on the other, a parent who had cast her off. for one instant she directed a final look on the room, that, sad and lonely though it was, had still been a home to her; and then, without a word or a sigh, she turned, and crouching like a beaten dog, fled from the house. during the whole of the scene vetranio had stood so fixed in the helpless astonishment of intoxication as to be incapable of moving or uttering a word. all that took place during the short and terrible interview between father and child utterly perplexed him. he heard no loud, violent anger on one side, no clamorous petitioning for forgiveness on the other. the stern old man whom antonina had called father, and who had been pointed out to him as the most austere christian in rome, far from avenging his intrusion on antonina's slumber, had voluntarily abandoned his daughter to his licentious will. that the anger or irony of so severe a man should inspire such an action as this, or that numerian, like his servant, was plotting to obtain some strange mysterious favour from him by using antonina as a bribe, seemed perfectly impossible. all that passed before the senator was, to his bewildered imagination, thoroughly incomprehensible. frivolous, thoughtless, profligate as he might be, his nature was not radically base, and when the scene of which he had been the astounded witness was abruptly terminated by the flight of antonina, the look of frantic misery fixed on him by the unfortunate girl at the moment of her departure, almost sobered him for the instant, as he stood before the now solitary father gazing vacantly around him with emotions of uncontrollable confusion and dismay. meanwhile a third person was now approaching to join the two occupants of the bedchamber abandoned by its ill-fated mistress. although in the subterranean retreat to which he had retired on leaving vetranio, ulpius had not noticed the silent entrance of the master of the house, he had heard through the open doors the sound, low though it was, of the christian's voice. as he rose, suspecting all things and prepared for every emergency, to ascend to the bedchamber, he saw, while he mounted the lowest range of stairs, a figure in white pass rapidly through the hall and disappear by the principal entrance of the house. he hesitated for an instant and looked after it, but the fugitive figure had passed so swiftly in the uncertain light of early morning that he was unable to identify it, and he determined to ascertain the progress of events, now that numerian must have discovered a portion at least of the plot against his daughter and himself, by ascending immediately to antonina's apartment, whatever might be the consequences of his intrusion at such an hour on her father's wrath. as soon as the pagan appeared before him, a sensible change took place in vetranio. the presence of ulpius in the chamber was a positive relief to the senator's perturbed faculties, after the mysterious, overpowering influence that the moral command expressed in the mere presence of the father and the master of the house, at such an hour, had exercised over them. over ulpius he had an absolute right, ulpius was his dependant; and he determined, therefore, to extort from the servant whom he despised an explanation of the mysteries in the conduct of the master whom he feared, and the daughter whom he began to doubt. 'where is antonina?' he cried, starting as if from a trance, and advancing fiercely towards the treacherous pagan. 'she has left the room--she must have taken refuge with you.' with a slow and penetrating gaze ulpius looked round the apartment. a faint agitation was perceptible in his livid countenance, but he uttered not a word. the senator's face became pale and red with alternate emotions of apprehension and rage. he seized the pagan by the throat, his eyes sparkled, his blood boiled, he began to suspect even then that antonina was lost to him for ever. 'i ask you again where is she?' he shouted in a voice of fury. 'if through this night's work she is lost or harmed, i will revenge it on you. is this the performance of your promise? do you think that i will direct your desired restoration of the gods of old for this? if evil comes to antonina through your treachery, sooner than assist in your secret projects, i would see you and your accursed deities all burning together in the christians' hell! where is the girl, you slave? villain, where was your vigilance, when you let that man surprise us at our first interview?' he turned towards numerian as he spoke. trouble and emergency gift the faculties with a more than mortal penetration. every word that he had uttered had eaten its burning way into the father's heart. hours of narrative could not have convinced him how fatally he had been deceived, more thoroughly than the few hasty expressions he had just heard. no word passed his lips--no action betrayed his misery. he stood before the spoilers of his home, changed in an instant from the courageous enthusiast to the feeble, helpless, heart-broken man. though all the ferocity of his old roman blood had been roused in vetranio, as he threatened ulpius, the father's look of cold, silent, frightful despair froze it in his young veins in an instant. his heart was still the impressible heart of youth; and, struck for the first time in his life with emotions of horror and remorse, he advanced a step to offer such explanation and atonement as he best might, when the voice of ulpius suspended his intentions, and made him pause to listen. 'she passed me in the hall,' muttered the pagan, doggedly. 'i did my part in betraying her into your power--it was for you to hinder her in her flight. why did you not strike him to the earth,' he continued, pointing with a mocking smile to numerian, 'when he surprised you? you are wealthy and a noble of rome; murder would have been no crime in you!' 'stand back!' cried the senator, thrusting him from the position he had hitherto occupied in the door-way. 'she may be recovered even yet! all rome shall be searched for her!' the next instant he disappeared from the room, and the master and servant were left together alone. the silence that now reigned in the apartment was broken by distant sounds of uproar and confusion in the streets of the city beneath. these ominous noises had arisen with the dawn of day, but the different emotions of the occupants of numerian's abode had so engrossed them, that the turmoil in the outer world had passed unheeded by all. no sooner, however, had vetranio departed than it caught the attention of ulpius, and he advanced to the window. what he there saw and heard was of no ordinary importance, for it at once fixed him to the spot where he stood in mute and ungovernable surprise. while ulpius was occupied at the window, numerian had staggered to the side of the bed which his ill-timed severity had made vacant, perhaps for ever. the power of action, the capacity to go forth and seek his child himself, was entirely suspended in the agony of her loss, as the miserable man fell on his knees, and in the anguish of his heart endeavoured to find solace in prayer. in the positions they severally occupied the servant and the master long remained--the betrayer watching at the window, the betrayed mourning at his lost daughter's bed--both alike silent, both alike unconscious of the lapse of time. at length, apparently unaware at first that he was not alone in the room, numerian spoke. in his low, broken, tremulous accents, none of his adherents would have recognised the voice of the eloquent preacher--the bold chastiser of the vices of the church. the whole nature of the man--moral, intellectual, physical--seemed fatally and completely changed. 'she was innocent, she was innocent!' he whispered to himself. 'and even had she been guilty, was it for me to drive her from my doors! my part, like my redeemer's, was to teach repentance, and to show mercy! accursed be the pride and anger that drove justice and patience from my heart, when i beheld her, as i thought, submitting herself without a struggle or a cry, to my dishonour, and hers! could i not have imagined her terror, could i not have remembered her purity? alas, my beloved, if i myself have been the dupe of the wicked, what marvel is it that you should have been betrayed as well! and i have driven you from me, you, from whose mouth no word of anger ever dropped! i have thrust you from my bosom, you, who were the adornment of my age! my death approaches, and you will not be by to pardon my heavy offence, to close my weary eyes, to mourn by my solitary tomb! god--oh god! if i am left thus lonely on the earth, thou hast punished me beyond what i can bear!' he paused--his emotions for the instant bereft him of speech. after an interval, he muttered to himself in a low, moaning voice--'i called her harlot! my pure, innocent child! i called her harlot--i called her harlot!' in a paroxysm of despair, he started up and looked distractedly around him. ulpius still stood motionless at the window. at the sight of the ruthless pagan he trembled in every limb. all those infirmities of age that had been hitherto spared him, seemed to overwhelm him in an instant. he feebly advanced to his betrayer's side, and addressed him thus:-- 'i have lodged you, taught you, cared for you; i have never intruded on your secrets, never doubted your word, and for all this, you have repaid me by plotting against my daughter and deceiving me! if your end was to harm me by assailing my child's happiness and honour you have succeeded! if you would banish me from rome, if you would plunge me into obscurity, to serve some mysterious ambition of your own, you may dispose of me as you will! i bow before the terrible power of your treachery! i will renounce whatever you command, if you will restore me to my child! i am helpless and miserable; i have neither heart nor strength to seek her myself! you, who know all things and can dare all dangers, may restore her to pardon and bless me, if you will! remember, whoever you really are, that you were once helpless and alone, and that you are still old, like me! remember that i have promised to abandon to you whatever you desire! remember that no woman's voice can cheer me, no woman's heart feel for me, now that i am old and lonely, but my daughter's! i have guessed from the words of the nobleman whom you serve, what are the designs you cherish and the faith you profess; i will neither betray the one nor assault the other! i thought that my labours for the church were more to me than anything on earth, but now, that through my fault, my daughter is driven from her father's roof, i know that she is dearer to me than the greatest of my designs; i must gain her pardon; i must win back her affection before i die! you are powerful and can recover her! ulpius! ulpius!' as he spoke, the christian knelt at the pagan's feet. it was terrible to see the man of affection and integrity thus humbled before the man of heartlessness and crime. ulpius turned to behold him, then without a word he raised him from the ground, and thrusting him to the window, pointed with flashing eyes to the wide view without. the sun had arisen high in the heaven and beamed in dazzling brilliancy over rome and the suburbs. a vague, fearful, mysterious desolation seemed to have suddenly overwhelmed the whole range of dwellings beyond the walls. no sounds rose from the gardens, no population idled in the streets. the ramparts on the other hand were crowded at every visible point with people of all ranks, and the distant squares and amphitheatres of the city itself, swarmed like ant-hills to the eye with the crowds that struggled within them. confused cries and strange wild noises rose at all points from these masses of human beings. the whole of rome seemed the prey of a vast and universal revolt. extraordinary and affrighting as was the scene at the moment when he beheld it, it passed unheeded before the eyes of the scarce conscious father. he was blind to all sights but his daughter's form, deaf to all sounds but her voice; and he murmured as he looked vacantly forth upon the wild view before him, 'where is my child!--where is my child!' 'what is your child to me? what are the fortunes of affections of man or woman, at such an hour as this?' cried the pagan, as he stood by numerian, with features horribly animated by the emotions of fierce delight and triumph that were raging within him at the prospect he beheld. 'dotard, look from this window! listen to those voices! the gods whom i serve, the god whom you and your worship would fain have destroyed, have risen to avenge themselves at last! behold those suburbs, they are left desolate! hear those cries--they are from roman lips! while your household's puny troubles have run their course, this city of apostates has been doomed! in the world's annals this morning will never be forgotten! the goths are at the gates of rome!' chapter . the goths. it was no false rumour that had driven the populace of the suburbs to fly to the security of the city walls. it was no ill-founded cry of terror that struck the ear of ulpius, as he stood at numerian's window. the name of rome had really lost its pristine terrors; the walls of rome, those walls which had morally guarded the empire by their renown, as they had actually guarded its capital by their strength, were deprived at length of their ancient inviolability. an army of barbarians had indeed penetrated for conquest and for vengeance to the city of the world! the achievement which the invasions of six hundred years had hitherto attempted in vain, was now accomplished, and accomplished by the men whose forefathers had once fled like hunted beasts to their native fastnesses, before the legions of the caesars--'the goths were at the gates of rome!' and now, as his warriors encamped around him, as he saw the arrayed hosts whom his summons had gathered together, and his energy led on, threatening at their doors the corrupt senate who had deceived, and the boastful populace who had despised him, what emotions stirred within the heart of alaric! as the words of martial command fell from his lips, and his eyes watched the movements of the multitudes around him, what exalted aspirations, what daring resolves, grew and strengthened in the mind of the man who was the pioneer of that mighty revolution, which swept from one quarter of the world the sway, the civilisation, the very life and spirit of centuries of ancient rule! high thoughts gathered fast in his mind; a daring ambition expanded within him--the ambition, not of the barbarian plunderer, but of the avenger who had come to punish; not of the warrior who combated for combat's sake, but of the hero who was vowed to conquer and to sway. from the far-distant days when odin was driven from his territories by the romans, to the night polluted by the massacre of the hostages in aquileia, the hour of just and terrible retribution for gothic wrongs had been delayed through the weary lapse of years, and the warning convulsion of bitter strifes, to approach at last under him. he looked on the towering walls before him, the only invader since hannibal by whom they had been beheld; and he felt as he looked, that his new aspirations did not deceive him, that his dreams of dominion were brightening into proud reality, that his destiny was gloriously linked with the overthrow of imperial rome! but even in the moment of approaching triumph, the leader of the goths was still wily in purpose and moderate in action. his impatient warriors waited but the word to commence the assault, to pillage the city, and to slaughter the inhabitants; but he withheld it. scarcely had the army halted before the gates of rome, when the news was promulgated among their ranks, that alaric, for purposes of his own, had determined to reduce the city by a blockade. the numbers of his forces, increased during his march by the accession of thirty thousand auxiliaries, were now divided into battalions, varying in strength according to the service that was required of them. these divisions stretched round the city walls, and though occupying separate posts, and devoted to separate duties, were so arranged as to be capable of uniting at a signal in any numbers, on any given point. each body of men was commanded by a tried and veteran warrior, in whose fidelity alaric could place the most implicit trust, and to whom he committed the duty of enforcing the strictest military discipline that had ever prevailed among the gothic ranks. before each of the twelve principal gates a separate encampment was raised. multitudes watched the navigation of the tiber in every possible direction, with untiring vigilance; and not one of the ordinary inlets to rome, however apparently unimportant, was overlooked. by these means, every mode of communication between the beleaguered city and the wide and fertile tracts of land around it, was effectually prevented. when it is remembered that this elaborate plan of blockade was enforced against a place containing, at the lowest possible computation, twelve hundred thousand inhabitants, destitute of magazines for food within its walls, dependent for supplies on its regular contributions from the country without, governed by an irresolute senate, and defended by an enervated army, the horrors that now impended over the besieged romans are as easily imagined as described. among the ranks of the army that now surrounded the doomed city, the division appointed to guard the pincian gate will be found, at this juncture, most worthy of the reader's attention: for one of the warriors appointed to its subordinate command was the young chieftain hermanric, who had been accompanied by goisvintha through all the toils and dangers of the march, since the time when we left him at the italian alps. the watch had been set, the tents had been pitched, the defences had been raised on the portion of ground selected to occupy every possible approach to the pincian gate, as hermanric retired to await by goisvintha's side, whatever further commands he might yet be entrusted with, by his superiors in the gothic camp. the spot occupied by the young warrior's simple tent was on a slight eminence, apart from the positions chosen by his comrades, eastward of the city gate, and overlooking at some distance the deserted gardens of the suburbs, and the stately palaces of the pincian hill. behind his temporary dwelling was the open country, reduced to a fertile solitude by the flight of its terrified inhabitants; and at each side lay one unvarying prospect of military strength and preparation, stretching out its animated confusion of soldiers, tents, and engines of warfare, as far as the sight could reach. it was now evening. the walls of rome, enshrouded in a rising mist, showed dim and majestic to the eyes of the goths. the noises in the beleaguered city softened and deepened, seeming to be muffled in the growing darkness of the autumn night, and becoming less and less audible as the vigilant besiegers listened to them from their respective posts. one by one, lights broke wildly forth at irregular distances, in the gothic camp. harshly and fitfully the shrill call of the signal trumpets rang from rank to rank; and through the dim thick air rose, in the intervals of the more important noises, the clash of heavy hammers and the shout of martial command. wherever the preparations for the blockade were still incomplete, neither the approach of night nor the pretext of weariness were suffered for an instant to hinder their continued progress. alaric's indomitable will conquered every obstacle of nature, and every deficiency of man. darkness had no obscurity that forced him to repose, and lassitude no eloquence that lured him to delay. in no part of the army had the commands of the gothic king been so quickly and intelligently executed, as in that appointed to watch the pincian gate. the interview of hermanric and goisvintha in the young chieftain's tent, was, consequently, uninterrupted for a considerable space of time by any fresh mandate from the head-quarters of the camp. in outward appearance, both the brother and sister had undergone a change remarkable enough to be visible, even by the uncertain light of the torch which now shone on them as they stood together at the door of the tent. the features of goisvintha--which at the period when we first beheld her on the shores of the mountain lake, retained, in spite of her poignant sufferings, much of the lofty and imposing beauty that had been their natural characteristic in her happier days--now preserved not the slightest traces of their former attractions. its freshness had withered from her complexion, its fulness had departed from her form. her eyes had contracted an unvarying sinister expression of malignant despair, and her manner had become sullen, repulsive, and distrustful. this alteration in her outward aspect, was but the result of a more perilous change in the disposition of her heart. the death of her last child at the very moment when her flight had successfully directed her to the protection of her people, had affected her more fatally than all the losses she had previously sustained. the difficulties and dangers that she had encountered in saving her offspring from the massacre; the dismal certainty that the child was the only one, out of all the former objects of her affection, left to her to love; the wild sense of triumph that she experienced in remembering, that in this single instance her solitary efforts had thwarted the savage treachery of the court of rome, had inspired her with feelings of devotion towards the last of her household which almost bordered on insanity. and, now that her beloved charge, her innocent victim, her future warrior, had, after all her struggles for his preservation, pined and died; now that she was childless indeed; now that roman cruelty had won its end in spite of all her patience, all her courage, all her endurance; every noble feeling within her sunk, annihilated at the shock. her sorrow took the fatal form which irretrievable destroys, in women, all the softer and better emotions;--it changed to the despair that asks no sympathy, to the grief that holds no communion with tears. less elevated in intellect and less susceptible in disposition, the change to sullenness of expression and abruptness of manner now visible in hermanric, resulted rather from his constant contemplation of goisvintha's gloomy despair, than from any actual revolution in his own character. in truth, however many might be the points of outward resemblance now discernible between the brother and sister, the difference in degree of their moral positions, implied of itself the difference in degree of the inward sorrow of each. whatever the trials and afflictions that might assail him, hermanric possessed the healthful elasticity of youth and the martial occupations of manhood to support them. goisvintha could repose on neither. with no employment but bitter remembrance to engage her thoughts, with no kindly aspiration, no soothing hope to fill her heart, she was abandoned irrevocably to the influence of unpartaken sorrow and vindictive despair. both the woman and the warrior stood together in silence for some time. at length, without taking his eyes from the dusky, irregular mass before him, which was all that night now left visible of the ill-fated city, hermanric addressed goisvintha thus:-- 'have you no words of triumph, as you look on the ramparts that your people have fought for generations to behold at their mercy, as we now behold them? can a woman of the goths be silent when she stands before the city of rome?' 'i came hither to behold rome pillaged, and romans slaughtered; what is rome blockaded to me?' replied goisvintha fiercely. 'the treasures within that city will buy its safety from our king, as soon as the tremblers on the ramparts gain heart enough to penetrate a gothic camp. where is the vengeance that you promised me among those distant palaces? do i behold you carrying that destruction through the dwellings of rome, which the soldiers of yonder city carried through the dwellings of the goths? is it for plunder or for glory that the army is here? i thought, in my woman's delusion, that it was for revenge!' 'dishonour will avenge you--famine will avenge you--pestilence will avenge you!' 'they will avenge my nation; they will not avenge me. i have seen the blood of gothic women spilt around me--i have looked on my children's corpses bleeding at my feet! will a famine that i cannot see, and a pestilence that i cannot watch, give me vengeance for this? look! here is the helmet-crest of my husband and your brother--the helmet-crest that was flung to me as a witness that the romans had slain him! since the massacre of aquileia it has never quitted my bosom. i have sworn that the blood which stains and darkens it, shall be washed off in the blood of the people of rome. though i should perish under those accursed walls; though you in your soulless patience should refuse me protection and aid; i, widowed, weakened, forsaken as i am, will hold to the fulfilment of my oath!' as she ceased she folded the crest in her mantle, and turned abruptly from hermanric in bitter and undissembled scorn. all the attributes of her sex, in thought, expression, and manner, seemed to have deserted her. the very tones she spoke in were harsh and unwomanly. every word she had uttered, every action she had displayed, had sunk into the inmost heart, had stirred the fiercest passions of the young warrior whom she addressed. the first national sentiment discoverable in the day-spring of the ages of gothic history, is the love of war; but the second is the reverence of woman. this latter feeling--especially remarkable among so fierce and unsusceptible a people as the ancient scandinavians--was entirely unconnected with those strong attaching ties, which are the natural consequence of the warm temperaments of more southern nations; for love was numbered with the base inferior passions, in the frigid and hardy composition of the warrior of the north. it was the offspring of reasoning and observation, not of instinctive sentiment and momentary impulse. in the wild, poetical code of the old gothic superstition was one axiom, closely and strangely approximating to an important theory in the christian scheme--the watchfulness of an omnipotent creator over a finite creature. every action of the body, every impulse of the mind, was the immediate result, in the system of worship among the goths of the direct, though invisible interference of the divinities they adored. when, therefore, they observed that women were more submitted in body to the mysterious laws of nature and temperament, and more swayed in mind by the native and universal instincts of humanity than themselves, they inferred as an inevitable conclusion, that the female sex was more incessantly regarded, and more constantly and remarkably influenced by the gods of their worship, than the male. acting under this persuasion, they committed the study of medicine, the interpretation of dreams, and in many instances, the mysteries of communication with the invisible world, to the care of their women. the gentler sex became their counsellors in difficulty, and their physicians in sickness--their companions rather than their mistresses,--the objects of their veneration rather than the purveyors of their pleasures. although in after years, the national migrations of the goths changed the national temperament, although their ancient mythology was exchanged for the worship of christ, this prevailing sentiment of their earliest existence as a people never entirely deserted them; but, with different modifications and in different forms, maintained much of its old supremacy through all changes of manners and varieties of customs, descending finally to their posterity among the present nations of europe, in the shape of that established code of universal courtesy to women, which is admitted to be one great distinguishing mark between the social systems of the inhabitants of civilised and uncivilised lands. this powerful and remarkable ascendancy of the woman over the man, among the goths, could hardly be more strikingly displayed than in the instance of hermanric. it appeared, not only in the deteriorating effect of the constant companionship of goisvintha on his naturally manly character, but also in the strong influence over his mind of the last words of fury and disdain that she had spoken. his eyes gleamed with anger, his cheeks flushed with shame, as he listened to those passages in her wrathful remonstrance which reflected most bitterly on himself. she had scarcely ceased, and turned to retire into the tent, when he arrested her progress, and replied, in heightened and accusing tones:-- 'you wrong me by your words! when i saw you among the alps, did i refuse you protection? when the child was wounded, did i leave him to suffer unaided? when he died, did i forsake him to rot upon the earth, or abandon to his mother the digging of his grave? when we approached aquileia, and marched past ravenna, did i forget that the sword hung at my shoulder? was it at my will that it remained sheathed, or that i entered not the gates of the roman towns, but passed by them in haste? was it not the command of the king that withheld me? and could i, his warrior, disobey? i swear it to you, the vengeance that i promised, i yearn to perform,--but is it for me to alter the counsels of alaric? can i alone assault the city which it is his command that we should blockade? what would you have of me?' 'i would have you remember,' retorted goisvintha, indignantly, 'that romans slew your brother, and made me childless! i would have you remember that a public warfare of years on years, is powerless to stay one hour's craving of private vengeance! i would have you less submitted to your general's wisdom, and more devoted to your own wrongs! i would have you--like me--thirst for the blood of the first inhabitant of yonder den of traitors, who--whether for peace or for war--passes the precincts of its sheltering walls!' she paused abruptly for an answer, but hermanric uttered not a word. the courageous heart of the young chieftain recoiled at the deliberate act of assassination, pressed upon him in goisvintha's veiled yet expressive speech. to act with his comrades in taking the city by assault, to outdo in the heat of battle the worst horrors of the massacre of aquileia, would have been achievements in harmony with his wild disposition and warlike education; but, to submit himself to goisvintha's projects, was a sacrifice, that the very peculiarities of his martial character made repugnant to his thoughts. emotions such as these he would have communicated to his companion, as they passed through his mind; but there was something in the fearful and ominous change that had occurred in her disposition since he had met her among the alps,--in her frantic, unnatural craving for bloodshed and revenge, that gave her a mysterious and powerful influence over his thoughts, his words, and even his actions. he hesitated and was silent. 'have i not been patient?' continued goisvintha, lowering her voice to tones of earnest, agitated entreaty, which jarred upon hermanric's ear, as he thought who was the petitioner, and what would be the object of the petition,--' have i not been patient throughout the weary journey from the alps? have i not waited for the hour of retribution, even before the defenceless cities that we passed on the march? have i not at your instigation governed my yearning for vengeance, until the day that should see you mounting those walls with the warriors of the goths, to scourge with fire and sword the haughty traitors of rome? has that day come? is it by this blockade that the requital you promised me over the corpse of my murdered child, is to be performed? remember the perils i dared, to preserve the life of that last one of my household,--and will you risk nothing to avenge his death? his sepulchre is untended and solitary. far from the dwellings of his people, lost in the dawn of his beauty, slaughtered in the beginning of his strength, lies the offspring of your brother's blood. and the rest--the two children, who were yet infants; the father, who was brave in battle and wise in council--where are they? their bones whiten on the shelterless plain, or rot unburied by the ocean shore! think--had they lived--how happily your days would have passed with them in the time of peace! how gladly your brother would have gone forth with you to the chase! how joyfully his boys would have nestled at your knees, to gather from your lips the first lessons that should form them for the warrior's life! think of such enjoyments as these, and then think that roman swords have deprived you of them all!' her voice trembled, she ceased for a moment, and looked mournfully up into hermanric's averted face. every feature in the young chieftain's countenance expressed the tumult that her words had aroused within him. he attempted to reply, but his voice was powerless in that trying moment. his head drooped upon his heaving breast, and he sighed heavily as, without speaking, he grasped goisvintha by the hand. the object she had pleaded for was nearly attained;--he was fast sinking beneath the tempter's well-spread toils! 'are you silent still?' she gloomily resumed. 'do you wonder at this longing for vengeance, at this craving for roman blood? i tell you that my desire has arisen within me, at promptings from the voices of an unknown world. they urge me to seek requital on the nation who have widowed and bereaved me--yonder, in their vaunted city, from their pampered citizens, among their cherished homes--in the spot where their shameful counsels take root, and whence their ruthless treacheries derive their bloody source! in the book that our teachers worship, i have heard it read, that "the voice of blood crieth from the ground!" this is the voice--hermanric, this is the voice that i have heard! i have dreamed that i walked on a shore of corpses, by a sea of blood--i have seen, arising from that sea, my husband's and my children's bodies, gashed throughout with roman wounds! they have called to me through the vapour of carnage that was around them;--'are we yet unavenged? is the sword of hermanric yet sheathed?' night after night have i seen this vision and heard those voice, and hoped for no respite until the day that saw the army encamped beneath the walls of rome, and raising the scaling ladders for the assault! and now, after all my endurance, how has that day arrived? accursed be the lust of treasure! it is more to the warriors, and to you, than the justice of revenge!' 'listen! listen!' cried hermanric entreatingly. 'i listen no longer!' interrupted goisvintha. 'the tongue of my people is as a strange language in my ears; for it talks but of plunder and of peace, of obedience, of patience, and of hope! i listen no longer; for the kindred are gone that i loved to listen to--they are all slain by the romans but you--and you i renounce!' deprived of all power of consideration by the violence of the emotions awakened in his heart by goisvintha's wild revelations of the evil passion that consumed her, the young goth, shuddering throughout his whole frame, and still averting his face, murmured in hoarse, unsteady accents: 'ask of me what you will. i have no words to deny, no power to rebuke you--ask of me what you will!' 'promise me,' cried goisvintha, seizing the hand of hermanric, and gazing with a look of fierce triumph on his disordered countenance, 'that this blockade of the city shall not hinder my vengeance! promise me that the first victim of our righteous revenge, shall be the first one that appears before you--whether in war or peace--of the inhabitants of rome!' 'i promise,' cried the goth. and those two words sealed the destiny of his future life. during the silence that now ensued between goisvintha and hermanric, and while each stood absorbed in deep meditation, the dark prospect spread around them began to brighten slowly under a soft, clear light. the moon, whose dull broad disk had risen among the evening mists arrayed in gloomy red, had now topped the highest of the exhalations of earth, and beamed in the wide heaven, adorned once more in her pale, accustomed hue. gradually, yet perceptibly, the vapour rolled,--layer by layer,--from the lofty summits of the palaces of rome, and the high places of the mighty city began to dawn, as it were, in the soft, peaceful, mysterious light; while the lower divisions of the walls, the desolate suburbs, and parts of the gothic camp, lay still plunged in the dusky obscurity of the mist, in grand and gloomy contrast to the prospect of glowing brightness, that almost appeared to hover about them from above and around. patches of ground behind the tent of hermanric, began to grow partially visible in raised and open positions; and the song of the nightingale was now faintly audible at intervals, among the solitary and distant trees. in whatever direction it was observed, the aspect of nature gave promise of the cloudless, tranquil night, of the autumnal climate of ancient italy. hermanric was the first to return to the contemplation of the outward world. perceiving that the torch which still burnt by the side of his tent, had become useless, now that the moon had arisen and dispelled the mists, he advanced and extinguished it; pausing afterwards to look forth over the plains, as they brightened slowly before him. he had been thus occupied but a short time, when he thought he discerned a human figure moving slowly over a spot of partially lightened and hilly ground, at a short distance from him. it was impossible that this wandering form could be one of his own people;--they were all collected at their respective posts, and his tent he knew was on the outermost boundary of the encampment before the pincian gate. he looked again. the figure still advanced, but at too great a distance to allow him a chance of discovering, in the uncertain light around him, either its nation, its sex, or its age. his heart misgave him as he remembered his promise to goisvintha, and contemplated the possibility that it was some miserable slave, abandoned by the fugitives who had quitted the suburbs in the morning, who now approached as a last resource, to ask mercy and protection from his enemies in the camp. he turned towards goisvintha as the idea crossed his mind, and observed that she was still occupied in meditation. assured by the sight, that she had not yet observed the fugitive figure, he again directed his attention--with an excess of anxiety which he could hardly account for--in the direction where he had first beheld it, but it was no more to be seen. it had either retired to concealment, or was now still advancing towards his tent through a clump of trees that clothed the descent of the hill. silently and patiently he continued to look forth over the landscape; and still no living thing was to be seen. at length, just as he began to doubt whether his senses had not deceived him, the fugitive figure suddenly appeared from the trees, hurried with wavering gait over the patch of low, damp ground that still separated it from the young goth, gained his tent, and then with a feeble cry fell helplessly upon the earth at his feet. that cry, faint as it was, attracted goisvintha's attention. she turned in an instant, thrust hermanric aside, and raised the stranger in her arms. the light, slender form, the fair hand and arm hanging motionless towards the ground, the long locks of deep black hair, heavy with the moisture of the night atmosphere, betrayed the wanderer's sex and age in an instant. the solitary fugitive was a young girl. signing to hermanric to kindle the extinguished torch at a neighbouring watch-fire, goisvintha carried the still insensible girl into the tent. as the goth silently proceeded to obey her, a vague, horrid suspicion, that he shrunk from embodying, passed across his mind. his hand shook so that he could hardly light the torch, and bold and vigorous as he was, his limbs trembled beneath him as he slowly returned to the tent. when he had gained the interior of his temporary abode, the light of his torch illuminated a strange and impressive scene. goisvintha was seated on a rude oaken chest, supporting on her knees the form of the young girl, and gazing with an expression of the most intense and enthralling interest upon her pale, wasted countenance. the tattered robe that had hitherto enveloped the fugitive had fallen back, and disclosed the white dress, which was the only other garment she wore. her face, throat, and arms, had been turned, by exposure to the cold, to the pure whiteness of marble. her eyes were closed, and her small, delicate features were locked in a rigid repose. but for her deep black hair, which heightened the ghastly aspect of her face, she might have been mistaken, as she lay in the woman's arms, for an exquisitely chiseled statue of youth in death! when the figure of the young warrior, arrayed in his martial habiliments, and standing near the insensible girl with evident emotions of wonder and anxiety, was added to the group thus produced,--when goisvintha's tall, powerful frame, clothed in dark garments, and bent over the fragile form and white dress of the fugitive, was illuminated by the wild, fitful glare of the torch,--when the heightened colour, worn features, and eager expression of the woman were beheld, here shadowed, there brightened, in close opposition to the pale, youthful, reposing countenance of the girl, such an assemblage of violent lights and deep shades was produced, as gave the whole scene a character at once mysterious and sublime. it presented an harmonious variety of solemn colours, united by the exquisite artifice of nature to a grand, yet simple disposition of form. it was a picture executed by the hand of rembrandt, and imagined by the mind of raphael. starting abruptly from her long, earnest examination of the fugitive, goisvintha proceeded to employ herself in restoring animation to her insensible charge. while thus occupied, she preserved unbroken silence. a breathless expectation, that absorbed all her senses in one direction, seemed to have possessed itself of her heart. she laboured at her task with the mechanical, unwavering energy of those, whose attention is occupied by their thoughts rather than their actions. slowly and unwillingly the first faint flush of returning animation dawned, in the tenderest delicacy of hue, upon the girl's colourless cheek. gradually and softly, her quickening respiration fluttered a thin lock of hair that had fallen over her face. a little interval more, and then the closed, peaceful eyes suddenly opened, and glance quickly round the tent with a wild expression of bewilderment and terror. then, as goisvintha rose, and attempted to place her on a seat, she tore herself from her grasp, looked on her for a moment with fearful intentness, and then falling on her knees, murmured, in a plaintive voice,-- 'have mercy upon me. i am forsaken by my father,--i know not why. the gates of the city are shut against me. my habitation in rome is closed to me for ever!' she had scarcely spoken these few words, before an ominous change appeared in goisvintha's countenance. its former expression of ardent curiosity changed to a look of malignant triumph. her eyes fixed themselves on the girl's upturned face, in glaring, steady, spell-bound contemplation. she gloated over the helpless creature before her, as the wild beast gloats over the prey that it has secured. her form dilated, a scornful smile appeared on her lips, a hot flush rose on her cheeks, and ever and anon she whispered softly to herself, 'i knew she was roman! aha! i knew she was roman!' during this space of time hermanric was silent. his breath came short and thick, his face grew pale, and his glance, after resting for an instant on the woman and the girl, travelled slowly and anxiously round the tent. in one corner of it lay a heavy battle-axe. he looked for a moment from the weapon to goisvintha, with a vivid expression of horror, and then moving slowly across the tent, with a firm, yet trembling grasp, he possessed himself of the arm. as he looked up, goisvintha approached him. in one hand she held the bloody helmet-crest, while she pointed with the other to the crouching form of the girl. her lips were still parted with their unnatural smile, and she whispered softly to the goth--'remember your promise!--remember your kindred!--remember the massacre of aquileia!' the young warrior made no answer. he moved rapidly forward a few steps, and signed hurriedly to the young girl to fly by the door; but her terror had by this time divested her of all her ordinary powers of perception and comprehension. she looked up vacantly at hermanric, and then shuddering violently, crept into a corner of the tent. during the short silence that now ensued, the goth could hear her shiver and sigh, as he stood watching, with all the anxiety of apprehension, goisvintha's darkening brow. 'she is roman--she is the first dweller in the city who has appeared before you!--remember your promise!--remember your kindred!--remember the massacre of aquileia!' said the woman in fierce, quick, concentrated tones. 'i remember that i am a warrior and a goth,' replied hermanric, disdainfully. 'i have promised to avenge you, but it must be on a man that my promise must be fulfilled--an armed man, who can come forth with weapons in his hand--a strong man of courage whom i will slay in single combat before your eyes! the girl is too young to die, too weak to be assailed!' not a syllable that he had spoken had passed unheeded by the fugitive, every word seemed to revive her torpid faculties. as he ceased she arose, and with the quick instinct of terror, ran up to the side of the young goth. then seizing his hand--the hand that still grasped the battle-axe--she knelt down and kissed it, uttering hurried broken ejaculations, as she clasped it to her bosom, which the tremulousness of her voice rendered completely unintelligible. 'did the romans think my children too young to die, or too weak to be assailed?' cried goisvintha. 'by the lord god of heaven, they murdered them the more willingly because they were young, and wounded them the more fiercely because they were weak! my heart leaps within me as i look on the girl! i am doubly avenged, if i am avenged on the innocent and the youthful! her bones shall rot on the plains of rome, as the bones of my offspring rot on the plains of aquileia! shed me her blood!--remember your promise!--shed me her blood!' she advanced with extended arms and gleaming eyes towards the fugitive. she gasped for breath, her face turned suddenly to a livid paleness, the torchlight fell upon her distorted features, she looked unearthly at that fearful moment; but the divinity of mercy had now braced the determination of the young goth to meet all emergencies. his bright steady eye quailed not for an instant, as he encountered the frantic glance of the fury before him. with one hand he barred goisvintha from advancing another step; the other, he could not disengage from the girl, who now clasped and kissed it more eagerly than before. 'you do this but to tempt me to anger,' said goisvintha, altering her manner with sudden and palpable cunning, more ominous of peril to the fugitive than the fury she had hitherto displayed. 'you jest at me, because i have failed in patience, like a child! but you will shed her blood--you are honourable and will hold to your promise--you will shed her blood! and i,' she continued, exultingly, seating herself on the oaken chest that she had previously occupied, and resting her clenched hands on her knees; 'i will wait to see it!' at this moment voices and steps were heard outside the tent. hermanric instantly raised the trembling girl from the ground, and supporting her by his arm, advanced to ascertain the cause of the disturbance. he was confronted the next instant by an old warrior of superior rank, attached to the person of alaric, who was followed by a small party of the ordinary soldiery of the camp. 'among the women appointed by the king to the office of tending, for this night, those sick and wounded on the march, is goisvintha, sister of hermanric. if she is here, let her approach and follow me;' said the chief of the party in authoritative tones, pausing at the door of the tent. goisvintha rose. for an instant she stood irresolute. to quit hermanric at such a time as this, was a sacrifice that wrung her savage heart;--but she remembered the severity of alaric's discipline, she saw the armed men awaiting her, and yielded after a struggle to the imperious necessity of obedience to the king's commands. trembling with suppressed anger and bitter disappointment, she whispered to hermanric as she passed him:-- 'you cannot save her if you would! you dare not commit her to the charge of your companions, she is too young and too fair to be abandoned to their doubtful protection. you cannot escape with her, for you must remain here on the watch at your post. you will not let her depart by herself, for you know that she would perish with cold and privation before the morning rises. when i return on the morrow i shall see her in the tent. you cannot escape from your promise;--you cannot forget it,--you must shed her blood!' 'the commands of the king,' said the old warrior, signing to his party to depart with goisvintha, who now stood with forced calmness awaiting their guidance: 'will be communicated to the chieftain hermanric on the morrow. remember,' he continued in a lower tone, pointing contemptuously to the trembling girl; 'that the vigilance you have shown in setting the watch before yonder gate, will not excuse any negligence your prize there may now cause you to commit! consult your youthful pleasures as you please, but remember your duties! farewell!' uttering these words in a stern, serious tone, the veteran departed. soon the last sound of the footsteps of his escort died away, and hermanric and the fugitive were left alone in the tent. during the address of the old warrior to the chieftain, the girl had silently detached herself from her protector's support, and retired hastily to the interior of the tent. when she saw that they were left together again, she advanced hesitatingly towards the young goth, and looked up with an expression of mute inquiry into his face. 'i am very miserable,' said she, after an interval of silence, in soft, clear, melancholy accents. 'if you forsake me now, i must die--and i have lived so short a time on the earth, i have known so little happiness and so little love, that i am not fit to die! but you will protect me! you are good and brave, strong with weapons in your hands, and full of pity. you have defended me, and spoken kindly of me--i love you for the compassion you have shown me.' her language and actions, simple as they were, were yet so new to hermanric, whose experience of her sex had been almost entirely limited to the women of his own stern impassive nation, that he could only reply by a brief assurance of protection, when the suppliant awaited his answer. a new page in the history of humanity was opening before his eyes, and he scanned it in wondering silence. 'if that woman should return,' pursued the girl, fixing her dark, eloquent eyes intently upon the goth's countenance, 'take me quickly where she cannot come. my heart grows cold as i look on her! she will kill me if she can approach me again! my father's anger is very fearful, but hers is horrible--horrible--horrible! hush! already i hear her coming back--let us go--i will follow you wherever you please--but let us not delay while there is time to depart! she will destroy me if she sees me now, and i cannot die yet! oh my preserver, my compassionate defender, i cannot die yet!' 'no one shall harm you--no on shall approach you to-night--you are secure from all dangers in this tent,' said the goth, gazing on her with undissembled astonishment and admiration. 'i will tell you why death is so dreadful to me,' she continued, and her voice deepened as she spoke, to tones of mournful solemnity, strangely impressive in a creature so young. 'i have lived much alone, and have had no companions but my thoughts, and the sky that i could look up to, and the things on the earth that i could watch. as i have seen the clear heaven and the soft fields, and smelt the perfume of flowers, and heard the voices of singing-birds afar off, i have wondered why the same god who made all this, and made me, should have made grief and pain and hell--the dread eternal hell that my father speaks of in his church. i never looked at the sun-light, or woke from my sleep to look on and to think of the distant stars, but i longed to love something that might listen to my joy. but my father forbade me to be happy! he frowned even when he gave me my flower-garden--though god made flowers. he destroyed my lute--though god made music. my life has been a longing in loneliness for the voices of friends! my heart has swelled and trembled within me, because when i walked in the garden and looked on the plains and woods and high, bright mountains that were round me, i knew that i loved them alone! do you know now why i dare not die? it is because i must find first the happiness which i feel god has made for me. it is because i must live to praise this wonderful, beautiful world with others who enjoy it as i could! it is because my home has been among those who sigh, and never among those who smile! it is for this that i fear to die! i must find companions whose prayers are in singing and in happiness, before i go to the terrible hereafter that all dread. i dare not die! i dare not die!' as she uttered these last words she began to weep bitterly. between amazement and compassion the young goth was speechless. he looked down upon the small, soft hand that she had placed on his arm while she spoke, and saw that it trembled; he pressed it, and felt that it was cold; and in the first impulse of pity produced by the action, he found the readiness of speech which he had hitherto striven for in vain. 'you shiver and look pale,' said he; 'a fire shall be kindled at the door of the tent. i will bring you garments that will warm you, and food that will give you strength; you shall sleep, and i will watch that no one harms you.' the girl hastily looked up. an expression of ineffable gratitude overspread her sorrowful countenance. she murmured in a broken voice, 'oh, how merciful, how merciful you are!' and then, after an evident struggle with herself, she covered her face with her hands, and again burst into tears. more and more embarrassed, hermanric mechanically busied himself in procuring from such of his attendants as the necessities of the blockade left free, the supplies of fire, food and raiment, which he had promised. she received the coverings, approached the blazing fuel, and partook of the simple refreshment, which the young warrior offered her, with eagerness. after that she sat for some time silent, absorbed in deep meditation, and cowering over the fire, apparently unconscious of the curiosity with which she was still regarded by the goth. at length she suddenly looked up, and observing his eyes fixed on her, arose and beckoned him to the seat that she occupied. 'did you know how utterly forsaken i am,' said she, 'you would not wonder as you do, that i, a stranger and a roman, have sought you thus. i have told you how lonely was my home; but yet that home was a refuge and a protection to me until the morning of this long day that is past, when i was expelled from it for ever! i was suddenly awakened in my bed by--my father entered in anger--he called me--' she hesitated, blushed, and then paused at the very outset of her narrative. innocent as she was, the natural instincts of her sex spoke, though in a mysterious yet in a warning tone, within her heart, abruptly imposing on her motives for silence that she could neither penetrate nor explain. she clasped her trembling hands over her bosom as if to repress its heaving, and casting down her eyes, continued in a lower tone:-- 'i cannot tell you why my father drove me from his doors. he has always been silent and sorrowful to me; setting me long tasks in mournful books; commanding that i should not quit the precincts of his abode, and forbidding me to speak to him when i have sometimes asked him to tell me of my mother whom i have lost. yet he never threatened me or drove me from his side, until the morning of which i have told you. then his wrath was terrible; his eyes were fierce; his voice was threatening! he bade me begone, and i obeyed him in affright, for i thought he would have slain me if i stayed! i fled from the house, knowing not where i went, and ran through yonder gate, which is hard by our abode. as i entered the suburbs, i met great crowds, all hurrying into rome. i was bewildered by my fears and the confusion all around, yet i remember that they called loudly to me to fly to the city, ere the gates were closed against the assault of the goths. and others jostled and scoffed at me, as they passed by and saw me in the thin night garments in which i was banished from my home!' here she paused and listened intently for a few moments. every accidental noise that she heard still awakened in her the apprehension of goisvintha's return. reassured by hermanric and by her own observation of all that was passing outside the tent, she resumed her narrative after an interval, speaking now in a steadier voice. 'i thought my heart would burst within me,' she continued, 'as i tried to escape them. all things whirled before my eyes. i could not speak--i could not stop--i could not weep. i fled and fled i knew not whither, until i sank down exhausted at the door of a small house on the outskirts of the suburbs. then i called for aid, but no one was by to hear me. i crept--for i could stand no longer--into the house. it was empty. i looked from the windows: no human figure passed through the silent streets. the roar of a mighty confusion still rose from the walls of the city, but i was left to listen to it alone. in the house i saw scattered on the floor some fragments of bread and an old garment. i took them both, and then rose and departed; for the silence of the place was horrible to me, and i remembered the fields and the plains that i had once loved to look on, and i thought that i might find there the refuge that had been denied to me at rome! so i set forth once more; and when i gained the soft grass, and sat down beside the shady trees, and saw the sunlight brightening over the earth, my heart grew sad, and i wept as i thought on my loneliness and remembered my father's anger. 'i had not long remained in my resting-place, when i heard a sound of trumpets in the distance, and looking forth, i saw far off, advancing over the plains, a mighty multitude with arms that glittered in the sun. i strove, as i beheld them, to arise and return even to those suburbs whose solitude had affrighted me. but my limbs failed me. i saw a little hollow hidden among the trees around. i entered it, and there throughout the lonely day i lay concealed. i heard the long tramp of footsteps, as your army passed me on the roads beneath; and then, after those hours of fear came the weary hours of solitude! 'oh, those--lonely--lonely--lonely hours! i have lived without companions, but those hours were more terrible to me than all the years of my former life! i dared not venture to leave my hiding-place--i dared not call! alone in the world, i crouched in my refuge till the sun went down! then came the mist, and the darkness, and the cold. the bitter winds of night thrilled through and through me! the lonely obscurity around me seemed filled with phantoms whom i could not behold, who touched me and rustled over the surface of my skin! they half maddened me! i rose to depart; to meet my wrathful father, or the army that had passed me, or solitude in the cold, bright meadows--i cared not which!--when i discerned the light of your torch, the moment ere it was extinguished. dark though it then was, i found your tent. and now i know that i have found yet more--a companion and a friend!' she looked up at the young goth as she pronounced these words with the same grateful expression that had appeared on her countenance before; but this time her eyes were not dimmed by tears. already her disposition--poor as was the prospect of happiness which now lay before it--had begun to return, with an almost infantine facility of change, to the restoring influences of the brighter emotions. already the short tranquilities of the present began to exert for her their effacing charm over the long agitations of the past. despair was unnumbered among the emotions that grew round that child-like heart; shame, fear, and grief, however they might overshadow it for a time, left no taint of their presence on its bright, fine surface. tender, perilously alive to sensation, strangely retentive of kindness as she was by nature, the very solitude to which she had been condemned had gifted her, young as she was, with a martyr's endurance of ill, and with a stoic's patience under pain. 'do not mourn for me now,' she pursued, gently interrupting some broken expressions of compassion which fell from the lips of the young goth. 'if you are merciful to me, i shall forget all that i have suffered! though your nation is at enmity with mine, while you remain my friend, i fear nothing! i can look on your great stature, and heavy sword, and bright armour now without trembling! you are not like the soldiers of rome;--you are taller, stronger, more gloriously arrayed! you are like a statue i once saw by chance of a warrior of the greeks! you have a look of conquest and a presence of command!' she gazed on the manly and powerful frame of the young warrior, clothed as it was in the accoutrements of his warlike nation, with an expression of childish interest and astonishment, asking him the appellation and use of each part of his equipment, as it attracted her attention, and ending her inquiries by eagerly demanding his name. 'hermanric,' she repeated, as he answered her, pronouncing with some difficulty the harsh gothic syllables--'hermanric!--that is a stern, solemn name--a name fit for a warrior and a man! mine sounds worthless, after such a name as that! it is only antonina!' deeply as he was interested in every word uttered by the girl, hermanric could no longer fail to perceive the evident traces of exhaustion that now appeared in the slightest of her actions. producing some furs from a corner of the tent, he made a sort of rude couch by the side of the fire, heaped fresh fuel on the flames, and then gently counselled her to recruit her wasted energies by repose. there was something so candid in his manner, so sincere in the tones of his voice, as he made his simple offer of hospitality to the stranger who had taken refuge with him, that the most distrustful woman would have accepted with as little hesitation as antonina; who, gratefully and unhesitatingly, laid down on the bed that he had been spreading for her at her feet. as soon as he had carefully covered her with a cloak, and rearranged her couch in the position best calculated to insure her all the warmth of the burning fuel, hermanric retired to the other side of the fire; and, leaning on his sword, abandoned himself to the new and absorbing reflections which the presence of the girl naturally aroused. he thought not on the duties demanded of him by the blockade; he remembered neither the scene of rage and ferocity that had followed his evasion of his reckless promise; nor the fierce determination that goisvintha had expressed as she quitted him for the night. the cares and toils to come with the new morning, which would oblige him to expose the fugitive to the malignity of her revengeful enemy; the thousand contingencies that the difference of their sexes, their nations, and their lives, might create to oppose the continuance of the permanent protection that he had promised to her, caused him no forebodings. antonina, and antonina alone, occupied every faculty of his mind, and every feeling of his heart. there was a softness and a melody to his ear in her very name! his early life had made him well acquainted with the latin tongue, but he had never discovered all its native smoothness of sound, and elegance of structure, until he had heard it spoken by antonina. word by word, he passed over in his mind her varied, natural, and happy turns of expression; recalling, as he was thus employed, the eloquent looks, the rapid gesticulations, the changing tones which had accompanied those words, and thinking how wide was the difference between this young daughter of rome, and the cold and taciturn women of his own nation. the very mystery enveloping her story, which would have excited the suspicion or contempt of more civilised men, aroused in him no other emotions than those of wonder and compassion. no feelings of a lower nature than these entered his heart towards the girl. she was safe under the protection of the enemy and the barbarian, after having been lost through the interference of the roman and the senator. to the simple perceptions of the goth, the discovery of so much intelligence united to such extreme youth, of so much beauty doomed to such utter loneliness, was the discovery of an apparition that dazzled, and not of a woman who charmed him. he could not even have touched the hand of the helpless creature, who now reposed under his tent, unless she had extended it to him of her own accord. he could only think--with a delight whose excess he was far from estimating himself--on this solitary mysterious being who had come to him for shelter and for aid; who had awakened in him already new sources of sensation; and who seemed to his startled imagination to have suddenly twined herself for ever about the destinies of his future life. he was still deep in meditation, when he was startled by a hand suddenly laid on his arm. he looked up and saw that antonina, whom he had imagined to be slumbering on her couch, was standing by his side. 'i cannot sleep,' said the girl in a low, awe-struck voice, 'until i have asked you to spare my father when you enter rome. i know that you are here to ravage the city; and, for aught i can tell, you may assault and destroy it to-night. will you promise to warn me before the walls are assailed? i will then tell you my father's name and abode, and you will spare him as you have mercifully spared me? he has denied me his protection, but he is my father still; and i remember that i disobeyed him once, when i possessed myself of a lute! will you promise me to spare him? my mother, whom i have never seen and who must therefore be dead, may love me in another world for pleading for my father's life!' in a few words, hermanric quieted her agitation by explaining to her the nature and intention of the gothic blockade, and she silently returned to the couch. after a short interval, her slow, regular breathing announced to the young warrior, as he watched by the side of the fire, that she had at length forgotten the day's heritage of misfortune in the welcome oblivion of sleep. chapter . the two interviews. the time, is the evening of the first day of the gothic blockade; the place, is vetranio's palace at rome. in one of the private apartments of his mansion is seated its all-accomplished owner, released at length from the long sitting convened by the senate on the occasion of the unexpected siege of the city. although the same complete discipline, the same elegant regularity, and the same luxurious pomp, which distinguished the senator's abode in times of security, still prevail over it in the time of imminent danger which now threatens rich and poor alike in rome, vetranio himself appears far from partaking the tranquility of his patrician household. his manner displays an unusual sternness, and his face an unwonted displeasure, as he sits, occupied by his silent reflections and thoroughly unregardful of whatever occurs around him. two ladies who are his companions in the apartment, exert all their blandishments to win him back to hilarity, but in vain. the services of his expectant musicians are not put into requisition, the delicacies on his table remain untouched, and even 'the inestimable kitten of the breed most worshipped by the ancient egyptians' gambols unnoticed and unapplauded at his feet. all its wonted philosophical equanimity has evidently departed, for the time at least, from the senator's mind. silence--hitherto a stranger to the palace apartments--had reigned uninterruptedly over them for some time, when the freedman carrio dissipated vetranio's meditations, and put the ladies who were with him to flight, by announcing in an important voice, that the prefect pompeianus desired a private interview with the senator vetranio. the next instant the chief magistrate of rome entered the apartment. he was a short, fat, undignified man. indolence and vacillation were legibly impressed on his appearance and expression. you saw, in a moment, that his mind, like a shuttlecock, might be urged in any direction by the efforts of others, but was utterly incapable of volition by itself. but once in his life had the prefect pompeianus been known to arrive unaided at a positive determination, and that was in deciding a fierce argument between a bishop and a general, regarding the relative merits of two rival rope-dancers of equal renown. 'i have come, my beloved friend,' said the prefect in agitated tones, 'to ask your opinion, at this period of awful responsibility for us all, on the plan of operations proposed by the senate at the sitting of to-day! but first,' he hastily continued, perceiving with the unerring instinct of an old gastronome, that the inviting refreshments on vetranio's table had remained untouched, 'permit me to fortify my exhausted energies by a visit to your ever-luxurious board. alas, my friend, when i consider the present fearful scarcity of our provision stores in the city, and the length of time that this accursed blockade may be expected to last, i am inclined to think that the gods alone know (i mean st. peter) how much longer we may be enabled to give occupation to our digestions and employment to our cooks. 'i have observed,' pursued the prefect, after an interval, speaking with his mouth full of stewed peacock; 'i have observed, oh esteemed colleague! the melancholy of your manner and your absolute silence during your attendance to-day at our deliberations. have we, in your opinion, decided erroneously? it is not impossible! our confusion at this unexpected appearance of the barbarians may have blinded our usual penetration! if by any chance you dissent from our plans, i beseech you communicate your objections to me without reserve!' 'i dissent from nothing, because i have heard nothing,' replied vetranio sullenly. 'i was so occupied by a private matter of importance during my attendance at the sitting of the senate, that i was deaf to their deliberations. i know that we are besieged by the goths--why are they not driven from before the walls?' 'deaf to our deliberations! drive the goths from the walls!' repeated the prefect faintly. 'can you think of any private matter at such a moment as this? do you know our danger? do you know that our friends are so astonished at this frightful calamity, that they move about like men half awakened from a dream? have you not seen the streets filled with terrified and indignant crowds? have you not mounted the ramparts and beheld the innumerable multitudes of pitiless goths surrounding us on all sides, intercepting our supplies of provisions from the country, and menacing us with a speedy famine, unless our hoped-for auxiliaries arrive from ravenna?' 'i have neither mounted the ramparts, nor viewed with any attention the crowds in the streets,' replied vetranio, carelessly. 'but if you have seen nothing yourself, you must have heard what others saw,' persisted the prefect; 'you must know at least that the legions we have in the city are not sufficient to guard more than half the circuit of the walls. has no one informed you that if it should please the leader of the barbarians to change his blockade into an assault, it is more than probable that we should be unable to repulse him successfully? are you still deaf to our deliberations, when your palace may to-morrow be burnt over your head, when we may be staved to death, when we may be doomed to eternal dishonour by being driven to conclude a peace? deaf to our deliberations, when such an unimaginable calamity as this invasion has fallen like a thunderbolt under our very walls! you amaze me! you overwhelm me! you horrify me!' and in the excess of his astonishment the bewildered prefect actually abandoned his stewed peacock, and advanced, wine-cup in hand, to obtain a nearer view of the features of his imperturbable host. 'if we are not strong enough to drive the goths out of italy,' rejoined vetranio coolly, 'you and the senate know that we are rich enough to bribe them to depart to the remotest confines of the empire. if we have not swords enough to fight, we have gold and silver enough to pay.' 'you are jesting! remember our honour and the auxiliaries we still hope for from ravenna,' said the prefect reprovingly. 'honour has lost the signification now, that it had in the time of the caesars,' retorted the senator. 'our fighting days are over. we have had heroes enough for our reputation. as for the auxiliaries you still hope for, you will have none! while the emperor is safe in ravenna, he will care nothing for the worst extremities that can be suffered by the people of rome.' 'but you forget your duties,' urged the astonished pompeianus, turning from rebuke to expostulation. 'you forget that it is a time when all private interests must be abandoned! you forget that i have come here to ask your advice, that i am bewildered by a thousand projects, forced on me from all sides, for ruling the city successfully during the blockade; that i look to you, as a friend and a man of reputation, to aid me in deciding on a choice out of the varied counsels submitted to me in the senate to-day.' 'write down the advice of each senator on a separate strip of vellum; shake all the strips together in an urn; and then, let the first you take out by chance, be your guide to govern by in the present condition of the city!' said vetranio with a sneer. 'oh friend, friend! it is cruel to jest with me thus!' cried the prefect, in tones of lament; 'would you really persuade me that you are ignorant that what sentinels we have, are doubled already on the walls? would you attempt to declare seriously to me, that you never heard the project of saturninus for reducing imperceptibly the diurnal allowance of provisions? or the recommendation of emilianus, that the people should be kept from thinking on the dangers and extremities which now threaten them, by being provided incessantly with public amusements at the theatres and hippodromes? do you really mean that you are indifferent to the horrors of our present situation? by the souls of the apostles, vetranio, i begin to think that you do not believe in the goths!' 'i have already told you that private affairs occupy me at present, to the exclusion of public,' said vetranio impatiently. 'debate as you choose--approve what projects you will--i withdraw myself from interference in your deliberations!' 'this,' murmured the repulsed prefect in soliloquy, as he mechanically resumed his place at the refreshment table, 'this is the very end and climax of all calamities! now, when advice and assistance are more precious than jewels in my estimation, i receive neither! i gain from none, the wise and saving counsels which, as chief magistrate of this imperial city, it is my right to demand from all; and the man on whom i most depended is the man who fails me most! yet hear me, oh vetranio, once again,' he continued, addressing the senator, 'if our perils beyond the walls affect you not, there is a weighty matter that has been settled within them, which must move you. after you had quitted the senate, serena, the widow of stilicho, was accused, as her husband was accused before her, of secret and treasonable correspondence with the goths; and has been condemned, as her husband was condemned, to suffer the penalty of death. i myself discerned no evidence to convict her; but the populace cried out, in universal frenzy, that she was guilty, that she should die; and that the barbarians, when they heard of the punishment inflicted on their secret adherent, would retire in dismay from rome. this also was a moot point of argument, on which i vainly endeavoured to decide; but the senate and the people were wiser than i; and serena was condemned to be strangled to-morrow by the public executioner. she was a woman of good report before this time, and is the adopted mother of the emperor. it is now doubted by many whether stilicho, her husband, was ever guilty of the correspondence with the goths, of which he was accused; and i, on my part, doubt much that serena has deserved the punishment of death at our hands. i beseech you, vetranio, let me be enlightened by your opinion on this one point at least!' the prefect waited anxiously for an answer, but vetranio neither looked at him nor replied. it was evident that the senator had not listened to a word that he had said! this reception of his final appeal for assistance, produced the effect on the petitioner, which it was perhaps designed to convey--the prefect pompeianus quitted the room in despair. he had not long departed, when carrio again entered the apartment, and addressed his master thus: 'it is grievous for me, revered patron, to disclose it to you, but your slaves have returned unsuccessful from the search!' 'give the description of the girl to a fresh division of them, and let them continue their efforts throughout the night, not only in the streets, but in all the houses of public entertainment in the city. she must be in rome, and she must be found!' said the senator gloomily. carrio bowed profoundly, and was about to depart, when he was arrested at the door by his master's voice. 'if an old man, calling himself numerian, should desire to see me,' said vetranio, 'admit him instantly.' 'she had quitted the room but a short time when i attempted to reclaim her,' pursued the senator, speaking to himself; 'and yet when i gained the open air, she was nowhere to be seen! she must have mingled unintentionally with the crowds whom the goths drove into the city, and thus have eluded my observation! so young and so innocent! she must be found! she must be found!' he paused, once more engrossed in deep and melancholy thought. after a long interval, he was roused from his abstraction by the sound of footsteps on the marble floor. he looked up. the door had been opened without his perceiving it, and an old man was advancing with slow and trembling steps towards his silken couch. it was the bereaved and broken-hearted numerian. 'where is she? is she found?' asked the father, gazing anxiously round the room, as if he had expected to see his daughter there. 'my slaves still search for her,' said vetranio, mournfully. 'ah, woe--woe--woe! how i wronged her! how i wronged her!' cried the old man, turning to depart. 'listen to me ere you go,' said vetranio, gently detaining him. 'i have done you a great wrong, but i will yet atone for it by finding for you your child! while there were women who would have triumphed in my admiration, i should not have attempted to deprive you of your daughter! remember when you recover her--and you shall recover her--that from the time when i first decoyed her into listening to my lute, to the night when your traitorous servant led me to her bed-chamber, she has been innocent in this ill-considered matter. i alone have been guilty! she was scarcely awakened when you discovered her in my arms, and my entry into her chamber, was as little expected by her, as it was by you. i was bewildered by the fumes of wine and the astonishment of your sudden appearance, or i should have rescued her from your anger, ere it was too late! the events which have passed this morning, confused though they were, have yet convinced me that i had mistaken you both. i now know that your child was too pure to be an object fitted for my pursuit; and i believe that in secluding her as you did, however ill-advised you might appear, you were honest in your design! never in my pursuit of pleasure did i commit so fatal an error, as when i entered the doors of your house!' in pronouncing these words, vetranio but gave expression to the sentiments by which they were really inspired. as we have before observed, profligate as he was by thoughtlessness of character and license of social position, he was neither heartless nor criminal by nature. fathers had stormed, but his generosity had hitherto invariably pacified them. daughters had wept, but had found consolation on all previous occasions in the splendour of his palace and the amiability of his disposition. in attempting, therefore, the abduction of antonina, though he had prepared for unusual obstacles, he had expected no worse results of his new conquest, than those that had followed, as yet, his gallantries that were past. but, when--in the solitude of his own home, and in the complete possession of his faculties--he recalled all the circumstances of his attempt, from the time when he had stolen on the girl's slumbers, to the moment when she had fled from the house; when he remembered the stern concentrated anger of numerian, and the agony and despair of antonina; when he thought on the spirit-broken repentance of the deceived father, and the fatal departure of the injured daughter, he felt as a man who had not merely committed an indiscretion, but had been guilty of a crime; he became convinced that he had incurred the fearful responsibility of destroying the happiness of a parent who was really virtuous, and a child who was truly innocent. to a man, the business of whose whole life was to procure for himself a heritage of unalloyed pleasure, whose sole occupation was to pamper that refined sensuality which the habits of a life had made the very material of his heart, by diffusing luxury and awakening smiles wherever he turned his steps, the mere mental disquietude attending the ill-success of his intrusion into numerian's dwelling, was as painful in its influence, as the bitterest remorse that could have afflicted a more highly-principled mind. he now, therefore, instituted the search after antonina, and expressed his contrition to her father, from a genuine persuasion that nothing but the completest atonement for the error he had committed, could restore to him that luxurious tranquility, the loss of which had, as he had himself expressed it, rendered him deaf to the deliberations of the senate, and regardless of the invasion of the goths. 'tell me,' he continued, after a pause, 'whither has ulpius betaken himself? it is necessary that he should be discovered. he may enlighten us upon the place of antonina's retreat. he shall be secured and questioned.' 'he left me suddenly; i saw him as i stood at the window, mix with the multitude in the street, but i know not whither he is gone,' replied numerian; and a tremor passed over his whole frame as he spoke of the remorseless pagan. again there was a short silence. the grief of the broken-spirited father, possessed in its humility and despair, a voice of rebuke, before which the senator, careless and profligate as he was, instinctively quailed. for some time he endeavoured in vain to combat the silencing and reproving influence, exerted over him by the very presence of the sorrowing man whom he had so fatally wronged. at length, after an interval, he recovered self-possession enough to address to numerian some further expressions of consolation and hope; but he spoke to ears that listened not. the father had relapsed into his mournful abstraction; and when the senator paused, he merely muttered to himself--'she is lost! alas, she is lost for ever!' 'no, she is not lost for ever,' cried vetranio, warmly. 'i have wealth and power enough to cause her to be sought for to the ends of the earth! ulpius shall be secured and questioned--imprisoned, tortured, if it is necessary. your daughter shall be recovered. nothing is impossible to a senator of rome!' 'i knew not that i loved her, until the morning when i wronged and banished her!' continued the old man, still speaking to himself. 'i have lost all traces of my parents and my brother--my wife is parted from me for ever--i have nothing left but antonina; and now too she is gone! even my ambition, that i once thought my all in all, is no comfort to my soul; for i loved it--alas! unconsciously loved it--through the being of my child! i destroyed her lute--i thought her shameless--i drove her from my doors! oh, how i wronged her!--how i wronged her!' 'remain here, and repose yourself in one of the sleeping apartments, until my slaves return in the morning. you will then hear without delay of the result of their search to-night,' said vetranio, in kindly and compassionate tones. 'it grows dark--dark!' groaned the father, tottering towards the door; 'but that is nothing; daylight itself now looks darkness to me! i must go: i have duties at the chapel to perform. night is repose for you--for me, it is tribulation and prayer!' he departed as he spoke. slowly he paced along the streets that led to his chapel, glancing with penetrating eye at each inhabitant of the besieged city who passed him on his way. with some difficulty he arrived at his destination; for rome was still thronged with armed men hurrying backwards and forwards, and with crowds of disorderly citizens pouring forth, wherever there was space enough for them to assemble. the report of the affliction that had befallen him had already gone abroad among his hearers, and they whispered anxiously to each other as he entered the plain, dimly-lighted chapel, and slowly mounted the pulpit to open the service, by reading the chapter in the bible which had been appointed for perusal that night, and which happened to be the fifth of the gospel of st. mark. his voice trembled, his face was ghastly pale, and his hands shook perceptibly as he began; but he read on, in low, broken tones, and with evident pain and difficulty, until he came to the verse containing these words: 'my little daughter lieth at the point of death.' here he stopped suddenly, endeavoured vainly for a few minutes to proceed, and then, covering his face with his hands, sank down in the pulpit and sobbed aloud. his sorrowing and startled audience immediately gathered round him, raised him in their arms, and prepared to conduct him to his own abode. when, however, they had gained the door of the chapel, he desired them gently, to leave him and return to the performance of the service among themselves. ever implicitly obedient to his slightest wishes, the persons of his little assembly, moved to tears by the sight of their teacher's suffering, obeyed him, by retiring silently to their former places. as soon as he found that he was alone, he passed the door; and whispering to himself, 'i must join those who seek her! i must aid them myself in the search!'--he mingled once more with the disorderly citizens who thronged the darkened streets. chapter . the rift in the wall. when ulpius suddenly departed from numerian's house on the morning of the siege, it was with no distinct intention of betaking himself to any particular place, or devoting himself to any immediate employment. it was to give vent to his joy--to the ecstacy that now filled his heart to bursting--that he sought the open streets. his whole moral being was exalted by that overwhelming sense of triumph, which urges the physical nature into action. he hurried into the free air, as a child runs on a bright day in the wide fields; his delight was too wild to expand under a roof; his excess of bliss swelled irrepressibly beyond all artificial limits of space. the goths were in sight! a few hours more, and their scaling ladders would be planted against the walls. on a city so weakly guarded as rome, their assault must be almost instantaneously successful. thirsting for plunder, they would descend in infuriated multitudes on the defenceless streets. christians though they were, the restraints of religion would, in that moment of fierce triumph, be powerless with such a nation of marauders against the temptations to pillage. churches would be ravaged and destroyed; priests would be murdered in attempting the defence of their ecclesiastical treasures; fire and sword would waste to its remotest confines the stronghold of christianity, and overwhelm in death and oblivion the boldest of christianity's devotees! then, when the hurricane of ruin and crime had passed over the city, when a new people were ripe for another government and another religion--then would be the time to invest the banished gods of old rome with their former rule; to bid the survivors of the stricken multitude remember the judgment that their apostacy to their ancient faith had demanded and incurred; to strike the very remembrance of the cross out of the memory of man; and to reinstate paganism on her throne of sacrifices, and under her roof of gold, more powerful from her past persecutions; more universal in her sudden restoration, than in all the glories of her ancient rule! such thoughts as these passed through the pagan's toiling mind as, unobservant of all outward events, he paced through the streets of the beleaguered city. already he beheld the array of the goths preparing the way, as the unconscious pioneers of the returning gods, for the march of that mighty revolution which he was determined to lead. the warmth of his past eloquence, the glow of his old courage, thrilled through his heart, as he figured to himself the prospect that would soon stretch before him--a city laid waste, a people terrified, a government distracted, a religion destroyed. then, arising amid this darkness and ruin; amid this solitude, desolation, and decay, it would be his glorious privilege to summon an unfaithful people to return to the mistress of their ancient love; to rise from prostration beneath a dismantled church; and to seek prosperity in temples repeopled and at shrines restored! all remembrance of late events now entirely vanished from his mind. numerian, vetranio, antonina, they were all forgotten in this memorable advent of the goths! his slavery in the mines, his last visit to alexandria, his earlier wanderings--even these, so present to his memory until the morning of the siege, were swept from its very surface now. age, solitude, infirmity--hitherto the mournful sensations which were proofs to him that he still continued to exist--suddenly vanished from his perceptions, as things that were not; and now at length he forgot that he was an outcast, and remembered triumphantly that he was still a priest. he felt animated by the same hopes, elevated by the same aspirations, as in those early days when he had harangued the wavering pagans in the temple, and first plotted the overthrow of the christian church. it was a terrible and warning proof of the omnipotent influence that a single idea may exercise over a whole life, to see that old man wandering among the crowds around him, still enslaved, after years of suffering and solitude, degradation, and crime, by the same ruling ambition, which had crushed the promise of his early youth! it was an awful testimony to the eternal and mysterious nature of thought, to behold that wasted and weakened frame; and then to observe how the unassailable mind within still swayed the wreck of body yet left to it--how faithfully the last exhausted resources of failing vigour rallied into action at its fierce command--how quickly, at its mocking voice, the sunken eye lightened again with a gleam of hope, and the pale, thin lips parted mechanically with an exulting smile! the hours passed, but he still walked on--whither or among whom he neither knew nor cared. no remorse touched his heart for the destruction that he had wreaked on the christian who had sheltered him; no terror appalled his soul at the contemplation of the miseries that he believed to be in preparation for the city from the enemy at its gates. the end that had hallowed to him the long series of his former offences and former sufferings, now obliterated iniquities just passed, and stripped of all their horrors, atrocities immediately to come. the goths might be destroyers to others, but they were benefactors to him; for they were harbingers of the ruin which would be the material of his reform, and the source of his triumph. it never entered his imagination that, as an inhabitant of rome, he shared the approaching perils of the citizens, and in the moment of the assault might share their doom. he beheld only the new and gorgeous prospect that war and rapine were opening before him. he thought only of the time that must elapse ere his new efforts could be commenced--of the orders of the people among whom he should successively make his voice heard--of the temples which he should select for restoration--of the quarter of rome which should first be chosen for the reception of his daring reform. at length he paused; his exhausted energies yielded under the exertions imposed on them, and obliged him to bethink himself of refreshment and repose. it was now noon. the course of his wanderings had insensibly conducted him again to the precincts of his old, familiar dwelling-place; he found himself at the back of the pincian mount, and only separated by a strip of uneven woody ground, from the base of the city wall. the place was very solitary. it was divided from the streets and mansions above by thick groves and extensive gardens, which stretched along the undulating descent of the hill. a short distance to the westward lay the pincian gate, but an abrupt turn in the wall and some olive trees which grew near it, shut out all view of objects in that direction. on the other side, towards the eastward, the ramparts were discernible, running in a straight line of some length, until they suddenly turned inwards at a right angle and were concealed from further observation by the walls of a distant palace and the pine trees of a public garden. the only living figure discernible near this lonely spot, was that of a sentinel, who occasionally passed over the ramparts above, which--situated as they were between two stations of soldiery, one at the pincian gate and the other where the wall made the angle already described--were untenanted, save by the guard within the limits of whose watch they happened to be placed. here, for a short space of time, the pagan rested his weary frame, and aroused himself insensibly from the enthralling meditations which had hitherto blinded him to the troubled aspect of the world around him. he now for the first time heard on all sides distinctly, the confused noises which still rose from every quarter of rome. the same incessant strife of struggling voices and hurrying footsteps, which had caught his ear in the early morning, attracted his attention now; but no shrieks of distress, no clash of weapons, no shouts of fury and defiance, were mingled with them; although, as he perceived by the position of the sun, the day had sufficiently advanced to have brought the gothic army long since to the foot of the walls. what could be the cause of this delay in the assault; of this ominous tranquillity on the ramparts above him? had the impetuosity of the goths suddenly vanished at the sight of rome? had negotiations for peace been organised with the first appearance of the invaders? he listened again. no sounds caught his ear differing in character from those he had just heard. though besieged, the city was evidently--from some mysterious cause--not even threatened by an assault. suddenly there appeared from a little pathway near him, which led round the base of the wall, a woman preceded by a child, who called to her impatiently, as he ran on, 'hasten, mother, hasten! there is no crowd here. yonder is the gate. we shall have a noble view of the goths!' there was something in the address of the child to the woman that gave ulpius a suspicion, even then, of the discovery that flushed upon him soon after. he rose and followed them. they passed onward by the wall, through the olive trees beyond, and then gained the open space before the pincian gate. here a great concourse of people had assembled, and were suffered, in their proper turn, to ascend the ramparts in divisions, by some soldiers who guarded the steps by which they were approached. after a short delay, ulpius and those around him were permitted to gratify their curiosity, as others had done before them. they mounted the walls, and beheld, stretched over the ground within and beyond the suburbs, the vast circumference of the gothic lines. terrible and almost sublime as was the prospect of that immense multitude, seen under the brilliant illumination of the noontide sun, it was not impressive enough to silence the turbulent loquacity rooted in the dispositions of the people of rome. men, women, and children, all made their noisy and conflicting observations on the sight before them, in every variety of tone, from the tremulous accents of terror, to the loud vociferations of bravado. some spoke boastfully of the achievements that would be performed by the romans, when their expected auxiliaries arrived from ravenna. others foreboded, in undissembled terror, an assault under cover of the night. here, a group abused, in low confidential tones, the policy of the government in its relations with the goths. there, a company of ragged vagabonds amused themselves by pompously confiding to each other their positive conviction, that at that very moment the barbarians must be trembling in their camp, at the mere sight of the all-powerful capital of the world. in one direction, people were heard noisily speculating whether the goths would be driven from the walls by the soldiers of rome, or be honoured by an invitation to conclude a peace with the august empire, which they had so treasonably ventured to invade. in another, the more sober and reputable among the spectators audibly expressed their apprehensions of starvation, dishonour, and defeat, should the authorities of the city be foolhardy enough to venture a resistance to alaric and his barbarian hosts. but wide as was the difference of the particular opinions hazarded among the citizens, they all agreed in one unavoidable conviction, that rome had escaped the immediate horrors of an assault, to be threatened--if unaided by the legions at ravenna--by the prospective miseries of a blockade. amid the confusion of voices around him, that word 'blockade' alone reached the pagan's ear. it brought with it a flood of emotions that overwhelmed him. all that he saw, all that he heard, connected itself imperceptibly with that expression. a sudden darkness, neither to be dissipated nor escaped, seemed to obscure his faculties in an instant. he struggled mechanically through the crowd, descended the steps of the ramparts, and returned to the solitary spot where he had first beheld the woman and the child. the city was blockaded! the goths were bent then, on obtaining a peace and not on achieving a conquest! the city was blockaded! it was no error of the ignorant multitude--he had seen with his own eyes the tents and positions of the enemy, he had heard the soldiers on the wall discoursing on the admirable disposition of alaric's forces, on the impossibility of obtaining the smallest communication with the surrounding country, on the vigilant watch that had been set over the navigation of the tiber. there was no doubt on the matter--the barbarians had determined on a blockade! there was even less uncertainty upon the results which would be produced by this unimaginable policy of the goths--the city would be saved! rome had not scrupled in former years to purchase the withdrawal of all enemies from her distant provinces; and now that the very centre of her glory, the very pinnacle of her declining power, was threatened with sudden and unexpected ruin, she would lavish on the goths the treasures of the whole empire, to bribe them to peace and to tempt them to retreat. the senate might possibly delay the necessary concessions, from hopes of assistance that would never be realised; but sooner or later the hour of negotiation would arrive; northern rapacity would be satisfied with southern wealth; and in the very moment when it seemed inevitable, the ruin from which the pagan revolution was to derive its vigorous source, would be diverted from the churches of rome. could the old renown of the roman name have retained so much of its ancient influence as to daunt the hardy goths, after they had so successfully penetrated the empire as to have reached the walls of its vaunted capital? could alaric have conceived so exaggerated an idea of the strength of the forces in the city as to despair, with all his multitudes, of storming it with success? it could not be otherwise! no other consideration could have induced the barbarian general to abandon such an achievement as the destruction of rome. with the chance of an assault the prospects of paganism had brightened--with the certainty of a blockade, they sunk immediately into disheartening gloom! filled with these thoughts, ulpius paced backwards and forwards in his solitary retreat, utterly abandoned by the exaltation of feeling which had restored to his faculties in the morning, the long-lost vigour of their former youth. once more, he experienced the infirmities of his age; once more he remembered the miseries that had made his existence one unending martyrdom; once more he felt the presence of his ambition within him, like a judgment that he was doomed to welcome, like a curse that he was created to cherish. to say that his sensations at this moment were those of the culprit who hears the order for his execution when he had been assured of a reprieve, is to convey but a faint idea of the fierce emotions of rage, grief, and despair, that now united to rend the pagan's heart. overpowered with weariness both of body and mind, he flung himself down under the shade of some bushes that clothed the base of the wall above him. as he lay there--so still in his heavy lassitude that life itself seemed to have left him--one of the long green lizards, common to italy, crawled over his shoulder. he seized the animal--doubtful for the moment whether it might not be of the poisonous species--and examined it. at the first glance he discovered that it was of the harmless order of its race, and would have flung it carelessly from him, but for something in its appearance which, in the wayward irritability of his present mood, he felt a strange and sudden pleasure in contemplating. through its exquisitely marked and transparent skin he could perceive the action of the creature's heart, and saw that it was beating violently, in the agony of fear caused to the animal by its imprisonment in his hand. as he looked on it, and thought how continually a being so timid must be thwarted in its humble anxieties, in its small efforts, in its little journeys from one patch of grass to another, by a hundred obstacles, which, trifles though they might be to animals of a higher species, were yet of fatal importance to creatures constituted like itself, he began to find an imperfect, yet remarkable analogy between his own destiny and that of this small unit of creation. he felt that, in its petty sphere, the short life of the humble animal before him must have been the prey of crosses and disappointments, as serious to it, as the more severed and destructive afflictions of which he, in his existence, had been the victim; and, as he watched the shadow-like movement of the little fluttering heart of the lizard, he experienced a cruel pleasure in perceiving that there were other beings in the creation, even down to the most insignificant, who inherited a part of his misery, and suffered a portion of his despair. ere long, however, his emotions took a sterner and a darker hue. the sight of the animal wearied him, and he flung it contemptuously aside. it disappeared in the direction of the ramparts; and almost at the same moment he heard a slight sound, resembling the falling of several minute particles of brick or light stone, which seemed to come from the wall behind him. that such a noise should proceed from so massive a structure appeared unaccountable. he rose, and, parting the bushes before him, advanced close to the surface of the lofty wall. to his astonishment, he found that the brickwork had in many places so completely mouldered away, that he could move it easily with his fingers. the cause of the trifling noise that he had heard was now fully explained: hundreds of lizards had made their homes between the fissures of the bricks; the animal that he had permitted to escape had taken refuge in one of these cavities, and in the hurry of its flight had detached several of the loose crumbling fragments that surrounded its hiding-place. not content, however, with the discovery he had already made, he retired a little, and, looking stedfastly up through some trees which in this particular place grew at the foot of the wall, he saw that its surface was pierced in many places by great irregular rifts, some of which extended nearly to its whole height. in addition to this, he perceived that the mass of the structure at one particular point, leaned considerably out of the perpendicular. astounded at what he beheld, he took a stick from the ground, and inserting it in one of the lowest and smallest of the cracks, easily succeeded in forcing it entirely into the wall, part of which seemed to be hollow, and part composed of the same rotten brickwork which had at first attracted his attention. it was now evident that the whole structure, over a breadth of several yards, had been either weakly and carelessly built, or had at some former period suffered a sudden and violent shock. he left the stick in the wall to mark the place; and was about to retire, when he heard the footstep of the sentinel on the rampart immediately above. suddenly cautious, though from what motive he would have been at that moment hardly able to explain, he remained in the concealment of the trees and bushes, until the guard had passed onward; then he cautiously emerged from the place; and, retiring to some distance, fell into a train of earnest and absorbing thought. to account to the reader for the phenomenon which now engrossed the pagan's attention, it will be necessary to make a brief digression to the history of the walls of rome. the circumference of the first fortifications of the city, built by romulus, was thirteen miles. the greater part, however, of this large area was occupied by fields and gardens, which it was the object of the founder of the empire to preserve for arable purposes, from the incursions of the different enemies by whom he was threatened from without. as rome gradually increased in size, its walls were progressively enlarged and altered by subsequent rulers. but it was not until the reign of the emperor aurelian (a.d. ), that any extraordinary or important change was effected in the defences of the city. that potentate commenced the erection of walls, twenty-one miles in circumference, which were finally completed in the reign of probus (a.d. ), were restored by belisarius (a.d. ), and are to be seen in detached portions, in the fortifications of the modern city, to the present day. at the date of our story, then (a.d. ), the walls remained precisely as they had been constructed in the reigns of aurelian and probus. they were for the most part made of brick; and in a few places, probably, a sort of soft sandstone might have been added to the pervading material. at several points in their circumference, and particularly in the part behind the pincian hill, these walls were built in arches, forming deep recesses, and occasionally disposed in double rows. the method of building employed in their erection, was generally that mentioned by vitruvius, in whose time it originated, as 'opus reticulatum'. the 'opus reticulatum' was composed of small bricks (or stones) set together on their angles, instead of horizontally, and giving the surface of a wall the appearance of a sort of solid network. this was considered by some architects of antiquity a perishable mode of construction; and vitruvius asserts that some buildings where he had seen it used, had fallen down. from the imperfect specimens of it which remain in modern times, it would be difficult to decide upon its merits. that it was assuredly insufficient to support the weight of the bank of the pincian mount, which rose immediately behind it, in the solitary spot described some pages back, is still made evident by the appearance of the wall at that part of the city, which remains in modern times bent out of the perpendicular, and cracked in some places almost from top to bottom. this ruin is now known to the present race of italians, under the expressive title of 'il muro torto' or, the crooked wall. we may here observe that it is extremely improbable that the existence of this natural breach in the fortifications of rome was noticed, or if noticed, regarded with the slightest anxiety or attention by the majority of the careless and indolent inhabitants, at the period of the present romance. it is supposed to have been visible as early as the time of aurelian, but is only particularly mentioned by procopius, an historian of the sixth century, who relates that belisarius, in strengthening the city against a siege of the goths, attempted to repair this weak point in the wall, but was hindered in his intended labour by the devout populace, who declared that it was under the peculiar protection of st. peter, and that it would be consequently impious to meddle with it. the general submitted without remonstrance to the decision of the inhabitants, and found no cause afterwards to repent of his facility of compliance; for, to use the translated words of the writer above-mentioned, 'during the siege neither the enemy nor the romans regarded this place.' it is to be supposed that so extraordinary an event as this, gave the wall that sacred character, which deterred subsequent rulers from attempting its repair; which permitted it to remain crooked and rent through the convulsions of the middle ages; and which still preserves it, to attest the veracity of historians, by appealing to the antiquarian curiosity of the traveller of modern times. we now return to ulpius. it is a peculiarity observable in the characters of men living under the ascendancy of one ruling idea, that they intuitively distort whatever attracts their attention in the outer world, into a connection more or less intimate with the single object of their mental contemplation. since the time when he had been exiled from the temple, the pagan's faculties had, unconsciously to himself, acted solely in reference to the daring design which it was the business of his whole existence to entertain. influenced, therefore, by this obliquity of moral feeling, he had scarcely reflected on the discovery that he had just made at the base of the city wall, ere his mind instantly reverted to the ambitious meditations which had occupied it in the morning; and the next moment, the first dawning conception of a bold and perilous project began to absorb his restless thoughts. he reflected on the peculiarities and position of the wall before him. although the widest and most important of the rents which he had observed in it, existed too near the rampart to be reached without the assistance of a ladder, there were others as low as the ground, which he knew, by the result of the trial he had already made, might be successfully and immensely widened by the most ordinary exertion and perseverance. the interior of the wall, if judged by the condition of the surface, could offer no insuperable obstacles to an attempt at penetration so partial as to be limited to a height and width of a few feet. the ramparts, from their position between two guard-houses, would be unencumbered by an inquisitive populace. the sentinel, within the limits of whose allotted watch it happened to fall, would, when night came on, be the only human being likely to pass the spot; and at such an hour his attention must necessarily be fixed--in the circumstances under which the city was now placed--on the prospect beyond, rather than on the ground below and behind him. it seemed, therefore, almost a matter of certainty, that a cautious man, labouring under cover of the night, might pursue whatever investigations he pleased at the base of the wall. he examined the ground where he now stood. nothing could be more lonely than its present appearance. the private gardens on the hill above it shut out all communication from that quarter. it could only be approached by the foot-path that ran round the pincian mount, and along the base of the walls. in the state of affairs now existing in the city, it was not probable that any one would seek this solitary place, whence nothing could be seen, and where little could be heard, in preference to mixing with the spirit-stirring confusion in the streets, or observing the gothic encampment from such positions on the ramparts as were easily attainable to all. in addition to the secresy offered by the loneliness of this patch of ground to whatever employments were undertaken on it, was the further advantage afforded by the trees and thickets which covered its lower end, and which would effectually screen an intruder, during the darkness of night, from the most penetrating observation directed from the wall above. reflecting thus, he doubted not that a cunning and determined man might with impunity so far widen any one of the inferior breaches in the lower part of the wall as to make a cavity (large enough to admit a human figure) that should pierce to its outer surface, and afford that liberty of departing from the city and penetrating the gothic camp which the closed gates now denied to all the inhabitants alike. to discover the practicability of such an attempt as this was, to a mind filled with such aspirations as the pagan's, to determine irrevocably on its immediate execution. he resolved as soon as night approached to begin his labours on the wall; to seek--if the breach were made good, and the darkness favoured him--the tent of alaric; and once arrived there, to acquaint the gothic king with the weakness of the materials for defence within the city, and dilapidated condition of the fortifications below the pincian mount, insisting, as the condition of his treachery, on an assurance from the barbarian leader (which he doubted not would be gladly and instantly accorded) of the destruction of the christian churches, the pillage of the christian possessions, and the massacre of the christian priests. he retired cautiously from the lonely place that had now become the centre of his new hopes; and entering the streets of the city, proceeded to provide himself with an instrument that would facilitate his approaching labours, and food that would give him strength to prosecute his intended efforts, unthreatened by the hindrance of fatigue. as he thought on the daring treachery of his project, his morning's exultation began to return to him again. all his previous attempts to organise the restoration of paganism sunk into sudden insignificance before his present design. his defence of the temple of serapis, his conspiracy at alexandria, his intrigue with vetranio, were the efforts of a man; but this projected destruction of the priests, the churches, and the treasures of a whole city, through the agency of a mighty army, moved by the unaided machinations of a single individual, would be the dazzling achievement of a god! the hours loitered slowly onward. the sun waned in the gorgeous heaven, and set, surrounded by red and murky clouds. then came silence and darkness. the gothic watch-fires flamed one by one into the dusky air. the guards were doubled at the different posts. the populace were driven from the ramparts, and the fortifications of the great city echoed to no sound now but the tramp of the restless sentinel, or the clash of arms from the distant guard-houses that dotted the long line of the lofty walls. it was then that ulpius, passing cautiously along the least-frequented streets, gained unnoticed the place of his destination. a thick vapour lay over the lonely and marshy spot. nothing was now visible from it but the dim, uncertain outline of the palaces above, and the mass, so sunk in obscurity that it looked like a dark layer of mist itself, of the rifted fortifications. a smile of exultation passed over the pagan's countenance, as he perceived the shrouding and welcome thickness of the atmosphere. groping his way softly through the thickets, he arrived at the base of the wall. for some time he passed slowly along it, feeling the width of the different rents wherever he could stretch his hand. at length he paused at one more extensive than the rest, drew from its concealment in his garments a thick bar of iron sharpened at one end, and began to labour at the breach. chance had led him to the place best adapted to his purpose. the ground he stood on was only encumbered close to the wall by rank weeds and low thickets, and was principally composed of damp, soft turf. the bricks, therefore, as he carefully detached them, made no greater noise in falling than the slight rustling caused by their sudden contact with the boughs through which they descended. insignificant as this sound was, it aroused the apprehension of the wary pagan. he laid down his iron bar, and removed the thickets by dragging them up, or breaking them at the roots, until he had cleared a space of some feet in extent before the base of the wall. he then returned to his toilsome task, and with hands bleeding from the wounds inflicted by the thorns he had grasped in removing the thickets continued his labour at the brick-work. he pursued his employment with perfect impunity; the darkness covered him from observation; no one disturbed him by approaching the solitary scene of his operations; and of the two sentinels who were placed near the part of the wall which was the centre of all his exertions, one remained motionless at the most distant extremity of his post, and the other paced restlessly backwards and forwards on the rampart, singing a wild, rambling song about war, and women, and wine, which, whatever liberty it might allow to his organs of perception, effectually hindered the vigilant exercise of his faculties of hearing. brick after brick yielded to the vigorous and well-timed efforts of ulpius. he had already made a cavity, in an oblique direction, large enough to creep through, and was preparing to penetrate still further, when a portion of the rotten material of the interior of the wall suddenly yielded in a mass to a chance pressure of his iron bar, and slowly sunk down inwards into a bed which, judging by such faint sounds as were audible at the moment, must have been partly water, and partly marshy earth and rotten brick-work. after having first listened, to be sure that the slight noise caused by this event had not reached the ears or excited the suspicions of the careless sentinels, ulpius crept into the cavity he had made, groping his way with his bar, until he reached the brink of a chasm, the depth of which he could not probe, and the breadth of which he could not ascertain. he lingered irresolute; the darkness around him was impenetrable; he could feel toads and noisome animals crawling over his limbs. the damp atmosphere of the place began to thrill through him to his very bones; his whole frame trembled under the excess of his past exertions. without light, he could neither attempt to proceed, nor hope to discover the size and extent of the chasm which he had partially laid open. the mist was fast vanishing as the night advanced: it was necessary to arrive at a resolution ere it would be too late. he crept out of the cavity. just as he had gained the open air, the sentinel halted over the very spot where the pagan stood, and paused suddenly in his song. there was an instant's interval of silence, during which the inmost soul of ulpius quailed beneath an apprehension as vivid, as that which had throbbed in the heart of the despised lizard, whose flight had guided him to his discovery at the wall. soon, however, he heard the voice of the soldier calling cheerfully to his fellow sentinel, 'comrade, do you see the moon? she is rising to cheer our watch!' nothing had been discovered!--he was still safe! but if he stayed at the cavity till the mists faded before the moonlight, could he be certain of preserving his security? he felt that he could not! what mattered a night more or a night less, to such a project as his? months might elapse before the goths retired from the walls. it was better to suffer delay than to risk discovery. he determined to leave the place, and to return on the following night provided with a lantern, the light of which he would conceal until he entered the cavity. once there, it could not be perceived by the sentinels above--it would guide him through all obstacles, preserve him through all dangers. massive as it was, he felt convinced that the interior of the wall was in as ruinous a condition as the outside. caution and perseverance were sufficient of themselves to insure to his efforts the speediest and completest success. he waited until the sentinel had again betaken himself to the furthest limits of his watch, and then softly gathering up the brushwood that lay round him, he concealed with it the mouth of the cavity in the outer wall, and the fragments of brick-work that had fallen on the turf beneath. this done, he again listened, to assure himself that he had been unobserved; then, stepping with the utmost caution, he departed by the path that led round the slope of the pincian hill. 'strength--patience--and to-morrow night!' muttered the pagan to himself, as he entered the streets, and congregated once more with the citizens of rome. chapter . goisvintha's return. it was morning. the sun had risen, but his beams were partially obscured by thick heavy clouds, which scowled already over the struggling brightness of the eastern horizon. the bustle and animation of the new day gradually overspread the gothic encampment in all directions. the only tent whose curtain remained still closed, and round which no busy crowds congregated in discussion or mingled in labour, was that of hermanric. by the dying embers of his watchfire stood the young chieftain, with two warriors, to whom he appeared to be giving some hurried directions. his countenance expressed emotions of anxiety and discontent, which, though partially repressed while he was in the presence of his companions, became thoroughly visible, not only in his features, but in his manner, when they left him to watch alone before his tent. for some time he walked regularly backwards and forwards, looking anxiously down the westward lines of the encampment, and occasionally whispering to himself a hasty exclamation of doubt and impatience. with the first breath of the new morning, the delighting meditations which had occupied him by his watchfire during the darkness of the night had begun to subside. and now, as the hour of her expected return gradually approached, the image of goisvintha banished from his mind whatever remained of those peaceful and happy contemplation in which he had hitherto been absorbed. the more he thought on his fatal promise--on the nation of antonina--on his duties to the army and the people to whom he belonged, the more doubtful appeared to him his chance of permanently protecting the young roman without risking his degradation as a goth, and his ruin as a warrior; and the more sternly and ominously ran in his ears the unassailable truth of goisvintha's parting taunt--'you must remember your promise, you cannot save her if you would!' wearied of persisting in deliberations which only deepened his melancholy and increased his doubts; bent on sinking in a temporary and delusive oblivion the boding reflections that overcame him in spite of himself, by seeking--while its enjoyment was yet left to him--the society of his ill-fated charge, he turned towards his tent, drew aside the thick, heavy curtains of skins which closed its opening, and approached the rude couch on which antonina was still sleeping. a ray of sunlight, fitful and struggling, burst at this moment through the heavy clouds, and stole into the opening of the tent as he contemplated the slumbering girl. it ran its flowing course up her uncovered hand and arm, flew over her bosom and neck, and bathed in a bright fresh glow, her still and reposing features. gradually her limbs began to move, her lips parted gently and half smiled, as if in welcome to the greeting of the light; her eyes slightly opened, then dazzled by the brightness that flowed through their raised lids, tremblingly closed again. at length thoroughly awakened, she shaded her face with her hands, and sitting up on the couch, met the gaze of hermanric fixed on her in sorrowful examination. 'your bright armour, and your glorious name, and your merciful words, have remained with me even in my sleep,' said she, wonderingly; 'and now, when i awake, i see you before me again! it is a happiness to be aroused by the sun which has gladdened me all my life, to look upon you who have given me shelter in my distress! but why,' she continued, in altered and enquiring tones, 'why do you gaze upon me with doubting and mournful eyes?' 'you have slept well and safely,' said hermanric, evasively, 'i closed the opening of the tent to preserve you from the night-damps, but i have raised it now, for the air is warming under the rising sun--' 'are you wearied with watching?' she interrupted, rising to her feet, and looking anxiously into his face. but he spoke not in reply. his head was turned towards the door of the tent. he seemed to be listening for some expected sound. it was evident that he had not heard her question. she followed the direction of his eyes. the sight of the great city, half brightened, half darkened, as its myriad buildings reflected the light of the sun, or retained the shadows of the clouds, brought back to her remembrance her last night's petition for her father's safety. she laid her hand upon her companion's arm to awaken his attention, and hastily resumed:-- 'you have not forgotten what i said to you last night? my father's name is numerian. he lives on the pincian mount. you will save him, hermanric--you will save him! you will remember your promise!' the young warrior's eyes fell as she spoke, and an irrepressible shudder shook his whole frame. the last part of antonina's address to him, was expressed in the same terms as a past appeal from other lips, and in other accents, which still clung to his memory. the same demand, 'remember your promise,' which had been advanced to urge him to bloodshed, by goisvintha, was now proffered by antonina, to lure him to pity. the petition of affection was concluded in the same terms as the petition of revenge. as he thought on both, the human pity of the one, and the fiend-like cruelty of the other, rose in sinister and significant contrast on the mind of the goth, realising in all its perils the struggle that was to come when goisvintha returned, and dispelling instantaneously the last hopes that he had yet ventured to cherish for the fugitive at his side. 'no assault of the city is commanded--no assault is intended. your father's life is safe from the swords of the goths,' he gloomily replied, in answer to antonina's last words. the girl moved back from him a few steps as he spoke, and looked thoughtfully round the tent. the battle-axe that hermanric had secured during the scene of the past evening, still lay on the ground, in a corner. the sight of it brought back a flood of terrible recollections to her mind. she started violently; a sudden change overspread her features, and when she again addressed hermanric, it was with quivering lips and in almost inarticulate words. 'i know now why you look on me so gloomily,' said she; 'that woman is coming back! i was so occupied by my dreams and my thoughts of my father and of you, and my hopes for days to come, that i had forgotten her when i awoke! but i remember all now! she is coming back--i see it in your sorrowful eyes--she is coming back to murder me! i shall die at the moment when i had such hope in my life! there is no happiness for me! none!--none!' the goth's countenance began to darken. he whispered to himself several times, 'how can i save her?' for a few minutes there was a deep silence, broken only by the sobs of antonina. he looked round at her after an interval. she held her hands clasped over her eyes. the tears were streaming through her parted fingers; her bosom heaved as if her emotions would burst their way through it in some palpable form; and her limbs trembled so, that she could scarcely support herself. unconsciously, as he looked on her, he passed his arm round her slender form, drew her hands gently from her face, and said to her, though his heart belied his words as he spoke, 'do not be afraid--trust in me!' 'how can i be calm?' she cried, looking up at him entreatingly; 'i was so happy last night, so sure that you could preserve me, so hopeful about to-morrow--and now i see by your mournful looks, i know by your doubting voice, that to soothe my anguish you have promised me more than you can perform! the woman who is your companion, has a power over us both, that it is terrible even to think of! she will return, she will withdraw all mercy from your heart, she will glare upon me with her fearful eyes, she will kill me at your feet! i shall die after all i have suffered and all i have hoped! oh, hermanric, while there is yet time let us escape! you were not made to shed blood--you are too merciful! god never made you to destroy! you cannot yearn towards cruelty and woe, for you have aided and protected me! let us escape! i will follow you wherever you wish! i will do whatever you ask! i will go with you beyond those far, bright mountains behind us, to any strange and distant land; for there is beauty everywhere; there are woods that may be dwelt in, and valleys that may be loved, on all the surface of this wide great earth!' the goth looked sadly on her as she paused; but he gave her no answer--the gloom was deepening over his heart--the false words of consolation were silenced on his lips. 'think how many pleasures we should enjoy, how much we might see!' continued the girl, in soft, appealing tones. 'we should be free to wander wherever we pleased; we should never be lonely; never be mournful; never be wearied! i could listen to you day after day, while you told me of the country where your people were born! i could sing you sweet songs that i have learned upon the lute! oh, how i have wept in my loneliness to lead such a life as this! how i have longed that such freedom and joy might be mine! how i have thought of the distant lands that i would visit, of the happy nations that i would discover, of the mountain breezes that i would breathe, of the shady places that i would repose in, of the rivers that i would follow in their course, of the flowers i would plant, and the fruits i would gather! how i have hoped for such an existence as this! how i have longed for a companion who might enjoy it as i should! have you never felt this joy that i have imagined to myself, you who have been free to wander wherever you pleased? let us leave this place, and i will teach it to you if you have not. i will be so patient, so obedient, so happy! i will never be sorrowful; never repining--but let us escape--oh, hermanric, let us escape while there is yet time! will you keep me here to be slain? can you drive me forth into the world alone? remember that the gates of the city and the doors of my home are now closed to me! remember that i have no mother, and that my father has forsaken me! remember that i am a stranger on the earth which was made for me to be joyful in! think how soon the woman who has vowed that she will murder me will return; think how terrible it is to be in the fear of death; and while there is time let us depart--hermanric, hermanric, if you have pity for me, let us depart!' she clasped her hands, and looked up in his face imploringly. the manner of hermanric had expressed more to her senses, sharpened as they were by peril, than his words could have conveyed, even had he confessed to her the cause of the emotions of doubt and apprehension that oppressed his mind. nothing could more strikingly testify to the innocence of her character and the seclusion of her life, than her attempt to combine with her escape from goisvintha's fury, the acquisition of such a companion as the goth. but to the forlorn and affectionate girl who saw herself--a stranger to the laws of the social existence of her fellow creatures--suddenly thrust forth friendless into the unfriendly world, could the heart have naturally prompted any other desire, than anxiety to secure the companion after having discovered the protector? in the guilelessness of her character, in her absolute ignorance of humanity, of the influence of custom, of the adaptation of difference of feeling to difference of sex, she vainly imagined that the tranquil existence she had urged on hermanric, would suffice for the attainment of her end, by presenting the same allurements to him, a warrior and a goth, that it contained for her--a lonely, thoughtful, visionary girl! and yet, so wonderful was the ascendancy that she had acquired by the magic of her presence, the freshness of her beauty, and the novelty of her manner, over the heart of the young chieftain, that he, who would have spurned from him with contempt any other woman who might have addressed to him such a petition as antonina's, looked down sorrowfully at the girl as she ceased speaking, and for an instant hesitated in his choice. at that moment, when the attention of each was fixed on the other, a third person stealthily approached the opening of the tent, and beholding them together thus, burst into a bitter, taunting laugh. hermanric raised his eyes instantly; but the sound of that harsh unwomanly voice was all-eloquent to antonina's senses. she hid her face against the goth's breast, and murmured breathlessly--'she has returned! i must die! i must die!' she had returned! she perceived hermanric and antonina in a position, which left no doubt that a stronger feeling than the mere wish to protect the victim of her intended revenge, had arisen, during her absence, in the heart of her kinsman. hour after hour, while she had fulfilled her duties by the beds of alaric's invalided soldiery, had she brooded over her projects of vengeance and blood. neither the sickness nor the death which she had beheld around her, had possessed an influence powerful enough over the stubborn ferocity which now alone animated her nature, to lure it to mercy or awe it to repentance. invigorated by delay, and enlarged by disappointment, the evil passion that consumed her had strengthened its power, and aroused the most latent of its energies, during the silent vigil that she had just held. she had detested the girl on the evening before, for her nation; she now hated her for herself. 'what have you to do with the trappings of a gothic warrior?' she cried, in mocking accents, pointing at hermanric with a long hunting-knife which she held in her hand. 'why are you here in a gothic encampment? go, knock at the gates of rome, implore her guards on your knees to admit you among the citizens, and when they ask you why--show them the girl there! tell them that you love her, that you would wed her, that it is nothing to you that her people have murdered your brother and his children! and then, when you yourself have begotten sons, gothic bastards infected with roman blood, be a roman at heart yourself, send your children forth to complete what your wife's people left undone at aquileia--by murdering me!' she paused and laughed scornfully. then her humour suddenly changed, she advanced a few steps, and continued in a louder and sterner tone:-- 'you have broken your faith; you have lied to me; you have forgotten your wrongs and mine; but you have not yet forgotten my parting words when i left you last night! i told you that she should be slain, and now that you have refused to avenge me, i will make good my words by killing her with my own hand! if you would defend her, you must murder me. you must shed her blood or mine!' she stepped forward, her towering form was stretched to its highest stature, the muscles started into action on her bare arms as she raised them above her head. for one instant, she fixed her glaring eyes steadily on the girl's shrinking form--the next, she rushed up and struck furiously with the knife at her bare neck. as the weapon descended, hermanric caught her wrist. she struggled violently to disengage herself from his grasp, but in vain. the countenance of the young warrior grew deadly pale, as he held her. for a few minutes he glanced eagerly round the tent, in an agony of bewilderment and despair. the conflicting interests of his duty towards his sister, and his anxiety for antonina's preservation, filled his heart to distraction. a moment more he hesitated, and during that short delay, the despotism of custom had yet power enough to prevail over the promptings of pity. he called to the girl--withdrawing his arm which had hitherto been her support,--'go, have mercy on me, go!' but she neither heeded nor heard him. she fell on her knees at the woman's feet, and in a low moaning voice faltered out:-- 'what have i done that i deserve to be slain? i never murdered your children; i never yet saw a child but i loved it; if i had seen your children, i should have loved them!' 'if i had preserved to this time the child that i saved from the massacre, and you had approached him,' returned the woman fiercely, 'i would have taught him to strike at you with his little hands! when you spoke to him, he should have spat upon you for answer--even thus!' trembling, exhausted, terrified as she was, the girl's roman blood rushed over her pale cheeks as she felt the insult. she turned towards hermanric, looked up at him appealingly, attempted to speak, and then sinking lower upon the ground, wept bitterly. 'why do you weep and pray and mouth it at him?' shrieked goisvintha, pointing to hermanric with her disengaged hand. 'he has neither courage to protect you, nor honour to aid me. do you think that i am to be moved by your tears and entreaties? i tell you that your people have slain my husband and my children, and that i hate you for that. i tell you that you have lured hermanric into love for a roman and unfaithfulness to me, and i will slay you for doing it! i tell you that there is not a living thing of the blood of your country, or the name of your nation, throughout the length and breadth of this empire, that i would not destroy if i had the power! if the very trees on the road hither could have had feeling, i would have torn the bark from their stems with my own hands! if a bird, native of your skies, had flown into my bosom from very tameness and sport, i would have crushed it dead at my feet! and do you think that you shall escape? do you think that i will not avenge the deaths of my husband and my children upon you, after this?' as she spoke, she mechanically unclenched her hands. the knife dropped to the ground. hermanric instantly stooped and secured it. for a moment she stood before him released from his grasp, motionless and speechless. then, starting as if struck by a sudden idea, she moved towards the opening of the tent, and, in tones of malignant triumph, addressed him thus:-- 'you shall not save her yet! you are unworthy of your nation and your name! i will betray your cowardice and treachery to your brethren in the camp!' and she ran to the outside of the tent, calling in a loud voice to a group of young warriors who happened to be passing at a short distance. 'stay, stay! fritigern--athanaric--colias--suerid--witheric--fravitta! hasten hitherward! hermanric has a captive in his tent--a prisoner whom it will rejoice to see! hitherward! hitherward!' the group she addressed contained some of the most turbulent and careless spirits of the whole gothic army. they had just been released from their duties of the past night, and were at leisure to comply with goisvintha's request. she had scarcely concluded her address before they turned and hurried eagerly up to the tent, shouting to hermanric, as they advanced, to make his prisoner visible to them in the open air. they had probably expected to be regaled by the ludicrous terror of some roman slave whom their comrade had discovered lurking in the empty suburbs; for when they entered the tent, and saw nothing but the shrinking figure of the unhappy girl, as she crouched on the earth at hermanric's feet, they all paused with one accord, and looked round on each other in speechless astonishment. 'behold her!' cried goisvintha, breaking the momentary silence. 'she is the roman prisoner that your man of valour there has secured for himself! for that trembling child he has forgotten the enmities of his people! she is more to him already than army, general, or companions. you have watched before the city during the night; but he has stood sentinel by the maiden of rome! hope not that he will share in your toils, or mix in your pleasures more. alaric and the warriors have lost his services--his future king cringes there at his feet!' she had expected to arouse the anger and excite the jealousy of the rough audience she addressed; but the result of her envenomed jeers disappointed her hopes. the humour of the moment prompted the goths to ridicule, a course infinitely more inimical to antonina's interests with hermanric than menaces or recrimination. recovered from their first astonishment, they burst into a loud and universal laugh. 'mars and venus caught together! but, by st. peter, i see not vulcan and the net!' cried fravitta, who having served in the armies of rome, and acquired a vague knowledge there of the ancient mythology, and the modern politics of the empire, was considered by his companions as the wit of the battalion to which he was attached. 'i like her figure,' growled fritigern, a heavy, phlegmatic giant, renowned for his imperturbable good humour and his prowess in drinking. 'what little there is of it looks so limp that hermanric might pack her into his light baggage and carry her about with him on his shoulders wherever he goes!' 'by which process you would say, old sucker of wine-skins, that he will attain the double advantage of always keeping her to himself, and always keeping her warm,' interrupted colias, a ruddy, reckless boy of sixteen, privileged to be impertinent in consideration of his years. 'is she orthodox or arian?' gravely demanded athanaric, who piqued himself on his theological accomplishments and his extraordinary piety. 'what hair she has!' exclaimed suerid, sarcastically. 'it is as black as the horse-hides of a squadron of huns!' 'show us her face! whose tent will she visit next?' cried witheric, with an insolent laugh. 'mine!' replied fritigern, complacently. 'what says the chorus of the song? 'money and wine make beauty mine! i have more of both than any of you. she will come to my tent!' during the delivery of these clumsy jests, which followed one upon another with instantaneous rapidity, the scorn at first expressed in hermanric's countenance became gradually replaced by a look of irrepressible anger. as fritigern spoke, he lost all command over himself, and seizing his sword, advanced threateningly towards the easy-tempered giant, who made no attempt to recede or defend himself, but called out soothingly, 'patience, man! patience! would you kill an old comrade for jesting? i envy you your good luck as a friend, not as an enemy!' yielding to the necessity of lowering his sword before a defenceless man, hermanric was about to reply angrily to fritigern, when his voice was drowned in the blast of a trumpet, sounding close by the tent. the signal that it gave was understood at once by the group of jesters still surrounding the young goth. they turned, and retired without an instant's delay. the last of their number had scarcely disappeared, when the same veteran who had spoken with hermanric, on the departure of goisvintha the evening before, entered and thus addressed him:-- 'you are commanded to post yourself with the division that now awaits you, at a place eastward of your present position, which will be shown you by a guide. make ready at once--you have not an instant to delay.' as the words passed the old man's lips, hermanric turned and looked on goisvintha. during the presence of the goths in the tent, she had sat listening to their rough jeers in suppressed wrath and speechless disdain; now she rose and advanced a few steps. but there suddenly appeared an unwonted hesitation in her gait; her face was pale; she breathed fast and heavily. 'where will you shelter her now?' she cried, addressing hermanric, and threatening the girl with her outstretched hands. 'abandon her to your companions, or leave her to me; she is lost either way! i shall triumph--triumph!'-- at this moment her voice sank to an unintelligible murmur; she tottered where she stood. it was evident that the long strife of passions during her past night of watching, and the fierce and varying emotions of the morning, suddenly brought to a crisis, as they had been, by her exultation when she heard the old warrior's fatal message, had at length overtasked the energies even of her powerful frame. yet one moment more she endeavoured to advance, to speak, to snatch the hunting knife from hermanric's hand; the next she fell insensible at his feet. goaded almost to madness by the successive trials that he had undergone; goisvintha's furious determination to thwart him, still present to his mind; the scornful words of his companions yet ringing in his ears; his inexorable duties demanding his attention without reserve or delay; hermanric succumbed at last under the difficulties of his position, and despairingly abandoned all further hope of effecting the girl's preservation. pointing to some food that lay in a corner of the tent, and to the country behind, he said to her, in broken and gloomy accents, 'furnish yourself with those provisions, and fly, while goisvintha is yet unable to pursue you. i can protect you no longer!' until this moment, antonina had kept her face hidden, and had remained still crouching on the ground; motionless, save when a shudder ran through her frame as she listened to the loud, coarse jesting of the goths; and speechless, except that when goisvintha sank senseless to the earth, she uttered an exclamation of terror. but now, when she heard the sentence of her banishment proclaimed by the very lips which but the evening before had assured her of shelter and protection, she rose up instantly, cast on the young goth a glance of such speechless misery and despair, that he involuntarily quailed before it; and then, without a tear or a sigh, without a look of reproach, or a word of entreaty, petrified and bowed down beneath a perfect trance of terror and grief, she left the tent. hurrying his actions with the reckless energy of a man determined on banishing his thoughts by his employments, hermanric placed himself at the head of his troop, and marched quickly onwards in an eastward direction past the pincian gate. two of his attendants who happened to enter the tent after his departure, observing goisvintha still extended on the earth, proceeded to transport her to part of the camp occupied by the women who were attached to the army; and then, the little sheltering canopy which made the abode of the goth, and which had witnessed so large a share of human misery and so fierce a war of human contention in so few hours, was left as silent and lonely as the deserted country in which antonina was now fated to seek a refuge and a home. chapter . the passage of the wall. 'a fair night this, balbus! all moonlight and no mist! i was posted last evening at the ostian gate, and was half choked by the fog.' 'if you were posted last night at the ostian gate, you were better placed than you are now. the ramparts here are as lonely as a ruin in the provinces. nothing behind us but the back of the pincian mount; nothing before us but the empty suburbs; nothing at each side of us but brick and stone; nothing at our posts but ourselves. may i be crucified like st. peter, if i believe that there is another place on the whole round of the walls possessed of such solitary dulness as this!' 'you are a man to find something to complain of, if you were lodged in one of the palaces yonder. the place is solitary enough, it is true; but whether it is dull or not depends on ourselves, its most honourable occupants. i, for one, am determined to promote its joviality by the very praiseworthy exertion of obliging you, my discontented friend, with an inexhaustible series of those stories for which, i may say, without arrogance, i am celebrated throughout the length and breadth of all the barracks of rome.' 'you may tell as many stories as you please, but do not imagine that i will make one of your audience.' 'you are welcome to attend to me or not, as you choose. though you do not listen, i shall still relate my stories by way of practice. i will address them to the walls, or to the air, or to the defunct gods and goddesses of antiquity, should they happen at this moment to be hovering over the city in a rage, as some of the unconverted would have us believe; or to our neighbours the goths, if they are seized with a sudden desire to quite their encampments, and obtain a near view of the fortifications that they are so discreetly unwilling to assault. or, these materials for a fit and decent auditory failing me, i will tell my stories to the most attentive of all listeners--myself.' and the sentinel, without further delay, opened his budget of anecdotes, with the easy fluency of of a man who possessed a well-placed confidence in the perfection of his capacities for narration. determined that his saturnine colleague should hear him, though he would not give him his attention, he talked in a raised voice, pacing briskly backwards and forwards over the space of his allotted limits, and laughing with ludicrous regularity and complacency at every jest that he happened to make in the course of his ill-rewarded narrative. he little thought, as he continued to proceed in his tale that its commencement had been welcomed by an unseen hearer, with emotions widely different from those which had dictated the observations of the unfriendly companion of his watch. true to his determination, ulpius, with part of the wages which he had hoarded in numerian's service, had procured a small lantern from a shop in one of the distant quarters of rome; and veiling its light in a piece of coarse, thick cloth, had proceeded by the solitary pathway to his second night's labour at the wall. he arrived at the breach, at the commencement of the dialogue above related, and heard with delight the sentinel's noisy resolution to amuse his companion in spite of himself. the louder and the longer the man talked, the less probable was the chance that the pagan's labours in the interior of the wall would be suspected or overheard. softly clearing away the brushwood at the entrance of the hole that he had made the night before, ulpius crept in as far as he had penetrated on that occasion; and then, with mingled emotions of expectation and apprehension which affected him so powerfully, that he was for the moment hardly master of his actions, he slowly and cautiously uncovered his light. his first glance was intuitively directed to the cavity that opened beneath him. he saw immediately that it was less important, both in size and depth, than he had imagined it to be. the earth at this particular place had given way beneath the foundations of the wall, which had sunk down, deepening the chasm by their weight, into the yielding ground beneath them. a small spring of water (probably the first cause of the sinking in the earth) had bubbled up into the space in the brick-work, which bit by bit, and year by year, it had gradually undermined. nor did it remain stagnant at this place. it trickled merrily and quietly onward--a tiny rivulet, emancipated from one prison in the ground only to enter another in the wall, bounded by no grassy banks, brightened by no cheerful light, admired by no human eye, followed in its small course through the inner fissures in the brick by no living thing but a bloated toad, or a solitary lizard: yet wending as happily on its way through darkness and ruin, as its sisters who were basking in the sunlight of the meadows, or leaping in the fresh breezes of the open mountain side. raising his eyes from the little spring, ulpius next directed his attention to the prospect above him. immediately over his head, the material of the interior of the wall presented a smooth, flat, hard surface, which seemed capable of resisting the most vigorous attempts at its destruction; but on looking round, he perceived at one side of him and further inwards, an appearance of dark, dimly-defined irregularity, which promised encouragingly for his intended efforts. he descended into the chasm of the rivulet, crawled up on a heap of crumbling brick-work, and gained a hole above it, which he immediately began to widen, to admit of his passage through. inch by inch, he enlarged the rift, crept into it, and found himself on a fragment of the bow of one of the foundation arches, which, though partly destroyed, still supported itself, isolated from all connection with the part of the upper wall which it had once sustained, and which had gradually crumbled away into the cavities below. he looked up. an immense rift soared above him, stretching its tortuous ramifications, at different points, into every part of the wall that was immediately visible. the whole structure seemed, at this place, to have received a sudden and tremendous wrench. but for the support of the sounder fortifications at each side of it, it could not have sustained itself after the shock. the pagan gazed aloft, into the fearful breaches which yawned above him, with ungovernable awe. his small, fitful light was not sufficient to show him any of their terminations. they looked, as he beheld them in dark relief against the rest of the hollow part of the wall, like mighty serpents twining their desolating path right upward to the ramparts above; and he, himself, as he crouched on his pinnacle with his little light by his side, was reduced by the wild grandeur, the vast, solemn gloom of the obscure, dusky, and fantastic objects around him, to the stature of a pigmy. could he have been seen from the ramparts high overhead, as he now peered down behind his lantern into the cavities and irregularities below him, he would have looked, with his flickering light, like a mole led by a glow-worm. he paused to consider his next movements. in a stationary position, the damp coldness of the atmosphere was almost insupportable, but he attained a great advantage by his present stillness: he could listen undisturbed by the noises made by the bricks which crumbled from under him, if he advanced. ere long, he heard a thin, winding, long-drawn sound, now louder, now softer; now approaching, now retreating; now verging towards shrillness, now quickly returning to a faint, gentle swell. suddenly this strange unearthly music was interrupted by a succession of long, deep, rolling sounds, which travelled grandly about the fissures above, like prisoned thunderbolts striving to escape. utterly ignorant that the first of these noises was occasioned by the night wind winding through the rents in the brick of the outer wall beyond him; and the second, by the echoes produced in the irregular cavities above, by the footfall of the sentries overhead--roused by the influence of the place, and the mystery of his employment, to a pitch of fanatic exaltation, which for the moment absolutely unsteadied his reason--filled with the frantic enthusiasm of his designs, and the fearful legends of invisible beings and worlds which made the foundation of his worship, ulpius conceived, as he listened to the sounds around and above, that the gods of antiquity were now in viewless congregation hovering about him, and calling to him in unearthly voices and in an unknown tongue, to proceed upon his daring enterprise, in the full assurance of its near and glorious success. 'roar and mutter, and make your hurricane music in my ears!' exclaimed the pagan, raising his withered hands, and addressing in a savage ecstacy his imagined deities. 'your servant ulpius stops not on the journey that leads him to your repeopled shrines! blood, crime, danger, pain--pride and honour, joy and rest, have i strewn like sacrifices at your altars' feet! time has whirled past me; youth and manhood have lain long since buried in the hidden lethe which is the portion of life; age has wreathed his coils over my body's strength, but still i watch by your temples and serve your mighty cause! your vengeance is near! monarchs of the world, your triumph is at hand!' he remained for some time in the same position, looking fixedly up into the trackless darkness above him, drinking in the sounds which--alternately rising and sinking--still floated round him. the trembling gleam of his lantern fell red and wild upon his livid countenance. his shaggy hair floated in the cold breezes that blew by him. at this moment he would have appeared from a distance, like a phantom of fire perishing in a mist of darkness; like a gnome in adoration in the bowels of the earth; like a forsaken spirit in a solitary purgatory, watching for the advent of a glimpse of beauty, or a breath of air. at length he aroused himself from his trance, trimmed with careful hand his guiding lantern, and set forward to penetrate the breadth of the great rift he had just entered. he moved on in an oblique direction several feet, now creeping over the tops of the foundation arches, now skirting the extremities of protrusions in the ruined brick-work, now descending into dark slimy rubbish-choked chasms, until the rift suddenly diminished in all directions. the atmosphere was warmer in the place he now occupied; he could faintly distinguish patches of dark moss, dotted here and there over the uneven surface of the wall; and once or twice, some blades of long flat grass, that grew from a prominence immediately above his head, were waved in his face by the wind, which he could now feel blowing through the narrow fissure that he was preparing to enlarge. it was evident that he had by this time advanced to within a few feet of the outer extremity of the wall. 'numerian wanders after his child through the streets,' muttered the pagan, as he deposited his lantern by his side, bared his trembling arms, and raised his iron bar, 'the slaves of his neighbour the senator are forth to pursue me. on all sides my enemies are out after me; but, posted here, i mock their strictest search! if they would track me to my hiding-place, they must penetrate the walls of rome! if they would hunt me down in my lair, they must assail me to-night in the camp of the goths! fools! let them look to themselves! i seal the doom of their city, with the last brick that i tear from their defenceless walls!' he laughed to himself as he thrust his bar boldly into the crevice before him. in some places the bricks yielded easily to his efforts; in others, their resistance was only to be overcome by the exertion of his utmost strength. resolutely and unceasingly he continued his labours; now wounding his hands against the jagged surfaces presented by the widening fissure; now involuntarily dropping his instrument from ungovernable exhaustion; but, still working bravely on, in defiance of every hindrance that opposed him, until he gained the interior of the new rift. as he drew his lantern after him into the cavity that he had made, he perceived that, unless it was heightened immediately over him, he could proceed no further, even in a creeping position. irritated at this unexpected necessity for more violent exertion, desperate in his determination to get through the wall at all hazards on that very night, he recklessly struck his bar upwards with all his strength, instead of gradually and softly loosening the material of the surface that opposed him, as he had done before. a few moments of this labour had scarcely elapsed, when a considerable portion of the brick-work, consolidated into one firm mass, fell with lightning suddenness from above. it hurled him under it, prostrate on the foundation arch which had been his support; crushed and dislocated his right shoulder; and shivered his lantern into fragments. a groan of irrepressible anguish burst from his lips. he was left in impenetrable darkness. the mass of brick-work, after it had struck him, rolled a little to one side. by a desperate exertion he extricated himself from under it--only to swoon from the fresh anguish caused to him by the effort. for a short time he lay insensible in his cold dark solitude. then, reviving after this first shock, he began to experience in all their severity, the fierce spasms, the dull gnawings, the throbbing torments, that were the miserable consequences of the injury he received. his arm lay motionless by his side--he had neither strength nor resolution to move any one of the other sound limbs in his body. at one moment his deep, sobbing, stifled respirations, syllabled horrible and half-formed curses--at another, his panting breaths suddenly died away within him; and then he could hear the blood dripping slowly from his shoulder, with dismal regularity, into a little pool that it had formed already by his side. the shrill breezes which wound through the crevices in the wall before him, were now felt only on his wounded limb. they touched its surface like innumerable splinters of thin, sharp ice; they penetrated his flesh like rushing sparks struck out of a sea of molten lead. there were moments, during the first pangs of this agony, when if he had been possessed of a weapon and of the strength to use it, he would have sacrificed his ambition for ever by depriving himself of life. but this desire to end his torments with his existence lasted not long. gradually, the anguish in his body awakened a wilder and stronger distemper in his mind, and then the two agonies, physical and mental, rioted over him together in fierce rivalry, divesting him of all thoughts but such as were by their own agency created or aroused. for some time he lay helpless in his misery, alternately venting by stifled groans the unalleviated torment of his wounds, and lamenting with curses the failure of his enterprise, at the very moment of its apparent success. at length, the pangs that struck through him seemed to grow gradually less frequent; he hardly knew now from what part of his frame they more immediately proceeded. insensibly, his faculties of thinking and feeling grew blunted; then he remained a little while in a mysterious unrefreshing repose of body and mind; and then his disordered senses, left unguided and unrestrained, became the victims of a sudden and terrible delusion. the blank darkness around him appeared, after an interval, to be gradually dawning into a dull light, thick and misty, like the reflections on clouds which threaten a thunderstorm at the close of evening. soon, this atmosphere seemed to be crossed and streaked with a fantastic trellis-work of white, seething vapour. then the mass of brick-work which had struck him down, grew visible at his side, enlarged to an enormous bulk, and endued with a power of self-motion, by which it mysteriously swelled and shrank, and raised and depressed itself, without quitting for a moment its position near him. and then, from its dark and toiling surface there rose a long stream of dusky shapes, which twined themselves about the misty trellis-work above, and took the prominent and palpable form of human countenances, marked by every difference of age and distorted by every variety of suffering. there were infantine faces, wreathed about with grave-worms that hung round them like locks of filthy hair; aged faces, dabbled with gore and slashed with wounds; youthful faces, seamed with livid channels, along which ran unceasing tears; lovely faces, distorted into fixed expressions of raging pain, wild malignity, and despairing gloom. not one of these countenances exactly resembled the other. each was distinguished by a revolting character of its own. yet, however deformed might be their other features, the eyes of all were preserved unimpaired. speechless and bodiless, they floated in unceasing myriads up to the fantastic trellis-work, which seemed to swell its wild proportions to receive them. there they clustered, in their goblin amphitheatre, and fixed and silently they all glared down, without one exception, on the pagan's face! meanwhile, the walls at the side began to gleam out with a light of their own, making jagged boundaries to the midway scene of phantom faces. then the rifts in their surfaces widened, and disgorged misshapen figures of priests and idols of the old time, which came forth in every hideous deformity of aspect, mocking at the faces on the trellis-work; while behind and over the whole, soared shapes of gigantic darkness, robed in grim cloudy resemblances of skins such as were worn by the goths, and wielding through the quivering vapour, mighty and shadow-like weapons of war. from the whole of this ghastly assemblage there rose not the slightest sound. a stillness, as of a dead and ruined world, possessed in all its quarters the appalling scene. the deep echoes of the sentries' footsteps and the faint dirging of the melancholy winds were no more. the blood that had as yet dripped from his wound, made no sound now in the pagan's ear; even his own agony of terror was as silent as were the visionary demons who had aroused it. days, years, centuries, seemed to pass, as he lay gazing up, in a trance of horror, into his realm of peopled and ghostly darkness. at last nature yielded under the trial; the phantom prospect suddenly whirled round him with fearful velocity, and his senses sought refuge from the thraldom of their own creation in a deep and welcome swoon. time had moved wearily onward, the chiding winds had many times waved the dry locks of his hair to and fro about his brow, as if to bid him awaken and arise, ere he again recovered his consciousness. once more aroused to the knowledge of his position and the sensation of his wound, he slowly raised himself upon his uninjured arm, and looked wildly around for the faintest appearance of a gleam of light. but the winding and uneven nature of the track which he had formed to lead him through the wall, effectually prevented the moonbeams, then floating into the outermost of the cavities that he had made, from reaching the place where he now lay. not a single object was even faintly distinguishable around him. darkness hemmed him in, in rayless and triumphant obscurity, on every side. the first agonies of the injury he had received had resolved themselves into one dull, heavy, unchanging sensation of pain. the vision that had overwhelmed his senses was now, in a vast and shadowy form, present only to his memory, filling the darkness with fearful recollections, and not with dismal forms; and urging on him a restless, headlong yearning to effect his escape from the lonely and unhallowed sepulchre, the prison of solitude and death, that his own fatal exertions threatened him with, should he linger much longer in the caverns of the wall. 'i must pass from this darkness into light--i must breathe the air of the sky, or i shall perish in the damps of this vault,' he exclaimed in a hoarse, moaning voice, as he raised himself gradually and painfully into a creeping position; and turning round slowly, commenced his meditated retreat. his brain still whirled with the emotions that had so lately overwhelmed his mind; his right hand hung helplessly by his side, dragged after him like a prisoner's chain, and lacerated by the uneven surface of the ground over which it was slowly drawn, as--supporting himself on his left arm, and creeping forward a few inches at a time--he set forth on his toilsome journey. here, he paused bewildered in the darkness; there, he either checked himself by a convulsive effort from falling headlong into the unknown deeps beneath him, or lost the little ground he had gained in labour and agony, by retracing his way at the bidding of some unexpected obstacle. now he gnashed his teeth in anguish, now he cursed in despair, now he was breathless with exhaustion; but still, with an obstinacy that had in it something of the heroic, he never failed in his fierce resolution to effect his escape. slowly and painfully, moving with the pace and the perseverance of the tortoise, hopeless yet determined as a navigator in a strange sea, he writhed onward and onward upon his unguided course, until he reaped at length the reward of his long suffering, by the sudden discovery of a thin ray of moonlight toiling through a crevice in the murky brickwork before him. hardly did the hearts of the magi when the vision of 'the star in the east' first dawned on their eyes, leap within them with a more vivid transport, than that which animated the heart of ulpius at the moment when he beheld the inspiring and guiding light. yet a little more exertion, a little more patience, a little more anguish; and he stood once again, a ghastly and crippled figure, before the outer cavity in the wall. it was near daybreak; the moon shone faintly in the dull, grey heaven; a small, vaporous rain was sinking from the shapeless clouds; the waning night showed bleak and cheerless to the earth, but cast no mournful or reproving influence over the pagan's mind. he looked round on his solitary lurking place, and beheld no human figure in its lonely recesses. he looked up at the ramparts, and saw that the sentinels stood silent and apart, wrapped in their heavy watch-cloaks, and supported on their trusty weapons. it was perfectly apparent that the events of his night of suffering and despair had passed unheeded by the outer world. he glanced back with a shudder upon his wounded and helpless limb; then his eyes fixed themselves upon the wall. after surveying it with an earnest and defiant gaze, he slowly moved the brushwood with his foot, against the small cavity in its outer surface. 'days pass, wounds heal, chances change,' muttered the old man, departing from his haunt with slow and uncertain steps. 'in the mines i have borne lashes without a murmur--i have felt my chains widening, with each succeeding day, the ulcers that their teeth of iron first gnawed in my flesh, and have yet lived to loosen my fetters, and to close my sores! shall this new agony have a power to conquer me greater than the others that are past? i will even yet return in time to overcome the resistance of the wall! my arm is crushed, but my purpose is whole!' chapter . the house in the suburbs. retracing some hours, we turn from the rifted wall to the suburbs and the country which its ramparts overlook; abandoning the footsteps of the maimed and darkly-plotting ulpius, our attention now fixes itself on the fortunes of hermanric, and the fate of antonina. although the evening had as yet scarcely closed, the goth had allotted to the warriors under his command their different stations for the night in the lonely suburbs of the city. this duty performed, he was left to the unbroken solitude of the deserted tenement which now served him as a temporary abode. the house he occupied was the last of the wide and irregular street in which it stood; it looked towards the wall beneath the pincian mount, from which it was separated by a public garden about half a mile in extent. this once well-thronged place of recreation was now totally unoccupied. its dull groves were brightened by no human forms; the chambers of its gay summer houses were dark and desolate; the booths of its fruit and flower-sellers stood vacant on its untrodden lawns. melancholy and forsaken, it stretched forth as a fertile solitude under the very walls of a crowded city. and yet there was a charm inexpressibly solemn and soothing in the prospect of loneliness that it presented, as its flower-beds and trees were now gradually obscured to the eye in the shadows of the advancing night. it gained in its present refinement as much as it had lost of its former gaiety; it had its own simple attraction still, though it failed to sparkle to the eye with its accustomed illuminations, or to please the ear by the music and laughter, which rose from it in times of peace. as he looked forth over the view from the terrace of his new abode, the remembrance of the employments of his past and busy hours deserted the memory of the young goth, leaving his faculties free to welcome the reflections which night began insensibly to awaken and create. employed under such auspices, whither would the thoughts of hermanric naturally stray? from the moonlight that already began to ripple over the topmost trembling leaves of the trees beyond him, to the delicate and shadowy flowers that twined up the pillars of the deserted terrace where he now stood, every object he beheld connected itself, to his vivid and uncultured imagination, with the one being of whom all that was beautiful in nature, seemed to him the eloquent and befitting type. he thought of antonina whom he had once protected; of antonina whom he had afterwards abandoned; of antonina whom he had now lost! strong in the imaginative and weak in the reasoning faculties; gifted with large moral perception and little moral firmness; too easy to be influenced and too difficult to be resolved, hermanric had deserted the girl's interests from an infirmity of disposition, rather than from a determination of will. now, therefore, when the employments of the day had ceased to absorb his attention; now when silence and solitude led his memory back to his morning's abandonment of his helpless charge, that act of fatal impatience and irresolution inspired him with the strongest emotions of sorrow and remorse. if during her sojourn under his care, antonina had insensibly influenced his heart, her image, now that he reflected on his guilty share in their parting scene, filled all his thoughts, at once saddening and shaming him, as he remembered her banishment from the shelter of his tent. every feeling which had animated his reflections on antonina on the previous night, was doubled in intensity as he thought on her now. again he recalled her eloquent words, and remembered the charm of her gentle and innocent manner; again he dwelt on the beauties of her outward form. each warm expression; each varying intonation of voice that had accompanied her petition to him for safety and companionship; every persuasion that she had used to melt him, now revived in his memory and moved in his heart with steady influence and increasing power. all the hurried and imperfect pictures of happiness which she had drawn to allure him, now expanded and brightened, until his mind began to figure to him visions that had been hitherto unknown to faculties occupied by no other images than those of rivalry, turbulence, and strife. scenes called into being by antonina's lightest and hastiest expressions, now rose vague and shadowy before his brooding spirit. lovely places of earth that he had visited and forgotten now returned to his recollection, idealised and refined as he thought of her. she appeared to his mind in every allurement of action, fulfilling all the duties and enjoying all the pleasures that she had proposed to him. he imagined her happy and healthful, journeying gaily by his side in the fresh morning, with rosy cheek and elastic step; he imagined her delighting him by her promised songs, enlivening him by her eloquent words, in the mellow stillness of evening; he imagined her sleeping, soft and warm and still, in his protecting arms--ever happy and ever gentle; girl in years, and woman in capacities; at once lover and companion, teacher and pupil, follower and guide! such she might have been once! what was she now? was she sinking under her loneliness, perishing from exposure and fatigue, repulsed by the cruel, or mocked by the unthinking? to all these perils and miseries had he exposed her; and to what end? to maintain the uncertain favour, to preserve the unwelcome friendship, of a woman abandoned even by the most common and intuitive virtues of her sex; whose frantic craving for revenge, confounded justice with treachery, innocence with guilt, helplessness with tyranny; whose claims of nation and relationship should have been forfeited in his estimation, by the openly-confessed malignity of her designs, at the fatal moment when she had communicated them to him in all their atrocity, before the walls of rome. he groaned in despair, as he thought on this, the most unworthy of the necessities, to which the forsaken girl had been sacrificed. soon, however, his mind reverted from such reflections as these, to his own duties and his own renown; and here his remorse became partially lightened, though his sorrow remained unchanged. wonderful as had been the influence of antonina's presence and antonina's words over the goth, they had not yet acquired power enough to smother in him entirely the warlike instincts of his sex and nation, or to vanquish the strong and hostile promptings of education and custom. she had gifted him with new emotions, and awakened him to new thought; she had aroused all the dormant gentleness of his disposition to war against the rugged indifference, the reckless energy, that teaching and example had hitherto made a second nature to his heart. she had wound her way into his mind, brightening its dark places, enlarging its narrow recesses, beautifying its unpolished treasures. she had created, she had refined, during her short hours of communication with him, but she had not lured his disposition entirely from its old habits and its old attachments; she had not yet stripped off the false glitter from barbarian strife, or the pomp from martial renown; she had not elevated the inferior intellectual, to the height of the superior moral faculties, in his inward composition. submitted almost impartially to the alternate and conflicting dominion of the two masters, love and duty, he at once regretted antonina, and yet clung mechanically to his old obedience to those tyrannic requirements of nation and name, which had occasioned her loss. oppressed by his varying emotions, destitute alike of consolation and advice, the very inaction of his present position sensibly depressed him. he rose impatiently, and buckling on his weapons, sought to escape from his thoughts, by abandoning the scene under the influence of which they had been first aroused. turning his back upon the city, he directed his steps at random, through the complicated labyrinth of streets, composing the extent of the deserted suburbs. after he had passed through the dwellings comprised in the occupation of the gothic lines, and had gained those situated nearer to the desolate country beyond, the scene around him became impressive enough to have absorbed the attention of any man not wholly occupied by other and more important objects of contemplation. the loneliness he now beheld on all sides, was not the loneliness of ruin--the buildings near him were in perfect repair; it was not the loneliness of pestilence--there were no corpses strewn over the untrodden pavements of the streets; it was not the loneliness of seclusion--there were no barred windows, and few closed doors; it was a solitude of human annihilation. the open halls were unapproached; the benches before the wine-shops were unoccupied; remains of gaudy household wares still stood on the counters of the street booths, watched by none, bought by none; particles of bread and meat (treasures, fated to become soon of greater value than silver and gold, to beleaguered rome) rotted here in the open air, like garbage upon dunghills; children's toys, women's ornaments, purses, money, love-tokens, precious manuscripts, lay scattered hither and thither in the public ways, dropped and abandoned by their different owners, in the hurry of their sudden and universal flight. every deserted street was eloquent of darling projects desperately resigned, of valued labours miserably deserted, of delighting enjoyments irretrievably lost. the place was forsaken even by those household gods of rich and poor, its domestic animals. they had either followed their owners into the city, or strayed, unhindered and unwatched, into the country beyond. mansion, bath, and circus, displayed their gaudy pomp and luxurious comfort in vain; not even a wandering goth was to be seen near their empty halls. for, with such a prospect before them as the subjugation of rome, the army had caught the infection of its leader's enthusiasm for his exalted task, and willingly obeyed his commands for suspending the pillage of the suburbs, disdaining the comparatively worthless treasures around them, attainable at any time, when they felt that the rich coffers of rome herself were now fast opening to their eager hands. voiceless and noiseless, unpeopled and unravaged, lay the far-famed suburbs of the greatest city of the universe, sunk alike in the night of nature, the night of fortune, and the night of glory! saddening and impressive as was the prospect thus presented to the eyes of the young goth, it failed to weaken the powerful influence that his evening's meditations yet held over his mind. as, during the hours that were passed, the image of the forsaken girl had dissipated the remembrance of the duties he had performed, and opposed the contemplation of the commands he was yet to fulfil, so it now denied to his faculties any impressions from the lonely scene, beheld, yet unnoticed, which spread around him. still, as he passed through the gloomy streets, his vain regrets and self-accusations, his natural predilections and acquired attachments, ruled over him and contended within him, as sternly and as unceasingly as in the first moments when they had arisen with the evening, during his sojourn in the terrace of the deserted house. he had now arrived at the extremest boundary of the buildings in the suburbs. before him lay an uninterrupted prospect of smooth, shining fields, and soft, hazy, indefinable woods. at one side of him were some vineyards and cottage gardens; at the other was a solitary house, the outermost of all the abodes in his immediate vicinity. dark and cheerless as it was, he regarded it for some time with the mechanical attention of a man more occupied in thought than observation,--gradually advancing towards it in the moody abstraction of his reflections, until he unconsciously paused before the low range of irregular steps which led to its entrance door. startled from its meditations by his sudden propinquity to the object that he had unwittingly approached, he now, for the first time, examined the lonely abode before him with real attention. there was nothing remarkable about the house, save the extreme desolateness of its appearance, which seemed to arise partly from its isolated position, and partly from the unusual absence of all decoration on its external front. it was too extensive to have been the dwelling of a poor man, too void of pomp and ornament to have been a mansion of the rich. it might, perhaps, have belonged to some citizen, or foreigner, or the middle class--some moody northman, some solitary egyptian, some scheming jew. yet, though it was not possessed, in itself, of any remarkable or decided character, the goth experienced a mysterious, almost an eager curiosity to examine its interior. he could assign no cause, discover no excuse for the act, as he slowly mounted the steps before him. some invisible and incomprehensible magnet attracted him to the dwelling. if his return had been suddenly commanded by alaric himself; if evidences of indubitable treachery had lurked about the solitary place, at the moment when he thrust open its unbarred door, he felt that he must still have proceeded upon his onward course. the next instant he entered the house. the light streamed through the open entrance into the gloomy hall; the night-wind, rushing upon its track, blew shrill and dreary among the stone pillars, and in the hidden crevices and untenanted chambers above. not a sign of life appeared, not a sound of a footstep was audible, not even an article of household use was to be seen. the deserted suburbs rose without, like a wilderness; and this empty house looked within, like a sepulchre--void of corpses, and yet eloquent of death! there was an inexplicable fascination to the eyes of the goth about this vault-like, solitary hall. he stood motionless at its entrance, gazing dreamily at the gloomy prospect before him, until a strong gust of wind suddenly forced the outer door further backwards, and at the same moment admitted a larger stream of light. the place was not empty. in a corner of the hall, hitherto sunk in darkness, crouched a shadowy form. it was enveloped in a dark garment, and huddled up into an indefinable and unfamiliar shape. nothing appeared on it, as a denoting sign of humanity, but one pale hand, holding the black drapery together, and relieved against it in almost ghastly contrast under the cold light of the moon. vague remembrances of the awful superstitions of his nation's ancient worship, hurried over the memory of the young goth, at the first moment of his discovery of the ghost-like occupant of the hall. as he stood in fixed attention before the motionless figure, it soon began to be endowed with the same strange influence over his will, that the lonely house had already exerted. he advanced slowly towards the crouching form. it never stirred at the noise of his approach. the pale hand still held the mantle over the compressed figure, with the same rigid immobility of grasp. brave as he was, hermanric shuddered as he bent down and touched the bloodless, icy fingers. at that action, as if endowed with instant vitality from contact with a living being, the figure suddenly started up. then, the folds of the dark mantle fell back, disclosing a face as pale in hue as the stone pillars around it; and the voice of the solitary being became audible, uttering in faint, monotonous accents, these words:-- 'he has forgotten and abandoned me!--slay me if you will!--i am ready to die!' broken, untuned as it was, there yet lurked in that voice a tone of its old music, there beamed in that vacant and heavy eye a ray of its native gentleness. with a sudden exclamation of compassion and surprise, the goth stepped forward, raised the trembling outcast in his arms; and, in the impulse of the moment quitting the solitary house, stood the next instant on the firm earth, and under the starry sky, once more united to the charge that he had abandoned--to antonina whom he had lost. he spoke to her, caressed her, entreated her pardon, assured her of his future care; but she neither answered nor recognised him. she never looked in his face, never moved in his arms, never petitioned for mercy. she gave no sign of life or being, saving that she moaned at regular intervals in piteous accents:--'he has forgotten and abandoned me!' as if that one simple expression comprised in itself, her acknowledgment of the uselessness of her life, and her dirge for her expected death. the goth's countenance whitened to his very lips. he began to fear that her faculties had sunk under her trials. he hurried on with her with trembling steps towards the open country, for he nourished a dreamy, intuitive hope, that the sight of those woods and fields and mountains which she had extolled to him, in her morning's entreaty for protection, might aid in restoring her suspended consciousness, if she now looked on them. he ran forward, until he had left the suburbs at least half a mile behind him, and had reached an eminence, bounded on each side by high grass banks and clustering woods, and commanding a narrow, yet various prospect, of the valley ground beneath, and the fertile plains that extended beyond. here the warrior paused with his burden; and, seating himself on the bank, once more attempted to calm the girl's continued bewilderment and terror. he thought not on his sentinels, whom he had abandoned--on his absence from the suburbs, which might be perceived and punished by an unexpected visit, at his deserted quarters, from his superiors in the camp. the social influence that sways the world; the fragile idol at whose shrine pride learns to bow, and insensibility to feel; the soft, grateful influence of yielding nature yet eternal rule--the influence of woman, source alike of virtues and crimes, of earthly glories and earthly disasters--had, in this moment of anguish and expectation, silenced in him every appeal of duty, and overthrown every obstacle of selfish doubt. he now spoke to antonina as alluringly as a woman, as gently as a child. he caressed her as warmly as a lover, as cheerfully as a brother, as kindly as a father. he--the rough, northern warrior, whose education had been of arms, and whose youthful aspirations had been taught to point towards strife and bloodshed and glory--even he was now endowed with the tender eloquence of pity and love--with untiring, skilful care--with calm, enduring patience. gently and unceasingly he plied his soothing task; and soon, to his joy and triumph, he beheld the approaching reward of his efforts, in the slow changes that became gradually perceptible in the girl's face and manner. she raised herself in his arms, looked up fixedly and vacantly into his face, then round upon the bright, quiet landscape, then back again more stedfastly upon her companion; and at length, trembling violently, she whispered softly and several times the young goth's name, glancing at him anxiously and apprehensively, as if she feared and doubted while she recognised him. 'you are bearing me to my death,'--said she suddenly. 'you, who once protected me--you, who forsook me!--you are luring me into the power of the woman who thirsts for my blood!--oh, it is horrible--horrible!' she paused, averted her face, and shuddering violently, disengaged herself from his arms. after an interval, she continued:-- 'through the long day, and in the beginning of the cold night, i have waited in one solitary place for the death that is in store for me! i have suffered all the loneliness of my hours of expectation, without complaint; i have listened with little dread, and no grief, for the approach of my enemy who has sworn that she will shed my blood! having none to love me, and being a stranger in the land of my own nation, i have nothing to live for! but it is a bitter misery to me to behold in you the fulfiller of my doom; to be snatched by the hand of hermanric from the heritage of life that i have so long struggled to preserve!' her voice had altered, as she pronounced these words, to an impressive lowness and mournfulness of tone. its quiet, saddened accents were expressive of an almost divine resignation and sorrow; they seemed to be attuned to a mysterious and untraceable harmony with the melancholy stillness of the night-landscape. as she now stood looking up with pale, calm countenance, and gentle, tearless eyes, into the sky whose moonlight brightness shone softly over her form, the virgin watching the approach of her angel messenger could hardly have been adorned with a more pure and simple loveliness, than now dwelt over the features of numerian's forsaken child. no longer master of his agitation; filled with awe, grief, and despair, as he looked on the victim of his heartless impatience; hermanric bowed himself at the girl's feet, and, in the passionate utterance of real remorse, offered up his supplications for pardon and his assurances of protection and love. all that the reader has already learned--the bitter self-upbraidings of his evening, the sorrowful wanderings of his night, the mysterious attraction that led him to the solitary house, his joy at once more discovering his lost charge--all these confessions he now poured forth in the simple yet powerful eloquence of strong emotion and true regret. gradually and amazedly, as she listened to his words, antonina awoke from her abstraction. even the expression of his countenance and the earnestness of his manner, viewed by the intuitive penetration of her sex, wrought with kind and healing influence on her mind. she started suddenly, a bright flush flew over her colourless cheeks; she bent down, and looked earnestly and wistfully into the goth's face. her lips moved, but her quick convulsive breathing stifled the words that she vainly endeavoured to form. 'yes,' continued hermanric, rising and drawing her towards him again, 'you shall never mourn, never fear, never weep more! though you have lost your father, and the people of your nation are as strangers to you, though you have been threatened and forsaken, you shall still be beautiful--still be happy; for i will watch you, and you shall never be harmed; i will labour for you, and you shall never want! people and kindred--fame and duty, i will abandon them all to make atonement to you!' its youthful freshness and hope returned to the girl's heart, as water to the long-parched spring, when the young warrior ceased. the tears stood in her eyes, but she neither sighed nor spoke. her frame trembled all over with the excess of her astonishment and delight, as she still steadfastly looked on him and still listened intently as he proceeded:-- 'fear, then, no longer for your safety--goisvintha, whom you dread, is far from us; she knows not that we are here; she cannot track our footsteps now, to threaten or to harm you! remember no more how you have suffered and i have sinned! think only how bitterly i have repented our morning's separation, and how gladly i welcome our meeting of to-night! oh, antonina! you are beautiful with a wondrous loveliness, you are young with a perfected and unchildlike youth, your words fall upon my ear with the music of a song of the olden time; it is like a dream of the spirits that my fathers worshipped, when i look up and behold you at my side!' an expression of mingled confusion, pleasure, and surprise, flushed the girl's half-averted countenance as she listened to the goth. she rose with a smile of ineffable gratitude and delight, and pointed to the prospect beyond, as she softly rejoined:-- 'let us go a little further onward, where the moonlight shines over the meadow below. my heart is bursting in this shadowy place! let us seek the light that is yonder; it seems happy like me!' they walked forward; and as they went, she told him again of the sorrows of her past day; of her lonely and despairing progress from his tent to the solitary house where he had found her in the night, and where she had resigned herself from the first to meet a death that had little horror for her then. there was no thought of reproach, no utterance of complaint, in this renewal of her melancholy narration. it was solely that she might luxuriate afresh in those delighting expressions of repentance and devotion, which she knew that it would call forth from the lips of hermanric, that she now thought of addressing him once more with the tale of her grief. as they still went onward; as she listened to the rude fervent eloquence of the language of the goth; as she looked on the deep repose of the landscape, and the soft transparency of the night sky; her mind, ever elastic under the shock of the most violent emotions, ever ready to regain its wonted healthfulness and hope--now recovered its old tone, and re-assumed its accustomed balance. again her memory began to store itself with its beloved remembrances, and her heart to rejoice in its artless longings and visionary thoughts. in spite of all her fears and all her sufferings, she now walked on blest in a disposition that woe had no shadow to darken long, and neglect no influence to warp; still as happy in herself; even yet as forgetful of her past, as hopeful for her future, as on that first evening when we beheld her in her father's garden, singing to the music of her lute. insensibly as they proceeded, they had diverged from the road, had entered a bye-path, and now stood before a gate which led to a small farm house, surrounded by its gardens and vineyards, and, like the suburbs that they had quitted, deserted by its inhabitants on the approach of the goths. they passed through the gate, and arriving at the plot of ground in front of the house, paused for a moment to look around them. the meadows had been already stripped of their grass, and the young trees of their branches by the foragers of the invading army, but here the destruction of the little property had been stayed. the house with its neat thatched roof and shutters of variegated wood, the garden with its small stock of fruit and its carefully tended beds of rare flowers, designed probably to grace the feast of a nobleman or the statue of a martyr, had presented no allurements to the rough tastes of alaric's soldiery. not a mark of a footstep appeared on the turf before the house door; the ivy crept in its wonted luxuriance about the pillars of the lowly porch; and as hermanric and antonina walked towards the fish-pond at the extremity of the garden, the few water-fowl placed there by the owners of the cottage, came swimming towards the bank, as if to welcome in their solitude the appearance of a human form. far from being melancholy, there was something soothing and attractive about the loneliness of the deserted farm. its ravaged outhouses and plundered meadows, which might have appeared desolate by day, were so distanced, softened, and obscured, by the atmosphere of night, that they presented no harsh contrast to the prevailing smoothness and luxuriance of the landscape around. as antonina beheld the brightened fields and the shadowed woods, here mingled, there succeeding each other, stretched far onward and onward until they joined the distant mountains, that eloquent voice of nature, whose audience is the human heart, and whose theme is eternal love, spoke inspiringly to her attentive senses. she stretched out her arms as she looked with steady and enraptured gaze upon the bright view before her, as if she longed to see its beauties resolved into a single and living form--into a spirit human enough to be addressed, and visible enough to be adored. 'beautiful earth!' she murmured softly to herself, 'thy mountains are the watch-towers of angels, thy moonlight is the shadow of god!' her eyes filled with bright, happy tears; she turned to hermanric, who stood watching her, and continued:-- 'have you never thought that light, and air, and the perfume of flowers, might contain some relics of the beauties of eden that escaped with eve, when she wandered into the lonely world? they glowed and breathed for her, and she lived and was beautiful in them! they were united to one another, as the sunbeam is united to the earth that it warms; and could the sword of the cherubim have sundered them at once? when eve went forth, did the closed gates shut back in the empty paradise, all the beauty that had clung, and grown, and shone round her? did no ray of her native light steal forth after her into the desolateness of the world? did no print of her lost flowers remain on the bosom they must once have pressed? it cannot be! a part of her possessions of eden must have been spared to her with a part of her life. she must have refined the void air of the earth when she entered it, with a breath of the fragrant breezes, and gleam of the truant sunshine of her lost paradise! they must have strengthened and brightened, and must now be strengthening and brightening with the slow lapse of mortal years, until, in the time when earth itself will be an eden, they shall be made one again with the hidden world of perfection, from which they are yet separated. so that, even now, as i look forth over the landscape, the light that i behold has in it a glow of paradise, and this flower that i gather a breath of the fragrance that once stole over the senses of my first mother, eve!' though she paused here, as if in expectation of an answer, the goth preserved an unbroken silence. neither by nature nor position was he capable of partaking the wild fancies and aspiring thoughts, drawn by the influences of the external world from their concealment in antonina's heart. the mystery of his present situation; his vague remembrance of the duties he had abandoned; the uncertainty of his future fortunes and future fate; the presence of the lonely being so inseparably connected with his past emotions and his existence to come, so strangely attractive by her sex, her age, her person, her misfortunes, and her endowments; all contributed to bewilder his faculties. goisvintha, the army, the besieged city, the abandoned suburbs, seemed to hem him in like a circle of shadowy and threatening judgments; and in the midst of them stood the young denizen of rome, with her eloquent countenance and her inspiring words, ready to hurry him, he knew not whither, and able to influence him, he felt not how. unconsciously interpreting her companion's silence into a wish to change the scene and the discourse, antonina, after lingering over the view from the garden for a moment longer, led the way back towards the untenanted house. they removed the wooden padlock from the door of the dwelling, and guided by the brilliant moonlight, entered its principal apartment. the homely adornments of the little room had remained undisturbed, and dimly distinguishable though they now were, gave it to the eyes of the two strangers, the same aspect of humble comfort which had probably once endeared it to its exiled occupants. as hermanric seated himself by antonina's side on the simple couch which made the principal piece of furniture in the place, and looked forth from the window over the same view that they had beheld in the garden, the magic stillness and novelty of the scene now began to affect his slow perceptions, as they had already influenced the finer and more sensitive faculties of the thoughtful girl. new hopes and tranquil ideas arose in his young mind, and communicated an unusual gentleness to his expression, an unusual softness to his voice, as he thus addressed his silent companion:-- 'with such a home as this, with this garden, with that country beyond, with no warfare, no stern teachers, no enemy to threaten you; with companions and occupations that you loved--tell me, antonina, would not your happiness be complete?' as he looked round at the girl to listen to her reply, he saw that her countenance had changed. their past expression of deep grief had again returned to her features. her eyes were fixed on the short dagger that hung over the goth's breast, which seemed to have suddenly aroused in her a train of melancholy and unwelcome thoughts. when she at length spoke, it was in a mournful and altered voice, and with a mingled expression of resignation and despair. 'you must leave me--we must be parted again,' said she; 'the sight of your weapons has reminded me of all that until now i had forgotten, of all that i have left in rome, of all that you have abandoned before the city walls. once i thought we might have escaped together from the turmoil and the danger around us, but now i know that it is better that you should depart! alas! for my hopes and my happiness, i must be left alone once more!' she paused for an instant, struggling to retain her self-possession, and then continued:-- 'yes, you must quit me, and return to your post before the city; for in the day of assault there will be none to care for my father but you! until i know that he is safe, until i can see him once more, and ask him for pardon, and entreat him for love, i dare not remove from the perilous precincts of rome! return, then, to your duties, and your companions, and your occupations of martial renown; and do not forget numerian when the city is assailed, nor antonina, who is left to think on you in the solitary plains!' she rose from her place, as if to set the example of departing; but her strength and resolution both failed her, and she sank down again on the couch, incapable of making another movement, or uttering another word. strong and conflicting emotions passed over the heart of the goth. the language of the girl had quickened the remembrance of his half-forgotten duties, and strengthened the failing influence of his old predilections of education and race. both conscience and inclination now opposed his disputing her urgent and unselfish request. for a few minutes he remained in deep reflection; then he rose and looked earnestly from the window; then back again upon antonina and the room they occupied. at length, as if animated by a sudden determination, he again approached his companion, and thus addressed her:-- 'it is right that i should return. i will do your bidding, and depart for the camp (but not till the break of day), while you, antonina, remain in concealment and in safety here. none can come hither to disturb you. the goths will not revisit the fields they have already stripped; the husbandman who owns this dwelling is imprisoned in the beleaguered city; the peasants from the country beyond dare not approach so near to the invading hosts; and goisvintha, whom you dread, knows not even of the existence of such a refuge as this. here, though lonely, you will be secure; here you can await my return, when each succeeding night gives me the opportunity of departing from the camp; and here i will warn you beforehand, if the city is devoted to an assault. though solitary, you will not be abandoned--we shall not be parted one from the other. often and often i shall return to look on you, and to listen to you, and to love you! you will be happier here, even in this lonely place, than in the former home that you have lost through your father's wrath!' 'oh! i will willingly remain--i will joyfully await you!' cried the girl, raising her beaming eyes to hermanric's face. 'i will never speak mournfully to you again; i will never remind you more of all that i have suffered, and all that i have lost! how merciful you were to me, when i first saw you in your tent--how doubly merciful you are to me here! i am proud when i look on your stature, and your strength, and your heavy weapons, and know that you are happy in remaining with me; that you will succour my father; that you will return from your glittering encampments to this farm-house, where i am left to await you! already i have forgotten all that has happened to me of woe; already i am more joyful than ever i was in my life before! see, i am no longer weeping in sorrow! if there are any tears still on my cheeks, they are the tears of gladness that every one welcomes--tears to sing and rejoice in!' she ceased abruptly, as if words failed to give expression to her new delight. all the gloomy emotions that had oppressed her but a short time before had now completely vanished; and the young, fresh heart, superior still to despair and woe, basked as happily again in its native atmosphere of joy as a bird in the sunlight of morning and spring. then, when after an interval of delay their former tranquility had returned to them, how softly and lightly the quiet hours of the remaining night flowed onward to the two watchers in the lonely house! how gladly the delighted girl disclosed her hidden thoughts, and poured forth her innocent confessions, to the dweller among other nations and the child of other impressions than her own! all the various reflections aroused in her mind by the natural objects she had secretly studied, by the mighty imagery of her bible lore, by the gloomy histories of saints' visions and martyrs' sufferings, which she had learnt and pondered over by her father's side, were now drawn from their treasured places in her memory, and addressed to the ear of the goth. as the child flies to the nurse with the story of its first toy; as the girl resorts to the sister with the confession of her first love; as the poet hurries to the friend with the plan of his first composition; so did antonina seek the attention of hermanric with the first outward revealings enjoyed by her faculties and the first acknowledgment of her emotions liberated from her heart. the longer the goth listened to her, the more perfect became the enchantment of her words, half struggling into poetry, and her voice half gliding into music. as her low, still, varying tones wound smoothly into his ear, his thoughts suddenly and intuitively reverted to her formerly expressed remembrances of her lost lute, inciting him to ask her, with new interest and animation, of the manner of her acquisition of that knowledge of song, which she had already assured him that she possessed. 'i have learned many odes of many poets,' said she, quickly and confusedly avoiding the mention of vetranio, which a direct answer to hermanric's question must have produced, 'but i remember none perfectly, save those whose theme is of spirits and of other worlds, and of the invisible beauty that we think of but cannot see. of the few that i know of these, there is one that i first learned and loved most. i will sing it, that you may be assured i will not fail to you in my promised art.' she hesitated for a moment. sorrowful remembrances of the events that had followed the utterance of the last notes she sang in her father's garden, swelled within her, and held her speechless. soon, however, after a short interval of silence, she recovered her self-possession, and began to sing, in low tremulous tones, that harmonised well with the character of the words and the strain of the melody which she had chosen. the mission of the tear i. the skies were its birth-place--the tear was the child of the dark maiden sorrow, by young joy beguil'd; it was born in convulsion; 'twas nurtur'd in woe; and the world was yet young when it wander'd below. ii. no angel-bright guardians watch'd over its birth, ere yet it was suffer'd to roam upon earth; no spirits of gladness its soft form caress'd; sighs mourned round its cradle, and hush'd it to rest. iii. though joy might endeavour, with kisses and wiles, to lure it away to his household of smiles: from the daylight he lived in it turn'd in affright, to nestle with sorrow in climates of night. iv. when it came upon earth, 'twas to choose a career, the brightest and best that is left to a tear; to hallow delight, and bestow the relief denied by despair to the fulness of grief. v. few repell'd it--some bless'd it--wherever it came; whether soft'ning their sorrow, or soothing their shame; and the joyful themselves, though its name they might fear, oft welcom'd the calming approach of the tear! vi. years on years have worn onward, as--watch'd from above-- speeds that meek spirit yet on its labour of love; still the exile of heav'n, it ne'er shall away, every heart has a home for it, roam where it may! for the first few minutes after she had concluded the ode, hermanric was hardly conscious that she had ceased; and when at length she looked up at him, her mute petition for approval had an eloquence which would have been marred to the goth at that moment, by the utterance of single word. a rapture, an inspiration, a new life moved within him. the hour and the scene completed what the magic of the song had begun. his expression now glowed with a southern warmth; his words assumed a roman fervour. gradually, as they discoursed, the voice of the girl was less frequently audible. a change was passing over her spirit; from the teacher, she was now becoming the pupil. as she still listened to the goth, as she felt the birth of new feelings within her while he spoke, her cheeks glowed, her features lightened up, her very form seemed to freshen and expand. no intruding thought or awakening remembrance disturbed her rapt attention. no cold doubt, no gloomy hesitation, appeared in her companion's words. the one listened, the other spoke, with the whole heart, the undivided soul. while a world-wide revolution was concentrating its hurricane forces around them; while the city of an empire tottered already to its tremendous fall; while goisvintha plotted new revenge; while ulpius toiled for his revolution of bloodshed and ruin; while all these dark materials of public misery and private strife seethed and strengthened around them, they could as completely forget the stormy outward world, in themselves; they could think as serenely of tranquil love; the kiss could be given as passionately and returned as tenderly, as if the lot of their existence had been cast in the pastoral days of the shepherd poets, and the future of their duties and enjoyments was securely awaiting them in a land of eternal peace! chapter . the famine. the end of november is approaching. nearly a month has elapsed since the occurrence of the events mentioned in the last chapter, yet still the gothic lines stretch round the city walls. rome, that we left haughty and luxurious even while ruin threatened her at her gates, has now suffered a terrible and warning change. as we approach her again, woe, horror, and desolation have already gone forth to shadow her lofty palaces and to darken her brilliant streets. over pomp that spurned it, over pleasure that defied it, over plenty that scared it in its secret rounds, the spectre hunger has now risen triumphant at last. day by day has the city's insufficient allowance of food been more and more sparingly doled out; higher and higher has risen the value of the coarsest and simplest provision; the hoarded supplies that pity and charity have already bestowed to cheer the sinking people have reached their utmost limits. for the rich, there is still corn in the city--treasure of food to be bartered for treasure of gold. for the poor, man's natural nourishment exists no more; the season of famine's loathsome feasts, the first days of the sacrifice of choice to necessity have darkly and irretrievably begun. it is morning. a sad and noiseless throng is advancing over the cold flagstones of the great square before the basilica of st. john lateran. the members of the assembly speak in whispers. the weak are tearful--the strong are gloomy--they all move with slow and languid gait, and hold in their arms their dogs or other domestic animals. on the outskirts of the crowd march the enfeebled guards of the city, grasping in their rough hands rare favourite birds of gaudy plumage and melodious note, and followed by children and young girls vainly and piteously entreating that their favourites may be restored. this strange procession pauses, at length, before a mighty caldron slung over a great fire in the middle of the square, round which stand the city butchers with bare knives, and the trustiest men of the roman legions with threatening weapons. a proclamation is then repeated, commanding the populace who have no money left to purchase food, to bring up their domestic animals to be boiled together over the public furnace, for the sake of contributing to the public support. the next minute, in pursuance of this edict, the dumb favourites of the crowd passed from the owner's caressing hand into the butcher's ready grasp. the faint cries of the animals, starved like their masters, mingled for a few moments with the sobs and lamentations of the women and children, to whom the greater part of them belonged. for, in this the first stage of their calamities, that severity of hunger which extinguishes pity and estranges grief was unknown to the populace; and though fast losing spirit, they had not yet sunk to the depths of ferocious despair which even now were invisibly opening between them. a thousand pangs were felt, a thousand humble tragedies were acted, in the brief moments of separation between guardian and charge. the child snatched its last kiss of the bird that had sung over its bed; the dog looked its last entreaty for protection from the mistress who had once never met it without a caress. then came the short interval of agony and death, then the steam rose fiercely from the greedy caldron, and then the people for a time dispersed; the sorrowful to linger near the confines of the fire, and the hungry to calm their impatience by a visit to the neighbouring church. the marble aisles of the noble basilica held a gloomy congregation. three small candles were alone lighted on the high altar. no sweet voices sang melodious anthems or exulting hymns. the monks, in hoarse tones and monotonous harmonics, chanted the penitential psalms. here and there knelt a figure clothed in mourning robes, and absorbed in secret prayer; but over the majority of the assembly either blank despondency or sullen inattention universally prevailed. as the last dull notes of the last psalm died away among the lofty recesses of the church, a procession of pious christians appeared at the door and advanced slowly to the altar. it was composed both of men and women barefooted, clothed in black garments, and with ashes scattered over their dishevelled hair. tears flowed from their eyes, and they beat their breasts as they bowed their foreheads on the marble pavement of the altar steps. this humble public expression of penitence under the calamity that had now fallen on the city was, however, confined only to its few really religious inhabitants, and commanded neither sympathy nor attention from the heartless and obstinate population of rome. some still cherished the delusive hope of assistance from the court at ravenna; others believed that the goths would ere long impatiently abandon their protracted blockade, to stretch their ravages over the rich and unprotected fields of southern italy. but the same blind confidence in the lost terrors of the roman name, the same fierce and reckless determination to defy the goths to the very last, sustained the sinking courage and suppressed the despondent emotions of the great mass of the suffering people, from the beggar who prowled for garbage, to the patrician who sighed over his new and unwelcome nourishment of simple bread. while the penitents who formed the procession above described were yet engaged in the performance of their unnoticed and unshared duties of penance and prayer, a priest ascended the great pulpit of the basilica, to attempt the ungrateful task of preaching patience and piety to the hungry multitude at his feet. he began his sermon by retracing the principal occurrences in rome since the beginning of the gothic blockade. he touched cautiously upon the first event that stained the annals of the besieged city--the execution of the widow of the roman general stilicho, on the unauthorised suspicion that she had held treasonable communication with alaric and the invading army; he noticed lengthily the promises of assistance transmitted from ravenna, after the perpetration of that ill-omened act. he spoke admiringly of the skill displayed by the government in making the necessary and immediate reductions in the daily supplies of food; he lamented the terrible scarcity which followed, too inevitably, those seasonable reductions. he pronounced an eloquent eulogium on the noble charity of laeta, the widow of the emperor gratian, who, with her mother, devoted the store of provisions obtained by their imperial revenues to succouring, at that important juncture, the starving and desponding poor: he admitted the new scarcity, consequent on the dissipation of laeta's stores; deplored the present necessity of sacrificing the domestic animals of the citizens; condemned the enormous prices now demanded for the last remnants of wholesome food that were garnered up; announced it as the firm persuasion of every one that a few days more would bring help from ravenna; and ended his address by informing his auditory that, as they had suffered so much already, they could patiently suffer a little more, and that if, after this, they were so ill-fated as to sink under their calamities, they would feel it a noble consolation to die in the cause of catholic and apostolic rome, and would assuredly be canonised as saints and martyrs by the next generation of the pious in the first interval of fertile and restoring peace. flowing as was the eloquence of this oration, it yet possessed not the power of inducing one among those whom it addressed to forget the sensation of his present suffering, and to fix his attention on the vision of future advantage, spread before all listeners by the fluent priest. with the same murmurs of querulous complaint, and the same expressions of impotent hatred and defiance of the goths which had fallen from them as they entered the church, the populace now departed from it, to receive from the city officers the stinted allowance of repugnant food, prepared for their hunger from the caldron in the public square. and see, already from other haunts in the neighbouring quarter of rome their fellow-citizens press onward at the given signal, to meet them round the caldron's sides! the languid sentinel, released from duty, turns his gaze from the sickening prospect of the gothic camp, and hastens to share the public meal; the baker starts from sleeping on his empty counter, the beggar rises from his kennel in the butcher's vacant out-house, the slave deserts his place by the smouldering kitchen-fire--all hurry to swell the numbers of the guests that are bidden to the wretched feast. rapidly and confusedly, the congregation in the basilica pours through its lofty gates; the priests and penitents retire from the altar's foot, and in the great church, so crowded but a few moments before, there now only remains the figure of a solitary man. since the commencement of the service, neither addressed nor observed, this lonely being has faltered round the circle of the congregation, gazing long and wistfully over the faces that met his view. now that the sermon is ended, and the last lingerer has quitted the church, he turns from the spot whence he has anxiously watched the different members of the departing throng, and feebly crouches down on his knees at the base of a pillar that is near him. his eyes are hollow, and his cheeks are wan; his thin grey hairs are few and fading on his aged head. he makes no effort to follow the crowd and partake their sustenance; no one is left behind to urge, no one returns to lead him to the public meal. though weak and old, he is perfectly forsaken in his loneliness, perfectly unsolaced in his grief; his friends have lost all trace of him; his enemies have ceased to fear or to hate him now. as he crouches by the pillar alone, he covers his forehead with his pale, palsied hands, his dim eyes fill with bitter tears, and such expressions as these are ever and anon faintly audible in the intervals of his heavy sighs: 'day after day! day after day! and my lost one is not found! my loved and wronged one is not restored! antonina! antonina!' some days after the public distribution of food in the square of st. john lateran, vetranio's favourite freedman might have been observed pursuing his way homeward, sadly and slowly, to his master's palace. it was not without cause that the pace of the intelligent carrio was funereal and his expression disconsolate. even during the short period that had elapsed since the scene in the basilica already described, the condition of the city had altered fearfully for the worse. the famine advanced with giant strides; every succeeding hour endued it with new vigour, every effort to repel it served but to increase its spreading and overwhelming influence. one after another the pleasures and pursuits of the city declined beneath the dismal oppression of the universal ill, until the public spirit in rome became moved alike in all classes by one gloomy inspiration--a despairing defiance of the famine and the goths. the freedman entered his master's palace neither saluted nor welcomed by the once obsequious slaves in the outer lodge. neither harps nor singing-boys, neither woman's ringing laughter nor man's bacchanalian glee, now woke the echoes in the lonely halls. the pulse of pleasure seemed to have throbbed its last in the joyless being of vetranio's altered household. hastening his steps as he entered the mansion, carrio passed into the chamber where the senator awaited him. on two couches, separated by a small table, reclined the lord of the palace and his pupil and companion at ravenna, the once sprightly camilla. vetranio's open brow had contracted a clouded and severe expression, and he neither regarded nor addressed his visitor, who, on her part, remained as silent and as melancholy as himself. every trace of the former characteristics of the gay, elegant voluptuary and the lively, prattling girl seemed to have completely vanished. on the table between them stood a large bottle containing falernian wine, and a vase filled with a little watery soup, in the middle of which floated a small dough cake, sparingly sprinkled with common herbs. as for the usual accompaniments of vetranio's luxurious privacy, they were nowhere to be seen. poems, pictures, trinkets, lutes, all were absent. even the 'inestimable kitten of the breed most worshipped by the ancient egyptians' appeared no more. it had been stolen, cooked, and eaten by a runaway slave, who had already bartered its ruby collar for a lean parrot and the unroasted half of the carcase of a dog. 'i lament to confess it, o estimable patron, but my mission has failed,' observed carrio, producing from his cloak several bags of money and boxes of jewels, which he carefully deposited on the table. 'the prefect has himself assisted in searching the public and private granaries, and has arrived at the conclusion that not a handful of corn is left in the city. i offered publicly in the market-place five thousand sestertii for a living cock and hen, but was told that the race had long since been exterminated, and that, as money would no longer buy food, money was no longer desired by the poorest beggar in rome. there is no more even of the hay i yesterday purchased to be obtained for the most extravagant bribes. those still possessing the smallest supplies of provision guard and hide them with the most jealous care. i have done nothing but obtain for the consumption of the few slaves who yet remain faithful in the house this small store of dogs' hides, reserved from the public distribution of some days since in the square of the basilica of st. john.' and the freedman, with an air of mingled triumph and disgust, produced as he spoke his provision of dirty skins. 'what supplies have we still left in our possession?' demanded vetranio, after drinking a deep draught of the falernian, and motioning his servant to place his treasured burden out of sight. 'i have hidden in a secure receptacle, for i know not how soon hunger may drive the slaves to disobedience,' rejoined carrio, 'seven bags of hay, three baskets stocked with salted horse-flesh, a sweetmeat-box filled with oats, and another with dried parsley; the rare indian singing birds are still preserved inviolate in their aviary; there is a great store of spices, and some bottles of the nightingale sauce yet remain.' 'what is the present aspect of the city?' interrupted vetranio impatiently. 'rome is as gloomy as a subterranean sepulchre,' replied carrio, with a shudder. 'the people congregate in speechless and hungry mobs at the doors of their houses and the corners of the streets, the sentinels at the ramparts totter on their posts, women and children are sleeping exhausted on the very pavements of the churches, the theatres are emptied of actors and audience alike, the baths resound with cries for food and curses on the goths, thefts are already committed in the open and unguarded shops, and the barbarians remain fixed in their encampments, unapproached by our promised legions from ravenna, neither assaulting us in our weakness, nor preparing to raise the blockade! our situation grows more and more perilous. i have great hopes in our store of provisions; but--' 'cast your hopes to the court at ravenna, and your beasts' provender to the howling mob!' cried vetranio with sudden energy. 'it is now too late to yield; if the next few days bring us no assistance, the city will be a human shambles! and think you that i, who have already lost in this public suspension of social joys my pleasures, my employments, and my companions, will wait serenely for the lingering and ignoble death that must then threaten us all? no, it shall never be said that i died starving with the herd, like a slave that his master deserts! though the plates in my banqueting hall must now be empty, my vases and wine-cups shall yet sparkle for my guests! there is still wine in the cellar, and spices and perfumes remain in the larder stores! i will invite my friends to a last feast; a saturnalia in a city of famine; a banquet of death, spread by the jovial labours of silenus and his fauns! though the parcae have woven for me the destiny of a dog, it is the hand of bacchus that shall sever the fatal thread!' his cheeks were flushed, his eyes sparkled; all the mad energy of his determination appeared in his face as he spoke. he was no longer the light, amiable, smooth-tongued trifler, but a moody, reckless, desperate man, careless of every obligation and pursuit which had hitherto influenced the easy surface of his patrician life. the startled camilla, who had as yet preserved a melancholy silence, ran towards him with affrighted looks and undissembled tears. carrio stared in vacant astonishment on his master's disordered countenance; and, forgetting his bundle of dogskins, suffered them to drop unheeded on the floor. a momentary silence followed, which was suddenly interrupted by the abrupt entrance of a fourth person, pale, trembling and breathless, who was no other than vetranio's former visitor, the prefect pompeianus. 'i bid you welcome to my approaching feast of brimming wine-cups and empty dishes!' cried vetranio, pouring the sparkling falernian into his empty glass. 'the last banquet given in rome, ere the city is annihilated, will be mine! the goths and the famine shall have no part in my death! pleasure shall preside at my last moments, as it has presided at my whole life! i will die like sardanapalus, with my loves and my treasures around me, and the last of my guests who remains proof against our festivity shall set fire to my palace, as the kingly assyrian set fire to his!' 'this is no season for jesting,' exclaimed the prefect, staring round him with bewildered eyes and colourless cheeks. 'our miseries are but dawning as yet! in the next street lies the corpse of a woman, and--horrible omen!--a coil of serpents is wreathed about her neck! we have no burial-place to receive her, and the thousands who may die like her, ere assistance arrives. the city sepulchres outside the walls are in the hands of the goths. the people stand round the body in a trance of horror, for they have now discovered a fatal truth we would fain have concealed from them--' here the prefect paused, looked round affrightedly on his listeners, and then added in low trembling tones-- 'the citizens are lying dead from famine in the streets of rome!' chapter . the city and the gods. we return once more to the gothic encampment in the suburbs eastward of the pincian gate, and to hermanric and the warriors under his command, who are still posted at that particular position on the great circle of the blockade. the movements of the young chieftain from place to place expressed, in their variety and rapidity, the restlessness that was agitating his mind. he glanced back frequently from the warriors around him to the remote and opposite quarter of the suburbs, occasionally directing his eyes towards the western horizon, as if anxiously awaiting the approach of some particular hour of the coming night. weary at length of pursuing occupations which evidently irritated rather than soothed his impatience, he turned abruptly from his companions, and advancing towards the city, paced slowly backwards and forwards over the waste ground between the suburbs and the walls of rome. at intervals he still continued to examine the scene around him. a more dreary prospect than now met his view, whether in earth or sky, can hardly be conceived. the dull sunless day was fast closing, and the portentous heaven gave promise of a stormy night. thick, black layers of shapeless cloud hung over the whole firmament, save at the western point; and here lay a streak of pale, yellow light, enclosed on all sides by the firm, ungraduated, irregular edges of the masses of gloomy vapour around it. a deep silence hung over the whole atmosphere. the wind was voiceless among the steady trees. the stir and action in the being of nature and the life of man seemed enthralled, suspended, stifled. the air was laden with a burdensome heat; and all things on earth, animate and inanimate, felt the oppression that weighed on them from the higher elements. the people who lay gasping for breath in the famine-stricken city, and the blades of grass that drooped languidly on the dry sward beyond the walls, owned the enfeebling influence alike. as the hours wore on and night stealthily and gradually advanced, a monotonous darkness overspread, one after another, the objects discernible to hermanric from the solitary ground he still occupied. soon the great city faded into one vast, impenetrable shadow, while the suburbs and the low country around them vanished in the thick darkness that gathered almost perceptibly over the earth. and now the sole object distinctly visible was the figure of a weary sentinel, who stood on the frowning rampart immediately above the rifted wall, and whose drooping figure, propped upon his weapon, was indicated in hard relief against the thin, solitary streak of light still shining in the cold and cloudy wastes of the western sky. but as the night still deepened, this one space of light faded, contracted, vanished, and with it disappeared the sentinel and the line of rampart on which he was posted. the rule of the darkness now became universal. densely and rapidly it overspread the whole city with startling suddenness; as if the fearful destiny now working its fulfilment in rome had forced the external appearances of the night into harmony with its own woe-boding nature. then, as the young goth still lingered at his post of observation, the long, low, tremulous, absorbing roll of thunder afar off became grandly audible. it seemed to proceed from a distance almost incalculable; to be sounding from its cradle in the frozen north; to be journeying about its ice-girdled chambers in the lonely poles. it deepened rather than interrupted the dreary, mysterious stillness of the atmosphere. the lightning, too, had a summer softness in its noiseless and frequent gleam. it was not the fierce lightning of winter, but a warm, fitful brightness, almost fascinating in its light, rapid recurrence, tinged with the glow of heaven, and not with the glare of hell. there was no wind--no rain; and the air was as hushed as if it slept over chaos in the infancy of a new creation. among the various objects displayed, instant by instant, by the rapid lightning to the eyes of hermanric, the most easily and most distinctly visible was the broad surface of the rifted wall. the large, loose stones, scattered here and there at its base, and the overhanging lid of its broad rampart, became plainly though fitfully apparent in the brief moments of their illumination. the lightning had played for some time over that structure of the fortifications, and the bare ground that stretched immediately beyond them, when the smooth prospect which it thus gave by glimpses to view, was suddenly chequered by a flight of birds appearing from one of the lower divisions of the wall, and flitting uneasily to and fro at one spot before its surface. as moment after moment the lightning continued to gleam, so the black forms of the birds were visible to the practised eye of the goth--perceptible, yet evanescent, as sparks of fire or flakes of snow--whirling confusedly and continually about the spot whence they had evidently been startled by some unimaginable interruption. at length, after a lapse of some time, they vanished as suddenly as they had appeared, with shrill notes of affright which were audible even above the continuous rolling of the thunder; and immediately afterwards, when the lightning alternated with the darkness, there appeared to hermanric, in the part of the wall where the birds had been first disturbed, a small red gleam, like a spark of fire lodged in the surface of the structure. then this was lost; a longer obscurity than usual prevailed in the atmosphere, and when the goth gazed eagerly through the next succession of flashes, they showed him the momentary and doubtful semblance of a human figure, standing erect on the stones at the base of the wall. hermanric started with astonishment. again the lightning ceased. in the ardour of his anxiety to behold more, he strained his eyes with the vain hope of penetrating the obscurity around him. the darkness seemed interminable. once again the lightning flashed brilliantly out. he looked eagerly towards the wall--the figure was still there. his heart throbbed quickly within him, as he stood irresolute on the spot he had occupied since the first peal of thunder had struck upon his ear. were the light and the man--one seen but for an instant, the other still perceptible--mere phantoms of his erring sight, dazzled by the quick recurrence of atmospheric changes through which it had acted? or did he indubitably behold a human form, and had he really observed a material light? some strange treachery, some dangerous mystery might be engendering in the besieged city, which it would be his duty to observe and unmask. he drew his sword, and, at the risk of being observed through the lightning, and heard during the pauses in the thunder, by the sentinel on the wall, resolutely advanced to the very foot of the fortifications of hostile rome. he heard no sound, perceived no light, observed no figure, as, after several unsuccessful attempts to reach the place where they stood, he at length paused at the loose stones which he knew were heaped at the base of the wall. the next moment he was so close to it, that he could pass his sword-point over parts of its rugged surface. he had scarcely examined thus a space of more than ten yards, before his weapon encountered a sharp, jagged edge; and a sudden presentiment assured him instantly that he had found the spot where he had beheld the momentary light, and that he stood on the same stone which had been occupied by the figure of the man. after an instant's hesitation, he was about to mount higher on the loose stones, and examine more closely the irregularity he had just discovered in the wall, when a vivid flash of lightning, unusually prolonged, showed him, obstructing at scarcely a yard's distance his onward path, the figure he had already distantly beheld from the plain behind. there was something inexpressibly fearful in his viewless vicinity, during the next moment of darkness, to this silent, mysterious form, so imperfectly shown by the lightning that quivered over its half-revealed proportions. every pulse in the body of the goth seemed to pause as he stood, with ready weapon, looking into the gloomy darkness, and wafting for the next flash. it came, and displayed to him the man's fierce eyes glaring steadily down upon his face; another gleam, and he beheld his haggard finger placed upon his lip in token of silence; a third, and he saw the arm of the figure pointing towards the plain behind him; and then in the darkness that followed, a hot breath played upon his ear, and a voice whispered to him, through a pause in the rolling of the thunder--'follow me.' the next instant hermanric felt the momentary contact of the man's body, as with noiseless steps he passed him on the stones. it was no time to deliberate or to doubt. he followed close upon the stranger's footsteps, gaining glimpses of his dark form moving onward before, whenever the lightning briefly illuminated the scene, until they arrived at a clump of trees, not far distant from the houses in the suburbs that were occupied by the goths under his own command. here the stranger paused before the trunk of a tree which stood between the city wall and himself, and drew from beneath his ragged cloak a small lantern, carefully covered with a piece of cloth, which he now removed, and holding the light high above his head, regarded the goth with a steady and anxious scrutiny. hermanric attempted to address him first, but the appearance of the man, barely visible though it was by the feeble light of his lantern, was so startling and repulsive, that the half-formed words died away on his lips. the face of the stranger was of a ghastly paleness; his hollow cheeks were seamed with deep wrinkles; and his eyes glared with an expression of ferocious suspicion. one of his arms was covered with old bandages, stiff with coagulated blood, and hung paralysed at his side. the hand that held the light trembled, so that the lantern containing it vibrated continuously in his unsteady grasp. his limbs were lank and shrivelled almost to deformity, and it was with evident difficulty that he stood upright on his feet. every member of his body seemed to be wasting with a gradual death, while his expression, ardent and forbidding, was stamped with all the energy of manhood, and all the daring of youth. it was ulpius! the wall was passed! the breach was made good! after a protracted examination of hermanric's countenance and attire, the man, with an imperious expression, strangely at variance with his faltering voice, thus addressed him:-- 'you are a goth?' 'i am,' rejoined the young chief; 'and you are--' 'a friend of the goths,' was the quick answer. an instant of silence followed. the dialogue was then again begun by the stranger. 'what brought you alone to the base of the ramparts?' he demanded, and an expression of ungovernable apprehension shot from his eyes as he spoke. 'i saw the appearance of a man in the gleam of the lightning,' answered hermanric. 'i approached it, to assure myself that my eyes had not deluded me, to discover--' 'there is but one man of your nation who shall discover whence i came and what i would obtain,' interrupted the stranger fiercely; 'that man is alaric, your king.' surprise, indignation, and contempt appeared in the features of the goth, as he listened to such a declaration from the helpless outcast before him. the man perceived it, and motioning him to be silent, again addressed him. 'listen!' cried he. 'i have that to reveal to the leader of your forces which will stir the heart of every man in your encampment, if you are trusted with the secret after your king has heard it from my lips! do you still refuse to guide me to his tent?' hermanric laughed scornfully. 'look on me,' pursued the man, bending forward, and fixing his eyes with savage earnestness upon his listener's face. 'i am alone, old, wounded, weak,--a stranger to your nation,--a famished and a helpless man! should i venture into your camp--should i risk being slain for a roman by your comrades--should i dare the wrath of your imperious ruler without a cause?' he paused; and then, still keeping his eyes on the goth, continued in lower and more agitated tones-- 'deny me your help, i will wander through your camp till i find your king! imprison me, your violence will not open my lips! slay me, you will gain nothing by my death! but aid me, and to the latest moment of your life you will rejoice in the deed! i have words of terrible import for alaric's ear,--a secret in the gaining of which i have paid the penalty thus!' he pointed to his wounded arm. the solemnity of his voice, the rough energy of his words, the stern determination of his aspect, the darkness of the night that was round them, the rolling thunder that seemed to join itself to their discourse, the impressive mystery of their meeting under the city walls, all began to exert their powerful and different influences over the mind of the goth, changing insensibly the sentiments at first inspired in him by the man's communications. he hesitated, and looked round doubtfully towards the lines of the camp. there was a long silence, which was again interrupted by the stranger. 'guard me, chain me, mock at me if you will,' he cried, with raised voice and flashing eyes, 'but lead me to alaric's tent! i swear to you by the thunder pealing over our heads, that the words i would speak to him will be more precious in his eyes than the brightest jewel he could ravish from the coffers of rome.' though visibly troubled and impressed, hermanric still hesitated. 'do you yet delay?' exclaimed the man, with contemptuous impatience. 'stand back! i will pass on by myself into the very heart of your camp! i entered on my project alone--i will work its fulfilment without help! stand back!' and he moved past hermanric in the direction of the suburbs, with the same look of fierce energy on his withered features which had marked them so strikingly at the outset of his extraordinary interview with the young chieftain. the daring devotion to his purpose, the reckless toiling after a dangerous and doubtful success, manifested in the words and actions of one so feeble and unaided as the stranger, aroused in the goth that sentiment of irrepressible admiration which the union of moral and physical courage inevitably awakens. in addition to the incentive to aid the man thus created, an ardent curiosity to discover his secret filled the mind of hermanric, and further powerfully inclined him to conduct his determined companion into alaric's presence--for by such proceeding only could he hope, after the man's firm declaration that he would communicate in the first instance to no one but the king, to penetrate ultimately the object of his mysterious errand. animated, therefore, by such motives as these, he called to the stranger to stop, and briefly communicated to him his willingness to conduct him instantly to the presence of the leader of the goths. the man intimated by a sign his readiness to accept the offer. his physical powers were now evidently fast failing, but he still tottered painfully onward as they moved to the headquarters of the camp, muttering and gesticulating to himself almost incessantly. once only did he address his conductor during their progress; and then with a startling abruptness of manner, and in tones of vehement anxiety and suspicion, he demanded of the young goth if he had ever examined the surface of the city wall before that night. hermanric replied in the negative; and they then proceeded in perfect silence. their way lay through the line of encampment to the westward, and was imperfectly lighted by the flame of an occasional torch or the glow of a distant watch-fire. the thunder had diminished in frequency, but had increased in volume; faint breaths of wind soared up fitfully from the west, and already a few raindrops fell slowly to the thirsty earth. the warriors not actually on duty at the different posts of observation had retired to the shelter of their tents; none of the thousand idlers and attendants attached to the great army appeared at their usual haunts; even the few voices that were audible sounded distant and low. the night-scene here, among the ranks of the invaders of italy, was as gloomy and repelling as on the solitary plains before the walls of rome. ere long the stranger perceived that they had reached a part of the camp more thickly peopled, more carefully illuminated, more strongly fortified, than that through which they had already passed; and the liquid, rushing sound of the waters of the rapid tiber now caught his suspicious and attentive ear. they still moved onward a few yards; and then paused suddenly before a tent, immediately surrounded by many others, and occupied at all its approaches by groups of richly-armed warriors. here hermanric stopped an instant to parley with the sentinel, who, after a short delay, raised the outer covering of the entrance to the tent, and the moment after the roman adventurer beheld himself standing by his conductor's side in the presence of the gothic king. the interior of alaric's tent was lined with skins, and illuminated by one small lamp, fastened to the centre pole that supported its roof. the only articles of furniture in the place were some bundles of furs flung down loosely on the ground, and a large, rudely-carved wooden chest, on which stood a polished human skull, hollowed into a sort of clumsy wine-cup. a thoroughly gothic ruggedness of aspect, a stately northern simplicity prevailed over the spacious tent, and was indicated not merely in its thick shadows, its calm lights, and its freedom from pomp and glitter, but even in the appearance and employment of its remarkable occupant. alaric was seated alone on the wooden chest already described, contemplating with bent brow and abstracted gaze some old runic characters, traced upon the carved surface of a brass and silver shield, full five feet high, which rested against the side of the tent. the light of the lamp falling upon the polished surface of the weapon--rendered doubly bright by the dark skins behind it--was reflected back upon the figure of the goth chief. it glowed upon his ample cuirass; it revealed his firm lips, slightly curled by an expression of scornful triumph; it displayed the grand, muscular formation of his arm, which rested--clothed in tightly-fitting leather--upon his knee; it partly brightened over his short, light hair, and glittered steadily in his fixed, thoughtful, manly eyes, which were just perceptible beneath the partial shadow of his contracted brow; while it left the lower part of his body and his right hand, which was supported on the head of a huge, shaggy dog couching at his side, shadowed almost completely by the thick skins heaped confusedly against the sides of the wooden chest. he was so completely absorbed in the contemplation of the runic characters, traced among the carved figures on his immense shield, that he did not notice the entry of hermanric and the stranger until the growl of the watchful dog suddenly disturbed him in his occupation. he looked up instantly, his quick, penetrating glance dwelling for a moment on the young chieftain, and then resting steadily and inquiringly on his companion's feeble and mutilated form. accustomed to the military brevity and promptitude exacted by his commander in all communications addressed to him by his inferiors, hermanric, without waiting to be interrogated or attempting to preface or excuse his narrative, shortly related the conversation that had taken place between the stranger and himself on the plain near the pincian gate; and then waited respectfully to receive the commendation or incur the rebuke of the king, as the chance of the moment might happen to decide. after again fixing his eyes in severe scrutiny on the person of the roman, alaric spoke to the young warrior in the gothic language thus:-- 'leave the man with me--return to your post, and there await whatever commands it may be necessary that i should despatch to you to-night.' hermanric immediately departed. then, addressing the stranger for the first time, and speaking in the latin language, the gothic leader briefly and significantly intimated to his unknown visitant that they were now alone. the man's parched lips moved, opened, quivered; his wild, hollow eyes brightened till they absolutely gleamed, but he seemed incapable of uttering a word; his features became horribly convulsed, the foam gathered about his lips, he staggered forward and would have fallen to the ground, had not the king instantly caught him in his strong grasp, and placed him on the wooden chest that he had hitherto occupied himself. 'can a starving roman have escaped from the beleaguered city?' muttered alaric, as he took the skull cup, and poured some of the wine it contained down the stranger's throat. the liquor was immediately successful in restoring composure to the man's features and consciousness to his mind. he raised himself from the seat, dashed off the cold perspiration that overspread his forehead, and stood upright before the king--the solitary, powerless old man before the vigorous lord of thousands, in the midst of his warriors--without a tremor in his steady eye or a prayer for protection on his haughty lip. 'i, a roman,' he began, 'come from rome, against which the invader wars with the weapon of famine, to deliver the city, her people, her palaces, and her treasures into the hands of alaric the goth.' the king started, looked on the speaker for a moment, and then turned from him in impatience and contempt. 'i lie not,' pursued the enthusiast, with a calm dignity that affected even the hardy sensibilities of the gothic hero. 'eye me again! could i come starved, shrivelled, withered thus from any place but rome? since i quitted the city an hour has hardly passed, and by the way that i left it the forces of the goths may enter it to-night.' 'the proof of the harvest is in the quantity of the grain, not in the tongue of the husbandman. show me your open gates, and i will believe that you have spoken truth,' retorted the king, with a rough laugh. 'i betray the city,' resumed the man sternly, 'but on one condition; grant it me, and--' 'i will grant you your life,' interrupted alaric haughtily. 'my life!' cried the roman, and his shrunken form seemed to expand, and his tremulous voice to grow firm and steady in the very bitterness of his contempt, as he spoke. 'my life! i ask it not of your power! the wreck of my body is scarce strong enough to preserve it to me a single day! i have no home, no loves, no friends, no possessions! i live in rome a solitary in the midst of the multitude, a pagan in a city of apostates! what is my life to me? i cherish it but for the service of the gods, whose instruments of vengeance against the nation that has denied them i would make you and your hosts! if you slay me, it is a sign to me from them that i am worthless in their cause. i shall die content.' he ceased. the king's manner, as he listened to him, gradually lost the bluntness and carelessness that had hitherto characterised it, and assumed an attention and a seriousness more in accordance with his high station and important responsibilities. he began to regard the stranger as no common renegade, no ordinary spy, no shallow impostor, who might be driven from his tent with disdain; but as a man important enough to be heard, and ambitious enough to be distrusted. accordingly, he resumed the seat from which he had risen during the interview, and calmly desired his new ally to explain the condition, on the granting of which depended the promised betrayal of the city of rome. the pain-worn and despondent features of ulpius became animated by a glow of triumph as he heard the sudden mildness and moderation of the king's demand; he raised his head proudly, and advanced a few steps, as he thus loudly and abruptly resumed:-- 'assure to me the overthrow of the christian churches, the extermination of the christian priests, and the universal revival of the worship of the gods, and this night shall make you master of the chief city of the empire you are labouring to subvert!' the boldness, the comprehensiveness, the insanity of wickedness displayed in such a proposition, and emanating from such a source, so astounded the mind of alaric, as to deprive him for the moment of speech. the stranger, perceiving his temporary inability to answer him, broke the silence which ensued and continued-- 'is my condition a hard one? a conqueror is all-powerful; he can overthrow the worship, as he can overthrow the government of a nation. what matters it to you, while empire, renown, and treasure are yours, what deities the people adore? is it a great price to pay for an easy conquest, to make a change which threatens neither your power, your fame, nor your wealth? do you marvel that i desire from you such a revolution as this? i was born for the gods, in their service i inherited rank and renown, for their cause i have suffered degradation and woe, for their restoration i will plot, combat, die! assure me then by oath, that with a new rule you will erect our ancient worship, and through my secret inlet to the city i will introduce men enough of the goths to murder with security the sentinels at the guard-houses, and open the gates of rome to the numbers of your whole invading forces. think not to despise the aid of a man unprotected and unknown! the citizens will never yield to your blockade; you shrink from risking the dangers of an assault; the legions of ravenna are reported on their way hitherward. outcast as i am, i tell it to you here, in the midst of your camp--your speediest assurance of success rests on my discovery and on me!' the king started suddenly from his seat. 'what fool or madman!' he cried, fixing his eyes in furious scorn and indignation on the stranger's face, 'prates to me about the legions of ravenna and the dangers of an assault! think you, renegade, that your city could have resisted me had i chosen to storm it on the first day when i encamped before its walls? know you that your effeminate soldiery have laid aside the armour of their ancestors, because their puny bodies are too feeble to bear its weight, and that the half of my army here trebles the whole number of the guards of rome? now, while you stand before me, i have but to command, and the city shall be annihilated with fire and sword, without the aid of one of the herd of traitors cowering beneath the shelter of its ill-defended walls!' as alaric spoke thus, some invisible agency seemed to crush, body and mind, the lost wretch whom he addressed. the shock of such an answer as he now heard seemed to strike him idiotic, as a flash of lightning strikes with blindness. he regarded the king with a bewildered stare, waving his hand tremulously backwards and forwards before his face, as if to clear some imaginary darkness off his eyes; then his arm fell helpless by his side, his head drooped upon his breast, and he moaned out in low, vacant tones, 'the restoration of the gods--that is the condition of conquest--the restoration of the gods!' 'i come not hither to be the tool of a frantic and forgotten priesthood,' cried alaric disdainfully. 'wherever i meet with your accursed idols i will melt them down into armour for my warriors and shoes for my horses; i will turn your temples into granaries and cut your images of wood into billets for the watchfires of my hosts!' 'slay me and be silent!' groaned the man, staggering back against the side of the tent, and shrinking under the merciless words of the goth like a slave under the lash. 'i leave the shedding of such blood as yours to your fellow romans,' answered the king; 'they alone are worthy of the deed.' no syllable of reply now escaped the stranger's lips, and after an interval of silence alaric resumed, in tones divested of their former fiery irritation, and marked by a solemn earnestness that conferred irresistible dignity and force on every word that he uttered. 'behold the characters engraven there!' said he, pointing to the shield; 'they trace the curse denounced by odin against the great oppressor, rome! once these words made part of the worship of our fathers; the worship has long since vanished, but the words remain; they seal the eternal hatred of the people of the north to the people of the south; they contain the spirit of the great destiny that has brought me to the walls of rome. citizen of a fallen empire, the measure of your crimes is full! the voice of a new nation calls through me for the freedom of the earth, which was made for man, and not for romans! the rule that your ancestors won by strength their posterity shall no longer keep by fraud. for two hundred years, hollow and unlasting truces have alternated with long and bloody wars between your people and mine. remembering this, remembering the wrongs of the goths in their settlements in thrace, the murder of the gothic youths in the towns of asia, the massacre of the gothic hostages in aquileia, i come--chosen by the supernatural decrees of heaven--to assure the freedom and satisfy the wrath of my nation, by humbling at its feet the power of tyrannic rome! it is not for battle and bloodshed that i am encamped before yonder walls. it is to crush to the earth, by famine and woe, the pride of your people and the spirit of your rulers; to tear from you your hidden wealth, and to strip you of your boasted honour; to overthrow by oppression the oppressors of the world; to deny you the glories of a resistance, and to impose on you the shame of a submission. it is for this that i now abstain from storming your city, to encircle it with an immovable blockade!' as the declaration of his great mission burst thus from the lips of the gothic king, the spirit of his lofty ambition seemed to diffuse itself over his outward form. his noble stature, his fine proportions, his commanding features, became invested with a simple, primeval grandeur. contrasted as he now was with the shrunken figure of the spirit-broken stranger, he looked almost sublime. a succession of protracted shuddering ran through the pagan's frame, but he neither wept nor spoke. the unavailing defence of the temple of serapis, the defeated revolution at alexandria, and the abortive intrigue with vetranio, were now rising on his memory, to heighten the horror of his present and worst overthrow. every circumstance connected with his desperate passage through the rifted wall revived, fearfully vivid, on his mind. he remembered all the emotions of his first night's labour in the darkness, all the miseries of his second night's torture under the fallen brickwork, all the woe, danger, and despondency that accompanied his subsequent toil--persevered in under the obstructions of a famine-weakened body and a helpless arm--until he passed, in delusive triumph, the last of the hindrances in the long-laboured breach. one after another these banished recollections returned to his memory as he listened to alaric's rebuking words--reviving past infirmities, opening old wounds, inflicting new lacerations. but, saving the shudderings that still shook his body, no outward witness betrayed the inward torment that assailed him. it was too strong for human words, too terrible for human sympathy;--he suffered it in brute silence. monstrous as was his plot, the moral punishment of its attempted consummation was severe enough to be worthy of the projected crime. after watching the man for a few minutes more, with a glance of pitiless disdain, alaric summoned one of the warriors in attendance; and, having previously commanded him to pass the word to the sentinels, authorising the stranger's free passage through the encampment, he then turned, and, for the last time, addressed him as follows:-- 'return to rome, through the hole whence, reptile-like, you emerged!--and feed your starving citizens with the words you have heard in the barbarian's tent!' the guard approached, led him from the presence of the king, issued the necessary directions to the sentinels, and left him to himself. once he raised his eyes in despairing appeal to the heaven that frowned over his head; but still, no word, or tear, or groan, escaped him. he moved slowly on through the thick darkness; and turning his back on the city, passed, careless whither he strayed, into the streets of the desolate and dispeopled suburbs. chapter . love meetings. who that has looked on a threatening and tempestuous sky, has not felt the pleasure of discovering unexpectedly a small spot of serene blue, still shining among the stormy clouds? the more unwillingly the eye has wandered over the gloomy expanse of the rest of the firmament, the more gladly does it finally rest on the little oasis of light which meets at length its weary gaze, and which, when it was dispersed over the whole heaven, was perhaps only briefly regarded with a careless glance. contrasted with the dark and mournful hues around it, even that small spot of blue gradually acquires the power of investing the wider and sadder prospect with a certain interest and animation that it did not before possess--until the mind recognises in the surrounding atmosphere of storm an object adding variety to the view--a spectacle whose mournfulness may interest as well as repel. was it with sensations resembling these (applied, however, rather to the mind than to the eye) that the reader perused those pages devoted to hermanric and antonina? does the happiness there described now appear to him to beam through the stormy progress of the narrative as the spot of blue beams through the gathering clouds? did that small prospect of brightness present itself, at the time, like a garden of repose amid the waste of fierce emotions which encompassed it? did it encourage him, when contrasted with what had gone before, to enter on the field of gloomier interest which was to follow? if, indeed, it has thus affected him, if he can still remember the scene at the farm-house beyond the suburbs with emotions such as these, he will not now be unwilling to turn again for a moment from the gathering clouds to the spot of blue,--he will not deny us an instant's digression from ulpius and the city of famine to antonina and the lonely plains. during the period that has elapsed since we left her, antonina has remained secure in her solitude, happy in her well-chosen concealment. the few straggling goths who at rare intervals appeared in the neighbourhood of her sanctuary never intruded on its peaceful limits. the sight of the ravaged fields and emptied granaries of the deserted little property sufficed invariably to turn their marauding steps in other directions. day by day ran smoothly and swiftly onwards for the gentle usurper of the abandoned farm-house. in the narrow round of its gardens and protecting woods was comprised for her the whole circle of the pleasures and occupations of her new life. the simple stores left in the house, the fruits and vegetables to be gathered in the garden, sufficed amply for her support. the pastoral solitude of the place had in it a quiet, dreamy fascination, a novelty, an unwearying charm, after the austere loneliness to which her former existence had been subjected in rome. and when evening came, and the sun began to burnish the tops of the western tress, then, after the calm emotions of the solitary day, came the hour of absorbing cares and happy expectations--ever the same, yet ever delighting and ever new. then the rude shutters were carefully closed; the open door was shut and barred; the small light--now invisible to the world without--was joyfully kindled; and then, the mistress and author of these preparations resigned herself to await, with pleased anxiety, the approach of the guest for whose welcome they were designed. and never did she expect the arrival of that treasured companion in vain. hermanric remembered his promise to repair constantly to the farm-house, and performed it with all the constancy of love and all the enthusiasm of youth. when the sentinels under his command were arranged in their order of watching for the night, and the trust reposed in him by his superiors exempted his actions from superintendence during the hours of darkness that followed, he left the camp, passed through the desolate suburbs, and gained the dwelling where the young roman awaited him--returning before daybreak to receive the communications regularly addressed to him, at that hour, by his inferior in the command. thus, false to his nation, yet true to the new egeria of his thoughts and actions--traitor to the requirements of vengeance and war, yet faithful to the interests of tranquility and love--did he seek, night after night, antonina's presence. his passion, though it denied him to his warrior duties, wrought not deteriorating change in his disposition. all that it altered in him it altered nobly. it varied and exalted his rude emotions, for it was inspired, not alone by the beauty and youth that he saw, but by the pure thoughts, the artless eloquence that he heard. and she--the forsaken daughter, the source whence the northern warrior derived those new and higher sensations that had never animated him until now--regarded her protector, her first friend and companion, as her first love, with a devotion which, in its mingled and exalted nature, may be imagined by the mind, but can be but imperfectly depicted by the pen. it was a devotion created of innocence and gratitude, of joy and sorrow, of apprehension and hope. it was too fresh, too unworldly to own any upbraidings of artificial shame, any self-reproaches of artificial propriety. it resembled in its essence, though not in its application, the devotion of the first daughters of the fall to their brother-lords. but it is now time that we return to the course of our narrative; although, ere we again enter on the stirring and rapid present, it will be necessary for a moment more to look back in another direction to the eventful past. but it is not on peace, beauty, and pleasure that our observation now fixes itself. it is to anger, disease, and crime--to the unappeasable and unwomanly goisvintha, that we now revert. since the day when the violence of her conflicting emotions had deprived her of consciousness, at the moment of her decisive triumph over the scruples of hermanric and the destiny of antonina, a raging fever had visited on her some part of those bitter sufferings that she would fain have inflicted on others. part of the time she lay in a raving delirium; part of the time in helpless exhaustion; but she never forgot, whatever the form assumed by her disease, the desperate purpose in the pursuit of which she had first incurred it. slowly and doubtfully her vigour at length returned to her, and with it strengthened and increased the fierce ambition of vengeance that absorbed her lightest thoughts and governed her most careless actions. report informed her of the new position, on the line of blockade, on which hermanric was posted, and only enumerated as the companions of his sojourn the warriors sent thither under his command. but, though thus persuaded of the separation of antonina and the goth, her ignorance of the girl's fate rankled unintermittingly in her savage heart. doubtful whether she had permanently reclaimed hermanric to the interests of vengeance and bloodshed; vaguely suspecting that he might have informed himself in her absence of antonina's place of refuge or direction of flight; still resolutely bent on securing the death of her victim, wherever she might have strayed, she awaited with trembling eagerness that day of restoration to available activity and strength which would enable her to resume her influence over the goth, and her machinations against the safety of the fugitive girl. the time of her final and long-expected recovery, was the very day preceding the stormy night we have already described, and her first employment of her renewed energy was to send word to the young goth of her intention of seeking him at his encampment ere the evening closed. it was this intimation which caused the inquietude mentioned as characteristic of the manner of hermanric at the commencement of the preceding chapter. the evening there described was the first that saw him deprived, through the threatened visit of goisvintha, of the anticipation of repairing to antonina, as had been his wont, under cover of the night; for to slight his kinswoman's ominous message was to risk the most fatal of discoveries. trusting to the delusive security of her sickness, he had hitherto banished the unwelcome remembrance of her existence from his thoughts. but, now that she was once more capable of exertion and of crime, he felt that if he would preserve the secret of antonina's hiding-place and the security of antonina's life, he must remain to oppose force to force and stratagem to stratagem, when goisvintha sought him at his post, even at the risk of inflicting, by his absence from the farm-house, all the pangs of anxiety and apprehension on the lonely girl. absorbed in such reflections as these, longing to depart, yet determined to remain, he impatiently awaited goisvintha's approach, until the rising of the storm with its mysterious and all-engrossing train of events forced his thoughts and actions into a new channel. when, however, his interviews with the stranger and the gothic king were past, and he had returned as he had been bidden to his appointed sojourn in the camp, his old anxieties, displaced but not destroyed, resumed their influence over him. he demanded eagerly of his comrades if goisvintha had arrived in his absence, and received the same answer in the negative from each. as he now listened to the melancholy rising of the wind and the increasing loudness of the thunder, to the shrill cries of the distant night-birds hurrying to shelter, emotions of mournfulness and awe possessed themselves of his heart. he now wondered that any events, however startling, however appalling, should have had the power to turn his mind for a moment from the dreary contemplations that had engaged it at the close of day. he thought of antonina, solitary and helpless, listening to the tempest in affright, and watching vainly for his long-delayed approach. his fancy arrayed before him dangers, plots, and crimes, robed in all the horrible exaggerations of a dream. even the quick, monotonous dripping of the rain-drops outside aroused within him dark and indefinable forebodings of ill. the passion that had hitherto created for him new pleasures was now fulfilling the other half of its earthly mission, and causing him new pains. as the storm strengthened, as the darkness lowered deeper and deeper, so did his inquietude increase, until at length it mastered the last feeble resistance of his wavering firmness. persuading himself that, after having delayed so long, goisvintha would now refrain from seeking him until the morrow, and that all communications from alaric, had they been despatched, would have reached him ere this; unable any longer to combat his anxiety for the safety of antonina; determined to risk the worst possibilities rather than be absent at such a time of tempest and peril from the farm-house, he made a last visit to the stations of the watchful sentinels, and quitted the camp for the night. chapter . the huns. more than an hour after hermanric had left the encampment, a man hurriedly entered the house set apart for the young chieftain's occupation. he made no attempt to kindle either light or fire, but sat down in the principal apartment, occasionally whispering to himself in a strange and barbarous tongue. he had remained but a short time in possession of his comfortless solitude, when he was intruded on by a camp-follower, bearing a small lamp, and followed closely by a woman, who, as he started up and confronted her, announced herself as hermanric's kinswoman, and eagerly demanded an interview with the goth. haggard and ghastly though it was from recent suffering and long agitation, the countenance of goisvintha (for it was she) appeared absolutely attractive as it was now opposed by the lamp-light to the face and figure of the individual she addressed. a flat nose, a swarthy complexion, long, coarse, tangled locks of deep black hair, a beardless, retreating chin, and small, savage, sunken eyes, gave a character almost bestial to this man's physiognomy. his broad, brawny shoulders overhung a form that was as low in stature as it was athletic in build; you looked on him and saw the sinews of a giant strung in the body of a dwarf. and yet this deformed hercules was no solitary error of nature--no extraordinary exception to his fellow-beings, but the actual type of a whole race, stunted and repulsive as himself. he was a hun. this savage people, the terror even of their barbarous neighbours, living without government, laws, or religion, possessed but one feeling in common with the human race--the instinct of war. their historical career may be said to have begun with their early conquests in china, and to have proceeded in their first victories over the goths, who regarded them as demons, and fled at their approach. the hostilities thus commenced between the two nations were at length suspended by the temporary alliance of the conquered people with the empire, and subsequently ceased in the gradual fusion of the interests of each in one animating spirit--detestation of rome. by this bond of brotherhood, the goths and the huns became publicly united, though still privately at enmity--for the one nation remembered its former defeats as vividly as the other remembered its former victories. with various disasters, dissensions, and successes, they ran their career of battle and rapine, sometimes separate, sometimes together, until the period of our romance, when alaric's besieging forces numbered among the ranks of their barbarian auxiliaries a body of huns, who, unwillingly admitted to the title of gothic allies, were dispersed about the army in subordinate stations, and of whom the individual above described was one of those contemptuously favoured by promotion to an inferior command, under hermanric, as a gothic chief. an expression of aversion, but not of terror, passed over goisvintha's worn features as she approached the barbarian, and repeated her desire to be conducted to hermanric's presence. for the second time, however, the man gave her no answer. he burst into a shrill, short laugh, and shook his huge shoulders in clumsy derision. the woman's cheek reddened for an instant, and then turned again to livid paleness as she thus resumed-- 'i came not hither to be mocked by a barbarian, but to be welcomed by a goth! again i ask you, where is my kinsman, hermanric?' 'gone!' cried the hun. and his laughter grew more wild and discordant as he spoke. a sudden tremor ran through goisvintha's frame as she marked the manner of the barbarian and heard his reply. repressing with difficulty her anger and agitation, she continued, with apprehension in her eyes and entreaty in her tones-- 'whither has he gone? wherefore has he departed? i know that the hour i appointed for our meeting here has long passed; but i have suffered a sickness of many weeks, and when, at evening, i prepared to set forth, my banished infirmities seemed suddenly to return to me again. i was borne to my bed. but, though the woman who succoured me bid me remain and repose, i found strength in the night to escape them, and through storm and darkness to come hither alone--for i was determined, though i should perish for it, to seek the presence of hermanric, as i had promised by my messengers. you, that are the companion of his watch, must know whither he is gone. go to him, and tell him what i have spoken. i will await his return!' 'his business is secret,' sneered the hun. 'he has departed, but without telling me whither. how should i, that am a barbarian, know the whereabouts of an illustrious goth? it is not for me to know his actions, but to obey his words!' 'jeer not about your obedience,' returned goisvintha with breathless eagerness. 'i say to you again, you know whither he is gone, and you must tell me for what he has departed. you obey him--there is money to make you obey me!' 'when i said his business was secret, i lied not,' said the hun, picking up with avidity the coins she flung to him--'but he has not kept it secret from me! the huns are cunning! aha, ugly and cunning!' suspicion, the only refined emotion in a criminal heart, half discovered to goisvintha, at this moment, the intelligence that was yet to be communicated. no word, however, escaped her, while she signed the barbarian to proceed. 'he has gone to a farm-house on the plains beyond the suburbs behind us. he will not return till daybreak,' continued the hun, tossing his money carelessly in his great, horny hands. 'did you see him go?' gasped the woman. 'i tracked him to the house,' returned the barbarian. 'for many nights i watched and suspected him--to-night i saw him depart. it is but a short time since i returned from following him. the darkness did not delude me; the place is on the high-road from the suburbs--the first by-path to the westward leads to its garden gate. i know it! i have discovered his secret! i am more cunning than he!' 'for what did he seek the farm-house at night?' demanded goisvintha after an interval, during which she appeared to be silently fixing the man's last speech in her memory; 'are you cunning enough to tell me that?' 'for what do men venture their safety and their lives, their money and their renown?' laughed the barbarian. 'they venture them for women! there is a girl at the farm-house; i saw her at the door when the chief went in!' he paused; but goisvintha made no answer. remembering that she was descended from a race of women who slew their wounded husbands, brothers, and sons with their own hands when they sought them after battle dishonoured by a defeat; remembering that the fire of the old ferocity of such ancestors as these still burnt at her heart; remembering all that she had hoped from hermanric, and had plotted against antonina; estimating in all its importance the shock of the intelligence she now received, we are alike unwilling and unable to describe her emotions at this moment. for some time the stillness in the room was interrupted by no sounds but the rolling of the thunder without, the quick, convulsive respiration of goisvintha, and the clinking of the money which the hun still continued to toss mechanically from hand to hand. 'i shall reap good harvest of gold and silver after to-night's work,' pursued the barbarian, suddenly breaking the silence. 'you have given me money to speak--when the chief returns and hears that i have discovered him, he will give me money to be silent. i shall drink to-morrow with the best men in the army, hun though i am!' he returned to his seat as he ceased, and began beating in monotonous measure, with one of his pieces of money on the blade of his sword, some chorus of a favourite drinking song; while goisvintha, standing pale and breathless near the door of the chamber, looked down on him with fixed, vacant eyes. at length a deep sigh broke from her; her hands involuntarily clenched themselves at her side; her lips moved with a bitter smile; then, without addressing another word to the hun, she turned, and softly and stealthily quitted the room. the instant she was gone, a sudden change arose in the barbarian's manner. he started from his seat, a scowl of savage hatred and triumph appeared on his shaggy brows, and he paced to and fro through the chamber like a wild beast in his cage. 'i shall tear him from the pinnacle of his power at last!' he whispered fiercely to himself. 'for what i have told her this night, his kinswoman will hate him--i knew it while she spoke! for his desertion of his post, alaric may dishonour him, may banish him, may hang him! his fate is at my mercy; i shall rid myself nobly of him and his command! more than all the rest of his nation i loathe this goth! i will be by when they drag him to the tree, and taunt him with his shame, as he has taunted me with my deformity.' here he paused to laugh in complacent approval of his project, quickening his steps and hugging himself joyfully in the barbarous exhilaration of his triumph. his secret meditations had thus occupied him for some time longer, when the sound of a footstep was audible outside the door. he recognised it instantly, and called softly to the person without to approach. at the signal of his voice a man entered--less athletic in build, but in deformity the very counterpart of himself. the following discourse was then immediately held between the two huns, the new-comer beginning it thus:-- 'have you tracked him to the door?' 'to the very threshold.' 'then his downfall is assured! i have seen alaric.' 'we shall trample him under our feet!--this boy, who has been set over us that are his elders, because he is a goth and we are huns! but what of alaric? how did you gain his ear?' 'the goths round his tent scoffed at me as a savage, and swore that i was begotten between a demon and a witch. but i remembered the time when these boasters fled from their settlements; when our tribes mounted their black steeds and hunted them like beasts! aha, their very lips were pale with fear in those days.' 'speak of alaric--our time is short,' interrupted the other fiercely. 'i answered not a word to their taunts,' resumed his companion, 'but i called out loudly that i was a gothic ally, that i brought messages to alaric, and that i had the privilege of audience like the rest. my voice reached the ears of the king: he looked forth from his tent, and beckoned me in. i saw his hatred of my nation lowering in his eye as we looked on one another, but i spoke with submission and in a soft voice. i told him how his chieftain whom he had set over us secretly deserted his post; i told him how we had seen his favoured warrior for many nights journeying towards the suburbs; how on this night, as on others before, he had stolen from the encampment, and how you had gone forth to track him to his lurking-place.' 'was the tyrant angered?' 'his cheeks reddened, and his eyes flashed, and his fingers trembled round the hilt of his sword while i spoke! when i ceased he answered me that i lied. he cursed me for an infidel hun who had slandered a christian chieftain. he threatened me with hanging! i cried to him to send messengers to our quarters to prove the truth ere he slew me. he commanded a warrior to return hither with me. when we arrived, the most christian chieftain was nowhere to be beheld--none knew whither he had gone! we turned back again to the tent of the king; his warrior, whom he honoured, spoke the same words to him as the hun whom he despised. then the wrath of alaric rose. "this very night," he cried, "did i with my own lips direct him to await my commands with vigilance at his appointed post! i would visit such disobedience with punishment on my own son! go, take with you others of your troop--your comrade who has tracked him will guide you to his hiding-place--bring him prisoner into my tent!" such were his words! our companions wait us without--lest he should escape let us depart without delay.' 'and if he should resist us,' cried the other, leading the way eagerly towards the door; 'what said the king if he should resist us?' 'slay him with your own hands.' chapter . the farm-house. as the night still advanced, so did the storm increase. on the plains in the open country its violence was most apparent. here no living voices jarred with the dreary music of the elements; no flaming torches opposed the murky darkness or imitated the glaring lightning. the thunder pursued uninterruptedly its tempest symphony, and the fierce wind joined it, swelling into wild harmony when it rushed through the trees, as if in their waving branches it struck the chords of a mighty harp. in the small chamber of the farm-house sat together hermanric and antonina, listening in speechless attention to the increasing tumult of the storm. the room and its occupants were imperfectly illuminated by the flame of a smouldering wood fire. the little earthenware lamp hung from its usual place in the ceiling, but its oil was exhausted and its light was extinct. an alabaster vase of fruit lay broken by the side of the table, from which it had fallen unnoticed to the floor. no other articles of ornament appeared in the apartment. hermanric's downcast eyes and melancholy, unchanging expressions betrayed the gloomy abstraction in which he was absorbed. with one hand clasped in his, and the other resting with her head on his shoulder, antonina listened attentively to the alternate rising and falling of the wind. her beauty had grown fresher and more woman-like during her sojourn at the farm-house. cheerfulness and hope seemed to have gained at length all the share in her being assigned to them by nature at her birth. even at this moment of tempest and darkness there was more of wonder and awe than of agitation and affright in her expression, as she sat hearkening, with flushed cheek and brightened eye, to the progress of the nocturnal storm. thus engrossed by their thoughts, hermanric and antonina remained silent in their little retreat, until the reveries of both were suddenly interrupted by the snapping asunder of the bar of wood which secured the door of the room, the stress of which, as it bent under the repeated shocks of the wind, the rotten spar was too weak to sustain any longer. there was something inexpressibly desolate in the flood of rain, wind, and darkness that seemed instantly to pour into the chamber through the open door, as it flew back violently on its frail hinges. antonina changed colour, and shuddered involuntarily, as hermanric hastily rose and closed the door again, by detaching its rude latch from the sling which held it when not wanted for use. he looked round the room as he did so for some substitute for the broken bar, but nothing that was fit for the purpose immediately met his eye, and he muttered to himself as he returned impatiently to his seat: 'while we are here to watch it the latch is enough; it is new and strong.' he seemed on the point of again relapsing into his former gloom, when the voice of antonina arrested his attention, and aroused him for the moment from his thoughts. 'is it in the power of the tempest to make you, a warrior of a race of heroes, thus sorrowful and sad?' she asked, in accents of gentle reproach. 'even i, as i look on these walls that are so eloquent of my happiness, and sit by you whose presence makes that happiness, can listen to the raging storm, and feel no heaviness over my heart! what is there to either of us in the tempest that should oppress us with gloom? does not the thunder come from the same heaven as the sunshine of the summer day? you are so young, so generous, so brave,--you have loved, and pitied, and succoured me,--why should the night language of the sky cast such sorrow and such silence over you?' 'it is not from sorrow that i am silent,' replied hermanric, with a constrained smile, 'but from weariness with much toil in the camp.' he stifled a sigh as he spoke. his head returned to its old downcast position. the struggle between his assumed carelessness and his real inquietude was evidently unequal. as she looked fixedly on him, with the vigilant eye of affection, the girl's countenance saddened with his. she nestled closer to his side and resumed the discourse in anxious and entreating tones. 'it is haply the strife between our two nations which has separated us already, and may separate us again, that thus oppresses you,' said she; 'but think, as i do, of the peace that must come, and not of the warfare that now is. think of the pleasures of our past days, and of the happiness of our present moments,--thus united, thus living, loving, hoping for each other; and, like me, you will doubt not of the future that is in preparation for us both! the season of tranquillity may return with the season of spring. the serene heaven will then be reflected on a serene country and a happy people; and in those days of sunshine and peace, will any hearts among all the glad population be more joyful than ours?' she paused a moment. some sudden thought or recollection heightened her colour and caused her to hesitate ere she proceeded. she was about at length to continue, when a peal of thunder, louder than any which had preceded it, burst threateningly over the house and drowned the first accents of her voice. the wind moaned loudly, the rain splashed against the door, the latch rattled long and sharply in its socket. once more hermanric rose from his seat, and approaching the fire, placed a fresh log of wood upon the dying embers. his dejection seemed now to communicate itself to antonina, and as he reseated himself by her side, she did not address him again. thoughts, dreary and appalling beyond any that had occupied it before, were rising in the mind of the goth. his inquietude at the encampment in the suburbs was tranquillity itself compared to the gloom which now oppressed him. all the evaded dues of his nation, his family, and his calling; all the suppressed recollections of the martial occupation he had slighted, and the martial enmities he had disowned, now revived avengingly in his memory. yet, vivid as these remembrances were, they weakened none of those feelings of passionate devotion to antonina by which their influence within him had hitherto been overcome. they existed with them--the old recollections with the new emotions--the stern rebukings of the warrior's nature with the anxious forebodings of the lover's heart. and now, his mysterious meeting with ulpius; goisvintha's unexpected return to health; the dreary rising and furious progress of the night tempest, began to impress his superstitious mind as a train of unwonted and meaning incidents, destined to mark the fatal return of his kinswoman's influence over his own actions and antonina's fate. one by one, his memory revived with laborious minuteness every incident that had attended his different interviews with the roman girl, from the first night when she had strayed into his tent to the last happy evening that he had spent with her at the deserted farm-house. then tracing further backwards the course of his existence, he figured to himself his meeting with goisvintha among the italian alps; his presence at the death of her last child, and his solemn engagement, on hearing her recital of the massacre at aquileia, to avenge her on the romans with his own hands. roused by these opposite pictures of the past, his imagination peopled the future with images of antonina again endangered, afflicted, and forsaken; with visions of the impatient army, spurred at length into ferocious action, making universal havoc among the people of rome, and forcing him back for ever into their avenging ranks. no decision for resistance or resignation to flight presented itself to his judgment. doubt, despair, and apprehension held unimpeded sway over his impressible but inactive faculties. the night itself, as he looked forth on it, was not more dark; the wild thunder, as he listened to it, not more gloomy; the name of goisvintha, as he thought on it, not more ominous of evil, than the sinister visions that now startled his imagination and oppressed his weary mind. there was something indescribably simple, touching, and eloquent in the very positions of hermanric and antonina as they now sat together--the only members of their respective nations who were united in affection and peace--in the lonely farm-house. both the girl's hands were clasped over hermanric's shoulder, and her head rested on them, turned from the door towards the interior of the room, and so displaying her rich, black hair in all its luxuriance. the head of the goth was still sunk on his breast, as though he were wrapped in a deep sleep, and his hands hung listlessly side by side over the scabbard of his sheathed sword, which lay across his knees. the fire flamed only at intervals, the fresh log that had been placed on it not having been thoroughly kindled as yet. sometimes the light played on the white folds of antonina's dress; sometimes over the bright surface of hermanric's cuirass, which he had removed and laid by his side on the ground; sometimes over his sword, and his hands, as they rested on it; but it was not sufficiently powerful or lasting to illuminate the room, the walls and corners of which it left in almost complete darkness. the thunder still pealed from without, but the rain and wind had partially lulled. the night hours had moved on more swiftly than our narrative of the events that marked them. it was now midnight. no sound within the room reached antonina's ear but the quick rattling of the door-latch, shaken in its socket by the wind. as one by one the moments journeyed slowly onward, it made its harsh music with as monotonous a regularity as though it were moved by their progress, and kept pace with their eternal march. gradually the girl found herself listening to this sharp, discordant sound, with all the attention she could have bestowed at other times on the ripple of a distant rivulet or the soothing harmony of a lute, when, just as it seemed adapting itself most easily to her senses, it suddenly ceased, and the next instant a gust of wind, like that which had rushed through the open door on the breaking of the rotten bar, waved her hair about her face and fluttered the folds of her light, loose dress. she raised her head and whispered tremulously to hermanric-- 'the door is open again--the latch has given way!' the goth started from his reverie and looked up hastily. at that instant the rattling of the latch recommenced as suddenly as it had ceased, and the air of the room recovered its former tranquillity. 'calm yourself, beloved one,' said hermanric gently; 'your fancy has misled you--the door is safe.' he parted back her dishevelled hair caressingly as he spoke. incapable of doubting the lightest word that fell from his lips, and hearing no suspicious or unwonted sound in the room, she never attempted to justify her suspicions. as she again rested her head on his shoulder, a vague misgiving oppressed her heart, and drew from her an irrepressible sigh; but she gave her apprehensions no expression in words. after listening for a moment more to assure himself of the security of the latch, the goth resumed insensibly the contemplations from which he had been disturbed; once more his head drooped, and again his hands returned mechanically to their old listless position, side by side, on the scabbard of his sword. the faint, fickle flames still rose and fell, gleaming here and sinking there, the latch sounded sharply in its socket, the thunder yet uttered its surly peal, but the wind was now subsiding into fainter moans, and the rain began to splash faintly and more faintly against the shutters without. to the watchers in the farm-house nothing was altered to the eye, and little to the ear. fatal security! the last few minutes had darkly determined their future destinies--in the loved and cherished retreat they were now no longer alone. they heard no stealthy footsteps pacing round their dwelling, they saw no fierce eyes peering into the interior of the farm-house through a chink in the shutters, they marked no dusky figure passing through the softly and quickly opened door, and gliding into the darkest corner of the room. yet, now as they sat together, communing in silence with their young, sad hearts, the threatening figure of goisvintha stood, shrouded in congenial darkness, under their protecting roof and in their beloved chamber, rising still and silent almost at their very sides. though the fire of her past fever had raged again through her veins, and though startling visions of the murders at aquileia had flashed before her mind as the wild lightning before her eyes, she had traced her way through the suburbs and along the high-road, and down the little path to the farm-house gate, without straying, without hesitating. regardless of the darkness and the storm, she had prowled about the house, had raised the latch, had waited for a loud peal of thunder ere she passed the door, and had stolen shadow-like into the darkest corner of the room, with a patience and a determination that nothing could disturb. and now, when she stood at the goal of her worst wishes, even now, when she looked down upon the two beings by whom she had been thwarted and deceived, her fierce self-possession did not desert her; her lips quivered over her locked teeth, her bosom heaved beneath her drenched garments, but neither sighs nor curses, not even a smile of triumph or a movement of anger escaped her. she never looked at antonina; her eyes wandered not for a moment from hermanric's form. the quickest, faintest gleam of firelight that gleamed over it was followed through its fitful course by her eager glance, rapid and momentary as itself. soon her attention was fixed wholly upon his hands, as they lay over the scabbard of his sword; and then, slowly and obscurely, a new and fatal resolution sprung up within her. the various emotions pictured in her face became resolved into one sinister expression, and, without removing her eyes from the goth, she slowly drew from the bosom-folds of her garment a long sharp knife. the flames alternately trembled into light and subsided into darkness as at first; hermanric and antonina yet continued in their old positions, absorbed in their thoughts and in themselves; and still goisvintha remained unmoved as ever, knife in hand, watchful, steady, silent as before. but beneath the concealment of her outward tranquillity raged a contention under which her mind darkened and her heart writhed. twice she returned the knife to its former hiding-place, and twice she drew it forth again; her cheeks grew paler and paler, she pressed her clenched hand convulsively over her bosom, and leant back languidly against the wall behind her. no thought of antonina had part in this great strife of secret emotions; her wrath had too much of anguish in it to be spent against a stranger and an enemy. after the lapse of a few moments more, her strength returned--her firmness was aroused. the last traces of grief and despair that had hitherto appeared in her eyes vanished from them in an instant. rage, vengeance, ferocity, lowered over them as she crept stealthily forward to the very side of the goth, and, when the next gleam of the fire played upon him, drew the knife fiercely across the back of his hands. the cut was true, strong, and rapid--it divided the tendons from first to last--he was crippled for life. at that instant the fire touched the very heart of the log that had been laid on it. it crackled gaily; it blazed out brilliantly. the whole room was as brightly illuminated as if a christmas festival of ancient england had been preparing within its walls! the warm, cheerful light showed the goth the figure of his assassin, ere the first cry of anguish had died away on his lips, or the first start of irrepressible horror ceased to vibrate through his frame. the cries of his hapless companion, as the whole scene of vengeance, treachery, and mutilation flashed in one terrible instant before her eyes, seemed not even to reach his ears. once he looked down upon his helpless hands, when the sword rolled heavily from them to the floor. then his gaze directed itself immovably upon goisvintha, as she stood at a little distance from him, with her blood-stained knife, silent as himself. there was no fury--no defiance--not even the passing distortion of physical suffering in his features, as he now looked on her. blank, rigid horror--tearless, voiceless, helpless despair, seemed to have petrified the expression of his face into an everlasting form, unyouthful and unhopeful--as if he had been imprisoned from his childhood, and a voice was now taunting him with the pleasures of liberty, from a grating in his dungeon walls. not even when antonina, recovering from her first agony of terror, pressed her convulsive kisses on his cold cheek, entreating him to look on her, did he turn his head, or remove his eyes from goisvintha's form. at length the deep steady accents of the woman's voice were heard through the desolate silence. 'traitor in word and thought you may be yet, but traitor in deed you never more shall be!' she began, pointing to his hands with her knife. 'those hands, that have protected a roman life, shall never grasp a roman sword, shall never pollute again by their touch a gothic weapon! i remembered, as i watched you in the darkness, how the women of my race once punished their recreant warriors when they fled to them from a defeat. so have i punished you! the arm that served not the cause of sister and sister's children--of king and king's nation--shall serve no other! i am half avenged of the murders at aquileia, now that i am avenged on you! go, fly with the roman you have chosen to the city of her people! your life as a warrior is at an end!' he made her no answer. there are emotions, the last of a life, which tear back from nature the strongest barriers that custom raises to repress her, which betray the lurking existence of the first rude social feeling of the primeval days of a great nation, in the breasts of their most distant descendants, however widely their acquirements, their prosperities, or their changes may seem to have morally separated them from their ancestors of old. such were the emotions now awakened in the heart of the goth. his christianity, his love, his knowledge of high aims, and his experience of new ideas, sank and deserted him, as though he had never known them. he thought on his mutilated hands, and no other spirit moved within him, but the ancient gothic spirit of centuries back; the inspiration of his nation's early northern songs and early northern achievements--the renown of courage and the supremacy of strength. vainly did antonina, in the midst of the despair that still possessed her, yearn for a word from his lips or a glance from his eyes; vainly did her trembling fingers, tearing the bandages from her robe, stanch the blood on his wounded hands; vainly did her voice call on him to fly and summon help from his companions in the camp! his mind was far away, brooding over the legends of the battle-fields of his ancestors, remembering how, even in the day of victory, they slew themselves if they were crippled in the fray, how they scorned to exist for other interests than the interests of strife, how they mutilated traitors as goisvintha had mutilated him! such were the objects that enchained his inward faculties, while his outward senses were still enthralled by the horrible fascination that existed for him in the presence of the assassin by his side. his very consciousness of his existence, though he moved and breathed, seemed to have ceased. 'you thought to deceive me in my sickness, you hoped to profit by my death,' resumed goisvintha, returning contemptuously her victim's glance. 'you trusted in the night, and the darkness, and the storm; you were secure in your boldness, in your strength, in the secrecy of this lurking-place that you have chosen for your treachery, but your stratagems and your expectations have failed you! at aquileia i learnt to be wily and watchful as you! i discovered your desertion of the warriors and the camp; i penetrated the paths to your hiding-place; i entered it as softly as i once departed from the dwelling where my children were slain! in my just vengeance i have treated you as treacherously as you would have treated me! remember your murdered brother; remember the child i put into your arms wounded and received from them dead; remember your broken oaths and forgotten promises, and make to your nation, to your duties, and to me, the atonement--the last and the only one--that in my mercy i have left in your power--the atonement of death.' again she paused, and again no reply awaited her. still the goth neither moved nor spoke, and still antonina--kneeling unconsciously upon the sword, now useless to him for ever--continued to stanch the blood on his hands with a mechanical earnestness that seemed to shut out the contemplation of every other object from her eyes. the tears streamed incessantly down her cheeks, but she never turned towards goisvintha, never suspended her occupation. meanwhile, the fire still blazed noisily on the cheerful hearth; but the storm, as if disdaining the office of heightening the human horror of the farm-house scene, was rapidly subsiding. the thunder pealed less frequently and less loudly, the wind fell into intervals of noiseless calm, and occasionally the moonlight streamed, in momentary brightness, through the ragged edges of the fast breaking clouds. the breath of the still morning was already moving upon the firmament of the stormy night. 'has life its old magic for you yet?' continued goisvintha, in tones of pitiless reproach. 'have you forgotten, with the spirit of your people, the end for which your ancestors lived? is not your sword at your feet? is not the knife in my hand? do not the waters of the tiber, rolling yonder to the sea, offer to you the grave of oblivion that all may seek? die then! in your last hour be a goth; even to the romans you are worthless now! already your comrades have discovered your desertion; will you wait till you are hung for a rebel? will you live to implore the mercy of your enemies, or, dishonoured and defenceless, will you endeavour to escape? you are of the blood of my family, but again i say it to you--die!' his pale lips trembled; he looked round for the first time at antonina, but his utterance struggled ineffectually, even yet, against unyielding despair. he was still silent. goisvintha turned from him disdainfully, and approaching the fire sat down before it, bending her haggard features over the brilliant flames. for a few minutes she remained absorbed in her evil thoughts, but no articulate word escaped her; and when at length she again abruptly broke the silence, it was not to address the goth or to fix her eyes on him as before. still cowering over the fire, apparently as regardless of the presence of the two beings whose happiness she had just crushed for ever as if they had never existed, she began to recite, in solemn, measured, chanting tones, a legend of the darkest and earliest age of gothic history, keeping time to herself with the knife that she still held in her hand. the malignity in her expression, as she pursued her employment, betrayed the heartless motive that animated it, almost as palpably as the words of the composition she was repeating: thus she now spoke:-- 'the tempest-god's pinions o'ershadow the sky, the waves leap to welcome the storm that is nigh, through the hall of old odin re-echo the shocks that the fierce ocean hurls at his rampart of rocks, as, alone on the crags that soar up from the sands, with his virgin siona the young agnar stands; tears sprinkle their dew on the sad maiden's cheeks, and the voice of the chieftain sinks low while he speaks: "crippled in the fight for ever, number'd with the worse than slain; weak, deform'd, disabled!--never can i join the hosts again! with the battle that is won agnar's earthly course is run! "when thy shatter'd frame must yield, if thou seek'st a future field; when thy arm, that sway'd the strife, fails to shield thy worthless life; when thy hands no more afford full employment to the sword; then, preserve--respect thy name; meet thy death--to live is shame! such is odin's mighty will; such commands i now fulfil!"' at this point in the legend, she paused and turned suddenly to observe its effect on hermanric. all its horrible application to himself thrilled through his heart. his head drooped, and a low groan burst from his lips. but even this evidence of the suffering she was inflicting failed to melt the iron malignity of goisvintha's determination. 'do you remember the death of agnar?' she cried. 'when you were a child, i sung it to you ere you slept, and you vowed as you heard it, that when you were a man, if you suffered his wounds you would die his death! he was crippled in a victory, yet he slew himself on the day of his triumph; you are crippled in your treachery, and have forgotten your boy's honour, and will live in the darkness of your shame! have you lost remembrance of that ancient song? you heard it from me in the morning of your years; listen, and you shall hear it to the end; it is the dirge for your approaching death!' she continued-- "siona, mourn not!--where i go the warriors feel nor pain nor woe; they raise aloft the gleaming steel, their wounds, though warm, untended heal; their arrows bellow through the air in showers, as they battle there; in mighty cups their wine is pour'd, bright virgins throng their midnight board! "yet think not that i die unmov'd; i mourn the doom that sets me free, as i think, betroth'd--belov'd, on all the joys i lose in thee! to form my boys to meet the fray, where'er the gothic banner streams; to guard thy night, to glad thy day, made all the bliss of agnar's dreams-- dreams that must now be all forgot, earth's joys have passed from agnar's lot! "see, athwart the face of light float the clouds of sullen night! odin's warriors watch for me by the earth-encircling sea! the water's dirges howl my knell; 'tis time i die--farewell-farewell!" 'he rose with a smile to prepare for the spring, he flew from the rock like a bird on the wing; the sea met her prey with a leap and a roar, and the maid stood alone by the wave-riven shore! the winds mutter'd deep, with a woe-boding sound, as she wept o'er the footsteps he'd left on the ground; and the wild vultures shriek'd, for the chieftain who spread their battle-field banquets was laid with the dead!' as, with a slow and measured emphasis, goisvintha pronounced the last lines of the poem she again approached hermanric. but the eyes of the goth sought her no longer. she had calmed the emotions that she had hoped to irritate. of the latter divisions of her legend, those only which were pathetic had arrested the lost chieftain's attention, and the blunted faculties of his heart recovered their old refinement as he listened to them. a solemn composure of love, grief, and pity appeared in the glance of affection that he now directed on the girl's despairing countenance. years of good thoughts, an existence of tender cares, an eternity of youthful devotion spoke in that rapt, momentary, eloquent gaze, and imprinted on his expression a character ineffably beautiful and calm--a nobleness above the human, and approaching the angelic and divine. intuitively goisvintha followed the direction of his eyes, and looked, like him, on the roman girl's face. a lowering expression of hatred replaced the scorn that had hitherto distorted her passionate features. mechanically her hand again half raised the knife, and the accents of her wrathful voice once more disturbed the sacred silence of affection and grief. 'is it for the girl there that you would still live?' she cried sternly. 'i foreboded it, coward, when i first looked on you! i prepared for it when i wounded you! i made sure that when my anger again threatened this new ruler of your thoughts and mover of your actions, you should have lost the power to divert it from her again! think you that, because my disdain has delayed it, my vengeance on her is abandoned? long since i swore to you that she should die, and i will hold to my purpose! i have punished you; i will slay her! can you shield her from the blow to-night, as you shielded her in your tent? you are weaker before me than a child!' she ceased abruptly, for at this moment a noise of hurrying footsteps and contending voices became suddenly audible from without. as she heard it, a ghastly paleness chased the flush of anger from her cheeks. with the promptitude of apprehension she snatched the sword of hermanric from under antonina, and ran it through the staples intended to hold the rude bar of the door. the next instant the footsteps sounded on the garden path, and the next the door was assailed. the good sword held firm, but the frail barrier that it sustained yielded at the second shock and fell inwards, shattered, to the floor. instantly the gap was darkened by human forms, and the firelight glowed over the repulsive countenances of two huns who headed the intruders, habited in complete armour and furnished with naked swords. 'yield yourself prisoner by alaric's command,' cried one of the barbarians, 'or you shall be slain as a deserter where you now stand!' the goth had risen to his feet as the door was burst in. the arrival of his pursuers seemed to restore his lost energies, to deliver him at once from an all-powerful thraldom. an expression of triumph and defiance shone over his steady features when he heard the summons of the hun. for a moment he stooped towards antonina, as she clung fainting round him. his mouth quivered and his eye glistened as he kissed her cold cheek. in that moment all the hopelessness of his position, all the worthlessness of his marred existence, all the ignominy preparing for him when he returned to the camp, rushed over his mind. in that moment the worst horrors of departure and death, the fiercest rackings of love and despair, assailed but did not overcome him. in that moment he paid his final tribute to the dues of affection, and braced for the last time the fibres of manly dauntlessness and spartan resolve! the next instant he tore himself from the girl's arms, the old hero-spirit of his conquering nation possessed every nerve in his frame, his eye brightened again gloriously with its lost warrior-light, his limbs grew firm, his face was calm, he confronted the huns with a mien of authority and a smile of disdain, and, as he presented to them his defenceless breast, not the faintest tremor was audible in his voice, while he cried in accents of steady command-- 'strike! i yield not!' the huns rushed forward with fierce cries, and buried their swords in his body. his warm young blood gushed out upon the floor of the dwelling which had been the love-shrine of the heart that shed it. without a sigh from his lips or a convulsion on his features, he fell dead at the feet of his enemies; all the valour of his disposition, all the gentleness of his heart, all the vigour of his form, resolved in one humble instant into a senseless and burdensome mass! antonina beheld the assassination, but was spared the sight of the death that followed it. she fell insensible by the side of her young warrior--her dress was spotted with his blood, her form was motionless as his own. 'leave him there to rot! his pride in his superiority will not serve him now--even to a grave!' cried the hun leader to his companions, as he dried on the garments of the corpse his reeking sword. 'and this woman,' demanded one of his comrades, 'is she to be liberated or secured?' he pointed as he spoke to goisvintha. during the brief scene of the assassination, the very exercise of her faculties seemed to have been suspended. she had never stirred a limb or uttered a word. the hun recognised her as the woman who had questioned and bribed him at the camp. 'she is the traitor's kinswoman and is absent from the tents without leave,' he answered. 'take her prisoner to alaric; she will bear us witness that we have done as he commanded us. as for the girl,' he continued, glancing at the blood on antonina's dress, and stirring her figure carelessly with his foot, 'she may be dead too, for she neither moves nor speaks, and may be left like her protector to lie graveless where she is. for us, it is time that we depart--the king is impatient of delay.' as they led her roughly from the house, goisvintha shuddered, and attempted to pause for a moment when she passed the corpse of the goth. death, that can extinguish enmities as well as sunder loves, rose awful and appealing as she looked her last at her murdered brother, and remembered her murdered husband. no tears flowed from her eyes, no groans broke from her bosom; but there was a pang, a last momentary pang of grief and pity at her heart as she murmured while they forced her away--'aquileia! aquileia! have i outlived thee for this!' the troops retired. for a few minutes silence ruled uninterruptedly over the room where the senseless girl still lay by the side of all that was left to her of the object of her first youthful love. but ere long footsteps again approached the farm-house door, and two goths, who had formed part of the escort allotted to the hun, approached the young chieftain's corpse. quickly and silently they raised it in their arms and bore it into the garden. there they scooped a shallow hole with their swords in the fresh, flower-laden turf, and having laid the body there, they hastily covered it, and rapidly departed without returning to the house. these men had served among the warriors committed to hermanric's command. by many acts of frank generosity and encouragement, the young chieftain had won their rough attachment. they mourned his fate, but dared not obstruct the sentence, or oppose the act that determined it. at their own risk they had secretly quitted the advancing ranks of their comrades, to use the last privilege and obey the last dictate of human kindness; and they thought not of the lonely girl as they now left her desolate, and hurried away to reassume their appointed stations ere it was too late. the turf lay caressingly round the young warrior's form; its crushed flowers pressed softly against his cold cheek; the fragrance of the new morning wafted its pure incense gently about his simple grave! around him flowered the delicate plants that the hand of antonina had raised to please his eye. near him stood the dwelling, sacred to the first and last kiss that he had impressed upon her lips; and about him, on all sides, rose the plains and woodlands that had engrossed, with her image, the devotion of all her dearest thoughts. he lay, in his death, in the midst of the magic circle of the best joys of his life! it was a fitter burial-place for the earthly relics of that bright and generous spirit than the pit in the carnage-laden battle-field, or the desolate sepulchres of a northern land! chapter . the guardian restored. not long is the new-made grave left unwatched to the solemn guardianship of solitude and night. more than a few minutes have scarcely elapsed since it was dug, yet already human footsteps press its yielding surface, and a human glance scans attentively its small and homely mound. but it is not antonina, whom he loved; it is not goisvintha, through whose vengeance he was lost, who now looks upon the earth above the young warrior's corpse. it is a stranger, an outcast; a man lost, dishonoured, abandoned--it is the solitary and ruined ulpius who now gazes with indifferent eyes upon the peaceful garden and the eloquent grave. in the destinies of woe committed to the keeping of the night, the pagan had been fatally included. the destruction that had gone forth against the body of the young man who lay beneath the earth had overtaken the mind of the old man who stood over his simple grave. the frame of ulpius, with all its infirmities, was still there, but the soul of ferocious patience and unconquerable daring that had lighted it grandly in its ruin was gone. over the long anguish of that woeful life the veil of self-oblivion had closed for ever! he had been dismissed by alaric, but he had not returned to the city whither he was bidden. throughout the night he had wandered about the lonely suburbs, striving in secret and horrible suffering for the mastery of his mind. there did the overthrow of all his hopes from the goths expand rapidly into the overthrow of the whole intellect that had created his aspirations. there had reason burst the bonds that had so long chained, perverted, degraded it! at length, wandering hither and thither, he had dragged the helpless body, possessed no longer by the perilous mind, to the farm-house garden in which he now stood, gazing alternately at the upturned sods of the chieftain's grave and the red gleam of the fire as it glowed from the dreary room through the gap of the shattered door. his faculties were fatally disordered rather than utterly destroyed. his penetration, his firmness, and his cunning were gone; but a wreck of memory, useless and unmanageable--a certain capacity for momentary observation still remained to him. the shameful miscarriage in the tent of alaric, which had overthrown his faculties, had passed from him as an event that never happened, but he remembered fragments of his past existence--he still retained a vague consciousness of the ruling purpose of his whole life. these embryo reflections, disconnected and unsustained, flitted to and fro over his dark mind as luminous exhalations over a marsh--rising and sinking, harmless and delusive, fitful and irregular. what he remembered of the past he remembered carelessly, viewing it with as vacant a curiosity as if it were the visionary spectacle of another man's struggles and misfortunes and hopes, acting under it as under a mysterious influence, neither the end nor the reason of which he cared to discover. for the future, it was to his thoughts a perfect blank; for the present, it was a jarring combination of bodily weariness and mental repose. he shuddered as he stood shelterless under the open heaven. the cold, that he had defied in the vaults of the rifted wall, pierced in the farm-house garden; his limbs, which had resisted repose on the hard journey from rome to the camp of the goths, now trembled so that he was fain to rest them on the ground. for a short time he sat glaring with vacant and affrighted eyes upon the open dwelling before him, as though he longed to enter it but dare not. at length the temptation of the ruddy firelight seemed to vanquish his irresolution; he rose with difficulty, and slowly and hesitatingly entered the house. he had advanced, thief-like, but a few steps, he had felt but for a moment the welcome warmth of the fire, when the figure of antonina, still extended insensible upon the floor, caught his eye; he approached it with eager curiosity, and, raising the girl on his arm, looked at her with a long and rigid scrutiny. for some moments no expression of recognition passed his lips or appeared on his countenance, as, with a mechanical, doting gesture of fondness, he smoothed her dishevelled hair over her forehead. while he was thus engaged, while the remains of the gentleness of his childhood were thus awfully revived in the insanity of his age, a musical string wound round a small piece of gilt wood fell from its concealment in her bosom; he snatched it from the ground--it was the fragment of her broken lute, which had never quitted her since the night when, in her innocent grief, she had wept over it in her maiden bed-chamber. small, obscure, insignificant as it was, this little token touched the fibre in the pagan's shattered mind which the all-eloquent form and presence of its hapless mistress had failed to reach; his memory flew back instantly to the garden on the pincian mount, and to his past duties in numerian's household, but spoke not to him of the calamities he had wreaked since that period on his confiding master. his imagination presented to him at this moment but one image--his servitude in the christian's abode; and as he now looked on the girl he could regard himself but in one light--as 'the guardian restored'. 'what does she with her music here?' he whispered apprehensively. 'this is not her father's house, and the garden yonder looks not from the summit of the hill!' as he curiously examined the room, the red spots on the floor suddenly attracted his attention. a panic, a frantic terror seemed instantly to overwhelm him. he rose with a cry of horror, and, still holding the girl on his arm, hurried out into the garden trembling and breathless, as if the weapon of an assassin had scared him from the house. the shock of her rough removal, the sudden influence of the fresh, cold air, restored antonina to the consciousness of life at the moment when ulpius, unable to support her longer, laid her against the little heap of turf which marked the position of the young chieftain's grave. her eyes opened wildly; their first glance fixed upon the shattered door and the empty room. she rose from the ground, advanced a few steps towards the house, then paused, rigid, breathless, silent, and, turning slowly, faced the upturned turf. the grave was all-eloquent of its tenant. his cuirass, which the soldiers had thought to bury with the body that it had defended in former days, had been overlooked in the haste of the secret interment, and lay partly imbedded in the broken earth, partly exposed to view--a simple monument over a simple grave! her tearless, dilated eyes looked down on it as though they would number each blade of grass, each morsel of earth by which it was surrounded! her hair waved idly about her cheeks, as the light wind fluttered it; but no expression passed over her face, no gestures escaped her limbs. her mind toiled and quivered, as if crushed by a fiery burden; but her heart was voiceless, and her body was still. ulpius had stood unnoticed by her side. at this moment he moved so as to confront her, and she suddenly looked up at him. a momentary expression of bewilderment and suspicion lightened the heavy vacancy of despair which had chased their natural and feminine tenderness from her eyes, but it disappeared rapidly. she turned from the pagan, knelt down by the grave, and pressed her face and bosom against the little mound of turf beneath her. no voice comforted her, no arm caressed her, as her mind now began to penetrate the mysteries, to probe the darkest depths of the long night's calamities! unaided and unsolaced, while the few and waning stars glimmered from their places in the sky, while the sublime stillness of tranquillised nature stretched around her, she knelt at the altar of death, and raised her soul upward to the great heaven above her, charged with its sacred offering of human grief! long did she thus remain; and when at length she arose from the ground, when, approaching the pagan, she fixed on him her tearless, dreary eyes, he quailed before her glance, as his dull faculties struggled vainly to resume the old, informing power that they had now for ever lost. nothing but the remembrance aroused by his first sight of the fragment of the lute lived within even yet, as he whispered to her in low, entreating tones-- 'come home--come home! your father may return before us--come home!' as the words 'home' and 'father'--those household gods of the heart's earliest existence--struck upon her ears, a change flashed with electric suddenness over the girl's whole aspect. she raised her wan hands to the sky; all her woman's tenderness repossessed itself of her heart; and as she again knelt down over the grave, her sobs rose audibly through the calmed and fragrant air. with hermanric's corpse beneath her, with the blood-sprinkled room behind her, with a hostile army and a famine-wasted city beyond her, it was only through that flood of tears, that healing passion of gentle emotions, that she rose superior to the multiplied horrors of her situation at the very moment when her faculties and her life seemed sinking under them alike. fully, freely, bitterly she wept, on the kindly and parent earth--the patient, friendly ground that once bore the light footsteps of the first of a race not created for death; that now holds in its sheltering arms the loved ones, whom, in mourning, we lay there to sleep; that shall yet be bound to the farthermost of its depths, when the sun-bright presence of returning spirits shines over its renovated frame, and love is resumed in angel perfection at the point where death suspended it in mortal frailness! 'come home--your father is awaiting you--come home!' repeated the pagan vacantly, moving slowly away as he spoke. at the sound of his voice she started up, and clasping his arm with her trembling fingers, to arrest his progress, looked affrightedly into his seared and listless countenance. as she thus gazed on him she appeared for the first time to recognise him. fear and astonishment mingled in her expression with grief and despair as she sunk at his feet, moaning in tones of piercing entreaty-- 'o ulpius!--if ulpius you are--have pity on me and take me to my father! my father! my father! in all the lonely world there is nothing left to me but my father!' 'why do you weep to me about your broken lute?' answered ulpius, with a dull, unmeaning smile; 'it was not i that destroyed it!' 'they have slain him!' she shrieked distractedly, heedless of the pagan's reply. 'i saw them draw their swords on him! see, his blood is on me--me!--antonina, whom he protected and loved! look there; that is a grave--his grave--i know it! i have never seen him since; he is down--down there! under the flowers i grew to gather for him! they slew him; and when i knew it not, they have buried him!--or you--you have buried him! you have hidden him under the cold garden earth! he is gone!--ah, gone, gone--for ever gone!' and she flung herself again with reckless violence on the grave. after looking steadfastly on her for a moment, ulpius approached and raised her from the earth. 'come!' he cried angrily, 'the night grows on--your father waits!' 'the walls of rome shut me from my father! i shall never see my father nor hermanric again!' she cried, in tones of bitter anguish, remembering more perfectly all the miseries of her position, and struggling to release herself from the pagan's grasp. the walls of rome! at those words the mind of ulpius opened to a flow of dark remembrances, and lost the visions that had occupied it until that moment. he laughed triumphantly. 'the walls of rome bow to my arm!' he cried, in exulting tones; 'i pierced them with my good bar of iron! i wound through them with my bright lantern! spirits roared on me, and struck me down, and grinned upon me in the thick darkness, but i passed the wall! the thunder pealed around me as i crawled along the winding rifts; but i won my way through them! i came out conquering on the other side! come, come, come, come! we will return! i know the track, even in the darkness! i can outwatch the sentinels! you shall walk in the pathway that i have broken through the bricks! the girl's features lost for a moment their expression of grief, and grew rigid with horror, as she glanced at his fiery eyes, and felt the fearful suspicion of his insanity darkening over her mind. she stood powerless, trembling, unresisting, in his grasp, without attempting to delude him into departure or to appease him into delay. 'why did i make my passage through the wall?' muttered the pagan in a low, awe-struck voice, suddenly checking himself, as he was about to step forward. 'why did i tear down the strong brick-work and go forth into the dark suburbs?' he paused, and for a few moments struggled with his purposeless and disconnected thoughts; but a blank, a darkness, an annihilation overwhelmed alaric and the gothic camp, which he vainly endeavoured to disperse. he sighed bitterly to himself--'it is gone!' and still grasping antonina by the hand, drew her after him to the garden gate. 'leave me!' she shrieked, as he passed onward into the pathway that led to the high-road. 'oh, be merciful, and leave me to die where he has died!' 'peace! or i will rend you limb by limb, as i rent the stones from the wall when i passed through it!' he whispered to her in fierce accents, as she struggled to escape him. 'you shall return with me to rome! you shall walk in the track that i have made in the rifted brick-work!' terror, anguish, exhaustion, overpowered her weak efforts. her lips moved, partly in prayer and partly in ejaculation; but she spoke in murmurs only, as she mechanically suffered the pagan to lead her onward by the hand. they paced on under the waning starlight, over the cold, lonely road, and through the dreary and deserted suburbs,--a fearful and discordant pair! coldly, obediently, impassively, as if she were walking in a dream, the spirit-broken girl moved by the side of her scarce-human leader. disjointed exclamation, alternating horribly between infantine simplicity and fierce wickedness, poured incessantly from the pagan's lips, but he never addressed himself further to his terror-stricken companion. so, wending rapidly onward, they gained the gothic lines; and here the madman slackened his pace, and paused, beast-like, to glare around him, as he approached the habitations of men. still not opposed by antonina, whose faculties of observation were petrified by her terror into perfect inaction, even here, within reach of the doubtful aid of the enemies of her people, the pagan crept forward through the loneliest places of the encampment, and, guided by the mysterious cunning of his miserable race, eluded successfully the observation of the drowsy sentinels. never bewildered by the darkness--for the moon had gone down--always led by the animal instinct co-existent with his disease, he passed over the waste ground between the hostile encampment and the city, and arrived triumphant at the heap of stones that marked his entrance to the rifted wall. for one moment he stopped, and turning towards the girl, pointed proudly to the dark, low breach he was about to penetrate. then, drawing her half-fainting form closer to his side, looking up attentively to the ramparts, and stepping as noiselessly as though turf were beneath his feet, he entered the dusky rift with his helpless charge. as they disappeared in the recesses of the wall, night--the stormy, the eventful, the fatal!--reached its last limit; and the famished sentinel on the fortifications of the besieged city roused himself from his dreary and absorbing thoughts, for he saw that the new day was dawning in the east. chapter . the breach repassed. slowly and mournfully the sentinel at the rifted wall raised his eyes towards the eastern clouds as they brightened before the advancing dawn. desolate as was the appearance of the dull, misty daybreak, it was yet the most welcome of all the objects surrounding the starving soldier on which he could fix his languid gaze. to look back on the city behind him was to look back on the dreary charnel-house of famine and death; to look down on the waste ground without the walls was to look down on the dead body of the comrade of his watch, who, maddened by the pangs of hunger which he had suffered during the night, had cast himself from the rampart to meet a welcome death on the earth beneath. famished and despairing, the sentinel crouched on the fortifications which he had now neither strength to pace nor care to defend, yearning for the food that he had no hope to obtain, as he watched the grey daybreak from his solitary post. while he was thus occupied, the gloomy silence of the scene was suddenly broken by the sound of falling brick-work at the inner base of the wall, followed by faint entreaties for mercy and deliverance, which rose on his ear, strangely mingled with disjointed expression of defiance and exultation from a second voice. he slowly turned his head, and, looking down, saw on the ground beneath a young girl struggling in the grasp of an old man, who was hurrying her onward in the direction of the pincian gate. for one moment the girl's eye met the sentinel's vacant glance, and she renewed, with a last effort of strength, and a greater vehemence of supplication, her cries for help; but the soldier neither moved nor answered. exhausted as he was, no sight could affect him now but the sight of food. like the rest of the citizens, he was sunk in a heavy stupor of starvation--selfish, reckless, brutalised. no disasters could depress, no atrocities rouse him. famine had torn asunder every social tie, had withered every human sympathy among his besieged fellow-citizens, and he was famishing like them. at the moment when the dawn had first appeared, could he have looked down by some mysterious agency to the interior foundations of the wall, from the rampart on which he kept his weary watch, such a sight must then have presented itself as would have aroused even his sluggish observation to rigid attention and involuntary surprise. winding upward and downward among jagged masses of ruined brick-work, now lost amid the shadows of dreary chasms, now prominent over the elevations of rising arches, the dark irregular passages broken by ulpius in the rotten wall would then have presented themselves to his eyes; not stretching forth in dismal solitude, not peopled only by the reptiles native to the place, but traced in all their mazes by human forms. then he would have perceived the fierce, resolute pagan, moving through darkness and obstacles with a sure, solemn progress, drawing after him, like a dog devoted to his will, the young girl whose hapless fate had doomed her to fall into his power. her half-fainting figure might have been seen, sometimes prostrate on the higher places of the breach, while her fearful guide descended before her into a chasm beyond, and then turned to drag her after him to a darker and a lower depth yet; sometimes bent in supplication, when her lips moved once more with a last despairing entreaty, and her limbs trembled with a final effort to escape from her captor's relentless grasp. while still, through all that opposed him, the same fierce tenacity of purpose would have been invariably visible in every action of ulpius, constantly confirming him in his mad resolution to make his victim the follower of his progress through the wall, ever guiding him with a strange instinct through every hindrance, and preserving him from every danger in his path, until it brought him forth triumphant, with his prisoner still in his power, again free to tread the desolate streets and mingle with the famine-stricken citizens of rome. and now when, after peril and anguish, she once more stood within the city of her home, what hope remained to antonina of obtaining her last refuge under her father's roof, and deriving her solitary consolation from the effort to regain her father's love? with the termination of his passage through the breach in the wall had ended every recollection associated with it in the pagan's shattered memory. a new blank now pervaded his lost faculties, desolate as that which had overwhelmed them in the night when he first stood in the farm-house garden by the young chieftain's grave. he moved onward, unobservant, unthinking, without aim or hope, driven by a mysterious restlessness, forgetting the very presence of antonina as she followed him, but still mechanically grasping her hand, and dragging her after him he knew not whither. and she, on her part, made no effort more for deliverance. she had seen the sentinel unmoved by her entreaties, she had seen the walls of her father's house receding from her longing eyes, as ulpius pitilessly hurried her father and farther from its distant door; and she lost the last faint hope of restoration, the last lingering desire of life, as the sense of her helplessness now weighed heaviest on her mind. her heart was full of her young warrior, who had been slain, and of her father, from whom she had parted in the hour of his wrath, as she now feebly followed the pagan's steps, and resigned herself to a speedy exhaustion and death in her utter despair. they turned from the pincian gate and gained the campus martius; and here the aspect of the besieged city and the condition of its doomed inhabitants were fully and fearfully disclosed to view. on the surface of the noble area, once thronged with bustling crowds passing to and fro in every direction as their various destinations or caprices might lead them, not twenty moving figures were now discernible. these few, who still retained their strength or the resolution to pace the greatest thoroughfare of rome, stalked backwards and forwards incessantly, their hollow eyes fixed on vacancy, their wan hands pressed over their mouths; each separate, distrustful, and silent; fierce as imprisoned madmen; restless as spectres disturbed in a place of tombs. such were the citizens who still moved over the campus martius; and, besetting their path wherever they turned, lay the gloomy numbers of the dying and the dead--the victims already stricken by the pestilence which had now arisen in the infected city, and joined the famine in its work of desolation and death. around the public fountains, where the water still bubbled up as freshly as in the summer-time of prosperity and peace, the poorer population of beleaguered rome had chiefly congregated to expire. some still retained strength enough to drink greedily at the margin of the stone basins, across which others lay dead--their heads and shoulders immersed in the water--drowned from lack of strength to draw back after their first draught. children mounted over the dead bodies of their parents to raise themselves to the fountain's brim; parents stared vacantly at the corpses of their children alternately floating and sinking in the water, into which they had fallen unsuccoured and unmourned. in other parts of the place, at the open gates of the theatres and hippodromes, in the unguarded porticoes of the palaces and the baths lay the discoloured bodies of those who had died ere they could reach the fountains--of women and children especially--surrounded in frightful contrast by the abandoned furniture of luxury and the discarded inventions of vice--by gilded couches--by inlaid tables--by jewelled cornices--by obscene picture and statues--by brilliantly framed, gaudily tinted manuscripts of licentious songs, still hanging at their accustomed places on the lofty marble walls. farther on, in the by-streets and the retired courts, where the corpse of the tradesman was stretched on his empty counter; where the soldier of the city guard dropped down overpowered ere he reached the limit of his rounds; where the wealthy merchant lay pestilence-stricken upon the last hoards of repulsive food which his gold had procured; the assassin and the robber might be seen--now greedily devouring the offal that lay around them, now falling dead upon the bodies which they had rifled but the moment before. over the whole prospect, far and near, wherever it might extend, whatever the horrors by which it might be occupied, was spread a blank, supernatural stillness. not a sound arose; the living were as silent as the dead; crime, suffering, despair, were all voiceless alike; the trumpet was unheard in the guard-house; the bell never rang from the church; even the thick, misty rain, that now descended from the black and unmoving clouds, and obscured in cold shadows the outlines of distant buildings and the pinnacle tops of mighty palaces, fell noiseless to the ground. the sky had no wind; the earth no echoes--the pervading desolation appalled the eye; the vast stillness weighed dull on the ear--it was a scene as of the last-left city of an exhausted world, decaying noiselessly into primeval chaos. through this atmosphere of darkness and death, along these paths of pestilence and famine; unregarding and unregarded, the pagan and his prisoner passed slowly onward towards the quarter of the city opposite the pincian mount. no ray of thought, even yet, brightened the dull faculties of ulpius; still he walked forward vacantly, and still he was followed wearily by the fast-failing girl. sunk in her mingled stupor of bodily weakness and mental despair, she never spoke, never raised her head, never looked forth on the one side or the other. she had now ceased even to feel the strong, cold grasp of the pagan's hand. shadowy visions of spheres beyond the world, arrayed in enchanting beauty, and people with happy spirits in their old earthly forms, where a long deathless existence moved smoothly and dreamily onward, without mark of time or taint of woe, were opening before her mind. she lost all memory of afflictions and wrongs, all apprehension of danger from the madman at whose mercy she remained. and thus she still moved feebly onward as the will of ulpius guided her, with no observation of her present peril, and no anxiety for her impending fate. they passed the grand circular structure of the pantheon, entered the long narrow streets leading to the banks of the river, and finally gained the margin of the tiber--hard by the little island that still rises in the midst of its waters. here, for the first time, the pagan paused mechanically in his course, and vacantly directed his dull, dreamy eyes on the prospect before him, where the walls, stretching abruptly outward from their ordinary direction, enclosed the janiculum hill, as it rose with its irregular mass of buildings on the opposite bank of the river. at this sudden change from action to repose, the overtasked energies which had hitherto gifted the limbs of antonina with an unnatural power of endurance, abruptly relaxed. she sank down helpless and silent; her head drooped towards the hard ground, as towards a welcome pillow, but found no support, for the pagan's iron grasp of her hand remained unyielding as ever. infirm though he was, he appeared at this moment to be unconscious that his prisoner was now hanging at his side. every association connected with her, every recollection of his position with her in her father's house, had vanished from his memory. a darker blindness seemed to have sunk over his bodily perceptions; his eyes rolled slowly to and fro over the prospect before him, but regarded nothing; his panting breaths came thick and fast; his shrunk chest heaved as if some deep, dread agony were pent within it--it was evident that a new crisis in his insanity was at hand. at this moment one of the bands of marauders--the desperate criminals of famine and plague--who still prowled through the city, appeared in the street. their trembling hands sought their weapons, and their haggard faces brightened, when they first discerned the pagan and the girl; but as they approached nearer they saw enough in the figures of the two, at a glance, to destroy their hopes of seizing on them either plunder or food. for an instant they stood by their intended victims, as if debating whether to murder them only for murder's sake, when the appearance of two women, stealthily quitting a house farther on in the street, carrying a basket covered by some tattered garments, attracted their attention. they turned instantly to follow the bearers of the basket, and again ulpius and antonina were left alone on the river's bank. the appearance of the assassins had been powerless, as every other sight or event in the city, in arousing the faculties of ulpius. he had neither looked on them nor fled from them when they surrounded him; but now when they were gone he slowly turned his head in the direction by which they had departed. his gaze wandered over the wet flagstones of the street, over two corpses stretched on them at a little distance, over the figure of a female slave who lay forsaken near the wall of one of the houses, exerting her last energies to drink from the turbid rain-water which ran down the kennel by her side; and still his eyes remained unregardful of all that they encountered. the next object which by chance attracted his vacant attention was a deserted temple. this solitary building fixed him immediately in contemplation--it was destined to open a new and a warning scene in the dark tragedy of his closing life. in his course through the city he had passed unheeded many temples far more prominent in situation, far more imposing in structure, than this. it was a building of no remarkable extent or extraordinary beauty. its narrow porticoes and dark doorway were more fitted to repel than to invite the eye; but it had one attraction, powerful above all glories of architecture and all grandeur of situation to arrest in him those wandering faculties whose sterner and loftier aims were now suspended for ever; it was dedicated to serapis--to the idol which had been the deity of his first worship, and the inspiration of his last struggle for the restoration of his faith. the image of the god, with the three-headed monster encircled by a serpent, obedient beneath his hand, was carved over the portico. what flood of emotions rushed into the vacant mind of ulpius at the instant when he discerned the long-loved, well-known image of the egyptian god, there was nothing for some moments outwardly visible in him to betray. his moral insensibility appeared but to be deepened as his gaze was now fixed with rigid intensity on the temple portico. thus he continued to remain motionless, as if what he saw had petrified him where he stood, when the clouds, which had been closing in deeper and deeper blackness as the morning advanced, and which, still charged with electricity, were gathering to revive the storm of the past night, burst abruptly into a loud peal of thunder over his head. at that warning sound, as if it had been the supernatural signal awaited to arouse him, as if in one brief moment it awakened every recollection of all that he had resolutely attempted during the night of thunder that was past, he started into instant animation. his countenance brightened, his form expanded, he dropped the hand of antonina, raised his arm aloft towards the wrathful heaven in frantic triumph, then staggering forwards, fell on his knees at the base of the temple steps. whatever the remembrances of his passage through the wall at the pincian hill, and of the toil and peril succeeding it, which had revived when the thunder first sounded in his ear, they now vanished as rapidly as they had arisen, and left his wandering memory free to revert to the scenes which the image of serapis was most fitted to recall. recollections of his boyish enjoyments in the temple at alexandria, of his youth's enthusiasm, of the triumphs of his early manhood--all disjointed and wayward, yet all bright, glorious, intoxicating--flashed before his shattered mind. tears, the first that he had shed since his happy youth, flowed quickly down his withered cheeks. he pressed his hot forehead, he beat his parched hand in ecstasy on the cold, wet steps beneath him. he muttered breathless ejaculations, he breathed strange murmurs of endearment, he humbled himself in his rapturous delight beneath the walls of the temple like a dog that has discovered his lost master and fawns affectionately at his feet. criminal as he was, his joy in his abasement, his glory in his miserable isolation from humanity, was a doom of degradation pitiable to behold. after an interval his mood changed. he rose to his feet, his trembling limbs strengthened with a youthful vigour as he ascended the temple steps and gained its doorway. he turned for a moment, and looked forth over the street, ere he entered the hallowed domain of his distempered imagination. to him the cloudy sky above was now shining with the radiance of the sun-bright east. the death-laden highways of rome, as they stretched before him, were beautiful with lofty trees, and populous with happy figures; and along the dark flagstones beneath, where still lay the corpses which he had no eye to see, he beheld already the priests of serapis with his revered guardian, his beloved macrinus of former days, at their head, advancing to meet and welcome him in the hall of the egyptian god. visions such as these passed gloriously before the pagan's eyes as he stood triumphant on the steps of the temple, and brightened to him with a noonday light its dusky recesses when, after his brief delay, he turned from the street and disappeared through the doorway of the sacred place. the rain poured down more thickly than before; the thunder, once aroused, now sounded in deep and frequent peals as antonina raised herself from the ground and looked around her, in momentary expectation that the dreaded form of ulpius must meet her eyes. no living creature was visible in the street. the forsaken slave still reclined near the wall of the house where she had first appeared when the pagan gained the approaches to the temple; but she now lay there dead. no fresh bands of robbers appeared in sight. an uninterrupted solitude prevailed in all directions as far as the eye could reach. at the moment when ulpius had relinquished his grasp of her hand, antonina had sunk to the ground, helpless and resigned, but not exhausted beyond all power of sensation or all capacity for thought. while she lay on the cold pavement of the street, her mind still pursued its visions of a speedy death, and a tranquil life-in-death to succeed it in a future state. but, as minute after minute elapsed, and no harsh voice sounded in her ear, no pitiless hand dragged her from the ground, no ominous footsteps were audible around her, a change passed gradually over her thoughts; the instinct of self-preservation slowly revived within her, and, as she raised herself to look forth on the gloomy prospect, the chances of uninterrupted flight and present safety presented by the solitude of the street, aroused her like a voice of encouragement, like an unexpected promise of help. her perception of outer influences returned; she felt the rain that drenched her garments; she shuddered at the thunder sounding over her head; she marked with horror the dead bodies lying before her on the stones. an overpowering desire animated her to fly from the place, to escape from the desolate scene around, even though she should sink exhausted by the effort in the next street. slowly she arose--her limbs trembled with a premature infirmity; but she gained her feet. she tottered onward, turning her back on the river, passed bewildered between long rows of deserted houses, and arrived opposite a public garden surrounding a little summer-house, whose deserted portico offered both concealment and shelter. here, therefore, she took refuge, crouching in the darkest corner of the building, and hiding her face in her hands, as if to shut out all view of the dreary though altered scenes which spread before her eyes. woeful thoughts and recollections now moved within her in bewildering confusion. all that she had suffered since ulpius had dragged her from the farm-house in the suburbs--the night pilgrimage over the plain--the fearful passage through the wall--revived in her memory, mingled with vague ideas, now for the first time aroused, of the plague and famine that were desolating the city; and, with sudden apprehensions that goisvintha might still be following her, knife in hand, through the lonely streets; while passively prominent over all these varying sources of anguish and dread, the scene of the young chieftain's death lay like a cold weight on her heavy heart. the damp turf of his grave seemed still to press against her breast; his last kiss yet trembled on her lips; she knew, though she dared not look down on them, that the spots of his blood yet stained her garments. whether she strove to rise and continue her flight; whether she crouched down again under the portico, resigned for one bitter moment to perish by the knife of goisvintha--if goisvintha were near; to fall once more into the hands of ulpius--if ulpius were tracking her to her retreat,--the crushing sense that she was utterly bereaved of her beloved protector--that the friend of her brief days of happiness was lost to her for ever--that hermanric, who had preserved her from death, had been murdered in his youth and his strength by her side, never deserted her. since the assassination in the farm-house, she was now for the first time alone; and now for the first time she felt the full severity of her affliction, and knew how dark was the blank which was spread before every aspiration of her future life. enduring, almost eternal, as the burden of her desolation seemed now to have become, it was yet to be removed, ere long, by feelings of a tenderer mournfulness and a more resigned woe. the innate and innocent fortitude of disposition, which had made her patient under the rigour of her youthful education, and hopeful under the trials that assailed her on her banishment from her father's house; which had never deserted her until the awful scenes of the past night of assassination and death rose in triumphant horror before her eyes; and which, even then, had been suspended but not destroyed--was now destined to regain its healing influence over her heart. as she still cowered in her lonely refuge, the final hope, the yearning dependence on a restoration to her father's presence and her father's love, that had moved her over the young chieftain's grave, and had prompted her last effort for freedom when ulpius had dragged her through the passage in the rifted wall, suddenly revived. once more she arose, and looked forth on the desolate city and the stormy sky, but now with mild and unshrinking eyes. her recollections of the past grew tender in their youthful grief; her thoughts for the future became patient, solemn, and serene. images of her first and her last-left protector, of her old familiar home, of her garden solitude on the pincian mount, spread beautiful before her imagination as resting-places to her weary heart. she descended the steps of the summer-house with no apprehension of her enemies, no doubt of her resolution; for she knew the beacon that was now to direct her onward course. the tears gathered full in her eyes as she passed into the garden; but her step never faltered, her features never lost their combined expression of tranquil sorrow and subdued hope. so she once more entered the perilous streets, and murmuring to herself, 'my father! my father!' as if in those simple words lay the hand that was to guide, and the providence that was to preserved her, she began to trace her solitary way in the direction of the pincian mount. it was a spectacle--touching, beautiful, even sublime--to see this young girl, but a few hours freed, by perilous paths and by criminal hands, from scenes which had begun in treachery, only to end in death, now passing, resolute and alone, through the streets of a mighty city, overwhelmed by all that is poignant in human anguish and hideous in human crime. it was a noble evidence of the strong power over the world and the world's perils, with which the simplest affection may arm the frailest being--to behold her thus pursuing her way, superior to every horror of desolation and death that clogged her path, unconsciously discovering in the softly murmured name of 'father', which still fell at intervals from her lips, the pure purpose that sustained her--the steady heroism that ever held her in her doubtful course. the storms of heaven poured over her head--the crimes and sufferings of rome darkened the paths of her pilgrimage; but she passed firmly onward through all, like a ministering spirit, journeying along earthly shores in the bright inviolability of its merciful mission and its holy thoughts--like a ray of light living in the strength of its own beauty, amid the tempest and obscurity of a stranger sphere. once more she entered the campus martius. again she passed the public fountains, still unnaturally devoted to serve as beds for the dying and as sepulchres for the dead; again she trod the dreary highways, where the stronger among the famished populace yet paced hither and thither in ferocious silence and unsocial separation. no word was addressed, hardly a look was directed to her, as she pursued her solitary course. she was desolate among the desolate; forsaken among others abandoned like herself. the robber, when he passed her by, saw that she was worthless for the interests of plunder as the poorest of the dying citizens around him. the patrician, loitering feebly onward to the shelter of his palace halls, avoided her as a new suppliant among the people for the charity which he had not to bestow, and quickened his pace as she approached him in the street. unprotected, yet unmolested, hurrying from her loneliness and her bitter recollections to the refuge of her father's love, as she would have hurried when a child from her first apprehension of ill to the refuge of her father's arms, she gained at length the foot of the pincian hill--at length ascended the streets so often trodden in the tranquil days of old! the portals and outer buildings of vetranio's palace, as she passed them, presented a striking and ominous spectacle. within the lofty steel railings, which protected the building, the famine-wasted slaves of the senator appeared reeling and tottering beneath full vases of wine which they were feebly endeavouring to carry into the interior apartments. gaudy hangings drooped from the balconies, garlands of ivy were wreathed round the statues of the marble front. in the midst of the besieged city, and in impious mockery of the famine and pestilence which were wasting it, hut and palace, to its remotest confines, were proceeding in this devoted dwelling the preparations for a triumphant feast! unheedful of the startling prospect presented by vetranio's abode, her eyes bent but in one absorbing direction, her steps hurrying faster and faster with each succeeding instant, antonina approached the home from which she had been exiled in fear, and to which she was returning in woe. yet a moment more of strong exertion, of overpowering anticipation, and she reached the garden gate! she dashed back the heavy hair matted over her brows by the rain; she glanced rapidly around her; she beheld the window of her bed-chamber with the old simple curtain still hanging at its accustomed place; she saw the well-remembered trees, the carefully tended flower-beds, now drooping mournfully beneath the gloomy sky. her heart swelled within her, her breath seemed suddenly arrested in her bosom, as she trod the garden path and ascended the steps beyond. the door at the top was ajar. with a last effort she thrust it open, and stood once more--unaided and unwelcomed, yet hopeful of consolation, of pardon, of love--within her first and last sanctuary, the walls of her home! chapter . father and child. forsaken as it appears on an outward view, during the morning of which we now write, the house of numerian is yet not tenantless. in one of the sleeping apartments, stretched on his couch, with none to watch by its side, lies the master of the little dwelling. we last beheld him on the scene mingled with the famishing congregation in the basilica of st. john lateran, still searching for his child amid the confusion of the public distribution of food during the earlier stages of the misfortunes of besieged rome. since that time he has toiled and suffered much; and now the day of exhaustion, long deferred, the hours of helpless solitude, constantly dreaded, have at length arrived. from the first periods of the siege, while all around him in the city moved gloomily onward through darker and darker changes, while famine rapidly merged into pestilence and death, while human hopes and purposes gradually diminished and declined with each succeeding day, he alone remained ever devoted to the same labour, ever animated by the same object--the only one among all his fellow-citizens whom no outward event could influence for good or evil, for hope or fear. in every street of rome, at all hours, among all ranks of people, he was still to be seen constantly pursuing the same hopeless search. when the mob burst furiously into the public granaries to seize the last supplies of corn hoarded for the rich, he was ready at the doors watching them as they came out. when rows of houses were deserted by all but the dead, he was beheld within, passing from window to window, as he sought through each room for the treasure that he had lost. when some few among the populace, in the first days of the pestilence, united in the vain attempt to cast over the lofty walls the corpses that strewed the street, he mingled with them to look on the rigid faces of the dead. in solitary places, where the parent, not yet lost to affection, strove to carry his dying child from the desert roadway to the shelter of a roof; where the wife, still faithful to her duties, received her husband's last breath in silent despair--he was seen gliding by their sides, and for one brief instant looking on them with attentive and mournful eyes. wherever he went, whatever he beheld, he asked no sympathy and sought no aid. he went his way, a pilgrim on a solitary path, an unregarded expectant for a boon that no others would care to partake. when the famine first began to be felt in the city, he seemed unconscious of its approach--he made no effort to procure beforehand the provision of a few days' sustenance; if he attended the first public distributions of food, it was only to prosecute his search for his child amid the throng around him. he must have perished with the first feeble victims of starvation, had he not been met, during his solitary wanderings, by some of the members of the congregation whom his piety and eloquence had collected in former days. by these persons, who entreaties that he would suspend his hopeless search he always answered with the same firm and patient denial, his course was carefully watched and his wants anxiously provided for. out of every supply of food which they were enabled to collect, his share was invariably carried to his abode. they remembered their teacher in the hour of his dejection, as they had formerly reverenced him in the day of his vigour; they toiled to preserve his life as anxiously as they had laboured to profit by his instructions; they listened as his disciples once, they served him as his children now. but over these, as over all other offices of human kindness, the famine was destined gradually and surely to prevail. the provision of food garnered up by the congregation ominously lessened with each succeeding day. when the pestilence began darkly to appear, the numbers of those who sought their afflicted teacher at his abode, or followed him through the dreary streets, fatally decreased. then, as the nourishment which had supported, and the vigilance which had watched him, thus diminished, so did the hard-tasked energies of the unhappy father fail him faster and faster. each morning as he arose, his steps were more feeble, his heart grew heavier within him, his wanderings through the city were less and less resolute and prolonged. at length his powers totally deserted him; the last-left members of his congregation, as they approached his abode with the last-left provision of food which they possessed, found him prostrate with exhaustion at his garden gate. they bore him to his couch, placed their charitable offering by his side, and leaving one of their number to protect him from the robber and the assassin, they quitted the house in despair. for some days the guardian remained faithful to his post, until his sufferings from lack of food overpowered his vigilance. dreading that, in his extremity, he might be tempted to take from the old man's small store of provision what little remained, he fled from the house, to seek sustenance, however loathsome, in the public streets; and thenceforth numerian was left defenceless in his solitary abode. he was first beheld on the scenes which these pages present, a man of austere purpose, of unwearied energy; a valiant reformer, who defied all difficulties that beset him in his progress; a triumphant teacher, leading at his will whoever listened to his words; a father, proudly contemplating the future position which he destined for his child. far different did he now appear. lost to his ambition, broken in spirit, helpless in body, separated from his daughter by his own act, he lay on his untended couch in a death-like lethargy. the cold wind blowing through his opened window awakened no sensations in his torpid frame; the cup of water and the small relics of coarse food stood near his hand, but he had no vigilance to discern them. his open eyes looked steadfastly upward, and yet he reposed as one in a deep sleep, or as one already devoted to the tomb; save when, at intervals, his lips moved slowly with a long and painfully drawn breath, or a fever flush tinged his hollow cheek with changing and momentary hues. while thus in outward aspect appearing to linger between life and death, his faculties yet remained feebly vital within him. aroused by no external influence, and governed by no mental restraint, they now created before him a strange waking vision, palpable as an actual event. it seemed to him that he was reposing, not in his own chamber, but in some mysterious world, filled with a twilight atmosphere, inexpressibly soothing and gentle to his aching sight. through this mild radiance he could trace, at long intervals, shadowy representations of the scenes through which he had passed in search of his lost child. the gloomy streets, the lonely houses abandoned to the unburied dead, which he had explored, alternately appeared and vanished before him in solemn succession; and ever and anon, as one vision disappeared ere another rose, he heard afar off a sound as of gentle, womanly voices, murmuring in solemn accents, 'the search has been made in penitence, in patience, in prayer, and has not been pursued in vain. the lost shall return--the beloved shall yet be restored!' thus, as it had begun, the vision long continued. now the scenes through which he had wandered passed slowly before his eyes, now the soft voices murmured pityingly in his ear. at length the first disappeared, and the last became silent; then ensued a long vacant interval, and then the grey, tranquil light brightened slowly at one spot, out of which he beheld advancing towards him the form of his lost child. she came to his side, she bent lovingly over him; he saw her eyes, with their old patient, childlike expression, looking sorrowfully down upon him. his heart revived to a sense of unspeakable awe and contrition, to emotions of yearning love and mournful hope; his speech returned; he whispered tremulously, 'child! child! i repented in bitter woe the wrong that i did to thee; i sought thee, in my loneliness on earth, through the long day and the gloomy night! and now the merciful god has sent thee to pardon me! i loved thee; i wept for thee.' his voice died within him, for now his outward sensations quickened. he felt warm tears falling on his cheeks; he felt embracing arms clasped round him; he heard tenderly repeated, 'father! speak to me as you were wont; love me, father, and forgive me, as you loved and forgave me when i was a little child!' the sound of that well-remembered voice--which had ever spoken kindly and reverently to him; which had last addressed him in tones of despairing supplication; which he had hardly hoped to hear again on earth--penetrated his whole being, like awakening music in the dead silence of night. his eyes lost their vacant expression; he raised himself suddenly on the couch; he saw that what had begun as a vision had ended as a reality; that his dream had proved the immediate fore-runner of its own fulfilment; that his daughter in her bodily presence was indeed restored; and his head drooped forward, and he trembled and wept upon her bosom, in the overpowering fulness of his gratitude and delight. for some moments antonina, calming with the resolute heroism of affection her own thronging emotions of awe and affright, endeavoured to soothe and support her fast-failing parent. her horror almost overwhelmed her, as she thought that now, when, through grief and peril, she was at last restored to him, he might expire in her arms; but even yet her resolution did not fail her. the last hope of her brief and bitter life was now the hope of reviving her father, and she clung to it with the tenacity of despair. she calmed her voice while she spoke to him; she entreated him to remember that his daughter had returned to watch over him, to be his obedient pupil as in days of old. vain effort! even while the words passed her lips, his arms, which had been pressed over her, relaxed; his head grew heavier on her bosom. in the despair of the moment, she tore herself from him, and looked round to seek the help that none were near to afford. the cup of water, the last provision of food, attracted her eye. with quick instinct she caught them up. hope, success, salvation, lay in those miserable relics. she pressed the food into his mouth; she moistened his parched lips, his dry brow, with the water. during one moment of horrible suspense she saw him still insensible; then the vital functions revived; his eyes opened again and fixed famine-struck on the wretched nourishment before him. he devoured it ravenously; he drained the cup of water to its last drop; he sank back again on the couch. but now the torpid blood moved once more in his veins; his heart beat less and less feebly: he was saved. she saw it as she bent over him--saved by the lost child in the hour of her return! it was a sensation of ecstatic triumph and gratitude which no woeful remembrances had power to embitter in its bright, sudden birth. she knelt down by the side of the couch, almost crushed by her own emotions. over the grave of the young warrior she had raised her heart to heaven in agony and grief, and now by her father's side she poured forth her whole soul to her creator in trembling ejaculations of thankfulness and hope. thus--the one slowly recovering whatever of life and vigour yet continued in his weakened frame, the other still filled with her all-absorbing emotions of gratitude--the father and daughter long remained. and now, as morning waned towards noon, the storm began to subside. gradually and solemnly the vast thunder-clouds rolled asunder, and the bright blue heaven beyond appeared through their fantastic rifts. the lessening rain-drops fell light and silvery to the earth, and breeze and sunshine were wafted at fitful intervals over the plague-tainted atmosphere of rome. as yet, subdued by the shadows of the floating clouds, the dawning sunbeams glittered softly through the windows of numerian's chamber. they played, warm and reviving, over his worn features, like messengers of resurrection and hope from their native heaven. life seemed to expand within him under their fresh and gentle ministering. once more he raised himself, and turned towards his child; and now his heart throbbed with a healthful joy, and his arms closed round her, not in the helplessness of infirmity, but in the welcome of love. his words, when he spoke to her, fell at first almost inarticulately from his lips--they were mingled together in confused phrases of tenderness, contrition, thanksgiving. all the native enthusiasm of his disposition, all the latent love for his child, which had for years been suppressed by his austerity, or diverted by his ambition, now at last burst forth. trembling and silent in his arms, antonina vainly endeavoured to return his caresses and to answer his words of welcome. now for the first time she knew how deep was her father's affection for her; she felt how foreign to his real nature had been his assumed severity in their intercourse of former days; and in the quick flow of new feelings and old recollections produced by the delighting surprise of the discovery, she found herself speechless. she could only listen eagerly, breathlessly, while he spoke. his words, faltering and confused though they were, were words of endearment which she had never heard from him before; they were words which no mother had ever pronounced beside her infant bed, and they sank divinely consoling over her heart, as messages of pardon from an angel's lips. gradually numerian's voice grew calmer. he raised his daughter in his arms, and bent wistfully on her face his attentive and pitying eyes. 'returned, returned!' he murmured, while he gazed on her, 'never again to depart! returned, beautiful and patient, kinder and more tender than ever! love me and pardon me, antonina. i sought for you in bitter loneliness and despair. think not of me as what i was, but as what i am! there were days when you were an infant, when i had no thought but how to cherish and delight you, and now those days have come again. you shall read no gloomy task-books; you shall never be separated from me more; you shall play sweet music on the lute; you shall be all garlanded with flowers which i will provide for you! we will find friends and glad companions; we will bring happiness with us wherever we are seen. god's blessing goes forth from children like you--it has fallen upon me--it has raised me from the dead! my antonina shall teach me to worship, as i once taught her. she shall pray for me in the morning, and pray for me at night; and when she thinks not of it, when she sleeps, i shall come softly to her bedside, and wait and watch over her, so that when she opens her eyes they shall open on me--they are the eyes of my child who has been restored to me--there is nothing on earth that can speak to me like them of happiness and peace!' he paused for a moment, and looked rapturously on her face as it was turned towards him. his features partially saddened while he gazed, and taking her long hair, still wet and dishevelled from the rain, in his hands, he pressed it over his lips, over his face, over his neck. then, when he saw that she was endeavouring to speak, when he beheld the tears that were now filling her eyes, he drew her closer to him, and hurriedly continued in lower tones-- 'hush! hush! no more grief, no more tears! tell me not whither you have wandered--speak not of what you have suffered; for would not every word be a reproach to me? and you have come to pardon and not to reproach! let not the recollection that it was i who cast you off be forced on me from your lips; let us remember only that we are restored to each other; let us think that god has accepted my penitence and forgiven me my sin, in suffering my child to return! or, if we must speak of the days of separation that are past, speak to me of the days that found you tranquil and secure; rejoice me by telling me that it was not all danger and woe in the bitter destiny which my guilty anger prepared for my own child! say to me that you met protectors as well as enemies in the hour of your flight--that all were not harsh to you as i was--that those of whom you asked shelter and safety looked on your face as on a petition for charity and kindness from friends whom they loved! tell me only of your protectors, antonina, for in that there will be consolation; and you have come to console!' as he waited for her reply he felt her tremble on his bosom, he saw the shudder that ran over her frame. the despair in her voice, though she only pronounced in answer to him the simple words, 'there was one'--and then ceased, unable to proceed--penetrated coldly to his heart. 'is he not at hand?' he hurriedly resumed. 'why is he not here? let us seek him without delay. i must humble myself before him in my gratitude. i must show him that i was worthy that my antonina should be restored.' 'he is dead!' she gasped, sinking down in the arms that embraced her, as the recollections of the past night again crowded in all their horror on her memory. 'they murdered him by my side. o father! father! he loved me; he would have reverenced and protected you!' 'may the merciful god receive him among the blessed angels, and honour him among the holy martyrs!' cried the father, raising his tearful eyes in supplication. 'may his spirit, if it can still be observant of the things of earth, know that his name shall be written on my heart with the name of my child; that i will think on him as on a beloved companion, and mourn for him as a son that has been taken from me!' he ceased, and looked down on antonina, whose features were still hidden from him. each felt that a new bond of mutual affection had been created between them by what each had spoken; but both now remained silent. during this interval the thoughts of numerian wandered from the reflections which had hitherto occupied him. the few mournful words which his daughter had spoken had been sufficient to banish its fulness of joy from his heart, and to turn him from the happy contemplation of the present to the dark recollections of the past. vague doubts and fears now mingled with his gratitude and hope, and involuntarily his thoughts reverted to what he would fain have forgotten for ever--to the morning when he had driven antonina from her home. baseless apprehensions of the return of the treacherous pagan and his profligate employer, with the return of their victim--despairing convictions of his own helplessness and infirmity rose startlingly in his mind. his eyes wandered vacantly round the room, his hands closed trembling over his daughter's form; then, suddenly releasing her, he arose as one panic-stricken, and exclaiming, 'the doors must be secured--ulpius may be near--the senator may return!' endeavoured to cross the room. but his strength was unequal to the effort; he leaned back for support against the wall, and breathlessly repeating, 'secure the doors--ulpius, ulpius!' he motioned to antonina to descend. she trembled as she obeyed him. remembering her passage through the breach in the wall, and her fearful journey through the streets of rome, she more than shared her father's apprehensions as she descended the stairs. the door remained half open, as she had left it when she entered the house. ere she hurriedly closed and barred it, she cast a momentary glance on the street beyond. the gaunt figures of the slaves still moved wearily to and fro, amid the mockery of festal preparation in vetranio's palace; and here and there a few ghastly figures lay on the ground contemplating them in languid amazement. over all other parts of the street the deadly tranquillity of plague and famine still prevailed. hurriedly ascending the steps, antonina hastened to assure her father that she had obeyed his commands, and that they were now secure from all intrusion from without. but, during her brief absence, a new and more ominous prospect of calamity had presented itself before the old man's mind. as she entered the room, she saw that he had returned to his couch, and that he was holding before him the little wooden bowl which had contained his last supply of food, and which was now empty. he addressed not a word to her when he heard her enter; his features were rigid with horror and despair as he looked down on the empty bowl; he muttered vacantly, 'it was the last provision that remained, and it was i that exhausted it! the beasts of the forest carry food to their young, and i have taken the last morsel from my child!' in an instant the utter desolateness of their situation--forgotten in the first joy of their meeting--forced itself with appalling vividness upon antonina's mind. she endeavoured to speak of comfort and hope to her father; but the fearful realities of the famine in the city now rose palpably before her, and suspended the vain words of solace on her lips. in the midst of still populous rome, within sight of those surrounding plains where the creative sun ripened hour by hour the vegetation of the teeming earth, where field and granary displayed profusely their abundant stores, the father and daughter now looked on each other, as helpless to replace their exhausted provision of food as if they had been abandoned on the raft of the shipwrecked in an unexplored sea, or banished to a lonely island whose inland products were withered by infected winds, and around whose arid shores ran such destroying waters as seethe over the 'cities of the plain'. the silence which had long prevailed in the room, the bitter reflections which still held the despairing father and the patient daughter speechless alike, were at length interrupted by a hollow and melancholy voice from the street, pronouncing, in the form of a public notice, these words:-- 'i, publius dalmatius, messenger of the roman senate, proclaim, that in order to clear the streets from the dead, three thousand sestertii will be given by the prefect for every ten bodies that are cast over the walls. this is the true decree of the senate.' the voice ceased; but no sound of applause, no murmur of popular tumult was heard in answer. then, after an interval, it was once more faintly audible as the messenger passed on and repeated the decree in another street; and then the silence again sank down over all things more awfully pervading than before. every word of the proclamation, when repeated in the distance as when spoken under his window, had clearly reached numerian's ears. his mind, already sinking in despair, was riveted on what he had heard from the woe-boding voice of the herald, with a fascination as absorbing as that which rivets the eye of the traveller, already giddy on the summit of a precipice, upon the spectacle of the yawning gulfs beneath. when all sound of the proclamation had finally died away, the unhappy father dropped the empty bowl which he had hitherto mechanically continued to hold before him, and glancing affrightedly at his daughter, groaned to himself: 'the corpses are to be cast over the walls--the dead are to be flung forth to the winds of heaven--there is no help for us in the city. o god, god!--she may die!--her body may be cast away like the rest, and i may live to see it!' he rose suddenly from the couch; his reason seemed for a moment to be shaken as he tottered to the window, crying, 'food! food!--i will give my house and all it contains for a morsel of food. i have nothing to support my own child--she will starve before me by tomorrow if i have no food! i am a citizen of rome--i demand help from the senate! food! food!' in tones declining lower and lower he continued to cry thus from the window, but no voice answered him either in sympathy or derision. of all the people--now increased in numbers--collected in the street before vetranio's palace, no one turned even to look on him. for days and days past, such fruitless appeals as his had been heard, and heard unconcernedly, at every hour and in every street of rome--now ringing through the heavy air in the shrieks of delirium; now faintly audible in the last faltering murmurs of exhaustion and despair. thus vainly entreating help and pity from a populace who had ceased to give the one or to feel the other, numerian might long have remained; but now his daughter approached his side, and drawing him gently towards his couch, said in tender and solemn accents: 'remember, father, that god sent the ravens to feed elijah, and replenished the widow's cruse! he will not desert us, for he has restored us to each other, and has sent me hither not to perish in the famine, but to watch over you!' 'god has deserted the city and all that it contains!' he answered distractedly. 'the angel of destruction has gone forth into our streets, and death walks in his shadow! on this day, when hope and happiness seemed opening before us both; our little household has been doomed! the young and the old, the weary and the watchful, they strew the streets alike--the famine has mastered them all--the famine will master us--there is no help, no escape! i, who would have died patiently for my daughter's safety, must now die despairing, leaving her friendless in the wide, dreary, perilous world; in the dismal city of anguish, of horror, of death--where the enemy threatens without, and hunger and pestilence waste within! o antonina! you have returned to me but for a little time; the day of our second separation draws near!' for a few moments his head drooped, and his sobs choked his utterance; then he once more rose painfully to his feet. heedless of antonina's entreaties, he again endeavoured to cross the room, only again to find his feeble powers unequal to sustain him. as he fell back panting upon a seat, his eyes assumed a wild, unnatural expression--despair of mind and weakness of body had together partially unhinged his faculties. when his daughter affrightedly approached to soothe and succour him, he impatiently waved her back; and began to speak in a dull, hoarse, monotonous voice, pressing his hand firmly over his brow, and directing his eyes backwards and forwards incessantly, on object after object, in every part of the room. 'listen, child, listen!' he hastily began. 'i tell you there is no food in the house, and no food in rome!--we are besieged--they have taken from us our granaries in the suburbs, and our fields on the plains--there is a great famine in the city--those who still eat, eat strange food which men sicken at when it is named. i would seek even this, but i have no strength to go forth into the byways and force it from others at the point of the sword! i am old and feeble, and heart-broken--i shall die first, and leave fatherless my good, kind daughter, whom i sought for so long, and whom i loved as my only child!' he paused for an instant, not to listen to the words of encouragement and hope which antonina mechanically addressed to him while he spoke, but to collect his wandering thoughts, to rally his failing strength. his voice acquired a quicker tone, and his features presented a sudden energy and earnestness of expression, as if some new project had flashed across his mind, when, after an interval, he continued thus:-- 'but though my child shall be bereaved of me, though i shall die in the hour when i most longed to live for her, i must not leave her helpless; i will send her among my congregation who have deserted me, but who will repent when they hear that i am dead, and will receive antonina among them for my sake! listen to this--listen, listen! you must tell them to remember all that i once revealed to them of my brother, from whom i parted in my boyhood--my brother, whom i have never seen since. he may yet be alive, he may be found--they must search for him; for to you he would be father to the fatherless, and guardian to the unguarded--he may now be in rome, he may be rich and powerful--he may have food to spare, and shelter that is good against all enemies and strangers! attend, child, to my words: in these latter days i have thought of him much; i have seen him in dreams as i saw him for the last time in my father's house; he was happier and more beloved than i was, and in envy and hatred i quitted my parents and parted from him. you have heard nothing of this; but you must hear it now, that when i am dead you may know you have a protector to seek! so i received in anger my brother's farewell, and fled from my home--(those days were well remembered by me once, but all things grow dull on my memory now). long years of turmoil and change passed on, and i never met him; and men of many nations were my companions, but he was not among them; then much affliction fell upon me, and i repented and learnt the fear of god, and went back to my father's house. since that, years have passed--i know not how many. i could have told them when i spoke of my former life to him--to my friend, when we stood near st. peter's, ere the city was besieged, looking on the sunset, and speaking of the early days of our companionship; but now my very remembrance fails me; the famine that threatens us with separation and death casts darkness over my thoughts; yet hear me, hear me patiently--for your sake i must continue!' 'not now, father--not now! at another time, on a happier day!' murmured antonina, in tremulous, entreating tones. 'my home, when i arrived to look on it, was gone,' pursued the old man sadly, neither heeding nor hearing her. 'other houses were built where my father's house had stood; no man could tell me of my parents and my brother; then i returned, and my former companions grew hateful in my eyes; i left them, and they followed me with persecution and scorn.--listen, listen!--i set forth secretly in the night, with you, to escape them, and to make perfect my reformation where they should not be near to hinder it; and we travelled onward many days until we came to rome, and i made my abode there. but i feared that my companions whom i abhorred might discover and persecute me again, and in the new city of my dwelling i called myself by another name than the name that i bore; thus i knew that all trace of me would be lost, and that i should be kept secure from men whom i thought on only as enemies now. go, child! go quickly!--bring your tablets and write down the names that i shall tell you; for so you will discover your protector when i am gone! say not to him that you are the child of numerian--he knows not the name; say that you are the daughter of cleander, his brother, who died longing to be restored to him. write--write carefully, cleander!--that was the name my father gave to me; that was the name i bore until i fled from my evil companions and changed it, dreading their pursuit! cleander! write and remember, cleander! i have seen in visions that my brother shall be discovered: he will not be discovered to me, but he will be discovered to you! your tablets--your tablets!--write his name with mine--it is--' he stopped abruptly. his mental powers, fluctuating between torpor and animation--shaken, but not overpowered by the trials which had assailed them--suddenly rallied, and resuming somewhat of their accustomed balance, became awakened to a sense of their own aberration. his vague revelations of his past life (which the reader will recognise as resembling his communications on the same subject to the fugitive land-owner, previously related) now appeared before him in all their incongruity and uselessness. his countenance fell--he sighed bitterly to himself: 'my reason begins to desert me!--my judgment, which should guide my child--my resolution, which should uphold her, both fail me! how should my brother, since childhood lost to me, be found by her? against the famine that threatens us i offer but vain words! already her strength declines; her face, that i loved to look on grows wan before my eyes! god have mercy upon us!--god have mercy upon us!' he returned feebly to his couch; his head declined on his bosom; sometimes a low groan burst from his lips, but he spoke no more. deep as was the prostration under which he had now fallen, it was yet less painful to antonina to behold it than to listen to the incoherent revelations which had fallen from his lips but the moment before, and which, in her astonishment and affright, she had dreaded might be the awful indications of the overthrow of her father's reason. as she again placed herself by his side, she trembled to feel that her own weariness was fast overpowering her; but she still struggled with her rising despair--still strove to think only of capacity for endurance and chances of relief. the silence in the room was deep and dismal while they now sat together. the faint breezes, at long intervals, drowsily rose and fell as they floated through the open window; the fitful sunbeams alternately appeared and vanished as the clouds rolled upward in airy succession over the face of heaven. time moved sternly in its destined progress, and nature varied tranquilly through its appointed limits of change, and still no hopes, no saving projects, nothing but dark recollections and woeful anticipations occupied antonina's mind; when, just as her weary head was drooping towards the ground, just as sensation and fortitude and grief itself seemed declining into a dreamless and deadly sleep, a last thought, void of discernible connection or cause, rose suddenly within her--animating, awakening, inspiring. she started up. 'the garden, father--the garden!' she cried breathlessly. 'remember the food that grows in our garden below! be comforted, we have provision left yet--god has not deserted us!' he raised his face while she spoke; his features assumed a deeper mournfulness and hopelessness of expression; he looked upon her in ominous silence, and laid his trembling fingers on her arm to detain her, when she hurriedly attempted to quit the room. 'do not forbid me to depart,' she anxiously pleaded. 'to me every corner in the garden is known; for it was my possession in our happier days--our last hopes rest in the garden, and i must search through it without delay! bear with me,' she added, in low and melancholy tones--'bear with me, dear father, in all that i would now do! i have suffered, since we parted, a bitter affliction, which clings dark and heavy to all my thoughts--there is no consolation for me but the privilege of caring for your welfare--my only hope of comfort is in the employment of aiding you!' the old man's hand had pressed heavier on her arm while she addressed him; but when she ceased it dropped from her, and he bent his head in speechless submission to her entreaty. for one moment she lingered, looking on him silent as himself; the next, she left the apartment with hasty and uncertain steps. on reaching the garden, she unconsciously took the path leading to the bank where she had once loved to play secretly upon her lute and to look on the distant mountains reposing in the warm atmosphere which summer evenings shed over their blue expanse. how eloquent was this little plot of ground of the quiet events now for ever gone by!--of the joys, the hopes, the happy occupations, which rise with the day that chronicles them, and pass like that day, never to return the same!--which the memory alone can preserve as they were, and the heart can never resume but in a changed form, divested of the presence of the companion of the incident of the departed moment, which formed the charm of the past and makes the imperfection of the present. tender and thronging were the remembrances which the surrounding prospect called up, as the sad mistress of the garden looked again on her little domain! she saw the bank where she could never more sit to sing with a renewal of the same feelings which had once inspired her music; she saw the drooping flowers that she could never restore with the same childlike enjoyment of the task which had animated her in former hours! young though she still was, the emotions of the youthful days that were gone could never be revived as they had once existed! as waters they had welled up, and as waters they had flowed forth, never to return to their source! thoughts of these former years--of the young warrior who lay cold beneath the heavy earth--of the desponding father who mourned hopeless in the room above--gathered thick at her heart as she turned from her flower-beds--not, as in other days, to pour forth her happiness to the music of her lute, but to search laboriously for the sustenance of life. at first, as she stooped over those places in the garden where she knew that fruits and vegetables had been planted by her own hand, her tears blinded her. she hastily dashed them away, and looked eagerly around. alas! others had reaped the field from which she had hoped abundance! in the early days of the famine numerian's congregation had entered the garden, and gathered for him whatever it contained; its choicest and its homeliest products were alike exhausted; withered leaves lay on the barren earth, and naked branches waved over them in the air. she wandered from path to path, searching amid the briars and thistles, which already cast an aspect of ruin over the deserted place; she explored its most hidden corners with the painful perseverance of despair; but the same barrenness spread around her wherever she turned. on this once fertile spot, which she had entered with such joyful faith in its resources, there remained but a few poor decayed roots, dropped and forgotten amid tangled weeds and faded flowers. she saw that they were barely sufficient for one scanty meal as she collected them and returned slowly to the house. no words escaped her, no tears flowed over her cheeks when she reascended the steps--hope, fear, thought, sensation itself had been stunned within her from the first moment when she had discovered that, in the garden as in the house, the inexorable famine had anticipated the last chances of relief. she entered the room, and, still holding the withered roots, advanced mechanically to her father's side. during her absence his mental and bodily faculties had both yielded to wearied nature--he lay in a deep, heavy sleep. her mind experienced a faint relief when she saw that the fatal necessity of confessing the futility of the hopes she had herself awakened was spared her for a while. she knelt down by numerian, and gently smoothed the hair over his brow; then she drew the curtain across the window, for she feared even that the breeze blowing through it might arouse him. a strange, secret satisfaction at the idea of devoting to her father every moment of the time and every particle of the strength that might yet be reserved for her; a ready resignation to death in dying for him--overspread her heart, and took the place of all other aspirations and all other thoughts. she now moved to and fro through the room with a cautious tranquillity which nothing could startle; she prepared her decayed roots for food with a patient attention which nothing could divert. lost, through the aggravated miseries of her position, to recent grief and present apprehension, she could still instinctively perform the simple offices of the woman and the daughter, as she might have performed them amid a peaceful nation and a prosperous home. thus do the first-born affections outlast the exhaustion of all the stormy emotions, all the aspiring thoughts of after years, which may occupy, but which cannot absorb, the spirit within us; thus does their friendly and familiar voice, when the clamour of contending passions has died away in its own fury, speak again, serene and sustaining as in the early time, when the mind moved secure within the limits of its native simplicity, and the heart yet lay happy in the pure tranquillity of its first repose! the last scanty measure of food was soon prepared; it was bitter and unpalatable when she tasted it--life could barely be preserved, even in the most vigorous, by provision so wretched; but she set it aside as carefully as if it had been the most precious luxury of the most abundant feast. nothing had changed during the interval of her solitary employment--her father yet slept; the gloomy silence yet prevailed in the street. she placed herself at the window, and partially drew aside the curtain to let the warm breezes from without blow over her cold brow. the same ineffable resignation, the same unnatural quietude, which had sunk down over her faculties since she had entered the room, overspread them still. surrounding objects failed to impress her attention; recollections and forebodings stagnated in her mind. a marble composure prevailed over her features. sometimes her eyes wandered mechanically from the morsels of food by her side to her sleeping father, as her one vacant idea of watching for his service, till the feeble pulses of life had throbbed their last, alternately revived and declined; but no other evidences of bodily existence or mental activity appeared in her. as she now sat in the half-darkened room, by the couch on which her father reposed--her features pale, calm, and rigid, her form enveloped in cold white drapery--there were moments when she looked like one of the penitential devotees of the primitive church, appointed to watch in the house of mourning, and surprised in her saintly vigil by the advent of death. time flowed on--the monotonous hours of the day waned again towards night; and plague and famine told their lapse in the fated highways of rome. for father and child the sand in the glass was fast running out, and neither marked it as it diminished. the sleeper still reposed, and the guardian by his side still watched; but now her weary gaze was directed on the street, unconsciously attracted by the sound of voices which at length rose from it at intervals, and by the light of the torches and lamps which appeared in the great palace of the senator vetranio, as the sun gradually declined in the horizon, and the fiery clouds around were quenched in the vapours of the advancing night. steadily she looked upon the sight beneath and before her; but even yet her limbs never moved; no expression relieved the blank, solemn peacefulness of her features. meanwhile, the soft, brief twilight glimmered over the earth, and showed the cold moon, poised solitary in the starless heaven; then, the stealthy darkness arose at her pale signal, and closed slowly round the city of death! chapter . the banquet of famine. of all prophecies, none are, perhaps, so frequently erroneous as those on which we are most apt to venture in endeavouring to foretell the effect of outward events on the characters of men. in no form of our anticipations are we more frequently baffled than in such attempts to estimate beforehand the influence of circumstance over conduct, not only in others, but also even in ourselves. let the event but happen, and men, whom we view by the light of our previous observation of them, act under it as the living contradictions of their own characters. the friend of our daily social intercourse, in the progress of life, and the favourite hero of our historic studies, in the progress of the page, astonish, exceed, or disappoint our expectations alike. we find it as vain to foresee a cause as to fix a limit for the arbitrary inconsistencies in the dispositions of mankind. but, though to speculate upon the future conduct of others under impending circumstances be but too often to expose the fallacy of our wisest anticipations, to contemplate the nature of that conduct after it has been displayed is a useful subject of curiosity, and may perhaps be made a fruitful source of instruction. similar events which succeed each other at different periods are relieved from monotony, and derive new importance from the ever-varying effects which they produce on the human character. thus, in the great occurrence which forms the foundation of our narrative, we may find little in the siege of rome, looking at it as a mere event, to distinguish it remarkably from any former siege of the city--the same desire for glory and vengeance, wealth and dominion, which brought alaric to her walls, brought other invaders before him. but if we observed the effect of the gothic descent upon italy on the inhabitants of her capital, we shall find ample matter for novel contemplation and unbounded surprise. we shall perceive, as an astonishing instance of the inconsistencies of the human character, the spectacle of a whole people resolutely defying an overwhelming foreign invasion at their very doors, just at the period when they had fallen most irremediably from the highest position of national glory to the lowest depths of national degradation; resisting an all-powerful enemy with inflexible obstinacy, for the honour of the roman name, which they had basely dishonoured or carelessly forgotten for ages past. we shall behold men who have hitherto laughed at the very name of patriotism, now starving resolutely in their country's cause; who stopped at no villainy to obtain wealth, now hesitating to employ their ill-gotten gains in the purchase of the most important of all gratifications--their own security and peace. instances of the unimaginable effect produced by the event of the siege of rome on the characters of her inhabitants might be drawn from all classes, from the lowest to the highest, from patrician to plebeian; but to produce them here would be to admit too long an interruption in the progress of the present narrative. if we are to enter at all into detail on such a subject, it must be only in a case clearly connected with the actual requirements of our story; and such a case may be found, at this juncture, in the conduct of the senator vetranio, under the influence of the worst calamities attending the blockade of rome by the goths. who, it may be asked, knowing the previous character of this man, his frivolity of disposition, his voluptuous anxiety for unremitting enjoyment and ease, his horror of the slightest approaches of affliction or pain, would have imagined him capable of rejecting in disdain all the minor chances of present security and future prosperity which his unbounded power and wealth might have procured for him, even in a famine-stricken city, and rising suddenly to the sublime of criminal desperation, in the resolution to abandon life as worthless the moment it had ceased to run in the easy current of all former years? yet to this determination had he now arrived; and, still more extraordinary, in this determination had he found others, of his own patrician order, to join him. the reader will remember his wild announcement of his intended orgie to the prefect pompeianus during the earlier periods of the siege; that announcement was now to be fulfilled. vetranio had bidden his guests to the banquet of famine. a chosen number of the senators of the great city were to vindicate their daring by dying the revellers that they had lived; by resigning in contempt all prospect of starving, like the common herd, on a lessening daily pittance of loathsome food; by making their triumphant exit from a fettered and ungrateful life, drowned in floods of wine, and lighted by the fires of the wealthiest palace of rome! it had been intended to keep this frantic determination a profound secret, to let the mighty catastrophe burst upon the remaining inhabitants of the city like a prodigy from heaven; but the slaves intrusted with the organisation of the suicide banquet had been bribed to their tasks with wine, and in the carelessness of intoxication had revealed to others whatever they heard within the palace walls. the news passed from mouth to mouth. there was enough in the prospect of beholding the burning palace and the drunken suicide of its desperate guests to animate even the stagnant curiosity of a famishing mob. on the appointed evening the people dragged their weary limbs from all quarters of the city towards the pincian hill. many of them died on the way; many lost their resolution to proceed to the end of their journey, and took shelter sullenly in the empty houses on the road; many found opportunities for plunder and crime as they proceeded, which tempted them from their destination; but many persevered in their purpose--the living dragging the dying along with them, the desperate driving the cowardly before them in malignant sport, until they gained the palace gates. it was by their voices, as they reached her ear from the street, that the fast-sinking faculties of antonina had been startled, though not revived; and there, on the broad pavement, lay these citizens of a fallen city--a congregation of pestilence and crime--a starving and an awful band! the moon, brightened by the increasing darkness, now clearly illuminated the street, and revealed, in a narrow space, a various and impressive scene. one side of the roadway in which stood vetranio's palace was occupied, along each extremity, as far as the eye could reach at night, by the groves and outbuildings attached to the senator's mansion. the palace grounds, at the higher and farther end of the street--looking from the pincian gate--crossed it by a wide archway, and then stretched backward, until they joined the trees of the little garden of numerian's abode. in a line with this house, but separated from it by a short space, stood a long row of buildings, let out floor by floor to separate occupants, and towering to an unwieldy altitude; for in ancient rome, as in modern london, in consequence of the high price of land in an over-populated city, builders could only secure space in a dwelling by adding inconveniently to its height. beyond these habitations rose the trees surrounding another patrician abode; and beyond that the houses took a sudden turn, and nothing more was visible in a straight line but the dusky, indefinite objects of the distant view. the whole appearance of the street before vetranio's mansion, had it been unoccupied by the repulsive groups now formed in it, would have been eminently beautiful at the hours of which we now write. the nobly symmetrical frontage of the palace itself, with its graceful succession of long porticoes and colossal statues, contrasted by the picturesquely irregular appearance of the opposite dwelling of numerian and the lofty houses by its side; the soft, indistinct masses of foliage running parallel along the upper ends of the street, terminated and connected by the archway garden across the road, on which was planted a group of tall pine-trees, rising in gigantic relief against the transparent sky; the brilliant light streaming across the pavement from vetranio's gaily-curtained windows, immediately opposed by the tranquil moonlight which lit the more distant view--formed altogether a prospect in which the natural and the artificial were mingled together in the most exquisite proportions--a prospect whose ineffable poetry and beauty might, on any other night, have charmed the most careless eye and exalted the most frivolous mind. but now, overspread as it was by groups of people gaunt with famine and hideous with disease; startled as it was, at gloomy intervals, by contending cries of supplication, defiance, and despair--its brightest beauties of nature and art appeared but to shine with an aspect of bitter mockery around the human misery which their splendour disclosed. upwards of a hundred people--mostly of the lowest orders--were congregated before the senator's devoted dwelling. some few among them passed slowly to and fro in the street, their figures gliding shadowy and solemn through the light around them; but the greater number lay on the pavement before the wall of numerian's dwelling and the doorways of the lofty houses by its side. illuminated by the full glare of the light from the palace windows, these groups, huddled together in the distorted attitudes of suffering and despair, assumed a fearful and unearthly appearance. their shrivelled faces, their tattered clothing, their wan forms, here prostrate, there half-raised, were bathed in a steady red glow. high above them, at the windows of the tall houses, now tenanted in every floor by the dead, appeared a few figures (the mercenary guardians of the dying within) bending forward to look out upon the palace opposite--their haggard faces showing pale in the clear moonlight. sometimes their voices were heard calling in mockery to the mass of people below to break down the strong steel gates of the palace, and tear the full wine-cup from its master's lips. sometimes those beneath replied with execrations, which rose wildly mingled with the wailing of women and children, the moans of the plague-stricken, and the supplications of the famished to the slaves passing backwards and forwards behind the palace railings for charity and help. in the intervals, when the tumult of weak voices was partially lulled, there was heard a dull, regular, beating sound, produced by those who had found dry bones on their road to the palace, and were pounding them on the pavement, in sheltered places, for food. the wind, which had been refreshing during the day, had changed at sunset, and now swept up slowly over the street in hot, faint gusts, plague-laden, from the east. particles of the ragged clothing on some prostrate forms lying most exposed in its course waved slowly to and fro, as it passed, like banners planted by death on the yielding defences of the citadel of life. it wound through the open windows of the palace, hot and mephitic, as if tainted with the breath of the foul and furious words which it bore onward into the banqueting-hall of the senator's reckless guests. driven over such scenes as now spread beneath it, it derived from them a portentous significance; it seemed to blow like an atmosphere exuded from the furnace-depths of centre earth, breathing sinister warnings of some deadly convulsion in the whole fabric of nature over the thronged and dismal street. such was the prospect before the palace, and such the spectators assembled in ferocious anxiety to behold the destruction of the senator's abode. meanwhile, within the walls of the building, the beginning of the fatal orgie was at hand. it had been covenanted by the slaves (who, during the calamities in the besieged city, had relaxed in their accustomed implicit obedience to their master with perfect impunity), that, as soon as the last labours of preparation were completed, they should be free to consult their own safety by quitting the devoted palace. already some of the weakest and most timid of their numbers might be seen passing out hastily into the gardens by the back gates, like engineers who had fired a train, and were escaping ere the explosion burst forth. those among the menials who still remained in the palace were for the greater part occupied in drinking from the vases of wine which had been placed before them, to preserve to the last moment their failing strength. the mockery of festivity had been extended even to their dresses--green liveries girt with cherry-coloured girdles arrayed their wasted forms. they drank in utter silence. not the slightest appearance of revelry or intoxication prevailed among their ranks. confusedly huddled together, as if for mutual protection, they ever and anon cast quick glances of suspicion and apprehension upon some six or eight of the superior attendants of the palace, who walked backwards and forwards at the outer extremity of the hall occupied by their comrades, and occasionally advancing along the straight passages before them to the front gates of the building, appeared to be exchanging furtive signals with some of the people in the street. reports had been vaguely spread of a secret conspiracy between some of the principal of the slaves and certain chosen ruffians of the populace, to murder all the inmates of the palace, seize on its treasures, and, opening the city gates to the goths, escape with their booty during the confusion of the pillage of rome. nothing had as yet been positively discovered; but the few attendants who kept ominously apart from the rest were unanimously suspected by their fellows, who now watched them over their wine-cups with anxious eyes. different as was the scene among the slaves still left in the palace from the scene among the people dispersed in the street, the one was nevertheless in its own degree as gloomily suggestive of some great impending calamity as the other. the grand banqueting-hall of the palace, prepared though it now was for festivity, wore a changed and melancholy aspect. the massive tables still ran down the whole length of the noble room, surrounded by luxurious couches, as in former days, but not a vestige of food appeared upon their glittering surfaces. rich vases, flasks, and drinking-cups, all filled with wine, alone occupied the festal board. above, hanging low from the ceiling, burnt ten large lamps, corresponding to the number of guests assembled, as the only procurable representatives of the hundreds of revellers who had feasted at vetranio's expense during the brilliant nights that were now passed for ever. at the lower end of the room, beyond the grand door of entrance, hung a thick black curtain, apparently intended to conceal mysteriously some object behind it. before the curtain burnt a small lamp of yellow glass, raised upon a high gilt pole, and around and beneath it, heaped against the side walls, and over part of the table, lay a various and confused mass of rich objects, all of a nature more or less inflammable, and all besprinkled with scented oils. hundreds of yards of gorgeously variegated hangings, rolls upon rolls of manuscripts, gaudy dresses of all colours, toys, utensils, innumerable articles of furniture formed in rare and beautifully inlaid woods, were carelessly flung together against the walls of the apartment, and rose high towards its ceiling. on every part of the tables not occupied by the vases of wine were laid gold and jewelled ornaments which dazzled the eye by their brilliancy; while, in extraordinary contrast to the magnificence thus profusely displayed, there appeared in one of the upper corners of the hall an old wooden stand covered by a coarse cloth, on which were placed one or two common earthenware bowls, containing what my be termed a 'mash' of boiled bran and salted horseflesh. any repulsive odour which might have arisen from this strange compound was overpowered by the various perfumes sprinkled about the room, which, mingling with the hot breezes wafted through the windows from the street, produced an atmosphere as oppressive and debilitating, in spite of its artificial allurements to the sense of smell, as the air of a dungeon or the vapours of a marsh. remarkable as was the change in the present appearance of the banqueting-hall, it was but the feeble reflection of the alteration for the worse in the aspect of the host and his guests. vetranio reclined at the head of the table, dressed in a scarlet mantle. an embroidered towel with purple tassels and fringes, connected with rings of gold, fell over his breast, and silver and ivory bracelets were clasped round his arms. but of the former man the habiliments were all that remained. his head was bent forward, as if with the weakness of age; his emaciated arms seemed barely able to support the weight of the ornaments which glittered on them; his eyes had contracted a wild, unsettled expression; and a deadly paleness overspread the once plump and jovial cheeks which so many mistresses had kissed in mercenary rapture in other days. both in countenance and manner the elegant voluptuary of our former acquaintance at the court of ravenna was entirely and fatally changed. of the other eight patricians who lay on the couches around their altered host--some wild and reckless, some gloomy and imbecile--all had suffered in the ordeal of the siege, the famine, and the pestilence, like him. such were the members of the assemblage, represented from the ceiling by nine of the burning lamps. the tenth and last lamp indicated the presence of one more guest who reclined a little apart from the rest. this man was hump-backed; his gaunt, bony features were repulsively disproportioned to his puny frame, which looked doubly contemptible, enveloped as it was in an ample tawdry robe. sprung from the lowest ranks of the populace, he had gradually forced himself into the favour of his superiors by his skill in coarse mimicry, and his readiness in ministering to the worst vices of all who would employ him. having lost the greater part of his patrons during the siege, finding himself abandoned to starvation on all sides, he had now, as a last resource, obtained permission to participate in the banquet of famine, to enliven it by a final exhibition of his buffoonery, and to die with his masters, as he had lived with them--the slave, the parasite, and the imitator of the lowest of their vices and the worst of their crimes. at the commencement of the orgie, little was audible beyond the clash of the wine-cups, the low occasional whispering of the revellers, and the confused voices of the people without, floating through the window from the street. the desperate compact of the guests, now that its execution had actually begun, awed them at first in spite of themselves. at length, when there was a lull of all sounds--when a temporary calm prevailed over the noises outside--when the wine-cups were emptied, and left for a moment ere they were filled again--vetranio feebly rose, and, announcing with a mocking smile that he was about to speak a funeral oration over his friends and himself, pointed to the wall immediately behind him as to an object fitted to awaken the astonishment or the hilarity of his moody guests. against the upper part of the wall were fixed various small statues in bronze and marble, all representing the owner of the palace, and all hung with golden plates. beneath these appeared the rent-roll of his estates, written in various colours on white vellum, and beneath that, scratched on the marble in faint irregular characters, was no less an object than his own epitaph, composed by himself. it may be translated thus:-- stop, spectator! if thou has reverently cultivated the pleasures of the taste, pause amid these illustrious ruins of what was once a palace, and peruse with respect on this stone the epitaph of vetranio, a senator. he was the first man who invented a successful nightingale sauce; his bold and creative genius added much, and would have added more, to the art of cookery; but, alas for the interests of science! he lived in the days when the gothic barbarians besieged the imperial city; famine left him no matter for gustatory experiment; and pestilence deprived him of cooks to enlighten! opposed at all points by the force of adverse circumstances, finding his life of no further use to the culinary interests of rome, he called his chosen friends together to assist him, conscientiously drank up every drop of wine remaining in his cellars, lit the funeral pile of himself and his guests, in the banqueting-hall of his own palace, and died, as he had lived, the patriotic cato of his country's gastronomy! 'behold!' cried vetranio, pointing triumphantly to the epitaph--'behold in every line of those eloquent letters at once the seal of my resolute adherence to the engagement that unites us here, and the foundation of my just claim to the reverence of posterity on the most useful of the arts which i exercised for the benefit of my species! read, friends, brethren, fellow-martyrs of glory, and, as you read, rejoice with me over the hour of our departure from the desecrated arena, no longer worthy the celebration of the games of life! yet, ere the feast proceeds, hear me while i speak--i make my last oration as the arbiter of our funeral sports, as the host of the banquet of famine! 'who would sink ignobly beneath the slow superiority of starvation, or perish under the quickly glancing steel of the barbarian conqueror's sword, when such a death as ours is offered to the choice?--when wine flows bright, to drown sensation in oblivion, and a palace and its treasures furnish alike the scene of the revel and the radiant funeral pile? the mighty philosophers of india--the inspired gymnosophists--died as we shall die! calanus before alexander, zamarus in the presence of augustus, lit the fires that consumed them! let us follow their glorious example! no worms will prey upon our bodies, no hired mourners will howl discordant at our funerals! purified in the radiance of primeval fire, we shall vanish triumphant from enemies and friends--a marvel to the earth, a vision of glory to the gods themselves! 'is it a day more or a day less of life that is now of importance to us? no; it is only towards the easiest and the noblest death that our aspirations can turn! among our number there is now not one whom the care of existence can further occupy! 'here, at my right hand, reclines my estimable comrade of a thousand former feasts, furius balburius placidus, who, when we sailed on the lucrine lake, was wont to complain of intolerable hardship if a fly settled on the gilded folds of his umbrella; who languished for a land of cimmerian darkness if a sunbeam penetrated the silken awnings of his garden-terrace; and who now wrangles for a mouthful of horseflesh with the meanest of his slaves, and would exchange the richest of his country villas for a basket of dirty bread! o furius balburius placidus, of what further use is life to thee? 'there, at my left, i discern the changed though still expressive countenance of the resolute thascius, he who chastised a slave with a hundred lashes if his warm water was not brought immediately at his command; he whose serene contempt for every member of the human species by himself once ranked him among the greatest of human philosophers; even he now wanders through his palace unserved, and fawns upon the plebeian who will sell him a measure of wretched bran! oh, admired friend, oh, rightly reasoning thascius, say, is there anything in rome which should delay thee on thy journey to the elysian fields? 'farther onward at the table, drinking largely while i speak, i behold, o marcus moecius moemmius, thy once plump and jovial form!--thou, in former days accustomed to rejoice in the length of thy name, because it enabled thy friends to drink the more in drinking a cup to each letter of it, tell me what banqueting-hall is now open to thee but this?--and thus desolate in the city of thy social triumphs, what should disincline thee to make of our festal solemnity thy last revel on earth? 'thou, too, facetious hunchback, prince of parasites, unscrupulous reburrus, where, but at this banquet of famine, will thy buffoonery now procure for thee a draught of reviving wine? thy masters have abandoned thee to thy native dunghill! no more shalt thou wheedle for them when they borrow, or bully for them when they pay! no more charges of poisoning or magic shalt thou forge to imprison their troublesome creditors! oh, officious sycophant, thy occupations are no more! drink while thou canst, and then resign thy carcass to congenial mire! 'and you, my five remaining friends, whom--little desirous of further delay--i will collectively address, think on the days when the suspicion of an infectious malady in any one of your companions was sufficient to separate you from the dearest of them; when the slaves who came to you from their palaces underwent long ceremonies of ablution before they approached your presence; and remembering this, reflect that most, perhaps all of us, now meet here plague-tainted already; and then say, of what advantage is it to languish for a life which is yours no longer? 'no, my friends, my brethren of the banquet; feeling that when life is worthless it is folly to live, you cannot shrink from the lofty resolution by which we are bound, you cannot pause on our joyful journey of departure from the scenes of earth--i wrong you even by a doubt! let me now, rather, ask your attention for a worthier subject--the enumeration of the festal ceremonies by which the progress of the banquet will be marked. that task concluded, that last ceremony of my last welcome to you these halls duly performed, i join you once more in your final homage to the deity of our social lives--the god of wine! 'it is not unknown to you--learned as you are in the jovial antiquities of the table--that it was, among some of the ancients, a custom for a master-spirit of philosophy to preside--the teacher as well as the guest--at their feasts. this usage it has been my care to revive, and, as this four meeting is unparalleled in its heroic design, so it was my ambition to bid to it one unparalleled, either as a teacher or a guest. fired by an original idea, unobserved of my slaves, aided only by my singing-boy, the faithful glyco, i have succeeded in placing behind that black curtain such an associate of our revels as you have never feasted with before, whose appearance at the fitting moment must strike you irresistibly with astonishment, and whose discourse--not of human wisdom only--will be inspired by the midnight secrets of the tomb. by my side, on this parchment, lies the formulary of questions to be addressed by reburrus, when the curtain is withdrawn, to the oracle of the mysteries of other spheres. 'before you, behold in those vases all that remains of my once well-stocked cellars, and all that is provided for the palates of my guests! we sit at the banquet of famine, and no coarser sustenance than inspiring wine finds admittance at the bacchanalian board. yet, should any among us, in his last moments, be feeble enough to pollute his lips with nourishment alone worthy of the vermin of the earth, let him seek the wretched and scanty table, type of the wretched and scanty food that covers it, placed yonder in obscurity behind me. there will he find (in all barely sufficient for one man's poorest meal) the last morsels of the vilest nourishment left in the palace. for me, my resolution is fixed--it is only the generous wine-cup that shall now approach my lips! 'above me are the ten lamps, answering to the number of my friends here assembled. one after another, as the wine overpowers us, those burning images of life will be extinguished in succession by the guests who remain proof against our draughts; and the last of these, lighting this torch at the last lamp, will consummate the banquet, and celebrate its glorious close, by firing the funeral pile of my treasures heaped yonder against my palace walls! if my powers fail me before yours, swear to me that whoever among you is able to lift the cup to his lips after it has dropped from the hands of the rest, will fire the pile! swear it by your lost mistresses, your lost friends, your lost treasures!--by your own lives, devoted to the pleasures of wine and the purification of fire!' as, with flashing eyes and flushed countenance, vetranio sank back on his couch, his companions, inflamed with the wine they had already drunk, arose cup in hand, and turned towards him. their voices, discordantly mingled, pronounced the oath together; then, as they resumed their former positions, their eyes all turned towards the black curtain in ardent expectation. they had observed the sinister and sarcastic expression of vetranio's eye as he spoke of his concealed guest; they knew that the hunchback reburrus possessed, among his other powers of buffoonery, the art of ventriloquism; and they suspected the presence of some hideous or grotesque image of a heathen god or demon in the hidden recess, which the jugglery of the parasite was to gift with the capacity of speech. blasphemous comments upon life, death, and immortality were eagerly awaited. the general impatience for the withdrawal of the curtain was perceived by vetranio, who, waving his hand for silence, authoritatively exclaimed-- 'the hour has not yet arrived. more draughts must be drunk, more libations poured out, ere the mystery of the curtain is revealed! ho, glyco!' he continued, turning towards the singing-boy, who had silently entered the room, 'the moment is yours! tune your lyre, and recite my last ode, which i have addressed to you! let the charms of poetry preside over the feast of death!' the boy advanced, trembling; his once ruddy face was colourless and haggard; his eyes were fixed with a look of rigid terror on the black curtain; his features palpably expressed the presence within him of some secret and overwhelming recollection which had crushed all his other faculties and perceptions. steadily, almost guiltily, averting his face from his master's countenance, he stood by vetranio's couch, a frail and fallen being, a mournful spectacle of perverted docility and degraded youth. still true, however, to the duties of his vocation, he ran his thin, trembling fingers over the lyre, and mechanically preluded the commencement of the ode. but during the silence of attention which now prevailed, the confused noises from the people in the street penetrated more distinctly into the banqueting-room; and at this moment, high above them all--hoarse, raving, terrible, rose the voice of one man. 'tell me not,' it cried, 'of perfumes wafted from the palace!--foul vapours flow from it!--see, they sink, suffocating over me!--they bathe sky and earth, and men who move around us, in fierce, green light!' then other voices of men and women, shrill and savage, broke forth in interruption together:--'peace, davus! you awake the dead about you!' 'hide in the darkness; you are plague-struck; your skin is shrivelled; your gums are toothless!' 'when the palace is fired you shall be flung into the flames to purify your rotten carcass!' 'sing!' cried vetranio furiously, observing the shudders that ran over the boy's frame and held him speechless. 'strike the lyre, as timotheus struck it before alexander! drown in melody the barking of the curs who wait for our offal in the street!' feebly and interruptedly the terrified boy began; the wild continuous noises of the moaning voices from without sounding their awful accompaniment to the infidel philosophy of his song as he breathed it forth in faint and faltering accents. it ran thus:-- to glyco ah, glyco! why in flow'rs array'd? those festive wreaths less quickly fade than briefly-blooming joy! those high-prized friends who share your mirth are counterfeits of brittle earth, false coin'd in death's alloy! the bliss your notes could once inspire, when lightly o'er the god-like lyre your nimble fingers pass'd, shall spring the same from others' skill-- when you're forgot, the music still the player shall outlast! the sun-touch'd cloud that mounts the sky, that brightly glows to warm the eye, then fades we know not where, is image of the little breath of life--and then, the doom of death that you and i must share! helpless to make or mar our birth, we blindly grope the ways of earth, and live our paltry hour; sure, that when life has ceased to please, to die at will, in stoic ease, is yielded to our pow'r! who, timely wise, would meanly wait the dull delay of tardy fate, when life's delights are shorn? no! when its outer gloss has flown, let's fling the tarnish'd bauble down as lightly as 'twas worn. 'a health to glyco! a deep draught to a singer from heaven come down upon earth!' cried the guests, seizing their wine-cups, as the ode was concluded, and draining them to the last drop. but their drunken applause fell noiseless upon the ear to which it was addressed. the boy's voice, as he sang the final stanza of the ode, had suddenly changed to a shrill, almost an unearthly tone, then suddenly sank again as he breathed forth the last few notes; and now as his dissolute audience turned towards him with approving glances, they saw him standing before them cold, rigid, and voiceless. the next instant his fixed features were suddenly distorted, his whole frame collapsed as if torn by an internal spasm--he fell back heavily to the floor. those around approached him with unsteady feet, and raised him in their arms. his soul had burst the bonds of vice in which others had entangled it; the voice of death had whispered to the slave of the great despot, crime--'be free!' 'we have heard the note of the swan singing its own funeral hymn!' said the patrician placidus, looking in maudlin pity from the corpse of the boy to the face of vetranio, which presented for the moment an involuntary expression of grief and remorse. 'our miracle of beauty and boy-god of melody has departed before us to the elysian fields!' muttered the hunchback reburrus, in harsh, sarcastic accents. then, during the short silence that ensued, the voices from the street, joined on this occasion to a noise of approaching footsteps on the pavement, became again distinctly audible in the banqueting-hall. 'news! news!' cried these fresh auxiliaries of the horde already assembled before the palace. 'keep together, you who still care for your lives! solitary citizens have been lured by strange men into desolate streets, and never seen again! jars of newly salted flesh, which there were no beasts left in the city to supply, have been found in a butcher's shop! keep together! keep together!' 'no cannibals among the mob shall pollute the body of my poor boy!' cried vetranio, rousing himself from his short lethargy of grief. 'ho! thascius! marcus! you who can yet stand! let us bear him to the funeral pile! he has died first--his ashes shall be first consumed!' the two patricians arose as the senator spoke, and aided him in carrying the body to the lower end of the room, where it was laid across the table, beneath the black curtain, and between the heaps of drapery and furniture piled up against each of the walls. then, as his guests reeled back to their places, vetranio, remaining by the side of the corpse, and seizing in his unsteady hands a small vase of wine, exclaimed in tones of fierce exultation: 'the hour has come--the banquet of famine has ended--the banquet of death has begun! a health to the guest behind the curtain! fill--drink--behold!' he drank deeply from the vase as he ceased, and drew aside the black drapery above him. a cry of terror and astonishment burst from the intoxicated guests as they beheld in the recess now disclosed to view the corpse of an aged woman, clothed in white, and propped up on a high, black throne, with the face turned towards them, and the arms (artificially supported) stretched out as if in denunciation over the banqueting-table. the lamp of yellow glass, which burnt high above the body, threw over it a lurid and flickering light; the eyes were open, the jaw had fallen, the long grey tresses drooped heavily on either side of the white hollow cheeks. 'behold!' cried vetranio, pointing to the corpse--'behold my secret guest! who so fit as the dead to preside at the banquet of death? compelling the aid of glyco, shrouded by congenial night, seizing on the first corpse exposed before me in the street, i have set up there, unsuspected by all, the proper idol of our worship, and philosopher at our feast! another health to the queen of the fatal revels--to the teacher of the mysteries of worlds unseen--rescued from rotting unburied, to perish in the consecrated flames with the senators of rome! a health!--a health to the mighty mother, ere she begin the mystic revelations! fill--drink!' fired by their host's example, recovered from their momentary awe, already inflamed by the mad recklessness of debauchery, the guests started from their couches, and with bacchanalian shouts answered vetranio's challenge. the scene at this moment approached the supernatural. the wild disorder of the richly laden tables; the wine flowing over the floor from overthrown vases; the great lamps burning bright and steady over the confusion beneath; the fierce gestures, the disordered countenances of the revellers, as they waved their jewelled cups over their heads in frantic triumph; and then the gloomy and terrific prospect at the lower end of the hall--the black curtain, the light burning solitary on its high pole, the dead boy lying across the festal table, the living master standing by his side, and, like an evil spirit, pointing upward in mockery to the white-robed corpse of the woman, as it towered above all in its unnatural position, with its skinny arms stretched forth, with its ghastly features appearing to move as the faint and flickering light played over them,--produced together such a combination of scarce-earthly objects as might be painted, but cannot be described. it was an embodiment of a sorcerer's vision--an apocalypse of sin triumphing over the world's last relics of mortality in the vaults of death. 'to your task, reburrus!' cried vetranio, when the tumult was lulled; 'to your questions without delay! behold the teacher with whom you are to hold commune! peruse carefully the parchment in your hand; question, and question loudly--you speak to the apathetic dead!' for some time before the disclosure of the corpse, the hunchback had been seated apart at the end of the banqueting-hall opposite the black-curtained recess, conning over the manuscript containing the list of questions and answers which formed the impious dialogue he was to hold, by the aid of his powers of ventriloquism, with the violated dead. when the curtain was withdrawn he had looked up for a moment, and had greeted the appearance of the sight behind it with a laugh of brutal derision, returning immediately to the study of his blasphemous formulary which had been confided to his care. at the moment when vetranio's commands were addressed to him he arose, reeled down the apartment towards the corpse, and, opening the dialogue as he approached it, began in loud jeering tones: 'speak, miserable relict of decrepit mortality!' he paused as he uttered the last word, and gaining a point of view from which the light of the lamp fell full upon the solemn and stony features of the corpse, looked up defiantly at it. in an instant a frightful change passed over him, the manuscript dropped from his hand, his deformed frame shrank and tottered, a shrill cry of recognition burst from his lips, more like the yell of a wild beast than the voice of a man. the next moment, when the guests started up to question or deride him, he turned slowly and faced them. desperate and drunken as they were, his look awed them into utter silence. his face was deathlike in hue, as the face of the corpse above him--thick drops of perspiration trickled down it like rain--his dry glaring eyes wandered fiercely over the startled countenances before him, and, as he extended towards them his clenched hands, he muttered in a deep gasping whisper: 'who has done this? my mother! my mother!' as these few words--of awful import though of simple form--fell upon the ears of those whom he addressed, such of them as were not already sunk in insensibility looked round on each other almost sobered for the moment, and all speechless alike. not even the clash of the wine-cups was now heard at the banqueting-table--nothing was audible but the sound, still fitfully rising and falling, of the voices of terror, ribaldry, and anguish from the street; and the hoarse convulsive accents of the hunchback, still uttering at intervals his fearful identification of the dead body above him: 'my mother! my mother!' at length vetranio, who was the first to recover himself, addressed the terrified and degraded wretch before him, in tones which, in spite of himself, betrayed, as he began, an unwonted tremulousness and restraint. 'what, reburrus!' he cried, 'are you already drunken to insanity, that you call the first dead body which by chance i encountered in the street, and by chance brought hither, your mother? was it to talk of your mother, whom dead or alive we neither know nor care for, that you were admitted here? son of obscurity and inheritor of rags, what are your plebeian parents to us!' he continued, refilling his cup, and lashing himself into assumed anger as he spoke. 'to your dialogue without delay, or you shall be flung from the windows to mingle with your rabble-equals in the street!' neither by word nor look did the hunchback answer the senator's menaces. for him, the voice of the living was stifled in the presence of the dead. the retribution that had gone forth against him had struck his moral, as a thunderbolt might have stricken his physical being. his soul strove in agony within him, as he thought on the awful fatality which had set the dead mother in judgment on the degraded son--which had directed the hand of the senator unwittingly to select the corpse of the outraged parent as the object for the infidel buffoonery of the reckless child, at the very close of his impious career. his past life rose before him, for the first time, like a foul vision, like a nightmare of horror, impurity, and crime. he staggered up the room, groping his way along the wall, as if the darkness of midnight had closed round his eyes, and crouched down by the open window. beneath him rose the evil and ominous voices from the street; around him spread the pitiless array of his masters; before him appeared the denouncing vision of the corpse. he would have remained but a short time unmolested in his place of refuge, but for an event which now diverted from him the attention of vetranio and his guests. drinking furiously to drown all recollection of the catastrophe they had just witnessed, three of the revellers had already suffered the worst consequences of an excess, which their weakened frames were ill-fitted to bear. one after another, at short intervals, they fell back senseless on their couches; and one after another, as they succumbed, the three lamps burning nearest to them were extinguished. the same speedy termination to the debauch seemed to be in reserve for the rest of their companions, with the exception of vetranio and the two patricians who reclined at his right hand and his left. these three still preserved the appearance of self-possession, but an ominous change had already overspread their countenances. the expression of wild joviality, of fierce recklessness, had departed from their wild features; they silently watched each other with vigilant and suspicious eyes; each in turn, as he filled his wine-cup, significantly handled the torch with which the last drinker was to fire the funeral pile. as the numbers of their rivals decreased, and the flame of lamp after lamp was extinguished, the fatal contest for a suicide supremacy assumed a present and powerful interest, in which all other purposes and objects were forgotten. the corpse at the foot of the banqueting-table, and the wretch cowering in his misery at the window, were now alike unheeded. in the bewildered and brutalised minds of the guests, one sensation alone remained--the intensity of expectation which precedes the result of a deadly strife. but ere long--awakening the attention which might otherwise never have been aroused--the voice of the hunchback was heard, as the spirit of repentance now moved within him, uttering, in wild, moaning tones, a strange confession of degradation and sin--addressed to none; proceeding, independent of consciousness or will, from the depths of his stricken soul. he half raised himself, and fixed his sunken eyes upon the dead body, as these words dropped from his lips: 'it was the last time that i beheld her alive, when she approached me--lonely, and feeble, and poor--in the street, beseeching me to return to her in the days of her old age and her solitude, and to remember how she had loved me in my childhood for my very deformity, how she had watched me throughout the highways of rome, that none should oppress or deride me! the tears ran down her cheeks, she knelt to me on the hard pavement, and i, who had deserted her for her poverty, to make myself a slave in palaces among the accursed rich, flung down money to her as to a beggar who wearied me, and passed on! she died desolate; her body lay unburied, and i knew it not! the son who had abandoned the mother never saw her more, until she rose before him there--avenging, horrible, lifeless--a sight of death never to leave him! woe, woe to the accursed in his deformity, and the accursed of his mother's corpse!' he paused, and fell back again to the ground, grovelling and speechless. the tyrannic thascius, regarding him with a scowl of drunken wrath, seized an empty vase, and poising it in his unsteady hand, prepared to hurl it at the hunchback's prostrate form, when again a single cry--a woman's--rising above the increasing uproar in the street, rang shrill and startling through the banqueting-hall. the patrician suspended his purpose as he heard it, mechanically listening with the half-stupid, half-cunning attention of intoxication. 'help! help!' shrieked the voice beneath the palace windows--'he follows me still--he attacked my dead child in my arms! as i flung myself down upon it on the ground, i saw him watching his opportunity to drag it by the limbs from under me--famine and madness were in his eyes--i drove him back--i fled--he follows me still!--save us, save us!' at this instant her voice was suddenly stifled in the sound of fierce cries and rushing footsteps, followed by an appalling noise of heavy blows, directed at several points, against the steel railings before the palace doors. between the blows, which fell slowly and together at regular intervals, the infuriated wretches, whose last exertions of strength were strained to the utmost to deal them, could be heard shouting breathlessly to each other: 'strike harder, strike harder! the back gates are guarded against us by our comrades admitted to the pillage of the palace instead of us. you who would share the booty, strike firm! the stones are at your feet, the gates of entrance yield before you.' meanwhile a confused sound of trampling footsteps and contending voices became audible from the lower apartments of the palace. doors were violently shut and opened--shouts and execrations echoed and re-echoed along the lofty stone passages leading from the slaves' waiting-rooms to the grand staircase; treachery betrayed itself as openly within the building as violence still proclaimed itself in the assault on the gates outside. the chief slaves had not been suspected by their fellows without a cause; the bands of pillage and murder had been organised in the house of debauchery and death; the chosen adherents from the street had been secretly admitted through the garden gates, and had barred and guarded them against further intrusion--another doom than the doom they had impiously prepared for themselves was approaching the devoted senators, at the hands of the slaves whom they had oppressed, and the plebeians whom they had despised. at the first sound of the assault without and the first intimation of the treachery within, vetranio, thascius, and marcus started from their couches; the remainder of the guests, incapable either of thought or action, lay, in stupid insensibility, awaiting their fate. these three men alone comprehended the peril that threatened them, and, maddened with drink, defied, in their ferocious desperation, the death that was in store for them. 'hark! they approach, the rabble revolted from our rule,' cried vetranio scornfully, 'to take the lives that we despise and the treasures that we have resigned! the hour has come; i go to fire the pile that involves in one common destruction our assassins and ourselves!' 'hold!' exclaimed thascius, snatching the torch from his hand; 'the entrance must first be defended, or, ere the flames are kindled, the slaves will be here! whatever is movable--couches, tables, corpses--let us hurl them all against the door!' as he spoke he rushed towards the black-curtained recess, to set the example to his companions by seizing the corpse of the woman; but he had not passed more than half the length of the apartment, when the hunchback, who had followed him unheeded, sprang upon him from behind, and, with a shrill cry, fastening his fingers on his throat, hurled him torn and senseless to the floor. 'who touches the body that is mine?' shrieked the deformed wretch, rising from his victim, and threatening with his blood-stained hands vetranio and marcus, as they stood bewildered, and uncertain for the moment whether first to avenge their comrade or to barricade the door--'the son shall rescue the mother! i go to bury her! atonement! atonement!' he leaped upon the table as he spoke, tore asunder with resistless strength the cords which fastened the corpse to the throne, seized it in his arms, and the next instant gained the door. uttering fierce, inarticulate cries, partly of anguish and partly of defiance, he threw it open, and stepped forward to descend, when he was met at the head of the stairs by the band of assassins hurrying up, with drawn swords and blazing torches, to their work of pillage and death. he stood before them--his deformed limbs set as firmly on the ground as if he were preparing to descend the stairs at one leap--with the corpse raised high on his breast; its unearthly features were turned towards them, its bare arms were still stretched forth as they had been extended over the banqueting-table, its grey hair streamed back and mingled with his own: under the fitful illumination of the torches, which played red and wild over him and his fearful burden, the dead and the living looked joined to each other in one monstrous form. huddled together, motionless, on the stairs, their shouts of vengeance and fury frozen on their lips, the assassins stood for one moment, staring mechanically, with fixed, spell-bound eyes, upon the hideous bulwark opposing their advance on the victims whom they had expected so easily to surprise. the next instant a superstitious panic seized them; as the hunchback suddenly moved towards them to descend, the corpse seemed to their terror-stricken eyes to be on the eve of bursting its way through their ranks. ignorant of its introduction into the palace, imagining it, in the revival of their slavish fears, to be the spectral offspring of the magic incantations of the senators above, they turned with one accord and fled down the stairs. the sound of their cries of fear grew fainter and fainter in the direction of the garden as they hurried through the secret gates at the back of the building. then the heavy, regular tamp of the hunchback's footsteps, as he paced the solitary corridors after them, bearing his burden of death, became audible in awful distinctness; then that sound also died away and was lost, and nothing more was heard in the banqueting-room save the sharp clang of the blows still dealt against the steel railings from the street. but now these grew rare and more rare in their recurrence; the strong metal resisted triumphantly the utmost efforts of the exhausted rabble who assailed it. as the minutes moved on, the blows grew rapidly fainter and fewer; soon they diminished to three, struck at long intervals; soon to one, followed by deep execrations of despair; and, after that, a great silence sank down over the palace and the street, where such strife and confusion had startled the night-echoes but a few moments before. in the banqueting-hall this rapid succession of events--the marvels of a few minutes--passed before vetranio and marcus as visions beheld by their eyes, but neither contained nor comprehended by their minds. stolid in their obstinate recklessness, stupefied by the spectacle of the startling perils--menacing yet harmless, terrifying though transitory--which surrounded them, neither of the senators moved a muscle or uttered a word, from the period when thascius had fallen beneath the hunchback's attack, to the period when the last blow against the palace railings, and the last sound of voices from the street, had ceased in silence. then the wild current of drunken exultation, suspended within them during this brief interval, flowed once more, doubly fierce, in its old course. insensible, the moment after they had passed away, to the warning and terrific scenes they had beheld, each now looked round on the other with a glance of triumphant levity. 'hark!' cried vetranio, 'the mob without, feeble and cowardly to the last, abandon their puny efforts to force my palace gates! behold our banqueting-tables still sacred from the intrusion of the revolted menials, driven before my guest from the dead, like a flock of sheep before a single dog! say, o marcus! did i not well to set the corpse at the foot of our banqueting-table? what marvels has it not effected, borne before us by the frantic reburrus, as a banner of the hosts of death, against the cowardly slaves whose fit inheritance is oppression, and whose sole sensation is fear! see, we are free to continue and conclude the banquet as we had designed! the gods themselves have interfered to raise us in security above our fellow-mortals, whom we despise! another health, in gratitude to our departed guest, the instrument of our deliverance, under the auspices of omnipotent jove!' as vetranio spoke, marcus alone, out of all the revellers, answered his challenge. these two--the last-remaining combatants of the strife--having drained their cups to the health proposed, passed slowly down each side of the room, looking contemptuously on their prostrate companions, and extinguishing every lamp but the two which burnt over their own couches. then returning to the upper end of the tables, they resumed their places, not to leave them again until the fatal rivalry was finally decided, and the moment of firing the pile had actually arrived. the torch lay between them; the last vases of wine stood at their sides. not a word escaped the lips of either, to break the deep stillness prevailing over the palace. each fixed his eyes on the other, in stern and searching scrutiny, and cup for cup, drank in slow and regular alternation. the debauch, which had hitherto presented a spectacle of brutal degradation and violence, now that it was restricted to two men only--each equally unimpressed by the scenes of horror he had beheld, each vying with the other for the attainment of the supreme of depravity--assumed an appearance of hardly human iniquity; it became a contest for a satanic superiority of sin. for some time little alteration appeared in the countenances of either of the suicide-rivals; but they had now drunk to that final point of excess at which wine either acts as its own antidote, or overwhelms in fatal suffocation the pulses of life. the crisis in the strife was approaching for both, and the first to experience it was marcus. vetranio, as he watched him, observed a dark purple flush overspreading his face, hitherto pale, almost colourless. his eyes suddenly dilated; he panted for breath. the vase of wine, when he strove with a last effort to fill his cup from it, rolled from his hand to the floor. the stare of death was in his face as he half-raised himself and for one instant looked steadily on his companion; the moment after, without word or groan, he dropped backward over his couch. the contest of the night was decided! the host of the banquet and the master of the palace had been reserved to end the one and to fire the other! a smile of malignant triumph parted vetranio's lips as he now arose and extinguished the last lamp burning besides his own. that done, he grasped the torch. his eyes, as he raised it, wandered dreamily over the array of his treasures, and the forms of his dead or insensible fellow-patricians around him, to be consumed by his act in annihilating fire. the sensation of his solemn night-solitude in his fated palace began to work in vivid and varying impressions on his mind, which was partially recovering some portion of its wonted acuteness, under the bodily reaction now produced in him by the very extravagance of the night's excess. his memory began to retrace confusedly the scenes with which the dwelling that he was about to destroy had been connected at distant or at recent periods. at one moment the pomp of former banquets, the jovial congregation of guests since departed or dead, revived before him; at another, he seemed to be acting over again his secret departure from his dwelling on the night before his last feast, his stealthy return with the corpse that he had dragged from the street, his toil in setting it up in mockery behind the black curtain, and inventing the dialogue to be spoken before it by the hunchback. now his thoughts reverted to the minutest circumstances of the confusion and dismay among the members of his household when the first extremities of the famine began to be felt in the city; and now, without visible connection or cause, they turned suddenly to the morning when he had hurried through the most solitary paths in his grounds to meet the betrayer ulpius at numerian's garden gate. once more the image of antonina--so often present to his imagination since the original was lost to his eyes--grew palpable before him. he thought of her, as listening at his knees to the sound of his lute; as awakening, bewildered and terrified, in his arms; as flying distractedly before her father's wrath; as now too surely lying dead, in her beauty and her innocence, amid the thousand victims of the famine and the plague. these and other reflections, while they crowded in whirlwind rapidity on his mind, wrought no alteration in the deadly purpose which they suspended. his delay in lighting the torch was the unconscious delay of the suicide, secure in his resolution ere he lifts the poison to his lips--when life rises before him as a thing that is past, and he stands for one tremendous moment in the dark gap between the present and the future--no more the pilgrim of time--not yet the inheritor of eternity! so, in the dimly lighted hall, surrounded by the victims whom he had hurried before him to their doom, stood the lonely master of the great palace; and so spoke within him the mysterious voices of his last earthly thoughts. gradually they sank and ceased, and stillness and vacancy closed like dark veils over his mind. starting like one awakened from a trance he once more felt the torch in his hand, and once more the expression of fierce desperation appeared in his eyes as he lit it steadily at the lamp above him. the dew was falling pure to the polluted earth; the light breezes sang their low daybreak anthem among the leaves to the power that bade them forth; night had expired, and morning was already born of it, as vetranio, with the burning torch in his hand, advanced towards the funeral pile. he had already passed the greater part of the length of the room, when a faint sound of footsteps ascending a private staircase which led to the palace gardens, and communicated with the lower end of the banqueting-hall by a small door of inlaid ivory, suddenly attracted his attention. he hesitated in his deadly purpose, listening to the slow, regular approaching sound, which, feeble though it was, struck mysteriously impressive upon his ear in the dreary silence of all things around him. holding the torch high above his head, as the footsteps came nearer, he fixed his eyes in intense expectation upon the door. it opened, and the figure of a young girl clothed in white stood before him. one moment he looked upon her with startled eyes; the next the torch dropped from his hand, and smouldered unheeded on the marble floor. it was antonina! her face was overspread with a strange transparent paleness; her once soft, round cheeks had lost their girlish beauty of form; her expression, ineffably mournful, hopeless, and subdued, threw a simple, spiritual solemnity over her whole aspect. she was changed, awfully changed to the profligate senator from the being of his former admiration; but still there remained in her despairing eyes enough of the old look of gentleness and patience, surviving through all anguish and dread, to connect her, even as she was now, with what she had been. she stood in the chamber of debauchery and suicide between the funeral pile and the desperate man who was vowed to fire it, a feeble, helpless creature, yet powerful in the influence of her presence, at such a moment and in such a form, as a saving and reproving spirit, armed with the omnipotence of heaven to mould the purposes of man. awed and astounded, as if he beheld an apparition from the tomb, vetranio looked upon this young girl--whom he had loved with the least selfish passion that ever inspired him; whom he had lamented as long since lost and dead with the sincerest grief he had ever felt; whom he now saw standing before him at the very moment ere he doomed himself to death, altered, desolate, supplicating--with emotions which held him speechless in wonder, and even in dread. while he still gazed upon her in silence, he heard her speaking to him in low, melancholy, imploring accents, which fell upon his ear, after the voices of terror and desperation that had risen around him throughout the night, like tones never addressed to it before. 'numerian, my father, is sinking under the famine,' she began; 'if no help is given to him, he may die even before sunrise! you are rich and powerful; i have come to you, having nothing now but his life to live for, to beg sustenance for him!' she paused, overpowered for the moment, and bent her eyes wistfully on the senator's face. then seeing that he vainly endeavoured to answer her, her head drooped upon her breast, and her voice sank lower as she continued:-- 'i have striven for patience under much sorrow and pain through the long night that is past; my eyes were heavy and my spirit was faint; i could have rendered up my soul willingly in my loneliness and feebleness to god who gave it, but that it was my duty to struggle for my life and my father's, now that i was restored to him after i had lost all beside! i could not think, or move, or weep, as, looking forth upon your palace, i watched and waited through the hours of darkness. but, as morning dawned, the heaviness at my heart was lightened; i remembered that the palace i saw before me was yours; and, though the gates were closed, i knew that i could reach it through your garden that joins to my father's land. i had none in rome to ask mercy of but you; so i set forth hastily, ere my weakness should overpower me, remembering that i had inherited much misery at your hands, but hoping that you might pity me for what i had suffered when you saw me again. i came wearily through the garden; it was long before i found my way hither; will you send me back as helpless as i came? you first taught me to disobey my father in giving me the lute; will you refuse to aid me in succouring him now? he is all that i have left in the world! have mercy upon him!--have mercy upon me!' again she looked up in vetranio's face. his trembling lips moved, but still no sound came from them. the expression of confusion and awe yet prevailed over his features as he pointed slowly towards the upper end of the banqueting-table. to her this simple action was eloquent beyond all power of speech; she turned her feeble steps instantly in the direction he had indicated. he watched her, by the light of the single lamp that still burnt, passing--strong in the shielding inspiration of her good purpose--amid the bodies of his suicide companions without pausing on her way. having gained the upper end of the room, she took from the table a flask of wine, and from the wooden stand behind it the bowl of offal disdained by the guests at the fatal banquet, returning immediately to the spot where vetranio still stood. here she stopped for a moment, as if about to speak once more; but her emotions overpowered her. from the sources which despair and suffering had dried up, the long-prisoned tears once more flowed forth at the bidding of gratitude and hope. she looked upon the senator, silent as himself, and her expression at that instant was destined to remain on his memory while memory survived. then, with faltering and hasty steps, she departed by the way she had come; and in the great palace, which his evil supremacy over the wills of others had made a hideous charnel-house, he was once more left alone. he made no effort to follow or detain her as she left him. the torch still smouldered beside him on the floor, but he never stooped to take it up; he dropped down on a vacant couch, stupefied by what he had beheld. that which no entreaties, no threats, no fierce violence of opposition could have effected in him, the appearance of antonina had produced--it had forced him to pause at the very moment of the execution of his deadly design. he remembered how, from the very first day when he had seen her, she had mysteriously influenced the whole progress of his life; how his ardour to possess her had altered his occupations, and even interrupted his amusements; how all his energy and all his wealth had been baffled in the attempt to discover her when she fled from her father's house; how the first feeling of remorse that he had ever known had been awakened within him by his knowledge of the share he had had in producing her unhappy fate. recalling all this; reflecting that, had she approached him at an earlier period, she would have been driven back affrighted by the drunken clamour of his companions; and had she arrived at a later, would have found his palace in flames; thinking at the same time of her sudden presence in the banqueting-hall when he had believed her to be dead, when her appearance at the moment before he fired the pile was most irresistible in its supernatural influence over his actions--that vague feeling of superstitious dread which exists intuitively in all men's minds, which had never before been aroused in his, thrilled through him. his eyes were fixed on the door by which she had departed, as if he expected her to return. her destiny seemed to be portentously mingled with his own; his life seemed to move, his death to wait at her bidding. there was no repentance, no moral purification in the emotions which now suspended his bodily faculties in inaction; he was struck for the time with a mental paralysis. the restless moments moved onward and onward, and still he delayed the consummation of the ruin which the night's debauch had begun. slowly the tender daylight grew and brightened in its beauty, warmed the cold prostrate bodies in the silent hall, and dimmed the faint glow of the wasting lamp; no black mist of smoke, no red glare of devouring fire arose to quench its fair lustre; no roar of flames interrupted the murmuring morning tranquillity of nature, or startled from their heavy repose the exhausted outcasts stretched upon the pavement of the street. still the noble palace stood unshaken on its firm foundations; still the adornments of its porticoes and its statues glittered as of old in the rays of the rising sun; and still the hand of the master who had sworn to destroy it, as he had sworn to destroy himself, hung idly near the torch which lay already extinguished in harmless ashes at his feet. chapter . the last efforts of the besieged. we return to the street before the palace. the calamities of the siege had fallen fiercely on those who lay there during the night. from the turbulent and ferocious mob of a few hours since, not even the sound of a voice was now heard. some, surprised in a paroxysm of hunger by exhaustion and insensibility, lay with their hands half forced into their mouths, as if in their ravenous madness they had endeavoured to prey upon their own flesh. others now and then wearily opened their languid eyes upon the street, no longer regardful, in the present extremity of their sufferings, of the building whose destruction they had assembled to behold, but watching for a fancied realisation of the visions of richly spread tables and speedy relief called up before them, as if in mockery, by the delirium of starvation and disease. the sun had as yet but slightly risen above the horizon, when the attention of the few among the populace who still preserved some perception of outward events was suddenly attracted by the appearance of an irregular procession--composed partly of citizens and partly of officers of the senate, and headed by two men--which slowly approached from the end of the street leading into the interior of the city. this assembly of persons stopped opposite vetranio's palace; and then such members of the mob who watched them as were not yet entirely abandoned by hope, heard the inspiring news that the procession they beheld was a procession of peace, and that the two men who headed it were the spaniard, basilius, a governor of a province, and johannes, the chief of the imperial notaries--appointed ambassadors to conclude a treaty with the goths. as this intelligence reached them, men who had before appeared incapable of the slightest movement now rose painfully, yet resolutely, to their feet, and crowded round the two ambassadors as round two angels descended to deliver them from bondage and death. meanwhile, some officers of the senate, finding the front gates of the palace closed against them, proceeded to the garden entrance at the back of the building, to obtain admission to its owner. the absence of vetranio and his friends from the deliberations of the government had been attributed to their disgust at the obstinate and unavailing resistance offered to the goths. now, therefore, when submission had been resolved upon, it had been thought both expedient and easy to recall them peremptorily to their duties. in addition to this motive for seeking the interior of the palace, the servants of the senate had another errand to perform there. the widely rumoured determination of vetranio and his associates to destroy themselves by fire, in the frenzy of a last debauch--disbelieved or disregarded while the more imminent perils of the city were under consideration--became a source of some apprehension and anxiety to the acting members of the roman council, now that their minds were freed from part of the responsibility which had weighed on them, by their resolution to treat for peace. accordingly, the persons now sent into the palace were charged with the duty of frustrating its destruction, if such an act had been really contemplated, as well as the duty of recalling its inmates to their appointed places in the senate-house. how far they were enabled, at the time of their entrance into the banqueting-hall, to accomplish their double mission, the reader is well able to calculate. they found vetranio still in the place which he had occupied since antonina had quitted him. startled by their approach from the stupor which had hitherto weighed on his faculties, the desperation of his purpose returned; he made an effort to tear from its place the lamp which still feebly burned, and to fire the pile in defiance of all opposition. but his strength, already taxed to the utmost, failed him. uttering impotent threats of resistance and revenge, he fell, swooning and helpless, into the arms of the officers of the senate who held him back. one of them was immediately dismissed, while his companions remained in the palace, to communicate with the leaders of the assembly outside. his report concluded, the two ambassadors moved slowly onward, separating themselves from the procession which had accompanied them, and followed only by a few chosen attendants--a mournful and a degraded embassy, sent forth by the people who had once imposed their dominion, their customs, and even their language, on the eastern and western worlds, to bargain with the barbarians whom their fathers had enslaved for the purchase of a disgraceful peace. on the departure of the ambassadors, all the spectators still capable of the effort repaired to the forum to await their return, and were joined there by members of the populace from other parts of the city. it was known that the first intimation of the result of the embassy would be given from this place; and in the eagerness of their anxiety to hear it, in the painful intensity of their final hopes of deliverance, even death itself seemed for a while to be arrested in its fatal progress through the ranks of the besieged. in silence and apprehension they counted the tardy moments of delay, and watched with sickening gaze the shadows lessening and lessening, as the sun gradually rose in the heavens to the meridian point. at length, after an absence that appeared of endless duration, the two ambassadors re-entered rome. neither of them spoke as they hurriedly passed through the ranks of the people; but their looks of terror and despair were all-eloquent to every beholder--their mission had failed. for some time no member of the government appeared to have resolution enough to come forward and harangue the people on the subject of the unsuccessful embassy. after a long interval, however, the prefect pompeianus himself, urged partly by the selfish entreaties of his friends, and partly by the childish love of display which still adhered to him through all his present anxieties and apprehensions, stepped into one of the lower balconies of the senate-house to address the citizens beneath him. the chief magistrate of rome was no longer the pompous and portly personage whose intrusion on vetranio's privacy during the commencement of the siege has been described previously. the little superfluous flesh still remaining on his face hung about it like an ill-fitting garment; his tones had become lachrymose; the oratorical gestures, with which he was wont to embellish profusely his former speeches, were all abandoned; nothing remained of the original man but the bombast of his language and the impudent complacency of his self-applause, which now appeared in contemptible contrast to his crestfallen demeanour and his disheartening narrative of degradation and defeat. 'men of rome, let each of you exercise in his own person the heroic virtues of a regulus or a cato!' the prefect began. 'a treaty with the barbarians is out of our power. it is the scourge of the empire, alaric himself, who commands the invading forces! vain were the dignified remonstrances of the grave basilius, futile was the persuasive rhetoric of the astute johannes, addressed to the slaughtering and vainglorious goth! on their admission to his presence, the ambassadors, anxious to awe him into a capitulation, enlarged, with sagacious and commendable patriotism, on the expertness of the romans in the use of arms, their readiness for war, and their vast numbers within the city walls. i blush to repeat the barbarian's reply. laughing immoderately, he answered, "the thicker the grass, the easier it is to cut!" 'still undismayed, the ambassadors, changing their tactics, talked indulgently of their willingness to purchase a peace. at this proposal, his insolence burst beyond all bounds of barbarous arrogance. "i will not relinquish the siege," he cried, "until i have delivered to me all the gold and silver in the city, all the household goods in it, and all the slaves from the northern countries." "what then, o king, will you leave us?" asked our amazed ambassadors. "your lives!" answered the implacable goth. hearing this, even the resolute basilius and the wise johannes despaired. they asked time to communicate with the senate, and left the camp of the enemy without further delay. such was the end of the embassy; such the arrogant ferocity of the barbarian foe!' here the prefect paused, from sheer weakness and want of breath. his oration, however, was not concluded. he had disheartened the people by his narrative of what had occurred to the ambassadors; he now proceeded to console them by his relation of what had occurred to himself, when, after an interval, he thus resumed:-- 'but even yet, o citizens of rome, it is not time to despair! there is another chance of deliverance still left to us, and that chance has been discovered by me. it was my lot, during the absence of the ambassadors, to meet with certain men of tuscany, who had entered rome a few days before the beginning of the siege, and who spoke of a project for relieving the city which they would communicate to the prefect alone. ever anxious for the public welfare, daring all treachery from strangers for advantage of my office, i accorded to these men a secret interview. they told me of a startling and miraculous event. the town of neveia, lying, as you well know, in the direct road of the barbarians when they marched upon rome, was protected from their pillaging bands by a tempest of thunder and lightning terrible to behold. this tempest arose not, as you may suppose, from an accidental convulsion of the elements, but was launched over the heads of the invaders by the express interference of the tutelary deities of the town, invocated by the inhabitants, who returned in their danger to the practice of their ancient manner of worship. so said the men of tuscany; and such pious resources as those employed by the people of neveia did they recommend to the people of rome! for my part, i acknowledge to you that i have faith in their project. the antiquity of our former worship is still venerable in my eyes. the prayers of the priests of our new religion have wrought no miraculous interference in our behalf: let us therefore imitate the example of the inhabitants of neveia, and by the force of our invocations hurl the thunders of jupiter on the barbarian camp! let us trust for deliverance to the potent interposition of the gods whom our fathers worshipped--those gods who now, perhaps, avenge themselves for our desertion of their temples by our present calamities. i go without delay to propose to the bishop innocentius and to the senate, the public performance of solemn ceremonies of sacrifice at the capitol! i leave you in the joyful assurance that the gods, appeased by our returning fidelity to our altars, will not refuse the supernatural protection which they accorded to the people of a provincial town to the citizens of rome!' no sounds either of applause or disapprobation followed the prefect's notable proposal for delivering the city from the besiegers by the public apostasy of the besieged. as he disappeared from their eyes, the audience turned away speechless. an universal despair now overpowered in them even the last energies of discord and crime; they resigned themselves to their doom with the gloomy indifference of beings in whom all mortal sensations, all human passions, good or evil, were extinguished. the prefect departed on his ill-omened expedition to propose the practice of paganism to the bishop of a christian church; but no profitable effort for relief was even suggested, either by the government or the people. and so this day drew in its turn towards a close--more mournful and more disastrous, more fraught with peril, misery, and gloom, than the days that had preceded it. the next morning dawned, but no preparations for the ceremonies of the ancient worship appeared at the capitol. the senate and the bishop hesitated to incur the responsibility of authorising a public restoration of paganism; the citizens, hopeless of succour, heavenly or earthly, remained unheedful as the dead of all that passed around them. there was one man in rome who might have succeeded in rousing their languid energies to apostasy; but where and how employed was he? now, when the opportunity for which he had laboured resolutely, though in vain, through a long existence of suffering, degradation, and crime, had gratuitously presented itself more tempting and more favourable than even he in his wildest visions of success had ever dared to hope--where was ulpius? hidden from men's eyes, like a foul reptile, in his lurking-place in the deserted temple--now raving round his idols in the fury of madness, now prostrate before them in idiot adoration--weaker for the interests of his worship, at the crisis of its fate, than the weakest child crawling famished through the streets--the victim of his own evil machinations at the very moment when they might have led him to triumph--the object of that worst earthly retribution, by which the wicked are at once thwarted, doomed, and punished, here as hereafter, through the agency of their own sins. three more days passed. the senate, their numbers fast diminishing in the pestilence, occupied the time in vain deliberations or in moody silence. each morning the weary guards looked forth from the ramparts, with the fruitless hope of discerning the long-promised legions from ravenna on their way to rome; and each morning devastation and death gained ground afresh among the hapless besieged. at length, on the fourth day, the senate abandoned all hope of further resistance and determined on submission, whatever might be the result. it was resolved that another embassy, composed of the whole acting senate, and followed by a considerable train, should proceed to alaric; that one more effort should be made to induce him to abate his ruinous demands on the conquered; and that if this failed, the gates should be thrown open, and the city and the people abandoned to his mercy in despair. as soon as the procession of this last roman embassy was formed in the forum, its numbers were almost immediately swelled, in spite of opposition, by those among the mass of the people who were still able to move their languid and diseased bodies, and who, in the extremity of their misery, had determined at all hazards to take advantage of the opening of the gates, and fly from the city of pestilence in which they were immured, careless whether they perished on the swords of the goths or languished unaided on the open plains. all power of enforcing order had long since been lost; the few soldiers gathered about the senators made one abortive effort to drive the people back, and then resigned any further resistance to their will. feebly and silently the spirit-broken assembly now moved along the great highways, so often trodden, to the roar of martial music and the shouts of applauding multitudes, by the triumphal processions of victorious rome; and from every street, as it passed on, the wasted forms of the people stole out like spectres to join it. among these, as the embassy approached the pincian gate, were two, hurrying forth to herd with their fellow-sufferers, on whose fortunes in the fallen city our more particular attention has been fixed. to explain their presence on the scene (if such an explanation be required) it is necessary to digress for a moment from the progress of events during the last days of the siege to the morning when antonina departed from vetranio's palace to return with her succour of food and wine to her father's house. the reader is already acquainted, from her own short and simple narrative, with the history of the closing hours of her mournful night vigil by the side of her sinking parent, and with the motives which prompted her to seek the palace of the senator, and entreat assistance in despair from one whom she only remembered as the profligate destroyer of her tranquility under her father's roof. it is now, therefore, most fitting to follow her on her way back through the palace gardens. no living creature but herself trod the grassy paths, along which she hastened with faltering steps--those paths which she dimly remembered to have first explored when in former days she ventured forth to follow the distant sounds of vetranio's lute. in spite of her vague, heavy sensations of solitude and grief, this recollection remained painfully present to her mind, unaccountably mingled with the dark and dreary apprehension which filled her heart as she hurried onward, until she once more entered her father's dwelling; and then, as she again approached his couch, every other feeling became absorbed in a faint, overpowering fear, lest, after all her perseverance and success in her errand of filial devotion, she might have returned too late. the old man still lived--his weary eyes opened gladly on her, when she aroused him to partake of the treasured gifts from the senator's banqueting table. the wretched food which the suicide-guests had disdained, and the simple flask of wine which they would have carelessly quaffed at one draught, were viewed both by parent and child as the saving and invigorating sustenance of many days. after having consumed as much as they dared of their precarious supply, the remainder was carefully husbanded. it was the last sign and promise of life to which they looked--the humble yet precious store in which alone they beheld the earnest of their security, for a few days longer, from the pangs of famine and the separation of death. and now, with their small provision of food and wine set like a beacon of safety before their sight, a deep, dream-like serenity--the sleep of the oppressed and wearied faculties--arose over their minds. under its mysterious and tranquilising influence, all impressions of the gloom and misery in the city, of the fatal evidences around them of the duration of the siege, faded away before their perceptions as dim retiring objects, which the eye loses in vacancy. gradually, as the day of the first unsuccessful embassy declined, their thoughts began to flow back gently to the world of bygone events which had crumbled into oblivion beneath the march of time. her first recollections of her earliest childhood revived in antonina's memory, and then mingled strangely with tearful remembrances of the last words and looks of the young warrior who had expired by her side, and with calm, solemn thoughts that the beloved spirit, emancipated from the sphere of shadows, might now be hovering near the quiet garden-grave where her bitterest tears of loneliness and affliction had been shed, or moving around her--an invisible and blessed presence--as she sat at her father's feet and mourned their earthly separation! in the emotions thus awakened, there was nothing of bitterness or agony--they calmed and purified the heart through which they moved. she could now speak to the old man, for the first time, of her days of absence from him, of the brief joys and long sorrows of her hours of exile, without failing in her melancholy tale. sometimes her father listened to her in sorrowful and speechless attention; or spoke, when she paused, of consolation and hope, as she had heard him speak among his congregation while he was yet strong in his resolution to sacrifice all things for the reformation of the church. sometimes resigning himself to the influence of his thoughts, as they glided back to the times that were gone, he again revealed to her the changing events of his past life--not as before, with unsteady accents and wandering eyes; but now with a calmness of voice and a coherence of language which forbade her to doubt the strange and startling narrative that she heard. once more he spoke of the image of his lost brother (as he had parted from him in his boyhood) still present to his mind; of the country that he had quitted in after years; of the name that he had changed--from cleander to numerian--to foil his former associates, if they still pursued him; and of the ardent desire to behold again the companion of his first home, which now, when his daughter was restored to him, when no other earthly aspiration but this was unsatisfied, remained at the close of his life, the last longing wish of his heart. such was the communion in which father and daughter passed the hours of their short reprieve from the judgment of famine pronounced against the city of their sojourn; so did they live, as it were, in a quiet interval of existence, in a tranquil pause between the toil that is over and the toil that is to come in the hard labour of life. but the term to these short days of repose after long suffering and grief was fast approaching. the little hoard of provision diminished as rapidly as the stores that had been anxiously collected before it; and, on the morning of the second embassy to alaric, the flask of wine and the bowl of food were both emptied. the brief dream of security was over and gone; the terrible realities of the struggle for life had begun again! where or to whom could they now turn for help? the siege still continued; the food just exhausted was the last food that had been left on the senator's table; to seek the palace again would be to risk refusal, perhaps insult, as the result of a second entreaty for aid, where all power of conferring it might now but too surely be lost. such were the thoughts of antonina as she returned the empty bowl to its former place; but she gave them no expression in words. she saw, with horror, that the same expression of despair, almost of frenzy, which had distorted her father's features on the day of her restoration to him, now marked them again. once more he tottered towards the window, murmuring in his bitter despondency against the delusive security and hope which had held him idle for the interests of his child during the few days that were past. but, as he now looked out on the beleaguered city, he saw the populace hastening along the gloomy street beneath, as rapidly as their wearied limbs would carry them, to join the embassy. he heard them encouraging each other to proceed, to seize the last chance of escaping through the open gates from the horrors of famine and plague; and caught the infection of the recklessness and despair which had seized his fellow-sufferers from one end of rome to the other. turning instantly, he grasped his daughter's hand and drew her from the room, commanding her to come forth with him and join the citizens in their flight, ere it was too late. startled by his words and actions, she vainly endeavoured, as she obeyed, to impress her father with the dread of the goths which her own bitter experience taught her to feel, now that her only protector among them lay cold in the grave. with numerian, as with the rest of the people, all apprehension, all doubt, all exercise of reason, was overpowered by the one eager idea of escaping from the fatal precincts of rome. so they mingled with the throng, herding affrightedly together in the rear of the embassy, and followed in their ranks as best they might. the sun shone down brightly from the pure blue sky; the wind bore into the city the sharp threatening notes of the trumpets from the gothic camp, as the pincian gate was opened to the ambassadors and their train. with one accord the crowd instantly endeavoured to force their way out after them in a mass; but they now moved in a narrow space, and were opposed by a large reinforcement of the city guard. after a short struggle they were overpowered, and the gates were closed. some few of the strongest and the foremost of their numbers succeeded in following the ambassadors; the greater part, however, remained on the inner side of the gate, pressing closely up to it in their impatience and despair, like prisoners awaiting their deliverance, or preparing to force their escape. among these, feeblest amid the most feeble, were numerian and antonina, hemmed in by the surrounding crowd, and shut out either from flight from the city or a return to home. chapter . the grave and the camp. while the second and last embassy from the senate proceeds towards the tent of the gothic king, while the streets of rome are deserted by all but the dead, and the living populace crowd together in speechless expectation behind the barrier of the pincian gate, an opportunity is at length afforded of turning our attention towards a scene from which it has been long removed. let us now revisit the farm-house in the suburbs, and look once more on the quiet garden and on hermanric's grave. the tranquility of the bright warm day is purest around the retired path leading to the little dwelling. here the fragrance of wild flowers rises pleasantly from the waving grass; the lulling, monotonous hum of insect life pervades the light, steady air; the sunbeams, intercepted here and there by the clustering trees, fall in irregular patches of brightness on the shady ground; and, saving the birds which occasionally pass overhead, singing in their flight, no living creature appears on the quiet scene, until, gaining the wicket-gate which leads into the farm-house garden, we look forth upon the prospect within. there, following the small circular footpath which her own persevering steps have day by day already traced, appears the form of a solitary woman, pacing slowly about the mound of grassy earth which marks the grave of the young goth. for some time she proceeds on her circumscribed round with as much undeviating, mechanical regularity, as if beyond that narrow space rose a barrier which caged her from ever setting foot on the earth beyond. at length she pauses in her course when it brings her nearest to the wicket, advances a few steps towards it, then recedes, and recommences her monotonous progress, and then again breaking off on her round, finally succeeds in withdrawing herself from the confines of the grave, passes through the gate, and following the path to the high-road, slowly proceeds towards the eastern limits of the gothic camp. the fixed, ghastly, unfeminine expression on her features marks her as the same woman whom we last beheld as the assassin at the farm-house, but beyond this she is hardly recognisable again. her formerly powerful and upright frame is bent and lean; her hair waves in wild, white locks about her shrivelled face; all the rude majesty of her form has departed; there is nothing to show that it is still goisvintha haunting the scene of her crime but the savage expression debasing her countenance and betraying the evil heart within, unsubdued as ever in its yearning for destruction and revenge. since the period when we last beheld her, removed in the custody of the huns from the dead body of her kinsman, the farm-house had been the constant scene of her pilgrimage from the camp, the chosen refuge where she brooded in solitude over her fierce desires. scorning to punish a woman whom he regarded as insane for an absence from the tents of the goths which was of no moment wither to the army or to himself, alaric had impatiently dismissed her from his presence when she was brought before him. the soldiers who had returned to bury the body of their chieftain in the garden of the farm-house, found means to inform her secretly of the charitable act which they had performed at their own peril, but beyond this no further intercourse was held with her by any of her former associates. all her actions favoured their hasty belief that her faculties were disordered, and others shunned her as she shunned them. her daily allowance of food was left for her to seek at a certain place in the camp, as it might have been left for an animal too savage to be cherished by the hand of man. at certain periods she returned secretly from her wanderings to take it. her shelter for the night was not the shelter of her people before the walls of rome; her thoughts were not their thoughts. widowed, childless, friendless, the assassin of her last kinsman, she moved apart in her own secret world of bereavement, desolation, and crime. yet there was no madness, no remorse for her share in accomplishing the fate of hermanric, in the dark and solitary existence which she now led. from the moment when the young warrior had expiated with his death his disregard of the enmities of his nation and the wrongs of his kindred, she thought of him only as of one more victim whose dishonour and ruin she must live to requite on the romans with roman blood, and matured her schemes of revenge with a stern resolution which time, and solitude, and bodily infirmity were all powerless to disturb. she would pace for hours and hours together, in the still night and in the broad noonday, round and round the warrior's grave, nursing her vengeful thoughts within her, until a ferocious anticipation of triumph quickened her steps and brightened her watchful eyes. then she would enter the farm-house, and, drawing the knife from its place of concealment in her garments, would pass its point slowly backwards and forwards over the hearth on which she had mutilated hermanric with her own hand, and from which he had advanced, without a tremor, to meet the sword-points of the huns. sometimes, when darkness had gathered over the earth, she would stand--a boding and menacing apparition--upon the grave itself, and chaunt, moaning to the moaning wind, fragments of obscure northern legends, whose hideous burden was ever of anguish and crime, of torture in prison vaults, and death by the annihilating sword--mingling with them the gloomy story of the massacre at aquileia, and her fierce vows of vengeance against the households of rome. the forager, on his late return past the farm-house to the camp, heard the harsh, droning accents of her voice, and quickened his onward step. the venturesome peasant from the country beyond, approaching under cover of the night to look from afar on the gothic camp, beheld her form, shadowy and threatening, as he neared the garden, and fled affrighted from the place. neither stranger nor friend intruded on her dread solitude. the foul presence of cruelty and crime violated undisturbed the scenes once sacred to the interests of tenderness and love, once hallowed by the sojourn of youth and beauty! but now the farm-house garden is left solitary, the haunting spirit of evil has departed from the grave, the footsteps of goisvintha have traced to their close the same paths from the suburbs over which the young goth once eagerly hastened on his night journey of love; and already the walls of rome rise--dark, near, and hateful--before her eyes. along these now useless bulwarks of the fallen city she wanders, as she has often wandered before, watching anxiously for the first opening of the long-closed gates. let us follow her on her way. her attention was now fixed only on the broad ramparts, while she passed slowly along the gothic tents towards the encampment at the pincian gate. arrived there, she was aroused for the first time from her apathy by an unwonted stir and confusion prevailing around her. she looked towards the tent of alaric, and beheld before it the wasted and crouching forms of the followers of the embassy awaiting their sentence from the captain of the northern hosts. in a few moments she gathered enough from the words of the goths congregated about this part of the camp to assure her that it was the pincian gate which had given egress to the roman suppliants, and which would therefore, in all probability, be the entrance again thrown open to admit their return to the city. remembering this, she began to calculate the numbers of the conquered enemy grouped together before the king's tent, and then mentally added to them those who might be present at the interview proceeding within--mechanically withdrawing herself, while thus occupied, nearer and nearer to the waste ground before the city walls. gradually she turned her face towards rome: she was realising a daring purpose, a fatal resolution, long cherished during the days and nights of her solitary wanderings. 'the ranks of the embassy,' she muttered, in a deep, thoughtful tone, 'are thickly filled. where there are many there must be confusion and haste; they march together, and know not their own numbers; they mark not one more or one less among them.' she stopped. strange and dark changes of colour and expression passed over her ghastly features. she drew from her bosom the bloody helmet-crest of her husband, which had never quitted her since the day of his death; her face grew livid under an awful expression of rage, ferocity, and despair, as she gazed on it. suddenly she looked up at the city--fierce and defiant, as if the great walls before her were mortal enemies against whom she stood at bay in the death-struggle. 'the widowed and the childless shall drink of thy blood!' she cried, stretching out her skinny hand towards rome, 'though the armies of her nation barter their wrongs with thy people for bags of silver and gold! i have pondered on it in my solitude, and dreamed of it in my dreams! i have sworn that i would enter rome, and avenge my slaughtered kindred, alone among thousands! now, now, i will hold to my oath! thou blood-stained city of the coward and the traitor, the enemy of the defenceless, and the murderer of the weak! thou who didst send forth to aquileia the slayers of my husband and the assassins of my children, i wait no longer before thy walls! this day will i mingle, daring all things, with thy returning citizens and penetrate, amid romans, the gates of rome! through the day will i lurk, cunning and watchful, in thy solitary haunts, to steal forth on thee at nights, a secret minister of death! i will watch for thy young and thy weak once in unguarded places; i will prey, alone in the thick darkness, upon thy unprotected lives; i will destroy thy children, as their fathers destroyed at aquileia the children of the goths! thy rabble will discover me and arise against me; they will tear me in pieces and trample my mangled body on the pavement of the streets; but it will be after i have seen the blood that i have sworn to shed flowing under my knife! my vengeance will be complete, and torments and death will be to me as guests that i welcome, and as deliverers whom i await!' again she paused--the wild triumph of the fanatic on the burning pile was flashing in her face--suddenly her eyes fell once more upon the stained helmet-crest; then her expression changed again to despair, and her voice grew low and moaning, when she thus resumed:-- 'i am weary of my life; when the vengeance is done i shall be delivered from this prison of the earth--in the world of shadows i shall see my husband, and my little ones will gather round my knees again. the living have no part in me; i yearn towards the spirits who wander in the halls of the dead.' for a few minutes more she continued to fix her tearless eyes on the helmet-crest. but soon the influence of the evil spirit revived in all its strength; she raised her head suddenly, remained for an instant absorbed in deep thought, then began to retrace her steps rapidly in the direction by which she had come. sometimes she whispered softly, 'i must be doing ere the time fail me: my face must be hidden and my garments changed. yonder, among the houses, i must search, and search quickly!' sometimes she reiterated her denunciations of vengeance, her ejaculations of triumph in her frantic project. at the recapitulation of these the remembrance of antonina was aroused; and then a bloodthirsty superstition darkened her thoughts, and threw a vague and dreamy character over her speech. when she spoke now, it was to murmur to herself that the victim who had twice escaped her might yet be alive; that the supernatural influences which had often guided the old goths, on the day of retribution, might still guide her; might still direct the stroke of her destroying weapon--the last stroke ere she was discovered and slain--straight to the girl's heart. thoughts such as these--wandering and obscure--arose in close, quick succession within her; but whether she gave them expression in word and action, or whether she suppressed them in silence, she never wavered or halted in her rapid progress. her energies were braced to all emergencies, and her strong will suffered them not for an instant to relax. she gained a retired street in the deserted suburbs, and looking round to see that she was unobserved, entered on of the houses abandoned by its inhabitants on the approach of the besiegers. passing quickly through the outer halls, she stopped at length in one of the sleeping apartments; and here she found, among other possessions left behind in the flight, the store of wearing apparel belonging to the owner of the room. from this she selected a roman robe, upper mantle, and sandals--the most common in colour and texture that she could find--and folding them up into the smallest compass, hid them under her own garments. then, avoiding all those whom she met on her way, she returned in the direction of the king's tent; but when she approached it, branched off stealthily towards rome, until she reached a ruined building half-way between the city and the camp. in this concealment she clothed herself in her disguise, drawing the mantle closely round her head and face; and from this point--calm, vigilant, determined, her hand on the knife beneath her robe, her lips muttering the names of her murdered husband and children--she watched the high-road to the pincian gate. there for a short time let us leave her, and enter the tent of alaric, while the senate yet plead before the arbiter of the empire for mercy and peace. at the moment of which we write, the embassy had already exhausted its powers of intercession, apparently without moving the leader of the goths from his first pitiless resolution of fixing the ransom of rome at the price of every possession of value which the city contained. there was a momentary silence now in the great tent. at one extremity of it, congregated in a close and irregular group, stood the wearied and broken-spirited members of the senate, supported by such of their attendants as had been permitted to follow them; at the other appeared the stately forms of alaric and the warriors who surrounded him as his council of war. the vacant space in the middle of the tent was strewn with martial weapons, separating the representatives of the two nations one from the other; and thus accidentally, yet palpably, typifying the fierce hostility which had sundered in years past, and was still to sunder for years to come, the people of the north and the people of the south. the gothic king stood a little in advance of his warriors, leaning on his huge, heavy sword. his steady eye wandered from man to man among the broken-spirited senators, contemplating, with cold and cruel penetration, all that suffering and despair had altered for the worse in their outward appearance. their soiled robes, their wan cheeks, their trembling limbs were each marked in turn by the cool, sarcastic examination of the conqueror's gaze. debased and humiliated as they were, there were some among the ambassadors who felt the insult thus silently and deliberately inflicted on them the more keenly for their very helplessness. they moved uneasily in their places, and whispered among each other in low and bitter accents. at length one of their number raised his downcast eyes and broke the silence. the old roman spirit, which long years of voluntary frivolity and degradation had not yet entirely depraved, flushed his pale, wasted face as he spoke thus:-- 'we have entreated, we have offered, we have promised--men can do no more! deserted by our emperor and crushed by pestilence and famine, nothing is now left to us but to perish in unavailing resistance beneath the walls of rome! it was in the power of alaric to win everlasting renown by moderation to the unfortunate of an illustrious nation; but he has preferred to attempt the spoiling of a glorious city and the subjugation of a suffering people! yet let him remember, though destruction may sate his vengeance, and pillage enrich his hoards, the day of retribution will yet come. there are still soldiers in the empire, and heroes who will lead them confidently to battle, though the bodies of their countrymen lie slaughtered around them in the streets of pillaged rome!' a momentary expression of wrath and indignation appeared on alaric's features as he listened to this bold speech; but it was almost immediately replaced by a scornful smile of derision. 'what! ye have still soldiers before whom the barbarian must tremble for his conquests!' he cried. 'where are they? are they on their march, or in ambush, or hiding behind strong walls, or have they lost their way on the road to the gothic camp? ha! here is one of them!' he exclaimed, advancing towards an enfeebled and disarmed guard of the senate, who quailed beneath his fierce glance. 'fight, man!' he loudly continued; 'fight while there is yet time, for imperial rome! thy sword is gone--take mine, and be a hero again!' with a rough laugh, echoed by the warriors behind him, he flung his ponderous weapon as he spoke towards the wretched object of his sarcasm. the hilt struck heavily against the man's breast; he staggered and fell helpless to the ground. the laugh was redoubled among the goths; but now their leader did not join in it. his eye glowed in triumphant scorn as he pointed to the prostrate roman, exclaiming-- 'so does the south fall beneath the sword of the north! so shall the empire bow before the rule of the goth! say, as ye look on these romans before us, are we not avenged of our wrongs? they die not fighting on our swords; they live to entreat our pity, as children that are in terror of the whip!' he paused. his massive and noble countenance gradually assumed a thoughtful expression. the ambassadors moved forward a few steps--perhaps to make a final entreaty, perhaps to depart in despair; but he signed with his hand in command to them to be silent and remain where they stood. the marauder's thirst for present plunder, and the conqueror's lofty ambition of future glory, now stirred in strong conflict within him. he walked to the opening of the tent, and thrusting aside its curtain of skins, looked out upon rome in silence. the dazzling majesty of the temples and palaces of the mighty city, as they towered before him, gleaming in the rays of the unclouded sunlight, fixed him long in contemplation. gradually, dreams of a future dominion amid those unrivalled structures, which now waited but his word to be pillaged and destroyed, filled his aspiring soul, and saved the city from his wrath. he turned again toward the shrinking ambassadors--in a voice and look superior to them as a being of a higher sphere--and spoke thus:-- 'when the gothic conqueror reigns in italy, the palaces of her rulers shall be found standing for the places of his sojourn. i will ordain a lower ransom; i will spare rome.' a murmur arose among the warriors behind him. the rapine and destruction which they had eagerly anticipated was denied them for the first time by their chief. as their muttered remonstrances caught his ear, alaric instantly and sternly fixed his eyes upon them; and, repeating in accents of deliberate command, 'i will ordain a lower ransom; i will spare rome,' steadily scanned the countenances of his ferocious followers. not a word of dissent fell from their lips; not a gesture of impatience appeared in their ranks; they preserved perfect silence as the king again advanced towards the ambassadors and continued-- 'i fix the ransom of the city at five thousand pounds of gold; at thirty thousand pounds of silver.' here he suddenly ceased, as if pondering further on the terms he should exact. the hearts of the senate, lightened for a moment by alaric's unexpected announcement that he would moderate his demands, sank within them again as they thought on the tribute required of them, and remembered their exhausted treasury. but it was no time now to remonstrate or to delay; and they answered with one accord, ignorant though they were of the means of performing their promise, 'the ransom shall be paid.' the king looked at them when they spoke, as if in astonishment that men whom he had deprived of all freedom of choice ventured still to assert it by intimating their acceptance of terms which they dared not decline. the mocking spirit revived within him while he thus gazed on the helpless and humiliated embassy; and he laughed once more as he resumed, partly addressing himself to the silent array of the warriors behind him-- 'the gold and silver are but the first dues of the tribute; my army shall be rewarded with more than the wealth of the enemy. you men of rome have laughed at our rough bearskins and our heavy armour, you shall clothe us with your robes of festivity! i will add to the gold and silver of your ransom, four thousand garments of silk, and three thousand pieces of scarlet cloth. my barbarians shall be barbarians no longer! i will make patricians, epicures, romans of them!' the members of the ill-fated embassy looked up as he paused, in mute appeal to the mercy of the triumphant conqueror; but they were not yet to be released from the crushing infliction of his rapacity and scorn. 'hold!' he cried, 'i will have more--more still! you are a nation of feasters;--we will rival you in your banquets when we have stripped you of your banqueting robes! to the gold, the silver, the silk, and the cloth, i will add yet more--three thousand pounds weight of pepper, your precious merchandise, bought from far countries with your lavish wealth!--see that you bring it hither, with the rest of the ransom, to the last grain! the flesh of our beasts shall be seasoned for us like the flesh of yours!' he turned abruptly from the senators as he pronounced the last words, and began to speak in jesting tones and in the gothic language to the council of warriors around him. some of the ambassadors bowed their heads in silent resignation; others, with the utter thoughtlessness of men bewildered by all that they had seen and heard during the interview that was now close, unhappily revived the recollection of the broken treaties of former days, by mechanically inquiring, in the terms of past formularies, what security the besiegers would require for the payment of their demands. 'security!' cried alaric fiercely, instantly relapsing as they spoke into his sterner mood. 'behold yonder the future security of the goths for the faith of rome!' and flinging aside the curtain of the tent, he pointed proudly to the long lines of his camp, stretching round all that was visible of the walls of the fallen city. the ambassadors remembered the massacre of the hostages of aquileia, and the evasion of the payment of tribute-money promised in former days, and were silent as they looked through the opening of the tent. 'remember the conditions of the ransom,' pursued alaric in warning tones, 'remember my security that the ransom shall be quickly paid! so shall you live for a brief space in security, and feast and be merry again while your territories yet remain to you. go! i have spoken--it is enough!' he withdrew abruptly from the senators, and the curtain of the tent fell behind them as they passed out. the ordeal of the judgment was over; the final sentence had been pronounced; the time had already arrived to go forth and obey it. the news that terms of peace had been at last settled filled the romans who were waiting before the tent with emotions of delight, equally unalloyed by reflections on the past or forebodings for the future. barred from their reckless project of flying to the open country by the goths surrounding them in the camp, shut out from retreating to rome by the gates through which they had rashly forced their way, exposed in their helplessness to the brutal jeers of the enemy while they waited in a long agony of suspense for the close of the perilous interview between alaric and the senate, they had undergone every extremity of suffering, and had yielded unanimously to despair when the intelligence of the concluded treaty sounded like a promise of salvation in their ears. none of the apprehensions aroused in the minds of their superiors by the vastness of the exacted tribute now mingled with the unreflecting ecstasy of their joy at the prospect of the removal of the blockade. they arose to return to the city from which they had fled in dismay, with cries of impatience and delight. they fawned like dogs upon the ambassadors, and even upon the ferocious goths. on their departure from rome they had mechanically preserved some regularity in their progress, but now they hurried onward without distinction of place or discipline of march--senators, guards, plebeians, all were huddled together in the disorderly equality of a mob. not one of them, in their new-born security, marked the ruined building on the high-road; not one of them observed the closely-robed figure that stole out from it to join them in their rear; and then, with stealthy footstep and shrouded face, soon mingled in the thickest of their ranks. the attention of the ambassadors was still engrossed by their forebodings of failure in collecting the ransom; the eyes of the people were fixed only on the pincian gate; their ears were open to no sounds but their own ejaculations of delight. not one disguised stranger only, but many, might now have joined them in their tumultuous progress, alike unquestioned and unobserved. so they hastily re-entered the city, where thousands of heavy eyes were strained to look on them, and thousands of attentive ears drank in their joyful news from the gothic camp. then were heard in all directions the sounds of hysterical weeping and idiotic laughter, the low groans of the weak who died victims of their sudden transport, and the confused outbursts of the strong who had survived all extremities, and at last beheld their deliverance in view. still silent and serious, the ambassadors now slowly penetrated the throng on their way back to the forum; and as they proceeded the crowd gradually dispersed on either side of them. enemies, friends, and strangers, all whom the ruthless famine had hitherto separated in interests and sympathies, were now united together as one family, by the expectation of speedy relief. but there was one among the assembly that was now separating who stood alone in her unrevealed emotions, amid the rejoicing thousands around her. the women and children in the throng, as, preoccupied by their own feeling, they unheedfully passed her by, saw not the eager, ferocious attention in her eyes, as she watched them steadily till they were out of sight. within their gates the stranger and the enemy waited for the treacherous darkness of night, and waited unobserved. where she had first stood when the thick crowd hemmed her in, there she still continued to stand after they slowly moved past her and space grew free. yet beneath this outward calm and silence lurked the wildest passions that ever raged against the weak restraint of human will; even the firm self-possession of goisvintha was shaken when she found herself within the walls of rome. no glance of suspicion had been cast upon her; not one of the crowd had approached to thrust her back when she passed through the gates with the heedless citizens around her. shielded from detection, as much by the careless security of her enemies as by the stratagem of her disguise, she stood on the pavement of rome, as she had vowed to stand, afar from the armies of her people--alone as an avenger of blood! it was no dream; no fleeting, deceitful vision. the knife was under her hand; the streets stretched before her; the living beings who thronged them were romans; the hours of the day were already on the wane; the approach of her vengeance was as sure as the approach of darkness that was to let it loose. a wild exultation quickened in her the pulses of life, while she thought on the dread projects of secret assassination and revenge which now opposed her, a solitary woman, in deadly enmity against the defenceless population of a whole city. as her eyes travelled slowly from side to side over the moving throng; as she thought on the time that might still elapse ere the discovery and death--the martyrdom in the cause of blood--which she expected and defied, would overtake her, her hands trembled beneath her robe, and she reiterated in whispers to herself: 'husband, children, brother--there are five deaths to avenge! remember aquileia! remember aquileia!' suddenly, as she looked from group to group among the departing people, her eyes became arrested by one object; she instantly stepped forwards, then abruptly restrained herself and moved back where the crowd was still thick, gazing fixedly ever in the same direction. she saw the victim twice snatched from her hands--at the camp and in the farm-house--a third time offered to her grasp in the streets of rome. the chance of vengeance last expected was the chance that had first arrived. a vague, oppressing sensation of awe mingled with the triumph at her heart--a supernatural guidance seemed to be directing her with fell rapidity, through every mortal obstacle, to the climax of her revenge! she screened herself behind the people; she watched the girl from the most distant point; but concealment was now vain--their eyes had met. the robe had slipped aside when she suddenly stepped forward, and in that moment antonina had seen her. numerian, moving slowly with his daughter through the crowd, felt her hand tighten round his, and saw her features stiffen into sudden rigidity; but the change was only for an instant. ere he could speak, she caught him by the arm, and drew him forward with convulsive energy. then, in accents hardly articulate, low, breathless, unlike her wonted voice, he heard her exclaim, as she struggled on with him, 'she is there--there behind us! to kill me, as she killed him! home! home!' exhausted already, through long weakness and natural infirmity, by the rough contact of the crowd, bewildered by antonina's looks and actions, and by the startling intimation of unknown peril, conveyed to him in her broken exclamations of affright, numerian's first impulse, as he hurried onward by her side, led him to entreat protection and help from the surrounding populace. but even could he have pointed out to them the object of his dread amid that motley throng of all nations, the appeal he now made would have remained unanswered. of all the results of the frightful severity of privation suffered by the besieged, none were more common than those mental aberrations which produced visions of danger, enemies, and death, so palpable as to make the persons beholding them implore assistance against the hideous creation of their own delirium. accordingly, most of those to whom the entreaties of numerian were addressed passed without noticing them. some few carelessly bid him remember that there were no enemies now; that the days of peace were approaching; and that a meal of good food, which he might soon expect to enjoy, was the only help for a famished man. no one, in that period of horror and suffering, which was now drawing to a close, saw anything extraordinary in the confusion of the father and the terror of the child. so they pursued their feeble flight unprotected, and the footsteps of goisvintha followed them as they went. they had already commenced the ascent of the pincian hill, when antonina stopped abruptly, and turned to look behind her. many people yet thronged the street below; but her eyes penetrated among them, sharpened by peril, and instantly discerned the ample robe and the tall form, still at the same distance from them, and pausing as they had paused. for one moment, the girl's eyes fixed in the wild, helpless stare of terror on her father's face; but the next, that mysterious instinct of preservation, which is co-existent with the instinct of fear--which gifts the weakest animal with cunning to improve its flight, and takes the place of reason, reflection, and resolve, when all are banished from the mind--warned her against the fatal error of permitting the pursuer to track her to her home. 'not there! not there!' she gasped faintly as numerian endeavoured to lead her up the ascent. 'she will see us as we enter the doors!--through the streets! oh, father, if you would save me! we may lose her in the streets!--the guards, the people are there! back! back!' numerian trembled as he marked the terror in her looks and gestures; but it was vain to question or oppose her. nothing short of force could restrain her,--no commands or entreaties could draw from her more than the same breathless exclamation: 'onward, father; onward, if you would save me!' she was insensible to every sensation but fear, incapable of any other exertion than flight. turning and winding, hurrying forward ever at the same rapid pace, they passed unconsciously along the intricate streets that led to the river side; and still the avenger tracked the victim, constant as the shadow to the substance; steady, vigilant, unwearied, as a bloodhound on a hot scent. and now, even the sound of the father's voice ceased to be audible in the daughter's ears; she no longer felt the pressure of his hand, no longer perceived his very presence at her side. at length, frail and shrinking, she again paused, and looked back. the street they had reached was very tranquil and desolate: two slaves were walking at its further extremity. while they were in sight, no living creature appeared in the roadway behind; but as soon as they had passed away, a shadow stole slowly forward over the pavement of a portico in the distance, and the next moment goisvintha appeared in the street. the sun glared down fiercely over her dark figure as she stopped and for an instant looked stealthily around her. she moved to advance, and antonina saw no more. again she turned to renew her hopeless flight; and again her father--perceiving only as the mysterious cause of her dread a solitary woman, who, though she followed, attempted not to arrest, or even to address them--prepared to accompany her to the last, in despair of all other chances of securing her safety. more and more completely did her terror now enchain her faculties, as she still unconsciously traced her rapid way through the streets that led to the tiber. it was not numerian, not rome, not daylight in a great city, that was before her eyes: it was the storm, the assassination, the night at the farm-house, that she now lived through over again. still the quick flight and the ceaseless pursuit were continued, as if neither were ever to have an end; but the close of the scene was, nevertheless, already at hand. during the interval of the passage through the streets, numerian's mind had gradually recovered from its first astonishment and alarm; at length he perceived the necessity of instant and decisive action, while there was yet time to save antonina from sinking under the excess of her own fears. though a vague, awful foreboding of disaster and death filled his heart, his resolution to penetrate at once, at all hazards, the dark mystery of impending danger indicated by his daughter's words and actions, did not fail him; for it was aroused by the only motive powerful enough to revive all that suffering and infirmity had not yet destroyed of the energy of his former days--the preservation of his child. there was something of the old firmness and vigour of the intrepid reformer of the church, in his dim eyes, as he now stopped, and enclosing antonina in his arms, arrested her instantly in her flight. she struggled to escape; but it was faintly, and only for a moment. her strength and consciousness were beginning to abandon her. she never attempted to look back; she felt in her heart that goisvintha was still behind, and dared not to verify the frightful conviction with her eyes. her lips moved; but they expressed an altered and a vain petition: 'hermanric! o hermanric!' was all they murmured now. they had arrived at the long street that ran by the banks of the tiber. the people had either retired to their homes or repaired to the forum to be informed of the period when the ransom would be paid. no one but goisvintha was in sight as numerian looked around him; and she, after having carefully viewed the empty street, was advancing towards them at a quickened pace. for an instant the father looked on her steadily as she approached, and in that instant his determination was formed. a flight of steps at his feet led to the narrow doorway of a small temple, the nearest building to him. ignorant whether goisvintha might not be secretly supported by companions in her ceaseless pursuit, he resolved to secure this place for antonina, as a temporary refuge at least; while standing before it, he should oblige the woman to declare her purpose, if she followed them even there. in a moment he had begun the ascent of the steps, with the exhausted girl by his side. arrived at the summit, he guided her before him into the doorway, and stopped on the threshold to look round again. goisvintha was nowhere to be seen. not duped by the woman's sudden disappearance into the belief that she had departed from the street--persisting in his resolution to lead his daughter to a place of repose, where she might most immediately feel herself secure, and might therefore most readily recover her self-possession, numerian drew antonina with him into the temple. he lingered there for a moment, ere he departed to watch the street from the portico outside. the light in the building was dim,--it was admitted only from a small aperture in the roof, and through the narrow doorway, where it was intercepted by the overhanging bulk of the outer portico. a crooked pile of dark heavy-looking substances on the floor, rose high towards the ceiling in the obscure interior. irregular in form, flung together one over the other in strange disorder, for the most part dusky in hue, yet here and there gleaming at points with a metallic brightness, these objects presented a mysterious, indefinite, and startling appearance. it was impossible, on a first view of their confused arrangement, to discover what they were, or to guess for what purpose they could have been pile together on the floor of a deserted temple. from the moment when they had first attracted numerian's observation, his attention was fixed on them, and as he looked a faint thrill of suspicion--vague, inexplicable, without apparent cause or object--struck chill to his heart. he had moved a step forward to examine the hidden space at the back of the pile, when his further advance was instantly stopped by the appearance of a man who walked forth from it dressed in the floating, purple-edged robe and white fillet of the pagan priests. before either father or daughter could speak, even before they could move to depart, he stepped up to them, and, placing his hand on the shoulder of each, confronted them in silence. at the moment when the stranger approached, numerian raised his hand to thrust him back, and, in so doing, fixed his eyes on the man's countenance, as a ray of light from the doorway floated over it. instantly his arm remained outstretched and rigid, then it dropped to his side, and the expression of horror on the face of the child became reflected, as it were, on the face of the parent. neither moved under the hand of the dweller in the temple when he laid it heavily on each, and both stood before him speechless as himself. chapter . the temple and the church. it was ulpius. the pagan was changed in bearing and countenance as well as in apparel. he stood more firm and upright; a dull, tawny hue overspread his face; his eyes, so sunken and lustreless in other days, were now distended and bright with the glare of insanity. it seemed as if his bodily powers had renewed their vigour, while his mental faculties had declined towards their ruin. no human eye had ever beheld by what foul and secret means he had survived through the famine, on what unnatural sustenance he had satisfied the cravings of inexorable hunger; but there, in his gloomy shelter, the madman and the outcast had lived and moved, and suddenly and strangely strengthened, after the people of the city had exhausted all their united responses, lavished in vain all their united wealth, and drooped and died by thousands around him! his grasp still lay heavy on the father and daughter, and still both confronted him--silent, as if death-struck by his gaze; motionless, as if frozen at his touch. his presence was exerting over them a fatal fascination. the power of action, suspended in antonina as she entered their ill-chosen refuge, was now arrested in numerian also; but with him no thought of the enemy in the street had any part, at this moment, in the resistless influence which held him helpless before the enemy in the temple. it was a feeling of deeper awe and darker horror. for now, as he looked upon the hideous features of ulpius, as he saw the forbidden robe of priesthood in which the pagan was arrayed, he beheld not only the traitor who had successfully plotted against the prosperity of his household, but the madman as well,--the moral leper of the whole human family--the living body and the dead soul--the disinherited of that divine light of life which it is the awful privilege of mortal man to share with the angels of god. he still clasped antonina to his side, but it was unconsciously. to all outward appearance he was helpless as his helpless child, when ulpius slowly removed his grasp from their shoulders, separated them, and locking the hand of each in his cold, bony fingers, began to speak. his voice was deep and solemn, but his accents, in their hard, unvarying tone, seemed to express no human emotion. his eyes, far from brightening as he spoke, relapsed into a dull, vacant insensibility. the connection between the action of speech and the accompanying and explaining action of look which is observable in all men, seemed lost in him. it was fearful to behold the death-like face, and to listen at the same moment to the living voice. 'lo! the votaries come to the temple!' murmured the pagan. 'the good servants of the mighty worship gather at the voice of the priest! in the far provinces, where the enemies of the gods approach to profane the sacred groves, behold the scattered people congregating by night to journey to the shrine of serapis! adoring thousands kneel beneath the lofty porticoes, while within, in the secret hall where the light is dim, where the air quivers round the breathing deities on their pedestals of gold, the high priest ulpius reads the destinies of the future, that are unrolled before his eyes like a book!' as he ceased, and, still holding the hands of his captives, looked on them fixedly as ever, his eyes brightened and dilated again; but they expressed not the slightest recognition either of father or daughter. the delirium of his imagination had transported him to the temple at alexandria; the days were revived when his glory had risen to its culminating point, when the christians trembled before him as their fiercest enemy, and the pagans surrounded him as their last hope. the victims of his former and forgotten treachery were but as two among the throng of votaries allured by the fame of his eloquence, by the triumphant notoriety of his power to protect the adherents of the ancient creed. but it was not always thus that his madness declared itself: there were moments when it rose to appalling frenzy. then he imagined himself to be again hurling the christian assailants from the topmost walls of the besieged temple, in that past time when the image of serapis was doomed by the bishop of alexandria to be destroyed. his yells of fury, his frantic execrations of defiance were heard afar, in the solemn silence of pestilence-stricken rome. those who, during the most fatal days of the gothic blockade, dropped famished on the pavement before the little temple, as they endeavoured to pass it on their onward way, presented a dread reality of death, to embody the madman's visions of battle and slaughter. as these victims of famine lay expiring in the street, they heard above them his raving voice cursing them for christians, triumphing over them as defeated enemies destroyed by his hand, exhorting his imaginary adherents to fling the slain above on the dead below, until the bodies of the besiegers of the temple were piled, as barriers against their living comrades, round its walls. sometimes his frenzy gloried in the fancied revival of the foul and sanguinary ceremonies of pagan superstition. then he bared his arms, and shouted aloud for the sacrifice; he committed dark and nameless atrocities--for now again the dead and the dying lay before him, to give substance to the shadow of his evil thoughts; and plague and hunger were as creatures of his will, and slew the victim for the altar ready to his hands. at other times, when the raving fit had passed away, and he lay panting in the darkest corner of the interior of the temple, his insanity assumed another and a mournful form. his voice grew low and moaning; the wreck of his memory--wandering and uncontrollable--floated back, far back, on the dark waters of the past; and his tongue uttered fragments of words and phrases that he had murmured at his father's knees--farewell, childish wishes that he had breathed in his mother's ear--innocent, anxious questions which he had addressed to macrinus, the high priest, when he first entered the service of the gods at alexandria. his boyish reveries--the gentleness of speech and poetry of thought of his first youthful days, were now, by the unsearchable and arbitrary influences of his disease, revived in his broken words, renewed in his desolate old age of madness and crime, breathed out in unconscious mockery by his lips, while the foam still gathered about them, and the last flashes of frenzy yet lightened in his eyes. this unnatural calmness of language and vividness of memory, this treacherous appearance of thoughtful, melancholy self-possession, would often continue through long periods, uninterrupted; but, sooner or later, the sudden change came; the deceitful chain of thought snapped asunder in an instant; the word was left half uttered; the wearied limbs started convulsively into renewed action; and as the dream of violence returned and the dream of peace vanished, the madman rioted afresh in his fury; and journeyed as his visions led him, round and round his temple sanctuary, and hither and thither, when the night was dark and death was busiest in rome, among the expiring in deserted houses, and the lifeless in the silent streets. but there were other later events in his existence that never revived within him. the old familiar image of the idol serapis, which had drawn him into the temple when he re-entered rome, absorbed in itself and in its associated remembrances all that remained active of his paralysed faculties. his betrayal of his trust in the house of numerian, his passage through the rifted wall, his crushing repulse in the tent of alaric, never for a moment occupied his wandering thoughts. the clouds that hung over his mind might open to him parting glimpses of the toils and triumphs of his early career; but they descended in impenetrable darkness on all the after-days of his dreary life. such was the being to whose will, by a mysterious fatality, the father and child were now submitted; such the existence--solitary, hopeless, loathsome--of their stern and wily betrayer of other days! since he had ceased speaking, the cold, death-like grasp of his hand had gradually strengthened, and he had begun to look slowly and inquiringly round him from side to side. had this change marked the approaching return of his raving paroxysm, the lives of numerian and antonina would have been sacrificed the next moment; but all that it now denoted was the quickening of the lofty and obscure ideas of celebrity and success, of priestly honour and influence, of the splendour and glory of the gods, which had prompted his last words. he moved suddenly, and drew the victims of his dangerous caprice a few steps farther into the interior of the temple; then led them close up to the lofty pile of objects which had first attracted numerian's eyes on entering the building. 'kneel and adore!' cried the madman fiercely, replacing his hands on their shoulders and pressing them to the ground--'you stand before the gods, in the presence of their high priest!' the girl's head sank forward, and she hid her face in her hands; but her father looked up tremblingly at the pile. his eyes had insensibly become more accustomed to the dim light of the temple, and he now saw more distinctly the objects composing the mass that rose above him. hundreds of images of the gods, in gold, silver, and wood--many in the latter material being larger than life; canopies, vestments, furniture, utensils, all of ancient pagan form, were heaped together, without order or arrangement, on the floor, to a height of full fifteen feet. there was something at once hideous and grotesque in the appearance of the pile. the monstrous figures of the idols, with their rude carved draperies and symbolic weapons, lay in every wild variety of position, and presented every startling eccentricity of line, more especially towards the higher portions of the mass, where they had evidently been flung up from the ground by the hand that had raised the structure. the draperies mixed among the images and the furniture were here coiled serpent-like around them, and there hung down towards the ground, waving slow and solemn in the breezes that wound through the temple doorway. the smaller objects of gold and silver, scattered irregularly over the mass, shone out from it like gleaming eyes; while the pile itself, seen in such a place under a dusky light, looked like some vast, misshapen monster--the gloomy embodiment of the bloodiest superstitions of paganism, the growth of damp airs and teeming ruin, of shadow and darkness, of accursed and infected solitude! even in its position, as well as in the objects of which it was composed, the pile wore an ominous and startling aspect; its crooked outline, expanding towards the top, was bent over fearfully in the direction of the doorway; it seemed as if a single hand might sway it in its uncertain balance, and hurl it instantly in one solid mass to the floor. many toilsome hours had passed away, long secret labour had been expended in the erection of this weird and tottering structure; but it was all the work of one hand. night after night had the pagan entered the deserted temples in the surrounding streets, and pillaged them of their contents to enrich his favoured shrine: the removal of the idols from their appointed places, which would have been sacrilege in any meaner man, was in his eyes the dread privilege of the high priest alone. he had borne heavy burdens, and torn asunder strong fastenings, and journeyed and journeyed again for hours together over the same gloomy streets, without loitering in his task; he had raised treasures and images one above another; he had strengthened the base and heightened the summit of this precious and sacred heap; he had repaired and rebuilt, whenever it crumbled and fell, this new babel that he longed to rear to the olympus of the temple roof, with a resolute patience and perseverance that no failure or fatigue could overcome. it was the dearest purpose of his dreamy superstition to surround himself with innumerable deities, as well as to assemble innumerable worshippers; to make the sacred place of his habitation a mighty pantheon, as well as a point of juncture for the scattered congregations of the pagan world. this was the ambition in which his madness expanded to the fiercest fanaticism; and as he now stood erect with his captives beneath him, his glaring eyes looked awe-struck when he fixed them on his idols; he uplifted his arms in solemn, ecstatic triumph, and in low tones poured forth his invocations, wild, intermingled, and fragmentary, as the barbarous altar which his solitary exertions had reared. whatever was the effect on numerian of his savage and confused ejaculations, they were unnoticed, even unheard, by antonina; for now, while the madman's voice softened to an undertone, and while she hid all surrounding objects from her eyes, her senses were awakened to sounds in the temple which she had never remarked before. the rapid current of the tiber washed the foundation walls of one side of the building, within which the clear, lulling bubble of the water was audible with singular distinctness. but besides this another and a shriller sound caught the ear. on the summit of the temple roof still remained several rows of little gilt bells, originally placed there, partly with the intention of ornamenting this portion of the outer structure, partly in order that the noise they produced, when agitated by the wind, might scare birds from settling in their flight on the consecrated edifice. the sounds produced by these bells were silvery and high pitched; now, when the breeze was strong, they rang together merrily and continuously; now, when it fell, their notes were faint, separate, and irregular, almost plaintive in their pure metallic softness. but, however their tone might vary under the capricious influences of the wind, it seemed always wonderfully mingled within the temple with the low, eternal bubbling of the river, which filled up the slightest pauses in the pleasant chiming of the bells, and ever preserved its gentle and monotonous harmony just audible beneath them. there was something in this quaint, unwonted combination of sounds, as they were heard in the vaulted interior of the little building, strangely simple, attractive, and spiritual; the longer they were listened to, the more completely did the mind lose the recollection of their real origin, and gradually shape out of them wilder and wilder fancies, until the bells as they rang their small peal seemed like happy voices of a heavenly stream, borne lightly onward on its airy bubbles, and ever rejoicing over the gliding current that murmured to them as it ran. spite of the peril of her position, and of the terror which still fixed her speechless and crouching on the ground, the effect on antonina of the strange mingled music of the running water and the bells was powerful enough, when she first heard it, to suspend all her other emotions in a momentary wonder and doubt. she withdrew her hands from her face, and glanced round mechanically to the doorway, as if she imagined that the sounds proceeded from the street. when she looked, the declining sun, gliding between two of the outer pillars which surrounded the temple, covered with a bright glow the smooth pavement before the entrance. a swarm of insects flew drowsily round and round in the warm mellow light; their faint monotonous humming deepened, rather than interrupted, the perfect silence prevailing over all things without. but a change was soon destined to appear in the repose of the quiet, vacant scene; hardly a minute had elapsed while antonina still looked on it before she saw stealing over the sunny pavement a dark shadow, the same shadow that she had last beheld when she stopped in her flight to look behind her in the empty street. at first it slowly grew and lengthened, then it remained stationary, then it receded and vanished as gradually as it had advanced, and then the girl heard, or fancied that she heard, a faint sound of footsteps, retiring along the lateral colonnades towards the river side of the building. a low cry of horror burst from her lips as she sank back towards her father; but it was unheeded. the voice of ulpius had resumed in the interval its hollow loudness of tone; he had raised numerian from the ground; his strong, cold grasp, which seemed to penetrate to the old man's heart, which held him motionless and helpless as if by a fatal spell, was on his arm. 'hear it! hear it!' cried the pagan, waving his disengaged hand as if he were addressing a vast concourse of people--'i advance this man to be one of the servants of the high priest! he has travelled from a far country to the sacred shrine; he is docile and obedient before the altar of the gods; the lot is cast for his future life; his dwelling shall be in the temple to the day of his death! he shall minister before me in white robes, and swing the smoking censer, and slay the sacrifice at my feet!' he stopped. a dark and sinister expression appeared in his eyes as the word 'sacrifice' passed his lips; he muttered doubtingly to himself--'the sacrifice!--is it yet the hour of the sacrifice?'--and looked round towards the doorway. the sun still shone gaily on the outer pavement; the insects still circled slowly in the mellow light; no shadow was now visible; no distant footsteps were heard; there was nothing audible but the happy music of the bubbling water, and the chiming, silvery bells. for a few moments the madman looked out anxiously towards the street, without uttering a word or moving a muscle. the raving fit was nearly possessing him again, as the thought of the sacrifice flashed over his darkened mind; but once more its approach was delayed. he slowly turned his head in the direction of the interior of the temple. 'the sun is still bright in the outer courts,' he murmured in an undertone, 'the hour of the sacrifice is not yet! come!' he continued in a louder voice, shaking numerian by the arm. 'it is time that the servant of the temple should behold the place of the sacrifice, and sharpen the knife for the victim before sunset! arouse thee, bondman, and follow me!' as yet, numerian had neither spoken, nor attempted to escape. the preceding events, though some space has been occupied in describing them, passed in so short a period of time, that he had not hitherto recovered from the first overwhelming shock of the meeting with ulpius. but now, awed though he still was, he felt that the moment of the struggle for freedom had arrived. 'leave me, and let us depart!--there can be no fellowship between us again!' he exclaimed with the reckless courage of despair, taking the hand of antonina, and striving to free himself from the madman's grasp. but the effort was vain; ulpius tightened his hold and laughed in triumph. 'what! the servant of the temple is in terror of the high priest, and shrinks from walking in the place of the sacrifice!' he cried. 'fear not, bondman! the mighty one, who rules over life and death, and time and futurity, deals kindly with the servant of his choice! onward! onward! to the place of darkness and doom, where i alone am omnipotent, and all others are creatures who tremble and obey! to thy lesson, learner! by sunset the victim must be crowned!' he looked round on numerian for an instant, as he prepared to drag him forward, and their eyes met. in the fierce command of his action, and the savage exultation of his glance, the father saw repeated in a wilder form the very attitude and expression which he had beheld in the pagan on the morning of the loss of his child. all the circumstances of that miserable hour--the vacant bed-chamber--the banished daughter--the triumph of the betrayer--the anguish of the betrayed--rushed over his mind, and rose up before it vivid as a pictured scene before his eyes. he struggled no more; the powers of resistance in mind and body were crushed alike. he made an effort to remove antonina from his side, as if, in forgetfulness of the hidden enemy without, he designed to urge her flight through the open door, while the madman's attention was yet distracted from her. but, beyond this last exertion of the strong instinct of paternal love, every other active emotion seemed dead within him. vainly had he striven to disentangle the child from the fate that might be in store for the parent. to her the dread of the dark shadow on the pavement was superior to all other apprehensions. she now clung more closely to her father, and tightened her clasp round his hand. so, when the pagan advanced into the interior of the temple, it was not numerian alone who followed him to the place of sacrifice, but antonina as well. they moved to the back of the pile of idols. behind it appeared a high partition of gilt and inlaid wood reaching to the ceiling, and separating the outer from the inner part of the temple. a low archway passage, protected by carved gates similar to those at the front of the building, had been formed in the partition, and through this ulpius and his prisoners now passed into the recess beyond. this apartment was considerably smaller than the first hall of the temple which they had just left. the ceiling and the floor both sloped downwards together, and here the rippling of the waters of the tiber was more distinctly audible to them than in the outer division of the building. at the moment when they entered it the place was very dark; the pile of idols intercepted even the little light that could have been admitted through its narrow entrance; but the dense obscurity was soon dissipated. dragging numerian after him to the left side of the recess, ulpius drew back a sort of wooden shutter, and a vivid ray of sunlight immediately streamed in through a small circular opening pierced in this part of the temple. then there became apparent, at the lower end of the apartment, a vast yawning cavity in the wall, high enough to admit a man without stooping, but running downwards almost perpendicularly to some lower region which it was impossible to see, for no light shot upwards from this precipitous artificial abyss, in the darkness of which the eye was lost after it had penetrated to the distance of a few feet only from the opening. at the base of the confined space thus visible appeared the commencement of a flight of steps, evidently leading far downwards into the cavity. on the abruptly sloping walls, which bounded it on all sides, were painted, in the brilliant hues of ancient fresco, representations of the deities of the mythology--all in the attitude of descending into the vault, and all followed by figures of nymphs bearing wreaths of flowers, beautiful birds, and other similar adjuncts of the votive ceremonies of paganism. the repulsive contrast between the bright colours and graceful forms presented by the frescoes, and the perilous and gloomy appearance of the cavity which they decorated, increased remarkably the startling significance in the character of the whole structure. its past evil uses seemed ineradicably written over every part of it, as past crime and torment remain ineradicably written on the human face; the mind imbibed from it terrifying ideas of deadly treachery, of secret atrocities, of frightful refinements of torture, which no uninitiated eye had ever beheld, and no human resolution had ever been powerful enough to resist. but the impressions thus received were not produced only by what was seen in and around this strange vault, but by what was heard there besides. the wind penetrated the cavity at some distance, and through some opening that could not be beheld, and was apparently intercepted in its passage, for it whistled upwards towards the entrance in shrill, winding notes, sometimes producing another and nearer sound, resembling the clashing of many small metallic substances violently shaken together. the noise of the wind, as well as the bubbling of the current of the tiber, seemed to proceed from a greater distance than appeared compatible with the narrow extent of the back part of the temple, and the proximity of the river to its low foundation walls. it was evident that the vault only reached its outlet after it had wound backwards, underneath the building, in some strange complication of passages or labyrinth of artificial caverns, which might have been built long since as dungeons for the living, or as sepulchres for the dead. 'the place of the sacrifice--aha! the place of the sacrifice!' cried the pagan exultingly, as he drew numerian to the entrance of the cavity, and solemnly pointed into the darkness beneath. the father gazed steadily into the chasm, never turning now to look on antonina, never moving to renew the struggle for freedom. earthly loves and earthly hopes began to fade away from his heart--he was praying. the solemn words of christian supplication fell in low, murmuring sounds from his lips, in the place of idolatry and bloodshed, and mingled with the incoherent ejaculations of the madman who kept him captive, and who now bent his glaring eyes on the darkness of the vault, half forgetful, in the gloomy fascination which it exercised even over him, of the prisoners whom he held at its mouth. the single ray of light, admitted from the circular aperture of the wall, fell wild and fantastic over the widely-differing figures of the three, as they stood so strangely united together before the abyss that opened beneath them. the shadows were above and the shadows were around; there was no light in the ill-omened place but the one vivid ray that streamed over the gaunt figure of ulpius, as he still pointed into the darkness; over the rigid features of numerian, praying in the bitterness of expected death; and over the frail youthful form of antonina as she nestled trembling at her father's side. it was an unearthly and a solemn scene! meanwhile the shadow which the girl had observed on the pavement before the doorway of the temple now appeared there again, but not to retire as before; for, the instant after, goisvintha stealthily entered the outer apartment of the building left vacant by its first occupants. she passed softly around the pile of idols, looked into the inner recess of the temple, and saw the three figures standing together in the ray of light, gloomy and motionless, before the mouth of the cavity. her first glance fixed on the pagan, whom she instinctively doubted and dreaded, whose purpose in keeping captive the father and daughter she could not divine; her next was directed on antonina. the girl's position was a guarded one; still holding her father's hand, she was partly protected by his body; and stood unconsciously beneath the arm of ulpius, as it was raised while he grasped numerian's shoulder. marking this, and remembering that antonina had twice escaped her already, goisvintha hesitated for a moment, and then, with cautious step and lowering brow, began to retire again towards the doorway of the building. 'not yet--not yet the time!' she muttered, as she resumed her former lurking-place; 'they stand where the light is over them--the girl is watched and shielded--the two men are still on either side of her! not yet the moment of the blow; the stroke of the knife must be sure and safe! sure, for this time she must die by my hand! safe, for i have other vengeance to wreak besides the vengeance on her! i, who have been patient and cunning since the night when i escaped from aquileia, will be patient and cunning still! if she passes the door, i slay her as she goes out; if she remains in the temple--' at the last word, goisvintha paused and gazed upward; the setting sun threw its fiery glow over her haggard face; her eye brightened fiercely in the full light as she looked. 'the darkness is at hand!' she continued; 'the night will be thick and black in the dim halls of the temple; i shall see her when she shall not see me!--the darkness is coming; the vengeance is sure!' she closed her lips, and with fatal perseverance continued to watch and wait, as she had resolutely watched and waited already. the roman and the goth; the opposite in sex, nation, and fate; the madman who dreamed of the sanguinary superstitions of paganism before the temple altar, and the assassin who brooded over the chances of bloodshed beneath the temple portico, were now united in a mysterious identity of expectation, uncommunicated and unsuspected by either--the hour when the sun vanished from the heaven was the hour of the sacrifice for both! * * * * * there is now a momentary pause in the progress of events. occurrences to be hereafter related render it necessary to take advantage of this interval to inform the reader of the real nature and use of the vault in the temple wall, the external appearance of which we have already described. the marking peculiarity in the construction of the pagan religion may be most aptly compared to the marking peculiarity in the construction of the pagan temples. both were designed to attract the general eye by the outward effect only, which was in both the false delusive reflection of the inward substance. in the temple, the people, as they worshipped beneath the long colonnades, or beheld the lofty porticoes from the street, were left to imagine the corresponding majesty and symmetry of the interior of the structure, and were not admitted to discover how grievously it disappointed the brilliant expectations which the exterior was so well calculated to inspire; how little the dark, narrow halls of the idols, the secret vaults and gloomy recesses within, fulfilled the promise of the long flights of steps, the broad extent of pavement, the massive sun-brightened pillars without. so in the religion, the votary was allured by the splendour of processions; by the pomp of auguries; by the poetry of the superstition which peopled his native woods with the sportive dryads, and the fountains from which he drank with their guardian naiads; which gave to mountain and lake, to sun and moon and stars, to all things around and above him, their fantastic allegory, or their gracious legend of beauty and love: but beyond this, his first acquaintance with his worship was not permitted to extend, here his initiation concluded. he was kept in ignorance of the dark and dangerous depths which lurked beneath this smooth and attractive surface; he was left to imagine that what was displayed was but the prelude to the future discovery of what was hidden of beauty in the rites of paganism; he was not admitted to behold the wretched impostures, the loathsome orgies, the hideous incantations, the bloody human sacrifices perpetrated in secret, which made the foul, real substance of the fair exterior form. his first sight of the temple was not less successful in deceiving his eye than his first impression of the religion in deluding his mind. with these hidden and guilty mysteries of the pagan worship, the vault before which ulpius now stood with his captives was intimately connected. the human sacrifices offered among the romans were of two kinds; those publicly and those privately performed. the first were of annual recurrence in the early years of the republic; were prohibited at a later date; were revived by augustus, who sacrificed his prisoners of war at the altar of julius caesar; and were afterwards--though occasionally renewed for particular purposes under some subsequent reigns--wholly abandoned as part of the ceremonies of paganism during the later periods of the empire. the sacrifices perpetrated in private were much longer practised. they were connected with the most secret mysteries of the mythology; were concealed from the supervision of government; and lasted probably until the general extinction of heathen superstition in italy and the provinces. many and various were the receptacles constructed for the private immolation of human victims in different parts of the empire--in its crowded cities as well as in its solitary woods--and among all, one of the most remarkable and the longest preserved was the great cavity pierced in the wall of the temple which ulpius had chosen for his solitary lurking-place in rome. it was not merely as a place of concealment for the act of immolation, and for the corpse of the victim, that the vault had been built. a sanguinary artifice had complicated the manner of its construction, by placing in the cavity itself the instrument of the sacrifice; by making it, as it were, not merely the receptacle, but the devourer also of its human prey. at the bottom of the flight of steps leading down into it (the top of which, as we have already observed, was alone visible from the entrance in the temple recess) was fixed the image of a dragon formed in brass. the body of the monster, protruding opposite the steps almost at a right angle from the wall, was moved in all directions by steel springs, which communicated with one of the lower stairs, and also with a sword placed in the throat of the image to represent the dragon's tongue. the walls around the steps narrowed so as barely to admit the passage of the human body when they approached the dragon. at the slightest pressure on the stair with which the spring communicated, the body of the monster bent forward, and the sword instantly protruded from its throat, at such a height from the steps as ensure that it should transfix in a vital part the person who descended. the corpse, then dropping by its own weight off the sword, fell through a tunnelled opening beneath the dragon, running downward in an opposite direction to that taken by the steps above, and was deposited on an iron grating washed by the waters of the tiber, which ran under the arched foundations of the temple. the grating was approached by a secret subterranean passage leading from the front of the building, by which the sacrificing priests were enabled to reach the dead body, to fasten weights to it, and opening the grating, to drop it into the river, never to be beheld again by mortal eyes. in the days when this engine of destruction was permitted to serve the purpose for which the horrible ingenuity of its inventors had constructed it, its principal victims were young girls. crowned with flowers, and clad in white garments, they were lured into immolating themselves by being furnished with rich offerings, and told that the sole object of their fatal expedition down the steps of the vault was to realise the pictures adorning its walls (which we have described a few pages back), by presenting their gifts at the shrine of the idol below. at the period of which we write, the dragon had for many years--since the first prohibitions of paganism--ceased to be fed with its wonted prey. the scales forming its body grew gradually corroded and loosened by the damp; and when moved by the wind which penetrated to them from beneath, whistling up in its tortuous course through the tunnel that ran in one direction below, and the vault of the steps that ascended in another above, produced the clashing sound which has been mentioned as audible at intervals from the mouth of the cavity. but the springs which moved the deadly apparatus of the whole machine being placed within it, under cover, continued to resist the slow progress of time and of neglect, and still remained as completely fitted as ever to execute the fatal purpose for which they had been designed. the ultimate destiny of the dragon of brass was the destiny of the religion whose bloodiest superstitions it embodied: it fell beneath the resistless advance of christianity. shortly after the date of our narrative, the interior of the building beneath which it was placed having suffered from an accident, which will be related farther on, the exterior was dismantled, in order that its pillars might furnish materials for a church. the vault in the wall was explored by a monk who had been present at the destruction of other pagan temples, and who volunteered to discover its contents. with a torch in one hand, and an iron bar in the other, he descended into the cavity, sounding the walls and the steps before him as he proceeded. for the first and the last time the sword protruded harmless from the monster's throat when the monk pressed the fatal stair, before stepping on it, with his iron bar. the same day the machine was destroyed and cast into the tiber, where its victims had been thrown before it in former years. * * * * * some minutes have elapsed since we left the father and daughter standing by the pagan's side before the mouth of the vault; and as yet there appears no change in the several positions of the three. but already, while ulpius still looks down steadfastly into the cavity at his feet, his voice, as he continues to speak, grows louder, and his words become more distinct. fearful recollections associated with the place are beginning to stir his weary memory, to lift the darkness of oblivion from his idle thoughts. 'they go down, far down there!' he abruptly exclaimed, pointing into the black depths of the vault, 'and never arise again to the light of the upper earth! the great destroyer is watchful in his solitude beneath, and looks through the darkness for their approach! hark! the hissing of his breath is like to the clash of weapons in a deadly strife!' at this moment the wind moved the loose scales of the dragon. during an instant ulpius remained silent, listening to the noise they produced. for the first time an expression of dread appeared on his face. his memory was obscurely reviving the incidents of his discovery of the deadly machinery in the vault when he first made his sojourn in the temple, when--filled with the confused remembrance of the mysterious rites and incantations, the secret sacrifices which he had witnessed and performed at alexandria--he had found and followed the subterranean passage which led to the iron grating beneath the dragon. as the wind lulled again, and the clashing of the metal ceased with it, he began to give these recollections expression in words, uttering them in slow, solemn accents to himself. 'i have seen the destroyer; the invisible has revealed himself to me!' he murmured. 'i stood on the iron bars; the restless waters toiled and struggled beneath my feet as i looked up into the place of darkness. a voice called to me, "get light, and behold me from above! get light! get light!" sun, and moon, and stars gave no light there! but lamps burnt in the city, in the houses of the dead, when i walked by them in the night-time; and the lamp gave light when sun, and moon, and stars gave none! from the top steps i looked down, and saw the powerful one in his golden brightness; and approached not, but watched and listened in fear. the voice again!--the voice was heard again!--"sacrifice to me in secret, as thy brethren sacrifice! give me the living where the living are, and the dead where the dead!" the air came up cold, and the voice ceased, and the lamp was like sun, and moon, and stars--it gave no light in the place of darkness!' while he spoke, the loose metal again clashed in the vault, for the wind was strengthening as the evening advanced. 'hark! the signal to prepare the sacrifice!' cried the pagan, turning abruptly to numerian. 'listen, bondman! the living and the dead are within our reach. the breath of the invisible strikes them in the street and in the house; they stagger in the highways, and drop at the temple steps. when the hour comes we shall go forth and find them. under my hand they go down into the cavern beneath. whether they are hurled dead, or whether they go down living, they fall through to the iron bars, where the water leaps and rejoices to receive them! it is mine to sacrifice them above, and thine to wait for them below, to lift the bars and give them to the river to be swallowed up! the dead drop down first, the living that are slain by the destroyer follow after!' here he paused suddenly. now, for the first time, his eye rested on antonina, whose very existence he seemed hitherto to have forgotten. a revolting smile of mingled cunning and satisfaction instantly changed the whole character of his countenance as he gazed on her and then looked round significantly to the vault. 'here is one,' he whispered to numerian, taking her by the arm. 'keep her captive--the hour is near!' numerian had hitherto stood unheedful while he spoke; but when he touched antonina the bare action was enough to arouse the father to resistance--hopeless though it was--once more. he shook off the grasp of ulpius from the girl's arm, and drew back with her--breathless, vigilant, desperate--to the side-wall behind him. the madman laughed in proud approval. 'my bondman obeys me and seizes the captive!' he cried. 'he remembers that the hour is near and loosens not his hold! come,' he continued, 'come out into the hall beyond!--it is time that we watch for more victims for the sacrifice till the sun goes down. the destroyer is mighty and must be obeyed!' he walked to the entrance leading into the first apartment of the temple, and then waited to be followed by numerian, who, now for the first time separated from ulpius, remained stationary in the position he had last occupied, and looked eagerly around him. no chance of escape presented itself; the mouth of the vault on one side, and the passage through the partition on the other, were the only outlets to the place. there was no hope but to follow the pagan into the great hall of the temple, to keep carefully at a distance from him, and to watch the opportunity of flight through the doorway. the street, so desolate when last beheld, might now afford more evidence that it was inhabited. citizens, guards might be passing by, and might be summoned into the temple--help might be at hand. as he moved forward with antonina, such thoughts passed rapidly through the father's mind, unaccompanied at the moment by the recollection of the stranger who had followed them from the pincian gate, or of the apathy of the famished populace in aiding each other in any emergency. seeing that he was followed as he had commanded, ulpius passed on before them to the pile of idols; but a strange and sudden alteration appeared in his gait. he had hitherto walked with the step of a man--young, strong, and resolute of purpose; now he dragged one limb after the other as slowly and painfully as if he had received a mortal hurt. he tottered with more than the infirmity of his age, his head dropped upon his breast, and he moaned and murmured inarticulately in low, long-drawn cries. he had advanced to the side of the pile, half-way towards the doorway of the temple, when numerian, who had watched with searching eyes the abrupt change in his demeanour, forgetting the dissimulation which might still be all-important, abandoned himself to his first impulse, and hurriedly pressing forward with antonina, attempted to pass the pagan and escape. but at the moment ulpius stopped in his slow progress, reeled, threw out his hands convulsively, and seizing numerian by the arm, staggered back with him against the side-wall of the temple. the fingers of the tortured wretch closed as if they were never to be unlocked again--closed as if with the clutch of death, with the last frantic grasp of a drowning man. for days and nights past he had toiled incessantly under the relentless tyranny of his frenzy, building up higher and higher his altar of idols, and pouring forth his invocations before his gods in the place of the sacrifice; and now, at the moment when he was most triumphant in his ferocious activity of purpose, when his fancied bondman and his fancied victim were most helpless at his command--now, when his strained faculties were strung to their highest pitch, the long-deferred paroxysm had seized him, which was the precursor of his repose, of the only repose granted by his awful fate--a change (the mournful change already described) in the form of his insanity. for at those rare periods when he slept, his sleep was not unconsciousness, not rest: it was a trance of hideous dreams--his tongue spoke, his limbs moved, when he slumbered as when he woke. it was only when his visions of the pride, the power, the fierce conflicts, and daring resolutions of his maturer years gave place to his dim, quiet, waking dreams of his boyish days, that his wasted faculties reposed, and his body rested with them in the motionless languor of perfect fatigue. then, if words were still uttered by his lips, they were as murmurs of an infant--happy sleep; for the innocent phrases of his childhood which they then revived, seemed for a time to bring with them the innocent tranquillity of his childhood as well. 'go! go!--fly while you are yet free!' cried numerian, dropping the hand of antonina, and pointing to the door. but for the second time the girl refused to move forward a step. no horror, no peril in the temple could banish for an instant her remembrance of the night at the farm-house in the suburbs. she kept her head turned towards the vacant entrance, fixed her eyes on it in the unintermitting watchfulness of terror, and whispered affrightedly, 'goisvintha! goisvintha!' when her father spoke. the clasp of the pagan's fingers remained fixed and deathlike as at first; he leaned back against the wall, as still as if life and action had for ever departed from him. the paroxysm had passed away; his face, distorted but the moment before, was now in repose, but it was a repose that was awful to look on. tears rolled slowly from his half-closed eyes over his seamed and wrinkled cheeks--tears which were not the impressive expression of mental anguish (for a vacant and unchanging smile was on his lips), but the mere mechanical outburst of the physical weakness that the past crisis of agony had left behind it. not the slightest appearance of thought or observation was perceptible in his features: his face was the face of an idiot. numerian, who had looked on him for an instant, shuddered and averted his eyes, recoiling from the sight before him. but a more overpowering trial of his resolution was approaching, which he could not avoid. ere long the voice of ulpius grew audible once more; but now its tones were weak, piteous, almost childish, and the words they uttered were quiet words of love and gentleness, which dropping from such lips, and pronounced in such a place, were fearful to hear. the temple and all that was in it vanished from his sight as from his memory. swayed by the dread and supernatural influences of his disease, the madman passed back in an instant over the dark valley of life's evil pilgrimage to the long-quitted precincts of his boyish home. while in bodily presence he stood in the place of his last crimes, the outcast of reason and humanity, in mental consciousness he lay in his mother's arms, as he had lain there ere yet he had departed to the temple at alexandria; and his heart communed with her heart, and his eyes looked on her as they had looked before his father's fatal ambition had separated for ever parent and child! 'mother!--come back, mother!' he whispered. 'i was not asleep: i saw you when you came in, and sat by my bedside, and wept over me when you kissed me! come back, and sit by me still! i am going away, far away, and may never hear your voice again! how happy we should be, mother, if i stayed with you always! but it is my father's will that i should go to the temple in another country, and live there to be a priest; and his will must be obeyed. i may never return; but we shall not forget one another! i shall remember your words when we used to talk together happily, and you shall still remember mine!' hardly had the first sentence been uttered by ulpius when antonina felt her father's whole frame suddenly tremble at her side. she turned her eyes from the doorway, on which they had hitherto been fixed, and looked on him. the pagan's hand had fallen from his arm: he was free to depart, to fly as he had longed to fly but a few minutes before, and yet he never stirred. his daughter touched him, spoke to him, but he neither moved nor answered. it was not merely the shock of the abrupt transition in the language of ulpius from the ravings of crime to the murmurs of love--it was not merely astonishment at hearing from him, in his madness, revelations of his early life which had never passed his lips during his days of treacherous servitude in the house on the pincian hill, that thus filled numerian's inmost soul with awe, and struck his limbs motionless. there was more in all that he heard than this. the words seemed as words that had doomed him at once and for ever. his eyes, directed full on the face of the madman, were dilated with horror, and his deep, gasping, convulsive breathings mingled heavily, during the moment of silence that ensued, with the chiming of the bells above and the bubbling of the water below--the lulling music of the temple, playing its happy evening hymn at the pleasant close of day. 'we shall remember, mother!--we shall remember!' continued the pagan softly, 'and be happy in our remembrances! my brother, who loves me not, will love you when i am gone! you will walk in my little garden, and think on me as you look at the flowers that we have planted and watered together in the evening hours, when the sky was glorious to behold, and the earth was all quiet around us! listen, mother, and kiss me! when i go to the far country, i will make a garden there like my garden here, and plant the same flowers that we have planted here, and in the evening i will go out and give them water at the hour when you go out to give my flowers water at home; and so, though we see each other no more, it will yet be as if we laboured together in the garden as we labour now!' the girl still fixed her eager gaze on her father. his eyes presented the same rigid expression of horror; but he was now wiping off with his own hand, mechanically, as if he knew it not, the foam which the paroxysms had left round the madman's lips, and, amid the groans that burst from him, she could hear such words as, 'lord god!--mercy, lord god! thou, who hast thus restored him to me--thus, worse than dead!--mercy! mercy!' the light on the pavement beneath the portico of the temple was fading visibly--the sun had gone down. for the third time the madman spoke, but his tones were losing their softness; they were complaining, plaintive, unutterably mournful; his dreams of the past were already changing. 'farewell, brother--farewell for years and years!' he cried. 'you have not given me the love that i gave you. the fault was not mine that our father loved me the best, and chose me to be sent to the temple to be a priest at the altar of the gods! the fault was not mine that i partook not in your favoured sports, and joined not the companions whom you sought; it was our father's will that i should not live as you lived, and i obeyed it! you have spoken to me in anger, and turned from me in disdain; but farewell again, cleander--farewell in forgiveness and in love!' he might have spoken more, but his voice was drowned in one long shriek of agony which burst from numerian's lips, and echoed discordantly through the hall of the temple, and he sank down with his face to the ground at the pagan's feet. the dark and terrible destiny was fulfilled. the enthusiast for the right and the fanatic for the wrong; the man who had toiled to reform the church, and the man who had toiled to restore the temple; the master who had received and trusted the servant in his home, and the servant who in that home had betrayed the master's trust--the two characters, separated hitherto in the sublime disunion of good and bad, now struck together in tremendous contact, as brethren who had drawn their life from one source, who as children had been sheltered under the same roof! not in the hours when the good christian succoured the then forsaken pagan, wandering homeless in rome, was the secret disclosed; no chance word of it was uttered when the deceiver told the feigned relation of his life to the benefactor whom he was plotting to deceive, or when, on the first morning of the siege, the machinations of the servant triumphed over the confidence of the master: it was reserved to be revealed in the words of delirium, at the closing years of madness, when he who discovered it was unconscious of all that he spoke, and his eyes were blinded to the true nature of all that he saw; when earthly voices that might once have called him back to repentance, to recognition, and to love, were become to him as sounds that have no meaning; when, by a ruthless and startling fatality, it was on the brother who had wrought for the true faith that the whole crushing weight of the terrible disclosure fell, unpartaken by the brother who had wrought for the false! but the judgments pronounced in time go forth from the tribunal of that eternity to which the mysteries of life tend, and in which they shall be revealed--neither waiting on human seasons nor abiding by human justice, but speaking to the soul in the language of immortality, which is heard in the world that is now, and interpreted in the world that is to come. lost, for an instant, even the recollection that goisvintha might still be watching her opportunity from without, calling despairingly on her father, and vainly striving to raise him from the ground, antonina remembered not, in the overwhelming trial of the moment, the revelations of numerian's past life that had been disclosed to her in the days when the famine was at its worst in rome. the name of 'cleander', which she had then heard her father pronounce, as the name that he had abandoned when he separated himself from the companions of his sinful choice, passed unheeded by her when the pagan unconsciously uttered it. she saw the whole scene but as a fresh menace of danger, as a new vision of terror, more ominous of ill than all that had preceded it. thick as was the darkness in which the lulling and involuntary memories of the past had enveloped the perceptions of ulpius, the father's piercing cry of anguish seemed to have penetrated it with a sudden ray of light. the madman's half-closed eyes opened instantly and fixed, dreamily at first, on the altar of idols. he waved his hands to and fro before him, as if he were parting back the folds of a heavy veil that obscured his sight; but his wayward thoughts did not resume as yet their old bias towards ferocity and crime. when he spoke again, his speech was still inspired by the visions of his early life--but now of his early life in the temple at alexandria. his expressions were more abrupt, more disjointed than before; yet they continued to display the same evidence of the mysterious, instinctive vividness of recollection, which was the result of the sudden change in the nature of his insanity. his language wandered (still as if the words came from him undesignedly and unconsciously) over the events of his boyish introduction to the service of the gods, and, though confusing them in order, still preserved them in substance, as they have been already related in the history of his 'apprenticeship to the temple'. now he was in imagination looking down once more from the summit of the temple of serapis on the glittering expanse of the nile and the wide country around it; and now he was walking proudly through the streets of alexandria by the side of his uncle, macrinus, the high priest. now he was wandering at night, in curiosity and awe, through the gloomy vaults and subterranean corridors of the sacred place; and now he was listening, well pleased, to the kindly greeting, the inspiring praises of macrinus during their first interview. but at this point, and while dwelling on this occasion, his memory became darkened again; it vainly endeavoured to retrace the circumstances attending the crowning evidence of the high priest's interest in his pupil, and anxiety to identify him completely with his new protector and his new duties, which had been displayed when he conferred on the trembling boy the future distinction of one of his own names. and here, let it be remembered, as a chief link in the mysterious chain of fatalities which had united to keep the brothers apart as brethren after they had met as men, that both had, from widely different causes, abandoned in after-life the names which they bore in their father's house; that while one, by his own act and for his own purpose, transformed himself from cleander, the associate of the careless and the criminal, to numerian, the preacher of the gospel and reformer of the church, the other had (to quote the words of the fourth chapter), 'become from the boy emilius the student ulpius,' by the express and encouraging command of his master, macrinus, the high priest. while the pagan still fruitlessly endeavoured to revive the events connected with the change in his designation on his arrival in alexandria, and, chafing under the burden of oblivion that weighed upon his thoughts, attempted for the first time to move from the wall against which he had hitherto leaned; while antonina still strove in vain to recall her father to the recollection of the terrible exigencies of the moment as he crouched prostrate at the madman's feet--the doorway of the temple was darkened once more by the figure of goisvintha. she stood on the threshold, a gloomy and indistinct form in the fading light, looking intently into the deeply shadowed interior of the building. as she marked the altered positions of the father and daughter, she uttered a suppressed ejaculation of triumph; but, while the sound passed her lips, she heard, or thought she heard, a noise in the street behind. even now her vigilance and cunning, her deadly, calculating resolution to await in immovable patience the fitting time for striking the blow deliberately and with impunity, did not fail her. turning instantly, she walked to the top step of the temple, and stood there for a few moments, watchfully surveying the open space before her. but in those few moments the scene in the building changed once more. the madman, while he still wavered between relapsing into the raving fit and continuing under the influence of the tranquil mood in which he had been prematurely disturbed, caught sight of goisvintha when her approach suddenly shadowed the entrance to the temple. her presence, momentary though it was, was for him the presence of a figure that had not appeared before; that had stood in a strange position between the shade within and the faint light without; it was a new object, presented to his eyes while they were straining to recover such imperfect faculties of observation as had been their wont, and it ascendancy over him was instantaneous and all-powerful. he started, bewildered like a deep sleeper suddenly awoke; violent shudderings ran for a moment over his frame; then it strengthened again with its former unnatural strength; the demon raged within him in renewed fury as he tore his robe which numerian held as he lay at his feet from the feeble grasp that confined it, and, striding up to the pile of idols, stretched out his hands in solemn deprecation. 'the high priest has slept before the altar of the gods!' he cried loudly, 'but they have been patient with their well-beloved; their thunder has not struck him for his crime! now the servant returns to his service--the rites of serapis begin!' numerian still remained prostrate, spirit-broken; he slowly clasped his hands together on the floor, and his voice was now to be heard, still supplicating in low and stifled accents, as if in unceasing prayer lay his last hope of preserving his own reason. 'god! thou art the god of mercy; be merciful to him!' he murmured. 'thou acceptest of repentance; grant repentance to him! if at any time i have served thee without blame, let the service be counted to him; let the vials of thy wrath be poured out on me!' 'hark! the trumpet blows for the sacrifice!' interrupted the raving voice of the pagan, as he turned from the altar, and extended his arms in frenzied inspiration. 'the roar of music and the voice of exultation soar upward from the highest mountain-tops! the incense smokes, and in and out, and round and round, the dancers whirl about the pillars of the temple! the ox for the sacrifice is without spot; his horns are gilt; the crown and fillet adorn his head. the priest stands before him naked from the waist upwards; he heaves the libation out of the cup; the blood flows over the altar! up! up! tear forth with reeking hands the heart while it is yet warm, futurity is before you in the quivering entrails, look on them and read! read!' while he spoke, goisvintha had entered the temple. the street was still desolate; no help was at hand. not advancing at once, she concealed herself near the door behind a projection in the pile of idols, watching from it until ulpius, in the progress of his frenzy, should turn away from antonina, whom he stood fronting at this instant. but she had not entered unperceived; antonina had seen her again. and now the bitterness of death, when the young die unprotected in their youth, came over the girl, and she cried in a low wailing voice, as she knelt by numerian's side: 'i must die, father, i must die, as hermanric died! look up at me, and speak to me before i die!' her father was still praying; he heard nothing, for his heart was bleeding in atonement at the shrine of his boyish home, and his soul still communed with its maker. the voice that followed hers was the voice of ulpius. 'oh, beautiful are the gardens round the sacred altars, and lofty the trees that embower the glittering shrines!' he exclaimed, rapt and ecstatic in his new visions. 'lo, the morning breaks, and the spirits of light are welcomed by a sacrifice! the sun goes down behind the mountain, and the beams of evening tremble on the victim beneath the knife of the adoring priest! the moon and stars shine high in the firmament, and the genii of nights are saluted in the still hours with blood!' as he paused, the lament of antonina was continued in lower and lower tones: 'i must die, father, i must die!' and with it murmured the supplicating accents of numerian: 'god of mercy! deliver the helpless and forgive the afflicted! lord of judgment! deal gently with thy servants who have sinned!' while, mingling with both in discordant combination, the strange music of the temple still poured on its lulling sound--the rippling of the running waters and the airy chiming of the bells! 'worship!--emperors, armies, nations, glorify and worship me!' shouted the madman, in thunder-tones of triumph and command, as his eye for the first time encountered the figure of numerian prostrate at his feet. 'worship the demi-god who moves with the deities through spheres unknown to man! i have heard the moans of the unburied who wander on the shores of the lake of the dead--worship! i have looked on the river whose black current roars and howls in its course through the caves of everlasting night--worship! i have seen the furies lashed by serpents on their wrinkled necks, and followed them as they hurled their torches over the pining ghosts! i have stood unmoved in the hurricane-tumult of hell--worship! worship! worship!' he turned round again towards the altar of idols, calling upon his gods to proclaim his deification, and at the moment when he moved, goisvintha sprang forward. antonina was kneeling with her face turned from the door, as the assassin seized her by her long hair and drove the knife into her neck. the moaning accents of the girl, bewailing her approaching fate, closed in one faint groan; she stretched out her arms, and fell forward over her father's body. in the ferocious triumph of the moment, goisvintha raised her arm to repeat the stroke; but at that instant the madman looked round. 'the sacrifice--the sacrifice!' he shouted, leaping at one spring like a wild beast at her throat. she struck ineffectually at him with the knife, as he fastened his long nails in her flesh and hurled her backwards to the floor. then he yelled and gibbered in frantic exultation, set his foot on her breast, and spat on her as she lay beneath him. the contact of the girl's body when she fell--the short but terrible tumult of the attack that passed almost over him--the shrill, deafening cries of the madman, awoke numerian from his trance of despairing remembrance, aroused him in his agony of supplicating prayer. he looked up. the scene that met his eyes was one of those scenes which crush every faculty but the faculty of mechanical action--before which, thought vanishes from men's minds, utterance is suspended on their lips, expression is paralysed on their faces. the coldness of the tomb seemed breathed over numerian's aspect by the contemplation of the terrible catastrophe: his eyes were glassy and vacant, his lips parted and rigid; even the remembrance of the discovery of his brother seemed lost to him as he stooped over his daughter and bound a fragment of her robe round her neck. the mute, soulless, ghastly stillness of death looked settled on his features, as, unconscious now of weakness or age, he rose with her in his arms, stood motionless for one moment before the doorway, and looked slowly round on ulpius; then he moved forward with heavy regular steps. the pagan's foot was still on goisvintha's breast as the father passed him; his gaze was still fixed on her; but his cries of triumph were calmed; he laughed and muttered incoherently to himself. the moon was rising, soft, faint, and tranquil, over the quiet street as numerian descended the temple steps with his daughter in his arms, and, after an instant's pause of bewilderment and doubt, instinctively pursued his slow, funereal course along the deserted roadway in the direction of home. soon, as he advanced, he beheld in the moonlight, down the long vista of the street at its termination, a little assemblage of people walking towards him with calm and regular progress. as they came nearer, he saw that one of them held an open book, that another carried a crucifix, and that others followed these two with clasped hands and drooping heads. and then, after an interval, the fresh breezes that blew towards him bore onward these words, slowly and reverently pronounced:-- 'know, therefore, that god exacteth of thee less than thine iniquity deserveth. 'canst thou, by searching, find out god? canst thou find out the almighty to perfection?' then the breeze fell, the words grew indistinct, but the procession still moved forward. as it came nearer and nearer, the voice of the reader was again plainly heard:-- 'if iniquity be in thy hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. 'for then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear; 'because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away: and thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning.' the reader stopped and closed the book; for now numerian had met the members of the little procession, and they looked on him standing voiceless before them in the clear moonlight, with his daughter's head drooping over his shoulder as he carried her in his arms. there were some among those who gathered round him whose features he would have recognised at another time as the features of the surviving adherents of his former congregation. the assembly he had met was composed of the few sincere christians in rome, who had collected, on the promulgation of the news that alaric had ratified terms of peace, to make a pilgrimage through the city, in the hopeless endeavour, by reading from the bible and passing exhortation, to awaken the reckless populace to a feeling of contrition for their sins, and of devout gratitude for their approaching deliverance from the horrors of the siege. but now, when numerian confronted them, neither by word nor look did he express the slightest recognition of any who surrounded him. to all the questions addressed to him, he replied by hurried gestures that none could comprehend. to all the promises of help and protection heaped upon him in the first outbreak of the grief and pity of his adherents of other days, he answered but by the same dull, vacant glance. it was only when they relieved him of his burden, and gently prepared to carry the senseless girl among them back to her father's house, that he spoke; and then, in faint entreating tones, he besought them to let him hold her hand as they went, so that he might be the first to feel her pulse beat--if it yet moved. they turned back by the way they had come--a sorrowful and slow-moving procession! as they passed on, the reader again opened the sacred book; and then these words rose through the soothing and heavenly tranquillity of the first hours of night:-- 'behold, happy is the man whom god correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the almighty: 'for he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole.' chapter . retribution. as, in the progress of life, each man pursues his course with the passions, good and evil, set, as it were, on either side of him; and viewing their results in the actions of his fellow-men, finds his attention, while still attracted by the spectacle of what is noble and virtuous, suddenly challenged by the opposite display of what is mean and criminal--so, in the progress of this narrative, which aims to be the reflection of life, the reader who has journeyed with us thus far, and who may now be inclined to follow the little procession of christian devotees, to walk by the side of the afflicted father, and to hold with him the hand of his ill-fated child, is yet, in obedience to the conditions of the story, required to turn back for awhile to the contemplation of its darker passages of guilt and terror--he must enter the temple again; but he will enter it for the last time. the scene before the altar of idols was fast proceeding to its fatal climax. the pagan's frenzy had exhausted itself in its own fury--his insanity was assuming a quieter and a more dangerous form; his eye grew cunning and suspicious; a stealthy deliberation and watchfulness appeared in all his actions. he now slowly lifted his foot from goisvintha's breast, and raised his hands at the same time to strike her back if she should attempt to escape. seeing that she lay senseless from her fall, he left her; retired to one of the corners of the temple, took from it a rope that lay there, and returning, bound her arms behind her at the hands and wrists. the rope cut deep through the skin--the pain restored her to her senses; she suffered the sharp agony in her own body, in the same place where she had inflicted it on the young chieftain at the farm-house beyond the suburbs. the minute after, she felt herself dragged along the ground, farther into the interior of the building. the madman drew her up to the iron gates of the passage through the partition, and fastening the end of the rope to them, left her there. this part of the temple was enveloped in total darkness--her assailant addressed not a word to her--she could not obtain even a glimpse of his form, but she could hear him still laughing to himself in hoarse, monotonous tones, that sounded now near, and now distant again. she abandoned herself as lost--prematurely devoted to the torment and death that she had anticipated; but, as yet, her masculine resolution and energy did not decline. the very intensity of the anguish she suffered from the bindings at her wrists, producing a fierce bodily effort to resist it, strengthened her iron-strung nerves. she neither cried for help nor appealed to the pagan for pity. the gloomy fatalism which she had inherited from her savage ancestors sustained her in a suicide-pride. ere long the laughter of ulpius, while he moved slowly hither and thither in the darkness of the temple, was overpowered by the sound of her voice--deep, groaning, but yet steady--as she uttered her last words--words poured forth like the wild dirges, the fierce death-songs of the old goths when they died deserted on the bloody battle-field, or were cast bound into deep dungeons, a prey to the viper and the asp. thus she spoke:-- 'i swore to be avenged! while i went forth from aquileia with the child that was killed and the child that was wounded; while i climbed the high wall in the night-time, and heard the tumult of the beating waves near the bank where i buried the dead; while i wandered in the darkness over the naked heath and through the lonely forest; while i climbed the pathless sides of the mountains, and made my refuge in the cavern by the waters of the dark lake. 'i swore to be avenged! while the warriors approached me on their march, and the roaring of the trumpets and the clash of the armour sounded in my ears; while i greeted my kinsman, hermanric, a mighty chieftain, at the king's side, among the invading hosts; while i looked on my last child, dead like the rest, and knew that he was buried afar from the land of his people, and from the others that the romans had slain before him. 'i swore to be avenged! while the army encamped before rome, and i stood with hermanric, looking on the great walls in the misty evening; while the daughter of the roman was a prisoner in our tent, and i eyed her as she lay on my knees; while for her sake my kinsman turned traitor, and withheld my hand from the blow; while i passed unseen into the lonely farm-house to deal judgment on him with my knife; while i saw him die the death of a deserter at my feet, and knew that it was a roman who had lured him from his people, and blinded him to the righteousness of revenge. 'i swore to be avenged! while i walked round the grave of the chieftain who was the last of my race; while i stood alone out of the army of my people in the city of the slayers of my babes; while i tracked the footsteps of the roman who had twice escaped me, as she fled through the street; while i watched and was patient among the pillars of the temple, and waited till the sun went down, and the victim was unshielded for the moment to strike. 'i swore to be avenged! and my oath has been fulfilled--the knife that still bleeds drops with her blood; the chief vengeance has been wreaked! the rest that were to be slain remain for others, and not for me! for now i go to my husband and my children; now the hour is near at hand when i shall herd with their spirits in the twilight world of shadows, and make my long-abiding place with them in the valley of eternal repose! the destinies have willed it--it is enough!' her voice trembled and grew faint as she pronounced the last words. the anguish of the fastenings at her wrists was at last overpowering her senses--conquering, in spite of all resistance, her stubborn endurance. for a little while yet she spoke at intervals, but her speech was fragmentary and incoherent. at one moment she still gloried in her revenge, at another she exulted in the fancied contemplation of the girl's body still lying before her, and her hands writhed beneath their bonds in the effort to repossess themselves of the knife and strike again. but soon all sounds ceased to proceed from her lips, save the loud, thick, irregular breathings, which showed that she was yet conscious and yet lived. meanwhile the madman had passed into the inner recess of the temple, and had drawn the shutter over the opening in the wall, through which light had been admitted into the place when numerian and antonina first entered it. even the black chasm formed by the mouth of the vault of the dragon now disappeared, with all other objects, in the thick darkness. but no obscurity could confuse the senses of ulpius in the temple, whose every corner he visited in his restless wanderings by night and by day alike. led as if by a mysterious penetration of sight, he traced his way unerringly to the entrance of the vault, knelt down before it, and placing his hands on the first of the steps by which it was descended, listened, breathless and attentive, to the sounds that rose from the abyss--listened, rapt and unmoving, a formidable and unearthly figure--like a magician waiting for a voice from the oracles of hell--like a spirit of night looking down into the mid-caverns of the earth, and watching the mysteries of subterranean creation, the giant pulses of action and heat, which are the life-springs of the rolling world. the fitful wind whistled up, wild and plaintive; the river chafed and bubbled through the iron grating below; the loose scales of the dragon clashed as the night breezes reached them: and these sounds were still to him as the language of his gods, which filled him with a fearful rapture, and inspired him, in the terrible degradation of his being, as with a new soul. he listened and listened yet. fragments of wild fancies--the vain yearnings of the disinherited mind to recover its divine birthright of boundless thought--now thrilled through him, and held him still and speechless where he knelt. but at length, through the gloomy silence of the recess, he heard the voice of goisvintha raised once more, and in hoarse, wild tones calling aloud for light and help. the agony of pain and suspense, the awful sense of darkness and stillness, of solitary bondage and slow torment, had at last effected that which no open peril, no common menace of violent death could have produced. she yielded to fear and despair--sank prostrate under a paralysing, superstitious dread. the misery that she had inflicted on others recoiled in retribution on herself, as she now shuddered under the consciousness of the first emotions of helpless terror that she had ever felt. ulpius instantly rose from the vault, and advanced straight through the darkness to the gates of the partition; but he passed his prisoner without stopping for an instant, and hastening into the outer apartment of the temple, began to grope over the floor for the knife which the woman had dropped when he bound her. he was laughing to himself once more, for the evil spirit was prompting him to a new project, tempting him to a pitiless refinement of cruelty and deceit. he found the knife, and returning with it to goisvintha, cut the rope that confined her wrists. then she became silent when the first sharpness of her suffering was assuaged; he whispered softly in her ear, 'follow me, and escape!' bewildered and daunted by the darkness and mystery around her, she vainly strained her eyes to look through the obscurity as ulpius drew her on into the recess. he placed her at the mouth of the vault, and here she strove to speak; but low, inarticulate sounds alone proceeded from her powerless utterance. still there was no light; still the burning, gnawing agony at her wrists (relieved but for an instant when the rope was cut) continued and increased; and still she felt the presence of the unseen being at her side, whom no darkness could blind, and who bound and loosed at his arbitrary will. by nature fierce, resolute, and vindictive under injury, she was a terrible evidence of the debasing power of crime, as she now stood, enfeebled by the weight of her own avenging guilt, upraised to crush her in the hour of her pride; by the agency of darkness, whose perils the innocent and the weak have been known to brave; by suspense, whose agony they have resisted; by pain, whose infliction they have endured in patience. 'go down, far down the steep steps, and escape!' whispered the madman, in soft, beguiling tones. 'the darkness above leads to the light below! go down, far down!' he quitted his hold of her as he spoke. she hesitated, shuddered, and drew back; but again she was urged forward, and again she heard the whisper, 'the darkness above leads to the light below! go down, far down!' despair gave the firmness to proceed, and dread the hope to escape. her wounded arms trembled as she now stretched them out and felt for the walls of the vault on either side of her. the horror of death in utter darkness, from unseen hands, and the last longing aspiration to behold the light of heaven once more, were at their strongest within her as she began slowly and cautiously to tread the fatal stairs. while she descended, the pagan dropped into his former attitude at the month of the vault, and listened breathlessly. minutes seemed to elapse between each step as she went lower and lower down. suddenly he heard her pause, as if panic-stricken in the darkness, and her voice ascended to him, groaning, 'light! light! oh, where is the light!' he rose up, and stretched out his hands to hurl her back if she should attempt to return; but she descended again. twice he heard her heavy footfall on the steps--then there was an interval of deep silence--then a sharp, grinding clash of metal echoed piercingly through the vault, followed by the noise of a dull, heavy fall, faintly audible far beneath--and then the old familiar sounds of the place were heard again, and were not interrupted more. the sacrifice to the dragon was achieved! * * * * * the madman stood on the steps of the sacred building, and looked out on the street shining before him in the bright italian moonlight. no remembrance of numerian and antonina, and of the earlier events in the temple, remained within him. he was pondering imperfectly, in vague pride and triumph, over the sacrifice that he had offered up at the shrine of the dragon of brass. thus secretly exulting, he now remained inactive. absorbed in his wandering meditations, he delayed to trace the subterranean passages leading to the iron grating where the corpse of goisvintha lay washed by the waters, as they struggled onward through the bars, and waiting but his hand to be cast into the river, where all past sacrifices had been engulphed before it. his tall solitary figure was lit by the moonlight streaming through the pillars of the portico; his loose robes waved slowly about him in the wind, as he stood firm and erect before the door of the temple: he looked more like the spectral genius of departed paganism than a living man. but, lifeless though he seemed, his quick eye was still on the watch, still directed by the restless suspicion of insanity. minute after minute quietly elapsed, and as yet nothing was presented to his rapid observation but the desolate roadway, and the high, gloomy houses that bounded it on either side. it was soon, however, destined to be attracted by objects which startled the repose of the tranquil street with the tumult of action and life. he was still gazing earnestly on the narrow view before him, vaguely imagining to himself, the while, goisvintha's fatal descent into the vault, and thinking triumphantly of her dead body that now lay on the grating beneath it, when a red glare of torchlight, thrown wildly on the moon-brightened pavement, whose purity it seemed to stain, caught his eye. the light appeared at the end of the street leading from the more central portion of the city, and ere long displayed clearly a body of forty or fifty people advancing towards the temple. the pagan looked eagerly on them as they came nearer and nearer. the assembly was composed of priests, soldiers, and citizens--the priests bearing torches, the soldiers carrying hammers, crowbars, and other similar tools, or bending under the weight of large chests secured with iron fastenings, close to which the populace walked, as if guarding them with jealous care. this strange procession was preceded by two men, who were considerably in advance of it--a priest and soldier. an expression of impatience and exultation appeared on their pale, famine-wasted countenances, as they approached the temple with rapid steps. ulpius never moved from his position, but fixed his piercing eyes on them as they advanced. not vainly did he now stand, watchful and menacing, before the entrance of his gloomy shrine. he had seen the first degradations heaped on fallen paganism, and he was now to see the last. he had immolated all his affections and all his hopes, all his faculties of body and mind, his happiness in boyhood, his enthusiasm in youth, his courage in manhood, his reason in old age, at the altar of his gods; and now they were to exact from him, in their defence, lonely criminal, maddened, as he already was in their cause, more than all this! the decree had gone forth from the senate which devoted to legalised pillage the treasures in the temples of rome. rulers of a people impoverished by former exactions, and comptrollers only of an exhausted treasury, the government of the city had searched vainly among all ordinary resources for the means of paying the heavy ransom exacted by alaric as the price of peace. the one chance of meeting the emergency that remained was to strip the pagan temples of the mass of jewelled ornaments and utensils, the costly robes, the idols of gold and silver which they were known to contain, and which, under that mysterious hereditary influence of superstition, whose power it is the longest labour of truth to destroy, had remained untouched and respected, alike by the people and the senate, after the worship that they represented had been interdicted by the laws, and abandoned by the nation. this last expedient for freeing rome from the blockade was adopted almost as soon as imagined. the impatience of the starved populace for the immediate collection of the ransom allowed the government little time for the tedious preliminaries of deliberation. the soldiers were provided at once with the necessary implements for the task imposed on them; certain chosen members of the senate and the people followed them, to see that they honestly gathered in the public spoil; and the priests of the christian churches volunteered to hallow the expedition by their presence, and led the way with their torches into every secret apartment of the temples where treasure might be contained. at the close of the day, immediately after it had been authorised, this strange search for the ransom was hurriedly commenced. already much had been collected; votive offerings of price had been snatched from the altars, where they had so long hung undisturbed; hidden treasure-chests of sacred utensils had been discovered and broken open; idols had been stripped of their precious ornaments and torn from their massive pedestals; and now the procession of gold-seekers, proceeding along the banks of the tiber, had come in sight of the little temple of serapis, and were hastening forward to empty it, in its turn, of every valuable that it contained. the priest and the soldier, calling to their companions behind to hurry on, had now arrived opposite the temple steps, and saw confronting them in the pale moonlight, from the eminence on which he stood, the weird and solitary figure of ulpius--the apparition of a pagan in the gorgeous robes of his priesthood, bidden back from the tombs to stay the hand of the spoiler before the shrine of his gods. the soldier dropped his weapon to the ground, and, trembling in every limb, refused to proceed. but the priest, a tall, stern, emaciated man, went on defenceless and undaunted. he signed himself solemnly with the cross as he slowly ascended the steps; fixed his unflinching eyes on the madman, who glared back on him in return; and called aloud in a harsh, steady voice: 'man or demon! in the name of christ, whom thou deniest, stand back!' for an instant, as the priest approached him, the pagan averted his eyes and looked on the concourse of people and the armed soldiers rapidly advancing. his fingers closed round the hilt of goisvintha's knife, which he had hitherto held loosely in his hand, as he exclaimed in low, concentrated tones, 'aha! the siege--the siege of serapis!' the priest, now standing on the same step with him, stretched out his arm to thrust him back, and at that moment received the stroke of the knife. he staggered, lifted his hand again to sign his forehead with the cross, and, as he raised it, rolled back dead on the pavement of the street. the soldier, standing motionless with superstitious terror a few feet from the corpse, called to his companions for help. hurling his bloody weapon at them in defiance, as they ran in confusion to the base of the temple steps, ulpius entered the building, and locked and chained the gates. then the assembled people thronging round the corpse of the priest, heard the madman shouting in his frenzy, as if to a great body of adherents round him, to pour down the molten lead and the scorching sand; to hurl back every scaling ladder planted against the walls; to massacre each prisoner who was seized mounting the ramparts to the assault; and as they looked up to the building from the street, they saw at intervals, through the bars of the closed gates, the figure of ulpius passing swift and shadowy, his arms extended, his long grey hair and white robes streaming behind him, as he rushed round and round the temple reiterating his wild pagan war-cries as he went. the enfeebled, superstitious populace trembled while they gazed--a spectre driven on a whirlwind would not have been more terrible to their eyes. but the priest among the crowd, roused to fury by the murder of one of their own body, revived the courage of those around them. even the shouts of ulpius were now overpowered by the sound of their voices, raised to the highest pitch, promising heavenly and earthly rewards--salvation, money, absolution, promotion--to all who would follow them up the steps and burst their way into the temple. animated by the words of the priests, and growing gradually confident in their own numbers, the boldest in the throng seized a piece of timber lying by the river side, and using it as a battering-ram, assailed the gate. but they were weakened with famine; they could gain little impetus, from the necessity of ascending the temple steps to the attack; the iron quivered as they struck it, but hinge and lock remained firm alike. they were preparing to renew the attempt, when a tremendous shock--a crash as if the whole heavy roof of the building had fallen in--drove them back in terror to the street. recalled by the sight of the armed men, the priests and the attendant crowd of people who were advancing to invade his sanctuary, to the days when he had defended the great temple of serapis at alexandria, against enemies similar in appearance, though far superior in numbers; persuaded in the revival of these, the most sanguinary visions of his insanity, that he was still resisting the christian fanatics, supported by his adherents in his sacred fortress of former years, the pagan displayed none of his accustomed cunning and care in moving through the darkness around him. he hurried hither and thither, encouraging his imaginary followers, and glorying in his dreams of slaughter and success, forgetful in his frenzy of all that the temple contained. as he pursued his wild course round and round the altar of idols, his robe became entangled, and was torn by the projecting substances at one corner of it. the whole overhanging mass tottered at the moment, but did not yet fall. a few of the smaller idols, however, at the outside dropped to the ground, and with them an image of serapis, which they happened partially to support--a heavy monstrous figure, carved life-size in wood, and studded with gold, silver, and precious stones--fell at the pagan's feet. but this was all--the outer materials of the perilous structure had been detached only at one point; the pile itself still remained in its place. the madman seized the image of serapis in his arms, and passed blindly onward with it through the passage in the partition into the recess beyond. at that instant the shock of the first attack on the gates resounded through the building. shouting, as he heard it, 'a sally! a sally! men of the temple, the gods and the high priest lead you on!' and still holding the idol before him, he rushed straight forward to the entrance, and struck in violent collision against the backward part of the pile. the ill-balanced, top-heavy mass of images and furniture of many temples swayed, parted, and fell over against the gates and the wall on either side of them. maimed and bleeding, struck down by the lower part of the pile, as it was forced back against the partition when the upper part fell, the fury of ulpius was but increased by the crashing ruin around him. he struggled up again into an erect position; mounted on the top of the fallen mass--now spread out at the sides over the floor of the building, but confined at one end by the partition, and at the other by the opposite wall and the gates--and still clasping the image of serapis in his arms, called louder and louder to 'the men of the temple' to mount with him the highest ramparts and pour down on the besiegers the molten lead! the priests were again the first men to approach the gates of the building after the shock that had been heard within it. the struggle for the possession of the temple had assumed to them the character of a holy warfare against heathenism and magic--a sacred conflict to be sustained by the church, for the sake of her servant who had fallen a martyr at the outset of the strife. strong in their fanatical boldness, they advanced with one accord close to the gates. some of the smaller images of the fallen pile had been forced through the bars, behind which appeared the great idols, the broken masses of furniture, the long robes and costly hangings, all locked together in every wild variety of position--a chaos of distorted objects heaped up by an earthquake! above and further inward, the lower part of the pagan's robe was faintly discernible through the upper interstices in the gate, as he stood, commanding, on the summit of his prostrate altar, with his idol in his arms. the priests felt an instant conviction of certain triumph when they discerned the cause of the shock that had been heard within the temple. one of their number snatched up a small image that had fallen through to the pavement where he stood, and holding it before the people below, exclaimed exultingly-- 'children of the church! the mystery is revealed! idols more precious than this lie by hundreds on the floor of the temple! it is no demon, but a man, one man, who still defies us within!--a robber who would defraud the romans of the ransom of their lives!--the pillage of many temples is around him. remember now, that the nearer we came to this place the fewer were the spoils of idolatry that we gathered in; the treasure which is yours, the treasure which is to free you from the famine, has been seized by the assassin of our holy brother; it is there scattered at his feet! to the gates! to the gates again! absolution for all their sins to the men who burst in the gates!' again the mass of timber was taken up; again the gates were assailed; and again they stood firm--they were now strengthened, barricaded by the fallen pile. it seemed hopeless to attempt to break them down without a reinforcement of men, without employing against them the heaviest missiles, the strongest engines of war. the people gave vent to a cry of fury as they heard from the temple the hollow laughter of the madman triumphing in their defeat. the words of the priest, in allaying their superstitious fears, had aroused the deadly passions that superstition brings forth. a few among the throng hurried to the nearest guard-house for assistance, but the greater part pressed closely round the temple--some pouring forth impotent execrations against the robber of the public spoil, some joining the priests in calling on him to yield. but the clamour lasted not long; it was suddenly and strangely stilled by the voice of one man in the crowd, calling loudly to the rest to fire the temple! the words were hardly spoken ere they were repeated triumphantly on all sides. 'fire the temple!' cried the people ferociously. 'burn it over the robber's head! a furnace--a furnace! to melt down the gold and silver ready to our hands! fire the temple! fire the temple!' those who were most active among the crowd (which was now greatly increased by stragglers from all parts of the city) entered the houses behind them, and returned in a few minutes with every inflammable substance that they could collect in their hands. a heap of fuel, two or three feet in height, was raised against the gates immediately, and soldiers and people pressed forward with torches to light it. but the priest who had before spoken waved them back. 'wait!' he cried; 'the fate of his body is with the people, but the fate of his soul is with the church!' then, turning to the temple, he called solemnly and sternly to the madman, 'thy hour is come! repent, confess, and save thy soul!' 'slay on! slay on!' answered the raving voice from within. 'slay, till not a christian is left! victory! serapis! see, they drop from our walls!--they writhe bleeding on the earth beneath us! there is no worship but the worship of the gods! slay! slay on!' 'light!' cried the priest. 'his damnation be on his own head! anathema! maranatha! let him die accursed!' the dry fuel was fired at once at all points--it was an anticipation of an 'auto da fe', a burning of a heretic, in the fifth century! as the flames rose, the people fell back and watched their rapid progress. the priests, standing before them in a line, stretched out their hands in denunciation against the temple, and repeated together the awful excommunication service of the roman church. * * * * * the fire at the gates had communicated with the idols inside. it was no longer on his prostrate altar, but on his funeral pile that ulpius now stood; and the image that he clasped was the stake to which he was bound. a red glare, dull at first, was now brightening and brightening below him; flames, quick and noiseless, rose and fell, and rose again, at different points, illuminating the interior of the temple with fitful and changing light. the grim, swarthy forms of the idols seemed to sway and writhe like living things in torment, as fire and smoke alternately displayed and concealed them. a deadly stillness now overspread the face and form of the pagan, as he looked down steadfastly on the deities of his worship engendering his destruction beneath him. his cheek--the cheek which had rested in boyhood on his mother's bosom--was pressed against the gilded breast of the god serapis, his taskmaster in life--his pillow in death! 'i rise! i rise to the world of light, with my deities whom i have served!' he murmured; 'the brightness of their presence is like a flaming fire; the smoke of their breath pours forth around me like the smoke of incense! i minister in the temples of the clouds; and the glory of eternal sunlight shines round me while i adore! i rise! i rise!' the smoke whirled in black volumes over his head; the fierce voice of the fast-spreading fire roared on him; the flames leapt up at his feet--his robes kindled, burst into radiant light, as the pile yawned and opened under him. * * * * * time had passed. the strife between the temple and the church was ended. the priests and the people had formed a wider circle round the devoted building; all that was inflammable in it had been burnt; smoke and flame now burst only at intervals through the gates, and gradually both ceased to appear. then the crowd approached nearer to the temple, and felt the heat of the furnace they had kindled, as they looked in. the iron gates were red hot--from the great mass behind (still glowing bright in some places, and heaving and quivering with its own heat) a thin, transparent vapour rose slowly to the stone roof of the building, now blackened with smoke. the priests looked eagerly for the corpse of the pagan; they saw two dark, charred objects closely united together, lying in a chasm of ashes near the gate, at a spot where the fire had already exhausted itself, but it was impossible to discern which was the man and which was the idol. the necessity of providing means for entering the temple had not been forgotten while the flames were raging. proper implements for forcing open the gates were now at hand, and already the mob began to dip their buckets in the tiber, and pour water wherever any traces of the fire remained. soon all obstacles were removed; the soldiers crowded into the building with spades in their hands, trampled on the black, watery mire of cinders which covered what had once been the altar of idols, and throwing out into the street the refuse ashes and the stone images which had remained unconsumed, dug in what was left, as in a new mine, for the gold and silver which the fire could not destroy. the pagan had lived with his idols, had perished with his idols!--and now where they were cast away, there he was cast away with them. the soldiers, as they dug into fragments the black ruins of his altar, mingled him in fragments with it! the people, as they cast the refuse thrown out to them into the river, cast what remained of him with what remained of his gods! and when the temple was deserted, when the citizens had borne off all the treasure they could collect, when nothing but a few heaps of dust was left of all that had been burnt, the night-wind blew away before it the ashes of ulpius with the ashes of the deities that ulpius had served! chapter . the vigil of hope. a new prospect now opens before us. the rough paths through which we have hitherto threaded our way grow smoother as we approach their close. rome, so long dark and gloomy to our view, brightens at length like a landscape when the rain is past and the first rays of returning sunlight stream through the parting clouds. some days have elapsed, and in those days the temples have yielded all their wealth; the conquered romans have bribed the triumphant barbarians to mercy; the ransom of the fallen city has been paid. the gothic army is still encamped round the walls, but the gates are opened, markets for food are established in the suburbs, boats appear on the river and waggons on the highroads, laden with provisions, and proceeding towards rome. all the hidden treasure kept back by the citizens is now bartered for food; the merchants who hold the market reap a rich harvest of spoil, but the hungry are filled, the weak are revived, every one is content. it is the end of the second day since the free sale of provisions and the liberty of egress from the city have been permitted by the goths. the gates are closed for the night, and the people are quietly returning, laden with their supplies of food, to their homes. their eyes no longer encounter the terrible traces of the march of pestilence and famine through every street; the corpses have been removed, and the sick are watched and sheltered. rome is cleansed from her pollutions, and the virtues of household life begin to revive wherever they once existed. death has thinned every family, but the survivors again assemble together in the social hall. even the veriest criminals, the lowest outcasts of the population, are united harmlessly for a while in the general participation of the first benefits of peace. to follow the citizens to their homes; to trace in their thoughts, words, and action the effect on them of their deliverance from the horrors of the blockade; to contemplate in the people of a whole city, now recovering as it were from a deep swoon, the varying forms of the first reviving symptoms in all classes, in good and bad, rich and poor--would afford matter enough in itself for a romance of searching human interest, for a drama of the passions, moving absorbingly through strange, intricate, and contrasted scenes. but another employment than this now claims our care. it is to an individual, and not to a divided source of interest, that our attention turns; we relinquish all observations on the general mass of the populace to revert to numerian and antonina alone--to penetrate once more into the little dwelling on the pincian hill. the apartment where the father and daughter had suffered the pangs of famine together during the period of the blockade, presented an appearance far different from that which it had displayed on the occasion when they had last occupied it. the formerly bare walls were now covered with rich, thick hangings; and the simple couch and scanty table of other days had been exchanged for whatever was most luxurious and complete in the household furniture of the age. at one end of the room three women, attended by a little girl, were engaged in preparing some dishes of fruit and vegetables; at the other, two men were occupied in low, earnest conversation, occasionally looking round anxiously to a couch placed against the third side of the apartment, on which antonina lay extended, while numerian watched by her in silence. the point of goisvintha's knife had struck deep, but, as yet, the fatal purpose of the assassination had failed. the girl's eyes were closed; her lips were parted in the languor of suffering; one of her hands lay listless on her father's knee. a slight expression of pain, melancholy in its very slightness, appeared on her pale face, and occasionally a long-drawn, quivering breath escaped her--nature's last touching utterance of its own feebleness! the old man, as he sat by her side, fixed on her a wistful, inquiring glance. sometimes he raised his hand, and gently and mechanically moved to and fro the long locks of her hair, as they spread over the head of the couch; but he never turned to communicate with the other persons in the room--he sat as if he saw nothing save his daughter's figure stretched before him, and heard nothing save the faint, fluttering sound of her breathing, close at his ear. it was now dark, and one lamp hanging from the ceiling threw a soft equal light over the room. the different persons occupying it presented but little evidence of health and strength in their countenances, to contrast them in appearance with the wounded girl; all had undergone the wasting visitation of the famine, and all were pale and languid, like her. a strange, indescribable harmony prevailed over the scene. even the calmness of absorbing expectation and trembling hope, expressed in the demeanour of numerian, seemed reflected in the actions of those around him, in the quietness with which the women pursued their employment, in the lower and lower whispers in which the men continued their conversation. there was something pervading the air of the whole apartment that conveyed a sense of the solemn, unworldly stillness which we attach to the abstract idea of religion. of the two men cautiously talking together, one was the patrician, vetranio; the other, a celebrated physician of rome. both the countenance and manner of the senator gave melancholy proof that the orgie at his palace had altered him for the rest of his life. he looked what he was, a man changed for ever in constitution and character. a fixed expression of anxiety and gloom appeared in his eyes; his emaciated face was occasionally distorted by a nervous, involuntary contraction of the muscles; it was evident that the paralysing effect of the debauch which had destroyed his companions would remain with him to the end of his existence. no remnant of his careless self-possession, his easy, patrician affability, appeared in his manner, as he now listened to his companion's conversation; years seemed to have been added to his life since he had headed the table at 'the banquet of famine'. 'yes,' said the physician, a cold, calm man, who spoke much, but pronounced all his words with emphatic deliberation,--'yes, as i have already told you, the wound in itself was not mortal. if the blade of the knife had entered near the centre of the neck, she must have died when she was struck. but it passed outwards and backwards; the large vessels escaped, and no vital part has been touched.' 'and yet you persist in declaring that you doubt her recovery!' exclaimed vetranio, in low, mournful tones. 'i do,' pursued the physician. 'she must have been exhausted in mind and body when she received the blow--i have watched her carefully; i know it! there is nothing of the natural health and strength of youth to oppose the effects of the wound. i have seen the old die from injuries that the young recover, because life in them was losing its powers of resistance; she is in the position of the old!' 'they have died before me, and she will die before me! i shall lose all--all!' sighed vetranio bitterly to himself. 'the resources of our art are exhausted,' continued the other; 'nothing remains but to watch carefully and wait patiently. the chances of life or death will be decided in a few hours; they are equally balanced now.' 'i shall lose all!--all!' repeated the senator mournfully, as if he heeded not the last words. 'if she dies,' said the physician, speaking in warmer tones, for he was struck with pity, in spite of himself, at the spectacle of vetranio's utter dejection, 'if she dies, you can at least remember that all that could be done to secure her life has been done by you. her father, helpless in his lethargy and his age, was fitted only to sit and watch her, as he has sat and watched her day after day; but you have spared nothing, forgotten nothing. whatever i have asked for, that you have provided; the hangings round the room, and the couch that she lies on, are yours; the first fresh supplies of nourishment from the newly-opened markets were brought here from you; i told you that she was thinking incessantly of what she had suffered, that it was necessary to preserve her against her own recollections, that the presence of women about her might do good, that a child appearing sometimes in the room might soothe her fancy, might make her look at what was passing, instead of thinking of what had passed--you found them, and sent them! i have seen parents less anxious for their children, lovers for their mistresses, than you for this girl.' 'my destiny is with her,' interrupted vetranio, looking round superstitiously to the frail form on the couch. 'i know nothing of the mysteries that the christians call their "faith", but i believe now in the soul; i believe that one soul contains the fate of another, and that her soul contains the fate of mine!' the physician shook his head derisively. his calling had determined his philosophy--he was as ardent a materialist as epicurus himself. 'listen,' said vetranio; 'since i first saw her, a change came over my whole being; it was as if her life was mingled with mine! i had no influence over her, save an influence for ill: i loved her, and she was driven defenceless from her home! i sent my slaves to search rome night and day; i exerted all my power, i lavished my wealth to discover her; and, for the first time in this one effort, i failed in what i had undertaken. i felt that through me she was lost--dead! days passed on; life weighed weary on me; the famine came. you know in what way i determined that my career should close; the rumour of the banquet of famine reached you as it reached others!' 'it did,' replied the physician. 'and i see before me in your face,' he added, after a momentary pause, 'the havoc which that ill-omened banquet has worked. my friend, be advised!--abandon for ever the turmoil of your roman palace, and breathe in tranquillity the air of a country home. the strength you once had is gone never to return--if you would yet live, husband what is still left.' 'hear me,' pursued vetranio, in low, gloomy tones. 'i stood alone in my doomed palace; the friends whom i had tempted to their destruction lay lifeless around me; the torch was in my hand that was to light our funeral pile, to set us free from the loathsome world! i approached triumphantly to kindle the annihilating flames, when she stood before me--she, whom i had sought as lost and mourned as dead! a strong hand seemed to wrench the torch from me; it dropped to the ground! she departed again; but i was powerless to take it up; her look was still before me; her face, her figure, she herself, appeared ever watching between the torch and me!' 'lower!--speak lower!' interrupted the physician, looking on the senator's agitated features with unconcealed astonishment and pity. 'you retard your own recovery,--you disturb the girl's repose by discourse such as this.' 'the officers of the senate,' continued vetranio, sadly resuming his gentler tones, 'when they entered the palace, found me still standing on the place where we had met! days passed on again; i stood looking out upon the street, and thought of my companions whom i had lured to their death, and of my oath to partake their fate, which i had never fulfilled. i would have driven my dagger to my heart; but her face was yet before me, my hands were bound! in that hour i saw her for the second time; saw her carried past me--wounded, assassinated! she had saved me once; she had saved me twice! i knew that now the chance was offered me, after having wrought her ill, to work her good; after failing to discover her when she was lost, to succeed in saving her when she was dying; after having survived the deaths of my friends at my own table, to survive to see life restored under my influence, as well as destroyed! these were my thoughts; these are my thoughts still--thoughts felt only since i saw her! do you know now why i believe that her soul contains the fate of mine? do you see me, weakened, shattered, old before my time; my friends lost, my fresh feelings of youth gone for ever; and can you not now comprehend that her life is my life?--that if she dies, the one good purpose of my existence is blighted?--that i lose all i have henceforth to live for?--all, all!' as he pronounced the concluding words, the girl's eyes half unclosed, and turned languidly towards her father. she made an effort to lift her hand caressingly from his knee to his neck; but her strength was unequal even to this slight action. the hand was raised only a few inches ere it sank back again to its old position; a tear rolled slowly over her cheek as she closed her eyes again, but she never spoke. 'see,' said the physician, pointing to her, 'the current of life is at its lowest ebb! if it flows again, it must flow to-night.' vetranio made no answer; he dropped down on the seat near him, and covered his face with his robe. the physician, beholding the senator's situation, and reflecting on the strange hurriedly-uttered confession which had just been addressed to him, began to doubt whether the scenes through which his patron had lately passed had not affected his brain. philosopher though he was, the man of science had never observed the outward symptoms of the first working of good and pure influences in elevating a degraded mind; he had never watched the denoting signs of speech and action which mark the progress of mental revolution while the old nature is changing for the new; such objects of contemplation existed not for him. he gently touched vetranio on the shoulder. 'rise,' said he, 'and let us depart. those are around her who can watch her best. nothing remains for us but to wait and hope. with the earliest morning we will return.' he delivered a few farewell directions to one of the women in attendance, and then, accompanied by the senator, who, without speaking again, mechanically rose to follow him, quitted the room. after this, the silence was only interrupted by the sound of an occasional whisper, and of quick, light footsteps passing backwards and forwards. then the cooling, reviving draughts which had been prepared for the night were poured ready into the cups; and the women approached numerian, as if to address him, but he waved his hand impatiently when he saw them; and then they too, in their turn, departed, to wait in an adjoining apartment until they should be summoned again. nothing changed in the manner of the father when he was left alone in the chamber of sickness, which the lapse of a few hours might convert into the chamber of death. he sat watching antonina, and touching the outspread locks of her hair from time to time, as had been his wont. it was a fair, starry night; the fresh air of the soft winter climate of the south blew gently over the earth, the great city was sinking fast into tranquillity, calling voices were sometimes heard faintly from the principal streets, and the distant noises of martial music sounded cheerily from the gothic camp as the sentinels were posted along the line of watch; but soon these noises ceased, and the stillness of rome was as the stillness round the couch of the wounded girl. day after day, and night after night, since the assassination in the temple, numerian had kept the same place by his daughter's side. each hour as it passed found him still absorbed in his long vigil of hope; his life seemed suspended in its onward course by the one influence that now enthralled it. at the brief intervals when his bodily weariness overpowered him on his melancholy watch, it was observed by those around him that, even in his short dreaming clumbers, his face remained ever turned in the same direction, towards the head of the couch, as if drawn thither by some irresistible attraction, by some powerful ascendancy, felt even amid the deepest repose of sensation, the heaviest fatigue of the overlaboured mind, and worn, sinking heart. he held no communication, save by signs, with the friends about him; he seemed neither to hope, to doubt, nor to despair with them; all his faculties were strung up to vibrate at one point only, and were dull and unimpressible in every other direction. but twice had he been heard to speak more than the fewest, simplest words. the first time, when antonina uttered the name of goisvintha, on the recovery of her senses after her wound, he answered eagerly by reiterated declarations that there was nothing henceforth to fear; for he had seen the assassin dead under the pagan's foot on leaving the temple. the second time, when mention was incautiously made before him of rumours circulated through rome of the burning of an unknown pagan priest, hidden in the temple of serapis, with vast treasures around him, the old man was seen to start and shudder, and heard to pray for the soul that was now waiting before the dread judgment-seat; to murmur about a vain restoration and a discovery made too late; to mourn over horror that thickened round him, over hope fruitlessly awakened, and bereavement more terrible than mortal had ever suffered before; to entreat that the child, the last left of all, might be spared--with many words more, which ran on themes like these, and which were counted by all who listened to them but as the wanderings of a mind whose higher powers were fatally prostrated by feebleness and grief. one long hour of the night had already passed away since parent and child had been left together, and neither word nor movement had been audible in the melancholy room. but, as the second hour began, the girl's eyes unclosed again, and she moved painfully on the couch. accustomed to interpret the significance of her slightest actions, numerian rose and brought her one of the reviving draughts that had been left ready for use. after she had drunk, when her eyes met her father's fixed on her in mute and mournful inquiry, her lips closed, and formed themselves into an expression which he remembered they had always assumed when, as a little child, she used silently to hold up her face to him to be kissed. the miserable contrast between what she was now and what she had been them, was beyond the passive endurance, the patient resignation of the spirit-broken old man; the empty cup dropped from his hands, he knelt down by the side of the couch and groaned aloud. 'o father! father!' cried the weak, plaintive voice above him. 'i am dying! let us remember that our time to be together here grows shorter and shorter, and let us pass it as happily as we can!' he raised his head, and looked up at her, vacant and wistful, forlorn already, as if the death-parting was over. 'i have tried to live humbly and gratefully,' she sighed faintly. 'i have longed to do more good on the earth than i have done! yet you will forgive me now, father, as you have always forgiven me! you have been patient with me all my life; more patient than i have ever deserved! but i had no mother to teach me to love you as i ought, to teach me what i know now, when my death is near, and time and opportunity are mine no longer!' 'hush! hush!' whispered the old man affrightedly; 'you will live! god is good, and knows that we have suffered enough. the curse of the last separation is not pronounced against us! live, live!' 'father,' said the girl tenderly, 'we have that within us which not death itself can separate. in another world i shall still think of you when you think of me! i shall see you even when i am no more here, when you long to see me! when you go out alone, and sit under the trees on the garden bank where i used to sit; when you look forth on the far plains and mountains that i used to look on; when you read at night in the bible that we have read in together, and remember antonina as you lie down sorrowful to rest; then i shall see you! then you will feel that i am looking on you! you will be calm and consoled, even by the side of my grave; for you will think, not of the body that is beneath, but of the spirit that is waiting for you, as i have often waited for you here when you were away, and i knew that the approach of the evening would bring you home again!' 'hush! you will live!--you will live!' repeated numerian in the same low, vacant tones. the strength that still upheld him was in those few simple words; they were the food of a hope that was born in agony and cradled in despair. 'oh, if i might live!' said the girl softly, 'if i might live but for a few days yet, how much i have to live for!' she endeavoured to bend her head towards her father as she spoke; for the words were beginning to fall faintly and more faintly from her lips--exhaustion was mastering her once again. she dwelt for a moment now on the name of hermanric, on the grave in the farm-house garden; then reverted again to her father. the last feeble sounds she uttered were addressed to him; and their burden was still of consolation and of love. soon the old man, as he stooped over her, saw her eyes close again--those innocent, gentle eyes which even yet preserved their old expression while the face grew wan and pale around them--and darkness and night sank down over his soul while he looked. 'she sleeps,' he murmured in a voice of awe, as he resumed his watching position by the side of the couch. 'they call death a sleep; but on her face there is no death!' the night grew on. the women who were in attendance entered the room about midnight, wondering that their assistance had not yet been required. they beheld the solemn, unruffled composure on the girl's wasted face; the rapt attention of numerian, as he ever preserved the same attitude by her side; and went out again softly without uttering a word, even in a whisper. there was something dread and impressive in the very appearance of this room, where death, that destroys, was in mortal conflict with youth and beauty, that adorn, while the eyes of one old man watched in loneliness the awful progress of the strife. morning came, and still there was no change. once, when the lamp that lit the room was fading out as the dawn appeared, numerian had risen and looked close on his daughter's face--he thought at that moment that her features moved; but he saw that the flickering of the dying light on them had deceived him; the same stillness was over her. he placed his ear close to her lips for an instant, and then resumed his place, not stirring from it again. the slow current of his blood seemed to have come to a pause--he was waiting as a man waits with his head on the block ere the axe descends--as a mother waits to hear that the breath of life has entered her new-born child. the sun rose bright in a cloudless sky. as the fresh, sharp air of the early dawn warmed under its spreading rays, the women entered the apartment again, and partly drew aside the curtain and shutter from the window. the beams of the new light fell fair and glorifying on the girl's face; the faint, calm breezed ruffled the lighter locks of her hair. once this would have awakened her; but it did not disturb her now. soon after the voice of the child who sojourned with the women in the house was heard beneath, in the hall, through the half-opened door of the room. the little creature was slowly ascending the stairs, singing her faltering morning song to herself. she was preceded on her approach by a tame dove, bought at the provision market outside the walls, but preserved for the child as a pet and plaything by its mother. the bird fluttered, cooing, into the room, perched upon the head of the couch, and began dressing its feathers there. the women had caught the infection of the old man's enthralling suspense; and moved not to bid the child retire, or to take away the dove from its place--they watched like him. but the soft, lulling notes of the bird were powerless over the girl's ear, as the light sunbeam over her face--still she never woke. the child entered, and pausing in her song, climbed on to the side of the couch. she held out one little hand for the dove to perch upon, placed the other lightly on antonina's shoulder, and pressed her fresh, rosy lips to girl's faded cheek. 'i and my bird have come to make antonina well this morning,' she said gravely. the still, heavily-closed eyelids moved!--they quivered, opened, closed, then opened again. the eyes had a faint, dreaming, unconscious look; but antonina lived! antonina was awakened at last to another day on earth! her father's rigid, straining gaze still remained fixed upon her as at first, but on his countenance there was a blank, an absence of all appearance of sensation and life. the women, as they looked on antonina and looked on him, began to weep; the child resumed very softly its morning song, now addressing it to the wounded girl and now to the dove. at this moment vetranio and the physician appeared on the scene. the latter advanced to the couch, removed the child from it, and examined antonina intently. at length, partly addressing numerian, partly speaking to himself, he said: 'she has slept long, deeply, without moving, almost without breathing--a sleep like death to all who looked on it.' the old man spoke not in reply, but the women answered eagerly in the affirmative. 'she is saved,' pursued the physician, leisurely quitting the side of the couch and smiling on vetranio; 'be careful of her for days and days to come.' 'saved! saved!' echoed the child joyfully, setting the dove free in the room, and running to numerian to climb on his knees. the father glanced down when the clear young voice sounded in his ear. the springs of joy, so long dried up in his heart, welled forth again as he saw the little hands raised towards him entreatingly; his grey head drooped--he wept. at a sign from the physician the child was led from the room. the silence of deep and solemn emotion was preserved by all who remained; nothing was heard but the suppressed sobs of the old man, and the faint, retiring notes of the infant voice still singing its morning song. and now one word, joyfully reiterated again and again, made all the burden of the music-- 'saved! saved!' the conclusion. 'ubi thesaurus ibi cor.' shortly after the opening of the provision markets outside the gates of rome, the goths broke up their camp before the city and retired to winter quarters in tuscany. the negotiations which ensued between alaric and the court and government at ravenna, were conducted with cunning moderation by the conqueror, and with infatuated audacity by the conquered, and ultimately terminated in a resumption of hostilities. rome was besieged a second and a third time by 'the barbarians'. on the latter occasion the city was sacked, its palaces were burnt, its treasures were seized; the monuments of the christian religion were alone respected. but it is no longer with the goths that our narrative is concerned; the connection with them which it has hitherto maintained closes with the end of the first siege of rome. we can claim the reader's attention for historical events no more--the march of our little pageant, arrayed for his pleasure, is over. if, however, he has felt, and still retains, some interest in antonina, he will not refuse to follow us, and look on her again ere we part. more than a month had passed since the besieging army had retired to their winter quarters, when several of the citizens of rome assembled themselves on the plains beyond the walls, to enjoy one of those rustic festivals of ancient times, which are still celebrated, under different usages, but with the same spirit, by the italians of modern days. the place was a level plot of ground beyond the pincian gate, backed by a thick grove of pine trees, and looking towards the north over the smooth extent of the country round rome. the persons congregated were mostly of the lower class. their amusements were dancing, music, games of strength and games of chance; and, above all, to people who had lately suffered the extremities of famine, abundant eating and drinking--long, serious, ecstatic enjoyment of the powers of mastication and the faculties of taste. among the assembly were some individuals whose dress and manner raised them, outwardly at least, above the general mass. these persons walked backwards and forwards together on different parts of the ground as observers, not as partakers in the sports. one of their number, however, in whatever direction he turned, preserved an isolated position. he held an open letter in his hand, which he looked at from time to time, and appeared to be wholly absorbed in his own thoughts. this man we may advantageously particularise on his own account, as well as on account of the peculiarity of his accidental situation; for he was the favoured minister of vetranio's former pleasures--'the industrious carrio'. the freedman (who was last introduced to the reader in chapter xiv., as exhibiting to vetranio the store of offal which he had collected during the famine for the consumption of the palace) had contrived of late greatly to increase his master's confidence in him. on the organisation of the banquet of famine, he had discreetly refrained from testifying the smallest desire to save himself from the catastrophe in which the senator and his friends had determined to involve themselves. securing himself in a place of safety, he awaited the end of the orgie; and when he found that its unexpected termination left his master still living to employ him, appeared again as a faithful servant, ready to resume his customary occupation with undiminished zeal. after the dispersion of his household during the famine, and amid the general confusion of the social system in rome, on the raising of the blockade, vetranio found no one near him that he could trust but carrio--and he trusted him. nor was the confidence misplaced: the man was selfish and sordid enough; but these very qualities ensured his fidelity to his master as long as that master retained the power to punish and the capacity to reward. the letter which carrio held in his hand was addressed to him at a villa--from which he had just returned--belonging to vetranio, on the shores of the bay of naples, and was written by the senator from rome. the introductory portions of this communication seemed to interest the freedman but little: they contained praises of his diligence in preparing the country-house for the immediate habitation of its owner, and expressed his master's anxiety to quit rome as speedily as possible, for the sake of living in perfect tranquillity, and breathing the reviving air of the sea, as the physicians had counselled. it was the latter part of the letter that carrio perused and re-perused, and then meditated over with unwonted attention and labour of mind. it ran thus:-- 'i have now to repose in you a trust, which you will execute with perfect fidelity as you value my favour or respect the wealth from which you may obtain your reward. when you left rome you left the daughter of numerian lying in danger of death: she has since revived. questions that i have addressed to her during her recovery have informed me of much in her history that i knew not before; and have induced me to purchase, for reasons of my own, a farm-house and its lands, beyond the suburbs. (the extent of the place and its situation are written on the vellum that is within this.) the husbandman who cultivated the property had survived the famine, and will continue to cultivate it for me. but it is my desire that the garden, and all that it contains, shall remain entirely at the disposal of numerian and his daughter, who may often repair to it; and who must henceforth be regarded there as occupying my place and having my authority. you will divide your time between overlooking the few slaves whom i leave at the palace in my absence, and the husbandman and his labourers whom i have installed at the farm; and you will answer to me for the due performance of your own duties and the duties of those under you--being assured that by well filling this office you will serve your own interests in these, and in all things besides.' the letter concluded by directing the freedman to return to rome on a certain day, and to go to the farm-house at an appointed hour, there to meet his master, who had further directions to give him, and who would visit the newly acquired property before he proceeded on his journey to naples. nothing could exceed the perplexity of carrio as he read the passage in his patron's letter which we have quoted above. remembering the incidents attending vetranio's early connection with antonina and her father, the mere circumstances of a farm having been purchased to flatter what was doubtless some accidental caprice on the part of the girl, would have little perplexed him. but that this act should be followed by the senator's immediate separation of himself from the society of numerian's daughter; that she was to gain nothing after all from these lands which had evidently been bought at her instigation, but the authority over a little strip of garden; and yet, the inviolability of this valueless privilege should be insisted on in such serious terms, and with such an imperative tone of command as the senator had never been known to use before--these were inconsistencies which all carrio's ingenuity failed to reconcile. the man had been born and reared in vice; vice had fed him, clothed him, freed him, given him character, reputation, power in his own small way--he lived in it as in the atmosphere that he breathed; to show him an action, referable only to a principle of pure integrity, was to set him a problem which it was hopeless to solve. and yet it is impossible, in one point of view, to pronounce him utterly worthless. ignorant of all distinctions between good and bad, he thought wrong from sheer inability to see right. however his instructions might perplex him, he followed them now--and continued in after days to follow them--to the letter. if to serve one's own interests be an art, of that art carrio deserved to be head professor. he arrived at the farm-house, not only punctually, but before the appointed time, and calling the honest husbandman and the labourers about him, explained to them every particular of the authority that his patron had vested in him, with a flowing and peremptory solemnity of speech which equally puzzled and impressed his simple audience. he found numerian and antonina in the garden when he entered it. the girl had been carried there daily in a litter since her recovery, and her father had followed. they were never separated now; the old man, when his first absorbing anxiety for her was calmed, remembered again more distinctly the terrible disclosure in the temple, and the yet more terrible catastrophe that followed it, and he sought constant refuge from the horror of the recollection in the presence of his child. the freedman, during his interview with the father and daughter, observed, for once, an involuntary and unfeigned respect; but he spoke briefly, and left them together again almost immediately. humble and helpless as they were, they awed him; they looked, thought, and spoke like beings of another nature than his; they were connected, he knew not how, with the mystery of the grave in the garden. he would have been self-possessed in the presence of the emperor himself, but he was uneasy in theirs. so he retired to the more congenial scene of the public festival which was in the immediate neighbourhood of the farm-house, to await the hour of his patron's arrival, and to perplex himself afresh by a re-perusal of vetranio's letter. the time was now near at hand when it was necessary for the freedman to return to his appointed post. he carefully rolled up his note of instructions, stood for a few minutes vacantly regarding the amusements which had hitherto engaged so little of his attention, and then, turning, he proceeded through the pine-grove on his way back. we will follow him. on leaving the grove, a footpath conducted over some fields to the farm-house. arrived here, carrio hesitated for a moment; then moved slowly onward to await his master's approach in the lane that led to the highroad. at this point we will part company with him, to enter the garden by the wicket-gate. the trees, the flower-beds, and the patches of grass, all remained in their former positions--nothing had been added or taken away since the melancholy days that were past; but a change was visible in hermanric's grave. the turf above it had been renewed, and a border of small evergreen shrubs was planted over the track which goisvintha's footsteps had traced. a white marble cross was raised at one end of the mound; the short latin inscription on it signified--'pray for the dead'. the sunlight was shining calmly over the grave, and over numerian and antonina as they sat by it. sometimes when the mirth grew louder at the rustic festival, it reached them in faint, subdued notes; sometimes they heard the voices of the labourers in the neighbouring fields talking to each other at their work; but, besides these, no other sounds were loud enough to be distinguished. there was still an expression of the melancholy and feebleness that grief and suffering leave behind them on the countenances of the father and daughter; but resignation and peace appeared there as well--resignation that was perfected by the hard teaching of woe, and peace that was purer for being imparted from the one to the other, like the strong and deathless love from which it grew. there was something now in the look and attitude of the girl, as she sat thinking of the young warrior who had died in her defence and for her love, and training the shrubs to grow closer round the grave, which, changed though she was, recalled in a different form the old poetry and tranquillity of her existence when we first saw her singing to the music of her lute in the garden on the pincian hill. no thoughts of horror and despair were suggested to her as she now looked on the farm-house scene. hers was not the grief which shrinks selfishly from all that revives the remembrance of the dead: to her, their influence over the memory was a grateful and a guardian influence that gave a better purpose to the holiest life, and a nobler nature to the purest thoughts. thus they were sitting by the grave, sad yet content; footsore already on the pilgrimage of life, yet patient to journey farther if they might--when an unusual tumult, a noise of rolling wheels, mingled with a confused sound of voices, was heard in the lane behind them. they looked round, and saw that vetranio was approaching them alone through the wicket-gate. he came forward slowly; the stealthy poison instilled by the banquet of famine palpably displayed its presence within him as the clear sunlight fell on his pale, wasted face. he smiled kindly as he addressed antonina; but the bodily pain and mental agitation which that smile was intended to conceal, betrayed themselves in his troubled voice as he spoke. 'this is our last meeting for years--it may be our last meeting for life,' he said; 'i linger at the outset of my journey, but to behold you as guardian of the one spot of ground that is most precious to you on earth--as mistress, indeed, of the little that i give you here!' he paused a moment and pointed to the grave, then continued: 'all the atonement that i owe to you, you can never know--i can never tell!--think only that i bear away with me a companion in the solitude to which i go in the remembrance of you. be calm, good, happy still, for my sake, and while you forgive the senator of former days, forget not the friend who now parts from you in some sickness and sorrow, but also in much patience and hope! farewell!' his hand trembled as he held it out; a flush overspread the girl's cheek while she murmured a few inarticulate words of gratitude, and, bending over it, pressed it to her lips. vetranio's heart beat quick; the action revived an emotion that he dared not cherish; but he looked at the wan, downcast face before him, at the grave that rose mournful by his side, and quelled it again. yet an instant he lingered to exchange a farewell with the old man, then turned quickly, passed through the gate, and they saw him no more. antonina's tears fell fast on the grass beneath as she resumed her place. when she raised her head again, and saw that her father was looking at her, she nestled close to him and laid one of her arms round his neck: the other gradually dropped to her side, until her hand reached the topmost leaves of the shrubs that grew round the grave. * * * * * shall we longer delay in the farm-house garden? no! for us, as for vetranio, it is now time to depart! while peace still watches round the walls of rome; while the hearts of the father and daughter still repose together in security, after the trials that have wrung them, let us quit the scene! here, at last, the narrative that we have followed over a dark and stormy track reposes on a tranquil field; and here let us cease to pursue it! so the traveller who traces the course of a river wanders through the day among the rocks and precipices that lead onward from its troubled source; and, when the evening is at hand, pauses and rests where the banks are grassy and the stream is smooth. ******************************************************************* this ebook was one of project gutenberg's early files produced at a time when proofing methods and tools were not well developed. there is an improved edition of this title which may be viewed as ebook (# ) at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/ ******************************************************************* none